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- Wood Outdoor Sofas & Sectionals
- Wood Outdoor Chairs
- Wood Outdoor Chaises
- Wood Outdoor Tables
- Wood Outdoor Dining Sets
Wood Outdoor Furniture
It's no surprise that wood is so popular in outdoor spaces. After all, wood is born in nature; it's completely at home outside. Its tones look beautiful against a blue sky or surrounded by lush greenery. Wood furniture is also extremely versatile. There's pretty much no end to the styles and shapes that wood can create. Looking for something vintage? Modern? Pottery Barn's wood outdoor furniture is like a paintbrush in your hand. Unleash your creativity and check out some exciting design possibilities.
Design a coastal paradise no matter where you live with a wood lounge arrangement. If your home has a sparkling blue pool, koi pond or even a portable garden fountain that's even better. Wood gives your patio a Mediterranean vibe, especially when paired with bright white cushions. A garden filled with potted plants and white stones enhance the seaside theme even more. Several chaises in the direction of the relaxing water let you tilt your head back, sip on a cocktail and smile. Whether you prefer a nap in the shade or reading a novel, you can enjoy the outdoors the way they were meant to be taken in.
Another Italian-influenced idea is to turn your patio – or apartment balcony – into a fresh-air terrace. It's perfect for entertaining and spending time with family and friends. If space allows, opt for informal seating like a large wood sectional. Comfy cushions treat your friends like visiting royalty. But feel free to joke around, laugh and especially share a meal together. Decorate with vibrant pillows and throws featuring exciting motifs.
On a cozy balcony, a pair of chairs and a bistro table let you share the view with a special someone. A wood table and chairs can create any kind of mood you're looking for, from a fresh morning breakfast with flowers to a romantic sunset serenade with candlelight. Turn on some soft music and dance slowly as the stars come out.
Want to know a little more about the wood that makes it all possible? Our furniture is carefully crafted from high-quality varieties that are prized for woodworking. Mahogany is famous around the world for its beautiful full-bodied grain and rich color. It's also durable; mahogany retains its shape for a very long time. Eucalyptus is fantastic thanks to a strength you normally expect only from oak. It stands up to literally decades of parties, visitors, relaxed afternoons and anything kids decide to put it through. Grade-A teak is highly sought after by everyone from artisans to shipbuilders. Not only is it strong and luxurious, teak has a curious ability to retain its natural oils even after cutting. So it's naturally weather-resistant, water-resistant and low maintenance. These beautiful pieces of furniture are designed to be around for generations.
Our wood furniture also makes you feel good about your contribution to the planet. We only use FSC-certified sustainably-harvested wood. What does that mean? It means that forests are kept healthy and in balance. Wood is harvested in a controlled manner that doesn't harm the local flora and fauna, or their habitat. And since new trees are allowed to grow undisturbed, the forest is kept carefully in balance, providing humans with oxygen, and animals with shelter and food.
A wood dining set is capable of so many different styles. For a sophisticated layout fitting for black-tie affairs, choose a table with a deep color, sleek surfaces and artistic details like chairs with an arched back. If you want to create a classic American countryside look on your deck, a table with unfinished natural wood provides a rustic feel that matches. A large area rug underneath is cozy and comfortable. To add chic, think simplicity and striking finishes, such as black or white. Of course, the best table is the one that makes you happy, so feel free to make your own rules when creating the outdoor layout of your dreams.


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Coffeehouse Post
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It seems to me that there is some room in the app store for converting old file formats into more modern representations. Case in point DBF files, there is nothing in the app store to open DBF files and Access 2013 doesn't seem to support them. I might be wrong on both counts, but what else is new.

subset: commoncrawl


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One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming of age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens' dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.
Raised by a humble blacksmith, Pip is recruited by the wealthy Miss Havisham to be a companion to her ward, the cold but beautiful Estella. There, Pip learns to despise his rough origins as Estella torments him about his low prospects. When Pip is informed that an unknown benefactor expects to make him his heir, he sets off to London to realize his "great expectations." But true gentleman stature, he will find, is a matter of character, not fortune.
Public Domain (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
"Observe how finely the narrative is kept in one key. It begins with a mournful impression—the foggy marshes spreading drearily by the seaward Thames—and throughout recurs this effect of cold and damp and dreariness; in that kind Dickens never did anything so good…No story in the first person was ever better told." (George Gissing, English novelist)
"A tragic and lovely story about growing up"
How supportive the blacksmith was to Pip, he did everything and a little more just like any great father would.
I dont think that would work since you would need 4-5 different actors to play some of the characters.
A great story about a boy growing up, realizing that if you are given everything the drive to improve is easily lost. About love, heartbreak and friendship
Overall a great book and a great story
"really enjoyable classic"
entertaining, brilliantly narrated
I've never read this book, as I thought it would be long and boring, but I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook and found it funny, brilliantly observed and expertly narrated. Would highly recommend
"A classic but not that gripping!"
listed to this as I feel it is lacking from my education! pleased to have done so but it has taken me some time! Narrative was very good!
Beautifully read and utterly engrossing. Will definitely be listening to more Simon Prebble doing Dickens.
Wonderful Dickens story. Well read and great just to listen to. Just close your eyes and imagine...
"Simply Superb"
I love Dickens ever since once of my English Literature teachers at school made his characters jump out of the page before my very eyes. Great Expectations however has always held a soft spot for me. So it was after reading one of the reviews on this rendition I decided to pick this one. I am so glad I did. Simon Prebble's performance is stellar. His rendition is beyond amazing, his characterisation brings out every facet of each of the characters so completely; that I had to listen to this book again and again so much did I enjoy it and find something I had not discovered before in every round of listening. I would imagine that if Charles Dickens were alive and able to hear this man reading this book with that warmth, characterisation and gentle emotion in his voice, I am sure he would eyes would well up in tears of pride more than a few times.
--Well worth the listen if you like Dickens and you will be listening to this programme many more times over the years if you appreciate the style of this most consummate performer.
"Better than the TV version"
Great Expectations were met on the whole.
Easy listening. Easier than trying to read the book.
Great story, the narrator really brings the characters to life. Got lost in it for hours out on Dartmoor on my bike
"Difficult to stop listening to it"
Cannot remember if I've read the book, but the narrator enhanced the enjoyment.
Joe, because he was a really nice, dependable chap.
More than one. Caused tears when finished listening to the whole book.
Narrator got into the soul of each character.
"A Great Expectations achieved."
A beautiful work about wanting what you have not, and ignoring what you have. A great story of love in all it's forms and friendship, the healing of time, and the lessons time deals by a master of the English language. You can get lost in the story the period and all the nuances of that society.
I like the first edition ending but most good editions will make both available to the reader
and so it is in this first class narration.
"Great Performance of a classic!"
I sometimes find high-brow victorian literature to be a little to slow and heavy, including Dickens, but 'Expectations' is a clear exception. I loved it. Simon Prebble's performance was captivating.
"The narrator!!"
This was my first time reading Great Expectations and I really liked the story. But I have to say the narrator, Simon Prebble, did such an amazing job with this story and these characters that I'm now going to look up his other audiobooks.
I would definitely recommend giving this one a try.
"A Character Renewed"
Pip is so much like me, like any of us. He gets caught in his obsessions, ignores what is beautiful in his life, and then misses every great opportunity for love and fulfillment.
Joe, his adopted fater. It's hard to fathom that such a humble and humbled character should be able to embody such profound self dignity, such forgiveness, and such sweetness over every other character in the book
Magwich. His voice would be difficult to speak in the same way that the character would have done. It probably would have been unintelligible so I'm glad the narrator made it easy to understand -- yet at the same time it conveyed the gruff character etc
Joe told Pip he wouldn't be coming back to dinner and immediately afterward Pip experiences repentance and then "self-swindling". At that point Pip gives an elaborate description of his obsession with Estella and decides that his "devotion" or obsession with Estella is his greatness. Fortunately, the mature writer notes that this "devotion" was actually the young Pip's smallness and meanness.
Dickens's ability to describe the nature of obsession is frighteningly real and I think that reading Dickens could substitute for a therapeutic relationship. Obsession is so real in so many peoples' lives and Pip's character shows how it can suck the life out of a person.
"Exceeded my expectations!"
I loved this book! The writing was so beautiful and so beautifully read by the narrator. I had no previous knowledge of this story but wanted to read a Dicken's. My heart is still full with love of the story and some sadness at the ending. Great Expectations has enriched my life.
"Wonderful narration!"
The narrator really is spectacular. He does an amazing job at bringing the characters to life.
"A soft, muted Victorian Melodrama"
There are many parts of Dickens' writing that I love and few pieces of his that fall short of complete adoration. 'Great Expectations' is one more of Dickens' absolute masterpieces. I love how with 100 pages left you can almost feel the universe shift as Dickens grabs the crazy, once loose strings of his moral narrative and begins to pull it all together.
I think a significant part of the magic, for me, of 'Great Expectations' is found in the minor characters. Everyone from Uncle Pumblechook, Miss Havisham, & Mr Jaggers, to Mr. Wemmick and the Aged Parent (the Aged P.) could be the center of their own Dickens novel; each life is given a warmth (or where there lacks warmth, a round coldness) that keeps the novel propelled on.
You can't have a Dickens novel without a little bit of melodrama and a bit of Victorian moralizing. However, with 'Great Expectations', Dickens does this with a soft touch. He isn't as confrontational about social ills as he is in 'Hard Times' or 'Oliver Twist' and he isn't as melodramatic as he was in 'Tale of Two Cities', but even so, I completely enjoyed this gentle, more muted Dickens.
"One of my Fav. Classics!!"
First up, this is a must read. If you are debating if you should read this, you don't need to debate longer. This is a brilliant one.
