This article is about people of the U.S. with roots in England. For the language, see American English. For other uses, see American English (disambiguation).
English Americans (also referred to as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2017 American Community Survey, English Americans are (7.1%) of the total population.
The term is distinct from British Americans, which includes not only English Americans but also Scottish Americans, Scotch-Irish Americans (Northern Ireland), Welsh Americans, Cornish Americans and Manx Americans from the whole of the United Kingdom.
However, demographers regard this as a serious undercount, as the index of inconsistency is high and many if not most Americans from English stock have a tendency to identify simply as "Americans" or if of mixed European ancestry, identify with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. In the 1980 Census, over 49 million (49,598,035) Americans claimed English ancestry, at the time around 26.34% of the total population and largest reported group which, even today, would make them the largest ethnic group in the United States. Scotch-Irish Americans are for the most part descendants of Lowland Scots and Northern English (specifically - County Durham, Cumberland, Northumberland and Yorkshire) settlers who colonized Ireland during the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.
In 1982, an opinion poll showed respondents a card listing a number of ethnic groups and asked, "Thinking both of what they have contributed to this country and have gotten from this country, for each one tell me whether you think, on balance, they've been a good or a bad thing for this country." The English were the top ethnic group, with 66% saying they were a good thing for the United States, followed by the Irish at 62%. Ben J. Wattenberg argues that this poll demonstrates a general American bias against Hispanics and other recent immigrant populations.
The majority—57%--of the Founding Fathers of the United States were of English extraction. English immigrants in the 19th century, as with other groups, sought economic prosperity. They began migrating in large numbers, without state support, in the 1840s and continued into the 1890s.
England United States. Shows the first permanent English settlement of Jamestown in 1607.
Since 1776, English-Americans have been less likely to proclaim their heritage, unlike African Americans, Irish Americans, Scottish Americans, Italian Americans or other ethnic groups. A leading specialist, Charlotte Erickson, found them to be ethnically "invisible," dismissing the occasional St. George Societies as ephemeral elite clubs that were not in touch with the larger ethnic community. In Canada, by contrast, the English organized far more ethnic activism, as the English competed sharply with the well-organized French and Irish elements. In the United States the Scottish immigrants were much better organized than the English in the 19th century, as are their descendants in the late 20th century.
The original 17th century settlers were overwhelmingly English. From the time of the first permanent English presence in the New World until 1900, these immigrants and their descendants outnumbered all others firmly establishing the English cultural pattern as predominant for the American version.
In 1790 the U.S. conducted its first national population census. The ancestries of the population in 1790 has been estimated by various sources, first in 1932 then again in 1980 and 1984 by sampling distinctive surnames in the census and assigning them a country of origin. There is debate over the accuracy between the studies with individual scholars and the Federal Government using different techniques and conclusion for the ethnic composition. A study published in 1909 titled A Century of Population Growth by the Government Census Bureau estimated the English were 83.5% of the white population. The states with the highest percentage by the same Census Bureau data in 1909 (% of the total European population) of English ancestry were Connecticut 96.2%, Rhode Island 96.0%, Vermont 95.4%, Massachusetts 95.0%, New Hampshire 94.1%, Maine 93.1%, Virginia 85.0%, Maryland 84.0%, North Carolina 83.1%, South Carolina 82.4%, New York 78.2%, Pennsylvania 59.0%.
Another source by Thomas L. Purvis in 1984 estimated that people of English ancestry made up about 47.5% of the total population or 60.9% of the white or European American population (his figures can also be found, and as divided by region, in Colin Bonwick, The American Revolution, 1991 p. 2540-839-1346-2). Some 80.7% of the total United States population was of European origin. Around 757,208 were of African descent with 697,624 being slaves.
In 1980, 23,748,772 Americans claimed only English ancestry and another 25,849,263 claimed English along with another ethnic ancestry. It must be noted that 13.3 million or 5.9% of the total U.S. population chose to identify as "American" (counted under "not specified") as also seen in censuses that followed. Below shows the persons who reported at least one specific ancestry are as follows.
At a national level the ancestry response rate was high with 90.4% of the total United States population choosing at least one specific ancestry and 9.6% ignored the question completely. Of those who chose English, 66.9% of people chose it as their first response. Totals for the English showed a considerable decrease from the previous census.
Responses for "American" slightly decreased both numerically and as a percentage from 5.9% to 5.2% in 1990 with most being from the South.
In 1900, an estimated 28,375,000 or 37.8% of the population of the United States was wholly or primarily of English ancestry from colonial stock. As with any ethnicity, Americans of English descent may choose to identify themselves as just American ethnicity if their ancestry has been in the United States for many generations or if, for the same reason, they are unaware of their lineages.
In total, there are estimated to be around 678,000 British born expatriates in the United States with the majority of these born in England. There are around 540,000 of any race in the United States, 40,000 Asian British, 20,000 Black British people and approximately 10,000 people of a mixed background.
Percentages by county in the 2000 census.
Population by state in the 2000 census.
Percentages by U.S. State in the 2000 census.
English was the highest reported European ancestry in the states of Maine, Vermont and Utah; joint highest along with German in the Carolinas.
On the top right, a map showing percentages by county of Americans who declared English ancestry in the 2000 Census. Dark blue and purple colours indicate a higher percentage: highest in the east and west (see also Maps of American ancestries). Center, a map showing the population of English Americans by state. On the right, a map showing the percentages of English Americans by state.
English settlement in America began with Jamestown in the Virginia Colony in 1607. With the permission of James I, three ships (the Susan Constant, The Discovery, and The God Speed) sailed from England and landed at Cape Henry in April, under the captainship of Christopher Newport, who had been hired by the London Company to lead expeditions to what is now America.
The second successful colony was Plymouth Colony, founded in 1620 by people who later became known as the Pilgrims. Fleeing religious persecution in the East Midlands in England, they first went to Holland, but feared losing their English identity. Because of this, they chose to relocate to the New World, with their voyage being financed by English investors. In September 1620, 102 passengers set sail aboard the Mayflower, eventually settling at Plymouth Colony in November. Of the passengers on the Mayflower, 41 men signed the "Mayflower Compact" aboard ship on November 11, 1620, while anchored in Provincetown Harbor. Signers included Carver, Alden, Standish, Howland, Bradford, Allerton, and Fuller. This story has become a central theme in the United States cultural identity.
A number of English colonies were established under a system of proprietary governors, who were appointed under mercantile charters to English joint stock companies to found and run settlements.
England also took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland (including the New Amsterdam settlement), renaming it the Province of New York in 1664. With New Netherland, the English came to control the former New Sweden (in what is now Delaware), which the Dutch had conquered from Sweden earlier. This became part of Pennsylvania.
Cultural similarities and a common language allowed English immigrants to integrate rapidly and gave rise to a unique Anglo-American culture. An estimated 3.5 million English immigrated to the U.S. after 1776. English settlers provided a steady and substantial influx throughout the 19th century.
The first wave of growing English immigration began in the late 1820s and was sustained by unrest in the United Kingdom until it peaked in 1842 and declined slightly for nearly a decade. Most of these were small farmers and tenant farmers from depressed areas in rural counties in southern and western England and urban laborers who fled from the depressions and from the social and industrial changes of the late 1820s-1840s. While some English immigrants were drawn by dreams of creating model utopian societies in America, most others were attracted by the lure of new lands, textile factories, railroads, and the expansion of mining.
A number of English settlers moved to the United States from Australia in the 1850s (then a British political territory), when the California Gold Rush boomed; these included the so-called "Sydney Ducks" (see Australian Americans).
