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Posted by belindaschwehr
What is "Exempt Accommodation"?
This Briefing:
Defines what "Exempt Accommodation" is and clarifies the present confusion over what is and what is not Exempt Accommodation
Identifies the need for change to the Exempt Accommodation rules and proposes a new framework for investing in preventative services to support independence in relation to accommodation where vulnerability is an issue
Provides up to the minute information on the DWP's current thinking on both the future of Exempt Accommodation and its relationship to the Welfare Reform Act
Discusses how Tenancy Sustainment services to vulnerable people in general needs accommodation can be funded and delivered
Acknowledges the need for a clear definition of "vulnerability" and the need for a common methodology to demonstrate the social and financial return on investment (SFROI) of services for vulnerable people
In September 2012 the UK Government announced that tenants of Exempt Accommodation would have the housing component of their Universal Credit administered outside of Universal Credit in a manner consistent with the existing Exempt Accommodation rules.
In other words, vulnerable tenants would be entitled to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit as a consequence of their additional housing needs provided that they live in Exempt Accommodation. Subsequently, the DWP also stated that such people would be exempt from bedroom tax, benefit cap and direct payment of rent. These developments were very much in line with what Support Solutions had been predicting would happen since 2011.
"Exempt Accommodation" is
Where the Landlord is a Non-Metropolitan County Council, charity, voluntary organisation or housing association
And has a legal interest (ownership or lease) of accommodation
And that accommodation houses people who require "care, support & supervision"
And that the additional services provided to those people are provided by the landlord, or by an agency on the landlord's behalf
Since that time there has been a deal of confusion on the part of Local Authorities and providers about what Exempt Accommodation is and the situation was not helped by the provision of inconsistent advice from within the sector. This lack of clarity has resulted in a greater appetite on the part of some Housing Benefit Teams to challenge some claims for enhanced Housing Benefit made on the basis of the Exempt Accommodation rules. As a consequence, many supported/sheltered housing schemes managed by Agencies on behalf of Registered Providers have been deemed non-exempt. The same has applied to many sheltered housing schemes, irrespective of the management arrangements, on the grounds that they don't provide sufficient "care support provision" to qualify as Exempt Accommodation.
Both arguments should be easily disprovable. Agency managed schemes are often deemed non-exempt on the grounds that the Agency is commissioned to provide support to the tenants by a third party, e.g. a Supporting People team, so therefore the Agent provides the service on behalf of the third party and not the landlord, so therefore it's not Exempt Accommodation. However, irrespective of any arrangement the Agency has to provide support, the landlord is claiming (and paying to the Agency) enhanced housing management charges for the Agency to provide Additional Housing Management Services/Intensive Housing Management, not support, on the landlord's behalf. This Additional Housing Management Services/Intensive Housing Management constitutes "care support and supervision" because it involves the provision of "more than routine property management functions". This was established by Judge Turnbull in the most recent case law precedent regarding the definition of "Exempt Accommodation". It places a greater burden upon the landlord, or its agent, due to the nature of the accommodation and the tenant group within that accommodation. Furthermore, this Additional Housing Management Services/Intensive Housing Management must make a genuine difference to the ability of the tenant to remain independent in their accommodation.
The same applies to Sheltered Housing. Providing a housing management communication system such as Housing Proactive, which is Housing Benefit eligible, or even an alarm (which isn't) equates to "more than normal property management functions" and makes a genuine difference to the ability to the tenant to live independently in the accommodation. There is no reason why this shouldn't apply to general needs social lettings where the tenant is vulnerable. There is no minimum amount of care support and supervision required to qualify as Exempt Accommodation, although there must be a need for care, support or supervision to be provided.
The outcomes of this system, when it is allowed to work unhindered by technical misinterpretations, is that Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services for vulnerable people in social lettings are funded very cost effectively; at least in part by Housing Benefit and the Exempt Accommodation rules. The major positive outcomes are that vulnerable social tenants receive the sort of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services that enable them to become or remain independent in their accommodation at a much lower cost than would be payable for the emergency interventions that would otherwise be necessary for some without it. Prevention is not only better than emergency intervention; it's also a lot cheaper. That fact should be obvious to all.
The Need For Change
We do feel, however, that the Exempt Accommodation rules do need reviewing because much has changed since their introduction in 1996. Primarily as a consequence of the work that Support Solutions has undertaken the Exempt Accommodation rules, which were introduced to cap the levels of rent payable to private landlords, are now at least as important a means of funding independence in relation to accommodation as Supporting People, the future for which is uncertain to say the least. We have worked with providers, commissioners and Housing Benefit teams to implement the regulations in a way that is transparent and fair. A way that acknowledges the financial and strategic interests of the Local Authorities and the operation of the subsidy rules through which the Local Authority reclaims the enhanced Housing Benefit it has paid out for Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services under the Exempt Accommodation rules. We do understand their shortcomings in reflecting current arrangements, for example, they include Non-Metropolitan County Councils as Exempt Accommodation landlords but not Unitary Authorities, which have often taken on the roles and functions of County Councils. So this would require either a tribunal case to rule on whether a Unitary is effectively a County Council and therefore complies with the definition. Or it would require us to suggest that the Local Authority leases its properties to a Registered Provider in order to comply with the Exempt Accommodation qualification criteria as a Local Authority landlord.
The whole misunderstood debate around whether or not agency managed schemes are Exempt Accommodation is another example, of the need for change, albeit a by-product of a failure to understand the regulations rather than a failure of the regulations themselves, although we acknowledge that the definitions could be simplified.
What we must do then is to reinvent Exempt Accommodation, the system through which preventative Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services is provided.
One of the major benefits of being an Exempt Accommodation tenant at the moment is the fact that such tenants are protected from some of the implications of the Welfare Reform Act, for example, the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax) although that may change (see below), the Benefit Cap and exemption from direct payment arrangements in most cases.
Any replacement for, or reinvention of, the Exempt Accommodation rules should retain these protections to vulnerable people, bearing in mind that for many "vulnerability" will not be a permanent situation.
Any replacement of Exempt Accommodation must enhance its strengths and remove its weaknesses. Perhaps we should call this new system Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services (Investment in Prevention for short) and base it on the principles of prevention and a proven Social/Financial Return on Investment. It should be based on a methodology developed with providers, statutory sector stakeholders and Government.
Firstly, we need clarity as to who would be entitled to receive Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services payments. There should be consistent treatment of all Investment in Prevention providers; irrespective of the legal identity as long as they can provide an acceptable Financial and Social Return on Investment and that they meet proper quality standards that are based on a simplified Quality Assessment Framework standard or similar quality assurance tool. Of course some providers will already have accreditations to provide more complex services than Additional Housing Management Services and these can be passported for compliance purposes.
One of the weaknesses of the Exempt Accommodation rules is that they apply differently to different providers and different tenants. Registered Providers (Housing Associations) are favoured because Local Authorities reclaim from the DWP, via their subsidy claim, all of the enhanced Housing Benefit they pay. Most Local Authorities do not have a problem paying Registered Providers enhanced Housing Benefit under the Exempt Accommodation rules. The same cannot be said in relation to non-Registered Provider Exempt Accommodation providers, such as charities and voluntary agencies. Even though they are absolutely entitled to enhanced Housing Benefit for Additional Housing Management Services Local Authorities are often loath to pay them and for understandable reasons. The Local Authority can only claim 60% of the difference between the Valuation Service Rent determination and the actual level of enhanced Housing Benefit awarded.
This prompted Medway Council to complain to Lord Freud (Minister for Welfare Reform) about the Exempt Accommodation system as non-Registered Provider Exempt Accommodation claims left them with a £1.6 million hole in their accounts. This is a by-product of an inconsistent system. If Medway had been able to claim for subsidy we doubt they would have complained. Medway had good cause to identify this inconsistency in the Exempt Accommodation rules. So there is an uneven playing field between Registered Provider and non-Registered Provider Exempt Accommodation providers, despite the fact that they provide the same sorts of services to the same sorts of people. This inconsistency should not form part of any new system.
Private sector providers are even more restricted in what they can claim where they are also the landlord. This is quite right in relation to their landlord role but the point is that the status of a vulnerable person's landlord, if they have one, should be irrelevant. Why should a private tenant (or owner occupier) be entitled to a reduced level of services and resources based on the legal status of their landlord or the fact that they don't have a landlord? In fact, why should it have anything to do with the landlord at all? What should matter is that whoever provides Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services should be accredited for quality and be able to show a proven social and financial return, according to an agreed methodology, on the work they do with vulnerable people.
So in addition to levelling the playing field between Registered Provider and non-Registered Provider non-profits we also need to do so in respect of treating all vulnerable people consistently. This should be both in relation to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit (whilst Investment in Prevention is paid via that route) and in relation to Welfare Reform Act exemptions.
Under the Exempt Accommodation rules tenants of Registered Providers and non-Registered non-profit Providers are theoretically entitled to enhanced Housing Benefit on the same basis, albeit that non Registered Providers are often subject to greater scrutiny and lower payment for Additional Housing Management Services than their Registered Provider counterparts. This is due to the Local Authorities exposure to subsidy loss. If, however, you are a private tenant or owner-occupier you are entitled to precisely nothing by way of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services due to the legal status of your landlord, the rent restrictions that apply to private landlords or the fact that you have no landlord. This remains the case irrespective of who the Additional Housing Management Services provider is. It is patently absurd that vulnerable people in the private sector should be discriminated against in this way. Acknowledging this gives us huge scope to develop preventative services irrespective of the form of tenure/status of the landlord. The intention of so doing is to provide a much wider range of cost-benefit proven preventative services that enable people to remain independent in their own accommodation and take a lot of pressure off statutory services.
Routing Investment in Prevention through the DWP's cash-limited budget won't work in the medium to long term. You can't increase a social or financial return by reducing your investment. Money for Investment in Prevention should be disbursed by National Governments to accredited Providers that can show a positive social and financial return on investment.
In case that sounds a bit like "pie in the sky", given the cost before value approach applied to public expenditure, we might want to look at one of the possible implications of enhanced devolution within the UK (or of Scottish independence if that's what happens). It is quite likely that "welfare" will be a devolved function in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, even without Scottish independence. There is a greater appetite within devolved Governments, than in the UK Government, to invest in prevention and to focus on value not cost. It will take just one devolved (or independent) administration to put its money where its mouth is and make this structural change which the UK Government seems to find so difficult: invest in prevention in order to save much more money through reduced emergency interventions and simultaneously impact positively on the lives of vulnerable people and the communities in which they live. Devolved Governments are closer to the people who elect them and seem to be able to respond more quickly to their needs. Pity then, that there is no English Government.
Current DWP Thinking.
You may have heard that the DWP has recently made some announcements that will potentially increase the scope of exemptions from certain Welfare Reform Act provisions to include supported housing that "doesn't meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation", including agency-managed schemes (although we believe that the very many of them actually do meet this definition, or could very easily do so). These announcements have been described by some as changes to the Exempt Accommodation rules, which they are not. The Exempt Accommodation rules remain unchanged.
The intention will be to create an additional definition of "Supported Housing" within the Welfare Reform Act Regulations to include both Exempt Accommodation and supported housing that doesn't meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation. However, as we have set out above, technical misunderstandings of the detail of what constitutes Exempt Accommodation have already, and wrongly, excluded some agency managed schemes and sheltered accommodation. It seems that the DWP/UK Government and some sector advisors have accepted incorrect and limiting definitions of Exempt Accommodation (e.g. excluding agency managed schemes and sheltered housing from that definition). We remain concerned to ensure that legitimate Exempt Accommodation providers receive the levels of enhanced Housing Benefit to which they are entitled under the Exempt Accommodation rules, which also results in Local Authorities reclaiming via their annual subsidy claim the enhanced Housing Benefit they pay out.
What the Government has said is that it will exempt more people from the Benefit Cap and direct payment of rent if they live in supported/sheltered housing which is agency managed and therefore (sometimes wrongly) deemed not to be Exempt Accommodation and will therefore otherwise be subject to Universal Credit and restricted service charges. Despite previous statements from some sector advisers to the contrary, such schemes will not be exempted from the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax). However, the protection from some of the provisions of the Welfare Reform Act does not mean that tenants will necessarily be entitled to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit because, allegedly, they're not in Exempt Accommodation. It is important that these tenants have the same entitlement to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit for Investment in prevention through Additional Housing Management Services where such services are not otherwise funded. We strongly encourage providers and commissioners who find themselves in this position to contact us. Support Solutions specialises in establishing legitimate Exempt Accommodation scenarios; we don't charge if we don't succeed in doing so and in increasing housing revenue.
We think that it is increasingly important for providers to establish Exempt Accommodation status as we believe that one of the possible outcomes of current DWP thinking, albeit not yet, is a finite budget to fund Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services in Exempt Accommodation and possibly also a finite list of eligible service charge activities. However, we also need to bear in mind that there is a strategic move by statutory authorities to move away from expensive and often more institutional forms of provision, such as registered care homes. The alternative would be community-based housing options, much of which would be Exempt Accommodation under the current arrangements and therefore entitled to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit. This being so, the amounts of revenue for Exempt Accommodation are not likely to be capped yet.
Our view is that money for prevention should not be held by the DWP, should not be cash-limited and should be disbursed on the basis of a proven positive social and financial return. In addition to agency managed schemes and other supported housing that "doesn't meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation, the Government has also decided that where vulnerable social tenants are in receipt of "public subsidy", for example, personal budgets for the provision of care and/or support they will also fall in to the expanded definition.
The DWP has recently been in discussion with a number of the sector's advisory bodies regarding an expansion of the scope of exemptions from the Welfare Reform Act to include those services that don't meet "the precise definition" of Exempt Accommodation. The exemptions in question would be from the Benefit Cap & direct payment of rent to the tenant, but crucially not the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax), which up to this point has only applied to tenants of Exempt Accommodation. In concert with the advisory bodies the DWP proposes to replace reference to Exempt Accommodation within the Welfare Reform Act regulations with a new definition: "Supported Housing". Please click here to download a copy of the email from the DWP to the advisory bodies it is in discussion with. Within this email "Supported Housing" is defined as accommodation that is specifically designed or designated for providing support and within which the support provided is funded through a public body. This has been described by sector advisors as a great success for their behind the scenes work with the DWP. We assume this refers to the widening of the scope of exemptions to the Welfare Reform Act regulations, although they have since stepped back from a previous assertion that such exemptions would, critically, include exemption from the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax).
However, it is of concern to us that we appear to have arrived at this position without the knowledge of the sector as a whole, the more so because the definition of "Supported Housing" is ambiguous. Support Solutions hopes that "designed or designated" means both purpose-built supported and sheltered housing, other multiply-occupied buildings that house vulnerable people and general needs social lettings within which a vulnerable tenant has been identified. Given Lord Freud's statement that there should be no increase in DWP expenditure we rather fear that it may mean "designed" more than "designated", although we'd be pleased if it means both as this keeps open the door to the possibility of funding tenancy sustainment services, albeit only in social lettings.
Furthermore, what is meant by the statement that "the support provided to the resident should be funded through a public body"? Does this mean a commissioned service, for example, statutory sector funding for "support"? Or does it mean, for example, that local authorities can commission services for a nominal value and that Registered Providers, which are public bodies after all as per Weaver vs. L&Q, can continue to subsidise services, as they have done for years, and thus fulfil the "funded by a public body" criterion whilst retaining an entitlement to enhanced levels of Housing Benefit through the Exempt Accommodation rules?
And that leads us to another question: if references to "Exempt Accommodation" in the Welfare Reform Act Regulations are to be replaced by the definition "Supported Housing", what does that mean for the future of Exempt Accommodation? It seems to us that this proposed definition will include both Exempt Accommodation and schemes that don't meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation. It appears that what will occur is that this new definition will be established within the Welfare Reform Act Regulations and will replace Exempt Accommodation as a phrase within those Regulations. Exempt accommodation will continue to exist, however; as a consequence those claimants who qualify for Exempt Accommodation for Housing Benefit purposes may then not qualify for exemption from the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax) because of the limited scope of "Supported Housing" within the Welfare Reform Act Regulations. An example of these types of claimants would be those who live in supported accommodation that does not receive any public funding to pay for the care, support or supervision. Far from being a successful negotiating outcome this would be a serious step backwards from the position announced in September 2012 by Iain Duncan-Smith & Lord Freud to the effect that Exempt Accommodation tenants would be exempt from Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax), Benefit Cap & Direct Payments.
The DWP gives the appearance of having given ground whilst actually doing the opposite. It has agreed to limited additional Welfare Reform Act exemptions to supported housing that "doesn't meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation" (although most of it probably does) whilst also removing exemption from the Bedroom Tax from Exempt Accommodation by including the latter in the proposed definition of "Supported Housing". We very much hope that the DWP doesn't now use what appear to be concessions on its part, which aren't really concessions at all, to insist on a more restrictive interpretation of "Supported Housing": i.e. as a commissioned service delivered in purpose-built accommodation.
Tenancy Sustainment
We believe that there is nothing in the Exempt Accommodation rules as they stand to prevent the legitimate claiming of enhanced Housing Benefit for Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services to vulnerable tenants in general needs social lettings. We think it would be an excellent use of public money as a preventative investment where tenancy sustainment, which is needed in the short term, for example as an alternative to eviction where vulnerability is an issue. It would be equally valuable to be able to provide longer term tenancy sustainment services to vulnerable tenants in general needs social lettings under the Exempt Accommodation rules. For example, where a tenant is frail/elderly, or has learning disabilities or long term mental health needs the provision of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services could make the difference between inexpensive independence in general needs on the one hand and expensive (and probably unnecessary) dependency in support or sheltered housing on the other.
Support Solutions is very interested to talk to providers who would like to develop tenancy sustainment services for vulnerable tenants in general needs funded through enhanced Housing Benefit. For the longer term however we need to look at the tenancy sustainment issue from the perspective of a reinvention of Exempt Accommodation in favour of a wider system of preventative investment. We believe that Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services for vulnerable people in general needs and in private accommodation should be a function of any replacement system for Exempt Accommodation. This should be the case irrespective of the status of the person's landlord or ownership status, unlike the current Exempt Accommodation arrangements. In many cases the landlord won't be the Investment in Prevention provider but whoever is the provider will need to pass muster on the quality and Financial and Social Return on Investment conditions, which would need to be an outcomes-based methodology.
For the future we'd like to see a situation where investment in prevention isn't a function of the UK Government's DWP or any other Government department operating to a cash-limited pot. Investment in prevention should be based on a provable social and financial return: it should reduce public expenditure, not increase it. A failure to invest in prevention is a guarantee of the need to spend excessively on emergency interventions, which is bad for everyone.
Support Solutions has been calling for an enhanced definition of vulnerability since we responded to the DWP's July 2011 consultation on the future of Housing Benefit in supported and sheltered housing.
For the purposes of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services, vulnerability should be seen in terms of the implications of that vulnerability for the ability of the person to live independently in their own accommodation. The purpose of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services is to maximise independence in relation to accommodation for reasons of both independence and cost. It may well be the case that such people have additional support and social care needs which would need to be separately funded. The purpose of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services and the money that funds it is to ensure that vulnerable people are provided with services that enable them to live as independently in ordinary accommodation as possible within the parameters of choice, need and safety.
A full definition of vulnerability needs to be developed for this purpose, which is beyond the scope of this Briefing but essential nonetheless. We will be exploring this further at our National Housing Support & Social Care Conference at the ICC in Birmingham on 13th February 2014, to be addressed by David Brindle, and via our on-line and social media presence. It is essential that vulnerability is properly defined.
Social and Financial Return on Investment
Another issue that requires development is a methodology to calculate the Financial and Social Return on Investment of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services. Such approaches are complex because people are complex and statutory sector infrastructure such as the NHS, Local Authority social care, homelessness, criminal justice and others will have different needs that require different outcomes from Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services, for example, the NHS might want to see reduced levels of hospital admissions (voluntary and compulsory), reduced pressure on GP surgeries, reduced length of stay in hospital, reduced pressure on community health services etc. Homelessness departments would want to see fewer statutory homelessness interventions; landlords want fewer voids and associated costs, lower arrears, less anti-social behaviour and so on.
Again, at our conference on February 13th we want to focus on discussing a meaningful basis for calculating/quantifying both the financial and social benefit of Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services based on the notion of the maximisation of independence and the minimisation of financial cost by way of interventions that would not have had to happen if cost effective interventions such as Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services had been in place. Actually, this is exactly what the Exempt Accommodation rules do, albeit that their scope is limited by the way they are currently constructed. Support Solutions believes that the time is right to understand these rules better and to change them so they are fit for the future. These rules have worked very well, despite their limitations, the level of misunderstanding about their application and the fact that Support Solutions has made it a primary concern to ensure they fund Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services properly. This is an example of a focus on value not cost. It remains more important than ever that providers who have not yet gone down this route do so.
If we are to reinvent Exempt Accommodation we need to focus on the needs of the tenant, not the nature of the landlord. We need to focus on the integrity, commitment and cost of the Additional Housing Management Services providers through compliance with a simplified Quality Assessment Framework based or other quality standard and we need to focus on a methodology for Financial and Social Return on Investment that is non-bureaucratic, capable of flexibility and is convincing to the DWP, the UK Government as a whole and devolved Governments within the UK.
At a strategic level the DWP has said that any new system to develop or replace Exempt Accommodation should not involve any increase in departmental expenditure. This is an example of a failure to focus on value not cost and a failure to acknowledge that one Government department's expenditure cut is another department's cost increase. In this case, if the DWP reduces what is currently Exempt Accommodation expenditure for preventative services there will be an immediate and far more significant increase in expenditure elsewhere in the NHS, criminal justice, social care and homelessness budgets. Whether money comes from the DWP or any other Government department; it's all public money. It is really very short sighted for Government to focus on departmental expenditure targets without considering the overall impact of all public expenditure.
We should focus on value not cost. If a reduction in expenditure on prevention causes a far greater increase in expenditure on crisis intervention, which it evidentially does (CAP Gemini and Frontier Economics), then the capping of expenditure on prevention is a logical absurdity and we remain in the ludicrous position of focusing on cost, not value, and we end up spending far more money than we should on interventions that would otherwise be unnecessary and human pain and suffering which is absolutely avoidable.
The UK Government's view that "welfare" expenditure should be reduced should be tempered by the need to target such expenditure so that it leads to social benefit by way of independence for vulnerable people, and financial benefit by way of reduced pressure on statutory services and a significant reduction in public expenditure. Funding for prevention should be given to accredited providers, not landlords, albeit that many such providers may also be landlords; Registered Providers being the obvious example. These providers should be able to deliver Investment in Prevention through Additional Housing Management Services to any vulnerable person, irrespective of their occupancy status, though means-testing would be necessary.
Support Solutions is of the view that many services that have been deemed not to meet the precise definition of Exempt Accommodation are Exempt Accommodation, specifically many agency-managed schemes and many schemes that are claimed not to provide sufficient "care, support & supervision".
We believe that Tenancy Sustainment services can and should be provided to vulnerable people in general needs social lettings through the Exempt Accommodation rules.
We think that the Exempt Accommodation rules should ultimately be replaced by a wider system of "Investment in Prevention" wherein entitlement to such services should not be dependent on the legal identity of the landlord and should also be open to owner-occupiers on a means-tested basis.
"Investment in Prevention" should not be funded through the cash-limited budget of the DWP and money should be paid to accredited providers on the basis of a common Social & Financial Return on Investment methodology and with a focus on value before cost.
Constitutional change within the UK may enable devolved Governments (or an independent Scotland) to facilitate this.
The current/recent negotiations between the DWP and sector advisers appear to us to be problematic in that the sector has not been sufficiently involved in them. They have resulted in what appear to be pyrrhic concessions at the possible expense of Exempt Accommodation tenants now being subject to the Spare Room Subsidy (Bedroom Tax), from which they were previously exempted. This would be a particular issue for Tenancy Sustainment services for vulnerable tenants in general needs accommodation. We would be happy for our fears on this to be allayed.
We need an agreed definition of "vulnerability" and a common Social & Financial Return on Investment methodology.
Please circulate this Briefing to anyone you think might be interested in it. All of our Briefings are free.
Creative Commons License applies: please copy and circulate all or part of this document and attribute authorship to Michael Patterson of Support Solutions.
Categories : Care and Health Law Topics


