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65 Nostalgic Stocking Stuffers '90s Girls Will Love Even More Than Ring Pops and Polly Pocket
For those of us women who grew up in the '90s, nothing beats reminiscing about all the fashion, music, books, games, and toys that made the decade so totally rad. But what happened to those lanyards we made at camp, or those Lisa Frank stickers we traded at recess? Sadly, they've long since been lost, thrown out, or sold at garage sales. So whether you have a girlfriend, sister, or significant other who's missing her '90s girlhood this holiday season, check out our nostalgic stocking stuffer guide - she's sure to be visited by the ghost of Christmas past!

subset: commoncrawl


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Your privacy with respect to the use of this web site results from a partnership between the Commonwealth and you, the user. At this web site, we attempt to protect your privacy to the maximum extent possible. However, because some of the information that we receive through this web site is subject to the Public Records Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66, Section 10, we cannot ensure absolute privacy. Information that you provide to us through this site may be made available to members of the public under that law. This policy informs you of the information that we collect from you at this site, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed choice about your use of this site and whether to share personally identifiable information with us through this site.
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Current Rating: 4.00
based on 60 votes and 21 reviewsRate this Movie
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Running Time: 118 min.
Release Date: February 14, 2014
DVD: June 24, 2014
Current rating:
based on 60 votes and 21 reviews
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Cast: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Russell Crowe, Finn Wittrock
All we want to do is Netflix and chill when the real chill outside ain't so pleasant...
Director/screenwriter Akiva Goldsman did not originally plan to direct Winter's Tale,...
What better way to kick off your Valentine's Day long weekend than with a love story?...
The Internet lit up today with pictures of actor Hugh Jackman's warm visit to the set...


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Red Sox sign outfielder Sizemore to one-year deal
BOSTON -- In the ultimate low-risk maneuver that could land a substantial reward, the Red Sox signed three-time All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore to a one-year deal Wednesday worth a base salary of just $750,000.
With incentives, Sizemore, who last played in the Majors in 2011, could earn $6 million.
BOSTON -- In the ultimate low-risk maneuver that could land a substantial reward, the Red Sox signed three-time All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore to a one-year deal Wednesday worth a base salary of just $750,000.
With incentives, Sizemore, who last played in the Majors in 2011, could earn $6 million.
Once a rising star, Sizemore has been plagued by a barrage of injuries and has had numerous surgeries in recent years, including microfracture surgery on both knees.
But Sizemore thinks he is ready to start spending his time on the field instead of the training table.
"So far I've been pretty much going through a normal offseason -- running, training, doing baseball stuff, throwing and hitting," Sizemore said. "When I come to camp, I should be ready to go and fit right in and just kind of get my legs underneath me and go from there."
If Sizemore can stay healthy, he at least has a chance to win a starting job. Prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. will be his top competition in center field.
"We added Grady because one, he's available; and two, it provides some competition," said manager John Farrell. "And yet we have to see once we get to Spring Training, Grady's tolerance physically. We don't have a projected number of games that we look at that he might be available for. We have to gradually build that up, build his endurance up. That's how Spring Training will be spent with him."
Following the departure of center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who signed with the Yankees, Boston hadn't signed another outfielder until Sizemore.
"Honestly, I'm looking for an opportunity to play. It wasn't really looking for a place for center field," Sizemore said. "It was more just looking for an opportunity to get in the outfield and fit in any way the team needed me to. I thought it was a good opportunity to be a part of the team, and I thought that it was one of those things where I was looking to fit in any way that I could."
Farrell stressed that Bradley still is very much in the running to win the job.
"It doesn't take Jackie out of the mix at all," said Farrell. "There's questions that we have to answer in Spring Training with our roster. So the fact of Grady signing and being added to our roster doesn't remove Jackie from [consideration]. I think one of the things that [general manager] Ben [Cherington] and all of us have set out to do in these final weeks before Spring Training is add to the depth of our team, and Grady certainly does that right now."
Sizemore is still relatively young at 31.
"Yeah, it's been frustrating," Sizemore said of losing so much time to injuries. "No one likes dealing with injuries, and I've had my fair share. You know, hopefully that's behind me now, and I'm looking forward to just kind of moving on and starting the second half of my career."
As the farm director of the Cleveland Indians from 2001-06, Farrell had considerable history with Sizemore. In fact, when Bradley was having a standout Spring Training in 2013, Farrell was asked to compare him with Sizemore.
"Similar temperament. Nothing was ever taken for granted," Farrell said in March 2013. "They hustled every play, turn down the baseline every chance at the plate. Everything they had was all out. We've seen that from Jackie. Both had good defensive capabilities. Jackie's got a better throwing arm. The one thing that came late with Grady was his power. He didn't hit for much power in the Minor Leagues, but that blossomed later on."
Sizemore, a left-handed hitter and thrower, didn't dispute that his history with Farrell might have factored into signing with Boston.
"I got a feel for him and I was around him quite a bit," said Sizemore. "I just kind of came up in that system along his guidelines, and it was one of those things where I had a familiarity with the manager, and he had seen me play and he knew what I was about. He knew kind of what to expect coming in for me. It made it a lot easier for my decision."
Farrell looks forward to renewing their relationship.
"We understand who he is as a person," Farrell said. "He fits what we value in a player in terms of he's strong, he's tough, he's got character."
The Reds were another team very interested in Sizemore. Why did he choose Boston?
"I thought medically they did a good job of laying out a good game plan for me and kind of giving me the confidence that when I do get here, there's a good plan in place to keep me on the field and keep me healthy," said Sizemore.
Before the injuries, Sizemore was one of baseball's premier outfielders, both offensively and defensively. He hit .290 while leading the league in runs and doubles in 2006, and he followed that with a pair of Gold Glove campaigns, in which his power numbers continued to increase.
In 892 games, Sizemore is a lifetime .269 hitter with a .357 on-base percentage and a .473 slugging percentage. In his four full seasons, he averaged 27 homers per year.
As hopeful as Sizemore is to get his career going again, he knows the true test won't come until Spring Training.
"I think I won't really know how I feel until I get out there and you're grinding every day," Sizemore said. "You can only do so much from a rehab standpoint or an offseason program. Baseball season starts, you're on your feet every day, it's long hours. When I get in that kind of format I guess, and see how I react when I'm pounding it every day week in and week out, that's kind of like the final test."
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne.


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E-commerce Templates
We have a collection of 2232 designs in this area!
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Changing Violent Behavior
My boyfriend have been abusive toward me. For the past five months I refused to see or speak with him. He is a grown man and his violent behavior has escalated. However, now I found myself speaking with him by phone and listening to him cry to me how sorry he is. He claims that he is going to get help? If it wasn`t for his abusive behavior he is a hard working and pretty nice guy, but when he feels he is being pushed against a wall he goes completely off. Can someone like this change?
I canât tell you what to do with your personal life. The agreement to get counseling is a good first step. How successful it would be depends on many things, including continuing it as long as is necessary and how closely he follows the counselorâs recommendations. There are programs specifically for batterers, for example there are three in the Cleveland area: The Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Batterers Intervention Program and Templum House Battererâs Intervention Program. As you pointed out with your boyfriend, abusers were often abused as children, bear that in mind with respect to your own children. The YWCA has the Women helping Women program (1-888-872-9259) in the Cincinnati area, if you search under Domestic Violence there are numerous websites with national, state and regional numbers that can be of immense help.
For more information:
Go to the Domestic Violence health topic.


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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the importance of moving toward a clean energy economy and breaking the country's unsustainable dependence on foreign oil while visiting Thorntons Convenience Store E-85 fueling station in Nashville, Tenn.
"Flex-fuel pumps give Americans a choice to purchase domestically produced renewable transportation fuels," Vilsack said.
In April, Secretary Vilsack announced a series of initiatives to help farmers and rural small businesses implement renewable energy systems and become more energy efficient.
One of those initiatives allows USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to now make funding available for flexible fuel pumps, sometimes referred to as "blender pumps." This is expected to encourage fuel station owners to invest the capital necessary to give American motorists the option of selecting the blend of renewable fuel that meets their needs.
The Obama administration has set a goal of installing 10,000 flexible fuel pumps nationwide within 5 years.
The deadlines for submitting completed REAP applications are June 15 and June 30, depending on the type of project to be funded. For information on how to apply for assistance, contact your local USDA Rural Development office or see the April 14 Federal Register, http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-8456.pdf.
A list of USDA offices is available at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/StateOfficeAddresses.html.
Today, most gasoline sold in this country is a mix of 10 percent ethanol. Currently, there are 8-8.5 million flexible fuel vehicles on U.S. roads, constituting about 3.2-3.5 percent of the approximately 250 million vehicles on the road.
These flexible fuel vehicles can be fueled with E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline). There are approximately 2,350 fueling stations that offer E85 of the more than 167,800 stations nationwide.
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the results of E15 testing on vehicles years 2001 and younger. EPA's findings confirm there are additional vehicles on the road able to take advantage of higher ethanol blends than currently available at local, non-E85, pumps.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of state and local offices.
These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.
Rural Development has an existing portfolio of nearly $149 billion in loans and loan guarantees. Visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov for additional information about the agency's programs or to locate the USDA Rural Development office nearest you.


