Why it matters: This session, the Supreme Court has undertaken the review of numerous cases that raise thorny issues arising in the white collar context. In our last newsletter, we reported on the Court's March 30, 2016 decision in Luis v. U.S. which held in a criminal healthcare case that the pretrial restraint by the government of legitimate, untainted assets owned by a defendant that are needed to retain defense counsel of choice violates the Sixth Amendment. In this newsletter we report on the Court's May 2, 2016 decision in Ocasio v. U.S, which dealt with the issue of what prosecutors need to prove to establish a public corruption conspiracy under the Hobbs Act. In addition, we review the April 27, 2016 oral argument before the Court in McDonnell v. U.S., where the Court is reviewing the question of what constitutes an "official act" for purposes of the federal public corruption statutes in the high-profile case involving Virginia's former governor. Last, we preview the Court's grant of certiorari on April 25, 2016 in Shaw v. U.S. to resolve a circuit split regarding the intent prosecutors need to prove to establish a "scheme to defraud a financial institution" under the federal bank fraud statute.
Detailed discussion: Read on for a recap of the recent decision, oral argument and grant of certiorari, respectively, in three criminal cases with white collar implications before the Supreme Court.
First, a brief summary of the underlying facts and procedural history that got us to this point. Petitioner Samuel Ocasio (Ocasio), a former Baltimore police officer, was indicted in 2011 along with nine other police officers and two owners of an auto repair shop for participating in a kickback scheme in which Ocasio and the other officers routed damaged vehicles from accident scenes to the auto repair shop in exchange for payments from the shop owners. The shop owners and most of the other police officers pleaded guilty and accepted plea deals, but Ocasio did not and was convicted after jury trial of directly violating the Hobbs Act by obtaining money from the shop owners under color of official right, and of conspiring with others to violate the Hobbs Act in conjunction with the general federal conspiracy statute found at 18 U. S. C. § 371. Relevant to the case before the Court, Ocasio unsuccessfully argued during both the trial (in connection with jury instructions) and on appeal before the Fourth Circuit that he could not be convicted under the federal conspiracy statute of conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act—and thus his conviction should be vacated—because the definition of "extortion" in Section 1951(b) of the Hobbs Act requires that the property at issue be obtained "from another." Thus, Ocasio argued, the prosecutors had failed to prove that the conspirators agreed to obtain property "from another," i.e., someone outside the conspiracy, because the shop owners were part of the conspiracy, and so the payments at issue were simply payments between conspiracy members. The Supreme Court granted Ocasio's petition for writ of certiorari to decide the issue.
The Court went on to briefly review the "basic" principles of conspiracy law in effect. Noting that the federal conspiracy statute under which Ocasio was convicted—Section 371– makes it a crime to "conspire … to commit any crime against the United States," the Court cited to established case law precedent to hold that the "conspiracy" element of the statute is met if there is "a joint commitment to an 'endeavor which, if completed, would satisfy all of the elements of [the underlying substantive] criminal offense.'" Further, the Court said that although the conspirators need to pursue the same criminal objective, "'a conspirator [need] not agree to commit or facilitate each and every part of the substantive offense'" and that a defendant must merely reach an agreement with the 'specific intent that the underlying crime be committed' by some member of the conspiracy." This is true, the Court said, even if the defendant himself is incapable of committing the substantive offense himself.
The Court concluded that "[t]hese basic principles of conspiracy law resolve this case. In order to establish the existence of a conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, the Government has no obligation to demonstrate that each conspirator agreed personally to commit—or was even capable of committing—the substantive offense of Hobbs Act extortion. It is sufficient to prove that the conspirators agreed that the underlying crime be committed by a member of the conspiracy who was capable of committing it. In other words, each conspirator must have specifically intended that some conspirator commit each element of the substantive offense." Applying these principles to the facts of the case, the Court stated that Ocasio and the shop owners "shared the common purpose" of Ocasio and the other police officers conspiring to commit the underlying Hobbs Act extortion offense, with the police officers satisfying the required element of obtaining property "under color of official right" from "another" (i.e., the shop owners) with their consent. Even though the shop owners, as non-public officials, could not themselves commit the underlying Hobbs Act offense, they could and did conspire with Ocasio and the other police officers to do so.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate concurring opinion that questioned whether the Court's earlier holding in Evans was correctly decided but agreeing that it was still "good law" on which to base the correctly-reached majority opinion in Ocasio. Writing separate dissents were Justice Clarence Thomas (who argued that Evans should be overturned, echoing his dissent in that 1992 case) and Justice Sonya Sotomayor (joined by Chief Justice John Roberts).
McDonnell v. U.S.: In another public corruption case invoking the Hobbs Act as well as the federal "honest services" statute (18 U.S.C. § 1346), on April 27, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral argument involving the conviction and sentencing to 24 months in prison of the former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (McDonnell). McDonnell was convicted on various counts of public corruption for "gifts" he and his wife accepted from a Virginia businessman (e.g., lavish vacations, golf outings, expensive watches and clothes, "sweetheart" loans, etc.) allegedly in exchange for McDonnell using the governor's office and his official position and influence to benefit the businessman's tobacco-derived dietary supplement business. Following the Fourth Circuit's opinion, which affirmed the district court's conviction, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on of "[w]hether 'official action' under the controlling fraud statutes is limited to exercising actual governmental power, threatening to exercise such power, or pressuring others to exercise such power, and whether the jury must be so instructed; or, if not so limited, whether the Hobbs Act and honest-services fraud statute are unconstitutional." On a side note, McDonnell's wife was also convicted for public corruption and sentenced to 12 months in prison, although her case is presently on hold at the Fourth Circuit pending resolution of her husband's case.
Francisco further argued that the jury instructions at the trial were fatally flawed because they failed to instruct the jury that it had to first find that McDonnell used his official position to influence the decisions of others before it could find that he took an "official action." Here, the argument focused specifically on the factual allegation that McDonnell attempted to influence Virginia state university researchers into agreeing to conduct studies of the businessman's dietary supplement in order to obtain FDA approval. To this, Justice Anthony Kennedy said that "I take it all parties concede that the act of the university official to undertake or not to undertake a research study would be an 'official action.'" Francisco agreed, but said "the question is: Did the Governor cross the line into influencing officials to undertake that action and was the jury properly instructed?" There ensued a series of hypotheticals proposed by the Justices as to the parameters of what would constitute "influencing the actions of others" in an "official action" context and the language that a proper jury instruction in this regard would include.
We await the Court's decision in McDonnell with great anticipation and will report back.
Shaw v. U.S.: On April 25, 2016, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a bank fraud case to review the question presented of whether, under Section 1344(1) of the Bank Fraud Act of 1984 (18 U.S. Code § 1344) (BFA), the words making it a crime "to defraud a financial institution" require prosecutors to prove "an intent only to deceive a bank, as three circuits have held, or of an intent to deceive and cheat a bank, as nine circuits have held, and as petitioner Shaw argued here." The case is on appeal from the Ninth Circuit, where the appellate court affirmed a district court's conviction of Lawrence Shaw (Shaw) under Section 1344(1) of the BFA for using PayPal to convince banks that he was another bank customer, Stanley Hsu, and thus had authority to transfer money out of Hsu's bank accounts and into a PayPal account in Shaw's control. In his Petition for Writ of Certiorari (Writ), Shaw argued that while it was undisputed in the proceedings below that his scheme was intended to steal Hsu's money by deceiving the bank that he was Hsu, it was equally undisputed that Shaw did not intend to steal the bank's money—which intent prosecutors would have had to prove as a prerequisite to liability under Section 1344(1). The Ninth Circuit had rejected this argument, holding that the government need only prove intent to deceive the financial institution, not defraud it out of money, for purposes of Section 1344(1) (upholding the district court's denial of Shaw's requested jury instruction that both need be proven).
In his Writ, Shaw said that his case "presents the recurring question left open" by the Court in its 2014 decision in Laughrin v. U.S. That case dealt with the second prong of the BFA, Section 1344(2), which makes it a crime to "obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses …" There, the Court held that Section 1344(2) does not require prosecutors to prove the defendant intended to defraud the financial institution out of money, but Shaw argued in his Writ that in so holding the Court either impliedly held that such a showing is required for Section 1344(1) or, at the very least, left the question open, and the circuits appear to be split on the issue. It is likely that the Court thus granted cert in an attempt to harmonize Section 1344's two prongs. The Court will hear oral argument in the case when it reconvenes in October.
See here to read the Supreme Court's 5/2/16 decision in Ocasio v. United States.
See here to read the transcript of the 4/27/16 oral argument before the Supreme Court in McDonnell v. United States.
See here to read the Petition for Writ of Certiorari in Shaw v. United States.
Why it matters: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) continues to make news in 2016. Since our last newsletter, DOJ officials have been making the rounds to talk up their recently announced FCPA voluntary disclosure pilot program. In the courts, a Delaware Chancery Court judge dismissed a shareholder derivative lawsuit (brought on "demand futility" grounds) filed on behalf of Wal-Mart against its board of directors alleging the board covered up FCPA violations in Mexico. And a review of recent securities filings sheds a light on the government's ongoing corporate investigations into alleged FCPA violations in foreign territories around the world.
Detailed discussion: Here, we review some of the recent FCPA-related matters that caught our eye.
