On the 5th of February, the government of Russia will review the so called anti-crisis plan for the year 2016. The main idea of which, it seems, is the expansion of the privatisation of government companies. The previous privatisation program, which was implemented in 2011 until 2013, was expecting in influx of of $28,7 billion into the budget of Russia. 60% of this program was completed.
Especially interesting is the possibility of the privatisation of the oil company "Rosneft", at the moment controlled by the company "Rosneftegas", which belongs to the government. The privatisation of the oil branch has a political as well as en economic impact for Russia. It is considered by certain analysts that this change of ownership could bring about a fundamental redistribution in the influence of the government in the country.
This connection has displayed an interesting tendency. As soon as negotiations regarding the sale of the government-owned company "Rosneft" commence, the critics of it's current activities and it's current leader Igor Sechin emerge. He is blamed, first and foremost, for the "unprofitable" purchase of TNK-BP. At the same time as blaming Igor Sechin for the expensive purchase in conjunction with the market of the time, the very same critics suggest a very low price for the sale of "Rosneft". If we look at the recent large ex-pit transactions, the current stock quotes of "Rusoil" do not reflect it's actual price when considering the economic sanctions imposed by the West and the current stock quotes of the market.
Yesterday, President Vladimir Putin gave a description of the future buyer. It is a transparent company registered in Russia which does not use any government bank money for the purchase. The perfect candidate according to this portrait is the owner of "Lukoil", Vagit Alekperov, who almost openly talks of his interest in this deal. During the continuation of the Western sanctions, other buyers could be China and India, but in this case there are a lot of questions.
The purchase of TNK-BP and the building of "Rosneft" in it's current state served as a huge blow to those who wish to control the fuel and energy complex of Russia. This is Sechin's main "sin", and for this he is berated. Why now? To push back the process of the sale, if only by prolonging the said process.
Rosneft is an integrated oil company majority owned by the Government of Russia.
Rosneft became Russia's leading extraction and refinement company after purchasing assets of former oil giant Yukos at state-run auctions. In March 2013, Rosneft became the largest publicly traded oil company, after buying TNK-BP.
Several Norwegian companies now confirm that their contracts with the Russian oil producer Rosneft being terminated. Among them are Siem Offshore, Rem Offshore and Viking Supply.
The companies were all working closely with Rosneft had comprehensive drilling operation in the Kara Sea.
The oilmen, most of them Norwegians, were commuting great distances to and from the field. they first traveled by plane to the Norwegian border town of Kirkenes and from there crossed the Russian border to Murmansk. There, in the port of Lavna, they embarked a ship which took them all the way to the far Arctic Kara Sea. All together, the distance is estimated to about 5000 km.


If you are working on Silverlight and/or WPF project and using Telerik RadControls library, you might be aware of RadDiagram and RadDiagramToolbox. When you add gallery items in RadDiagramToolbox, by default it comes in three columns.
In some business scenario, you might want to increase or decrease the no. of columns in the RadDiagramToolbox. This small blog post will help you in this.
If you want to modify the column count in your Telerik's RadDiagramToolbox, just copy the below code in your XAML page and change the column count appropriately (in our case, we set it to 1 "one"). Let's understand how this has been implemented.
In the RadDiagramToolboxGroup style, create the ItemsPanel template with a RadUniformGrid control which supports setting the no. of columns. Setting Columns="x" attribute will set "x" nos. of columns in the RadDiagramToolbox control, where "x" is a numeric positive integer.
I hope, this small trick will allow you to configure the columns in your RadDiagramToolbox control. Not only this, you will be now able to reconfigure it dynamically based on user's input. That's your business logic.
Thanks for reading this trick. Drop a line below if that helps. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook to get the updates on articles and technical stuffs. Cheers.
If you have come this far, it means that you liked what you are reading (How to set no. of columns in Telerik's RadDiagramToolbox?).


