Mutua says he made the appointments in the best interests of Machakos people.
The county ministers were sworn in on Monday by Chief Magistrate Alfred Kibiru.
MCAs said the process of appointing the executives was still in the assembly.
Dr Mutua said his actions were necessitated by the assembly's failure to debate on the report.
Machakos MCAs have faulted Governor Alfred Mutua for appointing into office executive committee members without the approval of the county assembly.
The county ministers were sworn in on Monday by Chief Magistrate Alfred Kibiru at the governor's office though the county assembly had not made a decision on their suitability.
MCAs including Majority Leader Mark Muendo, Justus Kiteng'u (Kivaa Ward) and Jeremiah Munguti (Muthetheni) said the process of appointing the executives was still in the assembly.
Speaking Sunday at a fundraiser at Kathiani AIC Church, the MCAs said Dr Mutua had misquoted the law to justify the appointments.
Mr Muendo said the assembly was guided by the County Assemblies Act, 2017 and not the 2012 parliamentary Act which Governor Mutua cited while making the appointments.
Mr Muendo said 21 sitting days had not lapsed since assembly started vetting the nominees as Governor Mutua claimed.
"Governor Mutua should follow the law. Nobody is above the law," said Mr Muendo.
He said the assembly had an option of challenging the move in court, adding that the MCAs would not sit back and watch the executive misuse county resources.
The assembly had halted debate on the suitability of the nominees in order to await the verdict of the Supreme Court where Governor Mutua has appealed against the nullification of his election by the Court of Appeal.
Members feared that endorsing Governor Mutua's list of executive members could lead to misuse of county funds in the event that a fresh election is called.
While appointing the ministers, Governor Mutua said the assembly had failed in its duty to vet them.
He cited section 9 of the Public Appointments Act saying the members are deemed to have been approved after the expiry of 21 days from the date the governor submitted the names to the assembly.
Dr Mutua said he made the appointments in the best interests of Machakos people and in upholding the Constitution and the rule of law.
He observed that the assembly had rejected his initial five executives after which he submitted to the assembly another list of nominees.
He added that his actions were necessitated by the assembly's failure to debate on the report and interruptions seeking stoppage of the discussion of the same.
"In exercise of the powers conferred to me by Article 179(2)b as read together with Section 30 2 (d), (e) and 35 of the County Governments Act, 2012, I have appointed the seven as county executive committee members," said Dr Mutua.
The county executive members are Evelyn Mutie (Energy, Lands and Housing), Morris Aluanga (Roads, Transport and Public Works), Titus Nzeki (County Administration and Decentralised Units) while former county secretary Francis Mwaka will head the Trade docket.
Others are Kimeu Kimeu (Public Service), Urbanus Musyoka (Agriculture) and Lazarus Kivuva (Education).


text:
Commmunity
by John Endo Greenaway · July 28, 2011
The following excerpts are from the new oral history research gathered as part of the creation of this exhibit. Original tapes and transcripts are available as part of the collections of the Japanese Canadian National Museum. Check out www.jcnm.ca/collections to see what other treasures are available in the museum.
Nancy Morishita
Nancy is the daughter of TG Morishita, who ran the Ebisuzaki Dry Goods Store at 337 Powell Street.
I first learned Japanese dancing from Mrs. Sasaki who ran the old World Hotel on the corner of Dunlevy and Powell Streets. I had to perform at a Fukuoka-ken party. My uncle was one of the presidents then. I think Fukuoka-ken people liked to perform, so my cousin Kentaro would be dressed up with moustache and that sort of thing. The performances took place at the Language School.
My other dance teacher was Mrs. Tonogai on Alexander Street next to the Language School. I still have my kimonos—they were all made by my aunt Hide Ebisuzaki. I remember dressing up in my purple kimono when King George and the Queen Mother came —we lined up in front of the CN station with flags in our hands.
Bob Nimi
Toragoro Nimi, Bob's father, ran the drug store Nimi Shokai at 331 Powell Street.
I heard from my father that he bought the Nimi Drug Store from Ishikawa in 1918. Asiatics were not allowed to dispense western medications—only Japanese-style herbal medications. So Nimi Shokai sold Kodak cameras, film, 78 records of popular songs, pancake makeup, Shaffer pens, gift items, binoculars. Lots of people bought their omiyagi from us, gifts to take back to Japan with them.
We used to go to Gore Avenue to catch crabs. The water was not too clean—the canneries dumped stuff there. I used a spoon and a bucket to catch crabs on the beach there. We also fished for shiners—could catch a bucketful in two hours. We would bring them home and make sushi with them. Lots of people did it. My grandfather loved it.
One of the pleasures of living on Powell Street was eating all these things—uni, abalone, sea urchin. One of the things all the kids ate was a piece of ginger coloured red—it was only 2 or 3 cents for a bag full—we would chomp on that. There were so many confectionaries!
Mytsuu Sasaki Fugeta
When I was younger, in the 20s and early 30s, the Japanese culture was quite important. The old Buddhist church used to be on East Cordova— they had a hall there. They had a competition among all the different prefectures. Everyone performed. It happened every two years. The place was always packed. I know the people from Shiga prefecture, they were always some of the top. Shibai is acting, a general drama, or live stage play. My mother was a shamisen player—she was very talented. Before she came to Canada, she took training in it. When I started taking dance lessons, Mom used to play for us.
