text:
Reagan - Local Area Photos and Information
Local Area Photos | Local Business Directory | Local Real Estate | Local Employment Center
Reagan is a populated place located in Johnston County at latitude 34.349 and longitude -96.722.
The elevation is 912 feet. Reagan appears on the Reagan U.S. Geological Survey Map. Johnston County is in the Central Time Zone (UTC -6 hours).
Johnston County: Cities & Towns | ZIP Codes | Schools | Features (airports, churches, hospitals, etc.)
BOUNDARY MAPS: | Tishomingo Division | Johnston County
Reagan - Searchable Map, Aerial Photos & Driving Directions
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Driving Directions |
Data Source - USGS GNIS FID: 1097071
BOUNDARY MAPS: | Tishomingo Division | Johnston County
Nearby Cities, Towns & Census Designated Places
Reagan, OK
(< 0.1 mile)
Troy, OK (3.6 miles WSW)
Mill Creek, OK (7.1 miles WNW)
Ravia, OK (7.6 miles SSW)
Tishomingo, OK (8.2 miles SSE)
Connerville, OK
(8.4 miles NE)
Pontotoc, OK (11.1 miles NNE)
Russett, OK (12 miles SSW)
Milburn, OK (12.4 miles SE)
Nebo, OK (13.2 miles W)


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10 Foolproof Tips for Improving Your Google Search Results
Maybe you're already known as a Google search whiz...the person everyone goes to when they're having trouble finding the best results for a specific loveseat couch with a name nobody can quite recollect ("I saw it at IKEA this weekend...it was blue"), or when a song lyric needs to be matched to a title and artist. Expert Google search skills might seem nearly magical to many, but in reality is accessible and as easy to learn as basic keyboard shortcuts. Here are 10 everyone can use to improve any online search...
1. Use Advanced Image Search:
- When: Google's Advanced Image Search is great for when you've got an image (e.g. from Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, or even one of our House Tours) and you want to find an exact or close match in size, color or type of photo/drawing by description. Similarly, from the Images search option, "Search tools" offers additional filtering parameters (shown above).
- How: filter your search to include only photos with faces, clip art, high-res images or listed, by image size/dimensions, site domain, by overall color type, or ordered by a specified upload date.
2. Search By File Type:
- When: searching for a specific PDF or XLS document online. Try using
- How: QUERYNAMEHERE filetype:____.
- Example: 2013 Form W-4 filetype:pd
3. Start Short, Then Get Descriptive:
- When: one or two word search terms will usually give you the broadest results, so begin there and add additional search phrases to hone in on results.
- Example: an initial search starts off with a broad "modern chairs" query, which brings back 32,500,000 search results. Adding "modern Eames chairs" reduces results down to 5,990,000 search listings, while "modern Eames lounge chairs" further reduces it down to 867,000 results. Hone results by adding specifics like color, location, and price.
4. Use Quotation Marks for Exact Results:
- When: when searching for a specific product, person, or service, use search terms with quotations for best results.
- How: surrounding any search term with quotation marks – "[any word]" – will limit results to specifically only include those words. Keep in mind using quotation search might exclude relevant results if there are any name variations.
- Example: Searching for Alfonso Cuarón vs "Alfonso Cuarón" changes the total results from 14 million down to 2,120,000.
5. Using Dashes to Exclude Specific Results:
- When: when you want to exclude certain items from your results.
- How: "QUERYNAMEHERE -EXCLUDEDTERM"
- Example: Affordable Couches -IKEA would bring back results for sites listing affordable couches, but excludes anything from IKEA.
6. Word Definitions:
- When: for exact word definitions.
- How: Put define: in front of any word to get its definition.
- Example: define: wainscot
7. Searching Within a Website:
- When: when searching within a specific website.
- How: search using site:[insert URL]"
- Example: try affordable couches site:apartmenttherapy.com
8. Searching For Related Content:
- When: when searching for websites with related or similar content.
- How: use "related:[insert URL]"
- Example: try related:apartmenttherapy.com
9. Search For Shopping Specific Results
- When: searching for sites/sources that sell a specific item with reviews, prices, and styles.
- How: Choose from "Shopping" at top of Google search results, after "Web", "Images" and "Maps".
- Example: See standing desk results
10. Specify a Date or Price Range Search Using Two Periods:
- When: searching with a specific price or date parameter.
- How: Use .. between any two price or date figures
- Example: iPhone 5s case $10.00..$15.00
(Images: Top: Alexis Buryck / Jon's Calm and Considered Nest House Tour, Below: Gregory Han)
4 Comments
Just FYI you don't need the colon ":" when using the define or related command.
Also, these days it doesn't really matter whether you use quotes when searching for people, products and places. Just do a search for Alfonso Cuaron with and without quotes, the top 10 or 20 pages of results are nearly identical. If you are searching for exact words (like say music lyrics) it helps to use quotes.
#4 (using quotations marks for exact results) is called phrase search.
google shopping results are sponsored now. i'm not saying this is good or bad - just that it used to be much more comprehensive, whereas now if you use that as your primary shopping research tool you're going to be missing a lot of sites that also sell the thing you're looking for.
Not a tech question at all, but can you identify the leaning desk in the picture? I see that it's from a House Tour, but that desk isn't listed in the Resources of Note. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

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The Government Accountability Office issued a 46-page report on charter schools and students with disabilities, finding that charters enrolled a lower percentage of students with disabilities than traditional public schools in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010.
Nationwide in 2009-2010, students with disabilities represented 8.2 percent of all students enrolled in charter schools. In traditional public schools, students with disabilities accounted for 11.2 percent of students.
In the prior year, charter schools enrolled 7.7 percent of students with disabilities, compared with 11.3 percent in traditional public schools.
In Georgia, charter schools had 2 percent fewer disabled students than traditional schools, according to the GAO report, which was based on federal Department of Education data.
GAO draws no conclusions in its straightforward report about why this disparity exists, noting:
Against the backdrop of a growing and changing charter school landscape, we found that enrollment of students with disabilities in the aggregate is lower in charter schools than in traditional public schools.
Whether these enrollment differences will persist or continue to narrow is difficult to predict, given the lack of information about factors underlying these differences and how they affect enrollment levels. By issuing guidance that raises awareness about the practices that might be perceived as an attempt to discourage enrollment, officials in the states we visited have already begun to take steps to forestall the possibility that charter school admission practices play a role in lower enrollment levels in charter schools.
However, the guidance Education issued in 2000, while important in providing basic information to charter schools with respect to students with disabilities, does not provide more detailed information on the acceptability of specific admission practices under applicable civil rights laws. Moreover, while Education sponsored research several years ago that pointed out problems in charter school admission practices, we believe that the study's findings do not adequately address the range of possible factors affecting enrollment raised in our report.
