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Public Works Director Michael Oakes said bids for the project had been received, and Mayor Bill Eaton was expected to sign a $2.9 million contract with Bowden Specialties of Dardanelle as early as Monday. Once the contract is complete, construction should begin within about a week, Oakes said.
The contract calls for construction to be complete within nine months of the project's start. The biggest challenge the contractors will face, Oakes said, is the construction of the bridge over Prairie Creek.
"The main issue for the contractor is to get there and start working on that bridge quickly," he said.
The bridge will be two lanes with wide shoulders and bike lanes and will be built for a 100-year flood at Prairie Creek. It will also feature stacked stone architectural enhancements.
"It is a three-span bridge," Kurt Jones, an independent engineer who contracts with the city, said. "It'll be 90 feet in length."
One thing that won't be a part of the North Phoenix expansion project is a roundabout where the street is planned to intersect with State Highway 7. Although he indicated earlier this year a roundabout would be part of the project, Oakes said the idea was not able to garner approval from all necessary parties.
Instead, the intersection is now expected to have a stoplight — a feature which will be the fourth light on State Highway 7 North between Arkansas Tech University and the north side of Interstate 40.
For a light to be installed, Oakes said a traffic study must be conducted and approved by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD). Jones said a preliminary study indicates a light will be warranted. The cost of a light signal is not included in the project bid and is expected to cost close to $150,000 to $200,000, a price Oakes said is comparable to what a roundabout would cost.
Once construction is complete, Oakes said drivers can expect a road with a 35-mph speed limit that is lit at night.
Jones said the expansion will not affect flooding in the area, and noted the project received approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The project, funded with proceeds from the city's one-cent sales tax, will provide more direct access to Highway 7 from West Main Street and improve response time for emergency vehicles. The expansion has been on the books since 2003, but has been held up by delays in obtaining permits and right-of-way acquisitions from Arkansas Tech.
Another project being considered on North Phoenix is the development of an overpass of the Union Pacific railroad tracks. Oakes said although the city previously looked at an underpass to bypass the railroad, he believes an overpass could work better and possibly cost less. The overpass is not included in the current project to expand North Phoenix Avenue.


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Is it possible for Wizarding Ablities within a person to show up late? For example, a kid does not show signs of having abilities to perform magic even when he is 11.
Is it possible for Wizarding Ablities within a person to show up late? For example, a kid does not show signs of having abilities to perform magic even when he is 11.
Originally Jo was going to have a character attend Hogwarts late in life. However she didn't say if it was Hagrid (allowed to finish after he was expelled) or a new character who didn't show signs of magic until later.
Since name for Hogwarts are written at birth I would be inclined to believe that she intended Hagrid to finish his studies. You may have a muggleborn or someone who thought that they were a squib be surprised to receive the letter though.
Neville Longbottom displayed magic so late that his uncles feared he was a Squib. Nothing in canon says exactly how long it took Neville to finally show some sign of magic, but it is possible that it might have been a couple of years after the customary seven years. Perhaps as a result of this lateness, Neville was a rather mediocre wizard for many years.Originally Posted by vatsan17
I think that it is possible for somebody to not show any magic until eleven, but the magic would probably be very weak, otherwise it would have appeared earlier.
Tim the Enchanter
I see, so the late maturing of magical abilities is possible even in pure blood families.
Also, keep in mind, that Hogwarts has that magical quill that records every magical birth in Britain and Ireland. Whether a child is a 'late bloomer' or not, there will be a recording of their birth and they will receive a letter none the less. The authority of the quill is held above any proof a family might have as to whether or not their child is a wizard.
That being said, it would be quite impossible for someone to begin attending Hogwarts AFTER they had turned eleven just because they hadn't yet shown any signs of having magic.
I thought she was originally planning this, but decided against it. She says so in an interview in 2007.Originally Posted by Elf
Neville was mostly exaggerating his lack of magical ability, in my opinion. I imagine that Crabbe and Goyle couldn't have done much better than Neville in classes.
why is that?? Actually this is what I was looking for. Suppose a guy in my story does not show any signs of magic at the age of 11, he will not receive his Hogwarts letter.Originally Posted by OliveOil_Med
I don't see how this is possible. You see, the school sends off their acceptance letters based on what the quill says. I believe it is under the system of one is a wizard or one is not, there is no 'kind of'. Magic is something internal; think of it as a disease that lies dormant until you finally start showing symptoms (probablly not the best analogy, but it fits). You have always had the disease, and a doctor could probably tell you that you have it, but you just haven't shown any symptoms yet.
As to what J.K. said in her interview, if she was talking about Hagrid or someone else who was expelled but later found innocent, that I would understand. Hagrid began attending Hogwarts when he was eleven, but he was expelled in his third year after being framed by Tom Riddle for unleashing the monster that killed Moaning Myrtle.
But once there was actual proof that he was innocent, Dumbledore, unconventional as he is, might have seen fit to allow Hagrid to return to Hogwarts in some form or another to finish his schooling. That might have actually made for a rather hilarious plot point if Hagrid became a student again right alongside the Trio.
But, yes, the Quill is very much a part of canon and I see very little way of getting around it. In fact, having a character not find out their a wizard until their teens or older is a plot point in a lot of Mary Sue fics, so I generally don't recommend it just on that principle, unless you have a very, VERY strong explaination for it.
But I don't believe that being a 'late bloomer' would work for writing with the confinds of canon.
Thanks everyone. =D You guys helped a lot.
I will try looking into it.
The Quill reports all magical births in Britain and Ireland, but not the rest of the world.
If the person in question was not born in Britain or Ireland and is Muggle born and moved to Britain or Ireland, then you could have problems maybe. We don't know how other schools find Muggle born students and if someone moved then something could have slipped through the cracks. Maybe.
A more interesting example would be space colonies. I doubt wizards would keep up with that kind of thing, and a wizard or witch who was born in a space colony would have... no contact with earth whatsoever. No country would think to look for that person, no Quill could record their birth. I really doubt that any magic of that sort would extend to space colonies, even if they were orbiting earth.
Unless you think magic is tied to the earth and this planet itself, the Muggle-born in space's magic would still manifest itself eventually though.
... ok, this is probably not what you were looking for, but it's some food for thought.
Also: WIZARDS IN SPACE.
... that is all.

subset: commoncrawl


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|IslamiCity Forum - Islamic Discussion Forum : Religion - Islam : Stories - How I Became Muslim?
|Topic: I Finally Have a Purpose in Life
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| Topic: I Finally Have a Purpose in Life
Posted: 25 August 2012 at 2:17am
Ex-Model Converts to Islam
I Finally Have a Purpose in Life
(9 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
By Reading Islam Staff
Saturday, 14 July 2012 00:00
Converting to Islam gave me that peace and security and the balance that I needed in my life that made everything make sense
My name is Jamie and I converted to Islam a week and half ago.
Before I became a Muslim, I was not a very conservative person, I was not a very good person.
I modeled for about five years, and during that time I did a lot of drugs. And I thought oh, I can do math, and I wont get addicted because Im just using it as a weight loss helper. I will just use it every once and a while to just keep myself from eating too much.
Ah right! I thought I was strong enough to not get addicted to a drug that absolutely addicts basically everyone who uses it.So I started doing math, and I would probably give it a couple of weeks and then I got really addicted to it, and I did it all day and all night for five years. And it really brought me to a place of complete rock bottom. My husband at that time had been doing it with me, and he started getting violent with me, and I was afraid for my life.
So I decided to quit. I decided that that was not what I wanted for my life, and I told him I said Im going to quit. And he laughed at me and said Yes, right. You are not going to quit! and I said You know what, Im going to quit I quit that day completely, never again looked back. I didnt have any time for rehab, no outside help nor support system. I had my husband laughing at me and trying to get me to do it again.
After that I had my little boy. My whole focus on life kind of changed. I had this wonderful little boy who needed a good mother and I loved him so much, I wanted to change everything that I focused on for him.
Back in the day, I could do anything I wanted. I was very involved in basically the Hollywood scene that anybody would want to be involved in. A lot of people are surprised that I gave that up in order to become a Muslim, but the funny thing is when I said my shahadah the desire to do all those things was completely taken away from me. I used to drink, did drugs, and all that stuff. I dont want to do them anymore. It is amazing to me, I really enjoy and feel peaceful in my heart about being a Muslim.
I was born and raised non-denominational charismatic born-again Christian, and I didnt find answers for what I was looking for, for 31 years as a Christian, I never really felt God. I tried this as hard as I could. I really did and I never felt Him. The whole thing that started leading me to Islam was that I got married to an Iranian man who was a very devout born-again charismatic non-denominational Christian, and he was mentally and emotionally abusive to me, not to mention that fact that he was poisoning me, just so that he could control me, to keep me at home not being able to leave the house just to know where I would be all the times. So I left him, and that kind started me on a whole new journey to see what was really going on in the world.
Researching Islam and Finding Peace
I researched Islam for a while before I chose to convert. Basically, I wanted to know why people hated Muslims so much because I saw what I saw in the news. I saw oppression and violence and I wanted to know what really existed, and if that was the way that Islam was.
So I started researching it, and the more and more I researched it, the deeper I got into it, I saw the truth in it. I think the main thing that I liked about Islam was the respect for women. There is a large amount of respect for women and the things we do as women. Our lives arent easy. We have a lot of things that we have to think and worry about; our families, our husbands, our children and we have to bear children. Thats really a very hard thing to go through.
And you know, a lot of us have to cook, clean, raise children and take care of the house and the husband. Its a difficult job. And the fact that Islam respects women for that, and they separate us at mosques so that the men are not distracted by us because Islam understands the power that we have behind, I guess you could say, our sexuality. The way we look is really powerful to men, and they are affected by it. Islam respects that. Once I realized that, it grabbed the hold of me, and thats when I knew I wanted to become a Muslim.
Converting to Islam made me feel different. It made me feel absolutely peaceful. I felt unstable before. I felt like a lot of things in my life were just up and down because they hadnt been decided on. There was no goal in my mind. There was no reasoning for me being here. I didnt know why I should be here, and converting to Islam gave me that peace and security and the balance that I needed in my life that made everything make sense to me; that made everything real. And it made everything worth being here for, because I finally have a purpose and I understand what it is.
We dont always have the opportunity to meet people that we essentially need to meet in order to understand them. So I started going to a mosque in order to really get close to the people and understand them. And the more I got involved in the mosque, the more the women just surrounded me and took me in, and they really showed me the kindness that is Islam.
I never ever in my life would have ever thought that I would become a Muslim. Never ever! My perception of Muslims was so misconceived that I didnt like them because I believed media and I thought they were bad, and never in a million years would I have thought one day I would be one of them. But now that Im, Im so proud and happy. I want to wear Hijab because I want people to know that Im Muslim, even if they hate me, I dont care. I want to show them that Allah exists in any kind of person, not just Middle Easterners.
I played drums before I was Muslim, and just because I became a Muslim doesnt mean I have to stop doing the things that I enjoy. I do a lot of sports; snowboarding, water skiing and I still can be a good Muslim and still wear Hijab.
Dad's ReactionMy dad never really knew about my past with the drugs and playboy modeling and all that stuff. He and I didnt speak for 8 years. He kicked me out of the house when I was 17 years old and I lived under a freeway overpass for a week. I was homeless. And all I had with me was what I could fit in my back bag and my guitar case.
So we didnt speak for 8 years after that and he didnt understand I wouldnt have understood is that these are experiences I needed to have on my own. I needed to have the pain on my own, and I needed to have the recovery on my own.
The only reason why I started speaking to him again was because I got pregnant with my son, and I figured that my son needed a grandfather. When I did come back and started speaking to him again, we had a beautiful conversation together and we discussed what had happened before and we both apologized to each other and promised we will never do it again. So, ... this is my daddy. And he is my best friend in the whole wide world. And its something I never thought it was going to happen. But now that it has, I love him so much.
The first time my dad learned about my conversion, I was on my way home from Sacramento. I had just gone to a mosque up there and converted. I was driving home and I was too afraid to call him because I knew he was going to be really mad. So I texted him on the phone and I said Dad, could you please try to start having an open mind about Muslims? Can you please just stop being so judgmental and believing all you see about Muslims on the news? He texted me back and said Why? So I said Well, dad, Im Muslim!
My father wasnt too pleased when he found out that I converted to Islam. He was quite unhappy to the point where I feared that I was going to have to leave. We live in the same home. And we work at the same job, and I havent gone back to the job since, but living at home has been very tense...
Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?
Qur'an 55:13
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|Posted: 06 September 2012 at 1:59am
lovely story.
May Allah the Almighty bless you and reward you sister.
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|Posted: 10 September 2012 at 7:25pm
Good for her !
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|Posted: 13 September 2012 at 11:20pm
That was a very awesome story! She sure have inspired a lot of people
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To anybody who wants to blame media for asking Manti Te'o about his fake girlfriend: shut up.
Please, go away with your holier-than-thou attitudes that ruin one of the funniest stories in sports. There are plenty of other issues and tragedies and controversies to fill the rest of the year, so why do you people insist on taking away the one good thing we can all share and mock? Oh, so the story broke months ago and it's no longer relevant? Hogwash, I say. Just repeat "fake dead girlfriend", and if you're not laughing, that's your problem.


