There are different check-in points for each boat operator. Please make sure to check your e-ticket for the check-in point details. Also, make sure to arrive at the ferry/speedboat check-in point at least 40-30 minutes prior to departure for a smoother boarding process.
Simply show the ferry/speedboat staff your printed e-ticket, and the ferry/speedboat staff there will replace it with a sticker that you should wear for your trip. The boarding process should be very easy from there, so sit back and enjoy the ride!


You know what's wrong with Skyrim these days? Nothing! Because everyone's obsessed with the Funko Pop Elder Scrolls figures. The set includes numerous options covering several titles from The Elder Scrolls universe.
Developed and published by Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls is a series—view the options on Amazon—of online and console role-playing video games. Due to the vast, open-world environment, the fantasy franchise is beloved by many gamers.
Shop for Funko Elder Scrolls Figures on Amazon.
The initial release of Pop Elder Scrolls highlights Breton, High Elf and Nord, while Dovahkiin and Daedric Warrior represent Skyrim. Also included for Funko Pop Skyrim is the Whiterun Guard issued through GameStop.
Moving to The Elder Scrolls III, additional options include the Morrowind characters Naryu, Warden and Vivic.
The Funko Pop Elder Scrolls figures are included in the Pop! Games line and stand nearly 4" tall, except for the appropriately sized 6" dragon Alduin.
 Funko POP vinyl figure "HIGH ELF" #56 The Elder Scrolls!
Funko Pop! Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: Whiterun Guard #60, Gamestop Exclusive!


text:
Liz Mathis
Meet LizEndorsements
The congressional race that could indicate just how red Iowa has shifted
Isabella Murray | ABC News >
The contest involves a newly redrawn swing district.
As the final speaker at the Iowa State Fair's Des Moines Register Soapbox — a mainstay for presidential hopefuls and statewide candidates — Democrat Liz Mathis attacked her opponent — GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson — for voting against the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 infrastructure bill.
"She's been voting the wrong way. She's been saying no to a lot of things where she should be saying yes. Let's talk about infrastructure. Infrastructure will bring $5 billion, with a "b," back to the state of Iowa. Your federal tax money, back to the state of Iowa," Mathis said Saturday.
Both are former TV news anchors in Cedar Rapids running well-funded campaigns for the 2nd Congressional District — a newly redrawn swing seat in eastern Iowa — and both have been laser focused on economic issues ahead of November's general election.
Iowa state Sen. Liz Mathis speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty and Justice Celebration, April 30, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa.
But the outcome is more significant than who wins a debate over economic policy. It's critical to Republicans hopes to take back the U.S. House in the midterms and an indication, by some estimates, of just how far the historically purple Hawkeye State has trended red.
Hinson, a freshman member of Congress cited by her mentor, Rep. Tom Cole, as an "emerging superstar in the House Republican Conference," skipped the Iowa State Fair soapbox, instead roaming the grounds to meet GOP fairgoers along with former Vice President Mike Pence. She routinely hammers on Mathis' past votes as a state senator against Republican-led tax cuts.
"My opponent voted against tax cuts this year at a time when we have record high inflation. She's endorsed all of President Biden and Speaker Pelosi's tax and spend sprees," Hinson said in an interview with ABC News. "I think my biggest role going forward will be to be that check on the Biden administration because it's clear what they've done with the trifecta of trouble in the last 18 months."
"She's far too liberal to represent Iowa, she's masquerading as a moderate," she said.
"That's an interesting race. Because Liz has the name. You know, she was one of the most popular female newscasters in Iowa for 20 some years," said Iowa GOP political strategist John Ellingston, referencing Mathis' experience as a television reporter and anchor for 27 years at KCRG-TV out of Cedar Rapids and KWWL-TV and out of Waterloo — both of which cover the district's television market. Mathis was an evening news anchor at KCRG while Hinson was a morning news anchor.
"If the Democrats got a chance, that's going to be her. If she doesn't beat Ashley Hinson, the state for Democrats is a dumpster fire," Ellingston said.
After less than two years in the House, Hinson is well regarded as a fundraising heavyweight, a rising star who hasn't ruled out a bid for GOP Conference chair if Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York vacates the No. 3 position for another spot.
Getting ousted by Mathis, a moderate who has support from national Democrats, could derail those plans.
Strategists and the campaigns have cited varied poll numbers on the race — some place the candidates in dead heat while others found that voters in the district prefer Republicans over Democratic nominees.
The seat, redrawn in 2022 to give Republicans a slight edge, flipped in 2020 when upstart Democrat and early Biden-backer Abby Finkenauer was unseated after one term by Hinson.
"This is a swing district. I remind people that we went from Bruce Braley to Rod Blum to Abby Finkenauer to Ashley Hinson," Mathis said in an interview with ABC News. "I think it's a huge opportunity for us. And I can feel the GOP absolutely knows that."
Iowa continues to slip away from Democrats
This year, Republicans have gained significant ground in voter registration numbers.
In January, the district had 160,058 active Democrats and 148,675 active Republicans, according to state elections data. In August, 160,749 active Democrats were in the district, with 158,017 active Republicans. Across the entire state, The Republicans had over a 56,843 voter registration lead in January. In August, that lead had increased by 29,194, with a 86,037 registration vote advantage, elections data found.
Mathis is keenly aware of the tight voter registration numbers, saying her focus now is to get voters to the polls, specifically on hot-button issues like abortion, which moved the needle in Kansas last month.
"I've been looking at the registrations, we know it's going to be tight. So all hands on deck, get people to the polls. And get them to vote, get them to vote absentee. Just get them to vote," said Mathis, who has long focused on bolstering Democratic turnout. "I worked really hard, during 10 years as a state senator, to work on Democratic registrations in my district. It took 10 years for that district to be changed from a plus 2,000 to 2,500 Republican lead to a plus 2,000 Democratic lead in registrations."
Hinson, meanwhile, said she's confident she'll clinch the November race — noting that Iowans remember the state's Democrat trifecta as recently as a decade ago, when she says the blue state "disrespected" taxpayers by overspending.
"What a slap in the face to taxpayers under Democrat leadership. Now here we are in a Republican state where we have a surplus. Our governor and our legislature did tax cuts this year," Hinson said. "we're returning money to taxpayers. That's why this state is trending Republican."
Hinson's freshman term has been hastily successful as she's earned the support and friendship of GOP leaders, authored key legislation on in-person learning and landed a prestigious seat on the House Appropriations Committee — not typical for a first-term member. She was also tapped by House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy to co-chair the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns program which helps recruit other first-time Republicans in winnable districts.
"She noticeably demonstrates a level of maturity and legislative sophistication that is unmatched among her peers. Her raw talent and polished delivery have quickly made her a member to watch and also one of Republicans' most reliable and thoughtful messengers," said her mentor Cole said in a statement to ABC News.
She's also maintained massive fundraising hauls — bringing in $5,213,155 for the race so far, with more than $2 million on hand, according to June 30 Federal Elections Commission filings.
By comparison, Mathis has raised a sizable $2,627,504 with a little over $1,700,000 on hand.
"I've done a lot of work on that task force, pro economic policies, pro worker policies that are going to help us be successful and jumpstart our economy again," said Hinson. "I'm prepared with policy solutions, and I think the people who support me know that and that's why they're willing to make that investment," Hinson said.
When asked by ABC News, Hinson did not rule out a bid to be GOP Conference chair if Rep. Stefanik, the current No. 3 Republican, does not seek the position again.
"Well, I am 100% focused on winning my race and where I've been able to already be a leader is on the Appropriations Committee," Hinson said. "I ran for office to stand up for taxpayers. First and foremost. That's my number one job. And I think that's still going to be my priority come November, but we're united and in making sure we fire Nancy Pelosi as speaker and take back a Republican majority. So, we can right the direction of this country."
Mathis has a winning streak
But Mathis has a long history of victories across purple districts.
Mathis came to the Iowa State Legislature in 2011 after running in a special election to save the single Democratic seat so that the party could maintain a majority in the chamber. At the time, Republican Terry Branstad held the governor's mansion while the GOP controlled the state House. Mathis won by 12 percentage points, winning again the next year's general election by 16 points.
"During the Trump wave I held on to my seat, and then in 2020, I was uncontested so I'm not sure what that means, but maybe they didn't want to spend the money because they thought it was gonna win. I'm hoping that that was it," Mathis said. "I'm highly motivated. I have not lost a race yet. And I don't plan on losing this one."
Mathis early in the cycle was selected by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as one of 12 candidates to receive funding and support from their "Red to Blue" program, a coveted slot for competitive House races.
"I feel honored that they are, you know, that they're backing me. They've looked at my budgeting. They've looked at our campaign strategy, and they feel that we have a great chance to win and with their support, that gives me wings. It really helps out," she said.
Liz Mathis is running to represent Iowa's 2nd Congressional District.
Liz Mathis for Congress,
Paid for by Liz Mathis for Congress

