text:
Deciding that the City had complied with Judge Xavier Rodriguez's instructions, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery today lifted the injunction against the City's Parade Ordinance. Judge Rodriguez had ruled that critical portions of the ordinance, which City Council passed in November 2007, were unconstitutional in part because they left too much discretion regarding fees in the government hands, allowing for discrimination based on the marchers' messages. The Current has a call in to lead Free Speech Coalition attorney Amy Kastely for more details, and we'll follow up with the City in the morning.
In the meantime, Esperanza Director Graciela Sanchez emphasizes that the Coalition's lawsuit will proceed. Kastely and free-speech advocates will offer an update on the case tomorrow evening, April 1, at 6:30pm at the Esperanza, 922 San Pedro.
In the meantime, you can find pertinent court documents here, including the original ordinance, and the City's modified ordinance, which Judge Biery's ruling puts into effect.
Certain Texas legislators have been busy jockeying for position to introduce controversial bills that would target illegal immigrants, but theyve got only two months left to pass such legislation or theyll have to wait until 2011.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott recently issued a ruling that the state legislature would be within its right to craft legislation that would compel so-called sanctuary cities to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts, but no such legislation is actually pending.
"'Sanctuary cities' advocate policies which are favorable to illegal immigrants but contravene federal immigration law," Rep. Franke Corte, (R-San Antonio), wrote in his request for the AG's opinion.
A bill that attempts to utilize Abbots ruling is still a ways off though the deadline for introducing new legislation was March 13 and the Texas legislature bizarrely only meets in odd years, meaning such a law is on hold until at least 2011.
He did the inquiry in order to set the parameters, its not his intention to craft it, Corte spokesperson and policy advisor Kathi Seay said today.
In the meantime, Rep. Leo Berman (R Tyler) has already spearheaded several bills to ratchet up pressure on officials in sanctuary cities. Bermans House Bill 254 would require all illegal immigrants to live in such sanctuary cities, while his House Bill 261 cuts off state funding to local entities that match the definition of sanctuary city from HB 254, which defines it as a municipality that adopts a resolution declaring that the municipality does not discriminate or deny municipal services on the basis of a persons immigration status and that all persons are treated equally regardless of immigration status.
Berman has also filed bills that would deny U.S. citizenship to children of immigrants, bar them from state colleges and universities, and require documentation for public school students. He admitted to the Texas Observer that he doesnt expect HB 254 to go anywhere, saying that he crafted it to make a point to mayors of such cities that if you want to support illegal aliens, well send them all to your city.
Though he said he wont be pushing HB 254, Berman has requested hearings on HB 261, which is in the State Affairs Committee awaiting action from Chairman Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton). An anonymous Berman spokesperson acknowledged that HB 254 and HB 261 would actually technically conflict with each other, further framing HB 254 as the political stunt that it is.
While the ACLU has contended that immigration legislation is the jurisdiction of Congress, Berman disagrees.
Its not the purview of Congress, Berman told the QueQue today. He said that the Ninth Amendment offers states the ability to act on issues that arent being addressed by the federal government.
You cant pass a law thats in direct violation of federal law, said Berman of sanctuary city laws. Its my duty as a state legislator to protect all Texans.
Berman said Texans need protection from the loss of roughly $4billion a year in state funds to support about two million illegal aliens, who are totally taking advantage of us. (He attributed the $4 billion figure to a report from the Lone Star Foundation.) He was unsure if HB 261 would come up for a vote before the end of the legislatures current session on June 1, saying its his understanding that Solomons will start dealing with immigration legislation around April 21.
The Texas ACLU argues that any such local legislation fails to get to the root of the problem, which they say is federal inaction, and that Abbott overstepped his authority in even ruling on it since the courts have historically ruled that immigration regulation is the exclusive purview of Congress.
Texas ACLU Policy Director Rebecca Bernhardt thinks Berman may have been thinking of the Tenth Amendment, which limits the federal governments power to tell the states what to do.
The attorney generals opinion seems focused on the idea that states have to do what the federal government says about immigration, and I think thats not an accurate impression to take from the decision, said Bernhardt. She cited U.S. Code: Title 8, 1373 on communication between government agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now Immigration and Customs Enforcement), saying that the code does not mandate local entities to follow the federal immigration law.
This is a pretty darn complicated area of law, admitted Bernhardt, but she said the policy arguments are straightforward. She rejected Bermans assertion that illegal immigrants are costing the state.
Theres actually a lot of evidence to show the opposite is true, said Bernhardt, citing how illegal immigrants contribute to the economy in ways that arent recordable due to their underground status.
Bernhardt said the thing to know about sanctuary city policies like the loose ones employed by Dallas and San Antonio, where police are barred from asking people about their immigration status unless theyve been charged with a crime, is that such policy is usually motivated by the desire to protect public safety.
Because when local law enforcement goes into immigration status, they lose access to victims and witnesses Victims stop reporting crime and witnesses stop providing information, said Bernhardt. The criminal element gets to take over and that is dangerous for local governments.
The Mexican American Legal Defense Fund has argued similarly, by saying that local immigration ordinances increase racial profiling and discrimination and complicate local-federal relations by defying the longstanding principle that the federal government regulates immigration. MALDEF also argues that courts have repeatedly found that local immigration reform initiatives conflict with federal law and violate the U.S. Constitution, including the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Operation Border Star gets thumbs down too
The Texas ACLU also recently came down on Operation Border Star, a $110 million, state-funded effort that is supposed to combat violent crime, drug smuggling and terrorism at the border. But an ACLU report says that the programs performance measures encourage participating agencies to engage in law enforcement activities that do not further the state's goal of improving state-wide public safety and protecting Texas from organized crime and that it lacks meaningful oversight of the six-figure investment.
Ten of the eleven departments we looked at did not invest the resources into fighting border crimes, said Laura Martin, Texas ACLU policy analyst. She noted that the operations broad performance measures encourage increased arrests for crimes like public intoxication and standard traffic violations, which are not what the Border Star funds are intended for. So theres a need for tailored performance measures and greater oversight.
Martin says that the Governors Division of Emergency Management is the agency currently overseeing the operation. Were concerned, based on what weve seen, that that has not led to an optimal use of funds, said Martin.
In other border news, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will conclude a three-day border tour witha stop and press conference in Laredo on Friday afternoon, where she will be meeting with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials, observe border protection operations at ground level and hold discussions with Mexican leaders on ways to combat increased violence with warring drug cartels.
In related news just out today, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said most of the guns found in the largest gun seizure in Mexican history back in November have been traced to Texas retailers.ATF agents traced 383 rifles and said that 80 percent came from licensed gun dealers in Texas, mostly along the border. If shes really serious about cutting down on that drug violence, maybe Ms. Napolitano might want to think about convening with Governor Rick Perry and the Texas legislature on a bill to make those guns less accessible? The QueQue will not be holding its breath.
Brian Thompson
Imagine for a second that George W. Bush did not leave the White House quietly. Instead, he assumed that he had done such a stellar job that the country needed a third term under him to set things right.
Naturally, this situation would have created something akin to civil war, with various groups demanding his resignation. A similar thing is happening today in the tiny Central American republic of Honduras, except the outcry is has not been nearly as great as you would expect.
Elected in 2005, Manuel Zelaya Rosales (right) has turned out to be one of the more polarizing presidents in Honduran history. Presiding over a series of scandals that included allegations of corruption that shocked a nation accustomed to corruption scandals, Zelaya's presidency has been a slow-motion disaster from start to finish.
The constitution only grants Zelaya one term with no chance for re-election. However, Zelaya has announced that he will hold a referendum to vote on whether or not the constitution needs to be scrapped. However, he will not divulge what a new constitution would look like or what changes it would contain.
This is like selling someone a car without telling him if it's a Kia or a dump truck.
Zelaya, however, has labeled those who oppose the reforms as traitors and sellouts, and his deepening ties to Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, both militaristic leaders with questionable democratic credentials, are worrying to some.
Zelaya's increasingly close ties to the military is another cause of concern, as the military in Honduras has historically played pivotal roles in overthrowing democratic governments.
Honduras is a small nation, and the United States has its own problems to deal with during this recession. With little international attention placed on the storm brewing in Honduras, Zelaya is set to get away with any power grab he chooses. For the seven million citizens of the hemisphere's second-poorest country, the future seems anywhere from uncertain to chaotic.
By Gilbert Garcia
Galvan told QueQue she was initially reluctant to tour the nuclear site but added, I wanted to educate myself and make sure that when the topic comes up this fall, Im well informed.
The guy walks as many fine lines as he can to enable the candidates that he wants to succeed, for his own personal stake, says a City Hall source whos dealt with Menchaca. Thats basically the nature of what lobbyists do. But youve got to file [with the City].
Menchacas nebulous role in City politics is particularly important because of his close relationship with mayoral frontrunner Julian Castro. Menchaca served as deputy campaign manager for Castros 2005 mayoral campaign, and has also contributed to Castros current effort. On October 17, 2008, the Castro campaign paid Menchaca $3,000 for consulting, and exactly a year earlier they paid him $6,000 for campaign services.
Its worth pondering what role Menchaca might play in persuading a Mayor Castro on the hot-button, highly divisive nuclear-power issue, and whether Menchaca is the kind of connection that Castro should maintain.
CPS has spent $91,000 fighting global warming solutions
Greg Harman
As Washington strains under the weight of industry and environmental lobbyists seeking to influence the outcome of what would be our first national climate bill, CPS Energy has been quietly working the angles on Capitol Hill to keep the coal power the city has come to rely on cheap for consumers in the short term. So-called cheap power is the mandate the utility operates under, after all.