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Southwestern Deserts
September, 2008
Regional Report
Reduce Watering
Change automatic timer schedules seasonally. Plants don%t use as much water in cool weather, and root systems that sit in saturated soil are prone to rot.
Plant Bulbs
Finish bulb planting early in the month to increase chances of an impressive spring floral display. Bulbs insist upon good drainage or they will rot. Loosen soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches and incorporate a 4- to 6-inch layer of compost. Mix a phosphorus fertilizer in the bottom of each planting hole. Unusual bulbs adapted to Southwestern conditions include African corn lily, baboon flower, crocosmia, harlequin flower, tritonia and watsonia.
Transplant Perennials
Try these fragrant and colorful herbaceous plants in the landscape: catmint, jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa), lavender, licorice marigold (Tagetes lucida), scented geranium and yarrow.
Plant an Edible Flower Bed
Cool-season edible flowers that are easy to grow from transplants or seeds include borage, calendula, dianthus, Johnny-jump-up, nasturtium and pansy. Toss a few blossoms into a salad for a bright splash of color.
Add Some Pungeancy
Plant garlic, leeks, onions and scallions in well-drained soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. Plant garlic cloves pointy end up. Sow seeds for the others one-quarter inch deep or transplant sets.


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" Brand: Wall's / Type: Ice Cream "
I hadn't had Viennetta for years, but after Christmas dinner last year we were served up two slices each at my parents' house!
Since then we have bought in a few Viennettas.
~ What is a Viennetta? ~
A Viennetta is a bar of vanilla ice cream, which is about 8 inches long, but the ice cream has very thin slices of chocolate layered through it and the ice cream is folded to make a swirly pattern along the sides of the bar.
It is designed to be cut into slices and eaten.
~ Nutritional information ~
On the front of the box there is a little illustration of a slice of Viennetta and underneath it says 120kcal (6% GDA) 100ml or 49g, which represents an average sized slice.
There is 14g of fat per 100g, 13g of which saturates so it is not too good for you.
~ Price ~
We bought ours from Asda for just £1.30 for 320g or 650ml.
~ The Viennetta ~
I usually serve this sliced Viennetta on a plate rather than in a bowl as it is not too messy and it holds together well. I usually only have one slice, but two were served up to me at Christmas.
The ice cream itself is a brilliant white colour. The chocolate is dark brown. I think it is dark chocolate, but I can't tell to taste it because it is quite thin and there is so much smooth and creamy ice cream surrounding it. The chocolate doesn't taste bitter at all.
There is a strip of chocolate across the top and then a dusting of cocoa powder, which gives a nice effect.
I often find when I've had ice cream in the freezer for a few days it is a nightmare to get out of the tub and you end up bending your spoon trying to ease the tiniest spoonful out, but this Viennetta is not difficult to cut and once on your plate it isn't difficult to cut chunks off with your spoon to eat it.
The ice cream is perfect. It is very smooth with a light vanilla flavour. The chocolate is really thin and it makes that lovely cracking sound when you break it.
The swirls down the side of the Viennetta give it an interesting texture and the swirls have chocolate slices swirled into shape with them as well.
I really like Viennetta. It is a lovely treat and more convenient than other types of ice cream. You just cut a slice off and you're ready to go. There's no easing it out of the tub or waiting for it to melt a bit.
I have enjoyed this and it is nice as a treat now and again, but it is rather fattening and I prefer to mix my shopping up, rather than always buying the same things.
It does make a nice dessert for after a family meal. I will definitely buy this again in the future.
My husband loves ice-cream and will eat it no matter whether it is summer or winter so a couple of weeks ago when looking for some ice-cream on a trip to the supermarket I spotted Viennetta's on offer and thought it would make a change from the usual tub of ice cream. Viennetta now comes in different varieties but I opted for the Vanilla one as my husband can be funny with some flavours.
Viennetta is made by Walls and can be purchased in most supermarkets. I paid just £1.00 from Tesco for the 320g (650ml) vanilla viennetta which I though was excellent value as I can remember that my parents hardly ever brought these when I was a child as they were rather expensive.
The Viennetta is shaped in a oblong and comprises of vanilla ice cream which has layers of chocolate running through it.
The Viennetta comes packed in a cardboard box which has a picture of the Viennetta on the front and contains all the necessary information that you need to know on the back. Inside the box the Viennetta comes laid on a thin brown plastic tray wrapped in a white plastic wrapper. This keeps the Vienetta secure and in one piece.
As the viennetta is made predominantly of ice cream then you need to keep it in the freezer. There is no serving instructions on the box but I always take the Viennetta out of its box, remove the white plastic wrapper and allow it to stand for a couple of minutes on its tray before slicing and serving. I personally find this the best way as I like to eat ice cream just as it has started to give a little and become softer rather than as soon as you take it out of the freezer. It is quite easy to slice if you use a nice sharp knife, it seems to state on the box that a serving is a 100ml slice meaning you will get around 6 servings from one Viennetta. Personally myself and my husband are a little greedy and tend to have a couple of slices each per serving!
A single 100ml slice of viennetta contains the following nutritional information:
Calories - 120
Protein - 1.5g
Carbohydrate - 12g
Fat - 8g
Fibre - 0.5g
The Viennetta does look like quite a posh dessert when served in slices on a nice plate or dish with its contrasting layers of ice-cream and chocolate and the rippled ice cream on the sides of the bar. When eating the Viennetta I love to hear the crisp crunch of the thin chocolate layers breaking. The combination of the sweet cold vanilla ice cream and the ever so slightly bitter crisp dark chocolate offer a lovely contrast of flavours that complement each other very well. Personally I think the vanilla flavouring in the ice cream could be toned down a little as it is a little overpowering and makes the dessert a little overly sweet but is not a huge disadvantage and it is still a lovely dessert. Also as this is a frozen dessert it is one that you can keep tucked away in the freeze not having to worry about it going out of date so it makes a great rescue dessert if you have unexpected guests!
Out foraging for edible bargains to bring home to the family recently I stumbled upon a culinary blast from the past, Walls Viennetta (made by Unilever). To my surprise it was priced in the co-op at a mere pound, I'm having some of that I thought, anticipating smiling faces and a pat on the back from the missus, but with a nagging subconscious suspicion that I was more likely to get turned up noses and mockery for falling pray to nostalgia. I was pleasantly surprised so find the family were delighted.
I don't think Vienetta has changed much in the 25 years since I last regularly ate it. The box seems pretty much the same but a creamy colour and blue rather than the darker box I remember from my youth. The ice-cream itself still sits in the same little brown plastic tray, and papery/plasticy bag surrounding it in the box. There is no fancy trick to opening the box, not that we've discovered anyway, just rip in.
Viennetta also comes in a mint version, which is I can vouch for delicious. According to the Viennetta web site since 2007 these are the only two flavours still available, but "now with more chocolate and bigger waves". There have been special 'editions' and a wider range in the past. The one I bought on this occasion was vanilla and is the one I will be talking about in this review.
The block of ice-cream is still beautifully presented (containing 650mls/320grms) with undulating soft waves of alluring creamy looking ice cream forming the décor along the sides of the block. I can almost hear the voices in my head whisper 'come to me my pretty'. The effect is further enhanced by what appears to be chocolate crumbs and dust powdering the edges, and the whole is layered with crispy wafers of milk chocolate finished with a strip of thin chocolate down the centre which fades out to freckles of chocolate then crisp white wavy edging. For such a reasonably priced treat that will feed one to 6 people (any more than 6 and you are just being mean, or obsessive about calories) I think it is very attractive, and though some may think it looks tacky and smacks of the 'ambassador you are spoiling us with this tat' pretentiousness, I just think it looks lovely and appetising.
The taste of this I must admit isn't on a par with the best dairy ice-cream I have tasted, but then it isn't touted as such. The ice-cream does have creaminess as you would expect, similar to the texture of Mr Whippy but smoother somehow. The chocolate does taste like real chocolate whether it is or not (in the ingredients list on the box the chocolate is described as "crisp chocolate flavoured layers"), is satisfyingly crisp when you bite or cut into it, but melts in your mouth beautifully. This dessert also in my opinion also manages to avoid falling into the trap of being overly sweet and sickly that many cheaper desserts do, and the flavours are nicely balanced. With Viennetta I think the sum is greater than its parts.
The story of Viennetta's creation says that Kevin Hillman (who I can only assume is the creator of Viennetta?) got the idea from a cake he saw in cookery book he gave his wife for Christmas - there's a divorce waiting to happen right there, I'd be eating the book for Christmas lunch if I gave that to my missus as a gift (unless specifically requested, she's asked for horror books, books on cats, and sci-fi, so far no luck with the cookery books). The Viennetta is meant to be a gateaux constructed entirely from ice cream, and ice cream cake. Whatever the design is based on I think it works, Someone said we eat with our eyes, and I think that trick has certainly worked to woo me with this product.
At 120 calories per 100m or 49gms - and you could get away with a portion size of 49gms ish if you were more restrained than I - I think the calorie count of this as a desert or treat is pretty good. All in all a cheap tasty treat or desert for the family, and friends. You wouldn't win any culinary awards serving this but I'm sure you'd win a few smiles, and that's what really matters.
I have had Viennetta for dessert but the result of it has been a bit disappointing.
~Packaging and Appearance~
Wall's Viennetta comes in a cubiod-shaped cardboard box and shows a picture of the product on the front. On the side is all sorts of nutritional value and ingredients and there are many ingredients in this ice cream! The ice cream is reconstituted, too - I much prefer proper ice cream made with milk and cream that you get from farms.
When you slide the dessert out, it comes on a brown tray and this tray is pretty weak and feeble. The actual dessert doesn't look bad, though. I was rather impressed with the swirls of ice cream on the side and wafer thin layer of chocolate on the top. However, once you have cut a portion off it looks as if a weapon has been hacked at it and nothing at all like the probably airbrushed picture on the back of the box.
~Product and Taste~
So, I tucked in and my tastebuds were met with the taste of sickly-sweet vanilla ice cream. It left an unpleasant aftertaste that took about two goes of toothbrushing to get rid of. The chocolate isn't bad though - but definetely not genuine good-qaulity dark chocolate. This dessert reminded me a bit of choc ices.
