Muriel is mother to three children, Doug, Jane and Louise. In July 2007, Muriel executed a will in the presence of her lawyer, nurse and neighbor. They noticed nothing was wrong with her. Muriel however was recently released from hospital following a stroke.
The will left Muriel's half share of her house to Louise, who had already inherited the other half share from her father. Therefore, Doug and Jane got nothing.
Doug and Jane believes that Muriel was not competent when she executed the will in July and/or Louise somehow influenced Muriel's decision-making. Doug and Jane also believe that the previous will in May 2007 is the only valid will. That will left Doug as the sole executor and left Muriel's half share to Doug and Jane.
whether she was unduly influenced by Louise in making the new will.
After assessing the evidence presented by the doctors on Muriel's condition, the High Court found that Muriel did not lack testamentary capacity at the time she executed her new will. The Court preferred the evidence of the witnesses who were closest in proximity to Muriel when she executed her will. They stated she appeared normal and articulate at the time.
The High Court found that Louise had not unduly influenced Muriel's decision-making for the new will. The evidence showed that Muriel had long been concerned to provide for Louise in terms of her occupation of the family home. Another witness in presence said that Muriel was happy to change the will and provide a life interest in favour of Louise.
Although the court found that Muriel knew what she was doing, the court also found that Muriel breached her moral duty to make provision for the maintenance and support of Doug and Jane who are also part of the will. Muriel was not right to favour her daughter and exclude the other children. The Courts recognised that there was a real risk Doug and Jane would not receive any benefit from Muriel's estate. The provisions made for Muriel's children were grossly disparate, taking into account financial, moral and ethical considerations.
Disparity was stark in this case and Muriel breached her moral duty she owed to her other loving children.
That being said, it was up to counsel to contemplate how this issue would be resolved.


Physicians have frequently changed the clinical management of Medicare beneficiaries with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia of uncertain etiology as a result of amyloid PET scans, according to the published Dementia-Dementia Imaging Dementia (IDEAS) study online on April 2nd in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The study, the first phase of a four-year effort to provide evidence on the clinical utility of amyloid PET scans, was largely aimed at addressing the concerns of the Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers, which they had previously concluded that there was insufficient evidence to justify routine coverage for amyloid PET scans, which can cost $ 4000 to $ 5000. CMS had agreed to consider coverage if the studies could provide evidence that amyloid PET improves health outcomes, including changes in management and long-term outcomes of dementia.
Among the findings, IDEA investigators reported that amyloid scans led to changes in Alzheimer's diagnosis to non-Alzheimer's (AD) in 25.1% of cases and altered clinical management in about two thirds of all patients, after 90 days.
"As reported in previous studies, the use of amyloid PET was associated with frequent changes in diagnosis, improved diagnostic safety and reduced use of other diagnostic tests," the researchers, led by Gil Rabinovici, MD, of University of California, San Francisco, wrote.
To assess whether amyloid PET has an added value in routine clinical practice, the team analyzed data from 16,008 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over, enrolled in the IDEAS study from February 2016 to September 2017. Approximately 71.3 % 16,008 registered participants (with an average age of 75) completed the study. Participants either had a diagnosis of MCI or dementia established by a dementia specialist in the last 24 months.
A total of 946 dementia specialists from 595 unique practices in the United States participated in the study. The specialists documented the diagnosis and the management plan of the participants before the PET scans and then again 90 days after the PET.
The PET results of amyloid were positive in 3817 patients with MCI (55.3%) and 3154 patients with dementia (70.1%).
The clinical management of the most common change after amyloid PET scans involved the prescription of AD drugs, which occurred in 43.6% of patients with MCI and in 44.9% of patients with dementia. Doctors also recommended counseling in 24.3% of MCI patients and in 20.7% of dementia patients. The PET results significantly influenced the management in 85.2% of the cases where a change was made, the investigators reported.
The results of amyloid PET were negative (only for the retention of white matter) in 36% of people with presumed aetiology of AD before PET; they were positive, however, in 52% of people with presumed non-AD pre-PET aetiology.
The non-randomized design of the study and the fact that the investigators did not compare amyloid PET with other imaging biomarkers or Alzheimer's CSF were among the limitations of the study, the authors of the paper recognize. They also noted that the participants were aware that the PET results should have changed diagnosis and treatment, and most participants were non-Hispanic whites, which does not reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of Medicare beneficiaries in the United States.
The Alzheimer Association, the American College of Radiology, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company), General Electric Healthcare and Life Molecular Imaging (formerly Piramal Imaging) funded the IDEAS process.
The Medicare and Medicaid service centers have repaid PET scans.
Dr. Rabinovici reported reports with Genentech, Eisai, Merck, Roche, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and worked as an associate editor for JAMA Neurology. The co-authors report other relevant revelations in the complete study.
Rabinovici GS, Catsonis C, Apgar C, et al. Association of amyloid positron emission tomography with consequent change in clinical management among health care recipients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia. JAMA 2019; Epub 2019 Apr 2.


Here at G.I.T this early summer, we began construction of a very large green house.
It began by adding unto a previous structure made 2 years prior. The holes were laid out and dug, and then it was realized that the original structure was off center by just a few inches, which meant many feet at the end. In our efforts to build it rightly for future members of G.I.T., we uprooted the previous structure, keeping it intact, and moved it to the required spot. After all this had been accomplished, we began raising one green house arch at a time. Before we had constructed one hole, one arch, and set it up one at a time. Through learning and good leadership by my fellow student Daniel, we constructed all arches at once, laid out like dominoes. Thanks to his idea, we have put up 2 in a matter of 45 minutes, where as before it would maybe only be 2 in 2 hours. Currently we continue construction but hope to be well done the primary structure before the new moon of this month.
The construction of the Green House has been a great task as well as an opportunity, and remains to be so for sometime. It has given spiritual insights as well as social insights in team work. Through the construction of this Green House, spiritual lessons such as the need to walk upright in faith through careful measurements and proper communication skills have become more clear, along with the reality that sometimes things may not be as they seem. We may see that in our walk through life, we develop habits, structures, that are all fine and dandy for that one to 5 arches, places in life. But as we walk them out longer and longer, that mere inch turns to a great gap, showing the entire structure to be crooked. How important it is to have a right foundation, a corner stone, Yahshua our messiah and husband, which from Him pours out true uprightness.
5 Trust in the YHWH with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
One of my favorite projects since I arrived at GIT has been working in the vineyard. There are so many references to vines and vineyards in scripture. Israel is commonly referred to as a vine, Yeshua is called the true vine, and Gentiles who accept Yeshua are grafted in to that vine. I would like to expound on a few interesting points I've seen while working in the vineyard.
Our first project in the vineyard was to prepare and build the trellis system. This system is comparable to YHWH's Torah. We had to drive stakes into the ground next to each vine, to give them a foundation to grow. After the stakes had all been put up, we had to run multiple wires down each row. There is a wire for irrigation at the base, one for a foundation for the main parts of the vine halfway up, and two at the top to support the fruitful branches.
While the vine is young, it moves around, looking for a path to grow. If it isn't secured to the stake, it will start to spread out on the ground. People are the same. If we aren't trained up from children to be obedient to YHWH's Torah, then we will go our own way.
As the vine gets older, it hardens. If it hardens before it is fastened to the trellis, then you won't be able to completely straighten it without breaking it. At this point you can still train it so that the main branches can follow the wire, but the consequences of letting it grow on it's own will always be evident. This too, compares to people. A person who has lived their own way is not out of YHWH's reach. They can be trained like a vine to live according to YHWH's Torah. However, though there is forgiveness, the consequences of their past will be there as a reminder of where they came from.
Some of the vines barely came up to my knees when I arrived at GIT. Building the Trellis system was hard work, and it took a lot of time. Even after it was built, and the vines had been attached to it, the results were not immediately seen. It is taking time, and a lot of care, to ensure that the vines are healthy, and that they are trained up correctly on the Trellis. However, with patience and diligence, the branches have grown, and they are producing fruit.
The vine and the vineyard represent so many things. Parents are like vine dressers, and their children are their vines. It is the parents responsibility to train their children up in the right path. Also, each person is a vine. If we allow Him, YHWH will be our vine dresser, and He will train us up in His Torah. He will give us the water of His word until we begin to produce fruit.
There is so much that can be gleaned from YHWH's creation. I only scratched the surface of what can be said about the vine, and YHWH can be seen in all of His creation. I would encourage you, if you haven't already, to get outside and look for YHWH. Plant some flowers; Grow a tree; start a garden. If you are diligent in your search, you will find Him.


text:
Robert L. Hawkins
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; McSilver Associate Professor in Poverty Studies; McSilver Faculty Fellow
PhD, MA, MPA, BA
Areas of Expertise: Poverty; social capital; family and children's policy; social policy analysis; diversity and racism; community-participatory research; qualitative methods; ethnographic research
rlh6@nyu.edu
Robert Hawkins is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; and McSilver Associate Professor in Poverty Studies at NYU Silver. Dr. Hawkins has expertise in poverty and welfare, social capital use and development, race and social policy, community participatory research with mixed methodologies, and social policy analysis. He also has extensive programming, research, and teaching expertise in race and racism, diversity, oppression, and privilege. Dr. Hawkins has approached the study and understanding of poverty from many perspectives. He conducted research with low-income families in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, engaged in in-depth studies with single mother-led households, and led international work in poor communities in the Philippines. His current research focuses on racism and poverty as trauma, and addresses the link between social position, negative life events, and social capital usage marginalized and low-income individuals and families. He is particularly interested in the structural, sociological, and psychological barriers faced by low-income people trying to make a successful transition from poverty and welfare to positions of economic sustainability.
Dr. Hawkins has been an administrator and trainer in agencies addressing family needs for both children and older adults. He has worked with the Family & Children's Resource Center and the Center for Aging Research and Educational Services in North Carolina, the American Geriatrics Society in New York City, People for the American Way, and the University College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. He served as an ethnographic researcher with Welfare, Children, and Families, a three-city longitudinal study lead by researchers from Harvard University, University of Texas-Austin, Penn State University, and Brandeis University. This study examined in detail the lives of low-income single mothers, their neighborhood and community networks, and how the women survive under welfare reform.
Dr. Hawkins has served as an adviser and consultant for numerous other community, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations, and speaks, writes, and presents nationally and internationally on a range of related topics. He was selected by The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation to join the Sterling Network NYC, a multidisciplinary network of New York City leaders working together to tackle the challenge of increasing economic mobility.
Dr. Hawkins received his PhD in social policy with an emphasis on low-income families and children from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in 2002. In addition to his doctorate, he holds a master's degree in social policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, a Master's in Public Administration from the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
Understanding long-term HIV survivorship among African American/Black and Latinx persons living with HIV in the United States: A qualitative exploration through the lens of symbolic violence
Freeman, R., Gwadz, M., Wilton, L., Collins, L. M., Dorsen, C., Hawkins, R. L., Silverman, E., Martinez, B. Y., Leonard, N. R., Applegate, A. & Cluesman, S., Aug 28 2020, In : International Journal for Equity in Health. 19, 1, 146.
Getting by in New York City: Bonding, Bridging and Linking Capital in Poverty-Impacted Neighborhoods
Lukasiewicz, K., Bahar, O. S., Ali, S., Gopalan, P., Parker, G., Hawkins, R., McKay, M. & Walker, R., Mar 2019, In : City and Community. 18, 1, p. 280-301 22 p.
Welfare, Liberty, and Security for All? U.S. Sex Education Policy and the 1996 Title V Section 510 of the Social Security Act
Lerner, J. E. & Hawkins, R. L., Jul 1 2016, In : Archives of Sexual Behavior. 45, 5, p. 1027-1038 12 p.
Race, Space, and the Urban South: Then and Now
Tighe, J. R., Needle, E. & Hawkins, R., Apr 3 2015, In : Journal of Policy Practice. 14, 2, p. 96-113 18 p.
Economic and social abuse of low-income older adults: Policy solutions
Hawkins, R. & Weiss, M., 2014. Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health. 2 ed. New York: Sage
Non-academic factors associated with dropping out of high school: Adolescent problem behaviors
Hawkins, R., Jaccard, J. J. & Needle, E., 2013, In : Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. 4, 2, p. 58-75
The Socio-Economic Empowerment Assessment: Addressing Poverty and Economic Distress in Clients
Hawkins, R. L. & Kim, E. J., Jun 2012, In : Clinical Social Work Journal. 40, 2, p. 194-202 9 p.
Unravelling social capital: Disentangling a concept for social work
Hawkins, R. L. & Maurer, K., Mar 2012, In : British Journal of Social Work. 42, 2, p. 353-370 18 p.
"waiting for the white man to fix things:" rebuilding black poverty in new orleans
Hawkins, R. L. & Maurer, K., Mar 2012, In : Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. 39, 1, p. 111-139 29 p.
Social justice revisited: Psychological re-colonization and the challenge of anti-oppression advocacy
Ali, A., McFarlane, E., Hawkins, R. & Udo-Inyang, I., 2012, In : Race, Gender and Class. 19, 1-2, p. 322-335
Making a Place for Youth: Social Capital, Resilience, and Communities
Hawkins, R. L., Vashchenko, M. & Davis, C., Oct 5 2011, Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, and Practice. John Wiley and Sons, p. 245-266 22 p.
A new methodology for assessing social work practice: The adaptation of the objective structured clinical evaluation (SW-OSCE)
Lu, Y. E., Ain, E., Chamorro, C., Chang, C. Y., Feng, J. Y., Fong, R., Garcia, B., Hawkins, R. L. & Yu, M., Mar 2011, In : Social Work Education. 30, 2, p. 170-185 16 p.
'You fix my community, you have fixed my life': The disruption and rebuilding of ontological security in New Orleans
Hawkins, R. L. & Maurer, K., Jan 2011, In : Disasters. 35, 1, p. 143-159 17 p.
Assessing racial equity impact in mental health policymaking: Reflections and recommendations
Abramovitz, M., Bernabei, S., Collado, C., Hawkins, R., Ho, W. & al., 2011, In : Mental Health News., 37, Winter, p. 8
Social capital and Juvenile Justice: Can we use it and how
Hawkins, R., Vashchenko, M. & Davis, C., 2011, Health and Well Being in the Juvenile Justice System. Sherman, F. & Jacobs, F. (eds.).New York: John Wiley and Sons, p. 245 – 266
Teaching note a cross-curricular, problem-based project to promote understanding of poverty in urban communities
Gardner, D. S., Tuchman, E. & Hawkins, R., Dec 2010, In : Journal of Social Work Education. 46, 1, p. 147-156 10 p.
Bonding, bridging and linking: How social capital operated in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina
Hawkins, R. L. & Maurer, K., Sep 2010, In : British Journal of Social Work. 40, 6, p. 1777-1793 17 p.
Outsider in: Race, attraction, and research in New Orleans
Hawkins, R. L., Apr 2010, In : Qualitative Inquiry. 16, 4, p. 249-261 13 p.
Fickle families and the kindness of strangers: Social capital in the lives of low-income single mothers
Hawkins, R. L., Jan 2010, In : Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 20, 1, p. 38-55 18 p.
Recovery from depression among clients transitioning out of poverty
Ali, A., Hawkins, R. L. & Chambers, D. A., Jan 2010, In : American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 80, 1, p. 26-33 8 p.
Same as it ever was, only worse: Negative life events and poverty among New Orleans Katrina survivors
Hawkins, R. L., Oct 2009, In : Families in Society. 90, 4, p. 375-381 7 p.
Disappearing acts: The social networks of formerly homeless individuals with co-occurring disorders
Hawkins, R. L. & Abrams, C., Nov 2007, In : Social Science and Medicine. 65, 10, p. 2031-2042 12 p.
The Child Care Development Block Grant and the Child Care Development Fund
Hawkins, R., 2007, Early Childhood Education: An international encyclopedia. New, B. & Cochron, M. (eds.).Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, p. 113-114
In their own words: Trauma and substance abuse in the lives of formerly homeless women with serious mental illness
Padgett, D. K., Hawkins, R., Abrams, C. & Davis, A., Oct 2006, In : American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 76, 4, p. 461-467 7 p.
From self-sufficiency to personal and family sustainability: A new paradigm for social policy
Hawkins, R. L., Dec 2005, In : Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. 32, 4, p. 77-92 16 p.
Cultural identity development in bi-racial children
Leibson-Hawkins, B. & Hawkins, R., 2004. In Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Fisher, Celia B. & Lerner, Richard M. (eds.).New York: Sage
Family policy
Hawkins, R., 2004. Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Fisher, Celia B. & Lerner, Richard M. (eds.). New York: Sage
Single mothers and their children
Hawkins, R., 2004. In Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Fisher, Celia B. & Lerner, Richard M. (eds.).New York: Sage
Social capital in theory and practice
Hawkins, R., 2004. Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Fisher, Celia B. & Lerner, Richard M. (eds.).Sage
Everyday conflict and stress among older african american women: Findings from a focus group study and pilot training program
Weitzman, P. F., Dunigan, R., Hawkins, R. L., Weitzman, E. A. & Levkoff, S. E., Jun 1 2001, In : Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. 10, 2, p. 27-44 18 p.
Elements of culturally competent practice: Building beliefs, knowledge and skills among agencies and providers
Hawkins, R., 1999. Boston, MA: Harvard Medical School: Department of Social Medicine, Division on Aging
Training Curricula: Leveraging diversity
Hawkins, R., Parker, C.S. & Winther, A., 1999. Cambridge, MA: Interaction Institute for Social Change
Baby boomers in North Carolina
Salmon, M.A., Morse, M. & Hawkins, R., 1997. Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina Division on Aging and the Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work
Training Curricula: Group and individual differences
Hawkins, R. & Salmon, M.A., 1997. Chapel Hill, NC: Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work
Training Curricula: Cultural competency
Hawkins, R., 1996. Chapel Hill, NC: Jordan Institute for Families, UNC School of Social Work
Training Curricula: Cultural competency in adult services
Nelson, G., Salmon, M.A., Hawkins, R. & Schyette, A., 1995. The Field of Adult Services: Social Work Practice and Administration. Nelson, G. M., Eller, A. C., Streets, D. W. & Morse, M. (eds.).Washington, DC: NASW Press
Nelson, G., Salmon, M.A., Hawkins, R. L. & Schyette, A., 1995. The Field of Adult Services: Social Work Practice and Administration. Nelson, G. M., Eller, A. C., Streets, D. W. & Morse, M. (eds.).Washington, DC: NASW Press
Training Curricula: Aging processes
Hawkins, R., 1995. Chapel Hill, NC: Center for Aging Research and Education Services, UNC School of Social Work
Training Curricula: Coordinating resources with families
Hawkins, R. & Weber, L., 1995. Chapel Hill, NC: Family and Children Resource Program
American Geriatrics Society state affiliate handbook
Hawkins, R., Ward, S. & Goodwin, C., 1994. New York, NY: Author
Introduction to methodologies for clinical research in geriatrics
Cohen, H., Goodwin, C., Gilmore, C., Hoidra, C. & Hawkins, R., 1990. Durham, NC:
Hawkins, R. & Padilla, D. (October 2015). Sitting with Chickens: Qualitative, international participatory research in the Philippines. Presented at the 61st Annual Program Meeting, Council on Social Work Education, Denver, CO.
Padilla, D. & Hawkins, R. (October 2015). Depression, quality of life, and financial decision-making in a rural Filipino community. Presented at the 61st Annual Program Meeting, Council on Social Work Education, Denver, CO.
Small, L., Stephens, T., Hawkins, R., McKay, M. (January 2013). Youth who experience homelessness along with accumulated family difficulties and threats are at the highest risk for behavioral risk-taking and thus warrant specific interventions. A paper presented at the 17th Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work Research, San Diego, CA.
Hawkins, R. (April 2012). Keynote Address: Why Social policy is not social justice: Poverty, Oppression, and race in America. The I. de Quincey Newman Institute for Peace and Social Justice Lecture, University of South Carolina School of Social Work, Columbia, SC.
Hawkins, R. (April 2012). Guest Panelist/Speaker: From Oppression to oppression: Human trafficking and exploitation of the poor. United Nations-Universal Universalist Association, 777 UN Plaza, New York, NY
Hawkins, R. (July 2011). Keystone Lecture: Why Poverty Exists and What Helps End it. Presentation to Administrative and Executive Staff of the Governor, Surigao Del Norte, Surigao City, the Philippines.
BS: Strategies to Reduce Inequality
BS and MSW: Diversity, Racism, Oppression and Privilege
BS and MSW: Women's Health & Community Well-being: A Collaborative Ethnography in Del Carmen, Philippines
MSW: Advanced Social Policy - Poverty
DSW: Clinical Social Work and Social Policy: Past and Present

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It has been a privilege I have very much enjoyed leading the Electoral Commission over the past three years and playing a part in its evolution into a modern regulator.
As well as delivering an unprecedented number of electoral events it has been important to all of us with an interest in democracy that we don't lose sight of the bigger picture, and we have continued to work to modernise our system in order to meet voters' expectations.
In my time as Chief Executive, we have consistently called for the law that underpins elections to be reformed. It's almost unthinkable that some of the laws that dictate how our elections are run date back to the 19th century. While some small changes have been made, and I very much welcome these, we'd like to see much wider reform. Updating our electoral system so that it's more in tune with the way people live their lives is being given quite serious thought in Scotland and Wales in particular, and I will be following developments with interest.
Advances in digital campaigning have also moved into the spotlight during this time and I am proud of the way the Commission and its staff has risen to the challenges that face regulators across a number of different sectors. We have played a leading role in contributing to the debate about how to maintain transparency for voters in the digital era. More remains to be done, and some of the thorniest parts of the debate remain to be tackled but I am confident they will be if regulators, policy makers and those representing voters work together.
This year started with celebrations of the centenary of some women first getting the right to vote. It has been such a pleasure to see so many organisations, schools, local authorities and elected representatives mark this change to the law right throughout the year. There is still more to do to make the democratic process accessible to all and improvements must be made so that any voter with a disability can have their say with confidence, something we covered in a recent report.
I want to finish by paying tribute to electoral staff across the UK who ensure that polls are well run; allowing voters to have confidence in the electoral process when they mark their ballot papers. It requires hard work and dedication from an army of volunteers to run a poll – from polling station clerks to people who count the votes into the early hours of the morning in a council sports hall. One my personal highlights is the warm welcome I have been given by electoral administrators as I have observed polls right across the UK. Things never stand still in the electoral world, but if there's one thing I'm sure about, it is that the elections staff on the ground have an unwavering commitment to ensuring that voters are able to have their say and exercise their democratic right. For that, they have my thanks, and those of the Commission.


Discrediting the supposed Rapture of the Saints, we hope to have fully demonstrated that the proponents of such a theory not only misinterpret Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, but they also take out-of-context many passages from the early Christian writers, namely Irenaeus, Cyprian and Pseudo-Ephraim, and they twist them into pretzels in order to buttress their position. But we are confident that once we examined fuller passages of those writers, we proved beyond doubt the purposeful dishonesty of the Rapture proponents who cite such works to support their claims.
Here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 Paul is still discussing the coming of the Prince which he began to describe in the last verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Paul did not change the topic, and the chapter division was not a component of Paul's original text. The chapters were not divided until the 16th century. At the end of chapter 4 Paul spoke of Yahshua's relationship with His people, as He would gather both the living and the dead from among them upon His return. And then here in chapter 5 Paul begins to speak concerning the timing of that same event, and then some of the other things which must also happen along with that same event. The artificial chapter division made by a Medieval monk does not change the context of Paul's words. The beginning of chapter 5 is merely a continuation of what Paul was discussing at the end of chapter 4.
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to be written to you, 2 for you yourselves know thoroughly that the day of the Prince comes as a thief in the night.
The words χρόνος (Strong's # 5550) and καιρός (Strong's # 2540) are "times and seasons". These words are synonyms and are alike in virtually all of their meanings. The exact same words appear in Acts chapter 1, where Luke had written of the final gathering and meeting of the apostles with the risen Christ on the mount of Olives, and he said: "6 So then they who were gathered asked Him, saying 'Prince, then at this time shall You restore the Kingdom to Israel?' 7 And He said to them: "It is not yours to know the times or the seasons which the Father has placed in His own authority." So Paul is repeating exactly what he heard from the other apostles in reference to the Second Advent of Christ. But making these statements here, as we had speculated when examining earlier passages of this epistle, Paul seems to have been answering an inquiry which had been made by the Thessalonians themselves.
Denominational Christians frequently fail to connect this "Day of the Lord" mentioned in the epistles of Peter and Paul with the many references to the "Day of the Lord" found in the Old Testament prophets, and to Paul's words at the end of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. But they are certainly all referring to one and the same broad event wherever it is prophesied. As Paul mentions the "thief in the night" analogy in connection to this "day of the Lord", Christ spoke of His return in that same manner as well, in Matthew chapter 24. At the beginning of that chapter we read that upon exiting the temple and with the apostles having mentioned the wonderful buildings of the temple complex, Christ promised that they would all be destroyed. So in response, the apostles asked Him three questions, which do not necessarily relate to coinciding events. Matthew records their inquiry in this manner: "3, Then with His sitting upon the Mount of Olives the students came forth to Him by themselves, saying: 'Tell us, when shall these things be?' and 'What is the sign of Your coming, and of the consummation of the age?'" Christ is recorded as having given one long answer, but the records do not divide His answer. So it is not clear which part of the answer relates to each of the particular questions.
The denominational Christians like to cite those verses in Matthew 24 to support their Rapture theory, and while those verses do describe a sort of rapture, it is not the rapture which they suppose. As we have already said, Christians must hope to be left behind.
The return of Christ and the gathering of His people, both the living and the dead, as he described in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
The words of Christ in Matthew chapter 24 verses 36 through 44 where He spoke of His return as a "thief in the night", and where certain people would be suddenly removed.
The statement in Acts chapter 1 verses 6 and 7 where the "times and seasons" are mentioned in connection to His return, which is also when the Kingdom shall be restored to Israel.
The description of the violent upheaval in relation to the "Day of the Lord" mentioned in 2 Peter chapter 3, which the apostle also referred to as he is recorded as having quoted Joel in Acts chapter 2, and which is frequently described in the prophets. This we see in the following verse of Paul's epistle, 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
3 When they say 'Peace' and 'Security', then suddenly destruction comes upon them, even as a labor pang to her who is with child. And by no means shall they escape.
Just before speaking of the days of Noah in the passage from Matthew chapter 24 which we have already cited, Christ also said: "32 Now learn from the parable of the fig tree, when already its branches should be tender and it would produce leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 Thusly also you, when you should see all these things, know that it is near by the doors. 34 Truly I say to you that by no means should this race escape until all these things should happen! 35 The heaven and the earth shall pass, but My words shall by no means pass! 36 But concerning that day and hour no one knows: not the messengers of the heavens nor the Son, except the Father only." So here we know that Christ and Paul are once again speaking of the same day and hour. The race which shall not escape in Matthew 24:34 where Christ said "by no means should this race escape" must be the same people of which Paul speaks here in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 where he says "3 When they say 'Peace' and 'Security', then suddenly destruction comes upon them, even as a labor pang to her who is with child. And by no means shall they escape." Paul must be speaking of the enemies of Christ here, and not of the people of Christ, as he already wrote in relation to the people of Christ and their resurrection and gathering in the closing verses of chapter 4, where he concluded that "in that manner always with the Prince we shall be". Therefore here in this passage, we see support for our understanding of the words of Christ where He said in Matthew 24:34 "that by no means should this race escape until all these things should happen!" Just as we do, it is clear that Paul had also interpreted those words to refer to the return of the Christ, and not to what happened in Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Later in this chapter of 1 Thessalonians, in verse 9, Paul tells his Christian readers that "Yahweh has not ordained us for wrath, but for the acquisition of preservation through our Prince Yahshua Christ". Of course, we have often mentioned the purpose of the Gospel given in Luke chapter 1: "68 Blessed is Yahweh the God of Israel, that He has visited and brought about redemption for His people... 70 just as He spoke through the mouths of His holy prophets from of old: 71 preservation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us! 72 To bring about mercy with our fathers and to call into remembrance His holy covenant, 73 the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, which is given to us… 77 For which to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the dismissal of their errors…." And in that context, we see that the salvation which is in Christ must be exclusive to the descendants of the ancient children of Israel.
So at the "Day of the Lord", all of the heathens, or nations, feeding off of Yahweh's holy mountain Israel shall be "as though they had not been", and the Edomite Jews will also be eliminated, left for stubble, and it is that time of which Paul writes here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, "When they say 'Peace' and 'Security', then suddenly destruction comes upon them, even as a labor pang to her who is with child. And by no means shall they escape." This may be likened to the admonition of Christ, which we have already seen in Matthew chapter 24: "32 Now learn from the parable of the fig tree, when already its branches should be tender and it would produce leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 Thusly also you, when you should see all these things, know that it is near by the doors. 34 Truly I say to you that by no means should this race escape until all these things should happen!" The fig tree is the one which Christ had cursed, in Matthew chapter 21: "19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away." The fig-tree at the return of Christ produces leaves, but there is no mention of fruit. Then, the reference to "all the trees" in that same passage is ostensibly an allegory for "all the heathen", or nations, in Obadiah 15.
Then, a little later in Isaiah chapter 26, where we may clearly see that this is a reference to post-captivity Israel in the last days: "15 Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. [A prophecy that the dispersed of Israel would pray to God in their future time of trouble.] 17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. [In the last days, the children of Israel are greatly oppressed, with pain compared to a woman in travail.] 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. [Man cannot save himself, and requires the intervention of his God. This also corresponds to the similar sins of the ancient kingdom, where it says in Hosea chapter 8, '7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.' So it says here that the children of Israel have had no profit in their sowing. Where Isaiah says "neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen", meaning that Israel is being oppressed by them, Hosea says of what Israel had sowed, that "the strangers shall swallow it up", which also corresponds to what Obadiah described as the heathens drinking upon Yahweh's holy mountain.] 19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. [A reference to the resurrection of Israel at the Second Advent of Christ. Here in 1 Thessalonians Paul is describing, or perhaps summarizing, what Isaiah had already described long before him.] 20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. [The children of Israel shall be somehow sheltered from the wrath of God, as Paul says here that "Yahweh has not ordained us for wrath".] 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. [They shall be as though they had never been.]" This is the Rapture of the Wicked, the Edomite Jews and all of the other races whom the Jews have brought in to oppress the children of Israel shall be destroyed. But in the end, as it is described here in Isaiah, the children of Israel are punished until they repent of their sins, until they acknowledge their errors, and repent and return to their God. Yahweh God had also foretold of these things through Jeremiah the prophet, in a somewhat different way, where He said in Jeremiah chapter 30: "11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished." There is a similar statement in Jeremiah chapter 46.
The prophetic glue that holds these assertions together and also relates them to what is happening in the world today is found in several places, but especially in the Revelation, in chapters 12 and 20.
First there is Revelation chapter 12, where it speaks of the dragon, which is also described as the serpent, the devil, and as Satan and his angels who were cast out of heaven, and which is identified with the same dragon who had attempted to kill the Christ child, something that can only describe Herod, the Edomite Jew. There it says: "13 And when the dragon saw that he had been cast down into the earth, he persecuted the woman who had given birth to the man-child. 14 And they had given to the woman the two wings of a great eagle, in order that she may fly into the desert into her place, where she is nourished there for a time and times and half of a time from the face of the serpent. 15, And the serpent had cast from his mouth water as a river after the woman, in order that he may have her carried off by the river. 16 And the earth assisted the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and gulped down the river which the dragon had cast from his mouth. 17 And the dragon was angered by the woman and went to make war with those remaining of her offspring who keep the commandments of Yahweh and have the testimony of Yahshua." This last part describes where we have been in history these past few hundred years, as the Edomite Jew has been making war against Christendom.
Along these same lines, the prophecy which we had read from Isaiah chapter 26 is continued in Isaiah chapter 27, where it says of the "Day of the Lord": "1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. [This describes the ancient Kenites, Rephaim, Edomite Jews and others, all of whom are still with us as bastards and Jews.] 2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. 3 I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? [This describes the ancient Canaanite bastards, including the arabs.] I would go through them, I would burn them together. 5 Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. 6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Once the prophecy of Obadiah is fulfilled, there will be no obstacles to Israel filling the face of the world with fruit.
The participation of the people of Christ in this judgment is also spoken of in the Revelation, at the fall of Mystery Babylon, and it says "4 And I heard another voice from out of heaven, saying: 'You come out from her, My people, that you should not partake in her errors, and that you would not receive from of her wounds, 5 because her errors have built up as far as heaven and Yahweh has called to mind her injustices! 6 You return to her as she also had rendered, and you double twice the things according to her works. In the cup which she had mixed, you mix double for her! 7 As much as she had magnified herself and lived wantonly, so much you give torment and grief to her! Because in her heart she says that 'I sit a queen and I am not a widow and I have not seen grief', 8 for this reason in one day shall her plagues come: death and grief and famine, and she shall be burned with fire, because mighty is Prince Yahweh who judges her!'" The very next vision in the Revelation is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which is the destruction of all of the enemies of Christ in a great slaughter.
As we had noticed from the writings of the early Christian bishops Irenaeus and Cyprian when we were discrediting the denominational Christian claims concerning the Rapture, these early writers believed that the saints would indeed face a great battle here on earth at the end of the time of the Anti-Christ. They did not understand exactly when this would occur, which is in keeping with Scripture, and they imagined that the Anti-Christ was an individual, rather than a race, a collection, of individuals. However we understand that the Anti-Christ is a collection of individuals who are born that way, and therefore in that respect they are a race, as the apostle John also describes in his epistles. In 1 John chapter 4 and 2 John chapter 1 he explains that the Anti-Christs are those who deny Jesus as the Christ. In 1 John chapter 2 he says: "18 Little children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the Antichrist comes, even now many Antichrists have been born, from which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They came out from us but they were not from of us. For if they were from of us, they would have abided with us, but so that they would be made manifest that they are all not from of us." In that last verse, the apostle identifies the Anti-Christ as the Edomite Jew, where he says "They came out from us but they were not from of us", meaning that they were not actually Israelites, as Paul of Tarsus also identifies them as Edomites in Romans chapter 9. These are the Jews of today, whom Yahweh had driven into all nations to be a taunt and a proverb, a curse and a reproach, as it says in Jeremiah.
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should surprise you as thieves. 5 All of you are sons of light and sons of day; we [D has "you"] are not of night or of darkness.
6 So then we should not sleep as the rest; rather we should be alert and we should be sober. 7 For those falling asleep, by night they fall asleep, and those getting drunk, by night they get drunk.
8 But we being of day should be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and a helmet: an expectation of deliverance.
9 Because Yahweh has not ordained us for wrath, but for the acquisition of preservation through our Prince Yahshua Christ [P30 wants "Christ"], 10 who died on behalf of us, that whether we would be alert or we would sleep, together with Him we would live.
Perhaps awake may have been a better rendering than alert here, depending on one's point of view and level of awareness in reference to what Paul is saying. The word bears either meaning. If we read the word (γρηγορεύω, Strong's # 1127) as alert, we may perceive that he is speaking of all of those of Israel who are living, and that those sleeping are the ones caught up in the cares of the world, or weighed down with drunkenness, as Christ had warned in Luke chapter 21, which we have just cited. However if we read the word as awake, we may perceive that he is speaking of those who have died, where he had spoken of their resurrection in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Either reading is valid, since we indeed have another assurance in Scripture, that all Israel shall be saved.
11 On which account you encourage one another, and you build up one another [literally "build up one the one"], even just as you do.
Here Paul commended the Christians at Thessalonika for engaging in the building of Christian community, which is the edification in support and encouragement of one's Christian brethren. Paul explained that "Christ died on behalf of us" as a reminder that Christians in turn should also live on behalf of their brethren. Self-sacrifice for the benefit of one's kindred and community is a Christian ideal.
12 Now we ask you, brethren, to know those who are laboring among you, and being set before you in authority and admonishing you, 13 and to esteem them with love beyond excess on account of their work. Live peaceably among yourselves.
The 3rd century papyrus P30, and the Codices Sinaiticus (א) and Claromontanus (D) have the last clause to read "Live peaceably among them." The text follows the Codices Alexandrinus (A) and Vaticanus (B). If the alternate reading is accepted, ostensibly the phrase would refer to "those who are laboring among you, and being set before you in authority and admonishing you", and therefore the effect would be the same since such people should indeed come from one's own community.
14 But we exhort you, brethren, admonish the undisciplined, encourage those of little spirit, put up with those who are weak, be patient towards all.
Paul is not saying, as the King James Version has it, to support those who are weak. In fact, in his second epistle to the Thessalonians he said "that if any would not work, neither should he eat." Rather, the Greek word ἀντέχομαι (Strong's # 472) is "to hold against... .to hold out against, withstand, [or] to endure", according to Liddell & Scott. So by the weak here, Paul is referring to those same people that he had described in Romans chapter 14 or 1 Corinthians chapter 8, for instance where he said "9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak", and then "12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ." So here he admonishes the Thessalonians to endure the weak amongst them.
15 Watch that one does not render evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue good both towards one another and towards all. 16 Always rejoice.
Of course, Paul is speaking of Christian deportment towards one's fellow Christians. A signal example is in Leviticus chapter 19: "18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." But the first example is in the rhetorical question attributed to Cain, which represents a test that Cain himself had failed, where he had asked "Am I my brother's keeper?" And of course, if a man is truly your brother, you have an obligation to be his keeper.
17 Pray incessantly. 18 In everything, be thankful, for this is the will of Yahweh in Christ Yahshua for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise expounding of scripture, 21 but scrutinize all things. Hold fast that which is right.
The Greek word σβέννυμι (Strong's # 4570) is literally quench here, where the sense surely would allow such words as inhibit or suppress. Paul used the word again in Ephesians chapter 6 in reference to quenching the "fiery darts of the wicked." The Greek word προφητεία is a noun, and here it is "expounding of scripture", but is usually and literally prophecy. Prophecy can mean one of three things in the New Testament: the revelation of things not normally known (John 4:19, 1 Corinthians 14:25), the interpreting of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:14), as the Greeks understood the word to mean "the gift of interpreting the will of the gods" (Liddell & Scott), and lastly, the relation of the Word of God foretelling future events, as the Old Testament prophets had done.
22 Abstain from every sort of wickedness.
23 Now may Yahweh of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your perfect spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Prince Yahshua Christ.
We amended the word order slightly at the beginning of this verse. The inference is that God Himself is a God of peace. That is true, once it is understood that peace requires the observance of His law. The true peacekeepers are those who keep His law, and the true peacemakers are those who exhort men to keep His law.
As Christ had said in Matthew chapter 5: "9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." And as it says in the Proverbs: "He that winks with his eyes deceitfully, procures griefs for men; but he that reproves boldly is a peacemaker" (Proverbs 10:10, from the Septuagint).
24 He calling you is trustworthy, Who will also produce. 25 Brethren, you also pray for us.
And as we hope to have exhibited in our first segment of this presentation of 1 Thessalonians, those who are called are called because they are of the children of the ancient Israelites whom Yahweh God had promised to call. If Yahweh is indeed trustworthy, then the people who are called in Christ are the same people He promised to call in the Old Testament. Otherwise, He is not trustworthy. But Identity Christians know that God is true.
26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Prince: the letter is to be read to all the [A and the MT interpolate "holy"; the text follows א, B, and D] brethren.
This final verse indicates that there may have been some division among the Thessalonians concerning these things, which Paul had not previously mentioned, and which perhaps hoped to rectify by his answers here.
28 The favor of our Prince Yahshua Christ is with you [א, A, and the MT ἀμήν, "Truly" or "Amen", at the end of this verse; the text follows B and D].
This concludes our presentation of Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians. Praise Yahweh, for there will indeed be a rapture of the wicked.


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FDA proposes Changes in Sterility Testing of Biological Products
After first activities on a European level to revise the chapter 5.1.6. "Modern Microbiological Methods", the latest edition of the Federal Register (Vol. 76, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 21, 2011) now shows a very important announcement about the sterility test of biological products. If the proposal will pass it will mark a step forward towards the adoption of rapid and alternative microbiological methods.
The proposed rule is intended to provide manufacturers of biological products with greater flexibility and to encourage the use of the most appropriate and state-of-the-art test methods for assuring the safety of biological products.
Several changes are proposed:
Eliminations of specified sterility test methods, culture media formulae (or formulations), and culture media test requirements
Elimination of specified membrane filtration procedure requirement for certain products
Elimination of specified sterility test requirements for most bulk material
Modification of the repeat sterility test requirements, so that repeat tests would occur only once for each lot
Replacement of the storage and maintenance requirements for cultures of test organisms used to determine the ''growth-promoting qualities'' of culture media with: (1) Validation requirements specifying that any sterility test used is able to consistently detect the presence of viable contaminating microorganisms and (2) verification of ''growth promoting properties'' 6 or microorganism-detection capabilities of test and test components
Replacement of the sample size or amount requirement with a requirement that the sample be appropriate with regard to the material being tested
Replacement of the interpretation of test results paragraph under § 610.12(c) with a requirement that manufacturers establish, implement and follow written procedures for sterility testing that describe, at a minimum, the test method used, the method of sampling and the written specifications for acceptance or rejection of each lot; and
Simplification of the Exceptions paragraph under § 610.12(c).
Please also see the Federal Register for the complete document.
A unique possibility to discuss proposed changes with representatives of the European and US authorities provides the "Rapid Microbiological Methods Conference" in Berlin, Germany, from 7-8 December 2011.
Axel H. Schroeder
Increasing Number of FDA Warning Letters in the Area of Hand Disinfection
New FDA Draft Guidance - Microbiological Quality Control of Non-Sterile Medicinal Products
New FDA Q&As on Endotoxin Testing
FDA Warning Letter due to contaminated Hand Disinfectants
FDA: Warnings about Side Effects and Contamination with Hand Disinfectants
The End for the Rabbit Test - only Alternative Methods in 5 Years


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Mohammed Aman after winning the 800m at the 2014 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha (Deca Text & Bild) © Copyright
02 MAY 2015 General News Doha, Qatar
Kiprop, Aman, Felix and Hassan the latest stars for Doha – IAAF Diamond League
Asbel Kiprop and Mohammed Aman will meet over 800m at the Doha 2015 meeting on 15 May while Allyson Felix will chase her 11th victory at the IAAF Diamond League meeting.
The trio are among the latest group of reigning global champions who will compete at the opening competition of the 14-meeting Diamond League series which gets underway for the sixth straight year in the Qatari capital.
Kiprop and Aman are familiar faces in Qatar. Kiprop has won both the 800m and 1500m in Doha, the former in 2011 and the latter at the meeting's past two editions. His 3:29.18 performance last year was a meeting record, coming after winning his second world title over the distance.
"I love racing in Doha," said Kiprop, who also took Olympic 1500m gold in 2008. "The fields are always strong and the conditions always very good for fast races. I hope to have another good performance this year. But it will be tough."
Aman, who'll have the vociferous support of Ethiopian fans who come out in force each year, is the world 800m champion both indoors and outdoors, and won over the distance in Doha last year.
The field will also include Nijel Amos of Botswana, the Olympic silver medallist.
Felix looking for third 200m win
Felix is even more familiar with Doha. The Olympic 200m champion will be gunning for her third victory on the Doha track over the distance.
"Starting my season in Doha is really a tradition for me, and I'm really looking forward to returning," said Felix, whose 10 victories in Doha include three in the 100m, two in the 200m and five consecutively in the 400m from 2007 to 2011.
"I love running in Doha where we know the conditions will be just about perfect and the competition excellent."
The three-time world 200m champion will face Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure, who took silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
The women's 1500m will not be bereft of star power either. Leading the field will be Sweden's Abeba Aregawi, the world indoor and outdoor champion over the distance, who won the Diamond Race in the event in 2012 and 2013. Her 3:56.60 victory in Doha in 2013 was the fastest run in the world that year.
She'll take on Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. 2014 proved to be a stellar season for Hassan who won at the IAAF Continental Cup and the European Championships, where she defeated Aregawi, and was the fastest woman in the world.
Defending Kenyan pride will be Faith Kipyegon, the 2011 world youth and 2012 world junior champion, who clocked a sensational 3:56.98 personal best in Doha in 2013 behind Aregawi.
"These latest names show our commitment to bringing not only the best athletes to Doha, but to providing top-class rivalries and competition as well," said Dahlan Al Hamad, President of the Qatar Athletics Federation.
"We know that the athletics world will be looking forward to the great men's 800m race and Abeba Aregawi and Sifan Hassan once meeting in the 1500m.
"And of course, we're always delighted to invite back Allyson Felix, who has thrilled, competed and won here already so many times," he added.
Reese returns
Long jumper Brittney Reese returns to the scene of her 7.25m career best in 2013 to lead the field in her speciality.
The 28-year-old US athlete has won three straight world titles outdoors, the 2010 and 2012 world crowns indoors and the 2012 Olympic gold medal, along with back-to-back Diamond Race trophies in 2010 and 2011.
She'll face compatriot Tianna Bartoletta, a former world indoor and outdoor champion who won the Diamond Race last season, and Serbia's European indoor champion Ivana Spanovic.
Another athlete returning to familiar territory is Blanka Vlasic, a four-time high jump winner in Doha from 2007 to 2010.
Vlasic, twice both the world indoor and outdoor champion, and the 2010 and 2011 Diamond Race winner, will face European champion Ruth Beitia of Spain. Beitia, now 36, finished third at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, won by Vlasic.
Organisers for the IAAF
Sign up for the 2015 Fantasy Diamond Race
2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar
Doha, QAT – 15 May
Shanghai, CHN – 17 May
Eugene, USA – 30 May
Rome, ITA – 4 June
Birmingham, GBR – 7 June
Oslo, NOR – 11 June
New York, USA – 13 June
Paris, FRA – 4 July
Lausanne, SUI – 9 July
Monaco, MON – 17 July
London, GBR – 24-25 July
Stockholm, SWE – 30 July
Zurich, SUI – 3 September
Brussels, BEL – 11 September
02 MAY 2015 Report Men's 4x400m round 1 – IAAF/BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015
02 MAY 2015 News IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 promoted at the Bird's Nest stadium
Mohammed Aman after winning the 800m at the 2014 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha (Deca Text & Bild) © Copyright
Kenya's Asbel Kiprop on his way to winning the 1500m in Doha (Deca Text & Bild) © Copyright
Brittney Reese sails out to 7.25m in the Long Jump at the 2013 Doha Diamond League (Errol Anderson) © Copyright
2.05m season opener for Blanka Vlasic in Doha (Getty Images/AFP) © Copyright
Dazzling double for Allyson Felix in Doha (Getty/AFP) © Copyright
Blanka Vlasic
Brittney Reese
Asbel Kiprop
Mohammed Aman
Abeba Aregawi
Nijel Amos
1500 Metres
Doha Diamond League
24 APR 2015 IAAF Diamond League – Doha and Shanghai set to provide thrilling start
18 APR 2015 16 meeting records will be targeted in Doha – IAAF Diamond League
31 MAR 2015 Farah to run 3000m in Doha – IAAF Diamond League
15 MAR 2015 Lavillenie to open 2015 IAAF Diamond League campaign in Doha


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Crackers & Cheese go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Soft spreadable cheeses are usually made with cultures. Don't let that scare you they are easy to use, make and store. Add these to a little bit of dairy allowing them to do their job and you have the beginning of a very tasty soft cheese. Your family and friends will love that you make fresh cheese without preservatives and will request them at every family affair.
These classes are so easy that we take the cultures on the road to different venues and teaches hundreds and thousands how to make fresh cheese. Have a business, farm or organization you would like to offer classes too? No problem. Contact: sharon@hobbyhillfarmfresh.com and we can put together a quote.


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Plantation Terrace is a subdivision within the city of Plantation, Florida. There are currently 1 Homes for Sale within Plantation Terrace, with asking prices ranging from $123,000 to $123,000. The average list price per square foot of the available inventory in Plantation Terrace is $132, which is below the Plantation average of $225. Waterfront homes represent 0.00% of the available Plantation Terrace inventory. The population of Plantation, according to the 2010 Census, is 84,955. The total number of households in the zip code of Plantation is 12,470, with an average household size for of 2.82 people. The total number of renter households within the zip code of is 2,699, which means that 78.36% of households in this zipcode are owner occupant households.


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How To Photo of the Month: Tim Wright
Photo of the Month: Tim Wright
We catch up with Tim Wright, the photographer behind February's Photo of the Month. The intrepid liveaboard photographer took this shot—which our associate art director best described as "gnarly"—of the Class 40 Voiles 44 during the RORC Caribbean 600.
The Class 40 Voiles 44 during the RORC Caribbean 600. Photo: RORC/Tim Wright/www.photoaction.com
**Tell us about this shot. **
What I like about this shot is the extreme sea state, emphasized by the boat being half hidden in the trough of the wave. It was taken off the eastern tip of St. Barts at 8:30 a.m. I covered the race start from a helicopter and had it drop me off in Barbuda. I chartered a small sailboat in Antigua and had it meet me, with my RIB, in Barbuda so I could shoot the North Sails mark close to the island. After all the boats had passed, we set sail overnight to St. Barts. I transferred to the RIB at the first hint of light, and I was on station photographing the boats as soon as there was enough light to take a picture—before 7 a.m.
I'm sure a lot of sailors who race in the Caribbean have seen you out in that RIB and ask why you choose that boat!
My RIB is an 11-ft., 6-in. AB inflatable with an aluminum hull. There are numerous reasons why I prefer to work from a small RIB, which I drive myself. One is that I can carry it on the deck of my 43-ft. ketch and work with it all over the Caribbean. Another is that it is extremely maneuverable, and I can place it with precision without having to explain my intentions to a driver. It is also nice to be low down and close to the water, which is one of the reasons this shot works so well.
Photo: James Robinson Taylor/www.jrtphoto.com
Tim well-secured and shooting in St. Tropez.
How do you get in position to shoot?
My usual technique is to place myself in the path of the approaching boat and stay there taking photos as long as I dare. With a little dab of throttle I can slip out of the way at the last minute. Obviously I need a reliable engine! Another advantage of the small RIB is that it does not faze the helmsman as much as a larger boat would. I am relying on him to hold his course and trust me to get out of the way.
Any close calls out there?
It handles heavy weather surprisingly well. I have only been tipped out of a RIB once so far, and that was nearly 20 years ago with a different kind of boat. I have been caught out in 40 knots off Sardinia, but I was able to make my way home to windward by putting all my fuel containers and cameras into the bow to stop it being blown into the air and flipping. In comparison 25 knots off St. Barts is fairly routine.
What's next for you?
I am still based on my boat most of the time. In the summer I leave it in Trinidad and go to Europe for a few regattas.
Where's your favorite place to work?
I don't really have a favorite, although I do like Antigua and Porto Cervo (Sardinia) very much.
_Check out more photos from the RORC Caribbean 600 by Tim Wright, and visit his website.
Click here to find previous editions of Photo of the Month.
More photo of the month, photography, Sailing How To
More How To
How to Build a Sailing Team
How to Do a Late-Main Jibe
Steering Techniques For Different Winds
How to Use Jib Telltales


Is Your Retirement Account Ready for 2017s Required Minimum Distribution?
Understanding how to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts can seem complicated at first, particularly if a retiree holds more than one type of account (e.g., IRA, 401k). Understanding how to correctly make withdrawals is important for following IRS rules and avoiding hefty penalties that can arise when distribution deadlines are missed. While it can be tricky, RMDs need not be dreaded. Here are the fast facts every retiree needs when it comes to RMD.
Beginning in the calendar year in which one turns 70½, account holders are required to make a minimum withdrawal from retirement accounts before December 31. The only exception is in the first year one is required to take a RMD, when withdrawals can be delayed until April 1 of the following year.
RMD is calculated by taking the IRA balance as of December 31 the year prior and dividing it by a life expectancy factor found in the IRS' Uniform Lifetime Table.
Failure to meet the end-of-year deadline can lead to substantial tax penalties. The IRS can assess an excise tax equal to half of the RMD that should have been withdrawn by year's end.
Everyone has tasks we'd rather ignore until the last minute, like doing our taxes or going in for a medical check-up. For folks who are 70 and older, one annual, sometimes-onerous task is calculating and taking required withdrawals from their retirement account. While the yearly process can seem opaque at first, when the brush is cleared, taking a RMD is a fairly straightforward proposition, albeit with some nuances along the way.
From the perspective of the IRS, an IRA holder has already received many benefits by the time they reach 70. They received the benefit of an income tax deduction each year a retirement plan contribution was made, and they enjoyed the benefit of tax deferral and presumably greater growth in the account value over many years. At some point, the IRS wants distributions, and it secures it through RMD, forcing IRA holders to withdraw money such that it can be taxed.
The type of retirement account dictates how the account owner might approach RMD. If one owns a 401k or 403b account with an employer, there is a "still working exception" that may allow RMDs to be delayed beyond age 70½, provided that the holder is still working for the company and they don't own more than 5% of the company. Meanwhile, there are no RMDs from a Roth IRA, during the holder's lifetime. If the holder dies and passes the Roth IRA on to heirs, they are required to start taking RMDs. Thus, the type of IRA or employer-sponsored plan an individual holds informs how they go about calculating RMD.
RMD is calculated by taking the IRA balance as of December 31 the year prior and dividing it by a life expectancy factor found in the IRS' Uniform Lifetime Table. For example, an individual turns 73 in 2016, and according to the Uniform Lifetime Table, their life expectancy factor is 24.7. Thus, if the balance of the IRA on December 31, 2015, was $600,000, the individual's 2016 RMD is $24,292 ($600,000/24.7). Note that if the IRA owner's spouse is the sole beneficiary of the IRA, and they are more than 10 years younger than the owner, a different table ("Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table") is used to calculate the RMD.
This is the same approach for calculating and withdrawing aggregate RMD from 403(b) accounts. However, other types of retirement plans, such as 401(k) and 457(b), must withdraw RMD separately from each account. And while there are no RMDs from a Roth IRA (that one owns), if a withdrawal is made from the Roth IRA in a given year, it can't be used to satisfy RMD from any other plan.
All RMDs must be withdrawn by December 31 of the current year. One can withdraw the entire RMD at one time or in installments throughout the year. The only exception to this is during the first year an individual is required to take an RMD, in which case they may delay taking RMD until April 1 the following year. Importantly, however, if the withdrawal is deferred until the following year, the account holder is still required to take a full RMD, in addition to the RMD carried over from the prior year.
All of these details are important, in part, because a failure to meet the end-of-year deadline can lead to substantial tax penalties. The IRS can assess an excise tax equal to half of the RMD that should have been withdrawn by year's end. If one's RMD is $24,292, as in the example above, the excise tax could exceed $12,000, and because the RMD was not taken, payment for the tax may fall squarely on the shoulders of one's investment accounts and retirement income. All for missing a deadline.
That said, the IRS is not entirely unreasonable. After a missed deadline, one should: immediately withdraw the RMD; report the missed deadline on IRS Form 5329; and include a letter to the IRS explaining why the deadline was missed and what steps were taken to ensure RMDs are taken on time in the future. There's no guarantee the IRS will respond favorably, but facing a 50% excise tax, it's worth a shot.
RMD can be tricky, but it need not be dreaded. With advanced planning, collaboration with one's financial advisor, plan sponsor or plan custodian and attention to details and deadlines, the annual withdrawals can be something to look forward to and not something to fret.
This information is designed for general use with the public and is for informational or educational purposes only. It is not intended or should be construed as investment advice and is not a recommendation for retirement savings.


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Princeton Arts Fellows for 2018-20 Announced
Jul 29, 2018 | In The News | 0 |
Composer/lyricist César Alvarez and sound artist/musician Jess Rowland Composer and lyricist César Alvarez and sound artist and musician Jess Rowland have been named Princeton University Arts Fellows for 2018-20 and will begin two years of teaching and community collaboration in September.
The Arts Fellows program of the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton provides support for early-career artists who have demonstrated both extraordinary promise and a record of achievement in their fields with the opportunity to further their work while teaching within a liberal arts context. Funded in part by the Mellon Foundation, David E. Kelley Society of Fellows in the Arts, and the Maurice R. Greenberg Scholarship Fund, Fellows are selected for a two-year residency to teach a course each semester or, in lieu of a course, to undertake an artistic assignment that deeply engages undergraduate students, such as directing a play, conducting a music ensemble, or choreographing a dance piece. Fellows are expected to be active members of the University's intellectual and artistic community while in residence; in return, they are provided the resources and spaces necessary to their work.
Alvarez and Rowland were selected from a large, diverse, and multi-talented pool of 395 applicants in dance, music, creative writing, theater, and the visual arts.
"Since launching this program, we find ourselves amazed on a yearly basis at the extraordinary artists who throw their hats in the ring in the hopes of enjoying this unusual opportunity to teach at a world-class university while being given the time to create new work," said Michael Cadden, Chair of the Lewis Center. "Past fellows have served as catalysts in our classrooms and on our stages – igniting new ways of working and thinking about the arts. Jess and César are well-poised to continue this relatively new Princeton tradition. We deeply admire the work they've produced so far in their careers, and we can't wait to see what they and their collaborators come up with during their time at Princeton!"
cesar alvarez
Composer and lyricist César Alvarez. Photo by Sammy Tunis
César Alvarez is a New York-based composer, lyricist, and writer. His work lives in the intersection of music, theater, and participatory performance. Alvarez has written four full-length musicals, released four albums with his band The Lisps, and composed scores for contemporary dance, plays and film. His musical Futurity received the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, four additional Lortel nominations, and the 2016 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical. Alvarez has also received two Drama Desk nominations, a Jonathan Larson Award, and a Sundance/Ucross Fellowship. His recent composition credits include The Elementary Spacetime Show presented at FringeArts/University of the Arts in Philadelphia; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon presented at Soho Rep and Theatre for a New Audience in New York City; Washeteria presented at Soho Rep; and The Foundry Theater's Good Person of Szechwan at LaMaMa and the Public Theater, in addition to Futurity presented at Soho Rep/Ars Nova, American Repertory Theater, Walker Art Center, and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. His current works in development include The Universe is a Small Hat, a multiplayer participatory musical at Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, Civilians R&D Group, PRELUDE NYC, Babycastles, and Sarah Lawrence College; and NOISE at New York Univesity/Playwrights Downtown. Alvarez is the founding artistic director of Polyphone, a festival of new musicals at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and received his M.F.A. at Bard College.
jess rowland
Sound artist and musician Jess Rowland. Photo by Max Lee
In fall 2018 he will teach a new course exploring the emerging fields of participatory theater, interactive performance, social gaming, and system-based storytelling.
Jess Rowland is a sound artist, musician, and composer. Much of her work explores the relationship between technologies, popular culture and "other absurdities," investigating "the weirdness of reality and how we all deal with it." In addition to an active art practice, she has taught sound art at The School of Visual Arts in New York and continues to present her work internationally. She received her M.F.A. from the University of California Berkeley where she worked in Adrian Freed's Research Lab at the Center for New Music and Audio Technology, developing techniques for embedded sound and flexible speaker arrays. She describes her work as continually aiming to reconcile the world of art and the world of science. She has been affiliated with neuroscience labs at New York University and elsewhere, researching music perception, and she has published in the fields of auditory neurosciences and music technologies. Recent installations and performances include the New York Electronic Arts Festival, Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, Berkeley Art Museum, Dartmouth Hood Museum, Harvestworks, and Spectrum NYC.
She will teach a course titled "Sound Art" in the fall through the Program in Visual Arts.
The next round of Fellowship applications will begin in July with a mid-September deadline. Guidelines will be posted on the Lewis Center website at http://arts.princeton.edu/fellowships/. For questions about the Fellowship program, write to
lca-fellowships@princeton.edu.
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JOHN LEWIS IN STATE
TRIBUTE TO JOHN LEWIS 2/21/1940-7/17/2020
THE BABIES ARE WATCHING


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Q: Highcharts - How to remove connecting line between fixed tooltip and point We've just updated to the latest Highcharts version and now a few of our chart types have a new line connecting the tooltip to the point.
It's mainly obvious on charts with fixed tooltips.
Does anyone know how to remove this line without removing the border of the tooltip itself?
I have come up with a work around that involves setting the borderwidth of the tooltip to 0 and adding a rounded, bordered, coloured div to the tooltip using useHTML:true and disabling the shadow.
Though I dont want to do this for every chart as it seems a bit nasty.
This also affects bar and tree maps that I can see and I've trawled the documentation to no avail.

http://jsfiddle.net/mattscotty/bqw4bc4x/1/
Highcharts.chart('container', {
title: {
    text: 'Fixed tooltip'
},

tooltip: {
    positioner: function () {
        return { x: 80, y: 50 };
    },
    backgroundColor: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.8)',

    //Uncomment below to remove line, but this also removes tooltip border
    //borderWidth:0,
    //shadow:false
},

xAxis: {
    categories: ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar']
},

series: [{
    data: [29.9, 71.5, 106.4]
}, {
    data: [194.1, 95.6, 54.4]
}]
});

Thanks in advance.

A: By default tooltip's shape is set to a callout which has a chevron/line pointing to the point. You can change the tooltip's shape to, e.g. rectangle - which does not have any connector.
tooltip: {
    positioner: function () {
        return { x: 80, y: 50 };
    },
    backgroundColor: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.8)',
    shape: 'rect'

example: http://jsfiddle.net/bqw4bc4x/2/

A: The accepted answer only partially worked in Highstock. The connectors for the volume and indicator tooltips were suppressed, but I still had a connector from the DateTime box to the crosshair.
As an alternative to the shape: 'rect' hack, you can try:
tooltip: {
positioner: function () {
    return { x: 80, y: 50 };
},
split: false,
shared: true,
backgroundColor: 'rgba(255,255,255,0.8)'

These split: and shared: settings consolidate all the tooltip boxes into a single box. Provided that this meets your needs it seems to solve the connector issue.
Very odd design decision by Highcharts. The connectors are highly intrusive visually and I can't imagine that many designers will want to use them, but you can only disable them with a hack. What were they thinking?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Celebrating our choral legacy: 65 years of choral excellence at KCC
The year 2020 was a quieter one than most in Kellogg Community College's storied 65-year history, with the silent halls perhaps nowhere more noticeable than the music wing of the Davidson Visual and Performing Arts Center.
The Davidson Center is home to two of the College's three residential choirs – the Concentus Vocal Ensemble and the Kellogg Singers – as well as the College's Opera Workshop Ensemble, Jazz Band and the KCC/Community Music School Concert Band. (The third KCC choir, the Branch County Community Chorus, is housed at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in downtown Coldwater.)
On an average school day in the building, voices can be heard rising and falling from the choir room, piano keys tinkling through the muffled soundproofing of the practice rooms. But when the College closed to in-person learning in mid-March last year due to COVID-19, the music stopped.
Dr. Gerald Case-Blanchard, director of Vocal Arts at KCC and coordinator of the College's music programming, worked tirelessly throughout the year to make sure it didn't stop for long, leading virtual classes and lessons and showcasing past performances by faculty, students and guest artists on the program area's online platforms to mitigate the absence of what would normally be a season filled with dozens of musical performances in the communities the College serves.
The choirs even released their first-ever professionally produced virtual choir performance in January, a video production that required more than a dozen KCC choir members to record their parts alone for later editing. Two similar productions are currently in the works and scheduled for release in the coming months.
Case-Blanchard said the project, and others like it, have been creative ways to keep students singing and expressing themselves at a challenging time when music is perhaps more needed than ever.
"During this era of COVID, political and social unrest, coupled with economic hardship, the one thing that can help heal broken hearts is music," Case-Blanchard said. "We often hear that music is the universal language. However, I also believe that music serves as a balm for the soul."
Case-Blanchard and company will bring that balm to the community again this spring, with a major online event titled "A Celebration of Performing Arts at KCC: A Virtual Gala" to be held on April 27. The event is a celebration of music and theatre programming at the College spanning six decades – 2021 marks the 65th anniversary of choral programming at KCC – and will double as a fundraiser for KCC performing arts initiatives.
A Legacy of Music
The history of choir at Kellogg Community College is in many ways a history of the College itself.
The first KCC choir began in 1956, the year the College was founded as Battle Creek Community College at the Grand Army of the Republic Hall in downtown Battle Creek. The Battle Creek Community College Choir was formally established by Alfred Giff "Pops" Richards, KCC's first choral director, and became the Kellogg Community College Choir (and eventually the Kellogg Singers) when the College changed its name in 1959. Richards had previously founded the similarly named Battle Creek Community Chorus and the Battle Creek Central High School A Capella Choir, among other groups.
A handful of others led the KCC choir through the 1960s, notably directors Harriet Batchelder (1964-66) and Harold Burch (1966-68), before Gordon Smith began a record 19-year tenure as director that ran from 1969 until his retirement 1988.
Additional highlights from KCC's history include the founding of the College's Opera Workshop and the Kellogg Singers' first concert tour under the directorship of Robert Walker (1996-2001); the latter tour culminated with a performance at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1996. The following director, Deric Craig (2001-04) brought increased choir participation in local music festivals, concerts on and off campus and the founding of the Branch County Community Chorus in 2001, which is celebrating its own 20th anniversary this year.
Case-Blanchard, entering his 17th year of choral directing at KCC, is quick to acknowledge the contributions of such choral champions over the years, who "kept the tradition of singing beautiful choral music vibrant in the Battle Creek community and at the college" and who "laid the groundwork for our musical landscape and its vibrant choral community which still exists today."
That community, according to Case-Blanchard's estimate, includes more than 5,000 choral students whose voices have been lifted in the various halls and classrooms at Kellogg Community College since 1956. The audiences those voices spoke to number in the tens of thousands.
"As the current director of the choral program at KCC, I continue to reflect on the many milestone achievements throughout our past, while simultaneously celebrating what has been achieved in recent years," Case-Blanchard said. "However, it is in knowing the love and dedication each of my predecessors held for the institution, their students and the power of choral music that makes me do my absolute best to continue and to preserve the legacy of these great musical powerhouses."
Forging New Paths
Choral programming at KCC has continued to grow and to expand its repertoire since Case-Blanchard took the helm in 2004. A particular emphasis over the past decade has been on musical collaboration, and under the leadership of Case-Blanchard the choirs have established relationships with musical organizations throughout the state.
The choirs have collaborated in recent years with organizations including the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music in Kalamazoo, the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and the Haydn Festival Orchestra, and participate in a biannual performance of G.F. Handel's "Messiah" with the Monroe Community Chorale and Symphony at the historic IHM Motherhouse Chapel in Monroe. The choirs have even opened for internationally renowned musical groups including Sweet Honey in the Rock and Take 6.
In the years since Case-Blanchard established a biannual touring program in 2007, the KCC Choral Union has performed nationally at major venues in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and performed international concert tours of Ireland and Italy in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Plans are in the works for concert tours of the southern U.S., Canada and for another trip to Europe.
Case-Blanchard said such touring initiatives benefit the individual participants on numerous levels, and "help to foster the growth of our program through intense shared artistic experiences."
Today, in addition to the College's residential choirs, KCC's Arts and Communication Department offers a robust music program including an Associate of Arts degree with a music concentration and certificates in Music Enrichment and Sacred Music, the latter a particularly unique offering among community colleges in the state of Michigan. Additional music opportunities for students and community members offered through the College include individualized voice and instrument lessons, master classes, student recitals, an annual Opera Workshop and other music initiatives, including youth performance camps.
It's a big expansion from the single choir formed when the College was just a fledgling institution operating out of the GAR Hall 65 years ago, and speaks to a proud tradition that isn't lost on the choirs' current director.
"KCC's choral programming evolved from a music club into a more formal singing organization in the late 1950s because the founding members and their passionate leader, Pops Richards, found great joy through the choral tradition, a tradition which continues to be the cornerstone of the program today," Case-Blanchard said. "The choirs at KCC continue to forge new paths as we look forward to the next 65 years of music-making experiences."
A Celebration of Performing Arts
Individuals interested in learning more about KCC's long tradition of choral excellence or in celebrating the choir (and the College's) 65th anniversary with a focus on performing arts can join Case-Blanchard and others during the free "A Celebration of Performing Arts at KCC: A Virtual Gala" event online on April 27. The event will feature the talents of the KCC choirs, alumni, theatre cast members and faculty artists, as well as remarks from notable KCC theatre alumnus Lance Barber, who stars in the sitcom "Young Sheldon" on CBS.
Attendees can register for the event in advance or make a donation to support performing arts initiatives at KCC online at www.bit.ly/KCCGala21.
For more information about music programming and initiatives at KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/music.
KCC Choir Milestones: 1956-Present
1956: Battle Creek Community College Music Club organized by Wendell Thorngate. The Music Club eventually evolved into the Battle Creek Community College Choir but was formally established as the latter by Alfred G. "Pops" Richards, KCC's first choral director.
1956-57: Battle Creek Community College Choir founded.
1959: BCCC Choir becomes the Kellogg Community College Choir/Kellogg Singers under the leadership of choral director Alfred G. Richards.
1996: KCC Opera Workshop founded; Kellogg Singers first concert tour and performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
2001: Branch County Community Chorus founded under the leadership of choral director Deric Craig.
2004: KCC Choral Union presents Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" in Lansing with the Lansing Chamber Symphony.
2006: KCC Choral Union partners with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra for the first time in KCC choral history to present Peter Boyer's "Dreaming a World." The performance was the first of nearly half a dozen major collaborations with the symphony since.
2007: KCC Choral Union biannual concert touring program established. The first tour featured performances through Illinois and Indiana.
2007: Kellogg Singers open for the internationally renowned ensemble Take 6 at Miller Auditorium as part of the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music in Kalamazoo.
2008: KCC Choral Union tour through Ohio, featuring concert performances at the Toledo Museum of Art and other prestigious institutions.
2010: Kellogg Singers open for three-time Grammy award nominated ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock at Miller Auditorium in the choirs' second collaboration with the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music.
2010: KCC Choral Union tour through Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.
2012: First international concert tour, with performances through Ireland.
2012: KCC Choral Union debuts with the Monroe Community Chorale and Symphony Orchestra to present Handel's "Messiah" at the historic IHM Motherhouse Chapel in Monroe.
2014: Second international concert tour, with performances along the Almafi Coast of Italy and in Rome.
2014: KCC Opera Workshop presents its first major opera production with Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors." The production featured a chorus consisting of members from all of the College's residential choirs accompanied by a 14-piece orchestra.
2016: KCC Opera Workshop presents world premiere of Michigan composer Karen Phipps' "Snow White: The Opera" in December.
2018: KCC Choral Union tour through Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
KCC Choral Directors: 1956-Present
Alfred G. Richards, founding director of the KCC choral program (1956-1959)
Harriet Batchelder (1964-1966)
Harold Burch (1966-1968)
Gordon Smith (1969-1988)
Suzanne Bedient (1990-1992)
David Young (1993-1994)
Mark Wherry (1994-1995)
Robert Walker (1996-2001)
Deric Craig, founding director of the Branch County Community Chorus, (2001-2004)
Dr. Gerald J. Case-Blanchard (2004-Present)
Arts, Community, Events, Features choir, music
KCC baseball falls to rival KVCC in tough weekend contest
KCC women's soccer team opens 2020-21 season


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Q: NeDB regex operator called with non regular expression I'm trying to search string using regex as below:
db.find({ consignee: { $regex: /test/ } }, function (err, docs) {

});

But it is throwing error
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