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When board member Donna Kloch demanded accountability at the local United Way, she got retaliation, personal attacks, stonewalling, and expulsion. She also got results.
Photographs by Charles Steck
Until January of this year, few folks outside of Alexandria had ever heard of Donna Kloch, and that was just fine with her. Her public profile consisted mostly of attending events with her husband, John Kloch, a state judge who had served as Alexandria’s commonwealth’s attorney for 18 years. She had always been a part of his re-election campaigns, smiling, holding his hand, serving punch and cookies. The Klochs lived in the Rosemont section of Alexandria, a quiet neighborhood where houses had front porches and swing sets. Donna Kloch was a constant presence at public school functions for her two sons, sweeping up crumbs after bake sales. She had wispy blond hair and a wispier voice. If you didn’t know about her activism with Catholics for a Free Choice, you’d swear she was the perfect ’50s woman stranded in the ’90s.
From punch and cookies, Kloch moved up to serving white wine and crackers when she volunteered to help Alexandria Mayor Jim Moran’s run for Congress in 1990. After he won, the new Democratic congressman put her in his constituent-affairs office. Her job was to help the elderly find missing Social Security checks, and, she says, she took it personally when she couldn’t make those checks appear. She was, she admitted, a bleeding-heart liberal.
“Is that such a bad thing?” she asks.
Since 1980, Kloch has plowed her bleeding-heart proclivities into the United Way. She started out by pushing the Alexandria United Way and the city to set up a day-care program. The next battle was a teen-pregnancy clinic that offered birth-control advice, which the United Way championed. The Christian right wing and its point man on the city council predicted the end of civilization, but the clinic came to pass. Kloch’s little-girl charm all but siphoned money from the pockets of local businesses during annual fall United Way drives, and she was named the Alexandria United Way president in 1992. That gave her an automatic place—unpaid—on the board of the United Way of the National Capital Area. Without meaning to, she’d backed her way into an influential role at a major charity.
Serving on the United Way board was initially a low-stress proposition for Kloch, who got along well with the chapter’s key executives. Board meetings were generally cordial, chatty events where Kloch & Co. nodded at the rosy presentations of the organization’s administration. “No one asked questions about anything, really—no one on the board,” says Kloch. “I get very mad at myself when I think about all the times I just went along.”
The climate of civility, however, ended in January, when the media began printing stories on mismanagement at the United Way, quoting Kloch repeatedly about concerns that the board had been misled by its own leaders. There were also allegations about financial shenanigans and excessive expenses, and about whether the new Washington director, Norm Taylor, had been ousted from the leadership of another United Way chapter. Right after the first of these stories hit the streets, the chapter held a board meeting at which Kloch says she expected to participate in a levelheaded discussion of the issues.
Instead, Kloch and like-minded board members were ambushed. Board President Gwen Boyd kicked off the Jan. 24 meeting with a 10-minute rant on “traitors” who had talked to the media about supposed problems at the United Way. Many board members began shouting, egging on Boyd with repeated “Amen!”s. So much for levelheadedness. It verged on a mob scene, with people demanding the heads of those who had “sold out” the United Way by tattling to the media.
Bill Euille, vice mayor of Alexandria, stood up to defend Kloch and the others who had spoken to the press. But board member Jeff Johnson suggested that Euille sit down and shut up. At that point, Euille said he was resigning from the board and stormed out. Another board member hollered, “Don’t let the door hit you!” Kloch shrank into her chair, too stunned to speak. After the meeting, she says, she collapsed in tears in her car.
The backlash taught Kloch that the progressive leanings of her United Way colleagues didn’t mean that they tolerated dissonant voices. Over the coming months, the questions of Kloch and other accountability-minded board members would be answered with the United Way’s retaliation cocktail: allegations of racism, other personal insinuations, and a call from one board member at a recent meeting to “let the dogs loose” on the troublemakers.
Board infighting at charities happens every day in nonprofit-rich Washington. The local United Way, though, is not just any charity: It is the second-largest United Way chapter in the country, claiming to have raised $93 million in 2001. It also holds the annual contract for the Combined Federal Campaign, which plucks bucks from the paychecks of hundreds of thousands of local federal employees every year. Those donations account for roughly half of the chapter’s annual take.
Bad press threatens the whole operation. Charities such as the United Way bank on their reputation for spending a bare minimum on administrative expenses and passing along maximum money and services to the needy. With her insistence on accountability and willingness to speak with reporters, Kloch quickly drew the resistance and resentment of United Way officials determined to hide any problems behind closed doors.
At bottom, the United Way upheaval of recent months follows a classic Washington pattern: a series of petty abuses of the system involving chump change; an immediate retreat to the bunker by the folks in charge; and, ultimately, a cover-up of further misdeeds that could destroy the United Way’s way of doing business.
But forcing a recalcitrant institution away from that path requires a strong, persistent voice of reason. In this story, that figure has been Kloch, a reluctant crusader whose dissidence was ultimately rewarded with expulsion.
There were a few things at the United Way that had never made sense to Kloch. She’d always known that the organization was essentially a pass-through institution; it processed donations and then divvied them out to social-service agencies that catered directly to the needy. But she’d heard some vague references to a practice whereby the United Way chapter credited itself with money that it never actually collected.
If a company sent its donation straight to an agency such as So Others Might Eat or Hopkins House, Kloch wondered, why did the chapter insist on counting that donation in its own total? Didn’t that throw off the books?
Kloch didn’t indulge her curiosity by asking the chapter’s execs: “I never asked questions about it, because I thought there was probably a good reason for it.”
Nor did she ask questions when it came time to hire a replacement for Executive Vice President Oral Suer, who had been running the Washington chapter since 1977. Kloch was on the committee that ran the selection process. In theory, Suer had nothing to do with choosing his successor, but in practice, Kloch says, he usurped the committee’s prerogative.
Suer campaigned for the committee to hire Taylor, former president of the United Way of Central Maryland, which includes Baltimore. “Oral really wanted Norm,” says Kloch. “It seemed he was really pushing for him, and Oral became the gatekeeper.” Taylor had left Baltimore after only four years, at which time Suer had appointed him head of the Combined Federal Campaign. Kloch had heard that Taylor had left Baltimore under a cloud and asked Suer privately about it. “Oral told me that Norm had tried to make the Baltimore chapter more inclusive, and its board wasn’t ready for that, and that Norm had quit,” she says. “That sounded OK, so I didn’t ask anyone else for more detail.”
Taylor arrived at the Washington United Way chapter in February 2001 with a lot of good will. Staffers and board members were looking forward to a new, energetic leader. They seemed to get that in Taylor, a tall, beefy man with a deep voice. He had played college football and used sports phrases, street talk, and wild gestures to punch up his statements.
Initial impressions notwithstanding, Taylor began surprising Kloch and others almost from the day he took the post. First, he changed his title from executive vice president to CEO. It wasn’t a felony, but in the self-effacing world of eleemosynary giving, it seemed a bit much. Next, paycheck stubs began bearing the slogan: “This check has been authorized by Norman O. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of the National Capital Area.” Some folks thought the paychecks had been authorized by the little people who gave their money to the charity.
Within his first month on the job, Taylor learned of a financial problem worthy of CEO-level attention: Staffer Dulcy Hooper, a successful fundraiser at the chapter, had just taken over its Major Corporations Division and had discovered some major bookkeeping irregularities. Hooper had been told by Suer and another staffer about “special handling” for regular givers such as Washington Gas, AT&T, Safeway, Bank of America, Lockheed Martin, and Arthur Andersen. The “special handling” varied by company, but it meant, essentially, that big corporate donations to the United Way and to any other charities were rolled in together. The accounting gimmick made the chapter’s donation sums appear inflated and its overhead costs smaller.
“That was when I learned that a dollar wasn’t necessarily a dollar if the United Way was counting it,” Hooper says. Flanked by another chapter employee, Hooper presented her findings to Taylor in February 2001. “I told Norm we had a problem with ‘funny money,’” Hooper says. “It was embedded everywhere. I told him that the funny money made any attempts to calculate our overhead meaningless.”
Hooper also indicated that the chapter had been double-counting millions of dollars in pledges intended for another United Way chapter as far back as 1994. A cleanup of the books had already begun, reported Hooper, who warned Taylor that the reconciliation would produce a drop in the reported donation totals for the Major Corporations Division.
Three months later, Hooper was told that Taylor intended to fire her. In need of allies, Hooper called one of her key fundraisers, board member Ross Dembling, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight. On June 11, 2001, Dembling sent the chapter a letter urging Taylor not to dismiss Hooper. But on June 12, Hooper was terminated—the reason was the very drop in the Major Corporations Division she’d warned Taylor about.
In June and July, Hooper and her lawyers sent letters to Taylor and the charity’s outside counsel reminding them that she had warned Taylor personally that the funny money and double-counting had destroyed the “integrity” of the books. The outside counsel responded that allegations about funny money were “baseless.”
Kloch heard the grumbling in the ranks when Hooper was fired but didn’t follow up on it. Then, later that June, she learned that Dembling himself had been ousted from the board. Kloch was surprised: A key fundraiser among the volunteers, Dembling had run two of the most important donor divisions.
In late July, Kloch received a letter from Dembling outlining problems with the chapter’s management, finances, and hiring practices. Dembling cited some $50,000 spent on renovation of Taylor’s office. Next, he alleged excessive travel by Taylor, Suer, and an unspecified board member, paid by the United Way. That item caught Kloch’s attention, because she knew that according to the rules, board members could not get their travel expenses reimbursed unless they pleaded financial hardship—and almost no one on the board was in that situation.
Dembling’s list continued: a $6,000-a-month consulting contract for the outgoing Suer; contractor work done without permits or competitive bids; mismanagement and outrageous expense-account items, including many stops at the Pier Seven restaurant. Furthermore, Hooper’s duties had been taken over by two people, and in both cases, the jobs had apparently been offered before they’d been posted by the United Way. Taylor, it seemed, was up to a classic Washington trick: stacking the payroll with cronies.
Dembling shattered the chapter’s conventional wisdom with an additional shocker: Taylor, he said, had been forced out of the Baltimore United Way chapter. Kloch couldn’t believe it—after all, she’d received assurances to the contrary from Suer. If true, it meant that the board had been kept in the dark by its own leaders.
Kloch immediately called board president Boyd to ask for an emergency meeting. Boyd eventually dismissed Dembling’s allegations as “sour grapes.” She did agree, however, to discuss the issues at an upcoming Administration and Finance Committee meeting.
On Aug. 14, Kloch took her seat at that committee meeting and was presented with a fait accompli: The chapter’s leadership—outside attorney Irv Kator, Boyd, and another official—had already worked up a letter clearing both Taylor and Suer. It said that the committee—including Kloch—had investigated the Dembling allegations and found them without merit. They wanted Kloch to sign it in her capacity as board vice president.
“But what investigation have you done?” Kloch asked. “I haven’t done anything yet. I can’t sign this.”
It was the first time Kloch remembers ever balking at anything Kator had suggested. “But it didn’t seem right,” she says. “We were meeting to discuss how we were going to investigate the allegations, and they’d drawn up this letter before we’d even met.”
Kloch refused to sign the letter, thinking they’d go through the issues outlined in Dembling’s memo. Instead, others in the room became angry. Kator growled that he’d looked at everything already. Then Johnson, who had been a board member for more than a decade, turned on Kloch. Johnson, an African-American, told Kloch that Dembling’s allegations were “racially motivated” and suggested that those who supported Dembling were, therefore, racist, says Kloch. Board president Boyd glared at her and nodded. The rationale behind the racial charges was that white board members were questioning the activities of the chapter’s new black CEO, whereas they had always treated his white predecessor gently.
“I didn’t know what to say. I’d never had anyone call me anything like that,” says Kloch. Still, she refused to sign the letter. “I couldn’t believe it,” Kloch recalls. She left the meeting upset. (Johnson declined to be interviewed and through an employee referred questions to another chapter official.)
The next day, Kloch called Kator and Taylor about the Johnson comment. “How could you let that happen?” she says she asked. “And why is it so important that I sign that letter?” Kator apologized about Johnson, but the letter, with few changes—and without her signature—was sent out five days later to board members.
The board was a weird stack of reliable retirees, people with community-activist experience, resume-builders, and a few professionals with high-profile companies: SunTrust Bank, Riggs Bank, Deloitte & Touche.
So the panel consisted largely of people with neither the time nor the inclination to investigate every question about management practices. “You just don’t think that you have to act as though you’re working with people you can’t trust. It’s a charity,” says board member Tony Buzzelli.
As the drama over the Dembling memo wore on, Kloch became the center of a bloc of Northern Virginian board members who felt dissed. But they hesitated to get too vocal because, as good Northern Virginia liberals, they would have preferred drinking Clorox to standing accused of racism.
Among the Northern Virginian dissidents was Alexandria’s Euille, a successful businessman who routinely gave about $15,000 a year to the chapter. He is African-American—which helped keep the problem from becoming completely black-vs.-white.
After several private strategy sessions, Kloch and fellow Northern Virginia board member Dave Cooper decided to interview Dembling about his findings themselves and see if he was credible. The fact-finding mission produced a couple of juicy revelations: (1) The board member whose travel that Dembling had questioned was none other than Boyd herself—who had cost the United Way $913 to fly to a conference in St. Louis—and she’d never mentioned that detail to Kloch. And (2) Dembling said he’d learned that Taylor had received a hefty settlement to leave Baltimore quietly.
