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News top stories daily news hot topics Hershey beer, sassafras sickness, demolition mystery: News from around our 50 states

News top stories daily news hot topics

News top stories daily news hot topics Alabama

Birmingham: A girl previously charged with voter fraud has been appointed to a county elections board by Gov. Kay Ivey. Files outlets say Ivey appointed 79-twelve months-outdated Rosie Lyles to the Hale County Board of Registrars on Friday. Lyles was charged with four counts of voter fraud in 2007 and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of possession of a cast instrument. Ivey press secretary Gina Maiola says the governor didn’t know relating to the conviction and hadn’t performed a background check earlier than the appointment. She says background assessments aren’t traditional for such appointments. Secretary of Convey John Merrill, the drawl’s top election legit, says his put of enterprise is investigating the appointment. He says it seems Lyles can aid as registrar, nonetheless, as her conviction wasn’t a prison.

News top stories daily news hot topics Alaska

Fairbanks: The drawl Division of Education has launched an on-line instrument aimed at providing families the ability to evaluate recordsdata from public colleges. The Fairbanks Day-to-day Files-Miner reports the instrument is is called The Compass: A Book to Alaska’s Public Colleges. Education Commissioner Michael Johnson says its reason is to show conceal recordsdata to families in an participating and precious way. The on-line portal lets users take a college and peek recordsdata substances about it. Johnson says the position offers folks a probability to review colleges across the drawl. “Here is suitable the start up. We want to proceed working on the on-line position,” Johnson says. The division will replace recordsdata as it receives original recordsdata and could presumably per chance well review suggestions to be taught the way in which the portal will be formed.

News top stories daily news hot topics Arizona

Phoenix: A child javelina is making improvements to after a jaunt on a small-access toll road. The Arizona Division of Public Safety says the younger javelina was indubitably one of two that brought web page traffic on Convey Route 51 to a standstill Monday afternoon. DPS officers inform a total lot of troopers tried to spherical up the animals, that had been on the northbound lanes. Trooper Martin Sotelo managed to wrangle one javelina. The diversified ran off and eluded snatch. The rescued javelina was transported to Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale for clinical treatment. Javelina, which judge like wild boar, are native to barren space environments.

News top stories daily news hot topics Arkansas

Tiny Rock: United States Metal Corp. is shopping a minority stake in an Arkansas-based metallic firm for $700 million. Huge River Metal launched Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement with the Pittsburgh-based company. Below the agreement, U.S. Metal will preserve a 49.9% ownership passion in Huge River Metal and could presumably per chance well preserve an technique to originate the final 50.1% interior the next four years. Huge River Metal began operations at its $1.3 billion mill in Osceola in 2017 and final twelve months launched a selection of the ability that will add 500 original jobs. The plant was Arkansas’ first “superproject” beneath a 2004 constitutional modification that allowed the drawl to borrow money to reduction lure foremost employers.

News top stories daily news hot topics California

San Francisco: The mayor has suggested division heads they'll no longer investigate the doable ties of city contractors to the Nationwide Rifle Association, prompting the gun-rights crew to account for victory in its ongoing fight with the liberal city. Mayor London Breed issued the advisory Sept. 23, about a weeks after the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution labeling the NRA a “home terrorist group” and calling on town to make a decision steps to evaluate doable ties between its contractors and the group. In a memo cowritten by town attorney, Breed wrote that the board can most effective enact original contracting requirements by ordinance. Resolutions have not any appropriate weight. William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA, acknowledged Tuesday that the memo is a “determined concession” to a lawsuit filed in federal court docket against town according to the resolution.

News top stories daily news hot topics Colorado

Denver: A native man has agreed to make a decision with federal officers after convincing investors to give him tens of thousands and thousands of bucks in a cattle and marijuana Ponzi scheme. The Denver Submit reports that Imprint Ray agreed to make a decision with the U.S. Securities and Replace Commission to total the agency’s fraud investigation. Authorities inform Ray channeled better than $140 million to repay prior investors and his personal clinical bills, personal flights and herd of show conceal cattle from 2014 to March. Federal authorities inform Ray consented to having his sources frozen, but he didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing within the settlement. Authorities inform the industry Universal Herbs was in deep debt, and detailed descriptions of the cattle and feedlots were mostly lies.

News top stories daily news hot topics Connecticut

Windsor Locks: A World Battle II-abilities airplane with 13 folks aboard crashed and burned at the Hartford airport after encountering mechanical concern on takeoff Wednesday, killing seven. The four-engine, propeller-driven B-17 bomber struggled to construct up into the air and slammed into a repairs constructing at Bradley Global Airport because the pilots circled aid for a touchdown, officers and witnesses acknowledged. Some of the essential survivors of the shatter were severely injured, authorities acknowledged. One particular person on the floor was moreover injury, and a firefighter eager on the response suffered a minor injury. The classic bomber – moreover is called a Flying Fortress, indubitably one of the crucial crucial renowned Allied planes of World Battle II – was used to make a decision historical previous buffs and airplane enthusiasts on immediate flights, all the way in which thru which they could presumably per chance well accumulate up and stroll across the loud and windy interior.

News top stories daily news hot topics Delaware

Dover: Highmark Blue Substandard Blue Protect of Delaware says it’ll lower its charges on the Cheap Care Act marketplace by almost 20%, marking the foremost time charges beget dropped after years of regular will increase. Decreased premiums will be funded by thousands and thousands of drawl and federal bucks, alongside with a tiny fee taken from all industrial insurers. The fee reduction comes as a drawl say showed the cost of month-to-month marketplace premiums doubled from 2014 to 2018, causing thousands of residents to descend coverage and insurers to descend out. Highmark is the superb insurer left. Insurance coverage Commissioner Trinidad Navarro moreover credits Delaware’s newly authorized reinsurance program with serving to lower charges. This arrangement will duvet some costly ACA enrollees’ clinical claims.

News top stories daily news hot topics District of Columbia

Washington: Court records inform Total Foods customers helped detain a man accused of filming beneath the skirt of a 13-twelve months-outdated lady standing in a retailer checkout line. Citing D.C. Superior Court records, news outlets say Daniel Izquierdo, 25, was spotted standing “on the total close” to the girl in March. Files inform a conception seen Izquierdo perceived to be filming beneath the girl’s costume and commenced yelling, main customers to detain him until police arrived. Files inform he refused to let police peek any video on his cell phone. Police Chief Peter Newsham acknowledged at a news convention Tuesday that officers acquired search warrants and, with the FBI’s help, learned the upskirting video, alongside side movies of 34 diversified girls folk. Izquierdo was arrested Monday on voyeurism bills.

News top stories daily news hot topics Florida

Miami: A South Florida eco-gallop park is internet hosting a Chinese lantern competition for the comfort of the twelve months. A Jungle Island news originate says it’s opening Luminosa to the public this Saturday. The 18-acre park, positioned on an island between downtown Miami and Miami Seaside, has partnered with Zigong Lantern Group and China Lantern Global to style a nighttime jungle stuffed with big illuminated lanterns made of vivid silk by Chinese artisans. Luminosa capabilities lanterns formed into animals, vegetation and iconic Miami destinations. Larger than 1 million LED lights are used within the appeal. Luminosa will bolt from 5 to 10 p.m. each day until Jan. 8. Fashioned grownup admission is $35.

News top stories daily news hot topics Georgia

Atlanta: A federal address on Tuesday hasty blocked Georgia’s restrictive original abortion law from taking make, following the lead of diversified judges who beget blocked the same measures in diversified states. The law signed in Can also by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp bans abortions once a “detectable human heartbeat” is show conceal, with some restricted exceptions. Cardiac exercise also will likely be detected by ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, earlier than many girls folk designate they’re ready for, according to a appropriate field. The law had been scheduled to develop to be enforceable Jan. 1. Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights in June filed a constitutional field to the law on behalf of Georgia abortion suppliers and an advocacy crew.

News top stories daily news hot topics Hawaii

Honolulu: A park pattern mission has been delayed following the discovery of a doable artifact on the grounds. Mayor Kirk Caldwell halted the mission at Waimanalo Bay Seaside Park on Tuesday while officers stay up for added recordsdata from the Convey Historic Preservation Division and the Oahu Island Burial Council. The discovery of an artifact of historical cost could presumably per chance well extend a $1.43 million pattern at the Oahu park, commonly is called Sherwood Woodland. The deliberate development of a multipurpose self-discipline, 11-stall parking zone and playground has sparked demonstrations and a lawsuit to block the enchancment. Experts determined the article is “basalt of a lava dike.” The burial council is scheduled to discuss the article at its Oct. 9 meeting.

News top stories daily news hot topics Idaho

Boise: Federal officers notion to spherical up almost the total wild horses in a south-central Idaho wild horse space so the inhabitants also will likely be brought down and maintained at about 50 horses. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management acknowledged Tuesday that it has authorized an environmental evaluation that capabilities the exercise of fertility administration on 25 female horses that can presumably per chance well also be launched aid into the wild. The agency estimates the inhabitants at the Saylor Creek Herd Management Space, about 15 miles south of Glenns Ferry, will be about 170 horses by summer season 2020. The agency says if the roundup occurs then, it expects to grab about 150 horses the exercise of a bait and water lure. Horses no longer returned to the wild would be ready for the agency’s adoption program. It’s no longer determined when the roundup could presumably per chance well happen.

News top stories daily news hot topics Illinois

Chicago: Town will utilize $2.7 million to assign certain that extra residents are incorporated within the 2020 census. It’s an effort Mayor Lori Lightfoot says is driven in natty section by an effort to fight fright created by the Trump administration’s immigration raids. At a news convention Tuesday, Lightfoot launched what she says is the superb quantity of funding Chicago has ever dedicated to the census. She says despite a U.S. Supreme Court resolution to block the Trump administration’s push as a way to add a citizenship question to the census originate, instruct linger amongst immigrants and refugees that it is no longer stable to come aid ahead to be counted. Lightfoot moreover says a suitable census is obligatory because for every particular person no longer counted, town stands to lose $1,400 per particular person per twelve months.

News top stories daily news hot topics Indiana

Indianapolis: The Indianapolis Zoo reached a deal final month with the proprietor of the weak GM stamping plant position to originate dozens of acres that will enable the zoo to assign better within the upcoming years. Ambrose Property Group donated 10 acres of land, and the Indianapolis Zoo sold one more 161/2 acres of situation from the weak GM plant position, according to a Wednesday news originate from the zoo. Later Wednesday, town despatched a letter to Ambrose threatening to exercise well-liked domain to make a decision ownership of the comfort of the enchancment position except Ambrose reaches a deal to promote to town. In a switch that insecure officers, Ambrose launched Friday that it plans to promote the position after better than a twelve months of preparations and an total bunch of thousands of bucks of infrastructure improvements made by town.

News top stories daily news hot topics Iowa

Des Moines: The drawl will terminate its 2019 fiscal twelve months with a surplus of better than $289 million in its identical outdated fund, but Republican political leaders had been cautious about discussing the put the money could presumably per chance moreover very effectively be spent. Gov. Kim Reynolds says it’s a reflection of a shiny economy, alongside with in a assertion Monday that the drawl ought to be “mindful of the industrial headwinds in our agricultural economy and be ready for no subject the future could presumably per chance well preserve.” Farmers are facing a advanced twelve months with alternate disruptions consequently of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and insurance policies that beget injury corn and soybean markets, presumably chopping into drawl earnings tax income. The fiscal twelve months resulted in June, however the drawl posted its final budget figures at the terminate of September.

News top stories daily news hot topics Kansas

Topeka: Gov. Laura Kelly is discounting Republican calls to rescind a policy requiring out-of-drawl on-line businesses to amass sales taxes on transactions in Kansas and remit the tax to the drawl. On Monday, Attorney Frequent Derek Schmidt issued a nonbinding notion that Kelly’s administration did no longer beget the suitable authority to impose the policy, which some consultants acknowledged is the nation’s most aggressive policy for accumulating drawl and native taxes on on-line sales. House and Senate GOP leaders then demanded Kelly descend the policy, which the Kansas Division of Earnings issued in August. The tax collections were scheduled to make a decision make Tuesday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Kelly says the policy reflects existing drawl law and would promote tax fairness.

News top stories daily news hot topics Kentucky

Frankfort: Gov. Matt Bevin wants college students to celebrate a holiday Oct. 3 – and he isn’t talking about Imply Girls Day. This Thursday, Bevin wants kids to lift the Holy Scripture to class and decide section in “Bring Your Bible to College Day,” an annual match that encourages college students of all ages to make a decision the non secular text into the school room. “I'd aid you, please, don’t appropriate lift your Bible to college, but be taught your Bible. Bring it, allotment it with others. Whenever you beget an additional Bible, lift it and allotment it with any individual who doesn’t beget one, who presumably has by no manner be taught this e book,” Bevin acknowledged Tuesday in a video posted on social media. “Bring Your Bible to College Day” is backed by Variety out the Family, a nationwide Christian group that has many times come beneath fireplace.

News top stories daily news hot topics Louisiana

Shreveport: A planning committee in Caddo Parish has suggested atmosphere aside up to $500,000 to switch a Confederate monument. Files outlets say the Prolonged Vary Planning/Special Projects Committee of the Caddo Parish Commission made the resolution at a gathering Monday. The corpulent commission is expected to vote on the proposal in early December. The monument stands out of doorways the Caddo Parish Courthouse in Shreveport. Parish attorney Donna Frazier wrote to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in unhurried August asserting the crew had 90 days to make a decision the monument. In a assertion and letter launched Monday, the UDC acknowledged Frazier hadn’t replied to a Sept. 5 letter from attorney Arthur Carmondy asserting the 90-day observe is invalid. Frazier suggested the Shreveport Times she replied to the letter Monday.

News top stories daily news hot topics Maine

Portland: The University of Maine Machine says it’s going to duvet the corpulent designate of tuition and charges for better than 1,200 people of the drawl’s graduating excessive college classes next twelve months. The device made the announcement Wednesday as section of its “Maine Values You” outreach program. Machine Chancellor Dannel Malloy says the provide is proof the drawl’s public universities “can proudly provide Maine college students unmatched affordability” and access to elevated education. Machine spokesman Daniel Demeritt says college students will be chosen according to better than one metric and could presumably per chance well first must conform to for financial aid. The drawl coated 1,142 college students this twelve months. Demeritt says the coverage of tuition will be on hand at UMaine campuses across the drawl.

News top stories daily news hot topics Maryland

Baltimore: Property records show conceal weak Mayor Catherine Pugh, who resigned in Can also, has sold her house for only half its assessed cost. The Baltimore Solar reports records show conceal she sold indubitably one of her two Ashburton homes for $75,000 to Boaz Replacement Strength and Technologies LLC in July. Property records listing the house’s assessed cost as $187,700. Pugh resigned in Can also beneath tension amid a flurry of investigations into whether she organized bulk sales of her self-published kids’s books to hide an total bunch of thousands of bucks in kickbacks. She’s quiet being investigated at the drawl and federal level. Pugh listed the house as her main address but lived at a diversified Ashburton house.

News top stories daily news hot topics Massachusetts

Boston: A federal address has cleared Harvard University of discriminating against Asian American applicants in a ruling that was seen as a essential victory for supporters of affirmative action. In a closely watched lawsuit, a crew known as Students for Gorgeous Admissions accused the Ivy League college of deliberately – and illegally – maintaining down the need of Asian Individuals authorized in account for to eradicate a certain racial steadiness on campus. U.S. District Reflect Allison D. Burroughs, nonetheless, dominated that Harvard’s admissions route of is “no longer best possible” but passes constitutional muster. She acknowledged there could be “no proof of any racial animus in anyway” and no proof that any admission resolution was “negatively stricken by Asian American identity.”

News top stories daily news hot topics Michigan

Detroit: Police are taking a judge into who demolished a house that a drawl lawmaker and her nonprofit crew were planning to rehab for a needy family. Detroit police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood acknowledged Tuesday that the case is being investigated as malicious destruction of property. Mayor Mike Duggan’s put of enterprise acknowledged recordsdata shows the house on Minock in northwest Detroit was torn down on or around Sept. 20 but was no longer on a listing of properties slated for demolition and was no longer within the pipeline in preparation to be razed. Democratic Procure. Sherry Homosexual-Dagnogo has acknowledged the house was torn down without observe to her or her nonprofit crew, Coalition to Integrate Technology and Education. The property was purchased final twelve months for $1,000 from the Detroit Land Monetary institution Authority.

News top stories daily news hot topics Minnesota

Duluth: Some midwives are warning that the drawl’s unregulated midwifery practices pose a hazard to moms and babies as house births upward push. Minnesota Public Radio Files reports that the drawl in 2000 recorded two deliberate house births. In 2018, that number jumped to 721. Minnesota and Utah are the sole states that don’t require midwives to assign a license to lift babies. Licensed house birth midwives must assign their Certified Real Midwife credential from the drawl Board of Clinical Prepare. Tavniah Betts, an authorized midwife, says being licensed advantages families and midwives by providing access to submitting complaints. Tracey Lapointe, an unlicensed midwife and the president of the Minnesota Midwifery Guild, says requiring licensing would diminish the availability of midwives while question is rising.

News top stories daily news hot topics Mississippi

Jackson: The U.S. Justice Division says a sheriff fired an employee because he needed to be gone on protection force duty for prolonged classes. Coahoma County Sheriff Charles Jones says the employee was fired for “insubordination,” no longer for taking protection force plod away. The division filed a civil lawsuit Monday against Coahoma County. It says Jason M. Sims Jr. of Batesville is within the Navy Reserve and teaches management classes at Citadel Knox, Kentucky. The suit says Sims began working for the sheriff’s division in 2014 and suggested his bosses he would decide to make a decision protection force plod away. It says the sheriff’s put of enterprise “demonstrated hostility” to that in 2016, then fired him in 2018. Jones says he’s “100% confident” the firing was unrelated to Sims’ protection force provider.

News top stories daily news hot topics Missouri

St. Louis: An inmate was finished Tuesday for killing a man in 1996 in a string of violence that incorporated a total lot of diversified crimes, despite issues that the prisoner’s rare clinical situation would place off a unpleasant deadly injection. Russell Bucklew was put to death at the drawl detention center in Bonne Terre. It was Missouri’s first execution since January 2017. Bucklew had twice previously been interior hours of execution, most effective to beget the U.S. Supreme Court grant final-minute reprieves over issues that he could presumably per chance well undergo all the way in which thru the execution route of. He had a situation known as cavernous hemangioma and had blood-stuffed tumors in his head, neck and throat. He breathed with reduction from a tracheostomy tube. His attorneys acknowledged a throat tumor could presumably per chance well burst, causing him to choke and die painfully and in violation of the constitutional guarantee against cruel and irregular punishment.

