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2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|United States Department of State
|Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
|Publication Date
|24 May 2012
|Cite as
|United States Department of State, 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 24 May 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4fc75a69c.html [accessed 23 January 2018]
|This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy. Government control lies with the prime minister and his cabinet. Vincentians returned Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves to office for a third term in December 2010 elections. International observers assessed the vote as generally free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most serious human rights problems were police use of excessive force, poor prison conditions, and violence against women.
Other human rights problems included official corruption, lack of government transparency, discrimination, trafficking in persons, and child abuse.
The government took steps to punish officials who commit abuses, but a perception of impunity persisted.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. On occasion police officers shot and killed persons encountered in the line of duty. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) investigated all police killings, which also were referred to coroner's inquests.
On July 13, police shot and killed one Dominican man after the Vincentian Coast Guard intercepted his vessel and the individual allegedly fired a weapon. The police brought charges against two others aboard the vessel, but a court eventually dismissed the cases. A coroner's inquest was pending into the person's death.
On December 11, police shot and killed an escaped prisoner, Godwin Moses, who was found in possession of a firearm that he retrieved from a man he allegedly murdered shortly after his escape. The bodies of Moses and his alleged victim were undergoing a coroner's inquest at the end of the year.
The August 2010 incident where a police officer shot and killed a mentally disturbed man during a civil disturbance and accidently shot three girls went to a coroner's inquest. The coroner's jury ruled that the suspect's death was a death by misadventure.
After a CID investigation, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) reached a plea bargain and charged police constable Rohan McDowall with manslaughter in conjunction with an August 2010 incident in which McDowall shot and killed a fellow police officer. However, McDowall reneged on the plea bargain, and the DPP refiled the original murder charges.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution and law prohibit such practices. However, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association (SVGHRA) asserted that the police used excessive force.
Citizens alleging police abuse can lodge complaints with the Complaint Department within the police force or an independent government oversight committee. If a particular complaint has merit, the DPP will file charges. The government did not normally provide any public information about the disposition of such complaints, any disciplinary charges, or other actions taken.
In June the police force reinstated three officers convicted of beating a 15-year-old boy in 2008. The law prevents applicants with a criminal record from joining the police but does not disqualify those convicted of crimes while already serving on the force.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison conditions remained poor. Prison buildings were antiquated and overcrowded, with Her Majesty's Prison in Kingstown holding 409 inmates in a building intended to hold approximately 150, creating serious health and safety problems.
The Belle Isle Correctional Facility officially opened in 2009 but remained empty at year's end. While prisoners were working at the on-site farm, they continued to reside in Kingstown, but authorities plan to transfer them to the new prison within the first quarter of 2012. The new facility is designed to hold 288 inmates in separate quarters for males and females.
Poor economic prospects for former prisoners drove recidivism rates of 75 percent or higher. Key problem areas in the current facility included the inability to segregate prisoners, gangs, and contraband, including cell phones and drugs. HIV/AIDS prevalence in prison was more than 10 times that of the general population; 4.1 percent of inmates were infected.
The SVGHRA reported that prison problems such as endemic violence, understaffing, underpaid guards, uncontrolled weapons and drugs, increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, and unhygienic conditions persisted. Corrupt prison staff commonly served as a source of drugs, weapons, and cell phones. The SVGHRA also alleged that guards routinely beat prisoners to extract information regarding escapes, violence, and crime committed in the prison. On November 25, a prisoner died in police custody due to a blockage of the main lung artery. A senior-level police investigation took place at year's end to gain a more detailed understanding of what led to the prisoner's death.
The Fort Charlotte Prison held 15 female inmates in a separate section designed to hold 50 inmates, where conditions were antiquated and unhygienic. Pretrial detainees and young offenders (16 to 21 years of age), 10 percent of the total male prison population, were held with convicted prisoners.
Conditions were inadequate for juvenile offenders. Boys younger than 16 were held at the Liberty Lodge Boys' Training Center, which takes in at-risk boys who can no longer stay at home due to domestic problems or involvement with criminal activity. Most of the boys were at the center because of domestic problems, and only a small number were charged with committing a crime.
Each convict had a schedule of visitors limited to one visit per week. There were no limitations on visitors for those in custody but not yet convicted. Local churches organized weekly religious services. Prisoners could file complaints by writing the court registrar who schedules court hearings. The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights observers, and such visits took place during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
The Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police, the only security force in the country, is responsible for maintaining national security. Its forces include a Coast Guard, a Special Services Unit, a Rapid Response Unit, and a Drug Squad. The police force reports to the minister of national security, a portfolio held by the prime minister.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. The government operated an oversight committee to monitor police activity and hear public complaints against police misconduct. There were no verified reports of impunity during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
The law requires judicial authority to issue arrest warrants. Police apprehended persons openly, and detainees may seek judicial determinations of their status after 48 hours if not already provided. The bail system functioned and was generally effective.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures
The law provides for fair, public trials, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Juries are used at the High Court level for criminal matters but are not used in the civil court or for crimes at the magistrate level. The court appoints attorneys only for indigent defendants charged with a capital offense. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, may confront and question witnesses, may appeal verdicts and penalties, and have access to relevant government-held evidence once a case reaches the trial stage. Lengthy delays occurred in preliminary inquiries for serious crimes. A backlog of pending cases continued because the magistrate's court in Kingstown continued to lack a full complement of magistrates. Witnesses sometimes refused to testify because they feared retaliation; the decision negatively affected the prosecution of crimes.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
There is an independent, impartial judiciary in civil matters, where one can bring lawsuits seeking damages for a human rights violation.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Status of Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution and law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Censorship or Content Restrictions: The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction. However, there continued to be accounts of the prime minister or other officials rebuking the press for comments critical of the government, spurring some reports of self-censorship.
Libel Laws/National Security: In August the DPP declined to prosecute a criminal case in which an opposition radio host was initially charged with publishing a false statement about prominent government officials. In November a court ordered an opposition radio station to pay an EC$250,000 ($92,560) award to Prime Minister Gonsalves in relation to a defamation suit. Such lawsuits were not uncommon and may be used to protect one's political reputation.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
See the Department of State's 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
The government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees
Access to Asylum: The country's laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees. There were no refugees or asylum seekers residing within the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation
Recent Elections: In December 2010 elections, the ruling United Labour Party was returned to office, winning eight seats. The opposition New Democratic Party increased its seats from four to seven. International observers from the Caribbean Community and the Organization of American States declared the elections to be generally free and fair. During the year the opposition party continued to challenge four electoral contests. If successful in even one of the districts, the ruling party could lose its narrow majority in parliament.
Both the ruling party and the opposition noted pre-election violence. Several shootings related to political rallies occurred in the weeks leading up to the election, but it was unclear if they were politically motivated. The DPP took over prosecution of 10 criminal charges filed by opposition leaders in the election but dismissed them. Allegations of political handouts and other forms of low-level corruption in the time leading up to the election plagued both parties. Such bribes were historically a part of the country's political culture.
Participation by Women and Minorities: Women were able to participate in political life on the same legal basis as men. Women held three of the 21 seats in the House of Assembly. One woman, the deputy prime minister, held a cabinet-level position.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but the government did not implement the law effectively. Anticorruption laws were primarily used to combat abuses committed in the Public Works Department and Public Licensing Division; they were not used to prosecute high-level government officials.
Allegations of corruption were regularly raised against politicians by their opponents. The DPP can prosecute such claims.
There were no financial disclosure laws for public officials. No government agency was specifically responsible for combating government corruption.
The law provides for public access to information, and the government provided such access in practice. Human rights organizations assisted individuals in obtaining information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There were no restrictions on international human rights groups. A domestic human rights group, the SVGHRA, generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing its findings on human rights cases. Government officials were somewhat receptive to its views. However, in December 2010 the prime minister accused members of the SVGHRA of being opposition political activists, a charge they refuted.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal treatment regardless of race or gender, and the government generally enforced this provision in practice. Human rights associations, not the DPP, handled the discrimination cases.
Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the government generally enforced the law when victims came forward. Depending on the magnitude of the offense and the age of the victim, sentences for rape could be eight to 10 years' imprisonment. Judges rarely imposed life imprisonment. Allegations of rape or any abuse against women are referred to the police. Police were generally responsive to these complaints, but fear of reprisal may deter some victims from seeking assistance. Although no special unit is devoted to these types of crimes, some officers were specially trained to handle them.
Human rights, government, and press sources all noted an increase in reports of rape and incest. One Vincentian man was charged with 160 counts of these types of crimes, the most charges ever levied against one person at the same time. Such cases often were difficult to prosecute, as witnesses were reluctant to testify and any discussion of these types of abuse could be considered taboo. Despite these challenges, the DPP successfully prosecuted a number of cases. Data were available from two of the three court sittings, which heard 26 sexual offense cases during the year, of which nine were completed and 17 carried over to 2012. These included 14 rapes and 12 cases of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Violence against women remained a serious and pervasive problem. The law does not criminalize domestic violence specifically but provides protection for victims. Cases involving domestic violence could be charged under assault, battery, or other similar laws, but police were often reluctant to follow up on domestic violence cases. As a result, perpetrators of crimes against women often enjoyed impunity. The government's Division of Gender Affairs offered 19 different programs to assist women and children. At year's end the government had nearly completed a crisis center for victims of domestic violence, which has a hidden location and will receive referrals from family court and also serve as a temporary shelter for women and children in between homes.
Sexual Harassment: The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although it could be prosecuted under existing laws. Local human rights groups considered these laws ineffective.
Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. In 2009 (the latest year available) the contraceptive prevalence rate was 48 percent. Incidence of maternal mortality was not available. Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination: Women enjoyed the same legal rights as men, although in practice many were marginalized due to financial dependence. Women received an equitable share of property following separation or divorce. The Gender Affairs Division continued to assist the National Council of Women with seminars, training programs, and public relations. The division worked closely with several international NGOs. The minimum wage law specifies that women should receive equal pay for equal work, and this generally was enforced in practice.
Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's territory or from either of one's parents. There was universal birth registration.
Child Abuse: The law provides a limited legal framework for the protection of children, and the Family Services Division of the Social Development Ministry monitored and protected the welfare of children. The division referred all reports of child abuse to the police for action and provided assistance in cases where children applied for protection orders with the family court.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: Some male and female teenagers engaged in prostitution. The minimum age of consensual sex is 16. The penalty for child prostitution is 14 years' imprisonment. The law prohibits statutory rape, with special provisions for those less than 13 years of age. The penalty for statutory rape of a girl over 13 but less than 16 years old is five years' imprisonment; for girls under age 13, it is life imprisonment. NGO and government sources reported that mothers of girls may encourage their children to have sexual relations with older men as a way to supplement family income. The law does not specifically prohibit child pornography.
International Child Abduction: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
There was no organized Jewish community, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
See the Department of State's 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of other state services, and the government generally observed these prohibitions in practice. The law does not mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and access for such persons generally was difficult. Communications were available for persons with disabilities, but the government did not have any programs to facilitate communication through technology. There were no restrictions on voting or other civic participation. The government partially supported a school for persons with disabilities. A separate rehabilitation center treated approximately five persons daily. The Ministry of National Mobilization, Social Development, NGO Relations, Family, Gender Affairs, and Persons with Disabilities is responsible for assisting persons with disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
There are no laws that prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual orientation. Consensual same-sex conduct is illegal under indecency statutes, and some same-sex sexual activity between men is also illegal under anal intercourse laws. Indecency statutes carry a maximum penalty of five years, and anal intercourse acts carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, although these laws were rarely enforced.
Anecdotal evidence suggested there was social discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender persons in the deeply conservative society, although local observers believed such attitudes of intolerance were slowly improving. Members of professional and business classes were more inclined to conceal their sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
HIV infection rates were low, but the disease was prevalent in 0.4 percent of the population and has killed more than 900 people. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested there was some societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. There is a government HIV Secretariat, but local NGOs found it to be inadequate. There were approximately a dozen NGOs working on AIDS-related issues, but funding difficulties led to cutbacks in these services.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining
The law allows workers to form and join unions of their choice, permits collective bargaining, provides for the right to strike, prohibits retaliation against strikers, prohibits antiunion discrimination, protects workers from dismissal for engaging in union activities, and provides them with reinstatement rights if illegally dismissed.
The government generally enforced labor laws effectively. The Essential Services Act prohibits persons providing such services (defined as electricity, water, hospital, and police) from striking unless they provide at least a 14-day notice to the authorities.
The law does not require employers to recognize a particular union as an exclusive bargaining agent. The law provides that if both parties consent to arbitration, the minister of labor can appoint an arbitration committee from the private sector to hear the matter.
The law provides for establishment of an arbitration tribunal and a board of inquiry in connection with trade disputes and allows provision for the settlement of such disputes. Arbitration panels are formed on an ad hoc basis when a labor dispute arises. Labor unions and businesses were generally satisfied with the working of the arbitration panels, which have tripartite representation.
The Department of Labor did not report any prosecutions for collective bargaining rights violations during the year. The only high-profile labor dispute involved the government and the St. Vincent and Grenadines Teachers' Union (SVGTU) on whether three teachers who resigned from their positions in order to run for elected office should get their jobs back after losing at the polls. A section in the collective bargaining agreement appeared to allow the teachers to take six months' election leave, but the court later determined the measure to be unconstitutional. Both parties declined to use the Department of Labor to mediate the disagreement, and the government and the SVGTU attempted to resolve it. The SVGTU can take the matter to the court but had chosen not to do so; at year's end the teachers awaited reinstatement.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally enforced the law effectively.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The law sets the minimum working age at 16, and workers may receive a national insurance card at that age. The Ministry of Labor monitored and enforced this provision, and employers generally respected it in practice. There were five labor officers in the labor inspectorate with responsibility for monitoring all labor issues and complaints. The ministry reported no child labor problems. The only known child labor was work on family-owned banana plantations, particularly during harvest time, or in family-owned cottage industries. The government operated Youth Empowerment, which provided training and increased job opportunities by employing young persons in government ministries for up to one year.
Also see the Department of Labor's 2010 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wages, last updated in 2008, vary by sector and type of work and are specified for several skilled categories. In agriculture the minimum wage for workers provided shelter was EC$32 ($11.85) per day, or EC$56 ($20.74) if shelter was not provided; for industrial workers it was EC$40 ($14.81) per day. Most workers earned more than the minimum. Workers who receive less than the minimum wage can file a claim with the Labor Ministry's inspectors, who will investigate and, if warranted, refer the matter to arbitration. In practice the ministry received very few complaints concerning minimum wage violations but did receive complaints regarding wrongful dismissal.
The law prescribes hours of work according to category, such as industrial employees (40 hours per week), professionals (44 hours per week), and agricultural workers (30 to 40 hours per week). The law provides that workers receive time-and-a-half for hours worked over the standard workweek. There was a prohibition against excessive or compulsory overtime, which was effectively enforced in practice. The law provides workers with paid holiday leave, and the number of days a worker is entitled to varies according to occupation.
The Department of Labor had five labor inspectors that conducted regular wage and workplace safety inspections. While there are fines and other penalties in the labor laws, they were inapplicable in many cases. The department also indicated that workplace violations were rare since most employers adhered to the minimum labor standards. The department offered voluntary labor dispute mediation and advised employers and employees of their labor rights through a weekly radio program.
Legislation concerning occupational safety and health was outdated, and enforcement of regulations was ineffective. The law does not address specifically whether workers have the right to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their continued employment, but it stipulates conditions under which factories must be maintained. Failure to comply with these regulations would constitute a breach, which might provide legal cover to a worker who refused to work under these conditions.
The agricultural sector was considered the most hazardous sector due to workers' exposure to chemicals when working in the field. The Ministry of Agriculture conducted inspections and worksite visits to ensure that workers were protected. No major workplace accidents were reported during the year.


