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Some years back, there was this Staples commercial that featured a Dad gleefully stocking up on back-to-school supplies, while his two sullen tots trailed hopelessly along behind him. The jolly little ditty about it being the most wonderful time of the year played merrily in the background, and I, the mother of a teen myself, always felt my heart lift a little as I contemplated the first day of school.
[slapping my own hand] Bad mommy! Bad mommy!
Anyway, whether you're thrilled about the day after Labor Day or not, there are plenty of cakes to celebrate with:
[sigh] "Ok, yes, if your bus driver has a big bloody grin, tells you to 'Jump in im back,' and the other kids are screaming warnings from the windows, then we can talk.
"But that's not going to happen! So, out you go. Chop chop. Bus is waiting.
"Look, do you know what happens to little tykes who complain about school? Hm? The Poop Nose Snaggletooth Dog-a-saurus comes after them!"
[Screaming child runs toward waiting schoolbus]
Ahhhhhh... silence at last! This really is the most wonderful time of the year.
Wait, that just reminded me of something. Soon I'll have to start my holiday shopping.
Aw, crap.
Thank for the reminder, Tiffany, Allison I., Stephanie P. & Kylie. Really.
- Related Wreckage: Cake Wrecks, World Educator

subset: commoncrawl


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Online Returns & Exchanges
Melrose Ave Fashion online are happy to offer an exchange, credit note or refund for full priced items within 14 days of the online purchase. Returns, exchange or credit note can only be issued online and not in-store. Sale items purchased are final, Melrose Ave Fashion does not refund or exchange. However, postage and handling charges incurred by you and by Melrose Ave Fashion to resend to you will be at your cost. Your original item must be returned back to us before your exchange item is sent out for you.
If you are unsure about a specific item please feel free to contact us and ask any questions about a specific item via our contact page prior to making your purchase.
Please note that in order for the exchange and or refund to be accepted, all tags must remain on garments and it must meet our return conditions. The condition of the item must be re-sellable and the item(s) must be returned to us 14 days from date of purchase, Melrose Ave Fashion will not accept the exchange or refund of any item that is considered used. Due to fast turnover of our styles we will not accept any returns outside of this time frame.
If the item is sold out and an exchange cannot be processed you will then receive an on-line store credit to be spent within 12 months of the issue date or a full refund.
To download the Online Return & Exchange Form, please click here.
Please be aware that this form is used only for ONLINE purchases only.
Making a Return when Using Afterpay
* When you use our pay over time service Afterpay you have the option to return one or all of your items for a full refund.
* If you return your items before your first Afterpay payment is due you have the option to cancel the entire payment plan which means you pay nothing. This allows you to try before you buy!
* If the first payment instalment has already been made when you return the items to us we can cancel the rest of your payment plan as well as refund the initial payment you have made.
* If you have purchased multiple items but only wish to return certain items and keep your favourites this is still fine! We'll just remove the items you have returned from your Afterpay payment plan. Your original instalment amounts will remain the same and your final payment/s will be less or cancelled depending on the return amount. You can log in to your AfterPay account to view your updated payment schedule at any time! Easy!
Returns are not permitted on the following items:
* Sale items including items purchased with discount codes
* Jewellery
* Scarves
* Belts
* Lingerie or Costumes
* Undergarments Sunglasses
* Hats
* Shape wear and Swimwear
* International orders are final sale, please choose carefully
Goods are inspected before packaging to ensure they are in excellent condition. Products are packaged carefully to ensure a minimal chance of damage during transit. If you receive a damaged or defective item please contact Melrose Ave Fashion within 7 days of purchase date to be eligible for an exchange or a refund, we will not accept any returns outside of this time frame. Refunds will only be made on damaged or faulty goods subject to Manager's approval.
Goods must be returned within 14 days of purchase with original receipt
* Does not apply to goods reduced for sales purposes outlined above
* Does not apply to sales of accessories, hosiery, lingerie or swimwear
* The goods cannot have been worn, washed, used, tags removed, soiled or damaged by the customer * Shipping and handling costs are not refundable
HOW TO RETURN ITEMS: Please follow the instructions below
Check you have satisfied our returns/exchanges conditions outlined above
Forward your original order email to us and outline details of your return request, our friendly staff will then assess your return and provide the relevant information and options for you.
Our staff will then issue you a returns form and provide our returns address.
Pack and send your item back to our returns address, include a copy of our correspondence with your item to be returned.
It is recommended that you
(1) use a traceable delivery method for all returns
(2) either insure your delivery for safe return to Melrose Ave Fashion or declare the full value of the shipment so that you are completely protected if the shipment is lost or damaged in transit.
If you choose not to
(1) use a delivery method that offers tracking
(2) insure or declare the full value of the product
You will be responsible for any loss or damage to the product during shipping.
If you require an exchange please include a self addressed express post satchel to cover your postage cost
The original receipt and the Online Returns and Exchange Form must be included in the returned goods.
To download the Online Return & Exchange Form, please click here.
Please be aware that this form is used only for ONLINE purchases only.


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Since the financial crisis hit five years ago, there aren't as many Americans starting new businesses. In uncertain economic times, it's harder for entrepreneurs and investors to take the risk.
And if you look back over the past 25 years, it turns out the overall trend is toward fewer new businesses getting started, too — and that's not good at all when the country needs more jobs.
The Next Google
New businesses are really important for the economy. For one thing, they often come up with new technologies and better ways of doing things. And when they do that, a small percentage start growing very fast and hiring hundreds or thousands of people.
"Out of this vast number of startups, about 10 percent take off, and they create an enormous number of jobs," says John Haltiwanger, a professor at the University of Maryland. He's an economist who studies these young, high-growth companies.
"If you add up the job creation in the United States from just the fast-growing businesses, they account for over 50 percent of all job creation in the United States," Haltiwanger says.
So some of these are companies like Google, or before that, Starbucks or FedEx — and plenty more that aren't quite that big or well-known but that grew very quickly selling soy milk or mountain bikes or a break-out popular chain of hair-cutting salons.
"And do we know ahead of time who these guys are going to be? No, we actually don't. That's actually one of the most interesting issues. We can't even predict what sector they're going to be. We can't predict what location in the country they're in," Haltiwanger says.
But one thing we do know is that since the financial crisis, entrepreneurs just aren't starting as many of these businesses.
There are a couple of different ways to measure this. But Haltiwanger suggests looking at the total number of new firms created every year as a percentage of overall firms.
"It used to be the case, in any given year we were up in the 12, 13 percent range. Now we're down in the 7 or 8 percent range. ... We're talking about hundreds of thousands of less startups today than we used to see," he says.
Maybe some of this is longer-term demographics. As the baby boomers aged, there weren't as many younger people who are more likely to start businesses. And then when the financial crisis hit five years ago, the entrepreneurship rate fell more sharply.
"Young firms got really hammered in the Great Recession, and they've been very slow to recover," Haltiwanger says.
Cautious Investing
One reason it's been harder for people to start companies: money. Since the bubble burst, banks, angel investors and venture capital firms got much more cautious. But some of that is now starting to change.
"We will fill this space in less than a month, absolutely, with stuff," says Chris Pacheco, CEO of Bayesian Ventures. His new company is moving into a lab next to MIT in Cambridge, Mass. He's working on technology to help surgeons tell the difference between cancer cells and healthy cells.
The No. 1 reason he quit his job to start this business?
"The access to capital," Pacheco says. "I had somebody who was willing to give me capital in order to do this."
And in this area in particular — medical technology — there's plenty of optimism.
Johannes Fruehauf is opening an innovation center called Lab Central. It'll house Pacheco's company and a dozen other startups.
"Every single one of them has the potential to really change medicine," Fruehauf says. "The stuff that Chris is working on — you know, I'm a physician, so we cut out tumors, and we don't know if it's healthy or bad. Now you stick a probe into it and it's going to tell you ... cut more, cut less. These things are paradigm changing."
So Fruehauf sees entrepreneurship in America from where he sits as alive and well.
Still, Haltiwanger says, when you look across the country, the entrepreneurship rate hasn't recovered from the financial crisis.
"Each month that goes by, I'll say, I become a little more pessimistic that ... this is indeed stunting our growth," he says.
Haltiwanger says millions of Americans desperately need jobs. And the engine of job growth — these young, fast-growing companies — is still sputtering along at the lowest level in 25 years.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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You might want to think twice before whipping out your credit card. As of Sunday, stores in most states could start charging you a "checkout fee" when you pay for something with plastic.
The new fees stem from a multi-billion dollar settlement announced in July between credit card issuers and millions of merchants.
Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) and nine major banks agreed to a $7.25 billion deal to settle charges that they were fixing credit card processing fees. As part of the settlement, credit card issuers said they would reduce these "swipe fees" -- fees paid by merchants to issuers when cards are used -- but only for eight months.
In addition, the settlement also gave retailers the option to tack on a surcharge if a customer uses a credit card. The retailer can only charge enough to cover the processing costs, which is about 1.5% to 3% of the total purchase, according to watchdog group Consumer Action.
This fee doesn't apply to purchases made using debit cards. And it will still be illegal to charge the new fee in 10 states, including New York, California and Texas.
Many big players in the retail industry have been up in arms about the settlement. Stores from the nation's largest retailer down to small businesses have lamented the agreement, claiming that it transferred the wrongdoings of credit card issuers to the consumer.
In November, the National Retail Federation and more than a dozen retailers asked a judge to reject the proposed settlement. In a brief submitted to a U.S. District Court judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., the trade organization wrote that the new fees threaten a merchant's ability to keep prices low for customers.
Wal-Mart (WMT), Macy's (M), JCPenney (JCP), Limited Brands (LTD), Gap Inc (GPS). and The Neiman Marcus Group were among those who joined the NRF in claiming that "raising consumer prices by adding an 'interchange tax' is no remedy for Visa's and MasterCard's continuing monopoly abuse."
Related: Local merchants not crazy about swipe fee deal
In a separate statement, Wal-Mart said that it wasn't interested in adding the surcharge in order to allow credit card companies to continue charging unfair fees. Target (TGT) called the agreement "bad for both retailers and consumers."
Merchants have a choice as to whether to implement the surcharge, but it poses quite a dilemma for them: Either get stuck footing the bill for the swipe fees, or risk transferring the cost to customers in an already competitive environment.
Last summer, Target said it had no interest in charging customers who use credit cards more "in order to allow Visa and MasterCard to continue charging unfair fees."
Smaller merchants echoed these concerns over the deal, saying it doesn't go far enough.
MasterCard said it doesn't expect most merchants to put the surcharge into effect, since stores won't want to drive away business.
"We anticipate that they will not impose checkout fees, particularly because the value merchants derive from card acceptance far exceeds their costs," the credit card company said in a statement.


