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MBUTA negotiators met with MBUSD representatives on Monday, November 3 and announced a two-year tentative agreement that includes modifications to several pieces of contract language and a revised salary schedule. For more information, please visit the From the Table section of this website.
Legal Ruling on PERB Complaint
For the last few years MBUTA has maintained that MBUSD has been aggressively hostile in negotiations and has displayed that hostility by not providing us with necessary information to which we are entitled by law in a timely and thorough fashion.
Of course, the District denied any such action and even in the face of a PERB issued complaint they denied and minimized their lack of response.
Parents and teachers were purposefully and strategically pitted against each other by District leadership as a lack of timely response to our requests for information allowed the Administration to perpetuate financial claims that made little sense until we had the information necessary to expose their "mistaken" accounting practices.
We knew, though, that what we asked for was needed information that would give us a true sense of the District's financial picture. We knew, as well, that their failure to fully, completely and in a timely manner respond was hampering our ability to represent you at the negotiating table. Confident that we were right, we chose to pursue the complaint before an administrative law judge.
Today, a preliminary decision was released showing that:
1. Our case was filed in a timely fashion despite desperate District claims to the contrary.
2. Our claimed scope of the complaint (the months and years cited for failing to comply) is legally sound and that District attempts to narrow the scope were "disingenuous."
3. All nine of our broad requests for information WERE DEEMED TO BE LEGALLY VALID in our capacity as the exclusive bargaining agents of the certificated staff. We asked for information regarding:
a. an entity on the books called the "Manhattan Beach School Facilities Corporation"
b. stipend information for all District employees
c. management salary schedules/details
d. contracts made with firms/individuals providing legal, accounting or consulting services
e. all adopted budgets for several years including all detail pages
f. communications with LACOE in which budgetary advice/directives were given
g. invoices and budgetary information associated with ALL aspects of iPad implementation
h. information regarding itemized information for all legal services
i. all public disclosures of collective bargaining agreements
4. Seven of our nine requests for information WERE HELD TO BE "UNREASONABLY DELAYED" and/or ONLY PARTIALLY RESPONDED TO by the District.
5. The District was found to be in violation of the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA), Gov. Code Section 3543.5 (a), (b), and (c)
6. The District was found to be in violation of the EERA's requirements for timely and/or complete responses to valid requests for information by the Union.
The judge is ORDERING that
1. MBUSD CEASE AND DESIST from "refusing to respond to MBUTA's requests for information that is necessary and relevant to its representational duties" AND from interfering with protective rights. That is a finding that the District was engaged in "unfair labor practices."
2. MBUSD produce up to date responses for information on seven of our outstanding requests
3. MBUSD must post a notice of their violations of law in ALL work locations where notices are customarily placed
4. MBUSD "CEASE AND DESIST" from denying MBUTA the right to represent its bargaining unit.
5. MBUSD "CEASE AND DESIST" from denying employees their right to be represented by MBUTA.
6. MBUSD must provide written notification of their actions taken to comply these orders to the General Counsel of PERB.
The above is unprecedented in the history our District. We are on record as saying that this District's leadership has been more hostile to MBUTA that any administration on record. These legal findings, after an impartial presentation of the facts, are proof that we have been up against an aggressively hostile administration that has done all they can to obfuscate the financial picture of the District so that you would not receive the compensation to which you are so deserving.
The question now is whether they will come to the table with a desire to negotiate and an intent to come to an agreement in which everyone's interests, including the teaching staffs', are respected. We will know very soon when bargaining begins for a contract covering 2014-15.
Shawn Chen, MBUTA President
Lauri Gonalons, MBUTA Vice President
Bill Fauver, MBUTA Vice President
MBUTA and District Reach Tentative Agreement for 2013-14
We have a tentative agreement. And by "we" we mean WE. This agreement was made possible only because of your willingness to remain united in the best sense of the word UNION. Your tenacity and sacrifice, your ability to stand up for what is right, made the difference.
Your Executive Board and Negotiating Team want to extend our most sincere thanks for your work, perseverance and support during this long and difficult process. We must also recognize and give thanks to the parents in the community who were willing to listen and contribute an enormous amount of their own time to raise awareness to the problem that prolonged this struggle. Their dedication remains invaluable.
The general terms of the agreement are as follows:
1. A 5% on the schedule raise retroactive to July 1, 2013
2. Maintenance of the 80/20 health and welfare agreement
3. 4 mandatory PD days in 2014-15, paid at your FULL DAILY rate (equivalent to 2% of your salary), sunsetting at the end of 2015.
4. A continuation of the pilot teacher evaluation system for 2014-15, to be made permanent in 2015-16, unless changes are approved by a sub-committee made up of administration and MBUTA.
5. An increase in the extra-duty pay from $38/hr. to $39/hr. effective upon ratification by both parties.
6. For 2014-15, the District will provide all elementary 4th and 5th grade classroom teachers with an additional 3 hours per month of preparation time.
In light of this proposed settlement, we are encouraging each one of you to continue to give of your time, effort and expertise to make the educational experience of MBUSD kids the very best it can be. Please click the link below to view the agreement.
Superintendent Under Fire; Parents Urge Community to Push for Transparency
Community members responded quickly to an open letter from Elise and Grant Johnson, parents at MBMS and MCHS, who lambasted teachers that turned up at last week's school board meeting with dozens of parents and students to demand transparency and express their distrust in district leadership after a $1 million "accounting error" in favor of the district. Kim Leserman wrote to Pennekamp teachers:
"Please know that we continue to support each and every one of you and hope that the letters in
the press today do nothing to impede your courageous and important fight to achieve the full
truth and transparency that you so deserve and we all need! "
Ms. Leserman included two attachments in her correspondence that carried an extremely important message to the community. She asked that if people read either attachment, they READ BOTH. She and Melissa Stein also expressed concern for "Trustees who could simply be caught in the cross-fire … with no ability to talk openly about their own facts at this point".
We encourage every MBUTA member to read these documents to better understand the emerging situation! Please click on the links below to read BOTH attachments. VERY IMPORTANT!
Email trail between Trustee and Teachers , Letter to Elise
MBMS Summary of Wednesday's Board Meeting
First let me say thanks to the 23 MBMS teachers that attended the school Board meeting last night. The room was overflowing with parents and teachers demanding answers. Parents asked, how can teachers negotiate fair compensation when the district is not transparent about their spending? Teachers asked, how can we trust an administration that refuses to listen to teachers? Students asked, how can anyone lose 1 million dollars? I'm sure Dr. Matthews asked himself, how can I get out of here? One former board member asked, how can everyone be so rude as to ask questions of the board? The most important answer of the evening came from Dr. Matthews; when asked if the accounting error, depleting the general fund of over $1,000,000, would have gone unnoticed without the continual questions by the union he said, that is correct!
Stacey Cook, MBMS Site Rep
Community Found Hope in Lost Trust
For those of you who attended Wednesday night's Board meeting, you participated in an important evening. You witnessed your colleagues, from all schools and in huge numbers, giving up an evening of personal and family time to be a needed face in support of the truth. You heard the eloquence and passion of teachers, many of whom rarely speak in public, express the reasons they have lost trust in District leadership. You heard students who, on their own, displayed a knowledge of the subject and a strong sense of right and wrong as they addressed the Board on their financial "mistakes". You heard parents who strongly and clearly demanded answers from the Administration on this financial mishap and lack of transparency in a manner that the Board should have been emulating for the last two years. When stakeholders share the same concerns and bravely standup for what is so clearly right and just, the students we teach are ultimately the winners. We can all hope the Board and this Administration "heard the message", as the Superintendent claimed they did, and that concrete action is taken now and in the future to begin to repair the fractured trust and damaged relations that have resulted from their dismissive actions and lack of transparency in pursuing policy.
In case you missed it, this is really worth watching. A good place to begin is the 12 minute marker, but make sure you watch the students' comments starting a little past 36 minutes. You will not be disappointed.
MBUTA Executives Respond to Matthews' Admission of Mishandling Funds
Mike Matthews sent a letter to parents and staff admitting to a 1 million dollar budgeting "mistake". For two and a half years District administrators have said repeatedly that NO general fund dollars were used to fund the iPad program in MBUSD. They have said that in Board meetings. They have said that in community meetings. They have said that to the media. They have said that in writing. They have said that to us at the negotiating table.
We knew, based on budgetary analysis that this was not true.
We said that at Board meetings. We said that to any community members that were open enough to listen. We said that to the media. We said that at the negotiating table. Most importantly, we said this to the administration before and after we repeatedly requested all budgetary documents related to iPad expenditures.
These requests, the earliest of which goes back to August 2012, were met with silence. We received no documents and were met with every excuse imaginable on why that documentation couldn't be provided. We took their failure to provide information on the iPad program and other budgetary issues to PERB and our charges were substantiated in the form of a formally issued PERB complaint. However, the District continued to withhold requested information and began a public "spin" campaign claiming that PERB's recognition of wrongdoing wasn't that at all.
As the date for the final PERB hearing loomed, we suddenly received some of the requested documentation. We still have not reviewed the material to ascertain that it fully meets our requests. However, the District knew we were now in possession of enough "proof" of budgetary chicanery that they had to act.
Clearly, the District knew that this documentation provided the "smoking gun" that supported our contention that general fund money was used to pay for the iPad program to the detriment of increasing teacher salaries (our salaries are paid out of the general fund). In the newest "damage control" effort, the Superintendent attempted, once again, to spin public deceit and a lack of budgetary transparency as a simple accounting error.
This was no "mistake" by the District. This was business as usual. They took the money for the iPad program out of the general fund just as we said. In doing so, it was either in collusion with the Board of Education (in which case the Board is equally culpable) or the administration willfully deceived the Board (in which case the Board will need to decide the appropriate response).
The District did not voluntarily come forward with this mea culpa. They were forced to reveal the truth since their budgetary cover-up was unraveling in the face of our persistence and an upcoming final judgment by PERB, the results of which would expose their duplicity.
The letter by the Superintendent was simply a calculated yet pathetic attempt to control a situation of his making that is quickly becoming uncontrollable.
The Board of Education has the authority to authorize expenditures. However, the budgetary manipulations used by those in authority appears to have been for the purpose of denying fair compensation to teachers for salary and benefits by misrepresenting the true budgetary picture to the public and to our own members.
With the upcoming mediation, PERB hearing and our continuing review of provided documents, we can only assume that these budgetary maneuverings represent only the tip of the iceberg.
The MBUTA Executive Board
District Meeting Audio Confirms Long Suspected Budget Manipulation
Despite the passing of Proposition 30 in 2012, the School Board voted to "pink slip" teachers at its March 6, 2013 meeting saying it was necessary in order to balance the budget for 2013-14. They even claimed less state funding for the 2013-14 school year. We now know that total funding increased to $59 million in 2013-14, up from $55.3 million in 2012-2013, according to figures filed with LACOE, and that most of the increase is attributable to additional funds from the state.
While nearly two dozen teachers were losing their jobs inside the building for political instead of economic reasons, negotiations chairman Adam Geczi attempted to explain to the public in an interview with reporter Serene Branson that the District was manipulating its budget and the layoffs were not necessary. He pointed to the Books and Supplies category as a particular area of interest, suggesting that the District was not being truthful about its allocation of funds, effectively hiding money by inflating that category. Blindly commenting on the iPad program, Dr. Michael Matthews inadvertently confirmed this with the reporter. Press play below or click here for audio bite from the newscast. The full video is available here. Soon after, the district "found" $800,000 in Books and Supplies. While the District did not spend the money on books, per Matthews, it may have spent the remaining portions on iPads and related costs. The District has not shared invoices related to these expenses and has to answer to an MBUTA initiated Unfair Labor Practice Charge issued by PERB at an upcoming May 13-15 hearing.
A year later, on March 19, 2014, finance chief, Dr. Rick Bagley unexpectedly exposed the way money is hidden in various line items throughout the budget, including Books and Supplies, during his presentation of the second interim budget report. While discussing funding for professional development, Bagley said "we put the Common Core dollars into expenditures; we basically parked them as place holders in different places on our… on our expenditure warrants" which they later "needed to internally adjust by moving some of what [they] have parked under Books and Supplies over to certificated salaries". Press play below or click here for the audio bite.
The District continues to hide money in Books and Supplies, a larger amount than before. This category was $1.5 million in 2010-11, became a $3.3 million projection to 2013-14 (in 2012) and has ballooned to $3.8 million with about $1.4 million "specified by the donor" for Books and Supplies from Fund 6. Assuming that ASB and booster monies from MBAF (MBX) are not specified for the purchase of books and supplies directly related to instruction, PTA money once included in Fund 1 is now pulled out and presented as another definitionally restricted item in Fund 6 (normally reported under Fund 1). While this may have been caused by a reporting requirement update (MBUTA has found no evidence of this), the adjustment should have left a gaping hole in Fund 1. Instead of the $1.4 million hole, there appeared a $2.4 million mound of state and federal funds.
All of this leaves open three options. MBUSD is overspending on books and supplies, which Matthews publicly denied; MBUSD increased spending on unknown items such as iPads and related costs, which Matthews also denied publicly; finally–figures in the budget are being manipulated to distort the District's true state of financial health which keeps teachers fearful for their jobs, undermines the union's ability to garner community support for a salary adjustment which maintains our healthcare benefits, and misleads the now fearful community into donating to various supplemental MBUSD fund sources to "save" the allegedly financially fragile district. This strategy increases reserves and provides the ability to boost discretionary spending. That is the priority of MBUSD and this Board.
In the last decade, teacher salaries have funded construction cost overruns, special education encroachments, iPads and related technology, and now they are asked to pickup increases in healthcare and subsidize Common Core training with the differential between their professional daily rate and $38 per hour. Teachers are also going to be required to use their already scarce prep time to prepare substitute lesson plans and attend bits and pieces of training on Common Core instruction, while real dollars are spent on overpriced consultants.
