text:
Do not deal with either Derek Sindyla (his real name, no idea if he has an account on here) is the one that scammed me, godhatescivic is his friend who has bothered to do nothing, eventually not responding to my pm's, also the one that hooked us up on trading this stuff)
please do not ask for cliffs you have to read everything to understand the situation..Thank you!
EDIT: his paypal email is agape4ever127 at aol.com do not deal with this paypal email
orginal thread http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=389677
edit:He lives in Lakewood, OH
I traded my blown sundown 3000d for Derek's Solo x 12" motor/basket and $150 paypal. He initially said he would send it to my paypal that wed march 4th. The next day(which was Wednesday) I asked out of curiosity where it was. He told me he thought it was Thursday so he didnt have the money(idk how you get dates that mixed up :confused: ) well Then I still didnt have the money until that Sunday March 8th. Then we agreed we would send the stuff out that Monday March 9th. It came and the first thing i did after school was ship my amp out. Then later I texted him saying i shipped it out. He never responded until eventually that night after 3 texts and me saying im going to hold the ship on the amp and have it canceled if he didnt respond about the x being shipped. He immediately responded saying his mom was going to ship it out the next day. This is where I started to become very suspicious. Then next day i received tracking number from godhatescivcs (keep in mind he keeps godhatescivics updated on this because hes the one that gave me tracking number). So on Thursday March 12 I received it. Opened the crated to see there was absolutely NO packaging and the sub DIDNT EVEN FIT in the crate.. But everything looked fine UNTIL i looked around the basket corners to spot this
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...1/PICT1176.jpg (this was wat was all in there for packaging)
After i texted him that day he immediately responded (calling) freaking out that fedex did this (me not surprised knowing there was no packaging). He told me he had it rescheduled for pickup by fedex the next day to have it inspected (he had it insured for 200) He said if worse comes to worse he would send me the other solo x 12" or 200$. Well 2 weeks went by and I heard absolutely nothing from him. I then told his friend what was up and to tell him that i just wanted the other x 12" (because i needed it sold for money for spring break). Also texted Derek asking this on march 26th. So on Thursday March 27th he texted me 4-5 times and called 2-3 while i was in school taking a test so i couldnt answer. I then replied asking him whats up 10 minutes later. He said he needed my address (even though the night before i asked if he had all shipping address correct and he said ya :rolleyes: )
I sent this to godhatescivics on april 1st.
Its been a week almost and still no sub..hes one state over regardless and usps works on saturday.. Where is my sub? I'm becoming very frustrated. I was not able to do **** over spring break because I couldnt have this in time to sell.. Im very tired of this man. Its been almost a month hes had my amp and i still dont have my half of the deal, lousy service. I would do w.e it takes to make the customer happy but apparently thats neither of your guys top priority..
(this was after i texted derek and got no response).
i received THIS back from godhatescivicsI FOUND this odd because when we were previously talking he said he lived 10 minutes from him but hasnt seen him in years.Quote:
call him what do you want me to do im in new york
Well I have called Derek 3-4 times and texted numerous at least 6+ since a week ago with no response. Only response I got from was godhatescivics after i sent this
"tried calling again, left voice mail..no one answered..Im giving it a few more days and labeling both of you as scammers..ive waited..its still not here today.hes not answering your not helping or responding. Im giving you a heads up after a few days, unless this is solved..you both will be labeled scammers."
got this in response (after godhates has been on but rarely responding to my pm's)
i then sent this "This is complete bullshit idc what he says foeQuote:
"he said hes waaiting on fed ex to give him back money"
Him saying he shiped it out lying about it then not responding to my text or callls/voicemail is absurd it's not my prolem what happened with it, there was no packaging I should not be the one out here especially lied to. He also has the time to call/ answer ur call but can't return mine unless I get conformation sub is shipped today or tomorrow or I have 200 in my paypal I'm labeling both u as scammers an alerting his local authorities"
(haven't received a response since as of today April 11th)
Derek cant answer or return any of my calls or text where as before he would do it instantly yet he can answer god's call, or however he got in touch with him..
This is bullshit its been over a month and I havent had my end of the deal yet. And doesnt seem like I will, Last time I called him was yesterday (April 10th) and left a voice mail saying "get back to me" He never responded.
So PLEASE do not deal with either, im out $200 that i really needed for spring break and now since ive been looking and CANNOT find a job. So please stay away from both as they are nothing but lying low life trash..
Btw here are pics of my amp shipped
O and IF ANYONE WANTS DEREK'S POLICE REPORT you can pm me id be happy to forward it
Edit:Btw when I talked to derek that thursday march 11th, he told me my amp got there just fine


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LAURENS - Class 2A No. 3 North Union had little trouble with Laurens-Marathon on Wednesday with a 17-2, four-inning win over the Chargers.
The Warriors finished with 17 hits in the contest led by Allie Ingalls, who went 4-4 with four doubles and three RBIs. Autumn Boland finished 3-4 with six RBIs while Jasmine Clausen was 2-3.
Also Collete Haag was 1-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Cheyanne Boland and Sara Rolling each went 1-3 while Dena Looft was 1-4.
Ingalls earned the win giving up two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
North Union (6-0) was home against Spirit Lake on Thursday. The Warriors host Emmetsburg tonight.
ELC?frosh shut out Tigers
The Estherville Lincoln Central freshman shut out Spencer, 5-0 and 8-0, in a pair of games on Thursday.
Hunter King pitched five innings in the first contest. At the plate, Alex Miller and Zach Snyder each went 2-2 with an RBI. Miller scored twice and Snyder scored once. Danny Christensen was 2-4 with an RBI and Sergio Osornio was 1-2 with an RBI and a run. Also King scored a run and Bryce Mann had an RBI.
In game tow Snyder pitched five innings and also was 1-3 at the plate. Trevor Shryock, Dalton Christoffer, Jack Brashear and Lee Christensen each went 1-2. Brashear had a double and two RBIs. Shryock scored two runs and Osornio, Miller, Budach and Christoffer each scored a run.
The ELC freshmen are at Algona today.
Midgets defeat Bulldogs
The Estherville Lincoln Central Junior Varsity (7-0) kept its unbeaten record intact with an 11-4 win over Algona on Thursday.
The Midgets took advantage of several walks in the first inning to score eight runs.
Carsten Bosch earned the win on the mound giving up four earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and four walks.
At the plate, Hunter King was 3-4 with five RBIs while Bosch was 2-5, Cole Budach was 1-2 with an RBI and Austin Egeland was 1-3.
LeMars blanks Indians
SPIRIT LAKE - Class 3A fifth-ranked LeMars defeated Spirit Lake 8-0 on Wednesday as the Bulldogs gave the Indians their first loss of the season.
Paul Brown took the loss for Spirit Lake as he gave up eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Offensively, Spirit Lake mustered just four hits. Brandon Stoll was 1-3 with a double. Nick Wetzler and Andrew Ites each were 1-3 and Nile Skogerboe was 1-2.
Spirit Lake (6-1, 2-0 Lakes) was home against Okoboji on Thursday. The Indians are at Storm Lake on Monday.
Indians shut out, 13-0
SPIRIT LAKE - Class 4A No. 3 LeMars held Spirit Lake to two hits in three innings as that was all the Bulldogs needed in a 13-0 win on Wednesday.
Bailee Newman took the loss as she pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up 10 runs (five earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Sami Ashland pitched one inning and gave up three earned runs on three hits with one walk. Maddie Richter pitched a third of an inning.
At the plate, Alissa Christoffer was 1-2 and Hayley Robert was 1-1.
Spirit Lake (6-6 overall) was in Swea City to face Class 2A No. 3 North Union on Thursday. The Indians are home against Estherville Lincoln Central tonight.

subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday's U.S.-Panama final in Chicago will mark the conclusion of the three-week-long CONCACAF Gold Cup. But for a small handful of U.S. players, the tournament's end might prove to be just the beginning of a journey that takes them to Brazil for next summer's World Cup.
They have reason to keep their fingers crossed. U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann, like most coaches, favors competition over complacency. As a result he has refused to publicly guarantee anyone a spot on the World Cup team — just as he has refused to rule anyone out. And that has turned the Gold Cup into an audition of sorts for players hoping to make the jump to the first-choice national team.
"It's an opportunity for us to see players coming through the system, and you want to evaluate them and see them in every training session," said Klinsmann, who has used six starting lineups and 23 players this month. "You want to see them every minute they are on the field in order to get a better picture of them toward the World Cup in 2014."
Klinsmann will watch the final from the stands after being suspended by a CONCACAF disciplinary committee for his actions in the waning moments of Wednesday's semifinal win over Honduras. Angered over Costa Rican referee Walter Quesada's refusal to sanction Honduras for a number of rough fouls late in the game, Klinsmann spiked a ball on the turf while yelling at the official. For that Quesada sent him off and CONCACAF added Sunday's final to his penalty as well.
Until then Klinsmann's auditions had gone well, with the B team winning all six of its matches this month, outscoring opponents 25-4 and extending the national team's win streak to a U.S.-record 10 games. Don't expect that streak to end against a game and talented — but ultimately overmatched — Panama, which took the U.S. to penalty kicks before falling the last time it made the Gold Cup final in 2005.
And though the Americans have compiled those gaudy numbers mainly against Belize, Cuba, Guatemala and El Salvador, none of which are ranked among the top 80 teams in the world, Klinsmann has seen enough to be impressed.
Chris Wondolowski, who did not play for the U.S. in World Cup qualifying, scored six goals in his first three games in July despite starting only one of those matches. Defender Clarence Goodson, who has gotten a long look from Klinsmann and his staff, proved dangerous on both ends, scoring twice in five games and setting up two of the Americans' three goals in their semifinal win over Honduras. And keeper Nick Rimando, though rarely tested, made some terrific saves when he was called upon.
"The players that are representing us in this Gold Cup, they clearly know that this is a huge opportunity to prove their value and their case to the coaching staff," said Klinsmann, whose player pool might now be deeper than at any time in U.S. Soccer's 100-year history. "So, two big things: One is to win the competition and two, allow the players to build their case for the World Cup. The door is always open; you never shut the door in soccer to players."
It might not remain open for long, though, because despite their impressive play this month, even the top players on the Gold Cup team face long odds in making the squad for Brazil, should the U.S. qualify.
When the Americans resume World Cup qualifying in September, the best Rimando can realistically hope for is an invitation to camp as the third keeper behind Tim Howard and Brad Guzan, who combined to give up only three goals in six qualifiers. Goodson, meanwhile, is waging an uphill battle for a spot in a congested central defense, where the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez and Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler top a long list of talented players. And up front, Wondolowski is trying to force his way onto a roster than already includes Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson and now Landon Donovan, the one player who has clearly earned a promotion.
With seven goals and seven assists, the former Galaxy captain has accounted for more than half his team's goals in July. And until coming off in the 71st minute of Wednesday's semifinal, he was the only American to have played every minute of every Gold Cup game.
"He's proving the point that he's hungry to come into our picture and always be going forward toward the World Cup qualifying," said Klinsmann, who challenged Donovan to do just that after he took a self-imposed three-month break from soccer on the eve of World Cup qualifying last winter. "With every game he wants to prove that and show that. And he's doing all that.
"Not only on the field but also off the field, how he's reintegrated himself in the group."
After Sunday's final Donovan might not see many in the group again for some time. But Klinsmann is happy to know they're there, giving him choices and providing the team with depth.
"A year from now, you do not know where players will be at or who might have injuries," he said. "You can't look into the future, so we need to find solutions now, deepen our pool and make players understand what we expect from them, introduce them to the high competition in order to get them adjusted to it."