FCPA voluntary disclosure pilot program: Since the DOJ announced its new one-year FCPA voluntary disclosure pilot program (FCPA Pilot Program) on April 5, 2016, DOJ officials have been making the rounds to talk up the program and reassure both corporations and the individuals who run them. To briefly recap, the DOJ's new FCPA Pilot Program is intended to, among other things, motivate corporations in connection with FCPA investigations to (1) "voluntarily self-disclose" both corporate and individual misconduct, (2) "fully cooperate" and (3) "timely and appropriately remediate." The DOJ also provided written descriptions of those terms and outlined the maximum mitigation credit available to a corporation that adheres to them.
In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Delaware Derivative Litigation: On May 13, 2016, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Andre Bouchard dismissed the shareholder derivative litigation brought in that state against the board of directors (Board) of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Wal-Mart) in connection with the Board's alleged inadequate investigation and cover-up of FCPA violations by a subsidiary in Mexico. Judge Bouchard's 58-page opinion went into great detail about the underlying facts of the case, but to quickly recap, in April 2012 The New York Times published an article describing the cover-up by the Board of an alleged bribery scheme at Wal-Mart subsidiary Wal-Mart de Mexico. The article prompted 15 lawsuits to be filed shortly thereafter by Wal-Mart stockholders in Arkansas federal court (where Wal-Mart is headquartered) and Delaware chancery court (where Wal-Mart is incorporated) asserting derivative claims on behalf of Wal-Mart. Key to Judge Bouchard's ruling, the shareholders in both states had filed the actions as derivative suits on behalf of the corporation, alleging "demand futility" due to the claimed inability of the Board to adequately exercise independent and disinterested business judgment in evaluating the shareholders' claims.
The Delaware and Arkansas courts consolidated the complaints that had been filed in their respective jurisdictions (the Delaware derivative litigation and the Arkansas derivative litigation, respectively). The shareholders in the Delaware derivative litigation successfully pushed for access to Wal-Mart's books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law in a contentious fight that went all the way up to the Delaware Supreme Court, and filed an amended derivative complaint in May 2015 based on information learned in the corporate books and records about the alleged Mexican bribery cover-up by the Board. Meanwhile, the shareholders in the Arkansas derivative litigation proceeded without first seeking to obtain the Wal-Mart books and records on their own or waiting for the outcome of the Delaware shareholders' Section 220 fight. In March 2015, the federal court in Arkansas dismissed the Arkansas derivative litigation for "failure to adequately allege demand futility" because, based on the evidence (or lack thereof) presented, there was no basis to infer that the majority of the Board had actual or constructive knowledge of the Mexican bribery scheme or cover-up, and thus no basis to infer that the Board could not exercise independent and disinterested business judgment in evaluating the claims. The Board then filed the motion to dismiss the Delaware derivative litigation that was the subject of Judge Bouchard's ruling, alleging that issue preclusion (i.e., the legal principle that stops a party who litigated an issue in one jurisdiction from later re-litigating the same issue in another jurisdiction) prevented the re-litigation of demand futility in the Delaware derivative litigation.
Securities filings: Disclosures in securities filings with the SEC can be a font of information into the status of the government's global FCPA enforcement efforts, and the filings for the first quarter of 2016 were no exception. Here are a couple of recent disclosures that caught our eye.
Hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (Och-Ziff) disclosed in a securities filing on May 3, 2016 that it had reserved $200 million for potential criminal and civil settlements with the DOJ and SEC involving the government's investigation, initiated in 2011, into FCPA violations in Libya. Och-Ziff stated that the $200 million reserve was the "minimum" amount of the potential settlement and that the final amount could well exceed $200 million. The firm also said that it had incurred $15.9 million in professional fees during the preceding quarter. On April 12, 2016, Reuters (citing the Wall Street Journal) reported that federal authorities were attempting to get Och-Ziff to plead guilty to the FCPA violations with a possible DPA and that the government was seeking over $400 million in penalties.
Houston-based oilfields services company Key Energy Services LLC (Key Energy) disclosed in a securities filing on April 28, 2016 that it had received a letter from the DOJ informing it that the DOJ was declining to bring an enforcement action against Key Energy in connection with its FCPA investigation into Mexican bribery allegations. Key Energy further disclosed that it had reached a "settlement agreement in principle" with the SEC over the same Mexican bribery allegations for which it had accrued $5 million. Key Energy first disclosed the government's FCPA investigation into the Mexican bribery allegations in 2014 in connection with its self-disclosure of possible bribery of government officials by employees of its Mexican operations.
See here to read the 5/13/16 Delaware Chancery Court opinion in In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Derivative Litigation.
Why it matters: The government is involved in many disparate types of activity, and if "government dollars" are involved, we are seeing more and more how possible it is to run afoul of the False Claims Act (FCA). This month, we review the Supreme Court's grant of certiorari in an FCA case involving allegations of insurance fraud on the government, where the Court agreed to review the question of what standard governs the dismissal of a qui tam case when a violation of the FCA's 60-day "seal" provision is alleged. In addition, we review the Second Circuit's reversal of a Southern District of New York court's $1.27 billion judgment in an FCA-related government-sponsored mortgage lending context, in which the Court tackled the question of when an alleged breach of contract can also constitute fraud. We also review recently-announced FCA resolutions and filings by the DOJ in three very different business sectors where fraud on the government was alleged: mortgage lending, healthcare supply referrals, and customs duties. Read on for a recap.
Detailed discussion: What do Hurricane Katrina, mortgage lending, continence care products, and bedroom furniture have in common? All figured prominently in recent FCA-related cases and government resolutions.
On May 31, 2016, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. U.S ex rel. Cori Rigsby; Kerri Rigsby, a case involving a qui tam suit filed by two independent claims adjustors against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (State Farm) alleging that, following Hurricane Katrina, State Farm misadjusted federal flood claims in Mississippi by attributing wind damage (covered under State Farm's homeowners insurance) to flood damage (covered by flood policies under the federal government's National Flood Insurance Program). The issue that the Court agreed to address involves the actions of the relators in the period following the filing of their qui tam suit. The FCA requires that qui tams be filed under seal for a period of 60 days before service on the defendant to give the government the opportunity to investigate and decide whether to intervene. Instead of honoring the 60-day "seal," State Farm alleged that the relators went on a "media binge" to "demonize" State Farm by disclosing the existence of their qui tam to news outlets on at least three occasions within the seal period, thereby justifying dismissal of the case. The circuits are split on the issue of when dismissal would be warranted in such a circumstance, and the Court thus granted certiorari to consider the question of "[w]hat standard governs the decision whether to dismiss a relator's claim for violation of the FCA's seal requirement, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(2)?" The Court declined to review State Farm's second question presented involving the standard under which a corporation can be found to have "knowingly" presented a false claim in violation of the FCA, leaving that particular issue for another day. The Court will hear oral argument when it reconvenes in October.
On May 23, 2016, the Second Circuit in U.S. ex rel Edward O'Donnell v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. et al. overturned a $1.2 billion penalty that had been imposed by Southern District of New York Judge Jedd S. Rakoff against Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and related entities (Countrywide) and its successor-in-interest Bank of America, NA and other BA entities (BA) in connection with the sale of mortgages to government-sponsored entities (GSEs). To briefly summarize the facts, commencing in 2007 in an internal restructuring after the collapse of the subprime market, the Full Spectrum Lending Division (FSL) of Countrywide began selling what the government alleged were poor-quality prime mortgages. In 2012, Countrywide employee Edward O'Donnell filed a qui tam suit under the FCA with respect to the FSL lending, in which the government intervened and added claims under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA). The FCA claims and certain of the Countrywide and BA entities were subsequently dismissed, and only the FIRREA claims were presented at trial against the remaining defendants. At the trial, the government alleged that, when made, the mortgage loans were not in compliance with the lending requirements even though Countrywide represented and warranted in investment purchase contracts that they were "Acceptable Investments" and of "investment quality" (as those terms were defined). Key to the Second Circuit's analysis, the government failed to present evidence at trial to show that Countrywide had fraudulent intent during the negotiation and execution of the investment contracts. Instead, the government presented evidence to show that Countrywide executives knew that the mortgages were of poor investment quality when subsequently made in breach of the representations and warranties contained in the contracts and thus Countrywide intended to defraud the GSEs. The defendants countered at trial that, at most, they were guilty of intentional breach of contract, but the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support a finding of fraud. The federal jury returned a verdict in favor of the government, and Judge Rakoff imposed a fine against Countrywide and BA of $1.27 billion.
FHA mortgage lending: The DOJ recently announced that it had resolved an action with one financial institution and filed a complaint against another in connection with the participation by those institutions in the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Direct Endorsement Lender (DEL) program, through which private financial institutions directly originate, underwrite and certify mortgages for FHA insurance.
