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Camden County, Camden union OKs merger with larger labor group
A union representing Camden County and Camden city workers has merged with a larger labor group.
Members of Camden County Council 10 voted Wednesday night to join the Communications Workers of America. Council 10, formerly an independent organization, will become CWA Local 1014.
Karl Walko, Council 10's president, said the change will give his members more clout.
"Public employers have become more aggressive and small labor organizations have very limited leverage," he said in a letter to members before Wednesday's vote.
"The rules of negotiation are being changed in Trenton, and we don't have a seat at the table," said Walko, who will lead Local 1014.
Council 10 members approved the change by a 573-118 vote. The Camden-based labor group, founded in 1935, had more than 1,500 members.
In contrast, the CWA represents 70,000 workers, including 55,000 public employees, throughout New Jersey.
In a statement posted at Council 10's website, Walko said Council 10 members have faced layoffs and contract cutbacks in recent years. "We were too small and had too little political power to effectively fight for our members," the statement said.
With the affiliation, the CWA now has more than 5,000 "members and family members" in Camden County, said Hetty Rosenstein, the union's state director. She called the county "one of the most important political areas of the state."
A spokesman for Camden County government, Dan Keashen, declined to comment on the merger.
Only a handful of independent unions remain in the state, mostly representing municipal workers, Rosenstein said.
"Without question, this was the largest (one) left," she said. "This is going to make both organizations stronger."
Reach Jim Walsh at jwalsh@gannett.com or (856) 486-2646.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Performers Moira MacDonald, Whitney Rodriguez, Stephen Schilling and Mark Simon and musician Kari Rae Seekins rehearse a scene from "Exhibit A" onstage at Automata in Chinatown.; Credit: Anna Jones
Silver Lake's Gay Rights History… As Told By Puppets
Anna Jones April 25, 2013
*5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week
*L.A.'s Best Experimental Puppet Theater
*Move Over, West Hollywood — Silver Lake Is the True Gay Mecca
*Silver Lake Has Always Been Gay, Readers Say
Let's face it, puppets are cool. Automata, the non-profit experimental puppet theater and workshop that is quickly gaining a reputation as the center of cutting edge puppetry in Los Angeles, is yet again proving just how cool puppets can be with their latest production, Exhibit A, which opens today, for a two-weekend run. But the puppets you'll find at Automata aren't your average goofy, fuzzy, kid-stuff. L.A. Weekly sat in on a tech rehearsal this weekend and got a sneak peek.
In the show, a cast of life-size strangely beautiful puppets and live actors all play a number of different characters, mixing and melding personas in a dance both graceful and jarring. But the show goes beyond just entertainment value. Susan Simpson, the director of Exhibit A and co-founder of Automata, has a sophisticated vision of what this show can accomplish in the local arts community, both educationally and politically.
Exhibit A focuses mainly on the inner lives of some key members of the Mattachine Society, one of the very first homosexual activism groups in the United States when it was founded in L.A. in 1950. By the 1960s, the organization had chapters in cities all over the U.S.
The script uses journal entries, personal letters and other archival documents (including a manifesto) from the lives of the Mattachine society's founders, most notably labor activist and outspoken member of the communist party Harry Hay, as well as noted modernist architect John Lautner, whose Silvertop House, with it's sloping roof and bold design, is still a prominent fixture above the Silver Lake reservoir today.
The history of gay rights activism in Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s goes hand in hand with the radical and socially progressive atmosphere rooted in Silver Lake during that time, so much so that for a time the neighborhood was actually colloquially referred to as "The Red Hills."
Hay was an outspoken gay rights activist who first came out to friends and family in 1931, long before that was socially acceptable. Several years after founding the Mattachine Society, he was called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities for his public support of the Communist Party. He later went on to co-found the Los Angeles chapter of the Gay Liberation Front and the Radical Faeries, a cross-cultural network that actively rejects societally-imposed heterosexual lifestyles that today has thousands of members all over the globe. Hay remained a gay rights activist until he died in 2002 at the age of 90.
Puppeteers Moira MacDonald and Whitney Rodriguez with their life-size puppets.; Credit: Anna Jones
One of the non-puppet performers in the play, Mark Simon, knew Hay personally. "He was an impressive person," says Simon. "When he walked into a place, there was no mistaking that he was in the room. Really, he is on par with Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a real civil rights hero — and an unsung one. The piece is a fascinating way to understand the history of the Red Hills and the way Susan has put the pieces together to explain the unexplainable is very inspiring."
"I definitely think people should know who Harry Hay is," adds Simpson.
Exhibit A mixes this rich and not-widely-known history with fictional elements to explore themes of revolution, secrecy and a space-age vision of utopia. "I don't really like to make things that are didactic or historically accurate," Simpson says. "It's all a part of my fantasy."
The production style also innovates, mixing a creative range of audio/video projection techniques, creating a colorful and unexpected visual smorgasbord. Camcorders are used to create giant close-ups of the puppet's faces and live animation with props backstage serve as a versatile and ever-changing stage set. The puppets themselves are atypical: gangly, constructed of rickety wooden beams and hardware, and topped with lifelike collaged paper faces.
The piece was first conceived in 2009 and has evolved into a more complete form over the past year. One section was also included in the NOW fest at REDCAT last spring. A clip of that performance can be seen below:
A puppet show taking on complex social issues and sending powerful messages is pretty uncommon. The spontaneous animation of raw materials is both uncanny and bewitching, with moments where the puppets seem so bizarrely alive that the spectator may be left with questions as to whether we might one day be legalizing inter-puppet marriage. And if puppets can fight for gay rights, then maybe there really is no limit to what puppetry might be able to achieve.
Purchase tickets and learn more about Automata LosAngeles at www.automata-la.com and check them out on Facebook.
For more arts news, follow us on Twitter at @LAWeeklyArts and like us on Facebook.


