text:
Dr Michelle Bellingham
Senior Lecturer (Veterinary Science & Education )
Associate (Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health & Comparative Medicine)
Associate (School of Life Sciences)
email: Michelle.Bellingham@glasgow.ac.uk
Room 242, Jarrett Building, School of Veterinary Medicine, College of MVLS, Bearsden Road, G61 1QH
I was appointed as Lecturer in Comparative Physiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019 after moving from the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, where I was as a lecturer from 2012. I have been an Associate of the Vet School since 2007, when I took up a post-doctoral researcher position on a Wellcome Trust funded project with Prof Neil Evans. Since 2007, the focus of my research has been on determining the effects, and understanding the risks, of maternal exposure to low-level chemical mixtures on long-term offspring health where I have used both sheep and human models. My work integrates behavioural, hormonal, molecular biology and 'omics approaches to understand the risks of environmental chemical exposure on mammalian physiology and I have widely published on the effects of maternal exposure to 'real-life' mixtures of chemicals (using sheep exposed to biosolids-treated pastures) on offspring physiological systems, including effects on hypothalamic neuroendocrine systems, pituitary cell populations and changes in adult reproductive physiology. My research has also focused on the effects of human exposures during pregnancy, including the effects of maternal smoking, on programming adverse fetal development and long term health consequences in later life (in collaboration with Prof Paul Fowler, University of Aberdeen).
Diversity and Inclusion Interests
During my lectureship role in the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM) I was a member, then Chair of the Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT). I was involved in, and successfully lead, IBAHCM towards achieving their Bronze (2013) and Silver (2016) awards. Through this process, and my more recent memberships on the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Committee (2015) and University Gender Equality Steering Group (2018), I am acutely aware of many of the barriers underrepresented groups can face which can cause feelings of exclusion resulting in Universities losing out on their valuable contributions. Since moving to my position in the School of Veterinary Medicine, I have become a member of ther Diversity and Inclusion Committee which is paving the way towards tackling some of these barriers at the University of Glasgow, challenging unconscious biases to make science inclusive for people from all walks of life. I am passionate about contributing towards making science inclusive for all, engaging with all facets of the public about science- from schoolchildren for example at the Wellcome Trust and British Film Institute funded "What's the Grey Matter with Gregory", to adults at Glasgow Science Centre's "Science Lates" events. We have made strong headway in the School of Veterinary Medicine to talk more about mental health and support staff and student wellbeing. I am enthusiastic about continuing in this role, alongside my research and public engagement, to help towards creating an inclusive culture where people feel they can participate and contribute without barriers.
Main Career Achievements
Chair of Grants Panel and Trustee Board Member for British Society for Neuroendocrinology (2016-present)
Co-Chair of local organising commitee for International Congress on Neuroendocrinology, Glasgow 2022
Lead organiser of Annual Meeting of British Society for Neuroendocrinology Glasgow, 2016
Member of Public Engagement Committee for Society for Endocrinology (2019-present)
Member of Independent Scientific Review Panel for Breast Cancer UK Charity (2017-present)
Media Ambassador for Society for Endocrinology (2017-present)
Grant reviewer panellist for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity
Participant in Aurora Leadership in Higher Education Programme 2016/2017
Chair of Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine Athena SWAN Committee (2016-2019)
Advance HE Athena SWAN Panellist
Member of University of Glasgow Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group (2018-Present)
Public Engagement Events- Glasgow Science Centre and European Researchers Night Explorathon, Science Lates, Royal Highland Show, Wellcome Trust funded event "What's the grey matter with Gregory?"
Examining the potential risks of chemical exposure on animal and human health
There is now clear evidence that certain chemical pollutants in our environment can have negative consequences for the health and function of an ecosystem including the physiology of the animals which inhabit it. For both wildlife (aquatic and terrestrial), and humans, there is substantial evidence that environmental pollutants can affect the physiology and behaviour of an individual.
The main focus of my research is examining how exposure to chemicals in the environment, at different life stages, can affect long-term health and fitness. While my research has many applications I am particularly interested in effects of environmental chemical exposure on reproductive neuroendocrinology and physiology.
In our modern world, humans are exposed to a plethora of environmental chemicals. For some chemicals, there is concern that they can mimic or block normal hormone function in the body. These chemicals have therefore be called 'endocrine disrupting chemicals' (EDCs). Although many epidemiologial studies in humans have suggested that exposure to EDCs during pregnancy may have implications for normal fetal development, the mecahnisms which may underly this are unclear and at present we lack the tools to answer definitive questions regarding the risks of chemical exposure during pregnancy in humans. This is because we are exposed to many chemicals everyday, not just a single chemical, which makes determining risk particularly difficult.
In 2011 the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) commissioned me to write a scientific impact paper on the subject of chemical exposure during pregnancy. After rigorous review, the paper was published in 2012 and subsequent publication of a similar document by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 4 months later which has led to policy change in ante-natal care in the US with regards to advice to pregnant mothers on their chemical exposure during pregnancy. Click here to read the report.
Prenatal Programming of Adult Disease by Maternal Chemical Exposure
Mother as the 'gatekeeper' of her fetus
Based on human nutritional studies by the late David Barker in the 1990's, it is now widely accepted that maternal lifestyle and thus the uterine environment, plays a critical role in programming the long term health of the offspring. Barker's hypothesis, also known as the 'Fetal origins of Adult Disease Hypothesis' or 'Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DoHaD)' describes how adverse conditions experienced during fetal and early post-natal life, can affect the long term physiology and behaviour of an individual into adulthood.
In addition, recent studies have also shown that some environmental stimuli (maternal stress, maternal nutrition) in humans can cause epigenetic changeswhich are then passed on to offspring resulting in transgenerational effects. In addition, it has been long recognised that maternal exposure to certain chemical compounds during pregnancy, has the ability to affect the long term health of the offspring. In particular I am interestedin the effects of maternal exposure to toxicological agents found in our environment on the long term helath of exposed offspring.
Maternal Chemical Exposure - Cigarette Smoking during pregnancy and long term health effects in the offspring
In Scotland, approximately 20% of women still smoke during pregnancy. While it is widely recognised that smoking during pregnancy has numerous health effects on the fetus eg (preterm birth, low birthweight) in addition to these short term effects, the exposed fetus also has an increased risk for poor health outcomes which can manifest after birth eg increased risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and in later life eg childhood obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
The mechanisms underlying how smoking programmes these adverse long term health effects are still unclear.In collaboration with Profs Paul Fowler (University of Aberdeen) and (University of Glasgow). I am interested in determining whether the fetal adrenal gland may be involved in programming adverse health by maternal smoking. By determining how the smoking affects the human fetus, this may offer the potetnial to identify at risk indivisuals and develop ameliorative strategies so as to reduce these health risks.
Examining the effects of 'real life' exposure to environmental chemicals using sheep grazing biosolids treated pastures
There is a worrying increase in the incidence of disorders of reproductive system development and function in humans and an increase in couples requiring assisted reproductive techniques. There is concern that exposure to certain chemicals in our environment which can mimic or block the normal function of the endocrine system may be implicated in causing reproductive problems. The focus of my research is to examine how exposure to these so-called 'endocrine disrupting compounds' (EDCs) in our environment, at different life stages, may affect reproductive function.
In particular my research, in collaboration with Professors Neil Evans, IBAHCM, Richard Sharpe (University of Edinburgh), Paul Fowler (University of Aberdeen) and colleagues at the James Hutton Institute (Aberdeen) has used a model of chemical exposure (sheep pastured on fields fertilised with sludge/biosolids) to examine the effects of chemical exposure during pregnancy on the reproductive (and other) system. Biosolids (thermally dried sludge) areproduced from wastewater treatment, contains a complex mixture of anthropogenic chemicals (Table 1) and offers a 'real-life' model to examine the effects of fetal exposure to exogenous compounds (Figure 1). The Universtiy of Glasgow Cochno Farm and Research Centre is host to our unique experimental biosolids pastures which we have used to establish our "Biosolids-exposed sheep" model to address the effects of exposure to low-level chemical mixtures.
Our published studies have shown effects of biosolids exposure on the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) neuroendocrine axis which regulates normal reproductive function, as well as effects on the testes and ovaries of offsrpring exposed in utero. Chemical exposure rarely exists as one chemical, on the contrary humans are exposed to a complex mixture of chemcials which makes it very difficult to determine the potential effects.
List by: Type | Date
Jump to: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2010 | 2009 | 2007
Hough, D. , Robinson, J.E. , Bellingham, M. , Fleming, L.M., McLaughlin, M. , Jama, K., Haraldsen, I.R.H., Solbakk, A.K. and Evans, N.P. (2019) Peripubertal GnRH and testosterone co-treatment leads to increased familiarity preferences in male sheep. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 108, pp. 70-77. (doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.06.008) (PMID:31229635) (PMCID:PMC6712355)
Filis, P. et al. (2019) Long-term exposure to chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer alters liver lipid content in females and cancer marker expression in males. Environment International, 124, pp. 98-108. (doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.003) (PMID:30641261)
Walker, N., Filis, P., O'Shaughnessy, P. J. , Bellingham, M. and Fowler, P. A. (2019) Nutrient transporter expression in both the placenta and fetal liver are affected by maternal smoking. Placenta, 78, pp. 10-17. (doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2019.02.010) (PMID:PMC6461130) (PMCID:PMC6461130)
O'Shaughnessy, P. J. et al. (2019) Alternative (backdoor) androgen production and masculinization in the human fetus. PLoS Biology, 17(2), e3000002. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000002) (PMID:30763313) (PMCID:PMC6375548)
Wyse, C.A., Zhang, X., McLaughlin, M. , Biello, S.M. , Hough, D., Bellingham, M. , Curtis, A.M., Robinson, J.E. and Evans, N.P. (2018) Circadian rhythms of melatonin and behaviour in juvenile sheep in field conditions: effects of photoperiod, environment and weaning. Physiology and Behavior, 194, pp. 362-370. (doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.06.001) (PMID:29894760)
Dominoni, D. M. , de Jong, M., Bellingham, M. , O'Shaughnessy, P. , van Oers, K., Robinson, J. , Smith, B., Visser, M. E. and Helm, B. (2018) Dose-response effects of light at night on the reproductive physiology of great tits (Parus major): integrating morphological analyses with candidate gene expression. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, 329(8-9), pp. 473-487. (doi: 10.1002/jez.2214) (PMID:30058288) (PMCID:PMC6220976)
Johnston, Z. C. et al. (2018) The human fetal adrenal produces cortisol but no detectable aldosterone throughout the second trimester. BMC Medicine, 16, 23. (doi: 10.1186/s12916-018-1009-7) (PMID:29429410) (PMCID:PMC5808459)
Walker, N., Filis, P., Soffientini, U., Bellingham, M. , O'Shaughnessy, P. J. and Fowler, P. A. (2017) Placental transporter localization and expression in the human: the importance of species, sex and gestational age differences. Biology of Reproduction, 96(4), pp. 733-742. (doi: 10.1093/biolre/iox012) (PMID:28339967)
Hough, D. , Bellingham, M. , Haraldsen, J.R., McLaughlin, M. , Robinson, J.E. , Solbakk, A.K. and Evans, N.P. (2017) A reduction in long-term spatial memory persists after discontinuation of peripubertal GnRH agonist treatment in sheep. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 77, pp. 1-8. (doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.029) (PMID:27987429) (PMCID:PMC5333793)
Hough, D. , Bellingham, M. , Haraldsen, I.R.H., McLaughlin, M. , Rennie, M., Robinson, J.E. , Solbakk, A.K. and Evans, N.P. (2017) Spatial memory is impaired by peripubertal GnRH agonist treatment and testosterone replacement in sheep. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 75, pp. 173-182. (doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.10.016) (PMID:27837697) (PMCID:PMC5140006)
Bellingham, M. , Fowler, P.A., MacDonald, E.S., Mandon-Pepin, B., Cotinot, C., Rhind, S., Sharpe, R.M. and Evans, N.P. (2016) Timing of maternal exposure and fetal sex determine the effects of low-level chemical mixture exposure on the fetal neuroendocrine system in sheep. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 28(12), 12444. (doi: 10.1111/jne.12444) (PMID:27870155)
Huuskonen, P. et al. (2016) The human placental proteome is affected by maternal smoking. Reproductive Toxicology, 63, pp. 22-31. (doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.05.009) (PMID:27189315) (PMCID:PMC4991937)
Evans, N. P. , Bellingham, M. and Robinson, J. E. (2016) Prenatal programming of neuroendocrine reproductive function. Theriogenology, 86(1), pp. 340-348. (doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.04.047) (PMID:27142489)
Evans, N.P. , Bellingham, M. , Sharpe, R.M., Cotinot, C., Rhind, S.M., Kyle, C., Erhard, H., Hombach-Klonisch, S., Lind, P.M. and Fowler, P.A. (2014) Reproduction symposium: does grazing on biosolids-treated pasture pose a pathophysiological risk associated with increased exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds? Journal of Animal Science, 92(8), pp. 3185-3198. (doi: 10.2527/jas.2014-7763) (PMID:24948646)
Bellingham, M. , Amezaga, M. R., Mandon-Pepin, B., Speers, C. J.B., Kyle, C. E., Evans, N. P. , Sharpe, R. M., Cotinot, C., Rhind, S. M. and Fowler, P. A. (2013) Exposure to chemical cocktails before or after conception - the effect of timing on ovarian development. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 376(1-2), pp. 156-172. (doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2013.06.016)
Hombach-Klonisch, S. et al. (2013) Peri-conceptional changes in maternal exposure to sewage sludge chemicals disturbs fetal thyroid gland development in sheep. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 367(1-2), pp. 98-108. (doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2012.12.022)
Bellingham, M. and Sharpe, R. M. (2013) Chemical Exposures During Pregnancy: Dealing with Potential, but Unproven, Risks to Child Health. Other. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, London.
Bellingham, M. et al. (2012) Effects of exposure to environmental chemicals during pregnancy on the development of the male and female reproductive axes. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 47(S4), pp. 15-22. (doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0531.2012.02050.x)
Bellingham, M. , McKinnell, C., Fowler, P.A., Amezaga, M.R., Zhang, Z., Rhind, S.M., Cotinot, C., Mandon-Pepin, B., Evans, N.P. and Sharpe, R.M. (2012) Foetal and post-natal exposure of sheep to sewage sludge chemicals disrupts sperm production in adulthood in a subset of animals. International Journal of Andrology, 35(3), pp. 317-329. (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2011.01234.x)
Fowler, P. A. et al. (2012) Impact of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) on female reproductive health. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 355(2), pp. 231-239. (doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2011.10.021) (PMID:22061620)
Bellingham, M. , Fowler, P.A., Amezaga, M.R., Whitelaw, C.M., Rhind, S.M., Cotinot, C., Mandon-Pepin, B., Sharpe, R.M. and Evans, N.P. (2010) Foetal hypothalamic and pituitary expression of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone and galanin systems is disturbed by exposure to sewage sludge chemicals via maternal ingestion. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 22(6), pp. 527-533. (doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2010.01974.x)
Rhind, S.M. et al. (2010) Maternal and fetal tissue accumulation of selected endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) following exposure to sewage sludge-treated pastures before or after conception. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 12(8), pp. 1582-1593. (doi: 10.1039/c0em00009d)
Whitelaw, C.M., Rhind, S., Kyle, C., Bellingham, M. , Hastie, P. , Robinson, J.E. and Evans, N.P. (2010) Effect of Environmental Contaminants on Breeding Ewes and Foetal Lambs. In: Society for the Study of Reproduction Annual Meeting 2008, Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, 27–30 May 2008, (Unpublished)
Bellingham, M. , Fowler, P. A., Amezaga, M. R., Rhind, S. M., Cotinot, C., Mandon-Pepin, B., Sharpe, R. M. and Evans, N. P. (2009) Exposure to a complex cocktail of environmental endocrine-disrupting compounds disturbs the kisspeptin/GPR54 system in ovine hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(10), pp. 1556-1562. (doi: 10.1289/ehp.0900699)
Bellingham, M. and Evans, T. J. (2007) The α2β1 isoform of guanylyl cyclase mediates plasma membrane localized nitric oxide signalling. Cellular Signalling, 19(10), pp. 2183-2193. (doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2007.06.017) (PMID:17643962)
Jump to: Articles | Research Reports or Papers | Conference Proceedings
Research Reports or Papers
Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.
Transgenerational consequences of pre-conceptional and in utero exposure to real-life chemical mixtures on fertility and metabolic health
Prenatal programming of adult disease by maternal smoking: the adrenal gland as a key player? (ISSF)
Wellcome Trust
Effects of GnRH blockade on neurocognitive and physiological endpoints.
Does in-utero exposure to environmental chemicals affect kisspeptin reproductive regulatory systems in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in adulthood?
Society for Endocrinology
2019-2023 Christopher Elcombe (PhD Student) "Assessing the effects of low-level exposure to chemical mixtures on DNA methylation, oxidative stress and temporal health"- (second supervisor Neil Evans)
2019-2023 Franziska Tuerk (Lord Kelvin Adam Smith PhD Student) "Assessing the ecological impacts of biosolids application to land" -(second supervisor Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay)
Elcombe, Christopher
Assessing the effects of low-level exposure to chemical mixtures on DNA methylation, oxidative stress and temporal health
Tuerk, Franziska
Assessing the Ecological impacts of Sewage Sludge Recycling
2014-2018 Zoe Johnston, MRC Doctoral Training Programme for thesis entitled "The human fetal adrenal and the influence of maternal smoking" (Second Supervisor Peter O'Shaughnessy).
2017-2018 Jacqueline Jacot, MSc Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology for project entitled "Soiled: Occurrence of Microplastics in Soil Layers from Agricultural Land Treated with Sewage Sludge
2017-2018 Laura Downie, MRes Biomedical Sciences for project entitled "Establishing a new model for diabetes research: histological approaches toward understanding glucose and metabolic variation in a natural population" (Co-Supervisor Kevin Parsons).
2016-2017 Louie Aspinall, MRes Biomedical Sciences for project entitled "Does maternal grazing on biosolids fertilised pastures affect fetal adrenal development in sheep?" (Co-Supervisor Denise Hough)
Undergraduate Research Project Supervision
International Internship Projects
August-December 2017 Jennifer Stichlberger, temasek Polytechnic (Singapore) "Effects of Gestational Exposure to a Real-Life Cocktail of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals on the Liver of One Day Old Lambs"
April-July 2016 Leo Truglia, IUT Lyon 1 (France)- Project 'Quantification of steroid hormones in eggs of songbirds from sites along an urban and rural gradient' (Co-supervisor Barbara Helm)
June-August 2015 Raphaelle Ollivier, ECOLE NATIONALE DE FORMATION AGRONOMIQUE ENFA (France) - 'Does exposure to chemicals in-utero affect the normal development of the reproductive system in male lambs?'
January-June 2013 Tan Shun Jing, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore)- project 'Examining the effects of developmental exposure to environmental chemicals on the adult reproductive neuroendocrine axis in sheep'
January-June 2012 Oh Sin Wen, Valerie, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Singapore)- 'Does Prenatal Androgen Exposure Affects the Expression of Angiogenesis Related Factors and its Receptors in Ovine Placentome?'
Funded Summer Student Scholarships (10 weeks)
2018 'Is the Kisspeptin/GnRH neuroendocrine system a target through which environmental chemicals could alter reproductive function?' British Society for Neuroendocrinology Student Laboratory Experience Grant
2014 'Effects of artificial light at night on settlement decisions and reproductive development of wild birds'. IBAHCM Summer Studentship. (Co-Supervisors Dr Barbara Helm, Dr Jane Robinson, Prof Peter O'Shaughnessy)
2014 'Morphological Variation of Fish and Macro-Invertebrates from three Lochs in Northern Ireland'- Fisheries Society of the British Isles (Co-Supervisor Lydia Bach, Queen's University, Belfast).
2012 'The Ontogeny of "black tail" pathology in Brown Trout caused by Chronic Heavy Metal Toxicity'- Fisheries Society of the British Isles (Co-Supervisor Willie Yeomans, Clyde River Foundation).
2012 'Does environmental chemical exposure pose a risk to male reproductive health?' Wellcome Vets Vacation Scholarships
2009 'Exposure to environmental pollutants can negatively affect the reproductive neuroendocrine axis. Is the timing of exposure important?' Wellcome Vets Vacation Scholarships
2009 'Does prenatal exposure to testosterone in a female affect neuroendocrine systems that regulate reproductive function?' British Society for Neuroendocrinology Student Laboratory Experience Grant (Co-Supervisor Jane Robinson)
2008 'Examining the effects of exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds on pituitary gonadotrophs and their receptors'. Wellcome Vets Vacation Scholarships
Honours Projects
2017/2018 "The Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) on the Male Benthic Selachimorpha Galeus Melastomus (Blackmouth catshark) in the Eastern Mediterranean" Magdalene Papadothoulou (MSci Marine and Freshawater Biology)
2017/2018 "An Investigation into the Oxidative Stress of the Liver in Ovis aries Following Exposure to Pasture Treated with Biosolids" Alice Gilyeat (BSc Zoology)
2017/2018 "An investigation into oxidative stress in Mytilus edulis, collected from different sites in the Clyde Estuary" Chloe Erskine (BSc Marine and Freshwater Biology)
2016/2017 "Assessing Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) welfare in captivity using wild conspecifics as a welfare indicator and environmental enrichment to enhance welfare" Shellie Walsh (BSc Zoology)
2015/2016 "Steroidogenic enzyme expression in adrenal glands from 1 day old lambs exposed to sewage sludge chemicals in utero" Yin Kwok (BSc Zoology)
2015/2016 "The effect of anti-parasitic drug Rycoben on the invertebrate colonisation of sheep dung" Hannah Davidson (BSc Zoology)
2014/2015 "Environmental enrichment to improve welfare of captive chimpanzees" Karen Rostron (BSc Zoology)
2013/2014 "The effects of a mixture of endocrine disrupting chemicals on oestrogen receptor numbers in the ovine sexually dimorphic nucelus" Michelle Oswald (BSc Zoology)
2013/2014 "Effects of Inhibiting gonadotrophin releasing hormone on the fear response in male sheep: A novel object test" Shauna McBrearty (BSc Zoology)
2012/2013 "The effects of in-utero exposure to chemicals in sewage sludge via maternal grazing on treated pasture before and/or after conception on female fetal pituitary gonadotrophs" Kate Hall (BSc Zoology)
2012/2013 "Oxidative stress gene expression in black-tailed juvenile Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) exposed to lead contaminated water" Nally Tan (BSc MArine and Freshwater Biology)
2012/2013 "A Study of the morphology of Hawksbill Nesting Beaches in the North of Tobago" Andrew Nuttall (BSc Marine and Freshwater Biology)
2011/2012- "Sewage Sludge: Effects on Kisspeptin/Estrogen Receptor alpha Co-expression and the Ovine Hypothalamus" Victoria Caginalp (BSc Veterinary Biosciences)
BSc (Hons) Veterinary Biosciences
BVMS
Professional activities & recognition
Grant committees & research advisory boards
2016 - 2020: British Society for Neuroendocrinology, Grants Review Panel
2017: Breast Cancer UK, Scientific Review Panel
2020: Medical Research Council, Grant Reviewer
2018: Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
2018: Behavioural Neuroscience
Professional & learned societies
2016 - 2020: Chair of Grants Committee, British Society for Neuroendocrinology
2020: Treasurer, British Society for Neuroendocrinology
2019: Public Engagement Committee, Society for Endocrinology
2017: Media Ambassador, Society for Endocrinology
Selected international presentations
2018: International Congress on Neuroendocrinology (Toronto)


