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Teen pregnancy can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but it can be especially hard for young women in the foster care system. Nearly 160,000 adolescents live in foster care or with relatives other than their parents, in most cases as the result of abuse and neglect.1 Teen pregnancy is all too common among this population: Young women in foster care are more than twice as likely as their peers not in foster care to become pregnant by age 19.2 Even more troubling, many of those who become pregnant experience a repeat pregnancy before they reach age 19.
Although many child welfare agencies have programs that address the special needs of foster youth who are pregnant or parenting, comparatively little has been done to help foster youth avoid pregnancy. Part of the problem may be a lack of awareness and information about this high-risk population when it comes to teen pregnancy. A number of federal resources are available to help foster youth access health care and lead independent and productive lives. Advocates, child welfare agencies and policymakers are considering how these resources can be used to help adolescents in foster care delay pregnancy.
High Risk and Hard to Reach
Children typically become involved in the child welfare system after someone—often a teacher, police officer or medical provider—reports that they suspect a child is being abused or neglected. Each year, child welfare agencies respond to about two million reports of child maltreatment, and in nearly one-quarter of these cases, at least one child is found to be a victim.3 Most of these children are able to remain in their homes, where child welfare services work with families to prevent future instances of child abuse and neglect. But roughly 20% of children who are victims of abuse or neglect are placed in foster care or with relatives.
Young people who are involved in the child welfare system have long been recognized as a population at high risk of health problems, both physical and emotional. In recent years, researchers, caseworkers and advocates have also been paying more attention to their sexual and reproductive health. Although no national data are available, several regional studies and a few outcome studies unequivocally report that pregnancy, childbearing and STI rates among this group are high.1,4,5 One study with a rigorous research design is the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth, conducted by the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. According to this longitudinal study of more than 700 young people in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, 33% of females in foster care had been pregnant by age 17 or 18, compared with just 14% of their peers in the general population.6,7 Moreover, repeat pregnancies are common: By age 19, 46% of those who had ever been pregnant had experienced more than one pregnancy, compared with 34% in the general population (see chart).6
Young women in foster care and those who have "aged out" are more likely to experience teenage pregnancy than their peers in the general population; repeat pregnancies by age 19 are also common. |
Sources: References 6 and 7. |
A limited number of studies have explored some of the reasons behind the elevated rates of teen pregnancy and STIs. Although the evidence on sexual risk behaviors is mixed, there is some evidence that foster youth, on average, first have sex at a younger age than other adolescents. A study published in the September 2009 issue of Children and Youth Services Review used data from the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being to examine sexual behaviors among nearly 900 youth in the child welfare system—some of whom had a history of foster care and others of whom remained with their birth parents. Almost 20% of youth in the child welfare system (15 years of age, on average) reported first having consensual sex at or before age 13, compared with 8% of 9th–12th graders in the general population (a somewhat older population).5,8
Another explanation may be that youth in foster care are not as motivated as their peers to delay childbearing. According to a focus group study of 120 foster youth conducted by the Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (UCAN) and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, having a child is a way for some foster youth to create the family they did not have or fill an emotional void.9 This might explain why more than one-third of young women in the Midwest study who experienced pregnancy described themselves as "definitely or probably wanting to get pregnant."6 Moreover, researchers point to evidence showing that teenagers who feel highly connected to their parents—teenagers who report that their parents are warm, caring and supportive—are far more likely than others to use contraception and to delay sexual activity, and are less likely to become pregnant.10 Youth in foster care, of course, often lack these kinds of protective relationships.
Indeed, instability is too often a way of life for many youth in the foster care system, making it all the more difficult to reach them with pregnancy prevention services. The care they receive is often sporadic and disjointed because of high turnover of caseworkers, changes in supervision and living arrangements, and lack of coordination among various agencies.11 Although foster care is intended to be a temporary safety net (and in fact most children and youth eventually are reunified with a birth parent or find a safe, permanent home through adoption or guardianship), many youth have extended stays in the foster care system. Of the 700,000 children and youth served by foster care services each year, about 424,000 are still in care at the end of the year.12 Fifty-eight percent of children are in foster care for more than a year, and 23% for three or more years; 11% "age out" of the system by age 18 or 21 (depending on state policy) without a safe, permanent family.1
Federal Spending for Foster Youth
The first federal grants for child welfare services date back to 1935, when President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law as part of the New Deal. Since then, this body of policy has evolved to stress various themes and services.
The Federal Foster Care Program
The modern foster care system was essentially created in 1980, when Congress enacted the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act. This landmark legislation established Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, a permanently authorized and open-ended entitlement program that provides federal reimbursement to states for a portion of the cost of maintaining eligible children in foster care—for such items as food, clothing and shelter, as well as administrative costs.
Federal, state and local governments spend upwards of $23 billion each year to protect children from abuse and neglect.13 States use a variety of funds for child welfare services, but Title IV-E sets the policy and governs the federal foster care program across the nation. To claim federal reimbursement for children and youth in foster care, states must meet certain requirements, many of which have to do with efforts to ensure the health and safety of children and with moving children from foster care into safe and permanent homes as quickly as possible. Of particular interest to advocates concerned about pregnancy among youth in foster care, state welfare agencies are required to assess the health of children and youth entering foster care and to create a health care plan for each child, including a schedule for screenings and ongoing health care services. Moreover, children and youth in foster care are, by definition, eligible for Medicaid, the government's health insurance program for the poor, which provides reimbursement for contraceptive services and for STI testing and treatment, among other preventive services. States are currently allowed to extend Medicaid coverage to foster youth up to age 21. This has been expanded even further under the health care reform law, and starting in 2014, Medicaid coverage will be extended up to age 26 for former foster youth.
Fostering Independence
Over the past decade, federal legislation has focused on helping older adolescents make the transition from foster care to independent living. The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, enacted in 1999, recognized the need for continuing support past age 18 by encouraging states to provide a range of social services—such as vocational training, job placement and financial management skills—to youth aging out of foster care up to age 21. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, enacted in 2008, expanded this support by allowing states to use federal funds to provide foster care, adoption and guardianship assistance for eligible youth past age 18 and up to age 21.
The Fostering Connections Act includes several other provisions that may also help foster youth delay pregnancy and childbearing. It requires states to help adolescents develop a transition plan for themselves as they age out of foster care. Guidance issued by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), which oversees the foster care program, says that this transition plan should be personalized at the direction of the child. It can include specific options regarding housing, health insurance, education, local opportunities for mentors and employment services. Importantly, the guidance also encourages caseworkers to work with youth to "include information in the plan relating to sexual health, services, and resources to ensure the youth is informed and prepared to make healthy decisions about their lives."14
The Fostering Connections Act also requires state child welfare agencies to develop a plan, in coordination with the state Medicaid agency and other health care experts, for ongoing oversight of health care services for youth in foster care. ACYF guidance stipulates that this plan "must include an outline of a schedule for initial and follow-up health screenings (inclusive of age-appropriate sexual health screenings for youth)."14 Moreover, states can use federal funds to expand training for foster parents, guardians and child welfare workers on issues confronting adolescents preparing for independent living, including pregnancy prevention, healthy relationships and sexual health.
Dedicated Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives
In addition to the provisions included in the Title IV-E foster care program, several new teen pregnancy prevention initiatives may also help foster youth delay pregnancy. In September 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the award of $155 million in teen pregnancy prevention grants to states, nonprofit organizations, school districts and others. These grants will support the replication of teen pregnancy prevention programs shown to be effective through rigorous research, as well as the testing of new, innovative approaches to combating teen pregnancy. The funds come from two different programs. One hundred million comes from a teen pregnancy prevention program appropriated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which replaced the community-based grants for abstinence-only education. It is administered by the Office of Adolescent Health within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Fifty-five million comes from the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), funded under the Affordable Care Act and administered by ACYF. The PREP program, in particular, holds great promise for better understanding the pregnancy prevention approaches that work with youth in foster care. Under the statute, states must use these funds for programs that reach youth most at risk of pregnancy, including those who are homeless, out of school or in foster care.
Advancing the Ball
Despite these brief mentions in law, child welfare programs seldom address teen pregnancy prevention, and teen pregnancy prevention initiatives seldom focus on the special needs of youth who have spent time in the foster care system. Moving forward, it is clear that these separate worlds of policy and practice need to be more explicitly connected.
Child welfare programs seldom address teen pregnancy prevention, and teen pregnancy prevention initiatives seldom focus on the special needs of foster care youth.
An important first step would be for child welfare agencies to implement a comprehensive pregnancy prevention strategy. In recent years, several national organizations have, in their own ways, provided guidance on the basic components of such a strategy. For example, in 2010, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, along with the American Public Human Services Association and the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators—two organizations that together represent state health, human services and child welfare agencies—developed an assessment tool for child welfare professionals that includes sample action steps.15 And a 2009 report by the California-based Public Health Institute (a nonprofit public health research organization) on the sexual and reproductive health needs of California's foster youth includes nine recommendations for child welfare agencies based on interviews with former foster youth, foster parents and foster care system professionals.16