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Tonight, However, The Impossible Was Selling Cheap
sugarplumcheryl From A Buick 8, Novel February 4, 2022 January 14, 2022 4 Minutes
(From A Buick 8)
I feel like From A Buick 8 is one of those King books that gets overlooked entirely or just isn't much liked. And that sort of makes sense — after all, didn't he already write the evil car story with Christine? And if that wasn't enough for you, you could always go read the short story "Trucks", which was the source for Maximum Overdrive.
But From A Buick 8 isn't much like either of those. The story makes it clear from the beginning that the Buick 8 is not actually a Buick 8, or actually a car at all. It may not even really look like a car as much as it manifests as a car — because the people who see it have to see it as something, so why not a car?
I really see this particular story as being more connected to King's tower with various levels than it is similar to any previous "haunted machine" stories. Because it's more or less a portal, and it doesn't open on a door to, say, Roland Deschain's world, where a person from a level of the tower we'd recognize can survive. Instead, it opens on a world that looks like madness to us, and to where whatever they breathe might choke us to death. And vice versa.
But to whatever extent it's about that, it's even more about grief, and loss, and the kind of existential crisis you experience when you realize that some of the answers to the big questions are just inaccessible to you — and that those answers may not even exist, or maybe don't matter anyway, even if they do. Like, maybe the answer to whatever's bugging you most is, "that's random, lol." What do you do with that?!? Nothing, I guess… watch and wait for it to develop a crack in the windshield and eventually fall apart. This book is like putting the question of "why do bad things happen to good people?" into the physical form of a car. You'll just never know why, or what the mechanism is by which those things happen, or… anything at all, really. Good luck with all that.
Honestly, the book isn't even particularly subtle about the issue it's exploring. That's fine — King is not an author I really expect subtlety from on this kind of thing. Not that I think he isn't perfectly capable of it, but I don't think he's writing books that are meant to feel like homework, either. He might feel like exploring why the Big Questions have no answers/unsatisfactory answers, why the answers might not even matter, and why you might find yourself creating more trouble for yourself by poking around trying to find those answers. And that can all be very existential, abstract thought. But he's going to tell you right up front that's what he's doing, and he'll make it as accessible for you as possible. I've heard the guys at the Kingslingers podcast refer to him as "the people's writer", and I think that's a fair description. This is not a writer who believes that Big Ideas or Important Thoughts or even Existential Crises are off-limits to the common man, and he's not going to cloak them in language that's inaccessible to the common man. He wants anyone who can pick up the book and read it (or listen to the audiobook or whatever, read how you want) to get it.
I actually really like this. I feel like I've experienced thinking about and feeling at least some of the unanswerable questions, and as a person who is explicitly an atheist (so no "higher power" to attribute anything to) I've definitely come to the conclusion that the answers to some questions are either inaccessible or about as meaningful as a random number generator. And that's… not comfortable, at least not at first. But you adjust to it. So a story that tackles that in a fun way is neat.
I feel like, while it may be difficult to make an adaptation that really captures all of that existential stuff (I'm sure it's doable, but quite a lot of movies based on King works are really bad at capturing the underlying themes and concepts he explores, so I don't automatically expect that) it at least should be possible to make a movie of From A Buick 8 that captures the actual story. It would even be a good one to use some fancy special effects stuff on. So why isn't there an adaptation yet? I don't know, but there isn't. There was one that stalled in 2009 and apparently died there, and one that was announced in 2019 that's apparently still being talked about and people are being attached to it, but who knows? I would like to see a good one, though — I feel like this one is one that might be fun to watch even if it's more "portal from another dimension that looks like car" than "existential crisis about unanswered questions". Just get the weirdness of the car and the other-ness of the stuff that comes through it right, and you're golden. The actors probably don't even matter much (I mean, assuming they can act, but there's no one here that really needs to be played by a big name. Maybe making the old guy who leaves the car at the station in the first place a recognizable actor would be fun, but you would need him for like a minute of screentime or less.) Getting the car and the stuff that comes out of it right is more important. I'd watch it.
Kingslingers
The People's Writer
Published February 4, 2022 January 14, 2022
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The default state of any Deferred object is something is unresolved. Callbacks which may be added to it through .then() or .fail() are queued up and get executed later on in the process.
Let's begin with a simple example.
You call promise on a jQuery selection, and you'll get an object that you can bind event handlers too, when all the animations in the object have completed.
So you may be wondering about whether you need to do something special for jQuery.ajax calls.
Ajax requests implement the Promise interface on the jqXHR objects returned by $.ajax(). So you receive all the properties, methods, and behavior of a Promise on the jqXHR returned value.
Here's another example of how you can handle a post.
You can add as many callbacks as you want, the syntax is clear because we don't need an extra parameter in the method.
jQuery introduced a new concept in version 1.5 called Deferred which is also a derivative implementation of the CommonJS Promises/A proposal. The Deferred object exposes a then method for you to handle both the fulfillment and error states.
A Deferred is nothing more than an object that allows you to register callbacks. Calling .resolve() on a Deferred will trigger the done handlers, while calling .reject() will trigger any fail handlers.
Deferred in jQuery are a chainable utility object created by calling the jQuery.Deferred() method. You can register multiple callbacks into callback queues, invoke callback queues, and relay the success or failure state of any synchronous or asynchronous function.
After creating a Deferred object, you can use any of the methods by either chaining directly from the object creation or saving the object in a variable and invoking one or more methods on that variable.
When you call resolve() on the Deferred object, any done Callbacks added by deferred.then() or deferred.done() are called. Callbacks are executed in the order they were added. Each callback is passed the args from the deferred.resolve().
So when you use deferred, you can specify when the then() and done() methods are called.
Here's an example of a the HTML showing "waiting" while a long operation (wait function) occurs. wait() returns a promise that we set to pro variable. When called, wait() returns immediately with the promise that the result will be either resolved or rejected at some point in the future. pro.done() registers the result function that will be called when pro has been successfully completed.
Inside the wait() function, the deferred object resolves based on some logic inside the function (in this case, waiting two seconds). The wait function returns a promise that when the function is completed it will call of its done functions.
Instead of setTimeout, you can image an animation, Web worker, or other long running function.
The Deferred object has another important method named Promise(). This method returns an object with almost the same interface than the Deferred, but it only has methods attach callbacks and does not have the methods to resolve and reject.
Best Practice. A promise is something shared with other objects, while a deferred should be kept private within a function. Primarily, a deferred (which generally extends Promise) can resolve itself, while a promise might not be able to do so.
This is useful when you want to give to the calling API something to subscribe to, but not the ability to resolve or reject the deferred.
The literal answer is, a promise is something shared w/ other objects, while a deferred should be kept private. Primarily, a deferred (which generally extends Promise) can resolve itself, while a promise might not be able to do so.
The jQuery Promise object provides a subset of the methods of the Deferred object (then, done, fail, always, pipe. isResolved, and isRejected) to prevent users from changing the state of the Deferred.
When you use a promise, you can still get to the deferred object. The returned Promise is linked to a Deferred object stored on the .data() for an element.
If an error is thrown in fn1, the fail function should be called. This technique to handle errors in asynchronous functions does not work in jQuery. You can try the example out in You're Missing the Point of Promises Gist.
You can learn more about Q in a later post.
José F. Romaniello excellent article Understanding JQuery.Deferred and Promise includes some great samples and an excellent conceptual walkthrough.


Hotel Lawyer with more advice on Hotel Management Agreements, focusing on critical budget provisions.
For more than 20 years, the hotel lawyers of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® have negotiated, renegotiated, litigated, arbitrated and advised hotel owners on more than 1,000 hotel management agreements. Negotiating the hotel management agreement (or HMA) is one of the most important things hotel owners will ever do for their hotel investment. A good HMA can add significant value to a hotel property – and a bad one can detract significant value, as well.
The HMA Handbook is coming soon! We think that the HMA is so important, that our next book in the "We Wrote the Book" series will focus entirely on the hotel management agreement and will include the many critical components needed to achieving an HMA that is good for the owner as well as the operator. We have included numerous articles on hotel management agreements in the Hotel Law Blog over the years (Click here to access all of them), but this is the first article we have presented on HMA budget provisions. You won't want to miss it.
The budget provisions in the HMA provide the means by which the owner achieves efficiency and profitability, and the operator achieves brand integrity. While both are equally critical to the success of the hotel, operators are often able to drive the budgeting process to their advantage. Based on his experience negotiating hundreds of hotel management agreements, Robert Braun, a senior member of the JMBM Global Hospitality Group®, offers hotel owners 5 key elements for a good budget provision. These 5 keys can help to unlock significant value in your hotel while helping to ensure that your goals and your operator's goals are aligned for success.
We have emphasized in previous articles how a good hotel management agreement can add significant value to a hotel property, and how a bad one can detract just as significantly – a swing of as much as fifty percent in value.
Good agreements create a balance between the rights and needs of managers to have the authority to operate a hotel in a consistent and predictable manner, while creating accountability and responsiveness to the Owner. One of the ways of achieving this balance is through the budget process detailed in a well-drafted hotel management agreement or HMA.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of a meaningful budgeting process for a hotel. Ultimately, the budget represents the implementation of the Owner and Operator's vision for the Hotel. It is the means by which the Owner and Operator achieve the qualitative goals we associate with the brand or style of the hotel, and the quantitative goals of achieving a well-run, efficient and profitable business. Moreover, it is often the means by which we judge the performance of the Operator.
The approved budget is also key to many other provisions in the agreement. Often, the inclusion of a line item expense in a budget will constitute the Owner's approval of that expense without further inquiry. For this reason, Owners consider the budget process seriously and recognize that it will have far-reaching impact on the success of the property. Properly drafted, the budget process created by the HMA provisions can provide the Owner its most significant ability to affect the operations, profitability and success of the Hotel.
Owners face a significant challenge in the budgeting process. Simply stated, the Operator has the upper hand for a variety of reasons. Unlike Owners, Operators create budgets all the time. Operators have entire departments of staff dedicated to budgets and have much greater experience than do Owners. This experience and capacity gap increases each year. Operators almost always dictate the form of the budget, giving them a benefit in presentation (and knowing in which 3 line items an expense is buried). Moreover, Operators have access to much more information than do Owners, both as to the property at issue and all of the Operators' other properties. For these and other reasons, Operators almost always have a big "home field advantage" when it comes to creating and evaluating budgets.
Owners face another challenge in that while Operators spend many months preparing a proposed budget – some Operators have told us that budgeting is, in fact, a year-round process – Owners have only a short window of time at the end of the year in which to evaluate and critique budgets. Given the reality of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year's holidays, Owners have only four to five weeks to evaluate and respond to the budget that Operators have been preparing for months.
Given these facts, there are five key pieces to crafting a good budget provision in an HMA that can add great value to the hotel and save a lot of grief when times get tough.
The proposed budget must be delivered in time for the Owner and its advisors to evaluate it carefully and thoughtfully respond – at least sixty days before the beginning of the fiscal year, typically November 1. Doing so will allow for the necessary review, comments, redrafting and review that makes the budget process meaningful. If possible, the operator should provide preliminary budgets even earlier.
Some operators will attempt to limit the scope of the Owner's review by stating that certain estimates, such as anticipated room rates or expenses necessary to meet brand standards, are not subject to Owner's objection. This is wrong! The Owner should have the ability to question everything in the budget. It doesn't mean the Owner will always prevail, but the Owner should have a say.
Meaningful approval rights. Owner's approval rights of the budget must be similarly meaningful. It is not adequate to provide that the Operator shall consider Owner's comments in good faith, and then shall be entitled to make the final decision in its sole discretion or words to that effect.
Use of an independent expert. If a dispute cannot be resolved between the parties, it should be handed to an independent expert who reviews the issues from not only the operator's side but also from the Owner's side. We also like to provide a standard (other than just "brand standards") that governs how the expert will decide the dispute.
Baseball arbitration. Often, it makes sense to be explicit and consider "baseball" arbitration as an alternative to "traditional" arbitration. In baseball arbitration, the arbitrator must adopt the position of either party, but cannot custom design his own random solution. Baseball arbitration tends to force each of the parties to be more reasonable (i.e. to narrow the gap) so that they don't lose everything they want. And it means that at least one party's vision will be implemented, instead of a cut-and-pasted collage of two different approaches.
CapEx should be sole approval of Owner. There is one exception to an arbitrated resolution of budget disputes – capital expenditures. Capital expenditures beyond its regular, agreed-upon contributions to an FF&E reserve should be within Owner's sole control.
What happens if no agreed budget? Hand-in-hand with approval is a means of operating the hotel pending resolution of a budget dispute. Most agreements provide that when the parties cannot agree on the budget (or any parts of it) the Operator will operate in accordance with the part of the budget that are agreed upon, and for the other parts in dispute, will operate under the prior year's budget with some kind of adjustments. While this is generally workable, adjustments should be considered where a prior year included one or more unusual transactions or events.
While it should go without saying, budgets must be provided in adequate format and detail to provide real information about the Operator's plans. Budgets should be detailed enough to include not only the line items, but clear narrative explanations of the assumptions underlying those assumptions. It is also essential that the budget process be integrated, so that operating, capital and marketing be presented as a unified whole.
Budgets should also be zero-based, rather than an increase (or decrease) of the prior year. The underlying assumptions and rationales of the budget need to be rethought and reanalyzed, so that Owners are not presented with the repetition of prior years' mistakes and do not miss changes in markets or technologies that move so quickly.
Most operators argue that budgets are a planning device but cannot be relied upon, and they should be authorized to stray from the budget. This results in a meaningless budget. We believe that the Operator should be contractually required to adhere to the budget except for permitted variances which are carefully defined in the budget provision of the HMA.
What goes up also goes down – Operators often provide that expenses can increase when occupancy increases. That may be true, but operators should be held to the opposite as well. when occupancy drops, operators should work effectively to reduce expenses and maintain profit margins.
Budgets line items are not fungible – Operators sometimes argue that savings in one part of a budget should allow for overruns in others. This merely makes the budget process ineffective. each part of the budget should stand on its own.
– Changes to the budget should not be imposed by the Operator alone. if circumstances change, the operator should submit a new budget for review and approval on the same basis as the original budget.
Don't be a stranger – The budget should be considered with each monthly reporting period, and the operator should be required to report regularly on its budget compliance, the causes of variations, and how they are being addressed.
Hotel owners who fully participate in the budgeting process can positively affect the operations and profitability of the hotel. The budgeting process can be time-consuming. But isn't it worth taking the time once a year, however inconvenient, to protect your investment? The budgeting process can also be contentious. But isn't it worth it to work through disagreements to find ways — one line at a time — to leverage your investment into greater profitability? And wouldn't it be great if you and your operator understood and respected each others' needs and were aligned in your commitment to owning and operating a great hotel?