I bought this from the supermarket on offer at £1, which I think should be its price anyway as that is what it's worth for the taste and quality.
Review of Walls Viennetta Ice cream
Walls have been producing ice cream for over 80 years, Viennetta, the subject of this review, is one of their ice cream desserts.
~~The product~~
Walls Viennetta is an oblong bar shaped dessert made from Vanilla ice cream interleaved with chocolate flavoured layers. Viennetta was introduced to the UK in the early 1980's following the Unilever company's patented technology that allowed thin layers of wavy chocolate to be mixed into ice cream at high speed. The result was Viennetta.
The product is found in the freezer sections of most supermarkets and is marketed as an 'ice cream treat for those everyday celebrations'.
Viennetta comes in vanilla or mint flavours. This review covers the vanilla version. We purchased this ice cream on impulse in Asda as it was on a special offer. I had eaten Viennetta in the past, but had not bought it for some time.
~~Packaging, taste and texture~~
The dessert is presented in a recyclable cardboard box bearing a picture of slices of luscious looking ice cream with swirly edges, topped with chocolate. It looks very tempting and I can understand why Viennetta is classed as an impulse purchase leader, after all, I bought it on impulse myself!
The Walls heart logo is above the 'I' of the name Viennetta, nutritional, ingredient and company information appear on the rear of the box.
I was purchased our Viennetta as part of a special promotion at £1. Obviously the price will vary from supermarket to supermarket, but the average 'non special offer' cost seems to be in the region of £1.70-£1.99.
The ice cream bar is sitting on a brown plastic tray, it can be served straight from the freezer or allowed to thaw very slightly for about 10 minutes before serving. The dessert measures approximately 10 inches long by around 3 inches high. The weight is 32g/650ml. It would comfortably serve 6 people or provide 5 more generous portions.
On cutting the dessert all the chocolate layers crackle in a most satisfying fashion! Sadly they also broke apart when I cut into the ice cream, but who knows, that could have been my heavy handed cutting technique!
The slices of ice cream dessert were made up of a very white vanilla ice cream. There was no discernible aroma and the ice cream appeared rather sorry looking in comparison to the illustration on the packet!
Still the deciding factor with any food product has to be the taste and texture. It is at this point that the Viennetta chocolate comes into it's own! The chocolate layers are delicious, made from crispy, mouthwatering rich dark chocolate, totally gorgeous and as good as any other chocolate I've tasted. The chocolate layers and the ice cream made a very interesting dessert texture wise, with the soft ice cream and the crispy chocolate blending together to form a really distinctive dessert.
The actual ice cream lets this product down in my opinion. Walls are a well known ice cream maker and it was disappointing to find this ice cream so sickly sweet and bland. There was a distinct after taste which is quite hard to describe, reminiscent of cheap white chocolate.
~~Nutritional information~~
Obviously a dessert of this type is not going to be the healthiest option around and I am not going to bore readers with a list of ingredients in Viennetta, suffice to say that the product contains milk, vegetable fat, cocoa powder, sugar, guar gum and a whole host of other ingredients, some unpronounceable!
There is no allergen, vegetarian or other dietary advice on the packaging. Of course anyone with a dairy intolerance would avoid Viennetta due to the milk content, but having read through the ingredients, I can see nothing glaringly nut based or non vegetarian. I would urge people who do need to know these things to study the packaging for themselves to be on the safe side.
For those interested in such data, every 100g of Walls Viennetta contains 250 calories, 3g protein, 25g carbohydrate, 16g fat, 0.7g fibre and 0.05 sodium.
~~Company information~~
Walls ice cream products have been produced for over 80 years and Walls is now a part of the Unilever group, they are the world's biggest ice cream manufacturer, with an annual turnover of £5 billion.
Walls products are sold in more than 40 countries. The Walls brand operates under different names in different markets (Walls in the UK and most parts of Asia, Algida in Italy, Langnese in Germany, Kibon in Brazil, and Ola in the Netherlands)
Postal address for UK consumers.
Unilever UK Walls
Freepost ADM3940
Customer careline 08007311507
Website www.loveicecream.com
~~My Thoughts and Conclusion~~
Walls Viennetta is in my view, a big let down, it looks great, the chocolate is lovely, but I wouldn't describe it as 'ice cream treat for those everyday celebrations', as the Walls website urges. It isn't unpleasant, it is a nice enough dessert but I doubt that I'd buy it again. I think I'd prefer a good old fashioned 'Artic Roll' the next time I want an ice cream based dessert.
This ice cream is high fat and to be frank, just not worth the high calories it contains. I would only recommend this product to those with a very sweet tooth!
Thank you for reading.
©brittle1906 May 2010
N.B. My reviews may appear on other review sites under the same user name.
I like to have a few nice treats in the cupboard and freezer for the time when my children have been well behaved and when we have sat down as a family to have a nice meal together, particularly on Sundays.
Wall's Vienetta is provided in a little plastic tray with a white wrapper to keep it all sealed and this is shoved inside a cardboard box. It literally takes just a few seconds to get this opened but sometimes it feels like ages, particularly when the whole family are sitting around waiting for it to be opened and divided up!
Vienetta is vanilla ice cream with lots of little layers of chocolate and when you slice it up the chocolate gives a refreshing cracking sound. The ice cream is lovely and creamy and does have a fairly good taste to it and the chocolate is a lovely accompaniment for the smooth ice cream. The layers of chocolate are lovely and crisp and taste yummy. I love to mix the whole thing together in a bowl as it works so well together and everything about it is delicious. If I am really feeling greedy or want a big chocolate hit then I might add a little squirt of chocolate sauce to mine and the kids as well. The bottom of the Vienetta is my favourite part as it's got a lovely thick chocolate base that's the best part of the whole thing.
I purchased a 650ml Vienetta from Tesco reduced from the usual price of £1.48 down to £1.00 and they also have the Mint variety for the same price. The mint one is quite nice but it's not my favourite, this one is, and I am sure that all my children agree with me.
A serving of Vienetta contains 120 calories, 11g sugar, 8g fat, 7g saturates and 0.6g of salt. I believe a serving is around 50ml. There is a fair amount of sugar in this so I will definitely be limiting the amount that my children have from now on. In the past it has been too easy to just cut it up in to five or six servings and dish it out but I am going to ration the amount that we have after Sunday dinner now as I don't want my children to grow up addicted to rubbish.
This Vienetta is quite tasty and ideal for the family, there is enough there for everybody and it's available at a very reasonable price. When it's on offer at £1.00 it's easy enough just to buy 3 or 4 and these will lasts us a fair few weeks. I don't mind having a few of these in the freezer as long as my children keep their fingers off them when it's not the right time of the week. The ice cream is lovely, as is the chocolate, this is not the most luxurious product ever but it works well for my family.
I was recently reintroduced to Wall's Vienetta after at least twenty years during a visit to my Mums. When she brought out this relic of a dessert my immediate thought was of how small it looked, but then I guess everything is relative and I have got a lot bigger!!
Following this experience, I decided to buy a pack as it was on offer in Tesco for a special introductory price of £1. This seemed a decent enough deal as we were having a party and this seemed like a decent backup if the Pavlova failed to set, and a good talking point for reminiscence amongst old mates.
In a small rectangular container it has a clear picture of the product on it, there is a large Wall's wording on the packaging. My only issue with the cardboard is that it can get damp in freezers and a bit manky, but overall it looks fine if not a little bit cheap.
The Product:
When I unwrapped this bad boy from its box it was placed on a little plastic tray which looks a bit weedy, other than that it is quite an elegant dessert with lots of layers of chocolate, ice cream and nice funky looking ridges. It looked fairly cool, if not a tad small, however as the dinner party had gone fine, the dessert was to share between two so was definitely more than enough as it could have served 5-6 easily.
Its a combination of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, if you allow the dessert to sit for ten minutes after opening it tastes much better as it has more of a creamy vanilla flavour, if you eat immediately it tastes frozen and icy! The flavour combinations are fine, they aren't as bad as some reviews i've read, the ice cream is not fresh but does have flavour, while the chocolate is a nice hard contrast.
Health Wise:
Its not heavy weighing only 320g, every 100g of Walls Viennetta contains 250 calories, 3g protein, 25g carbohydrate, 16g fat, 0.7g fibre and 0.05 sodium. Thats fine with me, it can be eaten as part of a controlled diet easily.....Just don't eat the whole thing yourself!!!
A blast from the past, it tasted good and it looked fine, for £1 it was good value as a dessert, it was cheaper than a tub of ice cream, but more expensive than fruit (From some supermarkets!!!). It was a good 3 out of 5 dessert, its not posh, not filled with flavour sensations, or created from Madagascan Vanilla Pods which have only been picked by one handed Marmosets, but its fun, filling and good value.
Recently I treated my family to a double sized Walls Vienetta (original variety), they were not disappointed! I bought mine in our local Aldi for a bargain 69p! It was on offer so I am not sure if this has expired, but it was one mammoth ice cream feast - no we didn't eat it all at once, it lasted several days! The great thing about Vienetta is the differing textures. You start off with the crispy thin milk chocolate which crack like ice as you put your spoon through it and you are then treated to a finale of lusciously creamy vanilla chocolate. It is a taste sensation and has never really gone out of fashion. It comes in a handy plastic tray which keeps it all together once you start hacking pieces off and it is made with a special technique which gives the ice cream extra air to allow it to keep it's swirly shape and soft ice cream texture. There's nothing else quite like it.
Wall's Vienetta has been going since 1982. It is a fairly inexpensive ice-cream dressed up as something a bit special. The gist of a Vienetta is that it is a long block of wavy layers of ice-cream interspersed with layers of dark chocolate, and then a chocolate dusting on the top.
A Vienetta is about 18cm long and would serve four not-very-hungry people, or two quite greedy people. Personally, I always find a quarter portion far too small (yes, I'm one of the greedyones).
A Vienetta should usually cost about £2, although quite often they'll be on offer in supermarkets and you can get them for £1. They have, in the past, come in a variety of flavours - vanilla, mint, cappuccino, chocolate and more - although you'll be lucky if you can find anything other than vanilla or mint in the shops these days. The vanilla one are a tad too boring for my taste, however I do love the mint ones. Just the right combo of mint ice-cream with chocolate layers. A bit like eating a lump of mint-choc-chip.
