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Your Cubs will always dominate when you play this classic game of chance! With 20 team cards, 400 markers and 75 number cards, the team-spirited Bingo game allows you to call the shots. This is some serious cutthroat action, so try not to get too excited and jump the gun by shouting "Bingo" before you've secured the win at your next MLB party.
- 20 team game cards
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Theater Schedules
Explore worlds unknown, discover fascinating science all around you and spark your imagination in the theaters of the Orlando Science Center! Giant Screen Films will amaze you with images of extraordinary clarity and depth that expand beyond your peripheral vision in the Dr. Phillips CineDome. And experience Educational and Hollywood Movies in stunning, immersive 3D and ultra high definition 4K resolution in the Digital Adventure Theater: A National Geographic Experience.
Show schedules and content are subject to change.
Please call 407.514.2000 before you visit to confirm times and schedule.
Date: Friday, December 27, 2013 - 4:15 pm
General Audience
More than 220 million years ago, dinosaurs were beginning their domination of Earth. But another group of reptiles was about to make an extraordinary leap as pterosaurs were taking control of the skies. The story of how and why these mysterious creatures took to the air is more fantastical than any fiction — and one of the greatest mysteries in paleontology. How did lizards the size of giraffes defy gravity and soar through prehistoric skies?


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A Redland Middle School physical education teacher has been charged with trespassing after he was allegedly found sleeping in the school's locker room Friday, Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks said.
Benjamin J. Morey, 35, of Hyacinth Court in Gaithersburg was charged Friday with trespassing on the school's property, as well as fourth-degree burglary and resisting arrest, according to court records.
Redland Middle School's website indicates that Morey is a physical and health education department teacher at the school on Muncaster Mill Road in Rockville.
Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said the alarm went off at Redland Middle School around 2 a.m. Friday.
School security arrived and went into the school's auxiliary gym, a smaller gym, and heard someone inside, Tofig said.
Security then called police who took over from there, he said. Starks said police arrived around 2:30 a.m.
Starks said in an email that Morey was allegedly found sleeping in the school's locker room and that Morey did not have permission to be in the school that early.
School administration also responded to the incident, Starks said.
No students or other staff members were involved, Tofig said.
Tofig said Morey has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues. No attorney information or court dates were listed in online court records as of Saturday morning.


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The Maryland Special Education State Advisory Committee (SESAC) is established in accordance with the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part B). The mission of the SESAC is to advise and assist the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services in administering, promoting, planning, coordinating, and improving the delivery of special education and related services to assure that all children with disabilities, three through 21 years of age, and their families have access to appropriate education and related services.
Click here for SESAC Bylaws.
Membership: The SESAC membership conforms to the requirements of federal and State regulations. The majority of the members shall be individuals with disabilities or parents of students, ages birth through 21, with disabilities.
SESAC Members (As of 6/18/12)
Parent - Mary Baskar, SESAC Chair (Baltimore County)
Parent - Rhonda Creecy (Harford County)
Parent - Sharon Glass (Carroll County)
Parent - Edna Johnston (Montgomery County)
Parent - Claudette LeBlanc (Baltimore County)
Parent - Amy Morales (Anne Arundel County)
Parent - Dawn Koplos (Anne Arundel County)
Parent - Marlo Lemon (Baltimore County)
Agency/Provider - Kelly Meissner, SESAC Co-Chair (Parents' Place of Maryland)
Agency/Provider - Rachel London, Esq., (Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council)
Agency/Provider - Howard "Andy" Anderson (Cecil County Public Schools)
Agency/Provider - Lorraine Costella (Goucher College)
Agency/Provider - Clara Floyd (Maryland State Teachers Association)
Agency/Provider - Dori Flynn (Maryland Association of Nonpublic Special Education Facilities - MANSEF)


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21 Drops Essential Oil Therapy is a modern approach to Aromatherapy. It offers you a healthier, more beautiful way of living. 21 blends have been created to empower you to feel better, be better – addressing your particular concerns and aspirations. Each one is customized and unique. By carefully combining the exact essential oils at the exact levels, they work in synergy to deliver their targeted promise.


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Description:HP E4800 24-Port SFP Managed Rack Mountable SwitchManufacturer Part# JD009A
Overview:The HP E4800G Switch Series is a Gigabit switch family that delivers outstanding security reliability and multi-service support capabilities for robust switching at the edge or aggregation layer of large enterprise and campus networks or in the core layer of medium and small sized enterprise networks. The Gigabit Ethernet switch that can accommodate the most demanding applications providing resilient and secure connectivity and the latest traffic-prioritization technologies to optimize applications on converged networks. Designed for maximum flexibility this switch is available with 24 Gigabit ports.
CategoryProCurve Networking
Sub-CategoryManaged Switch
Part NumberJD009A
Products ID457494
Application/UsageData Networking
Interface RJ-45
Ports24 x 10/100/1000Base-T
Product Dimensions (WxHxL)14.2 in x 1.7 in x 17.3 in
Switching Capacity144 Gbps
Number of Expansion Slots2
Power DeviceRedundant Power System (RPS)
Form FactorRack-mountable
[ Manufacturers Specs ]


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|Community Calendar
Welcome to the Good Times free Santa Cruz area Community Calendar. Create an account or log in below. Most events under $10 will be printed in Good Times. Listings posted here will be reviewed and approved within 48 hours of posting. Have your event posted by Friday at Noon for possible inclusion in the next weeks paper. Please read our Calendar Listing Guidelines for guidance in posting your event.
>> Online Calendar posting guide (Click Here).
>> Click here to register or log in. Support.
>> Manual Calendar submission form (click here).
Plan ahead and post your events at least 7 weekdays in advance of your event date.
Printable Guidelines >
Community Calendar sponsored by Bay Federal.


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Aquarium Table Lamp by Lamp-In-A-Box
These lamps are fun and affordable for anyone's lifestyle.
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Lamp-In-A-Box is a high-quality lamp that will proudly bring light, life and a touch of whimsy to your bedroom, office or living-room. Lamp-In-A-Box lamps will not be ignored; they are known to draw smiles from passer-bys and make life just a bit easier… Whether you are into music, art, food or travel, Lamp-In-A-Box has a lamp for you!
All lamps are shipped in a cool box with a handle (which turns into a waste paper basket), with a 13W CFL energy-saving bulb included (corresponds to a 60W incandescent bulb). Lamps are 20" tall and 7" at its widest point (shade). Shades are made in the USA and printed with archival inks.
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Mera Peak Climb
Nepal, Climbing, 20 days - from £2,195 (land only) - from €3,075 (land only) - from $3,540 (land only)
Visa Information
All nationalities need a valid passport and a current Nepalese Visa for entry into Nepal. The easiest way to get your Nepal visa is on arrival at Kathmandu Airport. Visa fees must be paid in cash. The most convenient currency to purchase Nepalese visas is US dollars, but GB pounds and Euros are also accepted. The charges for the visa depend on your length of stay (please see fee information below). Two passport photos are also needed. Photographs can be obtained at the airport but this may be time-consuming.
Nepal visa fees (Multiple Entry). 15 days: US$25, 30 days: US$40, 90 days: US$100
Note that visa fees can change without warning and we advise that you bring extra cash as a contingency.
Please note that if you are travelling to Nepal via Delhi you may also require a visa for India. This may apply even if you are not leaving the airport unless your baggage has been checked all the way through to your destination. Generally, if you use the same carrier for both legs of your journey (into Delhi and from Delhi to Kathmandu), you will not need an India Visa. Please note that the responsibility for ensuring you have the necessary visas, travel permits etc, for your chosen route of travel to the joining point, lies entirely with you. We are always happy to give advice on these requirements if you contact us.
Note that if you book a UK flight-inclusive package with KE using Jet Airways or Air India via Delhi, you will not require an India visa.
Important Notes:
For all regions of Nepal you are now required to have a permit to trek / bike. To apply for this we must have your full passport details before your departure. We recommend you also take 4 passport photographs with you to Nepal.
We require additional items for following trips:
Annapurna trips (ANS, ASL, ACL, APL, AEL, ANL, ANC, UAT), Dhaulagiri via the French Pass (DLG), and Royal Trek and Chitwan (RTC).
1 passport photograph to be sent / emailed to the KE office at least 4 weeks prior to departure.
Kanchenjunga (KAN), Mustang (MUS), Dolpo (DOL), Manaslu (MAN), Hidden Valleys of Naar and Phu (NAP), Naar to Mustang (NTM), Humla and Limi Circuit Trek (HUM), Naya Kanga and the Ganja La (NKG), Yala Peak and the Ganja La (YPGL), Tent Peak (TPK), Ramdung and Parchemo (RAM), Mera Peak, Island Peak and the Amphu Labsta (MIP), Island Peak Climber (IPC), Peaks and Passes on Nepal (MTR); Mera Peak Climb (MER); and Chulu Far East & the Tilicho La (CTL); Tabsar Peak and the Tsum Valley (TVC), Mukot Peak (MKP).
1 passport photograph plus 1 copy of the information page of your passport to be sent / emailed to the KE office at least 4 weeks prior to departure.Print Page


