text:
Top Choice Park in Selangor
Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Top Choice Village in Selangor
Mah Meri Cultural Village
On Pulau Carey island, this Orang Asli village is well worth a visit to learn about the distinct culture and traditions of the Mah Meri, a subgroup of the Senoi people who live along the coast of Selangor. The Mah M…
Top Choice Village in Kuala Lumpur
Sungai Penchala
In the city's far northwest, this sleepy Malay village, located in a hilly, jungly landscape, seems a million miles from urban KL, even though it's less than a 30-minute taxi drive from Chinatown. Come to sample del…
Top Choice Cave in Selangor
Batu Caves
One of Malaysia's national treasures and holiest Hindu sites, this complex of giant limestone caves, just 13km north of KL, houses temples that have been drawing pilgrims for more than 120 years. The American natura…
Museum in Kota Kinabalu
Museum of Islamic Civilisation
This museum consists of six galleries devoted to Muslim culture and Malaysian history. The five domes represent the holy Five Pillars of Islam. It's in need of a facelift and an update, but can fill up an hour or tw…
Museum in Kota Kinabalu
Sabah Museum
Taoist Temple in Sibu
Tua Pek Kong Temple
A modest wooden structure existed on the site of this colourful riverfront Taoist temple as far back as 1871; it was rebuilt in 1897 but badly damaged by Allied bombs in 1942.For panoramic views over the town and th…
National Park in Lambir Hills National Park
Lambir Hills National Park
The 69-sq-km Lambir Hills National Park shelters dozens of jungle waterfalls, plenty of cool pools where you can take a dip, and a bunch of great walking trails through mixed dipterocarp and kerangas forests. A pere…
Zoo in Selangor
Zoo Negara
Laid out over 62 hectares around a central lake, Zoo Negara, 13km northeast of KL, is home to a wide variety of native wildlife, including tigers and other animals from other parts of Asia and Africa. One of the mos…
Gallery in Selangor
Rimbun Dahan
Rimbun Dahan is a private arts centre open to the public only a handful of times each year (check online for dates). The property boasts a 19th-century traditional Malay house and garden, and a gallery for tradition…


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Muskegon school teachers could be in trouble if they post images of someone drinking alcohol on Facebook or other social media sites.
A new school district policy warns that employees will "be held responsible" if images depicting "use of alcohol, drugs or anything students are prohibited from doing" are posted on such online sites as MySpace, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
Employees could be fired or suspended if they violate the school policy.
Other school districts are likely to follow suit, with many area superintendents saying they are working on social networking policies. The Muskegon Area Intermediate School District is providing help in drafting appropriate policies.
"I think it's going to be statewide," said attorney Gary Britton, who represents Muskegon Public Schools and several other local school districts. "You'll find most districts will use that kind of policy to protect themselves."
Muskegon's policy warns that employees' online activities can "reflect negatively" on the district, which needs to protect its "reputation and educational stature."
"Such individuals must understand that if students, parents, other employees, the public or news media obtain access to such information, their case will be investigated by school administrators," the policy reads.
Muskegon Superintendent Jon Felske said the district will "encourage and support" employees to have professional social media sites such as Facebook, through which they can communicate with students and post homework assignments.
"We want to protect our employees, but we also want to protect our students," Felske said.
Download a copy of Muskegon Public Schools' social networking policy: social media.pdf
The district's policy warns that "when a teacher and a student become 'friends' in an online environment... an invisible line between professional and personal is crossed."
Several Muskegon-area superintendents said they plan to adopt similar policies.
"We are looking at this area very carefully," said Mona Shores Superintendent Dave Peden.
Reeths-Puffer in March was poised to adopt a new social networking policy, but pulled it at the last minute for being overly restrictive. The policy, which underwent one of two required readings before the school board, would have allowed for disciplining of school employees who posted online "items exhibiting .... alcohol."
At the time, Superintendent Steve Edwards said he thought prohibiting pictures in which a glass of wine, for example, can be seen was too restrictive.
Edwards said recently that the district is still working to develop an appropriate policy setting the ground rules for employee social networking. He said one of the problems with the proposed policy that was rejected was it didn't delineate between professional and personal social media sites.
"A well-written policy provides guidance — it provides direction on topics that could be emotional topics," Edwards said.
Muskegon's social networking policy prohibits employees from "fraternizing" with students as if "they were peers" — essentially communicating with them about anything that's not school-related — through phone calls, texting, emails and letters.
It also directs employees "to make clear" that any written opinions posted online are their views, and don't represent those of the school district.
Britton said Muskegon's policy wasn't in response to any improper activity on the part of employees, but is a preventive measure. School districts elsewhere have had issues with "sharing of inappropriate information," he said.
"People feel this anonymity when they're out in space doing this stuff," Britton said. "They don't realize everybody and their mother is watching."
Email Lynn Moore at email@example.com


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Published in Investing Strategy on 20 January 2010
It's the secret to Warren Buffett's success.
Do you know the most important thing Warren Buffett looks for when evaluating a company?
It's not a debt-free balance sheet, a history of strong cash flow generation, or a strong corporate culture. It's not even an undervalued share price -- although that is certainly a hallmark of most Buffett buys.
Nope, the first thing Buffett looks for is an economic moat -- the bigger, the better.
The term "economic moat" was one that Buffett himself coined. It simply refers to a business' competitive advantages that keep other companies at bay. Finding companies with significant, sustainable competitive advantages has been key to Buffett's phenomenal performance.
As the Oracle of Omaha told Fortune magazine:
"The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage. The products or services that have wide, sustainable moats around them are the ones that deliver rewards to investors."
Astute readers will notice that I placed special emphasis on the sustainability of a company's competitive advantage. I wanted to draw your attention to that point, because in business, most competitive advantages are short lived.
Just look at Rentokil Initial (LSE: RTO). In the early 1990s, the company was churning out annual earnings growth of 20%, year after year after year. But they had to make bigger and bigger acquisitions in order to keep hitting their lofty growth targets, and eventually bit off more than they could chew. Added to that, competition intensified in the hygiene and parcel delivery sectors, and before long Rentokil was a shadow of its former self.
As Rentokil proved, audacious growth targets may be cool, but they are not a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
And according to hedge-fund manager and former Morningstar chief equities strategist Mark Sellers, the same can be said of a good management team, a catchy advertising campaign, or a hot fashion trend. These attributes may produce temporary advantages, but they are likely to erode over time, or be duplicated by competitors.
As far as Sellers is concerned, there are only four sources of sustainable competitive advantage -- the key to a true economic moat:
This is a fancy term that economists love to throw around. Basically, it means that bigger companies can offer products at a lower cost than smaller ones can.
Tesco (LSE: TSCO) is the quintessential example of economies of scale in action. Because of its huge size, Tesco wields tremendous bargaining power over its suppliers and can spread its operational costs across a wide store base. The company can thus undercut its competitors on price and still turn a tidy profit.
The network effect happens when the value of a service increases as more people use that service. For example, eBay becomes more useful as the pool of buyers and sellers grows -- although it also becomes increasingly difficult to snag that vintage mint-condition Rolling Stones 1972 US tour poster.
Network effects are also largely responsible for the success of credit-card companies such as MasterCard and Visa. After all, the more merchants that accept these cards, the more likely users are to carry them. Meanwhile, the more users that carry them, the more likely merchants are to accept them!
Companies such as AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) and Shire (LSE: SHP) have been solid long-term investments, in large part because of the strength of their patent portfolios. These companies have proved to be adept at transforming the money they've spent on research and development into profitable products.
Truth be told, Unilever's (LSE: ULVR) products are actually pretty similar to those of its peers. However, people are more likely to buy Dove soap, Lux shampoo and Omo washing powder simply because they know and trust the brand.
You know a company has a wide moat when its customers stick around year after year -- even if they hate the product! For years, users have complained about Microsoft's software, yet the majority of the wired world runs on Microsoft products.
The reason is simple: It would be an enormous effort to retrain employees and transfer files over to a new format. And besides, everyone else uses Microsoft's software, too. Talk about a network effect!
Finding a company with a wide and sustainable moat is a good start, but that's not enough to produce long-term market-beating returns. A bargain price is always imperative.
In short, you want quality companies at bargain prices. Indeed that's what Maynard Paton and David Kuo search for in Motley Fool Champion Shares PRO, our real-money share tipping service. For a very short period of time, this service has reopened for new members. To get more information, simply click here.
More on the economy and the markets:
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> A version of this article was published originally on Fool.com. It has been updated by Bruce Jackson who has an interest in AstraZeneca.
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First, the state takes center stage with Gov. Robert Bentley lighting an Eastern Red Cedar Christmas tree at 5:15 p.m. The tree arrived today from Bullock County. It was donated by Elisabeth Thompson, owner of the Feathers Plantation in Fitzpatrick, Ala. It stands on the front steps of the Capitol facing Dexter Avenue.
Then the City of Montgomery will host its Christmas parade starting at 6 p.m. It will begin at the Capitol steps and wind its way to the Court Square Fountain.
Mayor Todd Strange will conclude the Christmas event will the city's tree lighting at 7:30 p.m. across from City Hall.


text:
Sat 2:45 a.m. UPDATE: Scanner traffic: One person shot
WARREN – A man was shot shortly before 2 a.m. today after a police officer reported a man with gun, according to scanner traffic.
The incident at the intersection of Risher Road and Palmyra Road S.W. unfolded in a matter of minutes beginning at 1:48 a.m. after an officer called for backup and then scanner traffic intercepted him yelling, "Get your hands up!"
Moments later, a police dispatcher reported that shots had been fired and an ambulance was dispatched for one person. The police officer involved was not injured, scanner traffic indicated.
A Warren police detective and spokesman was called to the scene, but attempts to reach him were not immediately successful. Dispatchers were instructed to contact Chief Eric Merkel and the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for assistance in the investigation.
More than a half-dozen cruisers responded to the scene, where officers immediately began blocking access to the area with yellow police tape strung from trees across the roadways.
No names, conditions or further details were immediately available.


