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It was April Fool's Day and an older blond in her late thirties had shown up at Vesuvio's Bar, down on Columbus and Broadway. From Australia, she said she had spent the previous two years as literary secretary for legendary anti-Vietnam War poet, John Irons. As the days and weeks passed, she became one of the regulars at our nightly North Beach watering holes, and it wasn't long before she was coming on hot and heavy to my friend and sidekick Alex, who at the time was being vociferously gay. The non-stop barrage of paradoxes this presented on a nightly basis, with this striking golden-haired blond from "down under" sitting at his side each night in Vesuvio's, hanging on his every word, was no end of amusement. There was Alex, going on and on like Mayakovsky in full voice and all manner of theatrics about this or that body, this or that bath house, and this or that blow job, and all the while we all knew this blond ex-Irons secretary was hotter for him than August in L.A..
The evening side-show of Jetta Islip and Alex went on for a period of weeks, becoming a daily source of both comic relief and black theatre, as Alex became embroiled in the crossfire of his own hormonal angst. His obsessions had thrown him into a state of over-stimulation, resulting in some of the best street theatre available in the city. Over wine and Irish whiskey, you could hear our howling until closing time up and down Columbus Avenue, all at the unfortunate expense of the Aussi blond who seemed to be impervious to our bawdy sarcasm and raucous late-night provocations.
One night amidst the usual theatrics, with a large group of us sitting at a small table near the front door of Vesuvio's bar, I suddenly felt bare feet moving up and down the sides of my boots, then up and down my straight-legged jeans. Surprised, and not knowing from where this display of affection was coming, and looking up from my drink, I found myself looking right into the big blue eyes of Jetta Islip, who was sipping her drink from a straw with a Cheshire smile as if she were enjoying a joke she was privately having with herself. When I looked over at her for a second time, she was looking right into my eyes. The mischievous grin had gone and had been replaced with a look of conniving seriousness, so focused and direct it sent shivers down my spine and at the same time a sharp heat into my bowels. The testosteronic thoughts that raced through my mind, at light speed, in those first few seconds I wouldn't have been able to begin to put down on paper. But suffice it to say that if her intentions had been to get my attention, she had succeeded. Yet, the ramifications of this covert conversation sans mots were as troubling as they were alluring. While I knew by the burning behind the zipper in my jeans that we were of like mind, the price of that skin-fed collusion was a risky one. It was only as we all walked out into the street after the lights had gone off in the bar behind us at closing time, and she asked me if she could give me a ride home, that I knew that the die had been cast. I knew because I was saying "yes," and she was already moving toward her car.
This was Trouble with a capital T. I knew it as she drove me down Columbus Avenue to my seventy-bucks-a-month hotel--a den of iniquity and residence for the down-and-out of North Beach: junkies, hookers, and old bikers who had lost their wheels. As she drove up and parked along the side street by the hotel, the sexual tension on the inside of the car was so dense I thought it would explode--like too much air in a blue balloon.
"Is there something you want to ask me?" she said, bursting the silent tension as she pulled up to the curb and put the gear shift in park. It was like someone reaching down my throat and pulling the words up out of the pit of my stomach: "I'd like to get to know you better," I said with almost no hesitation. And just as quickly she came back with: "If you're not too tired, I can come in for a little while."
The next thing I knew, we were in our birthday suits rolling around on what had passed for the past several months as a bed. This wasn't sex, this was a kind of feral football, horizontal hopscotch, a hormonal fox-hunt... Even though it was my bed, this was her turf. And the woods were on fire!
After the flames finally died down, and after she had left, I lay there in my room for a long while in a physical state of stunned reverie; yet my mind could hold on to only one word: trouble. I knew that there would be hell to pay.
Jetta made no attempt at hiding from me the fact that she was a private investigator, as I pried into her life, lying there a week later in her bed, in her house on Portrero Hill. The lure of wild sex with my first older woman was more than I could resist, and I think she sensed that as, in the days that followed our first encounter, we were spending more and more of our time in bed. Her bed. And the fact that she led such a covert life only added more fuel to my hormonal fire, already raging out of control.
Just as I had imagined, my unchecked indulgence had caused a jealous reaction in Alex, and within a matter of days Jetta had driven a wedge between me and the rest of the group. It was as if I had suddenly been transmogrified into some sort of snitch and was no longer worthy of trust, much less their attention or their time. It became painfully evident, also, that artistic relationships are easily as fickle as the domestic kind, and I was learning this lesson the hard way. But my sexual chakra still had a tight reign on my priorities, and for the time being I wasn't going anywhere that was very far away from this woman's bed!
It wasn't long before I was going along with her on "stake outs" as part of her PI work and our dates. A sort of intern/assistant I became as I found that I enjoyed, immensely, the element of deception and the undercover tension involved in digging up dirt for her clients--which usually meant spying either on cheating husbands or their cuckolding wives. In this intern's ruse, I became a census taker, a pizza delivery boy delivering pizza to the wrong address, an encyclopedia salesman down on his luck, the Fuller brush man, a heavy-breathing telephone deviant, a hidden-tape-carrying 7th Day Adventist, or just the "get away man" sitting on pins and needles in an idling parked car a little ways down the block.
Having, it seemed, no real sense of self-preservation, this edgy business of private investigating was like a game from childhood. And like the young boy who had dreamed of running away from home to join the circus, this was better than being in the center ring! "Being paid to be a peeping-tom!" I would think as I sat in the dark behind the wheel of her idling little red car, feeling proud of myself. Not at all suspecting that, all the while, the one really being watched, was me.
I was sitting in the Trieste Cafe, as was my habit most mornings during those years in North Beach, when I heard the phone ring over the rolling waves of conversation in a rather large room. I looked up from my au lait and saw Giuseppe waving the phone high in the air from behind a counter stacked with sheaves of warm brioche, croissants and sticky buns. In his Sicilian attempts at speaking American, Giuseppe was shouting at the top of his lungs, Tomma, Tomma, teleephoneaa. Where you? Teleephoneaa. Tomma. Tomma... It was Jet, calling me from Los Angeles where she was working on one of her domestic cases. She had been gone, now, for over a week, supposedly digging up dirt on some rich guy's adulterous wife. During this time I had spent a great deal of time digging up her fenced-in backyard making it into a landscaped garden--in anticipation of moving in and beginning a projected long life of cohabitational bliss.
By this time, more than a couple months had gone by since I had begun my treasonous turncoat affair with Jet, and Alex had forgiven me, largely due to Jetta's personal intervention and the fact that he was now deep in the midst of a potentially felonious affair with a fifteen-year-old from Chinatown. So, we were all just one big happy family again with Jet and me being accepted back into the cadre and hanging out together with the group in the bars until closing time each night.
"Iiaammeh Pphrroignaamnt," I heard her say as I took the phone from Giuseppe. The connection was bad, and I couldn't make out what she was saying. I understood "This is Jet." And "I'm in L.A." But the next sentence, which she repeated at least three or four times, came across to me, standing there behind the counter of the Trieste with the espresso machine hissing like the brakes of a side-railed train, like inaudible Swahili. "Iiaammeh Pphrroignaamnt," she said for the fifth time. And again I answered, "What?" Then for an eerie second, everyone's conversation seemed to stop at once, while, simultaneously, the room took a long sip from a collective coffee cup. It was just enough time for me to hear her this time. "I'm pregnant!" she said very calmly, but with a certain impatience in her voice. "I'm pregnant and I'm going to have an abortion. I thought you would want to know." "Pregnant? Abortion? What are you talking about," I answered, as my knees began to buckle beneath the weight of the phone and I felt myself slowly being eaten by the floor. "Abortion? Let's talk about this," is all I could manage. Then the noise in the room started up again, reaching crescendo within a few seconds, and again I was struggling, both to hear what she was saying and to keep my stomach out of my throat where it had lodged itself rendering me mute.
I think the next sixty seconds was spent with Jetta carrying on an angry feminist harangue against men in general and me in particular. My pleas for a forum and my forced attempts to be understanding were of no use. Her mind was made up. Somehow in the midst of this impossible conversation I had become the "bad guy," and the tone of her voice, even though I could barely hear it, was anything but needy. She was not reaching out to me for comfort, she was merely delivering the bad news. This news was like a knife. And on the other end of the phone, she was twisting it deeper and deeper into my chest.
I knew she was supposed to be back in San Francisco by the end of that week, and when the end of a week spent wracked with the pain of uncertainty finally came, I called her at home. She went on and on about how there had been unpleasant complications in the abortion procedure and that she was resting at home to try and heal up from the whole ordeal. "Doctor's orders," she said. My offers of support to come over and be of some help during her recuperation were met with a kind of checked hostility. "No," she said, "I don't want any company. You've done enough already. I can get through this alone. I'll call you when I want to see you. Goodbye." Standing there in that phone booth on Grant Avenue, my uncertainty began turning into guilt. The knife in my chest had turned into a guillotine, and a sharp blade was falling down from the land of love toward my neck.
In the days and weeks that quickly followed, I sent flowers, wrote letters, and tried numerous times to get through to her by phone. No one ever answered. To the letters there was no reply. My guilt was growing. My heart was little more, now, than a gaping wound. It was Sunday, and I made my way over to Vallejo Street and jumped the first cable car that came by, to get to Portrero Hill.
It was a gray day in early fall. Grey like the steps leading up from the sidewalk to the front door of her bright red house. A bright red house with a garden in the back, growing, which I had never seen. The front door was open. I knocked, rang the bell once or twice, then called out her name, listening to the word "Jet" echo and bounce around the rooms in the back of the house. No one answered. No one came to the door. Desperate, and with my good southern manners used up from weeks of silence and torturous waiting, I opened the screen door and went in. I walked quickly to the back of the house and the door leading out into the garden that I had tilled, landscaped and planted several weeks before, thinking I would find her there with her large red dog amidst flower beds, tasseling corn, full-grown tomato plants and hearty beds of spinach. But although the corn, tomatoes and the rest of the garden was there as I had pictured it, looking beautiful if a little unkempt, there was no sign of a convalescing Jet, with dog, anywhere to be seen.
After calling out her name again several times with accompanying "hellos," I made my way back through the house toward the front door. As I passed by the bedroom where we had spent so much of our time in the months prior to her exit for L.A., I looked half-heartedly into the room from the hallway for any signs of my former presence--flowers, open letters on a nightstand, a love poem framed on the wall above the bed. Instead of any of these might-have-been mementos, there in the middle of the floor was a large suitcase, opened up and spilling out clothes. After weeks and months of playing Watson to her Sherlock Holmes, I couldn't resist the temptation of going into the room and looking closer at the yawning suitcase stuffed with tell-tale goods.
The first thing I noticed was a pair of oversized black shoes. This was a man's suitcase! And amidst the white shirts and ties, the undershirts and shaving kit, there were a number of technological devices, some of which I recognized from my under-cover excursions with Jet. There was a mini-cassette recording device, mini-cameras, small hi-tech, pencil-sized flashlights and a number of other small black boxes containing equipment with which I was unfamiliar. Beside all the electronic paraphernalia, there were file folders stuffed with papers, and a manila folder which looked to be full of photographs. I couldn't stand it. A large man, with a suitcase full of surveillance equipment was staying there in her house. And was camped out in her bedroom. With her?
I went for the file folder first. Materials lists. Formal forms filled out in detail. Pages stamped "Confidential." Lists of names. All this in the first folder. I was attracted, for some reason, to the names lists, and so picked one up at random and began scanning it from the top. Five names into the list, I began to recognize familiar names. First, some that were just vaguely familiar. The names of a few people I knew only casually whom I had possibly met at gallery openings, or by chance in various cafes and bars around the Bay Area. Then , about halfway down...the word BEATITUDE, in all bold letters, leapt up off the page and hit me right between the eyes with a roundhouse right hook! Right under the word BEATITUDE in all caps, there was Alex's name. And under Alex's, mine! And after my name, the names of all the members of our literary group, as well as the names of ten or twenty of my closest friends and associates in and around North Beach. But the list didn't stop there. It included names of people I knew intimately or knew of--well known writers, artists, activists, politicians, magazine and newspaper editors, film and televison actors. A virtual Who's Who of the northern California counter-culture.
A cold chill ran up my back as I reached down into the suitcase and fished out another file filled with formal paperwork. I began reading the page which sat on top of the sheaf from the file. It was a surveillance report done at a recent rally I had organized and MC'd in Union Square for a nuclear safeguards initiative called Proposition 15. Speakers from California state government as well as a high profile list of poets had taken part in this large rally in downtown San Francisco to call attention to and solicit support for this nuclear industry safety initiative. The report in my hands was a detailed account of the event, including a list of names of speakers as well as others in attendance... I scanned through the other report forms in the file. More of the same. Literary events. Parties. Demonstrations. Publications. In all, the whole file looked like what I would have expected to find in locked boxes at CIA Headquarters in Washington, DC. My face was turning red, and I was feeling a little faint as I picked up the manila folder with the photographs. There I was, in the first one, sitting around a table in Vesuvio's with six or eight of my closest friends and associates. Then, there were photos of all the events referenced in the "Reports" files. And finally, pictures of me in various states of undress taken right there in the very room I was standing at the moment--in Jet's house on Portrero Hill. I had seen enough!
I left in what might be described as a "blind rush." As I all but ran down Portrero Hill toward the nearest cable car stop, the whole picture began to form in my mind. And the picture was very clear. Jet was not just a "private investigator" making a living doing surveillance for wealthy businessmen or rich young heiresses. She was a full-blown Double Agent, and had been spying on me! On us. On the whole San Francisco literary scene. Having no doubt been sent there by the FBI or CIA to infiltrate the political arm of the renaissance and to get the goods, as it were, on who was involved and just what it was that was going on.
Suddenly the events of the past few months made perfect sense. Her sudden appearance. Her sexual aggressiveness toward both Alex and myself. The phone call from L.A.. The false pregnancy. Her disappearance from my life... For several months I had been the target of an undercover investigative operation orchestrated by a major covert, agency. And at times probably, even though unknowingly, helping out!
I aged a lot during that summer and fall. And it wasn't until several weeks after my Portrero Hill discovery that I saw Jetta again. She walked into Vesuvio's late one Friday night, quite drunk, on the arm of a woman quite a bit younger than herself--pretty, but looking very "butch." They both sat down at the table near the door where I was seated, as usual, with six or seven North Beach poets and publishers. Discomfort doesn't begin to describe what my body was going through as she and her friend sat down and ordered a hot coffee and whiskey drink from the on-duty waitress. The next thing I remember was that hot drink coming at me from across the table, separated from its ceramic cup, uniting with my bearded face. I sat there in relative shock for several seconds, with the coffee, Irish whiskey and cream dripping from my eyes and beard. As much as I wanted to pick up the nearest glass of liquid, and any liquid would have done, and respond in kind, I refrained. Instead, and much to my surprise and perhaps, naively, to my credit, I turned the other cheek to catch the second cup of hot whiskey drink aimed at my chest.
"The first one's for the pain I had to go through, and the second one's for the baby you killed," she said, with a kind of fiery femi-nazi anger in her eyes. Everyone at the table just sitting there in a state of surprised disbelief.
I had long since explained to everyone what I had discovered sitting in Jetta's bedroom floor that gray Sunday weeks before. So they knew where that hot whiskey missile that caught me flush in the face was coming from. And my ability to suppress any macho male impulses and reciprocate by duplicating her staged anger had earned me a few brownie points in the process.
From across the table and through the large glass window in the bar, I watched as Jet
walked up Columbus Avenue with her friend, arm-in-arm, toward Broadway and into the
heart of North Beach. It was 2 o'clock, and the lights were going off and on in Vesuvio's
signaling "last call" for drinks. We ordered a quick and final vin rouge, all around, before
making our way out onto Columbus Avenue--still bustling with typical late-night traffic--
and up Grant Avenue toward home. I never saw the Aussie blond again.
THOMAS RAIN CROWE Tuckaseegee, NC was born in 1949 and is an internationally published and recognized poet, translator, editor, publisher, recording artist and author of twelve books of original and translated works. During the 1970s he lived abroad in France, then returned to the U.S. to become editor of Beatitude magazine and press in San Francisco and one of the "Baby Beats" and where he was co-founder and Director of the San Francisco International Poetry Festival. In the 1980s, after returning to his boyhood home in North Carolina, he was a founding editor of Katuah Journal: A Bioregional Journal of the Southern Appalachians and founded New Native Press. In 1994 he founded Fern Hill Records (a recording label devoted exclusively to the collaboration of poetry and music). Almost immediately, he formed his spoken-word and music band Thomas Rain Crowe & The Boatrockers--who have performed widely and produced two CDs that have garnered acclaim by the likes of Pete Townshend of The Who and Joy Harjo. In 1998 his books The Laugharne Poems (which was written at the Dylan Thomas Boat House in Laugharne, Wales during the summers of 1993 and 1995 with the permission of the Welsh government) was published in Wales by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch.In the same year, his ground-breaking anthology of contemporary Celtic language poets Writing The Wind: A Celtic Resurgence (The New Celtic Poetry) that includes poetry in Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Cornish and Manx was published in the U.S. and launched in Dublin, Ireland in 1997, and his first volume of translations of the poems of the 14th century Persian poet Hafiz, In Wineseller's Street, was released. As a translator he has translated the work of Yvan Goll (10,000 Dawns, White Pine Press, 2004), Guillevic, Hughes-Alain Dal (Why I Am A Monster, Tarabuste Editions, France, 2006), Marc Ichall and Hafiz. In 2002 a second volume of his translations of Hafiz (Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved: 100 Poems of Hafiz) was published by Shambhala. For six years he was Editor-at-Large for the Asheville Poetry Review. His memoir in the style of Thoreau's Walden based on four years of self-sufficient living in a wilderness environment in the woods of western North Carolina from 1979 to 1982 (Zoro's Field: My Life in the Appalachian Woods) was published by the University of Georgia Press in the spring of 2005, and is the winner of the 2005 Ragan Award as the best book of nonfiction in the state of North Carolina, the Philip Reed Award for environmental writing from the Southern Environmental Law Center, and was a finalist in the Independent Publishers Book Awards for Regional Non-fiction. He currently resides in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, where he writes features and columns on culture, community and the environment for the Smoky Mountain News. His literary archives have been purchased by and are collected at the Duke University Special Collections Library in Durham, North Carolina.
(C)opyright 2007 Thomas Rain Crowe All Rights ReservedSend us your comments on this article


