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San Diego Commons at the Crossroads: the Sell-Off of 'Excess' Properties
by Source on January 20, 2016 · 0 comments
in Culture, Economy, Environment, Health, History, Life Events, Politics, San Diego
The Commons:Open Space behind Truax House
"Why didn't you ask the neighbors and the community what they might think?"
By Jay Powell / San Diego Free Press
This past week San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced as one of the key highlights of his State of the City that he is bringing forward "the first comprehensive vision for San Diego's parks in more than 60 years" and promised that "ground would be broken on 50 new or upgraded parks during the next five years. "
Actual budgets are always a reality check on visionary pronouncements. By April we should know if and how this vision will be reflected in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
There is a need for yet another kind of reality check. The convergence of the promise of a new grand vision for parks by the Mayor while the city's Real Estate Asset Department (READ) pushes ahead with the sale of city-owned properties brings us to an important crossroads for determining the future of the Commons for the City of San Diego.
As the City is about to embark on this new, grand vision, it is important to ask how are we doing in protecting and preserving the existing parks and open space.
The Commons is now an almost archaic term used to describe lands owned or used by all the inhabitants of a place. Parks and Open Space comprises a large portion of the San Diego Commons and is one of the most enduring legacies of many citizens work over many decades. The value of open space is well documented in the City's General Plan and other ordinances and policies – visual relief, recreation, habitat, storm water control among them. It plays a different but complementary role than developed parks in enhancing our neighborhoods.
Testimony at the City Council hearings adopting the Climate Action Plan included the value of open space lands, in particular the root systems of plants spread throughout the region's natural open spaces and regional parks. It was stated that the root systems actually provide far more carbon absorption and sequestering than the above ground vegetation and the coastal waters combined.
We have many thousands of acres of natural open space that have been set aside in San Diego. As the City is about to embark on this new, grand vision, it is important to ask how are we doing in protecting and preserving the existing parks and open space. Who determines how different lands are used and who feels entitled to determine their use or obtain them for their own use can take many forms.
Open space–Commons for all or land grab for some?
Recently, armed militants occupied a Federal wilderness facility in a rural Oregon area claiming that they want to free the land for use by ranchers and loggers and more generally "the people". In most local jurisdictions a more subtle "land grab" strategy is employed. The forces pushing for up-zoning of private land or privatization and/or sale of publicly owned properties are a different kind of militia. Armed with lobbyists and campaign contributions, they and their allies are quietly but steadily changing the local landscape.
Last summer San Diego Free Press asked the question "Where There is Smoke, is there a Fire Sale?" regarding proposals by the City Real Estate Assets Department (READ) to sell off "excess" (aka "surplus") city-owned (ie, owned by all the inhabitants of the city) properties.
There are currently 28 properties throughout the city proposed for sale. In an attempt to answer that question over the last several months there has been considerable discussion with stakeholders, City staff, City Council members and their staffs, research, and interviews with open space and canyon preservation advocates and community members regarding the proposed sale of properties (see list at conclusion of this article).
So far the READ proposals may not qualify as a "fire sale", but there are definitely smoldering camp fires fed by the ever shifting political winds at City Hall. This is not the first time that lists of candidate properties have been assembled. In 2007 several properties were listed, but pulled from the fire when the real estate bubble burst.
Once the City was engaged in actively acquiring open space and park lands through bond issues and other regulatory mechanisms to fulfill the General Plan promise of an integrated open space system throughout the City. Now, what few funding sources were available for land acquisitions have been diverted to maintenance and other uses and some parcels formerly acquired for open space or designated for such uses are being put on the for-sale list.
Will the Mayor's vision reinstate those diverted funds back to land acquisition in the upcoming budget process?
On Wednesday, January 20, READ staff was scheduled to return to the City Council Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, seeking a recommendation to authorize marketing three of the properties they identified as excess last year. The item was inexplicably changed to another issue within hours of its posting this last week.
Articles and communications from interested parties regarding the proposal to sell the "Truax House" property next to Maple Canyon in the Bankers Hill area of Uptown, as related below, released a veritable fire storm of its own that may have been a factor in delaying the item until next month.
Paper Streets—Land we own proposed for sale
There are thousands of acres of land that appear on City maps as streets that are not paved. They are referred to as "paper streets". In most cases they fall into canyons and will never be developed as streets. They are sometimes "vacated" at an adjacent property owners request to enhance their property holdings. Occasionally they are incorporated into a canyon open space system. Here are two examples of properties that are being proposed for sale that include paper streets.
Maple Canyon in Uptown
Two recent San Diego READER articles by Dorian Hargrove, "Maple Canyon Conundrum" and "Historic or Perfect for a Park" have highlighted the impact on public access to a canyon located in the Uptown Community Planning area of the proposed sale of one property tagged by READ as "excess".
The property was labeled "Truax House" on the "Excess Sales Using Brokers" list in a READ power point presentation as an information item to the City Council Smart Growth and Land Use (SG&LU) Committee last June. The property which actually includes two houses and a vacant lot was acquired with gas tax funds in 1965 for a proposed street extension.
Open Space Map including Maple Canyon (Click to enlarge)
It turns out that the parcel's vacant land portion was included as designated open space in the Uptown Community Plan, since it could provide access to the Maple Canyon hiking trail. Or so community members and the "Friends of Maple Canyon " thought. In early December Councilmember Todd Gloria's Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Keach stated that the Planning Department was claiming that was a "mapping error" and it would not be so included in future versions of the Plan that is being updated.
Instead the parcel now appears on the Plan's land use maps in an area coded as "residential, medium high" which would allow the building of 29 units to 44 units per acre or 20 units on the .68 acre site to as many as 30 units if the bonus density is exercised.
Of course, that would require the demolition of the two existing structures, one of which has been rented to the same tenant through the Housing Commission for nearly two decades and the other is arguably an historic building. Both buildings command an impressive view of the bay, the Coronado Islands and Point Loma.
Truax House Front Porch View
This "interested City resident" showed up for the open house for qualified brokers last summer to tour the vacant early 1900's Victorian style house. On the entrance foyer wall was a photograph of the late Dr. Brad Truax and an array of plaques and proclamations in his honor. Dr. Truax had been a key leader in the 1980's advocating for funding and action to combat the HIV/AIDs crisis.
The house had once been leased to the Aids Foundation and used as a hospice facility and then briefly to Father Joe's Villages. After informing Councilmember Gloria of the existence of these historic artifacts, they were removed from the building and purportedly provided to Lambda Archives.
Charles Kaminski, local architect and community activist, serves on the Board of Lambda Archives, a non-profit which has advocated for a state funded project currently underway to document historical resources including properties of significance to the LGBTQ community. Since learning of the proposed sale of the Truax House he has conducted his own inquiries into the site. Senior Policy Advisor to Councilmember Gloria, Stephen Hill provided some additional background to him showing that this and adjacent properties were considered for sale by the City as long ago as 1980 and 1987.
Truax House Realtor Open House July 2015
As remote as these actions were nearly 30 years ago, they were included in the backup material by READ for the January 20 action. Also included was a notation that the appraised value is $2,470,000. The appraisal itself with any relevant justification or assumptions was not included in the public back up information. We do know that given the demurrer by the Park and Rec Department someone has reason to believe they can get at least 30 units on one helluva view lot if they can meet or beat the appraised value.
The proceeds from sales of surplus properties either go to the Capital Improvements Fund for distribution in accord with recommendation by a special staff committee or in some cases back to the fund which enabled the original acquisition. In the case of the Truax house parcel, staff believes that the proceeds from the sale must go back into some kind of gas tax fund, even though those gas tax moneys were expended over a half century ago and enabling guidelines don't seem to indicate that restriction.
The Executive Summary Sheet provided for the item restated that "Due to slope issues, existing structures, and lack of connectivity to Maple Canyon Open Space, City staff cannot justify this location for park uses"—a point that is hotly disputed by Uptown residents and open space advocates.
Map Maple Canyon/ Truax House (Click for larger image)
While the real estate and development campfires smolder in City Hall, a virtual firestorm of community activity has emerged around this issue. According to the Uptown Quest, the "Metro San Diego Community Development Corporation (CDC) voted unanimously to request that City Council remove the property from the surplus list until it can be properly evaluated for its connection to Maple Canyon and the historic status of the Truax house.
READ is required by State Law to offer the property to internal and external agencies for a minimum 60 day period to see if they have interest in purchasing or leasing the property to provide low income housing, park and recreation or open space purposes, school facilities construction or use by a school district for open space purposes or for enterprise zone purposes if located in such a zone.
The READ files reviewed last December did not include a reply from the Parks and Open Space Department to the READ email sent July 16, 2013 initiating the for sale proposal. The noticing email basically said if we don't hear from you in 60 days, we are proceeding with the sale.
The Executive Summary for the January 20 Committee action included a note on the relevant City Strategic Objective # 1: "Create dynamic neighborhoods that incorporate mobility, connectivity, and sustainability" as justification for the property sales and lists the following as required information:
"COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORTS: N/A"
"KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND PROJECTED IMPACTS: City of San Diego"
If you are wondering why the Friends of Maple Canyon or the Uptown Planning Group, or the Metro San Diego CDC or CanyonLands or Lambda Archives or SOHO or …(pick your relevant stakeholder)… is not listed for the latter two required information, join the club. Perhaps the rescheduling of this item to February will provide time for community stakeholder and planning group review and input.
A separate item on the Committee's January 20 agenda discusses Community Planning group compliance with bylaw provisions of the relevant Council Policy and notes that Community Planning Groups "provide public input to the City as part of their advisory recommendations, and therefore 'cultivate civic engagement and participation' (emphasis added) which is a strategic Plan objective related to the goal of livable (sic) neighborhoods."
READ Senior Real Estate Manager, Mary Carlson says that the recommendation to market the property is going forward to the Council with no historical evaluation and "simply valued for its highest and best use". Prospective buyers will need to evaluate how they would evaluate issues such as historic status in their ultimate purchase offer to the City.
The two other properties recommended for sale on the proposed action item include a slightly more than half acre remnant of right of way in the Skyline Paradise Hills Community, and the former Logan Heights Library in Southeastern Area Community.
Here again there is no record of communication to the locally elected Planning Groups.
Olivia Canyon in City Heights
Another parcel in a designated open space area included on the June 10 Excess Sales Using Brokers list but not included for further action so far was described in the previous SDFP article. The slightly less than a quarter acre parcel was acquired in 1985 with bond funds approved by voters to provide open space in communities throughout San Diego. It is a part of the Olivia Canyon (aka 47th Street Canyon) open space system in City Heights. You can hike down from the Fairmount Village neighborhood all the way to Nate's Deli and City Farmers Nursery on this City-open space system trail. Kids clamber through it on the way to and from Monroe Clark Middle School.
The Commons: Hiking down Olivia Canyon
Some months ago I met with Bill Tall, City Farmers proprietor and long time community improvement supporter and several of the neighbors and other interested persons who had heard about the proposed parcel sale from the SDFP article. We all echoed the questions asked by the few public speakers who somehow had heard of the proposal at the City Council Committee: why did you chose this parcel in this canyon? Why didn't you ask the neighbors and the community what they might think of that idea?
Basically, the READ answer to the latter was, "we don't have to" and to the former "we have our lists and this parcel costs the City money to maintain—we asked the Parks and Open Space Division and they had no objection to selling it."
A few weeks later many of the group of concerned residents and more of their neighbors gathered with the Friends of Olivia Canyon for one of their frequent canyon clean up days. Surely, all open space systems incur costs, but much of the maintenance of the Canyon continues to be a partnership of local residents, Friends of Canyons groups fostered by the San Diego Canyonlands non-profit and City open space ranger staff.
It still begs the question: how out of all the thousands of open space parcels in San Diego, did this little less than a quarter acre parcel jump up as a candidate for sale? And why now?
While not a conclusive answer to this question, it is an interesting coincidence that approximately a year ago, before the excess property list was presented to the City Council a real estate broker interested in enhancing the development potential of adjacent privately owned parcels expressed interest to READ staff in using this parcel for possible mitigation.
The latest report from READ is that they are "holding this property for the foreseeable future."
Correction: The original article stated that "The READ files reviewed last December did not include a reply from the Parks and Open Space Department to the READ email sent December 2014 initiating the for sale proposal." The corrected date is July 16, 2013.
What public land is up for sale in your district?
Excess Sales Using Brokers (62 acres):
District 1: Carmel Country and SR 56 (<1 acre); Sorrento Valley Road West of 805 (2 acres); Campus Point (42 acres); Callan Rd (3 acres); Rutgers Rd and Van Nuys (<1 acre);
District 3: Truax House? Maple Canyon (<1 acre); Goldfinch & Spruce (<1 acre);
District 4: SE Corner Jamacha & Cardiff (<1 acre)
District 5: Rancho Carmel & Provencal (<1 acre)
District 6: Headquarters Point (10 acres)
District 8: Old Barrio Logan Library (<1 acre); Old San Ysidro Fire Stn (<1 acre, not in City)
District 9: 40th & University and El Cajon & Central (<1 acre, ON HOLD); 46th Street (<1 acre, part of Olivia Canyon Open Space); Silktree Terrace (<1 acre)
Exclusively Negotiated /Direct Sales (49 acres)
District 1: San Dieguito land/lagoon rest by Sandag (22 acres); Draper Av (remnant SOLD)
District 2: Washington & Pacific Hwy (remnant to property owner); Four properties on Morena totaling approx. 7 acres for SANDAG Mid Coast Trolley
District 6: Serra Mesa E of Encino & W of Sandmark (15 acres for SDG&E)
District 7: Texas St (remnant for adj property owner)
District 8: Lauriston & Paxton (3 acres, Lawsuit settlement, SD Community Land Trust); San Ysidro & Dairy Mart (<1 acre for adjacent owner); Villa Montezuma (< 1 acre, Historical/Museum will require HUD approval and deed restrictions on sale)
Older Article: Mural, Lights and Charity at Culture Brewing Co.
Newer Article: The Absurdities and Alternative Realities of Republican Politics