Too bad that mandate is now at odds with the survival of the earth as we know it and, quite possibly, our survival as a city and a nation.
The most recent peer-reviewed science on global warming has found that due to the build-up of greenhouse emissions in the atmosphere we are already locked into unavoidable permanent drought across the Southwest and through Central America, as well as a complete redefinition of global coastlines by one or two meters (Check out Last Chance for a Slow Dance to get the background here). However, measured against the findings of the International Panel on Climate Change, we have limited amount of time to change course only until 2014 to level off greenhouse emissions, for instance.
Responding to an Open Records request submitted by the Current, a CPS Energy legal staffer wrote that the City-owned utility has spent $91,700 lobbying in the past year in the attempt to influence U.S. climate policy.
According to Zandra Pulis, senior legal counsel at CPS, the utility has also spent about $67,657 in membership dues to the Climate Policy Group, an industry group it joined in September of 2006 that lobbies Congress against limiting carbon emissions under cap-and-trade legislation. An effort that, to this point, has been remarkably successful.
Greg M. Schwartz
Don Nichols was standing in front of his house on the 100 block of Glorietta Street on the near East Side Wednesday night (March 25) about to unload some groceries from his car when he was taken aback by an SAPD tactical response unit that arrived to serve a no-knock narcotic search warrant on his next-door neighbors, Vincent and Veronica Maggiano.
Nichols, a 51-year-old electrician, says at least 15 officers, a van and four pickup trucks were involved in the raid. He says they broke through the front door, shot and killed the Maggianos two-year-old pitbull Rabbit and arrested the couple. Police found ten marijuana plants as well as some other bags of marijuana, all totaling around ten pounds. 14 grams of cocaine were also found, along with a lighting system, timer and power system for a growing operation. Veronica Maggiano, 26, was later released with Vincent, 29, receiving all the charges after telling police his wife had nothing to do with the operation. Rabbit's body still laid in the yard under a yellow cover the next day.
Im all for police protecting the public, but when they pull this, thats over and above it was stormtrooper tactics at its best, said Nichols of the way the SAPD brutally shot and killed Rabbit, a dog Nichols says was known in the neighborhood as a gentle giant, who was so gentle that he even got along with Nichols cats. He said that Rabbit never even had time to bark and that he knew the Maggianos as a nice, quiet couple who never bothered anybody.
Nichols says the cops left the other pitbull who was chained in the yard alone. There is a Beware of Dog sign on the front fence, although Nichols says that was there before the Maggianos even moved in. He hollered at the police that the dog inside was non-aggressive, but says the cops walked right past him. When the police came back out, Nichols hollered that their actions were a little aggressive.
They said Its none of your damn business, you werent inside the house. It seemed a bit Gestapo, said Nichols, noting that it was the first raid conducted on the street in his 18 years living there. It seemed like they thought they were going after Dillinger, Capone and the Barker Gang all in one.
The police report from Officer Phillip Bourcier indicates that while assigned to the Tactical Response Unit Gang Detail, he applied for and was granted a narcotic search warrant for the house. His report claims that as police entered the residence, the pit bull charged toward them in an aggressive manor. Fearing the pit bull may attack, they discharged their duty weapons, striking the dog.
Veronica Maggiano says the claim that Rabbit charged toward the officers is false and that the dog was sleeping next to the couples bed where they were watching TV, in a room adjacent to the front door.
They just barged in and we all stood up and they shot the dog, she said. Maggiano says she and her husband had been living in the house for about six months and had been married since 2000.
The police report notes that Vincent Maggiano admitted to intent to sell ten pounds of marijuana to someone to make a profit of $500. These quantities hardly indicate any sort of a drug kingpin, and Nichols said he wonders why so many officers were necessary to bust such a small time operation.
Louise Mendoza, a 56- year-old landscaper who has lived across the street for five years, said hed never seen anything like it on Glorietta Street and had no idea that Vincent Maggiano sold any drugs. He came outside after hearing something he thought sounded like fireworks.
They were ok, they didnt bother anybody. They were just good neighbors, said Mendoza.
By Gilbert Garcia
Let's be diplomatic about this: Michael Idrogo is a slightly eccentric mayoral candidate.
We gave the Navy veteran the benefit of the doubt when he insisted that this year's election ballot show his name as "Michael 'Commander' Idrogo." The red flags started going off, however, when his website indicated that, as mayor, he'd be able to use his connections to big-name Milan fashion designers to bring major fashion shows and boutiques to SA.
This week, with Idrogo's press release (sent to just about every news outlet in town) that California Attorney General Jerry Brown had shut down a pro-Julian Castro blog powered by Google (according to Idrogo, Brown was prepared to shut down Google itself, if the search engine didn't comply with his demands), things got positively surreal.
Idrogo's claim sounded weird and incomprehensible, but we put in a call to the Cali AG's office just in case the Commander was on to something. Sure enough, Scott Gerber, spokesman for the California Attorney General's office, told us that Brown had taken no such action. "I don't know of anything along these lines, and I have no idea why it would be in our jurisdiction," he said with a laugh.
Neither do we, and we're willing to guess that Idrogo doesn't have any answers either. The Commander has not responded to QueBlog's questions about the issue, but we'll keep you posted.
March 4, the Current emailed the following questionnaire to all
candidates who filed by March 9 for the May 2009 municipal elections.
As responses begin to roll in, we will post them in their unedited
entirety here on QueBlog. Excerpts will appear in the April 1 print
edition of the Current. if you're a candidate, and did not receive a
questionnaire from us, please call Elaine Wolff at 388-0625, or email
her at firstname.lastname@example.com, and provide the best email address for
contacting you.
Ed. note: Mr. Forbrich rephrased some of the questions. You can find the original questions here, along with District 7 candidate Elena Guajardo's answers.
1. Do you support the addition of two new nuclear power plants to the South Texas Project to meet our future energy needs? If not, please describe the alternative you favor. If so, please explain your position or philosophy on the long term storage of nuclear fuel waste.
If you've been following the Current's coverage of the Healy-Murphy Park sale, you already probably already know that the sole bidder for the small Eastside greenspace is the very same developer who first inquired about its availability (and proposed a handy solution for meeting state-law requirements for moving public parks into private hands) through lobbyist (and reliable campaign donor) Walter Serna.
Here's this week's QueQue update about the Parks board's thumbs-down on the bid, and, as promised, the bid itself for your perusal.
Sell-by date
Not that the City Council will necessarily side with the Parks & Rec Boards sentiments, but the members voted at Monday nights meeting to reject the sole $350,000 bid for Healy-Murphy Parks scant acre. The lone would-be buyer? The very same La Villita del Rio Development corp whose inquiry re: the small, neglected Eastside lot put the auction wheels in motion last year. The vote is something of a blow for District 2 Councilwoman and mayoral hopeful Sheila McNeil, whos championed the sale on behalf of City Hall lobbyist and La Villita Development rep Walter Serna, and is rumored to be telling her dais co-tenants that she has the communitys support.
The Parks board had voted once before not to proceed with the public bidding process, and the unexpectedly low price (the City was touting a figure as high as $800,000 last summer, although it halved that prospect for Monday nights presentation) as well as the plans uninspiring details (another wing of the adjacent Comfort Suites, plus parking, with the historic Dullnig house preserved for shop or office space) sealed the bids fate. [Read the bid sheet on QueBlog, at sacurrent.com.] Chair Mark Treviño barely had the introductory remarks out of his mouth before District 1 rep Hector Cardenas motioned for a thumbs down; a move followed with lightning speed by District 2 rep Alexander Saucedo.
A mighty brief discussion ensued, the gist of which was summed up neatly by Cardenas: I hate to say it, but its not enough money. A couple of members suggested the low ball might be a heavenly sign.
The proposal goes to the Councils Quality of Life committee next, which is chaired by Delicia Herrera, who like McNeil is term-limited this spring. All five of the District 2 candidates vying to replace Her Sheila-ness have said they oppose the sale (although Dan Martinez would rather lease it to the Salvation Army than preserve it as a park). Merced Housing VP Ivy Taylor was the only contender in attendance at Mondays meeting, but the bid is likely to suffer a quick death if its not through Council by May.
By Gilbert Garcia
Sheryl Sculley has made it clear: She will not abide misconduct in the Airport Police Department.
On March 17, the city manager disregarded a decision by San Antonio's Civil Service Commission, and upheld the December, 2008, termination of Corporal Russell Martin.
Sculley ignored the commission's 2-1 finding that the department had misrepresented Martin's concerns that there might be "fisticuffs or shooting" if he was teamed with Sgt. Orlando Battles as a threat of violence, when Martin viewed the statement as an expression of concern that he might be attacked by Battles. Sculley also tossed out this logical standard applied by the commission: If Martin was a threat, why did the department wait nearly six months to terminate him? That long delay supported Martin's argument that he had been targeted because he blew the whistle on Battles' pattern of time-card fraud.
In her letter to Martin, Sculley said: "The City of San Antonio maintains a zero tolerance policy in an effort to keep the workers free from hostility, violence or threats of violence."
Apparently, Sculley is less concerned about threats of violence to the general public, considering that Sgt. Battles' law-enforcement career has survived a 2003 incident in which he was arrested for public intoxication and allegedly tried to break into the apartment of a neighbor. In a similar misconduct-pays story, city officials don't seem to be losing any sleep over the fact that Airport Police Chief Ron Bruner, as a member of SAPD in 1992, submitted a fake report stating that his son had died, and falsely told a female officer that he was divorced and was battling cancer.
With all this in mind, the big question is why Corporal Martin didn't get a promotion instead of a termination letter. With frustration mounting among Airport Police officers over the management of the department, Sculley's decision will likely send department morale plummeting.
