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Home » General Health » Will Science Find a Cure for Stuttering?
Will Science Find a Cure for Stuttering?
By Doctors Health Press Editorial Team - May 9, 2013
Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.
For people who stutter, every day can be a challenge. A couple of years ago, a blockbuster Hollywood movie brought to light the tremendous difficulties that people who stutter face. In the movie The King's Speech, King George the VI is forced to make frequent public speeches despite having a pronounced stutter. His shame and ultimate triumph over his impediment is both heart-wrenching and a celebration of the strength of the human spirit.
While almost all of us will never have to worry about making speeches in front of large crowds with the media watching, for those with a stutter, a simple conversation with a friend can seem like a daunting performance. That's why next week is National Stuttering Awareness Week—to help stutterers get the right treatment and to teach fluent people about the challenges that stutterers face.
Why do people stutter? It's not what most people commonly assume, according to The Stuttering Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping people who stutter. Stuttering is not a sign of mental or intellectual difficulties. It also doesn't have anything to do with being shy and nervous. Some people believe that stuttering is caused by stress. While nervousness and stress can play a role, they're not usually the root causes.
Stuttering is a complex problem and has roots in physiological, neurological, psychological, and environmental factors. Genetics may also play a role, researchers have found. The current research on genetics and stuttering center are "linkage studies" where researchers are searching for similar genetic markers in families of stutterers. If these genetic markers are inherited, then researchers will look further at these inherited genes to determine how they code for stuttering. Scientists hope that these studies will determine how these genes look in fluent people versus people who stutter.
While causes are still unknown, there are good treatment plans you can turn to. For adults, stuttering can be hard to seek treatment for, because sometimes these speech problems have been carried forward from childhood and never really addressed. Sadly, in the past, there was no standard way to treat stuttering and therapy was often out of reach for those without substantial financial savings.
However, times have changed and it's definitely never too late to get support. If you're an adult and are considering getting some help for your speech problems, there are a number of things you can try. Speech therapy with a professional therapist is the first place to turn to for help.
"Five Myths about Stuttering," The Stuttering Foundation web site; www.stutteringhelp.org, last accessed May 1, 2013.
"Information for Adults who Stammer," The British Stammering Association web site, April 30, 2013; www.stammering.org, last accessed May 1, 2013.
Drayna, D., "Genetic research: What will it tell us?" The Stuttering Foundation web site; http://www.stutteringhelp.org/genetic-research, last accessed May 8, 2013.
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Your insight into the way the world works will enable you to find solutions to issues that most other people struggle with. Clear your mind of distracting thoughts and let the part of you that knows all the answers come to the fore.
Your mind will be active this weekend and some of your ideas will be so stunningly outrageous that the shock value alone could make them work. Don't let anyone tell you that you must limit your thoughts – all things are possible if you believe.
Someone needs your help, but for some reason they feel unable to approach you directly. Make it easy for them by letting them know that you are on their case and will do what you can to assist them. They'll love you for it.
The key to getting the right answers is usually to ask the right questions, and with your ruling planet Mercury linked to genius planet Uranus today those type of questions will come easily to you. Some of the answers may surprise you though.
No amount of wishful thinking is going to change your life for the better. The only thing that can get you from where you are now to where you most want to be is your own drive and determination. And, of course, you'll need a plan.
Open your mind to new possibilities and don't reject ideas just because no one has come up with them before. Being the first to think in a particular way gives you an enormous advantage, one that could very easily make you a fortune.
You are going to need help this weekend but because you don't want to be in anyone's debt you may be reluctant to ask for it. That's the wrong way to look at the situation. Many people already owe you, so now it's your turn to collect.
You have no end of opinions, and no doubt most of them are right on the money, but try to remember that other people are entitled to their viewpoints as well. Speak up when you get the chance but don't neglect to listen too.
The planets warn you need to be careful when dealing with both finances and affairs of the heart. You may not want to believe that someone you have feelings for is trying to cheat you but it's a possibility you need to seriously consider.
Someone you don't always get along with will be nice to you today and, to say the least, you will be suspicious. According to the planets you are right to have your doubts because it's unlikely they have your interests at heart.
You want excitement and you don't care how you get it. Just be careful you don't go too far and fall in with people who could lead you astray. You may be acting wild at the moment but deep down you are still quite traditional.
Don't let wishful thinking spoil what should be a wonderful day. You have so much going for you now that you don't need to waste time on vague dreams. Decide what your No. 1 aim is going to be and got for it with everything you've got.
Life is too short to waste time on petty squabbles, so put a domestic feud of some kind behind you and move on. If others see that you want to get things back to how they were before they will help you, because they want that too.


Well it's that time of year again. The gym is already starting to look less full. The crowd that vowed to get in shape on Jan 1 are slowly dissipating. This happens every year without exception – the realisation that in order to change you have to work hard consistently for the long haul, has not registered with these people. Seduced by promises of rapid physical change they arrive at new year full of high hopes and aspirations which inevitably crumble into dust.
Changing your body composition is hard, damn hard and requires a number of psychological attributes which are illusive for the majority of common mortal man. Certainly the majority of trainees will never acquire them.
If your goal is to develop muscle mass, aside from favourable genetics and appropriate nutrition, without a doubt the number one key to success is training consistency. The ability to train when you don't feel like training. The ability to show up no matter what, barring unforseen emergencies or illness.
The consistent application of basic training principles is the key ingredient of success for trainees commencing on their path to becoming bigger and stronger versions of themselves.
Whilst accepting that knowledge of appropriate training strategies is required, even the most intimate knowledge of weight training, and its application to build strength and size, is worthless without the personal motivation to apply it consistently.
Without training consistency all other factors are redundant.
Understand that application and training consistency is paramount, and without it you are doomed to failure in your endeavours.
Even if you possess the best training routine in existence, coupled with the most intelligent dietary approach, and the most complete understanding of muscle growth – without the consistency to apply this knowledge, it is worthless.
We don't always feel like working out. Weight training done correctly is hard work and its easy to find an excuse to miss workouts. We fool ourselves that missing one session wont hurt, but if we are not careful our progress is derailed and we lose momentum. It is then easy to lose motivation and become despondent.
In order to prevent this ensure you maintain sight of your goal – visualise it, make its achievement a burning desire. Cultivate a do or die mentality which forces you to train.
Every individual who turns up at the gym in January shares the desire to improve their physique and/or get bigger and stronger. Only those with the correct mind-set however will acheive a satisfactory degree of success. The others will fall by the wayside and are unlikely to still be training consistently throughout the year. By summer they will have all gone.
Anything worth acquiring will only be attained through hard work, and that is how it should be, the law so to speak. However if you train hard and consistently for long enough, you will eventually achieve measurable results. Once achieved however, maintaining a decent degree of muscularity and conditioning will also be dependent on a regular schedule of training and appropriate diet as part of your lifestyle. Ensure this is incorporated into your weekly routine.
You have resolved to make changes. You need to decide whether the coming year will indeed be a catalyst for change. You have made resolutions in the past, but have you kept to them?. Look in the mirror and the answer will be revealed. Have you been training consistently?. We all start off with great intentions but it's easy to lose sight of our goal and veer completely off course.


