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Source: © Science Photo Library
Delivering gene therapy
By Anthony King2017-05-25T14:10:00+01:00
After some well-publicised problems, gene therapy – delivering DNA into people's cells using viruses – is booming, Anthony King finds
Gene therapy is increasingly showing promise in clinical trials. Children with devastating diseases have had their lives transformed, yet the achievements are barely registering on the outside world, say researchers.
Gene therapy delivers a gene to a patient who either misses it or has a defective version, and the delivery vehicle (vector) is almost always a virus. The field suffered from hype in the 1980s and again in the 1990s, but is finally yielding results for patients, albeit in small numbers. 'It's almost like the public awareness has been inversely proportional to the success of gene therapy,' says Simon Waddington at University College London, UK, who leads a team focusing on preclinical models for gene therapy. 'Even scientists do not know how effective these therapies are becoming.'
A number of metabolic diseases caused by a faulty or missing single gene, often fatal or debilitating in early childhood, are the focus of clinical trials. 'We've started to see a lot of industry involvement in gene therapy, which typically is a sign that things are going well. There's a very different feeling in the field than there was five years ago,' says Steven Gray, a gene therapist at the University of North Carolina in the US. What's accelerated progress in the last five years is basic research into vectors. There are two distinctive strategies pursued, with two major types of viruses. 'What we are seeing is payoff from a new generation of vectors,' says geneticist Luigi Naldini, head of the San Raffale Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy.
Remove, fix, re-infuse
Lyososomes are sacs inside our cells with 43 enzymes, each of which dismantles certain molecules. Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are caused by a mutation in a gene that leaves an essential enzyme dysfunctional; the target molecule builds up and causes problems in multiple organs and tissues.
We are gearing up for a clinical trial
Brian Bigger, University of Manchester
The diseases are considered ideal targets for gene therapy. Correcting the fault of one gene in some of a patient's cells can be transformative, because a small subset of cells secreting the missing enzyme can correct the deficiency. Some LSD patients have received bone marrow transplants since the 1980s. In the traditional procedure, a chemotherapy drug kills bone marrow cells to make a space for stem cells from a donor without the faulty gene. These cells secrete the missing protein.
Gene therapy follows a similar tack, except a drug is used to coax the patient's own stem cells into their blood, where they are filtered out. These are cultured and then infected with a retrovirus or lentivirus that has been rendered harmless. 'The lentiviral vector integrates into the genome and expresses a transgene or missing gene with those cells,' explains Brian Bigger at the University of Manchester in the UK. The patient's altered stem cells are then injected back into them. His lab used lentiviruses to deliver a gene to mouse models of Sanfilippo disease (MPS-IIIa), a lysosomal storage disease. 'We are gearing up for a clinical trial with a company we licensed the therapy to, Orchard Therapeutics,' says Bigger. Progress in bone marrow transplants over recent decades has greatly assisted such therapies.
In Milan, the San Raffale Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy treats children with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a fatal disease involving a buildup of toxic lipids and which has no approved treatment. This devastating disease sees children lose speech and mobility by age two, then suffer from blindness, wasting and dementia; the children die around age five. The Milan results have impressed those in the field. 'The treatment has been transformative,' says Bigger. 'They now have data for four years: all the patients attend school, have normal IQ and appear to have normal motor function, as long as they are treated before symptoms appear.'
Remarkably, the stem cells put back into the patient after receiving the gene from lentiviruses cross the blood–brain barrier: normal enzyme levels have been measured in the patient's cerebral spinal fluid. 'If we get to the children early enough, we block the disease progression and the children we had treated are essentially healthy today,' says Naldini, head of the Milan institute. 'The advantage of gene therapy is that we use the patient's own cells.' Naldini's institute found that up to 90% of the stem cells take up the gene from the vector.1 Key advantages include there being no risk of graft versus host disease or rejection of the transplant. Moreover, not all patients have a suitable donor for a transplant. Naldini also has used lentiviruses to treat patients with Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome, a severe combined immunodeficiency disease or SCID.2
In terms of our commitment to selling gene therapy, this is just the beginning
SCIDs are known as 'bubble baby diseases', because children must sometimes be kept in sterile environments. In 1990, four-year-old Ashanthi DeSilva was the first patient to receive retroviral vectors; she received a transfusion of her own T-cells with healthy copies of the faulty genes in them. She survived. Not all early therapies worked out, with safety problems due to the retroviruses switching on cancer genes. Early versions integrated into the genome, flanked with gene promoters at both ends (known as long term repeats or LTRs). If the patient was unfortunate enough for this promoter to switch on a nearby oncogene, the patient could develop leukaemia. A recent survey by Bigger showed that 12 of 99 patients receiving these vectors got leukaemia, with two dying.
Newer viruses knock their own LTRs out and rely on a mammalian promoter. 'Of these newer, self-inactivating vectors, 35 patients were treated and there have been no cases of insertional mutagenesis,' says Bigger. The promoter can be chosen for the sort of expression needed, which could be moderate or high or tissue specific. Also, these 'third generation' lentiviral vectors prefer to integrate where there are genes rather than promoters. Most lentiviruses are derived from HIV-1, but only a small fraction of their genome is used to make the vector. 'Starting from a deadly and fearsome human pathogen, they are extensively engineered to remove all gene and sequences not required for the virus to enter cells,' says Naldini.
GlaxoSmithKline has licensed the therapy for MLD and it could be available next year. 'In terms of our commitment to selling gene therapy, this is just the beginning,' says a GSK spokesperson. 'We see this as a future platform that could stand beside vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, and small molecules.' In the UK, Orchard Therapeutics is using a lentiviral vector to deliver the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA) to cells of ADA-SCID patients outside the body. There have been no problems of mutated genes in over 30 patients in the US and UK treated so far. 'Monogenic metabolic disorders are the obvious place to start. We know the physiology of the deficiencies,' explains Theodore Friedmann, a gene therapy pioneer at the University of California San Diego in the US. 'One always learns an enormous amount studying rare orphan diseases.'
GSK sees their ex vivo work as a learning process. 'The complexity of growing up a large batch of cells that can make the lentiviral vector is difficult because it wants to kill the cells you are growing it in,' explains Jonathan Appleby, scientific advisor on gene therapy at GSK. Currently, all its gene therapy vectors are made in a facility adjoining the San Raffaele institute and patients must travel there to have their cells modified. 'Vector manufacturing is challenging from a quality, time and cost perspective. We are working on ways to scale it up,' says Appleby.
