text:
Hendersonville City Council agreed to proceed with short-term plans to curb parking woes downtown, and sent a policy for the city's small water meter access program back to the drawing board.
Hendersonville City Council agreed to proceed with short-term plans to curb parking woes downtown, and sent a policy for the city's small water meter access program back to the drawing board.
In a split vote, the council also agreed to have an appraisal conducted on the Grey Hosiery Mill property before deciding which avenue to take in selling the land to a developer. Councilman Jerry Smith cast the sole vote against the measure.
After the meeting, Smith said he voted against the motion "because this summer when we went through the whole process (of requesting proposals for developing the site) nobody asked to have it appraised… Let's put it out for sealed bids and we'll know what it's worth."
The last appraisal on the property was completed about five years ago, according to Councilman Ron Stephens.
"I would like to see one more little investigative process done before we decide what we're going to do with this thing," said Councilman Steve Caraker. "The original appraisal was flawed because it counted a bunch of downstairs square footage as usable space, which it's not even usable space by building code (standards)… I would like to see it appraised with everything we know now without a historic preservation easement and with a preservation easement and see what it's actually worth so that when we get offers, we know what we're getting."
Stephens said the basement square footage that might be noted as unusable today may have accounted for 45 percent of the square footage that was appraised five years ago. Although he was all for the idea of having it re-assessed, he noted the appraisal would probably cost at least $2,500 to $3,000.
"We need to know exactly how to play it before we start accepting offers, if that's the way that you would go," Caraker said. "At this point in time, as much money as we've thrown at this… over the last six years that I've been on council, I don't think another $3,000 is doing a disservice to the public. If it means we end up getting another $300,000 worth of property in the sale, I think it's money well spent."
In his campaign for re-election Smith said he was in favor of selling the mill building, "and that's exactly what we had the chance to do tonight."
City Manager John Connet said they would return with an appraisal for council's consideration.
City Council agreed to proceed with short-term solutions aimed at addressing parking concerns highlighted during a public workshop in August and a survey in September.
Downtown Economic Development Director Lew Holloway said the short-term solutions should take about six months to a year to implement and come at a low cost with low risk to the city.
Short-term solutions include: developing a list of private lots and their uses in downtown to better understand and potentially utilize this resource; developing a partnership with private lot owners to provide downtown employee and volunteer parking; developing temporary high-visibility public lot signage; evaluating vegetation in public lots with an eye toward visibility, appearance and safety; and evaluating parking enforcement practices to ensure a consistent, efficient and positive experience for downtown customers.
"Our goal is to have a lot of these things in place before the spring season," Connet said.
He added that city staff would come back before the board before implementing any costly measures that might require their approval.
Intermediate solutions, he said, could take one to three years to implement and require moderate cost and risk. Possible solutions in this category include developing a comprehensive wayfinding signage program; installing parallel parking on King Street; upgrading to a smart metering system in public lots; installing additional smart meters on Main Street and at other high-demand locations (maybe as mid-block kiosks); leasing private lots for additional off-street parking; evaluating loading zones on the avenues; and creating bus parking for buses that come into town.
Possible long-term solutions, which could take three to five years to implement, include purchasing property for additional surface public lots and constructing a parking deck on an existing or new city parcel with public-private partnership, a general obligation bond or city financing.
The city plans to conduct a comprehensive parking resource study next fiscal year to provide an in-depth look at the true supply of parking; the existing current demand on parking by user groups, such as customers, downtown employees, merchants and residents; potential future demand on parking by user groups; peak usage analysis; existing and potential parking resource gaps; and, solution ranking/rating based on demand, peak usage and resource gaps.
Meter program
Connet said the city would tweak the policy for the city's small water meter access program after council members learned the program did not grant plumbers access to meters for any reason beyond installing an exterior shut-off valve.
Utilities Director Lee Smith said the program was intended to grant plumbers access to meter boxes for that reason only. By having an outside shut-off valve, however, plumbers would no longer have to wait for city workers to arrive to work on issues.
In the program, plumbers are granted access to small water meters provided their company pays an annual fee of $50, take a training course provided by the city and they include the city in their insurance plans to cover any possible damage to boxes.
Caraker, a licensed plumber who has yet to take the training, requested his money back when he learned the program restricted plumbers to have access for installing exterior valves only.
"My company just backed out of your program," he said.
Stephens asked for the council to reconsider the annual fee since some small businesses were struggling to eat the costs of extra insurance coverage.
In other action, City Council:
- Voted to waive the city's system development charges associated with the new Boyd Chevrolet dealership and the Dana community water project. Boyd Chevrolet will be reducing water consumption at the site by more than 50 percent from the land's previous tenants. The Dana water project will deliver clean water to a community plagued by water restrictions from tainted wells with the extension of a city water line to the community.
- Voted to discontinue the bagging of parking meters during the 2013 Christmas holiday season. Some downtown merchants requested the city discontinue the program, which makes metered spaces free for shoppers during the holiday season, after witnessing the spaces being taken by downtown employees instead of shoppers. The Downtown Advisory Committee endorsed the request.
- Approved a special event permit for the rededication of the restored McClintock clock to be held from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Henderson County Genealogical & Historical Society building at 400 N. Main St.
- Approved a resolution that affirms the city will submit a formal application for Community Development Block Grant Funding to benefit citizens in the Dana community. The resolution will be sent along with the city's application for grant funding to the state Department of Commerce, which administers CDBG grants.
- Adopted a resolution to dispose of property along Miami Terrace that was donated to the city after a neighbor expressed interest in purchasing the land. The property currently falls outside of the city's limits.
- Voted to dispose of property known as the Sunrise Ridge Hydropneumatic Pump Station on Pace Road to neighbors who have submitted a bid to purchase the land. The station is no longer in use by the city. The sale is subject to the city's ability to retain the necessary easement for the waterline on the property.
Reach Weaver at email@example.com or 828-694-7867.


text:
Lawmakers focus on affordable housing
HARTFORD -- As Connecticut continues to lack adequate affordable housing and rental costs outpace income, state officials hope a new Department of Housing will help reverse that trend.
Exactly how that new department will operate was laid out Tuesday during testimony before the General Assembly's Appropriations Committee.
The Interagency Council on Affordable Housing said most of the state's existing housing services and funding programs should be folded into the housing department, creating a one-stop experience for developers and residents seeking services.
That means transferring staff and funding programs from state Department of Economic and Community Development to the housing department. Myriad services offered by the Department of Social Services, such as rental assistance and emergency shelters, would also be transferred.
"Creating affordable housing and economic development are linked. It's the right thing to do to and a smart thing for Connecticut's future," said Catherine Smith, DECD commissioner and a member of the interagency council charged with making recommendations.
James Dunn, a nonprofit housing developer who has built affordable housing in Danbury and New Milford, said the state's major funding source for housing, the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, should also be folded into the new housing department.
"I see this as a good first step but it misses a chance to be a great first step. You can't do that and leave CHFA out of the mix. There needs to be strong effort to incorporate them into the mix," Dunn said.
A 44-page report by the interagency council highlighted the state's housing problems, pointing out that the number of renters paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing has risen from 36 percent to 52 percent during the last 10 years.
The council said that only 30 Connecticut communities have adequate affordable housing and Connecticut has the sixth-highest "housing wage" in the nation because renters must earn over $23 per hour to afford a typical two-bedroom apartment.
"The lack of sufficient affordable housing throughout the state also limits the ability of low-income individuals and families to move to communities where they can take advantage of job and educational opportunities," the report explained.
State Rep. Patricia Miller, D-Stamford, said the formula used to determine what is considered affordable is "reducing housing stock. We are losing housing stock for low income and moderate income families."
Anne Foley, chairwoman of the interagency council and under secretary for the Office of Policy and Management, said she understands that what's affordable in one town may not be affordable in another.
"We are aware affordability varies across the state. I do hear and understand what you are saying. There is always tension over where you set that threshold. You can target very low income and not get to folks with low income. And you can set it too high," Foley said.
Betsy Crum, director of the Connecticut Housing Coalition, praised the new department. "The recommendations represent an important step forward in respect to creating and providing access to affordable housing."
"The systems have been fragmented for years. The new department can transform how housing is accomplished and become a one stop for housing services," Crum said.

