text:
We celebrated my birthday here for dinner. The food and service was wonderful. Sangria was delish! We loved the seafood bisque!
Does this restaurant offer highchairs for toddlers?
Is this restaurant appropriate for Kids?
Does this restaurant offer free wifi?
Is this restaurant good for business meetings?
Does this restaurant accept reservations?
Does this restaurant serve lunch?
Is this restaurant romantic?
Is this restaurant good for large groups?
Is this restaurant good for brunch?
Is this restaurant family-friendly?
Thanks for helping!Share another experience before you go.
We were at Eastview Mall last week and decided we were hungry but I wasn't in the mood for "food court" fast food. Heading out of the mall ready to hit the main road we saw Bonefish Grill. I've heard about it but never tried it. Well...how stupid can I be??? Quiet, cool, (95 degrees that day) just enough lighting,... More
We have been here a few times and always find it to be quite good. I like the way the menu is set up allowing you to order your seafood in a variety of preparations. The service is always good and the atmosphere is nice.
Decided to see what Bonefish Grill had to offer for a Sunday night dinner. We were promptly seated, even without a reservation; most likely due to it being a Sunday evening in July! The specials that appealed to us were the haddock & the walleye fish entrees. My companion had the haddock (lightly blackened & wood grilled) and I had... More
In the past 2 weeks I have dined here 4 times (with coworkers, friends and twice with my family). The scallops over risotto are amazing (weekly special), the ahi tuna is also great. I was also pleased with the filet mignon (but had it better at a few other restaurants). I definitely recommend the Bang Bang Shrimp ($6 on Wednesdays).... More
We tend to frequent Bonefish Grill more often during wintry snowy days, after we have finished our weekend "mall walking!" We are always happily greeted and enjoy the special time we spend there, usually sitting at the bar during brunch or lunch hour. It's just one of those places that we feel welcome at, and it's a happy atmosphere. There... More
This chain restaurant store had gone downhill a bit in the recent past but a new manager seems to have straightened things out. It is now open for dinner only through the week; lunch and dinner on weekends. We were there for a Friday Fish Fry (they serve daily, not just Fridays) I like haddock, but the white Alaskan Cod... More
Great Birthday dinner! My son and family treated me to dinner here. Got seated immediately, service throughout was outstanding. The food was the best I've had in a very long time! Of course we had the 'bang bang' shrimp (wish I could find the recipe). Could have made a whole meal on this. I ordered the Tilapia with Oscar topping... More
We started with two dynamite cocktails a Moscow mule and a pomegranate martini. Some of the best cocktails to be had anywhere. Next we purposely decided to order one course at a time to be sure we maintained the slow pace of dinner. It seems too often we order all at once and the pace quickens too much. When it's... More
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.Claim Your Listing


text:
Chislehurst has a long and interesting history, with records stretching back over a thousand years. There is a wealth of information about Chislehurst, its people, buildings and environment, with plenty already uncovered, and much more to be found.
Earliest references and ancient history
Chislehurst is an Anglo-saxon descriptive place name, a reference to its appearance. The first element, Chisel or Chesil, indicates a stony or gravelly place: the second element, hurst, indicates woodland.
There has been a settlement at Chislehurst for over 1,000 years. The Anglo-Saxon name means stony wood and until the arrival of the railway in 1865 Chislehurst was very much a rural community.
The ancient Manors of Chislehurst
Originally a part of Dartford Manor, owned by the Crown, the land in Chislehurst eventually became separated when the de Scathebury family purchased it.
The development of Chislehurst
Chislehurst consists of four separate ‘villages’ within its Parish, separated by the Commons. The High Street, north of the Commons, Royal Parade to the south, Mill Place to the west, and the settlement along Old Perry Street to the east
Features of Chislehurst
Chislehurst was best known for its proximity to the Commons and the ponds and was a destination for thousands of Londoners on Bank holidays and weekends.
- The Commons and other open spaces.
- The Ponds.
- Chislehurst’s churches.
- Monuments in Chislehurst.
- Architects in Chislehurst.
Some of our local history stories
A study of local shopkeeper Felix White by Clare Sands.
Guests at the book launch of ‘Secret Chislehurst’ revealed this beautiful little jewellery box. It was inscribed as a gift from Empress Eugenie in 1872, the time when she lived in Chislehurst.
Patricia Gibson has prepared a note on the history of The Gorse, a house right at the end of Manor Park, which was used as a VAD Hospital in the Great War. You can read her note here…
Agnes Tiarks lived in Chislehurst, at Foxbury, Kemnal Road, from 1877 until her death in 1923. She kept a diary throughout that time, including the years of the Great War, in which she noted the dramatic changes the war brought to everyday life. Download a booklet about Agnes’ diary entries here…
Society member, road steward and lifelong resident of Chislehurst, Ken Speers, has let us have some photographs and documents from the time he was a member of Anne Murray’s choir at St Nicholas in the 1940s. More…
Inglewood House and the De Quincey family who lived there. Read Alan and Catherine’s enthralling account here…
During their research Alan and Catherine discovered that a name had been omitted from the Chislehurst War Memorial. More here…
A local history project around the 1893 map of the Camden Park Estate, including restoration of the map. See this poignant video of a cave sheltered during the blitz featuring Dave Miller – without Dave contacting us none of this would have happened!
Mrs Marion Heselden has updated the story of the Western Motor Works, established by the son of the Lord of the Manor, and the birthday present that started it all. More…
Cataloguing information about Chislehurst-based architects and their drawings. A summary can be found here… The drawing shown here is of an Ernest Newton house in Camden Park Road.
Collection and presentation of Chislehurst Chillers, local horrible histories for primary-aged children. Joanna Friel explains how this macabre event unfolded here… You can read the two stories, Horrid Murder and Double Murder, and also read about one of the victim’s ancestors who visited Chislehurst to see the site of her Great-great-great grandfather’s murder here…
The work of Ernest Newton and William Morris at Bullers Wood. More here…
Reproduction of articles from old magazines. We found an interesting article on the history of Chislehurst Police, in Bygone Kent (vol 15;2) from 1994. We have reproduced it here. Because police support was at one time provided from Mottingham, the police were known locally as the Sheriffs of Mottingham!
Restoration of an old panel door painted by Mr Ledner, a 19thC. Chislehurst artist/decorator
Two High Street Heritage Trails, including one for schoolchildren, were produced in Spring of 2014.
In 2022, The Chislehurst Society funded the replacement of the Beatrix Batten Bench located on Loop Road overlooking Prickend Pond.
She was only 28 when she mobilised 9 hospitals in Chislehurst in 1914 to care for the wounded from the Western Front. She continued her Red Cross work during WW2 setting up the services in the caves.
In the log books of St Nicholas Primary School we discovered a former pupil who lost his life on the Titanic. His name was Owen George Allum. He was 17, ‘a scholar here for some years‘, the headmaster writes, ‘the children are bringing their pence to make a small donation to the Lord Mayor’s Fund. Owen was a passenger on the Titanic and is not among the saved‘. Owen had lived at 1 Calderwood Cottages, Holbrook Lane. His body was recovered and is buried in Cornwall where his family came from. He was a gardener, travelling to see his father in New York. In 3rd Class, he didn’t stand a chance.
Yet another newly acquired image, this one from 1936 of the inside of the Western Motor Works on the corner of Beaverwood Road and Perry Street in Chislehurst. See the article on the works here…
A rare image of Newlands, the Chislehurst home of the Chubb family, great benefactors to the Methodist Church, Farringtons School and more besides. The house stood on Prince Imperial Road.
Share your research or questions on Chislehurst’s past
The Society welcomes enquiries or information on the local history of Chislehurst. We regularly receive enquiries from researchers, residents or from families of former residents and we have summarised some of these here…
We are pleased to help where we can with individual requests for information. For members this service is free, for non-members, we ask either that you join the Society.
Additionally, we reserve the right to charge £5 for any images that we reproduce in digital format for you. Images can only be provided to members of the Society.
Please send any requests to email@example.com
The Chislehurst Society Ribbons Collection – Old images of Chislehurst
The Society has been collecting old images of Chislehurst for many years, and we are pleased to present many of them here for members and others to review. These are mainly in the form of postcards, but there are drawings, paintings and original photographs as well. There are more than 1,000 images included in this collection
Peter Ribbons, a collector of postcards and memorabilia, has loaned his own collection of images to the Society, and these are included here. His collection contains many rare or unusual images, mainly from late Victorian or Edwardian times. In honour of his generosity we have named our entire collection The Chislehurst Society Ribbons Collection.
Images are available to view via our gallery. It is not possible to download images from the galleries. If you are a member and would like a digital copy of an image for personal use, please contact us. Unless there are copyright restrictions, we can email you a digital copy at a cost of £5 per image. Higher charges apply for non-personal or commercial use. Images will be provided free to local schools.

