text:
Services on Demand
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
On-line version ISSN 2071-0771
Print version ISSN 0075-6458
Koedoe vol.56 n.1 Pretoria Jan. 2014
Tourists' perceptions and willingness to pay for the control of Opuntia stricta invasion in protected areas: A case study from South Africa
Natasha NikodinoskaI; Llewellyn C. FoxcroftII, III; Mathieu RougetIV; Alessandro PalettoV; Sandra NotaroVI
IDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Parthenope University of Naples, Italy
IISouth African National Parks, Conservation Services, Skukuza, South Africa
IIICentre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
IVCentre for Invasion Biology, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
VConsiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Forest Monitoring and Planning Research Unit (CRA-MPF), Villazzano, Trento, Italy
VIDepartment of Economics, University of Trento, Italy
Invasive alien plants have a long history of establishment in the national parks of South Africa. In particular, Opuntia stricta (sour prickly pear) has invaded several protected areas in the country, threatening the biodiversity conservation mandate of these conservation areas. This article focuses on the economic estimation of O. stricta's negative impacts in protected areas by using Contingent Valuation surveys conducted amongst a sample of tourists in the Pilanesberg National Park (North West Parks and Tourism Board, South Africa). Tourists' familiarity and awareness of selected invasive alien plants and their willingness to pay for the implementation of a control programme for O. stricta were assessed. The results show that many tourists are familiar with invasive alien plants and their (positive and negative) impacts and, in particular, perceived the presence of O. stricta to be negative, due to the impacts on aesthetics and recreation. Socio-demographic characteristics, as well as individual attitudes and biocentric beliefs, have an influence on the willingness to contribute financially to a control programme for O. stricta. The individual willingness to pay assessment found that the majority of respondents (78%) were willing to pay a higher entrance fee (an additional R57.30 or $7.00 per day) for a hypothetical programme to control the invasion of O. stricta in the Pilanesberg National Park.
CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS: The willingness of tourists to pay for O. stricta management provides useful insights in the decision-making process of park management. The results are encouraging, since, in general, tourists are aware of the problem and are in support of providing additional economic input for preventing future alien plant invasions.
Biophysical aspects of invasive alien plants (IAPs) have been relatively well studied over a long period of time (e.g. Simberloff, Martin & Genovesi 2013; Vila et al. 2011), whilst socio-economic aspects linked to alien plant invasions have been analysed only during the last two decades (Born, Rauschmayer & Bräuer 2005; Charles & Dukes 2007). This was mainly attributed to (1) the inability of the markets to capture the economic value of the damage caused by IAPs on many ecosystem services, (2) limited knowledge and experience with IAP impacts on many ecosystems and (3) conflicts of interest often associated with IAPs (Pejchar & Money 2009; Van Wilgen, Khan & Marais 2011), which can heavily influence IAP management and conservation policy. Constructive consideration of these challenges is of crucial importance, especially for protected areas (PAs) where management needs to ensure biodiversity conservation in the face of serious challenges (Emerton, Bishop & Thomas 2006), such as human-induced pressures, lack of financial resources and competing conservation projects (e.g. animal poaching).
Several methods for the economic valuation of IAP impacts have been employed in the past (Garrods & Willis 1999; Pejchar & Money 2009), namely cost-based (production function, replacement cost and avoided damage cost) and preference-based (travel cost method, contingent valuation and choice experiment) methods. Amongst the preference-based techniques, Contingent Valuation (CV) has commonly been used to assess the public's perception of the impacts of IAPs and their willingness to pay (WTP) for control programmes. CV is a survey-based method where respondents directly state their preferences for quantitative or qualitative changes in ecosystem goods or services (Alberini & Kahn 2006; Mitchell & Carson 1989). Despite the fact that CV has its own limitations (Venkatachalam 2004), it is still viewed as a useful way to provide input into the decision-making process, especially when dealing with effects that are not expressed through market signals (Bräuer 2003). CV was employed to assess the economic value of potentially eradicating a single IAP, such as Eichhornia crassipes (Law 2008), Acacia saligna (Lehrer, Becker & Kurtiel 2013) or a set of IAPs (Bardsley & Jones 2006; Turpie 2004; Van Wilgen et al. 2001). Still, few studies have examined both tourists' perceptions and their WTP for IAP control, especially in PAs that are directly dependent on tourism for their income.
The aim of this article is to assess tourists' perceptions and knowledge of selected IAPs present in South Africa (SA) and, in particular, to investigate tourists' WTP for the control of Opuntia stricta in PAs, using combined CV and visual aids surveys. Opuntia stricta was chosen because it can have severe impacts on PAs, without any important potential benefits for PAs, or for local communities in or around conservation areas, as the plant is not used for animal forage or human consumption. Other representatives of this group, like Opuntia ficus-indica, are important food and fodder resources for humans and animals and play an important role in the livelihood of local communities in Africa (Larsson 2004). Opuntia species were abundant in the Pilanesberg National Park (PNP) in the period from 1960-1984 and were treated mechanically and with herbicides (Carruthers 2011). Although it was not specified whether O. stricta was included in the species controlled, the plant has not become established; or if previously locally eradicated, has not become re-established and invaded PNP. However, we use this species as an example of a species (and specifically an Opuntia spp.) that could become problematic in PNP, as it has in other PAs in SA for example, Kruger National Park (Foxcroft et al. 2007) and Mapungubwe National Park (SANParks 2012).
Native to south-eastern USA, eastern Mexico and Cuba, O. stricta (Haw.) Haw. was introduced worldwide through natural (wind, bird, animal and floodwater) and anthropogenic pathways (Monteiro et al. 2005; Vila et al. 2003). The causes for the man-made pathways include intentional introduction for ornamental purposes and as hedge plants (Monteiro et al. 2005). Opuntia stricta is present across much of the north-eastern region of SA (Henderson 2001; Rouget et al. 2004), including several PAs (Kruger National Park, Mapungubwe National Park, Camdeboo National Park and Karongwe Private Game Reserve, amongst others), indicating that even conservation areas are not immune to its invasion (Foxcroft et al. 2007; Masubelele, Foxcroft & Milton 2009).
Opuntia stricta can reach high densities and cause multiple negative ecological and economic impacts, such as the reduction of food production and the loss of grazing potential (Jullien, McFadyen & Cullen 2012; Menkins 2010); the restriction of human access that impedes people's ability to travel and move without hindrance, mainly in rural areas (Larsson 2004); the reduction of the aesthetic value of a landscape and recreational activities (Parsons & Cuthbertson 2001); habitat transformation (Walters et al. 2011) and changes in biodiversity (Robertson et al. 2011).
Given the above-mentioned impacts and need for control, we estimated the potential economic value of reducing the negative impacts of O. stricta, as perceived by tourists in PAs. Tourists in PNP were considered as a sample group of visitors of PAs to test their WTP in a hypothetical situation of O. stricta invasion in a protected area.
Firstly, the knowledge and the perceptions of tourists towards IAPs in general, and O. stricta specifically, were investigated. Secondly, the tourists' WTP for the implementation of an O. stricta control programme was determined. Studies on the outcomes of the Working for Water programme have shown that the control of IAPs results in increased water runoff, and enhances biodiversity (Van Wilgen et al. 2011). The associated cost-benefit analysis of this programme highlighted the net economic benefits in the long-term. The hypothesis of this study is that such a control programme produces extended benefits by improving the landscape value in PAs, enhancing financial support from tourists. We then discuss the advantages and drawbacks of using CV to elicit tourists' perceptions and their willingness to contribute to a control programme, as well as the potential value of our preliminary results in reducing the knowledge gap in this field. Moreover, we discuss the potential contribution of the CV method in quantifying the negative impacts of an IAP that do not hold any market price, which could assist policy makers in placing an economic tolerance threshold on the invasiveness of alien plants.
Material and methods
Study area
The PNP is situated in the North West Province of SA, and has a total surface area of 57 200 ha. It is set in the crater of an extinct volcano and appears as a complex series of eroded rings of low mountains and hills that rise approximately 300 m - 600 m above the surrounding land (Carruthers 2011).
The PNP was proclaimed in 1977, but was not considered a 'natural' area because of the various anthropogenic activities by many inhabitants in the previous centuries. Nevertheless, it was restored ecologically from previous farmlands and converted into a conservation area (national park) where a variety of indigenous animals were reintroduced (Anderson 1986). This area is significant for biodiversity conservation because it is a transition zone between the Arid Savanna and the Moist Savanna Biome (Carruthers 2011). The landscape is highly heterogeneous and has many landscapes and habitat types, providing refuge for many species of plant and animal. It also has aesthetic attributes that attract many domestic and foreign tourists. Emerging from its recent complex political and management history, the number of visitors has increased steadily from fewer than 50 000 in 1992 to over 500 000 in the most recent records, which place PNP as the leading tourist attraction in North West Province (Ndabeni et al. 2007). Its close proximity to Gauteng (less than 3 hs' drive) favours the presence of day (short-term) visitors from this province.
Data collection
Tourists' perceptions of O. stricta invasion and their WTP for the implementation of a control programme were assessed using a CV survey (Alberini & Kahn 2006). We pre-tested the CV survey with students doing their Master's degrees in ecology, and visited PNP a week before the formal survey to ask tourists in PNP for their comments. We discussed respondents' understanding of IAPs and their impacts, and obtained feedback on the clarity and flow of the questionnaire content, provision of sufficient information, and time needed to fill in the questionnaire. Modifications were made based on the participants' comments. Once finalised, the questionnaire was presented in person (by N. Nikodinoska) to a random sample of 61 visitors in PNP in December 2011 (one out of ten visitors sitting in the picnic site was interviewed). The survey lasted approximately 10 min per person. The semi-structured questionnaire comprised 24 closed-form questions (see Online Appendix 1), subdivided into four parts, following standard procedures described by Arrow et al. (1993).
Part 1 focused on tourists' motivations, and total costs to visit the park (including tickets, travel, meals and lodging).
In Part 2, we evaluated tourists' perceptions about the current status of selected IAPs and their knowledge of the negative and positive impacts that these have on ecosystem services, and function, using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very low impact, 2 = low impact, 3 = medium impact, 4 = high impact, 5 = very high impact). The questions on familiarity and knowledge of the selected IAPs were important in understanding the quality of information provided in the WTP section (check questions). In the case of the negative impacts, a high value on the Likert scale is associated with high concerns amongst the respondents, whereas a high value given for the positive impacts reflects the perception of the historical or current usefulness of IAPs for industries or local livelihoods. Positive and negative impacts of IAPs were selected based on studies of social perceptions of the impacts of IAPs in different areas of SA (e.g. Bardsley & Jones 2006; Joubert & McLahren 2002; Tessendorf 2007). Six of the main genera and invasive species in SA were included: Acacia sp. (wattle), Pinus sp. (pine tree), Lantana camara (lantana), Eucalyptus sp. (gum tree), E. crassipes (water hyacinth) and Opuntia spp. (the common name 'prickly pear' is generally used for most species of platyopuntoid cacti). The negative impacts included in the list were agricultural weeds, damage to livestock, human health, ecosystem functioning, landscape aesthetics and costs of control methods. Positive impacts included the use or role of IAPs in the forestry sector, ornamental uses, historical uses and landscape aesthetics.
Part 3 assessed the visual preferences of the presence of O. stricta, using landscape photographs across a gradient of O. stricta abundance (see Online Appendix 2), as well as the WTP for the implementation of a control programme of O. stricta invasion. The photographs represented four scenarios of O. stricta infestation: about 10%, 20%, 40% and 60% of the total vegetation cover. A 'business as usual' scenario is characterised by a percentage of cover less than 5%. Thereafter, we presented a hypothetical scenario where O. stricta had invaded PNP and required a control programme to determine the invasion status, select and implement an appropriate control method, and conduct further monitoring. We used the first and the last photograph to represent two invasion scenarios: (1) less than 10% invasion, where a prompt control programme is necessary (i.e. rapid response) and (2) where a control programme is not in place (more than 50% infestation). An open-ended response format for the WTP question was adopted. The daily entrance fee was used as a means of determining tourists' WTP for the implementation of the control programme, as respondents had already paid an entry fee for PNP, and this could be increased (or remain the same) depending on their response. Respondents were first asked to state whether they were prepared to pay a higher fee if they knew that this contribution would go directly to an O. stricta control programme, and then to state their maximum WTP. Whilst the surveys were conducted in December 2011, all values presented here are based on 2012 values. The entrance fee for 2012 was R65 for adults and R20 for pensioners and children.
Part 4 of the questionnaire requested personal information from the respondent (gender, age, level of education, home language and income).
A Tobit model was fitted to analyse the data and generate a predictive model of WTP (Tobin 1958). It is a censored (or truncated) regression model in which the range of the dependent variable (WTP values) is constrained in one way: above or below. In this particular case the censoring was made from below, with the threshold set to zero, meaning that values below zero were constrained. In cases of relatively large numbers of zero values, Tobit regression models using maximum likelihood estimation are preferred to linear models using ordinary least squares, as they predict only positive rational WTP values (Maddala 1983; Tobin 1958). Ordinary least squares models are in these cases downward biased. The Tobit model is still widely employed in CV surveys that use open-ended WTP questions (e.g. Du Preez, Tessendorf & Hosking 2010; Halkos & Jones 2012; Halstead, Lindsay & Brown 1991).
The selection of the variables (see Table 1 for variables and definitions) and their expected relationship with the individual WTP per day was based on behavioural theory review and previous studies on tourists' perceptions of IAPs in SA (De Wit 2006; Tessendorf 2007). The explanatory variables are of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. Qualitative variables are represented by dummy variables, where a value of 1 indicates the presence of the subject (e.g. previous visits to the park) and 0 the absence of the subject, whilst the quantitative variables are expressed by a continuous variable. The expected relationship between the explanatory variables and the WTP is positive if the monetary value increases in response to higher values of the predictive variable (e.g. respondents with a higher income are expected to state higher WTP values). The expected effect is negative if the amount increases in response to lower values of the predictive variables (e.g. tourists who give lower values for photographs with major infestations are expected to state high WTP amounts).
Willingness to pay for the control of Opuntia stricta
The results from the CV show that 78% of the respondents were willing to pay additional fees in order to control the spread of O. stricta (Table 2). The value of WTP for these respondents ranged from R5 - R150 per day. About one third of the respondents who were willing to pay gave R100 as their WTP amount, 17% indicated R20 and 13% stated R10 as their WTP value.
Of the remaining responses, 13 tourists (22% of the respondents) refused to pay higher fees, and 12 had valid WTP zero values (i.e. tourist responses showed that they did not perceive invasion as a problem, therefore were not willing to pay). The reasons for valid zero WTP were mainly that the respondents perceived O. stricta and IAPs in general as a way of enhancing species diversity (three respondents), they were not interested in plants (one respondent), and they have become familiar with seeing them in the natural environment (one respondent). There was one protest response that stated his refusal to pay a higher price as a consequence of already high fees in the park. Of the respondents who were willing to pay higher fees, two did not quantify the amount they were willing to pay, and responded with 'not sure' and 'reasonable amount'. One respondent did not provide his WTP. In this survey the 'I don't know'-type answers were excluded from the WTP analysis.
The Tobit model selection was based on the Bayesian information criterion value, where a lower value indicates a better fitting model. The variables in the Tobit model provide a relatively good explanation of WTP (Table 3). The mean daily WTP estimated by the Tobit model was found to be R57.30 (± 28.80 standard deviation [s.d.]). The positive value of the coefficient for the variable 'Previous visits in South African parks' shows that respondents who had previously visited parks are willing to pay a higher entrance fee for an IAP control programme. Similarly, the coefficient for the variable 'Conservation' (16.747) indicates that visitors who rated the conservation of the environment and typical landscape in PAs highly are willing to pay more. The respondents who perceived the photograph that represents the scenario of higher infestation levels (30% - 50% density) as unpleasant are willing to pay more in order to prevent the possible spread of O. stricta (Figure 3, in Online Appendix 2). Foreign respondents have a higher WTP for controlling IAPs than domestic respondents (variable 'Nationality'). Tourists who come from Gauteng are also prepared to pay more than visitors from other regions (variable 'Province'). Personal income, not surprisingly, influences the respondents' WTP; namely, respondents with higher incomes are willing to pay a higher entrance fee (variable 'Income'). The average annual income of the interviewed tourists is relatively high, with 26% earning more than R385 711 and 11% earning less than R55 100 per year (26% did not respond; Table 4). The rest of the tourists' socio-demographics are included in Table 5.
Perceptions of tourists to invasive alien plant species in South Africa