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On the ground floor there is a wide entrance and a spacious storage area with a water access.
Peacefully positioned in the heart of the San Marco area between the Rialto bridge and the San Marco square but in an hidden charming square far from the tourist hustle and bustle.
The apartment is close to shops and facilities for everyday needs including the vaporetto boat stop of Rialto and its fish, fruit and vegetable market.
In the area there are many elegant shops, cafés and restaurants.


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The end result of both method is to clear or wipe off your phone contents, in this case, your Sony Xperia Z5 Premium.
Now, wait patiently until your Sony Xperia Z5 Premium reboots and reset to its factory default settings.


There are many beautiful parts to Massachusetts (I love spending summertime in Cape Cod), but the great city of Boston is always a 'must stop'. An intimate metropolis, Americas biggest small town, bookish and cerebral (Harvard is here), with some edge (think of the movies 'Good Will Hunting', 'The Departed' and 'The Town'), and a great walking city – it's easy to stroll its historic districts, see a museum or three, and grab dinner on the waterfront within one day.
See: With so many historic sites, parks, performance venues, museums, shops, and restaurants to visit, you'll have no trouble filling up your itinerary, from the Paul S. Russell Museum to the Mapparium or South End Open Market. If all that touring has you begging for a break, a visit to the Grand Ten Distilling company is one of the most fun things to do in Boston.
Eat: Because it sits on coastline, Boston is a seafood city. New England clam chowder, baked haddock, lobster rolls, and oyster stew are popular surf dishes. If you want traditionally prepared Boston seafood, get a table at Neptune Oyster, where the offerings are fresh from the ocean and ever-rotating.


