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Gay marriage at the Supreme Court: What are the pivot points?
| Washington
It has been 10 years since the US Supreme Court last issued a landmark ruling expanding gay rights in America.
It came in a 2003 case called Lawrence v. Texas. In striking down a Texas anti-sodomy law, the high court declared that intimate sexual conduct between consenting adults was off limits to government regulation.
The author of that decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy, was well aware that he'd just delivered an extraordinary victory to gay rights advocates. Nonetheless, he included an unusual disclaimer near the conclusion of his opinion.
Justice Kennedy said the court's decision that day would have no wider application in the looming showdown over same-sex marriage.
"Do not believe it," conservative Justice Antonin Scalia roared in dissent.
"Today's opinion dismantles the structure of constitutional law that has permitted a distinction to be made between heterosexual and homosexual unions, insofar as formal recognition in marriage is concerned," he wrote.
Now, a decade later, the nation is about to find out who was right – Kennedy in his limiting disclaimer or Justice Scalia in his dire warning.
On March 26 and 27, the US Supreme Court is set to hear two potential landmark gay rights cases, both dealing with the issue of same-sex marriage.
This marks the first time in 40 years that the high court is being asked to fundamentally redefine what marriage is in the United States. In the process, the high court is injecting itself squarely into one of the most divisive social issues of the past quarter century.
The outcome could affect hundreds of millions of dollars in federal marriage benefits currently limited to heterosexual spouses.
As in 2003, gay rights advocates are again hoping to win the potentially decisive swing vote of Kennedy. They are also hoping that the substance of Scalia's impassioned constitutional analysis in his dissent back in 2003 holds true in 2013.
"Lawrence was a very important turning point. It removed a huge roadblock on the path to gay marriage," says Dale Carpenter, a University of Minnesota Law School professor and author of "Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas."
The decision lifted a legal stigma surrounding homosexuality and – despite Kennedy's disclaimer – it established a constitutional foundation that has influenced every subsequent court decision involving same-sex marriage.
Specifically at issue before the high court this month are two meas-ures that seek to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.
The first is a 2008 ballot initiative in California known as Proposition 8, which defines marriage in the state constitution as a legal union of one man and one woman. The second case is a challenge to the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which for purposes of federal benefits also defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman.
Lawyers challenging the measures argue that Prop. 8 and DOMA violate the rights of same-sex couples by treating them like second-class citizens. "With the full authority of the State behind it, Proposition 8 sends a clear and powerful message to gay men and lesbians: You are not good enough to marry. Your loving relationship is not equal to or respected enough to qualify to be called a marriage," writes Washington lawyer Theodore Olson in his brief seeking to overturn Prop. 8.
On the other side, lawyers counter that it is proponents of same-sex marriage who are seeking to change an institution that has existed throughout history as the symbolic joining of male and female. Preservation of this tradition is not discrimination, they say.
"Providing special recognition to one class of individuals does not demean others who are not similarly situated," writes Washington lawyer Charles Cooper in his brief urging the court to uphold Prop. 8. "It is simply not stigmatizing for the law to treat different things differently, or to call different things by different names."
* * *
The most basic question at the heart of the debate over same-sex marriage is whether the US Constitution protects a fundamental right to marry regardless of sexual orientation.
Gay marriage proponents say it clearly does. Supporters of traditional marriage counter that the Supreme Court has never recognized such a right. They cite a 40-year-old precedent, Baker v. Nelson, that upheld a Minnesota law restricting marriage to one man and one woman.
But that's not the precise issue before the court. The justices have agreed to examine whether same-sex couples are entitled – under the Constitution's equal protection provisions – to be treated equally when it comes to marriage and the benefits of marriage.
That's where Scalia's prediction in the 2003 case may prove prophetic, and perhaps decisive. The Texas statute invalidated in 2003 had been justified by state lawmakers as a reflection of society's shared view that homosexual conduct was immoral. Kennedy's opinion rejected the use of sexual morality as a justification for criminalizing a consenting adult's private intimate conduct.
But the court didn't stop there. Kennedy went on to identify a constitutionally protected zone of personal liberty beyond the reach of the government involving the most intimate and private aspects of human relationships.
"Our laws and traditions afford constitutional protection to personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing, and education," he wrote.
Kennedy added: "Persons in a homosexual relationship may seek autonomy for these purposes, just as heterosexual persons do."
Despite Kennedy's disclaimer that the Texas decision was not about same-sex marriage, the opinion had an immediate and profound effect on the debate over the issue. Within five months, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared that same-sex couples in the state enjoyed a fundamental right to marry under the Massachusetts Constitution. It thus became the first state in the US to establish a state-based constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
The first and most frequently cited case in the Massachusetts decision: Lawrence v. Texas. In the years since, eight other states and the District of Columbia have recognized same-sex marriages. At the same time 30 states passed constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Eight other states adopted statutes enforcing the same traditional definition.
* * *
To prevail at the high court, supporters of California's Prop. 8 and DOMA must be able to offer a persuasive justification for treating gay and lesbian couples differently from heterosexual couples.
Because of the Lawrence decision, they can't argue that society views homosexual conduct as immoral. That argument is off the table.
Instead, proponents of the traditional view of marriage argue that the government is entitled to grant preferential treatment to couples of the opposite sex to encourage what it considers the ideal arrangement for raising children: two biological parents in a stable home, providing male and female role models for their own children.
Traditional marriage sup-porters contend that the institution would be irrevocably eroded to the detriment of biological fathers and mothers – and children – if same-sex marriages are permitted. Such views are influenced by religious beliefs, biblical teachings, and people's own sense of morality.
Gay marriage proponents counter that same-sex couples are ca-pable of raising well-adjusted children in stable, loving homes just as well as married heterosexual couples. Male-female procreation can't be a qualification for marriage, they say, because infertile couples and the elderly are allowed to wed with no inquiry into their ability or propensity to make babies.
One of the most effective tactics of gay rights activists has been to shift the debate. Instead of asking society to expand its view of marriage to accommodate them, same-sex marriage proponents have attacked those supporting the traditional view of marriage as bigots enforcing marriage exclusivity out of animosity toward gays and lesbians. They compare opposition to same-sex marriage to state laws that once banned interracial marriage, a vestige of the "white supremacy" movement.