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What are the USB data transfer rates and specifications?
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification stipulates five data transfer rates:
- USB 1.0/Low-Speed: 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps)
- USB 1.1/Full-Speed: 12 Mbps
- USB 2.0/Hi-Speed: 480 Mbps
- USB 3.0/SuperSpeed: 5 Gbps
- USB 3.1/SuperSpeed: 10 Gbps
When connecting devices with different USB versions, the data transfer rate will be limited by the slowest of the connected devices. This means that data transfer will occur at 12 Mbps when you connect a USB 2.0 device to a USB 1.1 device, even though the USB 2.0 device is capable of transferring data at 480 Mbps.
NOTE: More information is available on the Universal Serial Bus Website.


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This course will provide you will the tools necessary to complete the final components of the analyze phase as well as the improve and control phases of the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) process. This course is the final course in the Six Sigma Yellow Belt Specialization. You will learn about relationships from data using correlation and regression as well as the different hypothesis terms in hypothesis testing. This course will provide you with tools and techniques for improvement. You will also understand the importance of a control plan, as well as its key characteristics, for maintaining process improvements. Every module will include readings, discussions, lecture videos, and quizzes to help make sure you understand the material and concepts that are studied.
Our applied curriculum is built around the latest handbook The Certified Six Sigma Handbook (2nd edition) and students will develop /learn the fundamentals of Six Sigma. Registration includes online access to course content, projects, and resources but does not include the companion text The Certified Six Sigma Handbook (2nd edition). The companion text is not required to complete the assignments. However, the text is a recognized handbook used by professionals in the field. Also, it is a highly recommended text for those wishing to move forward in Six Sigma and eventually gain certification from professional agencies such as American Society for Quality (ASQ).
Price: Enroll For Free!
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Six Sigma Tools for Improve and Control – University System of Georgia
TUN Helps Students!
Copyright, 2024 – TUN, Inc


text:
One of the truths revealed by the debate over the fiscal cliff is that lawmakers in Washington are in bitter disagreement over the cause of and solution to our economic malaise. There is the Keynesian camp, which believes that the economy is being hindered by a general lack of demand, and that the government needs to spend more in order to get the economy going again. Then there is a faction of economists — let's call them the uncertainty hawks — who believe that businesses and individuals would be more willing to make the investments necessary to spur economic growth if they had a clearer idea of future tax bills and government spending levels. And finally there are the deficit hawks, who believe economic growth is being hampered by large federal deficits and debt, and that the best way to encourage economic growth is to shrink the deficit, mostly through reducing government spending.
With the recent deal over the fiscal cliff, however, a strange thing happened: Despite the fact that many of these camps' ideas are in direct opposition with one another, the final deal ended up satisfying nobody — causing economists across the ideological spectrum to declare the deal a dud. Here are their respective reasons:
(MORE: Four Misconceptions About Taxes and the Deficit)
The Keynesians: Sure, the U.S. government is running budget deficits of more than $1 trillion per year, while the total national debt sits at more than $16 trillion. But for many economists, these numbers aren't the most pressing problems our economy faces — not by a long shot. For Keynesian economists Dean Baker, Paul Krugman, and Brad DeLong it's the unemployment rate, now at 7.7%, that should worry us most.
So it was frustrating for them to see that both Congressional Republicans and President Obama appeared to want to see deficit reduction as part of a broader fiscal cliff deal. We did kinda sorta see – depending on how you look at it – some long-term deficit reduction. According to the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Budget, the fiscal cliff deal shaves $650 billion from the ten-year deficit when compared to current policy. But, again, Keynesians would like to have seen more government spending, not less. In addition, while the deal did extend unemployment insurance benefits for another year, it failed to extend the payroll tax cuts, which will raise taxes by 2% on the first $110,000 a worker earns. That hits many of the folks most likely to spend their marginal dollars.
The Uncertainty Hawks: Several economists, including the University of Chicago's Steve Davis, recently devised a method for measuring economic policy uncertainty, which shows that uncertainty regarding tax and spending policy in the U.S. is higher in the past five years than it has been in some time. That same research suggested that this high policy uncertainty is correlated with stock market volatility as well as other indicators of economic stress like yields on some European government debt.
And, alas, those who believe Davis' contention that much of the blame for the sluggish economy can be placed on temporary and patchwork policy-making from Washington have little to like about the most recent fiscal cliff deal. It's true that individual income tax rates, the capital gains tax, and the estate tax have all been "permanently" set (or as permanently as an act of Congress can be). But huge issues remain unresolved. Namely, the automatic budget cuts put in place during the 2011, as well as the need to raise the federal debt ceiling, still need to be dealt with in the next two months.
(MORE: Why the Fiscal Cliff Deal Should Have Included Social Security)
The Deficit Hawks: There is a third school of economists who are concerned primarily about the total debt of the federal government hindering current and future economic growth. This faction, which includes Michael Boskin of Stanford, worry about government debt "crowding out" private investment as holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds replace capital in investment portfolios. In addition, they argue, current government borrowing will require taxes in the future to rise, leading businesses and individuals to cut back on their spending to prepare for this eventuality.
Because of the automatic tax increases that were set to go into effect at the beginning of 2013 — and sensing a broad public appetite for belt-tightening — these deficit hawks saw the fiscal cliff negotiations as the perfect opportunity to put a serious dent in the debt. For these folks, however, the deal's $650 billion in deficit reduction (over ten years), mostly from raising taxes on high-income earners, is a drop in the bucket compared to the $16-plus trillion the federal government owes. And Congress and the President could not agree to any meaningful cuts to Social Security and Medicare, the entitlement programs that are projected to eat up larger and larger shares of the federal budget as the nation ages and healthcare spending continues to rise.
Like any compromise that comes out of Washington, the fiscal cliff deal has left a bad taste in partisans on the left and the right. But at least each side got something it wanted. Hard core progressives want to see the rich pay a larger share of the federal tax burden, and in 2013 they will. Many on the right did not want to see capital gains taxed as ordinary income, and they got what they wanted for all but the wealthiest earners. But economists can't view bills in such a piecemeal fashion. Compromise on economic policy – like trading extended unemployment benefits for ending the payroll tax cut – isn't going to satisfy a Keynesian if the net effect is to reduce the federal budget deficit during a recessionary economy.
While Washington may still be able to eek out a compromise on legislation, it's now clearer than ever that lawmakers are hopelessly divided when it comes to economic world views. The economic policy of the United States government isn't so much directionless as attempting to go in every direction at once.
MORE: Practice Makes Perfect: A New Way To Think About New Year's Resolutions