M&T Bank Corp: On May 13, 2016, the DOJ announced that New York-based M&T Bank Corp. (M&T) agreed to pay $64 million to resolve allegations that it violated the FCA while participating in the FHA's DEL program by "knowingly" originating and underwriting mortgage loans that did not meet applicable FHA origination, underwriting and quality control requirements. As part of the settlement, M&T admitted to violations of the DEL rules during the period from 2006 to 2011, including (1) filing false certifications for FHA insurance mortgage loans that did not meet the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) underwriting requirements and did not adhere to FHA's quality control requirements; (2) failing to conduct reviews of all "Early Payment Default" loans (i.e., loans that become 60 days past due within the first six months of repayment) and adequate samples of closed FHA loans as required by HUD; and (3) failing to adhere to HUD's self-reporting requirements regarding defective loans. The DOJ's press release stated that "[a]s a result of M&T's conduct and omissions, HUD insured hundreds of loans approved by M&T that were not eligible for FHA mortgage insurance under the Direct Endorsement Lender program and that HUD would not otherwise have insured. HUD subsequently incurred substantial losses when it paid insurance claims on those loans." The DOJ said that the settlement resolved allegations in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the FCA by a former employee of M&T, whose award had not yet been determined.
Healthcare supply referrals: On April 29, 2016, the DOJ announced that Byram Healthcare Centers Inc., a medical products supplier (Byram), and Hollister, Inc., a manufacturer of disposable health care products (Hollister) agreed to pay approximately $9.4 million and $11.44 million, respectively, to resolve allegations that the companies "engaged in a kickback scheme designed to increase sales and profits." The DOJ said that the settlement with Hollister resolved allegations (which were neither admitted or denied by Hollister) that, from 2007 to 2014, it paid kickbacks to Byram in return for "marketing promotions, conversion campaigns, and other referrals of patients to Hollister's ostomy and continence care products." The DOJ said that the settlement with Byram resolved allegations (that were neither admitted or denied by Byram) that, in 2012 and 2013, Byram received numerous kickbacks from Hollister and three other manufacturers of ostomy and continence care products (including Coloplast Corp. (Coloplast)) in return for Byram's agreement to "conduct promotional campaigns and to refer patients to the manufacturers' products." The Byram settlement also resolved state and federal FCA allegations that Byram submitted inflated claims to the California Medi-Cal program in violation of the state's regulation which limits the amount a provider can bill for certain products. In connection with the FCA settlement, Byram agreed to pay $127,117 to the state of California and to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The DOJ said that the settlements resolved allegations in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two former employees and one current employee of Coloplast under the qui tam provisions of the FCA, and that the whistleblowers' award had not yet been determined. Finally, the DOJ said that claims against Coloplast and another defendant were resolved in December 2015 for approximately $3.6 million, bringing the total recovery in the case to approximately $24.6 million.
Evasion of customs duties: On April 27, 2016, the DOJ announced that Los Angeles-based Z Gallerie LLC (Z Gallerie), a seller of upscale furniture and accessories, agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a scheme to evade customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from the People's Republic of China (PRC) in violation of the FCA. The DOJ explained in its press release that the Department of Commerce assesses various duties to protect U.S. manufacturers from unfair competition abroad by "leveling the playing field for domestic products." This case involved "antidumping" duties that protect domestic manufacturers from foreign companies "dumping" products on U.S. markets at prices below cost. Relevant to this case, imports of wooden bedroom furniture manufactured in the PRC have been subject to antidumping duties since 2004. According to the DOJ's allegations (which were neither admitted or denied by Z Gallerie), Z Gallerie evaded antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture imported from the PRC between 2007 and 2014 by misclassifying the imported furniture as pieces intended for non-bedroom use on documents presented to customs officials. Qui tam whistleblower to receive $2.4 million.
See here to read State Farm's Petition for Writ of Certiorari in State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. U.S ex rel. Cori Rigsby; Kerri Rigsby.
See here to read the Second Circuit's 5/23/16 opinion in U.S. ex rel Edward O'Donnell v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. et al.
Why it matters: The New York State Court of Appeals recently heard oral argument in the case of Ambac Assurance Corporation v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. and Bank of America Corp., and its decision could have important ramifications under New York law regarding when the common interest rule can be used to preserve the attorney-client privilege. The common interest rule has traditionally been narrowly construed by New York courts to allow for the sharing of attorney-client privileged documents with third parties—without waiving that privilege—only in situations where litigation is pending or reasonably anticipated. In December 2014, a lower state appellate court in Ambac ruled that the common interest rule should not be so limited and could apply to protect attorney-client privileged documents that are shared with any third party who has a "common interest" with the sharer, such as in this case where the documents were shared in merger negotiations. On appeal, the New York State Court of Appeals will decide if the lower court's expansion of the common interest rule in this manner was appropriate. As of press time, the Court's decision was still pending. We will be watching with great interest to see how it decides.
As part of its lawsuit, Ambac sought discovery of the "several hundred" joint documents (challenged documents) reflecting communications between BAC and Countrywide and their legal counsel during the pre-merger period between January and July, 2008, arguing that the documents were significant to its successor-liability claims against BAC and also to see whether BAC was put on notice of the fraud at Countrywide before the merger closed. BAC argued that the challenged documents were subject to the attorney-client privilege and refused to produce them. In 2013, a discovery referee granted Ambac's motion to compel BAC to turn over the challenged documents, finding that the attorney-client privilege had been waived with respect to them and the common interest rule that would have preserved the privilege did not apply because the challenged documents were not prepared in anticipation of litigation. A motion court upheld the discovery referee's ruling, and BAC appealed to the First Department.
The First Department panel reversed the motion court and discovery referee in December 2014, holding that the traditionally narrow view of when the common interest rule applies was no longer viable and that the common interest rule will still protect attorney-client privileged communications that have been shared with third parties so long as the third parties have a "common interest" with the sharer, regardless of whether the common interest arises from pending or reasonably anticipated litigation. Ambac appealed to the New York State Court of Appeals, which heard oral argument in late April 2016.
According to the New York Law Journal reporter who observed the oral argument, Ambac's attorney, Stephen Younger, began by arguing that the First Department's ruling represented an unacceptable and unnecessary "dramatic expansion" of the common interest rule and that "[f]or two decades, lawyers have operated under the assumption that the privilege is waived by an exchange of information among merging entities and their attorneys prior to closing." In addition, Younger pursued an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" line of reasoning, arguing that "[t]here is nothing wrong with how this doctrine is working in New York … [and] there is nothing in the record to say that this rule hasn't been working." Arguing that privileges "are supposed to be narrowly construed," Younger urged the Court to consider the potential negative public interest ramifications of upholding the First Department's overbroad ruling, such as imposing further limitations on a litigant's access to relevant discovery.
The tone of Judge Fahey's questioning suggests that he would vote to overturn the First Department's decision and return to a narrow construction of the common interest rule, which was the position being urged in amicus briefs filed by both the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and the New York State Trial Lawyers. The Court's decision is expected by early June 2016. We will keep an eye out and report back.
See here to read the 12/8/14 Appellate Division, First Department opinion in Ambac Assurance Corporation, et al., Plaintiffs-Respondents v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., et al., Defendants, Bank of America Corp., Defendant-Appellant.
May 13, 2016—SEC announced $3.5 million whistleblower award: The award was made to the unnamed whistleblower for providing information that "significantly contributed to the success" of the SEC's ongoing investigation in the case. The SEC had previously denied any award to the whistleblower on the grounds that the information provided related to an existing investigation, but reversed its denial after the whistleblower appealed.
May 6, 2016—Liberty Reserve founder sentenced to 20 years in prison for money-laundering: Arthur Budovsky was sentenced in the S.D.N.Y. to 20 years imprisonment for running a massive money laundering enterprise through his company Liberty Reserve S.A., a virtual currency once used by cybercriminals around the world to launder the proceeds of their illegal activity. Follow-up to the story about this case in our February 2016 newsletter under "FCPA and Anti-Money Laundering Enforcement Review—'Follow the Money.'"
April 4, 2016—FinCEN proposed an amendment to the definition of "Broker-Dealer in Securities" in the BSA to include "funding portals": FinCen published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, requesting that comments be submitted by June 3, 2016. FinCen said that it proposed the amendment in order to ensure that funding portals "that are involved in the offering or selling of crowdfunding securities" are required to implement the same policies and procedures designed to achieve compliance with the BSA requirements that are currently applicable to brokers or dealers in securities, including the filing of suspicious activity reports.
Three former executives at battery manufacturer Ener1 agreed to pay penalties for the company's materially overstated revenues and assets for year-end 2010 and overstated assets in the first quarter of 2011. The financial misstatements stemmed from management's failure to impair investments and receivables related to an electric car manufacturer that was one of its largest customers. The former CEO and Chairman, former CFO, and former CAO agreed to pay penalties of $100,000, $50,000, and $30,000, respectively.
On May 16, 2016, FinCEN Deputy Director Jamal El-Hindi spoke at the Institute of International Bankers Annual Anti-Money Laundering Seminar in New York.
On May 12, 2016, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney gave the keynote speech at the Securities Enforcement Forum West Conference in San Francisco, California. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell also spoke at the event.
On April 18, 2016, Assistant Attorney General Caldwell spoke at the Health Care Compliance Association's 20th Annual Compliance Institute in Las Vegas.