Tourists' knowledge of IAPs was relatively high, with 75% of respondents having previously heard of the six invasive species (Figure 1). Where the respondents were asked to select the IAPs (of the given options) they know or have heard about, Acacia and Pinus (pine) spp. were the best known, followed by Eucalyptus sp. and Opuntia spp. When asked which species they could recognise when they see them, Opuntia spp., together with Pinus sp., were listed most frequently. Eichhornia crassipes was indicated as a problematic species in SA by 27% of the respondents, followed by Acacia sp. (23%) and Pinus sp. (22%). Opuntia species (generally prickly pear) and Acacia sp. (wattle) were indicated as problematic species within PAs (Figure 1). With the 'Other' option where respondents could list other species they were familiar with, Cereus jamacaru (Queen of the night) and Chromolaena odorata (Chromolaena) were frequently identified as problematic IAPs in SA.
In assessing the impacts from the list of benefits of IAPs in SA (Table 6), relatively high positive impact values were attributed to forestry uses (mean of 3.4), and pastoral and ornamental uses (3.03). Historical uses as well as landscape aesthetics were comparatively less 'valued' and with more variation in the responses.
All listed negative impacts of the IAPs had an average value higher than 3 (out of 5), which means that respondents recognised the serious potential treats that invasions can cause. The highest negative values, 4.39 and 4.26 (out of 5), are related to the potential reduced performance of ecosystem functioning and increased costs for implementation of control programmes, respectively.
Willingness to pay for the control of Opuntia stricta
This survey design included landscape visual aids to better explain the hypothetical scenario. We believe that the use of photographs in CV surveys helps in the design of valuation scenarios, because landscape changes appear more understandable or visual to respondents (Madureira et al. 2011). Tourists' perception of the aesthetic value of O. stricta control is therefore easier to convey using visual aids. A possible drawback of using these photographs could be due to the fourth photograph (see Online Appendix 2) representing an O. stricta invasion of more than 50%, in the description of the hypothetical scenario, which could have partially influenced some of the WTP positive values. Whilst this may not be a common situation, it is not unfeasible. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the photograph preference have shown that people attribute negative values to the O. stricta invasion, starting from the second photograph (11% - 30% invasion). Moreover, the outcome from the Tobit model showed that people who expressed their displeasure for the third photograph (30% - 50% invasion) were willing to pay more for the control programme.
One of the advantages of using an open-ended WTP question format is that the use of data sets are smaller than required by, for example, a dichotomous choice, which reduces the time and expense of the survey process (Halstead et al. 1991). This approach can, however, provide a lower (conservative) WTP value than other methods. Critics of this format assert that it can create a large number of non-responses, protest bids and outliers (Carson, Flores & Meade 2001; Hanemann 1994), but is efficient if respondents are familiar with paying for the subject of the survey and does not result in a starting point bias (Mitchell & Carson 1989). In our case study, the respondents demonstrated their awareness of the problem of IAPs and thus we are confident in the validity of our results.
The similarity of the tourists' profile between PNP and other national PAs in SA (SANParks 2012; Van der Merwe & Saayman 2008) gives relatively higher validity to some of the socio-demographics features that were used as explanatory variables in the Tobit model. In particular, we focused on the variable 'Income' as an important predictor of the stated WTP. The average income of the respondents is relatively high, with 15% earning around R220 400 and another 15% earning more than R385 711 per year. This could be due to the tourists' profile that (1) a large percentage comes from Gauteng, widely known as the most developed South African province and (2) eco-tourists are often people with a middle-high income (Statistics South Africa 2013). However, a non-negligible number of respondents (approximately 26%) refused to answer this question, which could have altered this outcome.
The individual daily WTP to finance a control programme in PNP is, on average, an additional R57.30, which is a substantial amount when considering the entrance fee for an adult is R65.00. The fact that 78% of the visitors are prepared to support an O. stricta control programme, of which a third are willing to pay R100.00 or more, strongly suggests that visitors to national parks are aware of the threat, and the seriousness, posed by IAPs. The individual WTP lies within a range of values obtained for another IAPs control programme in SA (Du Plessis 2003; Du Preez et al. 2010). A study on the WTP for the removal of alien vegetation and restoration of indigenous vegetation in several sites (including conservation areas) in Underberg (KwaZulu-Natal Province, SA), by the Working for Water programme, derived a WTP value of R26.40 (R36.30 in 2012 values) per project, and R27.34 (R37.30 in 2012 values) per hectare (Du Preez et al. 2010). Du Plessis (2003) estimated the individual average WTP for the removal of IAPs and biodiversity conservation in several sites in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces (nature reserves included) using a CV survey conducted amongst both residents and tourists. The mean individual WTP was R111.54 (R153.57 in 2012 values).
Our estimation of the WTP appears to be relatively low, which could be explained by the fact that we investigated tourists' preferences for a control programme implemented for just one IAP species. There is still a possibility that respondents overstated their WTP and that if O. stricta was to be included as only one of many IAPs to be controlled, the WTP amount could have been even lower (Garrods & Willis 1999). Another constraint is that due to the limited time available, there were fewer questionnaires than would be ideal; however, with the similarities in visitor profiles to other PAs, the spread of questionnaires across the range of tourists is acceptable.
Perceptions of tourists to invasive alien plant species in South Africa
The respondents rated the impact to ecosystem function and the expense of control methods as the highest concern, which is similar to the results found in a study in the Mediterranean region (Bardsley & Jones 2006). These were followed by the impacts to landscape aesthetics and by agricultural weeds. However, another study conducted in Spain shows that the changes in ecosystem stability is considered the third greatest impact of alien plants, after competition with native species and the effects on fauna (Andreu, Vila & Hulme 2009). The results show that the impacts of IAPs on ecosystems and management control programmes are broadly recognised by the respondents.
The benefits of IAPs that were ranked highly by the respondents included use of species for forestry (commercial plantation forestry), pastoral uses, food, ornamental uses and historical uses. Greater importance placed on IAPs for forestry uses is perhaps related to the fact that there are still large areas of commercial plantations in SA (e.g. Eucalyptus and Pinus spp.). In the context of national parks, on the other hand, trees and woody shrubs (Acacia spp., Pinus spp. and L. camara) as well as Cactaceae (Opuntia spp.) were most frequently considered to have negative impacts.
Reducing the knowledge gap in the public perception of IAP impacts by providing quantitative data that could be integrated with other research in PAs can contribute to the scientific understanding on the economic valuation of IAP control programmes. The outcomes of studies on people's perceptions of both positive and negative impacts of IAPs in SA can play a role in improving the development and implementation of conservation projects, especially in cases where 'conflict' alien species are considered. Moreover, it can also provide insight into the long-term potential of visitor-funded IAP control programmes as a feasible option. The benefits of a control programme could be over-estimated if it has not been established whether the beneficiaries (i.e. tourists and local community) recognise the problem and are willing to contribute to the restoration of the invaded areas.
Dr Llewellyn C. Foxcroft acknowledges the support from the South African National Parks, the Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University and the National Research Fund (SA) Incentives Fund. We also thank Marc Hockings and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that helped improve this article.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
Authors' contributions
The authors contributed equally to this work.
Alberini, A. & Kahn, J.R. (eds.), 2006, Handbook on contingent valuation, Edward Elgar Publishing, London. http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781845427917 [ Links ]
Anderson, J.L., 1986, 'Restoring a wilderness: The reintroduction of wildlife to an African national park', International Zoo Yearbook 24(1), 192-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1090.1985.tb02538.x [ Links ]
Andreu, J., Vila, M. & Hulme, P.E., 2009, 'An Assessment of Stakeholder Perceptions and Management of Noxious Alien Plants in Spain', Environmental Management 43, 1244-1255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-009-9280-1 [ Links ]
Arrow, K., Solow, R., Portney, P., Leamer, E., Radner, R. & Schuman, H., 1993, 'Contingent Valuation Methodology Report', Report of the NOAA Panel on Contingent Valuation. Fed. Reg. 58, Resources for the Future, Washington, pp. 4602-4614. [ Links ]
Bardsley, D. & Jones, E.G., 2006, 'Stakeholders perception of the impacts of invasive exotic plants species in the Mediterranean Basin', Geojournal 65, 199-210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10708-005-2755-6 [ Links ]
Born, W., Rauschmayer, F. & Bräuer, I., 2005, 'Economic valuation on biological invasions - a survey', Ecological Economics 55(3), 321-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.08.014 [ Links ]
Bräuer, I., 2003, 'Money as an indicator: To make use of economic evaluation for biodiversity conservation', Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 98, 483-491. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8809(03)00107-5 [ Links ]
Carruthers, J., 2011, 'Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province, South Africa: Uniting economic development with ecological design - a history, 1960s to 1984', Koedoe 53(1), 1-10. [ Links ]
Carson, R.T., Flores, N.E. & Meade, N.R., 2001, 'Contingent valuation: Controversies and evidence', Environmental and Resource Economics 19, 173-210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1011128332243 [ Links ]
Charles, H. & Dukes, J.S., 2007, 'Impacts of invasive species on ecosystem services', in W. Nentwig (ed.), Biological invasions, vol. 193, pp. 217-237, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, New York. [ Links ]
De Wit, M.P., 2006, 'The value of biodiversity to the South African economy: A preliminary study', Report prepared for South African National Biodiversity Institute, Project 'Development of the SANBI Business Case'. [ Links ]
Du Plessis, L.L., 2003, 'An assessment of selected non-water benefits of the Working for Water Programme in the Eastern and Southern Cape', Master's thesis, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. [ Links ]
Du Preez, M., Tessendorf, S. & Hosking, S.G., 2010, 'Application of the contingent valuation method to estimate the willingness-to-pay for restoring indigenous vegetation in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa', South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences 13(2), 135-157. [ Links ]
Emerton, L., Bishop, J. & Thomas, L., 2006, Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas: A global review of challenges and options, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. [ Links ]
Foxcroft, L.C., Rouget, M., Richardson, D.M. & MacFadyen, S., 2007, 'Reconstructing 50 years of Opuntia stricta invasion in the Kruger National Park, South Africa: Environmental determinants and propagule pressure', Diversity and Distributions 10, 427-437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00117.x [ Links ]
Garrods, G. & Willis, K., 1999, Economic valuation of the environment: Methods and case studies, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. [ Links ]
Halkos, G.E. & Jones, N., 2012, 'Modeling the effect of social factors on improving biodiversity protection', Ecological Economics 78, 90-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.04.003 [ Links ]
Halstead, J.M., Lindsay, B.E. & Brown, C.M., 1991, 'Use of Tobit model in contingent valuation: Experimental evidence from the Pemigewasset Wilderness Areas', Journal of Environmental Management 33, 79-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4797(05)80049-0 [ Links ]
Hanemann, W.M., 1994, 'Valuing the environment through contingent valuation', Journal of Economic Perspective 8, 19-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.8.4.19 [ Links ]
Henderson, L., 2001, Alien weeds and invasive plants: A complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa, Plant Protection Research Institute Handbook No. 12., Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Joubert, P. & McLahren, L., 2002, 'Awareness on alien vegetation in Kruger National Park', SANParks (unpublished data). [ Links ]
Jullien, M., McFadyen, R. & Cullen, J., (eds.), 2012, Biological Control of Weeds in Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 351-364. [ Links ]
Larsson, P., 2004, 'Introduced Opuntia spp. in Madagascar, problems and opportunities', Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU/Repro, Uppsala. [ Links ]
Law, M.C., 2008, 'Willingness to pay for the control of water hyacinth in an urban environment of South Africa', Master's thesis, Rhodes University. [ Links ]
Lehrer, D., Becker, N. & Kurtiel, P., 2013, 'The Value of Coastal Sand Dunes as a Measure to Plan an Optimal Policy for Invasive Plant Species: The Case of the Acacia saligna at the Nizzanim LTER Coastal Sand Dune Nature Reserve, Israel', Springer Series on Environmental Management, 273-288. [ Links ]
Maddala, G.S., 1983, Limited-dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511810176 [ Links ]
Madureira, L., Nunes, L.C., Borges, J.G. & Falcäo, A.O., 2011, 'Assessing forest management strategies using a contingent valuation approach and advanced visualisation techniques: A Portuguese case study', Journal of Forest Economics 17, 399-414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfe.2011.04.001 [ Links ]
Masubelele, M.L., Foxcroft, L.C. & Milton, S., 2009, 'Alien plant species list and distribution for Cambedoo National Park, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa', Koedoe 51, 1-16. [ Links ]
Menkins, I., 2010, 'A Reassessment of the Type of Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.', viewed 20 September 2013, from http://opuntiads.com/zpdf/A_Reassessment_of_the_Type_of_Opuntia_stricta.pdf [ Links ]
Mitchell, R.C. & Carson, R.T., 1989, Using surveys to value public goods: The contingent valuation method, Resources for the Future, Washington. [ Links ]
Monteiro, A., Cheia, V.M., Vasconcelos, T. & Moreira, I., 2005, 'Management of the invasive species Opuntia stricta in a Botanical Reserve in Portugal', Weed Research 45(3), 193-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3180.2005.00453.x [ Links ]
Ndabeni, C., Shroyer, M., Boonzaaier, W., Mokgoko, G. & Mochin, S., 2007, 'The Heritage Park Model: A partnership approach to park expansion in poor rural areas', in A. Watson, J. Sproull & L. Dean (eds.), Science and stewardship to protect and sustain wilderness values: Eight World Wilderness Congress symposium, Proceedings RMRS-P-49, n.p., Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, US. [ Links ]
Parsons, W.T. & Cuthbertson, E.G., 2001, Noxious weeds of Australia, 2nd edn., CSIRO Publishing, Victoria, Australia. [ Links ]
Pejchar, L. & Money, H., 2009, 'Invasive species, ecosystem services and human well-being', Trends in Ecology and Evolution 24(9), 497-504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.016 [ Links ]
Robertson, M.P., Harris, K.R., Coetzee, J., Foxcroft, L.C., Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. & Van Rensburg, B.J., 2011, 'Assessing local scale impacts of Opuntia stricta (Cactaceae) invasion on beetle and spider diversity in Kruger National Park, South Africa', African Zoology 46(2), 205-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.3377/004.046.0202 [ Links ]
Rouget, M., Richardson, D.M., Nel, J.A., Le Maitre, D.C. & Egoh, B.T., 2004, 'Mapping the potential ranges of major plant invaders in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland using climatic suitability', Diversity and Distributions 10, 475484. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00118.x [ Links ]
South African National Parks (SANParks), 2012, Annual report 2011/2012, viewed n.d., from www.sanparks.org/about/annual [ Links ]
South African National Parks (SANParks), 2012, Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site Management Plan, viewed n.d., from http://www.sanparks.org.za/conservation/park_man/approved_plans.php [ Links ]
Statistics South Africa, 2013, Domestic Tourism Survey 2012. Statistical Release, viewed n.d., from http://www.datafirst.uct.ac.za/dataportal/index.php/catalog/440/download/5677 [ Links ]
Simberloff, D., Martin, J.L. & Genovesi, P., 2013, 'Impacts of biological invasions: What's what and the way forward', Trends in Ecology and Evolution 28, 58-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2012.07.013 [ Links ]
Tessendorf, S.E., 2007, 'Estimating the willingness-to-pay for restoring indigenous vegetation at selected sites in South Africa', Master's thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. [ Links ]
Tobin, J., 1958, 'Estimation of relationships for limited dependent variables', Econometrica 26(1), 24-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1907382 [ Links ]
Turpie, J., 2004, 'The role of resource economics in the control of invasive alien plants in South Africa: Working for water', South African Journal of Science 100(1 & 2), 87. [ Links ]
Van der Merwe, P. & Saymaan, M., 2008, 'Travel motivations of tourists visiting Kruger National Park', Koedoe 50, 154-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v50i1.140 [ Links ]
Van Wilgen, B.W., Khan, A. & Marais, C., 2011, 'Changing perspectives on managing biological invasions: Insights from South Africa and the Working for Water Programme', in D.M. Richardson (ed.), Fifty years of Invasion Biology: The legacy of Charles Elton, pp. 377-393, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, UK. [ Links ]
Van Wilgen, B.W., Richardson, D.M., Le Maitre, D.C, Marais, C. & Magadlela, D., 2001, 'The economic consequences of alien plant invasion: Examples of impacts and approaches to sustainable management in South Africa', Environment, Development and Sustainability 3, 145-168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1011668417953 [ Links ]
Venkatachalam, L., 2004, 'The contingent valuation method: A review', Environmental impact assessment review 24(1), 89-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0195-9255(03)00138-0 [ Links ]
Vilà, M., Burriel, J.A., Pina, J., Chamizo, J., Llach, E., Porterias, M. et al., 2003, 'Association between Opuntia species invasion and changes in land-cover in the Mediterranean region', Global Change Biology 9(8), 1234-1239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00652.x [ Links ]
Vilà, M., Espinar, J.L., Hejda, M., Hulme, P.E., Jarosík, V., Maron, J.L. et al., 2011, 'Ecological impacts of invasive alien plants: A meta-analysis of their effects on species, communities and ecosystems', Ecological Letters 14, 702-708. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01628.x [ Links ]
Walters, M., Figueiredo, E., Crouch, N.R., Winter, P.J.D., Smith, G.F., Zimmermann, H.G. et al., 2011, 'Naturalised and invasive succulents of Southern Africa', Abc Taxa 11, 1-10. [ Links ]
Natasha Nikodinoska
Centro Direzionale
Isola C4
80143 Napoli
Email: email@example.com
Received: 18 Nov. 2013
Accepted: 27 Apr. 2014
Published: 02 July 2014
Republished: 15 July 2014