text:
Tag Archives: Greek
Sucking Up is Hard to Do – A Recap of Grey's Anatomy's "Start Me Up"
We feel your pain, Callie! We didn't want you involved in a Bad Pregnancy Storyline, either . . .
Sucking up . . . Kissing up . . . Brown nosing . . . Kissing ass . . . whatever term you have for it, it's a skill! It might not necessarily be an admirable skill, or an ethical skill, but it is a skill, nonetheless. "Sucking up" is something that doesn't come naturally to most people. For one thing, it involves some serious acting. And not everyone can be an actor. But, perhaps, more importantly, sucking up well requires a certain amount of pride swallowing, which NOBODY likes to do . . .
. . . least of all, a bunch of over-achieving, super smart, and extremely arrogant, doctors! (Is it any wonder, Seattle Grace is filled with so much HOT AIR?)
Well . . . yes . . . THAT too . . . but I was more referring to this kind of "hot air."
Like it or not, nearly every single character on this show was forced to swallow a bit of their pride this week. And not all of them succeeded in doing so . . .
McDreamy Sex, Peeing on Sticks, and Poop-Covered Babies . . .
When the episode begins, Meredith and Derek are seated on the edge of their bed, woefully examining the evidence of their non-pregnancy. Somewhere inside Meredith's lower abdomen, her Hostile Uterus is pumping his fist in triumph to the theme song from Rocky . . .
"I am the champion, my friends. And I'll keep on fighting 'til the end."
Rather than suck up her pride, and admit that Hostile Uterus is a worthy contender, Cristina suggests that Meredith "battle" said Uterus, in the same way that little kids "battle" the Boogey Man under their beds: i.e. "Simply pretend it doesn't exist, and maybe it will go away!" Yes, boys and girls, DOCTOR Meredith Grey thought she could beat Hostile Uterus into submission by buying TEN PREGNANCY TESTS, and peeing on ALL OF THEM!
Neonatal Surgeon, Addison Montgomery, does NOT approve . . .
Later, when Meredith complains to Cristina about how gosh darn exhausting it is to pee on sticks all day, Cristina wisely notes that Poop-Covered Babies are much MORE exhausting . . . "What makes you think my baby will be Poop-Covered?" Meredith asks, defensively.
Oh, Meredith . . . you have so very much to learn . . .
Meredith's and McDreamy's Future McBaby
Meredith isn't the only one failing miserably at swallowing her pride this week. Arizona, herself, is forced to admit that she (gasp!) has FAULTS, when Callie (1) refuses to forgive her for going to Malawi; and (2) pretty much treats her like crap for the entire episode. It all starts when Arizona buys out Callie's subleters overnight, and moves back into the apartment they once shared together.
(You'll notice that this is the second time that Callie has woken up to find that Arizona has been lurking around her home, while she slept. It's a little creepy . . . I'm not going to lie.)
After calling her "self-centered," "selfish," and a whole bunch of other VERY mean names, Callie decides to REALLY let Arizona know how she feels about her. "I don't want to see you. I don't want you in my life. Get your crap out of my apartment."
Ummm . . . Ouch?
Far from being put off by Callie's 85,00th rejection of her since she's returned, the clearly deluded optimistic Arizona remarks to a very embarrassed Mark, who has quietly watched the entire exchange, "It's good that she's mad. It means she feels something."
(Oh . . . she feels something, all right. She feels like she wants to CUT YOU!)
Be afraid, Arizona. Be VERY AFRAID!
When Arizona explains to Mark that she doesn't know any of her own flaws (aside from being a workaholic and smoking sometimes, of course), Mark seems more than happy to help her out . . .
Throughout the course of the episode, while Arizona and Mark argue the merits of putting cadaver bones versus human bones in some teen's face, so that she can play sports (Don't ask. I didn't really get it either.), Mark tells Arizona that she is patronizing, passive aggressive, stubborn, doesn't listen, and basically has a whole host of other things that are wrong with her. (Because, clearly, this was Poop on Arizona Day on Grey's Anatomy).
But the biggest FLAW Arizona has, is that she is a "bailer." In other words, when the going get tough, the tough get going, and Arizona runs away like a little b*tch. Well . . . at least that's what she's done, up until now . . .
In the final moments of the episode, Arizona conveniently barges in on Callie, as the latter rides on the WORLD'S SLOWEST ELEVATOR. Speaking of said elevator, it used to be completely void of any artwork, whatsoever. Now, it conveniently features a conspicous PICTURE OF A BABY . . .
(I haven't been this creeped out by an image on a wall, since someone told me there was a ghost of some dead kid in the film Three Men and a Baby . . .)
That's right, kiddies. Arizona finally apologized for walking out on Callie, declared her love, and begged for forgiveness . . . and Callie . . . well, she told Arizona that she was pregnant with Mark's baby . . .
Watch out, Callie! Lexie's coming after you for screwing her man. And she's armed and dangerous!
Speaking of inappropriate relationships . . .
Teddy is quickly learning that her No Frills Insurance Marriage to Henry Sick Noel from Felicity isn't all it's cracked up to be. Two more episodes, and these two will be boning one another. Mark my words! For starters, the Chief found out about the couple's little "arrangement," and has been totally reaming Teddy a new one, ever since.
CHIEF: "How dare you marry Noel! He's meant to be with Felicity!
TEDDY: But Felicity ended up with Ben, remember? They went to med school together. And then Felicity went back in time, and found out that if she chose Noel, back in college, Noel would have died in that dorm fire."
CHIEF: "Went back in time?! What the heck are you talking about?"
TEDDY: "I know right? It was a good show, but it pretty much had the WORST FINALE EVER!"
To further complicate matters, Noel's tumors are attacking his insides. And, in the course of a single episode, he needs both his kidney, his dignity, and a good portion of his pancreas removed. Teddy learns about all of Noel's complications, at about the same time she learns that he has put her down as his "Emergency Contact" on his insurance forms.
This kind of pisses Teddy off. Marriage? NO PROBLEM! Emergency contact? NO EFFING WAY!
"Our vows said, 'In Sickness and in Health' . . . 'Til Death Do Us Part.' The whole "Emergency Contact" thing was kind of implied in there. Don't you think?"
Seeing the obvious distress on Teddy's face, Noel explains that he is 42-years old. (NO WAY, NOEL! You graduated from college in the 00's. You're in your early 30's, TOPS!) His parents are dead. His sister is in Europe, and he's been too sick to make many friends. So, Teddy is basically, Noel's only friend now (Sucks to be him!), hence the "Emergency Contact" thing. To be honest, it's kind of a depressing story. But it ended sweetly, with Teddy and Noel clasping hands in "friendship."
(But it's going to be MUCH sweeter when they screw, sometime within the next two episodes . . . Trust me!)
But you know who's already screwing? THESE TWO!
Way to GO, BAILEY! It's high time the Nazi got some nookie in the on-call room. (Everyone else on this show has!) Naughty Nurse Eli is precisely what Bailey needs to lift her out of the funk her character has been in, since The Shooting . . . I hope they continue to go at it like bunnies . . .
. . . for a VERY LONG TIME!
(The more often they do it, the more likely it is that we will get to see Daniel Sunjata NAKED! The way I see it, it's a win-win!)
In other news . . .
The Race for Chief Resident is ON (like Donkey Kong!)
The fourth year residents were SUPPOSED to be kissing the asses of the First-Year Med Students, who were at Seattle Grace on a "field trip" this week. Doing this would impress upon the Chief that they were "Chief Resident Material." But, as I said earlier, the Seattle Graces docs don't kiss ass all that well. So, their competition basically erupted into a game of Abuse the Special Guest Star Student.
Sloan drew on this poor guy's head with permanent marker . . .
Evil Warren from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (who has apparently taken a break from World Domination and Creating Robot Girlfriends, in order to attend Med School), accidentally made Cristina (who's TOTALLY back to her hardcore self, by the way) look bad, by undermining her authority to the Chief, and spilling the beans to a patient about his dire medical condtion. So, she got back at him, by nearly shoving his head inside a gross tumor, and making him faint . . .
Avery bodily pushed Johan Hill's Twin Brother (Seriously! The resemblance is uncanny.) out of EVERY surgery, in which he was involved. He then pouted when Jonah Hill 2.0 conveniently offered up information that saved a patient's life at the last minute . . .
This chick had the gall to try to make friends with Meredith, and TEXT her boyfriend, while inside the hospital. So Meredith totally b*tched her out.
Out of all the Special Guest Stars First Year Med Students, Ashleigh from Greek fared the best, by far, because she got to screw Alex Karev . . .
Having heard it directly from the Chief, we all KNOW that Ashleigh gave Karev a good review, for "Playing Doctor" with her at Seattle Grace. (Alex was the only resident who "aced" his first "Race to Chief Challenge," as a result. Everybody else BOMBED IT!)
However, we can only guess as to what she told Casey and her friends at the ZBZ house, upon arriving back home . . .
An Interesting Casting Note: Fans of the show Greek, might recall, that for a few episodes at least, Ashleigh and Casey fought over which of them would be the first to bed a mysterious man, known to them only as "The Hotness Monster." And I bet you will never guess who played the Hotness Monster on the show . . .
It's DOCTOR AVERY!
Talk about your coincidences, right? It really is a shame that Ashleigh and Avery didn't get to hook up! (Not only would Greek fans have gotten a kick out of it, it also would have been REALLY HOT!) Clearly, Shondra Rhimes is saving Avery's virtue for ME! That's the only possible explanation as to why she's been keeping the Hotness Monster (now Dr. Hotness), as celibate as MONK for OVER TWO SEASONS! (Not that I'm complaining. ;))
Speaking of screwing, the episode ended up Meredith and Derek "practicing" their Mad Baby-Making Skills . . .
Take THAT, Hostile Uterus!
"I'll get you My Pretty, and your little McWeiner too!"
Filed under Grey's Anatomy
Tagged as #12, 7.12, 712, ABC, Addison Montgomery, Alex Karev, Amber Stevens, animated gif, April Kepner, Arizona and Callie, Arizona Robbins, Ashleigh, Bailey and the nurse, Callie and Arizona, Callie and Mark, Callie is pregnant, Callie Torres, Calzona, Chandra Wilson, Chief Webber, Chuck, Chyler Leigh, Cristina and Meredith, Cristina and Owen, Cristina Yang, Daniel Sunjata, Derek and Meredith, Derek Shepherd, diabetes, disarm, doctor, Dr. Stark, Dr. Yang, drama, Eli, Ellen Pompeo, Episode 12, Eric Dane, first year medical students, Greek, Grey's Anatomy, Henry, Henry and Teddy, I love you, James Pickens Jr, January 13, Jesse Williams, Jessica Capshaw, Justin Chambers, Kate Walsh, Kevin McKidd, kidney, Kim Raver, Lexie and Mark, Lexie Grey, Malawi, Mark and Callie, Mark and Lexie, Mark Sloan, medical, MerDer, Meredith and Cristina, Meredith and Derek, Meredith Grey, mid season premiere, Miranda Bailey, Noel Crane, Nurse Eli, Owen and Cristina, Owen Hunt, pancreas, Patrick Dempsey, Peter MacNichols, photo stills, pregnancy test, recap, Sandra Oh, Sara Ramirez, Sarah Drew, Scott Foley, screencaps, screenshot, Season 7, Seattle Grace, Shondra Rhimes, Teddy Altman, Teddy and Henry, the nurse and bailey, Thursday night, trauma, Yang's back
OMFG? Not so much . . . – The Top Ten "Been There, Seen That" Teen Television Cliches (Part 2 of 2)
A couple of days ago, I came up with a list of the top ten plotline cliches featured in teen-oriented television dramas. In the first installment of this blog entry, I posted the first five of these cliches. That list included: (1) the Pregnancy Plotline; (2) the Death of a Peripheral Character Plotline; (3) the Student / Teacher Relationship Plotline; (4) the Cheating on a Test / Plagiarism Plotline; and, finally, (5) the "Bad Influence" Plotline.
This installment will focus on the following popular Teen Television Cliches: (1) the Love Triangle; (2) the Summer in Europe; (3) the Love / Hate Relationship; (4) the School Ski Trip; and, of course (5) the Prom. So, without further adieu, what do you say we take off our creative thinking caps, embrace conformity, and get started?
1) "Can't we all just . . . have a threesome, instead?" – The Love Triangle Plotline
The Storyline: Girl meets boy. Boy is attractive.
Boy is also nice and sweet, albeit a tad boring (and, sometimes, a bit of a whiny b*tch).
Or, conversely, Boy is total douche;
but Girl's parents love him;
He looks "good on paper."
and Boy is sure to make Girl a very wealthy, but very bored, housewife, some time in the not-so-distant future, if she plays her cards right.
But then . . . Other Boy magically appears.
Unlike the original Boy, Other Boy is a little dangerous . . .
Maybe he's from the wrong side of the proverbial "tracks" . . .
Or, perhaps he has a reputation for being a bit of male slut . . .
. . . or a criminal.
Or maybe he has a bit of a mean streak, so Girl isn't sure she can really trust him.
But there is just something about the way Other Boy makes Girl feel . . .
She smiles and laughs more when she's around him.
(Click the internal link to watch.)
He makes her more fun!