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Tenaris S.A. (NYSE:TS) Q1 2012 Earnings Call April 26, 2012 10:00 AM ET
Giovanni Sardagna – Director, IR
Paolo Rocca – Chairman and CEO
Ricardo Soler – CFO
Alejandro Lammertyn – Managing Director, Eastern Hemisphere Corporation
William Sanchez – Howard Weil
Marcus Sequeira – Deutsche Bank
Ole Slorer – Morgan Stanley
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
Phillips Santos – JP Morgan
Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Q1 2012 Tenaris SA Earnings Conference Call. My name is Karen and I'll be your operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode and we will conduct a question-and-answer session towards the end of this conference. (Operator Instructions) I would like to remind that this call is being recorded for replay purposes.
I'd like to turn the call over to Giovanni Sardagna, the Investor Relations Director. Please proceed sir.
Giovanni Sardagna
Thank you Karen and welcome to Tenaris 2012 first quarter conference call. Before we start, I would like to remind you as usual that we will be discussing forward-looking information in the call and that our actual results may vary from those expressed or implied here-in. Factors that could affect those results include those mentioned in the company's 20-F and other documents filed with the SEC.
With me on the call today are Paolo Rocca, our Chairman and CEO; Guillermo Vogel, Vice President of Finance and Member of our Board of Directors. Ricardo Soler, our Chief Financial Officer; Alejandro Lammertyn, the Managing Director of our Eastern Hemisphere Corporation; and joining us from Huston, Germán Curá, the Managing Director of our North American Operation.
Before passing over the call to Paolo for his opening remarks, I would like to briefly comment our quarterly results. During first quarter of 2012, sales increased 13% to $2.6 billion compared to $2.3 billion recorded in the first quarter of last year. However as anticipated last quarter they decreased 5% sequentially as sales were impacted by lower pipe shipments or HPI and pipe line in addition to lower OCTG shipments in Columbia and Saudi Arabia. Our EBITDA for the quarter reached 700 million, which was 26% higher than the corresponding quarter of 2011 and 2% higher sequentially.
Our EBITDA margin continued to improve reaching 27% due to lower raw material cost and plant our location efficient. Average selling prices in our Tubes operating segments were up 8% compared to the corresponding quarter of last, but flat sequentially.
During the quarter, our sales of high-end seamless products remained stable at 54% of our total seamless volume, but are expected to be higher during the coming quarters of the year. During the quarter, cash provided by our operating activities was over 600 million allowing our net cash position to decrease by just 65 million to almost 160 million after investing more than 500 million in (inaudible) and almost 200 million in capital spend.
Now, I will ask Paolo to say a few words before we open the call to questions.
Paolo Rocca
Thank you, very much Giovanni, and good morning to all of you. This quarter also our sales in shipment came in lower sequentially. We were able to increase our operating income and margin. Thanks to a more efficient cost performance. In the coming quarter we are confident that we can maintain these levels of operating margin on a higher level of sales.
Our sales in North America rose 10% sequentially during the quarter and accounted for 56% of our two operating segments sales, and 52% of our total sales. We are being improving our performance in North America at all levels. This quarter our heat man Mill in Kansas produced a record level of heat treated product our McCarty premium facility in Houston spread a record level of premium joint. And our raw materials business in Canada produced a record level of seamless product. This production record was by substantial reduction in the injury frequency rate in our U.S. mills and reflected the investment we have made in the plants.
The increase in our North American sales also reflect product mix improvement. With the recovery in the Gulf of Mexico and the expansion of shale activity we are selling more premium product and most our welded OCTG product today are heat treated.
Our new (inaudible) 625 premium connection design specifically for complex sales application has had further success Eagle Ford. In Canada also we have expansion of thermal project sales of premium product has increased. This year the spring break up was earlier than last year. But our sales during this quarter were significantly higher than the corresponding quarter of last year.
In South America our sales were affected by the temporary renegotiation of rig construct by eco patrolling Colombia, demand in Colombia is grown rapidly in the – and we are confident that we favorable condition for investment and more than 80 company involve in operation activity, in production activity, the market we continue to grow.
In (inaudible) we announced a 200 million investment program to expand the capacity of our mill, to produce higher value product and better serve the Colombia market for welded and seamless product, and our sales this quarter were affected by a low level of shipment of line pipe for offshore and HPI project.
In addition, sales of ore strategy to Saudi Arabia were lower following (inaudible) stocking of premium product last year. However, in the coming quarter we are seeing a good level of activity in this time of year and we expect higher sale during the year.
Our customer in North Sea, are increasingly recognizing the benefit of using our Dopeless technology over 80% of new order for the North Sea are for Dopeless product. The use of this technology is also advancing in other offshore region such as Sub-Sahara and Africa. Additionally, we received our first order in the eastern hemisphere for the new wedge 625 connection to be used in Pakistan. This product will account for an increasing proportions of our sales going forward.
Two days ago, we announced the successful results of our offer to buy out the minority interest and released our Brazilian subsidiary contract. The transaction to get away the investment in it will strengthen our position to develop and supply the complex product required for the development of the Brazilian offshore industry.
As a whole, it has been a solid quarter based on strong competitive positioning and good performance in our operation.
We can open now the floor for questions.
Question-and-Answer Session
Thank you. (Operator Instructions) The first question we have comes from the line of Bill Sanchez of Howard Weil. Please go ahead.
William Sanchez – Howard Weil
Thank you for taking my call. My question revolves around the operating margin guidance here as we look through the balance of 2012 clearly you guys had a nice pick up here better than we were anticipating for the first quarter, and I am just curious given what appears to us to continue to be a much better product mix which it help overall average selling prices I know you've benefited from lower raw material cost in the quarter, what do are we anticipating on the raw material cost side, is there an expectation that we see build there certainly that at least matches the better mix that we expect from a pricing standpoint, could you perhaps just talk a little bit about your outlook from that perspective?
Paolo Rocca
Well thank you Dave for your question. The – on the raw material cost we do not see major change. We assume some level more or less in line with what we have today maybe we will have some increase in the cost of hot rolled coils that is reflected today in our inventory that will come in our cost of sales in the next quarter but this will not be let's anything too relevant. If we look in the rest of the year also my perception is that we will have and line item and to more or less in line with what we see today.
Now the performance of our mill is improving and also the allocation of material taking into consideration the new mill in Mexico there is very efficient mill is improving in our cost of good is driving some improvement in our cost of goods sold and this is here to stay and hopefully also it could improve overtime while investment, we are taking full advantage of the investment realized.
William Sanchez – Howard Weil
Thanks for the color. My follow-up would be just around the geo markets here, if you will, you noted that you saw revenue up 10% in North America during the quarter, and saw the OCTG segments were down, I am assuming some of the perhaps was due to the downtime that you saw in the first quarter, but as we think about the growing rig count expectations international versus some more flattery kind of outlook in North America, should we start to see better contribution in terms of top line growth coming from the international markets as we move through 2012 relative to North America?
Ricardo Soler
Well I will say that we are expecting a gradual shift into a more complex mix even in North America because the investments realized in premium in heat treatment, in hick man will result in some improvement in our mix overtime. So we can expect this also in North America. In terms of outlook as you were saying, we expect some reduction in gas rates, set, be compensated by consistent increase in rigs devoted to oil and during 2012, rig outlook could be stable, but in the medium term, we should consider even a gradual increase in the condition of prices for oil remain the same and if there is some recovery later in the year or in 2013 of the price of that.
Internationally, we consider gradual increase in the range of between 6% and 8% and also continue to drive or towards more premium product environment. As you know we consider that the increase in deepwater drilling will also drive some increase in our mix. So this is what we have, let say gradually getting into our number during the right of 2012.
William Sanchez – Howard Weil
Okay. And just I am unclear is my assumption that the Saudi Arabia OCTG shipments being down was that a function of the down time in the Saudroca mill during the first quarter, was there something else at work there?
Paolo Rocca
No. I think the slowdown is follow-up of the strong stocking of Saudi Aramco, but I will ask Alejandro to comment on the perspective of demand of activity and upper end demand in Saudi Aramco for 2012 and '13.
Alejandro Lammertyn
Yes. As we have seen Aramco has been purchasing, tailoring last year and we have delivered all their requirements of deep guard during the last two quarters of 2011. This has coming to stock build-up in Aramco we are going to receive and we are going to level during the next quarter but not at the same rate that we have been delivering in 2011.
We had also seen activities in new exploration areas like deepwater red sea but we also been awarded. So, in terms we are not going to see a Aramco that we saw in the last two quarters. We are going to see Aramco at lower level during 2012 because of this stock situation. The rigs also have been stabilizing at the 30 rigs considering also the work –- month in this level we think that we're going to maintain this level in the future.
You're going to see also an increase in our sales in the Eastern Hemisphere and particularly in the mainly due to Iraq where we have – the activity has been picking up particularly ENI restarted heavily in their (inaudible) operation have, we are going to deliver all their requirements through, direct to ENI and through the service company.
William Sanchez – Howard Weil
Thanks again for the time, I will turn it back.
Thank you. Next question comes from the line of (inaudible) from Siemens. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Analyst
All right. Thank you for taking my question. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about your visibility for the growth, the volume growth that you see from Q1 into Q2 for seamless versus (inaudible) even the projects as well. Any comments you might have with regard to the relative growth trajectory for each of those being with those as well that over the course of this year if you didn't if you didn't look up that far? Thanks.
Paolo Rocca
Well that we are seeing – we expect gradual increase in volume in basically in seamless during the next quarter there will an increase in this quarter the mix between welded and seamless has been driven let's say more in favor of oil that this will probably change in the next quarter in favor of seamless. Hen if we look at let's say the rest of the year we should be quite stable, other point but this is what we are expecting. The operational production investment of the company will increase during 2012 in the range of 15% as a whole and consider inflation in the cost of different materials; this will drive and should drive a relative increase also on our sales.
Unidentified Analyst
Thank you. My phone is cracking up, so I am going to pass it over and I'll follow up off line. Thank you.
Thanks for your question. Next question comes from the line of Rafel (inaudible) please proceed.
Unidentified Analyst
Yeah hi good morning thank you for taking my question. The first one I had was on pricing could you update us on how that's successful you've been in the renegotiation of your contracts upturn and deconnection of the pricing from the Pipe Logix?
Paolo Rocca
Well, how I see the pricing. We mentioned this during the last conference call. This is very different market in the low end area of in the more differentiated area. I'd say that in terms of price, we do not expect major change during 2012. Some advantage will come from us from the mix, but we do not expect major change. Basically we expect an environment in which cost will be substantially stable and pricing will stay there. Apart from niche of specialty product in which there could be demand – strong demand, but this is relatively small in sizes and will not have a such big influence of our operations.
As far as the decoupling with Pipe Logix is concern, Pipe Logix has adjusted his mix, but I will ask Germán to comment on how we see let's say the dynamic of Pipe Logix and the dynamic of our prices because this is especially through for concerning for North America.
Ricardo Soler
Thank you, Paolo and in fact this is where we are looking at it. I think Pipe Logix, despite some mix changes that they have done in the last quarter still reflect certainly well, the dynamics or the pricing dynamics of the low end segment in the states which as we all have discussed in the past, if we believe so and so by a big import numbers particularly from Korea, where I said a high-end level premium connection levels, Gulf of Mexico premium connection pricing the situation is purely a lot more driven by a strong situation than not. So I wouldn't really align the pricing strategy that we do on high-end levels in North America anywhere near to how it evolves. That's answer the question.
Unidentified Analyst
Okay. Thank you very much. That's very clear. The other question I had was regarding your strategy in Brazil after the recent announcement and as of today could you tell us how much OCTG sales, you – and whether you see room for significant market share gains of other medium term? Thanks.
Paolo Rocca
Well. As we mentioned we consider the development offshore in Brazil is one of the key development worldwide and we participate in this development first of all to project pipeline production in (inaudible) and also in OCTG in all of the larger diameter and to some extent also in premium connection on our welded pipe with our technology. The technology of Tenaris Blue and the technology that we are using in deepwater application.
The action we have taken is on one side the investment, it is allowing have to consolidate with strong supplier of plates, coils and so to integrate to some extent and to strengthen the position of concept in terms of time, in term of product development for the more demanding application and this will let's say close a gap that we pursue in our positioning in Brazil.
The second action is been investment for the delisting of (inaudible). We successfully – we have been successful in our offer. So the company will be de-listed within this month's will be fully integrated to Tenaris, this will allow us a much closer integration in on every front from supply chain, research and development, product and human resources and all other aspect that could prepare as the full operational Tenaris in the development of offer.
