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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian markets fell on Tuesday, with resource stocks hit by a decline in commodity prices and comments from an executive at mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd. that Chinese demand growth was slowing.
China's Shanghai Composite (000001) fell 1.4% to 2,376.84, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 1.1% to 20,888.24 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (XJO) eased 0.4% to 4,275.
South Korea's Kospi (0100) fell 0.2% to 2,042.15 and Taiwan's Taiex (Y9999) shed 0.9% to 7,972.70. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
Tom Kaan, director of equity sales at Louis Capital Markets in Hong Kong, said sentiment was reasonably intact despite the weaker tone.
"The underlying interest is coming back into the market, [however] it's a good time to take risk off the table and buy the dips," Kaan said. "Markets are still unsure, but there aren't many alarm bells at the moment. Barring any further negativeness, we are on the way to some kind of rally. It's just a matter of getting the momentum."
Prices of commodities such as gold, copper and crude-oil weakened as the U.S. dollar strengthened against major rivals.
Meanwhile, a BHP executive said Tuesday that Chinese demand for iron ore in particular was "flattening out." Chairman Jacques Nasser separately said the company is reevaluating its massive spending plans as slowing mainland demand for commodities prompted a more cautious outlook. Read more on BHP's capital spending plans.
While shares of BHP (BHP) BHP, -1.19% declined a modest 0.1% in Sydney, other resource sector stocks fell harder. Rio Tinto Ltd. RIO, -1.17% (RIO) dropped 0.4%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG) FSUMF, -2.77% shed 1% and Alumina Ltd. (AWC) AWC, +0.00% lost 2%.
Shares in New Hope Corp. Ltd. (NHC) dropped 1.1% after the coal producer reported a 75% fall in first-half profit.
In other news from Australia, minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's March policy meeting that were released earlier in the day showed concerns about Europe's debt crisis and the impact of a strong Australian dollar. Read more on Australian central bank minutes.
Elsewhere in the region, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (2600) ACH, -2.41% (601600) shed 2.6% and Jiangxi Copper Co. JIXAY, -3.02% (600362)(358) lost 2.4% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, they gave up 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively. In Seoul, Korea Zinc Co. shed 2%.
Shares of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386) SNP, -1.51% tumbled 3.9% and PetroChina Co. (857) PTR, -2.38% gave up 1.2% in Hong Kong. In Shanghai, each fell 0.5%.
The drop came despite China's decision Monday to raise retail gasoline and diesel prices by 6.4% and 7%, respectively. Analysts at Barclays said was inadequate for the refiners to break-even amid rising crude-oil prices. Read more on China's fuel-price hikes.
Shares of Hong Kong real-estate group Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (16) SUHJY, -1.59% retreated 2.4%, coinciding with news that an executive director with the company was arrested on allegations of bribery. Read more on the SHK director's arrest.
Some of the region's technology shares advanced after Apple Inc. AAPL, -4.62% announced plans on Monday to return some of the massive cash balances on its books to shareholders. Read more on the U.S. session.
In Seoul, shares of LG Display Co. LPL, -2.26% rose 0.7%, while Samsung Electronics Co. SSNGY, +0.00%, which hit an all-time high during the session, finished 0.6% higher.


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The beautifully designed Ban Hin Kiong Temple in the heart of Manado's China Town is 335 years old and is the oldest Chinese temple built here during the Qing Dynasty era in China (1644-1911). It is a house of worship for the Tridharma followers from Manado and the region.
The name Ban Hin Kiong consists of three words, Ban meaning "plenty", Hin meaning "abundant favors" and Kiong meaning "palace". Therefore, Ban Hin Kiong means a holy palace that exudes much happiness. At Ban Hin Kiong, a number of annual events are held every Chinese New Year and at Goan Siao or Cap Go Meh.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kids + Robots Workshop pairs learning with fun
Tuesday, July 30, 2013 2:00 AM
Pittsburg, KS
Kids seem to have a natural fascination with robots. For two weeks in July, youngsters from the area have been building their own robots and living out that childhood fantasy.
On July 23, students participating in "Adventures in Robotics I" at Pittsburg State University's Kansas Technology Center began building small electric motors and learned the basics of computer programming. As the week progressed, they constructed robot bodies out of Legos.
The week-long workshop concluded on July 26 when the students demonstrated their robots in a competition in the KTC Rotunda.
Randy Winzer, associate professor in engineering technology and director of Adventures in Robotics, said students in the popular class learn important technology concepts as well as the ability to work together to achieve a goal.
Winzer said participating in workshops like these can influence a student's life.
"I had a new student come up to me recently," Winzer recalled. "He said, 'You probably don't remember me, but I was in your robotics workshop when I was 11.' Now that young man is an engineering technology major."
Winzer said planning and running the annual workshops is a tremendous amount of work, but something he looks forward to each year.
"I love this! I love seeing the students get so excited," Winzer said.


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Gone are the days of those complicated yet beautiful corsets that were all the rage in the early 1900's. One women's lingerie company, Fayreform, specialized in creating high quality and glamorous corsets that brought women support and luxury. But much like the times and lingerie fashion trends, Fayreform evolved into bringing women luxurious bras. But what sets the Fayreform brand apart is the company's mission to create bras for women will full cup sizes. Continuing in their misson of making the very latest, innovative bra style solutions for large busted women, the Fayreform name continues to be at the forefront in the world of women's lingerie today.
Highly in tune with their target market, Fayreform truly understands that full busted women want bras that give them ultimate comfort, optimal support features and all in exquisitely-detailed designs that deliver luxury and sex appeal all at the same time. Fayreform gives full busted women a wide range of bra styles to choose from, from minimizer bras, to t-shirt bras and so much more, ranging in size up to a J cup. Matching bras are also made up to an XL size for a complete lingerie wardrobe experience.


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Translation Disclaimer
Community Services and Supports ProgramsCommunity Services and Supports (CSS) is the first set of funded programs from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA).
Click on any of the links below to learn more detailed information about CSS programs. All linked documents are in PDF format. Click here to download the free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader.
Mental Health Services Act Community Services and Supports Budget Worksheets:


text:
Mass media in America
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Harold Reitsema craned his neck Thursday evening to look up the ladder leading to the top of a local icon, Big Red.
�I�ve known about this lighthouse for years,� Reitsema said. �When I was a kid, I heard the foghorn, but I�ve never been inside.�
One of two fundraisers the Holland Museum holds every year, the Big Red lighthouse cruise and tour, is definitely the less traditional, museum Director Chris Shires said.
The group of nearly 80 guests set off Thursday afternoon in the Holland Princess, leaving from Dunton Park. They ate dinner at the Piper Restaurant with a backdrop of live jazz before embarking on a sunset cruise that dipped into Lake Michigan before turning around and heading back to the park.
Reitsema, a history buff who retired to Holland in May but hasn�t had much interaction with the museum, is exactly the kind of person the event aimed for.
�It was a fascinating step into a different era,� he said.
The museum is at a crossroads, Shires said. Losing funding from the city of Holland has meant asking the community for money in the form of a millage in Holland, Holland Township and Park Township. It will change the way the Holland Museum operates.
�We really want to be that community museum that Holland deserves,� Shires said.
Attendance at the Holland Museum is up 29 percent over last year and new interactive exhibits are planned for the fall, such as one pinned on the "Wizard of Oz" book, which was written near Holland.