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Until the late 19th century Ammanford was still regarded as a small village in the parish of Llandybie, part of the Llandeilo rural district, it was then know as "Cross Inn". This community, which took its name from its old hostelry, began to grow in importance and size as both a commercial and industrial area. So as to avoid any confusion with another Cross Inn in the county it was decided to change the Village name, so on the 20th November 1880 Cross Inn became known as Ammanford. Although the history of Ammanford is deeply rooted in its industrial growth the area has a much more colourful and ancient past under the old name Cross Inn and the whole area is rich in historical and legendary tales.
The Town's early days where centred round the area called Heol Wallasey and Quay Street. Heol Wallasey " Heol-y-Post" so called because the first post office was situated in the centre of the street, now know as "Field Street". At the turn of the Century there where just a few dwellings and college Street was simply a lane leading to the lodge, a little cottage situated on Tir-y-dail Square. Open pastures bordered this land and extended to the road we now call High Street. Banc-yr-Tan was the name given to these fields, owned by the Cross Inn, then a farm as well as a hostelry.
College Street was named after the ministerial college, established at the turn of the century by the poet and world renowned hymnologist, Watcyn Wyn Williams. This then small building was situated at the end of Brynmawr Lane and was used as a Sunday school by the English Baptist church. Watcyn Wyn was celebrated in his day as a wit, poet and raconteur of no mean feat and his son was the first headmaster of the Amman Valley Grammar School.
Excavations carried out in the district from time to time have revealed Roman and sometimes prehistoric remains. Not that far away at Pantillyn are the Craig Derwyddon caves where in 1813 was found ten or eleven human skeletons. A century later at Landybie, stones where discovered that showed traces of fire, a hyena's tooth and a well preserved human molar. East of Ammanford at Penlle'r-Castell just beyond Mynydd-y Betws "Betws Mountain" the remains of a late 13th Century stronghold was discovered, most likely garrisoned by a marcher Lord. Betws situated on the East bank of the River Amman is probably the oldest part of the district, the name derives from the English word "beadhouse", an ancient chapel or pilgrim's rest house…
In a field adjacent to Tir-y-dail house is a 12th Century Motte and Bailey Castle, once a farmstead of considerable size and importance. The site was excavated in 2010 and full details of the dig can be reviewed by following the link at the bottom of this page. There is a local legend that the name Tir-y-dail was not really Welsh for "land of leaves" but referred to the "dail" or parliament that may have been held there. ( Artist's impression by Richard Jones ).
King Arthur and his knights are said to have trodden the mountains and valleys around Ammanford. According to legend, Llynllech-Owen, a lake situated to the north west of the town, is said to have been made by the carelessness of one of the King's knights, Owen Lawgoch, who after slaking his thirst at a spring, omitted to replace a stone slab that was meant to ebb the flow of water. A large area was flooded and, realising his mistake, Owen fled to a cave near Landybie, where he is said to be still sleeping and will not awake until Arthur himself shall wake him.
The Betws and Black Mountain bear evidence of prehistoric occupation, with cairns dotted about in many places. A group of three cairns on the Black Mountain are visible from the centre of Ammanford Town. Another large cairn called Carreg Arthur is situated on Mynydd-y Betws "Betws Mountain and according to legend this was once a troublesome stone in the shoe of King Arthur and was thrown down by him as he hurried across the mountain top to join his men in the valley. Many such tales, often more interesting than factual history are told about this historic part of Carmarthenshire.
Although the growth of Ammanford was largely due to its anthracite coalfields it has moved forward to meet the challenges of the 21st Century with great changes taking place. The town is well placed to adapt itself well for both industrial and residential growth, Ammanford is a progressive town with a friendly welcoming atmosphere.
More Ammanford history links:
Ammanford History Page
Ammanford Archaeology and History Society
Cwmamman and Ammanford History page
Ammanford Motte and Bailey Castle – excavation 2010
Latest Archives
Copyright 2019 Ammanford.com. Terms of Use. Powered by cPortals.

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Do you love taking quizzes? Do you also love BuzzFeed? Who doesn't? We could spend literally all day taking BuzzFeed quizzes, because who doesn't want to know which classic '80s movie they belong in (*channels inner Molly Ringwald*) or which Gilmore Girls guy is their true love (crossing our fingers it's Jess). We've rounded up 5 fun BuzzFeed quizzes you should take right now - including our custom-made quiz!
Front porch sittin' and sweet tea sippin'! Loving where you live is one of our favorite things about living in the South (other than monograms, of course). Take this quiz to find out how much you know about the South!
2. Which '80s Movie Do You Actually Belong In?
Whether you grew up in the '80s or not, you have to admit that some of the best movies came from this decade. Channel your inner Brat Pack and take this quiz to find out which '80s classic you belong in!
If you have a Disney obsession like we do, then you've probably always wondered: Disneyland or Disney World?! The happiest place on earth or the most magical... Take this quiz to find out which you are more like!
Jess? Dean? Logan? Luke? We've all had a crush on at least one of these charming guys from Gilmore Girls. Have you ever wondered which one of these guys was meant for you? Take this quiz to find out!
Questions from food to '90s fashion trends that compare your pop culture interests to find your monogram style - because we believe there is a monogram out there for everyone! Find your monogram style today.
Know of more BuzzFeed quiz favorites?! Let us know about them in the comments below!


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Speculation swirls over Obama's new cabinet
WASHINGTON — A week after winning reelection President Barack Obama has yet to reveal his new White House dream team amid fierce jostling for coveted posts key to shaping America's foreign and defense policy.
Speculation is heating up in Washington corridors about who will be crowned the new secretaries of state and defense, with veteran US Senator John Kerry, the US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, and national security advisor Tom Donilon the odds-on favorites to be among the new cabinet faces.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday "the president has not made a decision on personnel matters," refusing to discuss any of the rumors.
But Obama's closely-guarded calculations may have been thrown askew by Friday's shock resignation of CIA director David Petraeus, opening up another job.
Kerry, the long-time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee with foreign policy stamped into his DNA, is a well-known, respected figure in international circles and has long dreamed of becoming secretary of state.
But the outspoken, feisty Rice is part of Obama's inner circle and has been a loyal champion of US foreign policy at the UN. US dailies reported Tuesday her nomination to replace Hillary Clinton may be almost in the bag.
Kerry might instead be tapped for the Pentagon to take over from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, both the New York Times and the Washington Post said, quoting White House officials. They described him as a "war hero" and cited his service in the US Navy in Vietnam as qualifications for the job.
Both nominations could be problematic though.
Rice has come under fire from Republicans who have alleged there was a bid to cover-up the circumstances surrounding September's attack on the US mission in Benghazi.
Too many questions remained unanswered and "Susan Rice would have an incredibly difficult time getting through the Senate," veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday.
Carney refused to be drawn on whether Rice could survive a contentious confirmation hearing, saying only that Obama believes she "has done an excellent job and is grateful for her service."
"It depends whether the president wants her bad enough in that position to go... fight" for her, Barry Pavel, director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, told AFP.
"It depends on how much capital the president wants to spend on this."
Kerry's appointment to a cabinet post would also force an election for his Massachusetts seat in the US Senate, which could see popular Republican Scott Brown defeated on November 6 take another tilt at Congress.
However, analysts felt the Democrats had done better than expected in last week's election winning a 55-seat majority in the Senate, including two independents expected to vote with them, giving them a cushion.
While Kerry's war record was the subject of some controversy during his 2004 presidential campaign, he is widely seen as a safe pair of hands to be entrusted with America's wide-ranging and powerful foreign policy.
"There's a combination of prudence, and knowledge," said Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.
The veteran senator would bring sober reflection on US intervention in world crises to the table born from the "lessons taken away from the war in Iraq in particular, but also Afghanistan," Preble told AFP.
Rice on the other hand was an enthusiastic proponent of intervention in Libya, which he felt was out of step with "the mood of the country."
Pavel, however, who has sat in the Situation Room with Rice, said he appreciated her directness which at times has raised eyebrows at the UN.
"It's sometimes a pleasure to have someone who can be diplomatic when they need to be and blunt and direct when they don't need to be," he said.
Donilon, who has been Obama's trusted national security advisor since 2010, is said to want the State Department post, but some say he lacks the political stature of either Rice or Kerry.
Obama may also have a surprise in store as in 2008 when he picked Clinton, his fierce foe in the Democratic primary race, and kept Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his post. He could again choose a moderate Republican.
Names circulating include former secretary of state Colin Powell, Chinese speaker Jon Huntsman who was appointed US envoy to Beijing by Obama, and former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel.
"It's the kind of thing a pragmatic President Obama might do," Pavel said.
Preble, however, argued that "ultimately I don't know how much goodwill you buy for yourself" by picking a Republican in this partisan climate.
Showing a willingness "to cooperate with the Democrats and particularly the Democratic president" effectively undermines "your credibility among your party," he said.
At the CIA, Obama could opt for a quick fix by naming acting CIA director Michael Morell as Petraeus' permanent replacement.