Details Concerning Current Bargaining Issues
It is our duty as your MBUTA elected leaders to provide you with all the details concerning your health and welfare benefits, salary increase(s), and professional development–as those items stand today at the negotiating table. The email you received from Dr. Matthews on March 26 paints with a broad brush, and as we know, the devil is in the details. The following bulletin is meant to fully address the issue of healthcare, the MBUSD budget, and MBUTA's advocacy for our members.
The facts about our Health Care benefits:
Under our current contract the district's annual contribution toward teachers' health and welfare benefits is equivalent to 80% of the teachers' annual premium costs (section 17.2 Master Contract). The 80/20 split has helped to offset an even bigger hit to our wallets the last 10 years; as we've weathered an ever-decreasing purchasing power due to lack of consistent salary increases, our financial burden of fluctuations in health care costs has been minimized because of the assurance this agreement provided. Under the district's proposal, we would bear a greater financial risk–one that exposes us individually to a greater degree than the district would experience as a whole. The plan places a cap on spending levels and anything beyond a 3% increase in the first year would be passed along to teachers, (recently we've seen about 5 to 6 percent increase per annum though in some years it has reached as high as 13%), thus dipping into, or completely negating, any salary increase we would have negotiated. Taken the most conservative assumptions, the employee share of monthly family coverage could increase from $371 today to $1750 or more after 15 years, compared to $932 under the 80/20 plan. That is $8180/year of lost purchasing power. We would need to insure a 15% increase in salary in the next 15 years for a mid-schedule teacher just to compensate for that loss and we have yet to give consideration to 15 years of inflation which can conservatively exceed 35 percent. We would have to average an annual 3-4% salary increase just to keep from falling behind. In the last 6 years, we have been able to secure only 3% in total, and only with a fight. The 80/20 split provided built-in protection and will continue to do so, but only if maintained.
Our current budget is astounding. In Rick Bagley's board presentation on March 19 he stated that we have a 5% reserve and our budget is projected to erase 28% of the funding gap (missing money toward where funding should be) in 2015 and 33% in 2016. A closer look at MBUSD's budget reveals that the District has decided to stash 5% in a reserve for economic uncertainty when the state requires 3%, and elsewhere in the General Fund, there is nearly another 7% that is undesignated. This means that instead of the 5% claimed by Rick Bagley, there is in reality a nearly 12% reserve (and this is before looking at the District's other funds that each hold their own reserves). Even closer scrutiny exposes the District's ongoing strategy of greatly overestimating expenditures and ridiculously underestimating revenue. In light of this disingenuous presentation of the District's financial standing, we must continue to urge our members and the public to question every statement the District makes about its ability to compensate us fairly.
Do we think it's reasonable for our members to take on the financial burden of unknown fluctuations in healthcare costs when our district's financial situation is the best it's been in 10 years? Of course not. Our negotiating team will continue to advocate for our members to maintain the 80/20 split when we meet with the district and mediator on April 17.
In the meantime, it is untenable that Dr. Matthews' would propose a "health insurance committee" as it is akin to asking teachers to join the district's side of the negotiating table. We dissuade you from undermining the hard work of our negotiating team by signing up for Dr. Matthews committee. Additionally, we are concerned about the invitation issued by Dr. Matthews for you to address questions about negotiations to him. MBUTA is the sole representative of our members, and we are charged with interpreting the impact negotiations will have on your working conditions. While Dr. Matthews is within his rights to address the employees under his supervision, his remarks regarding "MBUTA members" approaching him for information are out of line and possibly a violation of labor law. He should exercise greater discretion when referencing private email correspondence not addressed to him and not intended for his perusal.
We also welcome you to email us with any questions or concerns you might have.
Shawn Chen, President
Lauri Gonalons, Vice President
Bill Fauver, Vice President
Linda Daly, Secretary/Treasurer
Mira Costa Taking Action; Again, It Had to Come to This
At the conclusion of an extremely contentious round of negotiations spanning from March to September, 2012 MBUTA leadership outlined a different, less antagonistic approach for 2013. There were several good reasons for this.
One, school district revenues were increased by the state and will continue to go up for many years forward, theoretically making it easier to attain a salary adjustment. Two, healthcare costs, although rising, have been increasing at a decreasing rate — making insurance premiums paid by the District less of a burden on MBUSD. Three, there were additional funds promised and delivered by the state for staff development related to the implementation of Common Core based testing. Four, teachers are not belligerent people, we are not confrontational, we are not driven by greed, and we are not obstructionists. Five, MBUTA wanted to give district administrators and supervisors an opportunity to prove that when given unparalleled opportunities they care about their employees as much as we are expected to care about the children in this community and their educational successes.
It has been nearly one whole year since contract proposals were sunshined. Although we have tried to negotiate a fair settlement objectively and collaboratively, we have no agreement and we have an increasingly dismissive district that began to hold teachers in utter disregard. Although many of you participated in numerous attempts in the last 12 months to bring attention to a wide range of concerns, we have received no response from those who govern and administrate. We protested teacher layoffs, duplicitous budgeting, financial misrepresentation, foolish spending on technology with built-in obsolescence, corporate malfeasance, lack of transparency, unfair labor practices, incompetence, unilateralism, lack of concern over construction and safety issues, and most recently the abolishment of a representative body of teachers assembled five decades ago as a recognition of our expertise and institutional memory. The list of grievances are many, but we have yet to hear an acceptable response from this governing body on these issues.
It is once again time to stand up for what we know in our heart is the real reason for the success of schools in MBUSD. We can show students that the righteous voice of people cannot be silenced by those who have chosen self-servitude. Mira Costa has grown to be a great school through your professionalism, vision and dedication in the classroom. Administrators come and go, but teachers remain. We are the bedrock of student success.
As teachers, we have integrity. We must in order to protect and educate the future generation. It is because of this integrity that we must act together. It is because of integrity that MBUTA must now call upon its members to respond with a strong message that we will not tolerate the indifference, manipulation, and corruption that have taken our purchasing power and now our voice.
Union is Strength
TED Talk with Frans de Waal: Two Monkeys Paid Unequally
Something to consider when making board policy about how to improve education in Manhattan Beach. Also, consider the increase in property values as the impact of the work we do with students. Why would increases to management contracts be awarded annually and teachers be hassled every time?
PERB Agrees MBUSD Broke Laws, Issues Complaint
Last year, during the course of negotiations, MBUTA leadership frequently expressed their dismay over the District's refusal to provide information and its intransigence at the bargaining table. We believed that the District was engaged in reckless spending on iPads and playing a shell game with accounts in an effort to try to deny our members a fair and long overdue salary adjustment. In our effort to determine the level of deceit, we requested a range of documents from the District. These included financial reports, stipend classifications, salary information for management, agreements with law firms representing District interests, detailed budgetary information, communications with LACOE, and ALL receipts and contracts that have ANY connection with the District iPad program. We were met with unacceptable responses to these requests or no response at all. Blocked in our efforts to achieve transparency, we filed an "unfair labor practice" charge with the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). On October 4, 2013 PERB released its findings. They are as follows:
1. The information we requested was, "relevant and necessary to (MBUTA's) discharge of its duty to represent employees."
2. The District met these requests with partial responses or, in some instances, failed to respond at all.
3. This conduct resulted in the District FAILING and REFUSING to meet and negotiate in good faith in violation of Government Code section 3543.5(c).
4. The conduct by the District INTERFERED with the rights of bargaining unit employees to be represented by MBUTA in violation of Government Code section 3543.5(a)
5. The conduct by the District DENIED MBUTA its right to represent bargaining unit employees in violation of Government Code section 3543.5(b)
Our assertions last year that this District is NOT transparent in its finances, was resistant to providing essential information and was not negotiating in good faith at the bargaining table has been fully upheld by a legal entity empowered to evaluate such claims. Despite the vicious and public attacks by the District against our Union and its leadership, the truth has won out.
We promised to tell you the truth. We have always done that. We will continue to do that. Hopefully, this decision by PERB will unify us as we continue to negotiate with an intransigent District for continued salary and benefit adjustments that will restore to our staff equity after 10 years of neglect. This ruling is enormously problematical for the District. They have attempted to demonize MBUTA and our actions because they believed they were in control of the message. PERB has exposed MBUSD's efforts to thwart the negotiations process, WE must work together to keep it on track.
Please click the following link for the PERB Complaint Against MBUSD .
Superintendent Matthews' and Deputy Bagley's Salaries to Go Up 3% Anually
A few months ago MBUTA requested a copy of the MBUSD employment contracts with Superintendent Matthews and Deputy Rick Bagley. We are angry. Both of their salaries are guaranteed to rise by 3% each year. Their negotiated agreement with the district includes the maintenance of purchasing power even though they each make in excess of $150,000 per year.
Bagely routinely talks about "total compensation", makes arguments on the MBUSD website and via email sent to staff about the poor state of the economy in California to argue against an adjustment to the 10 year erosion of your salary, yet his own salary of $158,000 (not including a range of perks), awarded by the school board, the same school board that has denied you of the same consideration for 10 years , will increase by $4740 after this year and by $4882 after the next year. That is an increase of $9622 in "total compensation" over the course of just two years.
But a close look at Bagley's contract reveals that all management employees are granted a yearly COLA percentage adjustment in addition to the guaranteed 3% RAISE .
Matthews' compensation was set at $190,000 when he was hired. Today he earns an additional $5700, and will increase his earning by at least $5871 next year. That is an increase of $10,571 dollars in just two short years. Remember, this is in addition to guaranteed COLA increases.
So, while our most experienced teachers have seen declining paychecks and purchasing power over the course of a decade, our least experienced administration has been granted generous and increasing compensation packages by the same Board that offered you zero "on-the schedule" salary adjustment for the next three years. Unfortunately, for many of us with 10 years of experience, it will take 20 years, not 2 years to see increases of that magnitude; and those with more years may never get there. Where is the equity? When will you become the priority?
Books & Supplies Spending Up $5.67 Million Through 2013-14
Annual spending in the "books and supplies" category of the district's budget is up a whopping 123% from $1.53 million per year (original budget for 2011-2012) to an average of $3.42 million through the end of the 2013-14 school year. That is an annual increase of $1.89 million, according to the second interim report. Worse yet, this increase is notwithstanding the worst case scenario assumptions about state funding and the district's dubious assertions about insolvency, made to The Daily Breeze. "Bagley struggled to present to the county a balanced budget three years out that maintains the district's reserve requirement" according to the paper. Also noteworthy, the relative stability of certificated salary and employee benefit expenditures which represent a total increase of about $1 million (4%) through the same time period.
Comparing Unrestricted Reserves of South Bay Districts
There Goes Another $5.9 Million of Surplus Cash
Last night, the MBUSD Board of Trustees directed Superintendent Matthews to transfer $5.9 million from fund 17 to fund 40. This effectively removed that money from being counted as part of the District's surplus cash. Traditionally, the unrestricted and unallocated balance in fund 1 (general fund) and the balance of fund 17 were counted simply as surplus funds. In January 2011, Statement 54, a directive issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), required new standards in reporting.
The new directive asserts that "[w]hile [Fund 17 is] authorized by statute and will remain open, the CDE notes that [it] function[s] effectively as extension of the general fund, and recommends either that they be combined with the general fund for presentation in the audited financial statements, or that the departure from GAAP be explained in the financial statements." MBUSD Board of Trustees forgone the obvious treatment of the money and decided not to include the $5.9 million in fund 1, where that amount would have increased the balance to over $22 million and would have made the full amount a consideration at the negotiating table.
Instead, the money was placed in fund 40, where it is earmarked for capital outlays, in other words could not be used for teacher salaries. Why would the District wait until a year after such directive and right before contract negotiations are set to begin? One possibility would be that the Board wanted to make sure they did not need the cash for anything else before committing the money to a fund they could not subsequently easily reach. Another possibility would be that the Board was waiting to see how MBUTA reacted to the large surplus of funds before making the money less accessible.
In the last three months, the District has re-allocated $7.2 million away from general use and spent or committed to spending nearly $1.5 million on frivolous technology. The combination of these reduced the liquidity of the District by $8.7 million. In a time where cash is king, CBOs claim unable to balance budgets, and districts cry for help with open palms, this Board is acting with utter disregard.
School Board Hides $1.3 Million From Unions
On November 15, 2011, MBUSD Board of Trustees approved a higher limit for a reserve account. The higher limit increases the minimum dollar amount in the fund's balance, requiring more of the unassigned funds to be placed in reserves. This move effectively removed $1.3 million from the general fund, thereby shielding the money from being used for salary increases.
The previous limit was set at the state mandated 3% or approximately $1.6 million for MBUSD given the size of its budget. The new limit of 5% was voluntarily set by the Board and was not the result of state requirements. In effect, the Board almost doubled its reserve balance for economic uncertainties to nearly $2.9 million, which means they committed to allocating at least $1.3 million more of the revenues towards this account each and every year from this point forward.
If the reserve is not needed [and it has not been needed], the entire balance of the fund can be moved into unassigned funds at the end of the school year and spent in the subsequent year(s) relatively unnoticed, since each year the reserve account must be replenished at a rate 5 percent of the incoming revenues. As the district expects revenues to increase from the state in the upcoming school years by 3.1% and 2.8% respectively (funded COLA), this will allow for cash accumulation at an increasing rate. Make no mistake about it, this new measure is aimed to keep ongoing revenues away from employee unions.
District to Spend Additional $1 Million On Wireless
In the first interim budget report (2011-2012) delivered to the board of trustees, Deputy Superintendent, Rick Bagley outlines plans for phase II and phase III wireless implementation. According to the document, phase II will cost the district $300,000, while phase III will take an additional $700,000 from the budget. This increase in spending will contribute $1 million to a decline in the projected general fund balance by year's end. The gap is projected to be slightly greater than $4.1 million.


