Vaccination can reduce child mortality significantly and is a cost effective way to improve child health.Worldwide, more than 22 million children do not receive the basic recommended vaccinations.Vaccination coverage in Ethiopia remains low. Research on child health has focused on socio-economic factors such as maternal education and access to health care, but little attention has been given to demographic factors and women's autonomy within the household. The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of demographic factors and women's autonomy on the completion of childhood vaccination in rural Ethiopia.
A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted in a Health and Demographic Survelliance System (HDSS) in southwestern Ethiopia. Data were drawn from a random sample of women with children aged 12-24 months (n=889). Information on maternal socio-demographic characteristics and household variables were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Vaccination data were obtained from vaccination cards or mother's recall. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association of independent variables with completion of childhood vaccination.
Of 889 children aged 12-24 months, 690 (78%) had received at least one vaccination. Only 37% (95% CI, 33.5-39.9) were fully vaccinated. Women's decision making autonomy, number of under-five children in the household, mother's education, use of antenatal care services and proximity to health facility were the main factors associated with full vaccination status.
Completion of basic vaccination series is very low in the study area. Initiatives that enhance women's autonomy within the household and that promote healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies may help in improving child health through vaccination.


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text:
1984 R 1h 51m Blu-ray / DVD
In his semi-autobiographical film debut, Prince plays a hip Minneapolis club musician known as The Kid who struggles with a tumultuous home life and his own smoldering anger. He takes refuge in his music and in a budding relationship with a beautiful young singer, Apollonia (Apollonia). Winner of both an Academy Award and a Grammy for Best Original Musical Score, Purple Rain also stars Clarence Williams III and Morris Day.
Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III, Jerome Benton, Billy Sparks, Jill Jones, Charles Huntsberry
Albert Magnoli
Drama, Showbiz Dramas, Romantic Dramas, Contemporary Movie Musicals
Blu-ray• DVD
English, Spanish (Neutral), French
Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish (Neutral): Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
R - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Acquires Pachyderm to Expand AI-at-Scale Capabilities with Reproducible AI
Published: January 12th, 2023
- SD Times Newswire
• HPE will integrate Pachyderm's software with its existing supercomputing and AI solutions to automate reproducible machine learning pipelines for large- scale AI applications
• The combined HPE solution will deliver an integrated machine learning pipeline and platform to accelerate a customer's AI journey from POC to production with higher efficiency and lower costs
• Lockheed Martin demonstrates AI at-scale for mission-critical security and aerospace applications using combined HPE and Pachyderm solution
HOUSTON – January 12, 2023 – Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced an expansion to its AI-at-scale offerings with the acquisition of Pachyderm, a startup that delivers software, based on open-source technology, to automate reproducible machine learning pipelines that target large-scale AI applications. Reproducing a machine learning pipeline enables use of the same dataset to achieve the same results each time to increase transparency, trustworthiness, and accuracy in predictions while optimizing time and resources. It is critical to successful AI-at-scale initiatives, which represent the next revolutionary step in realizing AI's potential to increase the accuracy of predictions and achieve results faster. To attain these outcomes, organizations need to adopt technologies to efficiently build and train larger machine learning models that require a high volume of complex data. "As AI projects become larger and increasingly involve complex data sets, data scientists will need reproducible AI solutions to efficiently maximize their machine learning initiatives, optimize their infrastructure cost, and ensure data is reliable and safe no matter where they are in their AI journey," said Justin Hotard, executive vice president and general manager, HPC and AI, at HPE. "Pachyderm's unique reproducible AI software augments HPE's existing AI-at-scale offerings to automate and accelerate AI and unlock greater opportunities in image, video, and text analysis, generative AI, and other emerging large-language-model needs to realize transformative outcomes."
HPE expands AI at-scale portfolio with addition of Pachyderm
HPE unlocks AI-at-scale opportunities for its customers by bringing together its leading supercomputing technologies that are foundational for optimized AI infrastructure, and the HPE Machine Learning Development Environment, a machine-learning software that enables users to rapidly develop, iterate, and scale high-quality models from proof-of-concept to production. The combined solution already helps users train more accurate AI models faster, and at scale, on several of the world's fastest supercomputers that have been purpose-built for demanding AI workloads. Building on to these solutions, HPE will integrate Pachyderm's reproducible AI capabilities in one integrated platform to deliver an advanced data-driven pipeline that automatically refines, prepares, tracks, and manages repeatable machine learning algorithms used throughout the development and training environment.
Delivering an end-to-end machine learning software platform to enable production AI at-scale
AI-at-scale capabilities advance popular use cases involving natural language processing, computer vision, and video and image processing that are growing across industries such as transportation, life sciences, defense, financial services, and manufacturing. By integrating Pachyderm's machine learning pipeline capabilities with its existing AI offerings, HPE will enable faster development and deployment of more accurate and performant large-scale AI applications with the following benefits:
• Data lineage – Visibility on the origin of the data and where it moves over time during the machine learning lifecycle and analytics process to easily trace errors back to the root cause.
• Data versioning – Ability to track different versions of data to understand when data was created or changed at any point in time, to increase efficiency in making any changes.
• Efficient incremental data processing – As data changes over time, only incremental data needs to be processed to update AI applications. Pachyderm makes incremental data processing automatic and efficient.
Lockheed Martin deploys HPE's AI at-scale solutions for mission-critical applications
Lockheed Martin's AI Factory, an open architecture approach to AI-at-scale, integrates Pachyderm's software, HPE's Machine Learning Development Environment, and other modular solutions as part of their foundational AI ecosystem. Leveraging these capabilities allows Lockheed Martin to increase trust, maximize performance, and standardize AI technologies across a broad range of contested environments in support of national security missions. This acquisition builds on HPE's February 2022 investment in Pachyderm through its venture capital arm, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, to speed time-to-market for AI innovation at lower data processing and operating costs. The transaction is not subject to any regulatory approvals and is expected to close this month.
Product integration and availability
Pachyderm's software is available today to integrate with HPE's existing supercomputing and AI software solutions. Additionally, HPE plans to integrate Pachyderm with upcoming versions of the
HPE Machine Learning Development System, which eliminates the complexity and cost to build and train models with a complete, ready-to-use solution.
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Sound Transit 3: Final and Ongoing Projects (2039-2041)
Posted on July 18, 2016 July 16, 2016 by Martin H. Duke
After studies, drafts, public comment, more drafts, amendments, and so on, you might be a little confused about what exactly is in Sound Transit 3 (ST3). This is the third of a brief ST3 reference series (2019-2024 here, 2030-2036 here) about what's in the package that we'll vote on in November. Today, the two last projects in the delivery schedule, plus various mostly-small projects with indeterminate delivery time.
All costs are in 2014 dollars.
In 2039, ST delivers the Tacoma Link extension. The $478m project would extend the terminus westward by 3.5 miles to Tacoma Community College, at-grade except for an elevated crossing of SR16. Unlike every other rail project in ST3, some stretches of this would mix with traffic, like elsewhere on the line. There would be six new stations, at TCC, Stevens, Union, Sprague, Pearl, and Hilltop. To support 6-minute peak headways, the project will double-track 0.9 miles of the existing line between Union Station and the Tacoma Dome.
At the 25-year mark, 2041 sees the last element of the Sound Transit 3 program: Link from South Kirkland to Issaquah. The $1.9 billion, 11.75 mile, at-grade and elevated line would use three stations from East Link, and build four more. Central Issaquah (500 space garage) and Richards Rd/Factoria would be elevated, while Eastgate (230 net new spaces) and South Kirkland would be at grade. There is also an unfunded, elevated station at Lakemont. While the 23-minute end-to-end travel time is competitive with driving, the line is project to attract only 12,000-15,000 daily riders in 2040. This is a testament of the pitfalls of focusing on travel time and cheap implementation rather than serving high-demand areas well.
Issaquah concludes the package at the 25-year mark. However, throughout those 25 years there are other projects where there is no ribbon-cutting, or ST cannot release a completion date at this time.
Most significantly, South Sounder improvements will support 10-car platforms and add additional round trips above the 12 (9 peak, 3 contra-peak) funded through ST1 and ST2. Unfortunately, details about additional trips are pending negotiation with BNSF. The total project is budgeted for $934m.