PIERRE - The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would allow military training and experience to count toward getting state licenses or certifications in civilian occupations.
Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to send the bill to the Senate for further debate.
The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Scott Parsley of Madison, says 36 state regulatory agencies require that people get a license or certification before entering a profession or occupation. His bill would allow state agencies to pass rules permitting people seeking licensing or certification to get credit for the training and experience they received in the military.
Parsley says military veterans still would have to pass any examination required for entry into a profession or occupation.


Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is the treatment given to people exposed to a potential, or known, rabid animal. PEP includes one dose of rabies immune globulin, and a series of 4 doses of rabies vaccine given over a 14-day period.
Depending on the availability of the animal for rabies testing and the severity of the exposure, PEP may not begin right away. When an exposure occurs, there is a 10-day waiting period while attempts are made to locate, restrain, and observe the animal. If the animal is found within the 10-day period and can be observed, then the vaccine series can be avoided. If the animal is not found during the 10-day period, then the victim is notified and instructed to start the PEP treatment.
Rabies immune globulin and the first dose of rabies vaccine are given at the Mercy Health Emergency Department on the day of the bite/exposure (referred to as day 0). Additional doses of rabies vaccine are given at the Mercy Health Urgent Care Center at the Oak Campus on days 3, 7, and 14 after the first vaccination. Current vaccines are relatively painless and are given in your arm, like a flu or tetanus shot.
Bite (higher risk): Any penetration of skin by an animal's teeth. Bites to the face and hands or multiple bites carry the highest risk.
Non-bite (lower risk): Scratches received from an animal, or the contamination of open cuts, wounds, or mucous membranes with an animal's saliva.
Bats have very small teeth, and often a bat bite may not be felt. Therefore, PEP may be recommended in cases where a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person, child, or mentally disabled or intoxicated person.
PEP costs hundreds of dollars per person. Therefore, when an exposure does occur, it's extremely important to keep the animal and submit it to Vector Control for rabies observation and/or testing. If the animal tests negative for rabies, then PEP may not be necessary.
For more information about PEP treatment, call 231-724-1228.


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Google to Devalue Doorway Pages in Search Results
Matt Southern March 16, 2015
In an effort to improve the overall quality of its search results, Google has announced that it will start to launch ranking adjustments for doorway pages in search results.
Doorway pages are pages that exist for no other reason than to rank in search results. Some websites may create multiple doorway pages all ranking for the same term, which do not offer any unique value on their own because of the fact that the subject matter is similar, and they ultimately drive visitors back to the same place.
Here's how Google explains it:
"For example, searchers might get a list of results that all go to the same site. So if a user clicks on one result, doesn't like it, and then tries the next result in the search results page and is taken to that same site that they didn't like, that's a really frustrating experience."
As a result of Google's upcoming algorithm change, the search giant warns that long, well-established doorway campaigns might be broadly impacted.
If you're not sure whether or not pages you're creating count as doorway pages, the company suggests asking yourself a few questions:
Is the purpose of the content to please search engines and funnel traffic into your site, or are they a vital part of your site's user experience?
Does the content deal with specific subject matter, yet is optimized for generic terms?
Do the pages reproduce information located elsewhere on the site for purpose of drawing in more organic traffic>
Are these pages made solely for drawing affiliate traffic and sending users along without creating unique value in content or functionality?
Do these pages exist as an "island?" Can you easily find them from other parts of your site? Are links to such pages from other pages within the site or network of sites created just for search engines?
If you're still unsure of what a doorway page is, you can see Google's full definition in its Quality Guidelines.
CategoryNews
How Search Engines Rank Pages
How to Submit Websites & Pages to Search Engines: A Simple Guide
Why New Pages Fluctuate in Google SERPs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The German Energy Agency (dena - the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH) has been honouring achievements in energy efficiency with the "Energy Efficiency Award" since 2007. Its cooperation partners are the Deutsche Messe and the DZ BANK AG. The aim behind awarding model projects is to motivate other companies to increase their energy efficiency. Companies in industry and in manufacturing trades can apply for the prize with the projects they have implemented. At stake is prize money totalling 30.000 Euro. The application deadline is 7 February 2010.
A jury of high-ranking experts from the fields of economics, science and politics selects the winners from the submitted entries. The winners of the Energy Efficiency Award will be announced on 20 April 2010 during the WORLD ENERGY DIALOGUE at the HANNOVER MESSE.
Further information on the award can be found at dena's website.


