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Real Salt Lake Match Notes v. Red Bulls
- Tonight's win improved Real Salt Lake's record in MLS play to 11-1-6 across its last 18 matches, the lone loss occurring on the road at FC Dallas back in July. RSL is now 9-0-3 at home this season, with its last loss at Rio Tinto Stadium coming all the way back on May 16, 2009 v. Kansas City (0-2 L).
- The triumph also allowed Real Salt Lake to set new single-season records in points (43) and wins (12), and shutouts (11), despite the fact that seven regular season games remain on the team's 2010 slate.
- Real Salt Lake will look to claim the home undefeated streak for itself on Saturday, Sept. 18, when the Claret-and-Cobalt will welcome the Chicago Fire to Sandy for a 2:00 p.m. MT matinee.
- With his sixth tally of the season, Espindola tied MF Javier Morales for second on RSL's scoring chart in League play, the Argentine duo trailing only FW Álvaro Saborío and his eight markers in MLS action.
- Espíndola would be subbed out after 50 minutes due to a strained left hamstring, putting his status for RSL's next contest on Thursday, Sept. 9 at Seattle Sounders FC in doubt.
- The contest at Seattle will mark RSL's first visit to Qwest Field since last November's MLS Cup triumph. Fans will be able to follow the match-up between two of the League's hottest sides on ESPN2 next Thursday (9:00 p.m. MT kickoff).
- The assist for Morales was his seventh on the campaign, pulling him into a four-way tie for seventh place across the League in the category.
- Saborío (Costa Rica) and MF Will Johnson (Canada) were absent for tonight's contest while serving on national team duty for their respective countries this weekend. Saborío scored the equalizer and went the full 90 minutes for the Ticos in their 2-2 draw at Panama last evening and traveled with the squad to Jamaica for Sunday's tilt against the Reggae Boyz in Kingston. Johnson started for Canada in its 0-2 defeat to Peru at BMO Field in Toronto, and is expected to see more action on Tuesday when the Maple Leafs take on Honduras at Montreal's Saputo Stadium. Both Saborío and Johnson will be available for RSL when it travels to Seattle for Thursday's ESPN2 "MLS Game of the Week" showdown.


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Fuxi Racing Padded Alpine Race Suit Whiteout Design
Own your very own Fuxi Flash alpine race suit!
Is your old alpine race suit missing some FLASH? Create your very own ski suit with our Fuxi Racing suit designer! Choose your design, suit options, and colors and we'll create a completely unique race suit just for you (or your whole team). Each suit is made-to-order in just 10 business days!
SKU: N/A Category: Fuxi Classic Collection
Standard Features
- E-Star performance fabric (Switzerland)
- Articulated alpine race pattern
- Boot buckle reinforcement panel with silicone gripper
- Thumb anchor straps
- Durable YKK chest zipper
- Removable, ergo-flex pads
- 2-piece, adult, youth, padded and non-padded options available
- Sizes XS – 4XL available for adult
- Sizes XS – XL available for youth
Materials & Care
- E-Star (Switzerland) A lightweight fabric designed to wick moisture away from the skin and with high-stretch content that allows for a comfortable fit and feel.
- Wash cold
- Hang to dry
- Avoid abrasive surfaces
Pricing & Shipping
Pricing (USD)
- Padded Pro Alpine Race Suit – $455
- Pro Alpine Race Suit – $435
- Padded 2-Piece Pro Alpine Race Suit – $495
- 2-Piece Pro Alpine Race Suit – $475
- Youth Padded Pro Alpine Race Suit – $355
- Youth Pro Alpine Race Suit – $335
- Plus size pricing: +$5 for 2XL, +$7 for 3XL, +$10 for 4XL
- This is a made-to-order (MTO) item. Please allow 10 business days for the shipment of this garment.
- All "Fuxi Race Suit" orders are shipped either USPS Priority mail or UPS Ground.

subset: commoncrawl


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I have advocated universal healthcare but as to how to change the culture? That will take awhile, constant push by campaigners, taking advantage when those who back such ideas get into office to advance the cause, getting religious bodies and medical profession (if they are anything like England, that one may be impossible) behind it, gently pointing out how bad things are in US on healthcare and getting strong comparisons with elsewhere, finding ways of persuading people to change tax priorities or pay more taxes for healthcare.
One big problem is Eurozone is hitting deflation so health care campaigners will have to ensure people don't associate what happened with the kind of attitude that brings free healthcare


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- (verb) voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up; "he offered to relinquish his post as acting President"
Relinquish (रिलिंगक्विश) meaning in Hindi (English to Hindi Dictionary)
- छोड़ना, त्यागना, त्याग देना, छोड़ देना, अलग करना, अलग कर देना. हाथ उठा लेना
Relinquish Origin
- late Middle English: from Old French relinquiss-, lengthened stem of relinquir, from Latin relinquere, from re- (expressing intensive force) + linquere 'to leave'.
Relinquish in a sentence (word usage from recent newspaper)
- MSK Prasad backs Dhoni's decision to relinquish captaincy.
- Train derailments: Prabhu asks officers to act or relinquish.
- Ratan Tata to relinquish post of chairperson of Tata Trust next year.
- Anthony J. Reardon will relinquish his current operational duties but continue as executive chairman of ducommun.
- When contacted, Roy said for a fair probe, there is a need on the part of the Home Minister to relinquish his post.
Mnemonic trick to remember the meaning of relinquish
- relinquish = release your wish
Relinquish Pronunciation


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SSG Rubber Seal
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All text and product images are the intellectual property and copyright of Pipestock Limited
Key Features / Tech Specs:
- Working Pressure: 142 psi
- Working Temperature: -40°C - 95°C
- Seal Material: NBR
- Quick Release Fittings are not interchangeable and series should not be mixed.
Useful Info:
These SSG quick release Claw Couplings offer a fast and secure method for connecting hose.
If you require any further information then don't hesitate to ring us here at Pipestock on 0845 634 1053. We're always happy to help!
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Lotsa Love® - Big Bear
Tons of fun, tons of smiles. That's what our great big, super-cuddly plush bear delivers every time! Pair it with one of three fresh bouquets and you'll make an impression for sure—whether you're saying "Happy Birthday," "Congratulations" or "You make me smile"!
Add to their gift:


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Save Your Options
1 Select Overlay
Most Showplace door styles are offered in two overlays: Traditional and International+. A few door styles are offered in International+ only. Read on and learn more about what this means to you.
Inset Options
Inset doors and drawer headers are fitted inside the face frame in a precisely-sized opening. This requires a higher level of precision craftsmanship in the manufacturing process. As a result, inset carries high-end, high-dollar connotations—but at Showplace, you can get this elegant option at our value price.
With Showplace inset cabinets you can personalize the design by choosing either beaded inset or flush inset styling with no difference in price.
Overlay (sometimes called "reveal") refers to the amount of cabinet face frame that is covered by the doors and drawer headers. In the end, the overlay decision is one of personal tastes and budgets.
2 Choose a Header Style
Most Showplace door styles give you some choices for drawer headers. All styles have a standard header which is usually a slab header with the appropriate edge treatment for the door style. On many styles, you can also choose the slant/raised header or an upgrade five-piece drawer header.
Five-piece headers with raised panel door styles will utilize a flat center panel on shorter drawer openings, see examples or talk to your Showplace dealer for details. Applied-molding, beaded, and mitered door styles also have upgrade header options appropriate to each style. This ability provides you even more freedom with your design—and if you have any questions, we're here to help.
3 Select Wood Type
Your chosen wood type will impact the available finishes. Select your favorite species to see which finishes are available. When applicable, rustic door and finish images do not reflect rustic characteristics.
4 Select Finish/Paint & Sheen
The right finish will customize your look while protecting your cabinets from drying, cracking, deteriorating, and swelling. Choose the paint, standard or character stain, or glaze that suits your style.
*Please select a Wood Type above before selecting your Finish/Paint & Sheen
Paint Options
Too many choices can be overwhelming! That's why we've created our ColorSelect collections. These groupings of harmonious colors were assembled by true color professionals to help you build the perfect palette for your creation.
Billowy Breeze
Dark Greige
Dark Night
Dorian Gray
Dover White
Downing Slate
Extra White
Gauntlet Gray
Gun Smoke
Hale Navy
Heron Plume
Light Greige
Light Mocha
Mid Greige
Moss Green
Pure White
Smokey Blue
Soft Cream
Teal Stencil
Urbane Bronze
Westchester Gray
White Dove
White II
When the color selection is critical, the Showplace ColorSelect option lets you specify any of more than a thousand Sherwin-Williams paint colors for your cabinetry, trim, and accents.
Sheen Options
Sheen is the relative shininess or glossiness of a finish. Showplace offers all finishes in your choice of two sheens: satin or matte. Satin is most often considered the normal sheen for home cabinetry. Matte is a little bit softer and a little bit flatter than satin and is often associated with high-end furniture.
These finishes are created by a multistep process that includes final topcoating with an oven-baked varnish for superior durability.


