(a) "Division" means the Medical Board of California. All references in this chapter to the division, the Division of Licensing of the Medical Board of California, or the Division of Medical Quality shall be deemed to refer to the Medical Board of California pursuant to Section 2002 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) (1) "Outpatient setting" means any facility, clinic, unlicensed clinic, center, office, or other setting that is not part of a general acute care facility, as defined in Section 1250, and where anesthesia, except local anesthesia or peripheral nerve blocks, or both, is used in compliance with the community standard of practice, in doses that, when administered have the probability of placing a patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes.
(2) "Outpatient setting" also means facilities that offer in vitro fertilization, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1374.55.
(3) "Outpatient setting" does not include, among other settings, any setting where anxiolytics and analgesics are administered, when done so in compliance with the community standard of practice, in doses that do not have the probability of placing the patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes.
(c) "Accreditation agency" means a public or private organization that is approved to issue certificates of accreditation to outpatient settings by the board pursuant to Sections 1248.15 and 1248.4.
(a) An ambulatory surgical center that is certified to participate in the Medicare program under Title XVIII (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1395 et seq.) of the federal Social Security Act.
(b) Any clinic conducted, maintained, or operated by a federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in Section 450 or 1601 of Title 25 of the United States Code, and located on land recognized as tribal land by the federal government.
(c) Any clinic directly conducted, maintained, or operated by the United States or by any of its departments, officers, or agencies.
(d) Any primary care clinic licensed under subdivision (a) and any surgical clinic licensed under subdivision (b) of Section 1204.
(e) Any health facility licensed as a general acute care hospital under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250).
(f) Any outpatient setting to the extent that it is used by a dentist or physician and surgeon in compliance with Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 1646) or Article 2.8 (commencing with Section 1647) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(g) An outpatient setting accredited by an accreditation agency approved by the division pursuant to this chapter.
(h) A setting, including, but not limited to, a mobile van, in which equipment is used to treat patients admitted to a facility described in subdivision (a), (d), or (e), and in which the procedures performed are staffed by the medical staff of, or other healthcare practitioners with clinical privileges at, the facility and are subject to the peer review process of the facility but which setting is not a part of a facility described in subdivision (a), (d), or (e).
Nothing in this section shall relieve an association, corporation, firm, partnership, or person from complying with all other provisions of law that are otherwise applicable.
(1) Outpatient setting allied health staff shall be licensed or certified to the extent required by state or federal law.
(2) (A) Outpatient settings shall have a system for facility safety and emergency training requirements.
(B) There shall be onsite equipment, medication, and trained personnel to facilitate handling of services sought or provided and to facilitate handling of any medical emergency that may arise in connection with services sought or provided.
(i) Have a written transfer agreement with a local accredited or licensed acute care hospital, approved by the facility's medical staff.
(ii) Permit surgery only by a licensee who has admitting privileges at a local accredited or licensed acute care hospital, with the exception that licensees who may be precluded from having admitting privileges by their professional classification or other administrative limitations, shall have a written transfer agreement with licensees who have admitting privileges at local accredited or licensed acute care hospitals.
(iii) Submit for approval by an accrediting agency a detailed procedural plan for handling medical emergencies that shall be reviewed at the time of accreditation. No reasonable plan shall be disapproved by the accrediting agency.
(i) Notify the individual designated by the patient to be notified in case of an emergency.
(ii) Ensure that the mode of transfer is consistent with the patient's medical condition.
(iii) Ensure that all relevant clinical information is documented and accompanies the patient at the time of transfer.
(iv) Continue to provide appropriate care to the patient until the transfer is effectuated.
(E) All physicians and surgeons transferring patients from an outpatient setting shall agree to cooperate with the medical staff peer review process on the transferred case, the results of which shall be referred back to the outpatient setting, if deemed appropriate by the medical staff peer review committee. If the medical staff of the acute care facility determines that inappropriate care was delivered at the outpatient setting, the acute care facility's peer review outcome shall be reported, as appropriate, to the accrediting body or in accordance with existing law.
(3) The outpatient setting shall permit surgery by a dentist acting within his or her scope of practice under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1600) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code or physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician and surgeon, or podiatrist acting within his or her scope of practice under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code or the Osteopathic Initiative Act. The outpatient setting may, in its discretion, permit anesthesia service by a certified registered nurse anesthetist acting within his or her scope of practice under Article 7 (commencing with Section 2825) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
(4) Outpatient settings shall have a system for maintaining clinical records.
(5) Outpatient settings shall have a system for patient care and monitoring procedures.
(6) (A) Outpatient settings shall have a system for quality assessment and improvement.
(B) (i) Members of the medical staff and other practitioners who are granted clinical privileges shall be professionally qualified and appropriately credentialed for the performance of privileges granted. The outpatient setting shall grant privileges in accordance with recommendations from qualified health professionals, and credentialing standards established by the outpatient setting.
(ii) Each licensee who performs procedures in an outpatient setting that requires the outpatient setting to be accredited shall be, at least every two years, peer reviewed, which shall be a process in which the basic qualifications, staff privileges, employment, medical outcomes, or professional conduct of a licensee is reviewed to make recommendations for quality improvement and education, if necessary, including when the outpatient setting has only one licensee. The peer review shall be performed by licensees who are qualified by education and experience to perform the same types of, or similar, procedures. The findings of the peer review shall be reported to the governing body, which shall determine if the licensee continues to meet the requirements described in clause (i). The process that resulted in the findings of the peer review shall be reviewed by the accrediting agency at the next survey to determine if the outpatient setting meets applicable accreditation standards pursuant to this section.
(C) Clinical privileges shall be periodically reappraised by the outpatient setting. The scope of procedures performed in the outpatient setting shall be periodically reviewed and amended as appropriate.
(7) Outpatient settings regulated by this chapter that have multiple service locations shall have all of the sites inspected.
(8) Outpatient settings shall post the certificate of accreditation in a location readily visible to patients and staff.
(9) Outpatient settings shall post the name and telephone number of the accrediting agency with instructions on the submission of complaints in a location readily visible to patients and staff.
(10) Outpatient settings shall have a written discharge criteria.
(b) Outpatient settings shall have a minimum of two staff persons on the premises, one of whom shall either be a licensed physician and surgeon or a licensed health care professional with current certification in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), as long as a patient is present who has not been discharged from supervised care. Transfer to an unlicensed setting of a patient who does not meet the discharge criteria adopted pursuant to paragraph (10) of subdivision (a) shall constitute unprofessional conduct.
(c) An accreditation agency may include additional standards in its determination to accredit outpatient settings if these are approved by the board to protect the public health and safety.
(d) No accreditation standard adopted or approved by the board, and no standard included in any certification program of any accreditation agency approved by the board, shall serve to limit the ability of any allied health care practitioner to provide services within his or her full scope of practice. Notwithstanding this or any other provision of law, each outpatient setting may limit the privileges, or determine the privileges, within the appropriate scope of practice, that will be afforded to physicians and allied health care practitioners who practice at the facility, in accordance with credentialing standards established by the outpatient setting in compliance with this chapter. Privileges may not be arbitrarily restricted based on category of licensure.
(e) The board shall adopt standards that it deems necessary for outpatient settings that offer in vitro fertilization.
(f) The board may adopt regulations it deems necessary to specify procedures that should be performed in an accredited outpatient setting for facilities or clinics that are outside the definition of outpatient setting as specified in Section 1248.
(g) As part of the accreditation process, the accrediting agency shall conduct a reasonable investigation of the prior history of the outpatient setting, including all licensed physicians and surgeons who have an ownership interest therein, to determine whether there have been any adverse accreditation decisions rendered against them. For the purposes of this section, "conducting a reasonable investigation" means querying the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to ascertain if either the outpatient setting has, or, if its owners are licensed physicians and surgeons, if those physicians and surgeons have, been subject to an adverse accreditation decision.
(a) Any outpatient setting may apply to an accreditation agency for a certificate of accreditation. Accreditation shall be issued by the accreditation agency solely on the basis of compliance with its standards as approved by the board under this chapter.
(b) The board shall obtain and maintain a list of accredited outpatient settings from the information provided by the accreditation agencies approved by the board, and shall notify the public, by placing the information on its Internet Web site, whether an outpatient setting is accredited or the setting's accreditation has been revoked, suspended, or placed on probation, or the setting has received a reprimand by the accreditation agency.
(1) Name, address, and telephone number of any owners, and their medical license numbers.
(2) Name and address of the facility.
(3) The name and telephone number of the accreditation agency.
(4) The effective and expiration dates of the accreditation.
(d) Accrediting agencies approved by the board shall notify the board and update the board on all outpatient settings that are accredited.
If an outpatient setting does not meet the standards approved by the board, accreditation shall be denied by the accreditation agency, which shall provide the outpatient setting notification of the reasons for the denial. An outpatient setting may reapply for accreditation at any time after receiving notification of the denial. The accreditation agency shall report within three business days to the board if the outpatient setting's certificate for accreditation has been denied.
(a) Certificates of accreditation issued to outpatient settings by an accreditation agency shall be valid for not more than three years.
(b) The outpatient setting shall notify the accreditation agency within 30 days of any significant change in ownership, including, but not limited to, a merger, change in majority interest, consolidation, name change, change in scope of services, additional services, or change in locations.
(c) Except for disclosures to the division or to the Division of Medical Quality under this chapter, an accreditation agency shall not disclose information obtained in the performance of accreditation activities under this chapter that individually identifies patients, individual medical practitioners, or outpatient settings. Neither the proceedings nor the records of an accreditation agency or the proceedings and records of an outpatient setting related to performance of quality assurance or accreditation activities under this chapter shall be subject to discovery, nor shall the records or proceedings be admissible in a court of law. The prohibition relating to discovery and admissibility of records and proceedings does not apply to any outpatient setting requesting accreditation in the event that denial or revocation of that outpatient setting's accreditation is being contested. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the accreditation agency from making discretionary disclosures of information to an outpatient setting pertaining to the accreditation of that outpatient setting.
(a) Every outpatient setting that is accredited shall be inspected by the accreditation agency and may also be inspected by the Medical Board of California. The Medical Board of California shall ensure that accreditation agencies inspect outpatient settings.
(b) Unless otherwise specified, the following requirements apply to inspections described in subdivision (a).
(1) The frequency of inspection shall depend upon the type and complexity of the outpatient setting to be inspected.
(2) Inspections shall be conducted no less often than once every three years by the accreditation agency and as often as necessary by the Medical Board of California to ensure the quality of care provided. After the initial inspection for accreditation, subsequent inspections may be unannounced. For unannounced routine inspections, the accreditation agency shall notify the outpatient setting that the inspection will occur within 60 days.
(3) The Medical Board of California or the accreditation agency may enter and inspect any outpatient setting that is accredited by an accreditation agency at any reasonable time to ensure compliance with, or investigate an alleged violation of, any standard of the accreditation agency or any provision of this chapter.
(1) Require correction of any identified deficiencies within a set timeframe. Failure to comply shall result in the accrediting agency issuing a reprimand or suspending or revoking the outpatient setting's accreditation.
(3) Place the outpatient setting on probation, during which time the setting shall successfully institute and complete a plan of correction, approved by the board or the accreditation agency, to correct the deficiencies.
(4) Suspend or revoke the outpatient setting's certification of accreditation.