Dickens is one of the best story tellers I've ever read. The characterization is fantastic, especially because it captures human nature so well. What happens when you sudden turn from a kid with nothing much to a gentleman? Well, I won't spoil the story for you. The first person narrative is especially effective for this one, because we constantly get what PPip is thinking and as he is misled as to the situation around him and the changing character of himself, so are we the reader. I loved the technique to. You get a character who you think is gone for ever and then what does Dickens do? He brings him back suddenly, and it turns out he is crucial to the story. Anyway, I will stop talking now, but seriously, this is a must read. Maybe you can learn something about yourself in the process too... like me. So sit back and enjoy it!
"Loved it. A fantastic introduction to Dicken's"
Enthralling, intelligent, riveting, engaging, while still quaint and amusing, and sill amazingly relevant. This is thought to be Dickens' most readable book and with Simon Prebble performing it certainly is. I recently heard an English actress claim that Dickens' must be read aloud and she used Great Expectations as an example. Having listened to this I would have to agree with her and Prebble's performance is impeccable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
have read the book over 20 years ago but listening the audio aster all this time had made me enjoy and appreciate the great AUTHOR even more .
"Greatly read!"
Simon is a genius. He made each character come alive. Very well done!
A memorable moment was when Pip discovered who Estella's birth mother and father were.
All the different tones of the characters. Wonderful drama!
You know them, or DO YOU?
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Please note, I only have an iPhone 3GS, haven't tried Accordance on iPad yet.
1. Bookmarking, highlighting, syncing, etc. I think you've got these in the pipeline, though?
2. A full screen mode. Would need to be able to toggle between full-screen and navigation bars with a tap.
3. The option for a grid style verse chooser like some other apps would be great. The verse chooser is a bit awkward, although being able to jump 10 books/ch/vs significantly mitigates this.
4. Option to group verses in paragraphs. I don't feel the current layout is very user friendly, especially for casual users.
5. One touch version/resource changer. Currently the top bar seems to only activate the search feature. Could touching the book name activate the library opener to make changing versions/resources quicker in the main screen?
6. Rotation lock
7. Default user notebook. Bit of a pain having to choose which notebook when I only have one.
8. Brown (the colour, not Helen!). Hmmm. I've been comparing the UI of a couple of apps, and surprisingly black works better IMO. Please, note, this is at the bottom of my list, just my own opinion among the multitude of others no doubt.
Thanks for the app. It's awesome having all my resources on my iPhone (no iPad yet) - really, it's mind blowing when you think about what we can carry in our pocket now! One unexpected advantage is that it makes my morning devotions easier as I don't need to move to my Mac to look up a commentary if I've got a question about a verse. I'm really looking forward to having my user notes synced, hope that's not too far away.
I know users inevitably draw comparisons with Bible Reader. I've used it for 5 or 6 years now, since my Palm days, and it really is a very mature product that I'm familiar with and love. At first I thought Accordance hadn't met the mark, but as I was writing this list and comparing apps I realised a lot of that feeling is just the affection of familiarity. You've made some design decisions that I think are better, and many other things are just different. Sure Accordance is a 1.0 release and has some way to go, but (apart from bugs, grrr), I think you've done a remarkable job. I recently compared a number of cross-platform iOS Bible apps and Accordance compares very favourably against more mature offerings. I'm only say this because I've read comments comparing the apps in other threads and I wanted to give another perspective. BTW, the other Bible app I have installed is YouVersion, and I really like it's simplicity. I hope Accordance can keep a balance between simplicity and power.
Full Screen and some other requests
Started by Alex H. , Jan 23 2011 07:48 PM
2 replies to this topic
Posted 23 January 2011 - 07:48 PM
Posted 15 June 2011 - 09:41 AM
I know this post is a little old, but there are a couple of items that I would like to see incorporated into Accordance. Specifically, suggestion number 2 would be great. Not that I want Accordance to be like other Bible apps, but most of the ones I toy with hide the toolbar and navigation bar when scrolling through the text or after a delay once the user no longer is touching those bars. It would make reading the text more comfortable on the iPhone, thought it is not an issue on the iPad. Also, number 8 would be nice as brown is no the most appealing. Perhaps having the ability of a user to choose a custom color or select from a list of pre-defined options.
Posted 02 October 2011 - 05:30 AM
I also second suggestions No. 2 and 3.
"Teach the way of God in Accordance" (Matt 12:14, NIV-Accordance edition)
"Those who live in Accordance (with the Spirit) have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." (Rom 8:5, NIV-Accordance edition)
(retina MacBook Pro 15.4" (mid 2014) — Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD. macOS Sierra, Accordance 12)
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Hey guys,
Today, we're going to roll out our favorite video game cosplay sensations feature. This feature will show off our 16 favorite cosplayers from around the world from various gaming titles. Some of the characters are more obvious than others, but there is a secret reason for this.
Instead of making it obvious as to who all 16 characters are — we're going to give you guys a couple of challenging ones to guess. Now, here's the kicker, every single person who guesses all 16 characters correctly will have the chance to win one of two $20 PSN Cards that we will give away this Sunday. Not too difficult right? Email your entries to email@example.com…
If everyone fails to guess the 16 characters, then we'll be sure to give the two PSN Cards to the two individuals who have the most correct guesses. Remember — leave a valid email address linked to your comment letting us know you entered so that we can contact you if you win. You are also allowed more than one entry, so enter as many times as you'd like!
Here is the first image, check out the next pages to see and guess the rest (we suggest opening up notepad so you can number them).


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Congratulations are in order! YouTube star Antoine Dodson, who first came to fame after his news interview about a bedroom intruder went viral online in 2010, is officially set to be a father.
The Huntsville, AL native shared the happy news on Twitter on Tuesday, Sept. 17, sparking confused reactions from fans.
"I just became the happiest man alive!! My beautiful Queen and I are having a baby!!" he tweeted.
"Wait what?" one user wrote, with several others echoing her sentiment.
"Aren't you gay?" another added.
PHOTOS: Hollywood's new star dads
The 27-year-old, who was previously open about his sexuality, renounced his homosexuality back in May, telling fans in a series of tweets and Facebook postings that he wanted "a wife and family" and "to multiply and raise and love my family that I create." Dodson explained that he had become a "True Hebrew Israelite descendant of Judah" and therefore saw his former lifestyle as "foolish."
PHOTOS: Famous celeb dads and daughters
"I have to renounce myself, I'm no longer into homosexuality," he concluded at the time.
Dodson has not revealed the identity of the mother of his child.
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Antoine Dodson, "Bedroom Intruder" Star, Expecting Baby With Girlfriend


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Florida (31-1) will carry the nation's longest home winning streak, at 95, into next season. Stanford (28-1) will start another one.
Cardinal women's tennis coach Lele Forood said the team never made too much of the streak because it involved generations of players long since graduated or even retired from the professional game.
"We knew it wasn't going to go on for infinity, so we will take a loss and move on," she said. "The streak doesn't mean a lot to us. It is interesting, but it is not a motivating thing. It is kind of fun, but it is trivia. We are much more on the year to year with what we do because players, situations and teams are different. It just happens that we went an incredibly long period of time without losing a match."
Stanford and Florida seem to be handing the baton off to each other. The Cardinal had a 52-match home streak end in that February of 1999 loss to California. Stanford ended the Gators' 60-match home winning streak in the national championship match in 1999. It's Florida's turn to carry the banner.
Stanford has won 236 of its past 238 matches played at home, a span that dates to the 1995 season.
The Cardinal loses three seniors in Hilary Barte, Carolyn McVeigh and Jennifer Yen. Barte, who likely will become a four-time All-American this year, took an overall singles record of 136-28 and a doubles mark of 117-33 into the NCAA individual tournament that began Wednesday.
Barte owns a career 90-13 (87-10 as the No. 1 player) in dual matches, tying her with Lauren Kalvaria for seventh on the all-time list. She is 71-22 (70-22 as No. 1) in dual match doubles victories.
"It has been the most special experience I have ever had, especially in tennis," Barte said. "I think this team especially, we had a lot of mountains and we climbed them. The memories I'll take away, I will have for the rest of my life."
Mallory Burdette, who fought from behind to give herself, and the team, a chance to win, walked off after her final shot went long Tuesday night, shoulders slumped and head down.
Stanford didn't necessarily lose the title on Court 2, or anywhere else. Florida just won it, taking advantage of an ankle injury to Cardinal freshman Kristie Ahn to win at No. 5 and No. 6 singles and setting the stage for an epic battle at No. 2 singles.
"It's hard to lose an impact player like her but I felt comfortable with the people we put on the court," Forood said. "I feel like we can get four points on anybody."
The Gators also won the doubles point, taking it to Stanford right away and winning convincingly.
Embree, who played No. 1 singles last year, was ahead 5-1 in the first set before Burdette won seven straight games to snatch the set away. Embree, who won her 24th consecutive match, was in control of the second set.
Burdette went up 4-0 in the third set and Embree rallied to win five straight games and was at double match point before Burdette rallied to take the game and then send it to the tie-breaker.
Burdette faced a 6-4 deficit before winning the next two points. Then she missed a sure winner and sent the next one long, ending the marathon.
Barte gave Stanford its first point at No.1 singles, beating Allie Will, 6-2, 6-4. Freshman Nicole Gibbs gave the Cardinal the lead, 2-1, with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Sofie Oyen at No. 3 singles.
"I think that ever since freshman year, when you have someone on your team that is so successful at what she does, in a lot of ways she is a huge idol," Burdette said of Barte. "I've always wanted to be like her, to carry myself like her, with a lot of class. I feel like I have just learned so much, that it is hard to even say everything. It is the little things here and there, how she handles people, how she handles herself out on the court. It has been a really cool two years. And it's not over yet; we have next week. We still have doubles and we are going to do very well."