Into the body
Gene delivery diagram
Source: © Peter Bull Art Studio
The DNA to be incorporated into the patient is loaded into vectors (usually viruses) and delivered by one of two routes
The second therapeutic strategy is to send in a viral vector to seek target cells and deliver a gene in the patient's body. This might cure otherwise fatal diseases with a single injection. The in vivo strategy was marked, however, by a notorious and tragic case. In 1999, 19-year-old Jesse Gelsinger was treated with gene therapy for his rare liver disease in a US trial. He died from organ failure, probably as a result of an extreme inflammatory response to the adenovirus vector (common cold virus). Those in the field are familiar with the patient's death and the mistakes leading up to it.
'Every gene therapy trial was ordered to report their data and there was a flood of negative data, which had not been reported,' recalls Bigger. The tragedy put the brakes on gene therapy trials in the US for 10 years. Some now see a silver lining in that pause, due to a refocus on patient safety. 'A lot of investment went into really understanding the basic biology and the vector systems,' says Gray. 'The last five years we've seen a renaissance of gene therapy, with some quiet clinical successes adding to enthusiasm.'
Adenoviruses fell from favour. Instead, adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), which do not cause any disease in people, were tried. The AAVs deliver the therapeutic gene into a cell's nucleus, but the circular DNA then sits outside the chromosomes. Because AAVs do not usually integrate into a cell's DNA, this reduces the risk of mutations being caused in a patient's DNA (known as insertional mutagenesis).
AAVs have led the way in fixing genes in vivo, starting with eye diseases. It is predicted that Spark Therapeutics will become the first gene therapy approved by the FDA for a gene therapy . Last year it reported that 27 out of 29 patients with inherited retinal disease had improved vision one year after treatment in a Phase III trial. 'These children were destined to go blind but the treatment produced quite remarkable restoration of some functional vision,' says Friedmann. Spark uses AAV vectors to deliver the gene to cells in the retina; the company is also starting clinical trials aimed at delivering to a gene to the liver of haemophilia A and B patients.
Targeting the brain
In 2015, Gray's research led to a clinical trial for treating giant axonal neuropathy (GAN), delivering a gigaxonin gene using an AAV vector. GAN symptoms start in early childhood, initially with walking problems and worsen to include paralysis, seizures and dementia. The GAN research was funded by Hannah's Hope Fund, set up by the Sames family in 2008 (their daughter Hannah has the condition). 'We use AAV9 because it can cross the blood–brain barrier,' says Gray. 'We deliver it either intravenously or into the cerebral spinal fluid to concentrate it around the brain and spinal cord. It's known that it targets neurons and astrocytes in the brain.' AAV9 binds to receptors outside the blood–brain barrier and is shepherded across.
A search of people and non-human primates has turned up 100 AAV variants, now the workhorses of in vivo gene therapy. Some can target specific tissues, with AAV8 the vector for the liver and AAV9 for central nervous system disorders. In their spinal muscular dystrophy trial, biotech company Avexis uses AAV9. 'Our recombinant AAV9 capsid delivers a functional copy of a human SMN [survival of motor neuron] gene across the blood–brain barrier to the patient's own cells without modifying the existing DNA of the patient,' says Brian Kaspar, chief scientific officer at Avexis. The downside of not integrating into the DNA is that the gene is lost if the cell divides – this makes it unsuitable for rapidly dividing cells like bone marrow, skin and gut cells. Lentiviruses are frequently the choice for such cells. However, neurons are extremely long lived, so the non-integration is not an issue when targeting the brain.
A one-off intravenous injection of AAV9 is also the strategy of Abeona Therapeutics in its gene therapy trial of Sanfilippo syndrome. While Lysogene in Europe uses a non-human primate AAV designated rh.10. '[AAVs] have become the most commonly used gene therapy vectors of for the central nervous system because of their safety, non-pathogenic nature and ability to infect dividing and quiescent cells in vivo, particularly neurons,' explains Samantha Parker, Lysogene's chief patient access officer. It administered the vectors directly into the brain of four patients, who all showed improvements in behavioural and sleep disorders. It plans a phase II trial but with a new promoter that Parker says increases enzyme expression around three-fold.
Improving potency and targeting
'Over the last four or five years, there has been an exponential increase in the potency of these technologies,' says Waddington. He moved the preclinical work forward using AAV vectors for haemophilia B towards the clinic. Between 2010 and 2012, Amit Nathwani at the UCL Cancer Institute and colleagues at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee, US successfully infused 10 men suffering from severe haemophilia with AAV8 vector to deliver a factor IX transgene, crucial in coagulation. This resulted in long-term expression at therapeutic levels of the missing factor, a first. Liver cells are long-lived protein factories that easily release their products into the bloodstream.
Waddington says such successes have been built on better vector targeting and efficiency. 'I remember doing injections in mice around 2007 and seeing that they were expressing 3000% human factor IX,' he recalls. 'The perception at the time was that gene therapy was down, but we researchers in the field were motivated by the progress we saw.'
Crispr–Cas9 and gene editing in general can give us a higher level of precision when we correct diseases
Luigi Naldini, San Raffaele Institute, Milan
Different variants of AAVs go to different tissues and researchers tweak viruses to refine their targeting. 'You can effectively target the brain, liver or muscles using different coat proteins,' Bigger explains. Gray's lab tweaks the capsid protein surrounding AAVs by trying different combinations. 'One amino acid difference can change the effectiveness of an AAV,' says Mark Kay, a gene transfer technologist at Stanford University in the US. 'We and others are making libraries of capsid genes using multiple AAVs and then putting millions of variants under evolutionary selection.' The best ones at targeting say liver cells are then sought by testing them on human liver cells put in a humanized mouse model. One chimeric capsid, made up of five different parent AAV capsids, proved dramatically more efficient at delivering a transgene into human liver cells than AAV8.3
Kay founded a company, Voyager Therapeutics, which aims to directly inject AAVs into the brain to treat patients with severe disease of the central nervous system. It has candidates at preclinical stages for Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's and monogenic amyotropic lateral sclerosis, a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. Voyager's lead candidate is for advanced Parkinson's disease and a trial with five patients is under way. Other ways to improve the viral vectors include doubling up with two copies inside the AAV vector.
But there are still problems. Typically, 10 to 40% of us have specific immunity to AAV variants and produce antibodies to them. For now, patients who raise antibodies against a specific serotype are not treated with that viral vector, a problem when the viral vector cannot simply be changed (it's part of the therapy and needs to be approved by regulators). 'In future, we might be able to get around that through immuno-suppression or using toleration regimes of some flavour, but at the moment it's a limitation,' admits Bigger.
