text:
Carer's conundrum
Providing for disabled children after parents can no longer do so is a major problem for many families.
Financial provisioning for Australians with disabilities has pushed its way on to the national agenda, courtesy of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
But families with a member whose disability necessitates life-long care continue to struggle with their own arrangements.
Social worker and mother of three, Gabrielle Fakhri, 61, says her support is inadequate. Providing 24-hour care for a high-needs individual has left little time or energy for long-term planning, and even less money to set aside.
Fakhri's eldest son Simon, 39, has a severe intellectual disability, autism and bipolar disorder, and lives at home with her, her husband and Simon's youngest brother Charbel. Middle son Joseph is married and lives next door.
Simon receives a Centrelink Disability Support Pension that covers his daily expenses, taxi fares, excursions and day placement costs, but his care needs have restricted Fakhri's ability to work.
''It's a struggle,'' she says of their family circumstances. ''Financially we still have a mortgage, so I don't have a great financial plan for him.''
The Fakhris' battle is in common with many families. About 314,000 people accessed disability support services provided under the National Disability Agreement in 2010-2011, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The recipients' median age was 33, and 30 per cent had an intellectual disability. More than half required assistance with independent and community living activities.
The family home is Fakhri's only asset, and it is willed equally to her three sons, with the proviso that Simon receive a greater share if it is needed to help fund a residential placement.
Determining how to split assets fairly between disabled children and their able siblings can be confusing for families, says Fakhri, who has received conflicting advice on the subject. One solicitor advised bequeathing everything to Simon, while another suggested leaving him nothing, as he would be cared for in a government institution after she died.
While her younger sons favoured the first option Fakhri feels this would be unfair, given that both have contributed to the family financially when she has been unable to work.
''My sons adore their brother,'' Fakhri says. ''I showed them the will and they both said, 'Mum, leave it all to Simon'.''
Simon has been on a priority list for residential accommodation for seven years, and seeing him settled in a permanent home would remove many ''what-ifs'' from the planning equation says Fakhri, who describes her attitude as ''fatalistic''.
''I'm hoping the government pension is enough to cover his needs in a government-funded placement … I don't want him to live with my other children,'' she says.
''Financially, I haven't put it in my head … I'm living in this dumb world where I think something will happen for the best.''
Having independent living arrangements in place for a disabled person can alleviate the pressure on parents and siblings, says the principal adviser at Lighthouse Financial Group in Sydney, Anthony Newton.
Families usually begin to plan when the disabled person reaches adulthood or their parents are approaching retirement age, Newton says.
Parents are increasingly using their wills to allocate part of their estate to a Testamentary or Special Disability Trust (SDT), rather than leaving a lump sum to their disabled child, who may not be capable of managing it.
Uneven asset splits in favour of disabled children are common but can be a source of conflict, Newton says; SDTs allow up to $596,500 to be set aside to help fund care for a severely disabled individual, without affecting the recipient or the parents' entitlement to social welfare benefits.
Trusts work best when capable family members are willing to become trustees and take long-term responsibility for managing the financial affairs of the disabled beneficiary.
''A committee of siblings, another family member and a trusted professional person may also be effective and create safeguards and accountability for how funds are spent,'' Newton says.
Having the right person in charge is vital, says Stephen Booth, a lawyer specialising in estate planning for families of children with disabilities who works with the law firm Coleman Greig.
''I think getting this as right as possible is the crucial decision because it is not wills, trusts, government departments or organisations which protect people,'' Booth says.
''People protect people - so whatever structure or arrangements people establish, it is critical they have the right person managing it, if the right thing is to be done by the son or daughter with a disability.''
If there are no suitable personal options, trusts can be managed by institutional trustees - either private companies or the state's trustee and guardianship body.
When this occurs, having someone who is actively involved in the life of the disabled person to advocate for them is vital, Booth says.
Former community worker Pamela Raeburn says her son Nathan, 28, is ready to step up to the plate when she is no longer able to manage the affairs of his younger sister.
Victoria, 26, was born with a chromosomal disorder, cleft lip and palate, hearing impairment and intellectual delay. She and her husband, who also has a disability, live with Raeburn.
''Nathan said from an early age he would take care of things when I pass over,'' Raeburn says.
She counts herself lucky that her children have always shared a close bond, despite Nathan enduring some childhood bullying due to his sister's disabilities.
Victoria has attained some independence but struggles with budgeting and is easily taken advantage of financially.
''Money is a real issue with her and her husband,'' says Raeburn, who takes money from the couple's Centrelink pensions to pay their private health premiums and bills.
Like Fakhri, she says supporting someone with high medical needs, coupled with becoming a single parent in her children's teen years, has left little to spare. Disability trusts and specialist legal and financial planning advice are academic propositions families like hers just can't afford.
Post-divorce, she ''didn't have two cents to rub together'', and her family stepped in to help her buy a home, Raeburn says.
What she does have to leave will be split equally between Nathan and Victoria, she says.
''It wouldn't be fair otherwise.''
Disability planning tips
Planning the future of a disabled person can be stressful for families. Lawyer Stephen Booth's top tips for doing it well.
1. Choose the right trustee or trustees to oversee their financial affairs.
2. Take advice from planners and lawyers with disability and social security experience; home-made wills are not suitable for these complex issues.
3. Do a will and related planning now - don't put it off until arrangements are perfect. Work with what you know and have now.
4. Review plans every five years and adjust as circumstances change.


text:
Big Truck Night is 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hillsboro Elementary School.
There will be free refreshments and gifts for kids. There will be a car safety program, Ident-a-Kid fingerprinting, toy trucks in sand, and toddler truck riding.
The event is sponsored by Marion County Early Childhood task force.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Hi all, Thanks for organizing this again, Mark! BTW, I couldn't see a URL in your post - I presume it's: http://conferences.yapceurope.org/lpw2009/ You can sign up for the conference there, as well as submit proposals for any talks you'd like to do. Cheers, +-- Steve Purkis PS: not cross-posting incase I'm wrong... On 17 Sep 2009, at 14:24, Mark Keating wrote: > Dear All, > > It is with great pleasure, and with some tardiness and lack of > expedience, that I announce the London Perl Workshop to be held on > Saturday 5th December at the University of Westminster's New > Cavendish Campus.[1] > > The theme for this year is Beginning Perl, which can be taken as > Perl for beginners if one so wishes, or aimed at people new to Perl > who are fluent in another language, or in fact any variant theme > that one can conjecture including beginning a CPAN module, projects > that are fun/welcoming/reliant on beginners (and also we expect some > of you to ignore this all together and submit as you feel). > > The call for papers is now open and the website should be live very > soon (if someone grabs Monsieur Cholet and shouts into his ear it > will be sooner). The closing date for submission will be Friday 6^th > November (of this year obviously) and notification will arrive on > Monday 16^th November. > > As always the London Perl Workshop is a totally free event solely > supported by the efforts and goodwill of the community. If you would > like to help in any manner or organise an event to coincide with > this then please contact Mark Keating. There has already been an > offer to find a venue for the public house for the customary > workshop socialisation which will be handled by the erudite Mister > Laver. But many other things can be done to help. > > The event will once again welcome Josette of O'Reilly who will bring > a good range of books with her at the usual discounts, so bring lots > of money and a small mule to carry home your purchases. > > Once again I would ask that if anyone has a video camera and intends > to video an event we get together on the wiki and work out a > possible coverage. If we then use the auspicious YAPC.TV website we > may get the entire conference uploaded for the whole community to > enjoy. Please feel free to use the wiki to start any organisation of > this manner and ping mdk on irc or mail m.keating at shadowcat.co.uk to > let me know and I will attempt to find other volunteers to make this > easier. > > So enter the date in your diary, sharpen your presenting wit or > prepare to attend the best event in the calendar™.[3] > > [1] Though please note that part of the delay in this formal > announcement was the negotiation for the venue with a new Dean. Sean > as always is in our corner has confirmed the venue. Otherwise we > would have held it in Dave Cross' house where he has promised to > hold a barbecue and roast a organiser or two.[2] > > [2] This may, or may not, be true. > > [3] Okay this one probably isn't true, but I would invite all > detractors to first argue this with the proud and upstanding folk of > London.pm, bring beer money you'll need it. > > Regards > > Mark Keating > > -- > Mark Keating BA (Hons) | Writer, Photographer, Cat-Herder > Managing Director | Shadowcat Systems Limited > Director/Secretary | Enlightened Perl Organisation > co-Leader | North West England Perl Mongers > http://www.shadowcat.co.uk | http://www.enlightenedperl.org > http://northwestengland.pm.org | http://linkedin.com/in/markkeating >