domain: geography


Introduction to the Special Forum
ASEAN is an organization that symbolizes regionalism, collective action for the management of great power relations, and harmonious handling of civilizational and economic differences. It reached its pinnacle in the late 1990s and 2000s. Now it is struggling to play the expected, outsize role in all of these dimensions. In conditions of increased Chinese assertiveness and pushback from the United States and Japan, ASEAN’s leadership in regionalism has been diminished, and its capacity to guide the great powers has been put in grave doubt. At stake are ASEAN’s centrality and its aura as an exceptional example of liberal institutionalism apart from US ideals.
Optimists about regionalism—rather than balancing among great powers—as the key to security took heart from three organizations after the turn of this century. The Six-Party Talks offered hope for Northeast Asian regional security cooperation, ostensibly centering on the Korean Peninsula but actually focused on how Sino-US ties were proceeding. When their cooperation continued and the talks ended due to North Korea’s belligerence, South Korea was emboldened to take a more active role. The SCO served to keep China and Russia from conflict with each other over Central Asia, while giving room to Central Asian states to maneuver between the two. With North Korea problematic as the object of the Six-Party Talks and Russia reluctant to allow China a big foothold in Central Asia through the SCO, ASEAN drew attention as the most promising venue left for regionalism. It expanded its reach with ASEAN+3, ASEAN+6, and finally the East Asian Summit including the United States and Russia. Its annual meetings of secretaries of state and defense ministers attracted growing interest. Confidence in ASEAN surged even after the Six-Party Talks collapsed and the SCO appeared to have reached a dead-end. ASEAN clearly stood on center stage.
As the Obama administration increasingly embraced ASEAN, China’s skepticism was growing more intense. In 2009, the shift in China’s reasoning was unmistakable. If previously Chinese wrote approvingly of ASEAN leadership, the tone turned to more active Chinese policies not dependent on ASEAN. Suspicions were raised that ASEAN is incapable of leading or subject to manipulation by other great powers, especially the hegemonic insistence of the United States. With the appearance of ASEAN+3 in the late 1990s, there was much talk of a win-win situation for China and Japan, each deferring to ASEAN to steer regionalism. With newly intensified competition in Sino-US relations from 2010, there was again hope that ASEAN would provide the most positive environment for managing differences among the great powers. Only a deepening of Sino-Japanese and Sino-US tensions has led many to question optimistic assumptions. Against this backdrop, the disputes over the South China Sea have raised the stakes, split ASEAN, and even cast doubt on its centrality and prospects.
The South China Sea Disputes
Opinions diverge on what is fueling these disputes. At the two extremes are views in China and the United States and its allies, especially Japan. Chinese insist that their country is only expressing its sovereign rights, while the United States is arousing opposition in the region for reasons of containment. If Washington really sought to coexist with another “major power,” it would accept what China is doing, readers are told. The widely expressed viewpoint on the US side is not so one-sided. It holds that China is using force or the threat of force and economic pressure instead of the dispute management mechanisms available to resolve differences over sovereignty on which the United States takes a neutral position. Moreover, China’s lack of transparency raises questions about whether it will challenge freedom of navigation and overflight in what may be the world’s busiest corridor. These US concerns are packaged together as evidence of Chinese aspirations for hegemonism—traditional sinocentrism—with the intent to exclude other great powers, as Southeast Asian states are obliged, one by one, to cut a deal, leaving them dependent on one state.
Washington and Beijing differ in their policy prescriptions for ASEAN. Both are now buttressing bilateral relationships to support their overall strategy, but Washington favors a strong, collective ASEAN position for: a Code of Conduct, pushback against China’s island construction projects, confidence-building measures, and readiness to put problems related to the South China Sea disputes on the agenda when meetings occur. China downgrades the role of ASEAN on matters of security. Just as it chose in the North Korean nuclear crisis to forgo five versus one no matter what the provocation was from the North, it has shown strong distrust of multilateralism, involving the United States or subject to US influence. Meanwhile, Tokyo presents itself as the champion of ASEAN solidarity, standing squarely with Washington against Beijing’s position.
Ian Storey examines why amidst China’s assertive behavior, especially over the past two years, ASEAN has failed to engage China on this and get it to change course. The result has been intensified problems between China and Southeast Asian claimants (and also the South China Sea becoming the locus of geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing), nervousness about where the region is heading leading to an arms race and a security dilemma, and a loss of ASEAN centrality in the regional security architecture. He blames a combination of ASEAN’s internal dynamics and China’s conviction that its claims are superior to those of its neighbors by virtue of its birthright. Storey finds that the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea was fundamentally flawed. It was non-binding without a dispute resolution mechanism. It is flagrantly violated. While China, after delays, grudgingly agreed to preliminary talks on a Code of Conduct, progress has been imperceptible, he argues, as China stands alone in dragging its feet. Storey asks why would China sign a credible, legally-binding, and effective code of conduct that ties its hands in the South China Sea when it increasingly possesses the naval and coast guard assets to pursue de facto control within the nine-dash line, and when the United States seems flummoxed about how to respond, while all ASEAN does is issue statements of concern. In May 2014 and April 2015, statements were issued that displayed ASEAN unity, but neither criticized China by name nor did they call for the removal of HYSY-981 or a halt to China’s artificial island-building. To Storey, members who find themselves in direct confrontation with China, such as Vietnam and the Philippines, would like to see ASEAN get tough with Beijing, while states that do not have a direct stake in the dispute and do not want to rock the boat with their largest trading partner, elicit much less concern. The result is that ASEAN is not able to build on its lowest common denominator consensus. Yet, Storey suggests that Indonesia’s relations with China are bound to suffer and throw into sharper relief the disconnect between Jakarta’s claim that it is a neutral party because it rejects the nine-dash line, and Beijing’s determination to uphold its so-called “historic rights” within that line, including in the waters off the Natuna Islands. This will occur as the credibility of ASEAN is tested again. By pushing China on the Code of Conduct, opposing a Chinese ADIZ over the South China Sea, and supporting the decisions of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, ASEAN would vex China, but if it does not, its credibility will be in tatters.
Satu Limaye argues, based on a review of arguments about ASEAN, that we should avoid misconstruing ASEAN’s objectives. He also questions why the South China Sea disputes should be deemed central to ASEAN, suggesting that this issue has very low salience in discussions about the future of the organization. Limaye insists that other issues take precedence in meeting the challenges in forging a community. He concludes that if one has a middle-of-the-road ambition for ASEAN, rather than big ambitions for it to become a community or minimal goals for a shared voice and cooperation, then the way ASEAN is responding to the South China Sea disputes is about right. Yet, he notes that related tensions are causing complications for external relations and cohesion. This article reviews how various specialists assess ASEAN’s challenges, finding a paucity of references to the impact of the South China Sea disputes and little indication that they are an especially critical challenge. This leads Limaye to assert that ASEAN is handling them consistent with its regionalist objectives and also as its normative and pragmatic interests dictate. Defending the core interests of Southeast Asian states in these disputes is left to the United States in a fashion that is quite separate from the region-building enterprise, he observes, adding that none of the four Southeast Asia claimants with overlapping claims to features and related EEZs have recognized each other’s claims; nor is there any agreement about claims or an approach to de-conflicting the claims between ASEAN claimants and non-claimants. Given determination to continue working closely with China, he concludes it is highly unrealistic that ASEAN will take a unified military cooperation position on the SCS, and, if it did, its capacity to affect permanent outcomes would be minimal. Thus, it is likely that ASEAN and its member countries will remain security consumers rather than providers.
Kuroyanagi Yoneji shed light on the South China Sea disputes with special emphasis on three factors: a rising China, the US-China rivalry, and the concept of “ASEAN centrality.” He points to the late May 2015 Shangri-La Dialogue, where the South China Sea disputes drew close attention, including a widely observed exchange between US and Chinese officials. Although Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and PLAN Deputy Chief of Staff Admiral Sun Jianguo spoke candidly about the South China Sea situation, in particular about China’s “salami-slicing” tactics and land reclamation, their comments were less provocative than during the Thirteenth Dialogue the previous year. He finds that the overall impact of ASEAN’s inputs was rather favorable to China in that they were not provocative when they touched upon the South China Sea issues. The South China Sea disputes are a “Black Hole,” absorbing almost all conciliatory ideas in the Asia-Pacific region, voiding proposals and scenarios for peace and stability. China’s policies toward ASEAN countries seem to have been led by “triple avoidance principles”: 1) not to be disregarded by its weak neighbors; 2) not to be feared by them; and 3) not to be encircled by less amicable countries. Now that Beijing has acknowledged the possible declaration of an ADIZ over the South China Sea, the crises of the East and South China seas are undeniably interlocked. Thus, Tokyo is, like it or not, forced to be involved in the simmering situation over the South China Sea, where it has no territorial claim. But, as the weakest side of the US-China-Japan triangle—an appendage to the US-China duplex—, it has to play a delicate role. He cautiously advocates a low-key role for Japan.
Scott Bentley focuses on the “special relationship” between Malaysia and China and its impact on their South China Sea dispute. Despite talk of Malaysia toughening its stance, its recent response to a perceived intrusion by a Chinese ship differs little from prior responses centering on diplomatic protests and active surveillance at sea. Bentley attributes it to political inertia that resists making difficult strategic decisions. Citing China’s growing presence in areas including the South Luconia Shoals, as well as the increased role of maritime paramilitary assets shifting from the Spratlys to the southwest, he reports on the parliamentary testimony of some senior Malaysian officials. Despite a rise in patrols, he does not see any substantial shift in policy even as occasional intrusions have turned into a permanent presence. Bentley refers to the new operational reality of Chinese efforts to enforce within the EEZ and continental shelf of Malaysia its jurisdiction and authority. He concludes that the emphasis on quiet diplomacy until recently is a product of the widely shard belief in the existence of a “special relationship” with China, as if Malaysia is treated differently from its neighbors, but it is not. As ASEAN chair in 2015, Malaysia might be expected to press China, but there has been little public indication that such efforts have borne fruit. A more effective utilization of backchannel diplomacy might be to intensify Malaysia’s discussions with other ASEAN claimants such as Vietnam and the Philippines, which would enable them to achieve common ground, argues Bentley. Yet, he finds that ASEAN is unlikely to prove an effective deterrent and suggests that ties outside ASEAN, including to Australia and the United States, may be the choice ahead.
Joseph Liow finds that the disputes over the South China Sea are fueled by heated rhetoric, mutual distrust, perceptions and misperceptions, and nationalism. These forces complicate resolution of the disputes, while exposing the limited utility of the framework that showcases ASEAN-centered liberalism and great power driven realism. He also is attentive to blind spots, which distort analysis of what is transpiring in these disputes. First, few are noticing that in addition to China’s insistence on sovereignty, there are an atomized series of tussles, which not only involve diplomacy but lead to saber rattling and demonstrations of strength. Liow points to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia as the main parties to disputes, which led to legal and diplomatic posturing but no solutions. Second, despite widespread expectations that armed conflict lies ahead, he regards the incentives for restraint outweighing those for aggression, given China’s economic needs. Yet, Liow’s stress on a lack of consensus among Chinese decision-makers leaves open the possibility that once it is achieved, the outcome could be more aggression, not less. Third, the US interest is freedom of navigation and commerce, including military activity within another state’s EEZ; so its response to open, armed conflict in response to moves by China is far from inevitable, Liow concludes. However, he doubts that it would risk a larger conflagration with China for an ally’s contested claims over atolls, and he anticipates that Washington would hesitate to insist on military activity in the EEZ, as others oppose it. Finally, Liow turns to international law, concluding that China’s position is weak, but that political will is more important, and legal matters are likely to fall by the wayside.