Sherry and Jeff Maberto, from Indianapolis, extended their Michigan trip a day to seize the �rare opportunity,� she said.
�I just have a natural fascination with lighthouses. We�ve been up the Michigan coast,� Shery Maberto said.
The couple has been taking pictures of Big Red from the other side of the channel for years, Jeff Maberto said, but this was their first opportunity to take a peek inside.
Although people have always had to cross private property to reach the lighthouse, new rules enforced beginning last year restricted access over that land.
Out-of-state visitors also will be able to walk to Big Red, 11 a.m. to sunset Monday through Friday all summer. (Locals are still restricted to Tuesdays and Thursdays.) In addition to the annual Holland Historical Trust fundraiser, which opens up the lighthouse for tours, a handful of other open house dates are planned.
�You can�t pass up a tour at the lighthouse or food at the Piper,� said Mark Cooney, who brought his wife and two kids.
At 7 years old (�8 next month�), Isabella Cooney was easily the youngest person on the tour, and she was impressed.
�It was high,� she said.
The annual fundraiser is important for the money it brings in, but more so for the relationships it develops, Shires said.
�Each person walks away with a memory, a good, personal memory,� he said, �and that sticks with a person.�
� Follow this reporter on Facebook and on Twitter, @SentinelAndrea.
Holland Museum offers exclusive tour of Big Red Lighthouse
Harold Reitsema craned his neck Thursday evening to look up the ladder leading to the top of a local icon, Big Red.


text:
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"How Much is Riley Stone Net Worth"
Date of Birth: Nov 6, 1988
Nicknames:Emily Jean Stone, Emily Stone, Riley Stone
Height: 1.6764 m
Ethnicity: Swedish American
Country:United States of America
Date of Birth: Nov 6, 1988
Nicknames:Emily Jean Stone, Emily Stone, Riley Stone
Height: 1.6764 m
Ethnicity: Swedish American
Country:United States of America
Emma Stone
Emma Stone Net Worth is $8 Million. Emma Stone is an actress of TV and films, with a net worth of $8 million. Emma Stone has earned her net worth by starring in TV shows, movies and voice acting in animated movies. She was born in Scottsdale, Arizona. Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (bor...
Emma Stone Net Worth is $8 Million.Emma Stone Net Worth is $8 Million. Emma Stone is an actress of TV and films, with a net worth of $8 million. Emma Stone has earned her net worth by starring in TV shows, movies and voice acting in animated movies. She was born in Scottsdale, Arizona Emily Jean "Emma" Stone is an American actress.
Stone was a cast member of the TV series Drive, and made her feature film debut in the comedy Superbad . She appeared in The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past . She then starred in the horror-comedy Zombieland and the indie comedy Paper Man in 2009. In 2010, Stone voiced the character Mazie in Marmaduke, and starred in the high school comedy Easy A, which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In 2011, she starred in the films Crazy, Stupid, Love. and The Help, both of which were well-received by critics and commercial successes. Stone will play Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man film, a reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise.
Stone was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, the daughter of Krista , a homemaker, and Jeff Stone, a contractor. She has a brother, who is two years her junior. Stone's paternal grandfather was of Swedish...
Emma Stone Latest News
Emma Stone and Dave McCary Spotted on Rare Date Night
Emma Stone was all smiles on a a rare date night with her beau on Thursday. The 30-year-old Oscar-winning actress and boyfriend Dave McCary, 34, were photographed leaving the celeb-favorite Italian ...
Posted: August 9, 2019, 1:28 pm
Emma Stone Just Snagged the Sweetest Little Malibu Beach Cottage—Take a Peek Inside
Emma Stone might barely be 30 years old, but the actress has already racked up a lifetime's worth of achievements. From starring alongside Hollywood heavyweights to scoring an Oscar for her ...
Posted: August 16, 2019, 11:02 am
Emma Stone Adds Westwood and Malibu Houses to Packed Property Portfolio
In the midst of her nonstop filming schedule, high-paid Hollywood darling Emma Stone has somehow found time to significantly — and stealthily — expand her bicoastal real estate portfolio.
Posted: August 13, 2019, 5:16 pm
Disney Moves Emma Stone's 'Cruella' To Memorial Day 2021 And Amy Adams' 'Woman In The Window' To Summer 2020
Walt Disney has shuffled its release calendar just a little bit. Fox's The Lady in the Window, starring Amy Adams (happy birthday, natch), will now open on May 15, 2020. The film was positioned as a ...
Posted: August 20, 2019, 3:06 pm
Disney's Emma Stone Cruella Movie Pushed Back
Now that Disney owns all of 21st Century Fox, it has a ton of movies set to be released over the next couple of years. The House of Mouse did all sorts of shuffling dates when the purchase was ...
Posted: August 20, 2019, 2:13 pm
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Lace About Kerchief
This project pairs a wispy, mohair-esque yarn with the extended treble stitch and a slightly larger-than-called-for hook to create a sweet, feminine kerchief.
DESIGNER Vickie Howell
FINISHED SIZE 18″ wide (excluding ties) and 9″ deep at point.
YARN Patons Lace (80% acrylic, 10% mohair, 10% wool; 498 yd [455] m/3 oz [85 g]): #33317 arctic plum, 1 ball.
HOOK Size F/5 (3.75 mm). Adjust hook size if necessary to obtain correct gauge.
NOTIONS Yarn needle.
GAUGE 19 sts and 16 rows = 4″ in patt.


text: 04 Feb 2014 14:00 Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Al Medina, a key religious and cultural hub in the western province of Saudi Arabia. A senior Etihad Airways delegation visited Al Medina to celebrate the new service to the airline's fourth destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and one which attracts religious Hajj and Umrah travellers visiting the home of Prophet Mohammed's Mosque and burial site. They were received by Saudi officials at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport. The delegation then hosted a dinner in the city attended by government, airport officials and other dignitaries. James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways, said: "Medina Al Munawarra is an important strategic destination for us, and we are delighted to commence our operations to the second holiest city in Islam. "Saudi Arabia has always been a key market for Etihad Airways and this new route links Medina through our Abu Dhabi home base with excellent connections to Europe, Asia, the Americas and the rest of our growing network." Flights between Abu Dhabi and Medina are operated by an A320 aircraft configured with 16 Pearl Business Class and 120 Coral Economy Class seats, offering a total 1,904 seats per week. The new service to Al Medina will be Etihad Airways' ninth destination in the Arabian Peninsula, joining Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, and Sana'a. Medina Schedule: Flight Departs Departure Time Arrives Arrival Time Frequency EY345 Abu Dhabi (AUH) 00:50 Medina (MED) 02:55 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays Sundays EY346 Medina (MED) 03:55 Abu Dhabi (AUH) 07:20 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays Sundays EY341 Abu Dhabi (AUH) 13:25 Medina (MED) 15:30 Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday EY340 Medina (MED) 16:30 Abu Dhabi (AUH) 19:55 Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday Note: All are local time. Contact met Etihad Als wereldwijd opererende luchtvaartmaatschappij hebben wij natuurlijk overal ter wereld vestigingen. Lees hoe u contact kunt opnemen met uw dichtstbijzijnde Etihad-kantoor. Bekijk onze contactgegevens Feedback Als u een opmerking, compliment of klacht wilt doorgeven, of een vraag wilt stellen, klik dan hier Vind ons leuk Bezoek onze Facebookpagina! Bekijk ons Bekijk ons YouTube-kanaal! Volg ons Etihad Airways | Etihad Aanbiedingen | Etihad Help | Etihad Rewards


text:
This is the coolest popsicle stick video you will see all week. WOW!
