text:
<?php

namespace UnitTests\POData\Facets\WordPress2;

/**
 * The specialized expression provider for MySQL
 *
 */

use POData\UriProcessor\QueryProcessor\ExpressionParser\Expressions\ExpressionType;
use POData\Providers\Metadata\Type\IType;
use POData\Common\NotImplementedException;
use POData\Common\ODataConstants;
use POData\Providers\Expression\IExpressionProvider;
use POData\Providers\Metadata\ResourceType;
use POData\UriProcessor\QueryProcessor\FunctionDescription;

class WordPressDSExpressionProvider implements IExpressionProvider
{
    const ADD                  = '+';
    const CLOSE_BRACKET        = ')';
    const COMMA                = ',';
    const DIVIDE               = '/';
    const SUBTRACT             = '-';
    const EQUAL                = '=';
    const GREATERTHAN          = '>';
    const GREATERTHAN_OR_EQUAL = '>=';
    const LESSTHAN             = '<';
    const LESSTHAN_OR_EQUAL    = '<=';
    const LOGICAL_AND          = '&&';
    const LOGICAL_NOT          = '!';
    const LOGICAL_OR           = '||';
    const MEMBERACCESS         = '';
    const MODULO               = '%';
    const MULTIPLY             = '*';
    const NEGATE               = '-';
    const NOTEQUAL             = '!=';
    const OPEN_BRAKET          = '(';

    /**
     * The type of the resource pointed by the resource path segement
     *
     * @var ResourceType
     */
    private $_resourceType;

    private $_entityMapping;

    /**
     * Constructs new instance of MySQLExpressionProvider
     *
     */
    public function __construct()
    {
    	$this->_entityMapping = WordPressMetadata::getEntityMapping();
    }

    /**
     * Get the name of the iterator
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getIteratorName()
    {
        return null;
    }

    /**
     * call-back for setting the resource type.
     *
     * @param ResourceType $resourceType The resource type on which the filter
     *                                   is going to be applied.
     */
    public function setResourceType(ResourceType $resourceType)
    {
    	$this->_resourceType = $resourceType;
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for logical expression
     *
     * @param ExpressionType $expressionType The type of logical expression.
     * @param string         $left           The left expression.
     * @param string         $right          The left expression.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onLogicalExpression($expressionType, $left, $right)
    {
        switch($expressionType) {
        case ExpressionType::AND_LOGICAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::LOGICAL_AND, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::OR_LOGICAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::LOGICAL_OR, $left, $right);
            break;
        default:
            throw new \InvalidArgumentException('onLogicalExpression');
        }
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for arithmetic expression
     *
     * @param ExpressionType $expressionType The type of arithmetic expression.
     * @param string         $left           The left expression.
     * @param string         $right          The left expression.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onArithmeticExpression($expressionType, $left, $right)
    {
        switch($expressionType) {
        case ExpressionType::MULTIPLY:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::MULTIPLY, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::DIVIDE:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::DIVIDE, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::MODULO:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::MODULO, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::ADD:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::ADD, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::SUBTRACT:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::SUBTRACT, $left, $right);
            break;
        default:
            throw new \InvalidArgumentException('onArithmeticExpression');
        }
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for relational expression
     *
     * @param ExpressionType $expressionType The type of relation expression
     * @param string         $left           The left expression
     * @param string         $right          The left expression
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onRelationalExpression($expressionType, $left, $right)
    {
        switch($expressionType) {
        case ExpressionType::GREATERTHAN:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::GREATERTHAN, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::GREATERTHAN_OR_EQUAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(
                self::GREATERTHAN_OR_EQUAL, $left, $right
            );
            break;
        case ExpressionType::LESSTHAN:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::LESSTHAN, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::LESSTHAN_OR_EQUAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(
                self::LESSTHAN_OR_EQUAL, $left, $right
            );
            break;
        case ExpressionType::EQUAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::EQUAL, $left, $right);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::NOTEQUAL:
            return $this->_prepareBinaryExpression(self::NOTEQUAL, $left, $right);
            break;
        default:
            throw new \InvalidArgumentException('onArithmeticExpression');
        }
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for unary expression
     *
     * @param ExpressionType $expressionType The type of unary expression
     * @param string         $child          The child expression
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onUnaryExpression($expressionType, $child)
    {
        switch($expressionType) {
        case ExpressionType::NEGATE:
            return $this->_prepareUnaryExpression(self::NEGATE, $child);
            break;
        case ExpressionType::NOT_LOGICAL:
            return $this->_prepareUnaryExpression(self::LOGICAL_NOT, $child);
            break;
        default:
            throw new \InvalidArgumentException('onUnaryExpression');
        }
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for constant expression
     *
     * @param IType  $type  The type of constant
     * @param objetc $value The value of the constant
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onConstantExpression(IType $type, $value)
    {
        if (is_bool($value)) {
            return var_export($value, true);
        } else if (is_null($value)) {
            return var_export(null, true);
        }

        return $value;
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for property access expression
     *
     * @param PropertyAccessExpression $expression The property access expression
     *
     * @return string
     */

    public function onPropertyAccessExpression($expression)
    {
        $parent = $expression;
        $variable = null;
        $entityTypeName = $this->_resourceType->getName();
        $propertyName = $parent->getResourceProperty()->getName();
        if (is_array($this->_entityMapping)) {
        	if (array_key_exists($entityTypeName, $this->_entityMapping)) {
        		if (array_key_exists($propertyName, $this->_entityMapping[$entityTypeName])) {
        			return $this->_entityMapping[$entityTypeName][$propertyName];
        		}
        	}
        }

        return $propertyName;
    }

    /**
     * Call-back for function call expression
     *
     * @param FunctionDescription $functionDescription Description of the function.
     * @param array<string>       $params              Paameters to the function.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function onFunctionCallExpression($functionDescription, $params)
    {
        switch($functionDescription->name) {
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_COMPARE:
            return "STRCMP($params[0], $params[1])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_ENDSWITH:
        	return "(STRCMP($params[1],RIGHT($params[0],LENGTH($params[1]))) = 0)";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_INDEXOF:
            return "INSTR($params[0], $params[1]) - 1";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_REPLACE:
        	return "REPLACE($params[0],$params[1],$params[2])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_STARTSWITH:
        	return "(STRCMP($params[1],LEFT($params[0],LENGTH($params[1]))) = 0)";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_TOLOWER:
        	return "LOWER($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_TOUPPER:
        	return "UPPER($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_TRIM:
        	return "TRIM($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_SUBSTRING:
            return count($params) == 3 ?
                "SUBSTRING($params[0], $params[1] + 1, $params[2])" :
                "SUBSTRING($params[0], $params[1] + 1)";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_SUBSTRINGOF:
            return "(LOCATE($params[0], $params[1]) > 0)";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_CONCAT:
            return "CONCAT($params[0],$params[1])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::STRFUN_LENGTH:
            return "LENGTH($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::GUIDFUN_EQUAL:
            return self::TYPE_NAMESPACE . "Guid::guidEqual($params[0], $params[1])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_COMPARE:
            return "DATETIMECMP($params[0]; $params[1])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_YEAR:
            return "EXTRACT(YEAR from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_MONTH:
            return "EXTRACT(MONTH from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_DAY:
            return "EXTRACT(DAY from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_HOUR:
            return "EXTRACT(HOUR from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_MINUTE:
            return "EXTRACT(MINUTE from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::DATETIME_SECOND:
            return "EXTRACT(SECOND from ".$params[0].")";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::MATHFUN_ROUND:
            return "ROUND($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::MATHFUN_CEILING:
            return "CEIL($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::MATHFUN_FLOOR:
            return "FLOOR($params[0])";
            break;
        case ODataConstants::BINFUL_EQUAL:
            return
                self::TYPE_NAMESPACE
                    . "Binary::binaryEqual($params[0], $params[1])";
            break;
        case 'is_null':
            return "is_null($params[0])";
            break;

        default:
            throw new \InvalidArgumentException('onFunctionCallExpression');
        }
    }

    /**
     * To format binary expression
     *
     * @param string $operator The binary operator.
     * @param string $left     The left operand.
     * @param string $right    The right operand.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    private function _prepareBinaryExpression($operator, $left, $right)
    {
    	//DATETIMECMP
    	if (!substr_compare($left, "DATETIMECMP", 0, 11)) {
    		$str = explode(';', $left, 2);
    		$str[0] = str_replace('DATETIMECMP', '', $str[0]);
    		return self::OPEN_BRAKET
    			. $str[0] . ' ' . $operator
    			. ' ' . $str[1] . self::CLOSE_BRACKET;
    	}

        return
            self::OPEN_BRAKET
            . $left . ' ' . $operator
            . ' ' . $right . self::CLOSE_BRACKET;
    }

