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I noticed your recent articles about mega-farms. We have them here, too. The inheritance tax was written to control them; it didn't. Either some drastic measures must be taken or revolutions may result. Going back in history, mega-farms contributed to most of the revolutions I studied in history.
We will start with the French Revolution. Most of the good farmland was owned by the rich, mostly kings' favourites. The work was done by the serfs. If the land was sold, the serf was sold, too. The owners mostly lived in cities and never went near the farms except to hunt or collect rents.
Some big plantation owners lived in England before the American Revolution. Most of them weren't broken up at the end of the war as there was a lot of open land. For the most part, the absentee landlords were replaced.
The Irish Revolution was another.
The communist takeover was made much easier as the Russian nobility owned much of the land as mega-farms. That was so common a poet wrote a poem about it, Noblesse Oblige. Its theme was the owners were not productive, as they did no work.
The landowners were not productive, and only babies have the right to produce nothing, was the only line I remember from that poem.
Unless my memory fails me, a Canadian landowner has to live in Canada, be a citizen of Canada, or if he is not a citizen, have citizenship applied for, and follow through in a reasonable length of time. I know four people who lost their Canadian land because of this law, or so they said. Three of them are dead.
Yes, mega-farms are a problem to Canada, but no match for the ones in the U.S. Our farm program helps the big farmers more than the medium-sized ones. I think it is a good time to be old if you are a U.S. citizen.
And then, we have the death tax. It really is hard to pay for the farm every generation. What is wrong with the death tax is the rich people don't seem to pay it and the middle class pays through the nose.
George Thompson,
Nezperce, Idaho
I never thought I'd say this, but I may be lucky to be living in a riding represented by a member of Parliament on the government side — Conservative Robert Sopuck, Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette — after all.
I say this because the government Mr. Sopuck represents, under Stephen Harper, has decided the Assiniboine River, one of millions of lakes, rivers and streams in Canada, is among the very few designated as protected under its new Navigation Protection Act. It happens to flow through Mr. Sopuck's riding, not far from where I live.
This protection means that ice fishers, anglers and pleasure boaters will keep their historic right, which dates back to Sir John A. (Macdonald) himself, to navigate the river without being obstructed by any more bridges, mining or forestry equipment, pipelines or dams.
At least, any proposed new infrastructure of this kind will need a permit from Ottawa. That apparently won't be the case for all those unprotected waterways. They, by contrast, will be wide open for business. And, according to the opposition, the vast majority of those are said to fall within non-government ridings.
So, as you may have guessed by now, I speak with tongue in cheek.
In fact, this kind of thing simply reeks of patronage, cynicism and hypocrisy — a shoddy new low, even for the Harperites.
It exposes for all to see that the "cloak of green" Mr. Sopuck likes to put on to cleverly disguise himself as an environmentalist is now threadbare — as is Mr. Harper's pledge in his election victory speech to be "a leader for all Canadians."
Larry Powell,
Roblin, Man.
Thanks to prime minister Stephen Harper and minister of agriculture Garry Ritz, we now have the Conservative Wheat Board, all political appointees, since all our elected farmer directors were fired. The farmers for Just Us seem to think they have marketing freedom. What a farce. We are now all slaves to the vagaries of a fluctuating market.
Other things for which we can be thankful to our government: austerity measures; funding was cut for CIDA (Canadian International Dev-elopment Agency) and international charitable organizations; no more trees for farmsteads from Indian Head; phasing out of community pastures; no more CBC television for rural residents. But we had $28 million to spend to commemorate the War of 1812. And we have billions of dollars to spend for fighter planes. What do we need them for?
J. W. Zunti,
Luseland, Sask.
On a recent trip to a grocery store in Morinville, Alta., I observed a lady next to me buying two dozen or more packages of wieners. The cashier asked if they were on sale, since she had so many.
"No," was her reply. "They are for the local food bank".
Just recently, Wildrose party leader Danielle Smith was in trouble for suggesting that surely some of the recalled beef from XL Foods could have been salvaged and, if cooked properly, could have been used to feed the hungry.
Which is worse — feeding the poor hot dogs, i.e. wieners, laced with chemicals and nitrates and nitrites, which can cause colon and other cancers, or recalled beef, provided it is cooked properly? Not all the recalled beef was contaminated with E. coli and it could have been tested, I'm sure.
On CBC's Marketplace program Oct. 26, they were testing tenderized roasts and steaks done mechanically and they were laden with E. coli because these machines are impossible to sanitize, yet none of this meat states on the packaging whether or not it has been tenderized. It's like playing Russian roulette buying fresh meat in any grocery chain in Canada.
That's why I buy privately from a farm growing and cutting its own naturally grass-fed animals.
Elaine Sloan,
Busby, Alta.
The Oct. 25 issue of The Western Producer contained a letter entitled Paper Wheat. There will be readers who remember the well-produced and well-acted play Paper Wheat, which toured Saskatchewan more than once. It was written around early farmers' struggle to get out from under the grip of the private grain companies and create their own co-operatives, such as the late, once highly respected wheat pools.
Aside from the fact that farmers are often their own worst enemies, there have been many dirty tricks pulled on all facets of farming these last few years, and this will likely continue since the few farmers left have little political power and little cohesiveness. If another up-to-date play were written, I would suggest the title Betrayed.
C. D. Pike,
Waseca, Sask.
Recently I attended an auction, and did a substantial amount of business with the auction company of the day. Upon payment, they charged me an "administrative fee." That's what they call it. I prefer to call it a tax on doing business with them.
Yes, I was aware of the fee, for they had a very considerate employee point it out to me upon registration. That is not the point.
The point is the fee itself, and the audacity of a business to charge it to their customer. Fathom this: a person going into a Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart or local Co-op, doing $5, $10, $50 or maybe $200,000 worth of business, and then being charged an administrative fee at the till.
Solution: What if you called an auction and nobody came? It would seem this may be occurring, for during a year with relatively good yields and record high prices, there was a small crowd. It would seem they stayed home.
I will be joining them.
Berle Eberle,
Viceroy, Sask.
George Thompson,


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Papers and projects
Find out how researchers and performers have been inspired by films, sound, photographs, memorabilia and objects in the NFSA collection. Or read past issues of the NFSA Journal (2006-2009).
SAR Fellow Dr Adam Broinowski explores the multifaceted implications of mining uranium that are evident in the NFSA collection. His SAR fellowship work is part of a larger Australian Research Council project, Contaminated Life: 'Hibakusha' in Japan in the Nuclear Age.
Anna Haebich, a John Curtin Distinguished Professor at Curtin University in Perth, showcases West Australian Aboriginal performing arts and the plays, music, dance and festivals in the NFSA collection.
The NFSA joined with nine other organisations to explore and promote new understanding of Australian women's leadership in the 20th century. The partners in this Australian Research Council Linkage Project Women and leadership in a century of Australian democracy have collaborated to produce Australia's first online Encyclopedia of women leaders, including entries on Women in Film, Radio and Television.
The Explosive Life of an Exploiteer: Franklyn Barrett Tours North Queensland with 'The Ten Commandments'
Hollywood, local filmmakers and regional Australia intersect in the story of Franklyn Barrett's touring of a live prologue to Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments in Far North Queensland, 1925. Jeannette Delamoir researched the NFSA's Franklyn Barrett Collection as part of her Scholars and Artists in Residence Fellowship at the NFSA in May 2011.
Ken Berryman, NFSA Curator of Oral History, examines the legacy of the Once Upon A Wireless Oral History Project. This paper was delivered at the Australasian Sound Recordings Association Conference in Sydney on 21 September 2012.
The NFSA's collection includes early coloured films, many of which are tinted. As these films deteriorate with age, their colours are lost. Steve Clark, Trevor Carter and Bruce Cowell from the NFSA's Motion Picture Laboratory share their research about using traditional dyes and techniques to restore tinted films.
Dr Gwenda Davey was resident at the NFSA as a SAR fellow in 2011. She is currently writing a book about girls' childhood in Australia, with the working title of Girl Talk: One Hundred Years of Childhood in Australia. Dr Davey's fellowship at the NFSA enabled her to research material from the national audiovisual collection for her book, as well as provide a valuable commentary on a neglected dimension of Australia's social history.
NFSA conservator Shingo Ishikawa and digitisation specialist Darren Weinert talk about cinema slides and their history, manufacture and preservation. Adopted widely by amateur and professional photographers, public speakers, variety performers and advertisers, glass slides were still in use in cinemas until the late 1970s.
The NFSA's former Oral History Program Coordinator Chris Guster shares a personal perspective on the early days of remote Indigenous media groups, which in just 30 years have grown from small pirate stations into national and international media organisations.
Warning: This paper may contain names, images or voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The NFSA's Chief Cinema Programmer Quentin Turnour challenges the myths surrounding the making of the film known as Home of the Blizzard (1911–1916), shedding light on the provenance of footage created to record and promote Douglas Mawson's 1911–1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE).