ST3 also funds up to 107,000 ST Express bus platform hours, not counting the service in I-405 and SR522 BRT that Zach described in Part I. That's the equivalent of roughly 16 buses running 18 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Total annual ST bus service hours, including the BRT, ST1, ST2, and ST3, will peak at 800,000 in 2024 and decline to 660,000 in 2040 as light rail replaces many of the trips. Compare this to the end ST2 value of 490,000 hours 2024-30 and 355,000 beyond. The capital cost (mainly bus purchases) is $19m, but of course the real expense here is operations. We can guess this to be roughly $13m per year at current rates.
Finally, there are a bunch of items of less practical interest to future riders:
2 Operations and Maintenance Facilities for Link ($1.2 billion) and one on the Eastside for buses ($149m)
226 Light Rail Vehicles ($1.4 billion)
$100m to develop system access besides agency-provided parking.
$20m to do a better job matching agency land management to TOD goals.
$75m for the "Innovation and Technology" program, which seeks to improve rider information, fare payment, apps, driverless vehicle technologies, safety, and collaborative business models, through research and pilot programs.
And finally, High Capacity Transit (HCT) corridor studies for the next round of expansion: Bothell to Bellevue via Kirkland, a Northern Lake Washington crossing, West Seattle to Renton via Burien, Everett to North Everett, Tacoma Dome to Tacoma Mall, and Commuter Rail to Orting. All of these combine for $45m, and there is a separate, $64m "Future System Planning" item to cover system-wide SEPA and ST4 planning activities.
That wraps up the project list, which touches every corner of the Sound Transit District. Next time: how much all of this is really going to cost.
96 Replies to "Sound Transit 3: Final and Ongoing Projects (2039-2041)"
Sean F. says:
There's also the studies for future development of a light rail line extending to Renton. I don't remember seeing that in these.
(please ST, give Renton some Light Rail love. I live there and work near West Seattle, I'll be a forever customer)
Well I misread. It's here, my bad Martin!
It's right there in HCT >.>
I'm apparently blind.
Dano R says:
Renton does not even get a parking garage or low income housing from ST3. Renton has a population of 100,000 with no member on the Sound transit board. Dow Constitine appoints people to bring light rail to special areas, not Renton. Light Rail for Renton is a dream, until the people stand up. Best Regads, Dano
Glenn in Portland says:
Renton gets what it asked for, which was to move the transit center.
Isn't ST increasing the spaces at the P&R? And Rentonites will have more frequent BRT. Which they can drive to, and Renton doesn't seem to consider that a problem.
Renton had years to articulate what it wants and it never said anything. Then at the last minute it asked to move the transit center and complained that it wasn't getting enough projects. Where is Renton's transit master plan?
Renton is also suffering relative priorities and limited money. East King's top priorities are Bellevue/Redmond, and Issaquah and Kirkland. South King's top priorities are Link to Federal Way and Sounder. The next priority in line is Burien to Renton. That would mostly be south King but Renton is in East King. South King is the poorest subarea and also has the largest population, and in King County the largest area. So it needs a lot of transit and has little money. That's why the Burien-Renton line isn't in ST3.
Charles B says:
So, just to confirm… was there no list of provisional projects?
I didn't even see Ballard to UW listed in the corridor study list…
That would be the Northern Lake Washington crossing study. It'll study Kirkland-to-Ballard and alternatives.
Does the station at South Kirkland at 520 and Bellevue Way NE imply a line from Kirkland to UW via 520 and not Sandpoint? Are they forcing STs hand with this one?
"They" are ST. Where are you seeing these stations? I'm just seeing vague crosshatched polygons for the study areas. The wording says, "This study would examine alternatives including and parallel to SR 522 and SR 520, as well as connections from Ballard to Kirkland, Sand Point to Kirkland, and Redmond and/or Bellevue". So the Sand Point alternative is listed both explicitly and implied by "parallel to".
[ah]
So the 107K ST Express hours refers to ST Express that will exist after all the "interim" ST buses are phased out?
I think we'll have to ask ST for clarification. I read the long description and assumptions and I'm still confused. There's also the previous scenarios from January. It sounds like there's an outline of routes and frequencies to base the "maintaining current service" and "until Link corridors open". But what is the outline? Which routes does ST define as redundant with Link? Does maintaining current service mean the 578's tail will remain 30-60 minutes with no hope of an increase? There's also the 566 between Auburn and Renton. Making it more frequent help Kent use 405 BRT, and extending it to Federal Way Station would give it an HCT anchor at both ends (and improve Auburn-FW connections). Are these out because they're more than current service? Has ST decided that that the 554, 577, and 594 are goners? Could it please tell Pierce and East King voters that before the vote, because it's an essential piece of information to make an informed decision.
asdf2 says:
My reading of the document is that, without ST3, the total budget for available bus service hours would decrease in 2023, but with ST3, additional funding would be available to allow the total number of hours to remain the same. But, since "ST express" service hours is explicitly stated to not include the SR-522 or I-405 BRT routes (which appear to be funded separately), the total number of buses on the road should increase significantly.
Presumably, these hours would still be redeployed as Link extensions open – for instance, I would be shocked if the 512 and 550 continued after 2023, with or without ST3. It looks like total bus service hours would still decrease in 2040, after all the light rail extensions open, but only to about the present service level. The details appear to be undetermined, as the ST board appears to understand that trying to set bus service patterns for 2040 back in 2016 would be futile.
As to what happens to the 594, I don't think anything has been decided yet, but it seems like, at a minimum, waiting for the BNSF negotiations to conclude (which determine what level of service Sounder will be able to provide) before making that decision seems prudent. (Although, personally, I believe the likelihood of BNSF agreeing to enough Sounder service to seriously replace the 594 extermely remote – even hourly, all-day Sounder service would still be a significant regression over a 594 that runs every 30 minutes).
huskytbone says:
How was it decided which corridors to study?
Martin throwing some shade at the Issaquah line alignment, but I don't see how else you would have built this line, give the three destinations of worth on this corridor – Factoria, Eastgate TC, and Issaquah TC – are all along the freeway.
The alternative is to not invest in light rail and continue running buses along I90, which will just get caught in traffic as I90 fills up (and especially trying to merge onto 405.) To fix that, you can have a project that is basically the 405 BRT capital improvements*. If you want to argue for BRT over LRT, fine. but if you think rail is better than BRT, I think you have to support this line.
*building direct access HOV ramps between 4-05 & I90 costs $0.5B alone ($0.25B if only toward Bellevue), plus you'll need either bus or tolled lanes along I90.
If you take it as a given that you have to build a rail line to Issaquah, this's close to the best alignment. (The best, in my mind, would have an additional Eastgate station at 156th, dip south of 90 to serve Factoria, and then cross Mercer Slough to inline at South Bellevue – but we've discussed that before.)
But, BRT here actually has some advantages over LRT. Ross points out that most Issaquah riders will already be transferring from local buses or driving to the station; why not let those local buses continue as expresses to Bellevue? Or, since now we've got buses, why not let them actually connect to South Bellevue or even (in peaks) Mercer Island?
And finally, should we be investing so much in this one corridor when there're so many other valuable corridors even on the Eastside, let alone in the rest of the ST area?
– 1 on "this's"
What would be the other valuable corridors on the Eastside? We have 405 BRT, and East Link being extended about as far as reasonably done. Kirkland HCT got bogged down in political issues, and the North Washington crossing is specifically punted to the new packages (with a slight down payment with South Kirkland)
As for Ross's point, I think there is merit there. An I90 BRT system would allow buses to branch, concentrating frequency between Eastgate & Bellevue TCs and branches coming in from Sammamish, Issaquah town center, Issaquah Highlands, etc. But to do that right, you need dedicated ROW between Eastgate & Bellevue downtown. Could we do that with bus lanes? Technically, yes, but politically I'd rather have the LRT to protect me from BRT creep, and then accept that I'm going to truncate all my "far east" King bus service at Issaquah TC.