Beginning March 4, the Current
emailed the following questionnaire to all candidates who filed by
March 9 for the May 2009 municipal elections. As responses begin to
roll in, we will post them in their unedited entirety here on QueBlog.
Excerpts will appear in the April 1 print edition of the Current.
if you're a candidate, and did not receive a questionnaire from us,
please call Elaine Wolff at 388-0625, or email her at
email@example.com, and provide the best email address for contacting
1.Do you support the addition of two new nuclear power plants to the South Texas Project to meet our future energy needs? If not, please describe the alternatives you favor. If so, please explain your position or philosophy on the long-term storage of nuclear-fuel waste.
Beginning March 4, the Current emailed the following questionnaire to all candidates who filed by March 9 for the May 2009 municipal elections. As responses begin to roll in, we will post them in their unedited entirety here on QueBlog. Excerpts will appear in the April 1 print edition of the Current. if you're a candidate, and did not receive a questionnaire from us, please call Elaine Wolff at 388-0625, or email her at email@example.com, and provide the best email address for contacting you.
1. Do you support the addition of two new nuclear power plants to the South Texas Project to meet our future energy needs? If not, please describe the alternatives you favor. If so, please explain your position or philosophy on the long-term storage of nuclear-fuel waste.
The Parks and Rec Board will take the first public look at the single bid for Healy-Murphy Park -- the under-resourced Eastside park that District 2 Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Sheila McNeil is trying to unload before she leaves office -- tonight, 5:30-7:30pm at the Lion's Field Adult & Senior Center, 2803 Broadway.
The public bidding window just closed last Friday, and as of 2:30pm, Parks and Rec Director Xavier Urrutia hadn't yet examined it in detail. Parks and Rec is charged with presenting the bid to the Quality of Life Committee, which meets the second Tuesday of the month.
And the lone bidder? None other than La Villita del Rio Development, the company on whose behalf City Hall lobbyist Walter Serna first inquired, setting the park's sale in motion.
As the MashUp noted last month, the citizens that appeared to discuss the issue at a mid-February public meeting were overwhelmingly opposed to the park's impending future as a hotel (or hotel parking lot). And the issue was one of a handful that drew applause at a March 16 debate for District 2 council candidates. Merced Housing staffer Ivy Taylor answered the question first with a firm pledge to stop the sale if she were elected. Only Dan Martinez opposed the opposition, with a proposal to lease it to the adjacent Salvation Army facility for $1/year. Which means if McNeil's going to deliver the parkland to her once and future donors, the deal probably needs to be done before she leaves office in May. Although citizens will have 60 days to gather 1,500 signatures to force a public vote on the sale if and when Council officially accepts the bid, surely her plan is to get it through City Hall asap, and hope that her opponents don't have the recources to mount a successful petition drive.
Greg M. Schwartz
Digging through TCEQs voluminous files relating to the former Kelly AFB and the plethora of contamination issues that plagues San Antonios Toxic Triangle is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. The agency has literally thousands of pages of documentation on Kelly relating to testing, remediation, interagency memos with EPA and environmental contractors, and challenges on such testing and subsequent judgements from local activists.
But an all-day slog through that hay produced several interesting data points that the Current will herewith be pursuing. On June 20, 2002, project geologist Kathleen Bradley of Earth Tech, Inc., communicated with TCEQ about a Class V Injection permit for four areas around Kelly. Not sure what that is yet, but the memo included maps for proposed wells and the QueQue wonders if TCEQ followed through with those well proposals. Austin-based environmental attorney Rick Lowerre has gone on record as saying that TCEQs well monitoring of the toxic plume coming from Kelly is inadequate.
Then theres PAT, the Coalition Seeking Justice for People Affected by Toxins While Working or Living Near Military Installations. Back in 2002, PAT submitted a lengthy list of complaints to TCEQ (then TNRCC), alleging that the proposed remediation plan was technically incomplete and failed to address numerous issues with regard to contamination.
PAT alleged that the contamination from Kelly had drifted into not just the shallow alluvial aquifer but also into the underlying Edwards Aquifer. If thats true, all of San Antonio is in trouble. PAT cites work from none other than Dr. Katherine Squibb, the toxicologist who wrote about the shortcomings of analysis at Kelly in last weeks new Congressional report that ripped ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) a new one.
A September 4, 2003 document reveals that TCEQ was once again using the infamous SPLP (Synthetic Precipitation Leachate Procedure) to clear some soil borings at Kellys Building 424 of selenium contamination, a toxic heavy metal. The document indicates that the selenium concentrations had exceeded background levels at Kelly, only for the re-analysis with the SPLP to bring it in below the groundwater protection standard (just like SAHA environmental contractor Geo-Marine did with heavy metals at the former Swift site where SAHA is building low-income housing.)
The SPLP is the test that Neil Carman, clean air director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, has called a phony test that was pretty much guaranteed to find no problem.
Then theres an interoffice memo from June 29, 2007 that references exceedances of the highly toxic benzo(a)pyrene in sediment at Leon Creek, adajacent to Kelly, which could be contaminating fish in the creek.
ATSDR, which uses different methodology and assumptions, concluded that consumption of fish caught in Leon Creek does not pose a threat to recereational anglers, reads the memo. However, the responses also indicate that DSHS [Texas Dept. of State health Services] has issued a fishing advisory for PCBs for Leon Creek Segment 1906
And theres more. Stay tuned as the Current digs into all of these troubling data points, including impending interviews on the matters at hand with Dr. Squibb and Rep. Charlie Gonzalez .
By Gilbert Garcia
Considering that it was billed as a Mayoral and District 1 candidate forum, Tuesday night's North Shearer Hills Neighborhood Association gathering featured a rather skimpy collection of office seekers.
Only Diane Cibrian and Sheila McNeil showed up among the mayoral contenders, and even Cibrian had to leave after a few minutes because of another obligation. And District 1 insurgent Chris Forbrich was left to debate himself. In fairness, Julian Castro did send a surrogate who explained that the mayoral frontrunner was taking family time after the March 14 birth of his daughter, and planned to resume campaigning the next day.
The absence of District 1 Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros was harder to explain, and, apparently for many of the neighborhood activisits in the crowd, harder to accept.
Neighborhood Association President Mary Alice Ramsay announced that both candidates had been invited and both promised they would make it, "but Mary Alice Cisneros is not here." An elderly man in the audience shot back: "As usual."
it was a bad sign for Cisneros that the crowd laughed knowingly when Forbrich told them he wanted District 1 to have a Council rep who returns their phone calls.
Toward the end of the event, Choco Meza, Cisneros' longtime friend and supporter, emerged from the audience and asked to say a few words on the incumbent's behalf. "I can assure you that as long as I've known her, being irresponsible is not part of her trait," Meza said. Meza disputed the assertion of an audience member that Cisneros "spends her time with celebrities," crediting Cisneros with fighting to shut down topless bars Club Babylon and Extreme. "I can tell you unequivocally," she said, "that Mary Alice Cisneros does not sit on her laurels."
Dan Martinez, Candidate for City Council District 2
Beginning March 4, the Current emailed the following questionnaire to all candidates who filed by March 9 for the May 2009 municipal elections. As responses begin to roll in, we will post them in their unedited entirety here on QueBlog. Excerpts will appear in the April 1 print edition of the Current. if you're a candidate, and did not receive a questionnaire from us, please call Elaine Wolff at 388-0625, or email her at email@example.com, and provide the best email address for contacting you.
Ed. note: Mr. Martinez edited and rephrased the questions. You can find the original questions here, along with District 7 candidate Elena Guajardo's answers.
Question #1
Would I support the addition of two new Nuclear Power Plants to the South Texas Project?
Elena Guajardo, Candidate, City Council District 7
Beginning March 4, the Current emailed the following questionnaire to all candidates who filed by March 9 for the May 2009 municipal elections. As responses begin to roll in, we will post them in their unedited entirety here on QueBlog. Excerpts will appear in the April 1 print edition of the Current. if you're a candidate, and did not receive a questionnaire from us, please call Elaine Wolff at 388-0625, or email her at email@example.com, and provide the best email address for contacting you.
1. Do you support the addition of two new nuclear power plants to the South Texas Project to meet our future energy needs? If not, please describe the alternatives you favor. If so, please explain your position or philosophy on the long-term storage of nuclear-fuel waste.
Greg M. Schwartz
Last nights forum for District 5 and District 1 city council candidates at the St. Philip of Jesus Catholic Churchs parish hall was billed as an accountability session, with candidates being asked to say whether or not they would support 12 particular issues as voiced by members of COPS (Communities Organized for Public Service) and the Metro Alliance.
District 5 candidates on hand were incumbent Lourdes Galvan and challengers Eiginio Rodriguez, David Medina and John Carlos Garcia. District 1 candidates present were Mary Alice Cisneros and Rudy Krebs.
COPS/Metro Alliance members read all twelve questions first, with a big scorecard set up to record candidates answers of yes or no. The issues included securing funds to build a multi-purpose Community Center at St. Philip of Jesus; prioritizing neighborhood infrastructure projects including train quiet zones; requiring that CPS nuclear plant contractors agree to pay all cost overruns and that CPS present an alternative plan for solar and wind energy; funding $250,000 per year to reopen Lanier High School Health Clinic; doubling the dollar amount of the citys Education Partnership scholarships; keeping low fees for After School Challenge and Kid Quest; increasing funding for Project QUEST to $3 million next year; and meeting with COPS/Metro two weeks after the election and quarterly thereafter.
Anna Rosales of the Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church gave the most passionate reading of any of the questions when she addressed the candidates on the CPS issues.
Were here to remind CPS that [we] have institutional memory. We say members of city council should not agree to a contract [with the STP nuclear project] unless the contractor agrees to pay every penny over [the estimated cost of] $8 billion, said Rosales.