The share of OCTG is shifting, we have a market share that is important in the range of 20%. This has been also historically so, we plan to – to be able to maintain this even the environment which the volume could be increasing.
Every quarter this could change because project are ups and down. For instance in this quarter, project has been relatively weak but in the rest of the year we expect the project business in Brazil also to recovery. So this is where we stand.
Unidentified Analyst
Okay. Thank you very much that's very clear, thanks.
Thanks for your question. Next question comes from the line of Marcus Sequeira of Deutsche Bank. Your line open, please proceed.
Marcus Sequeira – Deutsche Bank
Thank you very much for taking my questions. I have actually two questions, one could you comment about the dynamics of the new of upcoming supply of seamless products, new plants globally and if you think that is it Chinese or the other producer Korean they could at some point be a treat in the high end market as well and also if you comment on or more on the situation North America or specially in Argentina given the current or the recent developments there if you have seen there was any risk for your business in Argentina? Thank you.
Paolo Rocca
Well the first question let's say the overall worldwide market for let's say for seamless and OCTG pipe this is a market that is growing over time you can see these growing differentially between the premium product and the more standard product. You can expect the less demanding application to grow at compound annual growth rate in the rage of 4% and the premium market to grow in a range of around 9%. So gradually the shade of more differentiated market is increasing depending driven by the nature of the investment of the oil company.
China is also spending capacity. There is a clear over capacity in China, in the low end market and this is for sure effecting and competing with some of our business especially in Southeast Asia, but also in other part. Korea as we were mentioning is clearly competing strongly in welded pipes, for instance in other states, but in the low end part of the market. Most of the material, they are moving is non heat treated material into the United States.
Clearly we have no pricing power there. We pursue the excess capacity, but this is only a part of the story. If we look at the overall positioning of Tenaris, really Tenaris is made up of a substantial position in high end product and of niches in which we can differentiate ourselves on product and service, on industrial excellence and in value added on this.
Will this scenario change? I don't think so. I think that the excess capacity in the low end business will be compelling for the coming year. Will Chinese Korean be able to be very consistent in entering into the high end part of the markets? From my point of view this – the answer up to now is no, that is they have long way to go in many of the segment of high end before they can face the demand and the complexity of that today project are requiring and accommodate let say respond to the requirement of consistency and risk management that the oil company are asking from the industry today, especially in environment like the deepwater or premium or high pressure, high temperature complex application.
As far as the decision on Argentina, (inaudible) not effecting our activity we are operating absolutely normally. Our plans are – I mean, we are realizing the investment that we are – we were planning for the upgrading of the plant in Argentina. We have plan of investment in Siderca that we are carrying on actually and from Argentina we are supplying our operation all around the world. For time being we have no, nothing is affecting us and we do not thing these, there will be any changes in the present situation.
As far as the dynamic of the Argentina market and the exploitation, let say the exploration production activity in Argentina is concerned and independently from every changes that could be happening in the industry. What we see that Argentina has a very strong resource basis in shale's for gas, for oil, gradually everybody is coming to let's say understanding the size of the resources and what I think is that sooner or later this resources will be developed. So, we pursue this as an opportunity.
Marcus Sequeira – Deutsche Bank
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your question. Next question comes from Ole Slorer of Morgan Stanley. Please proceed.
Ole Slorer – Morgan Stanley
Thank you very much and thank you for the call. On the expansion on the premium as a percentage of the mix from 54% towards 60%. This sounds like this is going to be the biggest driver of the growth outlook. So, I wonder if you could just share a little bit more with us the mix of this expansion, is it driven by offshore or is it driven by travel services other than the any shell directed maybe changes. How would you kind of help us build a rolled map from 54 towards let's say something higher?
Paolo Rocca
Thank you Ole for the question. I think he is really something that we see going on in every segments. It's clearly a strong driver in North America. It is so in offshore worldwide. We'll see this from the North Sea to West Africa to South East Asia. It also depends on the fact that maybe where attracting from some of the low end application and so the share of premium is increasing in our mix because in the end the market that is growing without concentration on this.
It is also driven by increase in premium demand in Mexico in any other country of Latin America. So I would say it's something that is spread across all of our regions, where today as you were saying in the range of 54 but thanks to investment realized and the increased capability and the penetration of our technology in the different segment this will increase. We hope to arrive soon at 60% and we are continuously planning on how to bring this percentage higher and to increase in absolute term the – our sales in this segment and also percentage wise.
Ole Slorer – Morgan Stanley
Could you talk a little bit about how the industry is responding with respect to capacity, I mean you are building in Mexico, Veracruz is adding in Brazil and then in the U.S. what else is going on and how do you see the capacity or how do you see that your market share of the premium markets is developing over the next quarter?
Paolo Rocca
We are seeing there are there is a capacity addition but capacity as I mentioned in the last conference call is different when you talk about capacity of rolling or treatment of the premium. If we really think of the capacity that is competing with us in the high end part of the market. The additional – relatively limited to the one that you mentioned and few other. Today in China, there is additional capacity and plans will be commissioned during 2012 and 2013, China has impressive overall capacity till today and this will get even more dramatic in 2013, and you will see these reflected in the results, all the – not only the pipe related companies, but the steel companies in China.
In the fourth quarter of last year had an overall EBITDA ratio, that is incredibly low, and the registering losses because of this. They are competing however into a space. There is the space of low end, most of this in continental and within China. And this excess capacity is not spreading out into high end product even in the region. Think that we are putting some – have a good business in China, supplying offshore, complex applications, the risky application. And we continue in spite of the dropdown in China and selling to China with important margin, specialty product or product that are let's say premium, some of them finished in our plant in China. Some of them finished abroad.
So this is what we see. I think there is a long way to go because before this excess capacity in low-end may translate you know additional pressure in the premium segment.
Ole Slorer – Morgan Stanley
So you see your market share in the premium increasing, being maintained or decreasing over the next say 12 to 18....?
Ricardo Soler
We are increasing our market share, because you know, market that is increasing by 9% in this moment we are capturing, let say, a higher share of the new market compared to our competitor. This is thanks to the technology, thanks to the capacity and the reliability and the consistency and lead time, the ability to react. In this moment we are increasing our share and this will go on during 2012.
Ole Slorer – Morgan Stanley
Thank you very much, (inaudible) thank you so much.
Thank you for your question. Next question comes from the line of Stephen Gengaro of Sterne, Agee. Please go ahead.
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
Thanks, good morning, good afternoon, gentlemen. I was on the call little way to apologize if you address this, can you talk a little bit about corporate, the SG&A line this quarter and kind of how we should think about that going forward, it was fairly low versus our expectations?
Paolo Rocca
Yes. The – I would ask Ricardo to comment, because, now we were anticipating some reduction in this, where we stay now and where you think we can stand in SG&A in the future.
Ricardo Soler
For the some reason this quarter 70% but is in line I would say with our forecast for the rest of the year. I would say we would – year in this level in relation to SG&A 17%.
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
This is what we expect from SG&A around 17%?
Ricardo Soler
Yeah last quarter was a little bit higher because we had some one charge higher amortization but this is in line with the expectations.
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
Okay. That's helpful. And then it's always been like – I know you can't go into all this detail on the call for say, but it's always been a little bit of a (inaudible) to try to figure out what your financial expense line is going to look like in any one quarter – or other financial but now that you had this shift in functional currency. Will that make that more predictable? Can you help us understand that a little bit?
Ricardo Soler
All right. It should make – because one of the main factor of variance in the financial result has been – difficult the variation in the currency in Mexico and in the other country. But – you see these types of standing that will stabilize more predictable financial results.
Paolo Rocca
Yes. Having only I would say if functional currency is different to the dollar in Brazil and euro I would say that this way we are limiting the changes – the big changes in the foreign exchange results.
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
And remind me, most of the other financial line – believe it's the foreign currency exchanges but also some cross currency loans excreta, is that right?
Paolo Rocca
I would say that in the exchange transaction exchange rate transaction lines and in the relative result are all related to exchange rate and I would say that we are going to have some differences because in Brazil we are having results because of the revaluation of some investment that we have in U.S. dollar and this is compensated of course in the equity side of the balance, but at overall the financial interest income or the investment interest income and the interest expense line should be more with lower movements during the year.
Stephen Gengaro – Sterne Agee
That's helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for your question. Next question comes from the line of Phillips Santos of JP Morgan. Please proceed.
Phillips Santos – JP Morgan
Good morning gentlemen. I am having question about evolving strategy I am wondering how you are going to proceed through live up the sales in East Africa, China and Europe over the quarters since you saw the decrease this quarter, what is the long term strategy for the company for recovering sales there, since we are seeing like in Cleveland North America and how you are going to see through, what is the – strategy to run to increase your sales on your levels again?
Paolo Rocca
You are saying sales in Southeast Asia and China is this correct? Again that's exactly the area that we were mentioning.
Phillips Santos – JP Morgan
Yes, the – on the long-term strategy for company sales and to have a view on how we – to proceed to have an increasing sales in East Africa (inaudible) all the places that we kind of the previous quarter, or the company struck in long run to have an increase of the sales in big markets?
Paolo Rocca
Well, I think from our eastern hemisphere area, we have action in all of the countries and every each of them – in every country we have let's say a defined strategy that combined, product development, service positioning the phase of our competitor and in many of the region we are having local value added to be able to fulfill the demand of this.
This is through for all of our Africa, East Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, India, Russia, Caspian continental Europe and Northern Sea and all the region of Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, China and Japan. I mean Tenaris is a large company. We have a very global projection. We managed this from Dubai. I think Alejandro, you can give some indication of the priority and the target that we have in some of the region. Some example of the initiative derivative.
Ricardo Soler
Yes. So our overall peak, as we mentioned before the fact on the shipments first quarter the stoppage in some mills made also less shipments to this region. As an overall picture we see growth in 2012 the areas where we see the growth clearly in West Africa we see Nigeria recovering, Angola serving also new areas for development. We see the new areas of Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, we also growing. In the North Sea, we also see a very active Norway and Denmark, where we have an important market share there. We are also having HP projects in U.K. like adjusting with (inaudible).
In the Middle East, as I mentioned before we have our growth in Iraq. Iraq will be a very important. We'll also recover in Kuwait. Kuwait has not been buying in the last three years. And this year we see some growth in the case of Iraq we also have our base started delivering pipes in Barasa Northern Mela. And we also are working in Indonesia plant where we are more and more developing new projects with our just we receive new agreement with Chevron for Indonesia.
So, I mean Australia we are also looking at growth opportunity not only in the OCTG but also in the line. So, in the overall picture we see growth clearly we had a very strong first quarter and in relative terms with the reduction of shipments in first quarter, there is a big difference but we see 2012 as a higher rate than 2011.
Phillips Santos – JP Morgan
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your question. We have no further questions at this time. (Operator Instructions)
Giovanni Sardagna
Well, if there are no additional questions we would like to thank you all for participating and this will – we will end the call now. Thank you.
Thank you. There is no further question. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This concludes the presentation. You may now disconnect. Have a good day.
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text:
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:ATI) announced today that its
Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share
of common stock. The dividend is payable on March 28, 2012 to
stockholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2012.
Building the World's Best Specialty Metals Company®
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated is one of the largest and most
diversified specialty metals producers in the world with revenues of
approximately $5.2 billion during 2011. ATI has approximately 11,400
full-time employees world-wide who use innovative technologies to offer
global markets a wide range of specialty metals solutions. Our major
markets are aerospace and defense, oil and gas/chemical process
industry, electrical energy, medical, automotive, food equipment and
appliance, machine and cutting tools, and construction and mining. Our
products include titanium and titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and
superalloys, grain-oriented electrical steel, stainless and specialty
steels, zirconium, hafnium, niobium, tungsten materials, forgings,
castings, and fabrication and machining capabilities. The ATI website is www.ATImetals.com.
Allegheny Technologies IncorporatedDan L. Greenfield, 412-394-3004