This is similar to the truncation issues with Snohomish & South King commuters to Seattle, who are giving up 1-seat express buses to transfer to Link. Would commuters rather have a 1-seat bus ride to downtown? Maybe. But transferring to Link means a more reliable route, faster times at peak of peak, and higher capacity for peak ridership.
Sam – "this's" is a grammatically correct contraction for "this is." The six other languages you know must've made you forget English grammar.
AJ – I'd list real Issaquah BRT, upgrading 520 to full BRT, a 520-405 transfer station, some connection to Factoria if the Issaquah BRT doesn't end up going there, and Renton – Rainier Beach BRT. Aside from that, we could just invest in Metro's hoped-for frequent route structure.
William – I like that plan, as you are basically crisscrossing east king with BRT lines [BRISK!], but I still think I'd rather use my $50B package to build out a partial rail network and fill in the gaps later. A ST BRT network would be at the mercy of WSDOT on all the highways, and I don't think WSDOT will delivery the level of service needed for BRT to be successful. If we had a regional agency that combined ST & WSDOT, sure, but unfortunately ST and WSDOT don't always cooperate well
The problem with LRT to Issaquah TC is that you don't actually get anywhere close to a walkable area. The whole area around the TC is strip malls or big box stores, not even residential. What's the point of spending all this money to get there? At least the current bus services more of Issaquah.
Issaquah has zoned for a new urban center around the TC. Otherwise it wouldn't be getting Link.
Central Issaquah has a commercial center, with some homes nearby. There is actual stuff there.
For me, when I visit Issaquah, it's mostly as a gateway to the outdoors. Central Issaquah has access points to Squak Mountain and Tiger Mountain, while Issaquah TC has an access point to Cougar Mountain not too far away. In addition, lots of groups meet at Issaquah Transit Center for carpooling further into the mountains, so transit options to Issaquah are useful for getting to the carpool spot.
@Mike: I didn't realize it was being re-zone as an urban center. Mostly because I didn't realize there was any space there. The only non-park walking area sites is north/northeast (and a bit of the Talus development to the southwest), but 90 is 2-3 blocks north of the transit center. I guess you could get some development in there, but it barely looks like its worthwhile.
@asdf2: Agreed that it's a good gateway to the mountains, but most people will do that on weekends when there's no traffic. Run more buses on weekends if that helps – that would still be much cheaper than building LRT.
If the purpose of light rail were to maximize the riders carried per dollar spent, we would be focusing almost entirely on Seattle neighborhoods, and leave the rest of the region with nothing but bus service. The problem is that the cities outside of Seattle will not vote to use their tax dollars to fund Seattle projects. So, what we get is about giving everybody something, rather than building the most efficient network possible. It's not ideal, but I think it's also important to be pragmatic and not hold out for the perfect plan, while ending up with nothing.
That said, I can at least say two things in defense of the Issaquah line:
1) There will be some amount of "If you build it, they will come".
2) 2041 is a long time away, so you have to consider the line in terms of what Bellevue and Issaquah will look like in 2041 (or even 2071), not what they look like today, in 2016. By the time this thing finally opens, there will probably be a lot more development in both Issaquah and Bellevue than there is today. And, traffic along I-90, I-405, and the I-90/I-405 interchange will likely get a lot worse. Even in 2016, I observed I-405 as a parking lot between Bellevue and I-90, and this was on a Saturday. Combine this with the fact that parking in downtown Bellevue will inevitably get more difficult and expensive over the next 25 years (don't assume that just because parking is mostly free there today that it always will be), there will be people who would be willing to ride the train then that wouldn't now.
RossB says:
Thanks William, that is quite flattering. But like a lot of things, I'm sure I'm not the first to figure this out. I certainly wasn't the first to come up with the Metro 8 subway, nor the Ballard to UW light rail line (although for a while, my post was the first to appear if you searched for that phrase). All of these ideas make sense if you pay attention, and try to learn and discern the basic transit methodologies as often explained in this very blog. At the same time, you reach conclusions, as David has — that some things just don't make sense. ST3 is full of such examples.
Just a review here. Generally speaking, light rail is very expensive, and very expensive per mile. This means it only makes sense when:
1) There are lots of stops along the way, ideally no more than a half mile apart.
2) There are no fast alternatives for travel along that corridor. In short, it should be faster to travel that section at subway speeds (roughly 20 MPH, with all the stops) all day long.
Issaquah light rail fails on both points, and just about any point imaginable. For many (and likely, most) in the area, it would require a three seat ride to downtown Seattle, and a four (or five) seat ride to much of the city. As someone who routinely drives right by beautiful Issaquah at 65 MPH, I have a hard time believing that tens of thousands of people will avail themselves of this wondrous opportunity. If it 3:00 PM, and you want to go from Issaquah to, say, Wallingford — are you really going to take a bus, then a train, then another train, then a bus? I doubt it. You will drive, and I will see you on my way back from the mountains.
Of course, if a bus is available, that would be nice, too. There actually is a bus that would be quite helpful in that regard. Three of them, actually. All together, the buses that go to downtown Bellevue and Northgate, along with the more popular bus that goes to downtown Seattle, carry less than 3,000 people one way. So, essentially, you have buses that would be faster to those areas, connect to a lot more places, yet carry only a handful of people. But supposedly a train will be extremely popular — and thus run all the time — because … well it's a train.
It's absurd. It really is. If you rank the congestion problems in the city, the section between Eastgate and Issaquah ranks towards the bottom. The number of people who suffer from the stupid HOV 2 along this corridor is minimal compared to the tens of thousand who suffer with — I don't know — 15th Avenue (east or west).
Which is not to say that there isn't congestion between Factoria and I-405. Probably not top ten congestion, but congestion nonetheless. What is absurd is the assumption that the only way to solve that congestion is to build a light rail line. It is even more absurd to think that you should spend billions more extending that line all the way out to a transit center in Issaquah, that David rightly points out, is nothing more than strip malls and big box stores.
If you really want to improve things, build a busway. Build a busway from Eastgate to downtown Bellevue. It shouldn't be that hard. I would guess that it would, in fact, be much easier, and much cheaper, than building a brand new light rail line. It could — this is crazy now — take advantage of the existing infrastructure that (believe it or not) was built around the automobile. That would then allow buses from all over the region to get to downtown Bellevue very quickly.
Meanwhile, you would also send buses to Mercer Island, or South Bellevue (as William said), thus turning a very infrequent, slow three seat ride into a more frequent, more direct (and faster) two seat one.
"For many (and likely, most) in the area, it would require a three seat ride to downtown Seattle, and a four (or five) seat ride to much of the city. As someone who routinely drives right by beautiful Issaquah at 65 MPH, I have a hard time believing that tens of thousands of people will avail themselves of this wondrous opportunity. If it 3:00 PM, and you want to go from Issaquah to, say, Wallingford"
You're being Seattle-centric. The future of the Eastside is for most people to live, work, and recreate in the Eastside, as most of them already do. The cross-lake line is not for the majority, it's because even the minority is large. Issaquah is on the other side of Bellevue and Redmond. That means more Bellevuites are more likely to go to Seattle, and more Issaquahites are likely to go to Bellevue, or they would not have moved to Issaquah in the first place. The primary transit markets for Link are Ballard to downtown, downtown to Bellevue, Bellevue to Redmond, and Bellevue to Issaquah. The fact that it all interconnects for longer trips is the wonders of a subway: it can do both simultaneously.
Julie B. says:
Any ideas as to when the ST3-funded additional Sounder trips would start? Is that something where negotiations would begin as soon as the measure passed?
QARider says:
Negotiations have already begun.
The negotiations have been ongoing for several months, and CEO Rogoff said it's not clear whether they'll be finished by the election. ST is asking for a total package price to complete the third passenger track and have hourly service into the evening and some weekend service; then it can choose which of those options to exercise and when. ST is keeping quiet about how much it has to spend or could budget so that BNSF doesn't say, "Well take that, thanks" rather than negotiating a lower price. ST has threatened to walk away and do something else instead if BNSF's price is unreasonably high. But all that is up in the air.