During the last years of the 1860s, annual English immigration grew to over 60,000 and continued to rise to over 75,000 per year in 1872, before experiencing a decline. The final and most sustained wave of immigration began in 1879 and lasted until the depression of 1893. During this period English annual immigration averaged more than 82,000, with peaks in 1882 and 1888 and did not drop significantly until the financial panic of 1893. The building of America's transcontinental railroads, the settlement of the great plains, and industrialization attracted skilled and professional emigrants from England.
Also, cheaper steamship fares enabled unskilled urban workers to come to America, and unskilled and semiskilled laborers, miners, and building trades workers made up the majority of these new English immigrants. While most settled in America, a number of skilled craftsmen remained itinerant, returning to England after a season or two of work. Groups of English immigrants came to America as missionaries for the Salvation Army and to work with the activities of the Evangelical and LDS Churches.
The depression of 1893 sharply decreased English emigration to the United States, and it stayed low for much of the twentieth century. This decline reversed itself in the decade of World War II when over 100,000 English (18 percent of all European immigrants) came from England. In this group was a large contingent of war brides who came between 1945 and 1948. In these years four women emigrated from England for every man. In the 1950s, English immigration increased to over 150,000.and rose to 170,000 in the 1960s. While differences developed, it is not surprising that English immigrants had little difficulty in assimilating to American life. The American resentment against the policies of the British government was rarely transferred to English settlers who came to America in the first decades of the nineteenth century.
As the earliest colonists of the United States, settlers from England and their descendants often held positions of power and made and enforced laws, often because many had been involved in government back in England. In the original 13 colonies, most laws contained elements found in the English common law system.
The majority—57%-- of the Founding Fathers of the United States were of English extraction. Scottish extraction characterized 16%, 19% were Irish or Scots-Irish, and 5% were Welsh. A minority were of high social status and can be classified as White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). Many of the prewar WASP elite were Loyalists who left the new nation.
While WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants usually of English origins) have been major players in every major American political party, an exceptionally strong association has existed between WASPs and the Republican Party, before the 1980s. A few top Democrats qualified, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt. Northeastern Republican leaders such as Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts, Prescott Bush of Connecticut and especially Nelson Rockefeller of New York exemplified the pro-business liberal Republicanism of their social stratum, espousing internationalist views on foreign policy, supporting social programs, and holding liberal views on issues like racial integration. A famous confrontation was the 1952 Senate election in Massachusetts where John F. Kennedy, a Catholic of Irish descent, defeated WASP Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.. However the challenge by Barry Goldwater in 1964 to the Eastern Republican establishment helped undermine the WASP dominance. Goldwater himself had solid WASP credentials through his mother, of a prominent old Yankee family, but was instead mistakenly seen as part of the Jewish community (which he had never associated with). By the 1980s, the liberal Rockefeller Republican wing of the party was marginalized, overwhelmed by the dominance of the Southern and Western conservative Republicans.
Asking "Is the WASP leader a dying breed?" journalist Nina Strochlic in 2012 pointed to eleven WASP top politicians—typically scions of upper class English families. She ending with Republicans G.H.W. Bush elected in 1988, his son George W. Bush elected in 2000 and 2004, and John McCain, who was nominated but defeated in 2008.
English is the most commonly spoken language in the U.S, where it is estimated that two thirds of all native speakers of English live. The American English dialect developed from English colonization. It serves as the de facto official language, the language in which government business is carried out. According to the 1990 census, 94% of the U.S. population speak only English. Adding those who speak English "well" or "very well" brings this figure to 96%. Only 0.8% speak no English at all as compared with 3.6% in 1890. American English differs from British English in a number of ways, the most striking being in terms of pronunciation (for example, American English retains voicing of the letter "R" after vowels, unlike standard British English) and spelling (one example is the "u" in words such as color, favor (US) vs colour, favour (UK)). Less obvious differences are present in grammar and vocabulary. The differences are rarely a barrier to effective communication between American English and British English speakers, but there are certainly enough differences to cause occasional misunderstandings, usually surrounding slang or dialect differences.
"In for a penny, in for a pound" is an expression to mean, ("if you're going to take a risk at all, you might as well make it a big risk"), is used in the United States which dates back to the colonial period, when cash in the colonies was denominated in Pounds, shillings and Pence. Today, the one-cent coin is commonly known as a penny. A modern alternative expression is "In for a dime, in for a dollar".
Much of American culture shows influences from English culture.
Apple pie - New England was the first region to experience large-scale English colonization in the early 17th century, beginning in 1620, and it was dominated by East Anglian Calvinists, better known as the Puritans. Baking was a particular favorite of the New Englanders and was the origin of dishes seen today as quintessentially "American", such as apple pie and the oven-roasted Thanksgiving turkey. "As American as apple pie" is a well-known phrase used to suggest that something is all-American.
The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth Colony by English Pilgrims in October 1621.
Thanksgiving - It has become a national secular holiday (official since 1863) with religious origins, but in England it remains a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by English settlers to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive the brutal winter. This feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow—it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. Englishman William Bradford is credited as the first to proclaim the American cultural event which is generally referred to as the "First Thanksgiving".
English-born Henry Chadwick is often called the "father of Baseball".
Baseball - The earliest recorded game of base-ball for which the original source survives, involved none other than the family of the Prince of Wales, played indoors in London in November 1748. The Prince is reported as playing "Bass-Ball" again in September 1749 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, against Lord Middlesex. The English lawyer William Bray wrote in his diary that he had played a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford, also in Surrey. English lawyer William Bray recorded a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford, Surrey; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008. This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by British immigrants. The first appearance of the term that exists in print was in "A Little Pretty Pocket-Book" in 1744, where it is called Base-Ball. Today, Rounders which has been played in England since Tudor times holds a similarity to Baseball. Although, literary references to early forms of "base-ball" in the United Kingdom pre-date use of the term "rounders".
American football - can be traced to early versions of rugby football, played in England and first developed in American universities in the mid-19th century.
The American legal system also has its roots in English law. For example, elements of the Magna Carta were incorporated into the United States constitution. English law prior to the revolution is still part of the law of the United States, and provides the basis for many American legal traditions and policies. After the revolution, English law was again adopted by the now independent American States.
American national anthem - takes its melody from the 18th-century English song "To Anacreon in Heaven" written by John Stafford Smith from England for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London and lyrics written by Francis Scott Key of English descent. This became a well-known and recognized patriotic song throughout the United States, which was officially designated as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.
Hail to the Chief - is the song to announce the arrival or presence of the President of the United States. English songwriter James Sanderson (c. 1769 – c. 1841), composed the music and was first performed in 1812 in New York.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom.
The Liberty Song - written by John Dickinson of English descent in 1768 to the music of Englishman William Boyce's "Heart of Oak", is perhaps the first patriotic song written in America. The song contains the line "by uniting we stand, by dividing we fall", the first recorded use of the sentiment.
My Country, 'Tis of Thee - whose melody was indirectly derived from the British national anthem, also served as a de facto anthem before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Amazing Grace - written by English poet and clergyman John Newton became such an icon in American culture that it has been used for a variety of secular purposes and marketing campaigns, placing it in danger of becoming a cliché.