text:
Just to show you that I am not the only one who can't get enough of our new little man I wanted to post these photos. I don't know how we haven't gotten some photos of Craig with Brit. I will have to work on that.
In case you are wondering...yes, Zach is sniffing Brit's head. It isn't uncommon for Zach to come right up to Brit and just smell him. Like he needs his fill of Brit's odor. He says he loves the smell of him. I just laugh, who doesn't love that new baby smell...but do we all come up and take a good wiff? Only Zach!
Liberty helping me out taking a turn feeding Brit. She is constantly wanting to be around him, I don't think it would be a stretch if I said she gives him 200 kisses a day. The girl can't get enough kisses! I just worry she is bringing some germ home from school and is sharing them with him. So we have to tell her now she needs to kiss him on the top of the head! But really she loves the little man.
So there is some proof that I am not the only one who just can't get enough of this little guy. He has stolen all of our hearts! But someone told me that we can't spoil him we just love him. So hopefully we aren't loving him too much!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|My Inspiration
Pears pair well with cheese, especially Blue, Roquefort and Mascarpone, and nuts, particularly almonds and walnuts. When I spotted Michael Chiarello's Frisee Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese and Port Vinaigrette, with candied almonds, I knew it was the one...Michael, you had me at port vinaigrette. I've been loving arugula in salads lately, so I used that instead of frisee and radicchio. You could also use baby spinach or any mix of baby greens. I also added crispy pancetta. When plating the salad, I felt it needed more color, so I tossed in a few pomegranate arils. This salad has all the right flavors, textures and colors, and the vinaigrette is amazing!
Arugula Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese and Port Vinaigrette
Adapted from Michael Chiarello's Frisee Salad with Pears, Blue Cheese and Port Vinaigrette
Port Vinaigrette:
1 cup port3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 shallot, finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces baby Arugula
2 Seckel pears, halved, cored, and very thinly sliced crosswise
2 ounces blue cheese
2 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 cup candied almonds
1 cup Pomegranate arils
Simmer the Port in a small saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let cool, then whisk in the red wine vinegar, shallot, and salt and pepper, to taste. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.
Tear the pancetta into smaller pieces and saute over medium heat until crisp.
In a large bowl, toss the arugula and pear. Drizzle with the dressing (you won't need it all), and gently toss until the greens are lightly coated. Divide the salad among 2-4 plates. Crumble the blue cheese over the salad. Scatter the pancetta, candied nuts and pomegranate arils over the salad. Serve immediately.
Two more salad inspirations come from Leroy's, a new restaurant in Coronado. We recently did a food photography shoot for Leroy's, and these two salads are on my list to recreate at home.
...the sweetness of roasted beets, creaminess of the goat cheese, and crunchiness of almond brittle - all those elements come together for a great salad.
|Leroy's Local Beets Salad, with Bucheron, Spicy Almond Brittle, Watercress, and Lavender Vinaigrette
Again, a nice marriage of flavor, texture, and color...
|Leroy's Watermelon Salad, with Arugula, Watermelon, Heirloom tomatoes, Dry Jack Cheese, and Balsamic