text:
Designed by Pilar Gonzalez Nugent, Sunflower Sugar Art moulds are regarded by most as one of - if not the - highest quality range of silicone moulds available on the market.
It's because of this quality that Sunflower Sugar Arts have been able to produce an enormous range of moulds in all kinds of different designs.
Sunflower produce moulds and veiners in designs of flowers, petals and leaves, various baby, car, animal, ocean and Easter themed designs, as well as patterns of lace, diamonds and much more!
All Sunflower Sugar Art's moulds possess an incredible depth of detail that means you can truly replicate your favourite designs in greater detail than with other moulds.
Each butterfly wing design measures approximately H: 5.5cm x W: 4.2cm (2.2" x 1.7"), meaning these butterfly wings are just the right size for topping your 2.5" cupcakes for your little princess' birthday party!
Sunflower Sugar Art moulds are suitable for use with mediums such as gumpaste, chocolate, Isomalt, fondant, sugarpaste, marzipan and much more!
Sunflower's range of silicone moulds, like many others, are of course suitable for freezing and can resist incredibly high temperatures too, which is why they're so versatile and are appropriate for so many different uses.
Because Sunflower Sugar Art's moulds are so detailed and are of such incredible quality, we recommend that when using sugarpaste with these moulds, you should pop the mould into the freezer. Take the mould out of the freezer after 10 minutes and then allow the piece to reach room temperature once more before touching or working your artistry on it.
Lustre dusts will work great on the artistic creations you produce from Sunflower Sugar Art moulds, but you can decorate your exquisite cake decorations however you like.
If you're not quite sure that this particular mould is right for you, then please browse Sunflower's entire range, as we're almost certain that you'll find the design for you, and the detail and quality of these moulds really can't be beaten.
Please note: handle Sunflower Sugar Art's silicone moulds with care when using them with ingredients at high temperatures; whilst they're more than safe at almost any temperature, we want to make sure your hands remain safe too!
Dispatch Time & Price
Orders which are placed before 4pm (3:30pm for edible images) will be dispatched on the same working day (Monday - Friday). Please note that this does not include Bank Holidays.
3 Days (Mon-Sat)
£2.99 (Free - spend over £40)
2 Days (Mon-Sat)
£3.99 (£1.99 - spend over £40)
Hermes - Next Day Delivery (Mon-Sat)
£4.99 (£3.99 - spend over £40)
DPD - Next Day Delivery (Mon-Fri)
£6.99 (£5.99 - Spend Over £40)
Pre 10:30am (Mon - Fri)
Pre 12:00pm (Mon - Fri)
Saturday or Sunday Delivery*
£6.99 (£5.99 - spend over £40)
International Delivery Pricing
*Weekend deliveries are only possible for orders placed Mon-Fri before 4pm.
Please note, there may be additional postage charges if your order consists of unusually large or heavy items. If this is the case, you will be contacted prior to dispatch.
Next Working Day Delivery (UK)
Any order placed before 4pm (3:30pm for edible images) Monday - Friday, with the Next Working Day Delivery option selected, will be dispatched for delivery the following business day (Monday - Friday), between the hours of 8am - 9pm. A signature is required for this method, so you will need to be at the delivery address to sign for it. Please allow an additional 24 hours for any order to be delivered to the Scottish Highlands.
If delivery cannot be made, DPD will try again on the next working day. If this is unsuccessful, it will be held at the depot for an additional 5 working days. After this, the parcel will be returned to us, at a surcharge of £5.
Please Note: None of our services are a guaranteed service. DPD have a 98% success rate on next day deliveries.
Any order containing a product that is listed as a preorder, will be held until the preordered item has arrived in stock. Orders containing a preorder cannot be split, if other items are needed before the expected delivery date, these items should be ordered separately.
Weekend Deliveries (UK)
Any order placed before 4pm* on Friday, with the "Saturday Delivery" or "Sunday Delivery" option selected, will be dispatched on the same day for delivery between the hours of 8am - 6pm on the selected day. A signature is required for this method, so somebody will need to be at the delivery address to sign for it. If the order is placed after the 4pm cut-off on a Friday, the order will be dispatched for delivery on the following weekend.
Please note we are unable to guarantee any order being dispatched to the Scottish Highlands to arrive within the quoted time frame.
*Orders for edible images have a cut-off time of 3:30pm – orders placed after this time will be dispatched for delivery the following weekend.


text:
Finally, It's Spring!!!
Anyone who wants to play double or single games let's meet up!! All Tennis FANS!!!
Please list courts where you would like to play, and time when you would like to play TENNIS!!!
Views: 118
Replies to This Discussion
I'm available Friday-Tuesday, 10 am-1:30 pm, on Wednesday and Thursday I'm available all morning and evening (Park lights turn off at 11:00 pm). I usually play at Harmon Park. Feel free to give me a call at, 660.473.2519. I live in the plaza/midtown area and can meet at other courts as well. Rachel.
FYI (for those reading this thread) a double group meets up at Harmon Park, at 5:30-6:00 pm on Thursdays. Right now, it's around 8 people, their a bit older but very strategic and welcoming. They're looking to expand on their group. So if you are interested in having a good time while playing doubles with some quality people, feel free to show up. Rachel.
© 2019 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
Main Content
Watershed Restoration Action Strategies
In 1998, the Clean Water Action Plan was developed by federal agencies to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and to "help revitalize the nation's commitment to our valuable water resources." The Plan proposed that "states and tribes should work with public agencies and private-sector organizations and citizens to develop, based on the initial schedule for the first two years, Watershed Restoration Action Strategies (WRASs), for watersheds most in need of restoration" (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998). A WRAS is essentially a large-scale coordination plan for an eight-digit hydrologic unit watershed. It was anticipated that each year, more assessments and data may become available. This, in turn, could require amendments to the WRAS, which are written to be flexible and broad enough to accommodate change.
The WRAS was intended to foster greater cooperation among State and Federal agencies. The WRAS provided an opportunity to assemble, in one place, projects and monitoring that had been completed or were on-going within a watershed. It also allowed agencies and stakeholders to compare watershed goals and provided a guide for future work within a watershed.
Each WRAS broadly covers an entire watershed; therefore, it is intended to be an overall strategy and does not dictate management and activities at the stream site or segment level. Water quality management decisions and activities for individual portions of the watershed are most effective and efficient when managed through sub-watershed plans. However, these subwatershed plans must also consider the impact on the watershed as a whole. The WRAS is intended to be a fluid document in order to respond to the changing and dynamic quality of our environment.
The WRAS reader may notice that some of the information in the WRASs is provided in duplicate. This is a result of the interconnectedness of the issues discussed and an assumption made by the authors that many readers may only be interested in a few sections of a WRAS.
While these documents have not been updated since their creation, the information may still be useful to guide or advise present-day watershed planning and restoration activities.