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The Body Control Pilates Association (BCPA) is Europe's foremost professional Pilates organisation, being the membership body for qualified Body Control Pilates teachers.
A not-for-profit body headquartered in Bloomsbury, London, it was established over 25 years ago and currently has around 1,500 teaching members in the UK and abroad.
Its main role is to support all Body Control Pilates teachers in their business and in their professional development. It also works to ensure that the integrity of the Pilates Method and the interests of Body Control Pilates students and teachers are protected as much as possible in any wider initiatives regarding standards for the Pilates industry.
All BCPA members must to a Code of Practice which is detailed elsewhere in this section of the website.
Our code of practice
All Body Control Pilates Teachers are governed by a Code of Practice that relates to how they run their classes and work with clients. Adherence to the contents of this Code is a precondition for membership of The Body Control Pilates Association.
All teaching members of the BCPA:
- fully subscribe to the BCPA Code of Practice and recognise it as a minimum framework within which to work
- hold relevant and valid qualifications, issued by a recognised Pilates body
- will only work within the scope of such qualifications and will not instruct in areas in which he/she is not formally trained and certificated.
- hold adequate and valid insurance cover, provided by a recognised organisation
- hold a current certificate in CPR (Basic Life Support)
- shall, at no time, misrepresent their qualifications or, similarly, misrepresent the BCPA.
- shall ensure that any advertising or promotional material be wholly accurate in respect of qualification and services, and shall only feature references to the BCPA and other Pilates bodies in an approved and agreed way.
- will handle all enquiries in a courteous and business-like manner. Enquirers will be informed at the earliest opportunity as to whether they may join a class, are put on a waiting-list or should make contact again at a later date.
- will always display high personal standards.
- will give full attention to the comfort and safety of clients at all times. Where a member leads a group class, such classes will normally have a maximum of twelve (12) participants, except where the member is assisted by another qualified teacher.
- will only prescribe exercises that are wholly suitable for the age, experience and physical condition of the client. It is the teacher's responsibility to assess the client upon enrolment.
- shall, when he/she has insufficient knowledge of, or no direct experience of, a specific client's condition, seek advice from another Pilates teacher with relevant experience or knowledge, or from a specialist practitioner.
- will treat all information received from a client, or about a client from a practitioner, as wholly confidential. Such information shall not be released to a third party without the full consent of the client.
- shall continue to develop their professional knowledge and competence in Pilates and related subjects by attending recognised events each year. This can be supplemented by personal study and by development work with other teachers.
Complaints Procedure
If a member does not adhere to the content of this Code, or if a formal complaint is received concerning a BCPA member, the matter will be referred to the Body Control Pilates Association Directors and Council for consideration and potential action.


text: The Latte Lie and Other Myths Check out this video to begin separating fact from fiction. Have A Question About This Topic? Name Email Address Question Thank you! Oops! Related Content Do You Owe The AMT? If you want to avoid potential surprises at tax time, it may make sense to know where you stand when it comes to the AMT. Healthcare Costs in Retirement Without a solid approach, healthcare expenses may add up quickly and potentially alter your spending. Buying vs. Leasing a Car Whatever your relationship with your car, it may eventually come time for a new one. Familiarize yourself with your options.


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With marketers are poised to be the largest users of data within the organization, there is a need to make sense of the variety of consumer data that the organization collects. Surveys, transaction histories and billing records can all provide insight into consumers' future behavior, provided that they are interpreted correctly. In Introduction to Marketing Analytics, we introduce the tools that learners will need to convert raw data into marketing insights. The included exercises are conducted using Microsoft Excel, ensuring that learners will have the tools they need to extract information from the data available to them. The course provides learners with exposure to essential tools including exploratory data analysis, as well as regression methods that can be used to investigate the impact of marketing activity on aggregate data (e.g., sales) and on individual-level choice data (e.g., brand choices).
To successfully complete the assignments in this course, you will require Microsoft Excel. If you do not have Excel, you can download a free 30-day trial here: https://products.office.com/en-us/try
Price: Enroll For Free!
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Portuguese (Brazilian)
TUN Helps Students!
Copyright, 2024 – TUN, Inc


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Artist Bio: Kinji Akagawa
Kinji Akagawa (born 1940, Tokyo, Japan) is an American sculptor and arts educator best known for sculptural constructions that also serve a practical function. A pioneer in the public art movement, Akagawa has throughout his career examined the relationship between art and community, most notably the concept of art as a process of inquiry. His sculpture and public artworks are noted for their refined elegance and use of natural materials, such as granite, basalt, fieldstone, cedar, and ipe wood.
Akagawa trained at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Los Angeles; the Minneapolis College of Art and Design; and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where he earned an MFA degree in 1969.
From 1973 to 2009, Akagawa was a professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD), where he taught sculpture, printmaking, photography, video, installation and conceptual art.
Akagawa's work is exhibited nationally and internationally and is found in numerous public and private collections, including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City; and the Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Notable public artworks include "Peace Garden Bridge," (2009) a collaboration with American architect Jerry Allan, in the Lyndale Park Peace Garden, Minneapolis; "Garden Seating, Thinking, Reading" (1987) in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; and "Bayou Sculpture" (1985), Houston, Texas.
Akagawa's awards and recognitions include the McKnight Foundation Distinguished Artist Award (2007); Minnesota State Arts Board cultural collaborations grant (1995); Carnegie Mellon Foundation faculty enrichment grant (1984); McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowship (1983); Bush Foundation Fellowship (1982); and a Ford Foundation Fellowship (1965).
Akagawa lives and maintains a studio in Afton, Minnesota. He is married to fiber artist Nancy Gipple.
From Wikipedia


text:
Welcome to the online Wellington County Business Directory. The County of Wellington has made every effort to ensure that the information in this business and community directory is accurate. However, businesses and organizations are in a continual state of change and therefore, the County cannot guarantee the absolute correctness, absence of errors or omissions of all information furnished.
If you require changes to your existing entry please use the login button below, or contact the County of Wellington's Economic Development Office at 519.837.2600 x2614 or by e-mail. If you would like to register your business, please use the Register button.
Please note: Only business located in Wellington County, and that are Taste Real Programme Partners are promoted in the County directory. Information may be shared with the local municipality in which the business is located.
Serenity Renewal Centre
- Address:
456 Irvine Street
Elora, Ontario
N0B 1S0 - Phone:
- 519.846.1997


text:
11651 Nebel Street
Rockville, MD 20852
District Court Commissioners Office Rockville
Address: 191 East Jefferson St Rockville, MD 20850
Telephone: 301-563-8850
Office Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
District Court Commissioners Office | Located within Montgomery County Central Processing Unit
Address: 1307 Seven Locks Road Rockville, MD 20854
Telephone: 301-610-7217
Office Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
District Court Silver Spring | This office accepts bonds, fines and fees
Address: 8552 2nd Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910-3380
Telephone: 301-563-8550
Office Hours: 7am to 11pm
Please call the jail at 240-773-4200 for the type of bond and any information that is required for a particular individual at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services.
A bond is set according to a court-approved schedule.
The purpose of the bond is to assure the offender's appearance in court.
Instructions on how to post Bail or Bond in Montgomery County
Because Montgomery County and Maryland can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services at 240-773-4200, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, right after an arrestee has been booked.
Ask the staff at the Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services or the Montgomery County Court Clerk these specific questions:
If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released.
This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.
Option 1 - How to Post Bail using Cash for a Defendant at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services
The first option, a cash bond, is to pay the full bail amount in cash, cashier's check, or money order. Personal Checks are not accepted.
Depending on the crime, this amount could be anywhere from $100 to $75,000 or more.
To pay a cash bond, go to Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services or to the court where the bail hearing occurred. Going directly to the jail will quicken the release of the defendant as any bail paperwork processed at the court will have to be transferred to the jail.
Cashier's Checks and Money Orders may be made out to Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services where the defendant is being held, but usually to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office or to the Montgomery County Court.
To purchase money orders visit any Western Union, Moneygram or Post Office.
Option 2 - How to Post a Private or Surety Bond for a Defendant at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services
In the event that someone does not have the full bond amount available to him or her, there is what is called a private bond or surety bond.
This is an agreement made with a bail agent or bondsman who will post the full bail amount. In return, the defendant and/or cosigner will pay a premium to the bail agent. This premium will be 10-15% of the full bail amount.
For example, if bail is posted at $5,000, then the premium will cost approximately $500-$750.
A bail agent will often require some form of collateral, for example, a lien on a house, a car or jewelry. This is to ensure that if the defendant skips bail, or does not appear in court, the bail agent has some sort of compensation for the full bail amount being paid.
Remember, by making an agreement with a bail agent the signatory takes responsibility for paying the full bail amount if the defendant does not appear in court.
Option 3 - How to Post a Property Bond for a Defendant at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services
If you are a landowner in Montgomery County you may be able to post a property bond. Property within Montgomery County may be used as collateral to bail someone out. All owners of the property must be present to sign the bond in order for this to happen.
To find if property located outside of Montgomery County can be used as collateral, call a local bail or bond agent or contact a defense lawyer.
Click here for additional information on how to post bail at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services.
Who can post Bail or Bond for a Defendant at Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services?
Anyone over the age of 18 who can produce a valid government-issued photo ID can post bail. Accepted forms of ID include a Photo Driver's License, Passport, or Motor Vehicle issued ID.
In many circumstances, if the defendant has the resources, they can post their own cash bail from jail.
Surety Bonds are arranged by a third party, typically a Maryland state licensed Bail Bond firm.
Juveniles may only be bailed or bonded out of custody by a parent or legal guardian.
When will the Cash Bail or Collateral be returned to me?
Money or collateral will not be returned until the defendant's court case is finished, so realistically it could take several months to years, depending on the severity of the charges. If a defendant posts his or her own bail, Montgomery County Court may retain whatever amount of fines or fees have accumulated throughout the trial.
What happens to my Bail or Collateral if the Defendant misses Court?
The Montgomery County Judge may order a failure to appear warrant for the person's arrest or the Judge may order a Bail Commissioner's Letter be issued that will be sent to the person with a new court date.
If cash bail was paid, the entire amount may be forfeited.
To send commissary money to an inmate in Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Montgomery County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
Note: All your calls with an inmate are recorded, stored and shared with law enforcement if the conversation deals with your case or any criminal activity. Anything communicated can be used against you or your inmate in court.
For all the information regarding phone calls with Montgomery County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Montgomery County Pre-Release and Reentry Services check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Montgomery County.


