Yes, by appointment only. Please call 310 265-8017 or for a quick response please use the contact form on our home page to arrange for an appointment.
Do you ship web site orders daily?
Orders placed on this web site ship Monday- Friday, exept on Holidays. Please allow 48 business hours for order processing.
How long will custom embroidery take for my order?
10 to 14 business (excludes weekends and Holidays) Expect longer production time during the Holidays.
Email us as quickly as you can, so we can make changes before shipping out your order. Once an order has shipped we are unable to make any changes.
I have a coupon code, can I use it at your warehouse?
We are very sorry, online coupon codes are good only for web site purchases.
I have a return or exchange, how do I proceed?
Please use the contact form on our home page with your request. You will receive instructions on how to return or exchange your purchase.
Do you offer custom screen printing and embroidery?
Yes, there are some items on our web site that can be customized for embroidery. If you are looking for quantity custom apparel please use the contact form on our home page with your project requirements. We require a minimum of 48 pieces for custom orders.
We would like to schedule your van for our event, what are your requirement?
Please use the contact us form on our landing page: http://www.fireattire.com with your event information and a representive will contact you.
How do we arrange for the mobile store van to come to our Fire Station?
Our mobile store drivers make their own routes and they try to accommodate as may stations and shifts as possible. We can only make appointments if multiple members will be making a purchase for that appointment. Due to the increasing traffic issues it is getting more difficult to reach all shifts. If you have missed our van we suggest that you come in to our showroom (please make an appointment) or use our web site. During the holidays we are unable to take special requests for station visits unless it is for a large group.
We do not ship to Paypal stored addresses. Please supply the correct billing and shipping address on the check out page.


text:
Asbarez.com
Blinken: Biden Administration Will Consult with Congress on April 24th Statement
Pashinyan Doesn't Comprehend Shushi's Vital Importance
ANCA-WR Meets with Assemblymember Chris Holden
Funeral Notice: Zaven Patrick Berberian
National Salvation Movement Protests Judicial Council Appointments
Only Ruling Bloc Votes to Install Members to Judicial Council
Yerevan, Stepanakert Welcome European Parliament's Condemnation of Azerbaijan
President Sarkissian Congratulates Biden, Harris on Inauguration
Artsakh Diocese has a New Primate
Parliamentary Opposition Adamant About Pashinyan Resignation
EXCLUSIVE: Schiff Says Congress Should Recognize Artsakh
European Parliament 'Strictly Condemns' Turkey's Destabilizing Role in Karabakh
Secretary of State Nominee Blinken Testifies in Support of Renewed U.S. Leadership to Strengthen Armenia's Security and Resilience
A Photographic Journey into the Past
Critics' Forum
Armenian Museum of America Calls for Artsakh Cultural Heritage Protection - December 2, 2020
'Borders': Artists Consider the Armeno-Turkish Divide at ReflectSpace - March 9, 2020
Sigrid Burton to be Exhibited at Tufenkian Fine Arts - February 26, 2020
'Yerevan Biennial 2020' Announced at Consulate General's L.A. Event - February 21, 2020
Armenia's 'Revolutionary Sensorium' Shines at 2019 Venice Biennale - December 31, 2019
Shemmassian's Book Examines the History of the Armenians of Musa Dagh - January 19, 2021
Dr. Vahram Shemmassian to Virtually Discuss New Book on Armenians of Musa Dagh - January 18, 2021
Garin Angoghinian's Book of Armenian Haikus Published in Yerevan - January 11, 2021
Two Books by Hakop Karapents Translated into Farsi - December 24, 2020
Library of Congress Corrects 'Armenian Massacres' Heading to 'Armenian Genocide' - October 21, 2020
Joseph Bohigian Releases Music on Armenian Experience of Exile - January 18, 2021
System Of a Down Release Songs to Raise Awareness for Artsakh - November 6, 2020
'Here's to You, Armenia' Virtual Concert to Feature Armenian Talent from Toronto - September 24, 2020
Maestro Prof. Ara Manash Passes Away - August 28, 2020
First Trailer for Serj Tankian Documentary Released - June 25, 2020
Glendale Arts Will Celebrate Alex Theatre's 95th Birthday - September 4, 2020
French-Armenian Actor Simon Abkarian Receives Molière Award - June 24, 2020
Actress Ani Marderosian to Direct 'Witness for the Prosecution' - March 2, 2020
Theater Review: Joyous Update of Tumanyan Play Speaks to Our Times - February 28, 2020
'About Him' to Premier in Glendale on February 14 - January 9, 2020
Critics' Forum: 2020 Vision: Toward a Theater of Resilience - December 31, 2019
Critics' Forum: Negotiating Identity and Preserving History: Razmik Grigorian's Collection of Armenian Paintings - September 6, 2019
Critics' Forum: Armenian Comedy in LA: Performing Inter-Cultural Difference Through Language - March 7, 2019
Critics' Forum: 'Bashing' Armenian Theater? A Critic's Self-Assessment at Year's End - December 30, 2018
Critics' Forum: ExԱյլ: Krikor Beledian on Diasporic Multilingualism - December 7, 2018
Editorial: Let's Support Our Troops and Their Families - September 21, 2020
Editorial: A National Agenda Propelled Independence - May 28, 2020
Editorial: 2020s Should Be the Decade of Advancement and Victory - December 31, 2019
Editorial: Our Path to Justice is Set by Our Roots - April 24, 2019
Editorial: Looking Ahead to Brighter Days - December 30, 2018
Coronavirus - March 25, 2020
In Memoriam: Our Katcho - March 6, 2020
It Is Time for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - March 2, 2020
Speak Up Now Or Forever… - March 2, 2020
The Politics of the Personal: Activism, Advocacy and Asatryan - March 2, 2020
ASAs Across the U.S. Voice Solidarity with Armenia's Student-Driven Movement - April 30, 2018
Letter: Gyumri-Vanadzor Telethon Important - July 1, 2017
Letters: Economic Reforms - June 26, 2017
U.S. is a Rainbow of Immigrants - January 27, 2017
Israel Should Stop Selling Weapons to Azerbaijan - December 15, 2016
Three Apples
My Name is Armen
The War, Those Drones, and $s - November 2, 2020
The Most Consequential Election of A U.S. Citizen's Life - October 27, 2020
A Fantastic Development - October 26, 2020
It Was Great! - October 15, 2020
No Surprise - October 13, 2020
Armenia's Defeated Leader Is Unable To Resolve Problems from the Lost War - January 19, 2021
Trump Could be the First US President To Be Impeached Twice - January 12, 2021
Turkish Generals Led War on Artsakh: This was a Turkish, not Azeri, Victory - December 29, 2020
Armenians Haven't Had a Competent Leader Since Catholicos Khrimian Hyrig - December 22, 2020
Aliyev Once Had Called Turkey's Leaders 'Liar, Cheat and Betrayer' - December 16, 2020
Three Apples: The Relic - August 21, 2017
The Go Between and Ancient Voices that Beckon - June 2, 2017
The Architect in a Box - April 17, 2015
Three Apples: dOIN' tIME iN dAW'HA - June 19, 2014
CAPITAL City - October 16, 2013
The Unthinkable - December 1, 2020
The New Generation is the Guardian of Our Lands - November 20, 2020
Back to School in Covid-19 Pandemic - August 25, 2020
A 1925 Journey from Tehran to Paris, via Beirut - August 14, 2020
A Fathers' Day Tribute: A Boy from the Village of Moujunbar - June 19, 2020
The True Heart of an Old Armenian Town - December 12, 2014
The Destiny of Survival - February 28, 2013
The Magical Thread That Binds Generations - August 30, 2012
A Blinding Clarity of Vision - May 10, 2012
Seasons of Love: Embracing Fall - October 31, 2011