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Tag: Amor Bravío
La Tempestad Isn't Amor Bravío, But I'll Keep Watching
If you've read my previous post, Farewell Amor Bravío, you know that I loved Amor Bravío and was heartbroken when it ended. I had hoped La Tempestad would fill the void left by Amor Bravío, but it is not Amor Bravío.
Amor Bravío had a slow build up. With every episode, I watched Camila and Daniel's relationship grow until they fell in love with each other. In La Tempestad, Marina and Captain Damián Fabre fell in love within a month of the novela's premiere. Because it happened so fast, the writers had to come up with some way to keep Marina and Damián apart. Their solution was to have Damián marry Esthercita who is infatuated with him and just happens to be Mayor Fulgencio Salazar's daughter. Supposedly, Damián married Esthercita to protect her reputation. While there have been some musical montages showing Damián's kindness (e.g., he buys a bunch of toys for children in one of the montages), marrying Esthercita seems overly generous, especially when it is quite clear that he can't stand her. His facial expressions crack me up.
Of course, Damián's marriage isn't enough to keep Marina and Damián apart. That's where Hernan comes into the picture. He's obsessed with Marina and attempts to kill Damián just so he can have Marina to himself. Hernan blows up Damián's boat while Damián and Esthercita are on their honeymoon, which puts Damián into a coma that he's not in for very long. For me, this story line is the most entertaining because I keep wondering how long it's going to take Marina to figure out Hernan is a complete psycho. What's odd about this part of the story is that while Hernan appears to be obsessed with Marina, he also has parties with women clad in nothing more than bikinis and makes out with all of them. I guess his obsession only goes so far.
There's more to La Tempestad. Briefly, Mayuya, who is supposed to be Esthercita's friend, wants Esthercita and Marina out of the way so she can have Damián. Mayuya is a fool because Damián only wants one woman — Marina. Mercedes is looking for her missing daughter who just happens to be Marina's twin sister and Beatriz who Marina believes is her mother (even though its Mercedes) has an inoperable tumor on her lung. I'm sure there will be more in the coming months.
Despite its flaws, I'll keep watching for several reasons. First, William Levy plays the role of Captain Damián Fabre. I don't think I need to elaborate on this point. Second, César Évora plays the role of Mayor Fulgencio Salazar and is excellent as always as one of the villains. I became a fan of Mr. Évora's work when he played Dionisio in Amor Bravío. Third, La Tempestad is worth watching just for the rivalry between Damián and Hernan. Some of my favorite scenes are when Damián and Hernan go at it. Again, William Levy nails the facial expressions. He always has a disgusted look when he's talking to or about Hernan – if only Marina could see what Damián sees.
Finally, I'm hoping that the story will get better and that Damián and Marina will have the epic love story that Daniel and Camila had in Amor Bravío. I know I may be asking for a lot, but I can dream.
What do you think of La Tempestad? Will you keep watching?
Farewell Amor Bravío
In August 2012, I watched the first episode of Amor Bravío. I was learning Spanish and thought it would be a good idea for me to watch television shows in Spanish. I never expected to get hooked, but I did. I couldn't miss an episode and started recording it. Even though I could barely understand what they were saying, the story of Daniel and Camila drew me in.
As a writer, my fascination with this show has made me wonder why this telenovela caught my attention and kept it. I blame it on the characters and good storytelling. The hero and heroine, Daniel and Camila, are everything a super couple should be.
Daniel is kind-hearted, he's a protector, and he always tries to do the right thing, even if it means sacrificing something he truly wants, like Camila. His one fault is that he lies, but for the most part, he does that to protect people.
Camila is strong and independent. She doesn't need a man to take care of her. But Camila is stubborn and will never ask for help, even when she needs it.
Together Daniel and Camila are magic. Of course, like any romance, the writers had to find a way to tear them apart and that's where the villains come in, Isadora and Dionisio.
Isadora is all about the money. She killed her first husband by poisoning him over time so she could inherit his money. She tries to kill her second husband in the same way to get his money and ranch.
Dionisio is obsessed with Camila. He wants Camila and her ranch all for himself. When Daniel and Camila finally get married, Dionisio finds Daniel's first wife, Miriam, who was supposed to be dead and brings her to Mexico. I admit as a former soap opera fan I should have seen that one coming, but I like everyone else that night was saying, "No está muerta!" (She's not dead!)
Dionisio then arranges for a doctor to tell Daniel that Miriam has an aneurysm and she'll die if anything upsets her. Daniel doesn't want anything to happen to Miriam so he leaves Camila and doesn't tell Miriam that he's in love with Camila and married to her.
With only a few episodes left before Amor Bravío ends, Camila and Daniel are still apart, but I know that they will get their happy ending and I will celebrate when they do.
I learned more than Spanish from this telenovela. Despite the language barrier in the beginning, I kept watching because of the sexual tension between Daniel and Camila. It was so strong that it was almost tangible. It taught me how important that sexual tension is to any romance story and to up the ante to keep that tension there. I realize that sexual tension is an obvious element to any romance story, but it's not always easy to write and keep fresh. Amor Bravío did it well. I'll miss this telenovela.


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Damian Hurley, 18, shares a VERY raunchy post as he frolics with a topless friend... before taking his dogs for a country walk
By Jason Chester for MailOnline
Published: 05:05 EST, 9 November 2020 | Updated: 05:35 EST, 9 November 2020
Damian Hurley ensure lockdown didn't restrict his weekend as he let his hair down with a topless friend on Sunday.
The model son of actress Elizabeth Hurley, 18, made the most of surprisingly warm November temperatures by relaxing on a balcony with a female pal, who left little to the imagination.
Taking to Instagram he shared a raunchy shot of the pair with his 90,000 followers, but ensured a strategically placed hand protected his friend's modesty as she stood behind him.
I say: Damian Hurley shared a very raunchy Instagram post as he relaxed with a topless female friend on Sunday. Fortunately, he managed to protect her modesty with a free hand
Captioning the image, he wrote: 'my weekend :)) i learnt how to solve a rubik's cube !!'
I'm A Celebrity 2020 line-up CONFIRMED: Sir Mo Farah,... Nicole Scherzinger, 42, displays her toned curves in a... 2020 MTV EMAs: Little Mix lead the glamour in VERY striking... Kim Kardashian dons clinging black bodysuit in shoreline...
The toy, popularized by people of all ages during the 1980s, was visible in his right hand as he partially concealed his female friend's breasts.
Separate posts revealed Damian had also used his free time wisely by taking family dog Ava and the adorable puppy he acquired earlier this year for a walk through the English countryside.
My girl: Damian was pictured petting family dog Ava in another snap with his Instagram fans
Here we go: In a short video the teenager appeared to see the funny side as he struggled to cradle his second dog before falling from a plastic garden chair
Adventurous spirit: The teenage model climbed a tree while his two dogs roamed through the grass during a weekend walk through the English countryside
In a short video, also shared with followers, the teenager appeared to see the funny side as he struggled to cradle the black pup before falling from his plastic garden chair.
The posts come after details of his late father Steve Bing's will emerged, among them the claim that he had disinherited his two children, Damian and Kira Kerkorian, due to it being drawn up before their births.
The multi-millionaire took his own life aged 55 in June, jumping from his 27th floor apartment in Los Angeles.
Cute: Damian's black pup has made regular appearances on his social media feed after being welcomed to the family earlier this year
Playful: Ava was seen returning to her master with a stick clenched in her mouth as they played fetch over the weekend
Steve, who received a $600million inheritance from his grandfather when he turned 18, had his will drawn up in 2001 - before he knew Kira had been born and while Elizabeth was pregnant.
Kira, 21, his daughter with former tennis star Lisa Bonder, is said to be fighting for control of his estate that was valued at just $337,000, according to documents obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
Although Bing notes Elizabeth was expecting a child, he declares in his will: 'Whether or not such child is mine, it is my intention not to provide in this Will for such child (or any other child as to which I may be the father) in this Will or for the offspring of any such child or children, whether now living or hereafter born.'
Lookalikes: Damian bears a striking resemblance to his mother, the actress and model Elizabeth Hurley
Bing later formed relationships with both Damian and Kira, even fighting for them to be included in their grandfather's trust last year.
Prior to his death, Bing had an estimated net worth of $590 million, according to various reports. While his estate was valued at $337,000 - his properties were not included in that evaluation.
Last year, his father Peter Bing tried to block Kira and Damian from being beneficiaries of his trust, claiming they were love children and should be excluded.
Bing jumped into the legal battle for his children and successfully fought the case, ensuring Damian and Kira would be beneficiaries.
Omitted: The posts come after details of his late father Steve Bing's will emerged, among them the claim that he had disinherited his two children, Damian and Kira Kerkorian
Damian Hurley, 18, shares a VERY raunchy post as he frolics with a topless friend