News top stories daily news hot topics Montana

Helena: A address is desirous relating to the U.S. government’s question to throw out a lawsuit by two girls folk who inform they were illegally questioned by border agents for 40 minutes for talking Spanish in a comfort retailer. U.S. District Reflect Brian Morris was scheduled to hear motions to push aside the lawsuit filed by Ana Suda and Martha “Mimi” Hernandez on Wednesday. They are saying U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Paul O’Neill detained them in a parking zone in Havre final twelve months in violation of constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizures. They are asking Morris to block the agency from detaining anybody according to flee, accent or language alone and to award them an unspecified quantity for damages. Attorneys for the agency inform that it has sovereign immunity against injury claims and that the girls folk are unlikely to be stopped all another time.

News top stories daily news hot topics Nebraska

Bellevue: An Air Power colonel says he and diversified officers are paying close attention to resident complaints about residing conditions and repairs at off-atrocious, privatized housing for personnel at Offutt Air Power Grisly appropriate south of Omaha. Col. Gavin Marks, commander of the 55th Hover at Offutt, suggested residents Tuesday at a city hall meeting at a Bellevue college that he’s organize a original hotline to address complaints. The Omaha World-Herald reports native complaints about mold, shoddy development, boring repairs and avenue problems at the Rising Search neighborhood west of the atrocious echo these from diversified bases. At Offutt, inspectors learned 96 homes with what inspectors described as “effectively being and safety” violations, comparable to mold or lead paint. The leasing manager says the total violations had been rectified.

News top stories daily news hot topics Nevada

Carson Metropolis: Convey policymakers beget launched plans to procure possible legislation that can presumably per chance conform to California in allowing drawl college athletes to assign money from endorsement offers. The Las Vegas Overview-Journal reports the Legislature does no longer meet all another time until February 2021, and Democratic drawl Sen. Yvanna Cancela says a formal proposal has no longer yet been created and is quiet within the analysis route of as she seems for “a proposal that fits Nevada.” Cancela says the California invoice is forcing diversified states to resolve out guidelines on how to compete with its recruitment practices. The Mountain West Conference didn’t reply to requests for commentary. A NCAA assertion says authorized guidelines from diversified states would no longer level the playing self-discipline.

News top stories daily news hot topics Current Hampshire

Harmony: Gov. Chris Sununu has made one more take for the drawl’s poet laureate, about a months after he deserted his final desire following rising criticism of the man’s work and the way in which he was chosen. Sununu deliberate to nominate Alexandria Peary, of Londonderry, to be the next poet laureate, at Wednesday’s Govt Council meeting. She’s written six books, alongside with “Adjust Bird Alt Delete.” Her most standard e book, “The Water Draft,” is to be published this month. Even though he by no manner formally nominated him, Sununu firstly chose Daniel Thomas Moran, a retired dentist and weak poet laureate of Suffolk County, Current York, whom some acknowledged wasn’t qualified. The surfacing of a sexually suggestive poem Moran wrote about weak Secretary of Convey Condoleezza Rice most effective intensified the criticism.

News top stories daily news hot topics Current Jersey

Trenton: A federal address has agreed to block the drawl’s most standard political donor disclosure law according to a lawsuit brought by a judge tank founded by the Koch brothers. U.S. District Reflect Brian Martinotti granted the injunction Wednesday. Individuals for Prosperity challenged the original law, which required political organizations and some nonprofits to advise all spending over $3,000, up from $1,600. The law moreover mandated that contributors giving better than $10,000 would be disclosed. The crew acknowledged the law was unconstitutional on its face and could presumably per chance well extinguish organizations. The drawl argued the invoice was aimed at showing who was “pulling the strings” in politics. A spokesman for Attorney Frequent Gurbir Grewal acknowledged the drawl is reviewing the resolution.

News top stories daily news hot topics Current Mexico

Albuquerque: A tiny lizard learned amongst the dunes straddling Current Mexico and West Texas in indubitably one of the crucial nation’s richest oil basins is at the heart of a appropriate complaint filed Tuesday. Environmentalists want the U.S. government as a way to add the dunes sagebrush lizard to the endangered species listing as section of a fight that stretches aid to the Bush and Obama administrations and could presumably per chance well have an effect on section of the multibillion-buck energy alternate within the Permian Basin. The Center for Natural Variety and Defenders of Wildlife filed the complaint in federal court docket in Washington. It follows a itemizing petition that the groups submitted in Can also 2018. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Carrier had 90 days to judge the petition and provoke a review of the species if vital, however the groups inform the agency failed to make a decision action.

News top stories daily news hot topics Current York

Woodstock: The Woodstock Film Competition this twelve months will feature an look by actor Matt Dillon. The 20-twelve months-outdated annual competition runs Wednesday thru Sunday within the Hudson Valley cities of Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Kingston, Saugerties and Rosendale. This twelve months the match will showcase better than 50 capabilities from across the realm, immediate motion photographs, panels and are residing performances. Films being proven this week encompass Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Memoir” and “Portrait of a Girl on Hearth,” which acquired superb screenplay at the Cannes Film Competition. Dillon is to make a decision section in a matter-and-resolution session Saturday.

News top stories daily news hot topics North Carolina

Mount Holly: A truck meeting firm has launched this can lay off 900 workers between two Freightliner vegetation within the drawl within the upcoming weeks. Daimler Trucks North America, the parent firm of Freightliner, confirmed Tuesday that about 450 workers would lose their jobs at the manufacturing plant in Mount Holly, and one more 450 would be laid off at Rowan County’s Cleveland plant by Oct. 14. Daimler acknowledged in a assertion the layoffs come because the truck market returns to identical outdated phases after a twelve months of legend sales. Mount Holly employee Robin Jenkins suggested the Gaston Gazette some workers are scared because they don’t judge they’ll be receiving severance, though diversified workers acknowledged they’re used to the “cyclical nature” of truck constructing.

News top stories daily news hot topics North Dakota

Bismarck: The proposed presidential library for Theodore Roosevelt in western North Dakota now has a CEO. The board of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum voted Tuesday to appoint Edward F. O’Keefe to manual the group. Gov. Doug Burgum calls O’Keefe “the acceptable particular person” to make a decision the proposed library “to the next level.” O’Keefe is a North Dakota native who's writing a e book on Roosevelt, who spent better than three years within the drawl within the 1880s. Burgum has made the library a top precedence of his administration. Convey legislators in April authorized $50 million to operate the library, but that ought to be matched by $100 million in personal money. O’Keefe will join Burgum and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt alongside side Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer on a tour of Medora on Thursday.

News top stories daily news hot topics Ohio

Nelsonville: The federal government says it acquired no bids all the way in which thru a aggressive rent sale for coal beneath about 430 acres of Wayne Nationwide Woodland. The Bureau of Land Management-Jap States launched the implications of ultimate week’s offering on Tuesday. Leases enthusiastic seven tracts in Perry and Morgan counties that have an estimated 1.4 million a kind of subsurface mineable federal coal. The sale came according to a rent application by CCU Coal and Construction, previously Westmoreland Coal Co., which already operates an adjoining privately owned underground coal mine. However the bureau acknowledged no one advise on the leases. Officials acknowledged the public will be notified if an additional question is ever made to give aggressive leases for the tracts.

News top stories daily news hot topics Oklahoma

Oklahoma Metropolis: A address made a $107 million miscalculation when he ordered user merchandise big Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to reduction perfect up the drawl’s opioid crisis, attorneys for the firm argue in a court docket submitting. The firm moreover is asking for a superb buy within the judgment according to pretrial settlements totaling $355 million that the drawl reached with Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma and Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The firm has separately appealed the court docket’s ruling to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, arguing that Cleveland County District Reflect Thad Balkman’s ruling was an unparalleled interpretation of the drawl’s public nuisance law. A spokesman for Attorney Frequent Mike Hunter declined to commentary on the submitting.

News top stories daily news hot topics Oregon

Salem: Authorities suspect the extraordinary deaths and mutilations of 5 bulls were precipitated by humans, but they have not any leads. The deaths of the bulls buy mutilations of livestock across the West and Midwest within the 1970s that struck fright in rural areas. A weak FBI agent who headed an investigation acknowledged there was no indication that one thing diversified than traditional animal predators were boring the mutilations. Within the weeks for the reason that needless bulls were learned over a total lot of days in July, the Harney County Sheriff’s Situation of enterprise has acquired calls and emails with hypothesis about what, or who, could presumably per chance moreover very effectively be responsible. Colby Marshall, vp of the ranch that owned the bulls, says he suspects a cult is boring the killings. Ranch fingers had been suggested to gallop in pairs and to switch armed.

News top stories daily news hot topics Pennsylvania

Pottsville: Quickly on tap: a original brew featuring Yuengling’s almost 200-twelve months-outdated porter recipe and Hershey’s chocolate. The two Pennsylvania companies are teaming up on a restricted-edition beer known as Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter. The chocolate-infused brew will be on hand on tap starting in mid-October at bars, restaurants and diversified venues in 13 states. It’s the foremost collaboration for Pottsville-based Yuengling, America’s oldest working brewery. The firm says the beer can beget “effectively off chocolate notes” and recommends pairing it with barbecued and smoked meats, cheeses and cakes. The brew was in pattern for nearly a twelve months. Yuengling expects it to final until February.

News top stories daily news hot topics Rhode Island

North Windfall: Town has constructed a public safety complex the exercise of its allotment from a settlement with Google. The Windfall Journal reports the $27 million, 58,000-sq.-foot constructing now houses the North Windfall police and fireplace departments. Rhode Island’s allotment of the 2012 settlement, about $230 million, is being dispensed to police departments, the attorney identical outdated’s put of enterprise and the Nationwide Guard. An investigation uncovered Google’s feature within the on-line sale of non-FDA-authorized prescription treatment. The complex recommendations a court docket, offices, dispatch center, training space, bunk rooms, crime laboratory, emergency operations center and cell block.

News top stories daily news hot topics South Carolina

Columbia: A weak member of the board that oversees drawl highways will utilize seven months in detention center for attempting to rent a prostitute appropriate hours after he acquired probation for admitting he tried to derail an FBI investigation by destroying proof. John Hardee, 72, was sentenced Wednesday after a psychiatrist hired by his attorney suggested a peaceful originate of dementia could presumably per chance well beget led him to text what became out to be an undercover deputy offering $40 for a intercourse act. Hardee moreover asked for mercy, asserting he has been with hideous criminals and heard sinful language used all the way in which thru his time in jail since his August arrest, according to media outlets. As he handed down the sentence, U.S. Reflect Terry Wooten suggested Hardee he hoped the weak legit learned his lesson this time and identified even with the dementia diagnosis, the psychiatrist quiet testified Hardee knew appropriate from injurious.

News top stories daily news hot topics South Dakota

Sioux Falls: A crew of truckers plans a “boring roll” express within the drawl Thursday. Organizer Jeremy Johnson says the demonstration of a line of semi-vans using at diminished plod will loop around Sioux Falls and proceed on to Pierre. He says the crew can beget a “boring roll” on Interstates 29, 229 and 90. The express is a native response to a trucker demonstration deliberate in Washington, D.C., to express federal legislation alongside with proposals to limit truck plod, assign better the minimal personal liability that truckers must lift, and mandate safety gear to preserve vehicles from sliding beneath vans. The line of vans will force about 50 mph interior Sioux Falls city limits and force about 60 mph out of doorways city limits.

News top stories daily news hot topics Tennessee

Nashville: The Tennessee Division of Agriculture says a disease that kills sassafras bushes has been detected in Dickson and Bernard Law 1st viscount montgomery of alamein counties. The division is advising residents to be searching for signs of laurel wilt disease. They encompass browning of leaves, leaf loss and staining within the internal bark. Folks who suspect their bushes could presumably per chance moreover very effectively be diseased must quiet contact the drawl Division of Forestry. Laurel wilt is a fungal disease transmitted by the wood-unimaginative redbay ambrosia beetle. It'll have an effect on a range of vegetation, alongside with sassafras and spicebush. Convey Forester David Arnold says in a news originate that sassafras and spicebush are crucial ecological species in Tennessee. He says the disease is “one more unpleasant example of an invasive pest impacting our forests.”

News top stories daily news hot topics Texas

Dallas: The U.S. government has awarded three contracts rate better than $812.6 million for development of about 65 miles of original border wall alongside the lower Rio Grande in South Texas. In a assertion issued Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Navy Corps of Engineers acknowledged the contracts were awarded Sunday to two contractors. The wall projects are to encompass metallic bollard partitions of 18 to 30 toes in peak, all-climate roads, lighting fixtures, safety cameras and diversified abilities in 19 separate segments in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties. The assertion acknowledged the partitions will plod up, starting early next twelve months, the put none now exist but no longer in areas prohibited beneath the CBP’s 2019 appropriation. The sphere is the CBP’s busiest, accounting for about 40% of its immigrant apprehensions.

News top stories daily news hot topics Utah

Provo: Gov. Gary Herbert has rescinded an emergency drought account for nearly a twelve months after it went into make. The Day-to-day Herald reports that chronic rain and snowstorm this twelve months beget gradually put an terminate to statewide severe drought conditions. Nearly 99% of Utah was experiencing no longer lower than moderate drought final twelve months when the governor declared a drawl of emergency in October 2018. Herbert acknowledged it was affecting agribusiness, livestock production and flowers and fauna habitats. However with a change within the climate this twelve months, no space of the drawl has severe drought conditions, and the U.S. Drought Video show shows parts facing moderate drought beget dropped to 15%. Grand of that space is within the southern section of the drawl, which has had a barely aloof monsoon season.

News top stories daily news hot topics Vermont

Barre: The drawl Company of Transportation has launched a original instrument that will reduction bus riders song the position of buses and their arrival times as effectively as search bus routes and prevents. The agency launched Tuesday that the Transit app, which is able to be downloaded to cellphones without cost, shows the actual-time bus region on any transit route working in Vermont. Barbara Donovan, the agency’s public transit program manager, says that “our riders deserve this predictability and exact-time recordsdata.” The agency says the app moreover has capabilities for commute planning, navigation, notifications for bus provider disruptions, and departure and extinguish reminders.

News top stories daily news hot topics Virginia

West Level: A excessive college trainer who was fired for refusing to exercise a transgender student’s original pronouns has filed a lawsuit. The Washington Submit reports Peter Vlaming is suing West Level Public Colleges, out of doorways Richmond. Vlaming says his rights to discuss freely and exercise his religion were violated. The suit states that Vlaming “sincerely believes that relating to a female as a male by the exercise of an objectively male pronoun is telling a lie.” The French trainer was fired in December . He had suggested superiors at West Level High College that his religion kept away from him from the exercise of male pronouns for a student who had suggested the faculty of his transition all the way in which thru the summer season.

News top stories daily news hot topics Washington

Mount Vernon: Convey land officers beget authorized a land switch to reduction conservation groups give protection to recreation areas on Blanchard Mountain. The Skagit-Valley Herald reports that the drawl Board of Natural Sources granted the approval Tuesday for the 2.5-sq.-mile space is called the Blanchard Core, which comprises in style trails, campgrounds and lakes. Land officers inform the switch would be paid for with $10 million allocated by the Legislature in 2018 to develop to be a drawl pure space. The switch would be completed by striking sections of the Blanchard Core into the Frequent College Trust program, then paying this technique the $9.2 million cost of timber on that land. Officials inform the $626,000 cost of the land would be used to eradicate original forest lands every other put within the drawl.

News top stories daily news hot topics West Virginia

Morgantown: The U.S. Division of Strength has awarded $5 million to the Water Analysis Institute at West Virginia University for its rare earth restoration mission. The mission comprises constructing a facility at a original acid mine drainage treatment plant reach Mount Storm. Uncommon earth parts come from acid mine drainage sludge and are used to energy things comparable to smartphones and the U.S. missile steerage device. The institute will partner with the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection’s Situation of enterprise of Special Reclamation, Rockwell Automation and TenCate Corp. within the mission. About 15,000 a kind of rare earth parts are used once a year within the U.S., which imports almost all of them. A bench scale pilot plant was opened in 2018 on WVU’s campus to examine the feasibility of extraction and refining abilities.

News top stories daily news hot topics Wisconsin

Madison: A particular person convicted of rape and homicide when he was a teen whose memoir was documented within the 2015 Netflix series “Making a Assassin” asked the governor for a pardon or commutation of his lifestyles detention center sentence Wednesday. The question from Brendan Dassey came as his advocates launched yet one more strive to free him, this time out of doorways the court docket device. His most standard charm was no longer conception about by the U.S. Supreme Court. Dassey’s potentialities of getting a pardon from Gov. Tony Evers seem far off. “I am writing to ask for a pardon because I am innocent and want to switch house,” Dassey acknowledged in a handwritten show conceal to Evers that accompanied his application. Dassey moreover listed things he enjoys, alongside with Pokemon and hamburgers, and drew a pair of hearts with the observe “hugs” in one and “treasure” within the diversified.

News top stories daily news hot topics Wyoming

Jackson: Convey flowers and fauna officers beget launched a detailed notion for review to scale aid elk and bison feeding days by 50%. Jackson Gap Files & Book reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Carrier officially launched the draft “step-down” notion Monday. Wildlife officers inform the notion was supposed to lower elk numbers and assign the animals extra reliant on native vegetation, alongside with recommendations to wean the animals off alfalfa. Officials inform the notion tiny print feeding the elk later and ending the alfalfa handouts earlier to plan fewer elk to feedgrounds on the Nationwide Elk Refuge north of Jackson. Officials inform the notion isn't any longer open to being altered thru the most standard public review route of, but an accompanying environmental review is. Decrease-off date for feedback are consequently of the refuge by Oct. 30.

From USA TODAY Community and wire reports

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toldnews-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/world/united-states-of-america/the-tax-break-was-260-million-benefit-to-the-state-was-tiny-155520/

The Tax Break Was $260 Million. Benefit to the State Was Tiny: $155,520.

It was called the Economic Opportunity Act, a measure intended to kick-start the sputtering post-recession economy in New Jersey, particularly in its struggling cities. The state would award lucrative tax breaks to businesses if they moved to New Jersey or remained in the state, creating and retaining jobs.

But before the bill was approved by the Legislature, a series of changes were made to its language in June 2013 that were intended to grant specific companies hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tax breaks, with no public disclosure, according to interviews and documents obtained by The New York Times.

Many of the last-minute changes to drafts of the bill were made by a real estate lawyer, Kevin D. Sheehan, whose influential law firm has close ties to Democratic politicians and legislative leaders in New Jersey.