text:
When Dean Pees and the Ravens defense watched tape of their Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, they saw Brandon Weeden at quarterback and Trent Richardson carrying the load at running back. Wide receiver Josh Gordon was nowhere to be found as he was serving his two-game league suspension.
There have been cha-cha-changes in Cleveland over the past several weeks, though. Weeden has been benched twice in favor of journeymen, first for Brian Hoyer and now for Jason Campbell. Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts and the Browns have replaced him with former Ravens running back Willis McGahee. And Gordon is back from suspension and taking out his frustration on secondaries.
We have seen division rivals switch quarterbacks or lose a running back between semi-annual showdowns with the Ravens. But it is uncommon that a team experiences this much change at the skill positions.
Still, besides the obvious changes in personnel, Pees said the Ravens are preparing to face the same scheme the Browns used when the Ravens beat them, 14-6, in Week 2.
"You've got to just get ready for the system. It's Norv Turner's system. When it's all said and done, it's still his system," the Ravens defensive coordinator said. "I don't think it will be much different than what he did with Weeden. … Willis is a lot like Richardson in a way. This isn't a bounce-out, try-to-get-to-the-edge runner. This is a downhill thumper, which is what Richardson was. So I don't see a great deal of difference. It's different names, but I just don't see a whole lot of difference in this offense."
In their first meeting, the Ravens allowed a season-low 259 yards and kept the Browns out of the end zone. They bottled up Richardson and sacked Weeden five times.
But coach John Harbaugh said that despite the changes in personnel, which include the return of Shawn Lauvao at right guard, the Browns offense is better in Week 9.
"They've continued to improve," he said. "We've played Campbell a number of times, and he's an athletic guy with a strong arm that has been around and knows how to make plays. We respect him tremendously. Their offensive line has improved. The skill players have improved. ... So offensively, they have taken some strides."
With Turner, the former San Diego Chargers coach, coordinating their offense, the Browns still like to run the ball between the tackles and like to throw out of a lot of three-receiver sets with tight end Jordan Cameron doing his best Antonio Gates impersonation. Campbell seems more willing than Weeden to throw the ball deep, though.
Pees said the major difference is "the fact that No. 12 is back." No. 12 is Gordon, who ranks fourth in the NFL with 97 receiving yards per game. In their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, the Browns got him the ball in a variety of different ways -- from a quick screen pass to crossing patterns and a deep ball off of a flea-flicker play.
"Here's a guy who can take the top off of a defense in a hurry, where we didn't play against him the first time," Pees said of the second-year wide-out. "And you can't focus all the attention on him because, to me, they have one of the best tight ends in the league -- if not the best. [Cameron] is a go-to dynamic tight end in my estimation."
But no matter who is on the field at the skill positions for the Browns, rush linebacker Terrell Suggs says the Ravens are bracing for another hard-hitting, low-scoring game.
"They're a really good football team. I expect the same kind of game," Suggs said. "When we go [up] there, there is always a little turmoil, but that is to be expected."


text: Brandon Davies, star center for BYU's nationally-ranked basketball team, has been suspended for the rest of the season for breaking the Mormon school's honor code by having pre-marital sex. Davies apologized to his team this week. But the only thing he has to be sorry about is that he didn't pick a better school.


text:
Our focus is in helping organisations design, develop, test, deploy, govern, adopt and manage SharePoint solutions. Our strength lies in our friendly, professional employees and our high standards of service based on long-term experience with the SharePoint platform and associated technologies.
Our core-team experts have been working on SharePoint technologies before they were even branded as SharePoint. Over the years we have gained a good understanding of how to make SharePoint best work for you, be that the on-premise versions or newer cloud offerings we have worked with all of the different versions available today.
We have developed and refined our approach to SharePoint related projects, as the product has advanced over the years, and our clients needs have also evolved.
We envisage using elements of our best practice, our tried and tested approach and where required develop new working methods to suit your needs. Our high level method statement is shown below.
Each stage will map on to measureable and tangible deliverables, showing progress at each gateway. Each stage is a gateway that will be mapped into the project plan for key check points the project board will review.
Benefit from WorkShares wide exposure to SharePoint 2010, deep understanding of the underlying changes and hands on experience with a number of real world SharePoint 2010 projects. Get WorkShares to perform analysis of your SharePoint environment and advise you on the best practices for planning and implementing your SharePoint 2010 upgrade / migration.
Regardless of the company size Microsoft Online Services can be leveraged by your business to reduce costs and increase agility. Benefit from WorkShares deep understanding of Microsoft's Online offerings. Get WorkShares to perform a 'service ready' assessment of your on premise infrastructure, SharePoint customisations and evaluate online service strategy in line with your future business goals.
Engage WorkShares with the technical and business stakeholders of your organisation to draft a business case, develop a conceptual design and in some cases develop a proof of concept; imparting key SharePoint architecture knowledge and lessons learned from other projects in the process.
WorkShares works with your SharePoint team to validate existing information, infrastructure and custom component architecture or based on the business requirements create one from scratch.
WorkShares works with your business and SharePoint teams to verify existing SharePoint solution's alignment with your business requirements. We can also review the current environment configuration and where applicable, propose remedial actions to improve performance or leverage more (at no extra cost) from the investment you've already made in the platform.
WorkShares works with your SharePoint team to identify major performance pain points and implement fixes.
At WorkShares thanks to our in-depth experience in designing and developing SharePoint solutions, we can assist you to complete, complex or time consuming parts of your project design and development. Our clients in the past have used us where they ran into trouble or were short of internal resources to resolve their development issues or meet stringent deadlines.
Want to learn more? Contact us


text:
White Wine – size-750-bottle
A select offering of wines from boutique producers across NZ, Australia, and Europe, with a stylistic focus on natural, low intervention, biodynamic and organic.
You must be of legal age to purchase alcohol in your location to continue to this site. By clicking 'Enter' you agree that you may legally purchase alcohol in your location.or Exit