My parents were very into cultural things—I didn't want to do it, to tell you the truth. I had to go to dancing lessons, and I had to go to Japanese school and public school. I had homework to do, and after supper had to go to lessons. Busy time for me, but my parents insisted. In a way, I learned lots. I didn't have too much time for socializing.
Tamiko Nakamura Corbett
Tamiko's parents and grandmother ran the Nakamura Florist at 270 Powell Street.
My grandmother started the florist after mother and father got married. I must have been 2 or 3. My uncle grew flowers at Eburne, on Lulu Island. We went to work with grandmother and lived behind the shop. I don't think there were any windows—but we survived. There was balcony and bedroom off of that. Kitchen and living quarters were below… We were more or less street children, because we couldn't play at home. There wasn't much room in the back. It's astonishing to think, parents just let their children be free on the street all day. We were given roller skates. On Saturdays, we would go to CanCo because there wouldn't be any traffic. I remember playing jacks on the top part of St. James Cathedral steps. I remember the warden coming out and threatening us… Maybe he was expecting a wedding or something.
Powell Street was certainly insulated—a community that was pretty self-sufficient. We didn't go beyond to shop, except for entertainment. We certainly had freedom of the streets. Looking back it's amazing how permissive my parents were, but different times…
Kaye Kaminishi
Kaye Kaminishi's mother operated the Dunlevy Rooms at 143 Powell Street. His family also owned and operated the Royston Sawmill on Vancouver Island.
I started playing baseball in Japan. When I came back, I first joined the Hompa Bukkyokai Church League. Around age 16 I joined the Asahi Giants, and at age 17 I joined the Asahi Senior team. All Nisei looked up to the Asahi and I was proud to represent the community. When I first received my Asahi uniform, I couldn't sleep the night before I was so happy! We were the bridge between Occidental people and Japanese—we broke down some barriers.
I played a lot of sports— Japanese table tennis league, roller hockey at CanCo lot, lacrosse. When I really got serious about baseball, I quit the others.
On Powell Street, there was everything, different stores. Nobody used English, only Japanese. Most Nisei spoke good Japanese—everyone went to the language school. Sure was a hustle-bustle town—lots of activities. Church groups were special for socializing—we were always active doing things.
Jean Ikeda Kajiwara
The Ikeda Family ran a barber shop at 260 Powell Street.
We used to go to a public bath. We didn't have a bath at home; we went to the public ofuro every other day or so. It was a beautiful bath house, all tiles. There were several other smaller bathhouses, but we went to this one because it was the nicest one; we used to pay by the month and went every other day because it was so close. My sisters and I would go. My mom would go sometimes. It was very interesting. These ladies that work in the Japanese restaurants have a way of putting white makeup on, and we would watch them. You wash outside with a small tub and chair, wash and rinse yourself, then go inside to the big tub to warm yourself. Separate men's and women's. We would try to go when it wasn't that crowded; after supper or something. Our dad had a small bath in the back of his barber shop, but it was closed in the 20s.
Powell Street—it was all Japanese. Now it's all scattered. It just breaks my heart to go down Powell Street. I was proud of it. It was such a pretty street. They kept it really nice. Not a slum like now. They kept it up. Japanese people are pretty neat. They used to keep the place clean.
Terry Ikeda Miyamoto
I used to hate going to Japanese school—I thought that was crazy—Monday to Friday. I wanted to go to the baseball game instead of going to Japanese school—everyone else went, but my father was strict. On Powell Street, we spoke Japanese and English. In my house, we didn't speak English. My family was very versed in Japanese. Looking back, that was very important, because I am able to read.
I used to go to the barber shop every Sunday to clean—my two brothers and I. When my father was busy at New Year's, we used to help with the hot towels. Everyone gave me 5 cents. We were poor, so that was a big deal. Money was scarce then in the 1930s.
This exhibit is dedicated to all the people who knew and loved Powell Street before the war. Thank you to the many community members who helped us with the research or shared their wonderful stories! Thank you also to all the museum staff, translation from Nichola Ogiwara, design by Zoe Garred, and AV assistance from Greg Masuda. Funding support for this exhibit was received from BC Arts Council, Vancouver 125, Vancouver Foundation, National Association of Japanese Canadians.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


All the kiddies are back in school (at least here in the States), and they're back focusing on schoolwork. Which makes parents want to rip their hair out! The way your child learns may be very different from the way that you learn, and this is found through Mercury and the 3rd house. Mercury is the planet of your primary learning and learning ability, and the 3rd house is the house of the mind.
Mercury in fire signs lose interest quickly, earth signs need extra time, air signs move too fast, and water signs need support. The Natal Mercury page and 3rd House page on The Dark Pixie Astrology give descriptions for Mercury signs, houses, aspects, and 3rd house signs and planets. There's also a humorous blog post about how to communicate with someone via their Mercury sign, but it does give some ideas for how to communicate with the other signs.