Stacey Tan recovered from a first set loss to beat Joanna Mather, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 singles and give Stanford a 3-1 edge but Alex Cercone returned the favor at No. 5 singles, beating Veronica Li, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 as Florida closed to within 3-2.
Olivi Janowicz's 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-1 win over McVeigh at No. 6 singles to tie it.
"It was an incredible match," Forood said. "It was the most electric atmosphere I have experienced at a college tennis match. It was an amazing day; we just came up a little short."
Barte, Burdette, Gibbs and McVeigh all received all-tournament honors. Embree was named the Most Outstanding Player.
This story contains 907 words.
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|116 mm
|104 mm
|335 gm
|69 mm
|Casing Material
|ABS engineering plastic
|Filter Materials
|Granular Activated Carbon, Polysulfone Hollow Fiber UF Membrane
|Initial Filtration Flow Rate
|2.0 litres per minute @ 100kPa
|Minimum Working Water Pressure
|Total Filtration Volume
|1500 litres
|Recommended Cartridge Use Duration
|About 6 months if 8L are used per day (varies with water consumption, quality and pressure)
|This product ships to India.
|Free Shipping to India.
|Product will be delivered for all urban areas serviceable by major courier agencies.For remote / rural areas the product will be sent by local couriers / Indian Speed Post and may take little more time.
|No Deliveries on Sunday and National Holidays.
I am now using this product since 3 months now and I am just loving it. The Tap guard promises you to deliver you germ free water and it really does so. Although, it looks bit expensive at this range but believe me, it is really worth and produces just the optimum results. I will highly recommend it to you if you want clean and fresh water from your tap. Rohan Bajaj Jaipur Kent Tap Guard


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We believe most people neither like nor appreciate mathematics; that they find it difficult and incomprehensible; that they are fearful of it; that they see it as having little value. Is this a valid position to hold, and if so how do we change the public perception of mathematics and turn it into one of understanding and appreciation? Is it possible to change public perceptions other than through the classroom and changes in what and how we teach?
Participants will be encouraged to share experiences and describe activities they believe have made a difference.
Look around at people on a subway, in cafes, in their homes or sitting in a park and you will be sure to find many of them reading. They are reading for the intellectual stimulation, for the sheer pleasure of it and for a host of other reasons. Now peer into those places and see if you can find anyone working on a puzzle or someone playing with numbers or a person reading a book that contains some mathematics. Keep looking, keep looking, keep looking and in time you will discover the truth, a hurtful truth to be sure, but a truth none the less - Mathematics is not popular.
The same readers we met earlier would for the most part never dream of doing anything remotely connected to mathematics. The last time that they did so was in high school or college.
We will start with the premise that this is not a good situation for society as a whole. Our goal will be to study how societal attitudes towards mathematics can be changed and how we can make mathematics more popular with the masses. We will discuss various ideas, including the following strategy:
Expose students in school to the type of mathematics that can be enjoyed outside of school by anyone no matter who they are or what they do. Give students the opportunity to play with mathematical puzzles, to study topics from recreational mathematics and to occasionally see and feel the stunningly beautiful side of mathematics. The result will be a higher percentage of people who enjoy mathematics throughout their lifetime.
The good news about this strategy is that the materials have already been produced. There are countless books on puzzles and topics from recreational mathematics. Martin Gardner has spent his entire life giving us materials for this very purpose. There are games that can be used, magazines and videos are available - the goods are not in short supply. What is in short supply are teachers who know about these materials, teachers who can find ways of incorporating them into the curriculum and teachers who feel they have permission to use them.
So our first question will be - "How do we make this type of mathematics more popular with mathematics teachers?"
Neither our efforts to emphasize the utility of secondary mathematics nor its privileged status as a crucial achievement for students wanting to pursue post-secondary studies has made mathematics appealing to students. Is the compulsory gotta-pass-it nature of math the cause of its lack of appeal? Or does utility somehow reduce its appeal? What other motivations for learning mathematics are there that might make mathematics appealing?
Before we address these strategic questions or the underlying nature-of-mathematics question (Is mathematics appealing?), we will look at specific examples of teaching practice that address the appeal of mathematics:
1. Dressing it up-`Clothing' mathematics:
2. Stripping it down - Restoring mathematics to its essence (?):
As participants engage with positive examples of each approach, they will help to construct a mission statement: how (whether?) students (some? more? all?) can experience mathematics in school as a positive and rewarding endeavour.


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The 3rd Birthday
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Guess we can discard at the moment PE 3 for PSVita...
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SoraandRoxasFan 5 years ago#1
Source: http://www.novacrystallis.com/?p=3591
"When I first experienced it, I thought the screen was indeed large and beautiful. The touch screen function worked well, overall I had an impression it was an exceedingly good piece of hardware. Since I continued making Final Fantasy titles on the PSP, I myself have an interest in going to a larger device, and as someone concerned with game production, there is nothing other than the Vita that offers that largeness and high density, high luminescence, and ability to draw high quality graphic images.''
'' With all that in mind, it's a very appealing device. I already had wanted to create a genuine Final Fantasy title for mobile devices and I ended up making Final Fantasy Type-0, so I can't say immediately that there is something in mind, but if there is an opportunity I'd definitely like to try making a game for the PS Vita."
S-E seems to be afraid of making a game only for PSVita, we know that FF X HD (which probably doesn't exist) and that unknown A-RPG made with Unity are for PS3 too.
PaladinCecil 5 years ago#2
I check here every so often to keep an eye on Squeenix's actions concerning Aya Brea.
This is good news to me. Toriyama and Tabata utterly ruined Aya and Parasite Eve, and I don't want to see either of them anywhere near the character or franchise ever again.
I want a Parasite Eve 3 that treats Aya with the respect she deserves and makes 3rd Birthday completely noncanon. However, frankly I think my initial reaction to an announcement of any Aya or PE game would be hostile and angry, because I have absolutely no faith in Squeenix anymore. This game demolished the last good will I had toward them, and any stupid, lingering beliefs I once had that anyone at the company cares about quality in any way beyond whatever it takes to sell product.
3rd Birthday should never have been made. It was a disgraceful and insulting entry and end to what was an awesome female protagonist, but at least if it ends here, the character might retain some semblance of respectability.
And I still think Toriyama intentionally ruined Aya to keep her from being a "rival" of Lightning for spot of most memorable strong female protagonist at Squeenix. Because that's the behavior of a hack, and Toriyama is most definitely a hack.
"Without me along, who will heal you when you're hurt?" - Rosa Farrell, Final Fantasy IV
SoraandRoxasFan (Topic Creator)5 years ago#3
*Sigh* Are you so pessimistic only because they ruined Aya and you doubt they will fix it? Have you read the translation of two pages from T3B Insider book that one user made this last summer?
Aya's going to be back because
everything is a dream made by Eve, it's proven that the Aya we see at the secret ending is her soul and Everett's many worlds interpretation which is used in this game's plot makes the game officially not canon. Also there's no way Eve can bring down the Twisted in the new world created after killing Aya.
solidoutlaw 5 years ago#4
PSN: rayplay I have not played P4 yet so pls don't spoil!!
"Wow, there's more hate in here than a K K K meeting!"
SoraandRoxasFan (Topic Creator)5 years ago#5
Sort of, according to a theory made by kyushudanji what Kyle meant with going on a journey to find eternity was that he wants to find the source of youth/immortality Eve and Aya have.For PE2's organisation, owning this source of youth would give them power to control the world, that's the reason why Kyle says to Eve ''Eternity is inside of you'' . It's the only detail that doesn't match at all with the rest of the plot because Kyle already has mithocondrial powers due to Eve's mithocondria.
Also the Twisted never came from the future, they use people's bodies/blood as a medium to be born. When the Twisted make an appearance they cause time-space distortion and to conclude, all the existing parallel worlds can't merge into one world because history in each world is completely different from other worlds.Moreover Eve's ghost is made of remains of Eve's body.
PaladinCecil 5 years ago#6
SoraandRoxasFan posted...
*Sigh* Are you so pessimistic only because they ruined Aya and you doubt they will fix it? Have you read the translation of two pages from T3B Insider book that one user made this last summer?
Took me a while to get back to responding to this.
No. That's not good enough. I'm sick as hell of Squeenix pulling that kind of garbage. They make an awful game or one where they do something absolutely horrendous, and instead of actually fixing it, they try to weasel out of setting things right. Their two responses whenever they completely ruin a story or characters, which is far too often in addition to what happened to Aya, is to either ignore the character and series afterward, or try to create sequels and spinoffs that "explain" the awfulness they tried to force into being canon.
I don't want them to "explain" their trash. I want them to burn it out of existence as best as they can.
When it comes to SOME elements of this game, I don't blame people for liking those elements. The gameplay probably is great. And if this was a completely new IP with completely new characters, it might have been acceptable. But as a game supposedly meant to bring Aya Brea back and make her a mature cool woman, Toriyama's definition is apparently to make her look like a childish, wimpy moron primarily built to be a sex object. I do know the ending to the game, and that will never change that he and Tabata tried to make Aya into this abomination. It's still Aya in the eyes of anyone that didn't finish the game or never played it.
Aya was a great character, and someone that had actual respect for the IP and its characters could have single-handedly proven at once that female protagonists are sellable AND that video games can have some intelligence to them, which are two key things Parasite Eve did back in the late 90s, albeit it wasn't the only one to push toward that in either case back then. Instead, we got the wet dreams of horny otaku using their skills to make new material for themselves. Which I wouldn't mind if it was an unofficial fan game, but under the conditions of this game, hell no.
And it's pretty obvious that overall, Toriyama's the worst culprit of the company. We've seen him pull this trash with FFX-2, and we have concrete proof that back when Sakaguchi was around to stop the company from doing stupid crap, Toriyama had to have his plans for the Honeybee Inn constantly cut back for going too far.