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Nectaropota setigera är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Philippi 1865. Nectaropota setigera ingår i släktet Nectaropota och familjen svävflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Svävflugor
setigera

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Special Features: No dinner buffet on Mondays. Buffet discount for slot club members.
I have not played any games yet. I'm currently enjoying a hamburger steak and a shiner bock at the River bar and grill. They do allow Motorhome parking for free just no rv park with hookups. I'm in my Monaco and they suggest you park on the South side of the grounds. It's the only players club card I have ever signed up for that gives you real world value in the form bbn of a Tshirt and 10% off the buffet. All the others I have been to give you free play. Thats nice but now I have a useful souvenir not matter what happens on the floor. They have the buffet, a sandwich shop, the river bar and grill and a "Chillis" along with awesome friendly service. They also have a travel plaza across the lot with easy access diesel pumps for big rigs. In addition they have a beer cave and an "Indian tabacco" counter. I don't smoke or chew bit assume it's a good price break although I believe the floor is non smoking. I will stop in again.
Those who are complaining of not winning on slots. Don't play slots. They are basically a donation machine. Play table games. You'll stay there for hours and probably win 100-600 dollars, seen it happen. on the contrary i've seen people lose 300 in about 30 minutes. You have to know how to play the game.
Tried it one more time and it was the same thing. Only $10 slots were paying. It is not a lot of fun to drive so far and the money you budget to play on is gone in minutes. I hope some day Texas will pass a bill to allow gambling because this is sad. I am now a lost customer for life!
Lost $100 in 17 minutes on slots. On the bright side my car was still warm when I got back to it. Slots are way too tight. Choctaws have them only winning jackpots on the $5, $10 slots. Comps are a joke 1 point per $10 of play. Just hope Texas will pass some gaming bill soon and put these people out of business.


To read and write data to the EEPROM is very easy because there is already Arduino's built-in special library. The library name is 'EEPROM.h'. With this library you can simply write a few lines of code just for handling EEPROM Read/Write because everything is done by the library itself. It's very helpful to simplify your project. If you ever write a C program to ATMega using CodeVision AVR or AVR Studio, you'll know what I mean he he he.
- EEPROM.write (addr, val) to write data to the EEPROM.
Parameter 'addr' is the address of the EEPROM ranging from 0 - 1023, while the parameter 'val' is the value / data in the EEPROM address. Because only 8 bit data width, the data collected can only be 0 - 255. I will explain in more detail about this below.
- EEPROM.read (address) to read / fetch data from EEPROM.
Parameter 'address' is the address of the EEPROM will be read.
Notice to the line 1. This line is to define a library in the sketch (mandatory). Line 11 is intended to divide the analog voltage data with number 4. Why is divided by 4? Because we know that the resolution of the analog voltage reading on the analog pins (A0 - A5) is 10 bits while the EEPROM data width is 8 bit only (please read below for further details about this). Line 12 is writing data to the EEPROM from sensor readings and lines 14 is reading back the data that has been written in the EEPROM and save it to a 'address' variable. Next line (15 - 18) is to send the EEPROM data readout to a laptop through USB port (emulated as virtual serial port). I hope you already know about how to read and write data to Arduino's EEPROM sketch as explanations and examples above.


Rosebery is a contemporary river-front home on a sloping north-east facing block in Brisbane. The house explores ideas of articulated landscapes, underpinned by a robust architectural language. A heavy base of stone and concrete grounds the house on the crest of the site and offers a sense of resonance, while the juxtaposing combination of black zinc cladding and stained timber paneling presents a necessary balance of lightness about the overall built form. Attention to the landscape strategy has been a primary driver of the house's relationship and connection to the land, street and broader context.
Having now lived in our new home for just over 3 months we're loving the layout, design and practicality of it more and more. It really suits the way we live and this is a great testament to Shaun for really listening to us and our family's needs.


text:
Mel Kraus papers
The collection consists of five photographs of Mel Kraus, a U.S. soldier who served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Included is a photocopy of a two-page flight manifest detailing the August 1945 transport of Nazi prisoners to Nuremberg, Germany, in preparation for the war crimes trials held there later that year.
Heyward Shealey photographs
The collection consists of slides and photocopies of approximately 80 post-World War II photographs collected by Heyward Shealey, a U.S. serviceman. Images show locations in Berlin, some with damage from the war, and other European locations where Shealey traveled while on furlough, including London.
Subject: photocopies X
Subject: World War, 1939-1945 -- United States X
Berlin (Germany) 1
Buildings -- War damage 1
London (England) 1
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946 1
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American 1
World War, 1939-1945 -- Destruction and pillage -- Europe 1
World War, 1939-1945 -- Pictorial works 1
black-and-white negatives 1
Crews, Herb 1
Kraus, Mel 1
Shealey, Heyward, 1918-2001 1
Shealey, Marcia 1
Shealey, Sid 1
United States. Army. Air Corps 1


