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Vons Thanksgiving Dinner Review: Vons is a subsidiary type of supermarket in southern California and southern Nevada. While Alverstone owned this huge grocery market where you could get everything you needed.
This year you can get the Vons thanksgiving dinner and enjoy the best-ever thanksgiving. The meal is super delicious and extra tasty, which you can get to your doorstep.
The main headquarter of vons is in Fullerton, California, which operates stores under the vons and pavilions banners.
The Vons grocery thanksgiving dinner is very yummy and affordable; even after eating it, you will crave more. Let’s dig in deep to discover about Vons thanksgiving meal to go 2022.
Does Vons sell Thanksgiving Dinner?
Yes, you can get the Vons ready-made thanksgiving dinner which includes super yummy dishes. Those days have gone when you spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing a thanksgiving dinner for a huge party.
Now, grocery stores, including vons, are offering premade Thanksgiving meals. Vons ready-made thanksgiving dinner holds a strong flavour of all its ingredient while all the dishes are homemade.
However, the best thing about the vons premade Thanksgiving dinner is that the menu is homemade. Where’s, the quality of the dinner is super amazing and trustable. Because vons priors the health of its customers first.
What can you get in Vons ready-made Thanksgiving dinner?
Well, the Vons thanksgiving dinner is unique in that you can get an extremely delicious homemade meal. Moreover, the Vons thanksgiving dinner package includes the following dishes.
- Harvest roasted turkey with homemade gravy
- Parmesan creamed corn
- Buttermilk mashed potatoes with chives
- Crispy bacon Brussels sprouts
- Maple-roasted Brussels sprouts with pecans
- Homemade rolls
- Homemade pumpkin pie with cinnamon whipped
- Roasted sweet potatoes with spices and honey
- Roasted turkey with smoked paprika
These are the delicious Vons thanksgiving turkey dinner items you can get from a wonderful grocery store. Besides Thanksgiving meals, vons offers holidays meal too.
It holds everything for every occasion. Therefore, instead of going anywhere, visit the vons’ website and vons grocery store to get fresh things for special events.
The founder of vons grocery stores is Charles Von Der Ahe, while the number of vons has more than 325 locations.
Besides Thanksgiving meals, you can get a bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, meat, general grocery, seafood, pharmacy, snacks, liquor, floral, and holiday meal.
Vons Thanksgiving Turkey Instructions
Vons Thanksgiving Turkey Preparation
- For every 5 pounds, thaw the turkey in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- For every pound, thaw the turkey in cold water for 30 minutes.
- Submerge wrapped turkey, breast side down, in large container filled with cold water.
- Replace water every 30 minutes.
- For every pound, thaw the turkey in a cooler for 1 hour.
- Place wrapped turkey in large cooler, lid down.
- Keep Turkey refrigerated after thawing
Vons Thanksgiving Turkey Cooking Steps
- Remove the neck and the bag of giblets
- Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.
- Next, season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Stuff it with the quartered lemon, onion, apple and herbs.
- Tuck the wings underneath the turkey and set it on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan. Tuckingthe wings prevents them from burning, and helps
- the turkey sit flatter.Use your fingers to loosenand lift the skin above
- the breastsand smootha few tablespoonsof butterunderneath Use some twine to tie
- the turkey legs together Then slather outside turkeyn in rest of butter .You are ready to let your oven do t he rest of work!
- Cook the turkey for 13 minutes per pound if it is empty, and 15 minutes per pound if it is stuffed.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F, then drop the temperature to 350°F once you put the turkey in.
- The turkey is done when it registers a minimum of 165°F in the thickest part of its thigh.
- Rest the turkey for at least 15 minutes before carving.
Can I order an online Thanksgiving Dinner from Vons?
Yes, you can get the vons thanksgiving dinner package online. To order online, you must install the vons app to place an order online easily. However, delivery services do not become available in some areas.
In this case, you can get the delivery by a third party such as instacart and other platforms. Online orders require a minimum purchase.
While the discounts, offers, and promotions may differ from online to physical stores. However, single-store, in-stores, and clearance may not be available for online orders. To ensure this, you can contact the local vons grocery store.
On the other hand, prices of products may differ depending on the catalogues in the store that prepares your order.
The time of day when price updates occur may vary between the store where your order is being prepared and online.
Regardless of the date of scheduled delivery/pickup, you will pay the prices, fees, and other charges and receive promotions, offers, discounts, and savings applied to your order at the time of online checkout.
Does vons make Thanksgiving Dinner for pickup?
Yes, vons make thanksgiving dinner for pickup, while the delivery may be prohibited in some areas. Vons offer $30 off if you spend $75 or more in a single order. After concluding all the promotions, offers, and taxes, you will get $30 off your order.
However, you must have to spend $75 in a single transaction. After the offer’s expiration date, you can’t avail of this offer online. While the offer will expire on 31/12/22. At checkout, choose PICKUP and enter Promo Code save30.
The minimum purchase amount is determined by subtracting the subtotal of all qualifying items at checkout from all other promotions, offers, discounts, and savings and excludes alcoholic beverages, tobacco, fluid dairy products, bottle/container deposits, and any fees, charges, and taxes.
Other promotions, offers, discounts, or savings may not be combined with this offer, and other restrictions may apply.
Vons Thanksgiving Reviews
Vons Thanksgiving dinner is a great choice to make this event more delicious and memorable. You can get the exclusive vons thanksgiving turkey dinner by ordering online.
However, in some areas, they do not offer delivery services; you have to take the help of a third party to get the order if delivery is prohibited in your area.
Moreover, Vons prepare everything from fresh ingredients; their meal is abundant in flavor. So what are you waiting for? Just quickly go to the Vons website and get the super delicious thanksgiving dinner.
- Cracker Barrel Thanksgiving Menu
- Costco Thanksgiving Dinner
- Boston Market Thanksgiving Menu
- Bob Evans Thanksgiving Menu
- Publix Thanksgiving Dinner 2022
Selena is a food lover who has decided to put her passion into practice by becoming an experienced blogger and chef. She shares the fantastic experiences of some of the best fast-food restaurants around you every day!


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“The NH state legislature has resumed committee work after our summer break. We had a very successful year, achieving several goals aimed at maintaining and furthering New Hampshire’s Advantage and reaffirming its status as a beacon of freedom, especially in New England and the Northeast. Among the achievements,
- We passed a budget that not only gives us tax cuts, but we actually cut government spending – that’s what winning looks like!
- We took a giant step forward toward breaking up the monopoly that has been over our state’s education system resulting in ever-increasing spending and ever-decreasing results. We passed the Education Freedom Act that allows the state’s portion of education dollars to follow students to the school of their choice, whether that be a public school, a private school, a charter school, or homeschool: wherever is best suited for the student.
- Babies are now safe in the womb after 24 weeks. It still grieves my heart that there is even a question, but I will take the victory as it is and go forward.
This second year will probably be even busier as actions at the national level are putting tremendous pressure on states to respond defensively against the usurpation of power by the federal government. To make matters worse, not one of New Hampshire’s elected Representatives or Senators in Washington DC has offered any pushback.
No, they are all rubber stamps allowing the destruction of America.
In light of what is happening now and what I am sure awaits us in the near future between now and the 2022 elections, and after much prayerful consideration, I am officially announcing that I am challenging Ann Kuster for New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District in 2022. I am going to need your help. She has lots of money to spend campaigning. But we can win this. Spread the word. Tell everyone you know. Post on social media.
We must make changes now, or we will not have a 2024 to look forward to.
Let’s make this Kuster’s last stand!
Current NH State Representative
Wentworth, New Hampshire
All meetings start at 7:00 PM at the American Legion hall in Ashland, NH – Come early to mingle and chat with like-minded patriots.
Here’s a list of upcoming meetings. Put them in your book now!
October 14, 2021 First in a series “How to talk to a liberal” this one on climate change. Presentation and workshop by PARC Board member and meteorologist, Bob Hatcher.
November 11, 2021 Mark Alliegro NH State Rep District 7. New Hampshire bills: The good, the bad and the ugly.
September 9, 2021 Panel discussion on the Convention of States
June 10, 2021 General Don Bolduc – candidate for US Senate and PARC Board of Directors elections
May 13, 2021 Pam Tucker, Vice Chair, NH Republican Party
April 8, 2021 Frank Edelblut, NH Commissioner of Educations
March 18, 2021 Inaugural Dessert with Friends
The Convention of States
is national effort to call a convention under Article V of the United States Constitution, restricted to proposing amendments that will impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit its power and jurisdiction, and impose term limits on its officials and members of Congress.
On September 9, 2021 we will host a panel discussion Convention of States, Eric Strapp representing the Convention of States, Camp Constitution Co-Founder, Hal Shurtleff and moderated by our own Omer Ahern Jr.
Update: June 9,2021
I am responding after two hard fought days trying to get good pieces of legislation passed. None of us are perfect and I have made my share of freshman mistakes. We lost some key battles due to some extremely weak Republicans. Those are the ones you should be focusing on.
Have you participated in hearings this year? Have you sent notes of encouragement when a legislator votes according to our constitution? Have you started recruiting strong constitutional candidates yet? Are you recruiting, training, and raising funds yet? Have you paid the costs of sending legislators to the ALEC conference? Or Wallbuilders Pro-Family Legislative conference? Here’s an easier one, how about mowing their lawn, splitting wood, or helping them get their gardens planted? We are not all wealthy, young, and healthy but still often give 40 plus hours a week on legislative work for a whopping 100 bucks a year.
Spend some time building up the slightly imperfect legislators or you will loose them and end up with democrats instead.
My final word, PRAY for these hard working legislators. Pray without ceasing!
God bless, Beth