Zoom! is a scientifically advanced, patent pending, tooth whitening procedure. It is safe, effective and fast for anyone looking for immediate results. With the new Zoom! 2 system, patients experience up to 67% less sensitivity than with the previous Zoom! system. And it is also 33% faster with results in 45 minutes.


text:
Commercial Drone Industry Update: Analysis of Q1 2017
Trying to keep track of everything that's happening in the drone space is practically a full time job. Technology developments and changes to regulation are enough to keep up with on their own, but the various ways in which professionals of all types and sizes are looking at adoption means there's that much more to assess and consider. It's as important as it is difficult to try to stay up-to-date with it all.
On episode #42 of the Commercial Drones FM podcast, Drone Industry Review: Q1 2017, host Ian Smith does what he can to ease that burden when it comes to what happened in the industry so far in 2017. He runs through 15 topics in 20 minutes, which is about as concise as you can get when you're talking through everything from software developments to delivery drones to how professionals in industries like mining and utilities are using these tools.
I've been able to connect with Ian for a few additional insights around various episodes of his podcast, but between what he talked through and wrote up on his site, he's already shared plenty. If you haven't had a chance to listen to the episode yet, it's available below. What follows is a few additional thoughts focused on some of the items that were discussed on the show.
Arguably the biggest piece of news on the hardware front this year was DJI's announcement of the M200, which is a drone they've built specifically to be an enterprise solution. Echoing a theme that's come up in various contexts for multiple users, the fact that DJI is just as focused on how users can utilize the data they're gathering from this drone as they are with the hardware is critical. It goes back to the concept of a holistic solution that enterprise users can properly leverage, regardless of the details associated with that process.
Sensor capabilities are advancing by the day, and it's incredible to think they're still in their infancy. Thermal, multispectral and hyperspectral sensors are opening up new opportunities, and companies like FLIR are leading that charge as they work to drive down the size, weight, power and cost of thermal imaging.
Larger-sized devices from RIEGL need to be utilized in the proper setting to create a worthwhile value proposition, but the opportunity they represent is real. These tools can be used to effectively perform aerial surveys of infrastructure and complex urban environments.
Parrot's pivot to the commercial drone industry, the failure of Lily Robotics and the acquisition of Skyward by Verizon are all major developments, and they all happened within the first couple months of the year. The shakeups we've seen so far in 2017 are fairly significant and could be very indicative of what else we're going to see this year and beyond.
It hasn't been that long since Colin Guinn founded Hangar, and his inclusion in the DJI/GoPro story was a reminder of what a significant role he's played in the history of this industry. What does Hangar have in store for 2017?
Many were happy to see the definition that Part 107 brought to the industry, but the ability to operate BVLOS and fly at night are the sorts of operations that professionals are still looking to see rolled out. What it means to enact sensible regulation on a federal and local level is still an open question.
News of Caterpillar and Airware teaming up to help construction, mining and quarrying organizations utilize drones along with the strategic alliance between John Deere and Kespry is a great illustration of how and where professionals are going to have the best opportunity to get their hands on drones. Perhaps more importantly, these agreements will enable users to talk with fellow professionals in specific terms around the impact of the technology.
The "drone in the box" from Airobotics is absolutely one of the most innovative and practical uses of the technology out there, and their work to define what it means to operate BVLOS is a great indication of where they're headed in a figurative and literal sense.
Updates around how professionals in specific industries are difficult to even partially explore in a review like this, but the ways in which drones are being used in construction and agriculture are becoming more refined by the day. Elsewhere, the way in which drones will impact the future of the telecommunications industry is incredibly important to recognize.
"This is the future, here, in my opinion." - @TheChadColby #DDWebinar pic.twitter.com/EbGNukegym
— DroneDeploy (@DroneDeploy) April 26, 2017
Speaking of the agriculture industry, proof of how quickly things happen and develop was on full display for this industry as DroneDeploy just announced an experimental new tool designed to create a map as your drone flies so you can take action before it lands. Chad Colby has already commented about how he sees this technology changing things for the better, and it's the type of development that proves how fast things move in this space.
What Does It Mean for Public Safety Departments to Successfully Manage Drone Data?
The Top 7 Drone Visionaries in 7 Commercial Markets – Construction
The 25 Most Influential People in the Commercial Drone Industry – Part 1
What Does the Push for a Complete Drone Solution in Construction Mean for the Industry?
What Does the European UAV Market Need?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
You are here: Things to do > Scrabo Golf Club
Scrabo Golf Club
233 Scrabo Road, Newtownards, County Down, BT23 4SL
Scrabo, set in the shadow of its famous tower, has its own unique personality and is a favourite amongst Northern Ireland golfers.
The course offers magnificent views over Strangford Lough and the Mourne Mountains. Renowned for its narrow, gorse-bordered fairways, accurate driving is essential, no more so than at the 424m par 4 1st hole which Christy O'Connor Senior described as one of the best opening holes in Ireland.
Golf Club:
Type of course: Links/Parkland Course professional: Yes
Best days to play:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Restrictions Saturday and Sunday AM and on Wednesday.
SSS:
Length in yards:
Par of course:
Handicap/certificate requirements:
Attraction Facilities
18 holes
Trollies available
Tuition Available
All major credit/debit cards accepted
Green fees:
Weekdays: £20 or £15 with a member.
Weekends: £30 or £20 with a member.
Fri Deal £15
Societies - Please visit the Green Fees section under "Visitors" menu on our website (www.scrabogolfclubni.com) for full listing of 2019 Society Pacakges.
Tel+44 (0) 28 9181 2355
* Sunday – Saturday: dawn to dusk
The Market Cross
At the east of High Street in Newtownards the Market Cross was built in 1636 but was…
At the south east edge of Newtownards these substantial remains of a Dominican (Black)…
St Mary's Comber
St Mary's Parish Church stands on the site of a Cistercian Abbey built in 1199. It was of…
Rollo Gillespie Monument
Situated in The Square in Comber, it was erected in 1845 to commemorate the bravery of…
Movilla Abbey
Movilla Abbey, Methodist and Church of Ireland.
As important as Bangor, Movilla was…
The Ark Open Farm
The Ark Open Farm is a fantastic family day out; the farm itself is set in 40 acres of…
Somme Museum
The Museum examines Ireland's role in the 1st World War with special reference to the…
The Battletown Gallery
The gallery seeks to promote quality irish art in a relaxed atmosphere and displays a…
Comber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church
Comber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church was built on a site donated by James Andrews…
WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre
Ireland's largest collection of ducks, geese and swans. Viewing from hides, waterfowl…
Directions from Town:
On Scrabo Road, off the main Belfast to Newtownards carriageway. Follow the signs to Scrabo Country Park.