For its report, the GAO visited 13 charter schools and interviewed staff, writing:
Officials representing about half of the 13 charter schools we visited said that having sufficient resources to serve students with more severe disabilities, including providing a self-contained classroom when needed, was their greatest challenge. For example, two officials said that their school facility could not provide a self-contained classroom. A third official explained that providing a self contained classroom is especially challenging because of the need to provide separate classrooms for each grade grouping as well as teachers.
Thus, if a school had 3rd and 4th graders requiring self-contained classrooms, they would need to have space to accommodate two separate classrooms. The official said that the charter school would not have enough teachers to cover those different grade levels. According to representatives of charter school organizations we interviewed, providing services to students with severe disabilities can be very costly and some charter schools could face severe financial difficulties serving students with very severe disabilities.
Charter schools that cited insufficient resources as a challenge included both charter school LEAs and charter schools within a district. Other resource challenges school officials cited included the cost of specialists' services, and obtaining staff qualified to serve their students' needs, such as a bilingual special education teacher or a specialist to teach an autistic child. However, two charter schools within a district said that, because the district provided all services needed, the cost of services was not a challenge. Both charter schools were located in the same school district.
–from Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
June 27th, 2012
5:02 am
The GAO report is essentially a big, fat "nothing burger". The differences between charter and traditional public schools noted in the report are small and the number of charters reviewed was too limited to draw any meaningful conclusions about the differences. The US Dept. of Education says as much in the comments section of the report (Appendix IV)..
One has to wonder why the GAO even bothered to issue the report.
There are those who claim that charters cherry-pick their students, but they won't find any ammunition in this report.
Enjoy your vacation!
June 27th, 2012
6:39 am
"Charter schools enroll fewer students with *** than traditional public schools."
1) That sentence works for disabled students, minority students, ESL students, etc. Charter schools make it known up front that students AND parents need to be more involved — responsible for their own education (e.g., mandatory volunteering). Some people can't / won't do that.
2) Add to that the tiny amount of money that they receive, and it becomes completely unrealistic to expect extraordinary accommodations. Fulton County receives $9000 / student. Our charter school received $3,500 / student one year. If you ask me, it's barely enough to run the place. I would think that most reasonable parents would recognize the limitations and self-select themselves out of that situation.
June 27th, 2012
6:43 am
"Federal report: Charter schools enroll fewer students with disabilities than traditional public schools"
No Sh*t, Sherlock! And if you look at private schools, you will see that they enroll even less. Why do you think they "look better".
June 27th, 2012
6:45 am
"Our charter school received $3,500 / student one year."
That probably is what the public schools spend on the average student if you take out the "special" educations.
The formula is highly skewed – $3500 for a "normal" student, $30,000 for a SPED student – average – $9000.
June 27th, 2012
6:47 am
"There are those who claim that charters cherry-pick their students"
Of course they do! Just making parents apply to get their kids into a charter school is a filter. Let alone any other requirements.
June 27th, 2012
7:08 am
Fed up and mountain man,
I suggest you check out what the National Center for Education Statistics (part of the US Dept of Education) says about charter schools:
The percentage of charter schools that were high-poverty schools—where 75 percent or more of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL)—increased from 13 percent in 1999–2000 to 30 percent in 2008–09. In comparison, 19 percent of traditional public schools were considered high poverty in 2008–09. During this time period, the percentage of charter schools that were low poverty (25 percent of students or less were eligible for FRPL) decreased from 37 to 24 percent.
Does that sound like cherry picking to you? Keep in mind that the US Dept of Education says there are minimal differences in the percentage of students with disabilities at charter schools vs. traditional public schools.
US Dept. of Education data does not support the contention that charter schools cherry pick their students.
June 27th, 2012
7:18 am
Fed Up and mountain man,
Use this link if you want to compare minority student enrollment numbers for charter schools vs. traditional public schools:
This data from NCES also shows higher percentages of minority students at charter schools than at traditional public schools.
Make your case with facts and figures from credible sources if you still feel that charter schools cherry pick their students.
June 27th, 2012
7:21 am
You can always cherry-pick the best of the poor students, the ones who have a mother who cares about education, leaving the dregs behind in the public schools.
Charter schools are specifically created to avoid some of the "onerous" regulations associated with regular schools. That is the reason they exist.
June 27th, 2012
7:25 am
Oh brother. Here comes more of the "Fairness Doctrine" and with it the attempted destruction of something that works.
"But Mommy, its not fair."
June 27th, 2012
7:35 am
Why is it a surprise or a problem these specialized learning environments are not set up to cater to the wide range of special needs that exist? It would be ridiculous to expect them to do so.
Looking back over the topics of the past few weeks, I'm starting to think this blog is being used to wage a campaign against charter schools…
June 27th, 2012
7:37 am
And the victory goes to….Mountain Man!
June 27th, 2012
7:41 am
God, the AJC writers are pathetic. Crap article with skewed descriptive statistics just to generate blog hits.
June 27th, 2012
7:46 am
"Make your case with facts and figures from credible sources"
Check out this link to the Charter of the Ridgeview Charter School in Sandy Springs:
Specifically look at the Waivers stating on page 54. One such requirement that this charter school has is mandatory parental involvement, including membership in the PTA and ten hours of service work.
This certainly sounds like cherry-picking to me.
June 27th, 2012
7:50 am
It is not that I have a problem with charter schools, especially charter schools that address issues that public schools seem not to want to address: attendance, discipline, parental involvement (homework). I just can't understand why public schools don't address these issues.
June 27th, 2012
8:03 am
Sometimes I wish the powers-that-be would just admit that this is what happens and , instead of denying it, claim it as such.
Why not, in each area of town, have a school for kids /parents who care (of whatever SES level) and have strict rules about how a child may stay at that school? And in each area have schools loaded with extra help/support/ more teachers for kids whose parents, for whatever reason, cannot be involved in their kids education.
As it is, families of all SES/races do not want their kids' education hijacked by litigious kids/parents who disrupt class, who do not really care about education, and who expect all to only try for the minimum. They flee– to charters, to homeschool, to privates.
I wonder what would happen if bright children/families were given a choice, what would they choose: a. a school with strict entry recs/ attendance/ parent involvement/ high expectations, but with perhaps fewer of the extras,
b. a school that caters to kids who may have troubled home lives, educational deficits, behavioral problems, that is chock full of support services and teachers/therapists, etc? This choice would of course be a smaller school, but with higher per pupil expenses.
I would gladly choose the former.