    /**
     * To format unary expression
     *
     * @param string $operator The unary operator.
     * @param string $child    The operand.
     *
     * @return string
     */
    private function _prepareUnaryExpression($operator, $child)
    {
        return $operator . self::OPEN_BRAKET . $child . self::CLOSE_BRACKET;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The 10 Best Caterers in Louisiana!
Any time is a good time to celebrate a special occasion, but sometimes you need a little help planning, organizing, and preparing the food and supplies. No matter what special event you're planning, these excellent caterers in Louisiana can help make sure your day comes off without a problem. You can be worry free knowing that every detail is in professional hands and enjoy the party yourself.
For more than 20 years, Cashio's Catering has been providing top-notch food services to the community of Thibodaux, Louisiana. No matter if you're celebrating a birthday, wedding, anniversary, graduation, corporate event, or just life in general, you can ask for a free consultation and quote to help make your event the best it can be. This mobile food company knows how to do Cajun food right like jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish, etouffee, seafood, and more, and can set up grilling, oyster, and carving stations, a sushi bar, or whatever you have in mind from appetizers to desserts. They also have tables, chairs, tents, linens, and fountains available for rent.
Carpool Caterer, a locally owned and operated food service serving the Covington and Mandeville, Louisiana area, loves bringing people to the table and providing healthy foods that bring smiles and encourage a sense of community and closeness. You'll have healthy menu choices that can accommodate the pickiest palates, and there's a kid's menu with time- and kid-tested favorites. What's unique with this catering company is that you can review their menu that changes weekly and place your order online for pickup later. If you're running late and need your food delivered, they can do that for a modest fee.
This premier catering company specializes in keeping event planning simple and easy. Brent's Catering, located in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, offers an award-winning menu of items that will make your mouth water. This family owned and run business loves bringing good food and good people together. With a nice variety of jambalayas, pastas, appetizers, sandwiches, dips, and soups, the only problem you'll have is deciding what to order. Plates, forks, cups, tablecloths, and napkins are included with each order, as is the set-up and clean-up services.
The passion for food is what started Catering by Don, and that passion is what keeps it going. With a winning combination of quality service and great food, this local catering and food service company located in Covington, Louisiana offers casual and sophisticated events from your next family picnic to elaborate wedding receptions to corporate and business affairs. They also offer a full bar service for events and their signature items includes spinach Andouille, bacon-wrapped Andouie shrimp, pork ribeye, stuffed duck breast, and crabmeat dip, to name a few.
Looking for something different for lunch? Need help planning your next business event? Contact ETC. Catering & Flowers in Bastrop, Louisiana where quality and great customer service is what you can expect. This local catering company is well-experienced in handling corporate and political luncheons, but don't avoid smaller events like family parties. They have a delicious menu with items that range from casseroles to salads to the best strawberry cupcakes and chocolate fudge around. Open Tuesday through Thursday, call for help planning your next event large or small.
Available for catering services, plated lunches, and other specialty items every day except Sundays, Boarding House Catering in Lake Charles has been a local and family-owned business for more than 30 years. Don't let the holidays or the next special event make you crazy. Contact the friendly folks at The Boarding House and let them help take the stress away. With excellent customer service and high social media approvals, the chicken salad is at the top of the list for favorite menu items.
If it involves food, NOLA Girl Catering has you covered. Located in New Orleans and serving that area, NOLA Girl offers onsite catering for private and business events, standalone drop-off catering services, delivered lunches, food truck services, and can provide a personal chef for your next party with friends in the comfort of your own home. No matter what service you need, NOLA Girl Catering will work with you to make it the best event.
No matter what you need related to food and food service, you can count on Chef Eric Johnson & Company to help. With a desire to set new culinary standards across northeastern Louisiana, you can talk to them about planning your wedding reception or a dinner party with friends. With a flair for classic French, Cajun, and Creole foods, Chef Eric will help you select the right menu with all the foods you love. If you like the idea of hosting a food event but don't have a location, you can rent the new banquet room that holds up to 60 people.
Located inside the Surgical Special Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, John & Anna's Coffee Bean Café and Catering offers a great eat-in lunch that won't disappoint. According to social media reviews, their catering services are second to none with large portions and reasonable prices. This up and coming catering service may be just what you need as you plan your next food event.
With a deep desire to keep the unique Cajun culture of Louisiana alive through authentic food and to show appreciation for their community, The Cajun Table seeks to serve the hungry masses around Lafayette, Louisiana every day but Sunday. With humble and simple beginnings in 2015 as a food truck service that traveled all over the city sharing good food, The Cajun Table Restaurant opened its doors in 2017 with the same goal. Come in and enjoy the menu full of all things Cajun and listen to the live Zydeco music representing the area, too.


This car was originally a nicely loaded 440 4-bbl, but when I bought it, there was a complete 440 6-pack in it.
The car was Hemi Orange, black interior, automatic, 3.55 Sure Grip, Air Grabber, front chin spolier, rear Go-Wing. It had 65,000 miles when I purchased it on 9-16-89 and 68,000 miles when I sold it 3 years later. This included driving the car from Virginia to Idaho when I moved there.


Holy Grounds Shop Coffee Talk Blog Seek God first and you dreams will follow!
My church White's Chapel UMC did a sermon series on "Sowing Wild Oats." The definition of wild oats is to do something wild and foolish–usually during youth.The next sermon series is named "Dream". We were encouraged to follow our dreams and that nothing is impossible with God.
Decerning the difference between "dreaming" and "sowing wild oats" is not always easy. I began thinking about Eddie Murphy in the movie, Coming to America. Eddie was a wealthy prince. He has a palace, servants, and was heir to the throne of Zumanda. His parents arranged a marriage for him with a beautiful woman. To the outsider—he had it all. Deep inside of his being he knew there was something missing and left Zumanda to go to New York City to "sow his royal oats". Yes he did wild and foolish things—yet in the end it turns out he was following his dream.
God places dreams in our hearts. Society, family, friends, and even church pressure us to live a certain way. What looks safe and acceptable to those around us are often cause dreams to die. The difference between dreams and oat sewing is knowing THE ONE who placed those dreams in our hearts. Seek God first!