Yankee Doodle - is written and accredited to Englishman Dr. Richard Shuckburgh an army doctor. The tune comes from the English nursery rhyme Lucy Locket.
English ballads had a large influence on American folk music, eventually spawning such genres as old time, country, and bluegrass.
Of the top ten family names in the United States, seven have English origins or having possible mixed British Isles heritage, the other three being of Spanish origin. Many African Americans have their origins in slavery (i.e. slave name). Many of them came to bear the surnames of their former owners. Many freed slaves either created family names themselves or adopted the name of their former master. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, eight of the top ten surnames in the United States are of British Isles origin, while two are the most common surnames among Hispanics. In the last UK Census in 2001, surnames in England can be compared to the United States with 6 of the family names in England being in both their top ten. Many English surnames are also found in Ireland. This is attributable to a number of factors, including the Protestant Plantation of Ireland, the imposition of the Penal Laws in the 1700s which forced many Irish people to Anglicize their surnames, and English ancestry in the Irish population itself, especially in the area around Dublin. Also, in the 9th century, Viking invaders brought many Norse names to Ireland that they had already brought to England when they established and settled the Danelaw. Scandinavian names may have been brought to England in pre-Viking times, especially in the North and East, due to Anglo-Saxons from Denmark. and the Anglo-Normans who invaded Ireland in the 1170s brought many Norman French names which had already spread to England.
It should be pointed out, however, that a significant number of non-English immigrants anglicized their surnames. For example, "Smith" may come from German Schmidt, or Dutch Smit; "Johnson" from Norwegian or Danish Johansen, Dutch Jansen, or Swedish Johansson, "Brown" from German Braun, "Miller" from German Müller, and so forth. On the other hand, "Williams", "Jones", and "Davis", which are often associated with Welsh ancestry due to their common occurrence in Wales, are actually mostly English, as Wales has a much smaller population (and diaspora) than England.
Boston, Massachusetts, is named after Boston, England.
In 1664, the English renamed "New York" after (James II of England) the Duke of York.
Wilmington named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister in the reign of George II of Great Britain.
Georgia was named after King George II.
Maryland named so for Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary).
Burlington County and Burlington after the English east-coast town of Bridlington.
Camden named by local Jacob Cooper after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden.
Gloucester County and Gloucester City after the city of Gloucester / county of Gloucestershire in England.
Liverpool Village after Liverpool England.
Lancaster County and Lancaster after the city of Lancaster in the county of Lancashire in England, the native home of John Wright, one of the early settlers.
Warminster after the small town of Warminster in the county of Wiltshire, at the western extremity of Salisbury Plain, England.
The province, named Carolina (The Carolinas-North and South) to honor King Charles I of England, was divided into SC and NC in 1729, although the actual date is the subject of debate.
The name Virginia was first applied by Queen Elizabeth I (the "Virgin Queen") and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584.
Richmond named by William Byrd II after Richmond, London where he spent part of his childhood.
American Architecture, particularly in the nation's earlier years, has long been strongly influenced by English styles. The United States Capitol building, for example, was first designed by English-educated American Architect William Thornton, and bears a resemblance to St Paul's Cathedral in London. Also, many American college campuses, such as Harvard, Penn, Yale, Brown, Williams, Princeton University, and the University of Delaware, have English Georgian or English gothic architecture.
For a more comprehensive list, see List of Americans of English descent.
Most of the Presidents of the United States have had English ancestry. The extent of English heritage varies in the presidents with earlier presidents being predominantly of colonial English Yankee stock. Later US Presidents' ancestry can often be traced to ancestors from multiple nations in Europe, including England.
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler,Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore,Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley.
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton.
The U.S. Presidents which lacked recent English ancestry were James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Also, President Donald Trump does not have recent English ancestry, with all of his recent ancestry coming from Germany and Scotland.
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^ "ePodunk". Epodunk.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ http://www.n-state.com, NSTATE, LLC:. "The State of New Hampshire - An Introduction to the Granite State from NETSTATE.COM". Netstate.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ "New Hampshire". boulter.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed December 1, 2017.
^ Kane, Joseph Nathan; and Aiken, Charles Curry. The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000, p. 112. Scarecrow Press, 2005. ISBN 0810850362. Accessed January 21, 2013.
^ "New York State Information - Symbols, Capital, Constitution, Flags, Maps, Songs". 50states.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ Espenshade, A. Howry (1925). Pennsylvania Place Names. Harrisburg, PA: The Evangelical Press. p. 37.
^ "PHMC Doc Heritage: Lancaster County Petition". Web.archive.org. 7 August 2006. Archived from the original on 7 August 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ "WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP HISTORY". Township of Warminster. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
^ "WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP HISTORY". Township of Warrington. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^ "WARWICK TOWNSHIP HISTORY". Township of Warwick. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^ "The Split - One Colony Becomes Two". Carolana.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ In 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sent Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to lead an exploration of what is now the North Carolina coast, and they returned with word of a regional "king" named "Wingina." This was modified later that year by Raleigh and the Queen to "Virginia", perhaps in part noting her status as the "Virgin Queen." Stewart, George (1945). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. New York: Random House. p. 22.
^ "City of Portsmouth History". City of Portmouth. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
^ "Genealogy and Ancestry of Barack Obama and the Other U.S. Presidents".
^ "AmericanHeritage.com / The Presidents: George Washington". Web.archive.org. 10 July 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ Irvin Haas (1992). Historic Homes of the American Presidents. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-26751-2.
^ a b "Henry Adams". Web.archive.org. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^ "The Fourth President • 1809-1817: James Madison". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ Jackson, Elmer Martin (1985). Keeping the lamp of remembrance lighted: a genealogical narrative with pictures and charts about the Jacksons and their allied families. Maryland: Hagerstown Bookbinding and Printing Co. p. 9.
^ "The Ninth President • 1841-1841: illiam Henry Harrison". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ "AmericanHeritage.com / The Presidents: John Tyler". Web.archive.org. 2 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ "AmericanHeritage.com / The Presidents: Millard Fillmore". Web.archive.org. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ "The Fourteenth President • 1853-1857: Franklin Pierce". Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ Lea, James Henry; Hutchinson, John Robert (21 August 2017). "The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln". Houghton Mifflin. Retrieved 21 August 2017 – via Google Books.
^ "Ancestors of Abraham Lincoln". Genbox.com. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^ "AmericanHeritage.com / The Presidents: Andrew Johnson". Web.archive.org. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
^ "The Nineteenth President • 1877-1881: Rutherford Birchard Hayes". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ "The Twentieth President • 1881-1881: James Abram Garfield". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ "The Thirtieth President • 1923-1929: Calvin Coolidge". Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
^ "Jimmy Carter Library". Jimmycarterlibrary.org. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^ Chrisafis, Angelique (2005-01-27). "Scion of traitors and warlords: why Bush is coy about his Irish links". London: Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
^ "American Presidents with Irish Ancestors". Directory of Irish Genealogy. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
^ "BBC News - UK POLITICS - George W Bush, Essex boy". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
^ "The Forty-Fourth President • 2009-present: Barack Hussein Obama". Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
^ Powell, Kimberly. "Ancestry of Donald Trump". Genealogy.about.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.


