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The Monitoring Association announced today through its blog that AvantGuard's president and COO Justin Bailey has joined TMA's board of directors, representing contract monitoring companies.
Justin Bailey has worked with AvantGuard Monitoring since 2010. Bailey was promoted to the role of president and COO mid last year, prior to that he served as the company's COO. Bailey is also a Security Systems News "20 under 40" award winner from the Class of 2011.
"I'm excited to join the TMA board, after having served on committees for a number of years," Bailey said in TMA's blog. "I see the pace of change increasing from within the industry as well as from disruptors, and know we need to evolve more quickly as an industry to remain relevant. I look forward to working with the other TMA board members to that end."
AvantGuard Monitoring, a wholesale central station with locations in Ogden, Utah, and Rexburg, Iowa, offers a variety of monitoring services, including security, fire, PERS and mPERS, and IoT monitoring. In addition, the company has also been creating hybrid monitoring options, for security companies that would like to use their own central station part of the time.
Johnson Controls International announced a definitive agreement to sell its Power Solutions business to Brookfield Business Partners L.P. in a cash transaction valued at $13.2 billion.
"Today's announcement marks a significant milestone in the ongoing transformation of the Johnson Controls portfolio," JCI chairman and chief executive officer George Oliver said in the announcement. "The sale of our Power Solutions business will create value for investors by streamlining our portfolio and giving us increased financial flexibility to strengthen our balance sheet, return capital to shareholders and create optionality in our Buildings business. This focused portfolio will allow us to capitalize on secular growth trends and to deliver strong financial performance through improved free cash flow conversion, lower capital intensity and continued margin expansion."
Net cash proceeds are expected to be $11.4 billion after tax and transaction-related expenses. JCI expects to deploy $3.0- to $3.5 billion of proceeds toward debt pay-down and retain an investment grade credit rating. The remaining proceeds will be available to return to shareholders, with more specific details to be announced around the close of the transaction.
"With this transaction, Johnson Controls becomes a pure-play building technologies and solutions provider that is better positioned to lead the integration and evolution of the connected building and to capture strategic opportunities in the HVAC industry," Oliver said. "I would like to thank the Power Solutions team for their significant contributions over the years and their dedication throughout the strategic review process."
Johnson Controls' Power Solutions business, and 15,000 Power Solutions employees create, manufacture and distribute "the most advanced battery technologies for virtually every type of vehicle. These technologies deliver uniquely sustainable, next-generation performance," JCI said.
In fiscal 2018, Power Solutions generated $8.0 billion in revenue and $1.68 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The transaction price of $13.2 billion represents a multiple of 7.9x trailing twelve month EBITDA, according to JCI.
The transaction is expected to close by June 30, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions and required regulatory approvals. Power Solution's operating results will be reported in discontinued operations beginning in the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
Centerview Partners and Barclays served as financial advisors to Johnson Controls, and Simpson Thacher served as legal advisors.
Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi-industrial company with 120,000 employees serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries.
WILLIAMSTOWN, N.J.—COPS Monitoring recently hired Joe Parisi to its leadership team as director of project management. Parisi has more than 20 years of alarm industry experience and will play a key role on the company's management team by leading technological projects related to COPS' network of monitoring centers, the company said.
"The last two years have been very dynamic for us," Jim McMullen, president and COO of COPS, said in the announcement. "As a result of our sustained growth, we believe it's best to narrow the areas of responsibility of executives to ensure we maintain high quality support and throughput from their respective departments."
Parisi's new role of director of project management is a newly created position, designed specifically for his skill sets, according to COPS. Key areas of the job will include facilities, alarm receiving equipment, and telephone system infrastructure. Parisi will also oversee the COPS technical support team that is designed to support COPS' alarm dealer customers in troubleshooting communications related to signal transmissions.
Parisi will also spearhead large-scale initiatives such as facility expansions/updates, infrastructure upgrades, and other special projects, including the imminent launch of COPS' Mobile Personal Emergency Response System division.
McMullen explained that the restructuring strengthens further its management team as it "adds depth to the bench." Parisi is one of three competent and focused leaders in COPS' technical department who help position COPS and its customers for the future.
"My career in the United States Marine Corps has been the foundation of my technical and leadership skills that have been instrumental behind my successful 20-year career in the security industry," Parisi said in a prepared statement. "My extensive electronics training in avionics lead to an electrical engineering degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. I joined Radionics [now Bosch] after graduation as a Research and Development Engineer. I was fortunate to be a part of the team of engineers who developed the state-of-the art D6600 central station receiver utilized by today's leading monitoring companies."
Parisi is a Security Systems News "20 under 40" award winner, Class of 2013.
After his time with Radionics, Parisi shifted his focus of expertise to wholesale monitoring where he integrated new technology, trained operations personnel and field support, and converted central stations onto a single platform.
He has also volunteered with the Electronic Security Association. "I had the pleasure of leading the New Jersey Chapter as President of the New Jersey Electronic Security Association (NJESA), now one of the largest chapters in the country," Parisi said. As NJESA president, the national ESA recognized Parisi as 2013 Chapter President of the Year at the Leadership Awards.
Security Systems News is excited to announce the education program for our TechSec Solutions conference, Feb. 25-26, 2019, in Delray Beach, Fla., at the Delray Beach Marriott.
This year's TechSec Solutions' theme—Securing a Connected World—looks at how new technologies are being used in real-life scenarios and how they are leveraged by security professionals—integrators, consultants, manufacturers and end users—to provide cost-efficient and highly effective security services and solutions, all for the betterment of the entire security industry.
Last year, attendees gave the program strong marks, with 100 percent of attendees who completed our evaluation saying they "Would recommend TechSec to others" and "TechSec exceeded or met their expectations."
Some of the highlights of this year's program include two keynote speakers. On day one, Bill Bozeman, CEO and president, PSA Security, will deliver an Integrator State of the Union, giving a unique glimpse at the key technology trends impacting integrators and the industry today, while looking at which ones have the greatest potential and present the greatest challenges moving forward. And on day two, Rob Simopoulos, founder and president, Defendify, will present Cyber and Security: Together, a Shared Vision, looking at how physical and cybersecurity are coming together like never before, creating both challenges and opportunities.
In addition to two stellar keynotes, this year's Mega Panel to start day two brings leaders from the industry's top associations—the Security Industry Association (SIA), ASIS International and the Electronic Security Association (ESA)—together with keynote speaker Bozeman, head of the world's largest system integration collaborative, to look at the current state of the industry, new trends and technologies that are impacting, disrupting and shaping the industry, and what the more successful companies are doing to stay relevant and profitable.
In support of this year's theme, there are two sessions looking at "Securing a Connected World," as well as sessions on securing, storing and leveraging data, and one on protecting critical infrastructure featuring Colby Meshey and James Ell from the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, who will join Kevin Didden, senior manager, Security Programs and Administration, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and Joe Morgan, Business Development Manager for Critical Infrastructure, Axis Communications.
Plus, Gretchen Gordon, president and sales team transformation expert, Braveheart Sales Performance is presenting "How to Train and Retain a Tech-Savvy Sales Force" on day one. In this session, Gordon will explain how security companies, integrators and manufacturers can improve sales performance, giving attendees an effective strategy on hiring and retention, while showing them the importance of adapting to stay profitable and relevant.
And, as always, one of the highlights of the conference is the "20 under 40" Award Reception on the evening of day one, where this year's class of 2018 winners will receive their awards and just have some fun by the pool. There will be several winners, both previous winners such as Simopoulos, and current winners, including TechSec Speakers Meshey (Pentagon), Didden (MTA) and Josh Cummings, director, Engineering Services, VTI Security, to name just a few.
All told, this year's program has something for everyone. We hope to see you in Delray Beach Feb. 25-26.
Pivot3, the hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) performance and technology company based in Austin, Texas, announced that it experienced more than 50-percent growth in bookings in Q1-Q3 2018 over the same period in 2017, with significant growth among large enterprises and complex, mission-critical use cases.
With IT requiring automation and intelligence to manage increasingly complex workloads and multi-cloud environments, Pivot3 saw high demand for its hybrid cloud solutions. Pivot3 also experienced continued expansion with Internet of Things use cases, particularly with smart and safe city initiatives.
"Q3 2018 was remarkable for Pivot3, from our growth in sales and introduction of new products to the announcement of our global strategic partnership with Lenovo," Ron Nash, CEO, Pivot3, said in the announcement. "Enterprises are demanding more from IT, and our growth indicates that the market is increasingly aware of Pivot3 and the power of our Intelligence Engine to simplify management at scale as well as deliver the security and resilience needed to support mission-critical workloads."
Pivot3's developments in Q3 2018 include:
• More than 50-percent growth in bookings in Q1-Q3 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, with 86 percent of new bookings in Q3 comprising large enterprises.• A 95-percent increase in average deal size in Q3 2018 over the 2017 average.• Nearly 65 percent of 2018 sales to date have come from satisfied existing customers expanding their deployments to include multiple mixed workloads. Additionally, more than 70 percent of new customers deployed multiple mixed workloads on Pivot3's platform, indicating that customers are increasingly—and repeatedly—relying on Pivot3's Intelligence Engine to automate and manage multiple mission-critical applications on a single platform.• Continued adoption of its hybrid cloud solutions, representing more than 60 percent of new sales in Q3.• Named a Strong Performer in Hyperconverged Infrastructure in The Forrester Wave: Hyperconverged Infrastructure, Q3 2018. Pivot3 ranked within the top three vendors in the current offering category and achieved the highest scores possible for the criteria of built-in security, customer support options and quality of operations and support.• Announced a global strategic partnership with Lenovo to develop, market and sell solutions optimized for mission-critical smart city applications and use cases, both in the core datacenter and at the edge.• Continued growth of mission-critical smart city initiatives, including with the City of Bogotá, Colombia, which is deploying a highly efficient Lenovo/Pivot3 solution to achieve maximum infrastructure efficiency and scale as its surveillance needs grow.• Launched Intelligent Edge Command and Control, a new ruggedized and SWaP-optimized hybrid cloud solution to support sophisticated analytics, VDI and IoT use cases for defense, intelligence and other extreme operations at the "tactical edge."• Released a new large-scale IoT solution designed to support mission-critical deployments of 500TB or more with greater resilience, scale and ease of use, fundamentally altering the economic equation for customers in large IoT data-capture scenarios.• A diverse range of new customers, including numerous military and federal agencies as well as local governments, a nuclear research facility, multiple educational institutions, a large manufacturing organization and a major sports and entertainment complex. The top industry verticals represented in Q3 sales include government, logistics and transportation, energy and utilities, hospitality, and education.• Certified its infrastructure solutions for mission-critical IoT, safe cities and smart building environments operating with Milestone Systems video management software. This allows organizations to gain access to infrastructure proven to deliver the performance, resilience and scale required in mission-critical environments.
"Pivot3 has led the industry in supporting mission-critical use cases where security, resilience and management simplicity are required at enterprise scale," said Nash. "As customers turn to IT to solve their most pressing business challenges, automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning will become key drivers in enabling the next wave of enterprise-scale digital transformation. Pivot3 is positioned to support this evolution with a foundation of Hybrid Cloud and IoT solutions for the enterprise's most critical environments."
Mike Leone, senior analyst from Enterprise Strategy Group, said in the Pivot3 announcement, "IT organizations need new levels of automation in their infrastructure to provide the resiliency, availability and low latency required to support rapidly expanding volumes of data and the proliferation of applications and business services. The key to Pivot3's differentiation in the HCI market lies in their Intelligence Engine, which delivers advanced resilience and security, and automates manageability at scale for customers' most demanding workloads."