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Coinciding with the display of her 'Armour for Prostitutes' in SHOWstudio's 'Selling Sex' exhibition, latex doyenne Atsuko Kudo provides a lesson in dressing for pleasure. Slowly enveloping a nude model in layers of rubbery fabric live on camera, Kudo offers a unique, and subversively fetishistic, exploration of the dialogue between clothing and empowerment.
Dressing for Pleasure
Watch the process film showing edited footage from Atsuko Kudo's day-long Dressing For Pleasure LiveStudio


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Combine the milk, water, eggs, flour, salt and sugar in a blender. Blend on medium speed for 15 seconds, until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Scrape down the sides of the blender and pour in 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Blend it again for a second just to incorporate. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour to let it rest. If the crepes are made immediately, they have a tendency to be rubbery; when you let the batter rest, the crepes have a better texture and a softer bite.
Put an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat and brush with a little melted butter for added assurance. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around so it covers the bottom evenly; pour back any excess. Cook for 30 to 45 seconds, until the crepe batter sets. Lightly bang the edge of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the crepe; then flip it and cook another 30 seconds. The art of flipping a crepe in the air takes practice, so make sure no one is looking when you get the first one going. If this intimidates you, use a heatproof rubber spatula to loosen and flip the crepe. The crepes should be pliable, not crisp, and lightly brown. Slide them onto a platter and continue making the crepes until all the batter is used. Cover the stack of crepes with a towel to keep them from drying out. This makes 10 crepes.
Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Forming the blintzes is kind of like making burritos. Spoon 1/4 cup of the Cheese Filling along the lower third of the crepe. Fold the bottom edge away from you to just cover the filling; then fold the 2 sides in to the center. Roll the crepe away from you a couple of times to make a package, ending with the seam side down. Put an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Brush with melted butter. Pan-fry the blintzes for 2 minutes per side until crisp and golden.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes so the egg in the filling cooks slightly and the cheese sets. Using a spatula, transfer the blintzes to serving plates. Spoon the Blueberry Sauce on top, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve right away.
Serve with chopped banana and remaining Blueberry Sauce. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, lemon zest, and egg and blend until smooth. Chill the filling to firm it up a bit so it doesn't squirt out of the blintzes.
Combine the butter, blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-high heat. Bring up to a low boil and stir gently until the berries break down and release their natural juices. The consistency should remain a bit chunky. It will thicken up when it cools down slightly.


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Problems and solutions
The amount of ink that many printers waste because of bad organization must bring joy to ink suppliers and sadness to the printers' accountants. Poor ink management and the problems it creates often aren't recognized until a company experiences a change in management or the inkroom staff.
We saw an example of poor ink management in a company where we recently consulted. This company was annually discarding approximately $100,000 in ink. Disposing of this amount of ink as waste represented a severe financial blow to the company.
The problem developed over years for a variety of reasons. Inadequate stock rotation was one cause, while the inability to estimate ink needs properly (mixing 10 gallons when only 5 were needed) was another. Additionally, labels covered in ink made it difficult to find existing batches of mixed colors, and frequent mismatches led to more unusable ink piling up in storage.
The company used both solvent-based and UV inks. Solvent inks with lids tightly closed can have a shelf life of several years if they do not contain a catalyst. UV-curable inks, however, are nowhere near as stable. They must be stored between 50-77°F (10-25°C) and have a shelf life of around 12 months. Storing them at temperatures above 77°C shortens their shelf life. Dropping them below 10°C and approaching freezing can also damage the ink.
Once these problems were discovered, the company began rectifying the situation by checking its store of UV inks. Those that were undated or more than 12 months old were scheduled for disposal. The remaining inks were set aside to be cataloged.
Solvent-based inks were treated in a similar manner; but in their case, mixing dates and storage age were not as important as the condition of the ink. If the lid was not firmly secured, the inks were marked for disposal. There is no point trying to revive ink that has completely lost its solvent balance and formed a thick crust of dried material on the surface.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.


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Avalanche snap Stars' three-game winning streakby Steve Hunt
DALLAS -- When Semyon Varlamov allowed a goal to Tyler Seguin late in the second period to tie the game at 3-3, the Colorado Avalanche goaltender didn't dwell on it. Instead, he regrouped.
Varlamov made 13 of his 41 saves in the third period, including several more against Seguin and one at close range from Erik Cole to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-3 win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Monday.
"I was not happy about the third goal. That was my goal," Varlamov said. "I tried to regroup for myself and get ready for the third period."
Colorado (33-14-5) received the game-winner 4:13 into the final period when Alex Tanguay scored his fourth of the season on a wrist shot that deflected off the skate of Stars defenseman Sergei Gonchar.
Dallas (24-21-8) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
"The puck goes off our skate into the net for the game-winning goal. That's tough," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.
Tanguay's goal, which came after his shot from the left circle deflected in off Gonchar's skate, came 19 seconds after Dallas failed to convert on a power play following a holding call on Nate Guenin 1:54 into the final period.
"It wasn't pretty, but those things happen," Tanguay said. "I had [Paul Stastny] at the corner of the net. If it doesn't hit something else, it probably goes in with him. I'll take those bounces."
Seguin led Dallas with three points (two goals, one assist). Captain Jamie Benn (one goal, one assist) and defenseman Alex Goligoski (two assists) also chipped in two points each for the Stars.
"I thought Jamie (Benn) had a great game. Tyler (Seguin) really skated well and had a great game," Ruff said.
The Avalanche struck early when Nathan MacKinnon beat Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen with a backhand 1:40 into the game. After a poor attempted clearance by Alex Goligoski, the puck fell to MacKinnon, who finished from the left side of the net for his 18th of the season.
Colorado then doubled its lead at 15:57 of the first when Jamie McGinn scored his 12th of the season after collecting his own rebound. Lehtonen denied McGinn's initial shot, but McGinn skated in uncontested and beat Lehtonen with a backhand off the rebound.
"The difference in the game without a doubt was the start of the game and the performance of our goalie," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "Having such a good start, they had to play catch-up hockey. In this League, it's very difficult."
Dallas cut it to 2-1 at 17:27 of the first when Benn roofed a shot over Varlamov. Benn's wrister from the left circle beat Varlamov glove side after a pass from Seguin.
"We had a bit of a tough start there, but we did a lot of good things in the game," Benn said. "I think we outworked them. They capitalized on a couple lucky goals there, and that's the game."
After trailing 2-1 at the first intermission, Dallas quickly tied it in the second period when Seguin scored a power-play goal at 1:02. Seguin finished with a low shot inside the left post after a cross-ice pass from Benn. It was Seguin's 22nd of the season, but first in 12 games.
"It felt good," Seguin said of ending his scoring drought. "[It] felt like I lost the monkey off my back for sure, getting that goal. I've been thinking about it, but not as much as of late because of winning games."
The Stars were on a 4-on-3 power play after Colorado defenseman Nick Holden was called for a trip on Seguin 36 seconds into the second. Avalanche center John Mitchell was called for holding at 19:34 of the first period and Cole was whistled for interference three seconds later.
Colorado regained the lead at 17:57 of the second when Stastny scored a power-play goal with a backhand. Dallas defenseman Jordie Benn attempted to clear the puck from behind his goal, but his clearance struck the right post, falling to the skates of Stastny, who finished over Lehtonen's blocker for his 15th of the season.
The Avalanche was on the power play after the Stars were called for having too many men on the ice at 16:22.
Seguin's second of the evening pulled the game level again 16 seconds later. Following a pass by Goligoski from the Dallas zone to Seguin in neutral ice, the speedy forward dashed up the right side of the ice and beat Varlamov with a wrister from the right circle that struck his right shoulder before crossing the line.
Dallas outshot Colorado 19-8 in the second period, giving the Stars a 31-18 edge in shots through 40 minutes. For the game, the Stars outshot the Avalanche 44-21.
Lehtonen, who stopped 17 shots for Dallas, left the ice for an extra attacker with 1:01 remaining, but the Stars were unable to find the equalizer and force overtime.
"We emptied the tank to get [the last goal] back. We just couldn't get one to go," Ruff said.
Colorado ended its three-game road trip and stretch of three games in four days at 2-1-0. The Avalanche host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
"It's a three-game road trip, so we wanted to come out 2-1," Stastny said. "That was important for us. So now we have two days to rest up here and get back at it. So for us, I think it was good to end the road trip this way."