© 1998 - 2019 by KB Networks, Inc.
All trademarks used are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Programming by Cliff Murphy, Kevin Sorensen, Brad Hoover - System Design and Administration by Cliff Murphy
Site design and front-end production by mike kane.


text:
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Reverend Chris Leevy Johnson
Campus Pastor Brookland Northeast
The Reverend Chris Leevy Johnson is the husband of Cynthia Richardson Johnson, the father of Leah Denise and Ian Samuel and the son of Attorney I. S. Leevy and Doris Wright Johnson. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, he is a 1996 Honor graduate of the University of North Carolina. While attending the University of North Carolina, he served as a Manager for the Men's Basketball Team and during his senior year he was the Head Manager for legendary Coach Dean Smith. He was also initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Reverend Leevy Johnson attended Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science, graduating with an Associate's Degree in Mortuary Science. He has a Masters Degree and an earned Ph.D. in American History with a concentration in African-American Religion from the University of South Carolina. Because of his commitment to education, he served as an Adjunct Professor of African-American History in the African-American Studies Program. He is currently the Chaplain for the Men's and Women's Basketball Teams at the University of South Carolina. A fourth generation funeral director, he is a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer and is the Managing Director of the Leevy's Funeral Home.
Reverend Leevy Johnson was ordained by the Brookland Baptist Church where Reverend Charles B. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor and currently serves at the Campus Pastor of Brookland Baptist Church, Northeast; a thriving ministry in the Northeast community of Columbia, South Carolina.
He has served on various boards and commissions including: Board of Directors for the Brookland Foundation; Board of Directors for the Columbia Community Development Foundation, Board of Directors of the Township Auditorium and Board of Directors for the Central Carolina Community Foundation His faith is sustained by the promise in Romans 8:28 "that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
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text: Self StoragePennsylvania Self Storage Mechanicsburg Self Storage Mechanicsburg Self Storage Search Results We've found 3 Mechanicsburg Storage Facilities that meet your criteria - Click on any one of them for more information. Refine Search Size 5x5 5x10 5x15 10x10 10x15 10x20 10x30 Features Climate Controlled Drive-up Access Auto/Boat/RV Neighborhood None Found Life Storage 191 Salem Church Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 866-344-0625 More Info Storage Depot 115 Cumberland Pkwy Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 866-344-0625 More Info Life Storage 4751 Westport Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 866-344-0625 More Info Need Pennsylvania storage in another city? Need storage in another Pennsylvania zip code? View additional Pennsylvania self storagefacilities?


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Okay... So this discussion topic is taken directly from my blog... "the Atheist Goddess."
I designed this post to be read by Christian Women on my blog... so far... not a single theist has looked at my blog... I hope they change their mindsI am a woman myself, thus my nickname, "the Atheist Goddess." As a woman, I am APPALLED by the percentage of American women who are Christians, even devout Christians. The fact is that there are fewer Atheist women than men out there, which makes ABSOLUTELY no sense to me. The percentage of nonreligious women versus men is this: 70% of Atheists are men, 30% of Atheists are women, 75% of self-proclaimed agnostics are men, only 25% women.
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PlanDev is an independent consulting organisation that works solely with Local, State and Federal Government agencies. We are ready and willing to help with any of your planning and development needs.
The PlanDev team has been involved in a number of recent policy and process reform initiatives. Check out some of the latest projects we have been involved in across the country.
Plandev Business Solutions has developed a suite of documents for the National Review of Land Use Planning and Building Codes to ensure better outcomes in the built environment and land use planning.


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Productivity, Performance, and Progress: Germany in International Comparative Perspective
- Authors:
Publication Date:
August 2009
This study argues that the key to a successful and sustainable growth strategy for any time and place is to find the optimal balance between labour productivity growth and labour input growth. In other words, economies need to create more productive jobs that will lead to an improvement in average living standards. Productive jobs are also the primary mechanism by which the gains from productivity growth can be widely distributed across the economy—to consumers through lower prices and to workers as higher rewards. These same gains provide the resources for new investments and a sustainable growth path.


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No: 108-11
Date: November 14, 2003
Senate Finance Committee Completes Action and Reports H.R. 743, The Social Security Protection Act of 2003
On October 29, 2003, the Senate Finance Committee reported and printed its version of H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act of 2003. The Committee had marked up H.R. 743 on September 17, 2003 and Legislative Bulletin 108-10 described the provisions of H.R. 743 as marked up by the Committee. Those descriptions were based on documents provided to the Committee and the public and did not include actual legislative language. This Legislative Bulletin includes revised descriptions based on the Committee Report issued on October 29, 2003. The new or revised provisions are printed in italic.
Authority to Reissue Benefits Misused by Organizational Representative Payees
- Would require the Commissioner to re-issue benefits under Titles II, VIII, or XVI whenever an individual representative payee serving 15 or more beneficiaries, or an organizational representative payee, is found to have misused a beneficiary's funds.
- Defines "misuse" as when a representative payee converts benefits for use other than for the beneficiary.
- Excludes reissued benefits from resources under SSI for 9 months.
- Would be effective for determinations of misuse on or after January 1, 1995.
Oversight of Representative Payees
- Would require non-governmental fee-for-service organizational representative payees to be both licensed and bonded, provided that licensing is available in the State. (This part of provision would be effective on the first day of the 13th month after enactment.)
- Would require the Commissioner to provide for periodic onsite reviews for all nonprofit fee-for-service payees, organizational payees (both governmental and non-governmental) representing 50 or more beneficiaries, and individual payees representing 15 or more beneficiaries.
- Would require the Commissioner to report annually to Congress on the results of the onsite reviews.
- Would be effective upon enactment unless otherwise noted.
Disqualification From Service As Representative Payee of Persons Convicted of Offenses Resulting in Imprisonment For More Than 1 Year, or Fleeing Prosecution, Custody, or Confinement
- Would disqualify an individual from serving as a representative payee if he or she has been convicted of an offense resulting in more than one year of imprisonment, unless the Commissioner determines that such certification would be appropriate notwithstanding such conviction. Also, would disqualify a person who is fleeing prosecution, custody, or confinement.
- Would require the Commissioner to share information with law enforcement on persons disqualified from service as representative payee.
- Would require report to Congress 9 months after enactment whether existing reviews and procedures for payee selection provide sufficient safeguards.
- Would be effective on the first day of the thirteenth month after enactment.
Fee Forfeiture in Case of Benefit Misuse by Representative Payees
- Would require representative payees to forfeit their fee from the beneficiary's benefits for the months during which the representative payee misused the funds, as determined by the Commissioner or a court of competent jurisdiction.
- Would be effective for any month after 180 days after enactment in which a determination of misuse is made.
Liability of Representative Payees for Misused Benefits
- Would provide that misused benefits by a nongovernmental representative payee shall be treated as overpayments to the representative payee, subject to current overpayment recovery authorities.
- Would provide that any recovered benefits not reissued to the beneficiary pursuant to the first section of this legislation would be reissued under this provision to the beneficiary or their alternate representative payee, up to the total amount misused.