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Carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) in fruit
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Booker T. Washington said . . .
"There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs -- partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs....There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who do not want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public."
Could he possibly have had premonitions about people such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton?
Could he possibly have had premonitions about people such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton?
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Pondering . . .
Does anyone read this blog?
Posted by Len Cooley at 10:26
3 comments:
- Daniel Burton said...
I do! Hah! So fun to see you insert this question in the post =) I found your article while was looking for answers to homework questions and read some of your blog posts. When will you make the next updates? Will wait for it.
- 9/12/15 11:44
- Matthew Davis said...
Doing a business is a complicated but clear process. I'm doing a research on that topic of The most "frequent buisness issues". No matter who you are or where you from - just work hard on yourself and dedicate to an infinity struggle for perfection. Of course, you should use offers and services to make your tasks faster and better, for example, I use Writers Per Hour for making my Educational papers, and content by using that service.
- 10/12/15 08:13
- Bronze Cooley said...
I do... I have subscribed to your RSS feed.
- 4/8/16 08:49
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Please post your findings in this thread for this years artists/bands
lets start with motherfucking Motorhead
GROUPLOVE "I'm with You" Documentary Thanks JJ
Between The Beats: Nina Kraviz Thanks knowyourhouse
Everyday Sunshine - The Story of Fishbone Thanks Blackchango
Bombino Thanks BlueDuck
Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli Interview
Superchunk's Mac McCaughan Interview
RiP! A Remix Manifesto - Girl Talk
A Life in Pop - Pet Shop Boys
Between the Beats - The Martinez Brothers Thanks Rado1629
Beck -- Kick Complete - INXS - Record Club Thanks bionik
Haim Sound and Visioin Episode 006 Thanks billypilgrimisunstuck
Bryan Ferry - The Making of Olympia Documentary Thanks again bionik
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - The Making of That's It!
The Replacements Appreciation - Thanks Miroir & Shotglass75
The Hold Steady's Craig Finn
Color Me Obsessed Documentary Trailer
The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon
The Decemberists Colin Meloy
Husker Du's Greg Norton
Color me Obsessed
Muse - The Only One Who Knows Muse...15 Years of Madness
Outkast - Driven Thanks JulianAniel
The Cult - Behind the Music
AFI A Fire Inside
Meet Mogwai
Reportage Lemmy Thanks Clay-Max
Bombino the entire CNN story is in three segments
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Unlocking the Truth - Mini Documentary
Trombone Shorty
Laura Mvula
Sleigh Bells - Amplified
Kate Nash - Girl Talk in Studio Q
Woodkid - Interview