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- fonds
- 1912-1978
Patient records, comprising registers of applications for treatment, 1912-1979; street index of patients, c.1912-1948; glass slides used to illustrate talks on tuberculosis, c.1920.
Chest Clinic, York
2 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects
Patient records, comprising registers of applications for treatment, 1912-1979; street index of patients, c.1912-1948; glass slides used to illustrate talks on tuberculosis, c.1920.
Chest Clinic, York
Church Monuments Society Archive
Rules of the Society, c.1970s; Council meeting minutes and related papers, 1979-1984, 1988-2002, 2010-2014; Officers meeting minutes, 1987-1988, 1991-2002; Annual General Meeting minutes and related papers, 1998-2004, 2009-2013; membership lists,...
Church Monuments Society
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, Easingwold Circuit
Circuit schedule of Trust property, 1959-1979; circular for the Wesleyan Centenary Meeting, 1839; appeal for the chapel renovation and extension scheme in the Circuit, 1893.
Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, Easingwold Circuit
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, York (Monkgate) Circuit
Registers of Circuit baptisms, 1843-1869, 1871-1910.Circuit administration, comprising Quarterly Meeting minute books, 1832-1853, 1864-1902, 1938-1957, and accounts, 1824-1894, 1906, 1913-1957; Circuit committee minutes, 1841-1854, 1864-1882, 1888...
Primitive Methodist Connexion, York Circuit
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, York (New Street) Circuit
Circuit administration, comprising Quarterly Meetings minute books for York Circuit, 1816-1827, and Clifton Circuit, 1910-1951; Circuit Committee's minute book, 1903-1957, 1964-1988; Circuit Schedule Books for York Circuit, 1824-1867, New Street C...
Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, York Circuit
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, York, Centenary Circuit
Circuit administration, comprising Circuit Committee meeting minute books, 1890-1902, 1926-1981; Local Preachers' Meeting records, including meeting minute books, 1888-1955, 1966-1981; accounts for Horse Hire Fund, 1916-1978; cash book, 1958; corr...
Methodist Connexion, York, Centenary Circuit
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, York, South Circuit
Circuit administration, comprising General Purposes Committee minute book, 1982-1999; Circuit Meeting minutes and related papers 1988-2009; Treasurers' meeting minutes, 2003-2006; Circuit Review Group Report, May 2003; Local Preachers' Meeting min...
Methodist Connexion, York, South Circuit
Circuit records of the Methodist Connexion, York, Wesley Circuit
Circuit administration, comprising Quarterly Meeting minute books, 1867-1883, 1901-1981; Circuit (General Purposes) Committee records, including Circuit Committee minutes, 1943-1980, account book, 1966-1981, and Circuit policy, 1976; Circuit Exten...
Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, York, Wesley Circuit
Circuit records of the Primitive Methodist Connexion, York Victoria Bar Circuit
Circuit Missionary Society account book, 1923-1936.
Primitive Methodist Connexion, York, Victoria Bar Circuit
Circuit records of the United Methodist Free Church, York, Monk Bar Circuit
Quarterly Meeting minute books, 1894-1934; Circuit committee minute books, 1873-1899; Special Trust schedules for York, Maunby, Morton on Swale and Yafforth, with related papers, 1924.
United Methodist Free Church, York Circuit
Administrative records, comprising Medical Hospitals House Committee minutes, covering City, Acomb, St Mary's, Yearsley Bridge, Fairfield and Bungalow Hospitals, 1972-1974, and attendance book, 1967-1974, York A Group Hospital Management Committee...
City Hospital, York
Administrative records, comprising North Riding Committee for the Care of the Mentally Defective minutes, 1914-1948; House Committee minutes, 1926-1968; head of departments meeting minutes, 1975-1986; Joint Staff Consultative Committee minutes, 19...
Claypenny Hospital
Clifton Hospital Amateur Operatic Society
Programmes, photographs , news-cuttings and memoirs of Clifton Hospital Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society 's productions. The memoirs are written by Janet Benson nee McEwan, who starred in many of the Society's productions.
Clifton Hospital Amateur Operatic Society
Administrative records, comprising Visiting Committee minutes, 1844-1948; House Committee minutes, 1847-1948; Building Sub-Committee minutes, including material relating to male nurses home alterations, 1929-1941; Supplementary Committee books, 19...
Clifton Hospital
Cooke, Troughton and Simms Archive
Corporate records, 1891-1980; accounting and financial records, 1922-1970; personnel records, 1910-1970; manufacturing records, 1904-1963; sales records, 1912-1971; marketing, 1879-1960s; photographs and negatives, 1920s-1963; publications, 1923-1...
Cooke, Troughton, and Simms Ltd, scientific instrument manufacturers
Scripts and notes for productions with the Peter Hall Company including 'The Seagull' (1997); 'Waste' (1997); 'King Lear'(1997); 'Amadeus' (1998); 'Bacchai' (2002); 'Waiting for Godot' (2005); 'Old Times' (2007); 'Love's Labours Lost' (2008); 'Be...
Monsey, Cordelia, b 1956, director
Culyer Report: Papers of Professor Anthony Culyer, Chair of the NHS Task Force on Research and Development
Papers relating to the NHS Research and Development Task Force including terms of reference, 1994; correspondence, 1993-2001; agendas and related papers for task force meetings, 1993-1994; minutes of the sub-group on budget, 1997; minutes of the R...
Culyer, Anthony John, b.1942, Professor of Economics
Photocopies / digital copies of diaries, 1974-2018.
Buttery, Darrell, b.1941
Deeds and papers of the Wenlock family
Lawley family settlements, drafts, copies and related documents, 1717-1807; papers relating to offices and patents, c.1820-1839; papers relating to Angram and Hutton Wandesley, including title deeds, 1372-1823, leases, 1769-1775, and associated l...
Lawley family, Barons Wenlock
Deeds of the Barlow Family deposited by Mr R. E. Drury
Family deeds and papers including wills and marriage settlements, 1689-1858, copies of parish registers and pedigrees, c.1755-c.1834, the bank book of John Barlow, 1805-1813, two receivership bank books and a receivership rental of the trustees of...
Barlow family of Middlethorpe


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Anyone on the San Jose roster admitted disappointment Wednesday at not being able to complete the transformation of a two-goal deficit into a victory against Real Salt Lake in their U.S. Open Cup qualifying match.
But for goalkeeper Jon Busch, losing to RSL in a penalty-kick shootout hurt on a more personal, visceral level.
"It's like Groundhog Day for me," Busch said after giving up goals to all five RSL shooters in a 5-3 PK loss. "Just a few months ago, it feels like, you know? As [former Red Sox pitcher] Pedro Martinez said back in the day, the Yankees were his daddy. Maybe Salt Lake's my daddy on penalty kicks."
Busch's sense of déjà vu stemmed from his last MLS appearance, in the 2009 Eastern Conference championship. Real Salt Lake won that match in PKs, too, topping the Fire 5-4 and bouncing them from the postseason at Toyota Park.
Busch, who made three top-notch saves just to get the Fire into OT, couldn't come up with another stop during the shootout. RSL missed twice, but both shots were off frame.
The same held true Wednesday. Busch was unable to prevent Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, Robbie Russell and Andy Williams from converting.
"I read the first two well, I just couldn't get close enough to them," Busch said. "I had a little info from [Earthquakes goalkeeper coach Jason] Batty on where [Beckerman] went last time, which was to the keeper's right. Unfortunately, he went to my left this time. When I went through this in the semifinals against them, I knew a couple of them wanted to go up the middle, so I made it a point not to go early this time, thinking that they may try it again. But they took them well.
"It's a tough situation," he continued. "Sometimes you get lucky and you get close enough to them and other times you don't."
Busch made his Quakes debut after signing with the team two weeks ago; San Jose snapped him up on the cheap after Chicago released him on the eve of the season. But it wasn't the result Busch was seeking.
"Unfortunately, we made three mistakes and they punished us three times," Busch said. "We've got to be better and cut those mistakes out, because offensively, we're a good team. We're going to get our goals. You get three goals, you should win a game, bottom line."
Busch is expected to be back on the bench Saturday, giving way to regular No. 1 Joe Cannon as the Quakes return to their MLS schedule and host New England.
Geoff Lepper covers the Earthquakes for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @sjquakes.


