text:
ByLucas Ledwaba
Nigeria's oil fields where Shell has been operating for decades have been described as a wasteland in which oil spills have led to destruction of human lives and biodiversity. A legal battle awaits as the petroleum multinational now has its oil drills focused on the Wild Coast raising fears the pristine coastline could become another environmental disaster writes Lucas Ledwaba
Amadiba community elder Mfekethwa Dlamini does not recall any moment that he and his family had to buy seafood from a store – the sea has always been their provider.
He grew up in Sgidi, one of the rural villages along the Eastern Cape's Wild Coast and to this day, he still walks to the Indian Ocean to collect fish to eat with his family and some to sell.
"We get mussels, abalone, fish, sardines, and crabs from the sea. We feed from those since birth, we raise our kids through them. We also want our children to see how land is preserved, especially in an era of unemployment like this," said Dlamini on 4 December, a day before protesters took to the coastline to march against Shell's proposed plans to conduct a seismic survey along the coast.
Dlamini joined other elders at the primary school in Sgidi to discuss the latest attempt to mine mineral resources from their ancestral land and how they feared it would impact on their traditional way of life and livelihoods.
Mfekethwa Dlamini farms sweet potatoes and amadumbe. He says the ocean remains an integral part of the people of Amadiba and others living along the coast. Photo: Lucas Ledwaba
In the past two decades, the Amadiba community have fought a bruising legal battle against Australian company Transworld Energy and Minerals [TEM] and the Xolobeni Empowerment to mine titanium on their land.
Sikhosiphi Bazooka Rhadebe, a leader of the Amadiba Crisis Committee was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in a suspected assassination in 2016 in one of at least 12 killings perpetrated by alleged assassins against those opposed to the mining, using various methods including poisoning since 2000.
Wild Coast anti-mining activist Nonhle Mbuthuma: 'They must kill me alone, not with my family'
The community is also still engaged in a legal battle against the SA National Roads Agency Limited's (SANRAL) efforts to build a highway that would cut through their villages.
Amadiba argue that rather than building a highway, government should instead improve the existing access roads to the area as the highway would lead to relocation of homesteads, graves and most crucially, destroy the agrarian economy that has sustained the community for over a century. Now they are fighting to protect the ocean which is more than just a provider of fish.
"The sea represents cleansing, because it flushes out all dirty material," said another elder, Desmond Mbuthuma reflecting on the spiritual significance the people attach to the ocean.
To the Amadiba, the ocean is more than just a place where nature provides food. It plays a significant role as a healer of broken spirits, a therapeutic spa courtesy of mother nature.
"The sea is superior to the river. It never fills up. When people go to communicate with ancestors in the sea, they come back healed," said Mbuthuma.
Amadiba elder Desmond Mbuthuma says the sea plays an important spiritual role in the lives of indigenous people living along the coast. Photo: Lucas Ledwaba
Elder Mfihlelwa Mnyamane whose two close family members were killed during the Mpondoland revolt between 1959 and 1961 said the people and the sea are interconnected in many ways.
"We are more like shareholders to the sea, for we catch crayfish, fish and crabs from it and sell. We get abalone and mussels, with which we feed our children without having to go to the shops. That is why we regard the sea as a natural resource from which we grew up and continue to live from," said Mnyamane.
Even youth like Lonwabo Dlamini have learnt to appreciate and protect the sea. He works as a tour guide for Pondoland Tours. During his outings with tourists, he shares his knowledge of indigenous plant species and marine life which he fears would not survive should the area be transformed into an oil field.
"The sea has a healing effect," said Lonwabo who like many of his peers living along the coast managed to pay for his schooling through income generated from selling crayfish collected from the ocean.
"If Shell would be allowed to conduct their business, it would affect our work as tour guides because we would not be able to show tourists the tourist attractions, as the sea would be contaminated," said Lonwabo.
Mfihlelwa Mnyamane says the indigenous people living along the Wild Coast are like shareholders to the ocean and will fight to preserve it. Photo: Lucas Ledwaba
In a paper published by the International Journal of Science and Technology in 2015, Paul Peters Ugboma further highlighted the environmental impact of the exploration in Ogoniland.
"Due to oil exploration and other human activities in the Niger Delta region, there is evidence of environmental degradation all over the area (Oronto, 1998). Environmental degradation is occasioned by consistent flow of industrial waste, oil spills, gas flares, fire disaster, acid rain, flooding erosion, etc., which has led to the pollution of farmlands and fishponds. It has also led to the destruction of properties and human lives, including aquatic and bio-diversity," wrote Ugboma of the Department of Geography & Regional Planning, Delta State University in Nigeria.
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/stech/article/view/119190
A United Nations Environment Programme study on Ogoniland published in 2011 found that there were, "in a significant number of locations, serious threats to human health from contaminated drinking water to concerns over the viability and productivity of ecosystems. In addition, that pollution has perhaps gone further and penetrated deeper than many may have previously supposed."
https://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/OEA/UNEP_OEA.pdf
According to the organisation Friends of the Earth International, between 1976 and 1991, over two million barrels of oil polluted Ogoniland in 2,976 separate oil spills. In August Shell agreed, following a protracted legal battle to pay the Ogoni $111.68 million to settle a case over an oil spill that took place more than 50 years ago. Shell said it has produced no oil or gas from Ogoni fields since 1993, although Ogoni land continues to serve as a transit route for pipelines transporting both its and third-party oil production from other areas.
Protesters wrote messages expressing their opposition to efforts to explore for oil along the Wild Coast during a protest march and meeting against Shell's efforts to do exploration in the area. Photo: Lucas Ledwaba
In its response to concerns over its plans to conduct a seismic survey along the Wild Coast, Shell has argued in a statement that is a responsible and leading operator and applies stringent controls and international best practice guidelines to its operations.
"Procedures for managing impact from seismic activities are well established and in line with the latest global industry standards. We aim to minimise the impact of our projects on the environment and to be a good neighbour wherever we work, by contributing to the well-being of neighbouring communities."
The company said it works "closely" with neighbouring communities "to manage the social impacts of our business activities, address any concerns about our operations, and enhance the benefits that we are able to bring. As an organisation Shell is committed to protecting the environment."
The company said a full environmental study was conducted in line with regulatory requirements and a legal permit was obtained to carry out the activity. "Shell is committed to fully implement all the mitigation measures as approved by the regulatory authorities and will operate according to international guidelines."
https://www.shell.co.za/energy-and-innovation/wild-coast-seismic-survey.html
But such assurances by Shell have not deterred action to stop the exploration efforts. In Sgidi village, which is located about 7 200km from the Niger Delta where Shell's activities have been fingered in contributing to environmental degradation, an air of uncertainty and outrage prevails.
On 5 December residents of Sgidi and other neighbouring villages came in their hundreds, crossing the Mzamba river to join up with other activists along the coast to send a message to Shell and the government.
In reaction to the protests organised by environmental organisations and activists both locally and internationally, minister of minerals and energy Gwede Mantashe lashed out at the organisers describing environmental activism as "apartheid and colonialism of a special type", saying it deters investors and stalls job creation opportunities.
Mantashe has been accused by community members of using strong arm tactics to force them to accept the proposed titanium mining and now the oil exploration.
On 14 December the Makhanda High Court is set to hear the case brought against Shell. In the matter, Reinford Sinegugu Zukulu, director of Sustaining the Wild Coast, healer Mashona Wetu Dlamini, the Dwesa-Cwebe Communal Property Association, representatives of local fishers and All Rise Attorneys for Climate and the Environment — represented by the Legal Resources Centre and attorney Richard Spoor — are set to argue their case for an urgent interdict.
The case is a sequel to an earlier application by the Border Deep Sea Angling Association (BDSAA), the Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club, human rights law agency Natural Justice and environmental movement Greenpeace lost their urgent interim interdict to stop Shell from continuing with the seismic survey.
Meanwhile as the battle continues in the courts, elders like Mnyamane whose brother and uncle were killed during the rebellion in 1961 are downhearted that even under a democratic government by a black majority party, the ANC, people that previously fought against the efforts of white colonial rule, continue to fight off attempts to extract minerals from their land against their wishes.
Members of the Amadiba community protesting along the Wild Coast against Shell's plans to conduct a seismic survey there. Photo: Lucas Ledwaba
"The difference between now and 1960 is that then, we would have to resort to violence. The laws have now changed. We would not allow that now, because it resulted in death of many people," said the silver haired elder whose homestead overlooks the breathtakingly beautiful coastline about 2km away.
"That is what disturbs our souls most: that how can we be in charge of government and turn on each other? A black person is oppressing another. Instead of claiming back our land, we are being robbed of the little good land we are left with," said Mnyamane.
Mbuthuma was also in his youth during the Mpondo revolt, yet he still carries grim memories of low flying aircraft and people on horseback fighting back. He too expressed disquiet against the current leadership.
"Oliver Tambo and leaders of his time were considerate of the people they led. These ones (current leaders) eat but never get filled up. They are like jackals, all they want is money, they do not care about the well-being of the people," he said about the late former ANC president who was among political activists to visit the area during the revolt.
In the foreword to a 2011 United Nations Environment Programme's environmental assessment report into Ogoniland – the agency's executive director Achim Steiner commented: "The oil industry has been a key sector of the Nigerian economy for over 50 years. But many Nigerians have paid a high price…"
It now remains to be seen what price, if any, the people of the Wild Coast will pay if Shell gets the go ahead to continue its exploration efforts. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
By Lucas Ledwaba


text:
Charlotte Campus Library
William Smith Morton Library (Richmond Campus)
The Resource Sermons on the religious education of children., By Philip Doddridge, D.D, (electronic resource)
Sermons on the religious education of children., By Philip Doddridge, D.D, (electronic resource)
The item Sermons on the religious education of children., By Philip Doddridge, D.D, (electronic resource) represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Union Presbyterian Seminary Libraries.
Doddridge, Philip, 1702-1751
Ewing, John, 1732-1802
Some, David
Philadelphia:, Printed by William Young, no. 52, Second-Street, the corner of Chestnut-Street., M.DCC, XCIII. 1793
Part of the library digital collection of Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Running title: On the education of children
"Extracts from D. Some's recommendatory preface to the following sermons."--p. [3]
Bookseller's advertisement, p. [4]
"Extracts from an address to the public, March, 1792."--p. [130]-132. Includes a list of recommended books, and is signed by John Ewing and four others
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/upsem.edu?url=http://opac.newsbank.com/select/evans/25410
Sermons on the religious education of children.
By Philip Doddridge, D.D
Press figures (Printing)
Religious education of children
Sermons -- Collections
Booksellers' advertisements -- Pennsylvania | Philadelphia
Booksellers' advertisements
On the education of children
Doddridge, Philip
Ewing, John
file reproduced from microform
16 cm. (12mo)
Electronic text and image data.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