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Kid Ink's "Show Me" has been killing the clubs for months, and now it finally gets the all-star remix treatment it deserves. Juicy J, 2 Chainz and Trey Songz join Kid Ink and Chris Brown on the DJ Mustard-produced affair.
Kid Ink and August Alsina link up for the track "We Just Came To Party", off Ink's debut album My Own Lane, which is available today (1/7). Track is produced by The Runners. Make sure to cop Kid Ink's new album, My Own Lane, on iTunes now!!!
Kid Ink is prepping his debut album to drop via RCA. He's still been letting go free records for fans leading up to the release, and today he decided to release the cover art for the album My Own Lane on Twitter.
Kid Ink recently stopped by DJ Whoo Kid's Shade 45 radio show and performed 'Main Chick', a standout cut from his new studio album "My Own Lane", which you can cop by hitting the iTunes link below, ya dig?Peep Kid Ink Performs "Main Chick" On Shade 45 w/ DJ Wh
Follow Kid Ink and his crew as they finish the final leg of the "Roll Up" European Tour first stopping in Strasbourg, France before hitting Stuttgart & Cologne, Germany and finally the last stop Amsterdam!! #RollUp "My Own Lane" hits stores next week!!
Kid Ink stops by Hot 97 Morning show with Ebro, Rosenberg & Cipha Sounds to discuss his new album "My Own Lane," Indie Money and Tyga, Chris Brown comparisons.Check out Kid Ink "On The Hot 97 Morning Show" Video, the latest visual from Kid Ink, released on Thu
Follow Kid Ink and the rest of his Alumni team as they hit up Agenda in Las Vegas with Reebok Classics for his newest vlog. In the episode, catch Ink perform for the first time alongside a live drummer, and not just anyone, but Travis Barker.
So far we've seen two episodes of Kid Ink's "My Own Lane" tour doc, and we've now been given the third installment in the series.We've already seen the west coast rapper play some sold out shows, and bring out rappers like YG along the way, and in the newest e
The day has arrived for Kid Ink's debut album My Own Lane to hit shelves and the world wide web.
Official Behind the Scenes video of Kid Ink 's photoshoot in Los Angeles with Estevan Oriol for his "My Own Lane" album artwork.
Kid Ink embarked on an ambitious European tour to promote his album My Own Lane, where he visited 47 cities in just 60 days. The two-month endeavor was documented for all to see, as are most things in our day and age, resulting in a two-part vlog.
The Kid Ink takeover seems to be in effect. After the rapper hit 3 million Facebook Likes at the end of last week we premiered a My Own Lane leftover cut, "Feels Good To Be Up" which you can grab here.
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domain: entertainment