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A superb handmade set of 925 sterling silver Russian Shabbat Sabbath three footed candlesticks, hallmarked along the base, circa 1865, with some tarnishing, minor dents, imperfections, and expected wear from age and use. Some wax and cleaning residue is visible on each stick. A nice addition to your Judaica collection! Dimensions: Each measures 13 ¾" h x 4 ½" diameter base.
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Featuring period furniture, fine art, quality porcelain, silver and decorative accessories.
Celebrating family business since 1983! New Hampshire's finest group shop. Family owned and operated. 200+ dealers.


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'Help Island' becomes 'The Opening Sky': An Interview with Joan Thomas
By Hubert O'Hearn (first posted Oct. 2, 2014)
My first encounter with Joan Thomas's work was during her time as the lead fiction reviewer for The Globe & Mail. Within both her reviews and interviews she was able to strike the perfect balance between empathy for authors and a knowledgeable guide for readers. She has since left the reviewing business and become a thrice-published novelist herself, this being the equivalent of a sportswriter running down from the press box to take over as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets.
While her first novel Reading by Lightning won several awards, including the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book (Canada and the Caribbean) and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, it was her second novel, Curiosity, that led me to become a devoted advocate of Joan Thomas's fiction. This fictionalized account of Mary Anning, very much the precursor to Darwin in developing the science of evolution, was to my eyes the perfect historical novel.
Joan Thomas's latest novel, The Opening Sky, is set in present day Winnipeg and its environs. The story of spousal and familial relationships where that which is unsaid or partially observed leads to a fuller understanding of the actuality of life, is a brilliant addition to modern Canadian literature. Naturally, I had a few questions:
What would you like the reader to know about the plot of The Opening Sky?
About the plot– well, really, nothing! Ideally, readers will step innocently into this novel, with no preconceptions, totally at my mercy. I think it increases your reading pleasure when you gradually start to pick things up in a story, and your unease grows, and you believe you might be the only one seeing these things. You feel engaged with the book in an intimate way.
So. Maybe we should stop this interview right here.
I remember when I studied Linguistics— a course that I think anyone interested in knowing anything at all about how humans operate should enrol in — one of the insights was that if it was not for the silent spaces between words, oral language would be incomprehensible. It strikes me that the undiscussed secrets, observations, thoughts etc. of The Opening Sky's characters are the way they choose to present themselves as comprehensible to the world. Any thoughts on that, or am I being much too arty?
Liz and Sylvie carry secrets in the usual sense, hidden nuggets of pain and shame that have shaped their relationship and have formed Sylvie's character. But your question points beyond this, to the tapestry of responses and private associations that make up each character's unique experience. This has particular resonance in the case of Aiden, a man who presents himself as laconic, easy-going to the point of being disengaged, and in reality is totally consumed with anxieties he can't discuss. Not because these things are secret, but because no one wants to talk about them, they are taboo, they run counter to and threaten the way he is living his life. That's a powerful thing for a man in his middle years, that kind of radical and unexpressed awareness.
Something I've noticed over the years I've been reviewing is that there is an interesting quality amongst Winnipeg-based or raised authors that I think bears attention. I find that Winnipeggers, dare I say uniquely as a group, are equally comfortable and vivid in describing the urban as well as wilderness landscapes. Characters seem equally at home in the mall or the woods. Your novel roughly divides equally between the city and the forest – so a chicken and egg question for you: Which came first, the divided settings or the plot?
I guess it's a natural given our geography. We live in this crumbling city with hundreds of miles of fields and wilderness on either side. Lots of Winnipeggers spend every summer weekend at a lake, most of us have farming ancestors. The Opening Sky is full of aspirational urbanites who depend on the wilderness for their psychic wellbeing, and this duel consciousness is at the heart of their dilemma.
The release of The Opening Sky was delayed because of a controversy over its cover. So I guess one can judge a book by its cover. Would you like to describe that issue and what would you like to say about it?
The original cover was a photograph of a family scene — an invisible woman wielding an upright pink vacuum cleaner, while a man and little girl sit on a couch and lift their feet to let her pass. The carpet in the room morphed nicely into a sky, which tied into the title.
When the advance readers copies went out, buyers at the big chains read the book and complained that the cover did not represent what was inside. This feedback was strong enough that McClelland and Stewart decided to do a redesign. I was relieved, because, in spite of the charm of the original design, I was concerned that the image suggested a domestic comedy—maybe about a woman freaking out over housework. In the new cover, the designers went for mood, I think, more than a literal image.
We have discussed this before, but in podcast and not written form. How does being a book reviewer assist you as a writer, or indeed is it ever a hindrance?
I haven't had any interest in reviewing since I discovered the crack cocaine of fiction! But all the reviewing I did was a terrific apprenticeship for writing novels. I spent twenty years reading deeply, trying to put my finger on an author's intentions for her work, trying to figure out how she pulled it off. I got used to packing a lot into a few words, because the standard review is twenty column inches and there was always so much to say.
People ask me whether it's hard to turn off the critical faculties and be creative. Well, often it's hard to be creative, but I don't think my background in reviewing has anything to do with that. When fictional ideas are coming, I stand with an empty bowl in front of the fountain, full of gratitude. I wouldn't dream of criticizing. But that's about one hour out of ten, and then there's the work of refining and shaping what you've got. In fact, writers spend most of their time in critical (i.e. revision) mode.
The only theme I detect in common between your previous novel, Curiosity, and The Opening Sky is the rebellious nature of both novels' central characters; each featuring a young woman emerging from adolescence into adulthood. What do you love about writing on this theme?
If you're going to have a young person in a novel, the best kind to have is rebellious, wouldn't you say? But I don't see either novel as a coming-of-age story in the usual sense — at least, that was not what interested me about these subjects.
What interests me is what it means to live in a time of massive cultural change—when the zeitgeist rips open and we are forced to think about ourselves differently. I'm interested in how this impinges on people personally, our various forms of resistance and denial. Discovering the remains of a prehistoric world had that effect in Mary Anning's time, and the denial was massive.
I see The Opening Sky as the same sort of book, in a way. We're just starting to wake up to the massive problems we face as a result of our own success as a species. Everything about our way of life is jeopardized by climate change, and I think young people in general have more clarity and less denial about this. Coming-of-age has a whole different meaning when the world is changing as fast as ours is.
Lastly, my favourite question, derived from something the late Harold Clurman said about directing a play. Clurman felt that any director who gets 70% of his original vision on opening night has 'won.' As you look at The Opening Sky now on release, when you think back to your original idea of, "I'm going to write a novel about X," how much has it changed from that original conception to now?
A few years ago, I wrote a short story called "Help Island" (Prairie Fire, Spring 2009) in which a woman goes to see a psychiatrist. The therapist appears in only one scene, and I found I wanted to keep writing about him. He became Aiden in The Opening Sky, and in fact, "Help Island" was my working title for this novel.
I started the novel with a sense of Aiden, Liz, and Sylvie and the dynamics between them, but the plot largely revealed itself to me as I wrote. Maybe, with a script in front of him, Harold Clurman had a full vision of the final production, but a novel is a process of discovery. The characters and situations gleam in your imagination, you know there's potential there, but you have no idea what all you'll find until you start digging. And then you look at the book and say, Okay, so that's what it was!


