Come for the Joy of Jazz - and stay the night in Sandton.
The not-to-be-missed Standard Bank Joy of Jazz festival will once again be delighting enthusiasts from 26 to 28 September, as the Sandton Convention Centre is transformed into a three-day wonderland of smooth local and international sounds. Adding great value to the event are Tsogo Sun Hotels’ range of five discounted bed and breakfast packages at its nearby hotels, as the official Joy of Jazz accommodation partner.
Shaun Bird, GM of Sandton Convention Centre, says the venue is pleased to be welcoming the festival for the fourth consecutive year. “It’s a highly acclaimed event and an absolute highlight on our annual calendar, when we pull out all the stops to make sure it delivers every note perfectly. The Tsogo Sun hotel packages offer something for everyone, from individual festival-goers to corporates, depending on how they want to experience the Joy of Jazz.”
The 22nd Joy of Jazz 2019 will deliver over 30 performances over three days on four stages, with top performers in the world of jazz. This year a key event at the jam-packed festival is a big band performance on Thursday 26 September, when two bands will take to the Dinaledi Stage – the 15-piece Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring the renowned trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis, and the 17-piece ZAR Jazz Orchestra led by trumpeter Marcus Wyatt.
Jazz-lovers can get their absolute fill of the captivating sounds and party into the early hours with the special accommodation rates at five Tsogo Sun hotels in Sandton, all located within a five kilometre radius, and all offering a per room rate with breakfast for two adults – only for the duration of the festival. Booking for these accommodation packages can be done online on here or directly with the hotel of your choice.
The participating hotels are:
Garden Court Morningside in Sandton, from R1,155 (Tel: 011 884 1804)
Holiday Inn Sandton, from R1,250 (011 282 0000)
Garden Court Sandton City, from R1,650 (011 269 7000)
Sandton Sun, from at R2,395 (Tel: 011 780 5000)
InterContinental Johannesburg Sandton Towers, from at R2,750 (Tel: 011 780 5555)
With the huge popularity of the Joy of Jazz festival, these great offers are moving fast. Tickets to the performances can be booked through Computicket or online on www.joyofjazz.co.za.
Also available at the festival, and highlighting the excellent verstatility of Sandton Convention Centre as a multipurpose world-class venue are various hospitality packages for corporates. These include Opening Night Lounge for R3,950 per person; the Jazz Boulevard Shared Lounge at R9,850 per person; and the Gold Package Private Suite package that includes golf, opening night cocktail event tickets, 50 guests per Friday and Saturday nights, cocktail menu and bar, security, and more, for R544,500 (private suite). More information is available at http://www.joyofjazz.co.za/packages.
Tsogo Sun Hotels has a portfolio of over 100 hotels throughout South Africa, Africa and the Seychelles. For more details, visit https://www.tsogosun.com,


text: Today I woke up at around 7 and took a nice shower before we had to head down to the internet cafe for breakfast. We were treated to a nice breakfast by Casey before we took our boat, the Sea Dragon, over to Deep Bay for a snorkel. At Deep Bay, we explored the mangroves system and mapped the area and recorded the amount of fish in the area using waterproof paper. Then, we took out the kayaks around the same bay and did essentially the same thing. We found a lion fish by the floating dock and Alex made a spear out of a stick in an effort to kill the invasive fish. His attempt failed, unfortunately. After the snorkel, a bunch of the guys played nuke em on the volleyball court just off the water! After our fun and games, we took the Sea Dragon back to the docks and Dr. Shannon Gore gave us a presentation on continental shifts and the process of climate change in the Dive BVI shop. We followed up this presentation with lunch on the boat and proceeded to head to our dive site near Cockroach Island. This was the first dive where we got to use our brand new cameras! My dive buddy, Gavin, and I descended down with our group and our group leader, Laura, to a depth varying from 25-50 feet. We took some great photos! However, we’d find ourselves staring at a photo for too long and then look up and realize that our group was gone and we had to scramble to find them. This dive was probably one of my favorites due to the amount of fish we saw and the enormous coral structures. After about 40 minutes of diving, we surfaced and got back on the boat. We then headed back to the cabins for showers before Mad Dog’s. Pasta and sandwich wraps were bestowed upon us for dinner. It was great! After a quick frisbee throwin sesh, we went back to the deck and listened to a presentation Casey had prepared for us about our coral planting project. We will be using cinder blocks and cement to create an artificial reef. Can’t wait! I’m feeling tired from two long days and I can’t wait to get some rest for another big day tomorrow.

domain: travel


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Inside Storytime, a monthly reading series at the Rickshaw Stop, features five local authors, reading from their latest books. This months theme - metamorphoses. 6:30-8:30pm with a sliding scale entry fee up to $10. 155 Fell St., SF.
After the reading, stick around the spot for Girlezque, a glammy burlesque troup from the UK.
Music by the Eyeful - presenting inventions in visual audio exploring the moving boundaries between music, film and graphics. Tonight's show - We Eat Dots with Mike Missiaen, showing work with his super 8 and turntable at the Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St., SF.
Pic from Mates of State MySpace page.

domain: entertainment


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BY FARRAH TOMAZIN
FRED Tucker has lived in Mount Waverley for almost 50 years, so he knows a thing or two about what makes the area tick. He’s seen the mortgage-belters come and go, drawn to Melbourne’s east by the quality of homes, the schools, and the peaceful amenity of middle suburbia.
Asked what issues will shape his vote when he heads to the ballot box on November 27, the former detective’s answer is simple: ”For starters, give us back all the police we had. We used to have a 24-hour police station here, with foot police who’d know all the shopkeepers, all the larrikins – and they’d send all the trouble home. Now you’re lucky if you can find any police around on the streets.”
Mr Tucker admits he’s always been a traditionally conservative voter, drawn by policies that get tough on crime and governments that are less inclined to fund infrastructure by going into debt. But a few kilometres away, former business executive Noel Denton has been less decided on who to vote for.
Advertisement: Story continues below Mr Denton, too, has lived in the area for many years, and likes to regard regards himself ”not as a swinging voter, but a thinking voter”. Asked how he’s likely to vote this month, Mr Denton replies: ”I’ve decided that this time around, given Labor’s track record on planning, water, and transport, I won’t be voting for them.”
Mr Tucker and Mr Denton are two out of 36,909 eligible voters in the state seat of Mount Waverley, a 23-square-kilometre district that has the dubious honour of being the most marginal seat in Victoria. Held by Labor Children’s Minister Maxine Morand, Mount Waverley was created only eight years ago from parts of the abolished seats of Bennettswood and Glen Waverley – both of which were Liberal Party territory.
At the last state election in 2006, Ms Morand beat the Liberal candidate, Michael Gidley, by a mere 206 votes, and now only needs a swing of 0.3 per cent against her to lose.
Ms Morand, 51, admits the next three weeks are going to be tough, particularly given that Mr Gidley, a 34-year-old chartered accountant and former president of the Liberals’ Scoresby branch, came so close to victory last time around.
The electorate takes in the suburbs of Syndal and parts of Glen Waverley and Mount Waverley.
Almost 40 per cent of residents are aged between 25 and 54. Some are drawn to the area to buy homes and raise families or because of the reputation of the schools.
But almost a third are aged 55 or over, their votes shaped by issues such as the delivery of health and services, community safety, and the cost of living.
Ms Morand says her campaign will centre on Labor’s traditional strengths – the government’s massive investment in hospitals and nurses, its modernisation of all Victorian schools and improvements in early childhood, and its strong economic credentials.
Mr Gidley, meanwhile, will seek to gain momentum in law and order, exploit the fact that trains on the Glen Waverley line are often cancelled or overcrowded, and highlight the fact that residents are struggling to cope with soaring bills.
”People don’t understand why they’re having to pay more for services but not see the government delivering. After 11 years of John Brumby’s government, Mount Waverley can’t afford another four years, ” says Mr Gidley.
Ms Morand has heard the argument before, but says the opposition ”can’t be trusted to deliver” its promises.

domain: politics


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Blake Shelton summed up his feelings towards people who have lost respect for him regarding his divorce drama in one tweet. In response to a Twitter user who tweeted Blake telling him that they had lost respect […]
Rumors have been swirling ever since Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert announced they were divorcing with people wondering what the driving force was behind their decision to split. The couple were married for four short […]
They’ll probably write some good songs about this.
From jabs at ISIS to a Blake Shelton video and a very odd retelling of Jay Z’s life, here are our favorites from the 40th season.
Take a drink anytime someone mentions Lady Antebellum’s tour bus!
“Glad to know ‘I’m Not the Only One’ who has to do this.”
If Blake Shelton was on The Bachelor…
Voting for the awards end Dec. 4, followed by the ceremony in January.
Burleson native, Reagan James, joined Zazza Mornings to talk about everything from ‘The Voice’!
We all have a little Pharrell in us, amirite?