If you have a fire or air sign Mercury and they have an earth or water sign Mercury, you'll likely have the hardest time communicating clearly with one another and helping your child learn. Your minds just work in completely different ways, unless you have some house affinity.
Aries Mercury: Your child wants to do things on their own, without your help, but may lose interest quickly if they don't get something right away, so help them learn to stick with it.
Taurus Mercury: Your child takes their time with learning, which might make them seem slow on the outside, but once they get it, they get it. They don't want to be pushed.
Gemini Mercury: Your child has an extremely active mind and gets easily distracted, so you have to help them keep their focus.
Cancer Mercury: Your child can have a hard time separating reason/logic from emotion, so they need help with not confusing the two.
Leo Mercury: Your child is extremely creative and wants an audience for their ideas, so give them an audience and creative outlets.
Virgo Mercury: Your child can be very shy and quiet but has a very active mind, so help them to be more open and expressive. They can also get lost in details, so help them to see the big picture. And they can think too much, so help them calm their mind.
Libra Mercury: Your child needs harmony and balance in order for their mind to work to their fullest capabilities, so give them a peaceful environment.
Scorpio Mercury: Your child can get obsessed with something to the detriment of everything else, so help them to have more detachment and lightness.
Sagittarius Mercury: Your child can think that they already know everything, so help them to understand that there's always more to learn.
Capricorn Mercury: Your child doesn't like to deal with learning they feel is pointless, so help them to understand the practical reasons why they should learn what they're learning.
Aquarius Mercury: Your child can get lost in the pursuit of knowledge, so help them have stay grounded. They can also rebel when they don't feel they're being heard, so hear them.
Pisces Mercury: Your child can get lost in fantasy and their imagination, so help them to learn to focus on the mundane while also having enough time to be imaginative.


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Published June 7, 2019 at 06:36PM
Board votes to run Elk River camps
By Boyd C. Allen
Pilot Staff Writer
Curry County Commissioners voted Wednesday to move forward with the Elk River Campground Partnership.
After calling the three campsites on the Elk River — Sunshine and Butler bars and Laird Lake — "efficient, inexpensive and easy to run," Curry County Parks Director Josh Hopkins had asked the board to approve the special use permit allowing the U.S. Forest Service to transfer control of the camps to the county parks department.
Under the agreement with the Forest Service, the county will assume management of the campgrounds for 20 years and, according to Hopkins, improve the camps and monitor them to ensure campers are paying and keeping the sites clean.
He said other plans include increasing signage in the area because campers often miss the turn to Laird Lake or assume they have gone the wrong way when the lake fails to appear quickly. He estimated the trip to the lake taking 22 minutes on rough roads after the turnoff.
U.S. Forest Service Recreation and River Permit Manager Bob Hemus listed activities on the river that the county could develop and promote to increase the use of the camps and the revenue they generate. He noted annual, recreational bike rides along the river as well as its potential for whitewater kayaking.
Hopkins said the camps sat along a Scenic Oregon Biking Corridor and added he planned to work with cyclists to increase their use of the camps. The actual use level of the camps and their revenue potential can only be estimated, he said, because they have not been promoted or monitored.
"If these camps were cleaned up, and water was available," Hopkins said, "these could be marketed."
According to documents presented at the meeting, the county plans to reestablish the well at Butler Bar quickly so the county could open the camp to RVs and make between $4,900 to $7,000 yearly from state RV fees.
Wells at Sunshine Bar and Laird Lake will be established at a later date, after usage has increased, according to Hopkins.
He estimated yearly costs for the camps at $3,280, but said revenues could exceed $3,300 even before the well at Butler is functional.
Hopkins said, "Our goal would be to break-even for the first year and exceed the break-even point following the first year after a visitor promotion campaign."
Commissioner Court Boice thanked Hemus for his help on the deal and his years of service to the area. He complimented Hopkins for his hard work and care as well, noting he was impressed with the recent work of the parks department.
Commissioner Sue Gold complimented Hopkins on his presentation of the agreement, saying she had entered the discussion with many questions but the presentation had answered them all.
Other BOC news
The board approved a resolution officially asking the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) to submit a proposal for the Floras Lake land swap. Once those documents are received from OPRD, a majority of the board has indicated it will approve an order making the swap official.
Director of Operations Julie Schmelzer said the lack of flags flying at the county building on Memorial Day was an oversight. The county has arranged to fly the U.S. flag on holidays and has invested in new U.S. flags as well. She characterized the issue on Memorial Day as an omission that has been fixed.
Commissioners directed staff to analyze and propose a manner to collect the TLT tax and to determine if additional staff would need to be hired on full-time or part-time basis. In a May special election, county voters approved a transient lodging tax in the unincorporated areas of Curry County. The ordinances adopted relative to the tax indicates the board, or their designee, is to serve as the tax administrator and collect the tax and administer the ordinance.
Commissioners voted to move the roughly $100,000 raised yearly by the 3 percent tax on marijuana from the general fund into the sheriff's office. It was noted that although this money is now designated for law enforcement, it does not increase the sheriff's budget; it simply guarantees a portion of its funding.