June 27th, 2012
8:03 am
"Charter schools enroll fewer students with disabilities than traditional public schools"
So what?
"In traditional public schools, students with disabilities accounted for 11.2 percent of students."
I wonder how many of those "disabilities" would be cured by a good diet, exercise, and sunshine? Quite a few, I would wager….
June 27th, 2012
8:23 am
Mountain Man,
The traditional knock on charter schools is that they only take the best students. Data from the US Dept of Education shows that charters have higher percentages of low income and minority students and about the same percentage of students with special needs as traditional public schools so that argument goes out the window.
You seem to be saying that charter schools somehow manage to get the best of the low income students, as if that would offset the overall demographic advantage traditional public schools enjoy.
I'm not familiar with Ridgeview Charter in Sandy Springs, but I've worked in charter schools in several states. I can assure you that most charters have to compete with traditional public schools for students. Very few of them have the luxury of rejecting potential students. Most welcome the opportunity to serve any and all students.
What parents often find appealing about charter schools is that they welcome and encourage their involvement. I've been in a K-8 charter school that had a "Grandparents Week" where students and grandparents went to class together. Many grandparents flew in from around the country to participate. Have you ever seen a public school do that?
Charters have boards that often include parents with children enrolled in the school. While they have to comply with the same regulations and have to meet the same standards as public schools, charters usually have more flexibility when it comes to work rules and other aspects of their operations. Teachers and other staff members often find the resulting environment invigorating. Students and parents usually like it too. That's the difference between charters and traditional public schools, not selective admissions.
June 27th, 2012
8:43 am
So what? Who cares? Are charters doing better for our kids? That should be what matters. Or should we just accept crappy public schools because they are more 'equal'? Is that *really* what we want?
If another type of school is doing better for a whole bunch of children – shouldn't we celebrate that? Rather than try to knock it down with idiotic numbers that are meaningless?
If parents choose to send their kids to charters…that means that parents are deciding that they like them better than the public school. What is so bad about that? I think we can all agree that public schools are failing *all* children in this country – incredibly. For anything to be even slightly better – shouldn't we applaud that? Shouldn't we want that?
And then if the public schools do serve kids with disabilities better – shouldn't that be where they should go?
June 27th, 2012
8:44 am
"Most welcome the opportunity to serve any and all students. "
Does that include the discipline problem students? Does it include students who miss school 40 days a year because their parent (mother) is too lazy to get them up? Does it include the SPED student that requires a full-time nurse to be with them and change their diaper, whose education runs a cost of $30,000 per year?
June 27th, 2012
8:44 am
This state spending per a capita is near the bottom. If this continues, we will be reading more stories about Atlanta's business future being hindered. At some point, large companies will not be able to attract workers due to our educational system. Every dollar spent on Education, makes $5 of growth in the future. If our elected officals would fully fund QBE, instead of saying, " oh well, not enough money", local govt' make cuts" Then we would have plenty of cash for charter and public. until these elected "so called leaders" get their act together, this blog will be a slam on charter schools, since they do take money out of the states funds and send it to Florida.
June 27th, 2012
8:45 am
So the enrollment difference here in Georgia is only 2 percent? Why are we even talking about this? Just another excuse to stand in the school doorway and block parental choice?
June 27th, 2012
8:59 am
Mountain Man: Go back to school. Your stated "average" of $9k per student isn't an average. The formulas for cost per student are more complex than your understanding.
Using self selection as a mechanism for weeding out students/people with disabilities is a common practice in child care and other businesses. What's a parent to say when the administrator says "your child probably won't get the – attention/education/be safe/etc. – he needs here at the ABC Charter School." No parent of a child with a disability is going to send their child someplace they won't prosper.
June 27th, 2012
9:05 am
This is precisely the reason there was a huge lawsuit in Georgia over charter schools–Gwinnett County and other counties sued (and won) over having to give up their limited tax revenue to charter schools like Ivy Prep that, as some of you have called it, "cherry pick" their students. Ivy Prep in particular may take low-income students and minority students, but they refuse to provide special education services, so they do not admit students with disabilities. That's why Gwinnett refused to approve their charter initially. After the supreme court ruled that the state could not override local control to approve charter schools last year, Ivy Prep applied to Gwinnett County again, and Gwinnett approved them and offered a per student funding amount for regular education students. Ivy Prep turned down the offer because they wanted the same per student funding the rest of Gwinnett County schools receive, which is ridiculous since they do not provide the same services (transportation or special education). They just wanted to "have their cake and eat it too."
June 27th, 2012
9:13 am
Some disabilities are obvious, but I have to wonder what the guidelines are that make this such a fast-growing demographic. We really have THAT many disabled kids??
June 27th, 2012
9:14 am
I looked through the first 10 pages, trying to find a definition of "disability." Is it physical? Is it medical? Is it psychological? (I personally feel that most of these ADHD diagnoses are bogus, especially for boys. We need to let boys be boys, if we ever expect them to grow up to be real men.)
Most charter schools I know don't offer transportation and don't have hot lunch cafeterias (i.e., pack your lunch every day), so that feeds into the "parent involvement" differential as well.
June 27th, 2012
9:29 am
Mountain Man @ 8:44
The short answer to your question is yes, most charter schools welcome any and all students, including those with a variety of disabilities. Go to Figure 7 in Appendix III of the GAO report:
It shows that the differences between charters and traditional public schools are modest across all disability types:
Gotta' run. Life calls!
June 27th, 2012
9:36 am
@mountainman–Ridgeview Charter School's student population is mostly African-American, HIspanics and ELL students. I have worked there, trust me on this, there is no cherry picking going on there.
As for the required parental involvement, what is on paper and what really happnes are two different things.
June 27th, 2012
9:55 am
I looked at the chart in Appendix III. The percentages look neck-to-neck to me, across all categories. Sometimes public schools had more enrolled students, sometimes charter schools. I'm sure if you ran a "margin of error" calculation (especially given the 40-to-1 difference in sample sizes), they would be statistically equal.
June 27th, 2012
9:58 am
Holy crap Batman! It is such a horrible thing (to read Mountain Man's comments anyway) to expect a student's parent(s) to be involved with their child's education. Let me guess, you think packing your kids off to the government to be babysat is a better solution? Do you not think that parents should be involved in their children's educations? Now, I realize that people work, but if you're going to take on the responsibility of having a child, shouldn't you also be able to take on the responsibility of playing an active role in that child's upbringing and education?
June 27th, 2012
10:06 am
@Mountain Man. Since charter schools, by nature, are a really diverse bunch, it is difficult to make statements about the group as a whole. Lots of things vary from school to school. But I don't think the notion that most charter schools succeed by simply cherry picking students whose parents care is supportable. Look at cities with high numbers of charter schools and you will see that its not just a couple of parents applying to the lotteries. In central Harlem 75% of parents are applying for a spot in a charter school.