domain: politics


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Help us select the next book that the Mobile Read book club will read for November 2009.
The nominations will run through Oct 23.
Voting (new poll thread) will run for 5 days starting Oct 23.
(I started the thread a bit early this month as some people wanted to get an earlier start. Or, the thread can run a bit longer to try to get a decent selection.)
Book selection category for November per the "official" club opening thread is:
In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).
How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.
How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a pool at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.
How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.
How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.
How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.
When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.
The floor is open to nominations.
Official choices each with three nominations:
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The Trial tells the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Karamazov Brothers (1880) is both a brilliantly told crime story and a passionate philosophical debate. The dissolute landowner Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is murdered; his sons--the atheist intellectual Ivan, the hot-blooded Dmitry, and the saintly novice Alyosha--are all involved at some level. Brilliantly bound up with this psychological drama is Dostoevsky's intense and disturbing exploration of many deeply felt ideas about the existence of God, freedom of will, the collective nature of guilt, and the disastrous consequences of rationalism.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. Al the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Most peoples' knowledge of this probably comes from the 1960s musical, which I'm sure we've all seen innumerable times. The novel, though, is a VERY different beast, and definely written for an "adult" audience. It contains some wonderful writing, and has some unforgettable characters - Oliver himself, of course; Fagin, who runs a gang of child thieves and prostitutes, the professional criminal, Bill Sykes and his girlfriend Nancy, and many more. This is a wonderful, unforgetable book, which everybody should read at least once in their life. I commend it to everybody.
The Picture (or Portrait) of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Spellbound before his own portrait, Dorian Gray utters a fateful wish. In exchange for eternal youth he gives his soul, to be corrupted by the malign influence of his mentor, the aesthete and hedonist Lord Henry Wotton. The novel was met with moral outrage by contemporary critics who, dazzled perhaps by Wilde's brilliant style, may have confused the author with his creation, Lord Henry, to whom even Dorian protests, 'You cut life to pieces with your epigrams.'. Encouraged by Lord Henry to substitute pleasure for goodness and art for reality, Dorian tries to watch impassively as he brings misery and death to those who love him. But the picture is watching him, and, made hideous by the marks of sin, it confronts Dorian with the reflection of his fall from grace, the silent bearer of what is in effect a devastating moral judgement.
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions £20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty days—and he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot- blooded French manservant, Passepartout. Traveling by train, steamship, sailboat, sledge, and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks, and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard to win the extraordinary wager. Combining exploration, adventure, and a thrilling race against time, Around the World in Eighty Days gripped audiences upon its publication and remains hugely popular to this day.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edward Abbott
A fascinating science-fiction story with some biting, funny satire of Victorian society, Edwin Abbott's Flatland still has a lot to say about modern life, mathematics, people, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The story takes us to a two-dimensional world where all the inhabitants are flat geometric shapes, and who are all firmly convinced that "length and width" is all there is. But one enterprising shape discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, which leads to speculation about a fourth dimension - and that changes everything.
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
In her most playful and exuberant novel, Virginia Woolf writes the "historical biography" of Orlando, a young boy of nobility during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. A wild ride through four centuries, the novel shows Orlando aging, magically, only thirty-six years between 1588 and 1928. Even more magically, he also changes from a man to a woman.
Orlando enters the book as an Elizabethan nobleman and leaves the book three centuries later as a liberated woman of the 1920s. Along the way this most rambunctious of Woolf's characters engages in sword fights, trades barbs with 18th century wits, has a baby, and drives a car. As she explores Orlando's life, Woolf also explores the differing roles of men and women in society during various periods.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

domain: literature


Bed bugs, if they enter your house, can be a nightmare. These pests love to feed on human blood, and their bites can cause rashes, redness, and itching on the skin. While bed bugs are primarily found on mattresses, they can also infest other areas such as furniture, closets, and even vehicles. This article will explore the question of whether bed bugs can live in cars and what can be done to prevent and treat such an infestation.
Can Bed Bugs Infest Your Car?
The answer to this question is yes, bed bugs can infest your car. While they are most commonly found in homes and hotels, these pests can hitch a ride to your vehicle through clothing, luggage, or other belongings. Vehicles offer a warm and cozy environment, which bed bugs love. Bed bugs can not only infest the seats and carpets of your car, but they can also hide in a wide range of small spaces, cracks and crevices, making them difficult to detect and get rid of.
How Do Bed Bugs Enter Your Car?
Bed bugs can enter your car in several ways. They can latch onto clothes, backpacks, purses, and other personal belongings that you carry with you on a daily basis. They can also get on your car through public transportation, such as buses or taxis, or through belongings kept in shared locker rooms or communal spaces. Once they get onto your car, bed bugs can end up hiding in various parts of the car, including the seats, carpets, headrests, and door panels.
How to Detect Bed Bugs in Your Car?
If you suspect that you have bed bugs in your car, the first step you should take is to thoroughly inspect the vehicle. Look for visible signs of bed bugs, including live bugs, molted skins, dark droppings, blood smears, and small white eggs. Check the seams and crevices of the car seats, seat belts, carpets, and floor mats. You can also use a flashlight to inspect the hard-to-reach areas, such as the glove compartment, dashboard, and air vents.
What are the Risks of Bed Bugs in Your Car?
Bed bugs are not just a nuisance; they can also pose some health risks. While their bites do not transmit any diseases, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and secondary infections. Bed bugs can cause stress and anxiety, which can lead to insomnia and other sleep disorders. If left untreated, bed bug infestations can spread from your car to your home or workplace, making it hard to stop them from spreading throughout the community.
How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Your Car?
The best way to get rid of bed bugs in your car is to seek professional pest control services. Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to eradicate, and DIY solutions may not be effective or may even make the infestation worse. Professional exterminators have the necessary tools, expertise, and chemicals to eliminate bed bugs from your car safely and efficiently. They use a combination of methods, such as insecticides, steam treatment, and vacuuming, to kill bed bugs at all stages of their life cycle.
How to Prevent Bed Bugs in Your Car?
Preventing bed bugs from entering your car is the best way to avoid a nightmare infestation. Here are some tips on how to prevent bed bugs from getting into your car:
- Avoid bringing used furniture, clothing or linens into your car without first thoroughly inspecting them for bed bugs.
- Be cautious when using public transportation, and always keep your belongings away from other passengers.
- Store your luggage, backpacks, and purses in airtight bags or containers when traveling.
- Regularly vacuum your car, paying special attention to the seams, cracks, and crevices where bed bugs hide.
- Use a bed bug mattress and pillow protector in your home to prevent bed bugs from hitching a ride on your bedding and following you to your car.
Bed bugs can indeed infest your car, and it’s important to be vigilant about keeping them at bay. Regular inspections, proper storage of personal belongings, and seeking professional pest control services are all important steps in preventing and treating bed bug infestations. By taking these precautions, you can minimize the chances of encountering these pests and sleep soundly without fear of a bed bug bite.
Can you bring bed bugs home from your car?
Yes, if you have bed bugs in your car, they can easily hitchhike to your home through your personal belongings, such as backpacks, clothing, or even your own body. That’s why it’s important to take preventive measures against bed bugs in your car and avoid carrying infested items into your home.
Is it safe to drive a car with bed bugs?
While bed bugs don’t pose any direct hazards to your car’s mechanical functioning, they can negatively affect your health and well-being. Bed bug bites can cause allergic reactions and secondary infections, and the stress and anxiety of dealing with an infestation can have adverse effects on your mood and sleep patterns. Therefore, it’s best not to ignore the presence of bed bugs in your car and seek prompt treatment.
Can bed bugs live in car upholstery?
Yes, car upholstery is one of the favorite hiding spots for bed bugs. The tight seams and crevices of car seats and carpets provide an ideal environment for bed bugs to thrive in. That’s why during a bed bug inspection, it’s essential to pay close attention to the corners, folds, and seams of car upholstery to detect any signs of infestation.
Can you kill bed bugs in your car with heat?
Yes, heat treatment is an effective method for killing bed bugs in car interiors. Professional exterminators use specialized equipment that heats the car interior to a temperature high enough to kill all bed bugs and their eggs. Heat treatment is a safe and eco-friendly alternative to chemical insecticides and does not leave residues or emissions.
How long can bed bugs live in a car?
Bed bugs can survive for weeks or even months without feeding, so they can potentially live for a long time in a car if left unchecked. However, the lifespan of bed bugs depends on various external factors, such as temperature, humidity, and access to food.
Can bed bugs infest a rental car?
Yes, bed bugs can infest rental cars, especially if previous renters brought infested belongings into the car. That’s why it’s important to inspect a rental car thoroughly before use and report any signs of bed bugs to the rental company. If you think that you brought bed bugs into a rental car, it’s essential to notify the rental company and seek professional pest control services to avoid spreading the infestation.