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Latest news, top stories, and community events,
Great turnout, but without 'our mayor'
What a wonderful weekend. The Auburn Days parade had a great turnout. The children, the cheerleaders, senior citizens and veterans.
People lined the street to enjoy the day. Cars were ticketed for parking in the Chase parking area. Candidates marched in the parade asking for our votes. Seems only one person was missing "our mayor."
This is a special day for Auburn, and as an elected official we would have appreciated her participation. I do hope that next year those candidates who asked for our vote return to give a "thank you."
– Janina Coan
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Program Improvement
VDOE provides training, technical assistance and resources to local school divisions in providing quality instruction and supports to students with disabilities as well as supporting low-performing schools and school divisions to implement research-based effective practices for students with disabilities.
Results Driven Accountability
- Results Driven Accountability (RDA)
– RDA is intended to balance focus on improving educational results and outcomes for students with disabilities. RDA provides greater supports to local education agencies in improving results for children and youth with disabilities, and their families.
Training and Technical Assistance
- SOL Reporting Resources to Inform Instruction and Remediation – Recorded versions of professional development opportunities provided to division and school staff regarding the appropriate use of SOL score reports and assessment data.
- Eligibility Determination Conference – A primary focus of VDOE's implementation of Results Driven Accountability (RDA) is eligibility determination. Eligibility determination is the process for determining whether or not a child qualifies for special education services and meets the state criteria for identification in one or more of the 14 disability categories. This link provides information and resources related to the statewide training performed in 2014-2015.
- Language & Culture Videos
Program Improvement Training Topics
Supporting Students with Disabilities in Mathematics
Scheduling Students with Disabilities for Success
Data Informed Decision Making: Improving Instruction for All Learners (PPT)
- Corrective Action Plan (Word) – This blank template is used by LEAs to establish and track improvement activities. The goals may be sorted into two areas: 1. Those driven by results indicators, and 2. Those necessary to meet compliance with special education regulations.
- School Improvement and Reform – VDOE assists schools in which students are achieving at levels below federal and state accountability standards.
- Differentiated Technical Assistance and Training Topics
- Instructional Interventions That Have Proven to Be Successful with Low-Achieving Students (PDF) – The Regulations Establishing Accrediting Standards for Public Schools in Virginia (SOA), effective September 28, 2000, require schools accredited with warning in English or mathematics to adopt and implement instructional interventions that have a proven track record of success at raising student achievement. The Board of Education is required to publish a list of recommended instructional interventions, which may be amended from time to time.
- Virginia Tiered Systems of Support (VTSS) – VTSS is a framework and philosophy that provides resources and support to help every student to be successful in academics and behavior. It begins with systemic change at the division, school and classroom level that utilizes evidence-based, system-wide practices (response to intervention, positive behavior interventions and supports and content literacy curriculum) to provide a quick response to academic and behavioral needs.
- Student Assistance Programming – Student Assistance Programming goals are to prevent problems through education and address existing problems by directing students to school-based or community services providers as may be appropriate.
- TeacherDirect – Updates from VDOE regarding SOL resources and information targeted to classroom teachers
- Virginia Department of Education's Training and Technical Assistance Centers – VDOE's state-wide projects with TTACs provide professional development and support designed to assist schools in addressing accountability and improvement goals for students with disabilities.
Outside Resources
- TTAC Online – Information and resources regarding assessment, instruction and training specific to students with disabilities


text:
By FRANK DONNELLY, TOM WROBLESKI and RYAN LAVIS
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A suspicious white powder found Tuesday in an envelope addressed to an employee at Civil Court, West Brighton, generated a full-bore emergency response that ultimately determined the unidentified substance was "non-hazardous," said officials.
A source told the Advance that Judge Kim Dollard opened the envelope in her chambers about 3:30 p.m.
David Bookstaver, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, declined to say to whom the envelope was addressed.
The Police Department was notified immediately, Bookstaver said, and the discovery prompted an evacuation of the "appropriate area."
The NYPD's Emergency Services Unit and Department of Environmental Protection HazMat descended on the courthouse, located on Castleton Avenue in a quiet residential district.
Those still inside were subject to the frightening spectacle of HazMat teams dressed in jumpsuits and gas masks scouring the building.
Police, meanwhile, closed a section of Bement Avenue to traffic and pedestrians.
At least four persons were exposed to the substance, with no injuries reported, said police. They were among the last permitted to leave the building.
Bookstaver said all "appropriate steps," including the evacuation, were taken.
Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon, supervising judge of Richmond County, was on the scene.
Borough President James Molinaro said the city Office of Emergency Management called to alert him to the incident.
Molinaro said that OEM told him only that an envelope with white powder had been discovered in the courthouse. OEM did not say exactly where the envelope was discovered or by whom.
Molinaro said he was "concerned" about the incident. "It could happen anyplace," he said. "There's a lot of people out there with loose brain cells."
Authorities said the courthouse is expected to open Wednesday, with the exception of the immediate affected area.
The incident comes amid a rash of ricin-laced letters sent to high-profile elected officials.
Just within the last week, threatening letters containing the deadly toxin were sent to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and to his anti-gun group in Washington, D.C.
On Monday, a federal grand jury indicted a Mississippi man suspected of sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and other officials.


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From the Pages of Vine Line: Q&A with Pedro Strop
(Photo by Stephen Green)
The Cubs acquired right-handed reliever Pedro Strop in early July as part of the haul for starting pitcher Scott Feldman. The 28-year-old got an opportunity to be a late-innings reliever for the North Siders down the stretch in 2013, and the organization hopes he can contribute to the bullpen again in 2014. The following can be found in the January issue of Vine Line.
COMMAND AND CONTROL In Baltimore, I was passing through a bump in the road. I know I can pitch. It's just things weren't going my way. Since I got [to Chicago], I'm just doing the same thing. I'm commanding the ball better too, and that's been a huge part of my career so far—commanding my fastball. Since I've been [here], I've been able to command my fastball more consistently.
HEAD GAMES When you struggle like that, a bunch of stuff starts to come to your mind—a lot of negative thoughts. But I never lost my confidence. I just thought, "It's got to change. One day it's going to change. You've done it before. You know you can do it." But, honestly, you can lose confidence a little bit. That's the worst part is when you're struggling to just get your confidence back and pitch.
RESTORATION PROJECT When I got [to Baltimore] in 2011, they were in the same situation [the Cubs are in now]. They were building. And when I got to the Rangers, they were building too. I've been through that. So [the trade] wasn't a disappointment. I just saw the positive sides to it. I was getting more opportunities to pitch, and I could be part of another team that grows up.
THE CLOSER When you know somebody has confidence in you, it makes you feel more confidence too. About the closer situation, I'm just one of those kinds of guys. As a reliever, you want to be a closer. But I'm really not thinking about it right now. I just like to be ready for any situation that can help the team win. Just compete. I love to compete. I love the competition. Being up there in the seventh inning, eighth inning, ninth inning, it's competition. I love that. I don't care if it's the ninth or the seventh.
CLASSIC MOMENT Since the first WBC, I was wishing to be a part of that team to represent [the Dominican Republic]. It was huge for me to be a part of the [2013] team and be the big key for our wins. I was just giving it all I got. It was big. It was beautiful. … You know you're playing for your country. You're playing for the Dominican Republic. It was a dream.
FAN FAVORITES I always watched Jose Reyes. I used to play shortstop. As a pitcher, I always liked Mariano Rivera. He's a classic. He's unbelievable. He makes things look way easier than they are. I would love to do what he does.