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cute little 3 opening frame.I'm thinking that the sales at the dollar stores have gone up tremendously due to bloggers. They don't need advertisement, they have women who love to blog and create on the cheap.I know it's a little early for Halloween,
but it's nice to be prepared, right?
I used a sheet of computer paper as a template to cut apart an old newspaper.
Then I typed out the letters making sure to leave a lot of space between each one. I chose a different font for each letter. To get the right size, I chose to make the font sizes between 145 to 175.
When I was satisfied with the look, I ran the newspaper sheets through my printer.
All that was left was to cut squares around the letters and attach them to the back of the frame with tape, then reassemble the frame.


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By MARY CLARE JALONICK
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Partnership for a Healthier America's second Building a Healthier Future Summit on childhood obesity, Friday, March 8, 2013, at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama praised the food industry on Friday for its efforts to market healthier foods but said more needs to be done.
At a speech before a childhood obesity summit, the first lady encouraged the industry to put better labels on food, limit marketing of unhealthy foods, and do more to promote healthy foods.
She invoked her pre-White House years as a working mom who would run through the grocery store trying to make healthy decisions for her children.
"I didn't exactly have time to peruse the aisles, thoughtfully reading labels, and I know my experiences are not unique," she said.
She praised companies like Disney, Mars, Hershey and PepsiCo. that she said have made efforts to reduce marketing of unhealthy foods to children. But she said, "We have a lot of work to do."
Mrs. Obama encouraged companies not just to limit junk food marketing but to promote healthier foods.
The first lady did not mention a government effort to establish voluntary guidelines for marketing foods to kids. That effort was directed by Congress in 2009 and the Federal Trade Commission issued a draft of the guidelines in 2011, urging companies only to market foods to children if they are low in fats, sugars and sodium and contain specified healthy ingredients. The effort fizzled after food and advertising companies balked and conservatives on Capitol Hill criticized the effort.
On Friday, Mrs. Obama appealed directly to the food industry to limit marketing and promote healthy foods. She cited studies that showed kids would reach for vegetables if they were marketed with popular characters such as Elmo.
"When businesses step up it's important to applaud their efforts, but also to encourage them to do even more," she said.
Mrs. Obama also encouraged parents not just to feed their children well but to stay healthy themselves.
Reducing childhood obesity is "a moral obligation to our children" and "a patriotic obligation to our country," she said.
Mrs. Obama was joined by Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning at the Partnership for Healthier America's summit. The private group was formed in conjunction with the first lady's Let's Move campaign to combat childhood obesity and works to secure commitments from industry and others for healthier eating and fitness.
"What inspires me now is that so many Americans are joining together and looking at the crisis of obesity in America," Booker said.


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"Internally, a large number of Google employees have been using the new homepage. They have come to really like it — it represents our focus on great search yet helps searchers efficiently access all of Google's products. Like the new supersized search box we launched several months ago, this change is one that is very noticeable at first, and then quickly becomes second nature," explains Google's blog.
I rarely go to Google's homepage to search the Web, since browsers include a search box and I don't have to load a new web page to enter a query. The latest UI changes will make me visit Google's homepage more often: the search box is bigger, the search results are loaded without opening a new page using Ajax and the new clutter-free interface helps you concentrate.


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Food Network star and chef Guy Fieri is a diehard UFC fan, and he has some suggestions for those visiting Minneapolis for this October's FX event...
Guy Fieri is not going to lie. He was a little bit skeptical when first told of the existence of a new sport called mixed martial arts back in the mid-90s. Before he was traveling across the country and landing in everyone's living room through several shows, most notably the Food Network hit Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, the chef was running a restaurant in Southern California, and a few of his workers were about to open his eyes.
"Around 1994-95, I was running a restaurant in Redondo Beach, and I had these Brazilian dudes that worked for me in the kitchen," Fieri recalled. "They were really charismatic guys, but real badasses, and they were telling me about this fighting competition that the Gracies - who had a training facility down the street - were in and that it was no holds barred. I said get outta here, it's fake, it's got to be wrestling. (Laughs) Then they brought in a VHS video tape and we sat there and watched it and I'm like 'you've got to be kidding me. This is Roman Empire gladiator stuff.' And I was hooked. The Gracies would even come into this Italian restaurant, and you couldn't believe the talent and the strength and the fortitude that you had to have to do this."
It was the beginning of a love affair for Fieri, a lifelong fan of martial arts who took tae kwon do for five years when he was growing up. In mixed martial arts and the UFC, he found a sport that was not only compelling, but one he could see growing right before his eyes.
"You talk about the old school, Tank Abbott, that was my boy," he laughs, recalling the charismatic brawler who captivated fight fans in the early days of the UFC. "I was running around Huntington Beach back in those days, and Tank was down there, and Tito (Ortiz), and it was so close, it was crazy."
But like many fans, as much as Fieri enjoyed the sport, the controversy swirling around it in the early years almost made it impossible to consistently check out the fights and see it as a sport with a real future.
"I remember being a fan of this, and it was hit or miss whether or not you were gonna get to see it or be around it because there was so much controversy going on," he said. "And I said, you know what the controversy is, it's that no one's figured out how to put a tag on it yet."
What followed were the so-called "Dark Ages" of the sport, when it wasn't readily available for fans to view and previous UFC owners SEG were hitting significant financial trouble. Yet just before the bottom fell out, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and their friend Dana White intervened as the new company Zuffa, buying the dying UFC in 2001 and beginning the process that now sees the organization as one of the most successful and popular entities in sports today.
"Thank God for Dana White," said Fieri of the UFC president. "The guy went against what people said couldn't be done, and it was gonna go away. I thought it was going away, and I was just blown out that we were gonna lose it. And to see it now on Fuel (TV) all the time, I never anticipated that it would go to this and people would be so into it. People gave it a negative rap. They were saying 'oh, it's so violent,' and it's not any more violent than the movies kids are watching these days. So no, I didn't think it would come to this, but I'm thrilled it is."
If you've seen any of Fieri's shows, you'll know the enthusiasm and passion he brings to his projects and the world of television. Well, it's clear from just a few seconds talking about the UFC that he feels the same way about the world's fastest growing sport.
"When (UFC color commentator) Joe Rogan goes out with laryngitis, I want a shot," he said. "That's how much of a fan I am."
Many in Zuffa's offices in Las Vegas would say the same thing about being a fan of Fieri, with UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta making sure that the promotion's stop for an FX show on October 5 – Minneapolis, Minnesota – got the DDD seal of approval from the host before giving the green light for the event headlined by the heavyweight bout between Travis Browne and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.
It did.
"My camera crew, Matchstick Productions, is based out of Minneapolis, so it's always nice to shoot in your hometown," said Fieri, whose own homebase is in Northern California. "The second piece is, you show me a place where it's cold and where it has a strong ethnic population and cultural diversity, and I'll show you a place that's coming up with some crazy food. Because when it's cold and it's snowing outside, what do you have time to do? Watch UFC and eat good food. So I find that the places that are really hot and the places that are really cold, we have a tendency to find some really dynamite food. Don't get me wrong, we find great food all over the country, but in particular in Minneapolis, there are some killer restaurants and some of my favorites."
And while spending time with his wife and two sons and his hectic travel and filming schedule have kept him from attending a live UFC event, he is a regular viewer on Pay-Per-View and cable, and he has made it out to the shows in his area presented by one of the UFC's top contenders during his time in the Octagon, David "The Soul Assassin" Terrell.
"Dave is an awesome guy and he has the great Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance Center up here," said Fieri. "He has put on a couple fights here in Sonoma County and I just went to one three, four months ago, and it's just awesome to see the guys have a chance to get a shot at it and go after it. It was killer."
So little has changed for Fieri since his first exposure to the sport all those years ago. Well, little has changed in terms of him being a diehard UFC fan. As for everything else, it's safe to say things are a bit different, but the way he sees it, he hasn't changed the way he does things. It's just that now everybody else is along for the ride.
"I love it because it's just me being me, hanging out, eating food, and talking about food," he said. "And the fact that it's become so popular, I'm so appreciative, and I've got the best fans in the world. It's so amazing that you can do a little cable television show and it can change the lives of people. We've been to over 500 locations, and it changes lives. It's changed the economic profile of their family and their life and their restaurant forever. It's awesome and it's great to be that guy. It has its price – traveling is tough and being away from my wife and kids is really tough, but knowing that it's doing such a great thing for the industry that I love is worth it."
And as far as he's concerned, the key to his success comes down to being honest with his viewers week in and week out.
"You like the fighters you like," said Fieri, comparing it to being a fight fan. "And you gotta be real about it. You've got to like a fighter even when he loses. I'm a big Brock Lesnar fan, and to see him lose, I was just devastated. But if you're a fan, you're a fan. So it's got to be real, and we've got too many things where people are not being real and doing things for sensationalism and being negative for sensationalism. If the food ain't real, if the situation isn't real, you're not gonna see it. I've got a reputation as a chef, and even more of a reputation as a dad to my two boys. I don't want my kids to have their dad being some sell-out that every place he goes to is the best place in the world. Have we walked? Absolutely. Have we had shows that we shot and then realized after we went back and reviewed it that it wasn't working? Absolutely. Does it happen often? No. Did it used to happen? Yes. When we first got started, we didn't have all the kinks worked out, but it's either real deal or no deal."
Sort of like the UFC. And Guy Fieri wouldn't have it any other way.
GUY's MINNEAPOLIS PICKS
When it comes to chowing down in Minneapolis, Fieri says "There's not a place I wouldn't recommend." But here are a few of his favorites for fight fans heading into town for October 5th's UFC on FX event at the Target Center. One warning though: "You're gonna need an extra three or four days when you go for the UFC fights just to check out the great food in Minneapolis," said the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host.
Nye's Polonaise - http://www.nyespolonaise.com/
"You've got to go to Nye's Polonaise. Nye's is this throwback joint, and when we would go into town to shoot the show or visit or have meetings, we would end up there. So I would always go there because they have this crazy polka band and the drinks were great, and I was always there until late, but I never got to eat the food. Then finally I ate the food and I was like 'this is crazy.' So you've got to try Nye's. Killer food and they make it all from scratch."
Pizzeria Lola - http://www.pizzerialola.com/
"Pizzeria Lola, awesome place. This girl makes pizza in this French pizza oven that cooks super hot. I was there with my buddy Andrew Zimmern, who's a great chef, and we were there. The pizza she makes is out of bounds."
Smack Shack - http://smack-shack.com/
"Smack Shack is a little restaurant inside of the 1029 Bar, and they do a lamb sandwich there that will blow…your…mind."
Victor's 1959 - http://victors1959cafe.com/
"Phenomenal Cuban joint. Outstanding."
Kramarczuk's - http://kramarczuk.com/
"Kramarczuk's is almost right across the street from Nye's. And these guys make this Eastern European food, anything you can imagine, from stuffed cabbage to sausage to borscht. You can't beat it. Outstanding place and they do it all themselves."
Broders' Pasta Bar - http://broders.com/pasta-bar/
"Great Italian joint. You can't go wrong."


