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Asset Value Investors In-Sources with Paladyne Suite
Gains Greater Transparency, Improved Reporting to Investors and Controls on Portfolio
Jan 24, 2013, 08:00 EST
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Paladyne Systems®, Inc., a Broadridge Financial Solutions, company (NYSE :BR ) and leading provider of next generation investment management solutions, today announced that long-only traditional asset management firm Asset Value Investors (AVI) has selected and implemented Paladyne to bring greater ownership and control to its internal operations.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111207/NY17351LOGO)
London-based AVI runs a range of nine funds and managed accounts with assets under management of £1.3 billion ($2.1 billion). The firm implemented the Paladyne Suite, including integration with OMGEO CTM and FXALL, to meet its bespoke reporting and compliance requirements. AVI implemented Paladyne Portfolio Master for trading, pre-/post-trade compliance portfolio management and NAV generation, and Paladyne Analytics Master for data aggregation, warehousing, reporting and reconciliation, all fully hosted in Paladyne's SSAE 16-certified ASP platform. In addition, Paladyne built a customized FX calculation solution for AVI.
In the first phase of the implementation, AVI was able to take in-house 8 years of data from all its fund vehicles, which had been previously outsourced to a third party, to facilitate customized reporting to investors and take greater ownership of their operations and portfolios. Paladyne Compliance Manager allowed the firm to systematically run reports and demonstrate to investors the greater controls around portfolio construction, and within the post-trade environment. Paladyne Analytics Master also allows AVI to provide very granular level reporting that can be tailored to specific investor requirements.
"Given our range of fund vehicles and investors, we needed to tailor information quite specifically for different communication channels. We felt if we owned that data and the systems, we could be far quicker in responding to changes both within the industry and within our own investor universe. With Paladyne, we can respond and adapt much more quickly than if we had to influence a third party provider that might not have the same priorities as AVI," said Kimmberly Lau, Company Director, AVI.
"We short-listed several vendors in this process, but Paladyne offered the key benefit to a one-stop shop for front- to back-office processing that will adapt itself to our short- and long-term needs. With this combination, Paladyne came out on top. Going forward, we are keen to utilize Paladyne to its fullest in order to make the trading lifecycle as efficient as possible, as well as maximize other functionality such as compliance, trade reporting, and system reconciliations. With Paladyne, our goal is to make AVI a truly robust, best-of-breed player and demonstrate to our investors the benefits of the transition we have undertaken. We were also very pleased with the responsiveness of the Paladyne team on all issues," said Jake Crowhurst, Head of Operations, AVI.
"As Paladyne builds out its offering to long-only asset managers, we are pleased to partner with AVI to complete their platform. The fundamental operational risks faced by hedge fund and long-only managers are the same across the board and the trade lifecycle. With AVI, Paladyne demonstrates an effective solution to meet the challenges facing the industry, and which works across all strategies, products and asset classes being utilized by today's investment managers," said Sameer Shalaby, President, Paladyne Systems.
About Paladyne Systems
Paladyne Systems, a Broadridge Company (NYSE :BR ), is the leading provider of next generation investment management solutions. Paladyne offers its integrated front-, middle- and back-office platform, known as the Paladyne Suite, to hedge funds, asset managers, fund administrators and prime brokers. The modular Paladyne Suite includes order management, portfolio management, reference data management, data warehouse and custom reporting and reconciliation, and is complemented by the Paladyne Network, an integrated network of leading 3rd-party software and market data firms. The solution can be delivered onsite or via Paladyne's industry-leading application service provider solution, - SSAE 16-certified Paladyne ASP. Paladyne was established in 2005 and acquired by Broadridge in 2011 and now serves over 225 clients worldwide. The firm has approximately 180 employees and is headquartered in New York, with regional offices in New Jersey, London, Russia and Hong Kong.
For more information, please visit www.paladyne.com.
About Broadridge
Broadridge is a technology Services Company focused on global capital markets. Broadridge is the market leader enabling secure and accurate processing of information for communications and securities transactions among issuers, investors and financial intermediaries. Broadridge builds the infrastructure that underpins proxy services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America; processes more than $4.5 trillion in fixed income and equity trades per day; and saves companies billions annually through its technology solutions.
For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.
About Asset Value Investors
Asset Value Investors was established in 1985 to manage the assets of British Empire Securities & General Trust plc (British Empire), then a £6 million London listed investment company. A group of UK institutional and private US investors supported a 4 for 1 rights offering to enlarge British Empire to £30 million. British Empire is now capitalised at over £745 million.
AVI's other clients include CF Asset Value Investors Global Fund - a UK Open ended Investment company and AVI Value Fund - a US limited liability corporation; and funds managed for leading US endowments and foundations.
Funds under management total £1.3 billion ($2.1 billion)
Paladyne Media Contact:
Lisa Jane O'Neil,
Broadridge Media Contact:
Kelly M. Howard
SOURCE Paladyne Systems, a Broadridge Company


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MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican race walker who won a silver medal in the 20-kilometer men's walk at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games has died, about two weeks after he was shot in the head while at a bar in Mexico City.
Race walker Noe Hernandez had been recovering at home since the Dec. 30 shooting, which cost him his eyesight.
The head of Mexico's Olympic medalists association says Hernandez's family confirmed that he died Wednesday.
Association president Daniel Aceves says Hernandez appears to have suffered a heart attack, but he says an autopsy is planned to determine whether his death was related to the shooting.
Hernandez was 35. Following the shooting, he told reporters the attack appeared to have been premeditated.

subset: commoncrawl


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Teacher in Hot Water for Blogging About 'Rude, Lazy' Students [VIDEO]
Pennsylvania resident Natalie Munroe started teaching English in 2006. In August of 2009, she began blogging under the name Natalie M. The controversy started when she began to write about her workplace -- calling students "rude, lazy whiners" as well as lashing out at school administrators.
Now she's been suspended with pay and may lose her job. Keep reading to see video of the teacher defending her choices.


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As criticism of defensive coordinator Juan Castillo mounts after four weeks, Eagles coach Andy Reid said today that the "coaches will stay intact."
"The coaches will stay intact, but we have to thoroughly evaluate everything," Reid said. "We and I evaluate everything ... The coaches will stay intact and we go from there."
Asked specifically about Castillo, Reid said, "Listen, I thnik Juan is doing some good things. If you ask the same question about myself and the other coaches and the players, there are some good things that we're doing and a lot of things we need to work on. I'm telling you it's not one person. It's all of us pulling this thing together and doing our jobs together."
Reid said Castillo will still call the defense and that all the coaches will remain in their same roles.
Asked what that meant for changes to personnel or the scheme on defense, he said, "We look at everything every week. It's no different this week."
"If I can point to one thing, it's a tough thing to do. We all have to do our jobs better. That's what we need to do. I think we have the players here to do that and the coaches to do that."
Some other items from Reid's press conference:
On fourth quarter woes: "Each guy needs to take a close look at himself and I have to make sure I'm looking at it closer. We're not finishing games the way we're supposed to finish games. That's the bottom line."
On similarities to problems of the past, such as red zone: "We've got to make sure we fix it. I don't like what I'm seeing. I'm a part of that problem."
On turning things around: "I'm in the business of finding the problem and solving the problem. I know we have good enough players and coaches to do it. I've seen enough glimpses of what this thing can be when it's operating right and it's important that we get it there."
Overall: "We need to do a better job. I think I'm stating the obvious. Again, I start with myself, the coaches and players. We saw some good things in the first half, but we've got to learn how to carry that over into the second half and in particular in the fourth quarter, where we've been terrible. The red zone continues to be a problem on both sides of the ball. We need to make sure we take care of that, and eliminate the turnovers down there offensively, for one thing."
On not having the time needed for the team to come together: "We have zero excuses. We're hoping to get it right and continue to work hard."
On whether he feared a slow start: "I don't look at it that way. I go into every game looking to win the game."
On the fans' frustrations: "After watching the last three games, I would understand that, but we're going to keep working hard to get better."
To read our earlier report and the report card from yesterday's game, click here.


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Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: School PartnersSkip to the navigation
Topic Overview
Your child's teachers, school nurse, cafeteria staff, and physical education teachers can become helpful partners as your child copes with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)) at school.
If you can, meet with your child's teachers and help them learn about JIA. Work with them to develop creative ways of dealing with your child's limitations and making the best of his or her abilities.
- If your child has trouble walking distances, see whether your child's classes can be scheduled to minimize walking and stair climbing. It may also help to have two sets of books for classes. One set can be left in the classrooms, and the other can be kept at home so your child doesn't have to carry them to and from school.
- If your child gets stiff sitting still during class, encourage him or her to wiggle around and stretch during the class. Help the teacher and other students understand that this isn't just "fidgeting." Ask that your child be allowed to get up and walk around a bit during class if possible (perhaps to collect homework or pass out assignments).
- If your child has trouble writing neatly, he or she might try using a larger pencil or pen. Wrapping foam around a pencil to make it easier to grip may help. An older child may be able to use a tape recorder to take notes. Ask for the teacher's acceptance and understanding of occasional messy handwriting.
- Ask your child's physical or occupational therapist for other ideas. There are many ways to modify activities and school work. The Arthritis Foundation website provides information for parents and teachers about managing JIA at school.
- Be aware of your child's rights under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other federal and state laws regarding the education of children with disabilities. The Arthritis Foundation is a source of information about these laws.
Related Information
ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics
Specialist Medical Reviewer John Pope, MD - Pediatrics
Current as ofOctober 10, 2017
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Next Section:Related Information
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Previous Section:Related Information
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Current as of: October 10, 2017
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics & John Pope, MD - Pediatrics
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
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Jeff OlsenFree Agent
Offensive Guard
Ht: | Wt:
News | Stats | Stat vs. Team | Targets | Injury | Depth Chart | Roster
|Cowboys | Make roster moves
Thu, 01 Aug 2013 17:12:58 -0700
The Dallas Cowboys have signed undrafted free-agent OG Jeff Olsen (Texas Christian) and OT James Nelson (Texas-El Paso). Terms of the contracts were not disclosed. The team also released DE Cameron Sheffield and CB Devin Smith.