text:
Where are our children?
adminccsa
By Marsha Basloe, CCSA President
Publicly supported preschool services for 4-year-olds is a huge need in Durham County, yet NC Pre-K does not have all its seats filled for this school year, which starts in only a few weeks.
According to the Durham County Government, there are nearly 4,000 4-year-olds each year in Durham County, about half of whom live in households making less than $50,000 a year. Children from lower-income households are often left behind their peers, furthering inequality and setting the stage for an achievement gap that persists through high school. As a vibrant, growing community, Durham recognizes the short- and long-term benefits of a high quality early childhood program for the community, but most especially for children and their families, particularly those earning low-incomes.
Our research found there are six low-income preschool children for every one publicly funded preschool space in Durham through programs such as NC Pre-K, Durham Public Schools and Head Start. With funding from the Durham County Government, the Durham PreK umbrella offers the opportunity for universal services for all 4-year-olds in Durham County through these programs.
"Durham is making a bold investment in the future by supporting early education for our young children," said Linda Chappel, Senior Vice President of Triangle Area Child Care Resources and Referral Services at Child Care Services Association (CCSA). "We will not rest while some of our children are left behind, furthering inequality and setting the stage for the achievement gap that persists through high school and beyond."
As president of CCSA, I have authorized CCSA's Triangle Area Child Care Resource and Referral Services Division to make this our number one priority, and I hope Durham's Partnership for Children and Durham Public Schools do the same.
Every child deserves affordable, accessible, high-quality child care, and Durham PreK works to ensure just that. We hope to be able to utilize every spot for Durham PreK, Durham County's commitment to high-quality publicly-funded preschool for all 4-year-olds.
Durham's Partnership for Children is still accepting applications for enrollment for this school year. Families can apply for NC Pre-K by contacting Durham's Partnership for Children at 919-403-6960 or by visiting dpfc.net/our-work/ncpk/. CCSA works with the Partnership to enroll children in the Durham PreK program once they are in NC Pre-K.
About Durham PreK:
Durham PreK is committed to improving the quality of preschool programs by providing financial support, training opportunities for teachers and increasing eligibility for families to enroll their child. Beginning in 2018, Durham County Government has committed to equitable access to high-quality preschool for all children in Durham. Investments will not only increase the number of publicly funded pre-K slots but also broaden eligibility and work with teachers and private centers to build their quality through teacher and director education, mentoring and coaching. For more information, visit https://www.childcareservices.org/durham-prek/.
About Child Care Services Association:
Founded in 1974, Child Care Services Association's mission is to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality child care for all young children and their families. Using a holistic approach, CCSA supports children and families find child care in the Triangle, helps child care professionals improve the quality of early education children receive and provides scholarship resources so all families can afford and access high-quality early care and education. CCSA also provides healthy meals for children at child care centers throughout the Triangle with our Meal Services program. Our T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood®, Child Care WAGE$® and Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$ programs give child care educators the means to obtain an education and supplement their salary based on that education, increasing teacher education, retention and compensation. CCSA also licenses T.E.A.C.H. and WAGE$ across the U.S. and conducts early childhood systems research and policy development statewide and nationally. For more information, visit www.childcareservices.org.
Why Kellie contacted her North Carolina Legislators about the importance of Child Care WAGE$®
By Jennifer Gioia, CCSA Communications Manager
Kellie and her family on the day of her graduation.
Kellie Toney is an early childhood educator in Cleveland County. As a recipient of Child Care WAGE$®, she sent the following letter to her North Carolina legislators:
"I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your support of the WAGE$ program funded through Smart Start. Without this supplement, I would not have had the opportunity to complete my Bachelor's degree while working as an assistant teacher with Cleveland County Schools. The checks I have received through this program have [gone] towards my tuition and textbooks. Without this program, I likely would not have been able to get through school without student loans. Thank you so much for supporting this program, which played such a vital role in the completion of my Birth-Kindergarten Education Bachelor's degree. This program truly helps those of us shaping the youngest minds through private child care and public education."
Kellie began her career in early childhood education as an assistant teacher in Head Start. "I love children. I love to be there for all of the 'firsts' in learning. When children arrive in NC Pre-K and Head Start, most have never been in [child care] or spent very much time learning. I am there to guide them as they begin to write their name, interact with peers and explore the world around them," Kellie said.
After some time, Kellie began wanting a role where she could plan what to teach the children, so she decided to go back to school to complete her Birth-Kindergarten Education Bachelor's degree from East Carolina University.
With high college tuition, textbooks and transportation expenses, Kellie's husband had to work overtime to help her afford to go back to school. They also took out a home equity line to pay for some of her classes.
Fortunately, through Child Care Connections and a college instructor from Cleveland Community College, Kellie heard about Child Care Services Association's Child Care WAGE$® compensation program. "WAGE$ helped me to graduate debt-free. With the help of WAGE$ funds and Education Incentive Grants, I did not ever need to take out student loans. I was able to save these funds and used them to pay for textbooks, coursework and required trips to East Carolina University," Kellie said, "With the WAGE$ funds, we paid back [our] loans and used the remaining funding to pay for new coursework."
Kellie felt compelled to contact and thank her legislators for their support of Smart Start, which the Cleveland County Partnership for Children, Inc. used to provide WAGE$. "WAGE$ enabled me to continue my education. This in turn benefits my students because I was equipped with the skills and knowledge to better educate my students… I want to ensure funds are available for [all] teachers."
Learn more about Child Care WAGE$, and check out a similar program for Infant-Toddler teachers, Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$. To continue supporting the operations of Child Care Services Association and crucial programs such as WAGE$ and AWARD$, please consider donating today.
Raising Achievement Levels within School Districts with High Poverty
By Marsha Basloe, President of CCSA
In May, the Program Evaluation Division[1] (PED) within the North Carolina General Assembly released a new report, "North Carolina Should Focus on Early Childhood Learning in Order to Raise Achievement in Predominantly Disadvantaged School Districts."[2]
PED was right – addressing the achievement gap requires much more attention to a child's earliest years. While Pre-K expansion was recommended, research points to the birth to age 3 period of a child's life as the time when the largest impact on a child's development is possible. This period of early childhood must also be taken into account as we plan for the future for all NC families.
PED was charged with reviewing school districts nationwide with high poverty rates and at least average achievement by students to see if there were common strategies that could be used within North Carolina school districts. The project addressed three research questions,[3]
What are the characteristics of school districts that have high percentages of economically disadvantaged students yet demonstrate high academic performance?
What policies or practices are high-achieving disadvantaged districts implementing that may contribute to student performance?
What policies or practices could North Carolina implement in order to improve performance in districts with high percentages of economically disadvantaged students?
The results were sobering. PED found that local school districts throughout the country struggled in attaining grade level or better student performance. In fact, PED identified only 5% of predominantly economically disadvantaged school districts that also had grade level or better student performance over a 7-year period.[4] Within North Carolina, 45 of 115 school districts were identified as predominantly economically disadvantaged, which is about 39% of North Carolina school districts. Of those 45 school districts, only 7 (about 16%) met the bar of student performance at grade level (or above).[5] While higher than the national average, 16% is nothing to boast about.
What PED found was that within economically disadvantaged school districts where students are performing well (at grade level or above), third grade is an important marker. Student growth occurs after 3rd grade but that efforts to address student competencies before grade 3 are most important in reducing the achievement gap.[6]
PED conducted interviews within 12 economically disadvantaged school districts (comparable to school districts within North Carolina) with grade level (or above) student performance to see if there were any common strategies that led to higher student outcomes. One of the factors that the 12 school districts had in common was a significant investment in public pre-kindergarten (pre-K). Pre-K in two of the school districts (Durant Independent School District in Oklahoma and Steubenville City Schools in Ohio) target both three- and four-year-old children for enrollment. Four of the five North Carolina counties in which case study districts were located had 75% or more of eligible children participating in NC Pre-K.
However, PED notes that current funding enables only 47% of low-income eligible children statewide to participate in NC Pre-K.[7]
The PED report makes two recommendations.
Recommendation #1. The General Assembly should require low-performing school districts to include an early childhood improvement plan as a component of their required plans for improvement.[8] PED calls for the development of specific strategies aimed at boosting achievement from pre-K to 3rd grade and lists expanding pre-K, improving pre-K quality, ensuring alignment of pre-K curricula with elementary school curricula, developing transition plans, providing professional development that focuses on early learning and providing instructional coaching focused on pre-kK through 3rd grade.
Recommendation #2. The General Assembly should require an assessment of early childhood learning as part of the Department of Public Instruction's comprehensive needs assessment process for districts.[9]
While those of us who have worked in the early childhood education field are glad to see the recommendations related to pre-K, and agree the NC Pre-K program should be fully-funded so all eligible children have an opportunity to participate, children are not born at age four.
Research shows that pre-K makes a difference in a child's school readiness, particularly for low-income children. However, that same research also notes that a child's gains in pre-K are directly related to his or her prior experiences before pre-K.[10]
Neuroscience research shows that a child's earliest years, from birth to age three, play a critical role in the development of brain wiring that lays a foundation for all future learning.[11] In the first years of life, more than one million neural connections are formed every second.[12]
Source: Harvard University Center on the Developing Child
This wiring frames the architecture upon which all future abilities are built. While people learn throughout their lives, a child's earliest years are critical because they set the foundation. Genes and experiences help shape a young child's brain development,[13] which begin long before a child enters pre-K. And, remediation strategies are much more difficult as children (and adults) age.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest data, throughout North Carolina:
356,007 children are under age three[14]
465,783 children are under age six who also have working parents (young children residing in two-parent families where both parents work or in a single-parent family where the head of household works)[15]
Young children with working mothers are in child care every week for about 36 hours according to the Census Bureau.[16] Most of these children are not age four; they are not in pre-K. This is why any directive to the General Assembly to address the achievement gap, which rightly calls for addressing the early childhood landscape, has to not only focus on access to pre-K but also must focus on access to high-quality child care and the early childhood workforce that cares for our youngest children.
Child Care Services Association works locally with Think Babies™ NC and the leadership team as well as with national organizations on the importance of the prenatal to three years through. The Pritzker Children's Initiative is dedicated to building a promising future for our country by focusing investment and support nationally in children at the earliest stages of life, particularly from birth to age three. Zero to Three and Child Trends just released the State of Babies Yearbook. North Carolina's profile can be found here.