Kloch and Cooper relayed the findings to the other Virginians. They all thought they had enough facts to document a pattern of petty overspending and bylaws-bending that required investigation and intervention before anything became public. They decided to propose an independent audit.
On Oct. 9, the 40-member board voted 19-13 in favor of the independent probe. But as proponents of the measure soon found out, “independent” was a subjective term at the United Way. Boyd suddenly announced the creation of a four-person ad hoc committee to oversee the audit, to be run by Buzzelli. But none of the board members who had been asking about Dembling’s memo were put on that committee.
Then another board member motioned to have Kator control the audit results and determine what the board would see afterward. The premise was allegedly salutary: Proponents of the motion wanted to keep board members from being overwhelmed by documents. “It sounded reasonable,” says Kloch. “So we voted for Irv to handle the details. I had no idea what that would mean.”
What it would mean was that Kator could control exactly how the audit was done and perhaps delay its release. As Kloch and the Virginians later learned, Kator, Boyd, and the auditing committee still had not contracted with an outside auditor a month later.
Frustrated, Kloch decided to contact all the other board members. So she asked Taylor’s assistant for a complete board list with addresses and phone numbers. She was told that it was policy not to give out the board list to other board members. “Excuse me?” she asked.
By the time Kloch arrived home that night, she’d built up steam, and she unloaded as her husband came in. “I don’t think John knew whether to laugh or cry,” she says. As the situation dragged out over the coming months, he would needle her: “Honey,” he’d grin, “tell me again about how they wouldn’t give the you the board list. C’mon.”
In November, Cooper called the United Way and said he wanted to see the expense records and the corporate American Express bills, to which all board members were entitled. But Cooper was told that the records were being reviewed by the organization’s regular auditors, Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, and were therefore unavailable. There was no indication when they would be available.
There were more obstacles: On Dec. 18, Boyd sent a letter saying that the motion for an outside auditor on Oct. 9 was not “clear,” and the board would have to meet again to vote on an independent audit. That meeting was set for Jan. 24.
At this point, numerous board members concluded that Kator, Boyd, Taylor, and their supporters were stonewalling. (Boyd has not responded to calls; Taylor declined repeated requests for an interview over three months.) So they turned to the press. New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston’s Jan. 23 story indicated that Taylor had indeed been forced out of Baltimore, for “sustained unsatisfactory performance.” Boyd confirmed to the Times that she had not divulged that fact to the board.
Kloch and her supporters entered the Jan. 24 meeting convinced that the article had vindicated their position and that even Taylor’s staunchest allies would concede major problems.
However, the problems, as the majority saw it, lay not with Taylor and the books but with Kloch and the Virginians. During the dust-up, Boyd, Johnson, and others attacked Kloch. Though the board voted for an independent audit, Kator reminded them that the audit was unnecessary because Dembling’s allegations were “unfounded.”
The leadership had reason to know better. While the leadership was telling everyone on Jan. 24 how clean the books were, it had in its possession Jan. 15 reports from Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell validating several of Dembling’s concerns. The accountants cited a “reportable” condition involving financial records as well as other problems, such as lax recordkeeping for expenses, questions about top managers buying United Way cars for themselves or their families, travel expenses, and uncompetitive contract bidding, among other issues.
The reports were mentioned only obliquely at the Jan. 24 meeting, as “suggestions” made by the chapter’s auditors. Now, Buzzelli concedes that he should have been more specific in telling the board what had been found. “I think you can say [the reports] vindicated a lot of what Ross Dembling was saying all along.” But he didn’t say it to the board that day.
A few days later, Rep. Moran met with the members of the Alexandria United Way board to hear them out. At the end, he suggested that they and the other Northern Virginia United Way branches split off from the capital-area chapter. “I believe their concerns are very real,” Moran said afterward. “They can’t count on the rest of the board or the people in charge at United Way to do the right thing….If the United Way keeps sweeping things under the rug, eventually they’ll trip on it.”
In February and March, board members and local volunteers from Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William Counties as well as Alexandria met several more times to plan how to avoid another debacle like that of Jan. 24. Major donors began expressing doubt in the chapter. Dave Cotton, a longtime contributor, declared that he would no longer give to the agency. Cotton audits nonprofits, and in an interview, he expressed astonishment that the chapter was refusing to allow its own board members access to records.
Meanwhile, board members and donors were wondering about the status of the audit by McGladrey & Pullen, the outside firm finally hired by Kator in February. No one in the Northern Virginia bloc knew exactly what the firm was investigating. Kloch called Kator several times to ask to see the “engagement letter”—the contract between the auditors and the United Way. What were they looking at? The truth about Taylor’s hiring? Travel expenses? Cronyism and hiring practices? “[Kator] wouldn’t tell me,” says Kloch. “He said the auditing committee was in charge. But I think he was in charge. He said a couple things, and I finally told him I couldn’t trust what he said anymore. I told him I just didn’t believe him.”
On March 22, the auditing committee saw a draft of the McGladrey report. Afterward, Cooper was told that the draft had suggested decades of financial laxity at the agency.
On April 2, Kloch braced herself for what she thought might be the end of the mess. She accompanied a group of Virginians to the United Way building on M Street SW to hear the McGladrey audit results. But when the full board convened behind closed doors, they got a monologue from Buzzelli instead. He explained that the actual audit wasn’t ready yet and proceeded with a presentation on key findings.
Buzzelli said that the audit had found no “major” problems. But he warned the board that the media and public would be waiting for results. It was imperative, he said, that they have a unified message and tell the media that the audit found “no misappropriation of funds.”
“We weren’t looking for misappropriation of funds,” says Kloch. “We were looking for overspending and problems with the bylaws. No one suggested anyone had run off with the money.”
Kator stepped in to explain that he still needed to “work on the language” of the final audit report with McGladrey, and he said the way the current draft audit was worded might be “misinterpreted,” because it suggested that chapter management had been “sloppy.”
Kloch and her Virginia peers tried to nail the leadership and Kator down on specific points. Cooper, for instance, asked several times what Suer’s total expenses had been for his consulting period in 2001. No one responded. Instead, Kator noted that Suer was “negotiating” with the chapter to repay some of his expenses.
Other probing questions drew similar evasions from the leadership. Boyd’s travel expenses, for example, were dismissed with a semantic twist: Her plane fare and hotel had been paid outright by a chapter staffer, so technically Boyd had not been “reimbursed.” Besides, she would repay the $913.
Kloch was also troubled by the role of outside counsel Kator. His firm had investigated whether Taylor had bent the chapter’s hiring policies to bring in two new people the previous June. Kator’s audit found no violations. Furthermore, Kloch suspected that the dates of certain job postings and hiring practices bucked the chapter’s own guidelines.
In a recent interview, Kator was asked why, for starters, Dulcy Hooper’s replacement moved into her office just three days after the opening had been posted; jobs are supposed to be posted for seven days. Kator said that the replacement might have been sitting there on “acting” status at the time—in which case, Kator said, the United Way had not technically violated the rules: “That’s why we say ‘acting.’ It works that way in government, too, kid,” Kator told the City Paper.
Despite all the unanswered questions about the United Way’s management, the Washington Post blithely reported, “New United Way Audit Finds No Wrongdoing.”
Two weeks later, the Alexandria board members met with Buzzelli. He still had no audit to give them, he said, though he offered to do a full slide presentation. This time, Kloch and others were ready. They’d been asking other charities how they handled audits. They wanted the engagement letter, showing exactly how the audit had been done.
A full month had passed since April 2, and chapter leadership still wasn’t coming forth with the audit documents. So Kloch and her cohorts reprised their dissident strategy, beating the drums daily, demanding the goods, and turning to the press.
The strategy worked: Stories in the Post and New York Times about the mysterious audit prompted donors and corporate sponsors to demand to see the audit themselves. Under pressure, the chapter announced that it would finally present the audit to the board on May 8. But even then, Kator said on the TV news that he could not release that audit to the board unless the board voted to break its own attorney-client privilege.
“Hey, we’re the clients here,” said Kloch that night. “I keep asking Irv, ‘Aren’t we the clients? We’re paying the auditor bill, right?’”
Nonetheless, on May 8, the board finally got to review the official McGladrey report, plus an accompanying report by Kator. The results cleared everyone of anything major. How? The engagement letter explained it all: McGladrey & Pullen had been asked to do a shallow “procedural” audit. (In fact, two key executives involved with finances were never interviewed for the audit.) McGladrey said the firm had not been asked to do the kind of exam that would have led it to “express an opinion” on the questions raised by the board.
Several people at the meeting grumbled that the audit had barely skimmed the surface. They suggested that the board look further into key allegations. But that motion was voted down 11-10 after one board member asked, “What if we find something?”
At this point, Johnson began talking about how too many people had talked to the press, looking at Kloch. Another board member complained that Kloch had been “narcotized” by the media attention. “We have a serious problem here,” said Kloch, pleading for support. To which another member retorted: “And you’re the problem.”
Buzzelli stepped in to defend Kloch, saying that transparency was necessary for credibility. But others began berating those who had gone public. It was then that Russell Koon of Greenbelt suggested, “It’s time to let the dogs loose” on those who were stirring up the media. Kloch left, avoiding the press.
Then the Post printed a hard-hitting story revealing the existence of the Jan. 15 reports and stating that they “lent credence” to Dembling. It also noted that Taylor and his team had quietly spent at least $50,000 on a Baltimore PR expert to help with the United Way’s image, plus $14,000 on the prestigious Zogby polling firm to tell the chapter whether it had a PR problem.
On Tuesday, May 21, Kloch woke up early, dreading that morning’s board meeting, about the upcoming budget. But sitting on her porch was a new front-page story in the Post that made her gasp. All the digging around about the Dembling memo had led to the so-called funny money, and that had finally tripped up the chapter. The Post reported that the United Way had inflated its fundraising totals, discrediting its accounting records. Furthermore, the Post reported, the overhead costs, which the organization had always touted as particularly low, at 9 percent, were possibly twice that high.
“I saw that story, and I knew people couldn’t ignore the problems anymore,” Kloch says.
The story also shook up Buzzelli, who is slated to become the new board chair in July. “I just learned about it this morning,” he said that day. “I want to know everything” he added, including whether the chapter had taken overhead and shrinkage costs from money that it hadn’t even touched.
When Kloch and the Virginians entered the board room at noon, they were ready for battle. But this time, they encountered no resistance.
Instead, they got reinforcements. A Prince William member castigated Taylor for having secretly hired the Baltimore PR firm. A Fairfax member said tartly that PR didn’t work if infrastructure was a problem. A usually silent Arlington member strode to the front of the room to demand a list of funny-money companies. Nobody interrupted a dissident board member as he denounced Taylor for coming in over budget by some 16 percent. And for once, no one took a potshot at Kloch, when she asked why there were so many management salaries above $100,000.
In the end, the board rejected the budget and demanded cuts—a first in Kloch’s memory. A friend of Taylor’s on the board motioned to set aside $125,000 for a PR firm to assist with image reconstruction. She was shot down in seconds, after the Washington Times’ Geoff Edwards, a board member, snapped, “Can you imagine the headlines?”
This time when she left, Kloch was smiling. “No one is going to tell me or anyone they can’t talk to the press,” she said.
On June 12, the Alexandria United Way held its annual dinner. Taylor attended, as he had other branch dinners, but he was not asked to speak. Sitting on the sidelines, he watched as Gov. Mark Warner and the Alexandria president noted the need for accountability at the United Way.
Then Rep. Moran pointedly dragged Kloch to the front of the room and made her blush. “Boy, I’m so proud of this person,” he said, hugging her. “She stood so tall this year. She’s so shy, but she really got out there, didn’t she?” The applause for Kloch built, and Taylor, frowning, finally brought his hands together to clap once. “I think we made our point,” said an Alexandria board member.
As people wandered over to shake her hand, Kloch, still embarrassed, hovered next to her husband, who kidded her, “Tell me again about the time they wouldn’t give you the board list.”
But Taylor was holding the final ace. On June 18, in a secret conference call, his friends on the nominating committee for the board that takes over in July dumped Kloch and Euille from the board. Cooper had already learned that his term would not be renewed. The dissidents demanding accountability had been expunged—and three of Taylor’s most vocal supporters were given committee chairmanships and the position of vice president of the board.
Shaking her head, Kloch says, “They’re just stacking the board for Norm, and it’s so blatant, it’s actually funny.”
So there’ll be no one on the new board to question Taylor’s current media strategy. In recent Post stories, Taylor has expressed surprise at the chapter’s financial gymnastics.
“He’s trying to blame everything on [Suer], and that’s not true,” Kloch says. “Norm knew about the funny money last year and didn’t stop it going on in the fall campaign” in order to run up the pledge drive.
As for Kloch herself, she says, “Maybe it’s OK this way. Let it play out and see whether the United Way cleans itself up. But I don’t think that will happen. Don’t worry—there’s a lot of other things I can do in this community, and now I’ll have time for them.” CP
Art accompanying story in the printed newspaper is not available in this archive: Photographs by Charles Steck.