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Learn WordPress!
Have you ever wanted to learn about using WordPress, but you didn't know where to go? Meet Smart Web Today! Smart Web Today offers a full-fledged course on how to go from zero Web presence to launching your own site, in 30 days or less. Go at your own pace! The courses are videos (recorded… Read more
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Evver Named In Top 25 Websites
Remember Evver? We posted about it a couple months back, in our "Finished Projects" bucket. in case it doesn't ring a bell, or view the spectacular case study. In any case, Evver was recently named as one of the top 25 Web Sites for December of 2013, by the site Tech Attend. That's a nice… Read more
Say Hello to Evver
We're pleased to announce the launch of our latest Web project, Evver. Evver is a Web service that turns your photos into fun slideshow videos set to music of your choice. MWD Web built the marketing side of the site, a WordPress build that integrates with Evver's product side for a seamless user experience. The… Read more
By Matt Weeden | September 13, 2013 | 0
News, Technology
Cool New Features of WordPress 3.6
Things are a little hectic at MWD Web this week, so today's post is a short one. We're doggedly committed to posting every week, though, so by gum we're going to post! The team of developers behind WordPress released their latest version, 3.6, earlier this month. We've had a few weeks now to play around… Read more
By Matt Weeden | August 23, 2013 | 0
Google's Copyright Smackdown
The almighty Google announced recently that they're tweaking their algorithm yet again. This time, they are cracking down on copyright violators. In practice, this relates mostly to things like movies, music, games, and related entertainment industry concerns. But, it also emphasizes the need for quality, original content on your site in order to be appealing… Read more
Welcome to MWD Web
Welcome to the new site for MWD Web. Our parent company, Matt Weeden Design, LLC, was built as a Web design/development firm. MWD Web is all about the Web too, but we take a much broader approach than simple design and development. Read more
By Matt Weeden | April 30, 2012 | 0
Boost your revenue with 7 easy changes to your website in the next 7 days
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Corruption, Freedom & Democracy February 4, 2020
Establish-mental
by Ralph T. Niemeyer
The candidate of the party establishment, Joe Biden, according to the informal censuses, however, ended up in fourth place. According to the New York Times – which described the Iowa scandal as a "hopeless fiasco" – the Bidens campaign team spoke of "significant errors" in collecting the data, all of which must be carefully examined before the results are released.
In fact, the delay in announcing election results has tangible electoral consequences. The winner of the Iowa area code was thus denied "due momentum and recognition," while the losers can minimize the damage of the defeat, the newspaper noted.
Specifically, the delay means that Iwoa's likely big loser, Joe Biden, can limit the fallout of his defeat. If Sanders hates hatred in neoliberal party circles, he cannot take the momentum of victory into the campaigns of the coming days, such as in New Hampshire.
The delays harm the winner.
The late publication of the election results diminishes their political utility for the winner, as Iowa will soon be overwhelmed by events such as Trump's "State of the Union" speech on Tuesday and the vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the primaries in New Hampshire are already in the hot phase. Soon Iowa's victory is simply forgotten. The delays are damaging to the Iowa winner by taking away the momentum that would continue to have an impact in the upcoming election campaigns.
The Iowa scandal has also brought criticism to the organization of the Democratic pre-election campaign. The makers of the smartphone application, which activists blamed for the breakdown in data transmission, are involved in the political process of the Democratic Party. They are actors in the election campaign – and not a third, independent party.
Pete Buttigieg, who is said to have performed surprisingly well in Iowa, donated tens of thousands of dollars to the company that produced the faulty web application.
The Los Angeles Times once again reported that Clinton campaign veterans, who are among the party's biggest internal opponents of socialist candidate Sanders, are leading the technology company that developed the faulty voting software.
A company founded by the neoliberal Clinton wing of the party has built a web app for recording the election results of the primaries, which, according to a number of reports on site, appears to be working incorrectly when the left-wing candidate hated in these party circles goes into the race as a favorite.
Also in the 2016 Clinton-campaign a link between the Wall Street oligarch George Soros and the provider of the voting machines Smartech that allegedly were used to manipulate the elections in Mrs. Clinton's favour as recounts in Detroit, Michigan, revealed, seems probable today as well as Soros' opensociety.org openly supports Mr. Biden.
It is pretty clear that Mr. Sanders onve again will not be allowed to become the challenger to Mr. Trump although he would probably be the only one who could have stopped him in 2016 and nowadays. But, what will the Democrats do, have they really given up on defeating Trump or will they use Biden as a seatholder until the convention for Michelle Obama?
In addition, all questions in this regard are now being dismissed by the democratic party mainstream as conspiracy propaganda, which should remind Trump voters.
Incidentally, the party members responsible for the transmission of the votes in the polling stations received the application only a few hours before their deployment, so they had no time to familiarize themselves with it or to test it thoroughly at all.
The Iowa scandal not only takes the wind out of the sails of the winner, it also motivates many young activists and voters who are currently involved in the political process – and who are also among Bernie Sanders' most important supporters.
Memories are thus brought back to the scandals in the 2016 primaries when the neoliberal group around Hillary Clinton unfairly knocked Sanders out of the field.
Iowa also appears to be an expression of the growing panic of the United States' elites, who are taking ever more drastic measures to prevent a socialist president in the United States – even if the world's oldest democracy turns into an oligarchic banana republic.
Bernie SandersButtigiegcaucus Iowa 2020Democratic primariesGeorge SorosHillary ClintonJoe BidenMichelle ObamaObamaRalph T. NiemeyerTrump IowaUSA
Ralph T. Niemeyer
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Universiade 2019 first time to be held in Siberia by Ralph T. Niemeyer The youth version of the Olympics, the World Sport Games,…