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The mission of the District Attorney's Family Support Division is to:
Provide paternity establishment. Provide child support establishment. Modification and enforcement services. Establish and enforce obligations for dependant health insurance and/or cash medical support.
The program provides direct services to families who either reside in Marion County or have a child support order entered in Marion County. Our services benefit society, as a whole, by seeking to have parents pay for the support of their dependents rather than welfare and public assistance. There is a annual fee of $25.00 per year charged for these services if collections exceed $500.00 per year, as required by the federal government.
The legal services provided by the Division include both administrative and judicial processes. Most support establishment and modification is done through our administrative authority to enter a consent order, an order after default, or an order after hearing before a state Administrative Law Judge in a contested case. The appropriate level of support is determined using the income of both parents and other factors relevant under Oregon's Statewide Child Support guidelines. Administrative orders are docketed with the Circuit Court and have all the attributes of court orders, including lien and judgment effect. Generally, administrative orders can be appealed to the Circuit Court for a de novo hearing. The amount of monthly support in a support order can be adjusted to conform to state guidelines if requested by either parent once every three years.
The Family Support Division responds to and initiates proceedings to other states when a responsible parent resides in a different state than his or her children. These interstate cases can be administrative or judicial and require coordination with our counterpart in the other state.
We also establish and enforce medical child support obligations. Medical child support may include requiring either parent to provide health insurance, or pay a cash medical supplement in the child support award.
Enforcement is normally handled through administrative income withholding orders. When these processes fail to assign money at the source, we use traditional judicial processes such as garnishment and citing non-paying parents for Contempt of Court. Also, we can place liens, conduct Financial Disclosure Exams, and can use License Suspensions after meeting certain criteria. We issue the National Medical Support Notice to employers to enroll children in health insurance plans.
All accounting, receipting and disbursal of child support money is handled by the Child Support Accounting Unit. District Attorneys are authorized, by statute, to contract with the Division of Child Support to provide the legal services on non-assistance cases. The Department of Justice, Division of Child Support also contracts with the Department of Human Resources to provide legal services on cases where the State is owed monies for un-reimbursed public assistance or foster care. The Department of Justice, Division of Child Support also provides some centralized functions such as locate services, bankruptcy processing, unemployment compensation withholding and others for cases otherwise serviced by District Attorneys.
For further information regarding the various aspects of the Oregon Child Support Program:
503-378-4489 for automated information about process and procedures. 800-850-0228 for an application or specific case question. http://www.dcs.state.or.us/ for child support payment information online. The DCS IVR Payment Information System is now available. Please call 503-378-5567 or 1-800-850-0228.


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- Independent
- The Enterprise
- The Recorder
The Charles County Family Day Care Association recently elected board members for the upcoming year.
The 2012 board of officers were re-elected.
The officers look forward to bringing more fun and members to the association.
Wendy Dingus is the president, Charmin Parks and Clare Foss will serve as vice presidents, Lauren Hall is the secretary, Barbara Farmer is the treasurer and Rebecca Hancock is the state representative.
Last year, the association volunteered four times with the Adopt- A-Road cleanup program on Davis Road.
It held a provider appreciation dinner and training with 100 participants in May, and in June it held a craft make-and-take for its members.
Trainings were held twice a month for providers and parents and in October the association held a Growing Minds, Growing Futures conference with 85 participants and 35 vendors.
The association is a professional organization for family child care providers who are registered by the Maryland State Department of Education's Office of Child Care.
The group's mission is to provide and promote professional and quality child care services to families in Charles County.
One of the benefits is monthly training and networking opportunities for parents and providers.
For child care providers interested in more information, call Foss at 301-645-0534 or email ccfdcacomcast.net. Go to www.chcfdca.org.
The group provides a free service for families interested in finding child care in Charles County.
The Provider's Access Line is a resource which parents may use to locate family child care providers who are registered with and approved by the Maryland Department of Education's Office of Child Care.
To contact a PAL representative, call 301-645-0534 or go to www.chcfdca.


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|Fencing Home Meet Day 2, part 1
|Fencing Home Meet Day 2, part 2
DURHAM, N.C. - Senior captain Emily D'Agostino went 14-1, her women's epee squad went undefeated, and the Duke women's fencing team beat four of five opponents, including fifth-ranked Penn State, on day two of the Duke Home Meet in Card Gym Sunday.
Just one day after the Duke men won four bouts and upset No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday, the Duke women (15-7) defeated Northwestern 14-13, Wayne State 18-9, North Carolina 18-9 and No. 5 Penn State 16-11 while falling to only No. 1 Notre Dame, 16-11. The Blue Devils won both saber and epee 5-4 against the Fighting Irish, but fell 8-1 in foil.
The Duke women won both the epee and saber trophies for the second straight year. The epees, led by 14 wins from D'Agostino and 13 from freshman Sarah Collins, totaled 35 victories on the day which was 14 more than the next closest team. The sabers, meanwhile, got 22 of their 25 wins from Sean Cadley and Kodia Baye-Cigna to lead all teams. The Duke sabers have won the trophy four times in the past five years.
D'Agostino's only loss came at the hands of No. 1 Notre Dame's Ashley Severson. The senior captain rebounded from the loss to win her final 10 bouts, going a perfect 3-0 against Penn State, North Carolina, Wayne State and Northwestern for the tournament. The performance improved her season record to 56-10 and career record to 230-51 while giving her at least 50 wins for the fourth consecutive season.
Cadley also came up big against both Notre Dame and Penn State, going a combined 6-0 against the top-five teams. She defeated two top-10 NCAA finishers in the process, handling Notre Dame senior Lian Osier 5-1 and Penn State junior Nicole Glon 5-3.
Collins had the honor of clinching Duke's win over Penn State, defeating Ana Coutinho 5-0 to increase the Duke lead to 14-10 and put the win out of Penn State's reach. Collins finished 13-2 on the day.
Following the Junior Olympics on Feb. 15-18, to which a select few fencers will travel, Duke returns to team competition on Feb. 23 at the Temple Duals in Philadelphia, Pa. That will be Duke's last dual meet of the season as NCAA Regionals await the team on March 9 followed by the NCAA Championships on March 21-24 in San Antonio, Texas.
Duke Home Meet - Women's
Duke 14,
Northwestern 13
Notre Dame 16,
Duke 11
Duke 18, Wayne
State 9
Duke 18, North
Carolina 9
Duke 16, Penn
State 11
Epee (5-0)
Saber (4-1)
Foil (1-4)
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Dr. Kramer's Experience
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The Herbs Etc. family of products features a line of fast-acting liquid herbal softgels, a line of professional strength classic liquid herbal extracts and single extracts as well as a line of professional strength alcohol-free liquid herbal extracts. Buy discount Herbs Etc. products at A2Z Discount Vitamins.
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Franz Krammer
(Wien 1797-1834) Jesus vertreibt Luzifer, Graphit und schwarze Kreide auf blauem Bütten, verso figürliche Skizzen in weißer Kreide, 30,5 x 21,5 cm, o. Passep., o. R.,(Sch)
Specialist: Mag. Astrid-Christina Schierz
Auction: 25.07.2012, 14:00
Location: Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 20.07. - 25.07.2012
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Same Universe, Different Lenses: Science, Ethics, and Religion in Dialogue
This is a transcript of an interview given by Dr. Jennifer Wiseman at The Faith Angle Forum Conference on Religion, Politics, & Public Life on November 5, 2013.
The Resource Finder has powerful filtering features — check out the tutorial to learn more.
This is a transcript of an interview given by Dr. Jennifer Wiseman at The Faith Angle Forum Conference on Religion, Politics, & Public Life on November 5, 2013.
Scientists have found multiple lines of evidence for evolution, not just one or two. These types of evidence are independent of each other, coming from sources as different as ancient fossils and modern genetics labs. Evidence also comes from comparing the anatomy of creatures living today. All creatures with four limbs (whether mammals, birds, or reptiles) have the same bone structure in each limb, pointing to their descent from a common ancestor. More evidence comes from biogeography. Isolated islands are missing common species found on the mainland, but are filled with many unique species that can be related by a common ancestor. Finally, evidence comes from embryonic development. As an embryo of a mammal grows, its heart develops through stages similar to fish, amphibians, and reptiles. God's creation declares the history of life in many different ways. All these ways are pointing to a consistent picture of God creating through evolution.
In recent decades, scientists have discovered more about the beginnings of humanity. The fossil record shows a gradual transition over 5 million years ago from chimpanzee-size creatures to hominids with larger brains who walked on two legs. Later hominids used fire and stone tools and had brains as large as modern humans. Fossils of homo sapiens in east Africa date back nearly 200,000 years. Humans developed hearths for fire, stone points for spears and arrows, and cave paintings by 30,000 years ago. By 10,000 years ago, humans had spread throughout the globe. Genetic studies support the same picture. Humans share more DNA with chimpanzees than with any other animal, suggesting that humans and chimps share a relatively recent common ancestor. Also, the same defective genes appear in both humans and chimps, at the same locations in the genome—an observation difficult to explain except by common ancestry. Genetics also tells us that the human population today descended from more than two people. Evolution happens not to individuals but to populations, and the amount of genetic diversity in the gene pool today suggests that the human population was never smaller than several thousand individuals. Yet all humans, of all races, are descended from this group. Humanity is one family.
This article provides an overview of genomics evidence for common ancestry and hominid population sizes, and briefly discusses the implications of these lines of evidence for scientific concordist approaches to the Genesis narratives.
NASA astronomer Jennifer Wiseman asserts that studying creation can show us the nature of God; science can inform us of what we need to do as stewards of God's creation; understanding the natural world gives us a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ; and science can give us a better understanding of ourselves. This essay was presented at the November 2009 Theology of Celebration Workshop.
Many independent measurements have established that the Earth and the universe are billions of years old. Geologists have found annual layers in glaciers that can be counted back 740,000 years. Using the known rate of change in radio-active elements (radiometric dating), some Earth rocks have been shown to be billions of years old, while the oldest solar system rocks are dated at 4.6 billion years. Astronomers use the distance to galaxies and the speed of light to calculate that the light has been traveling for billions of years. The expansion of the universe gives an age for the universe as a whole: 13.7 billion years old.
(Updated April 16, 2012)
Fossils provide a unique view into the history of life by showing the forms and features of life in the past. Fossils tell us how species have changed across long periods of the Earth's history. For instance, in 1998, scientists found a fossil showing an animal at the transition from sea creature to land creature. This tetrapod had a hand-like fin, confirming a prediction of evolutionary biology. Though the fossil record does not include every plant and animal that ever lived, it provides substantial evidence for the common descent of life via evolution. The fossil record is a remarkable gift for the study of nature.
Fine-tuning refers to the surprising precision of nature's physical constants, and the beginning state of the Universe. To explain the present state of the universe, even the best scientific theories require that the physical constants of nature and the beginning state of the Universe have extremely precise values.