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Directed by Jennifer Lynch; I had no idea David Lynch had a daughter that made films but here we are. She made some giant flop before this movie called “hissss” or something but there’s an Australian documentary out there about what she went through to make it so maybe there’s more to that story. Oh and some crime horror movie that was supposedly awesome so I’ll watch that at some point.
This movie is about a fucked up guy who keeps some kid chained up in his house and then tries to teach the kid to be fucked up too, basically every one of my relationships. It’s fucking raw, it takes the classic abduction and captivity story and peels back the layers. There’s so much going on here that you’ll need a drink after and I don’t mean an IPA leftover from last weekend, I mean a fresh bottle of scotch. Both the acting and directing show real talent, I’ll be watching out for J-Lynch in the future.

domain: artistic


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King Robert asks Eddard to ride with him and discuss matters of state. He asks about the mother of Eddard’s bastard. Eddard tells him her name is Wylla, but will say no more. They discuss Dany’s marriage to Khal Drogo. Robert wants her assassinate but Ned seems against the idea. Eddard thinks of Rhaegar’s daughter dragged from under her bed crying and Rhaegar’s baby son being torn from his mother’s breast to have his head dashed against a wall and protests that harming a child is vile. Robert retorts that the way Ned’s father and brother died was unspeakable and that Rhaegar raping Lyanna was the worst sin of all. He means to see every Targaryen dead. He had wanted to send assassins after Daenerys and Viserys long ago, but Jon Arryn always stopped him.
Eddard presses Robert about naming a Warden of the East. He refuses to name Robert Arryn, particularly with the threat of a Dothraki invasion on the horizon, so Eddard advises he name Stannis, who proved himself at the siege of Storm’s End. Robert admits to Eddard that he has already named Jaime Lannister Warden of the East, and Eddard is very uncomfortable, as this leaves half the realm’s armies under the control of the Lannisters. Eddard expresses doubt that Jaime is trustworthy and reminds Robert that he did kill Aerys II. When this is not enough to convince Robert, Eddard decides to tell him the rest of the story, which he had always held back.
Robert had taken a wound from Rhaegar at the Trident, so he charged Eddard with the pursuit of the defeated Targaryen army while he recuperated. They fled to King’s Landing, where Aerys still had a force of several thousand loyalists. Expecting to have to besiege the city, Eddard was surprised when he arrived to see that Lord Tywin Lannister had taken it. The war was almost a year old by this point, and Tywin had ignored calls from both sides to add his strength to their cause. After the Battle of the Trident, he appeared at the gates of King’s Landing with 12,000 men professing to be an ally, but sacked the city when Aerys opened the gates. When Eddard arrived in the throne room of the Red Keep, he found Jaime seated atop the Iron Throne in his golden armor and Aerys dead at the foot of it. When Eddard challenged him, he got up, said he was just keeping the seat warm for Robert, and stated that it was not a comfortable seat. Robert is not concerned by the incident and rides on, leaving Eddard to doubt that he will be much use as Hand of the King.
The overarching theme of this chapter is similar to what I have iterated in previous chapters – the sins and grudges of previous generations continue to reverberate among the current generation and in turn among the generations to come. Whether it is Ned being unable to live comfortably with the lies he has told or Robert being unable to forgive the Targaryens for Lyanna’s abduction or Ned being unable to forgive Jaime for his youthful thoughtlessness, we see that the issues of the past still burn fiercely in the hearts of these main characters. Even among the peripheral characters like Tywin Lannister we can see his inability to move past the death of his wife or the slights he endured at the hands of Aerys. We will examine Robert and Ned’s own grudges in this chapter and see their far-reaching consequences.
Martin’s word choice when describing Ned’s cause for lost sleep is very telling – clearly Ned is referring to Jon’s mother when saying he has lived his lies for 14 years. It is no coincidence, in my opinion, that this is Jon’s age at this time. It is unclear in the story why Ned feels so strongly responsible for the death of his beloved sister. Regardless of the reason, it is abundantly clear that Ned has not been able to move past the traumatic incident, as evidenced by the frequency with which it appears in his dreams. The consequences of his actions are clear – Jon grows up not knowing his heritage and a void remains between Jon and Catelyn for neither of their faults. Among the many grudges that the characters in this series hold, this is perhaps the one of least consequence to the events of the books though, amusingly, of the greatest interest to fans.
The reason Robert hates the Targaryens is not exactly shrouded in mystery. He believes, likely incorrectly, that the love of his life was stolen from him and judgement was not forthcoming. Where matters become considerably more ambiguous is when we question whether Robert even truly loved Lyanna to begin with. Was she actually his one, true love or was she just a woman he was strongly attracted to? The answer to this questions impacts the next – was Robert’s anger caused by genuine concern about Lyanna’s safety and at the possibility that she might come to harm or was he merely angry that someone had stolen something he assumed belonged to him? I will take the easy route out and propose that there was some element of both involved. Interestingly, Martin very deliberately juxtaposes the intensity of Robert’s fury with Ned’s unflappable calm. Considering that Ned lost a sister, brother and father in the conflict, it looks extremely odd that he has the more mellow reaction of the two. Regardless of what he knew of the circumstances of Lyanna’s death, Ned nevertheless has much more reason to hate the Targaryens than Robert does.
Ned’s grudge against Jaime Lannister is actually just an extension of his mistrust of the Lannisters in general. As we know, this particular disagreement (to put it mildly) began when Tywin ordered the deaths of the royal family, including the children. While this put Tywin very firmly on the Baratheon side of things, there are several things about it that set alarm bells off in Ned’s head, and surprisingly his political acumen is spot-on here; Tywin’s decision to commit to a side only after victory was all but assured spoke of a lack of commitment to the cause, a large degree of selfishness and an excellent reason not to trust the Lannisters in general. Combined with Ned’s mistaken assumption that Jaime almost seized the Iron Throne for himself, and the recent allegations regarding Jon Arryn’s murder, Ned’s mistrust of the Lannisters is at an all time high and Robert does nothing to alleviate Ned’s fears by appointing Jaime Warden of both the East and the West. Ned’s mistrust is both well-placed (though for different reasons) and fatal since it forces him to go up against Cersei Lannister who is in different class in the deadly game that they play in King’s Landing.
Robert’s insistence in murdering Dany and Viserys is very canny of him, and serves as a strong reminder to the reader that while Robert may come across as a hedonistic, self-centred oaf, he was (and perhaps still is) one of the pre-eminent generals of his generation, out-classing several experienced military men and winning decisive battles in his time. The readers will know that Robert has Viserys’ plan completely figured out though it might be a little generous of me to attribute this to Robert’s own intelligence. Nevertheless, Ned would seem to be at fault for not taking it too seriously but his logic is sound too – the Dothraki would not have crossed the ocean without prompting from Varys. Robert is considerably less savvy in his decision to appoint Jaime Lannister as joint Warden of half the Realm’s armies. It is unclear from this chapter whether Robert didn’t care enough to think this decision through or whether he was subtly coerced into the decision by his wife and her family. Curiously, Jaime doesn’t reflect on this decision at all, presumably because by that point things are way passed the point of Wardens and armies.
Of course as a member of the Kingsguard, Jaime should not be able to inherit any titles or such in the first place – but clearly his ties to the royal family, and more importantly, the Lannisters allow him a greater degree of freedom. The chapter ends on an interesting note – Ned once again shows excellent intuition by recognizing that he does not belong in King’s Landing. His musings that one cannot always be where one belongs is absolutely spot on from a responsibility and duty point of view but as readers we can’t help but fret (and clearly, our fear is vindicated by the end of the novel).


