text:
Karen Woodard-Chavez is president of Premium Performance Training in Boulder, CO, and Ixtapa, Mexico. She has owned and operated clubs since 1985 and now consults with and trains club staff throughout the world. She provides her services on-site, online, by phone and through her books, CDs, DVDs and manuals. She can be contacted at 303-417-0653 or email@example.com.
In February, I attended the Abierto Mexicano (Mexican Open) in Acapulco. It is a lovely small tennis tournament. The organizers have aspirations to make it the fifth Grand Slam. Although I enjoyed my experience at the tournament, I want to share with you the superior customer service I experienced at the Fairmont Pierre Marques hotel, which was next door to the tournament, and how that can translate to the club environment.
One evening, I ate by myself at the hotel's Mediterranean restaurant, Tabachin. When I walked in, the captain of the restaurant recognized me from earlier in the day (when he had an opportunity to introduce himself and get my name), remembered my name and greeted me with "Buenas noches, Senora Chavez." I immediately felt welcomed and included in this beautiful restaurant. He asked me if I wanted to dine inside or outside, and I chose outside. He took me to my table, and within one minute, his lovely young assistant came to my table with a beautiful travel magazine. She greeted me with "Buenas noches, Senora Chavez. Would you like something to read while you dine?" How thoughtful was that? She was anticipative and attentive to my possible needs as a lone diner and took care of me with something simple and unexpected. A very nice touch.
A few minutes later, a waiter arrived with a plate of olives, hummus and bread. He greeted me with "Buenas noches, Senora Chavez. This selection of olives, hummus and bread are compliments of the house." Shortly after that, I had a pesky mosquito bothering me, and another waiter (Fernando) came to my table with bug spray and said, "Senora Chavez, would you like some insect repellent?" Obviously well-trained, he had anticipated my need.
Another waiter appeared a few moments later with "Buenas noches, Senora Chavez. Would you like something to drink?" I opted for a single glass of wine. Yet another waiter appeared to tell me about special plates for the evening and to take my order. He also greeted me by name.
I engaged with five staff members during the course of my evening. Each one took the time to greet me by name, demonstrate attention to detail, make me feel welcomed and made me feel like I was their purpose for being there that evening. This was not an isolated situation. They did this with every guest. Rather than socializing with co-workers and missing opportunities to provide stellar service, the entire staff was attentive and paid attention to the overall experience of each and every guest.
Did I stay a little longer than I would have in another restaurant that might not have paid attention to such detail? Yes. Did I have an extra glass of wine? Yes. Did I tip more generously than I would have in another restaurant? Yes. Did I tell everyone I knew about my experience? Yes. Will I go back to the hotel? Without question, yes.
Aren't these the same questions you want your members to say "yes" to about their experience in your club? Of course they are. So how do you accomplish that outcome?
Consider the following points as a brief guideline:
1. Write down and state clearly to your staff the type of experience that you want your members to have. Have this statement as part of the manifesto for your business.
2. Explain to your staff members about their primary and secondary purpose. (I've noted these in past columns.)
3. Define the behaviors that staff must do consistently to provide that experience.
4. Define what qualities each staff member must possess to do the job successfully, and hire people with those qualities.
5. Train staff to deliver the experience and recognize that training is not a one-time thing; it is ongoing.
6. Follow up every day to make sure that the experience happens consistently.
Let me give you an example of point five. I saw a man every day throughout my stay in various parts of the hotel—at the pool, walking through the restaurants, on the shuttle to the tennis tournament, in the lobby of the hotel, etc. This man, who was dressed casually but professionally, never introduced himself, remaining a subtle observer.
On the last day of my stay, when I asked to see the general manager so I could tell him what a fabulous experience I had at the hotel, I found out that this man was the general manager, Patricio Camaioni. When he approached me and greeted me with "Buenos dias, Senora Chavez," I chuckled to myself because he was the classic example of a manager who was clear about his expectations with his staff, trained his staff well and followed through to make sure his staff created the experience he wanted. We discussed these elements, and he stressed the importance of always observing and listening to interactions between staff and customers to ensure that the quality of the experience is consistent as promised by the brand.
When I teach my management programs, I consistently emphasize the need for MBWA (management by wandering around), and that is precisely what Camaioni was doing.
These points are so easily transferable to your fitness facility. The fact that the staff knew and used my name was impressive and easy to implement. When one person learned my name, they communicated it to other staff members who would be serving me. You can train your staff to share the names of members and guests with each other. Better yet, train and require them to introduce themselves to everyone they do not know. Then you, as the manager, need to watch to ensure your staff members follow through with it. If you were to implement the points from this article, you would increase the sense of inclusion and welcome feeling that your members and guests experience. In turn, that could only positively affect your retention and bottom line.