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|| Source: ESPNDallas.com - Calvin Watkins
|Buccaneers | Make roster moves
Sat, 27 Jul 2013 15:51:33 -0700
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed free-agent WR Bobby Sewall (Titans) and undrafted free-agent OG Jeff Olsen (Texas Christian) and CB Mason Robinson (Rutgers). Terms of the contract were not disclosed. The team also waived OG Jeremy Lewis and FS Nick Saenz. WR Jerry Johnson was also placed on the Reserve/Left Squad list.
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|| Source: KFFL.com


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March 7, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Schedule
Game No. 30
Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at Long Beach State 49ers
at LBSU's Pyramid
Radio: KTMS 990/1490-AM
Television: None
Internet: Bigwest.tv
Game No. 31
Wednesday-Saturday, March 12-15, 2008 at TBA
2008 Big West Tournament
at the Anaheim Convention Center
Radio: KTMS 990/1490-AM
Television: TBA
Internet: Bigwest.tv
UCSB Enters Regular Season Finale In Search Of No. 1 Seed
With its win at Cal State Northridge on Thursday night, UC Santa Barbara has improved to 11-4 in league and pulled into a tie for first with the Matadors and Cal State Fullerton. If the Gauchos can defeat Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon, they would earn the No. 1 seed at next week's Big West Tournament. Even if Northridge defeats Cal Poly and Fullerton wins at UC Irvine on Saturday, UCSB possesss the tiebreaker with both and would prevail. If the Gauchos lose at Long Beach and the Matadors beat Cal Poly, they could still earn a bye into the league semifinals as the second-place finisher if Irvine defeats Fullerton. The lowest that Santa Barbara could drop is third-place, and that would occur if Northridge and Fullerton each win and the Gauchos lose.
On The Record
UCSB enters the regular season finale with an overall record of 22-7 and a Big West mark of 11-4. On Thursday night, the Gauchos won at Cal State Northridge, 77-66. On Mar. 1, they won their home finale with a 73-55 win over UC Riverside. Thursday's win was UCSB's fifth in a row in Big West play. In fact, since opening league play with 1-2 and 3-3 records, Santa Barbara has gone 10-2 and 8-1 with six of the wins coming on the road and both losses coming at home.
Gauchos Get To 20 For Ninth Time, Equal Highest Win Total Ever
The Feb. 20 win at Pacific gave UCSB its 20th victory of the 2007-08 season. Thursday's win at Cal State Northridge was the Gauchos' 22nd of the season, equaling the school record set in 1987-88 when they finished 22-8. This marks the ninth time in school history that the Gauchos have won 20 games in a season, the eighth in the modern era, and the first since the 2001-02 campaign. For head coach Bob Williams, it is the second time that he has led the program to 20 wins, the first being in 2001-02. Santa Barbara also hit the 20 victory plateau in 1991-92, 1989-90, 1988-89, 1987-88, 1970-71, 1960-61 and 1940-41. Williams has joined Jerry Pimm as the only coaches in school history to lead more than one team to 20 wins. UCSB is also 15 games over the .500 mark for the first time since the 1987-88 season.
UCSB Wins Sixth Straight Big West Road Game, 77-66 At Cal State Northridge
Alex Harris scored 25 points and Ivan Elliott added 16, and UC Santa Barbara held-off Cal State Northridge to record an important 77-66 road win on Thursday night. UCSB used a 14-2 rally midway through the first half to take a decisive 27-15 lead over Northridge with 8:52 remaining. The lead peaked at 16 when James Powell made a lay-up with 7:00 left. The Matadors pulled to within seven, 43-36, at the half, but the Gauchos scored the first seven points of the second half to extend the lead back to 14, 50-36 with 16:29 left in the game. The Matadors scored six in a row to pull to within eight, 50-42, but another 7-0 Gaucho run made it 57-42 with 11:40 left. The lead remained in double-digits until Josh Jenkins made a 15-foot jumper at the 5:23 mark, pulling his team to within eight, 65-57. Northridge kept chipping away, but could get no closer than 71-66 on a Deon Tresvant free throw with 1:31 on the clock. The Gauchos sealed the game at the free throw line and on the defensive end. Powell was intentionally fouled and made a pair of free throws with 1:22 to play. After UCSB forced a Matador turnover, Paul Roemer was fouled. He made one out of two to make it an eight-point game with 1:09 remaining. On the next Northridge possession, Roemer stripped Tresvant of the ball and was fouled. He missed both free throws, but Harris stole the ball from Tremaine Townsend with 49 seconds left. Harris was intentionally fouled and converted both free throws to give UCSB an insurmountable 76-66 lead. Harris added a team-high seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Powell and Devine joined Harris and Elliott in double-figures for the Gauchos with 12 and 10 respectively. Tresvant, who scored 31 when Northridge defeated UCSB in Santa Barbara on Jan. 5, had 25 on Thursday night. UCSB shot a decent 46.8%, and held the Matadors to just 40.0%. The Gauchos also won the rebounding battle, 34-31, and forced 18 turnovers while committing just 15.
Probable Starters - Notes
G - Justin Joyner - Has just 18 turnovers in last 11 games, a span of 293 minutes.
G - Alex Harris - Second Gaucho to score more than 1,600 points. Now has 1,638.
G - James Powell - Made 17-of-25 shots from three-point range in last four games.
F - Chris Devine - 22nd Gaucho to hit 1,000 career points. Has 1,104 in career, 19th all-time.
F - Ivan Elliott - Has scored 16 points in each of his last two games.
Probable Reserves - Notes
G - Nick Quick - Has attempted eight shots in just 16 minutes of action.
G - Jordan Weiner - 15 out of his 17 field goals are from three-point range.
G - Paul Roemer - Has six blocked shots in the last eight games. Tied high of two vs. UCR.
G - D.J. Posley - Had three points at CSUN, his first points since Jan. 26 vs. UC Davis.
F - Nedim Pajevic - Had seven points, five rebounds in outstanding effort at CSUN.
F - Sam Phippen - Scored two points at Utah State, his first points since Dec. 1 at LMU.
F - Beau Gibb - Has attempted just 16 shots in 27 games, 189 minutes this season.
F - Peter Jordan - Walk-on freshman has played in two games this season.
Harris Becomes Second Gaucho To Score 1,600 Points
Senior guard Alex Harris scored 18 points in UCSB's Mar. 1 win over UC Riverside, and in doing so he became the second UCSB player to score 1,600 career points. Harris, who is averaging 20.3 points per game this season, had 25 on Thursday night at Cal State Northridge and now has 1,638 career points, second only to Carrick DeHart, who completed his Gaucho career with 1,687 points.
Harris Named Second Team All-District 15
Alex Harris was named Second Team All-District 15 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, it was announced Tuesday. Harris, a preseason Mid-Major All-American, was joined by Cal State Fullerton's Josh Akognon on the Second Team. It was the second such honor for Harris.
The Bob Williams File
Bob Williams is in his 10th season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara. Last year his team recorded an overall record of 18-11 and a Big West mark of 9-5. The 18 wins were the most regular season wins by a Gaucho team since 1991-92 and it equaled the second most wins a Williams-coached UCSB team has ever had. Williams has led Santa Barbara to winning records in five of the last six seasons, the only exception being a 2004-05 team that was ravaged by injuries. He has guided UCSB to a pair of postseason appearances. In 2002-03, the Gauchos went 18-14 overall and 14-4 in league. The 2002-03 Big West mark earned Santa Barbara its first-ever Big West regular season championship along with a trip to the postseason National Invitation Tournament. Additionally, the success earned Williams his second Big West Coach of the Year award, his first coming after an impressive 1999 campaign. In 2001-02, Williams guided UCSB to its first Big West Conference Tournament title ever and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. Including this season, Williams' UCSB teams have posted a 162-129 (.557) overall record and an 99-64 (.607) record in Big West games. Prior to his arrival at UCSB, he spent eight years at UC Davis and in those eight years, his teams recorded 20 or more wins five times and a 158-76 record. In Williams' final season, the Aggies went 31-2, won the NCAA Division II National Championship and he was named NABC Division II Coach of the Year. Including two seasons at Menlo College, Williams has a record of 351-229 (.605) at four-year schools. Finally, dating back to the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, Williams' Gauchos have posted a 48-21 (.696) overall record.
The Opposition
UCSB and Long Beach State opened Big West play a thousand years ago. Actually, it just seems like it was a thousand years ago. The Gauchos defeated the 49ers on Jan. 3 in Santa Barbara by a score of 79-64. Long Beach still leads the all-time series between the schools with a 52-50 edge. Last season, the 49ers swept the series, including the game at the Pyramid, 101-65. The 36-point margin was the largest for either team in the all-time series.
Eight-Game Streak Was Longest In A Long Time
First of all, get used to this note. It's not going anywhere. UCSB's eight-game winning streak, which was ended at North Carolina on Dec. 22, was the longest that a Gaucho team has put together since Bob Williams became head coach in 1998-99. It was also the longest winning streak since the 1988-89 team opened the year by winning 11 consecutive games and it equaled the second longest streak in school history. Santa Barbara also won eight games in a row in 1971-72, 1960-61 and 1940-41.