text:
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Elaine Stritch's 88th Birthday Party
series: Theater Talk
air date: 9/27/13 1:30 PM
We celebrate the 88th birthday of the great star Elaine Stritch. Joining us along with Stritch herself are her good friends, music director Rob Bowman, and actor Hunter Ryan Herdlicka who appeared with Stritch in A Little Night Music on Broadway. In a freewheeling conversation, Stritch reminisces fondly about a number of people and things of significance including Stephen Sondheim, Bela Lugosi, and the gift basket that Alec Baldwin sent her after she injured her hip. Do not fail to watch this episode of Theater Talk -- it's epic!
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


text:
Fans of the popular Mass Effect franchise may be lamenting the fact that the last game in the trilogy has been published while the last DLC for ME3 was recently announced.
So while Commander Shepard won't be adventuring anymore in the context of a video game, the franchise universe will live on, courtesy of a comic book line published by Dark Horse.
Yes, the ongoing comic series will be authored by Mac Walters, none other than the writer of the Mass Effect games. Walters also penned part of Mass Effect 2, was the story lead for Mass Effect 3 and apparently worked on an earlier mini-series comics located in the franchise universe.
The Mass Effect: Foundation series is slated to feature 12 issues, with each edition rolling out on a monthly basis. The comic series will feature an original heroine that hasn't been seen in the Mass Effect franchise before. However, elements of the comic story are reportedly designed to expand established events that fans may have heard about and are likely curious to learn more about.
"Rather than going into an area where we tell brand-new stories in a universe that people know already, maybe we could find ways of fleshing out some of the stories that we've heard hints of already," Walters explains. "At a high level, that's where we thought about going with Foundations, and that's where we went with it."
However, fans of the franchise shouldn't expect to read about Commander Shepard in the comic series. The writer says that there's a problem representing Shepard without invalidating choices players made in the game.
"The problem is you can't even go back to a young Shepard," Walters notes, "because it could be male, female; you don't know the background..."
While some crossover is inevitable - Walters confirmed that there will be "some connections" with the upcoming Citadel DLC - the focus will be on telling the stories of side characters.
"People can look forward to some of their favorites showing up again," Walters teased. "[Perhaps] even characters that haven't been touched on before."


text:
A former all-star athlete from Plymouth is now charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting that injured a local man.
According to school records, Linson is a graduate of Plymouth High School. He earned four letters in football and two in basketball .
He was MVP, all-conference, and all-state in both sports.
Linson graduated from Plymouth in 2003 and went on to play football at Central Michigan University.
Linson also made it to the professional stage and played in preseason football games with the Baltimore Ravens.
He is currently being held on a 75,000 dollar bond.
Previous Story
Police say they have made an arrest in a weekend shooting that hospitalized one man.
Plymouth Chief Steve O'Neal says they have charged Damien Linson with first degree attempted murder.
Corey Norman was shot Sunday night at the Olde Town Apartments around 8:30 p.m. The 38-year-old Norman remains at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.
Linson, who is 28, is in jail on a $75,000 secured bond.
Previous Story
Plymouth Police Chief Steve O'Neal says detectives are following up on leads into the Sunday night shooting at a Plymouth apartment complex.
Several people tell us a man was shot at the Olde Towne Apartments on Highway 64 in Plymouth Sunday night.
The victim's name and condition have not been released.
The manager of the apartment complex says the victim did not live there.
Previous Story
We're gathering details on a reported shooting in Plymouth in Washington County.
Several people tell us a man was shot at the Olde Towne Apartments on Highway 64 in Plymouth Sunday night.
We're told that man was taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police are only saying at this point that detectives are on scene.
Stay with WITN and witn.com for the latest information.


text:
An SEIU-backed independent expenditure campaign, Cambiando California, is launching a new Spanish-language TV ad hitting California GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman for attacking undocumented immigrants -- but then employing one for nine years.
Here's the script (translated to English):
Meg Whitman says she's a different kind of Republican…
But Pete Wilson is in charge of her campaign.
Whitman attacks undocumented workers to win votes, but an undocumented woman worked in her home for nine years.
She says she'll create jobs - but wants to eliminate forty-thousand state jobs, including teachers and nurses.
Whitman says one thing in Spanish --- and something different in English.
The real Meg Whitman has no shame.
She's a two-faced woman
Here's the ad:


text:
|2011-03-16, 19:34
|Link #182
Playful Explorer
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Fair Oaks, California
Age: 29
|2011-03-16, 20:19
|Link #183
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Monterrey, México
Age: 37
Episode 29. Taiki and Kiriha vs the Bagura Army in an All-Out Showdown!
Minna, finally, I have reached the crossroads for this shows, and I'm just one episode behind the current rate.
The episode started with the Taiki delivering the introduction to the current zone that our heroes visited, instead of delivering the usual review-monologue about the current state of affairs in the Digital World.
As well, this was the only zone visited that without our heroes interacting with the local Digimon population.
|2011-03-21, 20:15
|Link #185
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Monterrey, México
Age: 37
Episode 30. Embark on a New Adventure!! Decisive Battle in Tokyo!!
Finished with the first act for Xros Wars.
This is an ultra-best episode which resurrected nostalgia coming from the days of the first Digimon Adventure and even I would say as well, Digimon Tamers.
I liked this thirtieth episode because returning home on Earth- Akari, Zenjirou, and Taiki spent their time telling their families about their adventures on the evening of their return, and on next morning, spending a fun day all three of them all the morning between themselves.
The best and most beautiful scene to me was Akari crying on Taiki the moment of their departure, bidding him farewell and to take care.
That interaction between the two of them made me smile with bliss, although still Taichi bidding farewell to Kari as he was leaving her behind for the Digital World from Digimon Adventure continues to be the most empathetic and beautifully executed farewell departure as of this day.
Now, that digi-evolution has finally been added, courtesy to the efforts of Zenjirou and Akari, Shoutmon's door has been opened for a new territory of countless possibilities regarding evolution x digi-crossing.
I'm not sure if Shoutmon evolve either to Champion-level or to the Ultimate (Mega) level, however, Tactimon was in disbelief that it took Shoutmon a mere instant to digi-evolve when for him took ages to reach his current form.
With that comment, I take that Tactimon meant that it took him time and painstaking effort to evolve into its full form at the Ultimate level, but Shoutmon's evolution took him a breeze.
Things are now getting terribly complicated with Taiki and Shoutmon's return to the Digital World, as like in Digimon Adventure, Xros Wars' Digital World has been reformatted under Baguramon's wishes.
|2011-03-22, 00:21
|Link #186
User of the "Fast Draw"
Well I think we can just call this digivolving into 'stronger.' Without any levels that's about all we can do. Was funny to listen to Tactimon complaining about the ease that Shoutmon had in evolving .
Agree that this definitely brought back some feelings from the first series. Leave for a short break and by the time you've gotten back a long time has passed .
|2011-03-24, 13:30
|Link #187
Grumpy Russian bear
|2011-03-24, 21:37
|Link #188
Playful Explorer
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Fair Oaks, California
Age: 29
|2011-03-28, 08:44
|Link #189
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Essentially what you have is a situation that hasn't happened before in Digimon. All previous seasons I believe have had the same opening theme song for the entire series and only switched when a new season started (though within the season there were usually 2 distinct opening animation sequences) and they certainly have never changed the series title mid-season.
I suppose by counterpoint, it's not like they're putting a time break between these two series. It looks like the next episode will take place right after the last episode, not like the 3 year interlude you have in the story between Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02. At the same time Xros Wars is only at 30 episodes, far short of the traditional year of broadcasting Digimon series normally run.
It's just safer for places to list it as a separate series because historically what they're doing does mark a brand new series in the franchise. Obviously we'll find out in time what's going on, maybe this is just the new direction they want to take the tv show in where they divide up the distinct arc blocks with different names rather than maintain the same name through the entire series.
|2011-03-28, 23:32
|Link #190
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: In the middle of nowhere
|2011-03-29, 02:06
|Link #191
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Ah, you're right, I totally forgot about that.
I guess we'll see what happens when it ends, if this is intended to be an actual "series" unto itself, it will run it's own 26ish episode run, if not it'll probably stop after the 1 year mark from the start of the season, which would give it a 20 or less episode run probably.
|2011-03-29, 02:10
|Link #192
Playful Explorer
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Fair Oaks, California
Age: 29
|2011-04-04, 22:45
|Link #200
Senior Member
|Thread Tools


text:
What's Coming to Netflix in March? (And What's Leaving?)
Feb 24, 2015 11:19 AM EST
Netflix subscribers with a few extra hours on their hands will be able to catch up on the most recent episodes of Mad Men before the show begins its final run in April. The first half of Season 7 will be available on Netflix beginning March 22, the s… Read more