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In 1969, the United States Supreme Court held in Shapiro v. Thompson that a state's one-year residency requirement as a condition for receiving welfare benefits was unconstitutional because it burdened the citizen's right to travel freely within the United States. As a result, for years welfare offices in Chicago offered to buy clients a one-way bus ticket to Minneapolis. While Shapiro and subsequent decisions to a similar effect caused some grumbling, the principle on which they were decided is easy to understand and ultimately, I think, right. After all, the people the courts were talking about were Americans.
Now something similar is happening in the European Union. The Telegraph reports that the European Commission is threatening to sue Great Britain to force that country to fund "welfare tourists" from anywhere in the EU. The threat comes as Britain's Tory government is trying to reform and tighten up that country's welfare system:
The European Commission has threatened to take legal action against Britain if ministers do not water down rules limiting foreigners' ability to claim benefits. Ministers fear the move could leave taxpayers handing out as much as £2.5 billion to EU nationals, including out-of-work "benefit tourists", a new cost that could wreck Coalition plans for welfare reform. …
The commission is objecting to Britain's rules on welfare, claiming they discriminate unfairly against foreigners. To claim benefits in Britain, EU nationals must pass a "right to reside" test. The commission says the test is too tough, and wants Britain to apply more generous EU-wide rules. …
In an outspoken attack today, Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, says the commission's move is part of a "wider movement" by the "unelected and unaccountable" European authorities to extend their power over the UK. "This kind of land grab from the EU has the potential to cause mayhem to nation states, and we will fight it," he writes in The Daily Telegraph.
Unelected and unaccountable European authorities are trying to extend their power over the U.K.? Really? Have the British just begun to notice this?
[Smith] writes: "These new proposals pose a fundamental challenge to the UK's social contract. They could mean the British taxpayer paying out over £2 billion extra a year in benefits to people who have no connection to our country and who have never paid in a penny in tax.
"This threatens to break the vital link which should exist between taxpayers and their own government."
Well, that is largely the point of the European Union, isn't it? Europe's political class suffered from two sources of frustration: one, Europe's countries are relatively small and are outclassed economically and militarily by the United States; and two, Europe's people, for the most part, are not as far left as the political class. The European Union was designed to solve both of these problems. Beginning with the Common Market, which was a good idea, and continuing with monetary union, which was not, the EU was intended to evolve until Europe was in effect a single country, administered by Brussels bureaucrats who represent the continent's political class rather than the voters of any particular country.
For a while, the project seemed to be going well. It hit a major snag with the banking crisis, which threatens the viability of monetary union. But the EU's biggest problem isn't fiscal. Its biggest problem is that Europe's peoples have never bought into the idea that Europe should supersede their longstanding national loyalties. Englishmen stubbornly insist on remaining Englishmen, Spaniards Spaniards, and so on. The bureaucrats thought they could somehow finesse the issue of national loyalties; presumably they imagined that over time, national identities would blur and dissolve. Instead, policies like the EU's insistence that residents of all member states be eligible for welfare benefits in Britain are bringing the more fundamental issues inherent in European union to the forefront. My own opinion is that as such contradictions are heightened, it becomes increasingly apparent that the EU is unlikely to survive in anything like its current form.


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Metals/Coil Processing
Blank Stacker Headed to Aluminum Toll Processor
The new stacker, from Atlas Technologies, Inc., Fenton, MI, processes coil into stacks of blanks in sizes to 500 by 110 in. with stack weight to 30,000 lb. It can process blanks into two stacking stations with lift tables that can operate independently. A weight-verification system allows for material accountability—once weighed, a blank stack proceeds to a dual wrapping station. The station boasts a lift and transfer unit for palletizing each wrapped stack, which then proceed to a second wrapping station where pallet and stack are wrapped together, ensuring safe transit.
Atlas Technologies: 810/629-6663; www.atlastechnologies.com
See also: Atlas Technologies Inc.
Related Enterprise Zones: Automation, Materials/Coatings


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Support STEaM Learning
For over 30 years the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum has been creating moments of discovery that inspire curiosity, exploration and respect for STEM and the natural world. We rely on the generosity of our donors – individuals, corporations, government agencies, and foundations – in order to continue thriving as a community resource. In addition to helping us operate the Museum and create new exhibits, the support of our donors allows us to offer award-winning outreach and distance learning programs, educational field-trip experiences, and special programs on the weekends and during school breaks. Whether you make a gift today or choose to support the Museum through a legacy gift, your financial support enables us to reach an audience of over 250,000 per year and continue to be a leader in imaginative and interactive learning experiences.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact our Development department using our Contact Us Form or by calling 734-995-5439 ext. 260.


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Three dancers from the Lake Forest Claddagh studio – Amanda Noel of Lake Forest, Monica Brazil of Rancho Santa Margarita and Taylor Schack of Long Beach – were part of the 16-member Claddagh Dance Company team that competed in the World Championships of Irish Dance in Boston. They won first place in ladies figure choreography. The trio practices at Lake Forest Claddagh studio under the direction of Katie Darlington. The team performed its own creative figure choreography, which tells a story of some historical or cultural significance to Ireland. The World Championship performance by Claddagh was entitled "Viva Irlanda" and described the strong links between Ireland and Argentina. The Claddagh Dance Company team was part of the 6,000 competitors from around the world who competed in the 43rd World Irish Dancing Championships, an eight-day long competition.
The Canyon Chapter of the National Charity League raised $55,000 during its 4th annual Home Tour fundraiser. The funds will go towards the 16 charities supported by the league, including Laura's House, the Bell Tower Foundation, Operation Help a Hero, Special Olympics Southern California and San Francisco Solano Food Bank. During the event, more than 500 participants viewed three Coto De Caza homes including the home of local celebrity Vicki Gunvalson of Bravo Network's "Real Housewives of Orange County." Jeffrey and Jennifer Moore and Juris and Tina Bunkis also opened their homes for the tour.
The Tesoro High School PTSA celebrated all students during the annual Student Appreciation effort. In partnership with Wendi's Donuts, PTSA volunteers greeted students as they started their day with a warm welcome, a statement of appreciation and a free donut. In less than an hour, the Titan students had devoured all 1,500 donuts.
Volunteers from the Mission Hospital Foundation will be recognized as outstanding volunteers at OneOC's 37th Annual Spirit of Volunteerism Awards on April 19. Honorees include Lynn Maioriello of Coto de Caza, who is the president of the auxiliary of Mission Hospital and a member of the foundation board, and Vicki Veal of Rancho Santa Margarita, who has been a volunteer on most event committees at Mission Hospital. Other honorees include: Shawn Wehan, Margarita Solazzo, Ed Jordan, Bill Eldien, Beth Schimmel, Kathleen Krogius and Patti Fukushima.
Navy Seaman Apprentice Michael Yota, son of Denise and Jeffery Yota of Rancho Santa Margarita, has completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. The eight-week program included: naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. Yota is a 2009 graduate of Capistrano Valley High School of Mission Viejo.
Rancho Santa Margarita resident Kyle Kiyoni and Lake Forest resident Gina Treasure are part of the cast in the "Impostors of Scapin," a play set up by the Camino Real Playhouse. The show runs through May 5. Tickets are available at 949-489-8082.
Two volunteers from South County Outreach – Mary Zugmeyer and the Toshiba SCOuts team – will be recognized as outstanding volunteers at OneOC's 37th Annual Spirit of Volunteerism Awards on April 19. Zugmeyer has been a volunteer at the food bank for the past eight years, assisting clients with utility assistance. "She has an amazing heart, counseling families who are struggling to pay their bills and working with her fellow volunteers," said Gabrielle Comfort, of South County Outreach.The Toshiba SCOuts is a club of Toshiba employees who are dedicated to hosting food and seasonal drives, fundraisers and other events to support the families in need.
Justin and Jannah Storm participated in the Swallows Parade in San Juan Capistrano with their children Callie, 9, Mariah, 6, Nora , 4, and Emerson, 2. They were dressed as their pioneer ancestors and walked the mile-long route with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By participating, the church members also honored the members of the Mormon Battalion, who marched through San Juan Capistrano in early 1847, said Paul Hoffman who serves as the Santa Margarita Stake historical affairs director.
Contact the columnist at email@example.com


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Good to see that good old Kef is still keeping up with the innovations.
KEF's Special Blade
"Go and hear the KEF Concept Blade Loudspeaker," encouraged John Atkinson, "it's their current statement on the state of loudspeaker art." For reasons unclear, KEF selected a hard-to-find Hilton Hotel suite for their exhibit, far away from the high-end exhibits in the Venetian Hotel. But when I whispered the word "Blade," I was ushered into a dark room where the set of twin loudspeakers, looking like aircraft wings, were standing. The cabinet curvature eliminates cabinet resonances, I was told. The KEF engineer explained that the company had not set a price on the Blade because they regarded it like a concept car, a one-off, handbuilt test model.
At the front of its cabinet, the Blade employs a 10th-generation Uni-Q coaxial driver array, using an injected-molded midrange and a tube-loaded titanium-dome tweeter (positioned at the center of the midrange driver) that has a tangerine-shaped waveguide that functions over 7 octaves without breakup. On the Blade's sides it employs four 10" low-frequency drivers, bonded in pairs symmetrically arranged around the Uni-Q to create both a "single apparent source" that allows for Force Canceling Technology to prevent exciting cabinet walls. The cabinet structure uses resin-impregnated, woven carbon-fiber over a balsa wood core, similar to the cone material Richard Vandersteen developed for his Model Seven loudspeaker. The outboard crossover is hard-wired with air-cored inductors and plastic-film capacitors, all set in a circular container with a glass top..
Driven by an Audio Research DSi200 Integrated MOSFET switching amplifier, the Blade loudspeakers delivered extremely detailed, articulated music, with a dynamic range and clarity that exceeded other the other high-end loudspeaker presentations I had heard at this year's CES. The loudspeaker seemed to be coasting at all volume levels.
Heard the blades a couple of days ago ,and was not left wanting a pair.Much better looking in the flesh sounded good ,BUT the bass was verey box sounding ,it was like having a sub in the room ,the bass just not in time with the rest slow. I would expect a much better balance at this price