Sangamo Therapeutics in the US is using AAV viruses in clinical trials to deliver zinc finger nucleases to liver cells of patients with severe haemophilia B and so insert a gene precisely. It is also using these nucleases in clinical trials in patients with Hurler and Hunter syndrome, two lysosomal storage diseases. Zinc finger nucleases are looked upon by some as old hat, and it's assumed viral vectors will eventually carry Crispr–Cas9 for gene editing. 'The traditional approach of gene therapy using viruses to introduce functional genes will be with us for the foreseeable future, but gene editing is going to become a huge part of gene therapy, for treating and preventing a whole series of diseases,' predicts Friedmann. 'Gene editing means we don't have to accept that the mutant gene stays in place. We can go into the cell and fixing the spelling of the relevant gene.' Naldini agrees: 'Crispr–Cas9 and gene editing in general can give us a higher level of precision when we correct diseases.' GSK says it is adopting a 'watch and wait' approach to gene editing.
Last summer, 12-year-old Hannah Sames became the fifth child in a clinical trial to receive trillions of AAV viruses with the corrective gene for GAN. The trial continues, rooted in basic research on AAVs in Gray's lab. Gene therapy is set to continue to deliver hope to rare disease patients, but it remains to be seen whether it can live up to its early promises and deliver cures to otherwise terminal or severely debilitating conditions. Gene therapy researchers are cautiously optimistic.
Anthony King is a science writer based in Dublin, Ireland
1 A Biffi et al, Science, 2013, 341, 1233158 (DOI: 10.1126/science.1233158)
2 A Aitui et al, Science, 2013, 341, 1233151 (DOI: 10.1126/science.1233151)
3 L Lisowski et al, Nature, 2014, 506, 382 (DOI: 10.1038/nature12875)
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Technic Announces Exclusive Distribution Rights for Alufinish Products in the U.S. and Canada
Wednesday, May 17, 2017 (0 Comments)
Cranston, Rhode Island, USA – Technic is pleased to announce it has acquired exclusive distributor rights for Alufinish's anodizing and powder coating pretreatment products in the U.S. and Canada. In this joint partnership, Alufinish, a recognized leader in the aluminum anodizing and passivation chemistry business throughout Europe and the Middle East, will join with Technic in expanding its markets to the U.S. and Canada.
Based in Andernach, Germany, Alufinish manufactures a full range of anodizing and aluminum pretreatment products. Alufinish products are highly engineered to pass the most stringent performance requirements, including Qualinod and Qualicoat standards for architectural profiles and high pH resistance for automotive exterior trim.
"For years, Technic has engineered and built anodizing lines for some of the leading manufacturers in the industry. We are delighted to offer customers a globally recognized brand of top performing process chemistry for this expanding North American industry."
George A. Federman
Vice President, Project Development
Technic Inc.
To learn more about Alufinish, go to www.alufinish.de
To learn more about Technic and Alufinish Products, go to www.technic.com
About Technic
Technic Inc. is a Rhode Island based, privately held corporation with over 900 employees worldwide. For over 70 years, Technic has been a global supplier of specialty chemicals, custom finishing equipment, engineered powders, and analytical control systems to the electronic component, printed circuit board, semiconductor, industrial finishing and decorative industries. Technic is also a major supplier of engineered metal powders to the solar industry.
Learn more at www.technic.com or contact us at (401) 781-6100.
View the full Press Release

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1. I've been working on my very first novel. [QUIVER. CLENCH. ANXIETY-NINJAS IN MY STOMACH.] I started working in September, and completed the very, very rough draft in April.
2. I'm coming around the bend on my first round of editing. Soon I will let a few Alpha Readers take a long look, before they solemnly set fire to my manuscript and without breaking eye contact — dial the authorities.
3. While I try to stay focused on the craft itself of working on the book, I have noodled around a bit on The Next Step. The world of traditional publishing is contracting, and it's never been known for being an easy assault for new talent — so, most of my thoughts have been centered around Self-Publishing. With resources like CreateSpace via Amazon it's childishly simple to do, and I could have the most basic unit of my goals with a modicum of time and effort — i.e. a paper book that I slap in my mom's hands.
4. I heart Pat Rothfuss. Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear are excellent books. Wise Man's Fear is one of the only books I can ever recall finishing …then immediately starting to read again. Slowly, languorously. I went on to read other things, but I would circle back like a honey-drunk bee to take another sip. I read that cat's blog religious — and all of this novel nonsense is so I can send him a copy [right after my mom] and then he'll read it and think I"m awesome and that we should be best friends and then he'll come to my birthday party. THIS WOULD CLEARLY BE HIS REACTION TO MY WORK.
Today I read an interview he gave, linked into his own blog.
TP: Were you ever tempted to self-publish?
PR: Not really. Because, as I mentioned, I wanted people to read my books.
I know there's a lot of talk about self-publishing right now. Everyone's giddy with the possibilities. And I'll admit that it looks good on paper: sell your books directly and keep a bigger chunk of the profit for yourself. No rejection letters. No hassle with agents. Sounds good, right?
Except nobody knows who you are. And nobody really cares. And your book is mostly crap because you haven't had a substance-level editor give you feedback and make you revise it a couple of times. And your book is full of typos because you didn't have a copy-editor read it. And the layout is ugly because you don't know anything about layout…I'm sure you get the picture.
It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't mean you know anything about marketing. Or layout. Or editing. Or publicity. Or selling your books for foreign markets.
Even if you're surprisingly good at one of those things, you're still not going to be as good as a professional. You don't know the tricks of the trade. You don't know the right people to call. You don't know what mistakes to avoid….
Everyone can point to a few examples of people that have done very well for themselves self-publishing. But honestly, those folks are lucky as lottery winners. They're statistical anomalies. You want to publish with a publisher because a publisher knows how to publish a book. And you don't. You really don't.
Now, first and foremost, this isn't about how Pat Rothfuss broke my heart, or what a big meanie-face he is, etc. etc. His beard is made of laughter and moonbeams, people. From my EXTENSIVE PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE [aka reading his blog.] he is clearly not a malicious person in any way. He was speaking from his own experience, trying to give helpful and clear advice.
It was a bit stern, and absolutist — but then, I remembered — Nerd/DM High Speech. Nerds speak in absolutes, with unwavering knowledge about whatever topic is in our demesne. It probably comes from being the smartest kid in the class, or years with our finger pointing at the small print in the Player's Handbook. We all delight in pronouncing This is how it is. This is how it works. No, you cannot gain access to 6th level spells, just because you have a magical ability that increases your effective caster level, Carbunkle.
No, this post is about my reaction. I felt foolish.
Here is a writer and person that I respect telling me that I'm functionally wasting my time. I will self-publish my novel and it will be garbage. It will not be discovered, it will not be read. I am doing a disservice to myself and to the work itself by going this route. Pat Rothfuss told me I was an idiot.
