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College official urges students to 'come home'
Only seven in a group of roughly 20 Gothenburg High School students admitted last week that they want to come back home after going to college.
That percentage is too small for Weldon Sleight, dean of the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.
"Our state's greatest export is our children," Sleight said. "We need to find a way to convince you to come home."
Sleight gave a presentation during the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce ag committee's ag career showcase at the high school on April 20.
"The longer you're away from home, the more I hope you'll want to come back," Sleight told the students.
From 2000 to 2009, the state of Nebraska's population grew approximately 85,000 people. Most of that growth, Sleight said, was in the eastern part of the state.
"It's the smaller towns that are losing more people," he said. "And it's those small towns that are supporting agriculture."
Sleight encouraged the students to learn about their family legacy, especially if it involves agriculture, and consider returning home to carry on.
If they determine agriculture isn't their life's dream, then they should make connections with professionals in their desired areas.
"As older folks, we have to learn to put our arms around the young people and ask them to come home," Sleight said.
Often high school students look at small communities and see there is no room for another physician or attorney or businessman in their chosen field.
Find the complete story in our print edition. Receive the entire issue of the Gothenburg Times on-line in PDF format each Wednesday for only $25 per year. Call 308-537-3636 to subscribe.
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I posted the GMU specific sheet for 57. You posted the hunt guide for the southeast region. Always good to be nice.
trapper57 that is my old stoppin grounds before i moved to alaska. I go back there every 3 years or so to hunt. Usually kill a 5 point or better on public land,,,plus one of my High school buddies is the game warden in the unit. PM me & i'll point ya in the right direction but won't give away my best honey holes.
i did read the guide and it does give you some general info ,hope there are some elk to here them bugle , will have a week to find them, it will be great to just be out there in the mountains in the fall,
I agree too. Just don't tell me I posted the wrong info without reading it.
I'm too old to be nice about that.

subset: commoncrawl


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California Handgun Sales in 2001 Drop to All-Time Low
Despite surge in sales after September 11, overall sales down 8.2 percent from 2000
(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today announced that fewer handguns were purchased in California last year, 155,203, than during any year since 1972, when overall totals were first recorded.
From January through December of 2001, a total of 354,202 handgun and long gun (rifles and shotguns) purchases, pending a 10-day waiting period and background check of the buyer, were made by Californians. This represents an 8.2 percent decrease compared to the 386,210 purchases made during 2000.
Handgun sales decreased 23.1 percent, from 201,865 in 2000 to the record low of 155,203. Previously, the fewest handguns sold in a year was 189,481 in 1998.
Long gun sales increased 7.3 percent, from 184,345 in 2000 to 198,999 in 2001. In California, an individual may purchase only one handgun every 30 days, but may purchase multiple long guns at the same time. When multiple long guns are purchased at one time, it is reflected as one purchase.
After September 11, firearm sales in California averaged 9,200 per week for six weeks, compared to about 7,000 per week during the same six-week period in 2000. Prior to September 11, firearms sales averaged about 6,500 per week during 2001.
During 2001, a total of 3,607 sales were denied by the California Department of Justice because the purchaser had criminal convictions, was wanted, was the subject of a restraining order, or had certain mental health history. 2,875 of those denials were based on previous convictions for crimes such as homicides, sex crimes, robbery, arson, and burglary, including 1,355 for assault.
"Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals is a necessary part of an effective crime prevention strategy," Lockyer said. "By blocking the sale of guns to thousands of violent criminals last year we're helping to prevent dangerous crimes and save lives."
Attached are a Dealer's Record of Sales (DROS) worksheet for 2001 that summarizes firearm purchases and denials, and a summary of California firearm purchases and denials since 1972.


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So, ever since I've stumbled across Zoe from 'So, Zo...' and the Me-Made-May crowd, I've been itching to go for an entire month of wearing something me-made every day. Since I haven't actually sewn all that many garments as of yet, the prospect hasn't been so good, which is why I've been hesitant to sign up for Self-Stitched September. However - I really, really want to take part, so I've decided that I will, if I manage to sew at least four or five of the following garments during the month of August:
- a couple of long-sleeved shirts
- a couple of everyday, not too summery dresses
- a couple of basic-but-fun skirts that also work worn with tights or leggins
- a couple of mix'n'match-friendly tops or blouses
- undergarments
I guess I'm aiming for SSS light, wearing at least one me-made garment every day. We'll see how it works out, since September is going to be a little hectic for me - I'm leaving for a four-month trip around the world at the beginning of October and almost all of August will be spent at my parents' home... So I guess I'll need to get going! :-)


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The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation's 7th annual Operation Santa made a last-minute stop in its tribute tour to fallen officers, bringing gifts Saturday to the Arlington Heights police headquarters for the officer shot Thursday evening while responding to a hostage situation.
Michael McEvoy, 52, a 23-year veteran of the department, was shot in the face by Eric Anderson, 41, of Niles, who had been stalking an ex-girlfriend and had taken her hostage, police said. Anderson was shot and killed several hours later when he entered the garage of the house and pointed a gun at officers, police said.
"Officer Michael McEvoy is in stable condition at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital," Arlington Heights Cmdr. Andrew Whowell said Saturday. "He has a long road ahead of him with his recovery, but he is expected to make a full recovery."
The memorial foundation had organized a presidential-style motorcade this weekend escorting Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and a team of merry elves, including Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who delivered gifts, good wishes and the spirit of the holidays to 16 families of slain or seriously injured Chicago police officers. The motorcade began the day by loading vans with gifts contributed by Macy's State Street store.


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The Institute communicates its scientific and educational information in a number of ways. One major outlet is peer-reviewed publications and reports. Cary Institute staff regularly publish in the best-rated journals in their respective fields.
Export 1 results:Sort by: Author Title [ Type] Year
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Journal Article
What should every citizen know about ecology?", Front. Ecol. Environ., 2009., "


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Michael Joseph Gerold; Phony & Grifter
Anthony has done all of the hard work on this case of Michael Joseph Gerold, a former California Reserve Army Civil Affairs Captain who, by all accounts should have been awarded some of the medals he wore, but he never went through the process to rectify that – he just pinned them on;
The Army conducted a 15-6 investigation on Gerold in regards to his violation of article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice – conduct unbecoming an officer. The investigating officer wrote;
The reviewing authority agreed;
In the meantime, before the 15-6 investigation began, Gerold started American Legion Post 911 in San Francisco which lasted over a year until the American Legion discovered that he was looting their treasury mostly to his own benefit in the Legion organization, so they shut down his post and ran him off.
The City of San Francisco even investigated Gerold for ripping the funds which they donated to the Legion post – and Gerold wouldn't give up his financial records to anyone, neither the City's veterans office or the Legion, so you know that stuff wasn't right.
Among the charges that stuck to him with the American Legion was the fact that he wore a Bronze Star, a Combat Action Badge and a Purple Heart that he wasn't authorized. Here is his DD214;
Tony has started a petition to get Gerold recalled to active duty so the Army can court martial him. I don't know how he slipped away between the 15-6 and his court martial – maybe some some of you JAG officers know.
Despite the preponderance of evidence against Gerold, he still has some tenacious supporters, and as we've witnessed here countless times, that's pretty common among true sociopaths who are so slick they can convince you that your eyes are lying to you. Luckily, I'm impervious to that stuff – it's my super power.
Category: Phony soldiers


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Just ran across my first Comfort Star H/P's. Any feedback on these units would be helpfull.
my supplier sold Comfortstar straight cool condensers at the end of the R-22 phaseout before the major manufacturers started making nitrogen charged units.
They only sold them for 2 or 3 months 2 years ago and they're still getting tons of the rotary compressors back for warranty claims. They told be it was a total disaster.
Forum Rules


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Washington, D.C.
- Ian McHarg, FASLA-an internationally known landscape architect, ecological planner, professor and author-was awarded the Japan Prize for 2000 by the Board of Directors of The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan (JSTF), which awards scientists who have accomplished original and outstanding achievements in science and technology. McHarg was recognized for his work in the field of City Planning.
His holistic method of ecological planning has made him one of the giants of the environmental movement. McHarg developed the innovative and highly acclaimed regional plans for Denver and the Twin Cities as well as the Woodlands New Town Project in Texas, which still serve as models of planning and development.
"Ian McHarg is one of our most distinguished members, and his many contributions to society remind us that the profession of landscape architecture can guide public debate on important issues, such as livable communities," said American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Executive Vice President Peter Kirsch. McHarg's book, Design with Nature, published in 1968, is considered one of the most influential books of the environmental era and is still used today as a teaching and reference manual. McHarg was one of the first to argue that proper design and planning could mitigate and, in many cases, undo the harmful effects of industry on the environment.
His career, which spans more than four decades, is chronicled in his autobiography, A Quest for Life published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. He is also recognized for his role in founding the landscape architecture department at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is currently Professor Emeritus.
This year, JSTF recognized City Planning and Host Defense for the Japan Prize, an international award established in 1985. The award ceremony presentation is scheduled for Friday, April 28, 2000, at the National Theatre of Tokyo and will be followed by the Japan Prize Banquet in honor of the laureates. At the ceremony, the Japan Prize medal, the award citation and $500,000 will be presented to McHarg.
The American Society of Landscape Architects, founded in 1899, represents more than 13,000 members nationwide. Landscape architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation. Typical projects include site design and planning, town and urban planning, regional planning, preparation of environmental impact plans, garden design, historic preservation, and parks/recreation design and planning. Landscape architects hold undergraduate or graduate degrees. They are licensed to practice in 46 states and are required to pass a rigorous national three-day examination
Karen T. GrajalesManager, Public Relations tel: firstname.lastname@example.com @ktgrajales


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Julie Salamon's extraordinary new book, Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein, includes a moving account of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright's visit to Key West for the 2005 Seminar. Wasserstein was already showing signs of the illness which would end her life less than a year later, at 55. But in Key West, writes Salomon, Wasserstein found balm and respite. She was joined by her old friend and collaborator Christopher Durang, who fondly recalled the trip as a last chance to share "warm memories of earlier, happier times." It would also mark Wasserstein and Durang's last collaboration, as they hatched a plan over breakfast to deliver a parody of Medea for their panel presentation that day. It went well. The audience laughed and giggled. "She had worked her magic."
You can listen to another presentation by Wasserstein from that weekend in our audio archives. The photos here are from Wasserstein's first Key West trip in 1990 for New Directions in American Theater.