ST has all the vehicles for the ST2 upgrades (two peak and one midday round trips starting in the next year or two I think). So I guess that's enough for hourly service off-peak, but I don't know the ins and outs of dispatching trains and making sure there's one at the terminus when its run starts. If ST does have to order trains, it would take several months or a couple years to have them made and delivered, unless it can buy some surplus idle ones from some agency.
GuyOnBeaconHill says:
Hourly service between Seattle and Tacoma would require 3 trainsets and creating at a string line chart shows that the Seattle to Tukwila segment would need double tracking and the Tacoma to Sumner segment would also have to be double tracked. Sumner to Tukwila could be run with a single passenger track. Tukwila Station might be a problem if both Sounder trains are at the station at the same time. BNSF would surely want a track free for freight trains, so there may need to be a 3rd main at Tukwila to allow free movement for passenger trains.
Any schedule would also have to include slots for 14 daily Amtrak trains.
RDPence says:
Riders from Issaquah to downtown Seattle will be asked to transfer from their local shuttle to trains already full with Redmond and Bellevue riders. Rule of thumb for transit planners is don't force transfers at the receiving route's peak load point.
Dan Ryan says:
Riders from Issaquah may not be the majority of riders on the train. There are quite a few pointers in the earlier studies that the "Issaquah line" is mostly a Bellevue line, with ridership concentrated between DT Bellevue and Eastgate. The current line configuration suits those users fine.
"Already full" remains to be seen. ST expects a certain number of riders between Redmond and Intl Dist, and twice as many between Intl Dist and Lynnwood. Some at ST have been concerned that the latter might get overcrowded even with two lines, by the target planning date of 2040. I haven't heard anything like that for the Eastside. Maybe Issaquahites will have to stand peak hours. But that's kind of normal, and they could go two more stations to Wilburton to maximize their chance of getting a seat.
Hopefully people disembarking at Bellevue (a job destination) will help offset people hoping on to go to Seattle. If the transfer was at Wilburton is would be a much bigger problem.
And remember, riders from Issaquah will be transfers to East Link regardless of what ST3 looks like. With no ST3, they will have a bus transfer at Mercer or South Bellevue.
Also keep in mind, if the grand vision is two east-west lines, and the Issaquah line is extended all the way to Ballard, Bellevue is the best spot for those lines to intersect. There will always be some transfers (BallardRedmond, IssaquahSeattle) because you can't give everyone a 1-seat ride.
Seen this way, this line is a less important extension of a much bigger Lake Washington crossing. It is being built 1st b/c East King has money to burn & North King is spending money elsewhere.
Why would anyone ride from Issaquah to Seattle with this routing? It's totally out of the way to transfer in Downtown Bellevue. Quite short sighted in my view – the transfer should be at South Bellevue.
Al S. says:
A direct Issaquah- Downtown Seattle- Ballard line would also solve that problem. Another option would be to have the tracks from Issaquah stop in the opposite directions of the main East Link line to allow for quick cross-platform transfers without changing elevations.
I would prefer a transfer at South Bellevue, but the time penalty isn't terrible, and it will still be competitive over driving during peak.
Maybe the transfer point should be an infill station drop near SE 15th Street.
I just observed also that Issaquah riders destined to the Airport will have to transfer twice. Not fun with luggage, especially when it's not a cross-platform transfer.
That's really not much of a downgrade from today's system. Plus they'll probably be more likely to use transit when Link provides a reliable trip time to the airport. If you're taking transit to the airport you want a reliable trip time above all, and Link provides that.
Another big thing lacking in today's Issaquah bus service is frequency. The 554 is down to hourly sometime around 8 PM.
@asdf2 — Right, the train will run more frequently, because running trains is much cheaper than running buses. Oh wait, no it isn't. It's the other way around.
And they'll have to wait until the second tunnel and Intl Dist station reconfiguration to not have to go up to the surface and back down the opposite direction to get to the airport. Remember to include enough time to wait for two elevators, and hope that they'll be working.
It's possible Metro will have a route from Issaquah to South Bellevue when ST deletes the 554. Metro's long-range plan has an Express route from downtown to Federal Way, and the definition of Express is "30 minutes minimum all day". It might be downgraded to peak only (i.e., the status quo), but it looks like Metro is aspiring to all day. If Metro can do that for Federal Way, why can't it do something similar for Issaquah.
Issaquah to Seattle riders could transfer to East Link from fast bus at the Mercer Island station. The Issaquah Link line may be for another market.
I'm going to venture to guess that there will exist Issaquah->Mercer Island express bus service, but that it will be peak-only, and all-day service will require the train->train transfer at East Main St.
@asdf2 — So, the only time when taking a train could possibly be competitive with the bus (during rush hour, if there is an accident in the carpool lane) they will be running the buses. But when a bus is much faster, they will run the train. So, basically, if you are trying to get from the Highlands to, say, downtown Seattle at noon, you will take a bus, then a train, then another train. That will be ridiculously slow, even if you manage to time it just right. I really doubt you will find all but a handful of people willing to do that. They will drive, right past the big park and ride in Issaquah, and go to the big park and ride at South Bellevue (or the one in Mercer Island).
Which means a couple things. First, frequency on this train in the middle of the day will be really bad. ST will lose a ton of money if they run this every half hour, but they probably will. Second, RDPence has nothing to worry about. Only a handful of people will ever ride the train and transfer.
@RDPence — You have nothing to worry about. Very few people will take this train. Even fewer will transfer.
Mark Dublin says:
Martin, I'm especially curious about the Kirkland to Issaquah line. I've walked the corridor between Kirkland Transit Center and South Kirkland Park and Ride twice.
And from the Park and Ride to Downtown Bellevue twice, once via Bellevue Way, and once following the rail right-of-way down the east side of I-405.
First segment: If it ever was in any Danger, the sign-raisers' Trail is Saved by the Planet. A mile of two lane streets uphill from the Kirkland Library. A right of way I'm not sure was ever double tracked.
And a cliff several stories high between the trail and South Kirkland P&R. Which, for a terminal in any direction, I wouldn't want to have to defend in public in front of a satellite image. Even less than for the rest of the route.
Between there and southward to, or past, Bellevue, you're right about the trade-off. Existing railway, probably three minute ride to Richards Road, with closest pass to Bellevue Transit Center across 405. With no place a passenger station would make any sense. Though at their height, the interurbans did carry freight. Which I'd gladly defend.
Now, am I right that the high demand corridor would run along the west side of 405 to Bellevue Transit Center before turning east? Because nothing billed "High Demand" can miss it. Anything elevated down either Bellevue Way or 112th Avenue will face richer trail-savers than their northern neighbors.
So, I-405 is fastest and easiest. Tracks east of South Kirkland will permit elevated curve across SR 520. Probably only corridor that makes any sense at all. Expense and all. Including everything running north from South Kirkland, which can't terminate a line like this.
The best thing going for this project is the 24 years between now and 2040. Considering stability of current housing market, the Trail's present neighbors could be so powerfully priced out of their homes they'll be pleading for Sound Transit's money. And the east side of 405 could become densely residentially transit oriented, interurban freight or not.
But right now, only worthwhile meeting venue to discuss this line needs hiking boots. Come walk it with me. You name the day and time.
Mark Dublin
The Trail's present neighbors have built McMansions over what used to be small 1960s and older bungalows, so they apparently have plenty of money for future property taxes.
If only property taxes were all they had to worry about, Mike. Because the only way a certain developer's current political campaign makes sense is as a diversion from the combination hotel and casino that he's planning to privatize the whole EastLINK service area into.
Who needs property taxes when they've got Eminent Domain? And based on his record, will sue anybody who makes fun of him in blog comments for three hundred trillion dollars. Take my whole account, Donald. Along with the identity of the Medellin informer whose identity I stole.
Anandakos says:
Mark, Issaquah-South Kirkland LRT will interline with East Link from Wilburton to East Main, sharing three stations. There is no need for a "railroad station" across I-405. Look at the map.
"Interline", not "interlined". Damn iPad "autocorrect"…….. C
biliruben says:
All reading this does is give me angst regarding my own mortality.
You should post actuarial life tables in conjunction with any project beyond 2040.