text:
Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Retrophin (NASDAQ: RTRX) in San Diego, CA
07/10/2017 /in Press Releases /by Toftgroup
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Gayle Bresnahan as Associate Director, Clinical Operations at Retrophin in San Diego, CA. Ms. Bresnahan offers 20 years of clinical research within Oncology, Diabetes, Nephrology, Neurology and Infectious Disease therapeutic areas. She most recently served at Intercept Pharmaceuticals as Associate Director, Clinical Operations, where she was responsible for project management and execution of Phase II and III non-viral liver disease studies. Ms. Bresnahan received her BS in Business Administration from Bristol University.
About Retrophin
Retrophin is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to delivering life-changing therapies to people living with rare diseases who have few, if any, treatment options. The Company's approach centers on its pipeline featuring late-stage assets targeting rare diseases with significant unmet medical needs, including sparsentan for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disorder characterized by progressive scarring of the kidney often leading to end-stage renal disease, and RE-024 for pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), a life-threatening neurological disorder that typically begins in early childhood. Research exploring the potential of early-stage assets in additional rare diseases is also underway. Retrophin's R&D efforts are supported by revenues from the Company's commercial products Thiola®, Cholbam® and Chenodal®.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Ascendis Pharma Inc., (NASDAQ: ASND) in Palo Alto, CA
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Dr. Aimee Shu as the Director, Clinical Development Endocrinology for Ascendis Pharma in Palo Alto, CA. Dr. Shu is a board-certified Endocrinologist who joins Ascendis from Stanford University where she served as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director, Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program. She earned her MD from Harvard Medical School.
About Ascendis Pharma
Ascendis Pharma is applying the TransCon technology platform to build a leading rare disease commercial company. The company utilizes its innovative TransCon technology to address significant unmet medical needs in rare diseases by improving clinically validated parent drugs and creating therapies with potential for best-in-class efficacy, safety and/or convenience.
Ascendis Pharma has a wholly-owned pipeline of rare disease endocrinology programs, including once-weekly TransCon Growth Hormone, which is currently being evaluated in the Phase 3 heiGHt Trial for children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), TransCon PTH, a long-acting prodrug of parathyroid hormone for hypoparathyroidism, and TransCon CNP, a long-acting prodrug of C-Type Natriuretic Peptide for achondroplasia. Additionally, Ascendis Pharma has multi-product collaborations with Sanofi in diabetes and Genentech in the field of ophthalmology.
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Robin Toft, CEO of Toft Group Executive Search, 5-Time Finalist for Most Admired CEO Award
San Diego, CA – Toft Group, a top executive recruiting firm focusing exclusively on building leadership teams for Life Sciences and Healthcare companies, is proud to announce that President & CEO, Robin Toft, was named a finalist for the 2017 Most Admired CEO Award, in the category of Private Company by the San Diego Business Journal.
This presigious award recognizes San Diego business leaders' significant achievements in innovation, financial success, philanthropic involvement, and employee empowerment within their companies and in the community. Nominees are judged in the categories of nonprofit organization, business nonprofit, education, family-owned business, government agency, privately held company and public company.
This is the 5th 'Most Admired CEO' finalist award for Toft, who was also recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as a "Women Who Mean Business" finalist two consecutive years. Mr. J. David Enloe, whom Toft Group placed as CEO of Ajinomoto Althea, Inc. won the award for the Private Company category that included over 200 employers.
"I am honored to be alongside such exceptional an incredible group of leaders in San Diego who are continuously improving our local economy," commented Toft. "We are thrilled one of the executives in Toft Group's network, David Enloe, was awarded and extend our congratulations to the outstanding recipients for their well-deserved awards."
All finalists were recognized at a special ceremony on Thursday June 15th, 2017.
Toft Group Executive Search is "Changing the Future of Medicine, One Relationship at a Time" and we take pride in the fact that our work helps our clients accelerate getting novel products to market. Named a Top 150 Fastest Growing Private Company and a Top 50 Executive Search Firm in Life Sciences, we are a global retained executive search firm that is 100% dedicated to life sciences & healthcare industries. Our customers include biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies. With offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Boston, we assist a wide range of local, national and international companies – from venture backed start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. For more information, visit www.thetoftgroup.com.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Greenwich Biosciences (NASDAQ: GWPH) in Carlsbad, CA
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Mr. Jeff Krol as Vice President, Market Access at Greenwich Biosciences in Carlsbad, CA. Mr. Krol brings 25 years of experience in managed markets leadership. He most recently served with Avanir Pharmaceuticals as Executive Director, Managed Markets and Project Management, and previously served in the same company as Senior Director, Managed Markets. Mr. Krol earned his B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from The Ohio State University, and his M.S. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.
About Greenwich Biosciences
Founded in 1998, GW is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform in a broad range of disease areas. GW is advancing an orphan drug program in the field of childhood epilepsy with a focus on Epidiolex® (cannabidiol), which is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Infantile Spasms. GW commercialized the world's first plant-derived cannabinoid prescription drug, Sativex® (nabiximols), which is approved for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis in 31 countries outside the United States. The Company has a deep pipeline of additional cannabinoid product candidates which includes compounds in Phase 1 and 2 trials for glioma, schizophrenia and epilepsy.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Muse Bioscience in Boulder, CO
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Mr. Jason Amsbaugh as Senior Director, Marketing at Muse Bioscience in Boulder, CO. Mr. Amsbaugh brings over a decade of experience in marketing and product management in the industry to this new role. He most recently served as the Director of Global Marketing for ArcherDX, a NGS-based cancer diagnostic startup. Prior, he served with Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Product Portfolio Manager and early in his career held sales roles for industry leaders Abbott Molecular Diagnostics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and VWR International. Mr. Amsbaugh earned his MBA from the University of Colorado, Boulder and BS degree from Colorado State University.
About Muse Bioscience
Muse bio is inspiring a new era of genome engineering that will transform our understanding of biology. Muse bio delivers power to researchers and production scientists in the field of genome engineering and synthetic biology through the combination of a powerful forward design software package, a proprietary benchtop biofoundry, and custom consumables and reagents. Its next-generation, CRISPR-based ForgeCraft technology dramatically improves and simplifies genome engineering.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Drawbridge Health in Menlo Park, CA
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Mr. Lee McCracken as Chief Executive Officer at Drawbridge Health in Menlo Park, CA. Mr. McCracken is a C-level executive with over 20 years of pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, and venture capital experience. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Gensignia Life Sciences Inc., a privately held miRNA-digital IT company, where he was charged with developing strategy, establishing a clinical laboratory, and performing clinical studies for reimbursement. Prior to his role at Gensignia, Mr. McCracken was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Pathwork Diagnostics, Inc.. Mr. McCracken earned his B.S. in Commerce from Santa Clara University, his M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Dayton, and an MBA in Strategy/Venture Capital from the University of California, Los Angeles
About Drawbridge Health
Drawbridge Health is a medical technology company fusing the science of chemistry with the fundamentals of logistics to greatly improve the blood sampling process. Our mission is to power the shift in healthcare from being reactive to proactive, enabling predictive medicine to be realized by bridging diagnostic testing from sample to delivery to decision. This transformation begins with how we approach the collection and the interpretation of medical diagnostics tests – the data that we use to make nearly all of our medical decisions.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for First Light Biosciences in Bedford, MA
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Mr. Kevin Wyckoff as Vice President, Regulatory & Clinical Affairs in Bedford, MA. Mr. Wyckoff brings 25 years of diverse management experience to First Light in quality assurance and regulatory affairs. He most recently served with Roka Bioscience, a molecular diagnostics company, as the VP, Quality, Regulatory and Compliance, and previously served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. Mr. Wyckoff earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Louisiana State University, and his M.S. in Regulatory Sciences from Northeastern University.
About First Light Biosciences
First Light Biosciences is developing breakthrough automated medical diagnostic products for rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective detection of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). The products address the need for cost-effective and accurate diagnostics to meet the explosive growth in testing. New testing is being driven by clinical studies showing that testing for the infectious agents can help to dramatically lower the rate of hospital infections. Based on its proprietary MultiPath™ detection technology, First Light's products combine the performance of the most advanced commercial laboratory tests with unprecedented affordability and ease-of-use.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb) in Hercules, CA
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Dr. Jaime Humara as Vice President, LSG Marketing at Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. in Hercules, CA. He most recently served with Beckman Coulter, a leading life sciences and diagnostics product company, as Director of Global Strategic Marketing, Molecular Diagnostics. Dr. Humara brings over a decade of experience in marketing and product development, having worked in multiple roles for Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly Life Technologies), most recently as the Senior Director, North America Regional Marketing which included leading all marketing programs for Life Technologies branded products in North America, of which there were over 50,000. He earned his doctorate in Plant Biotechnology and BS degree from the University of Oviedo in Asturias, Spain.
About Bio-Rad
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of innovative products and solutions for the life science research and clinical diagnostic markets. The company is renowned for its commitment to quality and customer service among university and research institutions, hospitals, public health and commercial laboratories, as well as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and food safety industries. Founded in 1952, Bio-Rad is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 100,000 research and healthcare industry customers through its global network of operations. The Company employs more than 8,250 people worldwide and had revenues exceeding $2 billion in 2016.
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Toft Group Completes Executive Search for LabCorp (NYSE: LH) in Burlington, NC
Executive search firm Toft Group has placed Dr. Mary A. Williamson as the Vice President of Laboratory Operations at LabCorp in Burlington, NC. She is a senior laboratory leader offering 20+ years of clinical experience. She most recently served as the Vice President of Scientific Affairs & Laboratory Operations at ACM Global Central Laboratory in Rochester, NY. She holds a PhD and Master's in Toxicology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry.
About LabCorp
Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (NYSE: LH), an S&P 500 company, is the world's leading healthcare diagnostics company, providing comprehensive clinical laboratory and end-to-end drug development services. With a mission to improve health and improve lives, LabCorp delivers world-class diagnostic solutions, brings innovative medicines to patients faster and develops technology-enabled solutions to change the way care is provided. With net revenue in excess of $8.5 billion in 2015, LabCorp's 50,000 employees serve clients in 60 countries.
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Toft Group Completes Chief Business Officer Search for GeneCentric Therapeutics in Durham, NC
GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc., a precision medicine company dedicated to accelerating drug development by redefining the advanced classification of cancers, today announced the appointment of Walter M. Capone as Chief Business Officer. In his role as CBO, Mr. Capone will lead the expansion of pharmaceutical and biotech drug development collaborations involving GeneCentric's Cancer Subtyping Platform (CSP™), and will oversee the company's commercial strategy and growth.
"We are excited to have Walter join our strong leadership team," said Chief Executive Officer Dr. Myla Lai-Goldman. "His expertise in drug development and commercialization will enable GeneCentric Therapeutics to actively expand its pharmaceutical and biotech company collaborations to advance therapeutic breakthroughs."
Robin Toft, President and CEO of Toft Group said: "GeneCentric is a forward-thinking organization with an incredibly passionate leadership team. Walter will add great value to the organization, and will be a strong contributor to the continued growth of the company."
Mr. Capone most recently served as CEO and President of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), advancing industry, academic research, government agency and patient community collaborations to drive breakthroughs for patients. The launch of the landmark CoMMpassSM Study, support in advancing six new myeloma therapies to market, and expansion in innovative academic/industry partnerships were among his accomplishments. Prior to joining the MMRF, Mr. Capone had over 20 years of pharma/biotech leadership experience in the United States and internationally in the areas of oncology, immunology and infectious disease drug development and commercialization at Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Trimeris Inc., Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Wyeth, and Lederle. He received his MBA from Columbia University Business School and BA from Brown University.
Toft Group Executive Search is "Changing the Future of Medicine, One Relationship at a Time" and we take pride in the fact that our work helps our clients accelerate getting novel products to market. We are a global retained executive search firm that is 100% dedicated to life sciences & healthcare industries. Our customers include biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies. With offices in San Francisco, San Diego, and Boston, we assist a wide range of local, national and international companies – from venture backed start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations.
About GeneCentric
GeneCentric Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately-held precision medicine company that is redefining the advanced classification of cancers through the development and commercialization of its proprietary Cancer Subtype Platform (CSP™). By defining subtypes of cancer, CSP™ can enable drug developers to better predict drug response and determine why drugs fail in late stage clinical trials. GeneCentric creates and applies technologies focused on enhancing, accelerating and de-risking the costly drug development process to enable its industry partners to advance therapies which obtain the best possible patient treatment outcomes. GeneCentric was founded in 2011 and is based in Durham, NC. In addition to Bristol-Myers Squibb, its investors include Hatteras Venture Partners and Laboratory Corporation of America.
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Let that sink in. 2°C of warming is no longer considered safe temperature increase.
Even more troubling, some scientists believe that we've already passed the point of 1.5°C warming, seeing a possiblity of hitting 2C THIS YEAR. Not that far a stretch, given that scientists have observed the presence of amplifying feedbacks that are out of humanity's control RIGHT NOW.
Nationally known for his brilliant work championing gay rights, Buckel had been distressed by what was happening to the planet for years and was also heavily involved in environmental causes. In his suicide note to the Times, Buckel discussed how challenging it was to change things for the better in the world, even with so many people working so strenuously to do so and mentioned how donating to organizations was not enough.
To the average person who understands anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD), Buckel's act might seem extreme. It is extreme … but within the context of how truly far along the planet already is (for example, for years now Earth has been seeing 150-200 species go extinct every single day, and half of all of the planet's marine life has been lost since just 1970), it becomes less so.
The rate of underwater melting around the Antarctic is doubling every 20 years, and is on a pace that will see it soon eclipse melting in Greenland to become the single largest source of sea-level rise on Earth, according to a recently published study in Nature Geoscience. This amount of sub-sea melting of the ice continent is far greater than what was previously known, and the ice there is retreating at a rate five times the historical average. This is raising fears of the specter of a worst-case sea level rise of around 10 feet by 2100.
This is one reason why, after another deadly cyclone struck the island group this month, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that ACD is now brining "almost constant" extreme weather and is literally a threat to the survival of the island nation. Bainimarama told the BBC that his country had entered a "frightening new era" of extreme weather that needed to be confronted.
Things are progressing so fast now with ACD impacts that more than one scientist I've been talking with over the years has shifted from being vehemently anti-geoengineering to either giving it renewed attention, or even outright supporting it. This is, to me, deeply troubling.
Scientists in several developing countries are now actively studying ways to dim sunshine and slow planetary warming via man-made chemical sunshade, as they see this as less risky than unchecked increases in global temperatures in the absence of global climate action.
At the current trajectory of emissions and global growth, Earth is on course to see a minimum warming of 3 degrees Celsius (3°C), or far more, above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100, and the goal of keeping temperature increases "well below" the 2°C as per the 2015 Paris Agreement among nearly 200 countries currently looks unfeasible.
While self-immolation and geo-engineering are extreme, this month's survey of the planet provides the context within which these radical phenomena are taking place.
Due to lack of moisture, a recently published study shows that half of Alberta, Canada's boreal forests could disappear due to ACD and fires by 2100. The study warned that it's possible that even 75 percent of the forest could disappear if conditions become even more extreme. What is particularly worrisome about this is the fact that the boreal forests store massive amounts of carbon, so as they disappear, that carbon is also released into the atmosphere.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Sahara Desert is expanding, thanks in part to ACD, according to another report. The boundaries of this massive desert have grown by 10 percent in the last century, affecting farming terrain near its southern boundary in Sudan and Chad, places already struggling with famine and food scarcity.
Looking a little further south, rainforests, savannahs and woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa have released approximately 2.6 billion tons of CO2 over the last seven years, according to a recent study. The leading causes of this are ACD, deforestation, wildfires and droughts. This is disconcerting because Africa contains one-third of the planet's tropical rainforests.
Other direct impacts on human health from ACD this month are clear. A recent report showed how, as the planet continues to warm, ticks are thriving in more places than ever, which makes Lyme disease the first epidemic of ACD.
Meanwhile, ACD's impacts on animals continue to be prevalent.
A recently published study showed that seabirds are not adapting adequately enough to climate shifts brought about by ACD. As rising temperatures are causing the birds' food sources like insects, vegetation and plankton to appear earlier each year, the bird populations are not able to sync up their breeding and nesting patters in order to adapt to these changes.
Meanwhile, extreme weather's economic toll is making itself known in the US, which experienced three different weather disasters in just the first three months of this year, each with more than a billion-dollar price tag, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.
The pace of melting ice at or near the poles continues to amaze scientists.
A recently published study showed that the Greenland Ice Sheet is seeing its melting nearly double over just the last century. This also means it is melting at its fastest rate in at least the last 4,000 years.
In the US, Western Alaska's sea ice is at the lowest extent it has been since record keeping began. Rick Thoman, a weather service climate scientist, told the Anchorage Daily News that when looking at the long-term records of coastal sea ice from satellite data, whaler's logs and Danish and Norwegian ship records, "Nothing even comes close" to how little sea ice this February and March have just witnessed in that region.
On the sea level increase front, a recently published NOAA report showed that high-tide flooding could literally be happening "every other day" by the end of this century, and showed that already, the frequency that high-tide flooding is occurring has already doubled along the East Coast of the US in just the last 15 years.
Another recent report showed how the state of California is facing a massive threat from sea level rise, and indicates that previous flood hazard maps had underestimated the area of land at risk to rising seas by up to 90 percent. The San Francisco Bay Area is going to be particularly hard hit.
Meanwhile, drought across the US continues to persist, and in some places, worsen, as ACD advances.
By early April, a stretch of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico had already dried up, well in advance of summer. Due primarily to record low snowpack, that the river has started to dry up this early in the year is nearly unprecedented.
In Minnesota, another report has warned that ACD will turn Boundary Waters Wilderness Region into "a barren grassland" if human carbon emissions stay the same. As temperatures in that area continue to increase, lush forests are turning into grasslands there, and the waters will disappear with the trees.
A new early-warning satellite system has provided a warning for several countries that are at risk of having their reservoirs shrink from drought to the point that their taps could run completely dry. While Cape Town, South Africa, has featured prominently in the news with its "Day Zero" warning of when the city will run out of water, now countries including India, Iraq, Morocco and Spain could also be seeing "day zero" type water crises as their water reservoirs dry up. For example, Morocco's second-largest reservoir has already shrunk 60 percent in three years due to recurring drought, and its water level is the lowest it has been in a decade. Iraq's Mosul Dam reservoir has seen a long decline and is now down 60 percent from its peak, due to ACD-fueled drought, coupled with demand from Turkish hydropower projects upstream and increasing water demand downstream.
Meanwhile, as the oceans continue to warm and coral bleaching events become more common, another report shows that fish populations along Australia's Great Barrier Reef are collapsing in the wake of ongoing coral bleaching events. Not surprisingly, many of the fish species that live among the coral are dropping off as the corals are wiped out by the bleaching events.
To make matters worse, another recently published study shows that marine heatwaves are increasing in both frequency and duration at an accelerated rate in many parts of the planet, particularly so in Australian waters. The study showed that the number of oceanic heatwave days per year has increased a staggering 54 percent globally, as oceans have absorbed 93 percent of atmospheric heat from ACD.
A recently released book by Heather Hansen shows how the US — and much of the rest of the planet — is entering an era of mega-fire, given ACD-fueled droughts and wildfires, along with human encroachment and deforestation.
It has been long known that ACD is amping up the frequency and intensity of wildfires, along with lengthening wildfire seasons, and scientists continue to address these facts.
As though to underscore these points, at the time of writing, forecasters in the US began sounding warnings of dangerous, life-threatening wildfire conditions across parts of the southwest and southern plains whilst firefighters in Oklahoma fought blazes that had already killed two people.
The Associated Press reported that weather conditions in drought-stricken areas of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas are creating "dangerous fire conditions," the likes of which have not been seen in at least a decade.
Amidst a large number of scientific studies recently published, limiting global warming to 2°C will not prevent destructive and deadly ACD impacts as so many people believed it would. Two degrees Celsius warming above pre-industrial baseline temperatures, which was long held as the temperature limit for maintaining a safe and healthy planet, is no longer the case. Just that much of a temperature increase is now understood to bring mass displacement of humans from rising seas, wide-scale shortages of food and water across the globe, and accelerated losses of animal and plant species — both of which are already plummeting since we are well into the planet's Sixth Mass Extinction.
Meanwhile, during the month of March, high temperature records across Asia fell like dominoes. Pakistan saw 114°F, a high temperature never seen so early in the season. Other records included 110° in Iraq, 104° in Qatar, 104° in Turkmenistan, 99° in Uzbekistan and 96° in Tajikistan.
The active ACD denialists of the Trump administration have been busy these last few weeks.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by fossil-fuel industry hack Scott Pruitt, prepares to roll back laws that required automobiles to be cleaner and more fuel efficient.
Meanwhile, Pruitt's EPA directed staffers to use talking points designed to downplay the role humans play in ACD. The points literally mimic Pruitt's own public statements, as he has consistently denied the human role in the crisis from day one.
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, another ACD denialist and pro-fossil fuel hack, recently had all National Park Service officials delete every single mention of humans' role in ACD from a report on sea level rise and storm surge.
All of this is almost laughably contradicted by reality.
Four oil giants (Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell) recently acknowledged the global consensus about the reality of ACD (and humans' role in it) to a federal judge.
The country of New Zealand recently announced the cessation of all future offshore oil and gas exploration permits, a move that took oil companies by surprise but underscored how serious the country is about shifting away from fossil fuels.
This is a good thing, given that a recent report showed the world to be on track to reach 1.5°C warming within a decade from now. Hitting that temperature increase marker means that the planet will have already exceeded one of the key goals in the 2015 Paris climate agreements.
Finally for this month, a recently released study showed that the Gulf Stream current is now the weakest it has been for 1,600 years. The current, known scientifically as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), carries warm water towards the North Pole, where it then cools and sinks, then flows back southwards. ACD is slowing down the cooling of the water as warmer temperatures melt the Greenland ice sheet, which floods the area with less dense freshwater, which further weakens the AMOC.
The report warns that the current could be less stable than previously understood. This is particularly worrisome, given that the AMOC has historically caused dramatic changes in the global climate system.
It was previously believed that a slowing down of the AMOC would take centuries to occur. A collapse of the AMOC could cause Western Europe to experience far more extreme winters, sea level rise along the US eastern seaboard to increase rapidly, and disrupted rainfall across the tropics.
Meanwhile, business as usual in harvesting and burning fossil fuels around the planet continues apace throughout the vast majority of countries, particularly within the US.


