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Youthink! interviewed Stéphanie Guico. Stéphanie is the Program Coordinator of the Future Cooperative Leaders Program, a program created to encourage participation by young cooperative employees and leaders (between the ages of 20 and 35) during the Summit.
Youthink!: Hello Stéphanie. First, can you tell us about the journey that led you to the Summit of Cooperatives?
Stéphanie Guico: In 2008, I went to Honduras to spend several months working at a federation of agricultural cooperatives. It was there that I experienced my "cooperative awakening." When I returned to Canada, I did a Master's degree in cooperative enterprise management. My thesis was on the challenges with the strategic governance of multistakeholder cooperatives (link in French) in Quebec. While pursuing these studies, I joined a multistakeholder cooperative and one day received an invitation to share my views on the role of young people in the cooperative movement. A few weeks later, someone contacted me with an offer to implement the Future Cooperative Leaders project.
Youthink!: In your opinion, what makes the cooperative model more attractive than the conventional private enterprise model?
Stéphanie Guico: It should be pointed out that in places where cooperatives have been developed, the GDP and standard of living tend to be higher and the rate of unemployment lower than elsewhere. I have in mind Emilia-Romagna in Italy and Mondragon in the Basque region of Spain, among others.
My experience in Honduras made me realize that villages that had just one thriving cooperative tended to have better access to such social services as schools, clinics, playgrounds, roads, transportation, etc. Such infrastructure is built with the financial assistance of local cooperatives that reinvest a portion of their annual profit in improving living conditions in their communities.
Because of their ties to communities, cooperatives will also be less inclined to close their businesses during periods of economic crisis. A number of cooperatives choose to cut back on their production and reduce working hours, understanding that this option is better over the long term than shuttering their businesses (particularly in view of the fact that the crisis often proves to be temporary while closing a business is a permanent action). It has been observed that in the months following the 2008 economic crisis, cooperatives proved to be more resilient than private enterprises, which often decided to close their doors or move production elsewhere.
Cooperatives also provide an entrepreneurial option to young people who have difficulty finding a job. Young people therefore create their own jobs and enterprises by adopting a collective approach, pooling startup capital and working together. This is a particularly popular trend in Quebec, where many cooperatives developed in recent years are working in the less conventional sectors and are run by young people.
YT!: Can you tell us a bit about the International Summit of Cooperatives? What are its objectives?
Stéphanie: The International Summit of Cooperatives is a kind of Davos of cooperatives. It will bring together 1,500 cooperative leaders from all over the world around four themes:
- The role of cooperatives and mutuals in the global economy;
- The performance of the cooperative and mutualist business model;
- The evolution of the cooperative and mutualist business model; and
- The global sociopolitical influence of cooperatives and mutuals.
The Summit is being organized by Desjardins (a Quebec financial cooperative), the International Cooperative Alliance, and St Mary's University in Canada, as part of the International Year of Cooperatives. The main objective is to provide information on the role of cooperatives around the world and to engage in strategic discussions with the aim of building a true movement that will foster economic and social progress.
YT!: What gave rise to the creation of the Future Cooperative Leaders Program (FCLP)?
Stéphanie: Two factors led to the creation of the FCLP. First, many cooperatives have trouble hiring replacements. Owing to a lack of information on the cooperative model, young people are rarely drawn to careers in cooperative enterprises. It is therefore important to address the issue of the inclusion of young people and to involve young people representing cooperatives in discussions.
Second, the global financial crisis raised serious questions regarding the economic model. Change is needed and we now know that the cooperative system promotes a more just and balanced economy. Young people are the ones who drive change; they are the ones who will determine the direction of the global economy. For this reason, the participation of young people in this Summit is crucial.
YT!: Who are the young people who will participate in the Summit of Cooperatives? How can someone register for the Future Cooperative Leaders Program?
Stéphanie: Cooperative leaders between the ages of 20 and 35, who are employed by or are elected officials of cooperatives may submit their candidacies for the program by April 30, 2012. They must be referred by a cooperative or second level cooperative entity. Interested persons simply need to send a short biography (200-300 words) to me at the following address: [email protected]
For more details on registration requirements, visit the International Summit of Cooperatives website.


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ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Cody Almond to a one-year contract.
Almond scored 18 goals and had 16 assists in 44 games with Geneve-Servette in the Swiss League in 2013-14. Almond also scored eight goals and had 22 assists in 39 games with Geneve-Servette in 2012-13.
The 24-year-old native of Calgary, Alberta, was originally selected by the Wild in the fifth round of the 2007 draft. He played 25 games with Minnesota in parts of three seasons and scored two goals.
Almond also scored 29 goals and had 38 assists in 159 games with the AHL's Houston Aeros from 2009 to 2012.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Workplace diversity is something we take seriously at Chegg. Recently, there's been a call for more corporate transparency in this area, and we are here today to answer that call. Compared to the most recent national statistics, we think we compare quite well. But rather than cherry pick results or attempt to apply further spin, we've chosen to post this data, as it stands today, without further comment.


text:
Media 2007
|Statement: April 19, 2007
|View Printable PDF Version
|Docket Nos: RM07-10-000 and AD06-11-000
Commissioner Spitzer's statement on Transparency Provisions of Section 23 of the Natural Gas Act
"On October 13, 2006, the Commission held a public conference to address how the Commission should exercise new authority in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) regarding price transparency in wholesale natural gas and electric markets. During this informative conference the Commission heard a variety of views, including a call for the Commission to mandate price reporting and contrary arguments that mandatory reporting could result in the elimination of fixed-price contracts. Parties filed comments thereafter.
Recognizing that Congress intended that improvement of Commission market oversight activities through EPAct 2005, the Commission's notice of proposed rulemaking proposes to impose daily reporting requirements for intrastate pipelines to post the capacities and volumes of natural gas flowing through their major receipt and delivery points and mainline segments, and an annual posting requirement for certain buyers and sellers of natural gas to report the numbers and volumes of relevant transactions for the previous calendar year. The NOPR does not propose to impose similar rules for electricity at this time because it is addressing electric market transparency in other cases, including its final rule reforming the Open Access Transmission Tariff.
I look forward to the thoughtful, in-depth comments on the Commission's proposal.
For these reasons, I support these orders."
|View Printable PDF Version