This is not how my fanfiction plays out AT ALL.
I don't think he's wrong. I don't think he's right either.
For the vast majority of people self-publishing, he's absolutely right. We all need to hear the stark truth like that. A wake-up call that if your goal is financial success then you are setting yourself up for failure. You are not some maverick Hemingway blazing across the firmament while thumbing your nose at traditional publishing. If you got into this gig to be the next 50 Shades of BLAHBLAHBLAH, then you are in it for the wrong reasons. Take a glance at the amount of self-published drivel on the Amazon Kindle alone. His metaphor of winning the lottery is apt. Every writer can benefit tangibly from a trained editor, copy-editor — and the inarguable expertise in marketing and layout that a publishing house can bring to bear.
But, I'm special. SCREAMED THE SPECK OF DUST IN A TRANSPARENT ALLUSION TO THAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIP.
And beyond that, I do believe that traditional paper publishing is in its dotage. We're caught in the weird wilderness between traditional and digital publishing, and all the old dinosaurs are late to the game. The tools are all laying around [editing, design, computers with blinky buttons] — what's to stop us from selling and promoting our own work digitally direct to our audience? John Scalzi almost pioneered this concept, releasing his work chapter by chapter on the web, then backed into traditional publishing after he had already built a readership. And he's the president of the freaking Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, now!
There are more options now then ever, so more people than ever are going to chase the dream their own way. So, yeah, me too basically.
I have taken his thoughts to heart. I've always considered self-publishing the book as a first step, a tool to one day get picked up by a publishing house. The first book is a resume for the new job I want to have.
I hear you, Pat. I really do. But I am mercurial at best — I just can't stay motivated with the idea of finishing the book THEN enduring two years or more of frustrating query letters, and standing like a beggar outside the big publishing houses wearing an adorable Dickensian top hat.
Well, maybe the top hat.
So, I'm sticking to my guns. Alpha Readers in July. More and more editing after that, and then when I say done I will use this fancy InterWebamaphone to put my book into people's hands and on their fancy e-readers.
And I'm still sending you a copy, Pat. I'll save you some cake, and a brightly colored hat.


Welcome to the home of the Kalaheo Dental Group! Our friends and neighbors in Kalaheo, Omao, Koloa, Lawai, Poipu, and all over Kauai have trusted their dental care to our experienced team for decades.
We're aware that many people don't look forward to dental visits. But we know from years of experience that dental care doesn't need to be stressful. Our team takes pride in working together to create a welcoming environment that makes it easy for you and all of your ohana to relax and get the treatment you need.
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Creating ongoing relationships helps us learn what's important to our patients so we can provide truly personalized treatment. Dr. Michael Lutwin, Dr. Ron Quade, Dr. Kelliann Rita, and our entire knowledgeable team will create a customized treatment plan by getting to know you and learning about your dental health goals.
We offer all the preventive treatments your ohana needs to help you avoid complicated dental problems and costly procedures. No matter what the current state of your oral health, we're here to help you achieve a stunning, healthy smile.
At Kalaheo Dental Group, we want you to feel confident that your child's oral health care is in good hands. Our team is gentle and caring, and we know that children have unique needs when it comes to visiting the dentist.
Early dental care sets the stage for a future of problem-free oral health. Our team focuses on making each of your child's visits enjoyable and stress-free. We know how to make visits fun so that kids actually look forward to seeing us. We even let your child choose a fun toy from our toy box to keep them motivated for future visits.
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We invite you to stop by our Kauai dental office to see our new upgrades and discuss how we may be of service to you. Finding us is easy – our office is conveniently located on Kaumualii Highway in the Rainbow Plaza.
We look forward to helping you and your ohana enjoy the benefits of excellent oral health! Mahalo!
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We're offering a limited-time GLO Whitening special for $449 plus tax (regular: $549 plus tax) now through April 30, 2019.
If this is something you've always wanted to do, now is the time to do it!


*Lisa with the City of Show Low Public Library about the Summer Reading Program. It provides fun and exciting opportunities for children and teenagers to explore the world of reading and lifelong learning while helping to prevent the "summer slide" kids' experience being out of school. Summer Reading features exciting events, such as Pawsome Readers (read to a therapy dog program), Craft Events and Special Events. We also offer Summer Reading opportunities for teens and adults!
This year's theme is "Libraries Rock" and be an online summer reading program. You will be reading lots of books, attending fun activities and playing fun games all to earn points towards badges! Earn badges by participating in reading and activities. Points will earn you tickets which will be entered into a drawing for great prizes. The more points you earn, the more tickets you receive, the more chances you have to win! Stay tuned for more details as summer reading draws closer. Click here to visit the summer reading website for more details and to register online starting June 1st.
You may also visit the library for a brochure or call for more information, (928) 532-4070.
Starting on June 1st you can register online and at the library to start earning your points.
As you earn points, you will receive prize tickets.
Books, graphic novels, reading to dog, being read to, and listening to audiobooks all count!
When you complete the program, you will receive a prize!
Everyone who completes the program will be entered into a drawing for the Grand Prize. There is one grand prize for each age group!
There will be multiple other prizes available. You can choose which prize you want to put your tickets in!
*Carrie and Melissa with The City of Show Low share information about upcoming summer events through Show LowParks & Rec.
Summer Play Days starts June 4th -July 26th, 8am-12pm, boys and grils ages 5-11 yrs. Most will be at the Show Low City Campus Teen Center, one at Fool Hollow Lake, and one at Show Low City Park. There will be a new theme each week. Cost is $10/day, $35/week, $115/4 weeks, $200 for entire length of the program. You can register at the Show Low City Hall.
The 4th of July falls on a Wednesday this year.
The parade will start at 9am. Float registration can be done online, at the City Hall, or the Aquatic Center.$25 per float.
Following the parade will be the Wet Zone at Frontier Park. Bring the kids for water fun!
Fireworks start at 9pm. Fun Zone wristband $10/each.
*Brenda Defour-Lee stops by to share information about Generation Zapped, a new documentary revealing the high cost of our addcition to digital devices and health risks, especially for children and teens, from exposure to wireless radiation. Bring your family and friends and join us for this very educational and eye-opening movie.
FREE- Saturday, May 19th, 1pm-4pm at White Mountain Independent Conference Room, 3191 S. White Mountain Blvd., Show Low, AZ 85901.