A Plate of Ham and Eggs - February 10, 2014
The Independence Generation - February 3, 2014
Tamar Tatik of Aygepar - January 28, 2014
No Pasarán and Other Stories - January 21, 2014
The Front Line - January 14, 2014
Blinken: Biden Administration Will Consult with Congress on April 24th Statement - 1 day ago
Pashinyan Doesn't Comprehend Shushi's Vital Importance - 2 days ago
ANCA-WR Meets with Assemblymember Chris Holden - 2 days ago
Funeral Notice: Zaven Patrick Berberian - 2 days ago
National Salvation Movement Protests Judicial Council Appointments - 2 days ago
Yerevan Slams Erdogan for Anti-Armenian Remarks
Armenia's Foreign Ministry
Armenia's Foreign Ministry on Saturday issued a statement slamming President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who in comments made in Washington last week, said that Armenians were nomads when, what he called the "forced deportations"—the Armenian Genocide—took place.
Erdogan made the comments when visiting the United States Center for Religious Affairs while he was visiting Washington.
"They used to wander as nomads," said Erdogan. "Before now, they used to wander in different places as nomads. While they were similarly living as nomads in Turkey, the forced deportation took place."
In its statement Armenia's foreign ministry said, "Turkey should reconsider its current hostile policies against Armenia."
Below is the text of the statement.
In light of the further advancement of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the President of Turkey recently made controversial statements, which distort the reality.
These statements contain claims aimed at justifying the Genocide by means of insulting the dignity of the victims. On April 24, 2019 the President of Turkey already attempted to justify the Armenian Genocide by qualifying it as "the most reasonable act" and referring to the victims of the Genocide as "Armenian gangs and their supporters". All the more, presently the President of Turkey deprives the victims of the Armenian Genocide of their historic homeland by way of calling them nomads, thus forgetting the history of his ancestors and the indigenous people of the region.
Indeed, the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is essential for serving truth and historical justice. However, today it is essential not merely for history and historians but rather for the entire humanity, and particularly the potential victims of the identity-based crimes. It is essential for all those persons and peoples who are accused of being terrorists simply because of their ethnic and religious origin and then subjected to violence and forced deportations by the Republic of Turkey in its neighbouring country. It is essential for overcoming genocidal perceptions and protecting the universality of human rights.
The Armenian Genocide is a reality for the descendants of the Genocide and the international community. This reality has also served as a basis for elaborating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the subsequent mechanisms for the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity.
By justifying and denying the Armenian Genocide, pursuing aggressive policies marked by the use of force against its neighbours, sustaining land blockade of Armenia for more than two decades and providing political and military assistance to Azerbaijan in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkey continues to be a security threat to the Armenian people, which survived the genocide.
Turkey should reconsider its current hostile policies against Armenia and the Armenian people, which may become the first step in overcoming the consequences of the Genocide and reducing regional threats.
Asbarez Staff
Comments are welcomed and encouraged. Though you are fully responsible for the content you post, comments that include profanity, personal attacks or other inappropriate material will not be permitted. Asbarez reserves the right to block users who violate any of our posting standards and policies.
State of Emergency - November 18, 2019 said:
Nomads or not what does that have to do with deporting unarmed men, women, children and the elderly? Rabid erDOGan is running loose in civilized nation spewing his ignorant and backwards opinions. Shame on all western democracies for providing this neanderthal a platform to speak.
Janine - November 18, 2019 said:
My family "wandered" from Van to Kharpert 1000 years ago, and stayed there until the Turkish govt decided to murder all of them. That's our "nomadic" existence!
Lorik - November 19, 2019 said:
Janine, both my grandparents were Vanetsi,, but Achkid Luis for knowing your family's history back so far, that is a treasure! Of you ever run into someone or a resource for learning Vanetsi dialect, please let me know.
GB - November 18, 2019 said:
So this "nomad Turk" justified the Armenian Genocide. Similar words Hitler used against Jews during the 2-nd world war!
Nomads or not what does that have to do with deporting unarmed men, women, children and the elderly? Rabid erDOGan is running loose in civilized nations spewing his ignorant and backward opinions. Shame on all western democracies for providing this neanderthal a platform to speak.
Simon Shekerjian - November 18, 2019 said:
Around two years ago, Mr. Erdogan declared about the genocide: "Such thing did not happen". I replied and said: Dear Mr. Erdogan, or you are a stupid, or you are playing stupid, so in both cases you are stupid. It's not about you, if you accept what happened as a Genocide or not. It's about the International Countries Saved documents that the Armenian Genocide was the most horrible act in the world History. My parents were among the Survivals as 1.5 Million Armenians perished on their way to leave Turkey. The Documents of the atrocities talk about the killings and the rapes as well of the women. All these documents are saved in all the countries worldwide..
ardachece barseghian - November 19, 2019 said:
but also to become the cultural and other ferment of Turkish society pacify with its past
Nadya Wall-Rossi - November 19, 2019 said:
Turks are unrepentant, amoral, vile purveyors of Genocide. They stole Armenia's land, national monuments and have a virulent hatred of Christians. I heard the horror stories first hand, from my Grandparents, "Aunties" and "Uncles" from the Old Country.
JOE - November 20, 2019 said:
THAT'S FUNNY COMING FROM NOMAD TURKISH ASIAN INVADING TRIBES. THAT TURK HAS IT BACKWARDS. TURKS NEED TO BE RID BACK TO ASIA.
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President Biden's nominee to serve as Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, confirmed that the incoming Administration will consult with Congress on the wording of its April 24th statement,
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The Challenge Program, Inc. Sheetz Inc. Named 2017 Chain of the Year - The Challenge Program, Inc.
The Challenge Program, Inc. congratulates Business Partner, Sheetz Inc. for being named Convenience Store Decision's (CSD) 2017 Chain of the Year. Sheetz Inc. sponsors Claysburg-Kimmel High School in Blair County.
Sheetz Inc. is unsurpassed in its commitment to foodservice and technology, with a world-class distribution model and a total commitment to its vast employee base.
The company initiated dozens of fundraisers aimed at helping kids, such as its partnerships with Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Sheetz has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, a Top 12 Best Places to Work for Women and Top 35 Best Workplaces for Millennials.
Sheetz Inc. has announced plans to hire 3,400 new employees and add 50 more stores to its existing 550-store chain by 2019.