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Source: Circulation, online August 20, 2018.


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text:
Ethics commission pings P&Z vice chair for 'minor' violation [PRO]
Brad Rollins
Business, In the mix, News, Real Estate, San Marcos
Carter Morris, Darren Casey, development, ethics, Forest Fulkerson, Kathy Morris, Randall Morris, San Marcos city council, San Marcos Ethics Review Commission
COVER: Real estate broker and San Marcos planning commissioner Carter Morris, right, and his father Randall Morris at an event in January celebrating the company's new affiliation with Century 21. The San Marcos Ethics Review Commission will hold a hearing tonight on allegations that Morris improperly lobbied the city council to garner support for land use entitlement changes on properties he was financially connected to. Morris aggressively denies the allegation and his attorneys put out a four-page rebuttal on Tuesday. MERCURY FILE PHOTO
9:23 p.m. WEDNESDAY, SEPT 11: The San Marcos Ethics Review Commission voted 5-2 Wednesday to issue a "letter of notification" to planning and zoning commission vice chair Carter Morris. The least severe of sanctions available to ethics commissioners, a letter of notification is reserved for ethics codes violations that are "clearly unintentional, or when the official or employee's action was made in reliance on a written opinion of the city attorney," according to the code.
Led by ethics commissioner Toby Hooper, a majority of the commission determined that Morris committed "minor" infractions when he met with San Marcos City Council members about a rezoning case in which he had a financial stake. Morris recused himself from P&Z votes on the proposed Sessom Drive retail/residential landmark but complainant Forrest Fulkerson successfully argued that Morris should have also refrained from discussing the project with council members.
"I'm disappointed that some commission members applied a brand new and overreaching interpretation of a provision of the city code. This new interpretation, if it stands, will prevent San Marcos citizens who serve on boards and commissions from speaking with elected officials and exercising their rights as private citizens and doing their jobs. I continue to maintain that I followed the city code and acted ethically at all times," Morris said in a written statement issued this evening.
This is a developing story.
by BRAD ROLLINS
Returning fire a day before his Ethics Review Commission closeup, prominent Central Texas real estate broker Carter Morris on Tuesday released a spirited rebuttal to an allegation he improperly lobbied San Marcos City Council members in support of a controversial student housing development on Sessom Drive.
"I do not know why [the complainant] saw fit to file these ethics complaints a year and a half after the fact, but I vigorously contest the allegations. I fully complied with the Ethics Code and acted entirely properly," Morris states in a 2,000-word retort provided to the San Marcos Mercury by his attorney, Peter D. Kennedy. "I am prepared to defend myself and my name."
After determining last month that San Marcos resident Forrest Fulkerson's complaints met technical requirements for further consideration, the ethics commission has scheduled a special public hearing on the allegations for 5:30 p.m. today. The showdown has limitless potential for drama; Morris suggests he will treat the hearing as a full-fledged judicial proceeding and has informed the commission that his attorneys may call and question witnesses.
» Join MercuryPro: Read the full story and Morris' complete official response to ethics complaints. Plus: Review our extensive archive of Sessom Drive development coverage.
10/12/2013 Morris says he will fight removal from P&Z [PRO]
10/09/2013 San Marcos police probe P&Z meetings with developer
10/15/2013 Live Feed: Chaos at San Marcos City Hall
10/11/2013 San Marcos council moves toward firing Morris from P&Z
11/20/2012 Business leaders line up against tightening density regs
9 thoughts on "Ethics commission pings P&Z vice chair for 'minor' violation [PRO]"
Griffin Spell on 09/11/2013 at 5:54 am said:
If the Ethics Commission finds him guilty, Morris will just turn around and sue the city for character defamation, slander, and libel. There are general protections to prevent people from suing judges and juries that convict them of crimes, but they don't apply here.
I couldn't begin to guess the outcome of the resulting legal battle, but it would cost the city a substantial sum in legal fees even if they do win.
And, because everybody knows this, the Ethics Commission is all but certain to rule in Morris's favor, regardless of the evidence.
Kathy Lawrence on 09/11/2013 at 4:42 pm said:
The problem here is not in the end whether Mr. Morris violated the ethics law, but it has to do with city commissions and city council members who make their living from items that regularly come before the city for review. Mr. Morris was right to recuse himself from the vote, but in earning his living and doing what he needs to do to serve his business clients, he puts himself and the city in an awkward position. Same is true for Ryan Thomason of the City Council and his business partner who is a Planning and Zoning Commissioner. It doesn't look right even when those involved conduct themselves very carefully within the rules.
Watching on 09/12/2013 at 8:34 am said:
Ryan Thomason of the City Council and his business partner who is a Planning and Zoning Commissioner should not serve on either. Both vote to try and fill their pockets. Watch the last council meeting where Mr. Thomason tried to open up 2 acer lots for multi family and unrestricted bedrooms. Mr. Morris is part of this group as well. San Marcos needs to remove the good old boy out of politics, it only hurts the city.
Dan Praver on 09/13/2013 at 4:31 pm said:
Given that the current rules prevent non-homeowners (who constitute the majority of citizens) from serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission, surely it would be possible to restrict those with Real Estate licenses from serving on P&Z. It would certainly be in the city and citizen's best interest when "[i]t doesn't look right even when those involved conduct themselves very carefully within the rules."
Griffin Spell on 09/13/2013 at 6:27 pm said:
One of the arguments made by Fulkerson was that, while almost every city commission is purely advisory in nature, P&Z Commissioners are "public officials" in the same way members of the City Council are, because the P&Z Commission has non-advisory functions under state law. As such, they must follow the higher standard of the Texas Open Meetings Act, not just the city's code of conduct.
Forrest on 09/16/2013 at 8:12 pm said:
The Ethics commission just interpreted the questionable actions like the Texas codes dictated. Not a new interpretation. Read the following:
Texas Statutes Local Government Code
Sec. 171.004. AFFIDAVIT AND ABSTENTION FROM VOTING REQUIRED. (a) If a local public official has a substantial interest in a business entity or in real property, the official shall file, before a vote or decision on any matter involving the business entity or the real property, an affidavit stating the nature and extent of the interest and shall abstain from further participation in the matter if:
(1) in the case of a substantial interest in a business entity the action on the matter will have a special economic effect on the business entity that is distinguishable from the effect on the public
Ted Marchut on 09/18/2013 at 9:42 am said:
From the competition: "Multiple current and former Planning and Zoning Commissioners have confirmed that in 2011 Commissioner Carter Morris held individual meetings with each commissioner to discuss the North Campus Project which is the first iteration of what became the controversial Sessom Creek Multifamily Project proposed by developer Darren Casey."
The rest is behind a paywall (which I don't pay for).
Maybe there will be a follow-up here?
Watson on 09/18/2013 at 1:28 pm said:
Multiple current and former
Planning and Zoning Commissioners
have confirmed that in
2011 Commissioner Carter Morris
held individual meetings with
each commissioner to discuss the
North Campus Project which is
the first iteration of what became
the controversial Sessom Creek
Multifamily Project proposed by
developer Darren Casey.
The Daily Record obtained an
email, stemming from an open
records request by local resident
Forrest Fulkerson, that shows
Carter Morris attempting to
schedule eight back-to-back
meetings with each Planning and
Zoning Commissioner, individually,
to discuss the North Campus
Project at the Randall Morris and
Associates office.
"Just wanted to remind
you of the meetings
scheduled for tomorrow
with myself and the developers
of the North
Campus Project," the email
says.
The three commissioners
who were successfully
contacted by the
Daily Record by the time
of press said that each
attended a meeting.
According to the email,
the meetings were scheduled
for Nov. 17, 2011,
five days before Morris
recused himself from a
when the project was to
be discussed. The
planned meetings were
scheduled each hour
from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.,
excluding noon, with a
different commissioner.
Initially, Morris recused
himself to "avoid
the appearance of impropriety"
and later recused
himself because of
"funds received by me
from the business entity
exceed 10 percent of my
gross income for the future
In a prepared statement,
Morris said, "The
Ethics Review Commission
provided their new
interpretation of the
rules last week in a split
vote. I'm abiding by their
new rules, even though
we have a difference of
opinion. Based on last
week's hearing for events
that occurred 18 months
ago, I consider this matter
done and there's no
Morris was issued a
letter of notification last
week from the Ethics Review
Commission for two
instances involving the
North Campus Project,
but those two incidents
did not involve any meetings
with the Planning
and Zoning Commissioners.
The Texas Attorney
General has issued opinions
on consecutive
meetings with public officials
often called a "daisy
chain" or "walking quorum."
Opinion number GA-
0326 says, "Members of
a governmental body
who knowingly conspire
to gather in numbers
that do not physically
constitute a quorum at
any one time but who
through successive gatherings
secretly discuss a
public matter with a quorum
of that body violate
section 551.143 of the
Open Meetings Act."
The Texas Open Meetings
Act also states that
"a meeting of less than a
quorum is not subject to
the Act 'when there is no
intent to avoid the Act's
requirements.'"
City of San Marcos Attorney
Michael Cosentino
did not discuss the particular
instance but said
that city staff advises
against the practice as
"We do advise against
it. Our advice has consistently
been: 'Wait until
the meeting to have the
meeting.' Really the public's
business should be
transacted in public
where the public can see
Cosentino also stated,
"It's well known in Texas
the idea of a walking
quorum. It should be
well known by every
commission member…
We very consistently (advise
against it) on a regular
basis. Most of the
time the staff is asked if
they can set up a meeting
of that type, and the
answer is consistently
If any further action
were to be taken, it
would be up to the Hays
County District Attorney
to determine if an open
meetings violation occurred
The Texas statutes point toward to having a conflict of interest, which Carter does in the business entity Randall Morris and Associates and that conflict of interest exists to this day, with regard to the properties on Sessoms Creek. Carter's conflict didn't end when the P&Z voted in which he also abstained from voting.
To further my explanation, I will reference the Conflict of Interest Made Easy 2012 by the Texas Attorney General's office:
15. May a local official deliberate about an issue with which the official has a conflict of interest if the official abstains from voting on the issue?
No, a local official may not discuss an issue with which he or she has a conflict of interest even if he or she abstains from voting on the item.41 The statute prohibits "further participation" in a matter if a conflict exists.42 If a conflict of interest exists, the official must file the required affidavit and abstain from both discussing and voting on the item.43 The attorney general has opined that a member of a governmental body does not "participate in a matter" for purposes of the conflict of interest laws by merely attending an executive session on the matter and remaining silent during the deliberations.44 However, it may be wise, the opinion noted, for the interested public officer to refrain from attending open or closed meetings that address the matter in which he or she is interested.
36 TEX. LOC. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 171.004 (West 2008).
37 Id. § 171.004(a)-(b).
38 Id. § 171.004(a).
44 Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-334 (2005).
Carter Morris claimed to know the rules by his earlier admission to the Mercury by serving on the Ethics Commission, but obviously he didn't know the rules.
Coupled with the new email from Carter to each of the P&Z Commissioners before the vote at P&Z that I got access to via open record request, I would guess that he doesn't care about the rules. Is this the kind of Vice Chair for our Planning & Zoning Commission that we want to represent the City of San Marcos interests? The letter referenced prearranged sequential meetings with himself, Ed Theriot, the developer, and each the P&Z commissioners at the Randall Morris Realty office on Cheatum Street.