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Biomass Power & Thermal investigates potential technical and safety issues involved in storing and handling biomass at cofired power plants.
When Minnesota Power began cofiring coal and biomass at its power plants in Duluth and Grand Rapids, Minn., more than 20 years ago, they started out combusting 75-25 coal to waste wood ratios.
Back then, biomass was plentiful and cheap and it was common to get it for free, says Mike Polzin, renewable fuels coordinator for Minnesota Power. "We started burning wood in Duluth only because a new paper mill had bark they had to get rid of and they didn't know what to do with it," he says.
That has changed significantly as the years have gone by, as biomass has become a hot commodity. Competition for material has become stiff and in many cases can be pricey. Still, certain incentives that have come into play during that time—such as state renewable energy credits—make it enticing for power utilities such as Minnesota Power to use more biomass.
And, that's precisely what the utility has done and continues to do. Today, the facility in Grand Rapids produces about 25 megawatts (MW) of electricity from a 15-85 coal to biomass ratio, and the Duluth facility typically generates about 50 MW from a 10-90 coal to biomass ratio. Using that much biomass at facilities that were meant for coal hasn't come without its challenges, Polzin says, the biggest of which are related to materials handling and storage.
While it won't be the case at every facility, so far, there have been ways around these challenges.
Getting the appropriate amount of deliveries each day is where the challenge lies, as the weather can create havoc on timber harvesting. "Significant snow or rain handicaps loggers from getting into the woods and bringing materials to us, and spring road restrictions can also create problems," Polzin says. When there isn't enough stored fuel, it could mean a shortage.
Since the biomass is used so quickly at Minnesota Power, potential storage issues such as molding aren't relevant. At other large-scale cofiring operations, which are common in the U.K., molding and caking are potential problems when the biomass and coal are mixed and stored together.
"When you have a mix of biomass and coal, the water transferred from the coal to the biomass often causes it to go moldy," says Mike Bradley, director and professor of bulk and particulate technology at the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology on the Medway campus of the University of Greenwich in the U.K. The mold growth gives strength to the material, which is referred to as caking. "You tend to get hard cakes in nonmoving areas of bunkers and silos, and this prevents flow," Bradley says.
Many biomass materials that have high moisture content will mold and ferment by themselves in storage, so they must be used in strict rotation to prevent self-ignition, much like a wet haystack can do, Bradley adds. The same is true for coal.
In contrast to moist conditions creating mold, dust is also a potential issue at cofiring operations.
Once biomass is ready to enter the plant, another slew of potential problems can surface, including fuel feed system issues.
Biomass won't always flow smoothly through a feeding system meant for coal for a number of reasons, one of which is winter weather conditions. "On the biomass side, [frozen] wood going through our chutes and storage system is a big problem because it tends to bridge and plug up the system because in the winter it often comes in frozen chunks," Polzin says.
A 60 percent blend would have worked fine in the boiler, he adds, but it wasn't feasible because of the delivery issues with the limestone system.
Overall, Browers says that cofiring isn't all that simple. "People who think it's easy to chip raw biomass and run it through their coal system may want to rethink that assumption," he says.
In fact, it can take a long time to work out the kinks. Even at Minnesota Power, which has been cofiring for decades, the company is working to optimize its cofiring operations, according to Polzin. In an upcoming project that will take place over the next couple of years, the company will put in new feeders, more robust material handling systems and more storage, though biomass deliveries will have to be more coordinated than ever with the near doubling of biomass consumed at each plant.


Pointsreak Colorado Amateur Hockey Association · Prep Ice Hockey Mile-High Adult Hockey League · Police Fire Youth LOVELAND Budweiser Events.
Description:Fast forward to yesterday, when my team captain calls me. Consult the website for game schedules, tour times and restaurant details. Though participation in the club has been growing each year, Kindt was looking for new ways to get even more students interested in amateur radio operation. Tours are available year-round, Monday through Friday 9 am-6 pm.


text:
Hot Scoop/Image Links
Seiken Densetsu 3/Characters
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Characters
The Other Darrin/Quotes
Reed Richards Is Useless
Bleached Underpants
Cars/Characters
Trope, Bollywood Tropes, Wedding and Engagement Tropes,
Why Waste A Wedding
Why Waste a Wedding?
Quotes • Headscratchers • Playing With • Useful Notes •
The guests have arrived, the priest is waiting at the altar, and the organist is playing "Here Comes the Bride". There's only one problem: the happy couple isn't getting married after all. A resourceful character suggests that (a) another couple get married in their stead (alternately, an older married couple may choose to renew their vows), (b) the original bride (or, less frequently, groom) marry her (or his) true love, or (c) everyone just have a big party. The important thing is that the wedding paraphernalia won't go to waste.
If they already got most of the way through the wedding the first time before it got called off, somebody may suggest they Skip to the End on the do-over.
Examples of Why Waste a Wedding? include:
In the Post-Zero Hour Legion of Superheroes, Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy's marriage gets called off when it's discovered he's currently comatose, and she's been subconsciously manipulating his body telepathically for... a while.. While pretty much everyone else is busy dealing with that, Ultra Boy and Apparition take advantage of the minister being present to get married instead.
In The White Wolf, the prince's wife had reached him before he married another bride. He marries off his new bride to one of the guests.
In Princess Belle-Etoile, the king had resolved to marry again, but his own children appeared at the wedding feast and told how he had been deceived about his first wife. He takes her back, and rather than waste the feast, marries his daughter off to her cousin.
In the Ace Attorney fic Turnabout Everlasting, Maya is about to go through with an arranged marriage until her ex-boyfriend Phoenix bursts in and proclaims his love for her. After they get back together and Maya's intended goes off with Jean Armstrong, Larry Butz chooses this moment to propose to Iris after the two had spent a whole arc slowly falling in love with each other. Iris happily accepts, and the two finally get their happy ending.
High Society (which is The Musical of The Philadelphia Story)
Mamma Mia: When Sophie and Skye decide to delay their wedding to travel the world, Sam reveals that he's always loved Donna, is now divorced, and proposes to Donna, using the trope name.
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement ends with Mia deciding she'll become Queen without having a husband and gets the marriage law abolished while respectfully letting her groom off the hook. Instead, her grandmother Clarisse and her bodyguard Joe get married.
LaWanda in the movie Problem Child 2 is Ben Healy's fiancée, but she decides to marry Ben's father instead when the wedding is crashed.
Spaceballs starts with Princess Vespa ditching her wedding to Prince Valium. Unfortunately, since he's the only prince in that part of the galaxy, she still has to marry him, so at the end of the film they try to marry a second time. At which point Lone Starr bursts into the chapel, revealing his newly discovered heritage as a prince. Thus Vespa and Lone Starr get married instead. Valium, being a complete narcoleptic, doesn't even notice.
This was relatively common in pre-90s Bollywood films; usually the rationale was that the local astrologer had gone to a lot of trouble to find the most auspicious possible date, and postponing the wedding could be even more disastrous than playing eeny-meeny-moe in search of a replacement groom.
In Madea's Family Reunion, near the end, Lisa decides to cancel her wedding to Carlos after he abused her. The wedding planner laments that her lavish Paris-themed wedding will not be used. Lisa's sister Vanessa's boyfriend decides to propose to her right then. She accepts and they get married.
In Runaway Bride the decision (same bride, different groom) is made the night before, but the trope still fits. Naturally, she ends up running.
In Corpse Bride, this trope happens to Victoria while Victor's trapped in the Land of the Dead with Emily. Upon learning Barkis is unmarried, the Everglots promptly decide to substitute him in for the groom (unaware, of course, that he plans to kill Victoria in hopes of stealing money they don't have.) Mayhew, upon relaying the news to Victor, even jokes that they "didn't want to waste the cake."
And a second time at the very end, when Emily is freed of her curse and lets Victor marry Victoria, while the wedding should initially have been Victor and Emily's.
Foolin' Around: when Annette O'Toole decides to marry the protagonist (Gary Busey), her mother (Chloris Leachman) 'saves face' by marrying her butler (Tony Randall).
Implied in Shrek, since the final two scenes skip from Fiona and Farquaad's ruined wedding to her and Shrek leaving on their honeymoon.
Nanny McPhee at the climax of the film as Cedric and the children ultimately wreck the wedding to the wretched Mrs. Quickly...but Cedric still needs a wife to meet his former aunt-in-law's deadline to continue her much needed financial support. However, he and Evangeline decide to marry on the spot, thus satisfying the requirement set for Cedric (though he also has to quickly explain to Adelaide that Evangeline wasn't actually his daughter).
At the very end of In and Out, after Howard and Emily's wedding is called off, the venue is still used for a wedding and reception anyway - by Howard's parents, who renew their wedding vows.
A rare example of the C-type, in The Movie adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies, the con artists are thwarted at the end of the film and Jed's wedding to the female con artist is off. They just decide to throw a big party instead rather than waste the wedding.
In Once Upon a Marigold, the princess' Arranged Marriage gets called off once the evil queen is gone, but the princess' true love has just conveniently shown up and she marries him instead.
Semi-subverted by Thursday Next, because even in her admittedly screwy reality you need to formally advertise a marriage in advance; however, they immediately book the same church for a month hence, and the festivities are repurposed as an engagement party.
Possibly played straight in The Westing Game. While it's uncertain how early Angela decides against marrying Doctor Deere, everyone still holds a wedding for Crow and Otis Amber instead.
In Murder With Peacocks, after Margaret Langslow's fiancee is exposed as the murderer the bride marries somebody else. Luckily a spare judge was in attendance to speed things up a bit! At another wedding in the book (there are three!), after the bride runs away at the altar, they just have a big party.
Live Action TV
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Will and Lisa decide not to get married, so Will's mother and Lisa's father get married instead. Which would have been very awkward if Will and Lisa had been married...
On A Different World, Dwayne and Whitley got married at her wedding to Byron. When Jaleesa and Walter decide not to get married at their wedding, they have a big party instead.
Doctor Who, "The Runaway Bride": Donna mysteriously disappears from her own wedding. When the Doctor brings her back, she's furious to discover that the guests have decided to hold the reception without her.
Brian and Andrea do this on Dirty Sexy Money after yet another failed wedding for Karen.
When Bob Kate does a runner from her wedding to Lord Blackadder, Lord Melchett claims that it is traditional in these circumstances for the groom to marry the bridesmaid. The bridesmaid is Baldrick, who unlike Edmund seems quite happy with this.
In the third-season finale of Two and A Half Men, Charlie and Mia travel to Las Vegas to get married. Just before the ceremony, Mia tells Charlie that he'll have to kick Alan out of his house after they are married. Charlie refuses to do so and the wedding is off. Then, Alan and Kandi get married instead... which leads to Alan moving out of Charlie's house.
In Grey's Anatomy, Meredith and Derek seem finally ready to tie the knot, but opt out so the cancerous and dying Izzy can marry Alex before she becomes too weak to walk down the aisle.
In Scrubs, Turk misses his and Carla's wedding ceremony due to a mix up with directions. They end up going ahead with the reception, and stopping by the hospital later and getting a patient to officiate.
The same thing happened in Spin City almost ten years earlier. Paul and Claudia don't get to have a wedding ceremony because Mike mistakenly booked their wedding for the following week, and the Priest only agrees to marry them in the short time before a funeral is to take place in the same church, which is impossible for them. As a result they hold their reception and the Mayor, who has the legal authority to do so, marries them there.
in King of Queens, Arthur almost marries a 'famous' singer, Eva, but it turns out she only marries gay men, for companionship. Once she realized Arthur wasn't gay, she ran out on the wedding. Arthur, ever the penny-pincher, up and proposes to Spencer's mother. The marriage apparently lasts only a year.
Played with in Bones where Angela and Hodgins had to leave the altar because they found out that Angela was already married, thus leaving Brennan (the maid of Honour) and Booth (the best man) still standing at the altar. They look at each other and Booth even asks something along the lines of "What now?" Sadly, nothing happens, but it certainly amps up their UST and Ship Tease.
The 2010 finale of Home and Away uses this. Bianca runs out on her wedding, and Gina comes up with the idea.
Three's Company: After Larry's gold-digger bride runs off when she finds out he's not rich, the gang convinces Roper (who paid for the whole thing) to use it as an opportunity to renew his vows with his wife.
Subverted in the radio/television episode of Our Miss Brooks, "June Bride." When the French Teacher's "proxy wedding" gets cancelled, Mr. Boynton tells everyone that he has no intention of wasting the opportunity or the minister. Naturally, everybody, especially Miss Brooks, believes that he's finally going to propose. Instead, Mr. Boynton sees this as the perfectly opportunity for a square dance as he's Oblivious to Love.
In the musical Side Show, when Violet's big publicity event of a wedding fails to go off, her (conjoined twin) sister Daisy proposes to the man she's in love with on these grounds. He turns her down.
There is a ballet about a young woman called Lisette whose mother wants her to marry the much younger son of a rich widower. Lisette already has a boyfriend and at the rehearsal dinner he hides in her room but the two of them get caught by the guests together with Lisette in her underwear (she was changing for the dinner) and the mother is humiliated, calling the wedding off (to the delight of the two children). It then ends with her chatting up the father, remembering he was a widower...
May be implied in Dragon Quest VIII: the rulers of Argonia and Trodain had made a pact for their heirs to marry and unite the kingdoms. Unfortunately, while Princess Medea turned out well, Prince Charmles... wasn't a good match. This leads to Medea pulling a Runaway Bride during both endings; in the better one, however, Argonia has learned that the hero is the son of his long-lost brother and is utterly devoted to Medea, and reveals this to those gathered for the wedding ceremony. Instead of fleeing the chapel, the happy couple end up walking out together, arm-in-arm.
There was a variation in an episode of the Care Bears cartoon. Two of the villains were supposed to get married, but because they were villains, that didn't work out so well. Nonetheless, the Care Bears had agreed to host the wedding for them, and decided to just throw a party with the leftover food and decorations.
Kind of inversion in Spider-Man the Animated Series: Harry interrupts the very happy wedding of Peter and MJ, and tries to force MJ to marry him. Liz shows up as a Last-Minute Hookup.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Why_Waste_a_Wedding%3F?oldid=374472"
Bollywood Tropes
Wedding and Engagement Tropes
3 Taimanin Asagi/Characters


