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384 F. 3d 453 - Crull v. Sunderman W
384 F3d 453 Crull v. Sunderman W
Misti CRULL, Plaintiff-Appellee,
William SUNDERMAN, John W. Rapp, Justice, Lindsay Parkhurst, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.
Argued October 24, 2003.
Decided September 17, 2004.
Rehearing En Banc Denied October 21, 2004.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, John W. Darrah, J. H. Candace Gorman, Catherine Caporusso (Argued), Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Brett E. Legner (Argued), Office of the Attorney General, Civil Appeals Division, Chicago, IL, for Defendants-Appellants.
Before BAUER, EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.
RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.
Misti Crull brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against her former employer, the State of Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board ("JIB"), individual JIB members and employees. She alleged constitutional violations as a result of the termination of her employment.1 The district court dismissed the JIB as a party because it was immune from suit in federal court. The parties then filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The remaining defendants asserted that summary judgment was appropriate because Ms. Crull had no property interest in her continued employment, and, therefore, they were entitled to qualified immunity. The district court denied both motions. The defendants appealed. We now reverse the judgment of the district court.
* BACKGROUND
1. Parties
The 1970 Illinois Constitution created the JIB for the purpose of investigating judicial misconduct and mental or physical incapacity of the State's judges. See Ill. Const. art. VI, § 15(b). The JIB is composed of board members ("Board"), a full-time Executive Director, two full-time investigators and other support staff. The Executive Director is appointed by the Board to supervise the investigators, to assist with budget preparation and to be the spokesperson to the media, among other responsibilities. The JIB hired Ms. Crull in 1997 as an investigator. Defendants, William Sunderman and Justice John W. Rapp, were members of the Board in 1997, and defendant Lindsay Parkhurst became a board member in 1999. Mr. Sunderman became Chairman of the JIB in August 1999 and was Chairman at the time the Board terminated Ms. Crull's employment. Finally, defendant Kathy Twine was the JIB Executive Director at the time of this appeal; she had been named to that position in 1998. Ms. Twine replaced the former Executive Director, Sue Tohinaka, after Tohinaka's death in 1997. Ms. Twine also fills the role of General Counsel to the JIB. See R. 13 ¶ 7.
2. Purpose and Structure of the Judicial Inquiry Board
As stated above, the 1970 Illinois Constitution created the JIB to conduct investigations and to receive or initiate complaints concerning judges. See Ill. Const. art. VI, § 15(b) & (c). The Board may file complaints with the Courts Commission if there is a reasonable basis to charge a judge with misconduct or to allege physical or mental disability which renders the judge unable to perform judicial duties. See id. at § 15(c).
The JIB's first meeting was held on October 6, 1971, and was called to order by Governor Richard Ogilvie. At that initial meeting, Governor Ogilvie described the agency as an independent agency and commented that the only authority the Governor's office had over the agency was to appoint seven of its nine members. In 1992, after an inquiry from the JIB, the Chief Legal Counsel of the Department of Central Management Services ("CMS") provided a legal opinion that stated that the JIB was not subject to the provisions of the Personnel Code.2 See R.41, Ex.4, Letter of Oct. 19, 1992. In 1993, the Attorney General concluded that the JIB was an independent state agency, part of the judiciary, and, therefore, was exempt from the state personnel rules. See id., Letter of Feb. 24, 1993. The JIB formally adopted the Attorney General's opinion in 1993. See id., Minutes of March 12, 1993.
Unlike other state employees, generally speaking JIB employees are not hired from the CMS list of eligible employees but by the Board; the Board's hiring decisions were not restricted by the requirements of CMS. The JIB employees do not have a written contract for any specific employment period, and the Board has no formal grievance or discharge procedures. In some respects, however, JIB employees receive similar treatment to CMS employees. Both parties agree that during the relevant time period (1) JIB employees were evaluated on CMS forms, (2) vacation day forms stated "Personnel Code Vacation Days Earned" and (3) JIB adopted the model sexual harassment policy promulgated by the Governor for agencies within his jurisdiction. See Appellee's Br. at 4; Appellants' Br. at 13. Additionally, Ms. Crull's life and health insurance were administered through CMS. Ms. Crull asserts that, when the JIB had no policy of their own, it would follow the state employee Personnel Code. The defendants claim that they looked to the state policies "just to get a parameter" but have not necessarily followed the policies as provided by the Personnel Code. Appellants' Br. at 12.
3. Hiring of Ms. Crull
When Ms. Crull was hired in 1997 as an investigator for the JIB, she was not hired through CMS; she applied directly to the JIB. Ms. Crull interviewed with Executive Director Tohinaka and, like other JIB employees, did not meet with the Board prior to her offer of employment. At some point during the hiring process, Executive Director Tohinaka told Ms. Crull that she would be placed on a six-month probationary period, after which "they have to have a reason to fire you." R.44, Ex.3 at 21. Ms. Crull also offered testimony that she "was assured that the structure of the JIB was designed to produce credibility and due process for the JIB staff" as well as for the judges they investigate. R.44, Ex.4, Crull Aff. ¶ 2. Executive Director Tohinaka sent Ms. Crull a letter advising her of the date on which she should begin work, her starting salary and that she would receive "full State of Illinois Employee Benefit[s]." R.44, Ex. 4, Letter of Sept. 30, 1997. The Board set Ms. Crull's salary, which does not depend on any set pay scale.
In a 1999 letter responding to Ms. Crull's inquiries about sick leave, the Labor Relations Manager/Chief Labor Relations Counsel for the CMS informed Ms. Crull that the JIB was "not under the jurisdiction of the Governor." R.41, Ex.9. The letter informed Ms. Crull to address the issues with Executive Director Twine and explained that CMS Labor Relations "generally do[es] not give advice regarding matters that are not within the Governor's jurisdiction." Id. Further, in June 2000, Board Chairman Sunderman told Ms. Crull she was an at-will employee.
4. JIB Employees Placed on Probation
In addition to Ms. Crull, at least four other JIB investigators were placed "on probation" when they started their employment. "[F]ormer Executive Director Sue Tohinaka and ... Executive Director Twine had discretion to put employees on probation...." R.46 ¶ 14. Investigators Tom Jennings, John Valencia, Wayne McClory and Dan Marello were all placed on a six-month probationary period upon being hired. Furthermore, based on an initial conversation with Executive Director Tohinaka, McClory believed he could be fired only for cause after his six months' probation. The Board placed Executive Director Twine on probation as a new employee in January 1998 and removed her from probation at their October 9, 1998 Board meeting. See R.44, Ex. 19 at 2.
Several employees also were placed back on probation when they experienced difficulties in performing their responsibilities. Executive Director Tohinaka told Jennings that he was being returned to probationary status. Executive Director Twine told John Valencia that his probation had been extended for another six months. See R.44, Ex.9. Both employees were provided a written explanation of why they were placed back on probation and an opportunity to improve their performance. Finally, the defendants acknowledge that "[t]he JIB, through interim Director Sandra Otaka, also extended McClory's probation during the transition between Executive Directors after Tohinaka's death so that the new director `could fire [him] more easily.'" Appellant's Br. at 16 (quoting R.44, Ex.8, McGuire Dep. at 69-70) (alteration in original).
5. Board's Past Termination of Employees
Prior to Ms. Crull's termination, there is evidence of only one other termination, the Board's termination of Jennings in March 1997. The Board did not provide Jennings with a hearing but made its decision based on "Director Tohinaka's packet of materials ... including Tom Jennings' March 5, 1997 memo in response to his February 24, 1997 Annual Performance Review." R.41, Ex.14. In announcing its decision to terminate Jennings, the Board expressly stated the decision was "with authorization" to the Executive Director "to determine a suitable effective date which gives him at least two weeks notice." Id. at 1-2.
Prior to Ms. Crull's dismissal, the Board became concerned about her ability to conduct investigations. Specifically, the Board was concerned about "her judgment, her ability to write unbiased reports, her reliance on unsubstantiated rumors and her ability to separate rumors from credible evidence." R.41, Ex.12 at ¶ 5. The outside counsel also expressed concerns about even using her as a witness before the Courts Commission. See id. The Board determined to terminate Ms. Crull because it had lost confidence in her investigative abilities. See id.; see also Appellant's Br. at 11 (citing to record). On October 13, 2000, Ms. Crull attended a meeting with three Board members, defendants Sunderman, Rapp and Parkhurst, and the Executive Director, Kathy Twine. At this meeting, those present informed Ms. Crull that the Board had voted unanimously to terminate her employment. She was given no prior warning or hearing but was provided two additional weeks of pay.
B. District Court Proceedings
On March 6, 2001, Ms. Crull filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, Ms. Crull alleged that she had a constitutionally protected property interest in her employment and that her dismissal violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process of law.
Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. In ruling on the motions, the district court focused on whether Ms. Crull had put forth facts establishing a property interest in her continued employment. The court determined that a property interest could arise from an independent source, such as state law, or by a clearly implied promise of continued employment. The second method, the court explained, included any mutually explicit understandings between the parties. See R.62 at 7.
The court refrained from determining whether a state statute or regulation created such an obligation, noting that the parties disputed this point and there was no case law discussing whether the Personnel Code applied to the JIB. The court determined that the resolution of that issue was unnecessary because there was a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether a property interest arose based on a clearly implied promise of continued employment. Accordingly, the court denied the motions for summary judgment.
Once it determined there was a triable issue of fact regarding Ms. Crull's property interest in continued employment, the district court addressed the defendants' claim of qualified immunity. The court started with the two-step inquiry for qualified immunity claims. First, it asked whether Ms. Crull had stated a violation of her constitutional rights. The court determined that Ms. Crull did raise a triable issue as to whether she could only be terminated for cause. Therefore, the court held, Ms. Crull had alleged a violation of her constitutional rights, namely a deprivation of a property interest without due process.
Second, the court addressed whether these rights were clearly established at the time of the alleged violation. Although there was no precedent on whether a JIB employee had a property interest in her continued employment, the case law was clear, the court determined, that a property interest could arise from a clearly implied promise of continued employment. The court concluded that "it has long been established that a property right in employment could arise from the practices and promises of the state employer." Id. at 10. Because Ms. Crull had come forward with a triable issue of fact regarding whether this type of property interest existed, summary judgment could not be granted for the defendant.
A. Standards for Qualified Immunity
The defendants appeal the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity. This decision is reviewed de novo. See McGrath v. Gillis, 44 F.3d 567, 569 (7th Cir.1995). At this stage, we must view the facts in the light most favorable to Ms. Crull, the nonmoving party. Summary judgment is only appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary judgment should be granted when the facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, fail to establish an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim on which she will bear the burden of proof at trial. See Beauchamp v. City of Noblesville, Ind., 320 F.3d 733, 742 (7th Cir.2003).
To establish qualified immunity, a court must first ask whether, "[t]aken in the light most favorable to the party asserting the injury, do the facts alleged show the [defendants'] conduct violated a constitutional right?" Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001). Second, the court must determine if the right was clearly established at the time of the violation. See id. In addressing these questions, we also must inquire as to whether the facts, viewed in the light most favorable to Ms. Crull, demonstrate a violation of her constitutional rights.3
B. Violation of a Constitutional Right
Ms. Crull alleges she was deprived of her property interest in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when she was fired without notice or a hearing. The burden is on her to demonstrate that she possessed a property interest in her employment with the JIB that is protected by the Constitution. See Johnson v. City of Fort Wayne, 91 F.3d 922, 943 (7th Cir.1996). "A protected property interest in employment can arise from a state statute, regulation, municipal ordinance, or an express or implied contract — those `rules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims of entitlement to those benefits.'" Id. (quoting Border v. City of Crystal Lake, 75 F.3d 270, 273 (7th Cir.1996)); see Heck v. City of Freeport, 985 F.2d 305, 310 (7th Cir.1993) ("[P]roperty interests in the employment context arise in two ways: by an independent source such as state law securing certain benefits, or by a clearly implied promise of continued employment." (internal quotations omitted)). Because Ms. Crull was employed in Illinois, we must examine Illinois law to determine if she had a property interest in her employment with the JIB. See Johnson, 91 F.3d at 943.
1. State Statute or Regulation4
"The presumption in Illinois is that employment is at-will...." Border, 75 F.3d at 274. The relevant statute that Ms. Crull offers to rebut this presumption is the Personnel Code. See 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/1-25. The Personnel Code establishes "a system of personnel administration under the Governor, based on merit principles and scientific methods." 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/2. Its rules generally provide employees subject to its procedures a hearing prior to termination for cause. See 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/8b.16 ("[The rules prepared by CMS shall provide] [f]or hearing before discharge or demotion with the prior approval of the Director of Central Management Services only for cause after appointment is completed, after the person to be discharged or demoted has been presented in writing with the reasons requesting such discharge or demotion."). Neither party disputes that the Personnel Code provides a property interest in continued employment for the employees who fall under its coverage.5