(d) (1) Except as is otherwise provided in this subdivision, before suspending or revoking a certificate of accreditation under this chapter, the accreditation agency shall provide the outpatient setting with notice of any deficiencies and the outpatient setting shall agree with the accreditation agency on a plan of correction that shall give the outpatient setting reasonable time to supply information demonstrating compliance with the standards of the accreditation agency in compliance with this chapter, as well as the opportunity for a hearing on the matter upon the request of the outpatient setting. During the allotted time to correct the deficiencies, the plan of correction, which includes the deficiencies, shall be conspicuously posted by the outpatient setting in a location accessible to public view. Within 10 days after the adoption of the plan of correction, the accrediting agency shall send a list of deficiencies and the corrective action to be taken to the board and to the California State Board of Pharmacy if an outpatient setting is licensed pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with Section 4190) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code. The accreditation agency may immediately suspend the certificate of accreditation before providing notice and an opportunity to be heard, but only when failure to take the action may result in imminent danger to the health of an individual. In such cases, the accreditation agency shall provide subsequent notice and an opportunity to be heard.
(2) If an outpatient setting does not comply with a corrective action within a timeframe specified by the accrediting agency, the accrediting agency shall issue a reprimand, and may either place the outpatient setting on probation or suspend or revoke the accreditation of the outpatient setting, and shall notify the board of its action. This section shall not be deemed to prohibit an outpatient setting that is unable to correct the deficiencies, as specified in the plan of correction, for reasons beyond its control, from voluntarily surrendering its accreditation prior to initiation of any suspension or revocation proceeding.
(e) The accreditation agency shall, within 24 hours, report to the board if the outpatient setting has been issued a reprimand or if the outpatient setting's certification of accreditation has been suspended or revoked or if the outpatient setting has been placed on probation. If an outpatient setting has been issued a license by the California State Board of Pharmacy pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with Section 4190) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, the accreditation agency shall also send this report to the California State Board of Pharmacy within 24 hours.
(f) The accreditation agency, upon receipt of a complaint from the board that an outpatient setting poses an immediate risk to public safety, shall inspect the outpatient setting and report its findings of inspection to the board within five business days. If an accreditation agency receives any other complaint from the board, it shall investigate the outpatient setting and report its findings of investigation to the board within 30 days.
(g) Reports on the results of any inspection shall be kept on file with the board and the accreditation agency along with the plan of correction and the comments of the outpatient setting. The inspection report may include a recommendation for reinspection. All final inspection reports, which include the lists of deficiencies, plans of correction or requirements for improvements and correction, and corrective action completed, shall be public records open to public inspection.
(h) If one accrediting agency denies accreditation, or revokes or suspends the accreditation of an outpatient setting, this action shall apply to all other accrediting agencies. An outpatient setting that is denied accreditation is permitted to reapply for accreditation with the same accrediting agency. The outpatient setting also may apply for accreditation from another accrediting agency, but only if it discloses the full accreditation report of the accrediting agency that denied accreditation. Any outpatient setting that has been denied accreditation shall disclose the accreditation report to any other accrediting agency to which it submits an application. The new accrediting agency shall ensure that all deficiencies have been corrected and conduct a new onsite inspection consistent with the standards specified in this chapter.
(1) Notify the board of the action.
(2) Send a notification letter to the outpatient setting of the action. The notification letter shall state that the setting is no longer allowed to perform procedures that require outpatient setting accreditation.
(3) Require the outpatient setting to remove its accreditation certification and to post the notification letter in a conspicuous location, accessible to public view.
(j) The board may take any appropriate action it deems necessary pursuant to Section 1248.7 if an outpatient setting's certification of accreditation has been suspended or revoked, or if accreditation has been denied.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that an accreditation agency operating on or before January 1, 1995, or a successor thereof, or an accreditation agency thereafter operating as part of a joint program granted temporary certification as an accreditation agency by the division, whether operating as part of a joint program or independently, and meeting the standards set forth in this chapter, as determined by the division, not be required to go through the entire application process with the division. Therefore, the division may grant a temporary certificate of approval to such an accreditation agency. The temporary approval issued to an accreditation agency under this subdivision shall expire on January 1, 1998. In order to continue its status as an accreditation agency, an accreditation agency approved by the division under this subdivision shall apply for renewal of approval by the division on or before January 1, 1998, and shall establish that it is in compliance with the standards set forth in this chapter and any regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(b) Each accreditation agency approved by the division shall, on and after January 1, 1995, promptly forward to the division a list of each outpatient setting to which it has granted a certificate of accreditation, as well as settings that have lost accreditation or were denied accreditation.
(1) Includes within its accreditation program, at a minimum, the standards for accreditation of outpatient settings approved by the division as well as standards for patient care and safety at the setting.
(2) Submits its current accreditation standards to the division every three years, or upon request for continuing approval by the division.
(3) Maintains internal quality management programs to ensure quality of the accreditation process.
(4) Has a process by which accreditation standards can be reviewed and revised no less than every three years.
(5) Maintains an available pool of allied health care practitioners to serve on accreditation review teams as appropriate.
(A) Consist of at least one physician and surgeon who practices in an outpatient setting; any other members shall be practicing actively in these settings.
(B) Participate in formal educational training programs provided by the accreditation agency in evaluation of the certification standards at least every three years.
(7) The accreditation agency shall demonstrate that professional members of its review team have experience in conducting review activities of freestanding outpatient settings.
(8) Standards for accreditation shall be developed with the input of the medical community and the ambulatory surgery industry.
(9) Accreditation reviewers shall be credentialed and screened by the accreditation agency.
(10) The accreditation agency shall not have an ownership interest in nor be involved in the operation of a freestanding outpatient setting, nor in the delivery of health care services to patients.
(d) Accreditation agencies approved by the division shall forward to the division copies of all certificates of accreditation and shall notify the division promptly whenever the agency denies or revokes a certificate of accreditation.
(e) A certification of an accreditation agency by the division shall expire at midnight on the last day of a three-year term if not renewed. The division shall establish by regulation the procedure for renewal. To renew an unexpired approval, the accreditation agency shall, on or before the date upon which the certification would otherwise expire, apply for renewal on a form, and pay the renewal fee, as prescribed by the division.
The board shall evaluate the performance of an approved accreditation agency no less than every three years, or in response to complaints against an agency, or complaints against one or more outpatient settings accreditation by an agency that indicates noncompliance by the agency with the standards approved by the board.
(a) If the accreditation agency is not meeting the criteria set by the division, the division may terminate approval of the agency.
(b) Before terminating approval of an accreditation agency, the division shall provide the accreditation agency with notice of any deficiencies and reasonable time to supply information demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this chapter, as well as the opportunity for a hearing on the matter in compliance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(c) (1) If approval of the accreditation agency is terminated by the division, outpatient settings accredited by that agency shall be notified by the division and, except as provided in paragraph (2), shall be authorized to continue to operate for a period of 12 months in order to seek accreditation through an approved accreditation agency, unless the time is extended by the division for good cause.
(2) The division may require that an outpatient setting, that has been accredited by an accreditation agency whose approval has been terminated by the division, cease operations immediately in the event that the division is in possession of information indicating that continued operation poses an imminent risk of harm to the health of an individual. In such cases, the division shall provide the outpatient setting with notice of its action, the reason underlying it, and a subsequent opportunity for a hearing on the matter. An outpatient setting that is ordered to cease operations under this paragraph may reapply for a certificate of accreditation after six months and shall notify the division promptly of its reapplication.
(a) The Division of Licensing shall establish by regulation a reasonable fee for an application for approval as an accreditation agency in an amount that is reasonably necessary to recover the cost of implementing and administering this chapter, and not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). The division shall establish by regulation a reasonable fee for a temporary certificate of approval, as outlined in subdivision (a) of Section 1248.4, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000). The division shall also establish a reasonable fee for renewal. The renewal fee shall be proportionate to the number of outpatient settings accredited by the approved accrediting body seeking renewal, and shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per outpatient setting accreditation reviewed.
(b) All fees paid to and received by the division or the Medical Board of California under this chapter shall be paid into the State Treasury and shall be credited to a special fund that is hereby created as the Outpatient Setting Fund of the Medical Board of California. Funds in the Outpatient Setting Fund of the Medical Board of California shall be expended by the board for the purpose of implementing and administering this chapter upon appropriation by the Legislature. No surplus in the fund shall be deposited in or transferred to the General Fund or any other fund.
It shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to willfully and knowingly violate this chapter.
(a) The board shall investigate all complaints concerning a violation of this chapter. With respect to any complaints relating to a violation of Section 1248.1, or upon discovery that an outpatient setting is not in compliance with Section 1248.1, the board shall investigate and, where appropriate, the board, through or in conjunction with the local district attorney, shall bring an action to enjoin the outpatient setting's operation. The board or the local district attorney may bring an action to enjoin a violation or threatened violation of any other provision of this chapter in the superior court in and for the county in which the violation occurred or is about to occur. Any proceeding under this section shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that the Division of Medical Quality shall not be required to allege facts necessary to show or tending to show lack of adequate remedy at law or irreparable damage or loss.
(b) With respect to any and all actions brought pursuant to this section alleging an actual or threatened violation of any requirement of this chapter, the court shall, if it finds the allegations to be true, issue an order enjoining the person or facility from continuing the violation. For purposes of Section 1248.1, if an outpatient setting is operating without a certificate of accreditation, this shall be prima facie evidence that a violation of Section 1248.1 has occurred and additional proof shall not be necessary to enjoin the outpatient setting's operation.
(a) Except as may otherwise be provided in this section, before the Division of Medical Quality may seek an injunction as provided under Section 1248.7, the Division of Medical Quality shall notify the outpatient setting of all deficiencies in its compliance with this chapter, and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, and the Division of Medical Quality and the outpatient setting shall reach an agreement upon a plan of correction that shall give the outpatient setting reasonable time to correct the deficiencies. The Division of Medical Quality shall also inform the outpatient setting that failure to reach an agreement or to correct deficiencies may lead to corrective action by the Division of Medical Quality, which may include imposition of fines under Section 1248.8. If at the end of the allotted time the division and the outpatient setting have failed to reach an agreement or the outpatient setting has failed to correct the deficiencies, as revealed by inspection, the Division of Medical Quality may take corrective action to include, as appropriate, seeking an injunction under Section 1248.7, revoking or requesting that the accreditation agency revoke accreditation, or communicating with any agency that has oversight authority over the outpatient setting, such as the Department of Health Services or other appropriate licensing authority, to request that the agency take corrective action against the outpatient setting.
(b) For purposes of this section, and at the sole discretion of the Division of Medical Quality, any notifications, inspections, and corrective action plans of the Division of Medical Quality relating to outpatient settings that have been accredited by an accreditation agency may be performed or coordinated by the accreditation agency rather than by the Division of Medical Quality.
(c) If the Division of Medical Quality determines that an outpatient setting poses an immediate and substantial hazard to the health or safety of the patient, that may not reasonably be corrected through a plan of correction, the Division of Medical Quality may immediately institute injunction proceedings pursuant to Section 1248.7.
(a) Any person or entity that willfully violates this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted under this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day of violation.
(1) Whether the violation exposed a patient or other individual to the risk of death or serious physical harm.
(2) Whether the violation had a direct or immediate relationship to health, safety, or security of a patient or other individual.
(3) Evidence, if any, of willfulness in the violation.
(4) The presence or absence of good faith efforts by the outpatient setting to prevent the violation.
(c) For purposes of this section, "willfully" or "willful" means that the person doing an act or omitting to do an act intends the act or omission, and knows the relevant circumstances connected with the act or omission.
(d) The district attorney of every county shall, upon application by the Division of Medical Quality or its authorized representative, institute and conduct the prosecution of any action or violation within the county of any provisions of this chapter.
This chapter shall not preclude an approved accreditation agency from adopting additional standards consistent with Section 1248.15, establishing procedures for the conduct of onsite inspections, selecting onsite inspectors to perform accreditation onsite inspections, or establishing and collecting reasonable fees for the conduct of accreditation onsite inspections.