"Without me along, who will heal you when you're hurt?" - Rosa Farrell, Final Fantasy IV
SoraandRoxasFan (Topic Creator)5 years ago#7
^ If you have read my previous comments I've said they're ALREADY retconning this game. The only thing we have to worry about Parasite Eve 3 is who's going to be the writer, which makes me be afraid of how they're going to portray characters ( in regards to characters' dialogues)
They've put alternative clothes and the shower scene in order to refill the game with content because it's a spin-off and the space in a UMD disk is small. It was done too as a way of advertising this game in Japan, not because they wanted Lightning to steal the spotlight to Aya.
cherryblossom7 5 years ago#8
Lol,Toriyama gets torn to pieces.
Swimming,it's more fun in the Philippines lol
PaladinCecil 5 years ago#9
SoraandRoxasFan posted...
^ If you have read my previous comments I've said they're ALREADY retconning this game. The only thing we have to worry about Parasite Eve 3 is who's going to be the writer, which makes me be afraid of how they're going to portray characters ( in regards to characters' dialogues)
I think where there's a clash of understanding here is that you see a retcon as being the same thing as making something no longer canon, when it's not.
A retcon makes something no longer part of canon BUT does so in such a way that what it's retconning still happened in the real canon in some way before the change. Retcon stands for retroactive continuity, which means revealing some new piece of information that alters canon so that what was thought to be one thing actually turned out to be another thing.
This is what the thing you keep mentioning from that Insider thing is. A retcon. The events of 3rd Birthday still happened and took place in the Parasite Eve canonical universe, even if they're in some character's head or timelines changed. They still happened.
That's not what I want. I want 3rd Birthday to flat out have NEVER happened, not even as some wild fantasy. 3rd Birthday should be completely disowned.
I'm sure that notion upsets people that love this game, but if Squeenix didn't want 3rd Birthday to end up in this position, they never should have gone out of their way to butcher Aya and Parasite Eve into a sick joke when this was blatantly a game that should've had absolutely nothing to do with Aya or Parasite Eve.
The best I can tell you is that if you want the good elements of 3rd Birthday to get more appreciation and respect, tell Squeenix to make a Parasite Eve 3 that makes this 3rd Birthday not canon while remaking 3rd Birthday itself into a brand new IP with completely different characters. That's the only chance 3rd Birthday could possibly have. Not just with me, but from my own looking around online I can say happily that most people appear to see 3rd Birthday for how disrespectful and insulting it is to Aya, Parasite Eve and female protagonists in general. Despite the people that seem to blindly support this game, in general it's most well known at present for being a cancer to the video game medium and the lowest Squeenix has ever sunk. There's no breaking free of that without doing the above.
"Without me along, who will heal you when you're hurt?" - Rosa Farrell, Final Fantasy IV
SoraandRoxasFan (Topic Creator)5 years ago#10
*facepalm* Do you really think I don't want a PE3? I don't defend this game's fanservice, in fact I was pissed off when I saw them focusing in all that stuff about clothes instead of gameplay and story, what I'm telling you is that this game's story never happened because everything you see in this game is a product of Eve's mind, a dream, she has been kidnapped by Kyle and Aya will have to rescue her.
Of course they have sexualised Aya, but it was also due to some people who asked them to make the shower scene.(what's funny is that Tabata said they were embarrased after adding it to the game)
- Boards
- The 3rd Birthday
- Guess we can discard at the moment PE 3 for PSVita...
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Vinyl Mat Assortment - Save when you order the set of 7Mats enable the child to focus on the task at hand by keeping the work together and defining the work space. These lie flat after unrolling and wipe clean with a damp sponge. 17¾" x 11¾". One each of 7 colors. Learn More
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text: "Cali" is the name of a large city in Colombia, which is in South America; the state occupying a position on the US West Coast may properly be referred to by its full name, thankyewverramuch. While the famed California smog was a real and quite serious thing in Los Angeles and the surrounding area from the 1950s through the mid-1970s, it's been a mere shadow of its former toxic nastiness since about 1980, thanks to emission-control measures, and was never as big a deal in the Bay Area. (Moreover, I cannot at any time recall reports of L.A. smog stopping meteors, even at its highest, sick-green/yellow-est concentration.)


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Voters in Washington state and Colorado rejected proposals that, if enacted, would have had adverse effects on the vending industry, and many other food and beverage businesses. The National Automatic Merchandising Association, which had worked with its state councils and within supplier coalitions, hailed the success of these public education efforts.
In Colorado, the city of Telluride placed an item on the ballot that would have levied a 1¢ per fl.oz. tax on carbonated soft, sports and energy drinks, as well as sweetened coffee and tea beverages. It was proposed by a group calling itself Kick the Can Telluride. Voters rejected it by a 68% to 32% margin.
In Colorado, NAMA joined the Colorado Vending Council, the American Beverage Association and other industry organizations and leaders in educating the community on the effects of the proposed tax increase.
"Thanks to informed voters, we avoided what would have been an overly burdensome tax on the industry and its consumers," said Eric Dell, NAMA's senior vice-president of government affairs. "We look forward to working with Telluride and other communities to promote healthy choices within the industry without raising taxes and imposing additional regulations."
Washington state's ballot included the much-discussed initiative to the Legislature 522 (I-522) that would have required genetically engineered foods to be labeled "on the front of the package of such food produced by a manufacturer, with the words 'partially produced with genetic engineering' or 'may be partially produced with genetic engineering' stated clearly and conspicuously." The state's voters rejected this measure by 54% to 46%.
In Washington, NAMA government affairs counsel Sandy Larson spearheaded the Northwest Automatic Vending Association's activities to defeat the GEO labeling initiative. If I-522 had passed, she said, "it would have had a major impact on the vending and refreshment services industry in Washington."
These manifestations of common sense by the electorate should not lead industry members to believe that the worst is over. "Moving forward, there will continue to be challenges like these all across the country," Dell warned. "You can count on NAMA to do everything in its power to help foster a business-friendly climate whenever the opportunity arises."
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Federal Maritime Commission
Washington, D.C. 20573
FOR RELEASE: May 2, 2002
The Federal Maritime Commission today announced ten compromise agreements recovering civil penalties in an aggregate amount of $764,500. The agreements were reached with vessel-operating common carriers and a variety of ocean transportation intermediaries ("OTIs"), including both non-vessel-operating common carriers ("NVOCCs") and freight forwarders. The compromise agreements are:
Air Sea Transport Inc. et al. The "Air Sea Companies" comprise Air Sea Transport Inc., a Taiwanese corporation; Air Sea Transport, Inc., a California corporation; Bondex China Co. Ltd., a P.R.C. corporation; and Bondex Air & Sea Logistics, Inc., a California corporation. The first three named companies are separately tariffed and bonded as NVOCCs; Bondex Air & Sea Logistics is an applicant for OTI licensing. It was alleged that the Air Sea Companies violated section 10(a)(1) of the Shipping Act of 1984 ("1984 Act") by obtaining transportation of property at less than the applicable rates and charges by means of misdescription of the commodities shipped. The Air Sea Companies jointly paid the sum of $60,000.
Bernuth Lines Ltd. Bernuth Lines, Ltd. ("Bernuth") is a vessel operating common carrier located in Miami, Florida. It was alleged that Bernuth provided service in the Caribbean and South America liner trades at rates and charges other than those contained in its published tariffs, in violation of section 10(b)(2) of the 1984 Act. In compromise of these allegations, Bernuth paid the sum of $110,000.
De Well Container Shipping Corp. De Well Container Shipping Corp. ("De Well Container") is a tariffed, bonded and licensed NVOCC located in Rosedale, New York. It was determined that shipments to De Well Container, as service contract signatory and consignee on shipments from Shanghai, PRC were affirmatively misdescribed as to commodity, in apparent violation of section 10(a)(1) of the 1984 Act. Under the terms of the compromise, De Well Container paid the sum of $50,000.
Dole Ocean Cargo Express and King Ocean Central America, S.A. Dole Ocean Cargo Express ("Dole") of Jacksonville, Florida and King Ocean Central America, S.A. ("King Ocean") of Miami, Florida are separately owned vessel operating common carriers participating in the Central America trades. It was alleged that Dole and King Ocean violated sections 5(a) and 10(a)(2) of the 1984 Act by failing to file a slot allocation agreement in a timely manner and by knowingly and willfully operating pursuant to this unfiled agreement. Pursuant to individual compromise agreements, Dole and King Ocean each made a payment of $40,000.
Eurasia Freight Service Inc. and Eurasia Express Co., Ltd. Eurasia Freight Service, Inc. ("Eurasia Freight") is a tariffed, bonded and licensed NVOCC, with offices in Jamaica, New York and Los Angeles, CA. Eurasia Express Co., Ltd. ("Eurasia Express") is an untariffed OTI based in Shanghai, PRC, which serves primarily as origin/destination agent for Eurasia Freight. It was alleged that Eurasia Freight and Eurasia Express obtained transportation of property at less than the applicable rates and charges by means of misdescription of the commodities shipped, in violation of section 10(a)(1) of the 1984 Act. In addition, Eurasia Express executed service contracts and issued NVOCC bills of lading without having a valid tariff or bond in effect. Under the compromise, the parties paid $80,000.
Hanjin Shipping Company, Ltd. Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. ("Hanjin") is a vessel operating common carrier with headquarters in Seoul, Korea. It was alleged that Hanjin violated former section 10(b)(1) of the 1984 Act by collecting or receiving less or different compensation than the rates and charges shown in its service contracts. It was also alleged that Hanjin knowingly and willfully accepted cargo from or transported cargo for accounts of OTIs that did not have tariffs and bonds, insurance, or other surety as required in violation of section 10(b)(11) of the 1984 Act, and that Hanjin knowingly and willfully entered into service contracts with OTIs that did not have tariffs and bonds, insurance or other surety as required in violation of section 10(b)(12) of the 1984 Act. In compromise of these allegations, Hanjin paid the sum of $280,000.