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From Institute for Local Self Reliance
Below are summaries and links to key studies that examine the impact of Wal-Mart and other large retail chains and, in some cases, the benefits of locally owned businesses. For ease of use, we've organized these studies into the following categories, although they do not all fit neatly into one category.
- Economic Impact of Local Businesses vs. Chains Studies have found that locally owned stores generate much greater benefits for the local economy than national chains.
- Retail Employment These studies examine whether the arrival of a superstore increases or decreases the number of retail jobs in the region.
- Wages & Benefits Studies have found that big-box retailers, particularly Wal-Mart, are depressing wages and benefits for retail employees.
- Existing Businesses These studies look at how the arrival of a big-box retailer displaces sales at existing businesses, which must then downsize or close. This results in job losses and declining tax revenue, which some of these studies quantify.
- Poverty Rates Counties that have gained Wal-Mart stores have fared worse in terms of family poverty rates, according to this study.
- Social and Civic Well-Being This study found that Wal-Mart reduces a community's level of social capital, as measured by voter turnout and the number of active community organizations.
- City Costs These studies compare the municipal tax benefits of big-box development with the cost of providing these stores with city services, such as road maintenance, police and fire—finding that cities do not always come out ahead.
- State Costs Because many of their employees do not earn enough to make ends meet, states are reporting high costs associated with providing healthcare (Medicaid) and other public assistance to big-box employees.
- Subsidies The expansion of big-box retailers has been financed in part by massive development subsidies and tax advantages provided by local and state governments. These studies document those subsidies and their failure to produce real economic benefits for communities.
- Consumers & Prices Are chains better for consumers?
- Traffic How do vehicle miles traveled and trips increase as a result of big box developments?
- Charitable Contributions Small businesses donate about twice as much per employee to charitable organizations as large businesses, according to this study
1. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LOCAL BUSINESSES VS. CHAINS The following studies have found that locally owned stores generate much greater benefits for the local economy than national chains.
Indie Impact Study Series: Salt Lake City, Utah — Civic Economics, August 2012
In this study, Civic Economics analyzed data from fifteen independent retailers and seven independent restaurants, all located in Salt Lake City, and compared their local economic impact with four national retail chains (Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, Office Max, and Target) and three national restaurant chains (Darden, McDonald's, and P.F. Chang's). The study found that the local retailers return a total of 52 percent of their revenue to the local economy, compared to just 14 percent for the national chain retailers. Similarly, the local restaurants recirculate an average of 79 percent of their revenue locally, compared to 30 percent for the chain eateries. What accounts for the difference? In a handy graphic, Civic Economics shows the breakdown. Independent businesses spend more on local labor, goods procured locally for resale, and services from local providers. This means a much larger share of the money you spend at a locally owned store stays in your local economy, supporting a variety of other businesses and jobs.
Going Local: Quantifying the Economic Impacts of Buying from Locally Owned Businesses in Portland, Maine — by Garrett Martin and Amar Patel, Maine Center for Economic Policy, December 2011
On a dollar-for-dollar basis, the local economic impact of independently owned businesses is significantly greater than that of national chains, this study concludes. Analyzing data collected from 28 locally owned retail businesses in Portland, Maine, along with corporate filings for a representative national chain, the researchers found that every $100 spent at locally owned businesses contributes an additional $58 to the local economy. By comparison, $100 spent at a chain store in Portland yields just $33 in local economic impact. The study concludes that, if residents of the region were to shift 10 percent of their spending from chains to locally owned businesses, it would generate $127 million in additional local economic activity and 874 new jobs.
Thinking Outside the Box: A Report on Independent Merchants and the Local Economy -by Civic Economics, September 2009
This study examined financial data from 15 locally owned businesses in New Orleans and compared their impact on the local economy to that of an average SuperTarget store. The study found that only 16% of the money spent at a SuperTarget stays in the local economy. In contrast, the local retailers returned more than 32% of their revenue to the local economy. The primary difference was that the local stores purchase many goods and services from other local businesses, while Target does not. The study concludes that even modest shifts in spending patterns can make a big difference to the local economy. If residents and visitors were to shift 10% of their spending from chains to local businesses, it would generate an additional $235 million a year in local economic activity, creating many new opportunities and jobs. Likewise, a 10% shift in the opposite direction – less spending at local stores and more at chains – would lead to an economic contraction of the same magnitude. Another noteworthy finding of the study is that locally owned businesses require far less land to produce an equivalent amount of economic activity. The study found that a four-block stretch of Magazine Street, a traditional business district, provides 179,000 square feet of retail space, hosts about 100 individual businesses, and generates $105 million in sales, with $34 million remaining in the local economy. In contrast, a 179,000-square-foot SuperTarget generates $50 million in annual sales, with just $8 million remaining in the local economy, and requires an additional 300,000 square feet of space for its parking lot. See our New Rules article for more background on this study.
Local Works: Examining the Impact of Local Business on the West Michigan Economy – by Civic Economics, September 2008
This study concludes that if residents of Grand Rapids and surrounding Kent County, Michigan, were to redirect 10 percent of their total spending from chains to locally owned businesses, the result would be $140 million in new economic activity for the region, including 1,600 new jobs and $53 million in additional payroll. The study calculates the market share of independent businesses in four categories: pharmacy (41%), grocery (52%), restaurants (50%), and banks (6%). It analyzes how much of the money spent at these businesses stays in the area compared to national chains. Local restaurants, for example, return more than 56% of their revenue to the local economy in the form of wages, goods and services purchased locally, profits, and donations. Chain restaurants return only 37%. Measuring the total economic impact of this difference, including indirect and induced activity, the study estimates that $1 million spent at chain restaurants produces about $600,000 in additional local economic activity and supports 10 jobs. Spending $1 million at local restaurants, meanwhile, generates over $900,000 in added local economic activity and supports 15 jobs. The study also analyzes the economic impact of independent vs. chain businesses on a square footage basis, noting, "In a largely built-out city like Grand Rapids, policy dictates seeking the highest and best use of available properties, and this analysis strongly supports the idea that local firms should be the preferred tenants for city sites."
The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study – By Civic Economics, May 2007
This study finds that San Francisco remains a stronghold for locally owned businesses, which generate sizable benefits for the city's economy. The study has three parts. The first calculates market shares for independents and chains in several categories: bookstores, sporting goods stores, toy stores, and casual dining restaurants. In all four categories, independent businesses capture more than half of sales within the city of San Francisco, a much larger share than they have nationally. The second part examines the economic impact of locally owned businesses versus chains. It finds that local businesses buy more goods and services locally and employ more people locally per unit of sales (because they have no headquarters staff elsewhere). Every $1 million spent at local bookstores, for example, creates $321,000 in additional economic activity in the area, including $119,000 in wages paid to local employees. That same $1 million spent at chain bookstores generates only $188,000 in local economic activity, including $71,000 in local wages. The same was true in the other categories. For every $1 million in sales, independent toy stores create 2.22 local jobs, while chains create just 1.31. The final part of the study analyzes the impact of a modest shift in consumer spending. If residents were to redirect just 10 percent of their spending from chains to local businesses, that would generate $192 million in additional economic activity in San Francisco and almost 1,300 new jobs.
The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics – By Civic Economics, October 2004
This compelling study, commissioned by the Andersonville Development Corporation, finds that locally owned businesses generate 70 percent more local economic impact per square foot than chain stores. The study's authors, Dan Houston and Matt Cunningham of Civic Economics, analyzed ten locally owned restaurants, retail stores, and service providers in the Andersonville neighborhood on Chicago's north side and compared them with ten national chains competing in the same categories. They found that spending $100 at one of the neighborhood's independent businesses creates $68 in additional local economic activity, while spending $100 at a chain produces only $43 worth of local impact. They also found that the local businesses generated slightly more sales per square foot compared to the chains ($263 versus $243). Because chains funnel more of this revenue out of the local economy, the study concluded that, for every square foot of space occupied by a chain, the local economic impact is $105, compared to $179 for every square foot occupied by an independent business.
The Economic Impact of Locally Owned Businesses vs. Chains: A Case Study in Midcoast Maine – by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Friends of Midcoast Maine, September 2003.
Three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally owned businesses instead of large chain stores, according to this analysis, which tracked the revenue and expenditures of eight locally owned businesses in Midcoast Maine. The survey found that the businesses, with had combined sales of $5.7 million in 2002, spent 44.6 percent of their revenue within the surrounding two counties. Another 8.7 percent was spent elsewhere in the state of Maine. The four largest components of this local spending were: wages and benefits paid to local employees; goods and services purchased from other local businesses; profits that accrued to local owners; and taxes paid to local and state government. Using a variety of sources, the analysis estimates that a national big box retailer operating in Midcoast Maine returns just 14.1 percent of its revenue to the local economy, mostly in the form of payroll. The rest leaves the state, flowing to out-of-state suppliers or back to corporate headquarters. The survey also found that the local businesses contributed more to charity than national chains.
Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study – by Civic Economics, December 2002.
This study examines the local economic impact of two locally owned businesses in Austin, Texas—Waterloo Records and Book People—and compares this with the economic return the community would receive from a Borders Books store. The study finds that spending $100 at Borders creates $13 worth of local economic activity, while spending $100 at the local stores generates $45 in local economic activity. The difference is attributed to three factors: a higher local payroll at the independent stores (because, unlike Borders, none of their operations are carried out a an out-of-town headquarters office); the local stores purchased more goods and services locally; and the local stores retained a much larger share of their profits within the local economy.
2. RETAIL EMPLOYMENT These studies examine whether the arrival of a superstore increases or decreases the number of retail jobs in the region.
The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets – by David Neumark (University of California-Irvine), Junfu Zhang (Clark University), and Stephen Ciccarella (Cornell University), Journal of Urban Economics, Mar. 2008
This study presents the most sophisticated analysis to date of Wal-Mart's impact on retail employment and wages. Analyzing national data, the study found that the opening of a Wal-Mart store reduces county-level retail employment by 150 jobs. Because Wal-Mart stores employ an average of 360 workers, this suggests that for every new retail job created by Wal-Mart, 1.4 jobs are lost as existing businesses downsize or close. The study also found that the arrival of a Wal-Mart store reduces total county-wide retail payroll by an average of about $1.2 million. This study improves substantially on previous studies by convincingly accounting for the endogeneity of the location and timing of Wal-Mart's entry into a particular local market. That is, Wal-Mart presumably does not locate stores randomly. When expanding into a particular region, it may, for example, opt to build in towns experiencing greater job growth. Unless this location selection bias is accounted for, one might compare job growth in towns that gained Wal-Mart stores versus those that did not and erroneously conclude that Wal-Mart caused an expansion in employment. The authors of this study have devised a persuasive method of accounting for this bias. They also argue that the method developed by Basker (see next item below) to account for this bias is flawed and therefore her conclusion that Wal-Mart has a small positive impact on retail employment is not reliable.
Job Creation or Destruction? Labor-Market Effects of Wal-Mart Expansion – By Emek Basker, University of Missouri, Review of Economics & Statistics, February 2005
Often cited and typically misrepresented by Wal-Mart supporters, this study examines the impact of the arrival of a Wal-Mart store on retail and wholesale employment. It looks at 1,749 counties that added a Wal-Mart between 1977 and 1998. It finds that Wal-Mart's arrival boosts retail employment by 100 jobs in the first year—far less than the 200-400 jobs the company says its stores create, because its arrival causes existing retailers to downsize and lay-off employees. Over the next four years, there is a loss of 40-60 additional retail jobs as more competing retailers downsize and close. The study also finds that Wal-Mart's arrival leads to a decline of approximately 20 local wholesale jobs in the first five years, and an additional 10 wholesale jobs over the long run (six or more years after Wal-Mart's arrival). (Wal-Mart handles its own distribution and does not rely on wholesalers). This works out to a net gain of just 10-30 retail and wholesale jobs, and the study does not examine whether these jobs are part-time or whether they pay more or less than the jobs eliminated by Wal-Mart. The study also found that, within five years of Wal- Mart's arrival, the counties had lost an average of four small retail businesses, one midsized store, and one large store. It does not estimate declines in revenue to retailers that survive. Basker looked at the effect of Wal-Mart on retail employment in neighboring communities, but found that the confidence intervals were too large (meaning the results showed wide variation) to draw any conclusion about Wal-Mart's impact. (Her initial working paper, published in 2002, reported an average decline of 30 retail jobs in surrounding communities, but, after correcting an error, she determined the confidence intervals were too large to produce a precise result.)
