'When the Pickle is refitted send her to me'…..thus wrote Nelson in a dispatch from H.M.S. Victory in July 1805. Nelson's Pickle was a 72' topsail schooner with a long, long bowsprit making her around 100' in overall length. She was fast and weatherly and sailed thousands of miles as courier and spy ship for the fleets blockading French and Spanish ports in the Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Built in Bermuda in the 1790's as a privateer (and a successful one) she was bought by the Navy in 1800. With a crew of 38 and headroom below of just 4' she must have been overcrowded, wet and uncomfortable, and desertion was quite common. She was here, there and everywhere, and at the Battle of Trafalgar she stayed out of the firing line, her role being to pick up survivors. These included 150 French sailors who, when heard plotting to take over, were battened down below. What a squash that must have been!
After the Battle and the violent storm that followed, Pickle was commissioned to carry the news back to England. Following 11 eventful days at sea, the Skipper, Lieutenant Lapenotiere was rowed ashore in Falmouth. He hired a post chaise and 19 changes of horse and 30 hours later he arrived at the Admiralty after midnight, where luckily someone was doing overtime. Thus it was 2 weeks after the battle that the news of the victory and the death of Nelson became known in this country. The threat of invasion by Napolean's army was removed because he no longer had warships to protect his troop transports.
These days, the victory is celebrated by naval officers on or about 21st October as Trafalgar Night and two weeks later by the 'Senior Rates' as Pickle Night. The overland route taken by Lapenotiere is known as 'Trafalgar Way'.
Today's Pickle is a 72' topsail schooner with much the same sail-plan and built to much the same lines in St Petersburg in 1995. She has an engine and wheel steering – the original had a tiller. The sails are new but of the same cloth and cut as Nelson's Navy, and they cost a small fortune. On deck hemp ropes and belaying pins are everywhere and not a winch in sight. There are also eight cannon, one of which dates from the 1790s. Broadsides and salutes using thunder-flashes are fired given the least of excuses – with earplugs provided. Below midships there is ample headroom, a comfortable saloon and reasonable accommodation for nine crew. Further aft there is a chart room and a generous Captain's cabin with four berths. This Pickle is not a replica but portrays the era, the story, and the romance of sail.
The present owner, Mal Nicholson, bought her off EBay when she was in Gibraltar and near to sinking. She had a major refit in Portugal and is now shipshape and based in Kingston-upon-Hull (or 'ull' to the locals). All credit to Mal who now seeks a good way to fund this project for the future. Meanwhile, there is always something that needs attention, and the crew do their best to keep up.
My association began on a damp October night in 'ull'. Mal recommended I bring a waterproof sleeping bag, and now I know why. On the tide next morning 25th Oct, we set sail on a 650 mile round trip to Portsmouth calling at Harwich, Dover and Eastbourne on the way. Mal wants to develop close relations with the Navy and the purpose of this voyage (at the request of the Navy) was to have his Pickle moored close to HMS Victory on Pickle night. A brilliant occasion to which we were all invited.
Mal's crew knew Pickle well. There was Ken (vice-captain), Roger (electrics), Harry (navigation), Karl (sails), and Mike (yarns). Also powder monkey Mason who at 14 years old, is over 6ft tall, knows the ropes and displayed great maturity. In addition there was the Navy and the Marines – at various times – Ginge, J-J, Rasher, Jacko, Rocky and Warren. Nicknames all – no one seems to use a given name.
The weather was extraordinarily kind and the wind so cooperative. When we wanted to go South, it was in the North. When we turned West, it went into the South, and our voyage proceeded to plan. Alas no dolphins or whales, but hundreds of wind turbines to navigate around.
We had our 'pickles' and I describe just two.
We had our 'pickles' and I describe just two. While attempting to set the flying jib on day 1, the upper topsail yard was broken. Mal was very upset. Obviously this had to be repaired before we reached Portsmouth because a topsail schooner without a topsail just would not look right! In Harwich the yard was lowered to the deck and was found to be rotten in part and clearly irreparable. In Dover we went to B&Q and bought lengths of 4×2 and 4×1 timber. These were glued to the 6 metre length needed and next day shaped to the right profile. In Eastbourne the topsail was bent on and the yard hoisted back up – a great team effort.
There was another twist to this yarn. On Sat 28th , we were guests of honour and piped aboard at the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club for their own great fun Pickle night where Nic Lucas was compere and leader of the band. Another club member – Bruce – said he owned a woodland and would cut us a tree. Next day he came to say he had cut down a tree and he needed our help to move it. We piled into his Landrover, got the sapling out of the wood, cut it to length, shaped it somewhat with his bandsaw and carried it on his roof rack back to the ship. Now we carried 3 upper yards – one broken, one B&Q and one with potential.
We pickled again when we left Eastbourne's Sovereign Harbour at 0400 on Wed 1st for the last leg to Portsmouth. The channel outside the lock is silted and we knew we had minimal depth but in our favour there was a rising tide. We had to stay mid channel but one starboard navigation light was not working and in the dark we misjudged the centre, going aground on a lee shore close to the harbour entrance. I would have been tempted to try to power off, but this ship is deepest at the stern and would have stuck even faster. Mal was as cool as a cucumber as we waited for the tide, and after a tense 30 minutes or so he reversed off using starboard prop walk to get us back in the channel.
In mid-afternoon that Wednesday we took on a pilot to guide us into Portsmouth Harbour, we fired a six gun salute, and we were escorted to our mooring on Victory Pier, as close as we could get to the Navy's flagship. We had arrived on schedule ahead of Pickle Night.
We assembled on Sat 4th Nov on Victory's atmospheric lower gun deck. Mostly RN Warrant Officers, but also Royal Marines in scarlet mess dress, and our crew, and all presided over by Fleet Commodore Admiral Ben Key, 105 people in all to celebrate Pickle night. First off was a generous tot of rum, followed by dinner punctuated by the dispatches from Trafalgar, toasts, speeches, banter galore and shanties. One particular moment sticks in my mind…..Harry our navigator is a retired Navy clearance diver and when introduced as holding the Queen's Gallantry Medal, there was an instant standing ovation. On our voyage Harry never talked about it.
The voyage back North began at 0830 on Wed 8th Nov with a decent NW breeze. Second Sea Lord Jonathon Woodcock came to see us off and presented Mal with a handsome print of Pickle and Victory sailing together. Having cleared the Outer Spit we dropped off the pilot and set course for Dover having decided to bypass Eastbourne. From 0200 the next morning I had a long and thrilling trick at the helm, charging through the night. It was now blowing 30 plus from the North and despite the proximity of land, it was really quite rough. We were healing to the wind and I couldn't help eyeing the life-raft and wondering if it would work. We were safely in by 0400, guided to the inner harbour by the pilot launch and amazingly there was Nic again to take our lines.
Next afternoon we were off again to cross the Thames Estuary to Harwich, arriving again around 0400 at Halfpenny Quay. I had the helm from around 0230 and it was difficult to pick out the channel with a background of the bright lights on Felixstowe Docks, particularly as the GPS was temporarily u/s and the steering hydraulics were malfunctioning.