text:
Brazil coach Jose Guimaraes: "Of course I'm very happy with my team. We produced some very good teamwork on serve, defence, blocking, and counter-attack. It wasn't a perfect match, but almost. Natalia played very well tonight, I think she had 25 points. She's a young player, she can still improve more and more with more experience in the future. We have to think about London 2012. We have to think about the other group, which is important for our team at this moment. Jaqueline also did a very good job receiving tonight."
Brazil captain Fabiana:"Our serve was very good today, and we also made good use of blocks after serves. Tactically, we did very well. I am very satisfied with our play today."Brazil player Natalia:"Tonight I did a very good job, like I did against the Netherlands. I did my job almost perfectly."
Italy coach Massimo Barbolini:"This evening they were very, very strong. They applied a lot of pressure with their service, with blocking, with defence, with everything. We have played them twice recently, and they have won both times 3-0. We have to say that now Brazil are stronger than Italy. Now we have to change absolutely our way of playing, our attitude on the court. We can try to win all the matches in another pool, it will be very difficult, but we can try and we can do it. It doesn't matter how you arrive, third or fourth. The important thing is we lost two matches, and we can't afford to lose any more."
Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco:"Every team is tired. It's not the reason why we played like this. We are able to play even if we are tired."


text:
Dr. John McPherson reviews medical content for
Healthwise, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better
health decisions. Dr. McPherson is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, at Vanderbilt Heart
and Vascular Institute in Nashville, Tennessee.
MD: University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, Ca, 1993
Internship and Residency: The Osler Medical Service, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, 1993–1996
Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine: University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville, VA, 1996–1999
Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology: University of Virginia Health Systems, Charlottesville, VA, 1999–2000
American Board of Internal Medicine
Interventional Cardiology, American Board of Internal Medicine
Cardiovascular Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN:
Clinical Instructor, Travecca Nazarene University, Physician Assistant Program, Nashville, TN, 2000–2001
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA:
This reviewer
reported no financial conflicts.
Last Revised:
March 15, 2012
Healthwise Staff
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