text:
Macron govt hopes 'yellow vest' protests running out of steam
Around 66,000 protesters turned out again on Saturday for a fifth round of anti-government demonstrations, which sprung up over fuel tax hikes last month.
The ceremony, organised by local rights associations with the approval of the city authorities, included music, singing and several readings.302 days ago
Police have identified the suspect as Strasbourg-born Cherif Chekatt (29) who is on an intelligence services watch list as a potential security risk.307 days ago
Regional authorities gave no explanation for the new toll which they had revised down earlier on Wednesday morning to two dead and 14 wounded.307 days ago

domain: news


text:
PPT Rips the Economist for its Myopic Coverage of Thailand
I very much enjoyed this post over at Political Prisoners in Thailand. I was similarly befuddled by how completely out of touch the Economist has become with the reality of politics on the ground in Thailand.
While acknowledging the birthday bash, the newspaper seems to want to portray Thailand as revolving around the aged king and Thaksin Shinawatra and views recent politics as being about Thaksin’s failed attempts to return home, noting that his exile has gone from “a temporary inconvenience has taken on an air of semi-permanency.” Its essential argument is that:
Since his younger sister, Yingluck, led their Pheu Thai party to a thumping win in the general election in July 2011, the government has explored just about every avenue to get Mr Thaksin back without having to serve the two-year jail term for corruption to which he was sentenced four years ago. Legislative attempts to revoke the charges, which he maintains were politically motivated, have got nowhere, as have attempts to win a royal pardon. Proposals for a general amnesty for all those involved in the political confrontations after 2006 have run into a constitutional brick wall.
Not only has the ceaseless plotting on Mr Thaksin’s behalf proved fruitless, it has also been damaging to the government of his sister. During her election campaign, Ms Yingluck promised “unity and reconciliation”, a sensible attempt to woo voters who were tired of continuous clashes between Mr Thaksin’s “red shirt” supporters and his “yellow shirt” opponents. But the blatant efforts to rewrite the law and tamper with the constitution chiefly for Mr Thaksin’s benefit have undermined that promise and inflamed his old adversaries.
This account fudges recent history and politics. Puea Thai didn’t particularly need to woo voters with talk of reconciliation as the party was always going to win the election and had plenty of other policies that were attractive for voters. In addition, Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Democrat Party, which campaigned on a kind of anti-reconciliation platform, were tainted by the manner in which they came to power and by the violent crackdowns on red shirts in 2009 and 2010. For many red shirts, reconciliation was also about justice and accountability (and they are looking carefully at how the prosecution of Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep Thaugsuban is handled).
Importantly, far from the Democrat Party-royalist view that everything is about absolving Thaksin, the Yingluck-Thaksin team has backed away from bringing Thaksin home, from legal changes and from constitutional change (although the latter is now back on the agenda). The strategy has been, according to Duncan McCargo, to cool political tensions. Kevin Hewison has recently made similar claims in a recent article at Political Insight. He says that:
royalist and yellow shirt opponents have been sniping at the government for alleged corruption, disloyalty to the monarchy, supporting red shirt ‘terrorists’ and for being at Thaksin’s beck and call, but none of this has destabilised the government. This rapid political cooling has been possible because Yingluck and her brother Thaksin have recognised that, in government, their political aims are more likely to be achieved through compromise, cooling radical demands and reducing opposition from the military, judiciary and monarchy.
McCargo says: “Once seen a stopgap tasked only with preparing the ground for her brother’s imminent return, an extended term of office for Yingluck Shinawatra now looks increasingly probable.” Indeed, compared with the period of the Abhisit regime, politics has cooled (perhaps temporarily).
Until the Pitak Siam “brief war,” the current government while trying to promote elements of its electoral platform, had done its best to avoid confrontations with the aim of staying in power and getting re-elected. Even the Pitak Siam kerfuffle was handled in a way that reduced the possibility of mass mobilization of opponents. The Economist seems to miss this essential point and suggest quite the opposite.

domain: politics


text:
I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes. The dream of improbably dreams. --Thinking of getting "Dreamer" as a tattoo on my wrist. If my wrist were bigger I would consider "Optimist, Hoper, Dreamer"
How to Make a Weeping Angel Barbie (link in comments)
How to Make a Weeping Angel Barbie (link in comments) , this is so cool but I don't think I could hang this on my wall. I already have a creepy doll phobia.<<< And rightfully so, every image of an angel becomes one

domain: design


text:
What are you waiting for? The Experience is heading to a city near you and you'll want to get your hands on a pair of concert tickets as soon as possible. The Experience
performs a cool blend of Christian rock ballads and they have been active on the scene for a number of years. Check out tunes
like We Shine and Intro and get inspired by their motivational lyrics.
The Experience is planning a tour around the States and you won't want to miss this young and insightful band when they
next take the stage near you. Sing along to all of their popular beats and make sure to invite your friends for a great time
at a live concert.
What are you waiting for? The Experience is one of today's most popular Christian rock bands on the scene and you'll want
to take a listen to their most recently released songs as well as some of their older ballads.
Rock tickets are
now on sale at StubHub and you'll want to stake out seats well in advance for their next show in your city. Invite some friends
and settle in for an unforgettable rock concert.