3. WAGES & BENEFITS These studies examine the effect of big-box chains, particularly Wal-Mart, on wages and benefits for retail employees.
Does Local Firm Ownership Matter? — by Stephan Goetz and David Fleming, Economic Development Quarterly, April 2011.
Goetz and Fleming analyze 2,953 counties, including both rural and urban places, and find that, after controlling for other factors that influence growth, those with a larger density of small, locally owned businesses experienced greater per capita income growth between 2000 and 2007. The presence of large, non-local businesses, meanwhile, had a negative effect on incomes.
Living Wage Policies and Big-box Retail: How a Higher Wage Standard Would Impact Wal-Mart Workers and Shoppers – UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, April 2011.
About 900,000 Wal-Mart workers, or 65 percent of its U. S. workforce, are paid less than $12 an hour. More than one-fifth earn less than $9 an hour. Overall, Wal-Mart's hourly workers earn 12.4 percent less than retail workers as a whole. This study finds that raising their pay to a minimum of $12 an hour would lift many out of poverty, reduce their reliance on public assistance, and cost the average consumer, at most, $12.49 a year.
A Downward Push: The Impact of Wal-Mart Stores on Retail Wages and Benefits – By Arindrajit Dube, T. William Lester, and Barry Eidlin, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, December 2007
This study analyzes the impact of the opening of Wal-Mart stores on the earnings of retail workers. (It uses a similar technique to account for possible biases in Wal-Mart's store location decisions as the study described in the RETAIL EMPLOYMENT section above, "The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets.") This study focuses on stores that opened between 1992 and 2000 and concludes, "Opening a single Wal-Mart store lowers the average retail wage in the surrounding county between 0.5 and 0.9 percent." Not only did Wal-Mart lower average wage rates, but "every new Wal-Mart in a county reduced the combined or aggregate earnings of retail workers by around 1.5 percent." Because this number is higher than the reduction in average wages, it indicates that Wal-Mart not only lowered pay rates, but also reduced the total number of retail jobs. The study goes on to look at the cumulative impact of Wal-Mart store openings on retail earnings at the state level and nationwide. "At the national level, our study concludes that in 2000, total earnings of retail workers nationwide were reduced by $4.5 billion due to Wal-Mart's presence," the researchers find. Most of these losses were concentrated in metropolitan areas. Although Wal-Mart is often associated with rural areas, three-quarters of the stores it built in the 1990s were in metropolitan counties.
What Do We Know About Wal-Mart? – By Annette Bernhardt, Anmol Chaddha, and Siobhán McGrath, Brennan Center for Justice, August 2005
This scrupulously fact-checked and footnoted report outlines what we know about Wal-Mart, in terms of its wages, health insurance benefits, compliance with labor laws, and cost to states. It details average starting wages for various job classifications. It reports that Wal-Mart employees earn 20 percent less than retail workers on average. It outlines the out-of-pocket costs, coverage limitations, and eligibility requirements for the retailer's health insurance plan, and compiles information on what various states are spending to provide Medicaid to uninsured Wal-Mart employees and their children. The report also summarizes Wal-Mart's record of labor law violations.
Reviewing and Revising Wal-Mart's Benefits Strategy – Memo to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors from Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for benefits, Oct. 2005
This internal memo leaked to Wal-Mart Watch assesses Wal-Mart's current health care benefits and offers strategies to both reduce the company's health insurance costs and neutralize criticism of its employment practices. The memo reports that only 48 percent of the company's employees are enrolled in its insurance plan, compared to an average of 68 percent for national employers. Excessive out-of-pocket costs, including expensive premiums and high deductibles, are to blame. "Our coverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of Associates and their children on public assistance," the memo notes. Employees enrolled in Wal-Mart's insurance plan spend an average of 8 percent of their income on health care, nearly twice the national average. Almost 40 percent spend more than 16 percent of their income, a crippling cost for workers who earn less than $20,000 a year on average. The memo also reports that Wal-Mart has a larger share of its employees and their children enrolled in Medicaid compared to other companies. "In total, 46 percent of Associates' children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured," it notes. The memo offers strategies for reducing Wal-Mart's health care costs, including increasing the percentage of part-time employees and "design[ing] all jobs to include some physical activity (e.g., all cashiers do some cart gathering)." The latter recommendation aims to "dissuade unhealthy people from coming to work at Wal-Mart."
The Impact of Big Box Grocers on Southern California: Jobs, Wages, and Municipal Finances – Prepared for the Orange County Business Council by Dr. Marlon Boarnet of the University of California at Irvine and Dr. Randall Crane of the University of California at Los Angeles, 1999.
The most useful parts of this study deal with Wal-Mart's impact on wages. The study concluded that, as Wal-Mart builds supercenters in southern California, the company will absorb up to 20 percent of the region's grocery market and cut grocery workers' income by up to $1.4 billion annually. Unionized supermarket workers in southern California make the equivalent of $18.25 an hour in wages and benefits, according to the study, while Wal-Mart employees earn just $9.63 per hour. As Wal-Mart expands in the region, it will replace high-wage jobs with low-wage jobs. It will probably also force unionized supermarket workers to accept substantial wage and benefit cuts to keep their employers competitive. The combined losses are estimated in the range of $500 million to $1.4 billion. The study also compares health insurance benefits at unionized supermarkets and Wal-Mart, and examines the tax and revenue implications of supercenter development.
4. EXISTING BUSINESSES These studies look at how the arrival of a big-box retailer displaces sales at existing businesses, which must then downsize or close, resulting in job losses and declining tax revenue.
Mom-and-pop Meet Big-box: Complements Or Substitutes? — by John Haltiwanger, Ron Jarmin, and C.J. Krizan, Journal of Urban Economics, 2010.
In this study, economists John Haltiwanger, Ron Jarmin, and C.J. Krizan analyzed about 1,200 big-box store openings and looked at the impact on two sets of independent and small chain businesses in the vicinity: those competing directly with the new big box and those offering different products and services. For competing retailers, the study found "large, negative effects" on those within a 5-mile radius of the new big box, including a substantial number of store closures, and smaller but still significant impacts on those in a 5-10 mile radius. As for non-competing businesses, the study found that big-box stores generate no positive spillover. Nearby businesses offering other products and services neither increased their growth nor expanded in numbers after the big box opened.
The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses – by Julie Davis, David Merriman, Lucia Samayoa, Brian Flanagan, Ron Baiman, and Joe Persky, Economic Development Quarterly, October 2012. (Here's a earlier free version of the study.)
The opening of a Wal-Mart on the West Side of Chicago in 2006 led to the closure of about one-quarter of the businesses within a four-mile radius, according to this study by researchers at Loyola University. They tracked 306 businesses, checking their status before Wal-Mart opened and one and two years after it opened. More than half were also surveyed by phone about employees, work hours, and wages. By the second year, 82 of the businesses had closed. Businesses within close proximity of Wal-Mart had a 40 percent chance of closing. The probability of going out of business fell 6 percent with each mile away from Wal-Mart. These closures eliminated the equivalent of 300 full-time jobs, about as many Wal-Mart added to the area. Sales tax and employment data provided by the state of Illinois for Wal-Mart's zip code and surrounding zip codes confirmed that overall sales and employment in the neighborhood did not increase, but actually dipped from the trend line. Although Wal-Mart claims its urban stores recapture dollars leaking to the suburbs, the findings of this study suggest that urban Wal-Mart stores primarily displace sales from other city stores. "There is no evidence that Wal-Mart sparked any significant net growth in economic activity or employment in the area," the researchers conclude. The study also examines Wal-Mart's Job and Opportunity Zones initiative, which provided marketing for five local businesses, and found it largely ineffective.
Major Flaws Uncovered in Study Claiming Wal-Mart Has Not Harmed Small Businesses [PDF] – by Stacy Mitchell; Institute for Local Self-Reliance, December 2008
A new and widely publicized study, "Has Wal-Mart Buried Mom and Pop?", claims that there is no evidence that Wal-Mart has had an overall negative impact on the small business sector. A close inspection of the study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, however, found major flaws. The authors failed to use the correct U. S. Census data when attempting to show that "mom and pop" businesses have not experienced a net decline over the past two decades. When the correct data set is used, it is clear that the small business sector is much less robust now than it once was, with the number of retail businesses with fewer than 10 employees declining by one-fifth from 1982-2002. This decrease is even more drastic when measured relative to the population. During the 20-year period, the number of retail firms with 1-4 employees per 1 million people fell by 38% and retail firms with 5-9 employees per 1 million people declined by 30%.
The Impact of 'Big-Box' Building Materials Stores on Host Towns and Surrounding Counties in a Midwestern State – by Economics Professor Kenneth E. Stone and Extension Program Specialist Georgeanne M. Artz, Iowa State University, 2001.
This study examines several Iowa communities where big box building supply stores, such as Menards and Home Depot, have opened in the last decade. Sales of hardware and building supplies in the host community and surrounding counties are tracked over several years to test what the authors call the "zero-sum-game theory," namely that the retail sales gains generated by big box stores are offset by sales losses at existing, often locally owned, retail stores. The results confirm the theory, finding that sales of hardware and building supplies grow in the host communities, but at the expense of sales in smaller towns nearby. Moreover, after a few years, many of the host communities experienced a reversal of fortune: sales of hardware and building supplies declined sharply, often dropping below their initial levels, as more big box stores opened in the surrounding region and saturated the market.
What Happened When Wal-Mart Came to Town? A Report on Three Iowa Communities with a Statistical Analysis of Seven Iowa Counties – by Thomas Muller and Elizabeth Humstone, National Trust For Historic Preservation, 1996.
This study examined the impact of Wal-Mart on several Iowa communities. It found that 84 percent of all sales at the new Wal-Mart stores came at the expense of existing businesses within the same county. Only 16 percent of sales came from outside the county—a finding which refutes the notion that Wal-Mart can act as a magnet drawing customers from a wide area and benefiting other businesses in town. "Although some suggest that the presence of Wal-Mart outside of, but near to, the downtown area results in additional activity downtown, both sales data and traffic data do not show this gain," the study concludes. "None of the nine case studies was experiencing a high enough level of population and income growth to absorb the Wal-Mart store without losses to other businesses." The study documents losses in downtown stores after Wal-Mart opened. "General merchandise stores were most affected," the study notes. "Other types of stores that closed include: automotive stores, hardware stores, drug stores, apparel stores, and sporting goods stores." The supposed tax benefits of Wal-Mart did not materialize either: "Although the local tax base added about $2 million with each Wal-Mart, the decline in retail stores following the opening had a depressing effect on property values in downtowns and on shopping strips, offsetting gains from the Wal-Mart property."
Competing with the Discount Mass Merchandisers – By Dr. Kenneth Stone, Iowa State University, 1995
The basic premise of this study and others by Ken Stone is that the retail "pie" is relatively fixed in size (it grows only incrementally as population and incomes grow). Consequently, when a company like Wal-Mart opens a giant store, it invariably captures a substantial slice of the retail pie, leaving smaller portions for existing businesses, which are then forced to downsize or close. This study of Wal-Mart's impact on Iowa towns found that the average superstore cost other merchants in the host town about $12 million a year in sales (as of 1995), while stores in smaller towns nearby also suffered substantial revenue losses. These sales losses resulted in the closure of 7,326 Iowa businesses between 1983 and 1993, including 555 grocery stores, 291 apparel stores, and 298 hardware stores. While towns that gained a Wal-Mart store initially experienced a rise in overall retail sales, after the first two or three years, retail sales began to decline. About one in four towns ending up with a lower level of retail activity than they had prior to Wal-Mart's arrival. Stone attributes this to Wal-Mart's strategy of saturating regions with multiple stores.
St. Albans, Vermont State Environmental Board Act 250 Decision, 1994
A cost/benefit analysis of a proposed Wal-Mart store in St. Albans, Vermont, found that the store would cause dozens of existing businesses to close, leading to a net loss of 110,000 square feet of retail space. The 214 jobs created by the new superstore would be offset by the loss of 381 jobs at other businesses. The analysis also found that the overall tax losses expected from the small business failures would be greater than the tax revenue generated by the new Wal-Mart. Moreover, the city would incur a variety of new costs to provide roads, sewers, police, and fire protection to service the sprawling new development. The analysis concluded that for every dollar in tax benefit created by the superstore, there would be 2.5 dollars in tax losses and public costs.
5. POVERTY RATES Counties that have gained Wal-Mart stores have fared worse in terms of family poverty rates, according to this study.
Wal-Mart and County-Wide Poverty – by Stephan Goetz and Hema Swaminathan, Social Science Quarterly, June 2006
The presence of a Wal-Mart store hinders a community's ability to move families out of poverty, according to this study. After controlling for other factors that influence poverty rates, the study found that U.S. counties that had more Wal-Mart stores in 1987 had a higher poverty rate in 1999 than did counties that started the period with fewer or no Wal-Mart stores. The study also found that counties that added Wal-Mart stores between 1987 and 1998 experienced higher poverty rates and greater usage of food stamps than counties where Wal-Mart did not build, all other things being equal. Although the study does not attempt to draw a conclusion about why Wal-Mart expands poverty, the study's authors suggest several possible factors, including a loss of social capital that occurs when locally owned businesses close and the shift from comparatively better paying jobs at independent retailers to lower paying jobs at Wal-Mart (an earlier, unpublished draft can be downloaded for free here.) Many university libraries also carry Social Science Quarterly.