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text:
East Chicago leads state with stipend-enhanced City Council income
Bill Dolan bill.dolan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5328
East Chicago's City Council members make top dollar in the state at $42,356 a year.
A Times Media Co. survey of municipal salaries indicates East Chicago City Council members' income is more than five times the average salary of council members of 75 community governments survey by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns last year.
City and town council members are the elected legislators and policymakers of the community.
The salaries of city and town councils in Gary, Hammond, Schererville, St. John, Merrillville, Highland, Michigan City and Whiting also were among the top in the state, according to a Times survey of 2014 Indiana municipal wages.
The IACT report indicated the mean salary for city and town council members in their voluntary survey was less than $7,200.
East Chicago council members are also eligible to receive insurance and pension benefits, when, added to Medicare and Social Security contributions, totals more than $12,000. Most Lake County cities and towns don't offer such benefits to council members -- technically considered part-time employees.
But Myrna Maldonado, an at-large councilwoman, said their salary figure is misleading.
"It includes a stipend we had to merge into our salary about four years ago," she said.
East Chicago Council President Lenny Franciski said the stipend represents about $25,000 per year in discretionary money council members can spread around their respective districts for charitable or promotional contributions as well as to purchase office supplies -- or use as personal income.
Maldonado said she treats her stipend not as hers, but the city's.
"During the Christmas season, I do a coat drive for children, and I don't ask for companies to donate to it. I buy hams and fruit baskets around Thanksgiving. We donate to social organizations like back-to-school or Easter egg and athletic events. We get letters all the time about donations. I want to give back to the community," she said.
Councilmen Robert Battle and Juda Parks and Robert Garcia, who served on the City Council from 2004 to 2007 and is running to return this fall, said there is no requirement for them to keep records of how they spend their stipend. Battle and Parks said they don't mingle their stipend money with the campaign money.
Battle and Parks said they spend their stipend money on donation requests from churches, children's sports organizations as well as children's clothing for low income families. The city controller's office said the stipend is included in the council members paychecks and the council members don't log their donations with the city.
Accountability issues
Maldonado said she wishes East Chicago followed the model of other communities, such as Hammond, which parcels out casino revenues to its council members for infrastructure in such a way that it isn't counted as part of their income.
"I like the way Hammond is doing it. That would give us a salary comparable to Hammond and more accountability to where those donations go to," she said.
She believes the City Council needs to discuss the issue.
Hammond City Councilman William Emerson said his city sets strict regulations about how each of them spends their share of casino revenues each year, primarily on infrastructure.
"I've committed every dime to that I can to roughly one to two blocks of street repairs or ornamental lighting on streets, a bike path or park repairs," Emerson said.
Hammond City Council members last year received a $25,143 annual salary. Emerson said he received an additional $30 for each meeting he attended of boards that regulate licenses to work in the city on electrical and building ventilation.
A municipal council, depending on the community's size, can have three, five, seven or nine members. The Indianapolis consolidated City Council has 29 members.
Municipal council members serve as their local government's legislative and fiscal policy body. Setting salaries is among their powers, but Carolyn Rogers, a veteran member of the Gary Common Council, said it's not the first thing on her mind.
"The salary of the Gary City Council is the same one we've had since I got there. There are other things like trying to find money for police and fire and city employees who hadn't receive raises in years," Rogers said.
Municipal council members are typically considered and paid as part time. East Chicago's Franciski said the reality is something else.
"Ask my wife; it is a full-time job. Any little piece of literature I put out there, I put my cell number, my home number. I answer every call I receive. Especially as council president, you take the job home with you," he said.
Conflicts of interest?
But from the standpoint of the East Chicago payroll, Franciski makes more money as assistant director of the city's public works department. That pays $73,585.
Adam Sedia, a Dyer trial lawyer, said it is estimated hundreds of municipal council members, like Franciski, also are employees of their government.
"Police or fire officials are well known and make natural candidates for local office," Sedia said.
A new state law has declared the double employment as a conflict in interest and forces those with dual roles to choose by the end of this year between their public office and their other career with the town, city or county.
Sedia has filed suit in U.S. District Court on behalf of six Lake County city employees running for election or re-election this fall, to have a judge declare the new state law unconstitutional.
Those suing include Hobart Councilman Matthew Claussen, a Hobart policeman; New Chicago Councilwoman Susan Pelfry, who works at the town's water department; East Chicago Councilman Juda Parks, a city policeman; and two Hammond firefighters, Hammond Councilman Michael Opinker and Scott Rakos, a Democratic party nominee for Hammond city council.
Sedia said Tuesday he has filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Philip P. Simon to stop Indiana from enforcing the law on grounds it would unfairly harm the careers of the plaintiffs.
No date has been set for a decision on the matter.
Franciski, who isn't part of the suit, said he is watching it closely to see whether he will have to give up his council seat or 20 years of his life.
"I started off as a garbage man and worked my way up," he said of his current job as East Chicago's assistant public works director.
Readers can access public employees salary in the Indiana Gateway database at: https://gateway.ifionline.org/report_builder/Default3a.aspx?rptType=employComp&rpt=EmployComp&rptName=Employee%20Compensation


