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Watershed Awards: 10 Champions of Sustainability
MB's inaugural awards honoring the efforts – big and small – to protect our local environment
Catherine Dorrough
Left to right: 1) Meredith Montgomery, Publisher, Natural Awakenings Magazine 2) David Nelson, Owner, Braided River Brewing Company 3) Gary Gover, President and Chairman, Earth Day Mobile Bay 4) Mark Berte, Executive Director, Alabama Coastal Foundation 5) Madison Blanchard, Project Coordinator, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 6) David Hanna, Oyster Shell Collector, Oyster Shell Recycling Program 7) Kelley Barfoot, Outreach Coordinator, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 8) Jason Kudulis, Restoration Project Manager, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 9) David Spies, Board Member, Earth Day Mobile Bay 10) Suzi Spies, Board Member, Earth Day Mobile Bay 11) Roberta Swann, Director, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 12) Tom Herder, Watershed Protection Coordinator, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 13) Rebecca Dunn Bryant, AIA, Principal, Watershed // Photo by Matthew Coughlin
It should come as no surprise that over the past 20 years, the population of Mobile and Baldwin counties has swelled by more than 90,000 people, from just over 540,000 to nearly 632,000. The secret is well and truly out: Folks know we've got a good thing going down here. From our sugar-sand beaches to the labyrinthine channels of the Delta, the Bay area is brimming with vitality.
As local development marches on, sustainability has come into sharper focus. We're situated in the heart of the North American Coastal Plain biodiversity hotspot, one of 36 global hotspots that are biologically rich but also dangerously threatened. With that reality in mind, individuals and organizations are finding innovative ways not only to promote healthy growth but also to repair past environmental damage. Well established groups like Mobile Baykeeper are leading the charge toward a future in which our towns work in harmony with our ecosystems. At the same time, regular people everywhere are making small but important changes that deserve our applause.
We'd like to recognize 10 leaders whose work is setting the bar in local sustainability. Their efforts show that, with ingenuity and effort, a healthy future is within our grasp. These are the recipients of Mobile Bay Magazine's 2020 Watershed Awards:
This Hilton property is a beacon of sustainable tourism, boasting a trio of prestigious environmental certifications. It has achieved LEED Gold status and SITES Platinum certification and is the first certified Fortified commercial building in the world.
LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. The Fortified system measures a project's hurricane resilience, while SITES recognizes projects that feature sustainable landscapes. "SITES was important because of The Lodge's large site and sensitive coastal dune environment," says Rebecca Dunn Bryant, cofounder and principal of Watershed, an architecture and consulting firm. "This is the first SITES project in Alabama and the first hotel to achieve SITES certification."
Watershed served as the Gulf Coast Sustainability Specialist for The Lodge's design team, which was led by Atlanta-based Rabun Rasche Rector & Reece and Lake Flato Architects in Texas.
The new Lodge has more rooms than its predecessor, which was wiped out during Hurricane Ivan, but it takes up a fraction of the dune environment. The landscape design revolves around rebuilding the site's natural protective dune structure, including a natural plant palette that provides habitat for beach fauna and absorbs more than 600,000 gallons of stormwater annually, recharging the freshwater aquifer that serves the Gulf Shores area.
In terms of resource consumption, "Hotels are notorious energy hogs," Bryant says. "By using shading to reduce heat loads, efficient lighting and cooling, and smart systems that turn off the AC when balcony doors are open, we were able to reduce energy demand by 30 percent." The Lodge also features turtle-friendly lighting and bird-friendly glass, which has markings almost invisible to humans but clearly visible to birds. This is especially important given Mobile Bay's position along the Mississippi Flyway, a migratory route for more than 325 bird species.
"The Lodge demonstrates how site restoration can be both a visitor amenity and a resilience strategy," Bryant says.
Three Mile Creek
Roberta Swann
As the director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Roberta Swann helps to guide community leaders in their efforts to improve Alabama's coastal resources. The NEP, a division of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, plays a role in a variety of initiatives on both sides of the Bay. The restoration of Three Mile Creek is a standout project.
"This watershed is unique, as it represents a microcosm of the City of Mobile — from the University of South Alabama at its headwaters to the Port at its mouth; from wealthy communities upstream to poorer communities in the lower reaches," Swann says. "The population through the watershed is a melting pot of ethnicities, incomes, ages and political views."
Until the mid-20th century, Three Mile Creek was the main drinking water source for the City of Mobile. "It has since fallen on hard times as an urbanized stormwater conveyance, failing to meet standards for even ADEM's lowest use designation, Agricultural and Industrial," Swann says.
Goals for the project include: improving water quality, providing access to the creek, protecting and improving the health of fish and wildlife, restoring the heritage and cultural connection between the watershed and the community and preparing for climate resilience.
Key partners include the State of Alabama, MAWSS, Alabama Power and the University of South Alabama. "The diversity of public and private sector champions has resulted in this being a priority for the City," Swann says.
The restoration plan is operating on a 10-year target timeline, which started in 2016. Swann says that, with the momentum building around the creek's transformation, she anticipates major improvements along the creek within the next five years.
To donate to the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, make a gift to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and note that the contribution is intended for the NEP. To volunteer with the Three Mile Creek restoration project, email mbnep@mobilebaynep.com.
Photo courtesy Republic Services
Alabama Coastal Foundation Oyster Recycling Program
When local restaurant-goers order up a dozen oysters, there's a good chance they're contributing to a program that has become instrumental to the ecological health of Mobile Bay. With the help of a National Fish and Wildlife grant in 2016, the Alabama Coastal Foundation (ACF) began recruiting restaurants to recycle their oyster shells instead of sending them to a landfill.
Their initial goal was to recruit 30 restaurants within two years and collect five acres of shells per year, but within 11 months they had met their first goal and doubled the acreage they could cover. Although the grant was complete by September of this year, the program continues to thrive due to restaurant buy-in and online "Shuck a Buck" donations.
Oyster shells collected through the program go back into Alabama waters to create oyster reefs, where new oysters grow. These reefs provide habitat for fish, shrimp, crabs, and other animals and serve as natural breakwaters that protect shorelines. Moreover, they promote a thriving oyster industry, which improves water quality: One adult oyster can filter 15 gallons of water per day.
"One of the great things about the Alabama Oyster Shell Recycling Program is that we have an advisory committee composed of restaurant representatives, nonprofits and governmental leaders to help us make decisions about the program, including on where shells go," says ACF executive director Mark Berte. "ACF calls that approach 'inclusive environmental stewardship,' and we try to embed that in all of our work."
The ACF has just written a new grant to expand the program to Birmingham restaurants, and Berte says they will do the same for Montgomery, Auburn and Tuscaloosa in the future.
To see the list of participating restaurants or make a #ShuckABuck donation, go to joinacf.org.
Braided River Brewing Co.
Love of the outdoors is deeply ingrained in the identity of Mobile's new Braided River Brewing Co. The brand is inspired by the way the rivers of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta slow down, spread out and connect with one other.
"To us, loving our environment means not only respecting and stewarding the resources we use to brew our beer, but most importantly, preserving our beautiful Delta for future generations to enjoy," says founder and brewmaster David Nelson.
To that end, the company's goal is to be one of the most eco-friendly businesses in the region. They are using the Brewer's Association's Sustainability Benchmarking Tool to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) and to post results publicly. This tool is, "in our opinion, the most rigorous and comprehensive benchmarking tool available," Nelson says. "By using a common set of KPIs, we are able to compare ourselves to other environmentally minded brewing operations."
Nelson's team is setting up shop in the Wheeler Building in downtown Mobile, and they're finding ways to be efficient wherever possible. The mix includes LED lights, a tankless water heater, added insulation, oversized brewing tanks and a steam-powered brewhouse. They're also aiming for LEED certification.
Nelson credits Watershed's Rebecca Dunn Bryant for lending her expertise in benchmarking and finding ways to continue to improve. "We're also fortunate to be partnered with the Alabama Coastal Foundation and Mobile Baykeeper," he continues. "We're excited to contribute to the work they do and to have them as a sounding board for our ideas and initiatives."
The taproom is scheduled to open this month.
Marshlands where the Mobile-Tensaw Delta Meets Mobile Bay
Meredith Montgomery
Her resume includes painting portraits, conducting conservation research biology, directing a community nature center and teaching yoga. In 2010, Meredith Montgomery embarked on another branch of her career when she took the helm at the Gulf Coast edition of Natural Awakenings.
"Somehow this publishing job managed to encompass a lot of my experience and interests," she says. "It's focused on health and sustainability, which I am passionate about; it allows me to use my creative side; and my nonprofit and fundraising background was helpful with the sales and marketing side of the business."
Natural Awakenings is a network of magazines published in 29 states across the U.S. Montgomery is a member of the national editorial team, which interviews experts and makes the content available to local publishers. Publishers choose which national articles best suit their market, then complement them with stories that sit close to home.
For example, Montgomery recently paired a national story on urban gardening with a local piece about a group in Mississippi that builds community gardens in urban food-insecure neighborhoods. "It's encouraging to see that there are many progressive initiatives happening in our own backyard, and I want to shed light on those efforts and support them whenever I can," she says.
"We try to balance inspiring stories with actionable guidance. You don't have to install solar panels, become an outspoken activist or buy an electric car to make a difference, but everyone can conserve energy, express their opinion to local leaders and drive less."
Woody, Jim and Shannon Walker
Plastics: miracle of modern engineering, gigantic problem for the world's oceans. The equivalent of a full garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the oceans every minute, according to a 2016 report by the World Economic Forum. The plastics don't biodegrade, either; they simply break down into smaller and smaller components, until they suspend in the water as microplastics.
This has implications for seafaring animals all the way down the food chain, from birds and turtles to microscopic organisms smaller than plankton.
The owners of the OK Bicycle Shop and Liquid Lounge in downtown Mobile are doing their part to curb this alarming trend. Brothers Jim and Woody Walker and Jim's wife, Shannon, have switched from single-use plastic straws, takeout containers, cling film, and to-go cups and utensils, despite the higher cost of compostable alternatives.
They had already started using paper straws earlier this year when they connected with Plastic Free Gulf Coast, a program run by Mississippi State University with support from the NOAA Marine Debris Prevention Grant. Funds from this program helped the Bike Shop and Liquid cover the cost of compostable to-go products.
Though a few customers have walked out over the "politics" of the switch, most have been supportive. Regardless of the cost, the Walkers remain committed.
"We have to take better care of this planet," Jim says. "Where else are we going to live?"
Photo courtesy Hartman-Cox Architects and Robb Williamson
The Federal Courthouse
Before the new federal courthouse graced St. Joseph Street in downtown Mobile, the site consisted of a parking lot, a couple of buildings and an asbestos contamination. Today, it's the LEED Gold-certified home of the U.S. District Court, U.S. Magistrate Court, U.S. District Clerk of Court and U.S. Marshals Service.
The courthouse was built under the direction of the US General Services Administration, with Hartman-Cox Architects as design architect, URS/AECOM as architect and engineer of record, and W.G. Yates and Sons Construction Company as contractor.
"It's a very complex building, and there were a lot of prerequisites on how things are organized and arranged that needed to be integrated with the envelope of the site, the overall design, and the elements that are sustainable," says Lee Becker, of Hartman-Cox.
"I think one of the things that made that so successful is that we had a great team that worked on this project together. We listened to one another," says project manager Amy Rice.
"One of the concepts we wanted to get across was a sense of place," she continues. The design team incorporated artistic elements that pay homage to Mobile's rivers and deltas. The window spandrels include five reeds, symbolizing Mobile's five rivers. The interior features Italian glass mosaics of native plants by artist Jason Middlebrook. Justitia, a canoe sculpture by New Orleans-based artist Raine Bedsole, greets newcomers on the front lawn.
Exterior landscaping consists of native plants that promote pollinator activity and don't require irrigation. Underground, collection tanks capture close to 95 percent of stormwater and allow it to percolate back into the earth, reducing runoff.
Certain project requirements pertaining to security and protocol conflicted with LEED standards. For example, LEED awards points for utilizing natural light, but due to the size of the site and courtroom design guidelines, the team had to rely instead on artificial light. Given those realities, the team focused instead on other, achievable areas of green design: sustainable site use, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality.
Across the street, the renovation of the John A. Campbell U.S. Courthouse is scheduled to wrap up in June. Once complete, it's expected to meet the LEED Commercial Interiors gold standard.
Bayou La Batre Seafood Waste Processing Plant
This LEED Gold-certified plant for the Gulf Coast Agricultural Seafood Cooperative in Bayou La Batre recycles 5,900 tons of shrimp and crab waste per year. Built by White-Spunner Construction, it is one of the few LEED-certified industrial sites in Alabama.
The $6 million, 13,000-square-foot facility processes and dehydrates seafood waste, then converts it into products such as animal feed and organic fertilizer. As a facility that diverts waste away from landfills and finds marketable ways to recycle it, the core concept of the plant is rooted in sustainability. However, the building also utilizes an array of green features that enhance its environmental bona fides.
Notably, the plant uses onsite renewable energy, including solar and geothermal heating. Solar collectors heat an anaerobic digester that processes the waste. The plant also captures wastewater and methane gases rather than releasing them into the environment. It uses a biomass filter to contain odors within the building.
While it is sometimes the case that sustainable choices are more expensive, in this instance the plant actually saves local processors around $250,000 per year in transportation and landfill fees.
Gary Gover
Each spring, dozens of environment-minded organizations come to roost for the day at Fairhope Municipal Park on the shores of Mobile Bay. They man educational exhibits, organize craft stations and sell environmentally conscious wares, while a roster of bands sends live music floating over the crowd.
This is Earth Day Mobile Bay, where an attendee can examine specimens of local marine life brought by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, admire raptors and reptiles from the Alabama 4-H Science School, get gardening tips from Baldwin County Master Gardeners, and watch a collection of environmental films curated by the Mobile Bay Sierra Club, all under one tree canopy.
Several people have steered the event over the years, but today Gary Gover serves as chairman and president of the board. Joined by fellow board members Suzi and David Spies, they start preparing for the April event each January. Gary recruits exhibitors, David maintains the website and Suzi arranges the music and entertainment.
"The event has incrementally become more stable and predictable over the years," Gover says. "For the most part, we have had the exhibitors determine how they can best support environmental goals for the community." Now, however, the board hopes to position the event to direct attention to climate change, especially as it can be addressed at the individual, family and community levels.
To sponsor or exhibit at Earth Day Mobile Bay 2020, on April 18, go to earthdaymobilebay.org.
Dog River Clearwater Revival
When the Dog River Clearwater Revival (DRCR) was founded 25 years ago, Dog River had the dubious distinction of being on Alabama's 303(d) list, which designates impaired or threatened waters.
"Today that is not the case," says executive director Debi Foster. "A lot of the practices that allowed that kind of degradation are no longer permitted."
However, the group's work is far from complete. "The biggest threat to the health of Dog River is sedimentation," Foster says. Urbanization in the western suburbs of Mobile has affected the headwaters of many of the watershed's creeks. "The continued march of asphalt west has increased the flow of stormwater into a drainage system that is unfiltered."
At 95 square miles, this is the largest urban watershed in the Mobile Bay area. Its estuary is the cradle of a rich mix of marine life. "Communities have made their living out of these waters," Foster says. "We're known for our seafood all over the world. The sustainability of our culture depends on our ability to retain the way of life that's associated with these estuaries."
In addition to monitoring water quality, engaging with city and county leaders, and attacking the river's chronic litter problem, the DRCR also promotes community connections to the water through its bike trail and scenic blueway. "If you are out on a boat and looking at the wetland at eye level, it gives you a different perspective than if you're passing over it on the interstate," Foster says. "Go spend a quiet day unplugged, unconnected, and see where our roots came from."
To donate or volunteer with Dog River Clearwater Revival, go to dogriver.org. The 2020 Dog River Mud Bottom Revival Music Festival will be on April 26.