text:
MADRID (Reuters) - Striking union workers clashed with police at Madrid's Barajas airport on Monday on the first day of a week-long strike over more than 3,800 pending job cuts at Spain's flagship airline Iberia.
More than 80 Iberia flights were canceled as workers at the carrier began a series of five-day walkouts that are expected to cost the airline and struggling national economy millions of euros in lost business.
Hundreds of workers flooded into Terminal 4 at Barajas - the biggest airport in Spain - to noisily protest, chanting and whistling, with one group staging a sit-in. About 2,000 people demonstrated outside the terminal.
The police beat some strikers with truncheons to keep them away from the doors of the international airport, Iberia's Madrid hub, and forcefully threw others out of the terminal. At least five protesters were arrested.
Previous strikes have cost Iberia between 2 million euros and 3 million euros a day, a spokesman told Reuters.
Flights from other airlines were delayed at airports across Spain, including at Madrid and Barcelona, as Iberia baggage handlers, also working for other airlines, joined strikers.
Air stewards and ground staff are holding three five-day strikes in February and March to protest against management plans to axe jobs and cut salaries at the loss-making airline. Some 10 percent of long-haul flights and half of domestic flights will be grounded this week.
Labor unions kicked off the strikes with demonstrations in the morning at most Spanish airports, including Barcelona. At an 8 km march (5 miles) around Barajas, protesters blamed British managers at the airline group for job cuts threatened in Spain.
Demonstrators waved Spanish flags and banners saying "British go home".
Iberia, which merged with profitable British Airways in 2011 to form the International Airlines Group (IAG), reported a loss of 262 million euros ($349.78 million) in the first nine months of 2012.
"Nobody is safe from being sacked," said Elias Gonzalez, a maintenance supervisor at the Barajas protest who has worked for Iberia for 27 years.
"There was an initial deal with the company when the merger with the British was agreed, but now there is disagreement."
Although skeleton staff were on duty and the airline had rescheduled most passengers or returned them their money, some people were left stranded.
"When we come for tourism, we don't want to be bothered by strikes," said Robert, a French tourist who did not want to give his last name.
"Everyone has their problems but they shouldn't bother people who bring in money. That's also business."
Queues formed as some staff abandoned check-in desks while unionists shouted in the airport.
The February 18-22 strike coincides with school holidays in Britain and France, Spain's biggest source of tourists.
Tourism accounts for around 11 percent of Spanish economic output and is one of the country's few growth sectors in a prolonged recession that has pushed the unemployment rate above 26 percent.
In anticipation of the strike, Iberia has canceled 415 flights between Monday and Friday, and as many as 1,200 flights operated by various airlines will be disrupted because some Iberia workers handle baggage for other airlines at airports around Spain.
Some 70,000 passengers will be affected. About 86 percent have been given a different flight, including those operated by other airlines, while 14 percent have asked for refunds.
The airline says restructuring is vital to return the Spanish unit to profitability while unions say the IAG management is degrading pay and benefits in Spain through its new low-cost airline Iberia Express.
Iberia is just one of several companies in Spain, including Vodafone and bailed-out lender Bankia, to lay off workers.
It is fighting an uphill battle against low-cost operators, a depressed domestic economy and competitors which are in better shape after having already gone through restructuring processes.
Sabadell Bolsa analysts said the total 15 days of strikes could cost Iberia between 50 million euros and 100 million euros of losses. ($1 = 0.7490 euros)
Additional reporting by Robert Hetz and Silvio Castellanos in Madrid and Ayla Jean Yackley in Barcelona; Writing by Clare Kane and Sarah Morris; Editing by Pravin Char


text:
241 captures
04 Mar 2007 - 16 Dec 2017
|College-Level ESL
College-Level ESL Program
The Academic Development Center at the College of Southern Idaho is proud to present this information for those interested in the College-level ESL program. Please feel free to browse and let us know what you think. E-mail your comments or questions to R. Brent Jensen.
Program Description
The CSI College-level English as a Second Language (ESL) Program offers a series of courses for college-bound students whose native language is not English. These courses are designed to help students who already have a basic level of English skills gain academic English language proficiency to help them be successful in college study. The basic level of proficiency necessary to be admitted to the program can be satisfied with a score of 133 or higher on the computerized version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or with a demonstration of equivalent proficiency on the CSI ESL Assessment.
Courses in the CSI College-level ESL Program are for college credit and require the payment of tuition and fees. Students who are residents of the US and are not yet prepared for admission to the College-level ESL program, or who are interested in non-credit classes, are referred to the Adult Education ESL program.
Contact Info
Academic Development Center


text:
Said By TakoyakiYYYay i absolutly love sleeping if i could sleep for 20 hours i would hee hee
Said By BackstaberOh boy, if only I could sleep for that long. I can't sleep for more than 8 hours or I become dysfunctional with too much sleep. most of the time I get less than 4 hours a night.
Said By BackstaberOuch, now that hurts during the day. But when you go to work and get home at 2<!--s51-->:3<!--/s51-->0, get to sleep around 3<!--s51-->:3<!--/s51-->0 and have to get up at 7<!--s51-->:3<!--/s51-->0 to go to work again, yeah... lol
Sometimes I try to pull all-nighters so I can get up in time to go to work, some are successful, most aren't; cause if I fall asleep I'm hard to wake up. Alarm clocks you ask? Forget it, I turn them off in my sleep. lol
Said By BackstaberIt still sucks. lol
I also used to have much trouble trying to sleep. It indeed happens when you have much, perhaps too much on your mind. To quell this, you might want to watch less tv maybe. (this is what I did) Less science stuff/end of the world crap. Now I don't have much trouble getting to sleep, it's just getting up that is the big problem now.
And yes, being 18 sucks when you work because of crazy work hours. lol You'll be there soon enough Ex-Shinobi, and you'll be damning me.
Said By BackstaberAwww, well good thing your not on them anymore.
To avoid stress during school, you will when you organize yourself a little more. It calms the mind when you know what your doing and everything isn't mystery from day to day. For example, and it is a real important to finish your projects and assignments as soon as a you can. Cause when you complete them, guess what? Nothing to worry about. I found this out the hard way, and I know I'm in for a rude awakening when I head into college this year. lol
This is the same thing when you organize your day to day activities, plan things out every once and awhile.
That's some of my advise.
And yes, with a lack of sleep, I too become very silly and perhaps weird.