Mr. Sheehan was allowed by lawmakers to edit drafts of the bill in ways that opened up sizable tax breaks to his firm’s clients, according to a marked up copy of the legislation obtained by The Times, which identifies Mr. Sheehan’s changes.

Nearly six years later, the fallout from the legislation has set off an uproar in the State Capitol over allegations that the state’s $11 billion in economic development programs have been poorly managed corporate giveaways that have brought few benefits to New Jersey.

One of the clauses added by Mr. Sheehan to the text of the bill helped a client, Holtec International, an energy technology company, to claim a tax credit of $260 million in 2014 to build a new headquarters at a port in Camden, N.J.

The state’s own analysis at the time indicated that for the $260 million tax credit to Holtec, the net benefit to taxpayers would be tiny: $155,520 in potential benefits for the state over 35 years, including new tax revenue, as well as the creation of 235 new jobs and the retention of 160 jobs.

That is about $650,000 in tax credits for each job.

Another clause that Mr. Sheehan inserted into the draft called for a tax credit for a “qualified business facility located in a priority area housing the United States headquarters and related facilities of an automobile manufacturer,” the draft of the legislation shows.

That language appeared intended to benefit just one company, Subaru of America, which ended up reaping a $118 million tax credit from the state, according to interviews and documents.

Mr. Sheehan, whose role in the drafting of the legislation has not been disclosed before, declined to be interviewed for this article.

His law firm, Parker McCay, said in a statement that it “was asked by policymakers, including those in the Legislature, to review this legislation and offer input and suggestions on ways it could be strengthened.”

Mr. Sheehan did not register to lobby on the 2013 Economic Opportunity Act, and the firm maintained that its work on the legislation did not amount to lobbying.

Parker McCay’s chief executive is Philip Norcross, whose brother is George Norcross, an insurance executive who is widely considered the most powerful Democratic political leader in southern New Jersey.

Another brother is Donald Norcross, a former Democratic state senator who represented Camden and who is now a United States representative.

As a result of the 2013 legislation, George Norcross’s insurance firm, Conner Strong & Buckelew, also benefited, receiving approval for an $86.2 million tax credit to relocate to an 18-story office tower in Camden.

In all, under the legislation, the state has granted at least $4.8 billion in tax credits extending well into the future, and it appears that the changes made by Mr. Sheehan helped to significantly increase the program’s cost.

The bill was approved overwhelmingly by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed by the governor at the time, Chris Christie, a Republican, who in recent weeks has contended that the state’s economic development programs have been a major success.

Mr. Christie and other supporters of the legislation said the programs were the only way to lure companies to economically depressed areas like Camden, a city of 75,000 on the Delaware River across from Philadelphia.

The Times’s findings about how the Economic Opportunity Act was approved were based on interviews with officials, lawmakers, lobbyists, corporate executives and others, as well as an extensive examination of government records.

A task force appointed by Gov. Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat elected in 2017, is examining whether the economic development programs, including those created under the Economic Opportunity Act, have delivered significant benefits or have been tilted toward helping politically connected firms and companies.

The task force last month referred evidence to federal prosecutors for possible criminal charges, though it was not immediately known whether the evidence might lead to charges against anyone.

In January, the state comptroller released a blistering audit that revealed “numerous significant deficiencies” in the state’s economic development programs.

The audit found that the tax credits from the 2013 act seemed to fall short of creating as many jobs as promised, and that the state badly managed the program.

The comptroller did not offer a complete analysis of the jobs created or retained by the legislation. But it did raise significant questions about the state’s longstanding policy of granting tax breaks.

It found that from 2005 and 2017, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the agency overseeing the tax credits, had approved 401 projects for tax breaks that were projected to create 50,633 new jobs and retain 33,727 jobs.

The comptroller scrutinized a sample of 48 projects during that time period, projected to create more than 8,700 jobs and retain 6,650 jobs. The audit found that it could not substantiate nearly 3,000 jobs the companies said they had created or retained.

“In the end, a lot of companies will make their decisions about where to go, and then kind of game the system to maximize how much in tax credits they can get,” said Jon Whiten, the deputy director of state communications at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning research organization in Washington.

“With all the changes that New Jersey made in 2013, the state just sort of surrendered more of the power in that equation to big businesses looking for bigger tax breaks,” he said.

Mr. Murphy has been an outspoken critic of the state’s economic development programs, saying that “a full accounting of how as much as $11 billion was squandered is now required.”

He recently demanded the resignation of five members of the Economic Development Authority. (So far, just one member, Larry Downes, the former board chair, has stepped down.)

Mr. Christie accused Mr. Murphy of “political assassination” over his criticism of the incentives.

“The program works,” Mr. Christie said at an event last month. “You can’t win the philosophical argument, so what you do is you vilify and lie about the program.”

Democrats in the Legislature who oversaw the passage of the bill, like Stephen M. Sweeney, the Senate president, have largely defended the program.

“We sought and welcomed the advice of a wide range of people who possess experience and expertise in the many aspects of economic development,” Mr. Sweeney said. “Their contributions made it a better bill.”

He said the legislation had helped to revitalize Camden and other cities. “These are investments that can produce real and lasting improvements,” he said.

It is not entirely clear who allowed Mr. Sheehan, the lawyer at Parker McCay, to edit the drafts of the legislation.

Parker McCay has worked for several clients that received large tax breaks, including Holtec and Subaru of America. The law firm did not dispute that Mr. Sheehan made changes to the draft legislation. But firm said the work was not lobbying.

The firm said in a statement, “It would be a reckless mischaracterization of Parker McCay’s activities to state that Parker McCay was engaged in unregistered lobbying in 2013.”

New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, which regulates lobbying, declined to comment on Parker McCay or Mr. Sheehan’s work on the legislation.

The commission said that, in general, “a lobbyist is defined as someone who is compensated to influence legislation, regulations or governmental processes by communicating with or providing a benefit to a high-level state official.”

Donald Norcross, who was a sponsor of the bill when he was in the State Senate, said he was not aware of changes made to the legislation.

In a statement, his office said: “Donald Norcross was a champion of the bill, as was every elected official from Camden and virtually every member of the state Legislature. He supported it because he knew it would be good for Camden and the facts are clear that it has been.”

Philip Norcross, the chief executive of Parker McCay, declined to comment.

George Norcross, the Democratic political leader, said in a statement that he “was a cheerleader and advocate for Camden for many years prior to the passage” of the 2013 legislation.

Companies relocating to Camden have been awarded $1.6 billion of the $4.9 billion handed out across the state under the 2013 legislation. The last-minute changes to the bill carved out special bonuses and lenient rules for companies moving there.

Holtec International, the energy technology company, is perhaps the biggest beneficiary in Camden. It began negotiating a move there in the weeks after the Economic Development Act was introduced in early 2013.

Over the following months, the Parker McCay law firm assisted Holtec in its relocation plans as the company sought to qualify for a large tax break when the bill became law, according to emails obtained by The Times.

By mid-June 2013, Holtec executives were told that the New Jersey Economic Development Authority had evaluated its potential application based on the latest version of the legislation and determined that it would qualify for a $121 million tax credit, emails show.

But after Mr. Sheehan and others made revisions to the bill, Holtec’s potential credit had jumped to $260 million because of new provisions that allowed companies to receive a tax credit equal to their total capital investment.

That provision pertained only to companies in Camden.

Joy Russell, a senior vice president at Holtec, said in a statement that Mr. Sheehan did not work as a lobbyist for the company, and the company had not asked him to make changes to the legislation.

Ms. Russell said, “Parker McCay was Holtec’s outside law firm for various matters.”

Despite Holtec’s monthslong pursuit of the Camden project, the company claimed in its application to also be seriously considering a move to Charleston, S.C.

New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority said Holtec had received a similar offer of tax credits from South Carolina.

But the mayor of Charleston at the time, Joseph P. Riley Jr., said in an interview that he had never heard of Holtec exploring a move there.

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance, which recruits companies to the region, said it was also unaware of the company weighing a move there.

Ms. Russell said in the statement that Holtec “seriously considered South Carolina to develop its technology campus (and other states).”

She did not provide documentation for Holtec’s offer of incentives from South Carolina.

Ms. Russell said the Camden project was “a true success story” and “the gold standard for the program.”

“The incentive programs of New Jersey were the reason Holtec International decided to make the largest private investment in the history of Camden,” she said.

Subaru had its North America headquarters in Cherry Hill, N.J., not far from Camden. But by 2013, the company began indicating that it might leave the state.

The Economic Development Authority awarded the company $118 million to relocate to Camden, saying the deal would result in a net benefit of $168 million in various forms of tax revenue and boosts to local businesses over 35 years. The company would also retain 500 jobs and create 100 more.

Dominick Infante, director of communications for Subaru of America, said in an email that Mr. Sheehan worked for a real estate developer, Brandywine, which worked on what would eventually become the headquarters of Subaru.

Mr. Sheehan was Brandywine’s lawyer on that project, according to public records.

Until this week, the Parker McCay website hailed its success in obtaining “hundreds of millions of dollars” in tax credits. It said one of its clients that earned tax credits in Camden was an “automobile manufacturer.”

But after Parker McCay was contacted by The Times about the 2013 legislation, that section of the law firm’s website disappeared.

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adelaidecity · 6 years ago

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SA Government 'capitulated' to upstream states on Murray-Darling Basin Plan, commission finds

Updated February 01, 2019 07:40:05 The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission has accused the SA Government of surrendering to the Federal Government and has suggested the state's Water Minister David Speirs breached ministerial code. Key points:A deal with upstream states was "totally antipathetic" to SA interestsThe commissioner said Mr Speirs "almost certainly" breached his code of conductMr Speirs said he was disappointed by that commentary Commissioner Bret Walker SC's scathing commentary related to a ministerial meeting in December, where South Australia joined with other states to agree to terms on how environmental water would be returned to rivers. The meeting agreed to return up to 450 gigalitres (GL) of water to the environment, provided it did not have a negative socio-economic impact on river communities, based on criteria agreed to by the states. In return, South Australia received $70 million of funding from the Federal Government to spend on rehabilitating the struggling Coorong wetlands. However, in his report Mr Walker found the decision to support the agreement was against the state's interests. "It is nothing short of a capitulation to the interests of the current Commonwealth Government, and those of Victoria and New South Wales," he said. "It is so contrary to the interests of South Australians that the decision by the Minister responsible is almost certainly a breach of at least [clause] 2.5 of the South Australian Ministerial Code of Conduct. "No minister acting reasonably could consider these changes to the criteria to be anything but totally antipathetic to the interests of South Australia, and the South Australian environment." That section of the code states that ministers should not make official decisions without considering the "impact the decision is likely to have" on the interests of the "citizens of South Australia". SA Premier Steven Marshall said he did "not accept" the royal commissioner's criticisms. "I think that the Minister has done an excellent job negotiating with the Commonwealth," he said. "We've been in Government for 10 months. We've been able to secure more money to [come] into South Australia to support the Coorong." Mr Speirs said he was disappointed with the commentary in the report. "It is an isolated comment that doesn't consider all the other things that occurred, that we did get New South Wales and Victoria to the table for the first time in history, that we did get 450 GL of water," he said. "We did get $70 million for the Coorong that concerns South Australians so much. "The ministerial council in December was incredibly successful for South Australia and it got that pathway forward." Desalination plant would have 'little impact'

Photo: The 746-page report of the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission. (ABC News) The royal commission report also questioned the State Government's decision to agree to investigate whether the Adelaide Desalination Plant could be used to offset water diversions elsewhere. "Why the South Australian Minister agreed to this proposal is not clear," Mr Walker said. "This is particularly concerning, given that the relevant South Australian department received a comprehensive, independent cost-benefit analysis in June 2016, that determined the desalination plant should only be used when temporary water market prices reach a critical pricepoint, namely above $510 per megalitre. "On that analysis, it should therefore not be used as a permanent 'support' to annual water recovery targets. "Either the Minister was unaware of this report, has determined it is deficient in some way or has simply chosen to ignore its existence. "All of these scenarios are concerning." Mr Walker said Adelaide's urban water usage represented about 1.25 per cent of basin-wide diversions. "Running a desalination plant for Adelaide's metropolitan water usage, therefore, could have little impact on upstream diversions." Report raises 'extraordinary questions' for Premier

Photo: The SA Government has not ruled out water buybacks as a solution. (ABC Open contributor mickw78) The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission was announced by the previous state Labor government in 2017. Labor leader Peter Malinasukas said today said the accusation that Mr Speirs had breached the ministerial code of conduct was "nothing short of extraordinary" and put Premier Steven Marshall "front and centre about what sort of Government he is going to lead". "David Speirs went over to Canberra, politely agreed with everybody in a way that was fundamentally contrary to the interests of South Australia, that is not standing up for our state," he said. Mr Malinauskas stopped short of demanding Mr Speirs be sacked, but said Mr Marshall should "do what he promised he'd do and that is hold his ministers to account". "Every South Australian can remember how hard we all fought for that extra 450 GL and then within months of coming into office they've sold it away," he said. "They've agreed to things that almost certainly ensure that we'll never have that water delivered, that is genuinely heartbreaking." Mr Speirs said it remained "absolutely critical" that the 450 GL was secured for the environment, and there was Federal Government money which did "enable buybacks to occur potentially in the future". "However, there are many regional communities concerned about buybacks because they have a particular economic and social impact," he said. 'Colloquial terms' used at notorious restaurant meeting The royal commission also shed light on the infamous exchange between former South Australian water minister Ian Hunter and his federal and state counterparts in November 2016.

Photo: Ian Hunter told Barnaby Joyce to "leave his jurisdiction". (Carl Curtain) At the time, it was reported that Mr Hunter repeatedly said "f*** you" to Victoria's Water Minister Lisa Neville and called her a "c***" before storming out of the dinner at Adelaide's Rigoni's restaurant. He also reportedly told the gathering, which included then federal water resource minister Barnaby Joyce, "f*** you all". Mr Hunter later denied using "some particularly inappropriate words", but admitted to using "inappropriate language" and issued an apology. The royal commission report stated that a "hard conversation" took place at the restaurant. "The South Australian minister made his, perhaps the then state government's views, known to his interstate and Commonwealth colleagues in unambiguous terms, with Minister Hunter apparently telling Minister Joyce, in colloquial terms, to leave his jurisdiction." Topics:murray-darling-basin,rivers,environment,law-crime-and-justice,royal-commissions,federal---state-issues,states-and-territories,government-and-politics,water-management,irrigation,federal-government,environmental-management,adelaide-5000,sa,wilcannia-2836,broken-hill-2880,shepparton-3630,menindee-2879,bourke-2840,australia,goolwa-5214,renmark-5341,st-george-4487,mildura-3500,wagga-wagga-2650,toowoomba-4350,qld,nsw,dirranbandi-4486,albury-2640,griffith-2680,dubbo-2830,wentworth-2648 First posted January 31, 2019 18:48:50 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-31/murray-darling-royal-commission-condemns-david-speirs/10767156

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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In the High-Flying Hamptons, Real Estate Is in a Rut

David and Sindhu Nordquist deliberated for years about where to buy a second home, and then last summer, while renting a house in the Hamptons for the first time, they decided to find a place on the East End of Long Island to call their own.

“We just loved it, and all our friends and family loved it,” said Mr. Nordquist, 51, a retired financier from Manhattan. “It had to be here, and it had to be now.”

With Timothy O’Connor, an agent at Halstead, the Nordquists looked at more than 60 listings, searching for “a beach house in the woods,” Mr. Nordquist said. “We wanted privacy and didn’t want neighbors around us.”

Their timing was fortunate. In the usually high-flying Hamptons, the housing market is in a rut. Inventory is up; prices are down. The median sale price of a single-family home in the Hamptons has dropped 7.9 percent, from $933,750 in the first quarter of 2018 to $860,000 during the first three months this year, according to a report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

After searching for several months, the Nordquists found the serenity they were looking for down a long gravel driveway: a 1991 contemporary home with 3,300 square feet, a heated pool and a pool house, on a woodsy 1.82 acres. Initially listed at $1.825 million in August 2017, the property went on and off the market. When the couple visited last December, the price had dropped to $1.6 million. They bought it this spring for $1.35 million, with plans to paint, change the windows and convert the wood-burning fireplaces to gas.

“We negotiated pretty hard on the price,” Mr. Nordquist said. “I bargained a lot. I felt the market was softening.”

As Aspasia G. Comnas, the executive managing director of Brown Harris Stevens, observed, “Sellers in the Hamptons are used to the market always going up every year, and if they priced aggressively it didn’t matter.” But in today’s market, homes that are not priced competitively “are going to have to go through a series of price reductions” before they sell, she said — at all levels of the market, not just at the high end.

Buyers seem to be staying on the sidelines. The number of single-family homes on the market during the first three months of 2019 was nearly double that of a year earlier: 2,327, up from 1,201. And sales of single-family homes have dropped, to 287 from 350 in 2018.

One thing making buyers hesitate, said Jonathan J. Miller, the president of the appraisal firm Miller Samuel and the author of the Douglas Elliman report, is the new federal tax code approved by Congress in late 2017, which makes it more expensive to own luxury property because homeowners can deduct only up to $10,000 in state and local taxes from their federal income taxes.

“The Hamptons are trending much like the New York City metro area,” Mr. Miller said, noting that the situation is similar in other parts of the Northeast and in California, where real estate is pricey and property taxes are high.

“The slowdown in sales represents the disconnect between sellers, who are anchored to better times, and buyers, who have a lot of changes to process,” Mr. Miller said.

Any sense of urgency was further quelled by the “intense volatility of the financial markets at the end of last year, along with the close linkage of Wall Street to the Hamptons,” he added.

A 17 percent dip in bonuses in the finance industry in 2018 likely also discouraged Wall Street workers from buying second homes in the Hamptons. The average bonus for financial market employees in 2017 was $184,400; in 2018, it dropped to $153,700, according to a report from the New York State Comptroller.

Those who did buy, though, found bargains.

Figuring it didn’t hurt to look, Maria and Stephen Zak, of Saddle River, N.J., toured a 2007 harbor-front house with four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a heated pool and a hot tub, on an acre in East Hampton, listed for $3.2 million. “We loved it, but it was way out of our budget,” said Mr. Zak, 53, the chief financial officer of a boutique investment bank.

They had been looking for a second home for about a year. The price of the 3,400-square-foot house had already been reduced from the original 2017 asking price of $3.995 million. So “we threw out an offer we were comfortable with,” Mr. Zak said. And in November, the Zaks closed on the house, for $2.735 million.