Schmelzer agreed to draft a Curry County Housing Emergency Declaration in order to make stakeholders aware of the dire need for housing in the county. Commissioners said the county had insufficient housing, land to develop or tools to enable development. Commission Chairman Chris Paasch encouraged the board to further develop relationships with the cities in the county and to use them to see how the cities and county can work together to alleviate the housing problem.
The board approved the purchase of a new 2018 Superior DT74J Mid Mounted Broom for $63,000 after Roadmaster Richard Christensen reported the current sweeper had cost the county $33,000 in repairs over the last three years, had caused work delays and currently needs $4,000 in repairs.
Reach Boyd C. Allen at ballen@currypilot.com
Green building "Burn to Learn" proposed
DQ demolished in a blizzard of activity
Gold Beach School Board meeting


PetrographypediA is a portal of petrography. It provides an interactive atlas of thin-section photomicrograph analyses. It helps the process of petrographic description and analysis. This project is maintained by [http://www.endeeper.com Endeeper].


Refashion Co-op: belts, belts, belts!
This plain blue dress was in need of some embellishing.
I picked up a smattering of skinny belts from the thrift store and supplemented a few that I already had.
I used liquid stitch to glue the belts onto the shoulders and the waistline.
To see more, come check out my blog!
What an interesting refashion! Now the dress has some military feel to it!
You already have such creative ideas - and you pull them off so well too!
One coffin for your bodily leftovers and one (or two ;-) ?) for your rich phantasy/ideas!


text:
Upholding the rights of house buyers
Dream house?: A young boy admiring the scale model of a housing project at a property fair in Penang last year. – Filepic
by Roger Tan
ON Tuesday , the Federal Court ruled that the housing controller has no power to waive or modify provisions of the contracts of sale as prescribed by regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations, 1989 (1989 Regulations).
The 1989 Regulations were made by the housing minister pursuant to section 24 of the parent Act, namely the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act, 1966 (Act 118).
These contracts of sale are better known in the housing industry as Schedules G, H, I and J, depending on the types of housing accommodation being developed.
The prescribed contracts of sale include provisions stipulating the time for delivery of vacant possession and they have to be strictly followed; failing which the defaulting party can be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding RM50,000 or to a jail term not exceeding five years or to both. Further, any person who aids, abets or counsels the commission of the offence will face similar punishment upon conviction.
Hence, regulation 11(3) which came into force on April 1, 1989 and remained unamended since, allowed the controller to waive or modify the provisions of the contract of sale if he was satisfied that there were special circumstances or hardship or necessity; compliance of which with any of the said provisions was impracticable or unnecessary.
Regulation 12 then provides for any person aggrieved by the controller's decision to appeal to the minister whose decision is final and shall not be questioned in any court.
One common modification sought by the developers to the contract of sale is to apply, before the expiry of the stipulated date fixed for handing over of vacant possession, for an extension of time (EOT) so that the developers will not be sued for late delivery and face a claim for liquidated damages (LAD) by the house buyers.
On May 14, five questions were posed to the five-member panel of the apex court namely, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Justice Azahar Mohamed, Justice Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin (who has since retired), Justice Idrus Harun and Justice Nallini Pathmanathan. In delivering the unanimous decision of the apex court, Justice Tengku Maimun ruled that:
> the controller has no power to waive or modify any provision in the contract of sale;
> section 24 of Act 118 does not confer power on the minister to make regulations for the purpose of delegating his power to waive or modify the contract of sale to the controller; and
> regulation 11(3) is ultra vires (beyond the powers of) Act 118.
The apex court, however, declined to answer the following two questions posed by the developer, BHL Construction Sdn Bhd because the above ruling effectively meant that there was no decision by the minister:-
> whether the letter granting an extension of time after an appeal pursuant to regulation 12 must be signed personally by the minister and whether the minister could delegate his duties (signing of the letter granting the extension of time) to an officer in his ministry; and
> whether the minister having taken into consideration the interest of the purchaser is obliged to afford the purchasers a hearing prior to the minister granting the extension of time albeit there is no such provision or requirement in Act 118 or the 1989 Regulations.
At the appeal hearing, the learned counsel for the purchasers, Datuk Andy Wong Kok Leong was reported to have submitted as follows: "Regulation 11(3) gives power to the controller to grant this extension of time. So we are saying that the controller cannot be given this power because it should be exercisable by the minister." ("Apex court reserves judgment in house buyers vs developer case", The Star, May 14, 2019)
The Chief Justice agreed, adding that when Parliament conferred the power and discretion on the minister to make regulations under section 24(2)(e) of Act 118 to regulate and prohibit the terms and conditions of the contract of sale, Parliament did not intend this power or discretion to be exercised by any authority other than by the minister himself.
Justice Tengku Maimun also gave the following grounds in arriving at the decision:
> As Act 118 is a social legislation to protect the house buyers, the interests of the purchasers shall be the paramount consideration against the developer. There is nothing in Act 118 to show that the minister's duty to safeguard the interests of the purchasers may be delegated to other authority as this will "militate the intention of Parliament".
> If the minister has delegated his decision making power to the controller under regulation 11(3), then there should not even be an appeal process from the decision of the controller to the minister under regulation 12 as this is as good as an appeal to the minister against his own decision.