The Gauchos On The Road
The Gauchos are 9-4 in true road games this season. They had a five-game road winning streak ended at Utah State on Feb. 22. Still, UCSB has won its last six Big West road games. Most recently, the Gauchos have posted road wins at Cal State Northridge, 77-66 on Mar. 6, and at the University of the Pacific, 60-53 on Feb. 20. Prior to the win over the Tigers, the Gauchos won at UC Davis, UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton. They also have victories at Eastern Washington, Ball State, and Loyola Marymount. In addition to Utah State, Santa Barbara has dropped road games at North Carolina, Stanford and UC Irvine. UCSB has also gone a perfect 2-0 in neutral court games with wins over Northwestern State and Harvard at the Basketball Travelers Classic in Palo Alto, Calif. In 2006-07, the Gauchos recorded an all-time best 10-4 record on the road. Dating to the 2005-06 season, UCSB has gone 23-10 in its last 33 true road games.
The Gauchos At Home
UCSB completed its home season on Mar. 1 with a 73-55 win over UC Riverside, giving it an 11-3 record at the Thunderdome in 2007-08. The Gauchos opened the season by winning their first seven home games, stretching a two-season home winning streak to nine, but they went 4-3 to end the campaign. On Jan. 5, Cal State Northridge defeated UCSB 88-84, ending the nine-game home winning streak. The Gauchos also dropped games to Pacific (71-58 on Jan. 24) and UC Irvine (65-59 on Feb. 9). This season, Santa Barbara logged home wins over Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly, UC Davis, Long Beach State, UC RIverside, UNLV, San Francisco, Montana State, Utah Valley, Pepperdine and Cal Poly Pomona. The nine game home winning streak that was ended by Northridge was the longest the program has had since it won 15 in a row bridging the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons. The Gauchos did end on a two-game home winning streak.
The Steal Curtain
UCSB had 11 steals on Mar. 6 at Cal State Northridge giving it 244 on the season, a new school record. The previous record of 236 steals was set in 1998-99, Bob Williams' first year as head coach of the Gauchos. In the last six games, the Gauchos have had 63 steals, an average of 10.5 per game. In a Feb. 14 win over Cal Poly, they tied their season-high with 16, equaling the third highest total in school history. They also had 16 on Dec. 5 against Pepperdine. UCSB has had 10 or more steals six times this season, including three times in he last six games. Last year, in 29 games, UCSB had a total of 180 steals.
Dialing Long Distance
UCSB made 11 three-point baskets last Saturday against UC Riverside. The 11 three-pointers equaled the Gauchos' highest total in Big West play, and it was the most since they produced 11 in a Jan. 30 win over the Highlanders. In Thursday night's win at Cal State Northridge, UCSB was 7-for-18 from outside the arc. On the season, Santa Barbara has now made 224 three-point baskets, a new school record. Previously, the school record was 219, set in 2002-03. In the last week's win over UCR, the Gauchos made 57.9% of their three-point attempts, their highest mark since making 60.0% in a Jan. 12 win at Cal State Fullerton. It was also the 10th time this season that they have made at least 50.0% of their three-point attempts. For the season, Santa Barbara is shooting 41.8% from three-point range, the top mark in the Big West Conference, and well above the school record of 40.3% set during the 2001-02 season.
Plenty Of Turnover
UCSB opponents are averaging 18.1 turnovers per game in 2007-08, an increase of 4.7 per game over the 13.4 they averaged in 2006-07. Last year, a Gaucho opponent had 20 or more turnovers just once, 21 by Pepperdine in a double overtime game. In 2007-08, UCSB has forced 20 or more turnovers nine times in 28 games, and only three opponents have had fewer than 15. On Mar. 6, the Gauchos forced Cal State Northridge into 18 turnovers. On Feb. 14, they forced Cal Poly into 24, the most by an opponent in league play. The highest total by a UCSB opponent this season was 28, in the opener against Northwestern State.
Some Magic Numbers
In Thursday's win at Cal State Northridge, UCSB won the rebounding battle by a 34-31 margin. It was just the 12th time in 29 games that the Gauchos have outrebounded their opponent and in those games, they have gone 11-1. In last Saturday's win over UC Riverside, Santa Barbara limited the Highlanders to 55 points. It was the third time in the last six games that UCSB has held an opponent under 60 points, and all three times have resulted in victories. UCSB has held teams below 60 points 10 times in 2007-08 and has gone a perfect 10-0 in those games. In fact, Santa Barbara has held two other opponents to 60 points and three to 61, going undefeated in those games as well. Thus, when the Gauchos have limit the opposition to 61 points or less, they have gone 15-0. Finally, UCSB attempted a season-high 39 rebounds on Thursday night, eight more than the host Matadors attempted. The Gauchos are now a perfect 11-0 when they attempt more free throws that their opponent. They are 13-1 when they make more charity shots that the opposition.
A Game Of Percentages
UCSB has won its last four Big West Conference games, and in the last three one of the main reasons has been outstanding shooting. In victories over UC Davis, Pacific, and UC Riverside, the Gauchos made 98 out of 195 field goal attempts, 50.3%. On the season, UCSB has made 50.0% or better from the floor 11 times.
Top One-Two Punches
Alex Harris and Chris Devine set a school record last year for most points by two players. This year, Harris and Devine have combined for 875 points, a figure that would rank 10th all-time, if not for the fact that Harris and James Powell have combined for 892, the seventh most by a one-two punch in school history.
# Players Season Points 1. A. Harris/C. Devine 2006-07 1,019 2. L. Davis/I. Jones 1991-92 1,014 3. C. DeHart/M. Doyle 1988-89 957 4. A. Harris/J. Powell 2007-08 929 C. DeHart/E. McArthur 1989-90 929 6. L. Davis/G. Gray 1990-91 928 7. M. Hull/B. Fullove 2001-02 893 8. R. Tutt/J. Merrill 1996-97 882 9. C. Henry/S. Fisher 1985-86 878 10. B. Fullove/M. Hull 2002-03 869 Note: The leading scorer is listed first
Fade To Black
The Gauchos have had more assists than turnovers six of the last eight games. Over that span, they have had 119 assists and just 97 turnovers and have gone into the black in the assist-to-turnover ratio category. Entering Saturday's game at Long Beach State, UCSB has totaled 430 assists as compared to a 'mere` 418 turnovers. On Jan. 24, the Gauchos had a season-low seven turnovers against Pacific. They have had eight turnovers twice, on Feb. 22 at Utah State and Jan. 3 against Long Beach State.
UCSB defeated Cal State Northridge by 11 points on Thursday night, 77-66. For the Gauchos, it was the second straight game in which they had logged a double-figure margin. On the season, 15 of their wins have come by margins of 10 or more. The largest margin of victory for Santa Barbara this season came on Dec. 19 at Ball State when the Cardinals fell by a 79-52 count. On the other side of the coin, the Gauchos have lost seven games this season, four of which have come by double-digit margins. The largest margin of defeat that UCSB has suffered this season was a 105-70 loss on Dec. 22 at North Carolina.
The Harris Poll
Senior guard Alex Harris was named Second Team All-District 15 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches on Tuesday. He continues to lead the Gauchos in scoring at 20.3 points per game, a figure that ranks second in the Big West Conference. In Thursday's game at Cal State Northridge, Harris scored 25 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. He was 5-for-13 from the field overall and 3-for-7 from three-point range. By scoring 25 against the Matadors, the senior from Alameda, Calif., has now scored 1,638 points in his career, second on UCSB's all-time career scoring list. The program's all-time leader, Carrick DeHart, finished his career with 1,687 points. Harris joined DeHart as one of just two players in school history to score 1,600 or more. In addition, Harris has now scored 569 points on the season, the fourth most all-time. It marks the sixth time in UCSB history that a player has scored 500 or more points in a season and Harris is the only player to have accomplished the feat twice. He had 611 last season, the third most all-time. Harris has scored 13 or more points in all 28 of his appearances this season and he has scored in double-figures in 35 straight dating back to the 2006-07 season. He has led or tied for the team-lead in scoring 21 times this year, going for 20 or more 14 times and 25 or more seven times. He scored a season-high 31 points on Jan. 19 at Cal Poly. In addition to scoring, Harris is second on the team in three-point baskets. By making 3-of-7 on Mar. 6, he has now made 69 out of his 155 attempts, 44.5%. Harris has made at least one three-point basket in 27 of 28 games. In addition, he has hit two or more 22 times, and three or more 10 times. Harris made a career-high six three-point baskets, in eight attempts, on Dec. 7 against Utah Valley. In his career, he has now hit 189 out of 463, 40.8%, the fourth most makes and the fourth highest percentage in UCSB history. Prior to his 31-point game at Cal Poly, Harris' season-high was 29 points on Nov. 24 against Montana State. In that game, he had career-highs for free throws, 15, and free throw attempts, 18. On Thursday, he was 12-of-16 from the charity stripe and on the year, Harris has gone to the free throw line 192 times, the most in the Big West. He is tied for third on the team in rebounding at 3.8 per game, and he has had at least five in each of the last four games.
Harris On UCSB's Career Lists
Category Statistic Rank Points 1,638 2nd Average 14.2 ppg t-5th Field Goals 499 10th Field Goal Attempts 1,132 5th Free Throws 451 1st Free Throw Attempts 575 1st Free Throw Pct. 78.4% 10th 3-Pt. Field Goals 189 4th 3-Pt. Field Goal Att. 463 4th 3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. 40.8% 4th Steals 102 10th
The Devine File
Junior forward Chris Devine scored 10 points and collected four rebounds in Thursday's win at Cal State Northridge. Devine attempted just three shots against the Matadors, making two. One of his field goals was a three-pointer. Devine had struggled offensively in three games prior to Thursday. In the three contests, he has averaged just 6.0 points, making 6-of-20 shots from the field, 30.0%. It marked the first time this season that Devine had scored fewer than 10 points in three consecutive games, and the stretch came on the heels of a stretch in which he had 15 or more in three straight, his longest such streak in league play this year. Despite his recent troubles, Devine is averaging 12.2 points per game, third on the team. He has scored 10 or more points 19 times in his 28 appearances this year, but just nine times in the last 18 games. He scored in double-figures in the first 10 games of the season. He scored a season-high 24 on Jan. 5 against Cal State Northridge, and his other 20 point game came at Ball State on Dec. 19 when he had 22. On Jan. 24 against Pacific, Devine became the 22nd player in UCSB history to move past the 1,000 point mark. He enters Saturday's regular season finale with a career total of 1,104 points, a figure that ranks 19th all-time. He needs 13 to move into 18th-place. Devine is second on the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game. He has had seven or more 10 times and he had a season-high nine on Dec. 1 at Loyola Marymount. He had eight on Feb. 7 against Cal State Fullerton, his highest total in the last 14 games. Devine is second on the team in field goal percentage at 50.4%. A Preseason All-Big West selection, Devine is second on the team in steals with 34. He has had two or more steals 11 times and four in a Dec. 22 game at North Carolina. On Thursday, against Northridge, he made his ninth three-point basket of the season, his firrst since he made a pair on Jan. 12 at Cal State Fullerton. Devine has now made nine this year.