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Chekhov: Behind the Charm
April 5, 2012 issue
Anton Chekhov: A Brother's Memoir
by Mikhail Chekhov, translated from the Russian by Eugene Alper
Palgrave Macmillan, 238 pp., $25.00
Memories of Chekhov: Accounts of the Writer from his Family, Friends and Contemporaries
edited and translated from the Russian by Peter Sekirin
McFarland, 215 pp., $45.00 (paper)
Granger Collection
Anton Chekhov with members of the Moscow Art Theater, 1898. On his right is the director Konstantin Stanislavsky; on his left is his future bride, the actress Olga Knipper.
Born in 1860, third of five brothers and one sister, in Taganrog, a port on the northeastern tip of the Sea of Azov, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was left to fend for himself in 1876 when his father, a grocer, fled to Moscow to escape imprisonment for debt. Anton remained alone in Taganrog to complete his schooling, paying for room and board by giving private lessons and rejoining the family in Moscow in 1879, when he found them living in poverty in a damp basement. From then until his early death from tuberculosis in 1904, Chekhov would never be away from them for so long, particularly his mother and younger sister Maria. While his elder brothers, Alexander, a writer, and Nikolai, an artist, moved out and married, Anton stayed at home, rapidly becoming both the breadwinner and the darling of the family. The decision to seek an income writing short stories was part of that transformation: the money would tide the family over until he could complete his degree in medicine and practice a profession.
Chekhov's grandfather, a serf, had worked hard to buy the family's freedom from bonded labor, and Chekhov's father, whose main interest was church choral music, had plunged his family into poverty; now Chekhov would raise its members to genteel society, eventually buying and building country houses where his parents and his young brothers and his sister could live together, while paying for Maria to study to become a teacher. She kept a portrait of Anton in her bedroom and frequently worked as his secretary; he discouraged her from marrying. The youngest brother, Mikhail, was given the task of pestering publishers till they paid up Anton's royalties. In Memories of Chekhov (a compendium of firsthand accounts of meetings with the author), the future painter Zakhar Pichugin recounts a visit to the family when Anton was just twenty-three:
As I came in, I greeted the father of Anton Pavlovich, and heard in reply the words which he whispered in a mysterious tone.
"Hush, please don't make noise, Anton is working!"
"Yes, dear, our Anton is working," Evgenia Yakovlevna the mother added, making a gesture indicating the door of his room. I went further. Maria Pavlovna, his sister, told me in a subdued voice,
"Anton is working now."
In the next room, in a low voice, Nikolai Pavlovich told me,
"Hello, my dear friend. You know, Anton is working now," he whispered, trying not to be loud. Everyone was afraid to break the silence….
In 1886 Chekhov published a story, "Hush," in which a writer demands silence from his family but doesn't respect their need for sleep; Anton, it seems, used to wake his sister Maria to discuss his ideas. Aside from the fact that in the story the selfish writer is a mediocre journalist, the crucial difference between author and fictional character is that the latter's family is made up of a wife and small children who are portrayed as defenseless victims. Chekhov avoided such ties and usually described relationships between fathers and sons in negative ways, as if it were impossible to occupy a position of authority without abusing it; throughout his life he never stopped mentioning that he had been beaten by his father.
In view of the reverence that his first literary successes inspired in his family, together with his ease in producing and publishing stories (528 between 1880 and 1888), it was never likely that medicine would become Chekhov's main profession. But he did practice, first in provincial hospitals and later, out of generosity, when he treated peasants near the 575-acre estate he bought in his early thirties at Melikhovo, some forty miles south of Moscow. Chekhov would raise a flag to let people know he was at home, then find himself overwhelmed with requests for help. In Anton Chekhov: A Brother's Memoir, Mikhail recounts an anecdote that suggests the tension between involvement and withdrawal characteristic of so much of Chekhov's life. It was 1884 and he was treating a mother and three daughters for typhoid:
Anton…spent hours and hours with those patients, exhausting himself. Despite his efforts, the women's condition worsened until one day the mother and one of the sisters died. In agony, the dying sister grabbed Anton's hand just before she passed away. Her cold handshake instilled such feelings of helplessness and guilt in Anton that he contemplated abandoning medicine altogether. And indeed, after this case he gradually switched the focus of his energies to literature….
Neither Memories of Chekhov nor Mikhail Chekhov's charming memoir can replace the full-scale biographies of the author by Ronald Hingley and Donald Rayfield, but they offer a strong sense of the milieu in which Chekhov lived and the curious way he positioned himself in relation to friends, family, and reading public. All those who met Chekhov spoke of his accessibility and charm, his willingness to read manuscripts by aspiring authors or to hurry to the bedside of an acquaintance in need. Some, however, noted a reserve behind the charm ("as if he was wearing iron armor," remarks writer Ignaty Potapenko) and his habit of contributing to conversations only with rare wry remarks or alternatively a constant stream of decidedly unserious jokes.
Above all, there was his tendency to disappear without warning; Potapenko recalls how Chekhov once cut short a visit to Moscow immediately on arrival because a garrulous acquaintance had grabbed him as he got out of his cab and "promised" to spend the evening with him. Chekhov was too polite to say no, Potapenko observes: "he didn't have the ability of hurting another person." Alexander Serebrov-Tikhonov, who went fishing with the author, remembers him explaining his love of the sport with the remark that while fishing "you are not a danger to anyone."
If in company Chekhov often felt trapped, once alone boredom and feelings of exclusion became equally oppressive: "Despite its unquestionable loveliness, this place is my prison," he said of his house in Yalta. "Freedom complete and absolute, freedom" was the supreme value, something the author never tired of repeating, but where did it lie? Not satisfied with oscillating between a hectic, hard-drinking social life in Moscow and periods of relative quiet in the country, Chekhov eventually looked for more idiosyncratic arrangements: in Melikhovo he had a small study built away from the main house so that he could invite as many guests as possible, then escape from them to be alone; when he built the house in Yalta he also purchased a secluded cottage on the coast nearby "so that I could have some solitude."
These solutions depended on the willingness of Chekhov's family to entertain Anton's friends while he absconded: his mother and Maria became famous for their abundant cooking. In his memoir, his brother Mikhail takes evident pleasure in naming the famous guests he got to know while they waited for Anton to emerge from his hideout. None of this careful social engineering, however, could resolve the question of what the author was to do about women and marriage.
Published mainly in small and far from prestigious newspapers and reviews, initially written under a pseudonym so as not to compromise his medical career, Chekhov's early stories are wonderfully light and short. In "A Blunder," two anxious parents eavesdrop on their daughter and a writing teacher; as soon as the young man makes an amorous move toward the girl, they will rush in with an icon and bless the couple, after which it will be impossible for the teacher to escape marriage. The couple flirt, the girl offers her hand to be kissed, the parents hurry in and shout their blessing. But in her haste the mother has picked up not the icon, but the portrait of a writer. There are shouts and recriminations. Chekhov closes his story with the memorable line: "The writing master took advantage of the general confusion and slipped away."
In all these stories the decision to love is always an error leading to a prison, whether in marriage or an affair, from which there is no safe escape; yet love is powerfully seductive and life a prison of boredom without it. In "A Misfortune," a principled wife resists the approaches of a passionate young lawyer and urges her husband to wake up to what is going on; but eventually she succumbs as, "like a boa-constrictor," desire "gripped her limbs and her soul." In "Champagne," a railway station master marooned in a loveless marriage in a remote village argues with his wife as they drink champagne on New Year's Eve. The wife predicts bad luck because he has dropped the champagne bottle, but rushing out of the house in a rage he reflects, "What further harm can be done to a fish after it has been caught, roasted, and served up with sauce at table?" Returning home, he finds the answer to his question; a train has brought his wife's very young aunt:
A little woman with large black eyes was sitting at the table…. The grey walls, the rough ottoman, everything down to the least grain of dust seemed to have become younger and gayer in the presence of this fresh young being, exhaling some strange perfume, beautiful and depraved.
The temptation is irresistible. A few lines and months later, such is Chekhov's dispatch, we discover that our narrator no longer has either wife, job, home, or lover.
At first glance extremely varied, Chekhov's stories always have at their core a situation in which the object of desire, or the very fact of desiring, turns out to be toxic or imprisoning, and it is this that gives them their characteristic aura of enigma and pessimism. "Grisha" is written from the point of view of an excited two-year-old; taken out in the street by his nurse, he is left so "shattered by the impressions of the new life" that he needs "a spoonful of castor-oil from mamma." In "Agatha," the narrator goes fishing at night with Savka, a handsome young man who lives in complete idleness, relying on the gifts of the peasant women who are infatuated with him. The fishing is interrupted by the arrival of Agatha, a wife risking her marriage to come and make love to Savka, who despises women but is unable to resist them, even at the cost of a beating from their husbands. While the two make love the narrator, fascinated and appalled, falls asleep over his fishing rod.
As pressure for social and political reform intensified in Russia through the nineteenth century, the peasants became the focus of much debate. From a peasant background himself, Chekhov was well placed to have his say, especially when, in 1888, his work broke into the more serious journals in St. Petersburg. But declaring himself "neither liberal, or conservative," the author refused to be tied to any political position, and in his stories peasant life is subsumed into the underlying tension that galvanizes all his narratives: vital, impulsive, and always ready for love and action, Chekhov's peasants can't fail to fascinate; at the same time they are ignorant, dirty, inaccessible, and dangerous.
"The Robbers" is a strong example of Chekhov playing off sexual attraction against class prejudice to create this ambivalent view. A doctor's assistant, Ergunov, loses his way in a snowstorm while bringing medical supplies to a hospital on his superior's best horse. Taking refuge in an inn, he finds himself in the company of Liubka, the innkeeper's beautiful twenty-year-old daughter, Kalashnikov, "a notorious ruffian and horse thief," and Merik, a "dark peasant" with "hair, eyebrows, and eyes…black as coal." Intimidated but assured of his social superiority, the doctor shows the men his gun. All the same, he is sexually excited by Liubka and feels left out when the men won't let him join their bragging at dinner. When Kalashnikov plays his balalaika and Merik and Liubka dance, Ergunov "wished he were a peasant instead of a doctor." Hurrying out into the snowstorm when Kalashnikov leaves to check that his horse isn't stolen, he finds that even nature is in tension between freedom and imprisonment:
What a wind there was! The naked birches and cherry-trees, unable to resist its rough caresses, bent to the ground and moaned: "For what sins, O Lord, has thou fastened us to the earth, and why may we not fly away free?"
Eventually, Liubka, who evidently has some kind of relationship with Merik, kisses the doctor while Merik steals his horse; then she punches him in the face when he tries to make love to her. The following morning, however, rather than feeling angry about the horse, Ergunov is drawn to the free life he imagines the peasants leading, to the point that he feels that if he were not "a thief and a ruffian…it was only because he did not know how to be one…."