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Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
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Re: Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Reply #80 on:
November 28, 2008, 10:56:28 PM »
Columbia, Missouri | ColumbiaTribune.com
Achievement gap
Black students fall behind
By HENRY J. WATERS III, Publisher, Columbia Daily Tribune
Published Friday, November 14, 2008
"Lawson and Stephens have talked about building a target school or classrooms for failing black students led by blacks."
Achievement gap
Black students fall behind
By HENRY J. WATERS III, Publisher, Columbia Daily Tribune
Published Friday, November 14, 2008
Despite the 2003 transformation of West Boulevard Elementary to a "model school" focused on closing the achievement gap between black and white students, recent test results show the problem has worsened. MAP scores show blacks now do worse in Columbia schools than across the state and the gap is even wider here, partly because local white students outperform their statewide peers. Nothing wrong with white outperformance, of course, so the issue is poor performance by blacks, not merely the achievement gap.
During the five years of the experiment, the district spent more each year per student at West Boulevard than elsewhere on extraordinary efforts aimed at raising test scores among the schools minority population, without the desired result. Now Chief Academic Officer Sally Beth Lyon says the district will "go back to square one," reappointing its Achievement Gap Task Force.
School board member Steve Calloway says the district is failing "some of our kids." Rosie Tippin says the district doesnt understand black kids. Black boys in particular think education is not cool, she says, so they conscientiously remain dumb. Calloway and Tippin are the black members of the board.
From an outside perspective, it seems more accurate to say black kids are failing themselves by not taking advantage of the opportunity offered by Columbia Public Schools. The school district should do anything it can to improve the learning level of all students, particularly the lowest achievers, but its not fair to say the district is failing.
Except in this important regard: Columbia schools lack black male teachers and other mentors.
If this is a failure, it is widespread. School districts everywhere struggle to hire black male teachers, so rare is the breed. But, as local activists Lorenzo Lawson and Nathan Stephens point out, this is a crucial factor leading to poor achievement among black students, particularly boys, and when boys opt out, girls usually are close behind.
Ive discussed this issue often with Lawson and Stephens and have become convinced they are absolutely right. A few black kids can succeed in a district like ours, but its an extraordinary achievement. The youngster has to literally escape his own culture to succeed in a white school, and despite the presence of growing numbers of black students, Columbia schools can accurately be described as white, meaning the role models, the authority groups, are essentially white.
One can say its up to the black students to take advantage of what these whites are offering, which is everything one can expect, but they cant fill the crucial peer model role.
Lawson and Stephens have talked about building a target school or classrooms for failing black students led by blacks. Sadly, we have such a student clientele, and public money is available for their continuing education if they can be kept in the system.
An ethnic role model presence is necessary. No such presence will be created using the traditional methods even our good school system uses. Until the district is ready to look further, the achievement gap will persist. To their credit, local school officials have tried hard with traditional approaches that, in retrospect, were bound to fail. Now, what do they have to lose by talking with Lorenzo and Nathan? They are thoughtful men who have some pertinent ideas, if our minds are open enough to let them in.
Re: Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Reply #81 on:
December 14, 2008, 10:10:51 PM »
Michigan law schools plan to waive the LSAT
Skip the LSAT, Head Straight to Law School!
Posted By Dan Slater On September 25, 2008 @ 5:07 pm In Law School
UPDATE: Given all the hand-wringing over Michigan law schools plan to waive the LSAT for Michigan undergrads who have at least a 3.8 GPA, we rang up Sarah Zearfoss, the dean of admissions, to get the inside dope.
When it comes to this gaming the rankings allegation, says Zearfoss, I think there are two important pieces. First, the number of people Im contemplating admitting [on the Wolverine Scholars Program] is between 5 and 10. We have a first-year class of 360. So it wouldnt have any effect on the LSAT median, and I dont see how it could have any effect on the GPA median either. Second, there are only 200 people in the entire University of Michigan junior class who have a GPA of 3.8 or higher. Obviously, most of them dont want to apply to law school, and of those who do, many wont choose this program.
She continued: So if gaming the rankings isnt our motive, then the question is, what is our motive? Michigan is in an unusual position. Were a national school and a public institution. We know, from all kinds of anecdotal evidence, that our position as a national school often discourages people in our own backyard from applying. This is a way for me to to signal that I view Michigan as a strong institution.
So why is 3.8 the magic GPA? We looked at a lot of historical data, explained Zearfoss, and thats the number we found where, regardless of what LSAT the person had, they do well in the class. As you get below that number, theres a little less certainty.
Imagine this: No six-week LSAT review course. No struggling with those blasted logic problems. No horrendous pre-game anxiety dreams in which you show up at the testing site without pants or No. 2 pencils (or maybe that was just us).
A world of LSAT-free law school admission is coming to Michigan law school, according to a report on its Web site announcing the Wolverine Scholars Program. Heres how it works: UM undergrads who have at least completed their junior year and at most are scheduled to graduate in Winter or Spring 2009 and who have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.80 are eligible to apply to the law school without taking the LSAT.
The Web site says:
The Law Schools in-depth familiarity with Michigan undergrad curricula and faculty, coupled with significant historic data for assessing the potential performance of Michigan undergrads at the Law School, will allow us to perform an intensive review of the undergraduate curriculum of applicants . . . and have confidence in our ability to assess an applicants academic strengths and the likelihood of outstanding engagement with the Law School. For this select group of qualified applicants, therefore, we will omit our usual requirement that applicants submit an LSAT score. . .Because we wish to encourage broad participation in this program, we will waive the usual application fee for anyone applying under the Wolverine Scholars program.
Re: Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Reply #82 on:
January 24, 2009, 03:09:25 PM »
Sept. 30
A Crack in the Dominance of the LSAT?
While more and more colleges are questioning the use of the SAT, the use of standardized tests for law and medical school admissions is much more widely accepted. The American Bar Association, for example, views the use of admission tests as a key way to measure the suitability of law schools for accreditation. And as a result, the Law School Admission Test is routinely required by law schools.
As a result, more than a few eyebrows have been raised in the past few days by word that the University of Michigans law school will start admitting a small share of its class without LSAT scores. Michigan says that the goal of its Wolverine Scholars program is to attract more students from its home state. But because Michigans law school is considered to be among the best in the country and because the LSAT is so routinely a major part of law school admissions, the move is attracting scrutiny in the legal blogosphere.
By no means is Michigan abandoning the LSAT. The program is open only to Michigan undergraduates with a grade point average of at least 3.8. Sarah C. Zearfoss, assistant dean of the law school and its director of admissions, said that only about 5-10 students will be admitted this way, out of a class of 360, and that the primary goal is to attract more Michigan students. Michigans law school is unusual among public law schools in its relatively low proportion of in-state residents 22 percent. (By comparison 70 percent of students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill law school are from the state; at the University of California at Los Angeles, the figure is 60 percent.)
Michigans description of its new programs gives this explanation for why it is not requiring the LSAT: The law schools in-depth familiarity with Michigan undergrad curricula and faculty, coupled with significant historic data for assessing the potential performance of Michigan undergrads at the Law School, will allow us to perform an intensive review of the undergraduate curriculum of applicants, even beyond the typical close scrutiny we devote, and have confidence in our ability to assess an applicants academic strengths and the likelihood of outstanding engagement with the law school. For this select group of qualified applicants, therefore, we will omit our usual requirement that applicants submit an LSAT score.
Many law school bloggers have jumped to the conclusion that the law school is trying to improve its rankings in U.S. News by attracting students with very high grades but perhaps those students who wouldnt score well on the LSAT. In this scenario, Michigan gets more points for a higher GPA and its LSAT average could rise, too. (Both grade and LSAT medians are part of the magazines methodology for law schools.) Michigans move is being called a new low in gaming the U.S. News rankings, and there is much speculation that this is all about the magazine.
Zearfoss said there is no such strategy at work. The number of students who will be admitted this way is such a fractional sliver of the class that this couldnt be a successful route for manipulating the rankings, even if we were so inclined, she said. Michigan has well considered policy objectives for the program, she said, adding that the law school has never made decisions based on blind obeisance to rankings.
She said it was surprising to find so much skepticism at one very small outside-the-box move by a law school, especially when many organizations are examining the appropriate use of standardized tests.
In fact some experts on standardized tests agree that whats significant here isnt the rankings, but the idea that a top law school would go on record saying that its possible to make informed admissions decisions, even in a minority of cases, without the LSAT.
Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, called the move a step in the right direction. He said he believes Michigan and other law schools dont even need such a high GPA to make such a shift, but that the principle involved is whats important. Top-notch performance in a rigorous undergraduate curriculum is a better predictor of readiness for graduate school than any multiple-choice exam, he said.
He also said that, for all the concern among educators about the hysteria over SAT scores and the growth of the test-prep industry, things are even worse for professional school testing, which he said makes the pre-SAT frenzy look mild nearly every person who sits for the LSAT, MCAT or GMAT has paid for some form of coaching.
Law schools that dont use the LSAT are shunned by the ABA. The refusal of the Massachusetts School of Law to require the LSAT was among several disputes that led to years of fighting with the ABA over its refusal to accredit the non-traditional law school. (Having lost in court, at this point the law school says it no longer wants ABA recognition and can operate without it.) The Massachusetts School of Law requires all applicants to have interviews and to take an essay test it has developed, and argues that its method helps to identify talented students who might not have earned great LSAT scores.
Lawrence R. Velvel, the dean of the school, said that the LSAT is all about elitism its about saying your law school is better than another law school because you have better LSAT scores. While Velvel said his law school does not track students race and ethnicity, he said that well more than one fourth of students are from minority groups and that many students come from relatively modest economic backgrounds. The interests of the public at large, he said, demand that law schools not rely on tests on which wealthy students have advantages.
Asked about Michigans new program, he said, I dont care what Michigan does because weve known for 20 years that we are right. I simply consider that Michigan is the first very small inroad in the rest of law schools to doing what we know is right, and what is increasingly taking place in fields other than law.
Michael A. Olivas, a professor of law at the University of Houston who has served on many national committees on legal education, said it was important not to overstate the significance of Michigans move. He noted that Bowdoin College went SAT-optional decades ago and for a long time, not many colleges followed, and even today, SAT-optional isnt the norm for highly competitive colleges. So Olivas predicted a modest impact.
Still, he said that just as Bowdoin got people thinking, Michigan will also prompt other law schools to think about their approaches. Its a good idea to have alternatives floating around, he said.
One person who thinks that Michigan is making a mistake is Ellen Rutt, associate dean for admissions at the University of Connecticuts law school and chair of the Law School Admissions Council, which runs the LSAT. She noted that the ABA requires a test and said that LSAT was the gold standard.
In addition, Rutt questioned how Michigan would respond if many students with high grades applied, as could be possible at an institution as large as that university. You have to discriminate among them somehow, she said. I think they are losing something very crucial to the admissions process for comparability and providing greater precision in predicting first-year performance, she said.
Scott Jaschik
Re: Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Reply #83 on:
March 11, 2009, 07:15:24 AM »
March 11, 2009
Study Offers a New Test of Potential Lawyers
By JONATHAN D. GLATER
Just what makes a good lawyer?
In trying to answer that question, professors at the University of California, Berkeley, have come up with a test that they say is better at predicting success in the field than the widely used Law School Admission Test.
The LSAT, as the half-day exam is known, does not claim to predict much beyond a students performance in law school. But critics contend that it does not evaluate how good a lawyer someone will be and tests for the wrong things. They also say it keeps many black and Hispanic students who tend to have lower scores out of the legal profession.
Marjorie M. Shultz, a law professor who retired last year from Berkeley and is one of the studys authors, said she began to examine the issue after California voters approved Proposition 209, which banned consideration of race in admissions.
Proposition 209 and the reduced numbers of minority admits prompted me to think hard about what constitutes merit for purposes of law school admission, and to decide LSAT was much too narrow, as well as having big adverse impact, Professor Shultz said.
The Law School Admissions Council, which administers the LSAT, helped finance Professor Shultzs research, which has not appeared in any scholarly journals. Nonetheless, Wendy Margolis, a council spokeswoman, defended the LSAT, saying that how a student does in law school has a great deal to do with ultimate success as a lawyer.
Ms. Margolis added, We think it would be difficult to predict success as a lawyer prior to law school.
But that is exactly what Professor Shultz and Prof. Sheldon Zedeck, a colleague in the universitys psychology department, wanted to do.
To find out what applicant traits should figure in admissions decisions at law schools, they coordinated individual interviews, focus groups and ultimately a survey of judges, law school professors, law firm clients and hundreds of graduates of Berkeleys law school.
They asked, among other things, If you were looking for a lawyer for an important matter for yourself, what qualities would you most look for? What kind of lawyer do you want to teach or be?
The survey produced a list of 26 characteristics, or effectiveness factors, like the ability to write, manage stress, listen, research the law and solve problems. The professors then collected examples from the Berkeley alumni of specific behavior by lawyers that were considered more or less effective.
Using the examples, Professor Shultz and Professor Zedeck developed a test that could be administered to law school applicants to measure their raw lawyerly talent.
Instead of focusing on analytic ability, the new test includes questions about how to respond to hypothetical situations. For example, it might describe a company with a policy requiring immediate firing of any employee who lied on an application, then ask what a test taker would do upon discovering that a top-performing employee had omitted something on an application.
More than 1,100 lawyers took the test and agreed to let the researchers see their original LSAT scores, as well as grades from college and law school.
The study concluded that while LSAT scores, for example, were not particularly useful in predicting lawyer effectiveness, the new, alternative test results were although the new test was no better at predicting how well participants would do in law school. Unlike the LSAT, the new test did not produce a gap in scores among different racial or ethnic groups.
But participants might have performed differently on it, had they taken the test when they were applying to law school. Professor Shultz said this was one reason the next step in the research should include tracking test takers over time, from when they apply to law school through their careers.
David E. Van Zandt, dean of the law school at Northwestern, said he would welcome a supplement to the LSAT to evaluate applicants, a sentiment echoed by other law school deans.
John H. Garvey, dean of Boston College Law School and past president of the Association of American Law Schools, said, It would be good for us and for other schools to have other measures that complement the LSAT and that would help us identify promising candidates.
While his schools admissions decisions involved much more than just LSAT scores grades, work experience, recommendations and the like Mr. Garvey said that more and possibly better predictive information would be helpful.
Everybody would be happy for that, he said. There is not that much magic in the LSAT that we wouldnt be willing to add to it to accomplish our more important goals.
Both Professor Shultz and Ms. Margolis, the Law School Admission Council spokeswoman, said the next step was to survey lawyers nationwide, not just alumni of Berkeley, to test the measures of lawyer quality in a bigger pool.
Re: Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?
Reply #84 on:
April 04, 2009, 02:34:18 PM »
Where Are Black Law Students?
Black Excel
created the telling list below based on "diversity" data collected by
U.S. News Report for specific law schools for 2003. Go to the link below for the
latest data.
Howard University (DC)---88%
CUNY, Queens College-NYC---15%
Rutgers State University-Newark, NJ---15%
Thomas M. Cooley Law School (MI)---23%
George Washington University (DC)---12%
Touro College (Jacob D. Fuchsberg)---11%
Georgetown University (DC)---10%
Vanderbilt University (TN)---13%
University of Maryland---11%
Catholic University of America (DC)---9%
Duke University (NC)--9%
Loyola University of New Orleans---11%
Oklahoma City University--7%
Tulane University (LA)---10%
University of Baltimore (MD)--14%
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--10%
Florida Coastal School of Law---11%
Temple University (PA)--7%
University of Cincinnati--9%
University of Buffalo (NY)--7%
University of Arkansas--10%
Washington & Lee University (VA)---13%
Ohio State University---8%
College of William and Mary (VA)--9%
John Marshall Law School (IL)--7%
Indiana University (Bloomington) ---7%
Indiana University (Indianapolis)--9%
Wayne State University (MI)--10%
Georgia State University---10%
University of Georgia---11%
University of Dayton (OH)--6%
University of Detroit (Mercy)--11%
University of Tennessee--12%
Louisiana State University--10%
University of Memphis---10%
Mercer University (GA)---9%
Capitol University (OH)---8%
For the lastest date, go to
Law School Discussion
Specific Groups
Black Law Students
Evolutionary prospects for labeled "dull" and "superior" ?