President Trump has brought about the end of the world following his summit meeting with Vladimir Putin, so says the media. Is it true? In this week's boralogue, John compares President Obama's Russian strategy with that of President Trump's and the latter is winning. But outrage and hyperbole are spewed forth to mask that fact. The question the media is not asking is: do you want someone who does something for show or someone who is effective?
How we view Judaism and Christianity depends on how much we study them. Berlin-based political analyst and columnist Raphael Castro (www.besacenter.org) shows us how a decline in the study of Scriptures has led to a loss of identity in Western culture. Europe has led the way in this and America seems eager to follow.
John and Producer Steve take a moment to discuss the summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, looking at the bigger picture rather than the often repeated hysterical hyperbole (or hysterbole as we're calling it) you are seeing on mainstream media channels.
Does the Bible contradict or promote socialism? Dr. Jay Richards (www.catholic.edu), Professor at the Catholic School of America, discusses the difference between government and personal involvement when it comes to helping the poor and what the Bible tells us about economics.
Is the resistance movement accomplishing anything or is it just causing more division? Author and historian Daniel Mallock (www.danielmallock.com) is back with us to explain how some groups of people have drifted away from honoring the Constitution as well as the philosophy behind the leftist hatred in this country.
In this week's Section 6, John looks at the origins of the French Revolution from an economic and religious perspective and compares many of the events then with events happening now.


text:
Q: `date` formatting to specifically add dots between the AM and PM markers I use a command quite frequently called datey that I run by invoking ./datey which will generate this date: "09/15/14 — 03:42:37 AM".  Nothing special, a very simple one line command.
I have always wanted the output to be slightly different, but have been unable to make that happen.  The command I am calling underneath all this is: date.  In it's simplest form, it is:
#!/bin/bash
date "+%D — %r"

Which results in:
09/15/14 — 03:45:45 AM

What I want:
09/15/14 — 03:45:55 A.M.

Or:
09/15/14 — 03:46:23 P.M.

Basically, just adding in dots in the A.M. and P.M. portion of the output. I am not sure if there is a standard, but to me, in the US, using dots is sort of a convention, that, at least in my geographic region, using dots.
Suggestions?

A: One way is to use sed on date's output:
date "+%D — %r" | sed 's/\([AP]\)\(M\)/\1.\2./'
09/15/14 — 06:53:42 A.M.

A: You could remove the trailing M and add .M. to the end of the string:
$ d=$(date "+%D — %r")
$ echo "${d%M}.M."
09/15/14 — 07:25:14 A.M.

A: You can use sed to make a little transform
# date "+%D - %r"|sed s/M/.M./g
09/15/14 - 12:53:10 P.M.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Jeez, stalk one person and everyone thinks you're some kind of obsessive freak. That's not fair.
I mean, people change, you know?
Be right back. It's been 5 minutes since I checked my email.
6 #3 needs more punch.
6 Man, hold on, I gotta check on how my RMCS vote results are doing!
5 ... I don't know. Pehraps if it was more related to stalking.
5 Kinda funny because it doesn't go where you think it will.
4 That hit a bit close to home. Afg.
3 You've got a setup, no payoff.


text:
St. Barnabas Road
Road that runs north west from west side of Streatham Road. It is parallel to, and north of, Gorringe Park Avenue. It was possibly built in the early 1920s.
1950 OS map
The houses are numbered odd on its north side, from 1 to 75 at Streatham Road, all with the postcode CR4 2DW, and even from 6 to 62, with postcode CR4 2DU.
At its western end it leads into Thirsk Avenue and on the corner is St Barnabas church. Edenvale Road cuts across the road around half way and connects to Gorringe Park Avenue.
The road was originally called Annie Road, and its only occupant in the 1925 street directory was Francis KERBEY, at Orchard Bungalow.
In the 1930 commercial directory, Louis GOLDSTEIN, tailor, was at no. 49.
This entry was posted in Roads and tagged 1927, 1930, Edenvale Road, Gorringe Park Avenue, St Barnabas Road, Streatham Road on March 10, 2021 by Wade.
Eastfields Road
Road that continues eastward from Locks Lane to the level crossing at Mitcham Eastfields station. All properties currently have the postcode CR4 2LS.
On this 1953 OS map, houses, that are only on the north side of the road, are numbered eastward as odd from 13 to 91. As described from west to east:
a terrace of 4 houses, numbers 13 to 19;
a separate building numbered 21 which had been used as a shop with accommodation, see below;
footpath to Sandy Lane (now Public Right of Way 147);
a row of 6 houses numbered 27 to 37;
number 39 was demolished due to bomb damage in WW2;
a gap which is now Roper Way;
a terrace of 5 houses numbered 49 to 57;
then Rialto Road;
a terrace of 4 houses divided into 2 flats each, numbered 75 to 91.
This earlier OS map from 1894 shows that the road was part of Tamworth Lane, separated from the rest of it by the railway that was constructed in 1868.
The 1914 electoral register lists the following occupants in Eastfields Road:
Martin's Cottage, Edward ROGERS
Primrose Cottage, Richard TOOGOOD
Bird's Cottage, James McATTEER
10 Rosemary Villas, Charles WILSON
9 Rosemary Villas, John GODDEN
7 Rosemary Villas, George Wheldon HEPWORTH
6 Rosemary Villas, Henry WOODS
4 Rosemary Villas, John Frederick WADE
1 Rosemary Villas, William Valentine BENSTEAD
George TURNER is listed as Eastfields Road only
The 1925 street directory lists properties from Lock's Lane:
Richard C. TOOGOOD, shopkeeper
Rosemary Villas
10, George Wheldon HEPWORTH
9, Samuel AULD
8, James SULLIVAN
7, Mrs WILSON
6, Mrs WOODS
5, Albert Edward MEPHAM
4, Percy Charles RIGGS
3, Andrew DUNNING
2, Henry WOODS, pig dealer
1, William V BENSTEAD
Kirby Cottage, Charles DAVISON, stock breeder
George Wheldon HEPWORTH had married Elizabeth Amelia WOODS, daughter of Henry WOODS, in 1911. The Henry Woods at no. 2 in the 1925 directory was his son, as Henry Woods senior died in 1922.
Elizabeth Hepworth nee Woods. Photo kindly provided by a descendant of the family.
Woods family gathering, believed to be in Rosemary Villas. Photo kindly provided by a descendant of the family.
The road was renumbered in 1929/30 as the 1929 electoral register shows these named houses, but the 1930 register and onwards show them as numbered.
This table shows the number or name of the house in 1929, then the number in 1930 and the surname of the occupants in 1930.
1 13 MILLER
2 15 PENEGAR
3 17 EDWARDS
4 19 SCOTT
Stables Stables GUYATT
Primrose Cottage 21 TOOGOOD, STEWART
10 Rosemary Villas 33 HEPWORTH
9 Rosemary Villas 35 AULT
8 Rosemary Villas 37 SULLIVAN
7 Rosemary Villas 39 EXCELL
6 Rosemary Villas 47 WOODS
5 Rosemary Villas 49 MEPHAM
4 Rosemary Villas 51 RIGGS
3 Rosemary Villas 53 DUNNING
1 Rosemary Villas 57 BENSTEAD
Kirby Cottage 65 DAVISON
Eastfields Corner
These houses, numbers 13, 15, 17 and 19, were owned by Renshaw, the marzipan factory in Locks Lane and initially rented out to staff. It was known as "Eastfields Corner".
The shop at no. 21 used by John Jayson after WW2. He had originally a grocers shop at 2 Fernlea Road which had been bombed in the war. A fellow on the Facebook group Mitcham History said that there was a wood yard at the back where, as a child, he would take cardboard for it to be weighed and exchanged for a few pennies.
The shop became a newsagents/confectioners/tobacconist in 1957. It was Rogers Estate Agents, between 1959 and 1989, when it estate agency was sold to Dunley. Thanks to Tony Rogers for this information, see his comment below. Listed in the 1973 Mitcham Chamber of Commerce booklet with telephone number 648 8527, and shown in this 1959 ad:
20th February 1959 ad in Norwood News
In March 1954 planning permission was given for 40 lock-up garages to be built at the rear and side.
This property was in use as an estate agents up to 2002, after which it was empty and was bought by Merton Council with a Compulsory Purchase Order on 17th December 2009. It was redeveloped in 2014 as flats, as described in planning application 13/P1383:
Demolition of the existing two-bedroom property at 21 Eastfields Road and the adjacent 40 domestic garages and construction of a new three-storey building providing 21 flats [9 three bedroom flats and 12 one bedroom flats] with 14 off street car parking spaces with vehicular access on to Eastfields Road, landscaping and a freestanding building providing cycle and bin storage.
The flats are numbered sequentially from 1 to 21, with the address of 21 Eastfields Road.
This house was added to the row of 6 houses numbered 27 to 37 in around 2009/10, as described in planning application 09/P0193:
Erection of a part one, part two storey end of terrace 2 bedroom dwelling house
The original number 39 had been damaged in WW2, and the rebuilt house reproduced the frontage in keeping with the rest of the terrace:
Front elevation of no. 37 and 39 from planning application
At number 71 was W. Steptowe & Sons, boot and shoe repairers.
News Articles and Ads
From The Evening Herald (Dublin) Saturday 30th August 1930
A few minutes after Mr and Mrs Albert EXCELL and their five-year-old son, Johnny, of Eastfields Road, Mitcham, had left their bedroom at 2 a.m. the house was struck by lightning and plaster fell in large sheets from the ceiling on to the bed.
Newsagents T.G. COOPER, 96, Eastfield Road, stocked 'Action', a newspaper of the British Union of Fascists, according to this ad of 23rd July 1938:
23rd July 1938 ad in Action
Maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
This entry was posted in People, Roads and tagged 1929, 1930, 1938, 1953, 1959, 1973, Eastfields Road, Guyatt, Kirby Cottage, Lock's Lane, Primose Cottage, Roper Way, Rosemary Villas, Sandy Lane, Woods on November 13, 2020 by Wade.


