text:
DeKalb County residents will see taxes and class size rise in a difficult school board budget vote tonight that will likely irk a lot of folks in the county.
There was no way the board could not aggravate someone with an $84 million deficit to overcome and very hard choices to make.
DeKalb's protracted and painful budget process highlights the inability of this school board to coalesce, even when faced with a grave crisis. Rather than coming together to resolve what may be the state's worst school situation, board members sniped at one another, putting on what amounted to a sideshow. (New school chief Cheryl Atkinson might be pining for Ohio about now.)
I am not sure if school board members just don't like one another or if they believe the public bickering wins them point with their camps.
The board voted to raise taxes. It also increased class sizes, even for special education students, while adding two furlough days for teachers and cutting the number of their aides.
The Fernbank Science Center suffered, too, but not as badly as previously proposed. The board cut $1.9 million — about 40 percent — from the center's $4.7 million budget; Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson had recommended a $3.2 million cut.
Overall, the district's budget was reduced by $77.5 million.
"A cut is a cut just like if you cut your hand, so it's going to hurt," said board member Pam Speaks, who was in the minority opposing both the tax increase and the budget cuts. Voting with her were Paul Womack, Nancy Jester and Don McChesney.
Voting for the cuts and the tax increase were: Eugene Walker, Jesse "Jay" Cunningham, Sarah Copelin-Wood, Tom Bowen and Donna Edler.
The tax increase was by 1 mill to raise another $14.8 million, pushing the limit to within a mill of the voter-approved cap of 25. The two furlough days come atop four furlough days implemented in prior years. All the furlough days would be teacher workdays and would not affect the attendance calendar.
The decision came only after board members spent more than an hour attacking one another, eliciting groans from the near-capacity audience. They argued about whether money was mishandled by officials in the administration that preceded Atkinson's.
"They act more like middle school students trading insults than adults trying to pass a serious budget," David Schutten complained afterward. He's the president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, a teachers advocacy group. Despite the deep cuts, including the two furlough days and the loss of 200 paraprofessionals, he said he was satisfied with the outcome. After all, the board had tossed around the idea of cutting 300 paraprofessionals and adding a third furlough day.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
June 21st, 2012
10:08 pm
Recall or relocate.
June 21st, 2012
10:10 pm
Split the system.
June 21st, 2012
10:19 pm
I am not sure if school board members just don't like one another or if they believe the public bickering wins them point with their camps.
All of the above. I'm truly embarassed and ashamed at what I have seen from this BOE this week.
June 21st, 2012
10:20 pm
You clowns in DeKalb keep electing these Democratic morons. What else do you expect?
June 21st, 2012
10:21 pm
Well, ODE Members, David Schutten was "satisfied" with the outcome. How do you feel about that seeing as the district AGAIN balanced the budget on the backs of the teachers and students.
June 21st, 2012
10:39 pm
The spectacle was more than this finance person could bear. First, the approach to the cuts was neither logical nor sound. This has put Atkinson in the worst light in my opinion. To raise taxes YET still increase class size AND add furlough days AND cut 200 parapros is quite despicable. At least let me feel like my taxes saved some angst in the classroom!
Dr. Walker needs to be investigated immediately. His inability to acknowledge the known budgetary transgressions are appalling and only imply that he is somehow involved in the misappropriation because of his ADAMANT stance to say that everything was copacetic with previous budgets.
Atkinson also shows herself, along with the majority of the Board, as incapable of looking for what is best for the county. As Districts, 1, 2, and 4 provide 60% of the revenues for DeKalb and whose home values have taken the biggest hits, they will now pay more taxes to the other counties who receive almost 75% of the budget allocations. The special programs like Fernbank aren't teaching kids to read or write.
I am sure that Atkinson secured the raises for her $150K inner circle and that those furlough days really won't matter to them because the $10K increase will cover it. And, she increased her media budget.
I am sure that people are happy that they have their bussing, prek, Fernbank, Montessori, etc. when while we continue to water down the value of the most fundamental components of education.
There are aren't qualified candidates to consider and after an exhaustive search, the best this BOE leadership could get was Atkinson.
The worst part of the evening was to see how racially divided we insist on being. I am disappointed (and disgusted) in each of the Board members (and Atkinson & Perrone) for their votes, comments, ineptitude, financial illiteracy and demeanor. Perrone especially was a disappointment for not knowing his budget. Isn't Edler a CPA? What about Jester? Isn't she an actuary? Couldn't there have been a little more substantive financial conversation instead of not understanding which motion was up first?
THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. I can only vote for 2 of the 9 clowns who are messing with my property value and community.
The time has come to leave the pillaged shell that is now DeKalb if you don't split the system.
June 21st, 2012
10:44 pm
This was a no win situation for people who actually work with our children in the school where learning is SUPPOSED happen. There won't be too much of that going on this year. The big winners are the usual suspects: the ones earning the highest salaries. Bigger classes, even for students with disabilites and fewer paraprofessionals to help the already overworked and underpaid teachers. No media clerks, so the remaining media specialists won't have time to enhance learning for the students.This is SHAMEFUL. I am sick of the whining about how these board members did not mismanage/misappropriate funds. Yes you did and you still are doing it. BTW, I am not impressed with a 6.25% salary cut for those who make $100000 or more. I am even less impressed by a 6.25% salary cut for those with $200,000 or more and have all sorts of allowances and expense accounts in addition to the salary. They don't need to worry about no matching funds for their retirement. They can afford to put more money into that retirement acccount. Now 6.25% of $50,000 or less, in addition to six furlough days and insurance subsidy cuts, that represents those who are feeling the pain. You make all the cuts to teachers and staff who are actually with students throughout the day- not the administrators. The BOE and the superintendent have made it very clear that their money is far more important than educating our children. Where is the state of Georgia? Where is the Georgia DOE? Also, board members were moaning about how this district should be more in line with other districts. Take a look at the heirarchy in those districts; the top levels at DCSD are NOT in line with other districts, even the ones with more students.
June 21st, 2012
10:45 pm
This ODE member realizes how much worse it could have been. We have to live with the people DeKalb citizens elect (Womack)… I feel if the DeKalb electorate actually voted for people wo truly care about DeKalb students and not *I* am not going to raise taxes Womack-like board members, we would not be in this situation.
June 21st, 2012
10:47 pm
Milton Man, Bowen, Speaks, Jester, Womack and McChesney are republican or lean republican.
The two furlough days should be student contact days. And I am a parent. DCSS has a stupid calendar next year, coming back for two days after Memorial Day. What a waste.
They truly don't like each other and it shows. Hey SACS — do you even care?
June 21st, 2012
10:50 pm
@ Dunwoody Mom: Dave Schutten should not be confused when membership drops for the upcoming school year. It will not be due to the fact that DeKalb educators can't afford the dues (which is highly likely with these cuts), it will be due their dissatisfaction with his satisfaction.
June 21st, 2012
11:05 pm
Interesting that my post had the name of the former CFO removed. It is factual to state that he and his office did not account for interest on our bonds and is part of the reason in our bond rating downgrade and a whole host of other budgetary missteps. Doesn't even take an MBA to figure that out. Hope the AJC knows something I don't and that we can't mention his name because of something that could actually hold some of the idiots at the Palace accountable to the taxpayers.
June 21st, 2012
11:18 pm
@AGOG & Dunwoody I think ODE members realize that no one else was there speaking for employees, no good options were available for them right now and your bashing the president they elected isn't going to change that… Or do you have any other suggestions for how to have fixed this mess?
June 21st, 2012
11:19 pm
Time for tax paying citizens to move out of Dekalb county.
will not pay for Marta pensions/Grady / School principal pensions of 150k.
This overspending and wastage needs to stop.
Tax payers are getting tired of supporting govt union workers and free loaders.
June 21st, 2012
11:20 pm
I think the main lesson that needs to come out of this is for District 4 – it seems Mr. Womack is going to try to bring down DCSD single handedly and the voters there need to realize that next month.
June 21st, 2012
11:35 pm
As a teacher in DCSD, I teach every student who comes to my class regardless of their race. I teach students, I do not teach African-American students, White students, or Latino students. My students depend on me each day to provide them with the instruction that they need. I do not care if their parents are Democrats or Republicans, if their parents are rich or poor, or if they live in a house, apartment, or hotel. Over the past few years I have seen a trend of calling for the school system to be split into smaller districts so that the money goes to "our own kids." This needs to stop now! Teachers, Cops, and Firemen serve the entire county and we care about all that we serve. Politics is something that is learned and I don't think the education of all of our children in the county should be tarnished by politics. As a county we need to work together to improve the conditions for all of our citizens. There needs to be an end to this me first thinking that has permeated the county. Get on board to help all or leave.
June 21st, 2012
11:52 pm
I am not sure if school board members just don't like one another or if they believe the public bickering wins them point with their camps.
Are you kidding? They can't stand each other. Half the reason they are contrary with each other is because they can!
June 22nd, 2012
12:02 am
Do not forget that 4 voted against this budget. The ones to blame are the 5 who voted for it – Wood, Edler, Cunningham, Walker, and Bowen. New blood (read: Edler) doesn't always solve the problem because they say one thing when they are campaigning and do something else entirely when it comes to voting.
The entire central office should be zero-base budgeted. Scrap them all and only let those back in who prove that their job and work is essential to student achievement. Any others can stay home.
I can't believe our taxes were raised, and, yet teachers are being fired by the hundreds (paras, magnets, class size), class sizes are being raised, and nothing positive is being done FOR our students. Nothing!
Does anyone have a clear list of the areas whose budgets increased? Didn't I see somewhere it was Dr. Atkinson's office and the Board's expenses? Up by several million $?
June 22nd, 2012
1:58 am
Whatever happened to "a city too busy to hate?"
The sins of the fathers (and mothers) will again be visited upon their children.
June 22nd, 2012
2:16 am
This could affect me. I think the board should consider another option like going through each school and each department and making cuts in other areas. There are some positons that could be removed. Then place these employees in other positions as employees retire or resigned. Cut back on some of the admin asst. positions and make them all 10 months positions. There are admin asst that in higher positions that make $66,000 a year. That's more than teachers with more than 10 years teaching. Cut back on some of the custodian positions make some of those jobs 11 months. But don't cut the heart of education the paraprofessional. Paraprofessionals do a lot to in educating our children. More are needed in the other grades besides Kindergarten and Special Ed.
