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American Medical Association Discovers Gamma TocopherolJanuary 2005
By William Faloon
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is one of world's leading scientific publications. Since the early 1990s, JAMA has published articles about the benefits of dietary supplements, including folic acid, ginkgo, vitamins E, B6, and B12, among others.1-6 JAMA has also published studies showing that vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) by itself has not always reduced heart attack risk factors.7
In January 1998, the Life Extension Foundation introduced the world to the multiple benefits of gamma-tocopherol.8 Until that time, the only form of vitamin E that consumers knew about was alpha-tocopherol.
On August 11, 2004, JAMA published an extensive review article extolling the benefits of gamma-tocopherol.9 While there were similarities to the Life Extension and JAMA articles, the big difference is that readers of JAMA had to wait six years longer than Life Extension members to find out about the virtues of gamma-tocopherol.
Vitamin E Alone Is Not Enough
In its article, JAMA discusses the inconsistent findings about alpha-tocopherol and presents compelling evidence that gamma-tocopherol is the form of vitamin E most likely to reduce the risk of degenerative disease.9
The JAMA article reviewed the scientific basis for vitamin E's cardioprotective effects. It then went on to describe why studies that showed no efficacy to vitamin E supplementation might have been flawed. The reasons cited for why these studies failed to provide reliable results include selection of subjects, stage of disease, end points, dosage, and source of the vitamin E. Another issue raised in the JAMA review is that vitamin E's mechanism of preventing heart disease is most likely related to its ability to suppress LDL oxidation. A more targeted approach, JAMA asserts, would be to include only patients with enhanced levels of oxidative stress and low plasma levels of vitamin E in order to determine those most likely to benefit from antioxidant treatment.
As Life Extension members are well aware, a wide range of toxic factors—including excess blood levels of homocysteine, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, insulin, glucose, and triglycerides—causes atherosclerotic heart disease.10 It is impractical to expect vitamin E by itself to prevent atherosclerosis. If healthy arteries are to be maintained, other pathological mechanisms have to be addressed as well.7
Gamma-Tocopherol's Cancer-Preventive Effects
The JAMA article notes that most clinical trials designed to examine vitamin E's ability to prevent disease have used alpha-tocopherol. The article then considers recent molecular and epidemiological studies that have prompted researchers to examine the potential benefits of the gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E.
One study cited by JAMA showed that increased levels of gamma-tocopherol were associated with a significantly reduced risk of prostate cancer.11 The JAMA article goes on to note that the anticancer effects of high concentrations of selenium and alpha tocopherol were observed when gamma-tocopherol concentrations were also high.
Another group of researchers interviewed by JAMA are investigating whether gamma-tocopherol can inhibit the growth of colon cancer. These researchers hypothesize that vitamin E levels inside cells are more important than blood levels in protecting DNA against the molecular mechanisms that can lead to cancer. Part of this rationale is that colon cancer cells take up gamma tocopherol much more effectively than alpha tocopherol. Furthermore, according to the JAMA article, when alpha and gamma-tocopherol are taken up together into cells, the presence of gamma-tocopherol increases the level of alpha-tocopherol.
The researchers interviewed by JAMA point out that gamma-tocopherol has unique properties that alpha-tocopherol does not have, including the ability to neutralize certain free radicals and suppress expression of a gene (ras-p21) that is known to cause cancer.12
The JAMA article reports on a rat study that showed gamma-tocopherol provides antioxidant protection to the cells lining the colon and to fecal material (possibly decreasing the production of mutagens).
Another study cited by JAMA examined the influence of gamma- tocopherol on the expression of another gene called peroxisome proliferator activated receptor y (PPARy). This gene (PPARy) is a promising target for the prevention and treatment of colon and other cancers.13 Activation of PPARy with certain drugs such as Rezulin®, the JAMA article points out, can reduce tumor growth by inhibiting cellular proliferation and inducing programmed cell death (apoptosis).
Life Extension members may remember that Rezulin® was taken off the market because of fatal liver toxicity. Other drugs in its class such as Avandia® and Actos®, however, have not demonstrated this type of liver toxicity.14 The comforting news is that gamma-tocopherol may function safely in a manner similar to these drugs, favorably influencing PPAR-y and thereby reducing cancer risk.