ATLANTA—Apartment Guide, a resource for renters and part of the digital marketing solutions company RentPath, recently published a blog highlighting security as an amenity many renters are looking for.
The blog included data from RentPath surveys including an "online, blind survey of 2,000 renters … conducted by Egg Strategy in conjunction with RentPath in 2017, with the final analysis completed in February 2018," and an "online, blind survey of 750 renters conducted by RentPath Research between November 10 – December 4, 2017." In addition, the blog referenced The 2017 Kingsley Nationwide Renter Report, which was conducted in July 2017 in partnership with the National Multifamily Housing Council and surveying 269,332 renters.
Angie Amon, director of research for RentPath, talked with Security Systems News about the trends among these reports. "People are looking for their home. It's not a car that they're going to rent for a few days, or even a car they're going to buy that they could easily get rid of if it didn't work out. It's their home, and the things that they're trying to do is make it feel like home. They want to feel safe, they want to feel secure … and that it's not a hassle to live there," Amon said.
RentPath distributed surveys to people seeking apartments, specifically renters that were open to developments with 50 or more units. "We really drilled down into a specific segment of renter population," Amon said.
Despite prompting survey takers to "think big" and be imaginative, many still put emphasis on practical conveniences like having a washer and dryer in their unit, Amon said.
RentPath also asked survey respondents to select an item that most interested them and one that least interested them out of larger groups. "Out of that came the gated access, the security measure," Amon said, and this group was the highest at 35 percent. "That was the number one 'most interested' thing that people mentioned, and had the fewest votes of 'least interested' in."
The company recognized another trend of people looking for app-controlled door locks, rating at 25 percent.
Property managers and companies could benefit from emphasizing the security measures at their properties, according to Amon. "It comes up over and over and over again in both the quantitative and the qualitative work that we do, where people talk about wanting to be in a safe area. And they define that in different ways, some of it has to do with what security measures are at the property … others define it by what kind of activity is going on in the area."
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has identified and announced the 2019 Security Megatrends—the foundation of SIA's signature yearly report defining the major trends and forces at play in the global security industry.
Forecasting of 2019's top 10 Security Megatrends was based on survey data generated in September and October 2018 from top security industry business leaders, association leadership and key volunteers and speakers for Securing New Ground (SNG), the security industry's executive conference, which is being held this week, Oct. 25-26, in New York City.
These trends—the top factors influencing both short- and long-term change in the global security industry—are expected to have sweeping impact on almost all businesses within the industry.
Cybersecurity was identified in the 2019 report as the standout trend shaping the security industry. By nearly 30 percentage points, industry leaders said cybersecurity's impact on physical security solutions was the most impactful trend they were expecting to face in 2019. A resounding number of respondents also called for artificial intelligence (AI) to be recognized as a megatrend, noting that AI is becoming vital to supporting the heightened volume of data produced by modern security solutions.
Other new Security Megatrends emerging for 2019 include workforce development, the emphasis on data privacy, advancements in digital identity and the integration of security into smart environments like smart buildings and smart cities.
The 2019 Security Megatrends are:• Cybersecurity Impact on Physical Security• Internet of Things (IoT) and the Big Data Effect• Cloud Computing• Workforce Development• AI• Emphasis on Data Privacy• Move to Service Models• Security Integrated in Smart Environments• Advanced Digital Identities• Impact of Consumer Electronics Companies
"Today, modern physical security solutions are comprised of IoT devices and sensors that generate high volumes of security data. Applying analytics and artificial intelligence systems makes this data more actionable and increases responsiveness for security systems users," SIA chairman of the board Scott Schafer said in the announcement. "Cybersecurity continues to be at the top of the list of the most important trends identified by security industry manufacturers, systems integrators, security practitioners, architects and engineers, and SIA will continue to address this trend over the next year and in the foreseeable future."
In addition to defining the latest Security Megatrends, the forecast for 2019 also identifies other forces at play in the security industry that may have a noticeable impact on some or all businesses, and the research identifies three potential areas of business disruption the security industry may face in 2019.
The official 2019 Security Megatrends report will be published in late November 2018 and available online for download and/or purchase. The 2018 Security Megatrends report is currently available to all members and non-members.
Each year at SNG, senior-level industry leaders and financial partners gather, trends are spotted, connections are formed and minds are opened. In addition to highlighting these Security Megatrends, SNG 2018 will feature keynote remarks by Jerome Pickett, senior vice president and chief security officer at the National Basketball Association, and Valerie Thomas, executive information security consultant at Securicon, and panel discussions on topics like the shift from smart cities to conscious cities, harnessing cyber-physical security technologies and how the changing residential security market is staying nimble.
Avigilon Corporation, a Motorola Solutions company, recently announced that its Avigilon Blue cloud platform is now integrated with SureView Systems Immix CS and Immix CC software, which will support professional video monitoring.
The Avigilon Blue cloud platform features patented self-learning video analytics that detect movements of people and vehicles and generate an alarm with a short video clip, allowing central station operators to more efficiently verify and respond to potentially critical events. The integration with Immix CS and Immix CC software will feature alarms with live and recorded video as well as audio transmission, the announcement noted.
"Video analytics-based alarm management will enable central stations to manage significantly more cameras and sites with fewer resources and help provide faster response to events, which ultimately creates a better monitoring experience for both the central stations and the end users," Ryan Nolan, senior vice president of business operations at Avigilon, said in the announcement. "With our advanced video analytics, the Avigilon Blue platform integrated with SureView software will provide our customers with a single point of control for security response and coordination."
The Avigilon Blue integration with SureView Immix CS and Immix CC software is expected to be available in November 2018, the announcement noted.
"At SureView, we develop a powerful monitoring platform to improve customers' ability to manage and respond to security events," Simon Morgan, CTO at SureView Systems, said in a prepared statement. "With Avigilon Blue's exceptionally accurate analytics and low false alarms, this new integration will further enhance the operational efficiency and value of professional monitoring services."
HENDERSON, Nev.—I-View Now, provider of a cloud-based video monitoring platforms for central stations, recently announced an updated and improved integration with monitoring center automation software platform partner MASterMind.
This updated integration improves signaling by utilizing a dedicated MASrecv I-View Now Receiver. Built in conjunction with MAS, these processes employ dedicated and proprietary signal types and signal formats which provide richer contextual information and video, the company said.
"We are thrilled to further our partnership with MASterMind and offer these enhanced features to monitoring stations and their customers. This integration enables the distribution of better information to end users, operators, and first responders," Larry Folsom, president of I-View Now, said in the announcement. "We're very proud of this integration allowing for true collaboration between all parties. Our ultimate goal is to catch the bad guy more often, while greatly reducing unwanted false alarm dispatches."
The MASterMind Auto-Notification and Verification Interface with I-View Now integration provides mobile verification to central station customers. This process allows the end user to cancel the alarm, request dispatch, and call the monitoring center.
"A key value at MAS has always been to help alarm monitoring stations streamline their dispatching processes and provide better service to their customers," Shin Voeks, general manager for MAS, said in a prepared statement. "The MASterMind integration with I-View enables users to conveniently cancel or confirm an alarm using their mobile devices, and allows monitoring stations to respond to alarms more effectively."
A new benchmarking study of the cybersecurity practices and initiatives of global organizations provides insight into the cyber landscape today and moving forward over the next few years. The study, called The Cybersecurity Imperitive, was produced in partnership with ESI ThoughtLab and WSJ Pro Cybersecurity and is sponsored by Security Industry Association (SIA) and several other partners.
"As validated by SIA's just-released 2019 Security Megatrends—highlighting the top factors influencing both short- and long-term change in the global security industry—security companies see cybersecurity as the dominant trend shaping the industry," SIA CEO Don Erickson said in an email announcing the study. "Having these clear benchmarks around cybersecurity not only facilitates the advancement of cybersecurity within your own organizations, but it also allows firms like yours to deliver appropriate solutions to your customers."
One key finding in the study is that digital transformation is exposing companies to higher and more costly cyber risks. For example, those whose cybersecurity practices do not keep pace with their digital transformation initiatives are more likely to see $1 million or more in losses from cyberattacks. The research showed that cyber risks rise dramatically as companies embrace new technologies, adopt open platforms and tap ecosystems of partners and suppliers.
"Companies need to make sure that their cybersecurity programs keep pace with their digital transformation effort," Lou Celi, CEO of ESI ThoughtLab and director of the study, said in the announcement. "Cybersecurity should not be an afterthought. It needs to be integrated into the fabric of an organization's growth strategy."
According to the study, there will be an increase in cyber-threat vectors by 2020, including:• Attacks through partners, customers and vendors (247% growth)• Supply chains (+146%)• Denial of service (+144%)• Apps (+85%)• Embedded systems (84%)
Surveyed companies see high risks from external threat actors, such as unsophisticated hackers (cited by 59% of firms), cybercriminals (57%) and social engineers (44%), but the greatest threat lies with untrained general staff (87%). Another 57 percent of firms see data sharing with partners and vendors as their main IT vulnerability. Nonetheless, only 17 percent of companies have made significant progress in training staff and partners on cybersecurity awareness.
The study also cites the leading cyber-threat vectors in 2018, which are:• Malware (81%)• Phishing (64%)• Ransomware (63%)• Viruses (62%)• Attacks from Apps (62%)
Another key finding is companies are boosting their cybersecurity investments. To cope with rising cyber risks, surveyed companies are increasing their cybersecurity investment by 7 percent this year and 14 percent next year. The biggest upsurge will come from platform companies, which are hiking their spending 59 percent this year and 64 percent next year. On average, companies with revenue between $250 million and $1 billion will spend $2.9 million next year; $1-5 billion ($5.7 million); $5-20 billion ($10.7 million); and $20 billion+ ($16.8 million).
According to the study, companies now use a variety of technologies to improve cybersecurity, such as multi-factor authentication (90%), blockchain (68%), Internet of Things (62%) and artificial intelligence (AI) (44%).
Security Systems News' Class of 2017 "20 under 40" winner Ryan Fritts, CISO, ADT, said, "We are using AI in our access and entitlement management to analyze the behaviors of end-users and determine whether or not their behaviors are risky."
Over the next two years, studied firms indicated they plan to greatly expand the use of the following technology solutions:• Behavioral analytics (+1,735%)• Smart grid technologies (+831%)• Deception technology (+684%)• Hardware security and resilience (+114%)
The study also found that as corporate cybersecurity systems mature, the probability of costly cyberattacks declines. Cybersecurity beginners have a 21.1-percent probability of cyberattacks generating over $1 million in losses versus 16.1 percent for intermediates and 15.6 percent for leaders.
"Security is a holistic discipline. You need to manage both physical and cyber risks," Joseph Gittens, SIA director of standards, and Cybersecurity Imperative study advisor, said in a prepared statement. "You could have the best physical security ever—guards, gates, guns and surveillance—but if someone can access your network from the comfort of their living room, it's not doing anything. The reverse is true as well. You could have a ton of cybersecurity but fail to lock down your physical space."
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Proteomics and Plasmid Purification
A great SLAS2016 show in San Diego Gallery
A great SLAS2016 show in San Diego384 Channel Pipetting Tool, 96 Channel Pipetting Tool, ADME Tox Solutions, Agencourt AMPURE PCR Purification, Cell Maintenance, Cell Protein Expression, Compound Dissolution, DNA Normalization, DNA Quantification, Forensics, Genomics, Hit Picking, Life Science Robotics, Liquid Handling Robotic Workstation, Lynx Liquid Handler, Nucleic Acid Purification, PCR Preparation Setup, PhyNexus DNA Purification, PhyNexus PhyTip Protein Purification, Proteomics and Plasmid Purification
A great SLAS2016 show in San Diego
Thank everyone who stopped by the Dynamic Devices booth at the SLAS2016 show in San Diego, CA. As a quick reminder, we presented our SLAS Award Winning 96 VVP Independent Volume Pipetting Tool integrated into our next generation LYNX Liquid Handling Robotic Platform. We also showed our 96 SV and 384 SV [...]