As we noted, Ms. Crull must be able to demonstrate that, under Illinois law, a JIB employee has a property interest in her employment. She must establish that the Personnel Code actually applies to her position. Therefore, we now consider whether the Personnel Code applies to JIB employees.
a. applicable constitutional provisions
Article VI of the Constitution of the State of Illinois addresses the Judiciary. Within that article, Section 15 specifically speaks to the retirement and discipline of judges. Subsection "b." creates the JIB. See Ill. Const. art. VI, § 15(b). That section then specifies that the Supreme Court shall select two members and the Governor seven; the members shall serve for four-year terms, not to exceed eight years of service. Subsection "c." then addresses the authority and duties of the Board and subsection "d." provides that "[t]he Board shall adopt rules governing its procedures. It shall have subpoena power and authority to appoint and direct its staff." Ill. Const. art. VI, § 15(d).
b. scope of the Personnel Code
The purpose of the Personnel Code is "to establish for the government of the State of Illinois a system of personnel administration under the Governor, based on merit principles and scientific methods." 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/2 (emphasis added). The "Jurisdictions, exemptions" section defines the scope of the Personnel Code by stating that "[a]ll offices and positions of employment in the service of the State of Illinois shall be subject to the provisions of this Act unless exempted in this or any other Act." 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/4. Among the specifically exempted positions are:
(1) All officers elected by the people.
(2) All positions under the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, State Board of Education, Clerk of the Supreme Court, and Attorney General.
(3) Judges, and officers and employees of the courts, and notaries public.
(4) All officers and employees of the Illinois General Assembly, all employees of legislative commissions, all officers and employees of the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislative Research Unit, and the Legislative Printing Unit.
20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/4c.
c. parties' contentions
The defendants focus on the word "under" in Section 2 of the statute. They contend that Section 2 limits the scope of the Personnel Code to only those civil service employees "under the Governor." Correlatively, they assert that the Personnel Code does not apply to entities outside the Governor's authority and control. Because the JIB was created under Article VI of the state constitution, the section that concerns the Judiciary, the defendants assert that the JIB is not "under the Governor" for purposes of the Personnel Code. The defendants argue that any other reasoning would bring the Personnel Code statute in conflict with the constitutional grant of authority permitting the Board to appoint and direct its staff. The application of the Personnel Code to the independent JIB would permit, according to the defendants, the legislative branch to interfere with the JIB's constitutional authority, contrary to the Illinois Constitution. See Ill. Const. art. II, § 1 ("The legislative, executive and judicial branches are separate. No branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another.").
Ms. Crull, in contrast, asserts that 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/4 applies the Personnel Code to all positions in the service of the State of Illinois except for those positions exempted from the statute. She submits that JIB employees are not exempt. Specifically, she notes that many of the exempt organizations in Section 4 are not properly considered "under" the Governor's jurisdiction.
d. application
When the Personnel Code is read as a whole, it does not unambiguously state whether it applies to the JIB. Section 4, describing the "jurisdictions" and "exemptions" of the chapter, states that the code applies to all positions "in the service of the State of Illinois" unless exempted, 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/4; however, Section 2, discussing the purpose of the chapter, states that the Personnel Code is to establish "a system of personnel administration under the Governor." 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/2 (emphasis added). The JIB clearly is one of the "offices and positions of employment in the service of the State of Illinois," but it is difficult to see how it is an agency "under the Governor."
We think a textual analysis of these provisions provides a fairly secure basis for determining, as various organs of Illinois government discussed earlier in the opinion have, that the Board is not subject to the Personnel Code. Nevertheless, for the sake of argument, we shall assume that these texts leave some doubt and look beyond the text to verify the intent of those provisions. At the outset, we note that Illinois courts grant "considerable deference to an agency's interpretation of a statute it administers"; however, "an agency's interpretation is not binding as to questions of law and will be rejected if erroneous." See Denton v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 176 Ill.2d 144, 223 Ill.Dec. 461, 679 N.E.2d 1234, 1236 (1997). The CMS is the agency in charge of administering the Personnel Code, and, therefore, we give their interpretation appropriate deference.
The CMS, in a letter responding to the Board's questions whether the Personnel Code applied, stated that JIB "employees have been considered exempt from the Personnel Code since the 1970 Constitution became effective." R.41, Ex.4, Letter of Oct. 19, 1992, at 1. The Chief Legal Counsel for CMS further opined that "[w]hen the Constitution became effective, its grant of authority to the Board to appoint its employees [Section 15(d)] was contrary to and inconsistent with the provisions of the Personnel Code." Id. The CMS concluded that this constitutional grant of authority "was an expression of intent that employees of the Board are exempt from the Personnel Code." Id. The CMS also took note of the impact that the Personnel Code would have on other branches of government because it requires that most employees only be fired for cause. In light of this restriction, the CMS reasoned, the Personnel Code would impose "more than a peripheral, indirect, or collateral change in personnel administration." Id. at 2. The CMS concluded that employees of the JIB "are exempt from the provisions of the Personnel Code." Id. at 3.6
We see no reason to dispute this interpretation of the statute. The CMS's interpretation is well grounded and firmly supported by traditional principles of statutory construction. When the creation of the JIB is viewed in context with the Personnel Code as a whole, it is clear that those procedures were not intended to be applied against the JIB.
Structural principles of constitutional and statutory interpretation support this conclusion. The JIB was created in the 1970 Illinois Constitution; the Personnel Code has been in existence since 1955. Obviously, the Personnel Code did not specifically address the JIB at the time of its enactment; the JIB did not exist. The Personnel Code, however, exempts all elected officers, "all Judges, and officers, and employees of the courts, and notaries public," and all employees of the Illinois General Assembly, including employees of legislative commissions. 20 Ill. Comp. Stat. 415/4c. In sum, Section 4c exempts nearly all legislative and judicial positions, leaving only those positions in the executive branch subject to the Personnel Code.
Historical factors support this structural view. Prior to the 1970 creation of the JIB, its functions were exercised by the Illinois Supreme Court. See Owen v. Mann, 105 Ill.2d 525, 86 Ill.Dec. 507, 475 N.E.2d 886, 890 (1985). The JIB's predecessor, the Illinois Courts Commission, was therefore exempt from the Personnel Code because it was under the auspices of the Supreme Court. Although JIB employees may not be considered judges or employees of the courts — those employees specifically listed in Section 4c(3) — the JIB was created as part of Article VI which addresses the Judiciary, and it seems equally likely that the Personnel Code was not intended to apply to them. The Board also was given explicit power to "appoint and direct its staff." Id. § 15(d). The placement of the JIB in the Judiciary Article with this express grant of authority provides a very substantial reason to question the Personnel Code's application to the JIB. See Ill. Const. art. II, § 1 ("The legislative, executive and judicial branches are separate. No branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another."). In accord with this express power to appoint and direct its staff and establish rules governing its procedures, the only significant role another branch has over the personnel operations of the Board is that the Governor is permitted to appoint seven members while the Illinois Supreme Court selects two. Applying the Personnel Code's restrictions to such an entity would impinge on the express grant of power. Because the JIB did not exist when the Personnel Code exemptions were enacted, because its predecessor was exempt and because Section 4c generally exempts positions in the legislative and judicial branches, it is reasonable to conclude that Section 2 of the Personnel Code applies only to those positions "under" the Governor, which excludes the JIB from its reach.
Moreover, the CMS interpretation is consistent with the practices and interpretations over the entire 30-year life of the agency. It is consistent with Governor Ogilvie's comments at the JIB's initial meeting in 1971, that the JIB was an independent agency beyond his authority. See R.41, Ex.2 at 2. It is also supported by the JIB's practice of not hiring employees through the CMS system and setting their own procedures regarding personnel.
Accordingly, we conclude that the Personnel Code does not apply to JIB employees. Therefore, Ms. Crull does not have a property interest arising from the Personnel Code. This conclusion, however, does not end our inquiry, and we must now turn to consider other potential sources of property interests.
2. Clearly Implied Promise of Continued Employment
Although Ms. Crull did not have a property right arising from an explicit contractual agreement or the Personnel Code, property rights are not created solely by these sources. "`[P]roperty' interests subject to procedural due process protection are not limited by a few rigid, technical forms. Rather, `property' denotes a broad range of interests that are secured by `existing rules or understandings.'" Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 601, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972) (internal citations omitted). Ms. Crull may establish a property interest in her employment if she can demonstrate the existence of an unwritten "common law of employment" providing a right to be terminated only for cause. Id."A common law of employment is established through rules or `mutually explicit understandings' and not solely through past practices of the employer." Hermes v. Hein, 742 F.2d 350, 355 (7th Cir.1984) (internal citations omitted); see Perry, 408 U.S. at 601, 92 S.Ct. 2694; Miller v. Crystal Lake Park Dist., 47 F.3d 865, 867 (7th Cir.1995) (noting that a "`mutually binding obligation' is just fancy language for `contract'"); Powell, 305 N.E.2d at 169 (noting that "every public employee does not have a right to continued employment," but "a public employee can have such a right dependent upon the surrounding circumstances including existing rules and understandings").
When basing a property interest on mutually explicit understandings, however, extreme care must be taken in evaluating the nature, quality and clarity of the purported understandings. Not anyone can bind the government. It is "firmly established that the `mutually explicit understandings' that constitute property interests under the holding of Perry cannot be based on the representations of government officials who are not authorized to make such representations." Wolf v. City of Fitchburg, 870 F.2d 1327, 1334 (7th Cir.1989).7 We must be mindful of this restriction when considering the facts that may demonstrate a mutually explicit understanding.
a. executive director
Ms. Crull primarily relies upon a statement by Executive Director Tohinaka at the time Ms. Crull was hired to establish her property interest. Ms. Crull submitted affidavit testimony that Tohinaka told her that there was a six-month probationary period after which "they have to have a reason to fire you." R.44, Ex.3 at 21. According to Ms. Crull, this led her to believe that she would be subject to progressive discipline and that she would be given a hearing prior to termination. Ms. Crull, however, does not offer any indication that the Executive Director had the actual authority to establish her employment conditions.
Ms. Crull admits that she "did not present any facts or exhibits regarding the Executive director's authority, and the district court did not consider the issue." Appellee's Supp. Br. at 1; see Appellee's Br. at 14. Ms. Crull explains that she did not proffer such evidence because the defendants "never made assertions regarding the authority of the JIB Executive Director in their statement of material Facts (Doc. 41)." Appellee's Supp. Br. at 1. Ms. Crull acknowledges, however, that the defendant offered deposition testimony and an affidavit regarding the power of the Executive Director. See Appellants' Br. at 14 n. 4. The Executive Director has no authority, according to the defendants, to establish agency policy or make employee decisions without the approval of the Board. Specifically, Executive Director Twine averred that in her position as Executive Director she did not have the power to fire anyone. See R.44, Ex.6 at 13. The defendants submitted evidence that the Board, and not the Executive Director, determines whether to promote an employee, see R.41, Ex.14, to give an employee a raise, see R.44, Ex.6 at 14-16, and to adopt other personnel policies for the JIB, see R.44, Ex.19 at 2. When the Board hires employees, the Board sets the salary and does not offer employment contracts for any time frame. See R.41, Ex.19 ¶ 4. The Board considers investigators at-will employees, and it has no policy that employees can be fired only for cause. See id.
Ms. Crull had to support her assertion of mutually explicit understanding of continued employment by offering statements from someone who could bind the Board. See Wolf, 870 F.2d at 1334; see also n. 9 infra. Ms. Crull had the burden, not only to demonstrate a property interest, see, e.g., Lawshe v. Simpson, 16 F.3d 1475, 1483 (7th Cir.1994), but to demonstrate that the person making statements had the authority to create a property interest, see Schoenberger v. Chicago Transit Auth., 84 Ill.App.3d 1132, 1136, 39 Ill.Dec. 941, 405 N.E.2d 1076 (1980) ("The authority to bind a principal will not be presumed, but rather, the person alleging the authority must prove its source...."); see also Yugoslav-American Cultural Ctr. v. Parkway Bank & Trust Co., 289 Ill.App.3d 728, 224 Ill.Dec. 840, 682 N.E.2d 401, 406 (1997) (noting that the burden on the person seeking to bind the principal "is difficult to meet because, where the existence of an agency is an issue, the mere statements of the alleged agent, made outside the presence of the principal and not subsequently approved by him, do not establish the existence of the principal-agent relationship"). Ms. Crull did not produce the facts to support her claim.
Ms. Crull also submits that there are facts in the record that suggest the Executive Director had the apparent authority to change her employment terms. It is well established that, generally speaking, "[a] principal is bound equally by the authority that he actually gives his agent and by that he appears to give." Amcore Bank v. Hahnaman-Albrecht, Inc., 326 Ill.App.3d 126, 259 Ill.Dec. 694, 759 N.E.2d 174, 183 (2001). However, this general rule must be applied with great circumspection when a state entity is the principal.
