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The following paragraph is how Weslager described the topography of Ocracoke Island:
"Between Ocracoke village and Hatteras, the terrain is bleak — the sea on one side, the sound on the other, less than a mile separating them. All along the beach are remnants of wrecks — one called the "ghost ship" is still partially intact. Offshore, one sees the masts of wreckage extending above the water level at low tide. The heat was terrific — no trees — just wild grass here and there. There was a flock of wild horses grazing on a patch of grass at the end of the island. We were told that they dig in the sand with their forepaws to expose surface water when they are thirsty. Each home on the island has a rain barrel under the eaves — their source of drinking water. The hotel had a large rain-water reservoir on the roof to supply drinking and sanitary facilities."
|Wreck of the "Ghost Ship" (OPS Photo)
This month's Ocracoke Newsletter highlights several noteworthy staircases in historic island homes. To read the newsletter, and see photos, click here: www.villagecraftsmen.com/news092117.html.


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Here in the UK, FX's run of Season 1 of Burn Notice has now finished and Season 2 is no doubt months away. But today I discovered (in Murder One) that there is a Burn Notice novel, The Fix, written by Tod Golberg that might fill the gap for a few days.
Synopsis: Covert spy Michael Westen has found himself in forced seclusion in Miami - and a little paranoid. Watched by the FBI, cut off from intelligence contacts and with his assets frozen, Westen is on ice with a warning: stay there or get ""disappeared"". Driven to find out who burned him and why, he's biding his time helping people with nowhere else to turn. People like socialite Cricket O'Connor whose husband has vanished, along with her furtune...
A second book, The End Game is due out in May.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Whilst Burn Notice is off the air
Posted by Karen (Euro Crime) at 8:33 am
Labels: Burn Notice, tv shows
2 comments:
- Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...
I've actually read this and know the publishers have contracted several writers to pen novels under this house name.
- 3:58 pm
- Duane Spurlock said...
This is a fun novel that does a great job of capturing the tone -- the mixture of suspense and fun -- of the television series. The author has the characters' personalities down pat. I read it about three weeks ago. I hope more of these tie-in novels are in the pipeline, because reading this one helps one get through the gaps between TV seasons.
- 5:31 pm
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subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Paso Robles
This Cabernet is super soft and very fruit forward with aromas of ripe red fruits, blackberry and forest floor, paired with a palate of berry flavors, chocolate, bing cherry, and a touch of oak. Rounding out with silky tannins, nice texture, and a ripe finish with good length, this Cab is especially food friendly. An unexpectedly good red California wine for $13 a bottle (An on line search may get you closer to $11, but you'll have to do your homework).
For over three decades, Liberty School has been among the best values in California wine. In the early 1980's, Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles caught the attention of renowned Napa Valley vintner Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards. Because of the incredible quality and value of their Paso Robles Cab, Wagner approached Hope Farms in search of Cabernet for his second label wine, Liberty School. The Hope family helped build the brand's solid reputation over the years and in 1996, the Hopes took over the label. Austin Hope, who started working under Chuck Wagner, in the early 1990s, heads the winemaking team and their goal has always been the same; to produce delicious, fruit-driven, varietally correct wines at reasonable prices. That's what this Liberty School 2008 Cab is all about. It offers vibrant cassis and berry fruit with supple tannins and just touch of oak.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Mohua Sauvignon Blanc 2010 New Zealand
Marlborough, NZ does some nice things with Sauvignon Blancs and here's proof at a good price. Super fresh and crisp with waves of lemon drops and tropical fruits, pineapple, and guava, with grapefruit rind and summer fruits on the palate. SRP around $11.
Mohua Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010 - Pretty, with floral overtones, delivering lemon curd, dried mango and pineapple punches of flavor. Appealing for its smooth texture and crisp acidity. Drink now. 41,000 cases imported. -MW, Wine Spectator, Score: 88
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Piccini Chianti 2009 DOCG
Here is a Chianti DOCG that is a blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and 5% Ciliegiolo. This everyday Chianti is an absolute value for the $8.95 pricetag. Nicely balanced, bright, fruity, supple and very easy to drink besides being a good food wine. Aromas of cherry, slight earthiness and cedar with hints of tobacco, on the palate delicate tannins and a fresh style make this an inexpensive winner.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Fattoria Dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2001
This Christmas day I broke out a bottle I've been saving since receiving it as a birthday present a few years ago. Released sometime in 2007, this Brunello Riserva is just setting out on its path to maturity but will have probably reached its peak at the end of this decade. It's always so difficult to be patient when aging a good bottle of wine.
But that's okay, a Christmas dinner is as good a reason as any to pop the cork.
And I'm glad I did!
The color is a warm ruby with good clarity and intensity, aromas of a sexy mixture of forest floor, flowers, blackberry, licorice and a slight nuttiness. An attractive weave of texture with silky tannins while the finish is as comforting as a soft, warm blanket on a cold Christmas day. Beautiful. Elegant. Paired perfectly with Steak Au Poivre.
Wine Spectator gave the 2001 Barbi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 93 points... Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast both gave it a 92.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2008
This Riserva is made only from grapes grown on the Gabbiano Estate in the heart of Tuscany. Only the oldest and best Sangiovese vines on the property are used. Fermented in stainless steel tanks for 20 days, and for more extraction the wine was macerated on the skins for another 20, followed by aging in 50% new French oak for 16 to 18 months, and finally in bottle for 4 months.
Rich and intense ruby colors paint a picture of full body, texture and complexity. Dry and luscious with a blend of 95% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot. Aromas of violets with flavors that ring of black licorice, tobacco, red cherries, cassis, plum and oak. The finish is a dream and so is the price at $23 SRP, with 14% alcohol.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wartalia "Kikoi" Aglianico 2010 DOC
Wartalia was founded in 2004 and is made up of fourteen independent farms with 50 hectares of vines located in the hills of the Telesina (or Calore) Valley and produces around 650 metric tons of grapes in several varieties - Aglianico, Falanghina, Fiano, Greco, Coda di Volpe, Malvasia and Sangiovese, plus Sannio DOC (AOC), Guardiola DOC and Beneventano IGT.
This find is a 100% Aglianico, aged briefly in wood then in bottle. Ruby red colors, medium intensity, clear appearance, with clean aromas of mature red fruit along with floral perfumes. The palate shows a dryness with medium acidity and tannins, spice with a vegetal hint, and good length on the finish. Reminds me of a raspberry pie. This is a bargain at about $11.
Guardia Sanframondi is a town and municipality in the Province of Benevento, Campania region, Italy, best known for the penitential rite held every seven years.
This find is a 100% Aglianico, aged briefly in wood then in bottle. Ruby red colors, medium intensity, clear appearance, with clean aromas of mature red fruit along with floral perfumes. The palate shows a dryness with medium acidity and tannins, spice with a vegetal hint, and good length on the finish. Reminds me of a raspberry pie. This is a bargain at about $11.
Guardia Sanframondi is a town and municipality in the Province of Benevento, Campania region, Italy, best known for the penitential rite held every seven years.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Macari Vineyards Merlot Reserve 2007
A beautiful showing from Macari Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork, 100% Merlot with medium body and dark violet colors, luscious aromas of plum and violets, while on the palate notes of umami, contrasted by raspberry candy, cherry, clove, spice, chocolate, and plum with lively tannins and vestiges of oak, followed by a very long and attractive finish.
About Macari Vineyards
Macari Vineyards, located on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island in Mattituck, is owned and operated by the Macari Family. The business is led by owners Joseph Macari Sr. and his wife, Katherine, and Joseph Macari Jr., who is at the helm of the winery with his wife, Alexandra. Though Macari Vineyards was established in 1995, the Macari Family has owned the 500 acre waterfront estate for nearly 50 years. In this time, they have been careful environmental stewards of the land. What were once potato fields and farmland has become a vineyard of 180 acres of vines with additional fields of compost, farmland, and a home to cows, goats, Sicilian donkeys and ducks.
Macari is on the cutting edge of viticulture and is dedicated to a more natural approach to winemaking. Joseph Macari, Jr. is recognized as a pioneer in the movement towards organic and sustainable farming on Long Island, employing principles of biodynamic farming since the vineyard's first plantings. Extensive soil preparation, rich composts, careful cover cropping and a consideration to wildlife and terrain makes Macari's 180 planted acres stand out from the rest. Taking into account the health of the environment as a whole, and moving away from the harmful effects of pesticides to a more natural and meticulous caretaking of the soil and plants, ultimately yields premium wines.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Man of Numanthia
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner at Geoffrey Zakarian's The Lambs Club in NYC with Estate Director Manuel Louzada, from Bodega Numanthia, to introduce three different vintages of Termes, Numanthia and Termanthia.
Born in Portugal, Louzada lived in Spain for ten years, where he developed a love for the sea as well as a more introspective way of looking at life. He studied agriculture, engineering, and agronomy and eventually returned to Portugal where he set to work making Port wine. In 1999 he moved to Argentina to make sparkling wines for Bodegas Chandon where the focus is on detail.
His three year plan, turned into nine, and he eventually moved to Numanthia in Spain in 2008. "Character and concentration are the trademarks of the Toro region wines, and we want to be truthful to soul of the wines," notes an enthusiastic Louzada.
Numanthia was founded in 1998, and in 2006 the partners sold to Moet Hennessey. Some of the uniqueness of Toro wines is rooted in the fact that some of its vines are 60 to 200 years old.
I asked Manuel, how his experience with Port and Champagne influenced his winemaking…
"The influence of Port is about character -- it's about power," says Louzada. "It's about trying to understand the massive strength of nature. When you taste Port wine for the first two years, I can assure you it's not a very pleasant sensation, because of the alcohol, because of the amount of tannins, because of the fruitiness that seem overwhelming. What makes the big difference is the development of understanding of those powerful details."