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—Mark Twain (1835-1910) [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] American author, humorist
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From Intelligent Design to BioLogos
In this paper, Venema tells the story of his transition from support of Intelligent Design to the view that God uses evolution as a creative mechanism.
The Resource Finder has powerful filtering features — check out the tutorial to learn more.
In this paper, Venema tells the story of his transition from support of Intelligent Design to the view that God uses evolution as a creative mechanism.
Philosopher Robert Bishop explores the Biblical doctrine of creation, which he describes as "perhaps one of the most helpful pieces of theology for thinking about science", and describes why the doctrine needs to be recovered from narrower, contemporary interpretations of creation.
Many barriers to the acceptance of the BioLogos model by evangelical Christians arise from popular misconceptions about the nature of science and its relationship to God's action in our world.
Science and Religion scholar Denis Alexander presents two models for relating Adam and Eve with the findings of contemporary anthropology. This essay was presented at the November 2010 Theology of Celebration Workshop
Biologist and BioLogos Senior Fellow Denis Venema examines the interaction between RTB literature and several lines of genetics-based evidence for common ancestry. In so doing, he also addresses the scientific robustness and reliability of the RTB model.
Renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke considers eleven barriers that prevent evangelical theologians from accepting evolution as a possible means of creation and what these barriers tell us about the tensions perceived by many Evangelicals between science and faith. Waltke's work was based on a survey sent to members of the Fellowship of Evangelical Seminary Presidents and their faculty.


