text:
Seattle ended decade with faster growth than suburbs, reversing a 100-year trend
Seattle is known as a city of booms and busts, dating all the way back to our first boom, the Klondike Gold Rush. But over the past 100 years, one thing has remained constant: the suburbs of King County grew faster than the city of Seattle.
Now, with the release of data from the 2020 census, the suburbs' long run is officially over.
From 2010 to 2020, Seattle's population grew an incredible 21%, surpassing the 16% growth of surrounding King County.
It's quite a turnaround.
Census records show that from 1910, decade after decade, the population growth of the surrounding county has outpaced that of the city. Even when the city prospered, as it did in the post-war period, the county prospered more. And when the city's population stagnated, such as during the Great Depression, or contracted, as during the Boeing Bust of the 1970s, the suburbs still registered impressive double-digit growth.
Show the caption
But the 2010s, referred to as the 'Decade of the City', were different. Millennials and empty nesters alike flocked to urban areas, drawn to the appeal of walkable neighborhoods and urban living. Seattle could be the poster child for this trend, with the boom (and gentrification) of many of its urban neighborhoods.
Contributing to the city's resurgence was explosive job growth during this period, led by Amazon, which relocated its headquarters to the downtown South Lake Union neighborhood in 2010.
Over the decade, Seattle's population grew by nearly 130,000 to 737,000. The 21% growth rate marks the city's fastest growing decade since the 1940s, when the population grew by 27% – and it should be noted that some of the growth in the 1940s was due to the city annex areas that are now part of North Seattle. None of the 2010 population growth came through annexation.
Certainly, for the surrounding King County, the 2010s were still a period of growth. The population growth of 16% surpassed the 13% growth of the previous decade. In the 2010s, the suburbs of King County had a population of about 210,000, up to about 1.5 million.
That said, if you compare the 2010s to the suburban growth rates of the 20th century, it's clear that things have slowed dramatically. For example, in the 1960s, King County outside of Seattle grew by more than 60%, and by the 1940s the population nearly doubled.
Some parts of the province grew much faster than others in the 2010s. I divided suburban King County into seven areas so we could see the different growth patterns in the county and compare them to Seattle.
Interestingly, none of these seven areas grew as fast as Seattle did in the 2010s.
The fastest suburban growth occurred on the Eastside, where the population grew by 112,000, or about 18%. The Snoqualmie Valley, the sparsely populated and more rural area to the east, grew at nearly the same rate at 16%. The slowest growth was on Vashon Island, at just 4%.
Policy probably plays a role in the slower growth in the suburbs in recent decades. The Growth Management Act, passed by state legislatures in 1990, regulates development to curb urban sprawl and protect environmentally sensitive land in high-growth areas. And since the law went into effect, a higher proportion of new housing permits are earmarked for development in the province's larger cities rather than rural areas.
Census records clearly show that since the 1990s, the overall growth of King County's suburban areas has slowed significantly.
Of course, we are now in a new decade, a decade that has unfortunately been defined by the coronavirus pandemic. It has especially not been good for cities. In Seattle and other major American cities, the downtown area looks a bit rough these days, with boarded up storefronts and mostly empty sidewalks. There has been a marked increase in homelessness and the homicide rate has risen.
There are already some indications that the trend of the 2010s has reversed, with growth in the suburbs faster than in Seattle. The rise of remote working has made it much easier to live far away from urban job centers.
At this point, it's probably too early to say how much of the changes from the pandemic will be permanent, or whether Seattle and other cities can recover.
PropTech Future Presents... - by Glenn Felson
Is the housing market starting to lose steam?


This delightful chocolate-nut tart is a standout among a sea of pumpkin, pecan, and apple recipes. The ingredients are simple: buttery, rich macadamia nuts floating amid a dark chocolate-bourbon filling, all atop a crisp pate sucree tart shell.
1. Pate Sucree: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 20 seconds. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; add ice water. With machine running, add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Dough may be frozen up to 1 month. To thaw, transfer disks to refrigerator overnight, or let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
2. Tart: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of pate sucree to a 14-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick (reserve remaining disk for another use). Fit into an 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom; trim dough flush with rim. Use trimmings to patch any thin spots in shell. Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to overnight.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and bourbon until combined. Whisk in flour and salt, then whisk in butter. Stir in chocolate until combined. Pour mixture into chilled tart shell. Cover top with nuts, pressing them halfway down into the filling.
4. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust and filling are golden, about 35 minutes more. If tart is browning too quickly, tent with aluminum foil. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Tart can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
I've made this a number of times and it is delicious. And while it tastes wonderful, the presentation is lacking. I take some semi sweet chocolate, melt it and drizzle it over the top. It dresses it up and actually makes it look like it came from a professional bakery.
This recipe is over-the-top delicious and has been a favorite of my family for years. For a sweeter treat, try it with Kahlua or Irish Cream instead of the bourbon. Always delicious as well as a deceptively impressive-looking dessert on the buffet!
I've been making, and devouring this recipe for years. The photo isn't quite accurate. The chopped chocolate sinks to the bottom, making for a black-bottom cupcake effect. Everyone loves this, and enjoys it because macadamia nuts are such a treat!


text:
Home Politics Brexit Nigel Farage's reveals apocalyptic Brexit plan involves moving to Germany
Nigel Farage's reveals apocalyptic Brexit plan involves moving to Germany
Francis Aston
Nigel Farage MP (just kidding) has revealed a Brexit Armageddon plan that involves him relocating to Germany. It's understood that should Britain exit the EU without a deal then KFC could run out of family chicken buckets in as little as 2 hours.
One spokesman said, "We've looked at all the evidence and much of it seems to point to Brexit being a disaster. The projections are that KFC will have run out of food by 8 am on the morning of us leaving the EU. By lunchtime the country will have moved to a barter economy and by tea time much of the country is likely to look like a really dystopian version of Threads. The best place for Nigel to be will be Germany."
The spokesman was able to tell us, "There might be a lot of angry people looking to blame somebody. From Germany Nigel will be able to blame remoaners as it has internet access and decent phone connections to France. Its proximity to France will be important as it will allow him to be in close contact with the UK Government."
It's understood that Mr Farage could relocate to Germany as early as next February. Once in Germany he'll be better placed to tell British people how much better off they are than those living in the EU. It's understood that his words will bring great comfort to people learning how to cook squirrel for the first time.
One contacted the German Government mentioned that they were urgently looking at their immigration policies and border controls. A move that is thought to have come around after Boris johns, Michael Gove and David Davis parked a car up in Paris over the weekend. It's understood the doors fell off before the 3 MP's and a chimp got out of it.
Fact checked by Snopes; Plagiarised by Andrew Neil; Nancy Sinatra's favourite Rochdale satirist; sued by Chris Froome and winner of the 1922 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.* *Not all of these necessarily true.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Known as a tough plant that can take the heat, Patriot Hosta also gives you outstanding, crisp, white, streaked margins on dark green leaves that really shine in the shade. Leaves are a ovate shape with a slightly wavey edge and creamy yellow margins in spring. Lavendar flowers on tall spikes in mid summer attract hummingbirds and songbirds. Good sun tolerance. Its smaller scale also lends Patriot to containers and smaller pocket gardens.
Slightly wavy leaves with crisp white margins. Takes the heat!
Can take the heat more than other varieties!
Summer blooming lavender, bell shaped flowers on tall scapes up to 34" tall.