"Champagne on the other hand is the opposite. It's how a single 1%, 2%, 3% of the most delicate wine makes such a big difference, so it's about small details; it's how the small percentages change the character of a wine. Blending it was a beautiful exercise, because when you taste base wines, whatever you have in thebase wine, good or bad, is going to be multiplied by a thousand because of the carbonic. So I had a lot of fun learning about, and making sparkling."
"When blending Termanthia I had to choose between 22 or 23 barrels -- deciding which of the 20 I'm going to use-- there anything more detailed than that? You have to be able to figure out how to get to the picture you have in your head."
Tinta de Toro
The Spaniards of the region call it Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo). A typical Tempranillo will usually display a full, muscular body and a viscosity with dark purple colors woven with aromas of black currants, violets, licorice and caramel. The bouquet may blend into a palate of plums and dark chocolate, all working to create a soft but supple wine with a long dusty finish... the better ones are a very nice balance of tannins & acidity.
A Quick Study of the 3 Vintages
The Termes 2007 was a warm vintage with elegant and delicate tones, while the 2008 Termanthia was a more traditional vintage with a beautiful combination of fresh fruitiness and tannic structure and concentration, with 2009 presenting yet another warm vintage concentration, highlighting extremely soft tannins. Louzada explains that some wines can be drinkable upon release but can be equally palatable in 30 years.
Tasting Notes and Pairings
Termes 2009
The first up is the Termes 2009... 100% hand harvested, 4 months in stainless steel tanks, then aged in French oak barrels for 14-16 months. (The 2008 was expressly fresh fruit, while the 2009 was slightly warmer vintage like 06, 03 with a level of intensity, and lots of character). Aromas of raspberry, strawberry, fruity, sweet lush tannins, lively vibrant fruit character. nice structure, toasted, cedar, layered juicy texture on palate. Paired beautifully with Beef Carpaccio with Piquillo Pepper, Egg and Jamon Serrano, delicate nuances, which rounds out the tannins. SRP $30
Numanthia 2007
Numanthia 2007, 100 year old vines, 18 months in French oak, more concentration, more complexity in the fruit, more aging, 100% new oak, a bit toastier and spicier, so you can feel the intensity of power and remarkable balance. On the palate, dark chocolate, cassis and spice. Paired with Veal Chop, Soubise, Summer Squash. SRP $60
Termanthia 2008
"Termanthia 2008 is a the expression of a single plot that is 120-140 year old vines, and explosion of fruit fresh cherries, like a bomb, complex so everything that we do has to be the most delicate winemaking technique to try to dominate that force, that strength of nature. Hand de-stemmed, crushed by foot, twice thru new barrels." Paired with Lamb Loin with Stuffed Piquillo Peppers and Eggplant. Can be aged for 30 years. SRP $200
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico DOCG 2008
The Castello di Gabbiano was founded in 1124 and... as the story goes, in the 12th century The Gabbiano Knight (or Cavaliere in Italian) protected these Tuscan Vineyards from foreign invaders.
The soil in the region is high in limestone, sandstone and clay and makes for intense and concentrated fruit. The Sangiovese grapes used were sourced from select estate vineyards and the 2008 vintage was an excellent one. The juice was aged in large French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling.
Clean and with medium weight, attractive husky aromas of vibrant ripe cherry and violets, with a hint of cocoa, followed by dry but complex flavors of plums, floral and spice notes, textured and a very nice balance of tannins and acidity. $14.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Croft Pink Porto
To most of us here in the states Port wine is traditionally reserved for the holidays or a special occasion. Originating in 1588 in Portugal, Croft is now producing a Rose Port that goes beyond tradition.
Made from Porto grapes, the juice comes in contact with the skins just long enough to impart a pink color, fresh and fruity. Some aromas of raspberry and flavors of honey, citrus with a mild nuttiness on the finish.
I tried a glass on the rocks as suggested on the website (and on the label), but they've come up with quite a few interesting recipes you can try (see below).
Pink Jasmine
Croft Pink Port mixed with equal parts cold Jasmine Tea served in tall glass with diced strawberries and ice.
2 oz. Croft Pink Porto
1 oz. Premium Gin
2 dashes orange bitters
3 oz. ginger beer
1 mint sprig, for garnish
fresh fruit in season, as garnish
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled highball glass, stir briefly, add the garnishes.
Pink Cashmir
2 oz. Croft Pink Port
1 oz. apricot nectar
3 grinds black pepper (ground finely)
1 oz simple syrup
Chill over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake well, and serve
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Gabbiano Chianti 2010 DOCG
Made from 90% Sangiovese, and 10% other red grapes sourced from the Chianti region in Tuscany, aged 5 months in stainless steel tanks, clear ruby red colors, an herbal influenced potpourri of deep ripe cherries, red fruits, flowers, complemented on the palate with cocoa, and a pinch of musk. Dry but with a fresh mellow character, with an overall balance of fruit and tannins, and a smooth, clean finish. A great deal at $10.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
More Wines for Thanksgiving
I'd like to thank Kristen and her good friends for helping me taste this flight of wine picks for Thanksgiving. The wines were from California, Italy, France and New Zealand. (Also thank you to Kristen for photo above.)
Chateau Julien Gewurztraminer 2010 Carmel Valley, California
Light golden colors, clean citrus notes of grapefruit, flowers, honey and jolly rancher green apple, the mild and simple palate shows spice and nice acidity. Gewurztraminer is versatile and will pair well with Turkey dinner, especially if your stuffing is spicy, also may be used before dinner with cheese or after dinner with dessert.
Winemaker notes:
Cold fermented using Steinberger Yeast, known for its slow fermentation, allows the winemaker the ability to maintain natural varietal flavor and a slight residual sugar. While semi-dry in flavor, this wines slightly higher acidity balances the residual sugar for a refreshing, lighter style of wine.
Rasciatano Rose, Puglia Italy
Made with 100% Montepulciano grapes pressed softly then fermented partly in stainless steel vats at a temperature of 13-15° (C) and partly in second and third passage barriques, followed by aging in stainless steel vats for 4-6 months and 4 months in bottle. Rose petal colors, aromas of sour cherry, and peach, on the palate dry, slightly metallic with good acidity.
Dino Torti Forza Inter Pino Nero Oltrepo Pavese 2008 Italy
Also soft pressed, complex aromas of almonds, fruits and flowers, flavors of nutty, apple and pear, dry but satisfying.
Maison Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages, 2009 France
The grapes (Gamay) are gently crushed, an extended maceration of 12-20 days gets you the extraction of color and tannins, then aged in French oak for 8 to 10 months. On the nose notes of tar and forest floor, fruit forward on the palate of black sour cherry, pepper, an attractive minerality and holiday spice, good finish. Great deal at $10.
Te Muna Road Vineyard Craggy Range Pinot Noir, 2009, New Zealand
From the region of Martinborough, 100% Pinot Noir grapes are fermented in open-top tanks followed by aging in 33% new French oak barriques for 10 months. Rose red, medium weight but at the same time velvety, tree bark, smoky earth and violets, dry but sweet, beautiful balancing act, plums. Nice long layered finish. SRP $40. A majority of the tasters really enjoyed this one.
St. Francis Winery Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel, 2008 California
The average age of the vines here are 80-100 years old, and actually is 89% Zin, and the rest a blend of Alicante Bouschet, Mourverdre, Carignane, Syrah and Petite Sirah. The grapes are fermented then aged in new American oak for 12-15 months. Complex, underbrush, cigar box, cherry vanilla, raspberry, plums, pepper and spice. For the price ($17) very nice.
Luccarelli Pazzia Primitivo di Manduria Old Vines 2007 Puglia, Italy
Deep rich purple ruby colors show such an opacity as to preview what's to come, namely rich cherries with prunes and spices on top of vanilla and chocolate nuances. Very fruit forward but with an Italian flair. Beautiful. $40.
Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni 2005 DOCG Montefalco Italy
Made with the best grapes of 100% Sagrantino, aged 2 years in French Oak Barrique and a minimum of 6 months in bottle. What is immediately apparent is the very deep dark opaque colors, with strong and vibrant vanilla concentrates on the nose, laid over violets, earth and spices. Flavors of ripe fruit woven with spices and vanilla, great aging potential.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thanksgiving Pick: Stoller Vineyards SV Estate Pinot Noir 2007
It's that time of the year again. Over the next few days I'll be featuring wines that will work for you this coming holiday season. Here is the first, Stoller Vineyards SV Estate Pinot Noir 2007.
Located in the heart of Oregon's Willamette Valley in the Dundee Hills AVA, Stoller brings this Pinot Noir to the Thanksgiving table with a blast. Colors of dusty rose and intense aromas of funky strawberry, moist earth and smoked bacon, with a palate of chocolate, coffee, raspberry and spice, followed by hints of licorice, violet and caramel and a fairly long finish. Complex and balanced and perfectly paired with a turkey dinner. Enjoy this gem with family or friends at around $40.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Chateau Leoville Poyferre St. Julien 2003
The world of wine has been good to me. It's allowed me to meet interesting people with broad tastes and vastly different backgrounds. Ray O., after over a year of following my blog, recently took a trip from his hometown in Austin Texas to the Big Apple. We met for dinner at a small French BYOB called La Sirene, and Ray brought a bottle of Chateau Leoville Poyferre St. Julien 2003. He had originally bought a case to commemorate the birth of his 2nd son, and I thought it was very generous of him to show up with this wonderful Bordeaux blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
First up are the amazing aromas, the impression of clay and wet soil is so present right out of the bottle, with cassis and violets floating up from the ground. The deeply opaque purple colors translate onto the palate as delicious ripe cherry, paired with Christmas spices, accompanying floral notes and verdant black fruit. Velvety tannins and perfect balance make this wine an incredible masterpiece with a silky smooth and extremely long finish. Thank you, Ray!