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Ahmir Bates, BLOOMer
STRENGTHEN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE RESOURCES, OPPORTUNITIES AND STUDENT-CENTERED APPROACHES THAT PREPARE EVEN OUR MOST VULNERABLE YOUTH FOR POST-SECONDARY OPPORTUNITIES, CAREER AND LIFE.
Inspiration abounds at the Social Justice Learning Institute. Outside is a garden in full bloom. Inside young men weave in and out of rooms humming with activity. Amid legendary images of Muhammad Ali training underwater and Tommy Smith and John Carlos with their fists raised high in solidarity at the 1968 Olympics, sits Ahmir Bates. Now he is a rising college sophomore, but there was a time when he didn't think he would get into college, nor was he sure he could afford it. Today everything is different. "BLOOM is the reason I am in college," Ahmir says with a confident smile.
Dr. D'Artagnan Scorza, President and CEO of the Social Justice Learning Institute and Charisse Bremond Weaver, President and CEO of the Brotherhood Crusade
Ahmir is one of hundreds of young men to transform their lives and the future of Los Angeles through BLOOM (Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men). Launched in 2012 by the California Community Foundation (CCF) in partnership with the Social Justice Learning Institute and the Brotherhood Crusade, BLOOM was a seven-million-dollar initiative to address the overwhelming disparities faced by Black male youth involved or at risk of becoming involved in L.A. County's juvenile justice system. Youth enrolled in BLOOM programs at both nonprofits work intensively on cultural awareness, positive self-identity and discovery and aspiration development while receiving academic and college assistance, employment training, economic empowerment and other necessary resources.
Over seven years, BLOOM has knit together a program model that helps Black boys and young men uncover their true potential. Though the initiative was not without its challenges, our partners worked hard, were patient, took smart risks and committed themselves to learning along the way.
These lessons have been a gamechanger for Charisse Bremond Weaver, president and CEO of Brotherhood Crusade. "Through this partnership with CCF, we helped transform our young men's mindsets. We helped them heal from their traumas, allowing them to understand what it means to better themselves and their lives, to grow and to thrive. And we've been able to demonstrate that success through an evidence-based model."
The evidence of BLOOM's impact is undeniable. BLOOM has served more than 800 young boys and men, and the vast majority have gone on to earn high school diplomas with the prerequisites to attend a post-secondary institution.
"THESE ARE POWERFUL DATA POINTS THAT DESCRIBE THE IMPORTANCE OF BLOOM. THEY'RE A TESTAMENT TO THE DIFFERENCE THESE RESOURCES HAVE MADE IN THE LIVES OF OUR YOUNG FOLK. IT'S PROOF THAT SUCH AS SMALL INVESTMENT CAN DO WONDERS."
Dr. D'Artagnan Scorza
President and CEO of the Social Justice Learning Institute
Dr. D'Artagnan Scorza, president and CEO of the Social Justice Learning Institute believes, "These are powerful data points that describe the importance of BLOOM. They're a testament to the difference these resources have made in the lives of our young folk. It's proof that such a small investment can do wonders."
Incarcerating just one young man for a year costs the state of California more than $280,000. BLOOM demonstrates how, for around $5,000, we can keep that same young person out of the system. As a community, that's a lot to celebrate.
Part of BLOOM's success stems from it being a community-driven initiative. CCF never tried to lead by themselves, but rather enabled the success of those who are closest to the young men involved and the communities in which they live. BLOOM's advisory committee engaged key partners, such as funders, community leaders, grantees and public agencies like the probation department and school districts. This gave our partners a meaningful role in the process while informing the path BLOOM would take.
"The advisory committee was a group of people who really cared about the community and had a deep knowledge of its needs and assets," said Virgil Roberts, a BLOOM advisory committee member and former CCF board chair. "They were vital to ensuring that BLOOM had real substance. That ultimately has made a huge difference in our success."
The Obama administration recognized BLOOM as a promising model to be replicated nationally. Here in Los Angeles, the L.A. County Probation Department agrees. This year, the Probation Department partnered with CCF and Liberty Hill Foundation to create Ready to Rise, a public-private partnership that will scale the lessons of BLOOM and its whole child approach to learning and youth development across the County.
In a matter of a few years, BLOOM will be stitched into the fabric of L.A. County, building up the resiliency of young people from all walks of life. It will continue changing the lives of youth like Ahmir, who dreams of graduating from Miles College in Alabama and coming back home so he can be an aid to members of his community.
"I not only want to hold them up, but also give them the opportunity to where they can hold themselves up," Ahmir said. "I want to be a stepping stone to their greatness."
EDUCATION GRANTMAKING