I think all parents want their children to have a great education, and some charter schools have done an excellent job of raising the bar and letting parents know from the beginning (kindergarten) what is expected of them if their child is going to succeed.
Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University did an interesting study that showed students who won a charter lottery outperformed students whose parents also applied for the lottery but weren't selected.
June 27th, 2012
10:13 am
Research seems to consistently show that charter schools and traditional public schools basically produce the same results. You have rock star charter/traditional schools and you have subpar charter/traditional schools. Since the data supports that neither one is better or worse, supporters of traditional or charter will cherry-pick the data to support their side.
So here goes some "cherry-picking" on my part:
Charters tend to be small. There are exceptions, New Orleans for example, but most are small schools. I like small schools. A Lot. However, small public schools are constantly fighting consolidation. We'd rather house way too many students in a small university setting, pack them into large classrooms, and pat ourselves on the back for the "economic" savings. We don't or won't listen to naysayers who protest that large schools are not necessarily in the best interest of child…especially high-needs learners. One one hand, the public willing supports a small charter school but on the other hand, resents public tax dollars supporting a smaller traditional school. Why?
Charters don't have to provide transportation. This is a huge expense. The state currently funds around 12% of transportation costs. Local districts have to pick up the other 82%.
Charters are not always held to the same accountability standards. I once worked for a charter school and AYP was determined by EOCT scores and not GHSGT. Given the nature of the charter, we also did not have to worry about attendance. Flexibility is a good thing. It allowed the charter school to better address the unique needs of the population we served. The public school in the same district was not given the same freedom.
Charters can require parental involvement. Public schools can not. I suspect the charters with strong parental involvement are also strong schools. Charters that struggle with parental involvement probably struggle to meet AYP goals. Same with traditional schools.
Perhaps the discussion should not be charter vs. traditional. Perhaps the discussion should be about flexibility and funding.
June 27th, 2012
10:18 am
Well put.
June 27th, 2012
10:21 am
teacher&mom – Charters don't have to provide transportation. This is a huge expense. The state currently funds around 12% of transportation costs. Local districts have to pick up the other 82%.
Out of curiosity, who picks up the other 6% of the cost?
June 27th, 2012
10:22 am
@teacher&mom. All good points. I especially agree with you on the flexibility charter schools have to demand parental involvement. It's a huge advantage, and it would be great if there was a way to give traditional schools similar flexibility.
June 27th, 2012
10:25 am
@T-Square: LOL…I should never attempt simple math before my first cup of coffee. Thanks for catching my error.
June 27th, 2012
10:26 am
I was going to make a snarky comment hoping you didn't teach math, but decided I shouldn't be a butt this early in the day.
June 27th, 2012
10:37 am
Quote from NTLB: " Charter School's student population is mostly African-American, HIspanics and ELL students. I have worked there, trust me on this, there is no cherry picking going on there. "
I hope you are out of the education field. The fact that you chose the race (AA and Hispanic) and then said there is not cherry picking is simply appalling! Your statement insinuates that if a school is made up of mostly African-Americans and Hispanics then they don't have many bright students. White does not equal "cherries". As a Hispanic woman who teaches middle school, I believe and know that race does not determine intelligence. I'm glad you no longer work there and I hope you don't ever work in another education field. Having that prejudice already in your mind will set up those minority students to fail because YOU believe they will fail.
June 27th, 2012
10:49 am
Here's an example of flexibility:
A neighboring school district decided to become a charter district. I pulled up their charter on the web and was very impressed with their plans for the high school. They have been given a great amount of flexibility regarding seat time, academic credits, and standardized testing. This flexibility spills over into "how" the students earn credits. More students can participate in dual-enrollment, work-based learning, on-line learning, etc. Their charter has three or four different options for students to complete high school. There is still accountability. However, the district was able to tailor the accountability to better meet the goals of their charter.
The "one-size-fits-all" is replaced with flexibility to meet the needs of a diverse student population.
My question is this: Why must a district/school become a charter in order to implement innovation? Does anyone know the answer?
June 27th, 2012
10:52 am
@KWDMom: Let's leave your own race-baiting rhetoric out of the conversation, shall we? Unless you want to open your eyes to the motives of African-American parents THEMSELVES in fleeing the inner-city.
June 27th, 2012
10:53 am
teacher&mom – I'm going to guess because of state/federal regulations, and as much as people here aren't going to like it (and I do realize that there aren't "real" teacher's unions here, but there are close approximations) teacher's unions/organizations and their lobbying power with the state/federal government to keep those regulations strong.
June 27th, 2012
10:59 am
@ KduKtr: It wasn't at all race baiting. The only thing NTBL wrote to show proof that they weren't cherry picking was RACE. Can you read?
June 27th, 2012
11:01 am
@teacher&mom. I'm not completely sure what the answer is on that.
When it comes to charter districts like the one you mentioned, I think T-Square is right. The change to charter is a way to remove regulations which currently exist.
When it comes to individual charter schools within a district, they naturally have more flexibility because each parent has specifically elected to attend that school rather than being zoned for it. If they don't like the programs at that school, they still have their zoned school as an option. I think the fact that parents have an alternative makes it easier for charters to implement whatever programs they think work. If you were to implement the same programs in zoned schools, the program would be pushed down on parents rather than elected. I imagine that change in dynamic would cause more pushback, even if the programs had been shown to work.
June 27th, 2012
11:10 am
@teacher&mom: The plethora of restrictive and special needs mandates placed upon school districts accepting federal funding—are in too many cases promoted by teachers' unions to support their goals: jobs for life for their members with little of no accountability when it comes to product, and the broadening of the Democratic Party's base by way of increasing dependency on government.
But dismal results, especially in the inner-city, has caused friction with a major Party constituent—black parents. Hence, charter schools came about as an attempt to ward off even greater reform.
June 27th, 2012
11:18 am
@KWDMom: You may choose to ignore the consensus opinion of black parents fleeing inner-city schools—but please leave self-righteousness out of your arguments. I'm sure the rest of us are perfectly able to read NTBL's comments in context.
June 27th, 2012
11:31 am
Charter schools are bastions of blatant discrimination – choosing only the brightest non-disabled students (mentally, physically, or behaviorally). Certainly this elitist class of students will excel on standardized tests, giving charter schools an unfair advantage will comparing their scores to public schools.
June 27th, 2012
11:43 am
TIL that smart children, with good parental supervision and quality teachers have an "unfair advantage" when it comes to taking tests. Who would have thunk it?