domain: entertainment


text:
At the 18th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), experts presented the latest updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. The conference also featured two roundtable discussions that covered topics including cancer treatment costs, disparities in the quality and value of oncology care, the implications of big data in the field of oncology, and personalized cancer care. Here are perspectives from key opinion leaders on the NCCN Guidelines Updates.
Robert J. Morgan, MD
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
“There are no major changes to the ovarian cancer guidelines this year. The biggest management change may occur in the coming year due to our improved understanding of the role of bevacizumab in treating recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. The publication of the OCEANS trial resulted in an addition to the guidelines of the regimen of carboplatin/gemcitabine/ bevacizumab to the list of acceptable recurrence therapies. We’ll have more clarity next year when the results of the AURELIA trial in platinum-resistant disease are published. In this trial, a progression-free survival benefit in patients with platinum-resistant disease has been reported.”
- Bevacizumab (Avastin) currently carries a category 2B recommendation in recurrence therapy, but the results of the AURELIA trial may have an impact on clinical guidelines going forward. In frontline treatment, bevacizumab is a category 3 recommendation.
- The new guidelines refine the guidance for physicians following patients with less-common histopathologies, including sex cord stromal tumors and germ cell tumors. Germ cell tumors, which are often seen in young people, can be exquisitely sensitive to chemotherapy. The 2013 edition of the guidelines adds published surveillance strategies for patients postchemotherapy, including a suggested follow-up regimen after completion of treatment during and after the first 5 years that specifies recommendations for performing radiographic imaging and serum tumor marker tests, for example. The recommendations for follow-up for germ cell tumors include serum tumor markers for the first 2 years after treatment is completed. They can then be omitted because virtually all of these tumors recur within that time frame if they are destined to recur. However, sex cord stromal tumors must be followed more aggressively, even following the first 5 years, due to their tendency to exhibit late recurrences.
- Surgical treatment recommendations have also been updated. Appendectomy has been added to other reasonable surgical options in staging and debulking for both early- and late-stage disease as a strategy to optimize cytoreduction in aggressive gynecologic cancers. The definition of optimal surgical debulking is evolving.
Leonard Saltz, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
“For the treatment of metastatic disease, two new drugs [ziv-aflibercept and regorafenib] not previously available to colorectal cancer patients have been incorporated into the guidelines, and there is one change of substance in how we use existing drugs. These three therapies all involve to some degree targeting [VEGF], a protein that stimulates production of new blood vessels, and all produced modest benefits. The gains we see are statistically significant, but it’s open to discussion whether they are clinically significant.”
- Regorafenib (Stivarga) was approved by the FDA following an expedited review as a single-agent, last-line salvage therapy for patients with good performance status whose cancer has progressed after treatment with all other standard therapies.
- Bevacizumab (Avastin) is now recommended for use as a second-line therapy in combination with chemotherapy (fluoropyrimidine-irinotecan or fluoropyrimidine-oxaliplatin) for the treatment of patients whose disease has progressed after a first-line program with a bevacizumab-containing regimen. Previously, the guidelines supported its use in first- or second-line therapy, but did not support its use in both first- and second-line treatments.
- Ziv-aflibercept (Zaltrap) was added as a second-line treatment used in combination with FOLFIRI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan) for patients whose cancer is resistant to or has progressed following treatment with a first-line oxaliplatin-containing regimen.
- While the guidelines were changed to allow for either second-line use of bevacizumab or second-line use of ziv-aflibercept, it’s important for clinicians to understand that the data do not support using both—meaning they do not support using second-line bevacizumab and then second-line ziv-aflibercept with the same chemotherapy. Second-line use of ziv-aflibercept is an alternative option to second-line bevacizumab, but not a new treatment paradigm.
- For earlier-stage patients, there is one important change to the guidelines: The guidelines allow for use of oxaliplatin in patients with stage II disease with higher risk, but this is no longer a preferred option. Instead, the guidelines now state that good-risk stage II patients should not receive oxaliplatin.
Clifford A. Hudis, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
“A key change in the guidelines in HER2-positive breast cancer is the incorporation of pertuzumab [Perjeta], the second monoclonal antibody targeting this receptor. A related and recent addition is ado-trastuzumab emtansine [Kadcyla, or T-DM1] for patients with tumors refractory to conventional trastuzumab. “Outside of HER2-positive disease, the use of the first available agent targeting the PI3 kinase pathway, specifically the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), represents a new approach to the palliative use of aromatase inhibitors. All of these changes are exciting as they suggest that ongoing translational clinical trials may lead to rapid improvements in the management of patients.”
- Ado-trastuzumab emtansine was added as a preferred therapeutic option for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, including patients who have been previously treated with trastuzumab.
- Consider use of everolimus (Afinitor) in addition to exemestane for women with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer previously treated with nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitors, based on the results of the BOLERO-2 trial.
Renal Cell Carcinoma
Roberto Pili, MD
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
“The changes to the NCCN Guidelines are minor this year. There have not been any new therapies this year. We are still trying to understand how to best sequence the therapies we have already. Recent combination trials, unfortunately, have shown that these agents together are either not effective or too toxic. But other combinations and sequencing trials are underway…What is anticipated and could have an impact is the anti—PD-1 antibody that is currently in phase III. This immunotherapy appears to have significant activity in renal cell carcinoma, and hopefully we will see an anti–PD-1 approved in the future.”
- Interferon alpha was removed as a treatment option for patients with clear cell histology who have been previously treated.
- As a post—first-line therapy option for metastatic clear cell or non–clear cell renal cell cancer with predominantly sarcomatoid features, the chemotherapy combination of gemcitabine plus doxorubicin or gemcitabine plus capecitabine was added as a category 3 option.
James Mohler, MD
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
“There is still a lot of uncertainty in the development of the treatment paradigm for advanced prostate cancer. We are interested in understanding how to sequence abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide relative to older treatments—whether these should be used upfront and which one should be used first. There are also novel CYP17A1 enzyme inhibitors and antiandrogen therapies in development, and we look forward to better information on these, and how to apply these new agents in the clinic to improve survival for patients.”
- For patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have previously been treated with docetaxel, both enzalutamide (Xtandi) and abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) in combination with prednisone are now category 1 treatment options.
- For patients with asymptomatic mCRPC who have not yet been treated with chemotherapy, abiraterone is now a category 1 therapy and enzalutamide is a category 2A therapy. “In this setting, enzalutamide will most likely become category 1 as soon as the survival data from the [phase III PREVAIL trial] are published,” said Mohler.
- In the next year, the NCCN is focusing on distinguishing adjuvant and salvage radiation, creating more precise definitions and continuing to recommend a comprehensive risk-benefit discussion with patients centered around salvage and adjuvant therapy not solely focused on PSA levels.
- PSA monitoring is now recommended every 3 months for high-risk patients. This note is added due to the increased risk of progression for high-risk men during the first 12 months of active surveillance. The guideline also emphasizes that for men who are not high risk, frequent PSA monitoring is not necessary, as it only captures the natural variability in PSA levels.
Anthony J. Olszanski, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center
“The NCCN Guidelines for melanoma are relatively mature, reflecting clinically significant updates occurring over the last two years, including the addition of two new drugs—the first to show a survival benefit in advanced disease. Ipilimumab is an immunomodulator and vemurafenib is available to patients with mutations in the BRAF gene. Data on emerging medicines is even more promising. In disease management and decision making, there is an ongoing evolution toward risk-based management as compared to stagebased management.”
- Ipilimumab (Yervoy), vemurafenib (Zelboraf), high-dose IL-2, and clinical trials are now listed as preferred regimens in advanced disease. Patients receiving ipilimumab must be monitored for immune-mediated complications, and those taking vemurafenib, for dermatologic complications.
- Of note, a recent trial combining ipilimumab and vemurafenib showed signs of excessive toxicity. Combination strategies should only be attempted within a clinical trial setting.
- Imatinib is now a potential treatment for c-KIT—mutated tumors.
- Guideline updates clarified that routine imaging is not recommended for patients with stage I and II melanoma. The panel left the extent of imaging in patients with stage III disease to the discretion of the treating physician, given that data on its usefulness remain inconclusive.
- The panel continues to refine the guidance on sentinel lymph node biopsies. For patients with very thin tumors (<0.76 mm), the likelihood of nodal disease is low and sentinel lymph node biopsy is not routinely recommended.
- The panel is developing guidelines for ocular melanoma, which may be in place by 2014.
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
“There are exciting, emerging drugs that could well prove to be revolutionary treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL] and mantle cell lymphoma [MCL] in particular. Ibrutinib is an oral agent that inhibits Bruton’s tyrosine kinase…In early studies, this agent has shown a broad range of activity in B-cell lymphoma; however, the responses in CLL, MCL, and Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia have been particularly dramatic. Two other agents demonstrating substantial activity in CLL and MCL ar e idelalisib, an inhibitor of the delta isoform of PI3K, and ABT 199, a small-molecule inhibitor of the proapoptotic Bcl protein. These small-molecule pathway inhibitors likely represent the future of treatment for these diseases.”