text:
DURHAM — Nick Smith, associate professor of philosophy at the University of New Hampshire and author of a book about apologies, has some insights to share on Lance Armstrong's anticipated public apology and apologies by public figures in general.
"Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive" airs at 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday on OWN network.
"Sometimes apologies interest us because we care about or otherwise identify with the wrongdoer. Armstrong, however, has become increasingly difficult to support. He maintained a superhuman image as a cancer survivor who went on to inspiring athletic achievements, but he burned a lot of goodwill with years of aggressive cheating, lying, and using his power to destroy the careers of those who dared to question him. Having said that, this could indeed be the beginning of Armstrong's redemption," Smith says.
"Apologies provide many, many different kinds of meanings, and we should avoid oversimplifying by asking whether the apology is 'good' or 'bad' or classifying it according to some other binary notion. Instead, I'll watch Armstrong's apology with a few questions in mind that provide insight into the kinds of meanings that he provides and what he leaves out," Smith says.
These questions include:
■ Does Armstrong explain what he did with an appropriate degree of specificity and set the record straight?
■ Does Armstrong accept blame, and if so for what exactly?
■ How does Armstrong plan to remedy this situation?
■ Do we trust him?
"We will not have definitive answer to most of these questions at the conclusion of the interview. We will have clues, but the truth will lie in gray areas that will become clearer as Armstrong carries this burden for the rest of his life," Smith says.
"Apologies are promises to change. Like promises, we cannot judge them fully in the moments they are spoken. Wrongdoers need time to search for the deepest values that orient their lives and to begin rebuilding their futures with habits that honor those principles. Although it may not make for good television, this sort of persistent growth creates good people. Moral development does not occur within a news cycle," he says.
A former Manhattan attorney, Nick Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of New Hampshire and author of "I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies" (2008, Cambridge University Press). He is a regular contributor to major media outlets, including NPR, PBS, BBC, CBC, CNN, Guardian UK, and others.


text:
June 28, 2011 - Vienna, Austria.
Tagetik and Pmone Partner with Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences
Joint development of a planning model sets new standards
Tagetik, a global provider of enterprise software solutions for Performance Management, Enterprise Governance, Risk & Compliance and Business Intelligence, today announced that, pmOne GmbH Vienna Tagetik's distributor (www.pmone.at) and Upper Austria's University of Applied Sciences (www.fh-ooe.at) 'Controlling, Accounting and Financial Management' study course, have sealed a long-term collaborative educational and research program. The first step is the development of a model for corporate planning and consolidation, which is based on the University's existing model.
"Due to the volatile market, integrated planning models and scenarios are a key element of successful corporate management. Our model provides this necessary integration – from the individual cost center, product costing and financial planning to the consolidated balance sheet," says Prof. Heimo Losbichler, Head of the study course 'Controlling, Accounting and Financial Management' at the University of Applied Sciences.
PmOne delivers a unified, process-oriented CPM system for all relevant tasks of Group management and corporate planning using Tagetik Performance Management software. The newly developed model will be used for teaching, but also as pmOne's reference model which is certified as a planning solution by the Upper Austrian University. In addition, pmOne supports the courses 'Efficient Planning and Budgeting' and 'Consolidated Financial Statements and International Accounting Standards' in the summer semester of 2011 in terms of lecturers. "The joint project with the Upper Austria University gives us the opportunity to purposefully combine know-how and resources from research and practice," adds Hannes Wambach, director of pmOne GmbH, who coordinates the cooperation with the university.
The objective of the Master's degree 'Controlling, Accounting and Financial Management' is to provide a thorough understanding of the overall financial context and to apply financial instruments in a strategic and international context. "Because of the collaboration with pmOne our Master's students are now able to implement their holistic knowledge in business planning, consolidation and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) using a specially developed, integrated case study to transfer in the Tagetik CPM system. The development of efficient group management and planning on the basis of the joint project with pmOne is an important quality factor in our teaching," says Peter Hofer, professor of controlling at the University of Applied Sciences of Upper Austria. In addition, the Faculty of Management at the University of Applied Sciences of Upper Austria and pmOne GmbH will cooperate and tread new paths in the research field 'Management Information Design'.
About Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences
The Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences is one of nearly 5,000 students at Austria's leading colleges.At the four locations Hagenberg, Linz, Steyr and Wels in Upper Austria's central region, it offers scientifically-based, practice-oriented studies with international recognition. In a second competency area serviced the Upper Austria University of the economy with innovative results of their research and development.
About pmOne GmbH
pmOne is a competent partner for business planning, reporting, consolidation and analysis.
Our tailored solutions, which seamlessly integrate into SAP® R/3®, Microsoft® Dynamics and other leading data sources, combine best-of-breed technologies with innovative concepts for data warehouse design, performance management processes and the visualization of management information.
pmOne AG is a European provider of Business Intelligence and Corporate Performance Management solutions with offices in Munich, Vienna and Zurich.
Request a Demo
Our personalized demo allows you to speak directly with a senior solution specialist and discover the key functionalities of CCH Tagetik.
Would you love to know more about CCH Tagetik?
For more information, please complete the form and a member of our team will reach out to you shortly!


text:
Inflation Warning
In the last few days, we have witnessed an almost unprecedented chorus of warnings about inflation prospects by senior Fed officials. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said the Fed must be prepared to tighten monetary policy by raising short‐term interest rates with "alacrity." President Charles Plosser of Philadelphia had spoken of the need to raise interest rates before unemployment returns to normal in order "to prevent the Second Great Inflation." The comments of the two Reserve Bank presidents reinforce those made by Fed Governor Kevin Warsh.
Financial markets are confused because the Fed's policy‐making committee (the Federal Open Market Committee) had just indicated its intention to keep interest rates low for an extended period. The inflation warnings represent an internal debate that has gone public. Formal dissents from the FOMCs policy directive have reportedly been discouraged. So Fed officials are in effect offering up virtual dissents in public speeches. Confidence in Chairman Bernanke's policy is waning.
Most economic forecasters profess to see little inflation risk. They need to reconsider their forecasts in light of the inflation warnings from within the central bank.


text:
(By Delegate Swartzmiller)
[Introduced January 11, 2012
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §60A-9-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing sheriffs and their designees access to information maintained by the Board of Pharmacy under the Controlled Substances Monitoring Act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §60A-9-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§60A-9-5. Confidentiality; limited access to records; period of retention; no civil liability for required reporting.
(a) The information required by this article to be kept by state Board of Pharmacy is confidential and is open to inspection only by inspectors and agents of the state Board of Pharmacy, members of the West Virginia State Police expressly authorized by the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police to have access to the information, the sheriff of each county or the sheriff's designees, authorized agents of local law-enforcement agencies as a member of a drug task force, authorized agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, duly authorized agents of the Bureau for Medical Services and the Workers' Compensation Commission Insurance Commissioner, duly authorized agents of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for use in post-mortem examinations, duly authorized agents of licensing boards of practitioners in this state and other states authorized to prescribe Schedules II, III and IV controlled substances, prescribing practitioners and pharmacists and persons with an enforceable court order or regulatory agency administrative subpoena: Provided, That all information released by the state Board of Pharmacy must be related to a specific patient or a specific individual or entity under investigation by any of the above parties except that practitioners who prescribe controlled substances may request specific data related to their Drug Enforcement Administration controlled substance registration number or for the purpose of providing treatment to a patient. The board shall maintain the information required by this article for a period of not less than five years. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, data obtained under the provisions of this article may be used for compilation of educational, scholarly or statistical purposes as long as the identities of persons or entities remain confidential. No individual or entity required to report under section four of this article may be is subject to a claim for civil damages or other civil relief for the reporting of information to the Board of Pharmacy as required under and in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) All practitioners, as that term is defined in section one hundred one, article two of this chapter who prescribe or dispense Schedule II, III or IV controlled substances shall, on or before July 1, 2011, have online or other form of electronic access to the West Virginia Controlled Substances Monitoring Program database.
(c) Persons or entities with access to the West Virginia Controlled Substances Monitoring Program database pursuant to this section may, pursuant to rules promulgated by the Board of Pharmacy, delegate appropriate personnel to have access to said the database.
(d) Good faith reliance by a practitioner on information contained in the West Virginia Controlled Substances Monitoring Program database in prescribing or dispensing or refusing or declining to prescribe or dispense a Schedule II, III or IV controlled substance shall constitute is an absolute defense in any civil or criminal action brought due to prescribing or dispensing or refusing or declining to prescribe or dispense. and
(e) The Board of Pharmacy is hereby authorized to promulgate an emergency rule under chapter twenty-nine-a to effectuate the amendments to this section enacted during the 2010 Regular Session of the Legislature.
(f) Nothing in the article shall be construed to This article does not require a practitioner to access the West Virginia Controlled Substances Monitoring Program database.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow sheriffs and their designees access to information maintained by the Board of Pharmacy under the Controlled Substances Monitoring Act.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.


text: Made a few years ago on a budget of £3.60, here it is at last! The Proper Bristol Hip Hop movie! It's the story of Hip Hop in the UK as told by a handful of people from Bristol who were there at the beginning. It was made for nothing and made nothing out of it,t goes on a bit, but please give it a chance, you might learn something! Peace!