BillN says:
My 73 year old Mother in Law just moved to Olympia and asked me when Sounder would be extended to Lacey. It isn't looking too good for her lifetime.
biliruben, your kitchen knife slips, you could have five minutes left. Blocked airway, a lot less. Salmonella gets through your immune system, before you hit the ground. Gravity. Acceleration. Sudden concrete related stop. Driving. With or without a crash.
Why waste a second of reading life on anything out of the insurance industry? Aren't their bills bad enough? The actuary that created that minute's tables could also be dead before the last decimal point hits the printout.
BillN, a few months more trackwork and probably some new switches along the north bank of the Nisqually River, and every Amtrak schedule south of Tacoma Dome could have three Sounder cars coupled to the rear locomotive.
So if in five years your mother-in-law doesn't show up for our weekly late afternoon train ride from Lacey to Portland, I'll spend the rest of my 24 actuarial years tracking you down.
Though by today's news, and criminal M.O. trends, the Law at this nanosecond is already archiving your confession, I mean comment, off of Facebook. Where you've already been elbowed out by whoever just killed ISIS and took over their franchise. Or are going to do it.
So please. Don't make me celebrate my 94th birthday riding through the Save Our Trails historic neighborhood by myself.
This is so far away that I can't help but wonder if different operational issues may change these concepts, or even that an unforeseen operational problem would be a better use of ST3 funds. At some point, the region has to politically shift from building rail to operating productive rail and I expect this to be happening by 2030 if not sooner.
I could see a modification vote around 2025 if Everett and Issaquah have second thoughts.
Great point. As an Issaquah resident, I'd be happy to vote to replace the Issquah line with top notch BRT, especially if it made sense as a part of a bigger package reallocating spend elsewhere. Same for replacing the Paine Field deviation with a BRT loop.
Would only a local vote or council action be needed, or would ST3 directives have to be followed to use the funding unless a regional modification is voted on?
The vote would have to be regional. The subareas are only accounting budgets, not tax districts. If they were separate tax districts we could have single-subarea votes. So the measure would say something like, "Modifications in Pierce and East King. No change in North King projects."
Good point, I agree.
I think one of the big challenges is the terminology. In this region, people associate light rail with fast, grade separated light rail. From a political standpoint, this is huge. People get this, and think light rail will solve all our transit problems and is the only way to solve our transit problems. Understanding station placement is a lot more complicated. I didn't understand its importance (as well as I do now) until I got on this blog, and started reading about transit issues in general. It is also inherently more complicated, with a lot more trade-offs.
On the other hand, BRT means different things to different people. The only two examples we have in the region are RapidRide and Swift. We are about to add Madison BRT. While the last one is by far the highest quality — the closest thing to our light rail line of any bus line — it is not 100% grade separated either. There are sections that are as grade separated as our light rail line (intersections, but exclusive lanes) but there are other sections — sections in the heart of the line, downtown — where it shares space with cars (although not that many, as it will at least be BAT lanes). All of this makes pushing for BRT very difficult. Do you want something like RapidRide, which is BRT in name only, or do you want something like Madison BRT, which is largely separated from traffic? Or do you want something with even more separation?
I forget who suggested it, but I think (politically) the big thing to push for is busways. A busway means a certain thing. It means a lane that only buses can travel in. That, to me, is the big appeal to the WSTT. You build that and you know that the central part of your system is covered. Even if nothing is done outside it (which seems unlikely) you would still have good speeds (and good frequency) through your core. Other things — like off board payment, level boarding, or buses with dual sided doors — already exist, or will exist shortly, so that part is easy to understand. I think if you promised West Seattle a busway from the major entrances to the freeway all the way to (and through) the tunnel, I think people would support it. They would certainly support it over "BRT". The same is true for areas of the east side (e. g. Eastgate to downtown Bellevue).
I could easily see, as you put it so well, shifting from building rail to operating productive rail I could also see us focusing on building busways, as opposed to simply calling something BRT. The former means focusing rail on areas where they make sense. But both are focused on building, not operating. Of course you need money for operations, but that really is dirt cheap, compared to the construction costs. Buying, maintaining, and running the buses costs millions, not billions. Build the WSTT, for example, and Metro just runs RapidRide buses through there (running in off board mode through the tunnel). They would save a fortune, just with the current schedules. Which means, of course, that you could easily meet demand by increasing frequency (at no extra cost).
I do think it is possible that people will come to this realization before 2030, but I wouldn't bet on it. It would take political will, and so far I've yet to see anyone with any political power say that the emperor has no clothes. They do behind closed doors, of course. They point out how ridiculous extending the spine is, while wondering why no one seriously considered building the Ballard to UW line. But no one has the guts to stand on record and point out the shortcomings of this proposal. They like bits and pieces (I do too) but they rarely focus on the weaknesses, which dominate the spending. I think it is highly unlikely that there will be a movement to stop the construction if this passes. It would require legal action, or another vote. Neither seems likely.
My guess is that people need to see things before they accept them. We have a great example of a great busway, but in a few years it will only carry a train, and people will soon forget how it used to carry so many buses. Meanwhile, the train extensions we are about to build *will be* really nice. East Link and Northgate Link will be great. Lynnwood Link goes a bit farther than it needs to, but it too should be a big improvement (Northgate makes a terrible terminus). About the only area where folks are likely to doubt the effectiveness of rail is down south. In 2024, Federal Way will have light rail, and a lot of people down there will miss their (faster) buses. Others will wonder why we spent so much money when so few people ride the train. Seattle will have several "BRT" projects by then, and ST will have its first one (of any substance) which is 145th BRT. Attitudes might start to change then.
But mainly in the south end. Areas to the north and east will be excited (for good reason) about the rail they just built, so I wouldn't blame them for thinking the more the better (regardless of location). I doubt you will be able to stop West Seattle rail by then, as folks will point out the differences (and there are plenty) as opposed to the bigger theme (rail isn't always the best choice). It would be silly to try and stop Ballard to downtown, the best project for ST3. But I could see other projects getting some blow back. But I see a couple problems. First, Tacoma and Everett feel like they "deserve it", and that probably won't change. Despite low ridership from Federal Way, they will feel they are different (just as West Seattle does). They aren't suburbs, after all, they are cities. Construction may have already started anyway (although I don't know the schedule).
Which means that the Issaquah project may be the only one that gets axed. I still doubt it though. If ST3 passes, we are likely to build everything, even if alternatives would be much better.
"My guess is that people need to see things before they accept them."
Yes. Originally Link was going to have a lot more surface routing (Mt Baker to SeaTac and beyond). The highest priority was low capital costs like other American light rail systems, believing that people wouldn't vote for anything more expensive. But one by one the neighborhoods asked for grade separation and some of them got it. When Link started its signal priority in MLK was pretty bad, but that was ironed out in the first year and now I'd say MLK is performing better than I expected. As people saw and rode the train, they started thinking of it as a possibility in their community. As McGinn said when he was in office, the biggest question he got is, "When's it coming to my neighborhood?" With ST2 and 3, support for grade separation is so strong it has become the norm. (By separation I mean no level crossings. Technically it's at-grade in Shoreline and south King County because it's on the ground, but because there are underpasses it doesn't matter.) If we'd had this level of public support for quality at the beginning, things would have been designed differently. Just like if ST had been so TOD minded then as it is now, the first phase station areas would have been different. As Rainier Valley shows, being first often means getting the worst.
"Construction may have already started anyway (although I don't know the schedule)."
Only the conceptual corridors have been chosen, basically the must-serve areas. They still have to go through an EIS which will take a few years, and the alignment might change then. Also, there has been no money or authorization for construction in Tacoma or Everett yet.
I had occasion Saturday when I would have used Issaquah Link, had it existed. I was hiking Tiger Mountain and traveling to Issaquah from Bellevue Transit Center. As it was, I ended up riding Lyft to Eastgate Freeway Station and hopping on the 554 from there (since the route 240 connection would have required a 25 minute wait).
I even had a brief period several years ago where I would have used the provisional Lakemont Station to commute to work. There actually are a fair number of apartments in the area, plus the Mountains to Sound Greenway for bike access.
Of course, the real test for the usability of this line is going to be how frequently it runs. I don't think it will be rush hour only because the 554, today, is not rush hour only. The question is, will it run all-day every 10 minutes or every 30 minutes? And, will it run late enough in the evening to allow someone attending a 7 PM Mariners game to get home without having to leave early (or drive to South Bellevue)?