- For younger patients with MCL, including high-dose cytarabine (as in R-DHAP [rituximab, dexamethasone, cytarabine, cisplatin] or in R-HiDAC [rituximab and high-dose cytarabine]) as part of the cytoreductive therapy prior to autologous stem cell transplantation was found to produce superior overall survival (OS) benefits as compared with induction with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) alone. The finding was incorporated into the NCCN Guidelines as a recommendation for the frontline management of younger patients with MCL.
- For older patients with MCL, treatment with R-CHOP followed by maintenance therapy with rituximab was determined to improve OS.
- In managing CLL, there is a heightened focus on determining age-appropriate treatment by using a comorbidity score to better identify patients who are fit, and therefore eligible for chemotherapy. Patients have been broken down into the “young fit” group able to undergo treatment with the standard FCR (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, rituximab); the “older with comorbidities” group for whom FCR is too toxic and gentler therapy such as rituximab and chlorambucil is preferred; and the “very frail patients” group of older patients whose lives are not limited by the disease.
- In patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma, bendamustine plus rituximab is an acceptable alternative to R-CHOP. However, the previously reported improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and in reducing toxic effects has been called into question by a more recent study presented at ASH in December 2012.
- Post-remission therapy with either radioactive antibodies or maintenance rituximab improved PFS in patients with follicular lymphoma; however, to date, there has been no impact on OS. Thus, these are listed in the NCCN Guidelines as potentially appropriate options after first-line therapy, but not required as part of standard of care.
Kenneth C. Anderson, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
“There are only a few changes in the treatment of multiple myeloma, but they’re very important ones. Within the last seven months, two novel agents to treat relapsed and refractory disease have received accelerated approvals from the FDA, based on the results of phase II clinical trials. These additions represent major new treatment options and improved outlook for patients; they promise to extend the progression-free survival and overall survival of patients who previously had no other therapies.”
- Carfilzomib (Kyprolis), a second-generation epoxyketone proteasome inhibitor that irreversibly blocks chymotryptic proteasome activity, was incorporated into the guidelines as salvage therapy. Carfilzomib was approved in July 2012 for the treatment of patients who have received at least two prior therapies, including treatment with bortezomib (Velcade) and an immunomodulatory therapy, and whose disease progressed on or within 60 days of the completion of the last therapy. Patient response to carfilzomib in clinical trials was durable and prolonged.
- Pomalidomide (Pomalyst), a second-generation immunomodulatory drug that augments host antitumor immunity, was added to the guidelines as salvage therapy. Pomalidomide was approved in February 2013 for treatment of patients who have received at least two prior therapies, including lenalidomide (Revlimid) and bortezomib (Velcade), and whose disease progressed within 60 days of the last treatment.
- In terms of treatment options for newly diagnosed myeloma, the combination of bortezomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone is already included in the NCCN Guidelines. A new treatment regimen of carfilzomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone has now been added to the guidelines as a primary therapy for newly diagnosed patients. Due to the high frequency and extent of response demonstrated in newly diagnosed myeloma, this new regimen provides further evidence of the efficacy of combining a proteasome inhibitor with an immunomodulatory drug and dexamethasone as initial therapy.
Philippe E. Spiess, MD
Moffitt Cancer Institute
“The penile guidelines came out because there was no consensus for treatment of penile cancer. We had experts around the world contribute to these standardized guidelines consistent with US and international practices...This year is the first time these penile cancer guidelines are published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.”
- Patients who do not have aggressive local tumors can potentially be candidates for nondebilitating surgical management of their disease, while patients with more aggressive local tumors require more aggressive resections.
- Patients who do not have suspicious lymph nodes that are palpable are candidates for surgery.
- “The guidelines emphasize that penile cancer patients with advanced disease greatly benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to treatment and follow-up, including the involvement of urologists and oncologists,” said Spiess.
- The 2013 guidelines provide a more stringent consensus on the role of surveillance, including how often patients should be followed up after surgery and use of combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
- While evidence for the role of PET-CT scans still requires larger prospective studies, smaller studies show that PET-CT scans may have a role in penile cancer. The guidelines cautiously state that the role of PET-CT imaging for penile cancer diagnosis and management is still evolving.
- Many new clinical trials for penile cancer are in progress, testing therapies such as EGFR inhibitors. Enrollment in these clinical trials is encouraged. “I think these are ways to offer patients who have failed chemotherapy [more] treatment options. Because nonchemotherapy treatment for penile cancer is still lacking, clinical trial considerations are important for these patients,” said Spiess.
Robert I. Haddad, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
“Of the three main types of thyroid cancer, the second most common is medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). [This] is where we have seen recent important advances for thyroid cancers. Medullary thyroid carcinoma has lacked any therapies, and now with two therapies approved, this is a really exciting advance.”
- Molecular diagnosis of follicular and HuI?rthle cell neoplasms are now recommended. Particularly, several mutations, including BRAF mutations, are relevant in thyroid cancer, and testing patients for the presence of these mutations is recommended because BRAFmutated tumors are more likely to be aggressive. Additionally, studies testing the relevancy of BRAF inhibitors for thyroid cancer in the clinic are currently enrolling patients. “Oncology in general is moving toward the genomic characterization of tumors,” said Haddad.
- Cabozantinib (Cometriq) was added as a category 1 treatment for progressive, metastatic MTC. Vandetanib was also changed from category 2A to category 1 for the same indication.
- The small-molecule inhibitors sorafenib and sunitinib are recommended for advanced, metastatic MTC if vandetanib, cabozantinib, or clinical trials are not available.
- The investigative agent selumetinib, though not yet part of the guidelines, may become an important tool in the arsenal against thyroid cancer. In a small proof-of-concept study (N Engl J Med. 2013;368:623-632), selumetinib was able to reverse the resistance of advanced thyroid cancer to radioactive iodine. The role of selumetinib in advanced thyroid cancer will be tested in a largescale phase III trial slated to start later this year.
Crystal S. Denlinger, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center
“I think the most important aspect of these guidelines is that they are a first attempt to develop a standard of care and guideline for addressing the issues of cancer survivorship that are prevalent in the cancer survivor population. The committee has developed an assessment tool for clinicians to highlight which issues are important for each patient.”
The first-ever expert and consensus-driven standardized guidelines on survivorship were published this year, defining the major issues that arise among cancer survivors and providing a framework to manage potential long-term and latent side effects of cancer and treatment. The guidelines provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for the most common issues cancer survivors face, and are to be used in the multidisciplinary care of survivors. The guidelines focus on eight major issues: anxiety and depression, cognitive function, exercise, fatigue, immunization and infections, pain, sexual function, and sleep disorders. The multidisciplinary team that developed the guidelines included oncologists, gynecologists, mental health professionals, infectious disease experts, exercise physiologists, and primary care nurses.
- The NCCN defined cancer survivor as a patient diagnosed with cancer who is balancing his or her life.
- Different from the standard NCCN Guidelines based on tumor type, these are a library of algorithms that can each be used independently.
- The guidelines recommend periodic assessment for all survivors at regular intervals to assess disease status, performance status, medications, comorbidities, and evaluation of prior cancer and treatments.
Kenneth Hande, MD
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
“Primary bone cancers are relatively uncommon. Recommended treatments vary depending on the type and location of the bone cancer. The most important take-home message from the recent NCCN Guidelines updates is that patients need to be treated in a center where orthopedic surgeons, radiation therapists, and medical oncologists, experienced in treatment of bone cancer, are available and working together in planning treatment. Additionally, the guidelines have been expanded to include recommendations for management of some lesscommon bone cancers, such as giant cell tumors of bone and chordomas.”
- Chordoma management recommendations include extensive initial imaging of the primary site, spinal axis, chest, abdomen, and pelvis; wide excision with adequate margins; radiation therapy for lesions that are not resectable or present positive margins after surgery; surveillance every 6 months for 5 years, and then annually, including annual cross-section abdominal imaging.
- In treating giant cell tumors of the bone, intralesional excision with or without an effective adjuvant is considered an adequate primary treatment for resectable tumors.
- A more detailed section on principles of radiation therapy has been added, including the recommendation that the procedure take place at the same center providing surgery and other systemic treatment, and that specialized techniques such as particle-beam radiation therapy with protons and stereotactic radiosurgery, among others, be considered in order to allow high-dose therapy while sparing normal tissue.
- Denosumab (Xgeva) has been found to be effective in the management of giant cell tumors of bone, a disease for which there have been few treatments in patients who could not undergo surgical resection.
- Because primary bone cancers are uncommon, these updates will not have a major impact on clinical practice. However, they should be a major aid to oncologists who do not see primary bone cancers frequently. By reading the guidelines, these oncologists should have an idea of an overall treatment strategy, but realize that input from other cancer specialists is needed to provide optimal patient care.