- Would be effective with respect to benefit misuse determined 180 days after enactment.
Authority to Redirect Delivery of Benefit Payments when A Representative Payee Fails to Provide Required Accounting
- Would provide SSA with the authority to redirect payments of Social Security, Title VIII, and SSI benefits to local Social Security field offices if a representative payee fails to provide an annual accounting of benefits report.
- Would require the Commissioner to provide proper notice prior to redirecting benefits.
- Would be effective 180 days after enactment.
Survey of Use of Payments to Representative Payee
- Would authorize and appropriate $17.8 million to OIG to conduct surveys to determine how payments made to representative payees are being used on behalf of beneficiaries.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Civil Monetary Penalty Authority With Respect to Wrongful Conversions by Representative Payees
- Would authorize SSA to impose a civil monetary penalty for offenses involving misuse of Social Security, Title VIII, or SSI benefits received by a representative payee on behalf of another individual. The penalty equals up to $5,000 for each violation. In addition, the representative payee shall be subject to an assessment of not more than twice the amount of the misused payments.
- Would also authorize SSA to impose administrative sanctions for the above offense.
- Would be effective for violations committed after the date of enactment.
Civil Monetary Penalty Authority With Respect to Knowing Withholding of Material Facts
- Would authorize SSA to impose, in addition to any other penalties that apply, civil monetary penalties of up to $5,000 (and assessments) for withholding of information that is material in determining eligibility for, or the amount of, benefits, if the person knows, or should know, that the withholding of such information is misleading.
- Would be effective with respect to violations committed after the date on which the Commissioner implements the centralized computer file required under the following section.
Issuance by Commissioner or Social Security of Receipts to Acknowledge Submission of Reports of Changes in Work or Earnings Status of Disabled Beneficiaries
- Would require the Commissioner to issue a receipt to disabled beneficiaries each time they report their work and earnings.
- Would be effective as soon as possible, but no later than 1 year after enactment and until such time as the Commissioner implements centralized computer file.
Denial of Title II Benefits to Persons Fleeing Prosecution, Custody, or Confinement, and to Persons Violating Probation or Parole
- Would prohibit Title II benefits to persons fleeing prosecution, custody, or confinement, and to persons violating probation or parole, unless the Commissioner determines that good cause exists for paying such benefits. Would amend the current prohibition of paying SSI benefits to fugitive felons so that the good cause provision would apply to Title XVI.
- Would provide that law enforcement must be pursuing an individual in order for him or her to be considered "fleeing." Thus, before either Social Security or SSI benefits would be withheld, law enforcement would be required to notify SSA that it intends to pursue the individual by seeking arrest, extradition, prosecution, or the revocation of probation or parole.
- Would also provide, if not in violation of Federal or State law, that the Commissioner furnish law enforcement officers the current address, SSN and photograph (if applicable) if necessary for the officer to perform his duties with respect to locating and apprehending the beneficiary.
- Would be effective the first day of the month beginning on or after the date that is 9 months after enactment.
Requirements Relating to Offers to Provide for a Fee, a Product, or Service Available without Charge from the Social Security Administration
- Would amend Section 1140 by adding a mandatory requirement that persons or companies include in their solicitations a statement that services which they provide for a fee are available directly from SSA free of charge.
- Would require that the statements comply with standards promulgated by the Commissioner with respect to their content, placement, visibility, and legibility.
- Would be effective for offers of assistance made after sixth month after enactment.
- Would require that regulations be promulgated within 1 year after enactment.
Refusal to Recognize Certain Individuals as Claimant Representatives
- Would provide that the Commissioner may, with notice and an opportunity to respond, disqualify or prohibit from further practice before SSA an attorney or non attorney representative who has been disbarred, debarred, prohibited, or suspended from any court or bar to which he or she was previously admitted to practice, or disbarred or suspended from representing individuals before any other Federal agency or any other court system authorized under the statutory authority of any other Federal agency, or convicted of any offense or held civilly liable in any matter involving the Social Security Act.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Criminal Penalty for Corrupt or Forcible Interference with Administration of Social Security Act
- Would penalize persons who attempt to intimidate or impede by force or threats of force any officer or employee of the United States acting in an official capacity under the Social Security Act or persons who in any other way obstruct or impede or attempt to obstruct or impede the administration of the Social Security Act. The maximum penalties would be $5,000 and/or 3 years imprisonment. If the offense were committed only by threats, the person would be fined no more than $3,000 and/or 1-year imprisonment.
- Would define as a felony the attempt to intimidate or impede (by force or threats of force) any officer or employee of the United States acting in an official capacity under the Social Security Act. Would also define as a felony any effort to otherwise obstruct or impede the administration of the Social Security Act. Upon conviction of the use of force in either of these felonies, the maximum penalties would be $5,000 and/or three-years imprisonment. Upon conviction of the use of threat, but not force, the maximum penalties would be no more than $3,000 and/or one-year imprisonment.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Use of Symbols, Emblems, or Names in Reference to Social Security or Medicare
- Would update section 1140 for HCFA's new name (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The section adds Death Benefits Update, Federal Benefits Information, Funeral Expenses, etc. as items prohibited from the use of symbols, emblems or names that may provide a false impression that the item is approved or endorsed by SSA, CMS or HHS.
- Would be effective for items sent 180 days after enactment.
Disqualification from Payment During Trial Work Period Upon Conviction of Fraudulent Concealment of Work Activity
- Would provide that an individual who is convicted by a Federal court of fraudulently concealing work activity during the trial work period (TWP) would not be entitled to receive a disability benefit for TWP months that occur prior to the conviction but within the same period of disability. If payment has already been made, he or she is liable for repayment plus restitution, fines, penalties and assessments.
- Would be effective with respect to work activity performed after date of enactment.
Authority for Judicial Orders of Restitution
- Would authorize Federal courts to order a defendant convicted of defrauding Social Security, Special Veterans' Benefits or SSI to make restitution to SSA
- Would establish a special fund in the Treasury for the deposit of funds so received to be used to defray expenses incurred in carrying out Titles II, VIII, and XVI, except for recovered funds that represent benefits misused by representative payees, which shall be deposited in the trust funds of general fund of the Treasury, as appropriate.
- Would be effective with respect to violations occurring on or after enactment.
Require State and Local Government Pension Paying Entities to Indicate on a Modified Form 1099R Whether a Pension is Based on Work Not Covered by Social Security
- Would require State and local government pension paying entities to indicate on their Form 1099R report whether the pension is based in whole or in part on earnings not covered by Social Security.
- Would be effective for tax years beginning distributions made after December 2003.
Authorize Cross-Program Recovery for Benefit Overpayments
- Would allow the Social Security Administration to more fully recover overpayments paid under one program from the benefits paid under another program.
- Would provide for withholding up to 100% of any underpayment and 10% of ongoing monthly benefits. To protect low-income beneficiaries, any recovery from SSI would be limited to the lesser of 100% of the monthly benefit or 10% of individual's total monthly income.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Prohibit Benefits to Persons Not Authorized to Work in the United States
- Would prohibit the payment of Title II benefits to any person who is not legally permitted to engage in employment in the United States at the time of application for Title II benefits. based on the earnings of any noncitizen who has never been issued an SSN indicating authorization to work in the United States.