In 1967, the Supreme Court struck down Virginia's ban on interracial marriage in a landmark case, Loving v. Virginia. The court said the ban represented invidious racial discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
Supporters of traditional marriage counter that the Loving case addresses restricting marriage by race but says nothing about marriage by people of the same sex.
Gay rights activists also argue that same-sex marriage in America is inevitable. They say it is just a matter of time before stereotypes and hostility give way to a more open and compassionate view.
But that argument cuts both ways. Lawyers for same-sex couples seek action in the courts because they say the political system is hostile and rigged against them.
They argue that majorities at the polls, in Congress, and in certain state legislatures are using their political clout to oppress gay Americans and discriminate against them. They cite Prop. 8 and DOMA as prime examples.
Lawyers supporting traditional marriage reject the view that same-sex couples are politically powerless. They note that gay marriage is now recognized in nine states and that the campaign enjoys substantial and growing support from a number of political leaders – including President Obama. For the high court to decide the same-sex marriage debate now with a ruling that would apply nationwide would short-circuit the ongoing political process, they say.
Some conservative analysts compare the situation to the abortion debate, and how the Supreme Court's controversial ruling in Roe v. Wade triggered a generation of turmoil and protest rather than allowing the issue to percolate politically and achieve some measure of compromise.
"We don't think this debate should be prematurely ended by a decree from this court or any other court," says Austin Nimocks, sen-ior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which supports the traditional definition of marriage. "We are asking the Supreme Court to continue to allow communities to go through that [political] process and continue to debate the meaning of marriage, its impact on those communities, and how it should be defined."
* * *
Amid all the debate, litigation, and legislation of the past decade, attitudes about same-sex marriage have shifted. In 2003, at the time of the Lawrence decision, 58 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage and 33 percent supported it, according to polling by the Pew Research Center. By 2012, the number of Americans opposed to same-sex marriage had fallen to 43 percent, with 48 percent saying they supported the idea.
Many traditionalists are motivated by fears that any expansion of marriage to include same-sex couples will accelerate its demise and encourage other nontraditional unions. There is no doubt that marriage in the US is under siege.
Two generations ago the mere mention of divorce was food for scandal, and the idea of conceiving a child outside a marriage was unthinkable. Today, roughly half of all marriages end in divorce, and nearly 41 percent of American children are born to an unmarried woman.
But some analysts question whether it is fair to blame these monumental shifts on same-sex couples who are themselves seeking the stability and monogamy of marriage and family, and who want to share responsibility for raising the next generation of Americans.
From their perspective, they are not seeking to tear down marriage. Like the opponents arrayed against them, they say they want to help strengthen the institution.
Although the Prop. 8 and DOMA cases are potential landmark decisions, it is unclear how the high court may rule. Like many hotly contested cases before the court, legal analysts say the nine-member tribunal is likely to split 4 to 4 among liberal and conservative justices, with Kennedy holding the margin of victory.
"Many of these briefs might well begin with the words: Dear Justice Kennedy," Professor Carpenter says.
Lawyers for same-sex couples want Kennedy to take up where he left off in the Lawrence decision and establish heightened civil rights protections for gay and lesbian Americans like those for African-Americans and women.
In contrast, lawyers supporting traditional marriage are seeking to channel that part of Kennedy that found it necessary to write the disclaimer in the Lawrence decision.
One of their strongest arguments is that it is not the right time for the high court to intervene in the same-sex marriage debate. Gays and lesbians are beginning to achieve political success at the state and national level, but the vast majority of states still maintain the traditional definition of marriage. There is no critical mass of states seeking change.
By the time the high court declared bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional in the Loving case in 1967, all but 16 states had already repealed their anti-miscegenation laws. In 1960, all 50 states had anti-sodomy laws. By 2003 when the high court declared such laws invalid in the Lawrence decision, 37 states had already repealed their sodomy laws. Only 13 still had them on the books.
Contrast that with the current landscape for same-sex marriage. Nine states, and the District of Columbia, recognize it – but 41 do not. "I'm unaware of Justice Kennedy ever having voted to strike down the laws of 41 states," Carpenter says.
* * *
What will prove decisive? No one knows.
In landmark cases, appearances are sometimes important. It won't help the cause of same-sex marriage that the two lead plaintiffs in the Massachusetts case, Hillary and Julie Goodrich, won their battle to marry but remained together for only two years. Their divorce was final in July 2009.
In contrast, consider the experience of Jack Baker and Michael McConnell. They are the gay couple that sued in Minnesota in 1970 for the right to marry – and lost. The case set a longstanding precedent allowing states to deny marriage to same-sex couples.
"That's the first big court decision on gay rights," Carpenter says. "That couple sued to be married in 1970 when nobody imagined that this was a possibility."
It was a time when most states still allowed the firing of gay people from state jobs, when the federal government would not give gay people security clearances, when gays could not serve in the military, and when police were raiding gay bars.
Despite the hostility of society, rejection by lawmakers, and dismissive rulings by judges, Mr. Baker and Mr. McConnell are still together in Minnesota living as a committed couple – 43 years later.
Starkly different perceptions of marriage, coupled with the clash of legal arguments in a country still deeply polarized on the issue of gay rights, make these two of the most watched – and significant – cases before the court in a generation.


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Whale watching - Maryrose Gulesserian
Marine scientist Maryrose Gulesserian's research sheds some light on how our fascination with whale watching affects these magnificent animals.
Around this time each year southern humpback whales are seen off the east coast of Australia travelling north from the cold waters of the Southern Ocean for some sun and fun.
The southern humpback is a breed now well-protected and rapidly approaching maximum population levels again, and the annual migration to breed in the warmer waters of north Queensland and the south-west Pacific creates quite a spectacle.
"In the middle of the season there'll be 60 or 70 travelling past Sydney, generally in pairs but sometimes in groups of up to six, " says marine scientist Maryrose Gulesserian, who led a research project observing the behaviour of the migrating whales as they passed by Cape Solander in the Botany Bay National Park.