subset: commoncrawl


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"I love denim's heritage and its American roots, as well as Diesel's Italian core. This capsule is really the language of Renzo, the brand founder. Refined razor sharp denim aesthetics that devours the excesses of trendiness."
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They came in droves to honor a teacher, a mentor, an outdoorsman, a sportman, a father, a leader.
After teaching 37 years at Williston High School, Robert Philpot has decided to retire and Saturday marked a reception to honor his commitment to the students and people of Williston.
For more than two hours, one by one–and sometimes in pairs and triples–people came forth and told the hundreds of people in attendance how much the teacher had influenced their lives.
Attention to Parents of Rising Sixth Graders:
Williston Middle School is excitedly anticipating your child transitioning from fifth grade to sixth grade. Our desire is to make the transition a smooth one and positive academic growth and low anxiety. We believe the key to making this a reality for your child and your family includes having information about WMS and getting answers to your questions. To facilitate this we have scheduled the following dates of orientation:
Joyce Bullock Elementary School announces the honor roll for the third nine weeks:
A Honor Roll – First Grade
Chorvat: Victoria Dosey
Coleman: Anthony Griffith, James Loock, Carol Pudlo
Cooper: Sarah Dykstra
Griffith: Eli Davis, Delaney Holcomb, Kayla Munden
Hogle: Narisa Ali, Abigail Carey, Zachary Chism, Silas Jacobs, Amari Robinson
Milton: Carter Boyd, Alexis Dillard, Abigail Lowrimore, Maclayne McGowan, Adam Sistrunk
Odom: Della Bird, Chase Eschbach, Trinity Peacock, Ryan Staley,
Jack Wilkinson has taught generations of Levy County students during his lifetime, and a his gift to Central Florida Community College will ensure that generations more have access to higher education.
Mr. Jack, as he is known in Chiefland, has donated $2.5 million to help build a new CFCC campus in Levy County. The donation is the largest, one-time gift ever received by CFCC.
The next breakfast with the superintendent will be Feb. 24 at 8:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Chiefland Fellowship Hall.
Tickets may be purchased for $10 per person and are available at Capital City Bank, Drummond Community Bank and Perkins State Bank in Chiefland or at the Levy County Schools Foundation office in Bronson.
For more information contact the Levy County Schools Foundation at 352-486-3408 or email firstname.lastname@example.com .
Years of dedication to students have paid off for Sherry Beauchamp, a fourth grade teacher at Chiefland Elementary School.
Beauchamp was was honored by school and district officials Friday as she was selected as the Levy County Teacher of the Year.
Banker Albert P. "Al" Qualls Jr. of Fort Walton Beach was honored as the Alumni of the Year by the Levy County Schools Foundation at its annual STARS Gala.
The Gala, which raises money for classroom grants, scholarships and sponsors education projects held its annual bash at the Bronson High School cafetorium. About 220 people attended, a slight drop from last year's 232 attendees. The event also raised, according to early unofficial estimates, over $20,000 plus $1,600 from a silent auction.
When everyone cooperates and politeness fills the room, the mood is happier and more conducive to learning.
The students and staff at Williston Elementary School have done such an extraordinary job with the Positive Behavior Support (PBS)ee^program that recently they were honored as a Silver Level Model School for their efforts by the University of South Florida.
PBS is a system that rewards students for their good behavior.
Function: noun.
Definition one: something that completes or makes an addition.
Definition two: the word Joseph Wolfe correctly spelled to win the Levy County Spelling Bee on Monday.
Wolfe, a sixth-grader at Chiefland Middle School, outlasted nine other students at Bronson Middle/High School to win the District Champion title.
Spelling through several tense rounds in front of parents, judges and school officials, Wolfe stepped to the podium, thought for a few seconds, and spelled out his final word with little difficulty.
A/B Honor Roll 1st 9 weeks
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The Williston Pioneer is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Williston, Fl, and the surrounding area.