Wine Advocate
I have had this wine three times out of bottle, rating it 97 once and 98 twice. It is a colossal success and a potential legend in the making. Its saturated, dense inky/blue/purple color offers up notes of crushed rocks, acacia flowers, blueberries, black raspberries, and creme de cassis. A synthesis of power and elegance, this multi-layered wine has spectacular concentration, sweet but high tannin, and low acidity A stunning effort that showcases this legendary terroir, it is a brilliant, brilliant success. The quintessential Leoville Poyferre? Anticipated maturity: 2009-2030. Score: 98. —Robert Parker, April 2006.
Wine Spectator
Pure cassis on the nose. Impressive. Full-bodied, thick and powerful, with loads of fruit and big, velvety tannins. Goes on for minutes on the palate. Huge wine. Very, very impressive. This is one of the big surprises of the vintage. Best after 2012. 19,165 cases made. Score: 95. —James Suckling, March 31, 2006.
Wine Enthusiast
A huge, opulent wine that packs sweet, rich tannins and spicy fruit. In the midst of all this decadence, though, is a kernel of tannic dryness. This estate, long the weakest of the three Lèoville wines, is now back in top form. Score: 93. —Roger Voss, May 01, 2006.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Truth In Wine Labeling
Unprecedented Coalition of International Wine Regions Joined By Notable Chefs in Effort to Protect Wine Place Names
NEW YORK - October 19, 2011 - Leadership from 15 of the world's premier wine regions came together along with renowned chefs from around the globe to call on policymakers to heed growing consumer demand for wine truth-in-labeling.
Results from a recent poll of U.S. consumers, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, released today found that Americans, in particular, have very strong feelings about the role of location in making wine-purchasing decisions. Key findings from the poll of 1,000 U.S. wine drinkers include:
79 percent consider the region where a wine comes from an important factor when buying a bottle of wine;
75 percent report they would be less likely to buy a wine if they learned that it claimed to be from a place like Champagne, Napa Valley or Oregon, but in actuality was not;
84 percent think that the region a wine comes from is extremely important in determining its quality;
96 percent say that consumers deserve to know that the location where wine grapes are grown is accurately stated on wine labels; and
98 percent support establishing worldwide standards for all winemakers that would require that they accurately state the location where wine grapes are grown on wine labels.
"In over 20 years of polling, rarely have we seen such strong feelings on an issue like this," said Rob Autry, partner of Public Opinion Strategies and the lead pollster on this project. "Consumer sentiment this strong is a clear signal that Americans care a great deal about the location a wine comes from and clearly want ready access to that information when looking at a bottle."
Perhaps most troubling was the fact that despite broad interest in wine location from all sectors of the U.S. wine-consuming populace, when presented with two labels to compare side by side, most consumers were unable to determine the correct origin of the wine. This underscores the challenges winemakers face with current labeling laws.
"The research released today shows consumers are more focused on product origins than ever before and it isn't just a passing concern, but one they feel extraordinarily strong about," said Linda Reiff, executive director of Napa Valley Vintners. "When a place name is misused, a part of the identity of that distinctive wine region is lost and consumers can be misled. This poll shows that U.S. consumers understand this and are looking for clear labeling of wine place names when they purchase wines."
"The 15 regions gathered here today agree that great wine is made in unique places all over the world and that these unique place names must be protected. A failure to do so undermines all of these wine-growing regions and, as the research shows, runs counter to the expectations of the consumer," said Bruno Paillard, representing the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne. "People want to know where their wines come from. The Declaration signatories have taken a global stand for truth-in-labeling and we are committed to working together to maintain and protect the integrity of wine place names."
The poll was released by the signatories to the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin, a coalition first formed in 2005 when the initial global declaration was signed. The organization has since doubled in size, welcoming its two newest members - Rioja and Long Island - at this year's meeting in New York.
In addition to the growing number of wine regions joining the campaign to protect place names, some of the world's preeminent names in food and wine have joined hands with the coalition as well. An open letter was released today signed by chefs and sommeliers lending their support for truth in wine labeling. Signatories include Thomas Keller from Per Se and the French Laundry; Ferran Adrià from El Bulli; Daniel Boulud from Daniel; Alexandre Ferrand from Alain Ducasse; Wolfgang Puck from Wolfgang Puck Restaurants; Antoine Hernandez from Joël Robuchon; Michel Richard from Citronelle; José Andrés from Jaleo and minibar; Pontus Elofsson from Noma; Charlie Palmer from Charlie Palmer Restaurants and many others from around the globe.
"We support the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin because place names are central to understanding the foods and wines we work with every day," says José Andrés, a James Beard Award-winning chef with restaurants in Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas and Los Angeles. "We celebrate foods and wines from all over the world every day, because they bring special elements to the table and we believe that clear labeling is central to this experience."
"Americans care about where their food and wine are from more than ever before, so we must stand together to ensure that consumers accurately receive the location-driven products they desire," says Chef Ken Frank of Napa Valley's landmark restaurant, La Toque.
The coalition hopes that the clear and resounding results of consumer survey data, combined with the accelerated interest on the part of chefs and other food and wine experts and an overwhelming majority of the world's leading wine regions now working in unison will push lawmakers and others around the globe to better protect wine place names in the U.S. and beyond.
By signing the Declaration, the 15 wine regions have collectively affirmed that geographic names are fundamental tools for consumers to identify the wines from specific wine-growing areas. In their meetings today in New York, the regions renewed their commitment to working together on the consumer education and public advocacy necessary to ensure that these names are protected and respected worldwide.
The Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin was originally signed on July 26, 2005, and now has the support of 15 international wine regions including Champagne, France; Chianti Classico, Italy; Jerez, Spain; Long Island, New York; Napa Valley, California; Oregon state; Paso Robles, California; Porto, Portugal; Rioja, Spain; Sonoma County, California; Tokaj, Hungary; Victoria, Australia; Walla Walla Valley, Washington; Washington state; and Western Australia. These quality wine regions have come together to foster the growing global recognition that location is the most important ingredient in wine. To lend support and read the full text of the Declaration, visit protect place.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Wines of Campania: Donna Chiara Wines at Il Gattopardo
photo above by Alan Watts from Eat Italian
Last week Ilaria Petitto from Donna Chiara Winery guided us through an evening of tastings from the Campania region of Italy at Il Gattopardo, a fantastic Campanian restaurant in NYC owned by the legendary Gianfranco Sorrentino. The winery is located in Montefalcione, a small town in Avellino, where her family has been since 1885. Winemaking is a family tradition, tied closely to the land, where typical white wines like Greco di Tufo, Falanghina, Fiano di Avellino are well structured and long aging, as well as tasty reds like Aglianico and Taurasi. Ilaria pointed out "It is said that Taurasi is the Barolo of the south, but in fact can be better, after all Aglianico is a much more ancient grape than Nebbiolo."
Here are my tasting notes along with the wonderfully paired menu:
Donna Chiara Sante Spumante Brut IGT
a sparkling 100% Falanghina, made using the Martinotti lungo method of fermentation to maintain traditional flavors of the region, fine perlage (smaller, more numerous bubbles), floral aromas, fresh fruit, citrus, minerality and a tropical bouquet.
Paired with arancini di risotto con piselli, mozzarella e sugo di vitelli, bruschetta di fiocco di burrata e basilico.
Donna Chiara Falanghina Beneventano IGT
Fermented for 40 days, straw yellow colors, toasty, pineapple, buttery smooth, even toned, beautiful full bodied, good minerality and acidity and long aging potential.
Donna Chiara Fiano d'Avellino DOCG
2 month fermentation using wild yeasts, vulcanic soils giving layered texture, late harvest imparts an intense ripeness, showing in the aromatics of dried fruit, pear, apple, mild acidity, smooth and long finish.
Both paired with parmigiano di zucchini con provola e salsa al pomodoro.
Donna Chiara Aglianico IGT 2008
No oak touches this one, aged 6 months in bottle, light, fruit aromas, a palate of sour raspberry, glycerine, blackberry, and sour cherries linger on the finish.
Donna Chiara Irpinia 2008 DOC
6 months in French oak, using wild yeasts, structure & body, non-filtered, touch of oak (2nd and third usage barrels not so aggressive). Medium to full body, cherries, prunes, spice, glycerine, raspberry. Charles Scicolone, (a passionate oak-hater) commented on how these reds did not exhibit much oak)
Both reds paried with paccheri alla genovese napoletana
Donna Chiara Taurasi 2007 DOCG
12 months in French barrique, non filtered, ruby violet colors, bouquet of beautiful raspberry and blackberry aromas, with chocolate undertones, ending with a delicious long finish.
Carre d'agnello arrosto con patate e spinaci saltati.
Greco di Tufo DOCG
Apricot, summer fruits, pear lemon rind, pineapple and a fresh finish.
Campania is truly a diverse region with lots to offer. I suggest you try to experience some of their wonderful foods and wines here in the Big Apple or on your next trip to... Campania.
For another perspective on the event see Charles Scicolone On Wine
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Wines of Cloudy Bay, Marlborough New Zealand
Marlborough, New Zealand's South Island seems to have a handle on Sauvignon Blanc. I recently had a chance to sample a few along with a Chardonnay, Riesling and a Pinot Noir. Cloudy Bay's thoroughly engaging winemaker Sarah Burton was our guide at an outdoor dinner featuring their wares at The Elizabeth Street Gallery, an outdoor antique garden in New York City's Nolita, with beautifully matching cuisine by Silkstone.