On Sat 11/11 we set off up the River Stour with full sail to lie off the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook at 11/11/11. We were there to fire a salute and cast a wreath in a joint act of remembrance with the school who were lined up on the parade ground. It all went like clockwork and when asked afterwards how we had managed to hold station with all sail set, we had to admit we had come to a gentle halt in the mud!
There followed a wonderful Trafalgar Night dinner at the school with around 130 final year students. Again the dispatches, the toasts, the shanties and a stirring speech by Admiral John Lippiett, recently retired from the Mary Rose project.
On Sunday morning Max turned up and together we said sad farewell to Mal and his crew, and Rasher and Ginge as Pickle lay trapped on the quay by a very strong onshore wind. We had worked and played together for nearly three weeks and a strong bond had developed.
We went back to the school for 'Divisions' and Chapel and we were mightily impressed. All 750 11/18 year olds were on parade with a 40 strong guard of honour and a 70 piece marching band, and the Admiral taking the salute. In the chapel afterwards the 1000 strong congregation raised the roof. We wished one of our grandchildren might go there!
…..and so back to Lymington in the comfort of a car.


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age 36, of Wausaukee, passed away peacefully Wednesday January 23, 2019, at her home. She was born in Milwaukee on January 11, 1983; daughter of Henry Krahling Sr. and Kate Wallenslager. Shara loved puzzles, birthday's, dancing, parties and her dogs: Meggie and Britney. Recently she enjoyed eating oatmeal as well.
Shara is survived by her parents: Lloyd and Kate Wallenslager and Henry Krahling Sr.; and 10 siblings: Alex Lochel, Christine Jacobson, Bridget Bartsch, Debbie Lochel, Henry Jr., Jacob, Tim and Elisabeth Krahling, Heidi Nechy and Kevin Wallenslager. She was preceded in death by her sister, Amy.
Family and friends may visit Roubal Funeral Home on Monday January 28, 2019, from 10 am until the time of the Funeral Service at 11 am, Pastor Agnes Brady will officiate. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery this spring.


The surname laves was adopted in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. After the Norman Conquest, the Old English naming system gradually dissolved. Old English names became less common and were replaced by popular continental European names. The earliest surnames in England were found shortly after the Norman Conquest and are of Norman French rather than native English origins.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our laves research.
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1095, 1470, 1596, 1661, 1608, 1682, 1610, 1610 and are included under the topic Early laves History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name laves were recorded, including Love, Lufe, Luf and others.
Another 106 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early laves Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the laves family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the laves family emigrate to North America: Richard Love settled in Virginia in 1642; Edward Love settled in Virginia in 1663; David Love settled in Boston in 1763; Alexander, David, James, John, Joseph, Mary, Mathew, Robert, Thomas and William Love, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..


Guadalupe, CA, January 28, 2004—Peoples' Self-Help Housing (PSHH) is proud to announce the Grand Opening & Dedication of their latest affordable housing development in Guadalupe: River View Estates and Townhomes. The Dedication Ceremony will take place at the River View Townhomes site on Saturday, January 29th at 11:00 AM with entertainment and lunch following the ceremony. In addition, PSHH will host a Health Fair, including multiple medical screening services, and activities in the Learning Center for the community from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM at the same location.
River View Estates is a development of 50 homes which were built by their new owners as part of PSHH's Self-Help Home Ownership Program. This program teaches low-income families financial and construction skills, and requires each family to contribute a minimum of 1,200 hours of construction labor. All 50 families are first time home owners, with their "sweat equity" used in lieu of a cash down-payment.
River View Townhomes is an attractive, permanently affordable rental community of 80 rental units adjacent to River View Estates. The development includes a 5,000 sq. ft. community center with health clinic and a 5,000 sq. ft. learning center.
The Health Fair will host 30 medical and health industry vendors offering free medical screenings. This portion of the event will highlight PSHH's innovative programs providing health education and treatment at multiple Peoples' sites. Programs include prenatal care, family nutrition, parenting skills, and on-site clinics.
Who: Anticipated participants include 500 residents of River View Estates and Townhomes, the community of Guadalupe, Dignitaries, and other partner groups.
What: Grand Opening of River View Estates & Townhomes. Health Fair & Medical Screening.
Where: River View Townhomes, 230 Calle Cesar Chavez, Guadalupe—Directions from 101 South or North: Exit Main St./HWY 166 in Santa Maria. Go West on HWY 166 through Santa Maria. HWY 166 turns into Main St. in Guadalupe. Stay on Main St. (about 8 miles from Santa Maria to Guadalupe). Turn right on Calle Cesar Chavez after passing the Cemetery & "Point Sal Dunes."


Blue Buoys, archival pigment print, 47 x 37 in.
I draw much of my inspiration from the interplay between the contemplative sensibility of traditional Asian art and a more Western need for invention and some measure of uncharted chaos. My current work ranges in style and media to fit my obsessions. I have a background in printmaking and have always sought the aesthetic of etching, lithography, and silk screen in my work.
Morning Dream Bridge, archival pigment print, 26 x 25 in.
Salmon Bay, archival pigment print, 41 x 41 in.
Ledgerdemain, archival pigment print, 26 x 25 in.
The Other Side, archival pigment print, 42 x 32 in.
Flatbed, digital print, 32 x 38 in.
Pastorale #3 - the open gate, digital print, 32 x 43 in.
El Lobo Grande, archival pigment print, 31 x 55 in.
Sentinel 3 (Dusk), archival pigment print, 31 x 55 in.
Harbor Morning, archival pigment print, 43 x 43 in.
Quadrumane, archival pigment print, 43 x 32 in.
Windscape, archival pigment print, 42 x 33 in.
Salmon Bay II, archival pigment print, 47 x 37 in.
The Shipping Lanes, archival pigment print, 32 x 32 in.
South Holgate Gantry, archival pigment print, 29 x 35 in.
Spillway, archival pigment print, 26 x 25 in.
The Galland, archival pigment print, 41 x 40 in.
The Sky is Not Always Above You, archival pigment print, 26 x 25 in.
Blue Bascule, archival pigment print, 42 x 32 in.
The Blue Tarp, archval pigment print, 42 x 32 in.
Conway Feed, digital print, 32 x 43 in.
Liminal Shift, digital print, 32 x 43 in.
Salish, archival pigment print, 47 x 37 in.
Highland Light, archival pigment print, 31 x 55 in.
Sky Carpet, archival pigment print, 47 x 37 in.
Pastorale No. 1, archival pigment print, 32 x 43 in.
Mill Warehouse, archival pigment print, 42 x 33 in.
King Street, archival pigment print, 32 x 43 in.
100 Year Preparedness Diagram, digital mixed media print, 43.5 x 31 in.
Pearl District Blues, archival pigment print, 45 x 34 in.