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I'm the President and Chief Executive Officer of Art+Culture, Inc. If I had a manifesto, it would say:
II. Artists constitute an important foundation of creative culture. These incredible people not only produce the art we love, but are also often great citizens and educators, mentoring the next generation of visionaries, advocates of imagination.
III. We are subversive insiders. We have access and we are using it to democratize access. Not that we don't have high standards. We do. But we're optimistic, too. If you think we should pay attention, let us know. We will.
IV. We support cross-disciplinary collaboration. We think that visual arts people should get together with the performing arts people and the literature people and the film people and the design and music people.
V. We want Art+Culture to be a place where artists, organizations and people who enjoy all the arts can explore, discover, connect and collaborate. We want to sustain and enhance the journey. Our objective is to create a global platform that helps great artists and organizations extend their audiences while enabling art lovers to explore, learn, discuss and share the artists and areas of art practice, they care about.
This mission extends a vision of supporting artists directly that has guided the growth of Artadia - The Fund for Art and Dialogue, for the past decade. Artadia is a New York-based non-profit organization that I founded in 1999 to provide direct support to visual artists working in communities around the country. We provide direct financial support - over $2.5 million in 10 years - but also mount exhibitions of artist's work, produce catalogues and, most importantly, have assembled a national network of curators, artists, collectors, dealers, non-profits, museums and foundations that we activate to create relationships that matter for artists in communities ranging from San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Houston and New York. We think it's a great privilege to be able to enter an artist's world and get close to their practice. To learn more about Artadia, please visit our website at www.artadia.org.
Architecture, Bauhaus Architecture, Futurist Architecture, Modernist Architecture and Fashion Design...
El Anatsui is a Ghananian artist currently living in Nigeria. Throughout his career, he has utilized found objects and transformed them into objects of great beauty; objects that reflect not only African traditions but also western contemporary influences.
We had an opportunity to visit with El during his visit to Houston where he installed a show at the Rice Art Gallery. The show incorporated his tapestry-like sculptures made from found bottle caps, bands from liquor bottles and other scrap metal. Newer sculptures reveal an airyness not found in previous work.
El Anatsui at The Rice Art Gallery (click HERE for exhibition details)
El Anatsui at Jack Shainman Gallery 513 West 20th through March 13th (click HERE for details)
Jack Shainman recently opened a show of El's wall sculptures. They are incredibly beautiful, monumental works.
To read Alexi Worth's New York Times Magazine article on El Anantsui's work...Click HERE
Guy Overfelt is a San Fransisco-based conceptual artist and 2001 Artadia Award recipient. His practice is heavily invested in car culture, a focus of his upcoming exhibition at the Oakland Museum which opens Thursday January 21, 2010. There will be an opening from 5:00 - 7:00pm at the Museum.
A video of his signature 'burnout' can be found on vimeo HERE
Guy Overfelt : Freebird @ Oakland Museumby Monica Bowman of The Butcher's Daughter Gallery, Detroit
Guy Overfelt utilizes language embedded in American car culture. Specifically originating with that established in 1977 with the release of the Universal Pictures film Smokey and The Bandit starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.
This film (to anyone who hasn't seen or doesn't remember it) personifies archetypal role of Modern blue-collar American masculinity. Prevalent in late 1970s and early 80s media and television, the typical associations were a penchant for anti-authority behavior (e.g., boot legging is the film's central theme), material obsession (car centric focus) and sexually heroic behavior (rescuing a runaway bride from the sheriff's son).
Overfelt is interested in the mechanisms and outcomes of the embedded social codes expressed by the film and subsequently mass marketed through film sequels and merchandising.
The artist uses a 1977 Smokey and The Bandit-replica, Pontiac Firebird (and concepts associated with the movie) to explore social archetypes and the contextual relevancy in the crossover of gear-head culture into the fine arts environment. The objects seen in the gallery (i.e., photographs, tire burnouts on linen or Arches paper) are but evidence to the experimentation, planning and purposeful mark-making present in Overfelt's work.
Overfelt builds and handles the maintenance of his Firebird (he is at work on his second) and works to tirelessly repair and perfect the functionality of the car to achieve peak performance. Documentation of the process of making (e.g., greasy rags, notebook schematics, garage photographs, etc.) often accompany his work to indicate the action unseen in this process of making.
The artist describes the projects as
"a 13 year degenerative process at work that address failure of achievement and the dissolution of the American dream in real time. What started out as a fully functional classic muscle car has dissolved into a deflated wrecked poetic and prophetic carnage of the US car industry and the phoenix which once brilliant stood upon the hood of this Hollywood icon, The Smokey and The Bandit Pontiac Trans AM."
His performances, like Video documentation of the creation of Burnout Drawings, Pier 70, San Francisco, CA, 1998 (below), illustrate the performative actions and purposeful mark making that is largely unseen by or recorded for gallery audiences.
Overfelt cites Modern masters as artistic influences: Barnett Newman (think: Zips), Richard Serra (Steel and the physicality of making), Gordon Matta Clark (building cuts). These American artists, beginning in the era of the Abstract Expressionists, personified their generation's idealism for strong masculine leaders or cowboys, if you will, consuming materials and conquering artistic frontiers.
While Smokey and The Bandit is but a mere memory (if at all) to most, Overfelt uses the film to trace a specifically American pursuit of freedom through the cult of the automobile. This concept of automobile as process, performance and mark making tool that can be viewed as a codex of which the pages are the wide open asphalt of the American road.
Currently the second incarnation of Overfelt's 1977 Trans Am is in the process of being built. However, if you're in California you can see the artist's original vehicle on display (in its current form), as well as an inflatable version, at the Oakland Museum of California at City Center on exhibition January 21 - April 30, 2010.
Overfelt's work can also be seen at The Butcher's Daughter Gallery through February 20, 2010 and a comprehensive overview of work is available on the artist's website (www.thinkcontext.com).
This spring the Metroplitan Opera will present "The Nose", the Shostakovich opera inspired by Nikolai Gogol's 1936 short story about a man whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. William Kentridge, the South African artist guiding the adaption, see the nose as a metaphor for the parts of our selves in conflict - when the protoganist catches up with his errant olafactory organ, it refuses to return to its former position.
The opera is a particularly satirical, particularly Russian work. When it premiered in Russia in 1930, the Rusian Association of Proletarian Musicians deemed it "too formalist" and it closed after 17 performances and was not shown again in Russian until 1974.
Kentridge, well known for his amazing drawings, animation and performance work will present the Nose on stage, in archival film footage, his own animations and films.
The last performative work by Kentridge - a production of Mozart's Die Zauberfloete - proved to be the artistic event of 2008 (I, sadly, gave my ticket away and once the reviews came out from the first night, there was no chance of gaining another). We're excited to see how Kentridge transforms this piece.
Where: The Metropolitan Opera (co-produced with the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, and the Opéra National de Lyon, France)
When: opens March 5 for six performances (March 11, 13, 18, 25)
Link: NYT Article on the William Kentridge exhibition at SFMOMA.
The art world converges on Miami this week for a constellation of fairs centered around Art Basel | Basel. We had a chance to preview works and catch up with collectors, curators, artists and dealers. Overall, there is renewed vitality at the fair this year, a great deal of work on display seemed either recent work or historically relevant - not quite so much secondary market repetition. While we like to visit with friends, we focus on exploring new galleries with whom we are unfamiliar and want to highlight two great installations and give a shout out to specific works presented by old friends.
Gallery Lia Rumma / Milan: Booth T5
Shame on us for not being familiar with the program of this gallery from Milan. At the entrance to three well-curated section were placed two important documentations of Marina Abramovic performances including 'Breathing In / Breathing Out from 1977.
Entering the booth, we found interesting Pistoletto mirror paintings presented alongside late 1970s examples of Gino De Dominicis' work and that of Enrico Castellani.
The second room featured two large-scale Thomas Ruff photographs from the Nudes series flanking an industrial landscape.
In the last room, a series of William Kentridge drawings rounded out an outstanding presentation of new and historical work. Bravissimo!
Carlier Gebauer / Berlin: Booth A5
This Berlin-based gallery presented new and iconic erasure works by Paul Pffeifer, new work by Amy Sillman, intimate watercolors by Julie Mehretu along with strong work by the South African artist, Robin Rhode.
Two further shoutouts to:
Alexander Gray Associates / New York. S1. Alex's excellent program is rooted in a keen curatorial eye. Well-earned, this spot at the most important art fair in the United States and impressive given the relative youth of the program. Gray is showing an outstanding installation by the artist, writer and critic Lorraine O'Grady. We had a chance to meet this great artist at the fair; this work is both beautiful, conceptually important and moving.
Lastly, there is an amazing new Anish Kapoor sculpture at Lisson gallery. Executed in 2009, this untitled piece is stainless steel, with a concave surface of hundreds of squares which serve as an acoustic amplifier, allowing whatever is said nearby to be perfectly discernible across the room. It's really great.
More to come from the satellite fairs...send your observations/shout-outs/picks/pans to email@example.com and we'll feature them at
Interview with Breda Kennedy / Executive Director of the Dumbo Arts Center CEV: Breda, first of all, thanks for taking the time to talk with Art and Culture, I know you're in full gear preparing for the opening of the festival on the 25th. Could you talk a bit about your background and the genesis of this great event? BK: Thanks Chris. I came on board in August 2006, just before the 10th festival was about to begin. The previous director (and Founder, along with Rodney Trice, Margaret Champagne, Tyson Daugherty, and others), Joy Glidden, had just resigned and so it was a sink or swim situation for me. I had previously been the program manager at ISCP so had a lot of experience working with artists but not as much working at the community level and had certainly never produced an event of this scale before. The festival had started ten years before in 1997. At that time, there were thousands of artists making art and thereby doing what artists do to blighted neighborhoods - they improve them. The festival was a guerrilla adventure with live performances, open studios and music throughout the neighborhood. Today, although the population of artists living and working in Dumbo has drastically diminished because they can no longer afford to be here, the neighborhood remains vibrant through the cluster of arts non-profits and the stimulus of young artists who participate in visual arts residencies e.g. Smack Mellon, the Marie Sharp Walsh Foundation and Triangle. This year, we'll have 77 open studios and over 80 artist projects. CEV: The term 'public art' is oftentimes a pejorative, connoting a kind of watered-down, consensus driven, politically-correct expression. That doesn't seem to be the case here at all. BK: No, this is public art presented in a different way. First, it's temporary so doesn't go through the same type of consensus building you reference. It is dynamic, risk-taking and unpredictable and happens in every sort of site imaginable - the waterfront, in the streets, in store fronts and gallery spaces. It's really quite amazing. We do however, go through a process. Every proposal is carefully considered - we received nearly 300 applications this year. We go through a dialogue with the artist during a two month review process and then work with landlords, businesses, the Departments of Transportation and Parks, among others, to determine the best fit. Local business has been incredibly supportive; the festival brings over 100,000 visitors to the neighborhood. In addition to the artist projects, open studios and performances, Caspar Stracke and Gabriella Monroy have curated a video festival with 50 video artists. CEV: How much influence do outside people have on the curatorial process and do you, internally, seek out a particular thematic thread for the projects that are included? BK: We do not approach the projects with a particular bias in mind however, our objective is to give artists total freedom in an urban space for this one weekend and so the projects do tend to reflect the moment. For example, for the 12th Festival, there were projects that dealt with the elections and the political climate of the day. CEV: So do you see a 'recessional aesthetic' emerging at this year's festival? BK: There are projects that deal with the current economic climate. Ryan Rhodes, for example, has created a performance that features an untamed businessman werewolf-like creature. The environment is also very topical. John Monteith is doing a street installation of oyster shells that recalls their use as an industrial material while celebrating their current deployment to clean up the environment. There is an incredible range of projects here reflecting the diversity of artistic practice in Brooklyn and around the city. this is not a biennial, it is not cube art. We are attempting to create an oasis where anything can happen. I think that is very very important to preserve here in New York. CEV: We totally agree. Thanks for taking the time Breda and congratulations on building a fantastic showcase for artistic innovation. Dumbo Art Center is the sponsor of the "Art Under the Bridge Festival" taking place in Brooklyn from September 25 through Sunday Septemer 27th. For more information including details on festival artists. Please visit: http://www.artandculture.com/venues/172-dumbo-arts-center/events/101
Here are some images from past and current year's festival, underscoring the diversity of artistic practice presented. Don't Miss It!
Detail from "My Sweet Home" by Nung-Hsin Hu (click to read artist's profile)
"Public Feeding'' by Cat Del Buono
"The Cardboard Gallery" by Marta Gazicka
-- Christopher VroomPresident and Chief Executive OfficerArt and Culture, Inc.www.artandculture.com
Vik Muniz Editioned work
This c-print is part of the America: Now + Here portfolio.
Nick Cave Soundsuits
Another example of the soundsuits, available at Art+Culture Editions.
These are fantastic sculptures that Nick has worn in performances.
Anna Shteynshleger's Website
New York Times on William Kentridge
Artist's Website
Ruy Ohtake's Website
In Portugese
Ray Lamontagne's website
Biography from the Getty Museum
MoMA Exhibition
© 2006-2009 Art and Culture Inc. All rights reserved.
Displays by Impact