text:
ChalkDust Consulting is a boutique source for digital solutions offering comprehensive services that deliver global results. Founded by Debbie Kiederer, we were pioneers during the early surge of the dot-com wave, designed to help global companies succeed with their digital initiatives on their own terms. Debbie was named Luxury Women to Watch in 2015 by Luxury Daily, for her work with customized luxury tools for the retail industry.
ChalkDust has maintained its boutique mind-set to empower success in branding, re-positioning, marketing, social and mobile strategy, and e-commerce initiatives. We bring an unyielding passion for close working relationships and a unique, one-size-fits-no one approach to our process, seamlessly meshing our comprehensive digital perspective with globally tested best practices, producing customized results.
Strategy & Consulting
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We work with a wide swath of partners, including Fortune 500 beauty, fashion and consumer goods companies, media firms, start-ups and not-for-profits. The common ground in this community is the recognition that a comprehensive digital strategy is crucial for long term success. At a high level, we deliver services that develop and enhance a brand's overall strategy.
We can't do our jobs well if we don't intimately understand what you want and where you're going. But don't worry, we're excellent listeners! ChalkDust's key priority when starting any new partnership is to develop a swift and detailed assessment of the opportunities and challenges we'll encounter together, and to align ourselves with your overall business objectives.
We'll also conduct a thorough audit of our talent resources, so that we may tailor our consulting teams to provide you the full complement of skills needed to make our partnership a success. Each step of our process has you in mind, to make sure that the product we deliver is uniquely yours. We don't think of you as another client, we consider ourselves partners. We have coined the term, client-partner, and consider ourselves just that.
Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com
We'd be happy to provide a portfolio link to our work upon request — firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Reports published Feb. 19, 2013 in The Mexico Ledger
CENTRALIA GIRLS: The Centralia Lady Panthers ended Boonville Lady Pirate's season Monday night in the first round of district competition. Centralia won 46-26. Going into the locker room at halftime, the Lady Panthers were up 18-9.
Centralia had two players in double figures. Krista Armontrout scored 13, while Kailee Chitwood put in 10 points. Katie Crigler scored 9, Kaitlyn Vanmaanen, 8, Meredith Vanmaanen, 4 and Madison Gordon, 2.
Centralia: 13-5-20-8
Boonville: 6-3-9-8
NORTH CALLAWAY GIRLS: The North Callaway Ladybirds began their quest for a district title Monday night at home against Winfield with a 46-19 victory. North Callaway had three plays in double figures. Jaida Gray scored 15 points and came up with 5 steals; Maddie Sorell scored 13 points and Tara Oberlag scored 12 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Carly Hoelting for Winfield scored 9 points.
North Callaway will play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Wright City.
Winfield: 2-6-6-5
North Callaway: 17-10-11-8
MONTGOMERY COUNTY GIRLS: The Montgomery County R-6 Lady Wildcats ended their season Monday night in a 55-29 loss to South Callaway in district competition.
For South Callaway, Taylor Howard and Jenna Boulger each scored 15 points.
For the Montgomery Lady Wildcats Hope Eoff scored 7 points.
Montgomery: 4-9-8-8
South Callaway: 15-8-16-16
COMMUNITY R-6 GIRLS: The Lady Trojans traveled to Jamestown High School Monday night for Class 1 District 9 tournament and began what coach Bob Curtis hopes is a deep tournament run. The first half the Lady Trojans were very tight and nervous only making 6 field goals at the break.
"We didn't know much about Prairie Home coming into a new district this year and it showed," said the R-6 coach. Once they made a few adjustments, R-6 cut the lead to one going into to the final frame and bringing home a 42-38.
"The contest would not have been close if we did not shoot a dismal 14-33 from the free throw line," said Coach Curtis.
Junior guard Amelia Knipfel had a great game scoring a game high 15 points. Thirteen of her 15 came in the second half where she connected on two 3-pointers in the third quarter and sparked the comeback. Emmalee McCaskey scored 9 points, and Paige Curtis put in 8 points.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Lady Trojans play the Chamois Lady Pirates, last year's sectional participant.
Community R-6: 5-9-13-15
Prairie Home: 7-14-7-10
On Thursday night the Lady Trojans traveled to Philadelphia and took on the Marion County Lady Mustangs who made the final four in Class 1 a year ago. It was a tale of two teams who put a lot of emphasis on the defense. The Lady Trojans won 36-22.
Emmalee McCoskey scored 15 points for the Lady Trojans, while Paige Curtis scored 9. Danielle Brooks led in assists with 4; and Amelia Knipfel had 1 3-point basket.
Community R-6: 6-7-8-15
Marion County: 5-4-0-13
COMMUNITY R-6 BOYS: The Trojans opened Class 1 District 9 competition Monday night at Jamestown defeating Bowling Green 58-47.
Sean Wilson and Justin Durham each scored 15 points for the Trojans. Clay Thebeau and Conner Brooks each scored 10, Lane Thebeau put in 7 points and Kaleb Harris scored 1. Brooks and Durham each scored from 3-point range. Durham pulled down 9 rebounds while Cameron Foreman brought down 5 rebounds. Wilson, has 4 assists, while Durham had 3. Harris and Clay Thebeau had 2 steals apiece.
Bowling Green: 11-10-14-12
Community R-6: 11-15-16-16
On Thursday, The Trojans played Marion County and won 57-45. Leading the way for R-6 was Clay Thebeau with 18 points, followed by Conner Brooks and Justin Durham with 12 points each while Lane Thebeau scored 10. Wilson pulled down 7 rebounds and came up with 6 assists.


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European Commission launches EU Business Avenues to South East AsiaPublished at Apr 24, 2014
source: European Commission
The European Commission has launched its new EU Business Avenues programme to assist EU companies, particularly SMEs, aiming to enter or expand their business in...
World's Largest Solar Plant Now OperationalPublished at Feb 19, 2014
source: Energy Matters
After three years and 8.5 million man-hours, the world's largest solar power plant was officially opened last week in the USA's sun-scorched Mojave Desert.
Thai-German Cooperation on Community-Based RenewablesPublished at Oct 18, 2013
source: German International Cooperation
The Thai Ministry of Energy is increasing its efforts to engage regions and provinces in tapping Thailand's renewable energy potential via various recent initiatives such...
Presentations and lectures of the conference "Photovoltaics: Open space and roof systems in Greece"Published at Oct 18, 2013
source: http://www.renewablesb2b.com/ahk_germany/de/portal/index/events/show/b ...
In the context of the 'Renewable Energies Export Initiative' the German-Greek Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a business trip with the subject "Photovoltaics: open...
More Insights Into Solar and Utilities: Large-Scale Integration, Self-Ownership, and Net MeteringPublished at Jun 7, 2013
source: Renewable Energy World
SEPA tracks more than 300,000 solar projects, which amount to 6.1 GW installed across the U.S. The group's 2012 report spans more than 96 percent...
Canada: Canada: LIGNA End-of-Show ReportPublished at May 9, 2013
source: LIGNA
The LIGNA Trade Show in Hannover, Germany once again scored impressive results across the board. With over 40% of the visitors coming from abroad, the...
Progress Report: Seven US Offshore Wind Demonstration ProjectsPublished at Apr 29, 2013
source: Renewable Energy World
Ahead of next week's AWEA Windpower event in Chicago, a Webinar from the Department of Energy (DoE) provided an update on the potential for offshore...
Canada: Canada: Building Integrated PV SymposiumPublished at Apr 23, 2013
source: AHK Canada
The Montreal office of the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce held its very first Building Integrated PV (BIPV) Symposium. Solar and building industry...
Canada: Canada: 9th Canadian German Wind Energy ConferencePublished at Mar 27, 2013
source: AHK Canada
The Montreal office of the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce Inc. held its annual Canadian German Wind Energy Conference, inviting wind energy companies...
Canada: Canada: International Environmental Technology Trade Show and Conference AMERICANAPublished at Mar 19, 2013
source: AHK Canada
The Montreal office of the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce took an active and extensive part in the International Environmental Technology Trade Show...