text:
Sharks complete season sweep of Bluesby Louie Korac
ST. LOUIS -- The San Jose Sharks have been an opportunistic team against the St. Louis Blues in the first period this season.
Tuesday was no exception. The Sharks scored twice, on goals by Joe Pavelski and Matt Irwin, and the momentum carried San Jose to its third win against St. Louis in as many games, 4-2 at Scottrade Center.
The Sharks (21-7-6) have outscored the Blues 8-0 in three first periods. San Jose outscored St. Louis 16-7 in sweeping those games.
"A win's a win," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "I haven't seen anybody play a perfect game this year no matter how many we watch. We did let the momentum get away on us, but we needed to take advantage of a team that was tired and beat up. And we did that."
San Jose's Brent Burns scored his first goal in 10 games, Martin Havlat scored his third goal in 19 games, and Patrick Marleau and Justin Braun each had two assists. Antti Niemi stopped 20 shots for the Sharks, who won for the second time in seven games (2-4-1) and snapped a four-game road losing streak.
"The result's what you want," Sharks center Joe Thornton said. "You go up 3-0, you'd like to not let them back in the game. ... We played good enough to win, and hopefully we can turn this around now."
The Blues (22-7-4), playing without injured forwards David Backes, Vladimir Sobotka and Jaden Schwartz, lost their second game in as many nights -- they were beaten 3-2 in overtime by the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
St. Louis got goals from defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Jay Bouwmeester. Jaroslav Halak stopped 23 shots.
The first period again has Blues players and coach Ken Hitchcock going back to the drawing board.
"It's a cooperation from the players and coaches," Hitchcock said. "Obviously there's a preparation problem. We've got to do a better job between coaches and players at preparing to function properly checking-wise early. We're giving up too many scoring chances. We're not going to win many games giving up this many goals."
Shattenkirk said, "It's like a broken record. We've got to get better on our starts. We did initially early for a couple minutes and then got away from it. They get a fortunate bounce on the first goal, but from there, we've just got to kind of pick our heads up and know that what we were doing at the time was getting the job done."
The Sharks utilized the backboards on their first-period goals. Pavelski took the carom of Havlat's shot from the left point that bounced off the boards to the other side of the net, where Pavelski knocked in a rebound at 9:38 to open the scoring with his fourth goal in as many games.
Irwin scored his first of the season on a similar play. Braun's shot caromed quickly off the boards, and Irwin was in the low slot. He beat a slow-reacting Halak and Chris Stewart to the puck and put it into an open side at 12:34 for a 2-0 lead.
Halak has allowed 14 goals in his past five starts, 10 on 50 shots in the first period.
"We can't catch a break," Halak said. "It seems like the first periods lately, every time we go into the second, we are down. It's hard to come back every single game."
Hitchcock wouldn't lay all of the blame on his goalie.
"It's really sloppy defensive play," Hitchcock said. "We've been guilty of that for a little while, not near ready to go from a checking standpoint, loose coverage. The lead-up to the goals was loose coverage. The second goal, we're standing beside the guy who scores. Loose coverage, not ready to check, and that's something we're going to have to discuss [Wednesday]. We've had too many of these starts like this. It's not engaged quick enough. Some we got away with, some we didn't.
"Same start in Columbus (Saturday, a 4-3 win in overtime), same start in Ottawa."
Burns last scored Nov. 29, when he had a hat trick against the Blues. Tuesday he took a Joe Thornton pass and snapped a shot over Halak's glove two minutes into the second period for a 3-0 lead.
St. Louis found life with a pair of second-period goals to make it 3-2.
Shattenkirk's one-timer from the top of the left circle caromed off Sharks defenseman Andrew Desjardins, who turned over the puck initially to allow the Blues to stay in the offensive zone, at 15:31.
Bouwmeester's blast from inside the blue line came with 24.2 seconds remaining in the period. The Blues pinned the Sharks deep following a faceoff, and Alexander Steen set a screen in front of Niemi.
The Sharks withstood the Blues' early third-period surge before Havlat fired in a rebound of Braun's shot that hit the left post. Havlat collected the puck from a sharp angle in the left circle and beat a sprawled Halak at 8:19.
"He's getting better every game," McLellan said of Havlat. "He's accepting more and more of the responsibility that he has to for his play and for the team's success. He's been a big part of it.
"When we look at Marty, since he's been back in the lineup, I think he's only been a minus player three nights. That's pretty darn good. There's not a lot of guys in that situation. Would we like more offense from him? I think it's coming."
The Sharks will not see the Blues again unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It's really good to get the three wins," McLellan said. "They're a team that had our number. Tonight, I don't think it was indicative of what can happen down the road if we meet in the playoffs. They're going to have a different lineup. They're going to be a lot fresher. You have four or five of these games a year, you have to take advantage of it."


text:
100 people evacuated and 165 acres burned in Florida brush fire
A red glowing sun was covered by the smoke from a red hot fire in Seminole County, Florida Saturday afternoon.
Resources from all over the county were brought to bear on the 165-acre brush fire in Chuluota at County Road 19 at the Seminole/Orange County line.
"The best news is got everyone out safely," Florida Citrus Council CEO Maryann Barry said.
About 100 people had to be evacuated from Camp Mahkawwee where adult Girl Scout volunteers had a retreat over the weekend. No children were at the camp.
"A wildfire started on a part of the camp we don't use and we were notified of the wildfire," Barry said. "We evacuated. Everyone evacuated. Unfortunately, we lost the entire west side of camp. All the structures are gone on the west side."
Eleven structures were burned, including fixed tents and cabins at the camp.
"It (the brush fire) will be under investigation. As far as the origin is concerned, it started somewhere behind the neighborhood, between the neighborhoods and the Girl Scout camp is what I know," Sean Gallagher, the Florida Forest Service's Orlando District Manager, said.
Inside River Woods near the camp, smoke and flames could be seen where 15 homes were evacuated, two mandatory.
Four homes were evacuated in Live Oak Reserve.
"I smelled some smoke and turned around….There's big plums of dark smoke. Ashes started landing on me 10 minutes later," River Woods resident Joe Arcamorne said.
Carl Zelich, also of River Woods, said his cat Nala woke him up.
"All of a sudden she smelled the smoke and came over and jumped in my chest, so you know when you get jumped by a cat you got to do something," Zelich said.
Residents and Girl Scout volunteers all sought refuge at the nearby VFW Post, which is a shelter.
Cmdr. Donald LaFlamme, at VFW 10139, said they're there for the community. The post has housing, food, water and other provisions for the evacuees to spend the night.


text:
SimonBenoy wrote:Lots to my car, a fair bit to the red Mustang and the Cortina that ran into the back of me might need a shell. But no-one hurt - just a couple of bruises. Cars can be replaced, finances permitting.
What I have found so far:
Front offside
Rear nearside
Engine lid
Gearbox (both legs sheared off end cover)
Engine timing cover (alternator mounting)
Alternator pulley
Rear small radiator crushed
Oil breather tank crushed
Various fixings, hoses etc.
SimonBenoy wrote:Pleased to say there are now 6 Imps, as Ian and Colin Gunton have swelled the entry list. Should be fun, though if it is wet, the Minis might disappear...
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests


text:
The stunning nymphos of PornMD.com are proud to present the Internet and the world with a series of unimaginable feats in hardcore sex pornography; when they make things sweaty, quick, relentlessly digging into wet pussies for dear life! Baring their booty for high definition camera, more horny babes with big, juicy tits make it their mission to get cum into some orifice ASAP than you could conjure up in your wildest fantasies. Our bombshells run the gamut from oily, low-def, awkward and chubby amateurs to the most sculpted, perfectly shaved and proportioned porn star goddesses, all of them on the clock for a speedy performance. Everybody loves to see an extended session of creative exploration of the body and hard banging for dozens of minutes, it's beautiful to watch the pro's get serious! But, every once in a while, we all just want to see a tight ass get tapped real quick, jungle style... That's what PornMD.com's incredibly advanced search engine was given to the world for: to make sure that no sexual need or desire goes un-shown by the kinkiest and most talented wet pussies on the market! Don't waste your time, come watch porn here.
©PornMD.com, 2019


text:
Tolnaftate (1%). Dries clear! With baking soda. Destroys odors instantly. Prevents most athlete's foot. Made in the USA.
Active Ingredient: Tolnaftate (1%). Inactive Ingredients: Disteardimonium Hectorite, Fragrance, Isobutane, Isopropyl Myristate, SD Alcohol 40-B, Sodium Bicarbonate, Starch/Acrylates/Acrylamide Copolymer.
For external use only. Flammable: Do not use while smoking or near heat or flame. Do not puncture or incinerate. Contents under pressure. Do not store at temperatures above 120 degrees F. When using this product do not get into eyes or mouth; use only as directed (Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal). Stop use and ask a doctor if irritation occurs; no improvement within 4 weeks. Keep out of reach of children. In case of accidental ingestion, seek professional assistance or contact a Poison Control Center immediately. Do not use on children under 2 years of age unless directed by a doctor.
Wash affected area and dry thoroughly. Shake can well and spray a thin layer over affected area twice daily (morning and night). Supervise children in the use of this product. For athlete's foot, pay special attention to spaces between toes, wear well-fitting, ventilated shoes and change shoes and socks at least once daily. Use daily for 4 weeks; if condition persists, consult a doctor. To prevent athlete's foot, apply daily (morning and night). In case of clogging, clear nozzle. Store between 36 degrees F and 86 degrees F (2 degrees C and 30 degrees C).