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On this "17th anniversary of Europe's worst massacre since World War II," 30,000 people gathered in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, today to bury 520 more victims of the 1995 slaughter there.
And as The Associated Press says, "the annual ritual was as heartbreaking as ever."
"Izabela Hasanovic, 27, spent the last minutes crying over one of the coffins before it was lowered into the ground. 'My father, my father is here,' she sobbed. 'I cannot believe that my father is in this coffin. I cannot accept it!'
"Another woman dropped on her knees next to a coffin, pressing her lips against the green cloth covering its wood. 'It's your sister kissing you. It's me,' she whispered to the coffin, caressing it with both hands until others lowered it.
"Then the valley echoed with the sound of dirt landing over 500 coffins from thousands of shovels as a voice read out the names of the victims and their ages from loudspeakers."
Names of the 520 victims buried today are posted here, at the memorial center's website. As the AP reminds us, "Srebrenica was a U.N.-protected Muslim town in Bosnia besieged by Serb forces throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Serb troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic overran the enclave in July 1995, separated men from women and executed 8,372 men and boys within days."
Bodies are still being found in mass graves, AP adds, and the grim task of identifying them continues. "So far 5,325 Srebrenica massacre victims ... have been laid to rest."
The pictures from today's service, one of which we're including here, tell the sad story of the ceremony well.
Back in 2005, All Things Considered reported on the 10th anniversary ceremony.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Remember the excitement around the starting of each NEW school year… you may have enjoyed connecting or reconnecting with friends, teachers, family, or you may have enjoyed getting your supplies etc.
Help us share excitement about school with children and families who are in need and are unable to live with their biological parents.
The Relatives as Parents Program, "RAPP", seeks your support in providing school supplies to children who live with their grandparents and other relatives parenting the children of others.
Any group can organize a Community Service Project and help local families.
Why do these children need help? RAPP families need help because unexpectedly parenting someone else's child is challenging. RAPP families are responsible adults who are committed to helping children and have a more stable home life. These families understand the impact on life created during childhood years and the importance on long-term growth and outcomes.
The Relatives as Parents Program is a part of the Forsyth County Department of Social Services' Family and Children's Division and has been a partner in the community since 2003
.Email Teresa Bryant or call her at (336) 703-3744 to organize your community service project.
Click here to view the flyer listing supplies that are needed.
Click here to view a list of the community groups, organizations, and individual donors who helped last year.
Who are some relatives raising children (also called Relative Caregivers) in our community?


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Top 15 Best Athlete's Foot Medicine In 2024
Gretchen Rubin May 30, 2024 10:48 PM
The Best Athlete's Foot Medicine can be difficult to locate among the different manufacturers and versions. The majority of them, on the other hand, may not meet the product's primary needs or application criteria.
However, in our Best Athlete's Foot Medicine review, we kept and focused on a few issues and quality, such as user-friendly features, great quality, notable performance, all-around features, increased lifespan and value for money.
In order to ensure your satisfaction, we conducted a thorough evaluation of each product's performance-to-price ratio. You can see many famous brand like Tinactin, Lotrimin, Triple Paste, Dr. Scholl's, CareAll, Defense Soap, Rite Aid, Globe Pharmacy, HONGO KILLER, Puriya, Ebanel, MARIE'S ORIGINAL, Natrulo.
Compare Products
- BrandDr. Scholl's
- Prime
- BrandHONGO KILLER
- Prime
Last update on 2024-05-30 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API
How to Choose the Best Athlete's Foot Medicine?
In best athlete's foot medicine, prior understanding of the product is always important. Other performance-related factors may be included in these findings. For this reason, we recommend that you evaluate the product's price to its value before making a decision.
Only you can avoid wasting your important time by performing thorough research and comparisons. To help you save time, we've already done the research and comparisons. With the best athlete's foot medicine, you can get the performance you want in the quickest amount of time feasible, without sacrificing anything.
Trust Brand
Before purchasing the best athlete's foot medicine, make sure the manufacturer has a good reputation in the present market. Finding trustworthy and user-friendly information is essential for a successful best athlete's foot medicine. In order to get a better understanding of a product, you can compare different brands and check out customer reviews. You can also learn about the company's services throughout and after the sale.
Best Athlete's Foot Medicine items tend to be more expensive. That product, however, may require a higher expenditure in order to achieve the finest performance and customer service. As a result, some firms may be new to the market, except for their concepts. Competing and winning the market is possible for them as well.
Practical Features:
When purchasing the best athlete's foot medicine, this is the next thing to look at. Always strive to find a product that has the features you're looking for. We advise you to focus on the most important or required elements of each product.
Pros and Cons
Getting a product that is excellent in every way is next to impossible. As a result, your chosen product may have both positive and negative qualities. As a result, focus on the most important advantages and demonstrate how they meet your best athlete's foot medicine, requirements. Instead, the shortcomings in the product may provide insight into its worth in real-time applications.
Performance and Durability:
Regardless of user ratings, there are various ways to determine the best athlete's foot medicine performance and durability you are looking for. Try to see where the materials used to make the product come from. As it is, the best products are made of the best materials available.
Final Words
Now, we have concluded our Best Athlete's Foot Medicine review. We expect our study can help you buy the product matching your needs. Here, we have included a good explanation of applications, features, user reviews, pros, and cons so that you get top-quality products.
Please consider purchasing one of our recommended products, as we have previously demonstrated why they are superior.