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February 04, 2024 - February 25, 2024
32 Main Street, Riebeeck Kasteel, South Africa
“As above, so below; as within, so without” wrote Hermes Trismegistus the alchemist and author of the Emerald Tablet. This esoteric maxim of the alchemists refers to the relationship between the macrocosm (universe, outer world) and the microcosm (the individual, inner world) and describes the creative process employed by artists who draw from their environments and surroundings, transforming or sublimating the images into a personal lexicon which becomes a manifestation of their imagination. This “mind’s eye” or “inner eye” of the artist was likened by a later master of alchemy, Paracelsus, to a magnet which with its power of attraction, draws the things of the external world and places them within the individual to reshape them in his or her imagination. By observing and recording our environment, this perception of our world is captured and internalised in the imagination and mind of the alchemist, artist, sculptor, or writer.
The external world is what we perceive. In considering its stillness, what is the story we want to tell? A moment in time is captured by the mind of the artist – a painting is the story of where the eye falls, is captivated and internalised into the vision of the creative.

domain: artistic


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The confusion comes just as thousands of families in multiple communities are sending their children back to in-person school after spending the first quarter online. In Butler County, Middletown, Talawanda and Monroe schools returned more students to in-person classes this week.
Many schools publish their own updated COVID data on their school websites.
Ohio Department of Health officials looked at multiple discrepancies raised by the Journal-News and confirmed that the data posted on their website last Thursday “is what has been reported by the local health departments.”
Officials with the Warren County Health District acknowledged the ODH dashboard numbers for Franklin schools were wrong last Thursday, saying it appeared to be a transcription error in the final document. They said Franklin should have been listed with one new student case and no new staff cases in the Oct. 15 release, rather than three and one, respectively.
“We do not have any way of correcting those after it is on the ODH website until the next reporting week,” said Dustin Ratliff, sanitarian supervisor, planning and analytics for the Warren County Health District.
A statewide order issued in early September says schools have to contact their county health department within 24 hours of being notified of a COVID-19 case in a student or school employee. County health departments then report that data to ODH, which releases updated statistics each Thursday.
But issues with the data have existed from the beginning. Some cases didn’t show up in the state dashboard until two or three weeks after schools notified parents.
Other county health departments have acknowledged some data lag issues, citing a backlog of work and aging technology.
The Journal-News is the only media outlet in the region to regularly check coronavirus data for local schools and report on case numbers, quarantines and changes to plans. We have reporters in our communities following the most important stories, such as the health and safety of our area’s students.