text:
Chile vows to go after post-quake looters
By EVA VERGARA. AND MICHAEL WARREN. The Associated Press March 7, 2010 8:28 PM
CONCEPCIÓN, Chile - The officers came with bullhorns to impoverished neighborhoods near the epicenter of Chile's devastating earthquake, warning looters to return what they stole or face police raids.
And so they did, depositing everything from mattresses to refrigerators and flat-screen TVs. It took 35 truckloads to recover it all. Together with looted merchandise recovered by police, the material is worth nearly $2 million, officers said.
Touring a police gymnasium full of the recovered goods yesterday, President Michelle Bachelet called the looting one of "the other aftershocks of this tragic earthquake," and vowed that those responsible would feel the full weight of the law: prison terms of 2 to 5 years.
"These are items that have nothing to do with survival - they reflect the moral damage of the people, some of whom came just to find things they could make money from," she said, adding that the government also will prosecute anyone responsible for price speculation in the disaster area.
Thousands participated in the looting, which began only hours after the devastating earthquake and grew to include grandmothers and small children. Outnumbered police could only stand and watch, urging people to take only the food they needed, until soldiers restored order.
The looting hampered recovery efforts by distracting firefighters and police and deeply wounded the national pride of Chileans. "The damage it caused [to Chile's international image] is lamentable. Now they'll throw all of us in the same bag," said Juan Lagos Rosales, a construction worker forced to sleep in a tent with his wife and infant daughter outside their fallen house.
Some excuse the looting as a natural result of the yawning wealth gap in Chile, where the poor are exposed to expensive consumer goods without any ability to buy them. The top 20 percent of wage earners make an average of $3,200 a month, compared with $340 a month for the bottom 20 percent, according to the national statistics institute.
When the earthquake shattered store windows, the temptation was too great, said Luis Figueroa Vinet, a deacon at Concepción's main cathedral. "The pig isn't guilty for what poverty brings," he said, invoking a colorful adage about inequality.
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But a poll suggested 85 percent of Chileans want the looters prosecuted. Said city worker Aran Fuentes: "After all that we've done for other countries, to present ourselves to the rest of the world as looters really hurts."
By EVA VERGARA. AND MICHAEL WARREN. The Associated Press
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text:
Wiseman Relieves McDonald At VF's Helm
Posted by Charlie Lunan | Jun 12, 2008 | Outdoor, Outdoor Retailer, Uncategorized, XX BOSS, XX SEW
Mackey J. McDonald will retire as Chairman of the Board and as a Director of VF Corporation, effective August 1, 2008. VF's Board of Directors has elected President and Chief Executive Officer Eric C. Wiseman, 52, to the role of chairman upon McDonald's retirement.
McDonald's retirement completes VF's planned leadership succession, which began with the promotion of Wiseman to president and COO in March 2006 and CEO in January 2008.
"Mackey McDonald is a tremendous leader and a very special person whose impact on VF will last well beyond his presence," Wiseman said. "He led the successful transformation of VF into a dynamic lifestyle brand company well positioned for future growth and, perhaps most importantly, he helped build a unique performance-driven culture based on the highest levels of integrity and respect for individuals."
McDonald, 61, completes a 25-year career with VF that included 11 years as CEO and 10 years as chairman. He began his career at VF in 1983 when he joined the company's Lee division as Assistant Vice President, Merchandising Services. During his rise through the company, McDonald held the successive positions of EVp and President of Wrangler, and in 1991 he was promoted to VF Group Vice President, responsible for the company's Lee, Wrangler, JanSport and Healthtex divisions. McDonald was named President of VF Corporation in 1993, CEO in 1996 and Chairman in 1998.
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We try to test out every dating app to find out the best way to get a date. The more time I spent on the app, the more I realized what a safe.
Keeping the search results wide open: If your goal is to meet someone in the immediate future for a casual drink or get together, the best option would be mobile dating apps like Tinder, JSwipe.
In conclusion, we hope that you like this list of best Dating apps for android. Share these with your friends and tell us what you think in the comments below. Previous article Top 10 .
So this list is for you, ladies. Based on factors like popularity, features, reputation, and safety, here are the 14 Best Female-Friendly Dating apps: If you're looking for a list of the best dating apps overall, check out our article here.
In , Business Insider reported dating apps saw a big spike in usage on the first Sunday of every year. Presumably that's when people are done celebrating New Year's Eve and are trying to make good on resolutions. The Best of the Rest Thankfully, many online services provide tips for staying safe in the online dating world, like.


text:
Home Tips, Tricks & Trends
Big Used Vans Under $5,000
by Jordan Almond twitter linkedin instagram on July 9, 2020
Vans are a fairly popular segment right now. With many taking to the open road because airlines aren't what they used to be, a big van for a summer on the road is more appealing than ever. But do you have to spend the big bucks to join the craze? Are there good big used vans for under $5,000?
Ford Aerostar | StrongAuto
Van life was already a growing trend, and now it has even more draw. Large cargo or passengers are also great utility vehicles for moving either people or stuff for businesses. Plus, they are the right size for a small van conversion for those DIY project seekers or conversion commissioners.
But buying a big van Mercedes Sprinter or Nissan NV new can easily cost a lot of money. A new one will run around at least $30 grand, while used versions easily go for over $15 grand even for model years from nearly a decade ago. If you're looking for a van––for work, travel, or conversion––it's absolutely possible to find some pretty fun older used van options for under $5,000.
Perhaps one of the more novelty options, the Ford Aerostar was well-loved in its prime. It offers the option for 4WD, and is a still a great passenger van. Plus, imagine all the fun you could have restoring one of these for a van conversion.
It's not difficult to find one with under 150,000 miles. There are plenty out there from the mid-1990s for under $3 grand. If you want a van for an inexpensive price with the capability of 4WD and but of novelty fun, the Ford Aerostar might be an exciting choice.
Ford E-Series
Before the Ford Transit, or T-Series, we had the Ford E-Series. There are still loads of these in just about every configuration. Though most are high mileage, they are pretty tough vans that last a long time. Car and Driver praised the 2012 E-Series for its reliability.
Ford E-Series | Ford
"A box is best for hauling a lot of stuff, and this is one of the biggest boxes. The E-series plugs away without complaint, which is why it doesn't matter that it's wieldy to maneuver and seriously not fun to drive."
The Ford E-Series may not be fun to drive, but it's a great van for a spectrum of uses. The passenger wagon boasted seating for 15, while this be-wheeled box was nice and roomy as a work van for commercial uses. The Ford E-Series can be found as new as 2006 or 2007 for under $5 grand. Even a 2012 model year can be had for just over $5 grand if you hunt for it.
RELATED: Nissan NV vs. Dodge ProMaster
The Chevrolet Express
One more awesome van that's pretty easy to find for under $5,000 is the Chevrolet Express. This is a trusty work or passenger van that is ready for you to budget buy and serve nearly any purpose a big used van can serve. This van, like its counterparts, comes in a variety of configurations.
Chevrolet Express cargo van | Chevrolet
RELATED: This Sport RV Has an Expandable Porch
They are out there as new as the mid 2000s for under $5 grand. These are a great buy, and the new models are virtually unchanged. So you'll basically be getting the exact same van from, say 2005 that you'll get in the 2019 model year. However, it will cost just a fraction of the new van price. Whether for work or play, the used Chevy Express is a large van worth checking out if you are searching for something under $5,000.
Tags:chevrolet chevy e-series Ford used


text:
An ISR Command?:
Ten years down the road, there may be an "ISR Command," alongside Air Combat Command and Air Mobility Command, says Lt. Gen. David Deptula, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance boss on the Air Staff. He said Thursday that creating a major command for ISR is "one path" among many for the logical development of efforts to rationalize and advocate for ISR systems. "Organizationally, it kind of makes sense," said Deptula, adding, "ISR is, quite frankly, a growing area," and one which may warrant its own major command. Another option might be a dual-purpose "ISR/Cyber Command," or perhaps creating new numbered air forces to focus on these areas. However, he cautions that establishing a Majcom creates huge overhead costs that can't be ignored "in an environment where we're reducing personnel." He said he has been vocal within the Air Force, urging caution about rushing to create a Cyber Command. "Anybody that mentions a new Majcom … there's got to be a lot of justification behind it," he said.


text:
SPURS CAN RECOVER
The Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale has said that he is confident that the team can recover from the three consecutive defeats suffered in the Premier league. Tottenham suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Premier league following the 5-2 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Arsenal during the weekend. Gareth Bale was one of the scores for Tottenham in otherwise poor match for the club. Due to the fact that they have lost their way in recent weeks, their competition for the top four positions is now under threat. However, the good spirit within the team will be able to lead them to winning ways once again according to the Welsh winger.
This defeat has now meant that Tottenham are currently eighth in the Premier league. Gareth Bale has said that the team is extremely good in the opening few minutes of the match when they also took the lead through striker Emmanuel Adebayor. However, the 18th minute red card for the Togo striker meant that it was downhill for Tottenham from then on in. Bale refused to blame the striker for the defeat and has said that everyone felt bad after the match. However, they are keen to pick up things when they take on West Ham United in another London derby this weekend.
"We started well, felt in control, got an early goal and the lads were confident that we'd see out the rest of the game or even take the game to them and score more goals. It was obviously disappointing in the end but the lads showed spirit, we fought back and tried to attack at every chance. If the lads show that spirit in every game, with 11 men, I'm sure we'll be fine," said Bale, who scored the final goal for Tottenham in the match.
BaleSPURS


text:
require "spec_helper"

describe Mongoid::Relations::Builders::Referenced::ManyToMany do

  describe "#build" do

    let(:metadata) do
      stub_everything(
        :klass => Post,
        :name => :posts,
        :foreign_key => "post_ids"
      )
    end

    let(:builder) do
      described_class.new(metadata, object)
    end

    context "when provided ids" do

      let(:object_id) do
        BSON::ObjectId.new
      end

      let(:object) do
        [ object_id ]
      end

      let(:post) do
        stub
      end

      let(:documents) do
        builder.build
      end

      before do
        Post.expects(:find).with(object).returns([ post ])
      end

      it "sets the documents" do
        documents.should == [ post ]
      end
    end

    context "when order specified" do
      let(:metadata) do
        stub_everything(
          :klass => Post,
          :name => :posts,
          :foreign_key => "person_id",
          :inverse_klass => Person,
          :order => :rating.asc
        )
      end

      let(:object_id) do
        BSON::ObjectId.new
      end

      let(:object) do
        object_id
      end

      let(:post) do
        stub
      end

      before do
        criteria = stub
        criteria.expects(:find).returns([ post ])
        Post.expects(:order_by).returns(criteria)
        @documents = builder.build
      end

      it "ordered by specified filed" do
        @documents.should == [ post ]
      end
    end

    context "when provided a object" do

      context "when the object is not nil" do

        let(:object) do
          [ Post.new ]
        end

        let!(:documents) do
          builder.build
        end

        it "returns the objects" do
          documents.should == object
        end
      end

      context "when the object is nil" do

        let(:object) do
          nil
        end

        let!(:documents) do
          builder.build
        end

        it "returns the object" do
          documents.should be_nil
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Valentí Fàbrega Escatllar, né à Barcelone en 1931, est un philologue et théologien catalan établi à Cologne.

Biographie

Pendant son appartenance aux jésuites il reçut la formation habituelle en humanités, philosophie et théologie. Cette dernière formation fut complétée avec des études bibliques à la Faculté de Théologie Protestante de l'Université de Heidelberg et avec un doctorat à l'Université d'Innsbruck (1969).