text:
|Jewish men sitting on the ground at the "Wailing Wall" (circa 1935)
The ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av -- Tisha B'Av -- is the day in the Hebrew calendar when great calamities befell the Jewish people, including the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, the fall of the fortress Beitar in the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 136 CE, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. The day is commemorated with fasting, prayers and the reading of Lamentations. In Jerusalem, thousands pray at the Kotel, the Western Wall.
|"Devout Jewish women" at the Wall (circa
1900). One of the two women on the left
is wearing a traditional Arab embroidered
dress. We suggest that the two women
in the black cloaks were companions
or care-givers to the Jewish women.
View another photo of devout women here
The American Colony photographers frequently focused their cameras on the worshipers at the "Wailing Place of the Jews." The Colony founders who came to Jerusalem in 1881 were devout Christians who saw the return of the Jews to the Holy Land as a sign of messianic times.
Of the dozens of pictures at the Kotel there are several of elderly men and women sitting on the ground or on low stools, customs of mourning practiced on Tisha B'Av.
|"A Jewish beggar reading at the Wailing Wall" (circa 1920).
Note others sitting on the ground. The day is almost
certainly Tisha B'Av and he is probably reading the
book of Lamentations.
|Jews straining to see the Western Wall
(circa 1929)
|"Jews' wailing place without mourners.
Deserted during 1929 riots."
See another view here
Other pictures presented here show the very narrow and confined area of the Kotel over the ages until Israel's army captured the Old City in 1967 and enlarged the Kotel plaza.
The tragedies that occured to the Jewish nation are also evident in the pictures of the deserted plaza after Arab pogroms in 1929. The area was deserted, of course, during the 19 years of Jordanian rule of the Old City when Jews were forbidden to pray at the site.
The tragedies that occured to the Jewish nation are also evident in the pictures of the deserted plaza after Arab pogroms in 1929. The area was deserted, of course, during the 19 years of Jordanian rule of the Old City when Jews were forbidden to pray at the site.
A story is told of Napoleon passing a synagogue and hearing congregants inside mourning. To his question who they are mourning, he was told they were weeping over the destruction of the Jewish Temple 1,800 years earlier. Napoleon responded, according to the legend, "If the Jews are still crying after so many hundreds of years, then I am certain the Temple will one day be rebuilt."
Dedicated in memory of Chaim Menachem ben Levi


text:
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin found in many and single-entity nutritional supplements. Vitamin C has an important role in the formation of collagen, carnitine, amino acids and hormones; is an essential component in the healing of wounds and burns; and aids in the absorption of iron. Moreover, vitamin C is classified as an antioxidant, and many clinical studies report that megadoses (500 to 1000 milligrams per day) of ascorbic acid may prevent, or shorten the duration of, the common cold.
While vitamin C is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of scurvy, vitamin C is most often used by consumers to boost the immune system. Results from a 2010 analysis of 29 clinical trials with an estimated 11,000 subjects reported that taking vitamin C routinely (at least 0.2 grams day) did not decrease the likelihood of getting a cold. However, the use of vitamin C supplements was associated with a slight decrease in the severity of cold symptoms and the duration of the common cold, and some studies report a reduction of 8 percent in adults and 14 percent in children.
A review published in 2009 presenting research on the effects of vitamins and minerals for treating colds concluded that supplementation with vitamin C does have some potential benefits for treating the common cold; however, because there are only a few therapeutic trials, more research is needed to ascertain the effective dosages and the treatment guidelines. Many clinical studies suggest that vitamin C is most effective for reducing the duration of upper respiratory tract infection symptoms in children and healthy adults, but it does not appear to be as useful once a patient exhibits symptoms.
In general, vitamin C is considered safe, but adverse effects have been reported when this supplement is taken in megadoses. When ingested in megadoses of four or more grams per day, vitamin C may cause , stomach cramps and nephrolithiasis; therefore, megadoses of the vitamin are typically not recommended. Other potential adverse effects include , dizziness, flushing and fatigue. See the National Institutes of Health's recommended daily allowances for vitamin C .
To prevent the development of , you should drink a full glass of water when taking vitamin C. People with diabetes, a history of recurring renal calculi and/or renal dysfunction should avoid prolonged use of megadoses of vitamin C supplements. Although most individuals in the United States obtain adequate vitamin C via dietary means, the NIH reports that certain populations may be at greater risk of not obtaining sufficient recommended daily allowances.
Nonprescription vitamin C dietary supplements typically contain ascorbic acid, which is considered to have bioavailability equivalent to that of naturally occurring ascorbic acid in foods such as orange juice and broccoli, but some supplements contain other forms, such as sodium ascorbate, calcium ascorbate, other mineral ascorbates and ascorbic acid with bioflavonoids. Adult multivitamin supplements typically contain doses of 60 to 100 milligrams, which are considered to be adequate if supplements are required. Vitamin C is available in several dosage formulations, including capsule, tablet, lozenge, syrup, chewable tablet, effervescent tablet, oral disintegrating tablet and gummy. According to the Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs, the recommended daily limit of vitamin C is 2 grams.
Ideally, you should obtain vitamin C through dietary means. People who choose to use supplements should take only the recommended dosage unless otherwise directed by their primary health care provider. These people should also be screened for potential drug interactions, contraindications and therapeutic duplications. For example, vitamin C supplements may interact with chemotherapeutic agents, so talk to your primary health care provider before using these supplements. Some research indicates that vitamin C supplements may also interact with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) when taken in combination with other antioxidants, such as beta carotene and vitamin E. This combination may decrease the effectiveness of ; however, it is not known whether vitamin C alone impacts the effectiveness of this drug class.
In addition, megadoses of vitamin C may decrease the effectiveness of some agents, such as protease inhibitors, warfarin, estrogens and niacin.


text:
mon-sat 10.00am-5.00pm
Your shopping cart is currently empty.
(Over £24.99)
£14.99GBPAvailability: In stock
20W Fluorescent replacement
* Required Fields
great value. Top seller
By Scott on 11/02/2018
All UK orders ordered before 2PM will be dispatched the same day.
All goods are expected to be delivered around 1-2 Working Day
-Small Parcels will be sent out VIA Royal Mail 1st class delivery
-Medium Parcel will be sent out VIA Parcel Force 24 Hours
-Large Parcels wil be sent out VIA Palletways 24-48 Hours
All orders will be provided with Exclusive tracking features


text:
About SLATE Art
SLATE Art LLC is a boutique creative firm. We exhibit and sell the work of our favorite artists armed with our in-depth knowledge of contemporary art, as well as an interest in curating, architecture, and interior design. Over the years, we have had opportunities to showcase work in a range of styles, including abstract, landscape, cityscape, figurative art, impressionism, expressionism, street art, op art, minimalism, and installation art—to name just a few. Our mission is to create opportunities for people to live, work, and engage with art that delights and stimulates the mind and senses, inspires creativity and innovation, and expresses individual taste and values.
SLATE contemporary
One way we achieve this goal is with our art gallery in Uptown Oakland, called SLATE contemporary, where we deliver six themed exhibitions per year. Less formal shows take place in the SLATE Hall Gallery and our office space, where we rotate paintings, photography, prints, mixed-media work, and sculpture by our stable of over forty emerging and mid-career artists from across the U.S. and Europe. Gallery exhibitions are open Monday–Friday 10–5, Saturday 12–5, and by appointment. We are also open until 9pm on the first Friday of every month for the popular Oakland Art Murmur art walk.
SLATE Art Consulting
For private clients who are too busy to come to the gallery and interior designers, SLATE offers residential art consulting services that include research, digital presentations, and in-home art viewings. For clients with a larger budget who are seeking artists with national and international reputations, we offer art advisory services that include acquisition through other galleries, international auction houses, and art fairs.
SLATE Art's commercial art consulting services division provides art for office buildings, residential buildings, healthcare, and hospitality environments. Working in tandem with architects, interior designers, building managers, and developers, we follow renovation and new-construction projects from blue prints through construction to installation. Regardless of the budget, we are always looking for ways to use art to elevate the level of design and, ultimately, the quality of experience for the people who live, work, and play in these spaces every day.
SLATE's Reach
SLATE Art serves clients all over the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Peninsula, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and East Bay communities, such as Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, and Lafayette. We also have a strong presence in North Lake Tahoe with a local representative who is available to help clients in Truckee, Martis Camp, Northstar, Mountainside, Incline Village, and surrounding areas. With a national reach, we have sold and shipped works of art to collectors in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, North Carolina, and Hawaii, among others.


text:
No one knows if President Obama intends to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, give Israel the go-ahead to do it, continue to rely on sanctions, or turn to comprehensive negotiations to resolve the escalating conflict.
The decision to go to war is the most difficult one a president can make because no one can foresee a war's outcome. Even if it is Israel that attacks rather than the United States, the consequences for us are likely to be the same. That is because the entire world knows that the United States and Israel are linked by means of strategic cooperation agreements which prevent Israel from acting without, at least, tacit U.S. approval. If Israel is "in," so are we.
It is safe to assume that Obama wants to avoid war. Having just come out of the disastrous Iraq experience which cost 4,500 American lives and severely damaged our interests in the Middle East (and beyond), the president wants to keep his options open. If he can prevent war (i.e., Americans dying and other vital U.S. interests being attacked), he will.
But while the president needs his options open, the United States Congress, under intense pressure from pro-war lobbyists, is determined to shut them down.
That is the meaning of the legislation introduced this month by senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
The legislation:
rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran; and urges the President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear weapons-capability and oppose any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.
The senators' intent was made clear by Lieberman: "All options must be on the table when it comes to Iran -- except for one, and that is containment." He added that "the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran cannot be 'contained' like the threat of the Soviet Union" -- or China, or North Korea, or Pakistan.
The senators are telling the president that if Iran goes nuclear, he must go to war.
Imagine if President Kennedy had been told by the Congress back in 1962 that if the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba, he would have no choice but to go to war. If it had, I wouldn't be here writing this column today and you wouldn't be reading it.
Presidents need latitude to make decisions affecting matters of national security (another name for matters of life and death) and, until now, all presidents have been afforded it, as provided for in the United States Constitution. But, in the case of Iran, the rules are changing.
Here is more evidence.
On Sunday, General Martin Dempsey, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told interviewer Fareed Zakaria that he does not think the U.S. should rush to war. He was speaking after a visit to Israel and long consultations with its leaders.
Dempsey said that it was not "prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran... A strike at this time would be destabilizing and wouldn't achieve their [Israel's] long-term objectives." He also said that he did not believe that the Iranian regime was insane but was rather a "rational actor" not prone to national suicide
General Dempsey's remarks outraged Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose office put out a statement saying that Dempsey, and other U.S. officials who questioned the rationale for war, were "serving Iran's interests."
Had another foreign leader implied that the head of the joint chiefs was some kind of Iranian agent, he would have been smacked down. But that is not how it works with Netanyahu.
It turns out that Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were in Israel at the time Netanyahu attacked Dempsey. Rather than defend the American general as these uber-nationalists would do in any other similar situation, they joined the Israeli government in bashing the general -- and war hero. (The old adage about government officials not criticizing U.S. policies when in a foreign country has not applied to Israel for years).
Check out this Jerusalem Post story on McCain's reaction which the Post correctly characterized as "siding with Jerusalem in the debate" over how to deal with Iran. As for Graham, he said, "I admire General Dempsey." But, he added, "People are giving Israel a lot of advice here lately from America. I just want to tell our Israeli friends that my advice to you is never lose control of your destiny. Never allow a situation to develop that would destroy the Jewish state."
In other words, American advice to think long and hard about the consequences of war with Iran is tantamount to allowing "a situation to develop that would destroy the Jewish state."
The most appalling aspect of the senators' remarks is that their zeal to please Netanyahu and his backers in America has overridden their constitutional responsibility to put the security of the United States above all other considerations. An Israeli decision to attack Iran affects Americans, including their constituents in uniform and, perhaps, just walking down the streets of New York, Washington, or anywhere else here at home.
As noble as their professed concern for Israel is, America is supposed to come first for United States senators. McCain and Graham ought to be ashamed for standing in a foreign country and blatantly putting the interests of that government before their own. Rest assured, they aren't. They are thinking about the next election and that is what always comes first.