text:
Is Chattanooga falling behind on its growth forecast?
Chattanooga's growth forecast, cloudier than expected November 18th, 2018 | by Joan McClane
A "For rent" sign is seen in the window of the Downtown Mart shop on Market Street on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Growth forecast
For the first time in 10 years, I am struggling with lease up.
Chattanooga's image is important business, and big money has been spent selling the Scenic City as a hot market to investors and business owners.
In the past three years, $1 billion dollars of private investment has flooded downtown.
The frenzied pace of development. The creation and national promotion of an Innovation District. The construction of a new $10.6 million Miller Park. Downtown remains central to the recited success story.
But a short walk down one of the city center's main arteries might make one wonder if a bubble has burst.
Signs advertising buildings for sale or lease pepper downtown. Right now, 15.6 percent of office space sits unused, and downtown apartment vacancy has jumped to 7.4 percent from 1.9 percent in 2013 as more developments contend for tenants, defying widely held assumptions about demand for higher-end rentals in the heart of the city. In the tourism area, near the Tennessee Aquarium, prominent restaurant space remains empty. Meanwhile, long-term tenants have pulled up their stakes.
"I was told it was going to be amazing, how many thousands of people are moving downtown. I was very excited about that," said Gina Bennett, owner of Sing It or Wing It on Market Street. "We have lots of empty apartments. My kids who work for me can't afford it."
Behind-the-scenes, local leaders are expressing concern. The image doesn't fit the narrative.
By traditional economic measures, Chattanooga is doing wonderfully. The area can accurately boast of low unemployment, job and population growth and rising home and commercial values. The U.S. economy has been enjoying the same degree of optimism.
In late September, the U.S. Census Bureau released data showing an increase in the metro area's median household income between 2016 and 2017. When compared to 382 other metro areas, the six-county Chattanooga region experienced the sixth-fastest growth in median household income over that single year.
Hourly wages for employees across all sectors in the Chattanooga metro area have risen 13.8 percent between March 2013 and September 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Simply put, Chattanooga is one of the most desirable and dynamic economies in the nation," Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said in an email.
Other measures, though, point to a different reality: Cities are in an accelerating fight for talent and capital as the nature of work continues to rapidly change and technology allows more consolidation, and in this race Chattanooga is falling behind, data shows.
Historically low interest rates, paired with the rapid increase in local property values enticed many to buy into the downtown market. Local and national experts, however, are beginning to warn of a downturn.
Downtown Homes 2012
Median sales price: $92,000
Percent of original list price received: 90.9 percent
Days on the market until sale: 131
Median sales prices: $226,250
Days on the market until sale: 38
Source: Greater Chattanooga Realtors Association
REIS, a national company that provides market analysis and data for the real estate industry, reported in October that metro Chattanooga's third-quarter, apartment vacancy rate increase of 0.9 percent to 6.2 percent total vacancy for the quarter was highest among the 45 metro markets where vacancy rose across the country.
Downtown vacancy — 7.4 percent — was highest of all three local submarkets tracked in Chattanooga.
Thirty-four other markets, including Birmingham, experienced a decline in apartment vacancy. In the first quarter of this year REIS reported that Chattanooga was the only market that posted apartment rent decline.
This spring, officials announced the The Clements Lofts would be transitioning to a boutique hotel.
The Maclellan Apartments — built by a Memphis developer who received federal tax credits and a local tax incentive in 2015 to renovate the underused and historic Maclellan Building — has also considered converting to a hotel, according to minutes from a recent meeting of the city-run Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board. When asked, officials with Heritage Properties, the Maclellan developer, said they did not have plans to convert the apartments.
"Did we guess wrong about demand? Maybe we needed more family rentals that skewed affordable," said River City Co. CEO Kim White. "Is there more of a desire for homes near downtown than imagined? Perhaps it is more desirable to live a little bit out from downtown with a house."
River City's emphasis on market rate rental developments downtown was well informed, however. A downtown market analysis — commissioned by River City and published in 2016, right as many development projects were getting off the ground — predicted the area would need an additional 2,388 market rate apartments by 2018.
"With strong forecasted job growth, Generation Y hitting prime rental years, and an increasing preference for renting, we are projecting an average of 14.9 new apartments absorbed in the metro per every 100 new jobs in the metro," the market analysis by Noell Consulting Group read.
National experts expressed similar enthusiasm. At the end of 2015, as the downtown market analysis was being completed, REIS reported that Chattanooga was a turnaround market to watch. Then, apartment vacancy sat at 4.9 percent and was falling.
Brookings Institute scholar Bruce Katz wrote glowingly about Chattanooga in an online essay: "2015 has been dubbed 'The Year of the Crane' as $480 million in private investment is fueling the construction of hundreds of hotel rooms and thousands of apartments. Something special is happening in Chattanooga."
In June, River City Co. hosted a weekend walking tour to showcase 14 developments with available units downtown. Attendance was robust. More than 500 people came to see the insides of Market City Center, Passenger Flats, Bluebird Row Apartments, the Tomorrow Building, Mcclellan Apartments, Douglas Heights, The Edge, Vista Cameron Harbor, Exchange Cameron Harbor and 10 North, among others.
The crowd, however, skewed far older than expected, White said.
Many were boomers looking to downsize and own in downtown. Several expressed disappointment with the offerings. At Passenger Flats — where remodeled Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel rooms and suites are available for rent for between $800 and $1,950 a month, including utilities and internet service — groups going in and out of the display units expressed astonishment at the price tag per square foot.
"This is just a hotel room," a woman told her friend, pointing to air conditioning unit by the window. "They barely changed anything."
Curious shoppers on the downtown living tour this summer also seemed surprised by the price and size of the apartment offerings at Market City Center, the new $30 million, 10-story retail and apartment building in the heart of the city on Market Street with 122 units. A leasing agent on site encouraged potential residents to check back on prices later, adding that low demand would eventually lower the rent.
In October, Market City Center was advertising one-month's free rent for those who signed a lease. Passenger Flats was also advertising a one-month free rent promotion for four of their five floor plans. Bluebird Row, a new apartment complex next door, which is renting 283 units, starting at $1,100 for a 630 square-foot studio, was also offering discounted rent and fees for those who sign a lease. A digital advertisement for Bluebird Row last week offered one month free rent and "up to $2,000 in gift cards on select units."
For example, metro Chattanooga's gross domestic product per capita, an important measure of prosperity, increased in recent years to $46,190, but its growth rate — 2.33 percent — ranked 88 out of 100 in a Harvard University analysis of economic competitiveness. In 2001, the area's GDP per capita ranked 22. By 2016, it slipped to 36.
What was the new median household income that made headlines? In 2017, just $50,250. The typical Chattanoogan earns 22 percent less than the typical American. Chattanooga's median income was also the lowest among Tennessee's four major metros. And though there was some wage growth, the real bump came from added jobs, labor data shows.
The recent loss of 160 marketing, sales, research and development jobs at Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical giant that purchased long-time Chattanooga company Chattem in 2010, doesn't help.
"There is a delicate balance between keeping on a brave face to keep everyone's attitude right and telling the truth about the way things are," said Tim Kelly, who sits on the board of River City Co., the nonprofit charged with promoting and animating downtown. "That is a dynamic tension that we always have to navigate."
Berke said his administration has prioritized "quality, high-wage jobs," as well as an equitable economy. In May, he told Fortune magazine, which called Chattanooga "one of America's most start-up friendly cities," that the city was growing income "as we add higher-skilled jobs."
Federal data, however, shows the metro area has not yet attracted the glut of higher-wage jobs needed to support the city's explosion of luxury developments.
Cat Martinez, apartment manager at Passenger Flats, said the vacancy rate is due to the increase in development of brand new apartments, which is good for Chattanooga.
"For investors and developers there should be no reason for concern; this is a part of the natural growth in a city's livable spaces," she said. "All other mid-sized cities surrounding us have been ahead of the housing/development curve; that explains why they've posted decline and we haven't. We're still building."
John Wise, who owns several apartment developments including Hayden Place Apartments near North Chattanooga and the new Henry Lofts downtown, had a different take.
It does take time for a development to stabilize. However, Wise believes the apartment market could be tipping into a cyclical downturn.
"For the first time in 10 years, I am struggling with lease up," Wise said. "I am having to give away a month or two of rent. It is the first time."
Multiple attempts to speak with representatives of Market City Center, Bluebird Row Apartments and other developers were unsuccessful.
Construction projects across the city promise many more units. According to estimates, more than 3,000 apartment units, nearly 2,000 student beds, and 250 condominiums and townhomes have recently opened or are coming online within the next year or so.
At the beginning of September, a South Carolina developer announced another project, which promised to put 151 apartments, a dozen townhouses and 16,000 square feet of office and retail space apartment and commercial project on a pair of Unum Group parking lots near the riverfront area. And this month, developers announced a $3 to $4 million project with 41 apartments and retail space on East M.L. King Boulevard.
It's good or bad news, depending on who you are, said Kelly, who also serves on the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce Board.
If the rental market remains saturated and more apartments enter the competition, those who want to move into downtown or stay downtown — but cannot afford the rising costs — will win because rents should fall, he said.
In 2017, rental rates rose nearly five times faster than worker wages in Chattanooga, a survey of apartment rental rates by Zumper found.
Developers and their lenders won't be happy, however, because neither will get the return they expected, Kelly said.
So what happened? Where are the renters developers expected?
"All of this housing was built at an anticipated price point expecting job growth would happen and the fact that it hasn't happened as rapidly as hoped means there is a gap that has to be filled," said Kelly, who owns several local businesses including Kelly Subaru and Chattanooga Brewing Company. "You can't escape the economics. We can't expect to attract a working age population without healthy job growth in the industries that employ those people.
"That is still a work in progress. I am not saying that is a lost dream or that we are on the wrong track, but it seems supply has overshot the demand at this point."
Almost all cities, including Chattanooga, are growing as the U.S. population continues to pull in from the suburbs and rural areas toward urban hubs. This is a well documented worldwide phenomenon, as well.
Chattanooga added nearly 2,000 more residents in the city in 2017 — the most of any year since 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Yet, many Southern, peer metro areas — considered direct competition for high paying jobs and talent — are outpacing Chattanooga
Between 2012 and 2017, Chattanooga's metro area population grew 3 percent. The number of jobs grew by 8 percent in the same time period, data shows.
By comparison, the Huntsville, Alabama, metro area, grew its population by 6 percent and jobs by 10 percent in the same time period. The Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina, metro area grew its population by 11 percent and jobs by 15 percent. The Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, metro area grew its population by 8 percent and jobs by 9 percent. The Savannah, Georgia, metro area grew its population by 7 percent and its jobs by 13 percent.
The Provo-Orem, Utah, metro area, a comparable metro to Chattanooga outside the South with a population of around 617,000, was named the best performing large city in America in 2017 by the Milken Institute, a California-based, nonpartisan think tank that publishes a best performing cities rankings each year. In that metro area, the population grew by 12 percent and jobs grew by 28 percent in the same time period.
National press about Chattanooga's citywide gigabit network and local leaders' passion for and emphasis on entrepreneurs and innovation, paired with the rapid build up of downtown, gave the impression that Chattanooga wasn't just luring developers. Rising housing costs indicated the same thing.
"My daughter only had her house on the market for four hours and got an offer, and the offer was $6,000 more than asking and they were going to pay the closing costs," said Lynda Curtis, who owns the Ice Cream Show on the south side of the Walnut Street Bridge and lives downtown.
Falling behind in the contest for capital and talent
The Chattanooga metro area is struggling on some key economic measures, according to a data analysis by Harvard University and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which scored more than 900 U.S. metros areas on their economic performance.
› The metro Chattanooga gross domestic product per capita, an important measure of prosperity, has increased in recent years to $46,190, but its growth rate — 2.33 percent — ranked 88 out of 100 in the Harvard analysis of economic data. In 2001, the area's GDP per capita ranked 22. By 2016, it slipped to 36.
› The metro Chattanooga average, annual private wage increased to $40,684 by 2016, but its growth rate — 3 percent — ranked 87 out of 100. In 1998, the area's average private wage ranked 16. By 2016, its ranking fell to 31.
› The metro area's labor participation rate — 76.41 percent in 2016 — has fallen over the last two decades by 3.79 percent. In 1998, the area's labor participation rate ranked 72, but by 2016 its ranking fell to 80.
› The metro area's utility patents per 10,000 employees — an important measure of innovation — has decreased by 0.63 percent since 1998, according to the most recent data available. In 1998, the area ranked 60 on this measure of innovation. In 2015, it ranked 70.
› The number of business establishments in the metro area has also declined slightly over the last two decades from 11,362 in 1998 to 11,242 in 2016. This measure was not ranked by Harvard.
› The metro area's venture capital per $10,000 GDP was $1 in 2012 and had a growth rate of 56.76 percent between 2010 and 2012, according to the most recent data available. Yet, in that same short period, the metro area's ranking on this measure sank from 11 to 92.
› The percent of traded employment in strong clusters, a measure of cluster strength in the metro area, declined significantly over the last two decades. In 1998, the percent of traded employment in strong clusters was 42.7 percent. By 2016 it was 27.35 percent, changing the area's ranking from 79 to 91 out of 100. The growth rate on this measure, -2.44 percent, was ranked 91.