Après avoir été professeur à la Faculté de Théologie des jésuites à Sant Cugat del Vallès et à l'Université pontificale de Comillas, il abandonna la Compagnie de Jésus et s'installa à Cologne en 1971. Il reçut une bourse d'études deux ans de la Fondation Alexander von Humboldt pour la recherche et il finit ses études de philologie classique (latin). Après avoir épousé Inga Weyer — professeure de lycée et membre synodale de l'Église Évangélique Rhénane — en 1971 et être devenu citoyen allemand en 1975, il a travaillé comme professeur de lycée de latin et religion catholique pendant plus de vingt ans. Plus tard il fut professeur à la Faculté de Philologie Romane de l'Université de Cologne de Langue et Littérature Espagnoles. Il prit sa retraite en 1996. Depuis, il continue ses recherches, surtout en Théologie, et notamment en Ecclésiologie et Eschatologie.

Œuvres

Théologie

Articles et conférences
 Eschatologische Vernichtung bei Paulus, Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, 15 (1972), 37-65.
 Die chiliastische Lehre des Laktanz, Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, 17 (1974), 126-146.
 War Junia(s), der hervorragende Apostel (Rom 16,7), eine Frau?, Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, 27/28 (1984/1985), 47-64.
 La perícopa de Cesarea de Filipo (Mc 8,27-33 y Mt 16,13-23) en la exégesis protestante alemana de las últimas décadas, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 56 (1991), 149-153.
 El Eclesiastés o el Libro de Qohélet objeto de intensa investigación actual, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 74 (2000), 174-184.
 La escatología de Qumrán, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 75 (2001), 5-17.
 El mite de Babel o la maledicció del plurilingüisme, Revista de Catalunya, 168 (2001), 36-46.
 El Libro de Job: planteamientos y discrepancias, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 77 (2002), 5-15.
 La escatología de los apocalipsis canónicos (Is 24-27 y Dan), Actualidad Bibliográfica, 80 (2003), 153-170.
 La escatología del apocalipsis de Juan, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 81 (2004), 5-23.
 El Seol y la muerte en el Antiguo Testamento: dos investigaciones recientes, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 88 (2007), 205-209.
 Verdad controvertida: memorias de Hans Küng, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 89 (2008), 28-32.
 Lactantius, Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, XXII (2008), 795-825.
 El ministerio eclesial en la sucesión apostólica, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 92 (2009), 175-178.
 Una aportación a la actualidad ecuménica alemana, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 94 (2010), 152-155.
 La Conferència Episcopal Catalana: un somni irrealitzable, Revista de Catalunya, 279 (2012), 9-20.
 Cuestiones abiertas de escatología neotestamentaria, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 97 (2012), 5-18.
 La discrepancia actual de los objetivos ecuménicos, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 98 (2012), 188-194.
 Laktanz und die Apokalypse, dans: Jörg Frey, James A. Kelhoffer i Franz Tóth (Ed.), Die Johannesapokalypse, Kontexte – Konzepte – Rezeption, 709-754.
 El Jesús histórico, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 99 (2013), 42-49.
 La escatología del Nuevo Testamento, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 99 (2013), 61-76.
 Procesos de canonización de textos religiosos, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 100 (2013), 175-178.
 Polémica en la literatura del cristianismo primitivo, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 100 (2013), 205-216.
 La crucifixión en la Antigüedad, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 101 (2014), 42-44.
 Una historia monacal increíble", Actualidad Bibliográfica, 102 (2014), 198-201.
 Teología y marco social-histórico de la fuente Q en la actual exégesis americana (USA y Canadá), Actualidad Bibliográfica, 103 (2015), 41-48.
 Los milagros de los evangelios, Actualidad Bibliográfica, 104 (2015), 167-174.

Livres
 La herejía vaticana, Siglo XXI, Madrid, 1996.
 Boeci, Consolació de la filosofía, texte révisé, introduction, notes et traduction, Bernat Metge, Barcelone, 2002.
 La dona de sant Pere, Fragmenta, Barcelone, 2007. .

Littérature catalane

Articles
 « Ja veig estar a Déu ple de rialles » (113, 171): Déu en la poesia d'Ausiàs Marc, dans: De orbis Hispani linguis litteris historia moribus, Festschrift für Dietrich Briesemeister, Axel Schönberger / Klaus Zimmermann (ed.), 353-371.
 Ausiàs March i les expectatives apocalíptiques de la Catalunya medieval: un comentari al cant 72, Els Marges 54, (1995), 98-103.
 Oh tu, mal fat (10,9): la problemàtica del fat en la poesia d'Ausiàs March, Revista de L'Alguer, 7 (1996), 251-267.
 L'eròtica ovidiana i l'humanisme català: el mite d'Hermafrodit en les « Transformacions » de Francesc Alegre, Revista de l'Alguer, 9 (1998), 257-271.
 Quan l'amor esdevé « hàbit vell »: Lectura del poema 121 del cançoner ausiasmarquià, Revista de l'Alguer, 10 (1999), 181-197.
 La Consolació de la Filosofia en la versió catalana de Pere Saplana i Antoni Ginebreda (1358/1362), Zeitschrift für Katalanistik / Revista d'Estudis Catalans, 3 (1990), 33-49.
 El Decameró català en la versió de 1429: la novel·la de Bernat d'Ast (I, 2), Zeitschrift für Katalanistik / Revista d'Estudis Catalans, 5 (1992), 39-63.
 Les Transformacions del poeta Ovidi segons la versió de Francesc Alegre: el mite de Pigmalió, Zeitschrift für Katalanistik / Revista d'Estudis Catalans, 6 (1993), 73-96.
 El mite de Mirra en la versió de Roís de Corella, dans : Vestigia fabularum, La mitología antiga a les literatures Catalana i castellana entre l'Edat Mitjana i la Moderna, Roger Friedlein i Sebastian Neumeister (ed.), Curial / PAM, (2004), 179-189.
 « Com castigar malícia de fembra » (Terç del Crestià, I, cap. 95): La narrativa de Francesc Eiximenis en el seu context doctrinal, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura catalanes, Miscel·lània Albert Hauf 2, LXIII (2011), 17-29.

Livres
 « Veles e vents »: El conflicte eròtic a la poesia d'Ausiàs March, Pagès Editors, Lleida: 1998.

Littérature espagnole
 Die Rezeption der Antike in Góngoras « La fábula de Polifemo y Galatea »: Farbe, Licht und Schatten in seiner Darstellung der Tageszeiten, dans: Dulce et decorum est philologiam colere, Festschrift für Dietrich Briesemeister, Sybille Große und Axel Schönberger, Domus Editoria Europea, Berlin (1999), 211-231.
 Amor y religión en el drama de Don Álvaro o La fuerza del sino, dans: Pasajes, Passages, Passagen, Homenaje a Christian Wentzlaff-Eggebert, Susanne Grundwald / Claudia Hammerschmidt / Valérie Heinen / Gunnar Nilsson (ed.), Université de Séville (2004), 19-214.

Notes et références

Liens externes

 Information sur Valentí Fàbrega à la page web de Fragmenta Editorial.
 Biographie de Valentí Fàbrega dans son blog personnel.
 Interview à La Vanguardia le .

Naissance en 1931
Naissance à Barcelone
Théologien catholique du XXe siècle
Théologien catholique du XXIe siècle
Ex-jésuite
Latiniste espagnol
Philologue espagnol
Étudiant de l'université d'Innsbruck
Étudiant de l'université de Heidelberg
Professeur à l'université de Cologne

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Willow Madison is country music's reigning princess, but she's handing in her crown. Tired of all work and no play, Willow retires from singing for her supper. The first thing on her To-Do list is an old high school crush, Deacon Travers. He never saw beyond her crooked teeth and frizzy hair, but hopefully, she'll make it past the friend zone and into the erogenous one.
Deacon's out of the Navy and ready to start the rest of his life. Only he needs to get a few things off his chest, like being in love with America's sweetheart. Even if Willow remembers her old high school pal, does he stand a chance of stealing her heart?
Having a past doesn't promise they'll have a future. But judging by their shared passion, the chances are good.


Welcome to Ballyraine Guesthouse. We hope you will stay with us in our Letterkenny Guesthouse where you will find a warm welcome, first class accommodation, a great breakfast and all in a central location. We have ample parking and we are located within a thirty minute drive to many golf courses and beaches.
If there is anything we can do make your stay in our Bed & Breakast more comfortable, please contact us any time.
© 2012 CompanyName. All rights reserved.


text:
package org.springframework.boot.loader.tools;

import sun.misc.Signal;

/**
 * Utilities for working with signal handling.
 *
 * @author Dave Syer
 * @since 1.1.0
 */
@SuppressWarnings("restriction")
@UsesUnsafeJava
public final class SignalUtils {

	private static final Signal SIG_INT = new Signal("INT");

	private SignalUtils() {
	}

	/**
	 * Handle {@literal INT} signals by calling the specified {@link Runnable}.
	 * @param runnable the runnable to call on SIGINT.
	 */
	public static void attachSignalHandler(final Runnable runnable) {
		Signal.handle(SIG_INT, (signal) -> runnable.run());
	}