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Find the perfect hotel in Larne using our hotel guide provided below. Search for cheap and discounted hotel and motel rates in or close to Larne, United Kingdom for your personal leisure or group travel. We show the best Larne hotel/motel rooms. Review the Larne hotel list below to find the perfect lodging. We also have a map of the Larne hotels.
The Larne center is approximately 10 miles north of Carrickfergus Castle and 14 miles north of Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.
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Richard in Acadia Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)
Acadia Baptist Acadamy
Erected by Sponsored by Acadia Baptist Academy Alumni Association.
Location. 30° 25.746′ N, 92° 19.257′ W. Marker is in Richard, Louisiana, in Acadia Parish. Marker is on Academy Drive, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Church Point LA 70525, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 18 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Le Parc Du Vieux Depot (approx. 6.4 miles away); City Of Eunice (approx. 7.2 miles away); The Bernard Bertrand Home (approx. 12.9 miles away); Rayne Depot Square (approx. 13.8 miles away); Jacques Weil Company (approx. 13.8 miles away); St. Joseph's Catholic Church & Cemetery (approx. 14 miles away); Fred's Lounge (approx. 15.1 miles away); Plaisance School (approx. 17.2 miles away).
Categories. • 20th Century • Churches & Religion •
Credits. This page was last revised on October 31, 2016. This page originally submitted on November 1, 2011, by Shane Cormier of Lafayette, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 669 times since then and 32 times this year. Last updated on September 25, 2015, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. Photo 1. submitted on November 1, 2011, by Shane Cormier of Lafayette, Louisiana. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
Editor's want-list for this marker. A wide view photo of the marker and the surrounding area in context. • Can you help?


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Ranging from, "Floyd Mayweather" to "Harambe". (RIP)He has a few features on there including Travis Scott, Gucci Mane, Gunna, Young Scooter, and Quavo to name a few. He has a song named after Wyclef Jean and also features Mr. Wyclef on the track named, "Kanye West." In a recent interview with Pigeons and Planes Wyclef praised Young Thug and named him a "modern Tupac." He explained,
"He reminded me of a modern Tupac, in a sense — in a revolutionary sense... I mean that by, alright, you might see a thug, but his connection to history seemed similar to what Pac understood, of like, 'This is who the Black Panthers are. Read this book, read that book.' This kid understands."The compliments for Thugger don't stop there though. Wyclef went on to compare the rapper to David Bowie himself.
"Thugga is a revolutionary fully get what he is doing. Because he is a revolutionary, he's changing the thought pattern."


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On what turned out to be his last day as the Lakers' coach, Mike Brown was as upbeat as ever, still sure his high-salaried, high-drama team would emerge from its 1-4 funk and become the powerful and multifaceted machine he believed it could be.
Brown ran another lengthy practice Thursday after the team had played a road game the night before -- to the end the man players last season nicknamed "all day, every day" because of his love for long practices. Again in character, he took time afterward to talk to players one on one, spending extra time alone with a flailing Pau Gasol and then slapping hands with Gasol after they walked off the practice court in El Segundo.
"Guys still believe," Brown said. "For us that's the biggest thing right now while we're trying to find our way."
Brown didn't get a chance to guide them to more secure footing. Dismissed on Friday with the Lakers in the unaccustomed spot of last in the Western Conference, he will be remembered as a nice man who wanted more time to install his version of the Princeton offense and perfect a spotty defense, but learned the hard way that time is a precious commodity in a hurry-up world.


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I had a small titanium tea cup on the floor of my tent resting just above my head, it caught my eye as it began bobbing up and down like a boat on the water. Shocked to see it floating inside my tent, I jumped up and touched the bottom of my tent. It was like a waterbed. Two inches of water was running underneath my tent but luckily no water was inside the tent.
I began talking to myself to stay calm.
"You're still dry, you're warm and it can't rain all night."
"You're still dry, you're warm and it can't rain all night. It'll stop soon."
It didn't stop soon. It didn't stop for a long time. I laid there trying to figure out what I could do. I wondered what I was thinking going out on a two week backpacking trip and I wondered how it could possibly rain all night long.
I heard a bunch of commotion as Paul and Chris, my hiking buddies, yelled back and forth to each other. I could barely hear them but in the morning I realized that Chris' tent had collapsed due to the storm and his tent was filled with water.
At some point I finally fell asleep. Our 5 a.m. alarm clock woke all of us up but we were in no shape to get any early morning hiking in, so we went back to sleep.
Eventually, we all had to get up and try to dry out our things so we could cover some miles and stay on track. We laid our sleeping bags, down jackets and backpacks in the sun. We talked to nearby campers who were also shocked at the intensity and length of this storm. Our neighbors had confirmed what I was thinking, it had literally rained all night long. In fact, it rained for 7.5 hours.
I've thought a lot about that night. I've reflected on the decisions I made before the trip that impacted my safety that night and I've thought about what I wish I'd done differently. Before you head out on your own backpacking adventure, I recommend you consider the things I learned that night in the pouring rain:
- A free-standing tent is worth a little bit more weight- One of my thru-hiking partners had a tarp tent that relied on being tightly staked out. When the ground became totally saturated with water the wind blew the trekking pole down and everything he had got soaked. Meanwhile, I stayed totally dry inside my free-standing tent that kept its shape throughout the night.
- Carefully select the best spot to pitch your tent- We got lucky. We had set up camp at the top of a mound. The water ran away from us for the most part. If we had set up in a low area or a flat spot at the bottom of a hill we would have been in much worse shape.
- Sometimes you've just got to let go- We live in a world where we can control everything. We walk from an air conditioned car into an air conditioned building then complain about the heat. Sometimes you just can't stop the rain. And that is OK. Part of the fun of a long backpacking trip is to let go and take things as they come, good or bad.
- Laughter makes everything better- After one of the worst nights sleep I've ever experienced, the first thing I said to the other two guys was a joke. We all cracked up and somehow I felt better about the situation.
- You should always consider the safety of your electronics and fire starters- I left my backpack (with GPS and cell phone) under my vestibule for at least an hour of the rainstorm. Eventually, I realized it wasn't just going to just blow over so I pulled my backpack inside my tent. Also, we had a lighter stored inside a pot on top of a bear canister. The wind blew the top off of the pot and the lighter was soaking in a pot full of water. This wasn't our only lighter but if it was, we would have been in trouble.
We had no idea that this storm was going to amount to more than a sprinkle. You've got to be prepared for anything when you are backpacking for multiple days. After this experience, I will always be more careful picking my tent site, consider where my lighters and electronics are, carefully choose the outdoor gear I bring along and try to relax when things are out of my control.
That is what I learned while not sleeping all night in a rainstorm. What lessons have you learned through unpleasant experiences?