Old Buddy, Old Powell
Sophomore guard James Powell cooled off a bit from three-point range in Thursday's win at Cal State Northridge, making 2-of-5. In the previous game, a home win over UC Riverside, he made a career-best 7-for-8 from outside the arc, and in the game before that, Feb. 22 at Utah State, he was 6-for-10. In the last four games, Powell has connected on 17-of-25 three-point tries, 68.0%. He had 12 points in the win over the Matadors, giving him five straight games in double-figures, equaling the longest such streak of his career. A week ago, he had 24 against Riverside, one shy of his career-high of 25, set at Riverside on Jan. 30. Powell's recent three-point binge has pushed him past Alex Harris and into the team-lead with 70 three-pointers and he is leads the team in three-point field goal percentage at 46.4%. His 70 three-point baskets rank in a tie for fifth on UCSB's all-time single-season list and his 46.4% success rate would be second all-time. After scoring fewer than 10 points in consecutive games for the first time since the first three games of the year, Powell has bounced back with his five consecutive games in double-figures and he is now averaging 12.4 points per game, second on the team. In all, he has been in double-figures 19 times this season, all in the last 26 games, and he has scored 20 or more six times, including five times in the last 13 games. Since scoring a total of 17 points through the first three games, Powell has averaged 13.3 points per game. Since opening the year by going 2-for-12 from three-point range, Powell has made 68 out of his last 139 attempts, 48.9%. He has made at least one three-point basket in 16 straight games and 26 times in 29 games this season. He has made two or more in nine straight and 21 times, and three or more 10 times. Powell is averaging 2.2 assists per game, second on the team, and he has had two or more in 10 of the last 13 games. He tied a career-high with six on Jan. 5 against Cal State Northridge. He is also leads the team with 35 steals and he has had two in each of the last three games.
Justin Joins In
Sophomore guard Justin Joyner continues to lead UCSB in assists, at 3.7 per game, and the Big West in assist-to-turnover ratio, at 2.10-to-1.00. Joyner had three points, three assists, three steals, and one rebound in the win at Cal State Northridge. He is now averaging 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He has had more turnovers than assists in just two games this season (Four turnovers and two assists on Nov. 11 at Stanford and four turnovers and three assists on Mar. 6 at Northridge.), and in his last 22 games, he has 83 assists and just 36 turnovers. He has had just 18 turnovers in the last 11 games, a span of 293 minutes. Joyner has had a season-high seven assists twice, against Utah Valley and UC Irvine. In the game against Irvine, Joyner also had a career-high 16 points, making 4-of-6 three-point attempts. In all, he has produced three or more assists 20 times this season and UCSB has gone 15-5 in those games. In addition to his pair of seven assist games, he has had two games with six assists and three games with five assists. Also, after going 0-for-5 from the field over a five game span, he has gone 15-of-28 in the last six games, 53.6%. He has improved his overall field goal percentage to 40.0%. In fact, since opening the year by making just 10 of his first 37 shots in the first nine games, he has hit 30-of-63, 47.6%, in the last 20. Joyner has made 15 out of 48 three-pointers this season, but 11 have come in four games, two apiece against UNLV and Ball State, three at Fullerton and his career-high four on Feb. 9 against UC Irvine. Since opening the year by making just two out of 12 three-point attempts over the first six games, Joyner has gone 13-of-36, 36.1%. He is averaging 2.7 rebounds per game and tied his season-high with five on Feb. 20 at Pacific. Joyner is third on the team with 32 steals, including 12 in the last six games. He has tied his career-high with three steals on four occasions this season.
Ivan The Good
Senior forward Ivan Elliott bounced back from a pair of subpar offensive performances with two of his best in wins over Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside. Elliott had just four points and five rebounds on Feb. 22 at Utah State, fouling out in just 20 minutes. In the game prior to that, a win at Pacific, he had just six points in 25 minutes. On Mar. 1 against the Highlanders, Elliott made 6-of-7 shots from the field, including both of his three-point attempts, finishing with 16 points, his fourth highest total of the season. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds. On Thursday at Northridge, he also had 16 points, making 6-of-9 shots from the field, and he had five rebounds. Despite his six-point performance at Pacific, he has scored 56 points in his last four Big West games, an average of 14.0 per game. Over that span, Elliott has made 22-of-30 shots from the field, 73.3%. He has improved his overall field goal percentage to 56.8%, best on the team. In the first game of the current three-game Big West run, he had 18 points, making 8-of-9 shots, in a Feb. 16 win at UC Davis. Elliott scored a career-high 22 points in a Feb. 7 win over Cal State Fullerton. Elliott is now averaging 9.6 points and a team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game. He has scored 10 or more points 14 times this season. He is second on the Gauchos in three-point field goal percentage at 46.2%. He has slumped from three-point range in recent games, making just three out of 15 attempts in the last 10 games. Elliott made a career-high three three-pointers on Nov. 24 against Montana State, and he has made two on six other occasions. In 2006-07, the native San Franciscan made just 5-of-13 shots from outside the arc, but this year he has drilled 24 out of his 52 attempts. Overall, in the last nine games, Elliott has gone 40 out of 60 from the field, 66.7%. In the last 10 games, he has made 40 out of his 52 two-point attempts, 76.9%. Elliott also leads the team in blocked shots with 26. He now has 45 career blocks and needs four to enter UCSB's career top-10 in the category. He has emerged in the steal category as well. While he has 27 steals on the season, 12 have come in the last eight games. He had career-highs of four steals and four assists on Feb. 14 against Cal Poly. Elliott has had a season-high nine rebounds twice this year, on Dec. 29 at Eastern Washington and then again on Jan. 24 against Pacific. He has had six or more 18 times in 28 games.
A Piece Of The Pajevic (Pronounced Pie-uh-vich)
Senior forward Nedim Pajevic is averaging 5.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He had one of his bet games of the season on Thursday night at Cal State Northridge, playing 20 minutes, scoring seven points and collecting five rebounds. Pajevic made 3-of-6 shots overall, including his only three-point attempt. The five rebounds equaled his highest total in the last seven games, and his seven points were two short of his high in Big West play this season. Pajevic has been solid on the boards in recent games, averaging 4.5 per game in the last four games and grabbing at least four in each. Through 29 games, Pajevic has had four or more rebounds 15 times. He had a personal-best 10 rebounds on Nov. 20 against San Francisco, recording a double-double in the process as he also scored 10 points. Pajevic's double-double against the Dons is the only one recorded by a UCSB player this season and, in fact, it is the only double-figure rebounding game by a Gaucho. He scored his season-high 16 points in the second game of the year, a win over Harvard, and he has had 10 or more six times, the last time coming when he went for 12 in a Dec. 22 loss at North Carolina. Prior to the win over the Matadors, Pajevic had struggled with his shooting, making just 6-of-21 shots overall over a five game span, 28.6%. Finally, the three-pointer he hit in the last game was his second of the season and his first since Nov. 15 against Cal Poly Pomona. He had missed 11 in a row.
Roemer Charges
Sophomore guard Paul Roemer continues to give the Gauchos valuable minutes as a reserve in the backcourt. In the win over Cal State Northridge, Roemer played 16 minutes, and while he had just one point, he did had two steals, three assists and he played well defensively. He is averaging 2.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game overall, but in the last five games, he has averaged 4.0 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 rebounds. In the last five games, he has also made 6-of-12 shots from the field, 50.0%. Roemer had a career-high 12 points, on four three-pointers, on Jan. 10 at UC Irvine. In addition to his 12-point game at UC Irvine, Roemer went for 10 in the season-opener against Northwestern State, his only other double-figure game this season. He had a career-high five assists on Feb. 7 against Cal State Fullerton, and a career-high three steals on Dec. 22 at North Carolina. In recent games, Roemer has also become one of the team's top shot blockers. He had a pair on Mar. 1 against UC Riverside, giving him six in the last eight games. He also had two on Feb. 7 against Fullerton. In 2006-07, Roemer played 132 minutes in 16 games. This year, he has played in 29 games, logging 457 minutes.
Strike A Posley
Junior guard D.J. Posley returned to action against UC Riverside after missing four games with the flu. In his return, Posley was scoreless, missing his only shot, but he had a pair of rebounds. He played a season-low 10 minutes in the game against the Highlanders. On Thursday at Cal State Northridge, Posley played 19 minutes, scoring three points, pulling down three rebounds, passing off for a pair of assists, and coming-up with one steal. The points were his first since he had six on Jan. 26 against UC Davis, and outside of the stats, he played his typical outstanding defense. Posley is averaging 2.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 assists per game. He tallied a season-high seven points on Dec. 5 against Pepperdine. He has also had six points three times.