*Robyn Davis comes in to talk about Alta Sierra's Dog Days of Summer - Saturday, June 2nd, 4:30pm - Featuring the 4th Annual Running of the Weiners ($25 entry fee for competition, must be under 25lbs) and 4 new categories open to ALL breeds: Costume, Sing Off, Look-a-Like, and Sleep Off ($5 per category).
*Lynn Lewis with the Love Kitchen stops by to share an upcoming 3- day event; Hogs and Hot Rods. The event will be over Memorial Day Weekend, May 25th-27th at the Mountain Meadow Sports Complex.
It is an open, FREE bike and car show.
Also, Little Miss Pin-Up and Little Biker Dude Pageant, ages 0-10.
*Malaina Spillman and Jeanne Begovac with the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside come in to speak about the Ad and Promotion Committee. The Ad Pro Committee was created to help bring visitors up on the mountain, be mindful and strategic of who is being supported, and help with local EVENTS.
*Steve North with Show Low Main Street chats about the Farmer's Market and Art Walk starting Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 26th; open every Saturday until September 29th!
*Sunshine Tippets with Solterra Senior Living talks about Solterra "guest" stays and their rooms that are available for Community use for $30 (3 separate rooms). Move-In Special: move in by July 15th and save $1,000 - Call to schedule your tour (928)532-4600.
*Deena Wheeler - Country Dancing in the White Mountains - Deena talks about a few upcoming events, dancing and more.
*Allison Hephner with Navajo County Public Health Services District talks about the WIC Program (Women, Infants, and Children) and the Community Health Assessment.
WIC is a supplemental nutrition program that encourages families to make lifelong healthy eating and activity choices.
If you are a legal guardian or caregiver (grandparents and fathers) of a child under the age of 5. They may also be eligible to receive WIC services.
In the misfortunate event of a miscarriage a woman is eligible to receive benefits up to 6 months after the loss of a baby.
WIC has moved from a paper check to a EWIC card that uploads your healthy food benefits on a monthly basis.
Healthy foods include: fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy products, protein sources like beans – peanut butter and formula if needed.
housing are automatically eligible to receive WIC benefits.
Please call the clinic closest to you to see if you qualify and to schedule an appointment.
You can also visit the Arizona WIC website at www.azwic.gov for more information.
Pinetop-Lakeside talks about Community Events and Services, including the Balloon Fest.
Recored in the Hertiage Room at the Show Low City Hall.
In this episode Birdman chats with Justen Tregaskes, Planning and Zoning Director with The City of Show Low about the Annual Project Clean Sweep and with Rick Austin with Public Works about the Buly Item Pick Up portion.
Project Clean Sweep, the free citywide beautification program, kicks off in mid-May and continues into June. Participation in the program is free to those presenting proof of residency either a City of Show Low utility bill showing current refuse service or a valid driver's license listing a physical address within the city limits.
Commercial businesses are not eligible to participate in this program. Construction materials and hazardous materials (liquid paints, oils, pesticides, herbicides and household cleaning products) are strictly prohibited.
* Monday, May 14–Saturday, May 19, and Monday, May 21–Saturday, May 26, for Green Waste Dumping, which allows you to drop off pine needles, tree limbs, grass clippings and organic materials for free at Dirty Deeds Green Waste, 890 Cinder Pit Road behind Perkins Cinders, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. including Saturday. Do not mix in garbage, plastic, rocks, dirt, glass or other trash with the green waste. You may also drop off wood products, including pallets, treated and untreated lumber, and painted and unpainted lumber.
* Monday, June 4 – Friday, June 8 for Bulky Item Pickup, with city employees picking up any large unwanted appliances (empty refrigerators or freezers of all contents before placing at curbside), furniture, tires, etc. Keep trash bagged up. No construction debri. Bundle up branches so they're easy to manage. Items will be picked up in conjunction of your regularly scheduled trash collection day.
* Monday, June 4 – Saturday, June 9 for Free Dumping at Lone Pine Transfer Station (on SR77). The transfer station will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed for lunch 12-1230pm), including Saturday, but will not accept hazardous materials including pesticides, herbicides, oils, liquid paints, and household cleaning products; automobile batteries; and tires with or without rims.
* Allision Hephner with Navajo County Public Health Services District stops by to talk about the Special Needs Category of the Derby Down the Deuce.
* Birdman talks about the Derby Down the Deuce held June 2, 2018 at 8am and the new features that will make viewing more fun.
Will be able to download an app, connect and follow who is racing, their end times, etc.
Over 800 people have taken the survey. Let's get that number up! The survey has been extended for a few more weeks.


Classic rockers Fleetwood Mac announced on Wednesday that they will visit Denver in December as part of their new North American tour.
Tickets go on sale May 4 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at http://www.Ticketmaster.ca, http://www.canadiantirecentre.com, by phone at 1-877-788-FANS.
The new Fleetwood Mac will perform in Newark and Atlantic City next year. Playing together for the first time in three years, the band delivered a flawless two-and-a-half hour set that showed it hadn't lost a step despite the hiatus. "Majority rules in term of what we need to do as a band and go forward". A limited amount of LaneOne VIP Packages will also be offered, including seats with premium benefits such as transportation, preferred entrance and more.
Earlier this month, the band confirmed it had parted ways with Lindsey Buckingham and added Heartbreakers' guitarist Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.
In a press release, the group said, "We are thrilled to welcome the musical talents of the caliber of Mike Campbell and Neil Finn into the Mac family".
Fleetwood Mac will play November 17 at the Tacoma Dome.
The band, which has been around since 1967, has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
The result masked an uptick in provisions for future legal cases, which fueled a 17 percent rise in spending. Asia accounted for about a quarter of the Swiss institution's total pre-tax income, at 1.054 billion francs.
The regular trading on 23-Apr-18 started at $9.43 but as the session moved on, the stock escalated, closing with a fall of -0.31%. After $-0.35 actual EPS reported by Cenovus Energy Inc . for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts -65.71% EPS growth.
Her now-defunct beauty line that she developed with her sisters, Kardashian Beauty, featured no products with parabens or sulfates in them.
Users of iPhones would, she said, be unable to use the Home Office app to scan their digital passport chips in order to apply for residence.
Australia's "Mr Cruel" attacked four girls under the age of 13 in Melbourne's outer suburbs between 1987 and 1991. Investigators may have made a break in the Golden State Killer case, with sources reporting a possible arrest.
Garde Capital Inc decreased its stake in Microsoft ( MSFT ) by 5.08% based on its latest 2017Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC. The stock of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ) has "Outperform" rating given on Friday, October 21 by BMO Capital Markets.
In Johannesburg , the march will end at the department of labour where a memorandum of demands will be delivered. The nationwide bus strike is still ongoing and it has severely hampered the travel plans of those who use buses.