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Richland man pleads guilty to Lebanon robbery
After a brief chase following the robbery, police arrested Zachary Schaeffer, who was carrying a 40-caliber handgun even though he had no permit for it
Les Stewart
lesstewart@ldnews.com
With Schaeffer entering an open guilty plea, a judge will decide his sentence on March 22.
A wallet containing $200, a backpack, a pair of sneakers and a basketball jersey were stolen in the robbery.
Co-defendant Luis Hernandez turned himself in to police two days after the robbery and awaits sentencing
A 21-year-old Richland man pleaded guilty Tuesday to his role in the mid-afternoon, armed home-invasion robbery at a northside Lebanon apartment in April.
Zachary Schaeffer, of 20 Linden St., pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, carrying a firearm without a license, simple assault and conspiracy.
He entered an open plea, which means the sentencing judge will determine what sentence Schaeffer will receive when he is sentenced on March 22.
Lebanon police were dispatched shortly after 3 p.m. on April 6 to the 400 block of North Fourth Street while the robbery was still in progress. After a brief chase, they apprehended one of the suspects, identified as Schaeffer, who was armed with a 40-caliber handgun.
The other suspect, Luis Hernandez, got away but he turned himself in two days later.
A wallet containing $200, a backpack, a pair of sneakers and a basketball jersey were stolen, police said.
Twenty-one-year-old Hernandez, no known address, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to charges related to the North Fourth Street robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and carrying a firearm without a license in connection with another midday robbery on March 14 in the 500 block of North Gannon Street. Hernandez was charged in that case with firing a gun
In that crime, police were called to the area for reports of gunshots. When they arrived, they found no evidence of gunfire but did find a cellphone in the alley.
While investigating, officers were approached by a 33-year-old man who said he dropped the phone during a failed robbery attempt.
Lebanon police seek suspect in home invasion robbery
The man said he was walking down the street and began chatting to another man, now identified as Hernandez, when the other man suddenly pulled out a handgun and fired it into the air before attempting to rob him. The man said he dropped his cellphone when fleeing the suspected robber.
Under terms of his plea agreement, Hernandez will be sentenced to 80 months in state prison for both robberies, according to court records.
Among the other cases at criminal call of the list before President Judge John C. Tylwalk on Tuesday, Rodger L. Hoffer, 62, of 915 Linden St., Lebanon, pleaded guilty to perjury, false swearing and conspiracy.
Hoffer pleaded guilty to falsely testifying at a June 15 hearing before District Judge Maria Dissinger. He testified that he was the driver of a car on March 23 in the 300 block of South 10th Street in Lebanon. He said Patton was not driving the car. She had been charged with driving with a suspended license.
But two Lebanon police officers said they saw Patton driving the car and getting out of the vehicle with her son. They said Hoffner was not in the car on March 23.
Under a plea agreement, Hoffer's minimum prison sentence will be between three and six months. He will be sentenced March 22.


Share market highlights: The Sensex is up about 120 points to 38,820.91, while the Nifty is trading above the 11,650-mark.
After opening marginally lower on Tuesday, the Sensex and Nifty reversed losses in the afternoon trade. The Sensex ended 239 points higher at 38,939.22, while the Nifty closed above the 11,650-mark. Yes Bank, Tata Motors shares jumped closed up to 4% higher in the afternoon trade. Asian Paints, Infosys were among the top losers in the Sensex.
Even as India Inc gears up for the new fiscal year, analysts' outlook for the FY20 results of Sensex and Nifty appears to be robust. According to global firm Morgan Stanley, factors leading to a tepid earning have now reversed, and the stage is set for a reversal. "We observe that most of these factors have reversed for FY20, setting the stage for a new earnings cycle. This cycle could last for four to five years with market earnings compounding at 20 per cent per annum," Ridham Desai, managing director at Morgan Stanley India said in a note.
After opening marginally lower on Tuesday, the Sensex and Nifty reversed losses in the morning trade. The Sensex is up about 120 points to 38,820.91, while the Nifty is trading above the 11,650-mark. HCL Tech shares are trading 2.2% higher at Rs 1,122.65 while Tata Motors shares are trading 1.5% higher at Rs 203.65. Bharti Airtel shares are down by more than 1.7%. A look at LIVE Sensex heatmap.
The Sensex and Nifty opened marginally lower on Tuesday morning, tracking mixed global cues. The Sensex is down about 60 points to 38,640, while the Nifty is trading below the 11,600-mark. Bharti Airtel shares are trading 1.2% higher at Rs 358.40, while Lakshmi Vilas Bank shares slumped by nearly 4% lower at Rs 93.60 on NSE, after the RBI said that it has not yet given approval to proceed with Indiabulls Housing Finance merger.
Adani Power said on Monday it has been awarded the letter of intent (LoI) for Korba West Power Company (KWPCL) that owns and operates a 600 MW thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of KWPCL—that was undergoing insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 201— has approved the resolution plan submitted by Adani Power, it said in an exchange filing.
The relatively easy terms on which lenders to the cash-strapped Jet Airways are willing to sell the carrier should attract at least a couple of buyers. While not specifying a floor price, lenders are willing to hand over the airline to a strategic bidder with a minimum net worth of Rs 1,000 crore or even a three-year track record in commercial aviation. A financial investor should have minimum assets under management of Rs 2,000 crore or must commit to an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The qualification criteria have been waived for government-promoted funds and quasi sovereign wealth funds. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India's sovereign wealth fund, is reportedly seeking to invest in the Mumbai-based carrier.
The indirect tax department has detected a mismatch of Rs 12 lakh crore between the income declared in income-tax returns (ITR) on account of services and the value of these services declared in the corresponding service tax details in FY16. The mismatch amount is nearly six times the service tax collected in the fiscal. A similar exercise is under way for FY17 as well. It is believed this is also a reason for the shortfall in goods and services tax (GST) collections in FY18 and FY19. While the government had projected Rs 13.4 lakh crore of GST collections in FY19, it could collect only Rs 11.8 lakh crore.
The dollar sagged on Tuesday after weak U.S. economic data while commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian and Australian dollars drew support from an ongoing surge in crude oil prices. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood little changed at 97.083 after losing 0.35 percent the previous day, marking its biggest daily decline since March 20.
Share market on Monday: After opening higher on Monday, the Sensex and Nifty turned choppy in the afternoon trade. The Sensex closed 162 points down at 38,700.53, while the Nifty ended above the 11,600-mark. Infosys shares jumped by more than 1.75% to Rs 769.50, while TCS ended 1.15% higher at Rs 2,075.75. Bajaj Finance, Vedanta emerged as the biggest losers on the Sensex.


Poet Ariana Brown is the role model she needed.
Growing up in San Antonio, Brown said she struggled to find other representations of herself — an Afro-Latina woman from a working class family — both in her community and literature.
In high school, Brown picked up the autobiography of Malcolm X. He was "someone who was also working class, from a poor family, a family of color, who didn't have access to opportunities, who came from a neighborhood where you weren't expected to excel," she said.
Reading about the way Malcolm X used language to command attention gave her a road map for her own future, she said.
She began with poems that grappled with her life in a predominantly Mexican community, taking the stage at the school where she felt bullied, she said. In 2011, she won a spot on her first slam team and performed at nationals.
Brown's poem "Inhale: The Ceremony" speaks to her relationship to her ancestors, a history that she said is often unacknowledged or disrespected. "I'm never racialized as Latina. I'm always racialized as black. My whole identity isn't acknowledged [and] I'm assumed to be an outsider in almost every space I enter. That is a very isolating feeling," she said.
The piece imagines Brown at a poetry reading, bolstered by the unseen force of her history. Making that history visible, for herself and for others, is an important part of her work, she said.
To the same end, Brown is currently working on a manuscript of poems that looks at the conquest of the Aztec empire through the lens of black politics. "A lot of the work I've been doing has been excavating history that was lost to me in some way, reckoning with it, confronting it, making the connection, and then hypothesizing survival from there," she said.
You can listen to Brown read her poem or read it below.
Ariana Brown is an Afromexicana poet from San Antonio, Texas. She is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and a member of the winning team at the 2014 national collegiate poetry slam. Ariana is currently working on her first manuscript and pursuing a degree in African & African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies at UT Austin. Her work is published in Huizache, Rattle, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review and is forthcoming in ¡Manteca!: An Anthology of Afro-Latin@ Poets from Arte Público Press.