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|Frieder Weiss
|[EyeCon] - [Components] - [Infrared] - [Download] - [Buying] - [Contact] - [Help]
Last updated: Aprils, 15. 2008
It is important to check periodically for new updates. This software is in continuous development and improvement; bugs are fixed, features are added. On the download page you also will find tools to monitor OSC-messages and control the Windows cursor with OSC messages.
Eyecon's main use has been to facilitate interactive performances and installations in which the motion of human bodies is used to trigger or control various other media (music, sounds, photos, films, lighting changes, etc.). Eyecon does this using a video feed from the performance or installation area (any normal video camera may be used). When the video signal is fed into the computer, the image appears in the main window of the program. You can now draw lines, fields or other elements _over_ the video picture. If a person then moves into the video image and some part of their body touches one of the elements you have drawn on,then an event can be triggered,for example a certain sound might be heard. Alternatively, if you have drawn a field, eyecon can measure the amount of motion occuring within that field. Additional features let you track the position of persons within the performance area,measure their height,their width,their overall size or the degree of left-right symmetry in their shape (assuming they are facing the camera). These control elements may each be assigned a different output. Any number of elements may be used simultaneously in any combination. Multiple cameras may also be used,though not simultanweously (unless you have more than one computer running). Eyecon is only available for PC computers. Minimum system requirements: Windows PC with at least 800MHz P3 for interactive sound and Midi, stronger computer recommended for interactive video output. Windows 98, 2000 or XP with at least Directshow 8.1 installed.
You may see a selection of excerpts from performances and installations incorporating Eyecon by clicking www.palindrome-intermedia.de/video.htm. (These are works by Palindrome Inter-media Perforamnce Group which i have been co-directing for many years). A dozen or so other groups worldwide are currently using EyeCon to create installations and performances.
Have a look at http://www.emily.li
to see samples of my work with Emily Fernandez.
Media outputs include:
Internal or External MIDI
Direct X systems (Audio Sample player)
Windows Media Player (AVI Video)
Control of Screen Canvas Effects
OSC message output via Ethernet
Offers all MIDI-standard commands (pitch-bend, volume, etc.)
Other features:
Dancer-simulation feature
Scene management
User-defined thresholds for overall and individual touchline sensitivity
Histogram features
May respond to absolute positions (e.g. location on stage) or relative positions (e.g. distances between bodies)


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News editor
Families and Communities Together Inc.'s Family Assistance Fund has provided $10,400 of assistance to more than 80 Marion County families this year, FACT Director Ashlee Gann said Thursday. That amount has grown every year since the fund's inception, owing to the generosity of churches, families, and businesses, Gann said.
The Family Assistance Fund can provide up to $100 to a family needing help with a wide variety of concerns: utilities, rent, medical bills, insurance, and school supplies have been some of the areas the fund has helped in this year.
"We really don't have restrictions on what we help with, as long as they have children 18 and younger in the home," Gann said.
FACT receives requests for assistance from across the county, distributed in close proportion to population, with the most requests coming from Hillsboro, Marion, and Peabody. Some are from families in long-term financial distress, but others are from people in a one-time bind, Gann said.
Families in need of assistance can contact Gann at (620) 947-3184 to apply. Applications are reviewed by a task force, and most are approved. The task force doesn't generally receive frivolous requests for assistance, Gann said. There is a limit of one use of assistance per 12 months, she said.
FACT also provided about $2,200 in holiday support, in Christmas gifts and food, to nine area families this year with donations from families, churches, businesses, and one Girl Scout group.
Organizers of Marion County Circles of Hope nominated the FACT Family Assistance Fund to receive a Christmas donation from Hoch Publishing Co., crediting the organization for not taking overhead or administrative costs from donations. The fund was one of three selections to receive the donation.


text: Well, this was supposed to be 45 minutes of unedited video from the set up day at the '83 show. For some reason the video freezes at around the 10 minute mark and only the sound continues. So take this first segment as a preview, and if you think you can take another 35 minutes of much the same then I will make another attempt next week. (need help from a more computer savvy friend)


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Some in Congress just can�t stop eyeing the paychecks and wealth of Americans.
Now that Congress has approved tax increases, the focus in Washington needs to be on runaway spending, deficits and the massive accumulation of national debt.
But some in Congress just can�t stop eyeing the paychecks and wealth of Americans. Only days after passing a tax compromise that raised rates on the wealthiest wage earners, taking in an estimated $600 billion over 10 years, congressional leaders are eyeing another $1 trillion in new revenue.
Many in Congress � and evidently, the man in the White House � don�t get it. It�s the spending side of the ledger, not the revenue entries, that is driving the nation toward a real fiscal cliff.
The nation is more than $16 trillion in debt and is fast approaching another borrowing limit that will require congressional approval to increase. The debt situation is so bad, even plans by Republicans labeled as �extreme� by Democrats don�t balance the budget for decades.
The truth is, it will probably take many years to balance the budget even with what most in Congress consider aggressive spending cuts.
But the federal budget will never be balanced � and $1 trillion annual deficits will continue � unless Congress and the White House put the brakes on entitlement spending.
After Congress avoided the fiscal cliff by passing the first major income-tax increase in 20 years, Republicans are complaining that the Democrats are not negotiating in good faith. For two years, since the Republicans took over the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats have promised to cut spending.
In 2011, Congress agreed to cut about $900 billion from future spending, although how those cuts happen is up for debate. Democrats are now demanding that more spending cuts have a �1-to-1� ratio with revenue increases. A possible $1 trillion could be raised by eliminating deductions and loopholes, Democrats say, something we heard during the fiscal-cliff negotiations.
Another $1 trillion in taxes is probably too much, given the weak state of the economy and the fact Congress just raised income taxes on individuals making more than $400,000 annually, and families making more than $450,000 annually.
Tax reform and tax simplification arestill needed. The tax code of the United States is still a mess.
But the major driver of the annual deficits is spending, especially on entitlements. Writing for The Wall Street Journal last month, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said if entitlements continue to rise, federal spending will hit 40 percent of gross domestic product. It stands at 24 percent now.
To avoid this dystopian debt future, Congress and the White House must agree on a �grand bargain� that reforms the big entitlements � Medicare and Social Security � perhaps by raising the eligibility age and extracting a bit more from wealthier seniors. Leaders must also slow the spending on smaller but ballooning entitlement programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and more.
Cuts to the defense budget should also be weighed. And last but not least, the U.S. Senate must do its job and pass a formal budget. It has not done so for more than three years, allowing automatic spending to rise at a much faster rate.
Congress and the White House must pull up their sleeves and hash all this out as they work on deals to raise the debt limit and continue government operations in the next few months.
Daytona Beach News-Journal


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Latest News
Higgins left Hornets over power shift
Owner Michael Jordan's decision to give more power to general manager Rich Cho led to Rod Higgins leaving the Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets abruptly announced Higgins' departure as president of basketball operations just past midnight Friday, two weeks before the June 26 draft.
In an exclusive interview with the Charlotte Observer, Jordan said Friday that he recently offered Higgins a new contract and that they had agreed on financial terms. Then, about a week ago, Jordan told Higgins he wanted to rearrange some job responsibilities to better fit Higgins' and Cho's skill sets.
"Rod's strong points are working with the coaches and the trainers, traveling with the team," Jordan said. "He was my buffer zone with the coaches. I didn't want to overwhelm them with ideas, so I'd work with Rod on that."
Jordan said he wants Cho, with a background as an attorney, dealing more with budgets and managing the salary cap.
"One of (Higgins') strong points is not negotiating, leveraging teams," Jordan said. "Sometimes when teams would call (proposing trades), they'd bypass Rod to get to Rich."
Higgins, with the franchise since 2007, teamed with Cho the last three years. Jordan said that arrangement led to some "confusion over who reported to whom. It created a contentious environment where I had to step in."
That's when Jordan proposed these shifts in responsibilities, which Higgins considered a demotion. At that point, Jordan said he asked Higgins if they could wait until after the draft to make a change.
"He chose to leave now," Jordan said.
Higgins, 54, has been a friend and colleague of Jordan's for roughly 30 years. They played together with the Chicago Bulls in the mid-1980s. Jordan later hired Higgins to help him run the Washington Wizards' basketball operation. Jordan said that made Friday's parting extra difficult.
"I had to make a decision about a brother," Jordan said. "I hope he gets a soft landing and finds (the job) he wants."
Cho, 48, will now run the basketball operation, reporting to Jordan and team vice chairman Curtis Polk. Jordan said they will look to hire an assistant general manager so that Cho isn't spread too thin.
"No one person makes any single decision," Jordan said of the front office. "It's them and me and Curtis. We collaborate in all parts of the process."
Cho joined the then-Bobcats in June of 2011 after he was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Cho had previously worked his way up through the Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) organization, starting as an intern while attending law school, and rising to the title of assistant general manager.
He was named general manager of the Trail Blazers in 2010, but lasted a single season in that role. Reportedly his departure involved communication issues with Blazers owner Paul Allen.
Higgins declined to comment when reached Friday by the Observer. Cho did not make himself available to the media Friday morning at a previously scheduled workout of draft prospects. Coach Steve Clifford addressed the situation briefly after that workout.
"Rod and I had a great working relationship. He helped me a lot, he helped our staff a lot. He's a terrific basketball guy and a great person," Clifford said.
"That being said, change is a big part of this league. We need to quickly focus and move forward. Continue to build the right culture and roster to be a good team year-in and year-out."
Asked about Cho's expanded role, Clifford said, "Rich and I have been working together all year. So I don't see that as being any different. Rich is very organized, on top of things. I know we'll be prepared for the draft and prepared for free-agency."
This is a potentially huge off-season for the franchise, which is coming off a 43-39 record and the second playoff appearance since the Bobcats came into existence in 2004. They have the ninth, 24th and 45th overall draft picks. They will have roughly $13 million in space under the salary cap to sign free agents or facilitate trades.
Jordan said Monday, during an appearance for the team's charitable foundation, that he expects big things this summer from his front office. He suggested the team might pursue a "superstar," adding, "I think we can make a big difference. We did last year with Big Al (Jefferson) and some of the other acquisitions. I don't anticipate this being any different."
In the three years Cho has worked in Charlotte, he's been primarily responsible for supervising the team's pre-draft scouting. His first major task was updating the team's database of players worldwide.
Since Cho's arrival the team's drafts have had mixed results. They traded up to the seventh pick in 2011 to select center Bismack Biyombo, who struggled at times last season to be the team's backup. The then-Bobcats' other high pick that season was point guard Kemba Walker, who's established himself as a starter.
The team's first-round selections since then were small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (second overall in 2012) and power forward Cody Zeller (fourth in 2013). Both those players are still works-in-progress rather than refined NBA talents.
The Hornets continue their pre-draft preparations Saturday when they'll bring in Creighton forward Doug McDermott, a shooter who could be a factor with the ninth pick, and N.C. State forward T.J. Warren, who could be a fit if he's still available with the 24th pick.


text: In the comments section of an early post, Steven G. Harms has mentioned his little essay Emacs v. vi is rooted in the love of Lisp. I think it's a pretty interesting take on what makes Emacs a powerful environment, and that it will probably be a pretty interesting reading for readers of mew. (And no, i have no interest at all in yet another boring Emacs vs. Vi religious war–i use vim almost daily, without feeling guilty or anything.)