text:
International Center For Parents
Welcome to Wabash Off-Campus Studies!
We thank you in advance for your family's participation in what is to be a very exciting experience. Your son is on the way to joining the ranks of hundreds of students who have studied overseas or at GLCA sites in the USA. Returned alumni report that the experience has been one of the highlights of their Wabash education. Throughout the experience, we will welcome the opportunity to respond directly to any questions or concerns you may have at firstname.lastname@example.com.
US Department of State
For important travel information, please click here.
Costs and Financial Aid
Follow this link to access the Financial Matters portion of this site. Here you will find information concerning the costs of off-campus study as well as financial aid. Questions concerning these aspects of off-campus study should be referred directly to Cathy VanArsdall in the Business Office at email@example.com or Laura Frye in the Office of Financial Aid firstname.lastname@example.com.
Below, you will find information about a book (the only such publication) written by one of the true experts and veterans of study abroad. If you are interested, please follow the link to NAFSA.org.
Complete passport information and forms are available in the Wabash College International Center, 512 W. Wabash Avenue. Generally, one applies for a passport at the local courthouse or post office.
As soon as possible, students and other international travelers should apply for a passport. This is true for many reasons, but primarily because it will cost less if one does not need to expedite the application, and because if a visa is required, the visa usually is placed inside the passport so you need the passport first. Often, visa processing takes several weeks or months, often requiring personal visits to a distant consulate. Parents can help by supplying an original birth certificate.
Here is how to get a passport.
Study Abroad: A Parent's Guide
William Hoffa
This is the first full-length book specifically geared to what parents want and need to know about study abroad. It assumes that while students themselves, working in conjunction with campus advisors, bear the primary responsibility for deciding whether to study abroad, and for choosing the program that best matches their academic needs, learning styles, and personal interests, informed parental involvement and support are essential before, during, and after the overseas sojourn. 1998. 112 pp

subset: commoncrawl


text:
City Record Transfers
Transfer of Records to the Baltimore City Archives Records Center
Records MUST first have a Retention Schedule
Records Retention Schedules govern all City departmental records that are transferred to the City Archives. A Records Retention Schedule is a policy document that is formulated by your departmental Records Manager with help provided by City Archives staff. If the records you wish to transfer do not have a Records Retention Schedule, one must first be written and approved before any transfer can be scheduled. You may begin this process by completing the Records Inventory Form and returning it as an email attachment to email@example.com.
Please fill in the Records Inventory Form as completely as possible. If needed use an additional blank page. Explain what the record is used for as well as how it is used. List any departmental or "nickname" given the record. List reasons that justify the requested retention period.
Records with an existing Retention Schedule
A transfer of records must have the prior approval of both the Records Administrator and the City Archivist. Before approval will be given, a Records Transmittal Request (RTR) must be submitted via email to email@example.com for review by Records Center staff. Once the RTR has been approved, a date and time will be assigned for the transfer by City Archives staff. If the assigned date cannot be kept by the shipping agency a new date will be assigned by the City Archives. If a transfer arrives without prior approval or on a date other than the one assigned for it, it may be refused.
It is the responsibility of the agency sending the records to have personnel on hand to shelve the transferred boxes. Contact us at for a list of contractors if your employees cannot perform this task.
Special boxes REQUIRED
Records transferred to the City Archives must be in approved record center boxes that cannot exceed 15" x 12" x 9 7/8" in dimension. Materials received in containers not compatible with Archives shelving, such as "banker's boxes" or copy paper boxes, will not be accepted.
Record center boxes may be purchased from Maryland Correctional Enterprises (formerly State Use Industries) at 410-540-5454 and ask for item no. 123139, "File and Record Storage Box", or go to this page: https://store.mce.md.gov/p-996-file-and-storage-box.aspx
DO NOT OVER-FILL BOXES when packing. Contact the BCA with questions at (410) 396-3884 or by e-mailing firstname.lastname@example.com.
The boxes must be clearly marked with the following information: the box number, the department or agency name, retention schedule number, and the title of record. If the box contains folders or files that are identified by a name or number, place the name or number from the first and last folder/file on the front of the box. When the material within a box is contained in folders the box must contain an inventory list that identifies each folder.
For more information on the transfer process, please read the guide:
Baltimore City Archives – The Transfer Process.
If a document or record that has been transferred to the City Archives is needed by an agency a request for said document is to be sent to email@example.com. The document will then be scanned and sent in a pdf format to the requesting agency. Fees may apply.
For attendees of our Records Management Seminars, here is the Records Management Seminar page with the resources and powerpoints given during the class.


text:
Message Board
Alexander Walker Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Walker has written!
Author Walker's Book Reviews
Stanley Kubrick, Director
The author's write about the life of Stanley Kubrick and review the 13 films that helped made Kubrick critically acclaimed as one of the greatest American filmmakers of all time. The bio reveals Kubrick as a visionary director who tackled a wide variety of subjects, creating movies of both critical and popular success. He was best known for his movies Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange . Kubrick was born in N...