"The three years 2016 to 2019 will change South Africa more significantly than any other time since the dawn of democracy in 1994. The bookends of that process are the 2016 local elections at which the ruling African National Congress lost control of three of the country's major cities, and the mid-2019 general election, at which it will be fighting to retain its monopoly on national political power. This offers South Africa both a crisis and an opportunity." This is the opinion of journalist and author John Matisonn who is currently at STIAS to work on his forthcoming book provisionally titled Apocalypse 2016-2019: Decline of Jacob Zuma, Rise of South Africa?
Matisonn sees the 2016 local elections as the crisis point for the ANC when it became clear that change was needed and quickly. "The ANC lost three main cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth – their support went down to 53% and even further to 47% during Zuma's last days." This heralded the ousting of Zuma but the 2019 election will show whether it's possible for the ANC to turn the situation around.
Matisonn is particularly interested in analysing the intersection of political and economic ideas and practice and will "draw on the lessons of the first 23 years of democracy to understand state capture, why and how the country was able to turn it back, and what is needed to create jobs and grow the economy effectively".
"During the Zuma Presidency we moved from ordinary corruption to state capture which is essentially using the state to serve the interests of a small cabal," he said.
Among the political institutions he mentioned as having been substantially damaged during this period he includes the tripartite alliance, where Cosatu has been split and substantially weakened, the Communist Party which, in 2017 for the first time put up candidates against local ANC candidates; and, the ANC youth and women's leagues. Government institutions undermined in the same period include the South African Revenue Service "previously one of the best-functioning government departments", the National Prosecuting Authority and the Treasury.
"Zuma also tried to impose media censorship via the Secrecy Bill and the proposed Media Tribunal," added Matisonn.
Matisonn will not only focus on the Zuma era but will also look at some of the political and economic decisions that arose in the Mbeki and Mandela presidencies that have substantially affected the country.
He pointed out that in the 1980s South Africa accounted for 40% of world mining, now it's less than 5% and many of the big mining companies have left the country. He believes it's important to confront how that happened.
His work will examine how countries, including China and Japan, overcame national resistance to modernisation and provide examples of policy decisions that would significantly reduce unemployment and entrench job creation. In this regard he sees sectors like the information economy, mining, renewable energy and education as areas where "low-hanging fruit makes the biggest successes possible from decisive policy and implementation commitments".
"Building a public consensus around shared goals will be essential," he said.
"President Ramaphosa is the right person at the right time. He knows what he wants to do. Hopefully he can get enough time to do it".


text:
Tag Archives: Jogging Pals
Runners have kept their passion for events in the Lake District in spite of lockdown, according to a new survey.
They have been training hard and planning for the time when races and fun runs can start again.
The survey was carried out by Kendal-based Jogging Pals who have been coaching and inspiring everyone from beginners to ultra runners for a number of years.
When lockdown forced the cancellation of trail races and other events planned for the spring and summer, Jogging Pals director Wayne Singleton took the opportunity to find out what runners really wanted in the future.
The survey, published via social media, attracted hundreds of responses from around the country. "It proved that there's great enthusiasm for the Lakes as a centre for all kinds of running, not just the ultra-endurance efforts we've seen this summer," said Wayne, a UK Athletics coach.
As a result, his team is working on plans for some unusual running events, which will include sailing some of the most iconic Lakes as well – and taking a ride on a steam train. RunSteamRun will launch next month and the date will be announced shortly.
Wayne also found a lot of affection for the Lake District among the parkrunning community; Cumbria has a dozen regular parkruns which attract runners of all abilities.
"Our runners want us to provide real Lakeland experiences for them, not just races," said Wayne. "And they show a real spirit of adventure too – many of them would like us to organise trips to running events throughout Europe."
One who took part in the survey was the lucky winner of a £100 voucher to spend at running specialists Pete Bland Sports. The winning name was pulled out of a hat – literally – by Wayne when the survey closed.
"We are really pleased to see that runners have found the motivation to carry on training," Wayne said. "Now we are listening to their requests and will organise some special events as soon as we are allowed."
This entry was posted in tourism, Uncategorized and tagged Jogging Pals, Lake District, running on July 30, 2020 by Stagey Lady.
Motivational running team head for awards night
A young business which has led more than 400 newcomers to take up running is in line for a sports award.
Jogging Pals has been shortlisted in the finals of the Cumbria Sports Awards, which will be celebrated on Friday night.
Founded three years ago by Glyn Rose and Wayne Singleton, both England Athletics coaches, the Jogging Pals programme has taken former non-runners from couch to 5k throughout Cumbria and North Lancashire.
Glyn, Wayne and run leader Helen Pye
The scheme has been so successful that the business now has six running leaders and is organising "improvers" programmes for runners who want to continue to 10k, 20k or even further. There are also guided runs in association with the National Trust and the Forestry Commission at Sizergh Castle and Grizedale Forest.
"It's a great honour to be shortlisted for this award, and a tribute to our team," said Wayne Singleton, a former smoker and drinker who now competes in triathlons, has run marathons, and is a keen open water swimmer. He works at the Alpkit store in Ambleside.
He started running again, after being a junior athlete, when he was breathless walking up the stairs. "It changed my life, and I wanted to do something to help others," he said.
Those "others" include couch-potatoes who have lost weight, taken part in competitive races and even trained as coaches themselves. Some run for fun, or for the social side of running. "We wanted to prove that running is for anyone, even if they have never run before."
He and Glyn Rose, another "convert", have since taken part in the Great Manchester 10k, Great North Run, London Marathon, New York Marathon, and Lakeland 50. Wayne has also competed in the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert.
Their aim was to encourage newcomers to achieve 5k with encouragement, with one training session a week and two other runs. "The plan was then to let them loose in the wild, as we put it, as there are so many running clubs in the region" said Glyn. "But we found that our members wanted motivation to do more, so that's why we introduced programmes to extend their distances."
Jogging Pals pay £45 for an eight-week programme, and members are encouraged to join up together to run at other times. "One of the keys to our success is enabling people to 'pal up' as the weeks go by, to train with other people who may live close by, and to make friends," said Glyn. "The social aspect of jogging is massively important to us, and we make a lot of friends through this. But we also acknowledge that for some people, we are improving their health and fitness, and even saving their lives."
Their website (https://www.joggingpals.co.uk/) carries testimonials from newcomers, often seriously overweight, who have benefited from the programme, and have carried on running.
One wrote: "In the final night of the course I jogged without stopping once for the full 5k and I was elated. By the end I'd realised I'm a tortoise. I'm slow but steady and I get there in the end." He now has an entry for the Great North Run.
The annual Cumbria Sports Awards will be held on Friday at The Low Wood Bay Hotel, Windermere. The event recognises the outstanding talents, commitment and successes of teams and individuals throughout Cumbria who are involved in sport.
https://www.joggingpals.co.uk/
This entry was posted in Sport, Uncategorized and tagged jogging, Jogging Pals, Lakes, outdoors, running on November 22, 2017 by Stagey Lady.


360 Weather is a free weather app, providing real-time weather reminders and accurate weather forecasts. Users can learn current weather condition within 2 hours and overview of 10-day weather forecast by attractive animations. Let 360 Weather be part of your lifestyle.
1. Supported by over 3,000,000 weather stations , 360 Weather adopted the most authoritative weather data source.
2. 24 hour weather condition all in one glance, get ready before going outside with current 2-hour weather report.
3. Provides at most 10-days weather forecast , users can see the details in every single day.
5. Display the real-time location weather, add up to 10 cities and easy to switch the location by slide the screen.
6. Get weekend weather report in advance, fully prepared for going out.
7. Warm tips morning & night, weather info updated at real time, easy to get in notification bar.
8. Cares about your life with daily tips, including the index of UV , Sports, Drive and Health.
9. Get all the details: wind, precipitation, sunrise & sunset, phase, etc.
10. Developed following guidelines of Android material design to offer an amazing user experience.
11. Weather widget on your home screen, easy to get weather information.
12. Weather radar map and satellite.
13. Notification in the evening, reminds you to pay attention to the weather at night.
14. Camera function, seizes and records the wonderful moments of weather in your life.
If you like our weather forecast app, please rate us. We look forward to your reviews.


text:
Q: How to get data from Collection Map in discord.js For my bot in discord, I would like a !help command that loops through all commands, gets the name, and returns them in a message back to the user. I have created fs to loop through my /commands/ folder:
for (const file of commandFiles) {
    const command = require(`./commands/${file}`);
    client.extraCommands.set(command.name, command);
}

console.log(client.extraCommands);

Returns a Collection Map that looks like: (cropped for sake of simplicity)
Collection [Map] {
  'args-info' => {
    name: 'args-info',
    execute: [Function: execute]
  },
  'channel-info' => {
    name: 'channel-info',
    execute: [Function: execute]
  }

All I need is to store the name of each command into an array.
I've tried looping through to get the key but that doesn't seem to work...
Thanks in advance for any help

A: Looks like the key names are your command names, so this should do the trick.

let keys = Array.from(client.extraCommands.keys());

A: So, at first, I thought I should make a loop to go through all files and get the 'name' attribute. However, the .keys() returns an array for all properties inside the map
Documentation

A: Both lines of codes will return the same result as you want.
[...client.extraCommands.keys()] //using map keys
[...client.extraCommands.values()].map(({name})=> name); // using key 'name' from each map value