A lot of the big supermarkets lately seem to have goods on offer for £1 exactly, this is probably a psychological marketing ploy, and in this case it has worked. I haven't bought Walls Viennetta for years, but when I spotted this in the freezer for a good old pound, into my trolley it went. Being a child of the 80's I practically grew up on this, so if nothing else, I am expecting this to bring back some good memories! By the way, I have the box in front of me and the correct spelling is "Viennetta", not "Vienetta" as Dooyou suggest.
~*~A bit of History ~*~
Walls first introduced this product as a Christmas promotion in 1982 and it was registered as a unique design by Kevin Hilman who was a development manager at Walls. In 2007 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this product, Walls made a 22.7m long Viennetta and beat the world record of the longest ice cream.
Viennetta was a popular dinner party dessert back in the 80's and the fact that it is still available now proves that this is a popular product, or is it good old nostalgia that keeps it going? Over the years Viennetta has been available in several different varieties; Strawberry, cappuccino, chocolate, fruits of the forest and praline, but today it only comes in two varieties; Mint and original vanilla. Mint ice cream is my personal favourite, so this review is based on the Mint Viennetta.
~*~ Packaging ~*~
Viennetta comes in an attractive box, with a picture of the product on the front and sides. On one of the side the picture shows the side of the product, as it would look on your plate, so you know exactly what you are getting. The rear of the box provides you with an overwhelming amount of information, but on closer inspection, most of it is in foreign languages! Essentially you are told the ingredients, nutritional information, contact details, storage advice and the weight of the product: 320g (or 650ml).
Inside the box the ice cream oblong is inside a plastic film wrapper and sits upon a brown plastic tray. This helps the product to maintain its shape, and also makes it easy to slide it in and out of the box.
~*~Appearance and Taste ~*~
Well, as I have said, I haven't had one of these for a while, and I have to say that I am a little bit surprised. I can remember eating this layer by layer, and being amazed at how intricate the design was. It used to consist of lots of layers of twirls and curls (as in the picture above) but now you have two flat layers (one mint, one vanilla), divided by layers of chocolate at the top and at the bottom, and in the middle is one fat layer of curled mint ice cream with a crisp chocolate coating on either side. Along the length of the product right down the centre there is a layer of crisp chocolate.
A Viennetta can bit a bit fiddly to eat, but I find that the easiest way to eat it is one layer at a time (my husband dives straight in with his spoon completely decimating it!). As you work your way through the layers you are met with crispy milk chocolate, which tastes more like the "chocolate coating" which adorns many ice cream products, but it does snap in a satisfying way, and melts nicely in your mouth. The ice cream is light and creamy, and the mint has a delicious genuine flavour to it. I can't fault the flavour here, and the texture makes it an interesting dessert. My only issue is that you have to chase it around your bowl/ plate far too much, and so I don't think that I would like to eat this whilst in prestigious company!
Per 100g of this product there are 260 calories, 17g of fat and 21g of sugar, so this should probably be enjoyed occasionally. However, I am yet to find a dessert (other that fruit) that is good for you!
~*~ In conclusion~*~
This dessert will probably be around for years, and there can't be many people who haven't tried it or at least heard of it. We don't usually have dessert, but this is handy to keep in the freezer if we fancy a change once in a while, but I don't think that I could bring myself to serve it up to guests!
Just one Vienetta, give it to me, delicious ice cream from...hold on. Sorry, wrong advert!
Ah, memories return to me once more and no doubt some of the younger reviewers on this site will wonder just what am I on about. Well, the advert I mixed you up with was for Cornetto and I'm sure if you youtube an 80's advert you'll see what I'm waffling on about.
Anyway, this isn't about Cornetto (do they still make them?) but rather Wall's Vienetta. A rather pleasant experience to the old tastebuds.
I recall this being let loose on the market around the early 80's (well, that's my first recollection) and being released almost as an expensive luxury item (feel free to put me right if my memory is incorrect!) I remember traipsing round to my Nan/Grandad's house and being puzzled by this strange block of ice cream.
You see back then it was those old carboard boxes with slabs of ice cream in them or the big old tubs. This new item was something different and I wondered what's with all this layers of chocolate going into ice cream?
Needless to say I didn't need a second invite when it was time to start munching. I can honestly say that my just before adolescent form thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was original and it was certainly a pleasure.
So now fast forward about 25-30 years. I've just come home and plonked a slab of Wall's finest into a bowl. It doesn't look quite as good as it used to (well, let's be honest ice cream to an eleven year old is always gonna look like the ultimate conectionary holy grail) but as if I give a hoot about how it looks!
With spoon in hand I carved a goodly chunk away and allowed all those calories inside me mouth. And...
It's still tastes blooming marvellous. Shall I finish on a poem? No, Yes...oh go on then.
On a shelf encased with ice
Lays oblong and rather nice,
With bowl in hand we carve a piece
And bite with relish on sugary feast.
Soon enough the morsel is gone,
This smooth dessert wont last that long.
With a chop of spoon another piece follows
And you indulge in a fretful swallow.
Oh, lament, there's nothing left,
You're stomach groans feeling bereft.
Never mind, you'll be back for more,
Because ice cream like this is gorgeous to gnaw.
Ahem, I think it's time I brought this debacle to an end! Anyways, do I recommend?
For sure yes and it gets a five star rating as well :D Go on, enjoy.
Wall's Vienetta is an ice cream based dessert which contains vanilla ice cream & crisp layers of chocolate. It is available in the original variety (the one I am reviewing today) & Mint. There have been several special varieties throughout the years but the original is still the popular one.
The vienetta comes in a cardboard box and within the box the Vienetta is on a brown plastic tray (I once thought it was chocolate) which is wrapped in a white plastic wrapper to keep everything fresh. If you take care in opening up the wrapper then it is possible to keep the wrapper and slide the tray with the Vienetta back in to the box to keep it nice and fresh in the freezer.
The vienetta has a thick base which is layers of the crisp chocolate and vanilla ice cream and then there is lots of piped ice cream on the top with more crisp chocolate on the top of the vienetta. It looks quite nice and is a dessert that I would say is instantly recognisable. The ice cream is very creamy and does have quite a vanilla flavouring to it although it is a little artificial. The chocolate is lovely and crisp and brings a new dimension to the dessert and I love to break up all the chocolate and then mix it together with the vanilla ice cream.
There are 250 calories & 16g of fat per 100g serving so this should be enjoyed in moderation although it's hard to resist having a nice big slice and then coming back for some more.
I paid £1.39 for a 650ml portion of Vienetta and I would say that this comfortably feeds a good 4 adults (or me & Tom just twice!) and it's really delicious. I will continue to buy this and I think that although the price has risen quite a bit it is still a delicious good value dessert that people love.
I especially love to cover mine with chocolate sauce so it's probably best that I don't buy it every week!
I am rating Vienetta 5/5 as it's delicious, looks good & serves quite a few people for my money.
I don't have a sweet after dinner very often but when I do I like to have some ice cream. I am also rather partial to chocolate. So what better for dessert than both together?
Vienetta is made by Walls, and as you are probably aware they make great ice cream. It comes in a variety of flavours and for the purposes of this review I shall be tasting the original vanilla and chocolate one.
Vienetta comes in an oblong cream coloured box, which is emblazoned with a picture of a Vienetta with a slice taken from it. It looks very much like a cake. Fancy swirls of chocolate decorate its exterior.
They are about 10 inches long and 3-4 inches high. I find that this serves 5 people with a decent serving or 6 people with a fair serving, depending on how large your main course was. Personally I always leave room for the sweet anyway LOL.
Once cut into portions you can see the crispy chocolate intermingled with the vanilla ice cream. The taste is simply delicious as the chocolate and ice cream blend together. Initially it's the ice cream that is predominant, it's sweet but not too sweet and you can taste the vanilla. The chocolate seems to be a cross between dark and milk. That is it is dark in colour but tastes milkier. The chocolate is set in the ice cream in waves so every portion gets a decent amount of chocolate. The first taste of chocolate comes from the decoration, but then as the ice cream melts deliciously in your mouth the chocolate does it's thing, and WOW there you go Crispy Heaven.
The ice cream is quite creamy and doesn't melt too quickly, so it can be dished up a few minutes before serving without fear of ending up with a runny mess. You can feel the crunch of the chocolate as your spoons seeks its prey.
As per usual I'm not going into all the carbs, calories and all that. You shouldn't have to worry about that when you're going to be having a slice of Crispy heaven.
As I said they are a good size and cost in the region of £1.29, which works out at 25p per portion if you do the 5 cut, and 20p if you do the 6 cut. ASDA sometimes do them for £1
It's not a thing I have everyday but when I do I get a large portion since there are only 3 members of this household. That makes it an even better deal as far as I'm concerned.
So get that Steak Pie down your neck because Vienetta's for afters.
At over 80 years old Walls have been producing ice cream for as long as I remember. I also remember the Vienetta being a family staple as I was growing up. It is still one of my true favourites!
The Vienetta is a rectangular shaped slab of chocolate and ice cream. It is layered with chocolate and white vanilla ice cream (my particular favourite!). The layers of chocolate are very thin and break easily with a spoon. It is a frozen dessert and will be found in most freezer aisles of any supermarket any will often be found in corner shops as well, as they are easy to pack, popular and relatively cheap.
Vienetta has been in the shops lately as a special offer price of £1, well that's as good a reason to buy as any. Usually it will be around the £1.50-£2 mark. When out of the box, it is wrapped in a white plastic wrapper and the bar sits on a brown plastic tray (I wonder how many of us thought it was chocolate !!) This will (apparently) serve 6. Not in my house, 4 at a stretch!
It has 250 calories per 100g and 16g fat, so not for a low fat diet. But this is perfect for a treat and one I really enjoy. It has also come in a variety of flavours at one stage or another, mostly special editions. But I have seen the mint version as a regular on the shelves, but this is not as good as the original.
In my opinion, this is a great treat for the family. It is not very healthy, but if you love white vanilla ice cream (as I do) and you love chocolate. You will love this and at £1 a large bar, you can afford to treat yourself.
I have a thing about eating Vienetta, just like Cadbury's crème egg, I often wonder how people eat theirs? I tend to scrape each layer off, so a mouthful of ice cream, then that lovely wafer thin chocolate, I mostly succeed with each layer until I get to the slightly thicker one at the bottom, yummy !!


