It's been a good summer for flowers . . . and when I'm sitting at home I often get the urge to go out into the yard and freeze a few images for posterity. This gallery is a sampling of these captured moments, and it is presented in chronological order from about early August to late September.
Probably the most photographed of all are these Petunias . . . or the other Petunias that look like this.


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Global & Disaster Medicine
Archive for the 'Trachoma' Category
Eliminating trachoma
Eliminating trachoma: WHO announces sustained progress with hundreds of millions of people no longer at risk of infection
27 June 2019 | Maputo | Geneva — The number of people at risk of trachoma – the world's leading infectious cause of blindness – has fallen from 1.5 billion in 2002 to just over 142 million in 2019, a reduction of 91%, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported.
RTI International/Sam Phelps
ew data presented today at the 22nd meeting of the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 (GET2020) also show that the number of people requiring surgery for trachomatous trichiasis – the late, blinding stage of trachoma – has dropped from 7.6 million in 2002 to 2.5 million in 2019, a reduction of 68%.
"Eliminating trachoma contributes to the ocular health and quality of life of the poorest, most disadvantaged people worldwide and thereby moves us a step closer to achieving universal health coverage," said Dr Mwelecele Ntuli Malecela, Director, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. "Ridding the world of this painful, debilitating disease is being made possible through generous donations of the antibiotic azithromycin, sustained contributions from a network of dedicated funding agencies and partners, and the efforts of hundreds of thousands of front-line workers who work tirelessly to engage communities and deliver interventions."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ-4mROPmTo
Trachoma remains endemic in 44 countries and has blinded or visually impaired around 1.9 million people worldwide. Mapping of trachoma has been completed to identify its distribution and target control measures through the SAFE strategy, namely: surgery for trichiasis, antibiotics to clear infection, and facial cleanliness and environmental improvement to reduce transmission. The disease is caused by infection with a bacterium.
"Eliminating trachoma has immediate benefit in preserving vision for people at risk. But work against trachoma has required the creation of innovative partnerships, which will help ensure that the most remote and marginalized people are not left behind as more comprehensive health services are strengthened," said Mr Scott McPherson, Chair, International Coalition for Trachoma Control.
In 2018 alone, 146112 cases of trichiasis were managed and almost 90 million people were treated with antibiotics for trachoma in 782 districts worldwide.
Since 2011, eight countries have been validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem.1 At least one country in every trachoma-endemic WHO Region has now achieved this milestone, demonstrating the effectiveness of the SAFE strategy in different settings.
"This is great progress, but we cannot afford to become complacent," said Dr Anthony Solomon, Medical Officer in charge of WHO's global trachoma elimination programme. "We should be able to relegate trachoma to the history books in the next few years, but we will only do so by redoubling our efforts now. The last few countries are likely to be the hardest".
The significant reduction in the global prevalence of trachoma has resulted from increased political will in endemic countries, expansion of control measures and generation of high-quality data. The global programme has been supported by the world's largest infectious disease mapping effort – the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (2012–2016) – and, since 2016, by Tropical Data, which has assisted health ministries to complete more than 1500 internationally-standardized, quality-assured and quality-controlled prevalence surveys.
GET2020
In 1996, WHO launched GET2020, and with other partners in the Alliance, supports country implementation of the SAFE strategy and strengthening of national capacity for epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization.
Elimination of trachoma is inexpensive, simple and highly cost–effective, yielding a high rate of net economic return.
Trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Transmission occurs through contact with infective discharges from the
eyes and nose, particularly in young children who harbour the main reservoir of infection. It is also spread by flies which have been in contact with the eyes and noses of infected people.
The immune system can clear a single episode of infection, but in endemic communities the organism is frequently reacquired. After years of repeated infection, the inside of the eyelid can become so severely scarred (trachomatous conjunctival scarring) that it turns inwards and causes the eyelashes to rub against the eyeball (trachomatous trichiasis), resulting in constant pain and light intolerance. This and other alterations of the eye can lead to scarring of the cornea. Left untreated, this condition leads to the formation of irreversible opacities, with resulting visual impairment or blindness.
1Cambodia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal and Oman.
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Three is a Magic Number (for NTDs!)
Saturday, December 22nd, 2018
It was a BIG year for eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a public health problem in three USAID-supported countries.
Ghana (link is external) and Nepal (link is external) said goodbye to trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness.
Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) got kicked to the curb by Vietnam.
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WHO has validated the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Saturday, September 29th, 2018
Trachoma elimination: Iranians triumph against the world's leading infectious cause of blindness
25 September 2018 | Tehran | Cairo | Geneva — The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in the Islamic Republic of Iran. By achieving this milestone, the country becomes the third in WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region, after Oman in 2012 and Morocco in 2016, to overcome this centuries-old disease.
"WHO is pleased to have supported the Islamic Republic of Iran through the validation process," said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. "But this achievement was made possible by the Government and people of Islamic Republic of Iran, who have worked tirelessly over decades to eliminate trachoma as a cause of preventable blindness and unnecessary suffering."
The long fight
Trachoma was a major cause of visual impairment in Islamic Republic of Iran in the early decades of the 20th century.
In 1959, in rural areas of the district of Malayer, two thirds of the population were affected by the disease. A survey in the Dezful district in 1961 showed that 91% of people were affected, including 62% with the active (inflammatory) form. At that time, prevalence in the capital, Tehran, was estimated to be 30–40%.
In 1972, tetracycline ointment was introduced as an essential medication in the Health facilities of Iran, and was provided free of charge to people who needed it for treatment of active trachoma.
Ophthalmologists were trained during their residency programmes to perform surgical management of trichiasis: the advanced, sight-threatening form of trachoma. Health education campaigns designed jointly by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the Ministry of Education, including messages about washing hands and faces, were delivered as part of broad-based hygiene improvement initiatives in preschools and primary schools.
"In 2003, as part of the drive to accelerate elimination and with self-health care as one of its components, we introduced an awareness-raising programme in more than 20 000 schools in regions and localities endemic for the disease," said Dr Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi, HE Minister of Health and Medical Education of Islamic Republic of Iran. "This benefited entire regions by improving the health of students, school personnel, parents and communities."
In parallel, the Steering Committee for the National Water Programme — a joint committee of the Ministry of Energy and the Environmental Health Centre of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education — allocated US $500 million to improve water supply and sewerage systems in remote areas.
Edging towards success
In 2004, assessments were undertaken in rural areas of four provinces (Bushehr, Kerman, Hormozgan, and Sistan and Baluchestan) in the south of Islamic Republic of Iran, where trachoma was last recognized as a problem. These surveys showed nearly a complete absence of disease. Active trachoma was only seen in Sistan and Baluchestan, where less than 1% of children were affected by the disease.
In 2012–2013, a population-based prevalence study in rural areas of Sistan and Baluchestan re-estimated the prevalence of trachoma at 0.6% of children.
"We expected to see a very low prevalence of trachoma," said Dr Seyed-Farzad Mohammadi, National Coordinator for Eye Health, Prevention of Blindness and Trachoma Control. "We knew that trachoma transmission had decreased. We're sure that this in part is due to better access to water and sanitation: 2015 UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme data estimated that 92% of households in rural areas had access to improved drinking-water and nearly 100% had access to improved sanitation."
Appropriate plans were put in place to ensure ongoing provision of services to individuals who might develop complications of trachoma later in life. All criteria for validation of elimination of trachoma as a public health problem1 have been met.
Trachoma disease
Trachoma, a devastating eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is spread through contact with infective eye or nose discharges, either directly from person to person, or mediated by flies. Active (inflammatory) trachoma occurs as a result of infection, and is common among preschool-aged children. Women are blinded up to four times as often as men, mainly due to their close contact with infected children.
Transmission is associated with poor sanitation and hygiene, which increase eye discharges and encourage the breeding of flies.
GET 2020
In 1996, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by the year 2020 (GET2020). With other partners in the Alliance, WHO supports country implementation of the SAFE strategy and strengthening of national capacity through epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization.
Interventions to eliminate trachoma are inexpensive, simple and extremely cost effective, yielding a high rate of net economic return.
1WHO has now validated elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in the following countries: Cambodia, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal and Oman.
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Trachoma is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness, but in May, the WHO declared that Nepal had eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the sixth country to do so; Ghana is the 7th.
"…..The bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, can be transmitted from person to person by, for example, sharing a towel. But in rural areas, it is more commonly transmitted by flies that crawl over children's faces to eat the discharge from runny eyes and noses, and then flit back to human feces to lay their eggs.
