text:
Preparation for Sunday-morning services at the Cathedral of Hope resembles backstage on opening night of a Broadway production. The halls bustle with activity as volunteer coordinators and staff tick off their to-do lists. Everything must be perfect, from preparing urns of coffee to ushering in latecomers to ordering multimedia presentations that flash headlines, film clips and still images on a large screen behind the pulpit. Timing is essential. One mistake--a missed beat, a flubbed line or a crying baby--could ruin the performance.
On such a Sunday a year ago in November, minutes before taking the stage, the Reverend Michael Piazza and his assistant ministers gathered in Piazza's office to quickly review the program before taking the pulpit. As eyes scanned the script it became clear that something had gone wrong. A song the senior pastor objected to had made the playlist. It was an instrumental score that included a piece for the lowly kazoo.
A slightly comical mistake, but Piazza was apoplectic. He slammed his fist repeatedly on his desk and screamed that if one of the assistant ministers snickered, heads would roll. So help him, if just one of them deigned to clap after the recital, it would be the end of his or her career. The pastor's usual pallor had turned beet red.
The clergy were cowed into silence. Ten minutes later they took to the chancel, the pictures of serenity and compassion. No one could see the trembling beneath the robes.
One associate pastor who stood onstage that day had an epiphany. The church, it seemed to her, was unraveling at the seams. The gap between what the congregation saw and what took place in boardroom meetings was widening. As church leadership dissolved into bitter squabbles, attendance declined, as did donations. And what was intended to be the church's crowning jewel, the grand cathedral that had been six years in the making, was no closer to breaking ground.
Nearly a decade earlier ministers had stood before a couple of thousand congregants instead of several hundred. Back then, people came in droves to hear the renowned pastor whose sermons were a mix of the literary and the liturgical; a pastor who was known for bringing to life the stories of saints and sinners, their deeds spun with a mix of radical queer theory, old-fashioned morality and gentle, self-deprecating humor--all told with a lilting Southern twang. People drove from miles around to listen to the message of a brilliant orator and visionary: Michael Piazza.
It was a time of tremendous growth and giving. The church needed more buildings, more pews, more parking spaces, more clergy and more services. Money was heaped upon the donation plates. Easter services were standing room only. At its pinnacle, the cathedral implemented a regular third-Sunday service.
To top it off, Piazza had plans to build a massive cathedral designed by premier architect Philip Johnson, the so-called dean of American architecture whose stark modernist style spawned a movement and can be seen in such buildings as the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, and Pennzoil Place in Houston. The church was glory-bound, but something went terribly wrong.
Of those present for worship that November morning in 2002, few knew of or suspected the battle that lay ahead. The church was hemorrhaging members and operating far in the red. Employees were quitting the church on an average of one every six weeks, and people were beginning to speak openly about what's been whispered about for years--that Piazza's personal life hardly befits that of a man of God. And as for the Philip Johnson cathedral, former church leaders say it probably never will be built and allege that the church has, in fact, misused some funds earmarked for the building.
Piazza soon would find himself under attack when members of his congregation initiated a clerical investigation accusing him of financial mismanagement, insurance fraud and abusive leadership. The investigation would end with the cathedral's separation from the United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), the umbrella denomination to which the cathedral belonged. The MCC acts as an overseeing organization and provides spiritual and material assistance to churches that primarily target the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities.
The Dallas Observer interviewed more than a dozen former church members and clergy and reviewed many of the church's internal documents. Together, they describe how one man's ambition divided the world's premier gay and lesbian church.
Rain Maker
The Cathedral of Hope has come a long way from its humble beginnings when a group of 12 friends met in 1970 to discuss forming a church that would embrace the gay and lesbian community. During that first year, meetings were rotated among the friends' homes until the newly credentialed church was established in a run-down neighborhood on Ross Avenue. Over the next several years, membership exploded as word of the openly gay church spread. In just six years membership had grown from 40 to more than 400, and the congregation found a larger sanctuary on Reagan Street in the Oak Lawn neighborhood.
The Reverend Don Eastman served as minister to the church for 10 years. For years he divided his time and attention between the church and its parent organization, MCC, until he could no longer serve two masters and resigned in 1986 to fulfill his obligations as an elder in the denomination, a supervisory position not unlike a bishop.
The congregation of MCC-Dallas, as the cathedral was known then, had been without a senior pastor for about a year when Piazza filled the post in November 1987.
The soft-spoken minister with bright red hair took the helm with humility and graciousness. Though slight of frame and standing well under 6 feet tall, his message was stalwart and delivered with an immediacy that compelled people to return every week, often with friends in tow: Too long have gays been outcast, God's broken children. If the personal is political, what better arena than the church, where one cultivates a personal relationship to God and the universe, to make a statement about social justice? Through Piazza, people saw the chance to heal and make a difference in the world. He called for each member--gay or straight, black or white--to live as radically and righteously as Christ himself.
The congregation adored Piazza. The church experienced a kind of second wave of revivalism as membership exploded. Some wept openly during his sermons, which concluded with thunderous applause and, oftentimes, standing ovations. In a little more than a year the church had gained 100 new members.
Piazza's life revolved around the church. He and his partner, Bill Eure, would invite members of the congregation to their home for dinner and to discuss the church's future.
The Reverend Elder Lillie Brock, Piazza's longtime friend and associate, says Piazza was just reaching the height of his career in the early 1990s. It was during this period that he dreamed up the idea of a cathedral in the historic sense of the word--as a stately and decorous church located in the center of the city, a place of worship and study, ensconced in tradition yet ministering to a changing world, a place where the past and the present fuse.
"The cathedral would be a symbol and a beacon to the gay community," she says. "It was a powerful moment for him."
"Michael is a visionary," former church board member Kathy Harper says. "He dreams great dreams, and that's something that's definitely needed in a leader. The church needs someone to dream the dream; otherwise there's no future to move forward to."
By 1990, Piazza launched a building campaign to erect a new church--not the Johnson cathedral--on roughly six acres between Cedar Springs Road and Nash Street. The ranks of the congregation had swelled to 1,000, and through their pledges the church was able to raise $1 million for construction. It also sold $2 million in bonds to finance the building, nearly all of which were purchased by the congregation. "This building was constructed out of an absolute resolution that none of God's children should ever be excluded from worship for any reason," Piazza wrote for the dedication service.
In honor of this new building and the vision, the church would later change its name to Cathedral of Hope MCC.
Piazza hit his stride when the congregation moved into the Cathedral of Hope in February 1993. Worship services became more professional productions. The church had an orchestra and choir led by a full-time director. The sanctuary was light and airy with eight panels of stained glass spelling out "hope" in English and Spanish. The stone walls were austere but beautiful and drew attention to an enormous cross that stands in relief.
"My reaction to the church was, 'Oh, my God!' It was such a beautiful building," recalls former member Terri Frey. "The combination of the power of the beauty of that building coupled with the quality of the worship experience topped off by feeling surrounded by God's presence brought us--me and my partner--to tears."
The success of the new church was inspiring, yet in a few years Piazza would attempt to make it even grander with the input of Johnson and his team of designers.
Piazza grew up in a large Italian immigrant family in Statesboro, Georgia, where his father worked three jobs to support his family. He declined repeated requests for an interview for this article, but in an interview with the Observer in 1999, he said that as early as high school he felt the call to become a Methodist minister. And while he had many girlfriends throughout high school and had planned to marry and have children, he finally began to deal with his homosexuality when he entered seminary at Emory University in 1978. For the next eight years Piazza worked at a number of churches, most of them Methodist, while pursuing a divinity degree.
Piazza's coming-out process was painful. While pastoring at Haygood Methodist Church in Atlanta, he kept his sexuality secret but spent many of his off-hours working at the Atlanta Gay Center. A fellow student in seminary told him about MCC. MCC offered him a way to continue developing his profession while living an authentic life, since Methodists didn't condone openly gay ministers. The board at Haygood began to suspect their pastor was leading a double life and threatened to take action, he told the Observer. Under increasing pressure, Piazza left his post at the Methodist church in 1980 to become the assistant pastor of MCC-Atlanta.
His stay in Atlanta was not long, and in a couple of years he was offered a post at St. Luke's MCC in Jacksonville, Florida, where he worked until coming to Dallas.
During his pastorate, the Cathedral of Hope more than tripled its size. It grew at an estimated 20 percent a year for the first six years of his tenure. At its peak in the early 1990s, the church had built a $3.5 million sanctuary, developed an AIDS ministry, and offered a counseling center and a shelter for gay teens. The cathedral boasted a budget of more than $1.6 million and received accolades from MCC. To continue to spread the message of salvation to wider audiences, Piazza had launched a weekly cable television program as well as a publishing and distribution outlet. His power and presence gained the attention of the national media, which solicited him for comments and interviews on a range of subjects.
Yet even during this time of tremendous growth and praise for Piazza, those closest to him say they saw signs of problems.
Former employees say he was given to outbursts of rage and criticism that led to the alienation of longtime friends and colleagues, many of whom have kept their silence until now.
"I believed and still believe today very strongly in what the church can do for our community and the impact it can have on the lives of individuals," Harper says. "Michael has a very strong personality and a very controlling nature...He very much likes to have his way at the expense of people's feelings."
In a few years Piazza would run for a prestigious seat on the board of MCC elders. It was not his first attempt. When his latest bid failed, he launched his most grandiose plan yet. In 1996, Piazza unveiled a master plan to build a 2,300-seat cathedral designed by Johnson. He would lash the congregation forward on the building project, heedless of his board's warnings of financial problems. The project marked a turning point in his career and eventually splintered the congregation.
Minister's Black Veil
One evening in 1990 after attending an MCC conference, three friends--Piazza, his partner, Bill Eure, and a Cathedral of Hope administrator--showered and dressed and went out to dinner on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, just a stone's throw from the hotel where they were staying. After an early meal, they decided to go out on the town and blow off some steam in the gay mecca of West Hollywood.
The three men shared a rental car. That night they made a deal: The single friend could have the car for the night in exchange for dropping off Piazza and Eure at a club.
As the trio headed the short distance into West Hollywood, the conversation turned animated when the couple began talking about the club where they were going. In fact, it wasn't a bar at all but a gay sex club where men pay an entrance fee for anonymous sex.
The warehouse building was nondescript. There were no flashing lights, no signs that advertised the club's name or venue.
"I was surprised, but I didn't hold a judgment about it," says the administrator, "Neil," who spoke on condition that he not be identified by his real name. "Maybe it was because he [Piazza] was my friend and not my pastor--I didn't have him on a pedestal.
"If he had preached monogamy, then he would've been a hypocrite," he says. "He always said he didn't care what the staff did. 'Just not in my back yard'--not in Dallas and not with the congregation. Power and sex go hand in hand, whether you're a politician or a preacher."
He picked up the couple a few hours later. No one spoke about what happened inside the club. "They didn't go in for tea and crumpets," he says. "But you can't assume they weren't safe."
The MCC's code of conduct for clergy is disarmingly simple and deliberately open to interpretation.
MCC developed its sexual conduct guidelines to offer parameters for responsible clerical behavior without prescribing or prohibiting the form of sexual contact. Sexual misconduct is less about whom one has sex with or what acts consenting adults engage in as it is about the ethics of sex. The focus is on openness and honesty. The types of behavior that constitute sexual misconduct are sex with minors, sexual abuse or molestation, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation or sexual relationships with a person whom one supervises or ministers to.
"There is no prohibition that says a pastor must be monogamous or not attend a sex club," says MCC spokesman Jim Birkitt. "The key for us is whether that person is open to the congregation. At the very least, there must be a clear understanding with the board of directors."
Birkitt says it is incumbent upon the pastor to honestly represent himself to his board, if not from the pulpit. Open relationships and anonymous sexual encounters are not expressly condemned, but MCC does frown upon secrecy and hypocrisy, he says.
"The question to ask about sexual conduct is, is it harmful to anyone? Is it manipulative? Is it coercive?"
Though Piazza didn't tell the board about going to a sex club, he was intolerant of board members whose behavior might bring shame on the church.
Piazza hired a friend living in Washington, D.C., as a consultant. Lillie Brock, who later became an elder with MCC, had led a number of businesses and was an expert in change management. Her advice on running the new Cedar Springs cathedral was invaluable. She traveled to the church four days out of the month, where she met the woman who was the director of discipleship. Before long, the two became sexually involved. Piazza responded by firing Brock. He informed the board of their relationship and reported Brock to MCC in 1992.
Brock argues that while Piazza had the authority to fire her, the grounds on which he did so were unfair. "She was not my subordinate. Everybody on the planet found out, even MCC. It was quite an ordeal, but I'm grateful. It changed me. The person who was hurt in this was my partner."
Within a year of driving Piazza to the sex club, Neil quit his job at the church because of the stress and long hours. Part of the stress he chalked up to Piazza's controlling nature and double standards.
But leaving came at a high price. At first Piazza ignored Neil's notice and refused to fill the pending vacancy. Two weeks stretched to two months. Finally Neil packed his files and said he was leaving by week's end. The pastor was livid. Neil says Piazza retaliated by giving him a negative performance evaluation and sending copies to the board.
A 10-year friendship was destroyed. Neil says he hasn't spoken to Piazza since.
Seeds of Undoing
In the sterile conference room at the Nokia headquarters in Plano, Terri Frey asks to see my press pass before she'll answer questions, despite several e-mails and phone conversations. The days of trusting people at their word are over, she explains. After all, she thought she knew her friends, her pastor and her church. Now she errs on the side of caution.
"I was in the cult of Michael Piazza," she says, her eyes burning. "I adored him. He was God in many ways to me."
It was Frey who saw the church's finances going sideways and sent up red flags. She developed a financial tracking system, organized accounting information, compiled attendance and giving reports and kept meticulous files brimming with correspondence. Those files she would later turn over to the denomination's investigators, an act for which she was vilified and cast as a modern-day Judas.
Frey moved to Dallas from Florida and started attending the cathedral in the spring of 1993. The new Cathedral of Hope was nothing short of magnificent, and services were breathtaking. "I felt God's presence in that building," she says. "That's the only way I can describe it."
Church had always been a cornerstone in her life, but she needed it now more than ever. A child of alcoholic parents who sexually abused her, she sought to make sense of her burden through the church. She looked to church counselors for therapy and spoke of her shame and hurt to ministers Paul Tucker and Piazza. In return for the spiritual balm, she gave her time and money to the church. She volunteered at the teen center and tithed thousands of dollars a year.
In the middle of her healing process, life dealt another blow. Her adoptive brother Danny was diagnosed with AIDS. He died of a brain tumor in 1995.
"I spent a lot of time going to church in off-hours," she says. "I would light a candle and sit in the pews. I would just try to understand how that happened. It was a difficult, dark period of my life."
In 1996, Piazza unveiled a stunning new $20 million building campaign that promised to bring to Dallas and the gay community a world-class cathedral. At the time the program launched, attendance and giving had reached an all-time high with 1,200 members contributing an average of about $34 per person.
With the campaign in full swing, Piazza asked the congregation to step up and give as much as they could to make the dream a reality.
Frey, who already was contributing $10,000 a year, sent in another $1,000 check along with a letter praising Piazza's powerful sermons, and in 1997 she was asked to join the board of directors to help get the fledgling campaign off the ground. She also donated her time as a consultant on the building project and had access to all of the church's financial records as well as its lists of people solicited for donations.
Despite the prosperity of the previous year, the church was not meeting its operating expenses. More people were coming to church, but they were kicking in less. Contributions had fallen in December 1997 to an average of $26 a person. The church was more than $65,000 short on cash for operating expenses, which was carried into the new year.
Starting in 1997, the church shifted money between accounts to meet expenses. It was not a one-time deal.