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Window Strategies In the Southwest
Choosing fenestration strategies matched to climate and facade can substantially improve a home's energy performance and the comfort of its occupants in all seasons.
Windows are wonderful devices; they enable us to see outside of our homes, provide natural light to the inside of the house, and can be opened to provide ventilation. Windows are also big business. In 2003, 66.7 million residential window units were sold—50% for replacements or remodels, and 44% for new housing. The remaining 6% went to manufactured housing and nonresidential structures. Despite their benefits, windows— particularly inefficient ones—are effectively holes in the insulated envelope through which a great deal of energy can flow. If a well-insulated wall (R-25) has 15% of its area glazed with conventional insulating glass windows (R-2), conductive losses through the windows are 2.2 times the conductive losses through the remainder of the wall. Furthermore, if the windows are not protected from direct-beam sunlight, summertime heat gain through windows can be large. In climates predominated by cooling energy needs, even fairly energy-efficient windows can account for 25% of total energy use for space conditioning—40% or more if clear glazing is unshaded.
That's the bad news. The good news is that modern window technology allows builders to choose from a wide variety of fenestration options that can turn liabilities into assets, even in quite severe climates.
Charles Lathrem is a Tucson-based custom builder whose homes have won awards for energy efficiency. He installs Andersen 400 series Fibrex composite wood-and-recycled PVC frame windows on almost all of his projects. They cost about twice as much as vinyl windows— roughly $25/ft2—but Lathrem uses them for several good reasons. He and his clients find them more attractive; he can get larger windows with comparatively smaller frames (large vinyl windows require auxiliary mullions down the center to meet mechanical codes); and Fibrex frames tend to last longer in Tucson's intense sun. Furthermore, overall energy performance is excellent.
Unlike most production builders, to facades—and he uses shading deLathrem matches glazing characteristics vices. He uses Sun Low-E windows on all facades not protected by awnings. These windows have a U-factor of 0.32, a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.26, and a visual transmittance (Vt) of 0.32 (see "Window Technology," p. 56). Windows protected by awnings have a higher SHGC—0.36— because direct beam is blocked out in the cooling season by awnings, and they enjoy a higher Vt—0.59.The added diffuse daylighting allows homeowners to use less electric lighting during the day—and enhances the view.
Annual Performance in the Southwest
To compare window options in different southwestern climates, I used an hourly simulation program called RESFEN (short for residential fenestration). RESFEN is based on DOE-2.1E software and was developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It is a tool for evaluating the energy consequences of various fenestration systems in a number of cities, using typical meteorological year weather data. I made a number of runs on homes in southwestern cities with RESFEN Version 3.1, using windows of various characteristics. In all cases, I assumed a single-story, frame, 2,000 ft2 home with 300 ft2 of fenestration distributed evenly on the four facades of the home. Homes in Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Phoenix were assumed to have slab-on-grade construction; those in Cheyenne,Denver,and Salt Lake City had basements.The homes in Albuquerque, Cheyenne, Denver, and Salt Lake City had attics insulated to R-38 and walls insulated to R-19; attics in Las Vegas and Phoenix had R-30 insulation and walls of R-14 and R-11 respectively. Furnace seasonal efficiency was assumed to be 78% and cooling systems were 10-SEER. Duct leakage was set at 10% during both summer and winter. (The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, where I work, counts as the Southwest Colorado,New Mexico,Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.)
I modeled six fenestration systems with the following characteristics:
1. A double-pane insulatingglass unit with clear glass and non-thermally-broken aluminum frame with an overall window system U-factor of 0.79 and a SHGC of 0.68 (clear two-pane).
2. A spectrally selective, double- pane insulating-glass unit with an overall window system U-factor of 0.5 and a SHGC of 0.4 (low solar gain lowe two-pane).
3.The same spectrally selective, double- pane insulating-glass unit with the addition of (1) interior shades resulting in a SHGC multiplier of 0.8 in summer, no shades in winter; (2) 2-ft exterior overhangs; and (3) exterior obstructions of the same height as the window 20 ft away that represent adjoining buildings or fences (shaded low solar gain low-e two-pane).
4. A spectrally selective double-pane insulating-glass unit with an overall window system U-factor of 0.34 and a SHGC of 0.34 (better low solar gain low-e two-pane).
5. A spectrally selective triple pane insulating-glass unit with an overall window system U-factor of 0.24 and a SHGC of 0.25 (high-performance three-pane).
6. The low solar gain low-e twopane window with an exterior insulating shutter that brings the window system to a U-factor of 0.1 when closed (low solar gain low-e twopane with shutters). The shutter was assumed to be closed during the night in summer and winter and open during the day in winter, but selectively closed during the day in summer by an automated system that shields windows from direct-beam sunlight as the sun traverses the sky. It was assumed that the automated system was overridden by users 10% of the time. During periods in which direct beam would otherwise enter the glazing of a given facade, SHGC was assumed at 0.05. At all other times, SHGC was assumed at 0.4, the SHGC of the low solar gain low-e two-pane window.
The shutters analyzed for the final fenestration system are still in the prototype development stage and are not currently in production. However prototypes have been extensively tested during both summer and winter by a team from the Syracuse Research Corporation with funding from DOE. The system achieves good air seals and results in system insulating values of above R-10 (U-factor of 0.1). The aim is to produce units that are easily installed by the builder at a cost of under $30/ft2. Current development work includes automating shutter operation via wireless technology.
Using RESFEN, I was able to model energy gains and losses that are due to the window systems alone (see Tables 1–6, starting on p. 55). In particular, I examined the total heating and cooling energy flows and costs represented by windows alone. (Analyses are based on each city's local energy cost and weather data.) The last columns in the tables show the portion of total energy use for heating and cooling represented by the windows systems. Inefficient window systems (aluminum frames, clear glass, even if double-pane) can account for 26%–54% of energy use for space heating and cooling (see Table 1). These systems were shown to have annual costs of $192 (in Cheyenne) to $383 (in Phoenix) in a standard 2,000 ft2 air-conditioned home. The use of better windows, with better frames and low SHGC, can cut energy
use attributable to windows by an average of 58%. Excellent windows can save from 66% ($252 per year) in Phoenix to 77% ($164 per year) in Cheyenne (the difference between Tables 5 and 1). Finally, the use of automated insulating shutters along with low solar gain low-e results in even lower energy use and cost in all parts of the region (see Table 6).
The use of very low SHGC windows (or fixed shading devices, for example) can further reduce energy use and cost in very hot climates, but not necessarily in colder climates (see Tables 3 and 4).
These results show that the type of window system makes a very big difference in the energy performance and cost to heat and cool dwellings in the Southwest. Note that cooling energy associated with the east and west facades is 1.5 to 2 times the cooling energy associated with the north and south facades, whether or not windows are equipped with shading devices. Differences in the annual cost of energy associated with each fenestration system in the six cities analyzed are shown graphically in Figure 1.
The annual energy cost associated with the windows is cut roughly in half by going from ordinary aluminum frame double pane windows (which are quite common throughout the Southwest) to spectrally selective low solar gain low-e glass. Also note that the better low solar gain low-e system (Table 4) achieves good performance in all of these Southwestern cities. In Las Vegas and Phoenix, the shaded system results in even better performance, however. In all climate areas, significant energy improvements result with the high-performance tripleglazed system, and the effect of insulating shutters is even more significant, producing net energy and positive dollar flow in all regions save for Phoenix and Las Vegas, where shading costs are quite small.
To better understand the effect of shading, it is useful to take a closer look at the circumstances shown in Tables 2 and 3. Both use exactly the same window system, a spectrally selective double- pane insulating-glass unit with an overall window system U-factor of 0.5 and a SHGC of 0.4 (low solar gain lowe two-pane). This window just meets IECC code requirements in hot climates. In the first case, there is no shading. In the second case, there are fixed, 2-ft exterior overhangs and exterior obstructions of the same height as the window 20 ft away that represent adjoining buildings or fences. Finally, the shaded case includes interior shades that diminish the SHGC by 20% in the summer, but which are not used in winter.
In Phoenix, which is dominated by cooling loads, the same window system with overhangs and shading uses 50% less energy (and money) over the cooling season than does the unprotected window system, even though it meets the IECC code requirement of a SHGC of 0.4. In the winter, shading has a somewhat deleterious effect on passive-solar heating, so overall annual dollar savings due to shading savings in Phoenix are 45% ($101 per year). In Denver, shading results in a 73% savings in air conditioning energy and costs (as well as 0.38 kW of demand). However, since the summertime climate is much milder, these savings are almost completely negated by losses in passive solar during the substantially more severe winter. Accordingly, the annual dollar savings are effectively a wash—only $3 per year. This suggests that a strategy that uses awnings, shutters, or similar exterior shading devices that can be stowed when solar gain is desired would result in optimal energy performance.
The combination of high-quality glazing plus strategic shading and overhangs matched to the weather region is a winner in all climate areas. That is, using very low SHGC windows with devices that provide shading on east, south, and west facades in the cooling season is a good strategy in climates like Phoenix and Las Vegas. Higher SHGC windows on south facades in the other cities in the Southwest (particularly Cheyenne) are more appropriate because they have better solar gain in the winter. However, even in northern areas of the Southwest, modest fixed overhangs on the south and shading devices on the east and west used during the cooling season will produce the best energy performance.
Peak demand figures track overall savings, and are most significant in the hottest climates. Note that the shading option results in lower peak demand than does low solar gain windows alone in all climate areas; a belt and suspenders approach is optimal. Even in Denver and Salt Lake City, better low SHGC double-pane windows can cut peak cooling demand by 0.6–0.9 kW. This is highly important to overall demand on the electric grid, since the Southwest is growing quickly, and peak demand periods occur on hot, sunlit summer weekday afternoons. Peak demand drives the need for new power plants—and associated infrastructure.
In a new home, reduced demand owing to more efficient windows can also lead to downsized air conditioning units. A 1-ton equipment downsizing, which is possible with demand reductions of this size, translates to nearly $500 in first-cost savings.Thus, taking advantage of better windows can pay for a significant portion of the cost of the upgrade. As noted, in areas where cooling energy use predominates, shading combined with low solar gain windows can cut peak demand. However, even the use of better low solar gain low-e windows alone can cut peak demand by 1.2–1.4 kW in hot climates such as Phoenix and Las Vegas. To reduce peak demand, utilities may well want to consider providing incentives for high-quality fenestration with low SHGC glazing and tactical shading.
Reasonable Payback?
It is clear that substantial benefits are associated with more efficient glazing—increased comfort in all seasons, as well as savings in electricity, gas, and peak demand—but what are the economics associated with installing more efficient windows? It is difficult to get an accurate answer here, since window costs are a powerful function of frame type and associated hardware. Also, first cost depends on who is buying windows (builders, contractors, and consumers get different prices) and on the scale of the purchase. Non-thermally broken aluminum windows are at the lower end. Vinyl and thermally broken aluminum frames are more expensive, followed by high-quality wood, fiberglass, and composites. Since framing is more expensive than glazing, small windows tend to be more expensive on a square-foot basis than larger windows.
Nonetheless, to focus on the cost of energy saved, it is useful to look at the /ft2 difference in cost between a standard insulating glass unit of, say, 10–1 ft2 and a high-quality unit suitable for the Southwest. I examined the savings, incremental costs, and simple pay6back associated with the better low solar gain low-e two-pane window system (U-factor and SHGC both 0.34) versus the standard insulating glazing unit with non-thermally broken aluminum frames (U-factor 0.79,SHGC 0.68). (Energy performance of these systems is shown in Tables 1 and 4.) An expert on energy-efficient construction reports that the incremental cost for this upgrade ranges from $2.00 to $2.50/ft2. Accordingly, in analyzing paybacks, we assumed $2.25/ft2. Note that this cost premium is for both the low-e coating and the better window frame. I found that it is cost-effective to upgrade to high-performance windows in all parts of the region (see Table 7). The simple payback period ranges from 3.3 years in Phoenix (mostly because of the improved SHGC) to 6.2 years in Albuquerque's milder climate.
It is possible to reduce solar gain to even lower levels than those illustrated in the above examples. A new two-pane window system achieves a SHGC of 0.2 through a combination of improved coating and moderate tinting. These windows, which have a U-factor of 0.34, cost an extra $1/ft2 for the glass, bringing the assumed cost of the upgrade to $3.25/ft2.
In this case, the payback ranges from 4 to 11.8 years. Paybacks are marginal in Cheyenne and Albuquerque, owing to mild summers in Cheyenne and overall mild weather in Albuquerque. The best paybacks are in Phoenix (4 years) and Las Vegas (4.4 years), where cooling loads dominate and the very low SHGC is most effective.
This prompts the question of whether it is cost-effective to upgrade from the better two-pane window system (U = 0.34 and SHGC = 0.34) to the very best low SHGC window system (U = 0.34 and SHGC = 0.2) at an incremental cost of $1/ft2. For the homeowner, this is reasonable only in Phoenix and Las Vegas, where paybacks for this option are 7.5 years and 10 years respectively. In other cities, the additional heating cost exceeds the cooling benefit. But this analysis is from the consumer perspective. From the perspective of the electric utility, the peak demand and electricity savings are worth considerable money— on the order of $75 to $85 per year in Phoenix and Las Vegas. (Typical electric utility avoided costs in the Southwest region are $115–$135/kW/yr for peak demand and $30–$35/MWh for electricity.) Thus this upgrade is cost-effective from a societal perspective.
Market Trends
Unfortunately, many people consider double-pane clear glass windows to be energy efficient, and these windows are still in wide use. In 2003, clear glass represented 40% of the residential windows sold in the United States. (The same percentage was sold in the Mountain States region, which includes the Southwest.) Although this is down from 49% in 2001, there is still a great deal of clear glass being installed in housing—and plenty of it in existing residential housing stock. Low-e glass sold in 2003 represents 58% of the total of 5.7 million residential window units sold in the mountain states in 2003, but there are no statistics that show how many low SHGC low-e units were sold.
In 2003, vinyl frames amounted to 49% of the total residential market; 26% were aluminum-clad wood, 11% were vinyl-clad wood, 6% were aluminum without a thermal break, and 4% were aluminum with a thermal break. Both wood and aluminum (thermally broken and non-thermally broken) are losing market share at a high rate, primarily to vinyl. Recent advances in plastics technology have made vinyl windows more resilient to ultraviolet degradation, but their lifetime is nonetheless likely to be shorter than that of most composites, such as wood/plastic or wood/fiberglass extruded shapes.
High-performance, low solar heat gain windows can greatly reduce energy costs and peak electric demand in new and existing homes throughout the Southwest—and do so quite cost-effectively, particularly in the case of new homes where only incremental costs are considered and labor is not a consideration. (It's true that as an incremental cost in a new home, the economics of replacing windows are more attractive than with retrofits. However, a do-it-yourselfer can replace poorly performing windows with lots better windows for $10–$12/ft2, realizing both better comfort and on the order of $300 annual savings in areas with severe summer weather.) Importantly, upgrading window systems would not entail changes to the building design or changes to homeowner behavior. In addition, employing well-designed shading devices can lead to even lower energy costs and peak demand, but with greater first costs and longer payback periods. Although it is not currently practiced in the building industry, the combination of low solar gain windows and automated insulating shutters could entirely eliminate the substantial energy cost associated with windows in all parts of the Southwest, but at significantly greater cost.
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- Independent
- The Enterprise
- The Recorder
On Friday and Saturday, Cedar Lane Senior Living Community in Leonardtown celebrated its residents that have reached their 90th birthday or better. The two-day event is Cedar Lane's annual acknowledgement of its residents' long lives and the history that those lives represent.
"We truly value their history and experiences they've had, and we want to celebrate that," said Janice Pruett, move-in and marketing coordinator for Cedar Lane. "We think it's important."
The honored residents include World War II veterans and folks who lived through the Great Depression. They were volunteers in the Army Air Corps, mothers who made all their children's clothing and faithful church ushers and Sunday school teachers. They worked hard, married high school sweethearts and raised families.
They can now look back on their lives and, with a perspective that only comes with age, note the massive changes in the world that have occurred during their lives, perhaps most significantly the mass introduction of automobiles and inventions like televisions and computers.
The Cedar Lane event, which included birthday cake and proclamations from local officials, was set up to allow the residents to celebrate their neighbors on Friday and the families of the honored residents to celebrate on Saturday.
Altogether, 39 of the approximately 200 Cedar Lane residents fit into the category of 90 or older and were part of the special celebration. The oldest of the group is Mary Hammett, 101, who has been a resident of Cedar Lane since 2004.
In preparation for the event, Pruett collected information from all 39 who were set to be part of the celebration. She was struck by the history they lived through, the stories they told, she said, particularly the stories relating to World War II.
"The things they went through. The things that they witnessed. It truly is incredible," she said.
Susan Craton