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Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic gold medalist, is an 18 year old phenom
What were you doing when you were 18? Probably not winning an Olympic gold medal.
For Eagle-Vail native Mikaela Shiffrin, that's what 18 culminated in — best in the world. For you and me and everyone we know, that will likely never be the case at any age.
It's pretty incredible to think that of all the people in the world that someone could definitively be the best at something, anything and she did it before she could even legally buy recreational marijuana in her home state of Colorado (not that she would buy it; she's an Olympian, afterall. Her high comes in the form of pure gold).
It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's been almost 12 years since 18 for me and I sure wasn't doing anything like winning a gold medal at the Olympics. The best I had won by that point in my life was LHS class of 2003 best hair. Seriously, and sadly, that is probably the best thing I have won by 29.
U.S. Ski President Bill Marolt, who will retire after these games, said that it's unusual for someone so young to be a virtual lock to win the slalom. "She is a phenom — she isn't just good, she is phenomenal," he said, moments before hopping a fence to hug Shiffrin's mom, Eileen.
Like Lebron James, Bobby Ficsher and Harry Potter before her, Shiffrin is The One.
Before Sochi, Shiffrin appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated for their Olympic preview edition and she was hailed as one of America's surest chances for gold. It was not the story of, "Hey, she's young and talented and could possibly win, so let's hope it happens." Rather, it was, "she is the best, she will win."
And she did.
I'm not going to pretend to be any sort of ski expert, but she almost fell on her second run, and I'm pretty sure you cannot do that (this isn't figure skating). I couldn't see the almost fall from where I was shooting, but the crowd gasped and hearts broke collectively.
Shiffrin, like Harry Potter coming back from the dead to vanquish Voldermort, turned on the beast mode, kept flying and destroyed the second half of the course. From an everyman standpoint, she just looked superior to every other skier out there.
When I asked veteran ski writer John Meyer before her gold-medal-winning slalom run if she was a lock, he said, "Let's put it like this: giant slalom isn't even her best event, and she was only a half second from winning gold in that."
Point taken. Point proven. Mikaela Shiffrin. Period.


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On the 12th of April in 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Russian Cosmonaut, climbed aboard the Soviet Union's Vostok spacecraft and became the first human to enter space. He was applauded as a hero and received many medals from various countries for his historic space flight. He is quoted by the BBC News while in orbit:
"The earth is blue. How wonderful. It is amazing."
Yuri Gagarin will be forever known as the first human to be in space.