Information obtained by the Observer reveals that the church placed a hold on $50,000 worth of checks that December to keep afloat. It borrowed nearly $74,000 from operating funds to try to raise money for the building fund, and still the project was more than $100,000 short for the new year.
Again in 2002, the church ran short on money for basic operations and dug into the building fund's purse for more than $263,000.
An e-mail sent to a congregant in April 2003 by the church's executive director, Ken Upton, defends the church's financial actions. He admits that money was borrowed from the building funds "when giving was down," but justifies the move since "the general fund pays a commercial rate of interest to the capital fund, the same as if the funds were invested, so any suggestion that the capital fund is being shortchanged is nonsense."
In the letter he also complains that the congregation was not coughing up the money they pledged, yet the church was buying adjacent properties that hadn't been budgeted for.
"The church bit off more than it could chew," Frey says. "I told Mike we needed to do a feasibility study. If we were having trouble paying our bills today, why are we doing a building of that magnitude?"
But the church had another problem. As a member of MCC, the cathedral was required to contribute 15 percent of its monthly income to the denomination. According to MCC's chief financial officer, Margaret Mahlman, the cathedral paid anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 a month, depending on donations.
There simply wasn't enough money to go around.
The church cut off contributions to the denomination. From February 1997 to December 1999, the church either didn't pay or underpaid and quickly racked up $250,000 in arrears, Mahlman says. During this time the church stopped sending in required financial statements to MCC headquarters or to the district office and ignored the monthly reminders, she says.
"Churches typically do one of two things when they have financial difficulty: They work out a reduced payment or they get mad at us about funding, they protest and quit paying," Mahlman says.
Though she says she wasn't sure which it was in the case of the cathedral, former board members suggest that Piazza made it abundantly clear that he resented answering to the denomination.
A former executive director who agreed to speak on condition that she not be identified says Piazza asked MCC for a deferment because the cathedral needed the cash flow for construction and the purchase of properties.
MCC negotiated a reduction in contributions by half, the remainder to be made up of in-kind services and materials. But even that the church carried out in the most cursory way, sources say, bundling up outdated fliers of local events held at the church and shipping them to MCC's Los Angeles headquarters. MCC spokesman Birkitt says no one at headquarters understood how the fliers would be remotely useful.
Frey says board members occasionally would question Piazza's decisions and the direction of the church, but doing so meant risking humiliation before the board.
"He brought employees and staff to tears," she says. "He called them stupid and idiot." The verbal abuse was a pattern she would see played out time and again. When the director of administration was ignored after alerting the board to a potentially serious insurance problem, Frey resigned.
Piazza's response was to undermine her credibility, she says.
"He told people--board and staff--that I was sexually abused as a child and that I was resigning because I was having a nervous breakdown," she says, shaking her head. "He gave a sermon about people with 'daddy issues.' I told him those experiences in confidence."
The episode left her jaded and weary, but still she says she loved the church and friends in the congregation.
"People think he [Piazza] is the church and without him the church will crumble," she says.
Former board member Kathy Harper, who served as chair of the cathedral's building design team, says she finally quit the board because Piazza was so abusive. "If you didn't agree with what was being presented to you, you would be verbally attacked and ridiculed," she says. "I felt I was being attacked personally, not just in my position. It was a very frequent occurrence, and at some point I just ran out of energy to be able to continue."
Emperor's Clothes
"If I did one thing wrong, it was not turning their asses in," former director of administration Jean Morris says of Piazza and senior board members.
She alleges that in 1997 senior church leaders, at Piazza's behest, asked her to add volunteers such as Roger Stanley, who was HIV-positive, to the church's insurance policy even though only full-time paid employees were eligible.
Church policy stated that employees working more than 30 hours a week were eligible for health insurance but said nothing about volunteers. When finance director Bruce Ehrhardt asked her to start the necessary paperwork, she called the insurance carrier to see whether full-time volunteers could be considered employees and was told no. The church had the option, however, of purchasing an individual plan through another company, but then Stanley's medical history would have to be disclosed.
She reported her early findings via e-mail to the board of directors in July 1997. Piazza responded with a terse e-mail that started, "Then find another company who will." He chastised her for contacting the insurance company, saying she "may have done some serious damage."
"This is a case where 'no' is not an acceptable answer because we can't have people with HIV and no insurance. I don't know if this is really your area or Bruce's, but we have to keep turning this problem over until we find a solution," he stated in an e-mail.
An e-mail dated July 17, 1997, from director of cathedral services Joyce Bell to Morris, confirms that Stanley was not a paid employee:
"Roger Stanley just mentioned to me...that his...insurance is running out next month. I would like to set him up on our insurance policy at that time...Of course, this would be paid by the church. I understand that since he is not a paid staff [member] this might be a challenge to do but would like to work it out."
The board revisited the issue once again in January 1998, then promptly moved forward. The church placed Stanley on the group insurance plan, and Morris resigned in protest. The Observer's attempts to contact Stanley for comment were unsuccessful.
In a letter addressed to Frey dated April 2003, executive director Upton admitted that he found several instances "in which it appears that the church provided health-insurance benefits to unpaid staff members," but that practice had been discontinued. One month later, however, he denied wrongdoing. In an article in the Dallas Voice that looked at the charges leveled at the church, Upton said that a church review of its insurance practices "revealed no irregularities."
Piazza also asked Ehrhardt to complete an employment verification form for a volunteer who sought a home loan and needed to show income. Morris provided the Observer with copies of faxed documents turned over to the denomination's investigators that show that Piazza and Ehrhardt filed an employment verification form on behalf of volunteer Michael Maher.
She says that Ehrhardt came to her in the spring of 1997 clearly distressed about being asked to provide employment verification on behalf of Maher. Against Morris' advice, Ehrhardt faxed the report to CTX Mortgage Co. in March 1997 indicating that Maher worked as a volunteer coordinator for $25,000 a year. Morris says Maher may have worked in that capacity, but he was not a paid employee. The application was rejected, however, because Maher didn't earn enough to qualify for the loan. That same day, Ehrhardt re-sent a fax with an amended salary of $30,000, the minimum amount required to make Maher eligible for the loan.
In the second fax, he also included a letter from Piazza dated January 24, 1997:
"Dear Mike, We are very pleased to offer you a permanent position as the Christian Caring Outreach Coordinator here at Cathedral of Hope, beginning March 3, 1997. Your yearly salary will be $30,000. The insurance plan we are presently offering you will continue to be paid by the Cathedral of Hope. Welcome to our staff!!"
The Observer was unable to reach Maher for comment.
Casting Bread Upon Water
The capital campaign was short on funds and long on internecine squabbles as board members and building team volunteers began to question the necessity of the building project and how funds were being spent.
Allegations of abuse, lies and fraud are leveled at the cathedral and its building project, which may explain why more than 65 employees have left their posts since the start of the campaign and the church is on its fourth executive director. Several former board members say that senior leaders conspired to deceive the congregation about the actual cost of the building project and how money earmarked for the new cathedral was squandered on fruitless fund-raising ventures.
"I don't know if the congregation as a whole had a clear understanding of how the capital campaign money was being spent," Harper says. "I continued to feel there was a deception being carried out." According to the Dallas Central Appraisal District, from the start of the capital campaign until the end of last year, Cathedral of Hope Inc. purchased nine properties for roughly $2.6 million. One warehouse building on Peeler Street was sold by the church last year for $1 million.
The properties were bought to make room for the Philip Johnson cathedral, a massive 35,000-square-foot building that would join the existing cathedral to the new one.
From the start, the price tag was closer to $35 million, but Piazza pushed his plan through at the expense of the congregation, former church leaders allege.
Originally billed as a $20 million project in 1996, the price tag has since soared to more than $40 million. In an interview with the Observer in 1999, Piazza was adamant that the project would break ground by 2000, though the church had managed to raise less than a third of the funds necessary. With a scant $8.5 million in the campaign coffers and a revised cost analysis, they are even further from reaching that goal today than they were four years ago.
Upton told the Voice in November 2003 that the project could take another six years to complete.
What is deceptive, a former executive director says, is that the revised $40 million figure alone is the cost of the construction and doesn't include land acquisition or any of the other smaller projects associated with the master plan.
"Minor construction was carried out to fool the congregation into thinking the project was on track," the former director says. "First the bell wall was built, so it was called Phase 1. Next the office buildings, called Phase 2. So it looks good. But the cathedral? They're never gonna see that cathedral built. Mike will have to answer to a higher authority in time."
Former members wonder how the church can justify continuing to lobby for a massive building project when it has not paid off loans on its current building and continues to fall short of its monthly operating expenses. In May, church balance sheets show, the operating budget was nearly $275,000 in the hole.
Harper says she left the church to which she had belonged for nearly 20 years because of unethical business practices made worse by the verbal abuse she suffered when she questioned those practices.
It wasn't the mounting cost of the project that bothered her or even the amount of money spent on fund-raising activities. What chafed Harper was the secrecy. Harper says that Piazza and board members were not forthcoming to the congregation, leading them to think all of their money was being used to construct the Johnson cathedral.
She supported the church's expansion while privately questioning the scope of the project, but it was the financial discrepancies that compelled her to resign. Money that should have been used for construction was being spent on fund raising, she says.
Sources say that Piazza sponsored lavish fund-raising events despite their failure to net much money. He took groups of potential donors to the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas and to Johnson's home in Connecticut, spending tens of thousands of dollars wining and dining people who never came through.
Frey's records show that less than $200,000 was raised through national sources.
The Observer reported in 1999 that the bulk of the $7 million then raised for the new cathedral's construction came primarily from the congregation and Dallas arts patrons, not through national fund-raising efforts. The following year, the cathedral received another local windfall when Texas philanthropist Sam Frech died and bequeathed his $4 million estate to advance the building project.
"Everyone knows that to raise money you have to spend money," the former executive director says. "You're casting bread upon water. But if money's not coming in, you have to wonder."
Fund raising is an appropriate use of capital campaign money, she says, but in the cathedral's case, it was obvious the endeavor was a bust. Yet Piazza continued to spend money regardless of the fact that the church couldn't meet its monthly obligations.
Harper says the cathedral may be intent on seeing the new building completed, but as it appears on the books today it isn't possible.
Documents put together by the cathedral's financial team show that since Piazza came on staff, the church has purchased 19 parcels valued at $12 million. The church's footprint has been enlarged to 14 largely contiguous acres near Nash Street and Cedar Springs and Inwood roads. The church owes $2 million on the properties and pays close to $40,000 a month on their loans.
The former executive director says Piazza set up a parallel organization, Cathedral of Hope Inc., so that in case the church ever split with the denomination, the property and assets would remain with the cathedral. After the start of the capital campaign, properties bought by the church were purchased under Cathedral of Hope Inc.
Copies of a legal summary prepared by the board of directors and obtained by the Observer suggest cathedral leadership may have been preparing for a break. In January 1998, the board discussed the results of a list of goals presented to its legal counsel, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. It included making COH Inc. a legally and operationally separate entity from MCC-Dallas (MCCD) "in the unlikely event of separation from the denomination. The only property in MCCD ownership is to be the condo."
The condo was a parsonage purchased prior to Piazza's hiring and has since been sold.
The summary also shows that the cathedral was establishing a nonprofit status for the new corporation to get out from under MCC's tax-exempt umbrella.
The purpose was clear, former church leaders say: Piazza was planning to leave the denomination and make sure all the assets remained with the church.
Spin Cycle
A number of former staff and board members were having a crisis of faith. They didn't trust Piazza's leadership; they questioned the direction of the church and the reality of the Johnson cathedral to which they had devoted so much time and energy.
It took the sudden departure of a much-loved minister, Brock, to coalesce a small group of reformers.
Calling themselves the Cathedral of Hope Reform and led by Terri Frey, former members began to speak openly about their experiences and ask questions. They went to board meetings, they wrote letters, they agitated. And in April 2003, Frey filed a complaint that sparked MCC's investigation. Two days before the results were to be made public, Piazza resigned his credentials from MCC, spiking the investigation and sealing the findings from the public.
Even his resignation letter to the congregation is controversial. As the Voice reported, Piazza sent a letter to congregants claiming, "I repeatedly asked the board to allow me simply to resign and to go away, but they were clear that would be wrong because they know that I am innocent and this attack is really aimed at the church, not me." The Voice noted, however, that Upton said he knew of no offer by Piazza to resign and that Piazza himself had called speculation about his resignation "wishful thinking."
Brock called his resignation "masterful--unethical but masterful. He did it before anyone could say, 'Wait! If you're innocent, why not wait to be exonerated?'"
At the end of July this year, on the cathedral's 33rd anniversary, Piazza asked the congregation to vote on disaffiliating with the denomination, saying that it was a "post-Will and Grace world." He said the vote to disaffiliate, while painful, was necessary. It could no longer be simply a gay church and survive. (The church is still predominantly gay but is casting a wider net to draw progressive heterosexuals.)
The decision was put to a vote, but congregants had to sign their names, in violation of MCC procedures. Piazza told the press he was following instructions, but MCC said it informed him more than once that the procedure was breaking custom.
The majority of the congregation stood by Piazza and voted 977-140 to withdraw from the denomination. Success in hand, Piazza took a three-month sabbatical to recover.
Meanwhile, half of those who voted to remain affiliated with the denomination formed their own church, MCC of Greater Dallas. The new church's membership now tops more than 100 and is growing every week, says its pastor, the Reverend Cindi Love.
MCC bylaws state that when the congregation splinters, whatever percent of members wish to remain with the denomination are entitled to that percent of the church's assets. MCC of Greater Dallas believes it is due about 12 percent of the cathedral's holdings, though Love says she doesn't know the cash equivalent of that percentage. But members can't shake a dime out of the cathedral's pockets, even though many of the new church's members have tithed for years.
"Any congregation owns the church they attend," says the Reverend Diane Fisher, who oversees MCC's division of assets. "The church is not owned by the pastor or the board of directors."
According to the Voice, Love received a copy of the letter sent by the cathedral in care of MCC saying that the provision is not valid under Texas law.
Members haven't decided whether they are willing to pursue the money. It means more time, more energy and, for some, more wounding, Love says.
The Observer made repeated attempts by phone and e-mail to speak with cathedral staff and board members, but they declined to be interviewed.
Cathedral spokeswoman Kris Martin said in October that she would arrange an interview with Piazza when he returned in November. Three weeks later, she said it was her decision not to tell Piazza about the request. Furthermore, she said Piazza was available to discuss his new book only and even then not for a few weeks. She agreed to ask Upton and other senior leaders to speak. Martin called back that afternoon to say that no interviews would be granted until after the first of the year.
The Observer e-mailed requests for an interview to Piazza and Upton, but those requests went unanswered.
We Believe Local Journalism is Critical to the Life of a City
Engaging with our readers is essential to the Observer's mission. Make a financial contribution or sign up for a newsletter, and help us keep telling Dallas's stories with no paywalls.
Support Our Journalism
During the course of writing the article, the Reverend Mona West, the newly appointed senior pastor who filled Piazza's position when he resigned his MCC credentials and became the cathedral's dean, went on a three-month sabbatical amid rumors of the board holding closed-door meetings and calling Piazza back from his sojourn.
Following West's departure, associate pastor Sharon Bezner tendered her resignation. Neither returned phone calls nor responded to e-mailed requests for interviews.
Martin initially said Bezner's resignation had been made public. When pressed for a date and the reasons, she said the pastor's resignation would be made public at the next Sunday service and promptly ended the conversation.
To date, no information about what happened to Bezner has been posted online. Her biography has been removed from the church's Web site.