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Trying to get to grips with the idea of floating point.
Just looking to convert a binary to float.
The last 8 bits are the exponent.. right?
The most significant bit is on the right?
The first bit is the sign + - ?
If someone could give me an example 32 bit conversion it would spell things out for me.
like this binary for example
11110000 11001100 10101010 00001111

subset: commoncrawl


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text: One of the advantages of the MacOSX gcc compiler is that in line Altivec instructions are available at a high level. One can define vector arrays, and do vector operations from 'C' code, e.g. while(vec_any_gt(T2, NAUGHT)) { T2 = vec_sub(LSHIFT(T2), RR); FF = vec_max(FF, T2); } We are testing an Altivec FASTA version; a Altivec BLAST was announced several months ago. We like Altivec because we can manipulate 8 16-bit integers or 16 8 bit integers at once - biological sequence comparison code is essentially all integer. We see a 6-fold speedups on when things are done 8-fold parallel. On our codes a dual 533 G4 and Altivec code is 6X-faster than a dual 1 GHz PIII (we don't have a GHz G4 yet). Because of the high level Altivec primitives in the Apple gcc compiler, vectorizing was very very easy; we would have to be much more sophisticated to do the same thing on the PIII (and the potential speed-up would be 1/2 as large, since the vector is 64, not 128 bits). I might have agreed with the statement that one must have hand-tuned Altivec code which pretty much excludes general purpose scientific computing 4 months ago, but our experience has been very positive - our programs are not specialized signal processing programs, but, in retrospect, it was easy to get very dramatic speed up. Bill Pearson _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf at beowulf.org To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf


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Here's the last Christmas topiary tree in this week's Festival of Topiary Trees. Rebekah styled her Creamy Christmas Button Topiary differently than many I've seen, and the buttons are glued on, giving it a sleeker profile. Like all of the Christmas topiaries this week, you can change it up and adapt it to your Christmas color scheme.
In case you've missed any of this week's tutorials for making Christmas topiary trees, here's a quick recap:
- Tuesday: Vintage Crepe Paper Topiaries
- Wednesday: Glittered Christmas Topiary
- Thursday: Felted Topiary Tree & Twine Topiary Tree
- Friday: Ribbon Loop Topiary Tree
To make a Creamy Christmas Button Topiary, you'll need:
- STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam: Cone (Rebekah used a 9" cone)
- Buttons, assorted sizes
- Spackle
- Fine grit sandpaper
- Acrylic craft paint in cream
- Glittered snowflake or other tree topper
- Low-temp glue gun
- Tools needed: Paintbrush
To make a Creamy Christmas Button Topiary:
1. Using your hands, spread a thin, even coat of spackle onto the cone. Let it dry completely. Gently sand with sandpaper till smooth.
2. Paint cone cream. Let dry.
3. Glue buttons onto cone, arranging them randomly. Continue, till cone is covered in a single layer of buttons.
4. Glue glittered snowflake to the top of the cone.
For a variation on a theme, check out the Blue Button Topiary and Red Button Topiary from last year. The buttons on these two topiaries are pinned on in several layers, creating a more textured button topiary. Make one, make two or make all three!
I hope you've enjoyed the celebration of Christmas topiaries this week. Do you have a favorite? Which one do you plan to make?
Don't miss Monday when I'll share a couple of cute and easy Christmas crafts I'm super excited about, and a really fun giveaway, too. I won't say a PEEP more till Monday. See you then!
Happy crafting.


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MyBible 5 has been updated to address two suggestions from our customers.
One consistent request related to the new MyBible 5 has been to make the autoscroll feature smoother, rather than line-by-line. MyBible 5.002 includes a new option to turn on smooth scrolling, which "slides" the text up the screen rather than jumping from line to line. Depending upon the speed of your handheld, the autoscroll rate you've selected, the number of notes you've written, and other factors, there may be slight pauses as MyBible considers how to fill in the text. However, the scrolling effect is quite visually pleasing.
(If you prefer the line-by-line scrolling, that option is still available.)
A second, though less-frequent, request was for the option to turn off images within books. Many of the newer books include some wonderful pictures and illustrations; however, these can take some time to load. When time is of the essence, all images can now be turned off so that you'll never have to wait for a picture to load.
Registered owners of MyBible 5 can download this free update. As always, just login to your personal download account at www.laridian.com to download your purchases and any available updates.


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Kearns man who was 16 when he fired into a crowd during a fight, killing an onlooker, has been sentenced to up to five years in prison.
Ricky Angilau, now 19, stood before a judge Tuesday afternoon his case having spent nearly three years bouncing between juvenile and adult courts looking much more a man than on the January afternoon when he shot into a crowd of people watching him fight a classmate.
The bullet that killed 16-year-old Esteban Saidi was fired in a moment of anger, his mother said in court Tuesday, but it changed his family forever.
"Not only do you destroy the life of one person," Patricia Salceda-Garcia said, "you destroy the lives of all the people around him."
On Jan. 21, 2009, Ricky Angilau and Erik Flores, two students at Kearns High School, agreed to meet off campus around noon to fight. The two had feuded since middle school, and were heard cursing at each other in school that day.
Two carloads of people pulled up to watch, according to testimony. Among them was 16-year-old Esteban Saidi.
Flores walked away from the five-minute brawl a winner, prompting Angilau's friend, Lolo Mataele, to fight Flores himself. When the crowd of gang members stepped forward, Angilau pulled out the gun he'd brought to school that morning.
Mataele testified at a preliminary hearing last year that he and Angilau were afraid of the gang members.
"Ricky pulled out the gun and aimed it at Erik," Mataele testified. "Erik was like, 'Go ahead and shoot, I'll get you back.'"
Angilau fired a shot in the air.
The onlookers, some of them said to be Sureño gang members, took cover, until Angilau yelled, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, come back," according to Mataele.
When the gang members began walking back, Angilau fired two or three shots to the side of the crowd to scare them away, according to Mataele's testimony. Angilau then fired another shot up and away from Flores, and Saidi was hit.
"It's very clear that he did not intend to shoot or kill or injure the victim in this case," said defense attorney Ron Yengich.
Erick Saidi, the victim's younger brother, cried as spoke of a "void in my heart" caused by the death.
"My brother was my hero," he said. "I looked up to him and I followed every step that he took. I thought nothing could ever harm him. You could say he was Superman to me."
His mother and stepfather divorced after Esteban's death, leaving him to help care for his family. "Who do I turn to?" he said.
At night, his thoughts turn to what could have been.
"The house wouldn't feel lonely and quiet," he said. "We would be a happy family like we were before. ... Most of all, I would have my hero back."
Prosecutor Patricia Cassell apologized on Tuesday for mislabeling Saidi as a gang member early in the case. Officials said he as merely there to watch the fight.
Saidi's mother recalled a boy who would make breakfast for his siblings and get them ready for school when she was sick; a child who promised he would one day buy her a house.
"He was a good son," she said. "After he died, I will never have my son back again."
Prosecutors originally charged Angilau with first-degree felony murder, but the charge was reduced to third-degree felony manslaughter as part of a plea deal.
His family and friends filled the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, a show of support his attorney said he could expect when he is paroled.
Judge William Barrett said he believed Angilau who won't receive credit for the 3 1/2 years he's spent behind bars would "take advantage of that opportunity" afforded by the plea deal to be paroled in the next five years.
"I'm just ready to face whatever consequence I have to face," Angilua said, during an apology punctuated by long pauses filled with tears and labored breathing. "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it all back. I know I'm responsible. I want to be held accountable for this. I'll do whatever I have to do to make things right, or as right as possible. I just want to say I'm sorry. I really am sorry."
Through tears and a Spanish interpreter, Saidi's mother offered forgiveness.
"I know that you are young as well," the mother said. "I would say take advantage of this opportunity going forward. You are young."
Twitter: @aaronfalk


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Volvo shimmers once more in Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
The Twilight Saga is back! - And once again there are vampires, werewolves and - a Volvo.
Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1", the fourth movie in The Twilight Saga, is currently in theatres and with a third different Volvo. Following in the tire prints of the Volvo C30 and Volvo XC60 comes Edward Cullen's new Volvo of choice - a Saville Grey metallic Volvo S60 T6 R-design - an inspired choice, as this is the latest production version of the car that he drives in the books.
Volvo Car Corporation is delighted that its association with The Twilight Saga continues and once again is supporting the movie launch with a global campaign. From North America to South America, across Europe, S Africa and Australia there have been a series of competitions seeking to engage The Twilight Saga fans.
In particular, fans in a number of countries have been invited to enter a local Facebook contest to showcase what they would wear to Edward and Bella's wedding, with submissions posted and voted upon, with the most popular entrant winning tickets to 'The Twilight Saga : Breaking Dawn - Part 1'.
And, in the Volvo "Journey to the Wedding" game, participants in different countries around the world have a chance to win a Volvo S60 R-Design just like Edward's, and also a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro where they will get to follow in the footsteps of Edward and Bella in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, including a stay at the same house where they spent their honeymoon. Once more the Volvo Twilight Saga-inspired online activity is capturing the interest and imagination of thousands of fans.
"Volvo is delighted to have an authentic role in The Twilight Saga" says Paul Walder, Global Marketing Investment Manager at Volvo Cars Headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. "We love the passion and the loyalty of the fans and have set out to help them to immerse themselves in the story, whilst also reminding them along the way of course that Edward has great taste in cars. This is an excellent way for us to reach out to a discerning group of existing customers, potential customers and influencers, many of them younger than who Volvo has traditionally attracted. The Twilight Saga has helped us to show them that Volvo is a truly modern luxury car brand".
Edward's S60 in the movie is a Saville Grey metallic T6 R-Design, all-wheel drive with an automatic transmission and features off-black leather interior, 18-inch diamond-cut Xion alloy wheels, sport chassis, active dual Xenon headlights, rear spoiler, climate package, multimedia package, BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) and keyless drive.