What do you think? Couldn't she at least have afforded some flexibility? So maybe they can't work from home every day -- but accept that some of her employees might be able to be effective from home once or twice a week? Maybe she will allow her employees to use the nursery she built next to her office -- so they too can be close to their kids?
Can you see both sides of this or do you stand firmly on one end of this debate?


May 2017 – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another…"
We have all probably gotten some mail back at some point in our lives that has a stamp on it saying "RETURN TO SENDER". Perhaps the person doesn't live their anymore, or perhaps we just wrote down the wrong address. One way or another the destination was wrong and the delivery couldn't be made.
As believers we have a sender in fact, we have the entire Trinity involved in our earthly destinations. The apostle Paul wrote about it in the first few verses of his letter to the Galatians when he said "Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead…" A few chapters later he writes "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Paul knew exactly who selected the destination and he knew who would be assisting in the delivery.
The Lord doesn't make mistakes when he chooses the destination address that he has chosen for you. The only thing that can mess up the delivery is if we resist His leading in our lives (see Jonah). Let us be yielded to the Lord's leading and make sure we are delivering His truth and love. Neither rain, nor snow, nor stubbornness, nor pride, nor unloving attitudes, etc… shall keep us our appointed rounds!
Is your "well done" well done?
Every year a committee at my company gets together and after a great deal of effort and investigation they select an employee to be given a very special recognition. The award is given to an employee whose performance and behavior is truly exceptional both in their job/role as well as in their personal character. The award was established many years ago in the memory of a terrific employee who tragically lost his life in a head-on collision with a moose. There is a similar but separate award that recognizes a noteworthy high performing team each year. The process of determining who will be selected for the individual award consists of soliciting for nominations, conducting interviews, and many hours of deliberation. It was a tremendous honor to have served on the individual award committee this year as it was an opportunity to get to know many dedicated, talented, and high performing coworkers.
After many months of work, today I had the privilege of giving the good news to this year's individual award recipient on behalf of the committee. It was a pleasure to tell them that they had done an truly incredible job and that many other people were of the same opinion.
Of course God does not waste special "events" like these in our lives. The whole process reminded me of our lives as children of God and the day we look forward to, when we will stand before our Lord longing to hear him say "Well done good and faithful servant…" There were several insights that came to mind as I considered this whole experience.
First, being the one that got to meet with this individual and recognize their efforts, I was reminded of how God delights in us when we have done the best job we can in obedience to Him. It was a true delight and privilege for me to tell someone that they had done an excellent and amazing job and I thought of how I long for my Lord to be delighted. I want to stand before Him and have Him say with great delight "Well done good and faithful servant." I want Him to be delighted but not for my benefit or self-promotion, but because in His delight He is glorified, honored, and blessed.
Another insight came to mind as I considered the response of this year's winner when given the news. In keeping with their character, they asked, "Are you sure this isn't for the team award? There are a lot of other folks on this team that help make all these results happen!" They didn't want it to be about themselves, rather they wanted others to be recognized for their efforts as well. Now I realize that we are going to stand before the Lord alone and be evaluated based on what we have done for Him, but consider this…what if we earnestly sought out opportunities to encourage others to live, serve, and grow in the life that God wants while we are serving here together, so that when they stand before the Lord there will be immeasurable delight for the Lord for what they have done as well? What if you and I were more interested and excited about each other and not primarily in our own recognition when we stand before the Lord? In Hebrews 10:24-25 it says "…let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." In Philippians 2:3-4 it says "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." I have every confidence to believe that if were we to be busy with that kind of encouragement and concern for each others interests, that the Lord would be abundantly delighted, and His name glorified!
One other thing grabbed my attention when I shared the news with this individual. Initially, the individual was speechless when they heard the news. There was this look of shock and surprise as they were processing the recognition and honor that they had been given. I later wondered how I might react to that kind of news in the workplace. Would I be humble? Proud? Puzzled? This individual clearly didn't expect to be recognized for this award and I expect it was probably the furthest thing from their mind when they came to the office today. When we stand before the Lord and are given praise from the Lord himself saying "well done good and faithful servant…", how will we respond? The only proper response will be to do as the Elders will do as recorded in Revelation 4:11 and we will take any praise or recognition given to us, any crowns or rewards, and give them right back to Him for He alone is deserving of all glory and praise.
Our King deserves our very best each and every moment of every day. May he delight in all that we do both now and forever more.