The JIB is a creature of the Illinois Constitution. It is composed of members that are appointed for limited terms. The Constitution specifically provides the Board with the authority to appoint and direct its staff. This is an unlikely situation in which to apply the common law principles of apparent authority, which would effectively permit the statements of one Executive Director, an employee of the Board, to bind all subsequent Boards and thus to restrict the Board's specific constitutional grant of authority. See Heck v. City of Freeport, 985 F.2d 305, 311 (7th Cir.1993) (noting that property interests arising from mutually explicit understandings only could occur "if consistent with official law"). Indeed, Illinois courts have held that "it is contrary to the effective administration of a political subdivision to allow elected officials to tie the hands of their successors with respect to decisions regarding the welfare of the subdivision." Cannizzo v. Berwyn Township, 318 Ill.App.3d 478, 251 Ill.Dec. 889, 741 N.E.2d 1067, 1071 (2000) (citing the rule established in Millikin v. County of Edgar, 142 Ill. 528, 32 N.E. 493 (1892)).
Applying the rule to municipalities, the court in Cannizzo held that an elected board did not have authority to employ persons in positions that were important to the effective administration of the board beyond its term. See id.; see also Grassini v. DuPage Township, 279 Ill.App.3d 614, 216 Ill.Dec. 602, 665 N.E.2d 860 (1996). Because the board in Cannizzo used staggered appointments, the length of time used to measure or limit the board's power was the term of the elected official appointing the board. The court determined that a three-year employment contract extended beyond the board's authority and was void ab initio. See Cannizzo, 251 Ill.Dec. 889, 741 N.E.2d at 1074.
Furthermore, in circumstances outside the context of hiring employees, the use of apparent authority by government employees to bind the State has been circumscribed considerably in Illinois. A party who deals with a governmental body assumes the risk of ascertaining whether the agent is acting within the bounds of the agent's authority or whether the agent is outside his authority.8
Even if apparent authority applied in the present situation, Ms. Crull has not come forward with facts to establish the apparent authority of the JIB Executive Director to guarantee that employees would be terminated only "for cause," would be subject to progressive discipline and would be terminated only after a hearing. "[A]pparent authority arises when a principal, through words or conduct, creates a reasonable impression that the agent has the authority to perform a certain act." Amcore Bank, 259 Ill.Dec. 694, 759 N.E.2d at 183-84 (internal citations omitted). Apparent authority must be traced to some word or act of the principal, here the Board, that creates a reasonable impression that the agent, the Executive Director, has the authority to act with respect to the matter at issue, here the nature of the employment relationship.
In support of her claim of apparent authority, Ms. Crull asserts that the Executive Director has been permitted to "establish[] employment policies without the approval of the Board, including the `policy for daily operations' and rules on personal and sick days. (Doc. 41, Ex. 7, Ex. 9A)." Appellee's Br. at 15. However, the authority cited for this proposition does not support Ms. Crull's assertion. Exhibit 7 is a cover memo from the Executive Director informing JIB employees of changes in the "Policy for Daily Operations." Nothing in the cover memo or in the policy itself suggests that the policy was adopted without Board approval; to the contrary, in fact, with respect to "Vacation and Personal Days," the policy states that "[a]lthough JIB is not covered by the State Personnel Code, the Board has adopted the accumulated vacation leave policy applicable to all State employees." R.41, Ex.7 at 2 (emphasis added). Similarly, Exhibit 9A simply is an explanation of how the sick-time policy will be administered, i.e., hourly increments in which employees may use sick time; it does not suggest that the Executive Director has the authority to make unilateral policies with respect to terms and conditions of employment, for instance, the actual number of sick days to which an employee is entitled. Furthermore, with respect to the only other termination of employment that took place prior to Ms. Crull's, it was the Board that made the termination decision (notably without a hearing). Finally, in announcing its decision to terminate Jennings, the Board expressly stated in its decision that it was authorizing the Executive Director to "determine a suitable effective date which gives him at least two weeks notice." R.41, Ex.14. Far from giving the impression that the Executive Director has the authority to set terms of employment, these actions lead to the conclusion that the authority rests strictly with the Board.9
Having determined that the Executive Director did not have apparent authority to offer employment with specific requirements for discharge, we turn to the question of whether the Board itself created any property interest in the employees' continued employment.
b. Board
The practices of the Board also do not support a mutually explicit understanding to continued employment. Ms. Crull has not offered any evidence that the Board shared her understanding of her employment terms. The evidence submitted only leads to an inference that Ms. Crull had a misunderstanding as to her entitlements. See Wolf, 870 F.2d at 1335. There is nothing to infer that the Board reached an agreement with her or intended her to have any form of tenure.
Ms. Crull asserts that no JIB investigator had been terminated without cause and without an opportunity to improve their performance. She also asserts that the JIB had a practice of placing employees on probation prior to terminating them. Ms. Crull points to evidence in the record demonstrating that the Board voted to remove Executive Director Twine from probation over six months after she became the executive director. See R.41, Defendant's Statement of Uncontested Facts ¶ 3 (noting that Twine became the Executive Director in January 1998); R.44, Ex.19 at 2 (Board minutes of October 9, 1998, removing Ms. Twine from probation). Ms. Crull also points to defendants' statement that "[t]he JIB, through interim Director Sandra Otaka, also extended McClory's probation during the transition between Executive Directors after Tohinaka's death so that the new director `could fire [him] more easily.'" Appellants' Br. at 16. Finally, she points out that the Board has adopted some Personnel Code policies.10
Past practices of an employer are not sufficient, standing alone, to establish a mutual understanding. See Lawshe, 16 F.3d at 1480; see also Hermes, 742 F.2d at 355 ("[A] common law of employment is established through rules or mutually explicit understandings and not solely through the past practices of an employer." (internal citations omitted)). The past terminations, however, do not indicate a "common practice." The record reveals evidence of only one other employee fired besides Ms. Crull. In effecting this termination, it is not even evident that the Board permitted him an opportunity to respond to its decision.11
The evidence in the record regarding the Board's understanding is that it considered JIB employees to be employed at will. Board member Parkhurst stated in a deposition that she considered Ms. Crull an at-will employee. See R.41, Ex.23, Parkhurst Dep. Significantly, in June of 2000, Board Chairman Sunderman told Ms. Crull she was an at-will employee. R.41, Ex.15 ¶ 5. Six months prior to terminating Ms. Crull, the Board asked outside counsel for an opinion explaining the status of its employees, specifically whether they were at-will employees. The outside counsel informed the Board that the employees were at-will employees. See R.44, Ex.15 at 53-56. There is no indication that the Board ever came to a mutually explicit understanding with Ms. Crull to provide her with a right to only be fired for cause. Because it is the plaintiff's burden to show mutually explicit understanding or common law of workplace that establishes a property interest, and because, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Ms. Crull, she has not met this burden, we must conclude Ms. Crull did not have a property interest in her continued employment.12
We find that Ms. Crull failed to demonstrate a property interest in her continued employment pursuant to any statute, regulation or contractual agreement, either express or from mutually explicit understandings. Accordingly, the defendants were entitled to summary judgment. The judgment of the district court is reversed.
Ms. Crull also alleged a deprivation of her liberty interests resulting from defamatory comments. Subsequently, however, the defendants moved for summary judgment on the ground that Ms. Crull had responded in an interrogatory that she no longer wished to pursue her deprivation of liberty claim. The court dismissed the liberty interest claim in August 2001. Ms. Crull does not appeal this dismissal
Generally, the Personnel Code sets forth the policies and procedures for the hiring and firing of employees in state agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor
Ms. Crull suggests that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear this appeal because it was an interlocutory appeal based on disputed factual issues. We note, however, that "a district court's denial of a claim of qualified immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is an appealable `final decision' within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 notwithstanding the absence of a final judgment."Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985). Therefore, we previously have stated that "we have jurisdiction over an appeal when the issue is simply whether, construing the disputed facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the defendant violated any of the plaintiff's clearly established constitutional rights." Knox v. Smith, 342 F.3d 651, 656 (7th Cir.2003).
The district court did not address whether Ms. Crull had a property interest created by statute or regulation
See Powell v. Jones, 56 Ill.2d 70, 305 N.E.2d 166, 169 (1973); Prato v. Vallas, 331 Ill.App.3d 852, 265 Ill.Dec. 94, 771 N.E.2d 1053, 1064 (2002) ("A public employee who may be terminated only for cause has a property interest in his employment within the meaning of the due process guarantees of the United States and Illinois Constitutions.").
This interpretation is consistent with the Attorney General's comments in response to the JIB's inquiry whether the Personnel Code applied to its employeesSee R.41, Ex.4. It also is consonant with the more recent letter from the Chief Labor Relations Counsel for CMS, Nancy Pittman, responding to Ms. Crull. Ms. Pittman informed Ms. Crull in August of 1999 that she could not answer Ms. Crull's questions because the JIB was not "under the jurisdiction of the Governor." R.41, Ex.9. This interpretation also conforms with JIB's statements to its employees. For example, in adopting a vacation policy based on the Personnel Code, the Board expressly noted that "the Board is not governed by the Personnel Code" but adopted the policy because it was in the best interest of the public to do so. R.41, Ex.6.
See Fittshur v. Vill. of Menomonee Falls, 31 F.3d 1401, 1408 (7th Cir.1994); Santella v. City of Chicago, 936 F.2d 328, 331-32 (7th Cir.1991); Wolf v. Larson, 897 F.2d 1409, 1413 (7th Cir.1990); Smith v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 853 F.2d 517, 521 (7th Cir.1988); Common v. Williams, 859 F.2d 467, 472 (7th Cir.1988); Hadley v. County of Du Page, 715 F.2d 1238, 1242-43 (7th Cir.1983).
See Rubidoux v. Northeastern Illinois Univ., 51 Ill.Ct.Cl. 275, 1998 WL 1758261, at *9 (1998) (noting that the doctrine of apparent authority "has limited, if any, application to the State, where contractors are required to ascertain at their peril the true authority of purported agents of the State"); see also County of Cook v. Patka, 85 Ill.App.3d 5, 40 Ill.Dec. 284, 405 N.E.2d 1376, 1380-81 (1980) ("Any-one dealing with a governmental body takes the risk of accurately ascertaining that he who purports to act for that body stays within the bounds of his authority and this is so even though the agent himself may have been unaware of the limitations on his authority."); Ernat v. State of Illinois, 36 Ill. Ct. Cl. 82, 90 (1984) (stating that "[t]he State cannot be bound by agents with apparent authority rather than actual authority in most situations because such a policy could be disastrous to the State's budget"); cf. Gersch v. Dep't of Prof'l Regulation, 308 Ill.App.3d 649, 242 Ill.Dec. 51, 720 N.E.2d 672, 681 (Ill.App.Ct.1999) ("A public entity cannot be estopped by an act of its agent which is beyond the authority expressly conferred upon that official."); Hamwi v. Zollar, 299 Ill.App.3d 1088, 234 Ill.Dec. 253, 702 N.E.2d 593, 598 (Ill.App.Ct.1998) ("A municipality cannot be estopped by an act of its agent beyond the authority expressly conferred upon that official."); Akmakjian v. Dep't of Prof'l Regulation, 287 Ill.App.3d 894, 223 Ill.Dec. 332, 679 N.E.2d 783, 787 (1997) (refusing to permit representations beyond the agent's actual authority to estop a governmental body). But cf. Genie Constr. Co. v. Illinois, 51 Ill.Ct.Cl. 153, 1999 WL 33246466, at *9 (1999) ("Where the State vests a person with apparent authority to order services, the Claimant reasonably relied upon his apparent authority to bind the State, and the Claimant performed the services, the State cannot deny that the person had actual authority to bind the State." (internal citations omitted)).
Although not addressed by the parties, we note that, in support of her apparent authority argument, Ms. Crull points primarily to actions of the Executive Director and the Board takenafter she accepted her employment with the Board. It is difficult, therefore, for Ms. Crull to argue that she relied on the impressions resulting from these later actions when she accepted her earlier-in-time offer of employment (and, presumably, relied on the Executive Director's statements regarding the nature of her employment with the Board).
The fact that the JIB adopted some provisions of the Personnel Code does not create a genuine issue of material fact regarding the nature of Ms. Crull's employment. When the Board adopted one provision of the Personnel Code, it explicitly stated it was not required to adopt it but did so because it was in the best interest of the public. If Ms. Crull assumed that the Board would adopt all of the Personnel Code based on its adoption of a few policies, this is evidence of a mistake rather than any mutual understanding. "A misunderstanding of one's entitlements, even if reasonable, does not enlarge those entitlements."Wolf v. City of Fitchburg, 870 F.2d 1327, 1335 (7th Cir.1989) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
The Board fired Tom Jennings after considering the reviews provided by the Executive Director and Jennings' written response to the Executive Director's criticism. At their March 14, 1997 meeting, the Board noted:
With respect to annual personnel reviews the Board reviewed Director Tohinaka's packet of materials consisting of reviews and attachments on all staff, including Tom Jennings' March 5, 1997 memo in response to his February 24, 1997 Annual Performance Review. As a result of their discussion, the Board voted to terminate Tom's employment with authorization granted to Director Tohinaka to determine a suitable effective date which gives him at least two weeks notice.
R.41, Ex. 14 at 2.
It is not necessary, therefore, for us to consider the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis — whether the right that was denied was clearly established at the time the defendants acted

