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Remember how hard we pushed together to pass on-bill financing two legislative sessions ago? We're pleased to announce that the PUC has determined it to be a viable program and initiated the process to make it a reality. Here's the press release we sent out today:
Public Utilities Commission sets landmark on-bill financing program for Hawai'i in motion
The Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued an order that lays out the framework for an on-bill financing program for Hawai'i residents and small businesses. On-bill financing will enable customers—including renters—to pay for energy efficiency devices and solar energy directly through their electricity bill using the cost savings over time. Blue Planet Foundation successfully advocated for the on-bill financing act at the legislature in 2011 that initiated the investigative proceeding at the PUC later that year. Since then, Blue Planet has been a vocal champion of the policy, serving as an active intervening party throughout the PUC's proceeding.
"On-bill financing opens the door for residents statewide to participate in Hawaii's clean energy future," said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of Blue Planet Foundation. "By eliminating the hurdle of unaffordable upfront costs, on-bill financing makes the benefits of clean energy accessible to those who stand to gain the most—those who can least afford it."
The PUC's order determined that on-bill financing is a viable program for the state and specified key components to be included in the program's design. The Commission also ordered the creation of a working group to finalize the details of the program and its implementation.
Decision highlights:
· Solar photovoltaic, solar thermal water heating and all permanently installed energy efficiency improvements are eligible for financing.
· Participants will be enrolled in the utility's demand response programs to help enforce grid stability.
· An energy audit should be required for participants. This will help prescribe efficiency measures that should be taken before installation of solar PV, and it will determine the size of the PV system that qualifies for financing.
· The Public Benefits Fee Administrator, currently Hawaii Energy, will administer the program.
· The working group will offer recommendations to select a financing administrator that has the flexibility of obtaining and distributing low-cost capital from various sources.
· The financing is attached to the meter so that those making the payments will receive the benefits, and these benefits can be passed between successive occupants of a property.
· Kaua'i's utility cooperative, KIUC, has been directed to create an on-bill financing program for its customers.
Blue Planet advocated for an expansive on-bill program that included energy-efficient appliances and all customer classes. Unfortunately, the PUC took a more narrow position, limiting the types of devices that would qualify for the program and restricting the program to residential and small business customers only.
"We're disappointed that the Commission didn't see the value in including all businesses and other commercial customers who face the same challenges to accessing clean energy," Mikulina continued, emphasizing the need to create a scalable program that can have an even greater overall impact.
He added, "On-bill financing is the kind of smart, innovative solution we need to simultaneously bring economic relief to ratepayers and accelerate our transition to a fossil-free future."
Residents and small businesses will be able to finance solar directly on their utility bills? Sunny and Flare do the dance of joy!
In other news...


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"Um, private jets? I have such a hard time flying commercial. I always want to—it's cheaper, it's easier—but there can be 300 perfectly lovely people at the gate and one crazy person who ruins it for everyone, so flying private is great because I don't have to worry." "
A Helping Hand in the Cabin
Flight attendants can improve the quality of your journey. Here's why, and what you need to know about these crewmembers.
You may never charter a business jet that requires a flight attendant. No chartered aircraft with 19 or fewer passenger seats needs one, according to U.S Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency regulations.
That doesn't necessarily mean you won't encounter an attendant aboard some flights, however. Charter operators routinely put them on large-cabin jets, and the practice appears to be expanding to midsize aircraft. "The [Gulfstream] G280, Hawker aircraft and [Bombardier] Challengers—more and more, we're hearing operators are putting cabin attendants aboard as standard practice, particularly in charter situations," says Louisa Fisher, director of emergency training and cabin safety at FlightSafety International. The trend is also spreading among corporate flight departments, says Kristina Bauer-Selten, a cabin attendant for one such department and a member of the National Business Aviation Association's Flight Attendants Committee.
That's good news for passengers, because cabin attendants can make a big difference in the quality of the flight experience. They can prepare gourmet meals, help passengers navigate entertainment and communication systems and provide lifesaving help in an emergency. They can also be helpful if travelers have special medical needs or simply desire extra pampering.
Charter providers, however, sometimes hesitate to put attendants on an aircraft unless there's a seat outside the cabin for them. Midsize aircraft don't have the enclosed attendant's compartment that many large business jets include, but they may have a jump seat in the cockpit. If you don't need a big jet but want an attendant, state your preference for an aircraft with such seating.
"Flight attendant" is the FAA's designation for a cabin crewmember who has completed a training program approved by the federal agency, but since business jets don't require flight attendants, their training varies widely, as do the names by which charter providers refer to them. Some such providers call these crewmembers "cabin attendants" regardless of certification level.
The FAA, EASA and other aviation agencies and organizations set certification requirements for attendants. Mandated training includes hands-on instruction in emergency procedures and operation of cabin, galley and emergency equipment. Training also covers dealing with unruly passengers and communication with the flight crew in the event of a hijacking or other unusual situation.
FlightSafety International's training facility in Savannah, Georgia, uses fuselages configured identically to those of a variety of large-cabin aircraft, an indoor pool to practice ditching procedures and a "fire trainer" cabin where electrical and non-electrical fires are created. Training often also covers food safety and cooking, first-aid and survival techniques, hypoxia awareness, wing-surface contamination, safety-management systems, fatigue management, self-defense, Transportation Security Administration procedures, cultural awareness and differences and handling of hazardous materials. The FAA requires annual recurrency training for flight attendants.
The most basic role of a cabin attendant is caring for passengers' dining and beverage needs, a task that includes sourcing food and drink and ensuring food safety and quality. Attendants who are limited to culinary duties are often called "cabin servers," and at minimum a server should receive instruction in onboard food handling, but many undergo basic emergency training as well. Jenifer Felan, chief cabin attendant for California-based TWC Aviation, notes that its food servers must also be instructed annually in how to deal with medical and other emergencies and must be certified in aircraft-specific training programs developed by the company.
The National Business Aviation Association sanctions four levels of cabin crewmember certification under its Standards of Excellence in Business Aviation (SEBA) program. Corporate cabin crewmembers must have training in food handling, medical situations and crew-resource management. Senior corporate cabin crewmembers must also have aircraft-specific training, ground-safety training and business protocol and etiquette training. Lead corporate cabin crewmembers must additionally have advanced culinary training and training in high-altitude physiology, fatigue countermeasures and personal security. Manager/supervisor corporate cabin crewmembers require additional experience and industry involvement. (These programs meet FAA certification standards, according to FlightSafety's Fisher.) SEBA certification requires recurrency training every 24 months, though committee members recommend annual training.
The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) has also established standards for flight attendants that include meeting national regulation requirements and participating in an operator's own ground and flight training and recurrency programs. Expanding adoption of this standard around the globe has been an impetus for placing more emphasis on cabin crew training, industry professionals say.
For cabin service that's a cut above, a so-called flight purser, who has experience as lead flight attendant on an airline, brings additional qualifications that can include advanced culinary and emergency training and a private pilot's license. "When we're arranging a head-of-state charter, flight-purser qualification is going to be the requirement" for a cabin attendant, says Tracey Deakin, COO of charter broker Le Bas International. James Wynbrandt, a private pilot, is a regular BJT contributor who has also written for the New York Times, Forbes and Barron's.
While the 19 seat FAA regulation is all encompassing, there are individual aircraft that are certified to a standard that is more restrictive than the FARs. The Gulfstream 550, for instance, is type certificated to require a cabin attendant if the aircraft is carrying 10 or more passengers.
Another area the article did not address is the very presence of an authority figure in the cabin can rein-in unruly behavior (Justin Bieber excluded). Alcohol consumption, damage to furnishings and electronics, minimization of flight crew distractions, are all controlled more positively with a cabin attendance presence.
Thank you for your comment--speaking of Justin Bieber, I thought you may be interested in Matt Thurber's article on bizav etiquette: http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/private-jet-etiquette
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Inversion Investing Strategy: Short On Cash? Buy A Company
James Dennin, Kapitall: Inversion – moving your headquarters to avoid taxes – lets businesses buy smaller competitors overseas. So what?
It costs a lot of money to move entire offices. At least that's what Texas Governor Rick Perry is learning – as his expensive trips to court companies based elsewhere have yielded few results.
[Read more about M&As from Kapitall: Ad-Mega Merger: What the Publicis Omnicom Group Means for Advertising]
Texas seems to want more businesses based within its borders. But even the litany of tax breaks that Perry can offer aren't always enough to off-set the expense of a costly relocation, and the vast majority of job creation usually comes when companies add on to their existing facilities, rather than abandoning them to make a move.
According to Dealbook, when Applied Materials (AMAT) and Tokyo Electron (TOELF) chose the Netherlands as their headquarters, they had more on their mind than finding neutral territory. In fact, if you look closer at some of the major mergers and acquisitions this year – you'll notice that many of them are basing their operations in tax-friendly havens, often a long way from where the companies were founded.
Businesses have sought tax havens for as long as they've existed. And once upon a time, it wasn't even all that hard. All you had to do was open an office somewhere with lower taxes – say, the Cayman Islands or Bermuda - and then reincorporate there.
The process is known within the industry as inversion:
- It's a popular way to bring down costs.
- Companies that inverted often save about a hundred million dollars a year.
- This is considerably more than the cost of maintaining a mostly empty office.
As might be expected, the US government doesn't always take too kindly to tax shelters. And since the first major corporate inversion by McDermott Inc. (MDR) in 1982, Congress has passed multiple laws trying to restrict a company's ability to move overseas:
- It wasn't until the Jobs Act of 2004 that corporations could only re-incorporate to a place where they practiced "significant business activity."
- When that wasn't enough, the IRS put a number on it - a company must have at least a quarter of its assets somewhere for a re-location to be legal.
Not to be daunted by a new regulation savvy CEOs found another way. By buying a smaller company, they could cross the threshold needed to appease the IRS, expand their operations, and save money in the process. Part of the reason Omnicom (OMC) dubbed their decision to merge with a smaller company a "merger of equals" is that it would save over $80 million a year by moving to Europe.
And two American healthcare companies, Perrigo (PRGO) and Actavis (ACT), have bought smaller Irish healthcare rivals outright, moves that allowed them to enjoy Dublin's lower taxes.
Investing ideas
So can you use an inversion investment strategy for your own portfolio? We compiled a list of companies that have bought out smaller rivals and reduced their tax bill in the process.