And Other Boy continues to believe in Girl, and support her, long after everyone else has seemingly abandoned her (including the original Boy).
So, what's a Girl to do, when she wants them both?
Who does she choose? Well, that depends on the season . . . the Television Season, that is . . .
Examples: Joey, Pacey, and Dawson (Dawson's Creek); Veronica, Logan, and Duncan (Veronica Mars); Marissa, Ryan, and Luke (The O.C.); Elena, Damon, and Stefan (The Vampire Diaries); Rory, Jesse, and Dean (Gilmore Girls); Blair, Chuck, and Nate (Gossip Girl); Peyton, Lucas, and Nate (One Tree Hill); Emma, Sean, and Peter (Degrassi: The Next Generation); Felicity, Ben, and Noel (Felicity); Casey, Cappie, and Evan (Greek); Lyla, Tim, and Jason (Friday Night Lights)
Why it's a cliche? Three words (One of them is a contraction). Because . . . It's . . . AWESOME!
When it comes to successful teen drama plotlines, The Love Triangle, is a surefire WIN! After all, what girl wouldn't want to have two totally hot guys, who are complete opposites of one another fighting over her! Aside from allowing female fans to vicariously fulfill their deepest fantasies, Love Triangles provide the added benefit of making Teen Television watching a TEAM SPORT! Boys have football and basketball. Girls have THIS . . .
Yes, boys and girls, choosing sides in a Love Triangle War is SERIOUS business! (Girls have been shot over WAY less!) Don't believe me? Check out the sheer intensity of THESE fan-fueled debates . . .
About Blair, Chuck and Nate.
About Elena, Damon, and Stefan
About Felicity, Ben, and Noel . . .
(The above video debate between these two twenty-somethings kind of goes off the rails, after the first five minutes. But I love their obvious enthusiasm for a show that's been off the air now for nearly a decade! I also love their accents . . . and the very impressive "Portrait of Ben" one of them created. Scott Speedman, himself, would be proud!)
2) "Go to Europe . . . because no one could possibly 'find themselves' in the States!" – The Summer in Europe Plotline
"When in France, do as the French do . . . French kiss!"
(Here we go again! Internal link clicking time!)
The Storyline: It's close to the end of the Season. Our female protagonist's life is a mess! It's just jam packed with unresolved love triangles, family issues, and massive blowout fights with former friends. And what better way is there to deal with all of your problems, than to run away from them? So, our female protagonist jaunts off to Europe (usually Paris), leaving pining boys and cliffhangers in her wake . . .
Once there, our female protagonist sees the sights . . .
and miraculously FINDS HERSELF! When she comes back, she's a COMPLETELY different person, than when she left. Who knows? She might even have a new completely random, doesn't belong on the show at all boyfriend!
Examples: Serena and Blair (Gossip Girl); Joey Potter (Dawson's Creek); Brenda and Donna (90210); Holly (What I Like About You)
Why it's a Cliche? The main character's temporary departure from his or her home base is a great way to bring about a Teen Television Drama's summer hiatus. If us fans are forced to spend an ENTIRE summer away from our beloved gang of characters, at least we can sleep better knowing that they aren't hanging out with one another EITHER! Plus, filming a scene or two "across the pond" makes for a great excuse for the show's writers to say to their producer, "I'd like an all expense paid European vacation, please. What! It's for THE SHOW!"
A summer in another country is also a pretty good excuse to suddenly change the entire personality and demeanor of a character, without any rational explanation whatsoever . . .
"I got my new girlfriend and a frontal lobe lobotomy in Prague. Doesn't everybody?
3) "He Loves Me . . . He Hates My Guts . . . He Loves Me . . ." – The Love/ Hate Relationship Plotline
The Storyline: He's a playboy, and a real ladies man. But he comes across as mean, and kind of shallow. She's a Type A personality, who comes across as cold and a bit uptight.
They butt heads from the moment they first appear on screen together. They fight, and call eachother names. They insult one another, and play nasty tricks on eachother.
But there is a passion boiling beneath the surface, that both he and she are trying desperately to deny.
At the time, he and she are both involved with other people. Their significant others notice the sexual tension laced beneath their supposed hatred, and try in vain to ignore it. But the tension only grows. Jealous and longing looks become prevalent. Lingering touches, and moments of out-of-character "niceness," between the two make each member of the pair begin to question their feelings.
The guy in this scenario typically recognizes his feelings for her first.
(You know the drill . . .)
But he usually keeps this to himself, out of fear of being ridiculed by the new object of his desires. Then the two are placed in a dramatic situation. Suddenly their mutual passion for one another overtakes them. And they both give in to their desires.
Examples: Joey and Pacey (Dawson's Creek); Buffy and Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer); Veronica and Logan (Veronica Mars); Seth and Summer (The O.C. – sort of . . . well . . . she hated him); Elena and Damon (The Vampire Diaries); Blair and Chuck (Gossip Girl)
Why it's a Cliche? You know how everyone always talks about how hot Makeup Sex is? A couple fights, and then they make up. All that angst and sexual energy, built up from all that red-faced arguing, is just kindling for the inevitable Orgasmic Fire of "Getting Back Together." And THAT'S from a fight that might last a day! You can just imagine how hot Makeup Sex would be if the couple fought nonstop for TWO SEASONS!
4) "When the temperatures get COLD, the action gets HOT!" – The Ski Trip Plotline
The Storyline: I'm going to be honest, this one was less of a "storyline" and more of a "plot convention." (Hey! YOU try to come up with ten of these things . . . It's not as easy as it looks.) But did you ever notice how virtually EVERY teen drama features at least one ski trip? BIG THINGS always happen on ski trips too! People get drunk, get laid, get raped, or cheat on their significant other! And someone ALWAYS hurts their foot, and conveniently can't ski!
Dawson's Creek:
Jenn hurts her foot, gets wasted, and almost screws Gay Jack.
Pacey and Joey do it for the first time!
Boy Meets World:
Cory hurts his foot too! And makes out with Linda Cardellini!
Other fabulous shows featuring wild and crazy teen ski trips include Degrassi: Next Generation (Darcy gets date raped), and What I Like About You (Holly comes to terms with her feelings for Vince).
Precisely NONE of these characters were ever shown ACTUALLY skiing . . .
Why it's a Cliche? There's just something about being away from home and your parents . . . about sleeping in a log cabin, right next to the fire. You relax. You let your guard down. You get a little slutty and make bad choices. (Except in the case of Pacey and Joey . . . that choice was GOOD!) Plus, it's WAY cheaper to film on location in some fake ski lodge than say . . . taking your entire cast and crew to Europe.
5) "Question: What happened at Prom? Answer: EVERYTHING!" – The Prom Plotline
The Storyline: It's the event of the WHOLE season! The entire cast will be in attendance! But not everybody is going with the person they WANT to be going with.
A couple will break up. A couple will get back together.
Someone will win prom queen.
Someone's heart will be broken.
A couple will finally do it.
Another couple will ALMOST do it, but decide to wait . . . Oh, and someone will get wasted and make an ass of herself.
Examples: Dawson's Creek, The O.C., 90210, Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl
Why it's a Cliche? For every high school girl, the Prom is the culminating social event of her entire pre-college academic career. Even the most jaded of high school students (and I, myself, was already pretty jaded by that time) can't help but dream of having the perfect dress, the perfect limo, the perfect Prom date, and the perfect slow dance. For most of us, with all that build up and preparation, Prom itself ends up being pretty anti-climactic. (The Post Prom Beach Trip, on the other hand . . . now, THAT ROCKED!). But if we CAN'T have the perfect Prom, at least we can get the joy of seeing our television friends experience it for us.
So, there you have it – Ten Trashtastic Teen Television Cliches for your viewing pleasure! Doesn't it all make you feel OLD?
Filed under 90210, Boy Meets World, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Felicity, Gossip Girl, Greek, nostalgia, teen dramas, Television Super Couples, The O.C., The Vampire Diaries, Top Ten Lists, Veronica Mars, What I Like About You
Tagged as 90210, Adam Brody, Alexis Bleidel, Amanda Bynes, Ben Covington, Ben Savage, Blair Waldorf, Blake Lively, Boy Meets World, breakups, Brenda Walsh, Buffy and Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cappie and Casey, Casey Cartwright, Chace Crawford, Chair, Chuck and Blair, Chuck Bass, clips, Corey and Topanga, CTV, CW, Damon Salvatore, date rape, David Silver, Dawson and Joey, Dawson Leery, Dawson's Creek, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Donna Martin, Dylan McKay, Ed Westwick, Elena and Damon, Elena and Stefan, Elena Gilbert, European vacation, Evan and Casey, Evan Chambers, Felicity, Felicity and Ben, Felicity and Noel, Felicity Porter, Fox, Friday Night Lights, getting drunk, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Greek, high school, Holly and Ben, Holly and Henry, Holly and Vince, Ian Somerhalder, Jack McPhee, Jake McDorman, James Marsters, James van der Beek, Jason Dohring, Jen and Jack, Jen Lindley, Joey Potter, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes, Keri Russel, Kerr Smith, Kristen Bell, Leighton Meester, Linda Cardellini, Logan Echolls, love, love triangles, love-hate relationships, Luke Perry, Lyla and Tim, makeups, Marissa and Luke, Marissa and Ryan, Marissa Cooper, Michelle Williams, Milo Ventimiglia, Mischa Barton, Nate and Blair, Nate and Peyton, Nick Zano, Nina Dobrev, Noel Crane, One Tree Hill, Pacey and Joey, Pacey Witter, Paris, Paul Wesley, Peter and Darcy, Peter and Emma, Peyton and Lucas, prom, Rachel Bilson, Ryan Atwood, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Scott Foley, Scott Forster, Scott Speedman, screen caps, Sean and Emma, Seth Cohen, sexual tension, Shannon Doherty, Shenae Grimes, ski trip, Spencer Grammer, Stefan Salvatore, Summer and Seth, Summer Roberts, teen dramas, Teen Nick, Television Super Couples, The N, The O.C., The Vampire Diaries, threesome, Tori Spelling, Veronica and Duncan, Veronica and Logan, Veronica Mars, WB, What I Like About You, YouTube
June 24, 2010 · 11:17 pm
It is probably no secret to anyone who has ever stopped by this blog before (or even just examined the above "collage"), that I am a sucker for Trash-tastic Teen Television. I have been a fan of these types of shows since the age of eight. That was when I first decided that I desperately wanted to be a teen. And I have no doubt that I will remain a fan, long after I have cruised past "old age," and am forced to squint through my coke bottle glasses, and smile through my dentures, at the sight of some pipsqueaks (who bear a suspicious resemblance to my grandkids) attending prom on my small screen.
"That is one hot threesome. Oh, when I think back to my first threesome . . . ah memories!"
Having been around the "teenage television" block quite a bit since my eighth birthday, I have come to notice a few patterns among my favorite teen dramas. Over the years, I have watched in wonder, as certain storylines traveled across decades, time zones, and networks, just to reach my lowly television set, over and over (and over and over) again . . . So I've decided to investigate these storylines, in hopes of FINALLY figuring out what makes them so "gosh darn special!"
1) "Hit me with a baby, one more time!" – The Pregnancy Scare and/or Actual Pregnancy Plotline
The Storyline: Our teen female protagonist has sex . . . usually for the first time. Her partner is either a long, LONG time boyfriend, with whom she has been discussing doing the deed for the ENTIRE season . . .
Or, conversely, he is a one night-stand, who she (a) barely knows; or (b) seemingly despises. There is never any in between.
In the very next scene, our protagonist learns that she has missed her period. She is FLIPPING THE F&CK OUT!
She keeps her discovery a secret from everyone, except for her best friend. And the best friend is inevitably the one who convinces the protagonist to take the pregnancy test.
Regardless of the pregnancy test's ultimate result, inevitably there comes a time when our protagonist has to have "The Discussion" with "The Maybe Baby Daddy."
Sometimes, he takes it well . . . usually, he doesn't . . . at least, not at first.
Now, if the protagonist ends up not being pregnant . . . well then . . . THAT'S IT! Our protagonist is RELIEVED! She feels brand NEW! She's CHANGED!
She will pretend this whole little sweeps week episode never happened (or, in the case of Manny Santos, and Degrassi, the U.S. will pretend this whole episode never happened . . . by NOT AIRING IT, until about 3 years after it was actually filmed). However, if our protagonist IS pregnant . . . we get stuck with a baby storyline for ALL ETERNITY (or at least it will seem that way . . .)!