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A pre-dawn wakeup call. Sacramento in the rearview mirror. A seven-hour drive ahead.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, this from the Twitter files of Dakarai Allen:
@illest_Legend: Finally in sd feels like home lol
The San Diego State basketball signee had been here, inside the gymnasium at Torrey Pines High, before. Only a year ago, he was playing in the 22nd annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.
"That's when I really fell in love with the city," Allen said.
Wednesday night, he returned to San Diego like a conquering warrior. The 6-foot-5 forward led all scorers with 25 points as his Sacramento Sheldon team opened another Holiday Classic experience with a 72-39 rout of Cantwell Sacred Heart. Allen followed with 24 points Thursday afternoon as Sheldon defeated Mundelein (Ill.) 82-68 to advance to the National Division semifinals.
"I don't know if I'm ready for 'The Show' yet," Allen said, referencing SDSU's famously rowdy student section. Only a smattering of fans clad in Aztecs gear had been on hand for this contest.
Still, doubts about next fall have been allayed by a familiar presence. Just a few feet away stood teammate, best friend and fellow SDSU signee D'Erryl Williams. The longtime sparring partners traded jabs while discussing their prospects as future roommates.
"He snores," Allen said.
"This is a little secret," Williams said, "but he sleeps with his eyes open sometimes."
Williams, a 6-3 combo guard, had been limited by a balky ankle and foul trouble, finishing with six points in a frustrating performance. But he beamed as he recounted how he and Allen came to choose the Aztecs.
"We always talked about going to the same school," Williams said. "We basically dreamed of it."
Allen, rated a four-star prospect by most recruiting services, committed to SDSU in September, picking the Aztecs over a host of Pac-12 schools. A month later, Williams gave his own pledge just hours after touring campus and witnessing "Madness on the Mesa." The three-star recruit had received a gentle nudge from his friend.
"Once he got an offer from San Diego State," Allen said, "I told him he had no option but to come here."
On Nov. 14, Allen and Williams signed their national letters of intent in a ceremony at Sheldon High. Sitting at the same table, Huskies teammate Darin Johnson, another highly recruited senior, signed with Washington. SDSU had been a finalist.
"Darin felt Washington was a good fit, which it is," Williams said. "He made a good decision too. We all support him."
On Tuesday night, Allen and Williams watched as the Aztecs nearly upset Arizona on a last-second layup attempt by Chase Tapley. They grimaced as Wildcats pogo stick Nick Johnson seemingly sprang out of nowhere for the game-saving block.
Tapley, who played at Sacramento High, and SDSU teammate Xavier Thames, who prepped at nearby Pleasant Grove High, have been like "big brothers" to Sheldon's future Aztecs, Allen said.
"Everything they do is something we want to do," Allen said. "We want to follow in their footsteps."
Which might explain where they found themselves late Wednesday night, hunkering down on burritos and carne asada fries at popular SDSU eatery Trujillo's Taco Shop — hundreds of miles away from one home, just steps away from the next.


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DailyDirt: Wearing Technology On Your Sleeve (Or In Your Brain)
from the urls-we-dig-up deptTechnology gets smaller and smaller and ever more personalized as it matures. Computers used to fill entire rooms (and they still can...), but it's far more common for powerful computational devices to be able to fit in a pocket. Curiously, though, wearing gadgets seems to still be largely restricted to wristwatches. Maybe that'll change, and we'll actually get computers in our shoes someday. We'd love to see more examples, so here are a few links on some technology that we might wear in the future.
- BMW sponsored a bunch of "urban transportation concepts" for wearable personal transportation. But a lot of these designs look much less useful than a Segway. [url]
- Really small supercapacitors grown on fibers could create a variety of textiles that could act like batteries. We probably won't be wearing batteries anytime soon, but flexible batteries might be useful. [url]
- A paralyzed woman has learned to control a BrainGate implant and has used it as a computer input device for over 1,000 days. She can perform "point and click" actions with >90% accuracy. [url]
- To discover more interesting tech-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]
Filed Under: hmi, supercapacitors, wearable
Companies: bmw, briangate, segway


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When the DeSean Jackson release went down, the immediate reaction from former Philadelphia Eagles teammates was a collective yawn.
Eagles players didn't exactly rally in support, leaving the impression that Jackson's reported me-first attitude and lack of commitment didn't go over well in the locker room.
Now that the smoke has cleared, those in Philadelphia can concede they aren't happy that Jackson landed with a division rival in the Washington Redskins.
Appearing Monday night on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access," safety Malcolm Jenkins acknowledged the Eagles' shaky secondary might have trouble containing the explosive duo of Jackson and Pierre Garcon.
"Once he stayed in the division," Jenkins said, "that's when a little bit of concern comes in."
Playing for the Saints last season, Jenkins explained that Jackson was dangerous enough to dictate New Orleans' coverages in the January playoff matchup. The new Eagles safety admits Jackson could be more imposing with a chip on his shoulder this coming season.
LeSean McCoy and Jenkins aren't the only ones suddenly showing respect for Jackson.
After striking a deal with the Vikings on Monday, former Eagles safety Kurt Coleman told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he "appreciated" Jackson as a great player and "a good guy in the locker room."
"He was one of those guys you wanted to have play every single Sunday because of the explosiveness, the X-factor that he brought," Coleman added. "I think Philadelphia is going to miss him."
The latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast" covers the Aldon Smith arrest and analyzes the offseason movers and shakers in the NFC East and NFC South.


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What are you Doing Here?
Happy Fun Pundit has moved. If you are seeing this message, you followed a link to 'happyfunpundit.blogspot.com'. If this link was on another web site, please let them know that we have moved.
The new web site is at www.happyfunpundit.com. Soon with a new site design and more crunchy pundity goodness. See you there!


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Welcome to the course
Welcome to the first course in the Innovation series. In this course we consider the world's greatest innovations.
This course is just one of a series designed by the University of Leeds for school-based learners and their teachers. As this is an open course, we do also welcome other learners; as you will have seen from the welcome area, we have a diverse cohort signed up. However, it is important to recognise that this course, and the content and activities within it, has been specifically designed to help those studying at school or college make the transition to studying at university or the work place.
We have provided a course map to help you navigate your journey through the course: click on the image to access, or you can download the map from the Downloads section below.
It is anticipated that it will take around two hours to complete the tasks during the week. This includes watching the videos, joining discussions, reading articles and completing any exercises. If you have more time, we have also provided some links to additional reading and resources.
In this first week you'll consider and discuss with your fellow learners some of the great innovations that have changed our daily lives. You will also focus on the term 'innovation', considering what it means to different people, how it can be categorised, and the different types and levels of innovation.
In Week 2 we explore the innovation story and you'll have the opportunity to research and document the development of an innovation of your choice. This is your chance to be creative and use your choice of media to present your findings, through video, text, images or audio. You can then share this with other learners, providing feedback on their ideas and discussing aspects of interest.
There's plenty to keep you busy and interested, and we really hope you enjoy the course and the activities that we've planned.
Have your say:
Please use the comments to share your reasons for joining this course. Please also let us know where you are from; this course is open to learners world-wide.
Take some time to read the posts from other learners. If you come across someone with similar interests to you, you may choose to 'follow' them; you can then filter the discussions to only view the comments from those you are following. This can help to make discussions easier to manage.
Next steps
When you are ready to move on, click 'Mark as complete'. You can monitor your progress through the course by selecting 'Progress' at the top of the page. This will show you the steps you have completed and will provide your score for the end of course test.
© University of Leeds


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Bosco Launches Milk Chocolate Covered Bosco Chocolate Bar
Bosco, America's favorite chocolate syrup for more than 80 years and a pop culture iconic brand, launches an all-natural 3.5-oz milk chocolate covered Bosco Chocolate Bar distributed by Boston-based The Praim Group.
"The Praim Group is known for its efficient and stream line approach to helping food brands maneuver and conquer the tricky world of logistics, marketing and sales," says Steve Sanders, CEO Bosco Products Co., Montvale, N.J. "We're so excited for Bosco to have a chocolate bar. It will make a great nostalgic gift for that special someone, or is simply perfect as an afternoon chocolate fix."
Created in 1928, Bosco Chocolate Syrup is sold worldwide. With a long and iconic Hollywood history, it was used as fake blood in the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and in Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shrek loves Bosco, and most famously George Costanza in a Seinfeld episode revealed his cherished ATM pin was "Bosco."
"Nostalgic candy is a hot trend so it's the perfect time to introduce the Bosco Chocolate Bar," says Paul Pruett, CEO of The Praim Group, which also serves as brokers for Bosco Chocolate Syrup. "Generations have grown up with Bosco Chocolate Syrup and our team believes the Bosco Chocolate Bar is the perfect brand extension. It's an honor to be trusted to help expand this legacy."
Suggested retail price $1.99 to $2.49.