Published in 1890, "The Robbers" was written as Chekhov was facing a major life crisis. Throughout his twenties he had alternated winters in Moscow with summers in rented country houses, working all the time. His prose had been recognized at the highest level with the award of the Pushkin Prize in 1887, and his play Ivanov was well received in 1889. None of this brought contentment; on the contrary, Chekhov felt so exasperated with the literary world that he was talking about abandoning writing for medicine. In the spring of 1889 his elder brother Nikolai died of tuberculosis. Chekhov himself had been spitting blood for years and though he refused to be examined by a doctor and never discussed his health, he must have known what it meant.
In the months following this bereavement he wrote "A Dreary Story," in which an aging professor of medicine faces his forthcoming death in a mood of restlessness and irritation. His wife, once desired, is now plain and pestering, his emotionally needy daughter provokes only a sense of helplessness, and his beautiful young ward, Katya, a failed actress, both attracts and repels him. The doctor would like to feel close to his family and friends, but they are inferior and demanding. Having refused to help Katya when she begs for advice, he suffers at the thought that she will not come to his funeral. Remarkable as ever in Chekhov is the way a rapidly delivered and apparently straightforward narrative creates an atmosphere of profound and inexplicable psychological malaise.
As he wrote this story, the eminent and handsome Chekhov was surrounded by young women eager to make a life with him. Telling friends he was in a hurry to marry, he nevertheless withdrew from every flirtation and brief affair. For a while it seemed that the brilliant Lika Mizinova, ten years his junior ("Lika the Beautiful," Chekhov called her), might be the one. She was in love and his flirting was frenetic. Yet Chekhov's response to this combination of literary success, bereavement, and romantic possibility was to run away: in the spring of 1890, he departed, alone, to visit the penal colony of Sakhalin Island, off the east coast of Siberia, a three-month journey over five thousand miles of difficult terrain with no railway and poor roads.
On arrival he spent three months carrying out a census of the entire convict population of about ten thousand, interviewing over 160 people a day, preparing a file card for each, and taking notes on forced labor, child prostitution, and floggings. The return journey was made by boat to Odessa via Ceylon where the author had sex, he boasted, with "a black-eyed Indian girl…in a coconut grove on a moonlit night." Back in Moscow he wrote: "I can say this: I've lived, I've done enough! I've been in the hell of Sakhalin and in the paradise of Ceylon." Ergo, he was no longer obliged to think of marrying.
Little is said about Sakhalin in the two books under review, and even the larger biographies limit themselves to documenting the grim conditions of the penal colony and Chekhov's bizarre one-man census. Yet the trip to Sakhalin gives an insight into Chekhov's writing as well as marking a turning point in the way he handled personal dilemmas. Determined to stay free, he fled to contemplate those in the worst prison imaginable. Attracted and repulsed by life's teeming vulgarity, he tried to put order into the most degraded of communities. What were his six hundred plus stories if not, in their fashion, a census of prisoners, of people falling into traps of love, work, obsession? After Sakhalin, Chekhov's stories are fewer and bleaker. One of the first, "Ward No. 6," tells the story of a lazy hospital doctor fascinated by a mental patient whose obsession that he would be arrested and imprisoned became self-fulfilling when he was certified as mad. The same fate befalls the doctor, whose excessive interest in the patient is interpreted as insanity.
Despite continued to-ing and fro-ing between Moscow and the country, the years from 1892 to 1898 were the most stable of Chekhov's life. He bought the estate in Melikhovo, put his family to work to rebuild and farm it, saw and avoided huge numbers of guests, and began a new activity as a philanthropist, helping the local authorities organize famine relief and sponsoring the building of schools for peasant children. To become less dangerous and ensnaring, life must be educated and organized. Many of the conversations in Memories of Chekhov have the author deeply pessimistic about the present but surprisingly optimistic about a wonderful future hundreds of years hence when man will use science to turn the world into a beautiful garden.
It would have been logical at this point in Chekhov's career for him to write a novel. The most revered Russian authors were novelists. Publishers and critics expected it. In the early days he had managed one ninety-page pastiche of the Hungarian romantic novelist Jokai Mor, and an elaborate 180-page murder melodrama, The Shooting Party, whose narrator turns out to be the murderer. But this was little more than juvenilia. Feeling the pressure to perform, in 1889 Chekhov had spoken of having a novel in preparation, but after months of work he decided to break it down into a series of interrelated short stories, Tales of Lives from My Friends, which in the end was never published.
It was part of his manner and message to create a complex dramatic situation, then bow out very swiftly, leaving the reader with the impression of having witnessed a deft conjuring trick: something profound and exciting has been hinted at, then mysteriously withdrawn, without our quite understanding what it was or why it was destined not to be. In any event, the stories do not gain with greater length: the fascination and fear of life's unruliness come across in the way circumstances are rapidly but also tersely described, with appetite, but never excess. The long novel, like marriage, would have been too great a commitment; Chekhov preferred flirtation and an atmosphere of fugitive brevity. Cut, cut, cut, was the advice he constantly gave authors who sent him their manuscripts.
Instead he began to concentrate on plays: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904). More fragmented and elusive than the stories, they are hard to summarize; major speeches and rare moments of action are half submerged in casual chatter and noises heard from offstage, some of them quite inexplicable. Nevertheless, the pattern is clear enough: over four acts, often with a considerable lapse of time between each one, a dozen or so characters dig themselves deeper and deeper into life's mire. In love in act one, they are married and regretting it in act two; if they long to enter the workplace when we first see them, they are bored to death with it a few years on. Their love unrequited, they marry someone who loves them, just to have something happen, and invariably end up hating their spouse. Inadequate to the challenges of extended relationships, what talents they have remain peripheral to the action.
Chekhov called the plays farces; his director, Konstantin Stanislavsky, saw them as lyrical tragedies. The two argued. But the genius of these dramas is never quite to declare themselves as one thing or the other. Speech by speech, it is impossible to know what level or category of seriousness to attribute to them; they make sense insofar as they challenge our habits of making sense.
In 1897 a lung hemorrhage marked the beginning of the end. Chekhov sold Melikhovo and moved the family to Yalta for the better climate. No longer something he could deny, disease exacerbated his old dilemma: with little time left him, it was even more important to live intensely; yet intensity fed the disease and shortened life expectancy. In 1899 Chekhov arranged for his prose work, previously divided between numerous magazines, to be issued by one publisher. The time for hedging bets was over. "Then suddenly, in late May of 1901," writes Mikhail, "I read in the papers that Anton had gotten married…. I did not even know who his bride was." Mikhail's bitterness was as nothing to the anguish of their sister, Maria, who, having kept Anton close company for so many years, felt deeply betrayed.
The bride, Olga Knipper, was the Moscow Art Theater's leading actress, a woman at the heart of Russian life and society. Chekhov insisted they marry in secret; he feared being devoured by the public. "For him, this will be like committing suicide or being sent to prison," the writer Ivan Bunin remembers thinking. But since Olga would go on working in Moscow and Chekhov, for his health, was obliged to live in Yalta, it was never likely they would spend much time together. A friend and doctor, Isaac Altshuller, recalls that on returning to Yalta from trips to Moscow, Chekhov "would be suffering from serious throat bleeding, or coughing fits." At play rehearsals he became so excited that the actors had to ask him to leave. Recriminations and reconciliations with Olga over their difficulties being together were interminable. Yet she was beside him at the end. Having spoken, in April 1904, of going to the Russian-Japanese war as a doctor, to get a view of the action, Chekhov in fact went to seek treatment in the German spa town of Badenweiler where, only forty-four years old, he died in his hotel room shortly after midnight on July 15.
Mikhail's account of the funeral describes a huge crowd that pressed "into the cemetery, crushing crosses, pushing monuments, breaking fences, and trampling flowers." Gorky, whose writing Chekhov criticized for its excessive exuberance, understood the irony: Anton "fought his whole life against vulgarity," he remarked, yet his funeral was "a huge mess of noisy, crowded and vulgar men and women." Arguably, Chekhov, in his coffin, was well placed: he had alway s liked to be near crowds, but never quite among them.
Arlene Croce
They're the Top
We're So Exceptional
Who Is Peter Pan?
More by Tim Parks
The Eternal Colony
In Sicily there has been a dysfunctional mismatch for centuries between the many different local communities and the ideas and plans of those governing the island from afar.
The Visible Translator
Characters in Search of a Conflict
The life of the Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello, like those of his characters, oscillated between pathos and beffa: ironic, unexpected, crushing reversal.
March 11, 2021 issue
Tim Parks is the author of many novels, translations, and works of nonfiction, most recently The Hero's Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna.
(August 2021)
Short Review
November 20, 1980 issue
Nathaniel Rich
Philip Roth (1933–2018)
Though two generations separated us, I felt that he spoke directly to me or, in some mystical, incoherent sense, spoke from somewhere inside my brain.
June 28, 2018 issue
Janet Malcolm
Thoughts on Autobiography from an Abandoned Autobiography
Not only have I failed to make my young self as interesting as the strangers I have written about, but I have withheld my affection.
At Lady Ottoline's
Matthew Hodgart
Good Camper
September 11, 1969 issue
'Knee Deep in the Hoopla'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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East German scientists face the dole
By Taryn Toro
Nearly 1500 scientists from the former East German republic could
find themselves on the dole at the end of next year because plans to retrain
them have been thwarted by cutbacks in universities.
The researchers, who were almost all employees of the former East German
Academy of Sciences, failed to find posts in the new institutes created
when eastern science was restructured after German unification. As a result
they were enrolled on the Scientists' Integration Programme (SIP), a DM
400 million (£140 million) government scheme to help eastern scientists
adapt to Western-style academia.
In East Germany, teaching and research were treated as two separate
occupations. The SIP, which was started at the beginning of this year, gives
scientists a chance to carry out research and, for some, to do part-time
teaching at a university or one of the new institutes. Before the end of
the two-year programme, participants are expected to find a teaching or
technical post. But universities in eastern Germany have started laying
off researchers, rather than taking on more.
'We're going to have to cut 100 positions,' said Klaus Poppe,
of the medical school at the University of Greifswald. In the state of Saxony
the situation is even grimmer. There, the education ministry says it is
etiminating 12 000 university posts.
'The SIP people have to find positions soon because at the end of 1993
(government) funding stops,' says Gerhard Kempter, professor of chemistry
and rector of the University of Potsdam.
Originally, the SIP was intended to last five years and was supposed
to be financed by both the five new eastern states and the old West German
states. The western states, however, refused to pay for the scheme which
was consequently shortened to two years (This Week, 27 July 1991). 'We're
hoping the current state of affairs demonstrates that an extension (of
the SIP) is absolutely necessary,' says Uta Paffhausen da Cruz of the German
education ministry.
Magazine issue 1811 , published 7 March 1992
Police protection fails Thailand's problem pets
Code on medical ethics divides Poland's doctors