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Mr Universal Services in Basic Income Land
Posted on August 30, 2018 October 22, 2018 by Editor
Field Notes from BIEN 2018
I came to Tampere ("Tamp-air-rr-eh"), Finland, with the words of Guy Standing still ringing in my ears from a lecture at a UCL earlier this year: "We can reform 209 tax reliefs and free up £403Bn*. Don't worry about the money, there's plenty of money available." An essential conundrum that lies at the centre of the basic income debate is where to find the money to fund an unconditional cash distribution, and the first hurdle in that event is whether a set of basic services, what we commonly call the "welfare state", pre-exists or not.
My head was already spinning when I arrived in Tampere having met with Demos Helsinki in Helsinki before catching the train up North through the land of lakes and saunas (1 lake and 12 saunas for every 30 Finns, according to Finnair's inflight magazine! ). Our separate analyses of the current political environment could hardly have been more aligned, as well as the dangers we face in this critical transition from the 20th century's industrial welfare systems to new structures fit for 21st century realities. The decision by the newly elected Finnish government not to extend the current basic income trial highlights the vulnerability of cash distribution to the whims and winds of political balances of power, and underlines the need to do the harder work of building institutional structures for social security instead of trying to buy it with the tools that are seeking to undermine it. Even in a Scandinavian country famous for its comprehensive welfare services pressures are mounting for new alternatives to the conditional redistribution of income and for greater efficiency of public services. The welfare state is not sacred anywhere any more.
I was interested to find out what the core basic income believers believed, and where better to find them than at the annual worldwide congress of the Basic Income Earth Network. Jurgen De Wispelaere (IPR, Bath University) encouraged me to come, despite my reservations about an irreceptive audience, to talk about our recent report entitled "Social prosperity for the future: A proposal for Universal Basic Services". In that report we compared and contrasted a similar budget spent on improving public services versus an unconditional cash distribution. And I was expecting to have a hard few days making the case that comprehensive public services are the necessary foundation on which other reforms of benefits and incomes can be considered. I was wrong.
The title of the Congress was the first tip that this was going to be more of a love fest than a battle: Basic Income and the New Universalism, Rethinking the Welfare State in the 21st Century. And the introductory framing by Jurgen was another clue: "There is urgent need to rethink the principles of equality, solidarity and universalism and what tools can deliver on a key promise of the welfare state — freedom from want." As the days progressed and the sessions started to blur together so too the lines between these true believers and the position we had taken in our report faded.
The BIEN Congress was opened by a speech from Finland's first female President, Traja Halonen, with an affirmation of the central theme that emerged from every aspect of the conference that I experienced: income is only a part of the security that we need to maintain cohesive democracies, with the rest being made up of essential public services and social justice. "We cannot say 'We give you money and you buy what you need'" she extolled. Which set the scene for Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty (who is due to survey of the state of poverty in the UK in a few months) to make the case that human rights include not just insurance against catastrophic insecurity but the right to an adequate standard of living. Based on recent country visits, including to the USA, his conclusion is that a neoliberal model of social insecurity and the privatisation of public responsibility have become so pervasive that radical, even utopian, remedies are needed, and that tinkering is insufficient in the face of these grave problems. His acknowledgement that human rights are a "philosophical mongrel" that are too often downplayed and ignored does not diminish his hope that human rights can still be a rallying banner for pushing back against the agenda of tax cutting and to combat the rise of populism. Outrage, he noted, creates mass mobilisation and is far preferable to either war or revolution as paths to change.
Well, not even two hours into the conference and the scene has been firmly set: we need radical reform to deal with the changing economic and social environment and an abrupt change to the all-too-common response of austerity as justification for stepping ever further away from responsibility for the safety of citizens or the cohesion of societies. Certainly a rallying call for the troops here, who were all in favour of utopian solutions before they arrived and are now appropriately stimulated to get down into the weeds and explore the details of how to bring about their radical utopian vision. Of the 47 breakout sessions only 3 are about how to finance a basic income, which seems strange given that the number one criticism of the proposal is that it is unaffordable. But actually this offers insight into what is really going on here, and which was summed up nicely by one delegate's broadly applauded statement in the plenary reviewing the state of BI experiments around the world: "Basic Income is about freedom, not income!"
I finally get it. Basic Income is an idea, a star which orientates a firmament of ideals about the nature of lived experience in which the freedom of the individual takes the ascendant position. These people are hippies! They love life, they love each other and everyone else, and they want reality to get out of the way. The fact that they have adopted basic income as the means to achieve their nirvana is simply a factor of the 20th century mindset which sees the world through the prism of the third revolution (financialisation). Of course giving everyone money is the route to universal emancipation; it's the definition of resource, so it is the definition of how to share resources.
Lena Lavinas (Institute of Economics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) burst that bubble. In an unforgiving tour de force of the ravages that financialisation was reeking on the poor in the developing and developed world she destroyed the notion that anything expect a "full Basic Income", paid on top of a comprehensive welfare state, and married with firm regulation of both housing and finance, could work. If you distribute cash to people whose needs are not already met you are just creating debt-slave fodder for a ravenous financial sector that is continuously looking for growth. "Financial inclusion", she argued persuasively, is just a deceptive description for the induction of the poor into financial conscription. If a cash distribution (especially a government guaranteed payment) feeds the individual into a debt machine, QED the recipient has not been liberated.
Lena's intervention came on top of a lecture on the first night by Louise Haagh (York University) that had already set a warning tone. She opened with a, in the context, startling statement: "The welfare state needs a basic income, and a basic income needs the welfare state." She argued that as nations reduce their public services, the environment in which a basic income can succeed gets commensurately narrowed. The preconditions she listed for a progressive basic income: high equality, effective cross-class welfare, strong property rights, and collective ownership of development and finance. In making the point that a formalised economy (strong governing social institutions) provides many protections that income alone cannot deliver she mirrored the observations of Télémaque Masson (in the session I spoke at) that there is no such thing as "the market" because every market is simply an arrangement of rules that are imposed on the operation of the actors in that marketplace. His point was that it was insufficient to simply say that "the market will provide".
Jurgen was right when he assured me that this was a community perfectly prepared to engage with dissonant views so long as protagonists engaged with their real objectives and intentions. In my session, which was titled Basic Income and Basic Services — Complement or Substitute?, I found the response in the room truly inquisitive and enthusiastic to tease out the practical implementation issues. There was no dispute that public services have a central role, and in the questions people wanted to know how to decide what should be "service" and what should be "income", in other words how can we tell where social obligation ends and when individual choice begins? Where do you draw the line? My answer, that it depends on how much money your society has, on the qualities you include in the "good life" for everyone, and on the cultural context, was not the easy answer that many would have preferred. But what was clear was that the issue was not service versus income, but where you draw the line between them.
The BI crowd is enthusiastic and tenacious and the fact that experiments have been run or planned in various countries is testimony to their tireless efforts. As we listened to reports from around the world on the status of various experiments I couldn't help feeling that basic income was, as Louise had suggested, past its best moment. A political change in Ontario, Canada, this summer led to the cancellation of a nascent Basic Income experiment involving 6,000 recipients just months after it had started. Experiments in Holland, which focussed on "activation" to start with, have now been so fractured that they would not shed light on the emancipatory ideals. The Finnish experiment is ending, the Scottish one in feasibility stage, and the Indian one highlighting an issue at the centre of this debate: if the freedom of the individual is the sacrosanct core of this philosophy, then the use of a basic income cannot be restricted, and that includes using the income to enter into debt or pay off existing debt.
In my various chats with other delegates I found there was a common journey to the basic income constellation which started with a desire to fix the conditionality and bureaucracy problems with the existing benefits system, and then expanded on contact with the idea of a basic income to include the possibility of a much larger goal: emancipating individuals from not just fear and need, but also from want. What started as practical ends in utopian. For many the question of affordability simply doesn't arise because it seems blindingly obvious that there's enough to go around and it just isn't distributed fairly. Entranced by the promise of human capacity liberated, trusted, honoured and freed, the relevance of practical mechanisms fades. Mathematics, doubt, and details are mere obstacles in the way of the transformative potential in the idea.
Perhaps my most surprising encounter was an hour spent chatting at the Tampere City Hall reception with Simon Duffy (Sheffield Centre for Welfare Reform), who has been openly critical of our proposal for Universal Basic Services. To our mutual astonishment, we found much in common. Starting with a shared horror at the state of local democracy in the UK, through mutual recognition that any solution will comprise both services and income, to agreement that there are many needs that are undoubtedly better satisfied socially than purchased individually and visa versa. Once again I found there is not a Rizla paper's distance between the aspirations of basic income and basic services for _individual_ emancipation, and where differences arise they are in importance and sequencing of _social_ success. In my view the group is the horse that pulls the individual cart. We concluded by agreeing to work together to fashion a common narrative and practical policies that bring basic services and income together. #SaveOurServices ? Unified Basic Access ?
If I came to Finland to persuade BI fans that the only road to a future BI passes through the land of better public services, then I need not have come. Many in this community of thinkers, dreamers, and activists already gets that. They just dream big, and for that I love them. They do not need me to tell them that services are the foundation on which we can build a welfare state for the 21st century, they already know that (even if they don't talk about it much). This encounter has confirmed to me that if we are to protect the peace and prosperity we have achieved this far, we must start with universal access to basic services. After we have built that foundation, then maybe we can afford to dream., but the urgent work is first getting our society to a place where a basic income could even be considered as an option, and we are not there today.