- Would be effective with respect to applications for benefits filed on or after January 1, 2004.
Cap on Attorney Assessments
- Would cap the assessment for SSA processing attorney fees at $75 or 6.3% of attorney fee, whichever is lower.
- Would adjust cap based on annual COLA's rounded down to next lower $1.
- Would be effective 180 days after enactment.
GAO Study of Fee Payment Process for Claimant Representatives
- Would require the General Accounting Office to study the fee payment process and report on the potential effects of extending fee withholding to Title XVI, and allowing non-attorneys the option of fee withholding under both Titles II and XVI.
- Report would be due 24 months after date of enactment.
Eliminate Demonstration Authority Sunset Date
- Would provide for permanent authority to waive Title II benefit requirements to conduct experiments and demonstration projects. The current authority expires. December 17, 2004.
Expansion of Waiver Authority Available in Connection with Demonstration Projects Providing for Reductions in Disability Insurance Benefits Based on Earnings
- Would provide the Commissioner with the authority to waive requirements of section 1148 of the Social Security Act for the mandated demonstration projects.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Funding of Demonstration Projects Provided for Reductions in Disability Insurance Benefits Based on Earnings
- Would clarify that the cost of paying increased benefits will not be appropriated while the administrative costs associated with the demonstration projects will come normally from funds available for administration.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Availability of Federal and State Work Incentive Services to Additional Individuals
- Would allow BPAO services and P&A systems services to be provided to those beneficiaries in section 1619(b) status, those beneficiaries receiving only a State Supplement payment, and those beneficiaries in an extended period of Medicare eligibility under Title XVIII after a period of disability under Title II has ended.
- Would allow P&A System services to include those needed to maintain employment (in addition to those needed to secure or regain it).
- Would be effective with respect to: (1) grants, cooperative agreements or contracts entered into on or after the date of enactment; and, (2) payments provided after the date of enactment.
Technical Amendment Clarifying Treatment for Certain Purposes of Individual Work Plans under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program -
- Would treat an individual receiving vocational rehabilitation pursuant to an individual work plan established under the Ticket to Work program the same as an individual with an individualized work plan under a State plan for vocational rehabilitation services approved under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, thereby making employers who hire such individuals eligible for the worker opportunity tax credit.
- Would be effective as if enacted in section 505 of P.L. 106-170 (i.e., applies to individuals who began work for the employer after June 30, 1999).
GAO Report on Ticket to Work
- Would require that GAO study and report on the effectiveness of the Ticket to Work program.
Elimination of Transcript Requirement in Remand Cases Fully Favorable to the Claimant
- Would provide that the Agency does not have to prepare and file a transcript with the district court after a court-ordered remand for further administrative proceedings results in a fully-favorable award of benefits.
- Would be effective with respect to determinations made upon remand made on or after the date of enactment.
Nonpayment of Benefits upon Removal from the United States
- Would end the exemption from nonpayment of benefits for aliens removed from the United States for smuggling other aliens into the United States.
- Would apply to removal notices received from the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security after the date of enactment.
Reinstatement of Certain Reporting Requirements
- Would continue the requirement for the Board of Trustees report on the OASDI, HI, and SMI trust funds, continuing disability reviews reports, and the disability preeffectuation review report.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Clarification of Definitions Regarding Certain Survivor Benefits
- Would provide a limited exception to the 9-month duration-of-marriage requirement for widow(er)'s benefits. This exception would apply in cases in which the marriage was postponed by legal impediments to the marriage caused by State restrictions on divorce due to mental incompetence or similar incapacity.
- Would apply to applications filed during months ending after the date of enactment.
Clarification Respecting the FICA and SECA Tax Exemptions for an Individual Whose Earnings Are Subject to the Laws of a Totalization Agreement Partner
- Would provide clear legal authority to exempt a worker's earnings from U.S. Social Security tax in cases where their earnings were subject to a foreign country's laws in accordance with a U.S. totalization agreement, but the foreign country's law does not require compulsory contributions with respect to those earnings.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Coverage under Divided Retirement System for Public Employees
- Would extend the authority to establish a divided retirement system to all States.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Compensation for the Social Security Advisory Board
- Would establish compensation for SS Advisory Board members at the daily rate of basic pay for level IV of the Senior Executive Schedule for each day in which the member is engaged in the business of the Board.
- Would be effective January 1, 2003.
60-Month Period of Employment Requirement for Application of Government Pension Offset Exemption
- Would require that State and local government workers be covered by Social Security throughout their last 5 years of employment with the government entity in order to be exempt from the government pension offset provision.
- Would eliminate the present law "last day covered employment" exemption from the government pension offset (GPO) for State and local employees. Instead, would require that, in order to be exempt from the GPO, State and local government workers whose pension is based at least in part on non-covered work must be covered by Social Security at the date of enactment, or become covered under Social Security when a future section 218 agreement is executed, and must be covered by Social Security for at least the last 60 months of their government employment. For all other State and local government employees, there would be no exemption from the GPO if they are receiving a pension based in whole or in part on non-covered State or local government employment.
- Would be effective for applications filed after the month of enactment. However, would not apply to individuals whose last day of employment for the State or local governmental entity was covered by Social Security and (1) occurs on or before December 31, 2003 or (2) occurs before June 30, 2004 subject to an employment contract entered into prior to September 30, 2003.
Post-1956 Military Wage Credits
- Would transfer from general funds the remaining balance owed to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds for deemed military wags credits for 2000 and 2001 and make conforming amendments to reflect the termination of deemed military wage credits.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Technical Correction Relating to Responsible Agency Head
- Would delete all references to the "Secretary of Health and Human Services" found in Section 1143 (which requires issuance of Social Security Statements) of the Social Security Act and replaces them with the "Commissioner of Social Security."
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Technical Correction Relating to Retirement Benefits of Ministers
- Would provide a conforming change to the Social Security Act to exclude, for Social Security benefit purposes, certain benefits received by retired ministers and members of religious orders. This would conform the treatment of these benefits to their treatment for Social Security tax purposes.
- Would be effective for years beginning before, on, or after December 1994.
Technical Corrections Relating to Domestic Employment
- Would provide that references to domestic employment be removed from the provisions in the law that define agricultural employment, and the provisions that define domestic employment would specify that domestic employment includes domestic service performed on a farm.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Technical Corrections of Outdated References
- Would correct various outdated references in the Social Security Act and related laws. Over the years, provisions of the Social Security Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws have been deleted, re-designated, or otherwise amended.
Technical Correction Respecting Self-Employment Income in Community Property States
- Would conform the provision in the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to current practice in both community property and non-community property States--to provide that income from a trade or business that is not a partnership will be taxed and credited to the spouse who is carrying on the trade or business or to each spouse based on their distributive share of the gross earnings, if jointly operated
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Technical Changes to the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001
- Would make a number of technical and clerical changes regarding Railroad Retirement Investment Trust relating to quorum rules, transfers, investments, administrative expenses and exemption from State and local taxes.
- Would be effective upon enactment.
Exclusion from Income for Certain Infrequent or Irregular Income and Certain Interest or Dividend Income
- Would change the calculation of infrequent and irregular income from a monthly to a quarterly basis. Also would exclude from the determination of an individual's income all interest and dividend income earned on countable resources.
- Would be effective with respect to benefits payable for months that begin more than 90 days after the date of enactment.