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The House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Human Resources (Johnson) on the SSI Fraud Prevention Act of 1999
John Dyer, Principal Deputy Commissioner, testified, February 3, 1999.
Madame Chair and Members of the Subcommittee:
I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Subcommittee to discuss the Social Security Administration's (SSA) ongoing efforts for strengthening the integrity of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the provisions in the Subcommittee's bill, the "SSI Fraud Prevention Act of 1999." SSA is firmly committed to effective management of the SSI program, and we look forward to working with the Subcommittee to strengthen the SSI program.
We are pleased that the proposals that have been advanced by the Administration have been included in the Subcommittee's own draft bill. We believe that these measures will help SSA to ensure that individuals who are eligible for SSI receive the correct amount of assistance, while further reducing the possibility that individuals erroneously receive benefits. SSA continually strives to balance our responsibility to process initial applications promptly with our duty to ensure that payments made are accurate.
SSA has established major administrative initiatives to improve Agency stewardship of the SSI program. These initiatives demonstrate our commitment to take the actions necessary to effectively deal with program integrity issues. A number of initiatives that SSA has underway will yield results in the near future, while others will take longer to produce significant improvements. We will aggressively monitor each initiative and make modifications when necessary to ensure that the best possible results are achieved.
Current Beneficiaries
Before I begin discussing specific program issues and proposals, I would like to give you some idea of the scope of the SSI program. The positive effects that the SSI program has on millions of needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals of this country is best described through the individuals that the program serves.
On average during fiscal year (FY) 1998, 6.6 million aged, blind, and disabled individuals received SSI benefits on a monthly basis. For these beneficiaries, SSI is a vital lifeline that enables them to meet their needs for basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. In FY 1998, these individuals received more than $27 billion in Federal SSI benefits and an additional $3 billion in State supplementary payments.
More than 2 million of the individuals receiving SSI are 65 or older. Of these, over half (57 percent) are 75 or older. Seventy-three percent of those over 65 are female and many, if not most, are widowed. At the other end of the age spectrum, nearly 890,000 severely disabled children under age 18 receive benefits.
The 1999 Federal SSI benefit rate is $500 a month. While the 1999 Federal poverty guidelines have not yet been published, the SSI monthly benefit rate over the years has consistently represented just 74 percent of the Federal poverty guideline for an individual. The Federal benefit rate for eligible couples--$751--represents 82 percent of the poverty guidelines for two persons.
Here are some typical examples of SSI beneficiaries:
. An aged beneficiary who is a 71 year-old widow and lives alone in a rented apartment, has only a small OASDI check and no other income. For her, the SSI check along with her small survivors benefit provides only a basic level of subsistence;
. A disabled beneficiary who is 45 years old and mentally ill. This beneficiary has had limited or no prior connection to the workforce (and therefore no OASDI benefits) and no other income; and
. A disabled child who is 12-years old with mental retardation, with a single parent who has no income or who works and has fluctuating wages. Their total family income is well below established poverty guidelines.
As you can see, these individuals are among the most vulnerable Americans. For them, SSI is truly the program of last resort and is the safety net that protects them from complete impoverishment.
After a decade of substantial growth, the number of SSI beneficiaries has leveled off. A projection of SSI participants presented in the 1998 "Annual Report of the Supplemental Security Income Program," that was sent to Congress in May, indicates that the program is expected to grow only modestly over the next 25 years. Expressed as a percentage of the total U.S. population, the number of Federal SSI beneficiaries declined from its 1996 level of 2.3 percent to 2.2 percent in 1997, and is projected to remain fairly level at roughly 2.2 percent of the population through 2022.
Program Administration
In 1972, when the SSI program was established, Congress moved the responsibility for administering programs for needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals from the States to the Federal Government. SSA was given the job of administering SSI because Congress wanted to provide a standard floor of income to needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals based on nationally uniform criteria.
From that perspective, the program and SSA's administration of it have been highly successful. SSA has always aimed to administer this program in a uniformly fair, humane, and responsive manner. Our efforts have been designed to maximize the program's efficiency while, at the same time, to safeguard its integrity and to meet our responsibilities to the American taxpayers. Achieving this balance has been and continues to be one of SSA's biggest challenges.
However, what the framers of the SSI program may not have fully recognized was the complexity associated with designing and administering a system that is sensitive and responsive to individuals' changing needs. The program has become increasingly complex over the years due to numerous changes that were enacted in response to concerns about program policies that address the multiplicity of events and situations that occur in the everyday lives of aged, blind and disabled individuals.
We have always been committed to administering the SSI program as efficiently and accurately as possible. It is important to our nation and the needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals that the program serves. We are strengthening the administration of SSI in order to retain public confidence in the program.
Our reliance on recipient reporting, data matches, and selective, periodic eligibility reviews has permitted SSA to achieve a relatively good payment accuracy rate for the SSI program. In FY 1997, the payment accuracy rate--a widely employed gauge of how well the program is being administered--was about 94.7 percent. However, we believe we can improve our administration of the SSI program in ways that will further increase the accuracy rate and reduce erroneous payments.
Our goal is to increase the accuracy rate to 96 percent by 2002 through management improvements and through the changes that we have recommended in our legislative proposals, which are included in the draft bill under consideration by this Subcommittee. Many of the proposals in the Subcommittee bill were included in the "Supplemental Security Income Program Integrity Act of 1998," which Commissioner Apfel sent to the Congress on May 4, 1998.
SSI Management Report and Initiatives
As the Commissioner has stated, one of the key elements of stronger management of the SSI program is ongoing evaluation and public accountability. Last April, I appeared before the Subcommittee and discussed the development of a plan which would allow SSA to reach our 96 percent payment accuracy goal. This plan is embodied in the report "Management of the Supplemental Security Income Program: Today and in the Future," which was issued by Commissioner Apfel in October. Copies of the report were sent to the Subcommittee and the other committees in Congress with responsibility for the SSI program.
The report was prepared at the direction of Commissioner Apfel and led to a comprehensive review of the SSI program, which identified the program's challenges and vulnerabilities. Our review identified areas in which the SSI program can be better managed: improving overall payment accuracy; increasing continuing disability reviews; expanding our efforts to combat program fraud; and improving debt collections. In each
area, we have set aggressive but achievable goals to improve our management of the program. The SSI report--the first ever issued by SSA--demonstrates Commissioner Apfel's and the Agency's commitment to meeting these goals.
Payment Accuracy
In order to understand the complexity of the program, it is essential to understand how SSI payments are calculated.
Two factors used to determine an individual's monthly benefit are income and living arrangements. Income can be in cash or in-kind, and is anything that a person receives that can be used to obtain food, clothing, or shelter. It includes cash income such as wages, OASDI and other pensions, and unemployment compensation. In-kind income includes food, clothing, and shelter or something someone can use to obtain those items. Generally, the amount of the cash income or the value of the in-kind income is deducted from the Federal benefit rate, which is currently $500 a month. SSI is designed to supplement the individual's other income up to a minimum monthly floor of income.
Individuals' SSI benefit amounts also may change if they move into a different living arrangement. By living arrangement, we mean whether a person lives alone or with others, or resides in a medical facility or other institution. When individuals move into nursing homes, their benefits may be reduced to not more than $30 per month, and when they leave their benefit may be increased. If they move from their own household into the household of another person, and that person provides food, clothing, or shelter, their benefits also may be reduced. If their incomes or resources in a month exceed the limits specified in the law they may be ineligible. The design of the SSI program requires SSA to take into account the many changes in an individual's financial and personal life and make adjustments in benefit payments to reflect those changes.
To a significant extent, SSA must rely on applicants and beneficiaries to report relevant information that may affect their benefits, especially information that is not available from other sources. For example, reports of people moving in and out of a household would not be available from any other source than the recipients. Because it is extremely difficult for SSA to obtain information about every change in an individual's income, resources, or living arrangement in a timely fashion, there will inevitably be some overpayments and underpayments that will be made some month.
The first line of defense against overpayments is to assure that those who receive SSI understand how the program works and why timely reports of changes are important. At every opportunity, our employees emphasize to SSI beneficiaries or their representative payees the importance of reporting changes in their circumstances. However, if beneficiaries do not report or if reports are made or changes occur after benefits have been paid, overpayments may occur. We have found that often, beneficiaries do not fully understand how changes in their everyday situations may affect their eligibility for SSI or the amount of their monthly payment; nor do they always understand their responsibility to report changes, even seemingly minor changes that still can affect their eligibility or monthly payment.
For example, every time the wages of a disabled child's parent fluctuate because of working extra hours, because of a raise, or because of an additional payday within a month, the amount of income deemed to the child changes. If an individual has slightly more than the allowable resource limit in his or her bank account at the beginning of a month, he or she may be overpaid SSI for the month. An unanticipated living arrangement change in the middle of a month can cause an overpayment.
The areas of wages, financial accounts, and institutionalization account for nearly half of the overpayments made in the SSI program. We believe that matching information with various databases holds great promise in the prevention of overpayments caused by these factors and that access to data is vitally important in our plans to improve program administration.
To this end, we have expanded our electronic information exchanges significantly over the years. Currently our computer matching efforts include matches with:
. Office of Personnel Management;
. Department of Veterans Affairs;
. Railroad Retirement Board;
. Internal Revenue Service;
. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA);
. State wage and unemployment records;
. Savings bonds records; and,
. Prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities.
These matching efforts have been very successful. For example, in October 1998 we began matching SSI records with State wage and unemployment information in the National Directory of New Hires database. This matching effort has produced more than 350,000 "alerts" about wages paid to SSI beneficiaries and their spouses, or, in the case of children, their parents, and we estimate that by 2002 these matches will prevent $110 million in overpayments annually. In addition, during the same time, there have been over 19,000 "alerts" with regard to unemployment compensation. While undoubtedly many individuals' SSI records already included wage and unemployment compensation information, it appears that some of the amounts of the income were not accurate, and in some instances, the income had not been reported.
Another example of the effectiveness of data matching is the November 1998 match with Medicaid and Medicare information in HCFA's database. The match disclosed 38,000 nursing home admissions by SSI beneficiaries. Again, not all of these admissions were unreported by the SSI beneficiaries, but it is clear that getting the data from these matches will prevent or reduce SSI overpayments. By 2002, we estimate that these matches will prevent about $20 million in overpayments each year.
While computer matching produces information at periodic intervals, online access to data allows SSA to electronically access current information held by other organizations for purposes of determining accurate SSI benefit payments. Online access provides the means to prevent overpayments by identifying undisclosed income or resources, or the current value of these items. SSA is testing an on-line approach to State databases--human services, vital statistics, and unemployment and workers' compensation--in a pilot program in Tennessee. SSA has begun implementing this model with multiple agencies in other States.
Another example of successful data exchange involves State reports of death to SSA. Most States currently report death information to SSA promptly. This allows us, and other State and Federal agencies that use SSA's death information file, to avoid paying benefits to deceased individuals. To address problems with reporting of deaths from a small number of States, the Administration has included in its FY 2000 budget a proposal that would improve the timeliness of death reports from the States. Under this proposal, States would be required to furnish SSA with death reports within 30 days after the State receives it. We urge the Subcommittee to support this provision.
We also have a significant matching program underway with over 3,500 prison facilities nationwide, which covers 99 percent of the inmate population. Reports received from these facilities about the incarceration of SSI or OASDI beneficiaries enable us to promptly stop benefits. Since November 1998, we have had the capacity to share this information with other Federal agencies in order to help them prevent overpayments or even fraud with respect to their programs.
These examples show how matches and online data can ensure that SSA makes accurate SSI payments. However, we do not currently have the authority to carry out matches in some situations that would enable us to verify more efficiently individuals' income resources and living arrangements for SSI purposes. The legislative proposals SSA sent to Congress last year and that have been included in both the Administration's and the Subcommittee's bills would strengthen SSA's ability to obtain information electronically that will lead to earlier detection of changes in income, resources, and living arrangements that may have not been reported.
Debt Collection
Each year, SSA detects substantial amounts of individual overpayments in the SSI program (more that $1.3 billion in FY 1998). In FY 1998, SSA collected $539.2 million in existing debt. Although these collections represented a relatively small proportion of SSA's entire outstanding portfolio of debt in 1998, the result over time is that a substantial portion of each year's debt is recovered. For example, a recent study of the debt detected in calendar year 1990 shows that as of December 31, 1997, 60 percent of the total 1990 SSI debt had been recovered. Given the current status of the collections for these overpaid dollars, we believe that we will eventually recover more than 62 percent of the 1990 debt.
To recover SSI debts, SSA can currently use the following debt collection tools: benefit offset (SSI and OASDI), repayment by refund, and offsets from tax refunds. The process SSA uses in recovering debt is as follows:
When an individual has been overpaid, SSA sends a notice that explains the reason for the overpayment, the options for repayment, and the individual's s rights in connection with the overpayment. Under provisions of the Social Security Act, an individual has the right to appeal the decision that he or she is overpaid or to request that recovery of the debt be waived. Waiver of recovery of an overpayment generally is granted if an individual is without fault in causing the overpayment and repayment would cause a hardship.
Collection is relatively certain from individuals who remain on the SSI rolls. SSA eventually recovers more than 90 percent of overpayments made to individuals who remain on the rolls through offset of their ongoing monthly benefits. Overpayment collection from persons who are no longer receiving SSI is more difficult and costly. Although these individuals may be in better financial circumstances than they were when they were receiving SSI, they are often only marginally better off. Thus, it is often difficult to obtain voluntary repayments of these overpayments.
SSA has an automated system for managing the pursuit and recovery of these debts. The system sends bills and requests for repayment to overpaid individuals. If these individuals do not repay, SSA sends them a series of follow-up requests for repayment. If these are unsuccessful, SSA's own debt collectors contact these debtors and attempt to negotiate a repayment arrangement.
SSA notifies the Treasury Department of individuals with delinquent debts related to overpayments. These debts are deducted from the individuals' tax refunds. With the expansion of SSA's tax refund offset program in 1998 to include delinquent SSI debts, the collection of debts from those no longer on the rolls has been strengthened. In 1998, SSA
collected $23.5 million in SSI debts via offset, and another $12.1 million in voluntary repayments from people who wanted to avoid the offsets. SSA uses the tax refund offset program to recover from both the delinquent debtors being pursued through the billing and follow-up process as well as from those debtors whose debts have been written off.
In addition, SSA has a new and important tool to recover SSI debt from the individual's OASDI benefit, and we thank members of the Subcommittee for their support in providing us with this tool. The enactment of the "Noncitizen Benefit Clarification and Other Technical Amendments Act of 1998," authorized SSA to recover an SSI debt from the individual's Social Security benefit (up to a limit of 10 percent of that benefit). Previously, SSI overpayments could be recovered from OASDI benefits only if the person authorized SSA to do so. We expect that we will recover an estimated $30 million annually using this tool.
We are also implementing wage garnishment to recover SSI debt. While we are only in the preliminary stages of developing policies and procedures for this debt recovery tool, I mention it here as an example of SSA's commitment to collect as much of the debt as possible.
Our SSI recovery tools are somewhat limited in comparison to those that are authorized for the purpose of recovering OASDI debt. In order to expand those tools, the President's budget contains a proposal, that I will discuss later, that will give SSA additional
debt collection authorities that will help us do even more to recover outstanding SSI overpayments. We are grateful that an identical proposal is included in the Subcommittee's bill.
Measures To Address Vulnerabilities to Fraud
Although we believe that the most important elements in strengthening the SSI program are improved payment accuracy and debt collection, we are also very concerned about fraud in the SSI program. Included in SSA's strategic plan is a goal to make our management of the SSI program the best in business with zero tolerance for fraud. To this end, SSA and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have cooperated in developing a comprehensive anti-fraud plan, which we call "Zero Tolerance for Fraud." The plan has three goals:
. change programs, systems, and operations to reduce instances of fraud;
. eliminate wasteful practices that erode public confidence in SSA; and
. prosecute vigorously, individuals or groups who violate the integrity of SSA's programs.
The activities in the plan fall generally under the categories of fraud prevention and detection, referral and investigation, and enforcement.
The SSI Management Report, which I referred to earlier, includes comprehensive descriptions of OIG's efforts concerning residency fraud, and the joint OIG/SSA efforts with regard to collaborator or "middleman" fraud. I will not reiterate what is in the report. However, I do want to mention that we have expanded our efforts at uncovering and preventing residency fraud in the Chicago, New York, and Atlanta regions.
The SSI Management Report also described the pilot project underway in 5 States involving State Disability Determination Service (DDS) Cooperative Disability Investigation (CDI) units made up of OIG and DDS employees. These units are designed to improve the DDS' capability to detect fraud and abuse at the earliest point in the disability determination process, thereby preventing erroneous eligibility. The CDI units are presently located in California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, and New York. Due to the success of the CDI units, two new sites (Missouri and Oregon) have been funded for FY 1999. Consideration is being given to expand the CDI units into other States.
As of the end of 1998, the CDI units had processed 756 case referrals and developed evidence to support 101 denials for benefits for projected program savings of over
$6 million. In addition, over $100,000 will be recovered through repayment agreements, restitution orders, offsets to continuing benefits and the return of uncashed checks. These amounts exemplify the success of these operations and SSA's and OIG's commitment to combat fraud through a variety of methods.
In spite of our continued efforts to protect U.S. taxpayers by making sure that only those aged, blind, and disabled individuals who are eligible for benefits receive only amounts due them, there are a small number of persons who attempt to obtain benefits fraudulently. I want to assure the Subcommittee that we will continue to strengthen our ability to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud and to penalize those who misrepresent or omit facts in order to obtain benefits for which they are not eligible.
Both the President's Budget and the Subcommittee bill include proposals for strengthening SSA's hand in preventing fraud.
SSI Redeterminations
Redeterminations are the most powerful tool available to SSA for improving the accuracy of SSI payments. They are periodic reviews of an individual's income, resources, and other nondisability-related factors that affect an individual's eligibility or benefit amounts, and are a very effective way to uncover unreported changes in individuals' income and resources and to avoid large overpayments.
Every year SSA contacts SSI beneficiaries to update the income and resource factors which affect eligibility and payment amount. These contacts can be face-to-face comprehensive
reviews in which only a single issue is addressed, and those in which a specially designed mailed questionnaire is appropriate.
This year SSA is increasing the number of redeterminations it will conduct from 1.8 million in FY 1998 to 2.1 million. The President's FY 2000 budget calls for yet another increase to 2.2 million. With these increases, SSA by 2002 expects to reduce SSI overpayments by $260 million annually.
We ask your support for our full administrative budget request for FY 2000.
Proposals in the President's Budget
Although I said it earlier, it bears repeating: SSA takes the administration of the SSI program very seriously. As careful stewards of the SSI program, SSA has always worked to improve its administration of this vitally important program. Last May, Commissioner Apfel sent to Congress the "Supplemental Security Income Program Integrity Act of 1998." Proposals in that bill have been included in the President's fiscal year FY 2000 budget. We believe that the proposals will give SSA valuable tools to further our efforts, and we are encouraged and grateful that the Subcommittee has included our proposals in its draft bill.
Three of the proposals in the Budget are intended to improve SSA's ability to gather information that is material to an individual's eligibility or correct amount of assistance. These improvements will enable us to identify unreported changes earlier so we can prevent overpayments or reduce the amount of overpayments flowing from the unreported event. The proposals would expand the pool of data available to SSA or make the data available on a more timely and economical basis. The Subcommittee bill includes two similar proposals that:
. Would require the Commissioner to conduct more frequent, periodic matches with Medicare and Medicaid data held by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. It would also authorize the Commissioner to substitute information from the matches for the physician's certification otherwise required in order to maintain the full benefit level of an individual whose institutionalization is expected to last fewer than 3 months. This proposal will allow SSA to correctly adjust the SSI benefit without having to rely on the individual, a family member, or the institution phoning or writing us concerning the change. It will also enable SSA to identify situations in which the individual's admission to a facility has gone unreported; and
. Would authorize the Commissioner to require SSI applicants and recipients to permit SSA to obtain all financial records from any and all financial institutions. Refusal to provide an authorization may result in the individual's SSI ineligibility. Other changes would allow the Commissioner to obtain the information electronically rather than on paper as is done currently. This proposal will allow us to uncover undisclosed accounts and to efficiently get data from the financial institutions without SSA's and the banks' employees having to use the current, time-consuming, paper process. We believe that this provision has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of overpayments from undisclosed financial accounts.
Another proposal in both the President's Budget and Subcommittee bill would allow SSA to improve efforts to collect SSI overpayments by extending to SSI all of the debt collection authorities currently available for the collection of overpayments under the OASDI program. The overpayment recovery tools that would be extended to the SSI program under this proposal include reporting delinquent debt to credit bureaus, using private collection agencies, administrative offset, Federal salary offset, and interest charging or
indexing. These additional tools will help us recover overpayments when our previous recovery attempts have been unsuccessful. This proposal helps address the problem of collecting overpayments from individuals who are no longer SSI or OASDI beneficiaries.
Two of the Administration's proposals are designed to strengthen program provisions that now allow individuals to qualify for the program by disposing of resources for less than fair market value, and by transferring assets to a trust. Actions such as these contravene a basic principle underlying the SSI program--namely that an individual with the means to provide for his or her own needs should use them for this purpose. Proposals on trusts and disposal of assets are also included in both the President's FY 2000 Budget and in the Subcommittee's bill. Although we believe this abuse occurs infrequently, enactment of these proposals will help strengthen the integrity of the program.
The Administration has also advanced a proposal that would authorize SSA to impose specified periods of ineligibility for SSI and OASDI benefits on any individual who knowingly provides us with false or misleading information in order to qualify for benefits. This proposal would provide a way to respond to situations where criminal or civil penalties may not be feasible, for example, when overpayment amounts are low or when the claimant has little or no resources to attach.
In addition, administrative sanctions will give SSA field office employees a tool that they can use to respond appropriately to individuals who knowingly furnish inaccurate or misleading information material to eligibility or payment amount. These sanctions will act as a disincentive for others who may mislead SSA in their attempt to claim benefits.
We thank the Subcommittee for including most of the Administration's proposals in its bill. I believe that the Administration and Congress can find common ground to enact meaningful legislation that will improve SSA's ability to administer the SSI program in a way that evokes increased congressional and public confidence in both the program and the agency.
I believe that by working together we can strengthen this vital program by adding overpayment collection tools and program sanctions, providing the authority for data matches for verifying SSI eligibility, and closing program loopholes that have been subject to abuse.
This concludes my testimony. We will be glad to answer any questions that the Subcommittee members may have. Thank you.