subset: commoncrawl


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Location: England
Member since 10/17/2009
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Reviews by Prudy
Zingers - Wow but Great Result
I had my teeth whitened within the last hour in birmingham (England) using Zoom. I had totally wound myself up with the reviews on here re the pain to the extent that I vry nearly didn't go through with it. I spent ages choosing my dentist and I'm glad I did. She was so thorough and... READ MORE
Recent comments from Prudy
Well I am due to undergo zoom in an hour's time and I have scared myself stupid with all of these reviews. I am determined to go through with it and will report back truthfully both on the issue of pain and actual whitening results. ... READ COMMENT


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Conditioning has been a big topic in the early days of Knicks training camp.
Coach Mike Woodson has put an emphasis on running, and that has suited some players better than others.
Rasheed Wallace, who was retired up until this month, has been sparring during practice in an effort to get cleared for scrimmages, wrote Marc Berman of the New York Post.
"It's all geared for conditioning,'' Woodson said, as quoted by Berman. "These guys do a lot of different things around here that we didn't do when we came up the old-school way. It's all conditioning work to better the player. Eventually we'll get him out on the floor ready to play."
Carmelo Anthony, meanwhile, looks to be in nearly perfect condition thanks to his busy Olympic summer.
As Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News wrote, being in shape at the start of camp is a new thing for Melo:
But it starts with Anthony, the team's star, who has usually had to work his way into top shape in training camp after a typical offseason. Not this time. He and Tyson Chandler, the Knicks' other gold-medal winner in London, reported to camp in prime condition.
"It's a bonus for any coach to have two players that played throughout the summer, where they don't get a lot of time off," Woodson said. "And then they come back, they should be pumped up and ready to go. And these two guys have been that way and it's nice to see."
Even Raymond Felton, who admitted to being out of shape with the Portland Trail Blazers last season, has looked good so far.
And since neither has been limited by conditioning, Anthony and Felton have already begun developing a level of chemistry between them, wrote Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com:
Carmelo Anthony's feeling pretty comfortable with Ray Felton at point guard so far.
"It's his show. The ball is in his hands. He gets the ball, we space out, we do what we have to do," Anthony said after the Knicks scrimmage on Monday. "It makes things a lot more easier out there."
In other Knicks news:
• As NJ.com's Tony Williams wrote, center Tyson Chandler is more confident because of his experience playing with Team USA this summer: "Chandler continued, adding he thinks he and Melo are poised to have even better seasons than in year's past, simply because their level of competition blew away anyone else's summer experience... 'Guys played pickups and things like that in the offseason but we're playing against the best players in the world in practice everyday,' Chandler noted. "And everybody sees the shape Melo is in, his timing, and he's already playing basketball at an unbelievable level. Same with me. I've also gotten my body stronger.'"
• Steve Popper of The Bergen Record explained that the Knicks' veteran acquisitions should help to make Anthony feel more comfortable on the floor: "Actually, the best thing for Anthony might be that the Knicks' roster has been reworked. Not quite comparable to the gold medal-winning squad, and no one will mistake any of the additions for LeBron James or Kevin Durant. But the Knicks have added veterans with impressive résumés who certainly will take some of the pressure off of Anthony to carry the offense... 'Anytime you play against the best players in the world, they're going to force you to compete,' Woodson said. 'That's every day in practice, every day when you step on the floor to play a game and you learn some things about yourself.'"
• Melo's Olympic experience also taught him to trust his teammates more, wrote Begley: "Anthony's known as a player who thrives in isolation and he's oft-criticized for his tendency to bog down an offense. Can he do anything to change that perception this season, his 10th in the league?... Anthony noted on Monday that playing with talents such as Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James over the summer made it easy to make that extra pass to find an open teammate on the wing (though, it should be noted, he was often the beneficiary of that extra pass in London)."
• Don't forget that MSG airs "Knicks Training Camp Live" today at 11 a.m. and the network re-airs the broadcast at 9 p.m. tonight


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A big-time save by some prison inmates from Washington.
According to a report from The Columbian, a trio of prison inmates performing maintenance at a Washington park on Wednesday helped save three brothers -- ages 8, 10 and 16 -- whose kayak overturned in a swollen creek.
Two of the inmates entered the water to help rescue the boys, while the third assisted from the shore, according to The Columbian report.