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This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm John Donvan in Washington; Neal Conan is away. Five words, let's sing them.
DEAN MARTIN: (Singing) I'll be home for Christmas...
DONVAN: Ah, Dean Martin, and the whole idea of the homecoming, we love the idea. And it's not just songs. It's books and plays and movies: "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," about two guys getting home for Christmas; or "The Waltons" TV show, episode one, the pilot, was called "Homecoming" because dad was missing in a snowstorm until the end.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (as character) Oh, would you look who's home?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (as character) It's daddy.
DONVAN: And another ending, the uber-Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life," which was really all about George finding his way back home but also literally his brother Harry, who in the last moments of the movie arrives from the airport...
JAMES STEWART: (as George Bailey) Mary, I got him here from the airport just as quick as I could. The fool flew all the way up here in a blizzard.
DONNA REED: (as Marv Bailey) Harry, how about your banquet in New York?
TODD KARNS: (as Harry Bailey) Oh, I left right in the middle of it, as soon as I got Mary's telegram. Good idea, Ernie, a toast. To my big brother George, the richest man in town.
DONVAN: Ah, but you know, there was a plane crew that got Harry to the airport that night and a bus driver who got John-Boy's dad home. And even as we speak, with some nasty weather heading into the West and Mid-South today, there are snowplow drivers and toll booth operators and air traffic controllers who are all working to get us home but do not necessarily get to go home themselves.
Hi time, we say, to put together a little carol for them, or at least a radio show, their stories of getting us back home, your stories of how they helped you get home and a chance for all of us to say thanks. If you're out there making things run on time, tell us what we don't understand about the job you're doing this Christmas.
And if you do have a story of the transit worker who helped you to get home, holiday season or not, we want to hear from you, too, and here's your chance to say thanks. Our number is 800-989-8255. Our email address is email@example.com. And you can also join the conversation at our website. Go to npr.org, and click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Later on in the program, The Opinion Page, but first these unsung heroes of holiday travel. Tom Shaffer is a Greyhound training instructor and a motor coach driver/operator who has been working 15 out of the last 20 Christmases. He was profiled this week in a piece in USA Today, written by Laura Coffee(ph). And as is often the case, he will be working again this Christmas, when he drives the 6 a.m. bus from Dallas to Oklahoma City. Tom Shaffer joins us now from his home in Rockwall, Texas. Welcome, Tom, to TALK OF THE NATION.
TOM SHAFFER: Yes, I'm here.
DONVAN: Tom hi, it's John Donvan, and welcome to TALK OF THE NATION. So I understand for you that driving a bus is really actually a passion. But my question is: Do you mind driving on Christmas Eve, when everybody else is home around the hearth?
SHAFFER: No, not at all.
DONVAN: So how do you handle it? What's your approach?
SHAFFER: Well, you know, just being safe is the number one priority and making sure that we get our customers to their destination as safely as possible and as close to on time as possible.
DONVAN: So why do you love doing it?
SHAFFER: Well, it's a childhood dream come true. I mean, this was something that I wanted to do as a child, you know, being fascinated by buses, and, you know, I've been doing this now for 26 years.
DONVAN: Wow, and is it your choice to work on Christmas? I would imagine after 26 years you've got some seniority and the right to say let the young guy do it.
SHAFFER: Well, I'm scheduled to work on that day, but, you know, it's, you know, the - you know, the thing about just, you know, being a part of, you know, getting one, getting a person, you know, from, you know, one destination to another and seeing the excitement on their faces and when they, you know, get a chance to see their loved ones that they're traveling to visit with.
DONVAN: So what time did you get off today?
SHAFFER: I got in this morning about 2:30 from Houston.
DONVAN: Wow, and have you had some sleep in the meantime?
SHAFFER: Yes, I've had rest, and I'll go back to bed tonight about 8 o'clock and sleep until 4 a.m. and be ready to leave out of Dallas at 6:10 a.m. to Oklahoma City.
DONVAN: So you'll be out there during those Santa-Claus-working-the-chimney hours. Is it different driving a bus on Christmas Day from any other day?
SHAFFER: Well, it is, I mean, you know, because, you know, the people that are traveling, you know, during the holiday, you know, they're more excited about getting where they're going and seeing their friends and loved ones. So it is quite different.
DONVAN: Do you do anything to make it different for the passengers?
SHAFFER: Well, you know, I just, you know, you know, do what I do. It's - you know, it's not really that different, you know, but, you know, at Christmastime, you know, or major holidays, I mean there's just more excitement, you know, and just, you know, making sure that, you know, I get them there safely.
DONVAN: And what about the people on the bus on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve? Are they any different from people the rest of the year? Are they for example, most of them trying to get home?
SHAFFER: Well, you know, they are trying to get home, you know, but they're more excited about getting where they're going because, you know, it's that time of the year.
DONVAN: Right. Well, how does your family feel about you being on the road while they're all at home on Christmas Day?
SHAFFER: Well, my wife, you know, is - we've been together for 12 years. So, you know, she understands this is what I do. You know, I mean, this is what I was doing when we met. So, you know, she has grown to, you know, accept it, and so does my sons, Jordan(ph) and Taylor(ph).
DONVAN: How old are they?
SHAFFER: My youngest son is 11, and my oldest is 17.
DONVAN: Wow, so when do you actually open presents?
SHAFFER: Well, we'll open a couple presents this evening.
DONVAN: So a little bit before, OK.
SHAFFER: A little bit before.
DONVAN: Tom, on behalf of all of us who might be on the bus with you today, I want to say thanks, and thanks for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION. So I know you've got to get up at 4 a.m. So we want to let you go. And have a great Christmas tonight with your family and tomorrow with your passengers.
SHAFFER: I'll do just that, thanks.
DONVAN: Thanks, Tom Shaffer of Greyhound. So we want to now bring in Nate Pair, who does the same thing but looking at the sky. He's been an air traffic controller for 13 years. He is president of the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center and joins us by phone from Fresno, California. Nate, thanks for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION.
NATE PAIR, LOS ANGELES AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER: Hi John, good morning, or good afternoon there on the East Coast.
DONVAN: Yeah, good morning to you over on the West Coast. So who decides who has to actually work the holidays?
CENTER: Well, you know, it's done a couple different ways. Mostly we do it - we bid our vacation, and the more seniority they have, the better chance that you get to having the holidays is the primary way we do it.
DONVAN: So it's not a lottery then. It is a delicate negotiation, or is it really straightforward that the new guys are going to have to do it?
CENTER: Well, you know, we kind of divvy it up. In the sense of actually your first times of being able to bid vacation, usually those spots to be able to get the holidays are gone. But we have different ways of taking care of each other and making sure that we're able to spend a little bit of time with our families through the different holidays throughout the year.
DONVAN: So what are the ways that you get to take care of each other? Do you actually bring in Christmas dinner?
CENTER: Yeah, we do. We do a lot of different fun little things. but really, you know, we're a big group. The National Air Traffic Control Association, you know, we represent 15,000 air traffic controllers, 20,000 safety-related jobs. And we've really taken the brotherhood and sisterhood, and we do them in very little ways, such as, you know, the nature of shift work.
We're going to miss our kids' soccer games. We're going to miss recitals and Christmas. We have controllers who by nature of the shift work are working swing shifts on Christmas Eve. They turn right back around and work a day shift on Christmas Day. So some of the things we'll do is maybe swap shifts on Christmas Day so, you know, the person who has a child, a young child, can come in at 10 o'clock, but at least they can open gifts with their kid in the morning before they come in.
Or if I don't have kids, I may work Christmas Eve with someone so they can spend that at home, and they'll work the Christmas Day for me.
DONVAN: Nate, almost by definition people want air traffic controllers to be invisible, I mean passengers. They don't want to know that you're there because things just want to run smoothly from their point of view. Do you feel unappreciated ever, not appreciated?
CENTER: You know, we like that. You know, the less that they know about us means that we're doing our job. But much like NPR radio, you know, one of the things we like to do - any opportunity we can get out to the flying public and talk about and educate a little bit on what we do. You know, we're public servants. We work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Our controllers are working hard day in, day out, every single night.
DONVAN: Well, speaking of working this particular day in the year, there's some bad weather coming up. Can you just take 30 seconds and explain to us, so that we finally know, you're out in California. Why would weather in New England affect what you're doing out in California?
CENTER: That's a very good question. Actually we have to take the air traffic control system as a whole. We call it the national airspace system. And we can't look at just a single airport. We take it - they have a command center, which is based on the East Coast, and what they do is look at all the airports, all the demand, all the delays, and they communicate with each of the facilities.
From my instance, at air traffic control center, there's 24 of us. They coordinate with each of those centers to look at what the demand's going to be. So if there's a big push coming out of the East Coast, they may work with Denver and some other places in the Midwest to slow a little bit of the traffic departing out of there so the demand heading into L.A. is not 100 airplanes all at one time.