Sarah is one of three winemakers at Cloudy Bay (teamed with Tim Heath and Nick Lane) in Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand. "No traffic lights, no people and 1 coffee shop." She's been at Cloudy bay for 2 years and it's just celebrated it's 25th year anniversary. They've come a long way and their focus is on Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. "Marlborough is a family region, where animals are important, people are close knit." Their wines are about science and art but especially about people.
2011 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
This one is close to her heart, she and her team spent hours of fine tuning, they take it seriously, and they're proud of it. I especially loved this one. Sarah says, "It reminds me of Christmas, with a vibrancy, fresh fruit, texture, herbs, capsicum, grapefruit, a palate that's smooth, creamy, with a crisp finish. We slipped in a 2% controlled barrel fermentation which adds fleshiness, aged it 4 months in old barrels with some barrels from as far back as 1986 so they're neutral, with no oak influences and more aeration than influence from the barrel. The point is to get flavors from the grape directly into the bottle. It's all about climate... it's the cool nights that give fresh vibrancy and acidity that make it special."
Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2006
From the same vineyards as above, left to ripen a bit longer, they press the grapes but play around with the solids and the juice to give more texture and weight later on, then it's 100% barrel fermented with 10% new oak and 90% really old (neutral) French oak. Complex, showing individual personality, and as this wine opens, the changes are apparent and amazing. Savory, with orange blossom characters, some citrus notes, but more nuttiness, creaminess from the barrel fermentation. The fermentation takes place using only wild yeast, followed by a partial malolactic fermentation, left in barrel for 18 months, then another 18 months in bottle. 2 words: Minerality & Texture!
Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009
The next big varietal coming out of Marlborough is Pinot Noir. Early on in NZ these grapes traditionally were planted on the plains and now planted on slopes which improved quality of fruits. Pinot Noir is gently handled, hand picked, then fermented for 2 weeks with natural yeasts, the use of "whole bunch" makes spicy green characters from the stems. 2 more weeks on skins impart more color and tannins, press off to 40% new oak barrel and 60% 2-3 year old oak, all French, and aged for 8-10 months, Complex, fruity, raspberry, strawberry, funk, spicy, chocolate, expressive, smooth, soft, supple tannins with minerality. I also get hints of white pepper, aromas of red licorice, a good long finish, and a clean earthiness.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Wines of Chile: Casablanca Valley at Puro Chile
Pablo Morande first planted vines in Casablanca Chile in 1982 where he introduced Chardonnay, Riesling and in 1986 the first Sauvignon Blanc. He did this in a time and place where no one would have believed he would succeed. There was virtually no rainfall, poor vegetation, frosts in winter and extreme swings of temperature between day and night. But Pablo saw the similarities to Carneros California, and took the calculated risk. The qualities Casablanca had in its favor was its terroir. It is one of high humidity, 75% to 65% because of the proximity to the coast. And the valley forms with the Andes to create a perfect climate for fog which blocks solar radiation, especially in the western regions. In general the soil is clay and granite in the west and sand and loam in the east. The rest is history.
This past week we gathered at Puro Chile to sample 4 Sauvignon Blancs and 3 Pinot Noirs from the Casablanca valley, here are my tasting notes:
Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2011
21 miles from the coast in the eastern section known as Alto Casablanca, visibly clean and clear, on the nose vaguely pineapple, honeydew melon with citrus lime, and refreshing flavors especially banana, some spice, verdant herbs and a creamy factor. 13.7% alcohol, a bottle costs $12 to $15.
Casas Del Bosque Pequenas Producciones Sauvignon Blanc 2011
In the western region about 10 miles from the ocean, the air is cool and soil is ancient composed of granite, volcanic matter and clay. After hand picking the juice is in contact with skins for 4 days, fermented in stainless steel then on the lees in barrels for 2 months. Liked this one quite a bit, showed earthy aromas of cat pee, with briny salt water, and passion fruit with flavors of spice, toast and melon. $25 per bottle with 13.7% alcohol.
Kingston Family Cariblanco Sauvignon Blanc 2010
With vines first planted in 1998 this Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in combination of small stainless barrels, small jacketed tanks (that hold about 6 barrels worth of juice) and a few new oak barrels, just to add a little texture, and aged on the yeast lees.
Showing aromas of raw wood, a pleasant minerality, muted tones of grapefruit and citrus, good body and grassy flavors, and a good long finish. $17 per bottle, 14.3% alcohol.
Cono Sur 20 Barricas Sauvignon Blanc 2009
In this cool climate 2009 was apparently a hot year, yielding subtle aromas and clean fresh flavors exhibiting a tree bark green, which makes sense since this winery won an award as "Green Company of the Year" in 2011. Stainless steel fermentation, a nice bouquet of melon, ripe grapefruit, spices and a minerality with fresh fruit flavors. $15 per bottle.
Emiliana Gran Reserva Novas Pinot Noir 2010
The first Vineyard to go organic, sustainable and biodynamic, Emiliana produces this expressive Pinot Noir. They do a 4 day maceration using wild yeast, aging 8 months in French oak to yield a wine with strawberry aromas, soft clean fresh red fruit on the palate.
Quintay Q Pinot Noir 2010
Three different clones coming from farms in different regions of Casablanca, but preserving the identity of each terroir, 80% of the yield is aged in barrels. Red berries, fresh fruit, strawberry, cherries, floral hints, wet slate with an herbal finish.
Morande Edicion Limitada Pinot Noir 2008
15 months in half new barrel make this Pinot sing aromatically! It's rich and complex with a perfume that's intoxicating, red berries, cherries, licorice, strawberries, and raspberry. Outstanding Pinot Noir for the $22 pricetag.
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Mark and Pauline Lloyd run a 1500 head purebred Brangus commercial breeding herd at Mavis Downs, situated 174 kilometres south-west of Mackay.
The Lloyd's have owned the 5000 hectare property, comprising of Brigalow, Box and Belah country, since 1994, where they run a mixed grazing and crop farming operation.
The family has been using Brangus since 1980.
"Our parents used them initially on their home block, and we continued with them in our operation when Mavis Downs was bought," Mark said.
"We favour the Brangus for their ability to adapt year in and year out to all conditions, they also have excellent market suitability, and a proven track record in regards to fertility and temperament," he said.
The Lloyd's usually join their bulls with the females from December until the end of April, with the aim of getting the MSA premium for their cattle when they turn them off to JBS as two to four-teeth bullocks at 340kg dress weight, and their heifers at 250kg.
Mark said they're constantly striving to improve the quality of their cattle, while placing extra focus on conformation so that they can achieve a higher carcase yield enabling them to turn off their cattle at a younger age.
"We're also always looking to improve the consistency of the fertility rates within the herd, and we only keep quiet, easy to maintain cattle on-property."
He said they only bring in genetics with proven doing ability, and cull heavily to ensure they maintain a strong female base herd.
Mark said the family have been regularly attending the Central Brangus Classic Sale since it began to expand and enhance the genetics base of their herd by purchasing the high quality bulls available there.
"We've always found that the quality of the yarding offered at the CBC sale has been first-rate, and adding to the appeal is the fact that all the bulls are bred in the Central Highlands area so they're well suited to our conditions.
"Though we don't purchase from specific stud's, we've bought Telemon genetics from the sale over the years which has helped us to maintain the strength of our breeder base."
When attending the sale, Mark said they keep an eye on bulls with a strong sire head, length, bone, and a quiet temperament.
"Length and bone are vital for us to produce the weight gains we need for improved carcase yields in our bullocks."
He said a strong sire head is an important characteristic for a bull to have to be able to produce potential sale bull calves.
"And good temperament is essential for earlier weight gain, meat tenderness and bruising reduction in sale cattle and is a priority for any breeding herd to improve genetics and maintain fertility."
Mark said the challenge of breeding cattle is both rewarding and frustrating.
"On those occasions that you do breed a good product, the reward inspires you to strive to breed something even better the next time."
Pauline said being together when their daughters Sarah, Renee and Claire when they're home from uni and boarding school is what they look forward to most when they aren't working their cattle.
"Fishing and learning about new ag technology are a couple of other interests Mark and I have."
Later in the year, the Lloyd's will be making their debut as vendors at the 42nd ABCA Sponsored Rockhampton Brangus Sale where they'll be offering three of their best herd bulls.


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New iPad is explained by Apple Tim Cook, Apple CEO, "It's time to answer those questions…"
Apple's newest iPad was dubbed just that—the 'new iPad' and shown in side-by-side comparisons with the iPad2 for Screen quality demonstrations on Wednesday in San Francisco. See also: New iPad review.
New iPad review
Vice President of Marketing Philip Schiller said the new iPad's retina display makes content look clean and crisp, with no visible pixilation marks. Visit Group test: what's the best tablet PC?
The new iPad is essentially the same size and outward design as the iPad 2, but this one will be available with 4G LTE, which should make checking email for photos- as demonstrated here—a much faster process, since the connection will open photos more quickly.
The new iPad also comes with a new Apple designed internal chip—a Dual-core A5X. Apple says it allows for better graphics display and to prove it, brought three app developers to the stage to demo their products on the iPad. Read Apple launches new iPad: full details
Besides gamers, Apple thinks photography fans will be pleased with the iPad, and unveiled its souped-up iPhoto editing software at the event too.
The new iPad is available for pre-order now and will be available in some countries March 16. Prices start at $499, and the iPad 2 beginning price will drop 100 dollars.
Apple also announced various other application updates, the addition of Japanese to the list of languages Siri, the iPhone virtual assistant, can understand and speak, and also announced a next-generation Apple TV. Visit new iPad launch: as it happened.
From San Francisco, Kerry Davis, IDG News Service.