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|To Downtown||0.5 mi|
|Nearest airport||Lisbon Humberto Delgado|
|Distance to airport||4.0 mi|
|Check-in time||3:00 PM|
|Check-out time||11:00 AM|
|Payment & Cancellation||Policies vary by room type and provider.|
|Front desk number||+351 965 823 065|
The average rate for a night at Divine House of Graça is 42% less than the Lisbon average for similarly rated 1 star hotels. The nightly rate at Divine House of Graça is typically $51, which is considered to be a good deal for a quality hotel room in Lisbon.
With a distance of 4 mi between Divine House of Graça and the nearest airport, Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport, the drive typically takes about 0h 08m depending on traffic. Be sure to check traffic trends near the hotel and airport as some areas experience higher traffic than others and can increase your expected travel time.
For the most freedom while visiting Lisbon, consider renting a car for about $5/day and parking it at Divine House of Graça where they offer parking spaces to hotel guests. Rideshare apps and taxis remain a very common solution for Divine House of Graça guests. This is often the most cost-effective method of transportation when visiting Lisbon.
Divine House of Graça is just 0.2 mi away from the center of São Vicente, Lisbon. From Divine House of Graça you can easily get to other popular landmarks such as Estádio José Alvalade.
If you have questions or concerns about your stay, call +351 965 823 065 to talk to a Divine House of Graça front desk representative.
Yes, Divine House of Graça has Wi-Fi available to hotel guests.
Check-out should be before 11:00 AM. For checking in at Divine House of Graça, guests should plan for any time after 3:00 PM on the day of their scheduled arrival.
On average, guests have been paying $51 per night to stay at Divine House of Graça. Some users have found rooms as low as $12 per night. Enter your dates in the form above to see the price rates available for your stay.
Yes, there are laundry services usually available at Divine House of Graça, Lisbon. Guests also have access to an iron and an ironing board during their stay - either in the room, or by asking the front desk.
You can walk to Castelo de São Jorge while staying at Divine House of Graça - you’ll be about 0.4 mi away.
Sé de Lisboa is also a popular place to see in Lisbon. It is 0.6 mi from Divine House of Graça.

domain: travel


Mitt Romney and Florida Senator Marco Rubio attend a town hall meeting in Aston, PA.
April 24, 2022
FOX News’ Bret Baier is running a series on his television program (Special Report) in which he interviews potential VP picks for Governor Mitt Romney. He’s dubbed his series Running With Romney. Last night Senator Marco Rubio was the first to be featured. Here’s the interview:


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domain: food


text:
Cripa Easton Pa Pd Investigation Recommendations 11-26-07
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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Section - PHB 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 November 26, 2007 Via Facsimile and U.S. Mail Mr. Stu Gallaher, Chief of Staff Office of the Mayor City of Easton One South Third Street Easton, Pennsylvania 18042 Re: Department of Justice Investigation of the Easton Police Department Dear Mr. Gallaher: As you know, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has been conducting an investigation of the Easton Police Department (“EPD”), pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141. We once again would like to express our appreciation for the cooperation that we have received thus far from the City of Easton (“City”) and the EPD. In this letter, we convey recommendations regarding EPD’s practices and policies that DOJ has not previously memorialized in our earlier communications. At the beginning of our investigation, we committed to provide the City (when appropriate) with technical assistance, to ensure compliance with minimal constitutional standards and to enhance EPD’s practices and procedures. At the City’s request, we reviewed certain policies and procedures and provided our comments in writing. To date we have reviewed relevant EPD policies and procedures, conducted interviews with City officials and a cross-section of EPD supervisors and patrol officers, and participated in ride-alongs. We have also met with representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 19, community leaders, and other EPD citizens. - 2 Important aspects of our fact-gathering process remain outstanding, most notably reviewing documents related to specific use of force incidents. This process is ongoing and we hope to conclude our review shortly. Therefore this letter is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather focuses on recommendations we can provide at this stage of our investigation. I. EPD Policies and Procedures A. Content and Organization Policies and procedures are the primary means by which police departments communicate their standards and expectations to their officers. Accordingly, EPD’s policies and procedures need to be current, accessible to all officers, and consistent with relevant legal standards and contemporary police practices. In addition, policies with related topics should accurately cross-reference each other as necessary. Consistent terminology and definitions should be used throughout all EPD documents to avoid confusion and to increase adherence. Finally, EPD should ensure that each policy and procedure is routinely reviewed for consistency. At the time of our initial tours, EPD policies and procedures were in a binder called the “Black Book,” a hodgepodge of policies and procedures, that in many instances had not been updated since the 1980s. With the exception of special orders or unofficial procedural documents that have been distributed over the years, the “Black Book” served as the primary document governing the field services and administrative actions of EPD. Over the last 20 months EPD has been in the process of updating and developing its policy and procedures manual (“Manual”). We commend the EPD for the effort it has made in this regard. We recognize that the City and EPD may have additional updates to complete before all policies and procedures are reviewed and revised.1 While we have provided technical assistance on a number of EPD’s use of force and force related policies already, there remain a number of other operational policies that we will not review or comment on specifically because they are not related to use of force. Therefore, we make the following recommendations, primarily to assist the City and EPD in the essential task of reviewing, updating, and maintaining its official policies and procedures manual. 1 We note that at the time of our visits EPD had just started its review and policy revision process. - 3 B. Distribution and Accessibility As EPD is in the process of revamping and creating a large volume of policies and procedures, it is important that the Department develop an effective dissemination process for rolling out the policies. The roll-out plan can provide the framework to promote maximum comprehension and implementation of new policies and procedures. Distributing all or a large number of policies at one time can be overwhelming for officers and present logistical obstacles for adequate training. However, a clearly articulated dissemination plan, particularly for those policies/procedures which are entirely new or depart significantly from previously approved conduct, tactics, or procedure, is likely to increase officer understanding and adherence. Additionally, to the extent possible, policies and procedures most closely related to each other should be disseminated and trained on simultaneously or sequentially to reinforce the information presented to officers. The EPD should give officers clear guidance on who is responsible for policy and procedure distribution, when updates and reviews of the Manual are expected, and any role officers or their supervisors have in the process. Failure to have a separate policy that clearly delineates these steps may confuse roles and expectations regarding policy and procedure distribution, and once again result in officers operating from materials that are not current. In addition, since new or revised policies and procedures are likely to be rolled out over time and not issued as one complete new manual, the EPD should have a systematic way to ensure that these documents are issued to every officer. Not only should EPD officers be provided individual copies of approved policies and procedures, a hard copy set should be available in an easily accessible location within the police station.2 2 We understand EPD is utilizing a “Change Sheet” to track replacements or additions to the Manual. The Change Sheet is dated, numbered sequentially, and summarizes the documents or policies and procedures to be added or deleted from the Manual with the issuance of a particular Change Sheet. Officers are then required to sign and verify receipt of the Change Sheet and the corresponding policy or procedure and must retain these documents in the front of their manuals. In addition, the EPD now requires that each manual be inspected semi-annually by the officer’s supervisor to ensure that all Change Sheets have been - 4 EPD also periodically issues Special Orders and Memoranda to impart important information and changes in protocol or practices to its officers. During our February and March visits we noticed that these bulletins were posted on a cork board (but not necessarily memorialized in the Manual) outside of the former Captain of Field Services’ office. We understand these postings have the force of official policies and procedures. We recommend that EPD require officers to sign a document to verify they have read these posted documents. This practice, or one designed by EPD that achieves the same result, will help the command staff ensure that all officers are aware of, and accountable for, all Special Orders and Memoranda. C. Policy Development We recommend that a cross-section of officers (including officers involved in conducting training) have the opportunity to provide feedback on new or revised policies and procedures before they are finalized. We understand that EPD’s policy review is ongoing, but, we recommend that now and future such reviews, EPD consider developing a policies and procedures review team to include officers of each rank, shift, and special unit who will work directly with the drafter(s) of any new policy or procedure. Officer input at the earliest stages in policy and procedure development is useful in ensuring consistency in the use of definitions, terminology, and substantive material. Moreover, input from a cross-section of EPD officers and, when necessary, administrative staff, will help ensure buy-in regarding the new and revised policies and procedures; it will also allow patrol officers to provide feedback on the practical viability of proposed procedures. We have recently learned that EPD has received accreditation through Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (PLEAC). This is a commendable accomplishment. We continue to caution the City and the EPD command staff, however, about the limits of any accreditation. While accreditation may result in improved policies, it does not necessarily result in improved practices because it does not ensure policy inserted since the last inspection, and that the Manual is current. The officer’s supervisor is responsible for contacting the accreditation officer to obtain any missing material and for ensuring that the material is inserted into the officer’s manual. While we think the process is good, we suggest that supervisors likewise ensure that officers review missing materials after the manual(s) are updated. - 5 implementation. Accordingly, EPD needs a purposeful, wellreasoned plan to continue to promote positive changes in the culture and the practices of the Department. II. Use of Force We provided our initial comments and technical assistance regarding the EPD’s Use of Force policy (General Order #4-14) in our November 3, 2005 letter. During our February and March 2006 visits we spoke with officers and reviewed additional information related to EPD use of force practices. Below we outline additional concerns regarding EPD’s canine deployment, taser use, and use of force reporting not addressed in the above-referenced letter. A. Canine Deployment During our interviews with command staff, canine officers, and non-canine patrol officers, we received various and conflicting interpretations about when the use of canine force is authorized under EPD’s canine policy.3 For example, some canine officers reported that dogs are deployed to apprehend suspects involved in certain misdemeanors, while other canine officers reported that dogs are only deployed to apprehend those suspects involved in felonies. We were particularly concerned that several command staff, i.e., supervisors charged with authorizing or evaluating the appropriateness of the use of force, were unfamiliar with EPD’s current canine policy and procedures. Additionally, supervisors, canine officers, and non-canine patrol officers could not clearly explain whether EPD policy for canines is “bite-and-hold” (which allows dogs to bite immediately upon locating a subject) or “find-and-bark” (requiring a dog to first bark -- absent immediate danger or the presence of a weapon, and await handler instruction before biting). Some officers indicated that “extenuating circumstances” would determine what actions a dog would take once deployed. However these officers could not clearly articulate what extenuating circumstances would justify use of bite-and-hold versus find-and-bark. In effect, EPD canine officers may be allowing the dog, not the handler to determine when canine use of force is appropriate. Accordingly, there is a substantial risk that someone may be bitten without adequate justification. 3 Although the EPD has a small canine unit, this potentially serious use of force must be carefully managed in order to ensure that it is used appropriately. - 6 Generally accepted police practice for canine use of force calls for the find-and-bark methodology. We recommend that the existing canine policy and all related policies be revised to reflect this methodology. A find-and-bark policy prevents canines from biting subjects in situations in which such force is not necessary to effect an arrest or protect the safety of officers or civilians; for example, where a subject is passively hiding in a building. We recommend that canine officers, supervisors, and command staff be thoroughly trained and tested on the canine policies and procedures ultimately adopted by EPD. We also recommend that all non-canine officers also be trained on EPD’s canine use of force policy. Although such training might be more limited, all officers must have a basic understanding of canine policies and procedures. Failure to have all officers adequately trained on canine policies and procedures may result in expectations of a canine officer or his dog that conflict with the expectations of command staff, supervisors or other non-canine officers, as well as result in a use of force that is unjustified under current legal standards. B. Taser Use EPD’s taser policy is a subsection of Use of Force, General Order #4-14. We provided feedback regarding taser use in our November 2005 letter. We provide here one additional comment regarding the revised policy EPD submitted for our review in July 2007. While the revised order appropriately provides that only officers who have completed training will be authorized to use a taser, it does not specify which officers or rank of officers will be authorized to carry and deploy tasers, and whether carrying tasers will be mandatory or optional. We recommend that the policy be revised to include these details to ensure that only appropriately trained and authorized officers are using this use of force tool. C. Use of Force Reporting When we initiated our investigation, the EPD did not report uses of force on a form dedicated for this purpose. Instead, officers recorded all uses of force, with the exception of canine deployments, in the narrative section of an incident report. These narratives were used to capture every variety of police/citizen contact, making it extremely difficult to extract information to adequately track and analyze uses of force. Recording uses of force in this manner made it difficult also to ensure that cases requiring investigation were identified and - 7 forwarded for review by the appropriate supervisory and command staff. Indeed, unless an officer forwarded his narrative or was directed to do so by supervisory staff, follow up on uses of force would have been virtually impossible. The EPD has recently created a separate use of force form that includes the type of force used, injuries sustained, and other information that will help supervisors track and review uses of force. However, the new form does not include a section for an officer to describe the facts surrounding an incident or to provide such other information that will assist a supervisor in reviewing the use of force employed by that officer. Accordingly, EPD should consider revising its use of force form to include a space for officer narratives. We have learned recently that the EPD is in the process of implementing a new computer system to enter and store incident reports. Should the EPD choose not to include a narrative section as part of the use of force form, we hope the new computer system will allow for the integration of incident narratives with any related use of force reports. III. Investigations As a general matter, supervisory oversight of officers’ use of force is critical for a department to ensure that its officers use of force is consistent with departmental standards. It is also important for a department to ensure that its officers are using force in a constitutionally reasonable manner. See Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985). On June 13, 2006, we forwarded feedback regarding General Order #2-5, Administrative Investigations. Our comments are currently under review by EPD and may result in significant changes to the General Order. Below we provide additional feedback regarding administrative investigations that should be considered in conjunction with those provided in our June letter. A. Potential Criminal Investigations At the time of our tour, we learned that EPD lacked appropriate procedures for determining when a matter being investigated administratively becomes, or has the potential to become, a criminal matter.4 Having a well-run, independent 4 In our June 13, 2006 letter we recommend procedures that should be followed when an administrative investigation uncovers possible criminal conduct. We also advise in this - 8 internal affairs unit/personnel is critical for ensuring that a law enforcement agency is run with integrity (as well as protecting the integrity of its individual officers). Instead, at EPD, the same commander conducts administrative and criminal investigations which compromises the integrity of the criminal investigation. See Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967)(ruling officers must be adequately apprised of rights against self-incrimination to preserve the integrity of any potential criminal investigations). Some allegations of misconduct, including citizen complaints, may be sufficiently serious to warrant referral to local or federal prosecutors or other law enforcement agencies.5 In revising its policy on administrative investigations, guidance should be provided to EPD command staff and their designee(s) as to which complaints are appropriate for internal review and which complaints should be referred outside the EPD or to a separate unit within EPD for potential criminal investigation. For example, during our February 2006 visit we learned of an internal investigation of a citizen’s complaint alleging use of excessive force by an EPD officer. The citizen alleged possible criminal actions on the part of the involved officer. At the time, since EPD did not have a separate process for investigating administrative and criminal matters, we recommended, based on the nature of the allegation, that the investigation be referred to the District Attorney’s office for an independent investigation. However, there was no procedure or policy for making such a referral. The EPD should develop a protocol to determine when any criminal matter involving an officer will be referred to the District Attorney for investigation.6 Any such protocol developed should, at a minimum, state what criteria will be letter that EPD create a policy for conducting criminal investigations, distinct from the Administrative Investigation General Order #2-5 as a part of this general order or in a completely separate policy. 