text: On Thu, 2004-05-20 at 02:05, Michael Huntingdon wrote: > I've spent some time sifting through the attached numbers. Though not each Any paper that starts out praising spec as a "good" predictive benchmark is suspect. Benchmarking is difficult to do right, in large part because of deceptively simple scoring functions (time, frequency (not of the CPU, but number of iterations per unit time), ...). Further, looking these over, I did not see much of a discussion (though it is implied by the use of certain compilers) of the effects of things like SSE2 in the P4, memory alignment, 32/64 bit compilation/optimization, use of tuned libraries where available... Given the sheer number of machines tested, it is unlikely that they used up to date compilers (latest gcc's are better than earlier gcc's for performance), or recompiled the binary for all the different platforms to run native. The ifc results seem to indicate that they used SSE2 on P4's but probably used plain old 32 bit code on Opterons. > lends itself to hp Itanium 2, there appears to be a very balanced trend. ... in a specific set of operations relevant for specific classes of calculation. Not everyone in HPC does matrix work, eigenvalue extraction, etc. Some of us do things like string/db searching (informatics). There, the numbers look quite different. [... snip ...] -- Joseph Landman, Ph.D Scalable Informatics LLC, email: landman at scalableinformatics.com web : http://scalableinformatics.com phone: +1 734 612 4615


text:
This site © 1997-2008 The Dingbatcave. All fonts are © 1997-2007, and the intellectual property of Ann Stretton or Stan Starbuck. Graphics and design © 1997-2007 Ann Stretton. All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be copied or reproduced. If you need webgraphics, please either
the fonts so you can make your own, or visit our
site. The graphics offered there are available for a reasonable licensing fee.


text:
Marketing Resources
Partner login
Sign in to your account
Enter your username and password to access the DirectSmile asset management system.
Register for a partner account
After registering, you will receive an e-mail containing a password to use with your user name when you log in on our management system.
Registration is free and only takes a minute.
Once approved we will provide you with your account login details.
To register as a partner click here ...
© 2011 - 2013 DirectSmile GmbH | Tel. (+49) 30 62 777 111 | www.directsmile.com | All rights reserved


text:
World Premiere: KTM presents the RC 390 Cup! – automobilsport.com
World Premiere: KTM presents the RC 390 Cup!
13.07.2013 . Unveiling: Moto3-Leader Luis Salom, ADAC Sports president Hermann Tomczyk, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta
Unveiling: Moto3-Leader Luis Salom, ADAC Sports president Hermann Tomczyk, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, KTM Motorsports Head Pit Beier and the all new RC390 Cup machine for 2014
KTM and ADAC have presented the KTM RC 390 Cup machine for the new "ADAC JUNIOR CUP POWERED BY KTM", being introduced at the 2013 MotoGP of Germany at the Sachsenring. For the coming year, the RC 390 is to be the new machinery for the Brand Cup for up-and-coming young racers.
By introducing the motorcycle that will be used for the 2014 "ADAC Junior Cup powered by KTM", KTM takes another important step in extending its activities on asphalt.
Following the successful entry into the Moto3 World Championship KTM brought the World Championship title to Austria in the premiere year and the completion of the Duke range of naked bikes with the 125, 200 and 390 displacement models, there will now also be a fully faired sports bike available for sale.
In typical fashion, there is a direct connection to motorsports. The "ADAC Junior Cup powered by KTM" will see the RC 390 in action for the first time worldwide as the exclusive motorcycle used in this Brand Cup competition.
Naturally it is not difficult for the sports motorcycle manufacturer from Mattighofen, Austria, to make the connection between racing and series production. In short: as always, KTM once again underlines that it is always "Ready to Race" in every aspect by presenting the RC 390 Cup at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.
KTM CEO Stefan Pierer: "We developed a pure GP racing machine for the Moto3 World Championship. In contrast, the RC 390 Cup is based on a series model project. Both of these two projects were given the highest priority because the development of lower displacement, high quality street bikes are among our core activities.
The new KTM RC 390, which will be available for sale in 2014 will meet a big demand for affordable, quality sport bikes for the lower displacement class."
The KTM CEO adds: "Since 1993, ADAC has achieved a great deal with excellent work with up-and-coming riders in the Junior Cup. The promotion and support of young talent is also a very important aspect for KTM. We are happy to put a lot of energy into this because we actively engage in the promotion of young riders both in offroad sports and on asphalt.
We are honestly thrilled that we will be able to support the ADAC Junior Cup as the KTM 390 Cup with all KTM bikes. Also because with ADAC we have a committed, reliable and strong partner in which everyone involved is a professional."
Ideal for young racers: KTM RC 390 Cup
The primary development objective of the fully faired RC 390 Cup bike was to enable affordable junior racing with the best possible sporting potential.
To achieve this, the Cup RC bike has a strong and reliable heart of the most modern kind. 375 cc displacement, four valve technology, liquid cooled, two oil pumps, electronic Dellorto fuel injection these are the core features of the single cylinder, four stroke engine that is set to release around 38 horse power in the Cup bike and, which incidentally will be very fuel efficient even at full throttle.
As well as having more than adequate performance for junior racers, the RC specifications portfolio also ensures the best possible ride-ability, reliability and service-friendly features. The primary intention of the Brand Trophy competition is to discover and promote talent among young riders.
To suit the aerodynamically refined fairing, the RC 390 Cup comes with a high quality chassis together with the typical KTM tubular steel trellis frame. The lightweight, mesh robot-welded tubular steel combines precise handling with perfect stability at every speed. The robust construction is another plus in the event that the bike makes contact with the ground.
It also provides easy access for maintenance.
High quality suspension elements, developed together with WP Suspension as well as a performance-oriented four piston caliper braking system completes the youngster's racing machine. Especially practical for sporting activities are the numerous PowerParts directly developed by KTM and the special accessories that will ensure both a professional and economical activity in the Brand Cup competition.
Top modern, safe, efficient and fast: the RC 390 Cup plus the strong cooperation with ADAC hits the spot when it comes to what KTM envisages for motorsports for the younger generation.
– KTM Mattighofen – also photo
13.07.2013 / MaP