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The Food and Drug Administration will occupy about 60 percent of the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission building next to the White Flint Metro station, ending a boondoggle of wasted space denounced by federal lawmakers and investigators.
The House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a lease renewal resolution on Dec. 4 that will allow the NRC to stay in the Two White Flint building owned by Rockville-based Lerner Enterprises, as well as share space with the FDA at Three White Flint North, which Philadelphia-based developer LCOR completed this year and is trying to sell.
The lease will run for up to 15 years at an annual rental rate of $11.8 million.
The deal worked out between the General Services Administration, the agencies and the committee "will save over $140 million over 15 years by cutting four FDA leases and cut both FDA's and NRC's space by more than 20 percent," Economic Development Subcommittee chairman Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) said before the plan was approved.
He added the lease demonstrates the Obama administration's Office of Management and Budget's commitment to reducing the federal real estate footprint. The FDA will have a utilization rate of 170 square feet per worker, which puts the agency near the bottom of five leases the committee approved on Dec. 4. But even though the NRC's utilization rate will fall to 200 square feet from 227, that is higher than any of the other new leases.
The current Two White Flint lease expires Dec. 14 and the NRC wants to retain the 295,734 square feet for security reasons. The property is connected by a network of walkways and tunnels to One White Flint, which the government owns.
Lawmakers of both parties initially balked at the lease renewal because the NRC's new 14-story building across the street is more than half empty due to the agency's overblown estimate of its need for space. The agency had expected a huge hiring binge thanks to a boost in federal subsidies of nuclear power, but demand for new plants melted away thanks to a boom in natural gas production.
Instead, the FDA will move into the LCOR building as four leases expire by 2016 in Rockville and Bethesda. The deal signals FDA's continued commitment to maintaining a significant presence in the Rockville area. It will have no impact on the agency's larger space consolidation program that is shifting workers to its headquarters campus in White Oak, GSA spokesman Dan Cruz said in an email message.
Although the Lerner lease is for 15 years, the NRC might be looking to move from the building much sooner because there is a five-year interim clause for the agency.
"This interim lease will house NRC while GSA conducts a full and open competition for office space that will meet the NRC's long-term housing needs in this region," Cruz said.
Under the committee resolution, the NRC will essentially sublet no less than 186,313 square feet in its new building, with the annual rent capped at $7.8 million. The NRC will be responsible for paying any rent above that amount charged by LCOR for the FDA space or for any other backfill tenant, because the atomic regulatory agency's decision to acquire the space represented a more expensive rental rate than the committee normally would authorize.
Requiring the NRC to pay the rental premium for the sublet footage reflects the bipartisan anger of committee members at the agency's decision to exceed the $38 million authorization for 120,000 square feet of new space passed in 2007. Barletta complained at a hearing in May that the NRC — which has real estate authority independent of the GSA — ended up commissioning a 358,000-square-foot space that would cost taxpayers $350 million.
The Montgomery County Planning Board is considering a 250-foot height limit to induce owners of the Apex Building in Bethesda to relocate to make way for a station at the western terminus of the $2.2 billion Purple Line.
Planning commissioners on Dec. 4 considered allowing higher density for redevelopment of the Apex Building as an incentive for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to allow the property to be torn down for the light rail line. The board previously considered a 200-foot height limit under a minor master plan that will be submitted to the County Council.
The pharmacist group has been reluctant to give up the building at 7272 Wisconsin Ave., which also houses the Bethesda Regal 10 movie theater. The county is trying to strike a deal by the end of the year in advance of hoped-for approval by the Federal Transit Administration.
Tearing down the building is considered the cheapest alternative for the light rail system between Bethesda and New Carrollton.
Although the county could pursue taking over the property through eminent domain, the process of condemnation is considered too lengthy to meet the timetable of state and federal agencies. So the county is left with offering the pharmacists density to boost the value of redevelopment.
"We don't have that many tools," said county planner Elza Hisel-McCoy. "We have height and we have density. By virtue of us doing this now, we make it possible for them to move sooner rather than later."
Much of the design of the Purple Line station would have to be sacrificed if the Apex is not torn down, leading planning director Gwen Wright to suggest that a zoning density bonus should be contingent on redevelopment providing substantial developments.
The Montgomery County Planning Board is considering a revised White Oak science gateway plan that would drop an alternative to the existing adequate public facilities test, which County Executive Ike Leggett originally sought to address transportation needs.
The planning commissioners were set Thursday to discuss a staff report offered as a response to the County Council, which sent the plan back to the board in October. The board approved the White Oak master plan in September but council president Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) sent the board a letter saying that it needs more work because the "Draft Plan is not in balance between land use and transportation."
The staff report said planners and the Leggett administration have agreed on the costs of needed transportation improvements and that the plan should move forward on that basis without requiring an alternative implementation mechanism.
The plan — which calls for commercial development to more than double to 25 million square — is designed to attract thousands of new high-paying tech jobs. The centerpiece is the proposed LifeSci Village on land owned by the county and developer Percontee.
But little could be built because the area bounded by U.S. 29 and New Hampshire Avenue already is pushing against transportation limits under the county's adequate public facilities test.
So the White Oak draft the board sent to the council included an alternative transportation evaluation process at Leggett's urging that would allow development to move forward without the county having to commit up front to the cost of new road improvements or a rapid bus system.
The board included a requirement that 30 percent of the commuter trips be made with alternatives to private cars. But most of the details would be left to a technical working group that would devise an alternative implementation system.
Navarro's letter said essentially that the board should go back and finish its work.
"We cannot approve the zoning without a full understanding of how the proposed transportation system will work," she wrote.
In response, the new staff draft plan dropped its entire section on the alternative implementation system.
The staff report said that "There now seems to be agreement that the potential, estimated costs for intersection improvements are what would be expected from such a large project; therefore, it is not necessary to devise an alternative that replaces the normal Adequate Public Facility Ordinance test."
The Montgomery County planning department supports a proposal to build a 225-unit apartment building in Bethesda's central business district on the site of a former gas station.
The Bainbridge Cos. of Wellington, Fla., wants to build 192,791 square feet of mixed-use space, which also will include 15,000 square feet of retail on the first floor. The project would rise at 7340 Wisconsin Ave., which the firm bought from the Exxon Mobil Foundation in May for $24.5 million.
Bainbridge — which also is building a 17-story apartment complex on St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda — will have a chance to make its pitch to the county planning board next Thursday. The planning department endorsed the proposal, even though the 1994 sector plan calls for employment development at the site as part of Bethesda's metro core.
"While the Sector Plan recommends employment uses for much of the Metro Core District, the office market for this area is weak, and the demand for residential living at this transit-proximate location is strong. … Too much office use without complimentary residential uses does not promote the extended activity needed for a successful downtown."
The report added that the business district has met its stage 1 housing and employment goals under the 1994 plan and is well on its way to meeting future goals with current development under construction.
There also is recent precedent for residential development in the business sector, with planning board approval in March for Bethesda Commerce, a 120-unit residential building with 5,000 square feet of commercial space at 7535 Old Georgetown Road.
The Bainbridge property, which sits on the west side of Wisconsin Avenue between the intersections of Montgomery Lane and Hampden Lane, is a block north of the Bethesda Metro station.
"It has to be a public benefit commensurate with the scale of the station."
That set off a debate about using carrots but no sticks, because state law bars the county from granting zoning and then taking it away if an owner fails to follow through with plans for public benefits. In this case, the county wants the Apex torn down soon to allow for a Purple Line station that would provide easy access to the Metro station below and give bicyclists a direct route into a short tunnel that comes out just the other side of Wisconsin Avenue.
In the end, planning commissioners agreed to language saying that the higher density should be allowed only if future development provides both "significant" and "commensurate" benefits.