More pics: HERE
Although Nelly Furtado has been quiet the last few years, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. Since the release of her last album in 2006, Nelly has gotten married, started her own record label called Nelstar Music, and released a Latin Grammy award winning album.
Now, she’s making a comeback in a big way with her new single “Big Hoops (Bigger The Better).” When the singer recently stopped by the 92.3 NOW studios in New York City, Nelly said “Big Hoops” is about doing what gives you the most confidence. “For me, it’s getting on the microphone,” she said. “Like, when I’m in my element in the studio, I just feel this swagger on the microphone and this confidence, and that’s existed since I was even 14-years-old.
Rocking my big sisters’ big hoops heading down to the mall to hang out in front of the mall with my friends, writing rhymes and singing and thinking I was famous when I wasn’t.” In the video for Big Hoops, Nelly walks down the streets of Los Angeles on stilts that were three feet tall. She said she had to train at a professional circus school in order to master the art of stilt walking, and they had her walking on six foot tall stilts, strapped into a harness of course, in rehearsal for the video shoot. “The director came to the rehearsal and went ‘Wait a minute, we can’t even capture somebody that tall with the camera that we’re using, you got to switch back to three,’” she said. “I’m like ‘Ok, sure, get this harness off me. Okay, we’re on three,’ so when I was walking down the streets of Los Angeles in video, without a harness on my threes, I was feeling good because six was just terrifying.”
Since her last album came out, Nelly’s said she has been busy experiencing life, which is crucial for writing music that connects her and her fans. The time away from recording has helped influence her writing for her new album, “The Spirit Indestructible.” She said she’s done a lot of traveling the past couple of years, particularly to Kenya where she teamed up with Free The Children to open a new all girls school called Oleleshwa Secondary School. She is selling special tank tops on her website and is donating all the net proceeds to Free The Children. She said there is also an on-going documentary available on her website about the making of this album.
While recording an album, Nelly said she likes to avoid what’s on the radio in order to keep her music fresh and original. She said lately she’s been listening to indie artists like Tune Yards, St. Vincent and Dylan Murray, a singer/songwriter signed to her label, Nelstar. “When I’m recording an album, I don’t like to listen to the radio a lot because I’m a bit of a chameleon,” she said. “I don’t want to be too influenced by what I hear that’s popular, so I try to keep it original so I listen to other stuff.” In the future, she said she would be interested in working with Swedish artist Robyn and Grammy winning dubstep producer Skrillex.
Nelly plans to go on tour in 2013, spending summer all over the world, making her way to Latin America in the fall.
Check Out the video interview


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NORTH NEWTON, KAN. – Bethel College’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday will feature a return engagement by a convocation speaker from last fall.
The event is Monday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. in Krehbiel Auditorium and is free and open to the public.
Caleb Lázaro of Colorado Springs, Colo., a convocation presenter this past November, will be the featured speaker, on “A Burning Love.”
Lázaro was born in Peru and immigrated to the United States with his family at age 6. He currently works with grassroots movements in both the United States and Peru, advocating for economic justice, nonviolence and restoration of human dignity.
He is a founder and co-pastor of El Centro, a Christian church in Colorado Springs involved in advocating for a redefinition of citizenship in the United States. Lázaro travels regularly to educate faith communities and activist groups on themes such as social justice, contemplative Christianity, interfaith dialogue and the Anabaptist tradition. He is a student in the Benedictine spiritual formation program at Benet Hill Monastery near Colorado Springs.
Lázaro’s connection to Bethel College began with President Perry White, who heard him speak last summer at the Mountain States Mennonite Conference meeting and knew he would be well-received at Bethel. Lázaro will be on the Bethel campus Jan. 15-18 as pastor-in-residence, meeting with several classes and being available for informal conversations with students and others, before returning to Colorado to be the resource person for Junior High Snow Camp at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, Jan. 20-22.
Like last year’s Martin Luther King Day event at Bethel, this year’s will feature a display of artwork by local elementary school students, in the Fine Arts Center lobby, as well as poetry reading by older students.
There will be a contest in Mojo’s Coffee Shop at Bethel on Sunday evening, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. Any Bethel student, faculty or staff member, high school student in Harvey County or resident of Harvey County is invited to read original work or “published favorite” that celebrates in some way the ideas and values that Dr. King championed. The winner in each category will read again Monday night in the MLK Day program.
The Harvey County Diversity Task Force is co-sponsoring the poetry reading contest and the Jan. 16 celebration. Carlota Ponds, director of the Hesston Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Diversity Task Force, will serve as emcee for the Monday evening event.
Bethel College is the only private, liberal arts college in Kansas listed in the 2011-12 Forbes.com analysis of top colleges and universities in the United States and is the highest-ranked Kansas college in the Washington Monthly annual college guide for 2011-12. The four-year liberal arts college is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu.

domain: news


Phillip Clingman got more than he expected when he repossessed a vehicle from Smyrna. He found a hand grenade and two long guns inside. Officer Dave Norton took the grenade and guns for safekeeping.
Transformers star Shia LaBeouf has been arrested for being intoxicated and trespassing in a Chicago drugstore.
LaBeouf was arrested in the early morning of November 4th, 2007 after appearing to be drunk and refusing to leave the store when requested.
He was cited on a misdemeanor count of trespassing. He posted bail, and is due back in court on Nov 28th 2007.


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while it is not normal to lose 13 pounds in 1 week it;s not going to kill you or anything - it is most likely mostly water weight. From reading your post you said you are little overweight which may be greatly contributing to your problem. Try to eat healthy and lose the weight. I see you eat a lot of oatmeal, fruits white rice etc - it's fine to eat those but they are loaded with carbs and will not really help you lose weight. What you need to eat is a balanced diet that includes low carb, low fat and high protein. If you will have 1/2 cup of rice (make it a brown rice) have baked or grilled chicken breast with it - if you eat oatmeal, eat it with milk and maybe some egg whites - fruits with protein shakes or greek yogurt or cottage cheese etc. And drink a lot of water. Also you will need to excersise daily - it helps with overall health and helps to move food along. And not 15 minutes 3 times a day - you need more like intense 45 minute workouts consisting of weight training and cardio 4-5 times a week so you can lose the unhealthy weight.
As far as bloating, you should schedule appointment with gastro doctor to do endoscopy and see what's going on - just because you are bloated and feel full doesn't mean you have cancer - you may have gastritis or esophagitis and medication should take care of it in few weeks.
I hope this helps and you feel better soon.