text:
"HAWK": Hawkins enters his 30th season in professional baseball...is in his seventh season as bullpen coach after being named to the position on Nov. 3, 2008...has assisted a Rangers' staff that saw sub-4.00 ERA's in four straight years from 2010-13 for first time since 1974-79, including 2013's 3.62 figure that was lowest by the club since 1983...this year will be his seventh full season on the staff after serving as the Rangers' interim pitching coach from Aug. 2, 2008 through the end of the 2008 season...a Waco-area native, he has spent all but one of the last 14 seasons in the Texas organization.
COACHING CAREER: Was the pitching coach at Triple-A Oklahoma from 2006 until he joined the Major League staff in Aug. 2008...worked with several pitchers who reached the Rangers during his time in the Minor League system...he was pitching coach for the High Desert Mavericks in the Kansas City Royals' organization in 2005...he spent four seasons from 2001-04 at various levels in the Rangers' farm system, including Stockton (California League) in 2004 and Clinton (Midwest League) in 2003...made his professional coaching debut with Savannah of the South Atlantic League in 2001-02.
PLAYING CAREER: The Major League veteran pitched 10 seasons with three different organizations from 1982-1991...Hawkins was taken by the Padres as the fifth overall selection in the 1978 June draft...in the 1984 postseason, he earned the victory in San Diego's only World Series win to date, Game 2 vs. Detroit...Hawkins opened the 1985 season by going 11-0, finishing with an 18-8 record and 3.15 ERA (80 ER/228.2 IP)...he signed with the Yankees prior to the 1989 season and on July 1, 1990 tossed eight innings of no-hit ball at old Comiskey Park, only to lose 4-0 after a pair of outfield miscues late in the game...he pitched for Oakland in 1991 and signed with Seattle in 1992 before retiring while on a rehab stint with Triple-A Calgary...his career totals include an 84-91 record, 4.22 ERA (731 ER/1558.1 IP) and 706 strikeouts in 11 seasons.
PERSONAL: Melton Andrew Hawkins...married to the former Jodi Ann McCabe...has four children: Katy, Libby, Curtis and Maggie...graduated from Midway High School in Waco, TX in 1982...has participated in the Ozarka Camps for Hispanic Community.