June 22nd, 2012
7:19 am
This Dekalb educator truly feels defeated…I love my job, but I can't afford to have my salary cut a fourth year in a row…six furlough days may not seem like alot to people but for me an expectant mother this October, it's an additional 500 dollar reduction in my monthly income. I honestly don't know what to do. But on August 13th, i'm expected to have my classroom ready for students with supplies that l have to pay for out of my OWN pocket because my school gives me NOTHING to start the year with(no funds in the budget and some parents don't bring in supplies). I'm expected to greet each student with a smile and be ready to hit the ground running. But when the school day ends I have to worry how i'm going to keep my home, pay bills, pay childcare when my child comes….I could go on and on but it's not going to change anything. Yes, I am thankful to have my job I do realize it could be worse. But as a single person with 18 years of teaching experience and an EdS degree, I should not be struggling with finances.
June 22nd, 2012
7:24 am
Well once again instead of doing the obvious budget cuts (transportation, central office, 25% salary cuts to higher paid administrators i.e. Atkinson) instead they decide to short the students and have the North side of the county foot the bill for more mismanagement and misdeeds. Unreal.
June 22nd, 2012
7:26 am
As ridiculous as this Board is, everyone needs to remember that they are part-time, elected officials who are not making the budget proposals – now or in the past. They would listen to the recommendations presented by the Superintendent and his/her staff.
For the outcry to unseat these members, you need to remember that the stupidity is coming from the administration. Having been there in person, Atkinson kicked off the meeting by removing a line item (#19) but did not say what it was. Old handouts were available in the conference room and the line items were not reviewed in a logical way. She PURPOSELY skirted real conversation and facts and I find her behavior unethical.
The Board members didn't know how to submit and vote on motions on the voting sequence and they voted for a tax increase first prior to discussing the cuts. Yes, the deal was struck before hand, but give people the facts.
Secondly, it does not sound like even information hogs like Jester had all the details – like the detailed budget. If they did, they would have point blank asked about the real number of central office cuts. Yet, they "sort of" asked.
So, without the official information at hand, our elected officials gave the Superintendent and her CFO a pass, allowed them to keep the fat in their budget and put the burden on the taxpayers, teachers and students with tax increases, furlough days and the elimination of 200 parapros AND more students per class.
DCSD, Atkinson and Clew Crew need to be removed ASAP (in addition to the Board, but that is old news). For all the rambling that Womack did last night, he was correct in saying that there needs to be an investigation because the administrations (previous and current) are letting the Board bear the brunt of the pain with the electorate. Granted, it would be better if this Board knew how to ask intelligent questions and use deductive reasoning, but for the chump change that they get to sit on this Board, we can never expect qualified candidates to run if they actually need to make a living.
If you don't think DeKalb and the DA's office is corrupt, then why hasn't CLew been tried already? With Pope's cancer, the further the date gets pushed out, the less likely she is to testify.
June 22nd, 2012
7:38 am
I agree with @FYI and this is one time I did agree with Womack. The State probably does need to step in and remove the whole group because corruption and mismanagement will continue. Even though the Board members are not part of the budget proposal process, it is their sworn duty to know all line items and to be reviewing the budget and expenses on an ongoing basis. It is also their duty to ask the hard questions so that they are fully informed. We, as the taxpayers of DeKalb, have the responsibility to vet the candidates that running for Board positions in order to prevent those with a criminal background, such as Walker, from ever getting that position in the first place.
June 22nd, 2012
7:44 am
What is interesting, if you could weed out what was said in the last two meetings by Bowen and Womack, is that prior cuts were never made. At an earlier budget committee, it was reported that the system had 820ish paras but three years ago when 100-200 were suppose to be cut, the system had 800. What the heck happened?
I remember cuts being made to the magnet program, but very little really changed.
Maureen and Ty, this would be a great story if someone could wrap their arms around it. It would also be great to follow it through to the fall, what staffing we have had this year vs next.
June 22nd, 2012
8:17 am
@ Hey Maureen! every year positions would be RIF'd to get them off of payroll for the upcoming year (July 1). Because they would get their pay through August( 10 months salary spread over 12 months, so September-August) they would be OK. Suddenly, right before school began, they would appear again. This is is DCSD has met the budget for several years. Move people, then move them back.
I am disappointed that Dr. Atkinson's crew ( her friends network) will receive a pay increase regardless of what occurs with everyone else. I am even more concerned that the influx of friends is occurring. What she is saying to all of you employees and taxpayers, as she brings people in as principals, is that none of you are of value.
June 22nd, 2012
9:26 am
The DeKalb County School Board continues to amaze and stupify me… They have continued to cut teacher and staff pay while allowing the entitlement of Magnet School Transportation to live and breath. I say entitlement, because no other county provides this transportation. Being that DeKalb does and will continue even in the most dire budget crises, shows me it is nothing but a continuation of the old court ordered M to M program of getting the kids out of the hood and into schools in the north end of the county. Why in the hell should over a million dollars be spent to allow bus service for so few "randomly selected" students? That is over a million dollars taken away from the betterment of the overall system. If those kid's parents want to get them out of their neighborhood school, then they should be responsible for getting them to other end of the county and not the tax payers. Edler had the gall to sit there and as if she did not understand what entitlement people were talking about. OMG! I am sure she fully understands the entitlement. If she doesn't she is dumber than her board co-hort Copelin-Woods! That whole board needs to be fired, investigated and indicted where the shoe fits.
June 22nd, 2012
9:34 am
At what point does the state gov't step in and start an investigation into the happenings of Dekalb School System Administration? Nothing will change in the county as long as it remains as divided as it is now. 2 different voting bases with different needs. Time to split it. Until that happens, we'll have more of the same.
June 22nd, 2012
9:55 am
For all the bickering going on last night, Womack had the right idea. The whole shootin' match needs to be investigated from the superintendant, to the board to the over bloated county adminstration. How do we get the state involved before all of these clowns totally ruin the DeKalb County Schools? I have kids in the system and we do not have much further to go before we hit bottom!
June 22nd, 2012
10:00 am
What happened with not touching the classroom? 200 Paras touch a classroom! We insist on maintaining the 1.1 mil for magnet, theme busing. This is a select group. If you do not want to attend your neighborhood school, provide your own transportation. We need to keep in mind how we can impact the biggest group. It's time to cut magnet transportation.
You need to start looking at your neighborhood because Elder suggested on Wednesday that we need to look at school consolidations and closings. Communities need to be proactive and come together with a plan to present before they bring it to us. Show we are willing to work together to help save money and be creative.
I was disgusted that the meeting was not handled well and the Mr. Walker did not control it as the chairperson. I did not see much professionalism in these proceedings. I commend McChesney, Speaks and Jester's demeanor and calmness.
It's going to take the parents coming together to help get us through this mess and get involved to help advocate change in our system. Join you local school councils, get educated and help educate your neighbors to we will have change.
June 22nd, 2012
10:12 am
The DeKalb County School Board is officially the Dumbest County School Board, no only in the state, but in the country. This school systems has been in shambles for years with corruption and nepotism being the norm. Every time there is a budget crunch, they ask the teachers to suck it up while the same old corruption and nepotism is allowed to continue. Well guess what? Mmorale is at an all time low in DeKalb schools and I doubt there will be any decent teachers left in the system. The good ones will all head for school systems that value them and the deadwood terrible teachers will be all that is left.
Hey school board…Thanks so much for nothing you bunch of ignorant, political hacks!
June 22nd, 2012
10:15 am
I recently moved to DeKalb county and have young children. I am now scared to death to send them into the system. There does need to be an investigation into what has and is going on. Time to get a second job so I can send them to private school.
June 22nd, 2012
10:22 am
I am usually a huge supporter of our local "online" newspapers such as the Patch and the AJC, but I have to call out the comment of the 1 mill rate increase equalling $80 a year for the $200K home.
Even with $80, I expect to get something decent. For $80, I can get a week's worth of groceries for my house – 6 or 7 meals for a family of 4. I could go buy something practical that I will re-use time and again.
What is DCSD giving me for my $80? Bussing for kids whose parents want them in a magnet school, but won't drive them? Why are they entitled to participate in a special program at my expense and my kids lose their Para and have MORE kids in their class?
Again, MY HOUSEHOLD is not getting ANYTHING for the $80 AND I can't write it off as a charitable donation. At this point, most of my property taxes should be written off as a charitable donation because my local school is not benefitting from the majority of taxes I pay!
PLEASE HAVE THE STATE TAKE OVER and KICK ALL OF THEM (Super, Cronies and Board) OUT IMMEDIATELY!
June 22nd, 2012
10:27 am
This Dekalb resident and husband of a Dekalb teacher currently has our house on the market. It has been a struggle seeing her pay decrease the last 4 years, and now it is best we get out. It will only get worse. Expect the same issues to show up next year, and 1-2 years after that. These are quick fixes, and nothing will change unless a whole new system is in place.
June 22nd, 2012
10:28 am
@Ms. Downey, would you please update your readers on the status of the DCSB elections? Last I read, the sitting Board members were ignoring the Legislature's mandate that they consolidate districts and downsize from 9 to 7 members. With primaries soon upon us, the Board simply refused to comply and identify the new district lines, thereby prohibiting any new candidates from entering the race since they couldn't know if their residence qualified.
With the fatuous and corrupt performance of the DCSB so painfully on view, will voters have choices next month or have they been effectively disenfranchised by this intractable Board?
June 22nd, 2012
10:47 am
I am really teed off about having my taxes increased by 1 mil or even 1 cent. Why should I or any other tax payer be forced to pay more to this bunch of inept and corrupt bozos? Talk about pouring more money down the rat hole know as DeKalb County Schools.
If I felt the money might actually do some good and help better educate our students, I would be first in line to pay the extra amount. As it stands now, I am totally disgusted this group of jackals is allowed to shake down the tax payers once again. Despicalble, totally despicable!
June 22nd, 2012
11:01 am