The growing number of whales travelling along Australia's east coast has spawned a similarly rapid growth in whale tourism, and the study was designed to collect quantitative evidence to underpin national regulations around whale watching.
"I was especially looking at the impact of vessels on the migratory habits of humpbacks, and looking at how they react to boats," says Gulesserian.
"Under the Australian National Guidelines for Whale and Dolphin Watching 2005, a boat must stay at least 100 metres away from an adult whale. The guidelines also specify certain approach angles and speeds. We wanted to test the efficacy of these guidelines to see if they were effective in minimising disturbances on migrating humpback whales."
"We were looking for behaviours such as deep and shallow diving and surface activity like breaching, tail slapping, and pectoral fin slapping, and whether a whale would switch behaviour when a vessel was nearby."
Surprising results
The three-year study, she says, did turn up somewhat surprising results, compared to whale studies elsewhere.
"Most studies are done in breeding and habitat areas, but the whales we observed in the Sydney study were migrating, so they were on a mission to get up to their breeding areas."
The study found that in the presence of boats within a thousand metres whales were more likely to cease surface breathing and switch to short diving. They did not avoid boats, and in fact seemed to be used to and even enjoy the attentions of the thousands of whale-watchers who head out to sea each winter to see them pass.
Gulesserian studied animal science and has always loved the marine world. She says working on the Cape Solander project was "awesome" even though it meant getting up before dawn, seven days a week, for three months each year and spending 12 hour days in a windswept clifftop shelter.
"The middle of winter was probably the hardest bit ," she says. "Out there often you get horizontal rain, and when the big southerlies blow the sea spray can be a problem for the equipment."
She used a surveyor's theodolite connected to a laptop running a tracking software. "I was able to monitor activity in real time and then from there download the data and run the analysis."
Boat strike threat
Gulessarian, who now works as a conservation management officer for the New South Wales government, still often heads to the coast with her binoculars to watch the whales pass during winter.
"We can't ever know everything about whales, but there's still so much we need to know for management and conservation," she says, listing just some of the threats that whales face worldwide.
"There's urbanisation, pollution, climate change, the effects of fishing gear, the destruction of habitat in some parts of world, and boat impact where there is unregulated whale watching."
"We're pretty lucky here that whale industry is regulated. In North America the right whale is threatened by boat strike. It's a major thing in some places in the world where tourism focuses on the breeding and feeding areas of whales and dolphins. Boats come in too close and displace animals from habitat areas and disrupt feeding behaviour and stress them."
With greater numbers of humpbacks cruising along the east coast each year, and growth in shipping predicted, especially around the Great Barrier Reef, does she see the potential for similar problems here?
"Boat strikes are definitely something we'll have to look into in the future. The main thing is figuring out exactly where these amazing creatures go and what they do."
Maryrose Gulesserian works in conservation management for the NSW Department of Primary Industries. She led the Cape Solander research while studying a masters degree at Macquarie University. The research, which was conducted with researchers from Macquarie University and Taronga Conservation Society Australia, was published in Endangered Species Research. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services and Bass and Flinders cruises. Maryrose Gulesserian was interviewed by Annie Hastwell.
Published 03 July 2012

subset: commoncrawl


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Gay Ibiza
About 50 miles off the coast of Valencia, Ibiza is one of the larger Balearic Islands. Settled in 654 BC by Phoenicians, the island's name was given by visiting Greeks for "pine-covered islands." Ibiza later came under the control of Carthage, then the Romans. Rule by the Vandals, and the Moorish Taifa of Denia followed until the conquest by the Christian King James I of Aragon, in 1235. A United Nations World Heritage Site, its Old Town retains the medieval city walls. Large parts of the island are protected from development, so if you need to get away from the crowds there are always places to enjoy eye-popping vistas in solitude.
Like Mykonos in Greece, Ibiza is a summer gay resort that has risen to almost mythical status. "La Isla Blanca" is a beautiful place where visitors' days are usually spent frolicking on the beaches, and the nights are for legendary clubbing that lasts well past sunrise. A number of gay bars, restaurants and cafes can be found in the town of Ibiza, around Carrer de la Mare de Déu (Calle de la Virgen in Castillian) in the portside Sa Penya, and in the Dalt Vila area.
You'll probably love the music too. DJs come from around the world to spin house and trance tunes for very appreciative crowds. A large expat community from other EU countries make their home here, along with Latin Americans and Moroccans, giving the scene a very cosmopolitan feel. They say that on summer weekends the parties are so perfectly spaced that one is always starting when the last is breaking up. The circuit party promoters follow people as they leave the big cities' heat to relax at coastal resorts, and the scene blazes throughout July and August to wrap up in September. Gay Pride Ibiza takes place this year June 13-16, 2018, with four days of pool and club parties, entertainment, performances and arts presentations.
Many local restaurants serve typical Ibizan fare, traditional Mediterranean-style, including fish, seafood, rice, stews, asados/asadas (grilled meat or vegetables), garlic sauces, and tomato/onion/garlic dips. Chopped almonds, common in Catalan cuisine, are often used here too. International options include Chinese, French, Indonesian, Indian, Italian, and French cuisines, English breakfasts, and American fast food.
See our gay Ibiza listings page for map locations and club contact information for the above, plus more bars, and a few hotels and restaurants.
Getting here
Aeropuerto de Ibiza has direct flights from Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. If you're flying from abroad, you'll most likely have to transfer in one of those cities. There are also ferries from Denia, Valencia and Barcelona.
Getting around
Ibiza Town (Eivissa) has a compact Old Town (Dalt Vila) that is made for strolling. Street signs are in Eivissenc, the local dialect of the Catalan/ Valencian languages. Many businesses still use Castilian Spanish street names (Calle de la Virgen, instead of the official Carrer la Mare de Déu on google maps) - a bit confusing at first. Locals often speak English or German, in addition to the Iberian languages, and most expats and visitors speak at least some English.
A car is a good idea if you want to explore the island but there is bus service too; see IbizaBus for a list of routes and companies. Some big discos and hotels provide free transportation. Taxis are a fairly expensive way to get around the island, costing €20-30 between cities.