domain: health


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If there’s one thing that spring brings, it’s color and freshness. My mind and soul actually crave it. I mean, how can you blame a gal after a few months of dull and grey. You want those pops of color again–inside your home, what you’re wearing, outside everywhere you look…and even in your mailbox.
How lovely would it be to receive a card like one of these from Miss Nichol!
It’s like a lovely breeze just drifted through your home if you opened one of these!
Here’s what Nichol has to say:
Clean and simple cards are a snap with just a few sentiments, several ink colors, and die cut borders! I stamped the greetings on 3” x 5 1/2” wide strips of smooth white cardstock using black Ink and the MISTI stamp positioner tool (so I could stamp the same greetings one on top of another perfectly for a bold, black design)! Florals were stamped in an array of springtime colors all over the backgrounds and then each strip was adhered to a standard A2 sized card base and finished with die cut borders to compliment the design colors.
Aren’t they simply gorgeous? And I adooore the little ‘bobbles’ on the first card! That touch of dimension is awesome! And I would never have thought to stamp that funky branch upside down as if they were hanging. gasp!
And the colors? love.
These are truly amazing Nichol!
Be sure to check out Nichol’s video tutorial on her blog HERE.
And now, this rounds out the amazing sharing during our Spring Fling week. Tomorrow is your last chance to save 40% on spring designs, like the scalloped border Nichol used here on her cards or the Fresh Air digital stamps. (Spend $5+ to save, use code SPRING at checkout.)
It’s been a wonderful week full of creativity from these amazing women that share their beautiful creations here.
I love them dearly.

domain: artistic


The National Patient Safety Agency more than halved its spending on patient and public involvement over the last four years.
Data obtained by the patient safety charity Action Against Medical Accidents and shared exclusively with HSJ shows that NPSA spending on patient involvement rose steadily in the agency’s first years of existence, peaking at £270,117 in 2006-07.
[The NPSA’s] strength has been its specific focus on patient safety and nothing else. It would be disastrous if the priority given to patient safety itself let alone patient involvement was watered down
But after that it declined rapidly. By 2009-10 it was £116,866 - less than half its 2006-07 level.
Action Against Medical Accidents chief executive Peter Walsh complained patient and public involvement in the NPSA had been “decimated”.
He told HSJ: “The Department of Health has said that patients have a vital role to play in patient safety. One of the NPSA’s strengths at the start was that it acknowledged this and it was built into every aspect of their work.
“[But] it has been our perception for some time that patient involvement was being given less priority at the NPSA. These figures confirm our worst fears.”
The spending figures were shared with HSJ just days before the Department of Health announced that the agency was one of a number of arm’s length bodies that would be abolished following its review.
The NPSA will cease to exist from April 2012 when its functions will be transferred to the NHS commissioning board and elsewhere.
When it was established in 2001 the Department of Health said the NPSA would create a “clear role” for patients within the agency so they could highlight the consequences of patient safety incidents that might otherwise be missed.
Although his charity has been critical of the NPSA’s cuts in patient engagement Mr Walsh said he was concerned patient safety would be neglected once the agency was abolished.
He said: “[The NPSA’s] strength has been its specific focus on patient safety and nothing else. It would be disastrous if the priority given to patient safety itself let alone patient involvement was watered down.”
HSJ’s Patient Safety Challenge 2010 is on 23 September, www.patientsafetychallenge.com


Holiday DiveDecember 27, 2019
Happily working through the holidays: with ship time a rare commodity, the Hot2Cold Vents scientific team led by Jason Sylvan from Texas A&M University kept up its work on the East Pacific Rise at 9°50’ north studying the organisms that live at hydrothermal vent ecosystems and the surrounding seafloor. Their National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research includes dives by the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry and the human-occupied submersible Alvin, shown here at the vent site more than 2000 meters (1.25 miles) below the surface being piloted by Alvin program manager Bruce Strickrott. (Photo by WHOI MISO Facility, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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Pretoria — The Traditional Courts Bill is in for an overhaul, says Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana.
The announcement was made by the minister at the launch of Women's Month in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The department has been calling for a review of the bill over concern that it would undermine the rights of women in rural areas, saying that women in the rural areas were not consulted.
Xingwana on Wednesday said flaws were identified in the bill in its current form, and women were not consulted and denied the right to self-representation during public hearings on the bill.
She said she had met with Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe to raise some concerns regarding the bill and he agreed that it needed a complete overhaul.
Concerns raised by Xingwana included some of the articles in the bill, which were "not acceptable" such as recognising cultural practices like ukungenwa and ukuthwalwa (abduction and forced marriages).
"[The bill] doesn't give women an option out of traditional court if they live in a village and strips them of their democratic rights to choose magistrates courts if they so wish," said Xingwana.
Rural women's lack of access to resources and basic services, Xingwana said, was compounded by their unequal rights in family structures and unequal access to family resources such as land and livestock, as well as oppressive traditional practices.
"We are concerned that the bill will perpetuate this state of affairs. As government, we are painfully aware that women's dependence on husbands, fathers, partners and family members has increased women's vulnerability to domestic violence, rape, incest, abuse and murder," said the minister.
There was also concern that women, including widows, had already suffered abuse in the form of eviction from their homes and land by the largely all-male traditional courts.
"South Africa has made commitments through the Constitution, various pieces of legislation and international conventions to respect, promote, protect and advance the rights of women. We have a duty and obligation to honour these commitments," Xingwana said.
The Traditional Courts Bill is intended to regulate the role and functions of traditional leaders in the administration of justice in accordance with the constitutional imperatives.
The bill deals with civil and criminal jurisdiction of traditional leaders and is intended to facilitate the contribution of traditional authorities in the criminal justice system.
Government has identified traditional leaders as agents of social cohesion through initiatives that encourage communities to share common moral values and a development agenda.
Meanwhile, Xingwana announced that Cabinet has approved the establishment of the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, which is a high level, multi-sectoral national response to the scourge.
"We are confident that the work of the council will lead to a significant reduction in the incidents of violence against women and children," she said.
The council, led by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, will be launched on 25 August 2012.


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by Harvey C.C. Banda
“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth”.
~ Charles Dickens ~
In May 2014 Malawi will hold tripartite elections when, for the first time, Malawians will elect Councilors, Members of Parliament (MPs), and the State President at the same time. In most general elections the Councilors have been left out despite being central on issues of governance and local development. It is sad to note that the campaign period ahead of the general elections is characterized by promises and lies by those vying for the different political positions. In fact, this has become a trend twenty years after Malawi adopted multi-party politics in 1994.
With elections around the corner, it is easy to predict what message politicians bring to political rallies: empty promises and lies. This is true of Presidential hopefuls and aspiring MPs alike. In fact, if these politicians were to deliver in line with their ‘promises’, Malawi would really have been the warm heart of Africa – relatively well developed. However, this is far from the reality on the ground. What remains of the warm heart of Africa is the fact that Malawians remain kind-hearted, cheerful and welcoming to outsiders. Looked at from a different angle, it is this soft-spokenness that is part of the problem; that is why these politicians, once voted into office, get away with their laxity, deceit and corrupt tendencies. I wish Malawians were a little bit 'militant' (positive militancy, in the sense that they are ready to confront these political crooks and cronies in the event that they are not delivering on their promises).
In 1995 most newspapers carried articles titled ‘TEBA won’t work’ (TEBA sitheka) following the realization that what the United Democratic Front (UDF) had promised before the general elections in 1994 was not actually going to take place. Former President Bakili Muluzi and his UDF party had, among other issues, promised Malawians that once voted into office, the UDF would ensure the re-opening of TEBA, that is, the engagement of Malawians in the South African mines following inter-state negotiations and agreement. As most people are aware, mine migrancy in southern Africa was in decline in the 1980s following a process of internalization (localization) of mine workers by the South African Government during the period. Consequently, many Malawian migrants working in the South African mines were retrenched and returned home. Cleverly, Bakili Muluzi took up this economic issue during the campaign period, promising ex-migrant workers an automatic return to the South African mines.
|Former President Bakili Muluzi|
Sadly, the opposite was the case during the aftermath of the 1994 general elections: Malawian migrants were being deported in droves by the South African Government authorities with a view to creating space at the workplace for the South African nationals. In this connection, it was reported in The Monitor (Vol. 3, No. 193, 15th December 1995) that the President (Bakili Muluzi) actually distanced himself from the issue when he lamented: “the issue of TEBA is in the hands of the South African Government”, implying that there was nothing much that the Malawi Government could have done about it. This can as well be interpreted as playing with the minds of innocent Malawians. The pertinent question here is “when did the Government know that there was little it could do about the TEBA issue?” Additionally, “why make empty promises during elections before entering negotiations on such a bilateral issue?”
Despite our democracy maturing over time, politicians are still fond of making such empty promises whenever elections are drawing close. In fact, this is the order of the day. Sadly, they do this without shame or remorse. Surely most Malawians can vividly remember former President Bakili Muluzi promising ordinary Malawians that once voted into office, he was going to buy ‘his people’ (banthu bake) pairs of shoes! After elections, he had the audacity to shout at ‘his people’: “Some of you expect me to buy you pairs of shoes, are you crazy? How can I know the shoe sizes of Malawians from Nsanje to Chitipa?” This was too much, to say the least. In fact, it was more than ‘playing with the minds of the people’, in that it was taking advantage of lack of political awareness; civic education; human rights; and literacy among the mass of Malawians then resident in the rural areas.
The above case study (UDF) does mirror the situation in almost all ruling and having-ruled political parties in Malawi: Malawi Congress Party, Democratic Progressive Party and now People’s Party of President Joyce Banda. Almost all these parties have largely failed to deliver on most of their promises, for instance, in the field of infrastructure. As a case in point, it is astonishing to note that most roads, bridges and buildings are in bad shape despite infrastructural development being on top of the development agenda of these parties.
What lessons can one draw from such political promises which in the end fail to be implemented? First, this is part and parcel of the ‘big man syndrome’ in Malawi’s politics, as argued fervently by Brian Shawa, among other scholars. It is sad to note that a political figure would be blatantly lying at a political rally and yet he or she in response would get all kinds of praises (viwongo) and ululations (nthungululu): “You are the greatest; in fact, there is no-one like you in Malawi’s politics!” In short, people are, due to this syndrome, generally less critical. Second, politicians know that such utterances (promises) can hardly be implemented, but take advantage of illiteracy levels among the populace largely resident in the rural areas. Obviously if the majority of Malawians were literate, such promises and lies would not germinate and grow in Malawi’s political soil. Third, in line with Basil Davidson’s argument (in Modern Africa: A Social and Political History, 1994, p.216), what is at stake here are the basic tenets of democracy:
...the important question is not the number of parties, for a many party (multi-party) system …can
also degenerate into abuse. The important question concerns the degree in which ordinary people
can really influence their governments.
In short, the argument here goes back to the basic definition of democracy: ‘people power’, as defined by the ancient Athenians, the originators of democracy. Clearly, in Malawi’s politics the ordinary people do not own power, rather it is in the hands of (elected) leaders and, what is worse, it is as if the latter are doing the populace a favour if they are to deliver on their political promises! Shame.
It is, however, encouraging to note that the level of awareness amongst Malawians has improved steadily over the two decades of multi-party politics. Credit has to go to the civil society including the churches for the role they have played in bringing about political awareness and civic education among Malawians over time. Malawians show signs of political maturity in many respects, for instance, they are able to compare one’s promises and what one is able to deliver thereafter. In the event that there is a mismatch between the two, then the political days of the politician in question ‘are numbered’: they actually gang up against and start de-campaigning (silently) him or her. Consequently, such candidates hardly make it during the next elections. Most MPs and Presidential hopefuls have lost political mileage this way. The electorate does the opposite of what politicians do: they make promises that they would not vote a political liar and crook back into office, say as MP, and lo they actually deliver on their solemn promise, as the candidate actually loses miserably! One would describe such promises as ‘promises and truths’.
Malawi’s democratic politics is surely maturing over time: the electorate is delivering on their promises (promises and truths). Once politicians do away with promises and lies and, instead, start delivering on their own political promises, surely Malawi will be a better place to live in for all: the elite and the populace alike. In short, Malawi will truly be the warm heart of Africa!