domain: celebrity


By MICHAEL COIT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
So determined is Cardinal Newman to keep its volleyball season alive that senior captains motivated the team in a new pregame ritual that sparked another section victory Wednesday.
Each player took a name reflecting their abilities. Leading hitter Emily Papale brought fire, for instance, while setter Emily Bonfigli was the leader and defensive specialist Mimi Fowler the reliable one.
“We talked about bringing our strengths together as a team. The team chemistry was super on,” Papale said.
So strong was Cardinal Newman that Marin Catholic rarely led in the Cardinals’ 25-14, 25-23, 25-14 North Coast Section Division 4 semifinal win.
“It gave us a boost of confidence. There was a lot of pressure coming into this,” Bonfigli said.
After playing another home section playoff match in the small former Ursuline High gym with a loud crowd on their side, Cardinal Newman goes on the road for Saturday’s championship contest. Cardinal Newman, seeded second, plays at top seed St. Patrick/St. Vincent, in Vallejo.
By reaching a section final, Cardinal Newman has qualified for the NorCal half of the state playoffs. Last season the Cardinals reached the second round in the team’s first year of play. Ursuline won the 1995 Division 4 section title.
Coming out of the very strong North Bay League, the experienced Cardinals are playing their best when matches count the most. Passing, hitting, defending and serving with confidence, Cardinal Newman has few weaknesses. Even blocking and digging, two areas the team has worked on were strengths Wednesday.
“Tonight was the best. We executed everything,” Papale said.
The talented but younger Marin Catholic team wilted under relentless pressure.
“We couldn’t pass their serves. They were picking up the ball well on defense,” said Carol Raffety, the Wildcats top hitter.
Key in the narrow second game win was Papale’s kills around blocks and finding open spots for winners. A large number of Papale’s 24 kills for the match came in the game that kept momentum on Cardinal Newman’s side.
The game winner came on a defensive play. Blocker Julie Buehnerkemper and hitter Kayla Cogliano rose at the net to turn back a Marin Catholic kill attempt.
Strong defense was also evident in Cardinal Newman’s digging. Three players had six or more digs led by Fowler with seven in the match.
Most impressive was Cardinal Newman’s play at the outset of the decisive third game when the Cardinals blitzed the suddenly error prone Wildcats.
“We came in really positive. But I don’t think we had the energy we needed,” Raffety said.
Cardinal Newman opened the third game on a 14-1 run. Hitter Jazzy McCoy-Loose pounded several winners. The Cardinals won a dozen consecutive points on Bonfigli’s serve — she had six aces on the night to go with 25 assists.
“No one wanted this to be our last game,” Bonfigli said.


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Seismic noise limits Earth based gravitational wave interferometric detectors at low frequencies. The detection threshold can be lowered down to a few Hz using a seismic attenuation system based on Inverted Pendulum (IP) which sustains interferometer optical components by means of a chain of pendulums. The IP, acting as a mechanical low pass filter, is able to filter out seismic noise in the horizontal plane and at the same time it provides a quasi-inertial stage where the suspension point of the chain of pendulums lies. The main degrees of freedom of an IP are three: two translational modes and one rotational mode. Therefore, to fully determinate its position, three independent sensors are mounted at the periphery of the IP top table. For the same reason, three independent actuators are used to move the IP. The geometrical position of the sensors is different from actuator positions, in addition, both of them are not connected to the normal modes of the IP. Each sensor will be sensitive in all the three IP normal modes and each actuator will generate movements which are a mix of the three modes. To take advantage of controlling a Single Input Single Output (SISO) system instead of a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system, a diagonalization of the actuation and detection system is needed. An original and model independent experimental procedure for determining the system dynamics, giving an effective diagonalization has been developed and tested.


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For the second straight year, students in a special project class at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith received a unique opportunity to apply their artistic learnings by joining street artists from across the globe in painting murals in downtown Fort Smith.
Eleven students in Bryan Alexis’s mural painting class spent a week painting a sprawling mural across the side of The Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown, a music venue owned by UAFS, as part of The Unexpected, a 10 day arts and culture initiative in downtown Fort Smith.
Beginning with a projection on the building’s northern wall, students traced the outline of the mural’s design onto the brick before “attacking” the wall with paintbrushes, filling in the outline with bright reds, yellows and blues.
“Little by little, it all comes together,” Alexis said.
Given the building’s musical roots, the mural’s design was centered around Fort Smith music legend Alphonso Trent.
“Because of the rich ties to music, I immediately went to, ‘Who’s famous in Fort Smith that was also a musician?’ Somewhere down in the search, I found Alphonso Trent,” Alexis said. “He was one of the first African American bandleaders who paved the way for artists such as Duke Ellington. He was doing it first, back in the mid-twenties.”
The result was a stylized portrait of Trent surrounded by colorful renditions of various jazz instruments arranged across the length of the wall.
The mural is also a rare opportunity for students to leave a lasting impact on the city’s downtown area.
“Being able to paint a mural like this and meeting different artists from around the world, you really don’t get that opportunity at any other school really,” said Ashley Khakeo of Fort Smith, a student in the class. “Being in Fort Smith, we never thought we’d have a chance to be a part of something like this.”
Alexis agreed, calling the opportunity “an experience like none other.”
“The students are learning by doing, and it’s something they can immediately apply and use in their career,” Alexis said. “The students from last year are already getting jobs painting murals around the area. We’re driving economy, we’re driving creativity, we’re driving the artistic elevation of the region, and that’s coming from this class. Who could ask for anything more than that?”
Students who painted the mural were:
Alma: Nathan Meyers.
Charleston: Laney Taggart.
Fort Smith: Riley Casher, Brent Cherry, Josh Hendricks, Ashley Khakeo, Kit Ngo and Tien Pham.
Mena: Amber Lane.
Mansfield: Karolyn Manas.
Rudy: Eden Martin.
For more information about the university’s studio art program, visit http://class.uafs.edu/art/studio-art.

domain: news


In a recent article, the Turkish pro-government media outlet Daily Sabah introduced the concept of the “Aleppo model” — a scheme to make areas in northern Syria safe, secure and livable in order to encourage the repatriation of Syrian refugees. This follows a survey by the UN refugee agency UNHCR that showed 70 percent of those displaced are unwilling to return for at least five years despite the difficult conditions and discrimination they face in host countries. Refugees cited security concerns, as well as lack of basic services and work opportunities. What does the Aleppo model mean for Syrian President Bashar Assad?
The refugee question was a main point of contention in the recent Turkish elections. The opposition focused on the issue, accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of maintaining an open-door policy, and proposed normalizing relations with Assad as a solution to the problem. However, Erdogan’s efforts in this regard have yielded little, mainly due to the rigidity of the Syrian regime, which has based talks with Turkiye on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the northwest of the country, a totally unrealistic demand since it would leave opponents to the regime at the mercy of Assad.
Turkiye also cannot leave its borders unprotected and vulnerable to terrorist attacks and drug trafficking. Here, Erdogan faces a dilemma. He wants to ensure the return of refugees, one of his main campaign promises. However, returning them is almost impossible while Assad is in power. Ahmet Uysal, head of ORSAM, a Turkish research center focusing on Arab countries, recently published an article in which he said that Assad is unwilling and incapable of securing the refugees’ return, adding that those who have returned have been subject to arbitrary arrest, torture and rape. Assad does not want to see the people who opposed him come back home.
Even areas loyal to Assad are witnessing protests demanding his departure due to the dire state of the economyDr. Dania Koleilat Khatib
Assad is also incapable of providing them with their basic needs. Even areas loyal to Assad are witnessing protests demanding his departure due to the dire state of the country’s economy. Hence, the most logical step to take is to bypass Assad and negotiate with his patrons. Daily Sabah mentioned that Turkiye is in discussions with Syria and Russia. With talks between Turkiye and Syria at a standstill, Erdogan is probably banking on Russia to make the “Aleppo model” a reality. It is inconceivable that Assad will willingly cede territory to Turkiye, having asked the latter to withdraw before starting any discussion.
Any joint administration or the presence of Assad forces will also deter refugees from going back. As Uysal detailed, experience has shown that despite an amnesty and promises of safety, opponents of the regime who returned were subject to arrest and punishment. Also, Assad has not acted in line with Russian interests, which are to end the war and begin reconstruction. On the contrary, he has refused to make any concessions to the opposition. In this respect, he has skillfully played the Russians against the Iranians, positioning himself as the reference between the two.
Despite promises of safety, opponents of the regime who returned have been subject to arrest and punishmentDr. Dania Koleilat Khatib
However, due to the Ukraine war, Turkiye is proving to be of more importance to Russia. Meanwhile, all Turkish incursions have been approved either by Russia or the US. If Turkiye acts to put Aleppo under its control, it will be a fatal blow to Assad. Aleppo is the commercial heart of Syria. Losing the city will strengthen the protest movement across the country and, ultimately, force Iran and Assad to compromise. Hence, in addition to creating a suitable environment for a safe, voluntary and dignified return for refugees in accordance with UN resolution 2254, the Aleppo model can help break the status quo and force a solution on Syria.
If the Aleppo model succeeds — with Russia and Turkiye bringing stability, Qatar financing reconstruction, and refugees returning in large numbers — it will be a game changer. It could set an example for other arrangements. Why not have a Daraa model, whereby Russia enters into a similar agreement with Jordan? Despite normalization with Assad, Jordan has not seen any real improvement in the regime’s behavior, and is still vulnerable to illegal drug and weapons smuggling.
The Aleppo model is likely to garner Arab acquiescence, if not endorsement, since normalization with Assad led to nowhere. At the Arab League Summit in May, the Syrian leader was supposed to show some goodwill, but instead displayed only defiance. In a nutshell, the success of the Aleppo model will show that Assad is a burden for Arab countries as well as for his allies, and is very much dispensable.
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is president of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.