› The metro area is also falling behind on manufacturing intensity. In 1998, nearly 20 percent of all jobs were manufacturing jobs. By 2016, nearly 13.5 percent were. The 6.3 percent decrease was ranked 65 when compared with other cities' manufacturing growth.
Source: Harvard Business School Institute for Stategy and Competitiveness and U.S. Economic Development Administration, www.clustermapping.us. Ranks are by percentile from 1-100 among all 917 U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.
Curtis' daughter, who works for her, owned a house near downtown, but had to move farther away from the city because she couldn't afford to stay when her property taxes went up $200 during the rapid build up in local home values over the last few years.
"My first thought: What in the world?"
However, an analysis of employment and wages in Chattanooga published this summer by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics offered a more grim assessment.
Local employment, according to the analysis, was more highly concentrated in production, transportation and material moving and administrative support, all with wages far below $20 an hour.
To cover basic living costs in Hamilton County an adult with one child would have to earn $21.87 per hour, research published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows.
The sector with the most growth was tourism and hospitality, which increased employment over the past five years by 22 percent and pays lower wages that would make a high-end apartment unattainable.
Nineteen of Chattanooga's 22 major occupational groups "had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages," including management, business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, architecture and engineering, arts, design and media and health care practitioners — the country's highest paying professions. Higher paying jobs also represent a smaller share of Chattanooga's overall economy, when compared to the nationwide distribution.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the Velocity 2040 community visioning survey throughout the month of October, in part, because they want community help navigating the tough questions that all of these data points present, said Charles Wood, vice president of economic development at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce.
The most desirable companies demand so much that it can be hard to get their attention. A community has to exhibit certain strengths. Chattanooga is an insurance hub, for example. But what other sectors are prominent and can be grown?
When communities develop certain areas of economic strength, they also begin to grow a talent pool that in and of itself becomes a magnet for more business growth in those identified sectors, said Wood.
Businesses with high paying, desirable jobs are also looking, very closely, at the bones of the community. Does the local airport offer enough direct flights? How are the public schools performing? What is the education level of the local work force?
Wood said the Chamber hopes to better identify and grow the area's economic strengths through a strategy called "product development." This includes the Chamber's efforts with Chattanooga 2.0, designed to improve public education; the Velocity 2040 visioning survey; attempts to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem; and support for the airport in increasing direct air service to major hubs.
"We fully expect that investing in these and other community assets will create long-term opportunities for all," Wood said.
So, if Chattanooga has yet to lure large numbers of high-end workers and jobs, who has been driving up home prices?
Shuffling Chattanoogans, mostly, argues Jay Robinson, one of the area's top-producing brokers.
Historically, low interest rates allowed many locals to enter the housing market for the first time, and these local, first-time buyers were snatching up entry level homes, which "allowed other Chattanoogans to move up the housing food chain," he said.
"Across the board, it is cheaper to buy than rent," Robinson said.
The pattern isn't unique to Chattanooga.
Now that interest rates are increasing again, many would-be, first-time home buyers can no longer afford a home. A difference of a few hundred dollars — due to an interest rate hike, or a property tax increase, or both — is preventing many from entering the home buying market, and this will have serious implications for all home sellers, said Robinson, who caters to the highest end of the market.
"My theory is that each 1 percent increase in the 30 year mortgage rate will prohibit 200 first-time buyers from entering the market. Every first-time buyer triggers about seven sales. So we lose 1,400 transactions. That has happened in the last year," he said. "We have to focus on affordability to drive the entire economy. When the bottom of the market falls out, it becomes a slow burn."
Outside investors have also driven up home prices by buying up Chattanooga homes. Most planned to flip homes they scooped up at a low price into rentals. Like developers, these buyers wanted to be poised to cash in on predicted growth and demographic change. A lot of them are now sitting empty, according to a study of property listings by ATTOM Data Solutions published in October .
Chattanooga ranked in the top 20 percent of all U.S. cities in its share of vacant homes, according to the study. In metro Chattanooga, 4,483 homes are vacant, or 2.44 percent of all households. That's up from 4,002, or 2.25 percent of all homes, in 2017. The area's home vacancy is now 60 percent above the national average, the study showed.
The Job Shakeout
How has the local employment landscape changed in the last five years?
Change in Chattanooga metro area employment sectors between 2013 and 2018
› Mining, logging and construction: 23 percent growth (4 percent of all jobs)
› Manufacturing: 14 percent growth (13 percent of all jobs)
› Wholesale Trade: 2 percent growth (3 percent of all jobs)
› Retail Trade: 8 percent growth (10 percent of all jobs)
› Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities: 6 percent growth (6 percent of all jobs)
› Information: 21 percent growth (1 percent of all jobs)
› Financial Activities: 21 percent growth (6 percent of all jobs)
› Professional and Business Services: 16 percent growth (12 percent of all jobs)
› Education and Health Services: 7 percent growth (13 percent of all jobs)
› Leisure and Hospitality: 22 percent growth (12 percent of all jobs)
› Other services: -1 percent growth (5 percent of all jobs)
› Government: 11 percent growth (14 percent of all jobs)
Robinson said he is advising anyone thinking about selling in the downtown market in the next year to do it now.
Local and national real estate experts are sending similar signals.
"Some economy observers are pointing to 2018 as the final period in a long string of sentences touting several happy years of buyer demand and sales excitement for the housing industry," wrote Geoff Ramsey, president of Greater Chattanooga Realtors Association, in his September residential market report. "Although residential real estate should continue along a mostly positive line for the rest of the year, rising prices and interest rates coupled with salary stagnation and a generational trend toward home purchase delay or even disinterest could create an environment of declining sales."
In August, Lawrence Yun, chief economists with the National Association of Realtors, told Chattanooga Realtors and home builders to be cautiously optimistic when he spoke at a luncheon.
"Even though it's going well, home sales are not going higher," he said. "Affordability is becoming a challenging thing for buyers. We are beginning to sense a diminishing optimism about home buying."
Those putting off a home purchase until interest rates fall again will be waiting a long time, he added.
"Interest rates will not go down again."
Chattanooga has overshot real estate demand before. It's part of the natural boom and bust cycle. A decade ago the area had too many speck homes, Robinson said.
Condos, similarly, were once overbuilt. White called it "the condo fatigue."
Everyone was building condos around the same time the speck homes were being overbuilt because banks were lending for condos, but few wanted to buy condos at the time.
Then, recruitment for the Volkswagen assembly plant, which was announced in 2008, saved the day, right as the recession hit, said Robinson. The jobs fueled the housing demand the real estate market desperately needed at the time.
Chattanooga and Hamilton County worked together for more than a decade and invested more than $50 million in property acquisition and infrastructure to prepare Enterprise South Industrial Park for a major employer long before VW began its search for a U.S. plant. This is an application of the "product development" approach to economic development Woods said the Chamber was emphasizing.
Right now, banks are aggressively lending for apartment developments. Developers who want a loan for a condo development are required to pre-sell the majority of the units, which is extremely challenging.
"We have a rental bubble," Robinson said.
White, however, is confident that the market will sort itself out.
"People who are investing in downtown Chattanooga and developing projects are smart, savvy business men and women. They wouldn't be investing in our community if they didn't see opportunity and the potential for a high rate of return on projects," White said. "And they're also smart enough to know that buildings can and will change. So, a building that was built for all apartments can remain that way, can shift to make part of the apartments condos, can turn the space into commercial offerings or even a hotel if they believe it's a better fit."
Real Estate Partners President Darlene Brown, the marketing and listing agent for Cameron Harbor, one of downtowners newer developments, said she plans to remain invested in downtown. The economy has ups and downs. Real estate has ups and downs, "like the stock market."
One condo building at The Exchange at Cameron Harbor will be used for short-term vacation rentals, and she has sold 30 condos in that building, all but two, she said. In the second condo building at The Exchange, which holds 80 condos, 20 are under contract. All and all, Brown said it has been one of her best years in the business.
"We keep hearing, 'There is going to be a slow down. There is going to be a slow down.' Those of us who have been in it a long time, we know to stay the course. Interest rates may go up. Stay the course. If the merchandise is priced right and staged correctly, it will sell," said Brown. "If the bottom falls out, everyone is going to have an issue, but I don't think that is going to happen.
"We have had a strong run."
The city of Chattanooga and River City have taken a "best practice," data-informed approach to downtown.
In 2002, Richard Florida, an influential urban thinker, published a book that cities across the country, including Chattanooga, quickly turned into a playbook for economic revival. In a nutshell, Florida encouraged cities to embrace technology, talent and tolerance and compete for the "creative class." The capital would follow, he promised.
Installing art in abandoned and blighted areas was strongly emphasized. Coffee shops were emphasized.
Five years later, CreateHere, a nonprofit funded by the city's major foundations and created to establish and build Chattanooga's own creative class and place making acumen, launched the Southside revival.
Berke's most recent State of the City address introduced his new tagline: "A city of creators."
Florida's formula, while successful, had unintended consequences, even Florida, admits.
Last year, Florida published a new playbook for cities: "The New Urban Crisis: How Our Cities Are Increasing Inequality, Deepening Segregation, and Failing the Middle Class — and What We Can Do About It."
Leaders' approach to downtown, while informed by leading experts and research, may be ill advised, say downtown business owners, frustrated by efforts that have made the city less car-friendly in recent years. While the city and chamber continue to work on recruiting the businesses that will bring more residents to downtown, restaurant and small business owners say downtown parking needs to be made more accessible and either free or discounted, especially for locals.
Locals are finding it harder and harder to access restaurants and shops, especially those in the center of the city, they say. The cost of parking has gone up significantly, as well, an added frustration for those with higher rents and mortgages, yet stagnant pay.
"I don't care about other cities. If the perception by residents is that parking is inconvenient or too expensive, how do we change that? Despite what studies tell us," said Josh Patton, owner of Chicken Salad Chick on Market Street downtown.
The explosion of restaurant delivery service Dinner Delivered, which began delivering for downtown restaurants several years ago, has allowed some restaurants to survive the lack of foot traffic, but it has also contributed to the downtown quiet.
"They kept pushing us to downtown. They saw the growth potential. We were a little weary of it," said Megan Swartz Williams, co-owner of the former Noodles and Co. on Market Street. "Everybody would always say: 'I wish we could come more often, but parking is always a problem.'"
River City, which studied downtown parking for a year and released the results of that study in January, has downplayed parking concerns.
"Current overall parking supply in Downtown Chattanooga is adequate. However, that supply is not optimally utilized which is evident when only less than one-third of those 43,000 parking spaces are available to the general public," a River City summary of the study read. "Furthermore, even when supply is at its highest use during mid-day on a weekday typically, it is much less heavily used on weekends. This further suggests that major additions to parking supply might have limited utility."
The mayor is also bullish when it comes to walkability.
Some small business owners along East M.L. King Boulevard complained during the recent redesign, which added protected bike lanes and slowed vehicular traffic, but Berke said they later told him that the redesign "had resulted in their most profitable business day ever."
"Creating a more equitable and sustainable economy begins with designing our city to be safer and more welcoming for everyone, including those with disabilities or individuals who may not drive," Berke said in an email. "Making sure that all of Chattanooga is as safe as possible for pedestrians, bicyclists, and mass transit users has always been a top priority for this administration."
The success of the Southside is a testament to walkability, said Adam Kinsey, president of Choo Choo Partners, which owns the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel that anchors the Southside commercial district, as well as the Passenger Flats apartments.
"It is a very walkable and active community that supports the local businesses. The residents are the engine for the Southside growth. As the nearly 2,000 apartment units in the Southside fill up the development will continue to be explosive, but it is very important that the neighborhood does not lose its identity."
He said he also thinks some businesses have struggled in the downtown market because they weren't a fit.
"People are shying away from chain restaurants and cookie cutter retail options,"said Kinsey. "It is local and regional independent entertainment, retail and food and beverage options that define a city and attract locals and tourists alike."
The parking issue is not going away, though, said Kelly, who wants to see the River City board explore parking incentives for locals, a tact used by many other cities. Right now, River City is undergoing a strategic planning process.
The nonprofit has also began pushing for downtown property owners to form a business improvement district which could create a funding source to address parking related issues downtown, as well as other issues. Those funds would be overseen by an independent board of downtown property owners paying into the BID. Chattanooga is the largest metro in Tennessee without one.
"I think that in a city our size, where free parking is available ten minutes or less out of town, it is not just the cost, it is the convenience," Kelly said. "We have to find a creative way to level the playing field for downtown merchants. Downtown is not yet special enough to where too many people are going to mess with it. A lot of people are staying away because they see it as a hassle."
Contact staff writer Joan McClane at jmcclane@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601.
Chattanooga's Levitt AMP free concert series voting deadline nears
Video shows man tased in the testicles, choked by East Ridge police