Others Journals Recognize Gamma-Tocopherol
In addition to the JAMA article, other scientific journals published favorable studies in 2004 concerning gamma-tocopherol's effects on disease prevention and treatment.
Last March, the Archives of Biochemistry Biophysicia reported on a study that compared the effects of alpha tocopherol, gamma- tocopherol, and other forms of vitamin E in inhibiting the spread of prostate cancer cells.15 Gamma-tocopherol and its metabolite were the most effective inhibitors of the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. Other forms of vitamin E were much less effective.
In July, the Annals of Nutrition Metabolism published an article ("Gamma-tocopherol—an underestimated vitamin?") showing that gamma-tocopherol has higher trapping activity against dangerous nitrogen radicals than does alpha-tocopherol.16 The study authors note that low-level gamma-tocopherol correlates with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and that gamma-tocopherol—but not alpha-tocopherol—provides beneficial natriuretic activity. Natriuretic agents enhance renal excretion of sodium and can help facilitate pressure/volume homeostasis in multiple tissues. Natriuretic agents may thus have applications in managing conditions such as hypertension and congestive heart failure.
In January 2004, the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine reported on "new and unexpected biological activities" with regard to gamma-tocopherol.17 The scientists stated that "these other tocopherols" possess anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and natriuretic functions. Epidemiological data were cited suggesting that gamma-tocopherol helps prevent certain types of cancer and heart attack better than alpha-tocopherol. The scientists concluded by warning that the:
". . . potential public health implications are immense, given the extreme popularity of alpha- tocopherol supplementation which can unintentionally deplete the body of gamma- tocopherol."17
What Doctors Don't Yet Know
While doctors are slowly being educated about the value of gamma-tocopherol, Life Extension has discovered a method to increase the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of gamma-tocopherol. It turns out that when sesame seed lignans are added to gamma tocopherol in controlled laboratory studies, lipid peroxidation rates are lowered by 50% compared to gamma-tocopherol alone.18-20
Equally important are studies showing that sesame lignans increase tissue levels of gamma- tocopherol as much as 833% compared to no sesame.21 The significance of this finding is that while gamma-tocopherol in the blood can help protect against LDL-induced oxidation in the arterial wall, free-radical damage can still run rampant in the brain, kidneys, and other organs. Increasing tissue levels of gamma tocopherol is critical to neutralizing destructive free radicals generated in cells outside the vascular system. Sesame lignans have been shown to specifically increase tissue levels of gamma-tocopherol.
In a brief, two-week study on human subjects, Life Extension measured various indicators of free radical and inflammatory damage. Gamma-tocopherol plus sesame lignans was shown to be 25% more effective on average than the same amount of gamma-tocopherol combined with toco-trienols. The significance of this finding is that tocotrienols are one of nature's most potent antioxidants, yet low-cost sesame was found to work even better.
While progressive doctors might soon be recommending gamma tocopherol-tocotrienol supplements to their patients, data uncovered by Life Extension indicate that the combination of gamma tocopherol and sesame lignans is a more effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory approach to preventing degenerative disease.


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Where Bikes Rule the Road
What's it like to get around in a city built for bikes?
The Dutch have spent 35 years perfecting the country's bicycling infrastructure, and now bikers total 27 percent of transit.
So how does a bike-friendly city differ from one made for cars? Filmmaker Michal W. Bauch shows the difference between the clogged streets of his home in Los Angeles and the bike boulevards of Amsterdam.
This video is a trailer for Riding Bikes With the Dutch, in which Bauch chronicles his family's adventure swapping homes with a family in Amsterdam.
What will it take to transform biking from a recreational pastime to an integral part of our transportation system?

subset: commoncrawl


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ER teen earns pilot's license
Soon after Kyle Frost was walking, he knew what his life's passion was — aviation. On Saturday, Aug. 13, Frost took a major step toward turning that passion into a career by earning his private pilot's license at age 17.