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Mitigation and Brain Dysfunction
Two run of the mill brain dysfunction and mitigation to report today. Neither successful.
People v. Thomas, 2011 WL 321789 (Cal. 2011)
Defendant was convicted of raping and murdering an 18-year-old student, and was sentenced to death. The conviction and sentence were affirmed on this automatic appeal. During the penalty phase of the trial, D introduced as expert testimony a psychiatrist who interpreted a report of a PET scan (positron-emission tomography) conducted on defendant's brain in September 2000 that revealed an abnormal pattern of brain activity called "hypo-frontality which means low frontal lobe metabolism relative to the rest of the brain." The abnormality in defendant's frontal lobe functioning is similar to abnormalities found in a test group of subjects who had committed homicide. The expert testified that someone with that type of brain function abnormality "would have an impaired ability, likely, to regulate their aggressive impulses."
Dufour v. State, 2011 WL 320985 (Fl. 2011)
D was convicted of several murders and sentenced to death. In his initial post-conviction proceedings, D argued that the failure of the court-appointed psychiatrist to conduct appropriate tests for organic brain damage and mental illness violated due process. While the initial post-conviction appeal was pending, he filed a motion for post-conviction relief that sought a determination of mental retardation pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.203. At the evidentiary hearing for mental retardation, D unsuccessfully attempted to establish that he suffered from organic and traumatic brain damage. Although there was some testimony with regard to incidents in which he was was injured, such as vehicular and physical accidents, none of this testimony established or substantiated that the accidents resulted in injury to his brain. D also failed to present any evidence or medical records documenting any injuries to his brain. Following the evidentiary hearing, the circuit court concluded that the D did not establish by either clear and convincing evidence or a preponderance of evidence that he was mentally retarded. This determination was affirmed on appeal.
The Double-Edged Sword of Neurological Evidence and Self-Incrimination
U.S. v. Williams, 731 F.Supp.2d 1012 (D. Hawaii 2010)
In a capital case, D provided notice of intent to introduce expert testimony and evidence relating to a mental defect and condition, specifically borderline intellectual function ("BIF") and brain damage, bearing upon his guilt and punishment. The Court ruled that D's experts could testify at the guilt phase as to their diagnoses of Defendant and the impact that BIF and brain damage may have on Defendant's capacity to form the specific intent to commit child abuse. Thereafter, the Government sought to conduct its own mental health examinations of D. At issue is whether a compelled government exam would violate the D's right against self-incrimination under the 5th Amendment. The Court held that while the government could conduct an independent psychiatric exam of D, it must be limited to rebutting Defendant's mental status evidence, not ascertaining another possible motive for Defendant's actions. In other words, the Government could not use that exam to establish that the Defendant suffers from psychosis or Anti-Social Personality Disorder and that either of those conditions actually caused him to commit the alleged acts, because to do so would be tantamount to using Defendant's own statements, for which he has not waived his Fifth Amendment rights, against him in a criminal proceeding.
Causation and Toxic Torts
Junk v. Terminix Intern. Co., 628 F.3d 439 (8th Cir. 2010)
Another toxic tort cases failing on the issue of general and specific causation between the toxin and the neurological damage. This will be an interesting and developing area as imaging-to-toxin fingerprint data becomes more widely available. In this case, the Plaintiff enrolled in a Residential Pest Control Service Agreement when she was four months pregnant. D (Terminix and its employee) thereafter sprayed the pesticide Dursban inside and outside her home. P alleges she had informed D that she was pregnant and had asked him about the safety of the chemical Dursban, which contains the synthetic chemical chlorpyrifos. The employee and company assured them that Dursban was a "naturally occurring organic material which would have no impact on human beings." On behalf of her child, P sued D alleging that her exposure to Dursban during her pregnancy and the child's exposure to the pesticide after his birth had caused his severe neurological problems. P claimed breach of express and implied warranties, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, products liability, and negligence. Summary judgment was granted for D, because P could not establish general and specific causation. P's only witness on specific causation of the neurological damage was based on a differential diagnosis of the cause of the child's neurological condition. This testimony was excluded for lack of scientific reliability.


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- Federal Relations Home
- About Federal Relations
- Legislation Action Center
- Current Federal Legislation
- Federal Legislation Archive
- Lobbying Resources
- Bright Spots in Homeschooling
Federal Relations
| 110th Congressional Legislation
| 110th Congress
S. 3243 and S. 3244—Education Savings for All Act
S. 3076—The Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act
(HOMES Act)
H.Res. 1076: Reaffirmation of Parents' Fundamental and Constitutional Rights
H.R. 3831—'Family Tax Relief Act of 2007'
H.Res. 372—Reaffirmation of American Independence Resolution
H.R. 1153—Parental Right to Decide Protection Act
H.R. 2316—'Honest Leadership and Open Government' Act of 2007
S. 1—The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007
H.R. 3289—Providing Resources Early for Kids Act (Pre—K Act)
H.R. 2015—Employment Non Discrimination Act
H.R. 2343—'Education Begins at Home' Act
S. 667—'Education Begins at Home' Act
S. 1105—Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007
H.R. 2093—To Amend the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
H.R. 1592—Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007
H.R. 984—The 'Executive Branch Reform' Act of 2007
H.R. 325—The 'SPEAK' Act of 2007
H.J.R. 29—Right to Public Education Amendment
H.R. 3685—Employment Non—Discrimination Act Other information:
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Redesign Team necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 13 diseños de 7 diseñadores freelance.
Site has content and tools on employee stock options, restricted stock, employee stock purchase plans, and other types of equity compensation. We are the premier provider of web-based content and tools on these topics. Look under About Us in the very top navigation of the site to learn more about us, including our awards and real testimonials.
This is initial stage of a more comprehensive site redesign. The designer we select will be considered for the redesign of the rest of the site.
We have various visitors, including individuals with stock compensation, ranging from factory workers to senior executives. We also have a large following with professionals including financial advisors, lawyers, accountants, stock plan administrators, compensation and human resource staff/executives, and CFOs.
Redesign of home page for website http://www.myStockOptions.com. Could be major redesign, new focus, or small tweaks.
The designer we select will be considered for the redesign of the rest of the site, which is a much bigger project.
MUST stay within the current width of the site (760px) left aligned, with the header intact. Until we do a comprehensive site redesign and re-examination of the myStockOption.com navigation, assume the header area with the navigation will stay as is. You can suggest changes in it, but only within the fixed width.
Home Page redesign will focus on area below the navigation section.
Alternatively designs you present DO NOT need to use all of these. We are looking for new thoughts on using both what we feature on home page compared to reducing clutter to give home page a new focus
Current Left Side column:
Advisor Directory
quizzes and courses
Featured FAQs
Discussion Forum
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Current Center column:
People Picture with tag line
Three main type of users (individual, corporate, financial advisor)
New & Updated Content
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Individual Article Sections and article titles that link to articles
Rotating testimonials
Current Right Side column:
Visual and Text on Tax Center
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Tools with icons for each one
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CPA Journal logo/testimonial


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American Antiquarian Society honored with Isaiah Thomas Award
This year, RIT's School of Media Sciences honored the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library and learned society in Worcester, Mass., with the Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the industry.
Currently celebrating the 200th anniversary of its founding by the patriot printer and publisher Isaiah Thomas himself, AAS is dedicated to advancing the mission and legacy of its founder. Its vast and highly accessible collection of history, literature and cultural documents spans the life of America's people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Past winners of the Isaiah Thomas Award include RIT's seven Pulitzer Prize-winning alumni who've won a combined 11 Pulitzers in photography (Paul Benoit, Robert Bukaty, Ken Geiger, Stan Grossfeld, Dan Loh, William Snyder and Anthony Suau); Katharine Graham, president, Washington Post Co.; Thomas Curley, CEO and president of The Associated Press; and the late Arthur Sulzberger, chairman and publisher of The New York Times.