Carrer de la Mare de Déu (Carrer de la Verge) is Eivissa's (town of Ibiza) main gay strip - also known in Castillian as Calle de la Virgen. It's packed with bars and clubs with outdoor terraces that are buzzing on sultry summer evenings. Gays and straights mix with ease. Another cluster of bars is above, in Dalt Vila, and Figueretas Beach area to the west has many hotels and restaurants. Almost all the businesses in the district are gay-friendly at the least; just trust your gaydar. There are also a number of men's fashion outlets along these streets. Outside this district, in Santa Eularia des Riu to the north, there is also nightly entertainment. July and August are the busiest months of the season, but many places are open in May, June and September, for those who prefer a less frenetic scene.
Many small gay bars line the streets of the old town, but most of the big gay-friendly mixed internationally-known discoteques are a bit further out - some provide free buses from the center. On the coast to the south of Eivissa, near Platja d'en Bossa, Hï Ibiza has taken over the old Space location, and Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, an "adults-only music theme park" that features 24-hour VIP luxury treatment and famous guest DJ dance parties. Bora Bora Beach Club and Manchester UK import Sankeys Ibiza, are also here. Santa Eulària des Riu, a quieter coastal town just north of Eivissa, also has some bars and restaurants of interest.
The area around Sant Rafel (San Rafael), at island center, between Eivissa and Sant Antoni, is home to three big clubs with gay parties, Amnesia, Privilege and Underground.
On the north side of the island the town of Sant Antoni de Portmany (San Antonio) the scene is newer, and more commercial, probably sparing ancient Eivissa the sort of development that could have spoiled it. Here Eden has nightly mainsteam dance events, Es Paradis has similar events most nights in season, and Ibiza Rocks features international popular live music acts on stage, overlooked by their hotel room balconies. These clubs draw mostly young and straight, but not-unfriendly-to-gay crowds.
There are over eighty beaches within half an hour's drive of Eivissa or Sant Antoni. The range from those with full-service beach club resorts, fine restaurants, and partying on the sand, to unspoiled and tranquil natural sandy retreats. These rank among the most popular:
Figueretas Beach, the city beach on the south side of Eivissa, surrounded by hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops, with a palm-fringed promenade, lounge chairs and parasols for rent, shower facilities, and access for the disabled. A harbor for fishing boats separates it from Platja d'en Bossa, to the south. The promenade and cafes come alive in the evenings, as visitors leave the beach, and locals arrive to cool off and relax.
Platja (or playa) d'en Bossa, a long stretch of beach with bars and beach lounges and shops in Sant Josep de Talaià just south of Eivissa, varying from the super trendy to casual and laid back. Drive, bike or take the bus from Ibiza Town, just 4 km away.
Platja d'es Cavallet, a naturalist, clothing optional beach backed by unspoiled sand dunes, just 10 minutes drive south of Platja d'en Bossa past the airport. There's an active gay scene at the far end of the long beach, with several nearby Chiringuito-style beach restaurants. Chiringay, just behind the gay area, along with El Chiringuito are two such bar/restaurants between the dunes and the sea for drinks, tapas, burgers, pasta and fish. The Experimental Beach Restaurant is on the other side of the Ses Salines National Park.
Las Salinas Beach, at the island's southern tip, with a trendy party scene next to the Salinas Conservation Area. Lounge chairs and parasols can be rented, and there are restaurants and bars serving food and cocktails to your beach chair; also massages, beach boutiques, and public showers. These include the Malibu Beach Club, and the Jockey Club. Further down the bay nudists mix with families, "hippies" and partiers who dance to the music that plays all day. Even further, past the watchtower, there are small coves that break into the rocky coastline, for those seeking their own private beach.
Cala Jondal (Platja d'es Jondal), further west down the coast from Las Salinas, is popular with boaters, the rich, the beautiful and the trendy. Surrounded by jagged cliffs and a pine woods conservation area, it has a white pebble beach and clear blue waters. Several high-end restaurants here such as Es Xarco, the Tropicana Beach Club, Blue Marlin, and Yemanja offer good food, beer, wine and cocktails along with beach club amenities. Access by car, or by private boat.
Currency and Money
Spain's official currency is the euro. There are ATMs scattered about the center, so you won't have trouble getting more cash.
The website of Ibiza Gay Pride has all the latest information about the parade and party events each June.
For general tourism information in English see Ibiza-Tourism.net, Ibiza-4-all, Ibiza Travel, or Ibiza Spotlight; and for all four islands, Illesbalears.es
Essential Ibiza and Ibiza Spotlight offer general public party listings and tickets, plus a guide to restaurants, bars, clubs, beaches, shopping options and more.
Spain in English website covers national and regional news, along with sports and cultural events and lifestyle listings.
For locations and website information for gay and gay-friendly bars, clubs, cafes and hotels, see our gay Ibiza map & listings section.
Going Out - bars & clubs
Many of the smaller bars and restaurants have reopened for July and August 2020.
Angelo's Bar (Carrer de Ciprià Garijo, 8), gay/everyone-welcome music bar/restaurant, Saturday shows, large terrace.
Bar 22 Ibiza (Carrer de la Mare de Déu 22), cozy gay cocktail bar and terrace, open daily in summer and on weekends year-round.
Bar MonaLisa (Carrer d'Alfonso XII, 3), gay cocktail bar, large terrace, drag shows, high-fashion Milan glamour, all kinds of people mix.
Cenit Hotel Pool Bar (Archiduque Luis Salvador), gay-popular rooftop pool bar and cafe serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Chaos Bar (Carrer d'Astúries 2), small/ relaxed Figueretas Beach gay/mixed bar, covered terrace, inexpensive drinks, locals and German crowd.
Chiringay (Platja Es Cavallet, 17), at Es Cavallet nude beach near gay area; tapas, pizza, pasta, burgers, bocadillos, steak and fish/seafood, plus cocktails, juices, beer and wine.
Dado (Carrer de la Mare de Déu 40), small gay party bar, theme parties, men and women international mix, bartender hunks.
JJ Bar (Carrer la Mare de Déu 79) gay-favorite terrace bar, balcony views, all-ages and types; nightly in season, weekends in winter.
Lola's Disco Club (Carrer d'Alfonso XII 9) - CLOSED - small dance club, Frigays party.