CNSG is your solutions provider for comprehensive, end-to-end telecommunications services. From carrier, cloud and IP infrastructure services to contract negotiation, issue resolution and every matter in between—we do it all.
We've been helping businesses and enterprises manage their communications infrastructure for decades. The depth of carrier experience we bring to the table is complemented by our everyday commitment to providing long-term value to each and every customer.


text:
Pannal är en ort i Storbritannien.   Den ligger i grevskapet North Yorkshire och riksdelen England, i den centrala delen av landet,  km norr om huvudstaden London. Pannal ligger  meter över havet och antalet invånare är .

Terrängen runt Pannal är lite kuperad, och sluttar österut. Den högsta punkten i närheten är  meter över havet,  km sydost om Pannal. Runt Pannal är det ganska tätbefolkat, med  invånare per kvadratkilometer. Närmaste större samhälle är Leeds,  km söder om Pannal. Omgivningarna runt Pannal är en mosaik av jordbruksmark och naturlig växtlighet.

Kustklimat råder i trakten. Årsmedeltemperaturen i trakten är  °C. Den varmaste månaden är juli, då medeltemperaturen är  °C, och den kallaste är januari, med  °C.

Kommentarer

Källor

Externa länkar

Orter i North Yorkshire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Duke's freshmen have somehow exceeded their lofty preseason expectations so far this year and are now giving the Cameron Crazies a taste of what looks like an unprecedented season of basketball in Durham.
R.J. Barrett might be the best player on the team, but Zion Williamson looks like the most exciting thing to ever happen to Duke basketball.
The 6-7, 285-pound phenom put his remarkable athleticism on full display Wednesday as Duke laid it on against Eastern Michigan with this first-half alley-oop delivered by fellow freshman star Cam Reddish.
In case you didn't catch that, Williamson's hands were above the top of the square on the backboard and his eyes met the rim.
Dude is bigger than NFL linebackers, and he's only 18 years old. And he does that.
Williamson finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in the 84-46 win.
It's going to be a fun season in Durham and a long one for everyone who takes pride in hating on Duke.
• What to make of the latest Ohio State allegations?


Hey there folks! This fall I'm going to my first con and I've finally decided I want to cosplay as Belarus (I'm going with a friend who's cosplaying as America and I'm a sucker for the AmeBel pairing, so I thought this would be perfect). Thing is, my budget is gonna be unbelievably tight for a while, so I was wondering if anyone knew of any cheap yet reliable places to buy cosplay costumes. Everywhere I've looked at is either really expensive or really sketchy/didn't get good reviews.
Welp, I really don't wanna spend more than $150 if I don't need to (I get paid a hundred dollars a month or so for various odd jobs). So far I've looked at different places trying to get some different quotes and now I'm just deciding who to go with.
One person on Etsy that I'm thinking of hiring to commission my cosplay does really good work and also judges some of the cosplay contests at Otakon so she knows her stuff. Thing is, she wants $200 (shipping included) but she told me I don't need to pay her up front. Another person on Etsy only wants $65 not including shipping. Although her examples of her work are really good, I'm a tad skeptical that she wants so little when everyone else I ask on Etsy wants at least $250.
And then of course there's ebay, but I'm a little wary when it comes to ebay. Usually they're pretty cheap until shipping/customs fees are concerned. That said, most of the reviews I've seen on ebay (depending on the seller of course) are pretty good and people seem pretty happy with things they've bought.
I've heard of cosplayfu. I'll check them out. Thanks!


You are here: Home / Blog / Microsoft Office tutorials, tips / Microsoft word simple tutorials and tips / How to Repair a document in Microsoft office?
If you have difficulty opening documents because they're corrupt or some other issue there is a solution for that to repair. In this feature you can recover lost data and repair your document.
Go to browse, select the document that you know is problematic and under Open select Open Repair. This is your best opportunity to fix the document that might be damaged.
Tip: if your document don't repair, try another word document open to understand your Microsoft word version is at risk or not.
Microsoft word 2007 doesn't have File tab. You can go to button to repair the document.
How to add and customize a table to Microsoft word? Which one is more useful for graphic design, Photoshop or Illustrator?


text:
Politics Sci-Tech Culture Celebrity
Publisher - Politics Sci-Tech Culture Celebrity
Jeffrey Epstein's Lawyers Argue He's Not A Flight Risk, Ask For Home Detention
By Dallas On Jul 11, 2019
Jeffrey Epsteins Lawyers Argue Hes Not A Flight Risk Ask
Share FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrReddItTelegramWhatsAppVKViberEmailPrint
Jeffrey Epstein's private island, Little St. James a.k.a. "Pedophile Island." (Gianfranco Gaglione/AP/Shutterstock)
Alleged sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein reportedly owns somewhere between 15 and 37 vehicles, at least one plane, and houses in New Mexico, Florida, New York, and Paris, in addition to a private island near St. Thomas. Prosecutors believe that the staggering volume of egress routes available to the mega-wealthy financier make him a distinct and dangerous flight risk, and want him held without bail in the Metropolitan Correctional Center until trial.
Epstein's lawyers disagree, and have asked that the accused pedophile await his day in court while confined to his $77 million Upper East Side townhouse. They say he is "entitled" to bail, and further, that the charges against him are "akin to consumer or purchaser behavior," and not, you know, luring children into a sex ring. On Thursday, the NY Times reports, Epstein "asked a federal judge to allow him to use some of his wealth to stay out of jail while he awaits trial," specifically, he "pledged to put up his palatial Manhattan townhouse and his private jet as collateral."
To recap, Epstein pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy charges on Monday, after prosecutors indicted him for allegedly having enticed "dozens of minors" into various sex acts at his Manhattan and Palm Beach homes. Between 2002 and 2005, prosecutors say, Epstein deliberately sought out economically "vulnerable" young women under the age of 18, coercing them into stripping either fully or partially nude and giving him massages for a few hundred dollars in cash. During these sessions, they contend, Epstein would often masturbate; he would sometimes touch the girls, or make them touch him, or use sex toys on them. On various occasions, some of the young women he enlisted into his alleged sex ring—via the help of other young women who functioned as recruiters—say he "forcefully raped" them.
One girl claimed in a her suit that Epstein was aware she was underage during the time he sexually abused her, and even celebrated her sixteenth birthday with her, at one point saying that he would have to "trade her in because she was getting too old."https://t.co/x60lR8zTJX
— Sonia Moghe (@soniamoghe) July 11, 2019
The allegations against Epstein aren't anything new—rumors of his behavior have cycled around for years, and Florida investigators even built a case against him around 2006. In 2007, however, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta (then a U.S. Attorney) offered the financier a plea deal that whittled his sentence down from life in prison to just over a year in jail, with a work release. Epstein seems to have offered up information on his former employer, Bear Stearns, around the time of the 2008 crash, but while we don't have the details, Acosta has defended his choices. He has not, however, apologized to Epstein's victims.
Additionally, the NY Post reports that the NYPD hasn't required Epstein "to check in since he registered as a sex offender in New York over the controversial 2008 plea bargain he struck in Florida amid allegations he sexually abused scores of underage girls in his Palm Beach mansion." At the time, a Manhattan judge ordered to check in every 90 days; he has not done so once.
As details about Epstein's personal and professional life continue to leak out—his frightening home decor choices; whispers about the soundproof temple he built on his private "Pedophile Island," which only locks from the outside; the actual magnitude of his alleged fortune; the legitimacy of his alleged charitable contributions—scrutiny on his relationships has also intensified.
Epstein hung around with Hollywood celebrities, high-ranking politicians (Bill Clinton, for example), and British royalty, but his friendship with President Donald Trump may deserve special attention. Trump has said that he and Epstein had a falling out "15 years ago," around 2005, and that he's "not a fan" of the sex offender. But throughout the 1990s and into the early aughts—recall, Trump described Epstein as a "terrific guy" who liked "beautiful women … on the younger side" in 2002—the pair were frequently documented partying together, and Trump seems to have visited Epstein's UES mansion with fair regularity. And as the Washington Post reports, Epstein's little black book featured 14 Trump numbers around the time of the plea deal:
[Donald] Trump; his wife, Melania; his longtime personal assistant, Norma Foerderer; his houseman; and his security officer. Other Trumps in the book include the president's brother Robert and his wife, Blaine; the president's ex-wife Ivana; and their daughter, Ivanka.
As the Post points out, possession of numbers doesn't mean their owners knew about, or were involved in, any child sex trafficking or statutory rape that may have been occurring on Epstein properties. But certain among the defendant's alleged victims have suggested that Epstein, in an effort to get dirt on his peers, tried to get other powerful men to engage in sex acts with the girls in his employ.
If convicted, Epstein faces up to 45 years in prison, which—for a 66-year-old—would effectively mean a life sentence. Authorities urge anyone with information on, or firsthand experience with, Epstein's alleged crimes to contact the Victim and Witness Services at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
ArgueDetentionEpsteinsFlightHesHomeJeffreyLawyersRisk
Transgender Asylum Seeker Asks For Release From ICE Detention
Jeffrey Epstein Was Allegedly Trafficking Girls On His Private Island As Recently As…
Grandmother Fights Off Armed Suspect Who Tried To Forcefully Enter Staten Island Home…
Good Luck Getting Home To Queens From Manhattan Right Now
Home Inspector In Amityville NY – Higher Elevation
Home Inspector In Seaford NY – Higher Elevation
Feds: Video Of Jeffrey Epstein's Jail Suicide Attempt Was Accidentally…
NYS Mansion Tax Causes Bruce Willis To Take 42% Loss On His Home
Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg Offers Thanks For Support After Bloodshed In His Home – CBS…
A Home For Little Wanderers, and the Occasional Arsonist
Man Accused Of Machete Rampage In Rabbi's Home Was Previously Questioned In…
Brooklyn's House Of Detention Closes Under De Blasio's New Jails Plan
2019 2020 Avenue Bike bronx Brooklyn CBS Christmas City Day East Free Holiday Home ideal week Island Killed local stories local tv Long long island Man Manhattan mta new jersey news New York NYC NYPD Park Plan Police queens School Season Street Streetsblog subway Suspect usa Video week Woman Years York
EPeak World News
Libya's Rival Military Commander Seeks Support in Greece
Meet The 75-Year-Old Woman Who Has Fostered More Than 600 Children
The Strong Anti-War Message in the War Game That Is Chess
Navy to Name Aircraft Carrier for Pearl Harbor Hero Miller