domain: sociology


Feb 14, 2017 - Everbilt 5 ft. x 50 ft. 14-Gauge Galvanized Steel Welded Wire Garden Fence-308303EB - The Home Depot Homemade Grass & Weed Killer. Unwanted plants create a hostile growing environment for desirable plants, causing them to compete for food
The 1-1/2"x1-1/2", 12-1/2" gauge mesh makes a particularly excellent floor for dog kennels. More Fencing 101 TIP: SS welded wire mesh, strong and long lasting, needs no additional finish to protect it. The wire itself is extremely resistant to rust, corrosion
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Wire mesh from Grainger has a wide range of appliions. It is commonly used in agricultural, industrial, transportation, horticulture and food procuring sectors. It is also used in mines, gardening, machine protection and other decorations. Concrete that is poured
5 x 50 ft. Vinyl Galvanized Welded Mesh Wire 16 Gauge PVC Coated Garden Fencing C $110.22 Buy It Now +C $49.99 shipping 5 Watching From United States Customs services and international tracking provided 4 x 50 ft. Black Garden Fencing Galvanized
4,511 welded mesh products are offered for sale by suppliers on Alibaba, of which steel wire mesh accounts for 19%, iron wire mesh accounts for 16%, and metal building materials accounts for 4%. A wide variety of welded mesh options are available to you, such as construction wire mesh, fence mesh, and protecting mesh.
Critter-Cages 1/2 x 1/2 19 Gauge Wire Mesh Rolls GAW 100 Ft. [WA 1180 - 1182] - 1/2 x 1/2 19 Gauge Wire Mesh Rolls GAW 100 Ft. * 19 Gauge wire * Galvanized after welding for longer life * Keep rodents out of your Coop * Great for protecting plants & shrubs
All Wire Mesh Sheets are 10 Gauge Item Nuer Description Dimensions Weight Retail FRZ1G 1" x 1" Galvanized Wire Mesh Sheet 44.25" x 114" 35 lbs. $79.00 FRZ112G 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" Galvanized Wire Mesh Sheet 43.75" x 116" 25 lbs. $52.95 FRZ2G 2" x 2
3 Welded wire reinforcement (WWR) is a prefabried rein-forcement consisting of parallel series of high-strength, cold-drawn or cold-rolled wire welded together in square or rectangular grids. Each wire intersection is electrically resis-tance-welded by a continuous
16/8/2020· Suregreen 4ftx10m Welded Wire Mesh,1"x1" hole (25mm),19 gauge,1.2m high. Galvanised steel. Metal fencing roll 4.6 out of 5 stars 27 £38.95 £ 38. 95 FREE Delivery Only 3 left in stock. Cages Netting Hog Ring Plier,Fencing Plier,Netting Clip Plier Mesh Cage
Galvanized welded wire mesh fence, 14 gauge. Mesh is the size of the holes. example 2 inch by 1 inch holes ==> 2" x 1" mesh and 2 inch by 4 inch holes ==> 2" x 4" meshSize: 24" x 25'', 2" x 1" mesh - 175237, 24" x 100'', 2" x 1" mesh - 567636, 36" x 50
4 ft. x 50 ft. 10-Gauge Welded Wire Fence with Mesh 2 in. x 2 in. 6 ft. x 100 ft. 12.5-Gauge Welded Wire Fence with Mesh 2 in. x 4 in. 4 ft. x 50 ft. 14-Gauge Black PVC Coated Welded Wire Fence with Mesh Size 1 in. x 1 in. Price $115.99 /roll $144.99 /roll (22)
Provide your pet and companion with plenty of exercise space in a welded wire modular kennel system. Simply stand panels upright in desired configuration and bolt together for support. 2" x 4" (mesh size) 8-gauge welded wire is attached directly to the 100% commercial grade steel frame with a drill and weld method; there are no bands, ties, or bolts required for the mesh.
Heavy duty 3mm (10 gauge) thick steel wire welded mesh panels for fencing, security cages, animal cages, pet enclosures, garden fences and construction appliions. These 8ft x 4ft galvanised welded wire mesh panels are manufactured from a thick 10 SWG gauge (3mm dia.) steel wire.
17/1/2012· It is electronically welded with no infill material and has good air flow characteristics. It is hard to bend by hand. It has high consumer appeal but also used for pest control, and lab caging.
Find great deals on eBay for welded wire mesh and welded wire mesh 1 x 1. Shop with confidence. Amounts shown in italicized text are for items listed in currency other than Canadian dollars and are approximate conversions to Canadian dollars based upon
Fencer Wire 16 Gauge Green Vinyl Coated Welded Wire Mesh Size 2 inch by 3 inch. This green vinyl-coated welded wire is great for gardens and the farm. Keep your animals in and other animals out with this wire fence. It is vinyl coated to last. Green vinyl coated, u niformly welded galvanized wire is extremely durable and long lasting
In today’s market, when a customer requests a wire cloth, it usually refers to a product that is on the finer end of the mesh count spectrum—for example, a T-304 Stainless Steel Woven Wire Cloth – 100 x 100 Mesh, .0045″ Diameter Wire.
CML supply an extensive range of light and heavy gauge welded mesh in both self colour, pre & post galvanised wire. Mesh is usually cut from rolls 120'' long from which custom panels are guillotined and flattened to exact sizes. We also supply mesh in 8'' x 4
welded-wire fabric, welded wire mesh welded-wire fabric A series of longitudinal and transverse wires arranged at right angles to each other and welded together at all points of intersection; used as reinforcement in reinforced concrete .
Jul 21, 2020 Everbilt 5 ft. x 50 ft. 14-Gauge Galvanized Steel Welded Wire
Mine Mesh Tree Island Steel mine mesh is manufactured to exact specifiions to meet the demands of the mining industry. Mine mesh offers protection to the miners from loose scaling in the mines. Flush cut edges improve handling, installation and maintenance
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A One Steel Traders - Offering Galvanized iron Welded Wire Mesh at Rs 15/square feet in Muai, Maharashtra. Read about company. Get contact details and address | ID: 14396022091 This Welded Wire Mesh is used in varied industrial appliions and also to make fences for safety purposes.


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Jeff Cavins - Biography and Selected Writings
Jeff Cavins is recognized both nationally and internationally as an exciting public speaker who has a deep love for Jesus Christ and who communicates his zeal with clarity and enthusiasm. After twelve years as a Protestant pastor, Jeff Cavins returned to the Catholic Church under the guidance of Bishop Paul Dudley.
Cavins received his MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville with Catechetical Certification. Prior to that, Jeff received a BA with honors in Humanities from Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio and then went on to receive Bible training from Christ for the Nations Institute, Dallas, Texas and the Institute of Ministry, Bradenton, Florida. Cavins also graduated from Brown Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota, a school for radio and television broadcasting.
Jeff is the editor and writer of Catholic Scripture Study, along with Dr. Scott Hahn, Mark Shea and others. It is available weekly online through CatholicExchange.com, a non-profit website for Catholics, and also in workbook form. Dr. Scott Hahn and Jeff Cavins also taped a thirteen-week one-hour series entitled “Our Father’s Plan.” The format of the show is a journey through the historical periods of the Bible and is currently shown on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).
For six years, Jeff produced and hosted “Life on the Rock,” a live talk show for young adults on EWTN. He also substituted for Mother Angelica on her live shows when she was ill or traveling, and he continues to appear from time to time on EWTN.
Jeff was more recently employed by Relevant Radio™ to host a nationally broadcast, live, drive-time show called “Morning Air”™. He is currently the Adult Faith Formation Minister at the Church of Saint Paul in Ham Lake, Minnesota.
The story of Jeff's return to the Catholic Church is now available in his autobiography, My Life on the Rock.
Jeff is also co-editor of Ascension Press' Amazing Grace book series (Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart, Amazing Grace for the Mother, Amazing Grace for those Who Suffer), as well as a contributing author for the new books Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God and Catholic for a Reason II published by Emmaus. In 1997, Jeff Cavins was presented the Envoy of the Year award for his work in evangelization.
Over the past several years, Cavins developed a practical and extremely useful interactive bible timeline system - The Great Adventure: A Journey through the Bible (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!). The Great Adventure enables students to understand the chronological flow of the Scriptures in a way that helps each book of the Bible have more meaning for the reader. Jeff used this approach at Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio, where he taught “Introduction to Scripture” and also presents it in seminar form across the country. In its video and audio formats, The Great Adventure is being used currently in parishes all across North America.
Jeff Cavins and his wife Emily reside in Minnesota with their three daughters, Carly, Jacqueline, and Antonia.
“Jeff Cavins’ spiritual pilgrimage is quickly becoming one of the most well known and inspiring stories of our time. We are all searching for meaning in our lives. Where did we come from, who are we, and what is the goal of life? In short, we are all in search for the narrative thread of our lives. “My Life on the Rock” is the story of one man’s quest for that narrative thread. How Jeff found it will not only inspire you, but also help equip you to be a better witness to others.” Bishop Robert Carlson (Sioux Falls, SD)
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To sign up for our free weekly e-mail with Dr. D'Ambrosio's commentary on the Sunday readings, liturgical feasts, updates on where Dr. D will be speaking, a chance to WIN a FREE CD and MORE, CLICK HERE!
For more Catholic resources to feed your faith, visit the Crossroads Initiative Homepage.
The Great Adventure Bible Time Line
24 Talk Overview of Salvation History
on audio CD or DVD
by Jeff Cavins
Now you can have Jeff Cavins as your personal Bible teacher. Beginning with the first talk, you will discover how the Bible Time Line system developed by Jeff Cavins answers many of the questions we all have about the people, places and events of the Bible. Once you understand the “big picture” of God’s plan of salvation—and where the various biblical characters fit in this overall story—you develop a new appreciation for the Scriptures. Your understanding of the Scripture readings at Mass will truly come alive. Begin the journey today. Order your full set for your personal study, or for RCIA or other adult faith formation class!
Click here for the Great Adventure Full Seminar Pack!
Audio CD - $149
DVD - $399