Nothing I have seen or learned here has changed the essential dilemmas that confront a basic income: that once we have put in place the basic services that must come first, there is not enough money left for what they would call a "full basic income". Basic income would fail without the services, and is unaffordable with the services. Unless one believes that reforming a few tax reliefs will magic up 20% of GDP as spare money, this idea is both a distraction and a false hope.
Guy Standing has provided us with a corrected version of these numbers from the original post which stated "108 tax reliefs and free up £406Bn"
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Partner News 10/25/2021
Check out this weeks Partner News!
Join NYWIFT for a screening of Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It screening from October 29th through November 1st.
Join @NYWIFT for a screening of Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It screening from Friday, October 29th through Monday, November 1st. Followed by a pre-recorded conversation with the legendary @theritamoreno and Director Mariem Pérez Riera! Moderated by #NYWIFT Executive Director, Cynthia Lopez.
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno's talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for representation and forged the path for new generations of artists.
Sign up at nywift.org/events
Application deadline extended to THIS MONDAY 11/1!
Justice for My Sister (JFMS) is happy to announce that we have extended the deadline for the BIPOC Sci-Fi Screenwriting Lab to Monday November 1st at 11:59pm PST. Take some time this weekend to complete your application. Don't miss out on the opportunity to be part of a community of like-minded artists dedicated to their craft!
Those accepted into the second cohort will take part in a 9-week lecture series held on Mondays, commencing on November 15, 6-9pm PST. Tuition for this program is $555 ($1000 value) with a limited number of partial scholarships available. We encourage all writers and artists of color to apply, especially those who hold a vision for liberation and stewardship of the land. We need your voice and vision for the future.
To apply, visit:
https://www.justiceformysister.org/bipoc-lab-application-form // Applications are open until November 1st at 11:59pm PST
If you have additional questions, please contact Gabrielle at [email protected]
WIA Scholarship Program Announces 2022 Industry Partnerships
Women in Animation is continuing to expand its ongoing WIA Scholarship Program with workshops, tutoring sessions, software packages and cash prizes for recipients of the 2022 cycle from industry partners Animation Focus, Animation Mentor, Autodesk, Foundry, LAIKA, Toon Boom and Wacom. Additionally, WIA's Bay Area and Montreal Chapters are providing special scholarship prizes for students who have ties to their areas.
The Women in Animation (WIA) Scholarship Program is devoted to furthering the academic efforts of deserving animation students who demonstrate artistic talent, a passion for animation, a financial need, and a promising future in our industry. Applicants who are pursuing various aspects of animation production from schools all over the world who have identified themselves as women, transgender or non-binary are encouraged to apply.
ANA's SeeHer Campaign Launches Latina-Focused Storytelling Guide
Photo Courtesy of ANA
The Association of National Advertisers' SeeHer initiative has created its first #WriteHerRight storytelling guide, focused on Latinas, to be released today as part of its annual Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Conference in San Diego, Calif.
The guide, developed partnership with Telemundo and NBCUniversal, is intended to be a resource to encourage authentic portrayals of Hispanic women and girls in marketing, media, advertising and entertainment. This first #WriteHerRight guide encourages brands and content creators to help Hispanic women see themselves reflected in content. Additionally, "Latina Characters: Authentic Representation and Storytelling Guide" features questions that aim to illuminate the opportunities to promote authentic representation of Latinas, addressing potential blind spots and unconscious biases, as well as language and cultural nuances.
Read more on Variety.
MACRO X HBCU ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR ITS THIRD ANNUAL EVENT
Photo Courtesy of Twitter/@RadioBlackOn
Bizzabo Honored by Goldman Sachs for Entrepreneurship
Photo Courtesy of Bizzabo
Goldman Sachs selected Shushan as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Shushan is the co-founder and CEO of Bizzabo, the world's fastest-growing operating system for hybrid, virtual and in-person events. Driven to help marketers and event organizers from world-leading brands promote, manage and maximize their events, Shushan has leveraged his experience to provide event organizers the tools they need to deliver personalized experiences, create moments that spark authentic connections, and cultivate evergreen communities that live beyond event day. Shushan has also led Bizzabo in winning the People's Choice Award at the Event Tech Awards for five years in a row and was named a Top 50 SaaS CEO for 2019.
AMC Theaters' New On-Screen Caption Policy Is Both a Strong Step Toward Inclusion and 'Smart Business Sense'
Photo Courtesy of AP
Between the Oscars finally installing a ramp at its annual ceremony and the Emmys failing to live up to their promise of one, it's still shocking that, in 2021, the implementation of basic equipment to allow Deaf and disabled people the same access as everyone else is still hovering at adequate. This is especially true when it comes to on-screen media representation and literal access to media spaces.
This week, AMC Entertainment, owner of the largest movie theater chain in the world, announced that it will expand on-screen captioning at 240 locations in the United States. On-screen captioning is presented within the film, not unlike turning the presentation into the sort you might find on a DVD or Blu-ray. This is different than closed captioning, which theater patrons see through the use of a special device. In the past, however, these devices have been criticized for malfunctioning or not being charged by theater staff before use.
Top film school honors Halyna Hutchins with a scholarship for female cinematographers
Photo Courtesy of Sam Wasson/Getty Images
The American Film Institute has created a scholarship in honor of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died on the set of Rust when Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun.
"As is profoundly true in the art of cinematography, words alone cannot capture the loss of one so dear to the AFI community," the nonprofit said in announcing the initiative. "At AFI, we pledge to see that Halyna Hutchins will live on in the spirit of all who strive to see their dreams realized in stories well told."
Marvel Studios' Victoria Alonso Among Honorees Set For 2021 Outfest Legacy Awards Gala
Photo Courtesy of Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa Via AP Images
At the 2021 Outfest Legacy Awards, Marvel Studios' Victoria Alonso will be honored with the Visionary Award, with additional awards going to Neon, Jonathan Howard, Robin de Jesús, Rain Valdez, Alan Koenigsberg and Marissa Román Griffith.
At the gala, taking place at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on November 13th, Alonso is being recognized for her contributions to LGBTQ+ representation and media visibility While serving as Marvel Studios' President of Physical and Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation Production, the industry vet has exec produced many of its films and TV series, including Avengers: Endgame, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, WandaVision, Loki, and more, positively impacting the LGBTQ+ community on a global level.
Sundance Institute Sets Fellows For Inaugural Producers Intensive
Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute
The Sundance Institute has set 10 fellows for its inaugural Producers Intensive, taking place virtually from October 21-22.
The artists and projects selected on the nonfiction side are Rachel Dickinson (Let the Little Light Shine), Alba Jaramillo (La Flaca), Rajeswari Ramanathan (The 1980 Civil Case), Chris Renteria (Chain of Rocks) and Shannon Sun-Higginson (You Lucky You Got a Mamma). Those chosen for the Fiction fellowship are Beverley Gordon (Experience), Lauren López de Victoria (forward), Breanne Thomas (In the Jackpot), Jesy Odio (Molokai' Bound) and Ashley Chrisman (The Homesick)
The Producers Intensive was designed through a collaboration between Sundance's Documentary Film and Feature Film Programs, as a means of providing creative, strategic and professional development support for emerging fiction and nonfiction producers from traditionally underrepresented communities.
Read more about the program here.
ON 'INDEPENDENT LENS' IN NOVEMBER: RACIAL JUSTICE, FAMILY-RUN NEWSPAPERS AND BUCKET LIST ADVENTURES
This month on Independent Lens – the award-winning anthology series of documentaries and fiction films – explore the unforgettable stories of Americans and their communities striving for equality, justice and a place to tell their stories.
Learn more about the documentaries here.
Tired of the old boys' network in Hollywood? We are too! So now you can HUSSLUP--
We are excited to announce our partnership with NALIP and invite all of you to join our invite-only free beta. We will email invites this Fall and schedule white glove Zoom on-boarding for those who want it. After you join, you will receive 5 invites for your closest colleagues. Space in the beta is very limited as we continue to build and test the product.
So HUSSLUP to get your spot and become a Founding Member of the new creator-centric network that is transforming Hollywood's old clique with one click!
Sign-up Today here!
Latino Public Broadcasting Job Announcement: Program Coordinator
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a unique bridge between talented Latino filmmakers and almost any American who owns a television or smartphone. We are L.A.-based non-profit and the only media organization in the US expressly committed to bringing independent Latinx voices, narratives, and ideas to wide audiences on PBS and its streaming platforms.
The Program Coordinator supports LPB's systems that move creative projects from ideas through multiplatform distribution to audiences nationwide. The successful candidate is a media-savvy, detail-oriented team player who thrives behind-the-scenes. An excellent writer, the PC is responsible for a monthly newsletter, web updates, and direct communication with a range of Latinx filmmakers. Known for precision and the ability to manage details, the PC will be responsible for compiling production deliverables, analytics, selection panels, media impressions, and more. Blending diplomacy, accuracy, curiosity, and a deep appreciation for the power of storytelling, the PC position is ideal for someone looking to develop close relationships and growth in the public/independent media landscape. Finally, a sense of humor would go a long
Apply Here.
NBCUNIVERSAL NEWS GROUP AND ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL TO ENTER MULTI-YEAR EXCLUSIVE MEDIA PARTNERSHIP
Beginning next year, NBCUniversal News Group will become the exclusive media partner of the Aspen Ideas Festival. The 2022 Festival is set to take place from June 25 -July 1 in Aspen, Colorado. The multi-year, multi-platform partnership includes an editorial and programming collaboration to jointly create engaging and informative festival content and even further extend the reach of the festival's on-the-ground events, partners and sponsors to audiences across NBCU News Group's wide-reaching broadcast, cable, digital, audio and streaming platforms, including Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service. For more information, read here.
Spark Fund – Info Session for Industry Partners
Join Firelight Media this Friday, October 29 at 12pm ET to learn about Firelight Media's new Spark Fund (part of the NEH's Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan or #SHARP initiative) for established BIPOC nonfiction filmmakers, and how our organizations can collaborate to support more filmmakers of color. For more information and to register, click here.