When will the similar issues in Clayton County schools be brought to light in this blog? Why is AJC/Get Schooled seemingly afraid to allow bloggers to sound off about CCPS when Gwinnett, DeKalb, APS and others are regularly featured? Someone must have a really good sounding "I'll sue you for libel" attorney in the wings…Didn't newspapers used to have some "kahones" when it came to stuff like this? Disappointing…
June 22nd, 2012
11:56 am
Call it the "Jerry Springer"code of behavior or the "Crack Mama" code of behavior. Either the board members have seen it on TV or they have seen this kind of behavior in their homes. Neither puts them in a favorable light. Dekalb citizens, is THIS the best you can do?
June 22nd, 2012
12:09 pm
I agree with "Teed Off in Dekalb!" WOW: raise my taxes AND take from the kids, #!@#%#!!!… WE have got to be more responsible with our vote… Based on last evening's vote, my district BOE representative definitely didn't listen to me or anyone in my community. Just over this, for now.
June 22nd, 2012
12:35 pm
Nothing has changed!
Still Corrupted
Still Nepotism
Still Mismanaging funds
Still Dekalb
The board is not doing all they can to cutting the budget. There are too many other options that they can consider. But the staff doesn't have to lose jobs and class sizes don't have to increase. Just from the top of my head I see some areas that could be cut back to save money. NO ONE WOULD LOSE A JOB. My plan would guarentee raises by the 2013-14 school year. The board needs to put thier selfishness aside and think about the children and the employees. We can't continue go on like. this
June 22nd, 2012
12:39 pm
Remember, we can't vote for the administration. This debacle has Atkinson's fingerprints all over it. The Board Members are the perpetual lemmings who believe the Super and don't fight for what is right (or even know what is right). DeKalb got walked all over yesterday with an "in your face" we can do what we want to do approach to this budget that further impoverished the poorer districts by taking resources away and penalizing the teachers and catering to the special interest groups.
Fernbank supporters – be ashamed. Our kids in the poorer area schools don't have the bare basics and you think it is your right to exist with exhibit builders, $100K scientists, etc. on the backs of the taxpayers, students and teachers.
Each DEKALB child has the right to a comparable education regardless of the district they are in. Special interest groups continue to rob these poor children whose only hope for success is education.
I am most disappointed in Donna Edler because she was supposed to be an agent of change for our district. I thought that she was a proponent for the kids who don't have a voice and voting for that budget last night goes to show that leaving kids to fend for themselves is ok.
June 22nd, 2012
12:44 pm
Unfortunately, I own a home in DeKalb, and my money is wasted on the public schools. Only one solution exists for the rampant waste and confiscatory taxes that the utterly incompetent and shameful school board imposes on property owners: The city of Atlanta, the city of Decatur, and all parts of Fulton and DeKalb counties south of Memorial Drive should unite to form King County; the rest of Fulton and DeKalb unite to form Freedom County.
June 22nd, 2012
1:22 pm
@MiltonMan—the Republican clowns that have FAILED to create jobs, curtail government corruption, AND continued to slice the state's educational budget are truly the ones to blame.
Blue, not red, is the color of most of this nation's top performing (in education) states.
June 22nd, 2012
1:23 pm
Dr. A seems to be be an extension of the Clew Crew! A Billion dollars over the past 4 years could not fund our school system, really! These dolts have continued the corrupt ways of the Clew Crew! SACS is silent, David Schutten must be getting something from someone, if I was a teacher this clown, Schutten would not be my representative to DCSS. Walker got half of his tax increase, Ramsey got his raise and I still can't figure out what this guy does! Ramsey still does not have DCSS has his employer on his campaign website. Tyson is still in the building, as well as so many others from the Clew Crew and they continue to get their money. Teachers you'll pay more if you get sick, your retirement is really messed up now, since you signed the agreement and you left Social Security trussing DCSS would keep their end of the deal. DCSS honest really, those funds are gone forever. Kiss the good teachers good bye forever. DCSS is sure to be stuck on stupid for a few more years.
Nothing is going to change, teachers are lowlife to the palace staff and the 5 on the BOE that voted for this crap sandwich.
I do have couple of questions.
- 2 years since the Tyson led redistricting fiasco, can we get a good accounting on the savings that closing the schools and moving around helped the budget…
- Can Former CFO, Turk be brought up on any charges relating to the awful job he did as CFO..Was it purposely done or was he just an idiot.. I'm just wondering since this guy was such a rock star, when he and Tyson faced down Clew regarding Clew's p-card abuse [sarc.]
DCSS mired in the muck of mistrust and misinformation since 2004!
June 22nd, 2012
1:25 pm
So the State won't step in until the school system is on the verge of losing accreditation or based on grand jury recommendations. Truly, the lunatics are running the asylum. This situation demands leadership and there is no way to get it.
June 22nd, 2012
1:25 pm
Hey, I meant a BILLION DOLLARS per year, the last 4 years. Sorry about that..
June 22nd, 2012
1:29 pm
Hey Milton Man! State Farm hiring 500 more over the next year in Dunwoody. NCR hiring over 1000 in Duluth and Suwanee. KIA brought a lot of jobs.. I know of 6 other companies expanding in the perimeter CID. Even your blue man, Labor Secretary, Michael Thurmond had better news then you are belching.. Who is your source.. just wondering..
June 22nd, 2012
1:49 pm
June 22nd, 2012
2:44 pm
Well, I wasn't going to comment but I was in a meeting this past week where the representative from the Georgia school board association told candidates for area school boards and the state legislature that the board must defer to the superintendent they hired on virtually all operating decisions.
In fact I wrote a post about it because I don't think this is well known. Nor do I think it is healthy. I made the point in the meeting that it would explain the dictatorial mindset I am hearing from parents about from all over. After I spoke up and the meeting ended I had a lot of people coming up and saying that it leaves the super only accountable to SACS. And SACS not really accountable to anyone.
There are school districts now from what I was told anecdotally where the district super does not feel any compulsion to return board members phone calls unless they are part of the majority voting bloc.
If my reference to UNESCO make no sense, that's a June 5 post.
June 22nd, 2012
2:53 pm
@ Dekalb residents
Fernbank needs to be shut down and reorganized. The curriculum is not in line with the GPS. The planetarium has shown the same shows since the 70's. There is more technology on the computer. It would be more beneficial if they sold the property to the Atlanta Astronomy Club some type of organization. Place the teacher into schools to teach science related to state standards. Fernbank costs a lot of money to continue. Like the space shuttle it needs to take it final voyage with Dekalb.
June 22nd, 2012
3:18 pm
Watching board meeting last night was appalling. I don't think that those running the school, the board or Atkinson understand the economic climate of the world right now. We cannot afford to be spending on wants and can only afford needs. The situation this year is likely to continue year after year until spending is reigned in.
1. More cuts need to happen at the Palace-all levels, MIS, grounds, transportation, and any other department that does not actually teach a child. Also, all other employees should be having increased work loads, as teachers have been dumped on time and time again.
2. NO ONE should be getting a raise of any kind. If we can't pay our teachers the salaries that are in our salary schedules, than no administrator, secretary or toilet cleaner should be getting a raise of any kind.
3. Text books are not needed every year. Teachers just get used to the books that they are using and then they are asked to learn new books. How is this benefiting the children? New text books are nice to have, but under these economic conditions, replacing every 5 years is way too early.
4. Busing to choice programs. Parents made the choice to send their child to these choice programs. Then they should pay to get them to that school.
5. If these choice programs are getting the same number of points and students as the neighborhood schools, what would happen if we closed these choice programs down and put more energy into making our neighborhood schools provide a quality product?
6. I am tired of paying more in taxes living in District 2 and not getting my monies worth. I teach my son what a good value is when we make purchases. The money that I send in for my school taxes is equivalent to throwing money in the toilet and flushing. Who wants to send their child to a school that is over crowded? I am glad that I can homeschool, but am angry that my tax dollars are not being used in a way that benefits the children.
7. School districts are not about employing people. School districts are about educating children. I do not think that Dr. A or the board truly understands this mission. Every child in DeKalb deserves a quality education, which is tough for any teacher to give if their class is over crowded and they are being asked to grade more papers with the same amount of time.
8. Fernbank Science Center programs could easily be handled at the high schools. The Fernbank Science teachers do not have the large class sizes of the high school teacher and can of course accomplish more. As one who loves science, ALL kids deserve a quality science education, not just those lucky enough to have their name drawn in a Fernbank lottery.
9. I am tire of the racial garbage that is constantly played. It's not a matter of black vs. white, poor vs. rich, it's a matter of what is truly best in helping to improve the education of ALL students in the county. School buses don't educate a child. Secretaries and highly paid administrators don't educate children. The district could easily do with out many jobs and still educate the children. This is what needs to be done. Those voting for the tax increase and for this budget need to be removed when their position opens up, as they do not have the best interest of the children of DeKalb in any of their motives.
10. School board members should have to disclose ALL family members working for the school system and where their children attend school, if appropriate, as part of running for the district, that way voters can see where school board members true loyalty lies.
11. Voters need to go to the polls in July and vote for the children. Right now too many in our school board are about the adults and non-teaching employees, and have lost interest in giving our children a quality education.
12. Dr. A was not my first choice as superintendent, and I don't care for her now. She is more of the same, which is why those who voted for her liked her. I still wonder who she knows to have gotten her job.
13. My nightly prayer is that someone will come and and dismantle the DeKalb school system. Not break it into two or three districts, but throw everyone who has made any decisions on the programs chosen, the way teachers teach, the budgets, the way a penny is spent, out and the district starts anew.
14. As soon as we can get out from being under water of our home, we are going to sell. We will give the thing away if we need to, so that we can get out of this county. The corruption here from the school district to the race track the CEO is trying to build without permission has got to stop. I am tired of seeing my hard earned money spent in unwise and unjust ways. I thank the board for showing their true colors these past weeks, and for getting my husband and I to work harder to get the heck out of here.
15. The tax increase may just be "$80″ to some, but as others have pointed out, my extra $80 isn't really necessary, if Dr. A made a better budget and made more cuts for unnecessary staff, than no tax increase would have been needed. The way my family would spend this money is a much better value to my family than giving to the district, so that the kids have larger class sizes and fewer people really helping them (para pros, and media specialists).