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Remember to tell them that you saw them on RinkTime when you are paying admission at the box-office. And remind them to update their schedule on this site.
Speed Skating is fast, requires strength, skill, talent and concentration. Hot Wheels Skate Center provides speed skating facilities with very fast floors.


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Artificial Rocks
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A landscape rock is a clever and creative way to finish off the perfect backyard. Don't be discouraged by the term "fake rocks"; your guests will never know your artificial rock is not real. So complete your landscape with the perfectly sized, perfectly shaped, perfectly colored landscape rock. After a while, even you'll forget it's a fake.
Choose from a variety of different styles, sizes, and colors. Our artificial rocks for your garden are designed to imitate natural rock coloring and shapes. From small rocks designed to hide light fixtures and other less obtrusive elements to our largest rocks which can hide pool filters and air conditioners, our selection of fake rocks will help you hide whatever you need to mask.
These artificial rocks for your garden are engineered to the highest level of durability and realism. Our goal is to make them so effective that you'll never notice that they are hiding anything because they simply blend into the landscape so perfectly.
What's your perfect size, shape, and color? Browse our selection of realistic-looking faux stone and pick your winner!


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Saturday Sermon: Over and Above Naturalism, Part 2
Barkley suggests that material creation is not the end of our understanding (as Naturalists think), but a beginning that unveils the majestic and power of a Creator who loves us.
The Resource Finder has powerful filtering features — check out the tutorial to learn more.
Barkley suggests that material creation is not the end of our understanding (as Naturalists think), but a beginning that unveils the majestic and power of a Creator who loves us.
Is Genesis 1 describing material creation or functional creation? Pastor Richard Dahlstrom of Bethany Community Church beautifully articulates the insights he has received through John Walton's book The Lost World of Genesis One and probes deep into the Biblical text with us.
in Genesis two, God calls humankind to know and study the surrounding world. The scriptures say that Adam took on the God-given task of naming the animals, which is, in fact, science: the exploration of the natural world.
Of all the blessings to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, none of them surpasses the riches of the eternal blessings which the Lord has bestowed on his sons and daughters in Christ Jesus.
In the last verses of Romans 2, the Apostle Paul relates the "failure of religion because of the terrible beauty of the Law" to the need for a regenerate heart.
Pete Shaw highlights the story of Noah to explore how the story would have been understood in ancient times and from there he goes on to explore how we might consider it today.
Pete Shaw, the senior pastor of Crosswalk Community Church in Napa California, offers a brief history of the interactions between science and faith in the first segment of his sermon.
In his sermon, Dave Swaim discusses the early chapters of Genesis that seemingly contradict scientific evidence, and he suggests that Christians have simply asked the "wrong questions" about this ancient text, which has led to warfare between the two. In light of this, Swaim wraps up his sermon with the three concluding points that he feels sums up the Biblical truth of creation: there is an all-powerful God, he has a perfect plan, and he has given us his love through Jesus Christ.
In this message, John Piper, one of America's most loved pastors explores the sense in which creation "begs for completeness."
In the Garden of Eden, Eve is tempted to put her own desires ahead of God's call for her life. The serpent tells her that if she eats of the fruit she can become like God: she, in essence, can become the master of her own fate.
BioLogos has been following a sermon series by Pastor Tim Keller entitled The Bible: The Whole Story-Redemption and Restoration." The book of Romans masterfully addresses the solution to the issues raised in Genesis.
This sermon is a clear reminder that we each have a choice. We can work to build cities that celebrate God's love for us (the lineage of Seth), or we can live in the destructive lineage of Cain. May the spirit of prayer, humility, and love characterize the world's cities on this the tenth anniversary of America's most stark example of "The Tale of Two Cities."
One of our readers in Oregon suggested that we would be interested in this, a sermon her pastor preached a couple of years ago. She's right. Dr. Ben Cross, of First Baptist Church in Eugene holds a young earth view of creation. In this message he lays out various positions that evangelicals hold, including what he calls "theistic evolution."
In tracing the fluid storyline of the Bible, Dr. Keller has first focused on the early chapters of Genesis, emphasizing both the ordained purpose of creation and the great Fall of humanity. The latter addresses the pressing question: what is wrong with the world?
In order to understand the very nature of humanity, one needs a firm grasp on the doctrine of original Sin.
In his sermon "The Great Invitation", Kevin Kim raises a question that all Christians should address: what's so great about the gospel anyway?
On July 27, 2011, renowned evangelical John Stott passed away at the age of 90. His work was an influential voice in conservative evangelicalism. In honor of Stott's work in promoting "balanced and thinking biblical faith", we feature an audio excerpt from Stott's address "Genesis 1: Called to Full Humanity".
Selfishness and violence, corruption and greed, wars and atrocities—for all time, this one question has been pondered: what went wrong in humanity?
Despite their best efforts to bring harmony, people have failed to achieve shalom in the world. Why is this so?
The ordained and blessed tradition of marriage is established in Genesis 2: 18-25. This passage communicates important ideas, Dr. Keller affirms, about both marriage seeking and marriage executing. When considered, these concepts will allow one to be successful in both areas.