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Former Mesquite Cop Behind the Power of the Dallas Police Union
The New York Times writes about Ron DeLord, the 'architect' of the strategy that has created the nation's powerful police unions
By Peter Simek | March 12, 2021|11:26 am
Ron DeLord has been the Dallas Police Association's strategic enforcer for years. A new profile in the New York Times shows how DeLord has pioneered a simple and direct approach to ensuring that the police unions he represents get the benefits and protections they seek: "He has likened a police union going after an elected official to a cheetah devouring a wildebeest, and suggested that taking down just one would make others fall in line."
In practice, this looks like the attack DeLord launched against Council member Lee Kleinman during his 2017 race, when North Dallas residents received a mailer, highlighted in the Times piece, that called the council member "a menacing threat to the security of North Dallas families." Over time, the approach has proven extremely effective.
"We took weak, underpaid organizations and built them into what everyone today says are powerful police unions," Mr. DeLord said in a recent interview. "You may say we went too far. I say you don't know how far you've gone until you're at the edge of the envelope."
The New York Times piece details how DeLord helped transform policing in the United States. His philosophy and influence are encapsulated in a 1997 book he coauthored called Police Association Power, Politics, and Confrontation: A Guide for the Successful Police Labor Leader that has shaped union strategies over the past two decades:
The book repeatedly urges union leaders to ignore the "losers," "whiners" and "naysayers" in their way. "A police association leader must throw out all those traditional notions of right and wrong," it exhorts. "So long as it's legal, you do what you gotta do to get where you're going!" It also quotes one San Antonio union official saying, "If all else fails, we'll drop the bomb and live in the ashes."
DeLord got his start as a cop and police union member in Mesquite, organizing a statewide union group in a state that has been historically anti-labor. Police unions proved the exception, and DeLord's group managed to win better contracts for its members and helped push municipalities toward spending more on police personnel and equipment. Before the police union movement, the Times reports, many of Texas' police departments were considered "backwaters," and "some required officers to pay for their handcuffs, bulletproof vests, even insurance for patrol cars." DeLord's efforts helped professionalize police forces, but he also helped to transform local politics.
In the 1980s, DeLord tested out a policy in the San Antonio police union contract that would divert a portion of an officer's pay to a new political action committee. That police-backed PAC became a dominant force in local political races.
The money also built a war room with 100 telephones and computers loaded with voter data. If a politician defied the union, it flooded constituents with negative mailers and calls. The group "would not have to stand in line to have its proposals and concerns heard!" declared Harold Flammia, the union president nicknamed "the .44-caliber mouthpiece," in a chapter he wrote for Mr. DeLord's book.
The rest of the Times piece goes on to show how this approach came to dominate police unions throughout the country, leading to a transformation not only of policing in America, but of municipalities' political landscapes. But there is a growing sense that union power may be starting to slip. In the wake of the Geroge Floyd protests, more municipalities are rethinking their approach to policing, creating new oversight boards and limiting spending on departments.
Unions have also been identified as one of the main forces in pushing urban policies that have seen police budgets grow despite the limited evidence that spending more money on policing leads to safer cities. In Dallas, around 35 percent of the city's annual budget goes toward police, and, as we experienced in the recent budget cycle, it can be politically difficult to reverse that inertia. Unions also play a critical role in protecting officers accused of wrongdoing.
Here's the surprising bit: one of the people urging for more union flexibility is Ron DeLord. DeLord is currently negotiating for the San Antonio police union during a contract review. Elected officials in San Antonio want to undo some of the department's disciplinary protections, among other reforms. DeLord is urging union members to work with them.
"The unions need to bend," DeLord said. "They need to be prepared to bargain over things that their community thinks are fair." Unions that don't understand are "tone deaf," he added.
What has changed? Simply put: public sentiment. The Texan's latest book borrows its title from a Robert Earl Keen song: A Message to Police Unions: The Road Does Not Go On Forever and the Party Eventually Ends. It is a remarkable testament to how changing public opinion around policing points to the near inevitability of much-needed reform. In the book, DeLord warns officers that the numerous high-profile incidents of police brutality in violence coupled with the prevalence of body cams have shifted public opinion. Police officers are no longer "the heroes of 9/11."
"The unions have got to realize they're just one vote from losing it all," Mr. DeLord said. He's expressed similar sentiments over the past nine months on radio, in magazines and on a panel, often alongside reformists.
The Times piece is necessary reading if you want to understand how the inter-relation between police officers, unions, and local governments have shaped policing policy over the past decades. Heading into this May's Dallas City Council election, we are likely to see many of these approaches play out once again. But it is significant that even the architect of the police union's effective strategy admits that, to borrow another song title, the times, they are a changin'.
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text:
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What Is Yoga? A Catholic Perspective (Part II)
by Father Ezra Sullivan
In the first article on yoga, we explored studies that showed a couple of important facts:
Consistent practice of yoga is correlated with a diminishment of Christian belief.
Practitioners typically begin yoga for physical reasons but stick with it for spiritual reasons.
We concluded with a basic definition of yoga: Yoga is both a comprehensive system of human culture—physical, moral, and psychological—and it acts as a doorway on to the gently sloping paths that gradually lead up to yoga proper, that is, the spirituality of yoga rooted in Hinduism. In this article, we will take a look at the Hindu foundations of yoga in light of the gods found therein. St. John tells us that we should not believe every spirit, but test them to see if they are from God (cf 1 John 4:1). It's going to be an enlightening experience, so set your intention and come join us as we explore yoga from a Catholic perspective.
The Gods of Yoga
I'm not much of an exercise person. The practice of pumping iron or toning my body with a machine has never excited me. It seemed meaningless at best and slightly narcissistic at worst. This is one of the reasons why yoga appealed to me. It seemed to be exercise with a real meaning. What I didn't expect was what that meaning actually is. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit yuj, which indicates "to yoke together," "union," "to join, to bind."1 Someone who practices yoga as a way of life is called a yogin or a yogi. Because yoga indicates binding, we must ask: What does yoga bind us to?
My jaw almost hit the floor when I found the answer.
To learn about yoga, at first I avoided classes and went to a local bookstore. I wasn't ready to squeeze into yoga pants. The first paperback I purchased, chosen almost at random, was full of helpful photos of postures along with explanations and commentary. It explained what yoga "yokes" or "binds" us to: Hindu divinity or divinities. "Awaken the goddess within," it suggested, frightening for me as a Christian and as a male. It also invited me to consider Ganesh, the "loveable" elephant-headed god, along with his friends who populate India's pantheon. That sounds pagan, I thought. So I set the book aside and looked elsewhere. To my dismay, I discovered in a local yoga studio something that confirmed the book's approach: a little bronze statue of a Hindu god, presiding over the people within. It was too much even for this California boy.
Was my experience typical?
Clearly not every book on yoga promotes Hindu gods, and not every yoga class has pagan statuary—but many do. The classical yoga tradition argues that all yoga should associate with the gods of India. In order to understand why this is the case, we must uncover the Hindu roots of yoga.
For Westerners who like everything (including religion) neat and tidy, boxed up and labeled, sitting on a shelf ready for inspection from a discerning customer, Hinduism poses difficulties. "What we think of as one religion," one writer notes, "is a multifarious collection of sects, traditions, beliefs, and practices that evolved from the Vedas, the world's oldest sacred texts, and took shape across the vast Indian subcontinent over the course of many centuries."2 There is real difficulty in pinning down a precise doctrine of universal Hindu belief because "Hinduism has no central authority, no founding figure, no historical starting point, no single creed or canonical doctrine, and many holy books rather than one." Because of this, Hinduism has been called "the world's largest disorganized religion."3 Nevertheless, Hindus have generally recognized six principle schools that represent authentic developments of the Vedic scriptures. Yoga is one of them.4
Shiva has prominence among the gods of yoga. He is the "patron" of all yoga practitioners. "He is the deity of yogins par excellence and is often depicted as a yogin."6 Around his neck is a serpent, symbolizing his power over death; on his forehead is a third eye, through which he gains mystical vision and knowledge. His drumbeat is said to create the "om" which reverberates in the heart and throughout the universe. In some depictions, Shiva assumes the lotus posture in deep meditation. In other cases, Shiva juggles fire while he dances with one foot in the air, indicating release from "earthly bondage." Some traditions include Shiva in a Hindu triad or trinity of gods, with Brahman as the "creator" and Vishnu as the "sustainer" or "preserver." Shiva is said to be "the destroyer," the one who annihilates the illusions of the ego and therefore gains liberation into ultimate reality: while of course many hindu deities are associated with different paths of yoga and meditation, in Shiva the art of meditation takes its most absolute form. In meditation, not only mind is stopped, everything is dropped.7
Vishnu is another important god for yoga; he is said to preserve and maintain the cosmic order dharma. Like Shiva, he is depicted with blue skin and four arms and is accompanied by serpents. It is said that Vishnu was incarnate nine times, the last two being the most significant: as Krishna and Buddha. Here I will focus on Krishna.
The Bhagavad-Gita, part of an ancient Hindu religious epic, portrays Krishna as the perfect yoga guru to his disciple, the human hero Arjuna. Chapter 6 of the Gita contains material that would be familiar to many modern yoga practitioners. Krishna defines yoga negatively as "renunciation" of illusion and positively as "yoking oneself to the Supreme Consciousness" (6:2). For him, a yogin is one "established in self-realization" (6:8). Through elevating himself through his own mind (6:5), a yoga practitioner attains the abode of Krishna, perfect happiness, "by cessation of material existence" (6:15). The means to acquire this is by practicing control of the body, mind, and activity with specific postures and meditation techniques (6:11-18).
The yoga goddesses should not be neglected in our account. Here we can turn to the chief goddess, Shakti or Durga, known under different aspects. Shakti is seen as the divine force that destroys evil and restores balance. She "represents the cosmic energy of destruction of the ego, which stands in the way of spiritual growth and ultimate liberation."8 In some instances, Shakti assumes the role of Parvati, the energy and consort of Shiva; in other instances, the role of Lakshmi, the energy and consort of Vishnu. The most fearsome role Shakti plays is as Kali, the "Dark Mother" goddess, who, standing naked, wears a garland of skulls around her neck and a belt of heads around her waist, wielding a bloody sword and clutching a severed head. It is not uncommon for yoga teachers to recommend tapping into this feminine-divine source of empowerment. Here is one account:
Ellen is a medical student and thinks of herself as a rational person who doesn't go in for mystical experiences. But one day as she closed her eyes and relaxed in Savasana, Ellen felt a powerful maternal energy around her and "saw" the Hindu goddess Durga, whose picture graced the yoga studio's back wall. For a moment, the many-armed goddess's face lingered in front of her, looking alive and full of compassionate love. Then the image disappeared—though the sweet, strong energy stayed with Ellen for hours.9 Later, Ellen asked Sally what the experience might mean. Sally replied: "Just sit in meditation and ask the Durga energy to be with you. Then notice how you feel." This is what Sally calls "deity yoga," which she claims "isn't specific to the Hindu tradition." She says it could be practiced by anyone interested in yoga, even Christians. Is Sally right?
What Are We to Make of the Pantheon of Yoga gods?
It seems to me that there are four basic positions:
The gods and goddesses do not actually exist. They are only metaphors, imaginative fables meant to inspire the yoga practitioner. Some people may believe this, but I think it is insufficient and reductive; it does not adequately explain the cultural and experiential data available.
They do exist and are benevolent: they may be invoked in order to obtain energy, power, good fortune, etc. This is the position of a number of simple Hindu believers.
They do exist but are evil and should not be invoked. This is the position of traditional Christianity (and perhaps Islam and Judaism). "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image; you shall not bow down to them or serve them" (Exodus 20:2-5).
They do exist but not in the way one might imagine. They are all manifestations of the one supreme being, the all-encompassing reality, which one could call "God." This is the position of the more developed understanding of Hinduism, an understanding that has been adopted by yoga.
In the next article, we will explore the last position: that the gods exist, not in themselves, but as manifestations, personifications, or realizations of the divinity.
This article first appeared on spiritualdirection.com. Reprinted with permission.
Father Ezra Sullivan is a Dominican friar of the St. Joseph (Eastern) Province, USA. Currently he teaches moral theology and psychology at the Angelicum in Rome. He has published scholarly articles on bioethics, theology, and Catholic history, and his upcoming book is entitled Habits and Holiness: Ethics, Theology, and Biological Psychology (Catholic University of America Press, 2020). Currently he is doing research for a book on Yoga from a Catholic perspective, tentatively entitled Yoga and Christ.
1Mircea Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, trans. Willard R. Trask (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 4.
2Philip Goldberg, American Veda (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2010), 3.
4See Georg Feuerstein, The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice, 3rd Ed. (Chino Valley, AZ: Hohm Press, 2008), 72-78.
5Jean Varenne, Yoga and the Hindu Tradition, trans. Derek Coltman (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976), 26.
6Feuerstein, The Yoga Tradition, 84.
7http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/shiva.htm#.UvpGMLQkgf8 For a retelling of the Shiva legend, see Sadhguru, "Yoga Originated from Shiva," The Times of India 19 March, 2009. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-03-19/vintage-wisdom/28031005_1_shiva-yoga-intimacy
9Sally Kempton, "Oh My Goddess," Yoga Journal Online. http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1980 See also "Goddess, Where Art Thou?" http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2617
Art for this post: Ganesh Idol from Belgaum, Karnataka, 10 September 2013, Kirti Krishna Badkundri, CC, Wikimedia Commons; Shiva (A Gopuram in Karnataka), 23 May 2012, Foliate08, CC; "Vishnu in his form as Pandharinatha or Vithoba worshipped at Pandharpur (Maharashtra). He stands facing to the front, blue-skinned, naked to the waist, wearing a jewelled yellow skirt, royal jewellery and a conical crown. He also wears a garland of tulsi flowers. He is four armed—two hands rest on his hips, whilst the other two hold a disc and a conch (the symbols of Vishnu)," 1820-1825, author unknown, PD copyright expired; Mirror detail of Rasamanjari-Manuskript des Bhanudatta (Erotische Abhandlung), Szene: Liebhaber, ca 1690, PD-Worldwide; idol of goddess Lakshmi Devi, in the temple at Hebbal(N) near Mouje Nandgad, District Belgaum, Karnataka, India, 2 January 2008, own work, Rajivhk; Kali (Shyama at a Sarbojanin Kali Puja pandal at Shakespeare Sarani), Kolkata, 2010, own work, Jonoikobangali, CC; Sculpture of goddess Durga at Durga temple, Burdwan, 3 October 2011, own work, Joydeep, CC; all Wikimedia Commons.
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text:
package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.regionserver;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.HBaseClassTestRule;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.HBaseTestingUtil;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.HConstants;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.TableName;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.Admin;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.ColumnFamilyDescriptorBuilder;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.Put;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.Table;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.TableDescriptor;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.TableDescriptorBuilder;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.io.ByteBuffAllocator;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.testclassification.LargeTests;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.util.Bytes;
import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.util.JVMClusterUtil;
import org.junit.AfterClass;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.ClassRule;
import org.junit.Rule;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.junit.experimental.categories.Category;
import org.junit.rules.TestName;