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Bungee Jumping
Tropical Bungee offers bungee jumping since 1991. They are located in the Old Colorado River Bridge, it is 265 feet high, making it one of the highest bungee bridges in America.
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Since Tropical Bungee opened its doors in 1991 they have done around 50.000 jumps and our Adrenaline Club has 1100 members, (be part of the club). They don't have age limits, the young jumper that Tropical Bungee has received has been of 4 years old and the old jumper has been 80 years old.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Working with Microsoft Word documents is an integral part of running a small business. When you work with Word documents, it's handy to instantly insert or write content on a new blank page to create professional layouts and publications. Simply hitting "Enter" until Word inserts a new page isn't a professional option. Instead, use Word's insert options.
Click the "Insert" tab at the top of the Word window to switch to it.
Click the "Blank Page" button in the Pages group at the top to insert a new, blank page.
Related Reading: How to Change the Page Numbers in Microsoft Word 2010 Documents
Press "Ctrl-S" to save the document. If this is the first save, type a name in the File Name box and select a folder where you want to save the document; then click "Save."


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Originally posted on The Nest Blog:
If you loved newlyweds Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish's elegant and rustic starter home, here's some news to make your Instagram feed infinitely more chic. Kate just made her Instagram account public, which means you can now see glimpses into her personal design style (dark accents and luxe materials), fashion taste (Proenza Schouler and Cushnie Et Ochs) and a bunch of super-cute newlywed photos.
Here are some of our favorites:x
More Must-Clicks:
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Our Hot, Hot, Hot Chili Festival for 2014 is scheduled for Friday, October 17th at 5:00pm, and Saturday, October 18th starting at 10:00am. We are planning some exciting entertainment, food and booths for this year. It's less then a month away!
How good is YOUR chili? Why not find out at this year's chili festival vying for cash prizes and bragging rights to best chili in North Carolina. Our competition is open to anyone – regardless of their home location. Why not sign up today?