text:
15722 Valley Park Lane
Directions Victorville, CA 92394
Haven't seen the right used car within our inventory? Browse our inventory of new Nissan vehicles, then meet with someone from our financing team, and we can find you a new car that fits within your budget.
We enjoy developing long term relationships with our valued customers following the sale for many years to come. Our car parts and auto repair and service departments will keep your car, truck or van running at peak performance for years to come. We're conveniently located at 15722 Valley Park Lane, we look forward to seeing you in the near future.


text:
When we last saw Matt Spaccarelli, the AT&T smartphone customer had just won a small but significant legal victory. Last month, he challenged Ma Bell 2.0 in California small claims court over it practice of throttling unlimited data plan subscribers when they reach a certain threshold. The judge agreed that AT&T's actions were unfair and awarded him $850.
Less than a week later, AT&T changed its policy. The company had been throttling customers with grandfathered unlimited data plans after they became among the top 5 percent of bandwidth users in their markets. That put the threshold around 2 gigabytes in many places, though AT&T refused at the time to put a firm number on it. On March 1, the company aid it would start throttling when unlimited-plan customers had consumed 3 GB of data.
Did AT&T make the change because it feared a wave of lawsuits similar to Spaccarelli's? Filing in small claims court is not heavy lifting for consumers, but if enough of them took that step, it could result in a legal death by 1.000 cuts. (The carrier's contract with its subscribers forbids other kinds of suits, including class-actions, a provision that's been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.)
Or did AT&T make the change because it became the object of scorn, derision and disgust as customers expressed displeasure in social media and other online outlets? AT&T's missteps went viral, with disgruntled Twitter users hauling out the dreaded #ATTFail hashtag, and throttled customers recounting their tales of woe and slow on Facebook and in blog posts.
And it looks like AT&T may be tripping over its own public relations feet once again. Rather than paying the $850 and slinking off, the carrier will appeal the small-claims decision. In addition, the Associated Press reports that AT&T is interested in reaching a settlement with Spaccarelli, and wants him to keep quiet about the case.
From the AP's story:
Spaccarelli has posted online the documents he used to argue his case and encourages other AT&T customers copy his suit. Legal settlements usually include non-disclosure agreements that would force Spaccarelli to take down the documents.
In its letter, AT&T asked Spaccarelli to be quiet about the settlement talks, including the fact that it offered to start them, another common stipulation. Spaccarelli said he was not interested in settling, and forwarded the letter to the Associated Press.
Spaccarelli has worked with the PublikDemand blog to outline the process he followed to sue AT&T in hopes of encouraging others to do so. (In Texas, small-claims cases are filed through the Justice of the Peace courts. Here's a link to the form for filing in Harris County.) The blog also includes details on the strategy Spaccarelli used in arguing its case. Among the bullet points:
- The throttling of your bandwidth by AT&T caused you some kind of economic damage, which is the basis for the monetary amount you specify in your lawsuit. In Matt's case, the damage was an inability to use Netflix, a service which he paid for and had a reasonable expectation to be able to use. Your damages may be based on something like that, an inability to do your work, or anything that has demonstrable economic value. In general you can ask for your state's maximum award, but the judge is going to use this part of your argument in setting damages if you successfully plead your case.
- AT&T claims to have the fastest network. Under the doctrine of "justifiable reliance", that a reasonable person of similar education and background would accept their claim on its face and make an economic decision based on the content of their claim, they are obligated to make a reasonable attempt at providing such service.
- AT&T's methodology for choosing a cap was unpredictable and vague. The top 5% of users in an area found themselves throttled,
AT&T tells TechCrunch that "Mr. Spaccarelli reached out to us to initiate a discussion", implying that he kicked off the settlement talks. The carrier also points out that Spaccarelli is tethering other devices to its network via his iPhone, something that's not allowed on the grandfathered unlimited plan. Spaccarelli admitted this in court, but the judge apparently didn't feel it mitigated AT&T's unfair policy.
AT&T's appeal is going to cost a lot more than $850, and it will put the throttling issue back in the spotlight. The company may feel it needs a statement from a higher court that its actions are not unfair, but it may be doing more PR damage by appearing to play the bully even after relaxing its practices.
In this case, the smarter play would be to pay the $850 and let the kerfuffle fade away. But "smarter" doesn't seem to be in AT&T's playbook in this instance.


text:
Customer Support
Ask a question
Turkey gold reserves drop dramatically with suspicions in Iran
According to information on number of news portals, the future of Turkey is rather blurred given the political differences between the president of Turkey and the Central Bank. Fortunately, the country had a further ace up its sleeve and that is gold. Turkey has the 12th largest gold reserves, according to the IMF, mainly because the banks allow clients to deposit their own gold together with the Central Bank's.
Owing to this situation, the government understood that drastic times call for drastic measures and decided to improve its economy exporting gold. During January and February the figure rose to 2,580 billion of gold reserves exported, in comparison with the figure of 398 billion of 2014, and it still continues today.
For now, thanks to the returns of selling this coveted precious metal, trade balance has improved; the deficit has been reduced and government bonds hold the first place in a group of 24 emerging countries, even if some experts believe is not the best decision as gold can serve them better in the future.
Curiously, the Central Bank has admitted that the gold reserves were reduced slightly. That has awaken the interest of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, among others, who believe the gold exported does not come from the Central Bank itself.
Iran is the main focus of their attention as in 2012 Turkey became the main exporter of gold to the Persian country as a means of payment for Iranian gas. Police authorities have involved a gold dealer from Iran who aimed to facilitate gold trade between both countries but the case hasn't been confirmed.
This precious metal arouses interest among all kind of people, but the wisest choose the ways to make gold work for them. And some people do it with the best purchasing conditions and in addition use it to receive a high and stable income. They (not "those"?) are the clients of the Emgoldex online store which offers the highest quality investment gold bars!
Share this piece of news and let everybody know the best opportunity to create their own gold reserve!
Category: Gold news Publication date: 2015-04-20 09:42
|Gold Fixing | Price History