domain: biology


‘A piece of paper that should be burned’ – Fitzmaurice calls on minister to ‘scrap’ TB letters
Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice has called on the newly-appointed Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, to “scrap” the TB Herd History Risk Statements and Reports issued by the department.
Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue was today (Wednesday, September 2) appointed as the new Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Speaking in the Dáil after his appointment, deputy Fitzmaurice called on the minister to “scrap what academics have put together where they didn’t listen to the farmers”.
“There’s a crucial issue that has come out in the last few days,” deputy Fitzmaurice said.
“A piece of paper that – in my opinion, should be burned in the fire – came out to farmers about their TB status.
I want you to scrap what academics have put together where they didn’t listen to the farming organisations and the farmers.
“The first way you will show that you are on the side of a farmer, is consultation on this TB forum.
“They [farmers] haven’t been listened to, they need to be listened to – not academics that [are] looking at universities in other countries.
“Listen to the farming families around the country and – will you do one thing to show you are a minister in charge of a department – get rid of that TB letter.”
TB risk letters to lead to ‘untold damage’
The TD said earlier today that TB risk letters will lead to “untold damage”.
He went on to claim that the department had “seemingly stabbed farmers in the back” with the move.
Fitzmaurice said: “Efforts to eradicate bovine TB in this country have been ongoing for decades and farmers have continuously played an active role in this.
“But yet the blame for recent increases is being placed squarely at their door, when other factors are also at play.”
When addressing the new minister, Fitzmaurice also added that “in the coming days – not in the coming months” the “forestry situation around the country” must be looked at.
It’s in chaos – there are contractors going bust; there are 12,000 jobs at stake; and no one seems to be putting a handle on it in the department.


Used Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera
The Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera is a miniature digital camera with a Super 16mm-sized sensor designed to be operated remotely and capture footage from virtually anywhere. The image sensor supports 1080p video up to 60 fps and 13 stops of dynamic range. The camera is equipped with an active MFT mount that can accept native MFT lens or be adapted to a wide range of other modern and vintage lenses using optional third party adapters. Video is recorded to SDHC/SDXC memory cards using the 12-bit CinemaDNG Raw format or 10-bit Apple ProRes family of codecs.
Compact in size, the Micro Cinema Camera is similar in size and shape to an action camera, making it well suited for mounted on helmets for POV action sequences, suspended from quadcopters for aerial shots, or any place where a larger camera can't fit. To facilitate camera control when the camera is mounted in impossible-to-reach locations, you can operate it remotely and view a live video feed thanks to the camera's expansion port. An included breakout cable supports four analog PWM radio remote control inputs, so you can map camera functions to the dials, knobs, buttons, and joysticks on model airplane remotes, such as start/stop recording, focus, and iris (with compatible MFT lenses). For more control, you can use the 18-channel S.bus control input with Futaba radio control equipment or custom embedded controllers.
In addition to radio control support, the breakout cable also provides LANC control, power, genlock, and composite video output for connecting to wireless video transmitters, letting you see what you're recording while remote controlling the camera. For higher quality monitoring, the camera has an HDMI output. For remote recording, you can attach a Canon LP-E6 type battery to the back of the camera to power is for up to 1.5 hours. The camera also has a 12V DC input via the breakout cable for powering the camera from external power supplies for longer shooting times.
- Super 16mm-Sized Image Sensor
- Active Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount
- 13 Stops of Dynamic Range
- Records FHD 1920 x 1080 CinemaDNG Raw
PLEASE CALL USED ONLINE SALES AT 512/467-7676 OR EMAIL US AT firstname.lastname@example.org FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY PARTICULAR PRODUCT.
Everything we sell used comes with a 30-day service warranty, and every item is thoroughly inspected before we ever consider selling it. If you find a problem with your item that you were not made aware of before purchase (we sometimes will sell bargain items for parts or the like, but always make you aware of issues before we complete the sale), please do not hesitate to let us know and we'll make it right! All of our items are rated for condition based on this system:
PRECISION CERTIFIED USED RATINGS
*Glass Disclaimer - Occasionally, lenses, even when brand new, will have a slight amount of dust visible within the lens elements. This is a result of the manufacturing process and will not affect image quality or resolution. As a result, some used lenses may exhibit the same consistencies.
6 and 12 Month Special Financing* Available
On purchases of $299 or more. Online through Klarna, available at checkout.
Find Out More