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Cover Story
What kind of nation are we called to be: arrogantly superior or humbly exemplary?
Paul shows us how to wrestle with violent passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Indigenous communities -- and local church leaders -- stand against open-pit mining that threatens to despoil Patagonia.
Multigenerational households are becoming more common, by choice or by necessity -- and these expanded family circles have both benefits and perils.
Fifty years after Vatican II, will a new generation of lay Catholics lead prophetic change in the church and in the world?
Despite the enormous success of lay involvement and Catholic outreach to the world, several trends indicate serious challenges for the Catholic Church in the United States.
A conference at Cedarville University shows new political boundary-crossing in the Christian college world.
All of us owe Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth a heavy debt of gratitude for his willingness to give all he had to help build a more just society.
Populism sprouts again among many family farmers.
What does individualism have to do with Christianity? Not much.
The war in Iraq was fundamentally a war of choice, and it was the wrong choice.
I'm grateful to the men who use their power, money, and influence on behalf of women.
It was not the stones thrown by his tormentors that made him suffer most, he said; it was the silence of his friends.
At first, I thought I had the flu because I didn't get a flu shot this year and naturally had to be punished by the medical community.
Culture Watch
Roland Emmerich is known for making the kind of disaster movies that fans of quality filmmaking love to hate.
War and the American Difference: Theological Reflections on Violence and National Identity, by Stanley Hauerwas.
Contrition seems more popular than ever.
Free South Africa, To Love More Deeply, When Disaster Strikes, Wrestling with Tradition.
Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art, and the Architecture of Silence. And, Fasting For Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice.
Consensus decision-making can make an old-style Senate filibuster seem purposeful and engaging.
Activist pastor Gardener C. Taylor on lessons learned in a long life of faithfully taking the side of the oppressed.
"I think it is a spiritual task to struggle with questions such as what and who we place at the center of our economy"
I found Tom Getman's article "Holy Land Farce" (November 2011) to be very one-sided in its perception of Glenn Beck's Rally to Restore Courage in August. I am a Jewish person, almost 62 years old, who became a Christian when I was 50.
Reflections on the Common Lectionary.
Bill Wylie-Kellermann's "Harry and the Principalities" (November 2011) gave voice to my family's deep disappointment with the final Harry Potter movie. We had looked forward to the movie for months, but emerged in shock at how the ending completely missed the point!
There were two sets of stairs: the front ones curving and formal while the backstairs rose steep as a canyon wall. As a girl, I used to fly from their heights when I wasn't falling.
I found Tom Getman's article "Holy Land Farce" (November 2011) to be very one-sided in its perception of Glenn Beck's Rally to Restore Courage in August. I am a Jewish person, almost 62 years old, who became a Christian when I was 50.