Today's featured band for Rocktober on Tuks FM are Canadian rockers Sum 41. I saw them perform earlier this year at Oppikoppi Unknown Brother. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with their live performance skills. They had 16,000+ people rocking out to the max in front of the main stage. I was first made aware of them in 2001. If I can recall correctly their song Fat Lip was probably the first song I ever heard by them. My favorite songs by Sum 41 include that song, In Too Deep, The Hell Song, We're all to blame, Underclass Hero, Still Waiting and Over my Head (Better Off Dead). They have definitely come a long way since their humble beginnings. They're not "just another punk rock band" in my humble opinion.
Sum 41 was formed in 1996 in Ontario, Canada.
The current members of Sum 41 are Deryck Whibley, Tom Thacker, Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz.
Former members of the band include Richard Roy, Dave Baksh, Mark Spicoluk and Marc Costanzo.
Sum 41 began as a NOFX cover band named "Kaspir". The band decided to change their name to Sum 41 for a Supernova show on September 28, 1996 (which also happened to be the 41st day of summer).
The lead singer Deryck Whibley was married to Canadian singer Avril Lavigne, but they got seperated in 2009.
The first song ever written by Sum 41 was called Five-O Grind which was about being hassled by a security guard while skateboarding. Their 2nd song was called I Love Meat.
Sum 41 were signed by Island Records after they sent them a videotape of the band engaging in water gun fights with their music in the background.
Sum 41 spent a huge portion of the year 2001 touring. They played over 300 concerts in that year before returning to the studio to record another album.
Sum 41 has been nominated for seven Juno Awards and have won twice. In 2001, they were nominated for "Best New Group" at the Juno awards, but lost to Nickelback. In 2002 they were nominated for "Best Group" in the Juno Awards but lost to Nickelback again. In2003, Sum 41 won a Juno Award for "Group Of The Year". The Juno Awards are the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
Their song Crazy Amanda Bunkface is about one of Deryck's ex-girlfriends.
There you have it, 10 facts about Sum 41. If you have anything you can add on this list, please comment on this post. Feedback is appreciated and welcome here.
Feel free to share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Also feel free to check out the other posts on Running Wolf's Rant in the Facts and Music categories.