Friday, 11 October 2013
Public health and Primary Health Care: The oil and vinegar of the health care system.
Oil and vinegar when mixed together make for a lovely combination of flavours that can enhance salads, vegetables or as a dip. But no matter how hard you try, shaking, stirring, blending or other form of agitation, the two substances will separate out into their separate layers.
Thus it is with public health and primary health care.
Sir Michael Marmot who continues to be a major influencer of social and health policy on both sides of the Atlantic touches on the issue in an editorial in the Lancet October 12 2013. He even tries to find ways to blend the great works in the fields of population heath and primary health care, and concludes that even with the best efforts, there are still areas like the social determinants of health that become excluded from the primary health care agenda.
Certainly there is a need to support primary health care workers in embracing a population health mentality, and a need to acknowledge that the shift of public health workers to predominately individual/family services is a migration into primary care provision.
The astute reader will note the subtle variances in use of primary health care and primary care, and between public health and population health. Building on something that has been attributed to past CPHA president and University of Waterloo MPH program director Christina Mills “ population health is the way we think, public health is what we do”. Likewise “primary health care is a way of thinking, primary care is the delivery of the service”.
The tension faced by public health practitioners is twofold, first that because much of public health workers now do is primary care, in the regional authority megaliths they are being forced into marriage with primary health care entities. Secondly, since there remains a poor understanding of population health by administrators of these bastions of service delivery, there is a belief that the primary care provided by public health professionals is the de facto mysterious population health, and as such a natural union should be encouraged.
When resources are tight, and they are tight across the country, trying to kill two birds with a single dollar is natural, but highly myoptic. While the primary health care community covets the public health resources, less commonly are population health folks moving to maximize the opportunities provided by primary health care practitioners.
So who is the oil and who is the vinegar? It probably doesn’t matter, neither is very good by themself – both will benefit from being mixed together, and nature will still dictate that they will be separate solutions.


text:
Get the latest news from across Northern Sydney Local Health District.
NEWS NORTHERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT NSLHD
Main story Short blurb
Read more on Page x celebrating allied health professionals From the frontline to the community – allied health professionals were honoured on 14 October as part f Allied Health Professions Day. Read more on Page 3
Celebrating the Allied Health community
Thursday 14th October 2021 #StrongerTogether #AlliedHealthProfessionsDay Celebrate the skills, achievements, and work of Allied Health Professionals this October. Contact your Allied Health team for more information.
researchers challenge old concepts to improve care Page 7
national Carers week Page 4
Message from the Chief Executive Deb Willcox
We are fast approaching 80 per cent of the eligible population vaccinated in NSW and we have already seen some relaxing of restrictions and the easing of pressure on our health system. We have started to see a reduction in the number of people needing hospitalisation and who require ICU care. This is welcomed by our ICU and respiratory teams who have been working extremely hard caring for patients who are seriously ill with COVID-19. It has also meant we have been able to resume some services, such as some surgeries and we continue to explore what services we can resume over the coming weeks, balancing the need with COVID-19 hospitalisations. As we know with this pandemic, we are never out of the woods, and while the case numbers have decreased, we expect them to rise as more people now move about in the community. Here in Northern Sydney Local Health District, we have a high rate of vaccination among the community, as well as among our workforce. Thank you for everybody who has played a part in achieving such terrific rates of vaccination. This week we have seen the return of visitors to our hospitals. Currently only two visitors per patient a day are allowed, but this will bring much comfort and relief to our patients and their families who have had to be separated during this difficult time. On 14 October we celebrated our outstanding allied health team across the district. The past year has been difficult, but allied health, along with our other healthcare workers and support staff have risen to the challenge and showed tremendous teamwork, resilience and care.
This year’s theme is ‘Celebrating the Allied Health Community’ and given the circumstances of 2021, it has never been more important to acknowledge the important work that they do. Allied health professionals have stood shoulder to shoulder with doctors, nurses and support staff on the frontline in hospitals around Australia during the response to COVID-19. While some of the ways in which they see and treat patients have changed, one thing that has not wavered is their commitment to their patients and their community. I am continuing with my live streamed COVID-19 updates for staff. This week I was joined by the Virtual Hospital’s A/General Manager Jess Drysdale and A/Medical Director Paul Collett. If you were unable to join us, a recording will be made available on the intranet homepage under Messages from the Chief Executive after the event. You can also view the recording through the For Staff portal of the NSLHD website which is in the footer of every page at the very bottom of the website. Two-way communication is so important, especially as we navigate the next stages with the pandemic, so I encourage as many of you to send through questions to firstname.lastname@example.org. gov.au which I can have answered at the updates. Thank you for everything you are doing to ensure we provide the very best care to our patients. Deb Willcox Chief Executive Northern Sydney Local Health District
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 19 | 15 OCTOBER 2021
Celebrating our allied health professionals From the frontline, to the community – allied health professionals across northern seeing allied health clinicians step up, offer assistance and accept deployments, as well
The full list of winners were: Allied Health Assistant/ Technician/ Support Person of the Year Awarded to: Amanda Pollak (Royal North Shore Hospital) Early-Career Allied Health Professional of the Year Awarded to: Hayley Rawe (Royal North Shore Hospital) Allied Health Professional of the Year Awarded to: Natalie Ko (Ryde Hospital) Allied Health Leader of the Year Awarded to: Pauline Kemp (District) Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Allied Health Professional of the Year Awarded to: Melinda Flower (District) Allied Health Team of the Year Awarded to: NSLHD Pharmacy Teams (District) Allied Health Researcher/
Sydney and New South Wales were honoured on Thursday as part of Allied Health Professions Day. The annual celebration looked slightly different this year as it fell in the first week of partially relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, but online was a sea of aqua blue to recognise their hard work. In the month leading up to the day, Northern Sydney Local Health District social media celebrated a number of individuals and their disciplines in the #HumansOfAlliedHealth series, while allied health teams across their district contributed to a district-wide video. You can view that video here: https://vimeo. com/629569664 On the day, District Director of Allied Health Julia Capper announced the winners of the annual Northern Sydney Allied Health Professionals Awards. “It has been a pleasure Hotel and Hidden Gem Hotel were required to self-isolate for 14 days. Not-for-profit One Meal supported residents over the two weeks, generously providing three meals a day. NSLHD Counter Disaster Manager Louise Barker Allner said: “A huge thank you to One Meal for all your support. “Healthy dinners, sandwiches, cakes, snacks, cereals and staples definitely helped people get through their isolation.”
as teams coming together across the district,” she said. “Alongside our healthcare and support service colleagues you have been extraordinary this year – we are so proud of you all.” Northern Sydney Chief Executive Deb Willcox also paid tribute to our allied health professionals after another busy year in the face of the pandemic. “Allied health professionals have stood shoulder to shoulder with doctors, nurses and support staff on the frontline in hospitals around Australia during the response to COVID-19,” she said. “While some of the ways allied health professionals see and treat patients have changed, one thing that has not wavered is their commitment to their patients and their community. “Thank you to each and every one of you for everything you do and have a very happy Allied Health Professions Day.”
Educator of the Year Awarded to: Dr Lauren Monds (District)
MEALS DONATED TO PEOPLE IN ISOLATION IN MANLY Following a COVID-19 exposure risk in Manly, residents at Manly Wave
(Left to right): Michael O’Connor, Maurice (One Meal), Emma Tan and Tom Neal
ENGAGING WITH CARERS AS PARTNERS IN CARE National Carers Week is celebrated from 10-16
October. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness, recognise and acknowledge the 2.65 million Australians who care and support a family member or friend. COVID-19 has presented a number of challenges for everyone, including for carers whose family member or loved one is in hospital. Northern Sydney Local Health District Carer Support Service Manager Barbara Lewis said this year she encourages staff to continue to work and engage with carers to provide positive experiences. “All staff have a responsibility to identify and engage with carers as partners in care,” she said. “Their family member is our patient but the person they know and provide care for at home. “It is crucial carers are included in the patient’s care journey in order to get the best possible health outcomes.” Endorsed by NSLHD Chief Executive Deb Willcox and hospital general managers, one of the simple but most impactful initiatives this year to improve patients
Staff from Ryde celebrating Carers Week
and carers experience is the introduction of the Carer Identification Card. The card clearly identifies carers, smoothing the entry to hospitals and wards at what can be a very difficult time. “We are already seeing the benefits of the card for carers, their loved ones and staff,” Barbara said. “The ID is a small, but helpful way to identify carers and ensure they receive the engagement they need from all staff. “This initiative will be ongoing – beyond COVID-19 – to help our staff know who the carer is and provide the right engagement with them throughout their journey whether they are accessing hospitals for acute care or outpatient appointments.”
Hospital executive teams are getting behind National Carers Week to highlight the importance of engaging with carers. CE Deb Willcox said: “Coming to hospital can be a very daunting experience for patients and carers. “Including carers along the patient journey is key to delivering a positive experience for all. “Our patients’ carers play a huge role in ensuring we can deliver the best outcomes for our patients – and we should never underestimate that.” To find out more about the Carer Identification Card or any other ways to support carers, contact Barbara’s team on 9462 9488.
RNSH executive staff celebrating Carers Week
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 19 | 15 OCTOBER 2021
Staff at the RNSH Operating Suite
Perioperative Nurses Week 2021 Royal North Shore Hospital’s
affects the cardiovascular system and can exacerbate chronic cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart failure. “Considering that cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every 12 minutes, we think it’s critical to better define the link between obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease,” he said. “By broadening our understanding of the relationship between the two conditions, we’ll be in a better position to develop a new targeted approach to therapy to address this deadly duo. “We anticipate more than 500 patients will be involved in the five-year research program, where we will apply state of the art technology to study sleep in the home chocolates, cook-at-home burger kits from The Greens North Sydney, a jelly bean guessing competition, and vouchers. Clinical Nurse Consultant at RNSH’s Operating Suite Rebecca Fox said while COVID-19 restrictions limited staff from all coming together to celebrate, the amount of donations and prizes showed staff just how
much they are valued. “Our perioperative nurses and operations assistants work diligently to provide the best care to our patients,” she said. “It was a challenge to see everyone’s smiles behind their masks, but I can guarantee everyone was beaming from ear-to-ear.”
Operating Suite recently celebrated Perioperative Nurses Week to recognise the hard work of the dedicated team of nurses and operations assistants (OAs). There were many treats for the staff during the week long celebrations. These included a donation of lolly bags from the Corner Shop,
Research to confirm link between sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease The federal government
announced new funding for research which will see close to $2.5 million invested in a program based at RNSH to identify treatments for those with sleep apnoea and cardiovascular diseases. Director of the Sleep Investigation Laboratory within the Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Professor Peter Cistulli will lead the research investigating the emerging evidence around the link between obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular disease. Known as the silent killer, obstructive sleep apnoea affects approximately one billion people globally. It is a chronic disease where the throat passage repeatedly closes during sleep, causing low oxygen levels. Professor Cistulli said we know that this condition
Sleep Medicine Professor Peter Cistulli
setting. “I am delighted to receive this funding to continue to build my CardioSleep Research Program, which will involve local, national and international collaborators, including scientists, cardiologists, and respiratory physicians from Royal North Shore Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. “This success is testament to the talented team of individuals I have the pleasure of working with.”
Clinic 16 keeping busy while NSW gets busy during lockdown As NSW emerges from stay at home restrictions, Northern Sydney Local Health District’s sexual health service might be operating a little differently, but they know one thing for sure.
“People are still having sex,” Director of sexual health for NSLHD Dr Catriona Ooi said. “Sex while social distancing is hard to achieve, initially there was some COVID-19 ‘safer’ sex advice promoted by some, but these have been largely ignored. “While we initially saw a decline in people’s sexual activity, this did not last long.” Treeny said while the initial impact of restrictions slowed patient presentations, human nature eventually prevailed. “After a short while the demand for services increased, and it was evident that people were getting together again. The state data shows that sexually transmitted infection (STI) notifications have dropped during the pandemic but it’s not clear if this is because less people are getting tested. People are still having sex and people are still getting STIs.” Like most other departments, the sexual health service started to explore the online world – switching to an integrated telehealth and face-to-face model of care,
(Left to right): Dr Catriona Ooi, Nurse Susie and Allied Health Manager Dash
depending upon patient need. This included external pathology and specimen collection, community pharmacy direct scripts (via email and fax) and medication home delivery. Sexual Health Nurse Susie said the clinic actually started to see new clients due to the unique situations created by the pandemic. “We have new clients with chronic health needs ‘stuck here’ due to travel restrictions, unable to return to their country of origin,” she said. “(They have) no access to their medication/s or usual care, compounded by no Medicare or Centrelink entitlements. The sexual health service has ensured their care and medications are uninterrupted through partnerships in primary care and other key stakeholders.” Allied Health Manager Dash said while there has always been a slight stigma for those seeking sexual health
treatment, and the pandemic only served to exacerbate this for some. “Some patients who have perhaps sought or engaged in casual sex beyond the COVID-19 public health restrictions may feel an extra layer of stigma or concern about disclosing this,” she said. “We offer the same non- judgemental and confidential service to all patients – maintaining a focus on sexual health, safety and well-being. “We have re-enforced the need for vaccination and public health measures at the same time as understanding the unique circumstances that people are experiencing and the ways in which individuals and communities cope with stress.” As people start to spread the love post lockdown, Treeny and her team encouraged people to ensure they did so with their sexual health in mind.
stay up to date with Nslhd on social media
Ryde Hospital Royal North Shore Hospital
Hornsby Hospital Mona Vale Hospital NSLHD MHDA
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 19 | 15 OCTOBER 2021
A new digital dawn for NSLHD Northern Sydney Local Health District has unveiled its new digital strategy for the next five years.
Acting Director of ICT Ann Mirapuri said the team consulted with a highly engaged sample of NSLHD staff from across a range of disciplines to arrive at a comprehensive strategy for all. “Over the years many staff have told us that a
The new document, which can be read by visiting bit. ly/3AD5V3c, is not just focussed on staff behind a computer. It’s that sort of buy-in that pleased Senior Manager for Investment and Service Delivery for Information Communications and Technology’s (ICT) Michael Bishop. “What was really exciting to see with the creation of our digital strategy is that this isn’t just an ICT strategy,” he said. “As we engaged with our clinical services and key leaders across the district, it became apparent very early on that this digital strategy would be about how we use digital health technology
clear technology strategy defining what we will and will not do is important to their roles,” she said. “Providing a great digital experience for our patients, automating mundane tasks, ensuring real time collaboration, improving telehealth and remote monitoring, enhancing the connectedness of systems and using the data we collect to make sound decisions were some of the things you told us. “We have taken this into Manuela Ferreira (pictured on the front page) said that despite the impact of spinal pain, it’s rarely due to serious disease and usually gets better with time. “Our spine is strong and old concepts like back pain is caused by poor posture or bending are no longer supported by research,” she said. “The latest findings show that there are no right and wrong postures for the spine, as long as we keep moving and changing positions frequently. “The current advice from researchers is to keep working and remain as active as possible. It’s also important
Staff involved in developing the new digital strategy
a clear direction and priorities for the ICT team for the next five years.” Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer Sally Duncan was also thrilled to see the strategy come to fruition.
and data to improve patient care, increase collaboration within and across teams and operate with a greater level of insight into the wellbeing of our patients and our service delivery.” “This is a comprehensive roadmap that will continue to improve digital health capabilities by supporting our staff and our patients to be better connected in our district,” she said. Kolling researchers challenge old concepts to improve care To mark World Spine Day on October 16, the Back Pain account and have developed the Digital Strategy that sets
to limit the use of strong medications and injections, and to consider the role of surgical procedures as many have limited benefit in the long term. “Our Back Pain Research team is continuing our program to help those suffering from spinal pain and is conducting several ground-breaking studies. “Our research is focusing on broadening our knowledge around the efficacy and safety of the most common surgical procedures, and the development of innovative digital approaches to bring the best care to patients with spinal pain.”
Research team at the Kolling Institute is urging those who experience the condition to adopt the latest advice and keep moving. Spinal pain is extremely common, affecting around 800 million people globally. The condition compromises social, family and work activities, and is the main reason Australians retire involuntarily. The lower back and neck are most commonly affected, with those over 75 suffering the most. Head of the Kolling’s Back Pain Research team Professor
TELEPHONE HEALTH COACHING SERVICE
DOYOUWANTTO DRINK LESSALCOHOL? Sign up today. Call 1300 806 258. Monday – Friday / 8am – 8pm
www.gethealthynsw.com.au Free interpreter services availablePage 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online