Uniform 9-Month Resource Exclusion Periods
- Would increase to 9 months and make uniform the time period for excluding from resources amounts attributable to payments of past-due Social Security and SSI benefits and earned income and child tax credits.
- Would be effective for benefits payable on or after the date of enactment.
Modification of the Dedicated Account Requirement
- Would allow the funds in the account to be used for reimbursement of certain past expenditures incurred by the representative payee on behalf of the disabled child. Would also provide that funds from the dedicated account can be used for purposes that are for the good of the beneficiary, not just for purposes related to the impairment of the beneficiary.
- Would be effective upon January 1, 2004, and apply with respect to expenditures of funds from dedicated accounts on or after that date or accounts established on or after that date.
Elimination of Certain Restrictions on the Application of the Student Earned Income Exclusion
- Would permit the student earned income exclusion to apply to any individual under age 22 who is a student. Thus, students under age 22 who are married or heads of households will now be eligible for the exclusion.
- Would be effective for benefits payable beginning 1 year after month of enactment.
Exclusion of Americorps and Other Volunteer Benefits for Purposes of Determining Supplemental Security Income Eligibility and Benefit Amounts and Social Security Disability Insurance Entitlement
- Would exclude all payments and benefits to all Americorps volunteers, both cash and in-kind, for the purpose of determining SSI eligibility and benefit amounts and for the purpose of determining initial and continuing eligibility for Social Security disability insurance benefits.
- Would be effective for benefits payable for months beginning the month on or after 60 days after the month of enactment.
Exception to Retrospective Monthly Accounting for Nonrecurring Income
- Would eliminate triple counting by providing that one-time, nonrecurring income would be counted only for the month that the income is received, and not for any other month during the transition to retrospective monthly accounting during the first 3 months of an individual's SSI eligibility.
- Would be effective for benefits payable for months that begin on or after 1 year following the date of enactment.
Removal of Restriction on Payment of Benefits to Children Who Are Born or Who Become Blind or Disabled after Their Military Parents Are Stationed Overseas
- Would extend the current law exception for SSI eligibility for blind and disabled children of military personnel overseas to blind and disabled children of military personnel who were born overseas, who became blind or disabled while overseas, or who first applied for SSI benefits overseas.
- Would be effective for benefits payable for months beginning after enactment, but only on the basis of an application filed after enactment.
Treatment of Education-Related Income and Resources
- Would exclude from the determination of income any gift to an individual for use in paying tuition or educational fees, just as grants, scholarships and fellowships for such use are currently excluded from the determination of income.
- Would also exclude grants, scholarships, fellowships, or gifts to be used for tuition or education fees from an individual's countable resources for 9 months after the month of receipt.
- Would be effective for benefits payable for months that begin more than 90 days after the date of enactment.
Monthly Treatment of Uniformed Service Compensation
- Would count cash military compensation as reported on a monthly leave and earnings statement issued by the military, which reflects compensation earned in the prior month, as received in the prior month.
- Would be effective for benefits payable for months beginning at least 90 days after the date of enactment.
Update for Resource Limit
- Would increase the resource limits to $3,000 for individuals and $4,500 for couples, and indexes both amounts for inflation. (Currently, the monthly resource limits are $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples.)
- Would be effective for months that begin more than 90 days after the date of enactment.
Review of State Agency Blindness and Disability Determinations
- Would require the Commissioner to review, prior to awarding benefits, 25% of all favorable SSI initial disability and blindness decisions for adults in made after March 2004. The percentage of required reviews would increase to 50% for FY 2005 and beyond.
- Would be effective January 1, 2004.


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Pass/Fail: Schools cafeteria's report card
Weston's public schools are heralded for academic excellence, but they have a dirty little secret about failing students in one big area -- where they eat.
No district in Fairfield County has had more failed cafeteria inspections over the last five years than Weston. But while it may have the most inspection failures, it is hardly alone.
Districts across Fairfield County -- from Stamford to Shelton, Bridgeport to Bethel and everywhere between -- have been cited for numerous health-code violations inside school cafeterias.
Even well-to-do Greenwich had black marks on its record. And several schools have flunked repeated inspections, while others have passed even after inspectors found mouse droppings or cockroaches in the kitchens.
A Hearst Connecticut Newspapers analysis of 2,248 inspections of public school cafeterias performed throughout the county from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2012, found that health inspectors failed cafeterias a total of 199 times for a variety of violations, ranging from hazardous food-storage practices to dirty facilities and sick cafeteria workers.
And even though local health officials downplay the significance of such subpar conditions, parents are concerned they're not being informed about the problems surfacing in their children's cafeterias.
"They send a letter home for other stuff, so why wouldn't they send a letter home for that?" Stamford parent Debbie Green asked. "So if there's chicken pox, or someone has lice -- they don't mention the person, obviously -- but we're notified for all that. So why wouldn't we be notified about the cafeteria that our children are getting their food out of? It's a health issue."
Across the county's cities, Norwalk had 30 failed health inspections, Danbury had 10, Bridgeport had seven and Stamford had three.
In all, schools throughout Fairfield County failed one in 11 inspections over the past five years. But despite consecutive failures in some districts, not a single cafeteria was ever shut down during that time period as the state health code recommends.
In Greenwich, town inspectors found mouse droppings in the cafeteria at one school and ants on the floor in an area where food is served at another, and scored the schools with 13 failures. In Westport, inspectors flunked the cafeterias 14 times and noted five critter-related incidents.
The Hearst analysis also found a disparity in the number of inspections -- all by local health departments -- performed among the county's school districts.
Weston inspects its cafeterias more than three times a year, but in urban districts like Stamford, where health departments have been hit by budget cuts, school kitchens are only inspected once a year. And districts with chronically rare inspections become victims of lax practices, dingy kitchens and potentially dangerous conditions for preparing children's food, while most schools with a high frequency of inspections fared pretty well -- except Weston.
Weston's failures
Under state health code, cafeterias can fail an inspection one of two ways: by receiving a score of less than 80 out of 100 points, or by receiving at least one of nine more serious four-point violations for improperly storing foods or general cleanliness and health.
The most common four-point violation -- and one that health inspectors say is among the most dangerous -- is maintaining foods at proper temperatures.
Health standards require that hot foods be kept at 140 degrees or higher and cold foods at 45 degrees or below.
Weston schools failed to keep foods at proper temperatures 24 times, accounting for 22 percent of 110 failures around the county in that category.
From cheese sitting at 74 degrees, to tuna salad approaching room temperature, tomatoes 15 degrees above the required safe zone and Reuben sandwiches found in a warming cabinet that wasn't working, no brick on the food pyramid was immune to temperature issues in Weston's cafeterias.
With a dozen failures since 2007, Weston Middle School flunked inspections more times than any other school in the county; Weston High School and Redding's John Read Middle School were tied with the second most failures in the county at 10 each.
Weston Public Schools Food Director Andre Santelli took issue with the characterization that his facilities "failed" inspections, saying it was more of a report urging corrective action.
"A below-80, or more than one four-point violation, triggers immediate repair," he said. "It's not, `quote, unquote' a failure. It's just that this has to get fixed -- `alert, alert, we need to fix this.' "
But while Santelli said he sees such inspections as a gray area, health officials around the county draw a thick black line between inspections with a four-point violation, or a score below 80, and those that fared better.