“It’s like the dog that chases the car and actually catches it,” Mr. Zak said. “It’s still not cheap, but it was fair and it was in move-in condition.” They have since installed a new kitchen, painted and brought in new rugs.

In the shifting luxury real estate market, the highest priced homes are taking longer to sell, said Laura Brady, the president and founder of Concierge Auctions, in Manhattan. The company’s Luxury Homes Index report, released earlier this month, noted that the 10 most expensive homes sold in the Hamptons last year had an average sale price of $24,079,286, and spent an average of 706.7 days on the market. Luxury homes that lingered on the market tended to go for less, selling at discounts of nearly 40 percent after six months, Ms. Brady said.

In Montauk, the 20-acre oceanfront estate that belongs to Dick Cavett, the former talk show host, has been on the market for two years. The 7,000-square-foot, six-bedroom, four-bathroom house, which was listed for $62 million in June 2017, was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the 1880s and rebuilt in 1997 after a fire, using “forensic architecture techniques” to replicate the original house with a wraparound porch and a bell tower, said Gary DePersia, an associate broker with Corcoran. The price dropped to $48.5 million last August, then Mr. DePersia re-listed it in February, for $33.95 million.

“They are motivated sellers,” Mr. DePersia said. “Where are you going to get 20 acres with 900 feet of oceanfront and utter privacy with a historic house for that kind of money in the Hamptons? You are not.”

According to a first quarter report from Bespoke Real Estate, which deals exclusively with $10 million-plus properties, 122 homes priced over $10 million were on the market at the end of March, with 13 between $30 and $40 million.

Most $10 million-plus buyers already have a home in the Hamptons, said Zachary Vichinsky, a principal at Bespoke Real Estate, and have spent “in some cases the better part of two years exploring the market and defining what works best for them,” whether that means upgrading or building a new home closer to the water.

“There is a lack of urgency on their part, in a lot of cases, but the special inventory continues to move pretty quickly,” Mr. Vichinsky said.

In 2018, a total of 41 homes sold for $10 million or more in areas that brokers refer to as the “alpha market,” which includes East Hampton, Southampton, Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Wainscott.

But there was one bright spot in the market overall: homes listed for $500,000 to $1 million. That sector of the market accounted for 34 percent of sales in the first quarter, according to a report from Brown Harris Stevens.

Last November, after renting a “shack on the bay” in Sag Harbor for nine years, Keith Baltimore, an interior designer with offices in Manhattan, Port Washington, N.Y., and Boca Raton, Fla., paid $900,000 for a “quirky and campy” 1970s contemporary house with an upside-down floor plan, a circular great room with a skylight, and a pool, on an acre in Water Mill. The house was originally listed for $1.15 million.

“There were so many houses on the market, it felt like a full-time job looking at what’s out there, doing due diligence,” said Mr. Baltimore, 55, who spent weekends for a year and a half house shopping.

From Westhampton to Montauk, about 1,900 homes are available for $2 million or less, including about 900 under $1 million and 160 for around $500,000, said Mr. O’Connor, the Halstead agent.

Mr. Baltimore scraped paint off beams and gave his new Hamptons home “a nip and a tuck, to get it summer-ready,” he said, adding that eventually he plans to renovate more extensively.

“Finding potential wasn’t easy,” Mr. Baltimore said. “You have to look at a lot of what’s out there to see where the value is. You have to kiss a lot of frogs.”

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startupcanada · 6 years ago

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North American Construction Group Ltd. Announces Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2018

ACHESON, Alberta, July 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — North American Construction Group Ltd. (“NACG” or “the Company”) (TSX:NOA/NYSE:NOA) today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.

Martin Ferron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated, “This was a watershed period when we have demonstrated that, by taking proactive steps to mitigate the impact of seasonality on our business, we can achieve profitability in any quarter”.

Additionally, Mr. Ferron commented, “Looking ahead we now aim to achieve at least 30% growth in adjusted EBITDA and a very strong gain in earnings (EPS), for the full year. Beyond that our robust outlook has been further boosted by the previously announced awards of approximately $280 million of earthworks term contracts, by one customer, to be mainly executed in the 2019-2021 time frame”.

The Company has prepared its consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (US GAAP). Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts discussed are in Canadian dollars. Please see the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 for further detail on the matters discussed in this release.

Highlights of the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2018

Revenue for the quarter was $79.5 million, compared to $47.6 million for the prior year, an increase of 67.0%.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $15.2 million compared to $2.0 million for the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 19.1% compared to 4.1% for the same period last year.

Net income for the quarter was $33 thousand, compared to a net loss of $6.2 million for the prior year.

In June 2018, the Company announced two new contracts bringing its anticipated backlog to $328.5 million of which $54.9 million is expected to be performed over the balance of 2018.

On June 16, 2018, the Company received the Alberta Mine Safety Association Award of Safety Excellence for companies with over one million hours for mining work in Alberta.

In the quarter, 647,800 shares were purchased and subsequently cancelled, leaving 288,986 shares remaining for purchase under the current NCIB.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

On July 31, 2018, 2018 the NACG Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend (the “Dividend”) of two Canadian cents ($0.02) per common share, payable to common shareholders of record at the close of business on August 31, 2018. The Dividend will be paid on October 5, 2018 and is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes.

Consolidated Financial Highlights

Three months ended June 30, (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) 2018 2017 Change Revenue $ 79,471 $ 47,624 $ 31,847 Project costs 31,793 21,990 9,803 Equipment costs 26,990 18,720 8,270 Depreciation 11,037 8,073 2,964 Gross profit (loss)(i) $ 9,651 $ (1,159 ) $ 10,810 Gross profit (loss) margin(i) 12.1 % (2.4 )% 14.6 % Select financial information: General and administrative expenses (excluding stock-based compensation) 5,450 4,944 506 Stock-based compensation expense 2,757 391 2,366 Operating income (loss) 1,696 (6,590 ) 8,286 Interest expense 1,622 1,758 (136 ) Net income (loss) 33 (6,200 ) 6,233 Net income (loss) margin(i) 0.0 % (13.0 )% 13.1 % EBIT(i) 1,663 (6,605 ) 8,268 EBIT margin(i) 2.1 % (13.9 )% 16.0 % EBITDA(i) 12,788 1,674 11,114 Adjusted EBITDA(i) $ 15,205 $ 1,955 $ 13,250 Adjusted EBITDA margin(i) 19.1 % 4.1 % 15.0 % Per share information Net income (loss) – Basic $ 0.00 $ (0.23 ) $ 0.23 Net income (loss) – Diluted $ 0.00 $ (0.23 ) $ 0.23 Cash dividends per share $ 0.02 $ 0.02 $ 0.00

(1) See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”. A reconciliation of net income to EBIT, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA in the section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2018

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, revenue was $79.5 million, up from $47.6 million in the same period last year. Current year revenue was driven by an increase in both mine support services revenue and overburden removal and earthworks activity at each of the Mildred Lake and Millennium mines. Higher levels of heavy civil construction activity at the Kearl mine more than offset the drop in mine service activity at the same mine, compared to last year. The Company continues to generate civil construction revenue from a three-year mine support contract at the Highland Valley copper mine in British Columbia, which began in the third quarter of 2017 and from mine support services realized from the Dene North Site Services partnership at multiple oil sands operations. While still not at significant levels, the Company continues to see increased activity generated from its new external maintenance service offering as interest continues to grow in the Company’s ability to be a cost effective and reliable alternative to established service providers.

Revenue in the comparable previous period was negatively affected by the cancellation of a significant earthworks contract as a result of a plant fire. The Company was able to secure replacement work for the majority of the fleet committed to the cancelled project, but lost the early start-up advantage as the Company had to relocate the equipment to other sites. The previous period also included mine support service revenue from the mobilization to the Fording River coal mine in British Columbia late in the quarter. This project was completed in the first quarter of 2018.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, gross profit was $9.7 million, or a 12.1% gross profit margin, up from a $1.2 million gross loss in the same period last year. The strong improvement in current quarter gross profit was a result of more consistent activity levels through the quarter, compared to the previous period which was impacted by the aforementioned cancellation of a significant earthworks contract and subsequent equipment repositioning and delays in start-up of spring activities. Equipment costs as a percent of revenue in the current quarter improved over the prior period as the stronger and more consistent second quarter revenue supported the scheduled drawdown of maintenance backlog generated from the Company’s very strong first quarter winter works program. In comparison, the previous period’s scheduled drawdown of maintenance backlog was at a disproportionate rate to its volumes in that period.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, depreciation was $11.0 million, or 13.9% of revenue, up from $8.1 million, or 17.0% of revenue in the same period last year. The lower depreciation as a percent of revenue reflects the benefits realized from the purchase of used equipment at below market pricing combined with the benefits from the Company’s maintenance initiatives designed to extend the useful life of its equipment fleet beyond historical levels.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded operating income of $1.7 million, an increase from a $6.6 million operating loss for the same period last year. General and administrative expense, excluding stock-based compensation cost, was $5.5 million for the quarter, slightly higher than the $4.9 million for the same period last year, driven primarily by higher short-term incentive costs and the one-time cost of consolidating the Company’s office space in Edmonton.

Stock-based compensation expense increased $2.4 million compared to the prior year primarily as a result of the effect of a stronger share price on the carrying value of the Company’s liability classified award plans.

For the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded net income of $33 thousand (basic and diluted income per share of $0.00), compared to the $6.2 million net loss (basic and diluted loss per share of $0.23) recorded for the same period last year.

Interest expense was $1.6 million for the quarter, down slightly from $1.8 million for the same period last year, primarily due to lower pricing secured under the Company’s current Credit Facility, executed during the third quarter or 2017. The Company recorded $8 thousand of deferred income tax expense in the current period compared to the $2.2 million of deferred income tax benefit recorded in the period year driven by the improved results in the current period.

Outlook

The Company just completed the second quarter of the second year of a three year organic growth plan that is targeting a minimum 15% compound growth in revenue and EBITDA over that period. The Company’s strategy to achieve the growth is to:

Build production related recurring services volumes in the Company’s core oil sands market, together with the addition of value creating services.

Expand the Company’s market coverage to include other resource mines (e.g. coal, copper, gold, diamonds etc.) and infrastructure related projects that involve major earthworks.

Following on from 37% and 24% growth in revenue and EBITDA respectively in 2017, the Company is also on track to exceed its growth objectives for 2018. EBITDA growth is now expected to be at least 30%, bringing strong earnings (EPS) gains. The Company also believes that it can meet its growth targets for 2019, with this very positive outlook supported by:

The successful renewal of all of the Company’s oil sands long term services agreements such that the Company is not faced with a contract expiration until late 2020;

The Company’s customers continuing to use economies of scale in production to dramatically lower oil sands operating costs per barrel. On this theme the Company executed two large earthworks jobs for the winter season with volumes similar to last year’s strong program. Also during the second quarter the Company negotiated three-year term contracts for both overburden stripping and reclamation services, with one customer, with a combined value of around $280 million. Work on the reclamation contract will commence this winter with the overburden work starting in the spring of next year, essentially providing a three year extension of the current 2018 overburden removal contract.

The new Fort Hills oil sands mine is anticipated to provide a direct benefit in terms of incremental demand for the Company’s services and an indirect benefit from the overall tightening of heavy equipment supply;

A good line of sight to meaningful heavy construction activity for the summer season of 2018, after a four year hiatus, due to the deep cyclical downturn in the oil industry;

The award of a three year site support contract at the Highland Valley copper mine. Revenue, which started in the fourth quarter of 2017, was modest at first, but it is expected to increase over the work duration;

The availability of several bidding opportunities for further natural resource related contracts, both in Canada and the USA. The Company plans to build on its bidding success of 2017, with additional awards in 2018 and 2019;

Further success at pre-qualifying to bid for major infrastructure projects. In late 2017 the Company was chosen (three from seven), as part of a strong international consortium, to bid for a significant gravel road construction job in the Northwest Territories, which, if successful would lead to an anticipated mobilization in the Fall of 2019; and

Good progress with leveraging the Company’s core equipment maintenance competence into work for third parties. The Company already has jobs for five customers in its Edmonton maintenance facility and believes that this initiative could have a discernible impact on the Company’s 2018 results. Beyond that, the Company plans to be up and running in a new, purpose designed and built, state of the art maintenance facility, which will be capable of handling the largest of the Company’s customers’ equipment assets. Eventually, this external maintenance business could potentially provide more than $30 million in annual revenue stream for the Company.

Overall, the Company is very encouraged by this bright outlook and intend to achieve the growth objectives while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 tomorrow, Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 9:00am Eastern time.

The call can be accessed by dialing:

Toll free: 1-866-521-4909 International: 1-647-427-2311

A replay will be available through September 1, 2018, by dialing:

Toll Free: 1-800-585-8367 International: 1-416-621-4642 Conference ID: 4572928

The live and archived webcast can be accessed at: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1793730&s=1&k=591E0E997CA595B1BBAFA839C8ABD13E

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains non-GAAP financial measures. A non-GAAP financial measure is generally defined by the Canadian regulatory authorities as one that purports to measure historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows, but excludes or includes amounts that would not be adjusted in the most comparable GAAP measures. In this release, non-GAAP financial measures are used, such as “gross profit”, “margin”, “Backlog”, “EBIT”, “EBITDA”, and “Adjusted EBITDA”.

“Gross profit (loss)” is defined as revenue less: project costs, equipment costs, and depreciation.

The Company believes that gross profit is a meaningful measure of the business as it portrays results before general and administrative overheads costs, amortization of intangible assets and the gain or loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment and assets held for sale. Management reviews gross profit to determine the profitability of operating activities, including equipment ownership charges and to determine whether resources, plant and equipment are being allocated effectively.

“Backlog” is a measure of the amount of secured work the Company has outstanding and, as such, is an indicator of a base level of future revenue potential. Backlog, while not a GAAP term is similar in nature and definition to the “transaction price allocated to the remaining performance obligations”, defined under US GAAP and reported in “Note 7 – Revenue” in the Company’s financial statements. The Company has set a policy that its definition of backlog will be limited to contracts or work orders with values exceeding $1.0 million. In the event that the Company’s definition of backlog differs from the US GAAP defined “remaining performance obligations” the Company will provide a reconciliation between the US GAAP and non-GAAP values. The Company defines backlog as work that has a high certainty of being performed as evidenced by the existence of a signed contract or work order specifying job scope, value and timing. However, it should be noted that the Company’s long term contracts typically allow its customers to unilaterally reduce or eliminate the scope of the as contracted work without cause. These long term contracts represent higher risk due to uncertainty of total contract value and estimated costs to complete; therefore, potentially impacting revenue recognition in future periods. The Company’s measure of backlog does not define what it expects its future workload to be. The Company works with its customers using cost-plus, time-and-materials, unit-price and lump-sum contracts. This mix of contract types varies year-by-year. The Company’s definition of backlog results in the exclusion of cost-plus and time-and-material contracts performed under master service agreements or master use contracts where scope is not clearly defined. While contracts exist for a range of services to be provided under these service agreements, the work scope and value are not clearly defined

The Company will often identify a relevant financial metric as a percentage of revenue and refer to this as a margin for that financial metric. “Margin” is defined as the financial number as a percent of total reported revenue. Examples where NACG uses this reference and related calculation are in relation to “gross profit margin”, “net loss margin”, “EBIT margin”, or “Adjusted EBITDA margin”.

NACG believes that presenting relevant financial metrics as a percentage of revenue is a meaningful measure of its business as it provides the performance of the financial metric in the context of the performance of revenue. Management reviews margins as part of its financial metrics to assess the relative performance of its results.

“EBIT” is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense and income taxes.

“EBITDA” is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization.

“Adjusted EBITDA”, which is defined as EBITDA excluding the effects of unrealized foreign exchange gain or loss, realized and unrealized gain or loss on derivative financial instruments, cash and non-cash (liability and equity classified) stock-based compensation expense, gain or loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment, gain or loss on disposal of assets held for sale and certain other non-cash items included in the calculation of net income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA is used in the calculation of the financial covenants in the Company’s current Credit Facility.

The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful measure of business performance because it excludes interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, the effect of certain gains and losses and certain non-cash items that are not directly related to the operating performance of its business. Management reviews Adjusted EBITDA to determine whether property, plant and equipment are being allocated efficiently. In addition, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful measure as it excludes the financial statement impact of changes in the carrying value of the liability classified award plans as a result of movement of the Company’s share price.

As EBIT, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures, the Company’s computations of EBIT, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA may vary from others in the industry. EBIT, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as alternatives to operating income or net income as measures of operating performance or cash flows and have important limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under US GAAP. A reconciliation of Net income to EBIT, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:

Three months ended June 30, (dollars in thousands) 2018 2017 Net income (loss) $ 33 $ (6,200 ) Adjustments: Interest expense 1,622 1,758 Income tax expense (benefit) 8 (2,163 ) EBIT 1,663 (6,605 ) Adjustments: Depreciation 11,037 8,073 Amortization of intangible assets 88 206 EBITDA 12,788 1,674 Adjustments: (Gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment (185 ) 5 Gain on disposal of assets held for sale (155 ) (115 ) Equity classified stock-based compensation expense 1,075 611 Liability classified stock-based compensation expense 1,682 (220 ) Adjusted EBITDA $ 15,205 $ 1,955

Forward-Looking Information

The information provided in this release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “aim”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “likely”, “may”, “on track”, “potential”, “should”, “target” or similar expressions. Forward looking statements include the statements that the Company aims to achieve at least 30% growth in Adjusted EBITDA and a very strong earnings per share for the full year, statements related to estimates of the value of our backlog and when we anticipate it being performed, statements that the Company believes that it will be able to achieve a minimum 15% compound growth in revenue and EBITDA over the period of its three year organic growth plan, believes that it will be able to achieve growth through building production related recurring services volumes in its core oil sands market together with the addition of value creating services and through expanding its market coverage to include other resource mines and infrastructure projects that involve major earthworks, believes that it will be able to exceed its growth objectives for 2018 and achieve its growth objectives for 2019, expects that its customers will continue to use economies of scale in production to dramatically lower oil sands operating costs per barrel, expects that work on the three-year-term reclamation services contract we recently negotiated will commence this winter and that work on the three-year-term overburden contract we recently negotiated will commence in the spring of 2019, anticipates that the new Fort Hills oil sands mine will provide a direct benefit in terms of incremental demand for its services and an indirect benefit from the overall tightening of heavy equipment supply, believes that there will be meaningful heavy construction activity for the summer season of 2018, expects that revenue from the three year site support contract at the Highland Valley copper mine will increase over the work duration, expects that it will build on its bidding success of 2017 on natural resource related contracts, with additional awards in 2018 and 2019, expects that it will have further success at pre-qualifying to bid for major infrastructure projects, believes that its third party maintenance work could have a discernible impact on its 2018 results, expects that it will be up and running in a new, purpose designed and built, state of the art maintenance facility, which will be capable of handling the largest of its customers’ equipment assets and which could ultimately provide more than $30.0 million in annual revenue stream for it.