text: Autumn Miles is a dynamic speaker and host of "The Autumn Miles Show," which airs on the Salem Radio Network in Dallas. In her new book, "I Am Rahab: Touched by God. Fully Restored," Autumn shares how she overcame her own past of domestic violence and divorce. Using the biblical character of Rahab the harlot, Autumn shows readers how God can use their mistakes for good. "For years, I carried the shame and weight of my past. I was 'Autumn the Divorcee' or 'Autumn the Abuse Victim,'" She said: "I connected with biblical characters known for their failures. But when I found Rahab, I saw a woman whom God used, despite a sordid past." Throughout the book, Autumn uses her personal story, as well the biblical account of Rahab, to show God's restoration. www.autumnmiles.com.


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"ML" Woodland represents the organization of production parquet and terrace decking which exists since 2004. Production process at the entity relies on use of modern technologies and the equipment (Weinig, Wintersteiger, Viet). It gives the chance to turn out the high-quality competitive products conforming to domestic and international standards. Having the modern high-technology equipment and qualified specialists at the order, we can offer products which will provide comfort in houses and offices of our customers.
Our company makes high-quality products which have huge popularity around the world. We export our products to more than 20 countries of the world. Also we cooperate with restoration projects which are under protection of UNESCO.
The company includes a complete cycle of production – beginning from the round wood till finished goods. The design capacity of the entity makes 5000 sq.m of products monthly. Enter a product assortment: solidwood, massive, art parquet and terrace thermo decking. The main development strategy of the company – beginning creation of parquet floors of the highest quality category and the design decisions intended for the most wide range from apartments and cottages to difficult restoration projects.


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With a four day weekend in observation of the "American New Year" holiday (If you don't like that, then replace the term Chinese New Year with Lunar New Year... grrrr!), I had a little time to join the folks at T-Mosaic for their annual Taichung to Kenting ride.
Each year I have had to give it a miss due to work or other obligations. This time I was all ready to go.
Usually, I ride with smaller groups or by myself. It gives you a little more flexibility to plan and change plans as the situation dictates. On the other side of the coin, traveling with a larger, organized group allows for someone else to make all the necessary arrangements with lodging, food and support services. I wasn't burdened under the weight of a pack full of "what-ifs". Aside from the logistics planning, Mosaic provided a support van and support scooter linked by radio to help us smoothly negotiate our route and provide traffic control where we needed it. It was a welcome change from my usual battle against the elements; both natural and manmade.
The latest weather reports had a storm-front moving in with a strong wind advisory and a chance of cold, rainy weather.
We all gathered at T-Mosaic dressed for a cutting wind and a biting chill. Riders were practically mummified in weather protection.
As the white sunlight baked us like buttered croissants, the team quickly stripped off any unnecessary clothing and threw it in the back of the support van to enjoy the rest of the morning in relative comfort.
The ride was to be a two-day event covering the approximately 320km (200mi) between Taichung and the Ouluanpi Lighthouse in Kenting. A couple years ago this would have been a training ride without any mountains to climb or times to beat. This year, I have seen my training time drop from three or four rides per week, to three or four rides per month. I was a little worried how I might fare on back to back centuries. My last century was back in early November and I had hardly done much riding since. There were a couple of weeks where I missed riding completely. Not exactly a recipe for success. I feel as though I still have the muscle, but not the gas to do the really big rides.
As I pedaled at an even pace with Dom, an excellent rider and friend, I kept wondering in the back of my mind how long I could keep it up.
With the wind against our backs I was enjoying a bit of speed through the flats of Changhua.
As we neared the town of Hsiluo, I had been excited to cross the Great Hsiluo Bridge. It is always a thrill, and as a route advisor for this trip, I hoped to take the team across the bridge for a fuel stop in Hsiluo before picking up the gloriously expedient Route 145.
One thing about riding with T-Mosaic is that they ride some really nice bikes, some on the highest edge of the price scale (Mr. Wang, I am talking about you). There is always lots of interesting cycling opinions represented in molded carbon, lugged steel, titanium and aluminum. For this group, Campy still holds sway.
We topped off the tank and then spun a brisk pace toward the former agricultural hub of Huwei.
The whole area has a rural flavor. This former stronghold of Hoanya indigenes has become, in effect, Taiwan's heartland, where farming and folk traditions still resonate with the locals.
This is the Iowa of Taiwan. Kilometer after flat kilometer pass by fields and farms. The whole area reeks of pig shit, but there is little traffic and even fewer traffic lights compared with more popular roads. It is easy to simply put the legs into cruise control and eat up the kilometers between jokes, stories and opinions that flow as freely as a bike on an empty stretch of asphalt.
Around Tuku we left the wider Route 145, in favor of the spaghetti-like strand of the 145甲.
The 145甲 is a lot of fun, if you have the time and patience to follow its curves through the hidden lanes and fields of Taiwan's farm country. Often, I am simply trying to get from one place to another and I don't go out of my way to enjoy these little gems. I have to admit, it really made the ride a bit more interesting. When you lave the luxury of time and the legs to risk a wrong turn or two, this is a nice little route.
Our group stretched out into the sunlight as we all settled into our comfortable speeds, while trying to do our best to pull or draft one another. With so little distance in my legs this year, I was happy to avoid much pulling.
The 145甲 becomes the Route 157 and leads to the town of Hsingang; a town most famous for its Mazu temple and the site of the destination for the famous pilgrimage from the sister temple in Dajia, near Taichung.
It was also time to eat again, so we loaded up on duck noodle soup.
Not too much further down the road, Cash, our scooter support driver, pulled us off the road to wait for some of the other team members who had become delayed and strung out over the route.
You'd have thought the circus had arrived in town. The family of the small grocery all came out to see a group of aliens who had arrived on some type of whirligig that moves when you turn your feet. Before long the children withdrew to make hushed commentary on the foreign devils with our large noses, round eyes and overall barbarian ugliness. Then they tried to bring the neighbors out for a look. It was uncomfortable to say the least. Though, to Taiwan's credit, you have to work your way a lot further out of the city limits to encounter this type of direct objectification. In town the sleights are a lot more subtle.
Our rest lasted about 15 minutes too long and I was happy to keep my legs warm on the Route 157 to the Route 161.
After a little more meandering about the countryside, we arrived at the coast and the Highway 17. Although coastal highways are supposed to be beautiful, most of Highway 17 is a blight. Luckily we bypassed most of the coastal wasteland that sits to the south of Mailiao and could enjoy the nicer stretch around Budai.
One real nice thing about riding in Taiwan is the instant community of cyclists. As we curved through an overpass, we met a lone rider who was surveying the scenery. Catherine was from Taipei and she was astride a gorgeous titanium Rikulau. We asked her to join, and she plodded along with us until Beimen. I chatted with Catherine briefly and she was an avid cyclist with a love for titanium bikes. You never know who you'll meet on the roads.
The afternoon sun beat down on us like hammer blows. I couldn't believe it was the end of December. So much for forecasts. I was happy to have a blazingly hot day in the bag than to have to think about water sloshing between my heel and toe in a steady, chilling drizzle.
We crossed into Tainan and the day seemed to shift into slow motion.
We were all pretty beat from the day's ride and it was getting damned near close to dinner time. We hugged the Tainan Route 15 through the golden marshlands near Luer Men; the former sand spit that at one time held the seat of the Dutch colony on Taiwan.
The area is calm and relaxing. We were all eager to take it down a notch and slide into town for some carbs to restock the reserves.
Our first day had been a magnificent ride through Taiwan's bread basket and I had survived. All evening I sat with an uneasy feeling thinking about having to do it all over again the next day. A one-off century was survivable, but two in a row could be a disaster for me and my out of shape legs.
After a night of loading up on beer carbs, I was a bit dehydrated for the day ahead. Moreover, like a bad house guest, the foul weather we had been promised had arrived after we had all gone to bed, and was promising to stay several days too long.
We left Tainan City and were negotiating Kaohsiung City traffic within the hour. It seemed Kaohsiung would never end. The overcast skies made the day seem perpetually morning. As we edged nearer to the outskirts of town,occasional droplets of precipitation would lick across my face and sun glasses.
The temperatures were also much chillier. It was one of those days when every twenty minutes the body calls out for a pee break in the cold.
As we stopped at one 7-11 in Fangliao, I noticed the unmistakable concrete torii of a Sinto shrine dating from the 1930's when Taiwan was a Japanese colony.
The concrete lanterns had been removed; probably sold. But the modernist torii and arced bridge lay intact .
At the end of the road sat one of the most remarkable shrines I have seen in Taiwan. It has just been sitting for all these years, neglected, but largely undisturbed. These shrines and other examples of Japanese colonial legacy can be found scattered all over Taiwan. They are often hidden by the insecurities of more recent colonial projects, but many have failed to be erased completely.
For me, it was the highlight of a day that would get more complicated and less comfortable.
Just as we left Fangliao a steady rain began to fall. During the entire trip I was at the front of the group with two or three other riders. The faster pace was taking its toll, and the weather was now insulting my family for a thousand generations.
The usually glistening seascape was a muted swirl of grey and fog. I could barely see through my fogged up lenses. We marched up each rolling hill with a little more ferocity and a little less energy from calories and more coming from pure grit, anger or dread.
Our plans had changed on account of the weather. Besides, we were tired. Instead of cycling around the Kenting National Park to avoid the throngs of tourists, we decided to just go straight through.
By Che Cheng, my legs were burning a bit too hot after eating a few rollers, I didn't have much more left in me.
By the home stretch Dom and I elected to pull back a little bit. After being followed by a car in the bike/scooter lane for a kilometer, I finally pulled off for one last 7-11 pee break and to collect myself for one final attack.
We threw ourselves against the miserable hills that stair step up to Kenting Street. The rain has soaked me all the way down to my I Just Don't Give A Damn.
We evaded Kenting Street along a sneaky back road, and with a kilometer to go, were hit by the most savage crosswind. I pulled up without the energy to fight through with my shoulders down.