Mobile phones started life as the two way radio, which was also called mobile rigs. These were installed in vehicles such as minicabs, police cars and ambulances, but were not strictly mobile phones as they were not normally connected to the telephone network. While the very first mobile phones were installed permanently in vehicles, later versions such as the transportables, also called bag phones, could also be carried, and can be used as either portable or as mobile two way radios..
pandora rings All he had to do was sell some rock to get a few friends arounds him. In the end those friends killed him. Think about it if the person pumped 7 rounds into his chest he must have bin talking to him there for he must have known the person.http://www.pandorabraceletjewelry.com My high school boyfriend was my first love. We broke up but continued to date after we went to college, finally ending our relationship and cutting off all contact during my sophomore year. I dated someone else semi seriously, but when that ended I found myself thinking about my ex more and more pandora rings.


Feb. 13, 2019 8:43 a.m.
Motorists should watch for compact snow on Highway 5 between Blue River Frontage Rd. and Albreda Access Rd for 65.8 km (Blue River to 3 km south of Albreda). Be advised to watch for slippery sections.
Compact snow has also been reported between McMurphy Station Rd. and Stewart St. for 56.6 km (Blue River to 17 km south of Avola).
Electrical maintenance is planned on highway 5 between Hoirup Rd. and Skinner Rd. for 1 km (10 km north of Vavenby.) It's scheduled to start Feb. 19 at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Single lane alternating traffic will be in effect.
Electrical maintenance is also planned on Highway 5 between Lloyd Rd. and Pye Rd. (5 km south of Vavenby), starting Feb. 19 at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Single lane alternating traffic will be in effect in this area as well.


Finding the right banker to do the construction loan for a custom home on your land is one of the most difficult and intimidating pieces of the build-on-your-land puzzle. Shopping for a bank is difficult because it's tough to know what to shop for.
Every business needs a sales force, as they are the ones who find the clients. Without clients, we all know what happens to a business. At a bank, the sales person is called a loan officer, and it's their job is to drum up business for the bank.
When you're building on your land, you want to find the right builder for you. And in most cases, builders require a deposit before they'll even quote you a price. That's because giving you a price on a custom home requires a fair bit of work.
Construction Loan Appraisal - Why don't I get credit for things like spray foam insulation?
If you've ever researched the real estate market or purchased a house, you're probably familiar with the three things most important in real estate: location, location, location. Location affects the price of homes, the number of homes available, and how quickly they sell.
How Much Will My Construction Loan Payment Be Each Month?
A great question most of my clients ask is, "How much will my monthly construction loan payment be?" They're trying to determine if they can afford to make that payment along with their regular house payment, whether that's a mortgage or rent payment.
Construction loans - why does it take so long to get approved?
The construction loan process is often one of the most challenging aspects of building a home on your land. It can be a frustrating process, but understanding why it takes so long can help ease some of the frustration. Here are two main reasons it takes so long to get approved for a construction loan.
Getting a construction loan to build a house on your land might be the most intimidating part of building. And it's certainly one of the most confusing. Some lenders love to use industry jargon, which makes it even worse. I've been in the building industry for 18 years, and I still hear terms I hadn't heard before.
Construction Loans: How do I pay for a custom home?
Paying for a house that's being built on your land is very different from buying a new house from a builder, or even buying a custom home on the lot a builder owns. To build a custom home on your land, you'll need a construction loan. This article talks about the basics of paying for a custom home built on your land or lot.


text:
Liberman says peace with Palestinians impossible
Ahead of Obama's visit, former foreign minister says "tsunami" shaking Arab world makes solving conflict "impossible."
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Baz Ratner)
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman said on Saturday that an agreement with the Palestinians was not currently possible, weeks before US President Barack Obama's upcoming trip to Israel.
Liberman ticked off in a Channel 2 interview the assassination last week of the opposition leader in Tunisia, the terrorist murder last week of dozens of people in Iraq, and the killing of 117 people in Syria on Friday, and said it was not realistic to think it possible in this environment to reach a comprehensive peace accord with the Palestinians.
"Anyone who thinks that in the center of the diplomatic, political and social tsunami that is shaking the Arab world it is possible to get a magical solution of comprehensive peace with the Palestinians does not understand," he said.
"I am saying clearly that it is impossible to reach a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians," said Liberman, who has not hidden his desire to return to the helm at the Foreign Ministry after his upcoming trial. "It is impossible to solve the conflict, it needs to be managed."
Soon after Obama's visit was announced last week, White House spokesman Jay Carney played down expectations of Obama arriving in Israel with any new dramatic peace proposals, saying that this was not the focus of the visit.
Liberman said he was in favor of negotiations with the Palestinians "at any time and in any place in the world, without preconditions." However, he said those negotiations should be over "a long term interim agreement."
Whether or not negotiations will be held, he said, rested with the Palestinians. "The ball is in Abu Mazen's [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] court," he said.
Liberman said that to his understanding the first thing on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's agenda was "the real security threat, first from the Iranians, but also from Hamas, Hezbollah and even Abu Mazen who only two days ago was in Cairo and thanked [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad [for supporting the PA upgrade at the UN in November]."
Meanwhile, Liberman's former deputy Danny Ayalon, who Liberman left off his party's Knesset slate, said Saturday at a cultural event in Holon that Israel should recognize Palestine as a full member of the UN.
"Israel will give the Palestinians sovereignty and independence and in return, they will recognize Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people and will guarantee security arrangements," he recommended.
Ayalon called on Netanyahu to say to the Palestinians: "I am prepared to recognize you, but you have to recognize me."
Ayalon also said Abbas must state in Arabic – rather than in Hebrew or English – that he recognizes Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.
He said such a statement would have a huge impact on generations to come.
Addressing Obama's trip, Ayalon – who left his position as deputy foreign minister on Tuesday – said he expected there would be an attempt to jump-start the diplomatic process, and that this might be done with a three-way summit meeting between Netanyahu, Abbas and Obama, or perhaps even a four-way meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II.
The Prime Minister's Office said they have not heard of any plans for such a summit.
Ayalon said Obama's visit would once again put the US president in the position of leading the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process, and that the trip would pave the way for new US Secretary of State John Kerry to continue negotiations between the parties.
"If the president's visit does not yield results, it will raise a lot of doubts and criticism," he said.
Tamara Zieve contributed to this report.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Ten: Bunnies
by Phil Walker November 8, 2013 - 12:03pm 15 minute read
They say it's a batsman's game. Not always. Phil Walker presents the bowlers who 'had the wood' over their men, and then some…
10) TIM LAMB ON DAVID GOWER
Pure Gower. County cricket was just too dry for a batsman whose juices flowed best with the champers on a blazing Lord's Saturday – he made only 53 first-class centuries, yet 18 of them came in Tests. So it was apt that the man who knocked him over whenever Gower was inconvenienced by the treadmill was Tim Lamb, a paceless Northants seamer – and future chief executive of the ECB – of mild potency. Lamb's apologetic wobblers got him out eight times for fewer than fifty, getting him lbw for nought twice in one particular match on the distinctly un-Goweresque stage of Wantage Road, Northampton. See it as a gift from the great man to the little people.