A spirited crowed in the neighborhood 200 people attended and COPS/Metro Alliance can be commended for attempting to generate enthusiasm for the elections and awareness of the issues. But if the point of the exercise was for voters to attempt to differentiate the candidates by their answers, then the process seemed set up to fail.
Each of the six candidates on hand was given a mere 90 seconds to address all 12 of the issues. This predictably led to very similar answers, with all six candidates saying they would support all 12 issues and having little time to elaborate on their views.
Garcia seemed like the best-prepared candidate for the format as he was able to touch briefly on the first 10 issues. We need to exhaust every single option before we go down that road, said Garcia of CPS Energys nuclear expansion plans.
Rodriguez was the only the candidate to make a specific mention of the potential hazards of the nuclear waste that would be created, while Medina voiced dissent against the nuke plans by saying that residents on fixed incomes cannot afford an increase in electricity rates. Galvan said she still remembered the previous CPS cost overruns and was committed to supporting that issue.
Krebs said she has a problem with $8 billion for nuclear plants, especially if the nuclear jobs are not coming to my district. Cisneros was the only candidate who first addressed the audience in Spanish, and then said she was especially committed to requiring nuclear plant contractors to pay the cost overruns.
If youre having a hard time distinguishing the candidates positions on the CPS issues, there was even less differentiation on the other issues. COPS/Metro Alliance leaders said that they had met with each of the candidates previously and would be relating further information from those meetings to their various congregations and members. But if youre going to go to the trouble of gathering the candidates and members together for a community meeting, wouldnt it make more sense to give those candidates a little bit more time to talk? The Current would love to hear from anyone in attendance as to whether they felt they were able to better distinguish their preference amongst the candidates, and if so, based on what?
Greg M. Schwartz
Those who have doubted government conclusions about the health problems surrounding the former Kelly Air Force Base received fresh ammunition for their suspicions last week when a new report from the U.S. House of Representatives concluded that officials from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry deny, delay, minimize, trivialize or ignore legitimate health concerns.
The report from the House Science and Technology Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee goes on to say that ATSDR often obscures or overlooks potential health hazards, uses inadequate analysis, and fails to zero in on toxic culprits and that Time and time again ATSDR appears to avoid clearly and directly confronting the most obvious toxic culprits that harm the health of local communities throughout the nation.
Kelly AFB is even one of the ten examples specifically cited in the report. It notes a 1999 ATSDR report that examined cancer incidence around Kelly and found increased levels of liver and kidney cancer as well as leukemia, but failed to link the illnesses to toxins that had leached into the neighborhoods from aircraft operations at Kelly.
Dr. Katherine Squibb, a toxicologist from the University of Maryland, found that ATSDRs report on Kelly was based on minimal information, that some Air Force studies ATSDR relied on for its conclusions failed to measure important exposure pathways, and that ATSDR failed to conduct an adequate assessment of whether or not some chemicals migrated off- base.
It is questionable as to whether ATSDRs conclusion that no public exposure to contaminants occurred through domestic use of groundwater in the past is correct, wrote Squibb in the report.
Regarding another ATSDR report, Squibb concluded that ATSDR had examined health risks from exposure to soil from a part of the base only after it had been cleaned up and remediated.
It does not appear that ATSDR has considered health risks associated with soil from this site that migrated prior to remediation, said Squibb.
Squibbs comments concerning ATSDRs conclusions about the groundwater back up this reporters recent hunch that the ATSDR opinion leaves a critical hole in assessment of the matter. Upon attempting to determine who had the final say on the question of what is causing the reported health problems, I targeted a 2001 ATSDR study indicating that while rates of certain cancers and birth defects were high, that ATSDR could not attribute them to the toxic substances that have emanated from the base. The plume of chemicals underneath is known to stretch for at least five miles, lying under more than 20,000 homes and businesses, with the primary carcinogens being TCE (trichloroethylene) and PCE (perchloroethylene).
Upon a recent query about what ATSDR would attribute those high rates of illness to, if not Kelly, ATSDR spokesperson Jeff Dimond responded by saying that the agency is no longer active at Kelly AFB and would have to refer the matter to the EPA.
EPA is not in a position to speak for ATSDR in this matter and must
refer you back to them, responded EPA Public Information Officer Dave Bary. Dimond then said hed run the question back up the flagpole, which garnered a statement a week later from David Fowler, ATSDR Division of Health Assessment and Consultation (Lead Health Assessor for the Kelly AFB study).
At the time of initial investigation in 1996, groundwater plumes were
just beginning to move off base to the north (North Kelly Gardens) and
south (Quintana Road) of the base, wrote Fowler. The groundwater plumes through and from East Kelly were not yet characterized Because the plumes were just beginning to move off base, because gas sampling in homes did not reveal a public health concern, and because the contaminated aquifer was not a source of drinking water, it was deemed unlikely that cancer elevations were caused by groundwater contamination.
Fowler went on to state that cancer latency for most cancers may
be 10 to 20 years or more, and that the liver cancer was so
widespread (in south San Antonio) that contamination from Kelly could
not be the primary cause.
But all of these conclusions now come under further question due to the new congressional report about ATSDRs inadequacies. When queried last week for further comment in light of the new report, Dimond said that ATSDR Director Howard Frumkin's testimony before the House Sub-Committee on Science and Technology and comments posted on the Committee's website are the only comments that ATSDR will be making on the matter.
Frumkin tried to minimize his agencys culpability at the hearing, saying that While communities expect us to provide definitive answers about the links between exposures and illnesses, even the best science sometimes does not permit firm conclusions.
Committee chairman Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.), wasnt having it though as he accused ATSDR of poor science and a keenness to please industries and government agencies that prefer to minimize public health consequences of environmental exposures.
Results of recent indoor air testing by EPA to determine if chemical vapors are seeping into area homes are due to be released at the next meeting of the Kelly Restoration Advisory Board on April 14. This new report is sure to be a hot topic of discussion as well. The Current will be interviewing Dr. Katherine Squibb about Kelly later this week, so stay tuned for more on these latest revelations
Bryan Thompson
Let's face it, the last time El Salvador crossed your mind, you were probably driving around in your '77 Chevelle blasting Springsteen on your 8-track.
Back then, the country was ruled by a brutal military junta and the impoverished peasantry was rising up in an insurgency known as the Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN). Ronald Reagan announced El Salvador would never fall to the Communists and proceeded to aid the government, even if it did have a habit of killing its political opponents by the thousands.
Fast forward to 2009. El Salvador has been at peace since 1992 and globalization has brought considerable wealth to the nation. However, the distribution of that wealth is still amazingly uneven and the economy is tanking. Crime, always high throughout the 1990s, has skyrocketed, giving the country the world's second highest murder rate.
This Sunday, a historic change could sweep El Salvador as the presidential elections roll around. Now a legalized political party, the FMLN could take power for the first time in history. A former journalist, FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes is well-spoken, educated, and promises to rule the nation in a moderate, yet socially responsible, manner.
Naturally, the conservative ARENA party is quite worried as this could end their quarter century of uninterrupted rule.
However, some in the United States are more vocal about their opposition to an FMLN victory on Sunday. Some, such as Arizona congressman Trent Franks, called the FMLN a pro-terrorist organization and warned that this could threaten American interests. In Republican circles, El Salvador was synonymous with rolling back communism, and American conservatives may not view a leftist victory in that nation favorably.
The biggest setback El Salvador could face under the FMLN is to become a satellite state of Venezuela. Rather than become an independent leftist government with a strong international presence a la Brazil, El Salvador could succumb to a reenactment of the old political feuds of the 1980s, much like Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega.
Chavez-affiliated governments are characterized by a general erosion of political freedoms, an increase in militarism and abolition of term limits. Already the governments of Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have attempted or succeeded in eliminating term limits. If we keep advancing at this rate, dictatorship in Latin America just may become fashionable again.
Greg M. Schwartz
The Texas Senates Committee of the Whole voted through passage of a Voter ID bill along party lines this morning, following an all-night session of debate on the contentious issue. Senate Bill 362, requiring that voters present a photo ID in order to vote, passed 19-12.
The result was all but guaranteed after Republicans had tweaked Senate rules in January to enable members to debate the ID bill with a mere majority vote rather than the two-thirds' margin normally required. The bill will now go before the full Senate, perhaps as early as Monday, for final passage. If it passes there, it will go on to the Texas House, whose members passed Voter ID bills in 2005 and 2007. Democrats have gained 11 seats in the Texas House since trailing 87-63 in 2005, narrowing the Republican majority to 76-74, but still enough to pass the bill if the vote follows strict party lines.
"I sort of know how the Manchurian candidate felt," Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) told the Austin American-Statesman regarding the all-night session, an intriguing reference to the classic 1962 film where a former American POW and son of a prominent politician is brainwashed by Communists who deprive him of sleep while programming him to become a mind-controlled assassin.
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) grilled witnesses such as Hans von Spakovsky, a former Federal Elections Commission member who is currently with the conservative Heritage Foundation, on the issue. Von Spakovsky spoke of reports of illegal aliens registering and voting in Bexar County, but when Shapleigh asked if any of those allegations led to prosecutions or convictions, von Spakovsky admitted he didnt know.
The Texas Democratic Party takes State Senator and SB 362 author Tommy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) to task for a bill that they say will discriminate against women, among others. The Dems seized on Frasers comment that he has trouble hearing womens voices, after hed been questioned by Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) during the floor debate.
Sen. Frasers voter suppression legislation threatens to take Texas back to the days when some citizens had a voice in the election process and others, including women, were silenced, said Texas Democratic Party Spokeswoman Kirsten Gray in a press release. Sen. Fraser and his fellow Texas Senate Republicans need to move past their selective hearing and listen to what this bill really is: A sad and divisive echo from the past.