text:
Skin Allergy & Skin Asthma : BE GONE! The most effective, practical & cheapest way to cure skin allergies.
One of the things I will be forever grateful for is the years I spent living alone in Taiwan. When you are by yourself, you become very aware emotionally, physically, mentally & spiritually. As a child, I was sickly. And being hospitalized at 4 years old with pneumonia didn't help boost my mom's confidence that I will be able to achieve a lot of great physical things when I get older. Well, I got older and faced many more 'sickness' even though some are minor, they didn't stop family members branding me as the 'weakling' even though these days, most of them often get more disease and infections than myself.
As a teenager, I started to develop a kind of skin allergy/asthma that I am 100% sure I got from my dad. It can be the weather, or what I ate that will trigger the itchiness and the moment I start to scratch, my skin will get puffy and I will get red patches all over. I believe everyone has their own share of skin allergy and we try our best to cure it asap…with oral or tropical medications.
So how do I cure my skin allergy? I am not fond of taking oral medication, so I always look for a less constructed approached on treating myself. Few years back, I got severe allergy attack. I didn't want to take any medication. And as if a light bulb went on in my head, I thought, why don't I treat myself with TEA? Herbal Teas are known for their anti-oxidant properties and our family have been trained since childhood to drink tea everyday. Heck, I drink more tea than I do water! Anyway, I drink my tea rigorously, so I know that drinking it is not helping my 'outer' skin problems, drinking tea helps my immune & digestive systems. So in this case, I will not drink tea, I will APPLY TEA ON MY SKIN! Here's what I did that cured my Skin Allergy, it's not permanent but every time I get a rash, this is my savior. And it can be yours as well!
Please read before proceeding:
*Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for information purposes only, and may not apply to your situation. The author provide no warranty about the effectivity of the content enclosed. Information provided is subjective. Keep this in mind when trying out this remedy. Consult your Physician if your Skin Allergy is severe and if you are taking other medications.
What you need:
1. Get any tea you have in your cupboard, be it in the form of Tea Bag or Fresh Leaf Tea. Green Tea, Black Tea…ANY TEA is ok. (But I prefer Chinese GREEN or Oolong Tea)
2. Soak the tea in HOT WATER. Leave for 10 mins.
3. Prepare basin, pour the still hot but almost warm tea water into the basin & soak the towel.
4. If the tea water becomes tolerable but make sure still very warm, squeeze the towel to remove the excess tea water.
5. PRESS the damp & warm towel to the affected areas. Repeat at least 4 times.
Note: When you PRESS the towel on your Skin Allergy, you might feel the following:
* Super ITCHINESS = this is a good sign that the pore of the skin is opening up and absorbing the tea remedy.
*Or your skin might feel a sense of relief immediately.
6. Repeat the process once a day after your daily shower. You should do this when you skin is clean.
Lastly, if you have Skin Allergy all over your body, here's what you can do:
This is what I did when I had another attack last December and I was traveling and stayed in a hotel with a bathtub, I took all the FREE Tea bags inside our room, opened it up, filled 1/4 of the bathtub with hot water, soak the tea bags in the bathtub. Waited 15 minuets, filled the bathtub with warm water until full. Not removing the tea bags, when the water was warm enough, I DIPPED MY WHOLE BODY INTO THE BATHTUB! I soak my body for about 15 mins. We stayed in this hotel for two nights, I did it each night, my allergy stopped totally and I conitnued to enjoy my vacation! 🙂
If you do not have a bathtub at home, you can prepare a small plastic tub, take your shower and rinse off using the tea water.
P.S. Few months ago, my sister who was 5 months pregnant started to get severe skin rash. She showed me her skin rash and it was all over her body, especially the leg area. There were BIG patches, very red, flakiness and it was itchy. Since she was diabetic, she is also scared to take oral medication. Her doctor prescribed a tropical creme that she was applying on her skin but it's not working. So I advise her if she wants to try the tea water remedy. She used LIPTON Tea bags after her shower. And press on the areas with allergies. She said, it was so itchy at first but since she was pressing the towel, it was tolerable and she didn't have the need to scratch it. After repeating few times, she then applied the tropical creme. She feels the result immediately and in just 3 days, there was great improvement in her skin condition. In a weeks time, she was almost healed. I wished now I took a before and after picture to show on this blog. Anyway, I am just happy I was able to help her and the remedy didn't affect her pregnancy & diabetic problem.
Lastly, and this is just for fun but worth mentioning nevertheless. I got a rash on my face some months ago, I used Black Tea and I got a nice tan after few days! So I guess we can also use Black tea to get a nice, safe, odorless and temporary TAN on our skin 🙂
HOORAY for the MIRACLE of TEA! 🙂
June 15, 2011
Postscript: Two days ago, I asked my pregnant sis about the tea water, since initially she used Lipton Tea bags and after a week, changed to Green Tea. According to her the Lipton/Black Tea seemed to work better. I have tried both green and black tea and they work fine with me. Since her allergies are quite severe than mine, this makes sense. So I guess the more serious your allergies are, the stronger the tea should be.
Comments35 Responses to "Skin Allergy & Skin Asthma : BE GONE! The most effective, practical & cheapest way to cure skin allergies."
Hi Goodpm, i have this SKIN ALLERGIES or SKIN ASTHMA when i am 16 years of age and until now i got this skin problem…im always ashamed when its attack because it shows this in my face, arms,legs and whole body..i take oral medication but its always back depends on whether and irritating things..thanks for this blogs, i believe that it can also me at my condition..i hope it will works.
Very quickly this site will be famous amid all blog people,
due to it's good articles
I hope this works for me. I had a severe skin asthma attack a couple of weeks ago and still suffering up to now.. Usually it shows on the same spotd where it appeared the last time but now, I got a new patch on my nape. I like to wear my hair up so its really embarrassing that I have this huge reddish brown patch (I know, I unknowingly scratch it in my sleep). This new one is now scaly and leathery.. sometimes oozing after I get out from the bath. Is tea water safe for my present skin condition now? I am really ashamed to go to work with my face, forearm and nape looking like this.
i just wanna ask if this can may apply to a 1 yr old baby??
thank you very much for this wonderful idea i'v been using mometasone furoate for quite along years with my skin allergies &skin asthma but still keep on coming back… i'm really happy that i've red this idea of yours i will try it… GOD bless sir
it's ok of bby??
Wow thanks I'll try this now😊
Thank you so much for sharing this ideas.I'll try it to my son whos having skin allergies too.
i am suffering a sudden skin allergy just now . it's my first time actually and i absolutely have no idea what caused this , thankfully, my boyfriend advised that i should try natural remedies . and guess what i love drinking tea too ! 🙂 i have lipton green and yellow tea, and oolong as well . so i've decided im gonna try oolong 🙂 i hope it works for me . because im gonna have a class report tomorrow , dont wanna face my classmates looking like this !!!!
thank you for this… am going to try it to my son that have skin asthma…
i am convinced that i have skin allergies too because of the symptoms i learned from here..i`d love to try this tea thing to relieve me from this super mega itchiness i feel. tnx so much for sharing this blessing…:-)
Hi every summer my skin asthma have bin atact i got skin allergy ang terable cough.what we gone n do every summer to stop this kind of problem. I take my medicine but i'm still sick.
#i am, 21 and i have skin allergies all over my body, specialy in my ass,back, when my skin getting itching, yes i scratch, and my skin get puffy,
at the nigth i can't sleep, well.
And i d0nt kn0w if what i going to d0, with this allergies,
then i found this blog, thanks to this blog, n0w i have an idea to prevent my itching.
Thank you so much. My daughter will be happy now thanks again.
Yes with the right products and treatment there is a way now to deal with allergies
ill try the soaking in a tub 🙂 super thanks in this blog
i have skin asthma and lately, been getting really bad allergy attacks. i like the idea of soaking in a tub with tea. will try it.
thanks for posting 🙂
TrackbacksCheck out what others are saying...
[…] tea on myself (because I was once gifted by Lipton a lot of tea) by the suggestion of MYR on her post, and it works! You should seriously try the Lipton thing because teas (especially Oolong tea), I […]
[…] tea on myself (because I was once gifted by Lipton a lot of tea) by the suggestion of MYR on her post, and it works! You should seriously try the Lipton thing because teas (especially Oolong tea), I […]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Terrible Traveler Abandons Her Cat At The Airport
A woman who was told she couldn't board a plane with her cat in a carry on bag apparently decided she'd rather abandon him at the airport than miss her flight.
The terrible traveler showed up at Oslo's main airport ready to board a Norwegian Air flight from Norway to London, Norway's News In English reports. She had her cat in a carrying case and was planning on taking him aboard in the cabin with her.
Airline officials told her this wasn't allowed on international flights without making prior arrangements, turning her away at the counter. The staff grew suspicious when she reappeared just a little while later, sans cat.
When questioned by police at the airport, the woman apparently lied and said that a friend had come to pick up her kitty - but Norwegian Air staff went looking and found the cat hidden in a corner behind a pile of luggage, still in his carrying case.
Police charged the would-be-abandoner with animal cruelty, and her cat was taken to a rescue organization. Once he's up for adoption, he'll no doubt find a forever family who will treat him with the love and respect he deserves.
Find tips for safe travel with pets here.