text:
Addressing Food Insecurity: Concrete Advice From Clinic Leaders
Jun 23, 2021 • Focus Area: Population Health • Program: Moving Clinics Upstream
Six health care safety net organizations have spent the past 18 months testing, refining, and implementing innovations to help combat food insecurity in their communities. Despite embarking on this work under unprecedented duress in the middle of a global pandemic, they still managed to strengthen and expand their capabilities and infrastructure to assess and address this crucial social determinant of health.
Below, these Los Angeles-based, federally qualified health centers (FQHCS), part of CCI's Moving Clinics Upstream (MCU) program, share detailed, practical suggestions for tackling this challenging problem, whether an organization is just starting out, expanding its work, or introducing change during a healthcare crisis.
1. Pivot Quickly In The Face of a Pandemic
Beginning in March 2020, all six clinics moved quickly and successfully to address the unique obstacles the coronavirus unleashed. Each organization shifted from in-person clinic visits to telehealth services to connect with clients during the pandemic. Virtual visits became the norm as the lockdown months wore on.
Each clinic also found creative, collaborative solutions to delivering food services to patients in need, as demand soared during COVID-19 shutdowns and widespread unemployment.
Behavioral Health Services began sending Wholesome Wave grocery gift cards to clients in the mail. Eisner Health referred patients to pandemic-response feeding programs, such as Los Angeles Unified School District Grab n Go Centers. St. John's Well Child & Family Center strengthened community ties with organizations such as APAIT, [email protected] Coalition, and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to connect clients to emergency food supplies. APLA Health moved its well-established food pantry into a parking lot to help facilitate social distancing and create a safe and efficient distribution hub. Groceries were pre-bagged, versus farmers market-style selection, and essential supplies and personal protective equipment was included in the mix. Alta Med Health Services Corporation and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) partnered with Imperfect Foods to deliver food boxes to food insecure clients at home. The Los Angeles LGBT Center launched its Pride Pantry, a direct response to the rapid increase in need for food assistance brought on by the pandemic.
2. Start With Screening
All six clinics now screen patients for food insecurity, using the Hunger Vital Sign, a simple screening tool developed by the Nutrition and Obesity Network.
Lessons learned along the path to screening clients:
Normalize social screenings with the goal of screening all patients. That said, a pilot program and roll out strategy may work well to address any workflow issues. Clinics might consider starting with a particular site location, care team, or group of patients enrolled in an existing program.
Identify a screening program champion within the organization. Many screening programs are understaffed, which can result in inconsistent screening and poor follow up on identified needs, notes a social screening guide compiled by MCU coaching collaborators Elevation Health Partners. Staff conducting food insecurity assessments are often not the same staff as those addressing patient needs. A program champion can ensure internal best practices so staff best placed to support screening work (including case managers, care coordinators, medical assistants, nurses, patient navigators, primary care physicians, and outreach coordinators) are engaged and informed about their role to address this concern.
Select a screening tool, assess a clinic's information technology, and embed the questionnaire in the clinic's electronic health record intake process.
Develop an accountability plan and design workflows to capture data metrics and follow up. Outline staff roles and responsibilities: Who asks the questions? Where are the responses documented? How are the provider and care manager flagged when a patient screens positive? How is follow up documented, tracked, and reported?
Note that virtual screening can have a distancing effect. To counter this potential impact ask permission, screen everyone, and employ empathy: there is still stigma and shame associated with food insecurity for many clients.
3. Secure Buy-In At All Levels of the Organization
It's important to include everyone—administrative staff, nurses, medical assistants, social workers, physicians, IT team, drivers, volunteers, accounting, operations, marketing, and management—in this process. The engagement, input, and feedback of all stakeholders are a prerequisite for success.
When there is strong leadership support, commitment, and organizational buy-in, the main challenge becomes how to do something not with whom. Frontline staff are often the leaders and champions of this work. It takes a village.
Committed leadership understands a program's budget and staffing needs, technical issues, reporting mandates, and operational concerns, and leadership works together with care teams to address barriers, develop community resources, and streamline services. Leadership shows commitment by showing up, engaging in process and progress, and demonstrating support through actions, and as our coaches at Elevation Health Partners and MCU participants note, is key to long-term success. Getting that buy-in in writing early in the process can help set the tone for this kind of programming.
"Food security is the tenet and the foundation for a child to grow in a healthy way," notes pediatrician Mona Patel, vice president of ambulatory operations at CHLA, and a staunch advocate for food insecurity screening at clinics. "Food insecurity is challenging because you don't want judgement, and it can be a hard one for people to acknowledge they are struggling," she adds. "Food insecurity screening is important because of how foundational access to nutritious food resources is and how critical that is to a child's outcomes for the future."
4. Listen to Patient Stories
A post shared by AltaMed Health Services (@altamedhealths)
By truly listening to patients and hearing their stories, clients learn to build connections through patient navigators, case workers, front office staff, and clinic practitioners. Even without formal data, this anecdotal information gathering helps to uncover what patients really need and how they might best be served.
Take time to understand people's personal narratives. Public health data, client surveys, and patient questionnaires are helpful guides. But the real experts are clients. Ask patients: How can we help? What do you need to live a healthier life? What is preventing you from achieving that goal? This kind of check in can help with patient retention, increased trust, and patient engagement in the clinic and its related services. These kinds of check ins with clients are important throughout the process: from screening, referral to resources and case workers, and in regular follow-up conversations. Food insecurity can be short-term and situational. It can also be a chronic, long-term challenge for some clients.
"Screening for food insecurity shows that AltaMed not only cares for the physical well-being for the patient and their families, but also the general well-being of all their patients," according to one mother of five in South Central Los Angeles, who is an AltaMed patient. "Having a case manager who calls after the appointment to give the resources and a gift card that can be used for groceries is so valuable. This is money that we didn't have before that can help our family."
5. Embrace Virtual Delivery of Services
Technology proved key to supporting patients during social distance protocols. For example, APLA Health moved its weekly nutrition education classes online during the pandemic. There were some hiccups initially (the organization opted to use Ring Central as its online provider) and the clinic will likely transition back to live classes soon, but the shift allowed this important component of APLA's necessities of life program to continue during mandatory isolation. Los Angeles LGBT Center used computer tablets to assist clients applying for CalFresh while also maintaining social distance. St. John's Well Child & Family Center used whatever technology tools were immediately available to connect with patients, including telephones and social media platforms such as WhatsApp and FaceTime.
6. Collaborate Within The Organization to Share the Workload
Identify resources, knowledge, skill sets, connections, and experience that already exists within an organization to help with this work. Case in point: LA LGBT Center's Pride Pantry is managed by Dina Valenzuela, administrative and events coordinator in the center's culinary arts department. Managing a food pantry has many moving parts: ordering food, receiving deliveries, organizing inventory, working with volunteers, coordinating sign ups, and keeping the designated space food safe and up to health code — including meeting COVID-19 prevention protocols. Share the workload across departments, Valenzuela recommends, drawing on expertise within your organization. For instance, facilities staff at LA LGBT Center have experience handling logistical matters. "They assist in receiving all onsite food deliveries, work with the volunteers to pack all the food items, and manage the physical distribution for the pantry," explains Valenzuela.
7. Seek Outside Partners
Organizations need help to do this work. Court potential partners. Get to know their mission, values, and goals to assess how these align with your organization's needs and the needs of your clients. AltaMed and CHLA found a good fit with Imperfect Foods, a grocery delivery service that aims to reduce food waste. During the pandemic, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services contracted with the global charitable feeding program World Central Kitchen to make pre-cooked meals available to vulnerable clients that LA LGBT Center staff delivered to clients' doors.
Grocery stores may work with clinics on gift card programs and provide surplus items for food pantries. Corporate giving programs can direct food supplies to clinic pantries. Volunteers can play an important, on-going role in food pantry and food distribution work. At APLA Health, for instance, volunteers help pre-bag groceries for clients and are an integral part of the pantry program.
Seek out partnerships to source food. Think food banks, local food producers, community food recovery efforts, non-profit food relief organizations, and corporate giving programs. For decades, Project Angel Food has teamed up with APLA Health to provide home delivered medically tailored meals for people with HIV. In the summer of 2020, that collaboration grew to include a food pantry distribution site at a Project Angel Food location.
8. Iterate, iterate, iterate.
It's okay not to get it exactly right on the first try. Introducing innovations requires adjusting to meet patient needs and expectations; gathering information from patients, clinic staff, partners, and volunteers; and reconfiguring workflows, processes, and programs. Teams should expect to respond to client and staff feedback about an innovation's usefulness, convenience, and sustainability. It's important to solicit insights from all stakeholders. For instance, initially APLA Health had clients come to the clinic's loading dock to receive food supplies. But it quickly became apparent that the parking lot was better suited to serve as a food distribution site. This was a simple fix that made a big difference to the pantry's efficiency, with patients more easily able to pick up pantry supplies and go.
9. Meet Clients Where They're At
It's essential to adapt programs to match the needs of patients. For example, APLA Health has long provided food assistance to its clients. During the pandemic, the organization realized that they could better serve a particular population: those who don't have access to a kitchen or cooking facilities. So the organization's nutrition team developed a bag of no-cooking-necessary groceries. "This was a missed population for us but we've since found a way to put together a menu of items that don't require refrigeration or a stove," says Jeff Bailey, director of HIV access and community-based services at APLA Health.
10. Strive for Financial Sustainability
Out of necessity, clinics are creative about financing these kinds of upstream activities. Traditional federal sources, nonprofit grants, individual donors, internal funding streams, and outside partnerships—there is more than one way to find funding for innovation.
It's true, there's no magic bullet here—no one, steady, stable, sustainable way to support this work in the months and years to come. Many safety net organizations rely on a diverse stream of funding sources to sustain staff positions and food programs to continue this important work. Some funds are specifically earmarked for direct food services, whereas other funding may have more flexible spending mandates, allowing clinics to use the funds for, say, infrastructure or staffing related to an on-site food pantry program.
While APLA Health receives substantial funding from the federally funded Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, Bailey notes that there are other national initiatives that federally qualified health centers can apply for. For instance, he points to FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program as a potential source of support. In March this year, FEMA announced an additional $400 million in funds for social service organizations feeding hungry and homeless populations as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
APLA Health's Vance North Necessities of Life Program has a long history of community support in gifts both large and small. More than 50 percent of pantry items distributed to clients come from food drives and donations from supermarket partners. The program has also been able to expand greatly due to the generosity of a community philanthropist: In 2011, Bob North and his wife, Lois, donated $3.5 million to the Necessities of Life Program in memory of their son, Vance, who died of AIDS-related complications.
Elevation Health Partners' Deena Pourshaban points to the forthcoming California Department of Health Services CalAIM program as a potential source of reimbursement, and she notes that local health plan benefits programs, such as L.A. Care Health Plan, are a possible outlet for funding through community grants.
11. Connect Transport With Food Services
Often food insecurity and transportation insecurity go hand in hand. Keep in mind that hauling grocery bags on public transit may be too much to ask of clients in ill health, or with mobility challenges, or those with young children in tow. And during the pandemic, of course, many people avoided public transit as much as possible. For clients with mobility issues or those who lack convenient access to transit, APLA Health offers transportation via ride share services such as Uber and Lyft. LyftUp offers discounted Lyft car rides to low-income families and seniors heading to and from grocery stores, farmers markets, food pantries, and SNAP (CalFresh) benefits appointments. Uber Connect allows for the delivery of packages such as grocery bags to people's homes. Uber Health allows providers to directly arrange transport for patients, as does a similar program at Lyft.
12. Celebrate the Small Victories
Responding to food insecurity can feel overwhelming; the need can be urgent, acute, and/or chronic. Think about starting small and growing steady and slowly.
Create an environment that starts with screening for social needs, then build interventions and link patients to resources. It's important to understand if the changes work well for both patients and staff before spreading them clinic-wide.
Perhaps begin with a pilot project with a particular high-risk cohort or clinic, which can help a health center figure out the kinks in the system, program, and delivery. As one participant from Behavorial Health Services notes: "Know what you have the capacity to do and start from there. Don't try to progress too fast without building the foundation first."
Keep in mind that every patient that you serve, support, and connect to services is a success.
13. Keep Pandemic Changes For The Long Haul
After this unprecedented year, many safety net clinics were able to respond to a dramatic upswing in food insecurity. It's clear that clinics will have an on-going role in ensuring their patients' hunger needs are met moving forward.
APLA's Bailey says the health center will likely keep its pantry distribution in the parking lot, because it proved very efficient, with good flow, and frees up indoor space for storage.
Strengthening internal systems for assessing social determinants of health and improving internal workflows has benefits beyond food insecurity, they can be useful in other programs, for instance vaccine rollout. Tweaking best practices around data collection, case management referral, and delivery of services can go a long way to ensuring the viability of such programs. As one MCU participant notes: "Determine what sets you apart from other food programs so as not to duplicate what's already out there."
As two of these clinics demonstrate, co-locating food pantry services on site can enhance access and offer one-stop shopping to clients who may be coming in for other services at a health center. As other clinics demonstrate, ensuring that food services reach patients in need—through home delivery, for instance—can eliminate transportation challenges.
As all the clinics can attest, making a commitment to do this work—and having a point person or leadership team that is passionate about meeting this basic human need with compassion, caring, and a capacity for overcoming obstacles while working closely with all community stakeholders—is crucial to continued success to combat food insecurity among clinic clients.
Moving Clinics Upstream
With funding from Cedars-Sinai, we launched Moving Clinics Upstream to support ten Los Angeles based clinics in building their capabilities and infrastructure to assess for and address social determinants of health. We'll be chronicling our participants' journeys in real time.
Transportation Insecurity
Part I: A Barrier to Good Health in Los Angeles
Part II: LA Clinics Pivot on Transportation During The COVID-19 Crisis
Part III: Kheir Clinic's Road to Wellness: Dealing With Patient Transportation Needs
Part IV: Addressing Transportation Insecurity: Concrete Advice From Clinic Leaders
Part I: Hidden Hunger in Los Angeles
Part II: LA Clinics Respond to Food Insecurity During COVID-19
Part III: LA LGBT Center Takes Pride in New Pantry for Food Insecure Patients
Part IV: Addressing Food Insecurity: Concrete Advice From Clinic Leaders
Food Insecurity: Hidden Hunger in Los Angeles
Mar 4, 2020 • Center for Care Innovations
Los Angeles has a food insecurity problem and much of it is hiding in plain sight.
"We were a bit surprised," says Haik Janoian, operations manager for the nonprofit Eisner Health, over initial f…
LA Clinics Respond to Food Insecurity During COVID-19
Jun 30, 2020 • Center for Care Innovations
In the face of crushing need, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed safety net clinics to get creative when it comes to helping food insecure patients. Some might call it outside-the-box thinking — ex…
Los Angeles LGBT Center Takes Pride in New Pantry for Food Insecure Patients
For 63-year-old Ja-Jah the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Pride Pantry—a response to widespread food insecurity among its clientele during the COVID-19 pandemic—is more than a lifeline. "When I fir…
Tackling Food Insecurity During the Pandemic and Beyond: 14 Strategies from the Field
Feb 8, 2021 • Center for Care Innovations
Parking lots morphing into pop-up food pantries. Nutrition education classes moving online. Safety net clinics connecting food programs to medical care. Community-based organizations tackling transpor…