BioRN is a life science research and industry cluster dedicated to the development of cell-specific, molecular and personalised innovative treatments. The BioRN Cluster stands for the development, networking, representation and promotion of the life science region into one of the leading life science clusters in Europe.
The cluster-members include renowned academic research institutions such as the Universities of Heidelberg, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and global health care companies such as AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Roche, und Sanofi-Aventis, and about 80 small and medium-sized biotech enterprises. Beyond the members registered in the cluster, BioRN gives access to a wider network via partnerships and collaborations.
In terms of the use of clusters for the internationalization of companies, BioRN has founded, together with Leuven (Belgium), Maastricht (Netherlands) and Copenhagen (Denmark), an alliance for the enforcement of biomedical innovation in Europe, called the Health Axis Europe.


text:
'Megadrought' in US sets another record
By Allison Chinchar, CNN Meteorologist
A report from the EU's climate monitoring service found that the last seven years have been the hottest on record, and 2021 ranked as the fifth-hottest year on record.
Despite several recent drenching rainstorms in the West and enough snow to top the second story of some buildings, the United States has tied an alarming drought record: At least 40% of the Lower 48 has gone 68 straight weeks in drought conditions.
Drought was present in nearly 55% of the contiguous U.S. this week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The last time drought has been so widespread for so long was October 2013. And without significant and unprecedented precipitation over the next seven days, the country will be in uncharted drought territory and break that record outright.
Almost all of the U.S. drought is located west of the Mississippi River, with extraordinarily dry conditions in far Western states, which scientists warn is a consequence of the climate crisis.
CNN/US Drought Monitor
Much of the West's drought is actually a long-term phenomenon, persisting from year to year without enough precipitation to lead to a full recovery, said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"The Southwest has been experiencing what many scientists have termed a 'megadrought' for about two decades," Rippey told CNN.
In November, U.S. drought coverage climbed above 50% for the first time since 2013. Before the 2013 records, the U.S. had also experienced 65 consecutive weeks of drought between March 2002 and June 2003. The Drought Monitor has been tracking conditions since 2000.
Current dry conditions are being exacerbated by water overuse, said Michael Anderson, a climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources. When the storms come, it might not be enough to replenish the aquifers, he said.
"That can take quite a bit of time, because its water is coming back to the aquifers," Anderson told CNN. "But water is continuing to be used, so you have to have enough water coming into the aquifer that exceeds the use for that restoration to occur."
Oregon also saw a huge increase in precipitation in December, but it did little to bring up the reservoirs around the Rogue River Basin, where half of the reservoirs are at less than 10% of capacity.
Even as recent winter storms have helped recharge the parched Western landscape, drought has worsened in the Southern Plains, especially in Texas, where it has increased from 15% to 82% in just the last three months.
Winter rain and snow helped, but not enough
The winter season started strong with remarkable rain and snow in December, especially in California. For the first time since December 2020, the state this week has no areas with exceptional drought — the highest designation, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported. Extreme drought, the second-highest, is down to 1%, whereas 80% of the state was considered extreme or worse just last month.
A quarter of the state's total average winter snowpack came in December alone, said Julie Kalansky, deputy director of operations for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.
"Currently, the snowpack is at about 50% of the end of season normal snowpack," Kalansky said. "The storms helped a lot, but if there are not some other large storms this winter, it will not be enough to end the drought."
Other states also saw huge gains, including Oregon and Washington, where several cities broke daily rainfall records in the final month of 2021.
"We call it a great start," Anderson said. "We are always appreciative when winter starts as fantastically as it did because that's the kind of start we needed. The challenge is that we kind of need to sustain that through the rest of January through March."
An analysis of temperature and population data shows exposure to extreme heat has tripled and now affects about a quarter of the world's population:
Photos: Extreme heat triples across the globe
A fan sprays water mist as customers sit outside a cafe in downtown Rome on July 31, 2020, during a heat wave with temperatures over 104 Fahrenheit.
AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca
A farmworker, who declined to give his name, wipes sweat from his neck while working, July 1, 2021, in St. Paul, Ore., as a heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest in record-high temperatures.
AP Photo/Nathan Howard
A military truck drives through water on a flooded toll road following heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 20, 2021. Heavy downpours combined with poor city sewage planning often cause heavy flooding in parts of greater Jakarta. Indonesia is planning to move the country's capital from Jakarta — a city that is sinking below sea level — to Kalimantan.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
An elderly man suffering from heatstroke waits for a medical help at a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, June 26, 2015, during a heat wave that struck southern Pakistan.
AP Photo/Shakil Adil
A street vendor breaks blocks of ice to be used to cool beverages for sale in downtown Mexico City, April 8, 2008, as the country experienced unusually hot weather for that time of the year, with highs of 81 degrees Fahrenheit.
People in a slum work in a saw mill with downtown in the distance in Lagos, Nigeria, May 12, 2020. Dim Coumou, a climate professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said the combination of growth in African cities and climate change presents a serious risk. "As the population increases in these megacities, you have more buildings, more concrete and an increased heat-island effect, making the heat waves worse," Coumou says. "I think it's a dangerous combination."
AP Photo/Sunday Alamba
A woman holds a portable fan in Tokyo on July 23, 2018, as searing hot temperatures hit wide swaths of Japan and South Korea in a long-running heat wave.
AP Photo/Koji Sasahara
Palm trees in City Park are silhouetted at dusk after temperatures peaked at 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit in Brasilia, Brazil, on Oct. 6, 2020.
AP Photo/Eraldo Peres
Hospitality staff are silhouetted by the sun as they pose for a group photo during a plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 9, 2017.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Rickshaw pullers wait in a line, awaiting passengers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 11, 2018. In Dhaka, the population more than tripled from about 7.7 million in 1983 to 24 million in 2016. While the city grew by more than 16 million people, the number of extreme heat days also increased by 1.5 days a year, until Dhaka experienced about 50 more dangerously hot days a year than it did in 1983.
AP Photo/A.M. Ahad
People wash clothes as others rest on a hot summer day on the banks of the Hooghly River in Kolkata, India, June 14, 2019, as severe heat wave conditions swept through north and western parts of India.
AP Photo/Bikas Das
Katherine Morgan drinks water in front of a box fan while trying to stay cool in her downtown apartment without air conditioning on Aug. 12, 2021, in Portland, Ore. People headed to cooling centers as the Pacific Northwest sweltered under another major, multi-day heat wave.
Dccjb
Get the latest local weather, meteorologist Joe Martucci's 7-day forecasts, podcasts, and severe weather alerts.
Thursday will be a quiet day, with peeks of sunshine and seasonable temperatures. A nor'easter will pass far offshore Friday. Then, we continue to monitor a powerful storm system late Sunday into Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I list six things to know.
Weather: The polar vortex goes away, but snowy MLK nor'easter could be on the way
The deep freeze Tuesday and Tuesday night will quickly go away Wednesday. A coastal storm Friday will pass well offshore, bringing wind and perhaps tidal flooding. The bigger story will be a Sunday into Monday storm. Heavy snow, rain, wind and more flooding are possible.
Weather: Rain Sunday but expect ice Monday, polar vortex Tuesday
We'll just escape an icy mess Sunday, as temperatures warm up enough above freezing to bring plain rain, instead of freezing rain. While it will be dry going into the week, ice will be on your minds as the coldest air in three year arrives.
Weather: Strong winds to usher in polar plunge Saturday, MLK storm still on
A coastal storm will sit just enough offshore to avoid the snow, rain and coastal flooding. However, strong winds will usher in a frigid airmass that will last until Sunday morning. We are then still game on for a powerful, but fast moving, storm Sunday night into early Monday.
A significant winter storm will plow through the East. But snow, rain or ice is still in question
From the South to the upper Midwest to the Northeast, it seems like no one is safe from this weekend's winter storm.
Major US cities will feel like they're below zero this week. Find out where
It's the kind of cold capable of delivering frostbite in minutes, turn boiling water into frozen mist in a nanosecond, and even cold enough to freeze your eyelashes.
Weather: Snow won't melt much Saturday but will Sunday as 40s, rain arrive
Taking a page out of the movie Groundhog Day, Saturday will be like Tuesday. The day after the snow falls, we'll struggle to rise above 32, though with sun. Sunday will then be like Wednesday. We'll warm into the 40s with fog and rain showers, too.
Weather: Icing may start Wednesday, with another snowy NJ nor'easter Friday
Icing Wednesday morning and another snowy nor'easter for Friday will bring us to three wintry weather events for the week. Friday's coastal storm looks to be mostly snow for us, the forecast question now is 'how much'?
How the Earth's tilt creates short, cold January days
Bundle up: January is when winter really arrives in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Near record snow, little rain and a dry North Jersey made Monday's nor'easter memorable
South Jersey snow lovers had to be patient, but the largest snow in four years was all theirs Monday.