5 We note here that EPD’s GO #2-5 makes no reference to this possibility. 6 We respectfully remind you that matters should be assessed first for potential criminal applicability in order to prevent a compromise of a potential civil case by an administrative review. - 9 considered by the EPD’s Chief or his designee(s) to determine if a criminal matter should in fact be referred for outside investigation. In addition, we recommend that the EPD work with the local District Attorney’s office to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the two agencies to govern how EPD will refer and coordinate. EPD should also consider developing similar MOUs with other law enforcement agencies or outside investigators. B. Investigation of Citizen Complaints In our June 2006 letter we emphasized the importance of keeping citizens who file a complaint against an officer apprised of the status of the resulting investigation.7 Likewise, we suggested that EPD officers under investigation be routinely informed of the status, unless doing so would compromise the outcome of an investigation. Providing updates to an officer involved in an investigation, when possible, can prevent officer frustration or anxiety that could negatively impact the involved officer(s) job performance. If an investigation is likely to exceed the standard 30-day review period, officers should be provided this information as well. We recommend that investigation updates provided to officers be in writing and maintained as part of the official investigation file for a time period consistent with Pennsylvania law. Similarly, citizens should be apprised of the status of the investigation to reassure the public that a reliable system of accountability exists, and to deter potential officer misconduct. During our review, we discovered that EPD does not maintain its citizen complaints in an organized and systematic manner. Citizen complaints and the resulting investigatory reports are kept in various files and offices within the Department. We recommend that EPD develop a procedure for maintaining citizen investigations so that this information is readily available to supervisory staff once an investigation is completed. During the time of our tour, supervisory staff did not periodically review citizen complaints or officers’ personnel files for negative policing trends that should be addressed. EPD supervisors should comprehensively review each officers’ 7 In the June 2006 letter, we provided extensive comments from our police expert regarding the EPD’s citizen complaint procedure. Herein we provide supplemental technical assistance. - 10 personnel file including any citizen complaints lodged against an officer at least semiannually. This review should be conducted for the purpose of identifying any patterns of misconduct or inappropriate behavior that should be addressed with an officer through counseling or additional training. Since EPD will review each officer’s policy and procedure manual semiannually, supervisors may want to review each officer’s personnel file at that time. Finally, we understand from our investigation that complaints of rude or discourteous conduct by officers toward citizens were often handled informally and without documentation of the complaint or corrective action taken. We recommend that the EPD develop a written policy regarding the handling of such complaints. Such policy should require that any complaints of unprofessional behavior by officers be documented in writing along with any informal resolution. Certainly, while some citizen complaints are more serious than others (e.g., those involving legal violations), and therefore require a more formalized investigation, EPD must ensure uniformity in how all citizen complaints (by severity and category type) are investigated and that any ensuing corrective actions for policy or procedure violations are consistently and fairly imposed without any disparate treatment of a particular type of citizen complaint. IV. Investigatory Inadequacies/Case Management System Historically, EPD detectives were a part of one unit. However, in 2004 the detective unit was bifurcated to form the Criminal Investigations Division (“CID”) and Vice Units. During our February and March visits we interviewed the CID and Vice lieutenants along with several current and former EPD detectives. We were told the lieutenants of these units are responsible for assigning cases, but detectives are responsible for managing their own case loads. According to detectives we interviewed, the EPD has no formal policies governing investigative training, evidence collection and storage, victim and witness interviews, or case file documentation and retention. EPD should devise policies and procedures and training specifically to address the above-mentioned areas. According to several detectives, EPD’s failure to utilize written policy or procedures in the aforementioned areas has resulted in the loss of evidence and of case files. Moreover, several officers who once worked as detectives informed us that they returned to patrol because they lacked appropriate training, resources, policies, and direction - 11 to perform effectively. Specifically, to ensure investigative integrity, we recommend EPD provide its personnel responsible for investigating crimes with training in investigative techniques; observation and surveillance skills; basic forensics; interviewing and interrogation skills; report writing; basic criminal law; basic evidence rules; and EPD administrative and disciplinary procedures (once they are revised).8 Additionally, we recommend that the City consider purchasing a case management system database designed specifically for managing criminal investigations. As we have previously advised, commercial computer networking and data management systems are available to help law enforcement agencies effectively gather, analyze, and use information in criminal investigations. Such systems can automate written reporting functions, help managers supervise detectives and assign cases, improve case-tracking capabilities, and provide an effective tool for creating and using solvability factors. Although finding an appropriate case management system for the EPD may involve a considerable time and cost commitment, we believe that such an investment would prove highly beneficial.9 V. Discipline During our visits, numerous officers reported that officer discipline is often inconsistent and unfair. Many officers complained that discipline meted out often reflected favoritism. Many of these officers cited favoritism and inconsistency in discipline as a leading contributing factor to their decision to exercise the early retirement option or leave the EPD for other employment.10 8 These same recommendations apply to EPD supervisory personnel responsible for investigating officer uses of force. 9 During the time of our visits the EPD failed to employ any case solvability factors to help detectives determine if a case is likely to be resolved and therefore should remain a higher priority, or if it is unlikely to be resolved and therefore should be a lower priority. 10 We are aware that the inclusion of an early retirement option in the officers’ 2006 union contract has contributed significantly to EPD’s declining numbers. During our February and March visits, we spoke with many officers who had, or were planning to, exercise the early retirement option. - 12 We provided technical assistance regarding the EPD’s Discipline General Order #2-6 in our May 2, 2006 letter. The EPD police leadership and the accreditation consultant have reviewed these recommendations and revised these policies.11 We recommend that in addition to developing sound written policies regarding officer discipline, and that EPD command staff and supervisors attend mandatory and routine training that includes instruction on how to effectively administer corrective or disciplinary action (where appropriate) to its officers. In addition to the technical assistance we offered previously, we recommend that the EPD develop a consistent system to impose discipline. Such a system should identify ranges of appropriate disciplinary action that would look not only to the nature of the infraction, but to other factors, such as prior disciplinary history. A disciplinary system should track all discipline received by an officer as well as the dates of disciplinary action. VI. Supervision and Management A. Early Warning/Risk Management System As discussed during our meetings with the EPD command staff, we recommend that EPD procure an early warning system/risk management program (“EWS”) to assist with accountability. EPD should develop an EWS that is appropriate and applicable to its needs and size. Whether paper-based or computer-based, even a simple EWS would provide a useful assessment of each officer as well as the Department. An EWS collects data on individual officers for effective supervision and management of a police department and its personnel. For example, it may track uses of force, citizen complaints, internal investigations, service calls, and other items relevant to an officer’s conduct. We recommend that EPD implement policies and procedures to specify how and what type of data to collect. For example, the EWS should contain information on all investigations and complaints, including non-sustained complaints and complaints prior to final disposition, discipline and other corrective actions, uses of force, arrests and charges, searches and seizures, service calls, training, awards and commendations, sick leave, civil lawsuits, and other items relevant to an officer’s 11 Currently, we are in the process of reviewing the updated policies. Any additional suggestions we may have for revising these policies will be provided separately. - 13 conduct. EPD should then use this data regularly and proactively to: (1) promote best professional police practices; (2) improve accountability and management; (3) manage the risk of police misconduct and potential liability; and (4) evaluate and audit the performance of officers and units on a regular basis. We also recommend that EPD require supervisors, including command staff, to review this data for every officer they supervise on a regular, predetermined basis, such as every quarter. The policy implementing these recommendations should also establish guidelines regarding specific events that will trigger an additional supervisory review, such as a specific number of uses of force or citizen complaints, considered in connection with various factors including peer review, within a discrete period. Once an officer has been selected for this additional review, a report should be prepared that details all use-of-force reports, formal and informal complaints, calls for service, sick leave, counseling reports, civil lawsuits, and commendations pertaining to the officer within the past five years. The officer’s immediate supervisor and command staff should then meet to discuss the report and determine if any corrective action is warranted. The supervisor’s and command staff’s recommendations should then be forwarded to the Chief for his or her timely review and implementation. The effectiveness of the implemented recommendations should be determined by monitoring the officer and drafting written reports on the officer’s conduct on a monthly basis. Both the supervisory recommendations and the written monthly report should be included in the officer’s personnel file. We recommend that EPD supervisors evaluating the data utilize peer reviews; analyzing the information contained in the reports by comparing complaints, use-of-force reports, and other pertinent information about a particular officer with similar information from other officers on the same patrol team or shift. In addition, EPD’s policy should provide explicit guidance to supervisory officers reviewing reports to ensure that patterns of possible misconduct are identified, analyzed, and addressed properly by command staff. The aim of this process is to give supervisors valuable information that, if received early, could identify, assist and correct potential problem officers before misconduct actually develops. - 14 B. Specialized Units We noted during our review that some of EPD’s specialized units lack clearly-defined missions or purpose. Members of the community policing unit, for example, were not certain of the unit’s duties. This uncertainty can lead to mis-allocation of the Department’s limited personnel and resources, e.g., personnel assigned to a specialized unit might be better utilized on patrol. Because specialized units are often insular from the rest of the police agency, there is an increased risk of excessive force use, other civil rights violations, and a general lack of accountability. To avoid these potential accountability pitfalls, there must be close screening, training, supervision, and monitoring of such units. We therefore recommend that all units be provided mission statements and clearly outlined areas of responsibility. These should include goals and performance targets. Moreover, we advise against the creation of new specialized units until command staff has developed written mission statements, goals, duties, and performance targets. C. Communication We recommend that the chief conduct regularly-scheduled meetings with the captains, the lieutenants, and the sergeants. This is particularly important in a department that is adopting new policies and trying to implement major reforms. The command staff should routinely be informed of the latest developments in the Department if they are to communicate that information effectively to line officers. Moreover, such meetings are an important opportunity for the chief to gain feedback from his supervisory personnel. D. Critical Incident Reviews In addition to routine reviews of all use of force incidents, EPD should ensure that use of deadly force, weapon discharges, high-speed chases and other such critical incidents are reviewed separately by supervisors (not involved in the incident) to ensure that officers are acting in accordance with applicable law and departmental policies. Critical incident reviews may identify both officer training needs and patterns of unauthorized or illegal activity. The information regarding each critical incident should be tracked in an EWS, as discussed above. - 15 We recommend that EPD adopt policies outlining the types of incidents that qualify as critical incidents. Such policies should further specify the protocol for conducting critical incident reviews. At a minimum, shift commanders should respond to the scene of