Queue cutting is BAD FORM. But the people who do it are not the worst people in the universe. They're usually "cool" people, or people in a hurry, or people who have deemed it worth it to part with a 20 somewhere along the line. Just let them have it.
When I was eighteen I was the most embarrassed in my whole life (that's not true, but it's up there) in a small airport in India. We had been in a queue for hours in the middle of the busiest night I think the airport had ever handled. We were so tired, and so hot, and so tired, and so irritated that the line just wasn't moving. Somewhere in the midst of the zombie-like chaos, and with the impending chance of eventually missing our flights, my father tried to start a riot.
I feel like some of you will think that I am just being dramatic. But it's true.
In the crowd of static stillness of thousands of people stood in line, one rich looking guy could be seen making waves as bewildered onlookers considered his audacity in weaving his way forwards, sneakily placing himself between queueing families closer to the end goal.
Then he made the mistake of trying to cross my Irish tempered dad.
Those of you who know my dad will not believe me, knowing him to be the most chilled out man of all time. But let me tell you. He lost his ish.
It was obvious he'd hoped the crowds would join in.
To be fair I think my Mom joined him for about two "BACK" 's.
But he was met with silence, awkward side-glances of disbelief, and his darling children dissolving into a pile of teary nervous laugher.
I was so embarrassed. I wanted so badly to support my Dad, but at the same time I wanted to join the majority- and the majority of people were just like who the hell cares; it happens.
So. I have learned, that some people in life will cut corners, and some people will think they are important enough to jump queues. It's shady business, and everyone knows it- but the fact is that they've already weighed it up and decided to go for it regardless. The easiest thing on your blood pressure, and by far the coolest approach is to just not concern yourself. Like worse things have happened.
WARNING- there's terrible language in this clip.
I feel like I have to ward you again: lots of swearing and awkwardness.


By vince, September 3, 2013 at 8:51 am .
Review by George Hari Popescu, assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Studies from the University of Bucharest, Romania.
I tried to get out of Facebook a few times. It was an excruciating process which ended with a failure every single time. Mark Z.'s buddies held on to me for a whole week, through email, showing me photos of the "friends" who would have missed me (and they had quite a lot of examples, considering I have over 2000 friends), while they also showed me the benefits of staying on Facebook. And I stayed, what was I to do?
Can you see the matrix?
It's comforting to read about what's going on behind some things you're so used to that they don't arouse questions anymore. Facebook remains a closed network, but it had spread globally and it tends to become an Internet no. 2 (besides, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned a few times that he wants Facebook to become a global network). The collection of studies titled Unlike Us Reader. Social Media Monopolies and Their Alternatives edited by the famous Geert Lovink and Miriam Rasch offers a critical approach towards the renowned social network and the social media domain in general. There, you can find essays, discussions, cultural manifestos. The network is explained and analyzed, the paper offers a lot of answers and you'll find yourself exclaiming "a-ha!" quite a few times while reading.
I tried a few experiments with Facebook.
– Changing my birthdate. I offended some petty people a little bit and I've also been a little bit praised by mighty people.
– Like and Share in exchange for my students' timetable.
– Most of the times, I ask a simple question to the ones who request my friendship: Do I know you personally?
I hope I never get to see the day when I'll have to justify myself excessively or to explain my own jokes. Facebook is a powerful instrument nowadays, we have to experiment with it in every possible way we can think of, just as we experiment in our everyday life with gestures, words, feelings.
Just like in real life, we accumulate frustration.
– I post photos where I shield my belly etc.
For the time being, I feel comfortable with my digital life. The fact is that giving up on this lifestyle is just an illusion, for certain generations of people.
I recommend this digital reader to the students of the Journalism Faculty and Communication Science who started their thesis and dissertation on social media, to PhD candidates with an inclination to this domain, to researchers of all kinds and to the youngsters who use Facebook on a daily basis and have medium knowledge of English.