text:
Function Follows Form
Controversy has brewed ever since the landmark 1926 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Village of Euclid , Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co., which established the separation of land uses among other restrictions to manage nuisances and protect the public welfare. The resulting "Euclidian" form of zoning has long since been accepted as the standard for regulating development nationwide.
By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor | August 31, 2005
Sidebars:
Public Space, Private Problem
Providing Context Across The Transect
Habersham: True to Form
Controversy has brewed ever since the landmark 1926 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Village of Euclid , Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co., which established the separation of land uses among other restrictions to manage nuisances and protect the public welfare. The resulting "Euclidian" form of zoning has long since been accepted as the standard for regulating development nationwide. However it has come under attack as an inadequate tool for dealing with today's seemingly endless growth management conflicts.
Critics of conventional zoning believe the time has passed for strictly promoting the segregation of residential, office, retail, civic and other land uses separated by pedestrian-unfriendly roadways and poorly designed open-space buffers. They claim that this degrades social interaction, quality of life and the natural environment. They say developers should be allowed to create compact, walkable, and diverse mixed-use communities, and that these can benefit both the community and the developer's and builder's bottom line.
Has conventional zoning outlived its usefulness? Proponents of "form-based codes" say yes.
Euclid's Undoing
Considering the changes of the past 80 years and current demands for smart (or at least smarter) growth, it's possible that all of the regulatory tools and tweaks have only complicated matters. These tools and tweaks include conditional use permits, overlay districts, planned unit developments, design guidelines, performance zoning, variances and tax/density bonuses. In contrast, form-based codes are revolutionary; they seek to replace the entire system by streamlining ordinances and shifting away from land use and density as primary regulating factors.
Compared to conventional zoning practice, form-based thinking is not a simple sell to regulators. "It's a whole different approach; you can't just take your zoning and rewrite it into form-based code," says Peter Katz, New Urbanist consultant, professor in practice at Virginia Polytechnic State University and president of the Form-Based-Codes Institute.
One extreme example of regulators' difficulty with change occurred in planning the Cornell community, a 5000-acre plan for an unused airport site outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, designed by Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. (DPZ). Here, local plans were subject to approval at the provincial level. "At great expense," Katz says, "the province hired several local planners to re-write DPZ's diagram-rich form-based code into a nearly all-text document."
In the United States, however, the typical local jurisdiction has the legal flexibility to accommodate form-based ordinances. Last July, for example, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly Bill 1268, which established form-based coding as a legal option for cities to include in their general planning and zoning processes. This followed successful early adoptions by jurisdictions including Petaluma, and the city of Hercules, a fast-growing San Francisco area bedroom community of 23,000.
Under conventional zoning, Stephen Lawton, Hercules' community development director, lacked the design toolkit for traditional neighborhood design and found that "form codes can do that."
Since the 2001 approval of a new form-based code's Regulating Plan drafted by urban design firm Dover, Kohl and Partners, based in Coral Gables, Fla., redevelopment has transformed the 400-acre site of a former dynamite plant. So far, 500 single-family houses have been completed and townhouses with live/work units are on the way. Four builders are involved: DR Horton's Western Pacific Housing unit, William Lyon Homes, John Laing Homes and Taylor-Woodrow homes.
Lawton believes that "form[-based] codes will take over the next generation of planning in California" and affect all developers and builders because they are "increasingly going to have to deal in an environment where municipalities are using form codes to regulate production housing." This, in turn, will affect where and how lots will be available, and who wins approvals. "To the extent that home builders attempt to pass this off as a fad or as a fashion," he adds, "they are not going to be viewed favorably by the municipalities, and it's going to be more expensive to get their projects done."
Streamlined Ordinance
Form-based codes reinforce the notion that a picture is worth a thousand words by putting most of a plan's key dictates into diagrams. Ordinances can be just a few pages for a development that would need dozens of pages in conventional zoning documents. There are only a handful of components in a form-based ordinance:
Regulating plan: Maps what goes where — every street, block and building type, or mix of types; defines property lines, required building lines (similar to setbacks) and public spaces — in more detail than conventional zoning maps.
Building form standards: Establishes four parameters in cross-sectional drawings, typically on one sheet for each building type: 1) Height: Maximum number of floors; also minimum needed for a proper street wall; 2) Siting: Placement of structures in relation to streets and adjacent lots; front, side and rear building limits; and specs for entrances, parking and yards; 3) Elements: Dimensions for windows, doors, porches, balconies, stoops and so on; 4) Uses: Configuration of specific uses within each building type. Note: Use is not ignored, but dealt with at this secondary level.
Thoroughfare standards: Included if streets are not individually designed. Diagrams can define dimensions from travel and parking lanes through sidewalks, medians and planting strips.
Landscape standards: Lists accepted tree and groundcover species and location details.
Definitions: The glossary helps clarify specific terms.
Architectural standards: Optional based on community and developer desire for regulatory controls. May dictate materials and finishes, colors or other controls.
Form-based plans do not stand alone, explains Katz, but are usually embedded in a set of best practices that includes three elements: "a compelling urban design that citizens can get excited about; a public process that gives them a sense of ownership of the plan; and the ordinance itself. They're like three legs of a stool; without one of the legs, it falls down."
Public and Private Sectors Win
For developers and builders, there are pros and cons to working within a form-based regulatory environment. The great deal of detail required in up-front planning may be daunting, even constraining by their fundamentally different nature.
Conventional zoning is proscriptive: it defines what is prohibited rather than what is desired. But by focusing on what builders can't build, critics say, it does not predict with any certainty the appearance of what can or will be built — and invites conflict. In contrast, form-based codes are prescriptive: they define building types, streets and the public realm down to the block-level, whereas conventional zoning stops at the subdivision level and therefore cannot cope with the details of mixed use, varied thoroughfares and so many other factors.
By releasing conventional restrictions on land use and density, many community developers and builders may find greater flexibility to create plans with higher density. Additionally, they may find it easier to "sell" such plans to communities because their easy-to-grasp graphics may present better than words and numbers. If so, form-based codes appear be well-suited to address growth issues such as housing affordability, transit-oriented development, pedestrian-friendly communities, open space preservation — in general, smart growth issues.
Time will tell how this new coding system fares over the established Euclidian order. But this new type of regulation may provide a clearer view of the shape of new development in the earliest stages as well as a clearer path to smarter growth and development.
Form-based codes seek to overcome conventional zoning's inability to match building types and street type at the micro level.
A block of small- and medium-sized homes is planned on a side street next to a busy arterial. In this location, conventional zoning rules out multi-family dwellings.
An endcap building, illegal under the current zoning, shields houses and their back yards from the noise, privacy and other impacts of the nearby road. The endcap building can accommodate uses not found in other purely single-family neighborhoods. These may include senior and workforce housing, offices for local businesses and retail stores.
Buildings are designed to match the scale of roads and the surrounding neighborhood.
The conceptual "transect" chart (below) is a kind of Rosetta Stone for many of the concepts in Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.'s form-based SmartCode. It standardizes land and development rules, zone by zone, from its most rural and undeveloped (T1) to the urban core (T6), with suburbs in the middle. Within a given zone, explains Andres Duany, founding principal of the firm, "each type of structure corresponds with a certain degree of urbanity...the key is to provide urbanism with urban building types, and provide 'ruralism' with rural types." He criticizes conventional zoning for its inability to regulate context, resulting in "clearly inferior" suburban townhouses that have tiny yards and are surrounded by parking lots, particularly lots across front elevations — "but lack any commensurate amenity, such as an increased street life, to compensate for the loss of land.
The Form-Based Codes Institute and the Academy for the New Urbanism at Virginia Tech will offer "Form-Based Codes: An Introductory Course," November 3–5, 2005. More information on this and other resources can be found at www.formbasedcodes.org.
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. has released its SmartCode to the public domain for conditional use. It can be downloaded for free at www.dpz.com.
"We don't use the term 'form-based codes' and neither do our builders," says Michael Asnip, vice president of sales and marketing and manager of the builder program for the Habersham community in Beaufort County, S.C. But the developer and builders at Habersham nonetheless operate in an early form-based environment.
When Habersham Land Co. bought the 283-acre parcel from a prior developer in 1997, it was planned unit development zoned for 1,000 residential units including detached to multifamily as well as retail and commercial components. But it was not zoned to allow a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). "We wanted to do a TND," says Bob Turner, principal with the developer, but as inherited, he says "the multifamily housing was in the form of one big apartment complex; the single family homes were just arranged in typical cul-de-sac lots; and the commercial was in the form of a strip center." These separate pieces were geographically separate with access along a conventional, spine/collector road.
Duany Plater-Zyberk's Tom Low, director of town planning for Habersham, says the prior developer's zoning would have "privatized the entire waterfront amenity [to] create a group of high-value, 'quick kill' lots but most of the inland lots would be marginalized." Using his firm's form-based code, Low rearranged roads, housing and mixed-use buildings into a more integrated and attractive mixed-use success.
Since 1998, a dozen mostly custom/spec builders have built 200 homes and sold 500 at rates driven steadily up by market demand. "When we started this project we were in the $130,000 range for a 1400-square foot house, a little above the local market," says Turner. "That same house one year later sold for $230,000." Today single-family houses start in the high $300,000s and climb above $1 million; condo flats range from $232,000; and townhouses sell from the high $300,000s to mid $400,000s. These prices are above local norms, following the pattern of coastal, resort communities like Florida's Seaside and Rosemary Beach.
There are likely hundreds of form-based ordinances in existence because, while the term is new, many New Urbanist plans have evolved over two decades to embrace what are now called form-based codes.
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The Indians had arguably two of the top five position players in baseball this past season lined up right next to each other in the infield. And both have won back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards.
On Thursday, shortstop Francisco Lindor and third baseman Jose Ramirez were named American League Sliver Slugger Award winners for their respective positions. It's the first time Indians teammates won back-to-back Silver Sluggers since Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez did so in 1999-2000.
Lindor hit .277 with an .871 OPS and set career highs with 38 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 92 RBI and 129 runs scored (which tied for the major-league lead). He also became the first shortstop in baseball history with at least 35 home runs, 40 doubles and 20 stolen bases.
Ramirez, also an AL Most Valuable Player finalist, finished in the top five in the AL in slugging (.552), OPS (.939), home runs (39), RBI (105) and runs scored (110), the latter three all being career highs. He also became just the third player in Indians franchise history to reach the 30-30 club, adding 34 stolen bases and joining Joe Carter in 1987 and Grady Sizemore in 2008.