Jordan Rules
Freshman Jordan Weiner has made the most of his increased playing time in recent games. Although he didn't play Thursday and was scoreless in 10 minutes against UC Riverside, he has scored 15 points in the last five games, 3.0 per game. Despite playing just 117 minutes in 19 games this season, Weiner is tied for fourth on the team with 15 three-point baskets. He made a career-high four three-pointers and scored a career-high 12 points on Dec. 19 at Ball State.


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The state Board of Education voted Thursday to remove Dollarway School District from state control effective this fall, clearing the way for the community to elect a school board.
The vote came two years after the state assumed control of the Jefferson County district over violations of state standards for school district accreditation, including employing teachers who weren't licensed and assigning students classes that didn't have them on track to graduate.
Superintendent Bobby Acklin, whom the board appointed last year, told the board of positive changes at the district including a steadying enrollment, a stable financial situation, an audit finding that student transcripts are now "in order" and improving academics.
He said before the unanimous vote to remove state control that doing so would be a "positive move ... to give our community a chance to see if we really want our district to stand on our own two feet again."
"The staff has decided that we want our school district," Acklin said. "They have gotten in the trenches and they have started working and working together to make our school district viable, to try and keep our school district population up instead of declining."
The locally elected school board is to be in place and trained when the state control ends effective Oct. 1, officials said at the meeting.
Some board members raised concerns before the vote that the decision on relinquishing control was coming the month after Dollarway High School was declared academically distressed.
Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell acknowledged there are still some "academic challenges," but he said there were questions about the "legal ground" that would allow state control to continue. And he noted that Dollarway is "a community that really wants to try and prove itself."
The state took over Dollarway in June 2012, removing the superintendent and School Board after the accreditation standard violations were revealed. No further violations occurred over the next two years.
Acklin was appointed last year after the first state-appointed superintendent, Frank Anthony, left the position. Acklin told the board Thursday that he hopes to retire from Dollarway.


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Poetry in The Branches National Institute
After many years of working closely with our partners in the New York and Brooklyn public library systems Poets House now makes Poetry in The Branches services available to librarians nationwide.
Poetry in The Branches (PITB) creates a complete poetry environment in community libraries, through programming, writing workshops, book acquisition, display and librarian training. PITB is our fail-proof recipe for creating poetry services that work in any setting. Poets House is pleased to announce the first: Poetry in The Branches National Institute. A weekend of information and inspiration for librarians seeking to create a place for poetry in their libraries. The workshop will combine nuts-and-bolts information with hands-on experience writing and reading poetry.


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Our program includes a unique daily seminar series created just for program participants, evening movies or talks by patients that provide a "human face" to the cutting edge science you learn in the seminar series. Career development events, like the exciting "Graduate School Night," help you learn about career options and make connections with others who have faced the decisions that you are considering.
This site provides useful information that communicates the excitement of participating in a unique program designed just for talented, motivated undergraduates whose idea of fun is to spend a summer learning about and participating in headline grabbing biomedical research. Your position is a real job, with a compensation package of approximately $5,000 for nine weeks. Depending on the funding source, your compensation will be all salary or a combination of salary and allocation for housing or travel. In addition to everything you learn about science through research, daily seminars, discussion groups, and extra activities; the experience of getting to know the other participants and people here at Baylor College of Medicine is extraordinary.
We welcome students from all science and math majors, and even non-science majors with appropriate background and interest. Projects span the spectrum of biomedical science, including projects in bioengineering and computational biology.
The program offers:
-Nine paid weeks of biomedically related research in a broad range of areas
-Daily seminars designed for undergraduates.
-Free SMART GRE prep workshops.
-Career development activities.
-Housing at Rice University dorms.


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The list of topics you will study as a zoology student is so exciting. You will learn how animals interact with plants, fungi, and microorganisms in an intricate web, from faculty who teach basic and specialized courses.
The zoology curriculum provides you with a basic understanding of biology, chemistry, and physics courses crucial to your education in animal biology, and you may get research opportunities.
Zoology students are prepared to either enter a job in the zoology field immediately after graduation or apply for graduate programs.
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Behind the Scenes at the Zoo
Student film takes Ft. Wayne zoo visitors behind the scenes


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* PLEASE NOTE: Your employee ID number is the seven-digit number found at the top of your pay stub or in PeopleSoft self service. Using the correct number is required for registration.
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Missouri S&T Professor Discusses Charleston Quake
A New Madrid earthquake packs a more powerful punch than a California quake of the same magnitude, according to a University of Missouri-Rolla researcher.
Dr. J. David Rogers, an associate professor of geological engineering at Missouri S&T, says unique geology in the Midwest increases the shaking intensity of even modest earthquakes because seismic energy moves through the dense bedrock underlying the region at very high speeds, then becomes trapped in soft sediments filling river channels and valleys.
That's one of the messages Rogers will deliver as a keynote speaker Thursday, Feb. 3, at Ameren headquarters in St. Louis during an informational program, "Earthquakes: Mean Business!" The free half-day program, which is part of Earthquake Awareness Week, starts at 8 a.m. and is open to the public.
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Students will test various materials to determine if any can shield their "magnetometer" (compass) from an external magnetic field using their own experimental design. If no suitable material is available, they will devise another method to protect... (View More) their instrument. Includes background science for the teacher, worksheets, adaptations and extensions. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are also identified. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $10 - $20 per group of students
This is a lesson about measurement and cratering. Learners will read about the origin of the foot as a standardized unit of measure, work collaboratively to conduct an experiment about cratering, and collect and record data to draw logical and... (View More) scientific conclusions. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes: TEKS Details (Texas Standards alignment), Essential Question, Science Notebook, Vocabulary Definitions for Students, Vocabulary Definitions for Teachers, three Vocabulary Cards, and a Mini-Lesson. This is lesson 7 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six-week curriculum. (View Less)
After reading aloud a text on life in extreme environments, students will discuss what life is and the requirements of life. Groups of students will conduct an experiment of their choosing on chia seeds to explore how extreme environments affect the... (View More) growth of the plant. After conducting their experiments, they will write and illustrate a fictional story about an imaginary life form on Mars. This lesson is from "Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!" which uses literacy, art, and creative expression as a vehicle for learning about Mars science and exploration. Includes alignment to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts. (View Less)
This is an activity about sunlight as an energy source. Learners will create a plant box and observe that a plant will grow toward the Sun, its primary source of energy. This hands-on activity is an additional lesson as part of the book, The Day... (View More) Joshua Jumped Too Much. (View Less)
This is an activity about seasons. Learners compare the seasons though identifying seasonal activities and drawing scenes in each season. Then, they compare the temperature on thermometers left under a lamp for different lengths of time to explore... (View More) how Earth heats more when the Sun is in the sky for longer periods of time. Finally, learners use a flashlight and a globe to investigate how the spherical shape of Earth causes the seasons to be opposite in each hemisphere. This hands-on activity is an additional lesson as part of the book, Adventures in the Attic. (View Less)
This is a book about seasons. Learners will read or listen to a story about two twins, Matt and Matilda, who are tasked with creating a model of the Earth-Sun system for a science fair project. Through some wild seasonal changes they experience... (View More) while creating the model, the two come to a better understanding of the causes of Earth's seasons. An extension activity is included (Reasons for the Seasons), as well as reading and vocabulary activities. (View Less)
This is a lesson about the electromagnetic spectrum. Learners begin by arranging a set of picture cards; in the discussion afterwards, this activity is related to the electromagnetic spectrum as an arrangement of energy waves. Next, using a... (View More) clothesline to model a logarithmic scale, they add in the electromagnetic spectrum. Finally, learners conduct several simple tests to detect other types of radiation. This activity requires access to a sunny outdoor location and the use of ultraviolet light-sensitive beads. (View Less)
In this activity about the Sun's influence on plant growth, learners will create a plant box and observe that a plant will grow towards the Sun, its primary source of energy. By periodically collecting data on the growth of the plant, they can come... (View More) to their own conclusions about why the plant grew towards the sunlight. One to two weeks are needed to grow plants for this lesson; also, time is needed to construct the plant box. Potting soil and bean seeds are needed for this activity. (View Less)
This is an activity about the Doppler effect. Learners begin by simulating the noise made by a passing siren. After learning that the change in pitch results from movement, they investigate the definition of frequency, calculate change in frequency,... (View More) and learn how this applies to light and the study of astronomy. This lesson requires a Doppler ball, also referred to as a buzzer ball. (View Less)
This is an activity about seasons. Learners begin by brainstorming a list of activities and events that occur in each season. Next, learners perform an experiment by comparing the temperature on thermometers left under a lamp for different lengths... (View More) of time to illustrate that Earth heats more when the Sun is in the sky longer. (View Less)


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Overview of a three-part investigation
Nearly 700 Native American children in South Dakota are being removed from their homes every year, sometimes under questionable circumstances. An NPR News investigation has found that the state is largely failing to place them according to the law. The vast majority of native kids in foster care in South Dakota are in nonnative homes or group homes, according to an NPR analysis of state records.
Years ago, thousands of Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools, where the motto of the schools' founder was "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." Children lost touch with their culture, traditions and families. Many suffered horrible abuse, leaving entire generations missing from the one place whose future depended on them — their tribes.
In 1978, Congress tried to put a stop to it. They passed the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says except in the rarest circumstances, Native American children must be placed with their relatives or tribes. It also says states must do everything it can to keep native families together.
But 32 states are failing to abide by the act in one way or another, and, an NPR investigation has found, nowhere is that more apparent than in South Dakota.
"Cousins are disappearing; family members are disappearing," said Peter Lengkeek, a Crow Creek Tribal Council member. "It's kidnapping. That's how we see it."
State officials say they have to do what's in the best interest of the child, but the state does have a financial incentive to remove the children. The state receives thousands of dollars from the federal government for every child it takes from a family, and in some cases the state gets even more money if the child is Native American. The result is that South Dakota is now removing children at a rate higher than the vast majority of other states in the country.