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Home Books Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e
Chapter 246: Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
Denise Bratcher
Bratcher D. Bratcher D Bratcher, Denise.Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis). In: Kline MW. Kline M.W.(Ed.),Ed. Mark W. Kline.eds. Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e. McGraw Hill; 2018. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2126&sectionid=178133283
Bratcher D. Bratcher D Bratcher, Denise. (2018). Anthrax (bacillus anthracis). Kline MW. Kline M.W.(Ed.),Ed. Mark W. Kline. Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e. McGraw Hill. https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2126&sectionid=178133283
Bratcher D. Bratcher D Bratcher, Denise. "Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)." Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e Kline MW. Kline M.W.(Ed.),Ed. Mark W. Kline. McGraw Hill, 2018, https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2126&sectionid=178133283.
PATHOGENESIS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the gram-positive, encapsulated, nonmotile, spore-forming rod Bacillus anthracis. The incubation period is 1 to 7 days (may be longer in the inhalation form). Person-to-person transmission from cutaneous lesions rarely occurs.
An antiphagocytic capsule and 2 exotoxins (lethal toxin, edema toxin) are responsible for the clinical illness cause by B anthracis. The toxins are responsible for the clinical manifestations (eg, hemorrhage, edema, necrosis) of the various clinical presentations as well as the morbidity and mortality associated with illness due to anthrax. Therefore, treatment not only requires antimicrobial therapy to kill the organism, but antitoxin therapy may also be indicated.
B anthracis affects domestic and wild animals throughout the world. Human infections are a result of contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products (eg, meat, skin, hair). In the United States, the most common form has been cutaneous infections among animal handlers, but more invasive cases (eg, inhalation) have been described in drum makers working with contaminated animal hides or in people participating in drumming events where spore-contaminated drum heads were being used. In 2001 in the United States, 22 cases of anthrax occurred due to purposeful contamination of the mail. Because of the potential of biological terrorism with this organism, every suspected case should be reported to the local or state health department.
Cutaneous anthrax occurs when B anthracis spores enter through an abrasion. A small, erythematous papule vesiculates to form a painless, black eschar with marked edema. Lymphadenopathy or lymphangitis may occur. Untreated, mortality is up to 20%, but with appropriate treatment, it is less than 1%.
Inhalation anthrax occurs after respiratory exposure to B anthracis spores. Initial symptoms are nonspecific, mimicking influenza. Symptoms become fulminant over a few days, often leading to death. Mediastinal widening and pleural effusions on chest radiograph are common. Hemorrhagic meningitis and bacteremia are often present. Even with treatment, mortality rates are 40%.
Gastrointestinal anthrax follows ingestion of contaminated, undercooked meat. It may present in 2 forms. In the intestinal form, patients present with nausea, vomiting, and malaise, progressing to bloody diarrhea, gross ascites, hemorrhagic lymphadenitis, and sepsis. The oropharyngeal form of anthrax may present with dysphagia and oropharyngeal necrotic ulcers, profound submental swelling, regional adenopathy, and sepsis. Like inhalation, mortality rates are 40%.
Injection anthrax is a rare clinical manifestation of disease and has not been reported in children but has been described primarily in heroin-injecting populations.
Gram stain and culture of vesicular fluid, necrotic tissue, tissue biopsy specimens, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, respiratory specimens, or rectal swabs or stool may confirm the diagnosis of anthrax. B anthracis grows in ordinary nutrient broth and on blood agar, appearing as large, gram-positive, sporulating bacilli ...