Victims are first infected as toddlers, but permanent eye damage takes decades and usually sets in after age 30. To break that chain, the W.H.O. recommends a four-pronged strategy: surgery for advanced cases; annual antibiotic doses for everyone in hard-hit areas; teaching mothers to wash their children's faces frequently; and use of pit latrines, which reduce fly populations……"
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Ghana eliminates trachoma
13 June 2018 ¦ Brazzaville ¦ Accra ¦ Geneva – The World Health Organization (WHO) today congratulated Ghana for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, two decades after the World Health Assembly resolved to tackle the leading infectious cause of blindness. The announcement comes the day after a commitment from Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zithromax (azithromycin) to extend their donation programme for the antibiotic until 2025, if required, to finish the task of global trachoma elimination.
"It's been 20 years since the global health community committed to eliminating trachoma worldwide" said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Although there's more work to do elsewhere, the validation of elimination in Ghana allows another previously heavily-endemic country to celebrate significant success."
Ghana is the first country in WHO's African Region to achieve this milestone.
"This success is a result of a tremendous amount of hard work by thousands of health, education and development workers to improve the lives of individuals with trachoma and their families", said Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Ghana's Minister of Health. "The Government of Ghana is enormously grateful to its staff and to the many partners that have joined forces with us to eliminate trachoma and the cycle of poverty it triggers."
The global trachoma community learnt a lot from Ghana's experience. Innovations pioneered there include the use of height-based dosing for azithromycin; systematic active case-searches for trichiasis involving door-to-door, community-by-community fieldwork; and, intensive counselling of patients found to have trichiasis with an offer of immediate surgery, which produced considerable improvement in surgical uptake.
"Success in Ghana is a result of the strong leadership at all levels, implementation of the full SAFE strategy right from the outset, strong collaboration between Ghana Health Service and its many partners, and integration at lower levels of programme delivery, including community ownership," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. "Hearty congratulations are deserved for this achievement."
Trachoma: Ghana's story
Trachoma was identified in the 1950s as the most important cause of blindness in Ghana. By the 1990s, the disease was known to persist as a significant public health problem in the Northern and Upper West Regions. There were about 2.8 million people at risk of trachomatous blindness nationally, with an estimated 13 000 people suffering from trichiasis. In 2000, the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service set up a national Trachoma Elimination Programme.
Ghana's Trachoma Elimination Programme implemented the WHO-recommended elimination strategy, SAFE, which comprises Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear infection, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvement to reduce transmission.
Trichiasis surgery was provided at no cost, a critical Ghana Health Service decision reflecting the socioeconomic disadvantage of people with trichiasis and the impact of the condition on future earning potential.
Azithromycin, donated by Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative, was distributed with support from FHI 360 (using funds from the United States Agency for International Development), The Carter Center, Sightsavers and other organizations.
Facial cleanliness was promoted through community events, dramas, the school health education programme, radio messages and radio clubs. Environmental improvement was coordinated by Ghana's Community Water and Sanitation Agency.
Transmission is associated with poor sanitation and hygiene, which increase the availability of eye discharges and encourage the breeding of flies.
In 1996, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by the year 2020 (GET2020). With other partners in the Alliance, WHO supports country implementation of the SAFE strategy and strengthening of national capacity through epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization. Elimination of trachoma is inexpensive, simple and extremely cost effective, yielding a high rate of net economic return.
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Pfizer announces it will extend its donations of Zithromax to treat trachoma for five years.
"…….Pfizer has announced it will extend its donations of antibiotics to treat the debilitating eye disease trachoma for five years.
Pfizer initially said its donation of the drug Zithromax would end in 2020, the target for the worldwide elimination of the disease. Now it has said that the drugs will be available until 2025 "to help all endemic countries reach their targets"……"
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CDC on Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease of the eye cause by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Five hundred forty million people are at risk in 55 countries, and 84 million are already infected. Repeated infections cause the eyelids to turn inward, at which point the eyelashes scrape and permanently scar the cornea. This stage of trachoma infection is called trichiasis and can lead to blindness.
The disease spreads quickly through close personal contact and often is more common in areas where people live close together. Often, whole communities can be affected. For these reasons, trachoma infections are often common in the poorest communities.
Trachoma is particularly common in children who are less than five years of age and in the adults – mainly women – who care for them. In some rural communities, 60 – 90 percent of children are infected.
Trachoma is the world's leading cause of preventable blindness of infectious origin (1). Caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, trachoma is easily spread through direct personal contact, shared towels and cloths, and flies that have come in contact with the eyes or nose of an infected person. If left untreated, repeated trachoma infections can cause severe scarring of the inside of the eyelid and can cause the eyelashes to scratch the cornea (trichiasis). In addition to causing pain, trichiasis permanently damages the cornea and can lead to irreversible blindness. Trachoma, which spreads in areas that lack adequate access to water and sanitation, affects the most marginalized communities in the world (2). Globally, almost 8 million people are visually impaired by trachoma; 500 million are at risk of blindness from the disease throughout 57 endemic countries (1).
The World Health Organization has targeted trachoma for elimination by 2020 through an innovative, multi-faceted public health strategy known as S.A.F.E. (3,4):
Surgery to correct the advanced, blinding stage of the disease (trichiasis),
Antibiotics to treat active infection,
Facial cleanliness and,
Environmental improvements in the areas of water and sanitation to reduce disease transmission
The comprehensive SAFE strategy combines measures for the treatment of active infection and trichiasis (S&A) with preventive measures to reduce disease transmission (F&E) (5,6). Implementation of the full SAFE strategy in endemic areas increases the effectiveness of trachoma programs. The F and E components of SAFE (7), which reduce disease transmission, are particularly critical to achieving sustainable elimination of trachoma.
The "F" in the SAFE strategy refers to facial cleanliness. Because trachoma is transmitted through close personal contact, it tends to occur in clusters, often infecting entire families and communities. Children, who are more likely to touch their eyes and have unclean faces that attract eye-seeking flies, are especially vulnerable to infection, as are women (8), the traditional caretakers of the home. Therefore, the promotion of good hygiene practices, such as hand washing and the washing of children's faces at least once a day with water, is a key step in breaking the cycle of trachoma transmission (9).
The "E" in the SAFE strategy refers to environmental change. Improvements in community and household sanitation, such as the provision of household latrines, help control fly populations and breeding grounds. Increased access to water facilitates good hygiene practices and is vital to achieving sustainable elimination of the disease (10). Separation of animal quarters from human living space, as well as safe handling of food and drinking water, are also important environmental measures that affected communities can take within a trachoma control program.
For more information on trachoma, visit:
CDC – Trachoma fact sheet
World Health Organization (WHO) – Trachoma
WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma (GET 2020)
International Trachoma Initiative
The Carter Center – Trachoma
For more information on the SAFE strategy, visit:
Implementing the SAFE Strategy for Trachoma Control (The Carter Center) [PDF – 798 kb]
The SAFE Strategy: Preventing Trachoma (WHO) [PDF – 2.78 mb]
SAFE Manuals and Materials (WHO)
School Health Programs (Helen Keller International)
Resnikoff, S., et al. Global data on visual impairment in the year 2002. Bull World Health Organ, 2004. 82(11): p. 844-51.
Wright, H.R., A. Turner, and H.R. Taylor. Trachoma and poverty: unnecessary blindness further disadvantages the poorest people in the poorest countries. Clin Exp Optom, 2007. 90(6): p. 422-8.
World Health Organization. Alliance for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020. Report of the 2nd Global Scientific Meeting on Trachoma, Geneva, 25-27 August 2003. (WHO/PBD/GET.03.1). 2003.
Mariotti SP, P.A.. The SAFE strategy. Preventing trachoma: a guide for environmental sanitation and improved hygiene . Geneva: WHO, 2001 (WHO/PBD/GET/00.7/rev.1). 2001. Available at: http://www.who.int/blindness/SAFE_en.pdf [PDF – 2.78 mb].
West, S.K.. Blinding trachoma: prevention with the safe strategy. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2003. 69(5 Suppl): p. 18-23.
Wright, H.R., A. Turner, and H.R. Taylor. Trachoma. Lancet, 2008. 371(9628): p. 1945-54.
Emerson, P.M., et al. Review of the evidence base for the 'F' and 'E' components of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control. Trop Med Int Health, 2000. 5(8): p. 515-27.
Courtright, P. and S.K. West. Contribution of sex-linked biology and gender roles to disparities with trachoma. Emerg Infect Dis, 2004. 10(11): p. 2012-6.
Ngondi, J., et al., Associations between Active Trachoma and Community Intervention with Antibiotics, Facial Cleanliness, and Environmental Improvement (A,F,E). PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2008. 2(4): p. e229.
Emerson, P.M. and J. Ngondi, Mass antibiotic treatment alone does not eliminate ocular chlamydial infection. PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2009. 3(3): p. e394.
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WHO has validated Nepal for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem
Nepal: first country in South-East Asia validated for eliminating trachoma
21 May 2018 | Kathmandu | New Delhi | Geneva — The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem – a milestone, as the country becomes the first in WHO's South-East Asia Region to defeat the world's leading infectious cause of blindness.