High Grade gunpla of Cross Bone Gundam Maoh, from Gundam Build Fighters.
The model is highly poseable, stands approximately 13 cm tall and features interchangeable hand parts and many weapons.
This is a snap-fit model kit by Bandai: it requires assembly, but glue is not needed and parts are already molded in color.
The partially visible GP Base is sold separately.


Now is the time to start teaching your child the basic fundamentals of baseball. Our baseball program seeks to lay a foundation for parents to spend quality time together with their children while learning how to properly teach and support them in sports, watch them have fun, learn new skills and meet new friends. Sports provide a great opportunity to teach values like caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. YMCA Youth Sports help young people by emphasizing skill development - not competition.
Registration Dates: Registration is from February 20th - April 16th. Late registration is from April 17th - April 22nd. There will be a $10 fee for late registration.
Practices: Practices will be once or twice a week on Monday through Friday.
Where: Practices will be held at the branch you registered your child at, games will be played at the Shuford Branch (Conover, NC) and the Hickory Branch (Hickory, NC). Once teams are set, parents will be notified of the practice start date.
Chevy Youth Baseball Clinic: Receive training from experienced instructors at no cost! The clinic will be held at the Shuford Branch on May 5th from 9:00 a.m. to NOON. Food will be provided.


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'The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power' Primed For Huge Expectations
Features Opinion
February 3, 2022 April 24, 2022 Tucker Watkins
The recently released trailer for the upcoming Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power lit a bit of a fire under me and I've been on the hunt for any information I could find on the upcoming series. I was surprised to find quite a few question marks and blank spots that caused my expectations for the series to go on a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Who's Running The Show?
Series co-creators Patrick McKay & John D. Payne have a weird resume. Looking at their IMDb pages to get a little context as to what we might expect, you'd probably come away with just more questions. They have no credits for writing or producing aside from doing uncredited work on Justin Lin's Star Trek: Beyond.
Looking a bit deeper, the two have basically thrived for the last 10 or so years on unproduced and uncredited work. They did drafts/uncredited work for Jungle Cruise, Flash Gordon, Godzilla vs. Kong, and a ton more. It seems like these guys have been writing nonstop since they started and have enough talent and respect to out-pitch a bunch of other potential candidates for this very series.
Taking control of a series this high profile feels like a huge leap, but realistically these two have curated a lot of respect and love in the industry and I'm really excited to see what their work finally come to fruition.
The Cast Doesn't Stand Out…Yet
The cast of the show might lack that big flashy name like Ian McKellen, but that doesn't mean all doom and gloom. At one point, they were going after Will Poulter for a role, but it looks like he was poached by Marvel Studios for their upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Top listed on IMDb is Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who some of you might remember as Amanda Waller on Arrow. But even if none of the names are eye-catchers, there's still a lot of potential talent here. Looking back at the cast of the original trilogy, a lot of them hadn't hit their big break until that huge stage that was Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. This could do the same and launch the careers of loads of undiscovered stars just waiting to be found.
Story? Or Lack Thereof?
So what's the draw for this whole thing? Beyond the promise of the return to Middle Earth, and potentially seeing the kingdoms in their golden ages, what's the reason that people will tune in?
The story promises a broad stroke that will cover events from all over the Second age. Including (but not limited to) the forging of the rings, the rise of Sauron, the tale of Númenor, and the last alliance of Elves and men. If you want to dive further into what these story beats could bring, check out Brian's breakdown of some of these events in his article. But the important thing about the choice of setting is that they are leaving themselves lots of room to work.
The events that the show is set to go over have only been covered in short flashbacks in the films and in a little bit of writing in Tolkien's Appendix in The Lord of the Rings and a few other small bits and pieces. McKay and Payne will have all of these events laid out across the Second Age and tons of room in between them to fill in their own story.
Even Peter Jackson had the full writing of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to work with, but both sagas worked to varying degrees. The fact that McKay and Payne have free reign could work to their advantage, or possibly to their detriment. Tolkien is a legendary writer and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit is a bar standard for some of the best writing and world-building ever, so they may suffer from high expectations while working from their own pens.
The Lord of the Expectations
There are a lot of question marks surrounding this series. Obviously throwing the title The Lord of the Rings in front of something is going to create some huge expectations. Still, the writers may take advantage of the freedoms they have and craft their own original story within the barriers of the larger world. Hopefully, it's a hit, but we'll have to wait and see.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video on September 2nd, 2022. Check out the teaser for the new series down below!
What do you think of the cast and crew that's been assembled for the series? Can they live up to the hype of the monstrous franchise? Or will the series fall short and make us all wish the series was left in the past? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter @mycosmiccircus!
Tagged Amazon, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Prime Video
'Doctor Who' Director Talks Jodie Whittaker's Final Episode Regeneration
'Justice U' Has the Potential to be one of the Strongest Arrowverse Shows

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Nuit Des Idées 2023
Nuit Des Idées 2023 (Night of Ideas)
Location: In-person and On-line event
Language: Presented in English and French
In partnership with Alliance Française, the Consulate General of France and the Discovery Centre, we are proud to present Nuit Des Idées 2023!
International thinkers are invited to discuss the major issues of our time. This year's theme is: More? Climate, Sports and Communities: shifting the game(s)?
One year before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a few months before the North American Indigenous Games and at a period when climate change is disrupting our daily lives, several specialists will gather. Panelists will discuss the interactions, opportunities and complications in the intersections of climate, sport and the communities that host them.
Register for this hybrid event >


text:
Q: Call native ObjC classes from cocos2d-x code How can I call/bridge my native iOS ObjC classes from cocos2d-x C++?
Using cocos2d-x 3.5.

A: Use Objective-C to C++ callbacks
http://www.plungeinteractive.com/blog/2012/08/05/obj-c-to-cpp-callbacks/
Edit:
//
//  iOSHelper.h
//

#ifndef __iOSHelper__
#define __iOSHelper__

#include <iostream>

class iOSHelper
{
public:
    void showAlert();
};
#endif

-
//
//  iOSHelper.mm
//

#include "iOSHelper.h"
//--
#import "AppController.h"

void iOSHelper::showAlert()
{
    AppController* appController = (AppController*)[UIApplication sharedApplication].delegate;
    [appController showAlert];
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Why are the hearts in turtle appearing slanted? import turtle

t = turtle.Turtle()

def heart(x):
    t.penup()
    t.goto(x, -100)
    t.pendown()

    t.color('black','red')
    t.begin_fill()
    t.left(45)
    t.forward(100)
    t.circle(50, 180)
    t.right(90)
    t.circle(50, 180)
    t.forward(100)
    t.end_fill()

for i in range(3):
    if i==1:
        x=-250
        heart(x)
    elif i==2:
        #continue
        x=0
        heart(x)
    else:
        #continue
        x=250
        heart(x)

t.hideturtle()
turtle.done()

This program is supposed to draw three hearts in a straight line
I've made a loop that sets the initial position of the heart. It's supposed to draw the heart in one position and move to the next position. While the pointer is moving over the next position, the hearts are appearing slanted.

A: Your heart function assumes the turtle's heading is 0, but in the course of drawing a heart, heading changes due to left/right calls.
One solution is to reset heading with t.setheading(0) at the start of the function.
Also, your loop/if combo is overcomplicated. I suggest either removing the ifs or removing both the loop and the ifs and using 3 separate heart calls. Here's a simplified version:
import turtle

def heart(x):
    t.penup()
    t.goto(x, -100)
    t.pendown()
    t.color("black", "red")
    t.setheading(0)
    t.begin_fill()
    t.left(45)
    t.forward(100)
    t.circle(50, 180)
    t.right(90)
    t.circle(50, 180)
    t.forward(100)
    t.end_fill()

t = turtle.Turtle()
t.hideturtle()

for x in range(-250, 251, 250):
    heart(x)

turtle.exitonclick()

Consider making size and y values parameters for heart, and optionally t. As is, it's a bit on the hardcoded side.


A beautiful collection of summer projects using the latest Tilda fabrics and embellishments. The designs include angels, garlands, decorations and accessories, all in the seasonal shades of turquoise, green, pink and red. All projects are accompanied by clear instructions, gorgeous photographs and color illustrations, making them ideal for beginners, as well as more experienced sewers. Popular techniques, such as appliqu? and embroidery, are used and full-size templates are also included.


NativeGeometry is a complex technology, its core contains thousands of lines just to do one simple thing: The entire geometry management of your application. This tutorial will show you how to get started with NativeGeometry. After completing this tutorial you will be able to do basic operations with NativeGeometry.
The implementation of NativeGeometry is straightforward.
First, create an empty stack (1), then open the NativeGeometry help center (2).
In the help center, click "Set up your application to use NativeGeometry" (1), then copy the highlighted code snippet (2) by pressing "Ctrl+C" or "Command+C" .
Finally, edit the script of the newly created stack, and simply paste the copied code snippet using "Ctrl+V" or "Command+V" to paste.
Now your application has NativeGeometry embedded and you will be able to use it.
We will write a really simple application, which you can complete within the NativeGeometry trial limitations if you do not already have a license for NativeGeometry.
Simply place two buttons (1) and a scrolling field (2) in the newly created stack.
Now, we want to have the "Open" and "Save" buttons at the top "padding" of the stack, so that they look good on all platforms.
The padding is a virtual property that depends on the platforms where the applications will be launched. This property avoids objects colliding with each other and prevents you having to set fixed sizes.
Now, select the "Open" and "Save" buttons (2), then click "Set object Geometry" (3).
The NativeGeometry inspector is a complete palette that enables you to define the geometry of your application quickly and easily .
To set the "Open" and the "Save" object to the top padding of the stack, simply click "1".
You will see that instantly your objects have been placed and resized!
Don't worry, the NativeGeometry palette by default let's you preview all your modifications, if you click "Cancel" your objects will have their original size and positions restored. To disable the preview option, click "Disable preview" (2). Also you will notice that your objects have been resized, this is normal; NativeGeometry automatically adapts the objects' sizes depending on their content and the platform. You can turn off this option using "Disable NativeGeometry Automatic Resize" (3).
If you want to have an application localizable that looks good on all platforms, do not activate "Disable NativeGeometry Automatic Resize" (3), unless you do not want to have NativeGeometry resizing some objects.
To apply the new geometry, click "OK" (4).
Select the "Open" button (1), click "Set object Geometry" (2) then set its left to the left padding of the stack (3).
That's all, the "Open" button is now strictly placed.
We want to have the left of the "Save" button to be at the right of the "Open" button, with a space between them.
So, select the "Save" button (1), then click "Set object Geometry" (2), then click the button (3).
- Or write directly an advanced geometry relation, for example, 'the height of this stack / 2 + the left of button "toto" + 6'. This will be covered in another tutorial.
Click "Select" (1) then click the button "Open" (2), check the property read (3), finally click "OK" to close this window and click "OK" also in the NativeGeometry inspector.
Now, you have the "Open" and the "Save" buttons that have their geometry correctly defined. Let's set the geometry of the field now.
Now that you know how the property inspector works, it should be a straightforward quick task.
- Click (6) and select the button "Open"
- Click "Ok" (7) to apply the new geometry.
That's all, the field is now resized!
In order to have a perfect application, NativeGeometry enables you to automatically set the font of your application.
To enable that feature, open the NativeGeometry help center, then click "Cross platform development" (1), then copy the highlighted code snippet (2) and paste it inside your main application stack. ("Untitled 1" in this tutorial).
Now, no matter what the platform, your application will always have a good font, and objects will be good looking.
Save the stack, configure the standalone builder then simply build your application and launch it.
This is the end of the first NativeGeometry tutorial, it showed you how to use the NativeGeometry inspector in order to make quickly a good looking GUI with NativeGeometry.
The next tutorial will be focused on the NativeGeometry API.
Prev: What Are The Available DGH Properties For Custom Headers?
I have two draggable objects. I want both the objects to move as I drag them but I don't want them to collide or get overlap. Also how is it possible to drag them inside another object limiting their path...?
For eg, I want to Drag two square inside a Circle but I don't want both the square to collide or to overlap. Also the path of the squares should be limited inside the circle.
the Geometry Manager is used to position the controls in your application. You would not use it to test for intersections. You will have to do a bit of manual work to implement the kind of behaviour you are after, but there are some pretty useful functions that will help you.
You can use the "mouseMove" event handler to catch any mouse movement events from the user and then use the "intersect" function to find out if items that are being moved intersect. Have a look at the dictionary for more information on the relevant LiveCode syntax.