text:
Fire officials in Davidson County are stressing that residents should use caution during a time in which wildfires are common through mid-May.
Fire officials in Davidson County are stressing that residents should use caution during a time in which wildfires are common through mid-May.
Wildfire season, statewide, began March 1 and runs through mid-May. The spring fire season coincides when many people are getting back into their yards and doing spring cleanup that often includes burning leaves and yard debris, according to a news release from the N.C. Forest Service.
Davidson County Fire Marshal Brad Needham said residents burning debris should obtain a permit from either his office or the N.C. Forest Service. Permits, he said, can be obtained by visiting the Davidson County Fire Marshal's Office or the forest service's website at www.ncforestservice.gov. By contacting the N.C. Forest Service, a forest ranger can offer technical advice and explain what the best options are to help maximize the safety to people, property and the forest.
"We want people to be aware that the humidity could be low, temperatures could be high and (they) need to be really careful in days they need to burn yard debris and waste," said Richard Chellberg, assistant district forester for the N.C. Forest Service District 10, which covers Davidson County. "I think it's an awareness and cautionary thing. Just be careful when you burn anything.
Davidson County, Chellberg said, has been fortunate to have recently had a lot of rain, and the ground moisture is "pretty good."
"But that doesn't mean the leaves on top can't dry out really quickly, especially with wind we have been getting here lately," he said.
Chellberg said the main cause of wildfires involves the burning of debris.
"That's why we want people to be careful when they are burning their leaves," he said. "Just watch the weather. If it's going to be windy and humidity is really low, just put it off and wait for a better day. Also, typically, the winds kind of taper off toward the evening, so maybe wait until sundown to burn, and you won't have many problems."
Chellberg recommends residents have a water source nearby where they are burning debris. He also suggests residents always have someone around to watch a fire and burn a good distance away from structures.
"We are cautioning everybody to just be careful," Chellberg said.
Needham said residents should have a phone in their possession while burning in case a fire gets out of control. He also reiterated the need for a water supply.
"Monitor the weather," he said. "If you are going to have a high windy day, you might want to think about burning on a day when it's not so windy."
For people who choose to burn debris, the N.C. Forest Service urges them to adhere to the following tips to protect property and prevent wildfires:
• Consider alternatives to burning. Some yard debris such as leaves and grass may be more valuable if composted.
• Only burn natural vegetation from your property. Burning household trash or any other man-made materials is illegal. Trash should be taken to a convenience center.
• Plan burning for the late afternoon when conditions are typically less windy and more humid.
• Be prepared. Use a shovel or hoe to clear a perimeter around the area where you plan to burn.
• Keep fire tools ready. To control the fire, you will need a hose, bucket, a steel rake and a shovel for tossing dirt on the fire.
• Never use flammable liquids such as kerosene, gasoline or diesel fuel to speed debris burning.
• Stay with your fire until it is completely out.
• These same tips hold true for campfires and barbecues. Douse burning charcoal briquettes or your campfire thoroughly with water. When soaked, stir the coals and soak them again. Be sure they are out cold and carefully feel to be sure they are extinguished. Never dump hot ashes or coals into a wooded area.
• Burning agriculture residue and forestland litter: In addition to the rules above, a fire line should be plowed around the area to be burned. Large fields should be separated into small plots for burning one at a time. Before doing any burning in a wooded area, contact a county ranger who will weigh all factors, explain them and offer technical advice.
According to the N.C. Forest Service news release, studies have shown that taking these and other measures can greatly reduce wildfires and the loss of property associated with them. For more information on ways to prevent wildfires and loss of property, log onto www.ncforestservice.gov and click on the "fire control and prevention" link.
Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Submission + - 30,000 secret surveillance orders approved each year, judge estimates | Ars Tech (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith estimates in a new paper (PDF) that 30,000 secret surveillance orders are published each year. 'Though such orders have judicial oversight, few emerge from any sort of adversarial proceeding and many are never unsealed at all.' Smith writes, 'To put this figure in context, magistrate judges in one year generated a volume of secret electronic surveillance cases more than thirty times the annual number of FISA cases; in fact, this volume of ECPA cases is greater than the com-bined yearly total of all antitrust, employment discrimination, environmen-tal, copyright, patent, trademark, and securities cases filed in federal court.' He also adds a warning: 'Lack of transparency in judicial proceedings has long been recognized as a threat to the rule of law and roundly condemned in ringing phrases by many Supreme Court opinions.'


text:
Seattle Monday became the first city in the country to limit drivers for Lyft, uberX and Sidecar, in what will eventually be an overhaul of all of the city's ride-service rules.
The regulations, approved unanimously by the City Council, will limit each company to 150 drivers on the road at the same time, collectively capping them at 450. UberX, Lyft and Sidecar — which together have at least 2,000 drivers in the city — say the limitation destroys their business model and ability to maintain quick service.
Three of the nine council members at the standing-room-only meeting — Tom Rasmussen, Sally Bagshaw and Tim Burgess — attempted to amend the regulations so there be no caps placed on drivers. Thousands of emails have poured into council members from fans of the companies, which use smartphone applications to dispatch drivers using their personal vehicles.
The City Council's taxi committee considered regulations for almost a year before Monday's vote. But Councilmember Sally Clark emphasized at the meeting that the council has a lot more regulation and deregulation to debate.
"What we're doing today is not a complete fix," said Clark. "But it's a start."
The regulations allow for the council to reconsider driver limits — and maybe getting rid of them altogether — in a year.
Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement Monday that he hopes to phase out limits after the council approves of fair ways to deregulate the local taxi industry.
"I remain concerned about the issue of caps on rideshare vehicles, which I believe is unreasonably restrictive and unworkable in practice," Murray said.
The regulations would take effect 30 days after Murray signs them into law; he has 10 days to sign the bill after he receives it. The rules also would apply to any new companies that are formed.
No one has yet been able to say exactly how the law will be enforced yet. The City Council's proposal included a recommendation to hire at least three more staff members to help with enforcement. Right now, there are three enforcement officers handling almost 700 taxis and about 200 other for-hire vehicles.
Seattle is the second government to officially legalize the operations of Lyft, uberX and Sidecar, which operate in dozens of cities nationwide. California was the first when it legalized the companies statewide last year. Several other cities and states are still debating what legal conditions they would allow the companies to work under, if at all.
Lyft and Sidecar officials said Monday they will continue operating in Seattle after the rules go into effect, despite earlier threats to shut down. UberX representatives have made the same threat, but did not say Monday whether they intended to follow through.
UberX Seattle manager Brooke Steger said she still urged Murray to "reject the anticompetitive and arbitrary caps that will slingshot Seattle's transportation ecosystem back into the Dark Ages."
But Clark pointed out that the number of drivers set in the law is arbitrary now because Lyft, uberX and Sidecar all have been uncooperative in sharing key data with the city, such as how many drivers they have or what their master insurance policies cover.
"You are doing so many things right. You have so much to teach regulators," Clark said. "If only you would communicate and collaborate a little bit more. How many wars can you wage with cities and states across the United States? It's incredible."
The council also required Lyft, uberX and Sidecar to meet state insurance requirements for for-hire cars. As of Monday, none of the companies have proved to the city that they meet those requirements.
That means Lyft, uberX, Sidecar or their drivers will have to purchase commercial insurance, which the companies have been letting drivers work without since they entered the Seattle market about a year ago.
UberX driver Chamji Sherpa, 43, of Renton, said he purchases commercial insurance that costs him $5,000 — a good deal he gets because of his clean driving record.
He hopes he'll be able to continue driving for uberX after the rules go into effect, not because he makes more money than he did as a Yellow Cab driver but for the scheduling flexibility.
Sherpa said he expects the rideshare companies' customer service to nose-dive when the new rules go into effect.
"In rush hour, 150 drivers each is not going to be enough," said Sherpa. "It's not even enough for downtown."
He also said he thinks the new rules will force out part-time drivers because the cost of insurance won't pencil out. Many of his friends, including Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, a former world-record holder for fastest Mount Everest climb, drives for uberX when the local mountain-guide business slows down.
Many uberX drivers who showed up to support the company said they drive part time while starting businesses or working freelance jobs.
"I don't want to take anyone's job," uberX driver Todd Gentry said of the local taxi industry. "I want them to do their job better."
A city-commissioned study last summer showed dissatisfaction with the local taxi industry, which the city hasn't allowed to grow in numbers since 1990. As a concession to the tightly regulated taxi industry, the council's new rules also call for the release of 200 more taxi licenses over the next two years.
Taxi and for-hire vehicle owners and drivers breathed a sigh of relief when the caps were approved.
Eastside for Hire manager Samatar Guled said the new rules will make it easier for all the companies to compete on a level playing field. His company has been working with a third-party app called Flywheel that has the same basic dispatch and payment functionality as the apps for Lyft, uberX and Sidecar.
"It's been a long and painful year," Guled urged before the council vote. "Level the playing field today — no delays, no excuses."
Now the Seattle City Council will start collaborating with the Metropolitan King County Council on how to regulate the companies countywide. Until the County Council votes on regulations for the companies, there has been no indication that the county will try to shut down Lyft, uberX and Sidecar operations outside of Seattle.
(c)2014 The Seattle Times


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BVU Student Volunteer Group Receives $5,000 Grant
BVU Student Volunteer Group Receives $5,000 Grant
Buena Vista University has received a $5,000 grant to support and expand the activities of Student MOVE (Mobilizing Outreach and Volunteer Efforts), the student advisory board to BVU's Office of Civic Engagement.
The "Student Leadership Award" grant was provided by Jenzabar Foundation, Boston, Mass., a charitable and educational organization that was established by Jenzabar, Inc., a provider of software, strategies and services for higher education. BVU is a client of Jenzabar, Inc.
Dr. Ashley Farmer-Hanson, director of civic engagement at BVU, says the award application was developed in collaboration with Student MOVE board members. Farmer-Hanson; Dr. Meg McKeon, vice president for student affairs and dean of students; and Kevin Coriolan, co-vice-president of communications for Student MOVE, recently traveled to Dallas to accept the award. Kevin is a junior communications major from Worthington, Minn.
Student MOVE was one of five student-led college and university groups which were recognized for their significant contributions to better the world beyond their campuses. Student MOVE hosts over 20 civic engagement activities a year. During the 2011-12 academic year, over 800 BVU students, faculty, and staff volunteered 18,500 hours of service.