"Nepal's achievement is commendable and results from strong political commitment, intense community engagement and impressive leadership demonstrated by civil society," Dr Khetrapal Singh.
Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal in the 1980s.
"This remarkable achievement demonstrates what political commitment and sustained partner support can do," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "It is a big step towards health for everyone and comes at a time when Nepal accelerates its fight against other neglected tropical diseases."
A letter acknowledging validation was presented yesterday to Nepal's Minister of State for Health and Population Ms Padma Kumari Aryal by the WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh and the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva, Switzerland where the World Health Assembly is taking place.
©RTI
In 2002, the Government of Nepal stepped up efforts to eliminate the disease with the establishment of a national trachoma programme. From 2002 to 2005, following the implementation of sustained control activities, the prevalence of active (inflammatory) trachoma fell by 40%.
"The fight against trachoma gained momentum due to strong government commitment and leadership backed by community engagement and the support of health workers and volunteers" said Ms Padma Kumari Aryal, Minister of State for Health and Population. "Other factors that boosted control and elimination activities included funding from and excellent coordination among key partners1 and donors."
The Government of Nepal, through the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation, provided incentives to local communities and districts to build and maintain latrines – measures that were crucial to improving sanitation and reducing disease-carrying flies.
To increase awareness, the national trachoma programme collaborated with the Ministry of Education to include a module on trachoma in the school curriculum.
"We managed to accelerate awareness about the disease and sanitation through education campaigns involving brochures, posters, flipcharts, radio announcements, and programmes in schools and village health centres," said Mr Sailesh Mishra, Executive Director, Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS). "These were run by teachers and local health volunteers."
Approximately 30 000 operations were provided to manage trichiasis, and almost 15 million doses of azithromycin were distributed. Between 2002 and 2014, eye hospitals and dozens of eye centres and clinics with trained staff were established across Nepal.
Azithromycin is donated by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative and was delivered in Nepal by NNJS with support from the United States Agency for International Development-funded ENVISION project, implemented by RTI International.
A series of surveys conducted progressively from 2005 to 2015 showed that active trachoma in children had been brought below the elimination prevalence threshold. Low prevalence was maintained after mass antibiotic treatment was discontinued.
In 1996, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by the year 2020 (GET2020). With other partners in the Alliance, WHO supports country implementation of the SAFE strategy (Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear infection, Facial cleanliness, and Environmental improvement to limit transmission) and strengthening of national capacity through epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization.
Elimination of trachoma is inexpensive, simple and highly cost-effective, yielding a high rate of net economic return.
Global progress
In 1998, the World Health Assembly resolved to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem worldwide (WHA 51.11). Since then, significant progress has been made and an increasing number of endemic countries are meeting targets and preparing documentation of national elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.2
In 2014, the WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh identified elimination of neglected tropical diseases as one of the flagship priority programmes. Since then countries in the Region, including Nepal, have been making concerted efforts to eliminate these diseases.
Several criteria are used to assess a country's claim for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. These include:
less than 5% of children aged 1–9 years have signs of active trachoma (trachomatous inflammation–follicular), which can be treated with antibiotics, in each previously-endemic district;
less than 0.2% of people aged 15 years and older have trachomatous trichiasis, which requires eyelid surgery, in each previously-endemic district; and
a health system which can identify and manage new cases of trachomatous trichiasis.
Trachoma, an eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is spread through contact with infective eye or nose discharges. Infection is particularly common in young children.
Ocular or nasal discharge can be transmitted directly from person to person, or be mediated by flies which have been in contact with the eyes and noses of infected people. Transmission is associated with poor sanitation and hygiene, which increase the availability of eye discharges and encourage the breeding of flies.
Trachoma puts more than 190 million people at risk of blindness in 41 countries. It is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of around 1.9 million people worldwide.
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World Sight Day: October 12, 2017
World Sight Day 2017
Today, October 12, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrates World Sight Day, an opportunity to increase awareness about eye health and diseases that can lead to blindness.
For more than two decades, USAID has been preventing and treating blindness, restoring sight, and providing eyeglasses to thousands of people in the poorest communities of the world through the Child Blindness Program. This program includes provision of sight-restoring surgery, screening children for eye diseases and conditions, and delivering eyeglasses to schools. Children who are irreversibly blind receive specialized education to learn Braille, use a cane, and improve their daily living skills.
USAID also addresses infectious causes of blindness for children and adults through its Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) program. Trachoma, the world's leading cause of preventable blindness, is one of seven Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on which USAID focuses. It is a bacterial eye infection that can lead to blindness. USAID's strategy to reduce the incidence of trachoma combines treatment with prevention. USAID works closely with a broad range of partners dedicated to the global elimination of trachoma, including Pfizer, Inc., which has donated more than 500 million Zithromax® treatments to USAID's priority countries. Thanks to these and other efforts, 84 million people across 13 countries now live in areas where treatment for trachoma is no longer required.
In September, Cambodia and Laos were certified as the fourth and fifth endemic countries globally to have eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. The only other countries that have received this acknowledgement are Mexico, Morocco, and Oman. This is evidence that current strategies to eliminate trachoma are working, adding another reason to celebrate World Sight Day 2017.
The USAID Child Blindness Program
Neglected Tropical Diseases on USAID.gov
Trachoma on NeglectedDiseases.gov
Meet the Team Working to Eliminate One of the World's Leading Causes of Blindness
Cambodia and Laos Eliminate Trachoma as a Public Health Problem
Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic Wipe Out Trachoma
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Neglected tropical diseases are finally getting the attention they deserve
"…Yet one of the most inspiring success stories is perhaps the one most overlooked: the global effort to eliminate neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs.
Much of the recent success stems from a meeting in London on Jan. 30, 2012 ……
NTDs affect nearly 1.5 billion of the poorest and most marginalized people around the world. And while 500,000 people lose their lives to NTDs every year, these diseases are more likely to disable and disfigure than to kill. …….These agonizing conditions keep children from school and adults from work, trapping families and communities in cycles of poverty……
Today, the landscape is dramatically different. In 2015, nearly 1 billion people received NTD treatments — 20 percent more than just two years before. As a result, fewer people are suffering from these diseases than at any point in history. ……Much of this success can be traced to the 2012 meeting in London. There, the World Health Organization, pharmaceutical companies, donors, governments, and non-governmental organizations committed to work together to control and eliminate 10 NTDs. …"
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Neapolitan sinkhole, January, 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Milo Manheim was flippin' awesome on 'Dancing with the Stars' for Most Memorable Year Night [WATCH]
Daniel Montgomery	dan_something
October 8, 2018 9:41PM
The youngest "Dancing with the Stars" contestant of the season, 17-year-old actor Milo Manheim, didn't have a lot of years to choose from when deciding on his Most Memorable Year for the show's emotional theme night, so it made sense that he picked the one we're in now: 2018. "My movie came out, I'm on this show, I'm graduating from high school this year and trying to get into college. I'm beginning my real life, and that's pretty exciting." Just exciting was the jive he performed with his pro partner, Witney Carson. Watch it above.
After a solid first performance on the show's premiere night he broke out in the second week of the competition with top-scoring performances for two nights in a row on New York City Night and Las Vegas Night. But he outdid himself again in week three with his jive, taking a risk by bounding onto the judges' table to perform some complex footwork right before their eyes, and then dismounting with a back flip onto the dance floor to finish his routine.
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Those acrobatics were especially impressive since he had a bit of a health scare while training for this week's show; he hurt his hamstring, but that didn't seem to affect him at all. Judge Bruno Tonioli praised his "strength and elasticity." Carrie Ann Inaba thought his performance was "clean, tight and energetic." And Len Goodman, who got especially up close and personal with Manheim when he was on the table, thought "it was a fine routine" with "plenty of content and lovely, sharp flicks and kicks."
The judges gave him 9s across the board for a total of 27 out of 30. That was his highest score of the competition so far, and it tied him with Evanna Lynch and Tinashe as the evening's second-best dance, behind Juan Pablo Di Pace's perfect samba. But did Manheim actually have the night's best number? Vote in our poll below.
PREDICT'Dancing with the Stars' now; change them until Monday night's show
Be sure to make your predictions so that the contestants can see how they're faring in our racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs every Monday on ABC. You'll compete to win a spot on our leaderboard and eternal bragging rights. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
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Derek Hough contracts breakthrough COVID less than a week before the 'Dancing with the Stars'…
JoJo Siwa clinched her spot in 'Dancing with the Stars' finale with this contemporary [WATCH]