}


Does the name Jared Harris ring any bells? How about Richard Harris his iconic father of Camelot fame? Jared is a guy whose face you're almost certain to recognize from movies and TV even if you didn't know his name before now.
Harris recently stars opposite Brad Pitt for the second time in the Paramount Pictures WWII spy thriller Allied (out now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD and On Demand). They first shared the screen in David Fincher's epic film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which Harris stole scenes as the boozy tattooed Captain Mike.
The younger Harris's role as the tragic figure Lane Pryce on Mad Men landed him an Emmy nomination, which he lost to Aaron Paul for Breaking Bad. And while he may be destined to be "that guy," you know, that guy you saw in that thing (Fringe, The Crown) we think that time will be kind to Harris and he'll have a long career as one of Hollywood's best character actors like Cameron Mitchell, David McCallum or Michael Strong.
In both films, Pitt and Harris share every single scene and this is where Harris's talent is made obvious. He's the glue holding it all together.
"In Allied I didn't have the same glorious moment of dying in his arms the way I did in Benjamin Button, but I again enjoyed working with Brad thoroughly," he said.
As Frank Heslop in Allied, his performance is measured, consistent and vital to the story's ultimate arc. He took the role quite seriously and researched statistics and has visited various war sites throughout the years.
And although he's a fan of the genre and getting to play sneaky characters, Harris doesn't think that spy life would agree with him.
Harris can also be seen in AMC's icy thriller series The Terror and the aforementioned The Crown as King George VI, where he again steals every scene.


text:
Folket i Simlångsdalen kan syfta på:

 Folket i Simlångsdalen (roman) – en roman i två delar från 1903 av Fredrik Ström
 Folket i Simlångsdalen (1924) – en svensk dramafilm från 1924
 Folket i Simlångsdalen (1947) – en svensk dramafilm från 1947, i regi av Åke Ohberg


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text:
This image of the Michigan flag is in the Public Domain and can be used freely. If you use it on a webpage, a link to http://ourworldflags.com/Michigan would be very much appreciated.
The flag of Michigan
using Vector Magic Flag of Michigan, from the xrmap flag collection 2.7. |Source=*File:Flag_of_Michigan_Governor.png *File:Flag_of_Michigan.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal.
The current flag of Michigan was adopted in 1911. The flag contains a Bald Eagle, representing the U.S., an elk and moose, symbols of the State, and on a shield, a buckskin-clad frontiersman standing on a peninsula surrounded by a lake.
flag of Michigan refers to the State's position on the Canadian Frontier; the device shows a man standing on a headland lit by the rising sun. The supporters are an elk and a moose, and the American eagle and motto form the crest.
The flag of Michigan depicts the state's coat-of-arms on a dark blue field, as set forth by Michigan state law.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal." Joe McMillan, 13 August 1999 This pledge was written and copyrighted by Mr. Harold G.
The design of the flag of Michigan is not the same with the color motif being used by other U.S states which are red, blue and white. It is different from the other state flags.


text:
WATCH: White Kentucky Student Arrested After Viral Video Shows Her Attacking Black Student, Yelling Racist Slurs
BY Matthew McNulty
A white University of Kentucky student has been arrested and charged after video shows her attacking a Black student and calling her a "n***** b****" in an incident early Sunday that has since gone viral.
Sophia Rosing, 22, was arrested at a campus residence hall around 4 a.m. on charges of assault, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and assault on a police officer, according to online arrest records.
Bond Set At $10K For Racist White Girl's Attack On Black Student In Damning Viral Video
Her bond was set at $10,000, according to the New York Post. As of Monday, it was still unclear whether or not she has been or will be expelled from the university.
Video shows as a highly intoxicated Rosing, who is white, stumbled into the university's Boyd Hall, where Kylah Spring was working at the dormitory's front desk.
Spring explained in a TikTok video that she tried to check on the woman, but was instead physically assaulted and called a series of disgusting racist slurs.
University of Kentucky student Sophia Rosing arrested and charged after assaulting another student who was at work and calling her a "nigger bitch"https://t.co/kzNRYupfj8 pic.twitter.com/WuOi4Stauo
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 6, 2022
"Could you stop, please?" Spring asked Rosing after she tried to take a swing at her, one video shows.
"Nope," Rosing replied. "You're a n***** and you're a b****."
Spring, somehow remaining calm throughout all of it, replied. "Oh Jesus Lord, I do not get paid enough for this." "I got this all on video," another voice off-camera said.
Another student attempted to help Spring place Rosing in a seat, prompting her to start swinging on them. Rosing kicked Spring before trying to push a shopping cart at them, additional footage shows.
Rosing Told Victim "Do My Chores" As She Punched, Kicked And Bit Her, Video Shows
In her TikTok video, Spring said Rosing punched her several times, bit her arm and kicked her in the stomach.
Amidst the assault, Rosing told her to do her chores, adding "it's not my fault that you're Black."
"The girl starts saying things like 'Do my chores,' 'It's not my fault that you're Black,' 'It's not my fault that you're ugly,' and at this point she's like singing the n-word," Spring said.
Sophia Rosing shouldn't be allowed to work or go to school until she completes the six steps written by black America. pic.twitter.com/lCW1gktdM7
— INSTA: @gossipofthecitytea (@GOTCITYTEA) November 7, 2022
Police eventually arrived on scene and cuffed Rosing, who continued to use the n-word while refusing to provide the officers with her name.
"Hey, guess what? You're going to jail," the arresting officer told Rosing.
Rosing Kicked, Bit Arresting Officer, Apologizes And Says She "Literally Lost Everything" Following Incident
Rosing reportedly even kicked and bit a police officer, leading to a charge of assault on a police officer.
She has since apologized for her actions, writing she "lost everything" and has to "fear for her life" since the incident went viral.
Her name is
Sophia Rosing. She was also a campus sponsor for Dillard and they have made a statement about firing her. No job and no school for her now pic.twitter.com/vwMZl19WsM
— Shawn🔱 (@TSM_25) November 7, 2022
"I understand an apology may not help but I am not racist. I was under the influence (and) I lost everything literally and now have to fear for my life. God forgives me, please understand," Rosing wrote.
However, she had been kicked out of an area bar recently for using racial sluts according to a tweet, with a photo of her being tossed by a bouncer making the rounds on social media.
Rosing's Racist Past, Friends Called Into Question Amidst Backlash For Racist Attack
And another damning tweet found Rosing's friends using the n-word and defending her online.
#SophiaRosing acting like a disgusting Racist out in public ! This was prior to her assaulting the young lady at the Dorm. Disgusting behavior! pic.twitter.com/BINDHJgYA4
— Tete (@GivethemTT) November 7, 2022
In a statement released Sunday morning, the University of Kentucky condemned the assault, calling it "disturbing" and "deeply offensive," however the statement failed to reveal Rosing's name.
"Early this morning, a disturbing incident was captured on video in a residence hall," the university said. "The video is deeply offensive, and we take it very seriously."
University Conducting An Immediate Investigation, Victim Says More Needs To Be Done To Protect Students
The school's Office of Student Conduct is conducting an immediate investigation, and added that its Student Success teams reached out to Spring to offer support.
@ky.janalise
Finally a story time #justiceforkylahspring #universityofkentucky #blm #college #assault #racism #enoughisenough @Auntkaren0
♬ original sound – Kj✨
"The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, and we will not tolerate behavior that threatens it," the University of Kentucky said.
Meanwhile, University president Eli Capilouto similarly sent a message to the university community saying there will be a full investigation.
Spring said the school needs to do more to ensure students don't deal with such racist attacks on campus in the future.
"The problem here is that this happens way too much on college campuses for things to not be done and we get these emails and everything about how [the university doesn't] tolerate it, but it's still happening," she said. "I feel like at this point, the attention needs to be shifted from the offenders to the offended."
Rosing was arraigned on Monday, according to a tweet by local reporter Sydney Darden.


Well, Ben is right because I've got time and we still love each other and errm and lastly we have in love Ingram[?]. I think that that's the great part of community, is you know being real with each other. We've never thrown things and I think that is godly. So, oh my gosh, I am so excited to be here. I'd like in between only to pee my pants or poop my pants or maybe like seeing things[?] because I've actually been on a seventy two hour adrenalin shot since I got here I was so excited I fall over. When my husband proposed to me I just fell over. There was no reaction, I did not cry, I didn't squeal, I just fell over. So, if I fall over, it's all good right?
Source here on the Internet. Dated: 3rd October 2016.
I just release the Presence of God to empower you to know that you are worth more than you think you are and that you would be open to receiving love in ways that will scare you.


text:
About Tropenmuseum
Afterlives of Slavery
In Afterlives of Slavery visitors are confronted with today's legacies of slavery and colonialism in the Netherlands.
Slavery and the personal accounts of the enslaved form part of a common history shared by black and white – a past that continues to shape and influence Dutch society today.
The exhibition places the enslaved and their descendants centre stage. To initiate a sometimes difficult but productive dialogue, the Tropenmuseum has sought out personal stories from past and present that bring the history of slavery and its current-day legacies up close. The objects on display from the Tropenmuseum's collection – tangible relics of the history of slavery – serve to intensify the experience.
In collaboration with scientists, activists and artists, Afterlives of slavery developed a history of slavery: an exhibition with a discussion platform that places the stories of the enslaved and their descendants centre stage.
"Tropenmuseum takes the lead in decolonization"
This exhibition is supported by
Address and route
The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.
Opening hours and prices ›
Verschillende data
Rondleiding: Heden van het slavernijverleden
About objects of great personal significance that, at the same time, are closely related to the major social issues of today, such as migration and origin.
Now on display
Discover the world famous icons from Japanese pop culture, from Hello Kitty to samurai.
Longing for Mecca
Bitter chocolate stories
Afrika Museum is a museum about people, located in the wooded area of Berg en Dal.
Museum Volkenkunde is a museum about people, located in a monumental building on the Singel.
Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam is a museum about cultures in the present and the past.