"I've known I've wanted to fly since before I was four years old," said the Eagle River High junior. "Now that I'm old enough to do it, I just went out and did it."
Few people Frost's age get their pilot's license, said Patrick O'Hare, who's been an instructor since 1975.
"He should be proud of what he accomplished," O'Hare said.
Frost flew a Cessna 172 daily out of Birchwood Airport over two months this summer to comple the required 40 hours of flight time — about half of which was done solo.
"I was pumped," Frost said of his reaction after earning the license. "I was on top of the world."
As Frost's instructor, O'Hare also celebrated as he does with all of his students.
"When they get their license, I get a little bit of pride, too," he said.
Most people need 80 hours before they can demonstrate the necessary flying skills during a flight test, O'Hare said. Completing the course in 40 hours shows the pilot is committed — an apt description of Frost, he said.
"He's a good, hardworking kid," O'Hare said. "I wish I had a dozen more like him."
Frost studied the material, passed required written tests and came prepared every day, O'Hare said.
"He's very committed," he said. "He studied real hard. He put a lot of effort into it."
Most people who get their pilot's license do so in their 40s or 50s, O'Hare said. High-schoolers make the best aviation students, he said, because adults have to unlearn habits before they can learn to fly. Teens are also in the academic mode of learning, O'Hare said.
"It's an excellent time for them to get involved in aviation," he said.
Frost said he doesn't know what drew him to aviation, but he's always had an innate interest in it.
"I love flying. It's that simple," he said. "It's just something I was born with."
Each time he lifts off, the experience is different, Frost said.
"It's a thrill. It's like nothing you can experience anywhere else in the world," he said.
Frost is already working on the next phase of his aviation career. His is studying for an Instrument Flight Rating, which will allow him to fly in the clouds.
After that, Frost will go for his Commercial Pilot Certificate. Frost said he hopes to accomplish both by the time he graduates from high school.
To do so, Frost said he is putting in hours of work each day.
"It's a full-time commitment," he said.
Frost's ultimate goal is to turn flying into a career, he said.
Frost said his father, Gregg, who also has his private pilot's license, and his mother fully trust him piloting a plane.
"Both of my parents are extremely supportive," he said.
Contact Mike Nesper at 694-2727 or [email protected]


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Watches, antiques, clocks and British coins are just some of the items that British people are buying at auction.
This is according to Barnebys, the Swedish-owned internet portal for accessing what's for sale at auction internationally.
The list of what people are buying is based on Barnebys one million monthly online visitors who are able to access 1300 auction house websites.
The top ten items include: watches (wrist and pocket); antiques, cars, jewellery (diamond rings); clocks, stamps, motorcycles, Royal Crown Derby, British coins and cameras.
So it seems that time watching (especially with the Rolex brand) is right up there alongside an ongoing love affair with the motor car and motorbike, a thrifty attitude to finding an engagement ring as well as some old fashioned interests such as coin and stamp collecting.
Pontus Silfverstolpe, Barnebys leading international expert on auction houses, said: "There is an almost old fashioned feel to this list which speaks of affection and loyalty for known things that also appealed to previous generations.
"It would appear that Brits are not that different from their parents after all. And that there is something in the British character that loves a bargain."
He says the British pattern differs significantly from other national buying habits in Europe.
For example in Germany and France, sculpture and porcelain are ranked high. So once again Britain seems to be lagging behind culturally in our buying habits.
Barnebys auction clients include the cream of the international fine art auction houses like Christie's, Sotheby's and Philips as well as many solid national regional and local auction houses in five countries – Sweden, France, Germany, the UK and the USA.
For more information visit: www.barnebys.co.uk


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Drink The Art Away
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Docker Morabito still in AFL limbo
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says he'll give Anthony Morabito an extra big hug this week, but the in-form midfielder may have to wait a bit longer before getting what he truly desires - an AFL recall.
Morabito is no certainty to make his long-awaited Dockers return this week despite producing a string of hot performances in the WAFL.
Last Saturday, Morabito tallied 28 possessions and two goals in Peel Thunder's upset win over Perth.