In Norwalk, keeping an eye on food temperature is a top concern.
"One of the most important areas that we concentrate on are food temperatures," said Thomas Closter, director of environmental services for that city. "We're worried that the food is being cooked properly to 165 degrees, held at 140 degrees and served properly. The reason we feel that way is because during inspections, you might have just one violation, but if it's one that affects food temperatures, that's a four-point demerit item and it's the No. 1 cause -- along with (lack of) hand-washing -- for people getting a food-borne illness."
Closing cafeterias
If failures persist, health officials can close cafeterias, according to the Connecticut health code, which states that a cafeteria has two weeks after a failure to correct its violations.
"After the two weeks, the director of health, registered sanitarian or authorized agent shall make a reinspection and determine a new rating score," the code reads. If the reinspection results in another failure, "the director of health shall take immediate steps to have the food service establishment closed."
But such action has not been taken in Weston, despite several instances when the town's cafeterias failed back-to-back inspections. Nor have cafeterias been closed in Norwalk, which had six instances in the past five years; in Redding or Stratford, which both had five instances; Westport or Greenwich, which both had three instances; or Bridgeport, Danbury, Monroe or Trumbull, which each had one.
That's because health officials have some discretion in those instances, said Redding's Director of Health Douglas Hartline, who maintained that his health department was right to keep cafeterias open because he is "convinced that they're serving safe food" to children.
"If we felt we need to close a school, we certainly would be doing it," Hartline said. "But the code uses the word `failure,' and that implies, `Danger, danger, danger,' but that's just not the case -- at least with Redding schools."
Greenwich's director of environmental services, Michael Long, has a similar attitude.
"Basically, you weight it on what the priorities are," Long said. "So if it was something as far as food temperatures or a faulty piece of equipment that's not able to maintain food temperatures, then we'll work with them to figure out the best way to fix it."
For example, when Greenwich's New Lebanon School failed three consecutive inspections in August and September 2009 due to plumbing issues, town inspectors allowed the district some time to request funding to fix what was essentially an equipment problem; it was remedied by February 2010, inspections show.
The most egregious instance of consecutive failures took place at Weston Middle School, where health district records show nine inspections in a row, conducted between June 4, 2008, and Oct. 25, 2010, resulted in failures. But Westport/Weston Health District Health Director Mark Cooper said he was not aware of Weston schools failing back-to-back inspections, which points to potentially problematic communication issues within the department.
"Clearly, it has not risen to the occasion where I was informed by an inspector where it was a significant risk that demanded closure," he said. "Somewhere in all of this, the director of health has discretion to look at the relative risk."
All told, the inspection scores at Weston Middle School were far from terrible.
With an average of 92.2 points out of 100 per inspection, the grade would earn the school a respectable score on a math test. But measured against the rest of the schools in the county, Weston Middle wouldn't fare well on a curved grading system; it ranked as No. 206 of 221 cafeterias inspected during the five-year period.
While an inspection score can provide insight into the condition of a cafeteria, it doesn't tell the whole story. One school could earn a score of 96, but fail because of a four-point violation, while another could earn a score of an 87 and pass.
And a cafeteria can pass an inspection with a score of 98 out of 100, even after inspectors spotted mice or other vermin claiming kitchens as their own.
Creeping and crawling
Tanya Lennon received no notice last May when health inspectors found signs of vermin in the Monroe elementary school cafeteria where her daughter buys lunch three times a week. Nor was she notified eight months earlier when the cafeteria failed a routine inspection.
The school that Lennon's daughter attends, Fawn Hollow Elementary School, has been cited by health officials for mouse feces in the cafeteria's dry storage area in each of its last four inspections.
But parents at the school -- including Lennon, who as co-president of the Parent Teacher Organization is usually in the loop -- were never told.
The problem isn't limited to Fawn Hollow.
Vermin sightings were rare in places (in Darien, there was only one mention in 119 inspections, when an inspector found one fly in the storage area of the cafeteria at Middlesex Middle School on June 10, 2011), but there were six districts in the county in which vermin sightings -- mouse or insect -- were recorded at least five times: Bridgeport had the most, with 12 incidents; Monroe had eight; Trumbull, Stratford and Newtown each had six; and Westport had five.
Across the county, evidence of vermin was recorded 63 times during the five-year period.
But no single school had more such violations than Fawn Hollow, where inspectors found mouse droppings in the cafeteria storage area during four consecutive inspections between September 2010 and May 2012. During the school's most recent inspection on May 16, 2012, health officials noted that previously cited holes in the walls and floors near the infested area had finally been "covered with cardboard and tape," after being pointed out as violations and possible spots for harboring pets twice in 2011.
"Most of the town was farmland in the past, and we've had mice here in my house. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that any given building here could have mice," Lennon said. "I don't see it as a huge deal. It happens in everyone's house."
Mice may be part of life in more rural communities, but that doesn't excuse their presence in a school cafeteria, said Sarah Klein, senior staff attorney in the food safety program at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit health and nutrition advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
"You could argue the restaurants in New York City could say the same thing about rats because they're everywhere, " Klein said. "But they're not supposed to be in a kitchen."
Spotting a mouse in a public school cafeteria should cause concern for even the least squeamish. Rodents signify a loss of control in the kitchen and can carry contaminants from one corner of the cafeteria to another, Klein said. It doesn't matter how diligently cafeteria staff scrubs down cutting boards.
If a mouse gets in, scurrying feet can track bacteria across squeaky clean surfaces.
"Tiny little feet can become contaminated with chicken juices that have salmonella and that can be spread throughout the kitchen," Klein said. "They're also a canary in a coal mine that the kitchen itself is not under control ... in the same way that when you went into a neighbor's house that had vermin, you would think not only `Gross,' but, `What the hell is going on in this kitchen that it's unchecked and these guys are running rampant?' "
A right to know
During an October visit to the Academy of Information Technology & Engineering in Stamford, a piece of paper hung on the wall outside the food service line, proudly displaying exemplary marks on the cafeteria's most recent health inspection.
The white sheet displayed 62 different inspection points, each worth one, two, three or four points. Most items were typed in black ink, while the most severe infractions were written in red. At the bottom, the final score was penned in by the inspector.
The law requires the report to be hung there, and cafeteria workers post the good and the bad. In October 2009, when the cafeteria earned a score of 98 after inspectors spotted insects flying in the food preparation area, the paper hung there with a check mark next to violation No. 42 and its final passing score.
But students don't exactly spend their time examining the inspection sheet. They're more interested in getting their slice of pizza or chunk of lasagna, said Connie Lucifora, who works at the cafeteria. And in order for parents to catch a glimpse of a report -- good or gross -- they have to go to the cafeterias themselves and seek out the sheet, which can be cryptic.
"Posting the inspection reports only goes so far as to providing information because it requires the parent to proactively seek out the report on top of everything else parents have on their plates," Klein said.
The most recent cafeteria failure in Stamford happened at Roxbury Elementary School, where on Dec. 8, 2008, the cafeteria received a score of 91 out of 100, including a four-point deduction issued when the health inspector found that dented cans were not isolated from other foods in the cafeteria's storage. But Roxbury parents won't remember that happening.
"We were never notified. Never. Never ever," said Debbie Green, a Stamford resident who served as co-president of the Roxbury Organization of Parents and Educators during the 2008-09 school year.