The last time I went to the Issaquah Highlands to explore the new urbanism, afterward I wanted to go to mid Bellevue (east of the TC) and I had a time constraint (about an hour). With the long ride from the Highlands to Issaquah TC, the long wait for the hourly 271, and the 45 minutes it takes to crawl to Bellevue TC, it was faster and more frequent to take the 554 to Mercer Island and backtrack on the 550 to Bellevue. That reminded me of high school when I lived on Somerset for a year and found it was sometimes quicker to take the 210 to Mercer Island and transfer to the 226/235 to go back to Bellevue high school rather than taking the 252 which was a one-seat ride (with a longer walk). So the current bus structure is really not set up for going from Issaquah to Bellevue or Crossroads; it inventivizes you to transfer at Mercer Island.
EHS says:
As others have said, it's a combination of topography and trying to string together a number of dense and/or developable areas. That upside-down U s a ridership killer.
I wonder if mainline Link could be extended some day to the other side of that Tacoma Link U? It would make the western arm of the U, and the line beyond that, vastly more useful.
Edit: wrong thread. :-/
Bus service is not that great to Issaquah because ridership is not that great. The 555 and 556 combined get about 150 people a day from the main Issaquah stop and about 125 from the Highlands. Most get off in downtown Bellevue but about a third keep riding (to the U-District). Issaquah to Seattle is better, but still very low. About 500 people a day from the main Issaquah stop, and about 200 before then (mostly the Highlands).
With that kind of ridership, if it was a Metro run, I think these buses would be on the chopping block (or at least be a candidate for truncation at Eastgate). The subsidy is very high. I think half hour runs are a given, and ST would be losing a lot of money even doing that.
What is the Tacoma Link extension trying to accomplish, exactly? The routing for anyone headed to downtown Tacoma is totally ridiculous. And the routing is mostly in traffic… at a cost of approx $500M. Is this really the best we can do?
It's hard to say. I look at it and think, "Wouldn't I just take a 12th Street bus over the hill?" The map also looks incorrect because ST3 is funding it all the way to the current terminus, unless the Stadium/MLK segment was advanced into ST2's budget. The reason for the line seems to be (1) Tacoma wants a branched Link network so the Stadium segment will eventually be used by multiple lines, (2) light rail can't climb hills so it has to go around the downtown Tacoma hill, and (3) it will bring investment to MLK which is a low-income area like Rainier Valley was.
That assumes that the Tacoma Dome is downtown. It's actually a parking structure. Downtown Tacoma is the top end of the loop.
Donde Groovily says:
Stadium and MLK are part of ST2 and will be done around 2019, I think.
As far as why that routing, not 1 (anytime soon), but definitively 2 and 3.
As far as a 12th St bus, got an hour to wait?
Downtown Tacoma to me is South 9th to 19th Streets, so you'd have to go all the way around the loop and further to get to the offices and UW Tacoma. But maybe we can say that ten blocks of backtracking is not enough to worry about.
When I was in Tacoma one summer, the 6th Ave and 19th Street buses were half-hourly and the 12th Street buses were 15 minutes. That may have changed now but that's why I assumed 12th. I was about to say 19th, where it would be even more advantageous to skip the U, but the 19th Avenue bus might be deleted when Link opens.
Engineer says:
Topography is a major challenge in Tacoma. The routing hits up both major hospitals (the TG/Mary Bridge/Group Health campus and almost-as-big St. Joe). That circuitous loop traverses the steep hill gradually, at a rate that can be accommodated by rail, via Stadium District, where it also picks up Stadium HS and a high-density and growing neighborhood (by Tacoma standards). If you were to short-circuit that loop, it would be like taking light rail straight down James Street or Queen Anne Ave in Seattle, for example. Not feasible. Also, the loop provides connections throughout the downtown core, similar to the tunnel in downtown Seattle. Now, let's say they just went straight west from the top of the loop down Division/6th Ave. The corridor is so narrow and built-up, that they would literally be condemning dozens if not hundreds of businesses to build it. Not feasible. The 19th corridor allows the alignment to hit up St. Joe hospital and run down the much wider and much less developed 19th St. 19th St is rip for redevelopment, lots of run-down homes. There's also the Tacoma Central shopping center, Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma Community College, and lots of multi-family housing along 19th. So, it was a balance of choosing the better, lower-cost corridor, traversing the hill, and hitting as many large traffic generators as possible. 19th being under-developed is a bonus, like running light rail down MLK in Seattle. I'm not in the loop as part of the decision making in any capacity, but as a Tacoma commuter and engineer, these are my speculations as to why they chose that alignment. It really makes sense, in my opinion.
it would be like taking light rail straight down James Street or Queen Anne Ave in Seattle, for example
More like descending Queen Anne Hill on Dravus. It gets you don't the hill faster, but it doesn't get you want you want. It gets you to the industrial center of Interbay, and a not-half-bad Irish style pub, but not much for a transit base is really there.
If you go straight up the hill on 19th, you get quite a lot of not much while making the loop further north gives you lots of stuff that isn't further south.
For Sixth Ave, a better solution might be to remove street parking to extend Pacific Avenue BRT to the rest of Route 1
Bob, removing street parking on 6th Ave is completely unrealistic. Most of Tacoma does not have transit, period, let alone the rest of Pierce County. If ST and PT were working in concert with each other, it could be a possibility, but since PC voters can't seem to pass a transit bond, right now that isn't realistic. Removing the street parking would kill the business district. A much higher need right now is to simply get transit in Tacoma. You know, something more than a bus every 90 minutes on a two- or three-mile grid.
6th Ave BRT – Convert parallel residential streets to bus corridors, only allowing buses and local traffic:
Run a BRT on S 9th for downtown/Hilltop (only 3 blocks away from 6th, with areas north covered by Link)
Then on S 8th as far as Pine (2 blocks away)
Then on S 7th all the way to Orchard (1 block away, the gaps on this street are all on city-owned property)
West of Orchard, 6th has enough width for bus lanes.
They can't go straight up the hill, that would be like climbing Queen Anne, not possible with light rail. Also, hits up three hospitals (TG/Allenmore/St Joe), Stadium HS, TCC, Tacoma Central Shopping Center. 19th St is a good pick because it is straight, wide, and somewhat underdeveloped, so there won't be a need for tons of condemnations.
David B. says:
"that would be like climbing Queen Anne, not possible with light rail"
Totally possible with a streetcar, given that it was actually done.
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3027
It's not as high, so they might be able to do a more gradual tunnel or something.
poncho says:
Yes, what was needed is a tunnel like the East Side Bus Tunnel in Providence, a former streetcar tunnel built at a gradual incline to avoid the steep grades of the surface streets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_Trolley_Tunnel
This Tacoma streetcar has some crazy routing to require a deviation so far to the north
It hits lots of destinations: 3 hospitals, a huge high school, Stadium District, the entire downtown, and two colleges. 19th is a good road – very wide with few obstructions, so little right of way take. Also, they couldn't have run straight up the hill, that would have been like going straight up Queen Anne.
Chris Cee says:
The United States is the only country in the world still building new streetcar lines (and that's what Tacoma LINK is, a streetcar line) in mixed-use traffic. Is there something great about that the rest of the world doesn't know?
Chris, I agree, streetcars are far inferior to true rapid transit (i.e. grade separated light rail). Right now Tacoma doesn't even have decent bus service, which almost every major city in the world does have. It is quite pathetic. A streetcar/light rail extension for Tacoma (beyond downtown and into a residential area) would be a huge win and would, hopefully, induce enough ridership to garner support for transit levies down here.
South Sounder question – how is the measure legally worded regarding South Sounder. Does ST have authority to divert the platform extensions to other improvements? After all, with enough trains, you won't need the platform expansions at all.
It's commuter rail, so you'd never see something like trains every 10 minutes like you would light rail. Even with frequent trains, you'd want the long trains for special events and peak-of-peak service, like a train leaving King station at 5.30pm.