The material factors or assumptions used to develop the above forward-looking statements include, and the risks and uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject, are highlighted in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of any number of factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NACG’s control. Undue reliance should not be placed upon forward-looking statements and NACG undertakes no obligation, other than those required by applicable law, to update or revise those statements. For more complete information about NACG, you should read the Company’s disclosure documents filed with the SEC and the CSA. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedar.com.

About the Company

North American Construction Group Ltd. (www.nacg.ca) is the premier provider of heavy construction and mining services in Canada. For more than 60 years, NACG has provided services to large oil, natural gas and resource companies. The Company maintains one of the largest equipment fleets in the region.

For further information contact:

David Brunetta, CPA, CMA Director; Investor Relations North American Construction Group Ltd. (780) 969-5574 [email protected] www.nacg.ca

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democratsunited-blog · 6 years ago

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What to Watch in Tuesday’s Primaries: Trump Looms in GOP Races as Democrats Eye Midterms

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=3490

What to Watch in Tuesday’s Primaries: Trump Looms in GOP Races as Democrats Eye Midterms

Five states hold primaries Tuesday—Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia. Democrats will decide on their candidates for a handful of House seats they hope to win in November, while Republicans will determine the political cost of speaking out against President

Donald Trump.

When will Maine know who won its primaries for governor and Congress?

It probably won’t be on Tuesday night, according to Maine elections officials. Tuesday’s primaries are Maine’s first experiment with ranked-choice voting, a system that allows voters to choose candidates in order of preference.

The system is designed to avoid having candidates win with less than 50% support. But in races with multiple candidates—three Democrats are seeking the party’s nomination in the state’s second congressional district and seven Democrats and four Republicans are running for governor—it means a definitive result won’t be known until next week.

That is because the state’s election clerks will report only first-choice results on Election Day. If no candidate reaches a majority, the ballots and election-machine memory devices will be transported by courier service to Augusta, the state capital, where they will be tabulated to determine a winner through the ranked-choice process.

The Maine secretary of state’s office isn’t planning to run the tabulation until next week, spokeswoman

Kristen Muszynski

said Monday.

Will a Trump critic survive a Republican primary challenge in South Carolina?

GOP Rep.

Mark Sanford

of South Carolina is facing a primary challenge Tuesday that poses a fresh test of whether Republicans who criticize Mr. Trump will pay a political price in 2018.

Mr. Sanford is best known for having been disgraced as South Carolina governor in 2009 after an aide claimed he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was conducting an extramarital affair in South America. By 2013, he rebounded to win a House special election. Now, he is known as one of the few Republican elected officials openly critical of Mr. Trump—opposing his tariff and offshore drilling policies and criticizing his provocative rhetoric.

Running against him is GOP state

Rep. Katie Arrington,

who is portraying herself as a Trump loyalist, and attacking Mr. Sanford for going on television to “bash President Trump.”

“It’s time for Mark Sanford to take a hike—for real this time,’’ she said in one TV ad.

He responds to charges that he is disloyal to the president by saying he is being true to his own convictions.

“We don’t have a parliamentary system,” he said in an interview Monday. Asked whether South Carolina Trump supporters will punish him, he said, “It’s going to be a fascinating litmus test.”

The Sanford challenge comes just one week after another GOP incumbent,

Rep. Martha Roby

of Alabama, suffered consequences for her criticism of Mr. Trump in the 2016 campaign. Ms. Roby failed to win more than 50% in the Alabama primary against GOP opponents who accused her of being disloyal to the president, and now faces a July runoff election.

Also on Tuesday in Virginia,

GOP Rep. Scott Taylor

is facing a long-shot primary opponent, former local official

Mary Jones,

who has attacked the incumbent for making critical comments about the president.

Does neo-Confederate

Corey Stewart

have another political life in Virginia?

In 2017, Mr. Stewart, after running an underfunded campaign rooted in restoring Virginia’s Confederate monuments, nearly topped GOP establishment favorite

Ed Gillispie

in the primary for governor.

Now, Mr. Stewart is back and running for the Virginia GOP nomination to run against Democratic incumbent

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.

There is no reliable public polling in his three-way race against

E.W. Jackson,

a minister who was the party’s lieutenant governor nominee in 2013, and

Nick Freitas,

a state legislator backed by libertarian

GOP Sen. Rand Paul

of Kentucky.

Whoever wins the Virginia GOP Senate primary will be a heavy underdog against Mr. Kaine, who has more than $10 million in his campaign account, but Mr. Stewart’s name at the top of the ticket could alienate suburban GOP voters key to the hopes of Republicans running in other races.

GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock,

in the northern Virginia suburbs across the Potomac River from Washington, is among the most endangered Republican incumbents in the nation. GOP Reps. Dave Brat near Richmond and

Scott Taylor

in Norfolk are likely to face much tougher challenges than they have in the past.

Democrats are also targeting a rural House seat being vacated by

Rep. Tom Garrett,

who announced last month he wouldn’t run for re-election while seeking treatment for alcoholism.

Who will Democrats nominate for governor in Maine and Nevada?

Democrats have contested gubernatorial primaries Tuesday in two states that are top pickup opportunities for the party, which is trying to dig itself out of a big hole in state government power.

After a decade of losses, Democrats now hold just 16 governors’ seats, while Republicans hold 33 (one is held by an independent). But Democrats have multiple opportunities this year because there are 26 GOP gubernatorial seats—including 12 open seats—on the ballot, compared with just nine Democratic seats.

Maine and Nevada are both open seats now held by Republicans, and are rated as “tossups” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Maine is one of the Democrats’ best opportunities because

GOP Gov. Paul LePage

is prevented from running again by term limits. There are seven Democrats vying for the nomination in Tuesday’s primary, including Attorney General

Janet Mills,

broadly viewed as the front-runner.

In Nevada, the Democratic primary to replace term-limited

GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval

pits a pair of Clark County commissioners—

Chris Giunchigliani

and

Steve Sisolak.

Democrats are hopeful about Nevada because they fared so well in the state in 2016, when

Hillary Clinton

won the state against Mr. Trump and Democrat

Catherine Cortez Masto

won the state’s U.S. Senate seat against

GOP Rep. Joe Heck.

In South Carolina, which GOP gubernatorial candidate will win Trump voters?

It has been a long time since a Republican governor in South Carolina faced a serious primary challenge.

But

Gov. Henry McMaster

faces four Republicans in Tuesday’s primary, and the top two vote-getters are almost certainly headed to a June 26 runoff.

Mr. McMaster is unusually vulnerable to a primary challenge because he has been in office just 16 months, after being elevated to the job when President Trump chose then-

Gov. Nikki Haley

as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Mr. McMaster, a fixture in state politics for 30 years, was an early supporter of Mr. Trump in the state’s 2016 presidential primary. Mr. Trump has returned the favor, offering his endorsement in a rally, a TV ad and in a weekend tweet.

But his top opponents say they are the closest to Trump—one in style, and one in pedigree. Mr. Trump is very popular with Republicans in the state, and proximity to him has been a hallmark of the campaign. LINK:

Catherine Templeton

is a former Haley cabinet member who has been running for more than a year, saying that like the president, she’s a “conservative buzz saw” ready to face off against bureaucrats.

Entrepreneur

John Warren

entered the race this spring with $3 million of his own money, saying he is the most Trump-like because he is a self-made business leader who can’t be bought by special interests.

Write to Reid J. Epstein at [email protected], Janet Hook at [email protected] and Valerie Bauerlein at [email protected]

Read full story here

#Democrats

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nicolesbook1 · 6 years ago

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In Memoriam: 2017-2018 season in Palm Beach

Philip and Mary Huiltar posed for a photograph taken sometime before his death in 1992. The couple moved to Palm Beach in the 1960s. Photo courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

June 21, 2017

Longtime resident Mary Hulitar, known for her unassuming generosity, died at her home. She was 90.

+ Mary Hulitar

Mrs. Hulitar was a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. She served on the boards of Hospice of Palm Beach County, whose Charles W. Gerstenberg Hospice Center in West Palm Beach is named for her father; the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo, Hawaii; and The Society of the Four Arts. She joined the Garden Club of Palm Beach in 1978 and was an active member for the remainder of her life.

Her honors include the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews’ John C. Randolph Award, the Hospice Foundation Hero Award and Town of Palm Beach Centennial Ambassador.

Mrs. Hulitar spent many hours volunteering for the Four Arts’ library.

Sept. 5

Myra Mann Morrison

Resident Myra Mann Morrison, who enjoyed careers in nursing and real estate, died at age 85.

+ Myra Mann Morrison

A native of Victoria, Australia, Mrs. Morrison completed her nursing training in Melbourne, Australia, in 1953 before

traveling to the United States to visit family in Palm Beach.

She lived in Atlanta, where she worked as a registered nurse. In 1967, she married the late Earl Mann, then owner of the Atlanta Crackers baseball team. They moved to Palm Beach in 1970. Mrs. Morrison worked as a registered nurse at Good Samaritan Medical Center. In the 1970s, she became certified in real estate and was a longtime Realtor with Brown Harris Stevens.

In 2008, she married John Morrison, a career officer in the U.S. Army whom she met at Royal Poinciana Chapel. He also was a licensed real estate broker.

Oct. 18

Dennis Wayne

Dancer and choreographer Dennis Wayne, dubbed the Bad Lad of Ballet for his good looks and rebellious attitude, died of respiratory failure at 72 in West Palm Beach.

+ Dennis Wayne

Born Dennis Wayne Wendelken in St. Petersburg, his career in ballet began in the 1960s with Harkness Ballet. He then became a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theater. He was a frequent visitor to Palm Beach and spent his later years in West Palm Beach.

He was still under contract to American Ballet Theater when he formed his own company, DANCERS, in 1975 and recruited six American Ballet Theater dancers to perform in it, The New York Times said. American Ballet Theater ordered him to disband his company or leave. He acquiesced for a year, then revived his company with financial backing from actress Joanne Woodward. DANCERS debuted in December 1976 at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse.

After suffering serious injuries in a car accident in 1980, he took up choreography and even returned to the stage in 1985 when he and his company performed at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse for the Palm Beach Festival. Wayne danced several times in the 1990s at the Flagler Museum with small freelance troupes he organized. In 1996, he choreographed a fashion show benefit for the Palm Beach Zoo. He created dances for the 2005 Palm Beach Follies fundraiser at The Society of the Four Arts, which raised money for the hurricane-ravaged Four Arts’ gardens.

Nov. 6

Jane Dudley, a longtime winter resident and a stalwart of the island’s society and fashion sets, died at her home in West Nashville. She was 92.

+ Jane Dudley

She was the widow of Guilford Dudley Jr., a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark and longtime chairman of The Coconuts. At the time of his death in 2002, they had been married for 52 years.

A native of Nashville, she was the daughter of William and Nancy (Joseph) Anderson. Her father was the coach of Vanderbilt University’s track team. She was a graduate of the Parmer School; Ward Belmont Ladies Seminary and Vanderbilt University.

After college, she worked for the Nashville Tennessean newspaper. Later, she managed corporate accounts for Tiffany & Co. for more than two decades. After marrying, she traveled the world as an ambassador’s wife, acquiring the skills that would later make an invitation from her among the most coveted in Palm Beach, Nashville and New York.

Mrs. Dudley was active in charitable and cultural causes.

Nov. 6

John Bowden Dodge

Longtime resident, businessman and sportsman John Bowden Dodge died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86.

+ John Dodge

A native of Boston, he was the son of Frank Schuyler Dodge and Mary (nee Bowden) Dodge. After serving with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he graduated from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Management in 1957.

His love of the hospitality industry began when he worked at his family’s historic hotel, The Mountain View House in Whitefield. His career included management stints at American Airlines’ Sky Chef division and the Casa Blanca, both in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Charlie Farrell’s Racquet Club in Palm Springs; and the Townhouse in Rochester, N.Y. Later, he became a developer of golf course communities in the Virgin Islands, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Florida. His favorite project was Harbour Ridge, which he chose for its proximity to the St. Lucie River’s scenic North Fork.

An accomplished athlete, he was a diver and loved spending time on his boat, the Lorelei; he also was an avid skier, tennis player and hiker, especially in the White Mountains’ Presidential Range. He considered his greatest athletic accomplishment to be his ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1986 at the age of 55.

Mr. Dodge was widely active in civic, charitable and cultural causes.

Nov. 14

Parker Ladd

Parker B. Ladd, a part-time resident, publishing executive and philanthropist, died at his home in New York.

+ Parker Ladd

Mr. Ladd was a graduate of the University of Vermont. After serving in the U.S. Army, he worked as a book seller in Sweden before eventually landing in New York. Mr. Ladd enjoyed a successful career at Charles Scribner’s Sons and was a director at the Association of American Publishers.

Following his retirement, Mr. Ladd served as a television producer for the A&E program, Open Book, an interview talk show featuring authors and their work. In Palm Beach, he developed an interview format breakfast series at The Brazilian Court called the Book and Author Breakfast.

Mr. Ladd, along with his husband — international fashion designer Arnold Scaasi — and their friend and journalist Liz Smith, was a founder of the nonprofit organization Literacy Partners Inc.

Nov. 18

Betty Marcus of Jupiter, formerly of Palm Beach, died at 94.

+ Betty Marcus

Mrs. Marcus was born in 1923, the year that her father, Leo Gerstenzang, invented the Q-tip. She grew up in New York City and spent one year at Northwestern University before marrying Robert (Bob) Marcus, in 1943. She finished her education at Parsons School of Design and became an interior decorator.

Residents of Scarsdale, N.Y., she and her husband bought a second home in Palm Beach in the 1970s that eventually became their full-time residence. Her husband, who died in 2001, was president of Q-tips from 1947 to 1959 and later president and owner of S&K Sales Corp.

Mrs. Marcus and her husband were members of the Palm Beach Country Club.

Nov. 18

North Palm Beach resident Irma Lee Anapol, an award-winning angler who was active in charitable causes in Palm Beach, died at 83.

+ Irma Anapol. Photo by Debbie Schatz

A native of New Bedford, Mass., she was married to Joel Anapol of Fall River, Mass., for 51 years. Mrs. Anapol was a member of the Chub Cay Club in the Bahamas and the Nantucket Anglers Club.

Among her charity works, the three-time breast cancer survivor committed herself to counseling other cancer patients. She partnered with Estee Lauder to provide cancer patients with cosmetics and guidance on fashionable ways to wear makeup, wigs and hats during treatment.

She also was active in “Our Kids Sake,” a national educational program against pesticides in food. A founding member and major supporter of the YWCA’s Harmony House, she received the group’s Grace Hoadley Dodge Award in 2013. She also supported the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation, Wheelchairs for Kids and The Angels of Charity.

Nov. 18

Longtime resident Alec Engelstein, a real estate developer and philanthropist, died at 87.

+ Alec Engelstein

Born in Romania, he survived the Holocaust and in 1948, with the help of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, moved to Montreal, where he met his future wife, Sheila. In 1968, the family moved to Florida, where Mr. Engelstein became a real estate developer. His Engel Homes became one of the largest home builders in the United States.

For more than 40 years, Mr. Engelstein was pivotal in expanding Jewish life in Palm Beach County with support of organizations including the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education, MorseLife Health System and Temple Emanu-El.

During his four-year tenure as its board chairman, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County established Partnership2Gether, providing a lifesaving link between the Palm Beaches and Israel’s TZAHAR region. He was a member of the Prime Ministers Council, the most generous donors to the federation’s annual campaign.

Nov. 27

Frederic Alan Sharf of Palm Beach, a businessman, philanthropist, scholar and avid collector of forgotten treasures, died in West Palm Beach after a long illness. He was 83.

+ Fred Sharf

Mr. Sharf, a Boston native, turned down a job teaching history at Harvard University to go into the family business, channeling his love of history into collecting. He sought things that were overlooked by other collectors, including Spanish-American War illustrations, architectural drawings, automotive design drawings, Japanese Meiji period woodblock prints, fashion illustrations, 1940s British women’s wear and, most recently, cartoons. Through his scholarship and initiative, he elevated his collectibles into museum-worthy objects. He curated exhibitions from his collections, wrote or edited more than 40 books and donated collections to museums.

He was a trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Essex Institute, and The Wolfsonian-FIU in Miami Beach, as well as Beth Israel Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. In 2016, Mr. Sharf and his wife, Jean, donated $1 million to MorseLife in West Palm Beach for the senior care facility’s welcome center.

Mr. Sharf built the family business, M. Sharf & Co., into a sports marketing and management company offering services to professional ice hockey and tennis athletes.

Nov. 28

Irving Luntz

Longtime Worth Avenue art dealer Irving Luntz, regarded by many as the Avenue’s canniest and most colorful businessman, died at 88 at his island home.

+ Irving Luntz. Photo by Lannis Waters

A native of Milwaukee, Mr. Luntz opened Irving Galleries in 1974 in Palm Beach, focusing on top-quality modern master and contemporary art. He retired in 2011, when he turned over 332 Worth Ave. to his son, photography dealer Holden Luntz.

As a young man, Mr. Luntz played clarinet and saxophone in jazz bands. After he married, he worked for his father-in-law’s business leasing heavy equipment for commercial developments in Milwaukee.

When he and his wife divorced in the early 1960s, Mr. Luntz went into the art business. He taught himself the trade. He opened his first gallery in 1959 in Milwaukee.

Dec. 5

Leandro Rizzuto of Palm Beach, the co-founder and board chairman of Conair Corp., died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

With his parents, Mr. Rizzuto founded the company in 1959. Forbes reported that Mr. Rizzuto, who was worth $3.4 billion, left St. John’s University to help set up Conair in the basement of the family’s home in Brooklyn. He was tied for No. 212 on the 2017 Forbes 400 list, and No. 367 on Forbes’ list of world billionaires.

Mr. Rizzuto owned a $2.3 million condominium in Winthrop House, according to county records. He also owned a single-family home in Highland Beach and condominiums in Sheridan, Wyo.

Jan. 4, 2018

Bruce Halle

Discount Tire chairman Bruce Halle, a seasonal resident who grew the retail chain he founded into a business empire, died in his sleep at age 87.