June 27th, 2012
11:53 am
@Maureen, you keep trying to find any article that will fulfill your agenda of bashing charter schools. Let me tell you and your readers something. I am JEALOUS. What am I jealous at? I'm jealous at Delaware. There's a reason why Delaware won the national Race to the Top competition. Have you or your readers seen Vision 2015? When I read it, all I kept saying was, "Why can't Georgia do this?" They found a way to get all of the stakeholders to buy off on a common strategic roadmap. I don't think Georgia is capable of doing that, and as long as Georgia continues to blame the lack of funding for not innovating years ago, I have no problem with giving charter schools some fuel and provide some alternate school design models for our state's children. They may not all be stellar schools, but I can practically guarantee they will graduate more qualified students.
I truly hope we can reform our public schools in Georgia. After all, I am a public school graduate, but will always enroll my children in a school environment where real learning is taking place, and where I know they will hone the skills they need to get the jobs that haven't even been created yet.
June 27th, 2012
11:54 am
Okay. I don't get it.
It seems every time teacher complain about standardized testing, merit pay, unfunded mandates, increased accountability measures, etc. we are told that we NEED all those regulations in public schools to insure teachers are doing their jobs properly, and that it is the "unions" that are fighting against such regulations being implemented.
Now, when a teacher asks why charter schools can have more flexibility and opt out of mandates and regulations when traditional public schools cannot, she is told that it is the "unions" that are insisting those strong regulations remain in place.
So which is it?
June 27th, 2012
12:15 pm
"The plethora of restrictive and special needs mandates placed upon school districts accepting federal funding—are in too many cases promoted by teachers' unions to support their goals: jobs for life for their members with little of no accountability when it comes to product, and the broadening of the Democratic Party's base by way of increasing dependency on government."
Any chance you can provide a few examples that are the direct result of teacher unions? *with appropriate citations…..of course*


text:
The story of "Obie" the morbidly obese dachshund has just gotten complicated.
An attorney representing Oregon Dachshund Rescue has filed legal papers in Washington County Circuit Court in Portland, demanding the return of the dog from his foster home.
Geordie Duckler, attorney for ODH, says Nora Vanatta has refused to relinquish him back to ODR, Inc. as legally required.
The story of Obie received national attention in August when the dog's owners in Puyallup relinquished him. At that time he weighed a whopping 77 pounds and could barely get around.
A foster "mom," Vanatta, who lives in Portland, agreed to take him in until a permanent home could be found for him.
Vanatta began a campaign to slim the suffering pooch down, and started a Facebook page called "Biggest Loser – Doxie Edition" - that chronicles his weight loss journey. He quickly began to slim down and has reportedly lost about 15 pounds so far.
"My hope is that he can be an inspiration to any person or animal trying to lose weight. It is so important to introduce pups and kids to a healthy lifestyle and food choices as early as possible," she wrote.
Obie's story was featured on the Today show, Live with Kelly and Michael, and other media round the country.
Now ODH is demanding that Vanatta return him, saying that she is not providing Obie with the veterinary care promised and required, but is instead "traveling across the country with Obie, exploiting him for the sensationalistic promotional value of his unusual obesity, earning money off of his public exhibition on national and regional television shows, and refusing to either provide the necessary veterinary treatment for his actual adverse medical conditions related to obesity, or to expend the monies she was generating from her public display of him on his actual health and well-being."
The Washington County Circuit Court is being asked to formally order Obie's return to ODH, and if Vanatta does not comply with that order, ODH wants the County Sheriff's Department to seize him and deliver him back to ODR, Inc.
After receiving news of legal action, Vanatta posted on the Facebook page that "It is very upsetting that (the operator of ODH) is using doxie-saving money to take him away from me especially since she has received donations and support thanks to Obie and me sharing his story."
"She clearly doesn't have his best interest in mind and is only interested in him now that he is famous."
Vanatta says Obie has made great progress and has bonded with her other pets and she is vowing to fight for him.
Supporters are rallying around Obie and Vanatta, and a petition site has been launched in an attempt to stop the legal action.
The hearing in Washington County Circuit Court is scheduled for Oct. 29.


text:
Hundreds of concerned parents flooded a school board meeting to voice their concerns about the potential closure of 4 southern Indiana elementary schools.
The school board announced last week that the schools could close in effort to make up a $7 million budget crisis.
Parents sounded off Monday night for 4 hours trying to race against the clock to fix the school's problems.
Many of them believed the school system should have asked for their help earlier saying it was all 'too little too late" to really make any difference.
The school board is set to vote Thursday on a budget plan that recommends closing the Children's Academy of New Albany, Silver Street Elementary, Pine View Elementary and Galena Elementary.
The school's superintendant also proposed moving fifth grade students and teachers to middle schools.
District officials say they don't plan to lay off teachers or school workers and they are not asking for higher taxes but they have to find a way to cut nearly $7 million from their budget.
WHAS11's Adrianna Hopkins was at the meeting and has a full report in the video above.


text:
Categories > Anime/Manga > D.N.Angel > my december
the impression that I get3 Reviews
Late night discussions
He lay in bed for a moment, listening to the sound of Emiko-san breathing, soft and even, beside him. Then he heard the sound that had woken him again, soft footsteps going down the stairs. Dark must be awake -- and if he was making any noise at all, it was an indirect invitation to anybody who might be awake to come downstairs and join him, and Dark knew that the only one who woke when they heard Dark going downstairs at three am was Kosuke.
He was never sure, but he thought Dark liked him, and trusted him in a different way than he did Emiko-san and her father. He liked and trusted them because they were family. Kosuke was not a Niwa. Sometimes he thought that was why Dark liked him.
(That, and Kosuke thought that Dark was prepared to like anybody who made Emiko-san happy. Kosuke hoped he made her happy, he really did. She made him happy. So Dark liking him probably meant that he made her happy. Kosuke tried not to think what Dark would have done to someone who made his beloved Emiko unhappy.)
Kosuke slid out of bed and put on his slippers. He tried not to think about it because technically it was his son he was talking to at three am. He felt like he should be sending Dark back to bed because he had school tomorrow -- but then again Daisuke never showed any signs that he minded or even remembered Dark's late nights.
And Kosuke kind of liked talking to Dark at three am.
He went downstairs quietly, holding his breath at the squeaking stair that none of the others, even Daisuke, seemed to step on, and moving to the kitchen. There was a faint, glowing light in the kitchen, which appeared and then faded.
Kosuke sighed. For an immortal spirit, Dark had awful tastes sometimes. He wondered if Emiko-san knew about it. Knowing her, she did but pretended not to notice as long as Daisuke didn't eat them. He walked into the kitchen.