Canada ski vacations include some of the best ski resorts in the world. Many of them are in British Columbia, like the world known Whistler ski resort. Alberta and Quebec are also home of some the best Canadian ski resorts.
Canada skiing is great due to epic snowfalls, huge verticals, expansive backcountry, diverse terrain, spectacular scenery and a mild winter climate... making Canada an obvious choice for winter sport holidays.
It comes as no surprise either that Canada has twice hosted the winter Olympics, first in Calgary, Alberta in 1988 and then in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2010.
The Four Seasons Resort Whistler ski resort is located in the beautiful Whistler in British Columbia and is one of North America's top year round mountain resorts.
The accommodation is luxurious and the service and amenities exceptional, including superb spa and mountainside gourmet dining. The views are simply breathtaking.
The Four Seasons Resort Whistler ski resort is among the finest Canada ski vacations.
There is easy access from the Four Seasons Resort Whistler ski resort to the ski slopes of Whistler Blackcomb, site of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Nestled in the heart of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Whistler ski resort is located just 120 km. north of Vancouver.
Whistler Blackcomb is famous for its challenging terrain, offering the greatest vertical drop in North America. With over 8,100 acres of skiable area, 12 alpine bowls and more than 200 runs, Whistler is every skiers paradise.
Tweedsmuir Park Lodge is not your typical luxury ski vacation resort and Bella Coola is not your typical ski Canada resort... this is Canada ski vacations at its best. Welcome to the World of Heli-Skiing.
Tweedsmuir Park Lodge is set on 60 acres of private land within the vast wilderness of British Columbia's largest protected park and is the ideal setting for the ultimate wilderness adventures and experiences, including grizzly bear watching (before the snows sets in) and of course heli-skiing, the ultimate skiing experience.
If you are looking for something unforgettable, the Tweedsmuir Park Lodge vacation might be exactly what you are looking for.
Luxury Canadian ski resorts include Manoir Hovey, which located on the shores of Lake Massawippi, just 75 minutes east of Montreal.
There are five nearby ski resorts for alpine skiing but North Hatley is also popular for cross-country skiing and ice fishing.
The Manoir Hovey even offers private lakeside ice skating rink making stay there a true winter adventure. There is also sleigh rides and snowshoeing available.
The rooms are individually appointed and most have lake views. They vary from small cosy rooms to spacious luxurious rooms with fireplaces, large Jacuzzi tubs, canopy beds and private lakeside balconies.
Manoir Hovey is not only about Canada skiing, it is also about experiencing range of outdoor winter activities in picturesque settings.
Luxury tends to come at a price. This is why Luxury Link travel auctions are so popular. You can bid on luxury ski vacations and if you are successful, you could secure luxury deals for the fraction of the retail price.
Travel auctions usually start at up to 65% off retail prices. Auctions are nonrefundable and placing a bid is a commitment to purchase the package if your bid is accepted.
Luxury Link also offers fixed price Buy Now deals that can still secure you a great discount from the retail price.
Luxury Link offers all the accommodation mentioned in this article as well as hundreds of others.


C++ is one of the most popular programming languages and is implemented on a wide variety of hardware and operating system platforms. As an efficient compiler to native code, its application domains include systems software, application software, device drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client applications, and entertainment software such as video games. Several groups provide both free and proprietary C++ compiler software, including the GNU Project, Microsoft, Intel and Embarcadero Technologies. C++ has greatly influenced many other popular programming languages, most notably C# and Java. Other successful languages such as Objective-C use a very different syntax and approach to adding classes to C.


So what do you see here people?
If you saw a boat first, you have a great eye for detail. You observe things really well and things cannot skip your eyes.
And if you saw a Crocodile first, you see a bigger picture first which isn't necessarily bad! That helps you make rational decisions!
Let's start. What do you see here first?
If it was a woman, you are thoughtful and analytical at the same time. it is a great balance.
If you saw an old man first, you are extremely gentle in life. You can feel and understand the feelings of others which makes you an asset in everybody's life!
So do you see faces or a candlestick here?
Candlestick means that you are an introvert. You think less of socialising and mingling! You need to walk out of your comfort zone soon!
And if you saw faces first, you are a social butterfly. You like to gel up with people a lot and that has become your life!
Here's another interesting picture. There are 3 possibilities here!
If you saw a car first, you are an extremely self-independent person. Your freedom is more important to you than anything else!
If you saw the letter A first, you have an Eagle's eye. Keep it up!
And if you the man with binoculars first, you are extremely analytical in your approach! You care about the facts and that's good!
Now, what about this one?
If you are a man and saw a woman first or if you are a woman and saw a man first, You are really attracted towards the opposite gender. Your bodily desires are on a high and someone is gonna get lucky real soon.
If you are a man and saw a man first or a woman and saw a woman first, it either means that you are extremely comfortable in your own skin or means that you are concerned about your feelings for people of the same gender!