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


FIrst Aid for Nosebleeds - Do you need help and info?
It is best to sit upright and lean forward during nosebleeds. By staying upright you reduce blood pressure in the veins of the nose. The upright position will give the clot a better chance of forming as laying down increases the blood pressure in the nose and may hinder clot formation.
Sitting forward will help avoid swallowing blood, which can irritate the stomach and make the person feel sick. Tilting the head back can block the airway and cause difficulty breathing. Also the blood going down the throat may cause the person to cough, therefore increase the blood pressure in the head, which may dislodge any clot that is forming. Then we are back at square one.
Pinch the soft/lower end of the nose, below the bony part. This is usually easiest with a thumb and index finger. Hold the nose closed for at least 5 minutes before checking. If it has not stopped then pinch for another 10 minutes before checking again. Do not check before then as the clot needs time to form. You will need to breath through the mouth.
NOTE:- the purpose of applying pressure is to help the blood form a clot at the wound site. The less blood flow the quicker a clot can form. This is the body's natural way of forming a "cork" to block the blood from exiting, much in the way a cork stops wine from leaving a bottle.
Tissues may be needed or a damp cloth to "catch" the oozing blood.
It is debatable if ice or a cold compress placed around the nose helps.
Any drug application should been done under medical advice.
Once bleeding has stopped do not remove any clotted blood that remains in the nose or blow the nose. This can be very tempting as the nose can feel blocked and difficult to breath through but resist as re-bleeding can occur so easily while the area is still fragile.
Avoid bending over for several hours as lowering the head increases the blood pressure in the nose and may dislodge the clot and bleeding may recommence. This can also be said for lying down.
If bleeding starts again blow the nose hard to dislodge and remove any blood clots and start the process again.
If re-bleeding occurs and the bleeding does not stop again in 10 minutes.
If nosebleeds keep occurring to find the underlying problem.
If bleeding from the nose occurred because of an accident or blow to the head the person may need to be examined to rule out any other head injury.
If the affected person is taking anti-clotting medication, including aspirin or warfarin or the like, the dose may need adjusting. Please do not take the person off the medication as they will have been put on it for a good reason, so they will need to consult their doctor.


text:
Women's Rowing
Rowing Recruits
Row at Iowa
Our Recruitment
Experienced Rowers Questionnaire
Department Recruiting Info
Head coach Andrew Carter
Beckwith Boathouse
Women's Rowing / March 19, 2011
Hawkeyes Race Oklahoma, Texas and San Diego
Complete Friday Results in PDF Format
Complete Saturday AM Results in PDF Format
Complete Saturday PM Results in PDF Format
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Iowa women's rowing team kicked off the 2011 spring season at the Longhorn Invitational. The Hawkeyes raced the University of Oklahoma Friday night and took on the Texas Longhorns and San Diego Saturday on Lady Bird Lake.
On Friday, the first day of competition, Iowa posted its first win against Oklahoma in the 2V8. Iowa's boat went a time of 7:29.9, while Oklahoma's finished at 7:47.1.
The Hawkeyes continued the competition on Saturday, facing Texas in the morning and San Diego in the afternoon.
Despite Texas being unbeaten at the Longhorn Invitational, the Hawkeyes raced strong against its crews. Iowa's 2V8 boat came in second in the event with a time of 7:21.2. The last boat to race was the 1V8 and it posted a second place finish of 7:06.9-to-7:14.7.
Iowa notched three victories against San Diego. Its first victory came in the 1N8 boat with a finishing time of 8:17.7 ahead of San Diego's boat finishing at 8:29.5. The Hawkeyes went on to win the 2V8 7:50.5-to-8:00.4 and 1V8 7:33.2-to-7:40.5.
The Hawkeyes will conclude competition at the Longhorn Invitational Sunday morning when they face Kansas State.
Former Hawkeye Anna Herdlein Passes Away
Women's Rowing / December 17, 2020 Former Hawkeye Anna Herdlein Passes Away
Rowing Adds Ernst to Staff
Women's Rowing / July 13, 2020 Rowing Adds Ernst to Staff
Whitty Joins Iowa Rowing
Women's Rowing / July 13, 2020 Whitty Joins Iowa Rowing


text:
<?php

namespace Jade\Parser;

class Exception extends \Exception
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
jQuery plugin appendTo
======================

Simple plugin to append in specific index position.

Usage
==========

Options:
	index: index position of the element
	content: element
	replace: if you wish replace the current element in the index position

$(document).ready(function(){
       $("div").appendAt(1, $("<p />").html('paragrafo 1')).appendAt(2, $("<p />").html('paragrafo 2'));
	   //In this case the second paragraph replace the first
	   $("div").appendAt(1, $("<p />").html('paragrafo 1')).appendAt(1, $("<p />").html('paragrafo 2'), true);
    });