Gray cited US Census Bureau and Federal Highway Administration stats that women are more than twice as likely as men not to have a drivers license, that one of every five senior women does not have one and that 70 percent of al those without a license are women.
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst continued with his disingenuous palaver about the bills importance in preventing alleged vote impersonation, of which his party has still failed to present any prosecutable evidence for.
The very foundation of our democracy rests on preserving the integrity of one person one vote, so we must do everything we can in Texas to ensure each vote cast is legal, Dewhurst said in a press release. I congratulate Senator Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) on passing this legislation out of committee, moving Texas one step closer to a more secure voting system that will help us prevent voter fraud and instill greater confidence among all Texans that their vote counts.
Express-News columnist Carlos Guerra breaks down the bottom line when he writes that the ID battle is about which party gets to control the redistricting process for the state legislature.
What this is really all about is that Republicans don't want a lot of African Americans and Latinos to vote in Texas in 2010, since 90-plus percent of blacks and 70-plus percent of Latinos voted for Barack Obama, writes Guerra today. And though Democrats tend to vote straight tickets at a rate lower than Republicans, the minorities' numbers might still overwhelm the GOP in the next general election and end the Republicans' control of the Texas House, and maybe even the Senate. So what is really at stake is which party is going to draw up redistricting maps for the Texas House and Senate, and especially, Texas' expanded congressional delegation.
Curiously, none other than Karl Rove was sited in the Texas Capitol cafeteria on the eve of the debate. Coincidence or conspiracy?
Greg M. Schwartz
From the International Affairs Desk
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising that led to the Dalai Lamas escape and exile from Tibet in 1959. The Dalai Lama issued an extensive statement today in which he summarized his countrys plight.
These 50 years have brought untold suffering and destruction to the land and people of Tibet. Even today, Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them. Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction; in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like criminals deserving to be put to death, said the Dalai Lama.
A BBC article today covers wide ground with the Dalai Lama saying China has put Tibet through hell on Earth, while Chinese officials claim that democratic reforms [under Chinese rule] are the widest and most profound reforms in Tibetan history.
Chinese news outlet Xinhua continues to push propaganda that followers of the Dalai Lama are a mere clique, an absurd notion considering that nearly all Tibetans consider the Dalai Lama to be both their religious and governmental leader. Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lamas principal translator, issued a statement in the Wall Street Journal reiterating that Tibet seeks only autonomy, not independence.
For both sides, there is not much to gain from invoking history to contest the legitimacy of each other's claims. For the Tibetans, the facts on the ground are such that, whether we like it or not, today Tibet is part of China. Tibetans need to understand that any proposed settlement that fails to respect the territorial integrity of modern China will be unacceptable to any government in Beijing, writes Jinpa. Beijing, meanwhile, needs to recognize the legitimacy of the Tibetan people's aspiration to protect the integrity of our language, culture and identity."
For those who are curious about how the 50 year conflict developed, director Martin Scorseses 1997 Dalai Lama biopic Kundun offers a detailed and compelling cinematic dramatization of the events in the 1950s that led to the current stalemate. Celebrity Buddhist Richard Gere, meanwhile, suggests that the ascension of Barack Obama as President of the United States creates optimism that China could one day have a Tibetan leader.
"30 years, 20 years ago, who would have thought there could be a black president of the United States? Things change rapidly -- and it's usually in crisis and tragedy that things change the most, said Gere. I can see a time when there may well be a Tibetan-Chinese prime minister or president or whatever form of government there is then. But the words have to be spoken.
Activists for Tibetan freedom rallied at the White House on Monday in hopes of pressuring President Obama to take up their cause. But many of those activists are disturbed by recent comments from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Chinas human rights violations could not be allowed to "interfere" with the Washington-Beijing dialogue on three other pressing crises - the global economic downturn, the climate change problem and security issues.
Such a view from Washington would seem to indicate a maintenance of the status quo regarding Tibet. Amnesty International issued a statement last week saying that the organization was shocked and extremely disappointed in Clintons comments.
It's not too late for Secretary Clinton to do the right thing for the Chinese people. Amnesty International urges Secretary Clinton to repair the damage caused by her statement and publicly declare that human rights are central to U.S.-China relations before she leaves Beijing, said T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi offered some hope for the Tibetan cause when she spoke at a reception commemorating the Dalai Lamas flight from Tibet yesterday, with her remarks indicating that the status quo is not acceptable.
For the last year, Tibet has been under martial law and the human rights situation continues to worsen. Last week, the U.S. State Department issued its Annual Country Report on Human Rights stating that 'the [Chinese] government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China deteriorated severely during the year, said Pelosi. Sadly, there has been no progress in the discussions between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama. It is clear that the Chinese government has not won the hearts and minds of the Tibetan people. Rather, the Tibetan people have accumulated legitimate grievances from decades of repressive policies It is long past time for Beijing to make progress on a solution that respects the human rights of every Tibetan.
While some might feel that 50 years of exile with little to show in the way of progress is a lost cause, the Dalai Lamas ever-optimistic view demonstrates otherwise.
Looking back on 50 years in exile, we have witnessed many ups and downs. However, the fact that the Tibet issue is alive and the international community is taking growing interest in it is indeed an achievement. Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that the justice of Tibet's cause will prevail, if we continue to tread the path of truth and non-violence.
Video by Jeff Turner
The Texas Senate is once again gearing up to re-launch its contrived effort to pass Voter ID legislation with a hearing on March 10. Like a Frankenstein monster that just wont die, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Senate Republicans are back for another try with SB 362, allegedly because of what a huge problem vote fraud is in Texas.
We all know thousands of people have voted illegally in Texas elections, threatening the sacred American principle of one person, one vote. We cannot allow our democracy to be undermined by voter fraud, says Dewhurst at his website.
But Dewhursts words strike a disingenuous tone since he fails to provide a shred of evidence for a single case of such alleged vote fraud, much less thousands (the Current is still waiting for his press lackeys to respond to multiple requests for such information.)
The Texas Democratic Party is calling upon citizens to attend the hearing at the Senate Chamber in Austin on Tuesday to offer public testimony of their opposition to SB 362.
There is no evidence of voter impersonation and Texans face far more urgent problems, but Texas Republicans are following a national Republican agenda to keep failed leaders in office with laws that would reduce turnout among seniors, students, people of color and those with lower incomes, argue the Texas Dems in their appeal for the Lone Star citizenry to attend the hearing with a dissenting voice.
The voter fraud epidemic they talk about is a ghost epidemic to suppress turnout to keep failed leaders in office, said Kirsten Gray, spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party. This is an attempt to put bureaucratic hoops between you and the ballot box.
Gray cited study after study showing that photo ID laws discourage turnout across the board. These included former Texas Republican Party Political Director Royal Massets estimation that a photo ID requirement would reduce Democratic turnout in Texas by 3 percent, and a 2006 study by the non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice which found that 18 percent of Americans over age 65 and 25 percent of African-Americans did not have a government-issued photo ID.
This isnt voter ID, its a photo ID. It amounts to a poll tax, said Gray in regards to money that some people would need to spend in transportation and taking time off from work to fulfill the photo ID requirement. She also said the red tape could keep still others from being able to vote. If youre born in Texas and you cant get to Austin, you may have to wait up to six to eight weeks to get your birth certificate in the mail.
Tuesdays hearing of the Whole Committee of the Senate is set to begin at 9 a.m., with the public testimony scheduled for the afternoon.
As promised, we started emailing our candidate questionnaire yesterday to folks who've filed to represent you at City Hall come May. The 9th is the filing deadline, and we'll make sure the late-comers get theirs, too. If you're a registered candidate and didn't get one yet, it may be because we're having trouble tracking down an email address for you. Give us a call at 388-0625, or email me at email@example.com.
Thanks to the readers who emailed or posted suggestions. Here's the final set that went out, with a due date of March 20. We'll post the answers in their entirety online as we receive them, and run excerpts in our April 1 print edition.
1. Do you support the addition of two new nuclear power plants to the South Texas Project to meet our future energy needs? If not, please describe the alternatives you favor. If so, please explain your position or philosophy on the long-term storage of nuclear-fuel waste.
2. Do you support Mayor Hardberger's Mission Verde initiative in its entirety? If so, what do you see as the most critical steps council must take to implement it successfully? If not, do you support any of its provisions, and why (not)?
3. What is the right mix of public-transit options for San Antonios future, and what do you think is the best method to fund/maintain each element?
4. If San Antonio faces a budget shortfall, where would you be willing to make budget cuts?
5. What are your top spending priorities for the HOT tax? Would you support a recommendation to use some of those funds to expand the Convention Center?
6. Please briefly describe your conception of San Antonios economy, its strengths and weaknesses, and what you would do to build on the former and address the latter?
7. Keeping in mind the playground scandal, the Healy-Murphy Park sale, and the El Mercado flap, how would you increase accountability and transparency at City Hall? Specifically, would you change the role or method of choosing a City Auditor, and his/her scope of authority?
8. Do you support extending the digital-billboard pilot program? If so, what restrictions, if any, would you recommend on their placement and use?
9. Do you support SAWS' current plans to secure San Antonio's water supply? If so, please explain why. If not, please explain what you believe they should be doing differently.
10. Please briefly describe how you financially support yourself. How will you balance your work demands with your council responsibilities? Do you foresee any conflicts of interest between your profession (or former profession, if you're retired) and a position on council? If so, how will you handle these?
11. What is your opinion regarding the Parade Ordinance that is the subject of the Free Speech Coalition lawsuit? Specifically, what fees, if any, should the city charge for parade permits? Should they distinguish between types of applicants and events, and if so, how and by whom should those decisions be made?