A refurbished chalet bungalow on a substantial plot, allowing for parking for seven vehicles and over 150ft rear garden. The property offers generous accommodation which is adaptable to the homeowners needs, offering the option for bedrooms or further reception rooms.
The property comprises living room, kitchen/diner, family room, utility room, bathroom and two bedrooms to ground floor. On the first floor there are three bedrooms and a family bathroom. Externally the property boasts a large drive and generous rear garden. There are two sheds that have their own fuse boxes allowing for light and power, ideal for workshops.
Dry Sandford is a tranquil village situated approximately a 15 minute drive from Oxford City, further benefitting from Wootton Village offering an exceptional primary school, shops and recreation facilities, all within approximately 1 mile of the property.


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Wolfeboro Lions Club
New Hampshire - United States
District 44-H
2nd & 4th Tuesday at 6:30 P.M.
Wolfeboro, NH
Lions meet the needs of local communities and the world every day because they share a core belief - to serve their community. Wolfeboro Lions give scholarships, support Lions Camp Pride, do eye screening of children and assist in the Wolfeboro/Tuftonboro area.
If you would like a scholarship application, please click here.
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization. We have 1.35 million members in more than 45,000 clubs in more than 206 countries and geographic areas.
Lions have a dynamic history. Founded in 1917, we are best known for fighting blindness, but we also volunteer for many different kinds of community projects - including caring for the environment, feeding the hungry and aiding seniors and the disabled.
Lions give sight. By conducting vision screenings, equipping hospitals and clinics, distributing medicine and raising awareness of eye disease, Lions work toward their mission of providing vision for all. We have extended our commitment to sight conservation through countless local efforts and through our international SightFirst Program, which works to eradicate blindness. Wolfeboro Lions assist with glasses, hearing aids, eye surgery, etc.
Our Leo Program provides the youth of the world with an opportunity for personal development through volunteering. There are approximately 144,000 Leos and 5,700 Leo clubs in more than 140 countries worldwide. Wolfeboro Lions hosts one of only 4 Leos Clubs in the state at this time: Kingswood Regional High School Leos.
Lions help during disasters. Together, our Foundation and Lions are helping communities following natural disasters by providing for immediate needs such as food, water, clothing and medical supplies – and aiding in long-term reconstruction.
Lions are active. Our motto is "We Serve." Lions are part of a global service network, doing whatever is necessary to help our local communities.
For more information about Lions Multiple District 44 in NH, go to www.nhlions.org
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Silences and Empty Spaces
Barbara Fitzgibbon
Previously Published Book
Silences and Empty Spaces is the story of a maverick redhead who refuses to do the socially expected and chooses to run with the feeling that something special waits for those willing to chase will-'o-the-wisps. In 1957 Barbara Fitzgibbon flees from the New South Wales Department of Education to the Territory of Papua New Guinea. She trains Papuan and New Guinean teachers and has her first experience of birth, death and the currents flowing under the surface of colonialism.
Israel gives her a taste of kibbutz life, and her travels around the country in the VW van that she had driven from England introduce her to ancient history and also make her question more recent history.
A move into Northern Territory Aboriginal education takes her to a preschool in Papunya, a caravan school on a cattle station and the first twelve-month course for Aboriginal teaching assistants.
She drives a racing-green VW Beetle through South Africa and Rhodesia and across the Mozambique border and has to become a permanent resident of Rhodesia before she can teach African high school students on the outskirts of Bulawayo. A position as a liaison officer with the Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Island Affairs, a return to university and another change of profession follow. Back in northern New South Wales she finds something she had never expected, and will-o?-the-wisps no longer tease.
This memoir is Barbara's exploration of silences and empty spaces in history, and in her relationship with her mother, as she searches for the self with which she can be comfortable. Above all, it is a celebration of the beauty and truths to be found in the landscapes and lives of cultures other than her own.
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January 30, 2014 – Rocky Tung, Coface Asia Pacific Economist, appeared on Bloomberg TV's "First Up" program to discuss the banking system in China. He noted that a recent Coface survey found that businesses saw an increase in overdue payments in 2013, compared to 2012.
Click on the image above or here to view the 3-minute interview. PDF attached for distribution to any contacts who might be interested.
Click on the image to view the 3-minute interview.


So I am down a few. This week has started great. Had a nice walk home from work last night and another this morning. Also had breakfast this morning, and hoping to make a habit of that. I think most of the weight I lost in the last week was probably down to me having a proper stomach bug. Still, I'll take it! Feeling better know and finishing my pills today.
The plan is to keep away from sugar, starchy stuff, and the carbs. I know everyone does not believe or support the whole LCHF idea, and I am also not 100% convinced. What I will say, is that parts of it seems to work for me. Carbs definitely screw around with my blood sugar. If I stick to more salads and proteins I do have more energy. And feel fuller for longer. I am not so big on the whole fat thing though. As far as sugar is concerned, I am trying to give that a miss as far as possible.
Well, still far to go. I am more than 20 kg's away from where I want to be, and about 7 away from where I have been.
Hitting 99.9 kg's will be BIG. And that's about 11 kg's away. I'd like to get there before April.
I find high fat really unpleasant. I'm trying to reduce carbs but replace it with protein, fruit and vegetable. Not because I think fat is evil, but it makes me feel yucky if I eat as much as some of those diets recommend.
You can do this! I am personally not a fan of the whole high fat diets. I feel like I'm being asked to eat butter and cream, Lol.
Wooohoooo - Lets go 2015!


Dateline: October 2, 1948: and police in Harrogate were about to capture three housebreakers - they even set a trap by staying in the otherwise unoccupied house.
According to reports in the paper at the time, officers hid inside the darkened house on Leeds Road, Harrogate and waited... the telephone rang but no-one answered, then the door buzzer went and still, no-one answered. A short time later, three men were heard entering the building, speaking in whispers and creeping into the rooms. "They were arrested," the article states in no uncertain terms. The three, two aged 19 and one 20, were brought to court and charged accordingly.
In other news, a Bradford man rescued his family from a burning building using a blanket.
Heroic Jim Lunn, 51, of Burlington Avenue, was woken by the whimpering of his pet spaniel Floss. When he went downstairs to check on them, he found the house ablaze and so quickly ran back upstairs and, using a blanket, lowered his wife and 17-year-old daughter out of the window onto a ladder put up by a neighbour. Floss was said to be slightly burned and suffering from smoke inhalation but survived and was treated by a vet at the scene.
And finally, spare a thought for dentists in Leeds, who were getting used to the new National Health Service, which was apparently leaving them out of pocket. One dentist said he was owed £400 for services rendered, forcing many of them to "withdraw money from personal accounts" and "contact their bank managers".
The chairman of the Leeds Dental Committee said the situation had come about because of the rush for treatment under the new system, which he described as "overwhelming".