"Hang on a second," said Dark's voice. Kosuke waited until Dark flipped on the light above the sink. Dark didn't like full light when he was up late; he prefered the shadows but he knew that Kosuke didn't have good night vision. (Well, thought Kosuke, compared to the rest of the world, his night vision was fine. It was just compared to the Niwas that he was blind in the dark.) The kettle on the stove was already steaming gently, and there was a mug on the counter beside it, with a tea-strainer filled with loose tea, ready for the water.
And it would be, Kosuke knew, the type of tea he liked best. He also knew better than to say a word about it.
He looked at the table and shook his head. Dark grinned at him. "I LIKE it," he said.
"I know you do," said Kosuke, walking to the stove and pouring water into the cup. "But Choco-Frosted Sugar Bombs aren't something you'd expect Dark Mousy to eat."
Dark chuckled. "When I was with Daiki we used to stop at this little taiyaki stand after a heist. His mother thought it was terrible."
"Did you bring her any?" asked Kosuke.
"Of course we did," said Dark. "We'd bring her sweet potatoes, too. She said we were only trying to get on her good side and she was ashamed of us." He smiled, an affectionate remembering smile. "She'd complain about it the entire time she was eating. Daiki's father used to buy her sweet potatoes when they were courting, I remember. She thought that was terrible, too."
Kosuke shook his head. "I'm sure his mother was happy you brought her some," he said, lifting the strainer off the cup and shaking it gently to drain the last of the water from the tea leaves.
"Oh, she was," said Dark. "But she was a terror for propriety." He crunched on a spoonful of cereal. "Nice girl," he added. "Looked just like a - a Girl's Festival princess doll."
Kosuke dumped the used tea leaves into the compost bucket and turned around, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know you'd ever seen one."
"I STOLE one," said Dark proudly. "The entire set, prince, princess, retainers and all. 'Course I sort of think he made them for the Niwa girls anyway. But I stole them, fair and square."
Kosuke, unfortunately, had just sat down and was in the middle of taking a sip of tea. He choked, and Dark leaned over and grabbed the cup before he dropped it. He set it on the table and got up to pound Kosuke helpfully on the back.
"WHAT?" he gasped, finally.
"Serious," said Dark. "The Niwa I was with had this sister about ten years younger than he was. The Hikari -- man, what was his name? -- just so happened to make a princess doll set. Not that I call a Girl's Festival set where the princess has a red-feather pattern kimono much of a coincidence."
Kosuke wheezed.
"She was really tickled with it."
Kosuke boggled. Nearly twenty years he'd been a member of this family, and they still managed to surprise him. "Why did he --"
"He liked little girls," said Dark. "Not in that way, I mean, he just, y'know, liked 'em. Type of guy who'd paint a kite -- he did beautiful kites, I think we have one somewhere -- and just find a kid to give it to. I remember one he did that looked so much like a butterfly you expected it to land on a flower."
Kosuke blinked. "Kites?"
"Not something you'd think a Hikari would do, huh?" said Dark, eating cereal.
"You sound..." Kosuke hesitated. "You know the Hikari family very well, don't you?"
"We go a long way back, yeah."
"You seem fond of some of them," said Kosuke.
"They weren't all crazy bastards," said Dark, as if making a great concession. "Any more than all the Niwa were all like Daiki and Daisuke. They're just people, you know?"
Kosuke nodded.
"And it can't be easy carrying around Krad like some time bomb waiting to go off," added Dark.
"I've noticed..." said Kosuke, slowly. "In the records. The Hikari clan doesn't live long, do they?"
"No," said Dark. There was an edge to his voice, a warning.
Kosuke went on anyway. He had to know. "How long does Hiwatari-kun have?"
"How should I know?"
"Dark," said Kosuke, looking at him. "You know them better than anybody."
Dark sighed. "Honestly? They're like drones. They live just long enough to breed."
"Mid-twenties, then?"
"If that." Dark poked at his cereal with his spoon. "Dammit, it's all soggy. I hate it when it gets all soggy."
"Dark," said Kosuke, gently. "I need to know." He was not a Niwa. He would never be a Niwa. But he was bound up with them now, as surely as if he had been born into the clan.
Dark looked at him. Kosuke was stuck by the weariness in his eyes, the weight of his long existence living from one Niwa son to the next. "You know that Hiwatari is the last of the direct Hikari line."
Kosuke nodded.
"There are no branch clans left," said Dark flatly. "The Niwa -- we've still got some branches here and there. If Daisuke gets run over tomorrow, the worst that would happen is that I would have to wait for one of the girls to have a son. At best -- Emiko's still able to have children. I wait. There'll be another Niwa eventually."
Kosuke shivered.
"Krad does not have that option," said Dark. "Hiwatari is the /last/, Kosuke."
Kosuke swallowed. "That wasn't what I asked."
"Hikari Satoshi is dying," said Dark, very calmly. "He won't live long enough to produce an heir. He doesn't want to."
Kosuke stared at the table. Better that than Dark's inhuman eyes. "Which? I mean, doesn't want to have an heir, or --"
"He doesn't want to live," said Dark, still in that terrible, calm voice. "You don't have any idea what it's like for him. Remember when I had to fight Krad? And Daisuke got knocked out?"
Kosuke nodded.
"He lives with that drain every day," said Dark. "Every day of his life, Kosuke. Try to imagine that."
Kosuke stared down at his tea. A reflecting image, he thought. You could tell fortunes in reflections. "How long?"
"I don't know," said Dark, tired and very, very old. "But this is it, Kosuke. This is the fucking /end/. It's going to be settled in this generation, one way or the other."
"There's nothing we can do," said Kosuke. He meant it as a question, but it came out as a statement.
"Pray," said Dark. "Hope. Love your son. What else can you do?"
There was a long silence. Kosuke tried to imagine Hiwatari-kun waiting to die, waiting for Dark to come and knowing that his appearence would bring him one step closer to his end.
"It's not so bad," said Dark suddenly. Kosuke looked up and Dark grinned at him, sly and amused. "He's got one thing going for him, at least."
"What's that?"
Dark chuckled, like there was a joke he was keeping to himself. "Daisuke," he said. "You think he's going to stand there and let his friend die? He's half you, Kosuke."
Kosuke blinked.
Still chuckling, Dark closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was Daisuke, sleepy and a little confused and ordinary.
Daisuke rubbed his eyes. "What am I doing in the kitchen?" He looked down and made a face. "Ew. He always makes me clean up his messes."
"Daisuke," said Kosuke.