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Saffet Akbaş (* 8. September 1968 in Istanbul) ist ein ehemaliger türkischer Fußballspieler und -trainer. Durch seine langjährige Tätigkeit für Fenerbahçe Istanbul wird er mit diesem Verein assoziiert. Da bei seiner Zeit bei Fenerbahçe mit Saffet Sancaklı ein weiterer Saffet im Mannschaftskader existierte und dieser älter war, wurde Akbaş fortan als Küçük Saffet ("Kleiner Saffet") bezeichnet und Sancaklı als Büyük Saffet ("Großer Saffet").

Spielerkarriere

Verein
Akbaş durchlief die Nachwuchsabteilung vom Istanbuler Sportklub Gaziosmanpaşaspor und wurde hier im Verlauf der Saison 1988/89 mit einem Profivertrag ausgestattet in den Profikader aufgenommen. In seiner ersten Saison fristete er eher ein Reservistendasein und kam nur sporadisch zu Einsätzen. Mit der Saison 1989/90 eroberte er sich beim damaligen Drittligisten allmählich einen Stammplatz. Zum Saisonende beendete er mit seinem Team die 3. Futbol Ligi als Meister und war damit am ersten Aufstieg der Vereinsgeschichte in die 2. Futbol Ligi, der damals zweithöchsten türkischen Spielklasse beteiligt. Nachdem Akbaş zwei Spielzeiten lang für Gaziosmanpaşaspor in der 2. türkischen Liga tätig gewesen war, wechselte er im Sommer 1992 innerhalb der Liga zu Ayvalıkgücü.

Für Ayvalıkgücü spielte er nur eine Spielzeit und wurde anschließend vom Zweitligisten Karşıyaka SK verpflichtet. Hier etablierte er sich schnell als Stammspieler und absolvierte 25 Ligaspiele. Da sein Verein aber zum Sommer 1994 den Klassenerhalt in der 1. Lig verfehlt hatte und Akbaş weiterhin in der 1. Lig spielen wollte, wechselte er innerhalb dieser Liga zum osttürkischen Vertreter Vanspor. Auch bei diesem Klub avancierte er sofort zum Stammspieler und Leistungsträger.

Im Sommer 1995 interessierte der türkische Spitzenklub Fenerbahçe Istanbul für Akbaş und verpflichtete ihn im Juni 1995. Mit diesem Verein konnte er bereits wenige Wochen nach seinem Wechsel den vorsaisonal ausgetragenen TSYD-Istanbul-Pokal holen. In seiner ersten Saison wurde er vom brasilianischen Cheftrainer Carlos Alberto Parreira in elf Ligaspielen eingesetzt und spielte in sieben dieser Begegnungen über 90 Minuten. In diesen Einsätzen wusste er zu überzeugen und wurde einmal in die türkische Nationalmannschaft nominiert. Mit seinem Verein beendete er die Saison als türkischer Meister. In seiner zweiten Saison für Fenerbahçe stieg Akbaş zum Stammspieler auf und absolvierte 30 der möglichen 34 Ligaspiele seiner Mannschaft. Die nächste Saison verlor er seinen Stammplatz wieder und wurde anschließend als Ersatzspieler mehrmals eingesetzt. Nachdem in der Saison 1998/99 Joachim Löw das Traineramt bei Fenerbahçe übernommen hatte, wurde Akbaş erst in sieben Spielen als Stammspieler eingesetzt und danach nicht mehr in den Mannschaftsplanungen berücksichtigt. Für die Rückrunde wurde er an den Ligarivalen MKE Ankaragücü ausgeliehen. Zum Saisonende kehrte er zu Fenerbahçe zurück und wurde vom Cheftrainer im Kader behalten. In dieser Saison wurde Akbaş in zehn Ligaspielen eingesetzt. Zur neuen Saison wurde er vom neuen Cheftrainer Mustafa Denizli aus dem Kader gestrichen und für die Dauer einer Saison an den Zweitligisten Diyarbakırspor ausgeliehen. Mit diesem Verein gelang ihm durch die Vizemeisterschaft der Aufstieg in die 1. türkische Liga.

Im Sommer 2001 verließ Akbaş nach sechs Jahren Fenerbahçe und wechselte zum Stadt- und Ligakonkurrenten İstanbulspor. Bei diesem krisengeschüttelten Verein spielte er die nächsten vier Jahre durchgängig als Stammspieler. Neben seiner Leistungsträgertätigkeit wurde er auch im Verlauf dieser vier Jahre zum Mannschaftskapitän ernannt. In dieser Funktion hielt er trotz nicht gezahlter Gehaltszahlungen die Mannschaft zusammen und trug erheblich dazu bei, dass der Verein trotz aller Unwägbarkeiten vier Jahre lang in der 1. Liga bestehen konnte. Nachdem der Verein im Sommer 2005 den Klassenerhalt verfehlte, beendete Akbaş seine Karriere.

Nationalmannschaft
Nachdem Akbaş bei seinem Verein gute Leistungen erbracht hatte, wurde er im Dezember 1996 vom Nationaltrainer Mustafa Denizli im Rahmen eines WM1998-Qualifikationsspiels gegen die walisische Nationalmannschaft in den Kader der türkischen Nationalmannschaft nominiert. Bei dieser Begegnung wurde er in der 87. Minute für İlker Yağcıoğlu eingewechselt und gab damit sein Länderspieldebüt. Bis zum Herbst 1999 wurde er zehn weitere Male nominiert und absolvierte dabei fünf weitere Länderspiele.

Erfolge
 Mit Gaziosmanpaşaspor
 Meister der TFF 2. Lig und Aufstieg in die TFF 1. Lig: 1989/90

 Mit Diyarbakırspor
 Vizemeister der 1. Lig und Aufstieg in die Süper Lig: 2000/01

 Mit Fenerbahçe Istanbul
 Türkischer Meister: 1995/96
 TSYD-Istanbul-Pokalsieger: 1995/96
 Premierminister-Pokalsieger: 1997/98

Weblinks

Fußballnationalspieler (Türkei)
Fußballspieler (Diyarbakırspor)
Fußballspieler (Fenerbahçe Istanbul)
Fußballspieler (Gaziosmanpaşaspor)
Fußballspieler (İstanbulspor)
Fußballspieler (Karşıyaka SK)
Fußballspieler (MKE Ankaragücü)
Fußballspieler (Vanspor)
Türkischer Meister (Fußball)
Türke
Geboren 1968
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Spelaeochernes est un genre de pseudoscorpions de la famille des Chernetidae.

Distribution
Les espèces de ce genre sont endémiques du Brésil. Elles se rencontrent dans des grottes.

Liste des espèces
Selon Pseudoscorpions of the World (version 3.0) :
 Spelaeochernes altamirae Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes armatus Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes bahiensis Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes dentatus Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes dubius Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes eleonorae Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes gracilipalpus Mahnert, 2001
 Spelaeochernes pedroi Mahnert, 2001
et décrite depuis :
 Spelaeochernes popeye von Schimonsky & Bichuette, 2019

Publication originale
 Mahnert, 2001 : Cave-dwelling pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones) from Brazil. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, , ,  (texte intégral).

Liens externes

Notes et références

Chernetidae
Genre de pseudoscorpions (nom scientifique)
Faune endémique du Brésil