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The distortion-free, high-performance lens
The Planar® T* 3,5/100 CFi lens is a very special lens. It is not just a standard Planar lens with 25% more focal length. It is optimized to deliver virtually zero distortion and at the same time extremely well defined image details – sharpness – over the entire frame, and all this even at full aperture. A lens with this quality could only be developed with Carl Zeiss' extensive experience in microdocumentation and aerial mapping and surveying. So the Planar T* 3,5/100 CFi lens is the first choice in optics for all photographers who combine a Hasselblad camera and a recent high resolution film for demanding aerial photography with its fast shutter speeds and hence wide open apertures. The Planar T* 3,5/100 CFi lens is also an indispensible tool for all applications which require an exact reproduction of the geometry of the subject.
It is, therefore, recommended as a standard optical tool for photography where the demands for detail recognition from corner to corner are extremely high, such as architectural work, aerial surveying, documentation, industrial and scientific photography. For reproducing valuable paintings and similar artwork with sizes larger than one square meter, the Planar T* 3,5/100 CFi lens should be the no. 1 lens choice. (For artwork sizes smaller than one square meter, the Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 4/120 CFi lens or the Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 5,6/135 CF lens with Hasselblad automatic bellows extension is the lens of choice.) Every Hasselblad photographer who is really serious about sharpness can't do without this lens!
Preferred use: architecture, documentation, and reproduction with no distortion, large products with important small details, general industrial, aerials shot wide open, digital photography.
|Focal length
|101.3 mm
|Aperture range
|f/3.5 - f/22
|Angular field (hor./vert./diag.)
|Focusing range (from film plane)
|0.9 m - ∞
|Working range (from front end)
|0.7 m
|Number of elements/groups
|Image ratio at closest range
|1 : 6.9
|55 x 55 mm
|Coverage at close range
|380 mm x 380 mm
|Camera mount
|Filter connection
|bayonett, series 60
|Ø 73.7 mm, length 58.7 mm
|600 g


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May 14, 2007 WIC Update
SUBJECT 1: Nutritionist III - Eastern District
SUBJECT 2: 2007-2008 Program for Dietetic Interns (PDI) Class
SUBJECT 3: Disaster/Emergency Preparedness Plan
SUBJECT 4: Shipment of the Revised and New Forms (06-07 version)
SUBJECT 5: Discontinued Forms
SUBJECT 6: District Meetings with the WIC Director
- Nutritionist III - Eastern District Office, St.Louis - Eva Obirek will be the Nutritionist III for WIC and Nutrition Services in the Eastern District Office located in St Louis. Eva will begin employment on May 21, 2007 with her first two days in Jefferson City at the WIC office. On May 23rd she will be available in the Eastern District Health Office.
Eva recently completed the American Dietetic Association Accredited Internship at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. She earned a Master of Arts in Home Economics Education: Didactic Program in Nutrition, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Health Promotion also from Southeast Missouri State University. In the three years prior to completing her dietetic internship, Eva worked as a WIC Nutritionist in the state of New Jersey, providing nutrition education and nutritional screenings for WIC participants. She was actively involved with the on-site lactation consultants in breastfeeding promotion. Eva developed the WIC Walk Across America Project for her local agency staff while in New Jersey. The project was recognized at the New Jersey WIC State quarterly meeting for best of local WIC agencies project design. Eva is fluent in Polish and has some knowledge of Spanish and Russian.Eva's responsibilities in Missouri WIC will include providing technical assistance to local WIC providers in the Eastern District, monitoring, exempt formula approval, policy review and revision, literature review and revision, and training. We are happy to welcome Eva to the WIC team.
- NUTRITION EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY: The University of Minnesota and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services are sponsoring an educational opportunity. The video stream of the 2007 National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course will be held at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services 930 Wildwood Drive location on Tuesday, October 2nd and Wednesday, October 3rd from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Registered dietitians, nutritionists, WIC agency staff, and other health care professionals will strengthen their knowledge on ways appropriate nutrition services can improve pregnancy outcomes. Also being presented will be the effect of maternal eating behaviors on birth outcomes and maternal eating behaviors on infant health status and development. Characteristics of model programs and counseling approaches for maternal and infant nutritional health are also on the program. The University of Minnesota conducts this annual course, and has requested continuing education for nurses and dietitians. There is no charge for WIC employees. There is a $75.00 non-refundable fee for all other attendees. Please see the attached registration brochure for details or contact Michele Bailey at 573.751.6481 or firstname.lastname@example.com with questions.
- 2007-2008 Program for Dietetic Interns (PDI) Class: The State WIC Office had excellent candidates for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' (DHSS) Program for Dietetic Interns (PDI). Through the Pre-select option, two (2) interns were selected from LWPs and through the Computer Match option, two (2) interns were selected for the 2007-2008 class. The interns for next year beginning in September 2007 are Leslie Hesse, Pettis Co. Health Dept.; Amy Johnson, Johnson Co. Health Dept.; Suzanne Cravens, Illinois State University; and Kristen Kettenbach, St. Louis University. If you have questions about the PDI or application process, please check the website or contact Vicki Strickland at 800-392-8209 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Shipment of the Revised and New Forms (06-07 version): The State WIC office will be shipping the following forms to all local WIC providers during the week of May 14, 2007:
- WIC Certification - Women (WIC-1)
- WIC Certification - Infant/Child (WIC-2)
- High Risk Care Plan (HRCP) - Infants/Children/Women (WIC 55)The WIC-1 and WIC-2 forms were revised due to the 3-digit risk factor code implementation. We recommend all local WIC providers begin using the revised forms effective June 1, 2007. The guidelines for completing the High Risk Care Plan form (WIC 55) and the revised WIC Supply Request form (WIC 8) will be sent through Monday UPDATE on May 21, 2007. Please share this information with your staff and order additional forms from the DHSS warehouse as needed. If you have any questions, please contact Takako Tagami at firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Discontinued Forms: The following forms will be discontinued Effective June 1, 2007:
- High Risk Nutrition Care Plan For Prenatal Women (WIC 53)
- High Risk Nutrition Care Plan For Infants/Children (WIC 54)Please recycle any of these forms you may have in your office. It is not necessary to transfer information from the WIC 53 and 54 forms into the new High Risk Care Plan form (WIC 55). If you have any questions, please contact Takako Tagami at firstname.lastname@example.com.
- District Meetings with the WIC Director: The last three meetings are scheduled for:
May 17, 10:00 to 12:00 in Macon at the NE District Health Office
May 18, 10:00 to 12:00 in St. Joseph at the St. Joseph-Buchanan County Health Department
May 23, 1:30 to 3:30 in Springfield at the Brentwood Branch Library, Community Room (directions are available on the library web page at http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/about/hours.cfm)The director's update will include: new WIC data system; trimonthly check issuance pilot project; federal budget proposal for 2008; electronic WIC reports; WIC on the web; proposed WIC food package changes; and assessing customer satisfaction with WIC services. There will be time for you to share local agency issues and concerns. Attendance is not mandatory. Please let Lyn know if you plan to attend a meeting; it helps us to plan for room arrangements and materials. Questions/issues can be sent to Lyn ahead of time by calling her at 573-751-6086 or by email at email@example.com.
2007 National Maternal Nutrition Intensive Course


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iHerb Customer Reviews
Savings of: $3.60 (30% off)
Nunaturals clear Stevia
Posted by Reviewer2085160 on Feb 08, 2010
I love the taste.
Clear Stevia
Posted by Reviewer2529330 on Mar 25, 2010
Clear Stevia is an excellent substitute for sugar
Excellent Product
Posted by Reviewer2559540 on Aug 17, 2010
The product met my families expectations. We are very happy with the product.
Not my favorite, but ok
Posted by Reviewer1598827 on Aug 17, 2010
Takes alot of drops to sweeten something. Has somewhat of an aftertaste, not too bad.
Posted by happydays on Nov 11, 2010
love this stuff....no more splenda and other artificial sweeteners...
clear stevia, love it
Posted by Reviewer3322706 on Apr 16, 2011
only hard to dose with the droplets, but i love the taste
Great sugar replacement!
Posted by Reviewer1334965 on May 07, 2011
Stevia has no GI and works great as a sweetener. I just think that the recommendations on the bottle about serving size are not quite right. It says to use 5 drops which I found out is way to much! I never use more than 3 drops. In a BIG smoothie for instance I put max. 2 drops and that's more than enough! Very efficient!
Posted by Reviewer1213381 on Jul 04, 2011
I had read about how the taste and quality of Stevia can vary, I was very pleased with this brand.
BuNaturals Clear Stevia
Posted by Reviewer3167585 on Aug 04, 2011
great taste
Posted by Reviewer1868017 on Jan 01, 2012
It is hard to find a good stevia product. This one is great!
Items 21-30 of 32 total
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Siroos Mostaghimi, PhD
Siroos Mostaghimi has spent over 18 years in environmental science and engineering, primarily with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the areas of human and environmental exposure to and risk assessment of pesticides. He teaches science, environmental and general study courses online and at the University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus.
He holds a doctoral degree in agronomy from Ohio State University, a master's degree in environmental science and engineering from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in soil chemistry from Texas A&I University.
Siroos is a senior scientist and team leader for the EPA in the exposure and risk assessment of antimicrobial chemicals. He uses computer models to predict the fate and effects of chemicals on the environment as well as humans. He has been teaching with University of Phoenix since 2003.
The information in this profile was provided by the subject.