text: Brand MarketingTwofifteenmccann's Parsons Joins The FactoryAssumes chief operations officer roleBy Noreen O'Leary|June 19, 2013ShareBy Noreen O'Leary|June 19, 2013Share Mike Parsons, the managing director of twofifteenmccann, has left the agency to become chief operations officer at The Factory, an incubator start-up in San Francisco. A search is underway to find a replacement for him at the McCann Worldgroup shop, sources said. Parsons joined twofifteenmccann three years ago. He previously was managing director of Tribal DDB in London (from January 2008 until March 2010) and managing partner at Tribal DDB in Amsterdam (January 2006 to December 2007). Parsons' exit follows other top management departures at twofifteenmccann. Mike Harris, chief strategy officer, left last August to become president of DDB West, a new role at that agency. John Patroulis, co-founder and executive creative director, exited in May 2011 to become chief creative officer of Bartle Bogle Hegarty in New York. Chief creative officer Scott Duchon, however, remains at the agency. Twofifteenmccann is best known for its Microsoft Xbox work, including a campaign for Halo 4 that won top honors at the Game Marketing Awards in April. The agency also has handled projects for Nescafé, Coca-Cola's Fuze Tea and HP and developed the current year-long social media campaign for Olivari Olive Oil. Sharehttp://adweek.it/1atZCyQ copy Adweek Adweek


text:
Video: Thecus N5200B Network Attached Storage (NAS) Review
Video Review and Specifications
Video Review
Today we are taking a look at a NAS (network attached storage) device from Thecus, the N5200B. I have included both the video review (posted right below this) and a more traditional written evaluation on the following pages. There are more details in the written portion including shots of the administration pages and more angles on the NAS itself.
Enjoy! If you have any feedback on the video please let us know!
A network attached storage device (NAS) is really just what it sounds like - dedicated storage that exists on a networked environment that allows for easy sharing of data between various computers. The Thecus N5200B we are reviewing today is one of the more high-end NAS options available to the everyday consumer with support for five hot-swappable hard drive bays, dual Gigabit networks, RAID 5 and 6 and expert user and configurations options.


text:
Frederik Wellmann
Essay is directed toward boys between the ages of twelve and eighteen who think. The mind-body distinction. The three classes of psychical, physical, and psychophysical. The three elements in all psychical phenomena. Analysis of the state of awareness in terms of its three ingredients. Consciousness of contrast and awareness of change. Triadic distinction of actual fast, may be, and would be. History of the principles of contradiction and excluded middle. Reality of can-be's and would-be's as well as actual facts and existing things. Would-be's related to dispositions and habits.
Awareness, and mind (soul), Canbe, Change, Contradiction principle of (see also Laws of thought), Contrast, Dispositions, Excluded middle principle of (see also Laws of thought), Fact, Habit (see also Belief Thirdness), Logic (modal see Modality), Matter and mind, Maybe, Mind and matter, Psychology, Psychophysics, Reasoning (probable see also Probability), Wouldbe
pp. 1-26, incomplete, with 18 pp. of variants. (Date according to Robin: "late")


text:
Generally, Birthday's come as soon as a year, so all of us has their personal plan to have fun on that Special Occasion, a Special character in our lifestyles has a Birthday, that may be hard to recognize how exactly and what words normally make the big day so Special for the Birthday. If you're trying to find Happy B-day Best Wishes then you definitely are at the right location right here we are sharing with you super collection of Happy B-day Best Wishes, Pics, Photos, Pictures, Hd Wallpapers. You can download those excessive resolution pix here free of value. Especially this page has Best Birthday Images for anyone. Share and Celebrate with the Special Birthday Wishes to loved one.
Happy B-day Best Wishes
Birthdays are a New Start; Fresh Beginnings, a time to Start New endeavors with new Goals.Move Forward with Fresh Confidence and Courage. Share Our Beautiful Collection of Happy B-day Best Wishes on Social Media Networks Like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious. Enjoy And Bookmark Us To Stay Connected.