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BUYINS.NET: EPM SqueezeTrigger Price is $7.86. There is $2,982,250 That Short Sellers Still Need To Cover.
April 20, 2017 / M2 PRESSWIRE / BUYINS.NET / www.buyins.net is monitoring Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:EPM) in real time and just received an alert that EPM is crossing above its primary SqueezeTrigger Price, the price that a short squeeze can start in any stock. There are 377500 shares that have been shorted at the volume weighted average SqueezeTrigger Price of $7.86. To access SqueezeTrigger Prices ahead of potential short squeezes beginning, visit http://www.buyins.net .
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Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:EPM) – Evolution Petroleum Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, and development of properties for the production of crude oil and natural gas, onshore in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field, which covers an area of 13,636 acres located in Northeast Louisiana. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas..
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Q&A With ForeFlight's Tyson Weihs
Some of today's most popular apps include Garmin Pilot, WingX Pro, and ForeFlight, which produces popular flight planning and in-flight support apps for the iPad. We sat down this week with Tyson Weihs, the thirty-six-year-old co-founder of ForeFlight and asked how things are changing at his company, where they're headed, and why.
What's new with ForeFlight?
A lot is new. And in a few different areas. We've invested heavily in research and development over the past year. Some of our investments came to market this year along with the release of Stratus and ADS-B support. We made three technology and talent acquisitions, including a competitive app and its principal developer. We also made strategic investments in a stealth-mode cartography company that is working on some phenomenal technologies. Generally, we've made investments in key areas and platform technologies that we think are aligned with where we envision mobile aviation technologies are headed over the next two years.
It's all consistent with our goal of providing individual pilots information - regardless of the source - and the utilities they need to make them more productive and to delight them. We've expanded our content and coverage to include things like IFR area charts, VFR supplemental and flyway charts, chart legends, and terminal procedures from the NAV CANADA Restricted Canada Air Pilot publications. Since the FAA's processes are all geared towards print, re-purposing their content for mobile platforms has unique challenges. On the support end, we've continued to invest in our pilot support team, product videos, website, and blog as part of our desire to deliver what we term "Fanatical Pilot Support" to customers.
Specific to features, another thing we're proud of is the addition of route selection. We've created a route advisor that helps you pick from a variety of choices including airway routings, preferred routings, terminal enroute control routes, previously flown or assigned ATC routings, as well as utilities that help pilots select altitudes based on our global winds aloft model data. Then there's the runway proximity advisor we worked on - utilizing technology developed by MITRE and sponsored by the FAA - in the hopes of reducing runway incursions. Some of these things improve productivity. Others improve safety.
We've also seen an explosion of interest in bringing tablets into the simulation training environment as part of students' normal curriculum. So we're working more with education and simulation companies like Redbird, X-Plane, ELITE, and FRASCA. As an example, ForeFlight is now integrated into the ELITE King Air simulator at Arizona State. And we've seen growth in our educational license program. Universities and flight schools this year started integrating iPads into their training, from UND to Embry-Riddle, K-State, Purdue, Western Michigan, ASU, and a few dozen others that have singed on to our educational license program. ... It's a way for universities to offer discounted access to ForeFlight for their students.
How many installs are you up to?
(Laughing) We've had more installs than there are pilots on the planet at this point. That's devices, of course. We keep the number close to the vest, but it's big. It's large enough that we now have outside manufacturers coming to us. They're asking us to help tailor their products to better interface with our apps and meet the needs of our customer base. It puts us in an interesting position.
Looking ahead, what new features can pilots expect?
That gets back to our acquisitions. We acquired technologies that include features like track up, 2D and 3D terrain ... often referred to as "synthetic vision" ... . Basically, the way we work, we prioritize the things customers have asked for most, as well as those new things that we think will improve productivity, or remove complexity. It would be appropriate to expect things we've acquired to appear in our products, but we're also pursuing advances in areas that can help pilots better understand how they fly. We'd like to utilize the iPad's ability to collect and analyze information. We're also excited by the possibilities created by the high quality, all-in-one, portable, "augmented avionics" boxes that are coming to market ... boxes that combine many features into one small portable. The capabilities of those boxes should allow us to do things that just haven't been done before in aviation.
How are customers responding to your ADS-B interface?
The response has exceeded our expectations. With Stratus [a portable ADS-B receiver released in April, 2012] we focused on building an integrated solution, and that's resonated well. Today, we only support the Stratus product. These portable devices are not easy to build, and device makers have had some problems trying to bring solutions to market. Stratus was a joint development project that brought us together with both Appareo and Sporty's. It's possible we'll support other solutions in the future, but it's new tech and so far we've focused on the quality of the solution versus a quantity of supported devices.
Stratus allows you to access the FIS-B [flight information services broadcast] information. Your getting things like regional and national nexrad, live TFR and special use airspace updates, metars and TAFs, winds aloft, airmets and sigmets ... most of the strategic flight information you need to execute a flight. And we're seeing adoption across segments of aviation from general aviation to commercial, which are generally evaluating the product and using it on a test basis.
Specific to device manufacturers, is ForeFlight more involved with reacting to developing technology or the creation of new technology, these days?
That's an interesting question. Because of our market share today, a lot of companies come to us with ideas for new products. So we get to see what people are thinkng about and where the market is trending. Some of it is interesting, but not really practical for a portable system like the iPad. Portable AHRS is an example of that. That's interesting technology that is just emerging, so we're approaching it very cautiously. It's easy to get in trouble, here. For example, when we looked at the state of the art in portable AHRS technology we determined it was difficult for most pilots to consistently calibrate the units and how also that, under the right conditions, iit can be easy for them to get out of calibration. There are other variables, too. In the end, it means that ... for now ... we feel the display of pitch and attitude information from portable devices is potentially dangerous. This is one area that will continue to advance, we think, but is still in the experimental stages.
�Overall, on the technological development end, what's neat is that we're now in a position where we have the ability to shape what some of these companies are working on based on our customer needs ... because that's a group they want to target. It's been really exciting to look at the innovation that's coming down the pipe and select what most pilots will benefit from.
Has the introduction of the iPad Mini brought any changes to ForeFlight?
We haven't had any adaptation issues. Apple had the foresight to make their iPad screen dimensions consistent. There's really nothing we have to do in that regard; the iOS handles the scaling automatically. There may be some things we'll do to enhance screen utilization on the physically smaller platform... . Really, the question we get most often from users is 'can I run my Mini and iPad simulataneously?' And we made a decision a long time ago for people to power two units from one subscription so that one could serve as a redundant backup. The smaller unit is a lot more convenient for a lot of pilots and we have a long blog post with screenshots that addresses mounting options. Basically, the Mini's form factor means the iPad isn't an enormous obstacle anymore. Now its footprint is more comparable to a [Garmin] 696.
What do you think ForeFlight will look like in two years?
I think we'll be, culturally, very similar ... that is, focused on building high-performing, elegant solutions, backed by strong support. But we'll be even more refined and efficient at what we do. We'll have added things to our offerings that help pilots end to end - from preflight to postflight. We'll be providing a broader range of services underpinned by our desire to keep software elegant, while providing exceptionally high performance and further improving situational awareness. We'll always stay focused on the individual pilot but we'll aim to enhance services for growing segments like business and military aviation. We also plan to help all our pilots record and share their information aside from just being more productive executing their flight. (Laughs) I guess that's a lot of marketing-speak, but that's the plan.
Specifically on synthetic vision and track up, when are those coming?
Well, as I mentioned, we acquired a company that had those capabilities, so it's probably not unreasonable to expect such features. With everything we do, we want our features to reflect a certain style and quality, and that takes time. We also never pre-announce features because the path in aviation is littered with broken delivery promises and we want to be different in that respect. Specific to "synthetic vision," when we talk to our customers they want it as an option, but it's not something they use on every flight. It's fun, has entertainment value, but they find themselves using it infrequently. Other features that most pilots use on most flights have taken priority to date. None of those features are off the table, though. We're just aiming for a specific style and performance bar.
What about incorporating more outside information like, say, StormScope?
We display lightning info today, but it's sourced from the ground. Moving forward, because of rapid adoption of ADS-B devices, the FAA is working to deliver additional content and lightning is one of those items. As far as integrating with lightning hardware ... or any single purpose hardware, really ... it's complicated. Without having a common and open data bus on the plane, it's hard for an ipad to connect with standalone hardware devices individually. So, if StormScope is the example, I could see it happening for us when all these devices are connected on a common data bus. But we wouldn't likely connect to a StormScope independent of that.
I think we're in the early days in developing communication between avionics and portables. Aspen broke ground there with their CG100, delivering information wirelessly. At ForeFlight, we'd look at connecting to aggregators that could bring information from multiple outside devices into the application. And we might partner with companies to enable that.
What about Android platforms?
We're still focussed on IOS devices. The challenge with android is finding a mix of different devices that allow you to build an application, efficiently, that covers a wide range of platforms. It's a standardization issue. I think we're getting closer to a point where there is more standardization, but on the tablet side of things there's still a lot of fragmentation and a small number of pilots using android. We've elected to do the best we can with the most popular device for pilots. We're not against Android. We just need to approach it prudently from a business perspective.
Are there any outside issues affecting your business that you'd like to address?
After some pushback, AeroNav is back at it with respect to its cost recovery proposal. They're seeking to push forward to create a per pilot digital user fee. We're looking at that initiative and we'll look forward to talking with you about what we're doing to help fight that for pilots.