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text: 2012 State of the City Address -- Mayor Thomas S. Richards Moving Forward: Focus and Finish 2012 State of the City Address Watch the State of the City on City12: May 15, at 1 p.m. Watch the State of the City on City12: May 16 at 8 p.m. Delivered by Mayor Thomas S. Richards City of Rochester, New York April 30, 2012, 7:00 p.m. National Museum of Play at The Strong Thank you DreYanna. You know they may even have some toys here older than Carlos Carballada! I think we should also give a hand to Chelse Chambers. Chelse's a vocal major from the School of the Arts who just was awarded a scholarship to Roberts Wesleyan College. I would also like to thank Bergmann Associates for providing the 3D model video tour, which concluded here at The Strong. The National Museum of Play at The Strong is a world-renowned museum representing this community's cultural strength. I am a regular visitor myself. It is a wonderful place to celebrate the past, present and future of our city, which is what we will be doing this evening—looking at our accomplishments and imagining what the future will hold for Rochester. My thanks to the two Museum of Play Vice Presidents here tonight, Suzanne Seldes and Laura Sadowski. I need to begin by thanking some of the individuals who support me in this job and one large group—–the citizens of Rochester, who elected me. It is my honor and privilege to serve as your Mayor. You have blessed me with this opportunity, and I am grateful. In particular, I appreciate each of you who are here tonight, for your support of me and your interest in, and commitment to our city. As I begin my second year, I am immensely grateful to the other partners in service to our people. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. To Governor Andrew Cuomo and his Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy; who have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. Our Assembly delegation: the Honorable David Gantt and Assemblymen Joe Morelle and Harry Bronson. They have shown great leadership when it comes to advocating for our city. Our Senate delegation as well: State Senators Joe Robach, Jim Alesi and George Maziarz. They all deserve our thanks. And, a major appreciation goes to the members of the Rochester City Council under the outstanding leadership of President Lovely Warren. It's my pleasure to recognize Vice-President Dana Miller and fellow Councilmembers Carolee Conklin; Matt Haag; Adam McFadden; Jackie Ortiz; Carla Palumbo; Loretta Scott and Elaine Spaull. We are blessed to be able to work in a cooperative and collaborative effort as we tackle the city's challenges together. I would also like to acknowledge our city employees. They are some of the finest I have seen in any of the places where I have had the privilege to work. Our city workers provide world class services and do so with respect and a customer focus. It is fundamental that governmental entities work together. Let me recognize some key partners with the City. Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. Our new Rochester School Superintendent Bolgen Vargas and School Board President Malik Evans and the other board members. Bolgen, you have been a good partner in forging better relations between the City and the School District. I wish you well. I also better recognize my wife Betty—who is here. This Mayor job is an imposition on your family and she puts up with it and makes sure I don't get too full of myself. One of the pleasures of Betty's and my lives is our grandchildren. The oldest, Henry, has taken to pretending that he is the Mayor. He builds a little office, pulls together the furniture, populates it with various items he collects from around the house and gets ready to meet with citizens. As he was developing this routine, he inquired about what a Mayor does. It's not an easy question, but after struggling somewhat, Betty came up with an answer. "He solves problems." Not a bad answer, even if directed at somebody who is a little more than 4 years old. As is often the case with kids, the second question was harder. He asked, "Do you have any problems?" Now what are you going to say to a four year old? "I have a structural deficit or there is empty space in Midtown?" Again, my elementary school teacher wife came to the rescue. After checking out the items he had collected, she replied, "I am out of paper clips." "OK", said Henry. "I will get you some." And he did. Now of course, I am telling you this story because—like all grandparents—I think everything my grandchildren do is wonderful. But I also try to take a lesson from it. You have to start somewhere and sometimes it means just doing what you can. I have been in this position for a year now. Some of what I have experienced is what was to be expected: difficult economic times and a tough budget. Some was not expected. Some people who wouldn't get out of the park or a Kodak bankruptcy. The unexpected can make the job more difficult, but it does not change the fundamental need to keep going, to stick to an agenda, to focus and finish. And sometimes to remember that it is best to start by having enough paper clips. With that, I give you the state of our city. It is stable, strong and moving forward despite the expected and unexpected challenges. And if I have anything to say about it, that is the way it is going to stay. To accomplish this, we continue to focus on three areas: economic development, public safety, and education. I want to discuss some of all three and to include our accomplishments — what is going well — and what we need to accomplish and what challenges us. There is much to be proud of and optimistic about our future. I don't downplay our challenges — but let us first take a brief look at what's going on. Let's begin with a look at economic development. Unlike other upstate cities, we have significant private investment—not just downtown—but also in our neighborhoods. At a time when new construction is a rare sight in upstate New York, we seem to have an abundance. Let's take a look at some of these. Jefferson Avenue was completely rebuilt from Plymouth Avenue to West Main Street — which is in one of four Focused Investment Strategy areas where we dedicate a higher portion of our federal funds and community development revenues to make a visible difference. We have the $20 million Voters Block Housing Project on West Main Street in the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood, the Cascade District and the Bulls Head area that will feature 92 new housing units. The DePaul Project involves the rehabilitation of the historic Cunningham Carriage Factory that has been vacant for decades. It will be redeveloped in to 65 units of affordable housing. In the historic 19th Ward Neighborhood, Brooks Landing is a neighborhood and waterfront revitalization project. It features student housing, office space and the Staybridge Suites Hotel. These are just a handful of projects in the Southwest Quadrant. Over the last three years, more than $174 million dollars of public and private investment is either completed, planned or underway in the southwest Now moving clockwise, let's take a look at the Northwest Quadrant. In the Dewey-Driving Park Focused Investment Strategy area, the Holy Rosary project will redevelop the Holy Rosary church into a community center and 43 units of affordable housing. Rehabilitation grants to nearby property owners will also be offered. In the JOSANA neighborhood, we are going to revitalize the area west of the soccer stadium and support the vibrant, active community and residents who live there. The East House will redevelop a vacant commercial building on State Street into 45 new units of affordable, special-needs housing. Eastman Commons will be developed from a vacant manufacturing building along Dewey Avenue into 80 units of affordable housing. At the river's end we are developing a new 6.8 acre, 118-slip public marina at the Port of Rochester. These are just a few of the projects in the northwest quadrant. More than $305.7 million dollars of public and private investment is either completed, planned or underway, over the last three years. Continuing clockwise we come to the Northeast Quadrant where we have several major projects in our Focused Investment Strategy area. In Marketview Heights five new homes will be going up on Weld Street and eleven businesses are undergoing or planning revitalization work. In the Public Market area you will notice the improvement in the homes and streets along and off North Union and Railroad Streets. We are also acquiring and demolishing derelict properties and increasing owner-occupant housing in the area. The Northeast has also welcomed a brand new, locally owned pharmacy on Joseph Avenue. We are also investing heavily in infrastructure. A $4.8 million reconstruction of Culver Road began in 2011 and will be complete this year. Near the newly-developed pocket park at Conkey and Clifford Avenues we have invested in the El Camino Project, which features the construction of more than 50 new and remodeled, affordable housing units. These are just a sample of the many projects over the last three years in the northeast quadrant. Overall, $144 million dollars of public and private investment is completed, planned or underway. Now, let's take a look at the Southeast Quadrant. Our Focused Investment Strategy area in Beechwood has seen an active neighborhood coalition that worked closely with the City and the School District on the design and implementation of the Thomas P. Ryan, Jr. Community Center, which opened in 2009. The new East Avenue Wegmans is expected to result in increased property and sales tax revenue. 150 new people will be hired, bringing the total number of full time and part time employees to 600. Plus, 150 to 200 construction jobs will be created. The Culver Road Armory has undergone a remarkable renovation to create 100,000 square feet of rentable space. The $15 million investment will result in new, long-term property tax enhancement on a site that was historically tax exempt. The University Avenue ArtWalk is a $5.4 million reconstruction project. Phase II of the project, from South Goodman to Union Street, includes major enhancements along the roadway and at the Memorial Art Gallery, the Museum and Science Center and theVillage Gate sites. Alexander Park is flourishing after the demolition of a majority of the former Genesee Hospital campus at the 7-acre site. On the corner of Alexander and Monroe, a new Canandaigua National Bank has been in place for more than a year and the new corporate office of Earthlink recently celebrated its grand opening. And finally, we currently have College Town on the drawing board. This $102.8 million project will become a 16-acre gateway to the city, adjacent to the U of R medical center. The vision is a pedestrian-scaled district that will bring together retail, health, hospitality and commercial uses. These are but a few of the items in the southeast quadrant. In total, more than $481 million dollars of public and private investment is completed, planned or underway, over the last three years. Finally, let's examine the Center City Quadrant. There was a lot of uncertainty when PAETEC was purchased by Windstream. But, this deal to build on the Midtown site was too important to walk away from. On March 26, we broke ground on the new Windstream building. The Windstream deal will bring 335 jobs downtown, create 200 construction jobs and reuse the Seneca Building. At North Plymouth Terrace, you'll see an old parking lot being converted into townhomes at the corner of Plymouth Avenue across from the Hochstein School of Music. If someone told you five years ago that there would be townhomes in that area you'd think they were nuts. And that tells you a lot about our progress. This area is particularly exciting right now because it is emerging as the "western gateway" along West Main Street. Last year, Nothnagle moved its headquarters to West Main Street. It is always positive when a new business moves to downtown Rochester and it causes ripple effects in the surrounding area. Likewise, the former Josh Lofton High School right across the street — now known as Bridge Square — is being renovated for a mix of office, retail and residential uses. In the last three years, more than $564 million dollars were invested in the Center City and more than $1.1 billion occurred in the neighborhoods – that's $1.7 billion invested in our entire city. As a result of these investments, our property values are beginning to rise. There is a lot going on here folks, but there is much more to our future than just bricks and mortar. All of this investment will create a significant amount of jobs. But how much better would it be if our city residents received training so they could be working in some of those jobs? Working with City Council, organized labor and contractors, we have created a plan to do just that. This effort is perhaps the most exciting part of the economic development explosion we are seeing. For the Midtown Rising project, we have agreed to a Project Labor Agreement—or PLA—that has set goals for woman and minority hiring, but more importantly, the plan provides training of city residents for quality construction jobs. Contractors have agreed to fund the training program and organized labor has agreed to take in the new trainees as apprentices. On the first day of the sign-up for training, I visited the intake center on North Clinton Avenue. There were hundreds of people there, applying for training. I spoke to many of them. I heard about their desire for an opportunity, not just to find work, but to find a career. This initiative will give city residents an opportunity to participate in our downtown renaissance. Similar agreements are in place for the City School District's Facilities Modernization Program, and for the Rochester Genesee Regional Transit Authority's new bus terminal. And this bus terminal is vital to the development of our downtown. City residents deserve the opportunity to rebuild the city they call home. When all that work is finally finished, those workers will have the skills and the union card to help them keep working and this is a plan worth celebrating. Now, I would ask you to help me thank one particular individual who made training and job creation for city residents and minorities his lifelong passion, advocating for such PLAs for decades. He has just announced his retirement after working tirelessly for his union, the Laborers Local 435. He's a true leader, and his legacy is the thousands of local people he has helped train and find work. Please join me in an appreciation of the career of Bob Brown. Public safety continues to be a key focus of my administration. Our citizens, homeowners and our children—first and foremost—need to be safe and to feel safe in our city. But public safety means many things. It is not only the cop on the street or the firefighter on the truck. It also means the recreation centers and libraries where our children can find safe and productive ways to spend time after school. Public safety means safe and affordable housing. Public safety means using police cameras, red light cameras, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Public safety also means implementing effective truancy programs to keep our children in school instead of in places where harm can befall them. We are doing all of those things in addition to the core services of police, fire and 9-1-1. When a fire is reported, the men and women of the Rochester Fire Department respond with an average response time of four minutes. And they will arrive with a first response capable of handing most fires. When there is an accident or EMS call, chances are the fire department will respond before the ambulance will. While it's true that fires are at an all-time low and seem to reduce every year, we still average about 700 structure fires a year. This has been a tough few months for our firefighters. The loss of a life in a fire weighs heavily on them. But these men and women risk their lives in those fires and risk their lives every time they answer the bell. As a city, we must do everything possible to keep our firefighters well-equipped. This year we purchased seven new pumper trucks with city funds and a new, heavy rescue vehicle with grant funds. In addition, we purchased Self Contained Breathing Apparatus this year and recently authorized the replacement of turnout gear to protect our firefighters. Equally important is our investment in the make-up of the department. Having the fire department better reflect the community we serve is our goal, but we are restricted by state law as to how we hire and test firefighters. So this year, we sought a plan to increase diversity, yet preserve the integrity of the entrance exam and the hiring process. We hired a national expert with a strong record of success and limited the test to city residents only. Our goal was to increase the number of minority candidates and at the same time, ensure that the exam and the process was better matched for all candidates with the abilities needed to be a successful firefighter. The results are outstanding by any measure. Minority representation was improved throughout the process and the percentage of minorities in the eligible pool increased from 6 percent to 43 percent. It was accomplished by the hard work of City Council, particularly Lovely Warren, Loretta Scott and Adam McFadden, who advocated for the exam throughout the community. As well as the hard work of Chief Caufield, who investigated and found a creative new test with an innovative way of administering the exam. Last week marked the end of Chief Caufield's employment with the Rochester Fire Department. While he is leaving the post for an exciting new job, the department he has known, loved and served with all his heart will never leave him. Please join me in thanking Chief Caufield for his 26 and-a-half years of exemplary and committed service to our city. I would also like to recognize Chief Sam Mitrano who will be serving as interim Chief of the Department, while we conduct a search. He is a long-time, capable member of the Department. We are in good hands. Thanks Chief. Equipping our police officers is also important. The police have new command vehicles, on-board computers and GPS positioning devices. We expect to replace the computers with updated models this year and a number of them will go into almost 100 new vehicles that we will be purchasing this year and next. But they also have something else going on. Something "old school" if you will. They call it policing in the spirit of service. It means your Police Chief and other officers reach out and hold regular meetings with the community—whether in a church or a barbershop. They have reinvigorated their youth explorer and Police Activities League programs. The RPD bestows citizen awards for exemplary contributions to the community. They make robo-calls to advise of crime patterns or events. They make up-to-date crime pattern analysis available at community meetings and on the web. Even the new mobile APP is about communicating with police in a manner that is convenient for our citizens. A large part of public safety comes from feeling safe. This is one of the reasons I have pressed on with a plan for a new Downtown Police Detail in the Sibley building. No matter what the statistics, seeing that blue uniform on the street is reassuring. I can tell you right now that violent crime is at the lowest level in Rochester in 25 years. It's true. But if you are the victim of a crime or your neighborhood is victimized, statistics mean little. Having the Chief on your block and having neighbors work together with police in a relationship of trust goes a very long way towards feeling safe and being safe. Chief Jim Sheppard and all of the RPD: keep up the good work. Last year, facing a downsizing of the city workforce, I asked for—and Council approved—an early retirement program in order to encourage those with enough time in the system to retire. State law requires that the last hired are the first to go in a downsizing. So, it was important to keep our latest hires, who tend to be more minority and female. We were able to avoid layoffs in the police and fire departments and preserve those hires thanks to the retirement incentive. With the results of the new testing process for the Fire Department and a more balanced pool of eligible candidates for the Police Department, I intend to take advantage of the openings created by the early retirement and provide funding in the budget for a new recruit class for both Departments. This should work to maintain the complement in both Departments while increasing diversity. Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the good work of our Emergency Communications Department—or ECD. Our city is blessed to have a 9-1-1 emergency call center that is nationally recognized for its service and innovation. This year was no exception. The center entered into a partnership program with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for the handling of missing children. We are the first 9-1-1 center in New York State to do so—and now Rochester has better and improved handling of missing child calls. Chief Merklinger: keep up the good work Providing for public safety is one of the most significant challenges we face—just as it is for other cities similar to ours. As I will discuss later, we have come to a point where we face permanent structural financial challenges. Our largest expenditures are for public safety and they are largely devoted to uniformed staff. We need to maintain a reasonable level of staffing in the face of often varying demands, particularly in the Fire Department. This staffing—even if held flat—is increasingly expensive and comprises a large percentage of the budget. This inevitably puts public safety in conflict with our financial challenges. It's not easy, but we cannot run away from, or ignore the conflict. I try to approach it as follows. Public Safety is important, often the most important, but it is not sacrosanct. That we need to provide public safety is beyond challenge. That we need to do it the way we always have done it is not. This approach can be threatening. Especially to those who believe that no departmental organization, work rule or benefit should change. The Mayor is sometimes the agent of that threat. My response is that we need to work together to balance the need for public safety and our financial stability or we will wind up losing both. We've made some progress, but we will need to make more. I want to take the opportunity while I have you trapped here to shift away from the traditional commercial for the City. I want to share with you some thoughts on a challenge that has proved to be the most difficult and the most bedeviling. That is education. I am not going to torture you with a repetition of the statistics about the performance of our public school system. I personally find that discussion maddening. As adults debate the obvious that the overall performance of the school system is woefully inadequate. Does it really change the problem or what we need to do if the graduation rate is 50% instead of 46%? One of the pleasures of being Mayor is to be visited by classes of elementary school kids and to visit their classrooms. Often what I see is the bright, well-cared for faces of many colors. Someone loves these children and they are in a class where you can feel their rapport with the teacher and their positive feelings about the school and their experience of being there. We have so many good kids. We have so many good teachers. Yet, when you look into the eyes of those students, you cannot help but remember the statistics. Less than half of them will make it to graduation. How could we have come to that? How can we be failing them so badly? I acknowledge the difficulty of addressing this problem and the complexity of its causes. It brings to the fore many of the difficulties of modern urban life: poverty, social disintegration and politics. And we must include governments and special interests. We sometimes see them at their worst and most inefficient—with no small amount of adult misbehavior. I make no claim to have discovered the magic answer. And I won't join that long line of those who make such claims, too often done with failed good intentions. I do believe that there is something about which we can agree. Children can be fragile and they need to be cared for. And that is where we must begin. We must be dependable and stable—like adults are supposed to be. Our children must be able to depend on us. At its most fundamental level, this need for dependability—for stability—should not be overcome by some debate over educational philosophy. Or by which group of adults gets to decide which philosophy is correct. It means that we pick some fundamental programs and approaches and that we stick to them. This is not just a message for the School District, but also for those who want to help. This is where the failed good intentions come in. I question how helpful it is, that with the best of intentions we try to push on the school system a constant barrage of the newest ideas and programs. Dependability and stability trump the theoretical optimal. As adults, we must occasionally back off. I have tried to keep this principle in mind as I approach the relationship of the City and the School District. Being mindful of my own advice, I have tried to remove as much of the tension as is reasonable from our financial and working relationship. I have tried to find ways to be supportive without making things worse and to recognize that the history of our relationship—and urban education in general—justifies considerable humility. That said, as the District's leadership stabilizes this year, I want the City to find ways to be more engaged. There are two areas where I believe we can start. One that has been suggested by Dr. Vargas is the issue of truancy. He has shared some research on the impact of truancy and some approaches that have successfully addressed it. There is a simple truth here—if kids aren't in school, they cannot benefit from it. A collateral truth is that the attendance figures for the District are not good. The problem starts in elementary school. And so must the solution. The District, City and County already have responsibilities and devote resources to truancy. However, our efforts are not well-coordinated and to be honest, we have allowed ourselves to become frustrated, and to some degree, we have given up. We need to demonstrate dependability and stability when it comes to the basics. Having children in school and not truant is a good place to start. We should do it this year and I am happy to begin that work. Another area in which we can be more engaged with the District is in the area of youth services. The City and School District have many similar assets such as libraries, recreational facilities and programs—some of which are on the same site. However, these efforts are not well-coordinated and in many cases, we simply we do not know what each other are doing. In the past, what coordination has existed has arisen from facilities planning. And this is important because there have been some successes. But how much better would it be if instead of deciding where to do something, we get together and decided what we should do and who should be doing it? How much better would it be for students and parents if we demonstrated dependability and stability when it comes to youth services? How much better would it be for taxpayers to eliminate duplicate programs? Let the City and the District sit together and decide what each of us should do—to play to our strengths—and not just where each of us should do our own thing. In the past, such discussions only took place when budget realities forced us to confront things we could live without. Let's turn this around and decide for ourselves—together—what we are trying to accomplish and then figure out how to pay for it. Both the District and the City have worked hard to build faith and trust in each other. Now we must take the next step. This year, I want to engage the School District to align our efforts so that we can guide our common programs, facilities and expenditures. I know this can't be simply a governmental effort. Much of our success now, and in the future will depend on the contributions of others outside of government—particularly our strong, not-for-profit organizations. We need to engage such groups. But first, we need to get our own acts together. As you think about the things that I have suggested and the future of our school district, I ask you to remember the faces of those precious, hopeful, young elementary students. Then wonder how hopeful they would be if they understood the uncertain future that our school system is presently offering them. We owe the many good kids and many good teachers a system that is dependable and stable. It is all of our burden to place that responsibility first. The final challenge I would like to discuss is financial. We will not be able to meet the city's other challenges if we do not have a secure financial future. Here is the issue in the simplest terms: Our escalating governmental expense base has collided with our capacity and willingness to pay for it. This can be argued at all levels of government, but there are some unique aspects to City government. The City is the provider of basic essential services that very few people of any political stripe are willing to do without. We have to balance our budget and cannot and should not borrow to finance our operating expenses. We have fewer citizens but their needs have grown. For example, 43 percent of city residents under the age of 18 live in poverty. The significance of the only source of revenue that we control—the real estate property tax—has declined. It is regressive and is probably outmoded as a way to finance municipal government. Significant portions of our expense base are mandated by the State. Like a $119 million dollar contribution to the School District and an estimated $55 million pension contribution. Next year, these two mandates alone will consume our entire real property tax revenue. Put that all together and we have a structural problem. It does no good to lay blame, but we need to examine the problem. Let's look at the City budget. Our total budget is $586 million. Of which we are mandated to give the School District $119 million, leaving $467 million for everything else. Of that amount, $275 million—or more than fifty percent—accounts for the personnel expenses of our current and retired employees. Two elements of those expenses that are driving those costs are largely beyond our control. Medical insurance for current and retired City employees costs us $57 million a year and is escalating by double digits. Our mandated pension expenses will increase from $31 million to $55 million this year. We have done some things like reducing our employment to ameliorate this increase, but it will still be close to this amount. You will see that the bulk of our expenses go to the Rochester City School District and to public safety. The impact of all of this has been to start our planning for the upcoming year with a $40 million budget gap. Because of some measures that we implemented last year and a one-time "spin-up" from the State of New York we reduced the gap to somewhere between $20 to $24 million. Of course, we are looking to further reduce it. We will solve this year's budget gap, but my point is to present the undeniable fact that we face a structural deficit that will sooner or later catch up with us. Fair or not, there is just no way to deal with the structural deficit without dealing with mandated and rising costs. Even if we wanted to—and we don't—we cannot tax our way out of this. The 2% tax cap would only raise $3.2 million in revenue. Part of understanding this structural problem is to distinguish it from successful economic development. The principal impact of economic development is to increase our real estate tax base. But, that development cannot grow fast enough or large enough to solve this problem. This tax was designed many years ago for a base that was balanced between industrial and residential. Rochester's industry generated the revenue and the residents generated the expense. We no longer have this balance. To offset the taxes we received from one building at Kodak we would have to build residential units of twice that value. Here's where our success works against us. It is perceived that we are doing great because we're seeing private and public investment. While that's good, it does not address our city's structural deficit. We need a new way to finance cities like ours. This problem exists in many places in the country, but it is acute in New York. Our neighboring cities all have something in common. They are either under a control board—which is a form of receivership in New York—or they are a year or two away from being under one. Much of the answer for us lies in another structural imbalance. And that is how the state finances cities. There is no formula for Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, or AIM aid. It was largely a political judgment over the last several decades that may have reflected the needs of upstate cities decades ago, but it doesn't today. The amount of AIM dollars that come to Rochester is almost $200 per-person less than what Buffalo receives. There is also a disparity with Syracuse. If we were to be at per-person parity with Buffalo, we would receive an additional $40 million in aid. Simple fairness here would address our current problem. We have had great support on this issue, including a campaign to bring this issue to the public's attention sponsored by many local media. And support from the Community Coalition organized by the Rochester Business Alliance, and consisting of partners for the fields of education, government, not-for profit and labor. The one-shot spin-up aid we received this year is a great help and there is recognition of the disparity issue in Albany, but a permanent solution is desperately needed. We will continue to work toward an equitable AIM formula, but we cannot ignore the need to accept some of the responsibility ourselves and to maintain control of our own destiny. This is not just a financial problem. Cities do not exist to produce a balanced budget. They are vehicles for delivering services that create and preserve the quality of life that attracts people to urban centers. Cities will first face cultural and social bankruptcy before they encounter financial bankruptcy. We will be forced to cut services that make city living attractive, negatively impacting our quality of life. Libraries, recreation centers, festivals, fireworks and much of the investment that you saw earlier in this presentation are the sorts of things that get cut on the way to bankruptcy. And it is just such cuts that force those who would consider living in our city to make other choices. The 20-some million dollar deficit that we face this year is ours to solve and this will bring tough choices. For instance, the cost of two police officers or two firefighters is roughly equal to the operating expense of a branch library. So, what do you do? Cut police officers or firefighters or keep the local library open? No one wants to sacrifice public safety, but as you saw from the earlier slides, there can come a time when there is nothing else is left. We need to meet this challenge in a way that does not leave us with only these stark, unpleasant choices. This will be addressed in my upcoming budget proposal. In preparing the budget, there are some principals that I intend to apply. First of all, public employees are not demons committed to our destruction. I can tell you that they are—by-and-large—as hard-working and committed as anyone. Some take incredible risks on our behalf. City workers find themselves in a system that needs to get more productive and efficient. There are ethical issues with respect to the benefits we have promised workers and we cannot simply walk away from this commitment. Reasonable benefits are important and it is my goal to figure out how to save them. Nonetheless, there will have to be some changes. If we don't get control of the system, there is a real danger of the innocent getting shot with the guilty. It is not a matter of finding fault. It is a matter of dealing with the problem that we must admit we all have. Government is not the gift that keeps on giving. It can break and when it does, we will all get hurt. That leads to another principal. This is a legitimate structural problem and it won't go away by arguing over bits and pieces of it. Even differences of millions of dollars—while important in the short run—will not change the ultimate course we are on. I will try my level best to mitigate the immediate impact, but attempts to avoid the truth will not solve the problem. We need to adhere to the principal of having the fortitude to make decisions now that preserve our flexibility and stability in the future. Through the good offices of people whose stewardship of the city that has preceded us, we have accumulated some reserves. We have been using some of the reserve for several years and will probably use more this year. However, I will not follow the advice to resist expense control until our reserves are exhausted. The claim goes, "Why sacrifice?" "Go until you run out of money and someone, apparently the State, will bail you out." We have some current evidence of what that can mean. Yonkers is proposing to raise taxes almost 4 percent and cutting 37 police officers and 36 firefighters. Utica's budget contains an almost 10 percent tax increase and 50 job cuts, more the half of which are police and firefighters. In neither case is this being done because it is the right thing to do, but with all of their flexibility gone, it is the only thing they can do. A bailout may take the form of a control board which—as Buffalo has learned for more than 5 years—allows the city to survive, but not to thrive. And that is my final principle. I intend for this city to thrive. We have challenges, but we also have resources. We are stable financially and I intend for us to stay that way even though we need to work at it. We have resourceful, capable people. We have educational, cultural and not-for-profit institutions that are the envy of any city our size. And in the face of difficult national and regional times, we are making progress. The situation and principles that I have described point to balance and change, but they do not point to pulling back. Not for our city. Not for Rochester. We need to keep on investing by focusing and finishing. We need to continue to pursue our goals of economic development, public safety and education. We need to do this with a clear understanding of the challenges we face and the needs of our citizens. Again, I give you the state of the city that is stable, strong and moving forward despite expected and unexpected challenges. And with ample reasons for optimism. And that is the way I intend for it to stay. Please join me in making it so.