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Police in Vermillion County arrested two men on drug charges.
Police say that 24 year old Austin Waddell, and 24 year old Brian Brasker, were found with heroin while sitting in a vehicle outside the Pilot Travel Plaza on S.R. 63. Both are facing various charges and were taken to the Vermillion County Jail.


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LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW) – Earlier this week, temperatures in the Coulee Region dropped between -15 and -30. While this didn't equate to record breaking cold in most areas, it may still have some interesting impacts.
Rob Venette is a Research Biologist with the US Forest Service in St. Paul, MN. He's been studying the cold hardiness of emerald ash borer larvae since 2009: an invasive insect that has killed millions of ash trees since its discovery in North America. In 2011 it was discovered in La Crosse County.
"We've been monitoring the conditions of the larvae starting in the fall and then going into the winter," said Venette, "measuring their cold tolerance, specifically what temperatures they freeze at and what temperatures they die at. It turns out that with this insect, if they freeze they die."
In the winter, emerald ash borer larvae go into hibernation under the bark of ash trees. During this time, they produce a chemical that prevents their bodies from freezing. But the study suggests this natural anti-freeze has limitations.
"When temperatures get between -20 to -30 we start to see fairly significant impacts on populations of emerald ash borer," said Venette. "And by significant I mean that mortality in the population increases from anywhere from 50% to approaching 90%."
This means there's a good chance that the cold this week put a dent in the emerald ash borer population. But all that's expected is a dent.
"Temperatures have not been cold enough to get rid of this insect," said Venette. "In fact, we have not seen temperatures anywhere yet that we would feel confident that it would completely eliminate emerald ash borer. But we do feel confident that it is going to slow the spread of the insect in areas where it currently occurs."
Unfortunately, Venette does not think this slow down will last long.
"This is a time to first of all, appreciate the fact that a little extra time has been given," said Venette. "But we're not talking a lot. We're talking about two years is an optimistic estimate."
The emerald ash borer larvae that survive the winter are expected to emerge as adult beetles in early July. Venette suggests people to use the next year or so while the insects' population regroups to take inventory on the number of ash trees in their community.
"A number of cities really haven't been able to do careful tree inventories," said Venette, "and so they don't really fully appreciate how many ash trees might need to be removed or managed."
He also encourages communities to create programs to systematically look for trees with signs of emerald ash borer and discuss both short term and long term management options.
"This is a good opportunity to think about maybe diversifying the number of trees in an area and perhaps building a more resilient urban forest in the long run."
To learn more about the emerald ash borer you can visit the City of La Crosse website or the UW-Madison Emerald Ash Borer Information Page. You can find more about Rob Venette's research at the USDA Forest Service website.
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The Hawks are looking for a coach.
The Thrashers are looking for a coach.
The Braves will be looking for a manager after this season, even if Bobby Cox handcuffs himself to a pipe at Turner Field, in which case Frank Wren will probably just sweep around him.
Did a little research (it happens). Area pro and college teams have made made seven major coaching hires/fires since 2004.
Cox, who returned to the dugout in 1990, has the longest current tenure. He is followed by Georgia's Mark Richt (coming up on year 10). Mike Woodson was third at six years until his employment ended Friday. As the list below will reaffirm, change hardly guarantees success.
I've ranked them in order from best to worst, although I'll grant you that there's significant competition for worst. Let me know if you agree with the rankings. I've also posted a poll, asking a simple question: Do you have confidence that the Hawks and Thrashers will hire good coaches?
Here we go:
1.) FALCONS, 2008: Bobby Petrino slithered out, Mike Smith hired. Smith has had two winning seasons (one playoff) in two years, something no head coach in inglorious Falcons' history had accomplished. His biggest accomplishment has not been Xs and Os but creating a positive atmosphere and getting players to buy into his system after stepping into a franchise that had been damaged and humiliated by Petrino (and before that, Michael Vick's legal problems).
2.) GEORGIA TECH, 2008: Chan Gailey fired, Paul Johnson hired. He's 20-7 in two seasons including an ACC title, a BCS bowl berth, a win over Georgia and consecutive ACC coach of the year honors. Johnson didn't inherit a mess at Tech (Gailey recruited well and had winning, even if unspectacular, seasons). But he got his option offense to work immediately and instilled a confidence in players we hadn't seen on North Ave. (bowl collapses notwithstanding).
3.) HAWKS, 2004: Terry Stotts fired, Mike Woodson hired: Stotts couldn't be completely faulted for two losing seasons, given he inherited the team's roster mistakes and then was here for the start of the contract strip-down. Woodson won 13 games in his first year and 53 in his sixth. The record steadily improved with the roster. But he lost the attention of his team in the postseason and a new voice was needed.
4.) FALCONS, 2004: Dan Reeves fired, Jim Mora hired: Reeves took the team to a Super Bowl. He effectively was fired because Vick broke his leg, the team collapsed around him and players threw Reeves under the bus. Mora was a one-year wonder: The Falcons went to the NFC title game his first season but turned into mush heads. They folded in the second halves of seasons for the next two years. Mora merely went psycho.
5.) THRASHERS, 2007: Bob Hartley fired, Don Waddell hired himself (interim): Hartley was canned after a 0-6 start, which followed the franchise's first playoff season (but a quick exit). Hartley also had lost the attention of his players. But most significant was how he was submarined by a handful of veterans in the locker room. Waddell did no better at the helm, in part because he was coaching the same flawed roster that he put together. Worst of all was how he didn't give assistant coach Brad McCrimmon a chance to take over as interim until after the team had fizzled out of the playoff race and it was clear Marian Hossa had mentally checked out.
6. THRASHERS, 2008: Don Waddell out/John Anderson in: This one is more on the Atlanta Spirit than Waddell: 1) They kept him in charge; 2) They gave him a limited budget and forced him to hire on the cheap. Anderson also proved to be overmatched at the NHL level. There was a low level of accountability and the team was soft.
7. FALCONS, 2007: Jim Mora fired, Bobby Petrino hired: Falcons owner Arthur Blank went from Norman Bates to possibly the greatest coward NFL coaching circles (or professional sports) has ever witnessed. Petrino wouldn't talk to players like men, never took the blame and quit 13 games into his first season. Check mate!
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC and on Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
May 17th, 2010
10:12 am
ASG is in charge, which means no money to pay these coaches. We shall see, but not likely.
May 17th, 2010
10:22 am
I'm not sure how the hiring of Mora ranks #4 if he was just a "one-year wonder". But, I guess you had to put him somewhere on the list, huh?
And, to start the "wishful thinking" part of the blog-this list will be have to be revised to put the hiring of ANYONE else as the GT Basketball coach at #1
May 17th, 2010
10:22 am
I see the Thrash are still searching the Minor Leagues for an NHL coach. What's the definition of insanity again?
May 17th, 2010
10:26 am
If the Hawks sign Casey, I would be disappointed. If I had to choose between Woodson and Casey, I would take Woodson all day. I thought that they were letting Woodson go due to an upgrade?
May 17th, 2010
10:30 am
I think both teams finally have decent GM's which they have lacked for a long time… hopefully they make good decisions. I like the guys that Dudley is supposedly interviewing
May 17th, 2010
10:33 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jeff Schultz. Jeff Schultz said: POLL: Can Hawks, Thrashers buck area trend of bad hires? http://bit.ly/dj2LiX [...]
May 17th, 2010
10:33 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Charley Beans, Jeff Schultz. Jeff Schultz said: How will Hawks, Thrashers do in coach hires. Vote in our poll here: http://bit.ly/9hMOfj [...]
May 17th, 2010
10:43 am
On the Hawks' front, I doubt the fans will be very pleased because we will most likely get a "name" coach (Avery Johnson, Byron Scott, etc.). The trick will be if they get a coach who can meld the core of the team together (sum > parts as you said a few days ago) … and making the right roster moves in concert with that.
Am I confident Sund can do that? Hmmm, I hope so but ask me in a year.
May 17th, 2010
10:44 am
Meant to say the fans won't be pleased because we probably WON'T get a name coach.
May 17th, 2010
10:51 am
Jeff – you need to drink a bottle of whip – ass and admit that the Thrashers have failed and they should be sold and moved somewhere …….
May 17th, 2010
10:52 am
I agree NC don't see a name coach coming in to the hawks , I really don't see them paying the money , and I don't believe for one second that Doc rivers is coming "home" to get the hawks to perform.
100% agree with the rankings !!!
May 17th, 2010
10:52 am
Anybody seen my bees? Dang
May 17th, 2010
10:54 am
I agree w/ NC Braves Fan. The funny thing is that now, Mike Woodson IS a "name" coach.
May 17th, 2010
10:54 am
Can; will? It is very hard to predict the outcomes of these decisions. That is, unless Rankin Smith or his spawn are involved.
May 17th, 2010
10:56 am
Say what you want about the Hawks, but they are the only team in town that has "Actual" playoff wins in the past 6 years.
When was the last playoff win for the Braves?
The Falcons haven't won a playoff game since 2004.
It's amazing how some of you delusional people feel the Falcons new regime is successful, yet they still have not stopped the 6 year playoff win drought.
That just make you insecure in the way you view success. I mean look at the Ravens, Steelers & Patriots. When they don't win playoff games, they get rid of the bums, because they don't settle for being mediocre.
Having back-to-back winning seasons are a FAILURE unlesss you win actual playoff games. Coming close doesn't count.
Maybe next year – A G A I N.
May 17th, 2010
11:03 am
South Ga Dawg Fan & Manny: The Hawks have had some success in picking coaches here and there. Hubie Brown & Mike Fratello both got their first NBA gigs in the ATL. Perhaps Woody will go on to another gig and have a long, successful career.
May 17th, 2010
11:04 am
Just substitute the word Petrino in Jim Mora Sr.'s famous "Playoffs!?!" rant and that about sums it up for me.
May 17th, 2010
11:19 am
If the Hawks hire Casey they are taking a huge gamble. He is known to have abnormal substition strategies, poor game management skills, and does not understand offense at all. On the other hand he is considered a defensive guru. It just seems risky. Maybe too much so.
May 17th, 2010
11:53 am
Jeff– the excitement about Casey comes from your colleague Mark Bradley.
May 17th, 2010
12:10 pm
Only good thing that I know about Casey is he's not Woody. BUT worried. This team NEEDS to respect the next guy. Is Dwane Casey the guy? Can/Could you respect a guy that got fired at Minnesota? Fair or not. Maybe but not a guarantee. Can you say BYRON SCOTT?? SUCCESSful Coach, Laker. RESPECT.
May 17th, 2010
12:10 pm
Thrashers = 10 years of FAIL; 10 years of unmitigated DISASTER
May 17th, 2010
12:18 pm
If the Hawks play Josh Smith at the 3 the way this mouthbreather Schultz suggested last week, Phil Jackson couldn't even get Atlanta a title.
Dumb, dumb dumb!
May 17th, 2010
12:24 pm
if the asg wants to see a really green arena, they better get some brand name coaches and players on staff
May 17th, 2010
12:25 pm
The Spirit Group is broke. They have no financial muscle. I don't feel positive about any offseason moves for our beloved Hawks. The thrashers PROMOTE Waddell. Dude should've been fired last year. It all spells disaster for the locals teams. Bring on the Braves, Falcons and Bulldogs.
May 17th, 2010
12:30 pm
with asg budget, they should be searching for a coach at the marietta ice forum peewee league
May 17th, 2010
12:32 pm
woodson should have been promoted to wadell's assistant
May 17th, 2010
12:41 pm
The Hawks and the Thrashers are for sale. If the right person or group buys these two teams, there could be money for a coaching upgrade. If that sale does not happen soon, the coaches of the Hawks and Thrashers will be assistants that ASG can afford.
I'm not up on Hockey coaches, but the Hawks need to make an up grade. If not, then why would ASG not just re-hire Woodson?
May 17th, 2010
12:44 pm
As long as the ASG owns them, no, I don't see it happening.
May 17th, 2010
1:02 pm
GT needs to fire Paul Hewitt. One stupid Coach who fooled his X-AD for a BIG CONTRACT. The present AD don't have the guts to fire him. The FANS want him gone!
May 17th, 2010
1:03 pm
I wish Atlanta Spirit would just go away.
May 17th, 2010
1:04 pm
Hawks need to hire Casey and get on with it.
May 17th, 2010
1:08 pm
Jeff, I'm guessing the subtext of your question is, would a proven winner want to associate with ASG? Difficult to answer that one until a decision is reached in the current sweepstakes to be the next lucky investor to be allowed to drop a wad of cash into this franchise. My own polling reveals the following leading candidates:
P. T. Barnum, "You can put a dog and pony on the court, I'll be able to fill those seats."
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou: "I've got lots of drachmas, and all the bonds you could want. Also, I have good experience with public catastrophes.
Oprah: This team belongs on my network on " The New Dr. Phil Show".
Henry Paulsen: "if I have ever seen an operation in need of a bailout…, and I think I could get Barney Frank to be our coach."
Steve Belkin: "I told you that was a ridiculous amount to pay. Hey, if you're ready to talk turkey, give me a call."
May 17th, 2010
1:10 pm
"Choke", considering what shape the Falcons franchise was in when Smith got here, I think it's safe to say he's done a pretty good job. The next two years will tell the tale, though.
May 17th, 2010
1:12 pm
My 12 year old son said BYRON SCOTT.
May 17th, 2010
1:13 pm
"Choke" as usual your are delusional in your rant. It's easier for an NBA team to win a playoff game than it is for an NFL team. The Hawks had four chances in each series to win one. The bottom line is that everyone who isn't a moron (like yourself) knows that the Hawks were only good enough to win a playoff series at best, whereas the Falcons are built to win a championship.
That has been the mindset of Atlanta sports for years now, just make the playoffs because the media and the transplant fan base won't place the kind of pressure on their teams the way a New York City or Philadelphia would do to theirs.
So the Hawks will hire (yet again) another average coach who will make sure this team makes the playoffs but there will never, and I repeat never, be a time when the organization does what is necessary to build a champion.
Why should they? Atlanta's fans care about flash, not about substance, which wins titles. Throughout the Hawks history they were known for only one thing: Dominque's highlights, which were fine to excite the crowd but meant nothing when it came to go time against an actually championship threat in the playoffs. The Mike Vick years were about flash but no substance whenever they played a more disciplined Philadelphia team.
The Falcons have become a disciplined squad who will compete for titles as long as their stars remain healthy.
May 17th, 2010
1:16 pm
I am glad Woodson is No. 3 (going from best to worst). I wouldn't say he was a horrible hire, which the title kinda implies. It was more likely a case of the relationship (player/coach, coach/management) had run its course. Kinda like the chick you dated before the one you married: flawed as that relationship was, it was a learning experience that probably put you in position to be (and perceive) "marriage material".
M. Woodson did a bang-up job building up from the scorched earth of a team in '04 to what would seem to be a relatively talented bunch for the next coach to work with.
May 17th, 2010
1:23 pm
Oh No! This Casey guy is supposed to be a "Defensive Guru?" Mike Woodson was called a "Defensive Guru."
I tell you the truth: If they hire this Casey guy, the letting go of Mike Woodson would go down is another classic screw-up by an Atlanta franchise.
Let's think about this… Mike Woodson took a 13-win NBA team and when they left, they had 53 wins. And in 6 years, his team went to the playoffs 3 times. All without a young team with no real starting center.
So we're getting rid of him for someone with no head coaching experience in the NBA? They better go call Byron Scott or somebody. Pay the money and get a real coach! I don't care if you have to mortgage your house! That's the price you pay for owning an NBA franchise.
Bottom line: If you can't afford to get a real head coach, and if you can't afford to put a competitive team on the court; you can't afford an NBA basketball team.
May 17th, 2010
1:35 pm
There's a report out about the Memphis Grizzles thinking about a possible sign and trade for Rudy Gay. Rick Sund lets explore all scenarios to get Rudy Gay in a Hawks uniform.
May 17th, 2010
1:43 pm
Nikkifree,seems to me that all georgia teams are in the same boat(loserville) speaking of the falcons and braves.Ill give the dawgs a pass but not last season starting cox? enough said.
May 17th, 2010
1:47 pm
Rick Dudley could easily become the best GM in Atlanta, quickly. He has championship experiences with several teams.
He'll hire one of 3 candidates-Scott Arniel, Craig Ramsay or Torchetti. I would have no issue with any of them. The fact that he is looking in the minors for a coach should not concern anyone. All minor league coaches are not like John Anderson.
May 17th, 2010
1:48 pm
You made the point in your summaries about each franchise/college program to the REAL problem. It is the choices! Thrashers "Hartley also had lost the attention of his players. But most significant was how he was submarined by a handful of veterans in the locker room," the Hawks " But he lost the attention of his team in the postseason and a new voice was needed (supposedly)," Falcons "the team collapsed around him and players threw Reeves under the bus." This is a city full of poor choices in terms of personality and personnel in regards to professional sports…
May 17th, 2010
2:04 pm
As long as waddell is involved with the Thrashers, They will ALWAYS be LOSERS.
Just like waddell, a Career LOSER !
May 17th, 2010
2:08 pm
Ryder hit the nail on the head. There is a commitment to mediocrity when it comes to Atlanta sports, and there are two big reasons for that: apathetic ownership and apathetic fans. Look at cities like Boston and Philadelphia that have very successful sports franchises. They have ownerships that care, and they have fans (and media as well) that hold the owners accountable. It's the same thing with SEC football. The SEC is the best, in large part, because the fans care the most. The passion of the fans is what breeds such a hyper-competitive environment.
I have no confidence that the Spirit will hire the right coach for either the Hawks or the Thrashers, because I'm not convinced they're all that serious about winning. They seem to be more committed to the Hawks, but even where they're concerned it seems their attitude is just to field a solid team that makes the playoffs instead of actively trying to build a championship-squad. It reminds me of the Braves in the first half of the last decade, when the mentality seemed to be more about keeping the streak of division titles alive rather than trying to win a World Series.
May 17th, 2010
2:17 pm


