We cannot do away with trash or unwanted things from our house or in our compound. Where do we throw them to? That is a question that most will not want to answer because they throw away their garbage and trash in a helter-skelter manner. The final thing of these is dirtying your compound and place of residence. That is why we have the Top 10 Best Office Dustbins that you can get with us.
The dustbin that you have just seen here is one that has been made with the best design and materials that make it be durable. When you have it, you are sure to keep your area clean from any litter around you and it will also add some style to your outdoor area that makes it great. It also has a latching lid that keeps the liter intact all the time.
The strong steel pedal that has been fitted into the system is put to ensure that it is able to last over 150,000 steps. This more than 20 steps that you can make a day for around 20 years. There is a patented silent close lid that has been designed well to ensure that it is able to control the motion of the lid so that you have that slow and silent close.
This can is able to seal off the bad odor that is generated by litter as you dump it continuously into the can. This process is also able to ensure that there is no cross-contamination of germ because they will all be kept in and the lid will not be harboring any that will reach you. The stainless steel is anti-fingerprint free and that makes it ideal to fit in any place that you want to put it.
This is a super-size can that is able to carry more and retain more trash than others out there. It has been given a wide opening so that you have a more friendly use. The sleek design used also to make it makes your environment become neat as you collect any trash. It also has been designed with an infrared motion sensor capacity that is able to detect any motion with the inches that the sensor has been set to.
This product always comes with a set of two butts he technology that has been used to make it is what makes it have that unique outstanding feature all the time. It is an anti-fingerprint can that will not harbor your fingerprints when you touch it around due to the strong steel that has been used to make it. You need to put batteries on the cans so that they are able to run automatically so that they are able to use the sensor technology.
This is a can that has been made with a large capacity so that it is able to take care of your trash once and for all. There is a built in the plastic bag that has been fitted with a ring on the inside so that it does not leave any excess plastic bag that can be seen. The interface that has been given to this item is friendly and convenient for you to have an easy operation.
This can is a perfect one to be used in the bathroom or any other room that need a small can to hold loose trash that is thrown into it bit by bit. It has a semi-oval shape that is better for use with plastic shopping bags. The can has also been given a good price so that you can readily get in a blink of an eye. Make your order and rip the benefits.
You can hang this trash securely on your door cabinet so that you can have an easy access to it while you are going on with your busy house chores. If you want a cleaner look, then make a plan of having this item with you. The handler will hold the bucket securely so that you are able to lift it out for emptying when you want to.
There is a secure slide lock that has been fitted into the trash so that it takes care of your trash when you have deposited it in your dust can. The pedal that has been designed with a strong steel pedal that will give you an easier opening and closing when you want to deposit your trash in it. It has also a better color that will give you a simplicity of using it anywhere in your house.
The products that we have here for you are perfect in garbage collection and storage. They have been also made with the best materials that are out there so that they fit into your décor both in the house and in the environment. For better storage practice, there is an introduction of a lid that is closed by use of a better system so that you don't get germs from the thrown away items.


text:
Science magnified and magnificent
Researchers and students from IHMRI, the University of Wollongong (UOW) and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Disctrict (ISLHD) will showcase their creative talents at a fundraiser for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research
In honour of Associate Professor Justin Yerbury, 55 images taken by researchers of their work will be presented at the art exhibition, Magnified.
IHMRI PhD candidate Rachelle Balez and Research Assistant Clare Watson incubated the idea for a science art exhibition after recognising the beauty and creativity in their work and that of their colleagues.
"As researchers looking at the human body, we see these amazing images of cells or proteins through a microscope everyday and it's easy to forget how fascinating they are," said Rachelle Balez.
Other researchers from materials science, chemistry, engineering and environmental biology have also contributed to the exhibition.
"There are so many amazing and creative images that are locked away in a cupboard or on a hard drive in a lab. We want to share our work with the community," she added.
Magnified will be held at the TAEM Gallery in Building 25 at UOW. Many of the researchers who donated their images will be attending the opening night function on Thursday 5 July at 5.30pm. The exhibition is open to the public from Friday 6 July to Friday 20 July.
"The art show runs over the school holidays and we think it will be a great activity for school kids – or anyone who is interested in looking at the world around us in a different way" said Clare Watson. "It will be thought-provoking and educational, giving the community a better understanding of research that is happening here in the Illawarra," she added.
All the artworks in the exhibition will be for sale to raise funds for MND research at IHMRI.
The funds raised will be used to set up a competitive research grant to help an emerging and talented MND researcher increase their knowledge via collaboration with international experts in the field.
"Ultimately, we want to pay tribute to Justin Yerbury and his contributions to MND research, and we want to continue to support his work at IHMRI."
There are more than 2000 Australians living with the illness.
People with MND progressively lose the use of their arms and legs, their ability to speak, swallow and breathe.
Males are more likely than females to have MND but the cause as to why isn't known.
Louise Negline, Communications Coordinator
E: lnegline@ihmri.org.au
Top picture: Research Assistant Clare Watson and Phd Candidate Rachelle Balez.
Photo by Trudy Simpkin
TAGS:Justin YerburyMNDMotor neurone disease
National fellowship success
Bright ideas projects win medical research funding
Does exposure to stress contribute to psychiatric disorders?
Previous IHMRI expands links with leading Chinese medical university
Next Long-term effects of anti-psychotic medication for children

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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challenges the guys' abilities to simply listen.
guys are tested on their new skill at a local gentleman's club.
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text:
// A gRPC server that classifies images into digit 0-9.
// Given each request with an image pixels encoded as floats, the server
// responds with 10 float values as probabilities for digit 0-9 respectively.
// The classification is done by running image data through a convolutional
// network trained and exported by mnist_model.py.
// The server constantly monitors a file system storage path for models.
// Whenever a new version of model is available, it eagerly unloads older
// version before loading the new one. The server also batches multiple
// requests together and does batched inference for efficiency.
// The intention of this example to demonstrate usage of DymanicManager,
// VersionPolicy and BasicBatchScheduler.

#include <stddef.h>
#include <algorithm>
#include <memory>
#include <string>
#include <vector>

#include "grpc++/completion_queue.h"
#include "grpc++/security/server_credentials.h"
#include "grpc++/server.h"
#include "grpc++/server_builder.h"
#include "grpc++/server_context.h"
#include "grpc++/support/async_unary_call.h"
#include "grpc++/support/status.h"
#include "grpc++/support/status_code_enum.h"
#include "grpc/grpc.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/framework/tensor.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/framework/tensor_types.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/framework/types.pb.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/lib/core/status.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/lib/strings/strcat.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/platform/env.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/platform/init_main.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/platform/types.h"
#include "tensorflow/core/util/command_line_flags.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/batching/basic_batch_scheduler.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/batching/batch_scheduler.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/batching/batch_scheduler_retrier.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/core/manager.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/core/servable_handle.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/core/servable_id.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/example/mnist_inference.grpc.pb.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/example/mnist_inference.pb.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/servables/tensorflow/simple_servers.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/session_bundle/manifest.pb.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/session_bundle/session_bundle.h"
#include "tensorflow_serving/session_bundle/signature.h"

using grpc::InsecureServerCredentials;
using grpc::Server;
using grpc::ServerAsyncResponseWriter;
using grpc::ServerBuilder;
using grpc::ServerContext;
using grpc::ServerCompletionQueue;
using grpc::Status;
using grpc::StatusCode;
using tensorflow::serving::MnistRequest;
using tensorflow::serving::MnistResponse;
using tensorflow::serving::MnistService;
using tensorflow::string;
using tensorflow::Tensor;
using tensorflow::serving::ClassificationSignature;

namespace {
const int kImageSize = 28;
const int kNumChannels = 1;
const int kImageDataSize = kImageSize * kImageSize * kNumChannels;
const int kNumLabels = 10;

class MnistServiceImpl;

// Class encompassing the state and logic needed to serve a request.
class CallData {
 public:
  CallData(MnistServiceImpl* service_impl,
           MnistService::AsyncService* service,
           ServerCompletionQueue* cq);

  void Proceed();

  void Finish(Status status);

  const MnistRequest& request() { return request_; }

  MnistResponse* mutable_response() { return &response_; }

 private:
  // Service implementation.
  MnistServiceImpl* service_impl_;

  // The means of communication with the gRPC runtime for an asynchronous
  // server.
  MnistService::AsyncService* service_;
  // The producer-consumer queue where for asynchronous server notifications.
  ServerCompletionQueue* cq_;
  // Context for the rpc, allowing to tweak aspects of it such as the use
  // of compression, authentication, as well as to send metadata back to the
  // client.
  ServerContext ctx_;

  // What we get from the client.
  MnistRequest request_;
  // What we send back to the client.
  MnistResponse response_;

  // The means to get back to the client.
  ServerAsyncResponseWriter<MnistResponse> responder_;

  // Let's implement a tiny state machine with the following states.
  enum CallStatus { CREATE, PROCESS, FINISH };
  CallStatus status_;  // The current serving state.
};

// A Task holds all of the information for a single inference request.
struct Task : public tensorflow::serving::BatchTask {
  ~Task() override = default;
  size_t size() const override { return 1; }

  Task(CallData* calldata_arg)
      : calldata(calldata_arg) {}

  CallData* calldata;
};

class MnistServiceImpl final {
 public:
  MnistServiceImpl(const string& servable_name,
                   std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Manager> manager);

  void Classify(CallData* call_data);

  // Produces classifications for a batch of requests and associated responses.
  void DoClassifyInBatch(
      std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Batch<Task>> batch);

  // Name of the servable to use for inference.
  const string servable_name_;
  // Manager in charge of loading and unloading servables.
  std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Manager> manager_;
  // A scheduler for batching multiple request calls into single calls to
  // Session->Run().
  std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::BatchScheduler<Task>> batch_scheduler_;
};

// Take in the "service" instance (in this case representing an asynchronous
// server) and the completion queue "cq" used for asynchronous communication
// with the gRPC runtime.
CallData::CallData(MnistServiceImpl* service_impl,
                   MnistService::AsyncService* service,
                   ServerCompletionQueue* cq)
    : service_impl_(service_impl),
      service_(service), cq_(cq), responder_(&ctx_), status_(CREATE) {
  // Invoke the serving logic right away.
  Proceed();
}

void CallData::Proceed() {
  if (status_ == CREATE) {
    // As part of the initial CREATE state, we *request* that the system
    // start processing Classify requests. In this request, "this" acts are
    // the tag uniquely identifying the request (so that different CallData
    // instances can serve different requests concurrently), in this case
    // the memory address of this CallData instance.
    service_->RequestClassify(&ctx_, &request_, &responder_, cq_, cq_, this);
    // Make this instance progress to the PROCESS state.
    status_ = PROCESS;
  } else if (status_ == PROCESS) {
    // Spawn a new CallData instance to serve new clients while we process
    // the one for this CallData. The instance will deallocate itself as
    // part of its FINISH state.
    new CallData(service_impl_, service_, cq_);
    // Start processing.
    service_impl_->Classify(this);
  } else {
    GPR_ASSERT(status_ == FINISH);
    // Once in the FINISH state, deallocate ourselves (CallData).
    delete this;
  }
}

void CallData::Finish(Status status) {
  status_ = FINISH;
  responder_.Finish(response_, status, this);
}

MnistServiceImpl::MnistServiceImpl(
    const string& servable_name,
    std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Manager> manager)
    : servable_name_(servable_name), manager_(std::move(manager)) {
  // Setup a batcher used to combine multiple requests (tasks) into a single
  // graph run for efficiency.
  // The batcher queues tasks until,
  //  (a) the next task would cause the batch to exceed the size target;
  //  (b) waiting for more tasks to be added would exceed the timeout.
  // at which point it processes the entire batch.
  //
  // Use the default batch-size, timeout and thread options.  In general
  // the numbers are extremely performance critical and should be tuned based
  // specific graph structure and usage.
  tensorflow::serving::BasicBatchScheduler<Task>::Options scheduler_options;
  scheduler_options.thread_pool_name = "mnist_service_batch_threads";
  tensorflow::serving::BatchSchedulerRetrier<Task>::Options retry_options;
  // Retain the default retry options.
  TF_CHECK_OK(tensorflow::serving::CreateRetryingBasicBatchScheduler<Task>(
      scheduler_options, retry_options,
      [this](std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Batch<Task>> batch) {
        this->DoClassifyInBatch(std::move(batch));
      },
      &batch_scheduler_));
}

// Creates a gRPC Status from a TensorFlow Status.
Status ToGRPCStatus(const tensorflow::Status& status) {
  return Status(static_cast<grpc::StatusCode>(status.code()),
                status.error_message());
}

// WARNING(break-tutorial-inline-code): The following code snippet is
// in-lined in tutorials, please update tutorial documents accordingly
// whenever code changes.
void MnistServiceImpl::Classify(CallData* calldata) {
  // Verify input.
  if (calldata->request().image_data_size() != kImageDataSize) {
    calldata->Finish(
        Status(StatusCode::INVALID_ARGUMENT,
               tensorflow::strings::StrCat(
                   "expected image_data of size ", kImageDataSize,
                   ", got ", calldata->request().image_data_size())));
    return;
  }

  // Create and submit a task to the batch scheduler.
  std::unique_ptr<Task> task(new Task(calldata));
  tensorflow::Status status = batch_scheduler_->Schedule(&task);

  if (!status.ok()) {
    calldata->Finish(ToGRPCStatus(status));
    return;
  }
}

// Produces classifications for a batch of requests and associated responses.
void MnistServiceImpl::DoClassifyInBatch(
    std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Batch<Task>> batch) {
  batch->WaitUntilClosed();
  if (batch->empty()) {
    return;
  }
  const int batch_size = batch->num_tasks();

  // Replies to each task with the given error status.
  auto complete_with_error = [&batch](StatusCode code, const string& msg) {
    Status status(code, msg);
    for (int i = 0; i < batch->num_tasks(); i++) {
      Task* task = batch->mutable_task(i);
      task->calldata->Finish(status);
    }
  };

  // Get a handle to the SessionBundle.  The handle ensures the Manager does
  // not reload this while it is in use.
  // WARNING(break-tutorial-inline-code): The following code snippet is
  // in-lined in tutorials, please update tutorial documents accordingly
  // whenever code changes.
  auto handle_request =
      tensorflow::serving::ServableRequest::Latest(servable_name_);
  tensorflow::serving::ServableHandle<tensorflow::serving::SessionBundle>
      bundle;
  const tensorflow::Status lookup_status =
      manager_->GetServableHandle(handle_request, &bundle);
  if (!lookup_status.ok()) {
    complete_with_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL,
                        lookup_status.error_message());
    return;
  }

  // Get the default signature of the graph.  Expected to be a
  // classification signature.
  tensorflow::serving::ClassificationSignature signature;
  const tensorflow::Status signature_status =
      GetClassificationSignature(bundle->meta_graph_def, &signature);
  if (!signature_status.ok()) {
    complete_with_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL,
                        signature_status.error_message());
    return;
  }

  // Transform protobuf input to inference input tensor.
  // See mnist_model.py for details.
  // WARNING(break-tutorial-inline-code): The following code snippet is
  // in-lined in tutorials, please update tutorial documents accordingly
  // whenever code changes.
  Tensor input(tensorflow::DT_FLOAT, {batch_size, kImageDataSize});
  auto dst = input.flat_outer_dims<float>().data();
  for (int i = 0; i < batch_size; ++i) {
    std::copy_n(
        batch->mutable_task(i)->calldata->request().image_data().begin(),
        kImageDataSize, dst);
    dst += kImageDataSize;
  }

  // Run classification.
  tensorflow::Tensor scores;
  const tensorflow::Status run_status =
      RunClassification(signature, input, bundle->session.get(),
                        nullptr /* classes */, &scores);
  if (!run_status.ok()) {
    complete_with_error(StatusCode::INTERNAL, run_status.error_message());
    return;
  }
  if (scores.dtype() != tensorflow::DT_FLOAT) {
    complete_with_error(
        StatusCode::INTERNAL,
        tensorflow::strings::StrCat(
            "Expected output Tensor of DT_FLOAT.  Got: ",
            tensorflow::DataType_Name(scores.dtype())));
    return;
  }
  if (scores.dim_size(1) != kNumLabels) {
    complete_with_error(
        StatusCode::INTERNAL,
        tensorflow::strings::StrCat(
            "Expected ", kNumLabels, " labels in each output.  Got: ",
            scores.dim_size(1)));
    return;
  }

  // Transform inference output tensor to protobuf output.
  // See mnist_model.py for details.
  const auto& scores_mat = scores.matrix<float>();
  for (int i = 0; i < batch_size; ++i) {
    auto calldata = batch->mutable_task(i)->calldata;
    for (int c = 0; c < scores.dim_size(1); ++c) {
      calldata->mutable_response()->add_value(scores_mat(i, c));
    }
    calldata->Finish(Status::OK);
  }
}

void HandleRpcs(MnistServiceImpl* service_impl,
                MnistService::AsyncService* service,
                ServerCompletionQueue* cq) {
  // Spawn a new CallData instance to serve new clients.
  new CallData(service_impl, service, cq);
  void* tag;  // uniquely identifies a request.
  bool ok;
  while (true) {
    // Block waiting to read the next event from the completion queue. The
    // event is uniquely identified by its tag, which in this case is the
    // memory address of a CallData instance.
    cq->Next(&tag, &ok);
    GPR_ASSERT(ok);
    static_cast<CallData*>(tag)->Proceed();
  }
}

// Runs MnistService server until shutdown.
void RunServer(const int port, const string& servable_name,
               std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Manager> manager) {
  // "0.0.0.0" is the way to listen on localhost in gRPC.
  const string server_address = "0.0.0.0:" + std::to_string(port);

  MnistService::AsyncService service;
  ServerBuilder builder;
  std::shared_ptr<grpc::ServerCredentials> creds = InsecureServerCredentials();
  builder.AddListeningPort(server_address, creds);
  builder.RegisterService(&service);
  std::unique_ptr<ServerCompletionQueue> cq = builder.AddCompletionQueue();
  std::unique_ptr<Server> server(builder.BuildAndStart());
  LOG(INFO) << "Running...";

  MnistServiceImpl service_impl(servable_name, std::move(manager));
  HandleRpcs(&service_impl, &service, cq.get());
}

}  // namespace

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  // Parse command-line options.
  tensorflow::int32 port = 0;
  const bool parse_result =
      tensorflow::ParseFlags(&argc, argv, {tensorflow::Flag("port", &port)});
  if (!parse_result) {
    LOG(FATAL) << "Error parsing command line flags.";
  }
  if (argc != 2) {
    LOG(FATAL) << "Usage: mnist_inference_2 --port=9000 /path/to/exports";
  }
  const string export_base_path(argv[1]);
  tensorflow::port::InitMain(argv[0], &argc, &argv);

  // WARNING(break-tutorial-inline-code): The following code snippet is
  // in-lined in tutorials, please update tutorial documents accordingly
  // whenever code changes.
  std::unique_ptr<tensorflow::serving::Manager> manager;
  tensorflow::Status status = tensorflow::serving::simple_servers::
      CreateSingleTFModelManagerFromBasePath(export_base_path, &manager);

  TF_CHECK_OK(status) << "Error creating manager";

  // Wait until at least one model is loaded.
  std::vector<tensorflow::serving::ServableId> ready_ids;
  // TODO(b/25545573): Create a more streamlined startup mechanism than polling.
  do {
    LOG(INFO) << "Waiting for models to be loaded...";
    tensorflow::Env::Default()->SleepForMicroseconds(1 * 1000 * 1000 /*1 sec*/);
    ready_ids = manager->ListAvailableServableIds();
  } while (ready_ids.empty());

  // Run the service.
  RunServer(port, ready_ids[0].name, std::move(manager));

  return 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
No Dominion: The Ian Horvath Story is a documentary film celebrating the remarkable life of the late Ian Horvath, dance champion and AIDS activist, with new dance performances and interviews.
Nel Shelby is co-directing No Dominion: The Ian Horvath Story with Pacific Northwest Ballet's Margaret Mullin. Ian (Ernie) Horvath was a dancer, choreographer, director and champion for the art of dance who lost a battle with AIDS at age 46 in 1990. His story is so inspiring and it fills me with joy that we can bring it to life in film while re-staging and filming some of his gorgeous, moving dances.
You can learn more about the film by listening to our podcast interview with Kimberly Falker of Balancing Pointe.
Visit NoDominionFilm.com for more information.


From the first July 2014 the safety vests are obligating in Germany. In each car, fluo yellow or orange safety vests are necessary. In breakdowns or accidents the reflective material of the safety vest will increase the own protection. By wearing a safety vest you will be perceived several times earlier. It's literally important at placing the breakdown triangle, change of tires or on the way to the roadside emergency telephone. It will be very dangerous without safety vest above all the emergencies in the darkness.


text:
Becca Educates Over 1000 Students On 'menstrual Hygiene' In Kumasi
Rebecca Acheampong, popularly known in the showbiz world as Becca was in Kumasi last week for series of activities. The "Na Wash" singer was in the Garden City to embark mainly for a "Menstrual Hygiene" education initiative which took place on Friday, 26th May, 2017 at the Jubilee Park.
The Becca Hearts Foundation together with "Touching the Lives of Girls Foundation International" have partnered to put together this initiative with a mutual aim to educate girls on female hygiene (hygienic menstrual practices).
Students from eighteen schools benefited from the campaign which took place during the celebration of 'World Family Hygiene Day' in Kumasi.
Among the eighteen (18) schools were Ideal College, Afia Ampem Senior high school, Yaa Asantewaa Senior High School, St. Louis Senior High School, St. Louis College of Education, St. Augustine's Primary, Asem Islamic Primary and St Peters Primary.
Over one thousand students who were at the event were presented with over 2000 Royal Lady sanitary pads, 2000 posters on feminine hygiene (presented to Ghana Education Service for distribution to all SHS & JHS) and many other goodies.
The project which is supported by Zylofon media, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Royal Lady Sanitary pad and Perla water has already taken place in a number of districts in Accra with three schools benefitting.
The multiple award winning singer also embarked on a media tour during her 3-day visit to Kumasi and capped off her stay with a 2-hour autograph signing session at the Kumasi City mall on Friday with people from all walks of life trooping to the venue to catch a glimpse of the beautiful songstress.
Becca's team noted that two of her songs, Na Wash with Patoranking and Mene waa are receiving maximum rotation on radio and they happen to be the favourite of the people in the Ashanti Regional Capital.
Click on photos for more pictures from the "Menstrual Hygiene" education initiative
Tags: accraafricaAshanti RegionAshanti Regional CapitalBeccaBecca Hearts FoundationeducationFeminine hygieneGeography of AfricaghanaGhana Education ServicehealthHygieneIdeal CollegekumasiKumasi City Mallmedia tourMenstrual hygiene dayMinistry of EducationQueen mothersRebecca AcheampongsingerSt. Louis College of EducationSt. Louis Senior High Schoolwinning singerYaa AsantewaaYaa Asantewaa Senior High School
Stop Abrogating Contracts Without My Consent - Adwoa Safo Warns
Nepal Announces $12 Bn Budget Targeting High Growth


text:
e-Governance Projects
RSBY
ICT Project
DELP
Infra Projects
CAF Management
DMS Management
Cash Cards & Gift Cards
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna
e-Govn. Projects /
About RSBY
RSBY has been launched by Ministry Of Labor and Employment to provide health insurance coverage for Below Poverty Line families. Poor families are deprived of the proper medication and treatment during their illness. Their earning capacity does not allow them to avail the medical services by the hospitals. RSBY provides the insurance coverage to those people. Our company is involved in enrollment process of this project. We are working in this project for the last 3 years in the states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar.
Social Security and healthcare assurance for all has been the motto of Government of India, and it has taken various steps in this regard. One of the most important policy milestones is the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act (2008) enacted by the Central Government to provide for the social security and welfare of the unorganized workers. This act recommends that the Central Government provide social security schemes to mitigate risks due to disability, health shocks, maternity and old age which all unorganized workers get exposed to and are likely to suffer from. In India more than two thirs of expenditure on health is through Out of Pocket (OOP) which is the most ineficient and least accountable way of spending on health. Suppy side financing on health alone has not been found to be successful in reducing OOP expenditure on health substantially and therefore, to test the demand side financing approach, Government of India, decided to introduce Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) a Health Insurance Scheme for the Below Poverty Line families with the objectives to reduce OOP expenditure on health and increase access to health care.
RSBY was launched in early 2008 and was initially designed to target only the Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, but has been expanded to cover other defined categories of unorganised workers, covering:
1. Building and other construction workers registered with the Welfare Boards
2. Licensed Railway Porters
3. Street Vendors
4. MNREGA workers who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year
5. Beedi Workers
6. Domestic Workers
7. Sanitation Workers
8. Mine Workers
9. Rickshaw pullers
10. Rag pickers
11. Auto/Taxi Driver
The premium cost for enrolled beneficiaries under the scheme is shared by Government of India and the State Governments. The program has the target to cover 70 million households by the end of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17). Its main service delivery model remained as demand financing, freedom of choice among accredited government and private hospitals, and cashless service reimbursable to provider on a pre-determined package rates on family floater basis, could become a strong pillar for the universal health care system laid down by Government of India.
Since 1st April, 2015, the Scheme Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) has been transferred to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on as is where is basis. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is administering and implementing the scheme through a decentralized implementation structure at the State level.
Objective of RSBY:-
RSBY has two fold objectives:
1.To provide financial protection against catastrophic health costs by reducing out.
2.To improve access to quality health care for below poverty line households of pocket expenditure for hospitalization and other vulnerable groups in the unorganized sector.
Details of the Scheme
The beneficiaries under RSBY are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs. 30,000/- per annum on family floater basis, for most of the diseases that require hospitalization. The benefit will be available under the defined diseases in the package list. The government has framed indicative package rates for the hospitals for a large number of interventions. Pre- existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no age limit. The coverage extends to maximum five members of the family which includes the head of household, spouse and up to three dependents. Additionally, transport expenses of Rs. 100/- per hospitalisation will also be paid to the beneficiary subject to a maximum of Rs. 1000/- per year per family. The beneficiaries need to pay only Rs. 30/- as registration fee for a year while Central and State Government pays the premium as per their sharing ratio to the insurer selected by the State Government on the basis of a competitive bidding. At every state, the State Government sets up a State Nodal Agency (SNA) that is responsible for implementing, monitoring supervision and part-financing of the scheme by coordinating with Insurance Company, Hospital, District Authorities and other local stake holders.
Features of the Scheme
The RSBY scheme is not the first attempt to provide health insurance to low income workers by the Government in India. The RSBY scheme, however, differs from these schemes in several important ways.
Empowering the beneficiary -
RSBY provides the participating BPL household with freedom of choice between public and private hospitals and makes him a potential client worth attracting on account of the significant revenues that hospitals stand to earn through the scheme.
Business Model for all Stakeholders -
The scheme has been designed as a business model for a social sector scheme with incentives built for each stakeholder. This business model design is conducive both in terms of expansion of the scheme as well as for its long run sustainability.
Insurers- The insurer is paid premium for each household enrolled for RSBY. Therefore, the insurer has the motivation to enroll as many households as possible from the BPL list. This will result in better coverage of targeted beneficiaries.
Hospitals- A hospital has the incentive to provide treatment to large number of beneficiaries as it is paid per beneficiary treated. Even public hospitals have the incentive to treat beneficiaries under RSBY as the money from the insurer will flow directly to the concerned public hospital which they can use for their own purposes. Insurers, in contrast, will monitor participating hospitals in order to prevent unnecessary procedures or fraud resulting in excessive claims.
Intermediaries- The inclusion of intermediaries such as NGOs and MFIs which have a greater stake in assisting BPL households. The intermediaries will be paid for the services they render in reaching out to the beneficiaries.
Government- By paying only a maximum sum up to Rs. 750/- per family per year, the Government is able to provide access to quality health care to the below poverty line population. It will also lead to a healthy competition between public and private providers which in turn will improve the functioning of the public health care providers.
Information Technology (IT) Intensive-
For the first time IT applications are being used for social sector scheme on such a large scale. Every beneficiary family is issued a biometric enabled smart card containing their fingerprints and photographs. All the hospitals empanelled under RSBY are IT enabled and connected to the server at the district level. This will ensure a smooth data flow regarding service utilization periodically.
Safe and foolproof-
The use of biometric enabled smart card and a key management system makes this scheme safe and foolproof. The key management system of RSBY ensures that the card reaches the correct beneficiary and there remains accountability in terms of issuance of the smart card and its usage. The biometric enabled smart card ensures that only the real beneficiary can use the smart card.
Portability -
The key feature of RSBY is that a beneficiary who has been enrolled in a particular district will be able to use his/ her smart card in any RSBY empanelled hospital across India. This makes the scheme truly unique and beneficial to the poor families that migrate from one place to the other. Cards can also be split for migrant workers to carry a share of the coverage with them separately.
Cash less and Paperless transactions -
A beneficiary of RSBY gets cashless benefit in any of the empanelled hospitals. He/ she only needs to carry his/ her smart card and provide verification through his/ her finger print. For participating providers it is a paperless scheme as they do not need to send all the papers related to treatment to the insurer. They send online claims to the insurer and get paid electronically.
Robust Monitoring and Evaluation -
RSBY is evolving a robust monitoring and evaluation system. An elaborate backend data management system is being put in place which can track any transaction across India and provide periodic analytical reports. The basic information gathered by government and reported publicly should allow for mid-course improvements in the scheme. It may also contribute to competition during subsequent tender processes with the insurers by disseminating the data and reports.
Our company is authorized by Govt. Of India to deal with E-Governance projects. It sets up enrollment program to collect the details, including demographic and biometric information of every Indian resident. We are working in this project for the last 3 years in the states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar.
Address: 216, 2nd floor, Amba Tower
DC Chowk, Rohini-9, Delhi-85.
Email: info@jindalinfra.in
Website: www.jindalinfra.in
Tel No.: 011-45073471,45638161.
© 2016 Jindal Infra Solutions Limited. All Rights Reserved.


Our indicators are hand dyed and hand spliced to produce the very best in nymphing take detection. These indicators can be used at the end of a French leader or on a regular nylon tapered or furled leader. It is also possible to attach the loop ended indicators directly to the loop at the end of a fly line for increased visibility when fishing traditional methods such as down and across with nymphs or wets, upstream nymph or Czech nymph styles.
Braided loops - designed for loop to loop connection when you may wish to remove and reattach the indicator or tippet quickly and conveniently. Also perfect for attaching an indicator directly to the end of a fly line.
Micro rings - designed for a knotted connection (the same as you would for joining tippet to fly).
Loop and Ring - for those who want both options in one indicator.
Standard - this is best for all round visibility and take detection. Also takes floatant better for methods where the indicator will be laid on the water for all or part of the drift.
Fine - slimmer throughout its main section, this indicator is best for maximum sensitivity in low, clear conditions when fishing with small flies. The best option if you fish with the indicator held off the water at range.
5 inches - in our opinion this size is the easiest to focus on for long periods and gives the clearest visual indication of even the most delicate takes; the best option for French leader methods.
8 inches - for those who like a little extra visibility but do be aware that the extra length may slightly reduce the delicacy of presentation (especially in low and clear water).


text:
HomeInvestigationsSorcha FaalRussia Slams News Network MSNBC For Being "Place Where Journalism Goes To Die"
Russia Slams News Network MSNBC For Being "Place Where Journalism Goes To Die"
April 25, 2018 Sorcha Faal Sorcha Faal
Russia Slams News Network MSNBC For Being "Place Where Journalism Goes To Die" After Putin Made A Target In Joy Reid Scandal
An interesting new Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) report circulating in the Kremlin today is slamming the American news cable and satellite television network MSNBC over its sordid attempt to blame President Putin for the scandal erupting around one of their rising star anchors named Joy Reid—whose recently discovered past internet postings exposed her as being a homophobic racist has led MSNBC (that's best known for being the main propaganda arm of the Democratic Party and "the place where journalism goes to die") to launch a "fake news" scheme best described by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Glenn Greenwald who wrote: "What do Democrats do when hideously bigoted anti-gay posts are found on the old blog of a liberal cable TV host and the liberal host claims they weren't hers? Do you even need to ask? They blame . . . PUTIN". [Note: Some words and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]
According to this report, MSNBC is the 2nd highest rated American cable television news network whose non-stop parade of anti-Trump and anti-Russia "political pornography" masquerading as news is led on the weekends by Joy Reid on her AM Joy programme—whom the New York Times has crowned as a "Heroine of the Resistance", and that led to her programme experiencing double-digit growth this past quarter—but who regurgitates to her viewers a steady diet of infantile nonsense, such as her recently devoting an entire show to the make believe wondering of what would happened if President Trump refused to be arrested by Federal Marshals.
This past week, however, this report details, "Heroine of the Resistance" Joy Reid and MSNBC were blindsided by the independent US media watchdog Mediaite who issued a scathing report detailing Reid's past blog postings showing just how racist and homophobic she really is—that were discovered in the highly respected non-profit internet digital archive Wayback Machine—that Reid quickly claimed "had been hacked"—withWayback Machine leadership quickly responding that no such thing happened, or could have happened—with their noting that Reid's lawyers had demanded they delete all of Reid's past blog posts, which they refused to do because no evidence of hacking could be found—but who then discovered that all of Reid's past blog posts had mysteriously been disappeared anyway.
Near instantly rallying around both MSNBC and Joy Reid to keep the American people from learning about this scandal, this report notes, Glenn Greenwald in his article titled "MSNBC's Joy Reid Claims Her Website Was Hacked and Bigoted Anti-LGBT Content Added, a Bizarre Story Liberal Outlets Ignore" accurately portrayed the hypocrisy of the US leftist-controlled mainstream media by stating:
The reason liberal news sites are ignoring the story is as self-evident as it is troubling: Because Reid's ideology is in accordance with theirs, and they therefore don't care if she's lying or telling the truth when denying authorship of these bigoted articles, nor do they care about the anti-LGBT bigotry itself.
Those are concepts to be exploited opportunistically for partisan gain; they are devoid of any actual conviction.
Their silence on this latest, incredibly strange episode involving one of their iconic media personalities demonstrates that rather compellingly.
LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG National has rescinded Joy Ann Reid's allyship award
With the international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders now warning that hostility toward journalists is growing worldwide, this report explains, one of the main causes of this being so is due to mainstream media outlets in the United States having become nothing more than blatant purveyors of propaganda—best exampled by MSNBC whose past primetime anchor Ed Schulz, in detailing why he was fired by them, stated that he was "pushed out for refusing to toe the establishment line" by his daring to cover the 2016 US presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders—and whom was quickly hired by Russia's state sponsored media outlet RT America, with Schulz stating the difference between the two as being:
There was more oversight and more direction given to me on content at MSNBC than there ever has been here at RT — and I think it's very sad that that story is not getting out.
Many times I was told what to lead with on MSNBC — many times I was told what I was not going to do.
RT America can viewed in the US on Direct TV channel 321 and other North American outlets—but not in Washington D.C. where it's banned in the capitol city of what was once the world's home of press freedom and thought
Far from being the only journalist fired by MSNBC for failing to "toe the establishment line" as they were ordered to do, this report details, Ed Schultz joins of long list of respected American television anchors ousted by this supposed news network—such as:
MSNBC's highest rated anchor in history Phil Donahue, who was fired for committing the "crime" of allowing anti-war views to be expressed on his show just prior to the US illegally invading Iraq in 2003—with a leaked internal memo revealing that Donahue's bosses felt he was a "difficult public face for MSNBC in a time of war" because he was providing "a home for the liberal anti-war agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity".
MSNBC firing Cenk Uygur (current host of "The Young Turks" on YouTube) in spite of his high ratings—with Uygur describing how he was called into the office of MSNBC President Phil Griffin and told by him that the problem was not Uygur's ratings, which were good, but it was his "tone" and the fact that "people in Washington" were not happy about it—in other words, Uygur was coming across as too anti-establishment and ruffling too many feathers. "Outsiders are cool, but we're not outsiders, we're insiders", Griffin told Uygur, "We are the establishment".
MSNBC firing their up-and-coming network star Ashleigh Banfield after she gave a speech slamming the American media's "sanitized" coverage of the war—and that saw MSNBC parent company NBC quickly retaliating against her by issuing a press release stating "Ms. Banfield does not speak for NBC News. We are deeply disappointed and troubled by her remarks, and will review her comments with her"—and MSNBC, then, banishing her by taking away her office, computer and phone, thus leaving her to tearfully wander around asking others if she could use their desks—and as it's further reported on:
"For 10 months I had to report to work every day and ask where I could sit. If somebody was away I could use their desk", Banfield explained.
They eventually gave her an office in a "tape closet."
Banfield repeatedly asked to be let free of her contract, but then NBC news president Neal Shapiro would not allow it. Instead they kept her on but gave her nothing to do.
"I will never forgive him for his cruelty and the manner in which he decided to dispose of me", Banfield said.
MSNBC reveals its true evilness and hatred by its treatment of Ashleigh Banfield
Openly contemptuous of the American people to whom they are supposed to be reporting real news to, this report concludes, even to this very hour, MSNBC continues its cover-up of the Joy Reid scandal, while at the same time, also, it continues its non-stop anti-Trump and anti-Russia "political pornography" theater of the absurd—thus depriving their viewers from knowing the true things that are presently occurring—such as:
Saudi Arabia just warning Qatar that unless they send troops to Syria, the US will overthrow topple their regime—and Iran firing back and warning Qatar not even think about sending their troops into Syria.
OPCW inspectors now reporting that they can't find any evidence of the chemical attack in Syria that the US, Britain and France based their bombings of this nation on.
A top US general overruling his own Commander-In-Chief President Trump and just declaring that American troops will never leave Syria—while thousands more US and French troops pour into there.
Russia now warning that the West is covering up their massive troop movements in a gross violation of the 2011 Vienna Document, that was put into place to prevent World War III as all parties would know what the other side was doing.
Former US President Jimmy Carter now warning the world that America's failing policies are now "bordering on war crimes".
And the most frightful news today that MSNBC and NBC parent company Comcast Corporation has now launched a bid to takeover the British news outlet Sky News—that spells the doom of one of the last Englishlanguage anti-war television news broadcasters in Europe—but whose new MSNBC warmonger masters of "political pornography" will, without a doubt, soon show their British colleagues how they, too, will "toe the line for the establishment" and keep their peoples as ignorant and full of hate as possible against anyone trying to tell them the turth—like the vast majority of people in America are today.
April 25, 2018 © EU and US all rights reserved. Permission to use this report in its entirety is granted under the condition it is linked back to its original source at WhatDoesItMean.Com. Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.
Seriously, Why Can't The American People See The Hellstorm Heading Right For Them?
Ignoring Hidden Giants Bestriding World Spells Humanities Doom
How Insane Can America Become And Still Be Able To Survive?
Russia Warns Only 18 Days Left Until Apocalypse Begins As It Budgets $162 Billion For Postwar Reconstruction
Stunning Experiment Proving God-Human Communication Link Blacklisted In West
Russia Stuns World By Moving All Of Its Money Out Of America—Warns "Fake Law" Destruction Of US Now Too Powerful To Stop
June 16, 2018 Sorcha Faal Sorcha Faal
A grimly worded new Security Council (SC) report circulating in the Kremlin today reveals that the truth as to why the world was stunned just weeks ago when US Treasury Bond yields blew out was due to Russia's shock selling of half of its US Treasury Bonds, with its intentions to rid itself of all US assests by the end of August, and which President Trump is urgently seeking to meet with President Putin to avert—but whose hopes of reaching an agreement are doomed from the start as Russian legal experts have determined that the United States is now being ruled by "fake law" whose only beneficiaries are leftist elites, and whose spread of is now too powerful to stop. […]
Clinton, ISIS, Neo-Nazis, and Vanguard Corporation's Counterfeit Dollars to Fund Terrorism
June 9, 2016 Independent Press Cloak and Dagger, Hillary Clinton, Investigations, JAG, Organized Crime, Politics, Psyops
"He testified how the Vanguard Corporation has printed billions of high quality fake dollars and paid mercenaries in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Libya, etc and paid mercenaries of Greystone and ISIS. He testified about connections and oil deals between Vanguard Corporation and ISIS. He described how all of the major mass murders and atrocities were organized by the Vanguard Corporation and Greystone mercenaries; how he communicated with Igor Kolomoyskiy and how together they were spreading fake dollars in Ukraine… On the day after that, Ukraine has a new government, chosen mainly by [Victoria] Nuland and John McCain from the National Republican Institute." […]
Russia To Move Millions-Of-Tonnes Of Grain To Egypt As New Ice Age Looms
January 8, 2018 Sorcha Faal Sorcha Faal
According to this report, modern time fears that our planet was nearing a new ice age period were first raised, in 1975, when Newsweek Magazine published an article titled "The Cooling World"—and wherein its author, Peter Gwynne, cited various US government scientists claiming that they had observed "ominous signs" that our Earth was cooling—but that provided no firm scientific evidence as to how such a conclusion was reached—with Gwynne, also, in 2014, recanting his article and stating: "While the hypotheses described in that original story seemed right at the time, climate scientists now know that they were seriously incomplete." […]


The Department of Biology is a research community where students, faculty, post-doctoral associates, senior researchers, technicians, and adjunct lecturers have different outlets to engage in a forum of learning and discussing research in the biology field.
The Department invites scholars in Biology to present their research on most Thursdays throughout the academic year. The seminars are followed by a Q&A session. To learn about current, previous, and upcoming speakers please browse the lists below.
The Department invites scholars in Biology to present their research on most Thursdays throughout the academic year. The seminars are followed by a Q&A session.
"Towards a molecular understanding of synapse formation"
"Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms for Active Forgetting"
"Cellular mechanisms for efficient coding in the Drosophila visual system"
"From Sensory Transduction to Transmission: imaging Sensory Encoding in Zebrafish Hair Cells"
"Push and Pull- a Tale of Two Neurons"
To learn about previous guest speakers please browse the lists below.
The Department invites Graduate students to present their research on every Friday throughout the academic year. The seminars are followed by a Q&A session.
Public speaking - be it at a conference, giving a departmental seminar or in a classroom - is a necessary part of the scientist's life. "In this workshop, we will discuss how to best present yourself when you are in front of an audience.", Ronda Rolfes. Led by Heidi Elmendorf and Ronda Rolfes.
Microglial derived matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in synuclein-mediated neuroinflammation.
Will I survive to adulthood? Examining sources of pupal mortality in a native butterfly.
Synapse Remodeling: Is there a role for Complement component 3 (C3) in Parkinson's disease?
The Chapman Medal is named in honor of the former Chair of the Department of Biology, Prof. George Chapman, who initiated the Senior Thesis and dedicated himself to research and education. Finalists for the medal will give 10-minute research talks about the research they have conducted in their time here. The Chapman Medal is awarded to the undergraduate student with the most outstanding research project.
To learn about previous graduate students speakers please browse the lists below.
Journal Clubs are provided weekly for graduate students as an opportunity to present journal articles of their choice and share them with their colleagues and instructors. It serves as a practice ground for speaking to a scientific audience. Journal clubs are a forum for learning and for the expansion of scientific knowledge in ecology, evolution and behavior, and Molecular Cell Biology literature.
Journal Club provides a relaxed environment for graduate students to research and present a journal article of their choosing to an audience of peers and professors. It serves as practice grounds for speaking to a scientific audience. Learning to critically read, write, and evaluate scientific papers is one of the most important long-term skills required for success in science, both during and after graduate school. Through analysis of published papers, we hope that students will gain an understanding of the different elements of theory, experimental design, analysis, and writing that are essential for scientific communication and successful publication. Above all, journal club should be a forum for learning and for the expansion of scientific knowledge in ecology, evolution, and behavior.
BIOcoffee runs during the summer. It is a weekly summertime gathering of faculty, staff, students, postdocs, and visitors. It is a great opportunity to mingle with friends, new and old, and catch up with old friends while enjoying a fabulous breakfast of coffee and yummy pastries.
The purpose of this organization is to connect students in the Biology department graduate program, organize events for members of the Biology department, and liaise between students, faculty, and other areas of academic interest across campus.


Eclipse season is over and Mercury has just gone Direct. Now's a good time to take stock. Mars is still Retro plus at the powerful 29 degree point of Capricorn. The astrology is about preparing, especially for all the energy changes coming up in November. Are you ready?


Sure, you remember Sears fondly, but why aren't you shopping there?
Social media is full of nostalgia for Sears, but what many of the online eulogists forget is that they haven't patronized the retailer in years.
Eric Karkovack got his first Nintendo system from Sears, a gift from his grandmother. The first credit card he ever had also was from Sears. And he treasures his memories of shopping for clothes and checking out his father's new tires.
Yet the 41-year-old web designer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, last ventured inside the much-loved store was a few years ago, when he was looking for a stove.
He didn't buy one there.
As news of the storied retailer's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection broke, Karkovack was among the throngs of people who turned to social media to mourn. The outpouring featured the same sentiment over and over again – nostalgia for a chain that stood for the milestones of life, like family photos, first sets of tools, appliances for new homes. All the sackcloth and ashes – neither of which was sold in the famous Wish Book, among the most mentioned memory cited in all the online eulogies – rarely mentioned the obvious: None of these people actually shopped at Sears anymore.
"It's been several years since I've been to a store," Karkovack said. "It's easy to look back now for me. The stores just got so poorly run and it seemed like selection was very poor."
That's the naked truth no one wants to mention when it comes to the iconic back-to-school clothing destination. All the consumer kvetching lacks honesty.
"If this really did mean so much to you, you're not shopping there. You're saying, 'Why isn't my product here? I ordered it an hour ago on Amazon Prime,'" said Jason Dorsey, founder of the Austin-based Center for Generational Kinetics, which researches the retail industry.
It's the very problems that drove shoppers from the Sears bosom to online upstarts and more aggressive brick-and-mortar players, like Walmart, that those bemoaning the bankruptcy are forgetting. Outdated brands, a minimal presence online and no heavy promotions are among the reasons the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based store failed.
Psychologists call the phenomenon of remembering only the positive the "rosy reflection bias." What these people are nostalgic about are often experiences from their youth that makes it all the poignant.
"Sears closing just seems like people think, 'Wow, I'm losing a piece of my childhood.' It's a little bit of selective forgetting." said nostalgia expert Andrew Abeyta, a Rutgers University-Camden assistant professor of psychology, who was compelled for the same reason to visit Toys R Us last year when it went under. "It may not be a longing for Sears, per se, but a longing for the time of going to brick-and-mortar stores or dreaming of things we couldn't buy or the social experience of going to the store with their families....Sears is a symbol of that life dying away."
Among those participating in this national trip down memory lane is Susette Degen. Her mother took her and her three siblings to Sears during the summer to cool off in the store's air conditioning. At Christmas time, Degen, now 56, circled all the toys she wanted in the Wish Book and as a teen, bought a bathing suit for a boathouse party and a beloved Bay City Rollers album.
"I knew they were in trouble, but I thought they'd pull out of it," said the Minooka, Illinois, restaurateur, who more recently bought her daughter "Finding Nemo" shoes and herself a toaster and table linens there. "We went there for everything, except food....I felt really bad when I saw their doors closing. I did go there occasionally, but I could've gone there more."
Degen still can't bring herself to call the Chicago landmark once named the Sears Tower by its new name, the Willis Tower. The 110-story building's name was changed in 2009.
Notably absent from the online retail-inspired therapy sessions are millennials and Gen Z shoppers, who view Sears with the same eye-rolling distance that Gen Xers and Baby Boomers may feel about Woolworth's.
"It was the perfect storm for millennials to not have any emotional nostalgia. If you told them Amazon was going to go away, there might be riots," Dorsey said. "Sears basically invented the catalog, and yet we have millennials who don't even check the mail."


Get into the groove of the Spring and Saint Patrick's Day season with this Groovy Green Cake. The cake is a checkerboard patterned tender vanilla cake and filled with a fancy brie cheese filling. Decorated in shades of citron, kelly green, forrest green, and avocado make for a compelling menagerie of green!
This Cupid Cake is a retro remake! A tender white cake has a classic buttercream frosting. Where this cake shines is in the details. Decorated in pink and white, the top is adorned with Cupid's arrow for the perfect Valentine treat!
This Gold Standard Yellow Cake is the dessert of epic stories and long standing Americana tradition. A tight crumb is soft yet strong even for layering and stacking. A classic American Buttercream ties the cake together with a smooth, not painfully sweet, taste.
Start 2017 like it's 1997 with this Fruity Pebbles Funfetti Cake! The cake is airy, soaked in creamy milk, and spotted with colorful cereal. It's filling and frosting and satiny smooth. This cake is full of milk and cereal goodness!
Rainbow Chip Funfetti Layer Cake! 1980s Rainbow Chip frosting and 1990s Funfetti cake fuse into this sprinkle injected cake. Colorful jimmies freckle the perfect white cake, while Rainbow Chip frosting gets elevated with homemade rainbow chips. To finish off a perfect sprinkle experience, the Rainbow Chip Funfetti Layer Cake gets topped with confetti sprinkles.


Hoppa shuttle bus service to/from hotel to Heathrow Airport terminals 1/ 2/and 3. Operates regularly throughout the day. Cost is 4.00GBP each way per adult. The service commences at 04:20 from the hotel/last departure from Terminal 1 at 23:00. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the ticket desks in the airport terminals or at the hotel reception desk. Schedule and fare subject to change. Parking Charge: 6.00GBP per day per car.


The Industrial Electricity program prepares students for employment in the electrical industry.
Industrial Electricity - Electrical Helper - Certificate Level 1 Combined Shape Created with Sketch.
Industrial Electricity - Electrical Power Technology - Certificate Level 1 Combined Shape Created with Sketch.
Industrial Electricity - Industrial Automation Technology - Certificate Level 1 Combined Shape Created with Sketch.
Industrial Electricity - Solar Photovoltaic System Installer - Certificate Level 1 Combined Shape Created with Sketch.
Demonstrate knowledge of safety rules and regulations. Demonstrate the proper use/selection and maintenance of hand and power tools and measuring instruments.
Interpret, decode, and apply information found in electrical codes, blueprints, schematics, wiring diagrams, specifications, and applicable documents to perform, test, and troubleshoot wiring projects.
Describe the operation, uses, and applications of electromagnetic and Solid State controllers and related control devices to perform, test, and troubleshoot industrial control projects.
Utilize computers and related software to translate, perform, test, and troubleshoot control schemes.
The Industrial Electricity program prepares students for employment in the electrical industry. There is an increased demand for trained electricians to work in the installation, maintenance, and service of residential, commercial and industrial electrical systems. Rewarding career opportunities exist in the areas of industrial automation and fiber optic installations. The program provides comprehensive, theoretical and hands-on training to meet the industry's continued and changing demands for qualified personnel. Students are required to purchase tools and books.
Students successfully completing any of the certificates listed below may apply a maximum of 21 semester hours towards an AAS degree in Construction Technology - Craft Management Specialization. For certificates with fewer than 21 semester hours, additional courses in Construction Technology, Business Administration, or other related disciplines may be required.
There are 18,312 Electricians employed in the Greater Houston Area. This number is expected to increase by 5.5% over the next four years.
The estimated annual job openings is 656 jobs a year.
This number of 18,312 is expected to increase by 5.5% over the next four years.
This annual median salary is the equivalent of $21.97 hourly.


You are here: Home › About IRWM › What is IRWM?
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Planning began in 2002 with the passage of Proposition 50 by California voters. The bond, among other things, authorized spending $3.4 billion in general obligation bond funds to construct a variety of water supply and water quality projects across the state. The IRWM program encourages voluntary cooperation in managing water resources within a region. IRWM involves multiple agencies, stakeholders, individuals, and groups; and provides a venue for local stakeholders to address the issues and differing perspectives of involved entities through mutually beneficial solutions.
By law, IRWM cannot impact local or regional water rights, nor can it override local plans and policies or the decisions of elected bodies. The process and plan is advisory only.


text:
package org.basex.util.options;

import org.basex.util.*;

/**
 * Option containing another {@link Options} value.
 *
 * @author BaseX Team 2005-15, BSD License
 * @author Christian Gruen
 * @param <O> options value
 */
public final class OptionsOption<O extends Options> extends Option<O> {
  /** Class. */
  private final Class<O> clazz;
  /** Default value. */
  private final O value;

  /**
   * Constructor without default value.
   * @param name name
   * @param value value
   */
  @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
  public OptionsOption(final String name, final O value) {
    super(name);
    this.value = value;
    clazz = (Class<O>) value.getClass();
  }

  /**
   * Constructor without default value.
   * @param name name
   * @param clazz class
   */
  public OptionsOption(final String name, final Class<O> clazz) {
    super(name);
    this.clazz = clazz;
    value = null;
  }

  @Override
  public O value() {
    return value;
  }

  @Override
  public O copy() {
    if(value == null) return null;
    final O o = newInstance();
    try {
      o.parse(value.toString());
    } catch(final Exception ex) {
      throw Util.notExpected(ex);
    }
    return o;
  }

  /**
   * Returns a new options instance.
   * @return options
   */
  public O newInstance() {
    try {
      return clazz.newInstance();
    } catch(final Exception ex) {
      throw Util.notExpected(ex);
    }
  }
}


Paramount Home Media Distribution's annual parade of TV-on-DVD product selections just got another prized addition with news this week that the five-disc, 17-episode collection of C.S.I.: NY - The Complete 9th Season will be heading home on June 25.
Bonus features include a gag reel, deleted scenes, featurettes and a C.S.I. crossover episode.
Already announced are Dexter: Season Seven (May 14), Workaholics: Season Three (June 18) and the wrap-up to the venerable Raymond Burr courtroom series, Perry Mason: Season Nine Volume One (June 11).
Peruvian filmmaker Erick Salas Kirchhausen makes excellent use of neighboring Chile (filmed in around Santiago) for his end-on-an-affair drama titled Des/Esperando.
Ariztical Entertainment will be bringing this South American film (in Spanish with English subtitles) to the domestic market for a DVD debut on June 18.
Javier (Fernando Quintana) is the dominent player — a high profile politician, complete with a wife and family — in the clandestine affair he has been having with the much younger Gonzalo (Tom Colvin) ... and it is all starting to unravel. There is too much at stake for him to leave on a bitter note, so the trip is arranged, but power, deceit and betrayal can lead to unexpected consequences in this sexually-charged romantic tale.
Warner Home Video continues to deliver some really nice collectible film sets. Such is the case with the Apr. 16 DVD debut of the Nick Carter Mysteries, a trio of films produced by MGM featuring Walter Pidgeon as the famous pulp fiction private detective Nick Carter.
Included are Nick Carter: Master Detective (1939), Phantom Riders and Sky Murders (both 1940) … the series could have gone on for additional entries, but a little thing called War World II was on the way and Pidgeon was on the verge of resurrecting his flagging film career with the likes of Man Hunt, How Green was My Valley, Blossoms in the Dust and Mrs. Miniver.
CJ Entertainment has tabbed June 11 for DVD and Blu-ray editions of filmmaker Chang-min Choo's blockbuster film of political intrigue, Masquerade.
The ARR comes in at 263 days and domestic ticket sales for this Korean-language import are just under one million dollars (over $150 million internationally).
Plucked from the pages of history during the Joseon Dynasty, Chang-min Choo has spun an obscure historical entry into a delightful, well-paced tale of power and survival. King Gwang-hae (Byung-hun Lee — I Saw the Devil, A Bittersweet Life) is fearful of assassination, so he has his chief counselor, Heo Gyun (Seung-yong Ryoo) recruit a look-alike (also played by Byung-hun Lee) to become the focal point for any attempts on his own life.
When the opposite happens and the real king falls into a coma from poisoning, the inner-court has no choice but to put the peasant in charge (under a tight leash). But once he gets the hang of it — court manners, politics and how things work — he begins to make changes … all for the better!
Virgil Films & Entertainment will deliver a mighty blow on June 18 when director Gary Jones' Axe Giant: The Wrath Of Paul Bunyan cuts a blood-soaked swath to DVD.
A mixed-gender "first offenders" program is a pretty clever way to gather up victims for the rampage of this legendary backwoods creature — twice the size of man who lives three times as long.
Gary Jones (Boogeyman 3, Ghouls, Planet Raptor, etc.) serves up a classic slasher flick with a twist … all the elements, a bevvy of alluring beauties, a remote location, only the deranged killer is a mountain-sized mutant with a giant sized axe. Whack! Splat! Gone!
We must confess that there is a certain logic to Rocket's (Tray Chaney) plan to steal from criminals — "there's nothin' that they can do about it" — that's his reasoning. His get-rich scheme is the driving force in director David "Cowboy" Keary's Masterminds, due out on DVD from Green Apple Entertainment May 28.
There's just one little (very deadly) flaw in the plan. While the boys getting ripped off may not go to the authorities to report Rocket's crimes, they do have a tendency to take matters into their own hands.
Tila "Tequila" Nguyen co-stars as his go-to seductress, but when things go south she's the last one that Rocket should ever cross (a woman's fury)!
Well Go USA announced two new genre releases (both on DVD and Blu-ray) for delivery during the month of June this past week. Both product offerings will be getting plenty of buzz … if for very different reasons.
Up first is director Tsutomu Hanabusa's film adaptation of Kôji Suzuki's graphic novel, Sadako 3D. DVD and Blu-ray 3D/2D editions will be available for fans of Suzuki's Ring horror series to enjoy on June 4.
Hanabusa takes up where filmmaker Hideo Nakata took us with Ring and Ring 2 and the hideous Sadako, only this time there seems to be multiple, if imperfect, versions of the entity that claims her victims from among those who watch a mysterious videocassette.
As always, Sadako 3D is a total creep-out, even if the reasoning and plot elements are a little hard to follow. It absolutely doesn't matter as Sadako 3D will certainly please fans of the series.
Two weeks later, on June 18, South Korean filmmaker Han Sang-Ho's spectacular dinosaur saga (a CGI feast for the eyes), Dino King (aka: Tarbosaurus) will be heading to both DVD and Blu-ray (3D/2D viewing options).
Set 80-million years ago, we are introduced to Speckles, a baby Tarbosaurus (these dinosaurs are sort of a junior version of a T-Rex — carnivores and deadly just the same) and his family in their own little paradise. This all comes to an end when "One-Eye," a Tyrannosaur, wipes out Speckles entire family … leaving the poor little guy to fend for himself.
Eventually the little fellow grows up, finds a mate (a blue-eyed beauty) and has a family of his own. But wouldn't you just know it, things are looking pretty good, plenty to feast on too, but then along comes "One-Eye" and suddenly Speckles finds himself in a battle to the death!
Labels: Dino Kino on DVD and Blu-ray June 18, Sadako 3D on Blu-ray and DVD June 4, Well Go U.S.A.
FilmWorks Entertainment has scored a sweet romantic comedy for release on DVD this coming June 18. The film in question is writer/director Gustavo Guardado's Love, Concord, and it is one of those "below the radar" indies that surfaces from time to time that absolutely amazes and captures its audience's heart with a mixture of charm and well-crafted storytelling.
Where does one begin to describe what a delight Love, Concord is to watch, enjoy and ultimately savour. On the surface it reads like a teen/high school meet-cute comedy, where unlikely opposites meet, date and fall in love. It works at that level, but there is so much more going on here!
First, let's start with how Guardado deftly delivers a Latino-flavored tale, but doesn't dwell on the fact that his two young protagonists are of Hispanic descent. They are just young people with a heritage, you are not beaten over the head with it. Turn out the lights and focus on their words; listen as their hearts speak … these are just people; people you'd like to know.
The next thing that Guardado does is to cleverly tell one story, while actually delivering a far deeper message that slowly moves to the front without ever nudging the comedy elements out of the way. Love, Concord is a teen comedy that magically morphs into a romantic-themed tale of the human spirit.
At the center of it is Gerry (Jorge Diaz), a high school senior who is everyone's good buddy. He's grown up with them as the class clown. He is funny … you have to give him that. But, as the film unspools we begin to suspect that he uses this as a front to mask his own insecurities. Life hasn't been easy, especially at home.
The unlikely candidate for the Juliet to his Romeo is the more-than-serious, slightly plain, a little chubby, but not unattractive Melinda (Angelina Leon). In a lot of teen movies she would be a background character … not the romantic lead.
Over the years, Gerry has gotten nothing but bad dating advice from his friends (sort of a running gag) and his choice of "girlfriends" seem to be of a certain type … attractive and shallow. Melinda is clearly the opposite of this!
This seemingly oil and water couple is actually a perfect match. By film's end you have completely bought into the relationship. It is a relationship that not only transforms Gerry — the clown act is neatly packed away — but takes the shy Melinda to another level as well; she glows.
When a film works this well, we suspect that writer/director Gustavo Guardado is drawing upon his own life experiences … aren't those always the best stories? The ones that ring true! Oh, and get this, Love, Concord is his first feature-length film — it's nice to have this beauty on your resume!
Bonus features include a blooper reel, a photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes featurette.


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Home News Baby, toddler among four dead in Barcelona squat fire
Baby, toddler among four dead in Barcelona squat fire
A four-month-old baby and his three-year-old brother died with their parents on Tuesday when a fire ripped through an abandoned bank where the family was squatting in Barcelona, in a blaze denounced as "horrific" by the Spanish city's mayor.
Chief firefighter Angel Lopez said the alarm was raised at around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) by a witness who spotted the fire in a former bank building in the central Plaza de Tetuan.
It was only while they were battling the fire that they realised there were four people inside: "two adults, a baby and a three-year-old boy", Lopez said.
"Emergency services tried to revive them, but they couldn't save them."
The couple, a 40-year-old man and his 39-year-old partner, used to collect scrap metal, Barcelona city hall said, saying the children were two boys, one aged three, the other just four months.
According to La Vanguardia newspaper, he was from Pakistan and she was Romanian.
"There are no words to describe the horror of four people dying, among them two very young children, this is something that should never have happened… It is horrible news," Barcelona mayor Ada Colau told reporters at the scene, herself a former activist against evictions.
Neighbours who lived in a flat above the premises which was not harmed in the fire, said they could hear the family screaming for help.
"My wife smelled something burning, we got up and saw nothing but when we went to the place where we keep the washing machine, there was a huge amount of smoke," said Miquel Guimera.
– 'Screaming for help' –
"Downstairs in the squat they were screaming for help, because they were locked in. It was quite traumatic," he said, indicating the family had been living in the squat for two or three years.
"It's a real shame about those two little children."
Four men who had run into a courtyard to escape the flames were rescued and taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, Lopez said.
The Mossos d'Esquadra regional police have opened an investigation into the fire, which took place in a lively middle-class residential neighbourhood in the heart of Barcelona.
By sunrise, the building — with its former sign blacked out and its facade spray painted with graffiti — was cordoned off with emergency vehicles parked outside as rescuers came and went.
Colau said social workers knew the premises and had been there to offer food handouts to the occupants along with information on how to get medical care.
"Behind this tragedy was a situation of poverty, social exclusion and homelessness that was quite complex to manage as a city council," said Laura Perez, one of the Barcelona's senior social rights officials.
She said the family had been receiving support from city hall since August 2020 and the three-year-old was in school.
Hours before the fire broke out, police were called to the building because of a dispute but there was no immediate evidence it was related to the blaze, regional interior minister Joan Ignasi Elena told reporters.
– 481 living in squats –
Josep Iganci Homs, a 77-year-old pensioner, said he was often awoken at night by sounds of shouting and fighting inside the premises.
"The authorities and the courts should have removed the children from here because look at how it all ended," he told reporters while gazing at the blackened building.
With housing prices sky high, some 481 people are currently living in 105 squats around the city, among them 156 minors. Another 384 live in informal camps, city figures say.
The blaze had echos of another fire that killed four in December 2020 when it ripped through a disused industrial complex near Barcelona that was occupied by squatters, many of them African migrants.
Another 20 people were hurt when they jumped out of windows to escape the flames and choking smoke.
Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill dies aged 82
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
Spain to offer fourth dose to vulnerable
Spain tourism sector hopes to turn page on gloomy 2021
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Maryland Sports Betting Regulations
Maryland is a state, which has played an essential role in American history, and which now has a population of just over 6 million people. Ranking second in terms of household income and fifth in terms of population density, Maryland is also known for the wide variety of regulated gambling markets it is home to.
History Sports Betting Industry Today Lotteries and Bingo Gaming Regulatory Bodies Types of Licenses Responsible Play Policies
In fact, gambling activities are not a novelty in Maryland as they were used as a source of income back in colonial times. Even though gambling became less common during the 19th and 20th centuries, lotteries, off-track betting, and casino games started to gain traction a couple of years ago. The openness to change of lawmakers has also helped for the creation of the gambling-friendly environment Maryland is celebrated for.
Today, Maryland is home to several leading teams, the likes of NCAA's Maryland Terrapins, NFL's Baltimore Ravens, and MLB's Baltimore Orioles, which goes to show why it is said to be a fertile ground for sports betting.
Maryland follows suit after its neighboring states like Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania that have already approved sports betting. In spite of the fact that voters gave the green light to betting on sports on the ballot back in 2020, the industry is yet to become up and running. Continue to read to learn more about the sports betting regulations and the legal forms of gambling in Maryland.
A Walk Through The Changes in the Gambling Industry
Maryland also lists among the states that are looking to expand their gambling profile, and the year-long history of gambling activities, coupled with the openness to gambling of the neighboring states, go to explain the move towards a more liberal market.
As for the gambling prevalence in the state, it should be noted that when the figures for 2017 are compared to those for the period prior to the introduction of casino gambling, it turns out that the number of gamblers has remained stable throughout the years, and it has been around 87%.
It should be pointed out that casino games continue to garner lots of attention and, in spite of the fact that the revenues have significantly dwindled because of the Coronavirus outbreak, the casinos in Maryland held up better in comparison with the casinos in the other states.
Maryland's legislation is unambiguous when it comes to the availability and illegality of the different forms of gambling, and the current legal framework is determined by the following changes in the legal landscape.
As it turns out, gambling is deeply entrenched in the lifestyle of people from Maryland as lotteries were legalized back in 1793. Being the first form of gambling to become legal on the territory of the state, lotteries were back then used for public work purposes and churches.
Lotteries began to pick up steam and corruption and cheating started to loom because of the failure of authorities to properly oversee their conduction. As a result, a couple of years later, the lottery licensing was suspended and entirely eliminated.
Horse races also attract a huge amount of attention in Maryland, and it all started with the foundation of the horse racing oversight board back in 1920. This is also when pari-mutuel betting was also made available within the state.
In spite of the fact that it is hard to determine when exactly slot machines were offered legally for the first time in Maryland, there are shreds of evidence that such were used back in the 1940s. Slots got people in Maryland in a tizzy, and their number started to soar, thus hitting 5,000 in next to no time. The revenues also skyrocketed to such an extent that Maryland even outpaced Las Vegas.
Still, slot machines did not get universal approval within the state, and there were lots of calls for their prohibition from gambling opponents. The legislative changes took effect back in 1968, and in spite of the dismay at the lost revenues, slot machines were ultimately removed from the territory of Maryland.
Naturally, not all lawmakers disapproved of slots, and as a result, several bills that aim for their re-establishment were introduced. As likely as not, the most obvious reason why the state lottery was universally approved by voters during the referendum held back in 1972 was the enthusiasm caused by slots. During it, 77% of people voted in favor of the idea for the state lottery, and it is interesting to point out that in some counties, the share of people who said yes during the referendum was even greater. Thus, the first lottery tickets were made available in the following years, and the gambling craze in the state started out again.
The enthusiasm of people for slots did not wane, and after an interruption of almost 40 years, they were reintroduced again back in 2008. What is interesting to point out, however, is that the machines that were made available within several counties in Maryland only have a visual resemblance with slot machines but have more in common with video lottery terminals.
The doors of the very first land-based casino in Maryland were opened back in 2010 when Hollywood Casino Perryville admitted its first visitors. A couple of months later, four more brick-and-mortar casinos were opened, thus giving gambling enthusiasts a significantly larger range of options to choose from.
Two years later, voters supported the idea of placing table games within land-based casinos. The amendments that were introduced back then have to do with the working hours of the gambling premises, and according to these changes, land-based casinos were allowed to provide their services 24/7.
The opening of a sixth brick-and-mortar casino was also agreed to, and in this way, Maryland turned into a hotbed of gambling within the span of eight years.
People from Maryland continued to show unfaltering interest in gambling, and back in 2020, they declared beyond doubt that the idea of increasing the available gambling options appeals to them. After the US Supreme Court revoked the ban imposed on sports betting, the idea of its legalization within the state was broadly supported by voters during a referendum, which took place in November 2020. Fortunately for fans of betting on sports, legislatures have moved forward to pass the needed bills, and this form of gambling is expected to become widely available by the end of 2021.
Of course, Maryland's Penal Code is the most essential piece of legislation to examine when you wish to get a better idea of the legal status of the different forms of gambling in the state. There, gambling enthusiasts will find descriptions of gambling devices, credit, and explicit the penalties that will be imposed when the gambling-related rules are violated.
What Is Happening with The Sports Betting Industry of Maryland Today
Most people hope that sports betting will be a reality soon, all the more so considering what widespread approval the expansion of commercial sports betting got. In spite of the fact that legislators gave the nod to several bills that pave the way for sports betting, its launch is yet to come, meaning that legally betting on sports in the state is not an option at the moment. Yet, there are still offshore sports betting platforms that operate in Maryland without the needed authorization.
It should be pointed out that the attempts for the legalization of sports betting started several years ago, and initially, the idea of lawmakers was to make this form of gambling available at racetracks and lottery retailers. Still, this proposal was largely frowned upon, which in practice set the stage for the changes that took place in 2020 and 2021, thus showing that legislatures come out serious on that issue.
Gov. Larry Hogan was the one to sign in the HB 940 bill, which legalizes betting on sports in Maryland in May this year, and the purpose of this piece of legislation is to provide the basis for the future development of the industry. According to the provisions of the bill, a two-tiered licensing system will be in place, and the permit operators will be given will be determined by the scope of their offerings.
As it turns out, Senator Craig Zucker is one of the biggest proponents of sports betting and can be described as a figure with a significant contribution to the shaping of the sports betting industry of the state. In fact, he was the one to introduce the sports betting bill, which was unanimously approved.
It goes without saying that a larger amount of time will be required until Maryland's gambling industry becomes fully-fledged, but the good news is that gambling enthusiasts are already just a few months away from betting on sports without violating the law.
Horse Racing in Maryland
Horse racing is one of the things Maryland is best known for, and this is hardly a surprise considering that the sport has a 150-years old history in the state. During that time, Maryland has hosted numerous major events, and say nothing of the fact that it is home to Pimlico Race Course, which is one of the oldest tracks in the US.
Today, there are a total of six racetracks on the territory of the state, and these include Timonium Race Course, Pimlico Race Course, Fair Hill Races, Laurel Park, Ocean Downs, and Rosecroft Raceway.
Betting on horse races is possible at all of these racetracks, but as they head over to Timonium Race Course or Pimlico Race Course, punters cannot enjoy live racing there. Aside from being one of the six brick-and-mortar casinos in Maryland, Ocean Downs stands out as the only racino within the state.
These are not the only options gambling enthusiasts will have when they feel like placing a few bets on horse racing, as there are several standalone OTBs across the state. These include Riverboat on the Potomac, Greenmount Station, and Long Shot. In addition to this, three of the casinos in Maryland have off-track betting parlors.
Fortunately for gambling enthusiasts, they are not required to go all the way to one of the casinos or the OTBs in order to bet on horse races, as they can do so also over the Internet, which is the case in most other US states.
Daily Fantasy Sports in Maryland
Interestingly enough, Maryland was the very first state to make daily fantasy sports contests legal, and this happened back in 2012. The introduction of the Maryland House Bill 7 (2012) made betting on daily fantasy sports an option for residents of the state to enjoy because they were no longer included in the definition of gambling. In this way, such betting options were added to the line-ups of covered sports of all majors sportsbooks that cater to this market.
Operators are not required to apply for a license or pay such fees in order to offer daily fantasy sports contests to residents of the state. With this in mind, it is a must for operators to impose a deposit limit of $1,000 at the most. Besides, colleague sports contests cannot be included in the agenda of operators. Another essential thing that should be taken into account is that officers, employees, contractors, or principals are not allowed to engage in daily fantasy sports contests.
Paid-entry fantasy sports contests became a hot topic in Maryland a few years ago, and there were even calls for the introduction of a blanket ban on such. In spite of the fact that a bill was made out, it was not put forward.
Are Lotteries and Bingo Available in Maryland
As far as bingo goes, it should be mentioned that only charitable games are allowed and the laws that apply to these games vary wildly between the different counties and cities. An important thing to mention about bingo halls is that the permissions required to operate such are not granted on a state level, but on a county level instead.
There are requirements about the charge for admission, which cannot be greater than $5, jackpot prizes cannot go over $5,000, and license holders cannot conduct bingo for more than 125 days per year.
As is the case with the majority of the gambling-friendly US states, the legal gambling age in Maryland is also 21 years. Yet, lotteries, betting on horse races, or playing bingo are much more widely available as players must be at least 18 years old to participate in any of these.
The scope of the gambling options continues to expand, and a Senate Bill was passed to allow residents of the state to play poker and mahjong at home.
Lottaries and Bingo
Online Sports Betting in Maryland
It is safe to say that gambling has gone back and forth in Maryland, but its gambling industry is much more developed when compared to other states. When online gambling is concerned, at the moment, there are no web-based casinos or poker portals that operate legally in Maryland. Betting on horse races is the only option residents of the state have if they are more into betting over the Internet.
According to the state's legislation, accepting bets or engaging in gambling activities without the respective seal of approval is not allowed on the territory of Maryland. This is to say that accommodating gambling enthusiasts from Maryland is a no-go for operators at the moment.
In spite of the fact that most other US states envisage penalties for gambling enthusiasts and operators who are found to violate the law, this is not the case with Maryland. Another thing, which is worth noting about the state is that it does not go after gambling enthusiasts who use the services of offshore sports betting platforms.
Legality Things to Consider
Offline Gambling Legal Race tracks and casinos
Online Gambling Legal Daily fantasy sports and horse race betting. Sports betting is still pending
Lottery Legal
Charitable Gambling Legal Only playing bingo is possible
Social Gambling Illegal
Gaming Regulatory Bodies in Maryland
The State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency is authorized by the General Assembly and it has been working since 1973. Now, it has five divisions, and initially, its duties included the sale of lottery tickets and the distribution of prizes. Still, when land-based casinos were authorized, their oversight was also added to the list of the responsibilities of the Agency during a special session of the senate.
After the legalization of sports betting, the oversight of such gambling activities was delegated to the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission through House Bill 940. The State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission plays the role of an advisory board to State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, and its responsibilities include overseeing the operations of video lottery terminals, lotteries, and gaming services.
It should also be mentioned that thoroughbred horse racing falls under the purview of the Maryland Horse Races Commission. Its responsibilities also include overseeing and regulating the seven off-track betting sites that operate across the state, as well as guaranteeing the proper distribution of the staked amounts.
The newly set-up Sports Wagering Application Review Commission is authorized by the General Assembly in May 2021, and its responsibilities are to scrutinize and evaluate the applications for sports betting licenses. The licenses the Commission awards can be Class A and Class B, and the first type is given to major sports franchises and video lottery operators. Class B licenses, on the other hand, are given to commercial bingo entities, qualified horse racing, and simulcast betting.
Gaming Regulatory Bodies
Types of Licenses Operators Can Apply for And Fees
As it was mentioned already, the licensing system, which was established in Maryland is two-tiered. Class A licenses are given for the brick-and-mortar casinos across the state, the Jockey Club, along with the professional sports stadium and teams. Most people hope that in the future, licenses will be granted to the teams of NHL, MLS, and NBA.
Class B licenses are awarded to local businesses that are open for competitive bidding. These include bingo halls that have 200 or more slot machines, off-track betting parlors, and the State Fairgrounds.
The first entities that will get permission to offer in-person sports betting have already become known, and as we explained already, these include five racetracks, six casinos, and three professional stadiums. According to the laws that were already passed, the number of Class B licenses is limited to 30, while digital licenses are capped at 60.
There are several other limitations that have raised concerns among gambling operators, and one of the things they are worried about is that promotional play will not have a ceiling during the first year after they kick off their services in Maryland. Yet, the regulations envisage that once the first year ends, promotional play cannot go over 20% of the sports wagering proceeds of the operator for the previous year.
Operators are also concerned about the duration of the period when disputes should be resolved, the requested changes in their betting menus, and promotions, among others.
Responsible Play Policies in Maryland
Considering that gambling is thriving in Maryland, it makes sense that problem gambling is not an unheard-of issue. That being said, this issue is not turned a blind eye to, and there are several programs and organizations that can help problem gamblers along. This is exactly the case with the Maryland Alliance for Responsible Gambling and The Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling.
Self-Exclusion Program
Maryland's voluntary self-exclusion program is another option gambling enthusiasts have when they feel like their betting session is going out of control. In order to take advantage of it, punters are required to fill and file an application, and in this way, they will not be admitted to any of the gambling premises on the territory of the state.
Please note that once the application is filed, the exclusion will remain valid for a period of 24 months, and the procedure cannot be suspended. In certain circumstances, the inclusion in the program might even be permanent.
Sports Betting Promotions in Maryland
As far as bonuses and special deals go, there are a number of key terms gambling operators should be aware of as they will have a significant impact on their efforts to attract new users on board. First off, such bonus incentives should be presented in an unambiguous manner and should not be directed towards individuals who are under the age of 21.
Additionally, individuals who are younger than 21 years old cannot take part in advertisements of activities that are related to sports betting. The information, which has to do with the promotion itself needs to be explained in a clear-cut manner, and these include the offered perks, available bets, and so on.
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