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OCEAN CITY – In a historic show of solidarity, thousands of recreational and commercial anglers, including a large contingent from the Ocean City area, convened in front of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in an organized protest against perceived flaws in management policies.
Busloads of anglers from Florida to Massachusetts and from California to Alaska joined the "United We Fish" demonstration hoping to capture the attention of the dozens of federal lawmakers also in attendance. Two busloads of concerned anglers left early Wednesday from the Ocean City Fishing Center and dozens more from the area participated in an organized protest against the negative impacts of the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act, which governs federal fisheries policy.
"I think it went really well," said Captain Steve Whitelock of the "Happy Hooker" in Ocean City. "They estimated the number at around 3,000. I'm not a good judge of numbers, but I think it might have been considerably more than that."
The event was deemed a success by many of those who attended, particularly because of the unified message the demonstration sent.
"It was great to see both recreational and commercial fishermen united to fight for this cause," said Captain Chris Mizurak of the "Angler" in Ocean City. "Now that our voices have been heard, I hope they will begin to take care of us as much as they care about the fish."
Whitelock agreed the unified voice lent credence to the message those in attendance hoped to send.
"The recreational guys were standing shoulder to shoulder with the commercial guys, which I think is pretty significant," he said. "A lot of times, we fight among ourselves on some of these issues like percentages of quotas, but everybody was unified yesterday. I think they got the message."
While no one disputes the need for careful regulation, a recurring theme was the need for responsible methods to set the regulations.
"The overall common theme was we're all pro-conservation and we understand it's difficult to count all the fish in the sea, but there has to be some responsible science behind it," said "Angler" mate Dean Lo. "It seems like so many of these decisions are arbitrary, which was kind of the point of yesterday."
Whitelock said decisions on quotas and closures are often made without real concern about the possible repercussions.
"It all comes down to the numbers," he said. "Part of the problem is, when they realize they have made a mistake, they don't go back and correct it."


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Catholic Health Continuing Care Names Director of Outpatient Rehabilitation Services
Home » About Us » News » 2009 News » Continuing Care Director
May 12, 2009
Catholic Health Continuing Care has named Karen Hughes Director of Outpatient Rehabilitation Services. A Clarence resident, Hughes is a graduate of Ithaca College's Physical Therapy program and holds a master's degree in Health Service Administration from D'Youville College.
Most recently, she owned and operated SportsPlus Physical Therapy, PC, a private physical therapy practice in Batavia focusing on general orthopedic and sports injury rehabilitation. Prior to that, she worked for two Catholic Health organizations, McAuley-Seton Home Care and AthletiCare at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, as a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer.
As director of outpatient rehabilitation services for Catholic Health Continuing Care, Hughes will have direct oversight for operations, quality assurance, business development and management of outpatient rehabilitation and sports outreach services throughout Catholic Health.


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Craig Biggio has had a storybook career with the Houston Astros. Its crowning moment on the field came on June 28 when he collected his 3,000th career hit. Sunday, however, may be another day Biggio will never forget, as he was honored by the team on the field before the game against Milwaukee.
Brad Horn, director of communications for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., was in attendance and accepted the bat, jersey, batting gloves and cap used by Biggio on that night on the organization's behalf, according to MLB.com.
The ceremony lasted nearly 45 minutes, with a multitude of former players and team executives taking part. But the moment that really got to Biggio was listening to a tribute from his 14-year-old son, Conor.
"My father is simply amazing," Conor Biggio said. "He may not have been there at every Little League game or every birthday, but we always knew in his heart he was there. He taught us respect, hard work, integrity, loyalty and courage. He taught us about charity and kindness to the Sunshine Kids (Biggio's charity).
"Most of all, he taught us all about love. It's in how he loves the city of Houston and how he loves the game of baseball. We see it in his eyes, and we feel it in our hearts. I love you, and you're my best friend. Dad, I am so proud of you."
Conor and his father embraced for several moments following his emotional speech.
"I know all the kids in Little League fields across the world have big dreams," Biggio said in addressing the crowd. "You should go for it. I am a person that can vouch for that. I wasn't the biggest kid, and I wasn't the strongest kid. But if you've got a big heart and a big dream, you've got to go for it. Don't let anyone crush your dreams at all. If you want to be a big-league baseball player, go for it."
Program blossoms thanks to Crawford: Carl Crawford has not forgotten where he came from. On Saturday night in Arlington, he hosted nearly 30 kids from the two teams of 9- and 10-year-olds he sponsors in Houston, the city where he grew up.
Crawford funds a program called Lightning Baseball, which is run by Kerry Hardy, a former youth league coach of Crawford's. Plans call for the program to grow to four or five teams with a possible complex being built near Crawford's home.
"I called him up during Spring Training and told him I wanted to put some teams together, and he said, 'Go ahead and do what you have to do and just let me know how much it cost,'" Hardy told the St. Petersburg Times. "He bought the kids uniforms, team bags, bats, gloves, everything. He's just a great guy.
"I told him I appreciate the fact of where he came from and he didn't forget and he came right back and is putting right back into the community. I wish a lot more ballplayers would do that."
Gabbard, Saltalamacchia reunite in Rangers' battery: Seven years ago, Kason Gabbard was a standout pitcher for Royal Palm Beach (Fla.) High School. Behind the plate catching Gabbard was a freshman catcher named Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Thanks to a couple of trades, the duo is now playing for the Texas Rangers. They were battery mates Sunday night as the Rangers took on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. However, Gabbard won't be throwing the same type of fastball Saltalamacchia caught in high school.
"Honestly, four [arm] surgeries didn't help," Gabbard told the Dallas Morning News. "I had an overpowering fastball back then. I didn't throw a changeup."
Saltalamacchia remembers how dominant Gabbard was in high school.
"Every game he pitched was lights out," he said. "I was nervous the first time out there, but I found him easy to catch."
Sosa shines in Mets' pen: Since moving to the bullpen, Jorge Sosa of the New York Mets has been nearly perfect.
With two shutout innings of relief Friday night, Sosa has thrown 9 1/3 innings since moving to the pen and has given up only one earned run for a 0.96 ERA. Right-handed hitters are batting only .194 against him.
"He's done a nice job for us," manager Willie Randolph told Newsday. "He's going to continue to be in the mix."
Sosa has been used as a reliever in the past with Tampa Bay, Atlanta and St. Louis. He began this season as a starter, but has taken the move to the bullpen well.
"Whatever the team needs me to do to win, I'll do," Sosa said
Webb throws another shutout: Another night on the mound, another night of throwing shutout baseball. Such is the life of Arizona pitcher Brandon Webb, who threw his second consecutive shutout Saturday night to improve to 12-8 with a 2.77 ERA.
Webb has now thrown 33 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking the club record of 30 he set last year en route to winning the Cy Young award. So, is he thinking of Orel Hershiser and the record 59 consecutive shutout innings he threw in 1988?
"I'm barely halfway," Webb told the Arizona Republic. "That's probably around Cal Ripken territory, probably one of the more difficult ones to reach."
With his current run of shutout innings, Webb has thrust himself into the discussion of winning the Cy Young award once again. He has now won four consecutive starts and his ERA ranks fourth in the National League.
The key for Webb during this run has been his ability to throw his sinker for strikes on both sides of the plate, something he was struggling to do earlier this season.
"I feel pretty comfortable doing that right now," he said.
Opposing hitters just know that it is not fun facing Webb right now.
"You saw what happened," Nationals outfielder Austin Kearns said. "He mixes in more curveballs and change-ups now. He's got a few things going for him. ... He's pretty locked in out there on the mound right now."
Jenks extends streak of consecutive outs: With a perfect ninth inning on Sunday, Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks has tied a Major League record (Jim Barr) by retiring 41 consecutive hitters.
"It's different situations [each time he pitches], and to do what he does, it's amazing," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told the Chicago Tribune. "None of those guys can get a hit, and you don't know how you're going to feel that particular time.
"One thing about Bobby: He throws strikes, challenges people, makes them hit it."
Jenks, meanwhile, has seemed unaffected by his run of outs.
"I don't think Bobby thinks about that," said Guillen. "When he's on the mound, he just wants to save the game."
Jenks has a ERA of 2.92 this season.
Gorzelanny posts first shutout: Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tom Gorzelanny was masterful on Sunday, tossing his first career shutout in the Pirates' 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
In picking up his 11th win of the year, Gorzelanny allowed just five hits and walked only one -- an intentional pass to Barry Bonds in the third inning -- struck out four, and set down the last 17 batters he faced.
Catcher Ronny Paulino knew early on that Gorzelanny had his good stuff.
"He was consistently throwing strikes and keeping the ball down early," Paulino told MLB.com. "When he's doing that from the start, I always feel like he'll have a good game."
Gorzelanny, meanwhile, deflected some credit back toward his catcher.
"He's a big part of this," Gorzelanny said of Paulino. "I trust everything he calls. I didn't shake him off once. I feel comfortable with what he calls."
Manager Jim Tracy said after the game that what he saw out of his pitcher was about as good as it gets.
"What I saw today was probably the best game he's pitched," said Tracy. "There was no point today where he wavered at all. He pounded the strike zone with all his pitches."
Gorzelanny was basking in the success after the game. "It feels good," he said. "It's a long time coming. I just knew I had to go out there and make pitches."
Gorzelanny (11-6) has won five of his last seven decisions.
Weavers root for each other, even in a pennant race: Even though the Angels and Mariners are locked in a race for the AL West title, Jered Weaver still roots for the Mariners once every five days.
That's when his brother Jeff takes the mound. Sunday, both Weaver boys started for their respective clubs and both came away with wins. Jered went 7 1/3 innings and gave up two runs versus the Twins while Jeff shut out the White Sox.
"We've matched up a couple of times, but I think it was the first time the same day we both got a win out of it," Jered Weaver told the Los Angeles Times.
"It was a good day for the Weavers today."
The win upped Jered Weaver's mark on the season to 8-5.
"It's a long season and there's going to be some bad-luck times and some good times," he said. "I got on a really good roll last year, and this year it's been a battle."
How will the brothers handle the battle if they are ever matched up against one another in the same game?
"We were looking forward to matching up, but at the same time, hopefully we don't," Jered Weaver said.
"It would be kind of weird. I would have to be in the situation to see how I'd feel. Right now, I'd rather pass on that."
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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After installing 7.0.337 I now lose internet connectively randomly for all applications. I can not seem to identify any rhyme or reason, even ZoneAlarm itself can't connect for updates. I will have internet connectivity then all of sudden I won't and back and forth we go? This never happen prior to this update. The only solution is shutting down ZA all together then I can connect no problem???
PS: I now see ScanningProcess.exe is this part of the upgrade?
Operating System:Windows XP Home Edition
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite
Software Version:7.0