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Do you feel like you have lost the intimacy in your relationship? Or do you want to get the attention of that special someone? If you want to rebuild your relationship or build a new one with someone and aspire to keep it for the rest of your life, you need to know about James Bauer Relationship Rewrite method Book.
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text:
Q: Range of inner product of a sequence and its permutation $a^n :=(a_i)_1^n$ is a finite sequence of real numbers of length $n$, where $\sum\limits_{i=1}^n a_i=0$ and $\sum\limits_{i=1}^n a_i^2=1$. Consider $s_n(a^n,\sigma):=\sum\limits_{i=1}^n a_ia_{\sigma(i)}$ where $\sigma$ runs over $S_n$ the symmetric group of order $n$ (set of permutations of $(1,2,3,...,n)$). Obviously, it is no less than $-1$ by the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Is $-1$ always achievable? Is $0$ always achievable? Please give examples when the answers to the previous questions are in the negative. What is the minimum of $s_n(a^n,\sigma)$? What is the minimum of $|s_n(a^n,\sigma)|$?
Below, Steven Taschuk has answered the above questions. Here is a new question. What is $\sup\limits_{a^n}\min\limits_{\sigma\in S_n}\left|s_n(a^n,\sigma)\right|$? What is its asymptotics as $n\rightarrow\infty$?