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Attorney general's office examines county commissioner's allegation
A state expert has reviewed Island County Commissioner Kelly Emerson's allegations that the board has run afoul of open public meeting laws and believes further investigation is warranted.
Tim Ford, government accountability ombudsman for the Office of the Attorney General, confirmed that he had received Emerson's complaints and looked them over. He made it clear that while he is pursuing the matter further with plans to contact the Island County Prosecutor's Office for more information, he is reluctant to make any preliminary statements.
Ford said he's learned that Island County Commissioners Helen Price Johnson and Angie Homola, both Democrats, are up for election this year and is wary that his opinion is possibly being sought for political purposes.
"A lot is going on here and I want to proceed carefully before responding," Ford said.
As an ombudsman, Ford has no power to levy fines or take regulatory action against the board. He said any opinion he issues would be just that, an opinion.
Price Johnson, chairwoman of the board, has stated previously that she believes the accusations are groundless and that she is confident the commissioners have done nothing unusual or illegal.
Last month, Emerson, a Republican, leveled charges against the board but particularly her fellow board members of abusing tenets of the Washington Open Public Meetings Act for holding unwarranted executive sessions.
On Aug. 1, Emerson declined to participate in a closed-door meeting with the board concerning the sale of real estate, one of the few topics that can be discussed in secret under state law.
Before the meeting, she distributed an unspecific news release that indicated open public meeting violations by the board had been ongoing and referenced Whidbey Island Naval Air Station's proposal to install a new jet fuel pipeline to the airbase.
Ford got her complaint and asked for further explanation. She submitted another letter detailing a list of past executive sessions in which she had concerns, including those pertaining to the Navy pipeline.
An earlier closed meeting on the topic, before the one she decided not to attend, was called to discuss the sale of real estate and Emerson said the discussion really didn't fit the spirit of the state's exemption.
The law allows real estate to be discussed in secret session because public knowledge could affect price and thereby negatively impact the public's dime.
"The Navy cannot pay more than fair market value; we cannot sell the public's property for less than fair market value and I don't see how public knowledge would have affected price," she wrote.
While there are restrictions concerning the purchase and sale of property by public agencies, it's unclear whether Emerson's accusations are accurate, as Ford declined to discuss details of the charges until after he's spoken with the prosecutor's office.
Emerson said in her letter that she had met with a deputy prosecutor to discuss executive sessions and Ford believes a discussion with that attorney might provide him with additional background.
Ford said he expects to announce his findings soon.
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text:
DeWitt, N.Y. — By now, you've heard the news.
Trader Joe's and its cookie butter, pesto Gouda and "reduced guilt" chunky guacamole are on their way to DeWitt. The specialty grocery store chain plans to open a location at the Raymour & Flanigan plaza on Erie Boulevard.
The 12,000-square-foot store will be located where Raymour & Flanigan's sleep center is currently found. That's to the right of Raymour & Flanigan when facing the plaza.
Raymour & Flanigan plans to move its sleep center inside its remaining retail space at the property.
Town officials said work on the store could start within a month. No word from the company yet on an opening date.
In the meantime, we can all daydream about what we'll buy there.
This is your chance, Trade Joe's fans. Educate your fellow Central New Yorkers on the best of what the chain has to offer.
Tell us about your favorite finds at Trader Joe's and what makes them so great in the comments below.
Follow Store Front on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for the weekly Store Front newsletter. Contact Kevin Tampone at email@example.com or (315) 454-2112. Follow him on Twitter @ktampone.


text:
The local celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month will wind down today Saturday with a closing ceremony and the Nosotros Dinner Dance.
A number of community members will be honored at the event, including Rita Paniagua, executive director of the Spanish Action League; Eddie Banks-Crosson, Syracuse University director of Greek life; Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla, director of the La Casita Cultural Center; Dominico Rivera and Jenni Rodriguez, community members and Joe and Eda Kassis of Kassis Superior Signs.
Nosotros Radio, "Your Latino Voice," is a nonprofit organization that provides Spanish language programming. The ceremony and dinner dance will take place from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Pensabene's Casa Grande, 135 State Fair Blvd. Tickets cost $30 and may be purchased by calling 751-0435.
Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
To the Editor:
In his Aug. 6 letter, Owen Davies correctly noted that terrorist acts can be perpetrated by isolated individuals in any nation. In some societies, like the United States and Israel, these acts are universally condemned by the authorities, media and people. Palestinian media, though, are awash in hatred of Israel and Jews and are constant sources of incitement to violence. Instead of condemnation, terrorists receive adulation and, far too often, emulation. Public parks and squares are renamed in their honor. "Martyr" pictures circulate among the young, like baseball cards in America. In their schools, the young are taught to hate Israel.
Black September was not a "fringe group," but was recruited from Yasser Arafat's multiple security forces and named to provide him with deniability. Terrorism remains not an anomaly, but more the norm. In violation of the Oslo Accords, Arafat and his successors, for the last two decades, have been preparing their people not for peace, but for war.
A truly "nuanced perspective" would confront that stark reality, not wave it away. This situation further marginalizes those Palestinians truly interested in peace, while greatly empowering those who are not. Terrorism continues because to many Palestinians, it appears to work. Were it to elicit the universal, strong disapproval it deserves, it soon would be seen as counterproductive and would quickly cease.
Elihu Cohen
North Syracuse


text:
Teraslı güzel ve ferah dubleks daire
Maksimum Konuk Sayısı3
Yatak odası1
Boyut65 metrekare
Floor No.(with elevator)
- Mutfak
- Çamaşır makinesi / Kurutma makinesi
- Sigara içilir
- Binada asansör
- İnternet/Kablosuz ağ
|Friesenwall, 50672 Köln, Almanya
|Mülkiyet türü
|Referans kodu
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
Dann seid ihr hier goldrichtig!
Die Wohnung ist komplett eingerichtet mit 2 x TVs, W-Lan, Spülmaschine, Waschmaschine und Gasgrill auf der Terasse, auf welcher tagsüber viel Sonne scheint..
Im modernen Badezimmer gibt es eine Badewanne und zusätzlich noch ein Gäste-WC. Das Schlafzimmer ist separat und hat ein Doppelbett. Ansonsten ist die Wohnung offen und grosszügig geschnitten.
Die Wohnung liegt am Friesenplatz, umgeben von zahlreichen Restaurants, Kneipen und Clubs. Aufgrund ihrer Ausrichtung auf einen Hinterhof ist sie dennoch sehr ruhig gelegen.
Vom Friesenplatz ist man in 10 Minuten zu Fuß am DOM/ Bahnhof und in 5 Minuten in der Kölner Fussgängerzone. Die U-Bahn befindet sich direkt vor der Haustür - Zur Kölner Messe braucht man 15 Minuten.
|Weekly rate for up to 2 guests
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests
|> 2 misafir için ücret
|TRY 71 misafir başına/ekstra gece
|Maksimum Gece Sayısı
|12 nights
|Check-in Saati (Sonrası)
|Check-in before
|Check-out Saati (Öncesi)
|İptal Koşulları
Thanks a lot Maha we are so lucky to stay at your apartment I have traveled around the world but I'm serious your apartment is much more better and Cosy than even 7 stars everything is perfect you Maha the location the apartment got everything anyone need same as we are home and very spacious space great kitchen clean bathroom fresh towels very high speed internet and 2 tv really Maha we can't wait to stay again at your apartment you are the best hosts I ever meet thanks a million Maha I recommend your apartment to every one who looking for best place to stay in to feel home .
Amazing experience: Maha's apartment is really nice, clean and comfortable to public transport.
As this was my first time using such a service I learned a great deal from the experience. Maha was gracious in her assistance , clear with her instructions and willing to assist. Her apartment was very clean and tidy. Despite her efforts, as a non smoker I was sensitive to the after smell of smoke in the apartment which is not uncommon in Germany / Europe. Thanks again
Thank you for the Maha very nice three days Cologne. Your apartment has a very large contribution to short holiday and from your holiday address you were very helpful. Despite the somewhat messy application you've always kept your word! It is a very nice apartment but I would put real pictures on your site. It's just too much Photoshop.This apartment is a true recommendation.
The place and the area was great! Maha was so kind to us and she prepared the home even before we got there. She trusted us with all her belongings and asked If we need anything from time to time.
I really recommend Maha's place to everyone who will stay in Cologne. You won't regret it.
Thanks Maha
Hello Maha,
many thanks for your kind hospitality and care during our short visIt to Koln.
Your apartment was spacious,comfortable and ideally located and perfect for our needs.The atmosphere at Friesenplatz is awesome.
Beautiful apartment in a great location, close to local amenities and well equipped. Would definitely stay there again!
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- Her ev sahibi telefonla doğrulanmıştır
- SSL şifrelemesi ile güvenli ödeme