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Coquard concerned about Europcar losing WorldTour status
Stephen Farrand 2014-12-14T12:19:00Z
French sprinter reveals he could change teams in 2016
Bryan Coquard (Europcar) (Image credit: Sirotti)
Brian Coquard (Europcar) winner of the Route Adélie (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Bryan Coquard (Europcar) won stage three at Etoile de Bessèges (Image credit: AFP)
Bryan Coquard (Europcar) in the leader's yellow jersey (Image credit: ASO)
Bryan Coquard (Europcar) (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The news that the Europcar team failed to secure a WorldTour licence for 2015 has rocked the French set-up, with the riders now unsure of their race programmes and long term future.
Europcar to end team sponsorship in 2015
2014 Report Card: Europcar
UCI defers decision on Astana and Europcar WorldTour registration
Coquard targets Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in 2015
Europcar denied WorldTour licence over budget shortfall
Europcar riders free to leave after WorldTour exit
Europcar team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau has already revealed that Europcar will end their sponsorship after the 2015 season and he must find a major sponsor to keep the team alive and hold onto his best riders.
Bernaudeau claimed the team was just six per cent short of completing their budget, while UCI president Brian Cookson told Cyclingnews it was "a very significant amount." If the team secures a Professional Continental licence it will almost certainly obtain a wild card invitation to the Tour de France but will have to hope for, and work hard, to secure other invitations to major races during the 2015 season.
Team leaders Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland have so far remained silent after the UCI confirmed on Wednesday that a budget shortfall meant Europcar had failed to meet financial requirements for the 2015 WorldTour. Bryan Coquard, however, has spoken about his concerns.
Despite being free to change teams for 2015, he said he will stay with Europcar for next season but hinted he will consider offers from other teams for 2016.
Coquard was hoping to ride the Tour Down Under as vital preparation for the track World Championships. Now he will debut at the Etoile de Bessèges. How he prepares and qualifies for the track events at the Rio 2016 is unclear.
"It's a real blow being a WorldTour licence. It's hard to take and changes everything," Coquard told Equipe.fr.
"I had planned a race program that meant I'd do the biggest races this season and now everything is up in the air. I was going to start my season at the Tour Down Under but now I have no choice but to start at the Etoile de Bessèges.
"It's going to be difficult for the whole team because with 28 riders we've got to find races for everyone and wait for invitations from the organizers. I'm afraid that apart from the Tour de France we will not do another Grand Tour in 2015 and that's a pain.
"I was counting on Tour Down Under to perfect my preparation before the World Championships to be held in February in France. Now I don't really know if I should focus on the track. I'm a bit in limbo right now. I also have a nagging knee pain that is concerning me a little. I think I'll take stock after the World Championships. I want to go to Rio with the aim of becoming Olympic champion but I'll have to juggle my road programme with the track and we don't know what will happen after 2015. Everything is difficult to predict at the moment."
Interest from other teams for 2016
Coquard won five minor races in 2014 and finished in the top five in three sprints at the Tour de France and was third in the green points jersey competition. He has an impressive pedigree that includes second in the under-23 road World Championships in 2012 and a silver medal in the Omnium on the track at the 2012 London Olympics. Still only 22, he could develop into one of the leading sprinters of the next decade and revealed that several teams are interested in signing him. He professed loyalty to Europcar for 2015 but may move to another team in 2016 to ensure he competes at WorldTour level.
"I'm out of contract at the end of the 2015 season and many managers know this," he said.
"With the bad news that is accumulating, I'm afraid that the team will stop permanently. Under these conditions, I'm forced to think a little about my future. I have already received a lot of proposals and I feel I should study them. For now I trust Jean-René and I hope that he finds a solution so that the team still exists in 2016."


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Helping Kids See Beyond Their Failures: A Chat with Fish in a Tree Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt
by the Brightly Editors
Lynda Mullaly Hunt is the author of Brightly's Book Club for Kids pick, Fish in a Tree, a middle grade novel about a bright young girl who struggles with learning differences. We spoke with Lynda about her own struggles with reading as a child, the real-life teacher who changed her perception of herself and her path forward, and what we can all learn from our encounters with failure.
Click here to learn more about Brightly's Book Club for Kids, discover Fish in a Tree-inspired activities and tips for discussion, and join the reading fun.
Why did you want to write a book about dyslexia? Why do you think it's a topic that all children can connect with?
Fish in a Tree definitely came into being because of my experiences in the classroom from both sides of the desk. I was a student who struggled, and later a teacher who looked for ways to buoy kids every day, to ensure success for each one of them.
I think all humans of any age can connect with someone struggling because we all do. Maybe we don't struggle with academics, but we all have challenges somewhere in the world. I think reading about characters who overcome challenges builds empathy for others, which is important in terms of becoming a good person.
However, one of the things that has made me happy as an author is that my books have allowed children to develop empathy for themselves. There are a lot of kids beating themselves up over perceived faults and we need to teach kids that failure is not to be feared or avoided. Encountering failure means you're challenging yourself. It means you're brave.
Ally's teacher, Mr. Daniels, is patient, kind, and determined to help Ally. Did anyone in your real life inspire this character?
Unlike many other authors, I was not a reader and writer as a child. In fact, I was in the lowest reading group from first grade to sixth grade. My fifth grade teacher did not ask me for assignments — something most kids would think is reason for celebration. However, I knew what it meant: He thought it didn't matter if I did my work or not. By the time I reached the summer before sixth grade, I was frightened about what would become of me.
And then I met Mr. Christy, my sixth grade teacher. He did many things to buoy me including giving me books that most teachers would think were too hard for me and being interested in my true opinions of them. He arranged for me to tutor younger kids in math. And, it may seem like a small thing, but he smiled when I walked in into the room. This all made a huge impression on me. By seeing the child before the student and setting high expectations — and demanding that I strove to reach them — he changed my life by changing my perception of myself.
Fish in a Tree is a giant thank you note to my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Christy. It is also a nod to a few other exceptional teachers that I had such as Bud Rivard, Carol Masonis, and Patricia Yosha. I am living proof that a teacher can change the trajectory of a child's life.
On the surface, Ally, Keisha, and Albert may seem like unlikely friends — but a recognition and embracing of their differences unites them and ultimately allows for them to find commonalities as well. Can you talk a little bit about that?
I just love to hang with people whose lives have been different than mine. I am fascinated by others' varied stories. Differences are a wonderful thing! How boring it would be if we were all the same. However, I do think it's very important that, while we stand proud of our own differences, we also look for common ground as well. As humans, we all share commonalities such as longings for love and acceptance.
And here's the thing about children: I think young readers naturally accept differences in others unless they learn from some external source that differences are bad. Think about it — put kids in the sand box as toddlers and they just play. A smile is their common ground. There is rarely an analysis of differences like adults tend to do. My hope is that adults can work toward this as well.
Why is art so important in both Ally's life and the story?
Well, I knew that I wanted her to have a creative gift and I have always wanted to be able to draw, so I lived a dream a bit in creating Ally. In addition, through my research of people with dyslexia, I found that many of them have a talent for creating art (and playing chess, which is also in the book) so it made sense.
The final reason — and the most compelling from a writer's point of view — is that I just felt it. Very early in the writing process, I began to feel who Ally is at her core. I could have made a very cerebral decision that she was going to be a metal sculptor, but I would not have been able to write that authentically because I could feel that it would not be important to her. Color, though … I knew that Ally loved to create drawings filled with color. I saw them in my head as "mind movies," just like she does.
One central theme of the book is that it can be harmful to teach kids that they are defined, or measured by, any one thing — like judging a fish for not being able to climb a tree. How does Ally learn this important lesson?
I think Ally learns this lesson the way many of us learn lessons about ourselves — by the mirrors that the people we care about hold up in front of us. At the beginning of the book, Ally feels like her differences make her a failure but through interactions with her mom, Mr. Daniels, Albert, Keisha, Oliver, Suki, and others, she learns that differences are to be celebrated. She learns that we all have our struggles to bear — it's part of being human. It isn't failing that makes you a failure — it's staying down that does. By the end of the book, Ally's perceptions of herself shift enough so that she can shake off the negative opinions of others such as Shay.
By the Author:
Fish in a Tree
by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Lynda Mullaly Hunt (www.lyndamullalyhunt.com) has received many honors for her debut novel, One for the Murphys, which is on over twenty state award lists, including Bank Street's 2013 Best Books of the Year. Her second novel Fish in a Tree is a New York Times Bestseller, a Schneider Family Book Award winner, a Global Read Aloud selection, an ALCS Notable Book of 2016, has received many state award nominations, and has been published in eleven different languages worldwide. Lynda is a former teacher, and holds writers retreats for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, impetuous beagle, and beagle-loathing cat.