A: $a=\frac1{\sqrt6}(1,1,-2)$ is a counterexample for both.
(There are really only two cases to consider, $\langle(1,1,-2),(1,1,-2)\rangle$ and $\langle(1,1,-2),(1,-2,1)\rangle$.)
Edit: More on the case $-1$: By the equality case of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, the only way to get $\langle a,a^\sigma\rangle=-1$ is if $a$ and $-a$ are permutations of each other.  The only way that can happen is if $a$ is a permutation of $(v,-v)$ (if $n$ even) or of $(v,-v,0)$ (if $n$ odd), where $v\in\mathbb R^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor}$.  We automatically get $\sum_i a_i = 0$ in either case, and can get $\|a\|=1$ just by scaling $v$ appropriately.  (These cases were described in a now-deleted answer; the point is that these are the only ones.)
Edit: More on the case $0$: For any $n\ge 4$, there are vectors $a$ with $\min |s(\sigma)|=0$, e.g., $a=\frac1{\sqrt2}(1,-1,0,0,\dotsc,0)$.  (Just permute so that $a$ and $a^\sigma$ have disjoint supports.  Geometrically this corresponds to the fact that the opposite edges of a regular tetrahedron (more generally, disjoint edges of a regular simplex) are perpendicular.)  On the other hand, for any $n\ge 3$, there are vectors $a$ with $\min |s(\sigma)|>0$, such as $a=\frac1{\sqrt{n(n-1)}}(1,1,\dotsc,1,-n+1)$, for which $\min |s(\sigma)| = 1/(n-1)$.  (Again, there are only two cases to consider.)  (Geometrically such $a$ are the vertices of the regular simplex you get by projecting the standard basis vectors on the hyperplane $\sum_i x_i=0$ (and normalizing); permutations of coordinates give the symmetries of this simplex, so you can only get the inner product of a vertex with another vertex this way.  So in fact in this case, $s(\sigma) = -1/(n-1)$ for any $\sigma$ other than the identity (correction: for any $\sigma$ that moves the last coordinate)).
Edit: For the question in comments, to determine $\sup_a \min_\sigma |\langle a,a^\sigma\rangle|$, here's a computation to show that it's at most $1/\sqrt{n-1}$.  First we compute the average of the squares:
\begin{align*}
\frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma \langle a,a^\sigma\rangle^2
&= \frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma \sum_i \sum_j a_i a_j a_{\sigma(i)} a_{\sigma(j)} \\
&= \sum_i \sum_j a_i a_j \Big( \frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma a_{\sigma(i)} a_{\sigma(j)} \Big) \\
&= \sum_i a_i^2 \Big( \frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma a_{\sigma(i)}^2 \Big) + \sum_i \sum_{j\ne i} a_i a_j \Big( \frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma a_{\sigma(i)} a_{\sigma(j)} \Big) \\
&= \sum_i a_i^2 \Big( \frac1n \sum_k a_k^2 \Big) + \sum_i \sum_{j\ne i} a_i a_j \Big( \frac1{n(n-1)} \sum_k \sum_{\ell\ne k} a_k a_\ell \Big) \\
&= \frac1n \Big( \sum_i a_i^2 \Big)^2 + \frac1{n(n-1)} \Big( \sum_i \sum_{j\ne i} a_i a_j \Big)^2 \\
&= \frac1n \Big( \sum_i a_i^2 \Big)^2 + \frac1{n(n-1)} \Big( \Big(\sum_i a_i\Big)^2 - \sum_i a_i^2 \Big)^2 \\
&= \frac1n + \frac1{n(n-1)} = \frac1{n-1}
\end{align*}
Thus
$$ \min_\sigma |\langle a,a^\sigma\rangle|
= \sqrt{\min_\sigma \langle a,a^\sigma\rangle^2}
\le \sqrt{\frac1{n!} \sum_\sigma \langle a,a^\sigma\rangle^2}
= \frac1{\sqrt{n-1}} $$
I'm not sure whether this is sharp.  (Well, you could shave off a tiny bit by excluding the identity from the average; I mean I'm not sure whether it's asymptotically sharp.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Shoppers Drug Mart has just launched a brand new lifestyle digital platform called Only at Shoppers. It's the first of its kind for Shoppers and has lots of fun information related to summer health, beauty, organization and more. I spent an hour this past weekend checking out the site and I think you'll enjoy it too!
Find the content that interests you by selecting a category in the dropdown list when you first go on the site. Do you want to "Live Healthier", "Feel Rejuvenated", "Look Beautiful" or "Be Organized"? After you select the topic, you'll then see related blog articles, quizzes, polls, videos, coupons and more!
In "Look Beautiful", I learned how to create a Summer smoky eye, 4 common skin problems with suggestions for products that can help and whether it's best to wax or shave. I tested my knowledge of SPF in their poll and got the answer right!
Only at Shoppers is an excellent resource for tips and inspiration to get ready for an awesome summer. Go check it out!
I liked that they have tips and 'directions' for a At Home Spa Day!
The whole Quo line! Love it!
I like their Shopper's Optimum Club!
I like the info they gve you.
Would love to spring clean!
I loved their Cottage Etiquette article. Very Canadian, eh.
I like the loyalty rewards program. Thank you!
What a great selection of essentials that we all can use all year long!!
I adore the Quo makeup line! It's so stylish and priced reasonably too!
I like their Life products.
I going to try the Vegan Mashed Cauliflower.
Bodylogix vegan protein all natural plant based protein!
CC Powder evens out skin tone, blurs imperfections and visibly brightens your skin.
"Short Hairstyling Tips" because I just had all my hair chopped off for summer.
I liked the article, "Road Trip Essentials".
I like all of the articles on health, makeup, etc.
I liked the article on the 411 of spf.
I liked the articles on health, makeup, & other subjects.
I love the video on Packing Like a Pro. I knew there had to be a better way than I do it.