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UNC Tarheels is as DIRTY as the rest of them.
The grades for athletes, though, inflated their GPAs and had a hand in keeping them eligible to play. Under Williams, who became UNC's head coach in 2003, men's basketball players accounted for 136 enrollments in the paper classes.
That is the whole team. An average of 13 classes each year for the Men's Basketball Team alone. That speaks volumes about the McCants' accusations. If the NCAA doesn't vacate UNC Championships, then the NCAA should be disbanded. Period. These skunks (NCAA) have been covering for the Triangle Schools for decades.
Favorable rulings in the Maggette case at Duke. Julius Peppers rulings that allowed UNC to keep their Final Four banner and games in which Peppers played.
Peppers won't care about any of this. In 2010, he signed a 6-year, $91.5 million contract with $42 million of that guaranteed. Why would he care that the school bricked and his sub 2.0 GPA is out there for the world to see? (It is a FERPA violation, though.)
The NCAA might find it interesting, though. How was Peppers eligible with such a bad GPA? Were grades changed? And perhaps more importantly, the classes he did well in were the AFAM classes … you know, the ones that have been heavily scrutinized.
UNC and Duke are dirty programs in the same way that UMASS and Memphis and Kentucky are called dirty programs.
They have been exposed.
If there are no sanctions levied against UNC, there is no justice. Memphis, Michigan and every other program which has ever been sanctioned by the NCAA should take the issue to court. The NCAA has covered for UNC and Duke for long enough. It is time for this to end.
Another issue is that of UCLA under Wooden. How the NCAA allows UCLA to maintain all of their titles and wins after the revelations of cheating under Wooden is mind boggling. The NCAA whitewashed the whole Wooden era. Wooden as much as said that he turned a blind eye to the cheating. The NCAA has never addressed the issue.
Likewise, the Kansas/Arthur issue was whitewashed. Arthur was ineligible for the last Kansas Championship season. It's been proven. Yet, the NCAA has never addressed the issue. Preferring to sweep that corruption under the rug.
If UCLA, Duke and UNC can maintain all of their wins, UNLV, USC, Michigan, Memphis, Kentucky and every other school which has had wins vacated due to NCAA violations should add every game back to their statistics and tell the NCAA to take a hike.
The NCAA is more corrupt than any school against which they have levied sanctions.
There is no difference between the Maggette/Duke scandal and the Camby/UMASS scandal. The UNC Academic scandal is 100X worse than the Rose/Memphis scandal.
Calipari should take the NCAA to court over both of those issue. Memphis, if they had an ounce of intestinal fortitude, would join in the lawsuit.
The NCAA picks and chooses whom they wish to sanction, not based upon their rule book, but based upon whom they fear and whom they love. If they have no fear of you or if they have no love for a Coach or a School, sanctions apply. If they love you or fear you, you can get away with everything short of murder. Although, I doubt they'd do anything to Coach K even if he was caught stabbing one of his players in the chest on Youtube.
Former Duke player Corey Maggette admitted taking cash from a booster Despite fears they would have to give back over $200,000 in NCAA Tournament revenue and stripped of their Final Four appearance in 2000, Duke was never punished by the NCAA after an investigation determined Duke coaches were unaware of the payments.
A 2003 New Orleans Times-Picayune investigation (article not available online) revealed that former Duke guard Chris Duhon's mother "landed a job working for a Duke booster; co-workers say the job opening was never posted and that Harper was overpaid and lacked qualifications."
In 2010, former Duke player Lance Thomas was sued for failing to repay an alleged $67,800 credit to a jeweler. The NCAA did not find any violations after an investigation.
Maggette was ineligible. Duke keeps Championsip.
By Dawood Khan • Posted in Boosters, Calipari, Cheating, Duke, John Wooden, Kansas, Kentucky, Maggette, Marcus Camby, Mark Emmert, Mark Emmert is Currupt, Mark Emmert is incompetent, Memphis, Miami, Miami Hurricans, NCAA, NCAA Championships, NCAA Ineptitude, Notre Dame, Penn State, Rashad McCants, Scandal, Tar Heels, UCLA, UMASS, UNC, UNC Scandal, UNLV, Vacate Wins
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Russia's Central Bank has the necessary financial instruments to withstand external shocks, the regulator's head Elvira Nabiullina said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, News.ru reports.
"If external events happen and cause volatility on external markets, we have a set of instruments because we have already gone through financial markets volatility more than once. We are ready to use those instruments depending on what the channels of influence of those negative external factors are," Nabiullina said.
She noted that the Bank of Russia proceeds in its forecasts from the assumption that sanctions will remain. "They [sanctions] can change, and it is really pointless to guess how as they are many different proposals. Our task is to make sure such external restrictions have minimum effect on our financial market, on our economy, because we pursue a conservative monetary policy," Nabiullina added.
Russian banks and financial institutions pursue rather cautious policies as well, she said. "That's why we believe that it is very important to be conservative in financial regulations so that banks have enough capital," she said.
According to Nabiullina, the central bank may be in a position to cut interest rates this year. The regulator held its key rate at 7.75 percent in February, predicting that the current inflation pattern did not require another hike after the bank raised rates twice in 2018.
Annual inflation in Russia is likely to slow in April from the 5.3 percent seen in March, Alexander Morozov, head of the research department at the central bank, said on Wednesday.