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The meaning of the saying "time is money" has never been better illustrated than by those in the landscape industry. The more green you mow in a day, the more green you'll put in your pocket at the end of the day. The key to a successful landscape business is to get the job done, do it fast, do it well, return the equipment to the truck and move on to the next job.
As anyone in the industry can tell you, a lawnmower alone does not a landscape contractor make. Cutting grass is only one of the many duties the job requires. While you could complete a project with only a mower, a pair of clippers and a rake, the time it would take to do hand labor would be cost prohibitive.
It wasn't so many years ago that the large scissor-design manual hedge trimmer was standard equipment on every landscape contractor's truck. I can remember when contractors used clippers to trim weeds and long grass (the chore could take hours on a large piece of property). And what about the rake? It was the most common tool used for yard cleanup. When you think back to the way companies used to operate, it was much tougher for landscape contractors to make a living. Those who did suffered with sore muscles and aching backs. Fortunately, power tools have been created and designed to lower physical stress on you and your crew, increase productivity and thereby increase your profits.
The job of any power-driven machine is to make work easier and faster, so you have more time for other things. In the same way washing machines and clothes dryers replaced scrub boards and clotheslines, power hand tools have also mechanized chores that were traditionally done solely by manual labor.
When Stephen Crowe, founder and owner of Sunshine Landscaping Company, Cherry Valley, Massachusetts, started his business in 1982, a number of tasks his crew performed on a job were done by hand. "I remember how much time it used to take to get sand out of lawns using a hand broom. When power brooms came out, they made this task a lot easier, and faster."
The speed and efficiency of using power tools frees up valuable time and allows you to increase your business by adding more clients. Roger Phelps, of STIHL Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, recalls speaking with a contractor who had just purchased their Kombi- System, a multi-task tool, "He told me that his crew was returning to the warehouse much earlier because they were able to finish the jobs faster."
Flower bed and mulch bed edges erode over time and need to be redefined to maintain a fresh, welcome appearance. The old way to redefine the edge was to use a shovel—but it's tough, time-consuming work. "The bed edger is a great time and back saver over the old hand shovel," says Andy Sykes, owner, Garrett Churchill, Abington, Pennsylvania. "We use it to define new flower beds and redefine existing ones. It cuts a crisp, beveled groove along the turf edge, leaving a manicured finish. It's cut down our work by at least half, if not more."
And the tools are not just for softscape. Cliff Raitz, founder and owner of Terra-Scapes, Costa Mesa, California, has his favorite tools as well. His company specializes in waterscapes and has been in business for more than 15 years. His tools of choice are handheld electric breaker hammers with diamond head spades, and grinders.
"Grinders are like chain saws, but with a big diamond, instead of a steel blade," Raitz says. "We use them to cut rock. They're very powerful. Some of our most productive handheld tools are the 4" grinders with 4" diamond blades on them. We use them for cutting and scoring rock, and cutting concrete in small areas. For digging, we use small electric breaker hammers. They only weigh about 45 lbs. and are especially versatile for doing rock features. It's certainly easier and quicker than doing the job by hand."
It's not only the task that dictates what power tools to use, but the jobsite's location as well. For Carlos Chavarria, owner of Total Properties Services in Stamford, Connecticut, his favorite power tool is the string trimmer. Because of the very rocky terrain in the Connecticut area, he can trim the grass and weeds without having to worry about breaking a propeller blade, or straining his back. "The string trimmer doesn't toss pebbles around and the rocks won't damage the string," Chavarria said.
Saving even a small number of minutes can make a big difference in the landscape industry. The time spent driving a tractor back and forth to change a bucket to an auger to a stump cutter and back can add up fast. Power Trac, Tazewell, Virginia, solved this
An organized, easy-to-see interior makes these trucks an ideal vehicle for landscape contractors. It features a rear ramp for easy off-loading of mowers and other equipment.
Photo courtesy: Super Lawn Trucks problem by manufacturing not only the attachments and the tractor, but a trailer that carries them all to the jobsite.
This all-in-one product, the MultiCutter System, has eight different attachments.
Photo courtesy: Maruyama U.S. Inc
"It's the best time-saving device, because the crew doesn't have to stop working if you need to drive the truck away from the jobsite to pick up supplies," says Kristie Asbury of Power Trac. "All the attachments stay right there on the trailer, onsite, along with the tractor. So instead of having to drive all the way back to the truck to change out the equipment, which could take a half-hour or more, now it only takes the crew a few minutes."
While productivity and time-saving elements are essential to landscaping tools, versatility is also part of the equation. A number of companies are offering a variety of attachments with one power unit. A Swiss Army knife of landscape products, the MultiCutter system offered by Maruyama U.S., Inc., Denton, Texas, can be the hand power tool that is the equivalent to Power Trac. This all-in-one product can adapt to almost any application. "Our system is adaptable for a number of uses and is available with eight different attachments, including an edger, a hedge trimmer, a landscape blade and a pruner. You choose whatever tool you want to use, slip it into the holster and away you go," says Mark Dyos, operations manager at Maruyama.
Crowe agrees. "With an all-in-one interchangeable unit, I can send one crew out with one tool and they can swap the heads so they don't have to bring so many different tools on the truck. They're much more productive because they can do a variety of things with one tool."
Edgers, blowers, trimmers, augers, chain saws and more, all play an integral part in the day-today operation of the landscape business. "Having all the necessary tools ready to go in one place not only cuts down on time, but keeps the equipment clean and safe," says Tony Bass, owner of Super Lawn Trucks, Fort Valley, Georgia.
In 1998, he created the first landscape "warehouse on wheels."
Bass, a landscape contractor, designed the inside of a truck body—or a trailer—to carry all the equipment needed on a job. This landscape equipment transport carries and stores the tools in an organized, easy accessible manner.
"The one reason people don't carry everything on their trucks is that they don't have adequate room. Most people use trucks where the equipment, at the end of the work day, has to be off-loaded and carried into a shop for secure storage, then re-loaded on the truck the next day. Inadvertently, the crews will miss putting some hand tools or some power equipment onto the truck," Bass said.
"Keeping an entire truck full of equipment allows companies to carry more supplies. Not only do the trucks have room for lawn mowers, but they also have ample hanging storage space on the walls. Equipment is now off the floor and stored neatly and everything is organized."
The downside
Bass says that contractors lose between $1,000 and $1,300 per crew, per year, due to equipment being left on jobsites or falling off trucks. Too many crews simply toss the equipment into the back of the pickup, paying little attention to where the tools fall, or what falls on them.
Carelessness can be very costly and damaging to your trimmers, mowers and blowers. It reduces the effectiveness and decreases the lifespan of your tools. One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to teach your crews the proper way to transport the equipment. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. The right way will save you time and money. The wrong way will add to your costs.
Proper maintenance of the power tools is also essential to the efficiency and productivity of the tool.
Trimming with a dull blade can almost be as painful and time consuming as shaving with a dull razor. Sure, you'll get the job done, but not nearly as well, or as fast. Your crews should know how to keep these power tools clean, so they can operate efficiently. You must also stay aware of new laws and regulations that govern your business. A small violation of a noise ordinance can be very costly.
One of the most common power tools in the landscape profession is the backpack blower. These blowers complete the cleanup job in a quarter of the time it would take using a manual rake, but as blowers became more popular, the noise and air pollution they caused became a serious problem.
Since most landscape crews start their workday at 7:00 a.m., they could get to their first client at about 7:30 a.m., when some people are just beginning their morning routine. Once the mowing is finished, the crew member revs up the backpack blower to complete the job. If you're the next-door neighbor, your quiet morning is now shattered by deafening sounds and obnoxious smells coming from your neighbor's yard.
As the backpack blower gained more popularity with the landscape contractor, it didn't take long for homeowners to sound the battle cry; "There needs to be a law!" More and more local governments began to be bombarded by complaints, and more and more city ordinances were enacted. Combined with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restrictions on decibel noise levels and emission control standards, and well, you can see where this is going.
Trimming trees from the ground using a telescoping-handle power saw.
Photo courtesy: Husqvarna
Today, more than 400 cities and towns nationwide have either banned blowers completely, or passed strict noise regulations along with limitations as to the hours they can operate.
They're listening
Equipment manufacturers heard the message loud and clear, and have responded above and beyond the call. They've not only found a way to lower the noise and emission levels—even below government standards—but have also improved efficiency and integrated new ergonomic designs to help relieve operator stress.
"Emission levels have been lowered by as much as 60%," says Pam Everett, Husqvarna's business development manager. "Since we've introduced our 'Quiet Blower,' we've reduced the sound level to 64 dB by utilizing a newly developed, high-powered engine with noise-dampening material in the housing.
"While we manufacture many excellent products, we feel the most important tool on the landscaper's truck is the crew. While it's important to keep the blades sharp, and the engines oiled, it is equally important to keep the human component happy, healthy and productive," continues Everett.
Toward that goal, using ergonomics to lessen fatigue has been a spotlight for Husqvarna. "The crew needs to be comfortable with the work they're doing. The less stress on a person's body, the better they'll be able to do their job," Everett said.
Choosing and using the right power tools for your company and your crew can make all the difference in this highly competitive market. If you "sweat the details" today, you'll achieve huge success tomorrow.


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In the year 2005 a lot of people and organizations participated in the debate on the future of MMBase. There were -and are- many different views on the road ahead. In the autumn of 2005 this led to the conclusion that if we want to move ahead, we need a board that represents the whole community: developers, users and technical partners.
At the annual meeting of the MMBase Foundation (December 2005) a concrete proposal to install a technical board (in Dutch 'het technisch comité') was discussed and approved.
The developers proposed two candidates, as did the users and technical partners.These persons 'represent' their colleagues. The Foundation acts as host and guides the process. The members of the technical board are (on behalf of):
-developers: Michiel Meeuwissen and Johannes Verelst;
-users: Ronald Vendelmans (Amsterdam), Arjan van Krimpen / Rob de Bruin (Kennisnet);
-service providers: Martijn Verhoeven (MAG Productions), Henk Hangyi (Finalist);
-foundation: Jo Lahaye.
For an overview of the MMBase Community see http://www.mmbase.org/mmbase/images/50545
This pages shows an overview of the minutes of meeting of the technical board:


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– WWE's website updated their preview for tonight's RAW and acknowledged Vince McMahon's off-camera return after last night's Survivor Series pay-per-view went off the air. They wrote the following:
"After an action-packed 27th Annual Survivor Series, WWE Champion Randy Orton found himself in a surprising staredown with World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. The tense moment drew the attention of Mr. McMahon, who stormed into the arena after the pay-per-view went off the air. As WWE TLC fast approaches, here are five reasons to catch tonight's Raw, featuring an appearance by Super Bowl Champion Michael Strahan."
Backstage News on Vince & The Authority, Revealing NXT Diva Photos, More


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Need Help?
Click here for help with
the STITCHES Online
Registration System.
Registration is closed for this event...
Thursday 02/19/2015, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Skill LevelIntermediate
Class Hours3
TeacherSusanna Hansson
View Susanna's profile
Japanese Short Rows with Susanna HanssonShort rows are an elegant way to shape your knitting and are the perfect way to finish off shoulders and build collars that lie flat. Japanese short rows are done without using the wrap-and-turn. Although they are a little tricky to learn, 'stair-step' shoulder bind-offs will be a distant memory once you master this technique. Complete your short rows with an elegant Japanese bind-off.
SuppliesSmooth, #4 (worsted weight) wool in 2 contrasting colors (light-medium colors); appropriate needles (aim for gauge of 18-20 sts/4"); 24" or longer circular needles (NO STRAIGHT NEEDLES PLEASE); third needle (circular or straight) in the same size used to make swatches; 7 or more removable stitch markers safety-pin style.
If you have questions about the supplies or homework, please contact the teacher at email@example.com.
Sharp scissors, notebook, pen or pencil with an eraser, stitch markers, blunt tapestry needles (large and small), flexible tape measure, small calculator, and needles & crochet hooks of various sizes.
HomeworkMake 2 swatches according to the directions below. We will continue knitting on both swatches using the contrasting color.
Swatch 1: With color 1 cast on 40 sts. Work 5 rows of ribbing. Continue in St st until the swatch measures approximately 3" (end after completing a knit row). Leave about a 4" tail and keep the swatch on the needle ready to begin a purl row.
Swatch 2: With color 2, repeat Swatch 1 but end ready to begin a knit row.
Leave both swatches on needles.