We kind of space those things out. So the command center, in conjunction with our local traffic management units, are kind of putting a big puzzle together all day. And that's how we manage the demand that goes in and out of the airports.
DONVAN: So it's really a domino effect is what it sounds like.
CENTER: Absolutely.
DONVAN: We've asked folks out there, who like you are working the holidays and who keep things moving, to give us a call in and also people who have been helped by folks like you to get home to tell us their stories of getting home with a little bit of help.
And I want to go to Chris(ph), who is in Brewster, New York. Hi Chris, you're on TALK OF THE NATION.
CHRIS: Hello, nice to talk with you.
DONVAN: You too. So what's your story?
CHRIS: Well, it was a tow-truck driver who helped me get home in a hard, blinding snowstorm. We never saw each other and never spoke a word to each other.
DONVAN: What do you mean you never saw each other?
CHRIS: We never met. I was trying to get home right after Christmas. I had been to my mom's. I was coming home in a heavy snowstorm, and I lived at the top of a steep hill. I got to the bottom of the hill, and I couldn't get up the hill. There was no way. My car wouldn't make it.
And I'm sitting at the bottom of the hill with my two cats in the car, trying to figure out what I'm going to do next. And this tow truck came up behind me, blowing his horn like crazy. And I'm sitting there thinking I'd love to get out of your way, but I can't. He came right up behind me. I threw my car into neutral, and he pushed me all the way up the hill.
DONVAN: Really?
CHRIS: Yeah. We got to the top of the hill. He honked his horn again and waved out his window. I waved out my window, and off he went. We never saw each other. We never spoke a word.
DONVAN: That's an amazing story. What would you like to say to him, if he knows who he is, and he's out there listening?
CHRIS: Thank you for your help. I have no idea how I would have gotten home without it.
DONVAN: All right, Chris, thanks so much for sharing that story. Nate Pair, an air traffic controller, if only you had that kind of face-to-face contact.
CENTER: You know, we are the - you know, we love being in the background. We love helping people get home, to and from, to their families. We know it's important time of the year. We sign up as public servants and, you know, on behalf of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, you know, happy holidays to everybody, and I appreciate you having me on.
DONVAN: All right, Nate Pair, thanks for joining us. You're president of the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center and joined us by phone from Fresno, California. And we're talking with people who get us home for the holidays, the transit workers who make our travel possible. If you're one, tell us what we don't know about your job. Give us a little bit of insight and tell us how you spend your Christmas.
And if you've got a story like we just heard from Chris about someone who helped you home, we'd like to hear that, too. Give us a call at 800-989-8255. Or email us, firstname.lastname@example.com. We'll have more in just a minute. I'm John Donvan. This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
DONVAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm John Donvan. And today we're talking about the transit workers who help us get home for the holidays. And in a lot of parts of the country this season, that means the crews that clear the snow and salt the roads and de-ice the highways. We have a huge storm that dumped six feet of snow on the Sierra Nevada yesterday. It is now heading east toward Oklahoma City, where freezing rain, sleet and snow are supposed to hit sometime early tomorrow.
Crews there are already salting the bridges and the overpasses, and extra workers are standing by on call. Before the week is out, Detroit, Cleveland, Rochester and Burlington could all see significant accumulations. So if you are out there making sure that the roads and the rails and the runways are clear and that buses and trains and planes are running on time, tell us what we don't understand about your job and especially about what happens at Christmastime.
And if there is a transit worker who helped you get home, we would also like to hear your story. Give us a call. Our number is 800-989-8255. Or send us an email, email@example.com. So joining us now is Cindy Van War. She is a toll collector on the New Jersey turnpike. She is working over the Christmas holiday season, and Cindy joins us now by phone from Jamesburg, New Jersey. Welcome, Cindy, to TALK OF THE NATION.
CINDY VAN WAR: How are you?
DONVAN: We're great. And it's interesting, I realize that you sort of stand in the middle of a river of traffic. So you can see all the time how the tide is flowing and who's coming down that river. So this holiday season, what changes are you seeing? How does it change, and what sorts of people are you seeing come through your toll booth?
WAR: I see a lot of people that are coming home that haven't been home in a long time.
DONVAN: How do you know? I mean, do you really get a chance to talk in the brief interaction?
WAR: Well, I work the midnight shift. So I get to talk to people more than most people do.
DONVAN: Yeah.
WAR: You see people, they'll come through your lane, and they'll tell you that they just straight through from Texas or Georgia and how many hours, and they're almost to where they're going, and they have their families with them, and their cars are full of gifts, and yeah. So that's how...
DONVAN: So it sounds to me, it sounds to me you're a pretty social toll booth operator, that you like the interaction.
WAR: I do, I do. I like people. I'm a people person. I always like my job. It's nice. You get to meet people from all walks of life.
DONVAN: Any idea in a given busy day how many people you actually meet that way?
WAR: Nowadays probably maybe about 500, maybe 300 to 400, 500 people. It's slower on the midnight shift.
DONVAN: Right because you're working the overnight.
WAR: You have a lot of people who travel and arrive in the middle of the night.
DONVAN: So what do you tend to see after all of your years of experience? What tends to happen after midnight on Christmas Eve?
WAR: You have people who are arriving, who have reached their destination and can't wait to where they're going, you know, to get to where they're going to. And then tomorrow morning you'll start to see people travel who are well-dressed and are going to start to go to one family's home, to the next family's home.
DONVAN: So you can actually notice by the clothes they're wearing in the car?
WAR: Oh yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
DONVAN: Can you - are there clusters by age and that kind of thing, you know, you have college kids coming up or grandma?
WAR: Oh, you have the college kids who come home from school that usually are - it's so funny because they never had to get home. They're actually funny. And then, you know, you have the kids that are in the car that everybody, they always wave, and, you know, they're excited, especially when you ask them, you know, have they been good, and Santa, is Santa going to come to their house.
DONVAN: Oh, that's nice.
WAR: Yeah, it's nice.
DONVAN: How do you pass the time? Can I ask? Is it tough to keep your concentration?
WAR: No, no. Is it tough to keep my concentration?
DONVAN: Yeah.
WAR: No, not at all, no not at all.
DONVAN: Because the traffic never stops, and every rolled-down window I guess is another chance to meet somebody.
WAR: Yeah, absolutely, and it's just, it's nice. People are nice, and they're just happy to be wherever they're going, and holidays bring out holiday spirit and brings families to families. And it's just a nice thing. It's a nice thing to watch.
DONVAN: What is your Christmas, then, when you get home?
WAR: I will get home tomorrow morning about 7 o'clock, and I'm sure my teenagers will be getting - I probably won't get any sleep tomorrow.
WAR: My sister came, my sister and her family came from Virginia. My brother has his other family coming up from Atlantic City. And then we'll all meet over at my mom's house about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. So if I'm lucky, I might sleep for about an hour.
DONVAN: You know, you're right on the New Jersey turnpike, and we had Sandy come through several weeks back, wreaking havoc. Did you see - could you see the story of Sandy in the flow of traffic that came through your toll booth?
WAR: Oh, that was amazing. It was beautiful. All the people that worked for FEMA and volunteers that came through, it was amazing. People came from all over the United States.
DONVAN: Wow, well Cindy...
WAR: Yeah, it was actually - I mean how sad that that's what it would take to make somebody come, but the people came from California. I can't even - I'd have to say just about every state. There were people who just - they weren't with FEMA. They just filled up trailers and drove them up from Florida. They just - donations. And it was nice. It was a beautiful thing.
DONVAN: Cindy, it sounds - you have such an interesting perspective, and I think we've never thought of it before, but you really do see the world come through your booth. And I want to thank you for staying up a little bit later and not sleeping so you can talk to us and for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION.
WAR: Oh you're very welcome. Have a nice holiday.
DONVAN: All right, thanks a lot. Cindy Van War is a toll collector on the New Jersey turnpike. Let's go to Joseph(ph) in Norman, Oklahoma. Hi Joseph, you're on TALK OF THE NATION.
JOSEPH: Hi, how are you doing?
DONVAN: Good, thanks. Tell us your story.
JOSEPH: Well, I drive a wrecked here in Norman, Oklahoma, or a tow truck a lot of people call them. And we're expecting a big snowstorm to come through tomorrow. And I think a lot of people don't realize, you know, the amount of effort and things, you know, that we go through.
DONVAN: Yeah, tell us. Tell us about it.
JOSEPH: Well, I work 7 to 7 every day, 12 days on, and we get two days off. So every other weekend you might get off. It's a good job, you know, and I get to help people out all day, you know. And especially during the holidays, you run into a lot of people who get stranded on the highways or trying to go home or something like that. And it's our job to make sure that they get to where they're going, you know, in any way that we can.
DONVAN: So when bad weather's coming in, as it is now, and Christmas is coming, are you conflicted about that? I mean, I'm sure that in a certain way you want the work, and you sound like you enjoy it, but it means you're going to be on the road a lot. How do you feel about that?
JOSEPH: Well, I like my job. I like being out on the road, you know, and nine times out of 10 I'm getting to help people out. So no, there's not a great deal of confliction with me. It always feel good to, you know, help that family of four, you know, who just has that flat tire or needs that jumpstart or might even need a tow, you know, a few hundred miles down the road or something. It always feels good to be able to help somebody like that out.
