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It's Time to Understand Relationships between Race, Injustices and Gun Violence
In modern America, it's impossible to discuss gun violence at length without simultaneously discussing the court system, incarceration and, unfortunately, race.
After interviewing Brandi Vigil, a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Loyola, I further understood how interconnected each of these issues are in our society.
Vigil earned her Bachelor's in sociology and communications from the University of California, Davis and her master's in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento.
She has since worked with institutions in both California and Chicago, mainly helping young people involved in the juvenile justice system.
Vigil has worked with children as young as 6 years old who were deemed "emotionally disturbed" and had been through the juvenile justice system. She has volunteered with similar institutions in Chicago, such as Circles & Ciphers, Project Nia and Lawrence Hall.
Experience with the juvenile justice system has given Vigil a valuable insight on the inner workings of the U.S. court system, especially in regards to race and unjust incarceration.
How are the two connected? Vigil believes premature and inaccurate labeling of individuals is the answer.
She further explained that in the city of Chicago, a phenomenon known as the "school to prison pipeline" has perpetuated the dangers of labeling.
In Vigil's words, "As a result of education being an institution that young people are required to be in by law; it's one of the ways that they can also get caught up in various other institutions by being identified as a problem child, a good child, a good student, a bad student."
As for race, Vigil explained that people of color are consistently impacted at a disproportional rate, which has caused social theorists to begin using the phrase "cradle to prison pipeline."
This terminology has been used to illustrate the overwhelming criminalization rate of people of color as opposed to their white counterparts.
Vigil also mentioned that people of color are under a more watchful eye by most institutions in society.
Throughout Vigil's explanations of our current court system, I began to comprehend the injustices perpetuated by our judicial institutions.
I began to wonder not only how we, as a society, reached this point, but how we can also reverse these oppressive tendencies.
As students and civilians, many of us have limited knowledge and understanding of the court system, especially in regards to the treatment of young people of color and other marginalized social groups.
To reach a higher level of understanding, Vigil advises students to take electives in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Loyola. The content, she argues, is valuable for students of any major as they will begin to reverse the human tendency of labeling others that has become so dangerous in our society.
Once the instant labeling and stereotyping begins to decrease and perspectives become sharper, we will begin to realize that criminals are not a foreign species, that a crime is an act and not a person.
If we understand the dangers of labeling tendencies, our mentalities can shift to reversing the dehumanizing manner in which we view those within the justice system.
Changing a perspective that has been unintentionally engrained in some minds and overall society throughout history is not easy.
However, it is necessary for simple students and civilians to understand the situation, avoid turning a blind eye and work toward improving the situation before it inevitably worsens.


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Reshaping learning styles
The future of education will be on display in NSW public schools between 6-10 August as educators and students across the state celebrate Education Week 2018.
Under the theme, Today's schools – creating tomorrow's work, Education Week 2018 will highlight how schools are preparing students of today to thrive in a future globalised world rich with artificial intelligence and disruptive technologies.
Education Week will not only showcase the latest technologies and infrastructure being used to enhance students' learning, but also look at how schools are working with the wider community to solve real-world problems.
A new initiative this year is the Game Changer Challenge where eight primary and eight secondary will work to develop their vision of the school of the future.
The three-day series of workshops and panels with industry leaders in technology, design and thought, will conclude with a Shark Tank-style presentation to industry and education experts, including secretary Mark Scott.
At Junee High School, for example, students are working with older community residents to help reduce their power bills.
Under its Empower Energy Efficiency Project students test aged residents' homes and use infrared technology to locate areas where heat can escape. They then help seal the cracks, leading to significant reductions in residents' power costs and help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions.
Details: education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/

subset: commoncrawl


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One story Mediterranean home on nearly two acres. Impressive open floor plan for entertaining with nice, large rooms. Very private estate with gated access, circular drive and completely fenced with large separate area for animals, fenced garden and huge trees everywhere. Great pool built in 2005 with flag-stone patio, outside covered cabana including separate fireplace and kitchen. This all stucco home was completely updated and added on to in 2005. Its located in a wonderful gated neighborhood with a mixture of young families with children and retirees.


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Apprenticeship and training at MEDICE.
A solid foundation with the best prospects.
After completing their courses, MEDICE trainees find themselves time after time on the lists of the highest flyers in the South Westphalia IHK [Chamber of Commerce and Industry] – and rapidly in positions with good prospects where they do excellent work. That's not just by chance. It's a direct consequence of solid training in an internationally very well positioned family company with a decided sense of responsibility for the future.
It doesn't matter whether the IHK apprenticeship is to be the starting point for a career in commerce or a technical or scientific field – our business culture will encourage your personal development with a keen team spirit, cumulative experience and intense support. Strengths will be systematically expanded, and weaknesses recognised early on and assisted with individually tailored approaches to learning.
An apprenticeship at MEDICE guarantees maximum practical relevance and excellent knowledge of the industry, ideal conditions for an optimal start to professional life.
Trainees describe their apprenticeships and everyday work at MEDICE:
- Christopher Donovan, 2nd year trainee pharmacy technician
- Tobias Fricke, 1st year trainee office management assistant
- Jan Philipp Nöther, 1st year trainee chemistry laboratory technician
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Author Simon Kuper wrote a story for ESPNFC about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil today.
It contains some great insights into why mega sporting events never have the economic benefits their organisers promise.
It also pinpoints the real reason why countries still host things like the World Cup and the Olympics, despite the cost — they're fun and they make people happy.
Kuper argues that we misunderstand the nature of mega sporting events. These things aren't economic stimulus programs. They aren't infrastructural legacy projects with tangible societal benefits.
As he notes, "The things you need for a soccer tournament are almost never the things you need for daily life."
Brazil will spend $US3.5 billion on stadium construction for the World Cup — a cost that has a minuscule long-term benefit because several of these stadiums are expected to fall into disuse after the tournament.
As far back as Sarajevo in 1984, Olympic host cities have long been stuck with "white elephants" — costly structures that serve no purpose once the games are over. Athens is filled with them.
Now, it's Brazil's turn.
None of this is new. In the last decade or so, study after study has shown that hosting events like the Olympics has a negligible economic benefit, or even a negative economic impact.
But countries continue to fight like crazy to host them.
Kuper says it's because they're fun:
"The Brazilian World Cup is best understood as a party. You don't host a party to get rich. You do it to have fun, and Brazilians will have fun. Yet there's something obscene about hosting an extravagant party in a country where millions of people need houses, electricity, doctors. That's what bothered the protestors."
So hosting World Cups is for suckers, right?
Not necessarily.
To extend Kuper's metaphor, parties are fun. They make people happy. And there's actually research that says hosting big sporting events results in a measurable increase in happiness for local populations.
In Kuper's book, Soccernomics, he wrote about just that:
"Georgios Kavetsos and Stefan Szymanskin (with a lot of help from Robert McCulloch, guru of happiness research) took the European Commission's happiness data for twelve western European countries from 1974 to 2004 and checked whether it correlated at all with sports tournaments. The obvious first question was whether people became happier when their national team did well. It turned out they they didn't: there was no visible correlation. Then Kavetsos and Stefan looked at hosting and happiness, and here they found a link. After a country hosts a soccer tournament, its inhabitants report increased happiness."
Hosting the World Cups does have a benefit. It's just not economic in nature.
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text: Meet Elise: a beautiful, eloquent SCD warrior bravely sharing her story of the struggles of dealing with sickle cell. The first time I saw this video, I had to go on YouTube to watch the whole series. I am in awe of these amazing sickle cell warriors that are not afraid to bare their hearts and share their lives with the world. For more information, visit http://curesicklecelldisease.com.


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Tonight at the Saddleback Church in California, Rev. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, hosted a sit down discussion of issues with Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, John McCain and Barak Obama. Each candidate was asked an identical series of questions over the course of one hour. Senator Obama endeavored to connect with the evangelical audience, identifying himself as a Christian, while at the same time declaring himself to be pro-choice and in favor of civil unions for same-sex couples. Perhaps his most regrettable comment came when asked by Pastor Warren "When does a baby get human rights?" Obama dodged a direct answer by stating that, whether viewed from a theological or scientific perspective, to give a specific answer to that question would be "above my pay grade."
Senator McCain, by contrast, offered a quick and decisive answer to the same question: "Life begins at conception." His record, however, does not place him squarely in the pro-life camp. McCain's demeanor throughout the event was, well, presidential. Viewed as a debate (which it technically wasn't) McCain was the clear winner. Still, I walked away feeling more like I had simply witnessed two men trying hard to say what they calculated an American mainstream evangelical audience wanted to hear. One did a better job than the other, but the choice between yet-another-Republican or yet-another-Democrat in the White House is not one that elicits great confidence for the future of our nation.
As I listened to the candidates' responses, Barak Obama sounded like an old school liberal, tauting social programs and urging "personal sacrifices" on the basis that these things "need to be done" and "somebody has to pay for them." McCain was surprisingly engaging, yet projected nothing substantially different from the same failed policies that have over-extended our national economy and extended us militarily into international conflicts where we don't belong.
Like Rick Warren's best selling book, the Saddleback Civil Forum was long on emotional appeal and short on substance. Sadly, we are a nation that is content with shallowness. Deep examination of the core principles of our candidates is an arduous and demanding task. It's much easier to hear them tell a few interesting stories, regurgitate a handful of campaign trail sound bites, and then convince ourselves that we know where they stand.
For those who wish to dig a little deeper into the choice that is being set before us this November, I highly recommend that you click this link and read this outstanding article by Alan Keyes that puts the issue in perspective much better than I can.