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LITTLE ROCK — The state Department of Human Services does not have a contingency plan in case the Legislature decides not to reauthorize the private option, DHS Director John Selig said Tuesday.
LITTLE ROCK — The state Department of Human Services does not have a contingency plan in case the Legislature decides not to reauthorize the private option, DHS Director John Selig said Tuesday.
Selig told the Joint Budget Committee the agency will ask lawmakers to approve the appropriation of $915 million in federal funding for the private option during the fiscal session that begins Feb. 10, which would require a three-fourths vote of both chambers.
The likelihood of that happening appears to have diminished in recent days. The original appropriation for the private option — the state's program that uses federal Medicaid money to provide private insurance to low-income Arkansans — passed last year with one vote to spare in the state Senate, but two of the "yes" votes have disappeared.
Paul Bookout, a Democrat from Jonesboro who voted for the private option, resigned from the Senate in August after being fined $8,000 by the state Ethics Commission for converting campaign contributions to personal use. He was replaced last week in a special election by Republican John Cooper of Jonesboro, who has said he favors not renewing the private option.
Also, Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, who voted for the private option last year, told conservative blog The Arkansas Project on Monday that she intends to vote against reauthorizing the program because she now believes it is "leading us in the wrong direction." Irvin did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.
"The state budget was built on the assumption of the private option being in place, so if it goes away, you start with the governor and (the Department of Finance and Administration) and the Legislature saying, 'OK, what do we want to fund and not fund?'" Selig told reporters after Tuesday's Joint Budget Committee hearing. "We don't have a Plan B because we don't know how much funding we have and how much savings we have until they've made some decisions."
Several legislators asked Tuesday about the potential impact of abandoning the private option.
Selig said the program is expected to save the state $89 million in the next fiscal year and more than $600 million between now and 2021. He said much of the savings would come from moving about 200,000 Arkansans from the traditional Medicaid program into the private option, something that has already happened for about 100,000 Arkansans.
The state pays 30 percent of the costs of the traditional Medicaid program, with the federal government paying the rest. Under the private option, the federal government pays all costs for the first three years, after which the state's share of the cost gradually increases to 10 percent.
Also, the state now pays about $100 million a year to hospitals to cover uncompensated care, but it could recapture some of that cost under the private option, Selig said.
State Medicaid Director Andy Allison told the panel that nearly 80,000 Arkansans have signed up for the private option, of whom 59,000 were enrolled in plans by Jan. 1.
"If we do away with it today, then 80,000 folks for the most part would be without coverage?" asked Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood.
"More than that," Allison said. "Those individuals who have been determined medically frail, they are served through the traditional Medicaid program because Medicaid offers more services than private coverage, but their eligibility for coverage at all is established through the Healthcare Independence Act (which created the private option), so if the Healthcare Independence Act goes away, their coverage goes away entirely."
Selig also told the panel that it may not be possible for certain people to go back to Medicaid from the private option. He said about 20,000 Arkansans previously were participating in the ARHealthNetworks program, but the program is being discontinued and may be impossible to revive because it offered very limited coverage and was only permitted by a federal waiver.
Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway, asked if the federal government might impose any penalties or file a lawsuit against Arkansas for discontinuing the private option.
Allison said it could not, because the U.S. Supreme Court has said the federal government cannot force states to expand their Medicaid programs. The private option is Arkansas' alternative plan, approved by the Obama administration, for using the money that the federal government would have provided for expansion of traditional Medicaid.


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The NEC defines a controller in a few different ways. In Art. 100, a controller is described as "a device or group of devices that serves to govern, in some predetermined manner, the electric power delivered to the apparatus to which it is connected." Getting a little more specific, a definition in Art. 430.2 states, "A controller is any switch or device that is normally used to start and stop a motor by making and breaking the motor circuit current." For this article, we'll concentrate on controllers, specifically the magnetic motor starter variety of controllers.
The magnetic motor starter is an electromagnetically operated set of contacts that starts and stops the connected motor load. A control circuit with momentary contact devices connected to the coil of the magnetic motor starter performs this start and stop function. A 3-pole full-voltage magnetic motor starter is made up of the following components: a set of stationary contacts, a set of movable contacts, pressure springs, a solenoid coil, a stationary electromagnet, a set of magnetic shading coils, and the moving armature.
It's also important to remember that a magnetic motor starter is a contactor that has the addition of an overload relay assembly that provides running overload protection to the motor. Selection of the thermal overload relay is done using the manufacturer's table included with the magnetic motor starter. In addition, ensure you know the full load current (FLC) of the motor, the service factor (SF) of the motor, and the ambient temperature in which the equipment is being operated. Thermal units are based on an ambient temperature of 40°C (104°F).
Typical magnetic motor starters that are commonly available include: full voltage (across-the-line), reduced voltage, and reversing. As the name implies, a full-voltage or across-the-line magnetic motor starter (Fig. 1) applies full voltage to the motor. This means the magnetic motor starter is designed to properly handle the levels of inrush current that will develop as the motor is started. Designed to limit the effects of inrush current during motor startup, reduced voltage starters are available in electro-mechanical and electronic formats. See "Standard Motor Control Circuit Primer" in the June issue of EC&M on page 18 for a more thorough discussion of the types of reduced voltage starters.
Reversing starters are designed to reverse shaft rotation of a 3-phase motor. This is accomplished by interchanging any two-line conductors that supply the motor load. The reversing magnetic motor starter (Fig. 2) features a forward and a reverse starter as part of the assembly. Electrical and mechanical interlocks are provided to ensure only the forward or the reverse starter can be engaged at any given time — but not at the same time.
NEMA magnetic motor starters are available in various voltage and horsepower ratings with designations ranging from size 00 through size 9. These NEMA sizes classify a magnetic motor starter by voltage and maximum horsepower. Coil voltages are typically available in 24V, 120V, 208V, 240V, 277V, 480V, and 600V varieties. The magnetic motor starter is also offered in different types of enclosures, depending on the environment in which the equipment will operate. Typical protective enclosures are: NEMA 1 (general-purpose), NEMA 4 (watertight), NEMA 12 (dust-tight), and NEMA 7 (hazardous location).
IEC-style magnetic motor starters are usually available in a modular format with a power base and a control unit. Three-phase power bases are available in 208V, 230V, 460V, and 575V varieties with corresponding maximum horsepower ratings. The control unit functions as the adjustable overload relay assembly, which is different from the fixed style of thermal overload unit found in a NEMA-type magnetic motor starter. IEC devices are usually smaller in size and less expensive than comparable NEMA-type devices. IEC magnetic motor starters are often supplied as part of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) equipment.
If we compare the NEMA magnetic motor starter to the IEC magnetic motor starter, the following differences would be noticed:
An IEC device is physically smaller than a comparable NEMA device.
An IEC device is usually less expensive than a comparable NEMA device.
An IEC device has a life cycle of approximately one million operations while a comparable NEMA device has a life cycle of almost four times that number.
An IEC device has an adjustable overload relay assembly while a comparable NEMA device has a fixed and removable overload relay assembly.
An IEC device should normally be protected with fast-acting, current-limiting fuses while a NEMA device can be protected with conventional time delay fuses.
The end-user should carefully consider all of these requirements before making the decision to install either a NEMA magnetic motor starter or an IEC magnetic motor starter in a specific application. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC), two standardization bodies that classify electrical equipment, are also good resources for additional information.
Vidal is president of Joseph J. Vidal & Sons, Inc., Throop, Pa.
Author's Note: I would like to dedicate this article to my dad, Joe, who passed away unexpectedly on June 10, 2007. My dad was in the electrical construction industry for more than 50 years and worked up until two days before his passing. He introduced me to this business at a very young age, encouraging me to further my education as an engineer. I will truly miss his guidance and inspiration.