Examples: Brenda on 90210 (not actually pregnant); Andrea on 90210 (actually pregnant / had baby / raised baby); Summer on The O.C. (not actually pregnant); Manny on Degrassi: The Next Generation (actually pregnant / had abortion); Liberty on Degrassi: The Next Generation (pregnant / had baby / gave baby up for adoption); Emma on Degrassi: The Next Generation (not actually pregnant / feeling left out because EVERYONE else on her show actually was); Blair on Gossip Girl (not actually pregnant); Georgina on Gossip Girl (To Be Determined?); Amy on Secret Life of the American Teenager (actually pregnant / had baby / is raising baby); Quinn on Glee (actually pregnant / had baby / gave baby up for adoption).
Why it's a cliche?
"Hey there, boys and girls! I've got a message for you! Premarital sex is BAAAAAAAAD!"
Teen television programs tend to be written by adults. And even the most hip and forward thinking adults, don't like to think about their 15-year old kids f*c*ing eachother's brains out like bunny rabbits on acid.
So they ever so subtly try to scare the crap out of their kids, by showing them how having sex once can RUIN THEIR LIVES FOREVER! It doesn't really work . . .
This storyline is SO overdone that precisely NO ONE is shocked or dismayed by the prospect of a female protagonist . . . missing her period. Hey writers, want to REALLY scare your kids celibate? Give your television characters crabs.
That will permanently glue your teen's legs shut for sure!
2) "OH NO! You killed . . . what's his name again?" – The Death of the Peripheral Character Plotline
The Storyline: There is this recurring character on your favorite show that has becoming increasingly annoying, of late.
You can't quite put your finger on it, but you just think the character really sucks.
And you can't wait for him or her to leave your television screen ALONE!
You spend WAY too much time bashing this minor character on online message boards, and in snarky recaps of the show. In those messages, you may or may not beg the show's writers for said character's untimely demise.
Then the character actually DIES.
And you're secretly happy that you got what you wanted.
But NOW you're convinced you are very sh*tty person. Because, REALLY, what kind of nice, normal person is HAPPY when someone dies, real or fake? Even though very few of the characters on your show seemed to like this character any more than you did, while he was alive, they all make a big show of mourning and /or having a funeral for him or her.
Your favorite character will inevitably give the eulogy for this character. And it will be all warm, and fuzzy, and heartfelt . . . and, of course, totally depressing.
And YOU will surprise yourself by crying like a baby when you watch it (probably out of guilt for openly hating the character so much . . . or . . . maybe the scene just reminds you of a dead relative). After the episode airs, the show's entire cast will COMPLETELY forget that this dead character ever existed . . .
Examples: Scott on 90210, Abby on Dawson's Creek; Rick on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Johnny on The O.C., that dude Serena supposedly "killed" on Gossip Girl, Percy and Reed on Grey's Anatomy (not technically a teen show, but still . . .), Vicki on The Vampire Diaries
Why it's a cliche? The "Very Special" Dead Person episode of any teen show is sure to be a ratings grabber, no matter how unlikeable the soon-to-be dead character was before he met his demise. Plus, killing any character on their show (even if it's just a one-episode guest star) allows producers to run that oh-so-original . . . "SOMEBODY WILL DIE!" promo the week before their episode airs, and you know how ALL producers LOVE that promo!
3) "Hot for Teacher!" – The Inappropriate Student / Teacher Relationship Plotline
The Storyline: The protagonist has a crush on his or her very attractive (yet obviously lonely, and very desperate), teacher.
The teacher makes a lame ass attempt to rebuff the protagonists affections, but fails miserably.
Soon the student and the teacher are doing the horizontal mambo together in secret.
Someone always finds out. Someone always exposes them for the sluts they both are.
It always ends badly . . .
Examples: Pacey and Miss Jacobs on Dawson's Creek, Paige and Mr. O on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Dan and Miss Carr on Gossip Girl, Aria and Mr. Fitz on Pretty Little Liars
Why it's a cliche? Forbidden love is HOT! And cougars are all the rage! Plus, who HASN'T had a crush on one of their teachers and indulged in a naughty fantasy, or two (or twenty) involving same?
Mine was my freshman history teacher in high school. He was pretty young, compared to most of my teachers at that time . . . probably in his mid-to-late twenties . . . and single. Actually, he kind of looked like this . . .
. . . only he was a wee bit older . . . and he generally wore shirts (unfortunately). Coincidentally, Mr. Devlin, if your reading this . . . 😉
4) "Cheaters never win, and winners never . . . whatever." – The Cheating on a Test / Plagiarism Plotline
Storyline: The protagonist REALLY needs to pass a particular test or ace a certain paper. He or she is under a lot of external pressure to do so.
But something happens, so that he or she doesn't have time to do the appropriate amount of studying and /or research. He or she is tempted, upon receiving answers to the test or a pre-written paper, to . . . CHEAT!
The protagonist struggles with whether or not to enter into the dark evil world of "school crime," but ultimately does.
Because the character cheated, he or she does so well on the test or paper that his teacher inevitably wants to enter him or her in some national competition of some sort related to the aforementioned paper or test. Smothered by guilt, the character eventually comes clean. He or she then gets in trouble . . .
But not in nearly as much trouble as the character would, if caught, in . . . say . . . the REAL WORLD . . .
"It can't possibly be worse than when I got that awful haircut . . ."
Examples: Felicity on Felicity, Andie on Dawson's Creek, Rusty on Greek, Lindsay and Daniel on Freaks and Geeks, Spencer on Pretty Little Liars
Why it's a cliche? One word: schadenfreude. You see, here's the thing . . . every teen show has that one uptight overachieving character, who always gets A's, is super judgmental of all of her "less brilliant" friends, and never seems to do anything wrong. Admit it! It's kind of fun to see tight asses like that crack under the pressure . . .
Make that VERY fun!
5) "I'm gonna do real bad things to you . . . and make you DO real bad things!" – The "Bad Influence" Plotline
The Storyline: Our protagonist is going through kind of a "rough patch" in his or her life. He or she is therefore looking to let loose, and have some sort of emotional and/or physical release. In walks a character who is fun, adventurous, and more than a little dangerous.
Our protagonist starts hanging out with the "dangerous" character a lot.
(Click the internal link to watch!)
Before you know it, he or she is behaving just like the "dangerous" character, and getting into all sorts of trouble as a result.
The protagonists other friends are jealous of all the fun their typically boring protagonist is now having. But they are also worried. Inevitably, the moment comes when protagonist is about to get into a cr*p load of trouble with the "dangerous" character.
The friends stage an intervention of sorts.
The dangerous character rides away on the evil broomstick by which it came. All is, once again, right (and boring) with the world . . .
Examples: Abby influencing Jen on Dawson's Creek, Georgina influencing Serena on Gossip Girl, Damon influencing Caroline on The Vampire Diaries, "The Freaks" influencing Lindsay on Freaks and Geeks, that character Paul Wesley played on Everwood influencing Hannah on Everwood, that character Paul Wesley played on The O.C. influencing Ryan and Seth on The O.C.
Why it's a cliche? Everybody's got a dark side. Secretly, we all want to be a little "bad" sometimes. The good news is that we can do it safely and vicariously, by watching our favorite "good" television characters "go bad," albeit temporarily. They have fun while doing it . . . and so do we, at least until their lame friends bring them back to earth.
Well, that's all the teen television cliches I have for tonight. But please tune in tomorrow, when I tackle love triangles, love-hate relationships, prom, the ever enlightening "trip to Europe," and, of course, the dreaded ski trip . . .
Filed under Freaks and Geeks, Glee, Gossip Girl, Greek, Pretty Little Liars, The O.C., The Vampire Diaries, Top Ten Lists
Tagged as "i killed someone", 90210, abortion, adoption, Andie McPhee, Aria and Ezra, baby daddy, Benjamin McKenzie, Brenda and Dylan, Brenda Walsh, Busy Phillips, Candice Accola, Caroline Forbes, Chace Crawford, cheating on tests, cliche, college, Corey Monteith, Damon and Caroline, Damon Salvatore, Dan and Ms. Carr, Dan Humphrey, dangerous, Daniel Desario, Dawson Leery, Dawson's Creek, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Dianna Agron, Everwood, Felicity, Felicity Porter, Finn, football, Freaks and Geeks, funeral, Georgina Sparks, Glee, Gossip Girl, Greek, high school, hot for teacher, Ian Harding, Ian Somerhalder, intervention, Jack McPhee, James Franco, James van der Beek, Jessi Spano, Joey Potter, Johnny on the O.C., Joshua Jackson, JT and Liberty, Katie Holmes, Kerri Russell, Lauren Collins, Linda Cardellini, Lindsey Pulshiper, Lucy Hale, Manny and Craig, Manny Santos, Marissa Cooper, Michelle Trachtenberg, Michelle Williams, Monica Keena, Pacey and Miss Jacobs, Pacey Witter, Paige and Mr. O, Paige Michaelchuck, Penn Badgley, Pink, plagiarism, plotline, pregnancy test, Pretty Little Liars, PSAT, Quinn and Finn, Quinn and Puck, Quinn Febray, Rachel Bilson, relationships, Rick on Degrassi, Ryan Atwood, Ryan Cooley, Sarah Barrable Tishauer, Saved by the Bell, school shotting, Scott on 90210, Serena and Georgina, Seth and Summer, Seth Cohen, Seth Rogen, Shannon Doherty, shirtless, somebody will die, student / teacher relationship, sweeps week, teen dramas, The O.C., The Vampire Diaries, Troian Bellisario, van halen, You Tube
Go Greek! (It's Guilt Free!)
Here is yet another blog post where I try to use my admittedly limited influence as a blogger to convince you to watch a fun-filled and entertaining television show that you may be missing because (a) it is not found through the usual channels (i.e. ABC, NBC, Fox, CW, HBO etc.); and (b) it is not particularly well advertised. Now in its third season, Greek airs at 10 p.m. on ABC Family (during the last hour before the channel goes all scary religious).
If you've ever read this blog before, you probably know by now that I LOVE my one-hour high school teen dramas. However, on occasion, I do experience some feelings of guilt and generalized perviness for crushing on / drooling over the 16-year-old male characters featured in them (the fact that some of these characters are played by actors who are actually my age helps a little bit, but not enough . . .). Therefore, I was understandably pleased to find Greek, an hour-long dramedy with all the relationship drama, good humor, and soapy goodness of a teen show, but with characters that are universally LEGAL! (A majority of the "Greeksters" are now in their senior year of college.)
Most of us are even old enough to drink without fake IDs! Pretty cool, right?
Like Freaks and Geeks, a show I discussed in an earlier posting, Greek features, as its main characters, an older sister and her socially awkward, slightly nerdy, younger brother. In the Pilot episode, older sister Casey is a junior at the fictional Cyprus Rhodes University and an up-and-comer in her elite sorority, Zeta Beta Zeta. She fears that the entrance of her geeky brother, Rusty, into the school as a freshman will cramp her style and spoil her painstakingly crafted reputation.
On the surface, Casey may look like the typical 80's movie cliche, a pretty, popular, and vapid sorority girl. And, yes, Casey is pretty and popular. However, she is also smart, snarky, goofy, and insecure enough to be a truly likeable and relateable character. Plus, Casey and her friends make up only half of the show. Rusty's attempts to juggle a full load of engineering classes with his fraternity duties as a Kappa Tau, AND maintain a romantic relationship, add an entirely distinct and quirky level to an already enjoyable hour. Rusty's best friend, the uber religious and ultra nerdy, Dale, is, surprisingly, one of the show's funniest, most unique, and best-written characters.
Of course, this wouldn't be a teen/young adult dramedy without a love triangle. Throughout the series we root for Casey, as she struggles to choose between wisecracking slacker Cappie, and spoiled rich kid Evan. The fact that these two guys just so happen to be presidents of rival fraternities only serves to exacerbate matters (and make them more fun!)
Sure, Greek isn't exactly the most realistic portrayal of the college experience (for that, Netflix the DVD for the too-soon-canceled Undeclared). Even the hard-boozing KT frat guys look just a tad too pretty and well-dressed to be cash-strapped college students. Plus, this is ABC Family, so there is not nearly as much sex and shirtlessness as there should be for a college show. Nevertheless, Greek will undoubtedly bring you back to a time in your life when your most pressing issue was whether the boy you liked would ask you to formal. For that reason, it is definitely worth a try . . .
Filed under Greek
Tagged as 1980s, ABC Family, boozing, brother and sister relationship, Cappie, Casey, college, college television shows, comedy, Dale, dramedy, Evan, frat parties, fraternity, Freaks and Geeks, Greek, guilt over crushing on fictional youngins, high school television shows, hour-long drama, love triangle, relationships, Rusty, Season 3, senior year, slacker, sorority, spoiled rich kid, teen dramas, twenty somethings playing teens, Undeclared, university