domain: sociology


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AGC Partners is pleased to announce that The Carlyle Group has acquired a majority stake in Memsource, an AI-powered translation technology that automates the localisation of large volumes of multilingual content for global corporations. With a team led by Sean Tucker, AGC Partners acted as sole financial advisor to Memsource. The investment and overall support from The Carlyle Group will enable Memsource to accelerate its growth across all key markets, including North America and Asia. To view the announcement by Memsource, click here.
"AGC was referred to me by a friend who was the founder of a technology company AGC helped sell to a major global player. Selecting AGC was one of the best decisions I made throughout the investment process. Sean and the AGC team, who managed the entire process for us, definitely surpassed our expectations and we would have never been able to close this type of a transaction without his consistent guidance. This is even more true given the major headwind that we encountered right before closing - the COVID outbreak. Thanks to our solid performance and Sean's persistence and experience throughout the COVID period, we were able to close a great deal nevertheless."


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Reflect: Politics in South Perth
26 May 2022
Add event to calendar
6.30 - 8PM
Old Mill Education Centre
Melville Pl, South Perth
Free, booking essential
City of South Perth Libraries
Ratepayers, Reds, and a "Rip Van Winkle Board"...
- Who was the sneaky secretary who pocketed the Road Board's budget in 1902?
- Why was the Communist Party so keen on more bus stops on Manning Road?
- And just how does one become the Mayor of South Perth, Chairman of the Lotteries Commission and an unregistered bookmaker all at the same time?
Join the City's Local History Librarian as the Reflect series gets political (not at all endorsed by any party).
Reflect is a series of local history talks presented by South Perth Local History Librarian Anthony Styan who will take you on adventures through archives and archaeology, and learn about the odd, original and often interesting history within the City of South Perth.
In the interests of more sustainable living please BYO mug and/or water bottle. Tea, coffee and cold filtered water will be available.

domain: library


What to Consider When Choosing an Asphalt Sealcoating Equipment
Befire purchasing your sealcoating machine, you need to ensure its productivity, durability and efficiency. Here are some things to consider before you purchase your asphalt sealcoating machine.
You may want to understand your requirements first so that you can make the right equipment selection. You want to ensure that you purchase the equipment that will suit your projects needs.
When it comes to purchasing a sealcoat machine, you want to ensure that it is the right size. Find out whether the machine has the right dimensions and weight to fit in your vehicle. Also, find a machine that is sized up for the job and matches the operations involved. If you are not sure about the right size of equipment to purchase, it is important that you talk to your supply for suggestions.
When it come to sealcoat equipments, productivity should be your first priority. Therefore, it is important that you purchase your equipment from reputable suppliers so that you can be assured about the quality. Purchasing a sealing equipment is an expensive investment, therefore you want to ensure that machine will generate more income.
The best way to ensure that you get quality equipment which will serve you for years to come is by buying from companies that have a quality warranty. This factor is crucial to ensure that you only get equipment that is of good standard. Be vigilant of sealcoating companies that do offer a guarantee for their machines.
Check the capacity of the machine before you decide which seal coating machine is right for you. A good supplier will provide you with sealcoating spray tanks that hold different gallon capacities. Thus, you may choose your asphalt sealcoat sprayer depending on how much coverage you intend to do. You can also find it cheaper to order a tank with a larger capacity since some companies have discounts for customers who order tanks with a higher gallon capacity.
Different asphalt seal coating equipment have different application features and designs, therefore, you need to compare these features and choose one that suits you. Consult with manufacture so that you will understand the function of each feature and make the right decision.
Also, you want to consider how often the machine will require maintenance services. There are equipments that will require to do regular upkeep due to the rough sand mixes. When the rotary gear is destroyed, it leads to pump pressure loss and which is expensive to rebuild. Therefore, you need to select top quality equipment that will last for several years.
Lastly, it is crucial that you shop around and compare prices of the asphalt seal coating machine from various manufacturers. However, it is important not to choose a machine with the lowest costs since you might purchase an equipment that will give you the desired results.


- How to stream Mexico vs. Netherlands in the U-17 World Cup semis 9 Months Ago
- ‘Waves’ wrestles with the family drama and breaks it in half 9 Months Ago
- QAnon-touting congressman sneaks ‘Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself’ into tweets Wednesday 7:12 PM
- Ocasio-Cortez met a famous drag queen–and the right melted down Wednesday 6:09 PM
- Woman says Lyft driver tried to kidnap her Wednesday 5:18 PM
- Debunking the right-wing conspiracy theories from today’s impeachment hearing Wednesday 4:29 PM
- Maroon 5 approves of the latest TikTok trend Wednesday 3:54 PM
- ‘One month left in the decade’ meme wants to know what you’ve accomplished Wednesday 3:53 PM
- Facebook Pay is the latest way to send your friends money Wednesday 3:31 PM
- Diving into ‘The Mandalorian’s first big shocker Wednesday 3:17 PM
- Disney+ will allow password sharing—to an extent Wednesday 1:12 PM
- Black server says manager refused to discipline coworkers who sent racist receipt Wednesday 12:47 PM
- Who is Jonah Hauer-King, Disney’s new Prince Eric? Wednesday 12:47 PM
- Cut Katherine Langford ‘Avengers: Endgame’ scene lands on Disney+ Wednesday 12:22 PM
- Planned Parenthood app to show abortion-seeking users their nearest options Wednesday 12:21 PM
YouTube continues to insist there haven’t been any Momo challenge videos that violate its policies, and many online observers are insisting that the idea of a Japanese sculpture telling impressionable kids on social media to commit suicide is a viral hoax.
But people are continuing to freak about the Momo challenge, including one British lawmaker who reportedly discussed it in front of Parliament in England this week.
As Jim Watterson of the Guardian wrote on Twitter, “Tory [Parliament member] Douglas Ross has stood up in House of Commons and called for a parliamentary debate on the Momo challenge. Andrea Leadsom [the leader of the House of Commons] says the government is ‘extremely concerned’ about the Momo challenge. However, she refers to our reporting that there’s no confirmed threat to kids.”
Perhaps not, but a variety of schools and police departments in the U.K. and the U.S. have sounded the alarm about the potential threat posed by the Momo challenge, including the mother of an 8-year-old British boy.
“He showed me an image of the [Momo] face on my phone and said that she had told him to go into the kitchen drawer and take out a knife and put it into his neck,” Lyn Dixon told the Daily Mail. “We’ve told him it’s a load of rubbish and there are bad people out there who do bad things but it’s frightening, really frightening.”
Momo is the name given to a sculpture produced in 2016 by a Japanese special effects company that shows the head and torso of a woman with a creepy smile and bulging eyes mounted on bird legs. By 2018, a photo of the sculpture was reportedly being used to contact young WhatsApp users and to demand they participate in a viral challenge that could lead to suicide. If a person declined to participate, Momo then threatened to harm other people they know.
That, anyway, is how the legend goes.
Now, there are reports that the Momo challenge has infiltrated YouTube and the YouTube Kids app with innocent-looking children’s videos—for example, Peppa Pig– or Fortnite-themed content—and scaring the kids who are watching them.
YouTube told the Daily Dot on Wednesday that it doesn’t have any proof that the Momo challenge videos have been used to threaten anybody. YouTube also said it allows news reports and other analysis of the Momo challenge to be uploaded.
“Contrary to press reports, we’ve not received any recent evidence of videos showing or promoting the Momo challenge on YouTube,” a YouTube spokesperson told the Daily Dot. “Content of this kind would be in violation of our policies and removed immediately.”
After another request for comment from the Daily Dot late Wednesday, the platform reiterated that it isn’t aware of any policy-violating Momo challenge content.
Fact-checking website Snopes has explored the phenomenon, writing, “Word of the Momo challenge is now so widespread that whether or not it represents a real threat, the subject has generated rumors that in themselves can be cause for concern among children.”
But a YouTuber named DerekRants, who has 150,000 subscribers, purported to have an example. In his video uploaded Wednesday, he showed a clip of a girl singing along to a photo of the sculpture and how Momo was going to kill her.
It’s unclear where DerekRants found that footage, but the fact that more than 2.2 million have seen that video, since it was uploaded this week, shows how much Momo has permeated the minds of those on social media. Momo, for the time being at least, is a social media star, and politicians, police forces, and schools can’t stop talking about her.
- YouTube finally responds to the Momo challenge
- PewDiePie backs YouTube’s controversial response to pedophile content
- Logan Paul says he has brain damage that affects his empathy
Josh Katzowitz is a staff writer at the Daily Dot specializing in YouTube and boxing. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. A longtime sports writer, he's covered the NFL for CBSSports.com and boxing for Forbes. His work has been noted twice in the Best American Sports Writing book series.