It was supposed to be an easy enough job. Get in, get the diamond, and get out. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as planned. Alarms were tripped, police sirens broke through the silence of the night, and when it was all said and done, I was forced to shoot my way into the museum and exit with the same strategy. It wasn’t all bad, though. I had a priceless diamond stowed away to make it all worthwhile.
No, this was not a wild weekend night for me. This was the newest heist added to Payday 2, and I was lucky enough to get a chance to experience it – as well as other parts of the recently announced Crimewave Edition at a recent event in NY, which was held inside a movie theater! If you ever get a chance to play video games on a movie theater screen, I highly suggest doing it. There’s nothing like trying to steal a priceless diamond while staring up at a 75 foot high screen with surround sound gunshots coming at you from every angle.
If you don’t know about Payday 2 or the series itself, the premise is pretty clear: you are part of a four person (man or woman, as they have now added 2 female heisters) heist team whose sole purpose is to steal as much stuff as possible with or without getting caught. If your team is talented enough, you can get in and out without triggering any alarms or killing anyone. If you’re clumsy… that becomes a different story.
Part of what makes the game extremely popular on Steam is that it boasts the largest community on the service with almost 2.5 million members. Countless amounts of mods have been created for the game, and 505 games is always listening to their fans for what to put in next. When I spoke to Almir Listo, Producer for Payday 2, he wanted to make it very clear that the company is always interested in what its fans have to say about updates and content, and never wants to alienate them through a paywall. For this reason, a lot of the DLC in Payday 2 is only required to be owned by one person. If a friend owns it, you can all play it.
With the huge success of the game on PC, 505 finally decided it was time to bring the series back to home consoles. Payday 2 had been brought to the Xbox 360 and PS3, but did not do well due to its lack of content. Almir attributed that to the 360 and PS3’s hardware limitations. The systems were nearing on 10 years old, and simply could not get the updates out as fast as the PC could. With the introduction of newer, more powerful consoles, it seems like Payday is finally ready to breach onto the console market, and 505 is pulling no punches.
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition is coming to next-gen consoles sometime in June, and as I said earlier (link above), it will be bringing with it a ton of DLC to the Xbox One and PS4. Almost all of the content available to the PC right now will be available right away on the consoles (save for some of the stuff coming early this week), which means 99 weapons, over 100+ masks, and a bunch of new missions. As if that wasn’t promising enough, the game will also continually be updated alongside its PC brother. While not instantaneously, the same content will be made available eventually.
In my short session with the game, we were brought into the game’s newest heist, where your objective is steal possibly the world’s most famous jewel, The (Hope) Diamond. The game plays exactly as you would expect; you’re dropped into the mission right outside of the museum you’ve been targeting, and must find your way inside. For the purposes of our demo, there was no other option but to run in guns blazing.
Not much has changed in the way you go about doing things in Payday 2, which is not a bad thing at all. Items still feel familiar, and the guns and tools are very responsive. The only thing that’s changed, and it’s for the better, is how the game looks. It’s easy to tell now that the game is on next-gen consoles, as it looks almost comparable to its PC counterpart.
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition offers what could be the best value of this generation so far. For $50, you’re getting almost $100 worth of content and a stream of content updates for a game that has a huge community and tons of replay value. Come summertime, I know I’ll be ready to crack open some bank vaults with my team. Will you?


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Affordable supercars with Ferrari finance, is it possible?
When most people think supercars, affordable isn’t usually the word that springs to mind but with companies such as Supercar Finance around, your dream car may be well withing your reach. Ferrari Finance isn’t a common PCP deal or package, when you think car finance people usually think of every day cars that they see around but that couldn’t be further from the truth. A number of specialist financial companies that specialise in funding more exotic and sport cars have sprung up in order to serve the higher end of the car market.
What type of cars can be financed you may be wondering? The answer is just about any. Obviously as with any type of car financial package, you need to have a good credit history in order to meet the criteria for these finance companies. Financing a supercar such as a Ferrari isn’t really all that different from an ordinary car like a ford, except for the fact that the figures and numbers involved are much bigger. This can work in your favor however, when talking about large amounts of finance, companies are more willing to offer bespoke and tailored financial packages for purchasing your car.
Is Ferrari finance right for you?
Does this mean that just about anyone can rush out and get Ferrari Finance? Of course not. Even the most generous of higher purchase packages require that you are able to meet the minimum monthly payments. It’s important that you have a relatively clean credit history and that you have the salary to support such a loan. From personal experience, it’s always useful to have a little more in the bank should things get a little difficult and you find it hard to make the repayment plan.
On that note, keeping up with your monthly payments can be a flexible issue too. Ultimately no company wants to see you default on your loan or car finance package. If you do find that you are behind on a repayment of this kind of financing then it’s always best to speak with the Supercar Finance company to see what they may be able to do for you.

domain: economics


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Deal significantly boosts UK provider’s games development operations
Tuesday 2nd January, 2018: Leading UK-based game studio Blueprint Gaming, part of the Gauselmann Group, has completed the acquisition of omni-channel gaming provider Games Warehouse from the Harbour Group.
The deal will see Blueprint significantly boost its operations, delivering a greater number of high quality games to the market.
Games Warehouse, based in Derby, England, supplies innovative content to the global gambling market, with its games available across online, mobile and retail channels.
Popular titles, including Wild Bandits, Birdz and Gold Strike, are already live across numerous websites and retail outlets of some of the leading operators.
Staff members will continue to operate out of its existing office, where both the igaming and Skill With Prize (SWP) machine teams will support Blueprint’s development plans.
Matt Cole, Managing Director of Blueprint Gaming, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the Games Warehouse team to Blueprint Gaming. They will support our growth by continuing to develop creative games as well as back Blueprint’s development efforts.
“We are confident that the fit will work very well and we look forward to creating some innovative games together.”
Brandon Bezzant, Harbour Group added: “Games Warehouse first created the SWP market and more recently successfully evolved into a standalone games developer for online and mobile.
“We are sure that as a part of Blueprint Gaming and the Gauselmann Group, the team can go from strength to strength.”
For more information, please contact:
Square in the Air Communications
+44 (0) 20 3542 4893
Blueprint Gaming is a leading UK based game studio and part of Germany’s Gauselmann Group. It creates exciting slot games for the global online and mobile markets and its games are also available to be played on over 100,000 land-based gaming terminals across the UK, Germany and Italy.
As well as its original content, which has become hugely popular, it has developed successful slots based on a broad range of third party brands, offering players familiarity and operators unique marketing opportunities.
Blueprint Gaming design and development team strives to push creative boundaries in the creation of slots that are as successful for its operating partners as they are entertaining and engaging for its players.
Blueprint is licensed to develop and supply online games by the UK Gambling Commission and Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

domain: game


A variety of machinery and equipment is continuously needed at every area of industry. Every machinery and equipment for RENTH industry solutions are available at the product groups of our brands. Please take a look at the brands of RENTH, which offer over 500 machines and equipment from generators to office containers, power tools to lighting mast. Production lines, assembly lines, warehouses and storehouses... By doing needs analysis together, let us create the most suitable machinery and equipment park for you. Win by leasing.


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Want to know the effects of extra weight loss? or want to know about things happen to your body when you lose extra weight? we are here to tell you.
According to the results of studies by American researchers, people should want to lose weight.
The added weight is believed to pose a big threat to people’s health and is the major reason for the development of type II diabetes and heart-related diseases.
We added 10 major things that happen to your body when you lose extra weight.
1- You Stop Snoring And Sleep Better
Sleep apnea is more frequent than you think. When someone has this, their breathing often stops while they sleep only a few seconds, so that the body can never go into deep REM sleep. Almost 25% of adults have signs of apnea. And for obese patients, that number increases to 45%.
Fat deposits are found in the organs, in the spaces between them, and also around the throat area. This presses on the throat, making it difficult to breathe.
2- You Will Live Longer
The added weight influences not only our quality of life but also our life expectancy. After studying about 4 million people, scientists found that weight gain also leads to increased mortality.
It is also interesting information that the mortality rate increases if the body mass index is too low or too high. It’s very important to lose your weight naturally.
3- Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease Is Reduced
Cardiovascular diseases have become one of the most serious problems in the world. A sedentary lifestyle and an increase in overweight people play an important role in this.
Scientists have claimed that heart problems in people with obesity are much more frequent than in people with normal weight. More than that, even medications cannot solve these problems.
4- Your Cognitive Abilities Improve
Scientists have found that the heavier a person is, the greater the number of special proteins, called inflammation markers, in the blood. And the number of these proteins is connected with the level of intelligence.
The more “inflammation” proteins a person has, the lower the IQ will be. The connection between intelligence and general body health is much stronger than we think.
5- Joint Pain Disappears
Unfortunately, some of us often experience joint pain much more often than we would like. But there is breaking good news: If you are overweight and lose additional weight, it can lessen your pain because your joints will have less weight to carry.
Scientists conducted a study and claimed that reducing body mass reduces the risk of osteoarthritis, which is a very common disease.
6- Your Chances Of Becoming Pregnant Will Improve
It is well known that if a woman is very thin, her menstruation can be affected and she may have difficulties getting pregnant. But extra weight can also be a considerable problem.
It is very important to understand that if a woman is infertile, losing extra weight won’t help. However, losing extra weight and reaching the ideal body weight will increase the chances of having a baby, even in healthy women as well.
7- The Risk Of Diabetes Type II Is Reduced
Type II diabetes is when the body loses its ability to make insulin when there is sugar in the blood. A large amount of fat deposits makes cells less sensitive to insulin and sugar traces in the blood, which leads to the development of the disease.
Even though most people who are overweight have this disease, genes also play an important role. If some members of your family have or have had diabetes, doctors recommend that you control your sugar and insulin levels, eat a healthy diet, and do the right amount of physical activity.
8- Hair And Nails Become Stronger
Occasionally, all women complain about dry nails and hair and even sometimes break near an area of lips. But if these problems become more pronounced. Possibly, it could be a sign of iron deficiency.
Scientists have claimed that there are many mechanisms that eventually lead to an iron deficiency in the body. If we correct our metabolism by losing weight, we can get rid of iron deficiency easily.
9- Your Teeth Stay Healthy
For people ages 18 to 35, obesity may be the major reason for the development of periodontitis – inflammation of the tissues around the teeth. Obesity is most probably related to an increase in periodontitis cases in the younger population.
But promoting a healthy diet and physical activity can be helpful in preventing or at least delaying in the development of periodontitis.
10- Risk Of Kidney Failure Is Reduced
Yes, obesity leads to nephron deficiency. Nephrons are special kidney cells in which the filtration, absorption, and secretion of elements occur. So the nephrons have to do a lot of work. If the adipose tissue mass continues to increase, the kidney mechanisms will break down and then leading to kidney failure.
Therefore, if you are overweight and lose additional weight, your risk of kidney failure will really decrease.
That’s what I found really interesting and worth sharing. Please comment below and let us know what is your opinion on this?