The recommendations proposed by these national organizations may be grouped into four major categories: access to sex education, training for caseworkers and foster parents, access to sexual and reproductive health services, and increasing understanding of the root causes of early childbearing among youth in foster care.
Access to Sex Education
Many foster youth miss out on school-based sex education—even when it is offered—because of frequent changes in foster placements and lapses in school attendance. Also, there is some evidence that foster care adolescents may not always have permission to participate in these classes because of the religious views of their caseworkers or foster parents.17 Religiously affiliated organizations and religious foster parents have been and continue to be essential partners in many communities' child welfare services, and some of these organizations and foster parents are socially conservative and may be a barrier to information and services. Little wonder, then, that many youth in the foster care system report that although they get some information about their sexual and reproductive health, it is often too little and too late.9
Child welfare agencies developing and implementing a comprehensive pregnancy prevention strategy should underscore the importance of providing youth with age-appropriate, medically accurate and comprehensive sex education, and they should discuss the benefits of sex education with caseworkers and foster parents. Agencies wanting to implement evidence-based programs of their own, however, may find their options limited. Very few sex education programs have been adapted to meet the unique needs of youth in foster care, and none to date have been evaluated. That may be about to change: The two largest federal teen pregnancy prevention initiatives are supporting several programs focused on reducing risky sexual behaviors among youth in foster care and will be evaluating these interventions. "It's encouraging to see the diversity of states and programs that have taken notice of the fact that young people in foster care are at high risk of teen pregnancy and need attention," says Itege Bailey, senior manager with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.18
Experts acknowledge, however, that more options are needed. Although at least one evidence-based program has been adapted for foster youth, it is designed for teens in group settings—group homes, residential facilities or transitional living programs. "Alternative strategies may be needed for youth in other settings," says Amy Dworsky, a senior researcher at the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall and coinvestigator for the Midwest study. "We need to know how to reach kids who aren't always in school, who may be scattered throughout the community or who live in rural settings."19
Training for Caseworkers and Foster Parents
Child welfare workers play a critical role in helping youth and their families access the services and supports they need. But many feel unprepared to talk with foster youth and parents about sex, relationships and prevention, and frequent staff turnover is an ongoing challenge. By focusing on training of caseworkers, child welfare agencies would go a long way toward addressing sexual and reproductive health needs of foster youth. This training could include ways of engaging youth as well as foster parents in discussions about sex. Caseworkers also need information about state confidentiality policies, resource toolkits, quality Web sites and referral networks. Child welfare agencies need not go it alone; they can partner with organizations (such as a local health department or family planning clinic) within the community that can provide this expertise.
A similar case could be made for training foster parents and guardians. Foster parents should routinely initiate discussions with youth around issues related to sexuality, including self-image, relationships, goal setting, planning and decision making, and protection from STIs, unwanted pregnancy and exploitation. To do this, foster parents need training in how to have these regular discussions.
Access to Services
Child welfare agencies have systems in place to make sure that youth in foster care get the health care they need. Some states also have policies requiring medical providers to address sexual activity, pregnancy prevention, and STI screening and treatment with foster youth. It is not known, however, to what extent child welfare agencies and health care providers incorporate these services into the ongoing health care that foster youth receive.
Child welfare agencies need to take steps to ensure that foster youth are informed of the availability of sexual and reproductive health services and know where to go for these services. This may mean better coordination with state Medicaid agencies, special training for medical providers who see foster youth or establishing strong referral networks with family planning clinics. Because some foster youth may feel intimidated or embarrassed accessing contraceptives through their doctor, child welfare agencies should also consider ways of offering contraceptives through independent living program sites, youth development centers and other youth-serving agencies.
Increasing Understanding
A recently launched survey of youth in the foster care system promises to shed new light on early childbearing among this population. Created by the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, the National Youth in Transition Database is designed to track youth as they transition from the foster care system to independent living. State child welfare agencies will interview teens on or around their 17th birthday, and again at ages 19 and 21, about a range of issues they may face—from educational attainment to experience with homelessness to access to health insurance. These state agencies will also ask foster youth whether they have had a child or fathered a child, and some will be collecting information about teens' contraceptive use. The survey was launched in October 2010, and state agencies are expected to submit the first round of data to the Administration for Children and Families in May 2011.
This new survey may be an important way to raise awareness and garner support for pregnancy prevention for youth in the foster care system. It is also a critical first step toward understanding how pregnancy and childbearing are intertwined with such profoundly difficult issues as the absence of a dependable family or social network, homelessness and educational deficits. In that regard, experts stress that a deeper understanding of the root causes of early childbearing among this population is also needed. "Information about and access to birth control is essential but not sufficient," says Dworsky of the University of Chicago. "We can provide youth in care with all the contraception in the world, but pregnancy rates among this population will remain exceptionally high unless the factors that motivate so many of these adolescents to become pregnant are addressed. For some youth in foster care, having a child may be seen as a way to create a family of their own, a family who will love them and who they can love, or to demonstrate that they can do a better job of parenting than their birth parents had. Addressing these motivations means giving teens in foster care a reason to delay pregnancy and childbearing. They need to believe that they can complete their education, find a good job and succeed in life."19
Budget Battles Ahead
In many ways, the basic policy framework needed to support interventions to reduce teen pregnancy among young women in foster care is already in place at the federal level. For example, the health care plans that child welfare agencies are required to develop for each child, the transition plan and assistance for youth who are aging out of the foster care system and the federal teen pregnancy prevention initiatives are all opportunities for helping foster youth delay pregnancy. Moving forward, child welfare agencies and program planners should be thinking about ways to maximize these levers to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of foster youth.
At the same time, intense pressure to hold down government spending, at both the federal and state levels, is likely to continue unabated in the months and perhaps years ahead. And there are already indications that the impact is likely to be felt most by disadvantaged populations, whose needs are at best underrepresented in Washington and state capitals. According to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, roughly two-thirds of the proposed cuts included in the House Budget Committee's 2012 budget outline are to programs serving low-income children and families.20 These cuts have the potential to jeopardize a variety of critical services for youth in foster care, sexual and reproductive health services included. In short, although child welfare agencies may be better poised to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of foster youth than ever before, the budget process is moving in the other direction. Clearly, foster care advocates and service providers have their work cut out for them.
1. Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, The AFCARS Report: Preliminary FY 2009 Estimates as of July 2010, 2010. <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report17.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
2. Courtney ME et al., Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Age 19, working paper, Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2005.
3. Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Child Maltreatment 2009, 2010, <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm09/cm09.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
4. Ahrens KM et al., Laboratory-diagnosed sexually transmitted infections in former foster youth compared with peers, Pediatrics, 2010, 126(1):97–103.
5. James S et al., Sexual risk behaviors among youth in the child welfare system, Children and Youth Services Review, 2009, 31(9):990–1000.
6. Dworsky A and Courtney ME, The risk of teenage pregnancy among transitioning foster youth: implications for extending state care beyond age 18, Children and Youth Services Review, 2010, 32(10):1351–1356.
7. Courtney ME et al., Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth: Outcomes at Ages 23 and 24, working paper, Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, 2010.
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1999, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2000, Vol. 49, No. SS-5.
9. Love LT et al., Fostering Hope: Preventing Teen Pregnancy Among Youth in Foster Care, Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2005.
10. Resnick M et al., Protecting adolescents from harm: findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997, 278(10):823–832.
11. Allen K, Medicaid managed care for children in child welfare, Issue Brief, Hamilton, NJ: Center for Health Care Strategies, 2008, <http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/CW_MC_Brief.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
12. Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Trends in foster care and adoption—FY 2002–FY 2009, no date, <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ trends02-09.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
13. Scarcella CA et al., The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children V: Understanding State Variation in Child Welfare Financing, Washington DC: The Urban Institute, 2006.
14. Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Guidance on Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, 2010, <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/ laws_policies/policy/pi/2010/pi1011.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
15. National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, American Public Human Services Association and National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, Effective planning for child welfare leaders to help prevent teen pregnancy: an agency assessment, Briefly…, 2010, <http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/ resources/pdf/Briefly_EffectivePlanning_ChildWelfareLeaders.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
16. Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development, Public Health Institute, Sexual health challenges of California's foster youth, No Time for Complacency Policy Review, 2009, <http:// teenbirths.phi.org/2009SpringPolicyReview.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.
17. Constantine WL et al., Sex Education and Reproductive Health Needs of Foster and Transitioning Youth in Three California Counties, Oakland: Center for Research on Adolescent Health and Development, Public Health Institute, 2009.
18. Bailey I, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Washington, DC, personal communication, Apr. 15, 2011.
19. Dworsky A, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, Chicago, personal communication, Apr. 26, 2011.
20. Greenstein R, Chairman Ryan gets roughly two-thirds of his huge budget cuts from programs for lower-income Americans, Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2011, <http://www.cbpp.org/files/4-5-11bud2.pdf>, accessed Apr. 14, 2011.