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This ordinance would shift some of the city's spending specifically to the arts and homeless services.
The initiative was placed on the ballot through verified petition signatures.
San Francisco's artist population is under siege. A 2015 survey by the San Francisco Arts Commission found that of almost 600 local artists, 70 percent of respondents said they had been displaced or were being displaced from their homes or work spaces. And 80 percent said they had lived in the city for more than five years, with most residing upward of 10 years.
The authors of Proposition S cite this as strong evidence that the city should be pouring more money into the local arts community. They suggest repurposing the revenue from the hotel tax to this end — as well as to pay for homeless services.
The hotel tax — an 8 percent base plus a 6 percent room-rental surcharge — generates about $380 million a year. Half the revenue is used to maintain the Moscone Center. The other half is split between advertising for the city and bolstering the general fund, which can be used for many purposes.
Creating housing and helping homeless families obtain it, as well as keeping them from landing on the streets in the first place (6.3 percent of money raised by the base tax).
Maintaining and operating the properties that are part of the City's War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, which include the Herbst Theatre and Davies Symphony Hall (5.8 percent).
Supporting the Arts Commission (2.9 percent).
Giving grants to local artists (7.5 percent by 2020).
Boosting the Cultural Equity Endowment Fund (7.5 percent by 2020).
Creating a Neighborhood Arts Program Fund, which could be used to buy neighborhood facilities for arts and artists; pay for public performances; fund artist residencies; and commission and preserve murals and other public artwork (6 percent by 2020).
In the first four fiscal years following the passage of this measure, some of these targets would receive increasingly larger allocations from the hotel tax's overall revenue. For example, the Neighborhood Arts Program would receive 2.5 percent of all revenue in fiscal year 2017-2018, increasing to 6 percent by 2020-2021. Other allocations would remain static; the money for combating homelessness would stay at 6.3 percent.
The proportions would no longer shift after fiscal year 2020-2021.
This ballot measure would increase City Hall's annual investments in these programs by about $26 million in fiscal year 2017-2018 and $56 million by fiscal year 2020-2021, according to the San Francisco Controller's Office.
Half the tax revenue would continue to be used for maintenance of Moscone Center.
The city controller has projected that this ballot measure "would have a significant impact" on City Hall's costs. That is because the hotel tax currently pumps money into San Francisco's general fund, which may be used for any public purpose.
Proposition S would force the city either to pare its other expenditures or to find new sources of money.
identified to maintain services levels in other service areas," says Controller Ben Rosenfield.
Revenue from the base hotel tax that was not allocated for the purposes outlined above would go back into the general fund.
The ordinance could be amended only by voters.
Proposition S was proposed by Jonathan Moscone, the chief of civic engagement for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and Martha Ryan, the founder of the nonprofit Homeless Prenatal Program. Moscone is the son of the late Mayor George Moscone, who was assassinated with Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978.
The measure is also supported by supervisors Scott Wiener, Jane Kim and Eric Mar; state Sen. Mark Leno; state assemblymen David Chiu and Phil Ting; and former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.
Two-thirds majority — 66 ⅔ percent.
Follow the money at the San Francisco Ethics Commission: all Proposition S filings.


Made in Monique works with small businesses to large corporations on their cause-related marketing program. We offer everything from consultation on your personalized program, to ongoing all-in-one support, so you can enrich more lives while expanding your business, and increasing your income.
We truly understand how you want to see the world a better place while making your business a success, and to help you reach your professional goals we offer a comprehensive range of services.
Monique Worotny is a motivated and creative Entrepreneur, Operations Manager and Founder of Made in Monique. Monique finished college with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology, then worked designing machines that check car parts for over three years. Although she enjoyed the computer work, she missed the interaction with people. In her spare time she volunteered with different groups, but still felt she could do more.
Monique was unhappy so she made a change. She worked customer service, sales and marketing positions while travelling through Canada until landing in Edmonton. Monique has taken all of her past experience and has developed an uniquely placed virtual assistant service that quite simply backs people who give back.
Monique is now based in Edmonton, but travels in her camper van across North America with her corgi, Charlie, or visits other parts of the world volunteering, and meeting some of her clients face-to-face. No matter where Monique is, her and the team are always there to provide support.
Keep up to date with digital philanthropic marketing, entrepreneurial advice, and the Made in Monique team adventures.


A darkly ingenious essay on the ambiguity of memory, expressed through a story of Mengele-esque experiments on children.
An informed and adventurous creative mind at full stretch.
This production has been assisted by the Australian Government's Major Festival initiative, managed by the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Melbourne Festival, Adelaide Festival and Sydney Festival.
Contains strong coarse language, haze effects and bright lights.


Pissed Off at AOL, Nothing New There.
I was up until five AM this morning working on this kind of stuff. Now I have to try to do it all over again at Picture Trail or Clubphoto but when will I find the time? Goddamnit and I wrote captions and put all of the pictures in order too. One hundred-and-sixty-eight of them I think. Help.


 Five Reasons to Party with Pub Crawl Barcelona!
We firmly believe that exploring the nightlife of Barcelona is best done by going on a pub crawl. However, we deal with this business on a daily basis, and see how people enjoy their adventures immensely – but you don't have this luxury and understandably may need further convincing. Here's our list of why should you join a pub crawl Barcelona adventure!
Getting around in a foreign city – especially during the night – can be quite daunting. Especially for ladies, exploring a club that is unknown, can be risky even in safe cities like Barcelona. Luckily, on pub crawl you are never alone, and never lost!
We absolutely love the fact that every night there are new people of countless nationalities registering for a pub crawl. We believe that the best party mix comes from a wide variety of nationalities and stories that come naturally with the territory!
Do the math. A lot of cheap booze, plus new people wanting to make friends, add to that a stern determination of making a memorable first impressions, and what do get? That's right, crazy pubcrawl adventures!
Barcelona is packed with lovely promoters trying to sell the best pubcrawl deal on the spot. We have no problem with them, they do a fine job! However, sometimes the deal you strike on the street is far from the best. This is where we come in. Pub Crawl Barcelona offers the best prices, no scams, no smooth talking, a reliable, party-positive service!
Our guides come from far and wide. Sometimes they are locals, sometimes its a friendly lad from, say, South Africa. We believe that just the right mix of local and international guides brings the necessary extra to the table when it comes to providing a memorable pub crawl adventure!
Book online and reserve your tour for tonight. We have pubcrawls everyday, but the clock is ticking!


Our Staff | Narnia Pet Behavior & Training, Inc.
We believe in nurturing a bond between animals and families. We want to help you achieve the happiness and love that we all feel for our own pets.
Narnia's more than 10,000 hours of continuing education and over 85 years of combined experience is one of our greatest assets. We require all of our instructors to participate in continuing education seminars.
Our new staff is put through rigorous training at Narnia including observation hours, training workshops and working at least 100 hours with a seasoned instructor.
The Narnia staff also participate in community events for shelters, rescue organizations, schools and scouting groups. Some of the events we have participated in include fund-raisers, career days, and educating children on interacting with dogs.


Leila Schochet is a policy analyst for Early Childhood Policy at American Progress. Schochet's research has focused on child care policy, as well as the intersections of child development and immigration, health, and public benefit programs. She also helps lead the team's advocacy efforts in this role. Prior to joining American Progress, Schochet conducted research on increasing retention among early educators in child care centers across Vermont. She also interned at the Institute for Educational Leadership, where her work centered on communicating the importance of family and community engagement in education.
Schochet holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, with minors in education studies and Spanish, from Middlebury College. She is originally from Princeton, New Jersey.