text:
NY Ct. App./
CITY OF NEW YORK v. MAUL
CITY OF NEW YORK v. MAUL (2010)
The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Thomas A. MAUL, & c., Defendant.
L.J., et al., Intervenors-Respondents, v. John B. Mattingly, in his official capacity as Commissioner, New York City Administration for Childrens' Services, Appellant, Thomas A. Maul, & c., Defendant.
Drake A. Colley, for appellant. Catherine A. Williams, for intervenors-respondents. Advocates for Children of New York et al.; The Legal Aid Society of New York; New York State Association of Counties, amici curiae.
We conclude that the Appellate Division did not abuse its discretion in affirming a Supreme Court order granting class action certification under CPLR article 9 to plaintiffs, a group of developmentally disabled children and young adults who are or have been in New York City's foster care system. We therefore affirm the Appellate Division order.
This appeal concerns the alleged failures of the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) and the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) to fulfill their statutory and regulatory duties with respect to certain children in ACS's foster care system. ACS is a municipal agency that provides foster care placements and services to thousands of children in a broad array of settings. It is statutorily required to undertake permanency planning and ensure appropriate placements for each of these children, including those with developmental disabilities (see Social Services Law § 398).1 OMRDD is a state agency responsible for "the development of comprehensive plans, programs, and services" for "persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities" (Mental Hygiene Law § 13.07[a] ).
The City of New York, by ACS's Commissioner, originally commenced this action in 2004 on behalf of seven children in foster care against the Commissioner of OMRDD, alleging that OMRDD failed to properly place, treat or care for developmentally disabled children who were properly referred by ACS. The complaint seeks declaratory relief with respect to the subject children as well as for "all other mentally retarded and/or developmentally disabled persons properly referred by [ACS]." In its complaint, the City further asserts that OMRDD improperly refused to provide nonresidential services to foster children even though it provides such services to similarly-situated children who are not in the foster care system.2
In 2006, the scope of this litigation expanded when Supreme Court granted intervenor status to 11 additional plaintiffs. Each intervenor/plaintiff is developmentally disabled and is, or was a child in ACS's care, custody or guardianship. Plaintiffs' amended complaint sets forth six causes of action against ACS and OMRDD and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on both agencies' alleged violations of state and federal statutes and regulations.3
In general, plaintiffs claim that ACS and OMRDD failed to place them in the least restrictive settings that were appropriate for their needs. More particularly, plaintiffs contend that ACS lacks a consistent plan for identifying children who are in need of OMRDD's services and that ACS fails to adequately train its case workers to evaluate developmental disabilities. They allege that, when the need for OMRDD's services arises in a particular case, ACS fails to make necessary referrals to OMRDD or waits an inordinate amount of time before doing so, all to the detriment of the children requiring special services. Even when children are referred to OMRDD, plaintiffs claim that referral packets prepared by ACS are often incomplete, resulting in rejections by OMRDD of otherwise eligible children, causing additional delays in appropriate services. Finally, plaintiffs argue that these failures are especially harmful to older adolescents who are close to "aging out" of the foster care system because delayed referrals to OMRDD make it more difficult for that agency to find appropriate permanent placements for them.
As a result, plaintiffs submit that ACS practices allow developmentally disabled children to age out of the foster care system without adequate permanency planning. This is apparent in the profile of the plaintiffs-all but one of the young people were either approaching 21 years of age or were 21 or older when the complaint was filed.4 Similarly, 10 of the plaintiffs allege that ACS's referral delays impeded their placements and receipt of services from OMRDD.
Regarding OMRDD, plaintiffs echo the City's allegations in the original complaint, including that OMRDD improperly refuses to provide nonresidential services to children in the care, custody or guardianship of ACS, even though it provides similar services to children outside the foster care system. They also claim that OMRDD categorically declines referrals from ACS unless a child's stated permanency planning goal is adult residential placement, and that OMRDD's waiting periods for appropriate placements are unreasonably long, sometimes lasting nine years. These delays necessarily have a detrimental impact because, while awaiting placement by OMRDD, ACS temporarily places some children and adolescents in unduly restrictive settings that are inappropriate to their needs.
Plaintiffs represent that there are at least 150 youngsters with developmental disabilities who are similarly injured by ACS's and OMRDD's failures to provide services that they are entitled to by law. Consequently, plaintiffs moved in Supreme Court for class certification. ACS opposed the motion and cross-moved for partial summary judgment dismissing plaintiffs' prospective claims as moot on the basis that eight plaintiffs had since been placed in appropriate OMRDD facilities and that the remaining three had been approved by OMRDD and were awaiting vacancies.
Supreme Court denied ACS's motion, granted plaintiffs' request and certified the class as follows:
"Individuals with developmental disabilities who are in or have been in New York City Administration for Child[ren's] Services' (ACS's) care or custody and who, during their time in ACS's care or custody, have not received or did not receive services from ACS and the New York Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to which they were or are entitled." 5
The Appellate Division, with one Justice dissenting, affirmed (59 AD3d 187 [1st Dept 2009] ).6 The Court held that plaintiffs' prospective claims could be addressed under an exception to the mootness doctrine and that plaintiffs had satisfied the requirements of CPLR article 9, warranting class certification. The Appellate Division subsequently granted leave to appeal to this Court and certified the following question: "Was the order of this Court, which affirmed the order of the Supreme Court, properly made?"
At the outset, ACS submits that its motion for partial summary judgment should have been granted because plaintiffs' claims for declaratory and injunctive relief are now moot. We disagree.
As a general principle, courts are precluded "from considering questions which, although once live, have become moot by passage of time or change in circumstances" (Matter of Hearst Corp. v. Clyne, 50 N.Y.2d 707, 714 [1980] ). Typically, "an appeal will be considered moot unless the rights of the parties will be directly affected by the determination of the appeal and the interest of the parties is an immediate consequence of the judgment" (id.). Nevertheless, we have consistently applied an exception to the mootness doctrine, permitting judicial review, where the issues are substantial or novel, likely to recur and capable of evading review (see id. at 715; see also Matter of M.B., 6 NY3d 437, 447 [2006]; Mental Hygiene Legal Servs. v. Ford, 92 N.Y.2d 500, 506 [1998] ).
Here, ACS represents that since the time the complaint was filed, at least eight plaintiffs are now receiving services at suitable OMRDD facilities, and the other plaintiffs have been approved and are awaiting OMRDD placements. Even assuming that the claims of these plaintiffs pertaining to the waiting list are moot, we concur with the Appellate Division that an exception to mootness should be applied in this case. Plaintiffs raise substantial and novel questions as to whether ACS and OMRDD are fulfilling their statutory responsibilities. These issues are likely to recur and may evade review given the temporary duration of foster care, the aging out of potential plaintiffs and the fact that some placements tend to be transitory (see Matter of Savastano v. Prevost, 66 N.Y.2d 47, 48 n .[1985], rearg. denied 66 N.Y.2d 1036 [1985] ["While all 25 patients who are the subject of the petition have by now been transferred to an OMRDD facility, we retain jurisdiction because of the substantial issues raised, the likelihood of repetition, and the fact that these issues may otherwise evade review"] ). Concluding that the mootness exception is applicable, we next turn to the class certification issue.
ACS, supported by amicus New York State Association of Counties, contends that the courts below abused their discretion in allowing this case to proceed as a class action. In particular, ACS asserts that, contrary to the conclusions of Supreme Court and the Appellate Division, plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate, as required by CPLR 901(a)(2), that common questions of fact or law predominate over issues that are specific to individual class members. ACS suggests that plaintiffs are seeking to litigate a claim of "systematic failure," a concept too broad to comply with the commonality prerequisite of CPLR 901(a)(2). Plaintiffs, joined by various amici, including the Legal Aid Society of New York and Advocates for Children of New York, counter that the courts below did not abuse their discretion because plaintiffs identified at least four common issues that meet the statutory requirements.
CPLR 901(a) sets forth five prerequisites to class certification:
"1. the class is so numerous that joinder of all members, whether otherwise required or permitted, is impracticable;
"2. there are questions of law or fact common to the class which predominate over any questions affecting only individual members;
"3. the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class;
"4. the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class; and
"5. a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy."
These factors are commonly referred to as the requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, adequacy of representation and superiority. Only the commonality element is at issue on this appeal.
The Legislature adopted CPLR article 9 (§§ 901-909) in 1975 to replace CPLR 1005, the prior class action provision. The former class action statute, which remained virtually unchanged for more than a century, "had been judicially restricted over the years and was subject to inconsistent results" (Sperry v. Crompton Corp., 8 NY3d 204, 210 [2007] ). In 1975, the Judicial Conference proposed a new article 9, which was designed "to set up a flexible, functional scheme whereby class actions could qualify without the present undesirable and socially detrimental restrictions" (13th Ann Report of Jud Conf on CPLR, reprinted in 1975 McKinney's Session Laws of NY, at 1493). Courts have recognized that the criteria set forth in CPLR 901(a) "should be broadly construed not only because of the general command for liberal construction of all CPLR sections (see CPLR 104), but also because it is apparent that the Legislature intended article 9 to be a liberal substitute for the narrow class action legislation which preceded it" (Friar v. Vanguard Holding Corp., 78 A.D.2d 83, 91 [2d Dept 1980] ).
The determination of whether a lawsuit qualifies as a class action under the statutory criteria "ordinarily rests within the sound discretion of the trial court" (Small v. Lorillard Tobacco Co., 94 N.Y.2d 43, 52 [1999] ). The Appellate Division likewise "is vested with the same discretionary power and may exercise that power, even where there has been no abuse of discretion as a matter of law by the nisi prius court" (id. at 52-53; see also Matter of State of New York v. Ford Motor Co., 74 N.Y.2d 495, 501 [1989] ). Our standard or review, however, is far more limited. Where, as here, the Appellate Division affirms a Supreme Court order certifying a class, we may review only for an abuse of discretion as a matter of law.
In Small, for example, we held that the Appellate Division did not abuse its discretion in decertifying five separate classes-each containing at least one million members-relating to claims brought by smokers against cigarette manufacturers for damages based on defendants' alleged fraudulent deception about the addictive properties of cigarettes. On the issue of commonality, the Appellate Division found that individual questions would predominate because individualized proof of addiction was essential to support plaintiffs' General Business Law § 349 claim and, given the well documented dangers of smoking, particularized inquiry into whether each class member was aware of this information would be necessary to resolve the General Business Law § 350 and common-law fraud claims. In affirming, we were "satisfied that the Appellate Division properly weighed the relevant statutory factors and correctly fulfilled its intermediate appellate court role and powers" (94 N.Y.2d at 55).
In Weinberg v. Hertz Corp. (69 N.Y.2d 979 [1987] ), plaintiffs commenced an action against an automobile rental company alleging three unfair and deceptive practices. Supreme Court denied class certification but the Appellate Division reversed and certified the class. The Appellate Division rejected the rental company's contention that common questions did not predominate under CPLR 901(a)(2), reasoning "[t]hat individuals who are members of the class might have been subjected to less than all of the conduct complained of is not a ground for denying class action" (116 A.D.2d 1, 6 [1st Dept 1986] ). The Appellate Division further observed that CPLR 901(a)(2) "clearly envisions authorization of class actions even where there are subsidiary questions of law or fact not common to the class" (id.). On appeal, we affirmed the certification order, concluding there was "no reason to disturb [its] inherently discretionary determination" (69 N.Y.2d at 982). Hence, in both Small and Weinberg, we determined that the Appellate Division did not exceed its discretionary authority in resolving questions of class certification.7