+ Bruce Halle. Photo courtesy of Discount Tire

Mr. Halle, who served in the Korean War as a Marine, opened his first Discount Tire store in 1960 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Today, the company is the world’s largest tire and wheel retailer and is expected to have more than 1,000 stores this year in 34 states. In October, Forbes.com’s annual Forbes 400 list estimated his net worth at $4.6 billion and ranked him in 144th place. Mr. Halle and his wife Diane shared a house on North Ocean Boulevard they had bought in 2012.

The Halles were active in civic and charitable causes as well as the arts. The Bruce T. Halle Library on his alma mater campus at Eastern Michigan University is named after him. Mr. Halle and wife established The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation to fund a range of charitable endeavors. He also created programs to help his employees in need, including the Bruce T. Halle Assistance Fund and a scholarship program for employees’ college-bound children.

In town over the past two seasons, the Halles attended charitable functions that included events supporting the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Navy SEALs and The Lord’s Place. The Halles also were significant art collectors, with a collection that concentrated on Latin American art and contemporary sculpture.

Jan. 14

Norbert Goldner, chef and owner Café L’Europe, one of the island’s most beloved restaurants, died at age 77.

Mr. Goldner was born in Berlin and managed the New York City restaurant The Sign of the Dove before opening the first Cafe L’Europe in Sarasota in 1972.

+ Norbert Goldner

In 1980, Cafe L’Europe opened in Palm Beach, where, in the weeks that followed, it was so popular that there often was a line out the door before dinner hours. Cafe L’Europe became an island staple, and Mr. Goldner became known as an outstanding chef.

Customers remember Mr. Goldner for his warm personality, his love of walking around the restaurant and talking to customers, and his meticulous attention to detail in operation of the restaurant.

Jan. 22

William P. Rayner

Water-colorist and travel writer William P. Rayner died in New York City at age 88.

+ Billy Rayner

Mr. Rayner was born in Washington, D.C. He was educated at the Taft School in Watertown, Conn., and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He was introduced to art at an early age. His mother, Emily Rayner, was a director of the Worth Avenue Gallery, a Palm Beach fixture from the 1940s to the 1960s.

His aunt was the celebrated New York art dealer Betty Parsons, with whom he spent many summers on Long Island. Through her, he met artists such as Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still and Jackson Pollock.

Rayner was the editorial business manager for Conde Nast for 30 years. His job provided him with a passport to exotic locales and vehicles for publishing the writing and paintings inspired by his many trips with his wife, Kathy, the daughter of Anne Cox Chambers of Cox Enterprises, the former parent company of the Palm Beach Daily News.

Feb. 11

Vic Damone, longtime resident whom Frank Sinatra once described as “having the best pipes in the business,” died from respiratory failure at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. He was 89.

+ Vic Damone

Born Vito Farinola in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood, he was the son of Italian immigrants from the Adriatic seaside city of Bari. His father, Rocco Farinola, was an electrician; his mother, Mamie Damone Farinola, was a homemaker and piano teacher. Mr. Damone was a 14-year-old dropout working as an usher at New York’s legendary Paramount Theater when he found himself in an elevator with the evening’s headliner, Perry Como. He told Como he was taking voice lessons and began singing, then asked Como if he should continue his voice lessons. Como — who would also, later in life, become a Palm Beach County resident — said “Keep singing!”

He served in the Army from 1951-53. After his military service, he took his mother’s maiden name professionally and carved out a career that encompassed film, television, concerts and more than 2,500 recordings. He received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. He moved to Palm Beach, where he met and married his fifth wife, Rena Rowan, and moved into a home on Via Bellaria and lived the life of a retiree.

He was active in many causes, including Palm Beach Island Cats, Vita Nova, the Renaissance Learning Center for Autism, St. Edward Church, and the Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook, founded by Old Port Cove resident Dick Robinson. Mr. Damone was the first recipient of the organization’s Legend Award.

March 10

Hubert de Givenchy

French couturier Hubert de Givenchy, 91, who popularized the little black dress, died at his home outside Paris.

+ Hubert De Givenchy

Some of his best-known pieces include the Bettina blouse inspired by model Bettina Graziani and Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Mr. Givenchy was known for making everlasting friendships with his clients.

Born in Beauvais, France, he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents from a young age after his father, a business executive and amateur pilot, died.

Mr. Givenchy developed an eye for art and aesthetics from his grandfather, an administrator of a tapestry workshop in Beauvais. In Paris, couturier Jacques Fath took Mr. Givenchy under his wing for two years, where he learned sketching, cutting and fitting haute couture styles. After working for the house of Piguet and Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, he founded his own design house in 1952, which proved to be an instant success.

March 15

Marie D. Schwartz

Marie D. Schwartz, of Greenwich, Conn., and formerly of Palm Beach, died at Greenwich Hospital. She was 97.

A native of Atlanta, she attended the University of Georgia. She held an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Long Island University College of Pharmacy.

She was a staff writer for The Washington Post from 1954 to 1970, covering the White House. She served as president of the American Newspaper Women’s Club. She also wrote a number of books, including Entertaining in the White House, The President’s Lady: An Intimate Biography of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and White House Brides.

In 1970, she married New York City oil company executive Arnold Schwartz, and left Washington and the newspaper world behind. The couple served as benefactors for the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Kidney Dialysis Center at St. Mary’s Medical Center and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. She was a board member of St. Mary’s and the Norton.

March 15

John Weller “Jack” Hanley

John Weller Hanley, a former Palm Beacher, died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. He was 96. Mr. Hanley was a resident of Winston-Salem and Roaring Gap, N.C.

+ Jack Hanley

Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he was a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering and the Harvard University’s School of Business with an MBA. Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Navy serving primarily in the Pacific Theater.

After the war, Mr. Hanley graduated from the Harvard Business School and began a career with Procter & Gamble. After serving as executive vice president of P&G, he was served as president, and CEO of the Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri. He served there from 1972 to 1983 before retiring from business to concentrate on his private passion preventing and treating substance use disorder. Recognizing his contributions on the national scene, he was awarded honorary law degrees from the University of Missouri, Maryville College, Notre Dame University, University of the Pacific, Washington University in St. Louis, and Webster College.

The post-retirement activity that occupied much of his time was built around his family’s interest in helping people suffering from alcoholism and drug dependency. In Palm Beach County, he and his wife co-founded the Hanley Center in West Palm Beach and Gate Lodge in Vero Beach as well as the research laboratory at Penn State.

March 20

Marvin Kamin

Marvin Kamin, a member of the Pittsburgh and Palm Beach communities, died at age 90.

+ Hannah and Marvin Kamin. Daily News file photo

He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering. He had a long career in real estate development with the National Development Corp., which is based in Pittsburgh with offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Florida.

He served on the boards and a supporter of The United Jewish Federation, the Red Cross, United Way, Palm Beach International Society and The Round Table. He also was an original member of The Mar-a-Lago Club.

March 23

Rhoda L. Kleid, wife of Richard Kleid, who retired in March from the Town Council, died unexpectedly. She was 80.

The Kleids, who celebrated 59 years of marriage in November, celebrated his 13 years as a member and president of the council at a party on March 22. at Club Colette. She died while asleep at home the next day.

+ Rhoda L. Kleid

Mrs. Kleid attended every council meeting, as well as meetings of other town boards, including the Planning and Zoning Commission, on which her husband served before joining the council.

A native of Philadelphia, Mrs. Kleid was a graduate of Columbia University’s Barnard College. She enjoyed a long career as a residential real estate agent, in Pittsburgh and Palm Beach, most recently with The Fite Group. She volunteered for the Junior League of Pittsburgh and the United Way Allocation Committee in Palm Beach, and she worked to register voters in Palm Beach County. Mrs. Kleid was a docent at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.

March 24

Artist Stewart Colwell Broberg, a resident, died at age 92.

She was born in Chicago and raised in Urbana, Ohio. She was an avid horse lover in her youth and attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.

+ Stewart Colwell Broberg

She married Gustave T. Broberg Jr. in 1946 and moved to Palm Beach in 1950. Through the years she was involved with Opportunity Inc., the United Way and The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea bookshop. She was an active artist; one of her works depicting Chief Justice John Marshall is on display at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. She also was a member of the Coral Beach Club and the Sailfish Club.

March 24

Denise S. Meyer, a resident, died after a battle with cancer. She was 67.

She was the wife of William A. Meyer, former board chairman of the Kravis Center, former vice chairman of JFK Medical Center and chairman of Meyer Jabara Hotels.

+ Denise Meyer

She designed and oversaw the construction of Temple Judea in Palm Beach Gardens; designed two spec homes in Palm Beach; designed and rebuilt her 1938 landmarked home; worked on the 1860 carriage house of her son and daughter-in-law, Andrew (AJ) and Jess, in Cambridge, Mass.; and worked on the design of the Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy.

A resident of Palm Beach County for 42 years and the town for 25 years, Mrs. Meyer grew up in East Lansing, Mich. She was a travel agent and then worked in the Michigan legislature. Upon moving to Palm Beach County in 1976, she became assistant to John Sansbury, the then-county administrator. She later ran the office of lunar astronaut Ed Mitchell and subsequently started her own advertising specialties company, The Specialty Shoppe.

April 7

Hannah Honig Kamin, of Pittsburgh and Palm Beach, died 18 days after the death of her husband of 59 years, Marvin Kamin.

She was a graduate of Chatham University. With her husband, she was well-known in her communities as well as nationally as a leader, fundraiser and philanthropist.

In Palm Beach, her board and leadership positions included the American Lung Association, Ballet Florida, Jewish National Fund, Jewish Guild for the Blind and UJA Women’s Executive Committee.

Nationally, Mrs. Kamin was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Millennium Committee to Save American’s Treasures and the Women’s Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee. She also was active with the National Council of Jewish Women.

April 14

Peter Pulitzer

Peter Pulitzer, businessman, sportsman and scion of two prominent American families, died at home, surrounded by his children. He was 88.

+ Peter Pulitzer. (Karen T. Borchers/The Palm Beach Post)

Born Herbert Peter Pulitzer, he was the son of Herbert Pulitzer and Gladys Munn. His maternal grandparents were Charles and Carrie Louise (nee Gurnee) Munn. His paternal grandparents were newspaperman Joseph and Katherine (nee Davidson) Pulitzer. He attended St. Mark’s in Southborough, Mass., a feeder school for the Ivy League.

He went to college but soon become bored and dropped out, using a half-million dollars of his family’s money to seed a business career that began with a liquor store and bowling alley and grew to include citrus groves, cattle ranches, a popular Palm Beach restaurant, wide real estate holdings, and hotels.

Along the way, he gained a reputation as a ladies man and married three times. The first was to Lillian “Lilly” McKim who went on to achieve fame as a fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer. He married Roxanne Dixon in 1976 and their acrimonious divorce in 1982 became tabloid fodder. His marriage to Hilary King in 1986 was his longest, 32 years.

April 28

Judith Leiber

Handbag designer Judith Leiber, 97, known for her ornate shiny bags, died within hours of the passing of her husband, abstract painter Gerson Leiber, in their Springs, N.Y., home. They had been married for 72 years.

+ Judith Leiber

Mrs. Leiber was born in Hungary in 1921. She hid in a crammed apartment to survive the Holocaust during World War II. She met her husband, an American GI, during the war and moved to the United States. In 1963, she created her brand, which is best known for its bejeweled bags in whimsical designs. Her bags were popular on the island.

By 1973, Mrs. Leiber was the first woman in her field and first accessories designer to win a Coty award, according to Harper’s, and 20 years later she was the first handbag designer to win the lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She sold her company in 1993 but continued to design for the brand for nearly five years.

April 29

Jean-Pierre Leverrier

Jean-Pierre Leverrier, chef and owner of Chez Jean-Pierre, died at age 62.

+ Jean-Pierre Leverrier

Mr. Leverrier’s restaurant was known for its classical northern French cuisine, family-owned atmosphere and freshly baked bread. Mr. Leverrier himself was best known for his charm, his warmth, his love for teaching cooking techniques to his children and grandchildren, and his thoughtful and carefully crafted dishes.

A native of Normandy, he opened Chez Jean-Pierre in November 1991, quickly gaining attention and loyal customers. Mr. Leverrier’s legacy will continue with his sons, Guillaume and David, who are now running the restaurant.

April 30

Lory A. Volk, 60, a resident and passionate preservationist, died after a long illness.

She was a graduate of Forest Hill High School and the University of Florida.

+ Lory Volk

Mrs. Volk was an outspoken advocate for preserving the history and archives of her late father-in-law, noted Palm Beach architect John L. Volk. She co-authored the book John L. Volk, Palm Beach Architect with her late mother-in-law Jane Volk and was chairwoman of the John L. Volk Foundation.

For more than 30 years, Mrs. Volk was a weekly volunteer at the Lourdes-Noreen McKeen residence for geriatric care in West Palm Beach.

Source Article

The post In Memoriam: 2017-2018 season in Palm Beach appeared first on NICOLES BOOK MUSINGS.

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investmart007 · 6 years ago

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ASHEVILLE, N.C | Alberto it is: First named tropical system chugs toward Gulf

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/T4iK1o

ASHEVILLE, N.C | Alberto it is: First named tropical system chugs toward Gulf

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A father and son who belong to a secretive evangelical church in North Carolina pleaded guilty Friday to federal criminal charges in an unemployment benefits scheme that former congregants have said was part of a plan to keep money flowing into the church.

As part of an ongoing investigation into physical and emotional abuse at the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in Spindale, North Carolina, The Associated Press reported in September that authorities were looking into the unemployment dealings of congregants and their businesses.

Dr. Jerry Gross, 72, and his son, Jason Lee Gross, 51, pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They were charged earlier in May. Both men are pictured on the Word of Faith Fellowship’s website under a section for pastors and ministers, though the church was not mentioned during the hearing.

Other than the men’s spouses, no church members attended Friday’s hearing in federal court in Asheville.

Jerry Gross owned the Foot & Ankle Center of the Carolinas in Forest City, North Carolina. His son worked there, managing business operations, including payroll and personnel decisions, according to court records.

As part of his plea deal, Gross agreed to cooperate with the government. The criminal investigation into Word of Faith is ongoing.

The U.S attorney’s office said the Grosses’ scheme netted nearly $150,000 for which employees were not entitled from September 2009 to March 2013. The two made it appear that they had laid off employees, including themselves, making them eligible for unemployment benefits. But prosecutors said the workers remained on the job.

“The scheme enabled Foot & Ankle Center to survive the economic downturn during those years by creating a free labor force — one paid for by the government, not the business itself,” court records said.

Both men were released on $200,000 unsecured bonds. Jerry Gross was ordered to forfeit $43,036 that prosecutors said was obtained illegally, while his son agreed to forfeit $38,034. They surrendered their passports and were ordered to give up any guns they have. They also were instructed not to discuss the case.

AP cited 11 former congregants in September who said dozens of church members filed bogus claims at various times at the direction of church leaders.

One of those former members, Randy Fields, had told the AP that his construction company faced potential ruin during the struggling economy, so he pleaded with church leaders to reduce the amount of money he was required to contribute every week.

Fields said church founder Jane Whaley proposed a plan that would allow him to continue contributing at least 10 percent of his income to the church while helping his company survive: He would file fraudulent unemployment claims on behalf of his employees.

The unemployment allegations were uncovered as part of the AP’s ongoing investigation into Word of Faith, which had about 750 congregants in rural North Carolina and a total of nearly 2,000 members in its branches in Brazil and Ghana and its affiliations in Sweden, Scotland and other countries.

In February 2017, the AP cited more than three dozen former Word of Faith Fellowship members who said congregants were regularly punched and choked in an effort to beat out devils. The AP also revealed how, over the course of two decades, followers were ordered by church leaders to lie to authorities investigating reports of abuse.

AP later outlined how Word of Faith created a pipeline of young laborers from its two Brazilian congregations who say they were brought to the U.S. and forced to work for little or no pay at multiple businesses owned by church leaders.

Those stories led to investigations in the U.S.Alberto it is: First named tropical system chugs toward Gulf Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A storm kicking up in the Caribbean Sea is threatening to bring heavy rainfall and flash floods to parts of Mexico, Cuba, Florida and the eastern U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend and possibly beyond.

Subtropical Storm Alberto – the first named storm of the 2018 hurricane season – was roiling parts of coastal Mexico and Cuba with rip currents and dangerous surf on Friday. Both countries issued tropical storm watches.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Alberto was located about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). It was moving north-northeast at 6 mph (9 kph).

The U.S. was expected to start feeling Alberto’s effects Saturday.

The National Weather Service said a flash flood watch would be in effect from Saturday evening through Tuesday evening for southeastern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle.

A subtropical storm has a less defined and cooler center than a tropical storm, and its strongest winds are found farther from its center. Subtropical storms can develop into tropical storms, which in turn can strengthen into hurricanes. Alberto comes ahead of schedule: the six-month hurricane season doesn’t begin until June 1.

Parts of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have already seen heavy rain this week, and further deluges could leave those areas vulnerable to flash flooding and river flooding. Some beachfront and riverfront communities are already handing out sandbags.

The downpours could dampen Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer tourist season along Gulf beaches. Along with heavy rains and high winds come rough seas and a threat of rip currents from Florida to Louisiana that can sweep swimmers out to sea.

Red flags warning of dangerous surf conditions are already flying along some beaches. Jordan Sawmiller of Ohio tells WALA-TV that he was approaching the water with caution in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

“It will hit you pretty hard . and it sucks you right back out. So, I don’t like getting in there very far,” Sawmiller said.

A hotel owner in Panama City Beach, Florida, tells the Panama City News Herald that her family’s five hotels are normally full on Memorial Day weekend. But Julie Hilton said people are cancelling because of the weather and room reservations are down about 20 percent.

Heavy rain could also be bad news for farmers. Georgia Peanut Commission Chairman and farmer Armond Morris and Tyron Spearman with the National Peanut Buying Points Association inspected a south Georgia peanut field Thursday. They told WALB-TV that farmers are worried about already-soaked young plants.

“Just hopeful that all the peanut stands will be OK, but we may have to replant some peanuts,” said Morris.

Only 65 percent of the 2018 Georgia peanut crop has been planted.

“The crop is not growing as well as it should be,” said University of Georgia Tifton peanut agronomist Scott Monfort. “So we are getting some cases of yellow peanuts just not growing.”

and Brazil. In March, Brazilian labor prosecutors filed suit to shut down one of the church branches and its school in Sao Paulo, saying the church and its leaders “reduced people to a condition analogous to slavery.”