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IG Audit: NASA Planetary Program Faces Major Financial, Managerial Challenges
September 16, 2020 September 16, 2020 Doug Messier News Leave a comment
Dragonfly flying over the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.
NASA's Planetary Science Division (PSD) faces a series of managerial, financial and personnel challenges as it prepares to conduct a series of ever more ambitious missions to the moon and planets, according to a new audit by the space agency's Office of Inspector General (IG).
The IG report found:
life-cycle costs are increasing due to project management challenges and the increasing complexity of approved missions;
rising life-cycle costs will make it more difficult to sustain technical capabilities to support the missions and to fund technology development projects;
the Commercial Launch Provider Services (CLPS) program has taken unnecessary risks by not conducting proper due diligence on private companies selected to bid on missions to deliver NASA payloads to the moon;
the space agency lacks a common interface for attaching payloads to CLPS spacecraft;
it could take the Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program another 20 years to categorize objects that might pose a threat to the planet;
NASA has insufficient funds to repair, maintain, and modernize the Deep Space Network (DNS) that communications with spacecraft; and
NASA faces a wave of retirements that will take away much needed knowledge and skills.
The IG audit reported that Dragonfly, which will send a drone to explore Saturn's moon Titan, has an estimated life-cycle cost of $2 billion. Dragonfly is a mission under NASA's New Frontiers mission.
"Comparatively, prior New Frontiers missions such as Juno and the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) had life-cycle costs of roughly $1 billion each," the document said. "These increasing costs, if not addressed, may result in a reduced cadence of future missions given budget limitations that will mean fewer opportunities to demonstrate new technologies."
Overview of the ESA–NASA Mars Sample Return mission. (Credit: ESA–K. Oldenburg)
Other costly projects planned for the 2020's include the Mars Sample Return mission with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Europa Clipper orbiter and lander that twill explore Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa.
NASA's CLPS program outsources the delivery of agency and private experiments and instruments to the lunar surface to private companies that will build the vehicles and manage the missions on firm-fixed cost contracts.
Jim Bridenstine (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has described CLPS flights as "shots on goal," meaning they will not all succeed and that risks are higher than on traditional agency-managed missions.
Still, the audit criticized NASA's CLPS program for "accepting higher risk than necessary…because it did not establish a common interface to allow lunar payloads to integrate with the landers from selected CLPS contractors, as advised by the National Academies.
"Additionally, contrary to Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) guidelines, CLPS contracting personnel did not perform due diligence when awarding contracts to partners with risky business and financial histories and prior performance issues," the report said.
Three of the nine companies selected to bid on the first CLPS task order — Firefly Aerospace, Moon Express and Orbit Beyond — had "a history of unsatisfactory performance records or a previous inability to obtain adequate financial resources to support government contracts," the audit found.
Nova-C lander on the lunar surface. (Credit: Intuitive Machines)
CLPS missions awarded to Astrobotics worth $79.5 million and Intuitive Machines worth $77.2 million lack safety and mission assurance plans to as required under federal contracting regulations, the IG found.
"NASA has stated that the nature of the CLPS Task Order 2 is akin to a delivery by common carrier, similar
to an express cargo service, and therefore does not require a PQASP or even a risk assessment. We
disagree and believe the CLPS task orders meet the 'critical' criteria under NASA policy," the document said.
In 2005, NASA was directed by Congress to detect, catalog and characterize 90 percent of near Earth objects (NEOs) at least 140 meters in diameter by 2020.
Credit: NASA Office of Inspector General
Due in large part to NASA under funding the program, the space agency has only cataloged an estimated 35 percent of these objects, the audit found. It could take the space agency another 20 years until 2040 to complete a task it was given in 2005.
The IG also criticized NASA for insufficient oversight of grants intended to facilitate observing and cataloging NEOs. Investigators identified improper use of grant funding provided for the ATLAS and Arecibo observatories located in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, respectively.
"Though part of the awards to ATLAS and Arecibo may have supported science research, the majority of
the funds were inappropriately directed to facility construction, operations, and maintenance," the audit stated.
Despite making progress, NASA has also under funded improvements to its aging global network of DSN antennas that communicates with spacecraft scattered across across the solar system.
"Despite this progress, budget constraints will make it difficult for DSN to maintain its current performance levels while also completing the necessary upgrades to support future PSD missions," the document said. "Specifically, DSN's annual budget has been cut several times in the past decade and has not improved significantly above its 2012 appropriation of $208 million.
"Moreover, the DSN budget could be further impacted by the Space Communications and Navigation reduced budget request of $126 million (27 percent) anticipated between FYs 2020 through 2023," the audit said.
The IG made 11 recommendations to address the challenges identified in the audit (see list below).
"We provided a draft of this report to NASA management who concurred with our recommendations and described planned actions to address them," the report said. "We consider the proposed actions responsive to our recommendations and will close the recommendations upon verification and completion of the actions."
The audit's Findings in Brief and Recommendations sections follow.
NASA'S Planetary Science Portfolio
Report No. IG-20-023
Why We Performed This Audit
NASA's Planetary Science Division (PSD) is responsible for a portfolio of spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, rovers, and probes, that seek to advance our understanding of the solar system by exploring the Earth's Moon, other planets and their moons, asteroids and comets, and the icy bodies beyond Pluto.
Currently, the planetary science portfolio consists of 30 space flight missions in various stages of operation. PSD missions fall under three categories: Discovery (small-class missions with development costs capped at $500 million); New Frontiers (medium-class missions with estimated development costs under $1 billion); and Flagship (large-class missions costing several billion dollars).
With a proposed budget averaging $2.8 billion annually for the next 5 years, PSD is forecasted to maintain the largest budget of the six divisions within NASA's Science Mission Directorate while supporting a wide range of exploration and research activities recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) or mandated by Congress.
Over the coming decade, NASA is planning to launch missions to return planetary samples from Mars, send spacecraft to Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Titan, and work with commercial vendors to send multiple landers to Earth's Moon.
In this audit, we assessed NASA's management of its planetary science portfolio and examined whether PSD is meeting established goals and priorities. Specifically, we evaluated whether the planetary science portfolio is
(1) addressing the National Academies' recommendations;
(2) maintaining and enhancing its infrastructure, including workforce, support facilities, and technology
(3) achieving technical objectives; and
(4) satisfying congressional requirements.
To complete this work, we interviewed PSD and other NASA officials, reviewed the status of PSD missions, and reviewed relevant federal and NASA policies and procedures.
What We Found
PSD has taken positive steps in response to recommendations and goals outlined by the National Academies, including actions to
(1) implement recommended missions;
(2) meet spending goals in the areas of research and analysis, and technology development;
(3) address Mars Exploration Program challenges; and
(4) further develop radioisotope power.
However, as NASA's planetary science missions become more complex, the life-cycle costs within each of PSD's three mission classes are increasing due to project management challenges and mission complexity. For example, Dragonfly, the next New Frontiers mission, has an estimated $2 billion life-cycle cost.
Comparatively, prior New Frontiers missions such as Juno and the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) had life-cycle costs of roughly $1 billion each. These increasing costs, if not addressed, may result in a reduced cadence of future missions given budget limitations that will mean fewer opportunities to demonstrate new technologies.
While PSD and the Centers are focused on meeting current mission needs, they are at risk of neglecting investments that would help ensure long-term maintenance of NASA's unique planetary science infrastructure. These include
(1) sustaining technical capabilities to support future mission needs;
(2) a workforce facing increasing risk from an impending wave of retirements that is exacerbated by the lack of sufficient workforce data for management to make informed decisions, challenges associated with transfer of knowledge, and limited awareness of hiring authority best practices;
(3) a lack of adequate funding to repair, maintain, and modernize the Deep Space Network, which provides tracking, telemetry, and command services for deep space missions; and
(4) funding mid-level technology development.
Moreover, the lack of a cohesive "One NASA" approach by stakeholders, including Center management, Mission Directorate management, and NASA's technical workforce, is hindering the Agency's ability to identify, prioritize, and address longer-term risks to planetary science infrastructure.
In examining discrete planetary science missions, the Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program (LDEP) is accepting higher risk than necessary in the Commercial Launch Provider Services (CLPS) project, which provides contracts to U.S. commercial entities to develop landers to deliver NASA science instruments and other payloads to the Moon's surface.
Specifically, LDEP has not established a common interface to integrate lunar payloads with the landers from selected CLPS contractors, as advised by the National Academies. Additionally, contracting personnel did not evaluate past performance and financial history risks during their evaluation of prospective CLPS contractors and instead relied on contractors self-certifying future funding availability despite poor business, financial histories, and prior performance.
Finally, NASA did not develop safety and mission assurance plans for relevant CLPS task order awards, as required by NASA policy and FAR guidelines. If not adequately addressed, these risks could result in mission failure and the loss of NASA payloads and significant taxpayer investment.
Finally, the Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program resources remain insufficient to meet the program's congressional mandate of cataloging near-Earth objects (NEO). Scientists classify comets and asteroids that pass within 28 million miles of Earth's orbit as NEOs. In 2005, Congress mandated that NASA detect, track, catalogue, and characterize 90 percent of the NEOs equal to or greater than 140 meters in diameter.
However, the Agency has consistently underfunded the NEOO Program. Without substantially increased funding to build a space-based infrared telescope, NASA will likely not meet the mandate until 2040—20 years after the original 2020 goal.
Additionally, we identified specific instances of inappropriate use of grants for the construction of telescopes and operation and maintenance of an observatory where a contract would be more appropriate and would provide NASA greater oversight and the ability to minimize risks of improper spending.
To improve NASA's management of its planetary science portfolio, we made 11 recommendations to the Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate and Chief Human Capital Officer, including to:
(1) communicate to the National Academies realistic costs of planetary science missions and consider resetting the cost caps;
(2) identify solutions to adequately fund and sustain critical discipline capabilities;
(3) complete an assessment of the Deep Space Network's infrastructure in order to develop and implement a maintenance and upgrade plan to support PSD missions;
(4) establish a common interface between instrument and spacecraft for CLPS contractors;
(5) evaluate and monitor CLPS contractors' performance and financial capabilities risk; and
(6) reassess NEOO Program's priority in meeting the goal of cataloging 90 percent of the NEOs larger than 140 meters.
We provided a draft of this report to NASA management, who concurred with all of our recommendations. We consider management's comments responsive; therefore, the recommendations are resolved and will be closed upon verification and completion of the proposed corrective actions.
Recommendations, Management Response, and Our Evaluation
To improve NASA's management of its planetary science portfolio, we recommend the Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate direct the PSD Director do the following:
1. Communicate to the National Academies realistic costs of planetary science missions and
consider resetting the cost caps and/or the cadence of PSD missions to reflect rising mission costs.
2. In coordination with the Office of Chief Financial Officer, engage relevant Centers and technical
capability leaders to identify budgetary and accounting system solutions within the current
budgetary and full cost accounting system to adequately fund and sustain critical technical
discipline capabilities needed to support current and future projects.
3. In coordination with the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, review and identify opportunities based on existing NASA leading practices to foster and monitor mentoring to ensure a robust pipeline for PSD-related disciplines.
4. In coordination with Space Communications and Navigation, complete an assessment of DSN's infrastructure in order to develop and implement a maintenance and upgrade plan to support PSD missions.
5. In coordination with the Space Technology Mission Directorate, evaluate each Directorate's respective roles in basic research that may affect PSD projects and identify opportunities to advance technologies through flight demonstrations.
6. Reassess the NEOO Program's priority in meeting the goal of cataloging 90 percent of the NEOs
larger than 140 meters, establish cost and schedule estimate with proposed funding profile to meet the NEOO's goal of cataloging, and coordinate with Congress and request funding to support the implementation goal.
7. In coordination with the NASA Shared Services Center, comply with the Federal Grant and
Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 on the proper use of grants and contracts to allow Center
and Program personnel greater visibility into partner operations and to ensure that funding
levels and performance are commensurate with requirements.
To reduce risks with the CLPS project, we recommend the Associate Administrator for Science Mission
Directorate direct the Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration do the following:
8. Implement the National Academies recommendation to establish a common interface for CLPS contractors between instrument and spacecraft or to require that each commercial provider supply a document that describes provider and payload capabilities.
9. In coordination with CLPS contracting personnel, establish procedures for evaluation, periodic re-evaluation, and monitoring of current and prospective CLPS contractors' past performance and financial capabilities risk, and steps to mitigate those risks when applicable.
10. Comply with NASA policy to establish program/project quality assurance surveillance plans, or its intent thereof, for all applicable CLPS task orders.
To improve NASA's guidance, communications, and management controls of special hiring authorities to
help fill or retain critical knowledge and disciplines, we also recommend the Chief Human Capital Officer, in coordination with Center management and technical capability leaders do the following:
11. Develop procedures for periodic communication of the available hiring authorities, including but not limited to NEX and Pathways, guidance regarding the use of hiring authorities and the tools resident on USAJOBS.gov, monitoring of usage, and identifying and reporting usage challenges to Center and senior management.
We provided a draft of this report to NASA management who concurred with our recommendations and described planned actions to address them. We consider the proposed actions responsive to our recommendations and will close the recommendations upon verification and completion of the actions.
Management's full response to our report is reproduced in Appendix C. Technical comments provided by management and revisions to address them have been incorporated as appropriate.
Arecibo Observatory, asteroids, astrobotic, CLPS, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, Deep Space Network, DNS, DragonFly, ESA, European Space Agency, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Jim Bridenstine, Jupiter, Mars sample return, moon, Moon Express, NASA, NASA Inspector General, National Academies, Near Earth Objects, Near-Earth Object Observations program, NEOO, NEOs, New Frontiers, Nova-C, Orbit Beyond, Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer, OSIRIS-REx, planetary science, Saturn, Titan
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The Peat Inn is nothing new. It's so not new, the whole village carries its name. That's because the inn was here, amid the rolling pastures of Fife, from the mid-1700s, long before anybody thought to live around it. But it's also another kind of not new. In 1972 a chef called David Wilson came to cook here, bringing good taste, technique and an interest in the area's produce, when these things were less the minimum qualifying standard they are now than an eccentricity. In the mid-80s he won Scotland's first Michelin star, at a time when they were one of the few ways of keeping score. The Peat Inn has form.
Wilson sold up in 2005 to Geoffrey Smeddle, another classically trained chef with time at the Orrery and Café Royal in London, who had then run the Conran group's first restaurant in Glasgow. (He's also a food columnist for the Sunday Herald with a fine turn of phrase). Early this year, the Peat Inn closed for a refurb. It has emerged bespoke and trim and glossy. There is caramel-coloured blonde-wood panelling of a modernist cut, and creamy tweed-patterned upholstery. Mostly there is some very fine, unforced and, in places, exceptionally witty cookery. The Peat Inn still has form.
God, but it's civilised. It's a room in which life feels good and unrushed. But then it comes with the territory, literally. If you're looking for the Scotland of rough edges and hard-furrowed brows this bit of the country between the Firth of Forth and the Tay, focussed on St Andrews, is not quite the place to come. When looking for somewhere to eat on this trip it became clear to me that most of the action really was here on the south side of the Tay.
It is gentle and tidy and just a little bit manicured, and in places not short of cash. In the evenings, for example, starters here at the Peat Inn are in the mid- to high teens with mains well into the twenties. At lunchtime, however, on slightly less elaborate dishes, they are close to half that. There's also a three-course lunch menu at just £19. On a Friday, it is full of elders of the tribe who know a good thing when they see it and have the time to take advantage of such possibilities. The room is alive with sunlight and chatter, laughter and sigh.
Smeddle is big on technique and precision without sacrificing flavour. He's also determined not to scare anyone. To kick off, we are given a bowl of baby-pink ham hock under a bubble of mushroom mousse. A couple of years ago the latter would have been described as a foam, because that's exactly what it is: a rich, mouth-coating mushroom sauce that has been extruded from the business end of a nitrous gun. But this is not the crowd for foams, so mousse it must be and very lovely it is, too.
The restaurant may feel at times like a redoubt against the elements outside, but his ingredients are an expression of that landscape at this time of year. A silky cauliflower soup is studded with sweet, crumbly chestnuts and, more importantly, pieces of hare – the shameless exhibitionist of the game world. There are tangles of braised shoulder and slices of loin with that deep, gutsy kick that only this animal can be depended upon to deliver. By contrast, a tartare of sea bream is all briskness and sea, an oyster mousse – another chance for the nitrous gun to shine – sending it all merrily on its way.
Main courses are thoroughly butch. There is a glorious piece of darkly glazed veal, described as a "slow-braised daube" which has been long-cooked to unctuous. It falls apart with just a tickle of the fork, like it senses its work is done. Alongside are ribbons of salsify dressed with hard cheese and egg yolk and crisped fragments of bacon, allowing the word "carbonara" to be attached. I laugh at my plate. Or with it. Roast breast and confit leg of mallard, with root vegetables and puy lentils, is that perfect combination of good taste and crowd pleaser.
At the end there is a perky lemon posset with an orange macaroon, and a blousy tumescence of banana and passion fruit soufflé with a chocolate and rum sauce. This is one of those sweet, childlike moments, made distinctly adult, with lots of brisk acidity. And then the chocolate sauce is poured in and it becomes something altogether more intense, serious and grown up. It is both duck-feather light and a bruiser of a soufflé. It demands a few seconds' silence and a little attention. It is a classy end to an exceptionally classy meal.
Later that evening, after a trip to the theatre in Dundee, I found myself in the brasserie of the city's Malmaison hotel. If we're to talk about an improvement in food culture, then it's actually less about having a good time on planned trips than striking gold on the accidental ones. So let me put on the record that the ribeye and the sirloin steaks at the Dundee Malmaison were terrific pieces of animal, brilliantly cooked, with a pronounced char and served with a very fine béarnaise and chips. When the Malmaison chain first opened years ago they were a blessed relief from awful, characterless inner-city hotels. It's reassuring to see they can still do the thing.
They also have a smart wine list which should serve as a model for many others in the mid-market. There are 40 or so well-chosen wines, banded at price point – £20, £22, £25, £30 and £35 – with almost all of them available by small and large glass and 500ml, as well as the full bottle. Shockingly, it almost reads as if somebody had thought carefully about the wine offering.
I took advantage of it rather enthusiastically. And so, the next morning, in search of carbs I found my way to the Palais Tea Room, a knowingly retro cafe round the corner on Union Street, with its heart in the 1950s and its tongue in its cheek. Tables are covered with laminated pages of comics in celebration of Dundee's great DC Thomson, publishers of the Beano. More importantly, they have cake. They have cake like Scotland has weather: big multi-layered ones, beautifully displayed under glass. Try the sticky toffee pudding cake, warmed through and with a glug of cream. Then go for a good long walk.
■ The £19 lunch menu at the Peat Inn is hard to beat, but Fischer's at Baslow Hall, Derbyshire, is not far behind with three courses at £20.15. Currently it features hay-baked partridge, belly and fillet of Derbyshire pork and a blackberry parfait. The quality of cooking is always assured, but the menu is only available until 4 December (fischers-baslowhall.co.uk).
■ Think London property rental prices are too high? You ain't heard nothing. The Lanesborough Hotel at Hyde Park Corner has just reopened with what, according to The Caterer Magazine, is the most expensive suite in the capital. The Royal Suite has seven bedrooms and comes with a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce. The price: £26,750 a night. Oh, and you have to book at least three nights (lanesborough.com).
■ Northcote Manor in Lancashire has announced the line-up for Obsession, the series of dinners cooked by invited chefs, which runs from 22 January to 7 February. It includes chefs from Taiwan, Japan, Poland and Mexico (northcote.com).
This article was amended on 15 November 2015 to correct the web address for Northcote Manor.