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Subaru of America Releases New Video Showcasing the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Special
June 1, 2017
Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. announced today the release of a new video of the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Special. The car will attempt to set a new lap record for a four-door sedan at the famous Nürburgring race track later this summer. The video can be found on the Subaru of America YouTube channel. Stay tuned for information on the production Type RA.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants, and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.


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CONTACT: Barbara Burns
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Kasandra Weeks, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking using coercion, before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The charge carries a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that between June and August of 2013, Weeks and co-defendant Steven Jones approached an adult female while she was walking down Jay Street in Rochester. Weeks and Jones offered her drugs and drove her to a hotel in Henrietta. When the female victim asked for a ride home, Weeks and Jones agreed but instead drove her to Lancaster, NY. While in Lancaster, the two coerced the victim to engage in prostitution by refusing to drive her back to Rochester.
Weeks posted ads for the victim as an escort using the internet classified advertising website, Backpage.com. The victim engaged in commercial sex acts and gave the proceeds to Weeks and Jones. Eventually, the victim was able to escape.
Weeks was arrested along with Jones and five others in February 2015. She is the first to be convicted. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force which includes the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the Rochester Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.


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Common Obstetrical Procedures and Their Link to Autism
|Article Index
|Common Obstetrical Procedures and Their Link to Autism
|Mercury in Pregnancy
|Restricted Maternal Position
|Umbilical Cord Clamping
|All Pages
Birth today has become a technological experience where a natural process has been replaced with artificial procedures and schedules. Without the necessary vitalistic support during pregnancy, women enter the birth process with fear and are led to rely on drugs instead of their bodies' own natural strengths. These drugs weaken the body's ability to function and lead to even further interventions. The more interventions used in pregnancy and birth, the greater the risk of injury to both the mother and baby.
Autism Spectrum Disorders are diagnosed by a collection of symptoms that indicate neurological damage. The greatest causal relationship for neurological damage is oxygen deprivation in the fetus and newborn. This article will examine routine procedures in obstetrics that have significant adverse effects on the baby's developing neurology. These neurological effects are considered contributing factors to the alarming rise in autism. Here are the most common, routine procedures in pregnancy and birth and the causes for concern.
In more than 30 years of its use, the frequency of this procedure has increased significantly despite warning signs of danger. As early as 1979, studies questioned the use of ultrasound and its potential effects on DNA and growth patterns. In 1987, a published study reported diagnostic levels of ultrasound disrupted myelination. The ultrasound intensities used in this study were consistent with those used for human imaging.
Another study in 1993 concluded that children exposed to ultrasound in utero were twice as likely to develop delayed speech and advised physicians to caution their patients about the vulnerability of the fetus to noxious agents.
The use of ultrasound has dramatically increased in prenatal care. Its safety and efficacy remains highly questionable. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says, "While ultrasound has been around for many years, expectant women and their families need to know that the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound exposures on the fetus are not fully known."
In 2005, researchers reported, "Obstetric ultrasound should only be done for medical reasons, and exposure should be kept as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) because of the potential for tissue heating. Temperature increases in utero have been shown to cause damage to the developing central nervous system of the fetus." One year later, a study warned exposure to ultrasound can affect fetal brain development.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference states, "Lack of risk has been assumed because no adverse effects have been demonstrated clearly in humans. However, other evidence dictates that a hypothetical risk must be presumed with ultrasound. Likewise, the efficacy of many uses of ultrasound in improving the management and outcome of pregnancy also has been assumed rather than demonstrated, especially its value as a routine screening procedure."
Research shows populations exposed to ultrasound have a quadrupled perinatal death rate, increased rates of brain damage, nerve cell demylienation, dyslexia, speech delays, epilepsy, and learning difficulties.
Beyond the neurological damage caused by ultrasonic waves, are the implications of the misdiagnosis associated with its use. Early in pregnancy, mothers may be given inaccurate information about fetal development. During pregnancy, mothers are already sensitive about the health of their unborn babies. When told there may be something wrong, their anxiety levels increase, directly affecting a rise in their stress hormone production. Research has determined the release of these hormones in pregnancy will have long-term effects on the infant's neurological development and behavior. There is no consciousness in the practice of obstetrics concerning the mother's stress level and its effects on baby development.
Baby's weight and due dates are sometimes determined by ultrasound and very frequently, mothers are coerced into induction and even C-sections. The literature, however cautions the unreliability of ultrasound for this purpose. How many babies have been neurologically impaired by this careless practice?
Mercury in pregnancy
It has been known for a long time, that mercury is a toxic and dangerous substance adversely affecting fetal neurology. According to Web MD, "Mercury is very dangerous to children. Relatively low concentrations keep a child's brain from developing normally. Kids with mercury-poisoning have problems with thinking, language, memory, motor skills, perception, and behavior." Richard Weisman, MD, a toxicologist at the University of Miami School of Medicine and director of the Poison Control Center for South Florida tells us, "There is no doubt that mercury is one of the worst [toxins affecting the brain]."
There have been 4 primary sources of mercury exposure to pregnant women: The RHO(D) (Rhogam) shot, the flu shot, dental fillings, and fish. Although warnings of toxic mercury exposure by eating fish has gotten significant media press and acceptance, other forms of mercury exposure to pregnant women and infants has not.
The Rhogam and Flu Shots: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells us, "Two groups are most vulnerable to methyl mercury: the fetus and pregnant women." I can only question, why then, were mercury-laden Rhogam shots ever recommended for women during pregnancy? It wasn't until 2001 that the FDA issued a voluntary recall of thimerosal from the Rhogam shot. This showed apparent concern for mercury toxicity via vaccine injection in pregnancy. Strangely enough, the very next year, the FDA began recommending flu shots for pregnant women and infants. The flu shot has the highest levels of thimerosal of all vaccines—as much as 25 micrograms of mercury, more than 10 times the safe limit for an infant. Its package insert has this disclaimer, "It is also not known whether influenza virus vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman..." These blatant inconsistencies in our public "health" policies are frightening.
Dental Amalgam Fillings: For years there has been controversy about mercury-laden amalgam fillings and their potential risk. The American Dental Association has been defending their use for years, denying any potential harm from mercury leakage, however numerous studies have determined otherwise. After years of denial and questionable research, it finally took a law suit in 2008 to force the FDA to agree to alert consumers on its website about its potential risks.
It has become a sad state of affairs that the U.S. Government agencies support industry over individuals. It is so important that parents do not allow their practitioners to intimidate them by citing rhetoric and tainted data. Parents must actively seek providers that support and encourage their right to make informed health choices.
The use of Pitocin in labor has been associated with autism. Pitocin is a synthetic version of oxytocin, the naturally produced hormone in laboring women. Its use is wrought with side effects; the most common is increased blood pressure in both the mother and child. Pitocin is used for either labor induction or labor enhancement. The use of Pitocin does not, however, duplicate the natural progression of labor. Pitocin-induced labors have longer, harder, and more painful uterine contractions for the mother. More pain for the mother means greater fetal distress.
In either induced or enhanced use of Pitocin, the blood supply, and therefore the oxygen source to the uterus, is greatly reduced. With naturally-paced contractions, there is a time interval between contractions allowing for the baby to be fully oxygenated before the next contraction. In induced or enhanced labor, the contractions are closer together and last for a longer time, thus shortening the interval where the baby receives its oxygen supply. Reduced oxygen to the baby in labor has life-long consequences on the baby's brain function.
Pitocin makes contractions unbearable, and almost every woman who has been given Pitocin will get an epidural to withstand the unnatural pain it causes. Once again we see how one intervention is the gateway to the next.
The Physicians Desk Reference cautions that "local anesthesia rapidly crosses the placenta...and when used for epidural blocks, anesthesia can cause varying degrees of maternal, fetal and neonatal toxicity." It continues, "this toxicity can result in the following side effects: hypotension, urinary retention, fecal and urinary incontinence, paralysis of lower extremities, loss of feeling in the limbs, headache, backache, septic meningitis, slowing of labor, increased need for forceps and vacuum deliveries, cranial nerve palsies, allergic reactions, respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, and seizures." Many of these side effects result in multiple complications. For example, maternal hypotension causes bradycardia (decreased heart rate) in the fetus. This too decreases fetal oxygen supply resulting in brain dysfunction, fetal distress, and operative deliveries.
Additional side effects of epidurals relating to autism include: longer labors with slower progress, an increased use of Pitocin by more than 3 times, an increased use of forceps by as much 4 to 20 times, altered red blood cells that affect fetal oxygen levels, adverse behavioral effects of the neonate, and increased use of mechanically-assisted deliveries which lead to neurological damage from birth trauma.
Sarah Buckley, MD, cautions, "Epidural drugs can directly cause toxic effects to the fetus and newborn, whose drug levels may be even higher than the mother's drug levels. It is also important to note that a newborn baby's ability to process and excrete drugs is much less than an adult's. Also, drug blood levels may not accurately reflect the baby's toxic load because drugs may be taken up from the blood and stored in newborn tissues such as brain and liver, from where they are more slowly released."
Restricted Maternal Position
In addition to the direct toxic side effects of epidurals, once given an epidural, the mother is confined to her bed, usually on her back. Restricted motion in labor interferes with normal pelvic biomechanics of the laboring mother. On her back, the normal pivitol action of her sacro-illiac joints becomes impaired, her sacrum becomes restricted, and the progress of labor can slow down and even stop. Difficult and halted labors due to controlled maternal positioning lead to further pain and nerve system stress for the mother and baby.
Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) is used to determine fetal distress despite the lack of efficacy shown for its use. Research shows it does not improve birth outcome and may in fact hinder it. Again, restricted maternal position used with EFM may be the primary reason for increased birth complications and fetal injury.
Once fetal distress has been determined, mechanical interventions are implemented. Here is where the most neurological damage can occur. One medical researcher on birth trauma, Abraham Towbin, MD, tells us, "Mechanical stress imposed by obstetric manipulation—even the application of standard orthodox procedures—may prove intolerable to the fetus…Spinal cord and brain stem injuries often occur during the process of birth but frequently escape diagnosis. Respiratory depression in the neonate is a cardinal sign of much injury. In infants, there may be lasting neurological defects reflecting the primary injury."
Injury from routine birthing procedures causes damage to the baby's delicate brain and spinal cord. When there is damage to the respiratory centers in the brain stem, the baby's oxygen intake is compromised. Impaired nerve function, however insidious it may be, can compromise all current and future aspects of the baby's health and well-being.
Forceps, Vacuum Extraction
These 2 invasive procedures occur as a result of all preceding birth interventions discussed. They have grave effects on the baby's future brain function. Abraham Towbin, MD, expert on birth trauma tells us, "Forceful pulling on the baby's neck particularly when combined with stretching of the spine…has been considered the most important cause of infant spinal and brain stem injury."
A recent study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine revealed startling data. It reported, "Difficult labor itself and the method of delivery may lead to brain injuries and deaths in babies." In another study, Abraham Towbin, MD, reports, "Survival of the newborn is governed mainly by the integrity and function of the vital centers in the brain stem. Yet paradoxically, the importance of injury at birth to the brain stem and spinal cord are matters which have generally escaped lasting attention."
As seen above, C-sections are frequently caused by the cascading effect of the numerous interventions and procedures of modern obstetrics. The current rise in C-sections is alarming. The World Health organization says our C-section rate should be about 12%, and yet we see the nation's average C-section rate as high as 33%. A baby born by C-section is 3 to 4 times more likely to have autism says George Malcom Morley, a frequently published OB/Gyn. One hospital in Britain scheduled all mothers for elective C-sections 1 week prior to their due dates resulting in a 21 times higher rate of autism then neighboring hospitals.
Mothers are being erroneously convinced that cesareans could actually be better than a natural process! Unfortunately, they are not aware of the dangers and resulting injuries associated with them. During this surgical procedure, most women experience a great tugging sensation as the doctor is pulling on the baby. The struggle and pulling used to extract a baby out from the mother's small incision is often not seen by the parents. Trauma to the baby's spine and the resulting respiratory impairment is escalated. Is this the reason for the high correlation between C-sections and autism?
Another deficit that C-section babies experience is in their level of "friendly bacteria" in their gut. Because they do not pass through the vaginal canal, they are not exposed to these helpful bacteria at birth and their immune system development suffers from this deficit. With many indications that autism and immune system function are related, it is imperative we choose providers who will support our inherent ability to give birth naturally.
Finally, C-sections usually have immediate cord clamping.George Malcolm Morley, MB, ChB, FACOG, author of numerous papers on the dangers of immediate cord clamping reports, "C-section babies are four times more likely to be autistic than vaginal deliveries."
Umbilical Cord Clamping
It is common obstetrical practice to cut and clamp the umbilical cord immediately after birth because over the last 20 years doctors have mistakenly believed this could reduce the risk of mothers bleeding to death. During this time, the cord is still pulsating, bringing all of the placenta blood to the baby. Cutting the cord before it stops pulsating can result in as much as a 40% decrease in blood volume and can lead to anemia. This anemia is proportional to the degree of childhood mental retardation.
David Hutchon, consultant obstetrician at Darlington Memorial Hospital who has studied the effects of cord clamping said, "Babies are being put at risk by clamping the cord too quickly." He also said, "In susceptible infants, early cord clamping and the lack of blood to the baby increases the risk of brain hemorrhage and breathing problems. This could help explain the rise in autism. Why are we doing it?"
When a cord clamp is not used, the child receives a large transfusion of placental blood, after which the cord vessels close naturally. With natural, physiological cord closure, the child receives enough blood and enough iron to prevent anemia for the first year of life, and enough blood volume to prevent ischemic encephalopathy and mental retardation for the rest of his or her life.
In a letter to the British Medical Journal, obstetrician and author, George Malcom Morley writes, "I therefore conclude that Immediate Cord Clamping, especially when imposed on existing birth asphyxia, can cause mental impairment without obvious neurological impairment, and therefore may well be a significant contributory cause of the current autism epidemic."
As with all obstetric interventions mentioned so far, early cord clamping is yet another that needs careful, unbiased examination. It is time that normal physiology is considered and the perpetuation of these routine interventions is weighed against very real risk factors associated with their use.
The importance of natural birthing cannot be underestimated in the future of our children's health. Under the medical leadership of Mayer Eisenstein, MD, JD, MPH, doctors with Homefirst Health Services in the metropolitan Chicago area have delivered more than 15,000 babies at home. "We don't have a single case of autism in an unvaccinated child," said Eisenstein. The International Cesarean Awareness Network, (ICAN) advises: "Interview your care providers like your life depended on it. In order to have a healthy birth, trust is essential in a relationship. If your care provider gives you outlandish risk assessments or impossible criteria…then you know to go elsewhere because that physician isn't giving you adequate information or choices that apply to healthy birthing women. Know your options. Explore midwives, homebirth, CNMs, OBs, family practitioners, and birth centers. Birth is not only in hospitals and not only with obstetricians. Remember that starting with low risk care and being assessed properly often encourages moms to stay low risk."
Pregnancy and birth need our respect—not our intervention. We can no longer rely on failing systems, organizations, or authorities to determine our birth outcome. More and more mothers are committed to finding providers during pregnancy who support and encourage the natural process of birth. This team of providers include midwives, doulas, holistic obstetricians, doctors of chiropractic, massage therapists, naturopaths, and practitioners of Chinese medicine to name a few. Their invaluable services are helping us regain trust in our inherent ability to function and be well.
This article appeared in Pathways to Family Wellness magazine, Issue #21.
View Author Bio.
To purchase this issue, Order Here.