Servitrans, Inc. Servitrans, Inc. ("Servitrans") is a tariffed, bonded and licensed NVOCC located in Houston, Texas, operating in the South America trades. It was alleged that Servitrans violated section 10(a)(1) of the 1984 Act by obtaining transportation at less than the applicable rates and charges provided in its service contracts, and violated section 10(b)(2) of the 1984 Act by failing to charge the rates set forth in its own NVOCC tariff. Furthermore, it was alleged that Servitrans violated sections 8(a) and 23(a) of the 1984 Act by acting as a NVOCC without a tariff and a surety bond on file with the Commission. In compromise of these allegations, Servitrans paid the sum of $45,000.
Top Cargo Inc. Top Cargo Inc. ("Top Cargo") held itself out as an ocean transportation intermediary based in Miami, Florida. It was alleged that Top Cargo violated sections 10(a)(1) and 19(e) of the 1984 Act by acting as a NVOCC without first obtaining an OTI license, without providing the Commission evidence of a bond or other form of security and without publishing a NVOCC tariff; that Top Cargo shipped cargo of others under service contracts wherein Top Cargo identified itself as the beneficial owner of the cargo; and that Top Cargo entered into a service contract as a NVOCC shipper without first having obtained an OTI license. Top Cargo paid $22,000 in settlement of the allegations.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines AS. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines AS ("WWL") is a vessel operating common carrier located in Oslo, Norway. It was alleged that WWL violated Commission regulations at 46 CFR Part 530 by filing with the Commission and maintaining service contracts having incomplete, inaccurate or no certifications of shipper status. WWL paid $37,500 in settlement of the allegations.
In concluding the above compromises, the settling parties did not admit any violations of the 1984 Act. These compromise agreements resulted from investigations conducted by Area Representatives of the Bureau of Enforcement located in Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington, DC. Staff attorneys with the Bureau of Enforcement negotiated the compromise agreements.
This site is an official U.S. Government Website


text:
Stereotyping is a method that allows our brain to make split-second decisions based on a 'shortcut' reasoning. It doesn't matter that you're wrong sometimes, as long as you are right when a split-second reaction is needed. Nevertheless the 'shortcut' is not a rational way of reasoning. There is no rational reason why someone who looks like a pasty pom (and very well may be one) would be more likely to drown than his olympic swimmer girlfriend. At least not on an individual level. Stereotyping and generalisations are good, as long as you don't confuse them with reality.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Weekend edition: racial profiling at the beach
11 comments:
- investmentgardener said...
Stereotyping is a method that allows our brain to make split-second decisions based on a 'shortcut' reasoning. It doesn't matter that you're wrong sometimes, as long as you are right when a split-second reaction is needed. Nevertheless the 'shortcut' is not a rational way of reasoning. There is no rational reason why someone who looks like a pasty pom (and very well may be one) would be more likely to drown than his olympic swimmer girlfriend. At least not on an individual level. Stereotyping and generalisations are good, as long as you don't confuse them with reality.
- March 21, 2009 at 11:57 PM
- John Hempton said...
You are of course right. I neglected to mention that the olympic athelete hiding behind baggy clothes was once a pom - but she migrated...
And - yes - a split-second decision was needed - or my Japanese tourist would be dead. That simple.
- March 22, 2009 at 12:13 AM
- John Hempton said...
But the lack of ANY sun damage to skin is a very good indicator of incompetence in the surf.
It is simply impossible to have been bought up going to Austrlaian beaches and have blemishless skin.
The beautiful blemishless skin associated with many Northern Europeans is an absolute lay-down sign that they are inexperienced in the surf.
Stereotype or not - simple appearances are able to make the right decision as to who to watch very consistently.
Oh, and if you do not think that the men of some cultures are more likely to test their machismo in big surf than the men of other cultures then - frankly - you do not watch.
Ditto men together with an excess of men over women are mroe likely to test machismo.
Alcohol is a big inducement too.
- March 22, 2009 at 12:20 AM
I am curious to learn what makes Australian beaches dangerous. Any links to material?
I don't have much skin damage, even though I used to be a fair pool swimmer. But I like diving for Abalone in N. California. Which is done in full 7mm suits (or better), usually with a board to get the haul out of the water. Sharks are a much smaller problem than in A. The main problems are the cold water, big swell, rocky beaches. Going far out there is a current parallel to shore (you might have to drift to the next cove). I have never seen something people call a riptide or undercurrent. (Or anything else fancy.) Just brutal waves when the weather is bad.
Oh, no life guards. I have once been in the water when they started searching for a missing diver. Coast Guard helicopter, lots of Zodiacs in the water. Body found next day. Rumored to be a lightweight Asian diabetic with a weight belt heavy enough to sink a fat white guy. (Probably an unfair racial stereotype.)
- March 22, 2009 at 4:54 AM
- Blank Xavier said...
Military adage: what matters in an officer is the ability to make decisions *quickly*. If they happen to be right as well, all the better.
- March 22, 2009 at 7:15 AM
- John Hempton said...
What makes aussie beaches dangerous?
Well - they are not really. Sharks are a myth. We have - on a crowded day at Bondi - about 50 thousand people on the beach.
We have had one shark attack in 70 years.
In New South Wales (the state I live in) there are about 100 drownings a year - and probably about 1 shark death.
What makes the beaches dangerous is just water.
Now the beaches all have lots of water coming in. Sometimes the saves are small (yesterday). Sometimes they are big. But when all that water comes in it must go out.
Its warm, the water is inviting. There combination of large amounts of moving water and inexperience is bad. Experienced people do not drown.
Now one thing that is odd in the statistics is the number of muslim drownings. About 100 people drown. Probably a quarter are muslim - even though they are about 1% of the population and a lower percentage still of beach goers.
What is going on is that their modesty sends them to remote beaches.
What makes beaches safe is people - and the possibility of rescue.
Inexperience (and sometimes inappropriate clothing) and remote beaches is a form of Russian Roulette.
- March 22, 2009 at 7:51 AM
50 thousand is a lot people. Didn't realize Australia was that big. But it sounds like the water temperature kills. It is too cozy.
- March 22, 2009 at 5:45 PM
- John Hempton said...
If has it - water temperature kills.
The water is really inviting. And only modestly dangerous.
But modestly dangerous is sufficient to kill...
- March 22, 2009 at 6:30 PM
- # 56 said...
Wondering if you had any comment on this:
If I recall you had a rather strong opinion, and it runs counter to Ritholz's obvious implication.
Odd, if WAMU was run out of business improperly by the FDIC why would Barry object to the suit? If they were not the suit will be swept out of court. Given what is going on around us, how does anyone work up a lather over this issue?
- March 23, 2009 at 3:04 AM
- Mrs. Watanabe said...
Yeah, but you're not really describing racial profiling. You're describing physical profiling for a physical task (swimming). Basically, if they don't look like a raisin, they can't swim.
That's easy. That's no different than picking out kids for a basketball team, track team, etc.
The problem with racial profiling is when you start associating someone's race with competency on a mental task. That, I have a huge problem with.
- March 23, 2009 at 5:59 AM
- John Hempton said...
I would object to Mrs Watanabe's comment if the job of swimming in the surf were just about physical profile...
I am - by far - the weakest swimmer I know who works as a lifesaver. But I read surf very well indeed.
I get out fast and in fast because I can read the currents.
I swim MUCH faster and better in surf than in a pool (where there is no moving water to help me).
The German guys are physically up to it. But they go and swim on the calmest place on the beach which for reasons I have explained elsewhere turns out to be the most dangerous place on the beach.
Their KNOWLEDGE is deficient.
- March 23, 2009 at 6:10 AM


text:
Totally worth the wait! Enjoyed absolutely everything of the episode. All storylines went to rare, original and interesting ways. It gives a lot of thread to cut for the rest of the season (save the awful 8x24 "flight", which almost ruined it all)
A) Music. Totally nailed it with the musical choice. I highly recomend anyone to hear "the same", "skin", and "New York", three incredible emotional songs.
B) Plot coherence regarding "sudden events". Absolute everything was unexpected, from those funny moments (Cristina imitating April), the adoption twist, the alergic reaction, to the news that it was Lily's birthday. Everything, out of the blue. And the narration was up to the plot (finally!).
C) Crash. The most dramatic case I've seen in a while. Loved how Lily was played, and how she managed all the pressure and how she took those unthinkable decisions. While she was not having it at all, she pulled strenght out of nowhere! And this show rarely shows us the worst case scenario or everything going wrong (like in 5x22 bus crash). And I have to say that this was one of Ellen Pompeo's strongest performances in a while. Also Alex was well played. Also, the glass-in-the-eye thing (although gross for some) was a good way to show that Julia is a serious girl for Mark, and that Lexie has a lot to consider if she wants Mark to come back at some point.
D) Teddy drama. Also one of her best performances, laughing and crying in the same episode. Excellently was how the story was being written, and how Cristina handled the situation. What a twist was to hear that Teddy needed her and they had to lie to her in order to go on in the heart surgery! And an interesting plot for Teddy.
E) Again, even if the plot was terrific, they're treating Avery like an idiot and an inexperienced person, which was the only flaw of the episode (esp. 8x09). But Callie reacted well to this, and took all the responsability.
F) Even if the very ending was unreal for some, Grey's Anatomy plays has played with this posibilites (7x20, 5x22). Yes, adoption agents do not tend to bring requested babies home like pizza, but actually in this case, it made it totally unexpected (again, the "suddenly" plot) and it was incredibly touching.