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Well, this is Wicked news! Former Elphie Ana Gasteyer will take on the role of the Principal in Grease: Live. Starring the previously announced Great White Way alums Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko and Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo and more, the musical is scheduled to hit the small screen on January 31, 2016.
Along with Wicked, Gasteyer has also been seen on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera and The Royal Family. An SNL alum, her additional screen credits include Lady Dynamite, The Group, Rapture-Palooza, Mean Girls, The Goldbergs, The Good Wife, Suburgatory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, The Mindy Project and Law & Order.
The popular tuner, which features a score and book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, follows teenagers in love during the soda shop culture of the 1950s. The show premiered on Broadway in 1972 and has been revived on the Great White Way twice since. The 1978 film adaptation starred John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John and Stockard Channing.
Hamilton's Thomas Kail will serve as the director overseeing the stage direction, with DWTS' Alex Rudzinski as the live television director. The cast is set to also include Julianne Hough as Sandy, Mario Lopez as Vince Fontaine, along with Cindrella alums Keke Palmer and Carly Rae Jepsen as Marty and Frenchy, respectively.
Robert Cary and Buyer & Cellar scribe Jonathan Tolins will pen a new script for television. The pair contributed additional book material to the recent revival of On the Town.

subset: commoncrawl


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Illinois' lieutenant governor is seeking clemency for Illinois abolitionists convicted for fighting slavery.
The Carbondale Democrat's office is working with historians and experts to identify men and women around Illinois who were convicted of violating slavery laws.
Slavery was abolished in Illinois in 1824, but laws prohibited people from harboring or helping slaves.
The first petition filed by Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is for Richard Eells, an abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor who helped slaves traveling through Quincy toward Chicago on their way to Canada. His Quincy home was declared one of the most important Underground Railroads sites by the National Parks Service.
Eells was convicted in 1843 of helping transport a runaway slave from Missouri named Charley. The verdict was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.


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With the Newly Mapped Procedure, the rate starts out at the Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) rate and then will increase each year no more than 18% (currently it has been at around 15% each year). It will stop increasing when it reaches one of two values:
Show All Answers
Flood waters could undermine the ground under the first floor, causing the entire building to collapse. The water may never touch your unit, yet it could be destroyed by flood damage, which wouldn't be covered by a homeowner's policy.
Most local insurance companies offer flood insurance policies through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Regardless of which Agent you contact, NFIP coverage should cost the same. The easiest was to find an agent in Key West is to search the internet for: Flood insurance agents "key west."
The best recommendation is to have a Preferred Risk Policy (PRP; if they qualify per National Flood Insurance Program rules) in place before the maps become effective. If not, they still have 12 months from the effective date to purchase a PRP. They will then be rated using the Newly Mapped Procedure (PDF). (Note that the link to the latest version of this fact sheet is broken, so what is included is to the old fact sheet with the same information-previous look. We'll get you the updated version.)
If your flood risk has increased, your building and flood insurance requirements may change with the new flood maps become effective. The National Flood Insurance Program, (NFIP) has cost-saving options to help reduce the financial impact such as Newly Mapped Procedure (PDF) and Grandfathering. View Map Changes for Property Owners (PDF).
If your flood risk has decreased, there's still a risk. Ask your agent about converting your policy to a lower-cost Preferred Risk Policy. Please remember, maps cannot be used for insurance rating until the effective date has been reached.
If you have flood insurance in place and continue coverage after the new maps become effective, this will lock the lower Base Flood Elevation (BFE) in place for future rating. If the building is sold, you can transfer the policy to the new owner so they may continue benefiting from this lower-cost rating option. (This also applies for properties changing from Zone A to Zone V).
FEMA has produced a video explaining this new type of flood zone. The most important to understand is that communities need to build to V zone standards seaward of the Limit of Moderate Wave Action Line (LiMWA). There are no special insurance rates or different requirements between the LiMWA and Zone V (Coastal A Zone); however, if a person builds to the V zone standards in the Coastal A Zone, it may result in lower premiums.
While there aren't yet any negative flood insurance rates associated with these new Coastal A Zones, the entire flood insurance rate structure is being redesigned for the year 2021; so this may change.
More information on "Coastal A" Zones


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The high school janitor could be one of the most important people in college football recruiting.
Coaches must evaluate more than just 40-yard dash times and tackling technique when they decide whether to offer a scholarship. A player's success often rests as much on whether he works hard in practice and stays out of trouble off the field.
"It's a big deal because the character and quality of the person directly correlates to how much better that guy will get in your program," Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said.
And the people who offer the best takes on that guy's character may be the folks he passes in the hallway every day.
"We obviously want kids who can play, but we'd much rather have a little less talent and more character," Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze said.
On Wednesday, high school stars around the country will sign their letters of intent to play college football, as fans breathlessly await the final decisions and pore over the rankings. Yet look back four or five years, and many of the highly rated recruiting classes will have produced more busts than All-Americans.
Sure, in some cases it will turn out that the player wasn't fast enough or strong enough to thrive in big-time college football. Coaches watch video, attend games and hold summer camps to try to determine that.
A hazier task is seeking to predict how a teenager will mature over the next several years. And coaches lament that they don't get to spend much time with recruits to gauge that.
"If you have people involved, there are going to be mistakes and errors," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said recently. "You're projecting young people, and young people change. You take them and put them in a different environment — some of them adjust, some of them don't. Some take the next step, some of them don't. Some of them lose their focus and get distracted. There are girls and there are parties."
The NCAA recently loosened its rules to allow coaches to communicate more with prospects through phone calls and text messages, with the changes taking effect Aug. 1. Assistants can also now spend more time visiting high schools.
But a proposal was tabled that would have let coaches start contacting recruits beginning July 1 between their sophomore and junior years. The current rules don't permit communication to begin until after 11th grade.
Coaches are still not allowed to make any contact during certain periods and are limited in how much time they can spend with players in person. The head coach gets only one off-campus visit with a recruit.
So they have to get creative.
"You go into the schools — I'll go to the janitor and I'll ask the janitor about the young man," Freeze said. "I ask the cafeteria workers and the guidance counselor. And you get a good feel when you have a year to recruit a kid and you see him in every different type of environment, whether it's in the home setting or on our college campus. It's all types of scenarios.
"If you have a year to recruit a kid, you've got a chance to be pretty accurate in the evaluation of his character."
Flood will talk to the athletic director's secretary, a teacher — even a random student in the hall. He'll pull aside a kid and ask if he knows the recruit: "What do you think? Is he a pretty good guy?"
"Find the people that aren't associated with athletics," Flood explained. "You'd be amazed. They give you their opinions pretty quickly. You can usually read their body language."
Schools like Rutgers that recruit more regionally than nationally may have a bit of an advantage when it comes to getting to know a player, Flood said, because the local kids are able to make more unofficial visits. But even from afar, modern technology can tell you quite a bit about a person.
Take heed, Facebook-frenzied teens. College coaches are monitoring your social media feeds.
"You can find out a lot about these young people," Flood said. "They're not as guarded as you think they should be."
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo and Sports Writers David Brandt and Pete Iacobelli contributed to this report.
Coaches can't forget about character on the college football recruiting trail