Network engineering graduates and Specialized Master of ENSISA, the AAE ENSISA (alumni association of ENSISA) main missions helps employment and the continuation of the relations with the school.
The association provides assistance to employment of graduates on behalf of ENSISAl.
It collects job offers and disseminates to its members.
His leadership role helps to strengthen the links between its members and to develop strong relationships with students and ENSISA staff.
It publishes an annual directory of its members.
The many events held each year are an invitation to live this network.


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Chouchi (), or Qiuchi (), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Yang clan of Di ethnicity in modern-day Gansu Province. Its existence spanned both the Sixteen Kingdoms and Northern and Southern dynasties periods, but it is not listed among one of these regimes in historiography.

History
At the beginning of the 3rd century CE Yang Teng (楊騰), chieftain of the White Neck Di (白項氐), had occupied the southeast area of modern Gansu province, at the upper course of the Han River. His followers Yang Ju (楊駒) and Yang Qianwan (楊千萬) paid tribute to the emperors of the Cao-Wei Dynasty and were rewarded with the title of prince (wáng 王).
Yang Feilong (楊飛龍) shifted the center of the Chouchi realm back to Lüeyang, where his successor Yang Maosou (楊茂捜) reigned as an independent king at the beginning of the 4th century. The Chouchi troops often plundered territories in the Central Plains to the east and abducted people there, but the troops of Eastern Jin and Former Zhao deprived the Chouchi empire of some of its people. In 322 Yang Nandi (楊難敵) suffered a defeat at the hands of Former Zhao and was degraded to prince of Wudu (武都王) and duke of Chouchi (仇池公). The following years were characterized by numerous internal struggles among the Yang clan and several usurpations of the throne. The rulers were not seen as mere regional inspectors (cishi 刺史) or governors (taishou 太守) of their region under the government of Jin.

In 371 Fu Jian, ruler of Former Qin, attacked Chouchi, captured the ruler Yang Cuan (楊篡) and ended the period of Former Chouchi.

Yang Ding, a great-great-grandson of Yang Maosou, and a son-in-law of Fu Jian, resurrected the Chouchi kingdom in 385, with the capital at Licheng (歷城). His younger brother Yang Sheng (楊盛) was able to conquer the region of Liangzhou (梁州) at the upper course of the Han River, and declared himself governor for the Jin Dynasty. Efforts to occupy the territory of modern Sichuan failed, but Chouchi controlled a large part of the modern provinces of Gansu (east) and Shaanxi (south).