Over the last decade Dirk Niepoort has been having fun shaking up the rather stuffy port scene. Using very traditional methods and bottling this port in the traditionally shaped bottle, Niepoort stuck a great big moustache on it to emphasize its seniority.
Winemaking: The Senior Tawny wine spends most of its time ageing in small barrels in the Niepoort lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. The small barrels enable a soft and light contact with air through the pores of the wood, which results in a slow oxidation process over the years.


Funky table lamps for indoor and outdoor room pictures. Designer table lamps and funky table lights nestcouk. Organization rectangular table lamp tags : funky table lamps funky. Funky handmade table lamps for your home full home living.


text:
There is something majestic in the bad taste of Italy.E. M. Forster
Italy will always have the best food.Diane von Furstenberg
Yes, young men, Italy owes to you an undertaking which has merited the applause of the universe. You have conquered and you will conquer still, because you are prepared for the tactics that decide the fate of battles.Giuseppe Garibaldi
I will say that the food in both Japan and Italy was immaculate. I don't remember having bad food in either country.Daniel Gillies
My parents immigrated from Italy and spent 40 days and 40 stinking nights on a boat so we didn't have to eat things like gizzards.Nadia Giosia
When I think of Italy now, I think of accessories, possessions, bad TV, fake boobs, BMWs.Valeria Golino
There's no big splashy renaissance in Italian films. We have good young actors and directors. What we lack are screenwriters. It's hard to write about Italy.Valeria Golino
You're a Catholic in Italy when you're born, it's unthinkable to stop being Catholic. You just take the rules a lot more seriously, because it pervades your culture.Andrew Greeley
And since Italy was involved in the space station as well as signed an agreement with NASA. And when the possibility to enter the 1996 Mission Specialist class.Umberto Guidoni
The battle of the euro is being fought right now in Spain and Italy. The future of the euro is at stake in the next weeks.Luis de Guindos
I would love to take a road trip across Italy in an Aston Martin S Coupe.Esha Gupta
Italy has great food and Barcelona has great energy.Stefon Harris
The first condition of success for the League of Nations is, therefore, a firm understanding between the British Empire and the United States of America and France and Italy that there will be no competitive building up of fleets or armies between them.Arthur Henderson
Everything in Italy that is particularly elegant and grand borders upon insanity and absurdity or at least is reminiscent of childhood.Alexander Herzen
Until 1914 I loved to travel; I often went to Italy and once spent a few months in India. Since then I have almost entirely abandoned travelling, and I have not been outside of Switzerland for over ten years.Herman Hesse
It was my proudest moment as a manager when England drew 0-0 with Italy in Rome to qualify for the World Cup finals. Fifteen years later, the stakes are equally high for both countries as they go head-to-head for a semi-final place at the European Championship.Glenn Hoddle
Hollywood cools, and when it cools you have to go to where the work is. I ran off to Italy to do spaghetti westerns.Tab Hunter
If I go to Germany, I learn something in addition. The German television is very precise and respectable. One has never stress. In Italy it is more dynamic. But I amuse myself madly in both countries.Michelle Hunziker
Internet penetration in Italy is quite low and the Berlusconi media machine controls most of what people see.Joichi Ito
I got hooked on espresso when I visited Italy at 18, but these days I prefer a 'flat white.' It's like a small latte with less milk - they're popular in Australia.Hugh Jackman


text:
Q: Get the key equal (if key exists in the map) or strictly less than given input in a map I am taking numberOfItems number of keys as input and putting them in a map like this:
int numberOfItems;
int query;
scanf("%d",&numberOfItems);
int temp;
map<int,int> iimap;
for(int i=0;i<numberOfItems;i++)
{
    scanf("%d",&temp);
    iimap.insert(make_pair(temp,1));
}
printf("Enter query: ");
scanf("%d",&query);
int VstrictlyLessOrEqual = FstrictlyLessOrEqual(query);

I set the default key for each input = 1; So, the non-existent key has value =0 .

6 100 5 4 3 2 1 50

For this input (the first input 6 is numberOfItems & the last input 50 is query) FstrictlyLessOrEqual() should return value 5

A: You want to use std::map's upper_bound() or lower_bound() method :
upper_bound()
upper_bound() returns an iterator to the first key that's higher than the key searched for. So:

*

*Call upper_bound().

*If upper_bound() returned begin() this means that the searched for is lower than the lowest key in the map.

*Otherwise decrement the iterator. It will now point to a key either equal to the key searched for, or the next smaller key.
lower_bound()
lower_bound() returns an iterator to the first key in the map that's equal or greater than the key searched for, so to accomplish your goals you will need to:

*

*Call lower_bound()

*Check if lower_bound() did not return end(), and the iterator's key is the same key you searched for. The key exists in the map.

*Otherwise, check if lower_bound() returned the map's begin() iterator value. If so, this means that the key you searched for is lower than the first key in the map, and so such value exists.

*Otherwise, decrement the returned iterator. The key you searched for does not exist in the map, and the decremented iterator points to a key that's the next smallest in the map.

A: If the the default ordering (std::less) of keys is not a requirement, then using std::greater as key_compare with a single lower_bound() call would do the trick.
// std::greater instead of default std::less
std::map<int, int, std::greater<int>> m = {{3, 0}, {5, 0}, {7, 0}, {9, 0}};

auto it = m.lower_bound(1);
printf("%d\n", it != m.end() ? it->first : -1); // prints -1
it = m.lower_bound(3);
printf("%d\n", it != m.end() ? it->first : -1); // prints 3
it = m.lower_bound(4);
printf("%d\n", it != m.end() ? it->first : -1); // also prints 3

A: Return an iterator to the last element whose key is < key.  If no such element is found, the past-the-end iterator is returned.
template <typename C>
typename C::const_iterator
find_key_less(const C& c, const typename C::key_type& key)
{
    auto iter = c.lower_bound(key);
    if (iter == c.cbegin())
        return c.cend();
    return --iter;
}

Return an iterator to the last element whose key is <= key.  If no such element is found, the past-the-end iterator is returned.
template <typename C>
typename C::const_iterator
find_key_less_equal(const C& c, const typename C::key_type& key)
{
    auto iter = c.upper_bound(key);
    if (iter == c.cbegin())
        return c.cend();
    return --iter;
}

find_key_greater_equal == lower_bound
find_key_greater == upper_bound

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
@interface SPDetailViewController ()
@property (weak, nonatomic) SPLineChart * lineChart1;
@property (weak, nonatomic) SPBarChart * barChart2;
@property (weak, nonatomic) SPBarChart * barChart3;
@property (weak, nonatomic) SPPieChart * pieChart1;

@property (weak, nonatomic) SPChartPopup * popup;
@end

@implementation SPDetailViewController

- (void)showLineChart1
{
    self.navigationItem.title = @"Line Chart";

    SPLineChart * chart = [[SPLineChart alloc] initWithFrame:CHART_FRAME];
    chart.yLabelCount = 7;

    [chart setDatas:@[
                      [SPLineChartData dataWithValues:@[ @(0), @(-2), @1, @0, @3, @2 ] color:Color1],
                      [SPLineChartData dataWithValues:@[ @0, @1, @3, @2, @5, @4 ] color:Color2]
                      ]
         forXValues:@[
                      @"GEN",
                      @"FEB",
                      @"MAR",
                      @"APR",
                      @"MAY",
                      @"JUN"
                      ]];

    // Show empty message, if the chart is empty
    chart.emptyChartText = @"The chart is empty.";

    //change xLabels orientation
    chart.xLabelsOrientationAngle = -M_PI / 2;

    [self.view addSubview:chart];

    [chart drawChart];

    chart.delegate = self;
    self.lineChart1 = chart;
}

- (void)showBarChart1
{
    self.navigationItem.title = @"Bar Chart";

    SPBarChart * chart = [[SPBarChart alloc] initWithFrame:CHART_FRAME];

    [chart setDatas:@[
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:1 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 1"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:24 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 2"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:12 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 3"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:18 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 4"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:30 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 5"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:10 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 6"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValue:21 color:Color1 description:@"SEP 7"],
                      ]];

    // Show axis
    chart.showAxis = YES;
    // and section lines inside
    chart.showSectionLines = YES;

    // Show empty message, if the chart is empty
    chart.emptyChartText = @"The chart is empty.";

    [self.view addSubview:chart];

    [chart drawChart];
}

- (void)showBarChart2
{
    SPBarChart * chart = [[SPBarChart alloc] initWithFrame:CHART_FRAME];

    NSArray * colors = @[ Color1, Color2, Color3 ];

    [chart setDatas:@[
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @94,  @21, @30 ] colors:colors description:@"GEN"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @71,  @20, @10 ] colors:colors description:@"FEB"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @44,  @0 , @50 ] colors:colors description:@"MAR"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @127, @21, @8  ] colors:colors description:@"APR"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @18,  @22, @0  ] colors:colors description:@"MAY"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @163, @0 , @42 ] colors:colors description:@"JUN"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @125, @9 , @20 ] colors:colors description:@"JUL"],
                      ]];

    // Set maximum value
    chart.maxDataValue = 210;

    // Show axis
    chart.showAxis = YES;
    // and section lines inside
    chart.showSectionLines = YES;

    // Show empty message, if the chart is empty
    chart.emptyChartText = @"The chart is empty.";

    [self.view addSubview:chart];

    [chart drawChart];

    chart.delegate = self;
    self.barChart2 = chart;
}

- (void)showBarChart3
{
    SPBarChart * chart = [[SPBarChart alloc] initWithFrame:CHART_FRAME];

    NSArray * colors = @[ Color2 ];

    [chart setDatas:@[
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @94, ] colors:colors description:@"GEN"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @71, ] colors:colors description:@"FEB"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @44, ] colors:colors description:@"MAR"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @127 ] colors:colors description:@"APR"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @18  ] colors:colors description:@"MAY"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @163 ] colors:colors description:@"JUN"],
                      [SPBarChartData dataWithValues:@[ @125 ] colors:colors description:@"JUL"],
                      ]];

    // Set maximum value
    chart.maxDataValue = 210;
    chart.upsideDown = YES;

    // Show axis
    chart.showAxis = YES;
    // and section lines inside
    chart.showSectionLines = YES;

    // Show empty message, if the chart is empty
    chart.emptyChartText = @"The chart is empty.";

    [self.view addSubview:chart];

    [chart drawChart];

    chart.delegate = self;
    self.barChart3 = chart;
}

- (void)showPieChart1
{
    self.navigationItem.title = @"Pie Chart";

    SPPieChart * chart = [[SPPieChart alloc] initWithFrame:CHART_FRAME];

    [chart setDatas:@[
                      [SPPieChartData dataWithValue:10 color:Color1],
                      [SPPieChartData dataWithValue:20 color:Color2 description:@"WWDC"],
                      [SPPieChartData dataWithValue:40 color:Color3 description:@"GOOL I/O"],
                      ]];

    // Show empty message, if the chart is empty
    chart.emptyChartText = @"The chart is empty.";

    [self.view addSubview:chart];

    [chart drawChart];

    chart.delegate = self;
    self.pieChart1 = chart;
}

#pragma mark -
#pragma mark Popup

- (void)_dismissPopup
{
    if (self.popup) {
        [self.popup dismiss];
    }
}

#pragma mark -
#pragma mark SPChartDelegate

- (void)SPChart:(SPLineChart *)chart lineSelected:(NSInteger)lineIndex touchPoint:(CGPoint)point
{
    NSLog(@"Selected line %ld", (long)lineIndex);

    [self _dismissPopup];
}

- (void)SPChart:(SPLineChart *)chart lineKeyPointSelected:(NSInteger)pointIndex ofLine:(NSInteger)lineIndex keyPoint:(CGPoint)keyPoint touchPoint:(CGPoint)point
{
    NSLog(@"Selected key point %ld in line %ld", (long)pointIndex, (long)lineIndex);