Disgruntled coach Mickey Arthur demanded his players toughen up and seize key moments in Test matches after sloppy batting handed New Zealand an away series win over Pakistan for the first time in 49 years.
New Zealand pulled off a come-from-behind 123-run victory in the third and final Test in Abu Dhabi on Friday to end their long wait for a 2-1 series win. Pakistan had dismissed the Kiwis for 153 in the first innings of the first Test in Abu Dhabi only to lose by a narrow four-run margin.


Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by Plazma Inferno!, Oct 24, 2016.
The researchers realized that both eating and temperature regulation are tightly linked to oxygen consumption.
ajanta and danshawen like this.
I just hope the airlines won't latch onto this finding to cut back even more than they already do on passenger compartment pressurization and ventilation. It might save on fuel, but it should be up to the passengers whether or not they use this technique to eliminate the effects of jet lag.
Given that modern aircraft are pressurized to cabin altitudes that result in partial O2 pressures between 70% and 80% of sea level, that would seem to indicate that reduced oxygen levels do NOT help.
Seattle, Plazma Inferno! and danshawen like this.
We could only say that with confidence if we had studied a substantial body of passengers who had traveled with sea level partial pressure of oxygen. Such a body of data does not exist. One might use military pilots as a group who, presumably, fly with normal oxygen levels. However, they are physiologically distinct from the average passenger, so that any difference in recovery/avoidance of jet lag could be due to that.
We could only say that with confidence if we had studied a substantial body of passengers who had traveled with sea level partial pressure of oxygen.
True. I guess you could claim that people traveling with a normal ppO2 would have even worse jet lag, even though that effectively never happens.
Great. One more thing they can charge us for.
"I'm sorry sir, but you're on the economy plan. We'll take the plastic bag off once we reach our destination."
I'll take the jet lag thank you.


text:
Q: Python Flask: TypeError: The view function did not return a valid response I have a return statement,however it gives the error View function did not return a response. How can I solve this issue?
@app.route('/out/', methods=[ 'POST'])
def extract():
        json_request = request.get_json()
        print (json_request)
        data = json.loads(json.dumps(json_request))
        return data

if __name__ == "__main__":
        app.run()

My front end is an angular js application which calls the API of Flask in postman i am able to get the request but not from the front end
front end code
  aURL: string = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/out';
return this.httpClient.post(`${this.aURL}/`,JSON.stringify(request),{headers: headers});

A: In order to resolve the Question, for the next users. The issue is that Flask did not receive the JSON as JSON.
print(request.json) returned a None but print(request.body) returned the correct body. Which indicates the data was sent not as JSON and/or with a wrong ContentType, fixing the ContentType in the Frontend resolves the issue


For some people, their third molars – or wisdom teeth – never cause them any issues. However, more often than not these teeth come in out of alignment, impacted or otherwise requiring removal. For all but the most complex cases, Seven Lakes Dental can perform the procedure from evaluation to follow-up care.
Why work with Seven Lakes Dental rather than an oral surgeon?
If your third molars are severely impacted or causing secondary problems in your mouth, the complexity of the case may require an oral surgeon. However, majority of the time, Dr. Larreau and Seven Lakes Dental can get the job done.
This allows you to keep your treatment in-house with a doctor and staff you already know and trust. It also ensures your follow-up care for healing and restoration (if necessary). Additionally, you may be able to minimize repeat exams with a specialist, controlling your overall costs.
Other than wisdom teeth, what other situations may require extractions?
In most cases, the doctors at Seven Lakes Dental do what they can to keep your teeth in your mouth. However, in some cases an extraction may be the best course. If you're dealing with a persistent infection, an extraction gives your gum a chance to heal. If you have broken or excessively decayed teeth, extractions can keep the problem from spreading.
Seven Lakes Dental offers emergency care for urgent situations, and we can provide nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or oral sedation for anxious patients.
If you are searching for a dentist in Marysville, WA, you've come to the right place. Whatever your needs our team is here to help you meet your goals.
Dr. Larreau performs extractions in-house– enhancing our goal of comprehensive care.


text:
Casale Patrizia, Pianella
This country house is situated in the town of Pianella, a medium size town with all services, restaurants, bars, banks etc.
Pianella is just half an hour from the coast and 25 minutes' drive from Pescara Airport.
The house is a typical casale of 300 sq m. It is attached on one side to another property, however, it has a high level of privacy.
Very panoramic and with a view of the sea from the distance and the mountains.
Recently restored and ready to be moved into.
Palazzo Soricchio, Atri, Abruzzo
Portion of an elegant apartment building divided up in 4 apartments and office space in the historical downtown of Atri.
Casa Loreto, Loreto, Abruzzo
Detached country house situated in panoramic position in the countryside of Loreto Aprutino.
La Costa, Vasto Marina, Abruzzo
3-bedroom Villa with panoramic sea view
Three-storey elegant villa in good condition located only 500 meters far from the beach and easy reach to the services of Vasto Marina and the centre of VAsto.
Casale Palmoli, Palmoli, Abruzzo
Country house dating back to the '60s 25-30 minutes far from the sea and 2 km far from Palmoli.
Townhouse Verve, Penne, Abruzzo
3-bedroom Townhouse
This townhouse is situated in the centre of Penne with panoramic view over the town and the surrounding areas.
The 3-storey property is in good condition and ready to be moved it.
Palazzo Franchi Bardavi, Arielli, Abruzzo
17th Century period building
Important period building located in the old town of Arielli, a medieval town situated on a hill, in the countryside of Chieti, with a beautiful view over the sea and mountains.
Casa Riccio, Lido Riccio, Ortona, Abruzzo
Fully renovated hilltop house
Fully renovated hilltop house offering stunning views over the sea. The property is located in Ortona, Chieti and is currently used as a bed & breakfast. It measures 245 sq m over two levels and has 700 square metres of garden.
Farmhouse Mario, Colleminuccio, Abruzzo
Restored agricultural estate + 18th century ruin to restore
Overlooking the beautiful Gran Sasso and Colleminuccio, this impressive property, for sale in Abruzzo, is set in approx 8 ha of land and is a dominating landmark providing over 1,000 sq.m of accommodation. The property is located within 5 mins drive of the historic centre of Teramo.
Two-storey house in Abruzzo
This Farmhouse is situated in a strategic position with panoramic view a few minutes' drive from the centre of Bellante. The two-storey house needs to be restored, but can be partly lived in.
Villa Tecla, Civitella del Tronto, Abruzzo
5-bedroom Villa on the hills of Abruzzo
This detached house is immersed in the Abruzzo hills with panoramic view over the Fortress at the feet of the Flower Mountain down to the Adriatic Sea.
Casa La Torre, Montegualtieri, Abruzzo
Beautiful two-storey village house
This two-storey village house has been completely restored internally and externally using high quality materials and is situated in the hamlet of Montegualtieri.
Villa Brozzi, Montorio al Vomano, Abruzzo
€155,000 € 90,000
Stone built farmhouse
This stone built farmhouse has been partially restored and is located in a private position with breathtaking views, just 7 minutes away from Montorio al Vomano and about 15 minutes from Teramo.
Casa Hunter, Campana, Abruzzo
This detached converted barn is situated in a secluded position in the village of Campana in the Parco Naturale Sirente Velino.
The property has living accommodation of approximately 150 sq m over two floors plus two large cantinas.
Casa Oronzi, Catignano, Abruzzo
Deatched country house
Cascina Oronzi is situated in a peaceful setting in the countryside of Pescara, which is just 25 minutes' drive away.
It is less than 1 mile from the centre of the village of Catignano, surrounded by 1 acre of land where there is also a little wood area.
Apartment Vasto, Marina di Vasto, Abruzzo
Apartment on the third floor in Marina di Vasto, Chieti, Abruzzo.
Casa Gessopalena, Gassopalena, Abruzzo
Semi-detached house, renovated and ready to be moved into, situated in tranquil position boasting panoramic view over Valle del Sangro and up to the sea with the clearest days.
Ursula Country House, Civitaquana, Abruzzo
Completely renovated country house in very good condition, situated in a very quiet and panoramic position with a breath taking view over the Gran Sasso and Majella peaks in the background and the valley. The property is 1.5 km (approx 1 mile) from the village of Civitaquana.
Casa Buono, San Buono, Abruzzo
Town house only 50 meters from the historic city centre of San Buono is set on a panoramic position, south-facing. The property of 100 sqm is in good condition and it is sold partially furnished.
Villa Tortoreto, Tortoreto, Abruzzo
Charming villa in colonial style immersed in the green hills of Tortoreto, just 1km from the sea, with 1,000 sqm of garden and around 5000 sqm of agricultural land with olive and fruit trees.
Country house Rocca San Giovanni, Rocca San Giovanni, Abruzzo
Stone built country house, situated on a hilly position with open and panoramic view over the park and the swimming pool in Rocca San Giovanni.
Stefan Apartment, Citta� Sant�Angelo, Abruzzo
2-bedroom fully furnished apartment
In Citta' Sant'Angelo, recently built (2009) gorgeous rooftop apartment measuring 90 sq m with unbelievable views. It takes 15 minutes to get to the beach and 30 minutes to ski.
The complex is made of units owned by Italians, Swedish and other nationalities.
Villa Lanfranco, Mosciano S.A., Abruzzo
In Mosciano S.A, beautiful villa located on the hills, boasting gorgeous views and surrounded by a plot of land measuring 2.6 acres with 220 olive trees producing oil.
Pine House, Loreto, Abruzzo
Villa completed in August 2008, and built of arctic pine using modern environment friendly building techniques.
Stone Built House, Civitella del Tronto, Abruzzo
Situated in the historical centre of this charming mediaeval town, this property is a rare building dating back to 1500.
Casa Maria, Ari, Abruzzo
7-bedroom home
In Ari, large period house built on 2 levels which dates back to 1800. The property is habitable but is in need of updating works and painting since it was not lived in for a long time. It boasts panoramic views over the valley and the Majella mountains.
Casale Fabio, Colle Trotta, Penne, Abruzzo
Country house to restore
In Colle Trotta, Penne, country house to renovate located in panoramic position with beautiful view over the countryside.
Apartment Comignoli, Scanno, Abruzz
1 - bedroom Apartment
Apartment situated on the third floor, on a panoramic position, part of a complex just 15 minutes on foot to the charming Lake Scanno.
Casale Belleview, Palombaro, Abruzzo
5-Bedroom Detached country house with swimming Pool in Abruzzo.
Fully restored country house situated in the hills of Palombaro, near the little village of Limiti
Set over three floors, the spacious villa features a sitting room, kitchen/diner, shower room and utility area on the ground floor.
Il Poderino ,Atri, Abruzzo
4-bedroom Country house situated in a charming and private location, but just 4 km from the centre of Atri, a unique opportunity to purchase a large estate surrounded by 7 hectares of land.
The large annex of 250 sq m once used to be a cheese factory and it still has two fridge/walking freezers, offices and could be converted in further living space should one wish.
Casale Abruzzo, Lettomanoppello, Abruzzo
Stone built country house situated in the hills of Lettomanoppello, Abruzzo - only 15 minutes away from the spa of Caramanic. The property has panoramic views of the countryside and valleys.