domain: library


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Head to the disco for crazy fun with the Dance Party video slot, which comes from casino game maker Pragmatic Play. With five reels and 243 winning combinations with neon glow, this online casino game brings top-notch entertainment and exclusive bonuses. In the free spins bonus, you will be pleased with the fact that the multipliers increase with each free spin.
The Dance Party video slot has a cheerful theme and a fresh ambient sound with a good rhythm that occasionally speeds up. Although the neon look is flawless, the symbols themselves have a very minimalist look, which gives a great attractive aesthetic view.
Slot Dance Party is an online casino slot with 243 winning combinations, which means that you create winning combinations by landing the appropriate symbols on adjacent reels. The symbol that pays the most in the game is the DJ, who pays out a prize worth 7.5 times more than the stakes.
Enjoy the explosion of colors in the Dance Party slot, which is full of neon images of bright colors. The design of this game is neat and sharp, but not so subtle. The game’s interface is very easy to use, and automatic playback is easy to set up.
Head to the disco with the Dance Party video slot, provided by Pragmatic Play!
The symbols in the Dance Party slot are the A, J, K, Q cards, which are lower value symbols. They are followed by higher value symbols in the form of a single BAR symbol, a double BAR symbol, a number seven symbol, and a DJ. In addition, the game has scatter and wild symbols.
At the bottom of the slot is the control panel with all the necessary game keys. Players can bet between 20 and 100 coins per spin. You set the stakes on +/- buttons, and start the game with the inverted arrow representing Start. There is also an Autoplay Function, where you can set up to 100 spins, and set loss and gain limits. In addition, you can turn on the Turbo function, to speed up the reels of the slot, and save valuable time.
The wild symbol is presented in the form of a golden gramophone record with the game’s logo. It appears only in reels 2, 3 and 4 and has the power to replace other regular symbols except scatter symbols. A valuable symbol in the Dance Party slot is, of course, the scatter symbol in the shape of a glittering diamond.
Win bonus free spins with progressive multipliers in the Dance Party slot!
The diamond scatter symbol appears on all reels of the slot, and when you hit at least five of these symbols on any reel, you activate a round of bonus free spins with progressive multipliers.
It’s time to look at the bonus free spins of the Dance Party video slot, which are launched with the help of scatter diamond symbols. At the start of the round of free spin bonus with progressive multipliers, the player is awarded one of the following starting multipliers:
- 5 diamond symbols assign an initial multiplier of x1
- 6 diamond symbols assign an initial multiplier of x2
- 7 diamond symbols assign an initial multiplier of x3
Bonus free spins start with 15 free spins. At each spin, the winning multiplier increases by x1, x2, x3, depending on the number of scatter symbols that have activated the bonus round, up to a maximum multiplier of x30.
If the total winnings from the bonus free spins with a progressive multiplier are less than 10 times the bet that activated the round, the player is automatically awarded a multiplier 10 times the bet. The winnings from the free spin are multiplied by the current multiplier.
What still needs to be mentioned when it comes to free spins is that 5 scatter symbols during free spins with a progressive multiplier assign 15 additional free spins to a total of 60 free spins. Also, during free spins, special slot reels are in play.
Theoretically, the RTP of this cheerful online casino game is 96.50%, which is in line with the average. The slot has high volatility. The 243 Wins format gives players the opportunity to achieve multiple wins in a single spin, for the prizes that add up. As such, the biggest reward, that is, the profit you can make is 36,450 times the stakes.
You can try the Slot Dance Party for free at your favorite online casino in a demo version, before you invest real money. The game is also available on all devices, both on the desktop, and on the tablet and mobile phone.
Dance in bonus free spins with progressive multipliers in the Dance Party slot, have fun and make money. Neon lights, good design and disco atmosphere promise a real slot explosion.
You can read our best reviews of other casino games here.

domain: game


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Our "Back to Business" series is back! Today's feature are business cards + gift certificates we printed for Keith Ciaramello (@tattosbyKeith).
The two-color logo was designed by Joshua Smith (@Hydro74) and has some gorgeous intricate detail. Joshua's work is original and world famous - check out his portfolio.
The front of the business cards has the logo in two-color foil (red + gold) which accents the design. The back of the card has Keith's Tattoo shop information and blank spaces for appointment times.
We also printed a set of gift certificates with string & button envelopes. See more photos in the full post and a video of Keith's shop in Oceanside, New York.


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There is a lot of momentum for action and change now, but the road to racial equality is long. There are many insightful resources being circulated and shared as a reaction to the protests. I didn't want to get lost in these lists, or simply repost them and move on with my life. Black people are confronted and threatened by these issues daily. They do not have the option to move on with their lives, especially when their lives are in constant danger. The fact that I will never truly understand the trauma of being black is why I need to step up my actions.
For most of my life, I have been drawn to rusty, faded, chipped and tarnished vintage collections. I've been drawn to the stories of these imperfect objects, to the lives they have lived. New, uniform objects that roll off assembly lines have always paled in comparison to the character of vintage collections.
Saying santé reminds me to take a first sip mindfully, to appreciate the farmers, vintners, or whiskey-makers and all the folks who enabled me to take that sip, to enjoy my meal and restore my spirit. So to you, my friend, santé! I hope you like this Sgt. Pepper's Old Fashioned as much as I do.


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Useful links for latest news from the police, road, rail, bus and district councils. Please let us know if you feel more should be included.
Information about longterm disruptions or incidents will be in bold italics.
Click here for our weekly community news round-up across the area.
West Berkshire and Vale of White Horse
Police services in West Berkshire and Vale of White Horse are provided by Thames Valley Police. Useful sections on the TVP website include:
Policing arrangements in Hungerford (much of the information is also relevant to any community which now has an unstaffed police station).
Wiltshire and Swindon
Police services in Wiltshire and Swindon are provided by Wiltshire Police. Some sections on their website that might be of use include:
Click here for lots of tips for avoiding scams and keeping your home and person safe.
There are several sources which provide information about roadworks, delays and closures and traffic incidents:
Traffic Update provides similar information but the site is a lot less easy to use for searching for a rural area (though you can find information on specific trunk roads easily using the menu at the top).
For information generally on major road projects, please visit the Highways England website.
Click here for how to report reporting problems with roads and pavements (including faulty traffic lights, potholes, abandoned cars and many other issues) in West Berkshire, Wiltshire, Swindon and Vale of White Horse.
Great Western Railways operate services in this area
Information supplied by the following district councils can be found here:
Community bus services
Community minibus and car schemes provide transport services primarily, but not exclusively, for older and disabled people in West Berkshire; Wiltshire & Swindon; Wantage. They often need volunteer drivers.
District-level councils in the area provide services that overlap with transport and policing. For details of the councils in your area click below:
West Berks Council Contacts
During office hours (Mon-Thurs 8:30-5:00, Fri 8:30-4:30pm):
Switch board: 01635 551111
Blue badge: 01635 503277
Bus Pass: 01635 519800
Children’s Services 01635503090
Council tax: 01635 519520
Electoral Roll: 01635 219464
Environmental Health: 01635 519192
Housing Benefit & Council Tax Reduction: 01635 519258
Planning: 01635 519111
Streetcare (Highways & Refuse): 01635 519080
Trading Standards: 01635 519930
Out of hours Emergency Contact Centre: 01635 42161
Contact the council out of office hours for:
– Emergencies – for example major accidents, significant flooding, fallen trees and other debris blocking roads, traffic lights not working
– Emergency repairs to council-owned temporary accommodation (note: tenants of properties should contact their Housing Association, landlord or agent)
– Enquiries about social care
– Issues with car parks
Emergencies do NOT include: bins not being collected, payments to the council or noise complaints
Parish & Town Councils
Weblinks for many of the parish and town councils in the area can be found in the appropriate section of the weekly Local News posts.
For information on flood warnings and alerts, click here.