Round 21, 2014: With the Eels looking to seal their place in the NRL's top 8, the Sharks would meet a resilient Parramatta side inspired by the rampant form of Jarryd Hayne.
Hayne ran in the first try and laid on another, before Fa'amanu Brown brought the hosts back to within four points in the shadows of half-time.
Parramatta would again extend their lead upon the resumption, with back-to-back tries to all-but wrap up the 2 points, before rounding out the eventual 32-12 point victory.
Re-live action from the afternoon, with highlights now-replaying on Sharks TV.


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Home / Democratic News / Russia Has Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians
Russia Has Dropped Cluster Bombs on Civilians
Russia Has Dropped Cluster Bombs on CiviliansAugust 27, 2008	TL
According to Survivor Corps, Russia has dropped cluster bombs on civilian areas in the neighboring country of Georgia, killing at least 11 civilians and wounding dozens more. According to Survivor Corps:
On August 7, 2008, Russia began an armed offensive against Georgia over South Ossetia, a region long recognized as part of Georgia but home to an ethnic minority with close ties to Russia.
Russia's Use of Cluster Munitions is the first known use of the weapon since 2006, when they were used during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The extremely high number of civilian deaths attributed to cluster munitions in that conflict initiated an international movement to ban cluster munitions, called the Oslo Process.
Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air and from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Submunitions released by air-dropped cluster bombs are most often called "bomblets," while those delivered from the ground by artillery or rockets are usually referred to as "grenades."
Why should we care? Why should we be concerned about cluster bombs? The problems with cluster bombs are many:
Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread dispersal means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians so the humanitarian impact can be extreme, especially when the weapon is used in or near populated areas.
Many submunitions fail to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended. These duds are more lethal than antipersonnel mines; incidents involving submunition duds are much more likely to cause death than injury.
Tell your Senators to ban cluster bombs.