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Home > Articles, Featured Article, Web Development and Design > Women In Tech: How We Help Bridge the Gap
Women In Tech: How We Help Bridge the Gap
Men often predominate the hallways and cubicles of the Tech Industry. Rarely seen are the women.
The under-representation of women and girls in the IT workforce and education is not something new. Too little light has been shed on this problem, and the issue persists today.
It's ironic to think that the first programmer, Ada Lovelace, was a woman. In fact, in the most recent years, that programming has come to popularity, women dominated the workplace. They played a significant role in shaping the field of computing. Those who are in it today are essential players. But still, the gender gap has steadily grown.
What happened along the way?
Personal computers were introduced to Filipino homes and offices. However, personal computers marketed as a pastime – for boys. Societal notions of the IT world being a "boys' club" often discouraged girls.
Quantopian is a trading platform based on crowdsourced algorithms that conducted a study. The results showed that companies led by women perform three times better.
Women today hold only 25% of the total percentage of computing professions. 74% of senior high students express interest in STEM. But those who decide to be software engineers are only 16% of that number. Deterred are the girls.
Information failures affect the decision of young girls to enter and stay in STEM fields. Young girls can take advantage of the underlying opportunities in the IT industry in the future. That is possible if the foundation of STEM careers is laid today.
The problem is not that women are not capable of having an enormous supply of ideas to create and to code or to provide ingenious IT solutions to the world today.
We have come to know Isabel Sieh. She is a Filipino 13-year old girl who became the founder of Girls Will Code and Jean Yang, the Innovator Under 35 who invented her programming language with privacy baked in.
But still, women make up half the workforce, but their roles in IT are few. A consistent and forthright way on why they should become IT specialists in the first place are unavailable for women.
This is a rampant and evident problem not only in the IT world but in other industries as well. The Guardian writes that female finance specialist working in the top financial institutions are paid only half as men. Forbes writes that women with lead roles in Hollywood receive a payment that is less than their male counterparts.
In the same effort as to how women in Hollywood come together to support Time's Up for gender parity, we also want to close the gender gap and push back the struggle for equal pay in the IT industry with Syntactics, PINK.
The Syntactics PINK team consists of Stephanie Caragos (CEO of Syntactics, Inc), Pam Salon (Sales Lead, Syntactics PINK), Alaiza Maandig (Web Assistant Engineering Lead), Marie Bulosan (Business Apps Developer ), Cindy Sareno (Web Developer), Juvilyn Algones (Web Developer), and Jane Lumacang (Marketing Lead, Syntactics PINK). These seven women work together towards advancing fellow women in IT.
We, as a team is passionate about providing a broad-based strategy that sparks and sustains women's interest in computing. We also aim to help women with limited exposure to computer science acquire in-depth knowledge about it. Lastly, we are passionate about recognizing and counteracting bias.
We want to break the barrier, and we want to break the gender gap – which is why we created Syntactics Pink.
Syntactics PINK is an all women coding community. PINK stands for Promoting Innovation and Networking Knowledge. It indulges in different technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, software development, and even IT standards. Hopefully, the ratio between male and female developers will increase and equalize.
Our efforts might not give immediate results. But we believe that if it becomes widely adopted, the number of women in Tech will accelerate. When this successfully happens, we can finally close the gender gap.
We hope you partner with us on our passion project. If you want to know the latest news, updates, and if exciting events come up, please sign up for our newsletter here.
About Yulia Mercader
Yulia is a content writer by day and a reader by night. A curious soul, she loves to uncover the world's secrets through reading, meaningful conversations, and travelling. Although she loathes writing about herself, she can be persuaded to do so from time to time.
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Bills Vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon in 2016
SCS HB 1414 Houghton, Jay GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Restrict disclosure by the state of any information collected under a voluntary government reporting program with agricultural producers of animal health or environmental protection data.
House roll call - SCS HB 1414 (09/14/2016): Adoption of the motion to override the governor' veto of a bill that would restrict release of some information provided by agricultural producers about animal health or environmental protection.
Senate roll call - SCS HB 1414 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor' veto of a bill that would restrict release of some information provided by agricultural producers about animal health or environmental protection.
Official legislative description and status
The veto letter
SS HB 1432 Vescovo, Rob GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Require a hearing within 30 days for a government employee placed on administrative leave.
House roll call - SS HB 1432 (09/14/2016): Adoption of the resolution to override the governor's veto of a bill to impose hearing rights for a government worker placed on administrative leave.
Senate roll call - SS HB 1432 (09/14/2016): Passage of the resolution overriding the governor's veto of a bill to impose hearing rights for a government worker placed on administrative leave.
SCS HCS HB 1474 Dugger, Tony GOVERNOR VETOED
Repeal various campaign finance law provisions that the legislature accidently duplicated. Legislative staff say the repealed sections were held to be unconstitutional. No motion was made in the legislature's veto session to override the governor's veto.
SS HB 1631 Alferman, Justin GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Require a photo ID to vote. Would require voter approval of a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to require a photo ID to vote. The state Supreme Court struck down the old law requiring a photo ID to vote, finding that the legislature did not have constitutional authority to require it.
House roll call - HB 1631 (01/21/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to implement a requirement for a government-issued photo ID to vote if Missouri voters approve a companion constitutional amendment.
House roll call - SS HB 1631 (05/4/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of the voter photo ID requirement bill.
Senate roll call - SS HB 1631 (05/03/2016): Third reading of a bill to implement a proposed constitutional amendment to require a government-issued photo ID to vote.
House roll call - SS HB 1631 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of legislation to require a government-issued photo ID to vote if voters approve in November a constitutional amendment authorizing the law.
Senate roll call - SS HB 1631 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to shut off a filibuster the motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to require a government-issued photo ID to vote.
Senate roll call - SS HB 1631 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of legislation to require a government-issued photo ID to vote if voters approve in November a constitutional amendment authorizing the law.
SCS HCS HB 1713 Remole, Tim GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Require the Natural Resources Department advise any entity providing wastewater services to a community served by a lagoon of options to meet discharge requirements. Require the entity to conduct analysis of the options and the cost of each option.
House roll call - SCS HB 1713 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a resolution to override the governor's veto of a bill imposing requirements on local wastewater services.
Senate roll call - SCS HB 1713 (09/14/2016): Passage of the resolution overriding the governor's veto of a bill imposing requirements on local wastewater services.
SS HB 1733 Davis, Charlie GOVERNOR VETOED
Add vehicles owned by the civil support team of the National Guard from laws governing emergency vehicles. The final legislative version includes other unrelated transportation issues by allowing two trucks to tailgate if using a automated wireless connection communication system. The bill also would repeal motorcycle helmet requirements for some motorized tricycles and allow longer buses on highways and changing the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident. The House defeated the motion to override the governor's veto.
House roll call - SS HB 1733 (09/14/2016): Defeat of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill containing several unrelated provisions involving trucks and motorcycles.
HB 1763 Gosen, Don GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Establish separate provisions for handling settlements and claims involving large deductible policies under the Workers' Compensation program that assures medical coverage for workers injured on the job. Establish requirements for such policies. Require large deductible policy claims be handled by the guaranty association.
House roll call - HB 1763 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill containing various changes in large deductible policies provided under the Workers' Compensation Program.
Senate roll call - HB 1763 (09/14/2016): Passage of a motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill containing various changes in large deductible policies provided under the Workers' Compensation Program.
HB 1870 Hoskins, Denny GOVERNOR VETOED
Establish another five-year freeze on various user fees and agency rules not approved by the legislature. Also establish another five year period for a tax break for small businesses creating new jobs. The Senate defeated the House-passed motion to override the governor's veto.
House roll call - HB 1870 (01/28/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to freeze on some state fee increases and providing a tax break for smaller businesses creating jobs.
Senate roll call - HB 1870 (04/25/2016): 3rd reading of a measure to extend a freeze on state government agency fees.
House roll call - HB 1870 (05/11/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a measure to extend a freeze on state government agency fees.
House roll call - SCS HB 1870 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a resolution overriding the governor's veto of a bill to extend for five years a freeze on imposing some new agency rules or fees without legislative approval.
Senate roll call - HB 1870 (09/14/2016): Defeat of the resolution to override the governor's veto of a bill to extend for five years a freeze on imposing some new agency rules or fees without legislative approval.
SS HCS HB 1891 Rehder, Holly GOVERNOR VETOED
Require a union for government workers to get written permission to withhold from earnings. The House voted to override the governor's veto, but the override motion failed in the Senate by one vote.
House roll call - HCS HB 1891 (02/17/2016): Perfection of a bill to require written authorization to withhold union fees from a government worker's pay check.
House roll call - HCS HB 1891 (02/18/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to require written authorization to withhold union fees from a government worker's pay check.
Senate roll call - SS HCS HB 1891 (03/01/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to require annual approval for automatic withholding of a worker's paycheck for union fees.
House roll call - SS HCS HB 1891 (03/03/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of the Senate version of a a bill to require annual approval for automatic withholding of a worker's paycheck for union fees.
House roll call - SS HCS HB 1891 (05/04/2016): Approval of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to require annual written approval to deduct union dues or fees from a government worker's pay check.
Senate roll call - SS HB 1891 (05/12/2016): Defeat of the motion to override the governor's veto of a bill that would require annual authorization from a government worker for automatic deductions from pay for union fees.
SCS HB 1976 Gosen, Don GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Expand the types of coverage that are covered under a law providing requirements on automobile repair coverage. The final legislative version includes unrelated provisions involving new restrictions on towing companies and repealing helmet requirements for autocycles with roofs.
House roll call - SCS HB 1976 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the veto of a bill to expand auto-repair insurance coverage requirements, add towing company restrictions and repeal helmet requirements for some ve
Senate roll call - SCS HB 1976 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the veto of a bill to expand auto-repair insurance coverage requirements, add towing company restrictions and repeal helmet requirements for some vehicles.
SCS HCS HB 2030 Hoskins, Denny GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Provide an income tax deduction for capital gains realized from the sale of securities in some types of Missouri corporations. Legislative staff estimate the bill ultimately would reduce state tax collections by more than $10 million per year.
House roll call - SCS HB 2030 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a resolution to override the governor's veto of a bill to provide a tax reduction on some capital gains.
Senate roll call - SCS HB 2030 (09/14/2016): Adoption of the resolution overriding the governor's veto of a bill providing a tax reduction on some capital gains.
HB 2237 Rowden, Caleb GOVERNOR VETOED
Let University of Missouri county extension councils borrow money, but provide it does not constitute a debt of the university. No motion was made in the legislature's veto session to override the governor's veto.
SCS SB 586 Wasson, Jay GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Lower the legal minimum for legislative appropriations to local public schools that the legislature has failed to meet for several years.
Senate roll call - SCS SB 586 (03/03/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to lower the legislative goals for increases in funding for local public schools.
House roll call - SCS SB 586 (04/19/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a bill to lower the legislative goals for increases in funding for local public schools.
Senate roll call - SCS SB 586 (05/04/2016): Adoption of a motion to overrride the governor's veto of a bill to lower the target for state funding to local public schools.
House roll call - SCS SB 586 (05/05/2016): Adoption of a motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill to lower the state funding target for local public schools.
SCS SB 591 Parson, Mike GOVERNOR VETOED
Impose restrictions on who can testify as an expert witness in a trial. Prohibit an expert witness in a criminal trial from stating an opinion as to whether the defendant had the mental capacity to be held responsible for the crime. No motion was made in the legislature's veto session to override the governor's veto.
Senate roll call - SB 591 (01/19/2016): Perfection of a bill to impose limits on the testimoney of expert witnesses in lawsuits including liability lawsuits against business.
House roll call - SCS SB 591 (04/27/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a bill to impose restrictions on use of eye witness testimoney in court hearings.
CCS SB 608 Sater, David GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Require Medicaid to charge a $8 copay fee for a hospital emergency room visit that did not involve a medical emergency. Authorize other provider fees. Allow a provider to impose a fee for a missed appointment. The final legislative version includes issues not involving Medicaid including pallative care, physical therapy, vaccinations, hospital construction, nurse licensing and requirements for hospitals to provide an estimate of treatment costs to a patient upon request.
Senate roll call - SS SB 608 (02/18/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to authorize fines on Medicaid recipients for missing appointments or unneeded use of emergency rooms.
House roll call - HCS SS SB 608 (04/27/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to impose a charge for unneeded emergency room visits by Medicaid recipients.
House roll call - CCS SB 608 (05/13/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a bill to require a copay for inappropriate use of emergency room services by a Medicaid patient.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 608 (05/12/2016): 3rd reading of the final conference committee version of a bill to require a copay for inappropriate use of emergency room services by a Medicaid patient.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 608 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill authorizing financial penalties on Medicaid recipients for missing doctor appointments or emergency room use for non emergencies.
House roll call - CCS SB 608 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill authorizing financial penalties on Medicaid recipients for missing doctor appointments or emergency room use for non emergencies.
SB 641 Schatz, Dave GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Provide an income tax deduction for payments recieved from various government programs covering agricultural losses from a disaster or emergency going back to 2014. Legislative staff estimate the bill could cost up to 18 million in lost taxes in the 2017 fiscal year. The administration's Budget Office estimated a $51.5 million loss for the prior years covered by the bill.
Senate roll call - SB 641 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to provide an income tax deduction for government payments for agricultural losses in past and future years.
House roll call - SB 641 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill to provide an income tax deduction for government payments for agricultural losses in past and future years.
CCS SB 656 Munzlinger, Brian GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Allowing carrying concealed weapons without a permit or training. Expand the "stand your ground" provisions allowing use of force by a property owner against an intruder to include a person authorized to be on the property. The original bill was limited to prohibiting extra fees for costs involved with a concealed weapons permit such as costs for criminal background checks.
House roll call - HCS SB 656 (05/05/2016): 3rd reading of a House substitute to a firearms bill that would expand concealed weapons rights on college campuses and public transportation systems.
House roll call - CCS SB 656 (05/13/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a bill to expand use of fire and gun rights and allow concealed weapons without permits.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 656 (05/13/2016): 3rd reading of the conference committee version of a bill to eliminate the requirement for training and a license to carry a concealed weapon.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 656 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion to shut off a Democratic filibuster and hold an immediate vote on a motion to override the governor's veto of the concealed-weapons bill.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 656 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion of the governor's veto of a bill to expand concealed weapons rights and the right to use lethal force.
House roll call - CCS SB 656 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill to expand concealed weapons rights and the right to use lethal force.
SB 844 Parson, Mike GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Require a finding of negligence by the owner of livestock for damages caused by loose livestock.
Senate roll call - SB 844 (09/14/2016): Adoption of the motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to limit when a livestock owner is liable for damages caused by loose livestock.
House roll call - SB 844 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill to limit when a livestock owner is liable for damages caused by loose livestock.
SS SB 847 Emery, Ed GOVERNOR VETOED
Restrict in a medical liability lawsuit award to the actual cost of medical treatment rather than the value of the treatment necessary because of the negligence. Subtract any insurance coverage from the actual damages award. No motion was made in the legislature's veto session to override the governor's veto.
Senate roll call - SS SB 847 (02/18/2016): 3rd reading of a bill to impose restrictions on medical malpractice awards.
House roll call - SS SB 847 (04/26/2016): 3rd reading and final passage of a bill to impose restrictions on medical malpractice lawsuit awards.
Senate roll call - SS SB 847 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to restrict medical liability lawsuit awards.
CCS SB 867 Sater, David GOVERNOR VETOED
Establish provisions for consolidation of road districts within a county. The House-amended HCS became an omnibus local government bill with a number of unrelated issues incluing raising local sales taxes upon voter approval. No motion was made in the legislature's veto session to override the governor's veto.
Allow the sale of liquor through mobile devices like cell phones at stadiums. The measure contains other liquor-related provisions that are unrelated to the subject of the original bill. The original bill simply would have expanded the power of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board to include providing professional and legal services for wine marketing promotion.
Senate roll call - CCS SB 994 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill to allow the sale of liquor through orders delivered by cell phones in stadiums.
House roll call - CCS SB 994 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill to allow the sale of liquor through orders delivered by cell phones in stadiums.
SB 1025 Kraus, Will GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
Exempt from the sales tax membership, training or class fees various types of recreational places such as gyms and dance studios. Legislative staff put the tax-revenue loss for the state "Unknown, could exceed $100,000." The governor puts the cost at $8 million in lost taxes for the state and another $8 million for local government in the same fiscal year.
Senate roll call - SB 1025 (09/14/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a bill providing a sales tax exemption for various types of phyiscal-activity training classes.
House roll call - SB 1025 (09/14/2016): Passage of the motion overriding the governor's veto of a bill providing a sales tax exemption for various types of phyiscal-activity training classes.
SCR 46 Schmit, Eric GOVERNOR VETOED: OVERRIDDEN
A resolution to suspend Health Department rules setting wage requirements for personal care attendants.
House roll call - SCR 46 (05/03/2016): Passage of the motion overridding the governor's veto of a resolution to suspend Health Dept. rules involving setting wage requirements for personal care attendants.
Senate roll call - SCR 46 (04/06/2016): Adoption of a motion to override the governor's veto of a resolution to suspend Health Dept. rules involving setting wage requirements for personal care attendants.