9) HANSIE CRONJE ON SACHIN TENDULKAR
If the cricketing gods had any moral decency the angel from Mumbai would have cast a silky veil over Cronje's dastardly efforts, but no, the opposite applied, as the South African's seedy medium-wobblers consistently accounted for Sachin throughout his career: "Honestly," the wee master later explained, "I got out to Hansie more than anyone. He always got me out more than Allan Donald or Shaun Pollock. It wasn't that I couldn't pick him, it's just that the ball seemed to go straight to a fielder." Eight times in all, five in Tests, three times in pyjamas. The divinities as ever in mischievous mood.
8) BHAGWATH CHANDRASEKHAR ON VIV RICHARDS
Hard to imagine the great man being subdued by anyone, but the twirly, bony mysticism of India's pre-eminent leggie Chandra was often too much for Sir Viv. He fell to him just four times in Tests, but his variations reduced Richards to mere competence, with the West Indian later conceding that after Dennis Lillee, it was Chandra who gave him the most problems in his Test career.
7) MORNE MORKEL ON ANDREW STRAUSS
Though a brilliant player of pace during his career, Andrew Strauss could never quite escape the clutches of South Africa's wordless Karloffian monster Morne Morkel, the English general averaging just 21 in Tests when Morkel's rib-bothering angle of attack featured. The quick's amiable viciousness finally did for Strauss in the 2012 summer, nailing him on the back leg in the first over of the Test series to set the final ball rolling. That lbw at The Oval was the eighth time he'd got him out in Tests. With its echoes of those one-sided youth v age contests from the bad old days – Michael Holding pinning Brian Close [see below]; Jeff Thomson bouncing Colin Cowdrey – it confirmed once again, just in case anyone was in any doubt, that sometimes cricket just isn't reasonable.
6) ANDRE NEL ON BRIAN LARA
No single bowler ever dominated Lara. Not Warne nor McGrath, nor Donald, nor Kumble. Not even Gareth Batty, over two-and-a-half days and 400 runs in Antigua. But Andre Nel's alter ego got close. 'Gunther' ("He takes me over" says Nel), cut Lara down eight times in Tests and on three occasions in ODIs, with the West Indian too freaked out by the bounding vision of a camp seven-foot Nazi to concentrate. You could hardly blame him. It's probably worth pointing out that Lara still averaged over 100 in the matches in which Gunther lurked.
5) ANDREW FLINTOFF ON ADAM GILCHRIST
It was perhaps the single biggest factor in England's 2005 Ashes triumph. Gilchrist had done some terrible things to England in the past. It was assumed he was unstoppable. But that summer he didn't reach fifty in 10 innings. This was down primarily to a raging northern fire coming around-the-wicket, going after the ribs and seeking out the outside edge. Flintoff got him out four times that series, leaving the great destroyer so shrunken by the "intense and personal" humiliation that it left him questioning his desire and aptitude for the game. He needn't have worried. The next series that he faced England he hit a 57-ball hundred at Perth. Turns out he could play after all.
4) YUVRAJ SINGH ON KEVIN PIETERSEN
The "pie chucker" with his "left-arm filth" has been the butt of a few good-natured barbs from KP in his time, but the banter barely masks Pietersen's troubles against Yuvraj Singh's canny lobs. Four times in ODI cricket KP has fallen to him, playing inside and out, angled bat and all; Bangladesh's Abdur Razzak has got him out the second most times in ODIs, highlighting Pietersen's flirtation with averageness against the slow left-armer.
3) TERRY ALDERMAN ON GRAHAM GOOCH
An old world tussle with only one winner. Terry and Graham, Graham and Terry: inseparable through much of the Eighties; more specifically, Terry's inducker would rub up intimately against Graham's showy front pad. It began in 1981, when Gooch kept playing round straight deliveries, and the affair was resurrected in 1989, when Australia's plan and Gooch's inability to resist it reached almost comic levels; towards the end of that series England's heaviest ever run-scorer had quietly asked if he could be dropped.
2) GLENN MCGRATH ON MICHAEL ATHERTON
Probably the most famous bunny of them all. It's almost too painful to go over again but no list of bunnies is complete without the tale of Atherton's 19 nervous breakdowns against McGrath. It seemed to crystallise England's inferiority complex during the era: our best boy would walk out, take guard, try and clear his head of the previous day-and-a-half, survey the field, block out Warne's latest wisecrack, take a half-step forward, prod at McGrath's seamer and, feeling the nick, jackrabbit behind to catch the ball sinking miserably into Healy's smug gloves. This was the Nineties.
1) SHANE WARNE ON DARYL CULLINAN
Warne may have stored up more bunnies than Hefner, but of all his many victims his most cherished acquisition had to be poor Cullinan. The South African was one of the most assured technicians of the mid-Nineties, an all-round player with three Test tons on turning Asian pitches, but Warne landed him up in counselling. Cullinan averaged 2.75 in four Tests against Warne's Australia. He may have been clueless against his variations – he would later concede that "quite simply, Warne was too good for me" – but at least he didn't lose the power of speech. When Warne greeted him for the first Test of a series in South Africa with the pleasantry that he'd been "waiting two years for this opportunity to humiliate you in front of your own crowd", Cullinan replied: "Looks like you spent it eating."
michael atherton
phil walker


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Ex-UCF QB Dillon Gabriel announces commitment to UCLA
Dillon Gabriel
Sam Cooper
16 December 2021, 2:22 pm ·2-min read
American football quarterback
Dillon Gabriel is headed to the Pac-12.
The former UCF quarterback announced Thursday that he intends to continue his career at UCLA, where he will play for Chip Kelly.
WESTWOOD! LETS RIDE! #4sup pic.twitter.com/jyf09yEZOb
— Dillon Gabriel (@_dillongabriel_) December 16, 2021
Gabriel, a lefty out of Hawaii, was the starter for the Knights for the past three seasons. He was limited to just three games in 2021 due to a broken collarbone suffered on the final play of UCF's loss to Louisville back in Week 3. In those three games, Gabriel threw for 818 yards and nine touchdowns while completing 68.6% of his attempts. Gabriel announced his departure on Nov. 27, a day after UCF's regular season finale.
Before 2021, Gabriel put up huge numbers. As a freshman, he beat out Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush for the starting role and threw for 3,653 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In 10 games in 2020, Gabriel threw for 3,570 yards and 32 TDs with just four interceptions.
This is a big pickup for the Bruins, who could lose four-year starter Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the NFL draft after the Holiday Bowl against NC State on Dec. 28. Thompson-Robinson could come back next season due to the extra year provided by the NCAA given the season played amid the pandemic, but the addition of Gabriel could clue us in on what Thompson-Robinson is leaning toward.
Thompson-Robinson said Wednesday that he will make his decision following the bowl game.