The highest end of the new PowerPC line had a PowerPC 601 or 601+ processor running at 80Mhz. There was 32K level one cache and a 256K level two cache. The hard drive was available with between 500MB and 2G of space. The 8100 was held in a Quadra 800-type case.
The Power Macintosh 8100 was the fastest of the new Power Macintosh line. It was also the most expandable.
The Power Macintosh 8100 was introduced March 1994. It got a speed bump to 100Mhz in November of that year and 110Mhz in January 1995 at which point it was discontinued.


text:
Shirley Bassey (eredeti nevén Shirley Veronica Bassey) (Cardiff, 1937. január 8. –) walesi énekesnő. A 20. század második felének legsikeresebb és legnépszerűbb brit énekesnőjének tartják.

Világszerte több mint 100 millió albumot adott el. Karrierje során tizenkét top 10-es dalt rögzített. II. Erzsébet brit királynő a dame címet adta neki munkásságáért, megkapta a Francia Köztársaság Becsületrendje kitüntetést és beiktatták a Grammy Hall of Fame-be.

Gyerekkora
Shirley Veronica Bassey néven 1937. január 8-án született a walesi Cardiffhoz tartozó Tiger Bayben (ma Cardiff Bay) Eliza Jane Start és Henry Bassey hatodik, egyben utolsó gyermekeként. Apai ősei nigériai származásúak, édesanyja oldaláról pedig angolok. Három vér szerinti lánytestvérével, két fél lányféltestvérével és egy vér szerinti fiútestvérrel nőtt fel, akik édesanyja korábbi házasságából származtak.

Karrierje
1953-ban, 16 éves korában kötötte élete első profi szerződését énekesként. Ezt követően, mindössze tizenhat évesen teherbe esett első gyermekével, Sharonnal. Bassey később soha nem árulta el, hogy ki a gyermek édesapja. A kislány születése után a fiatal énekesnő visszatért Cardiffba.

Első dala, a Burn My Candle 1956 februárjában jött ki, amikor Bassey tizenkilenc éves volt. A szuggesztív dalszöveg hatására a számot betiltotta a BBC. Egy évvel később Shirley Bassey már országszerte ismert előadó volt, a The Banana Boat Song című dala az angol zenei toplista nyolcadik helyét érte el. Az As I Love You dala kezdetben nem ért el sikereket, de néhány héttel a debütálás után 1959 januárjában az Egyesült Királyság zenei toplistájának első helyéig érte el. Bassey életében először lett toplistaelső egy dala, és egyben első alkalommal lett toplistaelső egy walesi előadó dala.

A befutás évei; Bond-dalok

Az 1960-as évek elején felívelt Bassey karrierje. 1960-ban az As Long As He Needs Me című dala második helyet ért el az angol toplistán és harminc hétig szerepelt a listán, ami kiemelkedő teljesítmény. Ebben az évben szerepelt Shirley Bassey először az amerikai televízióban, debütálása a The Ed Sullivan Showban volt. 1962-ben együtt dolgozott Nelson Riddle-lal és zenekarával, ebből a produkcióból olyan dalok születtek, mint a What Now My Love, valamint a szintén toplistaelső Reach for the Stars és a Climb Ev'ry Mountain. 1963-ban jött ki az I (Who Have Nothing) című dala, amely szintén első helyet ért el a zenei listán. Bassey ebben az időszakban a legismertebb brit énekesnő volt, hírnevét példázza, hogy Kennedy elnök hivatalba lépésének második évfordulójára rendezett ünnepségre is meghívást kapott a washingtoni Fehér Házba, ahol színpadra lépett.

1965-ben őt kérték fel, hogy énekelje el a legújabb Bond-film, a Goldfinger azonos című betétdalát. A filmzene, amelyet Bassey énekelt, a mai napig a legismertebb Bond-zene és no. 1. helyezést ért el az USA-ban. 1967-ben jelent meg az egyik leghíresebb kislemeze, a Big Spender. A címadó dalt minden koncertjén eljátssza, 2001-ben Fülöp edinburgh-i herceg 80. születésnapi partiján is elénekelte a bohókás szerzeményt.

Bassey legsikeresebb időszaka az 1970-es évek elején volt. 1970-ben visszatért az Egyesült Királyságba, és bemutatta az új stílusát, amivel búcsút intett a hagyományos pop zenének és megtalálta saját jegyeit, hangját. A Something, a Never Never Never nagy sikereket ért el. 1974-ben került a piacra a Nobody Does It Like Me album. A The Shirley Bassey Singles Album (1975) és 25th Anniversary Album (1978) válogatásalbumok aranylemezek lettek, utóbbi platina minősítést is kapott.

1970 és 1979 között tizennyolc dala jutott fel az angol zenei toplistára. 1971-ben másodjára kérték fel a James Bond-filmekhez, hogy énekeljen el egy betétdalt: Diamonds Are Forever az egyik leghíresebb szerzeménnyé vált repertoárjában. 1976-ban elindította a The Shirley Bassey Show nevű hat epizódból álló saját show műsorát a BBC műsorán. 1978-ban kisebb afférja volt: elismerte, hogy részegen belekötött egy rendőrbe. 1979-ben énekelt utoljára Bond-betétdalt, a Moonraker című filmhez készült azonos című dalt énekelte fel, ami szintén jelentős sikereket ért el.

1980-as, 1990-es évek

Az 1980-as években kevesebbet dolgozott és jelentősen kevesebb albumot jelentetett meg. 1984-ben jelent meg szintén híres dala, az I Am What I Am. 1997-ben szuperkoncerttel ünnepelte hatvanadik születésnapját. Az ünnepségen részt vevő vendégek egybehangzó véleménye az volt, hogy nem hitték el, hogy az énekesnő valóban betöltötte a hatvanadik életévét, fiatalokat meghazudtoló bombázókülsejéről az újságok is írtak. A koncertfelvételt később The Birthday Concert címmel kiadták, Grammy-díjra jelölték. 1998-ban az egyiptomi Szfinx és a gízai piramisok közelében tartott szabadtéri koncertet.

A következő évben a rögbi világkupa hivatalos dalát, a World in Union című dalt ő énekelt el.

2000–jelen

A 2000-es évek elején csak két válogatáslemeze jelent meg, új számokat nem dolgozott fel. 2002. június 3-án Elton Johnnal, Paul McCartneyval, Annie Lennoxszal, Eric Claptonnal, Tony Bennettel, Cliff Richarddal, Joe Cockerrel, Rod Stewarttal, Ricky Martinnal, Phil Collinsszal, Tom Jones-szal és a Queen együttessel közösen lépett színpadra II. Erzsébet brit királynő trónralépésének ötvenedik, jubileumi évfordulójára rendezett szuperkoncerten a Buckingham-palota előtt. A következő évben ünnepelte Bassey a saját ötven évét, amit a zenevilágban töltött.

2006-ban felénekelte Pink híres dalát, a Get the Party Started című popdalt a saját teátrális, nagy kiterjedésű hanglejtésében a Marks & Spencer karácsonyi televíziós hirdetési kampányának keretében. Az ő verziója hamarosan egy kultikus dallá avanzsálódott, az énekesnő következő albuma is ezt a címet kapta.

2007-ben hatalmas közönség előtt lépett fel a Glastonbury fesztiválon.

2008-ban váratlanul le kellett mondani a Nelson Mandela kilencvenedik születésnapi koncertjén való részvételt, mert sürgősségi műtétet kellett végrehajtani rajta, miután erős hasi bántalmakra panaszkodva mentővel kórházba szállították. Diamond Diva címmel 2008-ban jelent meg az életrajzi kötete.

2009-ben rögzítette legsikeresebb időskori albumát, a The Performance-ot. Többek között Gary Barlow és a Pet Shop Boys írt kifejezetten számára dalokat. Az album a huszadik helyen végzett az egyesült királysági album toplistán. 2011-ben két dalt énekelt el Mihail Gorbacsov 80. születésnapjára rendezett londoni ünnepségen, ugyanebben az évben a Classical Brit Awards zenei elismerés díjkiosztógáláján is énekelt. 2011-ben a BBC sugározta saját készítésű, 70 perces életrajzi drámát, a Shirleyt, amely Bassey korai éveiről és karrierjének beindulásáról szól. Az énekesnőt Ruth Negga színésznő alakította.

2013. február 24-én az Oscar-díjkiosztón vett részt, életében először énekelt Oscar-gálán az akkor 76 éves díva. A közönség álló ovációval fogadta a Goldfinger című dalát.

2014. november 17-én megjelent a Hello Like Before című albuma, mely magában foglalja a "Goldfinger" 50. évfordulójának újrafelvételét, valamint a "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" duettjét Paloma Faith-szel, amelyet Stuart Barr vezényelt.