text:
Characterization of Char and Oil From Low Temperature Conversion of Biomass from Eichhornia Crassipes
The present work describes an experimental investigation concerning the characterization of char and oil obtained through Low Temperature Conversion (LTC) process applied to biomass of Eichhornia crassipes. Basic analysis (heating values, elemental analysis, total ash and moisture content) of char and oil are reported. The preliminary characteristics of the oil and the char obtained indicate the viability of their use as, for instance, in the generation of energy.
Full Text:PDF
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijc.v3n4p121
International Journal of Chemistry ISSN 1916-9698 (Print) ISSN 1916-9701 (Online)
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text:
Wisconsin: Badger State Credit Unions Fight Off Recession
The state of Wisconsin is recovering from an arduous two years filled with high unemployment numbers, angry protesters opposing a state law stripping public employees of collective bargaining rights, and an expensive ($100 million) attempt to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
When the dust settled on Nov. 7, Wisconsin's unemployment numbers came in at 6.9% and the governor and the lieutenant governor were voted back into office.
And the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation reported that Wisconsinites remain optimistic about the overall direction of the state, with 64% saying the state is "headed in the right direction."
On paper, the outlook for the state's credit unions is also positive with 100 basis points of ROAA as of Sept. 30, 1.5% loan delinquencies and a healthy 12-month loan growth rate of 4.0%. Credit union CEOs in the Badger State credit their profits, which are considerably higher than the national average of 86 basis points, to prudent management.
- SEE the NCUA state-by-state map and more Credit Union Times analysis.
"We are starting to see some increased activity in businesses willing to expand, but we are doing so cautiously," said Bob Matz, chief financial officer of CitizensFirst Credit Union in Oshkosh. "I think the general feeling is we will have a slow economic recovery for the next several years."
The $371 million CitizensFirst has a strong ROAA at 0.97% with Matz attributes to the housing market creeping back.
"The mortgage business has been strong all year with the low rate environment, which translates into strong income from selling and servicing mortgage loans within the secondary market," he said. "Asset quality continues to improve as the economy recovers, this means less loan loss, collection and OREO (Other Real Estate Owned) expenses in 2012."
A recent report by the WDEC showed that Wisconsin was not nearly as affected by the housing bubble as many other parts of the country and continues to sport a below-average foreclosure rate of 3.2%. Home prices have also begun to stabilize.
CitizensFirst is a community-chartered credit union serving nine counties and one township that boast relatively low unemployment rates. Although the credit union offers a full line of commercial loan products, Matz said he will focus on commercial real estate. This shows in their 12-month loan growth of 2.51% and a delinquency rate of 1.05%.
"We've seen significant improvement in our commercial loan delinquencies as the economy improves, along with improvements in our consumer and real estate areas," Matz said. "We have worked with our members when possible on troubled situations along with liquidating collateral when needed. Also, several years ago we took the position to improve our asset quality by tightening our credit standards on loan approvals, which is reflective in our current delinquency trends."
While credit union members are still struggling to pull themselves out of the slump of the last few years, the 'Forward' state and the Bureau of Labor of Statistics confirmed that jobs grew by 23,608 in 2011, and there were 2,720,700 jobs in Wisconsin as of October 2012.
"Wisconsin's continued job growth is good news," said Gov. Walker. "I am encouraged that Wisconsin is continuing to grow jobs and that Wisconsin's jobs climate is improving. We are pleased to see the increase in manufacturing jobs, which are an integral part of Wisconsin's economy."
Members at the $1.2 billion Royal Credit Union in Eau Claire, Wis., are still seeing jobs disappear, even with the optimism from their governor. Eau Claire telemarketing firm iPacesetters recently closed, leaving 150 people out of work. The credit union is also affected by the well-publicized liquidation plans of Hostess Brands Inc., which has nine retail outlet bakeries in the state, including Eau Claire. The loss of that bakery would result in another 182 lost jobs in the city.
"Despite our positive performance, our community is not immune to tough times," said Rudy Pereira, Royal CU president/CEO.
To counter the lost local jobs, RCU developed a "payment relief" program to assist members while they are looking for other employment, Pereira said. Loan modification will be available beginning with the January 1, 2013 payment or earlier, depending on when the member lost his or her job.
Members can take advantage of the payment relief for three consecutive months for consumer and mortgage loans, he said. Credit cards will have payment relief available for the months of January, February or March.
"The credit union philosophy is "people helping people" and we felt it was important for us to do our part to help those in our community who were affected by the closings," Pereira said.
Despite the cloud over the holidays in Eau Claire, Royal's numbers are pretty jolly, with an ROAA of 1.22%; but, Wisconsin isn't quite out of the woods yet. Twelve-month loan growth as of Sept. 30 was 1.23%, down from 4.56% one year ago.
"We anticipate continued mortgage refinances through the first quarter and possibly beyond the first quarter due to historically low loan rates," Pereira said of 2013. "We are also seeing new home purchases as prices have begun to stabilize and even go up in certain areas. As home prices start to increase, we will likely see more sellers and buyers, as well as increased demand for lending on home equity for remodeling projects. We are also seeing stronger consumer loan demand and as consumer confidence continues to improve, consumer loans should continue to improve."
To help members even more, Pereira said that the credit union has eliminated or lowered many service charges. ATM withdrawals from ATMs owned by other institutions have dropped from $2 to 50 cents.
"We are committed to strengthening the Royal Credit Union advantage and adding value to our members," Pereira said. "We are focused on improving processes and decreasing our operating expenses so that we can lower fees for our members. It is our objective to continue to reduce or eliminate many usage charges by Dec. 31, 2017, so this is just the beginning."