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For most people, the term Spice Islands brings images of the East Indies, where many of the world's most precious spices originated. But the Caribbean West Indies boasts its own spice island—Grenada—thanks to Frank Gurney, a mid-19th century plantation owner who planted a few fertile nutmeg pods gathered during his journeys throughout the East Indies. Surprisingly, the finicky tree thrived in the island's volcanic soil and mild temperatures, and a new spice empire was born.
Today, the nation of Grenada—which lies about 100 miles north of Venezuela and includes the tiny outlying islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique—grows more nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, allspice, and vanilla beans per square mile than any other Caribbean island. These aromatic spices naturally enrich the local cuisine, as does fresh seafood, tropical fruits, and island-grown vegetables.
Grenadians tend to cook unpretentious, hearty fare. The two most popular dishes—a "one-pot," or stew, and a "put together," or plate heaped with chicken or beef, accompanied by pigeon peas and rice, fried plantains, breadfruit, slaw, and other sides—are hospitably flexible. But you'll also encounter unexpected and elegant dishes at the island's upscale restaurants, where adventurous chefs blend indigenous foods with European, U.S. Southwestern, and Pacific Rim ingredients.
If you're game for eating on the go, Grenadian culinary adventures abound. You can explore ancient spice factories and rum distilleries, a nutmeg co-op, and a gourmet chocolatier before lunching at a lovely former plantation home. During the annual Carnival in August, the island throws massive, main-street "blocko parties" complete with plenty of food, drink, and dancing to calypso bands. To regain your appetite, there's also hiking in Grand Etang Lake and Forest Reserve, mountain biking past rain-forest-shaded waterfalls and volcanic lakes, and world-class snorkeling or diving. With the recipes that follow, culled from island chefs, you can enjoy the tastes of Grenada—the next best thing to being there.
Crab Backs
Serves 8 / This snack is a favorite at Deyna's Tasty Foods, a locals' favorite in St. George's. It's best made with fresh crab shells, though 4-ounce ramekins work fine.
8 crab shells (optional) or 8 ramekins
8 ounces fresh crabmeat
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chive or scallion
1 tablespoon minced seasoning pepper (jalapeño or Serrano)
1 tablespoon butter
3/8-1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chopped parsley, for garnish
1. If using crab shells, prepare by soaking 30 minutes in vinegar. Rinse, boil for about 5 minutes, and allow to dry.
2. Preheat oven to 350º. Sauté crabmeat, onion, garlic, herbs, and seasoning pepper in butter for 5–10 minutes, stirring. Add bread crumbs and stir gently. Salt to taste, then stuff into shells or ramekins.
3. Bake 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh pepper and parsley.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 63 calories % fat calories: 32 Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 33mg Carbohydrate: 4g Protein: 6g Fiber: 0g Sodium: 126mg
Caribbean cooking tends to be hearty and richly flavorful, often reliant on pungent spice mixtures. Callaloo Soup
Serves 6–8 / DeSoleil's chef Bradley Taylor makes this traditional soup with callaloo, a green leaf vegetable similar to taro and often compared to spinach (both taro leaf and spinach make fine substitutes). Look for fresh callaloo or taro leaves at West Indian or Asian markets. For added elegance, add a half-pound of crabmeat. Serve hot with cornbread.
4 cups callaloo or taro leaf and stem, finely chopped 4 teaspoons butter 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 1/4 cup chopped onion 8 cups low-salt chicken or vegetable stock, divided 2 tablespoons coconut cream (with sugar) 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Angostura bitters or hot pepper sauce, to taste (optional)
1. Rinse callaloo in a colander and drain all excess water. In a soup pot, heat butter with garlic and onion. Sauté until onions are golden brown, being careful not to let onions burn or stick to the pot. Carefully add 2 cups of the stock and callaloo; simmer 20 minutes, stirring often. Reduce until mixture thickens and almost all liquid is gone. Remove from heat.
2. When cool, purée in a food processor or blender, then return to pot. Add remaining 6 cups stock and bring to a slow boil. Add coconut cream, cheese, and nutmeg and stir well. Flavor to taste with Angostura bitters or hot pepper sauce.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 166 calories % fat calories: 26 Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 8mg Carbohydrate: 29g Protein: 4g Fiber: 5g Sodium: 211mg
Nutmeg, Grenada's number-one export, is used for everything from cooking to preserving cosmetics and paving garden walkways—even for perfecting Coca-Cola's secret formula. Spice-Island Chicken with Pickled Limes
Serves 8 / Chef Paul Chappel, of Cicely's Restaurant at the Calabash Hotel in L'anse Aux Epines on the southwestern tip of Grenada, makes this with the small limes that grow abundantly on the island. Pickling is a common preparation in tropical climates; although the fruit loses its bright green color when cooked, the spicy lime pulp greatly enhances the flavors of the rice and chicken.
Pickled Limes
6 limes, washed and cut into 6 wedges each, seeds and excessive pith removed
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 star anise
4 small chilies (jalapeño or Serrano), halved and seededMarinade
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon ground clove
1 tablespoon ground star anise
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon water8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Saffron Rice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups long-grain rice
4-1/2 cups low-salt vegetable or chicken stock
3 strands saffron, or 1 pinch ground saffron
1. For pickled limes: Put limes in a colander placed over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Dry-roast mustard seeds and star anise in a frying pan over medium heat until they start to color. Pour into a large glass jar with lid. In the same pan, cook drained limes over moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Add chilies; cook 5–8 minutes more, then allow to cool in the pan. Add limes, chilies, and juices to jar with the mustard seeds and star anise. Shake to distribute spices. (Pickled limes can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4–6 weeks.)
2. Mix all marinade ingredients in a large zip-top bag and add chicken. Marinate in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.
3. For saffron rice: In a medium-large saucepan with lid, gently sweat onion and garlic in butter until soft. Add rice and stock. Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until stock is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Add saffron, season with salt and pepper, and fluff with a fork.
4. Grill chicken until browned, 5 minutes per side; transfer to oven and cook until done, another 10–12 minutes. Serve chicken on a bed of rice with warmed pickled limes on the side.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 369 calories % fat calories: 17 Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 55mg Carbohydrate: 53g Protein: 24g Fiber: 2g Sodium: 1220mg
Tamarind-Ginger Shrimp with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4–6 / This elegant dish from Chef Bradley Taylor, owner of DeSoleil restaurant on Grand Anse Beach, contrasts the tart sweetness of tamarind pod (a staple in Thai cooking and the base of Worcestershire sauce), the pungent salty-sweetness of oyster sauce, and the unique heat of ginger. Look for tamarind paste or sugar-coated tamarind balls (a traditional West Indian sweet) in Asian or other ethnic groceries.
1 cup tamarind balls or paste
1-1/3 cups water, divided
4 tablespoons coarsely grated ginger, divided
1 pound sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 small carrots, julienned
24 jumbo prawns, peeled and deveined, tails left on
2 teaspoons finely chopped seasoning pepper (jalapeño or Serrano)
3 teaspoons oyster sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
1. Combine tamarind balls or paste and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Yield should be about 1/2 cup.
2. Soak 2 tablespoons grated ginger in 1/3 cup warm water for 10 minutes; scoop up gratings and squeeze out all water, reserving 2 ounces liquid. Spread gratings on a baking sheet and dry in a 350º oven for 5–10 minutes until crispy; set aside.
3. Boil sweet potatoes in salted water for 25 minutes or until tender. Strain and cool, then peel and remove any knots or bruises. Cut into small cubes and whip until smooth, except for small lumps. Blend with butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
4. In a medium skillet, heat sesame oil. Add remaining 2 tablespoons grated ginger, garlic, and carrots. When mixture begins to brown, add prawns and sauté 30 seconds. Add chopped pepper, 1/2 cup tamarind juice, and 2 ounces ginger juice and bring to simmer over high heat. Stir in oyster sauce, salt, and pepper, and allow sauce to reduce a bit.
5. For each serving, pile six prawns onto a bed of sweet potatoes, drizzle with tamarind-ginger sauce and sesame seeds, and garnish with crispy ginger.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 357 calories % fat calories: 21 Fat: 9g Saturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 175mg Carbohydrate: 48g Protein: 22g Fiber: 6g Sodium: 694mg
Grenadian Conchee
Serves 10–12 / In Grenada, cornmeal cooked with coconut milk is called "coo coo," a savory polenta. For dessert, these ingredients are transformed into a homey, spiced pudding, which is served during holiday season at Spice Island Beach Resort on Grand Anse Beach. Use a banana-leaf wrapper for an authentic and exotic presentation.
*Note: To make simple syrup, simmer equal parts water and sugar, stirring, until sugar dissolves.
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons grated sweet potato
1/4 cup grated or canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup sugar, to taste
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons raisins
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1/3-1/2 cup light coconut milk
Custard sauce
2 eggs
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar
1 cup low-fat or whole milk
3 ounces simple syrup*
3 drops vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brandy
1. For the conchee: Combine cornmeal, potato, pumpkin, spices, sugar, and butter and mix well. Add raisins and grated coconut. Add just enough coconut milk to make a soft dough. Place mixture in the middle of a large sheet of foil. Fold over foil and, using fingers, compress mixture into a long sausage shape. Fold and seal open ends of foil with a double bend to ensure a tight seal. Place foil packet on a steaming basket in a large pot with 2 inches of water (curve foil packet if necessary to fit). Bring water to boil, cover pot, and steam 20 minutes.
2. While conchee is steaming, prepare custard sauce: Beat eggs with sugar and a little of the milk. Put remaining milk into a saucepan and heat gently until lukewarm. Beat warmed milk into egg mixture. Pour mixture and simple syrup into a double boiler and set over simmering water. Stirring constantly, cook custard, not allowing it to boil, until it is thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in brandy.
3. Once conchee is cooled slightly, open foil and cut into slices with a sharp knife. Coat serving dish with custard sauce; place conchee slices in sauce to absorb. (Do not cover conchee with sauce.) Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving: Calories: 226 calories % fat calories: 34 Fat: 9g Saturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 51mg Carbohydrate: 34g Protein: 4g Fiber: 2g Sodium: 56mg
Bradley's Ginger Beer
Makes about 13 cups / Ginger beer is prevalent in Grenada and the West Indies alike, according to Bradley Taylor, the innovative Canadian-Grenadian chef-owner of DeSoleil restaurant on Grand Anse Beach. "People drink it for many reasons," he says. "It's generally referred to as a tonic good for stomach ailments, and it's also essential in treating a cold." Use clean soda bottles with screw-on tops.
Grenada's ginger is wonderfully pungent yet subtle. For ginger beer, fresh ginger is grated and pressed in liquid to extract its juice. "I also keep the gratings and pulp and spread it on a sheet pan to dry in a hot oven for a few minutes," says Taylor. "It can then be powdered or chopped and blended into recipes for added flavor. It also makes a great garnish, especially when it is crispy."
Ginger Extract
1 pound fresh ginger, peeled
2 cups lukewarm water
Ginger Beer
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water (95º-100º)
2 1/4 cups sugar
12 cups hot water (120º-125º)
2 cups ginger extract
1. For the ginger extract: Grate fresh, peeled ginger into a mixing bowl, using the finer side of the grater (or use a food processor with grater attachment). Add 2 cups lukewarm water and stir mixture for 1-2 minutes, then allow to settle for 5 minutes. Stir again before straining through a fine sieve, catching all liquid in a bowl. Collect pulp in your hands or cheesecloth and squeeze thoroughly, being careful to catch all the liquid. The better the squeeze, the stronger the flavor. Stir and measure out 2 cups.
2. In a small bowl, combine yeast with 3/4 cups lukewarm water and stir just enough to moisten. Set aside for 10 minutes, uncovered.
3. Combine sugar and hot water in a large, nonreactive bowl or pot. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and water appears clear. Stir in ginger extract. Add yeast mixture and combine thoroughly.
4. Using a funnel, transfer liquid to soda bottles, leaving at least 1 inch at the top of each bottle. Cap bottles tightly and stand them upright in a warm place for 5-6 days, until soda is effervescent. Refrigerate before serving.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving (1 cup): Calories: 140 calories % fat calories: 0 Fat: 0g Saturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Carbohydrate: 36g Protein: 0g Fiber: 0g Sodium: 9mg