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I have been excited about students using EnglishCentral since the 1st day I discovered it online. I had been looking for ways for students to upload dialogues online so teachers could listen, critique and comment.
I began using EnglishCentral with about 60 students to test its performance and functionality and I also wanted to see how the students interacted with the new technology, after all, repeating lines to a computer did seem a bit odd.
I selected videos relevant to their course and added a few music and video game selections to add variety and as bait. All EnglishCentral work was assigned as homework to be done in their own time. I then designed a worksheet to compliment each video; simple match the synonyms, true or false and some cloze sentences to reinforce the vocabulary they were learning.
The Classes
The participation was very good from the start and got better as the semester progressed. Encouragingly, most of the work was done on holidays and weekends, and there were large spikes just before assessments and exams. This showed me that the students were aware it could help them but like most other students around the globe have a few time management problems. It certainly built confidence for the classroom and I sometimes heard exact lines from EnglishCentral videos used in tests and in the correct context.
Another result that wasn't anticipated was I noticed the shy students were consistently amongst the weekly high scorers. The early scoring system enabled even lower level students to be high achievers on EnglishCentral so long as they put in the work.
I noticed they were viewing and completing much more work than I had originally set them and saw they were watching a lot of movies, environmental and current events videos. This is great as EnglishCentral proved to be a real gateway to knowledge and not just a language tool.
I look forward to continuing to use and expand my use of English Central with my classes. Thank you guys for keeping the main functions free and also to Jon and the crew at the help desk who were always on hand to solve any teething problems.
The Future
I'd like to share my ideas for the near future utilizing an array of amazing online sites and current software I'm toying with. I plan to create an online class TV channel using Adobe After-effects and Dreamweaver software. I will create my own animations using xtranormal.com and goanimate.com. These animations will highlight that week's language points and new vocabulary. I will need to convert the MP4 to FLV format to upload them. On the channel page there will be a link to a moodle quiz (www.moodle.com) for each film and the students can then test their knowledge with the results sent to the teacher. Also, I'm considering embedding downloadable MP3 podcasts as well as links to relevant English Central videos. Simply, a student opens the channel, clicks on the lesson and is able to watch a film, listen to vocabulary, do a quiz and speak along with a link to EnglishCentral all off one page. All this can be done with their 3g phone.
I like the way students today can proactively study for their tests by watching a video or animation, or even reading a comic and do not have to be buried in a textbook or sorting through reams of notes.
Of course online teaching should never replace classroom interaction, but it's becoming much easier and efficient for students to study alone and enjoy it, even on the subway or café, and more convenient for teachers to ensure they are practicing and retaining the skills learnt in class.


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Being in a coastal area, storms are nothing new to us who call this area home. However, last Saturday's string of thunderstorms was unlike anything I have ever seen, particularly for those of us who live in Berlin.
It was known a string of serious thunderstorms were coming this way most of Saturday, a cloudy, rainy day itself, but there was never any mention that the storms would pound Berlin for about seven hours, beginning around 5 p.m. and lasting till midnight and leaving flooded streets, yards, garages, basements and living rooms behind and a few close calls on the personal livelihood front.
It was far worse than any hurricane or tropical storm I have experienced. I was living in Salisbury during Hurricane Gloria so I can't speak to its extent with accuracy. The only true comparison I can make is to the back-to-back Nor'easters that hit Ocean City back in 2001. Ocean City residents will remember them well. It was late January and early February, and each storm was as destructive as the other. However, it was the second one that was a shot below the belt because it came during the recovery from the first storm.
I was living over the bay at 7th Street and Edgewater Ave. at the time, and I remember it well because I lost a car in those storms. As we all know around here, the devastating thing about Nor'easters, or coastal lows as they are often called, is they linger and punish for days. That's why many locals say they are worse than fast-moving hurricanes.
The first Nor'easter was bad enough, packing powerful winds, way too much rain and causing severe flooding at all tides, but high tides were particularly fearful.
Because Edgewater Ave. floods during modest rainfalls and particularly in storms, I parked my old Mazda 626 in the parking lot across from the former Bailey's Pharmacy and walked home the night before the storm was expected to be at its worst. It was a good thing because the bay easily covered Philadelphia Ave. during that storm and the ocean slammed the Boardwalk and parts of Baltimore Ave.
Once that storm had moved on, and the cleanup continued, a few days later another coastal low developed, shocking property owners who had just begun to recover. Probably a result of my young age, I wrongly figured the second storm could not be as powerful as its predecessor. My immaturity told me out of fairness it couldn't be as severe. Therefore, I parked my car along Edgewater Ave. during the storm. I was wrong, as my vehicle was nearly covered by flood waters and ultimately damaged beyond its value.
What made that week so unfair was the relentless pounding and its back-to-back nature. I got to thinking about that storm this week, as I dealt with some major damage at my home at the hands of the wicked set of thunderstorms that easily dumped more than a foot of rain on Berlin, my hometown now.
It's no secret Berlin is prone to flood, but last weekend's storm, which moved from south to north at a snail's pace, has nothing to do with that penchant. No town or city could have withstood the onslaught that was delivered that day and night.
Some folks lost all they had. My family and I lost a hot water heater, an oil-fired boiler and some special and sentimental keepsakes as well as other damage. I was lucky, considering some of the other stories I heard this week.
I really got to thinking about those back-to-back Nor'easters first thing Sunday morning during the cleanup operation that involved a generator, a sump pump and a trusty local business (OC Comfort Services, Inc.) that came to my aid. More severe thunderstorms were being predicted for Sunday, even before power was restored, and I feared more intense street flooding was to come and further damage inevitable.
Fortunately, those storms traveled from to our west and we were spared. We were lucky, which I know seems impossible to some right now.
However, there were no tragedies or serious injuries reported. There was no loss of human life that has been reported as a result of the storm. Sure, many of us are facing hefty bills as a result of the damage to our homes or vehicles that will not be covered by insurance, but we are lucky. That was a freak storm I will never forget, but I also know we were all fortunate it was not worse. That's what I keep reminding myself.