text: Transport networks in the cloud age 2012-05-18 Categories: Technology Authors Elisa Bellagamba, Paul Lüsse, Davis Allan and Riccardo Martinotti Network convergence, the rise of content distribution networks and the consolidation of service hosting enabled by the cloud-computing model are significantly altering traffic patterns being observed by service providers. These developments, along with changes in the business environment, are driving the choices for technology. Broadband and mobility have driven up demand for bandwidth and network-hosted applications. Cloud computing and the massive virtualization it enables are influencing the way this demand will be met and what network architecture will be needed to support applications that are bandwidth-hungry, storage-demanding and computing-intensive. Seamless access to broadband and applications is raising the stakes for both private and commercial users, regardless of the type of connection method used. Access is driving the convergence of fixed and mobile networks to minimize transport infrastructure costs and maximize resource utilization. At the same time, cloud computing, fuelled by massive growth in traffic and the consolidation of data centers, is changing the shape of the network-traffic matrix, making it less complex than before and making it easier for operators to predict traffic patterns. The challenge for the operator is to ensure that investments made to simplify transport architecture are protected in the move to cloud service provider. Transport networks in the cloud age Tags cloud cloud computing cloud and network management network transformation transport network IP facebook twitter linkedin google_plusone_share


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Netflix Passes $100 With a Side of Post Office Love
On one hand, it makes sense. This is a much better company than it was in 2011 when I called the play-by-play of its demise over at Seeking Beta . As I explain in the above-linked article and others here at TheStreet, Reed Hastings runs a more focused Netflix today than he did back then.
While Hastings denies a shift in strategy, it's clear one has taken place.
Netflix picks and chooses content deals now, as opposed to throwing money at anything that walks. Hastings let Starz go without a fight, but he jumped to snag first-run movies, at a hefty price, from Disney (DIS) . That's because Kids TV has become a Netflix cornerstone.
Along similar lines, Netflix collects fewer sitcom reruns these days and more previous seasons of big (or potentially big) cable-TV series. While you cannot stream Golden Globe sweeper Homeland on Netflix yet, you can access AMC Networks (AMCX) hits such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad . This type of programming does so well on Netflix that AMC credits Netflix for pumping ratings during fresh seasons of Mad Men on cable .
At the same time, NFLX as a $100 stock -- again (!) -- makes absolutely no sense. In fact, it's scary. Not quite as extreme, but reminiscent of the 2011 magic carpet ride past $300.
Investors should classify the positives I list as encouraging, not reason to run the stock up. That said, if you pay attention, you know how NFLX moves -- often on air -- so this pretty much straight line up comes as no surprise; thus, my call to buy shares last year.
Fittingly, with a big Netflix original series -- House of Cards -- set to debut Feb. 1, the stock becomes just that again. Proceed with caution because, even with the encouraging signs, this run might not end well.
For all the improvements, Netflix hasn't shaken the problems a few of us started writing about nearly two years ago. Massive off-balance sheet obligations. Absolutely no leverage in negotiations with most major content providers. A dying DVD division that no longer effectively subsidizes streaming. And so on.
The big one for me is the DVD thing. That doesn't get enough play. Reed Hastings made the DVD irrelevant a long time ago.
That's likely why Friday afternoon's news that the U.S. Postal Service needs to explain why it gives Netflix DVDs preferential treatment over, say, Gamestop video games flew under the radar.
It's worth a few sentences simply because it's an interesting case. The Post Office gives Netflix its own bins and handles the company's DVDs by hand. USPS processes everybody else's DVDs, video games and such via the standard and inferior auto-sort system. What does Gamefly expect?


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The Aspen Institute Commission on Arctic Climate Change has been working quietly for the last two-and-a-half years on recommendations designed to respond to changing conditions in the Arctic. It has done this through a unique method called a "civil society dialogue."
Representatives of NGOs, business, and government met periodically beginning in 2008. The discussions were not for attribution, the idea being that in bringing together a group of people with experience in -- and a passion for the Arctic -- ideas would emerge that could be built into a consensus about what to do in the face of rapid climate change.
The Commission included Prince Albert II of Monaco, Lloyd Axworthy, former Foreign Minister of Canada, Frances Beinecke, President of the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, Patricia Cochran, head of the Alaska Native Science Commission, and Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit advocate and, like Cochran, former international chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. Other members included Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence at National Geographic, Shell Petroleum vice president, David Lawrence and James Leape, Director General of WWF-International. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Jane Lubchenco, is a former Commissioner. She stepped down when President Obama appointed her to her current position.
GRID-Arendal was part of the working group that supported the Commissioners and has been involved from the inception of the Dialogue.
It was an interesting experience because not only did it produce some useful ideas that complement and support ongoing discussions about governance and ecosystem based management. It was also an unique opportunity to participate in a process the goal of which was to develop shared ideas and solutions.
"The Shared Future" identifies strategies and approaches to help conserve the critical biological resources of the Arctic Ocean and to assure sustainable livelihoods of the communities that depend on these resources for their survival. It focuses on several recommendations to strengthen the management of the Arctic marine environment in ways that will sustain the natural resilience of the Arctic's multiple interdependent ecosystems.
The Commission also released a technical report: "Marine Spatial Planning in the Arctic: A first step toward ecosystem-based management."
One of the main messages in the report is that Arctic problems are complex and require cooperative solutions. The Arctic Council is an important institution and it needs to be supported and strengthened. Recommendations include:
The full report and other information can be found here.
For a good summary of the statements at the report release, see the National Geographic News Watch.


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The Tennessee Main Street® (TMS) Program serves as a statewide resource for communities seeking to revitalize and manage their traditional downtowns. It was established by legislature to assist these communities with their economic development and revitalization efforts. Although TMS serves as a general information source in this capacity, hands-on technical services (including training and research) are typically delivered to local programs that have achieved designation through a structured application process and maintain designation annually by meeting program requirements and submitting an annual report. TMS designated communities have a non-profit organization specifically focused on downtown revitalization and are effectively applying the National Main Street Center's comprehensive Four-Point Approach®.
Local organizations meeting the Tennessee Main Street® program requirements are awarded designation at the state level. There is also an opportunity to receive accreditation from the National Main Street Center based upon their Standards of Performance for Recognition. All Tennessee Main Street® designated programs are expected to meet these standards annually. However, designation by the Tennessee Main Street® Program does not guarantee accreditation by the National Main Street Center. If TMS determines that the standards have been met, it will make a recommendation to the national program. If for any reason they cannot be met, TMS will continue to work with the local program to achieve this goal for a specified period of time. Meeting the standards demonstrates the following:
- Broad-based community support for the revitalization effort, including a strong commitment from the municipal government, Chamber of Commerce and various private sector organizations
- Effective mission and vision statements
- A comprehensive annual work plan grounded in the Four-Point Approach®
- A preservation ethic as it relates to downtown revitalization
- An active board of directors and committees
- Sufficient and sustainable finances (operating budget)
- A paid, professional manager/director
- Participation in on-going training and education
- Accurate reporting of annual reinvestment statistics (new jobs, new businesses, etc.)
- Current membership with the National Main Street Center
New programs seeking designation for the first time must:
- Provide evidence of financial commitments to fund the local program for at least three years.
- Illustrate the existence of a private independent nonprofit organization that is locally designated as the governing body and policy board for the local Main Street® program..
- Illustrate community familiarity with the concepts and principles of the National Main Street Four Point Approach®.
- Have a critical mass of architecturally or historically significant buildings within a definable and walkable traditional commercial district.
- Possess a thorough understanding of the current downtown marketplace such as basic demographics, business mix, housing units, total jobs and market position.
There are many benefits to establishing a designated Main Street® program in your community. They start at the national level through affiliation with the National Main Street Center. This respected, proven nationwide program provides resources, training and technical assistance through coordinating statewide programs (such as TMS). The National Main Street Conference is an annual event that offers additional educational and networking opportunities focusing on downtown development. Designated Tennessee Main Street programs receive on-site technical assistance, participate in quarterly training meetings and have access to online training, grant opportunities and special programs such as the Great American Main Street Awards. Communities benefit from a structured approach with professional management and annual reporting, so progress can be monitored, communicated and celebrated.