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If you are a people-pleaser who strives to keep your social relationships smooth and comfortable, you might find yourself overeating in certain social situations like Super Bowl watch parties. A new study from Case Western Reserve University found that, hungry or not, some people eat in an attempt to keep others comfortable.
"They don't want to rock the boat or upset the sense of social harmony," says Julie Exline, a Case Western Reserve psychologist and lead author of the study.
Turning down cake or cookies when others are indulging is tough for everyone, but it poses a special problem for people-pleasers, Exline says. If people-pleasers feel a sense of social pressure to eat, they will often eat more in an attempt to match what others around them are eating.
But even if people-pleasers overeat in order to keep others comfortable, they may pay an emotional price.
"Those who overeat in order to please others tend to regret their choices later. It doesn't feel good to give in to social pressures," Exline says.
The research findings were reported in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology article, "People-Pleasing through Eating: Sociotropy Presents Greater Eating in Response to Perceived Social Pressure."
This study looked at the eating habits, but, Exline says, the same behaviors that affect food consumption can surface in other areas of the individual's life. For example, people-pleasers may feel anxious or guilty if they outperform others in areas such as academics, athletics or relationship success. People-pleasers have a strong desire to avoid posing a threat to others, so they often put a lot of energy into trying to keep others comfortable.
Exline led a two-part study of 101 college students (41 men and 60 women) who completed a questionnaire that assessed characteristics for people-pleasing, also known as "sociotropy." Students high in people-pleasing were those who tended to put others' needs before their own, worried about hurting others, and were sensitive to criticism, among other behaviors.
After answering these questions along with some other background measures, students were seated with a female actor who was posing as a second participant in the study. The experimenter handed a bowl of M&M candies to the actor, who took a small handful of candies (about 5) before offering the bowl to the participant. After taking the candies, participants reported how many they took and why. Researchers also assessed the number of candies taken.
High sociotropy (people-pleasing) scores were associated with taking more candy, both in this laboratory experiment and in a second study involving recall of real-life eating situations.
"People-pleasers feel more intense pressure to eat when they believe that their eating will help another person feel more comfortable," Exline says. "Almost everyone has been in a situation in which they've felt this pressure, but people-pleasers seem especially sensitive to it."
Also contributing to the study are Ellen Bratslavsky, Cuyahoga Community College; Michelle Hamilton, Case Western Reserve University; Anne Swenson, University of Washington; and Anne L. Zell, Augustana College.
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology


text:
Just 27 miles north of Houston, The Woodlands is one of America's first master planned communities, making it the perfect venue for a race of this magnitude. The Woodlands is close to two major airports, numerous parks, a bustling downtown and a luxurious resort for athletes and their families to enjoy. With plenty of amenities within walking distance, this pedestrian-friendly community makes it easy for visitors to find their way around town during race week.
Athletes will begin with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Woodlands. The 112-mile bike course takes participants west through the scenic, rolling farmland of east Texas. The day ends with a 26.2-mile run taking place entirely within The Woodlands and concluding with a spectacular finish on Waterway Ave.
Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas presented by Waste Management offers 75 qualifying slots for the IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, HI.
May 16, 2015
The Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
United States


text:
Washington, DC - The
Office of the United States Representative announced today that the
United States has requested
the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute settlement panel
regarding subsidies provided by China that appear to be prohibited by
WTO rules.
"Although our two rounds of WTO consultations with China
have been constructive, they have not resolved our concerns about China's
apparent use of trade-distorting subsidies that it pledged to eliminate upon
joining the World Trade Organization," said USTR Spokesman Sean Spicer.
"China has taken a positive step by
repealing one of the subsidy programs we challenged, but much more needs to be
done. We continue to prefer a negotiated settlement to this dispute, but
without assurance of complete corrective action by China, we must
continue to pursue the WTO process to enforce our rights."
The U.S. request for a WTO dispute settlement panel
challenges several subsidy programs maintained by China that the United States
believes are prohibited by WTO rules. Subsidies conditioned either on a
firm's use of domestic over imported products or on exports are prohibited by
the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. They also are
inconsistent with other WTO obligations, including specific commitments
undertaken by China as part of its WTO accession
agreement to eliminate such subsidies before it joined the WTO on December 11,
The United
States and Mexico requested WTO consultations with
China over these subsidies in
February and then filed supplemental consultation requests in April after
China eliminated one subsidy and
passed a revised income tax law with new provisions that appear to provide for
prohibited subsidies. While consultations have been productive and
useful, China has not to date been able to assure the United States and Mexico
that it will promptly eliminate all of the subsidy programs that remain of
plans to join with the United
States and file its own request for the
establishment of a WTO panel today.
The United
States initiated the dispute over China's prohibited subsidies by requesting
consultations with China on February 2, 2007.
Mexico requested
consultations with China on the same measures on
February 26, 2007. Shortly before joint consultations were held on March
20, 2007, China eliminated
one of the subsidy programs challenged by the United States and Mexico, but also
adopted a new income tax law providing additional tax breaks for qualifying
firms. In order to clarify whether these new tax breaks constituted new
prohibited subsidies, the United
States and Mexico requested supplemental consultations with
China, which were held jointly on
June 22, 2007.
Under WTO rules, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)
will consider the United
States' request for the establishment of a
panel at its next meeting on July 24, 2007. In addition to allegations
under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and
China's Protocol of
Accession, the United
States' complaint also alleges violations of
the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on
Trade-Related Investment Measures.
This is the second dispute against China for which the United States
has requested a WTO dispute settlement panel. The United States, together with Canada and the European Communities, requested a
panel in September 2006 to examine China's regulations imposing local
content requirements in the auto sector through discriminatory charges on
imported auto parts. Panel proceedings in that dispute are