text:
Like salt and pepper, lock and key and Homer & Marge, some things in life are just meant to be together. RDR has expedited the already expanding nature of the Paraplanner's role.
The RDR's new regulations require increased adviser accountability, research and documentary evidence behind the advice process. The resulting benefit of time saved by working with an outsourced paraplanning firm is making paraplanners a 'must have' for the many smaller adviser firms who want to maximize their earning possibilities.
Owen James working on behalf of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Invesco Perpetual has produced some excellent research on paraplanners that has enabled a better understanding of their businesses, age demographic and how they work.
Did you know for example that:
- some 37% of those surveyed influence more than £100m of funds under management
- some 50% have never met the client
- that the top 3 most important influencers when selecting funds or outsourced solutions was performance, costs/charges and risk profile
Paraplanners also were keen to see a centralised place to access information on a weekly basis and this has been a key driver toward Panacea Adviser creating a place in the community for them to call home and importantly access timely, relevant, accurate and trusted information from over 70,000 pages on our site.
And importantly for our adviser members, they can now get a better idea of what paraplanners can do for them and to make contact very easily with many of the leading outsource firms via our new Paraplanning zone.
Download the report now for free and let us know your experiences too.


text:
Listen Carefully…You May Learn Something
By Bruce Meuli, Global Transaction Services Advisory executive, and Jonathon Traer-Clark, Head of Strategy, Global Transaction Services, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
JTC One of the themes in our last Head2Head was listening, which reminded me of a piece of advice I received from a leader in a prior role. He said, "You have two ears and one mouth – use them in that ratio". We've discussed relationship management before, and the importance of developing a regular, trusted dialogue between corporate treasury and its bankers. But that's only one avenue of communication between banks and treasurers.
BM Did you ever take that leader's advice? In all seriousness, banks have conferences, forums, journals, peer groups, surveys and the like to hear about what treasurers need and the challenges they face. And of course treasurers can move their business too – which is a form of feedback in itself, albeit quite a final one. Which do we consider the most effective?
JTC I'm listening…
BM Well, they certainly all have their uses – but as you expressed as a case in point – it's not only what's being said that matters, it's who's listening, and for what purpose. As a bank, we need to be mindful of the total client experience and seek feedback from servicing, sales, products etc. It's not lost on me that whilst our business is founded on transactions – whether trade, FX, card, payments or receipts – they represent the output of a relationship.
JTC Still listening…
BM That relationship can be very deep and extend across the full spectrum of banking services – corporate, investment and so forth, so many treasurers have multiple points of interaction across the bank. And let's not forget that banks also provide services to other financial institutions, which in turn support the corporate community. With all these interfaces, it's important to understand that both communications and indeed feedback, can be multi-faceted and may not necessarily be relevant to every product or division. You can speak now!
JTC Phew! I like the expression 'total client experience'. If we agree that both parties (the bank and the corporate) are partners in that experience, then it should be bilateral at the engagement level too. For me forums, surveys and the like are ways of requesting general views and feedback, whether on behalf of a bank, industry body, technology vendor, consultancy or other supplier to the treasury profession. When I worked in corporate treasury, my team and I received multiple requests for feedback on behalf of a variety of organisations, including banks.
BM How did you approach them? Did you respond to them all? I think there can sometimes be a tendency to view satisfaction surveys as a forum for complaints. The more cynical could argue that a survey response is only as good as your last negative interaction or event, or it is predominantly one person's view, or that direct 'apples to apples' comparison can lead to confused outputs…
JTC I think we need to first recognise that surveys happen for a reason – companies are seeking information, visibility and insights in general terms across a customer segment or industry. Secondly, feedback should be balanced appropriately. As in your individual performance review, the objective is to be candid, give praise (where warranted) and direction. So to answer your question, as a general rule yes, we tried to respond to as many as we could. We also shared our responses across the department, to remove any personal bias.
BM I like the idea of survey sharing – that sounds like a great solution particularly when you receive multiple questionnaires at the same time. We know that treasurers receive surveys from lots of different sources, but from a bank perspective, we monitor the frequency of these closely to avoid placing undue requests on customers.
JTC Just as importantly though, is it always clear what happens with the results? To quote another leader, "feedback is a gift", which means twice as much effort should be made to listen as to respond, but there needs to be an outcome.
BM Ah – the listening! I'll use your analogy from personal performance reviews – specifically where feedback on individuals is sought anonymously. Whilst rankings against numerical scales can give you an overall league table, the commentary tends to give more of a theme. Personally I find scales and rankings are limited, but the rationale behind the score is of more interest.