After 443, the lords of Chouchi were only puppet rulers controlled by the Northern and Southern dynasties. Historians talk of the five realms of Chouchi (Chouchi wuguo 仇池五國): Former and Later Chouchi (Qianchouchi 前仇池, Houchouchi 後仇池), Wudu (武都), Yinping (陰平),  and Wuxing (武興). Former Chouchi lasted between 296 and 371 while Later Chouchi lasted between 385 and 443. The Wudu period between 443 and 477 can be seen as a continuation of Later Chouchi. After the death of Yang Wendu in 477, the realm split into Yinping and Wuxing.

Rulers

References

See also
Di
Wu Hu
List of past Chinese ethnic groups

Former countries in Chinese history
Dynasties in Chinese history
Ancient peoples of China
296 establishments

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Home/NBA/Lakers Considering Firing Frank Vogel After Slow Start?
Lakers Considering Firing Frank Vogel After Slow Start?
Charles KrugerNovember 26, 2021
Frank Vogel Gets Very Blunt About LeBron James Playing Center
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the 2021-22 NBA season as title favorites. It was them and the Brooklyn Nets. Both struggled in the early going, but the Nets quickly rebounded and now sit atop the Eastern Conference.
LA, meanwhile, continues to struggle.
The Lakers are currently 10-10 on the year – good for ninth place in the West. Along the way the team has been forced to deal with embarrassment after embarrassment after embarrassment.
Apparently all the failure and humiliation has taken its toll on head coach Frank Vogel's job standing.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Vogel is very much on the hot seat.
"There is also rising buzz in coaching circles about the pressure mounting on Frank Vogel given the Lakers' worrisome 10-10 start … given L.A.'s lack of flexibility to make roster changes," he said.
It's worth noting that this isn't the first time Vogel's short-term future has been brought up. A few months back, there was talk of how he was coaching for his job in the early going of this season. If that has in fact been the case, then it stands to reason that Lakers brass probably isn't very happy with the results they're seeing.
That's one way to celebrate divorcing Johnny Manziel. https://t.co/jQ28nDRqn1
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 24, 2021
Twenty games into the season is generally too early to make any rash decisions, but the Lakers' title window is a small one. No season can be wasted – and that may spur the front office to make hard moves a lot faster than anyone would expect.
Related: Blonde Girl Gets College Commitment From Arch Manning (Video)
Frank Vogel Lakers Los Angeles Lakers NBA
Charles Kruger
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7's go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.


text:
Rytkutschi (; ) ist ein Dorf (selo) im Autonomen Kreis der Tschuktschen (Russland) mit  Einwohnern (Stand ).

Geographie

Der Ort liegt etwa 550 km Luftlinie nordnordwestlich des Kreisverwaltungszentrums Anadyr. Er befindet sich unweit des südöstlichen Ufers der Tschaunbucht der Ostsibirischen See, am rechten Ufer eines gemeinsamen Mündungsarmes von Tschaun und Paljawaam wenig unterhalb der Einmündung des rechten Nebenflusses Rytkutschin.

Rytkutschi gehört zum Stadtkreis Pewek und befindet sich knapp 90 km südlich der Stadt. Der Stadtkreis wurde 2015 aus dem vormaligen Tschaunski rajon gebildet, innerhalb dessen Rytkutschi einzige Ortschaft und Sitz der Landgemeinde (selskoje posselenije) Rytkutschi war.

Geschichte
Das Dorf entstand aus einem in der sowjetischen Periode 1934 zum Zwecke der Sesshaftmachung der halbnomadisch lebenden tschuktschischen Bevölkerung eingerichteten "Kulturstützpunktes" (russisch kultbasa), der sich unmittelbar bei der Mündung des Tschaun befand. In den 1950er-Jahren wurde der Ort an die heutige Stelle verlegt.

Rytkutschi gehört zu den Orten des Autonomen Kreises, deren Bausubstanz ab den 1990er-Jahren faktisch komplett erneuert wurde.

Verkehr
Rytkutschi ist mit dem Rajonzentrum Pewek über eine 120 km lange Winterpiste verbunden, die dem Ostufer der Tschaunbucht folgt. In der eisfreien Zeit besteht Schiffs- und ganzjährig Hubschrauberverbindung.

Einzelnachweise

Ort im Autonomen Kreis der Tschuktschen


text:
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Matt Taylor's backroom staff
Meet the three new additions to the team
Scott Palfrey
Exeter City is delighted to announce the newest members of Matt Taylor's backroom staff after a couple weeks of interviews and negotiations.
Matt will be joined by Chris Weale as Goalkeeping Coach, Dan Green has been promoted to become the club's new under-23 coach and Andrew Wiseman has been appointed as Exeter City's first full-time Strength and Conditioning coach.
Negotiations are still ongoing with regards to Matt Taylor's assistant, with an announcement likely early next week.
Chris Weale
Chris is a hugely experienced goalkeeper, having amassed over 440 career appearances in the Championship, League One and Two and lower levels and has recently coached at Yeovil Town.
Matt Taylor was keen to stress how important Chris will be in taking the club forward, he said: "Chris is enthusiastic. He's got a great work ethic and he's a good character and he will fit in well with the environment we are trying to create. I see Chris as a long-term appointment.
"I knew Chris from a coaching course and from playing against him. He is familiar with the club, having worked with the academy goalkeepers. Artur Krysiak spoke very highly of him from his time at Yeovil and how he improved his game."
Chris will be tasked with developing the game of current first team keepers Christy Pym and James Hamon, as well as the younger coaches in the academy. Matt Taylor added: "Chris has had a fantastic playing career and is an ambitious young coach in terms of developing young goalkeepers which is a big part of our club with Christy and James and the younger keepers coming up through the academy."
Chris will also provide the club with emergency goalkeeper cover and Matt Taylor was keen to stress that that would only be in emergency circumstances.
"Chris will also provide us as cover if emergency circumstances happen where a keeper fell ill on the day of a game, he could sit on the bench if needed, so we can also sign him on a non-playing contract."
The new season will also see Dan Green step up to the role of under-23 coach after his excellent work with the academy and will have a large focus in helping to prepare the younger City players for the first team.
Matt was keen to stress that Dan will take on an important role with the first team as well as his work with the younger players. He said: "I was desperate to get Dan as under-23s coach as there is no better young coach around from what I've seen. He is a fantastic coach with the right work ethic and character.
"He will improve and develop all players, not just the young players. We are going to put a big emphasis on our training this year and he is going to drive that and take a big part of the training.
"He knows Exeter better than anyone and he knows the young players coming through and it's time for him to step up to the first team environment and it will improve him as a coach.
"I know all about the role having been under-23 coach last season so I can help him mould the role. The under-23 Premier League Cup will be entered again, and we will have to qualify again as a category B team. We've also entered the Central Reserve League so there is a structure to our games."
Andrew Wiseman
City's development off the field has also continued with the appointment of the club's first full time Strength and Conditioning coach in Andrew Wiseman.
Andrew has worked for the likes of Charlton Athletic, Stevenage and Celtic Ladies sides and will arrive at City on June 30 looking to help ensure as many players as possible are available to Matt for selection.
On Andrew's appointment, Matt said: "Andrew's role is new to the club and one we are very excited about. It's going to be important. We won't see the results straight away, but 12 or 18 months down the line we will see the benefits.
"Injuries have cost us at key times over the last couple of seasons, so we are trying to minimise the amount of time that happens. He will assist Adey Saunderson with any injuries we do have with their rehab. It takes a bit of workload off the coaches.
"He will work alongside Jacob Staines in the academy and Harry Knapman and Adey in terms of the medical department and we will look to bring in an intern to assist him.
"It will take a little time to get used to for some players. It's not about lifting weights and running them to start with, it's about injury prevention.
"Recovery, sleep patterns, nutrition, that is his area of expertise that we as football coaches don't have time to look into. We've got a fantastic programme from the academy looking upwards, we also need the same from the first team looking downwards.
"Andrew went through the interview process and was a standout candidate."