text:
a day in the (reading) life
"Having read the book, I'd love to turn you on" – Lennon & McCartney
Tag: Literary Fiction
Curdella Forbes' A Tall History of Sugar
On January 10, 2021 By upstateasbIn African-American Literature, Fiction, Literary CriticismLeave a comment
Hardcover Publication Date: October 1, 2019 / Publisher: Akashic Books
A Tall History of Sugar delivers a tall order of beautiful language, a giddy, glorious and, yes, intoxicating order. Just as I wrote this, one tiny example came to mind, two words only: "ploughing darkness". Dark, but lovely, isn't it? How recognizable to any of us afflicted by the human condition. Hard work, that ploughing, and usually fruitless. Next time I find myself cultivating my particular patch in the "slough of despond" I'll know what to call it.
OK, OK, this intoxicating novel of modern day Jamaica. Ms. Forbes' enchanting words took me to Jamaica right away, a sugar rush of language and culture. Growing sugar cane is and has been pervasive in Jamaican history: plantations enriching the British Empire, labor supply feeding off the slave trade, the black smoke of cane fires blanketing the island to this day. And so begins the love story of Moshe and Arrienne .
When newly born, Moshe (Moses) was found abandoned in the sea grapes and taken in by childless Rachel and Noah. Through some defect of birth or, perhaps, his mysterious parentage, he is strikingly different and will be all his life. His skin bleeds at a touch and is white as milk, but his facial features are those of a black man. One eye is blue, the other brown, and his hair is a combination of blond and straight, black and curly. Moshe and Arrienne meet as school children. She is a growing beauty and dark as midnight. She's also fierce, practiced in tae kwan do and readily assumes the role of protector and constant companion to Moshe. She thinks of the two of them as twins or, sometimes, "nottwins", and they can communicate without speaking. As adults, they lose this ability and are estranged, but there remains an inexorable pull, a need for each other.
While Arrienne is out-spoken, quick to anger and fully human, Moshe, to me, was more of a being than a person – perhaps (probably?) purposely. I usually step lightly around symbolism because you can always find something if you want to, but Moshe's character struck me as Christ-like. Not without sin, but tormented and stoic, paying for something, bleeding. Hmmm, well………you'll have to come to your own conclusions. Ms. Forbes is a writer-to-the-bone, and I won't presume to speak for her. Intoxicating, yes, and as lyrical as Jamaican patois. Sorry, I've rambled on too long, but it's my word hangover talking. Speaking of patois (way to segue), I was intrigued and went online to explore. Guess what? There are lessons! Some say it is a language, and others call it a dialect, but, no matter, it's beautiful – as is Ms. Forbes' moving book. Worth the word hangover.
Katie Lowe's The Furies
On July 14, 2020 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Literary Fiction, Psychological ThrillerLeave a comment
Hardcover Publication Date: October 8, 2019 / Expected Paperback Publication Date: September 15, 2020 / Publisher: St. Martin's Press
An exclusive British girl's school has an eerie history, and I was expecting (hoping for, actually) witches. Haven't done witches in such a long, long time and was not in the mood for anything that smacked of reality. Well, it's not witches– exactly, nor is it reality – exactly. The school is Elm Hollow, and, yes, there were witch trials there in the seventeenth century. As a result, Margaret Boucher, the school's founder was burned on the spot where the wych elm now stands, and there have been rumors of sorcery at Elm Hollow ever since. OK, witches, maybe. The reality? Modern day adolescents. Lest you're starting to think Harry Potterish, oh, no, it is not. These kids are the good, the bad, and the ugly: drugs, drinking, sex, spite, revenge, gossip. And sorcery? Sort of.
Violet, the narrator and central figure, is the new girl and something of a loner who is drawn into an existing clique. There's wealthy Alexandra whose mother studies the occult; Grace, the academic one; and Robin — daring, artsy with piercings and hair dyed a garish red. There was Emily, also, but she's disappeared, feared to be the victim of a predator. Violet is brought into the group by Robin, and, while she has doubts and wonders if she is replacing Emily, she wants so much to belong. All four are the chosen acolytes of Annabelle, a gifted teacher, who leads them in an extracurricular class focused on women throughout history who have used force and fury to right wrongs as only women can. Leaders, followers, wannabes – and sorcery. But is it really? More accurately, maybe it's just experimentation with sorcery – an adolescent fascination. Oh, yes, to be sure, there are five deaths with links to these four, a range of deaths from gruesome to bizarre and one that is mysteriously serene. Possibly murders, maybe accidents, or perhaps natural causes. Is it coincidence that these are linked to the girls? Could be. Or sorcery. Let's put it this way, if it's not sorcery, it's not for lack of trying because these girls have secrets to hide and scores to settle. A pretty good read, this, fierce and entertaining, and you'll be glad to know that, like most beloved old school traditions, Elm Hollow's is in good hands and will continue passing to future generations of girls.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
BLOG TOUR! Alex George's The Paris Hours
On May 12, 2020 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary FictionLeave a comment
The Paris Hours by Alex George
Publication Date: May 5, 2020
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Paris Hours! Check out my thoughts and ruminations on the book, as well as an excerpt, below.
What do an Armenian puppeteer, a down-on-his-luck artist, a French journalist with dreams of America, and Marcel Proust's former housekeeper all have in common? At first you'll think "absolutely nothing", but oh, you would be wrong.
Author Alex George's newest offering rambles unhurriedly through a single day in the City of Lights in the time between the Wars, introducing us to this foursome of Parisians (both native and not), each with a quiet purpose, each unknown to the others. Armenian Souren Balakian is a refugee, who scrapes out an existence giving free puppet shows in a local park each day for coins thrown in a suitcase. The quintessential starving artist, Guillaume Blanc, needs a big sale from one of his works in order to pay off an unsavory mobster. Journalist Jean-Paul Maillard, who pines for his wife and child, is perhaps the most melancholy of the quartet (although Souren could give him a run for his money there); he's constantly looking for his daughter but will he ever find her? Finally, Camille Clermont embarks on city-wide search for a lost journal belonging to Proust and harboring a black secret. And while our protagonists are seemingly ordinary folks, they also rub elbows in Paris with Gertude Stein, Josephine Baker, Ernest Hemingway, Mr. Proust, and host of other only slightly-lesser celebrity lights.
The characters are the thing here, and these characters are Alex George's strength. As the day unfolds, stories and histories are revealed, and we come to know and understand Camlle, Jean-Paul, Souren and Guillaume a little bit better with each passing page. This is a novel on a constant, slow burn and, if you're looking for a quick payoff, you won't find it here. Kindling is steadily and masterfully thrown on the smoldering embers of each individuals' story until they all come together in one blazing conflagration. This is a novel that rewards patience.
Many thanks to Flatiron Books and Cat Kenney for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour and providing me with a review copy of The Paris Hours. Many more thanks are due to Alex George for creating this lovely story and sharing it with us.
During these difficult days, it's more important than ever to support our small and local businesses. If you're so inclined, you can click here to purchase this title from your local indie bookstore. And check out the excerpt below!
THE ARMENIAN WORKS BY the light of a single candle. His tools lie in front of him on the table: a spool of cotton, a square of fabric, haberdasher's scissors, a needle.
The flame flickers, and shadows leap across the walls of the tiny room, dancing ghosts. Souren Balakian folds the fabric in half, checks that the edges align exactly, and then he picks up the scissors. He feels the resistance beneath his fingers as the steel blades bite into the material. He always enjoys this momentary show of defiance before he gives the gentlest of squeezes, and the scissors cut through the doubled-up fabric. He eases the blades along familiar contours, working by eye alone. He has done this so many times, on so many nights, there is no need to measure a thing. Torso, arms, neckline—this last cut wide, to accommodate the outsized head.
When he has finished, there are two identical shapes on the table in front of him. He sweeps the unused scraps of cloth onto the floor, and picks up the needle and thread. After the sundering, reconstitution. Holding the two pieces of material in perfect alignment, he pushes the tip of the needle through both layers of fabric, and pulls the thread tight. He works with ferocious deliberation, as if it is his very life that he is stitching back together. He squints, careful to keep the stitches evenly spaced. When he is finished, he breaks the thread with a sharp twist of his fingers and holds the garment up in the half-light. A small grunt of satisfaction.
Night after night Souren sits at this bench and sews a new tunic. By the end of the day it will be gone, a cloud of gray ash blowing in the wind, and then he will sit down and create another.
He lays the completed costume on the work surface and stands up. He surveys the ranks of sightless eyes that stare unblinking into the room. Rows of hooks have been hammered into the wall. A wooden hand puppet hangs from every one. There are portly kings and beautiful princesses. There are brave men with dangerous eyes, and a haggard witch with warts on her ugly chin. There are cherubic children, their eyes too wide and innocent for this motley group. There is a wolf.
This ragtag crowd is Souren's family now.
He unhooks a young boy called Hector and carries him to the table. He pulls the newly sewn tunic over Hector's head. He turns the puppet toward him and examines his handiwork. Hector is a handsome fellow, with a button nose and rosy cheeks. The tunic fits him well. The puppet performs a small bow and waves at him.
"Ah, Hector," whispers Souren sadly. "You are always so happy to see me, even when you know what is to come." He looks up at the clock on the wall. It is a few hours past midnight. The new day has already begun.
Each evening Souren battles sleep for as long as he can. He works long into the night, applying fresh coats of paint to the puppets and sewing new clothes for them by candlelight. He stays at his workbench until his eyes are so heavy that he can no longer keep them open. But there is only so long he can fight the inevitable. His beloved puppets cannot protect him from the demons that pursue him through the darkest shadows of the night.
His dreams always come for him in the end.
A Rude Awakening
RAT-A-TAT-TAT.
Guillaume Blanc sits up in his bed, his heart smashing against his ribs, his breath quick, sharp, urgent. He stares at the door, waiting for the next angry tattoo.
The whispered words he heard through the door scream at him now: Three days.
His shoulders slump. There is nobody knocking, not this time. The noise is coming from somewhere closer. Guillaume turns and squints through the window above the bed. The first blush of early morning sunlight smears the sky. From up here on the sixth floor, the rooftops of the city stretch out beneath him, a glinting cornucopia of slate and glass, a tapestry of cupolas and towers. There is the culprit: a woodpecker, richly plumed in blue and yellow, perched halfway up the window frame. It is staring beadily at the wood, as if trying to remember what it is supposed to do next.
It is early, too early for anything good.
The shock of adrenaline subsides enough for Guillaume to register that his temples are pounding. He rolls over, spies a glass of cloudy water on the floor next to the bed, and drinks it thirstily. He rubs a dirty palm against his forehead. An ocean of pain to drown in. An empty wine bottle lies on its side in the middle of the small room. He stole it from the back of Madame Cuillasse's kitchen cupboard when he staggered in last night. It was covered in dust and long forgotten, not even good enough for her coq au vin, but by then Guillaume was too drunk to care.
It feels as if the woodpecker is perched on the tip of Guillaume's nose and is jabbing its sharp little beak right between his eyes. It's typical of his luck, he reflects. The bird has no business in the dirty, narrow streets of Montmartre. It should be flying free with its brothers and sisters in the Bois de Boulogne, hammering joyfully away at tree trunks, rather than attacking the window frame of Guillaume's studio. And yet here it is.
The woodpecker's head is a ferocious blur, then perfectly still again. What goes through its head, Guillaume wonders, during those moments of contemplative silence? Is the woodpecker asking itself: who am I, really, if I am not pecking wood? Am I, God forbid, just a bird?
Three days.
Guillaume lets out a small moan. There are lightning bolts erupting behind his eyes. He casts his mind back to the previous night. He was wandering through Montmartre, anxiously trying to outpace his problems, when he had seen Emile Brataille sitting alone in the bar at the end of his street. Brataille is an art dealer who spends most of his time at the zinc of the Closerie des Lilas, schmoozing with collectors and artists, striking deals, and skimming his fat commission off every painting he sells. He has no business in Montmartre anymore: all the painters whose work hangs on the walls of his palatial gallery on Boulevard Raspail have left Guillaume's quartier for the leafy boulevards of Montparnasse, where the wine is better, the oysters fatter, and the women more beautiful. Guillaume pushed open the door and slid onto the chair next to Brataille.
The alcohol lingers sluggishly in his veins. How much had they drunk, in the end?
After they were three or four carafes to the good, Emile Brataille made his mournful confession: he'd come to Montmartre to declare his love for Thérèse, but she wanted nothing to do with him. And so here he was, drowning his sorrows.