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The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to keep the Gulf County Jail operations intact.
The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to keep the Gulf County Jail operations intact.
Commissioner Joanna Bryan said she would continue to look at the $1.2 million jail budget and liability issues as the county budget continues to contract.
Jail administrator Michael Hammond said he had been �blindsided� by the discussion of two weeks prior, during which Bryan, for the second time, raised the issue of jail inspections, liability and jail costs.
Since being requested by Commissioner Warren Yeager to �think outside the box�, something Yeager again championed Tuesday, Bryan has examined ways to possibly cut jail costs.
Hammond said he wanted to bring some history to the issue and to �set the record straight.�
He disputed figures published in the newspaper last week regarding costs and jail operations, figures that had been provided to Bryan by county administrator Don Butler, in consultation with Hammond, on July 29 after Bryan first raised issue regarding the jail population and operating expenses more than a month ago.
He also disputed conclusions made by Bryan based on those figures and published last week, saying that farming out the male population at the jail, as is currently policy on females, who are housed in Bay County, would not represent a cost savings.
Hammond also noted that the board policy, adopted several years ago, was to not bring the jail up to Florida Model Jail Standards due to the costs, over $1.3 million.
That decision came after a review of the jail by a contractor hired by the BOCC.
He said Bryan�s suggestion at the last meeting to have the jail inspected was in direct conflict with board policy, which he had reiterated twice during the last meeting in saying he would refuse a commissioner and inspector access to the jail without a board vote.
�I totally agree � you should not adopt the policies (of Model Jail Standards),� Hammond said.
He said the board should vote not to outsource the jail operations to address concerns by the 15 full-time employees.
Hammond said the discussion was personal and an effort to have him fired.
Bryan said there was nothing personal, she was doing what Yeager had asked of commissioners � think outside the box.
She said the discussion was hardly a �blindside� since she had long ago requested information from Butler and Hammond, information published last week which Hammond was now disputing.
�This is a business decision,� Bryan said. �I would not want us to take on something that would not save us money.�
She said there was a statutory requirement for jail inspections, though no enforcement of that requirement is in statute. She said an inspection would show where the county jail fell short of Model Jail Standards.
�It does not increase liability,� Bryan said. �We need to strive to meet Model Jail Standards. �You can not inspect your facility.
�When we incarcerate we take over people�s lives. We need to ensure the inmates our safe and our employees have the right to be safe. The (MJS) are aspirational; they are a minimum.�
She said the county needs to operate more fiscally-efficient and examining all phases of the budget is the way to ensure that efficiency. She added that there were cost savings to be had; Yeager disagreed, saying it might cost the county more to send male inmates to Bay County.
�It will cost more,� Hammond contended. �The jail is better today that it has ever run. It is not rational to have this discussion.�
Commissioners Carmen McLemore and Tan Smiley framed the discussion in terms of jobs; they each said they want to create jobs not cut them.
The board expressed support for current jail operations and Bryan said she would continue to perform research and said she would bring the issue back to the BOCC if necessary.
Tipping fees
Responding to comments from Port St. Joe officials regarding a county increase in tipping fees, Butler explained that when the county approved a half-cent sales tax in 2009 to be earmarked for landfill costs, the cities of Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka were given a choice.
Accept the proceeds � 21 percent to Port St. Joe; 12 percent to Wewahitchka � and pay tipping fees at Five Points or turn the cities� share over to the county and pay no tipping fees.
The cities took the money.
For Port St. Joe that meant roughly $130,000 last year compared to the city�s $60,000 in costs to the landfill. Therefore, Butler said, the city was actually assessing its citizens twice, not the county, on yard debris and garbage collection, through the half-cent sales tax and landfill fees.
The city had also made a profit on the deal.
Yeager recommended and the board approved providing the same deal to the city, which had protested an increase in tipping fees which would not be borne by county residents, as had been offered previously.
Americus ditch
Citizen Bill Koran and Bryan renewed discussion and questioning about the Americus Ditch project, which cost $1.2 million, has been repaired more than 130 times in the past several years and continues to be a problem.
Koran faulted the way the project was bid and awarded, saying the contractor was not qualified and the county erred in having Preble Rish Engineers design and inspect the job.
Bryan said the job should not have been awarded to a contractor that submitted an incomplete and unqualified bid.
�This is poster child for the wrong way to do business,� Bryan said. �It concerns me about how many other projects have been done this way and the exposure for liability.�
Beacon Hill sign
Williams has notified the county he wished to have the sign at Beacon Hill which formerly advertised the Beacon Living facility be taken down and stored for sufficient time to allow him to find a suitable location.
The county will bring down the sign and store it at the Public Works yard. If Williams claims the sign, he must reimburse the county for the cost of razing it. If not, the county will sell the sign for scrap.
FWC vehicles
Also addressed was the recent letter sent to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission requesting the agency to remove seven boats and trailers parked on county property.
Butler said the issue was not recent, but had been raised in 2010, though at the time former Commissioner Bill Williams intervened and allowed the FWC to return the boats.
Butler said the issue was layered, with the costs of water use by the FWC, use of a county dumpster and the rutting of county land also in play.
He said there had been ongoing dialogue, though when questioned by Bryan the only written correspondence had been the letter from over three years ago.
Bryan suggested, and Yeager agreed to intervene with FWC officials, that the county should be working with state agencies and law enforcement.
The FWC has questioned the timing of the most recent request, coming shortly after the agency launched an investigation into the possible illegal taking of two alligators, which involves several county-paid employees.