text:
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Open House Weekend 10am-1pm
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Filed Under: Real Estate News
No permit required: Developing Cape Coral in 1958
The development of Cape Coral began in 1958 in the southeastern portion of the Cape, at Redfish Point along Matlacha Pass. No building permits were required and the mud started flying.
As a result, 5 things happened.
Building Paradise: Cape Coral's first businesses
1. Over the next 5 years, the mangroves fringing the land were removed, and more than 50 million cubic yards of salt marsh and salt flats were excavated, the fill used to attain the minimum elevation of 5.5 feet above sea level required for building.
2. The stripping and dredging operations continued for nearly 20 years before dreaded new water- and wetland-development regulations stopped them. But by then, Cape Coral had the most extensive canal system in the world!
This 1958 aerial photo shows Redfish Point filled and dredged. (Photo: news-press)
3. Perhaps significantly, the replacement of natural wetlands with land fill removed a natural water source, as well as the shoreline stabilization and protection against storm surges provided by mangroves. The canals are possibly conduits for catastrophic storm-water surges; the canals have the potential, therefore, of turning this waterfrontwonderland into a waterworld wonderland.
4. Polluted storm-water runoff added to the stagnant water in the canals does occasionally breed algae blooms that, incidentally, deprive sea life in the canals and in the estuarine environments around them of oxygen.
Polluted storm-water runoff added to the stagnant water in the canals does occasionally breed algae blooms. (Photo: Special to The News-Press)
5. The removal of the mangroves has eliminated their water-cleansing effect upon these estuaries, and as the mangroves were lush habitat for shellfish and finfish, their removal may, as commercial fishermen say, have severely depleted one of the most abundant fishing grounds in the world of both its recreational and commercial fish.
Nevertheless, as developer Leonard Rosen claimed, uninhabitable mangroves and wetlands are "absolutely useless," whereas developing Cape Coral into a boaters' paradise has made their dreams a reality for untold thousands of future homeowners.
Filed Under: All Users, Real Estate News
Midtown: Fort Myers puts plan on hold for more input
The biggest growth plan in Fort Myers history will have more time – until August 7 – to answer public questions, City Council members decided Monday night after hours of public input. Click link to read more……..
http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/04/17/coming-tonight-midtown-bust-tonights-meeting-could-transform-fort-myers/100572296/
10 Best Places to Camp in Florida
Experience Florida's gorgeous beaches at a quieter pace-fall asleep to the sound of water kissing the shore, spot incredible wildlife, and explore some of the state's most treasured protected lands-at these beautiful campsites on the coast.https://www.yahoo.com/news/10-best-places-camp-florida-185400619.html
Pending Home Sales Leap 5.5% in February
WASHINGTON (March 29, 2017) — Pending home sales rebounded sharply in February to their highest level in nearly a year and second-highest level in over a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions saw a notable hike in contract activity last month.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* www.nar.realtor/topics/pending-home-sales, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, jumped 5.5 percent to 112.3 in February from 106.4 in January. Last month's index reading is 2.6 percent above a year ago, is the highest since last April (113.6) and the second highest since May 2006 (112.5).
https://www.nar.realtor/news-releases/2017/03/pending-home-sales-leap-55-in-february
Filed Under: Real Estate News Tagged With: cape, cape coral, estate, florida, fort myers, housing, lee county, market, news, real estate, realtor, sales, southwest, southwest florida, techventure
Renters Are Starting to Feel Richer, But…
Trying to convert renters to homeowners? Your job may be getting tougher. A new survey from Freddie Mac finds more renters are optimistic about their financial situations, but they're less likely to move even if their rents increase.
"It would appear from our new survey that renters today feel better about their finances, like where they are living, and view renting favorably," says David Brickman, executive vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily. "This is consistent with findings from earlier surveys that show a steadily growing number of renters have a positive view of renting."
A declining number of renters say they are working toward homeownership, expect to buy a home, or plan to move within the next few years, the survey shows. Fifty-nine percent of the nearly 1,300 renters surveyed say they plan to rent their next home, an increase from 55 percent since Freddie Mac's last renter survey in September 2016.
Need help talking up the benefits of owning? Why Homeownership Still Matters
Consumers' favor for renting comes at a time when they're getting a better handle on their finances. Forty-one percent of renters surveyed say they now have enough money to last beyond each payday, up from 34 percent in September. All age groups surveyed expressed an increase in financial confidence from the last survey, but it was most pronounced among baby boomers, growing from 38 percent in September to 48 percent now.
They don't plan to switch apartments either. The number of renters who say they plan to move during the next two years dropped from 38 percent to 33 percent. Further, 55 percent of all respondents—and 60 percent of 35- to 49-year olds—say they like where they currently live and don't plan to move, even if their rents increase.
Meanwhile, the percentage of renters who say they expect to own dropped to 41 percent from 45 percent in September.
Source: "Profile of Today's Renter/Multifamily Renter Research," Freddie Mac (March 2017)
Easter Weekend Open House Saturday 10-1pm…..Egg-Ceptional Value, under $100 per SQ FT
Filed Under: All Users Tagged With: building, cape, cape coral, coral, florida, fort myers, home, home sales, housing, lee county, market, news, newspress, real estate, realty, residential, sales, southwest florida
10 Reasons to list with a Realtor
April 6, 2017 By TechVenture
7 SMART HOME DEVICES THAT COULD PAY OFF WHEN YOU SELL…….
How Long Will Your House Last????
New Restaurants, Retail Coming To Hot Alico Road Corner
Site work is underway now for a retail construction project that will bring a handful of restaurants and retail shops just northwest of Gulf Coast Town Center. Development plans for the 22.5-acre parcel feature several restaurants, including Chili's, Tijuana Flats, B.J.'s Restaurant and Brewhouse, and PDQ, a new concept by the founders of Outback Steakhouse […]
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Ballet (USA & Canada)
American Repertory Ballet: A Fairy's Kiss
American Repertory Ballet
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Stiefel premiere)
Jerry Hochman
On Friday night, American Repertory Ballet (ARB) premiered its first evening-length ballet choreographed by Ethan Stiefel, who was appointed the company's Artistic Director while the Covid pandemic was still raging. The piece, a new version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, was a fine choice. Nothing in the ballet canon can beat a reasonably faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy for prompting unrestrained warm-hearted eye-to-eye and ear-to-ear joy in an audience fortunate enough to see it. This version is no exception.
In a nutshell, Stiefel's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a beautiful production that has what it takes to entertain children and adults of all ages – with a caveat. Ballet-goers who are used to the Balanchine or Ashton (The Dream) versions, or who are reasonably ballet-sophisticated, might find it lacking in certain respects. For these audiences, by all means go when the production returns – but take the kids, and grandkids, with you.
Gillian Murphy (standing at left) and American Repertory Ballet
in Ethan Stiefel's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Photo by Rosalie O'Connor
That caveat aside, the production creates smiles from the moment the curtain opens until it closes. The set (designed by Howard Jones) is one of the finest I've seen – certainly for a production of this size. It's stationary, with only one movable component, but it's ceaselessly enchanting. [Credit also to N. James Whitehall III for its execution oversight.] When the curtain opens, the vision of the set is both magical and transporting, and the audience reacted with audible delight. It was like opening the pages of a lavishly illustrated children's story book. From that point forward, the production, regardless of its merits, could do no wrong.
That no one here is taking him or herself too seriously (with the possible – and not inappropriate – exception of Gillian Murphy's Oberon) is another reason that it's so enjoyable. Perhaps most exemplary of this are the programmed curtain calls after the basic story ends, cleverly celebrated to Mendelssohn's "Wedding March." The fun is infectious – and the standing ovation that the production received reflected that.
(l-r) Gillian Murphy, Aldeir Monteiro,
Erikka Reinstierna-Cates, and Annie Johnson
Between these performance bookends, and with the inclusion of Mendelssohn's beloved music and performances by a youthful and engaging group of dancers, nothing else really matters. This version satisfies all these criteria – and its simplicity is a virtue; it's as gentle as a fairy's kiss. But that simplicity is also what makes this version somewhat problematic.
I could stop here, but I have concerns about certain production specifics that I feel compelled to reference below. Some are nitpicky, some aren't. But I must emphasize that my comments relate to things that the average ballet-goer wouldn't see, or wouldn't care about. So take the observations below with a grain of … fairy dust.
Oberon here is a puzzlement. In the original Shakespeare, of course, Oberon is a male role. Here, Oberon is played by a ballerina. But this character is clearly not a woman playing the role as a woman; she's either a woman playing the role as a man, or asexual, or sexually ambiguous. I suspect door #3. Maybe members of the audience are supposed to fill in the blank as they wish, or don't think of there being a blank to fill in.
But why the lack of clarity? Stiefel can make changes for whatever reason he chooses, but I chafe when a narrative is unclear. Then again, being unclear may be Stiefel's point here also. So I'll overlook that (as the audience clearly did), particularly since Murphy's Oberon is so well-executed, and because this Oberon is one of the few characters to have … character. Indeed, one of the more enduring images from this production is Murphy's Oberon in deep thought while overseeing Puck's antics as she/he wanders through the set, in the background. It's a Hamlet moment. And after all, Oberon's a Fairy: what difference should its gender make (or if it has one)? Indeed, if nothing else, it's payback. Not only did Shakespeare frequently create characters who at times might take the form of one of the opposite gender, in Shakespeare's time female roles would have been performed by men.
But the decision to have the role played by a ballerina (the second cast has a ballerina playing Oberon also) has a collateral consequence: the pas de deux between Titania and Oberon that is a highlight of so many other productions is a casualty of this decision. [Stiefel could conceivably have kept it, but with the gender issue, and in the context of this ballet, it's best avoided.] But here it's replaced by a final dance involving Oberon, Titania, Puck, Changeling, and the four human lovers that goes on far too long. It was the only point during the performance where I noticed some audience members fidgeting.
(l-r) Aldeir Monteiro, Clara Pevel,
Gillian Murphy, and Nanako Yamamoto