text:
South Dakota Festival of Books makes its way to Brookings for the first time
ALLISON VINSON Reporter
This year marks the first time the South Dakota Festival of Books is being held in Brookings. Historically, the festival took place in either Sioux Falls or Deadwood.
The festival is Sept. 23 and 24 in Brookings. The events are taking place on the SDSU campus and in the Brookings community. The exact locations can be found at sdbookfestival.com.
"To have that caliber of writer in your backyard, on your own college campus, and to be able to see them for free, is pretty great," Jennifer Widman, director of the Center for the Book at the South Dakota Humanities Council said.
According to Widman, most of the events are free, but there are several events where the audience is asked to buy a ticket.
This year the One Book South Dakota read is Some Luck by Jane Smiley. Widman describes the goal of One Book South Dakota as "to try to get as many people in the state to read the same book as possible, and then come together in groups to discuss it."
Widman said the South Dakota Humanities council provides books by working with the publisher and ordering in bulk, and then libraries, book clubs and historical societies, and now can apply for a grant, the book is sent to the group to borrow. The organizations can then discuss the book in groups.
Smiley is a Pulitzer prize winner with ties to the Midwest. Smiley's book, the first in a trilogy, takes place in Iowa.
Since this year is the 100th anniversary of Pulitzer prizes, a Pulitzer-prize winner was selected to be the One Book author, said Widman. Smiley will lead the keynote at the SDSU Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Jason McEntee, department head of the English Department, is currently on the board of directors at the South Dakota Humanities Council.
McEntee said since the festival is in Brookings for the first time, the SDSU English Department is hosting the festival. This means that it has access to many university facilities, such as rooms for sessions.
This year is the first time a university has hosted the festival, and according to McEntee, "forms a bridge between the state festival and the state's land-grant school," McEntee said.
Because of its ties to the university, the festival will be incorporating a more diverse set of sessions, according to McEntee. Some of the sessions include lessons on how to brew beer and beekeeping.
McEntee encourages students and community members to come to the festival.
"There will be something out there for everyone," he said.