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Unholy Alliance
by Kathleen Rowland
Blurb—Unholy Alliance (2nd book in the Irish American Donahue Cousins series)
A decade ago, Tori Rourke, and her cousin, Vivienne, ran from the Irish mob after witnessing a brutal murder. Tori was framed by the mob, and while she served time in prison, she worried that the killer, Seamus McGinn, had kidnapped her missing cousin.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the wrongly condemned, appeals Tori's case and wins her release. Now, going by Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin's kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel Peterson, who's been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor, the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different story. He's a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at the center of the mob's operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.
"Don't let the anxiety of freedom consume you." Attorney Grady Donahue Fletcher clenched his teeth and rehearsed what he'd say to his client, Victoria Morningstar. He'd won her appeal and drove to pick her up at Gladstone Penitentiary. "At least you won't be placed in solitary." That was worse.
Six months earlier Grady had phoned a reporter at the Los Angeles Globe. "Drew Barker. Grady Fletcher here."
"Ah, the lawyer. Calling about a tip?"
"I am. Here's something you can investigate. Tori Morningstar, did she murder Irene Brennan?"
"I wrote that story many years back," the journalist had said. "I assume you have new discoveries."
"Fraud, illegal testimony. Do you want the story first?" A second passed. "Otherwise, I'll call the Orange County Guardian."
"Okay, okay. We want it."
Three days later Grady had a hand in writing the first article in Drew Barker's column. "The public labeled Tori Morningstar as an undesirable. Not black and poor, but disfavored, accused, incarcerated, and wrongly condemned. Her cellphone has been recovered. Her call to 911 identified her voice and substantiated screams of the victim in the background. Could she have beaten someone while speaking to dispatch at the same time?"
The reporter had written the second article. "People who get their ideas about criminal lawyers from TV probably would be disappointed in Grady Fletcher. He lacks flash but stands up straight, his posture neither ramrod nor slouched. He doesn't smoke, doesn't wear thousand dollar suits. His voice is soft and low, one of his assets. He speaks truth with a voice inviting confidences."
As nice as that was, Grady's stomach cramped over pressure and strain from Drew Barker's final article with the headline, Tori Morningstar, Released Today. Picked up by the online service, Newser, KTLA, and CBS Los Angeles, they planned to broadcast his arrival to escort his client from Gladstone.
Tori's decade-long prison sentence ended today but with a sobering fear over tomorrow.
When was a July morning this hot? Grady balanced her release papers on his lap as he rolled up one sleeve then the other while gripping the damp steering wheel. Sweat blossomed on his throbbing forehead, wrapped like a python's grip. He adjusted the dial for the AC and embraced the challenge of helping another client get back on track. Embrace and conquer. Or at least sound like it.
You will find all buy book links for Unholy Alliance here:
Interview, Kathleen Rowland
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
True colors, virtue and character, are revealed in crisis. In their own ways, heroine Tori and hero Grady undergo personal drama but exhibit calm and rationality when their loves are rocked by a murderer. She stops beating herself up for her mob family's mistakes. He becomes more empathetic.
How do you come up with your characters?
Protagonists need four solid characteristics and one flaw. Antagonists need one good quality. Otherwise characters would be lifeless. After determining qualities (which involves their horoscopes) how they react is set in stone.
Do you have any writing rituals that you do while writing?
Prior to writing a book, I write the intended blurb for the book, followed by a synopsis. I place chapter headings in Scrivener. This avoids a saggy middle and forces forward writing with goal, motivation, and conflict. Often another twist takes over, but I don't stray far from the intended plot points. I write tight and steamy romantic suspense.
What types of books do you enjoy reading in your free time or what do you like to do with your free time?
I bring my Kindle everywhere. The types of books I enjoy most are sexy contemporaries and romantic thrillers. I often select books from Tirgearr Publishing. My husband and family are in the center my life, but I love travel to Hawaii, Europe, and favorite places in the U.S. We rent some type of small boat if possible on vacations.
Does your family read your books?
Yes, particularly my husband who also loves hearing what I'm writing now. For my teenage grandchildren I wrote a sweet futuristic Intervenus series. The first book of the series, A Brand New Address, finaled in the Book Buyers Best contest in 2015. The hero in the series is Black, and the series is dedicated to our grandson D'mitri who is Black.
Quick Draw:
Coffee or Tea?
Coffee in the morning, tea in the evening. Morning coffee is a strong latte.
Jeans or sweats?
Fitted jeans with a midriff top—good for doing yoga stretches.
Beer or Wine?
Now and then, a glass of wine is nice. In addition to wine I like Asti Spumanti champagne.
Chocolate or Chips?
Dark chocolate kisses. I like chips, too. Oh my, temptations! Kathleen1 wants to be strong and thin. To be in the light she has to push impulsive Kathleen2 back into the shadows and not write-while-munching either of these appetizing items. It's a challenge to eat fruit instead.
Anything else you'd like to share with us?
I write every day but set aside time in mid-morning to swim laps. After lunch I do floor stretches and gardening. Although I'm active on social media, I get out face-to-face. Conversation is stimulating at my weekly local book club. At the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America. I will chair The Orange Rose Contest for unpublished writers.
I teach a writing class entitled: Spin reverberating scenes that resonate with your readers."
A little more about Kathleen Rowland—
Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling love story sure to melt their hearts. Writing a romantic suspense Irish American series for Tirgearr Publishing, Deadly Alliance is followed by Unholy Alliance. Bittersweet Alliance is in the works. Keep an icy drink handy while reading these hot stories.
Kathleen used to write computer programs but now writes novels. She grew up in Iowa where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were lightning bugs in California.
Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry, in their 70's poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors. While proud of their five children who've flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write. If you'd enjoy news, sign up for Kathleen's newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/
Tirgearr Publishing – Leading The Pack


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Lies, distortions and self-serving obfuscations are to be expected when political and business leaders discuss far away places.
In a recent Toronto Star column Rick Salutin observed that "foreign policy is a truth-free, fact-free zone. When leaders speak on domestic issues, citizens at least have points of reference to check them against. On foreign affairs they blather freely."
Salutin vividly captures an important dynamic of political life. What do most Canadians know about our government's actions in Afghanistan or Haiti? Most of us have never been to those countries and don't know anyone living there, from there or even who've been there. We are heavily dependent on media and politicians' portrayals. But, as I detail in A Propaganda System: How Canada's Government, Corporations, Media and Academia Sell War and Exploitation, international correspondents generally take their cue from the foreign policy establishment or diplomats in the field.
Journalists are prepared to criticize governments and corporations to a certain extent on "domestic" issues, but the spirit of "challenging power" largely disappears regarding foreign policy. One reason is that nationalism remains an important media frame and the dominant media often promotes an "our team" worldview.
Another explanation is the web of state and corporate generated ideas institutes, which I review in A Propaganda System, that shape the international discussion. In a forthcoming second volume I look at the Canadian Left's contribution to confusing the public about international policies.
The state/corporate nexus operates largely unchallenged in the Global South because there is little in terms of a countervailing force. Instead of criticizing the geo-strategic and corporate interests overwhelmingly driving foreign policy decisions, the social democratic NDP has often supported them and contributed to Canadians' confusion about this country's international affairs. The NDP endorsed bombing Serbia and Libya and in recent years they've supported military spending, Western policy in the Ukraine and the dispossession of Palestinians. The NDP has largely aligned with the foreign policy establishment or those, as long time NDP MP Libby Davies put it, who believe a "Time Magazine version" of international affairs.
Closely tied to the NDP, labour unions' relative indifference to challenging foreign policy is another reason why politicians can "blather freely" on international affairs. On many domestic issues organized labour represents a countervailing force to the corporate agenda or state policies. While dwarfed by corporate Canada, unions have significant capacities. They generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual dues and fund or participate in a wide range of socially progressive initiatives such as the Canadian Health Coalition, Canadian Council for Refugees and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. But, unions rarely extend their broader (class) vision of society to international affairs. In fact, sometimes they endorse unjust international policies.
To the extent that politicians' "blathering" is restrained it is largely by other countries. The recent political conflict in the Ukraine provides an example. Canadian politicians have aggressively promoted a simplistic, self-serving, narrative that has dominated the media-sphere. But, there is a source of power countering this perspective. Moscow financed/controlled media such as RT, Sputnik and others have offered a corrective to the Western line. A comparatively wealthy and powerful state, Russia's diplomats have also publicly challenged the Canadian media's one-sided portrayal.
An important, if rarely mentioned, rule of foreign policy is the more impoverished a nation, the greater the gap is likely to be between what Canadian officials say and do. The primary explanation for the gap between what's said and done is that power generally defines what is considered reality. So, the bigger the power imbalance between Canada and another country the greater Ottawa's ability to distort their activities.
Haiti provides a stark example. In 2004 Ottawa helped overthrow Haiti's elected government and then supported an installed regime that killed thousands. Officially, however, Ottawa was "helping" the beleaguered country as part of the "Friends of Haiti" group. And the bill for undermining Haitian democracy, including the salaries of top coup government officials and the training of repressive cops, was largely paid out of Canada's "aid" to the country.
A stark power imbalance between Ottawa and Port-au-Prince helps explain the gulf between Canadian government claims and reality in Haiti. Describing the country at the time of Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster, former Globe and Mail foreign editor Paul Knox observed, "obviously, in the poorest country of the Americas, the government is going to have fewer resources at its disposal to mount a PR exercise or offensive if it feels itself besieged."
With a $300 US million total budget for a country of eight million, the Haitian government had limited means to explain their perspective to the world either directly or through international journalists. On the other hand, the Washington–Paris–Ottawa coup triumvirate had great capacity to propagate their perspective (at the time the Canadian International Development Agency and Foreign Affairs each spent 10 times the entire Haitian budget and the Department of National Defence 60 times). The large Canadian embassy in Port-au-Prince worked to influence Canadian reporters in the country and their efforts were supplanted by the Haiti desks at CIDA and Foreign Affairs as well as the two ministries' communications departments and Canadian military officials.
While an imbalance in communications resources partly explains the coverage, there is also a powerful ideological component. The media's biased coverage of Haiti cannot be divorced from 'righteous Canada' assumptions widely held among the intelligentsia. As quoted in an MA thesis titled "Covering the coup: Canadian news reporting, journalists, and sources in the 2004 Haiti crisis", CBC reporter Neil McDonald told researcher Isabel McDonald the Canadian government was "one of the most authoritative sources on conflict resolution in the world." According to Isabel McDonald's summary, the prominent correspondent also said, "it was crazy to imagine Canada would be involved in a coup" and that "Canadian values were incompatible with extreme inequality or race-based hegemony", which Ottawa's policies clearly exacerbated in Haiti. (Neil Macdonald also said his most trusted sources for background information in Haiti came from Canadian diplomatic circles, notably CIDA where his cousins worked. The CBC reporter also said he consulted the Canadian ambassador in Port-au-Prince to determine the most credible human rights advocate in Haiti. Ambassador Kenneth Cook directed him to Pierre Espérance, a coup backer who fabricated a "massacre" used to justify imprisoning the constitutional prime minister and interior minister. When pressed for physical evidence Espérance actually said the 50 bodies "might have been eaten by wild dogs.")
The Canadian Council on Africa provides another example of the rhetoric that results from vast power imbalances and paternalist assumptions. Run by Canadian corporations operating on the continent, the council said it "focuses on the future of the African economy and the positive role that Canada can play meeting some of the challenges in Africa."
Similar to the Canadian Council on Africa, the Canadian American Business Council, Canada China Business Council and Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce also seek to advance members' profit-making potential. But, the other lobby groups don't claim humanitarian objectives. The primary difference between the Canadian Council on Africa and the other regional lobby organizations is the power imbalance between Canada/the West and African countries, as well as the anti-African paternalism that dominates Canadian political culture. A group of Canadian corporations claiming their aim was to meet the social challenges of the US or UK would sound bizarre and if they said as much about China they would be considered seditious. (Ironically the US-, Britain- and China-focused lobby groups can better claim the aid mantle since foreign investment generally has greater social spinoffs in more independent/better regulated countries.) But, paternalist assumptions are so strong — and Africans' capacity to assert themselves within Canadian political culture so limited — that a lobby group largely representing corporations that displace impoverished communities to extract natural resources is, according to the Canadian Council on Africa's previous mission statement, "committed to the economic development of a modern and competitive Africa."
To counter the "fact free zone" individuals need to educate themselves on international issues, by seeking alternative sources of information. More important, we should strengthen internationalist social movements and left media consciously seeking to restrict politicians' ability to "blather freely".