    [self _dismissPopup];

    // Show a popup
    SPLineChartData * data = self.lineChart1.datas[lineIndex];

    UILabel * label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero];
    label.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@ %@", data.values[pointIndex], (lineIndex == 0) ? @"visitors" : @"plays"];
    label.font = self.lineChart1.labelFont;
    label.textColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
    [label sizeToFit];

    SPChartPopup * popup = [[SPChartPopup alloc] initWithContentView:label];
    [popup setPopupColor:Color4];
    [popup sizeToFit];

    [popup showInView:self.lineChart1 withBottomAnchorPoint:keyPoint];
    self.popup = popup;
}

- (void)SPChart:(SPBarChart *)chart barSelected:(NSInteger)barIndex barFrame:(CGRect)barFrame touchPoint:(CGPoint)touchPoint
{
    NSLog(@"Selected bar %ld", (long)barIndex);

    [self _dismissPopup];

    // Show a popup
    if (chart == self.barChart2) {

        SPBarChartData * data = chart.datas[barIndex];

        UILabel * label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero];
        label.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@ - %@ - %@", data.values[0], data.values[1], data.values[2]];
        label.font = chart.labelFont;
        label.textColor = [UIColor whiteColor];

        [label sizeToFit];

        SPChartPopup * popup = [[SPChartPopup alloc] initWithContentView:label];
        [popup setPopupColor:Color4];
        [popup sizeToFit];

        [popup showInView:chart withBottomAnchorPoint:CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(barFrame), CGRectGetMinY(barFrame))];
        self.popup = popup;
    }
    else if (chart == self.barChart3) {
        // Upside down chart
        SPBarChartData * data = chart.datas[barIndex];

        UILabel * label = [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero];
        label.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@", data.values[0]];
        label.font = chart.labelFont;
        label.textColor = [UIColor whiteColor];

        [label sizeToFit];

        SPChartPopup * popup = [[SPChartPopup alloc] initWithContentView:label];
        [popup setPopupColor:Color4];
        [popup sizeToFit];

        [popup showInView:chart withTopAnchorPoint:CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(barFrame), CGRectGetMaxY(barFrame))];
        self.popup = popup;
    }
}

- (void)SPChart:(SPPieChart *)chart piePieceSelected:(NSInteger)pieceIndex
{
    NSLog(@"Selected piece %ld", (long)pieceIndex);
}

- (void)SPChartEmptySelection:(id)chart
{
    NSLog(@"Touch outside chart bar/line/piece");

    [self _dismissPopup];
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Health Care Compliance and Enforcement Update
April 2011 Jones Day Publications
The Jones Day Health Care Compliance and Enforcement Update is intended to keep our clients abreast of key legal developments affecting the health care industry. For more information about these and other matters of interest to you and your company, please contact your principal Jones Day representative or one of the lawyers listed below.
Recent trends in legislation, investigations, and litigation point toward heightened scrutiny of participants in the health care industry. Three of these trends―greater emphasis on individual accountability, increased resources for enforcement, and expanded scope of sanctionable conduct―and other developments are discussed in this Update.
Recent Cases Underscore Heightened Enforcement Activity Directed at Individuals
Former In-House Counsel with Pharmaceutical Company Reindicted. On April 13, 2011, a federal grand jury in Maryland returned an indictment charging Lauren Stevens, formerly a vice president and associate general counsel for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), with obstruction of justice and making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection with an investigation into allegations that the drug Wellbutrin had been marketed for unapproved uses. Stevens had previously been indicted in November 2010, but that indictment was dismissed after federal District Judge Roger Titus found that "erroneous and prejudicial legal advice [was] given to the grand jury" regarding the advice of counsel defense.
The government alleges that Stevens improperly withheld documents that should have been produced during the investigation and made false statements about activities related to the marketing of Wellbutrin. Trial is scheduled to begin April 26.
Current CEO Faces Possible Exclusion from Federal Health Care Programs. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its "Guidance for Implementing Permissive Exclusion Authority." This guidance makes clear that officers and managing employees of health care companies may be excluded from participation in federal health care programs "based solely on their position within the entity," and it identifies relevant factors for the OIG to consider in determining whether to exclude such an officer or managing employee "in the absence of evidence that the person knew or should have known of the misconduct."
In what appears to be the first case of a possible exclusion action against a corporate officer under this guidance, Howard Solomon, Chairman, CEO, and President of Forest Laboratories, Inc., received a "notice of intent to exclude" letter from the OIG on April 12, 2011, based on matters that were settled by Forest in 2010. That settlement related to allegations that a subsidiary improperly distributed and promoted, and committed False Claims Act violations with respect to, certain drugs. As part of the settlement, the subsidiary agreed to pay more than $313 million, entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement, and pleaded guilty to two strict liability misdemeanor violations of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and one criminal felony count of obstructing justice.
According to a Forest press release, there was "no finding of knowledge or wrongdoing by Mr. Solomon" in connection with the 2010 settlement, nor was he identified as a target during the government investigation. Instead, the press release states that the basis for the OIG's exclusion is that Solomon "associated with" the company. Solomon has 30 days to respond to the notice, and the company announced that he intends to challenge the exclusion.
Former CEO Sentenced to Home Detention and Probation in Off-Label Case; Motions for New Trial are Denied. On April 13, 2011, the former CEO of InterMune, W. Scott Harkonen, was sentenced to three years of probation, six months of home detention (stayed pending appeal), and 200 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, based on his 2009 federal wire fraud conviction for creating and distributing a false and misleading press release related to an unapproved use of the drug Actimmune. (Federal prosecutors had urged the court to sentence Harkonen to a 10-year term of imprisonment, citing the harm to patients and the magnitude of the actual and intended loss.) On April 18, 2011, federal District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel denied Harkonen's motions for a new trial. InterMune had previously entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay approximately $37 million to resolve criminal charges and civil liability related to the off-label promotion at issue. The company was also required to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the OIG.
Former CEO Sentenced to One Month Imprisonment and Ordered to Pay $1.9 Million. On March 10, 2011, the former CEO of K-V Pharmaceutical, Marc Hermelin, was sentenced to 30 days in prison after pleading guilty to two federal charges of misbranding drugs. Hermelin was also ordered to pay a fine of $1 million and restitution of $900,000.
In 2008, K-V Pharmaceutical had received complaints from pharmacists who reported finding oversized tablets. After an internal investigation, the company issued a recall of specific lots of morphine and submitted a field alert to the FDA referencing the oversized morphine tablets. But, according to the government, the company failed to disclose that it had also identified instances of oversized tablets of other drugs. In March 2009, K-V and its subsidiaries (including Ethex Corporation) entered into a consent decree barring them from the manufacture or distribution of drugs until an independent expert and FDA officials certified that they were in compliance with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. In February 2010, the company agreed to pay $27.6 million to settle criminal charges arising from the 2008 violations. In November 2010, in order to avoid exclusion of the company, Hermelin voluntarily resigned from the board of directors and was individually excluded from participation in federal health programs.
Purdue Executives Appeal Order Upholding Exclusion. On January 31, 2011, three former Purdue executives filed an appeal to challenge Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle's (D.D.C.) order upholding the HHS Secretary's decision to exclude them from participation in federal health care programs. The executives' exclusion followed a 2007 settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia in which the three executives pleaded guilty to a strict liability misdemeanor misbranding charge resulting from their positions as responsible corporate officers.
FDA Issues Guidelines for Responsible Corporate Officer Prosecutions. On January 26, 2011, the FDA issued guidelines setting forth factors that it will consider in recommending prosecutions under the Responsible Corporate Officer doctrine (commonly known as the "Park" doctrine).
The FDA guidelines note that a responsible corporate officer can be held liable under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act even without proof that the officer acted with unlawful intent or was negligent, and even if the officer had no actual knowledge of, and did not participate in, the underlying conduct. Misdemeanor convictions may serve as the basis for exclusion (as demonstrated in the Purdue case discussed above), and any subsequent violation of this provision by the same person is treated as a felony.
In addition to considering the individual's position in the company and relationship to the violation, and whether the official had the authority to correct or prevent the violation, the guidelines identify seven factors for the FDA to consider in deciding whether to recommend charging a misdemeanor violation, including, among others, whether the conduct involved actual or potential harm to the public and whether it reflects a pattern of illegal behavior and/or failure to heed prior warnings.