text:
Francja jest jednym z kilku krajów posiadających terytoria zależne. Terytoria te potocznie zwane są d'outre-mer lub DOM-TOM – od obowiązujących do 2003 roku nazw départements d'outre-mer i territoires d'outre-mer.

W wyniku reformy konstytucji z 2003 roku i następnie reformy terytoriów zależnych w 2007, Francja ma obecnie 13 posiadłości pozaeuropejskich. Poszczególne posiadłości mają różne statusy, formy autonomii i formy zależności od Francji. Część z tych terytoriów formalnie stanowi integralną część Francji i wchodzi wraz z nią w skład Unii Europejskiej.

Obecnie Francja posiada następujące terytoria zależne:

Departamenty zamorskie (regiony zamorskie)
 Gujana Francuska
 Gwadelupa
 Martynika
 Reunion
 Majotta

Zbiorowości zamorskie
 Polinezja Francuska
 Saint-Barthélemy
 Saint-Martin
 Saint-Pierre i Miquelon
 Wallis i Futuna

Wspólnotę Sui generis
 Nowa Kaledonia

Terytorium zamorskie
 Francuskie Terytoria Południowe i Antarktyczne

Posiadłość państwa
 Wyspa Clippertona

Zobacz też
 podział administracyjny Francji
 regiony i departamenty Francji
 terytoria specjalne państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej
 posiadłości Francji w Ziemi Świętej

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Review: Saga Vol. 1 trade paperback (Image Comics)
3 comments | Tags: Saga
This is just another in the chorus of voices, late to the party, that have already told you that Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples's Saga is wonderful and you should be reading it. Comparisons have been made between Saga's sci-fi/fantasy epicness and Star Wars, though I think a better comparison is The Wizard of Oz. Despite considerable (one might even say "charming") amounts of cursing and nudity, Saga never loses Oz's sense of wide-eyed wonder, with each new ally, obstacle, or enemy adding to the book's majesty.
In the sum total, not all that much actually happens in Saga's first volume, but it's such an enjoyable ride you'll hardly notice.
Saga reads like a demented fairy tale, and in this way Brian Vaughan has redefined what it means to write mature comics (after the last time he redefined such, with Y: The Last Man). Despite its bare breasts and orgies, Saga never once feels gratuitous -- about everything it says and does is earned -- and actually comes off remarkably sweet. The occasional chalk-tone narrations by Hazel, newborn child of star-crossed couple Marko and Alana, told from some vantage in the future, offer a playfulness even when the story seems most dire; the tone is even more remarkable given how clear it seems to be that one of the parents, either Marko or Alana, won't actually live out the story.
Vaughan also does a fantastic job of bringing the mundane into this book, which goes a long way toward selling the characters. Marko is a horn-headed magic user and Alana a winged defector from his oppressors, but when they quibble about whether it's safe to have Alana's raygun around the baby or how many people each of them have "been with," there emerges a relatable normalcy to the couple. Vaughan's story, fantastical as it is, is steeped in modernity, as when Prince IV has to wait to meet with a secret agent because an app on the agent's phone tried to update and now his phone is frozen. Saga is light years away, but it's also in our backyards.
Paths in the book are winding. The bounty hunter "freelancer" The Stalk, sent by Marko's people, encounters the couple and almost fatally wounds Marko. The couple escapes with The Stalk in pursuit, seemingly headed toward a second confrontation; meanwhile rival hunter The Will gives up his search for the couple and goes to the pleasure planet Sextillion. Just as The Will calls for The Stalk's help to free a young Sextillion slave girl, The Stalk is killed by Alana's people's royal troops, also hunting the couple. The Stalk's death is equally as unexpected as The Will's moral about-face on Sextillion, and both underscore the level on which Vaughan is working -- these are nuanced characters that move in surprising directions, and their safety is far from guaranteed.
The following is hardly a drawback, but the first six issues of Saga mainly involve Marko and Alana trekking across the planet Cleve, searching for transport into space. They encounter a variety of friends and enemies as they go, but it's not until this volume's final pages that they actually succeed. Their daughter Hazel is only a couple days old at this point; if Saga keeps up in this way, it will be a very long series (not that that's a bad thing). I wonder instead of Vaughan will at some point jump forward, moving on to the time when Hazel is a toddler, an adolescent, and so on; it stands to reason as the series goes on it could become less Marko and Alana's story and more Hazel's herself.
Saga, Vol. 1 ends with Marko and Alana pursued by factions from both of their planets, and now The Will, on Marko's "side," has his own vendetta against Prince IV (do you imagine this as "I-V" or as "4"?) on Alana's "side." The characters have had more interaction with the bounty hunters, so I'm curious to see them run up against Prince IV in the next book -- and for we as the readers to come to understand the difference between the television-headed Prince IV and the winged subjects of his kingdom.
Vaughan would seem to be making this a much larger story than just Marko and Alana's, however; The Will has his own vendetta against Sextillion and Prince IV is struggling to capture the rogue couple so he can return home in time for his own child's birth. If Saga turned to delve into the royal politics or to the various bounty hunters' other jobs or such, setting aside Alana and Marko for an arc, I don't think any of us would mind.
Equally impressive here is Fiona Staples's art. Like Vaughan, Staples blends genres seamlessly; her work is equally convincing in her depiction of lush planetscapes as it is in showing the Sextillion orgies, and every ghost, rocketship-tree, and winged monkey in between. I'd hardly want to see Staples leave Saga, but the amount she could accomplish replacing any number of DC artists too wrapped up in adolescent prurience would be legendary. (Staples on the first volume of Green Lantern: New Guardians instead of Tyler Kirkham? I get chills.)
In all, Saga Vol. 1 comes with my highest recommendation, and just about everyone else's highest recommendation, too. Does reading Brian K. Vaughan's Saga make me want to go revisit my Y: The Last Man collections? Oh, yes it does ...
Next week, Green Lantern Corps, and we'll get to Saga Vol. 2 before too long. Be here!
Posted at 8:02 AM (Permalink) | 3 comments | Tags: Saga
AngryLionheart1 8/08/2013 10:04:00 AM
You finally showed up to the party. Congrats!!!!
Now that you've read vol.1, bet you cannot wait for vol.2. It too doesn't doesn't have that much that happens, but the addition of the parents and a link from Marko's past, set up plenty for volume 3.
collectededitions 8/08/2013 10:12:00 AM
Three chapters in right now. Think I know the "link" moment you're referring to -- splash page, end of Chapter 8 -- and I thought it was great, the kind of reveal that reminded me of Vaughan's Y: The Last Man.
But it's unbelievable how slow this book is, even if it's enjoyable nonetheless. Again, I'm only halfway through Vol. 2, but if the "missions" that Marko and Alana are on are each the "main plots" of Vol. 2, it stands to move the story forward only infinitesimally. I'm not in a hurry, mind you, but there's a surprising difference in pacing between Saga and, say, Green Lantern that takes some mental reconfiguring of expectations.
"So glad I got to do all this in a towel." :) Is there a bit of Hitchhiker's influencing this book, too?
Spooky 8/14/2013 01:17:00 AM
Hm. I heard a lot of good things about this series and I loved Y - The last Man. But when I read the first issue digitally, it didn't klick. It's just not for me, I guess.
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Now that he's a father, Pewfell is determined to achieve success in his chosen career of wizardry, but somehow it continues to elude him. When his perpetually pesky tenant, Gnoma, is apparently killed in the act of remodeling his house, it looks like a new opportunity might be about to open up for Pewfell in the country… Take a trip to Planet Urf for a tale of battling barbarian babes, demented robot clerics, devious gnomic real-estate agents, demonically-run corporations, and a slightly slimy, slug-like children's entertainer named Strangeblob Nopants.
Now that he's a father, Pewfell is determined to achieve success in his chosen career of wizardry, but somehow it continues to elude him. When his perpetually pesky tenant, Gnoma, is apparently killed in the act of remodeling his house, it looks like a new opportunity might be about to open up for Pewfell in the country. Take a trip to Planet Urf for a tale of battling barbarian babes, demented robot clerics, devious gnomic real-estate agents, demonically-run corporations, and a slightly slimy, slug-like children's entertainer named Strangeblob Nopants.