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Defense to appeal guilty verdict of Hawaii mom who assaulted child on plane
STAR-ADVERTISER / MAY 22
Samantha Leialoha Watanabe, 37, walked outside of federal court in Honolulu on May 22.
A Hawaii mother was convicted today of assaulting her 15-month-old daughter during a May flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Honolulu.
Samantha Leialoha Watanabe's defense was that she didn't do anything beyond permissible parental discipline during a long flight with a fussy toddler. Prosecutors alleged she was unreasonably rough with the generally well-behaved girl by smacking her in head, hitting her in the face with a stuffed doll and yanking out tufts of her hair.
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating about four hours, starting Monday afternoon.
An investigator with the federal public defender's office put her arm around Watanabe when the verdict was announced.
A flight attendant testified that he saw passengers treat luggage better than how Watanabe treated her child, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Wallenstein reminded jurors in his closing arguments on Monday.
"She's a little girl, and she's why we're all here today," Wallenstein said.
He declined to comment after the verdict.
Defense attorney Alexander Silvert said only two words immediately after the verdict was read: "Extremely disappointed." During the trial, he argued the allegations were fabricated by judgmental passengers who didn't like how Watanabe looked and dressed her child. The girl was wearing a Playboy bunny pendant— considered a symbol of pornography to a passenger but simply a bunny to a child, Silvert said last week.
The toddler didn't have any bruises or marks on her body and there was no bleeding, redness or other signs that hair was pulled out, Silvert said.
Watanabe, who is five months pregnant with her seventh child, declined comment as she walked out of the courthouse. She faces up to a year in jail when she's sentenced on March 15.
"That's something for the court to consider," Silvert said about how Watanabe's pregnancy could affect her sentence.
Jurors had to unanimously agree on at least one act of striking that Watanabe committed. Through the courtroom manager, all 10 women and two men on the jury declined to comment, so it's not known which act they agreed upon.
Silvert said defense attorneys plan to file a motion to vacate the verdict and dismiss the charge, based on Wallenstein's closing argument that jurors could consider the pinching and hair pulling as crimes to find her guilty of. Pinching and hair pulling can't be considered striking acts, Silvert said.
If the motion isn't successful, Silvert said the defense will appeal.
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gsc says:
Put this lady in jail for a long time.
mikethenovice says:
I'm still not sure which end is her face. They both look alike.
NahokuIIwebguy says:
LMAO!!!!!!
I'm surprised the the SA didn't delete it?
atilter says:
do you have explicit knowledge enough about both ends to make such a definite and critical public statement? i personally have critical thoughts on this matter but would think long and hard about making a comment like yours as it might only make the speaker look funnier than the statement or the subject.
lee1957 says:
Yuck, yuck, yuck!
Tahitigirl55 says:
Good job to the jury. First right thing in hawaii nei. Lock her up and throw away the key. She looks like someone that would not want to mess with. Drug out.
loves to read says:
I hope her many babies go to good, caring, loving homes!
Masami says:
With her missing teeth……….of course she doesn't think its abuse as that's probably her "normal" world.
kiragirl says:
Justice is "supposed" to be blind. In other words, her looks should not influence the jurors either way. Evidence presented should be used to decide the verdict.
@ kiragirl – "In other words, her looks should not influence the jurors either way."
Then why do defendants get all dressed nice and groomed during a trial? That's the THEORY vs. REALITY.
Because they know jurors can be influenced by how they dress and look. Justice is based upon the evidence presented but yes, there could be jurors like you that would vote based on the way the defendant is dressed and that would be an injustice.
@Kiragirl…don't forget to fix her teeth, remove her tattoo's, and teach her to talk the King's English.
Masami, you just don't get it or don't want to admit it that justice is served when jurors do not use their prejudice in rendering their verdict.
I get it. I agree with you. It shouldn't matter….but we BOTH KNOW….it does.
Not trying to get into a peeing match. Happy Holidays!
tranquilseas4ever says:
Ideally, jurors should decide their verdict only on the evidence presented.
But in reality, you can have mounds of clear evidence for "Guilty" and still end up with an "Innocent" verdict or one of a lesser charge. Having been on a jury, I've seen that savvy lawyers are quite adept at manipulating truths, and things like appearance, personal opinions/attitudes/biases, etc. influence jurors too.
No hicky from her?
Dawg says:
Yikes! OCCC girls please take this piece of s__t and tune it.
A face that only a mother could love?
Sandys says:
She looks like a lady who lived at Kapiolani Park when I would work out at 6:00 in the morning a number of years ago.
Six AM in Daylight Savings Time?
agile says:
Article doesn't say where the child is now. Is she in mother's custody or has she been taken away??
Please respect the child's privacy, allie.
islandmom says:
What I take away from this story is that we need to watch over the vulnerable people around us — a stranger or a neighbor — be it a child or an elderly person or anyone else who could be taken advantage of by some monster. What if the other passengers on the plane hadn't paid attention or thought it was none of their business? Let's just keep watching out for each other.
Agree. Thanks to the passengers who took responsibility for a helpless child, this evil will be stopped. I hope that the little girl is given a good, loving home. She still has a chance at a decent life.
allie's mother gave her a loving home.
lowtone123 says:
I wish she would go back to it.
Agree with you, Allie! That little girl deserves a better home; a better life!
I never scold nor hit my puppies, even when they do wrong.
nssanes says:
I would love to know more about this story. After a quick web search, I found articles (most from this paper) stating that the woman was living in a homeless shelter in Alaska. Is she Hawaiian? Is the child still in her custody?
MillionMonkeys says:
I would like to know if she's single and available.
You need a million spankings.
S&M spankings?
Yes.She is available to clean your yard. Why? What else could she available for?
Cricket_Amos says:
Send her back to Alaska?
Might be a good idea to send her back. Hawaii is struggling as it is to take care of her OWN, growing, homeless population.
Not to be unwelcoming, but, Auwe!, right now we just can't afford to have homeless people from the OTHER States flying IN to Hawaii and causing a homeless population explosion!
dontbelieveinmyths says:
Is that a self portrait on her arm?
To save money, she drew it herself.
zionjake says:
Anyone know where her teeth went?
Permanent vacation. The others may soon follow.
After all her teeth are gone, you can find her in the Gerber, food isle, buying baby food for herself.
She should sue welfare for not providing dental floss.
eunice1 says:
What a beauty!!
She looks scary.
Loving mother; caring human being; does NOT come to mind when you see that photo of her!
It might be a bad photo, but I think it probably reveals her true character – Just Plain Mean.
Agree with fiveo who commented,
"Very strong argument for sterilization."
(one good State use of our tax dollars!)
Nope. First impressions count.
This article should have came out on Halloween Day.
My question is this: Just HOW much meth do you have to be on to wanna' hit THAT & get it knocked up?? (I'd rather claw my eyes out with brass wire brushes than see it naked. Eeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.)
One can only imagine what the guy looks like.
Marauders_1959 says:
Justice is served. Hopefully she gets jail time.
"Watanabe, who is five months pregnant with her seventh child…." Seriously???? Does this POS have a job, or is she a welfare cow? Who (what) on earth keeps knocking this thing up?
The last man on Earth.
GorillaSmith says:
"Does this POS have a job, or is she a welfare cow?" Vegas odds are at 100 to 1 against her having ever held a job. Another Obama voter bites the dust.
primo1 says:
Her job apparently – like many other women on welfare – IS getting knocked up.
Would you mind telling us what a POS is?
808Cindy says:
I believe the witnesses that saw the abuse; it wouldn't be "normal" for most people to except what was described happened to the toddler!! If our justice system allows this kind of criminal behavior to go unpunished, our country is failing all of us!!
Your comments are with prejudice. "Saw the abuse" instead of incident. This kind of "criminal" behavior? The witnesses should be applauded for stepping forward but to have them be judge and jury is wrong. They claim that the child was being abused yet there were no physical evidence.
st1d says:
the witnesses who saw the assault on the little defenseless child did not act as judge as jury.
they testified in court and described the assault on the child.
it was the judge and jury that acted as if they were judge and jury.
the article mistakenly states that the jury had to believe that the child was struck in order to issue a verdict of guilty.
all that's required to be in violation of h.r.s. section 707-712 is that the person "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person."
in h.r.s. section 707-700 "bodily injury" means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
Does this women have all of her children? That is something that needs to be consider. She is going to have #7. More welfare and WICK. Taxpayers to pay for her children. Lock up up in jail.
lokela says:
Yanking out hair is not permissible in my book. I also wouldn't want to sit next to someone who looks like her. How's about that Tat on her shoulder?
It's a self portrait.
tho808 says:
i guess she still hasn't found her teeth.
They're not lost, they ran away.
cmax says:
Glad to learn that she was found guilty. I was outraged to read an earlier article which revealed she had three other children removed from her home because of neglect and abuse. She is in court for this baby and is pregnant. Good grief. I find this outrageous – mainly because one can see in the photo she doesn't take care of her health. You can see she has no upper front teeth and with poor health and being pregnant planning for a healthy baby doesn't happen. Additionally, I was outraged that the jury couldn't know that her previous kids had been removed from the house. That law is ridiculous. How in the dickens are we as a society suppose to make decent decisions for helpless
children?
So, I wonder if she is a welfare mom or just what her modus operandi is. Additionally, this is an individual for whom I would make a court order for her to check in and get treatment and guidance in order to have a healthy baby. After that, I would offer her a free tubal ligation or birth control pills forever. This person's selfishness or lack of awareness is so unfair to the children she has.
fiveo says:
Pretty sad case. Very strong argument for sterilization.
Just sew some smartphones into her skin for some free radiation.
Finally! Justice for a defenseless child! What's happening to our world? Even a year in jail is still too lenient compared to the daily(!)horrific physical, emotional & psychological abuse that many children suffer Regularly, in their Own Homes at the hands of "people" who are Supposed To be lovingly CARING for them!! As a recent incident involving a soldier & his wife; where Oahu's misguided jury awarded a mere life in prison; after they had stomped(!)their preschool daughter to death; after inflicting months of daily unimaginable torture & abuse upon her. Very sadly, juries allow these monster parents/family/legal guardians to actually get away with sadistically murdering their children with only a "slap-on-the-wrist" punishment. In a perfect world — Since these abusers can't empathize with their children's pain, perhaps their punishment should also include being treated by the jailers in the same way they treated their children. I realize that "2 Wrongs don't make a Right," but perhaps this is the only "language" these abusers are able to understand. (THEY assume "MIGHT is Right".) THEY should have their OWN hair yanked out in tufts. Be pulled up by their head hair. (I saw a man do this to his son at Ala Moana once.) Be thrown against the wall. Burned with cigarette butts. Have arms, legs scalded with hot water. Be smacked/slapped around a lot, hard,IN THE HEAD. Be ridiculed or shouted at with the "F" word. Be denied food & bathroom breaks for long periods. Be ignored. Have human love & acceptance withheld. Day after day. With no way to escape. (Just like their poor children.) And in a perfect world – Sterilization might also be an option for the courts. Child abusers should be PROHIBITED from Procreating. It would save SO many sweet, innocent children from needless, horrific torture & suffering. And besides…these Monsters don't DESERVE the beautiful, priceless GIFT of having & raising children!
alohacharlie says:
And who do you suppose it paying for all of her legal support? You and me baby. She can fly from Alaska to Hawaii but can not afford to hire a lawyer to defend herself. And now a public defender is going to appeal a verdict that a jury rendered in just four hours!
bumba says:
The defense attorney is pretty much of a slug. Pinching and pulling hair doesn't count? Let me pinch him and pull his hair. I bet it would count then.
silvert is just doing what a good defense lawyer would. and his statement "that pinching and hair pulling can't be considered striking acts" is self-servingly correct.
however, his appeal to the media to vacate the judgement of the jury neglects to include that during the flight the mother struck the child in the head and face.
thus, by pinching and pulling the little child's hair out and causing the child physical pain, even if you put aside the mother striking the child in the head and in the face, the mother is guilty of assault.
In the Medieval days, this was called discipline.
Might as appeal every case, because half of the population is a coddling and gullible.
Attorney Slivert is a real class act. Intresting claim to make that none of the acts reported by other passengers happened.
Pingback: Isle woman's conviction overturned in case of child abuse on plane - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Seattle police release video of car chase, shootout
Further testing can't confirm E. coli in Costco salad parts