Barkley's girlfriend Anna Congdon posted to Instagram in March that the couple was expecting their first child. Fans will need to stick with this one, but it makes sense in terms of the value exchange.
He pitched the 16th inning and was the losing pitcher in the Indians' 2-1 loss to Minnesota in Puerto Rico on April 18. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the following to the media in pregame about the rain. "It'll be fun to walk those steps".
Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where state-run oil and natural gas company Pertamina operates an oil field. Five homes were also destroyed in the disaster.
Elsewhere, the centre stack has been tidied up with a neater layout of buttons for the climate control and media systems. The new ES features multi-link rear suspension and has a V-brace behind the backseats to enhance handling and precision.
The stock of Oasis Petroleum Inc . 4/3/2018-Seaport Global Securities Upgrade from a "Neutral " rating to a " Buy" rating . Cypress Capital Ltd Liability Corp (Wy) has invested 0.06% in Oasis Petroleum Inc . ( NYSE : OAS ) for 953,779 shs.
Once set up, a "Your Flow" section appears in the browsers, letting users send content straight to the other device. Opera Touch is the name of the new mobile browser coming from the Norwegian software company with a similar name.
The 33-year-old is set to leave the Nou Camp this summer after deciding not to renew his deal with the Catalan club. The former Racing Santander midfielder tweeted: "Iniesta, please, don't go to China , come to Betis!"
DPO Cheema instructed Kunjah Police Station SHO Waqar Gujjar to register a case against victim's father, brother and uncle. The trial in Shahid's case is still underway but her father died past year , leaving only her ex-husband in the docks now.
Whedon eventually stepped away from the Batgirl movie this past February and stating he didn't have a story for the project. Joss Whedon has opened up about his exit from the yet-untitled 'Batgirl' project of Warner Bros and DC Entertainment.
With it, users will see a new icon within the upload media screen; up to ten bits of content can be selected to upload at once. Now in another update to its Stories feature , Instagram is allowing users to upload multiple photos and/or videos at once.
According to a recent report, Google is ready to pull the plug on Google Play Music to make way for another streaming service. YouTube Remix will be qualitatively different from its predecessor: have a large library and the ability to save tracks.
Francisco held his ground saying the presidential oath of office "marks a fundamental transformation". The justices are reviewing a unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel of the U.S.
The tangled shape, known as an i-motif, had been seen before in the lab, but few researchers expected it to occur in human cells. While the researchers are still not sure what the i-motif's goal is, the finding may help with interpreting DNA sequences.
The New Orleans Pelicans were the first team to reach the second round of this year's National Basketball Association playoffs. The Warriors are also the defending champions this season and they bested the Pels in their regular season series 3 - 1.


text:
Chapter 442 – First Stage
The black sea of lightning endlessly surged and churned, while claps of thunder resounded across the entire place, causing even the surrounding space to hum and vibrate.
All of a sudden, the black sea of lighting split apart as a figure radiating with lighting light shot out, before coming to a hover above the sea of lightning. Gigantic bolts of Divine Black Lightning howled out, descending on the figure. Countless rays of lightning light shot out, yet the figure just stretches his hands out, appearing in an extremely intoxicated state.
After promoting his Lightning God Physique to Quadra Rune Lightning Physique, Mu Chen's resistance to the Divine Black Lightning was much stronger than before. No longer would he be struck into a considerably miserable state. In fact, when the rampant energies of the Divine Black Lighting had entered his body, they only brought about a slightly numb feeling, an extremely comfortable sensation.
Hu.
Lowering his hands, Mu Chen exhaled a clump of white mist, within which even sparkled with lightning light. A smile brimming with excitement was present on his face. Indeed, this Quadra Rune Lighting Physique is much, much more tyrannical than the Diplo Rune Lightning Physique.
Raising his head, he looked towards the Northern Sea Dragon in the distance, before shooting over with a move of his body.
Sweeping his gaze across Mu Chen's body, a satisfied smile appeared on the face of the Northern Sea Dragon. Raising one's Lightning God Physique from Diplo Rune to Quadra Rune in the span of three months. This was already a rather good speed of improvement.
"Thanks Senior Northern Sea." Mu Chen spoke out respectfully as he cupped his hands. He knew that the Northern Sea Dragon's help was essential for him to be able to have such an improvement. If not, he would need at least one more fold of time to be able to obtain similar results.
Waving his hands, the Northern Sea Dragon replied, "Since you're participating in the Great Spiritual Academy Tournament for our Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, I'll naturally help a bit to avoid losing face."
Speaking till here, he paused for a moment,shooting a look at Mu Chen, before continuing. "However, for the past three months, I can only help you promote your Lighting God's Physique to this level. It doesn't provide too much of a promotion to your Spiritual Energy cultivation."
Hearing that, Mu Chen nodded his head. During the last three months, he had primarily trained and cultivated his Lighting God's Physique. Although his Spiritual Energy had also increased, it wasn't at the astonishing rate of improvement as his Lighting God's Physique. Nevertheless, he was already extremely satisfied. After all, within the short span of three months, it was impossible for him to drastically improve in both aspects. He had to choose one of them to focus on.
"There's still three more months till the half-year mark. For the next three months, I'll do my utmost to train and cultivate my Spiritual Energy and raise my cultivation level," replied Mu Chen with a smile.
Hearing that, the Northern Sea Dragon nodded his head and said, "Okay. However, for the next three months, I'll not be guiding you anymore. You'll be changing places. For the next three months, you're belong to someone else."
"Someone else?" Mu Chen gawked.
"Your final three months will be guided by Elder Ling Xi. It'll be fine if you follow along with her. She said that if you follow her, she'll let your strength rise by leaps and bounds for the next three months."
With a mischievous laugh, the Northern Sea Dragon sent a grin toward Mu Chen while saying, "Training under her is always better than following this uninteresting old man, right? She's such a beautiful lady, and has an extremely good relationship with you. You have to seize this opportunity, okay? This is the very first time I've seen Ling Xi care so much about a male. Even in front of us, she always appeared cold and icy."
Hearing that, embarrassment filled Mu Chen's face. What kind of words are these…?
"Okay. Time for you to go. I've to close up for a while."
The Northern Sea Dragon placed his hands behind his back, while rays of brilliance seemed to circulate across his ancient face. At this moment, the incisiveness of his gaze was so sharp, it appeared to be able to pierce through space, giving people an indescribable feeling of tyranny.
Seeing this, a faint tremble shook through Mu Chen's heart as he probed. "Senior Northern Sea, are you going to break through?"