Yesterday, Thursday 14 September, the Secretary of State announced the details of the national funding formula. This is a new fairer funding system for schools in England, putting an end to the historic postcode lottery that saw huge differences in funding between similar schools in different parts of the country. This announcement was covered widely in regional media, nationally the I newspaper led on the story, with other nationals reporting on the formula in broader education pieces.
In response to this announcement, there have been some misleading and incorrect statements reported in the media.
The first criticism levelled at the DfE is that historic funding has not been addressed. In fact, as the Education Secretary said yesterday, with the additional £1.3 billion we are investing, the formula provides for a cash increase of at least 1 per cent per pupil by 2019/20 for every school, compared to its baseline. No school will lose funding, and under-funded schools will see significant gains of up to 3 per cent per pupil in 2018-19 and a further 3 per cent per pupil in 2019-20. Under the formula all secondary schools will attract at least £4,800 per pupil, with all primaries set to attract at least £3,500 per pupil.
The Secretary of State has been accused of making no long-term funding commitment for schools. The fact is, the additional £1.3 billion in school funding announced in July means we can protect schools funding in real terms per pupil for the remainder of this Spending Review period. This means we will be spending £2.6 billion more on schools by 2019-20 than we are today. Spending plans beyond 2019-20 will be set in a future Spending Review. Naturally, we cannot pre-empt the decisions that will be taken in future Spending Reviews.
The department has also been accused of not fairly funding high needs, early years and post-16 education. This is simply not true. We have announced major reforms to high needs funding, alongside those for schools. The high needs budget is being protected in real terms per pupil for the next two years, and all local authorities will see a minimum 1 per cent increase per head by 2019-20. When it comes to early years, this government is investing a record £6 billion every year by 2020 in childcare – more than ever before, while our investment in apprenticeships will double, with funding reaching £2.5 billion by 2019-20, and our new T levels are backed by over £500 million a year once up and running.
The need for reform to school funding has been widely recognised, because of the manifest unfairness in the current system. We are determined to create a country that works for everyone and we are delivering on our promise to reform the unfair, opaque and outdated school and high needs funding systems and introduce the national funding formula.
Fairer funding will allow easier comparisons between schools, local authorities and multi-academy trusts I can't stress enough how important this will be. I know that it won't be completely comparable, as no schools will be losing money, but it will definitely be significantly better than before.
This new formula will ensure a consistent approach to funding schools based on the needs of their pupils and we support the range of factors being used to determine each school's allocation.
Councils have been concerned for some time about the growing funding pressures facing support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It is therefore right that the Government has allowed councils to retain the ability to make additional funding available, with the agreement of schools, to meet the rising demand and pressures for SEND support.
NASBM welcomes both the additional funding secured by the Secretary of State and her continued commitment to the national funding formula. Campaigning for equitable funding has been a long and hard fought battle. This announcement represents a once in a generation opportunity. We must continue to move towards a funding system that ensures all schools are adequately resourced and able to deliver high quality education provision.
The current arrangements to distribute funding to schools have been publicly acknowledged to be indefensible by all the main political parties. FASNA welcomes this long overdue move to deliver a fairer way of funding schools and looks forward to the full application of the formula as soon as possible. FASNA also welcomes the uplift in funding such that all schools will stand to gain something from the formula proposals.
Standards are rising across our school system and a fairer funding formula will ensure we can build on that success. It will replace the outdated funding system which saw our children have very different amounts invested in their education purely because of where they were growing up. That was unacceptable and we have now made school funding fairer between schools for the first time in decades.
It's a long overdue reform and our £1.3 billion extra funding means every school can gain.
On Thursday 14 September we responded to the primary assessment consultation, announcing that key stage 1 tests and assessments will become non-statutory from 2023. We have also removed the requirement for schools to submit teacher assessment data for reading and maths at the end of key stage 2. We announced a new teacher-mediated assessment in the reception year from 2020 to provide a baseline measure in order to better track pupil's progress as well as, from 2019/20, a multiplication tables check to aid children's fluency in mathematics.
This announcement was covered by the Times (p4), Guardian (p7), Mail (p19), I (p10), FT (p2) and in the Sun (p2).
The primary assessment and Rochford Review consultations, which ran between March and June, have enabled us to hear the views of thousands of people and organisations passionate about improving primary education in our country. The improvements to statutory assessment, set out in our responses to these consultations, will allow us to establish a sustainable long-term system that enables us to hold schools to account, and measures pupils' progress more fairly.
The decision to make SATs for seven year olds non statutory in favour of a new reception baseline assessment may well be met with trepidation by some, but it is absolutely the right thing to do…If designed properly, these new assessments can provide useful information for schools to help inform teaching and learning whilst avoiding unnecessary burdens on teachers or anxiety for young children. We intend to work with government to ensure that this is exactly where we end up. Taken together, these measures are a big step in the right direction.
Changes to the assessment of writing and the writing frameworks for 2017 are extremely welcome and necessary. This is a positive change, happening this year, which will be fairer for pupils and will put teachers' professional judgement back at the heart of the assessment of writing.
The decision to introduce a baseline assessment in reception and to scrap compulsory SATs for seven-year-olds is good for children and schools. ASCL has been working closely with the Department for Education to achieve this result and we will continue to do so over the delivery of these reforms. For the first time, schools will be given credit for a child's progress through their whole time at primary school from the age of four to 11, instead of the current system which measures progress only from the age of seven. It is a better and fairer way of seeing how well schools are achieving for all their children, including in the crucial early years.
As someone who firmly believes in the importance of assessment and accountability, even at a young age, I'm pleased that this has been addressed…having a baseline assessment is another step on the path to a more reliable, less stressful system for primary pupils and teachers.
Please see here for the Secretary of State's full statement on the national funding formula.


The best way to keep your rod together when broken down. Features a built in "hook lock" that doubles as an extra hook keeper. Keeps split shots from rattling against a broken down rigged rod. The high visibility helps you guide the tip of your broken down rod in the car or through the woods. Floating and 100% made in the USA by fishermen for fishermen!


This stock video features a panning shot of dollar bills, medicine and medical equipment spread on a table. The clip can be used as an organic background for special visual effects and in TV shows, documentaries, medical presentations, commercials and other information videos related to medicine, doctors, treatment, money, dollars, etc. It is available in 4K resolution.


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Moody's is an essential component of the global capital markets, providing credit ratings, research, tools and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is the parent company of Moody's Investors Service, which provides credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities, and Moody's Analytics, which offers leading-edge software, advisory services and research for credit and economic analysis and financial risk management. The Corporation, which reported revenue of $4.4 billion in 2018, employs approximately 13,200 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 42 countries.
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October 10th, 2021 - 05:50 GMT
Moody's ESG Solutions Expands Physical Climate Risk Scores to Sub-Sovereigns
Moody's ESG Solutions today announced that it is expanding its data coverage of the physical risks posed by climate change with new sub-sovereign climate risk scores. These physical climate risk scores quantify population-weighted exposure to floods, heat stress, hurricanes and typhoons, sea level rise, water stress and wildfires. The scores complement Moody's existing coverage of physical risk data for locations globally, which includes scores for 200 sovereigns. "Climate emergencies are already disrupting communities, economies, and supply chains—and they are going to increase in severity and frequency," says Emilie Mazzacurati, Global ...
June 13th, 2021 - 07:07 GMT
Moody's Launches Moody's Moments Video Series Providing Insight into Corporate Strategy
June 8th, 2021 - 04:58 GMT
Moody's ESG Solutions: V.E provides Second Party Opinion on Edison International's Sustainable Financing Framework
February 1st, 2021 - 02:41 GMT
Moody's ESG Solutions Group Appoints Global Head of ESG Measures
Moody's Downgrades HSBC Middle East's Deposit Ratings
Moody's: NBK's ratings reflect its dominant position, resilient asset quality, and strong financial metrics
November 9th, 2011 - 09:36 GMT
Moody's upgrades GIC's BFSR to D, reaffirms Baa2/Prime-2
August 7th, 2011 - 11:03 GMT
August 2nd, 2011 - 08:46 GMT
Moody's affirms GIB's Credit Rating of A3
June 22nd, 2011 - 06:17 GMT
Moody's assigns NBK a stable outlook and financial strength of "C" on the back of a weakening operating environment in Kuwait