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March 3, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Schedule
Saturday, March 5, 2011, at 4:00 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly (16-10, 12-3)
at Cal Poly's Mott Gym (3,032)
Series record vs. the Mustangs - 50-16
Streak - Lost 1
Last time out vs. the Mustangs - L, 54-51 @ UCSB (1/27/11)
Game broadcast streaming live online by clicking here and on AM 990 KTMS
Live stats available via Gametracker
Live video available through BigWest.TV
Saturday, February 26, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.
ampm Big West Tournament First Round
UC Santa Barbara vs. TBA
at UCSB's Thunderdome (6,000)
Game broadcast streaming live online by clicking here and on AM 990 KTMS
Live stats available via Gametracker
Live video available through BigWest.TV
Saturday, February 26, 2011, at 2:00 p.m.
On The Radio
All UC Santa Barbara basketball games are broadcast live in Santa Barbara on AM 990 KTMS and will stream live online by clicking here. Josh Suchon is the voice of the Gauchos, performing the play-by-play, while former Los Angeles Lakers and UCSB star Don Ford will handle the color commentary. On select road games, much to the chagrin of the listening audience, yours truly, Matt Hurst, will provide color commentary.
The Opponents
vs. Cal Poly, 3/5
Saturday's regular-season finale will either give Cal Poly the Big West title outright or allow the Gauchos and Mustangs to split it. The Mustangs are led by Rachel Clancy's 16.7 points per game (second in the Big West) while Abby Bloetscher pulls in 7.2 rebounds per game (third in the conference) and Kayla Griffin hauls in 6.3 boards per game (eighth). Cal Poly has played all of its games without Kristina Santiago, last year's Big West Player of the Year, after she injured her ACL in the second minute of the first game of the season.
If You're Not First, You're Last
UC Santa Barbara can clinch a share of the Big West regular-season crown with a victory on Saturday at Cal Poly. The Mustangs have already guaranteed themselves at least a share of their first-ever Big West title. If UCSB wins, it will mark the team's 14th Big West title.
Playoffs? Are You Kidding Me?! Playoffs?
With last week's win over Long Beach State, the Gauchos assured themselves of a home game in the first round of the Big West Tournament on Tuesday, March 8. UCSB will be seeded either second or third in the tournament, even if the Gauchos win on Saturday. If UC Riverside and Santa Barbara finish with the same conference record, the Highlanders go in as the No. 2 seed and the Gauchos are No. 3.
Annual Event
The Gauchos are in the midst of a six-game winning streak, their longest of the season and longest since ... this time last year. Last season UCSB went on a seven-game winning streak from February 20 to March 11. Two seasons ago, the Gauchos had a five-game winning streak from February 28 to March 14.
Double-Digit Delight
UCSB has guaranteed itself of its 20th season in the last 21 that it will finish Big West play with double-digit victories and the 21st straight season that Santa Barbara will finish above .500 in the conference.
Biggest in the Big West
To go along with the above note, the Gauchos have dominated the conference for more than a decade. Since the 1995-96 season, UCSB is 225-30 (.882) in Big West games.
It's That Boom-Boom POW
Junior Emilie Johnson was named as the Big West Player of the Week on Monday after she averaged 22.0 points per game in a pair of wins last week. It is the second time this month - and fourth time in her career - that Johnson was honored by the conference with the weekly award. Johnson and Mekia Valentine have won three of the last four weekly honors.
Points Aplenty
Emilie Johnson became the 23rd member of UCSB's 1,000-point club in the first half of Saturday's win over Cal State Northridge and already moved into 22nd place on the list, surpassing Lori Sanchez (1979-83) who finished with 1,019 points while Johnson has 1,021. Mekia Valentine has scored 296 points this season, giving her 1,017 in her career between Wake Forest and UCSB. Unfortunately she is not a member of UCSB's 1,000-point club as not all of her buckets came as a Gaucho (she scored 351 points at Wake).
Double Dippers
Mekia Valentine is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game - first in the Big West - making it likely she will become the first Gaucho since Erika Kienast in 1991-92 to average double figures in rebounds. In eight of her last 11 games Valentine has grabbed double-digit rebounds. But let's not stop there. Valentine has the chance to become the first UCSB player since Kienast in that season to average a double-double over a season. Valentine is scoring 10.6 points per game, second-most on the team.
Leading Lady
Emilie Johnson, whose 13.8 points per game are eighth in the Big West, leads the Gauchos in points, assists (88) and is second on the team in steals (30 to Kelsey Adrian's 31). Johnson has the chance to lead the team in those categories two straight seasons, which would be the third year in a row after Lauren Pedersen did it in the 2008-09 season.
Mekia's Block Party
Mekia Valentine leads the Big West with her 3.7 blocked shots per game and ranks third in the nation. Valentine is second all-time in career blocked shots and became just the second Gaucho to reach 200 career blocked shots. Currently, her 103 blocks this season are second-most in school single-season history (behind her 120 set last year). Valentine trails only Lindsay Taylor (2000-04) by 20 swats for the most all-time in school history.
Blocking Through the Big West
Mekia Valentine's career block total of 223 swats moved her into ninth place in Big West history. Valentine had recorded 103 total blocks this year, becoming just the fifth Big West player to post two 100-block seasons in conference history.
Swat Team
This year's Gaucho squad has blocked 136 shots, tying them for third-most all-time in school history. As a team, the Gauchos are averaging 4.86 blocked shots per game, the best mark among Big West schools and 24th in the nation. Last season UCSB finished sixth in the nation with an average of 6.3 swats per game and set a school record with 202 swats.
Tickling the Twine
Mekia Valentine leads the Big West with her shooting percentage of 62.1%, which would easily be the best mark in school history. Right now Kira Anthofer's school record shooting percentage of 59.6% came in 1985-86 and Valentine shot 57.4% last season. Her current career shooting mark of 59.4% would be the best mark in UCSB history, topping Lindsay Taylor's (2000-04) current record of 55.9%.
Tenacious D
As a team, UC Santa Barbara is holding opponents to a 35.5% shooting clip, the best mark in the Big West and 23rd-best in the nation. UCSB is also allowing teams to score just 58.6 points per game, which is the lowest in the Big West and 80th in the country. In 12 of the Gauchos' games, the team has held an opponent under 35% from the floor.
Gottlieb's Legacy: Defense
The fact that the Gauchos are one of the nation's preeminent defensive teams shouldn't be a shock because UCSB has been among the nation's best in the Lindsay Gottlieb era. In each of the past two seasons, UCSB has led the Big West in opponent's field goal percentage. Last season the squad ranked 31st in the nation with its 36.3% and in 2008-09 UCSB ranked eighth in the country with a 34.6% clip.
We're a Boarding School
Santa Barbara is averaging a conference-leading 40.4 rebounds per game, which leads the Big West. The Gauchos hold a +5.3 rebounding margin, which also is tops among conference schools and 39th in the nation. It's largely due to Mekia Valentine and Sweets Underwood, who rank first and fourth, respectively, in the Big West with averages of 10.6 rebounds and 7.1 rebounds per game.
The Lindsay Gottlieb File
Lindsay Gottlieb is in her third season as the Gauchos' head coach, and she is just the fourth head coach in UCSB women's basketball history. Last season Gottlieb guided the Gauchos to wins in seven of the squad's last eight games, taking a team that finished 9-7 in the Big West to the conference tournament's semifinals, keeping alive a streak of 20 years that UCSB had finished Big West play with a record above .500. In her first season at the helm, Gottlieb led the team to a 22-10 overall mark (15-1 in the Big West) and the Big West regular-season and tournament championships. Named the Big West Coach of the Year, Gottlieb became the first coach in Gaucho history to win at least 20 games and the Coach of the Year award in her first season - and one of only seven coaches nationwide to do so. Gottlieb led the Gauchos to their 14th consecutive postseason appearance and the team won 20 games for the 12th time in the past 14 years. In her first two seasons with the program, Gottlieb has guided the Gauchos to national prominence, leading the conference in field goal percentage defense both years while having her team set a school record in free throw percentage (08-09) and blocked shots in a season (09-10).. No stranger to success, Gottlieb was formerly the associate head coach at Cal, helping the team to a 68-28 (.708) overall mark in her time there. Prior to that, Gottlieb was an assistant at the University of Richmond, where she helped the Spiders to three straight 20-win seasons.
The Gaucho Fund, launched as part of the Dare to Be Great strategic plan, is UCSB Athletics' annual giving program to provide vital funding support for scholarships, academic success and leadership development for Gaucho student-athletes. The Gaucho Fund is the anchor to the Dare to Be Great campaign.
GKids is the official kids club of UCSB Athletics. Members receive a free GKids t-shirt, free admittance to tons of Gaucho games, opportunities to be ball boys and girls at games, a special birthday greeting from Olie (the GKids mascot) and much, much more! For more information on GKids, or to become a member, please click here.