any critical incident, secure the scene, and summon the appropriate investigators and supervisors. We further recommend that EPD appoint a critical incident review board for each such incident. Such a board would include supervisors and officers who have no involvement in the incident under review. This board would conduct interviews of officers who participated in, supervised, investigated, or witnessed the incident, as well as civilians who witnessed the incident. The board should routinely report its findings to the chief. The report should include findings regarding compliance with the law and departmental policy as well as recommendations for policy changes or training improvements. For all critical incidents, it is important that EPD develop a protocol for when critical incident investigations will be referred to an outside organization or external department for investigation or follow up. Moreover, as with criminal investigations, the EPD should develop an MOU with any external department(s) handling any part of an investigation at the EPD’s request. During our tours we learned the EPD lacks a reporting policy for the reporting and investigation of unintentional discharges of guns by officers and lost or stolen police weapons. Incidents involving unintentional discharges and lost weapons have occurred at EPD, yet the Department had not implemented any policy or procedure to ensure the timely and thorough investigation of these types of incidents. The EPD’s list of critical incidents and related reporting and investigation policy and procedures the EPD should include unintentional discharges and lost or stolen officer weapons to ensure that officers and supervisors have clear, unambiguous instructions for reporting such incidents. It should also outline the process for any ensuing investigation. E. Professionalism While the vast majority of EPD personnel we encountered were courteous and professional, we observed a number of lapses that undermine a professional police organization.12 For example, 12 Our consultants also observed pictures of naked women hanging in the men’s locker room. These displays are unprofessional and could be offensive to any employee that works in the Department. It is particularly counterproductive in a - 16 there is little consistency in the uniforms of EPD officers. The fact that officers are allowed to wear different components of their uniforms contributes to the lack of a cohesive atmosphere and to the appearance that supervisors do not enforce the rules. VII. Training At the time of our visits, the Department had no annual training and no budget for the provision of such training. Instead, training opportunities were parceled out on an ad hoc basis as officers inform their supervisors about training events they wished to attend. At present, training seems to be guided more by the desires of individual officers than the needs of the Department.13 Indeed, we learned that one officer apparently resigned from the accident investigation team because the Department did not offer refresher training. According to the officers we interviewed, a large proportion of training is still devoted to firearms and canines. Other training in supervisory management and other use of force (e.g., verbal de-escalation techniques) techniques are badly lacking. First, the Department has a large number of new lieutenants and sergeants with limited supervisory training or experience. As the City tries to change the culture of the Department, it will need well-trained leaders who can implement reforms. At the time of promotion, new supervisors should receive training related to their new job duties. Second, the Department has a reputation, even among some of its own officers, for being adversarial and confrontational with suspects and the general public alike. These officers would benefit from training in incident de-escalation. Similarly, we were told by a senior commander that an officer need not provide his name to a citizen if, in that officer’s opinion, the citizen is rude. This practice can only increase the perception of an adversarial relationship between Easton residents and the police. Unless the officer is undercover, there is no reason for him or her to withhold his or her name and badge number. We believe that EPD and the community alike would benefit from training designed to improve officers’ ability to work with the public. department attempting to recruit more female officers. 13 Until recently, most of the Department’s training hours and resources were allocated to SWAT and canines. - 17 In this regard, Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts requires that recipients of federal funds take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to limited English proficient communities.14 As recipients of such funding, and given the City of Easton’s growing Hispanic population, the EPD should ensure that some officers are familiar with rudimentary Spanish. In addition, officers would benefit from receiving diversity training. EPD should appoint a training officer to develop, in conjunction with unit leaders and the command staff, an annual training plan and a training budget. This plan should consider officers’ training desires when possible, but its primary focus should be the training needs of the Department. Having a designated training budget would allow the Department to prioritize its needs and allocate its resources accordingly. Finally, officers assigned to specialized units should immediately receive training related to their new job duties. We interviewed officers who were assigned to units ranging from the detective bureau to community policing without any job-related training. While important skills may be learned on the job, new appointees nonetheless should be trained in the basic responsibilities and techniques of their new assignments. VIII. The Field Training Officer Program Well run police agencies have programs, such as a Field Training Officer (FTO), in place to ensure new officers receive post-academy training and mentoring from more experienced officers. Although the EPD has a FTO program in place, at the time of our visit EPD lacked standardized policies or procedures for selecting, training, or evaluating FTOS. The EPD should develop an impartial system to select FTOs, implement a well-designed FTO selection procedure and take measures to assure that FTOs are adequately trained. We recommend that the EPD work with union officials to develop a structured program for recruiting, selecting, training, and evaluating FTOs. The EPD should formulate specific criteria for the selection of FTOs from the ranks of qualified personnel with the clearly established minimum qualifications. At a minimum, FTOs should have several years of experience as police officers. FTOs should have no adverse disciplinary actions that reflect a lack of 14 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq. (attached here are documents that contain examples of steps that might be taken or considered by EPD). - 18 integrity, use of excessive force or discriminatory behavior, have favorable performance appraisals, and exhibit interpersonal skills consistent with the coach/mentor function of an FTO. Moreover, the EPD should adopt a structured training and evaluation program for FTOs. In addition, we recommend that the EPD take measures to recruit and retain qualified FTOs, including providing additional incentives to encourage officers to apply to become FTOs. Possible incentives include greater monetary compensation or priority for receiving training on new equipment (such as weapons). We also recommend that EPD appoint its FTOs to serve for a fixed term of approximately two years, renewable at the discretion of the EPD based upon overall satisfactory performance. Likewise, the EPD should develop a mechanism for removing FTOs who fail to perform adequately. We would be happy to provide the EPD with examples of FTO programs that other law enforcement agencies have implemented with success. IX. Records Management/Technology A. Accessibility EPD currently has no system that allows its officers to access critical records and information resources after regular business hours. Unless an officer in the field can contact someone inside the police station, that officer cannot review any case or suspect information stored in EPD’s computer network. This limits officers’ ability to develop and consult criminal intelligence files, among other resources. Moreover, officers must return to the station to complete reports or update their files. Mobile information technology is increasingly affordable, and we recommend that EPD install mobile computer terminals which are tied into a central resource in all of its patrol cars to allow officers to communicate with one another and access data from police records. In the alternative, EPD dispatchers should be able to provide internal EPD information to officers in the field. Equally important, officers should be able to record information on field contacts, i.e., information provided by citizens or suspects encountered on patrol. Finally, officers should record the race and gender of all traffic contacts. Such information provides commanders with an important tool to prevent racial profiling and to ensure traffic stops are consistent with EPD policy and constitutional requirements. - 19 B. Data Management EPD lacks policies governing data collection and records management and retention. Detectives store information in their own hard-copy files or word processing documents rather than a centralized, standardized system. Several officers reported that important evidence had been lost because a former officer kept files strewn all over his office. We recommend that EPD adopt policies specifying the designated system for storing its electronic and paper files. We also recommend the adoption of policies establishing a minimum length of time for the retention of these files/information. We also understand that patrol officers use a system to log incidents and store information, such as the name of the suspect, the time, and a description of the incident. The use of Metroalert provides some degree of uniformity and automated searching capabilities. However, the Metroalert system is antiquated. EPD is not utilizing all the data fields in Metroalert, and some needed data fields, e.g., officer deployment, simply do not exist in Metroalert. Given its current personnel shortage, this data could be particularly useful to EPD commanders. EPD’s data management software should allow command staff to compare, for example, when and where the greatest number of incidents occur with the time and place of officer deployment. That information, in turn, would allow commanders to deploy officers where they are most needed. X. Personnel A. Promotions, Testing and Assignments As noted above, officers at all levels share a concern that promotions and assignments were arbitrary and often appeared to be based on personal favoritism. Our police practices consultants (both former chiefs) were surprised at the frequency at which officers were promoted, demoted, and reassigned in the EPD – creating instability in the command structure. Within the last two years, two line officers with no supervisory experience were made captains, a former captain was demoted to sergeant, and a former chief was demoted to the rank of patrolman and then reappointed as chief. Similarly, the lieutenant in charge of detectives was demoted and reassigned as a line officer in the patrol division, while officers with little or no specialized experience or supervisory experience were promoted and placed in charge of specialized units. - 20 Other than the sergeant’s position, EPD does not require testing or minimal rank for promotion, or for assignment to a specialized unit, e.g., the detective division. Likewise, when EPD job postings are advertised they fail to specify minimal job requirements. Historically, officers without any supervisory experience as a sergeant or lieutenant have been promoted from patrol officer to captain. One officer reported asking a supervisor about applying for an open position, and that officer reportedly was told that there was no application process. Without any testing, standards of selection, or objective criteria, however, it is very difficult to determine who is the most or least qualified. Accordingly, we strongly recommend EPD to adopt a standardized objective process for all promotion decisions and appointment to specialized assignments in EPD. We further recommend that promotions to higher supervisory ranks, i.e., captain and lieutenant, be limited to officers who have previously served, at least some period of time in a lower-ranking supervisory position. Finally, many officers indicated that colleagues who either lost or were otherwise negligent with their weapon, or who had been charged or convicted of a crime, were promoted to supervisory positions or allowed to continue serving in supervisory positions. EPD needs clear standards of conduct, including ranges of discipline/corrective action available for different types of violations of law or policy. This should include, in particular, guidelines regarding the types of violations that can lead to demotion. B. Evaluations An objective system, such as written performance evaluations, for monitoring and evaluating an officers’ performance is another important tool for ensuring accountability. EPD currently does not conduct routine, standardized performance evaluations. EPD should conduct evaluations at least once per year. Evaluations should be uniform for each rank and division, and should cover such basic issues as officer productivity, compliance with department policy, training, and community relations. Evaluations should be maintained in the officer’s personnel file (for supervisory review) for the duration of his or her career (or as long as allowable under applicable State law). - 21 C. Job Descriptions Closely related to evaluations, job descriptions give officers reasonable notice of their duties and of a department’s expectations. Moreover, the process of writing job descriptions forces commanders to evaluate the priorities of officers, units, and the department itself. Each position within EPD should have a job description, whether the position is patrolman, detective, captain of field services, or chief. D. Recruiting We recently learned of EPD’s efforts to attract female and minority applicants through television advertisements, and we believe this is a very positive step. City personnel acknowledged during interviews that the Department has far fewer minority and female officers (only one African American and one woman at the time of our visit) than one would expect in a diverse community like Easton. However, the City has not kept track of the race and gender of EPD applicants. This information should be recorded and tracked to determine whether there is a shortage of applicants or, if there is no shortage, where applicants are lost in the hiring process. We recommend that the Department review all its selection processes, including hiring and promotion. The City also should designate and train an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) officer to ensure compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and to assist the Department in developing a more diverse personnel roster. The police department in Montgomery, Alabama, for example, was ordered to appoint an EEO officer to remedy longstanding discrimination against minority and female officers. See generally, Jordan v. Wilson, 667 F. Supp. 772 (M.D. Ala. 1987). XI. Conclusion We strongly urge EPD to closely review and consider these technical assistance recommendations as it revises its policies and procedures. We hope this letter will assist in our mutual goal of ensuring that EPD provides the best possible police service to the people of Easton. We look forward to continued cooperation toward this goal. Where possible, we would be happy to provide examples of policies and procedures used by other - 22 police departments that might address some of the issues we have raised in this letter. Sincerely, /s/ Shanetta Y. Cutlar Shanetta Y. Cutlar Chief Special Litigation Section Enclosures cc: William K. Murphy, City Solicitor David J. MacMain, Esq. Montgomery, McCracken, Walker, & Rhoads, LLP Chief Larry Palmer, Easton Police Department