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Image courtesy of Foster + Partners.
The New York Public Library today unveiled proposals for the integration of the Circulating Library into its flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street – Lord Foster presented the plans at the launch of the public exhibition.
The project aims to safeguard the building's legacy and precious books for future generations. The existing research library will be retained as it is today, with more space for researchers, as will many of the public spaces – the project will open twice as much of the building to the public and will restore the logic of the Neo-Classical design to improve the experience of the library's historic halls. The two circulating collections will be housed in a spectacular new space previously occupied by book stacks.
The centrepiece of the 5th Avenue and 42nd Street building is the magnificent Rose Reading Room, below which are seven storeys of book stacks. However, these stacks are inaccessible to the public and no longer meet the needs of the books they contain, in terms of capacity, fire safety or preservation. The books will be moved to a large humidity-controlled chamber under Bryant Park, which was created in 1989 as part of the Bryant Park project, and provides the ideal environment for their conservation. Thus the stack space is freed to create a new 'library within a library' comprised of the Mid-Manhattan collections and the Science, Industry and Business Library – reinstating a circulating library to the NYPL main building, as had originally existed until the 1980s.
The 13,000 structural points of the existing stacks will be replaced with an innovative new vaulted stone and steel cradle. This move will free the floors from the west façade, allowing them to be peeled back to form a series of balconies – in the process revealing the full height of the slender windows internally for the first time. New study areas will line the perimeter of the balconies and new reading platforms will sit beneath the vaulted ceilings, which are carefully attuned to ensure excellent acoustic performance. The materials palette and design of the interiors will evolve with further development. The current combination shows bronze, wood and stone, which will age gracefully with the passage of time and use. A new internal atrium runs the full length of the base of the circulation library, connecting the visitor facilities to the building's accessible entrance on 42nd Street.
Just 30 per cent of the library is currently accessible to the public – the project will more than double this, opening 66 per cent of the building by utilising unused reading rooms, back of house spaces, offices and book stacks. The design aims to make the building more inviting, more permeable and to bring the books to the fore rather than hide them away. Starting with the circulation strategy, the central axis through the Neo-Classical building will be reasserted. Visitors will be able to walk in a straight line through the grand Fifth Avenue portico and the majestic Astor Hall into Gottesman Hall, where a permanent treasures gallery will display some of the most important pieces from the collection. For the first time, the westerly doors of the Gottesman Hall will be opened up, restoring a sense of symmetry and intuitive circulation across the building. Visitors will enter the new circulation library on a balcony in the centre of the former book stack space, where they will face elevated views of Bryant Park. From here, a grand staircase will sweep down to the main level, aligned with the park, and further to the state-of-the-art education and business library below.
Before PHA|Elisa Pardini
New York Public Library – Manhattan, NYC
Thermal Centre Montecatini Terme, Italy
Crossrail Canary Wharf – London
Broadgate, London
Before PHA, Robert Hall
PwC, More London
Plot 3, More London
HM Treasury, London
Before PHA, Elisa Pardini