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Change unlikely in communications loophole
ST. PAUL – Taxpayer funds are allowed to go towards communication services used in political campaigns due to a loophole in how the Legislature regulates reimbursements.
The loophole appears unlikely to be changed this session because no legislator has expressed interest in offering changes to the Rules Committee meeting on Thursday.
Not connected to the times
Taxpayer funds find their way into political campaigns through the communication reimbursement offered by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The House offers $75 per month and the Senate offers $125 per month. The reimbursement is intended to cover legislative work done on personal communication devices or services like cell phones or the Internet.
The money ends up in political campaigns when a device or service is partially or explicitly used in campaign, then later reimbursed. The activity appears wide spread but intentional, with an informal survey finding 9 of the 10 legislators getting reimbursements.
The common reaction among the surveyed legislators is they never thought about what their reimbursements may be funding because all the communications devices were personally owned by them. Legislators made serious efforts in other areas to keep any political activity very clearly distinct from legislative work.
The problem with the communication reimbursement lies with its minimal reporting and oversight. To obtain it, lawmakers either submit a basic form summarizing their expenses for a given month or submit portions of a copy of their receipts. If the summarizing form is submitted, the reimbursement is treated as taxable income for the lawmaker. If the receipts are submitted, it is treated as an expense that is not taxed. The only portion of the receipts required is the final page with the totaled amount, meaning the receipts will not necessarily contain itemized list of the expenses or calls.
The most notable example was last July when former Sen. Mike Parry was running for congressional office. At the time, he was taking a step further than most legislators to have one phone for legislative work and one phone for his campaign. However, the bill for the campaign phone still ended up being submitted for a reimbursement. When asked about it, Parry said it was a filing mistake and resubmitted with the other bill. Both phones were eventually converted to political work after the legislative session.
The lack of any regulation or oversight in the process made it so that Parry's bill would never been known nor amended if it had not been brought to public attention.
The situation provides sharp contrast with the House and Senates strict regulations on all use of Legislature equipment to prevent any usage for political work. The reason lies in the fact the regulations have not been updated since the Phonegate scandal of the 1990s. During that time, land-lines were heavily used and cell phones were not common. Today, legislators do nearly all their work on personally owned mobile devices like cell phones, iPads and laptop computers, all which lack any serious regulations.
Differing views, but
unlikely to change
While all surveyed legislators said they work very hard to keep political work distinct from any Legislature equipment or funding, their views on the reimbursement loophole varied.
Former Rep. Terry Morrow and Sen. Gary Dahms (R-Redwood Falls) both stopped taking the reimbursement after reading about the loophole last July. Both said they wanted the certainty that they were in no way even accidentally using taxpayer funds for political work.
Morrow said he thought the reimbursement should be discussed to find a better regulation method, and that lawmakers should be surveyed to learn about how they use their communication devices in the Capitol.
Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL – Mankato) and Morrow said they would not like to see the reimbursement ended. Sheran said it is essential for allowing rural legislators to stay connected with constituents and would be expected of any employer with on-call employees.
Some legislators said that it was a non-issue because it was not possible to determine the funds had gone to political calls in a given month or the legitimate legislative calls made in the same month.
No clear solution or alternative was suggested by the surveyed legislators. Each option, such as requiring additional, separate cell phones for campaigns or having a process to detail each call in a bill, were noted by legislators to likely be too burdensome to be practical.
(Josh Moniz can be e-mailed at firstname.lastname@example.com)


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What is the Eclipse Marketplace Client
Eclipse Marketplace Client (MPC) is a rich client interface for browsing and installing the Eclipse based solutions listed on the Eclipse Marketplace portal. It is a new feature that allows Eclipse users to discover and install Eclipse solutions directly into their Eclipse installation.
Where can I get the Eclipse Marketplace Client
MPC is included in all of the packages available from the Eclipse download page.
How do I access the Eclipse Marketplace Client
You can start MPC by launching Eclipse and accessing it from the Help menu.
Once launched the Marketplace Client presents a wizard that looks like this:
Drag and Drop Install
You can use the Drag and Drop install feature by dragging the button to your running Eclipse workspace.
Useful Links
MarketPlace Client Introduction Demo Video
Eclipse Marketplace Client New + Noteworthy


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Hickman's Jimmy Whitt moves up recruiting rankings
Embed Code Copied
Hickman basketball star Jimmy Whitt is now ranked 52nd in the nation in Rivals' latest recruiting rankings.
Whitt jumped up 22 spots and has 25 collegiate offers from Mizzou as well as many other national power houses.
The 6'2'' point guard helped lead Hickman to its first state championship since 1968 and is the only player on the list from Missouri.
More News
PHELPS COUNTY - Deputies were dispatched to the intersection of County Road 3000 and County Road 3220 Tuesday around noon... More >>
COLUMBIA - A bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) that hopes to cut government waste and increase accountability... More >>
JEFFERSON CITY – Governor Eric Greitens gave his first State of the State address Tuesday, just eight days after his... More >>
Columbia – The Mayor's Task Force on Medical Tourism met Tuesday to discuss possible recommendations to the Columbia City Council.... More >>
COLUMBIA – Concerned community members gathered at Republican U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler's office Tuesday to protest a recent development in... More >>
COLUMBIA – Higher education institutions have concern over the impact of Governor Greitens' announced budget cuts that will largely decrease... More >>
JEFFERSON CITY - Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, filed two bills on Tuesday addressing the rise of student debt. The... More >>
CARTHAGE (AP) — Authorities say a 10-year-old girl has died in a southwest Missouri shooting that appears to be accidental.... More >>
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — New Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will outline his policies on jobs, ethics, public safety and education... More >>
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis' fortunes may be looking up, thanks to a surprising surge in business startups. ... More >>
COLUMBIA - Prosecutors have filed charges against one of two men arrested following an assault at the Red Roof Inn... More >>
COLUMBIA - An MU associate teaching professor is presenting a petition to the Columbia City Council Tuesday evening on behalf... More >>
COLUMBIA - Almost 50 years after the death of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Columbia groups still... More >>
SUNRISE BEACH – Buying and selling personal property privately, such as furniture, clothes and cars, is commonplace in today's world... More >>
COLUMBIA - After a budget resolution aimed at repealing Obamacare was reached Jan. 12, groups in Missouri plan to protest... More >>
CALIFORNIA (AP) - Central Missouri Democrats nominated an attorney who formerly worked for the Missouri Senate to run in a... More >>
HILLSBORO (AP) - The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a 28-year-old man died after a four-wheeler he was riding on... More >>
NICKELVILLE (AP) - A southwest Missouri county highway is expected to be closed until Thursday as crews clean up an... More >>
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Click the button below or email email@example.com to contribute your experiences with this product. Although not necessary, it's interesting to have a first name, city, state and country (no email addresses will be used). Any information submitted becomes the property of Tennis Warehouse.
Please include any relevant information such as skill level and style of play.
Comments: Love them! They are easy on the feet and I play in them for both hard and clay courts. Very light, not
heavy like many tennis shoes.
From: Joe Ann, 9/14
Comments: These shoes have pros and cons for me. They were a bit tight in the toe box and I believe that
contributed (among other factors) to the development of bunions. I wanted the durability but maybe the material is a bit stiff and
they are not so flexible. Not being able to return them, I tried stretching them out a bit and there is a small piece of leather on
the top that I believe stretched enough to make them work for me. The pros are that I can move around the court well, and they
are low to the ground. They probably will last a while and I don't think I will get my usual hole in the toe from dragging my foot.
They are a little bit clownish looking, but not bad. I just wish they were less stiff and wider in the toe box like the last pair of
Wilson shoes I purchased. I wear them every other time I play to give my feet a break so I had to dig up an old pair to not have to
buy shoes again.
From: Anne, 5/14
Comments: Really wanted to love this shoe, it's such a nice looking shoe and lightweight. After wearing Prince
T22s for 7 years, I ran into trouble not being able to find them here in Montreal, Quebec, and also wanted to try a more
lightweight shoe. Unfortunately the Wilson Rush Pro just doesn't have the same cushioning and I've ended up with knee problems
after just 3 weeks of wearing them. I've ordered a pair of T22s from Tennis Warehouse, and hope that my knees will heal quickly.
From: HM, 4/14
Comments: I had high hopes for these shoes as I identified somewhat with other reviews posted -- but these are
going straight back as the material at the back is uncomfortable that even when I tried them on and took them for a "trial" steps
on carpet they hurt the back of my ankle at that sensitive spot. They look good and the cushioning seems as if it might be nice,
but this is not something I'd be willing to see if it would break in as it could cause injury or too much pain in the meantime. Went
with the gray and white "regular" Rush instead.
From: Anon, 12/13
Comments: I have a high instep -- one foot more so than the other. I don't care for the compression effect of the
built in sock in these shoes. Also, there is a bit too much toe room and this roominess, I think, is amplified by my high instep.
This isn't a bad shoe, it mainly suffers from being compared to the discontinued Wilson Gran Tour (my most perfect shoe of all
time). I really need to try shoes on in the store, but I like TW prices and convenience.
From: Gretchen, 12/13
Comments: Most comfortable shoe I have worn in years. Bought my regular size and they fit perfectly -- narrowish
heel and plenty of room in the toe box. Not a lot of cushioning, but enough to be comfortable. Feels light and extremely stable
moving around the court. Also they breathe well -- my feet don't get at hot as they did in the Tour Vision. Will stock up on these
before Wilson "updates" them and messes them up.
From: L, 10/13
Comments: Wilson generally runs larger in sizes for me. Usually I'm a 7.5, but with Wilson have been a 7. That
being said, the Rush Pro 7 were too big for me (even with adding insoles). For the first time my movement suffered because of the
shoes and I've struggled with blisters and sore feet. I'll be trying a 6/6.5. These shoes have potential with the right fit.
From: A, 6/13
Comments: These shoes were comfortable until I started playing and moving on the court. The toe box, especially
the right shoe (for me) runs very small, so much so that I have no skin left on my pinky and fourth toes. After 2 hours of singles, I
could barely walk. I have narrow feet, and my favorite shoe is the Nike Breathe Free 2. Wanted to like these, but have to donate
and find a better shoe for me. I'm an open level player.
From: Anon, 5/13
Comments: I've had these shoes for a week now and they are simply the best! Great support and cushioning. Very
breathable. I also tried on the Wilson Rush, but found the Rush Pro is much more comfortable, and definitely worth the extra cost.
have been getting plenty of compliments on them also. Would highly recommend!
From: Cathy, 3/13


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I`m 24 years old. As you can see in my profile I`m currently residing in the capitol of Norway, Oslo. I`m originally from a much smaller city though, called Sarpsborg founded by one of Norways most famous kings Olaf the holy.
I`ve been on 8 hours worth of lectures at the university today, so havent had the time to have any tea today. But gonna make myself a nice bowl of Matcha as soon as I`m done with dinner