As for the alleged unemployment scheme, interviews with former followers, along with documents reviewed by the AP, indicated at least six companies owned by church leaders were involved with filing fraudulent unemployment claims between 2008 and 2013.

Most of those businesses’ employees are congregants, the AP found.

The AP reviewed individual checking account records that showed unemployment benefits deposited by the state, along with income tax records summarizing how much money some of the former followers interviewed received annually in such payments.

In North Carolina, companies pay a quarterly unemployment tax based on the number of their workers, with the money going into a fund used to pay out claims, according to Larry Parker, spokesman for the Division of Employment Security, which oversees the program.

When a worker files for unemployment, the agency checks with the employer to learn the reason. If an employer says a worker was let go because of the poor economy, payments usually are approved quickly, Parker said.

During the recession, which started in 2007 and was driven by the housing meltdown, laid-off workers could receive state and federal extensions increasing unemployment to 99 weeks with a maximum weekly check of $535. But in 2013, North Carolina legislators tied benefits to the state’s unemployment rate, limiting laid-off workers to 26 weeks of unemployment, with a maximum payment of $350 a week.

By Associated Press – published on STL.News by St. Louis Media, LLC(R.A)

#Asheville #Dr. Jerry Gross #mentioned during #N.C #ongoing investigation #secretive evangelical #TodayNews

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amfitfoot · 6 years ago

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Budget public hearing to take place at May 22 Council meeting

Asheville City Council didn’t have much to say after Chief Financial Officer Barbara Whitehorn presented the city’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2018-19 at its last meeting on May 15 — combined, her outline of the document and Council’s remarks lasted just over four and a half minutes. City residents will likely not be so concise at Council’s regular meeting in council Chambers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, when a public hearing will take place for comment on the spending plan.

One key element of the $180 million budget, however, is already off the table: Council voted at its last meeting to approve changes to Asheville’s parking policies. By eliminating the first hour free in city parking garages for all patrons who stay longer than one hour, as well as raising the daily maximum and monthly parking rates, Council estimates it will generate an additional $960,000 in annual revenue, which will be used to fund the city’s transit system.

Council members voted 5-1 in favor of the parking resolution, with Brian Haynes dissenting and Julie Mayfield — chair of Council’s Planning & Economic Development Committee, which oversees transit and parking — absent from the meeting. Vijay Kapoor said that, while he’d heard concern from members of the downtown business community over the parking increases, he believes the changes will fill a significant budget gap for items that benefit the area, including expanded transit hours and the new downtown police district.

Whitehorn did not mention funding for expanded policing in her budget presentation, even though the document itself contains $2 million more for the Asheville Police Department compared to fiscal year 2017-18. This figure includes $466,000 for 15 new officers to staff the downtown district and $847,000 in overall compensation increases to discourage turnover in the APD. Council members Sheneika Smith, Keith Young and Haynes had expressed hesitation about the additional spending at an April 10 work session but did not voice those concerns again on May 15.

The formal vote to adopt the proposed budget is scheduled roughly a month from the public hearing at Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, June 19.

Moving towards equity

A number of other items on Council’s agenda for the meeting do explicitly deal with concerns over policing. First is a presentation on reducing racial disparities in traffic stops to be delivered by Ian A. Mance, staff attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Mance will return to Council to speak in support of proposals made by the Asheville-Buncombe NAACP in April 2017 to deprioritize stops for low-level regulatory and equipment violations and require written authorization for consent-based vehicle searches.

In his documents for the presentation, Mance notes that the APD conducted roughly 50 percent more traffic stops of black drivers in 2017 than in 2016, while stops of white drivers increased by just 0.1 percent over the same period. Black drivers are also disproportionately more likely to be stopped for minor regulatory and equipment issues such as broken tail lights: Under Chief Tammy Hooper, blacks have accounted for 28 percent of such stops despite making up approximately 12 percent of Asheville’s population.

By reducing emphasis on these stops or prohibiting them altogether, Mance argues, the APD can improve its relationship with the black community, as has occurred in other North Carolina cities such as Greensboro and Fayetteville. Requiring written consent for vehicle searches made during these stops, he adds, will also support racial equity in policing.

City staff will present on its progress toward the items set forth by Council during a March 20 work session on APD equity and transparency. In a memo issued before the meeting, Jaime Matthews, assistant to Interim City Manager Cathy Ball, notes that staff have already implemented immediate criminal review of excessive use-of-force complaints and brought in consultants 21st Century Policing to review the APD’s practices and policies.

Other actions are taking place on a longer timescale. Changes to the city’s personnel policies and Civil Service Board rules around employee removal for “terminatable conduct,” for example, won’t be implemented until July 2019. Funding for an outside attorney to represent residents who bring complaints against law enforcement is also still under consideration.

The memo also mentions proposed state-level legislation on police accountability, which Mayor Esther Manheimer introduced at the May 15 meeting. Those bills will be up for discussion on Tuesday; last week, Council members Kapoor and Smith voiced concern that they hadn’t had a chance to properly assess the legislation.

Together, the three proposed bills would allow City Council to create a new citizen review board with subpoena, oathing and disciplinary powers; permit the APD to release body camera recordings to Council and the new review board; and let the city manager release the results of disciplinary hearings against police officers.

Finally, Council will determine who to interview for the newly formed Human Relations Commission, a subcommittee of which will likely receive the powers mentioned in the proposed legislation. The group will consist of 15 members, with recommended composition quotas including six African-Americans, two Latinx individuals and two to three members living in public housing.

Other business

In new business, Council will vote to approve $242,000 in grants to 19 community organizations from its Strategic Partnership Fund. This funding level represents a nearly $100,000 increase over last year’s grants. Despite the additional money, however, most of the community organizations will receive smaller grants than they initially requested, and two groups that applied for grants — River Arts District Artists and LEAF Community Arts — will not be funded.

Council will also conduct three public hearings on proposed zoning changes. UNC Asheville is seeking approval to build a new multipurpose building in association with expanded student housing, while the Princess Anne Hotel hopes to convert its existing dining room into a public restaurant. The most contentious change would approve a 248-unit residential development at 39 Bradley Branch Road in South Asheville, roughly two miles from the Asheville Regional Airport. In his report on the proposal, Todd Okolichany, planning services division director, noted concerns from surrounding property owners about traffic, stormwater runoff and contamination due to the site’s history as an unregulated landfill.

The last public hearing of the agenda concerns debt financing for capital projects through up to $48 million in limited obligation bonds. The Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority will also give its State of the Airport presentation, which notes that total passenger traffic was up by more than 15 percent in 2017 compared to 2016 and by more than 50 percent compared to 2012.

Consent agenda

City Council will also consider items on its consent agenda. Unless specifically singled out for separate discussion, these items are typically approved as a single package. In brief, they include:

An additional sanitary sewer easement to the Metropolitan Sewer District at 345 Montford Ave., as well as to accept a sidewalk and stormwater easement for the McCormick Place project adjacent to the McCormick Field baseball stadium. Authorization to seek grants from a federal low- or no-emission vehicle program for electric busses, a federal job access and reverse commute program to fund a bus route to Black Mountain, and a French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization program for paratransit services. Contracts for the Asheville playgrounds bond project at Herb Watts Park, West Asheville Park and Lakewood Park, as well as the Tempie Avery Montford Center Improvements bond project. A public hearing on June 19 for a Land Use Incentive Grant for Sweetgrass Apartments — the same South Asheville project under zoning discussion at Tuesday’s meeting. The grant would award $842,360 to the developer, Madison Capital Group, over four years, a subsidy of $33,015 for each of 26 planned affordable housing units. Allowing the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or unfortified wine at multiple specific public festivals. Proclamations

Finally, the Council will issue the following proclamations to designate honorees for certain days, weeks and months:

June 4-10 as Vegan Challenge Week Announcement of the Volunteer of the Year Award

Asheville City Council meets at 5 p.m. in council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall at 70 Court Plaza, Asheville. The full meeting agenda and supporting documents can be found here.

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More Info At: http://www.amfitfoot.com/budget-public-hearing-to-take-place-at-may-22-council-meeting/

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years ago

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Faces of the Future: Stories From Generation Z

New Post has been published on https://usnewsaggregator.com/faces-of-the-future-stories-from-generation-z/

Faces of the Future: Stories From Generation Z

To come of age in 2017 in America is to enter adulthood in a time of often overwhelming turbulence. The country is deeply divided, technology is reshaping the world at a breakneck pace, and the future seems filled with uncertainty. As each day appears to bring with it another crisis, from unprecedented natural disasters to horrific mass killings to violent and vehement ideological clashes, questions lurk in the background: Who will inherit this world? And what will they do with it?

They are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence with smartphones. Jean Twenge, author of “iGen”

Enter Generation Z.

Loosely defined as those born after 1995, this new wave of soon-to-be grown-ups—also dubbed the iGeneration, Centennials, Post-Millennials, Founders, Plurals and the Homeland Generation, depending on whom you ask—picks up where millennials left off. True digital and social media natives, they’re ever-connected, multitasking on many screens and more comfortable sharing on Snapchat than IRL. “They are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence with smartphones,” says Jean Twenge, author of “iGen,” who has studied the group extensively. “That really rapid adoption of smartphones has had ripple effects across many areas of their lives.”

Birth of a Generation Major moments in modern history

Generation X

Generation Y

Generation Z

Challenger disaster

Obama

elected

Moon landing

Fall of the Berlin Wall

September 11th attack

Moon landing

Challenger

disaster

Fall of the Berlin Wall

September 11th attack

Obama elected

Source: socialmarketing.org

The 2016 election marked the first time many Gen Zers were able to vote, in an event that has served to spotlight and magnify the fractures and fissures in the nation. Decisions made by this administration will have ramifications for years to come, and many of the top issues that drove voters to the polls can be interpreted as de facto battle lines along which the country is dividing itself: Health care. Guns. Immigration. Abortion. The treatment of gay, lesbian and transgender people. Climate change.

So how do young people growing up in today’s chaotic environment feel about their country, their cities and their lives? We’ve spent the last few months following a handful of teenagers on the frontlines of Generation Z: five students who graduated from high school in 2017 and are full of big dreams. For these individuals, the issues facing the country aren’t just hypotheticals to see on the news or be debated by politicians onstage, but their daily realities.

Here are their stories.

Aidan Destefano

Pottstown, PA

At first meeting, Aidan Destefano projects nothing but pure teenage boy.

The 19-year-old is cookie-cutter handsome, with olive skin, dark hair, sparkling green eyes, a firm handshake, and a big, magnetic smile—the kid is always smiling.

But Aidan hasn’t had the typical teenage boy experience, exactly.

I’m finally me; the next step is to live my life as me. Aidan Destefano

Born biologically female, he first encountered the term “transgender” while watching a YouTube video in the seventh grade, and that’s when the feelings he’d had his whole life suddenly had a name. In 2015, before his junior year of high school, he posted a Facebook video announcing he was transitioning from female to male, then started testosterone, changed his name, and had surgery to remove his breasts. While he’d entered high school on the girls’ cross-country team, by senior year, he was running with the boys.

Aidan now stands among other trailblazers at the crossroads of transgender rights in this country. When his high school was sued for allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their gender identity, he testified as a witness, sharing his experience of how important it was to be allowed to use the men’s facilities. (While a judge’s decision this summer upheld the school’s policy, the case is now headed to a higher court on appeal.)

Since taking office, President Trump has issued two blows to the transgender community: announcing a ban on transgender troops in the military and rescinding Obama-era guidance that instructed schools to allow transgender students to use facilities that aligned with their gender identity. In June, Aidan met with Gavin Grimm, the transgender student whose lawsuit over access to the bathroom at his Virginia high school was headed to the Supreme Court until the court ultimately declined to hear it this spring. These rights are currently being decided on state and local levels, leaving much up in the air.

As for Aidan, he doesn’t spend too much time thinking about politics. He’s more concerned with his day-to-day life and working toward his future.

“I’m finally me,” he says. “The next step is to live my life as me.”

Breann Bates

Clermont, FL

Breann Bates voted for Donald Trump, but she wasn’t happy about it.

“I’m pretty critical of President Trump,” says the 19-year-old Florida native, who supported Ben Carson, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz during the primaries before ultimately casting her ballot for the president. “I think that it’s important to stay critical and not just be a fan of any politician—to hold him accountable.”

I want to sit down and have a calm, cool and collected conversation and figure out why people believe what they believe and where that comes from. Breann Bates, age 19

She’s no passive political observer. Breann is a key member of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that trains and organizes conservative activists on high school and college campuses. The group has made headlines for protests against “safe spaces” and for controversial initiatives like its Professor Watchlist, which keeps tabs on educators who “advance leftist propaganda.”

“I do believe there is an ideological battle or war being waged,” says founder Charlie Kirk, 24. “What does this generation stand for?”

Breann is passionate about fighting for her beliefs. She’s staunchly pro-life, a strong supporter of campus carry laws, which would allow guns on college campuses, and wants the government to be less involved in people’s lives. While her political passion may make her something of an outlier among her generation—Twenge says that among this group “interest in government is at an all-time low”—Breann’s skepticism of big government seems to align with her peers. In a study by the Center for Generational Kinetics, a millennial and Gen Z-focused consulting group, only 26 percent of Gen Z respondents said they trusted elected officials.

Now a freshman in college, Breann is hopeful that the country can move past its current division and that people like her will be able to communicate across the aisle. “I want to sit down and have a calm, cool and collected conversation,” she says, “and figure out why people believe what they believe and where that comes from.”

Destiny Robertson

Northfork, WV

McDowell County, West Virginia, has the unenviable distinction of being one of the poorest communities in the country.

But Destiny Robertson wants you to know it’s also one of the strongest.

“We have some of the best people in the whole world,” says the 18-year-old, who grew up in the county in the town of Northfork. “I wouldn’t be who I am without where I am.”

West Virginia got a lot of attention on the presidential campaign trail from candidate Trump, who promised to bring mining jobs back to a state struggling with unemployment. People have been leaving McDowell County, once the top coal producer in the state, ever since coal production started to decline decades ago. Since its peak in 1950, the region’s population has dropped by over 80 percent. The unemployment rate is now more than double the national average, and more than 1 in 3 people live in poverty.

I wouldn’t be who I am without where I am. Destiny Robertson, age 18

Destiny, whose grandfather was a coal miner, believes in her community, but doesn’t think the future lies in trying to chase the past. “A lot of my friends—my male friends—that’s their dream, to become a coal miner. That’s where you can make the most money here, when you can get a job,” she says. “I’m definitely in the minority. My views are that we have to move on from coal.”

Meanwhile, the county, like the rest of West Virginia, is in the throes of the opioid crisis. The overdose rate here is nearly five times the national average. “You have a big problem in West Virginia and we are going to solve that problem,” President Trump said on a visit to the state in August. In October, he declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.

The president is popular in McDowell County. Seventy-five percent of the votes here went to him in the 2016 election, but Destiny’s wasn’t among them – at 17, she was still too young to vote at the time. She doesn’t like to get too public with her political beliefs, but she’s passionate about voter registration and encouraging people to make their voices heard. “Being a black woman in this town, it’s important to me to exercise my right to vote,” she says.

And she hopes President Trump will come through for the people of her county, who desperately need help. “This place has an epidemic going on…I’d hope that this new administration will bring awareness to that and help us figure out a way to get rid of the addiction.”

Isaiah Charles

Newtok, AK

If you haven’t already been to Newtok, Alaska, you might never have the chance: The tiny coastal village won’t be around much longer. It’s being swallowed—an early casualty of the world’s changing climate. Newtok is built on permafrost, or ground that’s been frozen for a long time, and as the earth’s temperatures have risen over time, that land has started to thaw. The village now loses roughly 70 feet a year as the river erodes the weakened shore.

“The land used to be really far,” explains Isaiah Charles, who grew up here. “It is dangerous to have land falling off and a village of 350 people that are terrified from it.”

For Isaiah, 19, Newtok’s endangered status has long been a fact of life. Boardwalks throughout the town are sinking into the mud. During powerful storms, the damage can be even greater. Residents are actively worried for their homes as the coastline creeps closer.

It’ll be like a memory to never forget. Isaiah Charles, age 19

“The general trend is quite unmistakable,” says climatologist Brian Brettschneider, who notes that Alaska is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the country, and what’s happening here should serve as a warning. “This is really the canary in the coal mine.”

In typical teenage form, Isaiah has other pressing concerns. The former star basketball player graduated from high school in May and will start college in a few months. He’s focused on his friends, family, community and finding a path toward a successful and steady career.

But the reality of what’s happening to his hometown is impossible to ignore. Newtok must relocate, and in a few years, the place Isaiah has always called home will be gone. The village is moving to a new site called Mertarvik, 9 miles across the river, and the relocation team hopes to get everyone there by 2020.

In its current state, Newtok is an often jarring mix of tradition and modernity. A subsistence community, the people hunt, fish and gather most of their food. Though they speak English, most also speak Yup’ik, the tribal language of their ancestors. They don’t have running water in their homes and the erosion has impacted the community’s ability to safely dispose of their waste and maintain clean drinking water, raising health concerns. At the same time, thanks to services like a “lifeline” plan from a local cellphone provider, most young people are often heads-down texting, sending messages on Snapchat or talking to far-flung friends on FaceTime. They get Amazon deliveries, watch YouTube and stream Top 40 hits. “When I was a little kid, it was a lot different,” Isaiah reflects, wistfully. “Kids playing outside, having fun. But now that I’m older, everybody’s inside, just being on their phone or iPad. Everything’s changing.”

Isaiah knows that one day, when he comes home, his village will be gone. But he struggles to describe how it will feel to say goodbye to this place. “It’ll be like a memory to never forget.”

Rasmi Moussa

New Haven, CT

When Rasmi Moussa arrived in the United States in 2016, he only knew one word of English: “No.”

One of the 12,587 Syrian refugees who were resettled in the United States last year, Rasmi, now 19, moved to New Haven, Connecticut, with his parents and three of his siblings. They’d fled their homeland five years before to escape the ever-escalating violence, and had been living in Jordan, where Rasmi hadn’t been able to go to school, and instead worked odd jobs to help support his family.

Almost two years after coming to America, Rasmi has almost fully acclimated. He taught himself English through a combination of translation apps, videos and trial-by-fire experience working at a gas station. He graduated from high school with honors in June, and this fall he started taking classes at a local community college, where he’s pursuing a degree in radiography.

I was thinking I would be back after one month, three months or four months. That was six years ago. Rasmi Moussa, age 19

But behind his smile, Rasmi hides a deep sadness. He lost relatives in the war, his home was destroyed and many of his siblings are still trapped overseas. Those who are still in Syria are in too much danger to escape, and those who made it to Lebanon and Jordan were in the process of applying to the United States for refugee visas until their plans were thrown into limbo when President Trump announced his travel ban in January. With the situation in Syria still dire, Rasmi doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to go home.