Thérèse is a prostitute who works at the corner of Rue des Abbesses and Rue Ravignan, next to Le Chat Blanc. Guillaume knows her, albeit not professionally: he has painted her many times. Lubricated by the wine, he embellished this acquaintance into a devoted friendship, and suggested to Brataille that he might be able to intercede on his behalf. At this, the art dealer began to weep drunken tears of gratitude. How can I ever repay you? he asked. Guillaume scratched his chin. I don't suppose you know any rich, art-loving Americans, he said.
Brataille began to laugh.
Saint X: A Novel
On February 18, 2020 February 18, 2020 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Literary FictionLeave a comment
Release Date: Today, February 18, 2020 / Available here from your local indie bookstore!
There are two sides to everything. Simple folk wisdom that we use and hear so much it's almost meaningless. Nevertheless, it is still wisdom. And it is this universal dichotomy that Alexis Schaitkin examines in her excellent novel Saint X. Further, where I am today is rainy, foggy and gloomy, just nasty, so, heck yeah, let's go to a Caribbean island. Saint X itself is an island with two sides. There's the beautiful side where the resorts are, and the not so beautiful where the islanders go about their lives. The beautiful side is still relatively unspoiled, not overrun by tourists, so the Thomases congratulate themselves on their choice of vacation spot on Indigo Bay. Their two daughters, college freshman Alison and seven-year-old Clair, are of two minds about the whole thing. Pretty, vivacious Alison wants to party. Clair is a rather odd child, pale and awkward, an observer. On the last morning of their vacation, Clair wakes her parents and tells them that Alison is gone. Just gone. Her body is found sometime later under a beautiful waterfall on an uninhabited island overrun by goats. And two black men employed by the resort, Edwin and Clive, are suspected. She partied with them.
Ah, so it's a murder mystery then? No, no, it most definitely is not. Certainly it is reminiscent of the famous Natalee Holloway disappearance on the island of Aruba. In this case, we know that there is a death, but, as in Natalee's case, we don't know if it's a murder. Unquestionably there's a mystery, and there are bereft parents, searches, law enforcement, news media, interrogations, witnesses, all that. However, the depth and unquestionable quality of this book places it well above a "murder mystery" in the customary sense of that term. Two sides. Heads, tails. Concave, convex. Beauty, squalor. Edwin and Clive. Alison and Clair.
Clair is left to grieve and come to terms for the rest of her life – her shining star of an older sister, the beautiful, accomplished girl who snuck out at night to party, drink and dance with Edwin and Clive. "My sister was an innocent, blameless in her horrific fate. And it was all her fault." Edwin and Clive, too, must start over, and Clive moves to New York where Clair pursues him and, ultimately, develops an odd relationship with this man, built on both suspicion and trust. "I had to find a way to understand how truth and untruth make each other." Saint X – truly excellent fiction.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Celadon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Tupelo Hassman's gods with a little g
On July 9, 2019 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Literary FictionLeave a comment
I was loving it. I did love it. I do love it, but there's a but, and we'll get to that later. Snarkily self-protective high school student Helen Dedleder (hmm, her dad's a postman) lives in Rosary, California. Her mother is deceased, so it's just Helen and her dad, but her dad is zombified with grief, so her Aunt Bev, a psychic, moves to Rosary and opens the Psychic Encounter Shoppe, henceforth referred to as the shoppe. Now, Rosary, you see, is home to a giant belching refinery, lots and lots of churches and lots and lots of religious folks that Helen calls Thumpers. The Thumpers pretty much control Rosary, and they are not happy to have a psychic shoppe in their town. They're even more unhappy with Aunt Bev's second job in the back of the shoppe after hours.
Helen and her friends call themselves the Dickheads and they hang out after school at Fast Eddie's Tire Salvage, drinking beer. Thumpers aren't happy with the Dickheads either, and the Dickheads aren't happy with the Thumpers, so there you go. Me, I was riding the crest – sexually-obsessed teenagers, quirky misfit angst, a rollicking good time. Then, near the end, almost home-free with a standing ovation, Ms. Hassman throws in an ill-advised scene that gave me the vapors. I won't go into it, but I will say that no one is hurt, so there's that. It is, however, ugly, unnecessary, and unnecessarily ugly. Now this particular scene might not bother you; it doesn't have to. And, when all is said and done, this is a meaningful book, a raucous riot of a book, but……..it did bother me. So, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?
Farrar, Straus and Giroux will put this novel in your hands on August 13 as long as you shop your local indie bookstore.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Billy O'Callaghan's My Coney Island Baby
On a bitterly cold, windy winter day, Michael and Caitlin meet at Coney Island. It is deserted, shuttered, "…a place for the damned to drift, wait their turn at nothingness." They've been meeting here for twenty or so years, spending one afternoon a month (first Tuesdays) in a series of worn motel rooms, and this one particular winter afternoon frames the entirety of Billy O'Callaghan's poignant novel. This afternoon is no different from all those that came before, but they are growing older, and for all those years, at the end of all those first Tuesdays, Michael returns to Barb and Caitlin returns to Thomas. Lives are lived, time passes. We are bound, and the status quo is durable. But what about endings? Will there be a hiding place from endings? Will we even recognize them when they come?
Mr. O'Callaghan is an Irishman with a prodigious gift, the gift of words, words that rasp, tumble, lilt, thunder and ravish. At times, perhaps, a bit self-indulgent, but if you love the magic of words, this is pure pleasure all the same. In spite of this bounty, I was not totally invested in Michael and Caitlin as a couple, in their relationship, the doggedness of it. It just seems so unlikely. Is "why" the central question, the one we're meant to ask? If so, then I'm asking it, but the answer is beyond me.
There are three books of short stories and one other novel, The Dead House, by this talented author, and, based on the richness he brings to the backstories of Michael and Caitlin in Coney Island Baby, I'm thinking short fiction may be his forte, but no matter. He can write the lights out.
Out now so support your local independent bookseller by ordering here.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by HarperCollins Publishers / Harper via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe
On April 9, 2019 By upstateasbIn Fiction, International Literature, Literary FictionLeave a comment
What wild wretched excess this book is. A creative furor. You know how we're often told that it's not wise to do something or other just because we can, that some things are better left undone? Well, Trent Dalton can and does. He not only pulls out all the stops, he pulls it off, and it is wonderful – over the top, packed to the brim, a real gusher of a read. We meet Eli Bell at the age of twelve, an old soul with a lucky freckle on his right forefinger. He is younger brother to Augustus, who is mute by choice and otherworldly. When too young to remember, both boys were nearly drowned by their biological father and now live with their Mum and boyfriend Lyle, small time drug dealers and users. Their babysitter is Slim Halliday, a notorious prison escapee, who may or may not have murdered a taxi driver with a hammer, and something of a philosopher. You tend to get that way when, like Slim, you've been through some stuff. But it's not all bad 'cause the boys love and are loved by Mum, Lyle and Slim.
Don't you know, though, original sin will get you every time. Lyle gets ambitious and runs afoul of some seriously ugly evil in the drug trade: "Back Off" Bich Dang, Vietnamese entrepreneur, pillar of the community, supplier to Lyle and a wicked, wicked woman; the wonderfully named Tytus Broz, manufacturer of prosthetic limbs, also pillar of the community, filthy rich drug kingpin and truly heartless bastard; and Iwan Kroll, unlikely llama farmer, cadaverous, shivery, sadistically cruel, and Tytus Broz's hitman. Sub-plots, mysterious depths and reflections, secondary twists, back stories, side roads and diversions in abundance, lyrical, silly and gory; but, good gravy, it all works, so let's not analyze it. Set in Australia by an Australian. Some of the best writers on the planet. Nature or nurture?
Boy Swallows Universe is in bookstores now. Shop your local indie bookstore for it.
Caite Dolan-Leach's We Went to the Woods
On April 5, 2019 April 5, 2019 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Literary FictionLeave a comment
Ms. Dolan-Leach's second novel is a good one, well-told and smartly paced. Its strength, however, is in the characters, a thoroughly unappealing lot, a nest of millennial vipers. Five self-absorbed twenty-somethings take to an ancient rustic farm/camp in New York State to live a utopian life and show the corrupt and misguided (everybody else, pretty much) a different way to live, how to do it right and save the planet…….in other words. Why are they the anointed appointed? Oh, you know. They are educated, hip, mostly privileged and just all 'round superior. They know nothing of agriculture and choose to ignore the failure of previous utopian attempts, but they do have one singular advantage. The property belongs to the lawyer father of Louisa, the driving force. Well, hey, now. That was easy. And, yet, in Ms. Dolan-Leach's deft hands, you really want to know what happens to the little snots. You really, really do.
The story of this ill-fated group is told in the first person by Mack (MacKenzie), the fifth member, and she tells a riveting tale. The last to join the group, Mack is besotted by them at first and worries whether or not she can truly belong. With the passage of time, growing hardship and some research, Mack's perception begins to crumble. As does the undertaking itself. You might not like most of these folks, but you will like this book. You will read, you will care, and you'll wonder what they'd be like twenty-five years later.
Drops July 2 from Random House. Shop your local indie bookstore for Caite Dolan-Leach's intriguing tale.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Random House Publishing Group – Random House via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Sharon Kernot's The Art of Taxidermy
On April 1, 2019 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Literary FictionLeave a comment
Australian author. Beautiful book. I love my Aussies. The Art of Taxidermy is described as Ms. Kernot's second novel, but it's very short, maybe an hour and a half to read, so…..a novella? Maybe, but who cares? It is (drum roll, please) poetry. Read it as poetry, and let the words sing. Eleven year old Lottie has lost too many loved ones in her short life, including her mother, and she develops a fascination with death. She begins to collect dead things as she struggles to come to grips with transformation – from life to death to what? And what again after that? I was entranced. Got in bed one night, started to read, and simply did not stop until this book was done. Spare, lovely and unforgettable.
You can get this gorgeous book with the gorgeous cover on August 23 from Text Publishing. Shop your local indie bookstore to pre-order this title.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Text Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Mary Doria Russell's The Women of Copper Country
On March 13, 2019 By upstateasbIn Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction1 Comment
The very first word that occurred to me when I began reading Ms. Russell's book was "solid", and then, I swear, there was a sense of relief. This book is solid, and this is not faint praise. I knew I could count on it, lean into it, walk around in its rooms and settings and not trip or fall through a weak spot. Hosanna!
Set in the copper mining country of upper Michigan, the story is a harsh one, based on events arising out of the labor movement of the early Twentieth Century, and in particular the Michigan copper mines strike of 1913 and the Italian Hall disaster. Characters are, for the most part, actual persons or composites. There is Anna Klobuchar Clements, the tall woman, wife of a miner, America's Joan of Arc, who inspired and led a wildcat strike of nearly a year's duration, protesting low pay, long hours, and dangerous conditions for the miners. With Anna as its primary figure, the book focuses on the women in the movement, the women behind the miners, their mothers, sisters, wives and daughters. These women lived with horror and loss on a near weekly basis – crippling, maiming, work-ending injury and death in the mines. Not if, but when.
Strong material for sure, and with her deft and artistic hand, Ms. Russell knows just what to make of it. Good material and diligent research, skillful plotting and narrative, fully realized characterizations, sure sense of time and place. It's all there. For, you see, Ms. Russell is not only an artist, she knows her craft, and it is craftsmanship that makes this the good book that it is; good and, yes, solid. A book you are grateful for, that you can count on. Lean into it. It will hold.
You'll have to wait until August 6 for The Women of Copper Country to hit bookstores. But why wait when you can pre-order this gem? Click here to support your local indie bookstore or here to pre-order from Amazon.
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided to me by Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the publisher, the author and NetGalley for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
Craig Johnson's Land of Wolves
BLOG TOUR – The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Follow a day in the (reading) life on WordPress.com
Contemporary Women's Lit
Happy Pub Day Reblogs
It Was the Best of Lines . . .
Middle Eastern Literature
Mystery & Crime Fiction
Psychology/Mental Health Issues
Sci-Fi / Dypstopian
Southern Literature
http://v.fastcdn.co/u/7ec08265/30483411-0-Edelweiss-Reviewer-B.png