text:
The day of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne returns home to find that his wife Amy is missing. Her disappearance receives heavy press coverage, as Amy was the inspiration for her parents' popular "Amazing Amy" children's books. Detective Rhonda Boney does a walkthrough of their house and finds poorly concealed evidence of a struggle. The police conduct a forensic analysis and uncover the remnants of cleaned blood stains, leading to the conclusion that Amy was murdered. Suspicions arise that Nick is responsible, and his apathetic behavior is interpreted by the media as characteristic of a sociopath.
Flashbacks reveal that Nick and Amy's marriage had disintegrated; both lost their jobs in the recession and moved from New York City to Nick's hometown of North Carthage, Missouri. Nick has become lazy, distant, uninterested and unfaithful. Boney unearths evidence of financial troubles and domestic disputes, and a witness states that Amy wanted to purchase a gun. She also finds a medical report indicating that Amy is pregnant, of which Nick denies knowledge, and a diary supposedly written by Amy highlighting her growing isolation, ominously ending with the fear that Nick will kill her.
Amy is revealed to be alive and well, having changed her appearance and gone into hiding in a distant campground. She despises Nick for the erosion of their marital bliss, her isolation after they moved to be closer to Nick's family, and his infidelity. Amy plans the framing in great detail: she befriends a pregnant neighbor to steal her urine for the pregnancy test, drains her own blood to leave trace evidence of murder and fabricates a diary describing her fear of Nick. By using the clues in a "treasure hunt" game she and Nick play on their anniversary, she ensures he visits places where she has planted the corroborating evidence of Nick's guilt for the police to discover. She anticipates Nick will be convicted and executed for her murder, and contemplates committing suicide after his conviction.
The above taken from Wikipedia.
This movie totally had me on my toes! It started as thrilling and then baffling and then gobsmacked and then chilling! So many thoughts and emotions running through me while watching this movie.
I've never expected the way it was screened. I had not read the book yet so I was clueless, only knew it's a thriller/ mystery. Gillian Flynn did a marvel job of the screenplay... it was well planned and plotted with so much gist and in the end, Amy got away with it even though there were gaps. So twisted and unexpectedly good even though some may find it yawn... you just have to listen, peeps!
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
My rating: 4/5
Director: David Fincher
Casts: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry
Category: R rated; a 2014 American psychological thriller film