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7 Science Myths that People Still Believe Today
We take a look at a few commonly held, and widely shared, beliefs that are not true.
Interesting Engineering, By Chris Young
© Totojang/iStock | 7 Science Myths that People Still Believe Today
The scientific community constantly looks to expose its own mistakes because what's a belief worth it if it's never subject to any scrutiny? That's what makes science the perfect antidote to our current so-called era of post-truth.
By gradually building a wealth of knowledge out of empirical observation, science separates the cold hard truth from partisanship. A testament to this is these studies that tackled commonly held beliefs, as well as a few other beliefs that simply aren't true.
1. Myth: Tackling climate change will ruin the economy
Unfortunately, at a time when drastic action is needed, several myths and conspiracy theories persist about climate change. The misguided theory that climate change will ruin the economy was conveniently used by Donald Trump in 2018 to justify his government's inaction.
"What I'm not willing to do is sacrifice the economic well-being of our country for something that nobody really knows," Trump told the Associated Press at the time.
This is wrong on two counts. Firstly, science shows that climate change is already damaging economies worldwide. In 2018, Hurricane Florence, which was precipitated by climate change, led to billions of dollars in damages. Right now, the bushfires in Australia, which scientists say have reached their current levels because of climate change, are causing havoc in Australia.
Secondly, switching to renewable energy is a huge business opportunity. Though deployment of the technologies needed is very expensive, a recent comprehensive study showed that becoming more sustainable could help to save $26 trillion by 2030.
2. Myth: The best way to save Earth from an asteroid is to nuke it
Movies like Armageddon may have led many to believe that the best way to tackle an asteroid is by sending a nuclear warhead to blow it into pieces. What this idea doesn't take into account is that there's no guarantee a nuclear explosion would completely obliterate an asteroid. It might actually turn it into much smaller, but still extremely damaging, meteors on a collision course with Earth.
Artist's impression of an asteroid entering Earth's atmosphere. Source: hub.jhu.edu
What's more, if scientists were to use a nuclear impactor, they wouldn't try to obliterate an asteroid, they would detonate it far enough from the asteroid so as not to completely destroy it, but close enough so as to alter its course into a safer trajectory.
Then there's the question of laser beams and gravitational tractors used to tow an asteroid into a safer trajectory. All of these are being considered by researchers, who would not try to blow up a giant space rock in the unlikely event that we detect one headed towards Earth.
3. Myth: There is a dark side of the moon
Pink Floyd might be to blame for this one. The moon rotates very slowly thanks to tidal locking — it rotates roughly once every time it moves around the Earth.
From Earth, we are able to see just over half of the moon's surface, while the other side is more or less always shielded from our view. Despite what some people think, that doesn't mean the moon is a dark wasteland that's constantly obscured by sunlight. After all, while the Earth does reflect light onto the moon and vice versa, that light comes from the Sun, which also hits what many would call the dark side of the moon.
The far side of the moon. Source: Doug Ellison/SmugMug
Now, there is a far side of the moon. And recently, a whole load of images was shared of it by China's space program.
4. Myth: Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building could kill someone
Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building won't make it go into a nosedive towards the sidewalk causing havoc when it lands. Despite what many believe, if that penny hit someone, it wouldn't kill them.
As IFL Science points out, pennies are pretty lightweight weighing roughly one gram. The fact that they're flat means that they aren't very aerodynamic.
As such, the coin's low mass and relatively low terminal velocity (105 km/h) wouldn't do much damage to a person down on the sidewalk, though it would no doubt hurt. According to an article in Scientific American, due to its weight, a penny would collide with air molecules as it falls, making it slow down.
Heavier items that are more aerodynamic would have a higher terminal velocity and could do real damage. Hence the use of hardhats at construction sites.
5. Myth: Lightning never strikes the same place twice
The previously mentioned Empire State Building can help us suss out another scientific myth. Many people believe the old saying that lightning never strikes the same place twice.
Source: 27707/Pixabay
However, the idiom is just that and shouldn't be taken as scientific fact. How do we know this? The Empire State Building is struck by lightning approximately 100 times a year.
In fact, the video above shows it being struck three times in less than a minute. The concept of a lightning rod would be utterly useless if it could only be hit once and never used again.
6. Myth: Vaccines cause autism
As Business Insider points out, the idea that vaccines cause autism originated in a study dating back to 1998 that has now been thoroughly debunked and retracted.
Since that time, numerous studies have analyzed data from over a million children and concluded that there is no connection between vaccines and autism.
And yet, sadly misinformation about vaccines is spread online and funded to the tune of millions by a few small groups. In fact, stories about vaccines are some of the most shared fake news stories online.
✔@SkyNews
Anti-vaccine 'fake news' causing decline in take-up and rise in measles, NHS chief says http://news.sky.com/story/anti-vaccine-fake-news-causing-decline-in-take-up-and-rise-in-measles-nhs-chief-says-11652012 …
Anti-vaccine 'fake news' causing decline in take-up and rise in measles, NHS chief says
Online messages are undermining life-saving vaccine take-up, NHS chief Simon Stevens says, as the number of measles cases triples.
12:53 AM - Mar 2, 2019
56 people are talking about this
The effect? As Sky News points out, fewer people are taking vaccines and diseases like measles are making an unprecedented comeback.
So there you have it. Of course, we always encourage further reading and study. Don't take an online article's word for it, that's the moral of this, well, online article. Trying to debunk a debunker is, in itself, a healthy exercise. But do be sure to tell us if you know any other commonly believed science myths.
This article was originally published by Interesting Engineering.
Tags Science