Toronto's commuter rail is going to be running every 15 minutes both directions all-day in under a decade. It's not quite every 10 minutes, but it's close.
Fair enough, and that would be great, but I think ST is working under a vision of trains every ~30 minutes, in which case you want bigger trains.
Why frequent service on Sounder wouldn't work: "Rider Alert: Southline train 1510 (6:46 am Lakewood departure) is being delayed approximately 10 -15 minutes north of Tukwila due to freight interference. We apologize for any inconvenience."
This is a daily occurrence. They would have to triple or quadruple track the entire line shared with BNSF.
ST's goal is hourly, said Rogoff at the early June board meeting. That's the best they're hoping for now. Others like myself have suggested 30-minute service to really transform how south-central King County gets around, but ST has never officially acknowledged that idea.
Would be nice if a lot of the freight could be re-routed onto the parallel rail line that runs from Tacoma Dome to South Center Mall where it links in with the BNSF main line. That other line bypasses a lot of the small downtowns too. Maybe Sound Transit should fix up that other line to get much of the freight out of the way?
That would be nice but it's owned by Union Pacific so BNSF probably doesn't want to lose the freight revenue. There have been unofficial suggestions that the state should buy the BNSF line outright and shift most freight to the UP line, but the state hasn't shown any interest, nor is there evidence that BNSF is willing to sell or would charge an affordable price. But it would be good if the state tried it.
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You are here: Home / Articles / Local Dancers Aim for the Stars
Local Dancers Aim for the Stars
October 22, 2015 By editor
The Forbes Dancing With the Stars charity event is fast approaching and twenty local identities are nervously and excitedly preparing their routines for the big night. Local farmer and passionate dancer, Noel Fuge, is one of the contestants and is looking forward to showing off his dance moves.
"I was very dubious about it, but the more I get into it, I'm really enjoying it," he said. "We started off a bit wary, but the people organising it are putting so much into it so I feel we should try hard and put our bit into it as well."
Like many people, Noel's life has also been touched in some way by cancer, and with all profits from the event going to Can Assist Forbes, this is a cause close to Noel's heart. "Two of my best mates just passed away from cancer," Noel says. "We were the same age and I grew up with both of them."
Noel's dancing partner for the event, Denise Jelbart, said when she received a phone call asking if she would like to take part in a charity event for Can Assist, she jumped at the chance. "I'm a breast cancer survivor and I'm twenty years down the track from having cancer. They helped us a lot in regards to travel and they were great," said Denise.
"I'm dedicating my dance to all the breast cancer survivors in the Forbes area. I thought, why not give it to the living; the ones who have survived – the ones in my boat." "It will be unique and I'm looking forward to dancing with Noel because he is a great dancer and a great person."
Tickets for Dancing With the Stars are on sale now at the Forbes Services Memorial Club.


text:
DANI MASTERSON
American Taps Girl
MEET DANI
HISTORY OF TAPS
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The tune is a variation of an earlier bugle call known as the "Scott Tattoo", which was used in the U.S. from 1835 until 1860 and was arranged in its present form by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general and Medal of Honor recipient who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac while at Harrison's Landing, Virginia, in July 1862 to replace a previous French bugle call used to signal "lights out". Butterfield's bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, of East Springfield, Pennsylvania, was the first to sound the new call. Within months "Taps" was used by both Union and Confederate forces. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874.
"Taps" concludes many military funerals conducted with honors at Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere in the United States. The tune is also sounded at many memorial services in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater and at grave sites throughout the cemetery.
Captain John C. Tidball, West Point Class of 1848, started the custom of playing "Taps" at military funerals. In early July 1862 at Harrison's Landing, a corporal of Tidball's Battery A, 2nd U. S.. Artillery, died. He was, Tidball recalled later, "a most excellent man". Tidball wished to bury him with full military honors, but, for military reasons, he was refused permission to fire three guns over the grave. Tidball later wrote, "The thought suggested itself to me to sound taps instead, which I did. The idea was taken up by others, until in a short time it was adopted by the entire army and is now looked upon as the most appropriate and touching part of a military funeral." As Tidball proudly proclaimed, "Battery A has the honor of having introduced this custom into the service, and it is worthy of historical note."
It became a standard component to U.S. military funerals in 1891. "Taps" is sounded during each of the military wreath ceremonies conducted at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every year, including the ones held on Memorial Day. The ceremonies are viewed by many people, including veterans, school groups, and foreign officials. "Taps" also is sounded nightly in military installations at non-deployed locations to indicate that it is "lights out", and often by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides to mark the end of an evening event such as a campfire.
~~ Wikipedia
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NY STATE DIRECTOR
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Mitchell has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, and he specializes in the development and evaluation of infusion services.
Mitchell completed his BS at Oklahoma State University in Economics and Marketing and received his Master of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma, Health Sciences Center, with an emphasis in healthcare economics, bio-statistics, and health administration. As part of his graduate studies, Mitchell completed an administrative residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked on the development of a multi-disciplinary department of Pain Medicine.
After leaving Baltimore, Mitchell spent two years with a start-up insurance company as a senior health analyst and actuary and two years as a senior health analyst at Hillcrest Healthcare System in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
During the next seven years, Mitchell worked in Dallas, Texas, with Baylor Healthcare System and related physician practices as a data driven turnaround management architect. Mitchell currently serves on national health policy development initiatives. Additionally, he is experienced in neurology, oncology, infectious diseases and other specialties. Mitchell was chosen as a 2014 National Rural Health Association Fellows.
Community Infusion Solutions develops outpatient infusion programs specifically designed to serve small and rural healthcare facilities.
© 2019 Community Infusion Solutions. Site by Presley Design Studio.


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We additionally provide efficient financial guidelines for obtaining easy education loans. Our overseas education experts will prepare you for the mock interviews of visa processing. Simply, we assist you in the selection of the most suitable overseas education programs. Our services comprise updated elements for Overseas Education. Apart from Overseas MBBS, Eklavya Overseas possesses a team of expert foreign education counselors to introduce you the exclusive international programs like Study MBA in Europe, MBA Abroad at similar to MBA fee in India at the premier management colleges as well as free Education in Germany, i.e. Study in Germany for free. For Admission to MBBS in Foreign Countries, you may rely on Eklavya Overseas as we are the singular Education Consultants in Delhi, India.
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1 of 171 transformers across Russia
RZD Logistics (RZDL) recently delivered a 175 t, 4 m high voltage transformer for a thermal power plant by rail from the St Petersburg region to Krasnoyarsk, central Siberia. Special preparations had to be made for the transport, such as loading, securing and reloading the... more
17 new vehicles in operation
TDW Distribution, a carriers of palletised freight based in Bridgend, Wales (UK), has upgraded its fleet with two new Volvo FE 280 6x2 rigids. The new vehicles will be used to deliver insulation products to central London. In addition to these units, TDW acquired another 15... more
More trains between the Netherlands and Italy
The Swiss intermodal operator Hupac is increasing frequencies on its Rotterdam–Pordenone route. From 12 December the shuttle train between the Netherlands and northern Italy will operate five round trips a week, up from three. According to Hupac, the intermodal connection... more
Inland service for imports into Oman and Yemen
Maersk and the Omani port of Salalah are launching a new truck service to the Al-Mazyouna free zone in Oman. Designed to facilitate inland services, the new offer includes secure customs clearances and bonded trucking between Salalah and the Al-Mazyouna free zone under carrier... more
Northwestern Russian terminal doubles capacities
The company TransContainer (part of Delo Group) has completed the renovation of its terminal at the Kirov Kotlassky station. Renovation continued from 2020 through 2022. The terminal kept operating and marshalling container trains on a regular basis throughout that period. As... more
US forwarder broadens range
A. Duie Pyle, a 98-year-old family-owned and operated provider of supply chain solutions, is bringing its services to the US state of West Virginia. The company is expanding its supply chain solutions to strengthen routes and goods transport. The service move into West... more
Electric trucks for intra-urban deliveries
Heppner, a provider of logistics solutions specialising in transports to and from France, is planning to integrate a first batch of 16 fully electric commercial vehicles into its fleet. The 16 t and 18 t trucks manufactured by Volta Trucks will be deployed for deliveries in... more
Best ever loading achieved
India's Central Railway (CR) transported freight loads of 50.93 million t during the period April to November 2022. This figure represents the best ever freight loading and an uptick of 6.46% compared to the same period in 2021, which recorded a total load of 47.84 million t.... more
BASF first client of 'Chemical Trusted Carrier'
Trusted Carrier (TC), newly formed in mid-2021 by BGL, Germany's national association for road freight transportation, logistics and waste management, has achieved its first goals. TC, a cloud-based system to optimise data flows between transport companaies and shippers, has... more
Giornico centre says 'Buongiorno!' to trucks
A new 'Heavy Goods Vehicle Control Centre' officially went into operation in Ticino, after the ceremonial opening event was held on Friday, 2 December 2022. Built on the site of a disused steelworks, it complements a centre in Ripshausen in the canton of Uri, and is one of 13... more
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An H-6K bomber during an exercise. YANG JUN/XINHUA
An elite bomber unit of the People"s Liberation Army Air Force sent 12 H-6K bombers on Monday on a long-range combat training mission that is believed to be the Air Force"s largest deployment of bombers in a single operation in recent years.