text:
Pacific Northwest Magazine / Cover Story
Dutiful Servant, Brutal Barrier: The Viaduct at a crossroads
My first view of Seattle was from the back seat of the family Ford, rumbling northward on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. For a 14-year-old, the view from the top deck was a midsummer's dream — on the left, white ferries and the sawtooth Olympic Mountains set against an impossibly blue Puget Sound, on the right that handsome, pre-skyscraper cityscape, with the Smith Tower glowing orange in the late afternoon sun.
That was in 1962, the summer of the World's Fair. And that is when I decided I would live here. Forty years later, every journey along that concrete esplanade reminds me that I made a good decision.
It also reminds me why the viaduct has got to go.
After 30 years of civic debate over the relative benefits and risks of the elevated viaduct, that conclusion is fast becoming conventional wisdom. Last year's Nisqually Earthquake shook its dubious footings, closing it to traffic while makeshift repairs were made. Had the quake been a bit closer, or more violent, it would have been worse.
"There are at least a couple of ways it can fail in a heavier quake," says Tom Madden, project engineer with the state Department of Transportation. He stands beneath the viaduct, pointing up into its suspect underpinnings, seeing things I don't.
"Maybe it's not an emergency," he says. "But you might say we're in an emphatic hurry. We have an opportunity to learn from other people's mistakes, and to do this right."
The opportunity goes beyond that. If Seattle gets its act together, replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct could be the project that reconnects Seattle with its waterfront and links urban landmarks from Safeco Field and Pioneer Square to Pike Place Market, Seattle Center and even South Lake Union.
With this in mind, a team of state and city engineers has begun examining the alternatives — a new elevated freeway, a covered trench, a deep tunnel or, most likely, some combination of the above.
But taxpayers are liable to be wary. There is no official estimate of the costs, but think billions. Replacing the viaduct is likely to be the most costly project in Seattle history, more than the I-90 bridge, the Convention Center, both sports stadiums — combined!
Boston's notorious "Big Dig," which set out to replace a similar, 1950s, elevated freeway, has turned into a fiasco with a price tag of $14 billion — and counting. And Seattle's recent record of building big projects is dubious. This is the city that built a domed stadium, then blew it up because it didn't have enough bathrooms. This is the city that has already spent $1 billion on a mass-transit system that has yet to begin construction.
To make matters worse, the tax revolt leaves city leaders scratching for some way to pay the tab in the midst of a local and national recession — and a continuing tax revolt. Even as they study ways to replace it, these leaders have no certainty they will get the $30 million or so they need for preliminary planning.
It looks like there will be no way around the dreaded "T" word — "tolls." That's how recent freeways in Southern California have been financed. But officials here find it nearly impossible to even mouth the word.
All this to replace a venerable highway that may be drop-dead ugly but still carries 110,000 cars and trucks a day through the guts of the city.
THE ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT dates to those heady years after World War II, when Seattle was riding one of its periodic booms. Thousands of engineers and skilled workers had migrated here to build Boeing bombers and warships. Wages were good, and the quality of life was even better.
But all those people created hopeless traffic jams in a city where water closes in on two sides and virtually every road of consequence converged on downtown Seattle. The jobs were in the South End while a lot of folks were seeking housing in the north. There was no I-5, and Aurora Avenue, the closest thing to a north-south highway, stopped at Denny Way. Commuters had to make their way along Fourth Avenue, the bottleneck in Seattle's hourglass. Something had to be done.
So engineers went to work, looking for some way to get traffic not to but through downtown. They looked at turning Sixth Avenue into a highway, but ultimately, in 1948, rejected that idea in favor of an elevated highway — the region's first "freeway" — right along the waterfront, connecting with Alaskan Way on the south and with a new tunnel under Broad Street, which in turn connected with Aurora.
From the outset, planners considered the aesthetics of the project. City Engineer R.W. Finke promised that the structure would "achieve good architectural lines without any sacrifice in economy." However, he warned the City Council, "it is not beautiful. The requirements of rigid economy have dictated a slenderness of line that is not in harmony with the overall proportions."
Which was City Hall's way of saying: Well, it will create a concrete wall along the waterfront — but it's worth it. The waterfront was dying anyway, as shipping moved south to Harbor Island, which could handle the huge vessels and cranes needed for containerized cargo.
"I am very strongly of the opinion that the structure will not depreciate the appearance of Alaskan Way and the waterfront," Finke persisted. "On the contrary, I am sure that it will improve it."
And so the viaduct was built — 8,070 lineal feet of concrete roadway, two levels, 24,000 cubic yards of concrete reinforced by 10,000 tons of steel. It was a project only an engineer could love — a brutalist barricade, 60 feet tall, that blocked views and broadcast traffic noise for blocks around.
From an engineering standpoint, the viaduct was impressive — big, solid, efficient and, at less than $4 million, a bargain. When it opened in 1952, it was heralded as a civic asset, a "motorists' dream," and a tourist attraction on a par with Mount Rainier and the Lake Washington Floating Bridge. Soon it was carrying an average of 50,000 cars a day past downtown Seattle.
But the engineers blew it on two counts. First, they built on landfill — dirt from the various "regrades" that sought to flatten downtown streets. To make matters worse, the dirt is contained by a makeshift seawall of logs and concrete slabs, some of which dated as far back as 1905. That works fine under normal conditions, but in an earthquake, there is a risk of liquefaction — hard ground turning to mud. Finke's pitch to the Council never mentioned that.
It was to be only the first crucial piece of a web of concrete that would crisscross the city. Interstate 5 came along in the early '60s, closely following that Sixth Avenue route Finke had studied 20 years earlier. Plans called for yet another north-south freeway, the R.H. Thomson, that would slice along the ridge overlooking Lake Washington, plus east-west freeways to link them all into a regional grid. Planners even had the foresight to build elaborate concrete interchanges that would save the taxpayers money later.
And then came the revolution. Perhaps it began with transplanted Californians, who had seen what freeways did to Los Angeles. Maybe it was the Lesser Seattle movement, which argued that freeways are self-fulfilling prophecies that immediately fill with cars.
And maybe it was that slab of concrete, strewn along the waterfront — a rude reminder of the consequences of our infatuation with the automobile.
Whatever the reasons, Seattle in the 1970s turned thumbs down on freeways. The Bay Freeway across South Lake Union was wiped off the books. So was the R.H. Thomson. Critics almost killed plans for the new I-90 bridge across the lake; only an agreement to cover much of the thing saved it. Those orphaned interchanges remained ramps to nowhere, waiting for some future civilization to dig them up and speculate on their religious functions.
The viaduct was becoming a metaphor for whatever was wrong with Seattle. In 1975, a tanker truck crashed on the upper deck, spilling burning gas onto the street below, almost trapping 150 people in a Pioneer Square nightclub. The critics winced and wagged their fingers.
But the Alaskan Way Viaduct stood firm, sucking cars in and out of the city, blocking views, barricading city from Puget Sound, and providing crude shelter for the homeless.
By the late '70s, the contraption had fallen so far out of favor that two councilmen — Bruce Chapman and John Miller — proposed tearing it down and replacing it with a tunnel.
Then along came an upstart, Austrian architect Klaus Bodenmueller, who argued that the structure should be recycled into something better — an elongated 2 million-square-foot urban village with shops, condos, a new art museum and a grand galleria with sweeping views across Elliott Bay. Bodenmueller became obsessed with the idea, peddling it to anyone who would listen. Eventually, he went home to build a similar project over an old railroad yard in Vienna.
In 1985, a local developer got no further with his proposal to turn the viaduct into a parking garage. In the early '90s, another group of businessmen proposed to replace the viaduct with a series of tunnels, paid for by tolls.
None of these ideas went anywhere. Seattle was intent on building other things — sports stadiums, a convention center, an art museum and a symphony hall. After 80 years of failed proposals, the region approved a plan for a mass-transit system — but no new highways.
Then came Feb. 28, 2001. A severe quake, centered 50 miles to the south in the Nisqually Delta, rattled the city's foundations — and the viaduct's. There were isolated cases of soil liquefaction, many of them in the Duwamish area just south of downtown — some in the virtual shadow of the viaduct. The highway remained standing, but with cracked columns and weakened joints. Four months later, engineers released a report warning there is a 1-in-20 chance the structure would fail in a more severe quake in the next 10 years. They recommended replacing it.
That report conjures images of similar structures — San Francisco's Embarcadero and Oakland's Cypress Freeway — parts of which collapsed in the 1989 earthquake.
"In our case, it has more to do with the soils and with that seawall," explains Bob Chandler, viaduct project manager for the City of Seattle. "In a heavy quake, the fear is that the seawall would fail . . . and everything on it is in jeopardy."
Any major structure on the waterfront should be on foundations that carry down to bedrock, some 100 feet below, as was done with the stadiums, he says.
Chandler represents the city, and Madden the state, in the joint effort to draft plans for repairing or, more likely, replacing the structure. They've hired a big-league team of experts — a San Francisco planner who worked on reshaping that city's obsolete highways, an Australian authority on tunnels and risk analysis, engineers, meeting facilitators and more. So far it's been a surprisingly public process, with open meetings, lots of citizen involvement and a Web site that delivers useful information. All this is designed to minimize the conflict in hopes of speeding up the process.
In a day-long tour of the corridor, Chandler and Madden reviewed the constraints they're working under. They have one major advantage: The government already owns the corridor up the Duwamish, along the waterfront, and up Battery Street to Aurora. That helps.
But problems abound. For starters, the viaduct has to remain open while it is replaced. That's what got Boston into trouble, trying to replace an urban freeway without closing it — at the cost of untold billions.
They need to leave room for access ramps — something the 1940s builders barely thought about. Lanes need to be wider to accommodate trucks and emergency shoulders. They need to be equipped with ventilation, fire suppressants.
And the corridor has huge limitations. It must allow for a major rail line for freight and passenger trains. Chandler points to the existing viaduct just north of the Pike Place Market, where new buildings have gone up just inches from viaduct ramps. The Battery Street Tunnel is equally narrow, allowing little or no room for more lanes. And a few blocks north, neighbors such as KING Broadcasting and Holiday Inns have built right up to the property line, so expanding the corridor may mean running a lane through existing hotel rooms, or through KING anchor Jean Enersen's dressing room.
In February, the team unveiled a set of alternative plans.
Plan A is perhaps the simplest and least expensive. It would replace the existing viaduct with a new one, plus a two-level tunnel connecting Alaskan Way with Aurora.
Plan B is a combination — an elevated highway for southbound lanes and an underground, cut-and-cover trench for northbound lanes, connecting with a deep tunnel beneath the existing Battery Street tunnel.
Plan C replaces the viaduct with a cut-and-cover trench, which would be tied into a new downtown seawall, eventually leaving the surface open for parks, a waterfront boulevard, transit or whatever.
Plan D is similar to Plan C, but follows a less-direct route north from the waterfront to Aurora.
Many of the listeners wanted to drop Plans A and B altogether. After years of looking at one ugly viaduct, who wants another one? Waterfront real estate has become far too valuable to turn over to cars.
Instead, they gushed over the prospects of eliminating the wall and reconnecting Seattle with the waterfront that made it a great city. "Instead of just thinking about the costs, we need to think about the return-on-investment," said City Councilman Richard Conlin.
Others talked about possibilities for public transit — a new monorail, or an extended streetcar line. Still others yearn to extend the project even farther, creating a grand, sweeping parkway from Safeco Field to South Lake Union.
But there was an unspoken sense of the ethereal in that meeting room. While civic leaders entertained grand visions, each had to be wondering: Get real! This is the city that inspired Tim Eyman to launch a tax revolt, a city that Boeing dumped in favor of Chicago, a city where dot-coms have collapsed right and left, a city that already blew its civic wad on a transit system that may or may not get built, on a new City Hall and a convention center, on two sports stadiums and an aging second baseman from Cincinnati who had one good year. What are the chances that taxpayers will spend billions to tear down a perfectly good viaduct and replace it with a tunnel and a waterfront park?
Once upon a time, Seattle's civic leaders hired yet another nationally-known engineer, Virgil Bogue, and assigned him to craft a bold development plan appropriate to a new century. Bogue set up shop downtown and spent a year studying the city before producing a thick document that called for a new civic center, new parks, parkways and highways, tunnels and an elaborate mass-transit system. He didn't know what it would cost, but he promised a rich return on the investment.
When the Bogue Plan was put to a popular vote, it lost nearly 2-to-1.
That was in 1911. Instead of following his plan, Seattle leveled some hills and used the dirt as landfill behind a slapdash seawall.
A generation later, the city built a "motorists' dream" along that hastily-built waterfront.
And the rest is history.
Ross Anderson is a former Seattle Times reporter and now a Seattle free-lance writer.