UCLA went a combined 10-21 in Kelly's first three seasons as head coach. This year, the Bruins broke through and are 8-4 entering the bowl game. UCLA's last bowl victory came back in 2015 when it beat Kansas State in the Alamo Bowl.
UCF, meanwhile, is 8-4 in its first season under Gus Malzahn. The Knights will face Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl on Tuesday.
Central Florida quarterback Dillon Gabriel throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against East Carolina, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
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Radiohead's Thom Yorke Is Coming to Phoenix
Volbeat Are Headlining UFEST 2020
Bluesman Mike Heads Benefits for Salvation Army and the Philippines This Month
Stan Bindell
Stan Bindell | December 5, 2013 | 5:45am
The best way to get rid of the blues is to play some good blues and make it for the benefit of those in need. Many of the blues players in the Valley do just that. One example would be Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band, set to host the sixth annual Toy and Diaper Drive at the Rhythm Room on Sunday, December 8.
They join a list including Hans Olson, Nina Curry, George Bowman, Jay Morton, and Sir Harrison. Bluesman Mike asks those attending to bring either canned goods, diapers, or both. "We don't want your money," he says. "There is no admission charge."
The donated toys will go to the Salvation Army; the donated diapers will go to First Way Pregnancy Center. Representatives from both of those organizations will be present, so if anyone forgets diapers and canned goods they can donate funds for the causes.
"We wanted to give back to the community, and my wife Esther was working with First Way, so it came together," he says. "We always want to reach more people." His wife told him they were always running out of diapers, but they wanted to do a little more while they were at it. "We also want to make some kids' Christmas brighter by bringing them a toy."
The food and diaper drive started six years ago at Boogies in Tempe and later was held at McCools in Chandler before finding its way to the Rhythm Room.
A night earlier, on December 7, the Blues Review Band will be raising funds for victims of the typhoon in the Philippines. This fundraiser will get going at 6 p.m. at the Ken McDonald Golf Club in Tempe.
"We performed for a Philippine Christian group," Bluesman Mike says, "so they asked us to perform at this fundraiser." This fundraiser is hosted by the Philippine Nurses Association. A dinner comes with the $15 admission fee, but folks can donate as much money as they like.
Golfers can come early and play 18 holes for a $50 donation. For more information, telephone the Ken McDonald Golf Club at 480-350-5250.
Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band is one of the busier bands in the Valley, constantly booked at various venues and playing a mix of cover tunes and originals in a style that mixes Texas and Chicago blues.
"I call it a gumbo mix of blues," Bluesman Mike says. "We play Chicago blues with our own flavor. Our Texas blues is good for dance tunes."
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Pinchas Zukerman
Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 / 7:30pm @ Centennial Hall - AZ 1020 E University Blvd Tucson AZ 85721
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Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020 / 8:00pm @ The Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix 308 N. 2nd Avenue Phoenix AZ 85003
308 N. 2nd Avenue, Phoenix AZ 85003
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 / 7:30pm @ The Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix 308 N. 2nd Avenue Phoenix AZ 85003
He's been a fan of the blues himself since the first time he heard Otis Redding's voice; he's also been influenced by Solomon Burke, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, BB King, Junior Wells and Albert King as well as local musicians Pete Pearson and George Bowman.
The Blues Review Band includes Sugar Bear Lawrence on lead guitar, Bluesman Mike on bass, Bobby Nealy on keyboards and Steve Loecher on drums. They've already begun work on their next CD.
Two other important gigs find the Blues Review Band at the Blue Adobe Grill in Scottsdale from December 6 and New Year's Eve at the Dubliner Irish Pub in Phoenix.
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Five takeaways from the Lakers' 124-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks
By Tania Ganguli
One of the first people to text Isaiah Thomas after he got traded to the Lakers was Kobe Bryant.
"I like you better in LA anyway," Bryant said, according to Thomas' recollection.
Bryant has been a mentor for Thomas, who reached out to Bryant last year during the playoffs. Thomas grew up watching the Lakers, and that would have included Bryant's championship teams. He shared that nugget when asked if he still communicates with Bryant.
Friday's game marked the first time Thomas got to play a home game with the Lakers.
"It was nice to get an ovation," Thomas said. "To finally be on the home team in L.A. It was a nice feeling. I've always thought of having that feeling. I know my family back home was definitely happy about it. I'm just glad we got the win."
It was also his first taste of what his role with the team might be for the next two months.
Here are five takeaways from the Lakers' 124-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
1.) Lonzo Ball and Thomas can coexist and play the way Lakers coach Luke Walton wants them to play. Because of Ball's minutes restriction, he was never on the court without Thomas. "That group really had the ball moving, which I was hoping to see with two point guards on the floor," Walton said. "They went through a stretch where they weren't scoring, but they were getting wide open looks, and that's all you can really ask for. We finished with 32 assists and I felt like, for the most part of the game, it was the simple pass and to the open guy."
2.) Thomas said he didn't learn anything new through the experience of playing with Ball. It simply confirmed what he expected. "We're just two basketball players that know how to make plays," Thomas said. "He's a guy that loves to pass and advance the ball. I'm a guy that likes to make plays and score the ball. I think that adjustment is going to be easy just playing with another guy that likes to make plays, you just figure out where you can take advantage and go from there."
3.) Big games from Julius Randle are becoming the norm. Randle notched his fifth career triple double, almost a year after he got his last one, also against Dallas. It's been a study in not forcing things for Randle. "Teams are doubling," he said. "They're not really playing me one on one in the post. My job is to evaluate the defense and if I have the advantage, score; if not, draw the double team and make the play for my teammates."
4.) Randle's play was a big part of why the Lakers were so dominant on the boards. They outrebounded the Mavericks 61-29. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time since 1994 that a Lakers team notched at least 60 rebounds while its opponent had fewer than 30.
5.) Lonzo Ball didn't lose the momentum he had built scoring. Ball had been shooting the ball better just before his injury, so it would have been fair to wonder whether he would keep that up after a 41-day break. Ball answered immediately by hitting a three-pointer seconds after entering the game. He made three three-pointers throughout the night, sinking half of those he attempted.
tania.ganguli@latimes.com
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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Tania Ganguli
Tania Ganguli covered the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times from 2016-20. Previously, she spent six years covering football, first for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Fla., then the Houston Chronicle and ESPN. An alumnus of Northwestern University and Arcadia High School, she has written about everything from high school sports to college football to boat racing during the past 15 years.
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Across the country, Muslims are fighting voter suppression and intimidation
Poll worker Amirun Nessa, seated right, assists voter Leyna Madison, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Mark Lennihan)
Aysha Khan
A Muslim activist in Lackawanna, New York, said she suspected her vote had not been counted after she dropped off her absentee ballot in the town's June primary elections. An attorney then asked the local board of elections to see the names of voters whose ballots had objections.
Of about 200 ballots with objections filed against them, all but one had names that sounded Muslim or Middle Eastern. The ballots were all related to contests with Arab American candidates.
And less than an hour after a Freedom of Information request was filed with the Erie County Board of Elections, all objections to those ballots were withdrawn by the local politician who had filed them.