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Page One
35,000 New Residents for Berkeley?
"Plan Bay Area" Growth Workshop
(The author covered, for the Planet, a workshop held by regional agencies on a State-mandated plan to designate places for future residential and job growth in the Bay Area. The currently proposed plan would mandate thousands of new housing units and tens of thousands of new residents in Berkeley, and hundreds of thousands of permanent new residents in Alameda County overall.
This article describes the experience of attending the forum, including small group sessions, interactive voting on a carefully pre-selected set of options, and some of the objections and questions raised by participants.)
A workshop on how to accommodate a projected 900,000 new households in the Bay Area—nearly 16,000 of them in Berkeley—over the next 25 years drew more than a hundred self-selected locals to Oakland on the evening of May 24, 2011.
Organized by a consortium of regional agencies and private organizations that promote "smart growth", the event's presentations and format emphasized intensifying urban development as the primary strategy to house new residents.
The three-hour event proved to be informative, controversial, discouraging, and provocative. It was enlivened—and sometimes disrupted—by repeated audience objections to the format and methodology, and a scattering of outspoken Eastern Alameda County residents who wanted nothing to do with urban development and regional government planning and were not loathe to say so.
The forum was occasioned by the release of an "Initial Vision Scenario" (IVS) for "Plan Bay Area". The IVS was mandated by State legislation in 2008 that required regional transportation plans to reflect a "Sustainable Communities Strategy" covering the next 25 years.
"The principal purpose of the IVS is to articulate how the region could potentially grow over time in a sustainable manner, and to orient policy and program development to achieve the first phases of implementation", a handout explained.
"The Bay Area is anticipated to grow by over 2 million people…by the year 2035. This population growth would require about 902,000 new housing units. The IVS proposes where these new units might be accommodated."
Berkeley is allocated 15,730 of those new households, increasing the permanent local population by nearly 25%. Oakland is supposed to take 65,453 households, while next-door Piedmont will have to settle for only 10 new households. Alameda County as a whole is expected to accommodate about 20% of the regional housing growth, with Contra Costa County about 11% percent, considerably further urbanizing the East Bay.
On a clear day, though, East Bay residents will still be able to gaze across to the green and pleasant hills of Marin County, which must only find room for 1.7% of the regional growth total.
Over the next year and a half the scenarios will be refined, and finally adopted by regional agencies as a firm plan. The State legislation contains regulatory carrots and sticks to prod local communities towards accommodating the regional plan growth targets.
The primary strategy assumed by the IVS is to intensify development in already developed areas served by transit. A map was flashed on an overhead screen with these bullet points for the IVS: "70% of growth in Priority Development Areas and Growth Opportunity Areas"; "Limits Greenfield development—97% of growth within the existing urban footprint"; "preserves character of existing residential neighborhoods"; "Utilizes existing transit; strengthens planned transit."
An array of speakers and interactive computer programs led the audience through a carefully structured sequence of choices and options.
Throughout the evening the event organizers and speakers repeatedly tried to emphasize that they were there to gather opinions, not to advocate a particular viewpoint. I believe they were sincere, but it was also hard to escape the impression that this was essentially an education session for so-called "smart growth".
The evening began with a cheerful introduction from Erica Wood, Vice President of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, one of the Plan Bay Area sponsors.
"How is everybody tonight? Delightful! Enjoying the food?" she led off. The workshop organizers had provided boxed sandwiches and soft drinks. "My role is to be the emcee and to keep us moving and on track."
She said this was the 10th of 10 public events, held in recent months around the nine-county region. (There was an earlier Alameda County one in Berkeley. The May 24 event was a reprise of the Berkeley presentation, in order to accommodate additional demand from Alameda County and Contra Costa County audiences.)
"Over the next two decades we're expected to add 900,000 new households" in the Bay Area, Wood explained, and a larger number of jobs.
"The point is, we know we need to grow," Wood said. "Not IF, but HOW."
"We believe strongly that these are your choices to make", she continued. She said the workshops had grown out of a series of earlier workshops at which people had asked for "more inclusive, transparent, and efficient land use and planning processes" for the Bay Area.
"We want you to have the opportunity to tell us about what matters to you", she said. And "we have a really neat tool", an interactive process for voting on growth options designed by a Vancouver planning firm, MetroQuest.
(On its website, MetroQuest says that "Municipalities and planning agencies use MetroQuest to educate and communicate the long-term impacts of the various policy choices to non-expert audiences, leaving them with a sense of ownership over the result.")
"We also heard we need to be more responsive to local needs", Wood said, but within a regional framework. "We're pleased to be working tonight with non-profit organizations Greenbelt Alliance and TransForm" and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission are also linked to the effort.
"It's OK to disagree with each other. It's not OK to be disagreeable," Wood admonished the audience before introducing the next speaker, Miriam Chion, Principal Planner for ABAG, who would be speaking "on behalf of your two regional agencies," ABAG and MTC.
Chion was serious and earnest. She had the mien of a general briefing skeptical subordinates on a strategic plan she felt could win a war.
Chion said that the sponsoring organizations were pursuing two basic goals as part of this planning process. "Get clean air" and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; "house our population, including all income groups."
To "open the dialogue", she said, ABAG and MTC had "used the information we had to paint a first picture", the "Initial Vision Scenario" document. "We have received an overwhelming amount of information in terms of the places local jurisdictions want growth," she said.
"We received from each local jurisdiction what are the places where you think you can accommodate growth."
(Berkeley did indeed previously identify "planned development areas", but retiring Berkeley Planning Director Dan Marks has subsequently voiced public objections that the Berkeley allocation for new households in the IVS is far above what City staff anticipated or think is reasonable.)
Chion acknowledged that "Alameda County takes on a significant amount of growth in the region" under the Initial Vision Scenario. But, she added, a goal is to "retain the character of existing residential neighborhoods", and new development "has to be done according to the character of the place that the residents, the businesses, and the local jurisdictions are defining."
ABAG and MTC have created "place types" she said that will serve as a guide to defining what future neighborhoods might look like.
"Where are we going?" Chion asked rhetorically. "We're presenting a few thoughts." We want to "have the conversation with you," she said.
"Many people are not having the choice to live in the Bay Area even if they work here", she said. "How do we want to grow?"
How did ABAG arrive at the projections in the scenario, an audience member asked. "We had a series of meetings with local elected officials, with city staff," she answered. "We're hoping that the strategy allows us to bring some consensus."
Another question: Who will do the final plan? "It is the responsibility of the regional agencies", Chion answered.
That led to a follow-up question about the make-up of the governing bodies of ABAG and MTC. Staff answered that most of them are elected officials—city council members, or county supervisors— appointed to the boards from their counties.
While the event presenters struggled to keep things on their pre-scripted track, pointed questions, audience comments masquerading as questions, called-out commentary, and rumbling, diffuse, dissent in the room frequently threatened to run the whole evening off the rails.
From the frequent questions and shouted comments, there seemed to be two basic sorts of objections to the proceedings.
First, several people around the room appeared to come mainly from a property rights (and, apparently, an eastern Alameda County) perspective, and constantly questioned the presenters and small group facilitators about why the presentation seemed biased against cars, single family homes, and lower density neighborhoods, and about what impacts the solutions would have on taxes and property rights.
At one point a women who wouldn't identify herself by name became so vehement in her interjections that the air was peppered with shouted comments of both support and objection from other participants. Calls of, "Keep ignoring her!" "Let her talk!" "Shut up, now!" "I want to hear what she has to say!" "First Amendment rights!" volleyed back and forth across the auditorium.
Second, a number of other people scattered around the room voiced skepticism about the approach to the survey and presentation, repeatedly questioning whether it was designed to produce certain results and whether the methodology was valid.
One of the critics, who later identified himself as a researcher at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, had a handout that crystallized that issue. "The public questions and input appear to be carefully restricted to make sure that the conclusion of the public input is that we should have denser housing in certain areas," he wrote.
I spoke with him briefly, near the end of the forum, and he told me that one of his primary objections was that the organizers didn't present quantifiable costs and benefits with various options so participants could weigh them in making their choices.
For example, someone might choose differently between "build light rail" and "build bicycle paths" based on how much of the available transportation funds each option might consume, and how much carbon might actually be saved by each option.