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Debates of Oct. 24th, 2011
House of Commons Hansard #35 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was board.
- Question Period
- Breast Density Awareness Act
- Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act
- Shipbuilding Industry
- Bridge Awards
- Saint François Archipelago
- YMCA Camps
- Rogers Communications
- Solange Parent
- Community Service Organization in Cap-Rouge
- Veterans
- Canadian Library Month
- Doris Champagne
- Walter Borden-Wilkins, Matthew Deller, Tanner Hildebrand and Vincent Stover
- Canadian Wheat Board
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- Ukrainian Day
- Rick Hansen
- Protection of Children
- Turkey
- National Defence
- Shipbuilding Industry
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Fisheries and Oceans
- International Trade
- Seniors
- The Economy
- Foreign Affairs
- The Environment
- Foreign Affairs
- Public Safety
- G8 Summit
- Foreign Affairs
- Aboriginal Affairs
- Canadian Air and Space Museum
- International Co-operation
- Financial Institutions
- Public Safety
- Certificates of Nomination
- Canada Pension Plan
- Egypt
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Privilege
- Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act
Statements by Members
2:05 p.m.
Larry Miller Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I attended the "Honouring our Local Veterans" celebration in Owen Sound. This 11th annual event, hosted by the Billy Bishop Home and Museum and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 6, is one of the longest-running programs of its kind in Canada.
Over the past 11 years, over 83 local veterans who served in the army, navy, merchant marines or air force have been honoured at this event. Ten more local veterans were honoured yesterday for their courageous service to the Canadian Forces. They were Glen Rawson, Gladys Morris, Howard Donovan, Charles Dell, Michael Krulicki, Art Hawes, Percy Straight, Lorne Weatherall, Eric Eastwood and Yvonne Inkster.
Participating in events such as this gives me the opportunity to reflect on the dedication and tremendous personal sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.
With November 11 just around the corner, I encourage everyone to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony in their communities or to simply take a few moments out of the day to reflect, to respect and to remember. Lest we forget.
Canadian Library Month
Statements by Members
2:05 p.m.
Merv Tweed Brandon—Souris, MB
Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the House that the month of October has been designated as Canadian Library Month. The Canadian Library Association and library partners from across the country developed this idea in order to help raise public awareness of the valuable role that libraries play in the lives of Canadians.
The theme for this year is "Your Library: A Place Unbound", which suggests that, as part of a changing world, libraries are growing and expanding their resources as they connect people to information and reading. Libraries are places of endless opportunity and play a key role in providing all Canadians with access to the material that is integral to ensuring that they are regular contributors to the economic, social and cultural successes of their communities.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Canadian Library Association on the great work it does. I am sure my colleagues in the House will join me in celebrating libraries and all those who work in them, recognizing the incredible range of resources and services they provide within our communities.
Doris Champagne
Statements by Members
2:10 p.m.
Mylène Freeman Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour for me to speak in the House as the representative for the people of Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel.
Today, I would like to highlight the extraordinary work done by volunteers in my riding, since they are the driving force behind our communities.
In particular, I would like to acknowledge the exceptional work of Doris Champagne, who was named volunteer of the year in Argenteuil. From a very early age, Mr. Champagne has volunteered to organize a number of activities to support the well-being of others in his community. He continues to work tirelessly to improve living conditions for seniors.
Mr. Champagne is president of Villa Mont-Joie in Lachute, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this October. Villa Mont-Joie, which has over 400 members, serves as a meeting place for retirees and pre-retirees in Lachute. Mr. Champagne is always working to enrich the lives of its members.
Mr. Champagne's long-time involvement in his community is an inspiration and an example to all volunteers in the community. Congratulations, Mr. Champagne. We wish you well.
Walter Borden-Wilkins, Matthew Deller, Tanner Hildebrand and Vincent Stover
Statements by Members
2:10 p.m.
Chris Warkentin Peace River, AB
Mr. Speaker, mourning continues today in my community of Grande Prairie after a tragic automobile accident left four families grieving the loss of their sons, brothers and grandsons.
Late Friday night, five members of the Grande Prairie Composite High School football team were travelling home when they were struck by a speeding pickup truck.
By morning we learned that four of these young men had lost their lives and the fifth was being treated in a hospital in Edmonton.
Words fail us at times like this. There are no words to adequately express our sympathy for the families, friends and teammates. Our thoughts and prayers are with each one of them at this time of tragedy.
On behalf of myself, members of the House and the Government of Canada, I wish to express our most profound sympathy. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who grieve this tremendous loss. May they find some peace in the anguish and some hope in the grief.
Matthew, Vincent, Walter and Tanner will be remembered.
Canadian Wheat Board
Statements by Members
2:10 p.m.
Pat Martin Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, there is no business case for abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board, and members across find themselves in an untenable catch-22, because if we believe the minister's supposition that prairie farmers will make more money if they abolish the Canadian Wheat Board, then any prairie farmers in the Conservative caucus would find themselves in conflict of interest and therefore both duty bound and honour bound to recuse themselves not just from the vote we will be holding tonight, but from any debate that promotes the abolition of the Wheat Board.
They cannot have it both ways. If they believe the minister, then they cannot vote on it. If they accept our point of view that there is no provable material benefit for farmers from abolishing the Wheat Board, then it raises the question of why we would turn the rural prairie economy upside down and on its head if there is no advantage to prairie farmers.
It is a conflict of interest, plain and simple. I refer hon. members to section 8 of the code of conduct that governs all of us in this House.
Canadian Wheat Board
Statements by Members
2:10 p.m.
David Anderson Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow farmers will gather in Lethbridge for a reunion. It will be a bittersweet time.
Nine years ago 13 farmers went to jail for a cause they believe in. Reports from October 31, 2002 said:
There were few dry eyes in front of the Lethbridge courthouse Halloween afternoon as 13 upstanding citizens hugged their loved ones and marched resolutely off to prison.
Premier Ralph Klein told the crow of 600, "When decent, hardworking Alberta farmers are willing to take the extreme measure of going to jail for the sake of fundamental freedoms, there's something wrong with the laws of the land. It's a system that has to be changed".
That system is now being changed.
The Liberal government had persecuted these farmers in every way possible, bringing the resources of several government departments against individual Canadians. These farmers would not back down. They stood fearlessly for what they knew to be right, and they paid a huge price for it.
Tomorrow they will be meeting to celebrate our commitment to marketing freedom. Their sacrifice will not be in vain.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Statements by Members
2:15 p.m.
Mauril Bélanger Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Mr. Speaker, the CBC, an integral part of Canada's social fabric, is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The CBC and Radio-Canada are our source for information and entertainment, a reflection of who we are and our social conscience.
Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut, Bobino et Bobinette, La Semaine verte, Moi et l'autre, Les Couche-tard, La P'tite Vie and, of course, hockey and the national news have all made an impact on our lives.
I have not even mentioned the radio—which is always there, always part of our day—or the Internet, which is increasingly present in our lives. Add to this the other TV networks, which include CBC News Network, Bold and Documentary, and it is easy to see why Pierre Karl is so jealous. As Bernard Derome would say, I predict that if the trend continues, in 25 years, the CBC will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Liberal Party congratulates CBC/Radio-Canada on its 75th anniversary and says to the Conservatives, "Hands off our CBC."
Ukrainian Day
Statements by Members
2:15 p.m.
Peter Goldring Edmonton East, AB
Mr. Speaker, 120 years ago the first immigrants from Ukraine landed in Halifax, having endured weeks at sea on the first leg of their epic journey, migrating to begin a new life in the wilds of the Canadian prairies, the untamed wilderness and unbroken land then called the Northwest Territories.
With herculean effort and indomitable pioneer spirit they persevered, cleared land, seeded crops and built their first homes from the very sod of the land they cleared. Families grew, churches were built and communities prospered.
Today we celebrate Ukrainian Day on Parliament Hill and celebrate the heritage of those early pioneers, people of resolute, determined will like my wife's great-grandfather, John P. Taschuk, who arrived with his wife Barbara and their two sons, Elia and Theodosie.
The 1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian ancestry today celebrate the legacy of those first Ukrainian pioneers and the trek that began 120 years ago.
[Member spoke in Ukrainian]
Rick Hansen
Statements by Members
2:15 p.m.
Manon Perreault Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the Rick Hansen Man in Motion World Tour.
In 1985, Mr. Hansen set out on a 40,000 km tour in his wheelchair. For over two years, he wheeled through 34 countries on four continents. Inspired by his belief that "anything is possible", he raised awareness around the world of the potential of people with disabilities. He raised $26 million, and every penny went to spinal cord injury research.
Although his dream to make the world more accessible and inclusive has not come true yet, Rick Hansen has contributed greatly to improving life for people with disabilities.
This Tuesday, Mr. Hansen will be on the Hill to mark the 25th anniversary of the Rick Hansen Man in Motion World Tour. It will truly be an honour for me to meet him during that ceremony.
Congratulations on this anniversary and long live the Rick Hansen Foundation.
Protection of Children
Statements by Members
2:15 p.m.
Brad Butt Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime and gave our government a strong mandate to keep our streets and communities safe. There are few parts of that mandate more important than protecting the most vulnerable in our society, our children.
That is why our government has taken strong action to protect Canadians from pedophiles and sexual predators. We have strengthened the national sex offender registry, the DNA databank and our criminal record check system to ensure that sex offenders do not fall through the cracks.
We have also legislated mandatory reporting of child pornography by Internet service providers, and recently, in the safe streets and communities act, we proposed mandatory minimum sentences for those who commit sexual offences against children as well as an end to the shameful practice of allowing pardons for child molesters.
Shamefully, the opposition has obstructed these measures. I call on the NDP to start putting the rights of--
Protection of Children
Statements by Members
2:15 p.m.
The Speaker Andrew Scheer
The hon. member is out of time.
Oral questions, the hon. Leader of the Opposition.
Oral Questions
2:15 p.m.
Nycole Turmel Leader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, all members of the House share the grief and pain of the Turkish people following Sunday's earthquake.
Can the government provide an update on the situation, on the assistance that is available to Canadian citizens in Turkey, and on how Canada can help if asked to do so by the Turkish government?
Can the government give us an update on Canada's response following the earthquake in Turkey?
Oral Questions
2:20 p.m.
Peter Van Loan Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, this government shares concern with the events in Turkey and the recent earthquake. As members know, the Canadian government has at its disposal certain assets and resources that can be deployed to assist if we receive a request. As of this point in time, we have not yet received a request from the Turkish government for such assistance, but we are fortunate that we are in a position to be able to respond if necessary.
National Defence
Oral Questions
2:20 p.m.
Nycole Turmel Leader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the F-35 saga continues. First we had delays and cost overruns; now the technical difficulties are mounting. We learned today that these fighter jets will be delivered to Canada without communications equipment that functions in the Arctic. That is really something. Pilots of military aircraft operating in the Arctic primarily use satellite communications, but that does not work with the F-35s.
How can this government continue to justify the F-35s?
National Defence
Oral Questions
2:20 p.m.
Peter Van Loan Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we are going with the F-35 because it is the result of a competitive process that was carried out.
We are proposing to deliver to Canadian Forces the resources and equipment it needs to be able to protect Canadian sovereignty and security and to ensure that our defences are strong. The F-35 will have all the capabilities necessary to do so, including that primary, critically important mission of ensuring our northern sovereignty is protected.