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If you're ever invited to dinner at Kirk and Maryanne Welton's house and there's a fresh-baked loaf of whole-wheat bread on the table, you'll know it's a special occasion.
Maryanne not only baked the bread, she and her husband grew the wheat in the backyard of their Palo Alto, Calif. home and — like the Little Red Hen of childhood fable — winnowed and ground it, too.
The latest diet trends have turned wheat into a dirty word in some quarters; manifestos maligning it are selling like hotcakes (gluten-free, of course). But the Weltons are one of a growing number of locavores and gourmets who have discovered the pleasure of whole grains by getting back to the grind — quite literally. They mill their own grain or find local millers doing it the old-fashioned way: in small batches on a stone mill.
The Weltons harvest about 10 pounds of wheat berries each year from their 12-by-30 foot "field." Kirk blows off most of the chaff with a leaf blower. The rest they pick off by hand.
Maryanne uses some of the wheat berries in casseroles, then grinds the rest with a grain mill attachment on a KitchenAid mixer she inherited from an aunt. She then turns the flour into bread and crackers.
Why go to all that trouble?
"I like doing something that's unique," she says. "There's also the contrast of living in Silicon Valley and still being connected to the earth that's very satisfying."
Of course, you don't need a golden field of waving wheat in your backyard to enjoy freshly ground flour. Some grocery stores' bulk sections are a gold mine for grains. Many have wheat berries (sometimes more than one variety), whole oats, buckwheat and barley. You name it. If it's a dried grain, it can be turned into flour.
All you need is a grain mill, which can be hand cranked or, more often, electric, which makes the job pretty simple. Once ground, whole grains have a shorter shelf life; if you grind more than you need for a recipe, keep the rest in a sealed container in the refrigerator, where it should last for a couple of months.
But there are other options, too.
"People who don't have the time or inclination to grind their own at home should have options for true whole grains," says Bob Klein, owner of Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, Calif. and founder of Community Grains, a whole-grain company that grew out of a desire to know the origins of the flour used in his restaurant.
Klein found that getting access to even basic information — such as the wheat variety and where it was grown and milled — was nearly impossible in an industrial structure he calls highly secretive and restrictive.
Klein sought out California wheat farmers and started working with miller Joe Vanderliet at Certified Foods in Woodland, Calif. Vanderliet uses a stone mill to grind several varieties of wheat for Community Grains' line of whole-grain flours and dried pastas.
It wasn't so long ago that all flour was milled the way Vanderliet and the Bale Grist Mill do it — from whole grain, which includes the outer germ, bran and inner white endosperm. But white flour became a symbol of wealth and cultural refinement, so millers found ways to whisk away the germ and bran. As a consequence, the flavor, vitamins and nutrients they provided disappeared, too.
Whole-grain flour is sweeter and nuttier than white flour, and bread made with it is entirely different from plastic-wrapped, store-bought loaves of whole wheat.
One need only try Craig Ponsford's award-winning breads and baked goods at Ponsford's Place bakery in San Rafael, Calif. to become a believer. His flour is also milled by Vanderliet. There's a flavor in his turnovers and croissants that goes well beyond butter, yet the pastry is still light and subtle enough not to compete with fillings such as grapefruit custard and mascarpone with almonds.
Klein says the flavor of the wheat can enhance certain dishes. At Oliveto, he discovered that penne made with the more strongly flavored hard red winter wheat was a perfect match for Bolognese sauce.
"It's a knock out," he says. "With plain, white pasta, it's not as delicious. It's not as rich."
The whole-wheat pastry flour from Bale Grist Mill results in tender, flaky biscuits; a batch of cornbread made with the freshly ground cornmeal is tremendous — lighter, fluffier and sweeter than cornbread made with store-bought cornmeal.
It's those nuances in flavor and texture that differentiate flour that has been stone-milled by a professional and flour ground in home mills made of metal. The metal creates heat that can affect the flour's flavor and nutrition.
"Home-milled flour probably won't make a truly extraordinary French baguette, but for things like cookies or quick breads, it's great," Ponsford says.
Still, there's one advantage to a home mill that can't be found in even the best bag of flour at the store.
"There's a fragrance that comes off fresh-milled flour," Klein says, "that's really neat."