text:
Total $0.00
Industry Resources
Aspire Marketing
Who We Are
aspire is a strategic marketing, cultural alignment and training organization, delivering innovative solutions to businesses around the globe and specializing in the hospitality and customer service industries. We make significant impact on each client's revenues and profitability through our focus on sales, marketing, training, cultural alignment, and customer service.
What We Do
aspire helps people make more money. Whatever you need to adjust to make more money, we can help get you there, including many of the services below:
• Innovative Training: Sales, Leadership, Hospitality, Spa, Coaching Skills.
• Cultural Alignment & Team Building
• Re-energizing Organizations. Strategic Planning.
• Sales & Marketing Consulting. Revenue Optimization. Positioning. Branding.
• Customer Service Culture & Training.
• Call Center Strategy and Coaching.
• Awakening the Passion within People & Organizations.
The aspire Difference
aspire is recognized for its innovation, collaboration and non-traditional approach to providing comprehensive, strategic solutions. Our foundation in strategy, service culture and training allows us a unique understanding on what organizations need to effect change. We are known for our courage to tell you what you need to know to deliver on our outcomes, and position you competitively.
aspire works with our clients as a partner to identify the gaps between where you are now, and what you need to do differently in the future. Unlike traditional approaches, we do not feed you consultative baloney and then dump the recommendations on you!
Our Mission
We are a company that has the strength to be different, the spirit to imagine, the discipline to drive significant results, the sheer determination to make a difference and the passion to inspire achievement. Neither a start-up nor a veteran, we are an industry leader. We are young enough to know that clients need a fresh, creative, lively environment for learning and experienced enough to deliver measurable results. We understand that powerful learning and effective strategic planning means:
• Understanding your business objectives, realities and opportunities first
• Building customized, exciting, results-driven programs
• Giving our clients real solutions and real results
Founded in 1995, Aspire is an internationally recognized brand working with service-oriented businesses effectively instigating change and capturing the magic within their organizations to increase profitability and market share. This highly creative team plans strategically, aligns teams, develops leaders and talent through engaging and fun training, and helps bring Brands to life. Imagine your organization with everyone engaged, aligned and performing to full potential.
Contact: Renie Cavallari
firstname.lastname@example.com /
Aspire Named One of the Most Innovative Companies for 12 Years in a Row
November 20, 2017
Aspire Named Stevie® Award Finalist in Innovation for 12th Year in a Row
October 6, 2017
Stop Training. Start Serving.
April 18, 2017
Developed for Leaders - New aspire365 leadership 2.0 Interactive Online Learning Platform
April 11, 2017
New Book Helps Leaders Shine Despite Global Whining
February 23, 2017
How Can You Motivate YOUR Team?
February 14, 2017
Aspire Wins Bronze Stevie® Award in 2016 Stevie Awards for Women in Business
November 23, 2016
Business is like Baseball Part One: Everyone is on a Team
October 17, 2016
Aspire. People. Performance. Profits. Named Finalist in 13th Annual Stevie® Awards for Women in Business
October 7, 2016
26 Questions 2 Ask: Drive Your 2017 Voice Channel Results
September 20, 2016
17 Things to Consider When Planning for 2017
August 17, 2016
Aspire Launches New Online Learning Environment
July 13, 2016
Renie Cavallari Honored as an Outstanding Woman in Arizona Business 2016 by Phoenix Business Journal
April 5, 2016
Aspire Receives Recognition as Finalist in 2015 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business
October 14, 2015
A Culture of Success: How Businesses Build—and Sustain—Employee and Consumer Confidence
September 21, 2015


text:
The aides felled by Bridgegate
The bombshell traffic scandal that broke open in New Jersey this week brought down a trio of top advisers to Gov. Chris Christie: a high school mate whose passion for politics bordered on obsessive ; a onetime campaign staffer for John McCain and Rudy Giuliani ; and an ex-statehouse staffer who once headed her small town's Republican club.
Here's a look at the Christie allies at the center of the drama unfolding in the Garden State and reverberating across the country.
Story Continued Below
David Wildstein
David Wildstein, a former New Jersey Port Authority official who resigned last month, has been a fixture of New Jersey politics in various forms since at least age 23.
( Also on POLITICO: Christie ally pleads Fifth)
Wildstein, now 52, is a former town council member, mayor, political operative, anonymous political writer and founder of the respected site PolitickerNJ.com. He and Christie both attended Livingston High School, though Wildstein was a year ahead of Christie and the extent of their relationship then is unclear.
By 2010, Wildstein was brought on by a Christie appointee to serve as director of interstate capital projects for Port Authority, though Christie stressed in a press conference Thursday that the two rarely spoke during Wildstein's tenure there.
But his time in New Jersey politics far predates the Port Authority post. Wildstein has long been considered a political animal and some have described him as ruthless: Reports last month indicated that he bought the domain names of more than 50 people, including many New Jersey Democrats.
(WATCH: Gov. Christie brunt of late-night jokes)
His obsession with the game of politics began at an early age.
"I love this [political] stuff, " said one individual who worked closely with Wildstein, "He was psychotic about it, I could beat most people in political trivia; I couldn't last with him for two minutes."
At 23, Wildstein was elected to town council in Livingston, N.J., for a four-year term. During that period, he went on to become the city's mayor, according to a lengthy 2012 profile in The Record (N.J.), which this week broke the bridge story.
"It was a tumultuous time," Wildstein's council running mate, Thomas L. Adams, told the paper. "He was just a kid, a very ambitious kid."
Wildstein, who at age 12 volunteered for then-congressional candidate Tom Kean Sr., went on to work for several New Jersey politicians, including Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and the late Rep. Bob Franks (R-N.J.), the latter of whom he served as an adviser, the report noted.
He launched PolitickerNJ.com — then called PoliticsNJ.com — in 2000 under the pen name "Wally Edge," named for a former New Jersey GOP governor and senator. Wildstein, burly and bespectacled, was known for getting insider information from politicos on both sides of the aisle.
"He was not a Christie-o-phile back then," said the source who has worked closely with Wildstein, who is married with children.
"Wally Edge" was known for driving the New Jersey political conversation with frequent, sometimes flippant, posts.