Two weeks earlier, Morabito tore it up with 28 possessions and three goals.
Rumours are building that Morabito, who has undergone three knee reconstructions since 2010, is becoming frustrated at the length of time he's been forced to wait for his AFL recall.
The 22-year-old is no guarantee to return for Saturday's western derby against West Coast, but Lyon hopes the hard-running wingman won't become too despondent.
"All I know is we've got our arms wrapped firmly around Anthony, Sid Lyon on Wednesday.
"I'll just put them around him, squeeze him a little bit tighter and support him a little bit more.
"He's a great person. It's been an incredible challenge and it's great we're talking about it.
"And at some point he will play football. Is it this week? Maybe, but maybe not.
"No one who wants to pick Anthony more than me, beyond Anthony and his parents I would imagine, and his manager.
"But as I always say, not too many guys are walking into my office to say, 'Anthony (can) have my spot', so he has to fight for his spot like everyone else."
Dockers ruckman Zac Clarke is battling a sore knee and will need to pass a fitness test on Thursday if he is to keep his spot in the team.
Should Clarke be ruled out, Jonathon Griffin is in line to return for the first time since injuring his knee in round seven last year.
Fremantle have won their past five games to move into fourth spot on the table, and they are hot favourites to extend their derby winning streak to five games.
Lyon praised the influence of midfielder David Mundy, who will notch his 200-game milestone this weekend.
"He's one of our real team drivers and team leaders and he's been helping drag us through the season, so expect that to continue," Lyon said.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.


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Update: Tickets sold out very quickly, just like every other year. Congratulations to everyone who got their tickets!
Blizzcon 2014 Tickets Sold Out
Blizzcon 2014 Tickets went on sale Saturday at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST / 7 PM CET on Eventbrite. This year they will cost $199 plus taxes and fees for the November 7th - 8th event in Anaheim. If you aren't sure who is going, you have until June 6th to change the name and email addresses of attendees.


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When the House of Representatives voted to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy several years ago, I watched with rising horror as a map on my screen showed nearly every Republican member voting against allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. armed forces.
This was my party. I've voted Republican my whole life, volunteered for Republican candidates, joined Republican groups. Yet of 173 voting Republicans, only five—about 3 percent—supported overturning a policy that discriminates against people like me.
Story Continued Below
I knew, of course, that my party was behind the time on gay rights, but I didn't realize it was that bad. The question that ran through my mind that day was one I've often had to answer since: How could I be a Republican?
I asked that question again this week as I watched the Cheney family tear itself apart. That Liz, who's running for a Senate seat in Wyoming, broke with her sister, Mary, rather than face accusations of being secretly in favor gay rights was frankly revolting.
I was glad to see Mary fire back on Facebook: "Liz—this isn't just an issue on which we disagree, you're just wrong—and on the wrong side of history." And Mary's right. Counterintuitive as it may seem, I'm not worried about my party. The kind of infighting we saw this week will only get louder, and it will threaten to consume the GOP. But in the end our side will win. The Republican Party will change its stance on gay marriage—and sooner than most people realize.
The Republican Party is on a collision course with an electorate that is rapidly shifting on gay rights, and while the GOP's anti-gay stance may not have hurt it in 2012, it could destroy the party in 2016 or 2020. At the same time, the gay rights movement needs the backing of Republicans now more than ever after its string of historic victories in deep blue states. Why? Because it's the only way to win marriage equality in more conservative parts of the country.
Both sides need to face the same realization: There may not be many of us yet, but Republicans who support gay rights are both the future of the GOP and the future of the LGBT movement.
It's not easy to be hated by your own party—never mind by your fellow gay-rights supporters. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who was for a long time the most prominent gay elected official in the country, has called us gay Republicans " Uncle Toms," and the writer and advocate Dan Savage deemed us " house faggots." Although nearly 1.5 million of us—about a quarter of all gay and lesbian voters—chose Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, one writer for the Advocate compared being gay and Republican to being African-American and supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
I once went on a first date that seemed to be going well until the conversation turned to politics. I mentioned that I was a libertarian who supported Republicans, and a shadow crossed his face. I had seen it before. "How can you possibly be a Republican?" he asked.