text:
kidzsearch.com > wiki Explore:images videos games
A clause is a part of a sentence. Each clause has only one main verb. I love you is a sentence which has only one clause. I love you and I will always love you is a sentence which has two clauses. The two clauses are I love you and I will always love you. These clauses are joined together by the word and (a conjunction).
Two clauses can be joined with a pronoun. For example: I live in London, which is in England. Here, I live in London is the first clause, and which is in England is the second clause. The word which is a pronoun which takes the place of London. It joins the two clauses.
A sentence can contain many clauses. But sentences with fewer clauses are easier to understand.
A subordinating clause is one which is dependent on the main clause (the primary clause). The main clause makes sense on its own. However, the subordinating clause does not. E.g. I love you makes perfect sense left on its own. However, and always will, does not.


text:
Barley, chicken & mushroom risotto
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
- Healthy
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal564
- fat12g
- saturates5g
- carbs61g
- sugars3g
- fibre3g
- protein42g
- salt1.1g
- 1 tbsp butter
Butter is a dairy product made from separating whole milk or cream into fat and…
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Olive oilol-iv oyl
Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…
- 2 large shallots, finely sliced
Related to the onion (as opposed to being a younger version of it), shallots grow in clusters at…
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 3 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunky pieces
- 300g pearl barley
- 250ml white wine
- 400g mixed wild and chestnut mushroom, chopped
- 1 tbsp thyme leaf
- 1l hot chicken stock
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan
Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…
- snipped chives, to serve (optional)
- parmesan shavings, to serve (optional)
Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the butter and oil. Sauté the shallots and garlic with some seasoning for 5 mins, then stir in the chicken and cook for 2 mins.
Add the barley and cook for 1 min. Pour in the wine and stir until it is absorbed. Add the mushrooms and thyme, then pour over ¾ of the stock. Cook for 40 mins on a low simmer until the barley is tender, stirring occasionally and topping up with remaining stock if it looks dry. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated Parmesan. Serve immediately, with chives and Parmesan shavings scattered over, if you like.


text:
Del Rio, Cesar v. Eau Claire Police Department et al
|Case Number:
|July 30, 2020
|US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
|Madison Office
|Nature of Suit:
|Civil Rights: Other
|Cause of Action:
|42:1983 Civil Rights Act
Available Case Documents
The following documents for this case are available for you to view or download:
|Date Filed
|Document Text
|July 30, 2020
|Filing 2 ORDER that Plaintiff submit $400 filing fee or Motion for IFP w/ Trust Fund Account Statement by 8/20/2020. Signed by Magistrate Judge Peter A. Oppeneer on 07/30/20. (aom),(ps)
Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. A subscription to PACER is required.
Access this case on the Wisconsin Western District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System
- Search for Party Aliases
- Associated Cases
- Attorneys
- Case File Location
- Case Summary
- Docket Report
- History/Documents
- Parties
- Related Transactions
- Check Status
|Search for this case: Del Rio, Cesar v. Eau Claire Police Department et al
|Search News
|[ Google News | Marketwatch | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | New York Times ]
|Search Web
|[ Unicourt | Legal Web | Google | Bing | Yahoo | Ask ]
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