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Mumbai: Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt`s son Rahul Bhatt, who came into the limelight when his name cropped up in connection with 2008 Mumbai terror accused David Headley, has bared his heart out about his troubled relationship with his father.
The aspiring actor has come up with a book 'Headley & I', co-written by Hussain Zaidi.
"My father Mahesh Bhatt never treated me like his own child. You know how it is. You`ve known me from the time I was a child fighting for my sister against Ranvir Shorey, to `Bigg Boss` to the book," said Rahul.
"It`s the raw uncut truth about my relationship with my father. I`ve put it all in the book. I`ve exorcized my demons," he added.
Excerpts of the interview:
Q: This book is not just about Headley and you. It`s also about Mahesh Bhatt and you?
A: Yeah, they are inter-connected. Perhaps if Mr Mahesh Bhatt had been a father to me I wouldn`t have got into the friendship with Headley . My childhood insecurities,the lack of a father-figure in my growing years were lacunas in my life that Mr Headley used to win over my confidence. I had no father to guide me in my growing years.
Q: So you`re blaming the Headley episode on Bhatt saab?
A: No, I blame only myself. We all have our own crosses to bear. If mine became unbearable it`s my problem. Having said that, I maintain my father was always been indifferent to me.
Q: Apparently Bhatt saab wanted to name you Mohammed when you were born?
A: Yeah,that`s what Mr. Mahesh Bhatt wanted to call me. But then my Anglo-Indian mother put her foot down on the insistence of her Maharastrian neighbours arguing that he should keep his notions of secularism for some other occasion. And besides, if Mr Bhatt thinks of himself as a good Muslim he should`ve treated all his children equally.
Q: But Bhatt Saab`s mom was Muslim?
A: She was. But I had no interaction with that side of my family. Can you imagine what would have happened to me if I was called Mohamed? Do you think I`d have ever come out of the Headley episode?
Q: You seem to have come out with details of your interaction with Headley so vividly after all these years. Photographic memory?
A: No, it was documented. I kept a diary. That was my mother`s idea. She asked me to maintain a diary about my life. Thankfully, I listened to her and so the story of my interaction with Headley was stored.
Q: How did Headley change your life?
A. Because of that episode people at least know me. Before that nobody even knew Mahesh Bhatt had a son. I became infamous after Mr Headley. I got the chance to be on a reality show. Mr. Bhatt didn`t recommend me. He has never done anything for me.
Q: Every parent is preferential to one child?
A: I am not a bitter person. I think I am better person because of Mr Bhatt`s treatment. I believe what doesn`t kill you makes you stronger. I grew up with these feelings of anger and resentment which could`ve easily be harnessed by Mr Headley. I think I escaped miraculously from real damage.
Q: What attracted you to Headley?
A: Common interests. A good sense of humour. He was well-travelled. He had a large view of the world.
Q: What made you befriend Headley?
A: I make friends instinctively. Mr. Headley offered good friendship. It was both a buddy-buddy thing where we discussed girls and guns, and a mentor-pupil relationship. I could never guess what his real intentions were.
Q: In the book you describe your first impressions of Mr. Headley in poetic terms? You wax eloquently on his eyes?
A: There was no such thing. The most striking thing about Mr. Headley, when anyone met him for the first time were his mismatched eyes. Looking back that too was a measure of his multiple personality disorder. This guy was one of his kind. And aren`t the eyes the window to the soul? There was a contradiction to his personality. He loved children and dogs. But then he did what he did.
Q: How painful was it to piece together the events associated with your friendship with Mr. Headley?
A: It wasn`t painful. But it was laborious.
Q: Do you realize the book will open up a pandora`s box?
A: I don`t care about what the world thinks about me. I know what I am. I know what I am doing in the book. There are three perspectives in the book: mine, Headley`s and the law enforcement`s. I am not glorifying David Headley.
Q: You never got an inkling of what he was up to?
A: None at all. Headley was a Caucasian-American. I had no idea of his Pakistani ancestry when I befriended him. And he spoke sense. The kind of sense that one comes across on the intelligence-forecasting websites.
Q: Do you want the book to be made into the film?
A: Yes, and I should play myself. That would be my only pre-condition. Since no one is coming forward to offer me roles at least I should be the hero of my own story.
Q: What impact do you think the book will have?
A: It`s a historical document. Whatever I had to say, I am done with it. I`d like the book give me some career opportunity.


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20 FEBRUARY 2018 – ACS QLD Young IT Career Boot Camp @Brisbane Mariott Hotel
My Journey as an International Student
Listening Workshop
18 JANUARY 2018 – Platform Strategies for Startups (Part 1) @RCL
Additional Material
Platform Scale – Chapter 1-3
The Platform Manifesto
The Platform Guidebook
21 DECEMBER 2017 – Startup Sales: How Successful Companies know how to Grow – Leveraging Jobs Theory @RCL
26 OCTOBER 2017 – Startup Sales: How Successful Companies know how to Grow – Leveraging Jobs Theory @RCL
Additional Material
TV commercials for Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)
Question– What is the "job" is the university being hired to achieve for its students?
11 OCTOBER 2017 – CUA sponsored Entrepreneur Program – BMC & Javelin Board Masterclass @RCL
Handout Material
Business Model Canvas (version by Flavio Tosi)
Value Proposition Canvas
Javelin Experiment Board
26 SEPTEMBER 2017 – B2B Sales: How to break into new organisations and create new opportunities @Gravity
14 SEPTEMBER 2017 – Startup Sales: Make Better Impact with first meeting with customers @RCL
Additional Material
Proposal Structure Template
1 August 2017 – Non-Pressure Sales-Closing Strategies for Startups @River City Labs
Additional Material
JOBS Theory & SNHU University Case Study
21 JULY 2017 – CUA sponsored Entrepreneur Program – BMC & Javelin Board Masterclass @RCL
Handout Material
Business Model Canvas
Value Proposition Canvas
Javelin Experiment Board
7 JULY 2017 – Getting to Senior Management. Avoid gatekeeper rejection @River City Labs
Additional Material
Answering Your Questions
Proposal Structure Template
Request for Meeting – Email Template
14 JUNE 2017 – Selling to Companies Who Do not Know You @Samford Chamber of Commerce
Additional Material
Proposal Structure Template
Request for Meeting – Email Template
The 6 Principles of Influence by Robert Cialdini
8 JUNE 2017 – B2B Sales tips and tricks for Startups (lunchtime session) @River City Labs
Additional Material
Proposal Structure Template
Request for Meeting – Email Template
The 6 Principles of Influence by Robert Cialdini
BIGJUMP runs an active 'Meetup Group' with events held almost every month. The group focusses on 'Lean Business Strategies'.
BIGJUMP maintains a Twitter account to keep Startup supporters informed
Twitter Handle: @bigjumpstartups
BIGJUMP works closely with River City Labs (RCL), Paul has been a mentor for many years, RCL has also been our location sponsor for several events.
Queensland Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) have partnered with BIGJUMP on many events over the years.
Microsoft Innovation Centre's mission is work with local start-up's, students & developers to bridge some of the current gaps, by equipping and inspiring them to innovate
Microsoft BizSpark program is closely linked to the Microsoft innovation centre.
BizSpark provides free software, support, and visibility to help startups succeed. Join BizSpark and become part of a global community that has over 100,000 startups in 100+ countries.
BIGJUMP and Gravity work together to host BIGJUMP events. Gravity is also one of our location sponsors.
Reinterpreting the traditional coworking space, GRAVITY is a boutique members' workspace attracting a network of business leaders, industry experts, innovators and entrepreneurs.
BIGJUMP has successfully held Events at Queensland State Library's 'The Edge'
The Edge is a hub for creative, collaborative geekery, love to foster communities. Tinkerers, designers, gamers, programmers, entrepreneurs, audiophiles, language lovers, movie buffs and more.
Queensland State Library's Business Studio is a useful resource to support entrepreneurs and start-ups to make their innovative business ideas a reality.
Conveniently housed in one central location onsite at SLQ and with an online hub, discover a range of resources to assist in your business planning and research.
Fishburners is BIGJUMP's newest partnership.
Fishburners is Australia's largest not-for-profit charity dedicated to creating highly scalable Australian tech startups, through inspiration, collection and connection to support.
Every desk inside their communities is used by either a validated highly-scalable startup, or someone creating these kinds of startups.
Every year BIGJUMP presents the Live stream and the highlights from the 'Lean Startup Conference' held in San Francisco, USA.
Lean Startup Week is a seven-day focused Innovation Training into Lean Startup methodology led by star practitioners in large companies and hot startups from around the world.


text: Hey everyone, I had an idea to make a script for image hosting. After about 5 hours searching for a script that has the features I want, I thought maybe I could get it made and sell it. I want a script to host images, where a user can login and upload multiple images at once, easy to monetize with plenty of ad space. A featured image on the index and galleries for image sets, categories ect... I could only find one script that has ll these features for its $99 for the most basic package. Personally I think there is more money to be made by selling a script for say, $30 - $40. An image website is easy to get traffic too and easy to make some nice $$ off. So does anyone think that this would sell, if so, how much would it cost to make? I know it would be a fair bit because what I want is pretty complex but I've seen people sell scripts before and make a fair bit off it. Any opinions welcome Cheers


text:
Pohutukawa tree (Metrosideros excelsa)
B601/0545 Rights Managed
530 pixels on longest edge, unwatermarked
Request/Download high-res file
Uncompressed file size: 49.8MB
Downloadable file size: 6.0MB
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Credit: BOB GIBBONS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.
Keywords: angiosperm, angiosperms, biological, biology, botanical, botany, endemic, evergreen, fire tree, metrosideros excelsa, nature, new zealand, new zealand christmas tree, north island, plant, pohutukawa tree, summer, tree, trees
Licence fees: A licence fee will be charged for any media (low or high resolution) used in your project.


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com. For example, when you are charged for a traffic offence, ensure that you employ a lawyer who has handled many other traveling offense cases in the past. One of the best things that you will be able to take advantage of these kinds of class settings, where you can choose a schedule that is most convenient, comfortable for you. More and more foreign multinationals are also looking at Alabang as an ideal destination for setting up outsourcing industries in the Philippines. sports management salary,
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News detail
Tue, Mar 25 2014: SEPTICFLESH
As previously announced, SEPTICFLESH named their upcoming ninth studio album 'Titan'. The Greek demons recorded their new plague at Devasoundz Studios in Athens, Greece and in the Czech Republic, again hiring the valued services of the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague. 'Titan' will be unleashed on June 20th.
SEPTICFLESH posted the second part of the making of 'Titan'. Go on Season of Mist's YouTube channel to see drummer Fotis Benardo record his parts! German fans can watch it on DailyMotion.
Artwork and track list of 'Titan' will be unveiled soon.