New York courts have also found that "[f]ederal jurisprudence is helpful" in analyzing CPLR 901 issues (Friar, 78 A.D.2d at 96), because CPLR article 9 "has much in common with Federal rule 23" (Matter of Colt Indus. Shareholder Litig., 77 N.Y.2d 185, 194 [1991] ), the federal class action provision. In Baby Neal v. Casey (43 F3d 48 [3d Cir1994] ), 16 children placed in the care of Philadelphia's Department of Human Services (DHS) brought an action against DHS based on its failure to provide a multitude of services to children in violation of numerous constitutional and statutory provisions. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, and moved to represent a class of about 6,000 abused and neglected children that were known or should have been known to DHS. The district court denied class certification, reasoning that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rule 23(a)(2)'s commonality requirement because not one of the common legal issues applied to every member of the proposed class and each child had his or her own individual circumstances.8
The Third Circuit reversed and granted certification in Baby Neal, concluding that the district court abused its discretion in declining to certify the class. The Court noted the individualized facts surrounding the children but emphasized that the complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief-rather than damages-rendering the differences largely irrelevant. The Court observed that each child sought to enforce compliance of the statutory requirements and found DHS's "systemic deficiencies in providing legally mandated child care services to be a sufficiently common legal basis to support class certification here" (id. at 61).
In another federal case arising in New York in 1997, a number of children in ACS's custody commenced an action alleging that ACS had deprived them of child welfare services required by law in violation of more than a dozen constitutional and statutory provisions (see Marisol A. v. Giuliani, 126 F3d 372 [2d Cir1997] ). The district court granted plaintiffs class certification for a class whose membership encompassed children who were or would be in ACS's custody, as well as those children who were at risk of neglect or abuse and whose status was known to ACS-a class totaling more than 100,000 children. On appeal, the Second Circuit held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in certifying the class. The Court acknowledged that each named plaintiff sought to challenge a different aspect of the child welfare system but, stressing Rule 23's liberal construction, ruled that plaintiffs had sufficiently demonstrated commonality pursuant to Rule 23(a)(2) based on their allegations that their injuries derived "from a unitary course of conduct by a single system" (id. at 377). The Court concluded, however, that it would be necessary for the district court to further refine the class into subclasses of children with similar legal issues.9
Against this jurisprudential backdrop, we address the propriety of class certification in the present case. Mindful that the decision to certify is committed to the sound discretion of the courts below, we cannot say, at this early juncture, that the Appellate Division abused its discretion as a matter of law in affirming the class certification order. Put differently, although this litigation may be close to the outer boundary of the concept of commonality, given the liberal construction intended by the Legislature, we disagree with the dissent's assertion that an affirmance here goes "far beyond the limits the Legislature set on class actions" (dissenting op at 10). Admittedly, each of the plaintiffs and proposed class members possesses his or her own unique factual circumstances and special needs. As ACS notes, a determination regarding appropriate placements will require a particularized inquiry of each plaintiff's requirements.
But the Appellate Division identified four common allegations that transcend and predominate over any individual matters. Specifically, the Appellate Division recognized that all but one of the plaintiffs alleged that ACS had failed to timely make a referral to OMRDD. Second, the Court found that plaintiffs claimed that ACS had submitted incomplete or outdated referral packets to OMRDD on their behalf, resulting in unnecessary rejections and further delays. Third, ACS's purported and recurrent failure to meet its permanency planning obligations caused plaintiffs to age out of the foster care system before appropriate services or placements were secured-indeed, most of the plaintiffs are now 21 years of age or older. Finally, the Appellate Division observed that each of the plaintiffs asserted that, when they were referred to OMRDD, OMRDD failed to provide timely services, often placing them on open-ended waiting lists.10 These allegations, if true, would tend to establish a de facto policy followed by ACS of delaying the receipt of services as a result of its practices. Plaintiffs seek to represent class members falling into each of these four categories of injury and ask for declaratory and injunctive relief on their behalf.
We agree with the Appellate Division that this case presents narrower and more discrete common questions in contrast to the broader issue of systematic failure viewed as sufficient for class certification in Baby Neal and Marisol A.. In contrast to Marisol A., where each of the plaintiffs challenged an entirely distinct feature of the child welfare system, plaintiffs in this case focus on four recurring and interrelated harms that are common across the class. Moreover, specialized proof will largely be unnecessary to resolve these common allegations. We therefore need not address whether a "super-claim" of systematic failure predicated on diverse and unrelated injuries, without a more particularized common thread, could satisfy CPLR 901(a)(2)'s commonality prerequisite, which is more stringent than Rule 23(a)(2), its federal analogue.
Additionally, the class here is more circumscribed than the memberships in Baby Neal and Marisol A.. In Marisol A., the class included all children who were in ACS's custody or who were at risk of entering its custody, numbering "well over 100,000 children" (126 F3d at 376). Here, plaintiffs represent that class membership is less than two hundred. This lawsuit therefore presents a more compelling case to proceed as a class action than Baby Neal and Marisol A., precedents in which the courts upheld class certification under the federal class action provision.
Furthermore, CPLR article 9 affords the trial court considerable flexibility in overseeing a class action. Under CPLR 906(1), "an action may be brought or maintained as a class action with respect to particular issues." Relatedly, CPLR 906(2) permits a class to "be divided into subclasses and each subclass treated as a class." Given the four legal issues identified by the Appellate Division in this case, if it sees fit, Supreme Court would have the option of creating subclasses to group together members with analogous claims. In addition, CPLR 902 allows the trial court to decertify the class at any time before a decision on the merits if it becomes apparent that class treatment is inappropriate.
In sum, we conclude that the Appellate Division weighed the statutory criteria and acted within its discretion in determining that common questions predominate under CPLR 901(a)(2). In reaching this result, we recognize that commonality cannot be determined by any "mechanical test" and that "the fact that questions peculiar to each individual may remain after resolution of the common questions is not fatal to the class action" (Friar, 78 A.D.2d at 97-98). Rather, it is "predominance, not identity or unanimity," that is the linchpin of commonality (id. at 98). The Appellate Division identified concrete legal issues that predominate and plaintiffs' claims seek to vindicate rights accorded them by statutes and regulations. We concur that, as framed, these claims are justiciable (see Klostermann v. Cuomo, 61 N.Y.2d 525, 535 [1984]; see generally Nicholson v. Scoppetta, 3 NY3d 357 [2004] ). In upholding class certification, we emphasize that, at this early stage of the litigation, we are not expressing an opinion on the merits of plaintiffs' causes of action. Their resolution must await further proceedings.
We have considered ACS's remaining arguments and find them to be without merit.
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, without costs, and the certified question answered in the affirmative.
The question presented by this case is whether CPLR 901 permits use of the class action device to litigate a claim of "systemic failure" by a government agency. I answer the question no.
The majority seems hesitant to describe this as a systemic failure case. It says that it "need not address whether a 'super-claim' of systemic failure predicated on diverse and unrelated injuries, without a more particularized common thread" could be brought as a class action (majority op at 17). But unless the claim is viewed as one of systemic failure, class action treatment is plainly impossible. If the overarching question of whether the system is working or not is put aside, questions common to the cases of plaintiffs and the people they seek to represent not only fail to predominate over non-common questions; they hardly even exist. Each of the 11 plaintiffs, and every other developmentally disabled child who is part of or has passed through the New York City foster care system, has his or her own-often very moving-story to tell.
The "amended intervener complaint" (complaint) is 57 pages long, and contains 347 numbered paragraphs. 36 of those pages, and 256 of those paragraphs, are devoted to recounting, separately for each plaintiff, his or her specific problems and the ways in which the New York City Administration for Children's Service (ACS) and the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) have failed to cope with them. Similarly, in Supreme Court's 23-page opinion denying partial summary judgment and granting class certification, 11 pages are devoted to a summary of allegations relating to each plaintiff separately. The facts alleged are compelling, but the telling of these stories does not demonstrate that common issues, other than systemic flaws, predominate; it demonstrates the opposite.
And when the complaint finally turns to allegations about plaintiffs and other putative class members in general, the allegations continue to demonstrate how different their situations are: plaintiffs complain that they and others like them have not received the right "specialized placements"; that they and others like them "are often placed in inappropriate facilities that fail to meet their needs"; that their needs for "specialized services" are not being met; and that ACS's employees and agents lack "an adequate understanding of the needs of children with developmental disabilities." There can be no doubt that the "services," "needs" and "placements" referred to are different for each plaintiff and each other member of the putative class-as the repeated use of the word "specialized" emphasizes. Indeed, the very definition of the class certified by the courts below would require an individualized analysis of every case: the class consists of "individuals with developmental disabilities who ․ have not received or did not receive services ․ to which they were or are entitled." Thus we cannot know whether a person is a class member before deciding what services he or she is entitled to and whether those services were provided-inevitably, a determination that depends on the facts of each case.
It may make my point clearer to summarize in detail the complaint's allegations about the first named plaintiff, L.J. The complaint says that she suffers from cerebral palsy, which results in physical limitations including quadriplegia, and that she has also been diagnosed with depression and "math developmental disability." She was placed by ACS at the Woods School in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where she "received specialized services, including an individualized educational plan." However, the complaint says, Woods was a "segregated residential school placement," and L.J. was "capable of receiving services in and successfully living in a less-restrictive placement." This is shown by an August 2003 psychological evaluation, which demonstrates that with instruction, support and encouragement L.J. would be capable of going, unsupervised, to school and non-school events with friends, belonging to a club or organization and even going on dates. She is described as "a highly motivated young woman who has many goals and dreams for the future, many of which are within reach."
The complaint goes on to allege that, despite its knowledge of these and other relevant facts, ACS moved L.J. to Bayview Nursing and Rehab Center, "a 198-bed skilled-nursing facility" serving "a mostly adult population." L.J., it is alleged, did not require Bayview's level of services, and Bayview was for her "an unduly restrictive setting." It is also alleged that ACS failed to engage in "reasoned decision-making" about the placement at Bayview; that its contact with L.J. was "sporadic" at best; and that ACS failed to make any plans for L.J. to receive appropriate education at Bayview. Finally, it is alleged, ACS essentially washed its hands of L.J., informing her counsel (though not L.J. or her parents) that it was discharging her into her parents' custody.