domain: medical


text:
By Loretta Ramirez
April 9, 2005 - 19:44
I was introduced to comic books at a very young age, where my memories are foggy. One impression is vivid, though--the thrill of reading Hawkeye in THE AVENGERS. The character became my very first crush and, in retrospect, ended up forming a lot of my attitudes and values.
Then, I grew up; and since reading comic books is considered inappropriate for preteen girls, I did what most "normal" girls do--became obsessed with musicians. I think, in a lot of ways, that I lost my individuality and imagination at that point. I went on to travel and developed an interest in archaeology. So, to help preserve the world's treasures, I decided to become a diplomat. I graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Anthropology. But amidst all the studies of politics and economics, slowly my imagination resurfaced.
After Stanford, I began to travel again and to write fiction based on my travels. Soon, writing became my biggest passion. So, I returned to school to receive my Master's Degree in Creative Writing from Loyola Marymount University.
Then something strange happened. I was working part-time as an English professor and writing uninspired short stories and novels, when--after roughly fifteen years of completely forgetting him--I began to wonder what Hawkeye was up to. Odd. I did an Internet search. A website dedicated to the Thunderbolts popped up--and I was instantly a little girl again. Seeing that archer, smugly smiling in his purple costume, overwhelmed me with memories, fantasies, and ideals that I had long ignored. Immediately, I was re-hooked and have since been studying comic books as an art form--reading them, reviewing them, analyzing the industry.
Currently, I'm adapting my more traditional prose training towards comic book script writing, in the hopes of one day joining the industry. Something about comic books takes root in a child's heart and never wilts, not even after 15 years of neglect. I love the art form and would love to contribute to it--and, of course, write Hawkeye!

domain: artistic


Tonga has reported its first-ever COVID-19 case on Friday since the outbreak has started. The active case reported is of a fully vaccinated individual who arrived on a repatriation flight from New Zealand.
The citizens are now rushing to take jabs of the vaccine after the COVID-19 case has been reported in the nation.
The Prime Minister of Tonga – Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa warned that the country might go under lockdown by next week, although no confirmation has been made by him yet.
Prime Minister Tu’i’onetoa noted that he had been advised by professionals to enforce an immediate lockdown as “the virus will take more than 3 days to develop in someone who catches it before they become contagious”.
Following the statement, he asserted, “We should use this time to get ready in case more people confirm they have the virus“.
More than 100,000 people live on the island nation, out of which only a third has been fully vaccinated against COVID, But national immunisation coordinator – Afu Tei noted that people in thousands had been turning up at vaccination centres to receive their jabs.
The infected individual was among 215 people on a repatriation flight from Christchurch, New Zealand. Others who were in the flight included members of Tonga’s Olympic team who had been stranded in the city since the Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand’s health ministry informed that the individual earlier tested negative before leaving the country.
Since the start of the outbreak, over 246 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed across the world, and around 5 million people lost their lives to the deadliest mutant, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Tonga is located northwest of New Zealand. Countries such as – North Korea and Turkmenistan have yet not recorded a single case of the COVID-19 virus since the pandemic emerged, but as per experts, these countries might be having coronavirus cases but not have been officially confirmed by the authorities.


text:
"My name is Mallory and my husband, Eric, and I live in Des Moines, Iowa. When I was 20 years old, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I always knew I would have trouble getting pregnant, but we didn't and were happy that our pregnancy was going just as planned......... until it wasn't."
Then on Wednesday, August 8th, 2012, I went in for a regular appointment. My blood pressure was high and I guess there was a lot of protein in my urine. This time I was already at the hospital, so they wheeled me to L&D. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, because my blood pressure would go down and we'd head home. But it wouldn't go down! And my protein was significantly higher than when they did the 24 hour urine catch. When the nurse came in to tell me that I was getting a set of two steroid shots to help with the baby’s brain and lung development, I knew things were real. This was only the second appointment my mom came to, instead of my husband. So I called my husband and said it was time that he came to the hospital. They finally decided to admit me and do another 24 hour urine catch. The next day, a volunteer came in for moms on bed rest - this was news to me! I thought I would be going home after my urine test. But no, I was there to stay. After my urine test came back on Friday, my levels were getting worse. The perinatologist informed me that I had preeclampsia, but we could keep an eye on it, and she wanted to do another catch on Saturday morning to Sunday. If my levels went down or stayed the same, they would send me home!
After a lot of drama/stress from my nurses, I started having delirious dreams around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday (the 11th) morning. I only had those types of dreams when I had the flu! I called in the nurse and let her know that something was off. She put the contraction and blood pressure monitor on me. I knew I wasn't having contractions, but I knew something was wrong. She just wouldn’t listen to me, especially because I didn’t know exactly what was wrong. About an hour later, I started having sharp pains under BOTH of my ribs, all across the top of my abdomen. I let her know about this, so she checked for contractions again... but I couldn't lay still because I was in so much pain. She refused to listen to me when I told her I wasn't having contractions.
Finally, I had my husband call my mom around 4:00 a.m. to come to the hospital (she's kind of strong-willed when needed, so I knew she'd lay into the nurse). Once my mom got there, I started walking the halls because that was the only thing that made me feel a little bit better. The doctor decided they would wait until 6:00 a.m. when the pathology labs opened to do blood work. It was the longest two hours of my life. After they took some blood, I started vomiting. The pain was getting so bad, that I was threatening to jump out the window. And I was serious! Eventually, they started me on a morphine drip. This helped me pass out, but every 15 minutes I would wake up in pain and vomit. Everything from this point on is very blurry and I don't remember most of it. I do remember the high risk OB coming in and telling me that "We're going to be having this baby today", then feeling the tears run down my cheeks. My mom asking "This afternoon or this evening?" and the doctor responded "No, right now." I don’t remember being wheeled out of the room, but my mom told me I looked at her and said “She better have hair!”
Once in the operating room, I remember getting a shot in my back, getting really really cold (and complaining about it to Eric), and within moments, feeling completely awake. The doctor said "Do you feel better?", "Yes, I do! What did you do?" "We just took your daughter out" I could hear her crying and then I remember some talk about my daughter pooping. At that point, they couldn’t get me to stop talking and I barely noticed what was going on with our new baby! Nellie Alyse was born at 11:43 a.m. at 2 lbs 13.5 oz."


text:
In a study commissioned by The Straits Times, one in two Singapore employees have been working longer hours since the pandemic started, with a third of these people putting in more than two extra hours a day.
Singapore has always been ranked the second most overworked city globally. Even if you get the best case scenario of working 8 hours on weekdays, you still have to cram the rest of your life into the evenings and two days.
Not to mention travelling to and from work everyday and working overtime when hiccups occur (and let’s face it, they always will).
With the pandemic and remote working implemented in one way or another, you would think we’re closer to achieving proper work-life balance than ever before.
But that is not the case at all.
With KPIs to meet and increased workload thanks to the pandemic, remote working blurs the line between work and personal life and lengthens working hours.
More than ever before, employees need a break from work.
Prolonged hours of work can lead to chronic stress and fatigue, sleep deprivation and a drop in productivity. Many Singaporeans eat an unhealthy diet and live an unhealthy lifestyle because there’s simply no time to think about improving these things when the work keeps piling up.
Ironically, working your employees harder is the reason why businesses are falling apart instead.
In 2019, Microsoft Japan tested reducing the work week by one day and it resulted in a 40% boost in productivity.
Researchers from Iceland studied 2,500 employees with four-day work weeks and found that these people have a reduction in perceived stress and burnout as well as a better work-life balance.
The idea of reducing the working hours of your employees by an entire day might frighten many companies because there is work to be done and customers to serve. We live in the age of immediate replies and same-day delivery where taking a full day off every week means a significant loss of business.
Yet the fact remains that continuing down the path we are currently on is unsustainable. Reducing the work hours of your employees remains the solution for increasing the productivity of your business.
Thus, the solution to this is to compromise and give employees a half day off each month so they can gather their wits, regain their calm and deal with any personal issues they may have.
People Profilers has implemented this for about half a year now and we have found that this monthly holiday allows our consultants to perform better at work. They have more energy in the week after the break and are also more enthusiastic when facing their clients.
A half day off every month doesn’t seem to be a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but this little change has brought about very positive results.
Sometimes, the way to improve your business is to take a break from doing business for a while.