text:
Last week I got to hear one of my heroes speak: Dr. Vandana Shiva. As she took the stage, Reverend Arnold Thomas of Riverside Church introduced her as the "world-renowned environmentalist." To many she is best known for her interviews in movies such as The Corporation. To the growing community of food activists, she is the pioneer who delivers the precision cut message. The international effort to fix our food is an emerging movement; new ideas come fast and fervent. Dr. Shiva is the steadfast voice, now decades in progress, that deeply resonates.
In her words, she started her organization, Navdanya, in 1987 once "I realized seeds were being patented." The main corporation to patent seeds is, of course, Monsanto. They do a good job of telling the world that they are up to good deeds — potentially ending famine, for example, by creating drought-resistant crops. Dr. Shiva, however, explained the danger at hand in an analogy to the BP oil spill. Consider her words:
In the Gulf of Mexico…I keep thinking, 'This is supposed to be a high tech industry in a high tech society. And they can't figure out how to stop that leak'….Just as BP doesn't know how to shut down the oil spill, Monsanto doesn't really know how to control pests…Every season, you have new pests….The consequences are a 30-40 times increase in pesticides. And this technology was supposed to replace pesticides. In your country, the herbicide-resistant crops have created superweeds to such a large extent that 5.4 million acres have been overtaken by superweeds.
For the past four months, the world has watched unending amounts of oil being unleashed into the Gulf. At the risk of sounding alarmist, imagine if such a disaster hit our food supply. We know now that BP was not ready for its worst-case scenario. Is Monsanto? Do we really want to wait and see?
At another point in her talk, Dr. Shiva told the story of a 1983 Indian court case that halted destructive limestone mining in that country. The judge in the case ruled, "If commerce starts to destroy life support systems, commerce must stop because life must carry on."
Yes, this landmark case in India occurred prior to our current era of intense globalization. Yet it's basic premise has not changed. It's not tree hugging; it's common sense. "We are first and foremost still citizens," said Dr. Shiva, "And our highest duty is to maintain the living systems of the Earth that support our life."


text:
Thursday, April 26, 6 pm - 8 pm: NO JUSTIFICATION REQUIRED closing party at G Gallery
- Help G Gallery wrap this wonderful exhibition.
- The artists, all of them female painters from Argentina, were selected by a board of curators and arts aficionados based in Buenos Aires. "The curatorial team, assembled by Braga Menéndez Arte Contemporáneo, took inspiration from Mitominas (myth-chick), an exhibition presented in the late 1980s at Centro Cultural Recoleta (Buenos Aires) that challenged preconceptions about gender-based work. By reexamining the ideas put forth in that exhibition, No Justification Required asserts an approach that is both genderless and gender-centric--one in which the artistic baggage of feminist movements of the past are inevitably threaded through but not intrinsic to how the work is ultimately viewed."
- 301 E 11th St
Saturday, April 28, 3-5 pm: Education in Sync with Child Development- A Presentation by David Darcy at Bayou Village School
- Suggested Donation: $10/ individual and $15/couple
- David Darcy will provide an overview of Waldorf Education, illustrating how this approach to education works with the inner development of the child to support and achieve true learning and development of the whole person.
- Mr. Darcy has been a Waldorf class teacher, admissions director, high school teacher and consultant to homeschoolers and charter school teachers. In addition he has written a curriculum integrating Waldorf activities into a program for homeless children and is the author of several Waldorf curriculum publications. He has spoken to many university education classes about Waldorf methods and currently teaches a small mixed-age class in Austin. His three children graduated from Austin Waldorf School.
- Childcare Available on a First-Come-First-Serve Basis for Children Ages 3-11. Contact the school to pre-register: firstname.lastname@example.com or 713-499-0598. Pre-registration is very much appreciated and is required if requesting childcare.
- 747 E 18th St
Saturday, April 28, 10 am-4 pm: St. Andrew's Spring Shopping Bazaar
- The Bazaar will feature more than 40 area artisans, crafters, and specialty vendors.
- Admission to this day of fabulous shopping is free.
- Items available for purchase will include home décor, jewelry, gourmet foods, purses, handmade quilts, art and photography, toys, bath and body products, candles, aprons, baby items, home baked goodies and much, much more! In addition, the Reagan High School Jazz Band will perform, and the Men of St. Andrew's will prepare great food.
- The event will take place rain or shine.
- For more information, visit www.saintandrewsepiscopal.org
- 1819 Heights Boulevard.
Sunday, April 29, 7 pm -8:30 pm: Free Parent Talk at Nia Moves: Raising Physically and Emotionally Healthy Kids
- This interactive parent talk, you will talk about healthful eating. You will learn practices that will help your children increase their emotional intelligence. You will begin to improve the emotional climate of your family and the creative abilities of your children.
- Topics that may be discussed - each talk will be tailored to those who attend:
- How to get your kids involved in the kitchen
- How to introduce fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to children as early as possible
- How emotional health is important to creativity
- How to unblock heavy emotions
- How to promote balanced whole brain development
- Learn a simple 2-minute technique proven to increase emotional/mental stability when practiced regularly
- NiaMoves, 508 Pecore in the House behind the studio
- Please RSVP at www.niamoves.com
Saturday, April 28, 2pm- 4 pm: Texas Olive Oil Tasting at One Green Street
- Texas Hill Country Olive Oil will be at One Green Street sampling new products: Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Pineapple Balsamic
- One Green Street is an eco-friendly retailer, where you can buy "find anything from make-up to mattresses, all good for you and good for the planet."
- 5160 Buffalo Speedway
Tuesday, May 1, 5 pm: Helms Elementary is hosting a discussion of the future of dual language education in Houston
- The Center for Houston's Future, HISD's Multilingual Department, and Helms Elementary, and HISD Dual Language Magnet, invite parents of current and prospective students to see the future as it might be, based on data and research about the city of Houston, its residents, and our educational system.
- The presentation, at Helms Elementary in the Heights will be offered in Spanish (5:00 PM) and in English (6:30 PM), and will help parents understand how to take advantage of dual language options that prepare today's toddlers for tomorrow's community, and make the most out of early childhood educational opportunities. Parents will also learn how best to prepare their students for higher education and college & career readiness.
- This event is free and open to the public.
- Speakers:
- Sandra Wegmann, Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives at The Center for Houston's Future, will present information from the Center's 2012 Indicator Report Human Capital Development and Education: Early Childhood, K-12, Workforce Preparedness. The Center for Houston's Future is a think tank and conducts strategic planning and research for the 8-county region.
- Terrie Armstrong, Senior Compliance Analyst from HISD's Multilingual Department, will present research and information on bilingualism, cognitive advantage, and two-way immersion program effectiveness.
- Diana Del Pilar, Principal of Helms Elementary, will discuss the Dual Language model from Pre-K through 5th grade, and post-elementary options in HISD.
- Dual Language Panel: Parents of Dual Language students will discuss their personal experiences with the program and answer questions from the audience.
- 503 W. 21st Street
Saturday, May 12, 1 pm-3 pm: Mark your calendars for the 25th Anniversary of the Houston Art Car Parade
- This is a uniquely Houston tradition. The Art Car Parade runs along Allen Parkway, from Waugh to Bagby.
- For more info http://www.orangeshow.org/art-car/
June 8-10: Winning Campaigns Training at Rice University
- Are you a pedestrian advocate who wants to improve your neighborhood's walking infrastructure? Are you a bicycling advocate who wants to increase the bike route network in your city? If so, you need to attend this training!
- Provided by Alliance for Biking and Walking. Local sponsors are the Citizens Transportation Coalition and BikeHouston.
- Any advocate registering before May 11 can attend for the discounted price of $75 for Alliance members and $125 for non-members. Limited scholarships to attend the training are available.
- The Alliance's signature Winning Campaigns Training uses proven curriculum targeted specifically to the unique needs and experience of bicycle and pedestrian advocates. This sought-after workshop, conducted in cities across North America, creates new advocates and reignites veteran organizers with critical skills to effect immediate change in their communities. In just three days, participants learn key organizing tactics in strategizing, funding and conducting campaigns that transform the transportation landscape in their cities and states. These trainings are intended for any potential campaign leader in your organization who would benefit from gaining the tools to craft and manage powerful advocacy campaigns.
- Register for the training at Winning Campaigns Training: Houston
- Benefiting the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life Greater Heights
- Submissions are being accepted for the second annual Brazarre 2012. Artists are asked to donate an artful bra. Each submission should incorporate all or part of an actual brassiere, and each piece should vaguely or abstractly represent a bra, and is to be 3 dimensional. The piece need not be wearable or functional.
- These Artful Bras will be sold in both silent and blind auction formats. All proceeds from the event benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Greater Heights.
- The Brazarre 2012 will be held on Saturday May 26th, 2012, at G Gallery,6:30-9:00pm, 301 E. 11th St
Submission Requirements / Facts
- The deadline to submit artful bras is Friday, May 11th, 2012.
- All submissions for consideration must be submitted via email or in person.
- Artists will submit a maximum of four digital photos of each piece (JPEG, no larger than 2100 x 2100 pixels). The maximum size for total entry should not exceed 4MB.
- The following information also should accompany the digital photo(s): Artist's first and last name, title of work, art medium used, and a brief description of your work and its inspiration.
- Please email all submissions to email@example.com SUBJECT LINE: Brazarre 2011 Submission / Artist's Name.
- You may contact Vicki Eaker to submit in person (281.857.0073)
- Please note: They would like to receive some artful bras prior to the May 11th deadline for press and promotion purposes. Please submit your bra early if you would like to be considered for this great opportunity to gain some additional exposure, as all artists will be acknowledged for their work.
Sarah is back! For all of us who adored Sew Crafty, former owner and Heights smile maker is now offering sewing classes!
- Want to finally pull that sewing machine out of the closet and use it already? Learn the ins and outs of your machine while making a simple project with Sarah's new venture- Crafty Ever After
- Project materials are included.
- Students will learn to:
- Thread their sewing machine and bobbin (what is a bobbin?)
- Identify the bobbin (see what I did there?)
- Navigate the landscape of levers and buttons on their machine
- Sew straight lines, turn corners, and be the boss of your sewing machine!
- Students need to bring: Your sewing machine and 1 bobbin to fit your machine
- You're encouraged to bring a bottle of water or your favorite soda plus a little snack
- Classes start May 15 and will be offered on Tuesday evenings or Saturday afternoons. Check the website for specifics!