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KEXP Reviews
|Browse by one of the following:
- (Lava/Atlantic)
An extraordinary album of catchy pop-rock from this Austin singer-songwriter, who's equally proficient at crunchy, psychedelic pop-rock, quietly soulful ballads and kicking out slinky funk-pop jams a la Prince. While big-league production can often undermine decent songs, its use here gives Garza's sturdy tunes the ambitious setting they deserve. 7/15/2001 - Don Yates
Other David Garza album reviews:
This Euphoria - 4/15/1998


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Bulk Monte Carlo Lab
21 Aug 2008 | Tools | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska, Mark Lundstrom, Stephen M. Goodnick, Gerhard Klimeck
This tool calculates the bulk values of the carrier drift velocity and average electron energy in any material in which the conduction band is represented by a three valley model. Examples include...
Consistent Parameter Set for an Ensemble Monte Carlo Simulation of 4H-SiC
0.0 out of 5 stars
02 Jul 2008 | Papers | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska
A consistent parameter set is presented for Ensemble Monte Carlo simulation that simultaneously reproduces the experimental low-field and high-field characteristic transport parameters of 4H...
ECE 656 Lecture 14: Solving the BTE: 1D/RTA
07 Oct 2009 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Mark Lundstrom
The RTA
Solving the BTE: drift
Solving the BTE: diffusion
Energy-dependent scattering time
Relation to Landauer
Ensemble Monte Carlo Method Described
5.0 out of 5 stars
28 Apr 2008 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska, Gerhard Klimeck, Mark Lundstrom, David K. Ferry
In this presentation we give an overview of the implementation details of the Ensemble Monte Carlo method for mobility and drift velocity calculation in arbitrary materials and arbitrary...
Homework Assignment for Bulk Monte Carlo Lab: Arbitrary Crystallographic Direction
21 Aug 2008 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska, Gerhard Klimeck
This exercise teaches the users how the average carrier velocity, average carrier energy and vally occupation change with the application of the electric field in arbitrary crystalographic direction
Homework Assignment for Bulk Monte Carlo Lab: Velocity vs. Field for Arbitrary Crystallographic Orientations
22 Aug 2008 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska, Gerhard Klimeck
User needs to calculate and compare to experiment the velocity field characteristics for electrons in Si for different crystalographic directions and 77K and 300K temperatures.
Manual for the Generalized Bulk Monte Carlo Tool
24 Jun 2011 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Raghuraj Hathwar, Dragica Vasileska
This manual describes the physics implemented behind the generalized bulk Monte Carlo tool.


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CARSON, Calif. – Calum McBean remembers taking his son Jack to the British & Dominion Social Club in Garden Grove to watch Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds United when he was just a boy.
Back then, the native from Scotland was simply looking to impart a bit of soccer knowledge on his son, who was hungry for what his dad would say was a "wee bit" more information about the sport that his father played back in the old country.
Now the proud papa is able to sit in his seat at StubHub Center and watch his son battle for a place on the two-time defending champion LA Galaxy alongside some of the very same players that they'd watch through satellite television.
Through the years, he's seen him grow from a child, who'd watch English Premier League to a lanky 14-year-old who dominated his age group with Slammers FC and then the Galaxy Academy to an able-bodied 18-year-old, who is maturing into a contributor for the Galaxy as they chase their third straight title.
At every step of Jack's maturation, his family has been there, not at the forefront, but offering him the necessary encouragement and support necessary to aid in his development. After all, even as he grew into his body at the age of 15, Calum and the rest of the family (mother Lisa and sister Abi) were still supportive of Jack as he balanced soccer and basketball. But once the decision was made—by Jack—to play soccer full time, his father knew that his son could make it.
"In eighth grade, he was about six-feet and about 175 [pounds] and he grew into his body and that's when I thought he could be a player if he wanted it," Calum said, who calls son the "wee man". "I always just tell him, 'don't play for me, if you play for me give it up, play for yourself, play for the love of the game.' He took that to heart.
Calum and 10-year-old Jack.
(Photo courtesy of the McBean family)
"My role was to encourage him, and it was always to encourage him and it was never anything negative. I just wanted to make sure that he put the effort into every game," he added. "The only time that I would get upset was when he wouldn't play his best which was very seldom so as long as he put the effort in."
And McBean has clearly put in the necessary effort to become a blossoming young talent.
In his first game as a professional, McBean became the youngest player to score a goal (16-years and 312 days) in club history when he found the back of the net in LA's 3-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo in Oct. 2011. Since that day, the appearances have steadily increased as he was a regular during the club's 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League campaign and has made 12 appearances during the 2013 regular season.
Along the way he's scored a total of six goals in all competitions and remained in contention for a regular place on LA's game day squads while also completing an impressive recovery from a fractured left clavicle back in April.
That transformation from the lanky teen that needed multiple touches to tap the ball into the back of the net against Houston to a player that was so dominant early on in LA's Champions League match away to Isidro Metapán last October —a game in which he scored twice—that the head coach of the Salvadorian club needed to make a substitution just 21 minutes in, has been a steady one.
"I feel like at my age right now and with the guys that are ahead of me, Robbie, Landon, it's good that I've been on the bench every game I've been healthy this year," said McBean. "There's always room for improvement and I think I am improving day-by-day. Nothing super drastic will happen like that but I know if I am patient and watch those guys play and just be ready when my number is called then I'll be alright."
However, back in December 2010, dreams of McBean playing in the professional ranks were just that—dreams. The then-high school freshman at Corona Del Mar had joined the Galaxy Academy months earlier and had attracted the interest of colleges like UCLA. While at a tournament in Arizona, just days before McBean's 16th birthday, newly appointed Galaxy Academy Director Chris Klein approached the McBean's with an offer.
Calum admits that he thought it was simply to give him advice about the packs of colleges that were knocking on the families' door, but it turned out to be something much different.
"The decision was at 15: Do you do the college route or would you want to be a pro and play for the Galaxy and train with the big boys?" said Calum. "They talked about everything that night but the funny thing was how Jack responded.
"I said to Jack 'what do you want to do?' and he goes 'oh yeah, I definitely want to do this' and I asked him 'what do you want to do with the money?' and he goes 'the first thing I want to do is get a new iPhone.'"
Maintaining a sense of normalcy for that teenager who wanted a new iPhone with the cash from his new contract was one of the top priorities for the Galaxy once McBean signed on the dotted line. Eager to avoid a situation like what occurred with Freddy Adu where pressure to succeed was piled on the teenage phenom, LA adopted a different mentality—let the kid be a kid.
Jack with Calum and his sister Abi.
(Photo courtesy of the McBean family)
For the first two seasons of his Galaxy career, McBean split time between the Galaxy Academy and the first team, training with both. With LA's veteran core of forwards like Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Chad Barrett and Edson Buddle, McBean rarely traveled with the squad as he earned minutes in reserve matches and training alongside the likes of Jose Villarreal and Oscar Sorto with the Academy squad while also representing the U.S. at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2011, his first season with the Galaxy.
Once training was done, he was able to let loose and do what teenagers do: Have fun.
"I felt like I'd be off on weekends when the team was traveling. I just did stuff with my high school friends and felt normal with them because I saw them almost every day," said McBean. "I'd get home from training at 1:30 and then I'd have the rest of the day to relax and just hang out and luckily I have a great group of friends back home that are always looking to do something so that's fun."
That Jack was able to "have fun" and successfully compartmentalize the rigors of professional soccer and being a teenager was something that Calum believes was key to his maturation process.
"He's been lucky, he's had all his friends, he did all his high school stuff, he graduated, he went to his parties, he hangs out with his buddies," said Calum. "He can transform from a pro playing against Real Madrid with 40,000 watching it to going straight to his buddies' parties and being a high school guy again within the next hour. It's pretty amazing actually."
Like any teenager, McBean is looking to leave the nest and will do so in early September when he moves into a Manhattan Beach pad with 37-year-old teammate Pablo Mastroeni. The combination of the 18-year-old and Mastroeni, a husband and father of two, may be unexpected, but after the veteran learned that his family was unable to move from Colorado to Southern California this season, a roommate was needed.
Enter the teenager, who was itching to spread his wings away from home.
The pair may be a regular odd couple, but Mastroeni is excited to have a chance to mentor the young forward and maybe teach him a few cooking tips like his own brand of oatmeal—quinoa, six types of seeds and four types of berries –which the veteran calls "the most powerful breakfast."
"The dynamics are interesting. He's half my age and at the start of his career while I'm at the end of mine. I think from my perspective, he's a good kid who is hungry to learn the game," said Mastroeni. "He's ready to take the leap and for me, I can be a mentor and if nothing else, teach him how to prepare foods and the nutritional aspect of the game."
As for the steady growth that has epitomized McBean's career to date, Mastroeni has already taken notice in his two-and-a-half months. After all, Mastroeni has seen plenty of players throughout his career who were unable to live up to the hype and pressure thrown at them at an early age.
"He acts his age, but he has a sense of maturity about him and for these kids to grow at their own pace is important," he added. "I think that these young guys, especially Jack, are becoming some fine young players with a bright future as the league continues to grow. He's coming into his own at the right time."
And once he reaches that level or obtains an extra "10 percent" as Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan stated, Calum feels like the sky is the limit for his son.
"I can see him growing up in front of my own eyes. He takes care of himself, he's getting plenty of rest, he's eating well and he knows that he has to work hard to get a chance," said the elder McBean. "To play in MLS, you have to be fit and strong and he's played against some big boys and he won't back down to any of them no matter how big. He's as big as any of them."
But just don't expect Jack to lose that extra spark that has served him well through the early stages of his career and sparked him to watch those games at the British Dominion & Social Club with father.
"I'd say with the Galaxy for sure [I'm an adult] but when I go back home I like to be a little immature too with some of my friends. There's nothing wrong with still acting like a kid I don't think, especially at my age," said McBean. "But yeah, when I eventually move out I think that will kind of take [care of] itself and I'll become an adult that way."
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com