There is no law on the books that states parents and community members must be notified if their children's cafeteria fails an inspection.
But Green said there should be one, since cafeteria cleanliness is a health concern for children who rely on cafeterias to serve their lunch. And in a city like Stamford, where more than half of the district's children qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, the cafeteria is often the only choice for many children who must eat a school lunch or go without.
Because there are no statutes stipulating that health departments must publicize failed inspections, the onus is placed on the districts to let parents know, said Stamford Director of Health Anne Fountain.
But school districts don't always pick up that ball: During the five-year period analyzed, Stamford schools never sent a letter home to parents about cafeteria issues. Neither did Greenwich, where cafeterias failed 13 inspections.
In fact, district spokeswoman Kim Eves, who has worked in Greenwich for more than a decade, said she cannot recall a single instance in which the schools have sent notices home to parents about a cafeteria failing inspection.
"Yes, if there is a health or safety risk to students or staff, we absolutely notify parents," Eves said. But when Glenville Elementary School failed five inspections between 2008 and 2010 due to temperature issues and a broken hand-washing sink, Eves said she did not classify the failures as risks.
Similarly, Monroe Public Schools Superintendent James Augustine said the mice incidents at Fawn Hollow didn't amount to a significant enough risk to alarm parents with a letter home.
But Green said schools shouldn't decide whether something is dangerous enough to bring parents into the conversation; rather reaching out should be one of the first steps in the process.
"It seems weird to me," said Green, whose children now attend Cloonan Middle School and Westhill High School in Stamford. "If there's a problem, parents need to be notified. They have a right to know what's going on in a child's school, whether it's good or bad."
Short staffed
Health departments around the county are scrambling to schedule inspections of school cafeterias as often as possible, but the county average of two inspections per school a year falls short of the health code's mandate, which states the kitchens "shall be inspected at intervals not to exceed one hundred and twenty (120) days."
Some districts are doing just fine on that front. Weston led the county for most frequent inspections with an average of 3.4 per year; Darien, Westport and Redding also had more than three inspections per year. But everyone else fell short.
Across the county, shrinking budgets and smaller staffs have resulted in many districts checking over their school kitchens less frequently.
Sherman, the county's northernmost and least-populated town, had the fewest inspections: Its only public school, Sherman School, hosted inspectors twice between July 2007 and June 2012, according to inspection data provided by the district. Bridgeport and Stamford had the second- and third-lowest frequencies in the county.
In Bridgeport, inspectors made it to school kitchens once every two years on average, while Stamford inspectors made it to each school roughly once a year.
Several health officials said the reason for the irregularity was simple: School cafeterias are generally clean, and health departments' overworked staff members are busy.
"It's not like (cafeterias) are trying to respond to a demand. They have set menus and schedules, so you could think the risk at the school is less than it is at other places," said Newtown Health Director Donna Culbert, whose department inspected schools an average of 2.3 times per year. "If you see schools (being inspected) less frequently than three times a year, it's probably because the towns are saying, `Where are the risks bigger?' "
With small staffs providing patchwork coverage, hitting the hot spots is key.
In Stamford, for instance, the Health Department lost two employees to budget cuts at about the same time two members were on maternity leave, cutting staff by roughly 40 percent, according to Fountain, the city's health director.
"I think when we lost the inspectors a couple years ago, we went from a high of about 1,300 inspections a year down to about 500 per year," said Ron Miller, director of environmental inspections for Stamford. That number includes cafeterias, restaurants, housing and environmental health inspections, he said.
The problem of short-staffing may be happening locally, but it's not a Connecticut problem -- it's a national one.
And with 48 million Americans contracting food-borne illnesses every year, public health prevention like increased inspections is an essential ingredient to protect American consumers, Klein said.
"Unfortunately what needs to happen is additional dollars from the Legislature need to be funneled into public health prevention," Klein said. "There needs to be recognition that funding for health departments is one way to get ahead of that problem, and unfortunately it's not a matter of threatening the health departments because what they're doing now is triaging their existing budget resources."
Those additional dollars aren't a likely bet for Fairfield County towns and cities, said state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, a Republican who represents Weston, Newtown, Easton and Fairfield.
"Food safety is a very important issue," McKinney said. "Kids getting sick affects their ability to learn, and it's not what we want to have happening. But I don't think we're going to see a beefing up, so to speak, of our health districts, because financially our state and our towns are struggling, so we need to look at a better way of self-monitoring our system."
McKinney, who has children in Weston's public schools but has never thought to seek out health inspections records, said the Hearst analysis has opened his eyes to a significant public health concern in his own backyard -- and he plans to do something about it.
"I'm surprised at how serious the problem is," he said. "That's a lot of violations, and that is something that raises a red flag about food safety quality. It concerns me and I think we have to look at it in the Legislature."
In addition to legislative examination of cafeteria cleanliness, McKinney said schools need to increase their ownership of the problems as well as transparency.
"There could be a notice to parents if there's a series of serious citations, and I think we need to look at that," he said. "There needs to be oversight to those decisions, something publicly, so we don't have the concern that some officials might be covering up mistakes because it would be embarrassing if it comes out."
At the end of the day, parents need to be able to trust their children are being served healthy and safe food, he said. In Fairfield County, that means some significant changes need to be made.
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Regency South Coast Village theater in Santa Ana will honor late director Tony Scott with a four-film tribute starting Monday and continuing through Aug. 30.
•"Man on Fire," a 2004 action/drama starring Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken and Dakota Fanning, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
•"Crimson Tide," a 1995 thriller starring Washington and Gene Hackman, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
•"Days of Thunder," a 1990 action/romance starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
•"Top Gun," a 1986 action/romance starring Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards, will screen at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30.
Tickets for each show are $7. Regency South Coast Village is at 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana.
Scott, an accomplished film director who developed a widely recognized frenetic and energetic camera style, died Sunday from an apparent suicide off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro. He was 68.
For more information about the screenings, call 714-557-5703 or visit regencymovies.com.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or email@example.com


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Back Home Fairfax County VA Information - A-Z Directory ("A"= Attorney "C"= Church "R"= Restaurant) Add Your Business
Everyone is so busy during the summer but we all still have that ache to stay connected to our Lord and to each other - so ....enter blogging, and new ways to stay plugged in! Beginning on July 5, we will begin reading John Ortberg's "The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People". You can pick up the book at Franconia United Methodist Church, 6037 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA, on June 24 at 7:30 PM and meet other bloggers, or locate a book on your own. Be sure to have the expanded version as it includes a section on prayer.
The plan is to read 2 chapters a week - there are 13 chapters - and respond to the questions posted at the end of the week. The first discussion questions will be posted July 12. You are invited to write responses, as well a raise questions and comments of your own for discussion. We will see where God leads us! At the end of the study, if you are able, we will meet for dessert at Franconia United Methodist Church on August 25 at 7:00 PM to celebrate our journey together.
SO ... whether you are at the beach, on a mountain top, enjoying an iced tea on your porch or by the pool, on a cruise, or camping this summer you can still study, still stay connected, still live into "the life you've always wanted" and the life that God has intended for you. Just email Pastor Catharine Guest at email@example.com and she will send you an invite. For more info check us out at http://www.franconiaumc.org or see us at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhK9N88syQg. Our phone number is 703 971-5151.
Franconia United Methodist Church