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Promote your business
Let them find you! Promote your business to an international community of more than a million outdoor enthusiasts looking for hiking and cycling trails in your area.
Now, for only 30.19€/year you can show your business for a year on the map of trails nearby. You can update your information at any time and visitors can contact you directly!
Extra features
Includes an option to display a map on your website with the best trails close to your business!
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in recognition for our innovation, technology and dedication to sustainable tourism, elements we strive to reflect in our products.


text: 28 Oct 2015 09:30 Guests now have access to more choices when making bookings on Etihad Airways' website following the recent introduction of new online payment services. The airline's guests in the UAE can now book flights or ancillary services conveniently using Pay@home's online payment option and have the cash collected from their nominated location within 24 hours.Etihad Airways is the first airline in the Middle East to offer Pay@home, in cooperation with its payment partner, Payfort, which manages cash collection on behalf of the airline.Pay@home is an easy, safe and stress-free cash payment method enabling collection from homes - still a preferred payment option for many customers in the region.Justin Warby, Etihad Airways' Vice President Direct Sales, said: "In selecting additional payment methods for our guests, we took a very local approach. We wanted to give options which catered for the needs of our guests. The addition of Pay@home will make a significant difference to online bookings."With Pay@home, we now offer our guests in the UAE greater choice and flexibility when it comes to paying for the tickets they have booked online. This is part of our commitment to our guests to improve our service offering continuously."Booking online can be done at www.etihad.com. When filling in the payment details, guests can choose "Home Cash Collection" as the payment method. Once they complete booking, guests will be contacted to confirm the address they have specified and a suitable time for the collection of payment. Courier teams will collect the payments and provide a receipt upon payment.Pay@home purchases are available only if the reservation is made at least 48 hours before the flight's departure and the payment is made within 24 hours at the location and time agreed for the collection. Fare price and availability may change or guests can request for the reservation to be cancelled.The new payment options are only available for UAE Dirham (AED) transactions and for flights departing from Abu Dhabi. Future plans include expanding the Pay@home offering to other strategic markets of Etihad Airways. お問い合わせ エティハド航空は国際的な航空会社として、徐々に世界にネットワークを広げています。 お近くのエティハド航空への連絡方法は、こちらをご覧ください。お問い合わせ先を見る ご意見・ご要望 ご意見・ご感想、激励、苦情、ご質問などがございましたら、こちらをクリックして、入力フォームからご送信ください。


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Plan FAQs
What is the Bear Management Plan?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) developed the Bear Management Plan to provide a statewide framework for conserving Florida black bears and involving local stakeholders in helping FWC make regional bear management decisions.
What is the population of the Florida black bear?
After dwindling to as few as 300 bears in the 1970s, the Florida black bear population has rebounded to more than 3,000 bears at the time the Plan was approved in 2012. Recent research studies estimate the statewide bear population to be approximately 4,050 bears in 2015. Bears roam forests and swamps from Eglin Air Force Base in the Panhandle to Ocala National Forest in the state's midsection to Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida.
What is the status of the Florida black bear?
In 1974, the Florida black bear was listed as a State Threatened Species throughout most of Florida. In September 2010, FWC adopted a new conservation model to evaluate whether fish and wildlife species listed as State Threatened or Species of Special Concern are at high risk of extinction. Following this new procedure, a Biological Status Review (BSR) team evaluated the best available data on the Florida black bear and determined the bear did not meet criteria to be listed as State Threatened. That report was sent to five independent peer reviewers, who agreed with the findings. The final BSR recommendation was to remove the bear from the State Threatened Species list, and the Commission approved the recommendation in June 2011. The bear was removed from the State Threatened Species list in August 2012.
What action has been taken on the Bear Management Plan?
The draft Bear Management Plan was open for public comment from Nov. 10, 2011 to Jan. 10, 2012. The draft plan and a summary of public comments were brought to the Commission for its consideration on Feb. 9, 2012. Based on public comments and Commission direction, the revised plan was opened for public comment from April 13 to June 1, 2012. Based on public comments, the plan was further revised and the plan tracking those revisions was posted on the FWC website for public review on June 11, 2012. The revised plan and a summary of comments received was approved by the Commissioners on June 27, 2012.
What is the goal of the Bear Management Plan?
The goal of the plan is to maintain sustainable black bear populations in suitable habitats throughout Florida for the benefit of the species and people. The plan includes management tasks to ensure the Florida black bear population will be maintained and never again be at a high risk of extinction.
Why was the plan created?
The plan sets a strategy in place to address challenges regarding bear management. As stewards of wildlife in Florida, the FWC must anticipate the needs of bears and balance them with the needs of people.
What are the objectives of the plan?
- Manage for a sustainable bear population statewide.
- Conserve enough suitable habitat to support bear populations where they currently exist, and promote connectivity between those populations.
- Increase public understanding of bears, support for bear conservation and a willingness to coexist with bears.
- Reduce human-bear conflicts.
Who wrote the plan?
The Bear Management Plan was written by a team of FWC staff. Originally formed in May 2007, the team has consulted with representatives from public and private organizations to create the plan.
How many public comments were received on the Bear Management Plan?
FWC collected about 580 comments on the plan via mail, email, online, stakeholder group meetings and from four public workshops. A public workshop was held in Bristol on Nov. 22, Naples on Nov. 29, Deland on Dec. 6, and Gainesville on Dec. 13, 2011. FWC also received more than 5,000 form letters via email about the plan.
What changes were made in the revised plan based on public comments?
Staff used a majority of the 580 comments FWC received to revise the plan. Many comments helped staff improve the plan by clarifying and expanding on topics needing more explanation and discussion. Other comments guided staff to revisit topics from a different viewpoint.
What are some examples of changes made to the plan based on public comments?
Concerns about the rule that prohibits feeding bears (68A-4.001(3) F.A.C.) led staff to add an Action Item to review that rule to increase its effectiveness. Staff also acted on a request to consider future development projections when addressing the habitat needs of bears. Staff used projected bear habitat loss in Florida for the year 2020 to better reflect predicted habitat conditions at the end of the 10-year time frame of the plan. In addition, staff created an Action Item to further describe bear behaviors and associated risks to human safety that may be associated with them.
What are the major threats to Florida's black bear population?
The most serious threats to bears are habitat loss and fragmentation, and human-related mortalities such as bears being killed illegally or hit and killed by vehicles on highways.
How does the Bear Management Plan address threats to the Florida black bear population?
Seven bear management units (BMUs) would be created to better align the aims and actions of management with the unique characteristics in each bear subpopulation range. The plan recommends forming "black bear assistance groups," composed of local stakeholders within each BMU, to work with FWC to help manage bears. Each unit contains a separate bear population that varies in size -- from about 1,100 bears in the Central BMU, which includes Ocala National Forest, to about 30 bears in the Big Bend BMU, which includes Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.
What does the rule in the Bear Management Plan do?
The rule in the Bear Management Plan makes it unlawful to injure or kill bears. The rule also states FWC will continue to engage with landowners and regulating agencies to guide future land use to be compatible with the objectives of the Bear Management Plan.
Under the plan, will the hunting of bears be allowed?
The plan does not propose a bear hunt. The plan acknowledges bear hunting is a complex issue and needs to incorporate a wider array of stakeholder involvement if hunting is to be considered as part of Florida's bear management program. At the February 2015 Commission meeting, staff was directed to bring a conceptual framework of a Florida black bear hunt to the Commissioners at the April 2015 Commission meeting. In June 2015, the FWC Commissioners approved a limited bear hunt that occurred in October 2015. In June 2016, the FWC Commissioners voted to postpone a 2016 bear hunt and may revisit the topic in 2017.
For more information, see FAQs: Florida black bears and hunting.
Does the plan address individual responsibility?
The plan addresses the need for continuing education so people can understand what steps they should take to reduce human-bear conflicts. People who know that bears are attracted to garbage, pet food, and birdseed and take action to prevent bear access to those food sources will be critical to the success of bear conservation efforts.
What is the desired outcome for bears in Florida as a result of the plan?
Implementation of the plan should increase the chances that healthy, self-sustaining, and genetically diverse bear populations will thrive in Florida and human-bear conflicts will be minimized.
When did the Bear Management Plan go into effect?
The final plan and associated rule changes went into effect in August 2012.


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Commercial, Products, Public Service, Services
By Staff Writer | February 1, 2013
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Bell Helicopter has secured an order from HEMS provider Air Methods for 20 407GX helicopters, which feature Garmin's G1000H avionics. Under the agreement, Air Methods division United Rotorcraft will equip the helicopters with an EMS interior—including an articulating loading system—and other medical systems like oxygen, suction air and electrical power. Bell's partnership with Air Methods dates back to 1980 with the Bell 206.
The HEMS provider has also purchased 22 helicopters from American Eurocopter, 10 of which are the upgraded "T2" version of the EC130 that was uncovered at Heli-Expo in February 2012. The order, which also includes six copies each of the AS350B3e and EC135P2e, is valued at more than $80 million. Englewood, Colo.-based Air Methods operates a fleet of more than 330 Eurocopter variants, which make up around 80 percent of its fleet.
United Rotorcraft will also handle the completions, with American Eurocopter scheduled to start deliveries to the air medical provider in mid-2014, running through 2015.


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The Chiefs may have switched regimes, head coaches and much of their on-field personnel this offseason, but one thing hasn't changed: their love for LSU football players.
The Chiefs may have switched regimes, head coaches and much of their on-field personnel this offseason, but one thing hasn't changed: their love for LSU football players.
Making his first selection as Kansas City's GM, Scott Pioli used the third overall pick to take DE Tyson Jackson, marking the third straight year in which the Chiefs have drafted an LSU Tiger in the first round. In 2007 it was WR Dwayne Bowe, with DT Glenn Dorsey being their first-rounder the following year.
Although considered a reach at No. 3 by some draft pundits, Jackson will fill an immediate need for K.C. in the club's new 3-4 defensive scheme under coordinator Clancy Pendergast. At 6-4 and 296 pounds, he is a natural 3-4 defensive end, with the strength to hold the edge against the run and take on double-teams. He's athletic, has good balance and can disrupt a quarterback with his long arms. He'll be exactly what the "D" needs to begin implementing elements of the 3-4 this season.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Jackson doesn't have the moves or explosion to be much of a pass-rushing threat, something the unit is desperately lacking after setting a league futility record last season with 10 sacks as a team.
But in New England, Pioli was always a believer in building his clubs from the inside out, selecting smart, tough, physical players who truly love playing the game. Clearly, he has brought that mindset with him to Kansas City.
For the Chiefs and their fans, the judgment of this selection will probably come down to Jackson's NFL success versus that of LB Aaron Curry, the player many believed K.C. would draft and who was subsequently taken by Seattle with the No. 4 pick. Since the Chiefs also need a rush linebacker to complete their 3-4 alignment, Curry, the '08 Butkus Award winner, would've been a perfectly logical choice for Pioli to make here. But he opted instead for Jackson, and now it's likely that these two defenders will be constantly compared to each other for years to come to determine if the Chiefs made the correct call.
Regardless of whether the Chiefs should've taken Jackson or Curry, this much is clear: Pioli has filled a hole on a defense that had plenty of them last season. Playing with Dorsey and probably Tank Tyler up front, Jackson should make the "D" much more formidable up front.
For more NFL and draft news, go to ProFootballWeekly.com.