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RD-253/275 engines
Lost origins of the Proton rocket
Although Proton is one of the most recognizable Russian rockets today, its early origins remain largely obscured. Like many other Russian space launchers, Proton was conceived as a military ballistic missile. Fortunately, it flew only to carry spacecraft into orbit, not warheads. Still, the military origin left its marks on the design of the rocket itself and on its launch facility.
Previous chapter: Proton rocket home page
Before UR-500 there was the A-600
As with many other engineering achievements, Proton rocket might not have the exact birth date, however it is probably fair to put it at around 1960. Proton's origins are further complicated by the fact that the roots of the iconic vehicle can be traced to two organizations within the Soviet aviation industry.
At the time, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev unceremoniously pushed the nation's military priorities from the Air Force to strategic missiles, leaving many aircraft developers wondering about their future. Not surprisingly, many aviation firms looked toward the space program, which until that time had been an undisputed domain of the Armaments Ministry.
One of the first leaders within the Soviet aviation establishment who recognized the need to elbow himself a room into the prestigious rocket and space field was Vladimir Chelomei, the head of the OKB-52 design bureau which specialized in navy cruise missiles.
Soon after Sergei Korolev's OKB-1 triumphed with the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Chelomei, began hatching his own designs for spacecraft and their launchers. By the beginning of April 1960, Chelomei's engineers had already drafted a series of launch vehicles with a liftoff mass ranging from 150 to 1,500 tons. Dubbed the "A" series, these multi-booster rockets would be able to carry payloads ranging from 4 to 96 tons. (210)
To avoid instutional rivalry with the Armaments Ministry, Chelomei moved quickly to find sub-contractors and suppliers of critical components for his space fleet within his "native" aviation industry. First of all, he needed powerful rocket engines. Fortunately for Chelomei, after Khrushchev's U-turn away from the Air Force, a number of aircraft engine developers had not exactly had their hands full and were willing to try the novel field of rocket propulsion. Nikolai Kuznetsov, the head of the OKB-276 design bureau in Kuibyshev, promised Chelomei a rocket engine burning a mix of liquid oxygen and kerosene. Sergei Tumansky apparently proposed even a larger rocket engine using the same propellants. Another prolific developer of aircraft engines, Arkhip Lylka, the head OKB-165 bureau, endeavored to try the development of an exotic, but promising rocket engine burning liquid hydrogen. It would be used on the upper stage of Chelomei's rockets. (113)
The first in line for development in Chelomei's launcher fleet -- the A-300 rocket -- would be equipped with 10 NK-9 engines developed by Kuznetsov. This rocket would deliver from 10 to 12 tons of payload to the low Earth orbit. (658)
Myasishev's rockets
Around the same time when Chelomei was drafting his first space launchers, the OKB-23 design bureau, led by a legendary aircraft designer Vladimir Myasishev, began work on a reusable space plane. It was conceived as a successor to the original Soviet manned spacecraft, the Vostok. However, ever increasing mass quickly took the futuristic vehicle beyond the capabilities of the R-7 rocket, which was originally expected to launch it. To resolve the problem, OKB-23 considered a much larger three-stage vehicle with a multi-booster first stage, which would double the payload of the R-7 rocket. (198) By the middle of 1960, Myasishev entered negotiations with Vladimir Chelomei on the possible joint development of a large launch vehicle. With the core of the development team in place, it was time to build a political support.
On May 10, 1960, Chelomei made a presentation to Khrushchev on a wide array of space projects and two days later the Soviet leader gave his blessing to Chelomei to prepare a draft of a government decree on his future space activities. On May 21, the Minister of Aviation Industry Petr Dementiev hosted a major meeting of his key leaders, including Chelomei and Myasishev, as well as an influential head of the Academy of Sciences Mstislav Keldysh. The participants reviewed and largely approved Chelomei's plans, including a concept of the A-300 rocket. (658)
The sudden entrance of the aviation industry into space arena forced Korolev to scramble for a response. From the perspective of Korolev's OKB-1, Chelomei's moves were seen as an attempt at a total takeover of the future manned space program. In a letter sent to the Military Industrial Commission on May 30, 1960, Korolev protested Chelomei's attempts to relegate OKB-1 and his triumphant R-7 rocket to the role of second fiddle in Chelomei's space strategy. Korolev argued against the A-300 rocket, probably because it was in the same weight category as the R-7. However in the same letter, Korolev did agree that Chelomei's proposed 600-ton rocket might make sense. Perhaps to deny Chelomei the new launch infrastructure, Korolev proposed to evaluate whether A-600 could lift off from R-7's launch facilities, thus saving on the construction of new pads. Korolev attached his own draft of a government decree on the space program to the letter. In it, he ceded to Chelomei the development of A-600 and a space plane, among few other projects demanded by his emboldened rival. (84)
To the chagrin of Korolev, on June 4, Chelomei presented his plans at the meeting hosted by Deputy Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers Dmitry Ustinov. (At the gathering, Korolev still managed to dwarf even Chelomei's 600-ton rocket with his own ambition to build a 2,000-ton super launcher.)
In a letter dated June 16, 1960, Ivan Serbin, an official responsible for the defense industry at the Central Committee, outlined Chelomei's space ambitions which had been estimated to cost 5 billion rubles. It included a launch vehicle with a liftoff mass ranging from 600 to 700 tons, which would carry a 25-ton space plane. Under the proposed distribution of responsibilities, OKB-52 would be responsible for the winged orbiter, while Myasishev's OKB-23 would be responsible for the first and second stages of its launcher. Sukhoi's OKB-51 would design the third stage, according to the letter. The preliminary design for the project was scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 1962. (509)
Go-ahead for Chelomei's space program
On June 23, 1960, the Soviet government issued a sweeping decree No. 714-295, approving initial work on Chelomei's two-stage, 600-ton rocket, among several other ambitious space-related projects. The document required the aviation industry to present a development schedule for the rocket with a completion of its preliminary design in the fourth quarter of 1961. (209, 509)
After consulting with his prospective contractors, on Aug. 3, 1960, Chelomei convened a large meeting of aviation industry leaders, to discus a joint effort to develop a space launcher. Myasishev's OKB-23 and Sukhoi's OKB-51 were offered to develop the first and second stages of the rocket. Leaders of both organizations expressed interest in the project and committed to produce a schedule for the preliminary design in a week. Also, within a month, contractors promised to submit their proposals for the A-600, whose components could also be used to build a rocket with a liftoff mass of 300 and 150 tons. Another summit to review the launcher project was scheduled for October 11.
In the meantime, political developments had overtaken the engineering work. In the fall of 1960, Chelomei managed to "swallow" Maysishev's OKB-23, absorbing this much larger organization into his OKB-52. Along with a top-notch team of engineers, Chelomei grabbed a vast but underutilized aircraft factory in the western Moscow suburb of Fili. Myasishev was sent to an honorable exile to serve as a head of the leading aviation industry research institute, TsAGI, while his OKB-23 design bureau became Branch No. 1 within Chelomei's growing industrial empire.
Chelomei's first deputy Viktor Bugaisky was appointed to lead the former Myasishev's team. (659) Pavel Ivensen was appointed a chief designer of the launch vehicle development. Vitaly Vyrodov became the leading engineer in the project. Not coincidently, Branch No. 1, with the most experienced collective of engineers and the best manufacturing base, got responsibility for the further work on launch vehicles. Engineers from former OKB-23 went on to develop all of Chelomei's ballistic missiles and space launchers, including UR-100, UR-200 and UR-500. (660)
Next chapter: Origin of the Proton rocket
A-series of rockets considered at OKB-52 circa 1960 (210)*:
Payload mass
A-150 (Kosmoplan launcher)
A-300-I
A-300-II (2)
A-300-1
2A-300 (two-booster cluster)
4A-300-I (four-booster cluster of A-300 rockets)
8A-300-II (eight-booster cluster of A-300-11 rockets)
A-600-II
ARD (Autonomous Rocket Engine vehicles)
ARD (2) (Autonomous Rocket Engine vehicles)
A-2000-I
*The number in the designation of each model denotes the launch mass of the rocket in tons, starting a naming tradition for OKB-52. According to another source A-series included: A-300, A-300-1, A-300-2, A-2000 and A-1750 versions. (658)
Page author: Anatoly Zak; Last update: June 14, 2019
Page editor: James MacLaren; Last update: September 29, 2013
Earliest origins of Proton: A sketch attributed to Vladimir Chelomei apparently shows several configurations of a heavy-lifting launch vehicle. Note a small sketch at the top of the drawing.
Vladimir Myasishev. Credit: GKNPTs Khrunichev
Vladimir Maysishev considered a three-stage launch vehicle for its space plane. Credit: Myasishev design bureau
Vladimir Chelomei (right) next to a scale model of unidentified rocket, possibly a stylized version of his UR-500 ICBM.
Pilyugin and Chelomei most likely in 1978.