It may well be that these appalling facts, if proved at trial, would entitle L.J. to a remedy. But it also seems quite clear that the considerable time and effort that would be spent on proving those facts, and giving ACS and OMRDD an opportunity to rebut them, would do nothing to advance the case of any other plaintiff or class member-unless those cases rest on the sweeping proposition that the system as a whole is failing. If this is not a systemic failure case, the predominance test is not satisfied, because class treatment of L.J.'s case and those of other children will not "achieve economies of time, effort, and expense, and promote uniformity of decision as to persons similarly situated" (Friar v.. Vanguard Holding Corp., 78 A.D.2d 83, 97 [2d Dept 1980] ).
This case is not at all like a typical class action, in which many victims complain of a single act or a series of very similar acts that affects all of them-e.g., the release of a toxic substance, a misrepresentation in a widely distributed document, a discriminatory or other unlawful policy consistently applied. The only significant common question in this case is whether the system is working or not.
The majority, if I read its opinion correctly, does not dispute that class action treatment here must be predicated on a claim of systemic failure. Rather, the majority finds that the case is appropriate for class action treatment because certain kinds of systemic failure tend to recur. Thus, the majority refers to "four common allegations that transcend and predominate over any individual matters" (majority op at 16), but these allegations, when examined, are simply four different ways of saying that ACS and OMRDD have failed to act in a timely fashion. Like plaintiffs' other allegations, these are "common" to the 11 plaintiffs and the class they seek to represent only in the sense that they are examples of an alleged breakdown of the system. Systemic failure aside, it makes no more sense to permit a class action by foster care children who suffer from the slowness of City and State bureaucracies than it would to permit a class action by pedestrians who had slipped and fallen on New York City sidewalks. Such a case would not be about the pedestrians' injuries and the City's liability for them; it would be a case about the sidewalk maintenance system.
I therefore turn to the question I think decisive: Should the class action device be used to facilitate "systemic failure" cases? I think not.
I do not suggest, of course, that governmental systems never fail. Indeed, plaintiffs' claim that the system is failing developmentally disabled children in foster care may be well-founded. The allegations of the complaint support the conclusion that the way in which the City and State deal with these children needs to be changed: It may need a top-to-bottom reorganization, or a large infusion of money, or both.
But however worthy the end of reforming the system, class action litigation is not the right means to that end. An action like this one calls upon courts to answer questions that are properly the province of other branches of government: How should delivery of a particular government service be organized? And how much money should be spent on it? These are extremely hard questions, and the executive and legislative branches often get them wrong, but courts have neither the constitutional authority nor the institutional capacity to second-guess the other branches' performance.
Courts have much less skill than professional administrators in deciding which methods of delivering services will be cost-effective, taking into account the limits on the funds available to an agency and the competing demands on those funds. Thus, for a judge to say to a state agency, as plaintiffs here request, "I declare that the system is not working, and I order you to fix it" will, often if not always, have a predictable result: The agency will assert that it is doing the best it can with the funds available-i.e., that nothing can fix the system except more money-and the court will lack the information and expertise to determine whether that is true or not.
As a result, courts may be led, here and in similar cases, to the seemingly attractive solution of issuing orders requiring, on their face or by implication, that the state or municipality spend whatever money is necessary to make the system work. But when courts do this they usurp the proper province of the Governor and Legislature, who must decide-sometimes, as now, in times of great fiscal stress-which of many urgent needs will take priority. A case like this one essentially asks judges to become champions-champions armed with the prestige of the judiciary, and the contempt power-for the needs of a particular group that benefits from state funds. That is not, in my view, the proper role of a court, even where the group seeking our help is as deserving of sympathy as plaintiffs here (see Jones v. Beame, 45 N.Y.2d 402 [1978] ).
Plaintiffs cite no case in which we have upheld a systemic failure class action. They rely on Klostermann v. Cuomo (61 N.Y.2d 525 [1984] ), but that was not a case in which courts were asked, as they are here, simply to declare that a system for delivering a government service had broken down and was in need of repair. In Klostermann, the public agencies involved were in repeated noncompliance with the command of Mental Hygiene Law § 29.15(g), which required preparation of a written service plan, with prescribed contents, for every person discharged from state psychiatric hospitals. We held that an alleged lack of funds did not excuse noncompliance with such a specific statutory directive. This case involves no requirement of comparable specificity.
The New York State case most closely on point is the Appellate Division's well-reasoned decision in Mitchell v. Barrios-Paoli (253 A.D.2d 281 [1st Dept 1999] ). The plaintiffs in Mitchell were partially disabled public assistance recipients who claimed that they were being assigned by the city to jobs incompatible with their disabilities-much as plaintiffs here contend that they are being assigned to inappropriate facilities, or given inappropriate treatment. The Mitchell court found that the plaintiffs "raise serious fairness questions ․ and may well have shown their entitlement to CPLR article 78 relief" (id. at 283), but held that their case could not proceed as a class action "because common questions of law or fact do not predominate on most claims" (id. at 290). The court explained:
"The class purportedly consists of ․ participants whose assignments exceed their medical limitations. However, determining who is a member of that class would require individualized examination of each person's medical history and the physical demands of her assigned task, which would defeat the class action's goal of saving judicial time and resources"
(id. at 291).
Lacking support in state authority, plaintiffs rely (as does the majority) on several federal cases permitting class actions similar to this one (D.G. ex rel. Stricklin v. Devaughn, 594 F3d 1188 [10th Cir2010]; Marisol A. ex rel. Forbes v. Giuliani, 126 F3d 372 [2d Cir1997]; Baby Neal ex rel. Kanter v. Casey, 43 F3d 48 [3d Cir1994] ). These cases were decided under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which differs, in a critical way, from CPLR 901, the governing statute here: In federal class actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, there is no requirement that common questions of law or fact predominate over individual ones (see Fed Rules Civ Pro rule 23[a][2], 23 [b][2]; compare Fed Rules Civ Pro rule 23[b][3]; see also Baby Neal, 43 F3d at 56["[t]he commonality requirement will be satisfied if the named plaintiffs share at least one question of fact or law with the grievances of the prospective class"] ). And even under that rule, the federal decisions are questionable. The court in Marisol A. acknowledged that the class action it permitted "stretches the notions of commonality and typicality" and "is near the boundary of the class action device" (126 F3d at 377). The reasoning of Baby Neal was rejected in J.B. ex rel. Hart v. Valdez (186 F3d 1280, 1289 n. 5 [10th Cir1999] ).
The authors of CPLR 901(a)(2) chose to set narrower boundaries than does Federal Rule 23 for the use of a class action in cases like this. It is fair to infer that those authors expected us to be significantly less hospitable than the federal courts to exotic and creative class actions, including those of the systemic failure type. The majority here has gone far beyond the limits the Legislature set on class actions.
I would reverse the Appellate Division's order and deny class certification. I would also grant ACS's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claims for prospective relief as moot, because the mootness exception is inapplicable for essentially the same reason that class action treatment is inappropriate: each plaintiff's case is unique, and there is no meaningful "likelihood of repetition" of any plaintiff's claim (see Matter of Hearst Corp. v. Clyne, 50 N.Y.2d 707, 714-715 [1980] ).
Order affirmed, without costs, and certified question answered in the affirmative.
1. The term "developmental disability" is defined in Mental Hygiene Law § 1.03(22) and includes mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, neurological impairment and autism.
2. ACS and OMRDD have a lengthy history of litigation concerning issues surrounding which agency bears the ultimate responsibility for providing and funding services to special needs children in ACS's care, custody or guardianship (see Flowers v. Webb, 575 F.Supp 1450 [ED N.Y.1983]; City of New York v. Webb, Sup Ct, N.Y. County, Nov. 12, 1986, Cotton, J., index No. 40313/86).
3. Specifically, plaintiffs contend that ACS violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (42 USC § 12131 et seq.) and its implementing regulations; section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC § 794); and Social Services Law §§ 398, 409-d and 409-e. Six of the plaintiffs also seek an award of compensatory damages against ACS based on its alleged violation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act with "deliberate indifference." As to OMRDD, plaintiffs allege that agency violated Title II of the ADA and its implementing regulations; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; and Mental Hygiene Law §§ 13.01 and 33.03.
4. Foster care may continue until an individual reaches 21 years of age (see Family Court Act § 1087[a]; Social Services Law § 398[6] [h], [i]; § 398-a [1] ).
5. Supreme Court also rejected ACS's contention that class certification was improper under the government operations doctrine (see Bryant Ave. Tenants' Assn. v. Koch, 71 N.Y.2d 856, 859 [1988] ). ACS does not pursue this argument on appeal and we therefore do not address it.
6. OMRDD did not join in ACS's appeal from Supreme Court's order certifying the class.
7. In fact, to date this Court has not found an abuse of discretion as a matter of law in the CPLR article 9 class certification context (see e.g. Matter of 43rd St. Second Ave. Corp. v. City of New York, 83 N.Y.2d 776, 778 [1994], rearg. denied 83 N.Y.2d 907 [1994] ["We find no abuse of discretion in the Appellate Division's determination that class certification is unwarranted in this case"]; Bryant Ave. Tenants' Assn. v. Koch, 71 N.Y.2d 856, 859 [1988] [stating that it could not be said "that it was an abuse of discretion as a matter of law to permit this class action to proceed against the governmental defendants"]; Rivers v.. Katz, 67 N.Y.2d 485, 499 [1986], rearg. denied 68 N.Y.2d 808 [1986] ["Finally, we conclude that Special Term did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for class action certification"]; Caesar v. Chemical Bank, 66 N.Y.2d 698, 701 [1985] ["Moreover, Special Term's certification of the action as a class action involved no abuse of discretion"] ).
8. Unlike CPLR 901(a)(2), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure rule 23(a)(2) does not require that common questions predominate in actions seeking injunctive or declaratory relief; rather, it more broadly allows a class action where "there are questions of law or fact common to the class."
9. ACS relies on J.B. v. Valdez (186 F3d 1280 [10th Cir1999] ), where class certification was denied to a proposed class of mentally and developmentally disabled children in a lawsuit alleging that New Mexico had systematically failed to provide protections and therapeutic services required by statutes and the Federal Constitution. But there, the Tenth Circuit majority merely concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying class certification. Moreover, J.B. was distinguished by a more recent Tenth Circuit case (see D.G. v. Devaughn, 594 F3d 1188 [10th Cir2010] ). In D.G., the Tenth Circuit affirmed the certification of a class of foster children in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. D.G. distinguished J.B., noting that the plaintiffs in J.B. brought claims against numerous agencies and that the proposed class in J.B. was extremely broad insofar as it sought to include both custodial and noncustodial children.
10. It may well be that budgetary constraints and other obstacles are responsible for ORMDD's waiting lists (see Matter of Savastano v. Prevost, 66 N.Y.2d 47, 50 [1985], rearg. denied 66 N.Y.2d 1036 [1985] [recognizing that OMRDD retains discretion under Mental Hygiene Law § 13.15(a), allowing it to "consider budgetary restrictions in implementing a program"] ). But it may also be that OMRDD's difficulties in creating placements are due, in part, to ACS's failure to timely refer children, inhibiting OMRDD from making future plans and securing proper services or placements. During deposition testimony, for example, one OMRDD witness stated that "funding availability" was not an issue for OMRDD and that ACS's lack of coordination was often detrimental to OMRDD's development and planning process. On this record, the reasons for the allegedly excessive waiting lists remain unclear, warranting discovery.
GRAFFEO, J.