domain: geography


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THE PERFECT TIP & BLADE We started with the tip of the blade, the part that has to fit the gun screw properly, and the most important part of a gunsmith's screwdriver. The blade tips are then custom, precision-ground in a crisply radiused, hollow-ground shape to give maximum strength. And, the ideal parallel section is ground at the tip to fit the screw slot properly through the full width and depth of the slot. (This is what keeps you from buggering screws - a blade tip that evenly distributes the turning torque applied at the handle to the full width and depth of the screw slot.) We made the blades short (you're only 2½" from the workpiece) to give Mfg: Brownells SPECS: 2½" (6.3cm) long shanks. 3¾" (9.5cm) long x 1"(2.5cm) dia. handle. Each screwdriver packed in individual plastic tube.Check price and Read more Detail At Brownells
A heavy-duty drill can make all the difference in the world in your work. The extra engineering and care in manufacture will help you to drill cleaner, more accurate holes, and many more of them at that. All the Drills we carry, Sets, Individuals, Jobber Length and Short Length, are made from High Speed Steel with a 135 self-centering point. Special point and surface treatments (Maxi-Set not treated) give easier, more wear-resistant drilling of the tough steels encountered in the gun shop. Mfg: Triumph Twist Drill Co. SPECS: High speed steel.Check price and Read more Detail At Triumph Twist Drill Co.
Power Custom replacement barrel V-blocks are fully CNC machined from 416 stainless steel and hardened to RC-28. The replacement barrel V-block is designed to help eliminate the problem of barrel "drop" caused by the 10/22's slip-in barrel design. The V-block helps to maintain a steady pressure to ensure a tight barrel-to-receiver fit for improved accuracy. Mfg: Power Custom SPECS: Material: 416 Stainless Steel.Check price and Read more Detail At Power Custom
The Aimpoint CompM5 is a high performance red dot developed for military and law enforcement applications. Designed for use with "both eyes open", these red dots greatly enhance situational awareness and target acquisition. The CompM5 has ulimited eye relieve, has night vision compatibility, and is compatilble with Aimpoint 3X and 6X Magnifiers. Using popular and easy to find AAA batteries, the CompM5 has a run time of over 5 years when using the #7 position (out of 10). No mount is included with this red dot making it perfect for those who intend to use and aftermarket mounting option. Runs off Standard AAA batteries 2 MOA Dot Submersible up to 150 Mfg: AimpointCheck price and Read more Detail At Aimpoint
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⚠ This is a news story and may not be up to date. You can find the date it was published under the title. Our Tax Guides feature the latest up-to-date tax information and guidance.
Long-term sick to become much poorer
Government plans to move existing incapacity benefit claimants on to employment and support allowance could cause serious reductions in income for thousands of people. LITRG are concerned that the full tax and tax credits impact of proposed changes have not been fully evaluated.
Employment and support allowance (ESA) was introduced in October 2008 and from that date no new claims to incapacity benefit (IB) have been allowed.
There are two types of ESA – the non-taxable ‘income-based’ and the taxable ‘contribution-based’. As the names suggest, claimants qualify for the former if they are on very low incomes, but qualification for the latter is based upon claimants’ employment history and resulting National Insurance contributions record.
The Government has proposed that existing IB claimants be migrated in phases to the taxable contribution-based ESA. For most, this will not create any difference in their tax position or entitlement to tax credits or other benefits; but for the 294,000 who have been on IB since April 1995, there could be a significant problem.
The Government has undertaken that claimants should not lose out on the amount of benefit they receive when they move from IB to ESA. Yet people who have been on IB since April 1995 or before – former invalidity benefit claimants – will lose out in the amount of cash they have in their pockets. Hitherto, they have received IB tax-free. Now, this ‘transitional protection’ given at the time of the switch in 1995 to IB is to be discontinued.
The people affected are likely to be among those with the most permanent and difficult disabilities.
These proposals are outlined in the explanatory memorandum submitted by the Department for Work and Pensions to the Social Security Advisory Committee.
The complex impact on former invalidity benefit claimants
A simple switch from tax-free IB to taxable ESA is itself significant, giving many in the affected group a 20% reduction in their benefit to the extent that it exceeds their personal allowances for tax; but even more worrying is the impact on the tax credits claim of the household.
The tax-free IB is currently excluded from the income calculation for tax credits. But when it is replaced by taxable ESA, under current tax credit rules, the benefit will be included in the calculation, and that could result in tax credits being taken away at the rate of 39p in the £.
Moreover, ‘passported benefits’ – such as help with housing, council tax, healthcare costs and prescription charges – could be lost. So overall, an additional tax liability coupled with reduced tax credits and other benefits could leave the household dramatically worse off.
Surely some mistake?
We cannot believe that politicians have fully understood the impact of these proposals upon some of the most disadvantaged people in the UK.
We have written to the Social Security Advisory Committee suggesting that the Government must take into account all of the complex interactions mentioned earlier in this article, particularly for those who have been on IB continuously for the last fifteen years.
We have also pointed out that the proposed phased migration will give rise to unfairness if some claimants of the existing tax-free IB are moved to taxable ESA before others.
Contact: Victoria Todd (Tel: 0844 579 6700 Fax 0844 579 6701)