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Maize yield under a changing climate in the Brazilian Northeast: Impacts and adaptation
Martins, Minella Alves, Tomasella, Javier, Dias, Cássia Gabriele
Agricultural water management 2019 v.216 pp. 339-350
climate, climate change, corn, crop models, crop yield, cultivars, irrigated farming, irrigation, rain, rainfed farming, risk, temperature
This paper assessed the potential impacts of climate change on maize productivity in the Brazilian Northeast. To achieve this objective, bias-corrected regional downscaled scenarios from three global models for the representative emission pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for the periods 1980–2005, 2007–2040, 2041–2070, and 2071–2099 were used as input data for a crop productivity model. Because increased temperatures are likely to shorten the crop cycle length, thus reducing productivity, we investigated the lengthening of the growing cycle as an adaptation strategy. To cope with the reduction of rainfall projected by future climate scenarios, we analyzed the potential impact of irrigation on productivity. The results showed that climate change effects would be mostly negative for maize rainfed agriculture, particularly for the worst-case scenario (RCP8.5, 2071–2099), in which losses were expected to reach more than 60%. However, productivity losses were limited to a maximum of 30% for all RCP4.5 scenarios and before 2070 for the RCP8.5 scenario. The use of maize cultivars with a longer crop cycle for rainfed agriculture was likely to increase the average productivity in all scenarios, although it came at the expense of increasing the risk of crop failure. Regarding the use of irrigation, there was an improvement in productivity for both the short- and long-cycle cultivars, although longer crop cycle cultivars had a decisive advantage, with a drop in yield of less than 20% for all RCP4.5 scenarios and for the RCP8.5 scenario until 2070 compared to the present climate. We estimated the total production and the increase in water demand based on the existing and projected irrigated areas in the region and concluded that it is possible to avoid significant losses in total maize production in the region for all scenarios, with the exception of the 2071–2099 RCP8.5 scenario. However, sustaining such levels of production requires a significant increase in water consumption (up to 140%).
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.011
DOI (10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.011)
Find in a library https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.011 Download RIS File Export to Zotero


Could Brexit bring new opportunities in Europe for those prepared to seize them?
Pockets of the insurance industry have been diligently preparing for the moment the UK leaves the European Union, taking on considerable work to be ready for all possible outcomes and carefully considering the best approach for a post-Brexit strategy ahead of next year.
But can those industry players who are willing to rise to the challenges brought on by Brexit proactively commit to and execute a customer-focused strategy to find new opportunities in Europe?
The preparations ahead of March 2019 have been long and complex as we work to ensure that one thing our customers won't see is any disruption to their insurance services. But those international insurers that are working to stay ahead of the game, those that will enter this period of uncertainty with the right mechanisms in place, can seize this opportunity to create a more unified strategy for Europe.
As companies gear up to face the uncertainty ahead, they will need to think about their risk exposures more than ever, and will need an insurer that not only understands the coverage they will need, but can provide it across multiple territories.
QBE is Brexit ready. Our post-Brexit plans were approved by regulators in September. This followed approval from the National Bank of Belgium for our Brussels entity in May. With that in mind we now turn our minds to how we can use the necessity of setting an EU subsidiary to our advantage.
Traditional domestic players still dominate the market in Continental Europe, but many others will use Brexit as a catalyst to develop their own unique offering in Europe. We believe we bring a more international outlook with an agility of response that befits a broader thinker. That means it's easier for us to do things differently and we intend to.
Traditionally the view in Europe is to treat each country as an individual entity bound by its geographical boundaries. Much has been said about borders since the referendum but hard or soft they shouldn't preclude us from offering Europe-wide solutions.
There are opportunities in Continental Europe. Take cyber, for example. It doesn't matter where you are in Europe, one of the things that unites neighbours is the General Data Protection Regulation. Cyber criminals do not respect borders, so companies need coverage and support that spans all territories.
We cannot be certain what Brexit negotiations will yield and what the final shape of the UK's relationship with the EU will be, but we can make sure that both UK and EU customers will be able to count on their insurance during this transition. With our plans firmly in place, we look forward to taking advantage of new opportunities and continuing to work to find the right solutions for our customers.


Sallyport Commercial Finance Extends a Credit Facility to a Communications Agency.
New York – 9/21/18 – Sallyport Commercial Finance Supplies a $750,000 Account Receivable facility to an established company that provides brand building which includes a full spectrum of advertising and marketing deliverables to banks, financial services companies, insurance companies, and other related technology sectors.
The business was tapped out by their current lender that would not increase their line of credit to help them fuel their growth. The owners turned to Sallyport for their flexible financing solutions and fast turnaround to help solve a cash flow shortage. They are now positioned to grow their business by continuing to provide exceptional service to a growing customer base.
Sallyport Commercial Finance is delighted to support this company with their business endeavors so that they can achieve their Hopes and Dreams.
Sallyport Commercial Finance, LLC is an independently owned and operated, specialty finance company focused on providing entrepreneurs with working capital solutions for small to medium sized businesses, to help drive growth and achieve business hopes and dreams. The senior management team have over 50 years of collective experience in helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses, both in the US and Europe, by turning their invoices and assets into cash. Sallyport Commercial Finance offers a full suite of factoring and asset-based products including Accounts Receivable Finance, Purchase Order Finance, Equipment and Inventory Finance, Cash Flow Loans, and Real Estate Loans. Very experienced in all industries, our current portfolio includes businesses in Staffing, Energy, Food & Beverage, Apparel, Manufacturing, Service Industry, Transportation, Government Receivables, and IT.
← A Successful Turnaround for a Company in a Distressed Situation with Their Current Lender.


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Q: Getting jinja2 tag and html text on same line I have HTML code like this:
<h3>
    "Thank you {{form.name}}!"
</h3>

I am getting "Thank you" with CSS retained on one line and the jinja2 element on the next line printed in white space. How can I print both of them on the same line without losing original CSS formatting. Thanks in advance. --regards vishwa.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Gill was a dancer and choreographer with whom we collaborated for our first decade of Gandini Juggling. It was a decade of making pieces in the kitchen. A decade of barefoot dance studios and and non-linear decisions. Gill was an idealist, believing in dance for dance's sake. Her belief in the redemptive power of art verged on the mystical. She was dedicated to dance and dancers, from her dawn risings to her early nights. She also danced with an otherworldly intensity. The Siobhan Davies archives, which are public and accessible, contain some of her dancing jewels.
I discovered the dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham's work in the late 1980s. There was something about the complex geometries in his work which spoke to me straight away. I always got an inexplicable exhilaration from watching him, which has never diminished. I admire his unrelenting tenacity and commitment to his artistic beliefs. If ever I doubt my own work, I think of him making work for four decades before being properly recognised. I also love the fact that some of his most luminous work was made in his 1980s and 1990s. Ecstatic nonagenarian.
Wes is a young North American juggler who lives in Sweden. For the last decade he has created a shared Aladdin's cave of patterns and routines. Combining virtuosity with a ferocious joie de vivre and inventiveness. I often mention that we are living in the golden age of juggling and indeed, if we are, the age is being spearheaded by Wes and his worthy companions.
Filmmaker Michael Hanneke has created a cinema which inhabits a disturbingly mirrored landscape of complex morality. In a similar way to Pina Bausch, I like the non-prescriptive politics of his art. I have an aversion to the current trend of what I sometimes see as Bolshevik art: happy farmers driving shiny red tractors in the Soviet sun. Sadly, some of the current Circus work falls into this category. I love complex art which assumes intelligence in the viewer, and assumes the viewer has a moral compass.
I read The Blind Watchmaker as a teenager and it was a revelation. Understanding the process of evolution is one of the most enlightening journeys the human mind can go through, and Richard is indubitably one of the most accomplished elucidators of this process. I had a science-based upbringing, for which I am very grateful. I used to naively think that irrational thought would gradually vanish as we all became more educated, but sadly this is not the case. Richard, as well as being perhaps the foremost exponent and elucidator of Darwinian evolution, is also a militant atheist and rationalist, often publicly expressing unfashionable opinions.
Sean Gandini is a founder and Artistic Director of Gandini Juggling.