DONVAN: Do you have family that you're not with when you're out helping everybody else?
JOSEPH: Yeah, yeah, I'm married. We always do our - we try to do our Christmases before, you know, like the day before, a couple days before because everybody knows, you know, that I'm going to be working pretty much every major holiday.
DONVAN: Do you think people appreciate that you're out there, or do they take it for granted that when they pick up the phone and say I'm in trouble, you're going to be there?
JOSEPH: Well, that's a good question. I would say sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. You know, a lot of people take for granted, you know, the amount of effort and time, you know, that somebody like me has to put into getting, you know, even just getting to where they're having a problem. You know, but a lot of the times people are really thankful, you know, and you really do get to help people out, and it's a good deal.
DONVAN: You heard that story of Chris, who said that a truck came up behind her and gave her a...?
JOSEPH: Yeah, yeah, I was wondering about that. That's breaking some DOT regs, I know that much.
JOSEPH: Yeah, that sounds pretty dangerous. And that's another portion that a lot of people I don't think realize is how dangerous the job is. I want to say - I read a report that we're the third-most-dangerous job in the United States.
DONVAN: Really?
JOSEPH: Yeah because, you know, we're roadside, and people drive really fast, and they don't look out. And, you know, you spend a lot of time on the road. It's just - it's a dangerous thing.
DONVAN: All right, Joseph, thanks very much for your call. We hadn't thought about that, and that is really good to know. Thanks for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION.
JOSEPH: All right, thank you.
DONVAN: And let's go to Brian(ph) in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hi Brian, you're on TALK OF THE NATION.
BRIAN: How are you doing?
DONVAN: Good.
BRIAN: I'm actually an airline pilot, a regional pilot for one of the feeder airlines here in Virginia. And I'm supposed to be off today and tomorrow, but actually I just pulled into the parking lot here at the airport, next to my roommate's car, so I can go fly down as a passenger to Charlotte and work his last scheduled flight so he can hop on a different plane to go home to Chicago and spend the holiday with his family.
So he called me at the last minute, and we're trying to finagle some things here so he can spend some quality time at home, and...
DONVAN: So what does that mean, you're shifting everything around at home in order to have some Christmas beforehand?
BRIAN: Well yeah, I'm actually originally from New York, and I live here in Virginia for work. So it didn't work out for me to get home in time to spend time with my own family. So instead of sitting alone at home here in Virginia, I'm actually flying down to pick up part of his shift so he is allowed to get off work earlier and, essentially, just go home and spend Christmas Eve in Chicago with his folks.
DONVAN: Bryan, you're a good guy.
BRYAN: Yeah, well, definitely I'm not the only one doing that today.
DONVAN: Merry Christmas to you. Thanks, Bryan, for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION.
BRYAN: Have a great day.
DONVAN: I want to bring in Don Martin. He's been a train operator in the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, also known as BART, for 22 years. And he is now joining us by phone from Concord, California. Don, welcome to TALK OF THE NATION.
DON MARTIN: Thank you for having me on your show.
DONVAN: It's a pleasure. So you've been working, as I've said, for two decades at this. Is there anything that you've noticed that's different about the passengers over the holidays?
MARTIN: Yes. You know, we have regular commuters that we deal with on a daily basis. And commuters pretty much drink their coffee there on their computers or iPads. There's not a lot of conversing that's been done - being done among each other. You know, during the holidays, we have a lot of families that travel, people with their children, people that come in town via the airlines, you know. And there's a lot of interacting among the people. You know, we see that more and more.
DONVAN: And, Don, anything particularly stick out from your experience of holiday?
MARTIN: Yeah. I had a story I want to share yesterday that happened to me. I had a family that boarded my train to go to San Francisco, to Union Square, to do some shopping. And they had their children with them. That was Sunday. It was probably about 7:00 or 8:00. And you could see he was just fascinated by riding on the train, the enormity of the train. It was funny looking at his face, you know. He - all he could think about was wanting to ride the train and go faster. When the family got to Union Square, he got off and came to the front of the train.
DONVAN: To where you were.
And he asked me - he says, you know, I want to ride your train again. You know, we have - I have a cab curtain that I collect pins and buttons from all of the stations that we've opened in the system over the years. And it was funny because the same family, when I came back, boarded my train. And he was just so happy to be back on the train again. So when they got off, we are celebrating four years of operation in service. I have a four-year pin that has a train on it, BART train on it. So I took it off and I handed it to him. And he was just kind of jumping for joy, but he reached in his backpack and he pulled out a candy cane and handed it to me and told me merry Christmas.
I knew he was going to exchange. Don, I want to thank you very much for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION. It's a great story. Don Martin has been a train operator for BART for 22 years and joined us by phone from Concord, California. And we're also asking for stories of people who have been helped in the course of getting home by somebody working in transit. And we're getting some emails, actually, in from you at this point.
And we have Ken(ph), who said: My dad was a Greyhound bus driver for 30 years, until he retired in 1985. We hardly ever saw him on Christmas when I was a kid. They do sacrifice a lot for their job.
Let's go to Christopher(ph) in Phoenix, Arizona. But first, I want to say that you are listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. Hi, Christopher. You're on TALK OF THE NATION.
CHRISTOPHER: I'm a long-haul truck driver. I stay out on the road six to eight months at a time. And I don't remember the last winter I didn't work, including Christmas. Every single year, the crews who come out and salt the roads, crews who come out and clear the roads are literally lifesavers. And last year, up on I-80, between Cheyenne and Laramie, on Sherman, one of them basically saved my life.
DONVAN: How?
CHRISTOPHER: A freak storm came through last January and closed the road down. And when they re-opened it, I went on my way. But halfway through, the winds picked up to around 50 miles an hour, so all that fresh powder started blowing everywhere. And I didn't see the side of the road, the side of the mountain. And I went off on to the hard shoulder and two of my drive tires on the tractor itself went off the pavement. And luckily, I came to a stop. I didn't just go tumbling down, but it was more than a little precarious.
And one of the plow drivers came up. He came off to the side of the road, plowed about 200 feet in front of me then backing up - he must have dropped 50 pounds of salt and then (technical difficulty) told me he brought me 10 feet forward so I could get purchase. He believed (technical difficulty). I just couldn't move. And again, I was hanging off the side of the mountain. There were no tow trucks. There were - I wouldn't be surprised - dozens or hundreds of trucks and (technical difficulty) off the side of the road.
DONVAN: Christopher? Hey, Christopher, you're - unfortunately, your line is breaking up so badly that I have to let you go. But I think we get to the end of the story, that this guy got in there and got you out. And it's really, really clear that you're grateful, and you're saying thanks. So now I want to thank you for joining us on TALK OF THE NATION and telling the story. And believe me, we do get where that was going.
We're still getting emails from you, and this one comes from Diane(ph) in San Ramon, California. And she says: I want to say thank you to the overnight snow plow crews in the Sierra. Yesterday, I tried to get home to San Francisco Bay Area from Reno but was turned around the Truckee(ph) due to the I-80 closure. I hit the road this morning at 5:00 for a beautiful snow-covered drive through the mountains, passing the hardworking crews clearing the roads and the semi drivers also trying to get home. I wouldn't have made it home today without them.
And we have the other side of the story. This is from Lynn(ph) who says: My father was a railroad conductor. He would work on Christmas every year. We would open our stocking and one present on Christmas Eve, wait until he came home Christmas afternoon to open the rest. Although many have asked in whether this was difficult to do, it actually never was. It was our tradition. And it sounds like it's a tradition for a lot of the hardworking people out there in the world of planes, trains and automobiles who are indeed helping us get home from Christmas. So from all of us at NPR, this point we just want to make it clear, we really are saying thanks for what you do.
After a short break, we will make our weekly turn to the opinion page. Katrina vanden Heuvel has a number of questions she thinks the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should be asking the secretary of state nominee John Kerry when he goes up for his confirmation. Stay with us. I'm John Donvan. It's TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
I have always believed in correcting mistakes, especially bad ones. In my wrap-up piece at the end of the Supreme Court term, I quoted Northwestern University law professor John McGinnis as one of several conservative scholars highly critical of the court's decision on the Voting Rights Act. In my telling, he called the decision "as singular a failure as I've seen in the history of the Supreme Court." But I inadvertently misused the quote, which came from his appearance on a panel at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
McGinnis used those words to describe the court's decision in the Defense Of Marriage Act case, not the Voting Rights Act decision about which he was also critical but not nearly as sweeping in his condemnation. I listened to the whole panel but apparently got confused in my notations about what McGinnis was talking about at about an hour and 10 minutes into the panel.
All the other quotes in my piece were from interviews that I personally conducted. This one was not, and my error illustrates why I should have been doubly careful.
I deeply regret the error and apologize to McGinnis and to listeners.
I owe a salute to professor Kevin Walsh at the University of Richmond Law School, who caught the error.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.