domain: sociology


This insulator attaches to the side of your pipe panels without drilling a hole in the pipe. The clamp can also be mounted on the horizontal or vertical section of the panel.
Front or Back
High Tensile Application:
Insulator Conductor Type:
Polyrope, Polywire, Wire up to 3/8"
High Density Polyethylene


text:
Question: How can I prevent tissue sections from freeze-drying during cryostat sectioning?
Answer: Freeze-drying can occur if tissue sections placed on the Visium slide are exposed to the cryostat environment for long periods. Freeze-drying will impact tissue morphology and data quality.
Affected tissue sections will remain opaque instead of turning transparent during the 1 min 37°C incubation (step 1.2c in the H&E Staining or the Immunofluorescence Staining Demonstrated Protocols). The left two tissue sections in Figure 1 provide examples of the freeze-drying phenotype.
Figure 1. Post-37°C 1 min incubation. From left to right, tissue sections were exposed in the cryostat for one hour, 30 min, 15 min, and 0 min (immediately processed) after section placement.
Figure 2. Post-H&E staining. Blue boxes mark over-dried tissue regions.
To prevent tissue from freeze-drying during sectioning, the Visium slide can be placed inside a pre-chilled slide mailer or a 50ml centrifuge tube and kept sealed in the cryostat between placing of sections on the slide. If working with multiple tissue blocks, prepare each tissue block ahead of time for sectioning (e.g., equilibration and mounting of tissue onto specimen chuck) so that blocks can be interchanged quickly. We don’t recommend placing tissue sections across multiple days on a single Visium slide to avoid tissue damage due to temperature fluctuations.
Visium slides with placed tissue sections can be stored in a sealed container at -80°C for up to 4 weeks. Failure in using a sealed container will also lead to freeze-drying. Additional details regarding storage post tissue placement can be found here: How should I store Visium Slides once tissue sections have been placed?
Product: Visium for fresh-frozen

domain: biology


text:
The eastern Pacific marine heatwave, which occurred from California to Alaska in 2014–2016, was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners looked at its effects. They found that the heatwave affected various components of the Gulf of Alaska marine food web from plankton to whales to humans. There have been various impacts, some positive and some negative. Some of these impacts persisted through 2019, when this study was completed.
“As of 2019, the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem had yet to recover from the effects of this major heatwave,” said Rob Suryan, from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center who is lead author on the study. “What also is remarkable is how rapidly conditions changed and that species from all trophic levels and age classes responded. The community composition, or proportion of species that make up the ecosystem, are distinct from what we observed prior to the heatwave.”
Since 2012, the percent of global ocean experiencing strong or severe heatwaves has increased from 30 percent to nearly 70 percent in 2016. There has also been an increase in documentation of disturbance to marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services associated with marine heatwaves.
Effects of the Pacific Marine Heatwave on the Gulf of Alaska
In the Gulf of Alaska, the marine heatwave was particularly strong in the spatial extent, duration, and magnitude of ocean warming. It was also unique in that it extended down to the seafloor and affected a broad diversity of habitats. Its effects were seen in offshore oceanic to intertidal waters in glacial fjords.
Scientists looked at 187 biological data sets from different sampling programs in the Gulf of Alaska. They also examined long-term monitoring and synthesis efforts led by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council’s Gulf Watch Alaska and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
From these data, scientists determined how the biological community responded as a whole and which species exhibited negative, positive, or neutral responses. They also looked at whether species showed continued, multi-year response or signs of recovery for up to five years after the onset of the Pacific marine heatwave.
Scientists observed changes in a number of key indicators, including:
- Species abundance
- Growth rates
- Weight/body condition
- Reproductive success
- Species composition before, during, and after the marine heatwave
Around half of the ecosystem indicators showed an abrupt change during and a prolonged response after the marine heatwave ended. According to NOAA Fisheries staff who prepare annual Ecosystem Status Reports for fisheries resource managers, even in 2020, some of these Gulf of Alaska indicators had yet to recover.
Warm water anomalies persisted for at least 4–5 years after the beginning of the Pacific marine heatwave, especially in the lower water column of the continental shelf. As a result, various life stages of many organisms were still experiencing above-average warm conditions for up to five subsequent years. This is likely contributing to the lag in returning to pre-heatwave values for the Gulf of Alaska community as a whole.
“Some species did return to pre-heatwave levels soon after the heatwave. However, other species from intertidal algae to whales did not. These results signify the magnitude of the heatwave and suggest the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem had passed a tipping point that could no longer be buffered by resiliency in the system,” said Suryan.
Heatwave Winners and Losers
Half of the indicators showed a strong response during the heatwave. However, the direction of responses varied.
Indicators with primarily negative responses were:
- Intertidal organisms
- Forage fish
- Adult groundfish
- Pinnipeds and piscivorous seabirds at haul-outs and breeding colonies
- Commercial fish harvest, especially Pacific cod and sockeye salmon
During the heatwave, humpback whales in the northeastern Gulf of Alaska exhibited a precipitous decline and remained low through 2019.
Warm water-associated zooplankton abundance showed a positive response, but also stayed positive even as the water column cooled the year after the heatwave. Surprisingly, the cool water-associated zooplankton community did not show a marked decline during the intense warming of the heatwave, as we would have expected based on studies elsewhere. Not surprisingly, species that eat primarily zooplankton or a variety of fish and zooplankton—including storm-petrels, gulls, and cormorants—showed primarily neutral responses. Juvenile groundfish abundance that showed positive trends included southern rock sole and sablefish. Commercial fish harvest with positive trends included chum salmon, sablefish, coho salmon and pollock, with regional variability among ports.
Some aspects of the Gulf of Alaska community were less affected. About half the indicators showed short-term or no detectable response. They included:
- Phytoplankton bloom timing
- Phytoplankton size
- Forage fish growth and condition
- At-sea densities of highly mobile seabirds
Ecosystem indicators that show little or no responses to such a large heatwave also provide important information about resilience in the marine environment.
Outlook for the Gulf of Alaska
It is still possible that the ecosystem could revert to pre-heatwave conditions. However, since the heatwave ended, there was a re-intensification of the warming through fall 2018 and summer 2019. Some indices, including spring chlorophyll size composition and warm water copepod abundance, returned to heatwave levels in 2019.
In fact, recent warming events that began with the eastern Pacific marine heatwave appear to be still affecting most of Alaska, including the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean. Some recent years are among the most anomalous on record.
This year, scientists are hoping to get on the water again to assess how the ecosystem is doing. This is particularly important to do since they weren’t able to conduct several key research surveys in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understanding how marine ecosystems respond to cyclical, linear, or random environmental change, or their additive effects, is a key challenge in marine ecology and resource management. However, it is critical for scientists to be able to understand and predict species responses. That will allow resource managers to successfully manage commercial, recreational, and subsistence fisheries and protect marine mammal species in Alaska.
“This analysis is a good basis for future studies,” said Suryan. “What we need to do next is identify the mechanisms that cause species abundance fluctuations. For instance, understanding what forage fish and zooplankton species do well or poorly when water temperatures are warmer is critical for understanding how the marine mammals, seabirds and commercial fish stocks that feed on them will fare in this same environment.”
NOAA Fisheries and partners, through their long-term research surveys, are continuing to monitor environmental and ecosystem conditions. Collected and analyzed data are being used to enhance predictive capabilities and help resource managers, fishermen, and coastal communities anticipate, prepare and adapt to these and other climate-related changes.
"We have loved working on this marine heatwave assessment study," said Mayumi Arimitsu, USGS, Alaska Science Center Research Ecologist. “This work showcases the importance of collaborative work by federal, state, and non-governmental organizations to document and understand changes in marine ecosystems.”