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Ava tests out roller derby skillsUPDATED 8:40 AM EDT Oct 01, 2012
Ava Marie visits the Charm City Roller Girls, who show off their skills at DuBurns Arena in Baltimore. While Ava made her way around the rink, one of the team's players explained how the derby works. To get tickets to their upcoming double-header, visit missiontix.com.
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Follonico 4-Suite B&B, Torrita di Siena
- Free breakfast, free WiFi in lobby, and free parking
Main amenities
- 4 guestrooms
- Free train station pick-up
- Tour/ticket assistance
What's around
- Tenuta Valdipiatta (7.4 mi / 11.9 km)
- Pienza Cathedral (9.3 mi / 14.9 km)
- Church of St. Agnes (3.9 mi / 6.2 km)
- Colonna del Marzocco (3.9 mi / 6.3 km)
- Palazzo Avignonesi (3.9 mi / 6.4 km)
- Florence (FLR-Peretola) 82-min drive; 76.7 miles/123.5 km
- Torrita di Siena Station 11-min drive; 4.1 miles/6.5 km
- Sinalunga Station 20-min drive; 7.4 miles/11.9 km
- Sinalunga Rigomagno Station 25-min drive; 11.9 miles/19.1 km
- Free self parking
- Free train station pick-up
Follonico 4-Suite B&B, Torrita di Siena
Hotel Info: 866-539-8117from $215
- Superior Room White Essential 1
- Superior Room White Essential 2
- Double Suite Rosso Tramonto
- Double Suite Blu Notte
- Double Suite Verde Intenso
- Double Suite Alba Chiara
Also popular with travelers from the USA
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 4 rooms
- Check-in time 5 PM-7 PM
- Check-out time is 11 AM
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Free train station pickup
- Free self parking
In the hotel
- Free breakfast
- Breakfast (surcharge)
- Tours/ticket assistance
More great choices
Follonico 4-Suite B&B, Torrita di Siena's small print
Also known as
- 4-Suite
- Follonico
- Follonico 4-Suite
- Follonico 4-Suite B&B
- Follonico 4-Suite B&B Torrita di Siena
- Follonico 4-Suite Torrita di Siena
- Follonico B&B
All guests, including children, must be present at check-in and show their government-issued photo ID card or passport.
Cash transactions at this property cannot exceed EUR 2999.99, due to national regulations. For further details, please contact the property using information in the booking confirmation.
Optional extras
Breakfast is offered for an extra charge of EUR 10 per person (approximately)
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.
Recent reviews
See all reviews
Had a great time. This is the real Tuscany. The owners were great. Wonderful time
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They stretched the court. They created a lot of possessions. They ran so much that by the fourth quarter their opponent couldn't hang on.
It was exactly the type of game that head coach Greg Evers said will make or break the Vikings as they attempt to improve upon last season's 7-18 record. Now two games in, the Vikings are almost a third of the way there.
Junior Michael Garcia scored 25 points to lead the Vikings to victory Friday night, and the team followed with a near identical 74-58 win on Saturday over Reynolds to claim the tournament title.
For a team that lost nine of its last 10 games of the 2011-12 season, the two quick wins to start this year have the Vikings feeling differently this year.
"We just did what we were supposed to do. But I didn't think it would happen in the first game," Evers said after the Aloha win. "Our intent on going up and down the floor is to create more possessions than most teams would usually have. By the fourth quarter the other team is beyond their limit and they get fatigued and things start to happen."
The Vikings will rely heavily on the guard tandem of Garcia and senior Spencer Johnson to run their high-octane offense this year. Garcia, a 5-foot-6 Pacific Conference honorable mention a season ago, will be the Vikings go-to scoring threat.
Garcia's bevy of weapons were on display Friday night as he scored everywhere, from in the paint to hitting four three-pointers.
"Once he starts getting it going, his range can get pretty far out," Evers said. "Then you've got to start guarding him out there, and then he starts blowing it by you. He's a tough guard for anybody."
Garcia's ability to get his points and spread the ball around will be crucial for a very green Vikings team.
Forest Grove returns three seniors; although Evers said Johnson is the only one who played substantial minutes last season, and the Vikings have a bunch of underclassmen who will see minutes this season.
In the Vikings case, lack of experience could be a good thing. In his third year as head coach, Evers said all of the players on the team have finally bought into his system. There are no longer any ties to the former coaching regime.
The Vikings were 3-22 in Evers' first year and improved to last year's seven wins. This year, the coach wants to double that total.
"The first year I was the stepfather for sure. The old coach, he was their father," Evers said. "The next year they started to like me but I was only a better stepfather, but not their dad yet. This year I'm their dad. It's my system."
While the Vikings will rely on their ability to run up and down the floor, they'll have to make do without a lot of experienced size in the paint. Junior Zac Collins is a 6-foot-2 forward who will be relied on to bang underneath the basket. Collins, who played quarterback for the Vikings' football team, scored 10 points in the win over Aloha.
"He's an interesting deal. He's a post in a guard's body," Evers said. "He does a good job for us. He's getting physically stronger, and he'll do a good job for us down there."
The Vikings have a 6-foot-5 player in freshman Ben Godfrey, plus 6-foot-4 sophomore Andrew O'Donnel and a trio of 6-foot-2 players, senior Rodney Jensen, sophomore Angler Emerick and freshman Taylor Jensen.
"We are very young, but we're more athletic," Evers said. "I think we'll be a better team than we were last year."
Evers said a favorable early-season schedule should give the team some momentum heading into the Century/Hillsboro Tournament in late December before Pacific Conference play begins in January. He said with a team full of young faces and inexperience, a quick start could do wonders.
"It would be huge. We're so young, there's at least four guys that are just not sure what to expect," he said. "It's going to be difficult no matter what way we cut it but some wins at the start would help."
-- Tyson Alger


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Without leaps of imagination, or
dreaming, we lose excitement of
all possibilities. Dreaming, after
all, is a form of planning.
~Gloria Steinem~
Be careful what you water your dreams with.
Water them with worry and fear and you will
produce weeds that choke the life from your
dream. Water them with optimism and
solutions and you will cultivate success.
Always be on the lookout for ways to
turn a problem into an opportunity
for success. Always be on the
lookout for ways to
nurture your dreams.
~Lao Tzu~
Only as high as I reach can I grow,
only as far as I seek can I go,
only as deep as I look can I see,
only as much as I dream can I be.
~Karen Ryan~
Our life is composed greatly of dreams
from our unconscious, and they must
be brought into connection with action.
They must be woven together.
~Anais Nin~
Tell me what you yearn for and I
shall tell you who you are. We are
what we reach for, the idealized
image that drives our wandering.
~James Hillman~
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies
are blue, and the dreams that you
dare to dream really do come true.
~Lyman Frank Baum~
Dreaming: A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.
This is the definition of dreaming that I chose to go with in this week's photo challenge, and here are 10 things I know to be true about dreams.
1. It's important to put our dreams into words.
2. Visualization is powerful in realizing our dreams.
3. Dreams come from the heart first and then the mind helps to give them form. It is crucial to consult our hearts in creating our dreams.
4. We must live our dreams every day in order for them to come true. Some days that may just be visualizing or talking about our longings.
5. Dreams help us create the future we want for ourselves.
6. Small dreams are just as important as big dreams. We can weave the small dreams into the big dreams to create the life we long for.
7. Dreams are renewable and sometimes we have to alter our dreams as we go along.
8. It's okay to let go of dreams when they no longer feel right.
9. We must trust our dreams and hold on to them while we work through the doubts and fears that often arise along the way.
10. Our dreams help us to grow and become who we were meant to be.
What do you long for?


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By Mike McNally
The cancellation of the nation's largest public works project — the $9 billion-plus ARC rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York — is the most glaring example of the financial struggle this nation faces to build much-needed infrastructure improvements.
Government officials on both the local and federal levels are rightfully concerned that taxpayers will bear the burden of cost overruns. However, there is way around the problem. It's called a public/private partnership. P3s, as they are known around the world, essentially allow the private sector to fund, build, own and maintain large-scale infrastructure projects such as tunnels or turnpikes.
The concept, similar to how utilities do business in the United States, has been popular for at least 20 years in Europe. The Swedes have used P3s to fund wind projects. In the United Kingdom, they have been employed to build 800 projects since 1992, including power plants. In Poland, they are building a public hospital. Now, other parts of the world are embracing P3 opportunities. In Chile, which has a strong economy, instead of spending money on roads, the government is investing it in health care, with great success, and leaving transportation to the private sector, easing congestion, improving safety and modernizing travel.
Until recently, the United States has been late to embrace public/private partnerships because we have long been told that it's the government's job to provide basic services, such as laying highways. But the railroads were built by private companies. Our electricity, gas, telephone and television are privatized and regulated.
But what has been a foreign concept is now taking hold in Florida, where two highway projects are under way; Texas, with two massive roadway deals executed this year; and Virginia, where private companies are rebuilding the Capitol Beltway, as well as the Midtown Tunnel beneath the Elizabeth River connecting Portsmouth to Norfolk. All are P3 projects.
Fundamentally, a P3 involves the procurement of a public service (such as a toll road) by the private sector on a long-term contractual basis, usually lasting anywhere from 20 to 50 years.
The private sector executes and manages the finance, design, construction, tolling, traffic management, operations, maintenance, safety and sustainability efforts that deliver cost-efficient assets to government, without raising taxes. At the end of the contract period, the facility, and management of it, is handed back to the public sector at no cost.
By developing public/private partnerships, government provides incentives for quality work and demands accountability for operations and maintenance. Through a performance-based contract, P3 projects remain mostly controlled by the government, which can fine or fire a developer throughout the contract if it fails to perform. Private firms have every incentive to build and operate the asset with maximum care to make the partnership with government work — and keep the public happy.
Increasingly, municipalities understand the value and promise of P3s. About half of all states, including Georgia and New York, have enacted legislation that permits public-private initiatives on state projects. But the private sector must also come to the table with the leadership and expertise necessary to complete one of these projects, along with a solid business case based on value for money. There must be transparency on both sides, along with a genuine partnership between the government and the private entities.
Although Gov. Christie rejected the idea of a P3 offer from an investment team, indicating he did not want to pay interest to take back the tunnel, there are many ways such deals can be structured to absorb costs from taxpayers.
As more and more municipalities face these tough decisions, we urge them to consider a public/private partnership for the sake of the economy, the environment and a public benefit to commuters who now bear horrible congestion that impedes business growth and diminished quality of life.
We all understand the reality that government simply cannot afford to pay for our growing infrastructure needs. Right now, there is a $2 trillion need for infrastructure development. The good news is that there is about $190 billion in available private capital ready to invest and create more than 1.5 million jobs nationally. P3s are the right answer, at the right time.
Mike McNally is president of Skanska USA, which has completed 19 public-private partnership projects, including toll roads, hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, hydro-power and prisons.