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Sunday, June 16, 2013, 11:12 - Books, dictionaries and texts
Posted by Administrator
Posted by Administrator
My corrections for "The Virgil Encyclopedia" have gone through. A truly worthwhile endeavor. Just wish it was not so expensive! I am lucky to have the PDF proofs for future reference. Sadly, there will not be too many new projects like that resulting in paper books. That time has passed...


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I was thinking of removing the statpress plugin for quite some time now, but did not have a good alternative. Today finally I managed to do this as I had few hours to spare. Now that this is done, you should not be getting the database error that some of you on IE were getting and also should have a nicer experience in terms of page load time.
Related articles
- CR Post to Ping.fm not working – resolved. (amit-agarwal.co.in)
- Compare Two Websites Load Time & Learn Which Website Loads Faster (basnettips.wordpress.com)
- Unix shell script for removing duplicate files (amit-agarwal.co.in)
Link to this post!


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Google contributes $16 million in taxes, free wi-fi and thousands of jobs to the Mountain View, but the city council may be beginning a backlash against the tech giant for its increasing footprint in the city.
Much of the latest problem stems from Google's plans to build bridges over Stevens Creek, which would cause part of the popular trail to be closed during construction, according to the Wall Street Journal. Another reason is Google's footprint could seem to be increasing. One city council member, Laura Macias, questioned Google's plans to tear down a few buildings and rebuild denser ones with corporate housing, saying "it changes the entire complexion" of the area.
Google should be a little worried. The council plans on developing its general plan which would establish long-term land-use goals -- which could be in conflict with Google's.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Google stayed classy in its comments on its relationship with the city, "In the 12 years that Mountain View has been our home, we've worked with the city to give back to the community. We look forward to continuing this relationship well into the future."
Aside from the tax revenue, free wi-fi and jobs, Google has been pretty generous to the city by offering local schools $1 million and signing leases with $30 million given up front. While Mountain View can certainly oppose any business in its city limits, it's coming close to slaughtering its cash cow.


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With only five days to go until the kickoff of the new National Competition, NZRL Football Manager Tony Kemp is anticipating a competitive new look competition in all three grades, "Having been around the regions with Community camps and Hearts camps it is obvious that the passion and commitment for quality rugby league is at an all time high. There was a lot of competition for places on these teams and everyone has worked hard to prepare."
"The Zones have taken great care to choose coaches, trainers and managers with the qualifications and experience needed to get the best from their teams, the players have gone through a rigorous selection process and attended Heart Camps in their Zones. They completed a Drug and Alcohol workshop with Drug Free Sport, along with presentations about player pathways and nutrition by NZRL Football Department staff. Everyone is well prepared and we are really looking forward to seeing how they all get on."
New Zealand Rugby League formed seven Zones following a review in 2009, and the Northern, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Upper and Lower Central, Wellington and Southern Zones will field teams at all three grades in the new competition.
The Premiers will compete for the Albert Baskerville Trophy; the 17s for the Mark Graham Cup and the 15s will be competing for the Nathan Cayless Cup.
Each team has been selected based on trial performance in their Zone and will feature players from most if not all contributing districts.
The first round kicks off on 29 August when South Island take on Heartland in Christchurch and the Orcas play Waicoa Bay in Wellington.
Full details of the competition, the draw, fixtures and results can be found on the NZRL website www.nzrl.co.nz on the Our Schedule / National Competition page.


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JESSUP, Md. (AP) — Maryland inmates are growing American chestnut seedlings for a group hoping to restore the once dominant tree.
Inmates at the Patuxent Institution near Jessup plan to hand over 600 seedlings to the American Chestnut Foundation on Wednesday. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says the 18-inch seedlings were grown in a prison greenhouse for the foundation. In addition to providing seedlings for restoration efforts, inmates receive a certificate for completing Master Gardener coursework.
The American chestnut was known as the "redwood of the East" before a blight struck early in the 20th century. The fungus was believed to have come from chestnut trees imported from Asia and by the 1950s the tree was all but extinct. The foundation is now trying to develop trees resistant to the blight.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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My post this week is about a treasure of very personal sort — more than a decade in the making (and it's still not finished!). Back in high school, I started saving scraps of denim whenever I turned a worn pair of jeans into a pair of cut-off shorts. I originally planned to make pillows out of them. In college I learned to quilt, and so the denim scraps that had been piling up for years found their purpose.
During winter break of my senior year of college, I started piecing together the first square. That was nearly 11 years ago. The quilt is a sampler (each block is a different pattern) and I accented the denim with pieces of other clothing. One block has pieces of the dress that I wore for high school graduation. Another includes flannel from my grunge days. Over the years, I obtained used pieces of clothing from friends that they planned to discard — some thought I planned to wear the dresses/shirts myself. Others knew I was really going to cut the material into strips for quilting.
Now, some of the quilt's blocks contain pieces of a shirt from a college roommate. Other blocks have a floral pattern from a dress a former coworker and dear friend gave to me. I love the quilt all the more for the people and times that I recall as I work on it.
After I finished piecing the blocks I bought yards and yards of thin denim for the borders on the top of the quilt and to make the backing. The top, backing and a thin layer of batting are basted together and I'm in the quilting stage right now. The quilting is also sampler-style, with different patterns along the border and in each block. The layers are so thick, and the quilting needle I use is so long and sharp, that I must improvise a thimble using a metal spoon in order to protect my fingers.
The quilt is queen-size and completely covers me as I work on it. It is so heavy (mostly due to all that denim) that I can really only work on it during the winter. It's actually been several years since I did so (like many things, it took a backseat to grad school). I'm determined to get back to work on it again now that the weather is turning colder. It will no doubt be several more years before I can finally finish the edges and call it done. Not unlike a scrapbook, it documents nearly half of my life thus far. Every stitch has been done by hand. It is my opus.


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Saqib KhanwebSite
I'm Saqib Khan from New York; I work as a IT Consultant & Specialize in Ecommerce applications & solutions. if you need help with any ecommerce related project please feel free to contact me at khansoul^yahoo.com (Replace ^ with @).
Thanks for visiting, this site still needs a lot of work. This website is under development, currently you are visiting demo page. Thanks for visiting
Tags: Sakib Khan, Saquib Khan, Sakib, Saquib, Saqib