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You're Not Paranoid; They Really Are Watching You!
Security and privacy are hot topics to consider when designing pervasive computing systems. Hot is the operative word, because if you compromise security or privacy, you'll likely upset a lot of people, and a heated discussion will ensue. I doubt … Read more


text:
What a difference two years make.
In January 2012, The Dispatch ran a story on the front page about how Ohio was having a banner winter for snowy owl sightings. There had been 12 to 15 birds spotted statewide.
As of last week, there had been more than 158 sightings in 52 counties.
Experts say it might be tied to the lemming populations in the Arctic tundra. When lemmings do well, snowy owls do well. And vice versa.
This winter, it seems, lemmings did quite well.
"It's fair to say that no one alive has witnessed anything on this scale," said Jim McCormac, avian specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the unofficial keeper of snowy owl data. " It's a very good thing for a number of reasons.
"One, it means part of the population had a really good year. Two, it makes for happy bird watchers. And three, and most importantly, it has given us a good opportunity to educate people about the tundra."
In 2012, the closest snowy owl sighting to Columbus was in Hardin County. The birds tend to stay north. Lake Erie provides a huge population of ducks and gulls, which owls like to eat.
But this winter, there have been four sightings in Franklin County.
There are blogs and Facebook pages where birders compile data, post pictures and swap stories.
But, "A lot of people who see these animals don't know there is a network," McCormac said. "They call the Division of Wildlife, and I get those reports.
"Several people who call have said, 'I've never been a birder, but I am one now.' "
To celebrate this unusual event, we asked birders to send in images of snowy owls photographed across Ohio.


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Such as this one sold by DTH:
(shortened link to Dragon Tea House page)
$24 for 1/2 kg of organic matcha.
Now, it'd be very, very easy to say this is no good matcha based on what the prices are elsewhere. But, I am not sure things are such black and white. Also, I do not think it'd be fair to compare this matcha with a high-end one, which would be much like comparing apples and oranges, I think.
The colour is certainly on the yellow side. It is said to be vintage 2010. This is almost certainly not first flush leaves. This being said, I'd be tempted to try it, considering these parameters, as a daily no-frills matcha.
Anyone tried it ? Opinions welcomed.


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as a Last Name
- 133,762
- people in the U.S. have this name View Bishop on Whitepages
Meaning & Origins
English: from Middle English biscop, Old English bisc(e)op 'bishop', which comes via Latin from Greek episkopos 'overseer'. The Greek word was adopted early in the Christian era as a title for an overseer of a local community of Christians, and has yielded cognates in every European language: French évêque, Italian vescovo, Spanish obispo, Russian yepiskop, German Bischof, etc. The English surname has probably absorbed at least some of these continental European cognates. The word came to be applied as a surname for a variety of reasons, among them service in the household of a bishop, supposed resemblance in bearing or appearance to a bishop, and selection as the 'boy bishop' on St. Nicholas's Day.
|241st in the U.S.
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Tens of Thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 133,762
- to be exact
- Kentucky
- has the most people named Bishop per capita


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Area Police Reports
GREAT VALLEY – Cory J. O'Neil, 28, of Ellicottville was charged at 3:54 a.m. on Feb. 10 with driving while intoxicated, aggravated DWI, second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and following too closely after he was involved in an accident at the intersection of Route 219 and Route 98 in the town of Great Valley. O'Neil was taken to the town of Great Valley Court for arraignment and transported to the Cattaraugus County Jail where he was held in lieu of $1,000 bail. He is to appear in court at a later date.
SALAMANCA – Barry E. Snyder III, 32, of Salamanca was charged at 12:35 a.m. on Sunday on a violation of parole. Cattaraugus County deputies apprehended Snyder as he was walking along Old Route 17 in the town of Salamanca following an incident at his home address. He was then transported to the Cattaraugus County Jail where he is being held without bail.
NORTH HARMONY – Daniel M. Martino, 29, of Corning was charged at 5:26 p.m. on Monday for marijuana possession. Following a traffic stop, the odor of marijuana was detected. The trooper located a plastic baggie allegedly containing 4 grams of marijuana. Martino was issued an appearance ticket for town court on March 7.
GERRY – George C. Austin, 33, of Buffalo was charged at 11 p.m. on Monday on a warrant from of the town of Cheektowaga police department. The trooper initiated a traffic stop on Route 60 in the town of Gerry on a 2002 Chrysler Sebring for an obstructed registration plate. A check revealed that Austin was wanted on a charge of fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana. Austin was transported to Cheektowaga for arraignment.
CLYMER – Adrianna Samlock, 20, of Clymer and Keith Tilyou, 19, of Ripley were charged on Thursday with second-degree aggravated harassment. Over the preceding few days, Samlock and Tilyou called the state police several times reporting that the other was contacting them excessively. As neither party desired the other arrested, verbal warnings were given to both to refrain from contacting each other. When Samlock and Tilyou ignored the state police and continued to contact and annoy each other, they were charged and taken into custody. They were processed and issued appearance tickets returnable to the town of French Creek Court.
Brittany Merrill, 34, of South Dayton was charged on Feb. 20 with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny. Police responded to a larceny complaint at the Sweet Repeats consignment shop in Jamestown. A customer reported that a woman she had been talking to in the store had stolen her purse, containing credit cards, cash and personal effects. The investigation determined that the suspect was Merrill. When the trooper located her at her residence, she was allegedly in possession of the stolen purse, with all the contents intact. She was taken into custody and processed at the Jamestown barracks, arraigned in the Town of Kiantone Court and released on her own recognizance, to appear at a later date.
SALAMANCA – Justin Pickett, 24, of 53 Eagle St., Salamanca was charged at 5:08 a.m. on Monday, for obstruction of governmental administration. He is being held awaiting arraignment.
SALAMANCA – Ryan Tarr, 22, of 59 Main St., Salamanca was charged at 11:03 a.m. on Monday, on a bench warrant. He posted bail and was released.
SALAMANCA – A 17-year-old female was charged at noon Wednesday with second-degree criminal trespass and fourth-degree criminal mischief. The charges stem from an alleged domestic dispute that occurred in the city Feb. 16. The female was released and will appear in Salamanca City Court at a later date.
SALAMANCA -Darrin L. Frank, 23, of 3747 Killbuck Road, Salamanca was charged at 12:38 p.m. on Wednesday, with second-degree harassment and second-degree criminal contempt. The charges stem from a domestic dispute that occurred in the city on Feb. 18. Frank was released and will appear in Salamanca City Court at a later date.
SALAMANCA – Eric Gustafson, 37, of Olean was charged at 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday for second-degree criminal trespass after a domestic incident. Gustafson was processed and released to appear at a later date.


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Topic: streamlining code, how can i accomplish this?
I'm trying to streamline my user signup like so but I'm having trouble. I must be a bit off from Rails convention. Here is what I am trying to do:
def index
if request.get?
@user = User.new
@user = User.new(params[:user])
if @user.save
render :template => 'signup/complete'
user accesses: /signup
form posts to: /signup
if no form, it will show template: signup/index.rhtml
if form posted, upon successful save, show template: signup/complete.rhtml
this all works, except if the user calls /signup/complete
it renders the complete.rhtml template! i assumed it would not because i have
not written a method in the controller, also if i had a protected method it will
still show!
is there a way to disable this behavior or rework my code to get the same results?
any help appreciated!


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USA Taekwondo Announces Selection Procedures for New U-24 Team & 2009 Junior National Team
USA Taekwondo is excited to announce the launch of a new U.S. National Team in 2009. Athletes ages 18-23 will have the opportunity to compete for this developmental team called the U-24 U.S. National Team.
The plan for this team is to attend at least one major international open event each year in anticipation that athletes will gain competitive international experience and perform at a higher level once they reach the full U.S. National Team. We believe this is a great opportunity for athletes who have aged out of the Junior National Team but have not quite reached the full U.S. National Team.
"In the recent past there have been many talented athletes that have fallen out of the developmental pipeline," said U.S. National Team Coach Juan Moreno. "This is a great opportunity to ensure these athletes good international experience to foster future success at major international competitions such as the World Championships and Olympic Games."
USA Taekwondo is planning to take the 2009 U-24 U.S. National Team to the Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships in late 2009. Click here for the full selection procedures.
The 2009 Junior National Team Procedures have also been announced. The 2009 Junior National Team will attend the Junior Pan American Taekwondo Championships in Curacao. In 2007, the Junior National Team won 17 medals, including 11 Gold, at the Junior Pan American Championships.
For the full 2009 junior selection procedures, click here.
Trial dates for both events will be announced once the Pan American Taekwondo Union finalizes its competition dates for the 2009 Junior Pan American Taekwondo Championships. It is anticipated that the U-24 U.S. National Team Trial and the final Junior National Team Trial will be held over one weekend. Dates will be announced as soon as possible.