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What is the fastest way to lose fat?
For anyone that has discussed fitness with me or yet any of the Catalyst Health & Fitness professionals for that matter, you'll likely know that before we answer your question we'll typically lace it into a few more questions. More specificaly with one.
Are you interested in looking your best this coming weekend, as you'll be wearing a sleeveless dress? Are we prepping for the beach a few months from now or talking about quickly winning a long uphill battle you've faced with body weight fluctuation?
Have your pie... and eat it too!
Heck, if you can't finish it all, we'll help!
Here at Catalyst, we are among the growing but few members of the fitness community that believe in a flexible approach to your traditional "dieting" that allows for permanent lifestyle changes, that are realistic, safe, sustainable, and yield long term results.
You've heard it time and time again that you should fight off every food temptation you have ever had that does not coincide with your typical "clean eating" format and with that, usually throw away any and all satisfaction derived from eating.


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Greater Boston Chapter of the ACM
Serving Boston computer professionals for over 50 years
Lectures on the Web
Join the GBC/ACM
Evening Seminars
Weakly Supervised Machine Learning at Industrial Scale
Understanding the Riemann Hypothesis
Kyrix: A Detail-on-Demand Visualization System
Career Success: Jobs, Continuous Learning, and Advancement with Demetrios Karis
Practical Data Visualization with R
R for Software Developers and Data Analysts
Grand Challenges in Engineering for the 21st Century
Broad Institute - 7 Cambridge Center
Lecturer(s):
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) this year issued a report in which it attempts to identify the greatest engineering challenges humanity will face in this century. With input from people around the world, an international group of leading technological thinkers were asked to identify the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/. We've invited Ray Kurzweil, who is one of the leading authors of the report, to present some of its findings, give his impressions of the important technological trends and challenges likely to occur over the next hundred years or so, and challenge you, some of the leading students, researchers, and industry practitioners from the Boston and New England area, to help solve them.
This is a joint meeting of the Boston/Central New England Chapters of IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and GBC/ACM.
Lecturer Biography:
Kurzweil was the principal developer of the first omni-font optical character recognition, the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, the first CCD flat-bed scanner, the first text-to-speech synthesizer, the first music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and other orchestral instruments, and the first commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. Ray has successfully founded and developed nine businesses in OCR, music synthesis, speech recognition, reading technology, virtual reality, financial investment, cybernetic art, and other areas of artificial intelligence. All of these technologies continue today as market leaders. Ray's Web site, KurzweilAI.net, is a leading resource on artificial intelligence.
Ray Kurzweil was inducted in 2002 into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, established by the U.S. Patent Office. He received the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize (view the video), the nation's largest award in invention and innovation. He also received the 1999 National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest honor in technology, from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. He has also received scores of other national and international awards, including the 1994 Dickson Prize (Carnegie Mellon University's top science prize), Engineer of the Year from Design News, Inventor of the Year from MIT, and the Grace Murray Hopper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery. He has received twelve honorary Doctorates and honors from three U.S. presidents. He has received seven national and international film awards.
Ray's books include The Age of Intelligent Machines, The Age of Spiritual Machines, and Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever. Four of Ray's books have been national best sellers and The Age of Spiritual Machines has been translated into 9 languages and was the #1 best selling book on Amazon in science. Ray Kurzweil's new book, published by Viking Press, is entitled The Singularity is Near, When Humans Transcend Biology.
His book, The Age of Intelligent Machines, was named Best Computer Science Book of 1990.
Additional biographical information about Ray is online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil.
Copyright © 2013, Greater Boston Chapter of the ACM | Login