text:
White-dominated boards face legal threats over racial makeup
Compton City Councilwoman Janna Zurita owes her Hispanic last name to a grandmother from Spain, whom she never met. Zurita considers her mother black and said her father "wants to be black" even though he "looks Latino."
Zurita, the mayor pro tem of Compton, sometimes jokes with her sister about their racial roots.
"She always tells me I look just like a Mexican: flat booty, straight hair. You know, just all kind of – how Mexicans used to look. You know, now they have big booties," Zurita said in a legal deposition in November. "You know, little jokes about it."
While Zurita takes a sometimes-playful approach to her racial identity, it became the serious subject of a recent lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act. In January, a judge ruled that a trial would be necessary to figure out whether Zurita could be considered Latina and whether that means Latinos have a voice on the council. The city settled the suit late last month.
The legal gymnastics in Compton illustrate California's far-reaching law, which bars local governments from diluting the voting strength of minorities. The law has become the foundation of a burgeoning onslaught of legal threats that could upend the racial makeup of elected bodies throughout the state.
Armed with 2010 census data, a network of attorneys is increasingly targeting local governments – from cities and school boards to hospital and community college districts – for not reflecting the demographics of their constituents.
While the dispute in Compton, where Zurita's race was under question, pitted Latino residents against the city's traditionally black leadership, other cases seek to increase minority representation on elected boards that are dominated by whites.
"We're seeing the fastest change in how California organizes local government since the Progressives of the early 20th century," said Douglas Johnson of the Rose Institute of State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College, who has been critical of the law. "The law is extremely expansive. Every local government in California should be looking into this."
Particularly striking against this backdrop are the 14 cities in California where all-white councils preside over communities where either Latinos or Asians make up the majority of residents. Several are clustered in the Los Angeles area, like Whittier and Arcadia, but they range from Tulelake, on the Oregon border, to Holtville, near the Mexican border.
Another 20 cities have Latino majorities and only one minority on city council.
Such cities can make especially attractive targets for civil rights lawyers, who see the stark disparities as evidence of a systemic problem.
"These are the cities that should recognize that they are low-hanging fruit for groups who might want to bring lawsuits," said Paul Mitchell of Redistricting Partners, a Sacramento-based consulting firm that works with local governments to determine their vulnerability under the law.
Photos of Montclair City Council members line the wall of the board chambers.
California Watch was able to identify the 34 cities with data from Redistricting Partners and another consulting group, GrassrootsLab. But the cities represent one end of a spectrum. Numerous other communities, with smaller minority populations or more diversity on the city council, also could be subject to a suit under the California Voting Rights Act, which was passed in 2002 and signed by Gov. Gray Davis.
The law prohibits local governments from holding at-large elections – in which the entire community votes for a slate of candidates – if that system weakens the ability of minorities to elect candidates of their choice.
An elected board can be found in violation if voting statistics show the community polarized along racial lines. That happens, for example, when Latinos vote more than their white neighbors for Latino candidates.
Cities, school districts and other elected boards that violate the act can be forced to divide their communities with district elections, in which different areas elect their own representatives. That way, districts with a high concentration of minorities could more easily elect one of their own.
A law so rooted in race inevitably leads to thorny questions about racial politics and the murky, subjective cauldron of ethnic identity. Should the race of a city councilmember even matter? And, in a state where the lines are increasingly blurred, who can determine a councilmember's race other than the council member?
In Compton, lawyers representing two Latina residents argued that Zurita is not Latina. Zurita, on the other hand, pointed to her election as evidence that Latinos are represented. But even she seemed conflicted during her deposition, at one point saying that she is Latina, at another point that she isn't.
Asked point-blank by an opposing lawyer, Zurita replied, "I don't think there is any pure races."
The brouhaha over Zurita's race "raises an issue that I believe is silent in the legislation, which is, how are you calculating ethnicity?" said Compton City Attorney Craig J. Cornwell. "Is it people who have Latino ancestry? Is it how a person self-identifies themselves?"
The U.S. Census doesn't provide clear answers, because it considers being Hispanic or Latino separate from race. On government forms, Zurita sometimes marks black, sometimes "other" and couldn't remember if she ever marked Latino.
Adding to the confusion, Zurita later referred to her Spanish grandmother as Mexican. The attorney sought to clarify: "So she was from Spain, but her heritage was Mexican?"
"Well," Zurita replied, "you know, I don't know. All this Mexican, third generation, fourth generation, Latina, Latino – I just kind of refer to the group as Mexican."
Regardless, Zurita maintained that she represents all residents of Compton, where 65 percent of the population is Hispanic.
"I don't even think race, you know," she said. "I don't look at race."
In a settlement last month, Compton agreed to let voters decide whether to change to district elections. If voters shoot it down on the June ballot, the city will put it to another vote in November. Compton also agreed to pay the opposing attorneys' fees.
At-large elections challenged
California's law is grounded in the idea that minorities sometimes vote differently from the rest of the population and that at-large elections, where the majority rules, can unfairly dilute their influence. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that underlying notion in cases interpreting the federal Voting Rights Act.
Indeed, in many parts of the state, including throughout Los Angeles County, Californians do tend to vote for candidates of their same race, according to research by Matt Barreto, who served as an independent expert to the state redistricting commission. Barreto also consults for lawyers suing under the law.
The California law makes it much easier to challenge at-large elections than under the federal Voting Rights Act. Plus, the state law puts local governments at a disadvantage: If they lose a lawsuit, they have to pay the other side's attorney's fees, but not the other way around.
The act was drafted by Joaquin Avila, a Seattle-based voting rights attorney, and Robert Rubin, who until recently was legal director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. The duo has gone on to sue school districts and cities, racking up millions of dollars and sparking accusations that they are in it for the money.