@Category(LargeTests.class)
public class TestCompactionWithByteBuff {
  @ClassRule
  public static final HBaseClassTestRule CLASS_RULE =
    HBaseClassTestRule.forClass(TestCompactionWithByteBuff.class);
  @Rule
  public TestName name = new TestName();

  private static HBaseTestingUtil TEST_UTIL = new HBaseTestingUtil();
  private static Configuration conf = TEST_UTIL.getConfiguration();
  private static Admin admin = null;

  private static final byte[] COLUMN = Bytes.toBytes("A");
  private static final int REGION_COUNT = 5;
  private static final long ROW_COUNT = 200;
  private static final int ROW_LENGTH = 20;
  private static final int VALUE_LENGTH = 5000;

  @BeforeClass
  public static void setupBeforeClass() throws Exception {
    conf.setBoolean(ByteBuffAllocator.ALLOCATOR_POOL_ENABLED_KEY, true);
    conf.setInt(ByteBuffAllocator.BUFFER_SIZE_KEY, 1024 * 5);
    conf.setInt(CompactSplit.SMALL_COMPACTION_THREADS, REGION_COUNT * 2);
    conf.setInt(CompactSplit.LARGE_COMPACTION_THREADS, REGION_COUNT * 2);
    conf.set(HConstants.BUCKET_CACHE_IOENGINE_KEY, "offheap");
    conf.setInt(HConstants.BUCKET_CACHE_SIZE_KEY, 512);
    TEST_UTIL.startMiniCluster();
    admin = TEST_UTIL.getAdmin();
  }

  @AfterClass
  public static void tearDownAfterClass() throws Exception {
    TEST_UTIL.shutdownMiniCluster();
  }