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FAA suspends operation that led to near-collision
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says it is suspending a procedure at all U.S. airports that led to a near-collision of three jets last week near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The FAA says an ongoing investigation shows the mishap was caused by a miscommunication between air traffic controllers over reversing the flow of traffic to and from the runway. The traffic flow was being reversed due to bad weather.
Story Continued Below
The FAA says it will suspend all opposite-direction operations while it develops new procedures. There is no national, standard procedure for reversing traffic flow.
The FAA made the change after the July 31 incident at Reagan National Airport involving three U.S. Airways commuter flights that got too close to one another. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating.


text:
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, May 10, 2013, 9:59 AM
Town Square
Building boom fuels Palo Alto's planning budget
Original post made on May 10, 2013
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, May 10, 2013, 9:59 AM
Comments (9)
a resident of Greendell/Walnut Grove
on May 10, 2013 at 11:07 am
We should NOT spend all the increased revenue. We should save a big % for a rainy day Once
we hire new employees, we have a large debt in the future. There are good times and bad times. In good times you save for the bad times
a resident of Midtown
on May 10, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Then why all the plans to cut services? Why all the p,eas of poverty from City Hall?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 5:32 pm
"It looks like the city is paying for things associated with a PC (Planned Community zoning) project," Berman said. But staff said that type of expenditure is normal for public outreach on large projects.
Hm. A modest proposal:
- All projects must follow zoning laws and the Comp Plan, and have parking.
- With no more PC's to spend months negotiating (badly)over, the Planning Staff can be cut in half.
Without having to pay for Public Outreach welfare to mega-wealthy developers, plus a giant staff to go out to lunch with them, maybe we could actually afford some infrastructure and services.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 5:44 pm
Sorry. Just had to put this one up again.
"It looks like the city is paying for things associated with a PC (Planned Community zoning) project," Berman said. But staff said that type of expenditure is normal for public outreach on large projects.
It is the perfect expression, the quintessence, of this City Staff, and how they feel about us, our money, our town, whom they work for, the trouble we residents cause them, all of it.
Everything you could possibly want to know about this City Staff is captured in those two sentences.
a resident of Greenmeadow
on May 10, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Fix the roads.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 10, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Traffic congestion gets worse and worse, with huge projects in
the pipeline, and the priority of the City is to streamline the
approval process in a City which is at the center of market forces
and waives zoning restrictions for the largest projects which
have no conformance to a General Plan. The neighborhoods and the
unique character, ambiance, and qualities of Palo Alto are being destroyed. Look at what is happening to this place! Even if you are willing to sacrifice all this for the sake of more development, the infrastructure of the City simply cannot handle the massive over-development. A huge debacle is unfolding here. But for the Council and the staff it's "full steam ahead" even spending public money to subsidize PC projects. Most of the Council and the City staff are completely disconnected from the values associated with Palo Alto. Now after a problem more than a decade in the making,with waivers of parking requirements for developers, the City is going to assign an engineer to look into the neighborhood overflow parking situation fearing that this issue could slow down the drive toward further development after all the current projects in the pipleine are completed and the neighborhoods are a shambles even all the way to
Bayshore from cut-through traffic.
a resident of Palo Alto Orchards
on May 10, 2013 at 10:18 pm
....too funny! So tell us again how eliminating 5 fulltime positions and increasing the Development Services department budget by $2.5 million will improve permit services? So how does the $2.5 million figure into better service if there is no accounting for increased service requiring an increased budget? Does the $2.5 million cover the pay increase for management personnel (the Development Dept. now has 3 managers for every 1FTE staff position) that Keene is pushing through the city council? What a dysfunctional mess. The Development Center has become the laughing stock of the Peninsula and South Bay.
a resident of Barron Park
on May 11, 2013 at 6:52 am
The new (unnecessary) constuction will be done in a couple of years. If they have to hire temporary staff. We don't want to be weighed down by the endless number of ciy workers and their golden plated benefits, especially pubic pensions.
Palo Alto does not need more buildings, especially apartments or condominiums that cause even more congestion. Evidently the city council members do not use El Camino between 4PM and 7PM, as it is already a parking lot.
And to top that off, some lunatic has proposed using two lanes of El Camino for high capacity buses, which can move from Mtn. View to Menlo Park or further as empty as they are today.
What does the city council not understand about Palo Alto already being crowded and ther residents don't want new projects or more people. Get more parking downtown, not more buildings.
Just lunacy
a resident of Green Acres
on May 11, 2013 at 1:03 pm
@ debacle and jerry 99,
I'm with you, but the trouble is, what you and I see is not what the council and city planners see, because they don't live over here -- they're powerful NIMBY's maintaining the quiet of Old Palo Alto and Professorville, while shoving more and more traffic problems and density onto the south of town, where our safety and quiet enjoyment of our homes doesn't count. (Bring it up and they'll mention downtown development, as if downtown development equates!)
Historically, the majority of city council comes from the north side of town, even though 50% of us live south of Oregon. Today, only 2 members live south of Oregon, and none of those are directly affected by the high density projects they are foisting on us over here. The noise, pollution, congestion, quality of life and traffic in my neighborhood has dramatically worsened in the last 5 years, yet the city is trying to railroad through high-density rezoning into the neighborhood. An opportunity for parkland that could enhance the community for the future is not even spoken of as a possibility, because high-density development is the only thing that counts. But it's not in their backyards, so who cares, right?
Please tune into efforts to curb the excess of PC development ...
Burger chain Shake Shack to open in Palo Alto
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The Cost of Service
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This time we're not lying. HONEST! No, really!
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Couples: When Wrong Admit It; When Right; Shut Up
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Prior to the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, the Rivals.com analysts broke down the top 10 matchups they were looking forward to seeing. And while some of these matchups never lived up to the billing for different reasons, many of them were played out on the field at Lakewood Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. Here's a breakdown of the top 10 matchups we saw.
10. LB Jaylon Smith vs. TE O.J. Howard
The two superior athletes went head-to-head three times in one-on-ones with Howard getting the best of two of them, but not by much. Keep in mind that these matchups always favor the offensive player because there is no traffic in front of the quarterback, no pass rush and they can run unrealistic routes. Howard tried to run a simple post route on Smith but couldn't get separation and Smith showed his closing speed and ability to take angles by cutting off the route and batting the ball down. The other two matchups were much closer to the line of scrimmage as Howard reversed direction on one and ran a simple out cut on the second, but both times Smith was right on his heels. This could have been the matchup between the two most athletically gifted players at the event.
9. TE Kevin Crosby vs. LB Dwight Williams
Crosby had the advantage physically, but Williams did a phenomenal job once the ball was in the air. He hugged up close to Crosby and made it difficult for him to catch the ball even though he was open coming off the line. Even when Williams was a step low and looked beat, once the ball went in the air the 2014 standout used great closing speed and got there to knock the ball away. On one rep, Williams got totally turned around and the ball was overthrown; but on the first two reps, Williams was right there with Crosby and made it difficult for him to get any space in the open field to catch the ball.
8. OT Kent Perkins vs. DE Kenny Bigelow
During Saturday's one-on-one portion, Bryant and McCray went against each other numerous times. Bryant won the first rep with a quick outside move where he laid out for the ball. On the second rep, he used a double move to get a step on McCrary and then scooped the ball off the ground on a low pass. Their third battle saw a foot race between the two with Bryant getting a step but the ball was overthrown. McCray was far from the only linebacker who struggled to slow down Bryant during the event.
6. WR Earnest Robinson vs. S Tahaan Goodman
Robinson turned Goodman around a few times, but it was not a really fair comparison since Goodman would never be in coverage like that; plus he usually got back in time to knock the ball down. There is no question that Goodman is a fantastic athlete, but is he a succinct football player at his position? That is still a question, but as he gets more comfortable playing safety he will get better and better playing the position. Getting turned around and catching up is never a good thing in one-on-ones, but Goodman is talented and skilled enough to get back in the play and make it tough for the receiver. Before he was injured on Saturday he showed that during his few reps.
5. OL Grant Hill vs. DE Da'Shawn Hand
This was a battle between two prospects whose games are best appreciated in pads, yet both still went out in shorts and compression shirts and backed up their rankings. The 6-foot, 215-pound Green is a between-the-tackles runner known for his power, but he was more than capable catching passes out of the backfield for the Northeast squad. When he ran up against Foster's Southeast team in their two meetings, however, the nation's top-ranked linebacker was able to shut him down. Green could not get the corner on the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Foster, whose ability to play in space is underappreciated.
3. OL Khaliel Rodgers vs. DE Carl Lawson
Rodgers and Lawson got to go at it only twice at the event, mainly because Rodgers is an inside guy and Lawson is outside; Lawson also missed all of Sunday with a groin injury. But the first go-round between the two was a thing of beauty, and the shockwaves could literally be felt within 10 feet of the rep. Rodgers never, and we mean, never gets rocked backwards when he anchors, but Lawson was able to jar him slightly off balance and win the rep, and the collision between the two made quite a noise. The next rep Lawson stutter-stepped and tried an outside move on Rodgers, and the nation's No. 1 guard did a good job of pushing him to the outside. However, Lawson has such good balance and is so good at dipping his shoulder that he was still able to flatten and get to the bag. This was one of the best matchups amongst the bigs.
2. CB Jalen Ramsey vs. WR Marquez North
This was the No. 1 matchup we were looking forward to seeing heading into camp with the nation's top wide receiver against the best cornerback in the country. Fuller was on his game all weekend, while Seals-Jones struggled a bit. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound receiver had an early one-on-one matchup with Fuller on Saturday and could not get separation or use his size to his advantage. Fuller easily broke up the pass while running in Seals-Jones' hip pocket. Seals-Jones picked things up on Sunday but was actually almost shut down completely in the first game of the day, which happened to be against Fuller's North squad. A seasoned camp veteran, Fuller certainly got the best of the big receiver on the weekend.
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Inside Ankama On Air - Episode 39 Info - 2012-09-19 16:30Back to list
It's been a few weeks since we had a podcast, but we're making up for lost time this time! This week, we're putting out a podcast AND an exclusive interview with Ankama Composer Guillaume Pladys. He's going to reveal exclusive information about the early days of Ankama, his work process, and even some musical spoilers! If you miss this one, you'll kick yourself for it later!
Hosts: Izmar, Troyle, and MachaTopics: The DOFUS 2.8 update, celebrating the Me Hearty Party, Krosmaster videos, Foggernats in Wakfu, our official podcast OTP, lots and lots of nonsense, and of course, our super exclusive English-Community-Only Interview with Guigui.
It's DOFUS week for ENPC(P)T, and a big IAOA Thank You to Nhipia for providing us with this week's mystery NPC performance! If you know which NPC Nhipia enacted this episode, just send in your guess with your account display name (and any tips on pronunciation we should know) to firstname.lastname@example.com. The winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries on the next episode of Inside Ankama On Air and will win awesome DOFUS prizes!
Have you always wanted the fame, fortune, and recognition that comes from being part of an MMO podcast? The glitz and glamour of the spotlight could be yours by participating in EPIC NPC THEATER! Pick an NPC that you like, record your NPC's performance in an .mp3 file and send the file to us at firstname.lastname@example.com! It's quite simple, all you need is a microphone and the soul of an actor. We're in need of a WAKFU performance for the next podcast, so don't be shy, step up!
If you have questions you'd like to hear answered on the podcast, drop us an email (insideankama.en AT ankama DOT com), or better yet - leave us a voice message on Skype, or record your question as an MP3 file and send that to us!
We're looking forward to hearing from you!