We applaud PED's call for low performing school districts to include an early childhood improvement plan and an assessment of early learning opportunities as part of district comprehensive needs assessments. However, early learning is not limited to pre-K settings. High-quality child care programs are important early learning settings at all ages. Any needs assessment and early childhood improvement plans that are derived from such a landscape review must include our youngest children. Child development, school readiness and reducing the achievement gap depend on it.
[1] The Program Evaluation Division (PED) is a central, non-partisan unit of the Legislative Services Commission of the North Carolina General Assembly that assists the General Assembly in fulfilling its responsibility to oversee government functions.
[2] North Carolina Should Focus on Early Childhood Learning in Order to Raise Achievement in Predominantly Disadvantaged School Districts, Final Report of the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee, Report #2019-06, May 20, 2019.
[7] National Institute of Early Education Research, Barriers to Expansion of NC Pre-K: Problems and Potential Solutions, 2018.
[10] Foundation for Child Development, Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Christina Weiland, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Margaret R. Burchinal, Linda M. Espinosa, William T. Gormley, Jens Ludwig, Katherine A. Magnuson, Deborah Phillips, Martha J. Zaslow. (2013).
[11] Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child. The Science of Early Childhood Development.
[12] Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child. Brain Architecture.
[14] U.S. Census Bureau, Table B09001, 2017 American Community Survey, 1 year estimates.
[16] U.S. Census Bureau, Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011, released April 2013.
Durham Makes a Bold Move
By Linda Chappel, Vice President, Triangle Area Child Care Resource and Referral Services at Child Care Services Association
This week the Best of The Triangle 2019 was published in INDYWEEK, naming most favorite activities, foods and events voted on by readers and described as the "wisdom of the crowd." I present the Best of the Triangle as Durham PreK.
In 2018, the Durham County Commission voted to make historic local investments to open access for more 4-year old children to high quality preschool services. At a time when North Carolina's legislators are talking about funding virtual preschool, Durham is boldly creating face-to-face opportunities for children with local funds.
A primary goal of Durham PreK is supporting the learning and development of young children to improve the quality of their lives now and in the future. We know from years of research that high quality preschool enhances children's school readiness by providing substantial early learning, which can have lasting effects far into a child's later years of school and life.
Research finds high quality preschool programs can accomplish this goal by producing large and lasting gains in outcomes such as "achievement, educational attainment, personal and social behavior (e.g., reductions in crime), adult health, and economic productivity."[1] These gains are broad and last long into adulthood.
The importance of funding pre-K in Durham
At CCSA, our research found there are six low-income preschool children for every one publicly funded preschool space in Durham through programs such as NC Pre-K, Durham Public Schools and Head Start.
Currently, more than 25% of Durham census tracts with more than 50 low-income preschoolers have no publicly funded preschool slots. In a random survey of approximately 2,000 Durham parents, 92% of parents rated cost-free preschool as desirable or essential. [2]
Durham PreK benefits the community
While a child's success in school and life addresses our society's greater good, children from lower-income households are often left behind, furthering inequality and setting the stage for the achievement gap that persists through high school. As a vibrant, growing community, Durham recognizes the short- and long-term benefits of attendance in a high quality early childhood program for children, their families and the community.
These benefits range from reduced need for special education services or remedial support during the K-12 years to increased tax revenue and reduced dependency on government assistance in adulthood. Researchers quantified these benefits and found a return on investment of $3-$13 for every dollar invested in early childhood. Even at the low end of this estimate, this is a significant return.
With an abundance of evidence that high-quality universal preschool could reduce the disparities in skills among subgroups of children at kindergarten entry, Durham's policymakers are focusing considerable resources on the development and expansion of quality preschool programs for 4-year-olds.[3]
Durham PreK will help improve the quality of early education in Durham County by improving classroom instruction, supporting family engagement and building capacity for high quality through practice based coaching, while expanding access to publicly funded preschool services for all the county's 4-year-olds. A critical component of this initiative is the implementation of preschool classrooms in diverse settings, including public schools and community-based programs. Durham PreK provides teachers and directors with regular coaching and professional development on cultural competence and social-emotional learning and conducts quality improvement activities to enhance children's classroom experiences.
Unlike many programs around the country, Durham PreK requires teachers hold a Birth to Kindergarten teaching certificate and that they be paid at the same salary level as teachers in Durham Public Schools. Durham PreK places this emphasis on the teachers' compensation to attract and retain the most qualified teachers.
Our overall goal in Durham is to improve the quality of and access to preschool programs for more children. We started with an ambitious two-year plan that runs through July 2020. We know this will be a journey that builds each year until we can serve all Durham's children and ensure their life-long success. Durham PreK plans to stay Best of the Triangle.
[1] Phillips, D.A., Lipsey, M.W., Dodge, K.A., Haskins, R., Bassok, D., Burchinal, M.R.,…Weiland, C. (2017). Puzzling it out: The current state of scientific knowledge on pre-kindergarten effects, a consensus statement. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. Downloaded July 24, 2017 from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/consensus-statement_ final.pdf
[2] Durham Supply and Demand Study, Child Care Services Association, (2018). https://www.childcareservices.org/research/research-reports/early-childhood-system-studies/
[3] Phillips, D. A., et al. (2018). The changing landscape of publicly-funded center-based child care: 1990-2012. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 94-104; Cascio, E. U. (2017). Does universal preschool hit the target? Program access and preschool impacts. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research; Yoshikawa, H., et al. (2013). Investing in our future: The evidence on preschool education. New York: Society for Research in Child Development and the Foundation for Child Development.
Online Pre-K? Just Say No.
As the President of Child Care Services Association, a mother and a grandmother, I have been following the advancement of HB 485, the Virtual Early Learning Pilot program, under consideration by the North Carolina State Legislature. The 3-year pilot would allow up to 10 school districts to offer online pre-k to at-risk, 4 year-old children, at a cost of $500,000 per year for the next three years.
I know that every year, state legislators are forced to make difficult decisions in allocating state funding. I can imagine that there is great pressure with these decisions and that legislators look for ways to save money, while still achieving intended outcomes. With regard to state pre-k funding and the goal to have all children throughout North Carolina enter school with the skills to succeed, it is important for legislators to understand how young children learn and what school readiness really means.
Decades of research show that the greatest gains made by children in pre-k occur where teacher interactions with children promote critical thinking skills as well as concept knowledge through warm and responsive relationships.[1] This isn't by chance. It's by design. It's in-person. It's individualized to meet each child where he or she is at to build on strengths and build up areas that are not as strong.
Numerous evaluations have shown the importance of "instructional, social, and emotional serve-and-return interactions that occur daily between teachers and children, as well as among classmates"[2] that result in developmental gains across early childhood domains (e.g., social and emotional, language and literacy, critical thinking and physical development). These interactions "motivate and deepen learning, enable children to organize and focus their attention and other capacities needed to learn, and promote peer cooperation and support,"[3] which comprise the foundation for school readiness. It's about soft-skill development as well as concept development related to letters and numbers.
In my career, I've had the opportunity to visit pre-k classrooms and talk to pre-k teachers. Too many of our at-risk 4 year-olds haven't been read to; they don't know that books contain words and pictures that tell a story, that letters have sounds and that stories have a sequence – a beginning, a middle and an end. Some have never held a pencil or colored with crayons or written their name. Some haven't held a pair of scissors or developed the dexterity to use a pencil or have ever put together a puzzle. You would think by age 4, children would know colors and basic shapes, but some do not.
The same children might know how to watch a video on a parent's phone, but they can't wait their turn or share, they can't transition between activities and they don't know how to use their words to express their thoughts or feelings in a group setting – to lead, follow or just get along with peers. They may or may not have consistent rules at home so they don't know how to manage themselves appropriately and follow rules in a classroom. These are soft-skills that are learned in a hands-on experience that can't be learned through a computer lesson.
Pre-k programs also screen children for vision, hearing, speech and physical development and help identify children who could benefit from early intervention services in areas where there may be a delay. None of this can occur through an online preschool experience – at least not in an effective manner.
The NC Pre-K program works. Studies have found that NC Pre-K raises children's literacy, math and social-emotional skills not just for kindergarten entry[4] but also throughout elementary school and the most recent research shows gains through middle school.[5]
When kindergarten teachers are asked what school readiness means and what skills are most important for school readiness, their top responses include: children who can regulate their impulses, pay attention, listen to and follow directions, be willing to try different tasks (e.g., have self-confidence), engage in self-care, get along with peers and have motor skills such as the ability to hold a pencil.[6]
Despite the strong evaluations of NC Pre-K, current funding supports fewer than half of eligible children. To me, the answer should be to adequately fund NC Pre-K so that 4 year-old children can attend, not divert resources to an online preschool that misses the mark on what matters most for early childhood development – effective interactions with children. Not screen time.
There is still time to course correct on state budget issues. We don't need a 3-year pilot that diverts $1.5 million from additional pre-k seats for children. Let's put every dollar possible into expanding what works. And, for 4-year old children, that's a setting that promotes interactions with teachers and peers.
[1] Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education, Society for Research in Child Development and Foundation for Child Development, 2013. https://www.fcd-us.org/assets/2013/10/Evidence20Base20on20Preschool20Education20FINAL.pdf
[2] The Current State of Scientific Knowledge on Pre-Kindergarten Effects, Deborah A. Phillips of Georgetown University, Mark W. Lipsey of Vanderbilt University, Kenneth A. Dodge of Duke University, Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, Daphna Bassok of the University of Virginia, Margaret R. Burchinal of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Greg J. Duncan of the University of California-Irvine, Mark Dynarski of the Brookings Institution, Katherine A. Magnuson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Christina Weiland of the University of Michigan. (2017). https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/duke_prekstudy_final_4-4-17_hires.pdf
[4] North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program Evaluation Key Findings (2002–2016), Frank Porter Graham Institute, University of North Carolina, 2017. https://fpg.unc.edu/sites/fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/reports-and-policy-briefs/Summary%20of%20NC%20Pre-K%20Evaluation%20Findings%205-2017.pdf
[5] Evaluation of North Carolina's Smart Start and NC Pre-K Programs: Follow-Up Through Eighth Grade, Duke University, December 2018. https://duke.app.box.com/s/pw3zv27a2jkmfas2j183yg4ekamxzl8y
[6] What Kindergarten Readiness Means to Kindergarten Teachers, New America. 2009. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/early-elementary-education-policy/early-ed-watch/what-kindergarten-readiness-means-to-kindergarten-teachers/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Following GEEK OUT!'s Sell Out show, STAR TEASE, comes the next instalment in the geek culture celebrating series!
Experience Disney like you've never experienced it before, in glamorous and comedic burlesque fashion!
It's part comedy, part cabaret, part burlesque and all round Geeky Entertainment!!
Featuring performances from many of Disney's Princes and Princesses as well as some other well known and well loved Disney characters!
So no matter how JaFAR or how JaNEAR you are, roll on up to see our wickedly awesome Raunchy Royals in all their spoils!
Come in cosplay for your chance to win some super nerdy and Disney themed prizes!!
Neat smart, Neat casual, Elegantly twisted or a little Eccentric.