Clearly feeling extremely good, the Northern Sea Dragon grinned as he nodded his head. With a sigh, he replied, "I've already been stagnated in this realm for so many years. It's all thanks to you by helping me obtain that Lightning God's Pill. After preparing for half a year, it's time for me to try breaking through…"
Hearing that, Mu Chen smacked his lips. If the Northern Sea Dragon was to succeed in his breakthrough, he would become a genuine Earth Sovereign. Placed within the entire Great Thousand World, he would be considered a Regional Overlord. After all, even a power as strong as the Luo God Clan, their strongest expert, which was Luo Li's grandfather, Luo Tianshen, was only an Earth Sovereign. Being able to protect the Luo God Clan under the covetous glares coming from the other three Great God Clans, this showed exactly how powerful a person of this realm of strength possessed.
Although it was a only a fine distinction between a Ninth Grade Sovereign and an Earth Sovereign, the difference in strength was as different as sky and earth. If the Northern Sea Dragon possessed the strength of an Earth Sovereign in the past, even if one were to give the Demonic Dragon Palace the courage, they wouldn't dare to provoke the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. Even to so-called 'Immeasurable Old Ancestor', wouldn't dare to step foot into this Northern Heavens Continent.
"Then I'll first congrat Senior Northern Sea on your breakthrough here," said Mu Chen respectfully as he cupped his hands towards the Northern Sea Dragon.
With a smile, the Northern Sea Dragon nodded his head. With a wave of his sleeve, space started to warp and distort, before a pathway to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was torn open.
Seeing this, Mu Chen didn't hesitate anymore. Turning his body, he strode into the warped space. As the space chaotically fluctuated, his body completely disappeared within it.
Seeing that Mu Chen had disappeared, the face of the Northern Sea Dragon gradually grew solemn. With a clench of his hand, a smooth, round Lightning Pill appeared within. This pill possessed a jet-black splendor, with lightning covering its entirety, appearing as if it was developing into a lightning world, causing it to appear immeasurably mysterious.
As this Lightning God's Pill appeared, lightning instantly flashed and thunder clapped within the last level of the Lightning Territory as countless bolts of lightning shattered across the horizon, causing this dim and dark space to be lit up like daybreak.
A roar rang out from the depths of the sea of lightning at the same time. The Lightning Spirit seemed to have discovered the Lightning God's Pill.
The Northern Sea Dragon shot an indifferent glare towards the depths of the sea of lightning, before retracting it back. Black halos of light started to ripple from his body. In the next instant, his body warped and distorted, rapidly expanding in size. In a short span of a few breaths, his body had transformed into an endlessly gigantic life form.
This life form's body was of a jet-black colour, and appeared like a fish, yet wasn't a fish, like a dragon, yet wasn't a dragon. It spread it's wings out, wings that looked akin to vertical clouds that seemingly covered half of the space.
As the Lighting God's Pill rushed towards the sky, the Northern Sea Dragon opened it's giant maw, akin to a whale sucking in water. As the Lightning God's Pill descended alongside the endless rampant lightning and thunder, it was completely engulfed up by the giant maw of the Northern Sea Dragon.
As the Lightning God's Pill entered his body, with a jump, the gigantic body of the Northern Sea Dragon rushed into the depths of the sea of lightning. In the next instant, the entire space grew rampant as the sea of lighting surged and churned. Gigantic waves towering thousands and thousands of metres high swept up, appearing to want to destroy the entire space, their imposing might extremely terrifying.
An astonishing breakthrough was quietly fermenting within the depths of this sea of lightning.
After stepping into the spatial pathway, Mu Chen naturally wasn't privy to the astonishing commotion that had happened after he had left the Lightning Territory. Furthermore, even if he knew, he would be of no use at all. A breakthrough to that realm was completely dependent on oneself. Other than praying for good luck for the Northern Sea Dragon, there was nothing he could do.
In the air above the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, space started to warp and distort, before Mu Chen appeared from it. Looking across the azure horizon, he stared at the Spirit Beasts flying across the sky, before hearing the sounds of vitality ringing out from the entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. At this moment, he could not help breath a sigh of relief. Every time he came out from the Lightning Territory, he always had a feeling of finally seeing the light.
That place gave people too much pressure when they were within it. Nevertheless, it had to be said that it truly was an absolutely fantastic training ground.
Hovering in the air, Mu Chen swept his gaze around. After slightly pondering, he shot straight towards the mountain peak, where Ling Xi was living. As of now, Luo Li and the rest were clearly still training and cultivating within the Gates of the Northern Heavens. Therefore, with no need to head back to the Freshman Region, it's best for him to seize every moment and find Ling Xi now.
After a couple of minutes, Mu Chen descended on the quiet mountain peak. This was where Ling Xi lived by herself. Not only did no student dare to come within its vicinity, it was also extremely rare for the higher-ups of the academy to come here; after all, they were all too clear about the icy-cold temperament of Ling Xi. The latter didn't even give much face to Dean Tai Cang, so what about them?
Even though this was the case, there was nothing they could say, since within the entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, other than the Northern Sea Dragon and Dean Tai Cang, not even the five Heavenly Seated Elders were a match for Ling Xi. Therefore, she had such a transcendent capital.
After descending onto the mountain, Mu Chen quietly walked into the courtyard. Sweeping his gaze across, he spotted the white-robed female sitting before the bamboo house.
The female possessed a graceful, slender figure, her chest stood outstandingly under the cover of her white robes, her little waist thin and slender with a pair of artistic looking eyebrows. Despite this, however, her beautiful face had too much of an ice-cold expression on it. At this moment, one of her fair hands held the spine of an old book, while the other gently played with her long hair. This spectacle was akin to a scene of a painting, causing Mu Chen to turn slightly absent minded upon seeing it.
Who would have guessed that the person considered as the third strongest expert of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy would actually be such a beautiful young lady…
"What's the matter? Gaping in awe?" While Mu Chen was slightly absent minded, a clear, pleased voice rang out from before him, only for him to notice that Ling Xi had already retracted her gaze from the ancient book in her hand. Raising her lovable face up, she had sent a faint smile towards Mu Chen. At this moment, the ice-cold expression formerly present on her face had completely melted away, replaced by an arc that curled up at the corners of her lips, a scene that would cause the flowers to lose their colour.
Scratching his head, Mu Chen replied with a smile, "Elder Sister Ling Xi's really getting more and more beautiful."
"More beautiful than your little female friend?" asked Ling Xi teasingly.
With a mischievous laugh, Mu Chen walked over and said, "Sir Northern Sea said to allow Elder Sister Ling Xi guide my training and cultivation from here on."