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WASHINGTON -- The wait is finally over for Shelly Dick, nominated by President Barack Obama to the federal district court in Baton Rouge 13 months ago. The Senate, by voice vote Thursday (May 9), approved her nomination, making her the first woman judge on the Baton Rouge court.
"I think it's about time, after a couple of hundred years, we have a qualified woman stepping up," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Landrieu said that Dick has the right temperament to be a judge, has lots of federal court experience as a practicing attorney, and is recognized in Baton Rouge for her community and church service, including overseas missionary work.
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said the average wait for President Barack Obama's judicial nominees has been about seven months.
"So this is certainly on the long side, though not the longest," Tobias said.
Dick was nominated in April, 2012, but her nomination was stalled by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who argued that because it was made fairly far into an election year no votes should occur until after the November presidential vote. Four other judicial nominees made at the same time were confirmed by the Senate in 2012 because they didn't have any GOP holds blocking a vote by the full Senate.
Once Democrat Obama won re-election, Vitter quickly gave his go ahead for the Judiciary Committee to proceed with the Dick nomination and in December he testified on her behalf at a Judiciary Committee hearing.
On Thursday Vitter spoke for her confirmation on the Senate floor. "She'll serve well," he said.
Dick, a native of El Paso, Texas, is a founding partner of the Forrester & Dick law firm in Baton Rouge. She is a graduate of LSU Law School.


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State of the City Event
Tuesday, November 01, 2011 11:30 AM
Inappropriate photo? Alert us.
Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC hosted a "State of the City" event at the Hilton Harrisburg on Tuesday morning. The event included a panel discussion with three mayors, Mayor Linda Thompson - City of Harrisburg, Mayor Thomas McMahon - City of Reading and Mayor Chris Doherty - City of Scranton. McMahon and Doherty's cities are currently in Act 47. CHRISTINE BAKER, The Patriot-News
Related articles
- At "State of the City" summit, Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson calls new Act 47 push "a great start" to avoid takeover November 01, 2011, 11:18 AM
- Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson: 'I've done all I can do' to prevent state takeover of city November 11, 2011, 12:05 PM


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Kindergartners get pumped up for school
Every year, thousands of Richmond-area five-year-olds show up on the first day of school in September -- only to be turned away.
For kindergartners, their parents soon learn, being "on time" for the start of the school year is actually too late. Because of requirements for school entrance – including proof of age, immunizations and residency – the registration process should begin weeks earlier. In an ideal world, in fact, all kindergartners would be registered by spring.
That's why superintendents from nine regional school districts gathered in Richmond in January to make a historic announcement promoting early enrollment: for the first time ever, 10 localities would share a common date for kindergarten registration.
On April 7, Harvie Elementary School in eastern Henrico will be one of the schools open for registration throughout the school day, and for evening hours as well.
Terry Hill, who is in her third year of teaching kindergarten at Harvie, has a background in early education. The prospect of a boost in spring registration attendance is welcome, Hill says, not simply because parents will receive an information packet about paperwork requirements for fall, or because future students will get a chance to meet teachers. The early registration will also provide Hill with the chance to inform parents of the all-important readiness skills that children should practice over the summer.
Last September, Hill started out the year with several students who could not distinguish a letter from a number. In the same classroom, she had students who were already reading.
"By Christmas, they were all on the same page," says Hill, while noting that with a little preparation in recognizing letters and numbers, those students could have avoided playing catch-up.
Parents who attend registration day will learn how to help their children with reading readiness, as well as with personal and independence skills -- from zipping their coats to practicing self-control.
At the beginning of the year, Hill recalls, she had one child who insisted on standing instead of sitting, and another who would enter the classroom at a run -- "from one end of the room to another, knocking things off the table."
"Sometimes," Hill observes, "they've never been in a situation where they had to sit in place or be still."
Class of 2023
Enter the classroom on a Friday in March, however, and all is orderly and calm. A class ambassador greets visitors at the door with a handshake and bravely musters a successful, if fleeting, moment of eye contact.
"My name is Nina Rich," says the ambassador shyly. "And I am going to graduate in 2023!"
After students finish a writing exercise and join Hill on the classroom's Oval Carpet, she introduces her special guests of the day: a bucket of worms from the Hill home garden. Students eager to touch a worm get a chance to pass it around; before long, a few reluctant students join in.
Even this simple exercise, Hill explains later, is a learning experience.
"It's about empowerment," she says, "and learning confidence."
Like taking turns at being the classroom ambassador, handling the worms gives children practice in getting out of their comfort zones. "It shows them," says Hill, 'I was scared to do this, but I did it.' "
Next, the students practice their tallying skills, totaling the votes of those who like worms and those who don't. A cheer goes up once the results are in: the worms win in a landslide, 15-1.
After her students leave for physical education, Hill notes that upon their return to class on Monday, they will be writing about the worm experience.
"Four or five sentences," she marvels. "I never would've thought two years ago that [kindergartners] could write like this."
Virtually all the students know at least 100 sight words and can read, as well; some are reading chapter books. But it's the parents, Hill emphasizes, who deserve most of the credit for those achievements. Although all her parents work during the day, they have supported her classroom efforts in the evenings through practice with flash cards and books.
Getting pumped
Observing her students' achievements produces mixed emotions, reflects Hill with a wistful smile. "This is the time of year I get sad. They came in on all different levels, but there's been so much growth in each of them."
At the same time, she welcomes the chance to see her students move on -- especially since she still sees many former students on a daily basis.
"The second graders come in and give me hugs," she says. "I ask the boys, 'Are you too big for a sticker?'" None of them, she adds with a smile, has turned down a sticker so far.
Not all students will move on to first grade, however. Among those who will be repeating kindergarten is a student whose enrollment was months late due to delays in getting vaccinated.
But even missing the first two weeks of school, says Hill, can set a student back. It's during those weeks that students learn the rules, adjust to routines, and begin to take ownership of the place. "Missing that piece is a big deal."
A student who enters school late will also miss out on the sense of excitement that pervades at April registration and August orientation.
On registration day, says Hill, teachers and staff will go to great lengths to fuss over students and get them pumped up about entering school. "It's a very warm first start. It lays the pathway to orientation and lets them know what to expect. They're getting comfy, getting inside the school, knowing they'll need to bring a snack and to have supplies."
By the first day of school in September, Hill points out, students who attend registration day will have already had four interactions with her: registration, orientation, and a welcoming phone call and post card. It's not unusual, she says, for those students to greet her with a hug -- "like greeting a friend again."
The well-prepared student, she adds, will also be more likely to grasp the concept of personal responsibility for his or her success, and thus be more likely to succeed in school.
"Kindergarten isn't hard," says Hill. "But you need to learn to read in kindergarten, because everything builds on that.
"Once they're reading . . . [they realize] school is not a chore. It's a positive experience, and it's fun."
Kindergarten registration will take place April 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Henrico elementary schools. For detailed information, including a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit readychildren.net.
Reynolds CC to host sculptor Paul DiPasquale
Reynolds Community College will host Richmond sculptor Paul DiPasquale Sept. 28 as he shares his presentation "Art Talk, Why Art Matters" from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Conference Center Gallery of the Workforce Development and Conference Center on the Parham Road Campus, located at 1651 E. Parham Road in Richmond. This event is free and open to the public. > Read more.
Free children's clothing for those in need
The Children's Clothing Closet at Highland Springs United Methodist Church will be open Saturday, Aug. 27 and Tuesday, Aug. 30 to provide free new or nearly new children's clothing for families in need, prior to the start of the school year. The Clothing Closet will be open from 10 a.m. to noon both days. The church is located at 22 North Holly Avenue. > Read more.
Theme for this year's Dominion GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter announced
The theme for the annual Dominion GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside has been announced.
This year's event, which opens Nov. 25 and will continue through Jan. 9, will explore "Living Color" and show how the world's kaleidoscope of colors speaks to people, impacts nature and influences culture, according to Garden officials. The event features more than a half million lights, botanical decorations, trains, holiday dinners, family activities and more. > Read more.
Henrico CASA welcomes 10 new volunteers
West Broad Marketplace continues opening tenants into Q4 of 2016
Henrico Extension to hold Oct. 29 open house for new 4-H Cloverbud Club
Business in brief
Henrico Police seek robbery suspect
- More News
Print Edition
Oct. 20, 2016Click here to read the print edition.
Theme for this year's Dominion GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter announced
CAT Theatre announces cast of 'Wishing Well'
Weekend Top 10
Weekend Top 10
'Survivorman' to visit Henrico Theatre
- More Entertainment
Obituary – Mildred Terrell Tate
Obituary – Stephen Embry Esbach
Obituary – Harry Strachan Hobson
- More Obituaries
Reynolds CC to host sculptor Paul DiPasquale
Free children's clothing for those in need
Local choral group seeks volunteers
- More Community
Storm woes for e-junkies
'Good old days' were good – for some
Of character and parenting
- More Opinions
RIR to admit children 12 and younger free next year
Henrico teams win district, state championships
Varina HS to host Basketball Skill Development Academy June 20-23
- More Sports
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CalendarThe Rotary Club of Innsbrook meets every Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at The Place at Innsbrook. For details, visit http://www.innsbrookrotary.org. Full text