In an interview published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, FDA litigation chief Eric Blumberg projected the impact of the agency's emphasis on individual accountability: "In my view, one thing that will get executives' attention is a few cases in which we have convicted two-legged defendants."
Federal Agencies Expand Outreach and Ramp Up Resources for Health Care Enforcement
HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have initiated several programs to enhance awareness of health care compliance requirements and enforcement efforts and to significantly increase the resources devoted to detecting fraud and abuse in the health care industry:
On February 17, 2011, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force carried out a nationwide operation, charging 111 individuals in nine cities with participation in alleged Medicare-fraud schemes involving more than $225 million. On the same day, the OIG announced that the Strike Force was being expanded to include Dallas and Chicago, in addition to the seven cities/regions previously covered (Baton Rouge, Brooklyn, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade County, and Tampa Bay).
On February 15, 2011, HHS and DOJ announced that 20 individuals had been charged with various health care fraud, kickback, and money-laundering schemes involving approximately $200 million in south Florida.
On February 14, 2011, President Obama released the FY 2012 Budget Proposal, which includes $581 million for Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control. This amount represents an increase of $270 million from the amount allocated in FY 2010.
On February 3, 2011, the OIG launched its "Most Wanted Fugitives" list, which provides photographs and profiles of individuals sought by law enforcement authorities on charges of health care fraud and abuse. There are currently more than 170 fugitives on the list.
On January 31, 2011, the OIG announced that it would offer free Provider Compliance Training as part of its Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) program. HEAT is a multiagency federal initiative that was launched in May 2009 and combines resources from HHS and DOJ to combat fraud in Medicaid and Medicare programs. Addressing similar issues, the OIG released "A Roadmap for New Physicians: Avoiding Medicare and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse" in October 2010 and supplemented this with additional materials released in February 2011.
Recently Introduced Legislation May Have Significant Impact On Health Care Industry
Bill to Address Integrity and Accountability Is Introduced. On March 2, 2011, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced a bill (S. 454) containing several measures designed to address health care fraud (Strengthening Program Integrity and Accountability in Health Care Act of 2011). The bill's provisions include: expanding the scope of individuals who can be excluded from participation in federal health care programs; allowing Medicare to delay payment of claims when fraud is suspected; requiring states to verify with the FDA that a drug is approved for a particular use and properly marketed; establishing a national database of information to prevent and detect medical identity theft; and making Medicare provider payment information publicly available.
Bill to Expand Exclusion Authority of HHS Is Reintroduced. On February 11, 2011, Representatives Wally Herger (R-Calif.) and Pete Stark (D-Calif.) reintroduced in the House a bipartisan bill (H.R. 675) that would expand the categories of persons subject to exclusion from participation in federal health care programs. In particular, the proposed bill (Strengthening Medicare Anti-Fraud Measures Act of 2011) would amend 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(15) to authorize permissive exclusion of "Individuals or Entities Affiliated with a Sanctioned Entity." This provision would cover current and former officers and managing employees, as well as any current or former "person with an ownership or control interest … [who] knows or should know … of such conduct." Currently, the OIG may exclude only officers and employees who are with the sanctioned entity at the time the sanction is imposed. This bill would enable the OIG to exclude individuals even if they had left the sanctioned entity prior to the sanction. The bill was originally introduced last September (as H.R. 6130) and passed in the House by a voice vote. It was then sent to the Senate but did not make it out of committee before the end of the session.
In addition, the bill authorizes exclusion of "any affiliated entity of a sanctioned entity." Under this provision, a parent company could be excluded on the basis of the conviction or exclusion of a subsidiary, and the exclusion could extend to officers, managing employees, and persons with an ownership or control interest in the affiliated entity. The effect of this provision would be to not allow a company to avoid exclusion simply by having an affiliated entity plead guilty to the triggering offense.
Significantly, section 6502 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which mandated the exclusion of affiliated entities from Medicaid participation, was repealed on December 15, 2010 due to concerns that it would deprive Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries of access to many necessary drugs. By contrast, the permissive exclusion proposed by the reintroduced bill would allow the government to consider the full effect of exclusion before deciding whether to impose this sanction.
Recent Developments in FCA Cases: Filings, Motions, Settlements, and Trial Verdicts
Recent notable False Claims Act (FCA) cases involving participants in the health care industry include the following:
On March 29, 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit's ruling in County of Santa Clara, et al. v. Astra U.S.A. Inc., et al. The Court held that when a statutory scheme is implemented by means of a contract, a person that benefits from the contract cannot sue to enforce it as a third-party beneficiary unless Congress affirmatively conferred a private right of action. Therefore, certain public-health entities (Section 340B hospitals and clinics) lacked standing to bring an action to enforce ceiling-price contracts between drug manufacturers and the Secretary of HHS.
In settlements announced on March 10, 2011, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $68.5 million to 37 states and the District of Columbia to resolve allegations that it marketed Seroquel for uses not approved by the FDA (including use in pediatric and geriatric populations), that it failed to adequately disclose potential side effects, and that it withheld some negative studies concerning safety and efficacy. Several other states have ongoing actions related to the same allegations.
On February 1, 2011, a Texas jury returned a $170 million verdict against Actavis Mid-Atlantic LLC, finding that the company had reported inflated prices to Texas Medicaid. The relator in the case was Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys. This was the first drug-pricing case to go to trial in Texas.
On February 18, 2011, the Seventh Circuit reversed a lower court's dismissal of an FCA suit alleging that Advanced Healthcare Associates submitted claims for services not rendered. The lower court had dismissed on the basis that there had been public disclosure of industrywide fraud in the chiropractic arena and that the relator, Kelly Baltazar, was not an original source of that disclosure. In reversing the dismissal, the Seventh Circuit noted that "[o]ther courts of appeals have concluded that reports documenting a significant rate of false claims by an industry as a whole … do not prevent a qui tam suit against any particular member of the industry."
In a settlement announced on January 4, 2011, seven additional hospitals agreed to pay more than $6.3 million to settle allegations that they performed kyphoplasty as an inpatient rather than an outpatient procedure in order to increase their Medicare billings. The relators in these cases were Craig Patrick, a former reimbursement manager for Kyphon, and Charles Bates, formerly a Kyphon regional sales manager. The relators will receive a total of approximately $1.1 million as their share of the settlement proceeds. These cases have been the subject of discussions and correspondence between the American Hospital Association (AHA) and DOJ, since the "fraud" is based on the location of the procedure rather than the need to perform it. The AHA's position is that physicians should have discretion in determining the appropriate procedure location. Even if some of the procedures could have been performed on an outpatient basis, performing them on an inpatient basis should be characterized as a mistake and/or overpayment and not as a deliberate fraud.
This month, the SEC is scheduled to implement the whistleblower reward program mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Watch for further information from Jones Day regarding this program after implementation.
On May 18, 2011, the OIG will present its Provider Compliance Training (referenced above) as a webcast. For more information, go to http://compliance.oig.hhs.gov/enrollment.html.
Health Care Compliance Spring 2011
Theodore T. Chung
Practice Leader Investigations & White Collar Defense
Chicago + 1.312.269.4234
ttchung@jonesday.com
Practice: Investigations & White Collar Defense
Toni-Ann Citera
New York + 1.212.326.3454
tcitera@jonesday.com
Practice: Business & Tort Litigation
Richard H. Deane Jr.
rhdeane@jonesday.com
James R. Dutro
San Francisco + 1.415.875.5839
jdutro@jonesday.com
Practice: Health Care & Life Sciences
Thomas E. Dutton
Columbus + 1.614.281.3897
tedutton@jonesday.com
Karen P. Hewitt
Partner-in-Charge California Region
kphewitt@jonesday.com
Jeffrey L. Kapp
Cleveland + 1.216.586.7230
jlkapp@jonesday.com
Glenn L. Krinsky
Los Angeles + 1.213.243.2540
glkrinsky@jonesday.com
Heather M. O'Shea
Practice Leader Health Care & Life Sciences
hoshea@jonesday.com
James Lenahan Poth
Irvine + 1.949.553.7586
jlpoth@jonesday.com
Stephen G. Sozio
sgsozio@jonesday.com
January 2023 Commentary
DOJ Criminal Division Announces Revisions to its Corporate Enforcement Policy
Food, Drugs, Cosmetics, and Devices: Federal Regulatory Focus Areas in 2023