Anna Saunders is the author of Communion (Wild Conversations Press), Struck (Pindrop Press), Kissing the She Bear (Wild Conversations Press), Burne Jones and the Fox (Indigo Dreams) and Ghosting for Beginners (Indigo Dreams, Spring 2018). Poems published in journals which include Ambit, The North, New Walk Magazine, Amaryllis, Iota, Caduceus, and Envoi. The CEO and founder of Cheltenham Poetry Festival.


Live video broadcasting is taking the web by storm, with services like UStream, Mogulus and Operator11 leading the way. But sometimes the production effects on offer can be limited. Luckily there is a solution.
If you want to add picture-in-picture, watermarking, desktop sharing, RSS feeds, slideshows, videos and a host of visual effects to your web broadcasts all of this and more is now possible. You are not limited to simply broadcasting your face to the world from a webcam.
In a similar - but vastly superior - style to its Windows-based counterpart WebcamMax, the Mac-only CamTwist lets you hijack your outgoing video stream, add effects and even bring in different sources, such as pre-recorded videos and slideshows. And while recently reviewed Mogulus has simple, easy-to-use versions of some of these tools, UStream have kept things bare-bones.
In any case, the full range of effects and possibilities opened up by CamTwist supersede anything possible on the current live video broadcasting platforms. If you are ready to hack your live video stream to add pro-looking effects and tools into the mix, your search may be over.
CamTwist makes it easy for you to hijack the built-in iSight or USB camera on your Mac, truly opening up the possibilities of what is possible in your live video broadcasting sessions.
Sure UStream has made it really easy for anyone to stream their video across the web, from their home, office, or even on the move. But the focus of the UStream team has been on putting together an effective streaming infrastructure, rather than an extensive production feature-set.
Mogulus and Operator11 add a fair amount of features to the mix, from inter-cutting between recorded and live footage to displaying news tickers at the bottom of the screen. But CamTwist goes a few significant steps further.
For one this is the first opportunity I have encountered for me to stream a view of my desktop using the most popular IM and live video platforms. This is, in and of itself, a fantastic addition to the live web video space, bringing screencasting (with full zoom capabilities naturally) into this exciting and ever-growing landscape.
That I can also add, and position wherever I like, picture-in-picture video, custom images, RSS feeds, photo slideshows and pre-recorded video to the confines of my screen is nothing short of revolutionary, and makes a significant difference as to the kind of shows now possible.
What excites me about CamTwist - far more than the special effects it is capable of applying to your video - are the range of functional features that it allows you to bring in to your live video stream. Live web broadcasting is evolving fast, and as it does so the uses and possibilities open to this fledgling medium are expanding daily.
Since the recent runaway success of Justin.TV there has been an explosion in live broadcasts, but many follow the same formula of straight-to-camera monologues at worst, and roving reporting at best. With tools like CamTwist at the ready, though, I would argue that the possibilities open up much wider.
Want to deliver global news across the web, as in Robin Good's latest bold project? How about adding an RSS news ticker to the mix, and branding your channel right there on-screen? CamTwist makes that a piece of cake.
Covering a live event with your wireless broadcasting set-up, as Robin Good TV has done on a number of occasions? Why not add chat or Twitter right into your video stream? Again, both are totally possible.
While some of the features are more useful than others, and achieving the exact effects might take a little bit of patience, changing the stacking order of your effects and making creative use of the possibilities on offer, you have here a great tool kit for taking your live streams to the next level, whether you are giving a live tutorial or marketing presentation, delivering news or reporting live from an event.
Perhaps of less interest to me, but bound to be highly desirable by the younger users of live broadcast / chat services like Stickam, are the range of special effects you can apply to your video.
A lot of these effects are just plain fun, and might not be the most useful things to hit the live broadcasting space. Nevertheless, among the wacky offerings there are some truly useful effects, such as black and white, brightness and tone settings and left-to-right flip functions.
While many of these are novelty items that won't find their way into the toolkit of serious independent web broadcasters, there are some effects that could prove to be of use. The others will appeal to the large audience of teenagers just looking to spice up their video chat sessions, which is fair enough.
As the effects are authored in the Quartz Extreme environment, developer-users are free to add to the range of options available, and will hopefully expand what is already a very rich set of video effects.
The CamTwist interface is simple and for the most part easy-to-use.
The user first selects the input source on the left, from a choice of webcam, desktop, slideshow or video, and adds the respective item into the 'effects in use' column, along with any effects selected. Any and all can then be turned on or off using check boxes, so that it is easy to switch between effects and even video sources during a live broadcast.
Contextual menus for each effect open up when that effect has been selected, and this allows you to simply change parameters such as color, font size, screen position and transparency using drag and drop or slider controls.
It is possible for you to save custom combinations of effects and input sources, so that you can readily call them up at a later date. This is a nice touch that will ultimately save you a lot of setting up time once you have arrived at a favourite selection of tools and effects.
Finally, you can open a separate preview window to see exactly what the current combination of effects looks like, as well as a slide-out drawer which allows you to prepare a forthcoming setup, which you can then switch to at the click of a button.
Uber-geek Chris Pirillo has been putting CamTwist through its paces on his Live UStream-based show, and has managed to put the tool to some creative uses, displaying chat, sponsor advertising and picture-in-picture shots in the course of his live broadcasts.
While it has to be said that CamTwist is a labour of love, and provided by its generous developer for free, there are a couple of things that could improve the tool.
First of all, CamTwist is urgently in need of comprehensive documentation. At the moment finding out which effects do what, and the parameters that can be applied to them are pretty much arrived at by trial and error. As a free and open project, this is certainly open to the CamTwist user-base, and there already exist some accounts of what the tool is capable of, notably the Chris Pirillo video featured above. It would be great to see this expanded on.
Another addition I'd love to see would be the inclusion of basic transitions. It is now possible to switch between individual items by checking or un-checking them in the CamTwist control panel. If some basic fade or dissolve effects were applied, this would make for an even smoother transition between the different elements displayed on-screen.
Finally, there are a few rough edges and bugs, as you might expect from any application, and the one that particularly stands out for me is the slight issue with desktop sharing when highlighting a particular part of the screen. While you are allowed to choose the exact part of the screen you would like to broadcast using a bounding box, if this happens to fall outside of certain dimensions, the video is surrounded by a sometimes sizable black border. This is a small detail, but it would be great to be able to precision overlay a small part of my desktop without a black border taking up valuable screen real estate.
Perhaps due to CamTwist basis in the Quartz Extreme architecture, the tool is unfortunately Mac only. Even more unfortunately, there is little in the way of a serious contender fo CamTwist on the Windows platform.
It might also be worth taking a look at SplitCam, which allows you to send your video to multiple sources simultaneously - so that you can broadcast to Skype, Yahoo and Stickam simultaneously where usually you are limited to choosing one at a time. SplitCam also features some basic effects and user-generated skins, and is free to use.
CamTwist is a Mac-only product, and requires OSX 10.4 or higher to operate.
As it is CPU intensive, the more memory your system has, the better results you are likely to see.
Your Mac will also need to have hardware that supports Quartz Extreme. You can find out if that is the case by visiting this Apple help page.
Configuration details can be found on the CamTwist wiki.
CamTwist offers a great way to gain precision control over your live broadcasts and add popular TV-like elements, such as picture-in-picture video, news tickers and channel logos to your streams. What's great is that as the service directly hacks your system webcam, CamTwist can be used on a number of the popular live streaming services.
As Chris Pirillo has demonstrated, with a bit of patience and some creative thinking, here is a tool that can provide some great effects and really useful added functionality to your live video feed.
Certainly CamTwist could use some polishing of its rough edges, and it would be great to have some decent documentation to truly show off its capabilities, but all-in-all, this is a very capable tool. The fact that it is totally free to use, and makes use of an open architecture that users can add effects to makes it an impressive feat indeed.
Windows users will unfortunately have to settle for the $30, somewhat inferior WebcamMax, but if ever there was a great incentive for web video broadcasters to switch to a Mac, CamTwist is it.
In short, if you want control over your live stream, the ability to add all kinds of added functionality and effects, along with the chance to broadcast your desktop live, CamTwist is well worth taking a look at.
I should also mention ScreenCamera. ScreenCamera allows users to stream the desktop inside video conferencing programs and websites such as Skype, Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Messenger, blogTV, Justin.tv, Mogulus, Ustream, and so on.
ScreenCamera can also connect to your Webcam and stream both Desktop and Webcam at the same time.
It works with a video resolution of 640x480 and it is hard to find something not to like about it. It is cheap and to me it is a must have tool for video conferencing.