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Pope Francis wants to ignite the passion of Roman Catholics for their faith while on his first international trip, and the boisterous, sometimes frenzied welcome he got on his first day in Rio seemed to fill those hopes.
Returning to his home continent for the first time since becoming pontiff, Francis smiled broadly as thousands of people rushed his car Monday after it became stuck behind buses and taxis when his driver made a wrong turn on a main avenue in Rio's center.
It was a nightmarish scene for security officials, but clearly a delight and another opportunity to connect for this pope, who was scheduled to take a day off Tuesday for rest and private meetings.
The ecstatic throngs forced his motorcade to repeatedly come to a standstill, weeks after violent protests against the government paralyzed parts of Brazil. Francis' driver turned into the wrong side of a boulevard at one point, missing lanes that had been cleared. Other parts of the pope's route to the city center weren't lined with fencing, giving the throngs more chances to get close, with uniformed police nowhere in sight to act as crowd control.
The three dozen visible Vatican and Brazilian plainclothes security officials struggled to keep the crowds at bay. Francis not only looked calm but got even closer to the people. He rolled down his back-seat window, waved to the crowd and touched those who reached inside. He kissed a baby a woman handed to him.
"His secretary was afraid, but the pope was happy," said the papal spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
The pope is here on a seven-day visit meant to fan the fervor of the faithful around the globe. That task has grown more challenging as Catholics stray, even in strongholds of the religion such as Brazil, yet it seemed to come easily to Francis even on the drive from the airport to an official opening ceremony.
After finally making it past crowds and blocked traffic, Francis switched to an open-air vehicle for a cruise along main streets past crowds of people who screamed wildly as he waved and smiled. He left his popemobile – the bulletproof one – in the Vatican garage so he could better connect with people during the church's World Youth Day.
Vatican officials insisted they had no concern for the pope's safety as his vehicles eased through the masses, but Lombardi acknowledged there might have been some "errors" that need correcting.
"This is something new, maybe also a lesson for the coming days," Lombardi said.
Many in the crowd looked stunned to see the pope, with some standing still and others sobbing loudly.
"I can't travel to Rome, but he came here to make my country better … and to deepen our faith," Idaclea Rangel, a 73-year-old Catholic, said, choking through her tears after the pope passed by.
As many as 1 million young people from around the world are expected in Rio for the Catholic youth fest, a seemingly tailor-made event for the Argentine-born pope, who has proven enormously popular in his four months on the job. But the fervor of the crowds that regularly greet Francis in St. Peter's Square was nothing compared with the raucous welcome in Rio.
Popes generally get a warm welcome in Latin America; even the more aloof Pope Benedict XVI received a hero's welcome when he visited Mexico and Cuba in 2012. John Paul II frequently received rock star treatment, and during one 1996 visit to Venezuela, his motorcade was similarly mobbed when he stopped to greet well-wishers.
Outside Rio's Guanabara government palace where the pope was officially welcomed, Alicia Velazquez, a 55-year-old arts teacher from Buenos Aires, waited to catch a glimpse of the man she knew well when he was archbishop of her hometown.
"It was so amazing when he was selected, we just couldn't believe it. We cried and hugged one another," Velazquez said. "I personally want to see if he's still the same man as simple and humble whom we all knew. I have faith that he's remained the same."
Francis displayed that humility in greeting President Dilma Rousseff, saying he understood that to really know Brazilians, one must pass through their heart.
"So let me knock gently at this door," Francis said in Portuguese at the official welcoming ceremony. "I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ."
On the plane trip to Rio, Francis had lamented that an entire generation of young people risked not knowing what it's like to work thanks to an economic crisis that has seen youth unemployment skyrocket in many European countries while leaving the poor of the developing world behind.
"People get their dignity from work, they earn their bread," he told reporters aboard the plane. "Young people in this moment are in crisis."
Francis arrived at a tense time for Brazil, as the country reels from sometimes violent demonstrations that began last month as a protest against public transport price hikes and mushroomed into a wave of protests against government corruption, inefficiency and spending for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
Those protests continued after Francis' arrival. Police and anti-government protesters clashed outside the government palace.
The government has spent about $52 million for Francis' visit, but he does not appear to be a focus of protesters' rage.
"We've got nothing against the pope. Nobody here is against him," said Christopher Creindel, a 22-year-old art student and Rio native protesting outside the government palace. "This protest is against our politicians."
Lombardi confirmed that a homemade explosive device was found Sunday by Brazilian authorities in a public toilet near the basilica at Aparecida, a Marian shrine that Francis is to visit Wednesday. Vatican security was informed of the device but didn't think it was aimed at the pope, Lombardi said.
"There are no concerns for security. The concerns are that the enthusiasm is so great that it's difficult to respond to so much enthusiasm for the pope. But there is no fear and no concern," he told reporters.
Francis' weeklong schedule underscores his commitment to make his pontificate focus on the poor. He will walk through one of Rio's shantytowns, or favelas, and meet with juvenile offenders, an extension of his call for a more missionary church that goes to the peripheries to preach.
He will also pray at Aparecida, an indication of his strong Marian devotion that is shared in much of Latin America. And, in a rather incongruous matchup, he will preside over a procession re-enacting Christ's crucifixion on the beach at Copacabana, ground zero of Rio's Sin City.
Alex Augusto, a 22-year-old seminarian dressed in the bright green official T-shirt for pilgrims, said Monday that he and five friends made the journey from Brazil's Sao Paulo state to "show that contrary to popular belief, the church isn't only made up of older people, it's full of young people. We want to show the real image of the church." – AP