With a handful of seconds between us, Dom and I reached Ouluanbi Lighthouse at the perfect moment to get off the bikes.
Before too long the rest of the riders arrived out of the drizzle and haze.
We were driven to some nearby showers before being dropped off for eats. We were all tired, soaked and hungry, but we were also happy to have completed our trip. It made getting out of the elements that much sweeter.
A very memorable end to 2012, indeed.
Thanks to Rocky, Cash, Hsiao Lan, and the rest of T-Mosaic for making this ride happen.
Happy New Year!!!!


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The 2010 election in only a week away. It's time to seriously start planning what you will do next Tuesday when you get to the polls. Will you wear a say-something hat, or simply dress casually? Will you go to the polls before work? Or on your way home at the end of the day?
All joking aside, there really are a few things that you need to do before you get to the polls so that you're prepared when you get to your polling location.
Locate Your Polling Location
The most important thing to do is find your polling location. How else will you know where to go on November 2nd? Visit the Secretary of State's website to find out where to go. Mapquest the directions if you're unsure of how to get there.
Bring ID to the Polls
The state of Arizona requires voters to provide a government-issued form of identification, such as a driver's license or tribal enrollment card, that bears the name, address, and photograph of the voter. You do not necessarily need to provide your voter registration card, but it never hurts to bring that along. Do not count on using a school ID, even though it has your picture on it. This will not be accepted.
Request a Provisional Ballot
In previous elections, thousands of voters were turned away at the polls for a variety of issues. As a result, Congress passed legislation requiring pollsters to provide a provisional ballot when a voter asks for one. If you have been told by a pollster that your name is not on the list of registered voters, it is your right to ask for a provisional ballot, and you absolutely should do so. According to the Arizona Secretary of State:
You have a right to vote a provisional ballot if one of the following situations apply to you:
- If your name does not appear on the precinct register, and you are in the correct polling place.
- If you have moved to a new address within the county and have not updated your voter registration.
- If you have legally changed your name and have not updated your voter registration.
- If you requested an early ballot but did not vote an early ballot.
- If you have not produced sufficient identification.
- If you were challenged as a qualified voter.
To vote using a provisional ballot:
1. Sign your name in the signature roster where the election official has entered your name.
2. Vote your provisional ballot.
3. Sign the affirmation on the provisional ballot envelope.
4. Place and seal your ballot in a provisional ballot envelope.
5. You will be given a provisional ballot receipt with information on how to present sufficient identification to the County Recorder if necessary, and how to verify the status of your provisional ballot.
Your provisional ballot will be counted once it has been verified that you have voted at the correct polling place, provided the required identification documents, and are registered to vote in the county in which you voted.
Don't get counted out on November 2nd. Plan ahead, bring your ID with you to the polls, and demand a provisional ballot if you encounter any trouble at the polls. For information about Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona's stance on various ballot provisions, as well as a list of our endorsed candidates, please visit our website.


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When, in 1904, suffragettes Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney gatecrashed a Liberal party meeting in Manchester to protest their right to vote, they probably didn't do it to a hip-hop beat. But the scene playing out in a south London rehearsal room shows just that. Bouncing about the stage, the women chant: "You're looking for compliance and we're giving you defiance!", while the men wag their fingers: "Enough of this horseplay, you've had your say / Your role as a woman is to serve and obey."
The heavy bassline, catchy hooks and soulful vocals might not be 100% historically accurate but choreographer/director Kate Prince hopes they'll bring alive the story of women's suffrage in her new show, Sylvia, based on the life of Sylvia Pankhurst, sister of Christabel and daughter of suffragette leader Emmeline. Working with writer Priya Parmar and composer/lyricists Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, Prince has translated historical speeches and diaries into the idiom of hip-hop, funk and soul. So Emmeline Pankhurst's statement "You have to make more noise than anybody else" becomes the hip-hop call to arms: "Make some noise!"
Why is this a good story to tell through hip-hop, I ask Prince, while she munches through a salad on her lunch break. "[Author] Alonzo Westbrook says that hip-hop is the artistic response to oppression," she says. "I think that answers your question."
Prince and her company ZooNation are known for feelgood dance theatre (Some Like it Hip-Hop, Into the Hoods) but Sylvia is their first all-out musical, featuring a star turn from Beverley Knight as Emmeline Pankhurst. If you've heard about the show already, it might be thanks to a minor Twitterstorm over the casting of Knight, a black actor playing a white character. While there has been criticism of white actors, including Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton, playing non-white roles, the idea that all casting should be restricted down racial lines is missing the point, says Prince. "We can't approach the casting of black and Asian actors versus white actors as if it is an even playing field," says Prince. "We have a lot of work to do to redress this balance.
"This is not new territory for us," she continues. "Diversity has been at the heart of our work for 16 years. ZooNation creates work that is influenced by hip-hop culture and we cast the best voices, dancers and actors for the music we make and the style of dance we do."
Prince, of course, isn't the only person hip-hop-ifying history on the musical stage right now. I'm just about to ask if Sylvia is the British answer to Hamilton when she says purposefully, "The one thing I'm keen to get across is we're not on the coattails of Hamilton!" It's fair to say that Prince has been making this kind of work for a long time. She hasn't even seen the smash US show yet, as she doesn't want to be influenced – or intimidated – by it, but she does think it's an important milestone. "It's shown that a piece of hip-hop musical theatre can be commercially viable," she says. "It doesn't have to be fringe. White, middle-class audiences will buy tickets."
Prince has an agenda to make accessible theatre that especially connects with young people. She'll be happy, she says, "if I can make some young people come in and give a shit about this story". She's taken an irreverent approach, poking fun at sacred figures including Emmeline Pankhurst and Winston Churchill, Prince tells me, adding, sotto voce: "Churchill's a bit of an idiot in this show."
Rather than the full story of the suffragettes, the musical focuses on the middle Pankhurst sister, Sylvia, covering the period from 1895 to 1928, taking in her relationship with Keir Hardie and the founding of the Labour party, and the schism between her and her mother and sisters, who veered towards Conservatism as the years went on while she remained a staunch socialist.
"There's so much you can write about Sylvia," says Prince. "She becomes a communist for a time – she's the most quoted person by Lenin. Isn't that weird? She ends up in Ethiopia having a state funeral given to her by Haile Selassie. She's the first person to employ a black journalist [in Britain], she moves to the East End and sets up a cost-price restaurant, and turns a pub into a daycare centre for children. She does a deal with Selfridges – all teddy bears at the time were being made in Germany, and when the war started she convinced the store to stock only teddy bears from the factory she started in the East End, putting working class women into jobs."
Sylvia lived with Italian anarchist Silvio Corio and they had a child together, but when the couple refused to marry, Sylvia's mother Emmeline cut off all contact. "More than anything, this is the story of a family torn apart by their passion and their politics," says Prince, "because in the end politics comes first and family second. The relationship between Sylvia, her mother and her sister completely breaks down. They don't see each other or speak again until Christabel and Sylvia exchange letters in their 70s."
Has being immersed in Sylvia's suffragette story made Prince reflect on the battles women still have to fight? "Because of doing this show I've become very aware of how we speak about men and women," she says. "I've got a real bee in my bonnet about how everyone keeps referring to men and women as boys and girls. I had it recently, talking to someone in his office who said, 'Oh, I've got a great girl who does that for me.' In comes Sandra, older than me. She's not a great girl, she's a woman!"
You can't talk about sexism in the dance industry without noting the ongoing imbalance between male and female choreographers in the profession. "In dance, 90% of participants are female but I did some research recently on the nominations for best theatre choreographer at the Olivier awards since the 90s, and there were over 90 nominations to men and 18 to women," says Prince. "How is that possible? I refuse to believe it's because women aren't as good as men. And it can't just be because we have children." Prince has a three-year-old daughter herself, and admits it's difficult to combine parenthood and the intense creation process for a show.
Some people say female choreographers don't push themselves, I offer. "The young women I know that are choreographers, they're putting themselves out there," says Prince. "And they're not getting the same opportunities as men."
In terms of putting yourself out there, it's been pointed out that while male choreographers often name their dance companies after themselves, women are more likely to hide behind anonymous monikers. Which is partly why Prince has amended the ZooNation brand to add "The Kate Prince Company" to its title. "Look, men do it, and if women don't put their name front and centre … someone said to me, you have a responsibility if you're trying to open doors for these women to follow, to make Kate Prince and ZooNation synonymous."
This was brought home to her at an interview for a musical theatre job (Prince has a sideline working on other people's shows, including current hit Everybody's Talking About Jamie). "Someone was asking me, what kind of choreography do you do. I said, oh, mostly I've trained in hip-hop. And she said, you should really see this great company, they're called ZooNation!"
At which point, Prince realised, it was time to make some noise.


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text:
at YOUR MAINE STAMPER
This is our BIG EVENT for the month of August. We have 12 vendors in the yard all bringing crafting supplies to sell. Really good deals on stamps, papers, tools, etc. Sales inside the shop too!!!
Memory Box special orders from Holiday 2011
Stamps by Judith ARRIVED THURSDAY AFTERNOON--IF YOU SPECIAL ORDERED, YOUR STAMPS SHOULD BE HERE AS WELL AS LOTS OF OTHER STAMPS THAT LYDIA ORDERED FOR THE SHOP! GREAT SELECTION OF PEG STAMPS AND OTHERS YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! (be sure to read the p.s. I added today at the end of this post)
Halloween papers from Graphic 45 featuring The Wizard of Oz
more Halloween papers, stamps, and embellishments
the Stamp-of-the-Month is here @40% off--a spooky scene from DRS Designs
Refills for the Glue Glider Pro
large extra sticky Glue Dots for attaching embellishments
Pebbles Cream Chalk Inks--Basics, Earthtones, Pastels, and NEW Metallics
Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves Sizzix die--use this in your Cuttlebug and you won't need a C plate
LaBlanche book (several copies in) with great ideas for using their stamps
Going...going...not yet gone
Little Yellow Bicycle. Bo Bunny, and other summer-themed goodies for your summer cards and scrapbooking--check out the front table by the window for yummy papers and embellishments in bright primary colors!