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Pure Aromatherapy Natural Skin Care Oil
A unique combination of rose and sweet almond oil, which soothes the skin and helps you achieve sensuality.
Created to bring you harmony, Aromappeal™ uses the most balanced ingredients to lift your spirits and soothe your mind.
For massage, in a bath, or apply generously after shower.


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Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to students at the University of Virginia, where he said that for the first time in human history, young people around the world act as a global cohort. He challenged his audience to help them, and us, to use this remarkable network in a positive way. I could not agree more with the urgency of his challenge, which is why Embassies Wellington and Apia have focused so much of our resources over the past few years on taking steps to engage, listen to, and empower the young people of the Pacific.
Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting the inaugural Future Leaders of the Pacific conference (#FPL13) in Pago Pago, American Samoa. We at the American Mission to New Zealand and Samoa planned the event, in partnership with the East-West Center and the Government of American Samoa.
Young leaders ranging in age from 21 to 26 from 16 different Pacific Islands Forum member nations plus American Samoa gathered to discuss regional issues such as women's empowerment, democracy and governance, climate change, sea bed mining, and non-communicable diseases.
The sessions were guided by speakers from the East-West Center and dignitaries from the Pacific, including my good friend His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Head of State of Samoa, who opened the conference with an address on "Transforming Intelligence into Good Judgment," and the Premier of Niue the Honorable Toke Talangi, who spoke on "Facing the Future: Where and How Oceania Should be Engaging."
In addition to keynote presentations, we ran a series of detailed break-out sessions on specific issues and provided leadership training. One of the highlights was Executive Director of Women in Business Development Inc. Adimaimalaga (Adi) Tafuna'i's presentation on "Gender Empowerment through the Private Sector." Delegates even had the opportunity to see the only "Science on the Sphere" south of the equator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Sanctuary where Dr. Victoria Keener, climate change expert from the East-West Center, projected climate change data onto the large globe and led discussions on risk mitigation for Pacific Island nations.
There was, of course, time for the delegates to relax and bond. On the first evening, the Governor of American Samoa, the Honorable Lolo M. Moliga, hosted a traditional Ava ("welcome") ceremony and a banquet with dozens of American Samoan performers. The second evening, it was time for each Pacific Island delegate to take the stage in an impromptu talent show in which each representative gave the audience a taste of his or her island culture. I joined our Kiwi delegate for a fierce rendition of the All Blacks Haka.
While everyone seemed to have fun, the heart of the conference was the serious, substantive engagement -- treating youth as meaningful players, facilitating detailed discussion of complex issues, and listening to what they had to say. It's obvious that educating, empowering and amplifying youth voices of the Pacific are not only the right things to do, but the smart things to do. And the delegates proved my point. They engaged in an intense, confident, and sophisticated manner, and made full use of the resources we assembled. They quickly forged strong bonds with each other, forming what I hope will remain a vibrant pan-Pacific network. In fact, the Facebook page that we established as a platform for the delegates to continue the dialogue is already heavily trafficked.
We have asked the delegates to select two spokespersons, and we are planning to take those two representatives with us to this year's Pacific Islands Forum in Majuro, Marshall Islands so that they can observe the proceedings, participate in the Post-Forum Dialogue, and hopefully engage directly with additional island leaders.
In my view the conference was an unequivocal success and well worth continuing as an annual event. We've already begun planning #FPL14, because I see no better investment in our shared Pacific future than convening, mentoring, and empowering our future leaders.
Related Content: Visit U.S. Embassy New Zealand's website to view photographs and read full daily summaries of the event.
Mirabella L. in Ohio writes:
Continuous, open and honest communication is the most productive way to allow youth a better opportunity to achieve independence. It's encouraging to see the youth being realized by their potential and ability as opposed to being forced to regurgitate information. Excellent.


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Marnita Robertson, JD
Marnita Robertson holds a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University. She has been teaching business law and corporate governance courses online for the University of Phoenix School of Business since 2005.
Marnita currently serves as an attorney with United Parcel Service, providing legal support for the Information Technology division. She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is also a board member for the Urban League of Bergen County and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Bergen County as well as a member of the Urban League Black Executives Exchange Program.
The information in this profile was provided by the subject.


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The IBM Challenge was a big success. One of the contestants, Ken Jennings, [welcomes our new computer overlords]. Congratulations are in order to the IBM Research team who pulled off this Herculean effort!
Some folks have poked fun at some of the odd responses and wager amounts from the IBM Watson computer during the three-day tournament. Others were surprised as I was that the impressive feat was done with less than 1TB of stored data. Here is what John Webster wrote in CNET yesterday, in hist article [What IBM's Watson says to storage systems developers]:
"All well and good. But here's what I find most interesting as a result of what IBM has done in response to the Grand Challenge that motivated Watson's creators. We know, from Tony Pearson's blog, that the foundation of Watson's data storage system is a modified IBM SONAS cluster with a total of 21.6TB of raw capacity. But Pearson also reveals another very significant, and to me, surprising data point: "When Watson is booted up, the 15TB of total RAM are loaded up, and thereafter the DeepQA processing is all done from memory. According to IBM Research, the actual size of the data (analyzed and indexed text, knowledge bases, etc.) used for candidate answer generation and evidence evaluation is under 1 Terabyte."
What Pearson just said is that the data set Watson actually uses to reach his push-the-button decision would fit on a 1TB drive. So much for big data?"
To better appreciate how difficult the challenge was, and how a small amount of data can answer a billion different questions, I thought I would cover Business Intelligence, Data Retrieval and Text Mining concepts.
Let's start with Business Intelligence. [Seth Grimes] pointed me to this quote from [A Business Intelligence System], written by Hans Peter Luhn back in October 1958 IBM Journal.
"In this paper, business is a collection of activities carried on for whatever purpose, be it science, technology, commerce, industry, law, government, defense, et cetera. The communication facility serving the conduct of a business (in the broad sense) may be referred to as an intelligence system. The notion of intelligence is also defined here, in a more general sense, as the ability to apprehend the interrelationships of presented facts in such a way as to guide action towards a desired goal."
Ideally, when you need "Business Intelligence" to help you make a better decision, you perform data retrieval from a structured database for the specific information you are looking for. In other cases, you might be looking for insight, patterns or trends. In that case, you go "data mining" against your structured databases.
Here's a simple example. John runs a fruit stand. One day, he kept track of how many apples and oranges were bought by men and women. How many questions can we ask against this small set of data? Let's count them:
But wait! For each row and column, we can combine them into totals.
|But wait, there's more! Each row and column can be evaluated for relative percentages, as well as percentages of each cell compared to the total. You could make five relevant pie-charts from this data. This results in 16 more questions, such as:
And that's not including more ethereal questions, such as:
- Are there gender-specific preferences for different types of fruit?
- What type of fruit do men prefer?
This is just for a small set, two market segments (by gender) and two products (apples and oranges). However, if you have many market segments (perhaps by age group, zip code, etc.) and many products, the number of queries that can be supported is huge. For small sets of data, you can easily do this with a spreadsheet program like IBM Lotus Symphony or Microsoft Excel.
But why limit yourself to two dimensions? The above example was just for one day's worth of activity, if John captures this data for every day for historical and seasonal trending, it can be represented as a three-dimensional cube. The number of queries becomes astronomical. This is the basis for Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), and three-dimensional tables are often referred to as [OLAP cubes].
Back in 1970, IBM invented the Structured Query Language [SQL], and today, nearly all modern relational databases support this, including IBM DB2, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle DB. SQL poses two challenges. First, you had to structure the data in advance to the way you expect to perform your ad-hoc queries. Deciding the groups and categories in advance can limit the way information is recorded and captured.
Second, you had to be skilled at SQL to phrase your queries correctly to retrieve the data you are after. What ended up happening was that skilled SQL programmers would develop "canned reports" with fixed SQL parameters, so that less-skilled business decision makers could base their decisions from these reports.
IBM has fully integrated stacks to help process structured data, combining servers, storage, and advanced analytics software into a complete appliance. IBM offers the [Smart Analytics System] for robust, customized deployments, and recently acquired [Netezza] for pre-configured, and more rapid deployments.
However, the bigger problem is that more than 80 percent of information is not structured! Semi-structured data like email provides some searchable fields like From and Subject. The rest of the information is unstructured, such as text files, photographs, video and audio. To look for specific information in unstructured sources can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and trying to get insight, patterns or trends involves text mining.
IBM is a leader in Business Analytics and has made great progress in dealing with unstructured data. This includes [IBM OmniFind Enterprise Edition], [IBM e-Discovery Manager] and [IBM Cognos Business Intelligence].
This, in effect, is what IBM Watson was able to perform so well this week. Finding the needle in the haystacks of unstructured data from 200 million pages of text stored in its system, combined with the ability to apprehend the interrelationships of meaning and subtle nuance, resulted in an impressive technology demonstration. Certainly, this new technology will be powerful for a variety of use cases across a broad set of industries!
To learn more, read the Arizona Daily Star's article [After 'Jeopardy!' win, IBM program steps out].
technorati tags: IBM, Watson, Jeopardy, Challenge, John Webster, CNET, BI, data mining, Text Mining, OLAP, Arizona, Daily Star


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This site that I check out on the regular for music news is saying that Kanye has just been added to the Grammy list of performers for 2009. He has been pretty accurate on his news and has broken several stories.
We just learned exclusively that Sir Paul McCartney, Kanye West, & T.I. have now been added to the list of performers for the 2009 Grammy Awards. You are hearing this first, HERE, before anywhere else!
This comes from the same sources that broke earlier on Pitchfork.com that Radiohead has also been added. We also broke weeks ago that Jennifer Hudson would be performing at the Grammys as well. Check back later because we will have exclusive news on two other big stars being added to the list of performers for this years Grammy event.
The Grammys take place on Feb. 8th in Los Angeles at the Staple Center. They also join Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, Kenny Chesney, The Jonas Brothers, Carrie Underwood and the before-mentioned Jennifer Hudson. This years grammys is looking glamtastic and with Sir Paul McCartney in the mix, it just got fab.
Remember, Dr.Funkenberry.com has your exclusive Grammy news.-Dr.FB
http://www.drfunkenberry.com/2009/01/26 ... e-west-ti/
This is frickin hot! Anyone got any Grammy ticket hook-ups?