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(Approved by the Board of Trustees May 27, 1981; amended April 24, 1978; November 8, 1979; April 4, 1985; and October 1-2, 1992; revisions approved by Faculty Senate May 5, 2003 and General Faculty May 18, 2003.)
The LCIV (Lecturer, Clinical, Instructor, Visiting) faculty and the administration agree that this Due Process Mechanism provides an orderly method to secure prompt and equitable disposition of complaints. LCIV faculty are those faculty who have full time appointments as lecturers, clinical faculty, instructors or visiting faculty. This policy excludes LCIV faculty in the School of Medicine and the School of Professional Psychology.
The following procedures are not a replacement for a college's due process or for informal resolution. LCIV faculty are encouraged to discuss issues with appropriate administrative representatives at all levels.
These procedures are not applicable to cases involving only salary disputes. Procedures covering these violations are addressed in the revised Salary Inequity Appeal Process.
The procedures are presented as a mechanism which allows for the resolution of areas of disagreement with the least disruption to the university.
- Definitions
- "Complaint" is defined as an allegation by one or more LCIV faculty members that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of policies or procedures affecting the conditions of the faculty member's (s') employment, or that such policies or procedures are opposed to the stated aims and goals of the university.
- "Complainant" is the faculty member or members initiating a complaint.
- "Administration" is the dean of the college or a provost at the university level.
- "Hearing Board" is a five-member committee appointed when needed by the University Faculty Affairs Committee.
- "Day" is defined as Monday through Friday throughout the calendar year, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays, formal holidays recognized by the University and periods when the University is officially closed.
At the college level, a three-member Hearing Board will be appointed when needed by a college committee that consists of at least a majority of LCIV faculty. This committee will determine the method used to appoint the Hearing Board. The complainant and the administration may peremptorily challenge the presence of one member of a Hearing Board. Replacements, if necessary, will be selected in a manner agreeable to both parties. The Hearing Board shall elect their own chair. The Hearing Board shall have the authority to dismiss nuisance cases following deliberations.
- Statement of Basic Principles
- Every LCIV faculty member or group of LCIV faculty shall have the right to present complaints in accordance with the procedures described herein. These procedures in no way preclude the faculty member or group from seeking resolution through administrative review.
- Publicity shall be avoided during the processing of a complaint, and the parties shall avoid infringement upon the rights of third parties.
- No one who participates in these procedures shall be subject to discipline or reprisal because of such participation.
- Administrators have the responsibility to consider and take action promptly, within authority delegated to them, on recommendations presented to them.
- The failure of an administrator at any level to act and communicate the administrator's decision within the prescribed time limits permits the LCIV faculty member to proceed to the next stage.
- The normal procedure is to attempt to resolve the problem first at the college level then at the university level. However, when the complaint originates at an administrative level higher than the college, the LCIV faculty member shall start the procedure at that level. If the complainant has filed the same or substantially similar complaint in an external state or federal agency or court, the college or university Hearing Board shall not consider that complaint unless the complaint is remanded to the appropriate Hearing Board by the external agency or court. Judgment as to what constitutes "the same or substantially similar complaint" rests with the college or university Hearing Board, as appropriate. Upon request of the college or university Hearing Board, the administration shall inform the Hearing Board in writing of each complaint filed by the complainant in an external state or federal agency or court.
- At each level every effort shall be made to resolve the problem by discussion.
- If the complaint involves suspension or termination of employment, full pay shall be continued during this procedure until termination of the complainant's contract.
- Every LCIV faculty member or group of LCIV faculty shall have the right to present complaints in accordance with the procedures described herein. These procedures in no way preclude the faculty member or group from seeking resolution through administrative review.
- The Due Process Mechanism
The procedures shall consist of discussion and a hearing, in that order.
- Discussion
The complainant forwards to the administration a written description of the complaint, stipulating:
- the grounds constituting the complaint as defined in A.2.
- the remedy requested
- that this complaint is submitted pursuant to the Due Process Mechanism.
The complainant and the administration shall meet to discuss the problem and to attempt to reach an acceptable solution. This discussion is informal and cannot be used later as evidence. The administration shall communicate its decision in writing to the complainant within five business days of the completion of discussion.
- College Level Hearing Procedures
A request for a complaint hearing can be filed within five business days with the administration at the college level if the aggrieved is dissatisfied with the administrative decision(s) in C.1. and the aggrieved is convinced that further discussion will be fruitless at that level. As applicable, the procedures outlined in C.3. shall be used at the college level.
- University Level Hearing Procedures
A request for a complaint hearing can be filed within five business days with the administration, if the aggrieved is dissatisfied with the administrative decisions(s) at the college level and the aggrieved is convinced that further discussion will be fruitless at that level.
If a hearing is requested, the following process will be followed:
- Both the complainant and those alleged to have committed or assisted in it (hereafter referred to as respondent party) have the right to be represented at the hearing; to produce witnesses, statements, or other evidence; and to cross-examine positions. No attorney for either party shall attend the hearing.
- Within ten days of the filing of the complaint, the University Faculty Affairs Committee will appoint a five member Hearing Board. Both the complainant and respondent will be notified of the Hearing Board's membership.
- Within ten days after the notification, the complainant and the respondent may each challenge one member of the Hearing Board peremptorily, and the individual challenged shall not serve on the board. The University Faculty Affairs Committee shall select a substitute member, if required. There shall be no other challenges considered. The procedure for selecting a substitute member is for the two parties (complainant and respondent) each to submit two names who are eligible and willing to serve. The University Faculty Affairs Committee shall submit one name. Each party can then mark off two names. The committee will select the replacement from the remaining name or names.
- The hearing will begin no earlier than fifteen days after delivery of the allegation to the chair of the Hearing Board. Both parties should submit the names of first witnesses to be called, a summary of their expected testimony, and the description of any other evidence to be presented. This information should be available to both parties at least ten days before the scheduled hearing.
- The complainant has the right to either an open or closed hearing upon the complainant's request, but a majority of the Hearing Board can close any part of the hearing in which it appears that the evidence presented will adversely affect the personal reputation of third parties, or if it becomes difficult to protect the integrity of the proceedings.
- The complainant and the respondent shall each appoint a single spokesperson responsible for the conduct of the party's case during the hearing. The Hearing Board shall be responsible for holding the time constraints and operating procedures.
- Positions statements by the complainant(s) and respondent(s) and questions from the Hearing Board will be held to a maximum of ten minutes.
- Designated spokespersons will call witnesses for their respective parties. The Hearing Board will call its own witnesses. The order of witnesses called will be complainant, respondent and Hearing Board.
- Each witness will have ten minutes maximum per testimony, plus ten minutes maximum for cross-examination by the other party, plus five minutes maximum for cross-examination by the Hearing Board.
- After all witnesses have been called for the first testimony, any witness can be recalled by either the complainant party, the respondent party, or the Hearing Board, allowing a maximum of ten minutes for questions by each.
- Each witness called by the Hearing Board shall have ten minutes maximum per testimony, plus five minutes maximum for cross-examination by each party.
- Maximum total time for each side, including recalled witnesses, shall be no more than two and one-half hours. Maximum time for Hearing Board witnesses, including recalled witnesses shall be no more than an hour.
- Summary statements by the complainant's spokesperson, the respondent's spokesperson and the Hearing Board shall be ten minutes maximum for each party.
- At any time during the hearing, the Hearing Board may vote to extend any of the above time limits.
- The Hearing Board may declare one recess for no longer than one hour and a meal break, if required.
- A recording of the proceedings shall be made and preserved until the complaint has been settled, and a typed summary of the proceedings shall be sent to every member involved in the complaint. The recording (or minutes if no recording is made) shall be available to all concerned parties. Should the complainant not wish to have the proceedings recorded, the board shall keep detailed minutes of the hearing.
- The Hearing Board shall deliberate promptly and make a finding with recommendations within sixty calendar days from the date the request for a hearing was filed. This information will be sent simultaneously in writing to both the provost and the complainant. If the complaint is filed between sixty days before the end of the spring semester and the first day of the fall semester, the case will be considered when the fall semester commences; however, if the Hearing Board, the complainant, and the respondent all agree, the case may be considered before the beginning of the fall semester. Second, breaks between semesters within the academic year extend the sixty-day deadline by a like number of days.
- The complainant shall have ten business days to submit a written rebuttal to the Hearing Board's findings and recommendations. This rebuttal shall be sent to the provost and the Hearing Board.
- The administration shall communicate its decision to the complainant and the Hearing Board within ten business days of receipt of the Hearing Board's findings and recommendations.
- The complainant shall have ten business days to submit a written rebuttal to the Provost's decision. The rebuttal shall be sent to the provost and the Hearing Board.
- The provost shall have ten calendar days to make a final decision. A copy of the provost's findings shall be sent to every member involved in the complainant process.
- Both the complainant and those alleged to have committed or assisted in it (hereafter referred to as respondent party) have the right to be represented at the hearing; to produce witnesses, statements, or other evidence; and to cross-examine positions. No attorney for either party shall attend the hearing.
- Qualifications
If the complainant and the administration at any level agree that it is in the best interest of the university to ensure that a complaint should not proceed beyond that level and it is determined that the authority to deal with the matter lies at the respective level, then they can agree to have the Hearing Board serve as a board of binding arbitration.
If the administration and the complainant agree, then the above hearing procedure may be altered to fit certain unusual circumstances.
- Discussion