This week's tutorial:
This fall card features two of the newest memory Box stamps: G1781 Index Card and G1795 Autumn Leaf Collage. This is a quick and easy card!
Stamp G1781 Index Card on white or cream cardstock in Vintage Sepia ink.
Stamp G1795 Autumn Leaf Collage on top of the Index Card Image in the same color ink.
Trim the image and adhere to brown cardstock just a bit larger than the Index Card.
Layer this onto a piece of paper from the Nightfall 6X6 collection.
Stamp Happy Fall on a scrap of plain cardstock, adhere to a pice of brown to frame it, and pop-dot it on.
Add a little color to the leaves using a variety of colored pencils in shades of brown.
Happy stamping!
p.s. I'm getting excited about the yard sale next weekend. I made up $1 bags today from my stash of papers, chipboard, stickers, embellishments and more! And I've got about a hundred stamps at $1 each or less. Connie's been bagging up stuff from months and Diane's 300 or so stamps arrived via UPS so there are going to be lots of things to choose from! I can't wait to see what everyone else is bringing to sell! I always find really good deals! Anybody got a Zutter Bind-It-All to sell???


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Attorney Thomas Burton, for the plaintiffs, is all too familiar with the multi-billion dollar Therapeutic Teen Industry that is an apparent gold mine, not only for insiders, but outside investors as well, along with towns, counties, and states that house these private facilities.
The question remains: Can [he] win 'one?' Can he 'break' the containment and carte blanche aura, even with apparent so-called non-existent oversight?
One such oversight: COLLAPSIBLE SHOWER RODS - Early Fall of 2013, a young man perished after hanging himself in the shower with a belt. According to the State of Utah's DHS Licensing Division, upon their recommendation for remedy, existing shower rods were replaced with collapsible rods and shower heads. Negligence cited? Wishful thinking.
For advocates, activists, and survivors of this industry, the below court filing is of no surprise. Different venue, but apparently the same inexcusable, egregious allegations that too often repeat themselves.
NOTE: This document was modified into MS WORD.Spelling errors left intact.
Identifiers such as states of residence of the plaintiffs were removed. Plaintiff names were left intact, as plaintiffs were previously identified in media reporting:http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/12/08/teens-call-academy-a-private-prison.htm
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 1 of 20
Thomas M. Burton
YELDING; and JANAYE KEARNS
DIAMOND RANCH ACADEMY a Utah
Corporation; and DOES I through X,
) Case No.
Case: 2:14cv00884
Assigned To : Pead, Dustin B.
Assign. Date : 12/3/2014
Description: Weber et al v. Diamond Ranch Academy
Come now the plaintiffs, Tyler Weber, Tracy Sarno, Janet Yelding, and Janaye Kearns, who allege as follows:
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 1 of 20
1. This case charges Diamond Ranch Academy with fraudulently pretending to be a residential treatment center consonant with its state license, but in reality being a private prison administering harsh and illegal abuse upon Tyler Weber and Janaye Kearns, who were locked up against their will and without their consent due to their naive parents' believing Defendants' lies promising a supportive, safe, healthy, camp-like setting with regular and productive therapy I counseling and an emphasis on education and'getting back on the right track' for a healthy, drug-free, happy, successful future.
2. Diamond Ranch Academy markets itself as a boarding school, academy, and therapeutic treatment center, and designed to straighten out troubled, truant or failing teenage youth, and through a positive, supportive program, helping them to gain confidence in themselves, and, to want a healthy and happy life forth themselves. Its failure to do so is endemic and epidemic. Instead,it leaves a trail of posttraumatic stress, nightmares, and damaged, destroyed families. Diamond Ranch Academy's extravagant fees fraudulently suggest great expertise and cloak its staffs minimal credentials and multiple mistakes.
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 2 of 20
3. Plaintiffs were sold on Diamond Ranch Academy by its vaunted prospective services that were not provided. The parents of Tyler Weber and Janaye Kearns were not told of the tactics Diamond Ranch Academy uses in its program. Diamond Ranch Academy presented a false facade of a summer camp with the added component of therapy and assistance to help Tyler and Janaye navigate back to a productive life, all in a positive manner, along with gaining school credits so that they would graduate on schedule.
4. Tyler Weber and Janaye Kearns were thrust into Diamond Ranch Academy without the slightest understanding of what they were getting into, and had no choice in the matter. These teen-agers represented part of a string of damaged teenagers that it boasted of helping, accompanied by some unjustified theory that tough love was just the treatment they needed. At Diamond Ranch Academy,there was no forum for complaint, explanation, appeal, or grievance against the placement, before, during, or after it occurred. The only option available to the hapless youth there confined was to "fake it in order to make it", for Diamond Ranch Academy is a lock down, closely guarded private prison, where punishments are harsh for
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 3 of 20
any rule infraction, real or instigated by the Diamond Ranch Academy staff for their amusement.
5. Once confined, no contact with the outside world was allowed and Tyler and Janaye knew that any disparaging remark or complaint about Diamond Ranch Academy Academy would be punished by isolation and losing all privileges earned, meaning making them start at the bottom in and rise from level to level by successfully completing mindless tasks of blind obedience enforced by cruel punishment.
6. This court has jurisdiction of this cause under and by virtue of Title28 of the United States Code, §§ 1331, diversity of citizenship.
7. Tyler Weber is a citizen of the State of -------.
8. Janaye Kearns is a citizen of -------.
9. Tracy Sarno and Janet Yelding are citizens of the State of -------.
10. Diamond Ranch Academy Academy is a Utah licensed residential
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 4 of 20
treatment center and is a citizen of the State of Utah.
11. Doe defendants I through X are persons presently unknown regarding their activity leading to this lawsuit and responsibility for failing to secure Tyler Weber and Janaye Kearns' health, safety, and welfare against the repeated injury that occurred at Diamond Ranch Academy. They will be added to the complaint when their identity or responsibility is ascertained. In all things herein alleged and at all times material, all defendants were acting as agents of, or joint venturers with, the other defendants.
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 5 of 20
13. They were forced to labor in 100-degree weather without protection and insufficient water, and inadequate protective clothing depending on the season.
14. They were also forced to go without shoes and sufficient clothing in winter.
15. They were, without justification except the amusement or demonstration of staff power over them, forced not to speak for days on end to anyone else in the compound.
16. Multiple times they were ordered to dig deep holes, and then ordered, for no apparent reason to refill the hole with the dirt extracted.
17. They were kept awake until midnight and then required to get up at 4:30 a.m. on a regular basis in order to be deprived of needed sleep.
18. The were often tackled and "taken down" and sat upon by staff for punishment for some perceived slight.
19. They were often punished by being forced to sit facing a wall for lengthy period of time for any reason or no reason, during which no communication was allowed.
20. Staff treated Tyler and Janaye harshly with threats of punishment for doing anything wrong, which was meant not obeying each and every command given them immediately and to the hilt.
21. When staff determined that a boy needed to be restrained, he was slammed against a wall with great force and threatened with worse.
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 6 of 20
22. The staff sadistically and verbally beat down everyone, and the bullying was excessive. Groups of captives were pitted against other groups for the amusement of staff. Although some staff members were more kind and helpful and willing to become friendly, they never mustered the courage to correct the sadistic staff members who enjoyed wielding the power over Mark and Devin, along with all of the others.
23. Evaluations were not fair, but aimed at keeping the students longer in the program so as to keep cash flowing into Diamond Ranch Academy.
24. Anyone disparaging the program would be severely punished by being demoted to the Blue Group, which prospect was frightening.
25. The educational curriculum was childish, leaving each youth to fend for himself or herself to get anything out of it. The young plaintiffs learned nothing from their experience except that their parents had been deceived and had wasted their money. Any improvement in the young plaintiffs' behavior they attribute just to having grown up, and that they would have done better without all the negativity, manipulation, sadistic punishment, unjust treatment, surly language and hostile environment they had had to put up with.
26. Diamond Ranch Academy Academy's rational for its bad behavior was to harden the young men for life, which, after all, is not fair.
27. All too often the kid Janaye saw at Diamond Ranch Academy who complained of health problems were ignored, refused treatment and even punished for "manipulating". She has seen pathologists
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 7 of 20
excuse deaths in programs before, and suspects there is more to the death that occurred while she was there.
28. Survivors of Diamond Ranch Academy will describe punishments
that include grueling outside work projects in which students are forced to push a cart around a field for hours on end with no breaks, no food and no water. Failure to complete these punishments often resulted in children being tackled and restrained. Treating a child even without any health issues with such force and violence has potential to cause elevated levels of anxiety, injury and even death.
29. XXXXXX was raped by three men who picked her up as she was
walking home from school at age 15. The crime was never pursued
and was basically dropped by the police with no effort really made. There was not really any follow up psychologically for this traumatic event. XXXXXX did not even have a rape kit examination, so there would be no proof even though the perpetrators were in the system as well they might be.
30. The earlier rape is what caused her much difficulty at DRA, because people sometimes held her down, and they were male, triggering the rape. There were really no competent health people at DRA, and she could not ever really get the help that she needed.