"Disenfranchising voters by discretely rejecting absentee ballots is abhorrent and a threat to democracy," said organizer Amira Muflahi of Voters Organized to Inspire Civic Action (VOICE) in a statement. She and other members of Lackawanna's growing Arab and Muslim community had been getting increasingly involved in get-out-the-vote initiatives, with several running for office this year. "We try to preserve and safeguard the unalienable rights of our citizens by assisting them at the polls, but how can we protect their right when ballots are being thrown out behind the scenes with no regard?"
Activists groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), have asked the New York State attorney general to open a probe into potential voter suppression in the small upstate New York town. The attorney general's office told the Middle East Eye that they would look into the incident. But New York Muslims are not filled with confidence about the integrity of November's elections.
"To disqualify the votes of hundreds of eligible citizens is the worst danger to our democracy that can be imagined," said attorney Afaf Nasher, executive director of CAIR's New York branch in a statement referencing the Lackawanna ballot allegations. "Regardless of religion or race, every eligible vote is crucial to preserving the legitimacy of our government. Disenfranchising certain populations is an abhorrent practice victimizing marginalized communities to censor their voice and stunt their political power—but we will not be silenced."
More than three quarters of all American Muslims are registered to vote in the November elections, according to this year's American Muslim Poll conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. While that rate still lags behind those of other major faith groups in this country, Muslim voters' populations in several critical battleground states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, mean their votes could help sway the election.
Related: Ismaili, Ahmadi Muslims push national voter registration efforts
But across the nation, community leaders say Muslims are facing barriers to the ballot box. For many immigrant communities, translation and language access remain perennial issues. Black and low-income Muslims are disproportionately impacted by voter ID and criminal disenfranchisement laws.
"A lot of people in our communities don't have the language to defend their right to vote when they're being discouraged at the polls," said Doha Medani, operations lead for North Carolina's Muslim Women For, a grassroots social justice organization. The group is leading phone banking and texting operations aimed at local Muslims, translating voting material into languages commonly spoken by Muslims in the state, and holding "Prayer to the Polls" events to bus Muslim voters from mosques to polling sites.
Medani said she has seen immense confusion among local voters due to new changes in state voting rights. Courts have temporarily blocked North Carolina's voter photo ID requirement as well as laws preventing former felons from registering if they have outstanding fines or fees.
"People still think they need to physically take an ID with them to the polls, but they only need one to register," Medani said. "People affected by the criminal justice system, who are disproportionately Black, are scared. They're not sure if they owe money or which laws apply to them, so some are just not going to vote because they don't want to risk getting another charge."
Activists say their communities are also seeing targeted disinformation and voter intimidation.
In Minnesota, the problem with election disinformation goes all the way up to President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly amplified unproven allegations of a voter fraud scheme involving Rep. Ilhan Omar and members of the state's large Somali Muslim population. "This is totally illegal," Trump tweeted. "Hope that the U.S. Attorney in Minnesota has this, and other of her many misdeeds, under serious review??? If not, why not???"
Late last month, political provocateur James O'Keefe's right-wing undercover activist group Project Veritas published a since-debunked 16-minute video claiming to prove that Rep. Omar and her campaign in Minnesota "may be behind one of the biggest voter fraud schemes in American history."
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In one Project Veritas clip that appears to be taken from Snapchat, a man named Liban Mohamed discusses how funds are critical to winning a campaign; in another clip, he boasts about picking up 300 mail-in ballots in a single day for his brother's race for city council. A Somali "insider" claimed in the video, without offering proof, that Omar paid for the harvesting of those and other ballots.
Mohamed is not an Omar campaign employee, he was not picking up ballots for Omar, and there is no evidence he paid for the ballots. The Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) has described the video as "a domestic, coordinated elite disinformation campaign" using misleading or false information to question the integrity of the election. The campaign's timing, EIP researchers from Stanford and the University of Washington noted, suggested the possibility of coordination between Project Veritas and Trump campaign officials attempting to drown out new media coverage of Trump's tax returns.
While Trump and other critics have attacked "ballot harvesting" as equivalent with fraud, dozens of states, including Minnesota, allow volunteers and campaign workers to collect and deliver some sealed ballots to election officials on behalf of voters who cannot deliver them, such as seniors and disabled citizens.
Local leaders say the fraud allegations are an attack against the integrity of their votes and an attempt to stifle the consistently high voter turnout among Minneapolis' Somali and Muslim population. Nearly half of registered voters in Ward 6—which includes the East African immigrant-dominated neighborhood of Cedar Riverside, which the Project Veritas video targeted—cast their ballot during August's primaries. Across the state, that number was 22 percent.
"Seeing the number of Muslims engaging in their voting rights, these people are trying to discredit us and give our people fear," said Hodo Dahir, who works with CAIR-Minnesota. She has called on Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim to serve in Congress, to investigate the claims. "We're fighting for our right to vote every single day," Dahir said. "In November, I don't think [anything] is going to stop us from turning out."
Related: In San Diego, Black Muslims are working to expand voting access in jails
Ellison had already begun an investigation into Atlas Aegis, a private security company that had told The Washington Post that it planned to guard Minnesota polling sites with a "large contingent" of armed veterans. On October 23, Ellison announced that his office had obtained "a written assurance" that the company would not recruit or provide security for Minnesota polling sites.
In previous years, Muslim voters have seen instances of voter intimidation at the polls.
During the 2016 elections, activists in New York and Michigan reported voter intimidation against Muslim women who wore the hijab and niqab. At polling sites in Canton, Michigan, several Muslim women were allegedly asked to remove their niqabs and fully reveal their face to verify their voter identification.
A 2016 exit poll across 14 states by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) found that 46 percent of Muslim voter respondents were asked for identification versus 32 percent among non-Muslim voters. In New York, most voters do not need to provide ID. But at a poll site in Midwood, a South Asian neighborhood in Brooklyn, one AALDEF monitor reported hearing announcements that voters "need ID" whenever voters in traditional Muslim clothing were standing in line.
While Michigan voters are asked to produce appropriate photo ID, those who do not have one can also sign an affidavit and vote using a provisional ballot. According to reports received by AALDEF, several Arab American voters dressed in "traditional clothing" were incorrectly told they were not registered to vote. One Bengali-speaking woman voting in the Muslim-majority city of Hamtramck was allegedly asked to prove her citizenship to receive a provisional ballot.
A 2014 analysis from the left-leaning Center for American Progress found that use of provisional ballots is more likely in counties with higher percentages of minority voters. But well over a quarter of provisional ballots are either not fully counted or entirely rejected, due to issues such as being registered in another jurisdiction or the signature on the ballot application not matching that of the registration record.
Related: 2020 Elections Coverage by GroundTruth & Report for America
"My mom, who has been a U.S. citizen since 2000, if she was handed a provisional ballot by a poll worker, she wouldn't question it," said Umer Rupani, executive director of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. Experts say usage of provisional ballots has been particularly high in the state.