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Lula A. Kuhn, 91, of Amarillo died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007.
Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Friday in Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors Ivy Chapel, 2800 Paramount Blvd., with the Rev. Ed Cooley, retired minister of First Presbyterian Church in Pampa, officiating.
Lula was born June 13, 1916, in Texhoma, Okla., to James and Pinina Alexander and moved to Guymon, Okla., at an early age. After graduating from high school, she attended business school in Tulsa before working in Guymon, Dalhart, Denver and Laramie, Wyo., during the Depression.
She married Raymond F. Kuhn in 1941 in Pampa. While Ray served in the Army during World War II, Lula ran the Shamrock Products Co. until his return. She was an active homemaker involved in many activities, especially those involving First Presbyterian Church in Pampa.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray, in 2003; and a son, William N. Kuhn, in 1987.
Survivors include a son, John L. Kuhn and wife Dedra of Amarillo; a daughter-in-law, Lavonna Kuhn of Amarillo; a sister, Jill Davidson of Denver; and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
The family suggests memorials be to BSA Hospice, P.O. Box 950, Amarillo, TX 79105; First Presbyterian Church, 525 N. Gray, Pampa, TX 79065; or a favorite charity.
Amarillo Globe-News, Sept. 27, 2007
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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Every Saturday cleveland.com will highlight stories of interest from the previous week of news coverage. This week Jason Giambi's late-inning heroics kept the Indians' postseason hopes alive, West Side Market vendors continue to battle with the City of Cleveland over parking woes, the nation moved closer to enacting a government shutdown, and a recent study ranked Ohio tops for rude behavior. Included below are overviews each of these stories and more.
East Cleveland to send nearly 200 rape kits for testing
Boxes and bags of sexual assault evidence lined the metal shelves East Cleveland police used to store crime evidence that would no longer fit inside their cramped department.
Sticky notes dotted the shelves, noting the years the rapes were reported – from 1990 all the way through 2013.
But in just a few days time earlier this month, a team led an expedition of sorts, combing through more than 650 pieces of evidence from more than 370 cases. They pieced together which evidence had been tested and which cases solved. They tracked down which rape kits had only been partially tested or not tested at all and could yield useful evidence in solving a case.
By the end of the week, evidence in nearly 200 unsolved cases was loaded into the back of a Bureau of Criminal Investigation lab supervisor's SUV and taken to Richfield for testing. | Read the full story
Set for auction
University Square, a 287,000 square foot shopping center, built 10 years ago in University Heights is barely 27 percent full, according to an Auction.com listing.
Investment schools focus
The Cleveland school district wants to add social services to all 13 of the Investment Schools to place a focus on the family and student needs.
Middle ground
Rep. Dave Joyce hopes to establish a political brand in a way that will appeal to the middle-of-road congressional district he won after the retirement of Rep. Steve LaTourette.
What you need to know about a government shutdown
Will the federal government close up shop on Oct. 1?
It's possible that much of the government will shut down if the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate can't agree on a stopgap measure to fund the government past Sept. 30.
The likelihood of a shutdown is still up in the air. Last week, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill that would fund the government through Dec. 15, but eliminate money to implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. All Ohio Republicans voted for the plan, and all the state's Democrats voted against it.
President Barack Obama and Democrats who control the U.S. Senate have made it clear they won't agree to anything that defunds Obamacare. It's most likely that the U.S. Senate will strip the contentious language out of the bill, and return it to the House of Representatives for consideration later in the week. | Read the full story | O'Brien: A few days of federal furlough beats decades of suffering under Obamacare
Bang for the buck
Cleveland's HealthLine is delivering more than passengers: Spinoff economic development is providing the best return on transit dollars spent, study finds.
Party time
"Cleveland Rocks New Year's Eve Celebration" is free event that will include live entertainment, special guests, a fireworks show and food trucks from around Greater Cleveland.
Giambi saves Cleveland
The Indians beat Chicago, 5-4, on Jason Giambi's pinch-hit, walkoff two-run homer Tuesday night at Progressive Field.
The Cleveland schools have made progress, just not enough
Cleveland schools chief Eric Gordon was up front about the district's poor results on the state report card in his State of the Schools speech Wednesday.
He started his talk by listing them: F after F on measures of student achievement and academic progress. On the graduation rate. On how well the district is closing achievement gaps between different groups of students.
And he closed his speech by promising to change them: "We must, in the year ahead work together to see dramatic jumps in our rankings on the state's measures."
"That, and nothing less than that, will be our measure of success or failure in the year to come," he added.
For a half hour in between, before a crowd of over 800 at Public Auditorium, Gordon talked about the district's attempts to improve academic performance, about successes over the past year and plans for the future. Throughout, a clock to his right counted down the seconds until the school tax that voters passed last year is up for renewal and voters will judge whether the district improved enough to be worth the money| Read the full story
Obamacare options
Statistics indicate that the lowest monthly premiums for a 27 year old in the Cleveland area would be $152 for a bronze plan, $201 for a silver plan, $245 for a gold plan, and $121 for a plan that covers care only in the event of a catastrophe.
Streaker sentenced
Judge Lauren C. Moore sentenced Anthony Saveriano to clean up after tailgaters at four Browns home games. Saveriano was also banned from ever stepping foot in FirstEnergy Stadium.
Illegal funds
A federal grand jury in Cleveland indicted Benjamin Suarez of Canton on conspiring to funnel illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.
Strongsville school district bans substitute teachers used during teachers' strike
The Board of Education isn't happy about a decision – made earlier this week by the Strongsville City Schools administration – to stop using substitute teachers who worked through the teachers' strike in March and April.
In fact, the board is livid that it was not notified about the decision beforehand, board President David Frazee said Thursday.
"Unfortunately, this caught us by surprise," Frazee told cleveland.com this afternoon. "The board was not part of this decision. What was done was done completely unilaterally." | Read the full story | Strongsville Board of Education likely will challenge school administration decision to ban substitute teachers
Ohio lacks civility
Behaving rudely is the new normal, says the latest "Civility in America" survey, and data analysis finds that Ohio is more profane and less courteous than any other state.
Nation's best
The Zagat Survey gives a thumbs-up to Bar Cento in Cleveland, describing the Ohio City spot as a place that "caters to the sophisticated pizza lover who wants cheese, charcuterie and some wine before devouring a pie."
Demolition delayed
Members of the Cleveland Landmark Commission asked to hear directly from two engineering firms that evaluated the church and determined that it needs $6 million to $8 million worth of repairs.
Cleveland expanding use of portable traffic cameras
The city is expanding its use of portable traffic cameras, announcing Thursday that six Xerox machines would be placed around the city, catching speeding drivers in the act.
And those six boxes could generate a lot of money for the city.
Cleveland City Council overwhelmingly approved the expansion in May. Each ticket triggered by the devices costs the driver $100. Some of that money is used to pay a flat monthly fee to Xerox State and Local Solutions, Inc., while the city gets to keep the rest.
One of those caught on camera was Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask. At a press availability Friday afternoon at the camera at 2300 St. Clair Avenue, Flask said he was driving 37 mph in a 25 mph zone.
"I was angry when I got the ticket, but I paid it," Flask said.
The portable camera unit devices are part of the broader automated photo enforcement program, which Flask said launched in 2005 and netted the city $6 million in tickets last year. That number could increase in the years to come, as the city plans to eventually have 15 portable cameras deployed.| Read the full story
No information
There is little to be found about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the Ohio Department of Insurance's website. Ohioans can sign up for policies through a federally run marketplace on Oct. 1.
Parking battle
Mark Naymik: Vendors at Cleveland's West Side Market need to embrace parking changes to ensure the future of the market. Their opposition is irrational.
Sleep-related death
Angela O'neal was sentenced to three years in prison for the death of her granddaughter. The cause of infant's death was ruled as "undetermined" but likely related to unsafe sleeping conditions.


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And Rutgers' quarterback starter for Saturday's game against Temple will be ...
False alarm. Nothing yet.
Coach Kyle Flood said following practice today that he will "go back and review the tape" before announcing whether Gary Nova or Chas Dodd will get the start later this afternoon.
He also hinted again that both could play, regardless of who takes the first series.
"I wouldn't put that out of the realm of possibility just yet," he said.
Nova has started 20 consecutive games but has thrown seven interceptions the past two games, both losses. Dodd, a senior, has appeared in three games this season after starting 15 his first two seasons.
A variety of factors will go into the final decision on the starter.
"I don't know if it ever can exclude history, recent history more so than anything else," Flood said. "We'll look at how we did during the week and how we progressed and when mistakes were made were they corrected and were they processed and were better decisions made the next time. I think those are the things you look to have in a practice week and those are the things you look to have in a game as well."
In addition, Flood said that starting strong safety Lorenzo Waters is now doubtful due to an ankle injury and that Delon Stephenson could start at cornerback over Anthony Cioffi. Both are true freshmen.
Waters was injured on the first play against Houston last week and did not return.
"Not out. But he didn't make the progress I thought we would see earlier this week," Flood said of Waters.
Johnathan Aiken would like start if Waters can't go, with Tejay Johnson also in the safety rotation along with starting FS Jeremy Deering. Stephenson could also see time at safety, Flood said.