Mad Bar (Carrer de la Mare de Déu 32), popular gay bar, Belgian/French accent, cocktails and copas, sexy bartenders, men-only darkroom, terrace; seasonally open through November 4th.
Soap @ Dôme (Carrer d'Alfonso XII 5), popular warm-up cocktails bar and terrace, drag, sexy and imaginative attire, bartender hunks, big terrace.
Sunrise (Carrer de la Mare de Déu, 44), gay-friendly copas/cocktails lounge and terrace, good sound system.
CLOSED: Anfora (Sant Carles 7), gay dance/theme parties, nude male strip/ sex shows, drag; La Muralla (Sa Carrossa, 3), men's cruise/ sex bar; dark room, underwear/naked parties; La Nada (Carrer de la Mare de Déu 10), small gay bar, friendly international crowd, DJs.
Going Out - largest club nights
Most of the clubs have closed for the duration of the Covid-19 emergency, but hope to be back in business for the 2021 season.
Amnesia (Carretera Eivissa a Sant Antoni, km 5), one of the legendary clubs with a 5,000 capacity crowd. Will open for July/August mainstream parites, but will not include Matinée Group's Saturday club nights this year - see the Barcelona Circuit Festival in August.
Heart (passeig de Joan Carles I, 17), an amusement park for adults; a creative partnership between Cirque du Soleil and the Adrià brothers to explore what happens when food, music and art collide. La Troya Wednesdays moved here from Space.
Hï Ibiza (Platja d'en Bossa 10, Sant Josep de Sa Talaia), new club for 2017 season at the old Space site. Regular nights include Glitterbox Fridays - "encompassing all ages, colours, genders and sexual orientations."
Privilege (Carrer de Ibiza, 7), the worlds largest nightclub with capacity of 10,000, main room ceilings at 25 meters high, many bars, plus a chill-out garden, rotation of international club brands and spectacular shows. SuperMartXé owns Thursdays here, presenting their unique shows weekly throughout the season plus other special nights.
Ushuaïa (Playa d'en Bossa, 10), nightly parties at the beach just south of Eivissa, mega-star DJs, big pool parties; gay nights have included Pride events in years past.
The Essential Ibiza guide to nightlife website is down for summer 2020, but their Facebook page has recent updates.
CLOSED: Space (Platja d'en Bossa 10, Sant Josep de Sa Talaia). (I don't give a) FAG with guest porn stars and erotic shows started in Ibiza, now has dates in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria and in Barceona this 2018 season.
Hotels & Guesthouses
Aguas de Ibiza (Junto Salvador Camacho 9, Santa Eulalia del Rio; 34 971-319-991), 112 eco-luxury resort room and suites, bars and restaurants, spa, swimming pool, rooftop bar/pool vistas.
Axelbeach Ibiza Hotel (Cala de Bou, 46, Sant Antoni de Portmany; 34 971-348-735), hetero-friendly gay hotel, 89 suites/apartments, full kitchens, balconies, beach, pool, deck, sky bar/ lounge, room service, WiFi.
Casa Alexio Gay Hotel (Carrer Kiwi 39, Tlamanca, Jesus; 34 639-632-522), 13-room men-only guesthouse villa, clothing-optional pool, garden, terrace, Jacuzzi, massage, bar, cable TV, internet.
Casa de Huéspedes la Peña (Carrer de la Mare de Déu 76, Dalt Vila, Eivissa; 34 971-190-240), basic, central lodgings at budget prices by the port, singles rooms and dorm beds.
Grand Palladium Palace Ibiza Resort & Spa (Platja d'en Bossa 4, Sant Jordi de Ses Salines; 34 971-396-784), 411 modern rooms and suites, 3 restaurants, 2 pools, nightclub.
Hotel Apartamentos Lux Mar (Ramón Muntaner 78, Figueretas Beach, Eivissa; 34 971-301-458), 84 double and triple rooms; cafe, buffet restaurant, swimming pool, solarium, AC, WiFi.
Hotel Cenit (Carrer de l'Arxiduc Lluís Salvador, Figueretas Beach; 34 971-301-404), central hiiltop hotel, 63 spacious rooms, 55 apartments and studios, pleasant views, balconies, swimming pool; gay-popular evenings rooftop pool bar with restaurant breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Hotel Don Quijote (País Basc 12, Figueretas Beach, Eivissa; 34 971-302-266), central location budget single and double rooms, swimming pool, breakfast, satellite TV, internet, elevator.
Hotel El Puerto (Carles III 24, Eivissa; 34 9719313-812), 93 room tourist hotel, terraces, 80 apartments, satellite TV, swimming pool.
Hotel Garbi Ibiza & Spa (Murtra 5, #128, Platja d'en Bossa; 34 971-300-007), 4-star hotel beachfront rooms, pool bar and restaurant, disco dance club, tennis court, supermarket.
Hotel Hacienda Na Xamena (Urbanización Na Xamena, buzón 11, Port de Sant Miguel; 34 971-334-500), luxury hotel, Eden restaurant and cocktail lounge with live music, spa/swimming pools, sea vistas from cliff-top location.
Hotel Ibiza Playa (Carrer de Tarragona, Figueretas Beach, Eivissa; 34 971-302-804), 57 beachfront rooms, moderate-prices, buffet restaurant and terrace bar.
Hotel Maritímo (Ramón Muntaner, 48, Figueretas Beach, Eivissa; 34 971-302-708), buffet restaurant, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, gym, water views, satellite TV
Ibiza Gran Hotel (Juan Carlos I, 17, Marina Botafoch/ Marina Ibiza; 34 971-806-806), resort and gaming casino hotel, 157 suites, spa, restaurants and bars, swimming pools.
La Torre del Canónigo (Major 8, Dalt Vila, Eivissa; 34 971-303-884), full-service rooms and suites, swimming pool, breakfast, Mediterranean restaurant, wellness center, WiFi.
La Ventana (Sa Carrosa 13, Dalt Vila, Eivissa; 34 971-390-857), 13 luxury rooms with baths near port at the center, satellite TV, terraces, good views.
Llobet Apartments (Carrer d'Alexandre Llobet 6, Figueretas Beach, Eivissa; 34 971-301-925), beachfront locations, gardens, swimming pool, cafe/bistro, full services.