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- Independent
- The Enterprise
- The Recorder
As the first gas station along U.S. 301 north of the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, the Glasva Citgo in Newburg would seem to be ideally situated to serve drivers crossing over from Virginia to Southern Maryland.
But talk to Ronnie Copsey and it soon becomes clear that he considers his family's business to be on the wrong side of the Potomac River. After he sets up shop each morning, Copsey estimates that half of the cars with Virginia tags that stop by do it so their drivers can either use the restroom or fill their tires with free air.
Robert Copsey, Ronnie's son, takes it a step further.
"I haven't seen a person from Virginia buy gas here in 10 years," he said. "A lot of people I see come in here to get $3 of gas just to make it across the bridge."
Gas currently costs about a dime less a gallon in Virginia than in Maryland. As of Tuesday, the average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in Maryland was $3.50, compared to $3.40 in Virginia, according to AAA's daily fuel report.
That gap is set to widen significantly Monday, when Maryland's current excise tax on gasoline will go up from 23.5 cents per gallon to 27.3 cents. At the same time, Virginia will replace its 17.5 cent excise tax with a wholesale levy expected to reduce the cost of gas by close to 6 cents per gallon.
Do the math, and on July 1, there potentially could be a 20-cent difference between what Maryland and Virginia service stations charge for a gallon of gas, which could add up fast in a region with some of the longest commuting times in the nation.
"That seems like a small increase, but it's pretty large to people who are commuting," said Kirk McCauley, head of government relations for the Washington, Maryland, Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association.
The Maryland General Assembly approved March 29 legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to raise the gas tax for the first time since 1992. Proponents argued that the state's transportation fund would be empty in a few years without additional revenue and that 23.5 cents does not go as far as it did two decades ago.
O'Malley originally proposed reducing the gas tax to 18.5 cents per gallon and adding a 4 percent wholesale tax, but lawmakers instead tied the gas tax to the price of gasoline, which state analysts project will drive the tax to 44.6 cents per gallon by fiscal 2018.
Expected to raise $4.4 billion for transportation projects over the next six years, the bill also imposes a 1 percent sales tax before increasing it to 2 percent in January 2015 and 3 percent in July 2015. Critics have been quick to note that the legislation conveniently skips increasing the sales rate in 2014, an election year.
"We all know gasoline's not going to drop [in price]," said Donnie Burch, vice president and director of operations for Burch Oil Co.
Headquartered in Hollywood, the company owns and operates nine Burchmart convenience stores and gas stations around Southern Maryland, and has four additional franchise stations.
"With the indexing … that's going to go on forever, so there's going to be an increase, the way the law is written right now, every year," he said.
The sales tax will go up to 4 percent in January 2016 and 5 percent in July 2016 if Congress does not pass legislation allowing states to charge sales tax on online purchases.
Commuters might not notice the full tax difference immediately because Virginia stations will be depleting their tanks of gas purchased prior to the wholesale tax going into effect, said Christine Delise, a spokeswoman with AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Southern Maryland lawmakers did not greet the bill with much enthusiasm. The entire Charles County delegation voted for the governor's plan, but they explained that the votes were a tactic to parlay their votes into the inclusion of several local priorities in the state's six-year transportation plan.
Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton (D-Charles) wrote the governor earlier this month reminding him of the commitment the administration made to putting the county's light-rail initiative, improvements along U.S. 301 in Waldorf and Route 5 in Brandywine and Accokeek, and additional commuter bus service into the plan.
Outside of Charles County, Del. John L. Bohanan Jr. (D-St. Mary's) was the region's only legislator to vote for the bill, citing the state's need to pay for the increasing cost of transportation projects and highway maintenance.
After signing the legislation, O'Malley announced a series of new transportation projects, including $20 million for the design and engineering of a new Gov. Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge linking Calvert and St. Mary's counties.
But some remain skeptical that the state will follow through on promises made to legislators who supported the bill.
"The improvements that are supposed to come from the increase in this transportation funding are vague," said Lock Wills, chairman and CEO of The Wills Group, the La Plata-based parent company of Southern Maryland Oil. "Time will tell if the promises pan out. When I travel around the state and see different proponents [of the gas tax increase], they all say, 'Well now our project is at the top of the list.' You have to give them credit for knowing how to work the legislature. Now, whether the voters are happy with that, next year we'll see."
Plenty of local residents already cross the bridge to buy cheaper gas and cigarettes, which are taxed in Virginia at a rate of 30 cents per pack, far less than the $2 per pack charged in the Free State.
"In the state of Maryland, everything is taxed to death," Robert Copsey said. "They just put it on the working man. After a while, they'll tax you for breathing."
Throw in the Walmart Supercenter that opened a couple of summers ago just over the bridge in King George, Va., and Ronnie Copsey thinks many locals might start crossing the border for some one-stop shopping.
"They can get it all in one shot," he said. "When people go over there, they buy their gas, get a fast-food sandwich, go to Walmart and get their groceries, get their clothes, and they get their cigarettes — and I don't blame them."
Just as the 2007 tax increase on cigarettes drove Maryland smokers across the border, Wills fears the gas tax increase will do the same.
"People voted with their feet" in 2007, he said. "I can see here in Charles County, instead of shopping here, people going across the bridge and doing their shopping. Common sense tells you people will drive a little further to save a few pennies."
McCauley said Maryland service stations near Virginia already lose out on customers traveling in both directions — either they wait to fill up in Virginia when coming from Maryland or make sure to get gas in Virginia before crossing into Maryland. He expects the states' respective tax policies will only fuel Virginia stations' competitive advantage.
"Down 301 it'll be no different, at the Harry Nice Bridge. You'll have people go over the bridge to buy their cigarettes like they do now and just buy their gas over there," McCauley said.
A 2.1 percent sales tax charged by fuel distributors to retailers makes gas more expensive in Northern Virginia than in other parts of the state, but its service stations still will offer gasoline at about 10 cents less than those in Maryland, McCauley said.
It won't only be gas stations along the border that are affected, McCauley said. In Southern Maryland, residents in Prince Frederick or Leonardtown heading out on vacation to a Southern beach might start waiting until they cross the Nice Bridge to fill up for the long drive, he said.
"I think it'll be particularly bad in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore near the borders of Virginia and Delaware," which has a 23 cent per gallon gas tax.
When the full brunt of the tax increase hits in 2015, "it'll be a total disaster," McCauley said. "You'll have people going 10 or 15 miles out of their way to fill their tanks."
In addition, industry analysts forecast gasoline consumption to steadily decline in the coming decades as cars become more fuel efficient, more motorists opt for hybrid or electric vehicles, and metropolitan regions build or expand mass transit systems.
"Maryland has doubled down on a declining revenue source in gasoline," Wills said. "You don't go to a source that's declining, and I think that's a fatal flaw in O'Malley's reasoning."
Adding to the consternation for commuters is that the taxes they pay for gasoline will in large part go to fund transit systems in Baltimore and the Washington, D.C., suburbs, including the construction of the Red and Purple lines.
The Maryland Transit Administration estimated that fares would cover less than 30 percent of the fiscal 2013 operating expenses of its commuter bus service and the Baltimore transit system, while the state's portion of the D.C. Metro would pay for little more than half of its costs.
There is a "valid argument" that motorists should contribute to the cost of mass transit systems, which reduce traffic congestion, but "they can't pay the whole tariff," said Peter Horrigan, president of the Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association.
"The gas tax cannot pay for two mass transit systems. It just can't do it, and that is what the governor and the legislature is essentially saying: The motorists can pay for the total cost of maintaining two mass transit systems. It's not going to happen," Horrigan said. "Last time I looked in Southern Maryland, you don't have any subways down there. The next governor, whoever that's going to be, is going to be rich. He's going to have more money than he'll know what to spend it on. Probably more subways."