SQL Server does a great job of logging, but anyone who administers a sql server should adjust some of the "out of the box" defaults for an instance, and create some custom jobs in sql agent to control output of jobs.
The ErrorLog is a great source of monitoring and should be scraped and reviewed regularly, but by default there are only 6 log files kept on disk, and a new log file is started evertime an instance is started or "cycled". This is not adequate, an administrator applying a patch to a server seems to require 3 reboots and you don't want to find out that information needed in a log file was lost due to not having enough of them. We run this to 30 log files kept on disk and cycle the error log daily at 12am via a sql agent job. This is very easy and can be adjusted via gui in SQL Enterprise Manager or in SQL Server Managemetn Studio by right clicking on the SQL Server Logs and selecting "Configure", which will bring up the dialog below, adjust to any number, but definetly 6 is not enough !
Now onto the good one, SQL Server Agent and the output from jobs.
After managing SQL Server Agent jobs for many years it is apparent that the default options for logging of jobs, Overwrite and Append, is not adequate. Most of the time we default the logs to append, but overtime and depending on the amount of output these log files, they can become very large, difficult to open, difficult to read and waste valuable time when you have to trouble shoot a job. This applies to sql server 7.0, 2000 and 2005 and is highly dependent on having all your jobs and logging go to the same directory (if they are currently "scattered" you can correct them manually or through tsql in the sysjobsteps table, with a mass update).
The code for the two steps is attached, they will require editing for your specific directory structure and number of sub-directories to retain.
Here's what I did to get the data that I needed. the bit mask is on the groups table, column gr_group_id. It is related to the (int) column on the users table...us_group.
The best article I've read in a long time; I wish the focus would have been more on an "Angry American Man", as opposed to "White", and less focus on Hilary, as there are many points that resonate with every American Man, but over-all I enjoyed reading it.
Interstingly found that quotes are necessary around the password for OSQL if the password contains special characters.
osql -S(local) -dmaster -Umy_user -Pspoon12free^$ -Q"select getdate()"
This results in a failure.
osql -S(local) -dmaster -Umy_user -P"spoon12free^$" -Q"select getdate()"
This started with every one of my group's DBAs and seems to follow some SMS Push to update something on our desktops, lovely.
One solution from a dba in my group was applying patch 3215, which probably just incidently fixed it.
One can run lots of interesting queries using this view. You can even use this view to perform deadlock detection that is not resolvable by deadlock monitor, DM. For example if you have tasks waiting on external resources such as extended stored procedures and blocking others from running. This type of deadlock DM can't detect but you can!
Q. How many tasks are currently waiting?
Q. How many tasks that assigned to a worker (thread/fiber) are waiting?
What are the tasks waiting on?
Q. Does my load have an active resource bottleneck?
You can answer this question by looking at the resource address that tasks are blocked on. Keep in mind that not all wait types have resource associated with them.
Q: Is my system can be possibly bottlenecked on I/O?
Q: Does my load have long waiting chains?
This information is particular interesting to understand if a single tasks, for example one that generated long I/O, blocks others. If this happens you will have a way to improve your scalability by figuring how to remove or minimize chain length.
If there are no chains, your load is not CPU bound and you see long waits on THREADPOOL, you might improve your throughput by increasing a number of threads in the system.
Keep in mind that you can extend this query to perform your own deadlock detection.
Been chasing an issue for a long time, where suddenly the connections to a sql server increase exponentially and queries become unresponsive.
Supposedly this was fixed in Service Pack 2. I'm having the issue with SQL Server 2005, SP2, Cumulative Hotfix 5, version 3215.
We have 81+ servers, 100+ instances of SQL Server, and it is only affecting one, of course it is the one under the greatest load, OLTP 5000 transactions per second. You can see the result of the TokenAndPermUserStore sum growing to 120mb, we now reset it around 40-50mb and have seen no re-occurences of the issue.
I have a case open with Microsoft and am trying to get confirmation that this is the right solution, but since we began running the DBCC statement we have not yet crashed, and previously we could not make it more than 2-3 days without crash, so that there is proof positive of some correlation.
We'll see what Microsoft responds with.
Polyserve clusters SQL Server instances, and can then rehost them or fail them over to other servers.
One of the issues we've run into with Polyserve is when we move a sql server instance from one machine to another where the binaries change location from mssql.a to mssql.b.
Execute: select * from msdb.dbo.syssubsystems and you will see each sub-system of sql agent and the path to the binaries, if a sql server instance is moved through some technology like Polyserve or through manually moving a msdb database from one server to another and the path to the binaries change, the system tables will need to be updated to the new path.
We've experienced this on Polyserve and when we moved a sql server instance from one server to another and copied msdb.
SQL Agent will not start when a user database is in recovery !
This is crap, SQLAgent not starting because a user database is in recovery mode, after restarting sql server. Usually recovery / checkpointing of user databases on start-up is really quick, but if one runs into an issue it can take a long long time, this particular user database has been recovering for 4+ hours. Now I have issues with maintenance jobs and reporting services jobs not running because sql agent will not start.
I can understand if msdb or some other system database is in recovery or suspect, but not a damn user database !
2008-02-06 09:38:44.07 spid10s Recovery of database 'ClientAssistant_CY' (20) is 27% complete (approximately 38597 seconds remain). Phase 3 of 3. This is an informational message only. No user action is required.
READ THAT, 38000+ seconds, over 10 HOURS, we can't wait that long !
This is unreal, i'm going to have to de-attach / interrupt the recovery process; i think, but to be sure i placed a support call to Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, this is a new feature of SQL Server 2005. If SQL Server Agent starts and not all the user databases on-line / recovered than sql server agent stays in a starting mode and no jobs run.
very very bad solution as interrupting sqlservr.exe with a kill of the pid is a high risk operation that could corrupt other databases, so proceed with caution and get a critical support case opened with Microsoft, you do not want to be doing this alone, have them on the phone with you, severity 1.
We have decided to file a design change request to see if our development team will build in functionality to SQL Agent so that a registry key, trace flag or some startup parameter can be added to have SQL Agent go ahead and start up while databases are in recovery. If this is approved then a knowledge base article would be published describing how to do this and the caveats involved. Instead of taking SQL Server down to stop recovery we would only have to take SQL Agent offline to add the required parameters to change the code path in SQL Agent and let it start up immediately or at least 5 minutes after starting the service. I will continue to work on the design change request and hopefully it will be approved.
Now.Format() being saved to a string variable, and then passed into a stored procedure, and somehow it is recorded in the database as 12:15 pm, instead of 12:15 am.
I'm not sure if this is because of the stored procedure (implicit conversion of string to datetime for the parameter, very bad), or the Now.Format() in the code net setting up the string variable.
Either way some poor planning and lack of code review, as both these items should have been caught and easily corrected.
now.ToString("D"); // "Tuesday, 27 September 2006"
I have included my own table mapping Standard Format String to Custom Format string below. MSDN actually has a pretty good table that describe what each item does, and DateTime.ToString() has a pretty good code example that shows what each format string specifier do. Also if you just want samples, MSDN has a "Standard Date Time Format String Output example" here. Because documentation is so good. I won't go into this too much.
D = "dddd, dd MMMM yyyy"
M or m = "MMMM dd"
Y or y = "yyyy MMMM"
f = "dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm"
F = "dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss"
R or r = "ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH':'mm':'ss 'GMT'"
U = "dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss"
All other single characters will throw an exception.


Earlier this week Lions receiver Golden Tate revealed a pair of cleats he would wear to honor late TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who lost his battle with cancer on Friday. Odell Beckham Jr. will join him in paying homage, as the Giants receiver plans to wear a pair of custom "Sager Strong" cleats on Sunday afternoon.
The kicks were revealed by Kickasso cleats on Twitter.
The cleats will be auctioned off after in order to benefit the SagerStrong Foundation.
Odell is already out on the field wowing fans with one-handed catches, although he doesn't appear to be wearing the Sager cleats during warmups.
This article originally appeared in CBS Sports.


Summer has faded and with it goes bathing suits, shorts, and sandals. Instead of mourning the warmer weather, you can look forward to cozy sweaters, winter activities, and laser hair removal. Oh, you hadn't thought of that last part? It's true; winter is the best time to receive laser hair removal treatments since you'll have less exposure to the sun.
Wondering how laser hair removal works? You've come to the right place.
Laser hair removal involves a highly-concentrated laser light source that's beamed into the hair follicles. The pigment in the follicles absorbs the light, which ultimately destroys the hair. The darker the hair pigment, the more significant the hair loss, which is why fall and winter months are the best times for the procedure.
Lasers provide precision and efficiency for hair removal. A single pulse can target many dark, coarse hairs at once, all within a fraction of a second. Advancements in laser technology make this procedure very safe. Modern lasers also don't damage surrounding skin. It is one of the most commonly performed cosmetic procedures in the U.S.
The most common areas that can benefit from laser hair removal include the legs, underarms, bikini line, upper lip or face, small of the back, and more. Smaller areas like the upper lip only take a few minutes, while larger areas like the legs can take up to an hour. Depending on the client's hair pigmentation, permanent hair loss can be achieved in less than ten sessions.
To prepare for the session, refrain from waxing and plucking the treatment area to preserve the hairs' roots. Avoid laying in the sun or visit a tanning booth as UV light will alter your hair follicle's pigmentation. During the session, the technologist will use the laser equipment, which is adjusted according to your hair's pigmentation and your skin color, to pulse the light source onto the treatment area. You will wear appropriate eye protection. Many patients describe the process as a rubber band being snapped on the skin. If your skin is sensitive after the procedure, you may be given ice packs or sent home with anti-inflammatory lotion. Your appointments will be six weeks apart but come next spring, you'll have smooth legs and won't even have to shave!
Even though laser hair removal is a common treatment, it is still a medical procedure and must be performed by a certified doctor or technician. Here at Deschutes Dermatology, our trained staff is experienced with performing laser hair removal.
Schedule a consultation to find out how many sessions you need to achieve the desired effect. Now's the best time for laser hair removal!