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OK, Darius Rucker, we get the message.
The former frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish dramatically asserts his hillbilly creds this week by scoring both the top album and top song on Billboard's country charts. The album, which debuted at No. 1 with first week sales of more than 60,000 copies (according to Nielsen SoundScan), is Learn to Live and the song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It."
Four other albums make their first chart curtsy: the Eli Young Band's Jet Black & Jealous (at No. 5), Kristy Lee Cook's Why Wait (No. 8), The Imus Ranch Record by various artists (No. 11) and Eric Durrance's Angels Fly Away (No. 70).
How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites From the Grand Ole Opry, another multi-artist collection, returns to the chart at No. 66.
Only two new songs rear their lyrical heads: Dierks Bentley's "Feel That Fire" (No. 49) and Darryl Worley's "Tequila on Ice" (No. 56). Taylor Swift's "Love Story" catapults from No. 25 to No. 18 in just its second week on the chart.
Completing the Top 5 albums list in the No. 2 through No. 4 slots are Sugarland's Love on the Inside, Jessica Simpson's Do You Know (which was last week's No. 1) and Taylor Swift.
The No. 2 through No. 5 songs are Kenny Chesney's "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven," Jimmy Wayne's "Do You Believe Me Now," Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" and Toby Keith's "She Never Cried in Front of Me."
Who knew that the future of country was rock?


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The Porsche Cayenne crossed the Pond to the United States for the 2003 model year, right after the first-generation model was introduced in Europe. The S and the Turbo were the first versions to arrive in North American dealerships. The base V-6 model and the range-topping Turbo S followed up by 2006, when the entire Cayenne lineup became available to U.S. buyers. The second-generation SUV came to replace the first Cayenne in 2010, and brought to brand new models along with it. The lineup expanded to receive a hybrid model in 2011 and a diesel version in 2013, further increasing the SUVs popularity worldwide.
Going into 2015, the second-gen Cayenne is getting an extensive mid-cycle facelift that includes a lengthy list of visual changes, interior upgrades, and updated powertrains. Slightly more aggressive by design, the facelifted Cayenne is not only about added power. The German SUV also claims to return more fuel economy, a feat we will verify as soon as we get our hands on it for a test drive. Until that happens, make sure you check out our full review.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 Porsche Cayenne.


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
In my opinion, it doesn't really matter what the situation was, the guild leader handled it poorly. Regardless of what the rules were, he was obviously butthurt that he didn't end up with the item and took his bit of "revenge" for it. I expect guild leaders to put the guild and the individuals in it before themselves, and sometimes this means they have to do the mature thing and suck up a raw deal (although hopefully they make sure that that particular thing won't happen again as well). But furthermore, in this case, it didn't even necessarily need to be a raw deal, since it might have been possible to talk to the officer giving loot and the person who received it and they might have been mature enough to give him the item after all. At any rate, I wouldn't want to be in a guild where the guild leader throws hissy fits over loot anyways, so maybe it worked out for the best.


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A chef's hat with spoon and fork Cook Design
This great product in heather blue from our department Men and T-Shirt category can be printed just for you in the size and style you like. The design A chef's hat with spoon and fork was created by namo and uploaded to Spreadshirt for you to have printed on a T-Shirt. Next to a host of other great designs, you can find this A chef's hat with spoon and fork design in Spreadshirt's Cook category. If you are interested in topics like SPOON or Wooden Spoon, then you'll love A chef's hat with spoon and fork designs by namo. Spreadshirt also offers a huge selection of personalised T-shirts, hoodies and accessories for the category Cook as well as top catering clothing. namo's designs have already impressed many of our customers, so we are sure that we've got right stuff for you! Spreadshirt is your shop for great designs of all kinds – whether it's SPOON, Wooden Spoon or catering. We are sure that you will find something nice in our shop, there are many amazing personalised Cook T-shirts, jumpers or accessories for you to find!Tags: Design ID: 14639352
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still to fill


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{happy weekend!}
Saturday 15th November, 2008
by Roséline
Another wonderful Fall week has come and gone . . . Will be certain to stay away from work {at least for a bit} and dance the night away in impossibly high heels . . .
Have a lovely, lovely weekend everyone! xo
{some posts you may have missed and a few extra links:}
> from 10 to 60 years old: one model & plenty of make-up
> a great place to hang your sexy tartan ties
> really adorable photobooth puppies
> designers go green
> lovely, lacy doilies
> the latest happenings at {this is glamorous}
> and finally, would love for you to join me for a series of guest posts at design*sponge next week
wonderful {i love you} dishware discovered by summer at mudpuppy
Hope you have a lovely weekend too
Isn't that plate just wonderful?
Have a lovely weekend! Xoxo.
love the image!!! by the way, i mentioned you in my blog, i hope you dont mind :)lovely weekend to you too!!!
thank you! i was waiting for this.
such a sweet photo! and thank you so much for the link love. can't wait to see you next week on design sponge, too!
thanks for mentioning my blog!
Your header is lovely
Adorable photo !!
I hope you had a great weekend. It's been really hectic for me shooting at a fashion show. Buzz i get is great then it's pretty rubbish next morning with all deflated feeling.. grrr.
this is so pretty? can i say i love you too and i can't wait to see your gust blogging extravanganza over on design sponge?!
what an adorable little plate! And since I've been away from your blog for a wile, I think I'll browse those links you've posted.
Hope you're having a lovely weekend, honey!
Well of course I will join you for your guest posts! Very fun…good for you, busy girl!
lovely image! cant wait to read d*s this week! hope your weekend was wonderful!
I will be THERE, sister! D*S? Fun fun fun!!
And PS: That 10-60 post was crazy! I just clicked through and looked on in awe. Had to leave her a comment.
Thanks for these links…and this pic is SOOO pretty. You always find the coolest shots! : )
Jen Ramos
'100% Recycled DESIGNER Cards & More'
Just a few things:
Comments are moderated for spam. Please be certain to include your website url in the space provided, and not in the body of your comment. xo