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Classes are currently being taught online. All physical facilities are closed to the public at this time, and employees are working remotely.Please visit
dcccd.edu/coronavirus for additional information and to
find contact information for various departments.If you need additional assistance, please visit
My Community Services and our
Community Employment Resources.
This article appeared in a May 2016 issue of the student newsletter.
Not one, but two DCCCD colleges were crowned with national titles in the 2016 RecycleMania tournament.
Richland College won the RecycleMania's Grand Champion category with a recycling rate of more than 82% on campus. North Lake College won the Waste Minimization category, with a cumulative weight of four pounds of waste and recycled materials per person over eight weeks — the lowest rate of any college in the country.
The 2016 RecycleMania tournament featured 350 schools participating from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. In addition to North Lake and Richland, only one other college took home a national top prize: Loyola Marymount University, which won the Per Capita Classic. All national winners are recognized with an award made from recycled materials.
The colleges of DCCCD had a strong presence in several categories of RecycleMania, including Waste Minimization, which focuses on reducing overall waste on campus (including recyclables).
Nationally, out of 114 schools competing in the category, North Lake College claimed first place in Waste Minimization for the sixth time in the last nine years. Eastfield College claimed second place in the same category, with Mountain View placing sixth and Richland 12th.
"At North Lake we focus on zero-waste and source reduction. This includes reducing, reusing and recycling," explains Steve Schellenberg, senior associate director of facilities services at North Lake College.
At the state level, Dallas Community Colleges also scored high in waste reduction, claiming the top four spots in Texas for Waste Minimization.
"We can all continue to learn from one another's efforts," said John Watson, director of facilities management at North Lake.
A key category for sharing best practices? How to engage freshman students. Every year the colleges each must effectively communicate their zero-waste and/or recycling program to incoming students. That effort involves everyone — from marketing specialists and facilities managers to student life directors and orientation leaders.
Georgeann Moss, co-chair of Sustainable DCCCD, enjoys hearing the colleges present best practices at districtwide council meetings and workshops, such as the annual Sustainability Summit or Summer Learning Institute.
"DCCCD is a system of seven independently accredited colleges," says Moss. "We enjoy a little friendly competition from time to time; but the colleges also share what they learn with their sister colleges so
that the entire system can progress more rapidly on our journey toward sustainability. We are proud of all of the colleges' accomplishments!"
Richland's recycling rate of 82% is impressive. It shows that not only does the college practice sustainability in its facilities management, but also that students are actively engaged in living green. Sonia Ford, sustainability coordinator at Richland College, says faculty involvement is the colleges' secret sauce.
"Faculty are crucial to developing sustainable students," shares Ford. "For the district mission to be fulfilled, we have to have engaged students, and it takes faculty involvement. Really, it takes all of us working together towards that common goal."
Art faculty at North Lake College are one of many faculty groups at the Dallas Community Colleges working together to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. So far, the impact has been huge.
"For photography students we have the Favorite Tree Photo Contest, and for our drawing students we host a sidewalk chalk competition with a sustainable theme," explains Brett Dyer, art professor. "We even create upcycled art in the classroom, collecting trash at campus events and later turning it into art."
The "upcycled" art Dyer mentions turned out to be more than a creative class project, however. It also led to RecycleMania choosing North Lake College as one of two national winners for the "Waste-Less, Promote More Engagement and Innovation Case Study." North Lake students also participated in waste assessment labs, working with faculty and staff to estimate the college recycling rate and spot waste behavior trends.
"RecycleMania participants have again demonstrated innovations in recycling and new ways to reduce waste," says Stacy Wheeler, president of RecycleMania, Inc. "These campus efforts will influence students' lifelong recycling habits, which will ultimately help to address some of the planet's most pressing challenges."
Speaking of student engagement and recycling habits, Cedar Valley College is definitely seeing a change for the better amongst its population. Sustainability Coordinator Brett Cease recently commented on the college's 2016 RecycleMania results:
"Even though Cedar Valley didn't make it as high up as the other stellar placements of our sister campuses, after eight weeks of hard work, we improved our campus' record to finish 34 places higher than we did last year. This is in terms of our overall total amount of recycling collected on campus, which was just shy of two tons of recycled paper, bottles, cans and cardboard."
The colleges' efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle during the 2016 RecycleMania tournament (Feb. 7 – April 2) had a substantial effect on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Cumulatively the colleges' efforts eliminated 454 metric tons of CO2, the same as taking 89 cars from the road.
The colleges of DCCCD also support GHG reductions year-round through partnerships with DART, Dallas' metro rail. Students and staff are eligible for reduced DART passes, and two of the colleges have stops right on campus (El Centro and North Lake). Fewer drivers on the road means fewer emissions. Every gallon of gas drivers save keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Sure, RecycleMania is a fun national tournament, but is recycling truly cost-effective?
Examining DCCCD's Trash Disposal and Recycle Services Agreement, most of us would answer yes.
Recycling services at the colleges range from $43.68 per month at Cedar Valley College to $277.44 at El Centro College (Main). This is significantly less than the total monthly cost of trash disposal services at the colleges, which range from $103.92 per month at El Centro College (West) to $1,117.14 at Brookhaven College.
The colleges' decisions to minimize waste and increase recycling is good for the Earth and their college budgets.
"All our money comes from recycling … cardboard, paper, materials," said Jerry Owens, director of facilities management at Richland College. "In the last three to four years we've probably earned $21,000 from recycling."
So, to put a period on this article, exactly how much waste do the colleges generate?
"Our GHG calculator shows 40 short tons, or 80,000 pounds, of total waste at all NLC locations in 2014," noted Watson.
And what will the 2016 waste total reveal?
"That is up to you," answers Watson, smiling and looking sideways with a Cheshire cat grin. His statement echoes the wisdom of scientist Margaret Mead who once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." For more information on sustainability initiatives at the colleges of DCCCD visit www.dcccd.edu/green. Recent sustainable projects at the colleges include Brookhaven's new Windmill Garden, Cedar Valley's new Environmental Learning Area and — beginning this fall — Richland's Living Lab.


text: Looks like I missed some Etna action over my week in the field, but I'll get to that later this week. However, I thought some images from the field trip to eastern California showing the volcanic highlights might be in order. Enjoy! All images by Erik Klemetti Red Hill Cinder Cone One of our first stops in California was Red Hill Cinder Cone, near Fossil Falls. People don't tend to think about basaltic volcanism in California when places like Shasta, Lassen Peak and the Long Valley Caldera make all the news, but there are multiple volcanic fields that host a bevy of cinder cones. Red Hill is one of those Quaternary or younger cinder cones. It sits just to the west of the rhyolitic Coso dome field and both types of volcanism are related to the extension in the Basin and Range, where the crust under Owens Valley is thinned due to upwelling mantle material. Anytime you have upwelling mantle, you likely get melting of the mantle, producing basalts. Red Hill Cinder Cone is a manifestation of this magmatism. The cinder cone is being mined for, well, cinder, that is used to treat slippery roads and this shot caught the first light of day hitting its summit.Big Pine Volcanic Field Further north from Red Cinder is the Big Pine Volcanic Field, another cinder cone field that is the product of the basaltic magmas rising through the crust under Owens Valley, usually along faults on the edges of the valley. Research at the Big Pine Volcanic Field show that these basalts are sourced upwards of 45 km down.Megacrysts On the west side of the Owens Valley is the Sierra Nevada batholith, the solidified remains of a volcanic arc, specifically the magmatic systems beneath now eroded volcanoes. One of the spectacular features of the some of these granites are megacrysts, or giant crystals, found in the rocks. This megacryst was in a boulder near Lone Pine, California, far from its source. Many of the boulders strewn around the Owens Valley fault scarp in Lone Pine have these megacrystic potassium feldspars, some of which were over 10-12 cm across.Panum Crater At the very northern end of the Owens Valley lies Mono Lake and the Mono-Inyo crater chain. Near the southern shore of Mono Lake is Panum Crater, a small crater and dome formed in the last few hundred years. You can hike up to the top of the dome and along the way you will likely find these chunks of rhyolite that show beautiful breadcrust texture. This texture is due to the hot interior of these blocks continuing to expand while the cool exterior hardens and then cracks - a little bit like popcorn.Mono Lake This view across Mono Lake shows the famous tufas (freshwater carbonates) in the foreground. However, the volcanic stars of this image are the dark hill on the far side of the lake (Black Point) and the island in the middle (Paoha Island). Black Point formed when Mono Lake was much higher, likely around 12,000 years ago while Paoha Island is a cryptodome, a location where magma pushed its way towards the surface but never erupted. Paoha Island is mostly lake sediment pushed up and out of the lake, possibly as recently as 350 years ago.Hot Creek, Long Valley Caldera The dominant volcanic feature in the Owens Valley is the Long Valley caldera. The caldera was formed ~760,000 years ago in the eruption that deposited the famous Bishop Tuff. One of the few pieces of evidence that magma still resides under the caldera is the hot springs in the middle of the caldera, including Hot Creek. Looking around Hot Creek, it seems clear that activity at the hot springs was much more vigorous in the past and is fairly subdued now. This would support Wes Hildreth's assertion that the magmatic system under the caldera is "moribund" (Hildreth, 2004).Pumice Quarry, north of Bishop One of the great aspects of the Long Valley caldera is how well exposed are many of the volcanic deposits. The students here are examining an outcrop of pumice flows and fallout from the ~0.76 Ma Bishop Tuff eruption. If you read the rocks carefully, you can see individual pyroclastic flows and the waxing/waning of the eruption, all likely occurring in the timescales of days to hours - probably better than being there when it happened!Ubehebe Crater After being stymied by construction during our department trip to Death Valley in 2010, we finally got to see Ubehebe Crater. This crater is the product of basalt rising through the crust and intersecting water near the surface - and that combination leads to explosions. If you look at the loose material that makes up the walls of the crater, you'd see a lot of clasts of the pre-existing bedrock mixed in with the new tephra (volcanic chunks), supporting the idea that these eruptions that likely occurred in the last few hundred to thousands of years were explosions.


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An occasional series featuring our readers' tales of momentary sports glory. If you've got a video of your own brush with athletic greatness, send it to firstname.lastname@example.com, subject: Glory Days.
The guy in the blue jersey wearing No. 50 in the video above is Chuck Plzak. (It's a primitive recording, taken in 1984, so try to ignore the sounds of heavy breathing.)
Plzak was a middle linebacker for the Dallas Wildcats, a semipro team playing the Fort Worth Drillers. As you can see, at various points Plzak blocks a punt for a touchdown, intercepts a pass, makes a ton of tackles, and strips a ballcarrier before taking the ball back for another touchdown—all in the same game.
The video was sent to us by Plzak's nephew, Tyler. Plzak played in college at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and also played a season of semipro ball in Rockford, Ill. He said he had tryouts with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, plus the USFL's Houston Gamblers, San Antonio Gunslingers, and Los Angeles Express.
This is Plzak's take on the above video:
I was 24 years old. I had games similar; I had just tried out for the Cowboys in '84 but didn't make it and got asked to play in this semipro league. When they voted for the all-league team, your coach was supposed to nominate you. But my coach told me before he could even try, three other coaches stood up and nominated me. I had 25 tackles in one game. We were undefeated but lost in the championship game. It just makes me wish I would have tried harder to get another shot in the NFL.