2016 decemberében Bassey szerepelt a BBC 60 perces előadásában, amelyet David Walliams vezényelt.

2018. március 11-én Bassey előadta az "Almost Like Being In Love"- ot a londoni Palladiumban Sir Bruce Forsyth előtt tisztelegve. 2018. október 18-án az AMFAR (The Foundation for Aids Research) Los Angeles-i gáláján elénekelte a "Goldfinger"-t, a "Diamonds Are Forever"-t, az "Almost Like Being In Love"-ot, és az "I Am What I Am"-et.

2019 augusztusában fellépett az UNICEF nyári gáláján, a szardíniai Porto Cervóban, a "Goldfinger", a "Diamonds Are Forever", és az "S'Wonderful" című dalokkal. 2019. december 20-án megjelent a Ball & Boe TV karácsonyi különlegességén, elénekelve a "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"-t, Michael Ball és Alfie Boe mellett.

Magánélet
Az 1990-es évektől Monacóban lakik.

Magánemberként részt vett Margaret Thatcher, az első női brit miniszterelnök temetési szertartásán 2013 áprilisában.

Bassey megjelenése mindig elegáns, gyakorta drága ékszereket visel. Egyszer úgy nyilatkozott, "egy férfi elhagyhat, de a gyémántok soha."

Házasság, család

Bassey 1961-ben házasodott össze Kenneth Hume homoszexuális filmproducerrel. A pár 1964-ben külön költözött, egy évvel később pedig elváltak. A férfi 1967-ben meghalt. A kapcsolat azért futott zátonyra, mert Bassey Peter Finch brit színésszel csalta férjét. Az énekesnő a vezető brit lapoknak nyilatkozva jelentette ki a botrány kirobbanása után, hogy nem házasodik össze Finchhel, mert nem érzi magát képesnek arra, hogy újraházasodjon.

1968 és 1981 között Sergio Novak felesége volt. A pár adoptált egy fiút, Michaeltől. Basseynek két leánya született, Sharon Novak 1954-ben, Samanta Novak pedig 1963-ban. A sajtóban éles találgatások indultak azzal kapcsolatban, hogy ki a gyermekek apja, de Bassey soha nem közölte. A lányok felnőttként Basseyre változtatták nevüket. Samanthát huszonegy éves korában, 1981-ben holtan találták. A hivatalos jelentés szerint öngyilkosságot követett el, de édesanyja évtizedeken át állította, hogy kizártnak tekinti ennek valószínűségét. 2010-ben újra nyomoztak az ügyben, ekkor a hatóságok elismerték, hogy feltételezhetően nem öngyilkosság következtében halt meg.

2009-ben az énekesnő unokája szerepelt a brit X Faktorban.

Források
 https://www.dameshirleybassey.world/
 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shirley-Bassey

1937-ben született személyek
Élő személyek
Brit énekesek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
« Ever Contemplated Which Web Poker Site Is Greatest For You?
A Mind Will Help You For Determining Poker Pot Odds (If Necessary, Use A Friend's Brain!) »
Stu Ungar
The basic reason why Mr. Ungar changed from gin to poker was that he was a little too good at it. So skilled in fact, that no one was able stand up to him. Even the so-called champions who were meant to be the greatest at gin rummy were beat when they played with Stu Ungar. One of these gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry Stein was handed such a crushing blow at the hands of Stu Ungar that he apparently quit participating in it professionally and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.
Certainly, with a distinction like that it wasn't long before players became shy of betting against mr. ungar. He could not find any matches and in his desperation he started doing something no one had done before. He offered starting handicaps to likely opponents in the high hopes that they might compete against him if they believed they had an advantage. He at will began from a disadvantageous position and one story has it that stu even competed against a constant bad egg. Mid game, he get a few words of wisdom that the cheater was at it yet again but Stu Ungar assured that he deduced of the dishonestly and he would still come away with a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to vegas. He won so frequently that the casinos began requesting that he not to wager in their casinos anymore. The reasoning behind it was that other poker room clients would not sit at the table if he were seated.
Stu Ungar is recollected more for his accomplishments in holdem poker but he always maintained that he was a whole lot more skilled at gin rummy.
He beat Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Due to his features that made him appear far younger than he was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".


text:
Personal Blog of Seun Odunlami
YAN NASARAWA STATE CHAPTER PARTNERS NASARAWA STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE ACTUALIZATION OF THE NEXT LEVEL AGENDA IN THE STATE
Odunlami Seun O - July 02, 2019
The role of youth in the socio-economic growth and development of every State cannot be overemphasized. The youths are indeed the backbone of ANY progressive-minded Society. Not forgetting the fact that the youth constitute 70 per cent of the entire population of the country. It implies that government policies and programs that doesn't capture the place of youth, that government is indeed heading to doom.
Fortunately for the youths in Nasarawa State, we have a place in the present administration of Engr Abdullahi A Sule as demonstrated in his appointments where the youth have taken the center stage in strategic government establishments in the 1-Month stewardship of the governor.
It is on this premise that the leadership of Youth Assembly of Nigeria under the stewardship of Rt. Hon. Engr Muhammed Sidi Sani paid a familiarization visit to Hon Kwanta Yakubu, SSA to the Governor on Youth and NGOs in his office located at the Government House, Lafia.
During the visit, the State Speaker, Engr Sidi used the medium to formally congratulate the SSA via his appointment and pledged to partner with the State Govt to promote youthful programs and activities for the betterment of the youth constituency.
In his remarks, the YAN National Deputy Speaker, His Youthfulness, Rt. Hon. Shuaibu Sani who was part of the delegation commended the State Government for hitting the ground running with laudable blueprints geared towards consolidating on the achievements of the previous administration anchored on the SEEING IS BELIEVING mantra which is gradually taking shape with the EXCEEDING ALL EXPECTATIONS mantra of the present administration of Engr A. A. Sule.
In his response, Hon Kwanta thanked the high powered delegation for the historic visit. He assured the Assembly of his resolve to partner with his constituents to contribute judiciously to success of Engr Sule's led administration. That the government operates an open door policy, hence his doors are always open to suggestions, observations and constructive criticisms to better the lots of the people of the State.
The session had in attendance the newly appointed Special Assistant on ICT to the State Government, Hon Maryam Gajere Muhammad who is equally the Director of ICT, YAN, Nasarawa State Chapter. Also in attendance was Comr Abubakar Usman Yamani, Personal Assistant to the Governor on Students Affairs and other principal officers and staffers of the Assembly accordingly.
By Odunlami Seun O at July 02, 2019
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text:
Engineering Economics 2
Objective Questions and Answers of Civil Engineering: Engineering Economics 2
Subject: Engineering Economics 2
Part 2: Objective questions and answers of Engineering Economics
Q1. First Benchmark Publishing's gross margin is 50% of sales. The operating costs of the publishing are estimated at 15% of sales. If the company is within the 40% tax bracket, determine the percent of sales is their profit after taxes?
a) 21 %
d) 18 %
Q2. A feasibility study shows that a fixed capital investment of P10,000,000 is required for a proposed construction firm and an estimated working capital of P2,000,000. Annual depreciation is estimated to be10% of the fixed capital investment. Determine the rate of return on the total investment if the annual profit is P3,500,000.
a) 28.33 %
b) 29.17 %
c) 30.12 %
d) 30.78 %
Q3. Engr. Trinidad loans from a loan firm an amount of P100,000 with a rate of simple interest of 20% but the interest was deducted from the loan at the time the money was borrowe If at the end of one year, she has to pay the full amount of P100,000, what is the actual rate of interest?
a) 23.5 %
b) 24.7 %
c) 25.0 %
d) 25.8 %
Q4. Mr. Bacani borrowed money from the bank. He received from the bank P1,842 and promised to repay P2,000 at the end of 10 months. Determine the rate of simple interest.
Q5. It is the practice of almost all banks in the Philippines that when they grant a loan, the interest for one year is automatically deducted from the principal amount upon release of money to a borrower. Let us therefore assume that you applied for a loan with a bank and the P80,000 was approved at an interest rate of 14% of which P11,200 was deducted and you were given a check of P68,800. Since you have to pay the amount of P80,000 one year after, what then will be the effective interest rate?
Q6. A man invested P110,000 for 31 days. The net interest after deducting 20% withholding tax is P890.36. Find the rate of return annually.
Q7. Mr. Jun Ramos was granted a loan of P20,000 by his employer Excel First Review and Training Center, Inwith an interest of 6% for 180 days on the principal collected in advance. The corporation would accept a promissory note for P20,000 non-interest for 180 days. If discounted at once, find the proceeds of the note.
a) P18,000
b) P18,900
c) P19,000
d) P19,100
Q8. What is the ordinary interest on P1,500.50 for 182 days at 5.2%?
a) P39.01
b) P39.82
c) P39.45
d) P39.99
Q9. What is the effective rate corresponding to 18% compounded daily? Take 1 year is equal to 360 days.
Q10. Which of these gives the lowest effective rate of interest?
a) 12.35 % compounded annually
b) 11.90 % compounded annually
c) 12.20 % compounded annually
d) 11.60 % compounded annually
Q11. How long will it take money to double itself if invested at 5% compounded annually?
a) 13.7 years
b) 14.7 years
c) 14.2 years
d) 15.3 years
Q12. A sum of P1,000 is invested now and left for eight years, at which time the principal is withdrawn. The interest has accrued is left for another eight years. If the effective annual interest rate is 5%, what will be the withdrawal amount at the end of the 16th year?
a) P693.12
b) P700.12
c) P702.15
d) P705.42
Q13. A student plans to deposit P1,500 in the bank now and another P3,000 for the next 2 years. If he plans to withdraw P5,000 three years from after his last deposit for the purpose of buying shoes, what will be the amount of money left in the bank after one year of his withdrawal? Effective annual interest rate is 10%.
a) P1,549.64
b) P1,459.64
c) P1,345.98
d) P1,945.64
Q14. You borrow P3,500.00 for one year from a friend at an interest rate of 1.5% per month instead of taking a loan from a bank at a rate of 18% per year. How much lesser you will pay by borrowing the money from the bank?
a) P 62.44
Q15. A firm borrows P2,000 for 6 years at 8%. At the end of 6 years, it renews the loan for the amount due plus P2,000 more for 2 years at 8%. What is the lump sum due?
a) P 3,260.34
b) P 3,280.34
c) P 3,270.34
d) P 3,250.34
Q16. The institute of Electronics and Communications Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP) is planning to put up its own building. Two proposals being considered are: A. The construction of the building now to cost P 400,000 The construction of a smaller building now to cost P300,000 and at the end of 5 years, an extension to be added to cost P 200,000. By how much is proposal B more economical than proposal A if interest rate is 20% and depreciation to be neglected?
a) P 19,122.15
b) P 19,423.69
c) P 19,518.03
d) P 19,624.49
Q17. What annuity is required over 12 years to equate with a future amount of P 20,000? Assume i= 6% annually.
Q18. What is the present worth of a year annuity paying P 3,000.00 at the end of each year, with interest at 8% compounded annually?
Q19. A person buys a piece of lot for P 100,000 down payment and 10 deferred semi-annual payments of P 8,000 each, starting three years from now. What is the present value of the investment if the rate of interest is 12% compounded semi-annually?
a) P 142,999.08
b) P 143,104.89
c) P 142,189.67
d) P 143,999.08
Q20. Miss Calledo deposited P 1,000, P 1,500 and P 2,000 at the end of the 2nd year, 3rd year and 4th year, respectively in a savings account which earned 10% per annum. How much is in the account at the end of the 4th year?