Native American families feel the brunt of this. Their children make up less than 15 percent of the child population, yet they make up more than half of the children in foster care.
Critics say foster care in South Dakota has become a powerhouse for private group home providers who bring in millions of dollars in state contracts to care for kids. Among them is Children's Home Society, the state's largest foster care provider, which has close ties with top government officials. It used to be run by South Dakota's Gov. Dennis Daugard. An NPR investigation has found that Daugard was on the group's payroll while he was lieutenant governor — and while the group received tens of millions of dollars in no-bid state contracts. It's an unusual relationship highlighting the powerful role money and politics play in South Dakota's foster care system.
"They make a living off of our children," said Juanita Sherick, the tribal social worker for the Pine Ridge reservation.
Some children are removed from their homes for legitimate reasons. But in South Dakota very few are taken because they've been physically or sexually abused. Most are taken under a far more subjective set of circumstances. The state says the parents are neglectful. But NPR's investigation shows that even Native American children who grow up to become foster care success stories, living happy, productive lives, say the loss of their culture and identities leaves a deep hole they spend years trying hopelessly to fill.
Read the complete first part of our yearlong investigation here.
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
And I'm Melissa Block.
For more than a century, the U.S. government forced Native American children into boarding schools, stripping them of their families and traditions. In 1978, Congress put a stop to that. The Indian Child Welfare Act says Native children should not be separated from their relatives or tribes. Except now, it's happening again. This time, it's foster care.
Today, we begin an investigation that uncovers a disturbing pattern of how one state places Indian children in foster care. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports on the cultural and financial forces at work in South Dakota, a state where Indian children make up just 15 percent of the population, but account for more than half the children in foster care.
LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: It's not hard to find them. There are thousands of them - Native Americans with missing children.
TANYA HILL: Well, my name is Tanya Hill(ph) from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. I lost nine grandchildren through the Department of Social Services.
DELORES HIPINTS: My name is Delores Hipints(ph). I am from Cheyenne River Sioux tribe. I've got two grandchildren in the system.
LIZ GUGLI: I'm Liz, Liz Gugli(ph). I have nine grandchildren, two of which were taken by DSS.
WESTILA CUPIWIN: My name is Westila Cupiwin(ph). I come from the Mnikhowozu band. I had a grandchild and I haven't seen him - well, he was like, 4 years old. He's 16 now.
SULLIVAN: These families want their grandsons and granddaughters, nieces, nephews, their children. And federal law says they should have them. Poverty, crime and alcoholism are real problems in South Dakota's poorest areas. Still, federal law says that except in the rarest cases, Indian kids must be placed with relatives, tribal members or at the very least, other Native Americans. But in South Dakota, that's not happening.
An NPR investigation has found that every year, the state is removing roughly 700 Indian children, some in questionable circumstances. At the same time, they have largely failed to place them with family or their tribes. In South Dakota, nine out of 10 Native kids in foster care are in non-Native homes or group care, according to state records.
State officials say they're doing everything they can to keep Native families together. But there's another powerful force at work, too: money. We'll talk in a minute about how the federal government sends the state thousands of dollars for every child it takes. Four of those children were Janice Howe's grandkids.
Hi. Are you Janice?
JANICE HOWE: I'm Janice.
SULLIVAN: I'm Laura. It's nice to see you.
Howe lives on one of the many dirt roads of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, where the dust blows on the window frames of simple houses. People here are poor, in the way few Americans are poor. There's electricity when you can pay the bill. Howe turns a chair to cover a hole in the unpainted wall.
HOWE: I'm the eldest of nine kids, and I got my bachelor's degree in nursing.
SULLIVAN: Her sister lives across the street; her parents, across the road; her daughter, two doors down with her two granddaughters and two twin grandbabies. A tight-knit family. At least they were until one afternoon two years ago, when Janice Howe's phone rang.
HOWE: She said, you don't know me but - she said - I work for the Department of Social Services. And I'm calling you in reference to your daughter, Erin Yellow Robe. And I said, what's going on? And she says, your daughter is going to be arrested for drugs. And I said, drugs?
SULLIVAN: Howe wondered, could there be something she missed? She'd never seen any sign of drugs. Then the social worker changed Howe's life.
HOWE: And she said, we need to come and take the kids.
SULLIVAN: Early the next morning, a car pulled up out front. Howe's daughter wouldn't let go of the babies. She kept saying she hadn't done anything wrong. Howe could barely watch.
HOWE: I seen them pull up, and I seen them go in. And then I seen them bringing them out.
SULLIVAN: Outside, the babies were calm.
HOWE: They were sitting in them cars and they were just looking at me like - most babies, they don't cry if they're raised in a secure environment. So I went out there, and I took their diaper bags and stuff out there. And I was just crying -and they left.
SULLIVAN: But as Janice Howe watched the car pull around the bend, something occurred to her. The social worker took the two babies, but she said Howe could keep her two granddaughters, 5-year-old Rashauna and 6-year-old Antoinette.
HOWE: I thought that was weird. I just thought, why can't I just keep them all?
SULLIVAN: The babies were driven to a white foster family a hundred miles away. At home, Janice Howe and her daughter sat on the steps and cried, as they waited for the police to come to take her daughter to jail. The hours went by.
HOWE: And no one ever came.
SULLIVAN: A week went by, a month, nothing. The summer turned into fall.
HOWE: No one ever came.
SULLIVAN: Howe's daughter, Erin Yellow Robe, has never been arrested for drugs or anything else. Social service officials say they can't talk about individual cases. But one source who has reviewed the department's file said the social worker believed Yellow Robe was abusing her prescription pills. But the file also says the case was based on a rumor from a woman who, it turns out, didn't like the Howe family.
And yet not only did they take the two babies, two months later, Janice Howe waited at the school bus stop. But the girls weren't on it. A social worker had taken them from school.
HOWE: I felt like, oh, my God. It's happening again. They didn't even call and tell me. Nothing. Nothing.
SULLIVAN: The social worker, like many in the state, was new to the job and left a short time later. She told Howe the girls were gone because they had had too much contact with their mother - a woman who had never been charged with anything. Then Antoinette and Rashauna - they, too, were gone.
PETER LENGKEEK: It enrages me. Cousins are disappearing, and family members are disappearing. We're very tight-knit families here. This breaks my heart.
SULLIVAN: Peter Lengkeek is a Crow Creek tribal council member. This tribe has lost more than 33 children in recent years, an astounding number for a reservation with only 1,400 people. Every one was placed in a white foster home.
LENGKEEK: If the state had their way, we'd still be playing cowboys and Indians. I couldn't imagine what they tell these kids about where they come from and who they are. It's kidnapping - that's how we see it.
VIRGENA WIESELER: We come from a stance of safety. That's our overarching goal with all children.
SULLIVAN: Virgena Wieseler runs a division of the Department of Social Services, an hour away in Pierre. She says the department believes in the Indian Child Welfare Act, and does its best to place as many Native American children with relatives or tribal members as it can find.
WIESELER: If they can be returned to their parent or returned to a relative, and they can be safe, then that's our goal.
SULLIVAN: Officials say they're dealing with abject poverty and substance abuse, and they have to do what's best for the kids. Rysdon is the department's secretary. And she says what's best often means driving onto a reservation and taking a child.
KIM MALSAM-RYSDON: Of course we think it's legal, or we wouldn't be doing it.
SULLIVAN: Malsam-Rysdon says state law supports that. But federal law says tribes are sovereign and two South Dakota judges, two lawyers and a dozen tribal advocates told NPR a state official can't drive off with an Indian child from Crow Creek, any more than a Crow Creek official could drive off with a child from Rapid City.
Some tribes have agreements with the state; Crow Creek doesn't. But the state has never been challenged in court about this. So Janice Howe was stuck in a strange but common legal limbo.
Howe lives on a reservation; state courts don't apply to her. But especially on poor reservations, tribal courts can be overrun, underfunded, operated part-time by a revolving door of judges who rubber-stamp social service requests. Howe didn't know how to get a hearing. She didn't know any judges or lawyers. She certainly couldn't afford one. And Social Services told her they couldn't tell her anything.
HOWE: I have written letters to Virgena Wieseler, asking questions. I wrote letters to the governor.
SULLIVAN: How did the Department of Social Services respond to this?
HOWE: They didn't.
SULLIVAN: Three months had passed, and Janice Howe was waiting in silence. Howe thought there must be something she could do. And then she thought of one more person: her tribe's Indian Child Welfare Act director, Dave Valandra. He's a federal employee. He's supposed to make sure kids are placed with tribal or family members So she called him.
HOWE: I can't help you; there's nothing I can do - that's what he said to me.
SULLIVAN: He never called you back?
HOWE: Uh-uh, never.
SULLIVAN: Dave Valandra is from Indiana. He works in a square, gray building for the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
DAVE VALANDRA: I'm the ICWA officer. I do the ICWA for the Crow Creek Sioux tribe.
SULLIVAN: Valandra's job is to help tribal members with cases in state court. And he can also push tribal court to hold hearings. But he usually doesn't do that, he says, because he trusts the state to do what's best.
VALANDRA: I get along real good with the state, and I have a good rapport with them. I'm satisfied with them.
SULLIVAN: The tribe is not satisfied. Tribal officials say he won't show up at their council meetings. Valandra says he doesn't need to, because the Indian Child Welfare Act is being followed.
VALANDRA: The state does have Native American foster homes. So yeah, it's working.
SULLIVAN: But state records show only 13 percent of Native kids in foster care are placed in Native homes. In fact, Valandra admits that not one of the children in his almost three-dozen cases is placed with a Native American family. So I asked him...
Do you feel like maybe these children have been let down a little bit?
VALANDRA: Of my cases, I think they're all, right now - how do I want to - the placement of the children right now are - are - boy, that's...