6. SOCIAL AND CIVIC WELL-BEING This study found that Wal-Mart reduces a community's level of social capital, as measured by voter turnout and the number of active community organizations.
Wal-Mart and Social Capital – by Stephan J. Goetz and Anil Rupasingha, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Dec. 2006.
The presence of a Wal-Mart store reduces a community's level of social capital, this study found. The study examined communities that had or gained Wal-Mart stores in the 1990s and controlled for other variables known to affect social capital stocks in a community, such as educational attainment. "Both the initial number of [Wal-Mart] stores and each store added per 10,000 persons during the decade reduced the overall social capital measure," Goetz and Rupasingha found. Communities that gained a Wal-Mart had fewer non-profit groups and social capital-generating associations (such as churches, political organizations, and business groups) per capita than those that did not. Wal-Mart's presence also depressed civic participation and is associated with lower voter turnout in the 2000 presidential election. Goetz and Rupasingha hypothesize that the drop in social capital is owned to the disappearance of local businesses and the decline of the downtown following Wal-Mart's arrival.
7. CITY COSTS These studies compare the municipal tax benefits of big-box development with the cost of providing these stores with city services, such as road maintenance, police and fire—finding that cities do not always come out ahead.
Rolling Back Property Tax Payments: How Wal-Mart Short-Changes Schools and other Public Services by Challenging Its Property Tax Assessments by Philip Mattera, Karla Walter, Julie Farb Blain and Colleen Ruddick, Good Jobs First, October 2007
This first-ever investigation of Wal-Mart's local property tax records finds that the retail giant systematically seeks to minimize its payment of taxes that support public schools and other vital local government services. Online appendices with lists of stores and distribution centers examined.
Understanding the Fiscal Impacts of Land Use in Ohio – by Randall Gross, Development Economics, August 2004
This report reviews and summarizes the findings of fiscal impact studies conducted in eight central Ohio communities between 1997 and 2003. In seven of the eight communities, retail development created a drain on municipal budgets (i.e., it required more in public services, such as road maintenance and police, than it generated in tax revenue). On average, retail buildings produced a net annual loss of $0.44 per square foot. "The concept that growth is always good for a community does not seem to correlate with the findings from various fiscal analyses conducted throughout central Ohio," the report concludes. It cautions cities not to be taken in by the promise of high tax revenue from a new development without also considering the additional costs of providing services. Unlike retail, office and industrial development, as well as some types of residential, produced a net tax benefit.
Fiscal Impact Analysis of Residential and Nonresidential Land Use Prototypes – by Tischler & Associates, July 2002.
Big box retail, shopping centers, and fast-food restaurants cost taxpayers in Barnstable, Massachusetts, more than they produce in revenue, according to this analysis. The study compares the tax revenue generated by different kinds of residential and commercial development with the actual cost of providing public services for each land use. The study found that big box retail generates a net annual deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet. Shopping centers likewise produce an annual drain of $314 per 1,000 square feet. By far the most costly are fast-food restaurants, which have a net annual cost of $5,168 per 1,000 square feet. In contrast, the study found that specialty retail, a category that includes small-scale Main Street businesses, has a positive impact on public revenue (i.e., it generates more tax revenue than it costs to service). Specialty retail produces a net annual return of $326 per 1,000 square feet. Other commercial land uses that are revenue winners include business parks, offices, and hotels. The two main factors behind the higher costs for big box stores, shopping centers, and fast-food outlets, compared to specialty retail shops, are higher road maintenance costs (due to a much greater number of car trips per 1,000 square feet) and greater demand for public safety services.
Understanding the Tax Base Consequences of Local Economic Development Programs – by RKG Associates, 1998
The city of Concord, New Hampshire provides an example of what can happen when a community allows massive commercial growth while failing to protect its existing economic assets. Over the last 12 years, Concord added 2.8 million square feet of new commercial and industrial development. Yet tax revenue has actually declined by 19 percent. To make up for lost revenue, the town now has one of the highest property tax rates in the state. This study by RKG Associates, an independent economic consulting firm, found that there were several reasons for the declining tax base. One was that new retail development, primarily big box stores, had harmed local businesses. Property values, and subsequently tax revenue, in the older shopping areas had declined sharply. Another factor was that the new development had eroded the value of residential property, probably due in part to increased traffic and noise. The end result was that the city actually experienced a declining tax base despite all of the new growth.
Impacts of Development on DuPage County Property Taxes – Prepared by DuPage County Development Department for the County Regional Planning Commission, Illinois, October 1991.
This study demonstrated that the costs of encouraging new commercial development— extending highways and utilities, expanding municipal services like police and fire protection, and providing development financing and incentives—exceeded the new property and sales tax revenues the new development generated. The study concluded "… there is a significant statistical relationship between new development (both residential and nonresidential) and increases in personal property taxes."
8. STATE COSTS Because many of their employees do not earn enough to make ends meet, states are reporting high costs associated with providing healthcare (Medicaid) and other public assistance to big-box employees. In addition to the following studies, see Good Jobs First's web page detailing states that have disclosed how much they are spending on providing health insurance for employees of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, and other big-box retailers.
Hidden Cost of Wal-Mart Jobs – by UC Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations, August 2004
California taxpayers are spending $86 million a year providing healthcare and other public assistance to the state's 44,000 Wal-Mart employees, according to this study. The average Wal-Mart worker requires $730 in taxpayer-funded healthcare and $1,222 in other forms of assistance, such as food stamps and subsidized housing. Even compared to other retailers, Wal-Mart imposes an especially large burden on taxpayers. Wal-Mart workers earn 31 percent less than the average for workers at large retail companies and require 39 percent more in public assistance. The study estimates that if competing supermarkets and other large retailers adopt Wal-Mart's wage and benefit levels, it will cost California's taxpayers an additional $410 million a year in public assistance.
Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart – by the Democratic Staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Feb.2004
Although this study uses different methodology than the one above, it arrives at the same conclusion: Wal-Mart's low wages and meager benefits are costing taxpayers. The average Wal-Mart employee requires $2,100 per year in public assistance, including Section 8 housing vouchers, reduced-cost lunches for dependent children, health care programs, and tax credits for the working poor.
The expansion of big-box retailers has been financed in part by massive development subsidies and tax advantages provided by local and state governments. These studies document those subsidies and their failure to produce real economic benefits for communities.
An Assessment of the Effectiveness and Fiscal Impacts of the Use of Local Development Incentives in the St. Louis Region By East-West Gateway Council of Governments; January 2011
This study finds that over the last 20 years local governments in the metropolitan St. Louis region have diverted more than $5.8 billion in public tax dollars to subsidize private development. About 80 percent of these subsidies supported the construction of big-box stores and shopping malls, mostly in affluent suburbs. Despite this large public expenditure, the region has seen virtually no economic growth. "The number of retail jobs has increased only slightly and, in real dollars, retail sales or per capita have not increased in years," the authors conclude. The subsidies have almost exclusively benefitted large chains, the study finds, and the region's retail sector has grown increasingly concentrated. More than 600 small retailers (under 10 employees) have closed in the last ten years. "Both municipal finance and quality of life suffer when a city loses its base of small retail establishments," the study notes. While some municipalities have seen gains in revenue as a result of luring retail development, these gains have come entirely at the expense of neighboring municipalities. Today, most of the region's local governments are in financial trouble. "A significant number of municipalities faced budget deficits, lay-offs and service cuts between 2000 and 2007, even though that was a period of time when the economy had generally fared well," the study finds.
Fishing for Taxpayer Cash by Andrew Stecker and Kevin Conner, Public Accountability Initiative, June 2010
This report documents how Bass Pro, an outdoor sporting goods chain, has won over $500 million dollars in taxpayer subsidies from cities and states by promising jobs, tourism and growth. But as this report shows, in city after city, Bass Pro has failed to deliver on its promises. In Mesa, AZ, for example, taxpayers put up $84 million for a development anchored by Bass Pro, but a year after opening the project was described as a "ghost town" that had done little more than undermine the viability of other retail areas. A taxpayer-subsidized Bass Pro in Harrisburg, PA, meanwile, created only one-third of the jobs promised.
Skimming the Sales Tax: How Wal-Mart and Other Big Retailers (Legally)Keep a Cut of the Taxes We Pay on Everyday Purchases [PDF] By Philip Mattera with Leigh McIlvaine; Good Jobs First; November 2008
This study highlights little-noticed laws in 26 states that allow retailers to keep a portion of the sales taxes they collect from shoppers. The stated purpose of these policies is to compensate retailers for the costs they incur collecting the tax. However, while half of these states cap the amount retailers can keep, the other 13 states have no cap. Because the cost of collecting sales taxes declines with volume, states without caps are providing big retailers with outsized compensation that bears little relationship to their actual costs. This practice is costing states over $1 billion a year and lining the pockets of large chains, notably Wal-Mart. The report breaks down the losses for each state. Additionally, this study exposes how local governments subsidize the large chains by giving them sales tax rebates or funding part of their projects with sales tax increment financing. Using these two strategies, Wal-Mart has received $130 million in sales tax diversion over the past decade.
Shopping for Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth – by Good Jobs First, August 2004
This study identifies 244 Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers in 35 states that have received state and local development subsidies totaling just over $1 billion. The subsidies took many forms, including property tax rebates, free or reduced-priced land, and funding of site preparation and on-site infrastructure. Tax increment financing (TIF) ranked as one of the most common mechanisms used by local governments to underwrite Wal-Mart's growth. The total value of public giveaways to Wal-Mart is undoubtedly much higher than the $1 billion documented by the report. Obtaining complete data on subsidies is virtually impossible. In most states, local governments and state agencies are not required to report subsidies, and there is no centralized record or database. Good Jobs First relied primarily on the online archives of local newspapers to assemble the list of subsidy deals, the details of which were confirmed by interviews with local officials.
Wrestling with Wal-Mart: Tradeoffs Between Profits, Prices, and Wages – By Jared Bernstein, Josh Bivens, and Arindrajit Dube, Economic Policy Institute, June 15, 2006
This analysis refutes the findings of a 2005 study by Global Insights (GI) that found that Wal-Mart saves U.S. consumers $263 billion annually, or $2,329 for the average household. The Economic Policy Institute concludes that the GI study is "fraught with problems." It identifies major internal inconsistencies in GI's figures and finds that the firm's statistical analysis "fails the most rudimentary sensitivity checks." The authors state, "Once we addressed these weaknesses the statistical and practical significance of Wal-Mart's price effects effectively vanished."
Time to Switch Drugstores? – Consumer Reports, October 2003.
"If you're among the 47 percent of Americans who get medicine from drugstore giants such as CVS, Eckerd, and Rite Aid, here's a prescription: Try shopping somewhere else. The best place to start looking is one of the 25,000 independent pharmacies that are making a comeback throughout the U.S." opens this article, which presents the results of a year-long survey of more than 32,000 readers about their drugstore experiences. The survey found that, by "an eye-popping margin," independent drugstores outranked all other pharmacies– –including drugstore chains, supermarkets, mass merchandisers (e.g., Wal-Mart), and internet companies—in terms of providing personal attention, offering health services such as in-store screenings, filling prescriptions quickly, supplying hard-to-find drugs, and obtaining out-of-stock medications within 24 hours. Prices at independent pharmacies were lower than at chain pharmacies, but higher than at mass merchandisers and internet companies.
Trip Generation Characteristics of Free-Standing Discount Superstores – by Georgiena M. Vivian, ITE Journal, August 2006
This study found that supercenters of 200,000 square feet or more generate an average of 42 percent more traffic than the rate listed in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation manual. Traffic engineers, developers, and city officials use the figures in this manual to estimate the traffic impact of development projects. This study, which relies on traffic counts conducted at five supercenters in Oklahoma and Texas, indicates that the manual significantly underestimates the traffic generated by large supercenters (stores that combine general merchandise and a full grocery department) and that traffic analyses based on it are unreliable indicators of the actual traffic impact of a supercenter development.
Business Contributions to Community Service – by Patricia Frishkoff, Small Business Administration, 1991
In 1991, Dr. Patricia Frishkoff, Director of the Family Business Program at Oregon State University, completed this study of charitable giving by 182 businesses in four communities. She combined cash donations with the value of in-kind contributions and found that the small businesses were more generous. Companies with fewer than 100 employees gave an average of $789 per employee, compared to $334 per employee at firms with more than 500 employees.