text:
I have entered The Winterrific Snow Show Race each year for the four that it has been held. Due to hysterectomy, herniated discs and then a cancellation due to ice, I have never been able to run the race. This year there was a different story.
I loved running the Northwoods Snow Shoe Marathon that was held for years in Lester Park, in Duluth MN. AfterI ran the race for 8 years, it was discontinued a few years ago.
Winterrific is a Minnesota State Championship and Nationals Qualifier that is held at Murphy - Hanrehan Park Reserve in Scott County, in Savage. I found it interesting that as I pulled up to the race start I recognized the trail head as the first place I had every snowshoed before with the exact same pair of snowshoes and with one of the same people that was at this race. Melancholy. Scott Wagner, Bonnie Riley and Bob Metzger introduced me to snowshoe running 13 or 14 years ago. I'll be forever grateful to this bunch for the patience they showed a newbie running/ultra runner/snowshoer!
We had a very small group. Half dozen 30K, half dozen for the 20K and maybe a dozen for the 10K. Sweet! I have to say, I just love the small trail races. I've learned to be careful for what I wish for! As a founding member of UMTR, we were trying to encourage more people to run trails. We certainly succeeded! Many (ultra) trail runs now fill well before race date in MN. FB has increased the participation of group runs ten fold on the metro trails, it's crazy busy on many trails. Good .. and not so good.
When I awoke on Saturday morning I could hear the wind and snow beating on my window. The race didn't begin until 930 but after listening to whatever was happening out there I thought it best to get on my way..taking the regularly 75 minute drive slow and easy.
I pulled out of the garage and saw roughly 7" of fresh snow! Wow! This was not in the forecast! The winds were howling, causing near white out conditions as I drove ever so slowly down Highway 10. Nothing had been plowed yet but I was hoping as I drove south into the more populated areas that the road conditions would improve.
In 45 minutes I finally made it to 101. Oh boy. This was going to be long. At least 101 was plowed and I knew 94 and 494 would be better. I crawled along, making my way, thinking about turning around and going back home once or twice.
There is nothing worse than seeing cars in the ditches, semi trucks askew and trying to stay calm. Ugh. Drive slow and safe. Much like my run: slow and steady.
I made it to the race start in 2.25 hours. I was so glad I began the drive early! I still had 20 minutes to spare.
I shuffled out into the snowy path which led to the warm up tent. Collected my packet and headed back to my car. I visited with Paulette a bit and then needed to decide what I was going to wear. It was 11F, new deep snow, warming to 20F, wind gusts of 35mph. Hmmm. I learned not to dress to wind chill temp or I get to warm. OK. Stick with that. I wore one pair of pants-Skirt Sports with skirt. I love the extra layer that skirt has on my butt for warmth. I decided not to wear the tights underneath. If I was freezing I could swing back to the car to add them later. That made me feel better. Tank top, long sleeved top, gortex inov-8, snow shoe gaiters, gloves, wind mitts, winter Patagonia Storm jacket, neck gaiter and fleece hat. Northern Lights Snowshoes. OK then. Clothes good. 10 gels (no gels at aid stations), iPod (never did turn on), Garmin 310XT, 1 hand held. HammerHeed was on course. OK. Back down to the warm up tent/start finish.
We were going to begin a little late, due to the poor road conditions are that Mike was out on course making sure the markings were not buried in the deep snow. While waiting I realized Scott Wagner was running :) Maria stopped by after her run to say hi and give hugs, I saw E and John as they were running the 10K. Maynard was there, too. Phillip was running the 30K. Dan was running the 30K. Good friends that go way back.
Mike returned and gave us the run down of the course. They added an aid station, there would be one at 2 miles, 4 miles and then start/finish at 6.25. We'd loop 3x for the 30K.
He led us to the start and we were off! The snow was DEEP! Deep, fluffy, fresh snow. It was spectacular and gorgeous. The snow had stopped falling, the sun was now shining brightly, what a day! I didn't know what was in store for me. I popped two Aleve before starting as my recovering broken ankle is still cranky on trail. I'd do what I could and would NOT damage it further. If I felt 'that' pain, I'd stop. End of story.
I was glad that there were some speedy runners to break trail for us slower ones (Dan and Joseph) I hung out near the end, plowing my way. The 10K started a half an hour later so only the 20K and 30K snowshoe runners were out at this time.
When I spotted the first course marking I was relieved! They weren't going to be under snow, they were just clearing the deep new fluff. I was going to be able to find my way! We shared a portion of the trail with snowmobilers but each time I came across them, they were kind and allowed me the right of way.
The first aid station was approaching. I ran up to it and recognized Lynette! I don't know the last time I saw her. What a treat! She filled my bottle and sent me on my way. I was really having a good time.
Most of the race I ran solo..every once in a while I would run into another racer and exchange pleasantries, but 80% of the time I was alone and deep in thought.
I was filled with gratitude. Grateful to be healthy enough to be able to sign up for a 30K snowshoe run. Grateful that my body could carry me that far. Thankful that my ankle was feeling strong. I wasn't feeling it at all.
As I ran into the start/finish 1:25 had passed. I was feeling coherent, pain free and just content. So happy to be out in the woods, in the deep snow, feeling the sunshine upon my face. Spiritual.
The single pair of pants was fine, I didn't need to add a layer. Often times I unzipped my jacket. I was eating a gel every 3 miles, drinking 40 oz of Heed every loop.
When I came in at 2:57 for my second loop I was surprised at how consistent my running was. Would I finish the race in 4:30? That would be as consistent as I've ever been. I was smiling brightly and so happy to carry on down the trail.
The last loop already! Be sure to take it all in, enjoy every step. No iPod necessary. I was listening to the soft snow under my snowshoes, my breathing, the birds in the sky. I felt euphoric. I thought about how I need running. It allows me to be in the moment, to think about the right now, the present. I need to clear my head..running does this. It lets me rid myself of any negativity, to feel the positive. The gratitude. It allows me to remember to trust myself. Not the doctors who told me I wouldn't run again. It reminds me that when I am knocked down..to climb back up. To try hard, to fight.
This was no fight. This run was a result of the fight. I felt euphoric. I felt waves of emotion bubbling down deep in my stomach, then working their way up into my heart, feeling my heart swell with joy. Bubbling out of my mouth in large gasps. Laughter. This wasn't the anxiety and panic I have been feeling the past year. These weren't tears of sadness that were falling from my cheeks. This was true joy. As the tears of joy were falling from my eyes I could feel my eyelashes freeze. I could feel my nose run. I was still two miles out from the finish. What would the finish line feel like?
I didn't want it to end. I wanted to run another lap..and another. I felt strong, my ankle felt strong! It was a glorious day.
I was coming close to the finish line, I could see the blue tent up around the corner. I saw the clock. 4:29. I tried to compose myself but I knew better. I was feeling so much joy, it couldn't be contained. I felt the bubble down deep in my stomach, the joy into my heart as I ran into the finish and yes, it all come to the surface as Mike and Colleen congratulated on my finish. I sobbed.
"Are you OK"? "Yes, I'm better than OK. I'm euphoric. I was told I would never run again after breaking my ankle at Superior 100. I ran joyfully and strongly and I feel amazing" . Mike and Colleen gave me big hugs and my award. I sat down as Mike removed my snow shoes, trying to compose myself, it was futile. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. My sleeve shows happiness and joy.


text:
I had some exposure trouble in regards to the in-ring action, but I was still able to get some good shot. You can tell who I was definitely keeping my eyes on in terms of photography. XD
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIn ... owall=true
Return to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Forum
Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 2 guests