He said one of his frustrations in teaching has been that students often don't attempt to understand or quantify costs before selecting benefits to pursue. He saw the same scenario playing out at these meetings.
Another critic who got up during the presentation to question the speakers asked if the event was "a dialogue or an advocacy pitch?" Looking at the limited questions presented, he said, "I pretty much want to say I want 'None of the Above'," an option that was not available in any of the voting.
"This is intended to be a dialogue, absolutely," said Wood. "It's not intended to be a particular advocacy pitch."
She then continued, with no apparent sense of irony, "I want to start to move us into the mindset…how can we accommodate growth?"
Matt Vander Sluis a "senior field representative" from Greenbelt Alliance spoke next. He asked the audience to hearken to an inspirational story.
Projecting pictures of the old Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco and the new Ferry Plaza that replaced it, he said the actions of former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos who advocated for the demolition of the freeway after the Loma Prieta Earthquake showed "big change can happen within our lifetimes."
"The built environment about us is not permanent and we have the power to make things better." "There are moments of opportunity", Vander Sluis went on, "and we're in one of those moments right now." "It only takes one person to make a difference."
"The goal of this evening is to find out what you want to fix."
He noted that over the next 25 years about $200 billion in transportation-related funding would come to the Bay Area, and the plan under discussion would focus on how to direct that money as a "blue print for the next generation of growth", to minimize both traffic and pollution.
Lou Hexter, an affable private sector consultant with MIG, Inc. in Berkeley led the next section of the presentation, trying to guide the group into voting with individual keypads at their tables on a prepared list of questions projected on three screens around the room.
The first several questions were a demographic warm up. "How would you describe your perspective?" was the first. The choices were "Business Person, Social Justice Advocate, Environmental Advocate, Community Member, Health Advocate, Government, Educator/Student, Other."
When audience members wondered out loud what to do if they identified with more than one category, Hexter told them to just pick one.
The results flashed up on the three screens facing different parts of the room. "Community member" was the most common, followed by "Business Person", "Government", and the "Social Justice or Environmental advocates."
Next, 59% of the voting attendees said their neighborhood was "urban", 36% said "suburban", and 5% answered "rural". 57% said they owned their home, 43% rented.
50% commuted by car, 23% by public transit. Curiously, the question linked "Bike / Walk" together (two very different modes). That yielded an aggregate 23%.
"How often have you attended a public meeting or workshop on transportation or land use issues in the Bay Area?" A whopping 61% answered 2-3 times, or "more than 3 times", while 33% said "never".
61% of participants identified as White, 14% Hispanic / Latino, 21% in various Asian-American categories, and 3% African American. 29% said "other" or declined to state.
"If we accept that we're going to grow, what are the choices?" Hexter asked, repeating what was clearly the forum mantra. Conveniently, he had a list of options to help people choose.
He commenced projecting a series of 14 "Priorities", asking each participant to rank them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being most important to them, and 5 being least.
This led to a great deal of confusion and objection in the room, and the next near breakdown of the meeting. Several people objected vehemently to the generalized nature of the priority list and/or asked what individual items on it really meant.
For example, what did the priority "conserve open space" really mean? Did it mean only rural space? Garden space in existing cities? Public or private land?
"Open space is undeveloped land", answered Hexter.
"Lower Carbon Emissions", Hexter intoned as another priority choice to vote on. "Less Local Traffic." "More Affordable Homes". "Clean Air."
"Who doesn't want clean air?" called out an exasperated voice from the audience. What would ranking it high or low actually mean, they wondered out loud.
"We didn't go into a lot of detail on purpose", Hexter said.
"Let's move along, I'll ask you to suspend judgment," Wood pleaded with the crowd.
"This is sort of bogus data. It's a meaningless data point!", another audience member objected.
"We're not going to get through this if we have challenges to each of these," Hexter warned.
"I'm going to do a 'time out' ", Wood admonished the increasingly restless crowd, noting that she was experienced with that approach because she has a five-year-old daughter. She asked the group to raise hands if they wanted to "move ahead". Most did, including me.
I actually thought "move ahead" meant give up on the awkward priority list ranking and go on to the next agenda item, but apparently I was wrong. It meant continuing to vote through the list, but without further audience questions or challenges.
Hexter finally made it through the fourteen priorities, getting votes on items like "less driving overall", "Safer access to schools", and "conserve water."
The MetroQuest system instantly tabulated the results and the percentages voting 1-5 were projected on a screen, but whoever was managing the display consistently yanked the results out of view after several seconds, before much of the audience had a chance to absorb them. Perhaps this was simply an attempt to facilitate moving ahead, but it was disconcerting.
Our views on the fourteen priority issues finally in the bag, Hexter next asked the group to vote for option One or Two.
Did they want to see the necessary new growth happen all in the nine county Bay Area, or some growth exported to surrounding counties?
Choice One specified having exactly 719,700 new households "inside Bay Area", and precisely 319,400 "outside – new in-commuters." Choice Two designated 1,039,100 new homes, entirely "inside Bay Area."
"This is ridiculous," said someone from the audience. "You're only giving us a choice of one extreme or another."
"The choice is basically should we try to accommodate the growth within the nine counties, or not?" Hexter emphasized. "If you don't feel comfortable with these choices you don't have to participate in this exercise."
Ultimately, 35% voted for "Export New Homes", and 65% endorsed "Keep Homes Here."
The next question posed four choices.
People could vote for "A", "Business As Usual", indicating they agreed with the statement, "I want more development on new greenfield land at the edges of the region…"
Choice "B", "Planned Future", paired with a nice picture of traditionally styled homes, called for "some greenfield development, increased development along major transit corridors, roadway investments…"
Choice "C" was "More Urban" with "majority of development to be focused around transit and in walkable neighborhoods…", and showed a row of three story townhouses or apartments.
Choice "D" was "Most Urban", "I want all growth to be accommodated through infill and redevelopment in existing urban areas". That option sported a picture of Berkeley's downtown Gaia Building.
"You can't say any of this, this is a bunch of BS," an audience member called out.
"I'm guessing we're going to have some challenges to the exercises," Hexter observed, pressing forward with the vote.
The results came up on the screens, with a quarter of the audience voting for "Business as Usual", a quarter for "More Urban", and 34% for "Most Urban". Planned Future was a poor fourth finish, with 18%.
What would those choices mean for our group priorities? MetroQuest continued to crunched the numbers and the audience stared at the screens. As we waited in suspense for the answer to appear, Hexter mentioned that some people think he looks like "Jeopardy!" TV host Alex Trebeck.
Earlier he had said "there is a great deal of science behind some of the information you're going to see tonight." Apparently the MetroQuest program was applying that Science to an analysis of the effects of the options.
A couple of tables finally appeared showing the results of the various options.
We learned that a choice of "Keep Homes Here" in the region, and "Most Urban" development would, over 25 years, save precisely 356 billion gallons of water, 490 square miles of open space, and 31 thousand tons of air pollution a year. Bay Area households would save $4,050 per year, per household by going with more intense growth.
Only the priorities of "Keep my town as it is today", "Large Homes with Big Yards", "Less Local Traffic", and "Easy and Low Cost parking" would suffer under that scenario.
In contrast, a combination of "Business and Usual" and "Export New Homes" from the region produced, literally, a bunch of red flags. Everything would grow worse, except for the four factors above, which would grow better. And there were "No Savings"—big goose eggs—shown in every category. Say goodbye to that $4,050 a year per household. I could already feel the hole in my pocket.
Some in the audience nodded sagely. Others craned to see the details on the projected charts, which were fairly complex and didn't stay up for long.
After Hexter finished with the voting exercise, Vander Sluis returned to the podium to outline three possible scenarios for urban growth, setting the context for additional discussion.
"City Center" neighborhoods represented areas like Downtown Berkeley and Redwood City, he said. "Suburban Centers" characterized districts like the centers of Dublin and Walnut Creek. And "Urban Neighborhoods" were represented by districts like Fruitvale and Emeryville, which he characterized as "primarily residential" with neighborhood serving businesses.
"We want single family houses included!" someone in the audience called out, as Vander Sluis projected image after image of mid-rise infill housing, some of it from Berkeley.
Vander Sluis didn't seem to have a single-family house picture to share, so he pressed forward into two examples illustrating options for development.
First he showed photographs of a stretch of San Pablo Avenue in Oakland and of Downtown San Leandro. Both looked truly dismal. The Oakland scene had no pedestrians visible except a figure jaywalking across the street. I sympathized with his smart-growth-less plight.
Vander Sluis then overlaid on each image colorful projections of planters, trees, multiple cheerful pedestrians, and mid-rise infill buildings. Viola! Bland San Leandro and San Pablo Avenue transformed before our eyes, into alluring 'livable' spaces, as if Dorothy had opening the door into Oz. It was rather like those "before and after" photos from a TV home-makeover show.