I tried to explain, but he quickly made an excuse and left.
How can I be a Republican? The glib answer is: "Not easily." The longer answer is that the Republican Party needs people who favor gay marriage (only a quarter of Republicans do, compared to about 70 percent of Democrats). Otherwise, it will continue down a path of political oblivion and moral bankruptcy.
Gay Republicans understand the contradictions. We tend to be libertarian-leaning, uncomfortable with government intrusion of any sort, whether in our bedrooms, pocketbooks, churches or businesses. We don't trust social conservatism, nor do we believe liberalism is its antidote. The history of the government's suppression of gays has taught us that the state should stay out of the morality business.
Many gay-rights supporters cheered a few months back when the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld legal sanctions against a photographer who declined to work at a same-sex wedding. On a personal level, I found the photographer's position anathema, but from a legal perspective I agreed with the many right-of-center gay-rights supporters who were deeply uncomfortable with the government's position. What is this fight about, after all? For liberals and conservatives, it comes down to imposing one or another set of diametrically opposed moralities on the other side.
That, in short, is why I'll never be a liberal.
This summer, a friend and I started a blog called The Purple Elephant, in part to advocate for progress within the GOP, but also to chronicle the changes we believe are inevitable as the political landscape shifts around our party. We expect there'll be a lot to cover.
Currently, only five of 279 Republicans in Congress support same-sex marriage—less than 2 percent. If the GOP continues along its current path, it's in for some bad news. Long gone are the days, in the 1990s and 2000s, when anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives drove large numbers of social conservatives to the polls. In 2004, Republicans operatives like Karl Rove pushed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Ohio as a means of driving Evangelical turnout; in 2013 that same Karl Rove, no dummy, is tacking hard to the center, even stating that he could imagine the 2016 Republican nominee backing same-sex marriage.
To this point, stats-guru Nate Silver created a useful model, predicting opinion on same-sex marriage state by state and year by year. In 2012, Silver pegged national support for gay marriage at 48.3 percent , but he expects it to rise to 54.4 percent in 2016 and a stunning 60.5 percent in 2020. By 2016, according to Silver, a majority of the population in almost every swing state will support marriage equality. Compare that to 2008, when just 42 percent of the country favored same-sex marriage, and nearly every swing state was dominated opponents.
Within the Democratic Party, we're seeing a swift domino effect on gay rights. Just a few years ago, only a handful of Democratic senators backed marriage equality; now 51 support it. The changes in the GOP have been far less dramatic, but it's pretty noteworthy that three Republicans are now on board with same-sex marriage—this despite the fact that each faced severe and credible primary threats after making the announcement. Scores of prominent Republicans signed on to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting same-sex marriage in advance of last year's decision by the court allowing gay marriages to stand, and suddenly Republicans—at least those in purple and blue states—are trumpeting their support for the issue.
Gay marriage is still a wedge issue—it's just that in much of the country, the wedge is now cutting a different way.


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Department of Revenue News Release
February 14, 2014Forsyth License Office contract awarded
JEFFERSON CITY - The Office of Administration, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Revenue, has awarded the management contract for the Forsyth License Office to Patricia L. Dreyer of Forsyth. All license office contracts in Missouri are awarded through a competitive bid process.
Dreyer has been the contractor of the Forsyth License Office since 2005. The office will remain at its current location at 210 Shadow Rock Dr.
In fiscal year 2013, more than 28,000 transactions were conducted at the Forsyth office, generating approximately $94,000 in agent processing fees.
All local license offices are overseen by the Missouri Department of Revenue, but each is operated by an independent agent.
Follow the Missouri Department of Revenue on Twitter @MoRevenue


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We know we are going against the grain of popular taste, and by confessing our discomfort, may become the target of reproach, but we have to say that smashing up roadworthy, if aging, school buses for public entertainment doesn't seem quite right.