> There is no merit in the developer's argument that the purchasers would suffer greater hardship if the project is not completed because if the developer fails to obtain an EOT, this would not mean that the developer has failed to complete or has abandoned the project as an EOT only determines the payment of LAD.
> Even though sub-sections 4(3) and 4(4) expressly allowed for the delegation of the controller's powers and functions under Act 118 to persons such as deputy controllers, inspectors and any public officer or officer of a local authority, there is no such express provision for the minister to delegate his powers to the controller to regulate the terms and conditions of a contract of sale. It is, therefore, not open to the court to read into section 24 an implied power enabling the minister to delegate his powers to the controller.
It is now apposite to make a clarification as regards the statement by the learned Chief Justice in paragraph 23 of the judgment that the Bar Council supported the position taken by the developer. With all due respect, the Bar Council did not. If at all, counsel for the Bar Council was only reiterating the principles laid down in the case of Carltona, Ltd v Commissioners of Works and Others, 1943 which also formed the submission of the senior federal counsel who appeared for the minister and controller that the minister has the implied power to delegate and the minister's functions can be performed either personally or on his behalf by his officers.
To quote Lord Greene, M.R. in the Carltona case: "It cannot be supposed that this regulation meant that, in each case, the minister in person should direct his mind to the matter. The duties imposed upon ministers and the powers given to ministers are normally exercised under the authority of the ministers by responsible officials of the department. Public business could not be carried on if that were not the case. Constitutionally, the decision of such an official is, of course, the decision of the minister."
Even though this submission did not persuade the court, counsel for Bar Council did agree with the purchasers' argument that the minister's decision to allow the appeal from the developer BHL Construction Sdn Bhd was invalid because the letter signed by his officer did not comply with Section 17 of the Delegation Of Powers Act 1956.
A fortiori, the Bar Council had also emphasised that modifications to contracts of sale did not just involve EOTs. They could involve multi-farious modifications as the standard prescribed contracts of sale are incapable of catering for every eventually. In fact, some modifications such as by extending the time for progressive payments or amending the amounts of progressive payments by home buyers, for example, in government projects for affordable housing, work in the interest of home buyers. In other words, whilst one group of the purchasers would benefit when EOTs are invalidated, another group of purchasers may suffer if modifications which are to their advantage are now extinguished as a result of this decision.
The reason being, in my humble opinion, this decision of the apex court will have retrospective effect on all other modifications made before this. After all, if regulation 11(3) has been declared void, it has to be void ab initio (from the beginning).
In Public Prosecutor v Mohd Radzi bin Abu Bakar, 2005, the Federal Court held that it is a fundamental principle of adjudicative jurisprudence that all judgments of a court are retrospective in effect. This principle not only applies to constitutionality of statutes but also to decisions in other areas of law unless a specific direction of prospectivity is expressed in the decision. There is none in Justice Tengku Maimun's judgment unlike in other cases such as Semenyih Jaya Sdn Bhd v Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Hulu Langat and Anor, 2017.
It is my considered view that if henceforth no modification is allowed due to special circumstances, hardship or necessity, the housing industry may just grind to a standstill. But this problem is not altogether insurmountable. Whilst it may take time for Parliament to amend section 24 to empower the minister to delegate his powers to the controller, the 1989 Regulations can, however, be amended by the minister any time.
In this respect, the minister can always insert a new regulation 11(3A) to allow parties from now on to apply to him for a waiver or modification to the provisions of the contract of sale. At the same time, the minister has to repeal the appeal provision in regulation 12. Administratively, the applications will still be processed by ministry officials but if any letter conveying the minister's decision is not signed by him personally but signed by his officer on his behalf, then strict adherence must be had to the procedures set out in section 17 Delegation Of Powers Act, 1956 such as authorising such officer by way of a certificate.
Having said that, if this approach is taken by the ministry, then it is indeed a matter of regret that the apex court had declined to deal with the issue of affording the purchasers a right to be heard prior to the minister approving any waiver or modification notwithstanding that Act 118 does not expressly provide for such a requirement. Otherwise, it will greatly strengthen the rights of the purchasers.
This is of particular concern because according to the data collected by the House Buyers Association, 536 EOTs were actually granted since 2014. It follows that if the right to be heard is now not expressly provided in Act 118 or the 1989 Regulations, the powers of the minister can be easily abused and are also susceptible to corrupt practice. The purchasers will ultimately be at the mercy of the developers, especially those who have strong political and personal links to the powers that be.
I now recall when I was helping the housing ministry pro bono to revamp Act 118 in 2002 and 2007, the then housing minister actually requested for regulation 12 to be removed so that he would not be harassed by the developers. In those days, granting an EOT was almost unheard of.
In any event, the apex court has now made it abundantly clear to the government that it is duty bound under Act 118 to safeguard the interests of home buyers whose interests must always prevail over that of the developers. Otherwise, the court will remain steadfastly the purchasers' rampart against such encroachment.
Datuk Roger Tan is the chairman of the Conveyancing Practice Committee of the Bar Council. His views herein do not constitute legal advice, and are entirely his own.