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Update 6/27/13 - 3:15pm - All 8 city aldermen say they will be voting against moving forward with a cruise ship terminal project at this time. This after 8 people came forward to speak about the proposal in a public forum, with 7 speaking against.
Savannah's City Council will devote part of their regular meeting today to hearing public comment on the potential locations of a Cruise Ship Terminal along the Savannah River. Council received a presentation on the results of a study of three possible locations last Tuesday. They now must decide whether to move forward with the second part of the study at a cost of nearly $90,000. The city has already spent nearly $200,000 for an initial study of the viability of the three sites. Today's public comment period will last approximately an hour. There will be a signup sheet for those who wish to speak. Each speaker will be allotted up to three minutes to talk. You can read the results of the study by clicking the link below. Stay with News 3 for more on this developing story.
The city of Savannah is looking into the possibility of building a cruise ship terminal. A study was just completed of three possible sites along the river. The number three site in the study, is number one as far as evaluation of the pros and cons goes. Savannah River Landing scored higher than either of the other two sites being considered for the terminal. Two of the locations are on the North bank of the Savannah River between the Tallmadge Bridge and the Trade and Convention Center. The third location is on the South bank of the river at the Savannah River Landing.
City council Tuesday received a briefing from the company that was paid nearly 200-thousand dollars to complete the first phase of the site study. All three of the sites were deemed to be viable. The study covered pros and cons of each - looking at things like total property acreage, feet of water frontage, and infrastructure needed both on land and in the water. One problem each has in common is that the City doesn't own any of the three properties... which Alderman Van Johnson says leaves some big questions unanswered, "Whether the land is available for acquisition, and then do we really want to invest a significant amount of money in acquisition, and then the development of curing some of the issues that all three sites have." Alderman Tom Bordeaux has other reservations as well, "I think it's been a big waste of money, but not from that standpoint. I think it wouldn't be typical for a city to be sitting there with a thousand foot frontage on the river, so I don't think that part's unusual at all. I do think it's - I guess questions should be asked in terms of whether it would be good for savannah to have a cruise ship terminal. I would hope we could have answered that question a lot sooner and a lot more cheaply."
Council members have to decide whether to move forward with the second phase of the study, which will cost about 90-thousand dollars on top of the nearly 200-thousand already spent. They will allow public comment at this Thursday's city council meeting. The public comment period will last approximately an hour. There will be a sign-up sheet, and speakers will be allowed three minutes each. You can view the complete study by clicking the link below. Stay with news three for continuing coverage of this issue.
Original story:
The first phase of a study looking at three potential sites for a cruise ship terminal in the city of Savannah has been completed and the results are being presented to City Council today. The three sites considered include two on the North bank between the Trade and Convention Center and the Talmadge Bridge and one on the South bank at the Savannah River Landing Site.
View the full study for yourself by clicking HERE
The company that conducted the study presented lists of pros and cons for each site to Council. The study shows all three sites are viable, but in a ranking of the sites, taking all variables assessed into account - the Savannah River Landing Site received the highest score of 38. The other two sites each received a score of 31. Council Members were given the opportunity to ask more detailed questions following the presentation.
A public hearing on cruise ships will be held at this Thursday's City Council Meeting. Anyone who wants to speak will be given 3 min to do so.
Additional link to full study: http://ftpcontent5.worldnow.com/wsav/documents/DRAFT_Final_Cruise%20Ship%20Staging%20Area%20Study_13%200513.pdf
1430 East Victory DriveSavannah, GA 31404
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The Weekend
What a weekend! Started out with a fantastic practice Friday at Schweitzer. Getting ready for the AGS races Saturday and Sunday. Super D was on Saturday and was a "mass start". That is where you must run to your bike and everyone starts at once. That was okay but the trail was grueling. By the bottom I though I would die. Didn't make in time for any warm up runs that day so my race run was it. It was slow at around 18 minutes on a 14-15 minute course.
Camped out in the parking lot with a bunch of people and met some very interesting and fun people as well as chilling with ones I already knew. Slept well and got prepped for day two.
Day two was the DH. That was truly fun! My time was 8:12. I don't think that is bad at all for a 6" travel all mountain bike. This particular race experience has pushed me into the pursuit of a DH bike. Again, there was nobody in my class so I was racing myself. Maybe Mt. Spokane some people will want to race me. All in all, it was a good weekend and I feel pretty accomplished and better all around at riding my bike.


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What's going on, Albuquerque?
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I like this... Blow it up and you see a single dandelion blooming in front and a garden of giant vegetation behind it, fed (or watered) by the acequia. All in focus.
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« TT: And away we go! | Main | BOOK »
July 25, 2011
CDThe Rockin' Hammond of...Milt Buckner (Jasmine). Released in 2009, this two-for-one CD contains twenty-two hard-charging tracks originally recorded for Capitol in 1955 and 1956 by one of the unsung pioneers of jazz organ. The fare is bluesy and the mood is swinging (especially on the tracks that feature Duke Ellington's Sam Woodyard on drums). Buckner's trademark "locked-hands" style is in evidence throughout. Definitely not for irremediable eggheads, but if you like jazz that makes you pat your foot, prepare to turn it loose (TT).
Posted July 25, 2011 1:08 PM


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The NEW Sound Of Christian Music
The NEW Sound Of Christian EDM
The NEW Sound Of Christian Rap/Hip-Hop
Prolific author Morris (House of Winslow series) opens a new series set in the years leading up to the Civil War. Widower Daniel Tremayne returns to his Amish roots, but his son, Yancy, joins a Virginia militia and becomes one of "Stonewall's Boys" in the War between the States. The novel is rich with characters struggling to make sense of the war and of Amish pacifism while maintaining loyalty to family. Yancy's grandmother says, "I saw that you'd decided to be a soldier. And we always told you that we would respect your decisions, and we do. But I have to tell you that it grieves me, it truly does." Injured in battle, Yancy is nursed back to health by Lorena, who wrestles with her own past. The first in "The Last Cavaliers" series combines adventure and romance in a thick historical and religious setting that fills the page with believable missives, news reports, and a love story in the midst of war.


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Shearer: Not looking for Helen Clark's endorsement
David Shearer says he is not looking for Helen Clarke's endorsement as leader of the Labour Party.
Speaking this weekend on TV3's 'The Nation' Mr Shearer said "I'm not looking for that. I'm simply just saying from my point of view I have the endorsement of my caucus we move on and we get on to the issues that we need to be focused on."
He said people should not read too much in to Clarke's appearance in the Herald last weekend – the same weekend as the Labour Party Conference.
"Well yes, but she was interviewed and she's about climate change, she'd given a speech about climate change a couple of days before, so I don't think we need to read too much into this.
"Oh look I think people have got past that, I mean Helen Clark is now firmly ensconced for the last four years as the UNDP Administrator, great job, and she was talking about climate change, which is a hugely significant issue for not only the UN but obviously us. So I think that people have moved on from that.
He didn't believe his supporters were upset over the article.
"Well I haven't heard that, so I mean if they are my supporters they haven't communicated that to me."
He also said there was still a chance for David Cunliffe to have a higher position with party if he can prove his loyalty.
"He just needs to put his head down and work for the team, for all of the caucus. Let's put ambitions aside and it's great to be ambitious, but we've got one leader, and let's work together to make sure that we get a
Labour win, that the most important thing that we can possibly do, and his input into that will be I'm sure in the future very very important, but right now it's about trust and it's about loyalty, and I have to have trust in the people that are close to me and the people who I depend on.
"Absolutely, I mean I would like to have him in a higher position and that door is certainly open to him."
"Oh look from the point of view as a person that I have worked with over the last few years, I have an enormous amount of respect for him, I mean his knowledge around the economic issues and the political issues around those economic issues as well, he's very very talented. There's no doubt about that."
Comments and questions10
David Shearer is an absolute disgrace.
Michael Joseph Savage would be spinning in his grave if he knew Shearer was running the Labour Party.
I've lost faith in someone who so dishonestly denies not knowing Kim Dotcom, let alone the teacup saga, with another one of those famous lies and now someone who has no respect for a once astute Mother of our Nation. You have all lost my vote and that of my family to the Greens.
David, you will get more votes if you move on from Helen Clark. We need to address family values and good parenting again to instill into our young a positive and caring way to rear our children. Our country needs men to be men, and not women trying to be men!!
Some media just dont know when to move on. This story is boring and has been dealt with. You should be chasing the government on issues like the increasing unemployment rate in this country, and the 170,000 jobs they have promised four years that they failed to deliver on. There are far more important issues than the Labour leader drama.
If Auntie Helen CLARK has been that good, she would still be NZ PM....eh, guys? The only solution for Labour now is to gather all their strength to defeat National in 2014.
Shearer looks to Aunty Annette and Uncles Trev and Phil for guidance.
He is actually connected to elements that preceeded Helen!
Helen would only endorse someone with the skills, intellect, moral core and leadership skills to guide NZ into a prosperous and secure future.
That is why she endorses Cunliffe.
Shearer was very poorly advised by King, Mallard, Robertson and Goff last week. They have advised him poorly for the past year.
Dumping Cunliffe was a very weak decision. Cunliffe is in tune with the membership. Sheared/Robertson are now hostages to a minority of the caucus old guard.
His complimentary comments about Cunliffe are (hopefully) a recognition that he needs Cunliffe if he wants to win in 2014.