In good economic times, with everyone's coffers overflowing, a school bus demolition derby at the fairground could possibly be classified as a mere Roman-style excess, or in line with the theme of Vance Packard's book, The Waste Makers. From such destruction, comes the renewed need that keeps the factories humming, Packard explained (without necessarily agreeing with the concept).
These are tough, penny-pinching times, though, and smashing still usable municipal vehicles into smithereens surely becomes more of a surreal exercise. Isn't there an organization, similar to say greyhound rescue, that could direct such condemned vehicles to new, loving homes?
The overflowing crowd's glee and excitement generated by the obliteration of school buses is surely worthy of academic research. Did it tickle the entertainment palette of those who would like smaller government? Was there a segment of the wildly enthusiastic onlookers who had had a bad education experience? Or was it just the sheer joy of watching stuff being rendered completely useless? This editorial writer warns from cruel experience, as someone who once organized a piano-smashing contest, that the school bus wreckers may be wracked with guilt and haunted by flashbacks, in years to come.
We always think that America's finest moments come not when destruction is the theme, but when altruism, volunteerism and generosity are combined to accomplish a major goal, and a finer example could not be found in the last couple of years, in Rochester, than the Howie's Field of Dreams Project.
The creation of a buddy ball baseball field at Rochester Allen Park has truly captured the imagination of the greater Rochester community. Upon its completion, youngsters with a physical handicap from throughout the Seacoast region and beyond will not only have a state-of-the art facility to play on, but also will have an adjoining building fully equipped for their needs.
The aim is to have the whole facility completed by next May or June, and for this to occur, there is still about $100,000 to be raised, money that will pave the parking lot, complete the club house and dugouts, lay outfield sod, and build a "green monster" wall to retain slugged balls, for example. There is confidence that the money and in-kind contributions will continue to come in, however. General contractors are giving of their time and expertise, local and regional businesses are still cutting major checks, and the city's clubs and organizations continue to hold fundraisers for the cause.
This is the positive, constructive aspect of Rochester that generates justifiable pride and satisfaction, and reminds everyone of the national recognition the city was given a few years back for its high level of volunteerism.
Fun and games
We know we are going against the grain of popular taste, and by confessing our discomfort, may become the target of reproach, but we have to say that smashing up roadworthy, if aging, school buses for public entertainment doesn't seem quite right.


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Rep. Bob Filner has never lacked for confidence during his 30-plus years in politics so it should come as no surprise that he has repeatedly boasted that he'll be the next mayor of San Diego.
Perhaps that explains the way he's campaigned for the job so far. Filner has yet to release any major detailed policy plans. He is prone to making wisecracks during debates, more so than his opponents. His campaign began the year with little money. And he has passed up numerous opportunities for free press coverage by largely ignoring the media.
Filner's campaign activity led San Diego CityBeat, an alternative weekly, to question its preferred candidate with an editorial titled "What's Bob Filner waiting for?"
One thing is clear: Filner, 69, has yet to show the tenacious campaigning he has become renowned for during a lengthy political career.
Filner has repeatedly said that his status as the lone major Democrat in the race should in and of itself allow him to advance out of the June 5 primary. He has kept a lower profile while the three Republicans — City Councilman Carl DeMaio, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher — have gone on permanent offense as they try to assert themselves as their party's best shot of winning the election.
If no one wins the majority in the primary, the top two finishers will face each other in a November runoff. Conventional wisdom holds that Filner is a favorite for one of those two spots because the city has far more registered Democrats than Republicans (40.4 percent to 28.1 percent).
Carl Luna, a Mesa College political science professor, said Filner is playing a conservative game from a political standpoint, one that is likely to work as long as the Republican side remains split three ways.
"He's conserving his ammunition for the fall," he said. "And one of the other advantages is if you don't make much of a target of yourself you don't get hit as much. So you can let the Republicans duke it out for who'd be the best moderate, conservative candidate."
Luna added, "He's banking on the 'D' by his name and whatever name recognition he generates in the city."
Filner didn't respond to repeated requests for comment on a variety of topics, including this story, over the past two weeks. He has previously said his boasts about winning the race were "standard political patter" and he isn't taking the primary lightly. He also said he's been at just as many, if not more, community events than the other candidates.