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NASHVILLE (AP) – Gov. Bill Haslam says he intends to continue privatizing some state government operations.
A contract to have a Chicago-based company manage state office space created controversy. It takes effect July 1 and 126 General Services Department workers will be laid off.
Haslam told the Chattanooga Times Free Press the administration will look at outsourcing work where practical.
"I think our job is to deliver the very best service at the lowest price, and I've said that from the very beginning," Haslam said last week, adding, "I think particularly this case with the real estate space is a great example of that."
A Davidson County judge dissolved a temporary restraining order on Monday. In a lawsuit, the Tennessee State Employees Association and individual workers say the state violated its own requirement to help affected workers find other positions by removing a website that would let them look for state jobs.
In ending the stay, Circuit Court Judge Amanda McClendon said it was obvious the state would suffer if the stay remained in force and said employees have no property rights to the jobs and the state was within its rights in the actions it took.
Haslam said he believed the website was unavailable because state computers were being programmed with pay adjustments after a study comparing public employee salaries with private jobs that were similar.
"Our systems didn't allow us to have those adjustments ready (on the NeoGov website)" for the employees getting laid off, Haslam said. "It wasn't a deliberate effort to shut them off."
Because of that study, more than 85 percent of state workers will get more than the 1.5 percent raise scheduled to take effect July 1, Haslam said.
Meanwhile, state employees and their representative argue that in some of the privatization, the savings promised don't materialize.
"As far as I know, state employees were doing a good job managing the buildings," said Robert O'Connell, executive director of the Tennessee State Employees Association.
What employees "think we're seeing here is an execution of a certain political philosophy" of privatization wherever possible of even "appropriate" public functions, O'Connell said.
But Haslam said the reviews don't always lead to privatization, saying the state is taking back some functions it earlier contracted out.
"I was talking to a highway contractor the other day who's kind of mad about some things we used to let private contractors do that we're bringing back in house" at the Department of Transportation," he said.
Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, www.timesfreepress.com
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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And they sent word to David, saying, The Philistines are fighting against Keilah and taking the grain from the grain-floors.
So David, questioning the Lord, said, Am I to go and make an attack on these Philistines? And the Lord said to David, Go and make an attack on the Philistines so that Keilah may be kept from falling into their hands.
And David's men said to him, Even here in Judah we are full of fear: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
Then David put the question to the Lord again, and the Lord answering said, Up! go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hands.
So David and his men went to Keilah, and had a fight with the Philistines, and took away their cattle, and put them to the sword with great destruction. So David was the saviour of the people of Keilah.
Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, went in flight to David, he came down to Keilah with the ephod in his hand.
And news was given to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, Now God has given him into my hands; for by going into a walled town with locked doors, he has let himself be shut in.
And Saul sent for all the people to come to the fight, and go down to Keilah to make an attack on David and his men.
And it was clear to David that Saul had evil designs against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, Come here with the ephod.
Then David said, O Lord, the God of Israel, news has been given to your servant that it is Saul's purpose to come to Keilah and send destruction on the town because of me.
And now, is it true, as they have said to me, that Saul is coming? O Lord, the God of Israel, give ear to your servant, and say if these things are so. And the Lord said, He is coming down.
Then David said, Will the men of Keilah give me and my men up to Saul? and the Lord said, They will give you up.
Then David and his men, about six hundred of them, went out of Keilah, and got away wherever they were able to go. And Saul, hearing that David had got away from Keilah, did not go there.
And David kept in the waste land, in safe places, waiting in the hill-country in the waste land of Ziph. And Saul was searching for him every day, but God did not give him up into his hands.
And David was full of fear, in the knowledge that Saul had come out to take his life; and David was in the waste land of Ziph, in Horesh.
And Saul's son Jonathan went to David in Horesh, and made his hands strong in God;
And said to him, Have no fear, for Saul my father will not get you into his power; and you will be king of Israel, and I will be by your side, and my father Saul is certain of this.
And the two of them made an agreement before the Lord: and David went on living in Horesh, and Jonathan went back to his house.
Then the Ziphites came up to Gibeah to see Saul, and said, Is not David living secretly among us in the strong places in Horesh, in the hill of Hachilah to the south of the waste land?
So now, O king, have your soul's desire and come down, and we, for our part, will give him up into the king's hands.
And Saul said, The Lord's blessing will be yours, for you have had pity on me.
Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit.
So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah.
And they went back and came to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the waste land of Maon, in the dry land south of the waste land.
And Saul and his men went in search of him. And David had word of it, so he came down to the rock in the waste land of Maon. And Saul, hearing of this, went after David into the waste land of Maon.
And Saul and his men went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men went on the other: and David's purpose was to get away as quickly as possible, for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men were making a circle round David and his men in order to take them.
But a man came to Saul saying, Be quick and come; for the Philistines have made an attack on the land.
So turning back from going after David, Saul went against the Philistines: so that place was named Sela-hammah-lekoth.
And from there, David went up and took cover in the safe place of En-gedi.


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Your Math Tutor
What's happening, "dude?" I heard that you some help with your math class. It just so happens "my dog" that I have the "pro skills" needed to help you. Now, I know that math isn't considered "wicked," or "sweet", but I am going to show you how math can be both "wicked," and "sweet." I realize that this may seem "awkward" to you, but just treat me like your "bro," and everything will just flow into that little "cap" of yours, but above all remember, I'm here for you, as Your Math Tutor.
Addition and Subtraction[edit | edit source]
Tutor: Now, "home skillet," I'd like to start off with something simple: addition and subtraction.
Home Skillet: I'm in pre-calculus, not kindergarten.
Tutor: Yes, I know you're in pre-calculus, but it's always good to go back over the basics. Now addition and subtraction are super "whack." The set-up for these problems is:
Here, I'll show you some equations, "G-unit."
There, really easy. Now for another one.
G-unit: This is retardedly simple. I need to study for my test, not be patronized.
Tutor: I'm not patronizing you! This is important "Dude-asaurus." Now I'm going to start on subtraction, which is "radical" as well. It's always in the form:
Tutor: I'll give you some examples too.
Tutor: Ha Ha! All the answers are forty-two, get it "Broseph?"
Dude-asaurus: ...This is stupid. Now you're just making fun of me.
Tutor: No I'm not! This is really "far out!"
Multiplication and Division[edit | edit source]
Tutor: Ok, now we'll move to multiplication and divis-
Broseph: I learned this in third grade!
Tutor: Yes, I know you learned this in third grade, but we're going to go over it again, "Leonit-izzle."
Multiplication is written as:
I'll give you a few examples.
Tutor: All you have to remember here is zero times anything is always zero. Isn't that totally "choice?"
Leonit-izzle: I'll bet that's also how many girls you've had sex with.
Tutor: No, that isn't how many girls I've slept with, you "brat salandwich".
Brat Salandwich: Wait, what is this?
Tutor: Oh, isn't it "boss" that I switched to division, "diggity?" I could see you were "bugged out" with the other stuff already.
This is the same as multiplication. Zero on top equals zero. "Bad," right?
Diggity: I already know this though!
Tutor: I know you know this, "small fry;" I'm just driving home a point.
Small Fry: I get the point. The point is you're a fucking retard.
Alegbra[edit | edit source]
Tutor: Ok, you little "Velocibrat," you need to be "chill" right now, or else you might get a B in pre-calculus!
Velocibrat: Oh no. Not a B. That would be such a "drag."
Tutor: Ok now, alegbra is set up in a "nifty" little way, like this:
And from there you have to solve for x by getting all the x's on one side like this:
Tutor: Well you haven't had an outburst in a while so I guess I'll actually be able to teach you something today, "Hamaroni." Solving for x can be more difficult sometimes
Hamaroni: So, these are always 4?
Tutor: No, it's not always four, "Kraken McFearsome."
Kraken McFearsome: So, I can just put x=4 for all of these.
Tutor: No, you can't just put x=4 on all of thes- actually you know what, that's it you little cheeseball. I was going to try to get you ready for your math test, but you know what? I can't take any more of your attitude!
Trigonometry, Limits, Integrals, e, Natural log, Common log, Powers, and Functions[edit | edit source]
Tutor: Here, do this problem while I go have a "study session" with one of the other tutors.
[Door slam]