A set of polls released Friday showed Democratic primary challenger Fritz Kaegi with a sizable lead in his bid to unseat Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios — but the embattled incumbent's campaign says Berrios is not sweating over the numbers.
Two of the polls — one commissioned by a progressive group backing Kaegi, the other by an independent pollster — gave the challenger double-digit percentage-point leads in a potential head-to-head matchup with Berrios among likely Democratic voters in the March 20 primary.
But Berrios campaign manager Mario Lopez said their own internal polling showed Berrios "with a comfortable lead." The Berrios campaign declined to release its poll.
One survey ordered by Our Revolution Illinois, a political action committee that has endorsed Kaegi, put the challenger up 44 percent to Berrios' 27 percent. Twenty-nine percent of the 757 respondents were undecided in the automated telephone poll, which was taken on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That poll, which had a 3.6 percent margin of error, did not include Andrea Raila, who is fighting to stay on the ballot after an election board hearing officer recommended removing her due to a pattern of alleged fraud in her nominating petitions.
Victory Research conducted two other polls of 683 likely primary voters, one with Raila on the ballot and one without her. In the head-to-head-poll, Kaegi led Berrios 43.8 percent to 32.9 percent, with 23.3 percent undecided.
The Oak Park financial analyst's edge over Berrios was trimmed down to 32.1 percent to 28.4 percent in the three-way poll, with 21.4 percent choosing Raila and 18.2 percent undecided. There was a 3.75 percentage point margin of error in the polls, which were taken between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3.
The Victory Research polling company is led by Rod McCulloch, a former Republican strategist who was convicted of falsifying signatures in 2008. McCulloch said Friday that he briefly worked for Raila's campaign last fall helping to round up signatures for her nominating petitions — but he noted that his work for the campaign was done well before the ballot challenge that has left her candidacy up in the air. He said he has no ties to the Kaegi or Berrios campaigns.
Berrios has been considered politically vulnerable since a Chicago Tribune-Pro Publica report last fall suggested major disparities along racial and socioeconomic lines in his office's assessment practices. Kaegi's campaign has tried to paint Berrios, who also serves as the county's Democratic Party chairman, as the face of old-fashioned Democratic Machine politics.
"The recent Our Revolution Illinois/Chicago poll confirms what we've known for quite some time — that the voters of Cook County are ready for a change," Kaegi campaign manager Rebecca Reynolds said.
Berrios, who has been in office since 2010, has fought back against those claims, touting his accomplishments in getting tax bills out on time for the first time in decades to save taxpayers "many tens of millions of dollars." He has notched endorsements from top Illinois Democrats including U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.


Two kilograms of rocket seeds travelled to the International Space Station as part of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake's six-month Principia mission.
After several months on board, the seeds were sent back and landed in the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2016. After they returned to the UK, they were packaged up with identical seeds that have stayed on earth.
We have received two packets of 100 seeds to grow and compare. Our children will be finding out what growing plants in space can teach us about life on Earth and whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food.


Support the Delta Blues Foundation and help the Delta Blues Museum- Mississippi's first music museum - help us match our grant to upgrade our exhibits!
The Delta Blues Foundation is a 501c3 established to support the ongoing work of the Delta Blues Museum, Mississippi's first music museum.
The Delta Blues Museum (DBM) is not about an individual or an industry but rather about the men and women who created the unique musical art form known as the blues. We are in the final design stage of planning new permanent exhibits and need to raise $30,000 to complete this stage of our project. Since its beginnings in 1979, the DBM has been dedicated in its mission to create a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value, and perspective by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues. The DBM not only focuses on blues artists and their work but also promotes the blues by teaching this music to the next generation through our award-winning arts and education program.
In 2012, with assistance from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the DBM added 7300 sq ft of new exhibit space to our gallery (see photo below) and since then has been working on plans for new permanent exhibits, which will fill our total gallery space (old and new) which is about 12,000 square feet.
The DBM has an impressive collection of artifacts that include instruments, recordings, performance outfits, original art and photography. We want to showcase these items and also bring them to life with interactive experiences so that we may share the stories of these important men and women and also provide a soundtrack for the visitor experience. WE will explore topics such as music from Africa to Mississippi; the Crossroads; Muddy's world, which will incorporate 1940's Clarksdale and Coahoma County recounting plantation life as well as adventures in the New World District. We will chronicle how blues gave birth to rock and roll, explore the blues revival and complete the experience with today's Clarksdale blues scene.
Please help us continue our work to honor these artists and their contributions and educate the next generation of blues musicians by donating to the Delta Blues Foundation today.
The Delta Blues Foundation is a 501c3 that supports the work of the Delta Blues Museum.
The Delta Blues Museum is dedicated to creating a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value, and perspective by exploring the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues.
The Blues represent the roots of American music. And as Mississippi's oldest music museum, the Delta Blues Museum represents the heart and soul of the Blues—not by honoring an industry or any one individual, but by honoring the culture and the musicians that shaped this art form. Help us to provide state-of-the-art educational features for the museum. Donate today and help the Delta Blues Museum tell an even deeper story of the Blues for generations to come.
The Delta Blues Museum has been awarded a $100,000 Museums for America Grant, given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The purpose of the grant is to complete the final design for new permanent exhibits, allowing visitors to explore highly relevant issues of race, class, and place through the blues and its influence on music and people around the globe. The exhibit and related community programming will provide an innovative approach to storytelling and offer visitors different ways to relate to history.
The IMLS grant will ready us to build and install new permanent exhibits in the museum gallery. Upon completion, the Museum will tell the Delta Blues story in a more in-depth way by providing another level of interpretation of our artifacts through video and interactive visitor experiences.
Your tax-deductible donation will go to the Delta Blues Foundation, a 501c3 organization dedicated to supporting the work of the Delta Blues Museum.


The China Millennium Monument sits on the extension line of Beijing West Chang'an Avenue, and consists of the main sundial structure, the Bronze Corridor, the Flame Square, the Centennial Hall, the Art Pavilion, etc. It was constructed to welcome the new millennium--the 21st century.
The China Millennium Monument depicts the uniquely Chinese world outlook and aesthetic spirit with poetic language giving prominence to "water" and "stone" in its overall artistic design. The main structure is composed of the static corridor and rotating facades, and on the exterior wall of the architecture with a whirling track design are engraved symbolic patterns of the 56 nationalities of China. A level and round stage with a diameter of 14 meters at the center of the rotating structure serves as the central arena for art performances, singing and dancing, and symphonies as well as other large open-air events.
Opening Hours: 8:00-18:00 Monday through Thursday and 8:00-21:00 Friday through Sunday in summer; 8:30-17:30 Monday to Sunday in winter.


"Offering a wellbeing solution as a benefit to our employees enables us to encourage them to be physically active in their spare time. The range of activities Reward Gateway offers is brilliant. I'm really looking forward to promoting some of these over and above the traditional gym memberships as we move through the year."