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STOCKHOLM, Sweden — NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league is "proceeding under the assumption" its players will take part in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.While no final deal was reached, the International Ice Hockey Federation said "all signs pointed" to NHL players going to the Olympics for a fifth straight time.
IIHF President Rene Fasel says "we have some issues left, but I, as always, remain optimistic."
The NHL is closer to committing its players pending the approval of team owners and provided other issues can be resolved.
Some of the details of NHL player participation were revealed Friday in Stockholm following a meeting between representatives from the NHL, NHL Players' Association, International Ice Hockey Federation, International Olympic Committee and the Sochi organizing committee.
"We are proceeding under the assumption that the NHL will participate in Sochi," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was quoted as saying on the IIHF website.
"We are still working on important issues with the IIHF and the IOC, and subject to our board of governors' consideration and approval, it remains the objective that Sochi will be the fifth consecutive Olympics with NHL participation and where the NHL shuts down for the duration of the Olympic tournament."
The NHL would go dark Feb. 9, 2014, with approximately half of the 30 NHL clubs playing their last games Feb. 8. The league would resume Feb. 25, two days after the gold-medal game.
The men's Olympic hockey tournament starts Feb. 12.
One of the major issues to be resolved is player insurance.


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HARRISBURG — A new defense filing argues that Penn State's former chief counsel should not be allowed to testify next month about what two former high-ranking administrators told her regarding the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.
Attorneys for athletic director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz asked a judge in Harrisburg to prohibit testimony by Cynthia Baldwin about what they describe as "privileged communications" when the men face a preliminary hearing Dec. 13.
Baldwin's role was also the focus of pretrial motions filed three weeks ago by Curley and Schultz, shortly before prosecutors added new charges as well as criminal allegations against their onetime boss, former Penn State president Graham Spanier.
At issue is whether Baldwin was acting as their lawyer when the three men met with prosecutors, and then testified before a grand jury about their actions in response to complaints that Sandusky had been acting inappropriately with boys in school showers in 1998 and 2001.
Lawyers for Curley and Schultz wrote, in the document filed late Tuesday in Dauphin County court, that state law requires the judge "to exclude the testimony of Ms. Baldwin in criminal proceedings against her former clients, Curley and Schultz. In the absence of a waiver by the client, an attorney is barred from testifying, in a criminal matter, regarding statements that the client made to the attorney in confidence."
In a prosecution filing last week, the attorney general's office said it was not aware of any conflict of interest on Baldwin's part and therefore had no reason to raise the issue before the judge who supervised the secret grand jury. Prosecutors argued that representing multiple clients does not necessarily mean a lawyer has a conflict of interest.
"Based on their interviews prior to testifying, it appeared that the defendants intended to cooperate in the investigation," prosecutors wrote on Nov. 14. "Such action would not conflict with the interests of the other witnesses represented by attorney Baldwin, who also were cooperating. That the defendants actually intended to mislead the grand jury and the commonwealth would not alter the fact that, at the time they were represented by attorney Baldwin, there was no conflict of interest."
A spokesman for the attorney general's office declined to further comment Wednesday.
Baldwin, a former state Supreme Court justice, has been replaced as the school's chief counsel. Her lawyer, Charles DeMonaco, issued a statement this summer that stated she "at all times fulfilled her obligations to the university and its agents." DeMonaco said Wednesday he had not seen the motion to preclude her testimony.
Sandusky, the school's former assistant football coach, is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence for sexual abuse of 10 boys, but maintains his innocence and is pursuing appeals.
Curley and Schultz are seeking to delay their January trial on charges of perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse. The December preliminary hearing will be about the additional charges they face of conspiracy, obstruction and endangering a child's welfare.
Curley is on paid leave during the final year of his contract with the school, and Schultz has retired.
Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews