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Tooling Article
Troubleshooting In-Die Fastening Systems
In-die fastening clearly can boost productivity when compared to other fastener-installation methods that require secondary operations. As with any operation, however, potential risks can loom—primarily loss of production or poor quality. The good news: Both of these potential problems with in-die fastening operations can readily be addressed and mitigated with proper troubleshooting techniques.
Why Try In-Die Fastening?
Stampers dedicated to in-die fastener installation enjoy a reduction in labor and related costs. Combining the stamping operation with fastener insertion eliminates the need for secondary labor, which in most cases represents the bulk of the labor content related to fastening.
Additional savings flow from reduced work in progress—in most cases, secondary operations run at a much slower pace than does stamping. Stampers run stockpiles of parts from the die, which then sit in queue waiting for fastener processing.
Other process improvements realized from in-die fastening include faster throughput, less material handling, reduced scrap, and minimized floor-space requirements. Also, in virtually all cases, the investment required for an in-die system will be less than that for comparable secondary fastening equipment with similar capabilities.
To optimize the productivity of an in-die fastening system, users should have a thorough understanding of potential problems and the vital role that troubleshooting can play in overcoming these problems and ensuring high equipment uptime. Troubleshooting in-die systems generally requires a metal stamper to investigate among four major areas: the fasteners, the feed system, the in-die tools (or insertion heads) and the control system.The Fasteners
While fastener parameters such as material hardness and plating cannot be ignored, the dimensional characteristics of the fasteners usually are the most important parameters affecting proper operation of an in-die fastening system. As with all manufactured parts, fastener tolerances are critical—the in-die system must be able to accommodate the largest possible dimensions without allowing fasteners in the smallest dimensions to jam.
This may seem straightforward, but operators must be prepared to consider stacked tolerances. Even if each individual feature on a fastener falls within tolerance, the stacking of the dimensions may produce a fastener outside the acceptable range. Metalformers can lose an excessive amount of time modifying system components such as feed rails and die tooling to accept a particular fastener size, only to discover later that the next lot of fasteners will not feed properly due to the modifications made.
Users can eliminate this possibility by assessing the tolerances for the various features of the fastener while also determining the stacked tolerances of critical dimensions. This approach will reliably define the parameter in terms of what will and will not feed in the system.
The Feed System
The most frequent problems involving feed systems are jamming, slow feed rates, and upside-down or misoriented fasteners.
Jamming typically results from dimensional changes to the fastener, worn components such as feed rails and shuttles, or amplitude changes to the vibratory bowl or inline drives. Discover fastener dimensional changes and worn components using measurements and visual inspection. Amplitude changes can be more difficult to discern. The three factors metalformers should consider: the amount of fasteners staged in the bowl, voltage changes in the electrical supply, and changes to the amplitude settings.
If too many or too few fasteners are staged in the bowl, the feed system may run too quickly or too slowly. The amount of fasteners is controlled by a hopper sensor, which sets the high/low limit for the amount in the bowl. A defective hopper sensor or a sensor set incorrectly will cause the bowl to run erratically.
Slow feed rates can be caused by similar problems, but there are additional factors to consider. In pneumatically fed systems, blower time settings can affect feed rates. Here, the fasteners feed to the die individually as the press strokes. If blower times are excessive, less time may be available for fastener staging and the shuttle must wait for the blower time to end before the next fastener can be fed from the bowl. Although these types of systems generally are considered the most effective, care must be taken in setting blower times. When set properly, metalformers can achieve feed rates in excess of 60 strokes/min.
Broken bowl springs also may contribute to slow feed rates. These flat, hardened springs usually break at their attachment points and the cracks can be difficult to detect. Operators should inspect the springs carefully for fatigue cracks, and may need to remove the springs for a thorough inspection.
A properly designed and maintained system should not result in upside-down or misoriented fasteners. At minimum, however, each feed track should contain a feature to prevent incorrectly oriented fasteners from passing to the die. The usual causes of misoriented fasteners are worn or missing tooling from the feed system, or dimensionally incorrect fasteners. If the tooling features are worn or have been removed, upside-down fasteners may, unfortunately, be fed, especially in the case of clinch nuts, where little difference exists between the fastener's top and bottom.
In-Die Tools
Problems with the in-die tool usually result in fastener-positioning problems, poor clinch performance or damaged asteners. Typical culprits are substandard fasteners, tool damage or wear, misalignment of insertion tools and stock strip positioning.
If tool-related problems arise, begin the troubleshooting mission by verifying the quality of the fasteners, since fasteners are guided either by their external or internal features, depending on fastener type. If the fasteners fall within acceptable parameters, then best practices call for inspection of the running areas within the tools for excessive wear or damage.
If the die has been running properly in production and the components have been properly assembled, it's likely that the tool heads are properly aligned. If, however, the die is new and alignment has not yet been verified, improper alignment could be an issue. In order to verify, metalformers typically place modeling clay or some similar soft material on the end of the insertion tool, close the die, and then examine the impression made by the anvil to confirm alignment.
If too many or too few fasteners are staged in the bowl, the feed system may run too quickly or too slowly. The amount of fasteners is controlled by a hopper sensor, which sets the high/low limit for the amount in the bowl.
When using clinch fasteners, conduct a preliminary visual inspection to, first, confirm that the fastener is properly seated and that the clinch features are fully embedded into the stock strip. Then verify the alignment of the fastener to its respective hole. It should be centered in the hole; if the strip is misaligned, the fastener will be off-center and, in extreme cases, the shank of the fastener may shear the edge of the hole. Off-center conditions will lead to low performance or damaged fasteners.
The Control System
The control system can be friend or foe. A well-designed and functioning control system will can serve as an ideal asset for troubleshooting a host of metalforming problems, including those centered on the in-die fastening setup. Controls with touch screens have become far superior compared with more rudimentary controls that rely on simple indicator lights as the operator interface. And while a more sophisticated control with a touch-screen operator interface can provide a host of operator and troubleshooting features, such as I/O (input/output) condition screens, the true value in everyday operation is the ability to provide online help. Properly configured and programmed, the technology allows for the display of troubleshooting text and graphics when a fault occurs. Information about the fault, how to correct it, and how to restart the system can be displayed in a variety of s and even in several different languages. This information can significantly reduce troubleshooting time and also can minimize the learning curve for new or inexperienced operators. Trial-and-error troubleshooting is avoided, so that the key process variables are isolated.
The most difficult problems to isolate occur intermittently, without a clear pattern. Often, these types of problems can be traced directly to faulty wiring or poor electrical connections, aggravated by press vibration. Checking the wiring and connections will be a good place to start in these cases. MF
See also: PennEngineering
Related Enterprise Zones: Tool & Die