SULLIVAN: With Valandra, a dead end, Janice Howe asked to have the kids moved to a Native home. She wanted them to go to sweats and sundance, but nothing changed. Social Services' Virgena Wieseler says they would like all Native kids to be in Native homes, but they've only got a few and they don't have room.
WIESELER: And we're always trying to recruit them because we need more. We are constantly recruiting in all of our offices, for all kinds of foster families.
SULLIVAN: That comes as a surprise to Marcella Dion. She's Native, and she's a licensed foster-care provider. She has lots of room.
MARCELLA DION: I was like, whoa, what's going on? I got my ICWA license, no kids.
SULLIVAN: Dion's home has been empty for six years. Then there's Suzie Crow, also from Crow Creek.
SUZANNE CROW: I've been a foster parent here over a year. They've never called me for a kid.
SULLIVAN: In that year, more than 600 Native children in South Dakota were placed in white foster homes. The Pine Ridge Reservation says they've got 20 empty homes. A few months ago, Suzie Crow asked a social worker why she hadn't gotten any kids.
CROW: He said, well, there's a long process, this and that. I said, no. I said, the long process is there's no road from you to Indian people. That's the long process.
SULLIVAN: The long process for Janice Howe and her daughter was waiting months just to see the kids. She missed braiding their long hair. They follow tradition that you don't cut hair unless there's a death in the family. When they were finally granted a visit in January of 2009...
HOWE: I started crying. Their hair was cut to their shoulders.
SULLIVAN: The girls looked so thin. They begged Howe and their mother to take them home.
HOWE: I didn't want to cry in front of them because I knew that they were already upset. I just said: You know what? Pray hard, OK? Pray. Look outside because I'm looking at the same sky. OK? OK, Grandma, they said. And they left.
SULLIVAN: She wouldn't see them for another year. In downtown Rapid City, Danny Sheehan's in a closet down the hall from his office, pulling open file cabinets.
DANNY SHEEHAN: So these are all of the different people who've had their kids taken away from their entire families. Not one of them has had their children left with a relative.
SULLIVAN: Sheehan works for the Lakota People's Law Office, a small, barely funded nonprofit. He's collecting more than 150 of his clients' stories. He's hoping one day to sue, but that kind of case is time-consuming and legally challenging. As he walks back to his office, he explains his predicament with the Department of Social Services, or DSS.
SHEEHAN: Maybe if we devoted all of our resources to a particular case and said, look, we're going to land on you like a ton of bricks, DSS, and make you give this one kid back, then they would probably just turn the kid loose. But it wouldn't help any of the other people. It wouldn't stop them from doing it 100 times again.
SULLIVAN: Without question, some children in South Dakota need to be removed from their families. But according to state figures, less than 12 percent of the children in foster care in South Dakota have been actually physically or sexually abused. That's less than the national average. And yet South Dakota is removing children at almost three times the rate of other states, according to the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.
To understand how that's possible, how the state can remove Janice Howe's four grandchildren and more than 700 other Native kids every year, you have to understand one word: neglect. The state says parents have neglected their children, and neglect is subjective.
BOB WALTERS: The standards are set too high for our people.
SULLIVAN: Bob Walters is a council member for the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe. He says what social workers call neglect is often poverty and sometimes, Native tradition.
WALTERS: We're family people. If there's 30 people in my home, that's fine. I was raised with my mom and dad and 12 kids. I'm very thankful I grew up that way.
SULLIVAN: He says social workers are often young, and many have never set foot on a reservation. He says they don't understand that food is often shared among families. State officials acknowledge that only 11 of their 183 caseworkers are Native American. But officials say they do yearly training to expose workers to Native practices.
Sometimes, though, it's not just cultural differences. Jolene Abourezk worked for the department for seven years. She says taking kids was expected.
JOLENE ABOUREZK: It's just the norm here; that it happens so often, people don't question it - like, good, you are doing a good job for taking more kids in. It's just the way it's been, and it continues to be that way.
SULLIVAN: Now, she works for her tribe, the Oglala Sioux, and reviews every case to help get the kids back.
ABOUREZK: When I look at the cases and read the police reports, it just seems like a lot of them are just minor offenses.
SULLIVAN: Most social workers care deeply about the children they work with, and few would voluntarily take on more cases. But a close view of South Dakota's budget shows there's a financial incentive at work. Every time a state puts a child in foster care, the federal government sends money. Because South Dakota is poor, it sends lots of money - almost $100 million a year.
BILL NAPOLI: When that money came down the pike, it was huge. That's when we saw real influx of kids being taken out of families. Families were being disrupted because the money was there.
SULLIVAN: Bill Napoli is a former state senator who served on the Appropriations Committee. He says there was little state lawmakers could do. This was federal money, and it went straight to Social Services.
NAPOLI: I'm sure that they were trying to answer a public perception of a problem and then slowly, it grew to the point that they had so much power that no one - no one - could question what they were doing. Is that a recipe for a bureaucracy that's totally out of control? I would say so.
SULLIVAN: Department officials Virgena Wieseler and Kim Malsam-Rysdon strongly disagree. They say money has never influenced their decisions to remove a child.
WIESELER: The state doesn't financially benefit from kids being in care.
MALSAM-RYSDON: Right, no.
WIESELER: The state is always paying some part of it.
SULLIVAN: But, in general, the more children that the department has, the more money they may be getting from the federal government.
WIESELER: It's still, you know, state general dollars that have to match all those federal dollars that come in.
MALSAM-RYSDON: Right, right.
SULLIVAN: Except it's not exactly a match. According to federal records, last year, the federal government reimbursed the state for almost three-quarters of its foster care expenses. Then there's the bonus money. States get money if they move kids out of foster care and into adoption, about $4,000 a child. But if the child has special needs, they can get as much as $12,000.
Well, a decade ago, South Dakota designated all Native American children special needs, so Native American children who are permanently removed from their homes are worth more financially to the state than other children. In 10 years, just this bonus program has brought South Dakota almost $1 million.
MALSAM-RYSDON: The key to that funding, though, is that those dollars are to be used to support adoptive placements.
SULLIVAN: The department's Kim Malsam-Rysdon.
MALSAM-RYSDON: So the state does not gain monetarily from placing kids in adoption.
SULLIVAN: Or does it? That money, and almost $100 million more, funnels into the state economy every year. The department employs 1,000 workers. It supports almost 700 foster families, who receive as much as $9,000 a year for per child; 1,400 families who receive thousands in adoption subsidies; and dozens of independent group homes that get millions of dollars in contracts to take care of children. Just ask former Governor Bill Janklow, who ran the state in the 1990s.
How important was the money that was coming from the federal government to Social Services?
BILL JANKLOW: Incredibly important. Look, we're a poor state. We're not a high-income state. We're like North Dakota without oil. We're like Nebraska without Omaha and Lincoln. We don't have factories opening here, hiring people at high-wage jobs.
SULLIVAN: The federal government gave South Dakota at least $15,000 for Janice Howe's grandchildren while they were in foster care. South Dakota spent more than half of that money on administrative costs, according to federal records. But even now, as the money filters in, the federal government asks few questions about whether states are complying with the Indian Child Welfare Act. In fact, a 2005 government audit found at least 32 states are failing, in one way or another, to abide by it.
GEORGE SHELDON: I think we've got to do better. And frankly, to the extent to which we can provide some leadership, I'd like to see us do that.
SULLIVAN: George Sheldon is the man in Washington sending the money. He just took over the federal Administration of Children and Families, and says he wants to make changes.
SHELDON: When you have a financing system that pays states based on the number of children in care, what's the incentive to keep kids out of care?
SULLIVAN: It had been a year and a half, and Janice Howe's grandchildren were still in foster care. Howe made one, last desperate move. She went to her tribe's council meeting. She told the whole story - how they came one day and took the kids, how her daughter had never been charged with anything, how a social worker had told her they were now putting them up for adoption.
Many on the council nodded with familiarity, and then they did something they had never done before. They passed a resolution warning the state that if it did not return the Yellow Robe children, it would be charged with kidnapping and prosecuted.
Nobody really thought it would work. But a few weeks later, a car pulled up with Rashauna, Antoinette and the two twins - no longer babies, but 2-and-a-half-year-olds.
HOWE: Antoinette came in and she just - Grandma, Grandma, we get to stay. We get to stay!
SULLIVAN: The state offered no explanation, no apology. In fact, the social worker issued a dire warning. This is a trial run, the worker said. We can take them back at any time.
Howe thinks the two babies were treated well. But Rashauna and Antoinette, the older kids, Howe says they horde food under their pillows, and hide under the bed when a car pulls up.
HOWE: I feel like they were traumatized so much. Are we going to ever get them out of that?
SULLIVAN: Antoinette, the oldest, can't remember her Native dance.
HOWE: We go to sweats. We have ceremonies at certain time of the year. She's got to be getting ready to learn these things that she has to do in order to become a young lady. You took a year and a half of that away from us. How are we going to get that back?
SULLIVAN: Janice Howe now runs a support group in a church for families that have lost children to foster care. On this night, 48 people showed up to talk and exchange stories. In front, Antoinette and Rashauna played. Usually, when NPR producer Amy Walters and I would visit, they would hide. They later explained that like their mother, they are scared of white people and do not want to talk to them. But on this day, they drew closer. Rashauna took the final step, and pointed out a pair of radio headphones.
RASHAUNA YELLOW ROBE: Can I try them on?
SULLIVAN: They held the microphone up to each other.
ANTOINETTE YELLOW ROBE: What's your name?
RASHAUNA YELLOW ROBE: Rashauna.
ANTOINETTE YELLOW ROBE: Uh-uh.
RASHAUNA YELLOW ROBE: I mean, (unintelligible).
SULLIVAN: Janice Howe leaned in and quietly asked them, what was it like in foster care? Rashauna looked up at her.
RASHAUNA YELLOW ROBE: I thought we were going to stay there forever.