text:
Our Editorial
- Sorting: Least Commented
- Most Commented
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
In an appearance on TVO s The Agenda last week, Haliburton County Warden Brent Devolin spoke about the need for improved wireless connectivity to broadband, high-speed Internet in the county for its economic development.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
The province should bring back traditional methods for teaching math to elementary students.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
I grew up in Little Britain, a small village outside Lindsay that some readers may be familiar with. The place with the butter tart shop.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
It s not pretty, but it s important. Mandated by the province, the municipalities of Haliburton County are in the process of rolling out septic tank re-inspection programs. The exact process will vary by municipality, each responsible for designing it
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
It s a buzz term favoured by politicians of the moment middle class.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Well, thank the snow gods for the mercy they have bestowed upon us.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
It takes a certain kind of person to become a volunteer firefighter, a special kind of person.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
During last week s Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa, the provincial government was quick to dismiss the suggestion that harmonized sales tax in Ontario be increased by one per cent, that extra money earmarked for municipal inf
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
The Elemenatary Teachers Federation of Ontario ignited a wave of controversy last week with a recommendation that schools in Ontario named for Canada s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, be renamed.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
There are a number of them in Haliburton County, hiding in plain sight. They really aren t difficult to find, often lurking around the shores of lakes.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Recently on social media, I wrote about an experience in picking up my four-year-old daughter from daycare. When I told her friends we were going to the library, one elementary school-aged child piped up and said, but how can you go there, there s no ram
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
This Saturday is Remembrance Day. In thousands of communities across the country, crowds will gather at cenotaphs for solemn ceremonies where wreaths will be laid and silence observed, in honour of soldiers who fought and died for causes in which they be
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Unless you ve had your head in a cloud of smoke, you re likely aware the federal government is rolling out legislation to legalize marijuana, a move that has sparked some controversy. And dubious puns.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
As local politicians heard last week, there are a number of ways municipal governments can help reduce carbon emissions in their communities, thereby helping to mitigate climate change.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Residents of the Township of Minden Hills are likely in for a not unsubstantial property tax increase in 2018.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
One thing becoming more apparent in this worrisome flu season is the need for a universal flu vaccine.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Last Wednesday, Patrick Brown, according to many polls, was poised to become Ontario s next premier.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
January is gone, and with it Blue Monday, dubbed the most miserable day of the year, and Bell s Let s Talk day, a day devoted to an awareness campaign aimed at helping to reduce the stigma attached to challenges with mental health (also known as emotio
Friday, December 22, 2017
An annual tradition, here is a countdown of the top 10 Times stories of the year.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
It s something some members of Haliburton County council don t seem to want to deal with, and certainly it will be a sizeable challenge, but the county needs some form of public transportation system.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
It s an awkward conversation for municipal politicians to have, the one about how much they should get paid. That conversation is, after all, public and they are, after all, paid with public money.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
As I begin this column, I m having a difficult time concentrating. I m having a difficult time concentrating because, as I write this, I ve recently learned that hundreds of Ontarians will be losing their jobs. Hundreds of Ontarians just like me.
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
It is becoming abundantly clear, as clear as the bags in which we re all supposed to deposit our household waste, that there are issues with the management of the Scotch Line landfill in Minden Hills.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
The Township of Minden Hills should construct a new public boat launch on Bob Lake.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
The story of four Grade 5 students at Archie Stouffer Elementary School being proactive in finding a solution to their conflict is an inspiring one. It was because of their efforts and support of adults in their lives that more than 50 girls came togethe


text:
Tales of the bagel's origins abound, but no one actually knows for certain where and when the first bagel was baked. Less up for debate is that New York City is home to the highest concentration of quality bagels in the world. And a lot of the very best rolls with holes can be found in Brooklyn. Today, we hone in on five bagel shops in and around Brooklyn Heights that are especially well-respected by bagel connoisseurs.
Court Street Bagels
This Cobble Hill bagelry is known for its big, fluffy bagels and stellar customer service. Just about everything on the menu, except for the coffee, gets rave reviews. Court Street Bagels is a five-minute walk from NU Hotel Brooklyn.
181 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 624-3972
La Bagel Delight
Quality lox, flavorful veggie cream cheese, and reliably delicious bagels put La Bagel Delight in the running for Brooklyn Heights' best bagel shop. The breakfast sandwiches at this established bagelry are especially popular. A few blocks up Court Street from Court Street Bagels, La Bagel Delight is also a five-minute walk from NU Hotel.
90 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 522-0520
Montague Street Bagels
Montague Street Bagels is one of the few places in Brooklyn where you can get delicious, freshly baked bagels 24/7. In addition to baking fresh bagels around the clock, Montague Street is known for its homemade salads and fresh salad platters.
108 Montague Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 237-2512
Pio Bagel
Also a five-minute walk from NU Hotel Brooklyn, Pio Bagel is known for the quality of bagels, lox, and cream cheese. Pio is also praised for its speedy service, making it another quality option when on the hunt for the best bagels in Brooklyn.
136 Lawrence Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 237-2777
Shelsky's of Brooklyn
This Boerum Hill institution is best known for two things: smoked fish and New York bagels. Enjoyed together, Shelsky's is pretty hard to beat. Bluefish, whitefish, peppered mackerel, and red wild sockeye Alaskan salmon are a few of the fish Shelsky's smokes. Located on Court Street between Pacific and Atlantic, Shelsky's is another bagelry just a five-minute walk from NU Hotel.
141 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 855-8817
Smith Street Bagels
This popular Boerum HIll bagelry, open around the clock, serves classic bagel varieties with a host of cream cheese options. Apple spice cream cheese and tofu flavored cream cheese are two of the more adventurous options.
202 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 858-6000


text:
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico tribes will receive $674,279 in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund tribal public transportation systems for their communities.
U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich along with U.S. State Representatives Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small made the announcement Monday.
The funds are part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that the New Mexico delegation voted to pass in Congress last week. The grants are part of $2 billion in emergency supplemental funding for federal programs benefiting Indian tribes.
CARES Act also established an $8 billion Tribal Coronavirus Relief Fund to make sure Tribes have "one-stop" access to resources.
"Tribes have made it abundantly clear that the effects of COVID-19 on Indian Country will be devastating if they do not receive necessary public health, economic stabilization, and infrastructure resources. As Tribally-owned and operated


text:
THE most fascinating piece of sports theatre on television over the weekend might not have been Tottenham putting nine past Wigan's goalkeeper in the Premier League, nor Lee Westwood's domination of a rich golf tournament in Dubai. It was a hit-and-giggle affair from the Gabba, Australia against the All-Stars in a Twenty20 cricket match.
Specifically, what made it riveting was the fact that the key players were miked up. Here in the space of a couple of hours were a series of gentle reminders of what we all miss about Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist. Here was a reminder that in top-level sport, brains are everything (and take note, you recruiters heading to Thursday's AFL draft).
Here is McGrath bowling seam-up with the new ball, chiding himself about only reaching 110 km/h speeds, but still ridiculously miserly. McGrath is approaching 40, and has played two Twenty20 games in the past six months, but he could bowl stump-to-stump in his sleep.
Here's where the brains kick in. McGrath bowls a couple of inswingers to the left-handed David Warner, cramping him for room. Then he flags that he will bowl a little slider, running the fingers down the seam and angling it across Warner. He tips that Warne, standing at slip, will get himself a catch.
On cue, Warner nicks it. McGrath only gets one aspect wrong. The catch flies to Gilchrist behind the stumps. Gilchrist, who also is miked up and who has heard the plan hatched, is exultant.
Soon enough, Warne is bowling and the boys from Channel Nine ask him for a running commentary on his over. As it happens, he's bowling to Michael Clarke, one of the best players of spin in the world, a man with dancing feet. Moreover, Warne and Clarke are friends; Warne is calling Clarke his personal Daryll Cullinan but, at 40, there is a question mark as to whether he can back it up.
Immediately, Clarke is advancing down the track to cover the spin. Speaking through his microphone, Warne reveals his plan to draw Clarke out of his crease, then fire one down a little wider of off stump. Quicker and straighter, it could produce a stumping, or a nick.
It's great theatre now. Down comes Clarke, unaware of the trap. Warne pulls it wide and Australia's captain-in-waiting is stranded, on the verge of a major embarrassment. A lunging bat and a thick outside edge saves him as the ball squirts to point. Warne groans, and we've surely heard that before - a few thousand times.
At this level of sport, everyone is so good that they are all looking for an edge. Warne and McGrath have great physical gifts, no doubt, but it is nous and cunning that set them apart. It is working out what you can and can't do, and then applying the same logic to your opposition, augmenting your great skills.
They are champions of sports psychology, that pair. But then there is Gilchrist, who represents another genre. He might well be the opposite, in the sense that the less he thought, the better he played, an instinctive genius. During one particular patch of poor batting some years ago, he was asked what he was thinking about at the crease. Gilchrist replied that when he started thinking, he knew he was in trouble. Like David Gower, who summarised his method as ''I see 'em, I hit 'em'', Gilchrist was an instinctive player, and he knew it.
Just watch the ball and let everything else happen was his mantra. So that when Peter Siddle fired one in short to Gilchrist on Sunday night, it was automatic. He rocked back and hit it into the seats at deep mid-wicket. Now there's another one we've seen before.


text:
Remember spring break? A scheduled week where flights, hotels, and car rental prices would be through the roof thanks to schools having off. Where did you go? Were you the uncool kid who just sat at home watching cartoons, or were you the really cool kid who went to a different country?
It was such a stereotype- somehow the most popular kids went to Mexico, got all tan, their hair in braids, photos of them parasailing and waterskiing. But most of them missed the best thing about the nation, Abierto Mexicano, and in particular, the TelCel moose.
The Mexican Open got a major upgrade when they were sponsored by TelCel, a huge cellular communications company based in Mexico City. Each year, the company sends the moose down to Acapulco, and though he remains pretty anonymous, with no name, no back story, and no media coverage, he gets his happiness from the fans who excitedly post photos after meeting him.
You can dance with him!!! He's got the moves!
He wants you to have a good day- thumbs up everyone!