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This is the second in a two part series where Georgie Pope, founder of Sound Travels tours, goes in search of the people and places that will make up her Great Rajasthani Adventure. You can read part one, where she meets the gypsies of Jaipur and a musical family in the village of Shimla, here. This time, Georgie journeys through the final stages of her adventure to find the characters that make Rajasthani music what it is.
One July evening in 2011 I found in my inbox the best email I'd ever received. It was an invitation for me to bring my Sound Travels guests to India's holiest and most popular of Sufi shrines – the Ajmer Sharif, the burial site of revered saint Moinuddin Chisti – to witness qawwali (a sacred form of Sufi music performed in Sufi shrines across India).
The email was from Salman, the young director of the Chisty Foundation, which oversees the spiritual and administrative wellbeing of the shrine and its pilgrims. A holy man (or 'Syed') who has inherited the mantle from his late father, he had heard of my musical journeys from a mutual friend."If you would like to experience the Ajmer Sharif in an intense manner, we can offer help to organize a special evening Sufi concert by traditional qawwāls and a detailed ziyarrat (tour) of the Ajmer Sharif. It would be a wonderful way for us to connect with musafirs (travellers of the worlds) among which we are one. Peace, Prayers and Blessings from the Ajmer Sharif."
What a glorious proposition – and Ajmer was only two hours' drive from Jaipur. This would be our next stop!
Just after I'd been to stay with Roshani in Shimla, I took a night coach to Jaipur, and then got an early bus to Ajmer the following morning. There had been a light rainfall the night before, so the road was clean and smelt good. The windows were wide open, the sun was golden and we stopped for chai half way. Excited about what I was about to discover, I felt that enormous rush of travel glee.
At the bus station I tried the number Salman had sent me, but got no answer. A moment later a slim young man in a white lace skullcap caught my eye. "Salman?" he said. "Um, yes." I replied, and he ushered me into an autorickshaw.
Spluttering and juddering along the cobbles, we plunged into one of Ajmer's jam-packed streets, lined with vendors, crowded by shoppers and rendered even narrower thanks to the merrily flowing sewers cut into either side of the road. The young man sat in front, practically on the driver's lap, and directed him uphill into ever-tighter streets until we reached a small square where a butcher had laid out his choicest halaal cuts. Leaving me without a moment to register delight or disgust at the oozing scarlet wares, the slim young man ducked into a side lane. I had no choice by to follow him through the maze of tiny passageways.
I had seen photographs of the Ajmer Sharif, domed and majestic and thronged by thousands of pilgrims. Totally disorientated amongst these winding streets, I couldn't imagine where on earth it would fit around here. Was I following the right guy?
Setting eyes upon the magnificent Ajmer Sharif
"Sister!" The young man was beckoning me, a little impatiently now, through a doorway to my right. He led me down a corridor to a small room with two thin mattresses on the floor. "Salman?" I queried, hopefully. "Wait." My guide flung open the shutters on the single window, marched from the room, and left me to do as I was told.
I was slightly awed. My happy travel rush had become a little diluted with apprehension. Was this where I was to meet Salman? In this little room with the mattresses? I wasn't sure I liked it. I wasn't quite sure my guests would either.
I wandered over to the window, and leant out to try and get my bearings. The sight was awesome. Below me, in its full glory, was the Ajmer Sharif – sparkling in the sunshine, surrounded by marble flooring and thronged with pilgrims. I realized that the city streets must tightly encircle this huge expanse of communal worship, and that I was in a room set into one of its great walls. I watched people chatting and praying, making offerings and herding their children, buying floral garlands, entering the holy inner sanctum or just sitting and – like me – observing everyone else.
"Come." Forty minutes later and my guide reappeared to summon me from my vantage point. He led me from the room, down a flight of steps and into a book-lined study with no furniture except a beautiful Persian carpet. Cross-legged on the floor, in a white kurta and embroidered velvet kufi, was Salman. His voice calm and melodious, he was describing to two transfixed students the mystery and power of Sufism. Unacknowledged, I sat down next to them, and listened to the end of the lesson.
He finally turned and smiled at me in welcome. We would eat lunch, he said, and then he would show me the Sharif.
We dropped off our shoes at a side entrance, and as we entered the holy shrine, bits of rose petal got wedged between my toes. My head was covered by now with my scarf, so very little of my whiteness was apparent. Of the tens of thousands of pilgrims there, I was the only foreigner. Salman handed me a piece of cloth and a huge basket of rose petals, and then led me to the inner sanctum, where the tomb of Moinuddin Chishti lay under a hundredweight of flowers, surrounded by more holy men of the temple, and an intense crush of people. Salman helped me squeeze through the dangerously tightly packed bodies, and towards the wooden railing encircling the tomb. Himself a Syed, Salman was able to stand on the other side of the railing, from where he could help me offer my prayers to the great saint and receive blessings in return.
A great velvet cloth was thrown over my head and I felt the crowd heave me against the railing. As I fought the claustrophobia I heard Salman's reassuring voice murmuring in Urdu. He blessed me and my family, the success of Sound Travels, and the safe arrival of my guests. In the dark, under the heavy velvet, I was extremely moved.
As evening descended on the Durgah, the ceremony of the lights began. The shrine was set aflame with lamps and fairy lights, and the Syeds lit candles in the inner sanctum. I sat outside with hundreds of others as the place lit up around us, and finally the qawwali musicians gathered to sing their love to the saint.
For the next hour I listened, enraptured by the masculine chorus of praises and watched as as the musicians gathered handfuls of money from a euphoric crowd. They never took their eyes off the entrance to the sanctum, and waved angrily at listeners who blocked their line of vision to the resting place of their beloved saint. The crowd thickened and then gradually dwindled, and I was shown back to my room with the mattresses. I lay down to read a book on Sufism and the salat al-isha, an evening call to prayer, floated over me, as I dreamt happily of the trips I would organize to this magical place.
Nathoo Lal Solanki, the most charismatic percussionist in Pushkar
I've known Nathoo for some years now. He plays the nagara drums – like kettle drums but smaller and louder – with an awesome skill and wit. He is no unsung hero, having toured over fifty countries (his passport consists of three passports stuck together, stuffed with valid visas for most countries in the world) and known to nearly every performing artist in Rajasthan.
We were sitting in the uninspiring setting of the VFS office in Delhi, sorting out a visa for him to travel to the UK for yet another show. It irritates him to have my help with these things, because he's applied successfully for more visas than I've had hot rice and dal. But I am better at the online systems than him, so he has to put up with me.
As I was telling Nathoo about my plans for bringing tourists on musical adventures in India, he immediately perked up. If there's one thing that rivals Nathoo's musical ability, it's his entrepreneurial zeal, and I am never afraid of exploiting his skills – I'm generally convinced he's fleecing me.
"You bring your guests to Pushkar. I'll teach them to play nagara and make a beautiful concert by the lake. You don't have to worry. I'll organize everything."
I wasn't worried, but I still thought I would visit Pushkar to look at hotels and work out details of the trip, so in the afternoon following my inspiring visit to Ajmer, I took a taxi over the Aravalli hills to Pushkar – less than an hour's drive away.
I had barely had time to put down my bags in the hotel, when a porter knocked at my door and informed me that my friend was waiting for me at the reception. Nathoo was not going to let me enter his city without a proper welcome.
"Why are you staying here? You could have stayed at my house! Or a much better hotel. Don't worry. Next time I will organize everything." He told me as he gave me a huge barrel-sized hug.
I squeezed onto his motorbike between him and his son and we whizzed across the wonderful, tourist-tat filled, spiritual, hippy-incense smelling town that is Pushkar.
I'd been wondering about Nathoo's home life. What must it be like to be married to a man who travels the world, sometimes accompanied by one of his sons (all three accomplished musicians), who hangs out with all sorts of foreigners, musicians, hoteliers and wheeler-dealers high and low, while you remain behind in a simple concrete house in Pushkar?
His wife, a solid, smiling woman, took me in her arms in a hearty embrace, the moment I stepped over the threshold. Taking me firmly by the arm, she sat me down on a bed in a small room full of women and children. There was a pregnant woman lying behind me and two ladies with babies sitting on the floor tucked under a blanket with three older women, who grinned at me broadly. This, then, was what life was like at home: full of women.
I was handed babies and asked about my marital status and the like, until Nathoo – who had disappeared for some time – emerged in the doorway with a bottle of whisky. In the yard outside, I could hear someone playing a nagara rather weakly.
Image by Georgie Pope
"Time for a concert, no Georgie-ji?" Nathoo offered.
I disengaged myself from the ladies room with the familiar but uncomfortable feeling that I was being treated as an honourary man and accepted the attractive offer of a drink: three parts whisky to no parts water.
The hesitant drummer was Nathoo's youngest grandson, sitting in his father's lap and being shown – at two years old – how to hold the sticks. Upon my arrival, Narsi - Nathoo's second son – seized the little hands around the sticks, and started to play a funky groove. The other women appeared and, sitting close to the duo, started to sway and move their wrists, gesturing for me to join them in their seated dance.
Nathoo poured another stiff shot which I refused with a laugh – but it wasn't for me. His wife took the glass and raised it to an image of Kali, painted in bright colours behind me on the whitewashed wall.
"It's Kali's day" Nathoo told me, which didn't surprise me too much; given the size of the Hindi pantheon you can expect to worship at least one god on any day of the year. What did take me aback was Nathoo's wife's next gesture: she held the glass against the wall and drizzled whisky over the goddess.
"First drink for Kali", Nathoo explained.
Without touching the glass to her lips, Nathoo's wife then drained the remainder of the liquid. She refilled the glass and everyone did the same.
Image by Georgie Pope
The men of the family then gathered to play a stunning and impossibly loud series of pieces, changing pace and toying with our expectations by rattling off impressive solos before settling back into the groove again. The whisky glass circulated some more, and then the women took over discarding the sticks and playing with their hands and singing in the most uproarious manner I had ever heard. It wasn't a beautiful sound, but it was certainly a wonderful thing.
I was not allowed to remain seated, so I danced and danced until my bare feet blistered against the blankets, and my head reeled from the whisky. Encouraged to respond in 'Rajasthani style' by the ever-ready Nathoo, I pushed banknotes into the hands of the singers who stuffed them in their bras between slugs of whisky.
At around midnight, someone produced dinner, and then I was delivered back to my hotel by one of the sons. The following morning I woke up with a terrible hangover and almost missed my bus back to Jaipur. I hadn't done much of the research I'd planned and was going to have to leave the arrangements for my tour completely up to Nathoo – as he had intended. I did come away with one vital piece of information though: at least I knew he could throw one hell of a party.
Georgie Pope worked at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF) in Jodhpur, India – a celebration of music from the north-western desert state of Rajasthan. In 2011, Georgie created the Rajasthani Musical Adventure to show off these cultural riches. Head to her website to find out more. The Rajasthani Musical Adventure takes place every October in the lead up to the Rajasthan International Folk Festival. For details and enquiries about joining this trip or other musical adventures in India, please visit www.soundtravelsltd.com.
Explore more of India with the Rough Guide to India. Book hostels for your trip, and don't forget to purchase travel insurance before you go.
Top image: Meherangarh Fort, India © saiko3p/Shutterstock