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Garden Talk: April 21, 2011
From NGA Editors
Self-Reliant Roses
The rose may be the queen of flowers, but many of the roses grown in gardens today will only look regal when given a toxic regimen of pesticides to ward off disease and insects, along with lots of water and fertilizer. That was the dilemma that curator Peter Kukielski faced at one of the country most famous public rose gardens, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY.
When the garden was renovated in 2007, he began growing some of the garden's more than 3700 roses without fungicides and pesticides for insect and disease control, evaluating them to see which of the repeat-blooming roses flourished when grown in a more environmentally-sustainable manner. And he is testing them under particularly trying conditions. Unlike most home garden settings, the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is a monoculture, where it's easy for insects and diseases to move from plant to plant. So the roses that do well under those conditions are likely to be easy-care choices in most home landscapes.
The New York Botanical Garden has posted a list of the 115 top performers in the rose garden in 2010, along with their ratings, with 10 as the top score. Those receiving a score of 9.0 or higher last year included Double Knockout?, Pink Double Knockout®, Peach Drift®, Kosmos, Darlow's Enigma, and, with the highest rating at 9.25, Easter Basket™.
To see the ratings for all 115 roses, go to: New York Botanical Garden.
Here Comes the Sun
Annual sunflowers are among the most gratifying plants to grow. Simply stick a few seeds in the ground after the soil has warmed up, and before you know it, the plants are up and racing skyward to grace the garden with their large, bright, cheerful flower heads.
This season sees some fun new additions to the sunflower crowd. Adding some "white heat" to the garden is 'Coconut Ice' from W. Atlee Burpee. The outer petals of this single-headed, 5-6 foot tall plant start out a rich, creamy vanilla, gradually changing to white as they mature. Set off by a large, coconut brown center, the 4-8 inch blossoms are real showstoppers.
Also from the folks at Burpee is the smile-provoking 'Frilly'. This multiple-headed plant produces a crowd of 6 inch flower heads with unique, ragged, narrow ray petals accented with a ruff of curved, inverted secondary petals around the brown center. A long and prolific bloomer, it's a great choice if you want armloads of flowers for indoor arrangements.
Give both these sunflowers a spot with well-drained soil and plenty of sun, sow the seeds when the soil has warmed after your last frost date, then stand back as they reach for the sky!
For more about 'Coconut Ice' and 'Frilly', go to: W. Atlee Burpee.
Get Help Solving Plant Problems
What's wrong with my plant? Is this plant a weed? What insect is this? Are these questions you've asked yourself but been unsure how to answer? The folks at the University of Minnesota Extension Service have come up with a great online resource for puzzled gardeners.
To use their handy problem-solving diagnostic tool, you start by choosing a plant category -- say, vegetables. You then pick a crop -- we'll choose tomatoes -- which brings you to a menu of symptoms. If you select "holes fruits," you arrive at five possibilities, with pictures and information that let you zero in on the correct cause of your problem. For many of the entries -- tomato hornworm, for example -- you can then go to more detailed information, including suggestions for controls. Other broad diagnostic categories include fruit; turf; deciduous trees, shrubs, and vines; evergreen trees and shrubs; and annuals and perennials.
With the weed identification tool, selecting first the plant type and then its growth habit leads you to photos of weeds to choose from. Click on the image for more information on its life cycle and control. The insect identification tool works in similar fashion and includes both outdoor garden pests and insects found indoors.
While the information in necessarily oriented toward garden troubles common in Minnesota, there is much in this well-designed and easy to use system that will be of value to gardeners in many other parts of the country.
To access these helpful diagnostic modules, go to: U of M Gardening Information.
A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Broccoli
Former President George H. W. Bush famously remarked, "I do not like broccoli." Perhaps he'd have liked it more if he ate it sprinkled with sugar. While a spoonful of sugar might help the broccoli go down, it turns out it may also help the broccoli itself become more nutritious.
Researchers in China discovered that addling sugar (as surcrose) at low concentrations to the water used to irrigate broccoli sprouts significantly increased the levels of Vitamin C, sulphoraphane, and anthocyanin, the naturally occurring compounds that account for much of the health-promoting properties of broccoli. The researchers concluded that "These results indicate that sucrose treatment could improve the nutritional value of broccoli, and the sprouts growing under adequate concentration of sucrose could benefit our diet by producing more health-promoting compounds."
To read more about this research, go to Science Direct.


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The media guide is out. SEC Media Days start today in Birmingham. It must be getting close to football season. And did I mention the Bulldogs are thinking championship?
It's possible. Pretty good chance of being back in the SEC title game. The big question is whether they can match up with Alabama or LSU. Beat the bully? The 'Dogs fell short last season.
Got to believe Todd Grantham's defense is ready to Hunker Down now. And quarterback Aaron Murray is back with multiple weapons. The schedule looks manageable. Maybe this season will end differently.
The first test comes at Missouri. The Tigers have a QB that can play ball, but it's a transition season in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The atmosphere will be crazy initially, but this is a game Georgia should win. Grantham's front seven is capable of dominating this matchup. Jarvis Jones might have five sacks.
When Tennessee shows up to end September, the 'Dogs should be 5-0. The Vols' passing attack should be amazing, with Tyler Bray throwing it to Hunter, Rogers and transfer Cordarrelle Patterson. Get your tickets now. Sanford Stadium will be rockin' for this one.
A trip to South Carolina gets October started. Star back Marcus Lattimore should be rolling by then. Might be the biggest game of the season. 'Dogs have lost two straight to the Gamecocks. They've never, ever lost three in a row. Georgia's O-Line will be tested for the first time in this game. Kenarious Gates and Kolton Houston face Jadevion Clowney and Devin Taylor. It'll be intense.
Two weeks later, the trip to Jacksonville arrives. It's been 22 years since the Bulldogs have won two in a row. The Gators' defense is expected to be rough and tough. Sure would be nice to pound them with the running game. And let the defense get after those two young QBs.
The trip to Auburn the second weekend in November looks like a challenge too. Tiger QB Kiehl Frazier should be all grown up by then. Auburn's D-Line is expected to be a strength, so the 'Dogs O-Line faces another big test here.
Can the Bulldogs deliver a title? The talent is in place, especially on defense. This team has a real shot.


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CUSO Partnership Boosts Auto Collateral Management
CU Solutions Group has teamed up with wireless carrier Sprint and mobile resource management provider Spireon's Automotive Solutions Group to help credit unions grow their auto loan portfolios even more.
Through the alliance, the Livonia, Mich.-based CUSG, owned by the Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates, has added Spireon's LoanPlus collateral management system.
The CMS platform aims to help credit unions capture real-time data about their automotive collateral's location, movement and status, then leverage this data to improve member services, collateral management and collections, according to the three partners.
The latest generation of LoanPlus CMS runs on the Sprint 3G nationwide network. CUSG and Spireon introduced LoanPlus CMS on the Sprint Now Network and the platform is available to credit unions exclusively through the CUSO.
In January, the platform was also recognized as "Best Automotive Collateral Management Platform" in the M2M category during the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to the partners.
"With this new affiliation, CUSG can expand our offerings for credit unions to help them grow their auto lending business and better serve their members," said Dave Adams, CEO of CUSG, which provides marketing, technology, membership enhancements, performance management and lending & insurance to credit unions.
Sprint played a key role in facilitating the three-way alliance that aims to increase a credit union's ability to lend in the non-prime auto loan market, according to the partners. The company said it served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2013.
"Sprint's long-standing relationship with credit unions and CUSG has provided tremendous value to credit union members," said Brian Miller, regional vice president at Sprint. "This expanded affiliation with CUSG and Spireon builds on our track record of bringing innovative solutions to credit unions across America."
The LoanPlus CMS received an overwhelming response at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington last month, said David Meyer, executive vice president of Spireon's Automotive Solutions Group.
"Now with Sprint and our CDMA-enabled LoanPlus CMS solutions, we bring a whole new dimension of acquiring, servicing and managing the risk of auto loans for CUSG's credit union partners," Meyer said.