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...before arriving at the light? How far ahead are they "booking" a slot? How long until the slot becomes available if the car with the reservation isn't going to arrive. This really only sounds useful in more rural areas. I can't see a city with lights on every block being able to implement this technology with any kind of efficiency.
This sort of tech is all precursor to auto drive cars.
Even before that, you can get excellent features like a heads up display that will tell you how fast to drive to hit all the lights green. "You are driving 43MPH. Accelerate to 47MPH and you will reach the intersection before the other car and the light will be green" etc.
I'd never get a ticket there - because I drive the speed limit. The only reason the gold mine exists is because people are stupid, not because of the calibration of the lights.
I'd never get a ticket there - because I drive the speed limit. The only reason the gold mine exists is because people are stupid, not because of the calibration of the lights.
In the (Australian) state I live in, 75% of revenue from speed cameras goes to the Road Trauma Trust Fund, which is used to build and maintain roads. Realistically that money has to come from somewhere otherwise roads end up in disrepair, if not fines then it will end up coming out of tax. So speed camera's are not revenue raisers as much as tax minimisation for people smart enough not to speed.
As of July this year, that number goes from 75% to 100%
This sort of tech is all precursor to auto drive cars.
Not it's not. Auto driving cars would need to be able to coexist with normal cars and normal infrastructure before they could be widely used, so something like this is distinctly not a precursor.
In addition, if the cars couldn't drive in normal traffic themselves, then someone would be able to hack the signal and tell every car approaching the intersection that they don't have to stop. Unless the car is still able to see the status of the light and the status of the cross traffic, this is too dangerous t
What kind of non-rural area do you live in where there's no traffic? Even at 4 a.m. there's some cars moving around.
Plus, don't most lights go to flashing yellow (= 4 way stop) at off-peak times?
But the simplest solution is some kind of directional light sensor that picks up headlights of approaching vehicles.
What kind of non-rural area do you live in where there's no traffic?
North Atlanta, and, yes, there are side streets where there's only traffic in rush hour but pretty dead on the off-times. And, of course, because of the spike in traffic, there needs to be traffic lights. Unfortunately, they were built decades ago and not improved upon since then, so most are just on timers, which means that you just sit there until the light cycles.
Plus, don't most lights go to flashing yellow (= 4 way stop) at off-peak times?
Not the light right where I live. It never goes to flashing yellow. I typically spend 2-3 minutes at that light to turn left anytime I decide t
Or you could just go with the simple solution and use roundabouts.
Tell that to the people in my neighbourhood who don't have a clue how to deal with a roundabout.
Scary, isn't it. We had a roundabout put in one of our major intersections about a year ago (to much wailing and rending of garments). Perhaps 90% of drivers picked it up in the first few weeks. The other 10%, well, all I can say it's a shame that speeds are so low that we'll never get rid of them via traffic accidents. We just have to find some better way.
Nobody really liked my idea of putting forks in some power outlets to see who would pull them out.
Or you could just go with the simple solution and use roundabouts.
The simple solution isn't that simple when you take the time to actually look at a map sometime. (Go ahead, try it, we will wait...) [google.com]
Rebuilding every intersection that has stoplights to have roundabouts doesn't work, and can't be afforded, even in those countries where roundabouts are common. Oh, wait, that would be NOWHERE. Even in the EU where everyone sings the praises of Roundabouts they are RARE.
Even in the EU where everyone sings the praises of Roundabouts they are RARE.
Half of all the roundabouts in the world are in France.
Roundabouts are extremely common here in Portugal. One of our cities has alone 35 of them. I doubt there are many places where you can drive 20km without going through one.
People gripe about how hard roundabouts are to use, and I don't see it at all. Maybe it helps that the local ones were laid out intelligently so there's obviously only one way to go in - the entrances are canted to the right so that even the biggest idiot doesn't try to enter to the left.
It was a rare bit of sanity from MoDOT.
There are induction loops (metal dectors) buried in the pavement that tell the traffic lights about approaching cars. When my car passes over the loop it is telling the traffic signal at the intersection that I will be arriving within 10 seconds. If there is no cross traffic the light tells me to proceed by changing to green (or remaining green).
Yeah, that works at like 3% of intersections in most big cities. The older the city, the less likely it is that you will find this. They may have the loops, but that doesn't always mean they will alter the clock for you. I've sat on loops with ZERO traffic coming from any direction and had the signals march thru their normal pattern. In many places the loops actually do nothing.
Oh, they do something... just not at the time of day that you're driving. Try driving at three or four in the morning some time, and you'll see just how well those sensors work.
What this professor proposes is basically a massively scaled-down version of what I've been proposing for years. Unfortunately, that scaled-down nature of the proposal makes it a lot less useful in practice. To do traffic optimization well, you really need automated vehicles so that people register their destinations with a centra
Sorry, but nothing could ever go wrong with such a system, could it?
If you haven't read about the Denver Airport baggage handling system, you should.
I'm confident that I could design a working system such as you are describing, or the Denver baggage system for that matter, if I were "king of the project" and everybody had the good sense to do as I told them to. But, massively expensive projects like those inevitably suffer political pressures and I don't think I would even accept the position of lead desig
The problem's not that the loops aren't used, it's that the lights were designed with specific restrictions in addition to the induction loops.
One of the intersections I pass through twice every day is an excellent example: it's a T-junction with the top of the T being a big boulevard whereas the vertical line is just a side-street. The lights are programmed so that they will only switch for the vertical when there's somebody waiting there. However, in addition to this, the lights also have an integrated ti
And they often don't detect motorcycles so you stand at a red light for a few minutes without crosstraffic until you decide to go ahead against the red light.
The inductive loops are actually sensitive to *moving* iron, so if you're stuck waiting, try backing up and driving over it again. I could actually set one of those loops off with my bicycle if I rode over it at just the right place and speed, if my approach was too slow, it would never work.
Any time you are driving on surface streets (hate that term), you soon learn to "drive the stop-lights" by looking ahead a block or two. Its
not that hard, and even when you can't see the lights driving just about the speed limit will be close enough to get you 5 greens out of 6 tries.
That being said, anything that can guarantee more greens is welcome, but putting it in cars seems the wrong approach. If the stop lights just
talked to each other you would have enough info. When Stoplight A can't clear its queue in the allotted green, you can pretty much bet stoplight B won't be able to do so when that slug of cars reaches it.
In most cases the problem is dumb signals, hold overs from the Pleistocene, with no attempt to make traffic efficient.
+1 funny dude
You're assuming traffic lights are designed with fluidity in mind. Unfortunately many cities seem to design them with inefficiency in mind, going as far as to make sure that lights are always negations of the previous one so that you continuously have to start and stop -- supposedly to "slow traffic down".
Why not just use smart phones it'd be just as simple to attach the correct sensor or it may be able to use the gps most of them already have.
I don't think the smartphone exists that has both a GPS reliable enough for this and a battery that allows it to be on all the time. I will buy that phone when it does exist.
I wasn't sure if the GPS was reliable enough thats why I used the word "may". You could simply plug it into a car charger for the battery issue.
Green lights all the way with my greenlightduino.
http://www.themirt.com/ [themirt.com]
They ^^^ actually work, if you're stupid enough to use them.
Yes! It is the year 2012, and our traffic lights are still running on timers. They're stupid, they waste time and fuel needlessly... they need to go. We have computers that can understand the spoken word, read the written word, and do whatever the hell it is that Kinect does. Our traffic semaphores should be far more intelligent than they are. I think I'd prefer something more along the lines of computer vision than and RF announcement -- for privacy reasons, but at least there's technology in the works.
Or, as someone suggested up above, you could just rip them out and install roundabouts.
Or, as someone suggested up above, you could just rip them out and install roundabouts.
Ah yes, "just" rip out a working system for something inefficient at the best of times. Why aren't you in government, calling the shots?
The system works as well as it's ever going to because if you start dicking around with the lights for smart vehicles then it messes with the perceptions of the other drivers, and meanwhile, the solution is self-driving cars, which we have already, and it's called trains. (Or in between, PRT.)
Ah yes, "just" rip out a working system for something inefficient at the best of times. Why aren't you in government, calling the shots?
Uh, so you think we should add a complex computer control system to every traffic light rather than rip it out and put a pile of dirt in the middle of the road for people to drive around?
Heck, you don't even need that, a lot of British roundabouts are just a painted circle on the road.
But it would seem like the unconnected vehicles - which would probably be the vast majority of traffic around these lights - would be impacted adversely. It's not as if it's a situation where connected vehicles benefit while the impact to others is neutral.
This just seems like another concept designed to benefit a privileged few at the expense of the unwashed masses.
If the light doesn't have a slot knows there will be one available just a bit later, the light can signal the car to coast down from 45MPH to 35MPH, arriving just a bit later. By doing so it reduces the energy lost into the brakes and the car ends up coasting through the intersection on the green light instead of stopping and then having to restart just a few seconds later.
You can do this manually by paying attention to what's going on in the next several stoplights. It saves gas and brake wear. It's kind of nice just cruising along and hitting all the lights. Getting feedback from the light would make it much more effective.
Unfortunately it also drives some drivers crazy. They can't stand it that I'm going 35MPH in a 45MPH zone and go racing past... Just to end up stopped at a stoplight which then turns green a few seconds later and I go drifting on past. And still they don't get it.
Sometimes you have two of those morons and one changes into your lane, forcing you to stop. Happens to me all the time.
In Thailand, Many intersections have a large clock indicating how long is left for the green light and then how long for the red light, It seems to work pretty well, if this was combined with a remote sensor system (the clock kicks in when the sensor kicks in , if you don't see a clock then the lights stay the same), I think it would pretty much solve all the "what if's" that most people are asking
except for who to sue, but that is probably why america does not have these clocks, because someone is scared t
Perhaps things are different in Texas, but where I live the majority of traffic lights and stop signs are installed for the express purpose of impeding the flow of traffic. Trying to sell them a sensible system to improve traffic flow, reduce pollution and ticketable offenses is the last thing they'd be interested in.
Only if there is war on cars. We know that to be the case in San Fran. Downtown Austin is looking to emulate them through preferential treatment to cyclists.
It's fucking retarded. Try walking outside high noon in August in this city. Your face will melt off and your sneakers will turn into a puddle of gummy ooze.
It's fucking retarded. Try walking outside high noon in August in this city. Your face will melt off and your sneakers will turn into a puddle of gummy ooze.
If you actually went out in that weather regularly maybe you'd acclimatize to it. Why live in perpetual war with your environment?
Because comfort increases productivity. While you can get used to the discomfort to a lesser extent, the human body will never function optimally in environmental extremes.
Take Houston, TX and Shanghai China for example. Two of the largest cities with the highest heat and humidity index in the summer time. The white collar producing GDP wouldn't be where it's at without the invention of air conditioning.
About the only major city with perfect outdoor weather year round is Los Angeles. Cars hardly age and the
This is more like frantic efforts to find a use for a marginal technology.
Cameras on traffic lights are used for this now. These replace the old induction loops. The cameras currently just look at rectangular areas to see if they have a car in them [autoscope.com]. Usually, a few rectangles are defined for each lane, to get a rough count of the number of cars waiting. Enhancing that technology to notice distant approaching cards, estimating their speed and arrival time, and adjusting signals accordingly, is a logical n
but that's no fun, very unlikely a simple failure could kill anyone. this newfangled this adds more thrill and risk
His idea presumes that the city traffic engineers care at all that people are wasting time sitting at stop lights. For the most part, they don't.
In the few cities where they actually care, there's no problem to be solved because they've already synch'd the lights to optimize traffic flow.
...laissez faire capitalist groups lobby to have the system modified so that those with the most money can buy slots at the traffic light.
...but only for public transport!
My wife worked for 9 years optimizing public transport in Oslo, Norway.
One of the key items behind a significant speedup for both buses and trams was a system where each vehicle would signal ahead a given distance before arriving at an intersection, again as it entered, and finally as it left. If you visit Oslo and sit up front in a bus or tram you can see the visual feedback the driver gets: A single white LED mounted near the top of the traffic signal will light up, either blinking or in a steady state.
There is (of course) a web site and a mobile app which will give you real-time information about any given bus/tram/line/stop, as well as rolling displays at all major stops that show the same info.
http://trafikanten.no/ [trafikanten.no] and http://m.trafikanten.no/ [trafikanten.no]
"I don't believe in sweeping social change being manifested by one person, unless he has an atomic weapon." -- Howard Chaykin