StacoSine Plus - Staco Energy Products Co.
The StacoSine® Plus active harmonic filter is available in 100 and 150 amp assemblies. Modules can be paralleled for a maximum capacity of 1200 amps of harmonic mitigation. When multiple units are paralleled only one controller in one of the modules is needed to assure proper harmonic mitigation. This controller has a touch screen that allows for easy onsite programming. Besides correcting up to the 51st harmonic, the unit can compensate for both lagging and leading reactive power, and can be programmed from 0.7 lagging to 0.7 leading power factor.
With other harmonic filtering solutions, expensive and time consuming site data collection, power quality surveys and computer generated studies are usually needed. Most harmonic filters are designed to accommodate just one or a few harmonic orders. The StacoSine corrects a full range of harmonic orders, and will not create a resonance condition with existing equipment.
Staco Energy Products has taken traditional "passive" harmonic filtering equipment to a new level with StacoSine, an active based harmonic filter technology.
StacoSine injects compensating current into the load to restore the sine wave and dramatically reduce distortion to less than 5% THD. Its high speed process cancels high frequency output current, while it determines the precise value of injected load current.
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 34.71" x 16.03" x 15.3"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 77.87" x 23.62" x 31.93"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 59.06" x 17.32" x 17.37"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 76.78" x 23.62" x 23.62"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 77.89" x 47.24" x 31.93"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 85" x 63.5" x 24.47"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 85" x 95.2" x 24.47"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 85" x 126.9" x 24.47"
Enclosure (H" x W" x D"): 170" x 190.39" x 48.94"


text:
Mbappe makes history, breaks Messi's record
Kylian Mbappe has scored two goals in the Champions League match, which PSG is playing against Club Brugge.
The striker has gone to the quota of 30 goals and becomes the youngest in the history of the Champions League to do something like that. The record was held by Messi.
The world champion is 22 years and 352 days old and is expected to break many future records in this competition at this rate. / abcnews.al
Kylian Mbappe breaks Lionel Messi's record to become the youngest player to score 30 Champions League goals ???? pic.twitter.com/zDoQSAVtHi
— GOAL (@goal) December 7, 2021
The Portuguese technician believes that Roma is on the right track and his work has been quality,
The polar cold invades the country, the matches of the Albanian championship are canceled
Mbape-Benzema exchange, Paris San Germain's newest project is revealed
10 days from the end of the market, Kukësi and Dinamo play with names, Partizani "operation" in attack
Italian legionnaires / media "raise in the sky" Eid: Classy player
Unexpected happens during the match / The referee blows the whistle and interrupts the game: I got tired (VIDEO)
$ 1.6 thousand a ticket to the grand final, the World Cup in Qatar will be the most expensive
Dinamo hits in the last second, Imam's goal gives the "submarine" 3 points, Kukes leaves empty handed
Southampton fans request Broja to stay with the "saints", friendly March big test for the 20-year-old


Abbath unveils new video "Harvest Pyre"
Black metal project Abbath of Norwegian musician Olve 'Abbath' Eikemo presented a music video for the new song "Harvest Pyre", directed by Francisco Munoz.
"Harvest Pyre" appears on the band's upcoming second album "Outstrider", which will be released on July 5 via Season of Mist.
In addition to the unveiling of the new song, Abbath's new lineup also became known. Thus, the place of bass player King, who left the band due to "conflicting views on lyrical concepts of the upcoming album", was taken by musician Mia Wallace (Triumph of Death, ex-The True Endless). The new drummer is Ukri Suvilehto (Suvilehto, Tuliterä, Vermivore), and guitarist — Ole André Farstad (Ilti Milta, Doudou Cissoko's Ancient Strings and Fabulous Things).