"I haven't done these big policy papers yet because I don't think anybody's ready for them," he said in a Dec. 30 interview. "I think I will be (in the runoff) because of that demography. You can't take anything for granted. I mean, you've got four candidates that are well known. Each has an office. Each has a following. So any two of us can be there so I don't take it for granted."
Since then Filner has done little to raise his profile. He participated in a Jan. 13 debate — the only time all four major candidates have been on the same stage — and spoke before a tea party group but has mostly stayed out of the spotlight.
Nevertheless, a recent SurveyUSA poll had DeMaio leading the field with 25 percent of likely voters supporting him and Filner a close second at 24 percent. Dumanis had 14 percent while Fletcher was at 13 percent. Critics say the polling company's use of automated interviews and keypad responses place the accuracy of those numbers in doubt.
A second poll — commissioned by labor last month but not released publicly — is less flattering to Filner. He was in last place at 13 or 14 percent, according to various reports. DeMaio and Fletcher were the top two.
"Is Bob Filner taking a risk … by playing it so casual?" said John Dadian, a Republican political consultant not involved in the race. "Because he's always said publicly the assumption is he'll get in the runoff. I do think he's taking a risk by having this strategy and I would recommend a couple of advisers to him that would counsel him against this strategy and that would be President (Thomas) Dewey and President Al Gore."
Dadian was referring to would-be U.S. presidents who famously lost close elections.
One troubling sign for Filner is the campaign finance disclosures through the end of last year. They show Filner finished a distant fourth in fundraising and had $25,000 in cash on hand minus debts. The next smallest total was Dumanis with $239,000 remaining while DeMaio led the way with $752,000 and Fletcher had $532,000.
Filner's tepid fundraising is tempered by the fact that he will likely receive heavy financial support from labor unions and the local Democratic Party.
Chris Crotty, a Democratic political consultant with no ties to the race, said he isn't concerned about Filner's ability to attract the vast majority of Democratic votes and win a spot in the runoff.
"From the beginning, it's been clear that Bob's strategy is to win all the Democrats," he said. "He doesn't need to raise his own money if the party is going to give money, through the party, to contact every Democrat in town. …Filner's view is 'Why raise money now when I'm really going to need it in the runoff?'"
The one issue Filner has been discussing on the campaign trail is fixing the city's pension system. He opposes a June ballot initiative backed by his Republican rivals that would eliminate guaranteed pensions for most new city hires and give them a 401(k)-style plan instead. He has proposed an alternative plan to cap pensions, negotiate a five-year labor deal with unions and refinance the city's $2.2 billion pension deficit.
Filner has been touting the alternative for eight months and wants the City Council to put it up for a public vote. But he has yet to release any formal details or a fiscal analysis with a March 9 deadline looming for the council to place it on the June ballot.
Tony Manolatos, a communications strategist who writes for the right-leaning San Diego Rostra website, said he doesn't understand why Filner isn't more aggressive, especially when it comes to responding to media inquiries.
"That's campaign 101: Get all the earned media you can. It's free," he said. "I scratch my head when it comes to Bob Filner these days. He doesn't seem to be campaigning. According to the numbers, he's not raising much money. I don't know what's going on with that campaign."
Time will tell if Filner's current strategy pays off, but he has a long track record of running tough and successful campaigns. He scored a major upset against an entrenched incumbent to win a San Diego school board seat in 1979, outdueled Michael Aguirre in a tight race for City Council in 1987 and later won three brutal congressional primaries against fellow Democrat Juan Vargas.
If successful this time, he would become only the second Democratic mayor in San Diego since 1971. Maureen O'Connor was the other.


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Craig Verm
Craig Verm is rapidly gaining recognition for his "resonant, expressive baritone voice" (Denver Post) and riveting dramatic portrayals. In the 2012-13 season, he makes his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Albert in Werther. He also returns to the Teatro Municipal de Santiago for the title role of Billy Budd, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Sid in Albert Herring, and Florentine Opera for the Count in Le nozze di Figaro in addition to joining the Opera Company of Philadelphia for Schaunard in La bohème.