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 8 of 20
31. This and other stressors at Diamond Ranch Academy finally drove her to attempt suicide but the curtain rod broke. A 911 call brought the police, requiring that she be hospitalized for observation, but staff at Diamond Ranch Academy talked them out of it on the basis that the ambulance would have to be billed to her parents, thus increasing an already expensive investment (and., of course, to keep the attempt a secret)). Diamond Ranch Academy told the police that they would take her privately to a hospital which, of course, they never did; again, there was no follow up, and her being overwrought was treated punitively by checking every half hour on her in bed when she was wearing only a sports bra and panties, and when she acted out, by holding her down and treating her punitively for making the suicide attempt, and of course risking the school's reputation.
32. No teacher at Diamond Ranch Academy locked up the boy and girl was certified. She failed two home visits and so had to return to DRA where she spent almost a year, again under great stress.
(False Imprisonment)
33. Diamond Ranch Academy, for no legitimate purpose, and solely for
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 9 of 20
Defendants' profit and benefit, confined the minor plaintiffs at their property. They had not been adjudicated of any crime. They could not leave the facility, but were guarded all the time.
34. They could not do what they wanted, but only what they were told to do.
35. In addition, they had to live in unsanitary conditions with dirty bedclothes. Tyler was threatened that he better sleep on his back to prevent sexual assault.
36. Defendants falsely imprisoned these youths:
a. By separating them from their parents.
b. By not permitting them to leave.
c. By refusing to consider their views in matters affecting their welfare.
d. By not allowing them freedom of expression and by arbitrarily
interfering with their privacy.
e. By subjecting them to forms of physical and mental violence,
injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, and maltreatment.
f. By failing to identify, report, investigate, and follow up on
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 10 of 20
Diamond Ranch Academy's maltreatment.
g. By failing to provide adequate and special assistance to the boys regarding their emotional disabilities due to Diamond Ranch Academy's perverse treatment that was perpetrated by other and various forms of abusive maltreatment.
h. By failing to provide the highest attainable standards of health and facilities for their treatment and rehabilitation.
i. By failing to ensure provisions for their necessary medical
assistance and health care.
j. By failing to provide nutritious food.
k. By failing to assure periodic reviews of what was happening to them.
I. By failing to recognize their right to an education deprived by Diamond Ranch Academy.
m. By failing to assure that the education at Diamond Ranch
Academy conformed to the minimum standards laid down by the State of Utah.
n. By failing to recognize their right to rest and leisure, to engage in
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 11 of 20
play and recreational activities appropriate to their age, and to participate freely in cultural life, which, as captives, they could not do.
o. By requiring them to work at mindless chores that interfered with their education or were harmful to their physical health and mental, spiritual, moral, and social development.
p. By subjecting them to torture or other cruel, inhumane, or
degrading treatment or punishment.
q. By unlawfully and arbitrarily depriving them of their liberty.
r. By depriving them of the right to maintain honest contact with their family.
s. By failing to create an environment, which fostered their health, self-respect and dignity.
t. By failing to take appropriate measures to promote their physical and psychological recovery and social re-integration.
u. By directly and indirectly compelling them to confess guilt, even to things they had not done, in order to satisfy their captors' demands and escape their taunting.
v. By failing to respect their privacy at all stages of their
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 12 of 20
24. Defendants perpetrated a breach of their duty toward Tyler and Janaye intentionally causing them mental and emotional distress.
25. The Defendants are jointly and individually liable for the neglect described.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs are entitled to judgment according to proof:
(Personal Injury)
26. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all previous allegations above stated.
27. In addition to allegations of neglect, as described hereafter, Diamond Ranch Academy Academy's staff, acted in breach of their duty to provide a safe, nurturing, fair, clean, competent, facility and staff to help Tyler and Janaye,whose parents thought that they were choosing a summer camp setting where the youth could relax, play sports with others, and be supported with professional counseling on a regular basis to help them renew and recenter their lives.
28.Diamond Ranch Academy's tactics and conduct injured these young people emotionally and physically such that the effects thereof continue to plague them
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 13 of 20
to this day.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment as hereafter stated.
(Child Abuse and Neglect)
29. Plaintiffs incorporate herein all prior paragraphs and state:
"It is the .. the public policy of this state that children have the right to protection from abuse and neglect, and that the state retains a compelling interest in investigating, prosecuting, and punishing abuse and neglect, as defined in this chapter", 62A-4a-201, Utah Human Services Code. Because of its complete control over Tyler and Janaye, Diamond Ranch Academy owed them the highest duty of trust and confidence and was required to act in their best interest. Instead, Diamond Ranch Academy's conduct toward Tyler and Janaye, who were minors, constituted abuse and neglect in violation of the public policy of the State of Utah.
"It is the .. the public policy of this state that children have the right to protection from abuse and neglect, and that the state retains a compelling interest in investigating, prosecuting, and punishing abuse and neglect, as defined in this chapter", 62A-4a-201, Utah Human Services Code. Because of its complete control over Tyler and Janaye, Diamond Ranch Academy owed them the highest duty of trust and confidence and was required to act in their best interest. Instead, Diamond Ranch Academy's conduct toward Tyler and Janaye, who were minors, constituted abuse and neglect in violation of the public policy of the State of Utah.
31. Plaintiffs have the right to force Diamond Ranch Academy Academy to pay them and their parents compensation for the abuse and neglect
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 14 of 20
Diamond Ranch Academy inflicted upon them as described above.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment as hereafter stated.
(Fraudulent Misrepresentation)
32. Plaintiffs incorporate herein all prior paragraphs.
33. Diamond Ranch Academy Academy held itself out to Tracy Sarno and Janet Yelding as a therapeutic school. The Diamond Ranch Academy contract was one of enrollment in a school, not enrollment in a "Residential Treatment Program" for the purpose of behavior modification or rehabilitation. One of the administration requirements is that information provided to parents shall be accurate and factual, Rule 501-2(3). Tyler and Janaye's parents were never advised that each licensed program must have a licensed physician or consulting licensed physician, licensed psychologist, or social worker, or professional
counselor, Rule R501-19.
34. Had they known such, it would have alerted them that the purpose of the program was rehabilitative, not solely rehabilitative.
35. Parents are not required by either the Diamond Ranch Academy contract or the State Administrative code to be notified that such a licensed program is a health care provider protected by the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act requiring any legal action to be brought within two years
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 15 of 20
of its occurrence or the minor's majority, and to comply with prelitigation screening, and to have its damages limited by law.
36. Additionally, the enrollment contract requires the Parent to agree that Diamond Ranch Academy is not liable for any injuries, illness or other damages occurring to the Child during the term of enrollment, including anything resulting from the Child's participating (on or off campus) in programs or activities of the program.
37. Diamond Ranch Academy intentionally and purposely concealed from Tyler and Janaye's parents that it was a state-licensed residential treatment center aimed at rehabilitation so as to be protected by the Utah Healthcare Malpractice Act, and that their waiving any claim against Diamond Ranch Academy was unenforceable on the one hand, and even if enforceable, was protected by the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act's requirements on the other hand.
38. These mislead the placement of Tyler and Janaye at Diamond Ranch Academy on the one hand, and its prospectively seeking in turn to limit this action against it on the other hand.
39. Plaintiffs have sustained financial, mental, and emotional damage by Diamond Ranch Academy's fraudulent concealment and
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment as hereafter stated.
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 16 of 20
(Actual and Constructive Fraud)
40. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all of the above stated allegations and state:
41. None of the above disclosures was made to Tyler or Janaye's parents, the people/agencies recommending the Diamond Ranch Academy program, or available via research at the time.
42. Because adverse facts about Diamond Ranch Academy were true, relevant, and concealed, the parents relied on the absence of the adverse facts, which the Defendants had a duty to disclose.
43. By reason of the failure to make these disclosures to the plaintiffs and their resulting detrimental reliance thereon, Diamond Ranch Academy is guilty of actual and constructive fraud. The misrepresentations, and misrepresentations by silence, and concealment of true adverse facts were made to the parents from the beginning by phone conversations both before and throughout Tyler and Janaye's period of time at Diamond Ranch Academy.
44. These repeated intentional misrepresentations made by Diamond Ranch to the
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 17 of 20
parents were done in order to induce them to place and maintain Tyler and Janaye at Diamond Ranch Academy.
45. Defendants lied to the parents in promotional and marketing materials which represented Diamond Ranch Academy to be a safe and secure environment, where Tyler and Janaye would be well cared for, and provided a good education, summer camp setting, medical care, and positive, professional therapy/counseling. Defendants' representations were knowingly and actually
46. Because all Defendants acted in concert, they are all liable for the misrepresentations alleged herein.
47· Plaintiffs relied on these representations to their detriment; Tyler and Janaye were emotionally and physically harmed at Diamond Ranch Academy and their parents did not receive the quality care, services, and facilities paid for.
48. Upon information and belief, Defendants knew when they made these representations that they were false or at least misleading, and were made to induce the plaintiffs to place and maintain Tyler and Janaye at Diamond Ranch Academy in order to secure significant monthly fees.
49. Upon information and belief, Defendants were aware that their facilities were not
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 18 of 20
safe; that Tyler and Janaye and the other youth at Diamond Ranch Academy were harmed emotionally, physically, medically, and educationally, by unqualified, controlling, and masochistic staff.
50. Upon information and belief, Defendants were aware that the harm caused to children at these facilities, including the minor plaintiffs so placed, was so grave that were the truth known, the Utah Department of Human Services should have stepped in and shut down Diamond Ranch Academy, but it did not. In fact, it
should have and upon information and belief does know that Diamond Ranch Academy is a menace to youth, but it likes the money the behavior modification industry brings into the State of Utah more than the health, welfare, safety, and public policy against child abuse that it is supposed to enforce.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs seek judgment as follows:
1. Special damages according to proof.
2. General damages according to proof.
3. Punitive damages according to proof.
4. Such other and further relief to the Court seems just.
Dated: December 3, 2014
Case 2:14-cv-00884-DBP Document 1 Filed 12/03/14 Page 19 of 20
Thomas M. Burton