text:
The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) is working to make Johnson County and the Kansas City metro area more friendly for bicyclists.
According to a memo to county commissioners from Brian Pietig, rural services manager for Johnson County, MARC is working with a consultant to develop a regional bike trail plan throughout counties on both sides of the state line.
The purpose of the study is "building a stronger regional bikeway vision."
(Read more at Gardner News)


text:
HARRISBURG -- Tension has been growing between Democrats and Green Party members over the validity of the Greens' political petition signatures, and yesterday the rising tempers escalated into a scuffle and shoving match at the state Capitol.
Six Capitol police officers had to be summoned to a room at the Department of State where the two sides were going over thousands of petition signatures the Greens submitted in an effort to get their candidate, Carl Romanelli, onto the ballot for the U.S. Senate race in November.
The process of combing through the signatures "started on Monday and had gone fairly smoothly until [yesterday] morning," said Commonwealth Court staff attorney John Moyer.
"But then it just kind of boiled over. There was a scuffle -- some elbows, some shoving, some name-calling and some people stomping out. No punches were thrown but there was some language that was not nice," he said.
Ed Myslewicz of the Department of General Services, which oversees the Capitol police, wasn't sure how long it took to restore order.
Shortly after 9 a.m., he said, "We got a call about a disturbance on the third floor. Six officers were sent to the scene.
"No one was injured, no charges were filed and no one was arrested. Perhaps there was too much caffeine in the coffee today."
The scuffle followed a war of words that has gone on all week between the Democrats and the Greens. Democrats have filed a challenge with Commonwealth Court over the legitimacy of 69,000 of the 93,000 petition signatures Mr. Romanelli has turned in.
He is seeking to run against incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and the Democratic candidate, state Treasurer Robert Casey Jr.
Political observers see Mr. Romanelli as much more of a threat to take votes away from Mr. Casey than from Mr. Santorum, which is why Democrats want to get the Green candidate off the Nov. 7 ballot.
Democrats are upset that Mr. Santorum's GOP allies contributed money to Mr. Romanelli to hire a Florida firm to collect petition signatures for him.
Mr. Romanelli and his Green supporters have strongly defended the validity of their signatures. They said they're certain they'll have enough valid signatures -- at least 67,070 -- to gain a place on the Senate ballot. The Greens have assailed Democrats for trying to deny voters a choice.
Each day this week, Mr. Moyer said, nine signature checkers from the Democrats and the Greens, along with lawyers for both sides and one Commonwealth Court security official, have been sitting in a room at the Department of State, slowly going through the petition signatures.
By yesterday morning the checkers had gone through 9,000 of the 69,000 signatures being challenged by the Democrats.
Mr. Moyer said court officials want the two feuding sides to agree on as many signatures as they can in order to simplify the time-consuming process of validating or throwing out thousands of signatures.
The court hopes to make a decision by mid- or late September on whether Mr. Romanelli submitted enough signatures to be on the ballot.
Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at email@example.com or 717-787-4254.


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A "special master" will be appointed to figure out how much money is needed to fix the numerous problems at the facility
With money as the primary outstanding issue blocking the finalization of a consent decree to overhaul operations at the Orleans Parish jail, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk on Monday said he will appoint a "special master" to resolve funding conflicts between the city and Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman. The judge ordered attorneys to appear before him Thursday morning to discuss the appointment of the master.
The judge also appears poised to publicly release the proposed settlement agreement, writing in his latest entry into the court record that the meeting will also "facilitate the entry of a consent judgment such that the unconstitutional conditions in Orleans Parish Prison facilities may be addressed on an expedited basis."
Gusman and Mayor Mitch Landrieu's office are in agreement, along with federal investigators and attorneys representing jail inmates, about the framework for a consent decree. This document will outline a series of requirements that Gusman must implement to reduce violence in his jail facilities and improve their much-criticized mental health care. The agreement will be broad, also requiring specific changes to rework suicide prevention practices, improve sanitation at the decrepit old buildings, bolster medical care and provide translation services for people who don't speak English, according to court records.
The crucial sticking point as all sides look to move forward is how much the city needs to pay. While Gusman actually runs the jail, the city of New Orleans is responsible for paying for the care of pre-trial inmates.
In paperwork filed Friday night, attorneys for the Southern Poverty Law Center and U.S. Department of Justice told Africk about the stalemate between Gusman and the city. They wrote that violence -- including sexual assaults and other attacks on inmates -- continue as all sides try to come to an agreement about how much "interim funding" the city needs to give Gusman to immediately begin implementation of the decree.
In his court entry, Africk indicated the special master will be tasked with figuring out not only how much money is needed, but also what the long-term financing should be for the jail.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Gusman about the conditions at the jail, while the Justice Department has been investigating the jail's operations for four years. The Justice Department has issued two "finding letters" reporting unconstitutional levels of violence at the jail, as well as inadequate mental health care for prisoners and other problems.


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The Barber Vintage Festival continues on for a second day at Barber Motorsports Park, with the count for the number of cars on the grounds up 10 percent, according to Rick Humphrey, vice president of ZOOM Motorsports.
"Our Saturday crowd for this event tends to be our bigger day," he said. "It's amazing; it's between 750 and one thousand more cars on the property than what we had last year."
The festival celebrates motorcycle culture with several events including races, displays, stunt shows and seminars. New events such as the mother and son stunt team Victoria's Circus and a helmet art show have been added to this year's line-up.
The park grounds and customer service attribute to the increase, according to Humphrey.
"You've got all of these people and it you treat them right, they're going to go tell somebody," he said. "All of a sudden it becomes the talk of the motorcycle industry and the people that follow these festivals."
The festival is not only for riders and enthusiasts; there is also an extensive swap meet on the grounds for those interested in buying different motorcycle wares. There are a total of 400 vendors at the festival, Humphrey said.
"I think somebody best described it the other day when they said that you could walk through the swap meet and find all the parts to literally build a motorcycle from start to finish," said Humphrey.
Tina Elliott traveled to Barber from Memphis, Tennessee with her shop Super Cycle. Elliot's shop has had a presence at the festival for all eight years.
"We come here mainly for the comradery," said Elliott. "We buy stuff to take back to our shop to sell."
Sonny Cole from Kentucky has been to the Barber Vintage Festival twice and says the event is great for all ages.
"It's marvelous," he said. "It's anti-typical biker. It's just a family atmosphere. It's just great. It brings back childhood."
The festival is also good for business in the area surrounding Barber Motorsports Park, according to Humphrey.
"They're eating in our restaurants," he said. "They're buying gas here, so from an economic standpoint, it's a good boost for our community. People go back and tell people about the area, this event and the facility and now everybody wants to come."
The Barber Vintage Festival ends Sunday, Oct. 14. Tickets start at $25 and children under the age of 12 are admitted for free. On-site parking is free. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit barbermotorsports.com.
Follow @Birmingham_News


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My Comments
@Miss Trey Songz u are more than welcome to join us!
On: Mar 13, 2012
Thx @lisaleigh31!
On: Jan 28, 2012
U have to add me as a a friend. Here is my link - http://www.facebook.com/#!/TaleciaW and then go to the event page. Some costs are less if u stay in LA i.e.(hotel/plane ticket,etc things u wont have to pay for). http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/154590054610679/
On: Jan 04, 2012
@Treyzjewel u r good just make sure u add yourself 2 the facebook 2012 angel trip as 'attending'. Its a better way for me to contact u all and keep a head count. Thx!!
On: Dec 15, 2011
This is going to be 1 EPIC Angel Trip!!
On: Dec 14, 2011