text:
Dear Gov. Brown: closing the achievement gap must be our goal for all students
EdSource Commentaries
Ryan J. Smith
This is an open letter to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Dear Governor Brown:
Last week I received a message from Rocio Gonzalez, a parent of two boys attending Jordan High School in Watts. Growing up in an L.A. neighborhood known more for gang violence than for college graduates, Rocio understood that a quality education provided the best shot for her two sons to succeed. So as a single mom who did not complete high school, she did everything she could to make sure her sons did – from researching the best neighborhood schools and learning the right questions to ask her son's teachers to taking them to local universities across the state.
She got news that her hard work had paid off. With tears she shared that her oldest son Omar had received an acceptance letter to Cal Poly Pomona. He will graduate from Jordan High School this spring as the first from his family to attend college.
I believe the Gonzalez family story serves as a perfect example of why we fight to close achievement and opportunity gaps. Rocio knew she had to advocate for her children to ensure the educational opportunities that should be given to all students. However, families can't do this alone.
Governor Brown, we still have a moral imperative to make sure all students, regardless of race, income, or zip code, receive every opportunity to succeed. Before last week I thought you agreed.
That's why I'm troubled by your remarks about the achievement gap as reported in a recent Cal Matters article. You were quoted as stating that the Local Control Funding Formula isn't intended to close achievement gaps: "The gap has been pretty persistent, so I don't want to set up what hasn't been done ever as the test of whether the LCFF is a success or failure. I don't know why you would go there." You also suggested closing achievement gaps is "pretty hard to do."
You're right – closing gaps is tough work. However, thousands of educators work to move the needle of student performance. We see evidence of schools and districts beating the odds and closing gaps every day. For example, just up the road from the Capitol, at Inderkum High School in Sacramento, 96 percent of black students graduate in four years. At Georgia Morris Elementary School in San Bernardino County, low-income 3rd-graders meet standards on the most recent English tests at nearly twice the rate of all low-income 3rd-graders in the state.
Govenor Brown, it can be done and we should replicate promising practices when we see them.
More dangerously, though, you seem to provide a justification for the need for these gaps to exist. When asked about the goal to prepare all students for college and career, you remarked, "[do] you mean a career as a waiter? Do you mean a career as a window washer? Or do you mean something more elevated? Then who's going to do all that other work that's not elevated? Who does that? Or do we get robots for that?"
Huh? As you know, black and brown and low-income students have always been disproportionately relegated to these low-wage jobs. Are we condemning potentially millions of students to underemployment simply to support the privileged few – because somebody has to do it? We should not be this deterministic about any of California's students – but it is particularly disconcerting to respond to questions about the achievement gap in such a manner when the majority of our students are students of color or living in poverty.
Your comments confirmed my greatest fear. Equity has become the new coconut water – the trend everyone is talking about, but not all of us are drinking.
Thousands of parents, students, educators, and advocates defended the need for Proposition 30, the move toward LCFF, and the implementation of the new content standards based on the belief that these policies will support equity. I continue to applaud you for moving boldly on these policies.
However, we should expect passage of these policies to accelerate closure of achievement and opportunity gaps. We focus on equitable strategies as a means to achieve results. Unfortunately, we have a history of giving the least to students who already start with less – the least amount of resources, the fewest effective teachers and the fewest opportunities to achieve, while suspending, expelling and pushing them out at higher rates.
Your comments also underscore the need to create strong accountability systems across the state. Some adults – maybe even you – believe these students can't succeed. Some adults want little accountability for our schools. Because they believe the outcomes are inevitable, they see no need to demand change. However, schools like Inderkum High and Georgia Morris Elementary show that educators can help every child, regardless of background, achieve at high levels. Our state should send a clear signal that we demand those kinds of opportunities and results for all students.
Governor Brown, just as Rocio fought for both her sons to prevail, I believe you're willing to fight for all of California's students, too. As you noted in your 2013 State of the State address, "Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice." It's not enough to treat our students equally – we must prioritize our most vulnerable students in order to accelerate their academic performance. I hope you can sit down with Californians like the Gonzalez family and clarify how we can make closure of gaps our north star. We can close opportunity and achievement gaps in this generation – but only if we collectively believe it's possible.
Ryan Smith is executive director of The Education Trust–West based in Oakland.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
High-needs studentsCommentaryAchievement GapJerry BrownLocal Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Leave a Reply to Dan B. Walden
navigio 4 years ago4 years ago
Nothing like some good emotional fodder. What the governor said was he didnt think using a metric that has never in the history of the world been achieved would be a good metric to use to measure the success or failure of LCFF as written. This is not the same thing as not believing all students can succeed, and frankly, it's surprising you would attribute such a belief to him. Remember that the current LCFF … Read More
Nothing like some good emotional fodder.
What the governor said was he didnt think using a metric that has never in the history of the world been achieved would be a good metric to use to measure the success or failure of LCFF as written. This is not the same thing as not believing all students can succeed, and frankly, it's surprising you would attribute such a belief to him.
Remember that the current LCFF is not even his LCFF. He was forced to negotiate down the level of contribution toward disadvantaged students in favor of the base grant (really in favor of non-disadvantaged students) in order to get it passed. This, by definition, means we have something whose resources are already less than he desired.
Then, it's likely his original, pre-negotiated version was even less than he would have liked (actually I would almost guarantee that). Add to that that his ideas surrounding Prop 30 were also diluted, and that this is money that is being directed at the implementation of LCFF; add to that that LCFF isn't even fully funded yet, and maybe will never be; add to that his comments about persistent society inequality, and you might start to understand why Brown would caution against assuming this is a perfect solution.
It is possible to believe that every student can succeed, yet, at the same time, to realize that we are not yet doing enough to get there. In fact, it's likely that the more dangerous assumption is yours: that LCFF was enough to fix the centuries of inequality and exclusion. LCFF is a tiny step on a very long road that can admittedly be navigated at different speeds, and while there are people trying to impose detours and construct barriers. If we don't understand that, we are in danger of stopping too soon because we believe we've already arrived. This is probably the single biggest problem with education 'reform' in general, and would be a disaster for Brown's goal of justice, specifically.
Personally, I think you lost an opportunity to use his comments as a catalyst for making explicit how our society sets its expectations for student achievement. What he said is a reflection on at least a couple of decades of 'accountability' and 'solutions' that have put us almost no step closer to our goal. We really need to start discussing why that is the case. Pretending LCFF is finally the pot of gold isn't going to do that.
Patricia Horton 4 years ago4 years ago
Amen. At Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Colton, CA., the dream is alive. We all come everyday believing fully in our heart that it is not only possible for our students but our mission, with our families and the community, to close the achievement gap. We Believe! Patricia Horton, Principal Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
Alicia Lara 4 years ago4 years ago
Bravo Ryan! I am hopeful that the governor's true intentions are about supporting the full success of low-income students of color. If this is the case he should come out with an unequivical statement. If not and he has revealed his true thinking, then he is not fit to be the Governor of this great state.
Suzanne 4 years ago4 years ago
Wonderful article, I couldn't agree more!
Dan B. Walden 4 years ago4 years ago
Ryan, good comments. Let's talk about the role of school boards in closing the gap, and about how I can help. Dan
Governor Brown has consistently acted in ways to balance the importance of standardized tests with other factors. Typically people talk about achievement gaps as gaps in scores on standardized tests. Your own comments seem focused on test scores as well. With the new focus on local control it would seem to me that Governor Brown would want to send a message the state is not the main focus for educational outcomes. That … Read More
Governor Brown has consistently acted in ways to balance the importance of standardized tests with other factors. Typically people talk about achievement gaps as gaps in scores on standardized tests. Your own comments seem focused on test scores as well.
With the new focus on local control it would seem to me that Governor Brown would want to send a message the state is not the main focus for educational outcomes. That message seems to have been conveyed.
So I see the Governor's statements in line with his policies, although making statements about the future success of students and schools seemed gratuitous, and he should provide clarity and make a simple apology.
Dawn Urbanek 4 years ago4 years ago
Ryan- I appreciate your letter and the recognition that Governor Brown did acknowledge that the LCFF was not about closing the achievement gap. What people have not realized yet is Governor Brown's true intention. The State's #1 Constitutionally mandated spending priority is Public Education. So stop and think about a law that caps per pupil funding at 2007-08 levels plus inflation not to be reached until 2021. In 2007-08 State Tax Revenues were $103 billion; today … Read More
Ryan- I appreciate your letter and the recognition that Governor Brown did acknowledge that the LCFF was not about closing the achievement gap. What people have not realized yet is Governor Brown's true intention.
The State's #1 Constitutionally mandated spending priority is Public Education. So stop and think about a law that caps per pupil funding at 2007-08 levels plus inflation not to be reached until 2021. In 2007-08 State Tax Revenues were $103 billion; today they are projected to exceed $125 billion.
"Local Control" means Jerry Brown keeps the revenue for his spending priorities and then passes the cost of providing a "quality education" down to taxpayers who will end up paying for a service that the State is already constitutionally obligated to provide. We will be asked to extend Prop 30 taxes, we will be asked to pass a bond to pay for facilities, he has already increased the cap on local tax rates and he intends to give Districts the ability to tax us as well- all the while he spends tax money that should go to education on High speed rail and new programs and entitlements that are not constitutionally mandated.
My District will have had flat funding of around $7,500 for 14 years by 2021. We have average class sizes of 36 kids (32 in pre k and K); our facilities have not been maintained; we have cut over $152 million from our budget and we have no honors classes, no art, music or science unless parents can fundraise. The continued lack of adequate funding has resulted in a notable decline in the academic performance of students across all demographics. California educates 1 in 8 students in the U.S. When California fails, the nation fails. This law is unconstitutional because it intentionally underfunds all school districts that have a low percentage of students who are English language learners, receiving free and reduced lunch and/or are in foster care simply because of where they happen to live, and irrespective of their individual wealth race or ethnicity.
That is invidious discrimination. Every student in my district is being denied their constitutional right to sufficient funding to provide students with core academic classes that align with minimum state content standards and curriculum frameworks. When I questioned some students not receiving art or music because the schools were to poor to fundraise, I was told that under local control it is the individual classroom teacher that determines instructional content and instructional time.
California has no minimum standard under local control. see: Slide Presentation to the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees at http://www.slideshare.net/DawnUrbanek/fundraising-for-core-educational-programs and listen to the Board Audio at January 27, 2016 BOT Meeting Agenda Item #5 – Fundraising for Core Educational Programs and Board Meeting Audio at 2:28:0 to 2:47:45
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/1-27-16/CUSDBoardMeeting.January.27.2016.mp3
Wendy Shrove 4 years ago4 years ago
The LCFF definitely attempts to address the need for more funding for students with extra needs. The problem is that the base grant is not enough to educate ANY student. The result will continue to be that no student in California will get a quality education without local communities supplementing funding through bond measures. This model has become the de facto solution to the state shirking its Constitutional responsibilities to educating our youth. … Read More
The LCFF definitely attempts to address the need for more funding for students with extra needs. The problem is that the base grant is not enough to educate ANY student. The result will continue to be that no student in California will get a quality education without local communities supplementing funding through bond measures. This model has become the de facto solution to the state shirking its Constitutional responsibilities to educating our youth.
The only reason that some communities are squeaking out successful students is because there are enough taxpayers that are willing to subsidize the state. As the electorate, we need to STOP passing these bond measures, both at the state and local levels and insist that our legislators start advocating for our children instead of passing the buck right back to the taxpayers.
Gloria Ervin 4 years ago4 years ago
Ryan, Thank you yet again for your advocacy for black and brown students. These/Our students can and will defy the odds as long as they have access to the opportunity to do so. The resiliency in our students is astonishing; however, we have to stop the micro-aggression that create barriers in our classrooms, schools, districts, county, and state. I too wonder about the fidelity to "equity" in our public school system.
Mary Johnson 4 years ago4 years ago
The State Of California is more about equality than equity. If we look through the lens of equity for all students, then we can make a changes in individual students' pathway, instead of one model for all students' need. I have four children and am a single mom from right outside of Watts. Each of my children has a different need, and I advocate for equity resources to meet each one of my children. … Read More
The State Of California is more about equality than equity. If we look through the lens of equity for all students, then we can make a changes in individual students' pathway, instead of one model for all students' need. I have four children and am a single mom from right outside of Watts. Each of my children has a different need, and I advocate for equity resources to meet each one of my children. I didn't worry what others students wanted if it didn't fix my child's need. Governor Brown is so connect to the CTA that he so afraid of Real Talk. The problem is yes, we have LCFF but very little accountability, when the districts can spend the monies any way they chose. Plus about 85 percent goes to salaries. I am very proud as single black mother that I knew how to navigate the prek-12 grades school structure. I have four college graduates from the inner city.
Well said, Mr. Smith. Like many I was shocked by Brown's cavalier comments and surprised he hasn't as yet walked them back, for what that's worth. It was a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde moment from the man who brought us LCFF. If closing the achievement gap is not to be expected, what then is his rationale to providing targeted LCFF funding for that very purpose?


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2 teens expected to survive Missoula shooting
MISSOULA - The two teens who were found shot on Sunday evening in Missoula are out of surgery and expected to survive...
Posted: Jun 27, 2018 9:03 AM
Updated: Jun 27, 2018 9:03 AM
MISSOULA - The two teens who were found shot on Sunday evening in Missoula are out of surgery and expected to survive their ordeal.
Despite a large search effort on Sunday, the assailant has still not been located. Missoula Assistant Police Chief Scott Hoffman said Sunday that there's no danger to the public.
Missoula Police Captain Mike Colyer says investigators have been able to speak with one of the juveniles and while nobody is in custody at this time, police are continuing to pursue possible leads in the case.
The two teens were found shot on the campus of Sentinel High School shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Sunday after witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the area. The names of the victims have not yet been released.
Arrests made in Missoula convenience store shooting
Court documents: Drugs possible motive in Missoula shooting
Human bones found in Missoula shed
Veterans and entrepreneurs meet in Missoula
Missoula County approves landmark fire protection plan
Search for missing boater near Missoula suspended
Missoula community members search for missing mother
Two in custody after Missoula stabbing
Campaign aims to find homes for Missoula's homeless


The Bar Association of San Francisco is sponsoring a seminar Sept. 28, 2011, on the effects of the recent California Supreme Court decision in Howell v. Hamilton Meats on personal injury litigation.
• Analysis of Howell within the broader context of "negotiated rate differentials," the collateral source rule and differential billing for the insured, uninsured and recipients of Medicare/Medicaid.
For more information, follow the link to the BASF seminar flier and sign-up form.
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