text:
Marianna Palka: Bio, Height, Weight, Age, Measurements
Actress, Other
Marianna Palka is a Scottish actress, producer, director, and writer who wrote, directed and starred in amazingly reviewed Good D***, which screened at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. From 2017 to 2019, Palka appeared as Reggie 'Vicky the Viking' Walsh in the Netflix series G.L.O.W. Palka's other notable works include Same, Always Worthy, B**** (2017) and Egg. She produced and was the subject of a documentary called The Lions Mouth Opens which earned an Emmy nomination.
Marianna Palka
Born Marianna Bronislawa Barbara Palka on September 7, 1981 in Glasgow, United Kingdom, Palka moved to New York City at age 17 to study at the Atlantic Theater Company. From October 1999 to 2013, Palka was in a relationship with American actor and producer, Jason Ritter.
Marianna Palka Personal Details:
Date Of Birth: 7 September 1981
Birth Place: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Birth Name: Marianna Bronislawa Barbara Palka
Nicknames: Manch, Manchie
Occupation: Actress, Producer, Director, Writer.
Race/Ethnicity: White (Polish)
Marianna Palka Body Statistics:
Height in Feet: 5′ 10½"
Marianna Palka Family Details:
Father: Unknown
Mother: Basia
Spouse/Husband: Unmarried
Children: No
Siblings: Nina (Sister)
Others: Bronislawa Strakowska (Maternal Grandmother), Boleslaw Strakowski (Maternal Great Grandfather), Oblik Zofia (Maternal Great Grandmother), Tara Palka (Niece)
Partner(s): Jason Ritter (1999–2013)
Marianna Palka Education:
Atlantic Theater Company Acting School
Marianna Palka Facts:
*Born on September 7, 1981 in Glasgow, United Kingdom, she has a sister named Nina.
*She is of Polish descent.
*Her first name Marianna is originally a diminutive of Hebrew name Maria, and her second name Bronislawa is derived from Slavic pagan names used in the early Middle Ages by Slavs.
*She moved to New York when she was 17.
*She is close friends with Seth Gabel and Bryce Dallas Howard.
*She divides her time between Los Angeles, California and Glasgow, Scotland.
*Visit her official website: www.mariannapalka.com
*Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.