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Brandon The Brave
In-store pickup available at the cafe in Penticton.
|Additional Info||More information on BoardGameGeek|
To become a knight, all knaves first have to master regal tasks and prove that they have good intuition.
In Brandon the Brave, players are tasked with seeking out giants, dragons, witches, and other dangers!
The player who can skillfully place the field tiles next to each other, thus mastering the tasks, will be the champion at the end of the game.
1 Conrad the Confused Knight
1 Set of game instructions
36 Triangular field tiles
18 Task cards
We Also Recommend
- choosing a selection results in a full page refresh

domain: hobby


Around the world, there is an ongoing increase in industrial activities, which leads to an increasing demand for industrial water. The growing world population, in combination with urbanization, also leads to an increased demand for industrial water. Approximately 90 percent of this water is returned into the environment untreated . To meet international standards for durable and environmentally friendly production on the long term, this requires action. The European Framework for Water (KWR) shows a trend of increasing costs of discharged waste water. There is also a rising trend of using smaller scale water treatment solutions, which, with new technology, enable installations for specific needs and capacity levels.
Customary in the world of waste water for industrial industry
Using water for industrial applications is often directly related to governmental rules and regulations for waste water. The trend leans towards recycling the industrial process water to avoid environmental pollution. For the industry, water is an essential part in industrial processes used as cooling water, rinse water and boiler water, among other applications. The bulk of water consumers in the Industrial sector are companies in the chemical sector, refineries, steel sector, food industry, paper and graphic industry.
For these types of customers the Buwatec products are very often the infrastructural backbone of complex water treatment plants. More and more investors regard our water storage tanks as an important part of their DBFO-service.
Over the last years we developed specific storage solution for industrial water and we still keep developing new concepts for wastewater treatment plants in combination with specialist partners in segments of the industry.
The latest development is a unique combination of industrial storage tanks and BUHexa-covers. This industrial storage system is a solution which will reduce 95% of evaporation and up to a 95% reduction of constant emission. The covers will create up to 90% smell reduction. Odours are a big problem for the industry, and reducing them is a big challenge. With a combination of industrial storage tanks and BUHexa-covers this problem is easily solved.
Advantages industrial watertanks by BUWATEC:
- Straightforward solution for the storage of waste water, cooling water, rinse water, boiler water.
- The water tanks are a unique infrastructural part of smaller scale water treatment plants.
- The water silo’s for wastewater treatment plants are modular and adjustable in capacity.


text:
On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher expressed concern that the “gotcha guardians” are creating an environment that “will make people afraid to mingle and push us toward further segregation, where instead of just seeing a person, and not a color, now we are only seeing the color. “
Maher said: “Blacks have to demand that whites stop culturally appropriating how angry they are at racism. It’s great that Caucasians have finally joined the fight for racial justice in an unprecedented number, but do they hate racism more? You can’t steal that.
After discussing the Oakland incident, where ropes on exercise trees placed by a black man were mistaken for ropes and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) promised to investigate the ropes as a hate crime, Maher commented: “Why? This white woman is seeing racism where a black man is not? The mayor also said:[I]intentions don’t matter. But they do matter. And whites should stop trying to cancel other whites whose hearts are in the right place, but they don’t do it exactly right on the first try. “
He later stated, “Liberalism should be about lifting people up, and you don’t do it by slapping people who are trying to say, I’m on your side.” … You want to be a good ally, but not too good, or you are being a white savior. Use your voice, but don’t do anything about yourself, but speak, unless it’s your time to listen, and then silence is violence. Although sometimes silence only means that someone has two jobs and has three children. They have baby food on their shirts, I don’t hate my heart. “
He concluded: “I am concerned that the kind of tension the gotcha guardians are creating is going to make people afraid of mixing at all, and it will push us towards a kind of re-segregation, where instead of just seeing one person , and not a color, now we are only seeing color. Maybe this is the old school liberalism speaking, but I don’t think that is the way to go. “
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett


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Tom Adams is an independent energy and environmental advisor. MORE...
He has held a variety of senior responsibilities including Executive Director of Energy Probe from 1996 until 2007, membership on the Ontario Independent Electricity Market Operator Board of Directors, and membership on the Ontario Centre for Excellence for Energy Board of Management. He has been a media commentator for over 20 years. His guest columns have appeared in most major Canadian newspapers. He has been a lecturer in energy studies at University of Toronto and has published several peer-reviewed papers in a range of fields. He has presented expert testimony before many regulatory tribunals in Canada on gas and electricity-related subjects. He has made presentations to Legislative Committees in Ontario and New Brunswick, academic, regulatory and trade conferences, the Atomic Energy Control Board, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. His profile appears in the Canadian Who’s Who.
Frank Atkins recently retired as Associate Professor of Economics from the University of Calgary. MORE...
Dr. Atkins spent two years at the Bank of Canada as an Economic Analyst. In 1981, he left the Bank of Canada to further his studies in economics at Queen’s University. Dr. Atkins then joined University of Calgary where he taught for more than 30 years. During his tenure, Dr. Atkins had the privilege of supervising the Master of Arts (Economics) thesis of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As well as publishing many articles in leading economic journals, Dr. Atkins is a frequent commentator on macroeconomics and policy issues for the major national networks.Dr. Atkins then joined University of Calgary where he taught for more than 30 years. During his tenure, Dr. Atkins had the privilege of supervising the Master of Arts (Economics) thesis of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As well as publishing many articles in leading economic journals, Dr. Atkins is a frequent commentator on macroeconomics and policy issues for the major national networks.
Mary-Jane Bennett is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. MORE...
Ms. Bennett is a lawyer and an established transportation consultant. She began her career with the Ontario Ministry of Justice and has since practiced law in Manitoba and British Columbia. In 1997, Bennett received an appointment by the Governor in-Council to the newly formed Canadian Transportation Agency where she was involved in a broad range of transportation issues, including grain freight issues. Mary-Jane Bennett served as a Board Member with the Canadian Transportation Agency from 1998 to 2007.
Wendell Cox is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy with expertise in housing affordability and municipal policy. MORE...
In addition, Wendell is Principal of Demographia, an international consultancy based in St. Louis, Missouri specializing in regional and municipal housing policy and related planning issues. The leading global authority on housing affordability and municipal policy, Wendell is co-author of the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Index, which receives more than 1.3 million unique downloads each year. A former member of the Los Angeles Transportation Commission and Amtrak Reform Council, Wendell has consulted extensively on urban planning and transportation issues. He is the author of Toward More Prosperous Cities, a framing essay on the fundamental objectives of cities.
David MacKinnon, a native of Prince Edward Island, was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours economics) from Dalhousie University and an MBA from York University. MORE...
He was awarded a Centennial Fellowship by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and York University to study at York, Harvard and Oxford Universities as well as the European Institute of Business Studies. Mr. MacKinnon served as Director, Planning and Economics and Executive Director, Development Strategy in the Nova Scotia Department of Economic Development from 1976 to 1981. He later served in several senior capacities in the Ontario Public Service, the Bank of Montreal and as CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association from 1996 to 2003. Mr. MacKinnon is a Public Member of the Council of the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons and is the Chair of its Finance Committee and a member of its Executive, Complaints and Outreach committees. He serves on several Boards of Directors, including the West Park Health Centre. He recently finished my five year term on the Standards Council of Canada and was subsequently elected to the board of the Canadian Standards Association. He has advised the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and other Ontario organizations on fiscal federalism issues particularly on the impact of regional subsidies on recipient and source provinces.
Dr. Patrick Moore is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy with expertise in energy, ecology and prosperity. MORE...
He has been a leader in the international environmental field for over 40 years. Dr. Moore is a Co-Founder of Greenpeace and served for nine years as President of Greenpeace Canada and seven years as a Director of Greenpeace International. Following his time with Greenpeace, Dr. Moore joined the Forest Alliance of BC where he worked for ten years to develop the Principles of Sustainable Forestry that have now been adopted by much of the industry. Today, Dr. Moore focuses on the promotion of sustainability and consensus building among competing concerns. In 2013 he published Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout – The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist, which documents his 15 years with Greenpeace and outlines his vision for a sustainable future.
Roland Renner, Telecom Policy and Regulation, has worked in telecommunications, broadcasting and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). MORE...
He has participated in the transition of telecommunications and broadcasting from monopoly to competitive policy and regulatory environments, and has been involved in numerous regulatory proceedings. He held management positions at Bell Canada and Telesat Canada. As a consultant he worked with PwC Consulting and Nordicity Group, he advised clients on new market opportunities in a changing regulatory climate. He has worked for both public and private sector clients in Canada, Germany, Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Michael C. Zwaagstra
Michael Zwaagstra has extensive teaching experience at a variety of grade levels and currently teaches high school social studies in a Manitoba public school. MORE...
He received his BEd, PBCE, and MEd (Educational Administration) from the University of Manitoba and his MA (Theological Studies) from Liberty University. As an educator, Michael is a strong proponent of raising academic standards, holding schools accountable for their results, and expanding the educational options available to parents. He conducts public policy research on education issues for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. His columns promoting common sense education reform have been published in major daily newspapers, including the National Post and the Globe and Mail. He is a frequent guest on radio stations across the country and has spoken at many different conferences and events. His first book, What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them (co-authored with Rodney Clifton and John Long), was published in 2010.
Philip Carl Salzman
Philip Carl Salzman received his B.A from Antioch College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and he is Professor of Anthropology at McGill University. MORE...
He founded the Commission on Nomadic Peoples of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, and its international journal, Nomadic Peoples, for which he received the IUAES Gold Award. In recent years, he has been a Senior Fellow at the University of St. Andrews, an Open Society International Scholar at the American University of Central Asia, an Erasmus Mundus International Fellow at the University of Catania, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia. He has engaged in extensive ethnographic field research in Baluchistan (Iran), Gujarat and Rajasthan (India), and Sardinia (Italy) which has provided the foundation for many articles in academic journals, and for books such as The Anthropology of Real Life: Events in Human Experience (1999), Black Tents of Baluchistan (2000) (winner of the Premio PitrP–Salomone Marino Award), Understanding Culture: An Introduction of Anthropological Theory (2001), Pastoralists: Equality, Hierarchy, and the State (2004), Culture and Conflict in the Middle East (2008), Postcolonial Theory and the Arab-Israel Conflict (2008), and Thinking Anthropologically 3rd Ed, (2010). His latest book is Classic Comparative Anthropology: Studies from the Tradition (2012). In public affairs, he was a member of Middle East Strategy at Harvard (2008-2010), a member of the Board of Directors of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (2004-2012), and is currently a member of the Academic Council of the Canadian Institute for Jewish Studies, a Fellow of the Middle East Forum (2015-), and a member of the Board of Directors of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (2016-). He has published articles and reports in the Middle East Forum, Gatestone Institute, the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, and the Macdonald Laurier Institute.
Gerry Bowler grew up in Saskatoon and earned his first two academic degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. MORE...
He received his Ph.D. in History from King’s College, London with a dissertation on Protestant political theory of the Tudor period. He is an historian with eclectic interests. His writings range from academic texts on sixteenth-century Europe to the connection between Aristotle and professional wrestling. He is the only historian whose work is included in both The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture and The Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. He was the founder of The Centre for the Study of Christianity and Popular Culture at Calgary’s Canadian Nazarene College and taught for 25 years at the University of Manitoba. Bowler is the editor of Music from Within: A Biography of Sophie Eckhardt-Gramatté (University of Manitoba Press, 1985) and The World’s Greatest Christmas Stories (Theodosian Press, 2016); and the author of Europe in the Sixteenth Century, second edition, (Longman, 1989), The World Encyclopedia of Christmas (McClelland and Stewart, 2000), God and The Simpsons: The Spirituality of Springfield, (Dare: 2001), Santa Claus: A Biography (McClelland and Stewart, 2005), Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday, (Oxford University Press: 2016) and The Kindly Curmudgeon (Theodosian Press, 2016).