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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All season, the San Francisco Giants counted on power arms to overcome a lack of pop at the plate.
A whole different team showed up in the World Series opener.
Freddy Sanchez hit three doubles, Juan Uribe launched a game-breaking, three-run homer and the Giants more than made up for Tim Lincecum's troubles, battering the Texas Rangers 11-7 in Game 1 Wednesday night.
Even more surprising, the Giants whacked Cliff Lee.
"You never think you're going to have success against a pitcher like that," Sanchez said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the game, been unhittable in the postseason."
So much for the unbeatable Mr. Lee.
"I think it's just baseball. That's the only thing you can say," Sanchez said. "This is a crazy game."
The Giants were by far the lowest-scoring team of the eight clubs that made the playoffs this year. They were hitting only .231 in the postseason going into this matchup, totaling 30 runs in 10 games.
"Certainly a huge game for us, and we needed the runs," manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're not a team that tries to slug it with other teams, but today they threw out some great at-bats."
What shaped up as a pitchers' duel between Lincecum and Lee quickly deteriorated into a mismatch. The Giants scored six times in the fifth — their biggest inning in the postseason since 1937 — and turned a 2-all game into a blowout.
By the end, it was more lopsided than the scoreboard showed. The Rangers played like the World Series rookies they are: They made four errors for the first time 2008, Ian Kinsler took a mistaken turn around first base and was thrown out, and manager Ron Washington may have waited too late to pull his ace.
Lee came into the game with a 7-0 record and a 1.26 ERA in postseason play. Texas gave him an early 2-0 lead, but the Giants swung things in their favor in a hurry.
"I was trying to make adjustments," Lee said. "I was up. I was down. I was in. I was out. I was trying to find it, and I was never really consistent with what I was doing."
Just like that, the Giants added Lee to their hit list. They have now handed Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt their first career losses in the postseason — all in the last few weeks.
"It wasn't quite the game we thought it would be," Bochy said. "Great pitchers, sometimes they're a little bit off."
Sanchez sprayed balls down the lines. Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff hit line drives up the middle. Uribe launched a shot far, far over the wall.
Former Giants slugger Barry Bonds had plenty to cheer for from his seat next to the San Francisco dugout, while Rangers president and part-owner Nolan Ryan sat glumly in a suit and tie, his prized pitcher a wreck.
"I saw the Giants work him pretty good," Washington said. "We left some pitches in spots we didn't want."
The Rangers did late damage, scoring three times in the ninth. Nelson Cruz hit a two-out, two-run double off Brian Wilson before the Fear the Beard closer finished it off.
Added up, the Giants improved to 10-0 against Texas at AT&T Park. Showers are in the forecast for Game 2 on Thursday night, when Matt Cain and his 0.00 ERA in two playoff starts takes on C.J. Wilson and the Rangers.
Sanchez finished with four of the Giants' 14 hits, which included six doubles. Right after Lee trotted off the mound in the fifth, Uribe greeted sidearming reliever Darren O'Day with a three-run jolt that broke it open.
Sanchez became the first player to hit a double in each of his first three Series at-bats. He nearly had a fourth, too, but the play was scored a single and an error.
San Francisco had gotten through the NL playoffs because of its dominant pitching, plus an ability to win one-run decisions. None of that came into play on this beautiful night for baseball.
Lincecum struggled at the beginning, making a strange mental error, but settled down as the game progressed. The shaggy-haired ace walked off to a standing ovation in the sixth, his glove in his right hand and his head down.
At the start, he admitted, nerves got the best of him. He still couldn't explain how he let Michael Young escape a rundown.
"Maybe a little bit because it is the World Series. It's a first for a lot of us and different kind of atmosphere," he said. "Obviously, I just kind of got outside of myself there."
The Rangers nailed Lincecum for eight hits, two of them shots off his left leg.
What happened to Lee was simply puzzling.
Lee came into the game one win shy of matching the record set by Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez for the best start to a postseason career.
But the lefty who loves to stick to his routine — and his messy hat — was all over the place on eight days' rest. He couldn't control his curve and when he did throw it over the plate, it was flat.
Lee was tagged for seven runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings.
"You never see him do that badly," Cruz said. "My guess is it was the layoff but there are no excuses."
Giants rough up Lee for 11-7 win in World Series opener
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All season, the San Francisco Giants counted on power arms to overcome a lack of pop at the plate.


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Poteau Pirates get home win against Muldrow Bulldogs
All year long, the Poteau Pirates football team wanted to be more physical in its offensive line, and in Thursday night's District 4A-4 contest against the Muldrow Bulldogs at Costner Stadium, the offensive line had its coming out party.As the game evolved, Trevor Shankle, Troy Barnett, Logan Hildebrand, Devin Thompson and Stephen Smith, and late in the game Jace Adkins, seized control of the point of attack at the line of scrimmage. The Poteau backs had running lanes, and they took advantage of those holes as the Pirates took a 21-14 halftime into intermission. Then, the Pirates simply won both sides of the ball in the second half as they won the game by the score of 41-21.


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I'm experimenting with the layout tonight. If the blog looks strange, please check back in a few minutes, and maybe it will look better. At least, let us hope so. :)
And here is the new, modified layout -- posts on the left and a single sidebar on the right. Simple enough, no? It should be a little friendlier to people who have slow connections or who are trying to read the blog from hand-held devices. It should also make more sense to search engines.


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Page content
The Trial of Abigail Briggs
Teacher Community
Find more lesson plans, resources, discussion, and more at our new Teacher Community website.
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By the middle of the eighteenth century, colonial Virginians had developed a legal system that reflected both the authority of the British Crown and the development of local self-government. The courts enforced English common law, statutory law, and the criminal code. Punishments for crimes were swift and often physical. Although all Virginians accused of a crime had the opportunity to speak in court, there were no court-appointed lawyers and the enslaved could not speak against a white person.
The General Court, consisting of the royal governor and twelve councilors (members of the Council, or upper house of the legislature) convened in April and October. This court met at the Capitol and heard both civil and criminal cases. When necessary, in June and December, the councilors formed the Court of Oyer and Terminer to review additional criminal cases.
Time Required
Two class periods
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Define eighteenth-century legal terms
- Depict an eighteenth-century case through role-play
- Explain the justice system in eighteenth-century Virginia
Setting the Stage
Ask students if they have ever witnessed a trial (on TV or in a court). Be aware this may be sensitive for some students. Discuss with students the operation of your state court system.
Tell students they are going to review an eighteenth-century murder trial which took place at the General Court in Williamsburg in the year 1765. Before proceeding to the case, discuss with students the Eighteenth-Century Legal Terms. Have students compare these definitions with twentieth-century definitions.
Select students to portray the following: Abigail Briggs, Governor Fauquier, the Attorney General, 12 justices [if there are not enough students in the class, only five justices are necessary], 12 members of the jury and several character witnesses [optional].
Inform the students that Abigail Briggs is a Native American who is described as a quiet woman. She is accused of murdering an old African-American slave who is described as being quarrelsome. The crime took place in her mistress's kitchen which had a stone floor. Several witnesses heard a quarrel. When the mistress arrived she saw the slave lying dead. Apparently Abigail knocked him on the head with a wooden pestle used for grinding corn. Abigail said she was defending herself against assault. It was not clear whether his skull was fractured by the blow or the fall.
Ask the class how Abigail should plead (guilty or not guilty). What will be her defense? She is a poor servant and does not have enough money to hire an attorney. How will the Attorney General present the case to the jury? What questions will the justices ask Abigail? What verdict will the jury render? What will the governor think about all of this? Record answers on a flip chart or chalk board.
When all understand their role, have the students reenact the trial of Abigail Briggs. Tell students the trial does not have to go the way the class planned it out, but that new evidence can be introduced as needed and the jury can vote however they feel. Ask the Justices to sit in the front of the class with the governor in the middle. The Jury should sit to the right of the justices facing sideways. The Attorney General should sit at a table in front of the justices. Abigail should stand in front of the justices. Witnesses will stand when called to testify.
After the reenactment, have students compare the outcome with the notes on the flip chart or chalk board. Ask them how they might change the reenactment if they were to do it again.
Inform the students that in 1765, the jury found Abigail Briggs guilty of murder and the justices sentenced her to be executed by hanging. Ask the students if they believe this was a fair verdict. Why or why not? Tell the students that the Governor did not think it was a fair verdict, but he did not have the authority to pardon Abigail. The only person who could pardon Abigail was the King of England. If you were the Governor, what would you do in this case?
Give each student a copy of the Official Papers of Francis Fauquier. Ask the class to determine from these official papers why the Governor thought the jury found her guilty of murder? What crime did the governor think she had committed? What did the Governor do in this case? What was the decision of the King?
Have each student write an article about the Abigail Briggs trial for the Virginia Gazette. The article should answer the questions who, what when, where and why.


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International law firm DLA Piper announced Tuesday it has moved its New Jersey office from Florham Park to the Short Hills section of Millburn.
According to the announcement, the firm moved into the class A office building at 51 JFK Parkway on Oct. 21. DLA Piper will occupy more than 21,000 square feet of office space on the first floor, and the lease also provides options that will allow the firm to expand occupancy within the building over time.
The lawyers in DLA Piper's Short Hills office work in a variety of practices and sectors, including corporate and securities, intellectual property, commercial litigation and labor and employment matters.


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Dear Secretaries Solis and Geithner and Commissioner Shulman:
Recently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration ("EBSA") of the Department of Labor (the "Department") proposed to change the regulatory structure for and definition of the term "fiduciary" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), Definition of the Term "Fichiciary," (RIN 1210-AB32) . The term fiduciary is one of the key terms of ERISA as it determines which persons and entities owe the highest level of care to pension plans and their participants and beneficiaries. We of course believe that those who provide investment advice should be thoroughly trained, professionally licensed, highly ethical, devoted to the financial best interests of their clients, and abide by the highest standards of professionalism. However, consistent with these views we also believe that any attempt to change the existing regulatory structure governing investment relationships in the retirement planning marketplace must be done carefully and prudently as to avoid uncertainty and disruption. In addition, any change must be supported by economic data and regulatory prudence to avoid duplicative or conflicting regulatory structures of other federal regulators.