That served as the framework for the next part of the forum, small group exercises.
The audience was asked to reorganize itself into tables representing three of the four scenarios outlined by Hexter.
"Business as Usual", the fourth option, had mysteriously disappeared from consideration. Even though it had tied for second place preference in the voting—beating out "Planned Growth"—it had no place at the table—or, rather, no tables in place.
I chose to go to a "Most Urban" table populated with a couple of earnest young MTC planners and some of the audience members who had been most vocal with challenging questions and comments during the presentation period.
(Because I didn't identify myself at that table as working on an article, I'm going to describe the members of the public only by first name. The planners are public officials, so I'll quote them by full name.)
David Vautin, an earnest and pleasant Transportation Planner from MTC, energetically tried to lead the group through three exercises.
The first was to look at a map showing potential development areas throughout the county, and say what community you were from, and what you thought of the development scenarios for your community. The second and third exercises involved taking colorful cards and "voting" with them to show what priorities the table would collectively favor.
One set of cards read "Transportation Strategies", and presented options such as "increase funding for most effective transit services", "widen freeways and local roads", "Expand Commuter Rail Service", and "Improve Bicycle and Pedestrian Routes."
The second set of cards—twice as large and in more vivid colors—retailed possible votes for "Policy Initiatives", which included "Changing your driving habits" by reducing freeway speeds, "electric vehicles", "pricing parking", and "economic development."
Each card pack also included "wild cards" where participants could write down their own alternatives.
Our group didn't play well together. Only one or two people were enticed by the colorful cards and wanted to play by the rules. Others refused to vote, while others cast only the wild cards.
"Paul", who said he worked in Berkeley, objected when he saw what was on the cards. "You're being very deceptive. You don't know the cost" of the various options, he said to the planners.
"I know what you mean", answered Sean Co, from MTC, the custodian of the cards. "It's more about priorities, rather than specifics."
"You can't set priorities without knowing costs", Paul retorted.
"These are ideas," Vautin protested. "They're loaded ideas," said Paul.
"David" from Livermore wanted to talk about the possibility that the plan could lead to mandatory zoning changes that would affect property values.
"This plan will not, I repeat, will not take away anyone's private property!" protested Vautin. David from Livermore demurred. In his town, he claimed, BART was already proposing to buy numerous land parcels for an extension. That's not this plan, was the response.
"It's going to be voluntary to start with, but our local governments in an effort to conform will start rezoning", Livermore David worried.
"The government is not going to take anyone's property to get higher density", David Vautin said. "But they can rezone it!" a woman at the table objected.
Would the Initial Vision Scenario targets for new housing in various communities be mandatory, I asked?
"If Berkeley opts to take that growth, they will get the transportation funds" responded a woman who had joined the table and gave the impression she was from ABAG, but wasn't wearing a nametag. "It's voluntary."
A woman who might have been, from her own description, from Pleasant Hill, but would not give her name, objected to the focus of the options on infill housing and reducing driving.
"All of the cards are about penalizing people with cars!" she said.
Ms. ABAG looked exasperated. "If you do nothing, then trust me, this is a region you WON'T want to live in", she snapped back, temporarily losing her I'm A Friendly Public Planner demeanor.
"We don't want what you guys in Oakland are pushing," interjected David from Livermore.
"Phillip" from Oakland disagreed, saying he lived four blocks from the meeting site and favored more infill development. He said he wanted to hear what others had to say.
"Do you have a car?" demanded Ms. Pleasant Hill. Phillip from Oakland said he did, but tried to get around without it as often as possible.
"Robert" from Berkeley spoke for the first time. "I live near North Berkeley BART and I'd like to see that whole parking lot torn up and replaced with higher density mixed use development."
The MTC and ABAG representatives looked somewhat relieved that someone had unambiguously endorsed smart growth, in his own back yard—err, parking lot—no less.
I raised two points. One was the disproportionate amount of new housing units being assigned in the first round of projections to places like Berkeley—an increase of an estimated 35,000 new residents over the next 25 years, on top of our current population of about 112,000.
I said that it would be more equitable if the plan focus were to be on bringing less dense communities with development capacity towards somewhat higher density, rather than attempting to fit tens of thousands of new residents into already dense Berkeley, with more than 9,000 residents per square mile.
David Vautin nodded. "We're going to update our projections based on new data", he said. "Then we're going to refine those projections based on what the local jurisdictions say."
Second, I suggested that part of the discussion should not simply be "how do we accommodate growth?" but "is there an upper limit to the number of people the Bay Area can accommodate?" I reminded people that the environmentalist activists from the 60s and 70s they admired had often emphasized that issue.
Ms. ABAG looked across at me and emphatically declared, "THAT question is beyond the purview of a land use planning and a transportation agency!"
"I came to this meeting feeling great things about it," a woman from Eastern Alameda County plaintively said. "But "I'm not exactly sure what this whole thing is about." She said she had lived in both dense urban areas and suburban areas before, enjoyed both, but not everyone could ride a bicycle on their commute or daily rounds.
A guy with a big video camera wandered by and poked it in to the group to record some of the conversation.
The small group discussion, such as it was, continued with Ms. Pleasant Hill frequently objecting and interrupting, and often two or three people speaking at once, while others sat glumly. "Phillip" gamely tried to play peacemaker, but then got in hot water by implying "David" from Livermore had disrespected Ms. ABAG.
Ms. Pleasant Hill and Ms. ABAG were now saying less, but seemed to be glaring daggers at each other. There were some side arguments going on that I couldn't follow. A steady roar of conversation from the other tables made it hard to hear someone just across the table.
David Vautin from MTC began to look a bit deer-in-the-headlights, like a dealer in a high-stakes poker game realizing that the players are starting to ominously accuse each other of cheating. The stacks of cards he had been charged with sorting unfortunately reinforced the impression.
He gamely sorted the cards that had been "voted" and read off various conclusions, including the objections that Ms. Pleasant Hill and "David" from Livermore had written on nearly every "wild card" they could secure at the table. The pile included extra wild cards "Phillip" had tossed across to them in an exasperated effort to get them to stick with the role-playing program.
Ms. Pleasant Hill started to accuse David Vautin of stacking the deck as he laid out the collected cards. He protested that he was doing it accurately, and taking the wild cards into consideration. The lyrics "you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run…" went through my head.
The staffers at the table were finally saved from further rhetorical onslaughts when emcee Hill called the whole room back into a single session for a final series of electronic votes.
"Which four Transportation Investment Strategies did your small group choose as their top priorities to complete the preferred growth pattern?" was the key question.
The votes went in, although I wondered how any coherent result had come out of our table of three agency staff, three Berkeley people (two of them contrarian), one amiable Oakland guy, and three truly grumpy and suspicious suburban dissidents.
"Improve bicycle and pedestrian routes" won 64% approval when the results were tabulated. "Increase funding for most effective transit services" placed second, with 55%.
"Expand express bus and local bus service" came in next at 36%, and "increase funding to fix potholes" and "widen freeways and local roadways" tied for fourth, with 27% each.
"Which three Policy Initiatives did your small group choose?" was the next question. "Wild card" (none of the offered solutions) raced out ahead with 82% votes, to some laughter.
"New requirements for employers", "changing your driving habits…", "Pricing parking", and "other pricing strategies" all garnered a 27% share apiece. Economic Development and Electric Vehicles brought up the rear.
Finally, a series of wrap up questions assessed audience reaction. 45% said "Agree" to "I gained a better understanding of other people's perspectives and priorities."
But "The meeting materials and information presented were clear, with the right level of detail" was a loser. 68% said "Disagree" or "Strongly Disagree". Only 28% said "Agree", and not one person voted "Strongly agree."
But would people "remain involved" in the planning process? 84% answered "Very Likely", the survey said.
By this time it appeared that about 60 people were still voting, and about half that number had given up in protest, confusion, or exhaustion.
The meeting wound up. Hill announced with relief that things were right on schedule; it was exactly eight thirty.
(Steven Finacom writes frequently on local history, planning, design, and government topics for the Planet. He thanks the organizers of the forum for making room for him at the last minute so he could attend and cover the event for the Planet.)
The Plan Bay Area website can be found here .
The "Full Report" of the Initial Vision Scenario for the Bay Area is available as a pdf at this link on the Plan Bay Area website. Page 40 shows the Alameda County numbers for proposed housing and job growth, including details for Berkeley. Page 50 includes a description of the "vision" for neighborhoods including those in Berkeley.
The MetroQuest website is here.