  @Test
  public void testCompaction() throws Exception {
    TableName table = TableName.valueOf("t1");
    admin.compactionSwitch(false, new ArrayList<>(0));
    try (Table t = createTable(TEST_UTIL, table)) {
      for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        put(t);
        admin.flush(table);
      }
      admin.compactionSwitch(true, new ArrayList<>(0));
      admin.majorCompact(table);
      List<JVMClusterUtil.RegionServerThread> regionServerThreads =
        TEST_UTIL.getHBaseCluster().getRegionServerThreads();
      TEST_UTIL.waitFor(2 * 60 * 1000L, () -> {
        boolean result = true;
        for (JVMClusterUtil.RegionServerThread regionServerThread : regionServerThreads) {
          HRegionServer regionServer = regionServerThread.getRegionServer();
          List<HRegion> regions = regionServer.getRegions(table);
          for (HRegion region : regions) {
            List<String> storeFileList = region.getStoreFileList(new byte[][] { COLUMN });
            if (storeFileList.size() > 1) {
              result = false;
            }
          }
        }
        return result;
      });
    }
  }

  private Table createTable(HBaseTestingUtil util, TableName tableName) throws IOException {
    TableDescriptor td = TableDescriptorBuilder.newBuilder(tableName).setColumnFamily(
      ColumnFamilyDescriptorBuilder.newBuilder(COLUMN).setBlocksize(1024 * 4).build()).build();
    byte[][] splits = new byte[REGION_COUNT - 1][];
    for (int i = 1; i < REGION_COUNT; i++) {
      splits[i - 1] = Bytes.toBytes(buildRow((int) (ROW_COUNT / REGION_COUNT * i)));
    }
    return util.createTable(td, splits);
  }

  private void put(Table table) throws IOException {
    for (int i = 0; i < ROW_COUNT; i++) {
      Put put = new Put(Bytes.toBytes(buildRow(i)));
      put.addColumn(COLUMN, Bytes.toBytes("filed01"), buildValue(i, 1));
      put.addColumn(COLUMN, Bytes.toBytes("filed02"), buildValue(i, 2));
      put.addColumn(COLUMN, Bytes.toBytes("filed03"), buildValue(i, 3));
      put.addColumn(COLUMN, Bytes.toBytes("filed04"), buildValue(i, 4));
      put.addColumn(COLUMN, Bytes.toBytes("filed05"), buildValue(i, 5));
      table.put(put);
    }
  }

  private String buildRow(int index) {
    String value = Long.toString(index);
    String prefix = "user";
    for (int i = 0; i < ROW_LENGTH - value.length(); i++) {
      prefix += '0';
    }
    return prefix + value;
  }

  private byte[] buildValue(int index, int qualifierId) {
    String row = buildRow(index) + "/f" + qualifierId + "-";
    StringBuffer result = new StringBuffer();
    while (result.length() < VALUE_LENGTH) {
      result.append(row);
    }
    return Bytes.toBytes(result.toString().substring(0, VALUE_LENGTH));
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Perceptions of Ben Bernanke
Problems with the Market for Health Insurance
Budget Reconciliation Stalls...
Stan Collender, who knows the federal budget process, writes about "reconciliation":
BUDGET BATTLES: A Dead Horse? Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005: Anyone who has followed the 2006 federal budget debate since it began in January has known that reconciliation was always going to be difficult to enact this year. Even after the political strength President Bush proclaimed after his reelection last November, it was clear that the spending and tax changes likely to be considered would present very difficult budget challenges for the White House and congressional leadership alike. So when the House and Senate reconciliation efforts both stalled on the same day last week, the only thing surprising or shocking about the surprise-bordering-on-shock that was apparent around Washington was that anyone was caught off-guard.
The House leadership stopped the spending cut reconciliation bill debate because it didn't have enough votes; the Senate Finance Committee decided it did not have enough support to report out its reconciliation tax cut plan. Both things happened within hours of each other. Yet both were extremely predictable. In many cases, they had actually been predicted. Given everything that has happened since the first doubts were cast on reconciliation as the budget debate began, the fact that it has run into problems is anything but surprising.
The debate in the full House and the Senate's Finance Committee were scheduled to take place less than two days after the 2005 election, which was widely regarded as a disaster for the White House and the strongest indication yet of the decreasing support for Bush and his policies.
Second, since January, there has been a steady and significant drop in the president's and Republican leadership's job approval ratings. That means the political capital the White House thought it had to spend on the budget debate either was far less than it expected or was already gone by the time reconciliation was considered. It also means that the leadership was less able to demand and receive the political obeisance it had always previously received on budget matters.
Third, reconciliation and reconciliation-related votes have already had to be postponed several times this year. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, congressional leaders decided to delay the debate because they feared the spending cuts would not be approved. They also didn't want to consider the reconciliation tax changes many said would primarily benefit higher-income families and individuals when lower-income people were seen to be the ones hurt by the storm.
Fourth, House leaders also postponed, apparently indefinitely, a vote to amend the budget resolution adopted earlier in the year so that additional spending cuts -- especially appropriations -- would be required. This was in spite of the fact that the proposed amended budget resolution was announced by the leadership with great fanfare and was said to demonstrate its continued commitment to reduced federal spending. That amended budget resolution was also a sop to Republican fiscal conservatives in the House whose influence was seen to be on the rise. That presumed increase in power was shown to be fleeting in the extreme when the leadership prevented the vote because of a lack of support.
Fifth, the people who in previous years have been so instrumental in enforcing White House and congressional leadership policies and decisions have all become less powerful since the Bush budget was sent to Capital Hill and Congress approved the fiscal 2006 budget resolution. The ethics issues facing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.; the legal problems facing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's continuing concerns involving the CIA leak case; and the recent questions raised about Vice President Dick Cheney mean that all the enforcers are less able to impose discipline than at any time in the Bush presidency.
Finally, all of these factors enabled Republican moderates to do something on the budget they haven't done for some time -- stand up to the leadership and the White House. In theory, they have always had this power given the relatively small Republican majorities in both houses. But they have been unwilling to use it for fear of White House or leadership retribution. That fear is now greatly diminished.
The Republican moderates have also not acted because of a concern about being said to be out-of-step with the rest of their own party and the country. That label is now far less likely to stick, given the polls showing that most Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction on the economy and other key issues.
The leadership may be able to work out these problems... the Senate Finance Committee might have managed a deal.... The House leadership is also widely expected to come up with a substantive or procedural deal that will allow the reconciliation spending cut bill to be approved as well.
None of this will diminish the very strong likelihood that the budget world in Washington has shifted significantly away from the White House and congressional Republican leadership over the past few months. That will make a compromise between the House and Senate on what's left of the budget reconciliation process even more difficult than it was already likely to be. Therefore, it may very well be that the deals worked out in the next few days don't actually help get reconciliation enacted this year.
November 15, 2005 at 14:19 in #economics, #politicaleconomy, #politics | Permalink | Comments (2)


The Manchester City defender sat out his club's 2-2 Premier League draw at QPR at the weekend and was left out of the Belgium team for Wednesday's friendly against Iceland.
And coach Marc Wilmots revealed Kompany would not be in contention to feature when Chris Coleman's men visit Brussels this weekend.
"I received a call from Vincent earlier," Wilmots told RTBF. "He is out for Manchester City for 10 to 12 days, so is unavailable for Sunday.
"It's a shame but there is no problem, there are only solutions."
Belgium currently sit third in Group B, three points adrift of leaders Wales having played a game less.


text:
The Port Tobacco Times was a newspaper published from 1844 to January 14, 1898 in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.  It was founded as a Democratic newspaper by Elijah Wells Jr. and G. W. Hodges. In 1845, the name of the paper was changed to the Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser but retained its original founders as editors and publishers. When Union troops were stationed in Port Tobacco at the start of the American Civil War in 1861, Wells had to reassure alarmed pro-Confederate readers that the Times had not been seized by Union soldiers - rather, he had only allowed the soldiers to borrow his printing equipment to publish a newspaper for the troops stationed nearby. The Times published an editorial, entitled "Our Situation," in response:"The State of Maryland has cast her vote for the Union and Government by the largest majority ever known to this State… Charles County then stands before the Government and the world this day a loyal county. Charles County has ever been loyal; we challenge a disloyal act to be laid at her door - and yet what is her condition? As a loyal county and State, obedient to the recognized law, faithful to the Constitution, the citizens of this State have a right, and undisputed right to protection in their person and property. Twenty thousand Federal troops are stationed upon the soil of Charles County, their camps extending from Mattawoman Creek to Liverpool Point. These troops are here 'For our protection,' we are told; 'to protect us form the Rebels,' and yet, in fact, we are exposed to more danger, to more losses and damage or at least as much as if these very Rebels were here. Our farmers are deprived of their provender to such extent that their cattle must die. Our citizens are deprived of homes almost; and fencers, farms, and field falls prey to the ruthless hands of those very friends who come here to protect us.

"Our negroes, - ah, this is the point, - our negroes - are taken from us time and again, with no remuneration and the threats of violence if we seek to recover them.""After Wells died in 1877, his son Solomon O. Wells ran the paper for a short time before handing it off to his cousin, Charles F. Daley, in 1880. Daley and his partner, F. Marcellus Cox, ran the paper together until 1889, when Daley left Port Tobacco to pursue other opportunities. A competitor newspaper, the Maryland Independent, was begun in Port Tobacco in 1874, and its editor, Adrian Posey, narrowly averted a duel with Cox over comments published during the 1884 presidential election.

The Pope's Creek Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad arrived in Charles County in 1873, leading to the rise of new commercial centers near Port Tobacco, such as La Plata. An 1890 proposal to move the county seat from Port Tobacco to La Plata became a subject of local controversy, particularly when Times editor F. Marcellus Cox led a petition against moving the courthouse. Many citizens agreed, until the courthouse burned down on August 3, 1892 in what was suspected to be arson; the deeds to the land were discovered a few yards from the fire, undamaged. In the wake of the destruction, a special election decided on moving the county seat to La Plata.

This move ended up spelling disaster for the Port Tobacco Times, which ended up merging with La Plata's Crescent in 1898 to form the Times Crescent, which is still running to this day under the name The Charles County Times-Crescent.

The appearance of the Port Tobacco Times was quite different from that of modern newspapers; it was filled with "essays, prayers, and verse" and often quoted British newspapers so that early colonists could keep up with news "from home." Local news was relegated to a short column buried in the middle of the paper. The Times often printed humorous short notices, such as the following notice from January 1, 1851:
"GO IT BOOTS - A Mrs. Boots of Penna., has left her husband, Mr. Boots and strayed to parts unknown. We presume that the pair of boots are right and left. We cannot say, however, that Mrs. Boots is right, but there is no mistake that Mr. Boots is left."