Rubin, now in private practice, said the money from his share of legal settlements went to the nonprofit civil rights organization where he worked. He said governments saddled with huge legal costs have only themselves to blame for not following the law.
"We're going to continue to be aggressive," Rubin said. "We intend to enforce this until it doesn't need enforcement anymore."
Legal threats quicken
A series of court victories and settlements has created a ripple effect in which many school districts are switching to district elections voluntarily rather than face expensive lawsuits. Since 2009, nearly 70 school boards applied with the state Board of Education to make the switch, the majority of them just this year.
At the same time, lawyers have ratcheted up their legal threats in the last two years, shooting off letters to cities such as Visalia, Santa Clara, West Covina and Whittier.
In 2010, law co-authors Rubin and Avila sued the Central Valley city of Tulare.
The suit argued that even though Tulare then had a Latino councilman, he wasn't the "candidate of choice of Latino voters." Another councilman, David Macedo, said in an interview that he identifies as Hispanic because of his Portuguese ancestry, but doesn't consider himself Latino.
Tulare settled for $225,000, which went to the plaintiff's lawyers, and will hold a vote this year on switching to district elections. Macedo said he would encourage residents to approve the switch because, given the law, "one way or another, that's the way it's headed."
Rubin, Avila and affiliated attorneys have directed the legal offensive so far. But labor unions and other groups also could use the law as a weapon in disputes with cities and school boards.
The first such case came in December, when the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California sued the city of Escondido, in San Diego County, alleging that at-large elections leave Latinos without fair representation. The union targeted Escondido because officials there have been trying to lower wages on public construction projects.
Cities push back
Some cities aren't giving in easily.
An attorney for the city of Whittier fired back with a letter to Avila saying it was not violating minorities' rights. She noted that many "prominent" Latinos had endorsed white council members.
Victor Lopez, who died in 2002, was the only Latino elected to the Whittier City Council and has a school auditorium named for him. His son, Doug, was later appointed to serve out another term. Others have run and lost, but Doug Lopez isn't troubled.
"If a Hispanic ran who was very competent and qualified, they'd run away with it," said Lopez, now a real estate developer in San Luis Obispo. "Do you need minority representation? I don't think so. You just need good representation."
Retired engineer Jose Maldonado ran for the Montclair City Council in 2010 but lost to two white incumbents.
In nearby Montclair, an Inland Empire city known for its shopping plaza, the Latino population grew from 60 percent to 70 percent over the last decade. Retired engineer Jose Maldonado ran for city council in 2010 because he was upset with how the police treated Latinos. He thought there should be a Latino voice on the council.
"We Latinos," he said in an interview, "we think different."
Maldonado came within a few hundred votes, but lost to two white incumbents. One of them has served on the council since 1978. Maldonado likes the idea of district elections. He attributes his loss to a lack of resources in challenging an entrenched power structure.
"You can't go against the establishment," he said.
Before that, in 2004, conservative activist Ben Lopez tried to win a seat in the small suburb. Lopez said council incumbents recruited another Latino candidate in order to "split the Latin vote."
But the other Latino candidate, Manny Martinez, said he was recruited by council members who simply wanted another alternative to Lopez on the ballot. In the end, Lopez and Martinez both lost. Martinez said it wasn't about race.
"It's just a matter of the right candidate at the right time," said Martinez, who was appointed to a city council advisory committee. "There doesn't seem to be any old boys network preventing Latinos from getting elected."
Martinez said current Councilman J. John Dutrey has a Spanish background. Dutrey goes by John, but his name is listed on ballots as Javier "John" Dutrey.
Political participation
The Montclair City Council does not include a minority representative, though Latinos make up about 70 percent of the population.
Some residents in Latino or Asian communities are immigrants who can't legally vote. Others lack a strong culture of voting, say some aspiring candidates.
Cities have tried to blame low turnout among minorities for their lack of representation.
"I think you will agree with me that if people do not vote, that speaks volumes about their desire to elect a particular candidate," an attorney for the city of Visalia wrote to Rubin, the civil rights attorney.
Rubin dismissed the argument, blaming a history of discrimination for discouraging political participation. Visalia recently decided to put a change to district elections on the November ballot.
Mayor Jerry Brittsan of Holtville, where 82 percent of the 5,939 residents are Hispanic, said Latinos "just refuse to participate." The city, in Imperial County, sits 10 miles north of Mexico.
"The Mexicans in this area – this is a border town – they just don't trust whites," Brittsan said. "They don't trust authority. The only people they do trust are the firemen."
Bianca Padilla Legaspi, who won a seat on the Holtville council in 2006, disagreed. Young and campaigning in two languages, she was an unusual candidate for Holtville, but "people really responded to it," she said. Latinos don't tend to run for office there, she said, because many have low income and education levels and don't feel qualified.
In some cities with all-white councils, minority candidates have won in past elections – but not recently.
In Arcadia, for example, Asians served on the city council since 1994. Arcadia and neighboring cities in the San Gabriel Valley have an especially strong concentration of Asian, and particularly Chinese American, residents.
In the 2010 council election, three Asians and three whites competed for three council seats. The campaign seemed to inflame racial tensions.
Attorney Jason Lee announced he was running in part "because the Asian Americans are underrepresented in the City Council of Arcadia."
In the end, all three Asians lost, leaving the council all white.
Asians have to work harder to get elected in Arcadia, but it's not impossible, said John Wuo, who served two terms and is running again. Wuo said he would oppose a change to district elections.
"I think that's a bad way to do it, because you basically try to segregate," Wuo said. "If you divide into districts, then you have fighting among the districts."
Boosting minority representation isn't a guaranteed outcome of district elections.
After civil rights lawyers sued Modesto in 2004, the city ended up paying a $3 million settlement and changing to district elections. But the racial makeup of the council is the same as it was before the switch.
David Geer, who is white, thought he had no chance to win in Modesto's District 2, which he said was designed to elect a Latino. But Geer beat the Latino candidate and now believes the system worked to give a neglected neighborhood a voice.
"It's nice to have someone who represents an area that has been historically unrepresented," Geer said. "For decades, no one who served on the city council lived in District 2 because it's on the wrong side of the tracks."