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NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) -- Irish rocker Bono says he's not "richer than any Beatle" even though his share of Facebook was valued at $1.5 billion after the company went public Friday.
NME.com said Bono became the world's richest musician after his 2.3 percent share of Facebook spiked in value to $1.5 billion when the company went public. Bono bought the shares through his investment group, Elevation Partners, for $90 million in 2009.
Friday's development meant Bono surpassed former Beatles band member Paul McCartney as the world's richest rock star since McCartney's fortune is estimated to be worth around $1.05 billion, NME.com said.
But Bono played down the report in an interview with MSNBC, explaining the shares belong to his investment group, not just him.
"Contrary to reports, I am not a -- this boy is not a billionaire or going to be richer than any Beatle. … That's just a joke," Bono said.
"We invest in other people's money, in pension funds," Bono said. "We do get paid, and that is a good thing. … I'm blessed, but you know, I felt rich when I was 20 years old and my wife was paying my bills. Just being in a band, I've always felt like this. I got interested in technology because I'm an artist, I'm interested in the forces that shape the world -- politics, religion, the stuff we've been talking about today. Technology is huge. I wanted to learn about it."


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London Guardian
March 31, 2013
Savers with the Bank of Cyprus could lose up to 60% of their savings according to officials from the central bank and the finance ministry.
The officials said on Saturday that deposits over €100,000 (£84,000) at the country's largest bank will lose 37.5% of their value after being converted into bank shares.
If the bank were to need further capitalisation the savers could lose as much as 22.5% more, depending on an assessment by officials who will determine the exact figure needed to restore the troubled bank back to health.
Cyprus agreed Monday to make depositors contribute in order to secure a €10bn bailout from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.


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The latest news in the Ruby and Rails community.
Business time features, Rails is half your app, Rake rule tasks, Polymorphism, Hash Selectors and Rails 4.0.4 released all on today's Ruby 5.
You have disabled auto-rotation for stories. Re-enable?
If you're looking for a top Ruby job or for top Ruby talent, then you should check out Top Ruby Jobs. Top Ruby Jobs is a website dedicated to the best jobs available in the Ruby community.
This week David Celis at New Relic wrote about how his team uses business hours feature flags for new features in production.
Marcin Kulik recently sent a blog post entitled "Rails is half of your application".. Where he explains that there are two parts of your application, the part that only works inside Rails and the part that is independent of Rails.
This week our very own Jacob Swanner wrote about how create "rule" tasks in rake.
If you're not familiar with all the different ways that Ruby can be Polymorphic, you definitely should check out Britt Ballard's post on the Thoughtbot blog.
Zack Siri wrote to us this week to let us know about a pattern in ruby he's found helpful he even recorded a screencast and wrote up a blog about it. He's calling it the Hash Selector Pattern.
Last Thursday Rails 4.0.4 was released.
Ruby5 is released Tuesday and Friday mornings. To stay informed about and active with this podcast, we encourage you to do one of the following:
Today, learn about the Circuit Breaker pattern from Martin Fowler, some Cucumber best practices, speedier specs, and the railroady gem.
Google's Summer of Code, Test-Driven Rails Part 2, putting the Can in CanCan, building your first Ruby gem, and a Ruby Heroes reminder.
Running your own CI with Drone and Docker, building web-based RubyMotion apps with Under OS, funding for the Hello Ruby book, rubygems.org operating costs, Rails 4 assets on Heroku, and turning your text on its head with flippit all in this episode of the Ruby5.
It's pattern-mania this week with: interactors, adapters and components-based architectures. Omniref allows us to take a step back to look at dependencies between popular Ruby libraries and we learn about RubyMotion gotchas for Rails developers.
Looking to learn about Ruby? Take a look at the Ruby Path on Code School
This podcast is produced and distributed by Code School. Copyright © 2018 Code School LLC


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All quotes tagged Glorified
(32 quotes found)
"He is a glorified gutter rat from a dying New Jersey town who walks with an easy swagger that is part residual stage presence, part boardwalk braggadocio."
"It's irresponsible for Paramount Pictures to promote and market a movie that glorifies carrying guns."
"Toys that glorify violence encourage children to act out that violence -- violence which appears fun, cool and amusing,"
"Rice sold books that explored the darkest realms of the spiritual world. She dressed all in black. She glorified the night and her atheism. But look at pictures of her now . .. Look most of all at the sparkle in the eyes — at the light."
"Television glorifies war, ... And the reality is we have some remarkably brave men and women who work through such challenging circumstances to make us as safe as we are."
"We turned what is virtually a glorified independent label into one of the powerhouse labels in the town."
"He glorified both of those guys. He had magazine after magazine on them, lots of articles, and his own writings. He said they did the right thing, and that was how he was going to go, too. Clearly he planned to die."


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Thanks to President Barack Obama, webseries phenom Issa Rae and Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Comedy Central's "Key and Peele," the profile and prestige of the so-called "black nerd" is on the rise. This new social group's increasing popularity has led to the creation of a website to help them find love – BlackNerdDating.com.
"It's no secret that Nerds and geeks, particularly black nerds have specific tastes and preferences that may not fit into the today's online social circles," said BlackNerdDating.com creator and proud geek, Keith York. "Dating is no different which is why BlackNerdDating.com is a necessary addition to any actively dating black geek's list of favorite sites."
York said the site is free for users and offers what he's termed Nerd Credentials, which is a special feature that makes matching black nerd couples that much easier.
Other features slated to be added in the near future include chat and text features, live video chat, date planner options and more.
"This is the right time for BlackNerdDating.com's twofold mission," explained York when explaining his reasons for creating BlackNerdDating.com. "One, I want black nerds to have great online dating options but I also want to engage people's changing perception of black nerds and geeks."


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For the Mancos Bluejays football team, the 2013 season turned out to be one of extremes. On one side of the spectrum were two blowout victories. On the other side were seven blowout losses.
The season proved to be a growing experience for the young Bluejays.
There is little doubt that the Bluejays' two victories provided the high points of the 2013 season.
The first victory came at home against Nucla on Sept. 20 in a game that saw the Bluejays build a 40-0 first-quarter lead in route to a 76-0 victory.
Multiple Bluejays, including Adrian Hernandez, Everett Strazza-Whalen, Andrew Morgan, Brandon Hood-Farley and Steven Rohweder scored at least one touchdown in the romp.
"Our ability to play as a team and not yell at each other helped us," Rohweder said.
The Bluejays' second victory came a week later on Sept. 28 against Plateau Valley. They won 74-8.
Key in the Bluejays victory was a balanced attack keyed by the passing of Alex Morgan and the running of Steven Roweder.
"(Rohweder) ran well and did an excellent job. (Morgan) did an outstanding job of putting the ball in receivers' hands," said Bluejays head coach Adam Priestley after the win.
Immediately preceding and proceeding the Bluejays' midseason wins were two losing streaks that doomed the season.
The first streak began on Aug. 31, lasted three games and included blowout losses to Sangre de Cristo, Sierra Grande and Sanford.
After his team's loss to Sanford on Sept. 13, Priestley lamented, "We're averaging five turnovers per game. "Teams don't win when they turn the ball over five times."
The second losing streak began Oct. 4, lasted four games and included defeats to Dove Creek, Norwood, Rangely and Sanford. During the streak, the Bluejays were outscored 201-12.
Although the Bluejays will graduate five seniors, including standout performers Rohweder and Ty Koppenhafer, the team's future looks promising.
Next season, skill players including Morgan, Strazza-Whalen, Hernandez and Hood Farley will return and combine with solid returners and talented up-and-coming eighth-graders.
"With some dedication and hard work during the offseason, I see our team getting better," said Priestley. "We've just got to have dedication and a no-quit attitude."