References

Publications established in 1844
Publications disestablished in 1898
Defunct newspapers published in Maryland
1844 establishments in Maryland
1898 disestablishments in Maryland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Six things set to shake up marketing in 2020
03/09 By Nick Morley
Ad fraud, Brand suitability, CTV, Mobile, Social, Video
For marketers working in digital advertising, 2019 was a year of learnings and change. Nick Morley highlights what they need to know in 2020.
Businesses are compelled to innovate to remain relevant, particularly at a time when new regulations, tools and technology converge to offer exciting opportunities, as well as new challenges.
As digital ad revenues continue to grow, marketers will increasingly have to tie their spending to real-world outcomes. In order to map that ROI and improve their business, here are six areas of change marketers need to pay attention to in 2020.
Brand suitability will be king
2020 is the year when context comes to the fore. Brand suitability and contextual targeting will help advertisers achieve scale in 2020, and that will require technology that does more than simply protect brands from risky content. Brand suitability in 2020 will help ensure ads are not placed in unsafe environments, and instead are placed in suitable contexts. What's more, consumers are more likely to trust a brand that appears in a contextually relevant environment – and publishers will also be more supported by removing the sometimes over-protective approach to brand safety.
Sentiment analysis will grow strongly by enabling a clear understanding of the nature of webpage content with detailed granularity and greater scale. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be crucial in developing technology with near-human comprehension.
Ensuring the content and environment of where an ad appears aligns with brand values is a more positive approach than brand safety. It also presents monetisation opportunities for publishers in a cookie-less world.
Video ads will remain victorious
Video advertising was a key driver of digital ad spend in 2019, with UK display video up 27% year-on-year in the first six months, according to the IAB. Expect to see advertisers increase spend again this year as consumers adopt super-fast 5G streaming.
Video will solidify its status as the lynchpin to online campaigns, particularly within social platforms. As consumption of video content grows across all devices it is likely to become the main format used across most social platforms.
Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID) will continue to depreciate despite a slow start to the industry's adoption of the latest Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) update. VAST 4.2, released in 2019, will fix the gaps left by previous iterations.
Connected TV will play a key role in major broadcast events
The lines will continue to blur between 'traditional' and 'digital', particularly as brands increasingly invest in Connected TV (CTV) and Over the Top (OTT) ad environments. With events such as the Olympic Games and the US Presidential elections, CTV will play a key role in reaching younger audiences at scale.
Recent CTV and OTT services such as Disney+, BritBox and AppleTV+ will help shake up and cement consumers' growing appetite for on-demand. However, the growth of ad-free services will begin to stagnate as consumers catch "subscription fatigue". Bundling may become more common, with providers grouping together to offer better or more cost-effective deals.
Addressable advertising offers buyers more granularity and less wastage – and opens up TV to smaller advertisers, such as direct-to-consumer brands, with programmatic capabilities to follow this year. However as more ad dollars shift to this new environment, so will the attention of fraudsters.
Social still dominated by the duopoly
Google and Facebook will continue to dominate ad spend this year and, with the possible exception of Amazon outside of social, their share is likely to grow. Agencies and advertisers will continue to look for alternatives, but the duopoly will remain the most effective option despite increased scrutiny. However, as major social players started to work closer with verification companies in 2019, we can expect this to continue.
Policies surrounding political advertising will be significant as we enter a US election year. Facebook announced it will not fact-check political ads, whilst Twitter has already banned political advertising because it believes such messaging should be earned, not bought.
Mobile to steal more share-of-media time
In terms of share-of-media time, mobile will be the only medium to grow this year in many developed markets. App development will be designed for cross-platform use, meaning that programming separately in Javascript for Android and iOS for Apple will not be necessary, reducing a pain point for brands and consumers alike. However, in-app brand safety remains a challenge.
Privacy will remain top of mind for consumers, who have demanded greater transparency into the use of their data, and for regulators. App privacy will tighten, with stricter rules imposed for brands and greater transparency given to consumers about how their data is used and accessed.
Fighting fraud gets sophisticated
Rule-based deterministic techniques for catching fraud will become highly ineffective compared to sophisticated machine learning-driven models. Fraudsters will have greater access to next-gen technology and the industry will need more advanced AI/ML technology to be able to catch it.
2020 will be the year CTV goes programmatic, opening up brand-unsafe or ad fraud scenarios. The risk that fraud poses to CTV will only increase as this type of inventory becomes available on open exchanges. As a result, verification companies will continue to expand their CTV solutions to ensure brands and publishers can effectively advertise in this new environment.
This article originally appeared in WARC.com
The transparency gap: Exploring the unknown delta where 15% of ad dollars vanish
IAS detects 404bot Scheme


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Operation Dove var under 2. verdenskrig et allieret svæveflysangreb, som en del af invasionen af Sydfrankrig (Operation Dragoon) den 15. august 1944. Over 300 WACO-svævefly transporterede 3.000 soldater og vigtigt udstyr til at forstærke faldskærmstropperne, der allerede var nedkastet.

Dove


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Channels Channel 5 HD Love You To Death Forum
Love You To Death
Love You To Death Crime drama starring Emilija Baranac and Primo Allon. Drama about an attorney whose life is put in danger when she makes a mistake that allows a killer to walk free. (2015)[S] Thu, Feb 14, 2:15 PM Channel 5 105 mins
Love You To Death Crime drama starring Emilija Baranac and Primo Allon. Drama about an attorney whose life is put in danger when she makes a mistake that allows a killer to walk free. (2015)[S] Wed, Mar 7, 3:15 PM Channel 5 105 mins
Love You To Death Crime drama starring Emilija Baranac and Primo Allon. Drama about an attorney whose life is put in danger when she makes a mistake that allows a killer to walk free. (2015)[S] Fri, Mar 24, 3:15 PM Channel 5 105 mins


Contentious estates can result in emotional and expensive litigation.
The lawyers at Stevens Virgin can help you navigate these claims by giving you empathetic and objective advice to achieve an equitable resolution whether by negotiation, mediation or trial.
Perry Mazzone, who leads this practice, has over 30 years experience in wills and estates litigation, and has been involved in numerous trials of these claims. Our lawyers are often called upon by the Public Guardian and Trustee to represent the estate interests of children and incapable adults. They will provide you with the experience and support you need to deal with the often emotional and difficult issues arising in an estate case.


Reliable professional partners for a growing sector.
Binco understand the requirements of the waste industry and their clients. We are able to offer waste companies cost-effective on-site bin cleaning as a very viable alternative to removing bins for cleaning.
In addition to on-site cleaning, Binco can provide a service at your facilities, even out of hours to clean 'stock' bins.
With ever-growing customer awareness of bin hygiene, Binco are able to offer you a bespoke, co-branded hygiene solution to extend your current portfolio of products. How can Binco help you?


Learn the creative opportunity that many email marketers are *still* missing.
The webinar will last about 35 minutes. Have questions? Send them in the webinar chat or join our CXL Facebook group here. It's a place for discussions about marketing, growth and optimization.
This is just a preview of what you can learn from Jessica's CXL Institute Email Marketing Course.


Oh, he is filling out! What a gorgeous baby!
These are just fantastic comparisons!How cool, Rixa! He looks ALOT like you in one of them--oh I love babies! Kiss kiss on the baby soft face from me.
I agree with Joy... he looks like you! He is a cherub.
So skinny! He's gonna be a rail like daddy! He is too cute.
Skinny? at birth yes, but now he looks so chubby to me!
cute dipes! I love cloth diapering.


text:
FROM microsoft/windowsservercore

SHELL ["pwsh.exe","-command"]

# the source msi should change on a daily basis
# the destination should not change
ADD PSCore.msi /PSCore.msi

# the msipath (PSCore.msi) below will need to change based on the daily package
# set up for basic auth
# install-powershellremoting will restart winrm service
RUN new-LocalUser -Name testuser -password (ConvertTo-SecureString 11aa!!AA -asplaintext -force); `
    add-localgroupmember -group administrators -member testuser; `
    set-item wsman:/localhost/service/auth/basic $true; `
    set-item WSMan:/localhost/client/trustedhosts "*" -force; `
    set-item wsman:/localhost/service/AllowUnencrypted $true; `
    set-item WSMan:/localhost/client/AllowUnencrypted $true; `
    Start-Process -FilePath msiexec.exe -ArgumentList '-qn', `
    '-i c:\PSCore.msi','-log c:\PSCore-install.log','-norestart' -wait ; `
    $psexec = get-item -path ${ENV:ProgramFiles}/powershell/*/pwsh.exe; `
    $corehome = $psexec.directory.fullname; `
    & $psexec Install-PowerShellRemoting.ps1; `
    remove-item -force c:\PSCore.msi