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My friend's dad caught me masturbating in his daughter's room and then things got dirty between us
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Wife forced to cheat
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Lauren discovers a game that's guaranteed to break Josh's winning streak.
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Step-sister Amy and Drew have sex for the first time.
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A horny artist lures the man she desires to her apartment and they drive each other crazy.
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One night, after drinking, we have completely unprotected sex and find out it turns us on.
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My name is Lauren. I'm twenty five years old. I'm about 5'4''. I have long, wavy, dark brown hair. My eyes are hazel. My breasts are about a 36 C. I'm married to my husband John. John is in the military. He is stationed in Iraq. While he is away, I stay with his brother David and his daughter, Julie. One night, Julie was at a sleep over. David and I were in the den. We both had had a few...Read On
Added: 16 Aug 2010 | Category: Straight Sex |
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An 18 year old babysitter flaunts her big tits and seduces older men.
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Anna's new housemate catches her in a private moment.
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Ashley's 18 year naked figure could be clearly seen through her silk teddy.
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A husband is stunned as he caught his wife cheating on him, but is shocked at what happened.
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Megan was your typical 22 year old girl. She loved sports along with hiking and jogging. She was extremely beautiful as she had light blonde hair along with gorgeous blue eyes. Her body was absolutely sensational. Her tits were beautifully shaped and firm as well as her ass. She had one of the best asses you will ever see. Megan had been job hunting for the last few months. She had gotten her...Read On
Added: 29 Mar 2011 | Category: Straight Sex |
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Words: 2,309 |
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John popped two aspirins in his mouth, followed by a glass of water to soothe his throbbing headache caused by the roaring music from the second door on the right upstairs, his 18-year-old daughter's room. He collapsed in his leather chair and stared at the computer monitor. The light from the screen only intensified his headache, but he had a lot of work to do. He had a big project that was...Read On
Added: 11 Jun 2011 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.85 |
Words: 1,727 |
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| 26 Comments
My little brothers friends are not little kids any more
When you're young a difference of five years is a lot. Think about it. Age ten to age fifteen. That's a huge difference; one's a kid and the other is a young adult. But think about it like this. Ages twenty-one and twenty-six. It really doesn't sound that bad. When I was younger I would look at my brother's friends as babies. They were nothing to me but as I started getting older they...Read On
Added: 10 May 2013 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.72 |
Words: 1,151 |
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A young girl lives her fantasy, but it goes above and beyond what she ever could have hoped for…
Emily was jolted awake by the sound of her alarm clock ringing. It was 7:48 - almost time for school. She tried to fall asleep again, desperate to go back to her dream. It was the same dream she'd been having every day for three weeks now. It involved her having hot, passionate sex with her English teacher, Mr Collins, whom she had been infatuated with since she met him about half a year ago...Read On
Added: 20 Aug 2012 | Category: Straight Sex |
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Words: 3,440 |
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Lady with small features seduces man with huge cock
My name is Shela. I'm married to a very successful business man named Jerry, that travels a lot. I'm 36 years old, very petite 5'1" tall weigh only115 pounds. Nearly everything about my body is very small except my boobs. I'm a generous D cup, my boobs look very large on my otherwise small body. My sexual appetite is best described as voracious! My husband is a good lover and we...Read On
Added: 22 Jul 2008 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.92 |
Words: 2,118 |
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Hubby's magic fingers make me squirt off bigger than ever!
Laying on my side in bed in that state when you just begin to regain consciousness and slowly begin to wake up I was thinking about many of the erotic stories I have written and feeling quite horny. Then I feel him stir and spoon up against my back. He reaches his arm around my torso and grabs my nearest breast. Slowly at first then a little faster he starts rolling my big now erect...Read On
Added: 16 Jan 2010 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.69 |
Words: 707 |
Tags: true story this mornings sex squirt juicy magic fingers
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Six thirty in the morning is a lonely time on a college campus. I was at the student recreation center, going for my morning run around the track. Good thing we could get in with our student IDs early in the morning, since it's the only time I have when I can get to the gym regularly. As I ran around the track, trying to keep track of my laps and time, I pushed myself. I had already done...Read On
Added: 29 Jan 2010 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.81 |
Words: 1,747 |
Tags: shower stranger public locker room
| 31 Comments
A husband shares his wife with another man with a big cock and finds out his wife loved it.
A husband sharing his wife can be quite intriguing but it also can turn out to be something totally unexpected. This is exactly what had happened to both Steven and his wife Beth. They had just celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary when Steven brought up the idea of sharing Beth with another man. It was a tough sell right away for Steven, as Beth wanted nothing to do with it. They had...Read On
Added: 06 Jun 2012 | Category: Straight Sex |
Avg Score: 4.53 |
Words: 4,102 |
| 7 Comments


text:
More Halloween Safety Tips
Halloween is an exciting time of year for kids, and to help ensure they have a safe holiday, here are some tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
* Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
* Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.
* Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.
* When shopping for costumes,


text:
I'm looking for information on this route. Secor(The High Sierra) describes this route between the U-notch and The Doors of Perception, as 5.6. It climbs,"...the obscure, obtuse open book above and right of the bergschrund of the U-Notch Coulior."
Secor also mentions the rock as being light gray.
Has anyone done this? How easy is it to find? What is the quality of the rock? Anything else you want to pass along?


text:
Quick Links
- Overview
- Why this JBS program?
- About
- Curriculum
- Extended Program
- Schedule
- Housing
- Apply
- 2010 Program Flyer (pdf)
- 2010 Projects
- 2010 Detailed Overview
- Student Testimonials
- Student Profile
JBS is featured in BrandeisNow. Check it out!
Hanna Wellish '12, student on JBS Environmental Health and Justice Program, creates a short video about the students' work with Worcester Roots.
Philip Lu '11 writes about his experience in The Justice.
Student Profile
Murtaza Jafferji, Web Services and Mobile Applications summer 2010, reflects on his experience with JBS.
I just wanted to say that one of the most attractive things about the JBS program is the amazing opportunity that it gives students to learn to work in the real world unlike anything they could ever learn or experience in the classroom. Because of the JBS program, my transition to a working environment has been so easy. I'm amazed by the opportunities that the JBS program has opened up for me. It is unlikely that I would have attained this internship at the Chicago Tribune without the help of the JBS program. Not only that, but I have a phone interview with Microsoft next Thursday for a possible internship for next summer.
The only thing more attractive than this aspect of it to me is the close relationship that students develop with the amazing professors who work with us. Working so closely with Tim and Pito was a priceless experience that I will remember and appreciate for the rest of my life. We could not have asked for a better pair of teachers. Not only did they provide a great classroom experience, but they were always available to help after class with any problem that ever came up. The JBS program provided me with the chance to develop a special relationship with them-a relationship that would have unlikely developed any other way.
The JBS program gave me the spark that ignited my love for Computer Science. I have continued working on my JBS final project and I have been inspired to start other projects on my own. The JBS program really gave me the confidence and the ability to achieve great tasks. I look at everything in a different way now. Whenever I see a website or some software, I break it down to see how I could make it or how I could make it better. Another thing that the JBS program did was give me the knowledge to actually implement the ideas I've always had. Now, instead of thinking something would be cool if someone else made it, I take a shot at it and try to make it myself. I also write tiny pieces of code to help me out with everyday computer tasks to make common problems a lot easier-something that would have seemed completely outside my range of abilities before this summer. I think I do this because the JBS program showed me how much fun programming could be.