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Yard debris burn likely behind South Carolina fire, official says
NEW: Yard debris fire may be cause of blaze in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, area
Fire about 40 percent contained early Friday in Horry County
"I just want to go home," one resident yells; nearly 2,500 evacuated
Fire has consumed about 20,000 acres, destroyed about 70 homes
Next Article in U.S. »
(CNN) -- The cause of a South Carolina wildfire that has charred about 19,600 acres appears to be a yard debris fire, the head of the state's Forestry Commission said Friday.
Derek Boos sifts through the wreckage of his in-laws' house Friday after a fire in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The blaze seems to have been caused by a yard debris fire in the Woodlawn subdivision, an unincorporated part of Horry County, halfway between Conway and North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Forestry Commission Forest Protection Chief Darryl Jones said.
The fire began Saturday and rekindled itself Wednesday evening, according to the Forestry Commission.
Officials said about 70 homes had been destroyed in the county, which contains a stretch of popular tourist spots, including Myrtle Beach. About 100 other homes were damaged, Horry County officials said.
The blaze left only charred rubble and the smoldering, skeletal remains of some houses, even as adjacent homes went untouched. The fire swallowed up pines and dry brush, sending a smoky gray smudge into the sky that could be seen for hours from miles away Thursday.
"It's better now, but the smoke was pretty much everywhere," said Chavdar Pavlov, a CNN iReport contributor who lives 20 miles from where the fires raged. "At nighttime, it was like snow in the air, but it wasn't snow; it was ashes."
The Horry County Council's Brent Schultz said, "The only way to describe this is tragic."
iReport.com: Are wildfires affecting you?
WBTW: Winds expected to increase
WMBF: Thousands of acres burn in South Carolina
At a Friday morning news conference, frustrated residents who had evacuated demanded to know when they could return home, yelling at Bob Grabowski of the Horry County Council.
"I just want to go home," one man cried out, prompting Grabowski to pause. "Come on," others said.
"That will be addressed," he said. "We'll get with you on that."
About 2,500 people were evacuated Thursday, authorities said, and more than 400 people were in shelters. No fatalities or injuries have been reported from the blaze.
Horry County said the fire was about 40 percent contained by early Friday. Watch as residents face uncertainty about their houses »
"It's on everybody's mind and in everyone's conversation," said the Rev. Marion Brazell, whose Conway church was serving as a shelter. "It's pretty flat area, so you can see the smoke from a distance."
Brazell had not yet arrived at the church Friday, but he said he believed only Red Cross and other emergency workers were staying there. The evacuations occurred north of Conway, he said.
He added good-naturedly, "Shelters are often the last place people will go. They'll go to hotels and motels" that may offer rooms for free. "I'd rather go to a motel than sleep in my church. ... It's much more comfortable than sleeping in a cot," he said.
The fire has mostly kept its distance from tourist areas, and as the South Carolina officials provided updates and warnings to residents, they urged visitors to stay.
"For tourists coming here for vacation, we should have no problems taking care of our guests and visitors that are going to come to Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach," Grabowski said.
And North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley, answering a question about tourism, said Thursday: "People who have reservations can certainly come onto the Grand Strand area and enjoy themselves. It is not affecting the majority of golf courses; there should be no reason that anyone is canceling their vacation."
Hatley said she could not say if any golf courses had been damaged. "The golf course property itself was not our first priority," she said.
CNN's Mike Phelan, Lisa France and Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report.
All About South Carolina • Myrtle Beach • Wildfires