Hotel Marigna Ibiza (Al Sabini 18, Figueretas; 34 971-399-942), vibrant, artistic and unique atmosphere and style, 44 adults-only art-adorned rooms, satellite TV, restaurant, solarium sea-view terrace with Jacuzzi.
Mirador De Dalt Vila Hotel (Plaça d'Espanya 4, Dalt Vila, Eivissa; 34 971-303-045), 5-star luxury rooms and suites, restaurant fine dining/wines, bar and lounge.
Molins Park Hostal (Carrer de Joan Xico, 42, Eivissa; 34 971-300-464), 30 en-suite single and double rooms, terraces, swimming pool, solarium, internet, nice views.
Purple Hotel (Carrer d'Antoni Riquer 23, Sant Antoni de Portmany; 34 971-343-614), gay hostel rooms near Calo des Moro beach and bus station, swimming pool, patio bar cocktails and snacks, bar/lounge, WiFi.
Restaurants & Cafes
Most restaurants now offer their services again as of early July 2020.
Amante Beach Club Restaurant (Carrer Fuera, Sol Den Serra, Santa Eulària des Riu), Mediterranean lunch and dinner menus; seaside cove terrace, dramatic vistas, cocktails, day bed relaxation.
Ancient People (España, 32, Eivissa), Indian meat and vegetarian curries, Biryani and Tandoori meals.
Ca n'Alfredo (Passeig Vara de Rei 16E, Eivissa), serving traditional Ibizan and Catalan dishes since 1934.
CUBE-Ibiza (Carrer Pedro Escanellas 3, Playa Figueretas, Eivissa), Indonesian and International meals and cocktails just off the beach.
El Cigarral (Fray Vicente Nicolás 9E, Eivissa), traditional seafood; seasonal menus, local specialities including "carnes de buey asturiano."
El Olivo Mio (Plaça del Vila 9, Dalt Vila, Eivissa), Mediterranean and French tapas, entrées, beef, chicken, fish, wines; passionate chefs, terrace seatings.
Experimental Beach Restaurant/ Chiringuito (Playa Dés Codolar, Ses Salines National Park, Salines), beach bar, music, sunsets, Italian, Mediterranian and local cuisines, vegetarian options.
KM5 (Carretera Ibiza-Sant Josep km 5.6, Sant Josep de Sa Talaia), quality dining boutique restaurant in rustic finca; bar tents, live music, art exhibits.
Kumharas Beach Bar (Carrer Lugo 2, Sant Josep de sa Talaia), famous bar and Sunset Chillout Café/ Mediterranean/International restaurant near Sant Antoni; DJ sets and live bands.
La Bodega (Carrer Bisbe Torres Mayans 2, Eivissa), international tapas and ceviche, wine and cocktails; indoor and terrace seatings overlooking the sea.
La Brasa (Carrer de Pere Sala 3, Eivissa), garden terrace, traditional and local seafood restaurant, wines.
La Belle Ibiza (Avinguda Isidor Macabich 6, San Rafael), French and Mediterranean cuisine dinner, wine and cocktails; summer Thursdays Circus show entertainment, sexy performers.
La Oliva (Carrer de la Santa Creu, 2-4-6, Dalt Vila, Eivissa), Mediterranean cuisine with Asian accents, busy terrace overlooks street performances.
La Scala Restaurante (sa Carrossa 7, Dalt Vila, Eivissa), daily menu, local fish and seafood, steaks and chicken, wines, covered terrace seatings.
Locals Only (Plaça del Parc 5, Dalt Vila, Eivissa), Italian-style osteria organic produce, seafood, pasta plates, sandwiches, burgers, beer, wines and cocktails; plaza terrace tables.
Restaurante Moorea (Ctra de Platja d'en BossaPlatja d'en Bossa),grilled meats, paella, seafood; 24-hr pizzeria, pub at Jet Apartments Resort.
Somiart (Paseo Maritimo, Santa Eulalia), innovative modern cuisine restaurant and nightclub; Foc i Fum circus-style acrobatic performances during summer months, with outrageous and provocative costumes.
Tropicana Beach Club & Restaurant (Carrer des Jondal 1, Cala Jondal Beach), chaises lounges, beach terrace bar, traditional Ibizan/Mediterranean seafood and pasta menu, fashionable crowd.
Villa Mercades (Paseo del Mar, Sant Antoni de Portmany), dockside terrace, highly-rated traditional Ibiza/Mediterranean and Asian cuisines; spectacular views, live music and performances daily.
Yemanja (Carrer Jondal 3, Cala Jondal, Sant Josep de Sa Talaia), beach club hammocks, chaises lounges, Spanish/ International restaurant and bar, massage services - open all year.
See the Ibiza Spotlight restaurant guide for more dining options.
CLOSED: Ama Lur Restaurante (Sant Miquel, km 2.3, Santa Eularia des Riu), Mediterranean/ Basque dining.


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Do you have a damaged tooth that causes you embarrassment? Even if all of your other teeth are nicely shaped and pearly white, guess what other people notice? Yep, the ugly duckling. You have probably experienced that yourself when you have looked at a smile that contains one discolored tooth. No matter how hard you try, the unsightly one is impossible to ignore.
A beautiful smile is an important component of your overall appearance. Unattractive teeth draw the eye away from other pleasing features such as thick shiny hair, gorgeous eyes, or a peaches and cream complexion.
Fortunately, there are several cosmetic dental procedures to restore or repair one or more teeth. At Coleman & Dastrup Dentistry Elevated in Davidson, we can complete most of them in one short visit. Think about it; you could achieve a stunning smile in less than an afternoon!
Veneers, Bonding, and Cosmetic Implant Dentistry
Dental bonding is an affordable cosmetic dentistry procedure available in Davidson at Coleman & Dastrup Dentistry Elevated. We use dental bonding in a variety of applications. In addition to repairing damage, dental bonding can close gaps between teeth. Porcelain veneers are another minimally invasive cosmetic remedy. Like cosmetic dental bonding, veneers, correcting chips, and cracks, and improving tooth shape.