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Q: Theming certain pages in drupal I need to theme tabs on a certain number of pages "user/". If i simply use theme_menu_local_task in template.php, it will use the function on all pages, not only on "user/".
Is there a way to theme only "user/" pages and leave others alone?

A: Here is an approach:

function mytheme_menu_local_task($link, $active = FALSE) {
    // for paths you want to override the theme:
    if ($_GET['q'] == 'certain/path') {
        return '... my theme ...';
    }
    // for other _normal_ paths:
    else {
        return theme_menu_local_task($link, $active);
    }
}

Note you have to call return theme_menu_local_task() directly or your code will trapped in an infinite recursive calls.

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There are only 70 available of the CR2032 Batteries, Set of 25. Your selected quantity has been adjusted.
Sold as a set of 25, these super alkaline CR2032 batteries are a great addition to any purchase, when in need of batteries.
Great company. No problems at all. quality product.
Will these batteries work on all frameless candles?
The CR2032 batteries will work with some of our flameless candles but not all. You can see if a flameless candle uses a CR2032 battery by going to the product page and scrolling down to where it says Description and Features.


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Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson had left Yes after the Tormato album in 1978, while Steve Howe stayed on board for another album before he left as well. Chris Squire and Alan White then brought Trevor Rabin into the band as well as original Yes member Tony Kaye (who played keyboards in the band before Rick Wakeman). Soon after, Jon Anderson re-joined and now they were three original members of Yes. So even if they were originally going to call themselves Cinema and not Yes, they decided to do so anyway. However, the album that resulted, 90125, did not sound like the classic Yes albums. It wasn't very progressive and rather commercial music aimed at radio play (which they got with Owner Of Lonely Heart - the worst song ever to bear the Yes name in my opinion).
Around the same time as this dubious version of Yes did a follow up to 90125 that was going to be Big Generator, another band started working on a new album. This band involved classic Yes-men Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford. They were not allowed to use the name 'Yes' so they called themselves 'Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe' instead. In my opinion, this band was the real Yes of the 80's in everything but name. They released this very good self-titled album in 1987 that sounded much more like Yes than 'Yes' at the time. Then they toured and performed songs from this new album together with many classic Yes songs and a concert film was shot which is now available on DVD.
These four people, Steve, Rick, Jon and Bill, are among my all time favourite people in music. Whenever they get together they create magic! All four of them have their very own, instantly recognizable sound and musical identity. And not to forget this album again has a very nice cover art picture by the amazing Roger Dean.
The album still has a bit of the typical 80's sound, but it is much closer musically to the classic 70's Yes albums than it is to 90125 or Big Generator. This is the band that really deserved to be called Yes in the 80's, much more so than the line up that made 90125 and Big Generator. Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe is the real Yes of the 80's in everything but name. If you have all the classic 70's Yes albums, and you still want more of Yes, this album is a great addition to your collection together with Keystudio, The Ladder and Magnification.


text:
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 Gracias Por su confianza

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text:
Q: Simple Uniform Convergence Problem: Show that $f_n^2$ converges to $f^2$ uniformly whenever $\{f_n\}$ is a sequence of continuous functions on a compact metric space $K$ converging uniformly to a function $f$.
This seems almost too simple so I want to check my proof: We know
$$
|f_n^2(x)-f^2(x)|=|f_n(x)-f(x)| \; |f_n(x)+f(x)|
$$
As $f_n \to f$ uniformly and the $f_n$ are continuous, we know that $f$ is continuous. Since $f$ is continuous on the compact space $K$, we know that $f$ is bounded, say $|f(x)| \leq B$. We know also that the $f_n$ are continuous on the compact space $K$, so that $|f_n(x)| \leq B_n$ for some $M_n \in \mathbb{R}$. Let $M_n=\max\{B_n,B\}$. As $f_n \to f$ uniformly, given $\epsilon>0$, there is a $N \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $|f_n(x)-f(x)|< \epsilon /(2M_N$). Then
$$
|f_n^2(x)-f^2(x)|=|f_n(x)-f(x)| \; |f_n(x)+f(x)| < \epsilon/(2M_N) \cdot 2M_N = \epsilon
$$