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To Pluto and Beyond
The New Horizons mission launched on January 19, 2006, and in nine years it will fly by the planet Pluto and its moon Charon. After acquiring data and images of these distant objects, mission scientists hope to further investigate the mysterious Kuiper Belt that encircles the outer solar system.
As New Horizons prepared for launch, NASA presented a webcast in which scientists answered questions from the public. In this edited transcript, project scientist Harold Weaver Jr., of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, talks about what we could learn when the spacecraft arrives at its destination.
|Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft during a planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon.
Image Credit: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Q:Could this mission prove that Pluto isn't a planet?
Harold Weaver (HW):That seems to be the question on everyone's mind right now. In fact, it was in Parade Magazine. It was the cover story: "How many planets are there? Hint: the answer is not nine." Some people want to demote Pluto, because Pluto is very small. It's only about 70 percent the size of the Earth's moon. Some people say Pluto shouldn't even be a moon for that reason. On the other hand, Pluto is spherical, which means it has enough mass to form a sphere; it has an atmosphere; it has similar attributes that we normally associate with planets. So a lot of people think that Pluto is legitimately a planet — it's been a planet for 76 years, and there's no way we can take it off the list now.
But the problem is, earlier this summer, a new object was discovered out in the Kuiper Belt that's slightly larger than Pluto. So if you're going to call Pluto a planet, you have to call this other object a planet. It's been nicknamed, by the way, "Xena." I don't think that name is going to stick. (laughs). The interesting thing is, we've only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. There are probably lots of Pluto-sized or Charon-sized objects out in the Kuiper Belt, and we'll probably end up with on the order of 100 planets, eventually.
Q:Pluto's moon, Charon, is extraordinarily large as compared to Earth's moon. How do you suppose Charon formed?
HW:Pluto and Charon have a lot more in common with the Earth-moon system then you might think. They probably both formed from a giant cosmic collision, two objects colliding with each other about 4.6 billion years ago. In one case, we had the Earth and a Mars-sized object that collided with each other, and eventually separated into the Earth and the moon. In the case of Pluto, what we think happened was two Kuiper Belt objects, probably Pluto-sized, smashed into each other and created two roughly equal-sized objects.
Q:Will New Horizons find ice geysers and ice plumes that fill Pluto's atmosphere, like on Neptune's moon, Triton?
|Triton and Neptune.
Image Credit: NASA
HW:I love this question, because it forces us to think about this mission from a broader perspective. Sure, Pluto is our prime target, but we also want to know how Pluto fits in relative to all the other objects in the solar system. Triton is probably the best analog of Pluto in the solar system that we know of right now. We just got a faint glimpse of Triton back in 1979, when the Voyager spacecraft flew by Neptune. It took some really fascinating pictures of Triton showing these cryogenic geysers. It's like Old Faithful, except instead of being hot steam coming out, it's frozen nitrogen gas. We think that we'll probably see similar things on Pluto.
Q:Cassini had its surface probe Huygens. Why is there not a surface probe from New Horizons, as well? And why is the New Horizons mission to Pluto/Charon a flyby and not a Pluto orbital mission?
HW:Basically it's because we have to learn to walk before we can run. We've never even had a mission flyby Pluto yet, and that's the first step. In fact, you can't even do the more detailed stuff, like figure out where to send the probe, until you've taken your first detailed reconnaissance. That's what New Horizons is all about — to flyby, map the surface, and then we'll have a better idea about what we might do for another mission sometime in the future.
Now, going into orbit around Pluto is going to be really tough. We've been able to do it around the gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, but that's because they're big and they have very strong gravity. You can send a spacecraft by, and it will be captured by the gravity of Jupiter and Saturn. Pluto is just a little guy. Sending a spacecraft by Pluto and then slowing it down enough to go into orbit around Pluto is going to be a big technological feat that I don't think I'll see in my lifetime.
Q:New Horizons is supposed to get no closer than 10,000 kilometers from Pluto. Why can't New Horizons get closer, and how will this affect the resolution of the images returned?
|In this artist's concept, Pluto and its moon Charon are seen from the surface of one of Pluto's newly discovered satellites. Credit: David A. Aguilar of the Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
HW:That's a great question, because why 10,000? In fact, the spacecraft could be directed to slam into Pluto if we wanted it to. (laughs) But that would end the mission catastrophically before we were able to send any data back, so we definitely don't want to do that.
We had a study many years ago to investigate exactly this question: what is the optimal distance to flyby? If we flyby too close, you're swinging by the planet so fast that the closer you get to it, you have to scan your instruments really fast. Even if you're moving at the same speed, the closer you are to the planet, you're going to have to scan your instruments so fast that all of your images would be blurred. So that resolution that you'd think you could pick up by flying closer is wiped out because you aren't able to scan the spacecraft fast enough to keep up with that motion. On the other hand, if you're too far away, then you just don't have the resolution. It turns out that something close to 10,000 kilometers is almost perfect, and satisfies all of the scientific requirements of the New Horizons mission.
Q:Is there a plan to send more missions to Pluto in the future, and is there a concept for a manned mission to Pluto?
HW:Not right now. A lot of us in the scientific community have already started thinking ahead, and we hope that we'll be able to build on the success of the New Horizons mission and get a mission approved to go to another interesting Kuiper Belt object. We hope that'll happen in the next couple of decades. But right now, there are some other missions that NASA has in mind ahead of that kind of mission.
Q:Are you planning on flying by an asteroid or other bodies in the solar system between Jupiter and Pluto?
HW:In fact, we have identified what is called a Centaur object, which is a Kuiper Belt object that has had its orbit changed so that it comes within Saturn's orbit. That's pretty close to the inner solar system for a Kuiper Belt object. The Centaur object is named 2002G09. We actually don't get that close to it – it's about three times farther away from the spacecraft than the Earth is from the sun — but it is much closer than we are at the Earth from this object. We will be able to use it as practice for acquiring Kuiper Belt objects when we eventually go past Pluto.
|No spacecraft from Earth has yet explored Pluto but astronomers have found ways of mapping its surface. This map of the distant, diminutive planet is based on direct images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Above are two opposite hemisphere views of the computer-constructed map of Pluto's surface. Credit: A. Stern (SwRI), M. Buie (Lowell Observatory), NASA, ESA
Q:Will New Horizons visit the new 10th planet?
HW:That would be great. But unfortunately, that new 10th planet is much farther away even than Pluto. And also, unfortunately, our New Horizons spacecraft, even though it eventually will pass the orbit of Xena, the 10th planet, Xena will be in a completely different portion of space at that time. Space is huge, it's mostly empty, and you have to be targeting something explicitly and specifically in order to get there. It's not just by luck that we'll be able to go to something like this.
Q:What are the chances of finding microbial life on Charon or Pluto, since we have the proof on Earth that life can evolve anywhere?
HW:We have life forming in extreme conditions on the Earth, but "extreme" on the Earth is pretty different than the extreme kind of conditions that we see on Pluto. Unfortunately I think that the chances are pretty slim that there's life on Pluto. First of all, the temperatures of the surface is about minus 390 degrees Fahrenheit. What could be moving in those kind of temperatures?
The other thing is that it's is so far away from the sun, the sunlight is a thousand times fainter at Pluto than it is at the Earth. Life as we know it needs energy, and most of our energy ultimately comes from the sun. Pluto, being so far away, doesn't get much energy there. So you would have to have some really sloth-like creatures at Pluto to survive. Now, that's regarding the surface of Pluto. Maybe there's more hope for underneath the surface. There could be radionuclides heating the interior, or some kind of geological action that's taking place that causes some slush to form; you never know. But it'll be quite awhile before we're able to probe underneath the surface and prove it.
Related Web Pages
Questioning Pluto
The Ice Dwarf Cometh
Moons Over the Kuiper Belt
Kuiper Belt Adding to Its Notches
Santa et al.
Charon's Occultation
A New Class of Planet
Tenth Planet
Vision of Neptune's Triton
Delayed Gratification Zones


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What is in this article?:
- Tissue testing can boost tobacco quality
- Harvest benefits
• As a tobacco monitoring tool, tissue testing is especially useful when deciding whether to replace nitrogen, potassium or sulfur after leaching rains.
• At harvest, tissue analysis can help maximize yields and grades from desirable stalk positions.
To achieve high quality, cured leaf, tobacco producers must intensively manage nutrient inputs.
The best way to do this is with a test known as plant tissue analysis. This quick and inexpensive test, which is available from the Agronomic Services Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, gives growers a way to monitor nutrient needs throughout the season and also schedule harvest to coincide with optimal ripeness.
As a monitoring tool, tissue testing is especially useful when deciding whether to replace nitrogen, potassium or sulfur after leaching rains. For this purpose, a good tissue sample consists of the most recent mature leaves (MRMLs) taken from eight to 12 representative areas throughout the field. The MRML is usually the third to fifth leaf from the growing point.
Brenda Cleveland, chief of the division's Plant/Waste/Solution/Media Section, encourages growers to pay particular attention to nitrogen fertilization.
"Nitrogen affects leaf quality in many ways," Cleveland said.
"Excess nitrogen fosters insect problems, increases sucker growth and extends curing time.
"Also, when tobacco receives more than the recommended maximum of 80 pounds nitrogen per acre, maturity can be significantly delayed. When this happens, crops may still be in the field, and at risk, during the September hurricane season. Monitoring nitrogen levels in plant tissue is one way to avoid many of these problems."