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Like the gitane that I am, I am now writing from my mobile summer office (see above) within earshot of Henri IV (that's the big black Gascon rooster) in the potager. For all my blog friends and French Kitchen alumni, please keep an eye on this new site for changes and additions as we set up the new Kitchen-at-Camont programs for l'Autome '09 and l'Hiver '10: Pigs-in-the-Kitchen and Ducks-under-Glass.
(merci tout le monde a Blogspot !)
Kate Hill & French friends


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The big hype on the JetBlue flight attendant, who cursed out an unruly passenger and then grabbed a couple of beers and slid down the emergency chute to fame, possibly fortune and a chance at jail time, has subsided in the media.
It appears that he is still facing charges for reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. Although I would be curious to know just what that means. By exiting the plane in a somewhat unconventional manner he probably ran afoul of some federal law pertaining to airport safety or U.S. terrorism laws or whatever. There seem to be enough laws on the books these days to cover every possible situation. I read earlier that he was also being charged with theft – I presume for the two beers that absconded with – but that may or may not be the case. However police have been known to pile on the charges initially on a 'just in case' scenario or possibly to simply intimidate the miscreant.
As to the fame and fortune he now has a publicist.
Quitting your job usually leads to bookmarking Monster.com on your laptop and watching M*A*S*H DVDs in your underwear, not fame and fortune. Of course, if for your final act at said job you lay down an expletive-laced tirade over an intercom system and exit via an emergency escape tube, the way former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater reportedly did, the standard rules may not apply. After a week of his story saturating a strangely obsessed media, on Sunday Slater procured the services of top publicist Howard Bragman to help deal with media relations and manage the numerous offers said to be coming his way.
Can a book and a movie be far behind?
But then again Slater might not be the pure folk hero that the media initially made him out to be.
JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater may have been drinking long before he grabbed a beer and made a dramatic exit from a jetliner by opening an emergency slide to the tarmac at New York's Kennedy Airport, police said today.
Witnesses have also told police that it was Slater who was rude to passengers, and the cut on his forehead came at the beginning of the flight, not during an altercation with a surly passenger after the plane landed as Slater has claimed.
Nor does it appear that he actually quit his job when he made his dramatic exit. So it wasn't really a glorious 'take this job and shove it' moment.
A flight attendant accused of cursing out a passenger on an airplane passenger-address system, grabbing some beer from the galley and exiting on an emergency slide was suspended Tuesday. The attendant's lawyer said a rule-breaking passenger provoked him.
There is more often than not a lot more to a story than initially gets on the front page.


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More info
The Center is a University-wide resource housed at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. CLOSUP functions as an information resource for policymakers and practitioners, academics, students, the media, and the public. The Center works to foster effective communication between academic researchers, stakeholders, and the policymakers dealing with today's state, local, and urban policy problems. The Center also facilitates student learning and engagement with todays critical policy issues.
The MPPS is a biannual survey of Michigan's local government leaders. More info.
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The EEPI brings the latest academic knowledge to bear on issues of energy, environment, and climate policy. More info.
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Backing up your genealogy research is an important part of conducting family history these days. Just as our predecessors took special care of personal papers, newsprint and print photographs, we must do the same with our digital files, photographs and videos. I am by no means an IT person, but I can share with you how this laywoman backs up her genealogy research.
First off, it may sound strange but I actually use Ancestry.com to store my family tree. I like the format of the site and their servers are way more reliable than anything I may have. I download a GEDCOM file from the site every few weeks so I have copy on my computer, but I only use that to print any reports I may need.
I maintain one folder on my computer for all of my family history files and one folder for all of my photos. Within these folders I created subfolders for every family line or photographed event. Creating the subfolders makes it easy to track down a particular document or photograph. It also makes it very easy to back the files up. I have two external hard drives, which can be purchased at reasonable prices just about anywhere, that I save the files to every few weeks. Because my files are only in two folders it is easy to copy them to the hard drive, rather than hunting all over the computer for files I need to save. I have one external hard drive always connected to my computer so I can save or retrieve files whenever necessary. The other hard drive is kept in my fire-proof safe. I rotate the hard drives once every two months. I do this in case some sort of freak electrical incident kills my computer and the hard drive connected to it, I will still have all my research saved on the hard drive in the safe. If you have family near you, or own a safe deposit box, you might contemplate storing a hard drive of your files there in the event that some sort of disaster strikes your home.
While much of our genealogy research can be conducted online, it is still a very paper-heavy hobby. I have many paper documents that I am currently working to digitize. When I receive a document I immediately scan it in to my computer. I'm a pack rat, so I still keep the paper version, but if something should happen I now have it digitized. I am also working to digitize all of my family's photos. I borrowed my grandmother's photos and have been scanning all of them in to my computer. I also back these files up on my hard drives. When I am finished I plan to burn cds of all of the photos and give copies to my relatives. This allows all of us to have a copy of the old photos and also makes it easy to have prints created at the local drugstore or box department store.
I do not have any fancy equipment, just an external hard drive and an all-in-one printer/fax/scanner that I purchased from Dell. You can find all of these items at places like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, or your favorite office store. Or you can order them online.
Another option is to utilize a fee-based data back-up website such at Mozy or Carbonite. These sites offer data backup for around $60 a year and provide not only a storage site for your files, but also offer encryption and access to your files from any computer with an Internet connection. Keep in mind that with these subscriptions you are solely responsible for your backed-up data and may not hold the companies liable should something happen to your files.
It may seem cumbersome to save your research, but if you make it part of your routine it is not a big deal at all. It is much easier than starting from square one should the evil technology gremlins steal your files.


text: Gallery: Marc Garneau, first Canadian in spaceNASA, The Gazette 07.04.2011On his last mission to orbit, STS-97 Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 2000, Canadian astronaut and Mission Specialist Marc Garneau arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a T-38 jet aircraft. The mission was the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload included the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission included two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections.NASA / The GazetteAstronaut Marc Garneau's October 1984 mission, STS-41G, made him the first Canadian in space.(Photo courtesy of NASA)Liberal MP Marc Garneau takes a break from work to relive his story of being the first Canadian in space in Montreal June 17, 2011.Michelle Berg / THE GAZETTEMarc Garneau`s first flight in the space shuttle Challenger. Marc Garneau and Paul Scully-Power are doing a Canadian life sciences experiment to test spatial awareness in micro-gravity.Courtesy of Marc Garneau / The GazetteMarc Garneau sitting on the flight deck of the space shuttle Endeavour as the flight engineerCourtesy of Marc Garneau / The GazetteThe first team of Canadian astronauts was selected in 1983. Back row, from left to right: Ken Money, Marc Garneau, Steve MacLean and Bjarni Tryggvason. Seated: Robert Thirsk and Roberta Bondar.Canadian Space Agency / The GazetteCanadian Space Agency Astronaut Marc Garneau is training for STS-97 in simulated microgravity in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab.NASA / The GazetteCanadian Astronaut Marc Garneau conducts an experiment onboard Challenger during Mission STS-41G (October 5 to 13, 1984). Marc Garneau was the first Canadian astronaut to go to space and he conducted a series of space science, space technology, and space life science experiments called CANEX-1.NASA / The GazetteMarc Garneau aboard the space shuttle Endeavour doing a Canadian experiment for ARF (Aquatic Research Facility).Courtesy of Marc Garneau / the GazetteCanadian Space Agency Marc Garneau during training, practicing evacuation procedures in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston.NASA / The GazetteAt the Shuttle Landing Facility in 2000, STS-97 Mission Specialist Marc Garneau climbs down from a T-38 jet aircraft that brought him to KSC from Johnson Space Center in Texas.NASA / The GazetteThe crew of the space shuttle Endeavour (in red) are welcomed by the expedition crew inside the International Space Station (in blue) following the docking of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. This was the first expedition crew to occupy the ISS. Left to right in blue Bill Shepherd (Commander), Sergei Krykalev, Yuri Gidzendo, in red, Joe Tanner, Brent Jett (Commander) Carlos Noriega, Marc Garneau and Mike Bloomfield (taking the photo).Courtesy of Marc Garneau / The GazetteCanadian astronaut Marc Garneau shows the panel controls for Canadarm inside the cockpit of the shuttle simulator at the Johnson Space Center during his training for the October 1984 mission STS-41G.(Photo courtesy of NASA)During a pre-mission technical meeting to the October 1984 Mission STS-41G (5-13 October 1984) in Houston, Marc Garneau (wearing white polo with dark stripes) beside Paul D. Scully-Power.(Photo courtesy of NASA)Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau speaks to the press prior to the May 19, 1996 mission STS-77, his second flight into space.(Photo courtesy of NASA)In this file photo, young Canadian Space Agency astronaut Marc Garneau floated in zero gravity during a parabolic flight aboard a KC-135 aircraft. These flights are part of the training for astronauts and demonstrate the weightlessness environment.. / NASAShareAdjustCommentPrint xShareGallery: Marc Garneau, first Canadian in space Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Linkedin