text:
ACLU Urges Caution on New Bill Against Trespass
MANHATTAN (CN) – A polarizing debate has erupted over a new anti-trespass law, with some saying it criminalizes protest and others calling it a harmless patch of a security oversight.
The White House describes the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Act of 2011, or H.R. 347, as legislation that "makes it a federal crime to enter or remain knowingly in any restricted area of the White House, the vice president's official residence, or their respective grounds without lawful authority."
Though seemingly innocuous, civil libertarians took issue with the language of the bill, which defined "restricted buildings as grounds" broadly enough to include any place where Secret Service personnel are stationed.
At the Lawfare national security blog, D.C.-based attorney Wells Bennett speculated that this could include demonstrators loudly protesting the Obama administration's targeted-killing program.
After the bill sailed through the House of Representatives in a 388-3 vote, John Tjaden, a board member with the American Civil Liberties Union of Sacramento, sounded the alarm in a blog post titled, "Goodbye, First Amendment: House Bill HR 347 will make protest illegal."
President Barack Obama, a former constitutional law professor, signed it Thursday.
A spokesman for Rep. Thomas Mooney, the Florida congressman who sponsored the bill, called the controversy "a whole lot of kerfuffle over nothing," in an interview with Reason Magazine.
"This doesn't affect anyone's right to protest anywhere at any time," spokesman Michael Mahassey insisted. "Ever."
Mahassey said the bill updates existing law, allowing the government to federally prosecute those who would climb over the White House fence.
In that sense, the H.R. 347 controversy mirrors that of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), widely known as the Homeland Battlefield Bill for allowing the military to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without charge or trial.
NDAA defenders say the government already claimed that power under the Authorization to Use Military Force, which courts have upheld in subsequent case law.
Civil libertarians countered that the NDAA took narrowly tailored legal opinions and expanded them to have global jurisdiction.
ACLU policy advisor Gabe Rottman told Courthouse News that, in both instances, small changes to existing laws could have profound changes.
One such change in H.R. 347 is the "intent standard," which the law reduced from "willfully and knowingly" to "knowingly," Rottman said.
A federal appeals court parsed this difference in 2005 while considering the case of Brett Bursey, a South Carolina activist arrested for protesting then-President George W. Bush at the Columbia Airport.
In the opinion, the 4th Circuit agreed that "willfully" had a stricter standard than "knowingly."
"Divining the meaning of 'willfully' in criminal statutory mens rea terms has long bedeviled American courts," the unanimous opinion states. A footnote continues: "We focus our discussion on whether Bursey 'willfully' violated the statute, because, generally, '[m]ore is required' with respect to conduct performed willfully than conduct performed knowingly."
Now the head of the SC Progressive Network, Bursey told Courthouse News that he did not "willfully" or "knowingly" break any law he could perceive.
He said he was standing in a crowd of people when singled out for arrest because his sign said "No more war for oil, no war against Iraq."
"They told me that I would have to go to the Free Speech Zone," Bursey said. "None of them were quite sure where it was."
When police told him they would charge him with trespassing, Bursey said he had "a déjà vu moment" because he was arrested for state trespassing charges — at almost exactly the same spot – while protesting Richard Nixon in 1969.
Bursey said he fought the 1969 case all the way to the state Supreme Court, and won.
Believing he would beat the charges again, Bursey refused to budge at the Bush protest until police hauled him into a corrections van.
"I watched George Bush get off Air Force One through the bars of the paddy wagon and go into this building to give this speech, where he actually used the words, 'They hate us because we're so free,'" Bursey recalled, adding, "And I'm hogtied to the van outside."
Bursey said that he learned from local reporters about four months later that he had been indicted under a statute called "Presidential Assassinations, Kidnappings and Threats."
"I fell out of my chair when I read that," Bursey said.
This time, Bursey lost his appeals, which again went up to the Supreme Court. And he had to pay a $500 for the misdemeanor charge.
Under a 2005 reauthorization of the Patriot Act, that offense would have counted as a felony. The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Act of 2011 uses similar language.
Bursey thinks that Occupy Wall Street and other protest movements might have caused legislators to boost the law.
"Why was it necessary to pass this new statute?" Bursey asked. "Since '05, under the Patriot Act, this same statute has been in effect replacing the one that I was arrested under. So it's nothing new."
Bursey believes he is the only protester to have been prosecuted under the laws in their earlier or subsequent forms.
"They only arrested one person in 30 years," he said. In a rhetorical question to legislators, Bursey asked, "What is the clamoring horde that's trying to break down your bubble?"
Rottman also could not identify any other protester arrested under the former anti-trespassing statutes, but he hoped that H.R. 347 did not signal its expansion.
"I hope this law will not be applied to make lawful protest a federal crime," Rottman said. "Given the discretion, there is concern that it could be misused. The ACLU and other groups that track these regulations will keep a keen eye on any abuse."


text:
- This event has passed.
Trivia Night
December 4, 2018 @ 8:00 pm - 11:30 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every 1 week(s) on Tuesday that lasts 0 day(s) and 3.5 hour(s), the last of which will begin on December 18, 2018
Event Navigation
Live Event Trivia at Inner Circle Vodka Bar every Tuesday at 8 pm! Join us for awesome drinks and fun. Get your team together and BRING HOME THE BELT!


text:
Contact Us
Still Photo Collection
Explore Canada's public broadcasting history through this collection of CBC-owned
production photography. Find pictures of CBC television and radio personalities;
actors, musicians, dancers and other guests who appeared in CBC programming;
sets, and studio equipment.
This website portal is built on Canto Cumulus Sites. (c) 2010 Canto.


text:
On this day — the House moves on measures that would increase the amount of available revenue; following remarks by key Senators that the House's austere budget proposal doesn't have a chance in the upper chamber; and a key bill that would change the way sexually-based offenses are prosecuted in Texas gets overshadowed by the budget debate
***Not so Austere, Anymore
Maybe it was all of the public outrage over massive cuts to public education and nursing homes. Maybe it was the fact that leading Republicans and Democrats in the Senate declared it dead on arrival. Either reason, or both reasons, or a combination of those two reasons plus others — the House budget committee moved on a series of measures straight from the California School of Budgeting, that would increase the amount of money available for the 2012-2013 budget by $3 billion. Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News Austin Bureau Chief (and budget maestro) Peggy Fikac reports:
Texas House budget-writers voted Monday to free up an additional $3 billion for key state services through such moves as speeding up tax collections, delaying payments and suspending the back-to-school sales tax holiday.
The bills next go to the full House, which Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, predicted could be willing to add $4 billion to $5 billion to a bare-bones spending plan it passed earlier this month.
"I think that we can come up with that number, and I think we can still pass the bill. It's non-tax. It's not additional fees than what was already assumed in the introduced bill," he said.
While these moves will provide more money for budget writers, and they will help to mitigate the worst of the cuts, they do nothing to address the state's long-term budget problems. Efforts to overhaul or replace the perpetually underperforming franchise tax, which has exacerbated the state's structural deficit, still appear still appear to be politically unpalatable to the House.
***School Funding Under Fire
The Chronicle/Express-News Gary Scharrer reports that the Senate wants to replace the current broken public school finance system by 2017. There are just a couple of rather small details getting in the way — no one agrees on how to fix the system; and, in case you haven't heard, the state has a massive structural deficit because of funding mechanisms for public education haven't performed to expectations.
Some prefer a goal to end the "target revenue" system based on what school districts received in 2006. That system has not been adjusted for inflation and has created huge funding disparities over the past five years. A goal of ending target revenue will keep pressure on lawmakers, Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said Monday.
But others argue that such a goal is meaningless until the state fixes its $5 billion-a-year structural revenue deficit.
Lawmakers don't lack pressure, said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. "We lack courage, courage to admit that we made a mistake and how to fix it. … We're not going after the core problem. All we can do is make the patient feel a little better while they are totally miserable, and we're not doing the cure."
***Juries May Hear Uncharged Allegations
A bill introduced by state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, could seismically alter the rules of evidence in rape trials in Texas. The bill, which was tentatively approved by the Senate, would allow prosecutors to present juries with similar allegations against defendants in rape trials, even if there were no previous convictions or charges to substantiate the claims. The Houston Chronicle's Patti Hart and Brian Rodgers report:
The bill by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would allow the introduction of testimony about allegations of other sexual assaults to be admitted during the guilt or innocence phase of a trial if a judge — outside the presence of the jury — hears the evidence and deems it relevant.
The bill gives "greater resources to prosecutors and victims of sexual assault," Huffman said Monday. Allowing testimony of similar sex offenses "brings Texas closer in line with federal rules of evidence," she added.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, opposed the bill, arguing the measure would bring about "more wrongful convictions" because jurors will be afraid to acquit a defendant against whom they have heard multiple allegations. Jurors who are skeptical of the evidence of the case before them could feel compelled to convict "because he (the defendant) must have done something wrong," West said.
"All of us want to be law and order and the whole nine yards," West said. "But this is carving new ground in criminal jurisprudence. You ought to think long and hard, 'is that fair?'?"