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« Exit photo gallery
How well do you know Scott Brown?
Scott Brown all but ended months of speculation in mid-March when he announced his plans to form an exploratory committee in order to seek a Senate seat again. Displaced by Elizabeth Warren in 2012, Brown has changed his address and is considering running against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire this year. He's well on his way with a $600,000 ad buy from American Crossroads, and Republicans are already adding the race to their competitive column. But how well do you know former Sen. Scott Brown?
10. Brown once got on stage and performed with which band?
A. The Police
B. Cheap Trick
D. Bad Company(Photo: AP Photo)
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More: See all POLITICO photo galleries
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A number of valuable paintings were stolen from a Rotterdam museum by a ring of Romanian criminals.
The stolen works have an estimated value of tens of millions of dollars if they were sold at auction. Thieves took Pablo Picasso's 1971 "Harlequin Head"; Claude Monet's 1901 "Waterloo Bridge, London" and "Charing Cross Bridge, London"; Henri Matisse's 1919 "Reading Girl in White and Yellow"; Paul Gauguin's 1898 "Girl in Front of Open Window"; Meyer de Haan's "Self-Portrait" of around 1890; and Lucian Freud's 2002 work "Woman with Eyes Closed."
They've been found.
A Romanian museum official said Wednesday that ash from the oven of a woman whose son is charged with stealing seven multimillion-dollar paintings — including a Matisse, a Picasso and a Monet — contains paint, canvas and nails.
Ernest Oberlander-Tarnoveanu, director of Romania's National History Museum, told the Associated Press that museum forensic specialists had found "small fragments of painting primer, the remains of canvas, the remains of paint" and copper and steel nails, some of which pre-dated the 20th century.
"We discovered a series of substances which are specific to paintings and pictures," he said, including lead, zinc and azurite.
You are permitted to cry a little bit.


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© 2009 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Twins say bye to Dome the hard way
Minnesota falls to New York in final game at ballpark
By Tyler Mason / MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- After the Yankees finished celebrating their series-clinching victory over the Twins on Sunday, Minnesota closer Joe Nathan walked back out to the Metrodome mound one last time.
Nathan, who struck out two batters in the ninth inning in Sunday's 4-1 loss, wanted something to remember the Dome by. So the All-Star closer took a handful of dirt from the same mound he saved so many games on, with the intention of bringing it over to the new Target Field next season."It's kind of bittersweet. We play well here, but I also know how many days I walked in here and kind of just got deflated, because it's nice outside and you'd like to be outside," Nathan said. "But we also know this place has treated us great, and so that's why I wanted to bring a little piece of this place over and start a new chapter." Twins fans cheered Nathan, who saved a franchise-best 47 games this season, as he collected the dirt, catching him a bit off guard. "Honestly, I thought they might have been cheering something else," Nathan said. "I didn't know they were cheering me picking up the dirt. It was still right at the end of the game." On Tuesday night, jubilation and champagne filled the Twins' clubhouse after they defeated the Detroit Tigers in a one-game tiebreaker to earn a postseason bid. There was no celebrating Sunday, however, following the three-run loss to New York that ended Minnesota's season. Instead, players shook hands and exchanged hugs, thanking each other for the season they spent together. "We've got to hold our heads up. We had a good season," Twins outfielder Denard Span said. "We did the unthinkable. We did what a lot of people never gave us a chance to do. I'd just like to commend everybody, all 25 guys on this team. We have nothing to be upset about."
Metrodome Lasts
|Ceremonial first pitch
|Twins bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek
|First pitch
|Carl Pavano vs. Derek Jeter, for a strike
|Player to hit speakers
|Jason Kubel, 10/6
|Ball lost in roof
|Orlando Cabrera, 10/4
|Stolen base
|Denard Span
|Michael Cuddyer
|Nick Punto
|Matt Tolbert, 10/2
|Home run
|Jorge Posada
|Grand slam
|Delmon Young, 10/2
|Alex Rodriguez
|Strikeout (pitcher)
|Mariano Rivera
|Strikeout (batter)
|Out recorded
|Brendan Harris, 6-3, Jeter to Mark Teixeira
"This stings. It definitely stings," Minnesota infielder Nick Punto said. "But in the end, you sit back and reflect. I'm proud to be a part of this team."As the season came to an end, the Twins also reflected back on the place they've called home since 1982. Sunday's loss, however, wasn't exactly how they would have liked to bid farewell to the Metrodome. "Obviously, it's tough. It's a tough way to close it," Michael Cuddyer said. "It's hard. It's frustrating, but I think when we look back and have a chance to reflect on the season, I think we're pretty proud of where we are." "I was hoping to play tomorrow and the next day. It hurts a little bit right now," Twins catcher Joe Mauer said. "The guys in this clubhouse have battled all year, overcame a lot of things. I think we'll appreciate that a little bit more here later on." Last Sunday was billed as the final regular-season game at the Metrodome, but that instead took place Tuesday against the Tigers. Now, after a year of counting down the top Dome memories and anticipating outdoor baseball at Target Field, the Twins finally said goodbye. And nearly all of the 54,735 fans in attendance on Sunday stayed until the end to say goodbye along with them. "I'd rather be in front of these fans than in front of the New York fans," Nathan said. "These guys were with us the whole way. Rightfully so that we'd be here for the end."
Tyler Mason is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 11:55 AM
Town Square
Runner says she was hit by car in Menlo Park
Original post made on Apr 17, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 11:55 AM
Comments (11)
a resident of Atherton: other
on Apr 17, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Great police work! Anybody concerned about a hit and run crime? Or more about jurisdictions?
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 17, 2013 at 12:27 pm
"Come see us when you are dead or maimed and we'll escalate it." Hit and runs seem to be ubiquitous these days. Very sad. I'm either getting old and cranky or there is a new, pronounced, and troubling selfishness, lawlessness and communitylessness reflected in these hit and runs.
a resident of another community
on Apr 17, 2013 at 1:10 pm
I'm glad to read she wasn't seriously injured. Not happy to read about the jurisdictional issues, but why didn't she call 911 immediately after? It's more likely that the driver would've been found then, not hours or days later.
a resident of Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle
on Apr 17, 2013 at 2:26 pm
very very very SCARY what with Ringwood and parts of Bay Road having NO Sidewalks in this area. I wonder where KIDS and other pedestrians are supposed to SAFELY walk in the area ??? This needs to be FIXED ASAP !!!
a resident of Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks
on Apr 17, 2013 at 2:43 pm
I don't think most people realize it, but there is a lot of roadway that is no man's land.
My car was totaled and I was injured (not life-threatening, broken bones) by an M-A student who was driving recklessly and lost control of his vehicle. Guess what? Although one side of Ringwood is Atherton and the other side Menlo -- just like Bay Road -- the road itself is neither. I had to wait for an hour for a CHP officer to show up, and he could not have cared any less. CHP officers don't appear to be trained to handle residential street accidents, even if those streets are within their jurisdiction.
This is just wrong. Why don't the two cities just split up the "county" streets that constitute the border? That would end the jurisdictional disputes and ensure that problems got prompt behavior.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Apr 17, 2013 at 2:44 pm
No sidewalks in Atherton (Ringwood and parts of Bay Road.) Too poor a town to consider lesser issues like safety versus the evils of raising taxes.
a resident of Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks
on Apr 17, 2013 at 2:45 pm
For some reason, I misread the location as Bay Road. But my suggestion is unchanged: the border streets need to be claimed by one of the cities.
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Apr 18, 2013 at 8:53 am
Interesting story. Too bad the reporter buried the lede in the fifth graph.
This is a story about jurisdictional problems.
Agreed, though, that the woman -- if her story is true -- should have called 911 immediately. That's what most people would do. This bit about her having an infant to care for, not going to be in the area again until later and the fact that she is unnamed in this story raises a bunch of red flags.
a resident of Woodside: other
on Apr 18, 2013 at 10:09 am
You can usually tell who is responsible for a roadway by the agency that repairs it.
For instance, El Camino Real and Woodside Road are state highways. The state can certainly contract with other agencies to do road work on their highways, but no other agency can work on someone else's roadway without permission.
a resident of Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle
on Apr 18, 2013 at 12:43 pm
This jurisdiction issue has all kinds of implications, non of them are good. I have repeatedly called Menlo PD, Atherton and the sheriff regarding the 25-75 cars that park on the edge of Ringwood directly under the "No Parking Anytime" signs by the high school. They are there every day and at anytime there is an event at the school. The response from MPD and Atherton is that it is a sheriff issue and the sheriff offered to call MPD the last time I called. It is a terrible example for the new and about to be, drivers who attend the school. Ringwood bordering Laurel school has the same problem. The cars block the bike lane and the kids and other pedestrians have to walk in the road, so it is amazing there are not more accidents. The sheriff did ticket cars that were parked on Ringwood next to Laurel school during election day last year.
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Apr 23, 2013 at 9:25 pm
Running in the dark before 6:00 A.M. along a road which has no sidewalks doesn't sound too smart. I'm glad she wasn't hurt, but pedestrians need to remember that visibility is poor at that time of day. Pedestrians as well as drivers need to exercise caution. Don't forget,cars take longer to slow or stop than do pedestrians.
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