“It’s hard to think about,” he says. “I was thinking I would be back after one month, three months or four months. That was six years ago.”

Rasmi talks to his family as often as he can, staying in touch via video chat. It’s been so long since they were together that he has five nieces and nephews he’s never even met. He holds out hope that one day they will all be reunited.

“They ask me every day: What’s happened?” he says. “When can we come? Why’d they close the way to come to the United States?”

“If I had to sum up the generation in one word, it would be ‘terrified,’” says Twenge, whose research has found that Generation Zers are reporting higher levels of anxiety and mental health issues as well as lower self-confidence than the millennials before them. CGK’s Gen Z research found that only 23 percent of the cohort believe the country is headed in the right direction.

And with the typical teen spending an average of six to eight hours a day in front of a screen, their person-to-person communication will almost certainly be impacted. “They just don’t have as much practice interacting with each other face to face,” says Twenge. “I think it’s a pretty good educated guess that social skills are going to be different.”

Yet Rasmi, Breann, Isaiah, Destiny and Aidan all exhibit one defining characteristic that also defines their generation: determination to succeed. “They are very interested in finding good jobs and working hard at them,” says Twenge of Gen Z, noting that the group’s attitudes toward work are more positive than millennials at this age. And when they do relax and unwind, they’re doing it more safely than the generations before them, statistically getting into fewer physical fights and car accidents, recording fewer teenage pregnancies, and drinking less alcohol.

“It’s not like they’re buckling down at home with the books all the time,” says Twenge. “It’s that the party is on Snapchat.”

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trilotechcorp · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on PBA-Live

New Post has been published on http://pba-live.com/west-is-best-but-stars-hold-the-key-to-the-future/

West is best, but stars hold the key to the future

For decades, a stream of talent with big aspirations has been migrating west across the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. History, mystique and the nation’s most hallowed institutions still reside on the Eastern Seaboard and in the old industrial Midwest, but for big upside and a high ceiling, go west.

The phenomenon of highly skilled labor leaving one region for another is what economists call human capital flight or “brain drain.” Over the past 20 years, the NBA has experienced a game drain as the league’s biggest stars have disproportionately landed in the Western Conference.

When the Indiana Pacers shipped Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 30, the current outflow of talent from East to West swelled to a tsunami. Thirteen of the top 14 players in ESPN’s November 2016 installment of #NBArank will open the 2017-18 season in the Western Conference. The only holdout is LeBron James, who is reportedly contemplating a move to Los Angeles next summer, when his contract expires in Cleveland.

It naturally follows that an outsized share of the league’s best teams play in the Western Conference. The West has beaten the East head-to-head in 16 of the past 17 seasons. In adjusted net rating, which weights a team’s overall efficiency for strength of opponent, the top five teams in the league last season all reside in the West. Of the top five teams in adjusted net rating over each of the past five seasons, only four of those 25 hail from the Eastern Conference. For all the dominance the West has displayed over the East, it’s most pronounced at the very top.

Powerful forces in the NBA have brought us to this point — among them superior management, higher expectations and plain ol’ luck. But it’s an even mightier force, the motives of star players, as demonstrated this month by Gordon Hayward, that can help the NBA rediscover parity between West and East. Is the West superior by luck or design?

The basic laws of probability dictate that in a league composed of 30 teams in two conferences there will be periods when one dominates the other. And because league rosters are relatively stable from season to season, once a conference gains an edge, it can sustain it over time through inertia. For instance, the East enjoyed an advantage during the entire span of the 1980s, when Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and later Detroit consistently racked up 50-plus-win seasons.

The West’s reign of today has an air of permanence about it, as if its superiority can’t be accounted for by simple chance. But if the disparity is more than that, then what is it?

Regarding conference imbalance, Occam’s razor would suggest that better teams are simply better managed. Good players don’t stumble their way onto rosters by accident. Their talents are identified and their rights are acquired. They develop their skills in a specific environment, one shared by teammates, coaches, management, medical and performance experts and all kinds of support staff.

The better the operation, the more successful the team. Over time, elite organizations tend to retain the best players and/or find new blood, even if the process requires a couple of lean seasons while the place is being renovated. All of that starts at the top.

“There are good owners in both conferences, but collectively there are better owners in the West,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey says. “Players are getting wise to owners being an important selection criteria.”

In his statement following the announcement of his new four-year, $170 million extension on Saturday, James Harden said, “[Owner Leslie Alexander] has shown he is fully committed to winning, and my teammates and I are going to keep putting in the work to get better and compete for the title.”

The East certainly boasts some standout owners — Micky Arison in Miami, Wyc Grousbeck in Boston, to name a couple. But from the Texas triumvirate to the steady Miller family in Utah, the depth chart of the West’s owners, just like its superstars, is more impressive.

Smart ownership yields smart management, and the most innovative, competent — and stable — front offices have been concentrated in the West for a while now. Continuity is the mother’s milk of the NBA, and the regimes in San Antonio and Dallas (ranked first and second in wins since 2000) have been in place for eons. Two big winners this offseason, Sam Presti in Oklahoma City and Morey in Houston (the Rockets and Thunder rank fifth and sixth in wins since 2000) are both a decade into their tenures. Third and fourth place go to the Lakers (Mitch Kupchak presided from 2000 until 2017), and Miami (Pat Riley has ruled since the first term of the Clinton administration).

The suggestion here is that if an organization wants to reap a long, bountiful era of milk and honey, and all the rest of it, it should install competent managers in the executive suites and provide them with a long runway. But is longevity for a front office the catalyst for winning, or is this the halo effect at work? Do elite teams win big because owners provide management teams decades of job security, or do those front offices get 10, 15, 20 years of trust because their teams are successful? The Warriors and the broken window theory

The Golden State Warriors have set the entire NBA on edge, particularly those franchises that have been deliberately constructing their teams to contend during the latter half of this decade. The Dubs have sent a message: If you want to contend in the West — hell, if you just want a chance to host a playoff game in May — you better load up.

That’s exactly what the Rockets did in acquiring Chris Paul, bolstering their vulnerable defense with PJ Tucker and feverishly managing their spreadsheet to add even more. The Spurs, determined not to squander Kawhi Leonard’s prime, added Rudy Gay and brought back key contributors instead of retreating into a soft rebuild to ready themselves for a time after the dissolution of the Holy Warriors Empire. Oklahoma City saw a chance to add a second top-10 player and pounced.

Meanwhile, back East, 41 wins will likely land you a spot in the playoffs, as it did last season for Chicago (though not Miami).

“When a conference is weak, teams in that conference don’t have to invest as much to succeed,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said via email last week. “Nor is there as much pressure to succeed. That impacts the decision-making process.”

Call it the Soft Drudgery of Low Expectations or even the Broken Conference Theory, whereby a conference that falls into disrepair is more likely to continue its slide into oblivion. In an environment in which a sub-.500 record could net a team two home playoff dates, and a 45-win season practically pencils a team into the conference semis, it’s not surprising to see a whole bunch of teams behave like the regular season is a pass-fail course. This effect leads the East to function as a warehouse store for treadmills of mediocrity, where a .500 record buys you a bargain.

Perhaps there’s an evolutionary component to this idea. College coaches routinely point to scheduling challenging out-of-conference games as a means to strengthen their teams for postseason play. For Western Conference squads that can hardly go a week without seeing a Warriors, Spurs, Rockets or another .600 West foe on the docket, their merciless schedule demands constant playoff-quality execution. All the while, Eastern Conference teams get to scheme against the confederation of the middling.

Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Memphis and Oklahoma City rank as the NBA’s only metro areas shy of 1.5 million people, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. But that hasn’t stopped the Jazz, Grizzlies and Thunder from, season after season, turning out a consistent product in a league in which market size has huge implications for local broadcast revenue and free-agent recruitment. Spend 10 minutes with top team business execs such as the Jazz’s Steve Starks and the Grizzlies’ Jason Wexler, and one thing is clear: There’s an organizational imperative to scratch, claw and do whatever it takes to maintain relevance, even if it means bowing out with dignity in the conference semifinals to a juggernaut like Golden State.

It’s also easy to forget that San Antonio qualifies as a bottom-10 NBA market in size (the nation’s No. 31 Nielsen market, just behind Hartford, Connecticut), because the Spurs long ago stopped behaving like a have-not. Portland, the league’s No. 23 television market, might not have enough high-end hotel rooms to host an All-Star Game, but the Trail Blazers have compiled a .564 winning percentage since Paul Allen bought the team in 1988.

For all the hand-wringing over the precarious state of small-market NBA franchises against the big-market bullies, the gap between big and small isn’t a fraction of the chasm between West and East. The question is: Why is the disparity so hard to undo? The Matthew Effect

For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

This verse from the Book of Matthew inspired a well-known aphorism: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Sociologist Robert K. Merton gave it a name: the Matthew Effect. If the past several years are any indication, the Matthew Effect has found a sturdy vessel in the NBA.

Ostensibly, the NBA doesn’t try to perpetuate inequality between teams or conferences. With the draft, the NBA employs an incentive structure that hands the best incoming talent to terrible teams. If those teams are disproportionately located in the Eastern Conference — or, for that matter, wear blue as their primary color or play in cities whose names start with letters in the first half of the alphabet — the draft system is, in practice, supposed to make the poor richer. For whatever reason, these remedies aren’t having their intended effect.

In 2010, a new variable changed the equation when the Big Three joined forces in Miami — a somewhat ironic turn given that the Heat play in the East, as did the three stars who joined forces, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Theoretically, the salary-cap structure is one of the NBA’s mechanisms for discouraging a concentration of power, but James exerted his self-determination as the talent who drives the talent of the league. He wanted to play with two hand-picked All-Stars, and aided by the spreadsheet jiu-jitsu of Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg in Miami’s front office, that’s exactly what happened. In the seven years since, James’ contemporaries have adopted the same strategy.

“Today, for players where the money is equal between destinations, ‘Which superstar am I playing with?’ are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in selection criteria,” Morey says. “Only after that comes owners, management, coach and city.”

If the brightest stars are magnets that attract other superstars, then the more talented conference will effectively compound its advantage. Kevin Durant joins Steph Curry in Oakland, while Chris Paul partners with James Harden in Houston. Paul George might not stay in Oklahoma City, but the presence of Russell Westbrook means that, if things work out this season, both guys can re-up for top deals and assure they’ll be playing with a fellow superstar.

Try as the league might to declare the terms for competition, superstars are now running the show — and they want to play in tandems and trios. Superstars can fix this

As the gap between the West and East widens, calls for eliminating conferences altogether grow louder. Sensible proposals have been made and Adam Silver said in 2015 the league would “take a hard look” at a playoff system that accepts the top 16 teams overall, regardless of conference standings.

Such a system could burden teams with brutal travel. The lower seed in a seven-game series between Portland and Miami would log 16,200 miles in six cross-continental flights over two weeks. For Boston-Los Angeles, it’s 15,600. That volume of travel isn’t conducive to world-class basketball when the games matter most, nor to good health.

Time might be a cure, as Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee are poised to be very competitive for a very long time. At the same time, Minnesota, Denver and the Lakers figure to rejoin the living in the West over the next few seasons. If LeBron makes good on reports that he’s eyeing Los Angeles, the entire enterprise might capsize.

Stars like LeBron hold the key, and they might be the best corrective for conference imbalance. According to multiple sources close to the Gordon Hayward sweepstakes, a key pitch point in the recruitment process from Boston — and to a lesser extent Miami — was a shorter line to compete for a conference title and beyond.

Around Hayward, Utah built an exemplary culture with classy ownership, standout management and a dedicated coach. Yet the Jazz were up against an impossible structural challenge — they couldn’t offer him the fast track Boston could. In the East, Hayward is an even-money bet to snag one of the three starting frontcourt spots in the 2018 All-Star Game; in the West, he’s a cautionary tale.

However much Hayward was drawn to Brad Stevens or the Celtics mystique, Boston’s trump card was opportunity. “Where can I win?” is a question inextricably linked with “Which superstar am I playing with?” At what point do other top-20 players entertaining those questions examine the landscape, spot the market inefficiency and make the same call?

When they do, this conversation is over.

Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19959615/west-best-stars-hold-keys-future-kevin-arnovitz

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newstfionline · 7 years ago

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Hiding Christians in the Basement: Fear and Heroism in a Philippine War Zone

By Felipe Villamor, NY Times, June 17, 2017

MARAWI, Philippines--Three Christian civilians said they had cowered in a basement for weeks while militants inspired by the Islamic State went door to door killing non-Muslims in the southern Philippine city of Marawi before fleeing for their lives at dawn on Tuesday.

“We heard them shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ and asking neighbors about religion,” said Ian Torres, 25, a house painter who had come to Marawi for a job. “We could only hear them. If they could not answer questions about Quran verses, gunfire immediately followed.”

Their account, and others from people who have fled the battle zone in Marawi, starkly illustrate the brutal religious calculus of the militants as well as the heroic efforts of local Muslims who risked their lives to protect Christian friends and workers.

The militants, a coalition of local insurgent groups loyal to the Islamic State, began their assault on the city on May 23, announcing their intent to create an Islamic caliphate in the Philippines’ only predominantly Muslim city. Since then, more than 300 people have been killed, the military says.

There have been previous reports of the militants threatening or killing Christians, but it is not yet known how many have died. The military says a total of 26 civilians have been killed, but the militants still control about a fifth of the city, and there may be other areas the military has not reached.

A propaganda video released by the Islamic State on Monday showed what was said to be the execution of six Christians in Marawi. However, it was not possible to verify that the scene was recorded there, and military officials cast doubt on the claim.

The three Christians who escaped Marawi were among a group of five laborers from Iligan City, about 25 miles to the north, who were hired to refurbish the house of a prominent Muslim trader in Marawi.

But what was supposed to be a routine job turned into a nightmare when they were trapped in hostile territory with Islamist militants hunting them down.

One of the men, Nick Andilig, 26, said about 50 militants suddenly appeared in the neighborhood where they were working, shouting “Allahu akbar” and displaying a black flag.

“They claimed to be ISIS out on a mission to cleanse the city,” he said, using another name for the Islamic State. He said he thought that meant they would kill all non-Muslims in the area.

The fighters appeared to be in their 20s, wore face masks and head gear, and carried long firearms, Mr. Andilig said. Some arrived in a police car, which they had apparently stolen.

Mr. Andilig said their employer hid the workers in his basement. When the militants reached his door, the workers overheard him arguing with them. “He told the gunmen that there were no Christians in the house,” Mr. Andilig said.

The militants eventually moved on to the next house. Then they heard shooting.

Mr. Andilig said he did not see the killings, but when he and his group eventually emerged from hiding, they saw several bodies on the ground with what appeared to be gunshot wounds.

“Our employer escaped earlier with another household staff,” he said. “He said he would come back for us but never made it. He was a good Muslim.”

That left the five workers, four men and a pregnant woman, trapped in the house.

For days they subsisted on food the owner had left behind, mostly canned goods and rice, but eventually that ran out. They began to leave the house on brief forays to scrounge for food, eating plants they found.

They were getting hungry, and the explosions outside, apparently from bombs dropped by military airplanes, had been getting louder, suggesting the bombs were getting closer.

“All of us decided to escape,” Mr. Andilig said. “But our companion, who is seven months pregnant, could not run along with us. She and her husband decided to stay.”

“We said we’d try to get rescue for them if we made it out. We also told ourselves that our fate was with the Lord.”

As dawn broke on Tuesday, Mr. Andilig, Mr. Torres and Arman Langilan, 22, fled.

They alternated running and hiding in thick shrubs, eventually reaching the Agos River that divides the city and separates the area controlled by the militants with that controlled by the Philippine military.

They tumbled down the banks of the river as bullets fired by snipers sporting black bandannas whizzed over their heads. They plunged into the rushing water, hugging the banks until they saw a clearing, and climbed out on the other side.

They were found by the police wandering, tired and hungry, among the ruins of the city, which the fighting has transformed into a desolate landscape of pockmarked buildings and cratered structures.

At a government checkpoint, they told their stories to the police and to The New York Times.

All showed signs of trauma. Mr. Langilan spoke incoherently and shuddered when bombs from a passing military plane exploded in the distance. Mr. Andilig clutched a piece of cucumber, his only real food in days, and repeatedly said he needed a shower.

Mr. Torres was still wearing pants and a shirt smeared with paint, the clothes he was wearing the day hostilities broke out.

The fate of the two colleagues they left behind remains unknown. Attempts to reach them by mobile phone have been futile.

Christians and Muslims have long coexisted peacefully in Marawi, Mr. Andilig said.

“I have many friends who are Muslim,” he said. “It was never a problem in the past.”

There was still evidence of that camaraderie at another neighborhood in Marawi, where five Muslim police officers hid and protected five Christian construction workers for nearly three weeks.

“We had our chance to flee because we are Muslims,” said Lumla Lidasan, one of the officers. “But as police officers we are mandated to protect the people. So we elected to stay because they will execute the Christian civilians.”

Officer Lidasan said he and his colleagues were armed with long rifles, which allowed them to keep the militants at bay while the Christians hid in the basement. Outside, he said, he heard rockets and bombs exploding as the city was reduced to rubble.

“They are not real Muslims,” he said. “Real Muslims will not hurt people unprovoked, regardless of religion.”

One of the Christians, Rodel Aleko, 24, said the bombing runs shook their hiding place, but whenever he peered out the window he would see the gunmen still patrolling.

A police officer, Ricky Alawi, said there were times that they thought it was going to be the end for all of them. He said they were in radio contact with the army, who told them that there would soon be a bombing run in their area. They decided to take a chance and leave that day, which was Monday.

“As we were fleeing we saw bodies lying on the ground,” he said. “The gunmen were shooting at us as we ran toward the next building, where we stayed overnight. One of my colleagues and one of the civilians were injured.”

When there was a lull in the fighting, the group started slowly walking toward Banggolo Bridge but were stopped by a gunman. Mr. Alawi said he told the militant that his colleagues were too traumatized to speak.

“He told us to just wait because he would call his companions,” Mr. Alawi said. “When he left, we ran as fast as we could and crossed the bridge.”

Mr. Aleko was wounded when bomb shrapnel hit his left leg, he said, and the blasts were so loud that they may have permanently damaged his hearing.

But he could only feel grateful.

“This is our second life,” he said. “I thank God for these officers.”

#Philippines #Marawi city #Filipino Christians

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biofunmy · 6 years ago