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DETROIT, MI -- Country musician Josh Gracin, a Metro Detroit native and former "American Idol" finalist, appears eager to get back to work after posting last week an apparent suicide note on his Facebook page.
Gracin's official Twitter page retweeted Monday a post from Louisville's Mercury Ballroom that his Aug. 30 show at the venue is still on.
Attention: @JoshGracin's show here on Aug. 30th is still on. For more info please visit - http://t.co/9FqkQ46289 pic.twitter.com/257toHIR1X— Mercury Ballroom (@MercuryBallroom) August 18, 2014
Gracin's official website mentions that an Aug. 28 show in Omaha, Neb., an Sept. 6 show in Louisa, Ky. and a Oct. 10 show in Barbourville, Ky. are also still on.
Gracin, 33, grew up in the Detroit suburb of Westland and reportedly posted last week a note on Facebook that asked fans to "pray for my family as they carry on in this world without me."
Attempts Wednesday by MLive.com to reach Gracin, who lives in Spring Hill, Tenn., or any of his family members to get an update on his status were unsuccessful.
After the Facebook message surfaced and was removed, Gracin's manager posted Aug. 14 on Twitter that Gracin, a married father of four, was safe with his family.
This is Josh's manager, Amy. Thank you everyone for your prayers & concern. Josh is safe & with his family now. I promise to update soon.— Josh Gracin (@joshgracin) August 14, 2014
Then on Aug. 15, Gracin's Twitter page shared a link to his Facebook page that posted the following message about the singer's status:
"As many of you know, Josh Gracin has been battling depression and as a result found himself in a personal crisis yesterday.
Thanks to the outpouring of concern from family, friends, fans and the police, Josh was admitted to the hospital for observation.
With family by his side, Josh has since been discharged from the hospital and has voluntarily checked himself into an inpatient facility to seek the help he needs."
The Aug. 15 Facebook post included the following statement from Gracin:
"I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. I take responsibility for my actions and apologize dearly for what I have put my family through.
With the help of my family and friends, I am getting help. Again, thank you for your love and I will see you very soon."
A copy of Gracin's initial Facebook message, reported by TMZ, can be found on TMZ's website.
Gracin, 33, was born in Westland, graduated John Glenn High and attended Western Michigan University before he joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
He completed four years of service and was honorably discharged in 2004.
Gracin was a finalist for FOX's "American Idol" in 2003, finishing fourth during the show's second season.


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Rihanna wasn't the only one who had a clothing line collaboration to launch yesterday, as the Spring collection of Tulisa's TFB line with Bank hit stores yesterday.
Similar to Rihanna's line, TFB features a range of neon, monochrome and urban-inspired fashion and looking at the collection, it's a step up from the previous line.
Check out the collection below:
Will you be buying anything from the line? As always, let us know in the comments below.


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Guilty plea in Springfield church arson a step toward healing
Benjamin Haskell, 23, of Springfield, one of three men accused of torching a predominately black church hours after Barack Obama's election as the nation's first African-American president, pleaded guilty to the crime in federal court Wednesday.
But the alleged hate crime that has captured the attention of the White House and tarnished the city's image is not yet closed. The other Springfield men charged with the crime – Michael Jacques and Thomas Gleason, 22 – are still scheduled for trial for allegedly setting the blaze at the Macedonia Church of God in Christ on Tinkham Road in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2008.
Haskell, who cooperated with authorities to implicate the others after his arrest, faces nine years in prison for conceding that the three set the fire at partially built church, located within a few blocks of the men's homes, to denounce Obama's election. Haskell's sentence was adjusted slightly in return for his cooperation. Formal sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 29.
"I hope this sentence sends a message that hate crimes will be investigated and prosecuted vigorously," Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said following the plea hearing.
We hope the negative attention the city has received for this shameful incident will be diminished by the goodness displayed by the community at large in the wake of the fire. Clergy, government leaders and ordinary citizens stepped forward to show support for church members in their efforts to rebuild the house of worship.
Until recently, it appeared as if the church would not secure a bank loan to proceed with its plans. But Gov. Deval L. Patrick, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and bank officials worked together to secure a $1.8 million loan from TD Bank to move forward with the project.
We look forward to the church's dedication as it rises from the ashes of hate as a symbol of community love and support. t
Editorial: Guilty plea in church arson a step toward healing
Carolyn Robbins | firstname.lastname@example.com By
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 17, 2010 at 12:00 AM
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on June 17, 2010 at 12:00 AM


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Something came to my attention recently. Again. I was reminded about the way our brains love to categorize, particularly in binary terms - black and white, tall and short, good and bad, right and wrong. It's understandable why we do it - such categorization gives us peace of mind, because once we place something or someone in a proper (or improper) box, we can make sense of it and move on. It's more difficult to place something or someone in a gray area or abandon categorization altogether, because it results in uncertainty, which leads to some sort of anxiety and discomfort.
From my observation of self and others, I've noticed binary thinking occur in regards to gay and lesbian couples. Our society has prescribed certain roles to each member - males are supposed to be masculine and females are supposed to be feminine. So how is it supposed to go among gay and lesbian couples? Certainly, there are gay couples, who seemingly fit into the binary categorization (e.g., one partner has very feminine gender expression and the other very masculine gender expression). However, that's often not the case. We may have two masculine men, two masculine women, two feminine women, and other varieties. Our binary thinking then results in a sense of lack - lack of feminine or masculine counterpart. To make sense of same-sex relationships, we thus ask a question, "Who is the girl/boy in your relationship?" Patient and understanding couples may respond, "No one;" others may either become annoyed (rightfully so), engage in a debate, or ignore us altogether.
LGBTQIA issues give us an opportunity to practice being in a gray area while yielding to anxiety, which expands our minds and perception. Same-sex relationships, in particular, can teach us that families or couples don't have to nor do they often succumb to the limited rules and expectations of our society. Each couple creates its own rules and gender roles, depending on what makes more sense, what is more effective, and what each person prefers. If you work with same-sex couples:
________________________________________________________________________ Evelyn Pavlova is a counselor and an Ally, whose preferred population is LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, invisible minority, asexual, and ally) individuals. Her areas of interest are eating disorders, mood disorders, mindfulness, and spirituality. Read more about her new counseling journey atwww.curvyroad.weebly.com


text: No Country For Old Men [Blu-ray] (2007) Flag this deal What's the matter? Choose a reason Dead deal Duplicate Bad link Spam Inaccurate No value Alive again Edit deal tr1plication Jul 27, 2014 Back again Reply saveoften Mar 22, 2014 One of the best movies I've ever seen.. too bad I already own it. Reply MrBklynW Mar 21, 2014 3/22 - back again Reply srborges Feb 06, 2014 Updated thanks Reply blackfoot Nov 23, 2012 Looks like a good movie + the price won't break you. Reply Dexterous Nov 23, 2012 Updated with price drop Reply Load More Comments


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An 18-year-old Jersey City man has been charged with striking a 15-year-old boy in the face with brass knuckles, fracturing his jaw, and beating his legs with a lead pipe, officials said.
Justin Matos, of the 400 block of Mercer Street, made his first court appearance yesterday on the charges of aggravated assault, possession of brass knuckles and possession of the brass knuckles for an unlawful purpose, the criminal complaint says.
On Wednesday at about 7:40 p.m. officers responded to the victim's home and spoke to his mother, who said her son was assaulted by a group of males on Palisade Avenue near Dickinson High School while leaving a school athletic event, a report says.
The boy said he was assaulted by a group of males that had been harassing him for the past two weeks and the mother said she had already filed complaints against the juveniles in the group, the complaint says.
But the mother was "was adamant about reporting the adult actor of the group, Justin Matos, who struck the victim (name omitted) on the right side of the face with a pair of brass knuckles and with a lead pipe to his legs," the complaint says.
The 15-year-old suffered swelling to the right side of his face and was taken to Christ Hospital for treatment, the report says. The complaint says his jaw was fractured.
Matos' bail was set at $10,000 with a 10 percent cash option. A court official said Matos is believed to be a high school student.