Last season, he sang his first performances Escamillo in Carmen at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago and Zurga in Les pêcheur de perles in a return to Pittsburgh Opera. He also returned to the role of Ping in Turandot with Austin Lyric Opera in addition to singing Sciarrone in Tosca and presenting a recital at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. On the concert stage, he sang Marullo in concert performances of Rigoletto in a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Handel's Messiah with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Beethoven'sSymphony No. 9 as a guest artist at Brown University.
Mr. Verm enjoys a strong relationship with Pittsburgh Opera, where he has sung the lead baritone role of Tom Joad in Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath,Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, Ping in Turandot, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, the Novice's Friend in Billy Budd, Angelotti in Tosca as well as Guglielmo in student performances of Così fan tutte. Other recent performances include Ramiro in L'heure espagnole with the Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands; Marcello in La bohème and the Minskman in Dove's Flight with Austin Lyric Opera; Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Aeneas inDido and Aeneas, and Adonis in Venus and Adonis with Florentine Opera; Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at Lyrique-en-Mer/Festival de Belle-Île; Joseph Pitt in Peter Eötvös' Angels in America with Fort Worth Opera; the Miller in Montsalvatge's El gato con botas with Gotham Chamber Opera; Astolfo in the world premiere of Lewis Spratlan's Life is a Dream and Hermann in Les contes d'Hofmann with Santa Fe Opera; the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Falke inDie Fledermaus with the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh; and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen with Aspen Opera Theater. He has also previously joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Angelotti in Tosca and the Mandarin in Turandot.
Equally adept within the realm of oratorio, his other concert appearances encompass performances of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carolswith the Pittsburgh Symphony; Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra; Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécilewith Les Escales Musicales d'Evian; Orff's Carmina Burana with the Alexandria Symphony, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Boston Youth Symphony; Bach'sMass in B minor at Portugal's Aviero Music Festival; as well as Faure'sRequiem with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, and Schubert's Mass in G and Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzer, and Rutter's Mass of the Children with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale. He has also sung Haydn's Creation with the Robert Page Festival Singers at the Virginia Arts Festival as well as on tour in Vienna and Budapest, Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, as well as performances of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem in Cincinnati and Handel's Messiah in Houston.
He received his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music where his performances included title role in Carlisle Floyd's Markheim. He was graduated cum laude from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. He was also a 2006 national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is also a former member of the young artist programs of Santa Fe Opera and Cincinnati Opera.


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A Cake Wrecks Guide For Nervous Brides
Every time we publish wedding wrecks, we get comments from worried brides afraid their cake will be the next one featured on Cake Wrecks. This is both understandable and terribly selfish, since the rest of us depend on your misfortune for our daily chuckles. HAVE YOU NO HEART?
Ok, ok, fine. I guess I can spare a few pointers.
1) Check your baker's previous work.
Remember, you want a cake pretty enough to move your guests to tears:
...not tiers that move themselves.
Also, let's save the Reddi-Wip for the wedding night, mkay?
And the condoms, too.
2) Pick a design that isn't too complicated.
For example: "Fuzzy yellow caterpillars, pink sea anemones, and eyeballs"
...is too complicated.
On the other hand, bright colors, black vines and listless despair are perfect:
...for arranged marriages in bad gothic romance novels.
So unless your wicked guardian is forcing you to marry a man you don't love so they can bilk you out of a fortune you never knew you had whilst the wind howls mournfully across the tempestuous moors, I'd suggest something a tad more cheerful.
But not this cheerful.
3) And finally, make sure your design is appetizing.
After all, no one is going to want to eat a cake that looks like you used it to juice Cookie Monster.
Thanks to Holly J., Lorie B., Ben C., Olivia X., and Arielle C. who are probably wondering if that last cake tastes like cookies or sweaty fur. (And if they weren't, I bet they are noo-ooow!)
Hey brides! Use this handy printable checklist to make planning easier!
☐ Well-made.
☐ Contraceptive free.
☐ No eyeballs.
☐ No tempestuous moors.
☐ No dead Muppets.