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Do you like the boyfriend look?


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Home / Sport News
Sasa appreciative of Asum support
Published on: Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Amateur Swimming Union of Malaysia (Asum) was praised for their input in the just concluded 51st Sabah Invitational Age Group Swimming Championship 2018 held at the Likas Sports Complex over the weekend.
Some 460 swimmers from Sandakan, Tawau, Labuan, Penampang, Brunei and Likas participated in the meet co-organised by Sabah Aquatic Sports Association (Sasa) and Sea Dragon Swimming Club.
Sasa President Anthony Kiob was thankful to Asum for their support on the technical side led by Fina certified instructor Chee Pao Kam.
"We are pleased with the support given by Asum technical officials to upgrade the local swimming technical skill in the pool.
"I hope Sasa will continue to collaborate with Asum to gain more advance knowledge and skill for the benefit of the whole swimming fraternity in the State."
He also hoped that Sasa would organise more technical courses in the near future to source for more national level officials.
"We must recognise that our local technical and control room team had gained a lot during this meet under the guidance of Asum, and I am grateful to Asum for giving Sabah an opportunity to find more suitable candidates as technical officials to officiate in the National Age Group and Malaysia Open which will be held in March and May in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur."
Anthony was also pleased with the overall results derived from the swimmers in the meet.
"I am proud to say that there is an increase in the number of swimmers qualified to attend Malaysia Age Group in Bukit Jalil on March 15-18 and this is due to the hard work and dedication of both coaches and swimmers.
"This time we have 20 as compared to 16 last year. They are Jay Lo, Samuel Ng, Yipp Sin Hung, Gerald Tsen, Edwin Law, Adrian Frederic, Eddie Law, Sharifah Destinee, Loo Yie Bing, Beverly Lai, Loo Yie Cheng, Yong Xing Ru, Shane Chong, Chu Xin Ying, Lovell Wong, Yong Zi Yi, Lo Meng Sum, Logan Wong, Hollymax Bell and Sharon Voon."
"We must say this is the hard work and dedication of both coaches and swimmers to see such improvement including an increased number of new meet and state records."
He added that Sasa and coaches will use the SAG results as selection for state athletes in Sukma Perak 2018.
Meanwhile, Sea Dragon Swimming Club (SDSC) was the overall champion followed by Penampang District Swimming Association (Preps) and Sandakan Swimming Association Sabah (SSA).
Anthony said it is great to note that coaches are working cordially to promote the sports to source new junior talents.
"We thank all the coaches for their dedication and commitment to make swimming a success and bring glory for Sabah.
He also disclosed that there will be a novice competition in May this year organized by Sasa.
The main aim is to provide additional avenue and platform for the development of junior swimming talent to mature into state and national and international level.
He thanked MSN for their continuous financial support and also Sabah Sports Board for the provision of facilities for routine training as well as National Institute of Sports for rendering sports science services to coaches and swimmers.– GL Oh