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On Tuesday 21 October 2008 03:22:28 pm Robert Fitzpatrick wrote: > On Tue, 2008-10-21 at 15:09 -0400, John Baldwin wrote: > > Alternatively, you could just remove the 'device adv' line from your > > kernel > > config rather than adding lots of 'nodevice' lines at the bottom. You > > can > > usually do 'man 4 <driver name>' to see what devices it supports. In > > this > > case, adv(4) supports mostly ancient Advansys SCSI host adapters. > > The > > manpage has a full list of the various model numbers, etc. > > Yes, that is what I thought. Right now, I am just commenting them out, > now I know what people mean when they say they are running a > trimmed/clean kernel. > > I did see one potential issue... > > # USB support > device uhci # UHCI PCI->USB interface > device ohci # OHCI PCI->USB interface > device ehci # EHCI PCI->USB interface (USB 2.0) > device usb # USB Bus (required) > > I see all of these with nodevice lines in the PAE file. Although I have > USB ports, I don't use them, but I was concerned by the 'required' on > the last one, is it OK to remove? Also, would I then need to disable USB > in the BIOS to avoid errors?
Actually, USB is ok with PAE. I recently updated the PAE configs to not disable PAE and at work we've run PAE kernels with USB enabled for a few years now on 6.x w/o any problems. -- John Baldwin _______________________________________________ email@example.com mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]"


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Do the improvements have to be adjusted to your property tax basis to qualify No.or can they be unpermitted work such as new doors and fixtures, new floors, countertops, etc?Yes.And having read your related question on another board, also keep in mind that your principal residence will qualify for an exclusion of $250k of gain ($500k if you're married) providing you have owned and used it as your principal residence for at least 2 out of the 5 years before selling. So your 2011 purchase should qualify at this point. That can make many questions about improvements unimportant. If the entire gain would be excluded without considering any improvements, worrying about documenting and including improvements is unnecessary.--Peter
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The Bethlehem Township Zoning Hearing Board last night granted a special exception to James K. Burkos, 221 S. Ott St., Allentown, which will allow him to build a single-family dwelling on a lot at Roosevelt and Moselle streets in the township.
Burkos will build the house on the lot with a 40-foot frontage. The township zoning code says a house can only be built on a lot with a minimum 80-foot frontage in that area.


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The Health Information Services department at MUSC fulfills requests for information for medical records and billing for all inpatient, outpatient, and clinical services affiliated with MUSC including Institute of Psychiatry and Charleston Memorial Hospital visits. The Release of Information staff will be happy to assist you in obtaining your medical records and/or billing information upon receipt of a valid authorization. You can mail, fax, or personally deliver your authorization to release health information.
Learn more about MUSC's Privacy Practices and Your Protected Health Care Information.
Additional information regarding disclosure of patient medical information.
Please note: legal identification is required to obtain your medical records.
Print the MUSC HIPAA-compliant authorization form (Spanish version of form) and mail it, along with a copy of legal identification, such as a driver's license, to:
MUSC at South Park
|Fax the MUSC HIPAA-compliant authorization form (Spanish version of form) to 843-876-8080, including a copy of legal identification, such as a driver's license.
Front Desk:
You are welcome to stop by our office at the address below, or at our satellite office in the main hospital downtown, room H102. The staff can assist you with requesting your records. HIS office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Questions? Our number is 843-792-3881. (Calls may be monitored for quality assurance.) Please bring some form of legal identification, such as a driver's license.
Main HIS Office


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Asus Crosshair III Formula Review
Closer Look:
Extreme Tweaker:
This is the section every overclocker and enthusiast loves. This is where all the overclocking magic takes place. In the top part of the Extreme Tweaker section is where the CPU properties are adjusted. This is where the BUS speed, multipliers and memory straps are set for maximum performance. One of the best features of this board is the Auto Clock feature, or "CPU Level Up" as they call it. This feature takes the CPU you have and designs a safe auto-setting profile for overclocking. There were three settings for the Phenom II X4 955, which were 3.4GHz, 3.6GHz and 3.8GHz.. The system will automatically set the voltages needed for these overclocks and they are benchmark stable with no issues. For the memory, there are four straps that are set as memory speeds. In this case, with the CPU BUS speed at 200MHz, there is an 800MHz option, a 1066Mhz option, a 1333MHz option, and a 1600MHz option. To get more than 1600MHz, you need to overclock the CPU BUS speed, which will in turn raise the strap and push the memory speed further. In addition to memory speed, there are two sub menus that allow you to control the way the memory operates and the timings for the modules, with numerous options for a more precise and stable set of memory.
In the lower part of the Extreme Tweaker section is where the voltages are changed. There are options for the CPU, memory, Northbridge, Southbridge, and Hypertransport. To change the voltages, you just key in the number that you want or type Auto for auto settings. There are even current voltage displays for you to know where you are sitting in reference to where you want to place them. Below the voltages there is a section for you to set memory reference voltages as well as select how you want the LCD POSTER to show debug information, such as in text or POST codes.
Now we can move on to what we have been waiting for, the testing.


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Connect with us
There are many ways to interact with the SETI Institute.
Join us on Google+ - Our official Google+ page
Join us on Facebook - Find out more at the official Facebook page of the SETI Institute
View Planetary Images - Like our page Facebook get your daily dose of planetary images
Follow us on Twitter - Get daily updates on what's going at the Institute and related science
Weekly Lectures - Attend a colloquium! They are FREE, open to the public and held from noon to 1pm, every Wednesday, expanding to evening talks at 7.30pm in 2011.
Big Picture Science - The weekly science radio program of the SETI Institute. Big Picture Science is a one-hour radio show and podcast that illuminates the origins, the behavior, and the future of life—and technology—on Earth by connecting ideas in surprising and humorous ways. What came before the Big Bang? How does the brain work? Will our descendants be human or machine? What's the origin of humor? We ponder these questions daily… and expound on them weekly. But, wait! There's more! Are you a doubting Thomas? Good. Join us as we separate science from pseudoscience – and facts from the phony – in Skeptic Check, our monthly episode devoted to critical thinking. Whether it's astrology, Bigfoot, or just the incessant onslaught of UFOs, we take it all on, wielding the skeptical tools of solid science.
Books - Check books published by SETI Institute staff throughout the years. Examples include Confessions of an Alien Hunter by Seth Shostak and Project Cyclops with Frank Drake.
Cosmic Diary - Check the Cosmic Diary Network, the blogs of our scientists and staff


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Water levels on the River Sava are expected to peak in the next few hours, prompting emergency workers in Serbia to prepare for a " flood wave".
Emergency workers prepare for flood surge in Serbia
Emergency workers prepare for flood surge in Serbia
Efforts have been made to protect the country's biggest power plant from the surge.
The flooding is affecting countries right across the Balkan region, with three months worth of rain having fallen in just a few days.
The death toll is said to risen to at least 44 with fears that it may well go higher as the waters recede and more bodies are discovered.
On the Bosnia -Croatia border, stranded victims who are prepared to leave their homes are being picked up. Although the rain eased on Sunday there, the lack of power and drinking water is making life impossible.
Almost one third of Bosnia has been hit by the floods with tales of a tsunami of water up to three metres deep sweeping into some villages.
A massive relief programme is underway with donations of clothes and food pouring into collection centres in most major towns.
Evacuees – many shocked by having lost everything – are being housed in schools and community halls and are being cared for by thousands of volunteers from across Europe.


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What if every home for sale had its own Web site?
What if you could advertise on everyone of those sites?
WebHomeUSA gives a free Web site to every home for sale in a market (like an MLS). With our patent pending process we hook the home's domain name to its street address and link it to WebHomeUSA.com yielding: 123MainStreetRochesterNY.WebHomeUSA.com. We then sell ads, like Google ads, on all those sites; "all around the house."
Google gives free online search information and sells ads around the results.
Zillow gives free online home value estimates and sells ads around the information.
WebHomeUSA gives a free Web site to every home for sale and sells ads "all around the house."
Benefits for homebuyers are they can now search for a home directly by its street address and directly in the search box of any general search engine.
Benefits for homesellers and their agents are they get their properties advertised on at least 2 additional Web sites, one of which is hooked to the home's street address.
Benefits for home-sale related businesses are they can target their advertising by location, price and any feature. An additional benefit is businesses can now target their advertising by stage of home sale: Pre-Sale, Pending Sale and Post-Sale. Each stage is its own target market and can attract different advertisers: Lenders, until the buyers have a mortgage; Lawyers, until the buyers have a lawyer, Home Inspectors until buyers have an inspection, etc.
As Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and Ask fight it out for market share in general search there are great opportunities in vertical search, based on relevance of content and business model. Google has proved the model for search advertising, Zillow is proving the model for one aspect of home information and we plan to prove the model for a free home Web site and search advertising.


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Boston group Guster to perform
Guster, a percussion and guitar trio whose second CD Goldfly was named Independent Album of the Year at the 1998 Boston Music Awards, will perform at Bates Saturday, Sept. 26, at 9 p.m. in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in the student activities offices at Bates, Bowdoin and Colby colleges. At Bates, call 207-786-6468 for tickets and more information.
Described by the Boston Globe as a "fury of intense, blistering guitars, percolating bongos and impeccable vocal harmonies," Guster was named best live act at the 1996 Boston Music Awards and best local acoustic act by the Boston Phoenix/WFNX Best Music Poll.
The trio of guitarists-vocalists Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner and percussionist Brian Rosenworcel met in 1992 at their alma mater, Tufts University, and performed in the Boston area during their college years. Their first CD, Parachute, was named 1995's best local debut album by the Boston Globe. The band also was featured on the national AWARE 3 Compilation in 1995, the same year the threesome graduated from Tufts with honors.