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Fact-Checking "20 Million" People Checked American On The 2000 Census
As MyTwoCensus suspected, 20 million people did NOT check "American" as their race on the 2000 Census form. The folks who claimed this were mistaken. In 2000, 20 million people checked "American" as their ancestry. Here's the full official response to our inquiry from the Census Bureau:
The data you are referring to (20 million "American" responses) come from
the Census 2000 question on Ancestry, not the race question or the Hispanic
origin question. "Ancestry" is a different question and concept from race
and Hispanic origin, and is collected in a different manner (open ended
question; sample of the population).
Ancestry refers to ethnic origin, descent, roots, heritage, or place of
birth of the person or the person's ancestors. The question on Ancestry
was not intended to measure the respondent's degree of attachment to a
particular group, but simply to establish that the respondent had a
connection to and self-identified with a particular ethnic group. The
American Community Survey's ancestry question separately identifies and
publishes estimates of the population who identify as solely "American,"
and this information is available annual basis.
The Census 2000 report, "Ancestry: 2000" <
www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf> contains the following
information (page 3) —
Seven percent of the U.S. population reported their ancestry as American.
The number who reported American and no other ancestry increased from 12.4
million in 1990 to 20.2 million in 2000, the largest numerical growth of
any group during the 1990s (Footnote: American was considered a valid
ancestry response when it was the only ancestry provided by a respondent.).
This figure represents an increase of 63 percent, as the proportion rose
from 5.0 percent to 7.2 percent of the population.
So again, the 20 million "American" responses come from the question on
Ancestry, not the race question or the Hispanic origin question, and
"ancestry" is a different concept from race and Hispanic origin.
Tags: 20 million, 2000, 2000 Census, American, ancestry, Census 2000, checkamerican.org, Race


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Lots of discussion in blogtopia recently concerning humor. Left-wing bloggers seem split on whether the New Yorker Obama fist-bump afro black-power muslim flag-burning cover is delicious satire of delusional far-right-wing wackaloon assholes versus dangerous fodder for delusional far-right-wing wackaloon assholes. There have also been differing views on whether it is appropriate for white folks to use "nigger", either humorously or as a rhetorical device.


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Romance fans tend to be voracious readers, always on the lookout for a new author to follow (or an author who's new to them). With that in mind, I'd like to spotlight a few great romance writers you might not have picked up before. Let me introduce you to Leigh Greenwood, Dale Cramer, Jessica Stirling, Naomi Neale, M. L. Buchman, Lee Carroll, Z. A. Maxfield, and Ilona Andrews.
On the surface they don't seem to have a lot in common, aside from writing great romance. Some are award winners, while others have seen more modest success. They're all over the map, as far as subgenres go: western, inspirational, historical, chick lit, suspense, gothic, LGBT, and urban fantasy/ paranormal. Oh... there is one other detail they all have in common: behind every one of their keyboards sits a male author.
As you can see from this month's list (all male authors of romance-- though some write as half of a male/female team), I sort of cherry-picked the authors I introduced above. I deliberately chose men who write under female pseudonyms, have gender-neutral names, or use their initials. While many male authors have no problem writing romance under their own names, some are more comfortable (or see better sales) using a less obviously masculine moniker. Are they deliberately setting out to fool their readers? Probably not, as most of them make their author photos pretty easy to find. Most likely, they're just trying to make a living.
Romance is still very much a female-dominated genre, both in writers and readers (including gay romance, where you'd expect to find men! They're there, but there are a lot of women writing it-- and reading it-- than you might think). Some authors (like Leigh Greenwood) took their pen names decades ago, when there was more of a stigma attached to men writing "girly" books. Unfortunately, that stigma hasn't entirely disappeared. Reduced sales are a reasonable concern, as some female readers might assume that a man couldn't possibly write a "decent" romance. Female writers in historically male-dominated fields have long used similar tactics-- B. J. Daniels (westerns), P. N. Elrod (mystery), Rob Thurman (urban fantasy/horror), and James Tiptree, Jr. (SF) all chose names that would encourage readers to judge them on the quality of their writing rather than their genders.
Still not convinced a male romance author is worth your time? Try an experiment for me. Make a list of your top five favorite romantic "chick flicks." (If you can't narrow it down to five, don't worry-- it just means a little more work for step two.) Next, head over to IMDb [2] and search the titles on your list. Now, take a look at the names listed under "Writers" (right under the director's name). See any male names there? I'd lay odds that at least half of the writers of your all-time favorite romantic movies are men. And while I'm at it, let me give you one more name: Shakespeare. Some of the most enduring romances in Western literature have his name on the byline.
Still think men can't write romance? You won't know until you try! Why not give one of the authors below a chance to convince you?
A little bonus for this month: two years ago, RT Book Reviews' Daily Blog [3] sat down with four male authors for a look at "Men Writing Romance." Click on their names to check out RT's interviews with Leigh Greenwood [4], Nico Rosso [5], Henry McLaughlin [6], and Wayne Jordan [7].
And now... vive la différence!
Nothing but a Smile by Steve Amick (Fiction Amick)
Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews (PbkFantasy Andrews)
False Colors by Alex Beecroft (LGBT Beecroft)
The Night Is Mine by M. L. Buchman (PbkRomance Buchman)
Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll (Fantasy Carroll)
The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer (Fiction Cramer)
The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano (Fiction Cristofano)
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (Fiction Crusie)
Liar's Game by Eric Jerome Dickey (Fiction Dickey)
The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans (Fiction Evans)
Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry (Fiction Fabry)
Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer (Fiction Glattauer)
Comeback Love by Peter Golden (Fiction Golden)
Heart of a Texan by Leigh Greenwood (PbkRomance Greenwood)
Troubled Range by Andrew Grey (LGBT Grey)
Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris (Fiction Harris)
To Love You More by Wayne Jordan (PbkRomance Jordan)
Drawn Together by Z. A. Maxfield (LGBT Maxfield)
Journey to Riverbend by Henry McLaughlin (PbkRomance McLaughlin) (COMING SOON)
Sweet Misfortune by Kevin Alan Milne (Fiction Milne)
An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan (Fiction Morgan)
A Good Man by J. J. Murray (PbkRomance Murray)
Calendar Girl by Naomi Neale (Fiction Neale)
The Wings of Morning by Murray A. Pura (Fiction Pura)
Night of Fire by Nico Rosso (PbkRomance Rosso)
The Wedding Beat by Devan Sipher (Fiction Sipher)
The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff (Fiction Stepakoff)
Shadows on the Shore by Jessica Stirling (LP Stirling)
Chemistry for Beginners by Anthony Strong (Fiction Strong)
Hot Head by Damon Suede (LGBT Suede)


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1) Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State Clinton is the clear favorite among Advocate readers, with 64% of you in our exit survey encouraging her to run for president in 2016. Clinton's effort in 2008 may not have won over the majority of Democrats, but in the long run, her campaign and tenure in President Obama's Cabinet has catapulted her onto a higher plane of likability. Even the upstate New York daily paper The Buffalo News has already endorsed Clinton for 2016, instead of New York governor Andrew Cuomo, another favorite (who also made this list). Many readers went so far as to suggest running mates for Clinton: Newark, N.J., mayor Cory Booker, Governor Cuomo, and newly elected Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. A clear shining moment during her time so far as secretary was Clinton's landmark speech on LGBT rights around the world, in which she declared LGBT rights are human rights and urged global leaders to end the discrimination against sexual minorities that endures in too many countries.


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University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Psychiatry (M/C 747)
Institute for Juvenile Research
1747 W. Roosevelt Road, Rm. 155
Chicago, IL 60608
Office Phone: (312) 413-1048
Office Fax: (312) 413-0214
Hoagwood, K. E., Atkins, M. S., & Ialongo, N. (in press). Unpacking the black box of implementation: The next generation for policy, research, and practice. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research.
Starin, A. C., Atkins, M. S., Whermann, K. C., Mehta, T., Hesson-McGinnis, M. S., Marinez-Lora, A., McConnaghey, M., & Mehlinger, R. (in press). Moving science into a state child and adolescent mental health system: Illinois' evidence informed practice initiative. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Atkins, M. S., Strauman, T. J., Cyranowski, J. M., & Kolden, G. G. (2014). Reconceptualizing internship training within the evolving clinical science training model. Clinical Psychological Science, 2, 46-57.doi: 10.1177/2167702613501308
Mehta, T. G., Atkins, M. S., & Frazier, S. L. (2013). The organizational health of urban elementary schools. School Mental Health. Online doi: 10.1007/s12310-012-9099-4
Atkins, M. S. & Lakind, D. (2013). Usual care for clinicians, unusual care for their clients: Rearranging priorities for children's mental health services. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 40:1, 48-51.
Frazier, S. L., Mehta, T. G., Atkins, M. S., Hur, K., & Rusch. D. (2013). Not just a walk in the park: Efficacy to effectiveness for after school programs in communities of concentrated urban poverty. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 40:5, 406-418. doi: 10.1007/s10488-012-0432-x
Leffler, J. M., Jackson, Y., West, A., McCarty, C., & Atkins, M. (2012).Training in evidenced based practice across the professional continuum. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 44:1, 20-28. doi: 10.1037/a0029241
Cappella, E., Hamre, B., Kim, H. Y., Henry, D., Frazier, S., Atkins, M., & Schoenwald, S. (2012). Teacher consultation and coaching within mental health practice: Classroom and child effects in urban elementary schools. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 597-610.
Shernoff, E. S., Atkins, M. S., Frazier, S. L., Marinez-Lora, A., & Jakobsons, L. (2011). Teachers supporting teachers in urban schools: What iterative research designs can teach us. School Psychology Review, 40, 465-485.
Atkins, M. S., & Frazier S. L. (2011). Expanding the toolkit or changing the paradigm: Are we ready for a public health approach to mental health? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 483-487.
Marc Atkins, PhD
Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Director, Institute for Juvenile Research
Director, Dissemination and Implentation Research and Policy Program, UIC CCTS Community Engaged Research Core
Dr. Atkins has a long-standing interest in the development of effective mental health services for children and families living in high poverty urban communities, and is an active researcher in the areas of childhood ADHD and aggression, and community mental health services for children and families. He is a frequent consultant to national and international organizations and currently serves on two national boards, as Secretary of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science, and as Past-President of the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (APA Division 53).
School-based mental health services for children in urban poverty; models for effective community mental health services; dissemination of evidence-based practices