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same thing happened to me here is a exp:
yes it was fun at Cape Charles yesterday until the helicopter decided to make a left turn and flew directly over my kite pushing my kite straight down about 40-50' then as the helicopter passed it then sucked the kite back with so much force it Broke my bar and ripped my chicken loop off my harness and started to lift me off the ground since I caught the bar in 1 hand. Lucily I had my safety line hooked up as I had been hooked in suicide all day and the kite went to the leash and just missed people on the beach crashing on the blue tent. I had just came to shore and was going to land the kite I was standing about 10 feet from the water in the corner of the beach talking to another kiter. Most of the Day the helicopter was just going around the end of the jetty but this time he must of been in a rush and decided to cut right across the edge of the beach and directly over my head... I am very pissed about this since he broke a 300.00 Bar and I am sure my lines will need to be replaced 200.00 and I have not had the chance to inspect my kite carefully yet but I am sure the force that was put on this kite had to damage it in some way and at minimum shorten the life and performance of this kite. I went over and talked to the pilots wife and she told me that he had went over the beach for a photographer in the Heli........ This was such a lack of common sense for the pilot to have!!!!! Now I had his wife inform him of this and had her tell him not to fly over any more kiters But I ask you the Kite Community what should my actions be? I ask this because It can affect everyone of us as I have not called him yet and have not really looked at my kite carefully yet. My Kite almost smashed directly on a family... If my bar did not break I am sure it would have lofted me because the force involved with the incident... Please give me your thoughts I want to have as many opinions as possible before I take action!!!
The pilot apologized to me and paid for my broken parts.... SCARY Situation though!!


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Nasturtium red and yellow blooms of good form. Ideal for colourful mass planting. Medium growth.
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It has to be said – we are all relieved that the football season is now back in action. A lot of transfers have occurred this summer with a lot of teams willing to spend immense sums, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona (on Gareth Bale and Neymar respectively), and others choosing not to break the bank such as Manchester United.
The Armchair Pundits takes a look at the potential fortunes of the big 3 in Europe and offer predictions of who will be league champions in their respective countries.


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Car Deals
Hatchback Deals: June 2013
Our list of hatchback deals will help you find the right model. We've rounded up incentives and special offers on each of our favorite hatchbacks for shoppers interested in a new car this month. Best of all, we've found offers for shoppers looking to lease, finance or outright buy their next hatchback.
Ford Fiesta
The subcompact Ford Fiesta is available as a 5-door hatchback or a 4-door sedan. In June, Ford has several strong incentives available on the hatchback. For shoppers paying with cash, Ford is offering up to $1,250 back. Drivers looking to finance can get up to $500 cash back, along with interest rates as low as 0 percent for up to 60 months. And while Ford isn't offering any lease deals this month on the Fiesta hatchback, its $179-per-month offer for the Fiesta SE sedan suggests the brand may let the slightly pricier hatchback go for only a few more dollars per month.
Honda Fit
The Honda Fit is a 5-door subcompact with impressive fuel economy. In June, it's also available with strong incentives for shoppers leasing or financing. For lease shoppers, Honda offers the Fit with payments as low as $169 per month for 36 months after $1,999 down at lease signing. Drivers who would rather put nothing down also can get a deal, as Honda is offering a 35-month term with payments from $220 per month. But the best offer is probably for qualified drivers financing the Fit, since Honda offers interest rates as low as 0.9 percent for up to 60 months.
Kia Rio 5-Door
The Kia Rio 5-Door is a hatchback version of the brand's subcompact Rio sedan. Through the end of June, it's among the best deals in Kia's lineup for qualified shoppers looking to finance. It's available with interest rates as low as 0.9 percent for up to 36 months, while most Kia models offer 1.9 percent or above. The Rio 5-Door is also available with $500 cash back for loyal Kia drivers or those trading in a competitive model. And Kia is offering $750 cash back for college students and recent graduates.
Mazda3 5-Door
The Mazda3 5-door is a hatchback version of the popular Mazda3 compact. Roomy and sporty, it's available in June with incentives whether shoppers are leasing, financing or paying with cash. For drivers interested in leasing, Mazda is offering the Mazda3 5-Door for 36 months with payments from $199 per month after $1,999 due at lease signing. For shoppers paying with cash, Mazda offers up to $1,000 back on all Mazda3 models in June. And for qualified drivers financing their Mazda3, the brand offers 0 percent interest in June for up to 60 months. Best of all, that deal can be combined with the brand's offer of up to $1,000 cash back.
Toyota Prius
The popular Toyota Prius is a 5-door hatchback with a hybrid powertrain that delivers great gas mileage. In June, it's available with two incentives. One is a 36-month lease deal. Though that offer requires a down payment of around $2,600, it boasts monthly payments as low as $229. Qualified shoppers financing a Prius also can get a deal in June. Through the end of the month, the hatchback is available with 0 percent interest for up to 60 months -- an unusually long term for a popular model such as the Prius.
What it means to you: Our list of hatchback deals shows some of today's best models may be more affordable than you thought.