12. Please briefly describe your philosophy toward the maintenance and funding of publicly owned and/or operated spaces such as golf courses, libraries, parks, and El Mercado. Should these entities break even, make a profit, or be viewed as investments with tangible returns? Please propose a solution for the issues surrounding either Healy-Murphy Park, El Mercado, or La Villita.
13. If we've failed to raise a question or issue that you feel represents your values and priorities as a candidate, please discuss it here.
Greg Harman
Over the weekend a new audience got a little better acquainted with Mayor Hardbergers rush to lay down new tracks in his final months in office tracks that ideally would steer San Antonio on course to become an international leader in pollution-free energy development, if all goes well.
Even if much of Hardbergers plans are lost in transition as he steps aside for Julian Castro this May, a three-day date with sustainability advisor Jeremy Rifkin in April should flower loving repercussions and some unexpected paradigm shifting.
A whole league of investors follow him around like little dogs waiting to see where hes going to squat, a San Antonio green-energy advocate tells me of Rifkin.
Beloved San Antonio, Rifkin is prepared to squat on you.
Yet questions bubbling up for Hardys second, Larry Zinn, at the Saturday evening gathering in Esperanzas upper chambers, were held to allow for the battering and frying of a bigger fish. In this case, the topic was the consistently delayed and/or scuttled federal efforts to put a pricetag on climate change. The target was U.S. Congressman Charlie Gonzalez.
Sadly, with two-thirds of the Current news staff playing rock star & groupie in San Fran, and the third third crawling armadillo tracks in the (San Antonio) Bay area, weve been forced to canvass attendees and organizers to gauge the performance of the aforementioned Charlie Gonzalez (left, in world's most unflattering photo). Unfortunately, what many had been hoping to uncover, Charlies position on renewed efforts to implement cap-and-trade carbon legislation, remain murky.
While Gonzalez is said to have waxed casually about the ongoing political battle taking place over carbon and shown off his knowledge of green matters, that longed-for transparency didnt occur.
Calls to his media handler got us a dressed-up quote, (Ah, were we a power-brokering media conglomerate daily, downturns an all. *sigh*) to the effect that:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ultimately the only thing that would protect the PC is a phyiscal security token. I use one at work - its based on OTP (one time pad - look it up on wikipedia) - the only way my computer account at work can be defeated is if a) they have my account pin (which a key logger can get) and b) they have the one time readout from my token (which is impossible to get unless my token is stolen - not likely).
Every time I log in the password is completely different. So even if I had a keylogger on my machine - there's no way they could gain access - because at most they'd have my pin, but not the physical token.

subset: commoncrawl


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
First off Saeadaeme, your adorable and I felt the same way lol ;p
Dear Blizz LOVE this mode of thinking and leaping into new ground, only I advise, leap some more! I love mages and druids, shamans best but go even further to defining the different specs. Make Fire Mages only cast fire spells save for frost nova and dido for frost and Arcane!
And Metamorphosis and that demonic leap thing at level 10 or there abouts???? Holy awesome Batman! I might just role a Warlock for once! And Riptide at level 10, oh so watery1 lol
Keep going Blizz change is good just ask David Bowie, Ch-ch-ch-changes! ;p
Onlly complaint is getting rid of feral charge for kitties, leaping as a Cat is the best part of being a Cat.......:(


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You know when you haven't seen your biggest crush in a while and then all of a sudden they walk into the bar and you get struck by the thunderbolt so hard you practically fall of your chair (but are trying to play it cool)? Well that's how we feel about the triumphant return of Parisian favorite Princesse Tam Tam back to US shores. This perfect barely-there-string-tanga, with its sheer swiss-dot insets and tiny bows, is exactly the kind of thing we've been needing, easy and gorgeous in the effortless way that Parisiennes come by naturally. Get your size while they last, as the thunderbolt strikes fast.
Fit Notes
May We Recommend?
Traditional Calais Leavers lace is given the Caribbean blue treatment and is embroidered with aqua blooms, this demi is so Key West fabulous we can't wait to put the top down.
There have been countless books written about success. Instead of reading them, we'll just slip into this lovely streamlined delicately scalloped edge mermaid palette push-up.
This truly lovely blush pink lace bandeau speaks to us, in French. It says: I am delicate like a macaron, perfect for your dream wedding in Provence or for brunch in Brooklyn!


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Pair Charged In Theft Of Computers, Cash From School
Suspects were working as security guards at Fanning School.
Thanksgiving Holiday Off to a Busy Start at Lambert Airport
23-K travellers going through Lambert today, but Sunday's expected to be closer to 25-K.
Wash-U to Add More Security Fences
"I believe it will enhance security for that area,[restricting] access to our residential areas is an important part of the safety model for our campus."
Police Finalizing Security Plans For Post-Game 7 Crowd Control
Mix of uniformed, plain-clothes police officers will be monitoring the crowd at Busch.
Increased Security At Busch Tonight
Fans entering the ballpark will be required to pass through airport like security.
UPDATED: No Threat On Board Plane That Landed at Lambert
Phoenix-bound flight diverted to St. Louis over "security concerns".
UPDATED: TSA Says No Security Scare on Lambert Flight After All
Two men acting suspiciously claimed to be air marshals but offered no proof, according to website.
Lambert Increasing Security Prior to 9/11 Anniversary
There's no threat or federal mandate
Former NBA Player Miles Arrested with Gun at Lambert
T.S.A. officials discovered a loaded, concealed weapon when he went through an X-ray checkpoint.
Security Stepped-up in Chicago after bin Laden's death
Officers throughout the city, including at the transit system and airports, are on alert.


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Resources for... | Contact Us | Academic Calendar | People
E-mail: Carl PletschOffice Location: King Center 523
Phone: 303-556-6158Fax: 303-556-6037Areas of Expertise:
Upon joining CU Denver in 1997, I
worked in the Office of Teaching Effectiveness as
Coordinator of Academic Technology and Co-organizer of Boot Camp for Professors. I directed the $16,000,000 Information
Technology Initiative that transformed all of the Auraria Campus classrooms
into smart classrooms and built 25 computer classrooms. I initiated the plan for the CU Denver Honors
Program (University Honors and Leadership) and now serve on the steering
committee of the Honors Program.
In the History Department at CU Denver,
and in my faculty positions at other universities previously, I have taught
Intellectual History (European and American).
Now I am limited to general European History. I was the History Department's director of
graduate studies and served on the department's executive committee.
My research interests include
the history of the idea of genius as exemplified by my book Young Nietzsche, Becoming a Genius.
While teaching at Miami
University in Oxford Ohio I served two terms as city councilman.
Prior to joining the History
Department UCD I taught at several other universities, beginning as a Harper
Teaching Fellow at the University of Chicago. I was a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, New Jersey. I held
tenure track positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill &
Miami University of Ohio. I held a
Mellon Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. I was
Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy. I was interim Provost and Academic Vice
President at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. I spent my most recent sabbatical as visiting
scholar at the Australian National University in Canberra.
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All trademarks are registered property of the University. Used by permission only.


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"In Football We Trust," an All-American Story that intimately portrays four, young Polynesian football players struggling to overcome gang violence and poverty as they enter the high stakes world of recruiting, competitive athletics, and family pressures.
This yet-untold story offers an innovative twist on the "American Dream," as viewers watch the drama of minority youth struggling to make the pro-leagues unfold. "In Football We Trust" reveals how Pacific Islanders play hardscrabble football to represent their families, and how important faith is in their communities. The film brings together success stories of current and former NFL players, as well as, revealing the obstacles that they may or may not have overcome
Tony Vainuku's first career aspirations began on the field, as a budding professional football player from Salt Lake City, UT. While being raised to play football as a way of obtaining an education, Tony started to investigate his passion for music. In high school, he performed at local events and received opportunities to record in professional studios. Years later, after Tony's prospects of playing professional ball dead-ended, Tony released a 4-track demo in Long Island, NY and received an immediate response. Tony soon completed a 17-track album which led him to his interest in music video production. He enrolled at Westminster College, UT and explored film production, finding his niche in writing and storytelling. After graduating with a B.S. in Business Marketing, Tony founded a multi-media company, Soul Profile Productions, featuring in local sport promotions, wedding videos, web ads and promos. In 2002, Tony produced and shot his first film, Makaveli, a music video themed short about a troubled man who fakes his death in an attempt to free himself. Inspired by student shorts and independent projects, he pursed his passion by working on professional shoots including "Tiger Light" with A.C. Greene, and Collin Raye's music videos. Tony continued to write a variety of TV concepts, short scripts, and documentaries including the most recent, In Football We Trust. Tony is currently in production with the later, a feature length documentary that intimately portrays four young Polynesian football players striving to make it in the NFL, including interviews with former and current NFL football players.