domain: finance


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I have been looking for a weight loss solution for several months now. I don’t have a lot of weight to lose, but I have fat deposits in certain areas that I really want to get rid of. One of the things that bothers me the most is when I work our really hard, and I’m not able to see any changes in my body. I was telling my friend about this the other day, and she suggested that I consider searching for information on CoolSculpting in Austin TX 78703. I asked her why she was so specific in her recommendation, and she told me that it was because that was where the best clinic and the best doctors in the state were located.…
When a man gets a little too excited, we tell him to take a cold shower to cool down. Interestingly, if he followed that advice, he would gain more energy from the experience, including more testosterone. You may cool him down temporarily, but you’ll make him stronger for the next time. All over the world, people have used cold water baths or showers as therapy for a wide range of ailments. In the 1800s, ice bath treatments were medically prescribed to patients as hydrotherapy to cure everything from broken bones to psychological disorders.
While hydrotherapy has largely been replaced by pharmaceuticals in western countries, the practice of immersion into icy cold water continues. People in northern climates go from the sauna to jump into a pile of snow to invigorate their bodies. The annual polar bear clubs take a dip in freezing lakes each year. Athletes are increasingly turning to this method to help speed up the recovery time after the major physical stress of competing.
As the body feels cold water, it responds with a survival response designed to protect vital organs. Blood vessels near the surface of the skin are closed and blood flow is directed internally to keep the body’s core warm. When the body re-emerges from this chilly environment, the blood rushes back into all of the tiny blood vessels. The effect is to help flush out the damage to cells caused by physical exercise and to keep inflammation in check. Athletes recover from exercise more quickly and they show increased stamina if they take an ice bath between training routines.
This process seems to produce a variety of other positive benefits to the body as well. As the body warms up after the chilly experience, it releases antibodies as part of the process of recovery. …
Epiretinal membrane is a thin layer of tissue which is exceptionally sensitive when it comes to focusing on images. It is responsible for sending information to the brain so that you can identify what is in front of you, whether it’s a person or an object.
In order to understand this condition, you also need to understand what a macula is. This is found in the centre of the retina and is used when you read and helps identify shapes. Scar tissue can form over the macula which then distorts the epiretinal membrane. As a result the macula doesn’t work effectively, if at all.
There is good news about this condition and that is that it will not cause complete blindness. There is also no underlying cause for this condition, it is often a result of the vitreous pulling away from the retina and occurs mostly in adults over the age of fifty.
Epiretinal membrane is not a major problem, what it will do though is distort your vision, which is ore frustrating than anything else, but you are sure to not loose your eye sight completely.
The best solution to repairing the epiretinal membrane and the side effects associated with it is surgery. Surgery is performed by an experienced and qualified eye surgeon who has extensive experience conducting this type of surgery. It is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, though there are cases where general anaesthetic is used. It is carried out as an outpatient procedure, so you can go home for the night once you have recovered from the anaesthetic and the surgeon is happy with the outcome.
The surgery performed is called a vitrectomy and involves the surgeon holding your eye open with a clamp like instrument, which can be daunting if under local anaesthetic and …
The health industry is one of the most sensitive. It is supposed to extend solutions to improve health and the slightest overlook could be the thin line between life and death. Pharmaceutical supplies are important and they should be handled with the seriousness they deserve. If you are a supplier you will only manage to create a good reputation in the market only with quality products that are approved by the right bodies.
This is something that you should be able to do by taking the right measures when getting your supplies, especially when dealing with manufacturers offering the supplies online. There is more emphasis on checking out the credibility of the manufacturer or supplier before trusting them with your orders and any other medical supply needs you may have.
Find out whether the manufacturer adheres to good manufacturing practice
There are set standards when it comes to manufacturing pharmaceutical products and your manufacturer should be compliant in every sense. The GMP requirements should not only be met in the manufacturing plant, but also with the products that the company produces. With such requirements being met, you at least have assurance that you can trust in the quality of your products.
Find out whether the manufacturer works with a product line you are interested in
Health products are numerous and come in different categories. Whether you are looking for specific drugs, supplements or steroids and hormonal products, you want to be sure that your manufacturer does produce them and can meet with your requirements. Some manufacturers may specialize in one category, whereas others may deal with more than one product. Choose a manufacturer you can trust with your current supply needs as well as any future needs that you may have.
Ensure the products are cleared and approved by the …
Federal proposals to repeal the Reasonably priced Care Act and make drastic changes to Medicaid (Medi-Cal) and Medicare threaten health coverage for thousands and thousands of Californians. Her experience contains positions in client advocacy, policy analysis, direct health care companies, legislative staff, and academic analysis. Gives a free on-line reference database of therapeutic meals, phytonutrients and plant-based medicines that forestall or deal with illnesses and health situations. Steiner taught his followers in the early 1920s that urea synthesized by the Wohler course of was lifeless.” Such artificial fertilizers didn’t possess critical important” forces, thus yielding dead’ food.
This is the third year federal authorities will apply penalties to hospitals that fall short of affected person security requirements, main one Customers Union leader to wonder why hospitals aren’t working more durable to eliminate the infections and problems which might be inflicting them to unfastened cash, Trudy Liberman writes in her column for the Rural Health Information Service.
The health insurance coverage system has a constructive impression on making health care extra accessible and reasonably priced. However a month by means of the food regimen i started utilizing myfitnesspal (MFP)as properly, i used to be recording information on both apps, however i discovered it easier to report my energy consumption using MFP, they’ve a bar code scanner that actually helps discover the meals and the energy associated. The county health division is conducting a survey to find out the best day to function its exchange. David Kibbe, MD, CEO at DirectTrust, which gives the Direct Undertaking safe messaging software program, believes five overarching traits will influence the health data expertise industry throughout 2017. The Reasonably priced Care Act not only makes health care extra inexpensive for families and small enterprise house owners and raises taxes on high earners, massive companies, and the …
To build healthy and vibrant communities by selling the physical, mental and social health and properly being of all people. This helps over 32 million Americans afford health care who could not get it earlier than and makes coverage more inexpensive for many more. NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles says she plans to ask if the Commonwealth can put up an extra $6 million to help the PET scanner promised for Darwin. Then we can perceive that To Err is Human has been an important diversion from the real determinants of health outcomes just as spending 1 and then 2 extra trillion on health care has also been greater price for little change in final result – the alternative of value primarily based. South Asian Group Health Services (SACHS) is a registered not for revenue charity organisation.
Underneath this program, the poor communes get a useful resource allocation to put money into a neighborhood infrastructure venture of their choice, out of a menu of choices including roads, health centers, schools, irrigation systems, water supply techniques. Free market for health care will work as well as free commerce is working for the economic system as whole. Ellen Andrews, PhD, has been Executive Director of the CT Health Policy Challenge since its inception in 1999.
It has been hypothesized that HIA can present a nicely established evidence based mostly (scientific) method to systematically and transparently assess impacts on the precise to health; while human rights contribute a legally binding and morally compelling framework that allows governments and governmental businesses to be held accountable drawing attention to the authorized and policy context inside which health interventions happen.
Requirements are extensively perceived as offering the greatest potential for achieving nationwide health IT interoperability in the close to future. An investment approach that strengthens linkages …
I lately heard the sad information that Staffan Lindeberg, MD, PhD, lead researcher of the Kitava Research, has died. Policymaking: Efforts to repeal the Reasonably priced Care Act and move Medicare towards mounted contributions could lead to months of inaction, throughout which investments in health IT and new improvements might lag. To be fair, consolidation of health care began many years before Obamacare, but the Obama administration trifecta (the 2009 Stimulus, the 2010 Obamacare and the 2015 MACRA) made consolidation of health care providers pretty much necessary.
Shae takes ph360’s insights one step further by offering 24-7 support for ph360 customers as a Digital Health Assistant” It’s being engineered to use interactive voice and textual content conversations to speak a personalised health plan with customers in actual time through their cellphone, tablet, laptop or smartwatch. Health is wealth;as a result of without it nobody would be capable of work productively and therefore, there would be petite possibilities and alternatives for earning and creating wealth. It is a laborious selection between personal health insurance coverage and obligatory common health care because both have advantages and disadvantages. A great food for hunting canine should present nutritional help while additionally serving to your canine keep good health during the hunt or underneath any hectic situations.
If I had to summarize the difference between RyanCare and Obamacare I would say that whereas Obamacare is providing people with a government defined set of health care advantages, RyanCare is proposing to make a government outlined financial contribution in the direction of buy of health insurance. When this Administration set fee goals for the Medicare program, it catalyzed motion amongst stakeholders throughout the health care system, and it brought collectively powerful collaborative efforts to improve the way in which we pay for health care.
Analysis in epigenetics, …
In excellent news, HUSKY’s PCMH (no +) program continues its exceptional progress celebrating 5 years of improving access to care, quality, consumer satisfaction, supplier engagement, and controlling prices. HubPages and Hubbers (authors) could earn income on this page primarily based on affiliate relationships and advertisements with companions together with Amazon, Google, and others. It provides extra Americans with Affordable Quality Health Insurance and makes an attempt to curb the expansion in healthcare spending within the U.S. Obamacare is at a minimum a distraction and at a maximum an obstacle to affordable, prime quality health care, as a result of Obamacare misses the point entirely. Pacific Health Meals is a neighborhood-crafted market designed that will help you thrive.
Focusing merely on education strategies and placing the responsibility for improving one’s health on the person, without appreciation for the wider determinants of health and a comprehensive plan of actions, is out of step with fashionable thinking and evidence-primarily based greatest observe. Whereas we know we still have vital work forward, the adoption of digital health data has tripled in six years, allowing us to make advances in areas like e-prescribing.
Ph360 was launched two years in the past, and after accounting for body measurements, genetic knowledge, health historical past, and way of life, aggregates 10,000 data points and greater than 500 ratios to recommend customized food, fitness and lifestyle changes that achieve optimal health. In a perverse and illogical approach, this set of legal guidelines ensures that extreme health care costs are baked into this cake in perpetuity. The state of health information change (noun and verb) is advanced, to say the least. McGiffert mentioned that as just lately as 12 years in the past, hospitals mentioned infections weren’t preventable, however, Now, most individuals in health care consider most infections are.” She …
It is common apply to feed our pets processed and artificial foods containing preservatives, components, and artificial flavorings and elements. Regular vet visits will catch illnesses before they change into too critical to deal with successfully and they’re going to additionally enable you to keep a deal with in your cat’s total health. With the premise that every individual is exclusive, the ph360 platform guides a personalized method to dietary health. I be sure that to sprinkle some contemporary seeds (sunflower and pumpkin are widespread decisions) so as to add some healthy fats and splash the greens with a recent squeeze of lemon juice and herbs or perhaps a drizzle of one of many Evolution Contemporary juices for a quick dressing. We all want to concentrate to our mental health as we guarantee our physical properly-being.
Since President Obama announced the BRAIN Initiative in April 2013, entities across the government, including HHS, in addition to dozens of main expertise firms, tutorial institutions, and different companions have made important commitments to advancing the initiative. Dried fruits are a very good source of fiber and roughage which can help preserve health intestines and may help forestall or relieve constipation. The Obama Administration has made psychological health and substance use disorder parity a priority, and due to these efforts, greater than a hundred and seventy million Americans will benefit from improved insurance coverage for psychological health and substance use dysfunction care. That is wonderful information, thank you for sharing a lot knowledge about this God given meals.
Congress can think about legislation on recommendations that President Obama laid out in the August 2016 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, including enhancing financial help, making a fallback public option to ensure robust competitors in insurance markets across the nation, and giving …

domain: medical


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Now that 2015 is here, it’s time for some self-reflection. What have you done in the past year that mattered? What lessons did you learn form your mistakes over the last 12 months? The world of design is no exception when it comes to “contemplating one’s navel”. We at Bored Bug have kept a watchful eye over the past year’s designs – monitoring the good, the bad and the ugly. Don’t worry, we’ll spare you all the ugly stuff (you’re welcome) and leave you with some of our favorite designs from 2014.
1. Robotic Hawks
Nico Nijenhuis of Netherlands has found a way to keep birds away from places where they are a nuisance like landfills and airports. He’s building robot hawks that trick nuisance birds into thinking they’re about to get snacked on. These modern flying scarecrows have reduced bird visits to one landfill by 75 percent.
Anybody who’s fumbled with their touchscreen phone while driving will know that sometimes the best way to get something done is by a push of a button. Flic is a programmable button the size of a quarter and by using an app, you can assign it to a number of functions and apps like playing music, snoozing alarm and sharing your location with friends. It’s really dead simple as that but more useful than you think.
3. Lytro Illum
The Lytro Illum is a ‘light field camera’ that lets you pick the point of focus in your photos after you’ve taken them. The Illum’s design is a perfect microcosm of what this device is supposed to be: the marriage of present and future, emphasis on the future. The camera is designed to create “Living Pictures” photos that you can interact with. Ultimately, the images are designed to be viewed on an electronic screen, either on a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Welcome to the future of photography, ladies and gentlemen.
Durr is a watch without a face. It doesn’t have any hands or numbers on it. It’s just a solid colorful disk that vibrates every five minutes. That’s it. So how can a faceless, vibrating watch do you any good you might ask. According to the two designers of this watch known collectively as Skrekkøgle, they created the watch as an experiment to draw attention to the difference between time as it passes and how we perceive it passing. By feeling the vibration on your wrist every 5 minutes without fail, you begin to get a much deeper sense of time and how quickly it passes.
5. Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight
This gadget is pretty straightforward. It’s a night-light that lets you know if your house is burning down when you’re not around. A smoke detector can save your life and property if a fire breaks out, and a carbon monoxide detector can save your life. But if you’re not home to hear those alarms go off, they’re not very useful. The Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight detects your smoke or CO detector going off, send you a message via the app, complete with a recording of the alarm sounding off. Touch one button to call your local 911 (local to your home, not to where you are at the time), or touch another to indicate a false alarm.
Kano is a computer and coding kit with a system that promises to help get kids into real computing and allow them to start down a path of programming and coding. It’s designed to “to give young people – and the young at heart – a simple, fun way to make and play with technology, and take control of the world around them.” But Kano’s real benefit isn’t just about building skills—it’s about instilling a sense of curiosity in children about the technology they’re constantly surrounded by.
7. New Deal Design’s UnderSkin
An implanted gadget in your hand isn’t as freaky as you would think. The next wave of wearable gadgets won’t be worn on your wrist or in your ear. New Deal Design’s UnderSkin are tiny digital tattoos decked out with even tinier sensors that would be implanted just beneath the skin of your hand and will charge off your body’s energy. This digital tattoo gives you the ability to unlock your door, track your health or exchange information with a handshake.
8. Dyson Eye 360
After 16 years, Dyson is finally releasing its robotic vacuum cleaner, the Dyson 360 Eye. As the name suggests, the 360 Eye has a 360-degree camera that can capture up to 30 frames per second. This lets the robot know exactly where it is, where it has been, and where it needs to go. This robotic vacuum cleaner can also figure out what areas need vacuuming and what’s already clean, making for better battery life.
9. Pentagram, MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab’s new logo is simple yet complex, uniform but totally individualistic. Pentagram’s Michael Beirut and Aron Fay was able to unify the Media Lab’s disparate research groups by making each group’s logo completely different.
10. John Pound’s Code Artwork
John Pound invented the Garbage Pail Kids, but for the past 20 years has been cartooning with code. Pound guides the overall aesthetic of his piece, but the computer program determines details like where the eyes and arms are. He’s not the only artist using code to create artwork, but Pound’s pieces feel utterly different from much of the other code-based art we see today.
11. Signet by Ziba
Mailing can be a pain in the bum. Which is why Zeba, a Portland based design studio created Signet, a system that could radically overhaul how we use the US Postal Service. It all starts with a unique laser-engraved pattern. Within it are the details on who the package was being mailed to and other information. The recipient would then receive a notification and have the opportunity to input the destination address of the package as well as the time frame of its journey.