Louis Gossett Jr. stars in Sidney J. Furie's preposterous reactionary blockbuster Iron Eagle. The story concerns the 18-year-old Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick), the son of jet fighter pilot Ted Masters (Tim Thomerson). Ted's plane is shot down in the Middle East and he is sentenced to be executed by terrorists. When Doug asks the U.S. government and the Air Force for help in rescuing his father, they are unwilling to do anything. Doug goes to see one of Ted's old Air Force buddies, Chappy (Louis Gossett Jr.) and he helps the boy take an F-16 and they head to the Middle East, blowing up oil refineries and airports, insisting that Ted be released from captivity.
This couldn't even excite me as a kid. A bad film.
Released in the same year as 'Top Gun' and virtually a fantastic unauthorised sequel! nah not really. This really is your typical 80's kiddie fare much like 'Space Camp' 'Flight of the Navigator' or 'Karate Kid'. A pop tune filled collection of montages which take you from one action sequence to another. You could almost include 'The A-Team' and 'Rocky' in here as influences also. To use another example if you will, this could almost be 'The Goonies in the Air Force'. A young teens father (who is a fighter pilot) gets trapped behind enemy lines after being shot down. He is up for a darn good hanging so its up to the plucky cocky good looking young teen to fly in there and bail his own dad outta jail. Sounds ridiculous? well it is, Louis Gossett Jr tags along and assists the young boy as he himself is a grizzled old fighter pilot. With the help of more plucky young kiddies Gossett and Gedrick plan how to fly into a fictional Arab country and nab his dad. They do this with lots of very daft tacky action plans involving the kids stealing highly delicate info, ammo supplies, maps and even two jet fighters into the bargain. The young Gedrick and his friends can do all this quite easily it seems just because they all live on the Air Force base (their folks are in the Air Force of course). As I said before they do all this with constant musical montages! When we do see some dog fights its as expected, pretty terrible looking and with some rather obvious models being blown up...badly, clearly plastic and cardboard. Kids version of 'Top Gun' and completely family friendly apart from the odd curse word hehe. Can't believe this actually made it to the cinema in the same year as that Tony Scott film, what a difference! its more of a TV movie really. Best thing here is probably the soundtrack and the rather cool poster.
An exciting teen adventure action film. I really enjoyed it. Sure it's more like a youthful fantasy than something that would happen in reality, but that's what I thought was fun about it. I loved the ending too. Others may see this as cheesy, but I say see it anyway.
Iron Eagle is a Top Gun ripoff. that would be the best way to describe the film. The film has some of the most mediocre acting that I have ever seen. Unrealistic, and laughable, Iron Eagle is pure 80's cheese. An rookie 16 year old trying to get into flight school must save his dad from an evil foreign nation. The kid is qualified to fly a Cessna, but he's able to fly an advanced 5-16 fighter. Iron Eagle is the film that says, if you can fly a Cessna, you can fly an f-16. The cast is comprised by a bunch of amateurs who probably ended up having careers in low budget B movies. Iron Eagle is a fun film with lots of entertainment, but boy is it cheesy. The best thing about the film is the hard rock and heavy metal soundtrack. Iron Eagle is not a film that strive on accuracy, so if you're looking for an accurate fighter film, then Iron Eagle is not the film for you. The definitive Fighter pilot film has yet to be made. But for what is, Iron Eagle is a silly entertaining ride, that can bring back hints of nostalgia to it's viewers. The cast is mediocre and there isn't really anything memorable about the film. Iron Eagle is a borderline decent film that hasn't aged well. There are better films out, with Top Gun being the obvious fighter classic. Like I said, the film is not memorable and the best thing about the film is the soundtrack.
A film i fordly remenber when i was a kid.Aged badly but all good fun with a great 80's soundtrack.


Noel Sederstrom joined the KTTC-TV staff as News Director in February, 2008. He's a native Minnesotan, growing up on the Sederstrom family farm near Litchfield, also spending time on Lake Vermilion near Tower-Soudan, where his other grandfather Gust Saari worked a mile underground in the Soudan Mine.
After studying journalism at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, Noel worked as a reporter, anchor, producer and Executive Producer at KDAL-TV/CBS in Duluth, KARK-TV/NBC in Little Rock, WGRZ-TV/NBC in Buffalo, WLKY-TV/ABC in Louisville and WWMT-TV/CBS in Kalamazoo. As KARK-TV's first-ever news producer, Noel was part of the transition from 16mm film, and was the first reporter to go live with KARK's custom-built ENG truck. As EP in Buffalo, Noel created an alliance with a Canadian news network enabling WGRZ to produce an international newscast serving both Buffalo/Niagara Falls and the Hamilton-Toronto metro. Noel was the News Director at WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo, Michigan for seven of his 18 years at the CBS affiliate overseeing upgrades to Doppler radar and SNG before returning to Minnesota to lead the news staff of Quincy Media's KTTC-TV/NBC and sister station KXLT-TV/FOX.
Noel met his wife Cindy while an EP at WGRZ-TV in Buffalo and she joined him in a trek to Kentucky, Michigan and Minnesota and adventures involving their entire family. Their son Chris found himself one Saturday morning being a prop in a news live shot riding a toboggan down a sliding hill in Kalamazoo—Chris now lives in Minneapolis. Daughter Nickie and then-boyfriend Jason were for years drawn into the WWMT-TV election night "data unit" helping tabulate results; they now live with their two sons in Portage, Michigan. Even the family cat was a "star" of an I-Team investigation on Internet pharmacies and appeared on NBC Nightly News after the I-Team video was featured at a congressional hearing in Washington. Noel and Cindy now make their home in Rochester.
Over the years, Noel has been active in Habitat for Humanity projects; in west Michigan, he helped establish a garden at Prince of Peace Lutheran that 25 years later still supplies fresh food for homeless shelters and pantries. He served as the president of that ELCA congregation and more recently of Hosanna Lutheran in Rochester. He has played a leadership role in many of KTTC-TV's community service projects, including an on-air role during the KTTC Eagles Cancer Telethon each January thanking people who donate.
Noel has served on the NATAS/Upper Midwest Board of Governors since 2013. Since returning to Minnesota nine years ago, his KTTC NewsCenter team has been honored with eight Regional Emmys for morning, evening and weekend newscasts. Other top honors over four decades include two "Station of the Year" awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, "Best Documentary" from the New York State Broadcasters Association, and "Best Newscast" for coverage of the beginning of the Gulf War. Noel was one of the news leaders resisting Michigan State Police searches of newsrooms following MSU campus riots, a legal battle that established shield protections for broadcast journalists.


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Some 96% of respondents to a survey on smart cities said they were not aware of any smart city initiatives being run by their council and nearly a quarter (23%) were unclear on any one main benefit.
The survey from communications firm Arqiva with public opinion research company YouGov asked 2,070 adults in the UK to look back over the last year at smart city developments.
Smart cities use an 'intelligent infrastructure' including remote sensors and ubiquitous wireless internet, to enhance the performance of buildings, energy consumption, healthcare and transport to reduce costs and engage with citizens more effectively. In recent years, Milton Keynes, Kent and Bristol have become test beds for smart city initiatives covering local health, waste and transport services led by their respective councils.
But despite increasing investment in smart city initiatives, including funding competitions run by the government's technology strategy unit InnovateUK, almost half of the respondents said that they did not think smart cities would become a reality for another five years.
The most commonly identified problem for cities was traffic congestion (57% of respondents), although this was also considered by 33% as a priority for smart technology spending. Parking was found to be the second biggest problem (43%), but only 7% saw this as a priority.
More positively, although somewhat incongruously, over a third (37%) of 18-24 year-old respondents claimed to be "passionate" about their nearest city becoming smart.


My HTC Tilt 2 phone has 3 email accounts set up on it. One MSN Hotmail account and 2 personal accounts. One I set up myself and it works just fine but the one my friend (who also has a Tilt 2) set up for my school email account doesn't work. (I believe it's supposed to be under an IMAP account type instead of the POP3 account its set up under. I could be wrong, I'm not overly cellular device saavy. ) I've tried going into the account set up but it wont let me change that type and from the messaging menu of all my accounts even when highlighted and I hold it down no pop up menu show up and the delete option at the bottom left is greyed out.
Any remedy for for deleting personal email accounts without completely doing a Hard reset?
Connect through active sync and try deleting accounts that way.
Open the account you are wanting to delete, select menu, scroll down to tools, select options, click and hold the account name you want to delete, a pop-up will appear to delete the account, click delete and ir will be gone.
THANKS for that advice!!! I have been searching for this answer for months. Finally can get rid of an account I don't want shown on my device. HTC doesn't tell you anything about how to do this.