domain: law


The device works as expected, although at night the picture is too dark, and the license plates are hardly seen. the absence of the normal clip - only a screw type holder. I don't keep the device in the car, so I need to unscrew it every time. The clip option would be a better one; it was not shown on ... Read more
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Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has called on smartphone manufacturers to develop a "kill switch" for stolen smart phones.
Madigan announced she was joining other attorneys general, city police chiefs, and advocates in the quest at a summit with Apple, Google/Motorola, Microsoft, and Samsung on Thursday.
The goal is to develop a system where the smart phone's user could make the phone inoperable after a theft, thereby making the phone worthless.
Theft of smartphones has increased over the last few years, with some being violent.
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VISO X STUDIO GIANCARLO VALLE 2.0
Playful yet refined our second collaboration with award-winning New York-based designer Giancarlo Valle is here. The capsule showcases our high volume hand woven mohair blankets in two unexpected multi stripe combinations finished in a thick fringe and a custom hand embossed leather label. The forest green and rust tones in juxtaposition with the soft cream colors create a balanced versatile series to accent your room of choice.
Taking inspiration by textures and motifs of the deco era, our latest capsule “Tuercas” symbolizes mechanical parts that together become functional. These versatile series features three different stackable cups and a dual vase/jug all handcrafted in the most luxurious extra fine glazed porcelain.
We have found a new “canvas” for our bold designs – 100% Italian-woven silk bandana scarves. The versatile square shape of our silk scarves allows for your creativity to shine, style around your neck, wrap it around your head, wear it on your wrist, attach it to your tote, or show off the print in the form of a face mask. The options are endless for this timeless accessory.
THE ART ØF QUILTING
We collaborated with the award-wining Thompson Street Studio to create an exclusive limited edition collection of hand-stitched quilts. Thompson Street Studio X Visø presents a modern take on an ancient craft of patchwork quilting. Each quilt is made out of pieced organic 100% linen and cotton remnant fabric.
THE ZØDIAC CAPSULE
Discover our new Zødiac capsule conceived in collaboration with iconic Spanish porcelain maker Sargadelos. Decorative or functional, this horoscope theme capsule of 12 porcelain plates and key trays with all unique artworks, gives you the option of gifting a singular personalized item or going the extra mile throwing a zodiac dinner party. Be the first to have it. Order now.
ONE ØF A KIND
Carefully crafted by the hands of master ceramic makers in Spain with the most meticulous attention to detail, each of the pieces from our one of a kind series are unique in texture and finishing. Prioritising sustainability, our pieces are made in very limited production creating singular and distinctive ceramics that create a focal point on your interiors.
Merging functionality and fine art, our series of pillows are hand-finished by meticulous craftsman who observe the heritage of weaving, either in pure cotton or fine wool eclectic patterns and color combinations makes each of them a dynamic addition to your sofa or armchair.
The møst exquisite fine wool is handled by master carders, shearers, dyers and weavers to create a blanket unlike any other. Light and soft, our Viso blankets make the perfect home accent piece or travel companion. Created in an artisanal weaving process keeping with a tradition that dates back to the 15th century. Ideal for draping over bedding or couch for texture, warmth and contrast.
OUR TAPESTRY CAPSULE
Wøven into German jacquard looms in one hundred percent cotton with our exclusive patterns, each of our tapestries are finished by hand in the United States. The technique used to create our throws is part of a family heritage of devoted artists, carried through generations keeping the European wall tapestry style in place coupled with true American craftsmanship. The outcome of this collaboration is an exceptional textile with high definition artwork that has history woven into every inch.
Our porcelain series place the emphasis on expert craftsmanship and high quality. Eclectic and distinct artifacts crafted by artisans in Europe in the most fine porcelain. Bold hues adorn the pieces, which are consciously produced in limited units, for the ultimate in exclusive luxury. Juxtaposition of textures or patterns create bold statement pieces, making it the perfect accent for home, office or an ideal gift.

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Back Injury Prevention: Safe Patient Handling
Back injuries are part of a larger category of work-related injuries known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs are defined by the U.S. Department of Labor as injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and/or spinal discs. (MSDs do not include disorders caused by slips, trips, falls, motor vehicle accidents, or similar accidents.)
In healthcare, most MSD’s are the result of overexertion related to repeated manual patient handling activities, often associated with transferring, and repositioning patients. According to CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), nurses and related patient care occupations, have high rates of back, shoulder and other MSD injuries.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 130,000 lost-time cases of work-related back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, sprains, strains and tears associated with the Healthcare and Social Assistance sector (HCSA). More than 50 percent of the MSDs reported for nurses, aides and assistants were back injuries.
Organizations are taking steps to improve safe patient handling and movement, reduce workers’ musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as back injuries, and create an improved safety culture in healthcare workplaces.

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