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Hunt Military Communities Team Up With Toys for
Hunt Military Communities Team Up With Toys for Tots to Bring Cheer to Children This Holiday Season
Hunt Military Communities (HMC), the military housing division of Hunt Companies Inc., announced today its support for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program this holiday season. A number of donation drop off stations have been designated at 19 Hunt Military Communities across the nation including: Barksdale (LA), Bolling (DC), Buckley (CO) Langley (VA), Hanscom (MA), Shaw (SC), Keesler (MS), Ohana Marines and Navy (HI), Crane (IN), Patrick (FL), Cottonwood (ID), Little Rock (AR), Kirtland (NM), Quail Hollow and Hunter's Cove (TX), Nellis (NV), Robins (GA), and Scott (IL).
Toys for Tots is a 71-year-old national charitable program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and brings holiday cheer to more than 7 million disadvantaged children each season. Donations given to Toys for Tots directly impact children in the local communities.
"We're proud to be contributing to this great organization that helps spread joy to children during the holiday season, said John Ehle, President of Hunt Military Communities. "We're always looking for opportunities to support our armed service members and this is a great way to partner with the Marines and give back to our local communities."
As a longstanding supporter of the military community, HMC values the opportunity to participate in the Toys for Tots Program and further assist families in need during the holiday season.
About Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots, a 71-year national charitable program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, provides happiness and hope to disadvantaged children during each Christmas holiday season. The toys, books and other gifts collected and distributed by the Marines offer these children recognition, confidence and a positive memory for a lifetime. It is such experiences that help children become responsible citizens and caring members of their community. Last year the Marine Corps fulfilled the holiday hopes and dreams of 7 million less fortunate children in over 800 communities nationwide. Since 1947 over 258 million children have been assisted. For more information, visit www.toysfortots.org.


Amunet is a natural perfume by house of Orpheus. A classical Oud, made with spicy notes of cassia, black storax extrait, agar wood oil, and made with an antique Egyptian paste of civet and musk. Because this perfume is made with antique ingredients it will be limited in quantity. Once it is gone it will be gone forever.
A talismanic perfume for women who embody the divine feminine with authority and perpetuate its mysteries no mater the cost.


This project, the first major building designed within the new Ballard Municipal Master Plan Zone, consists of the 15,000-square-foot Ballard Library, a 3,600-square-foot neighborhood service center and 18,000 square-feet of below grade parking. Ballard is evolving to be one of Seattle's most popular neighborhoods. The district is rapidly becoming the civic core of the neighborhood, easily accessible for pedestrians, by bicycles, and public transit. A pedestrian zoning overlay was recently adopted to promote development of this nature. The site, located in an urban context, was redeveloped for this project. The challenge was to develop the site in a restorative manner. Formerly home to a bank and a parking lot, hardscape comprised 100 percent of the lot coverage. Today, combined with the green roof and planters at the building perimeter, the hardscape has been reduced to 20 percent of the lot coverage.
Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Kirkland, Wash.
Learning is about creating connections. That's one reason why the new 56,000-square-foot Benjamin Franklin Elementary School was designed to connect students directly with the environment in which they live. The new public school replaces an existing facility on a narrow 10-acre site that has a rich natural setting. Inside, the school's 450 students in grades K–6 are distributed within small learning communities formed by clusters of four naturally ventilated and day-lit classrooms around a multi-purpose activity area. Stacked within two-story wings that extend towards the woods, these communities are integrally linked with views and access to nature beyond.
Corporate Headquarters for Alberici in Overland, Mo.
The new Forensic Science Center for the Philadelphia Police Department is both a state-of-the-art forensics laboratory facility, as well as a demonstration project for environmental/sustainable design intended as a model for future projects undertaken by the Capitol Program Office of Philadelphia. The rigorous program includes a firearms unit, with a shooting range for ballistics analysis; crime scene unit for 24 hours/day crime scene evidence gathering; chemistry laboratories for drug analysis; criminalistics and DNA laboratories for hair/fiber/blood analysis. The building is a 1929 concrete frame, brick infill building and the lab is in a former K–12 school building on a site which had been abandoned for many years. Located in an under-served neighborhood of north Philadelphia with higher crime rates, lower income levels and fewer services, the new Forensic Science Center has helped to breathe new life and a better sense of security into an entire neighborhood.
Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects, Henderson, Nev.
The Regional Animal Campus for the Las Vegas Valley is intended to serve the animal sheltering and adoption needs for the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and surrounding Clark County, Nevada. Driven by a need to expand its operations, The Animal Foundation plans to create a regional animal campus. The goals for the project's first phase, the dog adoption park, are to create a memorable and dignified way of presenting animals to the adopting public and to use sustainable strategies in the design of this complex, with the intention of achieving LEED platinum certification. A healthy, pleasant and comfortable environment is important to visitor attitudes about adoption and the mood and health of sheltered animals. The costs of maintaining this environment, however, are exceptionally high and directly impact the scale of the Animal Foundation's operations. The goal of the design team was to minimize facility costs without affecting the quality of the adoption experience. Given southern Nevada's climate, reducing the dog bungalows' cooling load and water use were identified as the two major areas of focus for facility efficiency.
Renovation of the Motherhouse in Monroe, Mich.
When the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (SSIHM), recognized that their order was diminishing, they embarked on a collaborative, long-range planning process to determine the best way to achieve an ecologically sustainable 21st century community on their 280-acre site in southern Michigan.
Many of the structures on their property were built in the 1930's and are historically significant. The design team met the challenge by designing 380,000 square feet of construction that utilized the existing structures to best meet the very specific housing, long-term care and spiritual needs, while achieving sustainable and preservation goals. The team also succeeded in making this austere former convent into a warm and friendly home, with a strong focus on nature and the surrounding site. The Sisters wanted to leave a legacy to future generations with this project. One of the missions of their order is to respect the Earth and promote eco-justice, so the hope was to create a community that would exemplify these ideals. Since the SSIHM congregation is known for its teaching excellence, the Sisters saw this project as an opportunity to teach the public about important environmental issues.
The School of Nursing design team became stewards of the vision established by University leadership for a nursing school and student community center designed to be state-of-the-art for learning, research, student service and workplace. The resulting building reduces the use of energy, polluting chemicals, cleaning agents, potable water and other resources. The School of Nursing and Student Community Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston establishes benchmarks for healthy buildings; for daylight; for visual acuity and cognitive learning; and for flexibility, durability and reduced operating costs. The design is straightforward and transparent. In plan and section, distinct zones organize building functions, to maximize exposure to the adjacent park, views and daylight.
Solar Umbrella House in Venice, Calif.
Pugh + Scarpa, Santa Monica, Calif.
Inspired by Paul Rudolph's Umbrella House of 1953, the Solar Umbrella provides a contemporary reinvention of the solar canopy. The new design reorganizes the residence towards the south, optimizing exposure to energy-rich Southern California sunlight. Conceived as a solar canopy, photovoltaic panels not only protect the body of the building from thermal heat gain, but also provide the residence with 95 percent of its electricity. Innovative materials and strategies throughout contribute to both the sustainability and livability of the home, which flows seamlessly from indoors to out. The Solar Umbrella Residence is a bold and sophisticated model for responsible living in the 21st century, characterized by its integration of sustainability with a striking yet refined avant-garde aesthetic.
A 30-acre nature preserve and canyon 28 miles northwest of Austin, Texas needed to expand its community programs by building a new "wilderness classroom" and provide a meeting place for walking tours to a nearby waterfall and "live" grotto cave. The goal of the two agencies who partnered for the project was to foster the respect and stewardship of the natural environment, provide environmental education, and preserve this sanctuary into the future. The design of the structure was conceived as a 3-dimensional textbook. The architecture and design elements work to mimic or model the surrounding natural systems.
The Lower Rio Grande Valley is one of the richest bird habitats in the world, however, only 5 percent of the native habitat currently remains. On the major migratory pathway for most North American species, the area has become a major destination for nature enthusiasts. The new World Birding Center, built at the Bentsen–Rio Grande Valley State Park for Texas Parks & Wildlife, creates a gateway between the disturbed agricultural land and a 1700-acre native habitat preserve. The design approach was to do more with less. The architecture learned from the regional vernacular, responded to the harsh climate, and minimized disturbance of existing habitat.
The AIA's Committee on the Environment represents more than 7,600 AIA members committed to making sustainable or "green" design integral to the practice of architecture. The Top Ten Green Project Awards initiative was developed by the AIA in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and BuildingGreen.com, publishers of Environmental Building News magazine. In 2003 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® Program joined as an additional sponsor.


Because the assets of the B trust are not owned outright by the surviving spouse, they will not be subject to estate tax on your mother's death. For the B trust to avoid estate tax, it must be an irrevocable trust, and your mother's right to withdraw trust principal must be restricted. Because this trust is irrevocable, your mother cannot change who gets to inherit the B trust on her death, unless the trust gave your mother a "power of appointment" that she could exercise by creating a new will that directs the trustee to distribute the B trust the way she wants. Most B trusts do not include powers of appointment, because the second reason couples create A/B trusts (besides estate tax avoidance) is to prevent the surviving spouse from disinheriting the deceased spouse's chosen beneficiaries.
This does not mean your mother can do nothing. While she cannot amend the B trust she can do whatever she wants with the A trust. If she did not complete the administrative process of dividing the trust into its A and B shares after her husband's death, she could do the A/B split and now may be able to allocate the home entirely into the A trust (usually called the "Survivor's trust"). Since your mother can fully amend the A trust, she can leave it to three of her four children the way she wants. The B trust may also give her a limited power to invade trust principal, so your mother may be able to move part of the B trust into the A trust on an annual basis.
What your mother ought to do is to review the trust with a trusts and estates attorney who can objectively review the trust and explain to your mother exactly what she can do to change the trust to suit her wishes.
Your letter raises another very important point. On January 1, 2013, the estate tax law was reformed and the amount a person may pass to their loved ones free of estate tax was increased to $5,250,000, with an automatic inflation adjustment. In addition, a surviving spouse can take a deceased spouse's exemption and pass more than $10,000,000 free of estate tax. Most married couples today do not need an A/B trust any longer to avoid the estate tax and should consider amending their trusts to remove the mandatory A/B split provisions.


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Q: How it is possible to initialize an array in this form with null values? (Java) How it is possible to initialize an array in this form with null values in Java?
int array[][] = {
            {1, 6, 4, 1,-1},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9}
    };

I tried that, but it doesn't work (is that possible?):
int array[][] = {
            {1, 6, 4, 1,-1},
            {6, null, 3, 3, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, null, 9},
            {6, 3, 3, 3, 9}
    };

Thanks

A: It's only possible with arrays of reference types :
Integer array[][] = {
        {1, 6, 4, 1,-1},
        {6, null, 3, 3, 9},
        {6, 3, 3, 3, 9},
        {6, 3, 3, null, 9},
        {6, 3, 3, 3, 9}
};

Primitive types can't be assigned null, so primitive arrays, such as int arrays, can't contain nulls.

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