text: So I'm bringing my little girl up for opening day. We missed out on the lottery (didnt everybody?) so I need some advice on getting tickets. Obviously I can hit stubhub, ebay or a broker site. My question is whether they'll get demonstrably cheaper the closer we get to the date, or whether I should even try and buy some outside??? She's in first grade, so we might not even make it through the entire game, thus I'm not looking for good seats--that said, I'm SHOCKED at how high the "cheap seats" are right now!!! Thanks for any advice!!


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DeKALB – One day after notching its first win, the DeKalb boys basketball team didn't play with the intensity coach Dave Rohlman wanted in a 58-47 loss to Richwoods.
The Barbs were out-rebounded, couldn't find a rhythm offensively, and struggled while working in a few younger players.
"I just thought we were sluggish tonight, I don't know what that is," Rohlman said. "I thought we stood around quite a bit. I think t he tale of the tape, though, was our rebounding."
Even with all of those negatives, Rohlman and the Barbs couldn't get too down after Saturday's loss. With four players, including 6-foot-7 center Andre Harris, out for unspecified reasons, the Barbs are an incomplete team.
Until they get those key players back, which Rohlman hopes will happen next week, the Barbs can leave a loss like Saturday's and still feel as if the best is yet to come.
"I think we become much deeper [once those players are back], and I don't think we'll have the issues we had with rebounding," Rohlman said. "We'll have some other offensive looks."
The sidelined post players would have been welcome additions on Saturday, when Richwoods center Xavier Newson was able to score five early points to help the Knights to a 12-9 first-quarter lead. DeKalb center Jake Smith struggled with foul trouble throughout the game, and Newson was able to score 17 points.
The Barbs were able to stay in the game thanks to seven first-quarter points from Jake Carpenter, but they just weren't able to hang with the Knights for any consistent amount of time. They trailed, 30-21, at the half.
Zach Ottum scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and led a 12-5 run that cut the Richwoods lead to six, but the Knights were able to pull away.
"They were a beatable team," Ottum said. "I didn't think we played as well as we should have defensively, and especially offensively. Defensively, we were too frantic and too panicky."
Still, the Barbs are encouraged that, come conference season, they'll be contenders. After winning their first Northern Illinois Big 12 East game on Friday against Yorkville, they're on the right track even without their entire lineup.
"We're disappointed. We could've beaten that team," said Carpenter, who scored 14 points. "I feel like we didn't play to our potential. I feel like that's going to take all season. But again, we're missing three, four of our guys. Once we get everyone back and we get that chemistry together, I feel like it's going to make a big difference."