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I recently learned that while coach Romeo Crennel was keeping the media and fans guessing with vague statements about who'd play quarterback today in Cincinnati, there was little discussion in staff meetings about a QB change. The Browns coach was committed to Anderson, and that was very clear to both coaches and front-office personnel. Yet, he completely changed his tone in news conferences . . . even Wednesday, when he announced Anderson as the starter, he talked about Brady Quinn needing to be "ready," making it sound like a few bad plays and Quinn could take over.
Was Crennel trying to put extra pressure on Anderson? Did he want to confuse the Bengals, making them prepare for both quarterbacks? I have no clue. But he came off as unsure about his quarterbacks, and it's hard to see how that helps. Then there was team consultant Jim Brown giving an interview indicating the Browns planned to start Quinn. Maybe he meant Quinn should start. Maybe the Browns will play well, win big and all this will be forgotten. I can just say some in the front office were surprised by everything from the QB debate in the media to Brown's comments, because they did not match what Crennel was saying to the players and coaches.
In some meetings, this statistic was discussed: The Browns are throwing on 61 percent of their plays. Only four teams are higher: Tampa, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Detroit. A year ago, the Browns were pass happy with 55 percent of their plays being through the air, but it's even more lopsided this season. And the suggestion was made to run the ball more. Of course, that has been suggested before.
The Browns have thrown 93 passes compared to 59 runs. By comparison, in the AFC North, Pittsburgh is at 70 passes, 89 runs. Baltimore is 48 passes, 90 runs. Even Cincinnati, which is 0-3 and has played from behind often, is more balanced than the Browns with 90 passes and 79 runs.
Jamal Lewis has started 13 career games against Cincinnati and nine have produced at least 100 yards rushing. Even this season, Lewis has been effective. OK, Pittsburgh was bad (19 carries, 38 yards). But in the Dallas and Baltimore games (both good defenses), Lewis has a combined 118 yards in 25 carries. How about at least 20 carries today?
If offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski is stuck on the pass, then Crennel must step in and try to establish the ground game. You have a QB completing only 46 percent of his passes, a QB who ranks 30th out of 31 in the NFL's third-down passing ratings. The team has only one reliable receiver this year (Kellen Winslow). Braylon Edwards supposedly had his best week of practice in a while in terms of catching the ball, but he needs to show it in games. As usual, Donte' Stallworth is iffy, and who knows if he'll play. They could throw the ball to Steve Heiden, but they don't.
Supposedly, the concern about Jerome Harrison is that he's too small (5-9, 209 pounds) to block blitzers. Could be true. But this is the worst offense in the NFL and Harrison is one of the few big-play athletes available. In three games, he has been given the ball once (for 2 yards), and caught two passes for an average of 21 yards. He has played only six snaps all season! He gained at least 100 yards in his last 14 games at Washington State and four of those games were for more than 200 yards. If the Browns can't figure out how to get this guy the ball at least five times today, someone else should be calling the plays.
Having learned that D'Qwell Jackson has had two deaths in his family -- and attended two funerals -- the last few weeks, it makes how the linebacker is performing more impressive. He was mediocre against Dallas, but solid in the Pittsburgh and Baltimore games. Let's see how Alex Hall does in his second start. The rookie linebacker had an excellent debut at Baltimore with seven tackles, two QB pressures, one sack and another tackle for a loss.
What we have learned this season that we didn't know a year ago:
1. Kelly Shoppach is a starting major-league catcher. Hard to know if he'll hit this well again (.261, 21 HR, 55 RBI, .867 on-base plus slugging percentage through Friday), but he certainly has power and looked like the guy who averaged 24 HR a game in two seasons at Class AAA. He could be traded, but supposedly, not that many teams are in the market for a catcher.
2. Not to count on Jeremy Sowers. You can take this season (4-9, 5.58 ERA) or his past two big-league years (35 starts, 5-15, 5.87 ERA) and there are signs of trouble. In the past two years, opposing batters are hitting .350 off him and he's serving up a homer every 10 innings. A year ago, the Indians were hoping the Sowers of 2006 (2.72 ERA after the All-Star break) would emerge this season. Now, they should know better.
3. They can count on Cliff Lee -- not for 22 wins again -- but to at least be the guy who won 46 games from 2004 through 2006. A year ago, who knew if he'd even be back with the team. Now, he's the ace.
4. Franklin Gutierrez is best as a fourth outfielder whose specialty is defense. A year ago, the Tribe hoped he'd become a starter, but this season he's at .243 with eight HR and 39 RBI -- and was given a real shot to claim right field.
5. Shin-Soo Choo is the right fielder. Or the left fielder. Point is, he should start. After recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery, he has batted .307 with 13 HRs, 28 doubles and 64 RBI in 93 games. Or how about this? Heading into the weekend, Choo had 505 big-league career at-bats, hitting .289 with 40 doubles, 16 HR and 92 RBI.
6. Andy Marte is not the answer at third base. It's not just the .221 batting average, but a guy who is supposed to have power had only three HRs and 11 doubles in 235 at-bats. If he goes somewhere else and becomes a star, at least the Indians gave him a real chance to claim third base.
7. Asdrubal Cabrera is the answer -- somewhere. He is a sensational glove at second, and could be superb at short, his natural position. Unlike Marte, he made adjustments. After hitting only .184 this season, he was sent back to Class AAA Buffalo. He returned at the All-Star break and has hit .317 since, raising his overall average to .257. And he's still 22.
8. Like Cabrera, Jensen Lewis was excellent in the second half of 2007. He struggled early this year, went to the minors, pulled himself together (2.90 ERA after the All-Star break). He rescued the bullpen by going 13-of 14 in save situations. Again, like Cabrera, he can help somewhere -- closer or setup.
9. That they are thinking of Jhonny Peralta at third, which would allow Cabrera to take over at short and the Indians to start shopping for a second baseman. For his four-year big-league career, Peralta is a .272 hitter who averages 21 HRs and 72 RBI a season. He's only 26, and will probably get stronger -- and could turn into a 25- to 30-HR man, giving the Indians the bat they need at third base.
10. That there are still questions about Ryan Garko and Ben Francisco as regulars. They had decent seasons, but not overwhelming. Also, there are lots of candidates and few sure things in the rotation. That includes Fausto Carmona, who had a Cliff Lee-2007-type season. Aaron Laffey? Anthony Reyes? Jake Westbrook? Scott Lewis? Sowers? Who knows . . . and the Indians may want to bring in a veteran starter.
New Cav Mo Williams should give the team more scoring and be a big threat on the fast break. But coach Mike Brown has to show he can coach the fast break. You don't just yell "run" -- you start with the fast break in mind from the opening day of camp. We're not talking about taking a shot every seven seconds as Phoenix did under Mike D'Antoni. But they must try to produce as many easy baskets as possible -- and passing the ball up the court, not always dribbling. With LeBron James, Delonte West and Williams -- the Cavs have three athletes who can run and often may play together. Now, they have to teach it.
In each of his first three seasons, Brown introduced a new offense. The changes were supposed to be dramatic, although fans know that it often degenerated into James dribbling, dribbling, dribbling as the clock went tick, tick, tick. Brown spent his second summer studying under Ettore Messina, the famed Euro League coach of CSKA-Moscow. Many of the best Euro League teams have better ball and player movement than found in the NBA. Let's hope Brown can incorporate that into the Cavs.
James must remember that Williams can create his own shot. It's all on No. 23's shoulders this season. Williams loves the pick-and-roll and pick-and-shoot plays. He has been working with Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the pick-and-pop, which often creates an open 15-footer for the Cavs' sweet-shooting big man. The Cavs seemed to forget about this play near the end of the season and in the playoffs. At Thursday's news conference, numbers-loving owner Dan Gilbert announced that Williams "had the best 2-point shooting percentage" in the NBA last year. It was 51 percent. I like his 86 percent from the foul line.
For all the talk about offense, General Manager Danny Ferry and Brown both insisted the Cavs will remain a "defensive team." In fact, Brown wants to make sure not to neglect the defense, which he did in camp last season. The result was a so-so offense, so-so defense and a so-so start.
Here are the things you hear on the eve of training camp: Anderson Varejao is trying to improve his jumper by keeping his elbow closer to his body. Ben Wallace had a summer program of exercises to improve his back muscles and avoid the spasms that hampered him last year. They want to keep James' minutes under 40 a game. If Wallace can stay healthy and James isn't overworked, I'll be happy. I can live without Varejao's jumper.
This surprised me: the Cavs have only five players left from the start of last season: Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, Varejao, Ilgauskas and James.