Daisuke blinked at him. "Dad? What are you doing up?" He didn't wait for an answer before picking up the bowl and stumbling to the sink.
Kosuke watched him. He remembered the day Daisuke was born, sitting on the bed with Emiko-san. Look, she had said, his hair is sticking up just like yours.
He's got your eyes, he replied, fascinated by the way Daisuke's hands opened and closed. And your hands.
The baby opened his eyes and for one moment they were the milky unfocused color of a newborn -- and then his pupils slit and his irises turned purple. He stared at them for a long moment, old eyes in a newborn's face, and then he blinked and they were ordinary baby eyes.
Oh, said Emiko-san, softly, reverently. He's a Niwa. He's really a Niwa.
Kosuke had shivered, but he managed a smile when Emiko leaned against him and said, drowsily, Finally ... we can have carp flags ... at Boy's Festival ... and fell asleep, smiling.
"Dad?" said Daisuke. He sounded almost awake.
"Hmm?" said Kosuke. His son had hair that stuck up like his and Emiko-san's eyes and her slender, capable hands. How had he helped create him?
"I'm going back to bed," said his son.
Kosuke nodded. "Daisuke --"
Kosuke hestiated, and shook his head. He got up and rumpled Daisuke's hair. "Sleep tight."
"Night, Dad," said Daisuke, and stumbled out of the room.
Kosuke sat for a long moment, staring into his tea, and then got slowly and rinsed out his cup. Ordinary things to be doing, he thought, in an ordinary room, when somewhere else there was a boy who slept -- did he sleep at all? -- and woke alone, waiting to die.
He turned out the light and felt his way out of the kitchen and up to their room. Emiko-san hadn't moved. Kosuke looked at her, watching the way she breathed, soft and even, and then turned and went quietly into Daisuke's room.
Hikari Rio had died shortly after her son's birth. The records were vague on the reasons; a secondary infection she'd never quite recovered from, side effects of something or another. They just live long enough to breed, Dark had said. He wondered if she had ever gone to her son's room to watch him sleep. He wondered what she had thought.
Daisuke was bundled under his covers, his head half-covered by With. With liked sleeping on Daisuke, for some reason; he always had, although when Daisuke was younger he had slept on the pillow beside him. Kosuke pulled the covers gently over his feet and smoothed them down, then removed With and put him on the pillow beside Daisuke.
Pray, Dark said. Hope. Love your son.
I've been doing that since the day I found out he was going to be born, thought Kosuke. Is it going to be enough?
There was no answer.
taiyaki: a traditional sweet -- basically it's a pancake shaped like a fish filled with red bean paste. Yes, it sounds strange. IT IS TOTALLY THE BEST THING EVER.
Girl's Festival: On March 3rd, there's a festival especially for little girls, and one of the things traditionally done is setting out a set of dolls that represent the Emperor, Empress and their Court.
Boy's Festival: May 5th, one of the things traditionally done is flying carp-shaped flags for every boy in the household.
(both festivals, obviously, involve LOTS OF CANDY.)
"Not that I call a Girl's Festival set where the princess has a red-feather pattern on her kimono much of a coincidence." -- the name 'Niwa' is actually written with the characters for 'red' (or 'rust') and 'feather', so basically it's a pun on their name.
All this backstory I'm dumping in? Is pretty much NOT canon because you find out buggerall about the Niwa and Hikari clan history during the actual manga.


text:
Copyright 2013. Ryan Zapotosky.
Licensed and Insured. All Rights Reserved.
We provide full service residential and commercial wallpaper installation.
Fine Interior Finishes, Inc. provides full service interior painting using quality Benjamin Moore paints and primers.
Fine Interior Finishes, Inc. is a family owned and operated business specializing in wallpaper and interior painting. We pride ourselves on customer service and professionalism.


text:
You have just laid eyes on my profile ID, So now i'll have to compansate by adding info about myself eh?
Let's give it a go then shall we? .3.
Ahem, ...
Hi, I'm Joshua, Or like most people used to call me, Cobra!
(mainly because I was an ace xeno and used to spook my friends... Teheheh
Also... because I used to yell out COOOOooooobraaah commaaaandaaaah aswell... go figure...
I've been playing games ever since I was a wee lad, from back on the N64, The Game boy/cube, PS1 and 2 and then up to the wii and xbox 360, and now i'm at pc .3.
I also enjoy a long range of Role playing and Anime/manga's
Which I feel like listing!
My top 10 games:
1.Okami ~ (Go Amy!)
2.Metroid Prime 1,2 and 3 ( Pew pew p-Wait...lemme scan ya.... Ok, let's start again, Pew pew!)
3.Pitfall the lost/great expedition (Who ya gonna call? Quickclaw Quickclaw!)
4.Rayman 3 (Reflux Makes me feel slightly dizzy o3o)
5.Soul reaver 1 and 2: Legacy of Kain. (WE NEED MORE SOOOOOUUUULSSS!)
6.Dragon Quest 9: Journey of the cursed king. (COR BLIMEY GUV)
7.Ratchet and Clank 1,2,3 and gladiator. (Look at that lombax go!)
8.Prince of persia: Sands of time, Warrior Within, The two thrones: (Getting sand in places you wouldn't want sand to be...)
9.Crash bandicoot. (GODDAMNIT I FORGOT A BOX!)
10.Spyro The dragon. (You had me at Lava filled Inca temple)
(Timesplitters 1,2 and future perfect aswell, IT'S TIIIIME~ TO SPLIT!)
Top anime's atm:
1.Code Geass. (All hail Brittania!)
2.Black butler. (He simply is....One HELL of a butler....)
3.Hellsing (ultimate) (Releasing restraint level 0)
4.Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. (Believe in the me! That believes in you!)
5.Fairy tail. (We are the number one guild!)
6.One piece. (I'll be the pirate king!)
7.Noragami. (For just 5 yen... I'll make any wish come true!)
8.Soul Eater. (DEATH CHOP!)
9.No game no life. (Episode 6....Episode 6... Episode 6...)
10.Naruto shippuden. (filler, filler, filler, filler, filler... OOOH orochimaru!)
(secret add in: Let's not forget Angel Beats mkay?)
Fullmetal alchemist, FMA: brotherhood.
Black bullet.
Murder princess.
mekaku city actors.
magi the kingdom of magic.
wolf's rain.
kill la kill. (tbh i loved this one to pieces but i didn't know where to put it in the list)
a certain scientific railgun.
Dragon ball z
yu-gi-oh.... this one counts right?
summer wars.
lucky star.
Shinryaku! Ika Musume.
jojo's bizarre adenture.