What if your problem is not an unattractive tooth but a missing tooth? Don't despair, a beautiful smile is still possible with dental implants.
For more information about veneers, bonding, implants, and other cosmetic dentistry procedures, call Coleman & Dastrup Dentistry Elevated at 704-896-5850. We are conveniently located at 460 S Main St Ste 102 in Davidson. We provide advanced dentistry for patients in Cornelius, Concord, and the surrounding areas.
Contact Coleman & Dastrup Dentistry Elevated:
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
460 S Main St Ste 102
Davidson, North Carolina


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Let's Eat Healthy! Let's Eat Apulian!
As the summer reaches its end, an Italian region that is not complaining about a bad season is Puglia. Thanks to the weather, beautiful beaches and unique food, Puglia can say that it is loved by Italians and foreigners alike. The organization called Spot (Sistema Puglia per l'Osservatorio Turistico), a local regional agency recording tourism affluence, reports that tourism has increased considerably.
Puglia is a region little known to Americans but one well worth discovering for the gourmet traveler. Its sunny location provides the ideal conditions for the cultivation of flavorful fruits, vegetables and viticulture. Apulian cuisine is healthy, based on homemade pastas and cheeses, fresh vegetables, seafood and local olive oil.
The cuisine from Salento, an area in the south-eastern extremity of the region, is characterized by a wide range of vegetables, main ingredients of the local traditional diet: cima di rapa (broccoli raabe), cabbage, thistle, peppers, eggplant, artichokes, all types of legumes, from beans, to chickpeas, peas and fava beans. Author Micol Negrin writes in her award winning book Rustico: Regional Italian Country Cooking: "The Apulians are avowed vegetable addicts. They even have a saying 'of all vegetables, the fava is queen, cooked in the evening, warmed in the morning.' Every year in Puglia 33 million pounds of fava beans are harvested and transformed into antipasti, side dishes, and soups." The traditional country dish par excellence is a puree of fava beans served with sautéed wild chicory called 'ncapriata.
In addition to these, a lot of wild vegetables are widely used: we are talking about chicory, asparagus, paparine (poppy plants before the flower blooms), ripili, also known as finocchietto marino (plants that grow on wet sea rocks) and the famous lampascioni (bitter wild onions). "In lean times, the ability to turn a handful of field greens into a meal surely came in handy; today, it forms the basis for a unique cuisine," writes Negrin.
Vegetables and legumes are mostly consumed with bread or pasta, both preferably home-made. Among the most famous dishes we then find orecchiette (ear shaped pasta) with broccoli raabe, ciceri e tria, pasta with chickpeas, and minestra maritata, a vegetable and legume soup with bread and pecorino cheese.
Back in time, meat was considered a luxury, so it doesn't really appear much in Apulian menus, except in dishes that through the years have been re-adapted by the local cooks – so ground beef is mixed with bread for flavorful meatballs; horse meat, which was cheaper, is served stewed and in other variations, such as in pieces with tomato sauce. Lamb is also loved and a classic recipe is called turcinieddhi (lamb meat rolls stuffed with innards).
The sea, of course, provides tons of fish, seafood and crustaceans, that are unbelievably fresh and delicious. Among the most known fish based dishes we find purpu alla pignatta (octopus cooked in a terracotta pot with onions and tomato), scapece, the word derives from the Spanish and can be applied to any dish, usually fish, marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce, pupiddhi fritti, fried fish, tajeddha (baked rice with potatoes and cockles), and pasta with sea urchin.
The production of cured meats never really took off because of the warm climate and the lack of means to age the meat properly. Proteins found their way into the local diet through cheeses, cheeses that are simply amazing now as they were back in time. These are ricotta, giuncata, fresh cow milk cheese, cacioricotta, salted ricotta that is shaved over pasta, ricotta forte, fermented ricotta, with a very strong taste, scamorza, and aged pecorino.
Bread deserves its own paragraph as it is simply unique and amazing – made with different ingredients and in numerous shapes.
Writer Carole Kotkin of TravelLady Magazine talks about bread this way – "Bread in Apulia is given almost reverential treatment. If a piece of bread is dropped on the floor, peasant people will pick it up immediately, kiss it, and return it to the table for eating. Apulian bread is not made with commercial yeast, but from yeast produced in households that has been in use for generations.
Dough made with this yeast is slower to rise than that made with commercial yeast and has a chance to develop a better flavor." Carol Field, author of The Italian Baker remakred "The tastes and shapes of Italian breads are fragrant reminders of a tradition of baking that is older than the Roman monuments and Romanesque cathedrals that we rush to Europe to see." Altamura bread is possibly Italy's best bread: "large heavy wheels with burnished brown crusts baked in a 300 year-old oak wood-fired oven from centuries-old sourdough starter," but this town is not in Salento but on the Murge plateau in the province of Bari. Among other baked specialties we find frisella, a traditional hard barley bread, the size of a donut that is dipped in water to soften and then seasoned with olive oil, salt and tomatoes, and taralli, a snack food, also doughnut shaped but about 3 inches across. Taralli can be either somewhat sweet or slightly salty, and some people sprinkle their surfaces with anise seed, pepper, or whatever.
The most common desserts from Salento are cakes and pastry made of ground almonds; cartellate are ribbons of pastry twisted into circles and covered with either honey or mulled wine; pittule (or pettole) are small balls of pastry fried in olive oil (eaten at Christmas or Easter), diavulacce are made with almonds and coco, dried figs dressed with toasted almonds, sometimes coated with chocolate and quince jam.
In Salento, a traditional meal could begin with eggplant stuffed with Pecorino, or raw cocomeri, short and fat cucumbers believed to prepare the stomach for the upcoming meal. First course choices might include fava bean puree with sautéed chicory and olive oil, or a nice plate of orecchiette or other home-made pasta such as frusciuddati, short, hand rolled cylinders. The menu would then include lamb or kid roasted in a wood oven or fresh fish such as braised cod with tangy black olives from local trees. Cheese and dessert would finish off the meal…for whoever still has an appetite!