Similarly puzzling, but not by any means fatal, are certain character name changes, particularly with respect to the character identified as "Bugzby/Bottom." Stiefel can rename characters as he wishes also. A change in Bottom's name is reasonable because the character is no longer one of an entourage of would-be actors rehearsing the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, as in Shakespeare's original, because (at least) the wedding feast of Theseus and Hippolyta for which the rehearsal takes place is now irrelevant: here these characters don't exist. So instead of an actor bumpkin, the character's a bug-hunter bumpkin. To name him Bugzy makes sense. [And it would further cement this production as the manifestation of a children's story book.] But his transformation into donkey doesn't change who he is; only how he appears (as this production clearly demonstrates). Either Bugzy or Bottom would have been fine. So pick one. In the same vein changing the names of the "human" characters isn't a problem – Helena becomes Elena, Lysander becomes Sander, Hermia becomes Mia, and Demetrius becomes Dimitri. Cool; it's sort of an updating – and certainly moves the ballet's locale away from Athens. But why bother? [See the children's story book comment above.]
Other aspects of this production are more problematic.
We can accept gender changes and name changes for no particular reason as long as they don't impact our understanding of the story. But inconsistency is another matter. One example is Puck's search for the "magic flower." Puck shakes his head "no" (it's the wrong one) to Oberon after separately picking and sniffing two flowers – including the second one, which becomes the flower with the power. That's an easy fix.
Seth Koffler and American Repertory Ballet
Far more critical, however, is what happens to Bugzy/Bottom. In the regular course, he's changed from a human to a donkey on stage by the Elves, in full view of the audience. [Nice touch, even though it looks a little sloppy. And clearly it's the Elves who are forcing this change, as directed by Puck; it's not something that just "happens."] Then, when his services are no longer required, the donkey outfit (including the head) is removed. Thereafter in a lengthy solo Bugzby/Bottom remembers how much fun he had as a donkey, and then gets pulled off stage by bug-catching nets (apparently the same nets that the Elves had previously used to entrap him — another nice touch). So far, so good. But before the final dance by the rest of the cast, Bugzy/Bottom returns to the stage with his donkey head on. He then wanders to the mound where he had slept with Titania, pulls the blanket that remained there over his head, and sleeps in peaceful post-conjugal contentment.
Wait. What? How did the donkey head get back on his head? Did the Elves who (presumably) pulled him offstage put the head back on? If so, why? The game's over. Did he do it himself? If so, how? Was there an uninhabited donkey head that just happened to be in the forest? And even if it's just a matter of suspending disbelief, why? It's senseless as executed, both as narrative and thematically.
It's a neat idea, though; just carried out wrong. Wouldn't it have been far more meaningful if Bugzy/Bottom had decided to return to the source of his greatest pleasure, but as a restored human rather than as an ersatz donkey (it's already been established in his solo that Bugzby/Bottom, as a human, can remember his period as a donkey)? And, while I'm making unsolicited suggestions, wouldn't that also be better as a closing image than as an intro to the concluding "lovers ensemble" dance? Just reverse the order.
The absence of character development where it would have been appropriate is another issue. For example, the Changeling (here identified as "Changeling / Magical Youngster in Titania's Care") was a lost opportunity. The descriptive and gender-neutral change is an improvement over the usual (and Shakespeare original) "Indian boy" over whom the Fairy Royal Couple fight – and which, in this day and age, might invite comments relating to child abuse, homoeroticism, fairy entitlement, and cultural genocide. But this babe in the woods is given little more to do than smile and prance around in a gender-neutral baby outfit like a toddler who'd taken dancing lessons. He/she/it has no independent character beyond that.
Then there are the four Fairies. Although Stiefel here commendably gives them the names that Shakespeare did, aside from slight color changes in their basic costumes (and making them all female – or maybe all genderless) they do nothing except decorate the stage. Why distinguish them with character names (and costume color changes) if there's nothing else that distinguishes one from another?
Clara Pevel and Seth Koffler
I suspect that the answer to that relates to my final, and most significant, area of concern: the dance's choreography. With a few exceptions – Bugzy/Bottom's solo, moments of the choreography for Oberon (Murphy gets to dance a series of perfectly-executed chaîné turns and, separately, a set of five or six fouettés) and Titania, and the previously-referenced direction and staging for the human lovers (which was very well-conceived and executed) – it's everything choreography shouldn't be: repetitious and unimaginative.
(l-r) Erikka Reinstierna-Cates, Hernan Montenegro,
Jonathan Monteparna, and Annie Johnson
Essentially, the four Fairies, the five Elves, and the five Fairy Attendants, although clearly separate groups of dancers, dress the stage and act collectively as would a corps in such familiar large-cast classic story ballets as Swan Lake. They may be relatively unimportant as characters, but they handle a significant portion of the dance's choreography. The Elves, first out, all look like Elves on steroids and move exactly the same way. There's no variety. Then the Fairies and Fairy Attendants emerge, with each group dancing essentially the same movement throughout each group's ensemble work, concurrently. For all these groups, the few examples of sequencing (still the same basic choreographic movement, but executed sequentially rather than in tandem), and the occasional arrangements around a central character that provide good photo ops, are forms of visual relief.
The low-level of choreography here is so obvious that I can only conclude that there must have been some plausible reason for Stiefel to have limited the choreographic palette for these groups as he did. He's a better choreographer than that.
What first comes to mind is a decision to treat these entities as a sort of continuing shtick. But, if that was the rationale, it applies only to the Elves, who here are somewhat comic characters to begin with.
If there's any overall justification for the choreographic simplicity, I can think of only one. ARB is in a rebuilding phase. Many of its long-time dancers are no longer with the company. Indeed, in this two-cast series of four performances, the company (which includes only eleven dancers, inclusive of four who are new to the company and two relatively long-time company members who are not listed for either cast) has been supplemented by six Apprentices, four members of ARB2, and six Trainees. Consequently, at least on the surface, the experience level is relatively thin, and perhaps Stiefel didn't want to risk taxing their ability with greater complexity.
In any event, assuming that this was the rationale for the overall weak choreography, and recognizing that my other concerns may be considered a product of a congenital tendency to overthink, ARB's new A Midsummer Night's Dream does what it's intended to do and does it well. It's certainly simpler than ARB's immediately preceding incarnation, choreographed by its former Artistic Director Douglas Martin, which was equally beautiful (even if primarily for its second act) and far more comprehensive, complex, and cerebral – and that invited its audience to think. But maybe (and maybe for that reason) this one will sell more tickets.
(l-r) Hernan Montenegro and Erikka Reinstierna-Cates
The ARB dancers executed their assigned roles well. Those who delivered particularly estimable performances were Erikka Reinstierna-Cates as Elena, Clara Pavel (an Apprentice) as a feisty Titania who held her own when she danced together with Oberon, Aldeir Monteiro's Puck, Seth Koffler (a member of ARB2) as Bugzy/Bottom, and of course Murphy, the company's Artistic Associate (as well as a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre) as the ambiguously-gendered Oberon. Other dancers, all of whom did fine work, were Annie Johnson's Mia (she is the second cast's Oberon), Jonathan Monteparra's Sanders, Hernan Montenegro's Dimitri, Nanako Yamamoto's Changeling, the four Fairies (Shaye Firer, Madison Elizabeth Egyud, Samantha Huebner, and Hailey Rumsey-Lasersohn), the five Elves (Jonathan Carter, Andrea Marino, Tiziano Cerrato, Leandro Olcese, and Anthony Pototski), and the four Fairy Attendants (Michelle Quiner, Jasmine Jasper, Avery Snyder, and Aoi Tashiro). And a nod to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra – and its conductor, Kenneth Bean – for its sparkling rendition of the score, to the complementary lighting (designed by Joseph Walls) that enhances the set; and to the costumes (designed by Janessa Cornell Urwin), which add buoyancy to the fantasy and, where suitable (e.g., Titania's costume), a smidgen of unexpected zest. And I would be remiss not to recognize the company's resurrection of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's adaptation of Mendelssohn's composition for the 1935 Hollywood film that starred, among others, James Cagney as Bottom and Mickey Rooney as Puck. Its lighter tone perfectly suits the scale of this production.
Stiefel's A Midsummer Night's Dream marks a new beginning for ARB, and I expect it will become an ARB staple as time goes by. Sandwiched between New York and Philadelphia ballet powerhouses, a Spring-Summer cash cow to augment the company's profile and supplement its resources would be the equivalent of a fairy's kiss.
Tags: American Repertory Ballet, Ethan Stiefel, Gillian Murphy
Categories: Ballet (USA & Canada), Reviews,
Jerry has been reviewing dance and dance-related performances for CriticalDance for more than ten years, and has also interviewed dancers and members of the dance community. He is a member of Dance Critics Association. A graduate of Rutgers University and Columbia University School of Law, he attended his first live ballet performance on a whim more than forty years ago, and has been hooked ever since. Writing from the point of view of a member of the audience rather than as a dance practitioner, his wealth of viewing experience not only provides an appreciation of the art form and the power of a choreographer and dancer to move an audience, but an ability to place what he sees in a context and make it accessible to the average reader.
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The Obama administration today argued in court that the government can make a requirement that violates religious beliefs and that a company cannot reflect the religious faith of its owners. The administration's statements came in a court filing that asserts the federal government has the authority to order private companies to provide abortifacients for their employees.
The argument in the U.S. court is consistent with the above concerns.
Sadly, national repentance is not on the political agenda for the two major party USA presidential candidates.
BTW, my latest book is also available Amazon at the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Mitt Romney?
The book also is still available to you, electronically for free. So, if you want A FREE ELECTRONIC VERSION it is Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States–Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is free until September 8, 2012, and is only US$2.99 thereafter. If you don't have a Kindle reader that should not be a problem. Amazon will allow you to download Kindle to almost any device, including personal computers, MACs, Ipads, etc.: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon's Free Reader Apps (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771). After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States–Amazon Kindle edition for your free book! (Note: Amazon Kindle prohibits me from giving the book away directly in electronic form or it will not carry the book, that is why I advise going to Amazon's free Kindle app site so you can get the book for free during the time that Amazon allows a free promotion of it.) If you like the book, please consider posting a review at Amazon. If you do not like it, consider sending me an email specifying any issues you have with it so I can possibly change possible future versions of it.
This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2012 at 11:16 am	and is filed under Religious News.