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About EBLIP
Evidence Summaries
The Form of Search Tool Chosen by Undergraduate Students Influences Research Practices and the Type and Quality of Information Selected
Michelle Dalton University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland
https://doi.org/10.18438/B8D31W
discovery, information retrieval, academic librarianship, information behavior
A Review of:
Asher, A. D., Duke, L. M., & Wilson, S. (2012). Paths of discovery: Comparing the search effectiveness of EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, Google Scholar, and conventional library resources. College & Research Libraries, 74(5), p. 464-488.
Objectives – To explore the effectiveness of different search tools (EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), Summon, Google Scholar and traditional library resources) in supporting the typical research queries faced by undergraduate students and gain an understanding of student research practices.
Design – Mixed methods approach using quantitative data collected from grading of students' selected resources combined with qualitative data from a search process interview with students.
Setting – Two university libraries in the United States of America (Bucknell University (BU) and Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)).
Subjects – Eighty-seven undergraduate students across a range of disciplines.
Methods – Participants were assigned to one of five test groups and required to find two resources for each of four standardised research queries using a specified tool: EDS; Summon; Google Scholar; Library catalogue/databases; or "no tool" where no specific tool was specified and participants were free to choose. The resources submitted by students for each of the four queries were rated on a scale of 0-3 by four librarians using a rubric, to produce average ratings for each tool. The interview comprised two parts: the search task, followed by a reflective interview based on open-ended questions relating to search practices and habits. The search process interview was recorded using Camtasia screen capture and audio software, and the URLs used by participants were also recorded.
Main Results – Quantitative results indicated that students who used EDS selected slightly higher quality sources on average (scoring 2.54 out of 3), compared to all other groups. Those who used EDS also completed the queries in less time (747 seconds) than those using Summon (1,209 seconds), Google Scholar (968 seconds), library databases (963 seconds) or where no tool was specified (1,081 seconds). Academic journal articles also represented the relatively highest proportion of resources for this group (73.8% of resources chosen), whilst newspaper articles were chosen most frequently by those using Summon (20.6% of resources chosen). The qualitative findings suggest that students may over-rely on the top results provided by search systems, rather than using critical analysis and evaluation.
Conclusion – Although EDS performed slightly better overall, in some cases the tools produced relatively similar results, and none of the tools performed particularly poorly. Indeed the reasonably strong performance of both Google Scholar and traditional library tools/databases in some aspects (such as the relative proportion of books and journal articles chosen by students), may raise questions regarding the potential benefit of acquiring a new discovery product, given the possibly significant costs involved. As the study finds that most students do not go beyond simple searches and the first page of results, regardless of the tool they are using, this suggests that discovery services do not substantially lessen the need for information literacy instruction, although it may provide some opportunity to redirect teaching time away from retrieval and towards higher-order skills such as evaluating information and critical thinking.
Michelle Dalton, University College Dublin Dublin, Ireland
Liaison Librarian
Dalton, M. (2014). The Form of Search Tool Chosen by Undergraduate Students Influences Research Practices and the Type and Quality of Information Selected. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 9(2), 19–21. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8D31W
The Creative Commons-Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International applies to all works published by Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. Authors will retain copyright of the work.
EBLIP is a peer reviewed, open access journal published quarterly by the University of Alberta Library. EBLIP publishes original research and commentary on the topic of evidence based library and information practice, as well as reviews of previously published research (evidence summaries) on a wide number of topics.
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Evidence Based Library and Information Practice | ISSN: 1715-720X
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Ann C. Medaille
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For Sex Offenders, Registration Is Punishment
Jacob Sullum | Sep 06, 2017
Mayorkas Smuggled 100,000 Migrants Into the U.S. Through A Hidden Parole Pathway Sarah Arnold
The three men who challenged Colorado's Sex Offender Registration Act were sentenced to probation. Two of them also served 90 days in jail. Their real punishment began later, when they found that appearing in the state's online registry of sex offenders made it impossible to lead a normal life.
Last week, a federal judge recognized what anyone dealing with the burdens, obstacles and dangers of life on the registry knows: Its punitive impact far outweighs any value it might have in protecting the public. In fact, as U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch concluded, registration can violate the Eighth Amendment by imposing what amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
On the face of it, that judgment contradicts the 2003 decision in which the Supreme Court described Alaska's Sex Offender Registration Act as a "civil regulatory scheme" that only incidentally resulted in humiliation and ostracism. Since Alaska's statute was not punitive, the Court reasoned, it could be applied retroactively without violating the Constitution's ban on ex post facto laws.
Matsch argues that "the justices did not foresee the ubiquitous influence of social media," the proliferation of commercial websites peddling information from sex offender registries or the cheap scare stories that local news outlets would produce based on that information. Those developments have magnified the life-disrupting potential of registration, as illustrated by the experiences of the plaintiffs in this case.
David Millard, who pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault on a minor in 1999, has been employed by the Albertsons grocery chain since 2003. His job was jeopardized after a customer saw his name and photo on a sex offender website.
Millard was forced to move repeatedly after his status as a registered sex offender was revealed, once by police and once by a local TV station. The second time, he had to fill out about 200 rental applications before finding an apartment he could rent.
Millard later bought a house in Denver, which is periodically visited by police officers seeking to verify his address. "If he is not home when they visit," Matsch notes, "they leave prominent, brightly colored 'registered sex offender' tags on his front door notifying him that he must contact the DPD."
As you might imagine, this public shaming makes things more than a little awkward with the neighbors. Millard has experienced name-calling and vandalism, and he worries that worse may be coming. "Because of the fear and anxiety about his safety in public," Matsch writes, "Mr. Millard does little more than go to work, isolating himself at his home."
Eugene Knight was convicted of attempted sexual assault on a child in 2006 based on a crime he committed when he was 18. A "full-time father" because he has been unable to find work that pays well enough to cover the cost of child care, Knight is not allowed on school grounds to drop off his kids or attend school events.
Arturo Vega, who pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault as a juvenile but is listed in Colorado's public database because he failed to comply with registration requirements he did not understand, has tried twice to get off the registry. Both times, his petitions were rejected by magistrates who insisted he prove a negative: that he was not likely to commit another sexual offense.
These men completed their sentences and have stayed out of trouble for years -- almost two decades in Millard's case. But because of the registry, Matsch notes, they face "a known, real and serious threat of retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming and other unfair and irrational treatment from the public...regardless of any threat to public safety based on an objective determination of their specific offenses, circumstances, and personal attributes."
By forcing sex offenders into this precarious situation, Matsch says, the state is punishing them. State or federal courts have reached the same conclusion in Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Maybe someday the Supreme Court will stop pretending otherwise.
Tags: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Why the Left, Right and World Leaders Won't Heed Trump's Warnings Regarding Ukraine and World War III Douglas MacKinnon