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Learn skills for public speaking, presentations, and deeper communication to create a positive ripple effect on everything you do.Learn About Our Approach
Sign up for our newsletter and receive the secrets to make a lasting impression while being authentically you.
Meetings. Presentations. Sales pitches. Skype. Phone. Whether it's collaborating between departments or a keynote for hundreds of stakeholders, you have the ability to effect powerful change for your company.Schedule a Group Training
It doesn't matter whether you're an introvert or extrovert. You have the power to move beyond your limitations and create a lasting impact. Discover your personal charisma and learn to effortlessly communicate with anyone.Coach One-to-One with Barrie
Join Barrie and renowned changemaker David LaMotte for The Art of Listening. Experience the power of Storytelling with Impact, featuring Barrie and Marilyn Ball. Work with Barrie in Learning Lab or Story Choreography Project.Explore Special Programs
Guided by Barrie Barton, a facilitator with over 30 years of experience, you can learn to generate effective presentation and communications skills. From a simple conversation in the grocery store, to asking for a raise, to making the biggest sales pitch of the year, you can hone your skills and create a ripple effect that touches the rest of your everyday activities. Discover and experience leadership qualities you never knew you had.
Barrie's signature Learning Lab is a special multi-week program offered a few times per year. Become a better speaker in a safe, fun learning environment. See why previous Labs have sold out!
Barrie Barton and David LaMotte offer a transformational multi-week workshop that helps people move beyond 'hearing' to 'active listening' while becoming more self-aware. Perfect for organizations.
Your presentation skills determine how long someone will be engaged with you. Whether running a meeting, giving a community talk or authentically growing your sales...improve your presentation.
Public speaking is not top of my list of favorite things to do, but it is a huge part of my job! Barrie equipped me with the confidence and tools I need to prepare and professionally deliver anything from one-minute opening remarks to hour-long presentations. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to learn from Barrie, and highly recommend others do the same!
Barrie's hands-on workshop, provided tools to craft my message the right way and provided physical & mindset practices to prepare how to show up with confidence. I was anxious to enroll in her course, but quickly found a safe place surrounded with positivity and encouragement. I highly recommend Barrie's workshop!
Barrie helps you deliver words in ways that convey deeper meaning and, as a result, have greater impact. I found her advice on tone, speed, cadence, and body movement incredibly helpful.
When WWBC asked me to present, it was a no-brainer to reach out to Barrie who embodies the skills and confidence I needed. I knew her coaching would help conquer some long standing internal messages and prepare me to present to 150 business women. I look forward to working with her again and again. Barrie, you have my heart and I am so honored you were with me. You are amazing…thank you!
I was presented the opportunity to do a talk in front of a business group recently and had to write something that came from my heart, about me and my journey, to be an inspiration to others. I asked Barrie Barton to help me formulate a streamlined effective focused and powerful presentation based upon a couple of pages that I had written. What she did was absolutely amazing. She took my scattered thoughts and made it a powerful, focused talk… in one day.
Through Barrie's encouraging and politely firm approach, she leads her participants to make an entirely new presentation of themselves and their approach to communication.
It's 1966. I'm in 1st grade at Ira B. Jones Elementary School. We are learning gallons, quarts, pints, cups and all those measuring computations. Numbers and I are not friends….
Making assumptions can be a dangerous thing to do. But I'm going to take a risk here and make one about you: You are a life-long learner! I am,…
What are the best practices to organize a speech or presentation? Just 4 minutes into Brady's presentation and I could see the audience eyeballs swimming in circles. In that short…


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|Aminus3 of Shuva
Trekking up the hill
Posted by Shuva Brata Deb (Bangalore, India) on 17 April 2012 in People & Portrait.
This is on our way up to the hill which gave a refreshing view of Lake Emerald, near Ooty. The trek was a total of 3 hours up and down and was Tisha's first such extreme trek. I was impressed that she managed to do it. Several adults accompanying were panting and Tisha was able to keep up impressively.


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July 4, 2013
July 2, 2013
May 20, 2013
March 28, 2013
Justin David Tate has freelanced across Texas and now seeks to continue to do so across the world. His work from his college newspaper, the "Et Cetera" of Eastfield College in Dallas earned him honorable mention for News Story of the Year in 2014 from the Associated College Press. He aims to continue being a full-time writer by year's end in 2015.
Justin, We doing it again bro! Please drop your knowledge
Please PM me your votes ASAP for B/R's 2012 Best of Boxing Awards. Also please provide your expert commentary on why you voted for your winners, any where from 1 sentence to a paragraph. Thanks.
I would like to see, under your vast knowledge an article about fighters around the world that could be nice see them fighting in American soil against solid opposition
Gotta drop knowledge again bro! PM your official prediction PAC vs JMM 4
Please check out my new page for more interviews and updates: https://www.facebook.com/VitaliFightPress
I look forward to your coverage of the fight tonight.
Good meeting you at the meet-up, man. Looks like I have several hours of articles to peruse.
Hi Justin,
We are a Publishing company which already has One title World Business Magazine being published for over one year. We are now Launching a Monthly Sports Magazine and wanted to inquire whether you would be interested in allowing us to use your content for our Print Publication. Kindly drop us an email at email@example.com so that we can talk further.
Justin I have a quick question for you. Do you have to manually add your twitter handle to the end of each article? Or is there a way to do it automatically?
Hi. What do you think of Agbeko's lawsuit against Don King? King Kong alleges he only got paid $4000 for a title defense in 2008.
Love the work my man.


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Gay rights advocates and the state legislator who introduced legislation this session to ban so-called "gay conversion therapy" in Maryland have withdrawn the bill, saying they will instead pursue regulatory oversight of the controversial practice.
"If we can do this without legislation, I am all about it," said Baltimore County Del. John Cardin, the bill's sponsor, in a statement Friday. "I am not interested in the glory. I'm interested in solving problems."
Cardin's bill would have banned mental health professionals, but not unlicensed church clergy or therapists, from engaging in efforts to change a youth's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Cardin and Equality Maryland, the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group, called the practice dangerous, citing critical opinions of it from multiple medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association.


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PLEASANT POINT, PERRY - Melvin Joseph Francis,
Passamaquoddy tribal governor, 60, passed away Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006. He was
born Aug. 6, 1945, at Pleasant Point, Perry, the son of Leo and Ruth (Dana)
Francis. He attended local schools, graduating from Shead High School. He earned
a Journeyman's Certificate specializing in carpentry. He was a former member of
the Knights of Columbus and he also was a member of the Passamaquoddy Elder
Committee. Melvin has served as Passamaquoddy tribal governor for eight and one
half years. He and his wife, Carol have been therapeutic foster parents for 12
years. He enjoyed artistic painting, hunting and traditional native dances. He
is survived by his wife, Carol; sons, Eyan Francis, Melvin Joseph Francis II and
wife, Tammy, Stephen Francis, Scott Francis; daughters, Stephanie Francis and
friend, Chris, Marie Hopkins and husband, Mark, Alicia Nickerson and friend,
Erik, Angelia Nickerson; and many foster children; grandchildren, Joseph, Starr,
Franklin, Stephen, Alysabeth and AllyMay; one brother, Clifford Francis; several
nieces, nephews and God children; one aunt, Evelyn Dana; one uncle, Martin David
Francis; mother and father-in-law, Richard and Elsie Kearney; sisters-in-law,
Vickie and Rose; brother-in-law, Paul. Melvin deeply loved his tribal community
and will be greatly missed by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, People of the Dawn.


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And finally, to Elle magazine's in-depth profile of Gwyneth Paltrow. In among the usual guff about her ongoing role as the light of the world – "people come up to me and say, 'I want to have two kids and wear a bathing suit and not feel terrible about myself. I see how hard you work and it makes me feel I can do that too" – there are suggestions she feels it's time to roughen up her image: "It's good to shock people who think of me as prim Gwyneth Paltrow." To which end, she talks about her vice: smoking. "If I'm out with my girlfriends after a dinner party, I think let's live a little," she says, with hedonistic abandon, before revealing that she smokes "one cigarette every two months". LiS can only thank God that the Amy Winehouse Foundation is finally launching next week: perhaps, with the benefit of their experience of celebrity addiction, they can convince Gwynie that this reckless search for kicks at all costs can only end in tragedy.
Gwyneth Paltrow's image goes up in smoke
Gwyneth Paltrow torches her prim image with shocking revelation that she has a cigarette every couple of months


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Players can sign up for the game "MovieStar Planet" by visiting the website Moviestarplanet.com and clicking "Play Now." From there, they are prompted to register for the game.
"MovieStar Planet" is a massive multiplayer online game where players create their own "movie star" alter ego and then create animations featuring the star. The more views the animations receives from other players, the more Fame and Starcoins, the in-game currency of MovieStar Planet, the player can earn. Players can also earn Starcoins through minigames, or they can purchase them using a credit card. Although free to play, players can pay to upgrade to a premium account, unlocking extra games and features.