Stephen Huppert is Head of Product Innovation at Trustee Partners and has had over 25 years experience in the superannuation, wealth management and life insurance industries.
Stephen recently attended FinTech Australia's Collab/Collide Innovation Event, Australia's premier knowledge-exchange summit of all things FinTech. You can find his exclusive report of Day 1 of the event below.
FinTech Australia held its inaugural national summit in the first week of November. I attended day 1 that had a good line up of speakers looking at the FinTech industry from different perspectives. Day 2 was a range of workshops and masterclasses for the startup community.
FinTech Australia is in its first year and is the peak body for fintech organisations in Australia. It focuses on four major streams of activity on behalf of its members – advocacy, support, promotion and connection.
One of the highlights of the morning session was the presentation of the FinTech Australia Census prepared for FinTech Australia by EY. The census is a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the Australian fintech ecosystem. There are over 250 fintech companies in Australia and 163 responded to the census to provide an excellent cross-section of the industry.
The average age of founders is 41 and 87% are male. Lending and Personal finance/asset management represent the largest types of FinTechs representing 25% and 21% respectively. The full report can be downloaded from fintechauscensus.ey.com.
Bryan Chao from Dianrong, a Chinese peer-to-peer lender, talked about how fintechs are making strong headway into transactions processing in China with the banks becoming a platform for storing money only. There are over 2,000 peer-to-peer lenders in China providing $76 billion of loans.
The Australian alternative finance sector is slowly growing and panel of providers discussed its progress. I was interested in how they focused on both sides of the transaction. For borrowers the value proposition was not just access to capital but also a strong focus on customer experience. Stuart Stoyan from MoneyPlace proudly reported some feedback from a customer: You evaluated and funded my loan before the bank even returned my call. Charlotte Petris from Timelio also talked about the value proposition for lenders – they are creating a new asset class.
The panel on payments discussed the reluctance of banks in Australia to provide open APIs and open data, both essential for innovation to occur. There was consensus that regulation is required but that the government should mandate outcomes and leave room for innovation. There was a similar discussion during the panel on data with Ismail Chaib from the Open Bank Project in Germany said "Culture is a bigger barrier to banks sharing data than security".
Other sessions covered digital wealth management, the social impact of fintech, and regulation and risk. As well as an opportunity to listen to and debate important aspects of the fintech ecosystem, the summit provide good opportunities for all interested in the future of financial services. Well done FinTech Australia and I look forward attending next year.


It is the fusion of the quality, craftsmanship and heritage of Belleek that has ensured it has not only survived but has thrived over the past 160 years since 1857. Each piece of Classic Belleek is created by 16 individual artisans. From design to production to quality control at our historic pottery, this is a process that has changed very little since 1857 and we look forward to the continued strength and success of this truly special brand for generations to come. The Belleek Classic collection features tableware, giftware and home accessories including the iconic Belleek Baskets. These works of art are treasured in homes around the world and passed down lovingly though generations. Back in 1857, the pottery's founder John Caldwell Bloomfield declared that any piece with even the slightest flaw should be destroyed. Over 160 years later, this golden rule is still strictly adhered to. The result is perfection.


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Over 70 young Nigerian girls, trafficked to Lebanon have been rescued
Seventy-one young Nigerian girls trafficked to Lebanon and seen in a video that had gone viral where they were crying for help had been rescued and arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, early Monday.
Mr Bitrus Samuel, the Head of NEMA Abuja Operation Office, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that the girls were the second batch of the more than 150 Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Lebanon in search of greener pastures.
NAN reports that early in the month, 94 victims that constituted the first batch were received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Samuel said that the latest victims would be going from the airport to the hotel where the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) would profile their records.
The agency would quarantine the girls as a precaution against coronavirus pandemic.
Also, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said that the rescue came after a video footage of the stranded Nigerians appealing to the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid went viral on the Internet.
The spokesman said the ministry had several discussions with Mr Houssam Diab, the Ambassador of Lebanon to Nigeria, before the Lebanese Government agreed to release the girls to the Federal Government.
He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, was very sad when he saw the video footage.
He had to summon the Lebanese Ambassador, and both leaders had a series of engagements that led to the release of the girls.
Nwonye said that following the discussions between the two leaders, the Lebanese community in Nigeria through the facilitation of the Nigerian mission in Beirut chartered a flight, paid the flight tickets for these girls to return to Nigeria.
Home Alone Actor Macaulay Culkin Welcomes Baby No 1
IG of Police orders probe of E-money, withdraws his police escorts.
Savvy MCM is Chibuzo Opara of DrugStoc
The UK records it's worst recession in 11 years.
Did you hear about our YouTube page? Savvy Media Africa on YouTube!
Update on the Dbanj vs Seyitan saga: IG of Police orders probe of the matter


A pipeline near the beach in Ventura County has leaked about 700 barrels.
A pipeline in Ventura County, California, has dumped 700 barrels of crude oil and and risks flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
The leak was spotted Thursday morning near the 101 Freeway, which runs along the shore. At first, officials had estimated that up to 5,000 barrels had spilled. But that estimate was later reduced to 700 barrels. Each barrel contains 42 gallons, the Los Angeles Times reported, which means about 29,400 gallons of oil leaked.
Ventura County firefighters and a hazmat team were working the spill, and a bulldozer built a catch basin. The oil belonged to Aera Energy, and ran through pipes owned by Crimson Pipeline, the Times reported. The company owns 1,000 miles of pipelines in several counties around the Los Angeles area.


Fidelity Federal Bancorp ("Company"), parent company of Evansville-based United Fidelity Bank, fsb ("Bank"), announced today it has completed a $30 million private placement of fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes. The Company intends to use the capital to lend to affiliate entities, support bank-level capital ratios, and for general corporate purposes, including supporting the Company's ongoing acquisitions strategy, the Bank's continued growth in affordable housing activities, and to redeem existing holding company obligations.
United Fidelity Bank is affiliated with the Allpoint®, MoneyPass®, and Alliance One™ ATM networks. No matter where you are traveling, you are close to a Surcharge-Free ATM. There are no surcharge fees when our customers access any ATM displaying the Allpoint®, MoneyPass®, or Alliance One™ logos.


The TriStar Pump is built to be used on in-ground pools of all types and sizes, even those with solar panels, water features and in-floor cleaning systems. The pump is self-priming and uses full-flow hydraulics to provide great flow at a lower operating cost. These energy efficient hydraulics allow for using less horse power, and overall you can save up to 70 percent on energy costs.
This pump is used for pools, spas, combination pool and spas, and can be used to power fountains. It is easy to install, retrofit, service, and maintain. Serviceability is remarkable due to the large, no-rib strainer basket that is simple to remove and clean out. The basket features a larger leaf-holding capacity which will ensure longer time periods between servicing.
Designed for in-ground pools, in-ground pool and spa combinations, and fountains.
Large pump basket with no-rib design with large debris capacity.
Happy with the pool pump. It is a very energy efficient pump when run on low speed. I did have one issue. The plastic stationary switch was broken when I went to hardwire the pump. It was cracked in half. See attached picture. It probably busted during shipment although the box looked fine.
I sent in a comment for help a few days ago but have not gotten a response yet. I found the part on ebay. It is only $12.95. I was able to pull the part off my old pump and put it on the new pump for now. I would like to rebuild the old pump and will need to get another stationary switch when I do. I was hoping Sunplay will send me this part. Even if they don't the price on this pump was such a good buy it was still worth it.
This same pump at Leslie's is $ 1140.00 plus tax and shipping. At Sunplay it was $699.00 total..and there was no charge for shipping and no taxes.


The Breastfeeding Network is a registered Scottish charity that offers independent support and information to breastfeeding women and their families.
Our friendly drop-in centres welcome all pregnant and breastfeeding mums. Come along for support and information and to meet other breastfeeding mums for a coffee and a chat.


KidStart – Saving for your kids whilst shopping!
KidStart is a program run in partnership with Netmums Rewards which is a bit like QuidCo or other Cashback programs, but has a lot of bonuses going for it. The main one is that it's family orientated and designed specifically by parents, for parents. It has thousands of retailers – not just kids stuff – as well as companies like insurance, web hosting, services and more. It has a website or a mobile app which means you can use it just about anywhere and it's surprising how quickly the pennies add up.
It includes some big name retailers like Amazon, Apple, Disney, Ebay, Experia, Gap, Geoge, Groupon, Halfords, John Lewis, Sainsburys, Book People, Smyths, Thomas Cook and more.
When you shop you can either search through the website, or install their App which tells you if savings are available. This is what I do, as it shows on the top of a website or on google if KidStart savings are up for grabs. You use the KidStart link and then shop as normal, this uses a tracking cookie on your purchase which tells KidStart how much money you spent. You get a percentage of this returned to you, which is then payable to your bank, building society or savings account. If you link it to certain Trust Funds/ISAs for children, you could also be getting tax benefits too!
One of the great things is you can set it to automatically pay into a child savings account, which is unique amongst the Cashback sites. I love the idea that by shopping I'm adding pennies into William's bank for when he's older. It may not seem like a massive amount (although I've saved £10 in my first month!) but I'm sure it will add up over the years into a tidy little sum for him.
Then it has family features. You can link your account with other family members so all their purchases save for your children too. So you can use the same account for mum, dad, grandparents, aunties, godparents – whoever wants to contribute. They don't have to faff about with the financial side, you just add their email and they shop in the same way as you do, but it all goes into one account. Neat right?
Simply head over to the website, sign up and start shopping. It really is that simple and only takes a few minutes. If you use the link in this article, I'll earn £5 for my son when you hit £5 saved for yours and you can then pass your own link onto friends and family too. It's completely free to sign up and use, so there's absolutely no reason not to give it a go!