text:
Royal Ascot Day 3 Tips: O'Brien and Moore to restore winning Order
Tony Calvin
Aidan O'Brien's Orderofthegarter is Tony's idea of a good thing in the Hampton Court Stakes
Tony Calvin straps in for the middle day of Royal Ascot where he recommends the following five horses...
Back It Don't Come Easy at 11.010/1 or bigger in 14:30
Back Sioux Nation at 21.020/1 in the 14:30
Back Orderofthegarter at 9.08/1 in the 15:05, and/or 8/1 each with Betfair Sportsbook
Back Simple Verse at 9.08/1 or bigger in the 16:20
Back Bless Him at 21.020/1 or bigger in 17:00
The Aidan O'Brien-Ryan Moore combination doesn't usually offer much in the way of value at this meeting, but that is not the case on Thursday as I think Orderofthegarter should be favourite in the Hampton Court Stakes at 15:05.
I was amazed to see the horse put in at 10/1 by the Betfair Sportsbook and Paddy Power on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, that price didn't last long but I still think there is a lot of mileage in his price. Back him at 9.08/1 or better, and 8/1 each way on the fixed-odds front is still very tempting
I am not even going to bother about mentioning any of the opposition.
Orderofthegarter apparently does not show a lot at home but he is beginning to display quite a lot on the track.
To be honest, the potential was there as a juvenile - he chased home two smart horses in War Decree and Cliffs Of Moher in his two starts - and, after winning on his first two outings this season, O'Brien pitched him into Classic company.
He led and stuck on really well when headed when fifth in the French 2,000 Guineas - he was coming back for more in the final furlong - but it was his run in the Prix du Jockey Club last time that marked him out as a bet for this race.
He may have finished behind stablemate Taj Mahal there - a horse he thrashed at Leopardstown in April - but that doesn't tell any of the story, let alone half of it.
Orderofthegarter got no run on the rail throughout the final 2f, and did remarkably well to be beaten only three lengths. With a clear, uninterrupted run, I genuinely think he may have had a chance of winning.
He has some of the best form and speed figure credentials in the field, and he seemed to handle fast ground well enough when chasing home War Decree (who actually finished fifth in France) at Leopardstown on his debut, and if Moore can get him into a prominent position from stall 14 then I will be very disappointed if he doesn't finish in the frame at least. I think he could be one of the gambles of the day.
Two to play in the opener
The Norfolk Stakes at 14:30 is obviously a very open contest but I am going to have a small-stakes interest on It Don't Come Easy at 11.010/1.
He finished a fair fourth at York on his debut, but connections were still disappointed, However, he certainly announced himself with a win over 5f on fast ground at Musselburgh last time.
Now, a head win at that track wouldn't normally say "Royal Ascot winner" but he turned over an unbeaten 2/5 shot in a very fast time there, and I think he is worth a nibble at a double-figure price.
I have to have a saver on Sioux Nation at 21.020/1, though.
He has a lot to find on form and was well beaten in the soft last time but the key to him could be this quicker ground and going down in trip.
It was officially good to firm when he chased home Coventry fourth Brother Bear at Leopardstown last month - and good when he won his maiden - and it is rare to see an O'Brien-Moore combo at these odds. I think the step down to 5f will be very much in favour of this speedy sort.
A Simple way to oppose George in the Gold Cup
Stable confidence in Mori is very high and if there is a bet in the Ribblesdale at 15:40 then it is probably her at the 7/2 mark. I wouldn't put you off at all.
I think she will end up going off favourite over Alluringly - I predict a starting price of maybe 5/2 - but I am happy to let her win without my money. Rarely do I tip at those odds in this column, as it's not my modus operandi, and a 12-runner race full of unexposed three-year-old fillies hasn't tempted me in. But Mori is the one if you want or need a punt!
I am keen to take on last year's winner Order Of St George at around the 11/10 in the Gold Cup at 16:20, and I will do so with Simple Verse at 9.08/1 or bigger.
She obviously has her stamina to prove but the St Leger winner certainly shaped as if this trip was well worth a try when third in the 2m Long Distance Cup here in October, and you had to love her reappearance effort when just getting touched off by Dartmouth in the Yorkshire Cup.
The only time she has encountered fast ground she has won, and she has the potential to take down the favourite. If you are looking for a bigger-priced alternative then the progressive Sweet Selection could be your girl, though she does have plenty to find on form.
Let's go to War with this one in the Britannia
Bless Him was the second reserve for the Britannia at 17:00 but as luck would have it two have come out - and one was Naval Warfare, who is in the same ownership, fortunately enough - and I think he rates a bet at 21.020/1 or bigger.
This horse can be far too free for his own good and that was the case when he was when third to City Of Joy at Doncaster on his return.
They put the hood on him at Goodwood last time, and he met all the trouble going in finishing fifth there. He would have won with a clear run.
Connections apparently earmarked him for this race since the start of the season, so they deliberately ran him from 5lb out of the handicap at Goodwood to get his rating up to a level where he could be sure of a run.
The handicapper obviously took notice of how unlucky he was at Goodwood, as he effectively raised him 5lb for that defeat, and now he has got in I expect him to show his full potential if he settles and gets the breaks. A big-field, strongly-run race on fast ground could be exactly what he wants, but obviously his draw in 3 is not ideal from today's antics. You may want to temper your stakes accordingly.
I don't have a betting opinion in the last at 17:35, but If you want my idea of the best punt at the prices I would probably say Utah or Tartini but I won't be getting involved myself.
Back It Don't Come Easy at 11.010/1 or bigger in 14:30
Saturday Racing Tips: Newbury outsider Bill is Tony Calvin's bet of the weekend
Royal Ascot Day 2 Tips: Six more big priced punts from the Berkshire showpiece
Royal Ascot Tips: Four mega-priced plays for the opening day
Royal Ascot 2017 Preview: Highland the Reel thing in fake news era
More ITV Races - Tony Calvin


You will provide risk assessment as part of your consultancy process for your clients, but you shouldn't forget to take the risks to your own business into consideration. Comprehensive insurance cover will ensure you have the peace of mind to operate and grow your business without worrying about having to deal with a potential claim against you.
What does health, safety and environmental consultancy industry insurance include?
Professional indemnity insurance is a crucial part of your health, safety and environmental consultancy industry insurance package, as this will protect you from any claims made against you by clients saying that advice you gave was negligent.
Even if health and safety is your job, accidents can – and often do – happen at work. Employer's liability insurance covers your business if one of your employee sues you for damages due to injury or illness caused at work. This level of cover is a legal requirement.
Public liability insurance for health, safety and environmental consultants covers you if a member of the public or a client accuses you of damaging their property or injuring them. The costs could quickly escalate for compensation and legal fees. As a consultant in these areas, you will be visiting areas of risk within other people's working environments and this in turn could put you at risk of liability.
Office insurance covers items in your office such as furniture, fixtures and fittings. You are likely to have an office as the base for your consultancy business and it would take a considerable amount of money to replace everything if it was damaged or destroyed. Don't risk having to temporarily close your business – have the right insurance in place in case of fire, flood or theft.
Much of your time as a consultant will be spent auditing on your clients' premises, training their staff and implementing health and safety management systems on site so make sure you take out insurance cover for your portable devices such as your laptop, tablet and smartphone too.
As a consultant you may have a lot of valuable equipment to insure within your business premises. Business contents cover will pay to replace this equipment if it is damaged, lost or stolen.


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« Feds knew Steele Dossier was politically motivated before it was submitted to FISA Court to permit spying on Trump campaign | How much more racist will CNN be? »
Doxxing skinny teenage girls, then smearing them again in his 'apology,' Rep. Brian Sims is some Democrat
By Monica Showalter
When it comes to teenagers, the Covington Kids incident pretty well underlined one social rule for the wokesters and everyone else: hands off. Don't touch. Get away. Pick on someone your own size. Or pay the price.
Up until now, leftists have always understood such rules, as could be seen in their protectiveness of the Obama daughters, at least one of whom partied and smoked pot for the cameras, and in the flood of outrage that followed one ill advised tweet from radio host Laura Ingraham against Parkland shooting leftist student-activist David Hogg. Teenagers are off limits. That's the rule. And since it's a reasonable one, with conservatives generally agreeing, there's hell to pay for those who break it.
Now we have someone named Brian Sims, a statehouse representative of Pennsylvania, who thinks the social rule doesn't apply to him, so unlike other people, he's targeted skinny teenage girls as fair game if they don't share his political views. In a video, he offered a hundred dollars to anyone who could 'doxx' them for him, putting their names, addresses, Social Security numbers, medical record information, phone numbers, email addresses, or whatever out there on the internet permanently.
UPDATE: Watch PA Rep @BrianSimsPA offer up $100 for the identities & addresses of 3 TEENAGERS who are fighting for the lives of preborn children.
This is despicable. pic.twitter.com/96JC9b8jQB
— Live Action (@LiveAction) May 6, 2019
It was something that, normally, an anonymous sleazy internet troll would do, not someone elected to represent all the people in his district. But Sims not only decided to target the teenagers, but did it with his face smooshed to the camera. And apparently, it's not the first time he's waged doxx warfare on dissidents, either, as this story indicates. In offering money to someone to doxx the teens, Sims in effect dragged a hundred-dollar-bill in front of leftists to find out who these three skinny teenage girls protesting at a Pennsylvania Planned Parenthood 'clinic' were, the better to name and shame them, to expose them to harassment and perverts looking for children's addresses and phone numbers, to put them on college admissions blacklists, the better to ensure that they never dared try to express their First Amendment right to peaceful protest again. That'd fix them! Better still, Sims's act was designed to ensure that others in the wake of this incident didn't try, either. Kill the chicken, scare the monkey, as the old Chinese saying goes.
The kids in the video, though, were hardly monsters. The teens were quietly praying for babies at the clinic — and not blocking anyone from entering, either. They were not only utterly unaggressive and timid; actually, they were clearly kids. Yet those were the ones Sims targeted, telling his fellow leftists in his call-to-doxx message that he was there to 'defend women.' Defend women by doxxing girls? He was obviously bullying girls, which is some logic for defending women. And according to this report in the Philly Voice, he was the only one yelling.
After a public outcry — which had to have been strong, because even Planned Parenthood disavowed the creep — Sims then came up with a malevolent new video statement pretending in a few words at the end that he was sort of apologizing and "would do better."
Sims defends his harassment of an older woman praying outside an abortion clinic, cites his feelings. https://t.co/sr1r7DM9KG
— Nate Madden (@NateOnTheHill) May 8, 2019
It was pure garbage because the majority of the video was prefaced by a long string of amazingly fanciful smears against pro-life protesters, unsubstantiated both in his recounting and in his earlier video. See, he was so distressed by these brutal thuggy protesters blocking women's access to the abortion clinic that he couldn't help himself, and his calls to doxx teens just kind of flew out his mouth, he wanted you to think. His disgustingness was supposed to be understandable, given all the dreadful things he claims to have witnessed from pro-life groups in the past, which is rubbish. If pro-lifers ever try to block abortion clinics or harass women getting abortions, they're hauled off in the paddy wagons for a stretch in the county jail. Infantilizing himself as a good boy as a sort of afterthought, he then promised to 'do better.'
The fact that he needed to add that yes, he was a Planned Parenthood clinic 'patient escort' but this time just acting as a concerned citizen and neighbor tells us he was probably hearing from Planned Parenthood, and the organization didn't want his act associated with it. And in reality, the abortion organization probably had good legal reasons: Sims did something very endangering to children in the organization's name — and it's quite possible he's going to get sued, just as the Covington kids sued the press and the archdiocese that smeared them and will probably win. He also drew a lot of bad press for himself and his fellow Democrats, who are already being billed as extremists for their championship of the cause for moment-of-birth abortions. One can only hope that if this is the case, such potential consequences teach Sims, in a way his own secondary smears don't, to 'do better.'