text:
Monadelphous up on bullish outlook
UPDATE 1.25pm: Monadelphous shares surged more than 6 per cent after the company said it expected to post a 40 per cent jump in first-half revenue on the previous corresponding period and a 25 per cent lift in full-year revenue.
The forecast indicates first-half revenue of about $1.2 billion, and full-year revenue of about $2.4 billion.
Monadelphous made a net profit of $137.3 million in the year to June 30, 2012, up 44.5 per cent from the previous year.
Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, managing director Rob Velletri said capital expenditure in resources, though softening a little from the company's previous update, was expected to remain at solid levels with expenditure in the energy market continuing to grow and remaining at record levels.
"The outlook also remains robust with respect to public sector capital expenditure," he said.
"Maintenance expenditure in resources and energy is expected to grow over the coming five-year period, reflective of the volume of new projects moving into the operations and maintenance phase."
Mr Velletri said the high volume of approved projects particularly in the iron ore and LNG sectors should drive solid demand for some time.
"In terms of the immediate outlook, the company is experiencing record levels of activity from the fast-tracked execution of a number of new projects," he said.
However he also noted an across-the-board focus on cost reduction and a tightening of discretionary capital and operating expenditure by most of the company's resource sector customers.
"Margins are coming under pressure in this more competitive environment," he said.
"We are responding appropriately by paying close attention to productivity and the cost-effective delivery of our current workload."
Mondadelphous shares closed up $1.24, or 6.12 per cent, to $21.50.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails


text:
The Wampanoags were the first Native American tribe to encounter the English colonists from the 17th Century. Initially a relationship of co-operation and trade across their New England homeland, the expansionism of the colonies would soon start to have a negative effect on the indigenous population and this state of affairs would eventually lead to war. Because of this early contact, there is a wealth of history and many notable figures that became important to those early colonial years. Here is just a sample.
1. Squanto
Arguably the most famous of them all, Squanto was abducted by Thomas Hunt sometime around 1614 and was transported to Spain to be sold into slavery. Thomas Hunt was a Lieutenant of John Smith. Instead of the usual route, they were bought up by the monks from a local monastery who set about converting Squanto and his fellow Native Americans. He would flit between London and North America a couple of times before returning to his homeland and settling with the Pilgrim Fathers, teaching them maize cultivation.
2. Massasoit
During his life he was the Grand Sacham (intertribal chief) of all Wampanoags throughout their native area of New England. Shortly after the establishment of the Plymouth colony, he travelled with another man who was already familiar with the colonists, to offer peace. Seeing the benefits of trade with the new arrivals, they co-existed peacefully at least until his death. When he became ill, the colonists nursed him back to health. War broke out soon after his death though (King Philip's War)
3. Metacomet
English settlers called him 'Philip'; he was the second son of Massasoit. He could see the growth in the colonialism of the white settlers and ended the peace that had existed during the life of his father. After his elder brother died, he became Grand Sacham and sought to halt the trade of land for guns. A delicate peace existed until the execution of three Wampanoags, after which Metacomet led the united tribes in war. Ultimately defeated, he was hung, drawn and quartered and his head left on a pike for 25 years
4. Abram Quary
The last man on Nantucket and therefore the last native male Wampanaoag on the island, Quary was born in 1768 and died in 1854 having outlived his spouse and all of his children. He was an impressive 82 years old. He was a little bit of a recluse but sometimes sought human company. He married twice in his life and had one child that died very young. He was a pragmatic sort and supported himself making baskets and clamming which he would sell to the locals.
5. Dorcas Honorable
Quary was the last male on Nantucket but Honorable was the last ever Wampanoag on the island. Born during the American Revolution, she was the granddaughter of a Wampanoag chief who had had a peace with the settlers on the island. Honorable was a Christian who worked managing households and kept out of the public eye so consequently, Quary was initially believed to have been the last Wampanoag on the island. She died in 1855 and was probably the last native speaker of the Massachusetts Language.
6. Annawan
Deputy to King Philip (Metacomet), Old Chief Annawan assumed control after the death of the leader, keeping the fragile alliance together and continuing the assault against the colonists. In one brave encounter, he led a group of his men out of a swamp. He changed the nature of the warfare to one of guerrilla tactics ' frustrating the colonial forces. He too was eventually captured and killed by the colonists following a fierce battle. A US Navy ship was later named in his honour
7. Hobomok
One of the colonial periods unspoken figures, it is considered that he was far more responsible for the good relations between the Native Americans and the colonists. He served as a guide and with his good level of English, largely acted as an interpreter. It was said that Massasoit instructed him personally to help the struggling settlers. He was feared by his enemies and loved by his friends. He died of a European disease that he contracted from one of the colonists.
8. Akkompoin
The main link between Massasoit and Metacomit, he was the brother of the former and chief advisor to the latter in the war against the colonists. Though he does not become prominent until King Philip's War, it appears that he was an advisor to both leaders and a major Captain under Metacomit. He was killed during a battle against the forces led by Benjamin Church. His signature appears on several documents from the period, countersignature to both leaders so his importance cannot be overstated.
9. John Sassamon
This was another figure whose life centred on the father and son of Massasoit and Metacomit. His native name was Wassausmon and he was born around 1600. Like so many others of the era, he became a Christian convert, learnt to speak English and acted as an interpreter and medium between the two peoples. He was later an aide to Metacomet. Assassinated by three Native Americans, it was his death and the subsequent conviction of three individuals that sparked King Philip's War.
10. Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck
Harvard University was founded in 1636 after its benefactor John Harvard. In 1665 Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck became not just its first Wampanoag graduate, but the very first Native American to graduate from a colonial / American university. A native of Martha's Vineyard, he studied at the Indian College and learnt Greek, Latin and Religious Studies. He died of tuberculosis less than a year after his graduation. Due to illness sweeping the Native American population of the colonies, it is believed that he was the only graduate from his school.
The Wampanoag culture is not dead ' today there are many with the heritage celebrating the vital contribution that their ancestors have made to the colonial period. Though much of this history is dark and tragic, a deeper focus and celebration of this culture will help to forge a new understanding not just of the native populations, but also of history and our future.


text:
Colour: White / Natural Oak / White High Gloss
Fast Delivery
Estimated Delivery Time
August 25th - 2nd September 2020
Bari living room furniture range offers exceptional quality
modern Sideboard Dresser Cabinet Bedside Table with
Oak top, handle, feet
White High Gloss MDF fronts
White matt body.
- Is a modern, yet functional interior what you really need? Make sure you have enough storage space for all your favourite knick-knacks. Have a look at our modern Bari dresser.
- High gloss finish front surface enhances the modern character of the design. Thanks to the glossy finish, the fronts perfectly reflect the light, making the interior visually more spacious.
- The sturdy top and legs are made of oak wood. Its natural beauty is brought out by the stained and varnished surfaces which emphasize the extraordinary beautiful grain and texture of natural material.
- All your favorite pieces can be conveniently stored in three spacious drawers.
- Soft close drawer operation is guaranteed by German branded slides with silent closing system. The slides have special brakes that slow the fronts down right before finally closing and almost silently making contact with the frame.
- Bari modern system will meet the needs of even the most demanding customers. This line, combining natural wood and glossy fronts, perfectly blends traditional materials with modern design.
Width: 153.5 cm
Height: 85.5 cm
Depth: 40 cm
Weight: 61.7kg
Impact Furniture is rated 4.72 stars by Reviews.co.uk based on 534 merchant reviews


text:
Trip Cancellation and Medical Insurance
Life Happens. For your peace of mind and to avoid any financial hardships should the unexpected occur we require our guests to have trip cancellation and medical insurance.
Arctic Heli Skiing has partnered with Global Rescue and World Nomads for your travel insurance needs.
- Medical Consultation services 24/7/365 with critical care paramedics, nurses and physicians
- Field Rescue from the point of illness or injury for any serious medical emergency
- Evacuation back to the member's home hospital of choice
- Security Extraction from natural disasters, terror attacks and civil unrest
- Travel Intelligence and event monitoring from our team of in-house analysts
- GPS Tracking & Communication through our mobile app
- Find out more about Global Rescue and why you should become a member
- Trusted reliable underwriters
- 24/7 Emergency assistance
- Cover for 150+ adventure activities (including skiing and snowboarding)
- Flexibility when you need it most - extend your policy or claim online while you are still away
- Up to date travel safety alerts as well as travel safety advice and tips online
- Commitment to exceptional customer service