Posted by Roger Tan at Sunday, December 01, 2019
Labels: Bar, conveyancing, housing development, local authorities, local government
The Star This letter was originally a Facebook...


text:
No Stanley Cup champion? This is uncharted territory for the sports world at large, and the NHL faces a host of challenges
No matter what happens after Thursday's decision to pause the NHL schedule in the fight against the coronavirus, there will be an asterisk beside this season — and a lot to sort out when play resumes.
By Kevin McGranSports Reporter
Thu., March 12, 2020timer4 min. read
There will be no fretting about the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs defence for now. No worrying about losing a playoff spot to the Florida Panthers, of all teams. No rooting for Auston Matthews to break Rick Vaive's club record for goals.
It's all on hold. All of it.
The NHL put its season on "pause" Thursday, doing its part to combat the deadly spread of COVID-19. The Leafs joined the Raptors, Blue Jays, Marlies, Toronto FC and just about everybody else as leagues around the world shut down temporarily in the face of the coronavirus.
The NHL, AHL, MLB and MLS were among the leagues that followed the NBA's lead in suspending play.
The hope is that hockey will return — in the words of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman — when it is "appropriate and prudent." Will it be in time to crown a 2020 Stanley Cup champion? And will other events be affected? Answers are not easily found given the fluidity of an unprecedented situation.
Locally, it's a tough blow for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the arenas and stadiums it controls, TV partners in Sportsnet and TSN, and the people employed by them.
It is believed the NHL has asked teams to book arenas through the end of July, which raises questions about the draft, set for June 24 and 25 in Montreal, and free agency, set to open July 1.
One imagines there will be a cut-off date, much like the 2004-05 lockout, where the NHL determined Feb. 16 was the day after which the season couldn't be saved. Good luck predicting when a pandemic will pass.
If you're a fan holding a ticket, hold on. Maybe the game will be played. Maybe there will be a refund.
Teams were awaiting direction from the league on what they should instruct players, who have been told to go home. It appears there will be no team-organized practices.
Normally in the off-season, players organize unofficial group skates. Just how involved teams can be is in question, since the players are not likely to get paid during the hiatus.
Any lengthy time off might require a small training camp — two or three days — to get things going again. Will the NHL play the full season? Will it start the playoffs instead, based on points percentage? It all appears to be on the table.
The Leafs have 12 games left and are 36-25-9 for 81 points, or a .579 points percentage. The Panthers, with 13 games left, are 35-26-8 for 78 points, or .565 points percentage. Either way, the Leafs are in third place in the Atlantic Division.
"Like you, we have many questions about what's to come in the future," Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor this situation and will remain in contact with Toronto Public Health, Public Health Agency of Canada and the National Hockey League. We will provide relevant team updates as they become available."
No matter what happens, there will be an asterisk beside this season. The momentum or chemistry that teams had been building, and the grooves some players found themselves in, might vanish. On the positive side, if the season resumes in a month or so, many teams will get injured players back, like Jake Muzzin in Toronto and Steven Stamkos in Tampa Bay.
This is uncharted territory for the sports world at large and the NHL in particular. There are some bracing for the season to be cancelled altogether at a later date. That would mean Matthews would be stuck at 47 goals. The Twitter fights over William Nylander would have to wait until next year. And the Leafs' Stanley Cup drought would extend to 53 years and counting.
Indeed, there could be no Stanley Cup champion for the third time in league history. No Cup was awarded in 2005 after a season-long lockout. And no Cup was awarded in 1919 because of the Spanish Flu, back when the NHL champion played the Pacific Coast League champion for the trophy.
Would the Boston Bruins hold a parade — at a safe distance, of course — with the Presidents' Trophy for leading the league in points at the time of the shutdown?
The league has suspended play four times before: two lockout-shortened seasons (1994-95, 2012-13), one (2004-05) cancelled altogether, and there was an in-season strike (1992) which postponed 30 games.
The league and teams will have many issues to deal with, like if and how staff and arena personnel get paid. League revenue will be adversely affected and whether the sport rebounds will have an effect on hockey-related revenue and the salary cap. Teams such as the Leafs, counting on a high cap next year, could face a squeeze even with the players they have under salary already.
The league is also in ongoing talks with the NHL Players' Association for an extension of its collective agreement, set to expire in 2022. While talks have been going well, with things such as international hockey being sticking points, the effect of the virus could bring forward ideas and positions that had not been considered before.
But for now there is unity, with everyone citing public health.
"It is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time," Bettman said in his prepared statement. "We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions, including by self-quarantine."
Kevin McGran is a sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @kevin_mcgran
Brendan Shanahan, Gary Bettman


With spring finally here and Easter almost upon us, it seemed a good time to write about chicken and egg. The signs of spring are everywhere. To date there are half a dozen Longhorn calves born. You'll see them alternately frolicking and snoozing in huddles in the fields along the drive to the Steading. It really does feel like things are warming up and you can finally see the yellow tips of the daffodils starting to peek out over their long green stems. New life is happening all around us. And the chickens are really and truly laying again. Spring has sprung! But I digress..
Some of the eggs that we sell in the Farm & Garden Shop are laid by the free range hens here at Logie – to the left of the road as you walk towards the garden.