Your Toy Story pals can't wait to have you join them in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios® where kids and grownups alike can experience all-new adventures.
"Penny, which is the best resort for a family's first visit with a 2 & 4-year-old? The kids love Disney Jr. characters. We want to enjoy the pool and resort and go to the parks for a couple of days."


text:
Subota Jović () was late 17th century Habsburg military officer of Serbian origin.

In September 1691 units of Serbian Militia from Transylvania commanded by Subota Jović captured Arad. Because Subota Jović distinguished himself during this capture, field marshal Friedrich von Veterani appointed him as Captain of Arad.

See also
Antonije Znorić
Pavle Nestorović Deak
Jovan Monasterlija Komoranac
Pera Segedinac
Vuk Isaković
Jovan Tekelija
Novak Petrović
Pane Božić
Stefan Prodan Šteta
Captain Strahinja

References

Sources

17th-century Serbian people
Habsburg Serbs
Serbian military leaders
Serbian Militia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fleetwood Mac once sang "dreams unwind, love's a state of mind" and new bohemian label Auguste is the fusion of both. Australian designer Ebony Eagles has combined her love of a free-spirited, eclectic lifestyle with a vision of creating wearable pieces to express this. Auguste the label pays homage to a youth spent in the sun-drenched, salt-stained haze of Byron Bay, the heart of bohemia. Designed for the girl with the moon on her mind and salt water in her soul, Auguste clothing's signature aesthetic is the love-child of soft, dreamy separates and feminine and floaty silhouettes.
Are you an Auguste Girl?
The Auguste clothing label from Byron Bay bursts with collections in which femininity meets bold, freewheeling garments. Auguste clothes find just the right balance between comfy and cool, casual yet stylish, relaxed yet glam. Auguste The Label forms clothing in the style where ethereal meets glamour and bohemia, a simple style from an Auguste sale could take you from early morning yoga to a late night dinner.
Romantic notions of flowy, golden frocks take reign in the collections from the Auguste clothing in Australia. After causing an instant global sensation, the spirit of boho-chic has well and truly been conjured up by August the label, their stockists in Australia, and further afield.
Buy Auguste online today, and be transported to the beaches of Byron Bay or Bali tomorrow. Celebrate your femininity with Auguste the Label clothing … no shoes required!


Cool Springs Laser Dentistry offers comprehensive, professional cosmetic and general dentistry to people who live in and around Brentwood, Tennessee. Dr. Kellye N. Rice and our other dental professionals make the health of our patients a priority.
Dr. Rice opened the practice in 1986 with the goal of providing compassionate and skilled dental care to every patient. Her friendly demeanor puts patients at ease as she customizes a treatment plan to each person's specific needs. She's passionate about providing exceptional customer service and personalized care.
Each member of the highly professional staff at Cool Springs Laser Dentistry is available to discuss individual needs. The dental assistants and hygienists have ample experience and provide a caring, supportive approach to dental care and patient needs. They're happy to answer questions, give advice, and offer a relaxing environment.
Dental visits can elicit anxiety in many patients. At Cool Springs Laser Dentistry, the caring demeanor and supportive staff ease patient fears and make each appointment as easy as possible.
Cool Springs Laser Dentistry offers a wide range of services to meet your individual needs. The practice uses state-of-the-art equipment and techniques to offer the best level of care.


text:
> Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
: Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund - Heads of Council Letter
Frost Building South
7 Queen's Park Cr
Toronto ON M7A 1Y7
www.fin.gov.on.ca
Municipal Affairs and Housing
Toronto, ON M5G 2E5
www.mah.gov.on.ca
Dear Head of Council:
We are writing to announce the release of the redesigned Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) and program allocations for 2014.
In 2014, the province will provide a total of $550 million in unconditional funding through the OMPF to 388 municipalities across the province. This funding, combined with the municipal benefit resulting from the provincial uploads, will total more than $2 billion in 2014. This is over three times the level of funding provided in 2004.
As you know, 2013 was a transition year for the OMPF. The transition year provided us with the opportunity to consult with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and other municipal representatives on how best to redesign the program to support municipal needs. We also received valuable input from a number of municipalities across the province. These consultations helped to shape the redesign of the program.
With respect to the redesign of the program, municipal representatives emphasized that the OMPF should:
continue to support municipalities with limited property assessment;
continue to recognize the challenges of northern and rural municipalities, while better targeting funding to those municipalities with more challenging fiscal circumstances; and
include support to assist municipalities as they transition to the redesigned program.
We are pleased to announce that the 2014 OMPF will continue to provide support to municipalities through the Assessment Equalization, Northern Communities, and Rural Communities grants. In addition, a new Northern and Rural Fiscal Circumstances Grant is being introduced to better target funding to northern and rural municipalities with more challenging fiscal circumstances.
The $550 million OMPF for 2014 also includes a significant amount of transitional assistance which is intended to provide stability and support to local governments as they transition to the redesigned program. More specifically, the transitional assistance provided through the 2014 OMPF will ensure that municipalities receive a guaranteed level of support based on their 2013 OMPF allocation.
Municipalities in the north will receive at least 90 per cent of their 2013 OMPF allocation, while municipalities in other regions of the province will receive at least 85 per cent. These minimum levels of support will be enhanced up to 100 per cent for eligible municipalities with more challenging fiscal circumstances.
The Ministry of Finance's (MOF) Provincial-Local Finance Division will be providing your municipal Treasurers and Clerk-Treasurers with further details on the 2014 OMPF. This information and other supporting materials will be posted in both English and French on the MOF website:
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ompf/2014/
http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/fr/budget/ompf/2014/
The review of the OMPF and the phase-down of the program to $500 million by 2016 was announced in 2012, and was also part of the 2008 Provincial-Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review (PMFSDR) agreement with municipalities. As part of the next phase of the program review, over the coming months, we will continue to consult with our municipal partners on refining the OMPF as well as to consider whether the grant should include other objectives beyond those announced as part of the 2014 program.
We are also pleased to reaffirm our commitment to the upload of municipal costs in accordance with the timetable agreed to through the PMFSDR.
In 2014, we will continue the phased upload of Ontario Works (OW) benefit costs and court security and prisoner transportation costs. This builds on our previous uploads of Ontario Drug Benefits (ODB) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
As a result of the uploads, municipalities will benefit from more than $1.5 billion in reduced costs in 2014 alone. Combined with the OMPF, this is the equivalent of over 12 per cent of municipal property tax revenue in the province.
It is important to acknowledge that in two-tier systems, the removal of these costs off the property tax base benefits all local taxpayers including those residing in lower-tier municipalities.
Despite the adjustments to the OMPF, the combined benefit of the provincial uploads and support provided through the OMPF will continue to increase, with the provincial uploads more than offsetting the reduction to the program.
Our government has a very strong record of supporting and working with municipalities. Together with other provincial initiatives, we will provide municipalities with ongoing support of approximately $3.5 billion in 2014 — an increase of more than 200 per cent from the level provided in 2003.
In addition to this ongoing support, the province has made significant investments in municipal infrastructure. Since 2003, we have provided municipalities with approximately $13 billion in infrastructure funding.
In August 2012, the province launched the Municipal Infrastructure Strategy. As part of the strategy, we have provided $9 million to help municipalities prepare asset management plans, and nearly $90 million for critical projects through the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative. As a continuation of the strategy, we are providing $100 million through the Small, Rural and Northern Municipal Infrastructure Fund. We have consulted with our municipal partners on the design of the fund and a potential permanent program for consideration in the 2014 Budget.
We look forward to continuing to build on our partnership with municipalities as we move forward to address our shared challenges.
Information copy
Original signed by
Charles Sousa
Linda Jeffrey
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Last Modified: Thursday, November 14, 2013