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"Things are not what they seem."
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It was just before Christmas when one of our readers called to say deer were walking down the streets of Newaygo, looking for food. The Lower Peninsula deer feeding/baiting ban was responsible.
You may recall that snows were deep. The weather was cold, really bitter.
The caller's interpretation was clear. The state banned deer feeding because of chronic wasting disease. As a result, deer were hungry and had come to town in nasty weather looking for a handout.
I had visions of the television show "Northern Exposure," the streets of Cicely, Alaska, a moose wandering down Main Street.
Kinda quaint, I thought, although I suspect the caller didn't see it that way. The call seemed as much an expression of anger about the ban as concern for the deer. People like feeding deer. They like to see them in their yards, just like those who feed birds every year.
But according to state wildlife biologists, deer don't need to be fed in order to survive in southern Michigan, although unseasonable deep snow might have caught some deer off guard.
"Deer have evolved to survive winters just fine," said Rod Clute, the big game specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "They are designed to survive three to four months of severe weather. Five or six is another matter."
Their methods
Some of the ways deer have evolved to survive the winter include: Bulking up in the fall, growing a thick winter coat that insulates well and putting on a special brown fat they can live off for a long time. Deer find a winter habitat where they can bed down under overhanging branches, which helps protect them from the elements and creates a microclimate that is less severe.
"Their metabolic rate drops substantially," Clute said. "Their caloric requirements are half of what it is in June or July."
Supplementary feeding is unnecessary for survival, especially in southern Michigan, Clute said. It fosters dependency on the human hand and alters natural movement.
"The conclusion of most professional biologists around the nation is that it is more harmful than good," Clute said. "Our position is that wildlife has to make a living in the real world and needs to be able to take care of itself."
Which is where past feeding practices might have had a role in the Newaygo Christmas drama. Deer, especially those farther north, migrate from their summer feeding range to their winter
range, where the habitat is more able to provide shelter.
Deer along the Lake Superior shoreline typically start migrating to deer yards before the November 15 firearm season opener because of early snows.
That might be a 40-mile migration for a northern deer or a two-mile migration in southern Michigan. But deer also can lose the sense to migrate if they grow accustomed to mild winters.
"Some deer, especially on the fringe of northern Michigan, like Newaygo and Mecosta county, have lost the urge to migrate," Clute said. "They learn to overwinter in subpar winter habitat. Some can survive in upland hardwoods. They have acorns to eat but no protection from the weather. It is lousy winter habitat, but they pull it off because it is not severe."
Handouts from people also attract them. That, in turn, keeps deer closer to roads. It's like the birds that don't fly south because people feed them year round, Clute said.
Unseasonable weather, like that in December, catches them unprepared in an unsuitable habitat. That prompts them to go searching for acorns, now buried deep, or looking for old familiar handouts from humans or looking for a better habitat.
"(In deep snow), roads may be the path of least resistance," Clute said. "They are easy to walk versus belly-deep snow."
And soon you have deer in town.
Some deer may die this winter. Clute doesn't dispute the possibility. They are more likely to be in the northern reaches of the state where the effects of a hard winter linger longer and tax their fat reserves.
Biologists monitor winter severity regularly and its impact on deer. He expects no problems in southern Michigan.
That raises at least one good question about what happened: Were deer in town because deer feeding was banned last fall, or because they were fed?
E-mail Howard Meyerson: firstname.lastname@example.com


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The kid's new foster mother seems to be a giant deadbeat, which makes me wonder, she is supposed to be certified as a therapeutic foster mother and she can't even drive 30 minutes to visit the kid while she is in the mental outpatient facility. Give me a break. I drove from DC to
Richmond to visit and take her out half a
dozen times before she was placed with me. Children in this situation have very
little trust for adults and going to live with a complete stranger is
completely ridiculous. I need to breathe and let go, but I'm still the one who
takes the damn phone calls from the therapists and doctors and social workers. She's
not even my ward any more! I guess I'm just the only one who answers the phone
and bothers to get stuff done! She gets out of the facility on Friday and then
I should get an actual break as she starts the bonding process with the new
I ran an extremely hilly 11 mile race on Saturday. I wasn't planning on it. I was planning on just running a 15 miler starting at the bottom stairs to my apartment. A friend with a broken toe couldn't run the race though and it comes with a magic golden ticket to get you early entry into the Marine Corps Marathon. So I ran it for her so she could keep the entry. The Disney Runner told me there was a killer hill, but I thought, it can't be that bad. Boy was I wrong. I clocked 83 flights of stairs on my altimeter and the entire race was just up and down. One hill I felt I had to climb up using my hands! I was just planning on taking it slow and easy walking whenever I felt like it. There was no time limit listed. Then as the gun went off they announced a cut off of 14 minute miles. I almost turned around and walked back to my car, but I figured, I gotta run anyway. I'll just go until they pick my ass up. But with those hills it meant I actually had to run-run it. I did and I finished the damn thing. And long after the cut off and then had to stand in line for the shuttle for an hour and a half!
|Disney Runner, Lefty Survivor, Awesome, Jarhead
I thought my new shoes sucked, but I decided I don't think its my shoes. I used to suffer horribly from blisters and last year I seemed to get magic shoes. No blisters and no injuries. I bought the same shoes, just this years model and blisters are back and unbelievable aches and pains, IT band issues, hip problems, and my arches and heels kill. Then I realized, I gained back all the weight I lost. Well almost all. I don't think I can run injury free at this size. My own damn fault, I have no idea where my willpower went, but its definitely gone! I actually bought 3 laser lipo sessions off of Groupon! I read that as you gain weight, your fat cells divide and multiply, but when you lose weight, they just shrink, they don't die. So its easier to gain weight each time, because there are more fat cells to feed. I think this has to be true. I gained 40 pounds in 4 months. You would think I would be sitting around eating boxes of Girl Scout cookies and entire pizzas. Not the case at all. I did get a bit lazy in my exercise routines. I used to run multiple times a week and do core, weight and resistance training. I would workout between 4 and 8 times a week. I actually enjoyed some of it. We all know I had a crush on my trainer, but I hated half the crap we did. There is just no fun in slamming around giant ropes. But I didn't mind TRX training and oddly kettle bells, which I hated in the beginning. I loved exercise classes. Especially if I took them with a friend.
I let my gym membership lapse and I haven't set foot in a class in probably 6 months. I do kind of think part of it is a defense mechanism to push people away from me. After the crap with Bacon, who I could care less about now, I think I just didn't want to invest anything emotionally in anyone else or have them even provide the offer. I can safely say, I'm at the size now, that no one would offer! But I can't believe I let myself do this! Why can't I be one of those people who gets pissed off and enjoys getting it out by running? The Jarhead tore through the same course. He had a 6:22 mile on the worst part of the course. Meanwhile, I'm walking through a water stop and some marine gets in my face, "Get some! You're doing great! Keep up that pace!!" I just looked at him and started laughing. "I'm really going somewhere! Look at me! I'm really going fast, this will be hard to keep up!" He laughed too. Its pretty hard to not laugh at the fat chick walking. LMAO
The funny part is, multiple people came up to me and told me how motivational I was throughout the race. How they just kept watching the back of my green shirt and tried to keep pace with me. Only morons would use me as a pacer. I have no form, no speed, no consistency and well I'm a bitch. This is the second race that people have told me this after. And both of them were horrible races that I tanked on! I've never run a negative split in my life and my second half is usually minutes per mile off of my first half. (Yes, I know what that means, but I can't seem to slow down in the first half to fix it.) People are dumb, but sweet! And hey, they were behind me, so that's one thing!


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Lady Gaga's NAKED Tweet!
Lady Gaga's Naked Pic Reminds Us of Celebrity Tweets We Hate the Most
Yes, she's wearing underwear!*The following sentences are meant to be read completely monotone. Hey, guess what you guys? Lady Gaga posted a naked photo of herself to her social networking site, LittleMonsters.com. Whoa. Isn't-that-crazy?
No. It's not crazy. To be honest, I find it rather derivative. Of herself. Of other celebrities. And of the entire social-networking universe, particular Twitter, at large. Enough with the naked(ish) tweets. How about a little mystique for chrissake? The fact that all these celebs even have Twitter accounts at all seriously decreases their mystique factor. But tweeting salacious photos of themselves to boot? I mean, geez, why don't they just invite us to live with them as their diary stenographers.
I get that we live in a world of chronic over-sharing, but there has to be a line when it comes to celebrity tweeting. Here are 5 of the most annoying types of celebrity tweets.
The aforementioned naked/semi-naked tweet. I mean, we all know that the majority of celebrities are more narcissistic than most, but these kinds of photos take things to a new level. (Especially when followed up with the occasional complaint about "not having any privacy.")
The "no makeup" tweet. Yes, you look good "without makeup" (AKA "without heavy makeup"), but we all know that there was just a full-on iPhone photoshoot in really good lighting after getting your hair blown out.
The pictures of food tweets. I love that we're now a culture obsessed with food and cooking and whatnot, but the world doesn't need to see a photo of the Baja Fresh burrito Justin Bieber is enjoying. We need to eat it.
Only taking pictures in Instagram/Hipstamatic. I'm just saying that there have been plenty of advancements in camera phones over the past few years. Every photo doesn't need to appear like it was taken in 1976.
The complete and total non-tweet. I 100 percent get that 99 percent of tweets are more or less about nothing, but some are just ridiculous. Yes, we have an unsettling interest in what celebrities are doing -- banal things and all -- but there needs to be a line. (I'm looking at you, Kim Kardashian.) Maybe skip tweets like "SoOoOoO sleeeeeppppyyy!", "Ready for the gym!!!!", and "Old 90210 reruns -- LOVE!" Save up for something more interesting. Like what you're having for dinner.
What kinds of celebrity tweets do you find annoying/ridiculous?
I don't do celebs............she seems a bit off her rocker anyway, anything for attention, publicity and more money.....
Meh. Not into celebs or twitter. I like a lot of her music though.
Quoting mommybug77:
Ewwww. Not into twitter
Quoting websorceress:
I don't do celebs............she seems a bit off her rocker anyway, anything for attention, publicity and more money.....