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Thousands of pupils in Yorkshire will get their GCSE results this morning as new grades are awarded for the first time, with just a small proportion of entries expected to score the highest result.
In total, about 16,100 teenagers are likely to achieve a nine in maths and 10,700 in English
language, out of hundreds of thousands of 16-year-olds in England entering for the two subjects, according to calculations.
Opinion: 'Congratulations on the GCSE results, now lets make sure our young people are ready for a career'
Overall, it is understood that no more than half of those who would have scored an A* in these core subjects under traditional grading last summer will achieve the top score, following the
deliberate move to change the system to allow more differentiation, particularly between the brightest candidates.
As teenagers were waking up to their results, school leaders warned that GCSE reforms were already causing teenagers more stress and anxiety, and this was likely to increase as more subjects switched to the new system.
GCSEs 2017: Your guide to Yorkshire's results
Under the biggest shake-up of exams in England for a generation, A* to G grades are being replaced with a 9 to 1 system, with nine being the highest mark. English and maths are the first to move across, with other subjects following over the next two years.
The grading switch is part of wider reforms designed to make GCSEs more rigorous and challenging.
England's exams regulator Ofqual has previously estimated that around two per cent of 16-year-old students in England will score a grade nine in GCSE English language, while around three per cent of this group will get the top result in maths.
According to analysis using data on the provisional number of entries for Year 11 students in England for these two subjects, this would mean that about 16,129 are likely to get a 9 in maths, and about 10,724 will achieve this result in English language.
Last year, four per cent of 16-year-olds in England scored an A* in English language, along with seven per cent in maths. It means that many teenagers who would have gained this highest possible grade last year will not do so this summer. This is deliberate, as there are now three top grades – 7, 8 and 9 – compared to two under the old system – A* and A -–with A* results now split into 8s and 9s.
Ofqual chief regulator Sally Collier said: "We have used the same tried-and-tested principle of comparable outcomes, as in previous years, to ensure that this first cohort of students is not disadvantaged. If a student receives a grade 7 today, they could have expected to have received a grade A last year. And if they get a grade 4, they could have expected a grade C in 2016."
The Association of School and College Leaders secretary Geoff Barton said the new GCSEs are more challenging and there are more papers. "This is putting severe pressure on young people," he said.
Read more:
GCSEs 2017: Your guide to Yorkshire's results
YP Letters: Time to blow time on disgraceful way universities are funded
John Redwood MP: We must protect value of qualifications
Council admits costs of Sheffield tree protests should fall on PFI firm - not taxpayers
Transport Summit: North tells Government 'honour your promises'
Jayne Dowle: Why George Osborne is an unlikely ally in North's transport battle