text:
In the Matter of
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate that administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") against Carl M. Apel ("Apel").
In anticipation of the institution of these administrative proceedings, Apel has submitted an Offer of Settlement ("Offer") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purposes of these proceedings, and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings set forth below, except as to the jurisdiction of the Commission over himself and over the subject matter of these proceedings,which he admits, Apel consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Proceedings Pursuant to Section 21C of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings and Imposing a Cease-and-Desist Order ("Order").
The Commission makes the following findings:1
A. Summary
This matter concerns the material over accrual of reserve accounts and other accounting errors at National Steel Corporation ("National Steel"), and the gradual, improper and publicly undisclosed reduction of those reserves at the direction of National Steel's controller and vice president of finance, Carl M. Apel.
Through accounting errors and other negligence National Steel's finance department allowed numerous liability accrual and asset allowance accounts (the "reserves") to become over accrued by approximately $51 million as of 1997. The build up of the excess reserves dated back many years, in some cases from the 1980s and before. In 1996, National Steel's finance department began to adjust certain over accrued reserves at Apel's direction, but these adjustments were not in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). Apel ordered certain reserve accounts to be reduced gradually -- in even dollar amounts on a monthly basis --without disclosing these gradual reductions to the public. This process of gradually reducing reserve accounts is sometimes referred to as "accreting" the reserves into income. The publicly undisclosed accretions materially increased the income that National Steel reported to investors in at least two quarters in 1996 and one quarter in 1997. An employee reported the excess reserves and the gradual reductions to National Steel's Audit Committee in August 1997. The Audit Committee initiated an internal investigation and the Company voluntarily restated National Steel's financial statements from 1992 through the second quarter of 1997.
B. Respondent and Issuer National Steel
National Steel is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Mishawaka, Indiana and together with its subsidiaries is the fourth largest integrated steel manufacturer in the United States. National Steel's common stock is registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Carl M. Apel was National Steel's controller from 1992 to April 1997, when he was appointed vice president of finance, the top financial position at National Steel at that time. Apel oversaw all accounting matters at National Steel, including the preparation of financial statements and Commission filings.2 Apel is a certified public accountant, licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, and was formerly employed by a national accounting and auditing firm.
C. Relevant Accounting Principles
GAAP require the establishment and accrual of reserves for expenses, losses and liabilities, even though payment of the expense, or realization of the loss, may be contingent upon future events. Pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5 ("FAS 5"), Accounting for Contingencies (March 1975), ¶8:
8. An estimated loss from a loss contingency . . . shall be accrued by a charge to income if both of the following conditions are met [emphasis in original]:
a. Information available prior to the issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that an asset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred at the date of the financial statements . . . [and]
b. The amount of loss can be reasonably estimated [footnotes omitted].
If the reasonable estimate of a particular loss contingency is a range, an amount shall be accrued for the loss. When some amount within the range appears at the time to be a better estimate than any other amount within the range, that amount shall be accrued. When no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, however, the minimum amount in the range shall be accrued. See FASB Interpretation No. 14, Reasonable Estimation of the Amount of a Loss (September 1976). If there is at least a reasonable possibility that an additional loss has been incurred, beyond the amount accrued, disclosure of the nature of the contingency and an estimate of the possible loss or range of loss shall be made. See FAS 5, ¶10.
GAAP specifically forbid the accrual of "general" reserves. See FAS 5, ¶14:
14. Some enterprises have in the past accrued so-called "reserves for general contingencies." General or unspecified business risks do not meet the conditions for accrual in paragraph 8, and no accrual for loss shall be made . . .
Accounting estimates, including estimates for loss contingencies, may change as new events occur, as more experience is acquired, or as additional information is obtained. A change in an accounting estimate should be accounted for in (a) the period of change if the change affects that period only, or (b) the period of change and future periods if the change affects both. Although not dispositive of an issuer's disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws, if the change in estimate affects several future periods, GAAP require disclosure of the effect on income. If the effect on income is material, disclosure is recommended for changes in estimates made each period in the ordinary course of accounting. Materiality should be considered in relation to both the effects of each change separately and the combined effect of all changes. See APB Opinion No. 20 ("APB 20"), Accounting Changes (July 1971).
A change in estimate made in an interim accounting period should be accounted for in the interim period in which the estimate is changed. The effect on earnings should be reported in the current period and in subsequent interim periods, if the effect of the change is material in relation to any period presented. See APB 28, Interim Financial Reporting (May 1973).
Changes in estimates are distinguishable from the correction of errors in previously issued financial statements. Errors result from mathematical mistakes, mistakes in the application of accounting principles, or oversight or misuse of facts that existed at the time the financial statements were prepared. The correction of error, including erroneous estimates related to loss contingencies, should be disclosed in the period in which the error is discovered. The correction is accounted for and reported as a prior period adjustment, that is, by restating the financial statements of the affected prior periods. See FAS 16, Prior Period Adjustments (June 1977) [as partially superseded by FAS 109, Accounting For Income Taxes (February 1992) ¶288(n)]; APB 20, ¶¶13, 36 and 37; and APB 9, Reporting the Results of Operations (December 1966) ¶¶18 and 26.
As these provisions make clear, GAAP do not allow for the deferral of accounting adjustments arising from a change in estimate or the correction of error. If a change in estimate affects one period only, the change may not be accounted for over two or more periods in order to diminish the effect of the change on income, or for anyother purpose. Correction of error may not be accounted for prospectively, or over two or more periods, in order to diminish the effect of the correction on any one period.
D. National Steel Over Accrues Reserves
From the early 1980s through 1996 National Steel over accrued reserves or made other accounting errors which caused income to be understated by a total of $62 million. Of this amount, $51 million derived from over accrued reserves. The accounts in question included reserves for bad debts, state and local taxes, post employment and post retirement benefits, and other miscellaneous liabilities. Over half of the excess reserves were accrued prior to 1992. These were:
|Amounts Over Accrued
as of 12/91 (in 000s)
|"General Office" Reserve
|State Franchise Tax Reserve
|State Income Tax Reserve
|Post Employment/Retirement Benefits Reserve
|Reserve for ore mine shutdown
|Reserve for bankrupt joint venture partner
|Total of Pre-1992 Over Accrued Reserves:
In 1994 and 1996, National Steel over accrued reserves and made other accounting errors totaling $16.8 million and $21 million, respectively. The details are (in 000s):
|Michigan Single Business Tax Reserve
|Post Employment/ Retirement Benefits Reserve
|Bad Debt Reserve
|Management Incentive Plan Reserve
|Change in Measurement Date for Benefits
Calculation (FAS 87 and 106)
|Aged Inventory Allowance
As the above tables indicate, the over accruals and other accounting errors were spread over several different types of accounts and not concentrated within any specific area of responsibility. As to each account, National Steel's finance department staff made accounting mistakes or mis-estimates, applied incorrect accounting standards, failed to apply correctly new accounting standards, failed to consult withother departments within National Steel as needed, applied incorrect discounting factors and time periods, and/or neglected to adjust estimates in response to changed facts and circumstances.
The over accruals and other accounting errors (including minor errors restated as of 1992, 1993 and 1995) had the following effect on National Steel's income statements for the years 1992 through 1996:
|Effect of Accounting Errors on
Pretax Income of National Steel (in 000's)
|Period ending:
Pretax Income (loss)
|Pretax Income Restated:
|Percentage Change:
National Steel's failure to correct its over accrued reserves had the following effect on its balance sheets during the years 1992 through 1996:
|Effect of Excess Reserves on
Balance Sheet of National Steel (in 000's)
|Period ending:
|Retained Earnings
Originally Reported:
Changes to R/E:
|R/E Restated:
|Percent R/E
|Percent Shareholders'
Equity Understated:
E. Carl Apel Orders Gradual Accretion of Excess Reserves to Income
In January 1996, Apel directed a finance department employee to prepare a recurring journal entry form to debit the State Franchise Tax reserve by $166,666.67 per month until further notice, thus reducing the account by $500,000.01 per quarter in 1996. Apel gave no further instructions regarding adjustments to this account. The finance department performed no analysis pursuant to FAS 5 or APB 20 to justify this reduction. The facts and circumstances relating to National Steel's liabilities for state franchise taxes did not change in any quarter in 1996 such as to justify the reduction of the reserve by $500,000. No public disclosure of these adjustments was made in National Steel's Forms 10-Q or 10-K for 1996.4 During 1996 National Steel continued to use the State Franchise Tax reserve for its intended purpose -- to accrue and pay for that year's state franchise tax expenses, which amounted to $783,316. By year end, the balance in the account had fallen to $10,748,150.
In January 1997, Apel directed finance department employees to prepare recurring journal entry forms to: (i) debit the State Franchise Tax reserve by $166,666.67 per month, continuing the gradual reduction of this account begun the previous year; (ii) debit the State Income Tax reserve by $100,000.00 per month; (iii) debit the General Office reserve by $50,000.00 per month; (iv) debit the allowance for bad debts by $125,000.00 per month; (v) debit the Michigan Single Business Tax reserve by $167,000.00 per month; and (vi) debit certain shutdown reserves by $500,000.00 per month. In April 1997, Apel directed a finance department employee to prepare a recurring journal entry form to debit the reserve for the management incentive compensation plan by $200,000.00 per month. Thus, the accretions to income from these reserves totaled $3,326,000.01 in the first quarter of 1997 and $3,926,000.01 in the second quarter of 1997. National Steel's finance department performed no analyses to justify these reserve reductions. The facts and circumstances relating to the various liabilities in question had not changed in the first or second quarters of 1997 to justify these reductions in the accruals. No public disclosure of these adjustments was made in National Steel's Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 1997.
The finance department accounted for the gradual reduction of the reserves as pre-tax adjustments. With the exception of the State Income Tax reserve, they were used to decrease the "Cost of Goods Sold" and the "Selling, General and Administrative Expenses" line items on National Steel's financial statements. As such, they flowed directly to National Steel's bottom line. The table below illustrates the effect of the gradual reductions on the income (loss) reported by National Steel to the investing public in 1996 and 1997. The table compares (i) the amounts improperly accreted to income on a quarterly and year-to-date basis; with (ii) the income (or loss) that National Steel would have reported but for the accretions. In brackets are the percentages by which the accretions increased National Steel's profits (or reduced losses).5
|Effect of Undisclosed Gradual Reduction of Excess Reserves
on the Income (Loss) Reported by National Steel (in 000's)
|Income from
|Pretax Income
|Net Income
|Net Income
Applicable to
Common Stock
|1st Q 1996
|(12,691) [3.9]
|(21,462) [2.3]
|(16,075) [3.1]
|(18,817) [2.7]
|2nd Q 1996
|13,852 [3.6]
|4,503 [11.1]
|9,891 [5.0]
|7,151 [7.0]
|1,161 [86.1]
|(16,959) [5.9]
|(6,184) [16.2]
|(11,666) [8.6]
|3rd Q 1996
|26,426 [1.9]
|20,707 [2.4]
|23,789 [2.1]
|21,049 [2.4]
|27,587 [5.4]
|3,748 [40.0]
|17,605 [8.5]
|9,383 [16.0]
|4th Q 1996
|31,759 [1.6]
|23,081 [2.2]
|24,952 [2.0]
|22,213 [2.3]
|59,346 [3.4]
|26,829 [7.5]
|42,557 [4.7]
|31,598 [6.3]
|1st Q 1997
|33,673 [9.0]
|25,449 [11.9]
|22,860 [13.2]
|20,119 [15.0]
|2nd Q 1997
|55,710 [6.5]
|68,207 [5.3]
|53,452 [6.8]
|50,715 [7.1]
|89,383 [7.4]
|93,706 [7.1]
|76,312 [8.7]
|70,834 [9.4]
(* These amounts do not include the adjustments of $300,000 per quarter from the State Income Tax reserve, which were applied to the Income Tax provision line item in National Steel's 10-Qs. These adjustments reduced the 1Q 97 Income Tax provision by 11.3%, and the 2Q 97 provision by 3.2%.)
Although small relative to certain measures, such as National Steel's net sales, the above table demonstrates that, in certain quarters in 1996 and 1997, the gradual reduction of the reserve accounts significantly increased the quarterly and/or year-to-date income (or reduced the losses) National Steel reported to the public. In other quarters the effects were less significant. For the period 1994 - 1996, the annual incometrend was downward as a result of operations. In 1996, the accretions generally had the additional impact of softening that trend and, in 1997, when income began to grow, they increased the rate of that growth.
A. Apel Violated Rule 13b2-1 of the Exchange Act
Rule 13b2-1, promulgated under the Exchange Act, provides that no person shall, directly or indirectly, falsify or cause to be falsified, any book, record or account subject to Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act. Apel violated Rule 13b2-1 when he directed the gradual, publicly undisclosed reduction of reserve accounts in a manner not in conformity with GAAP. These adjustments to National Steel's reserve accounts were false because they did not accurately reflect changes in the probable and reasonably estimable liabilities of National Steel. In addition, these adjustments caused National Steel's income statements in 1996 and the first two quarters of 1997 to be false, as reflected in the factual discussion in this Order.
B. Apel Was a Cause of National Steel's Violations of the Books and Records
and Internal Control Provisions of Section 13 of the Exchange Act
Section 21C of the Exchange Act provides that the Commission may order that any person, who is or was a cause of a violation of any provision of the Exchange Act, to cease and desist from causing such violation. Apel was a cause of National Steel's violations of Section 13(a) the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder. As controller and vice president of finance at National Steel, Apel directed the preparation of National Steel's annual reports on Form 10-K for the years ended December 31, 1995 and 1996, and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q up to the first two quarters of 1997, which contained materially false and misleading financial statements.
Apel was a cause of National Steel's violations of Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act by directing the accrual of certain reserves in excess of National Steel's probable and reasonably estimable loss contingencies, and by directing the gradual reduction of those reserves in a manner not in conformity with GAAP. This created books, records, and accounts which did not, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the loss contingencies or the income of National Steel.
Apel was a cause of National Steel's violations of Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act by overseeing National Steel's failure to devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to prevent the accrual of certain reserves in excess of its probable and reasonably estimable loss contingencies, and sufficient to prevent the gradual and publicly undisclosed reduction of those excess reserves in a manner not in conformity with GAAP.
Based on the foregoing, the Commission finds that Apel violated Rule 13b2-1 promulgated under the Exchange Act, and that Apel was a cause of National Steel's violations of Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 promulgated thereunder.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate to accept the Offer of Apel.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, pursuant to Section 21C of the Exchange Act, that Apel cease and desist from causing any violation and any future violation of Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act, and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-13 thereunder, and that Apel cease and desist from committing any violation and any future violation of Rule 13b2-1 promulgated thereunder.
By the Commission.
Jonathan G. Katz
|The findings herein are made pursuant to the Offer and are not binding on any other person or entity in this or any other proceeding.
|For a brief period in August 1996, Apel was not employed by National Steel.
|Figures for 1996 are net of other adjustments made in the restatement.
|Apel was not employed by National Steel on the date it issued its Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 1996.
|The profits (losses) actually reported by National Steel in its 10-K and 10-Qs may be calculated by adding the accretions back into the profits shown on the table (or subtracting from the losses). The percentages relating to Net Income and Net Income Applicable to Common Stock (after preferred stock dividends of approximately $11-million per year) are not adjusted for any presumptive tax effect; National Steel paid no federal income tax in 1996 or the first two quarters of 1997. The table does not take into account the effect of other adjustments made by National Steel during its restatement. As noted above, Apel was not employed by National Steel in August 1996, when the Form 10-Q for the second quarter was filed.
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Modified: 04/02/2001