text:
Almanya Narula is an international actor, fight choreographer, dancer, and writer. She started her career in the entertainment industry at a young age where she was a child actor in various Bollywood films. She strives to advocate for women in the fight and entertainment industry and co-founded a comedy burlesque sword fighting troupe – ‘Sizzlings Swashbuckling Sisters, with the hopes of empowering women. In 2019, she became the first woman of color to be nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award in Fight Choreography for Gary Kates’ ‘Monsieur D’Eon is a Woman.’ In 2016 she graduated with a B.A. in Theater/ Advanced Management (double majors) with Stage Combat & Voice Over (Double Minors) from Columbia College Chicago. In 2019 she graduated with an M.A. in New Arts Journalism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently enrolled at the Stella Adler: Art of Acting Professional Conservatory in Los Angeles. Taken from profile.
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text:
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STATE OF IOWA vs. RICHARD GENE SHAWHAN
Man jailed for busting head open with bat
Case Number: 16-0709
Judge: David R. Danilson
Court: COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
Plaintiff's Attorney: Thomas J. Miller
Louis S. Sloven
Assistant Attorney General
Defendant's Attorney: Mark C. Smith
State Appellate Defender
Theresa R. Wilson
Assistant Appellate Defender
Description: On December 21, 2014, Shawhan did not return to the Fort Des Moines
residential correctional facility. At that time, Butts and Kimberly Goemaat-Clark
(Clark) were living together in an apartment and were allowing Brian Mabrier and
Nicole Martin to stay with them. While on escape status, Shawhan occasionally
stayed with Butts and Clark.
On December 26, Butts, Clark, Mabrier, and Martin returned to the
apartment after having all been at “Junebug’s” (the nickname of an acquaintance
who was a mechanic). Mabrier and Martin were in one vehicle. Butts and Clark
were in another, and they had picked up Shawhan, who called and asked for a
ride. Shawhan showered at the Butts/Clark apartment and was given clothes to
wear belonging to Butts. The five ate dinner together and spent the rest of the
evening “hanging out,” playing darts, and using methamphetamine. At some
point, Thomas Beall was also present but left. Butts and Clark left for a time.
Shawhan became increasingly paranoid as time passed. He took Mabrier’s dog
outside. He reported to Mabrier he was seeing police officers and dogs in the
trees. Shawhan saw a baseball bat in Martin’s vehicle and asked Mabrier if he
could have it for protection. Mabrier gave Shawhan the bat.
At about 5:30 a.m. on December 27, Butts and Clark returned to the
apartment. They were on the bed, which was located in the main room of the
apartment. Mabrier and Martin were in the spare room, and Shawhan was
pacing between the two rooms “back and forth throughout the night,” still carrying
the baseball bat. Clark dozed off. She was awakened by a loud noise (a “ping”
she recognized as the sound of an aluminum bat) and saw Shawhan holding a
bat aloft and standing over her and Butts. Martin heard Clark screaming, “Don’t
do that. Why did you do that?” Shawhan yelled, “You should have killed me
when you had the chance, motherfucker.” Mabrier saw Shawhan come into the
spare room holding the bat and having a “crazy look on his face.” Mabrier
jumped out the second-story window.
Shawhan demanded that Martin give him a ride. When Martin came out of
the spare room, she saw Butts on the bed, “laying there with his hands wrapped
up over his face and rocking back and forth . . . . gurgling.” She and Shawhan
encountered Mabrier outside on the stairs to the apartment building. Mabrier
tried to convince Martin not to go with Shawhan; Martin said, “I’m just going to
get him out of here so he don’t hurt nobody else.” Shawhan said to Mabrier, “I
wasn’t even going to hurt you.” Clark then came out onto the balcony of the
apartment and yelled to Mabrier, “Help me, help me. He hit him in the head with
a ball bat. He hit him in the head with the ball bat.” The front security door to the
building was locked, so Mabrier climbed onto the deck and returned to the
apartment as Martin and Shawhan drove away.
Mabrier and Clark tried to carry Butts out of the apartment to take him to
the hospital. Butts (who was much larger than Mabrier) was struggling and was
on the ground near the bottom of the steps when an ambulance arrived, having
been summoned by neighbors’ calls to 911.
Officer Patrick Hickey was one of the first to respond to the 911 call to the
Butts/Clark apartment. Clark told Officer Hickey she was sitting on the bed and
Butts was there on the bed with her. She stated “Ricky”—she did not know him
by Shawhan—was sitting at the end of the bed in a red chair. She was not
paying attention to either of them when she heard what she said sounded like
two or three pings like somebody getting hit on the head with a baseball bat.
When she turned around, she saw Butts was bleeding a lot.
Marbier told Officer Hickey he was not in the apartment at the time of the
assault. “He said that he had left prior to the assault with their dog and walked
through the living room, which is [also] a bedroom where he saw both Clark [and]
Butts on the bed and Shawhan sitting in the chair.”
In the meantime, Shawhan was directing Martin to drive to the apartment
of a friend but he could not remember the unit, then to his sister’s house but she
was not home, and then to his girlfriend’s house. There, Shawhan’s girlfriend got
in the vehicle with Martin and Shawhan, who was lying on the floor in the back
seat of the van. They went to the gas station because the van was running out of
gas. Martin took money inside to pay for gas, told an attendant she was being
held against her will, and then locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.
When officers arrived at the gas station and surrounded the van, Shawhan was
lying on the floor and had a baseball bat next to his left hand. He surrendered
Butts’s speech was not coherent when he arrived at the hospital.
Because of the seriousness of his injuries, he was taken to University of Iowa
Hospitals. He sustained a skull fracture, intracranial bleeding, and facial bone
Both Clark and Mabrier gave additional statements to police. While in the
interview room at the police station, Mabrier ripped off his shirt, which was
covered in Butts’s blood, and attempted to hide it in the ceiling. Detective Danny
White confronted Mabrier about his attempt to hide his clothes. Mabrier stated
he did not want to be a “snitch.” During the interview, Mabrier was “sobbing and
you could tell that he was highly upset about what had occurred.”
Butts was taken off of life support and died on January 4, 2015. Shawhan
was charged with first-degree murder.
The State filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude any reference to an
incident when Officer Hickey had not been truthful during an internal affairs
investigation. After a hearing, the district court ruled:
[I]t’s legitimate for [the defense] to ask if he has ever had any issues regarding his propensity for truthfulness or however they want to cast that, you know what the rule says in terms of what the buzz words are, regarding the assignment of his job duties. And by that I mean [the prosecutor] has indicated he’s been a professional in law enforcement for a lot of years. If he has something in his background related to the assignment of whatever he was tasked to do as an officer of some kind for Des Moines PD, I think that’s fair game. I do not think the internal affairs investigation is fair game because in the Court’s view—and I understand why the defense wants to get at this because, in fact, if
there is something related to what he was assigned to do, he was assigned to do something here. So for me that’s the link between the two.
In a subsequent offer of proof, Officer Hickey testified that about four
years prior, a fellow officer had discharged his firearm inside a building belonging
to the police department. During the resulting internal affairs investigation,
Officer Hickey corroborated the fellow officer’s statement that the other officer
had not been responsible for the firearm discharge. However, after the fellow
officer admitted he had accidentally discharged the weapon, Officer Hickey
changed his own statement. As a consequence of the rule violation, Officer
Hickey was suspended for seventeen days, removed from the Metro SWAT team
and as the team leader of another team, and “sent back to day patrol.”
The court made a further ruling:
I think that Officer Hickey can be asked if he ever had any issues with truthfulness regarding the work that he was assigned to do in however many positions he’s held with the Des Moines Police Department. That does not include this internal investigation or delving into this internal investigation that was at least three or four years ago for the following reason: His ability to be truthful or not, if it related to something arising from an investigation or if it arose from him completing a report when he was out on the beat and was dispatched somewhere and he had to take information similar to what his role was here, if that was the situation, I would agree that that would be fair game. It may—and so now let’s step back for a second and talk about the internal investigation. On some level it may have some minimal relevance, but the court doesn’t think that whatever relevance it could have, however tangential that might be, I don’t think it—it’s relevant enough that it qualifies to be delved into here. And I think as well that offering that information could potentially be unfairly prejudicial. So on that basis, I want to make sure the parties both understand. And if you don’t, now’s the time to say so. You can chat with Officer Hickey. You heard what he would be prepared to say. You can ask him if he ever had any issues regarding his
assigned duties; in other words, when he was out there performing whatever task he was assigned to perform as a cop in whatever capacity he was performing that in, because my understanding is that he has been an employee of the Des Moines Police Department for a number of years. So you’re free to ask him, and whatever he says is what he says.
Clark, Mabrier, and Martin were among the witnesses who testified at trial.
Another of the witnesses, Frank Nucaro, acknowledged that he had known
Shawhan as a kid growing up and that they both ended up in the Polk County Jail
in late December 2014. Nucaro stated Shawhan told him Shawhan had gotten
into a verbal altercation with Butts and that he showed Butts that he “wasn’t a
tough guy” by hitting Butts with a baseball bat. Nucaro also stated Shawhan
asked him to make sure the witnesses “didn’t make it” and were “taken care of” if
Nucaro was successful in bonding out. Nucaro was eventually transferred to the
state prison at Oakdale and contacted authorities with the information Shawhan
had shared with him. Nucaro stated he did so because he was concerned for the
welfare of Martin, who he knew was pregnant.
The State played a number of recorded phone conversations Shawhan
had while at the Polk County Jail. In some of the calls, Shawhan refers to
wanting “Mike J.” to talk to people who had been in the apartment.
Shawhan testified that in the early morning hours of December 27, he was
outside walking the dog due to his paranoia. Shawhan stated he came through
the front door of the building and had just entered the Butts/Clark apartment
when he heard Clark screaming and saw a person go into the spare room.
Shawhan stated he did not see who hit Butts or what he was hit with.
The jury found Shawhan guilty of second-degree murder. He now
II. Scope and Standards of Review.
We generally review the trial court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of
discretion. State v. Tipton, 897 N.W.2d 653, 690 (Iowa 2017). Even if the trial
court has abused its discretion in excluding evidence, we do not reverse for a
new trial unless the exclusion was prejudicial. State v. Greene, 592 N.W.2d 24,
27 (Iowa 1999).
“Alleged errors in the submission or refusal to submit jury instructions are
reviewed for correction of errors at law.” Tipton, 897 N.W.2d at 694. “[H]owever,
if the jury instruction is not required but discretionary, we review for an abuse of
discretion.” State v. Plain, 898 N.W.2d 801, 811 (Iowa 2017). “We review jury
instructions as a whole to determine whether the jury instructions correctly state
the law.” Tipton, 897 N.W.2d at 694.
We review claims of ineffective assistance of counsel de novo because
such claims raise constitutional issues. Ledezma v. State, 626 N.W.2d 134, 141
A. Limitations on impeachment of Officer Hickey. Shawhan notes Officer
Hickey was one of two responding officers in the case. Officer Hickey took the
initial statements from Clark and Mabrier, who later gave different statements at
trial. Officer Hickey acknowledged not securing the scene initially, which resulted
in maintenance workers for the complex having started to clean blood from the
common areas of the building before police returned to secure the area.1
Shawhan asserts the trial court abused its discretion in prohibiting
Shawhan from impeaching Officer Hickey with evidence regarding his prior
discipline for untruthfulness, contending the evidence was relevant to Officer
Hickey’s general credibility. He argues the failure to permit impeachment
harmed Shawhan’s case:
[T]he court’s refusal to permit the general impeachment of Hickey left a false impression for the jury. At the beginning of his testimony, Hickey informed the jury that he was a patrol officer who had also been on the vice and narcotics and SWAT teams. He said he had been the leader of the Weapons of Mass Destruction team, the dive master of the dive team, and an assistant leader for the entry team. This experience probably sounds fairly impressive to the average juror, who might then credit Hickey with a certain degree of respect and credibility. Had jurors heard that Hickey was removed from those special teams based on being disciplined for untruthfulness in an internal affairs investigation, they might have viewed his credibility much differently.
Under Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.608(b), in its discretion, the court may
permit inquiry into specific instances of conduct on cross-examination if the
evidence is probative of a witness’s character for truthfulness or untruthfulness.
State v. Knox, 536 N.W.2d 735, 740 (Iowa 1995). The trial court considers the
probative value of the evidence, State v. Smith, 522 N.W.2d 591, 593 (Iowa
1994), and whether the probative value is outweighed by the danger of unfair
prejudice, Knox, 536 N.W.2d at 740. We will disturb the trial court’s ruling “only
1 Officer Hickey testified that the initial call was for an assault and “we didn’t have a victim because he didn’t want to file a report.” When the prosecutor noted that Officer Hickey had testified Butts could not talk, the officer testified: “That is correct. When I asked, he didn’t answer, so I can’t assume that he wanted one. So I just went ahead and made the injured person’s report.”
when its discretion has been obviously abused.” State v. Frazier, 559 N.W.2d
34, 38 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996). “An abuse of discretion will be found when the court
exercises its discretion on grounds clearly untenable or to an extent clearly
Here, the trial court weighed the probative value (“minimal relevance”) of
the evidence and concluded it was “unfairly prejudicial.” While another court
might come to different result, these grounds are not clearly untenable or clearly
unreasonable. We thus conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion.
Even if we would determine the trial court abused its discretion, we could
not conclude the exclusion of the evidence was prejudicial affording Shawhan a
new trial. Officer Hickey was one of several investigating officers that testified
and was not an eyewitness to the crime. His testimony was not indispensable to