As a major water provider in the West, Denver Water views itself as having a special responsibility to the environment. It is a responsibility we take very seriously. We incorporate it into both our strategic thinking and daily operations. Our environmental planning team works on a variety of projects to make sure Denver Water complies with environmental regulations and protects its water resources — but our efforts don't stop there.
We view ourselves as stewards of the environment. It is an ethic and value that runs deep in our organization. It is inherent in everything we do because our infrastructure is not just our pipes and reservoirs — it is also millions of acres of Colorado forests and thousands of miles of rivers and streams.
Our environmental commitment also stems from the preciousness of the resource with which we work. Water is essential to making Colorado beautiful and to ensuring the quality of life we enjoy. Yet it is scarce in our state. And demands for it are intensifying.
With that understanding, Denver Water's highest responsibility remains to serve 1.4 million people today and a growing population in the future. We strive to do so while minimizing our environmental footprint and working collaboratively with our neighbors to protect and enhance supplies for agriculture, riparian habitat, stream health and many other needs.
Waste diversion and pollution prevention.
Read more in our Sustainability Guide and Sustainability Guide Report Card.
Ensuring more water in the Fraser and Blue Rivers in dry years.
Funding multiple water improvement and stream restoration efforts.
Improving or changing stream channels to strengthen aquatic habitat.
We work with mountain communities daily to proactively identify ways to operate our system so that flows are provided for rivers and streams. Our work in Grand County, for example — home to the headwaters of the Colorado River — protects and ensures flows for the upper reaches of the river.
On the South Platte, where much of our water originates, we are working with environmental interests, government agencies and recreational users to protect the important values of the river by managing stream flow to enhance trout fisheries and recreation, improving water quality, and protecting the canyons and river channels.
Working cooperatively with the cities of Boulder and Lafayette, a 5,000-acre-foot environmental pool will be created as part of an enlarged Gross Reservoir for purposes of enhancing stream flow in South Boulder Creek during low flow periods. Approximately 17 miles of aquatic habitat in the creek from Gross Dam to the confluence with Boulder Creek will benefit from the water released from the environmental pool. The additional storage will be filled with water owned by Boulder and Lafayette and managed under an intergovernmental agreement between Denver Water and the cities.
In the Fraser River, we worked with the Colorado Department of Transportation, Grand County, the U.S. Forest Service and others to modify our diversion structure to capture and recover road sand applied to U.S. Highway 40 that has been clogging the Fraser River.
There are seven hydroelectric plants in Denver Water's system; the oldest was built in 1959 and the newest in 2007. Those plants generated more than 61 million kilowatt hours of energy in 2015, more than enough to power all of Denver Water's facilities, from pump stations to treatment plants. Some of that electricity is used to power our facilities, but most of it is sold to Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
Denver Water is a leader in the Colorado River Recovery Program, which has become a national model for its collaborative conservation efforts to protect endangered species. The program is a coalition of states, government agencies, environmental organizations and water providers cooperating to restore and manage stream flows and habitat to help bring the humpback chub, Colorado pike minnow and other endangered fish species on the Colorado back from extinction.
Denver Water also is a leader in the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, in which we work with other water providers, neighboring states and the Department of Interior to restore and protect habitat land for the whooping crane and other endangered species.
We are partners with the U.S. Forest Service to restore forest health. In watersheds in the Blue River and upstream of Denver Water reservoirs, forests will be thinned, fire breaks created, and damaged forests will be reforested.
We are working with multiple federal agencies and other Front Range water providers to identify and prioritize at-risk watersheds that will be the focus of protection measures.
Denver Water is restoring fens and wetlands in Park County, collecting excess sediment in the Fraser River in Grand County, evaluating the health of cottonwood trees along the High Line Canal, and taking many more measures to ensure the health of watersheds.
A key part our water supply strategy is being as efficient as possible with the supplies we have. By capturing reusable water and using it for water exchanges or in our recycling plant, we are developing up to 50,000 acre-feet of additional supply that we would otherwise need to acquire from agriculture or other water basins in Colorado.
Water conservation is another way of maximizing the efficiency of what we have. After decades of commitment to water conservation, Denver Water is now recognized as a national leader among major national municipalities.
Conservation is integral to our supply and demand strategies. We have worked hard to educate our customers through our award winning Use Only What You Need campaign and other efforts. Residents have responded robustly. Their success is succinctly summarized in one statistic: Since the early 1970s, the number of people we serve has increased by almost 50 percent while the amount of water they use has increased only 6 percent.
Our efforts continue today as we explore further technical, policy and behavioral opportunities to become even more water efficient while maintaining the quality of life Denver area citizens have chosen for themselves.
Denver Water participates with The Climate Registry, a nonprofit collaboration among North American entities that sets consistent standards to calculate, verify and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions into a single registry. Since 2008, we have been tracking our greenhouse gas footprint so we can find ways to reduce its impact.
In 2017 the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recognized Denver Water with the Gold Partner Award, a part of the Colorado Environmental Leadership Program, for outstanding environmental achievements and a commitment to continual improvement.
The state recognized our work to implement an environmental management system (EMS) for our Moffat, Marston, Foothills and Recycling treatment plants; creating an EMS representative program; identifying waste reduction, resource conservation and energy-saving opportunities; and setting objectives for future improvement.
The Foothills Treatment Plant, which makes hydroelectric power, generated 11 million kilowatt hours of electricity over a 12-month period, the majority of which was fed back into the electrical grid. This amount of hydro power keeps over 17 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere each year.
The Marston Treatment Plant saved 8.4 million gallons of water annually after it revised a product carrier (supply) line flushing schedule.
The Moffat Treatment Plant substituted process materials that eliminated 55 gallons of hazardous waste generation annually.
The Denver Water Recycling Plant reduced annual service water pumping energy use by 450,183 kWh. Modifications made to a service water crossover, in addition to a revised operations schedule, allowed weekly pumping of the mainline pump to supply service water.
See how sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
See how we measured up in 2018.