Panty and stocking with garterbelt. (PSG) (liked this one's unique style aswell xD frigging love scanty and kneesocks)
Giant Robo - The Day The Earth Stood Still.
sayonara zetsubou sensei.
Nichijou.(my ordinary life in a nutshell.)
Death note.
black rock shooter.
Attack on titan.
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo.
Log horizon.
Watamote~ It's not my fault I'm not popular!
Anime movies (in production)
1.Spirited away.
2.howl's moving castle.
3.Vampire hunter D Bloodlust.


text:
The best stock for home automation
The world's biggest names are getting into this booming industry -- but this company already has a commanding position.
Consumers are becoming more and more accustomed to being completely connected. We want to control our electronics, adjust the thermostat, close the garage, and lower the shades -- all from the comforts of our couches.
As a result, our homes are becoming smarter and smarter. Some of the world's biggest players are looking to get into the home automation space.
Last week, Google (GOOG) said it would buy Nest Labs, a maker of smart thermostats and smoke detectors, for over $3 billion. The likes of Comcast (CMCSA) and Microsoft (MSFT) have already been showing interest with acquisitions and in-house developments. (Microsoft owns and publishes Top Stocks, an MSN Money Site).
There's a reason there's suddenly so much interest in home automation. The industry is expected to soar from its current estimated value of $570 million to $2.6 billion in 2017, according to ABI Research.
So what's the best pure play on this booming market? It appears to be Control4 Corp. (CTRL).
With nearly three dozen patents, the company is at the forefront of the "connected home" concept, with products for controlling lighting, music, video, temperature, security and communications. Control4's home automation software automatically finds and adds devices, which cuts down on the time it takes to connect them.
Although the U.S. housing market has rebounded since the depths of the financial crisis, it hasn't yet recovered to pre-crisis levels. As housing continues to rebound, more homebuyers are opting for the latest and greatest in home automation. This is the perfect market opportunity for Control4, whose products are currently in about 135,000 homes. The company's biggest opportunity, however, is the 94 million U.S. households with incomes of less than $100,000.
According to ABI Research, North America is the world's largest market for mainstream home automation. The U.S. residential market continues to be the focus for Control4, accounting for more than three-quarters of its revenue. However, there's plenty of room for the North American home automation market to grow, which is why Control4 has been building its sales force. Gaining more dealers and greater brand exposure should be one of the big revenue drivers for the company.
Beyond the North American market, there is still a big opportunity for international growth: Control4 currently sells its products in more than 80 countries. The company also has opportunities in markets other than single-family homes, including the hospitality industry and multi-unit housing.
Control4 also has been expanding its partnerships. At this month's International Consumer Electronics Show, TiVo (TIVO) announced it would team with Control4 to offer its recording services through Control4 devices. In addition, Control4 inked deals with Nest and Dish Network (DISH) during the third quarter to help develop its own home integration software.
A look at Control4's balance sheet shows it has over $82 million in cash, equal to $3.62 a share, and only $3.3 million in debt. At current prices, 13 percent of its market cap is covered by its cash balance, which gives the company a nice cushion. With the company already profitable and expected to post earnings per share (EPS) of $0.33 this year and $0.43 next year, there is no burn rate that we have to worry about. Cisco Systems (CSCO) has also given Contro4 a vote of confidence with its ownership stake of 7.4 percent.
Risks to consider: The biggest risk we see is that the home automation space is about to get more crowded. Not only are Silicon Valley startups like Nest getting in on the action, but big players are looking for their share, too.
Action to take: Buy Control4 with upside to $35. A competing home automation company, Universal Electronics (UEIC), is up 100 percent over the past 12 months -- but Universal's EPS is expected to grow by 17 percent next year. Compare that with Control4's expected EPS growth of 30 percent. In addition, the five analysts who follow Control4 all have "buy" ratings, and with the recent pullback in the stock, the upside is over 25 percent from current levels.
StreetAuthority LLC does not hold positions in any securities mentioned in this article.
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Traders might want to bite on BABA, but long-term investors have reasons to wait.
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text:
"Nearly one in 10 Hispanics in the U.S. reported that in the last year police or other authorities have stopped them and asked them about their immigration status," according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center released yesterday. A majority of Hispanics worry about deportation, with 40 percent saying they worry a lot "and an additional 17% say they worry some that they themselves, a family member or a close friend may be deported." In 2007, "federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested more than 35,000 illegal immigrants, including unauthorized workers and immigration fugitives, more than double the number in 2006." A record 276,912 immigrants were deported.
Report: One in 10 Hispanics questioned by authorities about immigration status.
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text:
Dee Dee Moore will spend the rest of her life behind bars for first degree murder. It took a jury about three hours Monday night to find her guilty of killing Florida Lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare in 2009.
"I will make a very brief comment, Miss Moore," said Judge Emmett Lamar Battles once jurors read the verdict. "After trial … listening to all of this over two weeks…words that were said here: Cold, calculated, cruel ... they all apply. Manipulative … probably the most manipulative person that this court has seen."
Prosecutors painted Moore as a vindictive woman who killed Shakespeare. He took more than a $12 million lump sum after winning the Florida lottery in 2006. Prosecutors say Shakespeare spent, loaned, or simply gave away a lot of the money but had more than a million left when he met Moore in 2008.
A year later he was dead.
Testimony during the two week trial revealed Shakespeare was shot twice. Investigators found his body buried in a deep hole under thick concrete on a Turkey Creek property owned by Moore.
Prosecutors said Moore took control of Shakespeare's accounts and drained him of his last million. A financial expert who analyzed records said Shakespeare was broke when he died in 2009.
"Abraham Shakespeare was your prey and your victim," Judge Battles said. "Money was the root of the evil that you brought to Abraham."
Moore, who's 40 years-old, will never be eligible for parole.
"This person that did this ... she is going be able to have a lifetime to think about it," said Julius White, who identified himself as Shakespeare's uncle.
The victim's family felt relief after the verdict but wasn't surprised by it.
"It was just greed." said Cynthia Johnson, the victim's cousin. "[Moore] had everything she wanted...and she took his life."
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text:
After a seven-month closure marked by unexpected problems, the swimming pool at Hutchins Street Square will open on Monday after a final inspection by the San Joaquin County Health Department.
"We still have a small leak that we're trying to take care of, but it's not enough to keep things from opening now," said Jeff Hood, director of Lodi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services.
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we've got signatures, help us get to 1,000 by December 1, 2012
Animal cruelty is wrong .You see commercials about this and some people dont even realise that the animals are being abused. How would you like it if some one left you in a cage for days mabe even weeks with no food,water , or sometimes without shelter. T ake some time to think about this and maybe you will realise that this is WRONG.
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