the State’s case as other officers testified to some of the same facts. Photo
evidence was also admitted relative to some of Officer Hickey’s testimony. There
was no prejudice to Shawhan by the exclusion of the evidence.
B. The bad-acts jury instruction. The trial court provided the following
proposed jury instruction:2
You have received evidence and heard testimony that the defendant may have committed certain illegal acts which are not charged in the trial information in this case. The defendant is not on trial for those acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts may not be used by you to prove the character of a person in order to show that the person acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, intent, common sense, opportunity, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity of person charged, or absence of mistake or accident.
2 Instruction No. 18.
Shawhan, however, requested the model instruction for other-bad-acts
evidence found in Iowa Criminal Jury Instruction 200.34:
Evidence has been received concerning other wrongful acts alleged to have been committed by the defendant. The defendant is not on trial for those acts. This evidence must be shown by clear proof to show [motive] [intent] [absence of mistake or accident] [common scheme] [identity of person charged] and for no other purpose. If you find other wrongful acts occurred then and only then may such other wrongful acts be considered for the purpose of establishing [motive] [intent] [absence of mistake or accident] [common scheme] [identity of person charged]. You may consider whether the acts were recent or remote and whether the acts were similar or dissimilar to the crimes charged in this case and all other relevant factors in deciding how much weight and effect to give them.
Shawhan asserts the court’s instruction “omitted any reference to the
State’s burden to provide clear proof of the other bad acts”; “omitted the direction
that the jury could use the evidence of other bad acts for specific purposes only if
the jury found the other acts occurred”; referred to “illegal acts” as opposed to
“wrongful acts”; “essentially convey[ed] to the jury that Shawhan had, in fact,
committed other illegal acts”; and that the given instruction would have confused
the jury because it improperly allowed the jury to use the evidence as substantive
evidence of motive, intent, and identity.
The instruction requested by Shawhan and his claims of error are
premised upon Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.404(b)3 and case law concerning the
3 Rule 5.404(b) provides: Crimes, wrongs, or other acts. (1) Prohibited use. Evidence of a crime, wrong, or other act is not admissible to prove a person’s character in order to show that on a particular occasion the person acted in in accordance with the character. (2) Permitted uses. This evidence may be admissible for another purpose such as proving motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.
rule. See, e.g., State v. Putman, 848 N.W.2d 1, 8-9 (Iowa 2014) (discussing the
“three-step analysis” in determining whether to admit prior-bad-acts evidence).4
The State claimed evidence of bad acts was presented solely to complete
the story and was inextricably intertwined evidence, and supported the court’s
proposed jury instruction. The State argued that because the prior-bad-acts
evidence was inextricably intertwined to the story, rule 5.404(b) was inapplicable.
“Inextricably intertwined evidence is evidence of the surrounding
circumstances of the crime in a causal, temporal, or spatial sense, incidentally
revealing additional, but uncharged, criminal activity.” State v. Nelson, 791
N.W.2d 414, 420 (Iowa 2010) (citation omitted). Our supreme court discussed
the inextricably intertwined doctrine in Nelson, stating:
The inextricably intertwined doctrine bypasses rule 5.404(b) because rule 5.404(b), by its express terms, is only applicable to evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts, which is considered to be extrinsic evidence. Edward J. Imwinkelried, The Second Coming of Res Gestae: A Procedural Approach to Untangling the “Inextricably Intertwined” Theory for Admitting Evidence of an Accused’s Uncharged Misconduct, 59 Cath. U.L. Rev. 719, 724-25 (2010). . . . [B]ecause rule 5.404(b) is inapplicable to inextricably intertwined evidence, the court admits the technically unchargedcrime evidence without limitation and irrespective of its unfair prejudice or its bearing on the defendant’s bad character. Instead, the inextricably intertwined evidence is subject to the same general admissibility requirements as other evidence that is used to provide the fact finder with a complete picture of the charged crime. In summary, the inextricably intertwined doctrine permits the admission of other crimes, wrongs, or acts evidence based on a special relationship between this evidence and the charged crime, regardless of the strictures of rule 5.404(b).
4 “If the evidence is  relevant to a legitimate and disputed factual issue, and  the clear-proof requirement is satisfied,  the court must determine whether the evidence’s ‘probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the defendant.’” Putman, 848 N.W.2d at 9 (citation omitted).
Id. at 420 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). The Nelson court observed,
Although Iowa has never referred to other crimes, wrongs, or acts evidence as inextricably intertwined, we have long recognized the rule that, “[w]hen acts are so closely related in time and place and so intimately connected that they form a continuous transaction, the whole transaction may be shown to complete the story of what happened [even though they may incidentally show the commission of another uncharged crime].”
Id. at 422 (alteration in original) (citation omitted). The court adopted the doctrine
but concluded it should be “used infrequently and as a narrow exception.” Id. at
To ensure a court does not admit unnecessary and prejudicial evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts, we reaffirm the language from one of our earlier cases and hold we will only allow such evidence to complete the story of what happened when the other crimes, wrongs, or acts evidence is so closely related in time and place and so intimately connected to the crime charged that it forms a continuous transaction. [State v.] Oppelt, 329 N.W.2d [17,] 19 [(Iowa 1983)]. Thus, the charged and uncharged crimes, wrongs, or acts must form a continuous transaction. Id. Moreover, we will only allow the admission of other crimes, wrongs, or acts evidence to complete the story of the charged crime when a court cannot sever this evidence from the narrative of the charged crime without leaving the narrative unintelligible, incomprehensible, confusing, or misleading. In this way, we can be sure rule 5.404(b) remains the standard for the admission of evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts and the inextricably intertwined doctrine is construed as a narrow and limited exception to rule 5.404(b).
Id. at 423-24 (emphasis added).
Shawhan does not dispute that evidence of his absence from Fort Des
Moines, drug use at the apartment, and the manner in which Martin left the
apartment with Shawhan was inextricably intertwined with the story of the
assault. Consequently, rule 5.404(b) is not applicable. See id. at 420, 424. This
conclusion, however, does not completely resolve Shawhan’s complaint because
the court ultimately instructed the jury as provided in its Proposed Instruction No.
Shawhan also complains the court’s instruction “specifically told the jury
Shawhan’s illegal acts could be considered for any one of the listed purposes
[motive, intent, identity].” He asserts this is impermissible under Nelson. If the
evidence presented by the State was for the sole purpose to complete the story
and was inextricably intertwined evidence, then the jury should not have been
instructed that it could use the evidence for one of the listed purposes identified
in the jury instruction used by the court. If the State intended to use the evidence
for one of the listed purposes, then Shawhan’s instruction correctly identified the
State’s burden and the process the jury was to consider in its deliberations.
The problem with Shawhan’s argument here is that Shawhan has not
identified any testimony or argument where the State attempted to show or argue
the inextricably-intertwined evidence of bad acts was proof of or should be used
by the jury to infer any of the identified purposes in the instruction. We will not
comb the record for facts to support an argument. Hyler v. Garner, 548 N.W.2d
864, 876 (Iowa 1996). Instead, Shawhan only speculates that the jury could
have used the inextricably-intertwined evidence of bad acts for one of those
purposes. Because we are unable to conclude the State relied upon any bad
acts to prove any of the identified purposes or, for that matter, any other purpose
than to complete the story, the second paragraph of Instruction No. 17 was more
akin to being superfluous than erroneous—it properly recited the language in rule
5 See above at page ten.
5.404(b). See State v. Thorndike, 860 N.W.2d 316, 322 (Iowa 2015) (finding
defendant did not suffer prejudice from superfluous alternative in instruction).
Nonetheless, we believe it is also prudent to examine this issue as a
refusal to give a requested instruction. Certainly, Shawhan submitted a
requested instruction that was more complete in describing the law than did
Instruction No. 17. Here, Shawhan has not contended there was a violation of
the constitution. In Plain, our supreme court stated,
“When the error is not of constitutional magnitude, the test of prejudice is whether it sufficiently appears that the rights of the complaining party have been injuriously affected or that the party has suffered a miscarriage of justice.” “We [do] not reverse for marginal or technical omissions . . . .”
898 N.W.2d at 817 (alteration in original) (citations omitted).
But even if the refusal to instruct as Shawhan requested was an error at
law, we are unable to conclude Shawhan was prejudiced by the use of the
instruction on bad acts. As we have previously noted, Shawhan cannot point to
any evidence or argument where the State relied upon the bad acts to prove
anything other than to complete the story. Moreover, there was strong evidence
of Shawhan’s guilt.
Shawhan also argues he was prejudiced by the court’s instruction
because it used “illegal acts” rather than “wrongful acts.” He asserts, “[T]he court
was essentially conveying to the jury that Shawhan had, in fact, committed other
illegal acts.” “Error in jury instructions is reversible only if the error is prejudicial.”
State v. Ambrose, 861 N.W.2d 550, 554 (Iowa 2015) (citation omitted). We are
hard pressed to conclude the use of the term “illegal acts” was prejudicial where
Shawhan admitted he absconded from a correctional facility and used
methamphetamine and other controlled substances.
C. Standard used to rule upon the motion for new trial. Shawhan next
asserts the trial court used the wrong standard to rule on his motion for new trial,
i.e., the sufficiency of the evidence rather than the weight of the evidence. The
record belies that claim, and we do not address it further.
D. Ineffective assistance of counsel. In a supplemental pro se brief,
Shawhan asserts his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to additional
jury instructions—those setting out the elements of assault, defining a
“dangerous weapon,” and causation.6
There is a strong presumption that trial counsel performed competently.
State v. Graves, 668 N.W.2d 860, 881 (Iowa 2003). “The benchmark for judging
any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel’s conduct so undermined
the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on
as having produced a just result.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686
Where an erroneous-instruction claim is raised on direct appeal in the
context of an ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim, we must decide whether it
can be determined as a matter of law that Shawhan’s counsel failed in an
essential duty and Shawhan was prejudiced as a result. See State v. Fountain,
786 N.W.2d 260, 263 (Iowa 2010). The defendant must demonstrate both a
6 Shawhan refers to Instruction No. 27 as the “wounds-inflicted” instruction. Instruction No. 27 provides: The act of hitting a person with a baseball bat results in the death of that person if those actions caused or directly contributed to that person’s death.
breach of duty and prejudice by a preponderance of the evidence. Ledezma,
626 N.W.2d at 142. We also note, “Counsel has no duty to raise an issue that
has no merit.” Fountain, 786 N.W.2d at 263. Moreover, “[i]f the claim lacks
prejudice, it can be decided on that ground alone without deciding whether the
attorney performed deficiently.” Ledezma, 626 N.W.2d at 142.
1. Assault instruction. “[T]he crime of assault includes a specific
intent element.” Fountain, 786 N.W.2d at 265. Shawhan contends the assault
jury instruction given by the trial court did not require a finding of specific intent.
Here, the court instructed the jury:
An assault is committed when a person does an act which is meant to: 1. Cause pain or injury to another person; or 2. Result in physical contact which will be insulting or offensive to another person; or 3. Place another person in fear of immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious, insulting or offensive to the other person, when coupled with apparent ability to do the act.
The jury was also given an instruction on specific intent.7
In State v. Pendleton, this court found such “meant to” language in an
assault instruction “used plain language to explain the intent required for assault.”
No. 13-1647, 2014 WL 6977188, at *5 (Iowa Ct. App. Dec. 10, 2014); accord
State v. Clark, No. 14-2035, 2016 WL 1130286, at *6 (Iowa Ct. App. Mar. 23,
7 Instruction No. 20 provided: “Specific intent” means not only being aware of doing an act and doing it voluntarily, but in addition, doing it with a specific purpose in mind. Because determining the defendant’s specific intent requires you to decide what he was thinking when an act was done, it is seldom capable of direct proof. Therefore, you should consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the act to determine the defendant’s specific intent. You may, but are not required to, conclude a person intends the natural results of his acts.
2016). We find these cases persuasive and conclude counsel was not required
to object to the instruction given.
2. Dangerous weapon instruction. The jury here was instructed that
“[m]alice aforethought may be inferred from a defendant’s use of a dangerous
weapon.”8 The following instruction defined a dangerous weapon:9
A “dangerous weapon” is any device or instrument designed primarily for use in inflicting death or injury, and when used in its designed manner is capable of inflicting death. It is also any sort of instrument or device which is actually used in such a way as to indicate the user intended to inflict death or serious injury, and when so used is capable of inflicting death.
Shawhan asserts trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the
inclusion of the first sentence of the instruction and to argue a baseball bat was
not a dangerous weapon thereunder. As to this assertion, we conclude Shawhan
cannot establish he was prejudiced by the superfluous language of the
instruction. See Thorndike, 860 N.W.2d at 322.
3. Causation. Finally, Shawhan argues Instruction No. 27 allowed
the jury to find him guilty if “a person”—not necessarily Butts—was hit with a
baseball bat resulting in death. This instruction supplements Instructions No. 24
and No. 34, however, which contain the elements of the offenses of first-degree
and second-degree murder. Each required the State to prove “the defendant
assaulted Jeffrey Butts with a baseball bat.” Read as a whole, the jury was
adequately informed of the elements of the offenses and that it was the
defendant that must have caused Butts’s death.