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Planetary Radio • October 27, 2003
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On October 16, the Planetary Society's President Wes Huntress and its Board Chairman Bruce Murray testified before the House Committee on Science in Washington on the future of space flight. Hear excerpts from that testimony and analysis from Planetary Society Executive Director Louis Friedman.
Emily Lakdawalla is looking for rocks from Venus, and Bruce Betts has a special guest presenter on this week's What's Up!
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Become a member of The Planetary Society and together we will create the future of space exploration.
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Gingrich announced a plan to launch a write-in campaign for the state's GOP Super Tuesday primary in Virginia after state party officials said Gingrich had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures. But write-ins are not allowed in the Virginia primaries.
Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, where Gingrich lives, underscores the difficulty first-time national candidates have in preparing for the long haul of a presidential campaign.
The state party said early Saturday that Perry had also failed to submit the required signatures to appear on the March 6 ballot.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will appear on the Virginia ballot along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul.
Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.


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The Transition Marquette County Reading Group will sponsor a conversation on Building Community Resilience at 7pm on Thursday, April 12, in the Conference Room at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette. Resources for the conversation will include two books Community Resilience Reader, edited by David Lerch, and Resilience Thinking by Brian Walker and David Salt.
Click the link above for more info –


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My plans to retrace Captain Cook's unfinished voyage have been postponed a year while I work on the next Marine Diesel Basics book and get my new boat SV Oceandrifter ready for sea.
Yanomami men and women tell their own stories of their contact with the outside world, especially the decimation brought by an illegal invasion of goldminers since 1987 and the challenges they now face in contact with Whites.
This book is the only one reporting from the Yanomami point of view about the attempts by the government and gold miners in late 1980s to destroy them, the upsets in the cosmos caused by extracting gold from the earth, and their valiant resistance and fight for survival.
Read the book's introduction:
"Only Change is Inevitable"
Only Change in Inevitable (Introduction from the book.)
Political Dates
Savages: The Life and Killing of the Yanomami
NOW available on Amazon's Kindle:
"Dennison Berwick's lucid account of living in a Yanomami community, and of the events surrounding its fight for survival, makes a good case for takings its intuitive wisdom seriously. He does not see the Yanomami in a nostalgic light. He simply argues for them making their own choices about how much to "progress".
The Observer, London, 1992


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CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA — Surfers and beachgoers filed past a contingent of workers donning hardhats and yellow vests at the Chesterfield Drive railroad crossing during a demonstration of so called "quiet zone" technology on Aug. 24.
The ever-present blaring of the train horn announcing not only its arrival but also its departure as it speeds by on the tracks has long been a part of life in the city. However, if some residents and city officials have their way, the less harsh sounding horn will replace it at each of the four railroad crossings.
A group of residents, City Council members and city employees listened to the demonstration, which started at 7 a.m. Many of those living closest to the intersection said they came down because they heard a "strange sound" after the train passed.
It was, in fact, the sound of what is known as a wayside horn, which pedestrians and drivers could hear in lieu of the traditional train horn. "I've gotten used to the sound of the train," said Jeff Davis, who lives two streets east of the crossing. "I'm not sure this is an improvement."
Yet, most residents said they were weary from blaring train horns and encouraged implementation of the new technology. "I liked what I heard," said Sara Parker, a Cardiff-by-the-Sea resident. "As long as it's safe, I'm all for it."
According to Robert Albritton, CEO of Quiet Zone Technologies, the company that made the horns used in the demonstration, the sound of the wayside horn registered at 92 decibels when measured from 100 feet of the crossing. "That's a big difference from what the train puts out," he said.Train horn decibel readings ranged from 105 to 115.
A change in federal law five years ago allowed the installation of wayside horns across the country. Approximately 100 crossings in the United States have wayside horns, Albritton said, with only 14 in California. The nearest is in Riverside. Del Mar has shown an interest in purchasing the technology to install in its lone crossing.
While the demonstration was free, Albritton said, the "turn-key" cost to install the technology comes to $100,000. "The quiet zone horns can be used at any crossing that has gates," he said. He also noted that train engineers will always be able to blow train horns if necessary.
A wayside horn system includes signals up the track from each crossing that will flash if the system is working properly indicating to train engineers they don't have to blow their horns.
Councilwoman Teresa Barth watched the demonstration in the early morning hours with Deputy Mayor Maggie Houlihan and Solana Beach City Councilman Dave Roberts. Roberts is one of the North County Transit District representatives. The public agency owns both the Coaster and the Sprinter railways. "This is an important demonstration to show how you can improve the situation at the railroad crossings and improve the quality of the surrounding neighborhoods," Roberts said.
Barth said the technology was affordable in comparison to other options considered by the council to improve railroad-crossing safety. "We could do all four of our crossings for $400,000," she said, adding that the California Public Utilities will have to agree to at-grade pedestrian crossing at the Leucadia Boulevard intersection first. "This technology does not compromise public safety," she said. "I think it's something worth looking into more in depth."
Technology quiets train horn during demonstration
CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA — Surfers and beachgoers filed past a contingent of workers donning hardhats and yellow vests at the Chesterfield Drive railroad crossing during a demonstration of so called "quiet zone" technology on Aug. 24.


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Top Blogs of 2015
2015 was a great year of amazing ideas, content, multiscreen setups, and event designs. We had fun sharing new setups, concepts, tips, and tricks to create great environments and transform spaces through multiscreen, lighting, environmental projection, stage design, and more. We wanted to share what the top blogs of 2015 were that resonated most with our audience.
This isn't simply a list of our favorites, but based on Analytics with unique page views as of Dec 30, 2015, Here are the top 10 blogs of 2015 from you!
10. First Multiscreen Setup ever
The other day I stumbled across something that simply blew my mind. A multiscreen setup using old projectors and multiple screens from 1959! That's crazy. In turn it ended up to be the first multiscreen setup!
9. Stage Design On a Budget
How do you make a memorable stage design but stay within a limited budget? It can be challenging to make something memorable, especially when you don't have a lot of resources.
8. Simple Multiscreen suggestions
Multiscreen can be very complex, but it doesn't have to be. To create a great environment for your events, youth ministry or worship services, all you need to do is a few simple things. Today I thought it would be fun to showcase what we do at my youth ministry and show some simple multiscreen suggestions we've picked up over the years.
7. How to Choose the Best HDMI Cable
Did you catch our conversations on VGA and DVI? We're talking with you all week about different types of video cables and what's the right choice for your application. Today, we're going to take a look at HDMI.
6. 5 Ways to Incorporate Video into Stage Design
Great stage design is the epitome of a great production and incorporating video into stage design can take it to the next level. Over the years I've seen a wealth of various stage designs that incorporate video well. So here are the 5 ways I think you should consider incorporating Video into your great Stage Designs:
5. The Multiscreen Module
When looking into mutliscreen or environmental projection there's almost always a question about lyrics, control, confidence monitors, stage display and more. What can you put on the center screen versus side screens? Can you only put lyrics center or on all the screens?
4. Projection on Ceiling: pros & cons
I stumbled upon an event space the other day who used projection on the ceiling as a way to showcase a few projects in the desert or the work of several architect's in their design of buildings in the Moroccan desert. It reminded me how projection on the ceiling can be used in an event or in a space as a great addition to the experience of the people in attendance. There are many benefits and drawbacks to projecting on the ceiling, so lets dive right in.
3. 5 people needed in every creative meeting.
At the SALT Conference in 2014, I first heard of Stephen Brewster's creative personality types, so I want to give credit where credit is due. Our lists are slightly different, but his process made me think about the creative brainstorming process and the various personalities you need in order to refine your ideas and improve your meetings. Here are the people needed in every creative meeting.
2. 6 ProPresenter Tips (You Probably Didn't Know about)
Many of you in our community use ProPresenter on a regular basis, and we thought it would be fun to share 6 hidden ProPresenter Tips and Tricks that you may not have known about just in time for Easter this coming week. As a ProPresenter user myself, I've learned a few things that help me save time, make presentations look better and find the pieces of the program I need without having to use a mouse too much. So here are my Top 6 ProPresenter Tips (You may not have known about):
1. Super Bowl Halftime Show
The first thing to talk about is the projection; oh my there was a lot of it! All in all there were 90 Barco 26,000 lumen projectors! That's over 2 Millions Lumens of light… just from PROJECTION! Absolutely insane. The projectors for the 2015 super Bowl halftime show were all edge blended together to fill a projection surface of 18,000 square feet where Katy Perry danced (with sharks mind you) and bedazzled us with a performance to stand the test of time. Fun fact: only 80 pj's were in use… they had 10 spares lying around.


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According to Jason Isaacs, there is nothing more embarrassing than to get an erection when you don't want one. Erectile dysfunction touches more lives than people think, and creates more embarrassment than is necessary. Nevermind what Isaacs may say, for many men the real embarrassment is in NOT being able to get an erection when you do want one. Erectile dysfunction is fodder for a lot of off color humor. Read more >>