I had the good fortune of enjoying Mirrormont stables in its "hay" day. For horse aficionados, it was quite a hub in the sixties and seventies. Beautiful horses and ponies of all kinds were boarded there (including, for a time, my pony Tarowyn). Lessons were offered in the main corral—English Style? Western? Your choice. I took English lessons with the enthusiastic Jen (see photo) and my stepsister, Stephanie (also in photo), took Western lessons on her pony, Velvet. The grounds were pretty amazing, too. A quick ride southeast of the main barn would reveal a vast and beautiful meadow with rolling hills, trails, and an open invitation to gallop!
Vern, a rough and tumble cowboy with a mischievous gleam in his eye, managed the stables during this time. Always bedecked in cowboy hat, boots and bolo, he was the jovial yet commanding force behind the stables. His office was directly above the main barn—you can still see the office window overlooking the corral today through which he would keep watch.
On summer evenings, you'd often find people sitting around a roaring campfire, telling stories or singing with a guitar. Rustic and authentic, Mirrormont Stables really captured the rural spirit on which our area was founded and faithfully served many people (and horses!) in our region. The next time you see the Stables, picture what it must have looked like when it was thriving. As I like to say, the façade may have changed, but all the memories are still there.
From Melinda Codling, who moved to Mirrormont in 1973: In 1967, the summer after graduating from college, I went horseback riding on a guided tour offered by Mirrormont Stables. We went across the road and up the hill on bridle trails into Mirrormont, and the guide pointed out remnants of coal mining – old cables and a coal cart. By the time we moved here in 1973, Mirrormont Stables no longer gave guided tours. But I exercised a horse being boarded there, for a woman who didn't have the time. I love riding my horses around Mirrormont because I meet a lot of neighbors out working in their yards.
From Mirrormont News, Spring 2006: The MCA sponsored a special meeting in February 2006 to discuss issues surrounding Mirrormont Bridle Trails. Many residents were hopeful that opening the existing easements would provide a community-wide trail system to provide safe, natural settings to walk. Other residents raised concerns about possible vandalism, lack of privacy, loose dogs, and trail maintenance. Questions were also raised concerning monies needed for surveys, trail construction, impact on property values, and insurance issues. At the time, the MCA was already busy with the development and construction of Mirrormont Park, and questioned whether they could handle an additional project of this scope. Of those who voted, 11 voted were in favor of developing the trail system, 5 were uncertain, and 23 voted against. The MCA Board decided not to pursue development of the trail system at that time.


Grave doubts have emerged over the credibility of the report advising the Scottish Government on the future of the Arran ferry.
ABP, owner of the Port of Troon, has written to the Scottish Government, highlighting major failings in the report and calling on the Transport Minister Humza Yousaf to undertake further study before making a final decision.
ABP cautioned the Scottish government that any future deal must guarantee service reliability improvements and that no further costs will be borne by fare-payers or taxpayers. This could happen in the event that additional expenditure is needed on the Port of Ardrossan in order to accommodate the new vessel. At present, the report overlooks this key point and does not model whether the Port of Ardrossan can handle the new vessel.
There is no detail on whether a break clause will be included in the new deal allowing the Scottish Government and fare-payers to leave should the required investment fail to materialise.
The report also fails to highlight how Ardrossan's proposals do not include a new breakwater, a berth extension, lack a commitment to fund a passenger access system and the potential for the new passenger terminal not to be built for eight years.
•	The significant potential for spiralling costs to the Scottish Government and fare-payers has been completely overlooked.
•	The report completely fails to tackle the primary issue of port resilience.
•	Significant investments likely required by Ardrossan's port infrastructure have been omitted.
•	It is not possible to analyse important details contained in the report since they are redacted. In many instances it is not clear how this can be justified.
•	Key questions around the deliverability of Ardrossan's proposals have not been answered.
•	The report fails to highlight the extent of the superiority of Troon's onward connections.
•	Analysis of the socio-economic impact has been completely focussed on Ardrossan, with negligible analysis of the potential for positive impact on Arran or Troon.
Stuart Cresswell, Manager at ABP Port of Troon, said: "We are genuinely shocked that the report hasn't modelled the performance of the new vessel at Ardrossan, where vessels already struggle to berth. Or that Calmac masters have not been consulted. The report therefore fails to give any proper view of the likely true cost of additional investment in Ardrossan and the comparative cost analysis presented is dangerously misleading as a result.
"Many of the numbers behind the conclusions in the report are hidden from view and many of the conclusions are also driven principally by assertion rather than a proper, robust and transparent evidence base.
"As a result, the report has a huge hole in the middle of it and completely lacks credibility.
"We urge the Scottish Government to commission further research to address this hole before making any further decisions.


Organisations that put chatbots instead of human customer service reps before their consumers have a great factor for doing so.
Although absolutely nothing beats the human touch, in a manner of speaking, a chatbot is more than efficient in offering every customer what they want-a direct solution to their question.
If you've been running an on the internet store for quite a long time, you would certainly understand for sure that you can never instruct a customer to be patient.
They get annoyed every time their call is placed on hold for as well long or their inquiry is not answered promptly.
Still, the fact continues to be that they keep you in service, so you need to make sure that their concerns are resolved quick.
Your client support group does not work night and day, but also after that your clients anticipate prompt solution to their queries or worries.
What do consumers think about a bot?
They have no qualms regarding relying on this expert system (A.I) powered application to comprehend a brand name much better, especially if a robot can answer their inquiries properly.
Close to 40% of them also said they will happily use A.I., if it were offered on an internet site, to acquire garments.
From their point ofview, there is very little distinction between talking with a chatbot and a genuine person-if anything, it's going to boost their on-line experience.
Nevertheless, buyers of high-value items like jewelry and also autos see a large distinction between a human client service representative and a crawler that mimics human conversation.
This team of mindful buyers favor to have a person walk them via their journey and answer their concerns in detail.
3 reasons you require a chatbot.
Since they recognize and respond to human speech, chatbots come in really helpful in the everyday procedures of an organisation.
They are configured to examine customer information, hence an exceptional tool for attending to frequently asked questions on your site, which subsequently can raise your sales.
Working with and training new staff members to be in your firm will cost you more than it does making a chatbot.
This is not to claim you shouldn't work with individuals anymore; absolutely nothing can change the human compassion.
We're all for experienced individuals, yet incorporating their skills with A.I. is a smart way to advance your company.
Whether you're an on the internet start-up business or a seasoned ecommerce entrepreneur, the listed here describes exactly how making use of a chatbot can benefit your company.
# 2 They can react quickly to simple concerns.
# 3 You can set a chatbot to forward a difficult concern from a consumer to on your own, or to your participants of staff, in a timely way.
Chatbots are, no question, amongst the most up to date interaction devices that you ought to take advantage of for your e-commerce service.
Merging their efficiency with your customer support's social abilities is certainly mosting likely to make your customers pleased, which amounts greater sales.