Just a Gigolo main content.
During the breeding season, the loud call of a male milk frog lures a female to his water-filled tree hollow. The female lays her eggs in the pool and leaves the male to fertilize them and care for the young. After the tadpoles hatch, the male lures another female to lay eggs in the same water hole. He doesn't fertilize the second batch of eggs, but uses them to feed his hungry tadpoles. By "faking" a love interest, he tricks the second female into delivering food for babies that are not hers.
Life Cycle: Breeding occurs high in trees. Females deposit 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in water-filled treeholes. Tadpoles hatch two weeks later.


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Personnel Changes: Lincoln, Allianz, WellCare, Aartrijk
By staff Writer | July 08, 2010 at 08:00 PM
Lincoln Financial Distributors has named Peter Sims national sales manager for the 401(k) plan business.
Lincoln Financial Distributors, the distribution arm of Lincoln National Corp., Radnor, Pa. (NYSE:LNC), intends for the defined contribution retirement programs to be a "target growth area," and it plans to increase the size of 401(k) sales teams 50%, the company says. Lincoln sells a group variable annuity retirement program under the Lincoln Director brand and a program that uses mutual funds and collective trusts under the Lincoln SmartFuture brand.
Sims previously was a national sales manager for the wirehouse and bank channel at Lincoln's annuity business. He also has served as national sales manager for the Delaware Investments unit.
In other personnel news:
- Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Golden Valley, Minn., a unit of Allianz S.E., Munich, Germany, has hired Jeannee Hoppe to be senior director of market management and product innovation and Debra Repya to be senior director of advanced markets.
Hoppe previously developed the strategic sourcing department at Ameriprise Financial Inc., Minneapolis (NYSE:AMP).
Hoppe has a bachelor's degree from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., and a master's degree in management from the University of Minnesota.
Repya previously was a senior advanced strategies counsel in the business development center at Securian Financial Group, St. Paul.
Repya has a bachelor's degree in English and German from Augustana College. She also has a master's degree in educational counseling from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a law degree from Hamline. She holds the Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant professional designations.
- WellCare Health Plans Inc., Tampa, Fla. (NYSE:WCG), has hired Dr. Ann Wehrto be chief medical officer.
Wehr previously was president of Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, a unit of Molina Healthcare Inc., Long Beach, Calif.
Wehr has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a medical degree from Ohio State University. She is board certified in internal medicine.
- Aartrijk Group L.L.C., Springfield, Va., an insurance marketing firm, has hired Rick Morgan to be vice president of new media. Morgan previously owned an insurance agency in Boulder, Colo., and was editor and publisher of The Automated Agency Report.
- Aite Group L.L.C., Boston, has hired Sophie Schmitt to be a senior analyst on the wealth management team. She is handling topics such as financial advisor segmentation.


When people embark on finding a rental property, most get started checking out the iconic types of rentals like apartments or condo properties. These styles of rentals commonly are a lot more communal and public (in other words, they offer a minimal level of privacy), smaller, and have less outdoor area that belongs entirely to you. People moving to 76470, however, should keep in mind that they will also find houses for rent in the area. The truth is that there are many noteworthy considerations for renting a house as opposed to buying or choosing an apartment or townhouse, and with the proper search techniques, you can swiftly discover the perfect house for rent in 76470 that will match your everyday life and uniqueness.
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When you`re finally checking out a house, make sure you take a look at any areas that could be in rough shape. The owner of the place is usually liable for maintaining it, so its existing state will offer a hint as to how the landlord will handle things should you wind up being a lessee. Does it look like the yard has been kept up in nice condition? Do you observe any walls that are beat-up or cracking everywhere you look? Do each of the lights and appliances operate as they should? Do the back and front doorways lock tightly? It is also a smart move to get a glimpse at the surrounding houses on the street. Even when not owned by the same landlord, the shape they`re in is influential and a case in point of the vicinity generally speaking.
Undecided about what precisely you`re in search of in a house for rent in 76470? Give RentFinder a chance now—hit the button below, and you`ll be taken to a page of home listings.


Pizza Delivery Near Richardsville - Order Domino's Now!
When you've got a hankering for a cheese-loaded slice of mouthwatering pizza, we know you're craving only the best pizza near Richardsville. You want a hot, delicious pizza with a flavorful tomato sauce, generous heaps of mozzarella and asiago, expertly diced pepperoni, and a golden-brown crust that's crunchy, crispy, and chewy—all at the same time. You want a pizza that's hands down, undeniably delicious. You want Domino's.
At Domino's near Richardsville, we make it fast and easy to get the fresh pizza you're craving. Place a carryout order at the Domino's nearest you, order your pizza online, or give us a call!
First, start by selecting your favorite crust. Pick from a hand-tossed crust that's seasoned with the perfect balance of garlic and butter, a gluten-free crust, a pan crust featuring two monstrous layers of cheese, or even a crispy thin pizza crust! Then, choose your sauce and your favorite pizza toppings. Pick as many as you want! Whether you can't get enough grilled chicken and roasted veggies or you adore a savory blend of banana peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni, your nearest Domino's has it all!
At your Domino's near Richardsville, we don't take pizza delivery lightly. In fact, we're so serious about it that we promise your pizza will arrive piping hot and freshly made, right from our oven to your door. Want to know what's happening with your order like, right now? Use our expertly engineered Domino's TrackerⓇ to follow along as your order is prepped, baked, checked for quality, and sent out our door for delivery... and do your best not to drool on your computer's keyboard in the meantime.
We may be fast when it comes to delivering pizzas, but we're super fast when it comes to pizza takeout near Richardsville. Feel free to order from our pizza menu or take home something more! Satisfy everyone's cravings with one of our oven-baked sandwiches or pastas, platters of specialty chicken wings, crisp and colorful salads, and a dangerously sweet helping of dessert. You can't go wrong with an order of Domino's Marbled Cookie Brownie™, Cinna StixⓇ, or Chocolate Lava Crunch Cake.
With over 12,000 stores around the world, we know what it means to provide excellent customer service and the best quality food. We think it's our calling to not only be the best pizza delivery company in Virginia, but also the world, and everything we do reflects this commitment. You'll witness it in the way our delivery drivers take care of your order and you'll taste it in every bite of pizza you eat. It's time to curb your hunger! Order online, use our free smartphone app, or call your local Domino's restaurant near Richardsville for super fast and delicious pizza delivery and carryout today! We aren't like every other pizza restaurant. We're your favorite pizza place near Richardsville!


Any move, whether it be from elsewhere in Canada or from the other side of the world - has the potential to be a stressful undertaking. My objective as your Capital Relocation Expert is to minimize the stress and worry that relocation so often causes and to assist your client in their transition to life in the capital.
If you have clients moving to or from Ottawa, you have started at the right place. We have been providing relocation services in Ottawa since 1988 and have assisted such organizations as: CIBC, Alcatel, The Canadian Press, Department of National Defence and a multitude of other government departments and Crown Corporations. In short, we have an intimate understanding of all relevant issues associated with a long distance move.
We provide our relocation clients with an intimate knowledge of the Ottawa and National Capital Region. Our services are not limited to finding a home, but extend to providing in depth information about community issues that are of importance to your client (schooling, transportation, recreation etc.) so that their home is situated in a neighborhood best suited to meeting their needs.
You can put your trust in our experience and energy to meet and exceed your client's real estate and relocation requirements. Get the attention you deserve and get our team working for you.
3. We will provide ongoing guidance and regular updates until the time of the visit.
Agents, send your referral and I will respond to you immediately and contact your client ASAP.


Cost: 3 hours $40, full day $80, 2 day/1 night $180. All prices include meals and complimentary wine.
Enjoy the natural beauty and abundant wildlife of the ACT from the comfort of our air-conditioned 4WD vehicles. All tours are flexible, see what you want to see. Aboriginal rock art, remote fishing spots, champagne at sunset, exciting 4WD tracks, plenty of photo opportunities, camping, camp fires, river swimming, friendly first aid qualified guides. We comply with all HSA requirements. Fully insured.


UB Interprofessional Forums educate future health care professionals to improve health care delivery through collaboration. The Office of IPE hosts IP Forums in the Spring and Fall.
UB health professions students form interprofessional teams to improve care for a man with multiple chronic diseases.
UB's first IP Forum brought 900 health professions students together to collaboratively discuss strategies to improve prevention and care for individuals with opioid dependence.