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DzidzoYirenya-Tawiah is an Environmental and Public Health Research Scientist whose work have been focused on water related diseases, environmental health and water & sanitation. She also has undertaken several community-based studies across Ghana and has strong community mobilization and engagement skills as well as project management abilities. She is the Coordinator of the Utilization of Organic Waste for Agricultural Improvement, an action-oriented research project aimed at promoting sustainable waste management and food security in Ga-West Municipal Assembly. She is also involved in the Special Treat Project (STP) and has conducted the baseline research on sanitation in Ga West, Ga Central and Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipalities in Ghana
Dzidzo is a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies (IESS), University of Ghana. She holds a PhD degree in Zoology, from the University of Ghana, and an MPH Degree in Public Health from University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. At the IESS she is the Coordinator of the PhD program in Sustainable Sanitation and Health and also contributes in the handling of Eco-system Disaster Risk Management and Environmental Impact Assessment courses run by the Institute. She led the development of the new M.Phil. Environmental Sanitation Program which is upcoming in the next academic year. She has over fifteen peer reviewed publications.
Educational History:
- PhD, Zoology, University of Ghana- 2010
- MPH, University of Maastricht, Netherlands - 2001
- MPhil Zoology (Parasitology), University of Ghana -1997
- BSc Zoology, University of Ghana -1992
Research Interest:
- Public Health
- Water and Sanitation
- Parasitology
- Epidemiology
- Environment and Parasites of Wildlife
Current Research Activities:
- The Special Treat Project
- Utilization of Organic Waste to Improve Agricultural Productivity (UOWAIP) Project
- Manual clearing of aquatic weeds and schistosomiasis control: The objective of this study is to assess the impact of manual clearing of aquatic weeds along river banks on Schistosoma vector snail population density as a means reducing schistosomiasis transmission
- Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of fresh water fish: A case study of the Kpong head pondThe objective of this study is to catalogue helminth parasites of fish found major freshwater bodies in Ghana
Selected Research and Consultancies
Name of assignment of project: The Special Treat Project
Year: 2015–on going
Location: Ghana
Client: Netherlands Enterprise AgencyRVO.NL
Position: Team Member
Project features: Improve Environmental Sanitation of 300,000 inhabitants through provision of public toilets, and waste treatment facilities in Ga West, Ga Central and Nsawan Adoagyiri Municipalities
Name of assignment of project : Development of Environmental Sanitation Standard
Year: 2014
Location: Ghana
Client: Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI)
Position: Team Member
Project features: Conduct desk reviews on existing environmental sanitation standards, baseline studies on environmental sanitation situations, draft standard document, stakeholder workshops
Name of assignment of project : Utilization of organic waste for urban agricultural improvement in the Ga West Municipality
Year: 2014 –on going
Location: Ghana
Client: Grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Position: Team Leader
Project features: Promote waste segregation from source from markets, farms, train and engage unemployed youth in waste collection and composting, promote compost utilization on urban farms waste segregation awareness campaigns etc.
Name of assignment of project : Volta dam Reoptimization Project
Year: on-going 2013
Location: Lower Volta Basin
Position: Team Member
Client: Water Resources Commission of Ghana
Main project features: Public health impact assessment aspect of project. Conduct Stakeholder assessment and identification, health issues assessment, monitoring environmental and health effects of reoperation of dam, data analysis and reporting
Pipeline Research Project
- Towards effective management of local markets for improved public health and poverty reduction
- Yeboah-Asiamah, B Yirenya-Tawiah, D, Baafi, D and Ackumey, M (2017). Perceptions and knowledge about prostate cancer and attitudes towards prostate cancer screening among male teachers in the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. African Journal of Urology- In press
- Aboagye SY, Asare P, Otchere ID, Koka E, Mensah GE, Yirenya-Tawiah D, Yeboah-Manu D. (2017). Environmental and Behavioral Drivers of Buruli Ulcer Disease in Selected Communities along the Densu River Basin of Ghana: A Case-Control Study. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 96(5) · March DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0749
- Aboagye, S, Danso, E, Ampah, K, A., Nakobu, Z., Asare, P., Otchere, I. D., Röltgen, K, Yirenya-Tawiah, D, Yeboah-Manu (2016). Isolation of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria from the Environment of Buruli Ulcer Endemic Communities in Ghana. Applied Environmental Microbiology, doi:10.1128/AEM.01002-16
- Yirenya-Tawiah, D. R., Ackumey, M. M., & Bosompem, K. M. (2016). Knowledge and awareness of genital involvement and reproductive health consequences of urogenital schistosomiasis in endemic communities in Ghana: a cross-sectional study. Reproductive Health, 13, 117. http://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0238-5
- Adama, M., Esena, R., Fosu-Mensah, B and Yirenya-Tawiah D (2016). Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils Around A Hospital Waste Incinerator Bottom – Ash Dumps Site. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2016, 1-7, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8926453.
- Pesewu ,G. A., Bentum, D., Olu-Taiwo M.A., Glover, K and Yirenya-Tawiah D.R (2016). Bacteriological quality of the wastewater used for irrigation at the vegetable farms in Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Accra Metropolis, Ghana Tropical Doctor, 1-5, DOI: 10.1177/0049475516629534.
- Ayivor, J.S., Pabi,O., Ofori, B.D.,Yirenya-Tawiah, D.R and Gordon, C (2016). Agro-Diversity in the Forest-Savannah Transition Zone of Ghana: A Strategy for Food Security against Climatic and Socio-Economic Stressors. Environment and Natural Resources Research; 6 (1), 1-12.
- Mensah, M., Fosu-Mensah, B.Y and Yirenya-Tawiah, D (2014). Assessing Public Perception of Beach Quality for Ecotourism Development: A Case Study in Kokrobite Beach in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Journal of Environment and Earth Science 4 (11), 58-66.
- Yirenya-Tawiah, D., Annang, T., Apea-Kubi, K.A., Lomo, G., Mensah, D., Akyeh L and Bosompem, K.M (2014). Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorhoea occurrence among women living in urogenital schistosomiasis endemic area in Ghana BMC Research Notes, 7, 349. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/7/349.
- Annang, T.Y., Yirenya-Tawiah, R.D., Clerk, G.C and Smith, T (2014). Some aspects of the ecology of freshwater algae in the Densu River and two tributaries in Southern Ghana. International Journal Of Environment, 3 (2), 246-257
- Yirenya-Tawiah, D.R., Amoa,C.M., Apea-Kubi,K.A., Dade D., Lomo, G., Mensah, D., AkyehL and Bosompem, K.M (2013). Female genital schistosomiasis, genital tract infections and HIV co-infection in the Volta Basin of Ghana. International Journal for Tropical Diseases and Health, 3(2): 94-103
- Annang T.Y., Yirenya-Tawiah R.D and Clerk, G.C (2012). Preliminary Studies on the Occurrence of Freshwater Epipelic Algae in the Densu Basin in Southern Ghana. West African Journal of Ecology, 20(2), 11-17
- Yirenya-Tawiah D.R, D and Tweneboah, E (2012). Boosting Health. Development and Coperation,.39, 327-329
- Dzidzo Regina Yirenya-Tawiah, Ted Annang, Joseph Otchere, Daniel Bentum, Dominic Edoh, Cecilia Amoah and Kwabena Mante Bosompem (2011). Urinary Schistosomiasis among Adults in the Volta Basin of Ghana: Prevalence, Knowledge and Practice. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology,34, 1-16
- D. R. Yirenya-Tawiah, A. Abdul Rashid, G Futagbi, I. Aboagye and M. Dade (2011). Prevalence of Snail Vectors of Schistosomiasis in the Kpong Head Pond, Ghana. West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 18, 39-45
- D. Yirenya-Tawiah, C. Amoah, K. A. Apea-Kubi, M. Dade, M. Ackumey,T. Annang, D. Y. Mensah and K. M. Bosompem (2011). A Survey of Female Genital Schistosomiasis of the lower reproductive tract in the Volta Basin of Ghana. Ghana Medical Journal, 45, 16-21
- Futagbi, G., Agyei,D.O., Aboagye, I.F., Yirenya-Tawiah, D.R., and Edoh, D.A. (2010). Intestinal Parasites of the Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus, Temminck 1827) from Kwaebibirem District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. West Africa Journal of Applied Ecology, 17, 81-83.
- D.R. Yirenya-Tawiah, C.M. Amoah, M. Dade, T. Annang. and K. M. Bosompem (2009). HIV Testing In Community Based Research: A Case Study Of Female Genital Schistosomiasis and HIV In The Volta Basin Of Ghana. Journal of the Ghana Science Association, 11(1), 85-91.
- K.M. Bosompem, C.Amoah, D.R. Yirenya-Tawiah, M, Dade and Apea-Kubi (2008). Schistosomiasis: Infection, Pathology and Implications, pp21-26. In: C.M. Amoah, S.G.K. Adiku and E. O. Owusu (eds.). New Developments on Health, Agricultural resources and Socio-economic activities in the Volta Basin. Volta Basin Research Project
- D. R. Yirenya-Tawiah, C. M. Amoah, K. Apea-Kubi , M. Dade , T.Annang., G. Lomo and K. M. Bosompem (2008). Preliminary Investigations into Female Genital Schistosomiasis and Sexually Transmitted Infections in the Volta Basin, p27-34. In: C.M. Amoah, S.G.K. Adiku and E. O. Owusu (eds.). New Developments on Health, Agricultural resources and Socio-economic activities in the Volta Basin. Volta Basin Research Project
- M.M. Ackumey, D.R. Yirenya-Tawiah, C. M. Amoah , M. Dade and K. M. Bosompem (2008). Local Perceptions of Genital Schistosomiasis in the Afram Plains District of Ghana, p 35-42. In: C.M. Amoah, S.G.K. Adiku and E. O. Owusu (eds.). New Developments on Health, Agricultural resources and Socio-economic activities in the Volta Basin. Volta Basin Research Project
- D.Yirenya-Tawiah, et al. (2006). Female genital schistosomiasis and HIV infection in Ghana. : AIDS - XVI International AIDS Conference: Abstract no. CDC0743
Teaching in last three years:
- FAC 701 - Science and Society
- ESCI 702 - Emerging Environmental Issues for the 21st Century
- ESCI 705 - Sustainable Sanitation and Health
- ESCI 606 - Environmental Impact Assessment