Excellent episode, an awesome way of continuing lots of ongoing storylines. One of my favourite episodes, and clearly the best of the season -enjoyed it more than 8x09)


text:
The point of this, according to [Web Link Google's Web page on the subject], is to "experiment and learn" key lessons that would be "shared with the world" about building these ultra fast networks, hopefully giving internet service providers a jump start in providing it themselves. A one-gigabit-per-second connection is 100 times faster than most broadband networks and would allow a feature length movie to be downloaded in less than five minutes, Google says.
To select the test locations, Google is taking requests from members of the public and city governments until March 26. We hope Google does not forget its hometown, Mountain View, when it announces the selected locations near the end of the year. With one goal being to see what sort of applications software developers can produce for ultra fast broadband, it is hard to imagine it not being available in a place flooded with such people and their businesses.
What would such a network be useful for? Google's blog asks people to envision video conferences with three dimensional medical images between rural health clinics and medical specialists, among other things not yet dreamed of.
The high speed fiber optic network would be offered at a "competitive price" to anywhere from 5,000 to as many as 500,000 users. Google says it will offer the service through several providers.


text:
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 10:21 PM
Town Square
Palo Alto struggles to find the meaning of 'benefit'
Original post made on Mar 27, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 10:21 PM
Comments (48)
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 27, 2013 at 11:18 pm
Public benefits should be directly commensurate with the public nuisance of a proposed project. Ugly projects could be balanced with new public parks. Projects causing population growth should include large contributions to public infrastructure and public services (such as schools). Projects causing new commuters should build or fund improved public transit and bicycle transportation routes.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 28, 2013 at 7:33 am
The Palo Alto Bowl was a public benefit. The future hotel will not be a public benefit.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 28, 2013 at 8:17 am
It is worth looking at a definition of benefit.
In the old days of Lucky I frequently used it for a couple of items on my way home because it was handy. We also used the Chinese restaurant, the pizza place and also BJ Bulls. I did not like the Lucky/Albertsons, because it appeared dirty and rundown and the staff were rude to me on more than one occasion.
I also used Mikis for the same reason, but I did like it. However, it was not an attractive option from the street. Parking was a problem. The spots appeared to be compact sized and on my most recent trip a large vehicle parked beside mine was so close I couldn't open my door and had to climb in from the passenger side. I have no idea how someone with a car seat would be able to open doors wide enough to get a car seat in or out of the car, or able to help a child with their seatbelt. The 30 minutes did not allow enough time for a coffee as well as a shopping trip.
I know many people who had used Mikis for a couple of items but nobody told me they used it for large quantities of groceries on a regular basis. Most people I have spoken with have said that it had not got onto their radar yet or had the same comments as my own.
I often drive Alma, it is rare that I do not have to stop at the light for Mikis, but I don't say the same thing about the other lights on Alma. This light is necessary for Mikis but is a nuisance for efficient traffic flow on Alma. If drivers are changing their routes as a result it can hinder the premise of public benefit.
The new building in place of the gas station on Middlefield now has a name on it which means absolutely nothing to me. I have heard rumors that it is a yoga studio but it must be very elite as I have heard nothing about it. Is this also supposed to be a public benefit?
I do not like the WholeFoods in Los Altos parking lot. When you need to take a cart of groceries into an elevator it is not a pleasant shopping experience so I usually carry my bags on the stairs. I also do not like the entrance, buses at the bus stop and coming up the ramp not being able to see the light makes it a difficult intersection to negotiate.
The reasons why the public do or do not use a so called benefit is worth asking. I see very little market research done or even public surveys on what we have. It would make sense to ask people in Safeway, Piazzas parking lots why they are choosing to shop at that particular time and what sort of groceries they are buying on that trip.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:32 am
Public benefit? (snort) You mean "Trojan horse" for developers to get whatever density they want.
I see Miki's Market happening all over again in my neighborhood, where they're railroading rezoning of single-family residential/duplex to high density. IMO, the city shouldn't be able to touch single-family residential, unless they can convince all the residents in an affected neighborhood to go for it, period. By that standard, the "public good" would have to actually be pretty good for anything to fly. As it is, things like Miki's happen because everyone is just so eager beaver to pack high-density willy nilly everywhere they can, and the "public benefit" is usually just so much PR (or BS) generated by a completely developer-centric process as cover for the density pack.
In case anyone hadn't noticed, this town is horrendously expensive, and it's exhausting to have to keep up on whether the neighborhood is going to keep getting carved out for high density where it's zoned for single-family residential. When I buy my home, I"m not just buying the walls, I'm buying the location, of which zoning is a big part. (Remember "location, location, location"?) The whole point of zoning is so that people can count on what's there and what's going to be there in the future.
I wish the City council would start taking zoning seriously. Yes, I see the value of selectively increasing density in areas already zoned for high density. But things have gotten absurd, city leaders in recent years have absolutely no respect for zoning. Alma Plaza should have stayed mostly commercial. What a lost opportunity for the neighborhood and city.
I applaud this effort to bring some clarity to what has become backhanded kryptonite against zoning and respect of zoning. As a homeowner, I feel absolutely under assault.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Mar 28, 2013 at 10:49 am
One person's ugly is another's beauty --- so it's hard to buy into the "build a park" paradigm.
But in general I agree with "resident" and the obvious trade-offs.
We're looking forward to the re-opening of the Edgewood shopping center. Despite the running issues over demolition, small number of homes and Eichler-fanatic demands --- the place is shaping up nicely.
The big difference between Edgewood and Alma is that the layout will be essentially the same - where you can see the new store from the street, parking visible to the public, etc.
Does anyone know what other stores, restaurants, etc. are slated to go into Edgewood?
a resident of Crescent Park
on Mar 28, 2013 at 10:49 am
One person's ugly is another's beauty --- so it's hard to buy into the "build a park" paradigm.
But in general I agree with "resident" and the obvious trade-offs.
We're looking forward to the re-opening of the Edgewood shopping center. Despite the running issues over demolition, small number of homes and Eichler-fanatic demands --- the place is shaping up nicely.
The big difference between Edgewood and Alma is that the layout will be essentially the same - where you can see the new store from the street, parking visible to the public, etc.
Does anyone know what other stores, restaurants, etc. are slated to go into Edgewood?
a resident of Downtown North
on Mar 28, 2013 at 10:55 am
The public benefit should compensate proportional to the nuisance/detriment of the project. Ignore the profit. The goal isn't to be a robber baron. (not "quantify the project's benefit to the developer and then extract a commensurate quantity in public benefits")
If a developer is smart enough to design a project that has few detriments and provides lasting value to Palo Alto, let him reap the profits.
If a developer proposes a project having a huge negative impact and little financial profit why should the "public benefit" be small?
The public benefit should be something lasting more than 6 months. A grocery store? ... don't legislate or subsidize a business to exist: inadequate profits -> no business.
a resident of University South
on Mar 28, 2013 at 11:38 am
Some "public benefits" are a total joke - they don't benefit anyone but the developer, who is allowed to make the city more congested. The "frieze of tiny cars" adorning the edge of an entrance to a building is a perfect example.
a resident of Palo Alto Hills
on Mar 28, 2013 at 11:48 am
It was disheartening to observe how little the planning commissioners know, with the exception of Arthur Keller. Keller suggested they look into the whole process of awarding PCs not just Public Benefits. The public speakers clearly knew much more about it than the commissioners.
Public Benefits are the visible tip of the iceberg of money-making in the PC zone.There are millions of dollars corrupting the system some of which the developers spread around in places where it will help. The newspaper might consider looking into it.
a resident of Downtown North
on Mar 28, 2013 at 12:13 pm
This headline is misleading. There's really no struggle to find the meaning of 'benefit' for Planned Community Zones in Palo Alto. The discussion is just a smoke screen to hide the truth that City Hall and Council are controlled by a handful . In a Planned Community Zone in Palo Alto, the developer gets all the benefit and the public subsidizes the true costs of the project (lack of parking, narrow sidewalks, school overcrowding, infrastructure shortfalls, traffic, air pollution, etc.).
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:13 pm
Marie is a registered user.
If there is a huge negative benefit, it should not be approved. What positive is there at all to increased office space in Palo Alto? What positive is possible from high density overcrowded housing, except to make ABAG happy? The only rational benefits that should be acceptable are increased parking (beyond what is required for the new building), land donated for the new schools that will inevitably be needed as ABAG requirements will result in another 10,000 new residents by 2020, and low income rental housing (probably the most rational and needed public benefit).
There is no benefit to additional stores we don't need, and are likely to fail, there is no benefit to nebulous art, there is no benefit to community rooms that are rarely available and for which there is limited parking and there is no benefit to plazas used for nearby restaurants. And there is no possible offsetting benefit to building with inadequate parking in areas which are already have more demand than spaces and no possible offsetting benefit to high density housing which will overwhelm our schools.
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Marie is a registered user.
Sorry for the couple grammatical errors as my typing was faster than my grammatical sense.
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:19 pm
I think it's so wonderfully beneficial that not a single worker or resident in those new developments will have a single car or contribute to our already horribly clogged roads and traffic tie-ups.
Want to buy a bridge?
You've read the plan where the Bay Area is supposed to absorb another 1 MILLION households for let's say 2.45 MILLION new residents and not a single car. They also justify it by saying Asians and Hispanics LOVE living in high density.
Got another bridge?