After a successful career in the high tech industry, Bernard Lacroute determined that it was time to follow the footsteps of his Burgundy ancestors by growing Pinots. He and his then-wife, Ronni Lacroute, looked for a number of years at land that was suitable for growing Pinot grapes. Then, in January of 1991, they found a cattle ranch that was located just outside of Yamhill, OR with ideal qualities. The ranch in the rolling hills of the Yamhill-Carlton American Viticulture Area (AVA), a region known for growing world-class Pinot noir, was purchased and named after the mixture of Willamette and McKenzie sedimentary soil beneath the property—WillaKenzie Estate.
The Lacroutes aimed at making wine that was reflective of the terroir on which the vines were planted. Their desire to form a small, family-owned Oregon winery would shape the development of WillaKenzie Estate as a whole. The first plantings took place in 1992 on south-facing slopes and replaced blackberries and the native pasture and poison oak. Much of the vineyards were planted around untouched stands of Douglas fir, maple, and oak trees. The chosen varieties of grapes planted include Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, Gamay Noir, and Chardonnay, but two thirds of the vineyard is dedicated to Pinot noir from mostly Dijon clones, as well as some clones originally grown in Oregon. A second land purchase, 95 acres located among the Dundee Hills, was made in the year 2000. After the volcanic parentage of the soil, the vineyard was named Jory Vineyards. Of the 95 acres of land, only 25 acres of cloned Pinot noir have been planted.
This collection contains images of WillaKenzie Estate wine labels. For additional historical background and collection inventory, please see the Guide to the WillaKenzie Estate Papers 1992-2008.
This interview is with Ronni Lacroute, the founder of WilaKenzie Estate. During the interview, she talks about the early days in the Willamette Valley, the founding of the winery and selling wine in Oregon. Ronni also discusses being on the Board of Trustees at Linfield College and her passion for the arts.
Ronni Lacroute is the co-founder of WillaKenzie Estate. Along with operating WillaKenzie estate, she was also a very active community member and an advocate for the arts. She was interviewed as part of the "Women in Wine" project with the Linfield College Center for the Northwest.


Lukáš Vondráček returns to the Charlotte Symphony stage for Prokofiev's warm and vivid piano concerto, a complement to the lush sounds of Rachmaninoff's final work. An orchestral "foxtrot" from contemporary composer John Adams rounds out this evening of dances.
On Friday, January 25, come early and learn about the evening's program from Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees. Pre-concert talk begins at 6:30 p.m. in the downstairs Wells Fargo Auditorium lobby.
On Saturday, January 26, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra will perform a concert prelude beginning at 6:15 p.m.


text:
Fed-Batch Fermentation: A Practical Guide to Scalable Recombinant Protein Production in Escherichia
Download Fed-Batch Fermentation: A Practical Guide to Scalable Recombinant Protein Production in Escherichia PDF eBook
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Author: Moulton, G G
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Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Disease
The NeuroProcessor: An Integrated Interface to Biological Neural Networks


As we've reported numerous times ProgressNow NM and the New Mexico Political Report usually have a strong, biased slant of some kind, as political attack-machines.
It's not often folks are willing to stand up to ProgressNow NM, but when they do, I applaud them and appreciate their honesty and willingness to tell the truth.
Today's case involves the race for HD-38 where a Republicans and Democrats have a hotly contested campaign over who will replace retiring state Representative Dianne Hamilton (R – Silver City).
Last week, the ProgressNow New Mexico funded New Mexico Political Report, and the parent organization PNNM itself run by Albuquerque City Councilman Pat Davis, took on a story they deemed to be "scandalous" and attacked the Republican candidate for the House seat.
Today, the Sun-News, an arm of USA Today, responded to claims of what appears to be a thorough investigation of the allegations spread by Pat Davis, Joey Peters and Andy Lyman of ProgressNow NM and the New Mexico Political Report, the former's "media" arm. An article by Joey Petesr and Andy Lyman which made a number of claims.
Well, that's gotta be a hurtful comment coming from legitimate world-class media (USA Today) against an organization and "news" group with bogus "reporters" like Joey Peters and Andy Lyman.