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FRANKLIN TWP. — Years after serving as interim superintendent for Franklin Township Public Schools, Dr. Barbara Morella was chosen by the school board for another temporary stint at the school district's helm.
The Franklin Township Board of Education interviewed Morella, of Elk Township, and one other candidate last week before choosing the well-acquainted Morella for the job.
The finalists were among seven applicants interviewed by the school board's personnel committee earlier this month, according to board President Nicholas Christian.
Morella, a retired Cumberland County school district superintendent, was hired by the Franklin Township Board of Education in 2007 to serve in the same capacity.
Now, she will replace outgoing interim superintendent Tom Flemming who announced in May that he would not return to the school district for another year. Flemming's contract expired Saturday. Morella's pact began on Sunday.
"She and Tom have been transitioning already so she can digest it, (and) get up to speed on current events," Christian said.
Morella's past experience with the school district and residency in nearby Elk Township, plus her "degree of professionalism" made her the strongest candidate for the interim position, Christian said.
Before working for Franklin Township Public Schools four years ago, she retired in 2003 as superintendent of the Upper Deerfield Township school district where she worked for 10 years.
"She has a strong understanding of the (Franklin Township) district," said Christian, adding that Morella is familiar with ongoing school district consolidation talks.
"She is aware of what is going on. She was very familiar with the feasibility study, and things that were looked at. She is very well versed in the different aspects of it."
As an interim, Morella will be paid $500 a day, and will not be paid for days she does not work. The contract does not include a health benefits package. Flemming worked under the same agreement.
Contact Carly Romalino at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow Carly Romalino and the Gloucester County Times on Facebook.


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Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan will decide in the coming days whether to grant a city alcohol permit to an Olde Towne bar where police recently made two arrests for alleged drug sales and issued summonses to several employees who sold alcohol to under-aged customers. Tammy Napoli, owner of the Hush Lounge, is seeking a permanent city permit and pleaded her case to Drennan during an administrative hearing this week.
Napoli, of Slidell, said she purchased the bar, formerly called Shooters Social Bar, in March. Responding to a question from city attorney Bryan Haggerty, she said she was not aware at the time that two people had died last December after a gunman opened fire on a crowd in the street that had exited Shooters and other Olde Towne bars in the early-morning hours. Some witnesses said there had been fights inside Shooters earlier that night.
Hush had operated for a while under a temporary city alcohol permit, officials said. That temporary permit has expired and now the bar is seeking a permanent permit.
Although the hearing took place during the City Council's regularly-scheduled meeting Tuesday, the decision to grant or not grant the permit is Drennan's alone. Those who spoke were sworn in and answered questions posed by Haggerty and Napoli's attorney, Vincent Lobello.
Slidell police Detective Luke Irwin said Hush had several violations during a May 24 undercover operation that targeted several Olde Towne bars. Responding to the complaints about noise, littering and under-aged drinking, the department sent in under-aged, confidential informants to the bars to see if they would be served alcohol.
Irwin said the under-aged customers were sold alcohol by five different bartenders or shot girls at Hush. In addition, he said a bar employee and a customer were separately arrested in connection with the sale of the drug ecstasy.
Haggerty, meanwhile, said the bar was opened for several hours the night of St. Patrick's Day, a time when it didn't have the proper city permits to open. He also said the bar was being operated by Napoli's stepbrother, who has a felony arrest record, on May 24.
Napoli said she had thought she had the proper permits to open the night of St. Patrick's, but now realizes that was an error. She said she was not at the bar on May 24 and has since severed professional ties with her stepbrother.
Napoli said she wants to improve the bar's reputation, and realizes she has a lot to learn.
"I apologize for what happened,'' she told Drennan, adding that she was asking for a "second chance.''


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I am passionate about cars, but honestly I don't like to drive all that much. When we make our 10- hour trek to the Adirondacks, I am more than happy to let Valerie do half or more of the driving, particularly when we slog through Toronto.
This I'm told is in contrast to many of my friends who have little or no interest in cars, but can't bear the thought of surrendering the wheel to their spouse. I think straight highways at legal speeds plus cushion is just too boring. But give me an empty and winding road with topography changes and a competent vehicle and I am a happy camper.
In cars, I evaluate design, handling, other performance attributes, quality, and value that may establish a benchmark within a particular segment. But as I dwell upon it, this appreciation of motorized transportation is not particularly different from the appreciation of art, music, writing, or architecture. The creativity, interpretation/thought and execution/performance form the basis of our opinion about a particular artist, musician, writer, or architect.
After spending two full days perusing the 2008 NAIAS show, other than the perennial desire to test drive a few exotic cars that are of British or Italian ancestry, which vehicles do I want a turn at the wheel at? Well, after some deliberation, here is my list:
• Audi R8 – Diesel or gas I don't care, it wouldn't be a daily driver, but it is as cool as the retro Ford GT was a few years ago. Four wheel drive and sub 4.5 second 0-60 times.
• Corvette ZR1 – 600 hp, carbon fiber bits and pieces, and new levels of refinement in an already capable sports car.
• Mercedes Smart Car – The perfect train station car. Keep you gas guzzler for when you need it for Costco or family vacations, but make the Smart for Two or Four your daily driver.
• BMW 135i – A shrunken 3 series experience, with the same twin turbo 6 cylinder, will be a screamer, and save you enough cash for ½ a Smart Car.
• 2009 Cadillac CTS-V – Based on the competence of the current CTS, which has an available 304 hp 3.6 L V-6, every reviewer wants a turn behind the wheel of the performance edition which will have a 550 hp V-8 Caddy and Brembos to match. has said it is the real deal from a handling, refinement, and performance perspective.
• Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept – If you need an exterior that says "look at me" this is it, though the high beltline will make it hard for gawkers to see who is behind the wheel.
• Hyundai Genesis – The Korean manufacturer's first premium automobile appears to have the look and feel needed to compete in this highly competitive segment and should be well priced relative to other makes.
• New Honda Pilot – Honda sold 117,000 of these last year and has been a perennial award winner with this 5 year old model. The new for 2009 model should be an important benchmark in this segment.
• Toyota Venza – Engineered in Ann Arbor, so why not? This is a Camry based car-like crossover, much as the Highlander is a Camry based truck-like crossover. The Venza's packaging, design, and look like a winner, particularly in comparison to Toyota's A-Bat, a curious me too version of the Honda Ridgeline.
• Chevy/GMC Tahoe two mode hybrid – For families that need a full size hauler and don't feel a Mercedes GL320cdi is for them, this may be the ticket until we see more clean diesel options on the road.
David Kwan earned an MBA at the University of Michigan then stayed in Ann Arbor for the past 20 years as a developer. Besides real estate, his passion is cars: He owns six, including a 1996 BMW Z3, a 1998 Jaguar XK8 and Mini Cooper S. Kwan has been a "car guy" since he was 4 and can rattle off engine size, product launch details and detailed specs from any year in recent memory - on just about any product.