domain: economics


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ISLAMABAD: Explaining the explanation in the back of extend within the announcement of subsequent Nationwide Finance Fee (NFC) award, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday mentioned that the present NFC award would stay intact till consensus with the provinces reached at the topic.
The finance minister mentioned it whilst finishing up the funds debate within the Nationwide Meeting on Tuesday night time.
He mentioned the federal government sought after to allocate 3 % each and every to Federally Administered Tribal Spaces (FATA), Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir out of the gross divisible pool to fulfill the bills for added safety.
“[However] the proposal wishes consensus from the provinces and the following award might be introduced quickly after the consensus evolved at the topic”, Dar added.
Clarifying the misconceptions concerning the public debt, Dar asserted that the international debt which used to be 48.1 billion greenbacks in 2013 stands at 58.four billion greenbacks now.
“In step with a transition plan, the debt to GDP ratio might be diminished to 50 % right through subsequent fifteen years”, he added.
In the meantime, the finance minister once more invited the Opposition to agree on a Constitution of Financial system in session with all stakeholders to verify financial steadiness within the nation.
It’s value bringing up right here that the finance minister the day prior to this whilst addressing funds debate within the nationwide meeting had mentioned that the ministry authorized funds 75 suggestions proposed via the Senate and status committees but even so 147 suggestions have been forwarded to the making plans department.
He additional mentioned that the objective for GDP expansion for fiscal 2017-18 has been set at 6 %, including that the present GDP expansion used to be at 10-year prime.
The submit Provinces’ dissent delaying subsequent NFC award, says Dar seemed first on ARYNEWS.


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domain: design


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PLANS to require farmers to double tag their sheep will lead to a nightmare on Welsh hills, according to FUW President Gareth Vaughan.
Speaking after playing host to a three-hour fact-finding visit by Wales MEP Jonathan Evans on his hill farm at Dolfor near Newtown, Mr Vaughan said double tagging, which the EU proposes to introduce for sheep next year, would be nearly impossible in Wales.
"Eighty per cent of the Welsh land mass is less favoured area and the prospect of having to double-tag and record 5.4 million breeding ewes and their offspring is viewed with horror by flock-masters," said Mr Vaughan.
"Proposals emanating from Brussels would be impossible to operate in a hill farming environment where flocks graze open mountain during the summer months and are brought down to the enclosed fields during the winter.
"These farmers commonly have 500-1,000 ewes and are bewildered as to how such an identification system can operate."
Mr Vaughan said sheep farming in Wales was extensive in nature, and existing controls mean that farmers already have to keep continuous flock records, with all animals identified with a tag before leaving the holding of birth.
Other subjects raised during the visit included the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, the World Trade Organisation talks and the future of livestock exports to Europe.


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1.1 Definition and scope of study
The perfume market refers to the market of fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices, used to give a pleasant smell to one's body. These are often alcohol based.
Every year around 400 new patented perfumes are put on the global market, which is worth around $11 billion. It seems the world is hungry for inebriating fragrances and Italy is no different, being the fifth world market for these products (Behind USA, France, Germany and UK). In fact, perfumes represent the third highest purchase for the Italian family within the ‘body care’ sector (preceded by face and body treatment products)
Up until the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic context that it unleashed this industry was in full growth in years prior (fluctuating between +2-3.5%year-on-year, +2.3% in 2019). The domestic market increased by 1.9% while the export market grew by almost 3%. Despite prices regularly increasing in perfumeries and mass distribution centres, this market continued to grow, making up around 20% of the Italian cosmetics sector. 2020 was the first year of contraction in the market in over a decade with a drop off of 12.8%, with the internal market contracting by 9.8% and exports decreasing by 16.5%.
The perfume sector is markedly segmented in terms of sales with four major types of sellers:
- Perfume shops (individual perfumeries, local franchises and brand stores that sell other products but also perfumes) account for 75% of the market share
- Large retailers (i.e. Sephora) account for 22% of the market
- Pharmacies account for less than 2% of the market
- Supermarkets, hypermarkets and other forms of distribution account for less than 1%
Production is unevenly distributed in a geographic sense, with over 50% of manufacturing centres and companies in the northern region of Lombardy, followed by Emilia Romagna with around 10% and Veneto with almost 8%. The north largely predominates the south in terms of manufacturing with 3 southern regions nor even ranked due to low production levels. Italy has 7 yearly free perfume expos which help to diffuse the new fragrances to the greater public.
There has been a digital revolution in the perfume market. The growth of this market up to 2020 was in part driven by the increase in its e-commerce sector (+22% in 2019, double figure growth in 2018 and 2017). Online sales are projected to equal in person sales by 2025. Men make up a mere 38% of the Italian perfume market, with women being the big spenders in terms of value and volume, with a growth of 4.4% in 2019.
The last 3 years show a trend that ‘niche perfumeries’ (individual designers) are increasingly attractive to Italian consumers (12.5% of the sector in 2018). Italian have made a shift towards buying house and toilet fragrances in the past few years (4% of the market share).
With the economic downturn of the pandemic the perfume industry in Italy saw a boost during the festive period as perfumes tend to be popular and easy gifts. This was taken as a positive signal by industry insiders for a possible comeback in 2021
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Newsletter signup Inspiring articles and healthy recipes in your inbox.
Yield: 1 burger
Converting a traditional burger to plant-based form requires replacing the patty and using non-dairy cheese and mayo. It's very easy, considering the ready access to plant-based options these days. The point of this exercise is to slather the burger with sufficient flavors and fixings to entertain your taste buds while you maintain your food comfort zone. If you do this well, you'll find that the choice of patty makes less difference as time goes on and your taste buds adjust. On the other hand, there are some very realistic unmeat patties available to get you started.
1 veggie patty
½ onion, thinly sliced, sautéed
¼ cup mushrooms, sautéed
Hamburger bun, toasted
Condiments: BBQ sauce, hot sauce, mayo, mustard, relish, to taste
Additional Fixings: roasted peppers, sliced avocado, sliced tomato, fresh sprouts, lettuce, shredded cheese, basil leaves as desired
Sauté onions and mushrooms in water.
Cook patty on grill or in a pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese if using.
Toast buns and spread with BBQ sauce, hot sauce, vegan mayo, mustard, and relish.
Add patty, onions, and mushrooms, roasted peppers, sliced avocado, tomato, sprouts, lettuce, and basil leaves.
Place the top bun, cut in half, and serve.