text:
Sunday, July 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India
H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H
Virbhadra wants Dhumal to resign
Shimla, July 6
The Himachal Congress Legislature Party leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today said that conviction of the HVC chief, Mr Sukh Ram, on the charges of corruption was moral defeat of the BJP and the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal should resign to atone for the betrayal of the people of Himachal Pradesh and also to uphold decency in public life.
'Need to design special vehicles for hills'
Auto engineers and researchers have underlined the need for designing special vehicles for the hill areas and separate emission norms for hills and plains.
Victoria Bridge under threat
The construction of a road to by-pass the 125-year-old Victoria Bridge, a landmark of Mandi town built at Rs 1 lakh during the regime of Raja Bijai Sen in 1877, has posed a threat to the historic monument.
A view of the historic Victoria Bridge in Mandi
Dalai Lama's birthday celebrated
Dharamsala, July 6
The birthday of the fourteenth Dalai Lama was celebrated with great fervour at McLeodganj near here. The spiritual and temporal head of Tibetans the Dalai Lama, who has gone abroad, completes 67 years today.
Residents of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh have been facing acute water shortage due to drought.
(28k, 56k)
SAD holds protest march
Dhumal lays stress on civil-military interface
HVC may distance itself from BJP
Rewalsar zoo to close down
HP raises support price of apple, mango
Move on new dists politically motivated
Ravi blockage: DC rules out threat to life
Centre accused of non-governance
Congress undivided: Kidwai
Cong, BJP welcome for alliance: HVC
Show-cause notice to YC chief
Hamirpur, July 6
The Hamirpur District Congress Committee has served a notice on the District Youth Congress chief, Mr Sunil Sharma, for allegedly misbehaving with the district party chief and trying to cancel the party sammelan held at Bhareri village, last month.
Himachal Pradesh Planning Board Vice-Chairperson Kumari Shayama Sharma lays the foundation stone of the Government Sanskrit College building at Nahan on Saturday.
Vet hospital inaugurated
Solan, July 6
The Forest Minister, Thakur Roop Singh, today inaugurated the newly constructed building of a primary school and a veterinary hospital at Jabli, about 28 km from here.
DYFI to adopt 10 orphans
The Democratic Youth Federation of India has decided to adopt 10 children orphaned during the communal violence in Gujarat and take the responsibility of their education to the higher level.
Flesh trade racket busted
The Kangra police has busted a flesh trade racket being run from a guest house at Dadh near Chamunda temple on the Dharamsala-Palampur road today.
S. P. Sharma
The Himachal Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh, today said that conviction of the HVC chief, Mr Sukh Ram, on the charges of corruption was moral defeat of the BJP and the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal should resign to atone for the betrayal of the people of Himachal Pradesh and also to uphold decency in public life.
Mr Virbhadra Singh said that now Mr Sukh Ram, who was an alliance partner of the BJP, stood convicted by the court, Mr Dhumal owning moral responsibility for the entire episode should resign.
He said that the BJP had compromised with corruption for forming government in Himachal with the help of Mr Sukh Ram and his party. The Congress expelled Mr Sukh Ram from the party when he was accused of corruption. But it was the BJP which stalled proceedings of Parliament and the Himachal Pradesh Assembly to seek removal of Mr Sukh Ram from the Union Ministry on grounds of corruption, changed position in order to secure his support for forming government. The BJP thereby compromised with corruption for the sake of power.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhumal said that the conviction of Mr Sukh Ram related to the period of 1992-93 when he was a member of the Congress and a minister at the Centre. Mr Sukh Ram has said that he will appeal in the high court against his conviction. He said that Congress leaders should remember that the former Prime Minister, Mr Narasimha Rao was also convicted and he too appealed in the high court. Mr Dhumal said that Mr Sukh Ram had joined the state cabinet as a coalition partner when the present government was formed in March 1998. He resigned the ministerial berth on the advice of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, when a chargesheet was filed by the CBI in May 1998.
A one-day seminar organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, here yesterday recommended the introduction of low RPM (rotation per minute) and high torque engines for heavy vehicles plying in the hills in place of the present high RPM and low torque engines which were more suitable for the plains. This was essential for ensuring fuel efficiency as low RPM and high torque engines were more efficient in the hills. Besides, the existing two axle vehicles should be replaced by the latest multi-axle vehicles.
It also called for fixing separate emission norms for the hills where the consumption of fuel was higher due to low atmospheric oxygen.
It was decided that the association in collaboration with oil companies would adopt a bus depot of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation and develop it as a model for vehicle maintenance. The technical staff of not only the corporation but also of private workshops would be provided training in maintenance. Every rupee spent on maintenance saved between Rs 2 and Rs 3 in operational costs, the expert explained.
Other steps included strict checking of overloading of vehicles, providing training to drivers to improve fuel efficiency and bringing down the rate of accidents.
Later, addressing a press conference Mr K.K. Kapoor, Transport Minister, said the steps taken by the Himachal Road Transport Corporation had helped improve fuel efficiency from. 3.41 km pe (kilometre per liter) to 3.55 km pe during the past four years. The incident of accidents had come down from 16 per lakh km to .11 (point one one) per lakh km. Besides proper maintenance of buses, the corporation was also conducting refresher training courses for drivers. The state was the first to introduce, turbo-charged engine driver buses in the region, which were highly successful in the hills.
He said the country was producing only 29 per cent of its total fuel requirement and the total imports of petrol and diesel amounted to 72.5 million tonnes. Hence, the need to conserve the oil reserves which would not last forever.
Kishori Lal
The excavation of rocks under which the ropes of the bridge had been embedded with concrete has made the foundation hollow which can make the historic bridge collapse.
About 25 years ago the rock of this bridge had been reinforced by boring long holes into the rock which were plugged with steel rods and cement was injected with high-pressure sophisticated machines of the BSL Project.
The Victoria Bridge had been handling all traffic from the Pathankot side to the Kulu, Lahaul-Spiti and Leh valleys till the construction of new bridge on the Beas in 1984. For a long time only empty vehicles were allowed to cross the bridge. Passengers were requested to get down from buses and a man wearing a hoarding on the back used to walk before the bus to ensure a low speed.
The bridge was strengthened and reinforced at regular intervals to bear more load. The BSL authorities also utilised the bridge for carrying small machines. Heavy machinery of course, were brought from the Kiratpur Mandi highway No 21.
Resentment prevails among people here over the construction of the road which has endangered the life of this bridge. It has been demanded that the work on the road should be stopped immediately so as to save this historic bridge.
Prior to the construction of this bridge in 1877, people used to cross the Beas by boats. The water discharge in the Beas used to be so enormous during the days of Raja Sidh Sen (1684-1727) that a number of boats used to remained on the ghats. According to an account in the history of Mandi, Raja of Bhangal had attempted to escape from the prison of Raja Sidh Sen in a boat but ferrymen recognised him and he was again put behind the bars. He was the son-in-law of Raja Sidh Sen. His wife had come back to Mandi due to strained relations with her husband. Raja Sidh Sen laid a trap and called him to Mandi where he was made captive. Later, he was murdered. The rulers of Mandi state could not build a bridge over the Beas for centuries. Raja Bijai Sen built the Victoria Bridge with the help of the British Government which had granted protection to the state under a treaty after the Sikhs had invaded it in 1840.
Our Correspondent
Followers of the spiritual leader, which included senior functionaries of the Tibetan government-in-exile, foreigners and many residents of the area gathered near the main temple at McLeodganj and participated in the special puja ceremony organised in this connection.
The Tibetan government-in-exile declared a public holiday today for offices, institutions and schools.
SHIMLA: Tibetans celebrated the birthday of the Dalai Lama with enthusiasm on Saturday.
Dr Suraj Bhan, Governor, was the chief guest at the function, which was attended among other by Mr Sohan Lal, Mayor.
Earlier, Mr Kunga Dorjee, Tibetan welfare officer, stressed the need for the Tibetan community to follow the advice of the Dalai Lama.
A colourful cultural show by schoolchildren, religious mask dance by the monks of the Tibetan monastery, Kasumpti, and traditional Tibetan dance by the Regional Tibetan Women's Association here were also organised.
Mrs Vidya Stokes, Himachal Congress chief, was the chief guest on that occasion.
Party sources said Mr Sharma made derogatory remarks against the DCC chief at the meeting. Accordingly, it was decided to issue a show cause notice to him.
Mr Sunil Sharma, when contacted, refused to say anything on the issue, but admitted having received a letter from the general secretary of the party. He refused to divulge its comments, saying it was an internal matter of the party. Mr Tej Nath, general secretary (Headquarters), also parried questions on the issue involving Mr Sunil Sharma and the Hamirpur DCC.
He said the Kandi project had taken a lead in undertaking developmental work in the state.
The Forest Department had been granted a British-aided project for integrated development of the department under which a sum of Rs 60 crore would be spent towards regeneration and exploring new techniques in forestry.
He said there was no move to wind up flying squad in the state.
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has decided to adopt 10 children orphaned during the communal violence in Gujarat and take the responsibility of their education to the higher level.
According to Mr Tekinder Singh Panwar, general secretary of the DYFI, the decision was taken at a meeting of the state committee of the DYFI. A school kit will be given to the students who became homeless during the riots.
He said it had been decided to launch a month-long campaign against the growing unemployment and corruption in Himachal Pradesh. Demonstrations and rallies would be organised throughout the state during the campaign which would be launched this month and culminate on Independence Day on August 15.
The Kangra police has busted a flesh trade racket being run from a guest house at Dadh near the Chamunda temple on the Dharamsala-Palampur road today.
On a tip off, the police today raided Ragini Guest House and arrested the manager, a waiter, two girls and six customers from the premises. The police registered a case under Section 41(2) and 109 of the Cr P.C. against them.
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text:
http://w3.windfair.net/wind-energy/pr/38491-banks-group-kype-muir-wind-farm-uk-onshore-turbine-tall-banks-renewables-greencoat-funding-extension
Kype Muir Wind Farm extension moving forward as Banks Renewables agrees Greencoat investment deal
Construction work on the UK's first onshore wind farm with 200m-tall turbines has started after Banks Renewables secured new funding agreements with Greencoat UK Wind at the start of the year.
The 15-turbine extension to the Kype Muir wind farm is located in South Lanarkshire, around five kilometres to the south of Strathaven (Image: Banks Group)
The extension will complement the 26-turbine Kype Muir wind farm, which has been operational since 2019, and they will together have a combined installed capacity of 155MW, which is enough to meet the annual electricity needs of around 112,000 homes – or a city larger than Aberdeen.
Leading global manufacturer Nordex has been contracted to supply and install the turbines for the project, while the Balance of Plant contract has been agreed with Scottish civil engineering contractor R J McLeod, as was the case with the original Kype Muir wind farm.
Around 90 jobs will be supported through the construction of the Kype Muir extension, while contracts worth up to £10m are expected to be available to local suppliers in the surrounding area through Banks Renewables' Connect2Renewables initiative, which maximises the social, economic and environmental benefit of its scheme to local communities.
A new community fund linked to the Kype Muir extension scheme is also expected to deliver around £10m in funding for community improvement projects around the local area over the site's 30-year lifespan.
When added to the existing Kype Muir wind farm community fund, this means there will be in excess of £770,000 available for community improvement projects in every year that both sites are operational.
Brodies advised Banks Renewables on the deal, while Greencoat UK Wind plc was advised by Norton Rose Fulbright.
Preparatory work recently began on the site, with erection work on the turbines set to start by summer 2022 and the scheme is scheduled to go live by the end of next year.
County Durham based Banks Renewables is one of the UK's leading independent owner/operators in the onshore wind sector and has developed 12 onshore wind farms over the last 15 years – four in Yorkshire, three each in Scotland and in north east England, and two in North West England.
The family business is also currently progressing plans to build a further onshore wind farm in Scotland, at Lethans in East Ayrshire, and is looking to deploy additional renewable energy technologies at a number of new sites around the UK.
In the company's last financial year, the ten schemes that the business currently owns generated almost 645,000 MWh of green electricity between them, which is enough to meet the annual electricity needs of over 155,000 homes or a city roughly the size of York.
Richard Dunkley, managing director at Banks Renewables, says: "This is a landmark project for both ourselves and the wider Scottish renewable energy sector as we continue to increase our contribution to the UK's journey towards Net Zero and COP26.
"The Kype Muir extension will be the first site in the UK to use highly efficient 200m turbines and will have an average output per turbine of 15GWh per year, compared to an average of 9GWh per annum on the existing Kype Muir turbines, which will substantially increase the amount of renewable energy that the wind farm can produce.
"We already have a strong track record of delivering tangible economic, employment and social benefits to the communities around the existing Kype Muir scheme and will be significantly enhancing our contribution to the area's well-being through this latest scheme.
"Onshore wind represents the best value for money to consumers as we continue to bring forward new renewable energy developments that support the Scottish and UK governments' Net Zero and climate change obligations, and we plan to deploy more renewables which will continue to play a key role in delivering the UK's lowest cost, low carbon energy.
"We're proud that an organisation as well regarded as Greencoat UK Wind plc shares our vision for the delivery of the Kype Muir extension and their investment package is a real expression of confidence in the quality and impact of our plans."
www.banksgroup.co.uk/...
Banks Group, Kype Muir, wind farm, UK, onshore, turbine, tall, Banks Renewables, Greencoat, funding, extension
ERG takes three wind farms into operation
Italian developer ERG announced the commissioning of two wind farms in Northern Ireland which are the companies first in the UK and another one in France.
RWE to build another wind farm in Germany
RWE is commencing construction of the Evendorf wind farm in Lower Saxony, Germany.
OX2 secures several projects in Polish auctions
"We are very happy with the outcome of the auction and the opportunity to build more renewables in Poland," says Katarzyna Suchcicka, Country Manager, OX2 Poland.
Government introduced policies will drive US energy transition
The US will continue to add significant renewable capacity additions during the forecast period to meet its target of reaching 80% clean energy by 2030.
Natural Power reaches 100 GW milestone in North America
Natural Power has delivered technical advisory services on more than 100 GW of renewable energy projects in North America, the company said.