domain: design


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You will Watch Mucha Lucha Season 3 Episode 7 online for free episodes with HQ / high quality. Stream cartoons Mucha Lucha Episode 42 Slamazon and On… / Buena on Wheels. Slamazon and On…: Buena Girl goes back to her Slamazonian roots and is chosen queen. She enjoys being queen, until she finds out that every 100 years the Slamazon Queen is sacrificed to the Volcano God!
Buena on Wheels: There’s a new superstar at Rollerlucha named Rollerita. Rikochet and The Flea think it’s Buena Girl in disguise.

domain: entertainment


The Innovus 10VGT is an automated vacuum and gassing seamer. Primarily for powder and other modified atmosphere applications, the 10VGT can achieve residual oxygen of less than 0.5%.
The 10VGT is fed by an infeed conveyor, transferring cans into the indexing turret. Cans are indexed round, to the automated end feed which drops a lid onto the can. Passing the lid in position check, cans are transferred onto the seamer lifter plate. The can is raised to the gassing position where a silicone seal inflates around the can to create an airtight environment. The vacuum port is opened until the vacuum chamber reaches the set pressure before the gassing port opens until the pressure reaches the set point. The can is seamed and returned to the table height before the next can is indexed.
Rated for up to 8 cans per minute when using both vacuum and gassing, the 10VGT is a compact and robust seaming solution.
With space to retrofit and additional seaming head, the 10VGT allows you to scale up production with demand.
Innovus 10VGT Features:
- Manufactured from all food grade 316 stainless steel
- Includes mechanical and electrical connections to retrofit an extra sealing station
- Able to handle the sealing of aluminium, tinplate and paperboard cans
- Each station incorporates single first and second operation sealing rolls
- High rate of first operation revolutions to enhance double seal integrity
- Employs industry-preferred clockwise can rotation
- Double row angular contact sealed-for-life seaming roll bearings
- Easily adjusted to take a variety of tin heights
- Enables can diameter changes in 45 minutes
- Uses food grade grease lubrication
- Incorporates electrically interlocked safety enclosure
- Siemens PLC based control system
- Easy to use touch screen operator interface panel
- Complies fully with European Hygienic Engineering Design Group (EHEDG) guidelines on maintaining food safety
- Comes with CE Mark and EU Declaration of Conformity
Innovus 10VGT Technical Data:
- Can diameter range: 99 – 190mm
- Can height range: 100 – 250mm
- Speed: Up to 8cpm
- Residual Oxygen: < 0.5 per cent
- AC motor power: 1.1kW
- Air supply pressure: 6 Bar
- Net weight: 750kg


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One of the most important reasons why people choose to use honey for their breakfast are nothing but the rich nutrients that is available in honey
It is one of the most significant ingredients of the Indian cuisine, German and Greek cuisine in particular. Effect of using honey in different types of food and beverages preparing factories and cutleries is just because of one important reason that it is of great taste, and also lasts longer. Just add a bit of your high-quality raw honey with a slice of bread and you can find it to be a great dish for breakfast and dinner in particular.
Refined desserts using cardamom and raw honey
When you feel boring in the evening time then you can use it as a snack. The health benefits of honey or obvious as we know it already. Just drinking Honey on a daily basis along with hot water can cut down the fat accumulated in the body. 2 teaspoons of raw honey along with hot water can make you lose your fat in just a span of 90 days.
If you are getting high quality, pure Honey then you can test it in water. It will not dissolve in water. So you can store the high quality honey and use it in your breakfast breads and dinner cakes. Pastries and the cakes can be sweetened with the natural beverages like Honey without using sugar. This can be a valued advantage for those who are suffering from certain type of ailments like Diabetes.
Baked goods for Christmas
The ultimate best benefits of using honey can be listed lengthier. However if you are going to buy honey and also yoghurt and aloe Vera juice and keep it in your home then there are multiple benefits for the entire family members. Equally good is olive oil to be used in the cooking as well. Variety of dishes can be made using olive oil.
Even the fruits and vegetables can be dipped in olive oil to add on to the sweet as well as taste of the particular dish that you make using the fruits and vegetables. The important fact to be born in mind is nothing but that the antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds that are contained in the Organic extra virgin olive oil that might be largely declined in the some branded products, if the initial PV is higher.
There is a need to measure at least two of the oxidation parameters for 1 to evaluate the standards of the antioxidant property and also the oxidative stability of the particular product. This is how you differentiate between the high quality Olive oils and the extra virgin olive oil of the other kind. Obviously, you need to be choosing the specific Organic extra virgin olive oil that suits your needs.
Stanley has written so many articles already in this subject. The informative articles about Organic extra virgin olive oil and Raw honey are enticing enough for the audience to follow and comment with earnest interests always.

domain: food


text: Donald Trump was in India on 24 & 25/2/2020. The visit began in Ahmedabad, continued in Agra and ended in Delhi. Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, Ahmedabad has become a part of itinerary for visiting Heads of States and Governments. So it was with President of USA. The plane carrying him landed at Ahmedabad airport around 11.45 am on 24th February. He had red carpet welcome. Modi was there. As Trump walked on the red carpet there were traditional dances on both sides.

domain: celebrity


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The late Dr. Bob is the father of Montana’s Master Gardener program. When he taught the classes nobody ever fell asleep. He was a writer of a great many articles on gardening. The following is just one of several hundred in my files.
A question to Dr. Bob: “How can I increase germination of my garden seeds?” (March 2002) Gardeners all over the country are right now wondering how to get better germination in the vegetable and flower seeds. Of course, start with good seeds and in most cases you’ll have good germination, but some seeds are notoriously tough with hard seed coats. Now, researchers in Georgia have found a common household substance that increases germination in watermelon seeds.
The seedless watermelon cultivars on the marker are for the most part, triploids. That means that they form fruit that has no developed seeds. While they are no good for seed-spitting contests, the melons do make great eating. The triploid cultivars are expensive to produce and, unfortunately, the seeds have thick coats that interfere with germination. Researchers have found that soaking the seeds in 1 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide at room temperature and in the dark greatly improves their germination. After just a day or two in the solution, the seeds germinated readily in petri dishes and would no doubt do so in the garden soil.
The 1 percent solution does not damage the emerging radicle, but solutions two percent or higher do severe damage to the young seedling. The hydrogen peroxide is generally available in the drug store and is a three percent solution, so you must dilute it with water. You can do that by adding two parts water to one part hydrogen peroxide. So far, researchers have only tested the solution on watermelon seeds, but they suggest that it might also improve germination in a wide range of “hard-coated” seeds, such as those of cabbage and broccoli.

domain: agronomy


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The most common business card size is 84 mm by 55 mm, or 3.5 inches by 2 inches. You can go bigger, but if you do your cards are less likely to be kept. If you go smaller, you have a better shot, as long as they still fit in a typical card folio. Any non-traditional size is going to cost you more money.
For many businesses, one of the biggest challenges of designing business cards is coming up with something truly original. Fortunately, there are plenty of great ways to break away from the norm and create something truly striking. Special treatments are like shiny objects (sometimes literally): they can be very exciting and appealing. But do not let your original excitement make you go overboard. Choosing one two unique elements will let you stand out without being gaudy.
Turn your brand values into a business card design. Do this by thinking about the customer you’re trying to impress, and deciding what would tell the story of your business for that customer. Your images (if you use any), colors and textures should all be consistent with your existing marketing materials, and all of those should be right in line with the brand values that distinguish your business from everyone else.
If your company is all business, your cards should be too; stick to classic designs with minimalist looks and elegant fonts and colors. If your brand is more creative, artistic or playful, you’ve got liberty to use bold images, arresting colors, unusual shapes or humor to get your message across.
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