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WorkplaceNL remembers workers who lost their lives, were injured or suffered illness on the National Day of Mourning
St. John's, NL – Every year on April 28, WorkplaceNL remembers those who lost their lives, were injured or experienced illness due to their work for the National Day of Mourning.
Last year in Newfoundland and Labrador, 18 people lost their lives due to their work – 3 from fatal incidents and 15 from occupational disease. In the past five years, 140 workers in Newfoundland and Labrador have lost their lives as result of workplace incidents or occupational disease.
"Today we remember those who were injured, suffered illness or have died due to their work," said Bernard Davis, Minister Responsible for WorkplaceNL. "My thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by workplace injury, illness or death. As a province, we remain committed to ensuring our occupational health and safety programs and supports are continually evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of workplaces in order to protect workers and prevent further workplace tragedies."
"The grief of losing a family member, friend or co-worker due to a work-related incident is immeasurable, said Dennis Hogan, CEO, WorkplaceNL. "Serious injuries and illness can have an equally devastating impact, and on the Day of Mourning, we reaffirm our commitment to helping prevent these workplace tragedies so that all workers can return home safely to their families each day."
On April 28, we encourage workplaces and residents across the province to pause for a moment of silence to show your support and commitment to safe workplaces. You can also share a post on social media using the hashtag #DayofMourning.
Follow us on Twitter @WorkplaceNL or like us on Facebook
About WorkplaceNL
Serving approximately 215,000 workers and 18,000 employers, WorkplaceNL administers an employer-funded, no-fault workers' compensation system that promotes safe and healthy workplaces, provides return-to-work programs and offers compensation to injured workers and their dependents.
Carla Riggs, Director of Communications, WorkplaceNL
709.778.1590 or carla.riggs@workplacenl.ca
Last Updated Thursday, April 28, 2022


RATIONALE: Motivational counseling may help prevent pregnant women from smoking again after pregnancy.
PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying three different types of counseling to see how well they work in preventing smoking relapse after pregnancy in pregnant women who quit smoking during pregnancy.
Develop and evaluate 2 "Motivational Relapse Prevention" (MRP) treatments of varying intensity for reducing postpartum smoking relapse among pregnant women who quit smoking during pregnancy.
Assess MRP and Enhanced MRP (MRP+) effects on treatment mechanisms and the role of those mechanisms in mediating MRP and MRP+ effects on abstinence.
Assess the cost-effectiveness of both the MRP and MRP+ treatments relative to each other and to usual care for reducing postpartum smoking relapse.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized study. Participants are randomized to 1 of 3 intervention arms.
Arm I (usual care [UC]): Participants receive self-help materials and brief relapse prevention advice based on the Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Clinical Practice Guideline.
Arm II (motivational relapse prevention [MRP]): Participants receive the same intervention as in arm I. Participants also undergo telephone counseling over 30 minutes at 34 and 36 weeks gestation and then at 2, 4, 7, and 16 weeks postpartum.
Arm III (enhanced MRP [MRP+]): Participants receive the same intervention as in arm I and telephone counseling as in arm II. Participants also undergo in-person counseling over 1 hour at 30-33 weeks gestation and then at 8 weeks postpartum.
Participants in all arms complete questionnaires at baseline, at 30-33 weeks gestation, and then at 8 and 26 weeks postpartum.
Participants are followed at 8 and 26 weeks postpartum.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 450 participants will be accrued for this study.
Arm I (usual care): Self-help materials and brief relapse prevention advice based on Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Clinical Practice Guideline.
Arm II (motivational relapse prevention [MRP]): Same intervention as usual care, plus 30 minutes telephone counseling at 34 & 36 weeks gestation then at 2, 4, 7, & 16 weeks postpartum.
Arm III (enhanced MRP [MRP+]): Same intervention as usual care and telephone counseling as MRP, plus 1 hour in-person counseling at 30-33 weeks gestation & 8 weeks postpartum.
Women, 18 years of age or older, who quit smoking while pregnant.
can speak, read and write in English.


Beta Glucan has been one of the most intensely studied immune potentiators ever. Beta Glucan, manufactured by Transfer Point, has had more documented 3rd party scrutiny than any other Beta Glucan product on the market today.
2. A combination of at least 3 independent labs have confirmed that the Beta Glucan manufactured and sold by Transfer Point virtually non-detectable levels of fats (making the material indigestible as an immune modulator) and proteins (causing possible complications with persons with allergies).
3. Combinations of at least 3 independent labs have confirmed that the average particulate size of Transfer Point's material is from 0-1.95 microns. (Czop's work at Harvard showed a 5 micron average) Of the material over 1 micron, the maximum shown was 1.95 microns or smaller. The sub-micron material shown by all labs is quite substantial (One competitor's lab indicates some 99.6% is sub-micron, median size was 0.12 microns). The product sold by Sigma Chemical, part #G5011 sells for $198.00 per 100-mg capsule. That product has only a 27% sub-micron population - Transfer Point Beta Glucan far exceeds that amount.
4. Microphotography and expert analysis using standard scientific methods at a major university show that the Beta Glucan product manufactured by Transfer Point to possess the same characteristics as those microphotographs published in respected peer-reviewed articles. Their data also showed that the material was free from bacteria, coliforms, and other undesirable components.
5. According to the peer-reviewed data on Beta Glucan dosage, Beta Glucan manufactured by Transfer Point is the only product on the market that meets the standards of safety and efficacy in a therapeutic dose.


App42 platform now provides a way to track effectiveness of Push Notification Campaign that you are running for your app users. This can be tracked for campaign as well as on-demand-push being send from Console/API. You can define name of the campaign at the time of sending push notification and can see its effectiveness(Open Rate) in Push Dashboard.
To get started with push notification and tracking its effectiveness, please follow our complete tutorial here.