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Archive » August 3, 2006
Estate Planning
By Mark S. Cornwall
A conservatorship proceeding arises when a husband, wife, aunt, uncle, neighbor or anyone else is no longer able to manage their affairs due to any kind of incapacity. If there is no preordained conservator of choice named in a living trust, then someone out there who wants control of those finances can set in motion a "Petition for Conservatorship" filed in probate court requesting the court nominate itself as manager of the finances and personal well-being of the incapacitated party. This is for a fee, of course, and does not always work out favorably for the rest of the family.
Not only is a conservatorship proceeding expensive for the estate (because it often has to pay all the attorneys' fees) but it pits many competing family members, government agencies and financial entities against one another to gain control over the conservatee's assets. These competing interests range from errant relatives to court-appointed "professional" conservators. These professional conservators and their entourage of health care providers and financial assistants can be a disease on an estate as ghastly as the plague – they won't stop until the estate is gone.
If a person becomes incapacitated due to an accident or disease, and has not directly addressed the issue of who will govern his/her estate, it will be a starting gun for competitive interests to gain control, particularly where a blended family is involved. It is not a pretty sight when the court ends up ordering unwanted strangers to move into a person's house to care for the same person they have been caring for their entire adult life.
Herewith an example of how this works.
Hypothetical Anecdote #1
Consider what happened to Dr. X and his wife, Wilma, who lived up North:
Dr. X was an emergency room physician and had been married to Wilma for 26 years. They both had daughters from a previous marriage, Anna and Beatrice, who had gotten along well during their teenage years before moving out and going their separate ways. Wilma continued to take care of her husband as best as any wife can do.
In his late seventies the Dr. began to exhibit signs of Alzheimer's and he deteriorated quickly. He could no longer manage his estate and Wilma did the best she could with what little knowledge she had about his financial holdings. She could certainly balance a checkbook and knew very well the needs of running the house she had lived in for 26 years.
Before long the Dr.'s daughter, Anna, who had very little presence in the home before, began coming by more often and taking items of value from the home. Because she believed, or so she represented, that she was to inherit the house when her father died, Anna convinced personal contacts at the bank to release large sums of money to remodel the family home.
About this time Wilma was diagnosed with an early stage of breast cancer and began undergoing treatment, after which she fully recovered. Her daughter from the former marriage, Beatrice, a doctor herself, came home from Arizona to help take care of her mother and Dr. X, her step-father. This is when the boxing gloves came off.
Anna began a full verbal attack on Wilma for not being able to properly care for her father, and accused Beatrice of imposing on the family home and leaching off her mother (thereby leaching off Anna's potential inheritance). Even though Anna, as the Dr.'s daughter, is not the favored relative by law to be appointed as her father's conservator, she nevertheless petitioned the court for the appointment so she could gain control over his estate.
Ironically, the first person by law to be considered the best conservator for the Dr., or any other incapacitated husband, is his wife. Unfortunately for Wilma, Anna's personal attacks and accusations about Wilma and Beatrice were heard by the court. Anna sought alliance from her friends at the bank and got it, if only to protect the bank.
Based on that information the judge decided to:
• Assign a court-appointed attorney to represent the incompetent Dr. X;
• Order a professional conservator to be appointed by the court attorney;
• Order health care providers to live in the family home 24 hours a day;
• Order every penny that Wilma spent to be authorized by a bank trustee;
• Order Beatrice and Anna restrained from the family home; and
• Order strict visiting hours for Beatrice and Anna to visit their mother and father.
In this example, it is no stretch to suggest that the court-appointed attorney, conservator, health care provider service and bank trustee are all friends, and all will extract large fees from Dr. X's estate. This was not the first estate they were appointed to and it won't be the last. That is the way the "conservatorship system" operates.
Such instances are rarely simple or easily defined. If contemplating a way to prevent such an outcome, please consult an estate planning expert.
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I used to be quite a basketball fan. But I can remember the exact moment when my interest began to flag.
It occurred on April 3, 1989. That was the night Seton Hall played Michigan for the NCAA basketball championship.
As a Jersey guy, I was of course rooting for Seton Hall. So I was disappointed that they lost. But I was even more disappointed by the way they lost. Seton Hall had a one-point lead with just seconds left. The great Michigan guard Rumeal Robinson was moving to the basket against Seton Hall guard Gerald Greene. The stage was set for an epic confrontation. Perhaps Robinson would shoot. Perhaps he would pass to a teammate then streaking to the hoop.
And then, with three seconds left, the referee blew his whistle. He called a foul. At that point, the ref might just as well have taken out a stake and driven it through the heart of the ball. Robinson made two free throws, something a high- school player might have done equally well.
The world's most famous Seton Hall fan, Dick Codey, was in the stands that night. "It happened right in front of me," the state Senate president recalls. "It was slight contact. It didn't mean anything. There's no way you make that call in a championship game with three seconds left. You just don't do it."
The referee did, however. Ever since, I haven't been able to shake the notion that the game of basketball suffers from the same defect that haunts American politics, hyper-legalism. We Americans have a nasty habit of turning every as pect of life, from sports to sex, into a legal dispute.
We are so over-lawyered that no one even bothers to notice that every leading contender for the 2008 presidency has a law degree. On the Democratic side, lawyer Hillary Clinton is holding off lawyer Barack Obama with lawyer John Edwards waiting for either to stumble. On the GOP side, it's lawyer Rudy Giuliani against lawyer Mitt Romney with lawyer Fred Thompson ready to jump in. The sole non-lawyer in the top tier, Sen. John McCain, is fading fast.
When it comes to basketball, the college game remains interesting despite this technical flaw, perhaps because the players go all-out for the entire 40 minutes, thus lessening the importance of the last- minute officiating. But the pro game is dying fast. It seems like yesterday that the NBA "Dream Team" was walloping the world. But last year an NBA all-star team managed to get eliminated from the world championships by Greece, a nation that has only slightly more people than New Jersey.
The pro game is so bad that the recent finals got record low TV ratings. On top of that we had the re cent news that NBA referee Tim Donaghy is being investigated by the feds for possibly betting on games. The theory being floated around the sports world is that he allegedly bet that the final score would exceed the over-and-under line established by the bookies and then called lots of fouls to run up the score. In other words, Donaghy may have found a way to make pro basketball even more boring than it already is. No wonder NBA commissioner David Stern is so mad at him.
Stern claims to have plans for reviving the game. I don't think it can be done, thanks to another American character flaw, the "libido for the ugly" that the writer H.L. Mencken first identified and named, "the love of ugliness for its own sake."
It seems like only yesterday that the top basketball stars were guys like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the graceful jazz aficionado who lofted skyhooks over the mere mortals below. In today's game, Abdul-Jab bar would be pushed out of the paint by some gangster wannabe covered in scar tissue. It's been es timated that 70 percent of NBA players have tattoos. Marketing the NBA to middle-class families is pretty tough when the players look like every parent's nightmare of what their kid could grow up to become.
If I had a son, I'd prefer to have him watch the Yankees. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada seem like regular guys who just happened to be born with great talent, not genetic mutants who just happened to be born real tall. And baseball, since it is not a contact sport, does not require the services of quasi-lawyers to sort out just who has committed which tort on whom. With the exception of a few minor calls, the baseball um pire has no choice over whether to make a call. Strike or ball, fair or foul, out or safe -- the umpire is little more than a binary computer.
The national pastime is immune to the national character flaws. As for pro basketball, it is rapidly be coming a fringe sport, like synchronized swimming, something of interest not to the population as a whole but to a handful of fetishists. As Shakespeare might have said if he'd hung around long enough to see an NBA game, the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves.


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More footage from the upcoming TT Fusion developed Spy Hunter for the 3DS and Vita. Check it here:
If you're interested in checking out the first trailer for the game and a bit of the history behind it, make sure to check this news piece here.
Spy Hunter will release this October for PS Vita and the Nintendo 3DS for $39.99.


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As we reported yesterday, there's been considerable social-media buzz about comedian and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres' interactive event with Oregon State University students, happening at 2:30 p.m. today.
DeGeneres won't be in Corvallis, but will instead be on the set of her program, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." A correspondent for the show will be on campus.
So what's it all about? A publicist for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" sends a press release saying this:
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is holding a LIVE twitter hit in your area today, Wednesday, May 21st for air Wednesday, May 28th. Ellen asked her followers to meet on the quad at Oregon State University in front of Memorial Union by 2:30pm PST. Continue to follow "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Twitter (@TheEllenShow) for more clues.
DeGeneres has been Tweeting about the event. Earlier today, she tweeted this:
Someone at @OregonStateUniv's gonna win big! Dress up in your worst dad outfit & you could make your dad proud for Father's Day. 3 more hrs!
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 21, 2014
The most recent tweet:
People are already at my live shot at @OregonStateUniv. Get over to the quad! You're gonna be on my show!
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 21, 2014
The OSU episode will air on Wednesday, May 28. The Ellen DeGeneres Show" airs at 3 p.m. on KGW (8.)
-- Kristi Turnquist
Do you have questions, rants or raves about what you're watching? Join Kristi Turnquist for TV Talk Live, our weekly live chat here at Oregonlive.com/tv, every Thursday at noon.