SULLIVAN: And then suddenly, Antoinette blurts out a story about how Rashauna wet her pants, and the foster parents made her wear the underwear on her head.
ANTOINETTE YELLOW ROBE: Whenever Rashauna wet her pants, they put underwear on their head - the ones that she peed in, on their head.
SULLIVAN: Janice Howe looked away so they wouldn't see her eyes fill with tears. Rashauna climbed into her lap. As the singing started, they slowly swayed, knowing that even now, Social Services can come back. Even now, at any time, they can take the children.
Laura Sullivan, NPR News.
BLOCK: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Pentagon announces plan to trim billions from military for 2015Staff and Wire Reports
February 24. 2014 9:39PM
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said on Monday it would shrink the U.S. Army to pre-World War II levels, eliminate the popular A-10 aircraft and reduce military benefits in order to meet 2015 spending caps, setting up an election-year fight with the Congress over national defense priorities.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, discussing the Pentagon's plan for meeting its new spending caps ahead of the formal budget presentation on March 4, advanced a number of ideas that have been attempted in the past but rejected by Congress.
Members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation said the proposed cuts need to be weighed against the impact to national security and the wellbeing of veterans.
"While the Pentagon can and must do more to cut inefficiency and find places to save, I am concerned that the defense budget is not being driven by our national security interests and the real threats we face in a dangerous world," Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte said in a statement. "I will closely scrutinize the Defense Department's 2015 budget request to examine its potential impact on Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the New Hampshire National Guard."
A spokeswoman for Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said: "As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, (Shaheen) understands that all adjustments to military capabilities need to be carefully considered with our best national security interests in mind."
Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster stressed her commitment to military families, as well as veterans. "We must also ensure that we do not weaken vital benefits for our honorable veterans, who made great personal sacrifices to serve and protect our nation," she said in a statement.
Fellow Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said she's closely studying the proposal.
"It's going to be hard to convince me that a personnel cut this big is in the best interests of our national security, but I also recognize the difficulties faced by the Department of Defense since sequestration was passed in 2011," Shea-Porter said in a statement, referring to the budget measure she opposed.
Army of 450,000
Hagel has argued that as the United States military winds down its war in Afghanistan and looks to cut billions in defense spending, the Pentagon plans to continue shifting its focus to the Asia-Pacific region and will no longer need a land Army of the size currently planned,
The department plans to reduce the size of the Army to between 440,000 and 450,000 soldiers, he said. The Army currently has about 520,000 soldiers and had been planning to draw down to about 490,000 in the coming year.
A reduction to 450,000 would be the Army's smallest since 1940, before the United States entered World War II, when it had a troop strength of 267,767, according to Army figures. The Army's previous post-war low was 479,426 in 1999.
The planned cut in the Army's size comes as the Defense Department is in the process of reducing projected spending by nearly a trillion dollars over a 10-year period.
A two-year budget deal in Congress in December gave the Pentagon some relief from the budget cuts, but still forced it to reduce spending in the 2014 fiscal year by $30 billion.
The Pentagon's budget for the 2015 fiscal year is $496 billion, roughly the same as in 2014 but still lower than had been envisioned last year.
"This will be the first budget to fully reflect the transition DoD is making after 13 years of war, the longest conflict in our nation's history," Hagel said.
"We chose further reductions in troop strength and force structure in every military service — active and reserve — in order to sustain our readiness and technological superiority and to protect critical capabilities," he said.
GOP governors
Republican governors accused President Barack Obama of making politically motivated cuts to their states' National Guard funding.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting between the president and the National Governors Association Monday, the GOP governors said they were deeply troubled by Obama's tone when asked about planned cuts to the National Guard. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Obama became "aggressive" and that his tone "chilled the room quite a bit."
"He basically said, 'Many people in this room have asked for cuts, and now you getting 'em,'" Haley said at a news conference across from the White House at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, adding that her husband, a guardsman, just returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.
She said Obama was trying to "punish all these people who are asking for debt reduction by cutting the National Guard. It's just not a logical way to do things."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney declined to respond directly to the GOP characterization.
Killing the 'Warthog'
Hagel said the Pentagon also planned to eliminate the Air Force's fleet of A-10 "Warthog" close-air-support jets, which are much beloved by ground troops, in order to ensure continued funding of the new long-range bomber, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a new aerial refueling tanker.
"This was a tough decision," he said. "But the A-10 is a 40-year-old, single-purpose airplane originally designed to kill enemy tanks on a Cold War battlefield. It cannot survive or operate effectively where there are more advanced aircraft."
The Pentagon chief also announced a series of steps to try to reduce the Defense Department's military and civilian personnel costs, which now make up about half of its spending.
Hagel said the department would slow the growth of tax-free housing allowances, reduce the annual subsidy for military commissaries and reform the TRICARE health insurance program for military family members and retirees.
The defense secretary added that the Pentagon had decided to build only 32 versions of the new Littoral Combat Ship, rather than the 52 envisioned.
Reuters and Union Leader Staff Writer Ted Siefer contributed to this report.


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I'm all for gender inclusivity, but this is ridiculous.
Personally, I don't need to see a guy in a romper. I preferably would rather just see them in shorts, heck, even JORTS before I would accept this. But yes, ladies and, more importantly, gentleman, you can now wear a romper. Or can, very soon.
The people that are doing the Kickstarter for this product are calling the jumpsuit looking apparel a "RompHim," and the photos suggest it's the great thing to wear on your Daddy's Yacht with some Sperry's.
And while you're out playing Wolf Of Wall Street dressed in pastel, men, please be advised that now you get to fully enjoy the experience that is constantly checking for "camel toe."
Tim Marts on Twitter
Started from "my dad will sue you 2016" now we here. #rompers #RompHim
Personally, it does nothing for me in terms of finding any of these dudes attractive, then again, I don't really dig full pastel on a guy. At best, I can be happy for the fact they're including a zipper so the men don't truly have to deal with what we do when having to use the facilities, i.e. practically getting undressed at the sake of being cute.
Someone get Pharrell Williams on the phone to model. I'm sure he wants one of these.
Amy Cooper is the type of journalist that when asked "What do you bring to the table," she replies "I am the table.


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Hey all,
I haven't visited TA in a while, nor have I posted in such amount of time either, but I have an inquiry that I hope some of you may touch on...
I've noticed that there are quite a few Atheists/Secularists out there who are supportive on Genetically Modified Organisms in food and drink products. I for one, am not. But aside from that, I'd like to know why exactly you're supportive of it. Do you believe in what corporations like Monsanto say? Things like "GMOs allow us to feed the world.." (generally speaking) and what not? Or is it the science behind it?
I'd love to have some interesting conversation about this.
Views: 1239
I was against them for fear of unforseen consequences but have generally decided that they are good. We won't feed the world population without them and global warming will likely require some to keep food production up.
Humans have affected genetic make up of organisms for millenia, just less rapidly.
Its hard to imagine its the one and only way we could feed the world population. And I don't really understand how it affects global warming (citation?). I don't discount the fact we've been modifying genetic organisms for a long time, but just because we can now do it more rapidly doesn't mean there can't be consequences. I think GMOs, as they currently stand, are in the best interest of the corporations than they are of the well-being of the world. Monsanto does nothing but lobby themselves for the growth of their company and profits, not to get their GMO crops to the middle of the worlds' most impoverished nations. And when they do, its hard not to see they're doing it just to save face.
I have no problem with the science of GMOs, but just because its science doesn't always mean its for the greater good...
I would suggest his reference to global warming was because as the climate changes, it may become unsuitable for many crops. For evidence I would look to the crops in Western Australia where the farmers are finding it harder every year to make ends meet because rain is becoming more and more scarce when it's needed, and on the random year when their crops are still viable, it rains heavily at the wrong moment destroying half of the crops anyway. In situations like this, where farmers are really struggling, I can understand why they might decide to move to GMOs. This doesn't apply to all crops. I know there was a study done on a specific bean crop which found that the predicted effects for climate change in certain areas was in fact beneficial for that particular species.
That's a valid point, I didn't get that from his statement, but I see now. I guess it still comes down to, for me, is that we grow food for us and livestock to eat and my main concern is the very minuscule amount of information we have about how eating GMOs, both us and livestock, affects us in the long run. But its all yet to be seen, I'm sure.
Crop yields, per acre, in the U.S. (and elsewhere) have multiplied radically over the last half century. Without the research and technology to improve crop production we could never sustain the current world population.
As global temperatures rise, we will need to engineer veggies that will grow in higher temperatures, on marginally arable farmland, with greater pest resistance and with less water. Technology is a double-edged sword but it's a good thing we're good at it. We're going to need it BIG TIME.
Although the alternative to growing more food to feed more people is to grow less people. Abolish the catholic church anyone?
We're kinda doing that though. Birth rates are around 2.5 in the world these days, and still declining. Educating women and an expanding middle class helps out, and there might be more fundamental biological drivers behind it too.
I hate to say it but increasing crop yields to feed a growing population results in an undesirable feedback loop with rather obvious consequences for human-caused climate change. .
Hmm, it is a given that more people need more food, but is it definite that more food breeds more people past a certain point? Obviously eliminating death from starvation would have a serious short term impact on population but does the evidence not show that as infant mortality decreases, birth rates fall? After all, the fattest countries in the world are the slowest breeding, and all the countires with negative population growth have completely eliminated hunger.
So unless you meant a different feedback loop, I have to disagree.
A negative feedback loops is still a feedback loop, and i didn't specify positive or negative.
Fertility does increase when nutrition goes down, but a point is reached when even that won't increase the population.
Anyway, as they say, "The way to Hell is paved with good intentions." This is just one of many cases wherein wanting to do good just makes things worse or at least doesn't make things better.
Man is nature's sole mistake.
Yes . . . that's true, isn't it! Population control, if not reduction, needs to accompany ag-tech.