text:
Chris Brown to Launch Limited-Edition Toy Line in May
Chris Brown has teamed up with contemporary artist Ron English to launch a line of collectible toys and art sculptures, reports Pop & Hiss. Breezy is calling the line Dum English and the toys are described as creepy little astronaut dolls meant to symbolize the downside of celebrity.
Brown is showcasing the limited-edition toys (only 1,000 have been made) at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, Calif., on May 2. The event also will feature English's work and some behind-the-scenes montages of how the figurines were made. In addition, the duo will paint a life-size Dum English spaceman in front of attendees.
English is an influential pop-art creator who is known for his mashed-up toy sculptures (like the Incredible Barack Obama) and innovative street artwork. He also illustrated Brown's cover art for his last album 'F.A.M.E.'
"Hands down right now my guy is Ron English," Brown said in a statement. "Ron has to be the more creative, 'out there' artist I see. His work is so precise but at the same time so unorthodox. I think it's incredible to be able to see him do what he does and be a fan."
English also has a mutual respect for Brown, as well. "Chris is one of the sweetest, most talented people I've ever met," he states. "Working with Chris is like being a kid in a candy store. The ideas we come with are fun and colorful, young and daring."
Proceeds of sales from the toys will go to Brown's Symphonic Love foundation, which aims to provide support and funding for arts programs dedicated to women and the artistic development of children.


text:
Boren Scholarships are for undergraduate students. You are eligible to apply for the Boren Scholarships if you are:
- A U.S. citizen at the time of application
- A high school graduate, or have earned a GED
- Matriculated in an undergraduate degree program located within the United States accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Boren Scholars must remain matriculated in their undergraduate programs for the duration of the scholarship and may not graduate until the scholarship is complete.
- Applying to a study abroad program that meets home institution standards in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Boren Scholarships are not for study in the United States.


text:
COMSTOCK PARK � The West Michigan Whitecaps released this season's Tiger Fridays schedule.
The Tigers' minor league affiliate has enjoyed a successful promotion over the years by bringing former players back for autograph sessions.
The six Fridays will include: Ron LeFlore (May 30), Daryl Patterson (June 6), Glenn Wilson (June 27), Mickey Stanley (July 18), Tom Brookens and Steve Garvey in a 1984 World Series tribute (Aug. 1) and Craig Monroe (Aug. 22).
The autograph sessions for Tiger Fridays will start at 6 p.m with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. The former Tiger will sign autographs and meet fans until approximately 6:45 p.m. when he will head to the field to throw a ceremonial first pitch. The autograph line will remain intact and autographs will resume as soon as possible after the first pitch. The autograph session will last until 7:45 p.m. Please remember, one autograph item per person.
Whitecaps announce Tiger Friday schedule
COMSTOCK PARK � The West Michigan Whitecaps released this season's Tiger Fridays schedule.


text:
The Only For Sookie look
Remember True Blood last season when Sookie dreamt about being in bed with Eric and they were sex talking and she was all like, I know you're not an asshole through and through and he answered something to the effect that his soft side was "only for Sookie"?
Well isn't this is the Only For Sookie look? Hot.
But that's a man with him at lunch yesterday in West Hollywood. It sure is.
Many of you have written to ask about his relationship(s) with Evan Rachel Wood and Kate Bosworth.
He was indeed dating Evan Rachel Wood. But he was also working with the desperately pathetic and allegedly often cranked Kate Bosworth who wanted him for herself. Am told Evan tried to hang in there but eventually gave up because Alex's sh-t was too weak. And now you know she's engaged to Marilyn Manson which feels to me like sad smut. Because that is not a freak who's good on a young girl.
Professionally though, EWR is owning Bosworth's ass. Already having worked with Woody Allen and Aronofsky, featured prominently in last year's Oscar run for The Wrestler, a muse for the incomparable Julie Taymor, tapped to star in the Broadway production of Spiderman, and she's just wrapped on Robert Redford's new feature and future Oscar bait The Conspirator. Meanwhile, Bosworth can barely find a job once a year.
As for Alex and Kate, well, I wouldn't stay it's true love. More like a matter of convenience to be used strategically. Have him then if you will. But it won't help with the scripts
Photos from Wenn.com and Fapian/Zodiac/Splashnewsonline.com


text:
The Martelorre/
The Martelorre distills five years of my life down to four ingredients. It's cocktail as allegory, you might say; if I could save time in a highball. And then combine with ice and stir.
Bourbon, paterfamilias of the Martelorre's alchemy, became a friend to me in 2005 -- not coincidentally the year I began bartending. Compared to all the foolish mixed drinks I'd ordered in my youth, bourbon tasted like maturity's reward. Adult fun, I used to call it. It spoke to parts of me I hadn't yet gotten to know -- a spirit that seemed to be a part of mine.
So much so that a few years later, when my friend Michelle suggested a dating site she'd dallied on (bourbon, you see, had soldered as many of my subsequent flings as it later liquefied into ruin, and at times in between served quite obviously as my stand-in boyfriend), my brown buddy was listed alongside Otis Redding, A Hard Day's Night and my dog as what I liked best in the world. Bourbon and Otis were noted on Sean's profile, too. We had our first date at PDT, where he insisted on covering the $189.66 tab, which we've since framed and hung on our bedroom wall.
And so Rose Martelli and Sean Lorre co-authored a drink, our merged surnames taken as its portmanteau title, which we served at our wedding in June. Trickier than that forever-union-of-souls thing was devising a drink that could be made quickly and en masse, and that imparted bourbon's essence without offending non-bourbonites (whom I've just now decided to call "sub-bourbonites"). So we borrowed from the mint julep's crowd-pleasingness, cut through with lemon, and chose ginger beer because it's light without being saccharine, it gets along with all those involved, and it's much cooler than ginger ale.
The Martelorre1 ½ ounces Maker's Mark 3 ounces The Ginger People ginger beer A small handful of mint leaves Lemon wedge or wheel
Muddle the lemon and mint in the bottom of a lowball or highball glass. Add cubed ice to fill glass. Pour bourbon. Top with ginger beer.
Tasting Notes:
Maker's Mark served us well at our wedding -- and, as at most, was the most top-shelf bourbon available. However, your julep-making bourbon of choice will surely work, too. I'll probably soon try making this with Buffalo Trace, the house bourbon chez Martelorre. I haven't experimented with this recipe and rye... yet.
We thoroughly taste-tested different brands of ginger beer and found The Ginger People's product to work far better than any others. Whatever you do, steer clear of Goya, which bore a taste for too sharp (with undernotes of sour, bitter and just-plain-weird) for the Martelorre.


text:
Learn Word Family Phonics Words through Word Scrambler - Drag and Reshuffle the letters to unscrambler the words.
Great game to teach and enforcePhonics Word Family - this app is requested by a teacher that wanted a fun way to phonics word families.
Kids learn to read early by using Word Families (as known as Analogy Phonics) by finding commonality (i.e. short a sounds or long e sounds) among a set of words - Educators use these word families to teach early readers to see and hear the patterns of these words. Featuring over 635+ VOCABULARY WORDS, reinforced through fun interactive games.
2 Apps in One:
1) Unscramble the words
2) Sentence Completion - the student will have to figure out what word best completes the sentences (hints provide as an aid) - this will also put into context how the words are used.
- Hints
- Over 635+ Word Families to Find and Learn
- Select the "Word Family" category on left hand side to change word list