"She would think that a government employee just handed me a document, and I'm supposed to trust the government, so I'm going to fill this out," Rupani said. "But she doesn't know that her vote was just suppressed, and that it was probably done with a smile on their face."
In 2018, the Georgia Muslim Voter Project was part of a successful lawsuit against the state in response to the high number of absentee ballots being disregarded due to "mismatched" voter signatures. That year, in a single Georgia county, nearly 600 mail-in ballots were rejected due to a signature-matching issue. During that same election, minority voters were significantly more likely than white voters to have their mail-in ballots rejected for mismatched signatures or for being incorrectly completed, per one study of Georgia's voter files. Since then, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that ballots could not automatically be thrown out due to signature mismatching.
Still, Rupani contends his team has seen other instances of attempted voter suppression. He said his team analyzed the hundreds of thousands names purged from the state's voter rolls last year for being classified as "inactive." He alleges that list contained a "much larger proportion of Muslims than there are Muslims in the state."
The state of Georgia has also closed a number of polling places this year. Those closures, along with strict voter ID laws and registered voters being purged from the rolls, make it harder for voters to cast ballots, and could have an especially negative effect on Muslim and minority voters. But Rupani notes that few of these actions, or what he calls "voter suppression tools," are "technically against the law."
"It's all done under the guise of trying to create a healthier democracy," Rupani said, "but the more barriers to entry, the less our communities' voices are actually counted."
This article is part of a reporting effort by The GroundTruth Project on voting rights in America, with support from the Jesse and Betsy Fink Charitable Fund, Solutions Journalism Network and MacArthur Foundation.
A version of this story appeared on RELIGION & POLITICS on October 27, 2020
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How the Sun Lost Its Shine: A Newsroom Memoir is award-winning journalist Elaine Tassy's no-holds-barred account of her four years working as a reporter at The Baltimore Sun. As one of few black female staff writers, she noticed and spoke out about the vast differences she saw in how editors, mostly white and male, utilized reporters, and how they covered local news-decisions often seemingly based on race, class and gender. With humor, brutal honesty, statistics from the Sun's website, and references to scholarly works, Tassy describes dozens of workplace experiences and the ensuing consequences, both physical and emotional, to being a "Job Socialization Failure." She gives evidence that should both comfort and support those who face unanticipated office politics, while offering an eye-opening reality check to professionals entering the workplace under the impression that their gender, race, age and willingness to challenge authority will not influence their working life.
Elaine Tassy, a former newspaper reporter and college journalism professor, is the author of the novel Pumpkin Bread, to be published in November 2010. She is also a textile collage artist, craniosacral therapist, occasional freelance features and travel writer, and a certified yoga instructor.


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The Block lied. Told you so.
If you read the media release published by the Town of Collingwood this afternoon you will realized just how much you have been lied to these past two years. It's titled, "Council to pursue Hydro Share Sale discussions with Epcor." This is the "unnamed company" whose name The Block and the administration tried – unsuccessfully – to hide from us.
But like I warned you: The Block is privatizing our water and wastewater services, too. All without any input or consultation from the public:
In addition to submitting an offer on Collingwood's remaining interest in Collingwood PowerStream Utility Services Corp, EPCOR has proposed a services arrangement to operate the Town's water and waste water system under the Town's continued ownership.
And yet the media release has the unmitigated gall to add,
The Town plans to hold a public information session once more information is available that will provide more details of the EPCOR proposal and seek public input.
Folks, you already know this is a foregone conclusion. After two years of outright deceit and deception, your input no longer matters. The deal is already done: a fait accompli, and nothing you say at this point makes any difference. You are about to lose control of both water and electrical utilities – lose control of the rates, service levels, quality and delivery – to an Edmonton-based corporation you've probably never heard of.
The Block doesn't give a shit about what you think about it. Or about anything else. They hold the public in utter contempt. And it won't be the last time The Block lies to you, either.
Continue reading "The Block lied. Told you so."
Will the Block's hypocrisy never cease?
Last term, when they were raising their pitchforks to storm the bureaucratic castle, the members of today's Collingwood Council – those we disparagingly refer to as The Block – were loudly castigating the former council for having once done a sole-source deal with the company that was the only Canadian supplier of a product in the whole country. Some said we should have gone further afield, to American sources.
We were evil, they told their cadre of supporters, for not going to tender, or other process like an RFP. The Block's leader and now Deputy Mayor, Brian Saunderson pledged his word in print to the public that, if he was elected, he would…
Change the purchasing policy to ensure there can be no sole sourcing of any contract for goods or services over $25,000, no exceptions.
He promised everyone he would do it. NO EXCEPTIONS, he said. Just elect me and watch me fix things. Two years later… and we're still waiting for him to keep his word.
Meanwhile, the very first contract The Block approved, February 2015, was a sole-source contract for taxi services to Councillor Fryer's brother-in-law. And ever since then, it's been one sole-sourced contract after another, handed out by this council like party favours.
Apparently the words "no exception" mean the rules can be changed when it suits The Block's purposes. But they don't call these "sole sourced" any more. To avoid the public shaming that might follow, they call them "non-standard" purchases. How devious.
Almost every consultant (there's only one exception that I know of) the Town has hired these past two years to produce the Block's self-serving (and frequently erroneous) reports has been sole-sourced. The $700-an-hour lawyer overseeing the sale of our utility (and the inevitable privatization of our water utility) was sole-sourced. The people doing the IT assessment for the town were sole-sourced.
On the agenda for Monday, January 30 are no less than THREE more sole-sourced items. One is a truck ( $172,175.00 plus HST). One is for a new membrane for the water treatment plant ($130,576.00 plus HST). The third is for two buses ($846,075.74 plus taxes). More than $1.14 million in sole-sourced purchases in a single evening.
Continue reading "Will the Block's hypocrisy never cease?"
Collingwood's casino roulette
I want you to read the following motion carefully. Take your time. It was passed by the former council in March, 2013 in response to the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG) coming forward with a proposal to locate a gambling ("gaming") facility in Collingwood:
WHEREAS a properly developed Integrated Destination Resort which includes but is not limited to a world class accommodation hotel, executive meeting and convention facilities, a large seating capacity theatre, restaurants, spa and boutique casino could benefit the economic growth of the community;
AND WHEREAS Council of the Town of Collingwood may be interested in becoming a host municipality for a gaming facility conditionally upon thorough review and discussion with appropriate parties;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council of the Town of Collingwood hereby directs staff to advise the OLG that Collingwood does not support a standalone 300 slot machine gaming facility in the C7 Region;
AND FURTHER THAT Council hereby agrees to pursue negotiations with:
1) Private sector operators on acceptable Integrated Destination Resort opportunities and locations; and
2) The OLG to draft an acceptable revenue sharing agreement, that could be considered by Council and potential private sector operator(s);
AND FURTHER THAT Council direct staff to prepare a report on how best to engage the public prior to any final decision to host a gaming facility in our municipality.