I suspect I was posting my update (above) at precisely the same time as Moxxey was posting his latest (and very helpful) comments. In a nutshell I agree with Moxxey's analysis and earlier this afternoon fell in love with the BL18's with oak fronts which (because I live half a mile from my local dealer) will be delivered tonight. BL3's traded in. cant wait to get home!!!!!!!
That's right. But you can buy an apple lightning to 30 pin adaptor for £25 from the apple store. http://store.apple.com/uk/accessories/apple-accessories It works perfectly for me with the iphone. Because the ipad is bigger and sits higher on the BS8 than usual it can feel a little precarious but it works fine.
Re: Why B&O does not improve this device?
Not sure I agree with you. If you turn the BS5 on by spinning the silver wheel rather than pressing "go" it will take you to the main menu from where you can select the music you want, rather than just playing where you left off. So you effectively have the choice.
Hey folks. i have a recurring problem with my BS5. When I'm using spotify it freezes randomly. The screen flashes the word "pause" but it then won't play either on spotify or stuff recorded on the BM5. The whole system is effectively jammed and the only way out is to turn off at the mains and reboot. Anyone else had anything similar?
You may already have done this but just in case.......... Having switched the speakers you know the right hand cabe is faultless. Try that one on the left. If you still have the noise on the left it cannot be the cable. We proved earlier that the speaker was fine. So that would mean the issue is with the tv or its settings..