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Public benefit? Here's a 'joker'. There is a big new building at the southwest corner of
Embarcadero and East Bayshore Road across from MIng's and where Scott's used to be. To get more bang for the buck, the builder Arrillaga et al gave 'public benefits'. One is sign 'in a ditch' at the S/W corner of the adjacent intersection which welcomes people to the Palo Alto Baylands and Nature Preserve. Sometimes it''s covered with weeds. This FACES highway 101. It does not direct to the Baylands and is not in it. .The building is now the new Stanford Byers Eye Clinic . Note: Arrillaga=Stanford=public benefits. Drive into the Clinic area and on your right you will see some small pretty signs in VERY small - call it tiny - landscaped plots which are supposed to be parks with some informational signs. They are on the outer fringes of the parking lot. Who's got time to stop in a driveway and read? The is a prime example of the misuse of public benefits.
a resident of Palo Alto High School
on Mar 28, 2013 at 1:50 pm
Palo Alto does not struggle to find the meaning of benefit. The city council and powers that be think only of profit-- for themselves. That little bit of power they have corrupts them enough that profitability for themselves in the future seems to be all that matters to them. Public benefit or public harm seem to have no importance to them unless it benefits or harms THEM directly. Otherwise the go into denial and ignore it.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 28, 2013 at 3:12 pm
main public benefits are:
1.smart lighting
2.well taken care of roads/sidewalks
3.well-designed libraries that open evenings/weekends & serve as community centers
4.well-developed & reasonably priced apartment complexes
were are 1,2 & 3 in Palo Alto?
a resident of another community
on Mar 28, 2013 at 3:31 pm
IMO public benefits should not be the promise of certain kinds of retail, see Miki Market. It does help to have a,market or community serving businesses. But public benefits should be public art projects, park and open space, or city or school benefits. Even funds for community needs, see youth and senior programs, after school programs.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 28, 2013 at 3:56 pm
The crooked developer of the housing development and building where Mikki's Market was located, knew that Mikki's would fail. The developer didn't charge Mikki's Market rent, because he needed to get a poor sucker in there to fulfill the "public benefit." What a scam. Shame on Palo Alto.
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Jim-- I think that you are repeating the same unfounded claims that a poster named "a local" posted on the thread about miki' s closing. Same nasty tone without any proof
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:21 pm
The city asks the residents to pay for the infrastructure improvement( adding garages etc) while holding hands with the developers to build more complexes and buildings.
a resident of Downtown North
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:38 pm
"Public Benefit" means "I will have my expensive lawyers and design teams out negotiate city staff and city council so that I can build the huge over-sized project that will make me even more millions and will destroy the atmosphere in Palo Alto" to a developer. "Public Benefit" means "I can get a huge architectural eye-sore built for my company or my friends company and get written up in the journals" to all the architects on the ARB. "Public Benefit" means "I can make large employers like Stanford and various developers like me so I can get a better job after retiring with full benefits at age 50" to planning department employees. "Public Benefits" means "I can get some improvements to roads, lights and sidewalks and not pay for them" to the traffic guys. And "Public Benefits" means "Residents are getting screwed by large developers and the city again as they destroy quality of life by over crowding the schools, parks, streets and city infrastructure. It is time to ban these public benefit projects. Follow the written zoning laws for the size of developments allowed. No more allowing developers to buy massive developments for a pittance while leaving city residents with the consequences forever.
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:42 pm
OK! Mr. Not a issue. Jim's opinion may not contain facts. However it's pretty safe to say that is a darn good explanation of what most likely transpired.
I'll bet that was the whole idea all along. If I was a shady developer and was forced to makes something like a grocery store part of my newly built development. I would make it look ugly and not look like a grocery store. With high hopes that it would fail.
Then when it did fail I could go back to the city and say ''Hey this idea of having a grocery store just wont work". Let me divide the building up into 3 new comercial properties.
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Tina Peak is smart for she has seen the light
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 28, 2013 at 4:52 pm
[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
Let's remember that the ARB wanted something like alma village. Let's also remember that no national chain would open at that site, given its size and that is thanks to NIMBYs, neighborhood whnng and a gutless city council
a resident of Meadow Park
on Mar 28, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Miki? Miki is a great guy from what I hear. He had a dream and took a chance.
He hoped his dream would become fruitful.
Just like the shady developer who took the chance. The chance that just maybe the grocery stor would sucede but with hopes that it would fail.
And NO! I don't need facts to come here and post my opinion. If a palo alto reader reads my post and takes what I spew forth as fact then god help him.
a resident of Barron Park
on Mar 28, 2013 at 5:43 pm
Palo Alto needs to drop the public benefits designation from their books. It is a form of corruption and bribery. The city needs to say NO to any developer that deviates from the height, size, and parking requirements that the residents approved.
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:02 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:06 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Greenmeadow
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:16 pm
The so called Public Benefit program has been a bonanza for developers, it needs to be stopped, period. When city council trades a tiny bench, a doorway decorated with poor shaped cars, 'public space' that has been taken over by at least two restaurants I'm aware of and is now essentially their rent free private space, and so on, something is wrong. City council; there are zoning codes on the books, learn them, embrace them, enforce them. Trading really stupid public benefits for egregious zoning variances must stop.
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:26 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Barron Park
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:34 pm
Hey people. After you write something, take a few minutes to check the spelling, grammar, tone, and accuracy; complete, articulate, cogent sentences would be nice. Do you want people to read and consider your opinions, or do you want them to dismiss your opinions and arguments as just mere emotional trash?
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 28, 2013 at 9:38 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Mar 28, 2013 at 10:51 pm
I've not had a chance to read all the comments or memo yet, but reading the article, I see no thoughts from City Council about first measuring what you are giving up in the first place.
Developers want height and density. Who can say that a parking lot or a theater is worth 1 extra floor, 2 extra floors, 3 extra floors. Where is the model to value location, traffic costs, historical value?
I'll read the memo, but surely there must be a plan to measure what is being given up.
a resident of Community Center
on Mar 29, 2013 at 4:56 am
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 29, 2013 at 7:07 am
All you need to know about many members of the city council is this quote Web Link
"I think this is a prime site and having an office building -- a Gateway project -- is itself a public benefit," Scharff said.
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 29, 2013 at 8:42 am
If a developer wants a variance, let him propose an offsetting benefit then let folks vote on whether the benefit offsets the variance.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 29, 2013 at 9:19 am
I'm not surprised that Miki's is already closing shop. I'm sad for the owner, but the whole plan for that development is/was a formula for failure... just a newly built version. The design and layout was wrong from the beginning and I cannot envision any combination of businesses that will be successful there. It's all shiny and new, but completely uninviting no matter how you look at it. It's amazing people can be so stupid about planning and development.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 29, 2013 at 4:41 pm
I think the City needs to get out its checkbook and write a big fat check to a consultant to appropriate definition of "public benefit" for this discussion. Send the consultant to several large East Coast cities, spend fabulous sums on hotels and meals in order to consult other municipalities for their take on the term. We'll get a nice report and wait for the City to decide that might not have been such a hot idea after all and it should have just opened up an dictionary or an encyclopedia.
a resident of Downtown North
on Mar 30, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Short of an expensive and complex public vote for every project, evaluating the public "benefit" vs. "cost" tradeoff is a fool's errand because the value of both is in the eye of the beholder. The only practical solution is to eliminate the tradeoffs entirely and stick with the zoning laws as they are written.
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Mar 30, 2013 at 5:20 pm
It's not that complicated. It's happened all over this country but
we didn't expect it to happen here. And it's happening here in spades because the market forces are so strong here. Developers are in total control of the City government and you are seeing the results. What is compounding the problem is that the City staff has no idea what constitutes an attractive environment so where they can do more harm they are doing it. What you are seeing unfold is the total destruction of the city and its neighborhoods, environment, aesthetics, and quality of life.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 31, 2013 at 11:49 am
Resident is right, we never expected such a thing to happen here. This is one of those things that happens only in big, corrupt East Coast cities where all the politicians are on some sleazy developer's payroll. Certain not in clean, idealistic, politically correct Palo Alto!
Not an issue, could you eliminate the nasty tone from your posts? They are all being deleted, and we do not get to read what you have to say because of it.
a resident of Los Altos
on Apr 1, 2013 at 1:14 pm
When Los Altos allowed the Packard Foundation to build off San Antonio Rd, it too, factored in public benefits. But that was the only area where I had trouble driving in the middle of the long construction (Main Street construction was easy to negotiate), and now that it's finished, one can't even walk in their driveway, as they have a no trespassing plaque cemented into the sidewalk. It is not inviting.
They built on lots on two of three formerly developed sides of the street, for their private parking. I've heard they are remodeling the only building that remains, also for more of their offices.
Packard Open houses are mostly closed - by invitation only. People that work there are snobby. The only benefit I see is some may buy lunch at local restaurants during the day. But is the foundation being there a benefit to the average person in Los Altos? I'm still waiting for my benefit.
I don't even think their architecture is all that warm and inviting. The structure seems cold and bland. But beauty, as pointed out, is in the eye of the beholder. Benefits should be for the public, and easy to recognize, when cities cave to whatever a developer wants.
a resident of Crescent Park
on Apr 1, 2013 at 3:41 pm
Please, please we can't fix the Miki's fiasco but perhaps we can stop the horrendous 27 University project! University Ave and El Camino are a parking lot from 3-6PM every day I can't imagine what it will be like when a huge number of cars are dumped on to these streets.I would hate to be in an ambulance trying to get to Stanford Hospital. Already many cars are taking Hamilton to get through downtown. The quality of our town is being destroyed. Let's stand up to power, money and politics. No on 27 University project!
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Apr 2, 2013 at 11:53 am
How is it that we Palo Altans are able to prioritize the discussion of "just exactly what is a public benefit" over discussions of which of our roads and sidewalks are we going to repair in the very near future. My wife and I walk all over Palo Alto and I can tell my fellow Palo Altans that the sidewalks are in a pathetic state of disrepair. Why is this? I also drive throughout Palo Alto as well and the streets are a disaster. Why is this? We seem to be able to prioritize an $80M Library and Cultural Center and we can prioritize a discussion of public benefits. But, sidewalks and streets - "Move along, there's nothing to see there."