Erika Cohn's diverse background in the arts originally began with theatre, acting in community plays at a young age. This concentration quickly developed into a passion for cinema. As a result of being raised in Salt Lake City, Erika grew up attending the Sundance Film Festival. Being a part of the festival inspired her first film, the documentary short, Searching Faith, a portrait of interfaith relationships and marriages in a predominantly LDS community. Spy Hop Productions, a non-profit youth media arts and education center, and The Sundance Institute cultivated Erika's interest in filmmaking by providing scholarships for extra-curricular film classes while she was in high school. Years later, Erika gave back to Spy Hop Productions by teaching documentary, claymation, and narrative filmmaking classes. She credits her successes to the community support she received as a teenager, and continues to stay involved with Spy Hop Productions and other youth media organizations such as Voices Beyond Walls in Israel/Palestine. Erika pursued her education at Chapman University in Los Angeles, California- graduating with a B.F.A in Film Production, B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and a minor in Acting Performance. Filmmaking has enabled Erika to travel the world- to places such as to Cambodia where she shot Giant Steps, a documentary about the reinstitution of art after the Khmer Rouge, which aired on PBS in May 2009. Most recently, Erika associate produced the PBS series, God in America, which aired in October 2010. She is currently producing a feature documentary, In Football We Trust, and is in pre-production for another documentary and narrative feature. Erika is also a co-founder, with Natasha Atalla, of KokoNat Productions, a film production company dedicated to increasing Middle East awareness and bridging religious, cultural and political divides through art. Erika Cohn has received numerous accolades and awards for her various films, including the most recent Director's Guild of America award for her film, When the Voices Fade, a narrative profile of the Lebanese-Israeli war of 2006. She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and in Salt Lake City, UT.
Geralyn Dreyfous, the former executive director of the Salt Lake Film Center, has a wide background in the arts, long experience in consulting in the philanthropic sector and is active on many boards and initiatives, including SPYHOP productions, the Utah Symphony and Opera, Red Butte Gardens, Kids With Cameras and the Moab Music Festival. Before moving to Utah she founded the Philanthropic Initiative in Boston, which guides families of wealth in strategic giving opportunities and she worked as the head of the Special Projects office at the Kennedy School of Government, reporting to Dean Graham Allison. Geralyn taught Documentary and Narrative Writing with Dr. Robert Coles at Harvard University and was a founder of the DoubleTake Community Service Corporation, which published DoubleTake Magazine. She also founded the DoubleTake Summer Institute that brought educators, activists and emerging storytellers together to explore the connections between service, moral inquiry and storytelling. A filmmaker as well, Geralyn produced The Day My God Died, a documentary on the global trafficking of children for sex and served as Executive Producer of the 2004 Academy Award winning Documentary, Born Into Brothels about the children of Calcutta prostitutes that spawned the Kids With Cameras Foundation that sell the children's photography and thus allow them to attend school and leave the brothel. Throughout the past three years, Geralyn has produced and executive produced over 9 films, including Oscar shortlist nominee, Sergio.
Phil Tuckett is an associate professor at Dixie State College and the director of the Dick Nourse Center for Media Innovation. He is also the director of the digital film track in the communication department. Prior to coming back to his alma mater to teach, Phil was vice president of special projects at NFL Films for 21 years. He was also a producer, director, and writer for NFL Films (1969 to 1986) and a journalist and professional athlete (1967 to 1969). Phil is the recipient of 30 Emmy Awards for shows like Football America, The 100 Yard Universe, Autumn Ritual, and Lost Treasures of NFL Films. For Football America, the 1996 Emmy winner for Outstanding Sport Special, Tuckett traveled to remote locations around the country gather grass roots stories that created a definitive portrait of football as a reflection of the "American Dream." He has also produced non-sports related programming like Blood from a Stone for the History Channel, Faces of Evil for TNT, and music videos for a wide variety of artists including B.B. King, Santana, Def Leppard, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Tuckett has also won a Cannes Silver Lion Award for an NFL promotion starring actor, Don Cheadle. He has also produced national commercials for clients such as Sprite, Reebok, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. In 2006, Tuckett left NFL FIlms after an enjoyable and productive 38 years, to form Bristlecone Films, his documentary production company. His first feature length production for Bristlecone Films is The Golden Age, a 90-minute documentary about South American Soccer as it is played in Corona Park, New York, with location filming in several South American countries. There are Spanish and English versions of the film narrated by Edward James Olmos.


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Prince Hotel Reviews
- Info
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Reviews & Ratings Explained
The rating percentage is calculated from customers who booked within the last 12 months.
All ratings and reviews are based on the feedback and opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up-to-the-minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is.
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Tried to be clean but 50 year old carpeting is hard to be clean. Sketchy neighborhood. Decrepit building. Lousy breakfast.
- Novice Nomad
- Anonymous
- Female, 41+
- (5 reviews)
Nice place to stay when you do not have to be in the city centre. Really good breakfast, friendly staff.
- Novice Nomad
- Anonymous
- Germany
- Mixed Group, 25-30
- (2 reviews)
I stayed in a private room. It seemed a little far from the town centre, but that was fine because I was just staying in Birmingham as a stop on the way to Stratford-upon-Avon. Other than that, everything was pretty much great.
- Globetrotter
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- (22 reviews)
The BB is really nice, the only problem is the distance from the main attractions in the city, but it's a lovely place.
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- Mexico
- Couple, 25-30
- (13 reviews)
We had a very good time at this hostel, the owner and the staff where very kind and helpful. Next time we travel to Birmingham we'll stay at the same hostel:)
- Novice Nomad
- Anonymous
- Hungary
- Couple, 25-30
- (1 review)


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Shopping around for a new car can be fun, but it can also be stressful if you don't know what you're doing -- and if you're not careful, you may get ripped off.
Video: FOX 10's Kristin Anderson has the scoop on a new web site that will help you find a fair price.
Online: TrueCar.com
4739 NW 53rd Avenue, Sutie BGainesville, FL 32653
Phone: (352) 371-0051


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Here he tells UKClimbing.com about the chilling experience:
"...Then silence. Laying there the silence seems to invade my paralysed body. I am paralysed from the neck down. I can't move a thing. I'm just laying there on the rope staring straight into the heavens. The silence is overwhelming – an over powering ringing in my ears..."
Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=3188


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In the area of the comune di Arbus, in the province of Medio Campidano , Hotel Le Dune is located in the south western coast of Sardinia, between Capo Pecora and Capo Frasca: the so called Costa Verde (green coast). Lays on the several kilometers long golden beach of Piscinas, surrounded by the highest dunes in Europe.
It is easy to reach from each port and airport of Sardinia, riding smooth roads until the mine of Ingurtosu, ancient mining village once flourishing and populated and now silent and abandoned. After Ingurtosu you will reach the "Laveria Brassey", the mineral washing plant in Naracauli – where the tarmac road gives way to a 7 km of unpaved road following the ancient railway which brought the mineral to the Sea Warehouse, through the Dunes covered in juniper and mastic, asphodelus and strawflower, until the beach of Piscinas where the Hotel lays.
- From Cagliari/Elmas airport: drive along the SS130 direction Iglesias, for about 20 km, then make a right turn to Villasor on SS 126. Follow the direction Villacidro, then Gonnosfanadiga. Cross the village, then make a left turn on SS 196 to Arbus. Cross Arbus too, then follow to INGURTOSU (about 6 km after Arbus, make a right) then to Piscinas. As an alternative, take the SS 131 to Oristano, leaving it before –at the sign of "San Gavino Monreale/Guspini" on SS197. Drive through Guspini, then Arbus and as above.
- From Olbia/Sassari/Alghero: drive on SS 131 direction Cagliari- After Oristano make a right turn on the second sign for URAS/San Nicolo Arcidano. Cross San Nicolo, reach Guspini then Arbus and as above. As an alternative, just after Oristano make a right to Santa Giusta/Arborea. Follow the SP49; After Arborea, follow the sign to Marceddì driving through the bridge on the lagoon. You will be in the area of Sant'Antonio di Santadi. Follow the coast road SP65 until Marina di Arbus/Portu Maga. Tarmac road gives way to an unpaved road which crosses two little rivers. The first ford is the so called "red river" (due to mining waste), the second is the "rio Piscinas" – they both are always almost dry, depending on the more or less rainy season. From the road here you will see the Dunes of Piscinas from above: you will see how high and wide they are. At the crossroad after the second ford make a right, another Kilometer and a half and you are at Hotel Le Dune
The Surrounding Territory
Ingurtosu is an outlying small village in the municipality of Arbus and was, together with Montevecchio, one of the most important mining centres in Sardinia.
His name comes from "su gurturgiu", a griffon vulture which inhabited the skies of the area. Today Ingurtosu is a crumbling, half-deserted village but it was inhabited till the end of the 60's and at one time almost 5,000 people lived there. It was the managerial centre of Ingurtosu and nearby Gennamari mines which made up the mining area called the "Montevecchio Vein" where lead, zinc and silver were extracted..
Along the valley that links the village to the sea a few old mine shafts can be found, among them the shaft called "Gal" which has been recently restored, and the imposing ruins of the Brassey Washery, built in 1900 in a place called Naracauli.
The valley ends with the wonderful Dunes of Piscinas where the mineral was transported by a small railway, built in 1871, and then loaded onto cargo ships.
Today Ingurtosu is a monument of industrial archaeology and is part of a vast area that has been declared "UNESCO World's Heritage Site" and part of the Historical and Natural Geo-Mining Park of Regione Sardegna.
excerpt from"http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingurtosu"


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Anne of Green Gables Andrew Abbott
okay, well, here's my bio:
Andrew Abbott lives in Maine.He got kicked out of the army. Now he paints pictures.
and artists statement:
I don't believe in resumes. I don't believe in references. I don't have a car. I don't have a gun. I don't have a computer. People pay me for pictures I drew. Thank god.


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August 30, 2002 5:02 PM PDT
Programming geeks fight to the finish
By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News
Staff Writer, CNET News
- Related Stories.
'Turok' maker plays the name gameAugust 27, 2002
Date set for high-stakes game tourneyAugust 19, 2002
Wanted: Web geeks for the disabledAugust 12, 2002
Putting fun back into hackingAugust 5, 2002
Google takes top prize in its own contestMay 31, 2002
While the rest of the nation lounges on the beach and bids farewell to summer, some computer programmers will spend the Labor Day weekend creating software robots that will deliver virtual packages while shoving each other into lethal ponds.