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Meet the Fellows - Barbara Karuana
Barbara Karuana
Sauvé Fellow
Jeanne Sauvé Foundation
Film Production Manager, Film Director
Communications (including media), Filmmaking, Public Relations
English, Kiswahili
civil rights, communications, film, Gender Rights, storytelling
Impact Statement
Barbara uses film as a medium to foster deeper understanding by showcasing multiple perspectives and stories on the same issues. She believes in "the danger of a single story" and is committed to breaking this trend, especially with regards to the way the world views Africa.
Barbara is the director of several short films and documentaries. The most recent of these, Homecoming, is a 24-minute drama which revolves around the challenges of family reconciliation. In tandem with the production of these films, Barbara has been a part of larger film productions such as SENSE8 (Netflix series) and the award-winning KATIKATI from Kenya that is currently making its film festival circuit. An experienced film Production Manager, Barbara is also the CEO of Look & Feel Media, whose core work is in the facilitation of filming for international film crews wishing to shoot on location in Kenya.
Barbara holds an Honours degree in Directing and Screenwriting from the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance (AFDA) as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya. She was also a participant in the 2015 Maisha Film Lab Screenwriters Workshop, a masterclass designed for experienced Kenyan filmmakers.
Barbara is a recipient of the Mandela Rhodes Scholarship (Class of 2016) which facilitated her year of study at AFDA and her eventual receipt of multiple awards for her graduation film including: Best Film, Audience Choice Award, Best Screenplay and Outstanding Achievement in Directing. Barbara is also the winner of the 2014 Nairobi edition of the 48 Hour Film Project, an international film-making competition.


Bauerfeind EpiTrain Elbow Support Brace from HealthyKin.com is our most popular elbow support, worn by many professional athletes.
Size 0: 6½ to 7½"
Size 1: 7½ to 8¼"
Size 2: 8¼ to 9"
Size 3: 9 to 9¾"
Size 4: 9¾ to 10½"
Size 5: 10½ to 11½"
Size 6: 11½ to 12¼"
Fitting chart inaccurate. Company did not allow me to exchange for a different size. Do not use this company.
It's a really neat brace, but found for my arm it was too tight towards the wrist and too loose above the elbow, So returning it. My lateral medial epicondylitis (knobby inside elbow bone) was still vulnerable andI will continue to search for a support to protect it.
Great product but could use more support above the elbow, otherwise fantastic.


Used in order to enable the remote switching (on/off) of hot water and/or heating at a remote location (holiday home / apartment / office or industrial premise etc.) Salcom provided a solution using Spark (formerly Telecom NZ)) paging by dialling a pre-defined number with the appropriate code being entered via a telephone phone keypad in order to turn on or off. In this way, more than one appliance can be controlled. A unit is also available that can use a mobile phone network if required.
Equipment used: Use a 12-88-7000 or 12-84-7000 if more outputs are required.


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Tunkhannock is a borough in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Wilkes-Barre. In the past, lumbering was carried on extensively. Today, many residents are employed by the Procter & Gamble plant in nearby Washington Township. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 1,766. It is the county seat of Wyoming County.  Tunkhannock is in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The name Tunkhannock is derived from the Minsi-Len'api term Ptuk'hanna'unk, which means "Bend-in-river-place," especially to the town's west, upstream at the radical bend called "The Neck." Modern Tunkhannock, Wyoming County,  The Tunkhannock Historic District, bounded by Tioga, Pine, and Harrison Streets, and Wyoming Avenue, were added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2005.

Tunkhannock is  northwest of Allentown and  northwest of New York City.

General information
Area Code: 570 Exchanges: 836 and 996
ZIP code: 18657
Main streets/roads: Route 29 (Bridge Street), Business Route 6 (Tioga Street), Route 6 (Tunkhannock Bypass / Grand Army of the Republic Hwy), Route 92
Voting Information: four wards (numbered 1,2,3,4); elected Borough Council

Geography
Tunkhannock is located at  (41.540836, -75.947703).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.9 square mile (2.3 km2), all  land.

Transportation
Skyhaven Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) south of the central business district of Tunkhannock, in neighboring Eaton Township.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,836 people, 817 households, and 447 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 871 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 95.9% White, 0.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 817 households, out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 12% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. 40.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 57% from 18 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years.

The median income for a household in the borough was $37,071, and the median income for a family was $56,250. Males had a median income of $43,098 versus $31,313 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,110. 2.4% of the population and 6.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, none of those under the age of 18 and 8.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

The borough is represented by a council-manager government.

Executive

Council

Culture
The Wyoming County Historical Society and Genealogical Library offers a major source of research material. The collection includes numerous books on New England ancestry, newspapers dating back to 1797 and census records for Wyoming and surrounding counties from 1790 to 1930. Also on file are records for over 90 area cemeteries and  other local history information.

In 1941 artist Ethel Ashton painted on oil on canvas mural, Defenders of the Wyoming Country-1778, for the local post office. It depicted a battle by American settlers and local Native American tribes during the year leading up to Sullivan's March. In 1998, the mural was restored and a documentary was made about it in 2009.

Situated along the Susquehanna River, Tunkhannock was impacted by Hurricane Agnes in June, 1972.

Tunkhannock is the home of the Northern Tier Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Conductor Robert Helmacy. Tunkhannock is listed as one of the top 10 places to "get away from it all"

In the center of town, the Dietrich Theater serves as a cultural attraction, with 4 screens showing popular new releases as well as hosting film festivals and miscellaneous community activities.

Notable people
 John Brisbin U.S. Congressman (1851)
 Frank Charles Bunnell - U.S. Congressman (1872–1873, 1885–1889)
 Charles E. Dietrich - U.S. Congressman (1935–1937)
 Glenn J. Frey - professional football player
 Joe Glenn - Major League Baseball player
 Robyn Griggs - American actress (1973-2022)
 Benjamin F. Harding - U.S. Senator from Oregon (1862–1865)
 Jim Hudock - Dean Smith's first basketball captain at the University of North Carolina
 Mike Hudock - professional football player
 Edwin J. Jorden - U.S. Congressman (1895)
 Mike Papi - professional baseball player (Cleveland Indians organization)
 Christopher Ries - Glass Sculptor
 Donald Sherwood - U.S. Congressman (1999–2007)
 Harold Rainsford Stark -U.S.  Naval Admiral, Chief of Naval Operations 1939-1942 (1880-1972)
 Walter Tewksbury - 1900 Summer Olympics Gold Medalist
 Robert F. Wilner - Episcopalian Suffragan Bishop of the Philippines

References

External links

 Tunkhannock Borough official website

Pennsylvania populated places on the Susquehanna River
County seats in Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1790
Boroughs in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia