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Location: Whitley Bay, Northumberland
Author/Guide: Ann Cleeves
2000s: Vera takes on her most troubling and most personal case yet
A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a part in his downfall.
Brace now promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, but he wants something in return. He has a daughter and grandchildren on the outside who will need protection. Brace then tells Vera about Robbie – he disppeared yes, but now he's dead and he was the one to bury his body close to St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.
This cold case takes Vera back to her own past, as Brace and Marshall were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, with another man know as 'The Prof', they were 'the Gang of Four', and Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive.
A case for Vera which is set to get a lot more personal than she would like.
England - North East England
A: Whitley Bay - Spanish City
B: Whitley Bay - Promenade - "The Seagull"
C: Whitley Bay beach
D: Whitley Bay - St Marys Island
England - Northumberland
E: Morpeth - Druridge Bay - Drift Cafe
F: Morpeth - Warkworth Castle
A seaside town on the North East Coast, slightly faded and shabby now (although still very popular as the beach and fish and chips are some of the best in the area!) but back in its heyday it was the place to go for youngsters on a night out.
The Seagull club was at the heart of the action it would seem. this club is fictional but representative of clubs on the seafront willing to entice drinkers and party goers alike. The writing as Ann mentions in her author's note, brings Whitley Bay back to its heyday of The Spanish City and the Idols Night club – both iconic sites and well known across the region. The Spanish city used to be a fun fair but it's been closed for many years and is actually going through a period of regeneration. The councillors and people involved with this project in real life are not those in the novel of course.
The dome of the Spanish city still shines bright over the town and it's apparently going to be an art gallery in the future. The aroma of the best fish and chips in town still lingers and there might not be The Seagull but there are plenty of the chip stealing , dive-bombing variety so hold on to your hats on your booktrail!
On your way up to the Northumberland parts of the booktrail don't forget to call into the Drift Cafe at Druridge Bay – Vera approved don't you know.
And there's a lovely nod once again to the Lit and Phil, Newcastle
Well this takes Vera to a whole new level. She' s just as curmudgeonly, still annoying Joe but there is a new side to her here, a vulnerable one and this time the reader gets to know her that little bit more.
A faded seaside town provides Vera with her most challenging case yet. The sense of foreboding was electric and the personal links to Vera really gave an insight in to the lady herself.
Her father is seemingly involved with her latest case and when she visits one of his associates in prison, finds a body and then is asked to look out for someone on the outside, Vera finds herself walking a very fine line. I've never found her vulnerable yet still with that frown and those vinegar laced comments. Vera is fearful of facing the past and with the way the present day case pans out, I'm not surprised. Bodies at St Mary's Light house, a dodge club at Whitley Bay – this is her most personal case yet.
I also liked the way we got to know Joe more – his struggles at home with a new family and Holly too. A great cast of characters which bounce off each other with ease. The camaraderie is great too and the banter as strong as northern builder's tea.
The central mystery is complex and dark but in a very good and clever way. This is the strongest Vera yet and the club and its dealings had such a menacing air – not even St Mary's Lighthouse could shine on it and brighten it up – well there were two dead bodies out there.
Chillingly brilliant with a sense of menace and foreboding which really brought Vera to the forefront and gave me a thrilling new insight into the lady of the mac and hat.
Vera's most personal case yet – Whitely Bay has never looked so dark and mysterious
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Seagull
Destination: Whitley Bay, Northumberland Author/Guide: Ann Cleeves Departure Time: 2000s
Cold Earth (Shetland 7)
Silent Voices (Vera Stanhope 4)
The Glass Room (Vera Stanhope 5)
Dead Water (Shetland 5)
Ann Cleeves Shetland
The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope 1)
The Moth Catcher (Vera Stanhope 7)
Thin Air (Shetland 6)
Too Good To Be True (Quick Reads)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Fayyad: Palestinian cause marginalized
Palestinian PM says Arab Spring, eurozone crisis and US elections have all but pushed Palestinian statehood bid off international community's agenda
Ynetnews|Published: 07.28.12 , 23:37
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Saturday that the Palestinian people's statehood aspiration have been all but pushed off the international community's agenda.
In an interview with the British Independent, Fayyad said that the world's focus on the Arab Spring, the financial crisis plaguing European Union countries and the nearing presidential elections in the United States, have "marginalized" the Palestinian cause.
PA: Economy not strong enough for statehood
World Bank: Palestinians not ready for state
Palestinian official visits Auschwitz memorial
Fayyad told the newspaper that "Palestinian leaders were facing a path of growing untenability while the world largely focuses its attention elsewhere."
The Palestinian PM was critical of what he called "the West's failure to tackle Israel more seriously" over its failure to adhere to the Road Map and its settlement activity, which the PA says is a violation of international law.
Fayyad meets Clinton (Photo: Mati Stern)
"Our cause has never been this marginalized. Ever. This is our greatest challenge," he said.
Fayyad further warned that the Palestinian Authority itself was being undermined, citing Ramallah's financial difficulties and the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which he said was undermining the Palestinian people's faith in their government.
In the interview, the Palestinian PM was critical of the Mideast Quartet, for what he said was the panel's "misplaced" focus on relaunching the peace talks "at the expense of paying attention to Israel's violations."
He further blasted the international community for allowing Israel to expand settlement in the West Bank "with no consequences whatsoever."
"There is not a night when there are not multiple raids or incursions in Area A," he said, referring to the area that – according to the Oslo Accords – is under the PA's full control.
"It really is outrageous. There is not a single requirement of the Road Map that the government of Israel can assert they are complying with. Not one."
As for the stalled peace talks, Fayyad was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the "international emphasis on the (peace) process was not well placed."
He said that while he had no objections to Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams meeting, but added that "When someone says they accept the two-state solution but they have overriding security interests… and there are all these facts on the ground they have to preserve, what exactly is left?"
Fayyad also urged the international community to "find a way to confront Israel over the occupation without in any way delegitimizing Israel itself."
"What the EU, indeed the whole world should do… is to ask the government of Israel – any government of Israel a straightforward question: 'Do you support as a solution to this conflict the emergence of a fully sovereign state of Palestine on the territory occupied in 1967, including east Jerusalem? Yes or no?'
"If they answer yes it is going to be very hard for them to explain how they continue to accept settlement expansion and settler extremism," he told the UK paper.
The same applied to the "violent manner in which the Israeli army deals with non-violent Palestinian protests. This is both wrong and can be extremely dangerous from a security point of view because you simply don't know whether there is going to be an incident too many." And indeed both create the feeling that there is a "feeble PA" that "cannot do anything to effectively represent the people by mobilizing international opinion to stop this."
Addressing concerns that a third intifada may be looming, he said: "When you cease to become a source of credible and convincing answers to your people... that is really a danger zone.
"I don't have to speculate whether we will have an intifada today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Even without that happening I believe we are on a path of growing political untenability. The PA should be strengthened, bolstered. It is a key instrument of peacemaking, and it would be a travesty if this were to be allowed to continue because sooner or later you become completely politically untenable."
Still, despite all of the hurdles, the Palestinian prime minister said he believes that the two-state solution is still possible: "By decree, Palestinians have to be optimistic… But only provided there is a new approach by the international community," he concluded.
See all talkbacks "Fayyad: Palestinian cause marginalized"


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text:
WiredJA
WiredJA News Team	Health 2021-07-27
JAMAICA | COVID-19 Figures increase, new measures announced by PM Holness
KINGSTON, July 26, 2021 - With Jamaica's COVID-19 figures going in the wrong direction, and an increase in hospitalisations and Coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said he had no choice but to tighten the island's COVID-19 restrictions.
JAMAICA | Arrangements Being Worked out for CARICOM to Receive US Vaccines
Washington DC, July 23, 2021 - United States Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, says the Biden Administration is working through logistical and legal matters to begin distributing vaccines to Jamaica and other CARICOM countries within the shortest possible time.
JAMAICA | Guy concerned about salary unease in the health sector
Kingston, Jamaica. June 28, 2021: Shadow Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy, M.P., says he is genuinely concerned about the latest development regarding health care personnel whose employment contracts have been cancelled or reduced to six months with no definitive time for payment of outstanding salaries and the promised incentives.
JAMAICA | Gov't must pay attention to unrest in health sector says Opposition
Kingston, Jamaica, July 2, 2021: Opposition Leader Mark Golding, in responding to reports that the Ministry of Health finally met with the Medical Doctors Association over what he called their "long-standing and clearly valid concerns", noted that "yesterday's pandemonium in the country's health system was occasioned by the Government's callous disregard and negligence. The Prime Minister should never have allowed it to get to this point."
JAMAICA | Senator Janice Allen calls for Speedy completion of Cornwall Regional Hospital
MONTEGO BAY, JUNE 25, 2021 - Opposition spokesperson on tourism Senator Janice Allen has raised her voice in support of the speedy completion of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay which after five years has shown no sign of completion anytime soon.
JAMAICA | Amidst chaos at vaccine sites, Golding calls for effective vaccine management
Kingston, Jamaica, January 19, 2021: The Opposition has noted the countless reports that the Vaccine Blitz scheduled today for second doses has been a fiasco, frustrating those who came out, and revealing a major shortage in vaccine supply.
JAMAICA | CMO Urges Continued COVID-19 Vigilance To Avoid Summer Surge
KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 19, 2021 - Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, is appealing for continued adherence to the coronavirus (COVID-19) health and safety measures during the summer period.
More Than 220,000 Jamaicans Have Received COVID-19 Vaccine Coronavirus
KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 18, 2021 - More than 220,000 Jamaicans have received at least one dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Of this number, 51,908 persons are fully vaccinated while 168,758 have received their first dose of the vaccine.
JAMAICA | Guy wants Gov't to seek near expired COVID-19 vaccines from the USA
KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 15, 2021 - Member of Parliament for Central St. Mary and Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy, has called on the Government of Jamaica to launch a diplomatic initiative to obtain from the United States, a portion of the millions of COVID-19 vaccines reportedly set to expire shortly.
JAMAICA | Government Announces Recrafted Covid-19 Measures
KINGSTON, June 2, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced recrafted Covid-19 measures under the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA). The amended measures will begin on June 3, 2021, and expire June 30, 2021.


text:
Pacifico Silano, After Silence, Stellar Projects, 2018. Courtesy of the artist and Stellar Projects
Stellar Project
Absent are bodies in Pacifico Silano's After Silence, yet this absence leaves a haunting presence in what remains. The artist, who only photographed magazines he personally culled over the years, was given access to former Whitney curator Richard Marshall's collection of gay pornography, donated to NYU Fales Library following Marshall's passing in 2014. From leather daddies to Americana and foaming beaches, all that is dear to queer life permeates from the pages, not excluding euphoria, endurance, and death. In these works, Silano looks away from the bodies pervaded by carnality to discover the world surrounding them: roadsides, hay farms, back alleys, or the San Francisco skyline. The artist acknowledges the responsibility of interpreting an archive not collected by himself, discovering uncharted territories of his material within technical and dramatic extents of photography. Unoccupied and meditative corners of his images substitute for sexual and narrative implications of bodies, refrained from sight, yet implied in impact.
Pacifico Silano, The Meat Rack, 2018, Archival pigment print, 20 by 16 inches, Edition 1 of 3 + 1AP
The Meat Rack (all works 2018) centers on a cowboy hat resting on a wooden branch; it is the sole hint of human presence in the otherwise unoccupied scene. Neither the owner of the hat nor the reason for hanging it on a tree are evident, leaving the viewer to mediate on a fractured narrative. Under The Hood shows a pick-up truck parked on a dusty road, its hood pitched open as if the vehicle had broken down. A crumpled garment on the edge of the engine compartment suggests a partially nude body elsewhere, but it's not in the frame. To a knowing reader, a man with a broken vehicle in need of help in a foreign town is a perfect porn backstory. However, kink is all in the eyes of the beholder.
Sexuality is occasionally implied: a silhouette reflects onto sun-filled tiles in At Sunset; a hand lifts up a pocket-size mirror behind a wooden door in Untitled (Mirror). Silano's competence over a vast pool of imagery bears intricately-orchestrated shots, arranged meticulously enough to ignite curiosity and composition, at the same time, leaving the viewer room for imagination as well as reflection. The exhibition title aims to trigger us—those proceeding the Stonewall riots and the surge of AIDS pandemic—against the comfort of taking our liberties for granted. Through a direct reference to the Silence=Death collective and their influence on queer solidarity, the works ponder a legacy still in the making. What rests beyond silence is in Silano's shots of the periphery—walls, skies, or trees witness sex experienced not only carnally, but also politically. Deprived of the explicit imagery, the viewer is prompted to question the victories and losses of queer emancipation.
Pacifico Silano, Untitled (Mirror), 2018, Archival pigment print, 20 by 16 inches, Edition 1 of 3 + 1AP
Silano's camera espouses its subject matter, elevating the blemishes on decades-old spreads and embracing their physicality as books. The body of the page is handled with delicacy and affection. The artist emphasizes the negative space and tactility of the paper to remind his audience of the reality of his subjects. The lenient relationship between his lens and periodicals results in a nuanced appreciation of their corporealities and intellectual properties. Coming from dusty boxes in attics or deep corners of closets, they are torn, folded and put aside, yet here to resist the fickle present.
Osman Can Yerebakan
Osman Can Yerebakan is a curator and art writer based in New York.


[MUSIC] These days the tech industry is flaunting it's curves, I am Bridget Carey and this is your C-net update. Just when you think you have seen everything in a smart phone, Samsung has come out with a whole new design to standout from the crowd. The company unveiled the Galaxy Note Edge, which is essentially just like the new Galaxy Note 4. But the right side of the screen edge curves down to create a separate side display. The bend in the screen contains its own touch controls, app shortcuts and notifications. You can interact with them without leaving the window you're on. It can show a Yahoo Sports sticker or a list of trending Twitter hashtags. Camera controls pop up when the app is open, and you can pull up sketching options when you're using the stylist pen. If the Curve isn't for you, Samsung also unveiled the Galaxy Note 4. It's the latest phone table hybrid with a 5.7 inch screen. If you like your phones extra large, this screen is a higher resolution and it charges faster than the previous Note. The stylus has double the sensitivity and allows for more drag and drop controls, And you'll notice Samsung takes a small step into a metal design with the outer frame. The backing is still plastic. It comes in black, white, gold, or pink. These phones will come out later this year with the pricing announced later. And if you decide to get a Note 4 you could also pair it with Samsung's new gear VR, it's a virtual reality headset that was built in partnership with Facebook's Occulus. You just snap the phone inside, the controls are on the side panels of the eyepiece. Reporters were shown demos, including footage of a Coldplay concert. And some animation of flying through space, but am not sure how long you'll wanna play a game this way before it gets uncomfortable. Samsung has also been demoing its new curved screen Gear S smartwatch. Which we learned about last week. It's the first watch with its own SIM card and data plan. That means you can actually send texts on this if your finger is so up to the pecking challenge. Samsung promises there will be 1,000 apps for it when it launches, and the battery may last you up to two days at best. Is also a snap on battery charger if you gave it a boost while you are on the go. Now Samsung is not the only company showing off new products. There is an abundance of new gadgetry been announced this week as the ISA tech conference takes place in Berlin. Sony is showcasing a new fitness band with an e-ink display, similar to what's on a Kindle. It's called a SmartBand Talk because it also makes and receives phone calls, using a built-in speaker. But it needs to be wirelessly connected to your phone. Sony hasn't given an exact price yet. That's your tech news update. Keep your [UNKNOWN] to c net for continuing coverage from the I-S-A tech show. From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.


text:
Two new studies indicate that Wall Street's profits and bonuses are vastly disproportionate to the value the industry adds to the economy.
By Jeff Madrick
Quite a media hullabaloo was raised when the New York Times reported a week ago that Citigroup's head energy trader, Andrew Hall, was possibly collecting a $100 million bonus for the profits his group earned in 2008–most if probably not all of it made trading on the price of oil. Hall is one of those independent-minded, nervy traders who generate enormous profits when they are right. Remember, the price of oil rose to $145 a barrel last summer, before plunging to roughly $35 in the next six months. It's possible Hall made money in both directions–first by betting long (counting on a price rise) and then by betting short (predicting a fall). But even if he has lost money on balance in 2009, it is unlikely he would have to return any of that huge bonus. That's because Wall Street employees have a very sweet deal: it's heads I win, tails you lose.
What has everyone especially up in arms, however, is that Citigroup is still a ward of the state, as the Times put it. The US government has a 34 percent stake in the bank holding company, which received some $45 billion in bailout money. It is pretty understandable that people are furious it is being used to finance these outsize bonuses.
But what should really have the public upset is that it is increasingly obvious these star traders and bankers do not deserve the money in the first place, bailout or not.
Many of us may feel this in our guts. But now a couple of mainstream economists have gathered some serious evidence to support the case. They find that big profits on Wall Street, and the big bonuses they fund, don't reflect the value these firms add to the economy. They would add just as much to the economy through accessible and cheap financing and innovative investment vehicles at much lower levels of profits and individual compensation.
We have been waiting for mainstream economists to rise to this challenge for years. Now, several seem to be doing it. In one study, Thomas Philippon of NYU examined financial innovation and comparative worker compensation in the financial industry since the early 1900s; his paper was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Philippon put together a sophisticated benchmark to analyze the pay in finance compared to pay for those who work in other professions and have comparable abilities, experience and education, among more sophisticated variables. One of the technical points is that, if the chances of being laid off are high, compensation should also be higher due to the risk. He adjusts for that issue and some other esoteric factors.
What does Philippon find? That since the late 1990s compensation has risen far faster than in previous periods, including the flamboyant and highly speculative 1920s. For more than a decade, financial pay has been up to 50 percent higher than what it would have been if it were based on what the finance industry contributes to the economy.
The results of another study, by Lawrence Katz of Harvard, are more striking. He and the economic historian Claudia Goldin, also of Harvard, tracked the careers of Harvard College graduates from three periods: the early 1970s, early 1980s and early 1990s. Katz and Goldin compared these students across many criteria: SAT scores, grade-point averages, years at work, size of family and so on.
The conclusions are pretty stunning: Many more college grads went into finance in this period than in previous years, as one would expect. That is no surprise. But the premium they earned over their comparable colleagues was enormous. Katz and Goldin found that the grads in finance made on average 200 percent more. The study is published in the May 2008 special issue of American Economic Review, "Papers & Proceedings."
Where did the money come from? As the economists put it, it could only have been possible over so long a period of time if the financial employees shared in enormous "rents" earned by the industry. "Rent" is a technical term, meaning that these financial firms generated revenue well above what is justified in terms of what they contribute to the economy's efficiency, productivity and growth. To put it another way, financial firms would have undertaken the same activities for much less profit–and their employees would have done the same job for much less compensation.
Competition is supposed to wither such surpluses away. At least, that's the long-standing argument for a free market. But if this is true in other industries (and it is probably less true than is widely believed), it is clearly not so in finance. They made money not because they deserve it, but because of a special advantage they have.
All of which begs the question: Why does the financial industry make such high rents–that is, make more than can be justified by their contribution to economic growth? Is there too little competition? Is it easy to cheat investors or manipulate markets? According to modern economic theory, there may be a lack of adequate information about the finance industry's complex products, which would give these firms a distinct and persistent advantage. Or, alternatively, is there simply a constant flow of inside information?
One can only hope good economists will now turn more of their attention to the sources of this undue advantage. In the meantime, it is increasingly clear that these bonuses are not justified by the competitive marketplace. They are the fruits of unfair economic privilege. The money could be far better invested elsewhere.
Jeff MadrickJeff Madrick is director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative at the Century Foundation and editor of Challenge magazine. His latest book is Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World.


text:
Camera System for Studio 39
I used to do some freelance work with a company called Studio 39. They had a storefront on Pier 39 in San Francisco where they offered 'magic carpet rides' through San Francisco. They had a green screen cyclorama with a rotating platform that a persian carpet sat on. Tourists would come and sit on the platform and video would be shot of them with a robotic camera which was composited in real-time with pre-shot footage of San Francisco that made them appear to be flying around on the carpet. When I started working for them, they had a simple system already working but wanted to refine the motion and how it was controlled. We eventually ended up controlling everything with custom electronics that I designed that made everything move smoothly with no jarring stops or starts. Control was done with a standard Playstation II controller that was attached to an accelerometer unit that allowed them to control the roll of the camera.
The video above shows the system in use with the composited video that was the result of the system. One problem with this system is that because the camera system and controller was moving around for about 16 hours a day every day, I would have to come out to Los Vegas every few months and do repairs because of broken wires. I was getting tired of doing that because even though they had spares of everything, they would generally wait to call me until everything was broken and I would have to drop whatever I was doing and fly out to fix things. I decided to try to talk them into having me write some software that would replace the functionality of the camera in software. Here is what I came up with for them. It was an earlier prototype so everything was controlled with sliders at that point. The output of this software was meant to feed into their chroma key unit so that they could arrive at the final composite. The plan was to eventually record all of the 'camera' movements for various numbers of people on the magic carpet and have the system be completely automated so that the composite was done right on the computer. Unfortunately, while I was working on this, the company had a hostile takeover by one of its investors. The original owners ended up with ownership of this software. They tried to set up a new company in a different city but their former investor sabotaged things for them at their new venue so this software was never used.
©Robot Brigade 2014


The baldachin symbolizes the desire for safety, security or benefits. In ancient times, a baldachin was used to protect people in high positions, so as kings or priests, from the sun and the weather. On a deeper level, the dreamer is still claimed this privilege. – The dreamer of the dream in under a baldachin does know about his potential for great achievements. Baldachin promises more prestige and honors, even if it sits underneath. – Plotting it may involve a warning, because you might get exploited by others and helps them to respect and success (this can especially be true in the professional area).
The head is the seat of the mind and it is protected through the baldachin. The baldachin can be cut off from access to the dreamer higher ideals and goals.
The baldachin may be associated with a special symbol for spiritual protection.
– Concerns can not scare easily, but are invisible helpers provide assistance so that the domestic happiness remains protected.
Hindu – reputation and imminent.
– see: hope; – under a stand: honours of all kinds.


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Articles / Interior living
Catch the breeze – interior by MJ Berries
Story by Colleen Hawkes
Photography by Jamie Cobel
Summer house by MJ Berries
Catch the breeze – interior by MJ Berries Discover this article's resources 0
Traditional New England shingle-style homes dot the coastline along the Eastern Seaboard. The style has become especially synonymous with summer houses on Long Island and in the Martha's Vineyard region.
This new house, on Chappaquiddick Island, echoes the architectural vernacular, but the design team from MJ Berries – Jon Hattaway and Martin Potter – have put a very personal spin on the interior.
Hattaway says the two owners had different preferences that needed to be accommodated with the design, color and material palettes.
"He loves tradition, while she is an artist devoted to color and texture," he says. "They both had a lot of design involvement with the house, right from the start, including the architecture. The house, which was designed by Ahearn Architecture, has a very New England look when viewed from the water, but has a more European sensibility at the front.
"The home is large, with five light and airy bedroom suites that are almost like separate apartments, where the extended family can stay when they come to visit."
View all 23 images in the gallery
Hattaway says all the suites have space for seating areas and ensuite bathrooms, and are linked to an additional room that could be a children's bedroom. And they are all designed to maximize spectacular water views.
"This arrangement means there is a suite for the owners, and one for each of their children and families. Each suite needed to match the personalities and design preferences of the people who stay there."
The designer says the size of the bedrooms was a challenge – it was essential that furniture did not look lost in the space. Consequently, the team took a bold approach, opting for large, comfortable beds and sofas, area rugs and a mix of old and new furnishings.
One ground-floor suite features a warm raspberry-colored painted floor and light sky blue painted beadboard walls. This suite has French doors that open up to the water views. To expand the sense of this view, Hattaway and Potter positioned two large mirrors either side of the doors. These are made from vintage arched windows, which provides a visual link to the fenestration elsewhere in the house.
This room also features pyramid étagère shelving units that reinforce the symmetry.
Soft white linen drapes with deep hems are found in many of the bedrooms.
"In the humidity, the linen rises and falls like the tide," says Hattaway. "This is simply what happens when you hang linen drapes just 30ft from the ocean – but it is all part of the look. The drapery metal hardware was chosen to resist the effects of the salt air. The rods have a very simple design, bordering on the industrial. It's a style used in 18th and 19th century houses in France, so it has a historical precedent."
For the suite shown on these pages, the team chose a red and white theme, with sheer cotton gingham drapes. The drapes are layered, and the lining is not attached at the bottom, which means the fabric billows in the breeze, enhancing a sense of romance and escape.
But the interior of this suite is more complex than can be seen at first glance.
"There are at least seven different shades of white in the room, and about the same number of different reds," says Hattaway. "If all the walls, ceilings, doors and floor were painted in the same white, the room would look very flat and two dimensional. It is the subtle play of tones that give it vitality – they bring it to life."
Throughout the house, color is present, yet restrained. Many of the fabrics have a faded quality, with brighter tones introduced through accessories, such as an antique blanket chest or side table. The owner's artworks enliven all the rooms, including the master suite, shown on these pages, which features a soft periwinkle blue painted barrel-vaulted ceiling. Hattaway says the owner also likes to bring a touch of black to a room, as a defining accent.
The master suite is the one bedroom that has a natural wood floor – Brazilian hardwood. Natural materials also appear in the brown bamboo side chairs, which feature woven sides and dark lashing.
"The median brown tones of the wood dictated the exact shade of the blue and green we needed to introduce," says the designer. "Everything in this room, from the blue-framed paintings – with one quirky red frame – to the vintage quilt on the bed, works together to unify the space and evoke the right feeling."
Hattaway's and Potter's love of furnishings even influenced the design of the terrace railing on the balcony outside. This mimics a Chinese Chippendale pattern.
First published date: 09 July 2013
Credit List
Interior designer Jon Hattaway and Martin Potter, MJ Berries (Boston)
Paints Benjamin Moore
Flooring in master suite Brazilian hardwood
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ABBY LEE MILLER: Former 'Dance Moms' star Abby Lee Miller sentenced to prison for bankruptcy fraud
Victorville federal correctional institution
Bankruptcy fraud. abby
Coach abby lee miller
Resources pdf nmls policy
Abby Lee Miller has been released from prison and transferred to a halfway house, PEOPLE confirms.. The Dance Moms star had been serving her 366-day sentence for bankruptcy fraud at the.
. Abby Lee Miller was indicted. She was charged with bankruptcy fraud, concealment of bankruptcy assets and. Abby Lee Dance Company; Dance Moms.
The day has come, Abby Lee Miller is a free woman again.sort off. The former "Dance Moms" star was released from the victorville federal correctional institution in California.She was sent to the FCI in July 2017 following a conviction for bankruptcy fraud. abby Lee is still not completely finished serving out her sentence but the remainder should be a little less miserable.
'Dance Moms' former coach abby lee miller faces more trouble Dance Moms' Star Abby Lee Miller Indicted for Fraud – ABC News – go.com Weeks before Miller goes to prison, she needs to deal with another trouble in her Florida home.
Dance Moms Star, Abby Lee Miller Visits Beaumont. Reality Star, Abby Lee Miller from the hit Lifetime show, Dance Moms visits Beaumont and shares her advice and positive energy with fans at The Dance Emporium. Read more.
Just over his shoulder, you can see a white van in the distance. Bingo! In the early days of Downton Abbey, viewers delighted.
"Dance Moms" star Abby Lee Miller has been sentenced to a year in prison for bankruptcy fraud, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. She will pay a $40,000 fine and spend two years on probation following.
alternated: best refinance home mortgage loan rate Resources alternated: principal mortgage co resources pdf nmls policy GUIDEBOOK – NMLS Resource Center – The NMLS Policy Guidebook IS NOT a substitute for understanding the licensing requirements of each state in which an applicant or licensee wishes to apply for or maintain a license. It is the responsibility of all users of NMLS to fully understand.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Former "Dance Moms" reality television star Abby Lee Miller was sentenced on Tuesday to a year and a day in prison by a federal judge in Pittsburgh for bankruptcy fraud and.
Florida Real Estate & Mortgage | 2008 and $100 Barrels of Oil ~ The Year Ahead. The 2000s commodities boom or the 'commodities super cycle' was the rise, and fall, of many.. The price of recycled paper has varied greatly over the last 30 or so years.. In January 2008, oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time, the first of many.. DRC $900-million copper mine to come on stream in 2009.
The federal bankruptcy fraud sentencing for former Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller is set to conclude before a federal judge today in Pittsburgh. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Melucci wants.
Judge rejects lottery for medical marijuana growers; orders health department to write new rules | Naked Politics Maine's lawmakers call for more effort to combat hate crimes . Though hate crimes appear to be down in Maine, the state's senators and members of Congress say it's important to address i t.AMERICANS FACE POST FORECLOSURE HELL AS WAGES GARNISHED, ASSETS SEIZED For knowledgeable advice and tips on foreclosure & bankruptcy issues check out. However, according to the Washington Post, increased health care costs and. from creditors so that they cannot seize personal assets or garnish wages.. Founder of Failed New Century Bank Faces Foreclosure on Personal Condo.
Published on May 13, 2017 Abby Lee Miller, the former host of 'Dance Moms' was sentenced to a year-and-a-day in federal prison following her conviction on bankruptcy fraud. Prosecutors said Abby.
Saving for College 101 unimportant pioneer: muddiness fuming The Mysterious Island. Jules Verne [1874] This web edition published by eBooks@Adelaide. Last updated Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 14:25. To the best of our knowledge, the text of thisAs financial advisors, we are often asked about debt, retirement or college planning. However, one of the primary ways to improve your financial situation is to plan for the unexpected. An emergency.


LED Flashing Maracas, also called Flashing Sand Hammer, make by eco-friendly materials, which can be used as LED instrument and the best choice for parties, concerts, nightclubs and festivals.
1.logo also can be printed onto it for the promotion events as your opnion.
2.When you press the switch button on the handle one time, the LED starts flashing as a "Red→Green→Blue→Red" process. 3.You can shake the maracas and the small plastic balls(PS material) inside the head will make a great sound effects, if there are many pieces of maracas flashing and shaking together, the live field you are in must becoming more crazy.
4.When you press the switch button again, the LED crush out but you can also make sound by shake it.


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When Diesel's Advertising Is On Point, It's Everything
Why we love the Italian clothing line's aesthetic.
By Liz Raiss
Issue 9, 2001 / The FADER
I have to admit, I don't know a ton about the clothing brand Diesel. I don't wear a lot of distressed denim or "going out looks" so I've never really had occasion to shop there, and our paths just haven't crossed much anywhere else. Except for when it comes to their advertisements, which I fucking love. The first Diesel advertisement I ever saw has stuck with me for the decade since — waxy figures with milky skin extolling the virtues of eating algae and abstaining from sex — and was delighted to come across them again in a 2001 issue of The FADER.
In the early 2000s, everything was about idolization: it was peak Britney, peak Paris. The idea of using these fake characters — one figure read "Henry Inchbald, born 1884" — instead of the regular coterie of of-the-moment models felt almost subversive, or at the very least, exotic. Since then, I've developed a fascination with the Italian company's peculiar branding, which ranges from the utterly tasteless (their more recent "Be Stupid" campaign, which features a man biting the butt of an unseen woman with the slogan "Eat Better") to the wonderfully surreal. In a world where fashion magazines are increasingly becoming little booklets composed almost entirely of identical advertisements — images of louche-looking models in repose on a chaise longue, with a $10,000 bag just out of arm's reach — Diesel still manages to make me look and sometimes to even shock. Either way, it's fun. Here's some of my faves.
Issue 10, 2002 / The FADER
"Live Fast," 2008 / via Diesel
"Kick Ass," 2010 / via Diesel
"Save Yourself," 2001 / via Diesel
"Portraits For Successful Living," 2010 / via Diesel
"Only The Brave," 2009 / via Diesel
2006 / via Diesel
"Fuck Expectations," 2015 / via Diesel
"Work Hard," 2003 / via Diesel
Diesel, Liz Raiss
Azealia Banks praises right-wing, anti-trans Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in new interview
style / News


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Equity Trust
eq' ui ty: 1. a financial interest in a property, 2. a moral principle of fairness
Farms for Farmers
Preserving Farms for Farmers
Farm Projects
Farmland Video
Hudson Valley Affordable Farms
Secure Land for Urban Agriculture
Equity Trust Fund
For Lenders
For Borrowers
Lending Collaborations
Farm Preservation
CLT Resources
Just Economics
Networks and Links
Chuck Matthei
Changing the way we think about and hold property
Please make a gift today to help protect community ownership of land and other resources!
Farm Preservation Technical Assistance
Model farm preservation documents
Information for borrowers
Information for lenders
Resources for download or purchase
View our farm projects
Meet our borrowers
Good Humus Produce
Jeff and Annie Main have been developing their organic farm, Good Humus Produce, on 20 acres in Capay, CA, since 1976. When they arrived on the property northwest of Sacramento in Yolo County, there was a single olive tree. The Mains built a beautiful house, a barn, greenhouses, and other infrastructure and their plantings include hedgerows of native trees that serve as windbreaks and a source of fuelwood, as well as 10 acres of annual crops, a large flower and herb garden, and a diverse orchard, all organic, providing forage and habitat for pollinators, predatory insects, and other wildlife. They built a business selling produce through the Davis Farmers' Market, food co-ops, and a CSA that provides vegetables and fruit once a week for 48 weeks out of the year to 175 members in the Sacramento region, Davis, Woodland, and San Francisco. Optional fruit and flowers, along with bread from a local bakery, are available, and Good Humus supplies a "winter and fruit share" for some of the members of Live Power Farm CSA, which Equity Trust assisted in creating an easement, that we hold and that inspired the Mains' efforts.
At the end of October 2018, the Mains placed a specialized agricultural conservation easement on their farm to ensure that it always remains a place where farmers can build a life growing food for their community.
Equity Trust has a long partnership with the Mains and Good Humus Produce. An Equity Trust loan in 2001 allowed the Mains to build a new house on their land. For two decades, Equity Trust supported the Mains as they worked to realize a vision, beyond their own tenure on the land, for permanently protecting Good Humus Produce as a working farm that will continue to provide food for the surrounding communities. Over the years, Equity Trust provided guidance and technical assistance on the development of an easement that permanently protects the land, requiring that the land be farmed sustainably, that the farmer(s) live on the land, and that at least half of the farmer's income be derived from farming the land. It also ensures the farm remains affordable to future farmers. In addition to consulting on the easement itself, Equity Trust accepted donations to a fund that was used to help purchase the easement.
The Mains have been actively involved in their agricultural community in many ways for many years, having helped to start both the food co-op and the farmers market in Davis, CA, and their community in turn supported the Good Humus Produce protection effort, which was boosted by the interest of the Sacramento Natural Food Co-op, the Davis Food Co-op, and the Columbia Foundation. Together with California Farmlink and other partners, in 2009 they created One Farm at a Time, a fundraising effort designed to give "Co-op shoppers the opportunity to invest in the future of the farms that provide their food." With Good Humus as their first featured project, by 2014, the effort had raised the funds needed: $300,000 in addition to the approximately $100,000 held by Equity Trust to protect this farm.
However, the question remained: who would hold the easement? When no California-based land trust stepped forward, Equity Trust agreed to take it on. Further work followed—easement drafting, surveys, appraisals. Finally, in the fall of 2018, the Mains closed on the easement and held a celebration at the farm.
Building their farm has been the Mains' life work, and they see it as even more, that the full value of this community resource can only be realized as it evolves under the stewardship of generations of farmers. Thanks to the Mains and One Farm at a Time, this will happen.
For more on Jeff and Annie Main and Good Humus Produce, see this feature story from Farm Aid and Chuck Schultz's film, The Last Crop.
All content © Equity Trust | Admin. Custom WordPress theme by TopheavyPilesofBooks.


I just felt that Florida really wasn't living up to my expectations food wise. I had some very nice dinners, but on my second night decided to go for sushi in the hope of getting some amazing fresh fish, however, as it was August much of the fish was still imported. The presentation at Kaiyo was beautiful, but coming from London with some of the best sushi restaurants outside of Japan I wasn't impressed by the flavours.
My first night dinner at Snappers was really good, but I just felt that it wasn't hitting the spot. The Key Lime Pie was excellent and never forget you can order take out dessert if you are too full (makes an excellent afternoon tea the next day if you have a fridge) but at heart I am a cheesecake girl.
Finally I went back to the guidebook and stopped for breakfast at the Key Largo Conch House. Stunning breakfast and so I ordered their famous Conch Fritters to go. This is a great stop – although it looks a little dodgy from outside it's small, cosy and bustling and it's almost worth it for the stunning underwater DVD playing in the corner – this is what wide screen TVs were made for!
Although the Conch Fritters (pronounced conk) were tasty it was clear I still was a bit queasy or my body just does not like conk, but I would definitely go back there to try more local specialities.


Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In have 50 picture of interior design, it's including Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In Lovely Sink Illbedead Interior Design 1. Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In Unbelievable CorStone Model 49 Burrillville Interior Design 2. Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In Doubtful Sink Custom Stainless Steel Under Mount And Interior Design 3. Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In Far Fetched Wordtoyour Within Impressive Interior Design 4. Kitchen Sinks With Drainboard Built In Wild Unthinkable Stupefy Fresh Interior Design 5.


New case study now available on our EQMS website! This is beneficial if you're a small business looking for a quality management system. Below is a summary of the case study or alternatively click here to go straight to the Yallem Case Study.
Yallem Ltd are specialists in providing piled foundations for simple and complex projects throughout the UK and internationally. Their aim is to supply a service that meets all their clients' requirements while executing their projects professionally, to the highest quality, on time and within budget.
Jonathan Wilson, Yallem Manager, talks about the challenges in implementing an EQMS system that would work for a small business while enabling Yallem staff to conduct audits on-site, in multiple locations. The system was also required to support ISO 9001 accreditation.


Home Business How to buy a foreclosed home?
Most people follow the traditional method to buy homes. They look for it in home listings, talk to a real estate agent to find the ideal one, and then prepare financially for a down payment and closing costs to finalize the deal. However, purchasing a foreclosed home is different from this method.
A foreclosure is when the lender tries to get hold of the borrower's property used as collateral for the loan and sell it to obtain the balance of the loan. It is done because the borrower may be unable to pay the mortgage.
Buying closed home requires searching through a lot of houses and then writing numerous offers to find the home which you want to buy.
Banks usually employ real estate brokers for managing the REO (real estate owned) properties. It implies that the house has been foreclosed on and the lender shall sell it to recover the loan. If possible, use the bank's broker instead of a buyer's agent. It shall ensure that the commission is not split between two brokers. Since a lot of real estate's agents have been working for the bank for a long time, you can ask them about the listings that have not yet been uploaded on the database.
If you intend to pay the entire amount in cash, then it is fine. Otherwise, you shall need a pre-approval letter from your lender. The letter should have details about the amount of money you can borrow, based on the analysis of the credit score and income.
You should analyze the sales process of the comparable properties and the market conditions and then make the proposal based on them. In some cases, the prices of the house are low according to the bank, and the property ends up having numerous offers over the list price.
You should never buy a foreclosed home at an auction because you won't get the opportunity to take its tour. For further information on foreclosed homes, you can read the Short Sale Blog.


text:
#region S# License

#endregion S# License
namespace StockSharp.Hydra.Core
{
	using StockSharp.Localization;

	/// <summary>
	/// Localized task settings display name.
	/// </summary>
	public class TaskSettingsDisplayNameAttribute : DisplayNameLocAttribute
	{
		/// <summary>
		/// Initizalize new instance.
		/// </summary>
		/// <param name="sourceName">Default name of the task.</param>
		public TaskSettingsDisplayNameAttribute(string sourceName)
			: base(LocalizedStrings.TaskSettings, sourceName)
		{
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Michael Marquesen of the LA Community Health Center shares tips for reaching and engaging people in health care services with host Kristen Paquette. They discuss ways to tailor services to keep participants connected.
Richard Rothstein describes how—contrary to national myth—neighborhood segregation was created by government policies. He and host Jeff Olivet discuss how this has led to wealth, achievement, and health disparities experienced by African Americans.
Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness, joins host Jeff Olivet to discuss what is working and challenges ahead in our response to homelessness in the U.S. They share structural change strategies needed to fix systems and make homelessness rare, brief, and one time.
Stephanie Wahab, Ali Hall, and host Jeff Olivet give tips for social workers and social work students on the practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and letting people take charge. This is the third in a series of episodes on MI.
Kristen Paquette talks with Jack Cameron, a mental health advocate calling in from Ohio, about improving outcomes for people with mental health challenges through increased health literacy, patient activation, and peer support.


Developments in the wider economy are making it more challenging for homebuyers and savers. Building societies continue to support both groups, and maintained a high market share of new mortgage lending and savings in the second quarter of 2017.
Building societies approved 112,340 new mortgage loans. Down 5% on the 118,637 mortgage loans approved in Q2 2016, and broadly the same as Q1 2017 (112,286).
There were 383,980 new mortgages approvals across the market in Q2, giving building societies a market-share of 29%.
Gross lending by building societies was £16.1bn, up 1% on the £15.9bn lent in Q2 2016, and up 6% on Q1 2017 (£15.1bn).
Total market gross lending was £61.9bn, giving building societies a market-share of 26%.
Building societies were responsible for 30% of the growth in the mortgage market, contributing £3.3bn net lending out of the total £11.2bn across the market.
Building societies hold outstanding mortgage balances of £292bn, a 22% market-share.
Savings balances with building societies increased by £3.3bn, down 51% on the £6.8bn rise in the same period in 2016, but up substantially on Q1 2017 (£1.0bn).
Savings balances across the market increased by £14.0bn, giving building societies a 24% market-share; banks took 65% and NS&I 11%.
Building societies hold savings balances of £265bn, an 18% share of the £1,449bn across the market.


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Films to watch for
November-December 2002
Alcatraz is Not an Island is a powerful documentary (which airs Nov. 7 on PBS) about the American Indian activists and their families who occupied Alcatraz Island in November 1969—an act that came to symbolize Indians' right to self-determination. Although remaining Indians were escorted off the island by armed marshals a year later, the occupation sparked both a revival in Indian culture and legislation by the Nixon administration to improve life for Indians. (Turtle Island Productions)
Watch for a new documentary on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the young German theologian who struggled against the Nazis. Included are highlights from Bonhoeffer's year-long stay in New York, when he was influenced by the social justice preaching of Abyssinian Baptist Church's Adam Clayton Powell Sr. Bonhoeffer, directed by Martin Doblmeier, will hit PBS stations this fall and theaters in early 2003. (Journey Films)
Bombies, an hour-long documentary, depicts the ongoing nightmare of the U.S. "secret war" against Laos. From 1964 to 1973, the United States conducted a major bombing campaign on the tiny country in which an estimated 91 million cluster bombs were dropped. Those that didn't immediately explode have killed more than 12,000 people since the war. Bombies looks at the devastating effects of the bombing and what's being done to disarm those that remain. (Bullfrog Films)


Image report of an R proximal Internal Artery Stenosis with Doppler flow.
The Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging procedure images the carotid arteries in the neck region.
Why is the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure Performed?
Doppler ultrasound in children can be helpful to predict risk of stroke in sickle cell disease and find any blockages or abnormalities in blood and lymph vessels. It can also be useful to detect narrowing of vessels and tumors and other vascular abnormalities.
There have been no recent advances to replace the ultrasound procedure.
What is the Cost of performing the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
The cost of a Carotid Artery Ultrasound procedure depends on a variety of factors, such as the type of your health insurance, annual deductibles, co-pay requirements, out-of-network and in-network of your healthcare providers and healthcare facilities.
It is normal for a patient to feel uncomfortable and confused with a sudden inflow of information regarding Carotid Ultrasound Imaging procedure and what needs to be done.
How does the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure work?
How is the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure Performed?
The Ultrasound Imaging - Carotid Artery procedure is performed either as an inpatient or outpatient procedure, at a hospital.
An Ultrasound Imaging - Carotid Artery procedure is usually performed by a radiology technologist.
The Carotid Artery Ultrasound exam will take about 30 minutes.
A physician will request your consent for a Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging procedure using an Informed Consent Form.
What are the Limitations of the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
What is the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging procedure?
What is to be expected during the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
No anesthesia is given during the Carotid Artery Ultrasound procedure.
There is no blood loss involved with the Carotid Artery Ultrasound procedure.
What are the possible Risks and Complications during the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
There are no known risks for a Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imagining scan.
What Post-Operative Care is needed at the Healthcare Facility after the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
There is no postoperative care necessary after a Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging scan.
What is to be expected after the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
What Post-Operative Care is needed at Home after the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
There is no postoperative care necessary after a Carotid Artery Ultrasound exam.
The patient needs no recovery time, after the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging exam.
No tissue is extracted from the patient during a Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging scan procedure.
Who will you receive a Bill from, after the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging Scan radiology procedure?
The patient is advised to inquire and confirm the type of billing, before the Carotid Artery Ultrasound Imaging procedure is performed.


Explore regionally accredited 1 and 2-year community, junior and technical colleges located in Kentucky. To explore Kentucky community and technical colleges by location please make your selection from the cities section below.
Kentucky community, junior and technical colleges by city.


Earth Girl Volcano is our new interactive game about making strategic decisions that minimize risk in communities exposed to volcanic hazards. This casual strategy game is focused on hazard preparedness and response skills, and it was developed by an interdisciplinary team. The game is inspired by real-life situations in communities located near volcanoes throughout the Pacific Ring of Fire. The game allows players to prepare for emergency evacuations and respond during volcanic hazards such as ash fall, mudflows and burning clouds. The simple and straightforward gameplay engages our core audience of 7-13 kids and adults.
The side-scrolling game has colorful graphics and 27 different experiences, and it runs on Windows or iOS computers and Android or iOS tablets. The game will be available in late September in three languages: English, Spanish and Italian. Before the end of 2018 we plan to have the Tagalog (Philippines) and Indonesian versions. Stay tuned for a link to download your copy of Earth Girl Volcano game!


Note: Since this paper was written (in 1997), several inventions have appeared that can be used to make PRT stations more accessible. They are personal mobility devices that are small, light and fold-up so they can be easily carried in the PRT vehicle to assist first/last mile access. Widespread use of these devices would alter some part of the database (i.e. the walk network) used in the design process described below as the time required to travel to/from the PRT stations would be considerably reduced. The same analytic approach could still be used by simply increasing the speed on the links in the walk network.
A computer-assisted, consumer-oriented approach to the design of a PRT network for an Edge City (downtown Bellevue, Washington) is described. Major attention is given to determining the number and locations of PRT stations such that a high level of coverage is achieved. This is done by explicitly considering the walk and wait times that would be encountered by patrons walking to/from PRT stations. A computer-assisted design process that leads to the identification of a set of station locations that minimize the walking/waiting requirements of an unevenly distributed population is described and illustrated. It is found that use of a consumer-oriented approach produces a network design that contains many more stations than would be indicated by conventional PRT network planning methods. This finding suggests that minimizing the size and cost of PRT system components is essential if a profitable, high level of service is to be provided to potential patrons.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an approach to designing a PRT circulator system for a typical "edge city" - using the downtown area of Bellevue, Washington as a case study. The approach used gives particular emphasis to meeting the needs of potential riders, who have to walk to the nearest PRT station to gain access to the PRT vehicles. It starts by defining a large set of feasible and desirable locations for PRT stations (candidate locations) and then utilizes a computerized search algorithm to find a subset of these locations that will be as close as possible to the origins and destinations of the people who are potential riders. Along with the results from the computer, the visual perception, intuitive ability and knowledge of the local planner are also utilized to find locations for stations that will require minimal walk times for a high proportion of potential riders. One could characterize this approach with a familiar phrase, modified to fit a PRT network planning context -- it's the customer, stupid!
A population that increases at 9 A.M. on workdays - marking the location as primarily a work center, not a residential suburb.
A local perception as a single end destination for mixed use - jobs, shopping and entertainment.
A history in which, thirty years ago, the site was by no means urban; it was overwhelmingly residential or rural in character.
In the past, transit planners have used the term "major activity center (MAC)" or "major diversified center (MDC)" to refer to these clusters of activity that have appeared in the outer parts of most of our major metropolitan areas during the past two decades [Stuart, 1979; Hooper, 1989, Kulash et al, 1989]. Garreau's "edge city" refers to the same thing and is becoming common usage. He identifies more than 200 of them in his book, one of which is used as an illustrative example in this paper. Other terms that have been used to characterize the modern American metropolis are "polycentric city" and "multi-centered city" [Schneider, 1981]. Clearly, the polycentric urban form is becoming more and more typical, especially for cities in the western U.S. Edge cities are viewed by some as a likely market for early PRT applications, should a suitable PRT technology become available.
Many of these edge cities are now larger than conventional (historic) downtowns in terms of floor space, parking and traffic volumes. Indeed, some are already choking on traffic even though they have been developed with very substantial street and highway facilities. In many cases, further development has been limited by existing traffic congestion, meaning that further densification cannot take place easily. Advocates of limiting more urban sprawl often call for making such centers more dense, not realizing that they cannot become more densely developed unless their current and projected traffic problems can be kept at acceptable levels.
It is unlikely that large increases in roadway capacity and parking can be achieved in these centers without very high costs and disruption. However, if they are provided with a PRT circulator system that is properly connected to some type of rail or bus line-haul service, many people could access them without using an auto. The same PRT circulator could be used for making trips within the center, making it useful during the day as well as during the morning and afternoon peak periods [Schneider, 1992]. Provision of such a PRT circulator would therefore serve several goals that are widely held in metropolitan areas: densification of existing centers (in-filling), reduction of urban sprawl, reduction of auto use and attendant air pollution and noise, reduction of petroleum use and dependency on foreign oil sources, improvement of line-haul transit patronage and reduction of commuting stress, auto accident potential and congestion-caused delay.
Downtown Bellevue satisfies Garreau's five criteria and is identified by him as a full-fledged Edge City. It is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Seattle and is located in the approximate middle of a large, relatively low density, suburban area that now contains around 500,000 people. The downtown currently contains around 28,000 jobs and is forecast to grow to about 33,000 jobs by 2005. It is also expected to contain some 6,500 residents in 2005. It is the site of the region's most successful shopping center, called Bellevue Square, which attracts about 50,000 shopping trips each day and provides about 12,000 free parking spaces in structures directly adjacent to the two-story mall complex. There are about 33,000 parking places in the whole downtown area. The 1993 assessed value of this downtown area was approximately $1.27 billion and it now contains several high rise office buildings as well as a convention center and several motels and hotels. Ten photos of downtown Bellevue are provided to help acquaint the reader with this area ( Set 1 - four photos, 135k bytes; Set 2 - six photos, 200k bytes).
As shown in Figure 1 , it is bounded by freeways on three sides and Lake Washington on the other. It covers an area of 1.7 square miles and is not currently very densely developed in that many of its buildings are single story structures surrounded by parking lots. Figure 2 is a map of the downtown that shows some of its major features, particularly the Interstate 405 freeway that passes through its eastern side. An aerial photo of the same area is also provided.
Downtown Bellevue is used to illustrate how a computer-aided design (CAD) tool can be applied to design a PRT network that will be consumer-oriented to the greatest extent possible. A detailed description and application of this program, called Circulator-CAD , has been published previously [Schneider, 1992]. Since all access to a PRT system has to be made by walking to/from PRT stations, this approach views the determination of the number and locations of the PRT stations as being of paramount importance. Essentially, this means that the stations should be located as close as possible to the people who are likely to use them. And, the number of stations should be large enough to provide a large proportion of the people with as short a walk (i.e. around 5 minutes or less) as possible.
As with any computer-aided transit planning study, the biggest task is the development of a database that can be used to support a computer-aided, interactive-graphic planning process. In the case of a PRT network design study, a micro-scale database needs to be developed that can be used to represent the characteristics of pedestrian walk trips as well as the more traditional street network and the traffic signal system that controls the movement of both autos and pedestrians at street intersections.
The first element of this database consists of two networks that were coded for use in subsequent analyses. Each network consists of a set of links (paths) and nodes (locations). The links are given a distance, travel speed and travel time. The nodes represent intersections of streets and other locations such as the lobby of a building or the edge of a sidewalk that defines a street crossing. The pedestrian walk network describes the pedestrian walk paths that are available and the delays (usually 1-2 or more minutes) that pedestrians encounter when trying to cross a street or some other barrier to walking .
Figure 3 is an illustration of a portion of the walk network used in this study. It could be even more detailed but at this level does provide a reasonable representation of the walk paths that are available to pedestrians in the downtown. In most cases, a building is represented by a single point and walk links to and from the building are represented as straight lines to adjacent sidewalks. Vertical movement within buildings is not explicitly coded in this study but could be represented by assigning a slower speed to a link to account for the time needed to use an elevator in a high-rise building. A more detailed walk network would probably yield longer walk times than those calculated in this study. It would include more nodes and fewer direct walk paths -- which usually don't exist in an actual urban walking environment.
Another important data element, embedded in both the auto and pedestrian networks, is a set of locationally-specific delays that account for the waiting times that both autos and pedestrians encounter at signalized intersections. In a downtown area like Bellevue, both autos and pedestrians often have to wait 1-2 or more minutes at such intersections. Values for these delays can be derived from data on traffic signal system timing so they can be included in the calculation of walk times on the pedestrian network. These delay times become important components of walk times along paths that are typically 3-10 minutes in length. To be precise, such times should actually be called walk-wait times.
A third network is eventually designed that defines the PRT guideway alignment (which is usually placed adjacent to existing streets -- although it can also be placed in other locations). In the approach used in this paper, this network alignment is not designed until a preferred set of station locations has been identified. Once this has been done, the PRT alignment is determined by connecting the preferred station locations in an effective manner.
A second database element is the description of the locations of potential riders of the PRT system. Ideally, a full-fledged demand study is conducted to identify the locations and numbers of people who are potential customers. The result is a list of locations (nodes) with the number of people at each who will need to walk to the nearest PRT station to gain access to the system. In this example, a demand study was not conducted but a careful examination of available data on floorspace and other information was used to create this database element. It is an approximate representation of the spatial distribution of demand (numbers of people) in the downtown Bellevue study area. A display (map) of this demand database is shown as Figure 4 .
A third database element describes the set of all desirable and feasible PRT station candidate locations. Ideally, these data would be derived from a number of sources and checked-out with field inspections and conversations with property owners and others who are intimately familiar with the area. In this study, 70 such locations were identified using the author's knowledge and that of others who are very familiar with the study area and its potential for further development. These 70 station candidate locations are shown as triangles in Figure 4 .
In addition to developing the micro-scale database, the planner has to devise a set of performance objectives for the PRT system. This should be done in close consultation with the stakeholders (clients) of the area so that there is general agreement as to what level of system performance should be sought. Walking is viewed as being the most onerous part of a PRT trip. Once a person is seated in a moving vehicle, travel times become much less important.
Since this is a consumer-oriented approach, a primary objective would be the number of people who have origins within X minutes of walking time to the nearest PRT station. For example, it might be decided that the system should be designed so that 75% of the people can reach a station with a walk of 5 minutes or less, 90% with a walk of 10 minutes or less and 100% with a walk of 15 minutes or less. These figures can be interpreted as representing the "coverage" provided by the system. These values are determined mainly by how many stations are provided and where these stations are located.
These coverage values would be set to reflect the desires of the clients who would be able to take many local factors (e.g. rain frequency, hills, lack of sidewalks, etc.) into account in making this judgment. Many other design objectives can also be defined. Examples are 1) the areawide average length, in minutes, of a walk trip to a PRT station, both areawide and station-specific, 2) the expected loading of each station in the system and the areawide average of station loading -- as well as several others. To keep this example simple and clear, only the coverage measures mentioned above will be used.
For our purposes, suppose that the initial coverage objectives are set as follows: 85% within 5 minutes, 95% within 10 minutes and 100% within 15 minutes of walk time. Simply stated, we want the planner to first determine how many stations, in which locations, would satisfy this coverage objective. Since there are 70 station candidates, the task becomes one of determining the smallest subset of these 70 locations that can satisfy the specified coverage objective.
It is normally useful to try to find some upper and lower bounds for a problem of this type so that the search effort required can be minimized. As a lower bound, one can use the conventional approach that says that one needs to have at least one PRT station every half-mile so that no one has to walk more than a quarter-mile to a PRT station. This rule-of-thumb assumes that the demand is uniformly distributed and that walking in any and all directions is equally easy and fast - which, of course, it is not. As shown in Figure 5 , applying this rule to downtown Bellevue results in nine stations located about 1/2 mile apart. When the coverage measures for these nine stations is calculated, they show percentages of 30%, 62%, and 89% for the 5, 10 and 15 minute walk time intervals. Since these values are clearly insufficient relative to our objectives, this result tells us that we definitely need more than 9 stations.
Common sense tells us that we are not likely to need 70 stations to serve this small area. Instead, the planner's judgment can be used to estimate the minimum number of stations most likely to achieve the coverage objectives. Clearly, this is going to be an iterative (trial and error) process, the length and difficulty of which will depend on the planner's skill and soundness of judgment. All the planner has to do is to select the number of stations to be examined. Once that is done, the problem is turned over to a computer program that will conduct a search for the "best" locations for that given number of stations.
This search program, called OPTIMAL, can be used to conduct a heuristic search for (X) station locations that will be as close as possible to the people who must walk to them. It uses a "steepest descent" search algorithm and the computation typically takes only a few minutes with a reasonably powerful personal computer. It "finds" a set of locations that are as close as possible to the distributed demand in the downtown. A subsequent calculation is then made to determine the level of coverage that this set of stations provides. In this example, it was decided to make the first search with this program using just 18 stations. The OPTIMAL program was run three times and the best result was retained. In this application, it generated and evaluated about 2,500 different 18-station location patterns before it could find no further improvement and stopped searching. The coverage result obtained for the five minute time interval was 63.2%, still well short of the desired level of 85%. Next, a second search was performed using 25 stations and the 5-minute coverage result rose to 81.5%, close to the 85% objective but not yet sufficient.
Several displays (maps) are available that can assist the planner see other aspects of the quality of this 25-station result. Figure 6 shows the service areas for each station in this 25-station design. Also shown are the numbers of people in each service area and the longest walk trip in each service area. The station load figures (number of people) in each service area ranges from a low of 225 to a high of 4,862. High demand is not usually a problem as a PRT station can have as many berths as needed to accommodate it. Low demand is a problem as each station must have enough potential demand to justify its inclusion in the design. Figure 7 shows those locations (color coded on the monitor screen) that are "uncovered". This means that a person originating at these locations will have to walk more than 15 minutes to reach the nearest PRT station. This map can serve as a guide to the planner in locating and making design modifications that will produce improved coverage performance.
The next step in the network design process is to find one or more ways to improve the system's coverage performance. While there is no single way of doing this, the planner will usually make use of the "uncovered" map to identify some design modifications that are likely to be productive. The uncovered demand locations are color coded to show which are relatively closer or further away from a station. Using this map ( see Figure 8 ), it was decided to add another station in an area with low coverage as is shown in Figure 8 (Mod. #1). This raised the 5 minute proportion to 83.6% which is a modest improvement in the right direction. Next, a station was moved from a low demand location to an area with poor coverage as shown in Figure 8 (Mod. #2). The result was an further improvement to 84.7%. Then, another station was added to an area with poor coverage (Mod. #3) and the 5 minute value obtained was 85% -- which satisfies the 5 minute walk-wait time coverage objective (as well as the 10 and 15 minute walk time objectives). Figure 9 is a map that shows the locations of the 27 stations in the preferred design. Another aspatial display of the areawide performance of this design is shown in Figure 10 . It is a bar chart that shows the number of people in relation to their walk times to the nearest PRT station. It also shows that the areawide average walk time is 2.8 minutes and that there is an areawide average of 1804 people in each station service area.
If an even higher level of performance were desired, a map ( see Figure 11 ) of all locations that have walk times greater than 5 minutes can be generated and used to help the planner find other station plan modifications that will generate higher coverage values. But, for our purposes, we will stop here and refer to the 27-station design as a first step toward the achievement of a preferred PRT network design.
Other tests of this preliminary design can be made. For example, the walk time intervals can be changed to probe other time intervals of interest. When we changed the time intervals to 2, 4 and 6 minutes and recalculated performance, it was found that the coverage measure for a 6 minute or less walk time was 91.5%. For a walk of 7 minutes or less, the coverage value was 96.3%. These values are certainly as high as one could hope for in a downtown area like Bellevue that features several superblocks and major steet intersections which together make walking somewhat difficult.
Other analyses of the performance characteristics of the candidate design can be obtained if desired. For example, Figure 12 shows the service areas of each station and the total number of people located in these service areas. These service areas are calculated based on the assumption that each person knows where the nearest PRT station is and will prefer to walk to it instead of a more distant station. The total number of people in a service area gives the analyst some idea of the likely loading of the station which is a guide to determining how many berths it should have. It is not necessary to try to have an equal level of loading at each station but it is desirable that each station have enough potential patrons in its service area to justify its existence. In the preferred design, one station has a service area population of only 316 and another has only 639. In an actual study, some further analysis would be made to see if dropping or moving these two stations could produce a better or comparable coverage result and a better (higher average) station loading -- for less capital cost.
Once a satisfactory set of stations locations has been determined, the planner must next determine how to connect them with one-way guideway so that a full PRT network is defined. While some work has been done on developing a computer program [Schneider and Ma, 1991] that can do this automatically and optimally, it is not yet capable of solving a problem of the size defined in this illustrative example. The computational complexity is just too great. But, intuitive methods can be used by a planner who is thoroughly familiar with the study area. Figure 13 is an illustration of the conventional approach to the design of a guideway alignment. Adjacent stations are connected with one-way loops and the direction of travel in these loops is alternatively clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Using a similar approach, Figure 14 shows one (of several) possible PRT guideway layouts that connects all 27 stations in a reasonably coherent configuration. If origin/destination data are available, they can be used to assist the guideway alignment design process by making sure that the major O/D flows are connected as directly as possible. In this process, some station locations may have to be adjusted and the performance of the system relative to its closeness to its customers recomputed. Normally, some reduction in performance may result from such adjustments but it is also possible that some improvements may be achieved.
When the guideway alignments have been determined, the network can be used to perform a variety of operational simulations that will determine if it is capable of being operated in an effective manner under a selected set of different loading conditions. This simulation network would also have to include at least one storage facility for empty vehicles. Locating such storage depots is a problem that is similar in some ways to the station location problem. They need to be placed so that the travel of empty vehicles is minimized as well as serving many other objectives and constraints. This problem has been explored in some detail in a PRT network planning study in Gothenburg, Sweden (Andreasson, 1994).
As it true at any step of this design process, the simulation results may show the need for design modifications in the station numbers and locations or in the way that the stations are connected (i.e. the guideway alignment). Such adjustments are easily made when the entire design process is computer-aided. This allows database and design element changes to be made and performance measures recomputed quickly and easily and will help to insure that they remain high enough to be acceptable to the clients.
The main finding of this study is that the conventional PRT network planning approach to locating stations in a grid pattern, approximately one-half mile apart, is not likely to produce satisfactory performance results for a consumer-oriented PRT system. Use of the conventional approach would suggest that 9 stations are sufficient while our analysis finds that something like 27 stations would be needed to meet a high, but reasonable, walk time performance objective. PRT planners must give prominent recognition to the fact that access to the PRT system will be made solely by walking to the nearest station. This means that careful attention must be given to the micro-scale coding and analyses of these walk trip times.
Our findings suggest that a study of the walking behavior of the people in the study area should be conducted early in the planning process. Results from such a study can help determine what an appropriate walk-wait time objective would be for a particular PRT network design study. Walking is not an activity that many people enjoy, especially after a hard day at work or when the weather is too hot or cold or when it is raining or snowing. Moreover, some people find auto noise and tailpipe emissions to be quite objectionable and a significant deterrent to walking.
The use of focus groups can probably help the planner determine what level of coverage performance is needed in a particular application. Ignoring this task and setting an inappropriate coverage standard is likely to have adverse effects on realized patronage once a system is up and operating. It is recommended that walk-wait times to and from PRT stations be minimized and this probably means that more stations must be provided than the conventional, PRT provider-driven, planning approach would suggest.
Provision of more stations has both capital cost and operating implications that are likely to be severely underestimated using conventional planning methods. For example, more stations will require more off-line guideway. Currently, it is estimated that the length of off-line guideway will be about 15% of the length of mainline guideway. Using this rule-of-thumb, one would need about 7.5 miles of off-line guideway to support a network consisting of 50 miles of mainline guideway. It seems likely that this figure might have to be raised if a consumer-oriented approach that stresses the need to minimize walking-waiting times to/from to a somewhat larger number of PRT stations is used.
In addition, it is possible that more mainline guideway will be needed to connect a larger number of stations and that more of this guideway will consist of curved (more costly) guideway segments and that it will be harder to avoid costly guideway intersections that involve under- or overpasses and turning ramps.
It has been found that the computer programs used offer good support to the planner who wishes to iteratively improve a design by making a series of incremental design modifications. The graphic displays provided offer many visual clues as to where weaknesses in a particular design exist and allow the planner to rapidly define ways to add, delete or move stations so as to improve performance. These modifications can be evaluated almost immediately. Those that show no improvement can be discarded quickly, allowing an almost immediate search for a better solution to be implemented. A design process that has often taken months to conclude can be performed in a few days at best with this kind of computer-aided design tool.
While not a part of this illustrative example, it should also be recognized that determining the location and number of stations in an actual study is likely to involve some, perhaps intense, local politics. If the local property-owners perceive that having a station on their property is of benefit, then they may campaign actively for a station - even if they have to provide a share of its cost. They may also try their best to make sure that their main competitors do not get a station. Of course, the opposite may be true if some or all of the property-owners perceive having a PRT station as a negative development (e.g. visual intrusion, people parking at their site in order to take a "recreational ride", the station as an attractive nuisance) and campaign actively to insure that they do not have one located on or near their property. The point is that as the study progresses, several changes (additions, deletions, moves) in station locations may have to be made to accommodate, to the extent possible, the wishes of the people who own the station candidate sites. Given such dynamics, a computer-aided design tool becomes particularly necessary so that such changes and adjustments can be made and evaluated quickly and effectively as they arise.
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