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Strategic Positioning
Grand Valley's goals and objectives spring from the university's values and have been developed to move the university towards its vision. They also provide a way to measure and report progress to university stakeholders. Responsibility for achieving these goals is embedded in the planning and assessment process for each division, department, unit, and individual in the university community.
Page last modified November 17, 2014


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NYT Bestsellers Promote G Concepts
Contributing Monkie G Living Staff Monkies
Published on May 16, 2008
Filed Under Fitness/Diet, GreenChef Foodie Talk Tags Skinny Bitch
If you're the type who looks to the New York Times Best Sellers list for reading ideas, you're probably feeling very enlightened this week. Human awakening is a dominating theme on this week's Paperback Advice grouping (four books out of ten, to be exact), celebrating the Skinny Bitches, the concept of a better world and Oprah.
Oprah Winfrey wrote a bestseller? What can't she do?
She didn't. (At least not yet.) But two of the top ten titles are the works of author and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, who's teaming up with the talk show goddess to offer an exclusive online class on his latest guide, A New Earth.
Tolle's previous book, The Power of Now — which inspired readers to "live in the now" — sold an impressive 2,000,000 copies and is still going strong (as demonstrated by its inclusion on this week's list). His latest offering outlines (via Amazon) "how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world." Not exactly frivolous reading, but nonetheless worthwhile.
On the health front, we're pleased to see both of Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's titles on the list (2005's Skinny Bitch and last year's Skinny Bitch In The Kitch), providing a nice segue from thinking right to eating right.
What does all of this mean in the grander scheme of things? It means readers are tuning in to important concepts of enlightenment and change, whether it be improving our diet or using the power within us to make the world a better place — two important topics for those of us wanting to live a "G" lifestyle. We're changing the world, four books at a time.
For more on Skinny Bitch, click here.
To sign up for Oprah and Eckhart Tolle's online course in self-exploration, go here.


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Hunting, fishing provide economic boost
LANSING – Despite drought conditions, low water levels and a rash of disease in the white-tailed deer population, fishing and hunting remained a boon to the Michigan economy in 2012.
With more than 1.19 million fishing licenses and more than 2.39 million hunting licenses purchased from the Department of Natural Resources between last March 1 and Jan. 17, 2013, the state surpassed its total revenue from the previous year by more than $375,000.
The license sale year runs until the end of February, but Denise Gruben, manager of licensing and reservations for the DNR, said most sales occur before the end of the calendar year.
Despite the increase, Sharon Schafer, the head of the DNR's Budget and Support Services Division, said the state still lags about $400,000 behind projections for the fiscal year, which began last Oct. 1.
Schafer said she is not surprised revenue is lower because of a bout of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a lethal disease spread by insect bites through deer herds in at least 30 downstate counties.
"There were large die-offs in Ionia and Clinton counties and it affected a lot of areas throughout the state," she said. "The herd will recover. Those areas were overpopulated."
The outbreak of EHD, although prevalent in southern Michigan, did not affect the Upper Peninsula at all, according to Debbie Munson Badini, a deputy public information officer with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Badini attributes the avoidance of EHD to the U.P.'s colder temperatures. In addition, Badini said the numbers were looking good for the past year.
"We are doing well," Badini said. "Everything looks to be on par or better than 2011."
In Marquette County, the 2012 numbers included 34,257 hunting licenses sold, with a total revenue of just over $413,000. Fishing licenses for 2012 totaled 15,914, with that number expected to increase, and a total revenue of about $346,000.
Badini emphasized that fishing and hunting is a multi-billion dollar industry that goes far beyond the sale of licenses. According to Badini, these outdoor recreational activities contribute to the economy through the many people who visit the U.P. to fish or hunt and need food, lodging and equipment, which directly helps local businesses who offer these services. The money that comes solely from the purchase of licenses goes to the Games and Fish Protection Fund, where the money is used for wildlife and fishery management and conservation law enforcement.
So far, license revenues are more than $51 million, on par with the past several years. About $3.5 million goes for general state purposes, Schafer said.
More than 90 percent of the funds, however, remains with DNR, Schafer said, with the majority going toward the legal department, fisheries and wildlife, and the marketing and outreach division, which handles much of the sales.
"That's about 20-25 percent of our budget, so that's a big part," Schafer said.
The economic impact of hunting and fishing industries is not limited to license fees.
In 2011, Michigan saw an estimated $2.36 billion in hunting-related retail sales and $2.46 billion in fishing-related sales, according to the National Shooting Sport Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association.
In late September, Pure Michigan began a three-month, $125,000 digital advertisement campaign to entice outdoor sport enthusiasts from nearby states such as Ohio and Indiana. It promotes Michigan hunting and fishing through online videos and ads on hunting and fishing websites.
The impact of these outdoor sports also affects other tourism-related industries, benefiting northern parts of the state.
One beneficiary of 2012's hunting and fishing seasons was Steve Knaisel, owner of Pilgrim's Village Resort in Cadillac, which consists of 16 cottages, seven motel rooms and a bait-and-tackle shop on the eastern shore of Lake Mitchell.
Between a spike in fishing during the summer, a relatively slow deer hunting season in the fall and an early ice fishing season this winter, Knaisel described his business in 2012 as "an absolute zoo.
"There's no way to measure how important they are to us," he said of hunting and fishing.
Knaisel said the economic impact was felt beyond the confines of his property and throughout the community.
Beyond a little heat exhaustion for some patrons, Knaisel said the summer drought had little adverse impact on his business. The shallower water did, however, mean more seaweed, causing a lower interest in watersports.
Mark Tonello, a fisheries biologist for the DNR in Cadillac, said an increase in weed growth is common in areas with low water levels.
He said by the end of the summer, lakes Mitchell and Cadillac were "as low as you'll ever see them."
Phil Schneeberger, a Lake Superior Basin Coordinator with the Michigan DNR Fisheries Division, said water levels is only one factor in how often fishermen leave the shores. Other issues can include weather patterns and the price of fuel for boats.
Schneeberger noted that although the level of effort was down a bit from the previous 10-year average, level of effort meaning the number of hours fishermen are spending on the waters, the past three years have been fairly similar and fishing in the U.P. still draws in a large crowd.
"We have such varied fisheries to offer people throughout the year," he said. "The main thing is it's just great how many people are getting outdoors."
According to the Army Corp of Engineers, the average water level of lakes Michigan and Huron was 576.04 feet in mid-January, which sits about 2 feet below the long-term average and beneath the 1965 low mark of 576.1 feet.
Abbey Hauswirth can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 240.


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Elecom - Bluetooth earphones with excellent wearing comfort
Elecom is going to release new Bluetooth earphones LBT-HPC11AV series in early April.
LBT-HPC11AV supports A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), HSP (Headset Profile), HFP (Hands-free Profile).
There are buttons for volume adjustment, music playback, On/Off and pairing with other Bluetooth compliant devices. It comes in various size of ear pieces (S,M,L) to fit your ears perfectly.


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FDA inaction has exposed the public to a roulette game of mercury doses and leaves the heavy fish consumer at risk.and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued only one advisory on the subject, which recommends that women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and infants limit their consumption of fish to 12 ounces a week. The FDA has decreed that fish is safe to eat if its flesh contains less than 1 microgram per gram of mercury — a level that many scientists consider too high and that was established using questionable data. In Japan, for example, where per capita fish consumption is high, the government has advised consumers who regularly eat fish to restrict their fish consumption to species with less than 0.3 micrograms per gram of mercury.
During the Bush administration, the fishing and utility industries fought hard to loosen standards governing methylmercury.to loosen standards governing methylmercury. Under industry pressure, the EPA ignored its own independent scientific study about the risks of mercury poisoning to human health and issued rules that effectively exempted mercury emissions from the Clean Air Act, launching instead a system that would have allowed power plants to slowly reduce mercury emissions over decades. Fortunately, last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the EPA rule, saying it ignored scientific studies and endangered human health.
When the patients removed fish from their diets, their symptoms gradually receded in nearly all cases.suspect the toxic substance as a culprit and ordered blood tests. Nearly all the patients had high mercury levels, with one woman showing blood levels more than 20 times the accepted standard and one boy with mercury levels in his hair 15 times the safe standard. When the patients removed fish from their diets, the symptoms gradually receded in nearly all cases.
Our current action level of 1.0 microgram of mercury per gram of fish is based on data from a poisoning that occurred at the hands of Saddam Hussein.deemed unfit for sale. The fishing industry set to work to loosen the standard to 1.0 microgram and helped fund studies of mercury toxicity. Scientists traveled to Iraq to research the poisoning, and at a 1977 trial to determine safe levels of mercury in fish, the main evidence presented by the fishing industry was from the study in Iraq. The judge presiding in the case accepted that evidence and ruled to loosen the standard, which means that our current action level of 1.0 microgram of mercury per gram of fish is based entirely on data from a poisoning that occurred at the hands of Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath government, and that allows for a human blood mercury level of 400 micrograms per liter — a level 80 times that currently recommended by the EPA.