domain: law


text:
These tears are for those memories that won’t be recovered.
For those words that cannot be said.
These regrets are for those times that cannot be taken back.
For those smiles that will not be seen again.
This self-pity is for those people who loved me for who I was.
For those few people who accepted me without any hesitation.
Those people I won’t even see anymore.
And yes, for the unconditional love that won’t be found again…
image from freedigitalphotos.net

domain: literature


text:
A voltage reduction for East Shore residents ended on Sunday night.
Con Edison was asking customers in certain Brooklyn neighborhoods to conserve energy Tuesday evening.
A truck crashed into a tree, taking down several power lines, officials said.
The project, estimated to take four years, is slated to start sometime before the end of 2013.
Con Ed said that approximately 4,000 were without power in West Brighton on Tuesday afternoon.
The lights will be turned off if the debt-ridden club can't pay its Con Ed bill, sources said.
A power outage early Monday left about 1,200 guests without electricity or water at the New York Palace.
Some residents spent the weekend weathering chilly temperatures at the iconic inn.
Officials from Con Ed said signficant repairs needed to be made to the building's gas system.
An electrical fire broke out in the basement of a residential tower in Midtown on Friday morning.
More than 1,800 New Yorkers were without power Sunday evening, Con Edison said.
Sections of Great Kills and Bay Terrace briefly went dark, and officials feared more outages in the city.
Residents in Staten Island and Queens experienced the most outages, a utility spokesman said.
Residents told a state Moreland Commission panel about poor communication by Con Ed after Sandy.
The victim was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital burn center, fire officials said.
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text:
CUSTOM BUILT HOME -11 years young, original owner. This is truly a "One of a Kind" property sitting back off the road on 2.56 private wooded acres. The circular drive, all walkways along with covered carport area for your boat and travel trailer is done in tan tone pavers set in concrete. As you enter through the front door a spacious formal foyer greets you with an impressive patterned design in the tile flooring. All interior wall corners of the home are rounded along with beautiful 10 ft. tray ceilings. The family room with hard wood floors and corner stone fireplace is open to the gorgeous kitchen which features honey stained solid wood 40" Hickory cabinets. There is an island breakfast bar and another bar with high rise chairs. All counter tops are granite; stove has 2 ovens adding to this cook's paradise. Ample dining area is at one end of the kitchen with over sized Thermopane energy efficient windows that look out to the backyard and woods. Left side of the home has solid concrete walls for severe weather protection. Extra insulation in attic adds to energy efficiency of this special home. Even the slab is thicker than most; backyard is completely fenced and there is electric fencing around perimeter; Soffit around house has electric outlets. Plumbing done for outside kitchen. Spend evenings on the screened lanai or walk down to the firepit and outside grill. If you like privacy, spaciousness and lots of extras, then you may want to make an appointment to see this spectacular property.
Single Family Residence
Ceiling Fans(s), Crown Molding, Eating Space In Kitchen, High Ceiling(s), Kitchen/Family Room Combo, Master Bedroom Downstairs, Open Floorplan, Solid Wood Cabinets, Split Bedroom, Stone Counters, Thermostat, Tray Ceiling(s), Walk-In Closet(s), Window Treatments

domain: design