A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is designed to provide individuals or emergency personnel with the proper information for safe handling and transporting, first aid and personal protection when working with a substance. Below is a lists of materials either used in Isuzu trucks, or supplied by Isuzu Australia to the vehicle aftermarket, and their respective Safety Data Sheets.
Below is a lists of materials either used in Isuzu trucks, or supplied by Isuzu Australia to the vehicle aftermarket, and their respective Safety Data Sheets.


text:
10. Cecil Theodore Evans (1904-1957) Age 52
11. Mildred Elizabeth "Mick" Collins (1905-1990) Age 85
Cecil Theodore Evans was born 13 Sep 1904 in Greenfield Township, Gallia County, Ohio. He was the son of Richard Harry Evans and Emma Louellen Souders.
The 1910 Census shows him at age 5 living with his family on Byers Road in Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio.
Cecil Theodore Evans (bottom row, left) with his Second Grade Class c. 1913.
Cecil Theodore Evans (bottom row, right) in another class photo, unknown date.
The 1920 Census shows Cecil at age 15 living with
his family at 603 West Broadway in Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio. His Uncle Amos Souders (brother of his mother) and family are enumerated in the house before theirs.
He graduated from Wellston High School in 1923
along with his future bride, Mildred Elizabeth Collins.
Mildred Elizabeth Collins 1923.
Newspaper clipping about the wedding shower thrown in honor of Cecil Evans and Mildred Collins.
Cecil married Mildred 22 Aug 1928 in Mingo Junction,
Jefferson County, Ohio.
Newspaper clipping about the marriage of Cecil Evans and Mildred Collins.
Their daughter, Eleanor, was born in 1929. In the 1930 Census, she is shown with Cecil and Mildred living at 3469 Berea Road in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Cecil works as a Steam Railroad Maintainer.
Cecil and Mildred had another daughter, Ruth, in
The 1940 Census shows Cecil at age 35 living at 3658 W. 103rd Street, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, with his family. He works as a Signal Maintainer for the
The family is living at 2608 Sheridan Drive, Norwood, Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1951. Ruth and Eleanor attended Norwood High School, with Ruth graduating
Valedictorian in 1949 and receiving the President's Scholarship, which is awarded to one Norwood High School student annually.
Tragically, Cecil died 25 Apr 1957 at age 52 while driving his car. The cause of death was listed as probable coronary arteriosclerotic heart disease. He and Mildred were living at 4147 W. 161 Street in Cleveland, at the time.
Cecil is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Sec. 114, Lot 390-A, in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio.
Cecil Theodore Evans
1910 Census for Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio, showing Cecil Theodore Evans and his family starting on Line 24.
1920 Census for Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio, showing Cecil Theodore Evans and family starting on Line 17.
Wellston High School Class of 1923 Commencement Exercises Program, pages 1 and 4.
1930 Census for Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, showing Cecil Theodore Evans and family starting on Line 42.
Have Anything to Contribute?
If you have anything you would like me to add to the page (photos, stories, etc.), a suggestion to improve something, see a correction that needs to be made, or just want to say hello, I would love to hear from you.
In addition, I have accumulated a great deal of images and information on our collateral lines (extended family outside of direct ancestors and their immediate families). Due to space limitations, much of that is not able to be included in this website. If you are related, think you might be, or just want to know more, I am happy to help.
Please use the Contact Form to get in touch. Thank you for visiting this page!
Contact Form (Evans)


Even though it is increasingly popular to have vibrant reds and oranges in your planting scheme, take a look at these photos.
The softest of pink Roses, with interesting companion planting.
Blue and purple compliment the pink blush of the Rose with Phlox, Campanula, Forget-Me-Not and Irises.
Plus the white of Digitalis and Aquilgea with the frothy white Ammi Majus freshen clean up the palette.
Then to round the colour scheme off there is pink Persicaria bistorta Superba and Thalictrum, all floating on a body of green foliage.
This is definitely a mid summer garden. You could have Tulips and Purple Sensation Alliums for the earlier months and then move on into late Summer with Dahlias and Asters.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace Middleware.Owin
{
    using AppFunc = Func<IDictionary<string, object>, Task>;

    public class OwinHello
    {
        private AppFunc next;

        public OwinHello(AppFunc next)
        {
            this.next = next;
        }

        public async Task Invoke(IDictionary<string, object> environment)
        {
            var responseStream = (Stream)environment["owin.ResponseBody"];
            var message = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello, from Owin!");
            await responseStream.WriteAsync(message, 0, message.Length);
        }

        public static void Create(Action<Func<AppFunc, AppFunc>> pipeline)
        {
            pipeline(next =>
            {
                var hello = new OwinHello(next);
                return hello.Invoke;
            });
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Our competent and friendly team uses the latest techniques to provide you with a holistic, individualized treatment.
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text:
Home Agri News Stock theft efforts finally paying off
Stock theft efforts finally paying off
The tireless joint efforts by members of the Lehurutshe Stock Theft Unit together with the Madikwe Game Reserve's Rangers, finally paid off after Zeerust Regional Court convicted four rhino poachers on Wednesday, 28 November 2018.
On Saturday, 24 June 2017, the team acted on information received regarding suspects who were in the park, poaching rhinos. A search was conducted inside the park during the day and at night resulting in the arrest of two suspects who were found in possession of an unlicensed .375 firearm, homemade silencer and knives. During investigation, the team came across one injured rhino. Further investigation led to the arrest of one Itali Lodge Tracker and the local village chief, who was responsible for organising and accommodating poachers at the village. The accused were sentenced as follows:
Accused number 1 – Jetro Moyagabo Malema alias Jet (44) was found guilty of the following:
Count 1: Contravention of section 57 (1) of National Environmental Management: Biodiversity (NEMBA) Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004); poaching the endangered species;
Count 2: Contravention of section 46 (1) of NEMBA Act, 2003 (Act 57 of 2003), entering or residing without permission;
Count 4: Contravention of section 3 of Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act 60 of 2000), illegal possession of firearm;
Count 5: Contravention of section 90 of Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act 60 of 2000), illegal possession of ammunition;
The accused was sentenced as follows:
Count 1: Ten years imprisonment of which four years suspended for five years;
Count 3: Three years imprisonment;
Count 4: Four years imprisonment;
Count 5: Two years imprisonment.
Counts 3, 4 and 5 are to run concurrently with the sentence imposed on count 1. The accused will first have to complete his parole in 2021 and then this new sentence of six years imprisonment will start.
Accused number two, George Itumeleng Thutlwa (32) and accused number three, Joseph Kgosietsile Tsiepe (41) were both sentenced to four (4) years imprisonment or alternatively a fine of R200 000 of which R150 000 or three years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit an offence in terms of section 57(1) of NEMBA Act, (Act 10 of 2004) applies. Their sentence is suspended for five years on condition that they do not commit the same offence. The accused were ordered to pay R50 000 and they made arrangements to pay a monthly amount of R5 000 for the next ten months starting from 31 December 2018.
All three accused were declared unfit to possess a firearm. Consequently, Joseph Kgosietsile Tsiepe (41) was ordered to surrender his firearm with immediate effect.
The fourth accused in this case, Afonso Alberto Balate (44), was sentenced on 1 December 2017 after pleading guilty and turned state witness. He was sentenced on count 1 to eight years imprisonment, contravention of section 57 (1) of NEMBA Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004), and poaching endangered species. Six years of the sentence have been suspended for five years on condition that the accused does not commit the same offence. He was also sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for contravention of section 46 (1) of NEMBA Act, (Act 57 of 2003), entering or residing without permission. The two (2) sentences will run concurrently.
The North West provincial commissioner, lieutenant general Baile Motswenyane, lauded the police and game rangers for their collaborative efforts that have led to the successful arrest, conviction and sentencing of the accused for wildlife related crimes. She said that the police working together with other relevant stakeholders and members of the community, will show no mercy to criminals. – SAPS
rhino poachers
stock theft
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One of the great points of speculation in both science and science fiction is the question of "are we alone in the universe." I'd say not, simply judging by the sheer number of planets and stars in space. It's a numbers game. Even if life arose in as few as one out of million cases, there would be millions of inhabited star systems.
So it was with great interest that I read an article about the possibility of life on Mars this week. It seems that there may be enough oxygen on the surface of Mars, or in the close subsurface, to support Earth-analogue lifeforms.
Now, we're not talking about intelligent life, or majestic kingdoms of humanoids. What may be possible in brine pockets would be some type of primitive sponges, or bacteria. If such animals were found, this would be big news.
Finding life on Mars would demonstrate conclusively that life in the universe is a constant, that it can arise in the most unlikely and inhospitable conditions, and such a discovery would say conclusively that we are not alone.
I think there's a 99.9 percent chance that the universe isn't sterile. I leave the .1 in there because I can't prove that I'm right. Not yet, not now.
It would be nice to have this fundamental question answered within my lifespan. I'm optimistic that it will be.
← And this is a good idea, how?
I like the Earth analogue comment. Life could be all over the universe in formats we just cant comprehend or recognize. Often wondered if the planets themselves are sentient and we are just parasites living of it. The argument is easy to justify.
People talk about "the end of the world." No, it wouldn't be. It'd just be the end of us.