The small pure red-brown hens are Hy-line Brown, a hybrid that has the potential to lay 320 large brown eggs by 74 weeks of age. The larger, dark brown speckled hens, and the splendid cockerel, are an old breed, Speckled Sussex. Originally from the south of England, it is one of the oldest known breeds – there is evidence that the Romans found a similar breed when they invaded over 2000 years ago. For that reason it is known as a Heritage breed. These pure bred hens are good egg layers (but not as prolific as the Hy-line Browns) laying four or five light brown eggs a week. The 'in between' coloured hens – mostly showing the speckles but not with the dark brown colour, are crosses between the Speckled Sussex and the Hy-line Brown. Because the Hy-line is already a hybrid, the resulting crosses come out in a variety of different colours!
While pure and cross bred birds are popular for their distinctive appearance, they do not lay as well as the specially bred hybrids, which are bred to produce large numbers of eggs.
Unless you are a chicken-keeper, you may have thought that 'eggs is eggs', or possibly not given eggs too much thought at all. Although after Panny's explanation of the variations in her two types of hens alone, you might wonder if there are variations in eggs too. And you'd be right. Firstly there's the look of eggs from different types of chickens – from tiny to large, dark brown to palest greeny-blue and all sorts in between. Then there's the taste. I don't know much about the difference in taste between breeds (is there any? perhaps someone can tell me?) but if you've tried some genuinely outdoor free range eggs you might – like me – feel that in taste there's all the difference in the world.
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LAND ROVER 'DEFENDER 2,000,000' SELLS FOR £400,000 AT CHARITY AUCTION
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The one-of-a-kind Land Rover 'Defender 2,000,000' sold for £400,000 at a prestigious charity auction at Bonhams in London, UK.
All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Land Rover's humanitarian and conservation partners, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who will use the donation towards its work in Nepal, and the Born Free Foundation, who will use the funds raised to support the 'Project Lion Rover' conservation initiative in Meru National Park, Kenya.
Attendee Joanna Lumley, Founder Patron of international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation, expressed the importance of donations in the work they do worldwide to save lives, stop suffering and protect species in the wild.
"To raise such a substantial amount with the sale of one vehicle is phenomenal. Without the support of the public and partnerships such as these, we would not be able to effectively make a positive change to the world as we know it." - Joanna Lumley, Founder Patron of the Born Free Foundation
Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of The British Red Cross said "We are extremely grateful to Land Rover for so generously donating half the proceeds of the sale of this one-off vehicle towards our work in Nepal. The Red Cross has used Defenders in humanitarian work and relief efforts in the UK and around the world since the early 1950s and have benefited from Land Rover's support on many occasions through vehicle donations and loans. Today Land Rover supports us through a global partnership that aims to touch the lives of vulnerable people in 24 countries around the world. This vitally important project in Nepal – the 18th supported by Land Rover - will improve the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people and communities."
The 'Defender 2,000,000' is the two-millionth of the iconic Series Land Rover and Defender models to be manufactured at Land Rover's Solihull plant, and was assembled earlier in 2015 by an all-star cast of brand ambassadors and people from Land Rover's history including Bear Grylls, Virginia McKenna OBE and Stephen and Nick Wilks, sons of the founders of Land Rover. Built as part of a year of celebrations for the much loved 4x4, it boasts a host of distinctive and bespoke finishing features including an engraved map of Red Wharf Bay - where the design for the original Land Rover was first drawn in the sand - and a unique 'no 2,000,000' badge. A bespoke aluminium plaque, signed by everyone who helped to assemble the vehicle is fitted to the driver's seat.
For more information about 'Defender 2,000,000' please click here.
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Samsung to Launch Galaxy Note 3 With Flexible Display?
Much like the Galaxy S4 - or any phone of 2013, for that matter - the Note 3 was subject to rumor after rumor. Some of them were a little more plausible than others and when the true leaks starting pouring, we all felt like we already knew the Note 3. One of the more suspect rumors surrounding the Note 3 however, was that it would be shipping with a flexible OLED display. Considering that Samsung was showing non-working prototypes at CES 2013, this seemed a little far even for Samsung.
Now though, whispers of a flexible display hitting a Limited Edition of the Note 3 are making a comeback. Unwired View is reporting that Asian press has a spokesperson for Samsung "on record" saying that a Limited Edition of the device with a flexible display to market before 2013 is out. This all sounds a little suspect to us and considering that Samsung has been criticized in the past for shipping multiple versions of the same device, this doesn't look like a good move to us.
After all, the design of the device wouldn't change, the display wouldn't be curved over the edges of the device or anything like that. Instead, the focus would be on the display's "indestructible" qualities. We've heard time and time again that flexible OLED is far more resilient than traditional displays but, as we all know: things break.
This is an interesting rumor and one we're not sure of. A version of the Note 3 with such new technology would more than likely cost quite a bit more, and would it even be worth it? A flexible display that doesn't flex or change the design of the device? Frankly, we think that Samsung is going to hold off on this and we'd be very surprised if a version of the Note 3 hit the market with flexible OLED. What do you guys think? Is this a possibility or another crazy rumor?