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Apr 2, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Please, Mr. Keene. Order SOMEONE to fix MIddlefield Road between county-line bridge southbound (north also) along Middlefield Road. How many years does it take to get this fixed? It is dangerous. And while you are at it, please have someone clean up the Embarcadero overpass and adjacent ramp areas. Many Palo Alto maintenance employees and brass go that way everyday. Can't they SEE how bad it looks already?
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Apr 2, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Please, Mr. Keene. Order SOMEONE to fix MIddlefield Road between county-line bridge southbound (north also) along Middlefield Road. How many years does it take to get this fixed? It is dangerous. And while you are at it, please have someone clean up the Embarcadero overpass and adjacent ramp areas. Many Palo Alto maintenance employees and brass go that way everyday. Can't they SEE how bad it looks already?
a resident of South of Midtown
on Apr 2, 2013 at 8:17 pm
This council cannot define what constitutes a "public benefit" for Palo Alto, yet they feel qualified to weigh in on the redefinition of marriage for our whole country?
Mr. Keene - please suggest that this council only address issues in our own city. It's not like there are not numerous problems to solve, like infrastructure work neglected for decades. What is a "public benefit"? If they weren't serious, it would be laughable.
a resident of College Terrace
on Apr 3, 2013 at 6:48 am
You will not let this post survive, I know. Public benefit:
Rainbow flag issue: marriage about equality and freedom. No, marriage was instituted not for procreation, nor for protection of the weak. What it was created for was to enshrine the power of the man over the woman/women, his chattel/chattels. There is no public benefit to flying a flag which represents an issue people are supporting out of ignorance of the history of marriage.
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text:
OCEAN CITY — A request for an ethics inquiry involving a councilman's phone call this month to a leading candidate for the city manager vacancy was filed this morning at City Hall.
Joe Groves, spokesman for the Citizens For Ocean City group, which was formed last September after longtime City Manager Dennis Dare's abrupt removal, filed the papers around 9 a.m. with the City Clerk's Office. Groves is asking the Ethics Commission be convened and hold a hearing. He has also sent the information to the State's Attorney's Office.
"I want an ethics investigation immediately into Joe Hall, and I think they will vote he has committed an ethics violation," Groves said. "I think when Joe made that phone call to one of the candidates … has jeopardized the fair and clean aspects of the process. Also, the phone call put the other candidate at a disadvantage and it's possibly even opened up a lawsuit from the other candidate if [the individual] so chooses. Joe Hall thinks he's above everybody else and feels he can do whatever he wants. Politicians should be held to a certain standard. There are certain ethics codes they should be held to and he doesn't believe that he should be. It's wrong and the town deserves better."
On April 11, two days prior to meeting with the top two candidates — one for breakfast and another for dinner — Joe Hall had a 13-minute conversation with who he believed was the "front runner". He said this week he asked him about his familiarity with the council-manager form of government and talked about the area and fishing, among other things.
Joe Hall's phone call has touched off a firestorm of controversy with at least two council members alleging the process has been tainted and that the search effort for the next city manager must be restarted. The council majority has Joe Hall's back and Council President Jim Hall said this week a vote is imminent on the next city manager. Barring any flags in the top two candidates' background checks, which are expected no later than Monday, Jim Hall said a vote is likely Tuesday prior to the council work session.
As a result of the ethics hearing request by Groves, Ocean City Ethics Committee Chair Charlie Barrett said this morning he will immediately contact his members and seek a meeting prior to Tuesday's expected vote on the next city manager.
"I have been instructed to get a hold of members of the committee as quickly as possible due to the fact that Tuesday they are going to probably vote on this thing," Barrett said. "I hope to have a hearing with Councilman Hall before that to answer this. I don't know if that's possible or not, but due to President Hall saying there will be a 4-something vote on the next city manager, as reported in your paper, we need to get together soon. I think this is a very serious situation, no matter what some of the other council members say about it. In my opinion, this is a violation but I want to get all the facts before rendering a final decision."
This afternoon, Barrett reported the hearing will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday at City Hall.
Days after the telephone call was revealed, Joe Hall questioned City Solicitor Guy Ayres on whether the telephone call violated any law or ethics code. In a letter to the Mayor and Council, Ayres found no violation took place.
"In my opinion, the actions of council member, Joe Hall, do not constitute a violation of any statute of federal, state or local law including but not limited to conflicts of interest and public ethics," Ayres wrote. "Furthermore, under the common law adopted by the Constitution of the State of Maryland, the actions of public officials are scrutinized under the feasance trilogy, non, mis and mal. Nonfeasance is not doing the job you were elected or appointed to do. Misfeasance is negligently doing the job you were elected or appointed to do. Malfeasance is wrongfully doing or using the job or position you were elected or appointed to do. In my opinion, Joe Hall's actions do not violate either of the feasance trilogy [nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance]."
Groves disagrees with that opinion.
"I think he's got that one wrong and let's let an independent committee decide. Guy, who works for the Mayor and Council, was asked to give his opinion and he's allowed to do that, but as am I," Groves said. "Let's investigate it and come to a decision. The majority wants an open government … let the committee decide if he's broken the ethics code."
In a story that seemingly takes new turns by the hour, late yesterday, Councilman Doug Cymek sent a letter to the Mayor and Council requesting a meeting as soon as possible.
"I would like to go on the record as officially requesting that Council President Jim Hall step forward as our leader and promptly convene the council in an attempt to restore some semblance of order to the process of hiring a new city manager in spite of what a council member's recent actions have brought upon us. Only Council President Hall can call this meeting and should he fail to do so and the process is allowed to continue unchecked, it most certainly will prove to be unfair to the citizens and taxpayers of Ocean City," Cymek wrote. "This most unfortunate situation brought about by poor judgment simply cannot be allowed to wait until next Tuesday as the Council President has suggested. I respectfully ask that my colleagues along with the mayor immediately come together in emergency session in an attempt to resolve our differences and restore the public's faith in their elected representatives along with some integrity to the process."
No decision has reportedly been made on that, but a special meeting today is unlikely. Councilwoman Margaret Pillas is out of town and sources report no meeting will be held until she returns to town over the weekend. Additionally, the city has not received the candidate background checks as of today.
Meanwhile, Barrett is prepared to convene his committee and hopes to do so before Tuesday's work session.
"I am going to reach out to the members and depending on their schedules hopefully I can get at least three of them to agree to a meeting," Barrett said.
The Ethics Committee is a five-member body appointed by the Mayor and Council to three-year terms. The mayor submits names to the council, which then confirms the nominees. Along with Barrett, the members are Joe Mulholland, Fran Kelly, Thomas Howard and Carroll Wagner. The committee provides advisory opinions.
The last time the committee was called into session was in January of 2011 and involved Joe Hall as well.
Ocean City Pfc. Michael A. Levy, public safety representative on the town's pension committee, charged that Joe Hall conflicted himself out of a seat on that committee with this comment made at a public meeting.
"I want to be as fair and as equitable as possible to the employees to get the job done, but once they [town employees] retire I think the town should be done with them. The future of the council should not have to be funding people that no longer work for the town …," Joe Hall said back then.
These comments set off a firestorm among the city's employee base, leading Levy, an elected trustee to the pension committee, to bring his charge to the Ethics Commission.
In his letter to the Ethics Commission, Levy touched on the "hostile work environment" the councilman's comments created.
"I believe that because of Councilman Joseph Hall's public statements and stated disregard for the retirees/participants that the pension trust serves, his service as a pension trustee would present serious conflicts of interest to the inherent fiduciary responsibilities of a sitting trustee and would not be in the best interest the pension plans, participants and beneficiaries," he wrote.
Apparently, some members of the Ethics Commission agreed and others did not. In a letter to Levy, Barrett wrote, "Based upon the presented testimony, the Ethics Commission was unable to render a consensus opinion (the vote was 2-2) as to whether Council Member Joe Hall's public statements about the Town's current Employee Pension Plan present a conflict of interest with his fiduciary responsibilities as a Pension Trustee."
Reached today, Joe Hall said he thinks Ayres' opinion on the phone call decided the matter last week.
"I believe Guy's opinion, which I sought out, was clear. I was happy with his opinion and I believe it confirms what I felt about what I did," Joe Hall said. "Even if they do go against me, I don't know how much that's going to change things. A lot of this is just politics …"
Joe Hall also said he believes Mayor and Acting City Manager Rick Meehan's actions during the process deserve some attention as well. Joe Hall alleged Meehan, a local Realtor, gave his business card to the candidate at some point in the process.
"I would be surprised to find there would be so much emotion about my phone call than the mayor not having the same equal emotion … I will be interested to see the reaction to the people who are criticizing me about this phone call," Joe Hall said. "I think the mayor/city manager providing a business card and setting up real estate showings for rentals and the sale of property would merit the same discussion before the Ethics Board. In fairness, that crossed the line as much if not more than my phone call."
Meehan said that never happened. According to Meehan, Human Resources Director Wayne Evans contacted him and relayed an inquiry from the candidate regarding the availability of real estate rental properties.
"I gave Wayne the name of a rental agent. That was it. I never gave him my card and I gave him the name of the rental agent. I never gave a business card to anyone. Not mine, not the agent's. That was it. Period. I'm not involved in it," Meehan said. "Wayne said [the candidate] might be interested in purchasing. I said, 'if that's the case, refer them to somebody else.' I didn't have any involvement whatsoever. I just gave the name of the rental agent to Wayne, who then I assume gave it to the candidate. I don't even know if that happened. I never spoke directly to any of the candidates and I never directly gave any of the candidates any information."


text:
structure and use of future perfect continuos
1- Structure = will + have+ been + ing formOriginally Posted by diana
2- Use. It emphasizes the duration of a future event or a present sitution which reaches into the future . Two times expression are essential
A- A specific future time or event.
B- The duration.
Ex. By June first Allen will have been linving in that house for six years
For further explanation, E Mail me
You are most welcome