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The Highest Lake
(C) Copyright 2002 by Carl Drews
Last update: December 30, 2014
The highest summit in a geographical area is a well-defined concept: It's the greatest elevation where a climber can stand, sit, squat, be photographed, or at least reach over and tag it with an outstretched hand, like Sunlight Peak in Colorado's Chicago Basin. The concept of the highest lake is somewhat harder to define. As climber Claudio Seebach has observed, "The highest is always a doubtful thing: what is a lake?" What, indeed? Obviously not every little puddle of meltwater can qualify as a lake. Geographers agree that a lake is an enclosed body of standing water, but beyond that basic concept it gets a little tricky.
A lake must be larger than a certain minimum size, otherwise any tiny pond or puddle would be a lake. The size ought to be measured in terms of the surface area, which can usually be determined from topographical maps. The lake should be mostly open water; that is, it should not have vegetation or little stepping-stones all the way across it.
The lake must have liquid water. There might be some glacier-filled hollow in the saddle of Mt. McKinley in Alaska, or at the bottom of Snow Lake in Pakistan; but it doesn't qualify as a lake unless some climber can throw a chunk of snow into it and make a splash.
A lake must be of water. The lava lakes in the summit crater of the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania are certainly fascinating, but they don't count here. And they only last a few days.
Since I've studied the topic and reviewed various standards, I'll propose here a working definition of a lake:
1. The lake surface area must be at least 1 hectare, or 2.471 acres. 1 hectare is 100 meters by 100 meters. Long-recognized lakes smaller than this size are grandfathered in; if ancient Hawaiians and Incas were willing to make the trek up to their sacred lake, that's good enough for me!
2. The lake must be at least 2 meters deep somewhere. You know, for swimming.
3. The lake must be mostly open water. If you can walk or hop all the way across it in your water-proofed hiking boots, it's not a lake, it's a marsh.
4. The lake must be perennial, lasting throughout the entire year. Specifically, the lake must retain at least 100 cubic meters of liquid water year-round. That's 10x10 meters by 1 meter deep - fish could live in that. It's okay for the lake to have a permanent surface layer of ice, like Lake Vostok in Antarctica, as long as there's water down below.
5. Someone has to visit the lake on the ground to verify and document it.
I figure that a near-lake that meets most of these criteria should be called a "pool." Those are interesting, too.
Having said all that, the definition of a lake is actually not much of a problem! There are few enough contenders for the title of "highest lake" that it's practical simply to list the top candidates and have the reader decide on the winner. I don't mind typing, and you seem to have some time on your hands to surf the Internet. So let's go . . . !
The Highest Lake in the United States of America
That link contains a list of highest lakes in the USA. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a database of named geographical features in the country. You can search their database at this very cool web site here:
To find lakes by altitude, search on Feature Type = lake and set the minimum elevation. With a little fiddling, you can also find the northernmost cemetery in Idaho (the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery is at 485958 North latitude) and other useful information like that. However, the USGS database only lists named features. And therein lies a tale . . .
That link contains our trip report of the wildly successful scientific expedition undertaken by CHAOS to "Pacific Tarn", near Breckenridge, Colorado, on July 13-14, 2002. We visited the lake, swam in it, photographed it, paddled across it, drank it, took its temperature, plumbed its depths, and about everything else we could think of!
That link contains a list of highest lakes in the world. The problem in compiling this list is in determining accurate altitudes for the candidates. Many of the elevations listed on web sites for far-off places are approximate. Furthermore, the rest of the world has been mapped less thoroughly than the United States. On the positive side, each candidate seems to have some interesting story associated with it, and most of them are visually spectacular. There ain't no such thing as a boring high lake!
Conversion Notes:
There are 43,560 square feet in an acre.
There are 39.37 inches in a meter.
Summit Register from Maroon Peak
This doesn't have anything to do with lakes, but it has a lot to do with mountains, and if you weren't interested in mountains you wouldn't be visiting this web site. That page contains a reprint of an actual summit register retrieved from Maroon Peak near Aspen, Colorado, dating from the years 2000-2002.
Detecting Climate Change in Canadian Ice Data
In 2003 I took an introductory course in meteorology. This is the research paper that I wrote for the course. I got an 'A' grade on the paper, if anybody wants to know.
(This section is also unrelated to high lakes.) The biblical book of Exodus relates the deliverance of Moses and the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In October 2014 I published a book about the Exodus, focusing on the account of crossing the Red Sea in Exodus 14. The full title of my book is: Between Migdol and the Sea: Crossing the Red Sea with Faith and Science. The book presents scientific and literary evidence that the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt was an actual historical event that occurred in 1250 BC. The Israelites escaped from Pharaoh's army through the yam suf in the eastern Nile delta. Chapter 7 Following the Trail analyzes several candidates for the biblical Mt. Sinai. To leave highestlake.com and learn more, please visit migdolbook.com.
This web site is owned and operated by Jambo Productions, Inc.


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Information Collection and Use STIFORP collects information from our web site in several ways. During registration, STIFORP asks for information such as your name, phone number, and email address. Once you have submitted this information and chosen a valid password, you will be able to take full advantage of everything STIFORP has to offer. You may also be asked for personal information when you report a problem with our site, or services; or, if you otherwise contact STIFORP. STIFORP also collects information using cookies, which are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. This information allows us to automatically link our customers to their personalized accounts. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. Please check your browser's guidelines should you wish to prevent cookies. STIFORP is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, rent or otherwise distribute this information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this statement. Information is collected with the sole purpose of providing STIFORP products and customer service.
Information Disclosure When you are on the STIFORP site and are asked for personal information, you are sharing that information with only STIFORP, its agents and representatives. STIFORP will not disclose any of your personally identifiable information except when we have your express permission or under special circumstances, such as when we believe in good faith that the law requires it. STIFORP may also disclose account information in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) STIFORP's rights or property, other STIFORP users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. STIFORP will comply with the requests of all recognized legal entities to aid in the stopping of spam, distribution of illicit sexual content to minors, or any other illegal activity brought to our attention through such channels.
STIFORP may occasionally send you e-mail about products and services that we feel may be of interest to you. Only STIFORP (or agents or representatives working on behalf of STIFORP) will send you these emails. You may unsubscribe from the service information updates without any future correspondence or questions by filling out the Opt-Out Form.