So with that being said here's a letter to you.
You have truly showed me what unconditional love really means. Loving and caring for someone that cries, screams, bites, pukes, pees, and poops on you is a whole different kind of love.
Going into labor with you and giving birth was one of the scariest and happiest days of my life. I was a scared 23 year old, knowing nothing about babies, and yet here I was getting ready to have one of my own. I was tired, nervous, and terrified of the whole birthing process. Not truly knowing what to expect. I made it 10cm and was ready to push but I was so tired it took me 45 mins. Out you came and they laid you straight on my chest and I just remember holding you and crying. I did it! I brought you into this world! We were both exhausted from the experience we just endured but we did it!
I remember bringing you home from the hospital and being so scared. Your tiny little body, laying on mine, just wanting me to wrap my arms around you and snuggle you while you were sleeping. The first week was a real roller coaster. I hardly slept because I was so scared. I would lay my hand on you to make sure you were still breathing. We really struggled to nurse and I couldn't wait for you to fall asleep because that meant I could sleep…but I never did. I laid there with you just starring at your beautiful face. I would think over and over, I MADE THAT. You came from me. How incredible is it, that my body made you!
We spent exactly 1 year and 10 months together, just you and I! You learned things about me and I you! We had lots and lots of dates just the two of us. We got to do a lot together in the short amount of time it was just us. Seeing you become a big brother though was one of the most special times for me. You were so sweet with Knox, always wanting to hold and kiss him. You would check on him and were such a big help bringing me diapers and changing his clothes. Seeing you become a big brother for a second time was something else too. You just love little babies and couldn't wait to get your little hands on Kaizer either. Even to this day you just lay there with him holding and kissing him!
Watching you grow over the past four years has been a real blessing. You've learned so much and are always amazing me with the things you understand and how smart you are. You talk very well for almost being four that people always ask me if you're older then what you are. You make me proud at some of the things you've accomplished in your short 4 years of life.
You have a very tender heart and you don't like disappointing people.
Sometimes you can be very cautious and aware of your surroundings which is great for how young you are.
You and your dad are twinsies!!!!
I'm so excited for this new year with you! You'll officially be starting preschool. I know you're excited because you can't stop talking about all of the friends you're going to make!
I love you big boy! Happy 4th Birthday!


OrangeGlad February 2015 Double Sweets Box and 40% off Coupon Code!
Everything comes neatly packed in a box with a info card describing what you've received along with Best Before dates, ingredients, etc. As you can see, there are five different treats in the box this month.
Annalisa Chocolates Truffles in Raspberry and Salted Caramel- These are delicious! Actually, I can only attest to the Raspberry because I don't like salted caramel anything and I'm giving those to my mom. This is deliciously dark chocolate, too. My favorite. I love the Raspberry flavor. Sometimes there just isn't enough raspberry flavor but these are perfect. And perfect for Valentine's Day.
Cheryl's Cookies Buttercream Frosted Cut-Out Cookies- I have to admit to a predilection for Cheryl's Cookies. I had one on an Alaska Airlines plane and ever since then (and really, it was probably fifteen years ago) I have always wanted more. A few times I paid the exorbitant shipping costs and had them delivered to my house. I ate every single one. These are my favorite, too. The Buttercream Cutouts and the Snickerdoodles. Faaantastic!
Yeah, there's only one in the photo because I ate the other one. And actually... I ate this one, too, while writing out this review. So... tasty. Trust me.
OrangeGlad "We're Mint to Be" Fudge- Ohhhh... I don't know who made this but apparently OrangeGlad did? It's minty and chocolatey and the Oreo adds the perfect flavor. Glorious! The second best part is the mason jar. I love mason jars and use them for everything and now I have two more! Double Treats ftw!
Salem Baking Co. Moravian Cookies Chocolate Dipped Sugar- These are perfectly Valentiney red, heart-shaped cookies dipped in dark chocolate! What's not to love? They're crispy and sooo tasty. And there's a perfect balance of chocolate to cookie. So good.
VERDICT: This box is the Double Treats box so it is $36.95. The contents of the box are valued at somewhere around $25. I give a ballpark because you can't buy something these in the quantities we were given and smaller portions mean a higher price in retail. So I cannot suggest this subscription for a great value. You will, however, get a fun and unusual assortment of treats each month. As you can see from the contents of this box, the variety is enough that you are certain to find something you like.
I do like OrangeGlad and the curation of their treats. I like them even better at 40% off. Use coupon code LOVE2015 and get any subscription length for 40% off. I can tell you unequivocally that it IS worth trying this subscription for that price. Absolutely.
So, sign up here for OrangeGlad, choose your subscription length, put in your address and then on the billing page (before you pay) punch in LOVE2015 and get yourself a sweet deal.
Oh, and if you have time, you can try getting $5 off (or it might be $5 in your shop account, I have no idea really) by putting in my referral code right above where the Coupon Code goes. My referral code is: SARAHOG31858. Either way, enjoy your March goodies when you get them!
I'm never disappointed in OrangeGlad. QVC sells Cheryl's cookies and they always have specials going on. Personally, I think they are just okay -- nothing special.
What was your favorite thing in this box? Did you love the fudge? I thought it was so perfect with the Oreo bits in it. I love mint fudge to begin with, though.


Vic Sage--aka The Question--is a journalist with an uncanny ability to break difficult stories, thanks to his relentless crime fighting. But has the faceless vigilante gone off the deep end? When he hears the voice of Superman's Metropolis, he answers. Does that mean he's crazy? That's the question.


Local and federal authorities are investigating two separate bank robberies in the Houston area Wednesday morning.
The first heist occurred about 9:40 a.m. at an IBC Bank at 3939 Montrose, according to the Houston Police Department.
FBI officials said the other robbery occurred about 10:10 a.m. at a Woodforest bank at 13003 Tomball Parkway in northwest Harris County.
The heists do not appear to be connected, officials said. No injuries were reported in either of them.
In the first robbery, at least two masked man armed with guns and wearing black hoodies entered the bank. They also wore white handkerchiefs over portions of their faces. FBI officials said it was a take-over style robbery.
One or two suspects were involved in the second robbery. No other information was immediately available.


text:
Funding & Loans
Starter Grants
WREN Community Action Fund
Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) has start accepting applications for 2018 funding of projects that provide, maintain or improve certain types of public amenities in England.
The Community Fund scheme is designed to help deliver public amenity projects within 10 miles of a FCC Environment landfill site in WREN's operating areas in England. All funded projects must be available to the general public.
WREN has published new guidelines for the new application round which runs from 6 December until 14 March 2018:
The types of organisations that can apply directly have changed. Applications will be accepted from a registered charity which operates a community facility; a church or parochial church council; a parish or town council or a management committee or user association acting on behalf of a parish or town council; parish or town council; a local authority; or a CASC registered sports club.
Organisations that are not one of the above may still be able to apply as a secondary applicant with a parish council, local authority or charity which is involved in their project site. However, this must be discussed with WREN before filling out an application.
Project sites must be owned, leased or under appropriate management agreement by either the applicant organisation or the secondary application organisation.
Applications will no longer be accepted for projects in Wales as landfill tax in Wales will be replaced by Landfill Disposals Tax.
Grants of between £2,000 and £100,000 are available for projects with a maximum total cost of £500,000.
The funding is to be used for the provision, maintenance or improvement of the following types of public amenity:
Village halls and community centres.
Public play areas.
Publicly available Multi use games areas, skate parks and BMX tracks.
Sport and recreation grounds including pavilions and clubhouses with full public access.
Churches – community spaces only.
Nature reserves.
Public gardens, parks, country parks and woodlands with at least dawn to dusk access.
Museums.
Competition for funds is high and groups are advised to discuss their eligibility with WREN before applying.
Applications are open from 6 December 2017 until 14 March 2018 (5pm).
To find out more click here; http://www.wren.org.uk/apply
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At the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, more than two thousand unexplored ships are buried, flooded by pirates during the Gold Rush. Holds of English and Spanish sailboats are lying under water filled with treasures from Terra Nova surrounded by octopuses and cubes-cubes.
An available for tourists option is visiting ships drowned in more "convenient" way or / and willfully flooded, to the delight of divers.
Uzbekistan reminds us Belarus of the noughties. Previous President had been reigning for 25 years and died of old age last year. His successor is increasing in GDP by closing the state borders.
Preparing for a world tour is an incredibly long process. We sell things, distribute them to friends, take them to parents, put them on the street in large packages for the joy of dubious personalities.
And things still do not come to an end.
But the couches have already been dismissed, and today we are sleeping on the floor. This inspires hope.