The occasion for this creative exercise is the Fifth ICFP Programming Contest, a 72-hour battle announced Friday and ending Monday at noon. Winning robots will square off against each other at the International Conference on Functional Programming held this year in Pittsburgh Oct. 4-6.
Entrants, vying for a $1,000 cash top prize, may use any programming language they wish, but contest organizers are confident that the prevailing robot will be created with a functional programming language.
Functional programming, based on the use of mathematical functions, is one of several different computer language paradigms. More common is the imperative programming paradigm, which includes languages such as C and Java and works by giving step-by-step instructions. Other programming types include logic and object-oriented programming.
"We believe that the functional programming paradigm has a lot of advantages and deserves to be used more widely," said contest organizer Tim Sheard, a professor at contest sponsor the OGI School of Science & Engineering, an Oregon Health & Science University school in Beaverton, Ore.
"We believe it leads to programs that are more robust with fewer errors. The contest is a lighthearted way to make our point."
Functional languages have been well represented in the ICFP winners' circle. Between 1998 and 2001, winners of first, second and third prizes have used Haskell and Erlang, both functional languages; Dylan, an object-oriented language; OCaml, an object-oriented and functional hybrid; and Cilk, a parallel imperative variant of ANSI C.
Entries spiked last year, increasing sixfold from the prior year to 263 entries.
The competing programmers' task is to create a software robot that delivers packages of varying weights. The robots, which drown when pushed into virtual bodies of water, do not necessarily have to be nice to win.
"One way to win is to disable the other robots," Sheard said. "That adds a real elements of difficulty in the programming, and that's part of what we were reaching for."
Software robots, like their hardware counterparts, imitate human behavior in some way. A common example is a search engine spider, which crawls the Web gathering information.
Sheard made no apologies for making contestants work over the Labor Day weekend. He cited the heavily international make-up of past contestant pools--only a minority hail from the United States--as well as two weekends of Jewish holidays that follow Labor Day. Any later than that, and last-minute airfare starts becoming a budgetary issue.
"We'll pay for the winners to come to the conference," Sheard said. "And we wanted to get cheap flights."
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Shift Supervisor (US) Job Listing at Starbucks in Bedford, MA (Job ID 6674412033059391665)
As a Starbucks Shift Supervisor, you will assist the store manager in executing store operations during scheduled shifts. As a team lead, you will deploy partners and delegate tasks to create the Starbucks Experience for our customers by providing legendary customer service with prompt service, quality beverages and products, and maintaining a clean and comfortable store environment. You will be responsible for modeling and acting in accordance with Starbucks guiding principles and best of all, you'll be part of a company that is consistently rated as a great place to work and the people here love what they do.
Summary of Key Responsibilities
Responsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following:
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Sharon Osbourne undergoes double mastectomy
London, United Kingdom (4E) – An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. For some, like Sharon Osbourne, 'double' prevention is better than rounds of possible cancer therapy.
In a recent interview with Hello! Magazine, the one-time colon cancer survivor has revealed that she has undergone double mastectomy over the summer upon discovery that she had the breast cancer gene.
"As soon as I found out I had the breast cancer gene, I thought, 'The odds are not in my favor,'" the 60-year-old talk show host said.
Having known how it is to live with cancer, she said, "I decided to just take everything off."
The Osbourne matriarch may have lost her 'girls,' but there is no room for regret and pity, as she said, "For me, it wasn't a big decision. It was a no-brainer. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me. I want to be around for a long time and be a grandmother to Pearl."
Pearl is her first grandchild from her son Jack, with wife Lisa Stelly.
Osbourne's health complications started when she discovered that her breast implants have leaked. Instead of having them reconstructed, she chose to have them removed altogether.
"I didn't even think of my breasts in a nostalgic way, I just wanted to be able to live my life without that fear all the time," she added.
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Author Archives: Lint07
Sorry Oils fans, no Nylander for you.
Contrary to what has been reported by TSN last night (which was coming from an Edmonton radio station), Michael Nylander has apparently signed a 4-year deal with the WASHINGTON CAPITALS today.
Caps interested in Yashin?
According to many sources and the Washington Post, the Washington Capitals are interested in the services of Alexei Yashin, but only at a discount price.
They want to get him at around $2M per but Yashin's agent has made it clear the bottom is $3M. If he can be convinced to take less money, the Caps think he will be re-ignited from his laziness alongside fellow russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin.
Tom Preissing to L.A.
According to the Ottawa Sun, the Los Angeles Kings have agreed to a 4-year, 11M$ deal with defensemen Tom Preissing
Who's Left?
Here are the best UFA's still available, courtesy of Globe and Mail's James Mirtle blog.
The Maple Leafs fail
The Maple Leafs missed out on the two players they really needed the most, Ryan Smyth (Colorado Avalanche) and Paul Kariya (St. Louis Blues). They instead signed a 34 year old, who's a league renowned a**hole, and dressing room cancer to a big contract. Now I sit here writing my 200th article, an article I was hoping to use to announce the Ryan Smyth signing, writing about another failed off-season for the Maple Leafs, and previewing another ninth place finish for the biggest failure since the Chicago Cubs…. I apologize to every fan and employee of the Chicago Cubs organization, I don't know what I was saying, that was just rude.
Montreal: Not a popular destination
It should be pretty obvious to any Canadiens fan by now, Montreal is not a popular destination when it comes to free agents. What is it exactly ?
Media Pressure ?!?
Obnoxious Fans ?!?
Income Taxes ?!?
All of the above to be honest…but there are three other reasons in my opinion as to why the Canadiens are having a hard time bringing any big names in Montreal.
Oilers Ink Nylander
According to Tsn.ca the Oilers and Nylander have agreed to terms.
Darryl Sydor AND Petr Sykora headed to the igloo!
According to TSN, the Penguins have signed D Darryl Sydor to a 2-year, 5M$ deal and LW Petr Sykora to a 2 year deal!
Paul Kariya Sings The Blues
TSN.ca is reporting that free agent forward Paul Kariya has signed a 3-year deal with the St. Louis Blues.
Ortmeyer A Predator
In their first move of the free agency signing period, the Nashville Predators signed free agent forward Jed Ortmeyer to a two-year contract. Ortmeyer's contract will pay him $750,000 in each year of the two-year deal.
In other news, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed defenseman Sheldon Brookbank to a one year deal, as is club policy, terms were not disclosed.
Ryan Smyth to Colorado to be announced soon?
According to Howard Berger on HockeyBuzz, Ryan Smyth to Colorado is almost done.
Go inside to see how it developped…
Major trade!
According to Bob Mackenzie, the Edmonton Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers have made a 4-player swap.
The deal goes like this:
TO EDMONTON: Joni Pitkanen-D, Geoff Sanderson-F, 3rd Rounder (2009)
TO PHILLY: Joffrey Lupul-F, Jason Smith-D
Schneider A Duck
The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenceman Mathieu Schneider to a two-year deal paying him $5.5 million and $5.75 million.
Montreal Canadiens: I'm confused…
I know everyone's mind is set on free agency at this time of year, but I've been thiking about writting this for awhile now and finally had the time. I spent a lot of time trying to understand and the more I think about it, the more I'm pissed…
UFA Predicted Destinations
With less than 5 hours to go, here are my best guesses as to what's going down
Au Revoir Sheldon
Well the eve of free agency is upon us which can prove to be exciting, sometimes shocking and even disappointing for some, especially us Hab fans.
Blackhawks Offseason Advice
Here are a few offseason tips to help the struggling Blackhawks…
Penguins free agent news
In brief:
The Pens are still trying to re-sign Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts.
They will NOT be re-signing Nils Ekman, Ronald Petrovicky, Eric Cairns or Joel Kwiatkowski.
The Penguins seem to have some interest in retaining goalie Jocelyn Thibault and defensemen Rob Scuderi, Alain Nasreddine and Josef Melichar.
They are still pursuing, at minimum, one defensive defensemen, possibly two, and a top six winger.
2nd Tear Unrestricted Free Agents.
So this article isnt about the big names that will impact teams dramatically with such names like Gomez, Briere, Drury, Kariya and so on .. instead im mixing things up and im going to talk about the players not many people are talking about .. sometimes its the small moves that win Stanley Cups .. not the drastic moves.
New Uniforms!
According to Bluejackets.com, its heard to me that on draft day coming up this friday, that the bluejackets will anounce their new team jerseys that will be worn on juring the 2007-2008 nhl season. This will be shown by a couple of jacket players just before the draft begins.


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Master of Science in Management - Application Materials
Application Materials
Take the next step. In only nine months, the W. P. Carey Master of Science in Management (MiM) program delivers the business fundamentals you need to succeed. Find out what you'll need to apply and how to get started today.
The online application for the W. P. Carey MiM should take about 30 minutes to complete once you collect the necessary admissions materials, including your resume and essay questions.
Who Should Apply?
- Current non-business majors
- Students who will complete undergrad requirements prior to the first day of class
- Non-business graduates with less than two years of work experience
Mail all official university transcripts to ASU Graduate Admissions Services:ASU Admissions Services
Graduate Admissions
1151 S. Forest Avenue, #SSV112
Tempe, AZ 85287-1003
A Document Reference Number can be included on each transcript for authentication purposes. For international transcripts, review the Office of Graduate Education guidelines.
Test Requirements
GMAT and GRE scores are accepted. The GMAT institutional code for the W. P. Carey School is 0GZ-1R-23. ASU alumni may be eligible to have the entrance exam waived. Contact us for more information.
Online Letter of Recommendation
Select an individual who can speak to your personal qualities, career focus, and potential for success in the W. P. Carey MiM program. The university will contact your recommender directly to secure additional information.