Houssein Malla is a senior Political Science/International Affairs student at LAU with a minor in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He first participated in LAU simulations programs as a High School delegate in the 10thGC LAU Model United Nations and the 4thLAU Model Arab League Conferences, where he won a Diplomacy award, and was later chosen to be part of the Delegation to represent LAU at the Global Outreach and Leadership development conference in New York. As a staffer, Houssein started his journey as a High School Volunteer in the Logistics and Operations Team of both the 5thLAU Model Arab League and the 11thGC LAU Model United Nations. Upon joining LAU, Houssein served as a trainer in both the 12thGC LAU Model United Nations and 1stModel European Union in his first year, and in the 13thLAU MUN and 2ndLAU MEU in his second. Aside from the simulation models, Houssein assumed many leadership positions in NGOs notably "Beirutiyat" where he served as a Volunteer Coordinator and "MAK Volunteering Unit" where he served as the Director of Training. He hopes to one day become a Diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants. Houssein in humbled to serve the 14th& 9thGC LAU MUN as Assistant Under-Secretary General for Training and Educational Development.


You could call me a creative geek. I love good design and creative problem-solving but I've also got a mind that thrives on the technical stuff (I've a Master's Degree in Control Systems and I can get very excited about Search Engine Optimisation). For years, I'd wanted to run my own business, just like my dad did. Then I found the work that allows me to be creative and techie and be my own boss — web design and development.
I've been building websites since 2011, partly for my own use (there's that creative urge that needs to be fulfilled) and partly for people who'd just seen my work and liked it. My first real challenge came when a keen client asked me to design a much more complex site for his business. At first, I hesitated; after some persuasion, though, I dived in, quickly discovering the tools I needed to build the site efficiently and effectively. More importantly, I'd discovered that I adore the creative process of website design!
I began my career in IT as a programmer for Cap Gemini and have been getting my head around the technical stuff ever since. I thrive on the nitty-gritty of WordPress, Search Engine Optimisation and fixing those seemingly unsolvable website problems that make life a nightmare for the small business owner. Solving these knotty problems (and saving organisations and businesses days' worth of frustrating work in the process) gives me a real buzz!
Connecting with customers has always been the most exciting part of working life for me. It's those connections that make the business world go round.
I worked in technical support for many years, so I've got a strong background in understanding what people want. I also understand the technical jargon of web development—but I explain things to my clients in everyday, non-technical language. Oh, and I do like a good chat, so get in touch and tell me what you need for your website.
Had a fab, interesting & VERY informative 1:1 with the amazingly patient Lucy this week … If you need help with your website or just need to know how to make the blessed thing do what you want, then Lucy Davies is your girl!
Building good-looking, functional websites that make their owners proud of the services and products they offer. It's exciting having a business idea, but it's even more exciting seeing that idea come to life in something physical like a website. I love the reaction of business owners when they see their new websites go live!
Analysing problems and finding clear solutions — solving website headaches for busy people is one of my favourite jobs!
Integrating websites with social media platforms. I'm a social media geek too and that's especially useful for new businesses going online for the first time.
Finding new tools that make web design faster and easier for my clients.
Training people to change things on their websites themselves—if that's what they want to do! I also make personalised, step-by-step videos showing website owners exactly how to do things for themselves.
I've been cooking since I was a child and I'm pretty obsessed with food. I especially love cooking and eating vegetarian food and creating my own recipes.
I live in Sheffield with my partner, Tom, our whippet, Amy, and foster greyhound, Bingo.
My perfect day would start with a long dog walk followed by lunch in a cosy Peak District pub and a relaxing afternoon at home with time to play in the kitchen and cook something great for dinner.
CreativeMornings, a breakfast lecture series for the creative community.
Find out which event I'm going to next — get in touch!