domain: food


ULTRA South Africa takes place next weekend. This is what you can look forward to….
First up, and accompanying OWSLA boss Skrillex and Billboard chart topper Zedd on headline duties across both events, will be two of the biggest names in dance music and long time Ultra stalwarts, Tiësto and Afrojack.
The man behind mega hits including Red Lights and Wasted, Tiësto will be making his return to ULTRA South Africa™, as he prepares to blow the roof off Cape Town’s Ostrich Farm and Johannesburg’s Nasrec Showgrounds. Fellow countryman, Afrojack, will also be returning to Africa’s biggest electronic music event, following a pair of historic performances back in February 2014 and has already rocked ULTRA crowds in Argentina, Croatia, Japan and Miami in 2015.
Support will come from EDM heavyweight and ‘King of the Chipotle Gang’ Carnage (fresh off the back of his debut studio album Papi Gordo), established LA based-producer Mr. Carmack, who will be making his first ever ULTRA appearance, and local heroes Goldfish and TiMO ODV. In addition, 5FM residents and local heroes, Fresh and Euphonik, will be showcasing their talents across both cities on the Main Stage.
The Johannesburg edition of ULTRA South Africa™ will feature three running stages across both days. Alongside the Main Stage, there will be a Soul Candi Live Stage on the Friday, before transforming into the RESISTANCE® Stage on the Saturday. Starting from inside a vinyl store in 2001, Soul Candi have gone on to establish themselves as the leading voice in the South African house music scene and have been responsible for breaking out a whole host of local superstars including Crazy White Boy and the aforementioned Fresh and Euphonik. Johannesburg will also see the debut of a third stage in the form of the 5FM Live Loud Stage, which will play host to the station’s best DJs and South Africa’s best club acts throughout the two days.
Capetonians will have two stages on-site at ULTRA South Africa™ and the set-up will follow a similar program to that of Johannesburg, with the Main Stage complemented by a one-off stage hosted by Strange Loving on day one before evolving into the RESISTANCE® Stage for the final day. Strange Loving’s reputation has grown immeasurably over the last few years, having thrown some of the most exciting parties South Africa has ever seen, with the likes of David August, Soul Clap and Marek Hemmann amongst those to have come down to South Africa to perform.
Brand new for ULTRA South Africa™ in 2016, the Cape Town edition will be offering its fans the chance to camp at the picturesque West Coast Ostrich Ranch across the two days. For more information and to book online, head to heartbreakmotel.co.za
Follow ULTRA SA on Facebook and Twitter for real-time updates on artists, tickets and camping, and for those that haven’t yet, relive the breath-taking thrills of ULTRA South Africa™ by watching the stunning 2015 Official Aftermovie.
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WATCH TRAILER HERE: https://youtu.be/RMITT4NZXu4


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Kris Barz Mendonça
Kris is a Colorado-based Brazilian artist. In 2014, he released his webcomic, Torta de Climão (Out&About), focusing on social commentary related to sexuality, gender and showcasing empowered LGBTQ characters. In 2015 the comic had its first book published. His work has gathered thousands of fans in Brazil, for which he won the Brazilian Diversity Awards for “Best newcomer in 2015” from the LGBTQ community. He travels around the US to discuss LGBTQ representation in comics at ComicCons and universities and has also been creating LGBTQ empowering content in comics for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
ART STYLE: An Artist / Creator Street or Urban Artist
CITY, STATE: Fort Collins, Colorado


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Pervaiz Elahi says rulers inviting unrest; Qadri's son says workers don't wish anarchy
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PMLQ) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said on Sunday that the rulers are inviting unrest and that the consequences will be on Sharif brothers. Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Hassan Mohiuddin said PAT workers only wish to peacefully welcome their chief and not to create anarchy, Dunya News reported.
Pervaiz Elahi and Mohiuddin met at Tahirul Qadri’s residence in Lahore. Addressing media after the meeting, Pervaiz Elahi said that the government hasn’t learnt any lesson from the Model Town tragedy and that the rulers are inviting the unrest.
He said that the Sharif government will be responsible for the consequences.
Qadri’s son said that PAT workers do not wish anarchy and disorder, “nor do they want to derail democracy”. He said that the government’s chambers are shaking because of Qadri’s arrival.
Tahirul Qadri is on his way to Pakistan via Dubai from London.
Talking to newsmen outside Heathrow airport, Tahirul Qadri said he wants to arrive in Pakistan and proceed to Lahore in a peaceful manner. He said the PML-N government was digging grave of its rule as it was harassing PAT workers.
Qadri said these tactics of the government cannot stop Pakistan Awami Tehreek from following its mission to bring change in the country through revolution.
Dr Tahirul Qadri received his boarding card at Heathrow airport and was set to make departure for Dabai.
The PAT chief will leave for Dubai at 6pm (Pakistani time) and arrive at Benazir International Airport on Monday morning
According to party sources a large number of party works would receive Dr Tahirul Qadri at the airportQadri’s convoy would leave for Lahore by road.
Pakistan Awami Teheerk (PAT) claimed that its workers were being arrested in different cities.


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CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County was called to order by Chair/President Kathy Osbun at 10:15 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the Board meeting of May 16, 2012, were approved as read.
The Board also unanimously elected Arlene to serve as Vice Chairperson/Program Coordinator to replace Co-Vice Chairs Suzanne deKozan and Karen Lovvorn, who stepped down from that position because personal commitments didn’t allow them the time required for the job; both Suzanne and Karen will continue as board members, however.
Art Rosenblum was unanimously elected to serve as Board Secretary, to replace George Irizary, who will fill the newly created position of Correspondence Secretary.
TULIP PIN FUNDRAISER: Treasurer Sandy Grant reported on the status of the sale of tulip emblem pins, which sell for $5.00 each. About 110 pins need to be sold to break even on the wholesale purchase price of the pins, which are designed to become a national symbol for finding a cause and cure of Parkinson’s Disease. Fifty pins have been sold as of the end of May. The full $5.00 price of the pins will be retained by PSGSC as profit when the 110-pin benchmark is reached.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Regarding PSGSC finances, Sandy said, “It looks like we’re doing really well,” and she presented a printout of budget expectations through December of 2012. Because of the positive outlook, it appears that it may not be necessary to dip into savings or a certificate of deposit. Part of the reason for that is the revenue from the donation jar passed around at meetings ($132.00 in May); $229.00 from a Mary’s Pizza fundraiser; and $590 received from donations in memory of the late Donald Stiling, a former board member and longtime fundraiser for PSGSC. Donald’s wife, Barbara, continues to serve on the Board. Expenses in May included $18.42 for meeting supplies and $160.67 to print 15 copies of the Practical Ploys booklet edited by Joe Hootman.
MASTER COPY: Dana May Casperson offered to scan and transfer to a computer disk the printed manuscript of Practical Ploys for Parkinson’s People: Tools and Techniques to Help Manage the Disease, edited by Joe Hootman. The disk would serve as a master copy of the booklet.
REDWOOD CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTER: Arlene Irizary reported that funding for the Redwood Caregiver center is in jeopardy, awaiting a decision by the Governor to save the organization’s funding or put it on the chopping block.
FUNDRAISING: Kathy Osbun reported that $200.00 was donated by S.H.E. women’s apparel, Santa Rosa, representing ten percent of profits from a fashion show benefiting PSGSC. Also discussed were opportunities to sell the Parkinson’s-symbolic tulip pin to persons outside the core PSGSC membership. The wholesale price of the pins was $1.84 each, with about a $3.15 profit when sold for $5.00 each. Another fundraiser
will be October 10, 2012, at Mary’s Pizza on Summerfield Road in Santa Rosa. Arlene Irizary suggested that we routinely inform members about expenses, including rent for the meeting place, storage, speaker stipends and other costs.
AWARE IN CARE OUTREACH COMMITTEE: Suzanne deKozan reported that Sonoma State University master’s degree student Ryan Roberts is developing a power point presentation aimed at nursing staff personnel on issues such as why timing is critical when dispensing medications to people with Parkinson’s. The hope is that eventually nurses viewing the power point will receive professional education credits, which will be an incentive for them to study medical issues of Parkinson’s patients.
LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE: There was discussion about approaching U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson concerning Medicare reimbursements that are withheld from Sonoma County because Sonoma County is categorized as “rural.”
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: It was emphasized to note that the next general meeting of the PSGSC will be on the SECOND SATURDAY, August 11th, instead of the usual first Saturday of the month. That is because the church building meeting place is reserved on the first Saturday for the church’s annual rummage sale. PSGSC does not conduct general meetings during the months of July and September.
MEETING ADJOURNED: The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m. by Kathy Osbun. The next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 18, 2012, at Brush Creek Senior Living off Hwy. 12 east of Brush Creek Road. The above minutes are subject to approval at the July Board meeting.
George Irizary, Correspondence Secretary