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AtGames® Announces Blast! Family of Products
by Old School Gamer | Sep 25, 2018 | 1980s, 1990s, Console/PC/Handheld | 0 comments
LOS ANGELES, September 25, 2018 (Newswire.com) – AtGames® Digital Media Inc., a leader in interactive entertainment products, today announced their latest classic video gaming releases, the Blast! family of products. The Blast! series of HDMI dongle and wireless controller bundles features 8 to 20 classic titles per model. These new hardware products will be available at major US and Canada retailers on October 1, 2018.
"This upcoming range of products represents an unprecedented value for families and gamers of all types," says Dr. Ping-Kang Hsiung, CEO of AtGames. "With a wide selection of innovative, expandable HDMI dongle and wireless controller products with fun-to-play games of every type, there's truly something here for everyone."
The Blast! family includes the Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 2, Activision Flashback Blast!, Legends Flashback Blast!, and Bandai Namco Flashback Blast!, all of which come with a USB-powered HDMI dongle that plugs directly into your TV, and an ergonomic six-button wireless gamepad. The Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 3 swaps the wireless gamepad for a pair of wireless game paddles, which are specially optimized for its selection of classic paddle and ball games. Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 1 features 20 Atari 2600 classics like Centipede, Millipede, and Yars' Revenge. Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 2 features 20 Atari 2600 classics like Adventure, Asteroids, and MissileCommand. Atari Flashback Blast! Vol. 3. features 20 Atari 2600 paddle-based classics like Breakout, Pong, and Warlords. The Activision Flashback Blast! features 20 of the most iconic Activision homeclassics, including Pitfall!, H.E.R.O., and River Raid. The Legends Flashback Blast! features Space Invaders and an additional 11 favorites like Burnin' Rubber and Jungle Hunt. The Bandai Namco Flashback Blast! features 8 arcade mainstays, including Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug.
Every Blast! includes high definition video output, an intuitive menu system, save and resume game functionality, and the ability to rewind a game in progress to recover from a play misstep. An optional second wireless gamepad can be purchased for games that support two-players. Blast! family products retail for $19.99 – $39.99.
About AtGames
AtGames Digital Media Inc. (http://www.atgames.net) is a leader in innovative consumer-oriented interactive entertainment products. The company leverages the latest technology to develop and publish its best-selling classic video game products for worldwide distribution.
Old School Gamer (619 Posts)
This is the general editors account for Old School Gamer Magazine. Press releases and other general information sent to Old School Gamer are often posted here.


Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ whose birth we will soon celebrate around the whole globe. As we prepared the list of the ICO delegates who will receive this letter, we rejoiced in the thought of how the blessings received at the International College for Officers reverberate throughout the world.
Sessions 228 to 231 attended the ICO this year. The first session was planned as a translation session into Hindi and Urdu, because these two spoken languages are very similar. It was a huge disappointment to hear that all delegates and the translator from Pakistan were refused visas. The third session provided translation into Kiswahili.
By request from the then Chief of the Staff Commissioner William Roberts, delegates with minimal knowledge of English are only accepted provisionally and their progress of learning English is monitored closely by the ICO. The first two delegates who were included in this new scheme attended session 231 and spoke warmly about the encouragement and accompaniment received which allowed them to benefit to a much greater extent from attending the ICO than they would have done otherwise.
One very tangible evidence of this fellowship is the way the Cedarlights contribute each Christmas to the funding of a specific Cedarlight Christmas project.
Last year's projects, as you will recall, was for School Supplies for poor and needy students of the Maharashtra & Gujarat region in the India Western Territory. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to send £2,150 to that territory.
The College has 87 Cadets. This is the maximum it can take. There is a two year waiting list of candidates, and cadet couples cannot bring their children to the two-year residential training due to lack of accommodation and funds. Over the last two years, the Training Principal, a former police officer, has introduced a programme of self-support. Cadets and staff now grow most of their food, particularly maize and fruits.
The Training College also has a farming programme, which is both a source of income and provides milk and meat to the residents. Doing this has cut down on the College's food costs significantly. The success of this programme is obviously dependent on a reliable source of water. At present rain water is gathered in large water butts, but these only provide water for some time after the rainy season. There is also a water pipeline bringing in water from a source some distance away, but it is often damaged or tapped by members of the surrounding community.
A Salvationist family has given a very large donation towards the borehole, but as this does not cover the whole cost of the borehole, we are hoping to contribute £4,000 through your donations. We hope that you will feel inspired to contribute financially to this project which will very directly benefit the training of new officers. Thank you, dear officer colleagues, for your continued prayer support and the way you share what you have with comrades from around the world.
Soon my wife and I will take up new appointments in the Germany, Lithuania and Poland territory. We have greatly appreciated the pleasure of being in contact with you, and particularly with the delegates from sessions 223 to 231 which we have had the privilege to lead.
The ICO and CSLD team joins me in sending seasonal greetings. May God bless you abundantly in all you do to share the glad tidings that Christ came into our world and will come again to establish His kingdom of peace over all creation for all eternity.
You can make your gift securely online, or alternatively email ihq-ico@salvationarmy.org to arrange payment by debit or credit card.