The 2018 Smashbox Holidaze collection promises to be genuinely legendary with the brand's bestselling products available in conveniently giftable packaging.
BareMinerals recently dropped their Holiday 2018 collection, and we couldn't be more excited. It's so beautifully reminiscent of old-world glamour, charged up with unique new textures and shades.


Furnished apartment on the top floor with balcony and view of the greenery in Ramersdorf/Giesing.
Approx. 9 minutes on foot to the station Giesinger Bahnhof. From there you can take the suburban train lines S3 and S7 and the underground line U2.


Update: Four people have now died from the condition.
Two Australians have died and more than 2,000 others experienced breathing difficulties after a rare outbreak of 'thunderstorm asthma' on Monday – a phenomenon where weather changes brought on by storms can trigger widespread asthma attacks and breathing problems.
The condition is incredibly rare, but when it strikes it can be deadly. The danger is thought to be due to small particles in pollen that get released in wet weather, then dispersed by strong winds.
About 80 percent of people who experience asthma in Australia are susceptible to hay fever, an allergic response to rye grass pollen, which itself is composed of much smaller starch particles.
A single rye grass pollen grain can hold up to 700 of these tiny starch granules, measuring 0.6 to 2.5 um, which is small enough to reach the lower airways in the lung.
During rain or humid weather, the pollen grains can absorb water and swell, and will sometimes burst, releasing these tiny particles.
Along with high winds, which can spread the pollen or particles over a great distance, it's possible for hundreds or thousands of people to experience respiratory problems after inhaling these tiny particles into their lungs.
The latest instance of this rare condition began on Monday afternoon, after the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Melbourne and other parts of Victoria.
The storm followed in the wake of an extremely hot 38-degree Celsius day (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), and hit the city's west the hardest, with winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour recorded.
But while the building damage caused by the storm was relatively minor, the strong winds had also introduced a more subtle danger.
Emergency services were swamped by more than 2,000 phone calls – nearly seven times the usual number – with people reporting asthma attacks and other respiratory problems.
Hospital emergency departments did what they could, as ambulances – including some 60 vehicles brought out of reserve – ferried panicked people to care, with at least 30 people visiting intensive care.
"It was extraordinarily busy, it was unprecedented," Mick Stephenson, Ambulance Victoria's executive director of emergency operations, told the BBC.
"What we do know is that a lot of people who called last night had never had asthma before, so this was their first experience."
Sadly, at least two people are known to have died during the outbreak: 18-year-old Omar Moujalled, who was just two days from graduating high school; and law student Hope Carnevali. Carnevali, who was 20, died on her family's lawn, waiting for emergency services to arrive.
Those that did receive treatment in hospitals were cared for amid chaotic scenes.
"The emergency physicians say not only have they never seen anything like that before, they've never seen so many people arrive at one time all suffering the same condition," St Vincent's Hospital spokeswoman Kathy Bowlen told the ABC.
"We were considering opening a second emergency department… We ran out of Ventolin puffers at one point."
Pharmacies were also flooded by customers desperately seeking inhalers.
"I have never seen anything remotely like it, in 25 years of working in pharmacy," pharmacist Peter O'Connor told Megan Haggan at AJP.
"I'm still traumatised! It was the busiest I've ever seen a pharmacy."
Similar thunderstorm asthma events have struck Melbourne in 2010 and 2011, although this week's incident was far more serious.
"One of the reasons we know about thunderstorm asthma in Melbourne is we have a pollen count here, so we can make associations between pollen and these events, which have happened before," botanist Ed Newbigin from the University of Melbourne told Melissa Davey at The Guardian.
"But they're such infrequent events they're hard to research."
The phenomenon has also been observed in the US, UK, Canada, and Italy.
According to those who have experienced thunderstorm asthma, it sounds like a pretty terrible feeling.
Melbourne resident David McGann said the phenomenon was three to four times worse than his regular asthma had ever been.
"It was insane, I couldn't get off the couch for three hours last night just due to shortness of breath," he told the ABC.
"It felt like an elephant had his foot on my chest for about four hours."


Folksy...Rootsy...laid back Americana feel. Michigan music, classic jazz and blasts. from the past . Not afraid to stretch out a bit with longer tracks...enjoy the ride!!
Miles Davis...Kind of Blue..Pharoh Sanders...Karma ( you have to flip the album over to continue the only track!!) Herbie Mann...Push Push.. Les McCann Eddie Harris... Swiss Movement...King Curtis and Champion Jack Dupree Live at Montreux.. Eat a Peach..need I say more!! Anything by Railroad Earth( the best band you never herd of) Gregory Porter... Be Good ..(one of my new favorite artists) Etta James...Kasey Chambers. Ruthie Foster...Pat Metheny...Deacon Blue Fellow Hoodlums ( Threw that one in there to throw you a curve) Always a sucker for great guitarists...Clapton..Beck..Trucks..Landreth..Carlos... Johnny A...etc.... to many to mention...check out Bill Frisells " All we are Saying". To many artist so little time... enjoy the show and thanks for your support over the years!!!


12: 00h.- Children's theater "Pinocho", Jabelín Teatro premieres Pinocho, a Theatrical adaptation of the story of a wooden puppet boy and the carpenter Gepetto who wants, above all things, to be a father. Adventure, laughter and fun for the entire family. Venue: Felipe VI Auditorium, tickets to the Delegation of Culture, for more Information Tel .: 678946115, www.auditorioestepona.com. Cultural center Father Manuel and theater box office.
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I wish I could tell you this will be the last squash recipe of this beautiful fall season, but that would be a lie.
With chips, mac and cheese and now smokey smooth soup, I doubt squash could do me wrong.
I made the soup starting with the strong foundation of bacon grease – as I type that I realize how gross cooking with something called grease may seem, but as I'm sure many of you know, there's really no replacement.
The crock pot and pressure cooker follow close on that list, but unfortunately don't get out of the cupboard as often as the rest.
Man I need to organize my kitchen asap, I've been such a slacker around the house lately. Luckily I found this site the other day and got all inspired to get 'er done. Pinterest does that to ya. Now if it can only help me actually do it….
Here's something that's tasty, comforting, and an easy fall staple to cross off your to do list.
The rest can get done later.
Start by roasting the squash. Once it's cooked, let it cool, and start crisping up the bacon in the bottom of a stock pot (where you're making the soup.) No need to add any oil to the pan, just turn the heat to medium high and cook bacon on both sides until crisp.
Remove bacon to paper towel, and drain most of the bacon grease, leaving a few teaspoons. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add the squash, I found it easiest to remove the peel (with my hands and a knife) then cut it into big chunks. Add the squash with the chicken stock to the pot, bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, use an immersion blender to blend the soup to a smooth consistency. Continue to simmer for at least 5 more minutes, stir often.
Serve with crispy bacon crumbles.
I know I would love this! Looks so delicious!
Made it love it !! added Cilantro at the end !!! so so yummy !
This soup is incredible! I have made it twice and can't get enough of it.