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WASHINGTON — Mayor Gary Manier said Wednesday he'll attend President Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday as the guest of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois.
Manier said Kirk viewed the devastation done in Washington by the Nov. 17 tornado a few days after the storm and vowed to do everything he could to help in the recovery efforts.
"I knew then he wouldn't forget us, and he hasn't," Manier said. "He wanted to know how people survived, and where they were. His concern was heartfelt. I feel we bonded that day."
Despite wind chills in the single digits, Manier said, Kirk walked through the rubble and talked with workers clearing debris.
Kirk and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, have joined forces in a bipartisan effort to convince the Federal Emergency Management Agency to change its formula for providing financial assistance to communities devastated by a disaster.
Earlier this month, FEMA denied Gov. Pat Quinn's aid request for the nine Illinois counties that suffered tornado damage because the combined dollar figure didn't hit the $17.8 million threshold.
An appeal is in the works and will be filed by Quinn.
FEMA's public assistance formula is based mostly on a per capita factor, which hurts a state like Illinois that has a highly-populated urban area.
"Hundreds of families in Mayor Manier's community were displaced (by the tornado)," Kirk said in a news release. "FEMA should treat all communities fairly when a disaster strikes."
Manier said he's excited about the opportunity to attend the State of the Union Address in the U.S. Capitol, but obviously he wishes the circumstances were different.
He said he'll do his best to represent all the Illinois communities affected by the tornado, and lobby lawmakers for help from the federal government.
Steve Stein can be reached at 686-3114 or email@example.com. Read his Stein Time blog on pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpartanSteve.
Washington Mayor Gary Manier to attend State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Mayor Gary Manier said Wednesday he'll attend President Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday as the guest of U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois.


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This is what agents are for. The Jets tell his agent to shop him around. The agent tells the trade partner what Revis is willing to sign once he is traded. The Jets and trade partner work out a deal. Revis is traded and then signs his extension with that team.
Yes, let's give a CB a contract on par with Superbowl winning QB's like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Let's continue with this goofy ass philosophy of pouring all our resources into the defense while totally neglecting the offense.
Who cares about scoring points and putting the ball into the endzone as long as we can watch Revis run step for step with the opposing teams #1 receiver every week? I mean, what could be more thrilling than that?
Yeah, he'll never be happy here and most likely anywhere unless Fort Knox opes to him. I'd love to trade him and pick up a great OLB and then RB-Lacy and then OLine and safety.
Oh boy, another brilliantly thought out thread regarding Revis and why we should keep a $15 million dollar CB for the next 8-10 years.
There are not enough to emphasize how this is getting tiring.
[QUOTE=RevisCroWilson;4815260]I just don't get why people take the negotiation process personally. We are all asuming right now he is demanding 15 + a year but I bet him and his agents know that if they want a contract done before season starts it will have to be 12 -13 mill a year, which I think everyone should be good with. Lets see how it plays out and stop whining because he called at the owner ot tried to put the pressure on the jets by having that interview.
Because it never ends with this guy. I usually don't care, i get it, its a business. It seems like Revis starts in 1 day after he signs his latest contract. There is no reason to demand answers and accuse the owner in the press. Unless, he's looking to get out and be traded. I have been in favor of trading him since last year. We can't afford to pay a CB like a QB. And he's never happy anyway.
I say the rumor was started by the Revis camp. He's trying to kick start the whole game. I would not be surprised if his goal is to get traded. Did you see the secondary play last year? How many games did we lose because Revis was hurt? I think Cro played almost as good as Revis, he's just can't tackle like the selfish one
Last edited by Raider9175; 02-19-2013 at 10:07 AM.


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Stevens Institute of Technology to Induct Inaugural Members into the Stevens Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors
Hoboken, N.J. – More than 35 inventors from the Stevens Institute of Technology community will become members of the newly formed Stevens Chapter of the National Academy of Inventors™ (NAI) an organization created to recognize and promote academic innovation achievement nationwide.
The inaugural members from Stevens will be formally inducted into the Stevens Chapter of NAI at a ceremony during the Thomas H. Scholl Lecture by Visiting Entrepreneurs on Nov. 13, 2013 at 3 p.m. in the DeBaun Auditorium at Stevens. Keynote speaker and NAI President Dr. Paul Sanberg will deliver the Thomas H. Scholl Lecture, entitled "From Lab To Market: Academic Innovation And The National Academy of Inventors." Dr. Sanberg will then induct the inaugural Stevens class.
The NAI was conceived and founded by Dr. Sanberg, who is associate vice-president for research & innovation at the University of South Florida (USF) and the holder of 28 U.S. patents, including the first patents for using bone marrow and cord blood as a source of neural stem cells for brain repair.
"Inventors embody the creativity and innovation which is a hallmark of a fast-growing research university," said Sanburg. "I wanted to increase the perception at the university that innovation and patents are important, leading to transfer of technology to our society.
Stevens Chapter members have generated a wide array of inventions in the fields of nanotechnology, medical devices, infection control, water purification technology, and military defense systems.
To become an inaugural member of the Stevens Chapter, an inventor must have an issued patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office based on research work done at Stevens.
"The new Stevens Chapter of the NAI recognizes and supports the extraordinary talent of our faculty inventors," said Christos Christodoulatos, Stevens vice-provost for innovation & entrepreneurship. "This is a wonderful way to recognize their contributions to the university and society as well as their efforts to stimulate technology development and promote entrepreneurship on the campus and beyond."
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University®, is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, N.J. overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Founded in 1870, technological innovation has been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens' education and research programs for more than 140 years. Within the university's three schools and one college, more than 6,100 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate with more than 350 faculty members in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment to advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront global challenges. Stevens is home to three national research centers of excellence, as well as joint research programs focused on critical industries such as healthcare, energy, finance, defense, STEM education and coastal sustainability. The university is consistently ranked among the nation's elite for return on investment for students, career services programs and mid-career salaries of alumni. Stevens is in the midst of a 10-year strategic plan, The Future. Ours to Create., designed to further extend the Stevens legacy to create a forward-looking and far-reaching institution with global impact.