Hearing that, Ling Xi gently nodded, before waving her hand towards Mu Chen to ask him to sit beside her. Placing her jade-like hand on her cheek, she started to quietly stare at the handsome face of Mu Chen.
Mu Chen turned slightly embarrassed by her stare, causing his gaze to wander away.
With a faint smile, Ling Xi shook her head, extending her ice-cold jade-like hands to rub his face. Over the past three months of focused training and cultivation, a stubble had grown on his face, causing the tender and immature appearance of the youth to disappear by quite a bit, replaced by the firm and persistent face of a true man.
Upon being touched by her ice-cold jade-like hand, Mu Chen was slightly startled, before his body turned stiff as he noticed a small sharp blade appearing between Ling Xi's slender fingertips.
"Elder Sister Ling Xi…"
However, not waiting for him to retreat back due to his conditioned reflex, Ling Xi had already moved closer. As her fragrance came buffeting over, faint fluctuations surfaced within her beautiful eyes. Streaking over, the sharp blade gently shaved off the messy stubble present on Mu Chen's face
Seeing this, Mu Chen gawked as he stared at the absolutely beautiful face just inches before him, before seeing the earnest expression on her face. At this moment, emotions gushed out from him. A Ling Xi like this was truly like an Elder Sister…


A 30-year-old man has appeared in court on allegations of making threats to kill and assaulting his former partner.
Daniel Cooper of Drummond Road, Skegness, at first admitted the offence of assault but later changed his plea saying he had only done so in order to get the matter over with.
Magistrates in Boston adjourned the hearing until October 31 for legal submissions in writing regarding abandoning the original plea and taking new pleas.


text:
EU OFFICIALS claim to have made progress in talks with Israel aimed at resolving an outstanding trade dispute over Palestinian products. They said that discussions between the two sides in Brussels last week had been useful in exploring ways to end long-standing disagreements about which products were eligible for special trade concessions offered to Palestinian-made goods.
November 11, 1998 5:00 pm CET
But they warned that a comprehensive solution was still a long way off, despite Israel's agreement to recognise the EU's free trade accord with the Palestinian National Authority.
THE EU is providing 28 million ecu in aid to Peru to help in its fight against the drugs trade. The money is aimed at funding a major alternative development project in the Andean region of Pozuzo/Palcazu which should help up to 50,000 Peruvians. The decision will be confirmed by Union foreign ministers when they meet next month.
AUSTRIAN Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schüssel announced this week that the EU had asked the Western European Union (WEU) to carry out mine-clearing activities in Croatia. The EU will provide 435,000 ecu to coordinate, supervise and train mine-clearance specialists and instructors in Croatia for one year. It is the first time that the WEU, of which ten EU member states are full members, has been asked to fulfil a role related to the EU's security policy.
FOREIGN ministers from the UK, Austria and Germany embarked on a three-day visit to India this week to discuss a range of issues concerning relations with the EU. The Indian government was expected to raise problems with access for Indian exports to the Union during talks with the EU ministers, including a recent decision to impose anti-dumping duties on Indian cotton exports.
THE European Commission has announced it will seek a World Trade Organisation ruling on Argentina's trade restrictions on leather and cattle hides. A Commission spokesman said that it had requested WTO consultations on Argentinian trade rules which effectively ban exports of raw cattle hides and impose "unfair" duties on imports of leather goods.
Argentina Austria Croatia Germany India Israel Peru United States


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If the phones are ringing and we don't get to them right away, please be patient! Team Nicholson (above, left: president Karen Kelly Shea and charter and brokerage associate Julia Towne) is helping its fleet shine for brokers, central agents, and other admirers who are scoping out boats to book luxury crewed yacht vacations.
Headed to Barcelona April 23? Get this book!
"Nicholson Yachts: Boutique Creativity" is now live on the Paddock magazine website. Enjoy!
We know you want to be informed about your favorite tropical destinations. Find the latest status updates from the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association about the islands here.
Fulfill your Fanta-seas with OCEAN PHOENIX!
Carpe Diem – Just Do It!
What do tennis and yachting have in common?
While the Caribbean is typically referred to as paradise for its relaxed vibe, sandy white beaches and clear- turquoise water, it is rarely included among the great gastronomic hubs. It may be time to change that! Among its advantages: fresh ingredients such as straight-off-the-boat seafood, tropical fruits picked each morning, and its plethora of spices.
Champagne is a symbol for luxury and it is no wonder why a crisp, chilled glass of champagne is the go-to drink for celebrations, toasts and lavish events. From the Queen's favorite to a case preserved at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, we raise a glass to the finest champagnes in the world.
What is it like spending your vacation with a yacht crew?
If you plan on traveling by plane this holiday season, you're not alone. Airports are packed and lines are long. Here are a few pointers to help alleviate the stress so you can arrive full of holiday spirit!
Why is Fall the Best Time to Buy A Boat?
If you've had your boat for a while, you probably have a great routine you follow each year. But if it's the first winter for you and your seaworthy companion, you may need some pointers.
Blue Horizons- A Classic Hatteras with Recent Modifications!
The Tall Ship Oliver Hazard Perry returned to Newport on Saturday morning after a six-day voyage with 28 teenagers and 20 adults.
With over 600 exhibitors, this is an event you won't want to miss!
Nicholson Yachts is proud to feature sailing yacht EROS, a classic 115 ft schooner that has a rich sailing history.
IDA LEWIS DISTANCE RACE August 19th-August 20th Friday, August 19, 2016 will mark the twelfth edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race.
Nicholson Yachts Joins With Volvo Car Open Tennis CHARLESTON, SC: The Charleston office of Nicholson Yachts is preparing to welcome pro tennis' most highly touted women players as they descend on Daniel Island for the Volvo Cars Open, April 2 – 10.
Nantucket Lightship Listed for Sale One of maritime history's most iconic vessels has been listed for sale by Nicholson Yachts for an asking price of $5.2 million.
Why Charter a Yacht in New England – Start Newport What better way to experience and explore the New England area with its beauty and its richness in history than with a luxury yacht charter vacation.
S/Y MATAU dropping off much-needed educational books to schools and throughout the Caribbean. Sailing from St Vincent to Grenada, stopping along the way at Union Island, Mustique, Bequia etc..
SINGAPORE YACHT SHOW – April 7-10, 2016 The Singapore Yacht Show is an exclusive event with some of the world's finest superyacht and international yacht brands held at the award-winning ONE°15 Marina Club.
ANTIGUA SAIL WEEK 2016 April 23-29, 2016 Antigua Sailing Week features seven days of fantastic, competitive, Caribbean sailing.
Nicholson Yachts will be attending The Annual Spring British Virgin Island (BVI) Charter Yacht Show.