text:
1117 Heights Blvd, Houston, TX 77008
Ed Sabo, Owner
Major Remodels
Resources for Home Owners
Should I build a house or buy an existing home?
"To build or to buy." That's the primary question to answer before building a new custom home. To help you decide, ask yourself these ten important questions. Be very honest. Answer each one carefully...
How much do you charge per square foot?
Building a custom home is a bit like buying a new car, right? Not exactly. If you asked a car dealer how much he charges per pound, you'd get some very strange looks. Of course, there is some c...
What warranties are included with my project?
Establishing a relationship built on trust is the cornerstone of our work with you. At the end of your project, we do a complete walkthrough with you to ensure we got all of it right. Anything that ne...
Will you come to my house to give me an estimate?
We understand home owners don't always know what to ask for as they venture into what might be their first time home building project. Building projects vary widely and that calls for thoughtful consi...
Does it really matter if I like my builder?
If a builder has a good reputation, does it really matter if I like him?" Yes, it matters. Don't sign a contract with a builder you don't like, trust, or respect. If you do, you could be headed...
Will my house be energy efficient?
Your home will be designed and certified by third party vendors. And the only way to pass rigorous testing is by using superior products and building techniques along with tradesman who are trained to...
3 Steps to Love Where You Live
We'll listen to your goals and plan a time to meet if it sounds like we're the best fit.
Meet - Plan - Build
Have fun during the build process while we transform your ideas into reality.
Feel the pride and joy of living in your ideal home while relaxing at the best location.
Love Where You Live!
About Sabo Custom Builders
About Ed Sabo
The Construction Process
Sabo Custom Builders, P.O. Box 701007, Houston, TX 77270-1007
© 2009 Encore Construction Services, LLC D/B/A Sabo Custom Builders
Site by Maven Design Studio | Sitemap | Privacy Policy
Do I have to like my builder?
Building a Quality Custom Home – What You Need to Know
- by Ed Sabo –
With every builder claiming to be the qualified, how can you be sure you're picking the right one? Who you choose could mean the difference between a project that's done right, on-time and on-budget, and one that costs too much, takes too long, and is fraught with quality problems.
Download the first five chapters from Building a Quality Custom Home – What You Need to Know, by Ed Sabo, owner of Sabo Custom Builders.
Ed puts his years of experience to work for you by revealing the home building secrets that could save you headaches, heartaches, and thousands of dollars.
Please let us know you're human.
Get Free PDF


Bamboosa is a USA Manufacturer. The company produces organic adult clothing, baby products and bedding. The quality of our products is unrivaled by products manufacture other than ours. The products are sold on the bamboosa.com and on other websites – including Etsy.com and amazon. Bamboosa has over 200 wholesale accounts located in the USA and Canada. Most are small baby stores, "green" and eco-friendly markets and gift shops.
The Bamboosa product lines consist of first year baby essentials: absorbent terrycloth hooded towel towels and washcloths; the softest swaddle blankets, crib sheets, burp cloths, and baby bibs; comfortable cuddlessac, onesies and pants; as well as other baby clothing pieces. Over the years, the company has produced clothing and accessories for men and women, including socks, skirts, tops, tees and beanies.
Bamboosa's adult clothing and baby products are manufactured in a sweatshop-free sewing plant by men and women who take great pride in their work and enjoy sewing high quality products. All of the clothing and baby products are made from 100% viscose fiber produced from certified organically grown bamboo and blended with organic cotton, Lycra or recycled polyester. Viscose from organically grown bamboo produces products that are incredibly soft breathable and durable. All fabric production, as well as dyeing and sewing, are also done in USA. Bamboosa is committed to U.S. jobs, increased sustainability social responsibility, environmental awareness and good corporate citizenship.


Description: Prepare and serve delicious natural juice made of delicious fruits. Prepare the juice as your customers want it. Memorize the order and then prepare it yourself.
This game was played 20,658 times.


How did the Saint James Cafe team get into the coffee business?
Three friends saw a corner spot open up, just down the road from where they live in Observatory and knew there was a gap in the market for good coffee served in a well-designed space.
Tell us about your coffee and how you went about choosing what was best for your customers.
We sampled the offerings of several local roasters but in the end decided to go with Noan's brother in law who started the Stellenbosch branch of Wings Coffee Roasters earlier that year. We realised that the long term value in being able to work very closely with our roaster would enable us to provide them with feedback that would ultimately improve the experience for our customers and help us learn a lot more about the coffee we are serving our customers. We are currently serving a blend made up of Rwandan and Brazilian beans. A complex body, low acidity and a complimentary sweetness. This blend is perfect for what our customers are currently demanding.
We also use a Moccamaster to serve some very exciting single origins in the form of batch brew coffee.
Warm, well designed space with an eclectic mix of people, music, art and lots of greenery.
Tell us a little known and unexpected fact about owning a cafe.
Three owners with very different personalities and skill sets makes for an amazing melting pot of ideas and strategies.
What has been your best moment so far on this journey?
Seeing the physical manifestation of something that was merely a concept/idea. Having a customer leave the premises with a truly great experience of the coffee and the space.
Describe one of your favourite regular customers that make up the fabric of your cafe community.
A local that lives in our street comes in every morning, gives the barista a nudge, handshakes and smiles are exchanged (he knows everyone including all three owners by name) ,by the time this is done his coffee is ready and waiting for him to start his day. This guy has become a friend and he is one of many.
Definitely our friendly staff and unique ambiance!