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Rich2 necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 74 diseños de 10 diseñadores freelance.
How to Get Google Certified and Kick Start a New Career
I am a serial online entrepreneur and this idea has been kicking around for a few years. Every friend and family member I know who has been certified as a google ad words professional gets tired of staring at the computer and ends up burning through printer cartridges printing out the google study material. Hello? How about an old fashioned book as a study guide so we can study on the couch, on the train, by the pool, highlight and underline. Books, are, after all, how all of us learned and the form factor is tried and tested (wireless, no battery issues, portable). The very smart and talented folks at Google have not released a book so I am having the entire ad words training center re written by an instructional design expert. The book is positioned for "the rest of us" and should convey an air of simplicity- the anti geek approach. You can make up the title as well as the look and feel. Then I will use the "wisdom of the crowds" by buying google ad words and testing the various titles to see which title and which treatment gets the most response.
This is one of the key creative challenges I am trying to solve through this process. There are two general approaches to take. OPTION ONE- We can simply position the book as the "Missing Manual" or 'Unofficial Study Guide to becoming Google Ad Word Certified". This will appeal to those folks who have already decided to pursue certification.
OPTION TWO is to present the book as a career change guide. For example " JOB 2.0- Reinventing yourself and your career by becoming Google Ad word certified. Millions of people are unemployed and could buy the book, use the Google training and be in demand as a certified ad words professional. The average pay for search engine marketing professionals is $70,000, almost twice the average US Household average income. Why be an unemployed recent college graduate when, with a little post graduate google training you could be gainfully employed in a high tech online advertising profession.
The goal is to create a compelling book cover and the design that is chosen will extend to drive the website for the book. I am looking for a catchy title as well as elegant design so dont be afraid to work with different titles and subtitles. Using the "wisdom of the crowds" we will choose the best option. The winning designer will then be re-engaged to help design the companion website.
I will regularly check in on submissions and offer feedback. Please feel free to ask questions, take risks and make suggestions.


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Report: Manning neck exam will determine future past this season
Depending on the results of an offseason examination of his surgically-repaired neck, Peyton Manning could be playing his final NFL games this postseason, ESPN reported Sunday.
Citing sources, ESPN reported that Manning has a clause in his contract mandating the exam. If his neck, operated on three years ago while he was still an Indianapolis Colt, is found to still be stable, he plans to return to the Broncos for a third season in 2014.
But if the exam reveals a risk to his health, Manning will consider retiring. Manning will not make the decision based on the outcome of the current playoffs. Manning and the Broncos faced the San Diego Chargers Sunday in Denver in the AFC divisional playoffs.
Manning missed the entire 2011 season after the surgery and was waived after the season after 14 years with the Colts. He has not missed a regular-season or playoff game since joining the Broncos, set NFL records this season for touchdown passes and passing yards, and has led Denver to back-to-back 13-3 seasons and No. 1 seeds in the AFC playoffs.


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For those that went shopping early Friday morning to get deals and special savings, many felt cheated, unhappy and badly used by retailers, according to several Facebook posts.
The phenomenon was noticed first by MarketWatch on Walmart's Facebook page, but Press:Here expanded the search to other retailers. Here's what we found.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Jennifer Inman: We are not too happy with Macy's today. . . . We get up to register both of us with a HMDZ wireless speaker reg price 24.99 sale price 9.99 and you ring up for 39.99. This is not even priced that in any of the stores around us. After having to battle this out with a rude manager who then conveniently left the sign and the said merchandise on the table for more people to get gouged.Cindy Todd: How can you have your site go down on Black Friday? Worse yet it says it is for scheduled maintenance!! Way to go Macy's.
Teresa Swanson: The JCP...in Rivergate, TN was VERY disorganized and under staffed, the lines were 2 hours long, the shoe dept. had shoes all over the floors.
Scott Orr: My wife and I were there at 6am when the store opened, and you either didn't have, or had very little of what you were advertising for Black Friday. This wasn't the first time. Very disappointed. You have all year to prepare. No excuses.
Ellen Buckley Campbell: I can't believe your site is down AGAIN! I've deleted cache and cookies like you recommended. But it's not me, it's you. Seriously?
Vicky Morin Mehls: I love shopping at Kohl's on Black Friday. And I fervently hope that this year Kohl's will make enough money to finally invest in a larger amount of shopping carts in their stores.
Pam Klinkenberg: Yea Target. I had the best ever Black Friday experience here in Land O Lakes, FL. So organized, staff very friendly and helpful!! You should be commended for knowing how to do it right. See you again next year!!!
Tiffany Schoonover: We were in line at 7 for the 9pm opening. It was so organized it made for such a pleasant shopping experience. And Chris was amazing he stated rules clearly, 'There will be no running, pushing etc or you will be escorted from the store' He was met with applause and cheering.
What we noticed were the Black Friday complaints weren't limited to in-store purchases, but also anger over online shopping. Perhaps Black Friday may eventually eclipse Cyber Monday?


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Election Section
New: Re-Elect Karen Hemphill for School Board 2010
As current School Board President, what distinguishes me from the other candidates is that I have proven leadership in what it takes to advance student achievement in these difficult economic times. During my tenure and leadership, through careful fiscal oversight and fostering of creative partnerships with the City and other public as well as non-profit agencies (and with the continued support of our community school taxes), the School District has maintained a balanced budget every year for the past four years, while retaining small class sizes; art and music programs; and student support services. Most importantly, with the adoption of the first District-wide student achievement plan (which I championed and led in developing) overall academic achievement has risen, while the District has started to make real progress on the achievement gap that has historically existed among racial groups in our schools. With the decision not to seek re-election of two long-term Board members (Shirley Issel and Nancy Riddle, who both endorse my re-election, as well as do continuing Board members Beatriz Levya-Cutler and John Selawsky), my experience and proven leadership in conducting an open and transparent budget process and advancing data-based, systematic academic growth strategies will be particularly important in continuing the good work, we as a Board have accomplished in the past few years.
And, we have accomplished a lot - just this past year, fifteen of our schools met or exceeded growth targets on the State's Academic Performance Index (API) scores – which uses a multiple ways of measuring academic achievement. Nine out of eleven of our elementary schools now surpass the statewide goal of scoring at least 800/1000 on the API, with Rosa Parks being just three points away from this goal after jumping a remarkable 60+ points this past year. In the past two years, Jefferson and Oxford elementary schools have been designated California Distinguished Schools, and Malcolm X and Washington elementary have been designated Title I Achievement Schools, a recognition for achieving exemplary academic excellence in schools with significant numbers of lower-income students.
Our middle schools have also shown amazing academic growth this past year as well, with both King and Longfellow now surpassing the statewide 800+ API goal and Willard being just twelve points away, after jumping more than 40+ points, two years in a row. After adopting a middle school math improvement strategy, Algebra I test scores have increased 50% this past year – with 100% of our 8th graders now enrolled in Algebra I (statewide only 50% of middle school students take Algebra). And, just this past month, Longfellow was visited by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as a model of achieving math excellence in a school with a diverse student body (Longfellow has the highest math scores of any Berkeley middle school and African American students are achieving above statewide averages for ALL students in math). With this success, our middle schools are now offering Geometry (previously just offered at the high school) for our highest achieving 8th graders.
As Board President, I was on the selection committee for Berkeley High's new principal, a principal who will be an educational leader, focusing upon basics, such as teacher training and accountability, while bringing together the various student, teacher, and parent groups to focus on common interests of advancing academic excellence for all. I have championed raising the bar on educational opportunity at our high schools, through supporting the establishment of International Baccalaureate, Mandarin Chinese, and Green Academy Programs at Berkeley High (where my son is a sophomore) as well as supporting the first college preparatory program at BTech, our continuation high school. And, I have led efforts to partner with our City, university and community college, non-profit, and other community groups to increase resources for academic and social support services to bolster student achievement.
If re-elected, my first priority will be to foster a collegial relationship on the new Board, that will incorporate the ideas and energy of the newly elected while building upon the experience of continuing Board members, so we can continue the remarkable overall student achievement progress that has been achieved over the past four years – while facing some of the most difficult economic times ever. My second priority will be to make sure that we have an open and transparent budget process, based upon data and evaluation so we can focus our increasing scarce resources on what is core to our students' continued academic growth. I also plan to continue leading efforts to partner with the City and other agencies to maximize our academic and student support service resources - especially to continue early and consistent intervention for struggling elementary school students and to support the new, this year, program to address truancy, alcohol and drug issues at our high schools. My last priority in the next few years is to work with our community college; non-profit organizations; and our local information, media, bio-tech, and green private industries, as well as our trade unions to build upon the groundwork laid by our Green Academy, Biotech Academy, internship, and other high school programs to develop a strong career-technical program – to inspire and give real-life experience to our students to continue after high school to become our next innovators, entrepreneurs, artisans and technicians – as a pathway to a fulfilled career.
My widespread endorsements symbolize my commitment and leadership in bringing together our entire community to support our children's academic and personal success. I have been endorsed by the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, the Alameda County Central Labor Council, the Alameda County Democratic Party, several regional Democratic Clubs, the entire current Berkeley School Board, State Senator Loni Hancock, State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, the Mayor and the entire City Council as well as numerous individuals, including, but not limited to, past School Board members Pamela Doolan and Miriam Rokeach; Dan Lindheim, co-chair of the school parcel tax oversight committee; Judy Appel, Executive Director of the Our Family Coalition; Pastor Emeritus George Crespin; Mark Van Krieken, Berkeley High School PTSA co-president, Margit Roos-Collins, Santiago Casal, Michael Miller, Liz Fuentes, and Irma Parker,