text:
IN APRIL, THE World Bank's executive directors selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim to serve as its president. Kim, whose five-year term begins in July, will be the first World Bank president whose primary experience is in community-level development. Most of his predecessors were bankers or politicians.
As a co-founder of Partners in Health, an international nonprofit dedicated to "a preferential option for the poor in health care," and as a former director of the HIV/AIDS department of the World Health Organization, Kim has done groundbreaking work in delivering essential medicines for the treatment of AIDS to impoverished countries. He has a proven capacity for designing effective solutions to real problems. His election may well usher in a new culture at the World Bank—a culture that focuses not on economic growth that doesn't trickle down, but on poverty reduction that is real.
For almost 70 years, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been major players in the global economy; the World Bank has 188 member countries, all of which must first be admitted to the IMF. In their many years of doing business, these institutions have reinvented themselves more than once. The World Bank's focus has evolved from rebuilding Europe and Japan following World War II to supporting large-scale engineering projects in so-called "developing" countries; from emphasizing nutrition, population, and poverty in the 1970s to "adjusting" the economic policies of countries in the global South, beginning in the early 1980s.


text:
Install this Red Rose Launcher for free and customize your Android device. With this red launcher 2017 version, you have amazing HD graphics, superb icons, wonderful design. Personalize your smartphone with this superb red Launcher theme! If you like it, don't forget to share it with your friends.
Try our FREE Launcher theme: Red Rose Launcher ! Our new theme for Android. Download the free Launcher theme for Android: Red Rose Launcher . You get a new wallpaper and new icon theme!
★How to install★
✱ Download Red Rose Launcher ;
✱ Open the Launcher theme and swipe to begin the activation;
✱ Select 'Set Active Theme';
Why install a free theme for Android? With the Red Rose Launcher you can:
✱ Change the phone theme
✱ Customize app icons and change all the app icons on your phone!
✱ With great visual effects, this theme for Android free is available for download!
★ More Launcher themes for Android! ★ Visit our developer page! We have hundreds of amazing Launcher themes for Android!
If you love this Launcher theme, please rate and review! We've created Red Rose Launcher to give you a unique personalization option for your phone! With new customization features, Red Rose Launcher will become your favorite Android phone or tablet theme.
★What you get★
• Personalize your icons - Red Rose Launcher includes a set of custom icons!
• Includes free icon masks for all of app icons!
• Change the font and color to match the look of this free launcher theme!
• Open the settings menu on your Android phone. Choose more new themes, new wallpapers or new live wallpapers! To re-install a downloaded theme or wallpaper, tap 'Activate Theme'!
★ Notice ★ Since Red Rose Launcher is a Launcher theme we have worked on creating compatibility with quality Launchers. This is a great theme for GO launcher as it works with GO Launcher-Theme, Wallpaper. It can also be used if you have or Launcher 2017 New - Redraw or New Launcher 2017 . If you do not have a compatible app installed on your device, don't worry! You will get instructions to download it! Now you can continue the activation of the new Launcher theme!
You can personalize your Android phone or tablet with our amazing launcher theme, Red Rose Launcher TODAY!
Verze programu
Poslední aktualizace od vývojáře
17. 11. 2017 2017-11-17
Počet stažení
0 ×
Web autora
Podporované jazyky
- Angličtina