text: Home > Policies > Pricing Recycling Fees Privacy Policies Online Policies Returns & Exchanges Product Warranty Pricing Terms & Conditions AODA Policy Pricing Price Protection Price Match Additional Discounts Price Protection Canada Computers & Electronics guarantees that if we lower our price within 14 days of your purchase, we will gladly refund the value of the difference. Simply use our Customer Service Form within the price protection period of your original purchase date (invoice number must be provided), or visit one of our stores and we will issue you a credit or refund in the amount of the price difference. The Price Protection policy only applies to regularly advertised products. Some conditions apply*. *Price protection does not apply to promotional prices such as limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearance offers, instant rebates, mail-in rebates, advertising errors or misprints, special education prices, coupons, etc. Note: Due to current market situation Canada Computers is temporarily suspending our price matching policy for all VGA/Graphics Card/Video Card. Terms & Conditions: Price protection applies to purchases made within the 14-day period, depending on products. Please refer to the table of products eligible for return and price protection. The item must be for the same brand and model. If a Canada Computers & Electronics gift card was used and was discarded, please proceed to a retail store where a refund will be processed on a new Canada Computers & Electronics gift card. If a prepaid credit card was used, please proceed to a retail store where a refund will be processed on a Canada Computers & Electronics store credit. *The terms and conditions of our "Price Protection" are subject to change without notice. If you require assistance, please use our Customer Service Form or visit your nearest Canada Computers & Electronics location for additional details. Price Match Canada Computers & Electronics will price match any authorized local Canadian dealer's advertised price on the same brand and model of a product, in new factory sealed condition (subject to manufacturer's applicable warranty within Canada). Price Match must be done before the item is purchased from Canada Computers & Electronics. Terms & Conditions: Canada Computers & Electronics will match any competitors' current advertised price, including applicable shipping charges with any qualified Canadian online authorized reseller. Online customers must provide a link to the product of the competitors' website for the item to be verified, prior to any price match approval. Item(s) must be identical in brand/make/model (ie: manufacturers SKU#, UPC code) and available within Canada through an authorized Canadian dealer. Any conditional offers, exclusions and/or restrictions regarding limited quantity eligible for purchase will be applied. Price Match cannot be combined with any Canada Computers & Electronics promotion offer (ex. gift card or instant rebate). If the customer has chosen our promotion offer on the product, that product is not eligible for price matching. Prices offered by competitors must be in Canadian dollars, and will be adjusted for any of the following applicable fees, taxes and/or charges including shipping, handling and/or environmental fees. Canada Computers & Electronics Price Match does not apply to typographical or advertising errors, misprints, restricted offers, mail order offers, mail-in rebates, coupons, bonus and time sensitive offers, limited or minimum quantity orders, service packages, rain checks, bundled items, liquidations, clearances or close-outs. If the item is out of stock or the competitor has advertised that there are limited quantities of an item, the item is not eligible for Price Match. Resellers are not eligible for Price Match. Canada Computers & Electronics reserves the right to limit all approved Price Match items to one (1) per household, and may decline any Price Match at its sole discretion. The terms and conditions of the Price Match Policy are subject to change without notice. If you require assistance, please use our Customer Service Form or visit your nearest Canada Computers & Electronics location for additional details. Additional Discounts Canada Computers & Electronics proudly offers additional Discounts on select products and may be in the form of a(n): Save More In-Store Due to the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) of select items set by the manufacturer, we are unable to inform customers when we price such items below MAP. We encourage our customers to visit us in-store for additional information and discounts. Open Box Specials Opened. Returned. Marked Down! Returned items that have been opened go through a rigorous inspection to ensure customer satisfaction. Instances where a customer neglected to return documentation, manuals, or other included items may occur, in which a lower price is reflected. Bundle It & Save Bundle select products and receive a discount on your purchase. Bundles can be found on individual product pages under the "Bundle It & Save" section. See in-store for details. *The terms and conditions of our "Additional Discounts" are subject to change without notice. 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By the end of the year, four Army Reserve units will have a new home base in Cape Coral.
Construction is under way at the Cape Coral United States Army Reserve Center, located adjacent to the new Lee County Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic at Diplomat Parkway and Corbett Road. The site will include a training building, an organizational maintenance shop and a storage building.
The initial completion date for the facility was anticipated to be in September.
Article Photos
Michael Pistella
The U.S. Army Reserve Center is being built adjacent to the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic, near Diplomat Parkway and Corbett Road. Workers recently celebrated 300 days without an time-loss injury on the site. The project is expected to be completed this September.
Officials estimated Tuesday that it will be finished between October and early December.
"The weather hasn't been very helpful lately," Francisco Semsch, the president of FSA Inc., said.
FSA was awarded a joint contract with J. Kokolakis Contracting Inc. for the design and construction.
Col. Joseph Roberts, director of public works for the U.S. Army Reserve's 81st Regional Support Command, explained that it is not uncommon for projects to run past their tentative completion date.
"It's very typical to move to the right one or two or three months," he said.
Because of the holidays, the ribbon cutting could be pushed back to the first of the year.
"This project came about to support a new unit that is already activated," Roberts said, noting that a new facility is great for soldiers because is provides them with a modern, efficient training ground.
"It's always good for morale," he said.
The nearly 38,000-square-foot training building will include offices, classrooms, a miniature gym, a weapons simulations room and a battle assembly area. There will be 1,500 square feet for storage and almost 8,000 square feet of maintenance shop, which military officials have compared to a car shop.
The 365th Engineer Company, the 451st Quartermaster Company, the 810th Military Police Company and the second of the 485th Regiment will be stationed out of site, where they will hone their skills.
According to military officials, the 365th Engineer Company is responsible for things like clearing roads of IEDs and laying mine fields. The 451st Quartermaster Company runs supplies to other units.
The 810th Military Police Company serves as the military police and deals with prisoners of war or POWs, while the second of the 485th Regiment is a "drill sergeant" unit, officials previously reported.
About 325 soldiers will be based out of the center, where an estimated eight soldiers and two or three civilians will be stationed full-time. Three weekends of each month there will be training going on.
"They're going to have a really well designed training facility that they can really feel proud of," Semsch said. "A facility where they can increase their capabilities in the military the best they can."
The site will feature energy efficient equipment, like a high-efficiency air-conditioning system that is self-controlled year-round in accordance with the seasons to consume the least amount of energy. There will be low-flow water fixtures, windows that maximize the natural daylight and solar exterior lights.
The center will have the U.S. Green Building Council's silver LEED certification.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, address a building's lifecycle - design, construction, maintenance, operation - and provides third-party verification of green buildings.
"A lot of sustainable products have been used and a lot of recyclable work done," Semsch said.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $11 million - funds allocated through Congress.
He noted that 90 percent of the funds are going to local contractors and employees.
"It's a good impact to the local economy," Semsch said.
Since breaking ground, construction at the facility has run smoothly.
"We have to go through some permits with the city and county. Everybody has been very collaborative," he said. "The only challenge has been the weather."
Prior to its official opening, the center will be memorialized by being named after a local soldier.
"We try to do that with every center," Roberts said. "That's something we strive to do."
He anticipated that a name would be selected by the ribbon-cutting ceremony.


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The beginning of a new year means there is a new opportunity for Mile-Hi Skydiving to work to reduce the number of noise complaints received from area residents about the skydiving operation, which has operated in Longmont since 2005.
Mile-Hi Skydiving is a source of interest and pride for many residents, but the continued noise complaints should be addressed by the company and the airport to a greater extent than they have been so far.
On its website, the company describes itself as "Colorado's No. 1 Skydiving Facility with more than 35,000 jumps made annually." The company also says it is "the only full-time skydiving operation within 100 miles of the Denver-Boulder area."
The volume of the jumps and the associated noise from the planes is a problem for some area residents. The noise complaints received accelerated in 2009. While one report said many of the complaints have come from a handful of people, there still have been a significant number of complaints received.
The company should seriously consider investing further in its planes to equip them in such a way that they would make less noise. Other than drastically reducing the number of flights and jumps, this is the one concrete suggestion that has been made for possibly improving the situation.
It is unrealistic, of course, to make the world a totally quiet place. America's love affair with aviation, whether it is connection with Vance Brand Airport, Boulder Municipal Airport or DIA, will continue. Planes and other forms of transportation make noise.
However, in the case of the skydiving business, owners and operators should acknowledge that theirs is a recreational business that should not infringe unnecessarily on the lives of area residents.
Rather than adopting the approach that nothing can be done, this problem demands more creative thought. The French author and philosopher Voltaire once observed: "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking." How about some more sustained thinking followed by action on this problem?


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Will J. Duffield
Will J. Duffield, age 37, of 307 Center St., Ridgway, died Monday morning in Jefferson County from injuries he received in an automobile accident. He was born Feb. 2, 1976 in Naperville, Ill., son of Rev. Craig W. and Jean E. (McEvers) Duffield. He resided in Ridgway for the last 13 years and was a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church. He graduated from Malta High School in Malta, Ill., and had attended Valparaiso University in Indiana and Covenant Bible College. He served in the U.S. Marines and is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan where he received the Purple Heart, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Certificate of Commendation, Certificate of Appreciation, Rifle Expert Badge, Pistol Expert Badge. He was serving as a SGT. in the Pennsylvania National Guard Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Division based in Lewis Run, Pa. He had been employed by the Jefferson County EMS as an EMT for the last six years. Will is survived by his parents, Rev. Craig W. Duffield and Jean E. Duffield of Ridgway and the following brothers and sisters: Matthew E. Duffield of Hopkins, Mn., Elaine K. Duffield, Katrina S. Duffield, Sophia J. Duffield, Anthony D. Duffield, Patrick J. Duffield, and Alexandra M. Hill, all of Ridgway; three nieces Lidia, Anna and Riley Duffield of Ridgway; his maternal grandmother, Elise K. McEvers of Olympia, Wash., and several aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather Buddy R. McEvers, his paternal grandparents Dale J. and Beth Duffield, and one uncle Donald Duffield in infancy.A memorial service for Will J. Duffield will be held at the Evangelical Covenant Church on Saturday at 11 a.m. with military honors accorded by the Pennsylvania National Guard Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Division. Officiating will be Rev. Garth McGrath, Conference Superintendent of the Great Lakes of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Burial will be in Malta Cemetery in Malta, Ill. The family will be greeting friends Friday evening at the Evangelical Covenant Church from 4-8 p.m. Memorials, if desired, can be made to the Evangelical Covenant Church or to Wounded Warrior Project.org. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Thompson Funeral Home.


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Since the economy sank into a recession five years ago, the boat business has been treading water.
National and Florida sales continue to drop. But in Southwest Florida, area boat dealers say the tide appears to be slowly turning.
"I'm encouraged," said Tom Hansen, owner of The Boat House of Cape Coral. His sales manager estimates sales are running 5 to 7 percent ahead of last year.
"The boat business and recreational business has been down so many years, it has to improve," he said.
The Fort Myers Boat Show, featuring 150 exhibitors, 40 dealers and more than 400 boats, continues today and Sunday and aims to capitalize on the positive trend. It spreads from the Harborside Event Center to the Fort Myers Yacht Basin and Edwards Drive in downtown Fort Myers.
Florida is No. 1 in the country in boat sales, and the industry's health is key to a tourism-based economy that extolls the joys of sunshine, beaches and exploring warm Gulf waters for fishing and fun.
Nationally, sales of boats, engines, trailers and accessories dropped from $15.5 billion in 2006 to $7.58 billion in 2010, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Florida slipped from $2.43 billion in 2006 to $1.09 billion in 2010.
Numbers for Southwest Florida were unavailable.
The economy is the reason, boat dealers say. Fewer jobs and fewer discretionary dollars, reluctance to make a big purchase when times are tough, and uncertainty about how and when the economy will improve all play a part.
However, for 2011, "it actually looks like it's bottomed out and we'll see an increase for the first time," said Ellen Hopkins, spokeswoman for the national association
"If you see consumer confidence go up, you'll see boat sales go up," she said.
Jim Walker, owner of Walker's Marine and Yacht Sales, with locations in Naples, Marco Island, Goodland and Fort Myers, agreed consumer confidence is key.
"The boat industry the last few years has come into a lot of turmoil," Walker said. "The sense we have is that there are a lot of people eager to buy, wanting to move forward, but don't due to a lack of confidence and what is going on in Washington, D.C."Read more at http://www.news-press.com/article/20111112/BUSINESS/311120013/Boat-dealers-say-tide-may-turning?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cp
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