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It's the big game, the Super Bowl! Join us at News 9 and News On 6 for our live twitter chat during the game. We will be talking about the game, the commercials and even the halftime entertainment.
You can ask us game-related questions on Twitter by using the hash tag #OFSB.
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Another edition of Fightfest will be taking place on April 14th from Canton Civic Center in Canton Ohio. The show will face the ever popular Butterbean who will be fighting once again in the cage.
In addtion to Butterbean, the show will feature Johathan Ivey and Forrest Petz.
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Damac Properties Co., a Dubai-based developer that filed an arbitration lawsuit against Egypt last year, said its shopping mall in Cairo is due to open by the end of the year.
Park Avenue's 657 stores are being fitted out by retailers, Niall McLoughlin, Damac's senior vice president, said by phone today. "We will be targeting the fourth quarter for operations."
The shopping center will also have 84 offices, which are still under construction, McLoughlin said. The 120,625 square- meter (1.3 million square-foot) project will also include 2,050 parking spaces, the closely held company said in an e-mailed statement today.
Damac filed an arbitration lawsuit in Washington in May 2011 after the Egyptian government seized land the company purchased in 2006 and sentenced Chairman Hussain Sajwani to five years of hard labor. An Egyptian court stripped the developer of 30 million square meters of land on the Red Sea coast amid legal challenges to land deals made under President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in February 2011 after 30 years in power.
To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai on firstname.lastname@example.com.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at email@example.com.


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Of all the major1 sports, cycling "performance" is the most easily quantifiable. There are power meters fixed to the majority of the bikes in the professional peloton and wind tunnel testing has become a staple of the offseason regime for folks with pro contracts and those with cash left over from their latest Audi purchase. Yet (and I promise I'll get off my high horse after this), people forget that "performance" is not about the Watts, the deep rims, or the obnoxious helmets; it's about the results. (which is fortunate, because power data for many pros is simply a matter of speculation2).
This brings me to my first assumption: a rider's performance is directly related to their position on the results sheet. A cyclist needs to have the power, the handling skills, and the tactical awareness to get high up in the results (not to mention a little luck). The limitation this assumption introduces is the fact that the work of the lead out men3 and the domestiques go unaccounted. I'm okay with this assumption because domestiques and lead out men are typically not nearly as good as the person they're leading out, so would generally fall to less significant places if riding for themselves.
Let's start with the 2013 World Tour. Up until the end of October, 228 riders have scored at least one World Tour point. Their ages4 fill the distribution in Figure 1.
We observe a roughly Gaussian distribution, peaking at 28 years old. However, this doesn't account for the relative performances of each age group (i.e. a rider with 1 WorldTour point and one with 100 points count the same, but shouldn't). To give a better representation of the performances, I took the sum of the points scored by each age group. The results are shown in Figure 2.
I think this distribution gives a much better approximation of how performance is related to age because it accounts for the magnitude of results, not just the count (though a count is indicative of the trend by itself). That being said, I think Figure 1 is essential for a qualitative interpretation of Figure 2, as the total number of World Tour points scored and the number of riders scoring those points are obviously correlated.
Because these data are quite noisy (we would expect nothing less from a sample of just one year), I repeated this process for 2012 and 2011, the first year the current system we implemented. These results are shown in Figures 3 and 4.
In both figures, we observe that a Gaussian distribution better fits the data, though for the latter figure, there is significant deviation at age 32. This spike has a lot to do with the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Tom Boonen, Alejandro Valverde, and Simon Gerrans having banner years in 2012, taking 4 of the top 6 positions, not to mention Joaquim Rodriguez and Michele Scarponi's great 2011 seasons putting them 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the WorldTour for that year.
However, a lot of the noise in the distribution may be a result of the way the World Tour ranking system is designed. The "worst" cyclists on this list (and there are quite a few), have only one point. Compare this to Philippe Gilbert in 2011 where he accumulated 718 points and enough wins to keep even the most ambitious amateur sandbagger content for their whole "career." Does this make him 718 times better than those with only one point? I think not.
I turned to Pro Cycling Stats for a ranking system that put the performances of different professional cyclists in better context.5 They have their own points per age distribution that I encourage you to check out,6 but I feel that once we start getting past cyclist #300, the ranking starts to get a bit muddied as it's so terribly hard to properly weight races and account for riders across country lines. Therefore, I stuck with a similar sample size as the World Tour – 250 riders. In Figures 5 and 6, I add the data from Pro Cycling Stats to Figures 3 and 4, normalizing both point values in the latter figure.
In Figure 5, we see that the Pro Cycling Stats and World Tour populations exhibit a nearly-identical trend. However, in Figure 6, we observe that the Pro Cycling Stats model has significantly less noise, due in large part to the nature of their points-allocation style.
If we imagine a Gaussian curve over the data, we might conclude from the data that peak cycling performance is achieved between the ages of 26 and 28. That being said, I think it's quite likely 2011-2013 were just bad years on the whole for riders aged 29-31, and that as the years progress and more data is presented, we might see performances of the middle-aged (relatively speaking) cyclists approach or even match those of their younger competitors.
Pro Cycling Stats has ranking data as far back as 2005, but as far as I'm concerned, every performance in those years should be subject to significant skepticism. It's like comparing football quarterbacks from different eras – there's just a completely altered climate that inserts so much murkiness (e.g. older riders might have been better at doping and getting away with it).
As expected, there is a clear correlation between cyclist age and their performance as measured by results-based ranking systems. From the last three years, the data indicates that the average rider will reach their peak around age 27, though it will be interesting to see how the distribution fills out as the seasons progress.
Further Comments
As I was compiling the age information for many of the cyclists, I noticed that the birthdays tended to be earlier on in the year. If so, perhaps this is a byproduct of the 'racing age' organization that cycling has adopted. If you've read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, you will be familiar with this phenomenon. Athletes born earlier in the year are more developed than their slightly younger counterparts, and therefore get more attention and support from coaches, amplifying this difference all the way to the professional level. Perhaps a subject for another analysis.
Thanks for reading.
1 I know, I know, cycling hardly qualifies as 'major' in the States, but from an international perspective, I have no qualms calling it 'major.'
2 If I never heard or saw the term 'VAM' again in my life, I think I would die a very happy man.
3 And women. This analysis focuses on the male professional peloton as there are more (and better recorded) data.
4 'Age,' used throughout this post, means racing age, the oldest age one will be in the current year.
5 You can find all the rankings here.
6 You can find Pro Cycling Stat's age distribution here.


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Starting this weekend snowmobilers in the Green Mountain National Forest will have to slow down. Vermont U.S. Forest Service officials have announced that snowmobilers are now required to keep it under 35 mph on all Green Mountain National Forest Trails. The speed limit covers more than 400,000 acres of forest terrain that is also used by hikers, snowshoers and cross country skiers. Officials say high speeds have direct links to severe and fatal snowmobile accidents.
Two other gubernatorial candidates shared the gazebo with Scott Milne and Gov. Peter Shumlin for Saturday's debate.
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Wine tourism is booming in parts of the United States, Canada, Spain, Australia, France and other countries around the world. There were questions some years ago as to what would replace certain disappearing industries; how we could boost our economies without polluting the earth.
Eco-tourism came into being as a result of these questions as did wine tourism. Sometimes, the two are united, especially when a winery is run using environmentally friendly methods.
Grape-driven days-out and full-length holidays of this nature have impacted various industries. Hotels offer packages providing accommodation, breakfast, plus some kind of vine-related bonus such as discounts, a winery meal, or participation in a festival. Limousine companies advertise tours, while certain companies have dedicated small buses to driving drinkers around to various stops on a wine route so they can fill their wine racks, get a little bit tipsy from tasting, and return home safely.
I mentioned Ovino recently. They are offering Saturday programs for $20 which include guided tours, tastings and a gift. Meanwhile, Napa Valley is famous for its train which rattles along between vineyards and serves locally-produced whites and reds, often pairing them with a three-course meal.
Meadowbank in Tasmania offers an 'experience' which includes blind tasting, prizes, a place to eat, art gallery, and an events room. Lots of wineries combine music with drinking, hosting weekly or monthly opportunities to sip while singing along. Patrons are encouraged to purchase and open a bottle of their favorite varietal on-site and drink it with their picnic.
One point that is made, however, is the importance of staying 'regional' as they say at Meadowbank. Area businesses have the opportunity to unite and promote one another. Local restaurants and liquor stores highlight regional wines. A winery shop sells locally-made jams and gifts, or perhaps serves produce and meat grown or raised within a 45 minute radius. They create a winning program with wide-reaching benefits, working together in sustainable ways.