text:
Consider the writer, sitting alone and creating a book that mediates between herself and the larger world. When she finishes her work, she possesses only an insensate pile of pulpwood and ink that doesn't naturally call attention to itself, not like a bright canvas on a wall, or a dancer leaping across a stage, or the sounds of a guitar floating note by note through the doors of a club. Still, that lump of paper needs to attract attention, it needs its readers, it needs to make its point. Yes, yes, art for art's sake, but the art of writing, like all other arts, involves its eventual consumption. Yet the written thing is not itself a spectacle to attract those who would consume it. It doesn't announce itself. It cannot announce itself without help.
We may say we wouldn't mind being published by Steerforth Press or Akashic Books, but secretly we crave a few moments of fame under the auspices of Rupert Murdoch. It's not a dirty thing to admit; it's just a fact.
It is upon that slippery rock that we have built a maddening business called publishing, a business of drummers and barkers and exhibitionists. What would we do without them?
Without them we'd have less to complain about, that's certain. We'd have no need of André Schiffrin's The Business of Books, or Jason Epstein's Book Business, or any one of a hundred different indictments of the commercialization of American publishing that have come down to us since the middle of the last century. There would be no commercialization. There would be no Peter Olson, Bertelsmann's man in New York City, who strides through booksellers' conventions like a viceroy, lops off the heads of offending editors, and demands his 12 percent tribute. There would be no more complaints about the Olsons of the world, no more gauzy invocations of the way it used to be, no more hand-wringing. We could all write our books unencumbered by the barbarians tending the gates; we could make our art and afterward stare at our finished manuscripts with great satisfaction. We could stare and stare and stare forever!
Ridiculous. Let's acknowledge that the drummers and barkers and exhibitionists and Olsons are necessary, even if they're not like us. Let's also acknowledge that the Schiffrins and the Epsteins of our world have only described a small part of American publishing, that the recurring story of publishing's commercialization is a story of limited utility to the writer, and that the whole mess is only important if you've already accepted someone else's definition of what it means to be a successful writer. The fulminating and wailing about the state of the publishing industry has given rise to the notion, ever growing, that there are no more good editors or publishers, and that's just not the case. Such outrage has bred a cynicism that I've seen taken to extremes by writers who, succumbing to their suspicions about publishing, give up on writing entirely. "What's the point?" they say.
Why do you care what happens at Random House or Simon & Schuster? What does it matter? That sounds coy, of course. There are plenty of reasons why a writer would care. The big five publishers (Random House, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Time Warner, HarperCollins) comprise most of the oldest names in American publishing. Among the many thousands of books they publish every year, you can find the works of our finest writers. These companies are very picky about what they publish, at least when it comes to publishing books that aren't obvious best-sellers, and so having their imprimatur on the spine of your book is a relatively rare honor. Being published by one of those houses confers a certain prestige, or at least a ratification of your identity as a writer, an identity you probably question in your dark moments. Being published by one of the big five publishers confers more prestige, certainly, than being published by your uncle with the old linotype out in the barn. This prestige has currency among other writers and it also has a little currency in the wider world; you know that when you meet someone at a cocktail party and tell them that your book is being published by one of the big five, they'll recognize the name and have the vague sense they should be impressed. The big five also have a lot of money.
This is the way we think. We are a status-oriented people living in a country fast transforming itself into an omni-entertainment state, in which brand identity sometimes seems our last, best hope for stability. We may say we wouldn't mind being published by Steerforth Press or Akashic Books, but secretly we crave a few moments of fame under the auspices of Rupert Murdoch. It's not a dirty thing to admit; it's just a fact.
But if the point of all this is to take your manuscript, composed alone in your room for an audience of strangers, and to find those strangers who would appreciate it, does it really matter who does the finding? Is there really any difference between Graywolf's selling 5,000 copies of your book and Random House's selling 5,000 copies? You might say, "Random House would never sell so few copies of a book!" But you'd be wrong. Here's the real difference: Graywolf would be more likely to judge that a success, while Random House might be more likely to judge it a failure—or, if not exactly a failure, certainly not anything that would cause the company to get excited about publishing your second novel. At Graywolf, a 5,000-copy sale might be cause for celebration, a good start for a new author on its list. Which experience would you prefer?


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In order to help our members better use the starting information that The Huddle provides, the intent of this page is to discuss perceived differences between The Start Bench List and Predictions and Projections . The players below were identified by multiple members. The two reports are written by two different people so differences are always possible, but at least this page should help you make up your mind about these players on your roster.
Michael Turner (@ NE)- Projection: 50 yards, SBL Rating: S2
Turner has the biggest perceived disparity between the projected stats of only 50 yards and an S2 rank that he should be a solid start. Dorey is concerned that Turner has started slowly and that the schedule is getting worse. His concern is also that the Patriots rushing defense plays better at home regardless of the LB injuries that lead Tuvey to think Turner could have a solid game here. Tuvey saw the Jets have success running against the Patriots, though those numbers were split between two backs; Turner doesn't share as much of the workload and would thus be in line for a larger share of the yardage as well. He also saw Turner have success on the road against a very good run defense in Minnesota last year—and without Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Jerod Mayo, no longer sees the Patriots as falling into that category. With Turner, he almost never catches a pass so his value relies solely on running the ball. Dorey's concern also stems from the pattern of last year where Turner was much more effective in home games than in road games (2008 - 39% of yards and only 22% of the scores came away from Atlanta). Consensus: Turner remains an S2 because he is Turner - a stud running back who can break a long run at any time. The projections pay homage to the nature of Turner on the road and while that may be most likely based on all the variables, the fact that Turner faces a defense that is missing linebackers means that Turner has some upside this week. His role is also going to be dependent on the game situation as well since he doesn't double as a receiver when/if the Falcons fall behind. Unless you have another back who has a markedly better matchup, Turner is still worthy to start from his upside.
Dwayne Bowe (@PHI) - Projection: 50 yards , SBL Rating: S3
50 yards and a "S3" are pretty much the same thing. Bowe has yet to be the most targeted wideout for the Chiefs though they have relied on him for two scores. He has yet to turn in more than 56 yards and faces the Eagles who are smarting from being slapped by the Saints in front of the hometown crowd. The projection is in line with what he has done other than the touchdown which as a single play event is unreliable. S3 designation notes that after scoring against the Ravens and Raiders—statistically two of the better pass defenses, at least heading into the season—it's tough to see Bowe being bench fodder because of a perceived tough matchup. He is a risk, he will be the focus of the secondary. This is really not a discrepancy and the Chiefs are not exactly the Saints. Consensus: Borderline starter material more likely to have a bad game than a good one.
Kevin Smith (vs. WAS) - Projection: 60 rush, 40 receive, SBL Rating: S3
100 total yards sounds maybe more like a S2 than a S3. Tuvey says that a touchdown is not likely and Dorey agrees. He also says that the Lions will not abandon the run so Smith " should have the opportunity to put up helpful yardage." Both point out that Jackson ran for 107 yards against the Skins in Washington last week. Perhaps the perceived difference is that the projection considers that Smith had seven receptions for 50 yards when they played last year and that yardage pushes him more into S2 territory. Consensus: Smith is not an S1 this week but he isn't in a bench situation either. He should be good enough to be S3 with his rushing stats and if the Lions use him as a receiver in the past, he'll be good for a S2 but there is risk involved. Said another way - he is a lock for S3 and has upside for being a S2.
Michael Bush (DEN) - Projection: 40 rush + 1 TD, 10 receive , SBL Rating: B
50 total yards is an S3 at best so it is the addition of the touchdown that must be the issue - it throws Bush up higher on sorted projections with fantasy points. Tuvey points out that Bush has some upside here but a minority share of carries. He finds that Bush should be a bench player because he's not likely to get enough work to make him worthy of being a fantasy starter. Dorey points out " why would you not stack the line against the run when playing the Raiders?" and that he expects mediocre stats but a chance for a touchdown by Bush. Consensus: Bush is a poor start and at best we have suggested his main value stems from being able to score a touchdown which was described as "a chance". There is no real contradiction here but what makes for perhaps some disparity is that the total game score is determined and Dorey felt that Oakland would get one touchdown. The idea it would be by the pass seems less likely than from a rushing attempt. That a single play, that is a coin flip between Bush, McFadden and potentially Justin Fargas who may be available. Bush is a poor start with a higher chance of being even worse than better.