text:
The Week in Tweets: 'Shady RAT' Hits Its Target
The 'Operation Shady RAT' cyber attacks targeted dozens of government agencies, McAfee said this week, but how big a deal is it? And is China involved?
By Chloe Albanesius & Peter Pachal
https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-week-in-tweets-shady-rat-hits-its-target
As many of the nation's top hackers descended on Las Vegas this week for the annual Black Hat conference, security firm McAfee made headlines by releasing a white paper that detailed a hacking campaign targeting agencies, tech companies, and government contractors dating back to 2006.
The effort, dubbed "Operation Shady RAT," took down 72 targets, making it perhaps the largest concerted hacking attempt in history, McAfee said. Government agencies in India, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S. were attacked, plus high-profile targets like the International Olympic Committee.
McAfee later suggested that "thousands" more could've been affected. The company became aware of the "Shady RAT" efforts in 2009, but only found a single command-and-control server in March that allowed it to access its logs and determine the scope of the attacks.
The White House this week declined to name the U.S. agencies affected by "Shady RAT," deferring additional questions to the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.
McAfee also declined to identify the source of the "Shady RAT," saying only that it was likely a single-nation state given the attacks on several Olympic committees, including the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency in Canada. Reports then pointed the finger at China, but the country this week denied any involvement.
"It is irresponsible to link China to Internet hackers," the state-run People's Daily wrote. Accusations of China spearheading the massive hack "[do] not hold water."
McAfee rival Symantec, meanwhile, posted its own analysis of "Shady RAT," and was skeptical of its impact. "Is the attack described in Operation Shady RAT a truly advanced persistent threat? I would contend that it isn't, especially when you consider the errors made in configuring the servers and the relatively non-sophisticated malware and techniques used in this case," Symantec's Hon Lau wrote in a blog post. "Sure the people behind it are persistent but no more so than the myriad of other malware groups out there such as Zeus, Tidserv, and others like them."
Naturally, the news got a lot of play on Twitter; check out the slideshow for what people are saying.
1. @RichardStutley
McAfee dropped the bomb Tuesday night—that a "one-state actor" had been secretly infiltrating various government agencies, including the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee. While suspicious eyes are being cast in some obvious directions, it hasn't gotten "nasty" yet, as no government has directly accused another of the hack.
2. @jeffreycarr
While McAfee might not have a product to protect against Shady RAT-type hacks, the company's certainly getting its money's worth in publicity this week.
3. @riskybusiness
@riskybusiness has a point: The actual report is rather short (it's a white paper, after all), and is heavy on charts and tables. McAfee's vice president of threat research "pointed a finger at a state actor behind the intrusions," though he was talking specifically about the hacks on the Olympic organizations. But "what I have described here has been one specific operation conducted by a single actor/group," he said.
4. @solidgame
Equating China with America's landlord is an apt parallel, though the tweet is actually untrue: The U.S. itself hasn't accused anyone of this specific hack. The White House in fact declined to even name the agencies affected.
5. @KevinFogarty
They were probably all too busy complaining about the deal to raise the debt ceiling.
6. @bquintero
To be taken with a grain of salt, this tweet purports to have uncovered evidence within the code related to Shady RAT. Even if true, it's just a language ID, not a smoking gun.
7. @cedricpernet
It's possible that several states or organizations are conducting other coordinated, sustained cyberattacks on the U.S., though the number of entities capable of doing so are few.
8. @BrianHonan
@BrianHonan lends a little perspective about spying and infiltration—tactics that have been used in various forms for centuries. IT may be just another vector for espionage, but it can also be a vector for peace. The best way to keep outside entities from attacking our digital infrastructure may simply be more (and more civil) communication.
Table of Contents Table of Contents Return to The Top @RichardStutley @jeffreycarr @riskybusiness @solidgame @KevinFogarty @bquintero @cedricpernet @BrianHonan
About Chloe Albanesius
Chloe has led PCMag's news coverage for more than 10 years, editing and writing stories about the innovations that have shaped the last decade and the companies behind them. She also oversees the site's how-to coverage. Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe was a reporter covering tech policy on Capitol Hill for The National Journal's Technology Daily and financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC. She's held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C.
Read the latest from Chloe Albanesius
Razer Adds Voice Amplification to Zephyr Pro Wearable Air Purifier
Razer Blade Gaming Laptops Upgraded With Next-Gen Chips, DDR5
Shutterfly Hit With Conti Ransomware
Alexa Suggests Dangerous 'Outlet Challenge' to 10-Year-Old
Apple Closes New York City Stores Amid Omicron Surge
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About Peter Pachal
Read the latest from Peter Pachal
Facebook Timeline and 5 Other Ways to Visualize Your Life Online
Everything You Need to Know About the New Facebook
The Week in Tweets: The World Finally Touches Windows 8
The 12 Biggest PC Duds Ever
11 Incredible Photos of the Space Shuttle on Its Final Mission
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East End residents on Tuesday night viewed a 10-minute documentary and heard from a panel of local officials and members of the Preserve Plum Island Coalition on the efforts to stop the sale and ecological importance of the island and the diverse wildlife that inhabits it.
With a new administration and Congress, time is running out for the U.S. Senate to vote on a bill that would stop the federal government's proposed sale of the island. The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in May.
Now the work must continue on the Senate side, said Mark Woolley, Mr. Zeldin's district director.
"The idea of the new administration is why bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats, the bicameral support from the Senate and the House is so important because that's where we'll need to make legislation move," said Leah Schmalz, program director for Save the Sound.
Many East End residents who asked questions after the panel wondered about the status of the legislation in the Senate and whether there was support for it. The bill is not currently scheduled for a vote.
Save the Sound sent out a flurry of emails Tuesday calling for donations to be used toward the preservation of Plum Island.
"In this new uncertain climate, one thing is clear — you can no longer rely on the federal government to preserve Plum Island. It's up to you," read one email urging people to make a gift towards their goal. It was part of a push for donations on Giving Tuesday, a day when people are encouraged to be charitable.
Save the Sound is more worried about Plum Island's fate because "high-powered developers want to buy it," according to the message sent out Tuesday. The message alluded to, but did not name, President-elect Donald Trump, whose representatives in 2013 spoke with Southold Town and federal officials about the possibility of purchasing the 840-acre island and building a golf course there.
At the time of those development discussions Southold Town had already been discussing measures it could take and soon passed a law that established two new zoning districts on the island — a research district that includes the existing lab and surrounding 160 acres and a conservation district that does not allow development on a remaining 600 untouched acres.
Mr. Russell said the town recognized that the zoning is the first line of defense and is necessary for interest in preserving the island.


Michael Hann is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the Richardson office of Haynes and Boone.
Michael assists clients in various capacities, including preparation and prosecution of patent applications in such fields as medical devices, wireless communication, semiconductor manufacturing, oilfield equipment and technology, and electronic commerce. He also has experience in cyber security, server analytics, and vehicular diagnostics.


text:
California Voters Uphold the Right to Bail and Reject the No-Money Bail System and Pretrial Risk Assessments
In: ABC Posts, California
In a stunning defeat, California voters shelved the State's 2018 no-money bail plan, Senate Bill 10, in the general election after a referendum effort had put the question before voters. A "Yes" vote on Proposition 25 would have upheld the new bail law, Senate Bill 10, and transitioned California's bail system by eliminating the right to post money bond in favor of detention by algorithm and supervision by the State. Californians spoke loud and clear with 56.2% (8.7 million) of voters rejecting Proposition 25 with a "NO" vote to defend their constitutional right to bail.
Voters told us from San Diego to Crescent City two things: (1) they wanted to keep their constitutional right to money bail in order to have the right to bail out their friends and family members; and, (2) they didn't want a computer algorithm deciding who stayed in jail and who went home.
California Governor Gavin Newsome, who supported Senate Bill 10, turned out to be on the losing side of what was a double-digit defeat, as did the State's Chief Justice and legislature. Said the Governor: "This sets back the entire cause." He said the defeat was "profoundly not just disappointing, but devastating" to the effort to end cash bail in California. The Governor said that we, meaning end money bail activists, instead now face the "damning reality" that the defeat has "set back the cause a decade."
The defeat of Proposition was inevitable, despite the deep pockets aiming to undermine the will of the people.
In 2018, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) abandoned criminal justice reformers and supported Senate Bill 10, which would have created thousands of union jobs across California to supervise innocent defendants. That is ultimately why 55 Civil Rights groups at the time Senate Bill 10 was passed actually opposed its passage, including the Civil Rights Corps, the ACLU of California, the San Francisco Public Defender, and Human Rights Watch to name a few. Joining the opposition at the time and in the campaign were numerous prosecutors and law enforcement groups who also thought the no money bail system was fatally flawed. But that didn't stop the permanent elite ruling class in California who are deaf when it comes to what the public and criminal justice reform groups wanted, a right to money bail. They passed Senate Bill 10 anyway, only to then suffer a devastating double-digit defeat in the general election.
Download the Coalition Members of NO on Prop 25
The defeat was also a notable and historic setback for John Arnold, former Enron billionaire who is pushing his pretrial risk assessment algorithm from coast-to-coast by way of for-profit Arnold Ventures. As groups from across the political spectrum are pushing for an end to these algorithms, including the prestigious Pretrial Justice Institute, the nation's oldest pretrial reform institute, John Arnold pumped millions into the campaign in a self-interested move to deceive voters to vote for Senate Bill 10 in order to then pave the way for the State of California to use his algorithm.
There is further evidence indeed that the end to pretrial risk assessments is coming. In Colorado, for example, on October 29, 2020 the ACLU of Colorado recently penned a letter entitled, "Dangerous, Misleading and Biased: A Letter on Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools in Colorado," wherein they conclude that pretrial risk assessment tools are fatally flawed and should be abandoned. In the letter, the ACLU wrote, "We urge Colorado judges, prosecutors, public defenders and pretrial service providers to move away from pretrial risk assessment tools altogether." Yet John Arnold, because he pays for his own research, bankrolls campaigns to support California bureaucrats pushing his failed policies, and keeps his algorithm secret and out of view of the academia can continue to claim that his algorithm is good, when other algorithms are bad, despite the fact that the same people that built his algorithm also built all the bad ones. The voters in California ultimately rejected Arnold and his bail computer – and other jurisdictions are taking notice.
2020 was a historic year for the end money bail movement, which has now completely fallen apart due to the fact that it is a failed policy. Amid outrage and concern for public safety, New York reversed its historic law and many legislators are pushing to tighten the system even further.
California voter's outright rejection of the no money bail system was not a referendum of the "money bail system" itself, it was a rejection of eliminating a constitutional right – one that California voters decided they want to keep.
Previous Post: California Voters Reject Computerized No-Money Bail System; Affirm State's Fundamental Right To Bail
Next Post: MN: Hennepin County Attorney's No Bail Plan is A Dereliction of Duty, Unconstitutional and Not Evidence-Based