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Here are the power and driver boards that [Miceuz] designed to control a three-phase induction motor. This is his first time building such a setup and he learned a lot along the way. He admits it's not an industrial quality driver, but it will work for motors that need 200 watts or less of power.
The motor control board uses an MC3PHAC driver IC and an IRAMS06UP60A handles the power side of things. The majority of the board design came from studying the recommended application schematics for these two parts. But that's far from all that goes into the setup. Motor drivers always include levels of protection (the whole reason to have a driver in the first place) and that comes in several different forms. [Miceuz] made sure to add EMI, over voltage, and over current protection. He discusses all of these, sharing links that explain the concepts of each.


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I am trying to understand how you need to set things up when trying to run Windows from a Mac (using Bootcamp / Parallels). I understand the differences in terms of Bootcamp requiring you to choose at bootup versus running side by side with Parallels but I want to understand the implications around HD and RAM.
So lets say I buy a Mac with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM. I see that if you want to install windows, you need to partition and allocation memory and disk space for Windows.
On Windows I would need to run:
- SQL Server 2008
- Visual Studio 2010
- Microsoft Office and a few other pieces of propriety software
So my questions are:
How do i decide how much space is allocated to Windows and once I decide that, can I change it in the future? I was thinking about allocated 100GB to Windows which seems like it should cover me.
How do i decide what RAM is allocated to Windows. Can I change that on the fly in the future after that decision? Once I do this (lets say i allocate 8GB of RAM to windows), either through BootCamp or Parallels, does that mean that my Mac only will be able to leverage 8GB (since i have a total of 16GB) regardless if I am running Windows at that time or it only "takes" 8GB away when i start up windows.


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Dozens of police officers cleared Occupy protesters from a camp in San Francisco early Wednesday, giving them a five-minute warning before dismantling the tent city and arresting at least 70 people.
Police cars, fire engines and ambulances surrounded the campsite and blocked off the area around Justin Herman Plaza during the raid, which began shortly after 1 a.m.
A few officers lingered at daybreak Wednesday as trash crews raked up paper and plastic bottles, removed chairs and other belongings that had accumulated at the camp over the past two months.
"There are a few dozen occupiers standing around the edge of the plaza," Stephanie Martin of member station KQED reported Wednesday morning. "You also have a few dozen police in riot gear standing around the periphery of the plaza as public works crews with power washers clean it up and hose it down."
San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr told reporters that of the roughly 70 people detained, two were arrested for assaulting law enforcement but that most of the others were cited for illegal lodging and released.
"Most of the protesters went peacefully" but one officer received minor injuries when two people threw a chair that cracked his face shield, police Officer Albie Esparza said.
Campers estimated that the number of arrests was closer to 150.
The Occupy protesters had been offered an alternative site away from downtown San Francisco but declined to move. Demonstrators said they planned to reconvene later Wednesday to discuss their next move and possibly try to re-occupy the plaza.
"Everybody says they're not going anywhere," Martin said.
Richard Kriedler with Occupy S.F. said some protesters were injured, but that he didn't have the details.
"This is a very emotional town. We have anarchists, we have very emotional people that this is not going to go over well with, and this could have been handled a lot better," Kriedler told The Associated Press.
Jack Martin of San Francisco told the AP that he was trying to leave the plaza when he was zip-tied, taken to a police station, cited and released. He said officers trashed his tent and personal belongings.
"I lost everything I owned," Martin, 51, said as tears welled in his eyes. "Everything I owned is gone. My medicine, my paper for my Social Security."
He yelled at officers: "I was trying to get out of your way!"
Asked what he planned to do next, Martin replied, "Occupy, occupy, occupy, occupy."
Gene Doherty, 47, an Occupy protester who was not present during the raid but watched it on a live streaming website, said demonstrators planned a noon rally at the site and still had several "mobile occupations" throughout the city.
"We will come back and reoccupy," Doherty told the AP. "A large segment of our community has no other options. They don't have a home to go back to — this was their home."
Protesters will continue to "send a message that this is our right to protest, our right to assemble, and to talk about the economic injustices in the world," he said.
Stephanie Martin and Rachel Myrow of member station KQED contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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I love baking all kinds of bread, but a basic sourdough loaf is an essential staple at our house. Good with everything from blue cheese to blueberry jam, and quite possibly even better unadorned, we always feel something is missing if there isn't a loaf resting on the cutting board, ready for a quick snack or a hearty sandwich.
I first tried this recipe, adapted from the Vermont Sourdough in Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes, about a month ago. I loved it then, and have made it several more times since, to make sure the first time wasn't just beginner's luck. Nope; this one is a real winner. It's a plain, honest, not-too-sour sourdough with a touch of pumpernickel for depth of flavor. With a thin, crisp crust and soft but substantial crumb, this is now my go-to bread for everyday good eating, anytime, with anything.
The original recipe calls for 125% hydration starter. I adjusted it to work with mine at 100%, and made a few other tweaks as well. I am calling it Norwich Sourdough, in honor of the home town of Hamelman's King Arthur Flour bakery. And this charming Vermont town, as it happens, was my home, too, for five memorable years.
(adapted from Vermont Sourdough in Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman)
: 2 kg (four or five small, or two large, loaves)Time:
- Mix/autolyse: 35 minutes
- First fermentation: 2.5 hours
- Divide, bench rest, and shape: 20 minutes
- Proof: 2.5 hours (or 1.5 hours, then retard for 2 – 16 hours)
- Bake: 35 minutes
Desired dough temperature: 76F
- 900 g white flour (I used Heartland Mills unbleached malted all-purpose)
- 120 g whole rye flour (I used KAF pumpernickel)
- 600 g water at about 74F
- 360 g mature 100% hydration sourdough starter
- 23 g salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours, water, and starter on low speed until just combined, about one minute.
- Let the dough rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes.
- Add the salt and continue mixing on low or medium speed until the dough reaches a medium level of gluten development. This should only take about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to an oiled container (preferably a low, wide one so the dough can be folded without removing it from the container).
- Ferment at room temperature (72F – 76F) for 2.5 hours, with folds at 50 and 100 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Divide it into 400g – 500g pieces. I usually make four 400g loaves and refrigerate the rest to use for pizza dough later. Preshape the dough pieces into light balls.
- Sprinkle the balls lightly with flour, cover loosely with plastic, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Shape into batards and place seam-side-up in a floured couche or linen-lined bannetons.
- Slip the couche or bannetons into a large plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature for 2 – 2.5 hours. Alternatively, the loaves can be proofed for about 1.5 hours at room temperature, then refrigerated for 2 – 16 hours and baked directly out of the refrigerator; this will yield a tangier bread with a lovely, blistered crust.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 475F. You will also need steam during the initial phase of baking, so prepare for this now.
- Turn the proofed loaves onto a semolina-sprinkled peel or parchment. Slash each one with two overlapping cuts that are almost parallel to the long axis of the batard.
- Once the loaves are in the oven, turn the heat down to 450F. For 400g loaves, bake for 12 minutes with steam, and another 15 – 18 minutes without steam. I leave the oven door cracked open a bit for the last 5 minutes of this time. The crust should be a deep brown. Then turn off the oven and leave the loaves in for 5 minutes longer, with the door ajar, to help them dry. Larger loaves will need to be baked longer.
- Cool on a wire rack. Don't cut until the loaves are completely cool, if you can manage it!