Now tell me: what does it say? Does it say the town will consider a serious, large-scale proposal only when and if one is presented? Yes. Does it commit the town to anything? No. Glad you understand that, because The Block sure didn't. Maybe because to get what it says you need to actually READ it.
And that motion was passed FOUR years ago. The Block have had more than two years to do something about it. They've let the OLG make plans and prepare RFPs all this time without saying a word and now they act surprised. The only ones not surprised by this inaction are, of course, you, dear reader.
Continue reading "Collingwood's casino roulette"
The Block torpedoes the hospital, again
When their sole-sourced consultant's report failed to give The Block the high ground to oppose the Collingwood General & Marine Hospital's redevelopment plan, the weasels on council and in the administration decided to undermine the hospital from a different direction. And they hired another consultant.
That's right: wasting $30,000 of your hard-earned tax dollars on one sole-sourced consultant to "peer review" the CG&M's already peer-reviewed report wasn't enough. So they hired a second consultant because the first didn't say what The Block wanted. How much that second consultant cost taxpayers has not yet been revealed.
The first consultant's report just weakly suggested more information might possibly maybe sort-of be useful. I'm told few of The Block actually read it and even fewer understood it. But because it didn't say what they wanted, it had to be supplanted by another scheme. Another report. Back to the conniving board: hire someone to say what they wanted to hear.
At the latest meeting (Jan. 23) of the "Secretive Initiatives Standing Committee" they had a report tabled at the end of the agenda called the "Employment Land Analysis Update." Its contents were cunningly not included in the online agenda package, so as to avoid revealling their hand to residents ahead of time.
And that, my dear readers, is the latest, stealthy salvo in The Block's war on the hospital.
Continue reading "The Block torpedoes the hospital, again"
Auden, Trump and poetry
There's a poem by W. H. Auden (1907-73) going the internet rounds these days with suggestions of Auden's prescience towards the latest American president and contemporary politics. It's a powerful piece, but the bad news for conspiracy theorists is that Auden was a poet, not a prophet. A good poet, even a great poet, mind you, but not one to predict much of anything outside the local reaches of the human heart.
Yes, yes, I know: it's unusual, perhaps bordering on blasphemy, to put poetry in the same headline as the notorious philistine, but worlds do collide at times, even if awkwardly. Lipstick sometimes becomes conflated with the metaphorical pig, guilty by association.
The poem in question – Sept. 1, 1939 – opens like it could have been written by a somewhat later Charles Bukowski:
I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
Waves of anger and fear/ Circulate over the bright/ And darkened lands of the earth… sure sounds like it might have been written with the vast protests that followed Trump's inauguration: more three times as many people came out to protest in Washington alone than showed up at his inauguration, and that doesn't include the numbers who marched worldwide. Waves of anger and fear, indeed. But it wasn't an augury.
September 1, 1939 would have been for Auden's era and generation a landmark date, like Nov. 22, 1963 was for my time. Maybe January 20, 2017 will be for the current generation. One of those where-were-you-when dates frozen in the neuronic amber of memory. The place, the sounds, the grubby details of that day forever etched in our brains. Auden's 52nd Street dive. The panzers tearing across Polish farmlands. People running through the crowded streets of Dallas after the shot. The bleak day when Trump raised his hand to be sworn in. Where you you when…?
The date must have been doubly important for Auden, because earlier that year he had left England for America, where he remained the rest of his life. When war was declared, he offered to return home to serve, but was politely rebuffed. At age 32, he wasn't needed. He stayed in America from then on – making it somewhat difficult to identify him as a strictly English or American poet in anthologies. So the poem is, in a way, a goodbye to a life he left behind.
Auden had increasingly deep political beliefs that sometimes peer through his writing and show their complexity growing with age and wisdom. He spent a year living in Berlin in 1928, and would return to the city several times before WWII broke out. He watched the rise of fascism, anti-semitism. He loved Berlin, but hated what it became under the Nazis.
Continue reading "Auden, Trump and poetry"
Saunderson announces another tax hike
At Collingwood Council, Monday night, Deputy Mayor Brian Saunderson revealed The Block's plan to foist its third tax hike this term on residents. Despite the report on the town's financial situation by the interim CAO's pet consultant that warned Collingwood is already overtaxed, Saunderson and his Block plan to raise your taxes AGAIN this term.
At the end of the meeting, he made a notice of motion to "keep" the next tax hike at 2%. Well that simply means he's giving staff the permission to raise it 2%*. Had he been serious about low taxes, about sustainable budgets and wise financial management, he could have simply said no increase. Zero per cent would have been the right answer. But he made it clear he supports another tax hike – the third this term. And wither Brian goes so follows his six minions.
Now lest you think this is just more of Saunderson's lawerly, grandstanding moments – him pretending to be concerned about residents – it's really the sort of political flimflammery we've become accustomed to from The Block. Consider that he made this notice before seeing the final budget documents, but long after council was presented its initial look at the upcoming budget. That was when staff proposed a hike of almost 5%.
Saunderson had weeks and weeks in which to comment and make his motion, but only made his preference known the week before the final budget is to be presented, Jan. 30. But the public didn't know what he was planning because he announced his notice after the in camera meeting, when all the cameras were turned off and everyone in the audience had gone home. Even the media ignored him. What did it accomplish aside from forcing staff to rework everything they have prepared for presentation next week? Just a little slap in the face to staff, don't you think?
It's only two percent, some might say. Anyone can afford that. Not so: it will hurt our many residents working for minimum wages, and every senior struggling on a fixed income. These folk will have to figure out what to cut from their limited income – like food or hydro – to pay for the town's latest increase. And also pay for the impending increases in user fees, and skyrocketing water and electricity rates – about to explode thanks to The Block selling our utilities to an Alberta corporation. Without public input, of course.
Two percent means more than $1 million in the town's coffers – which will be entirely used up paying for the extra expenses incurred by breaking the shared services agreement with Collus PowerStream, and for the huge bill for creating our own IT department. Plus we'll still have to pay for hiring all those extra staff – and of course pay for the costs of The Block's vendettas and witch hunts – already well over $500,000 in lawyers and consultants so far. And the $100,000-$150,000 extra it has cost us by The Block renewing the interim CAO's contract.
For astute financial management, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for inept bumbling, you've come to the right council. The Block are spending your money like drunken sailors who won a lottery while on leave; they're ratcheting up your taxes to pay for their excesses. All part of The Block's ongoing war against low-income earners and seniors.
Collingwood deserves better.
* Sure, he said "up to 2%" but that's like telling a child it can only have "up to a quart" of ice cream… and then leaving them in the kitchen with the opened gallon container… plus the additional levy approved this term will make it closer to 3%… and yes, a levy IS a tax no matter how the Blockheads try to spin it.
Godless – The Truth Beyond Belief
The Short and the Tall of It
Is silver safe as a medicine?
Whatever became of that angry mob?
Strat Plan Part 3: The Waterfront
Finally working…
Something so basic, yet so different stands between us
A Treasure Trove
"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."
— Niccolo Machiavelli , The Prince, Ch. VI