The unidentified bomber division, based in Shaanxi province, conducted the training to hone its strategic strike capability, a statement published by the Air Force on Tuesday said without elaborating.
Photographs released by the Air Force showed the bombers flying above what appeared to be bodies of water and islands.
Sources close to the Air Force told China Daily that it was the largest deployment of bombers in a single mission in at least a decade, noting that such a big formation "would be capable of carrying 72 land-attack cruise missiles to make a devastating strike".
Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, the Air Force"s spokesman, was quoted in the statement as saying that pilots in the division have been training to carry out missions around the clock.
The division, which was visited three years ago by President Xi Jinping, who also serves as chairman of the Central Military Commission, has performed several long-range training operations over the western Pacific Ocean over the past three years and handled "interference" by foreign military planes during some of the operations. The unit has also conducted drills over the South China Sea, the statement said.
Hao Jianke, commander of the division, said that his pilots will continue to conduct exercises over the ocean regardless of foreign militaries" interference and hindrance.
In another development, the Air Force said that it sent several H-6Ks, Su-30 fighter jets, refueling planes and reconnaissance aircraft over the Bashi Channel and conducted combat drills over the western Pacific on Monday. It added that this was part of an annual training plan and was not aimed at any specific nation.
The exercises are the latest in a host of long-distance combat training operations by the Air Force over the past several months.
Earlier last week, a group of aircraft including H-6K bombers and Su-30 fighters flew over the Miyako Strait and conducted combat drills over the western Pacific to verify long-range operational capabilities. At the same time, another group of bombers, Su-35 fighter jets and other aircraft conducted a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea, practicing aerial maneuvers and strike tactics at sea.
The Air Force began performing long-range drills over the ocean in March 2015 and has organized dozens of such operations since.
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The most common therapeutic procedure performed by doctors of chiropractic is known as spinal manipulation, also called chiropractic adjustment. The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile or restricted in their movement as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function for the sufferer. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.
Doctors of chiropractic may assess patients through clinical examination, laboratory testing, diagnostic imaging and other diagnostic interventions to determine when chiropractic treatment is appropriate or when it is not appropriate. Chiropractors will readily refer patients to the appropriate health care provider when chiropractic care is not suitable for the patients condition, or the condition warrants co-management in conjunction with other members of the health care team.


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end

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end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


UNCW has received a prestigious external accreditation from the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation to offer both an undergraduate and graduate certificate in geospatial intelligence starting this fall. This accreditation came after a significant self-study report, site visit and external peer review of UNCW's program. With this accreditation, UNCW becomes one of only 17 USGIF-accredited colleges and universities in the nation.
With accreditation at both the undergraduate and graduate level, UNCW can offer students enhanced educational opportunities and more marketable skills, providing them with a competitive edge in today's workforce.
UNCW is also the first USGIF-accredited institution with an ocean and coastal GEOINT focus, providing program graduates with additional career opportunities. Advancing academic programming and preparing students for post-graduate success are both key priorities of the university's Strategic Plan.
Only two other universities had GEOINT programs that were accredited by USGIF this year, North Carolina Central University and the University of Maryland College Park.
For additional information about the program or to enroll in the GEOINT Certificate at UNCW, please contact Program Director Narcisa Pricope or Deputy Director Eman Ghoneim.


The problem with writing is that sometimes, when you lose yourself, your ability to write gets lost as well. And you end up writing, not from your heart, but just words, the one next to the other, with no soul of their own, just like tasteless supermarket carrots placed on a plate, boiled, and served without any herbs or spices- not to mention any butter. So what does a writer do at these moments, which may turn into months, dear reader? I m not sure what writers usually do, but at times like this, a walk to the weekly farmers' market in Athens is what brings me peace. Growing up, we never used to go to the farmers' market – our house was far away. But when I moved to the city centre, the market is just up the road. On Tuesday mornings sellers gather from early dawn and set up (I assume that is the case, because I am always asleep at that time). I like going towards the end, at three in the afternoon. It is quieter then, and, unless you need something specific and are worried if it will still be on offer, it is the time where sellers are more relaxed and fruits and vegetables are much cheaper.
I start by walking up and down twice, a routine that I now always follow, to protect me from buying a bag of oranges, only to discover the same oranges a few stalls down for a much lower price. The sellers yell at me as they see me without any shopping bags, "hey, girl, don't you need lemons?" I'm quite happy to be called "girl" and not "lady", so I will most probably buy those lemons. After my exploratory walk and a few mental notes on which items I need/want/look-really-interesting, every week I find myself coming home with the following items: something I need (like beetroots for the last batch of roasted winter vegetables), something I don't need, but was so cheap it would be a pity not to have (this week it was a large bag of apples and pears for half a euro which became a few jars of jam, after peeling, cubing and stewing the fruit with sugar and a vanilla pod), and something which I have never cooked before but looks extremely interesting and the seller usually says is really easy to prepare (like bright yellow aromatic bergamots last week).
On my way home, I carry many plastic bags with groceries and I hear the sellers packing up and driving away, leaving the corners of the street with fruits and vegetables which are beginning to rot, waiting to be collected by the garbage men and, more recently, by people in need. There is a cool breeze on my face but the sun is up and I know it is spring because the first peas just appeared. Although some strawberries may appear in the middle of February dear reader (this was really confusing), you can always tell if it is spring, summer, autumn or winter, just by walking around an Athenian farmers' market.
But back to our bergamot story. The bergamot seller, an older man with rough hands, dirty teeth and fuzzy hair looked intimidating at first (they always do). But, putting my embarrassment aside and thinking that I am an anthropologist on fieldwork and asking questions appearing clueless is something I do on a daily basis anyway, I shyly ask if I need to squeeze the bergamots like lemons and get their juice. A valid question, dear reader, since bergamots look like large, rough lemons. Nooooo, the seller says, you NEVER squeeze them.
He looks at me like I am the only person in Greece (in the world?) who doesn't know what to do with bergamots, he then smiles, probably realising that I am getting more interested with his produce than I was before (a lemon-like fruit which you don't squeeze?!) and shares his recipe for a Greek sweet called "glyko tou koutalou", which entails scrubbing the fruit, removing the peel and discarding the inside (it is the peel that has all the aroma, he said), boiling the peel in water and repeating a few times to remove any bitterness, and finally stewing with sugar. The result is sweet aromatic pieces of thick bergamot peel in a sugary syrup. At least that is what I envision, given his detailed description.
You see, dear reader, the problem with these impulse buys at the market is that unless I catch the wave of excitement and prepare something as soon as I come back, like that delicious jam, the fruits and vegetables have a great chance of being left in the fridge for another week. And maybe another. And although I would like to have bergamot "gluko tou koutaliou" in my cupboard, I did make dry martinis flavoured with bergamot peel. The seller did say it is the peel that has all the aroma, right?


On the road to finding your bliss, you may lose a few teeth, hell, you might even lose your mind. I hope so – otherwise I'd swear I'd gone mad.
It ain't easy being an artist… Caught in the void of creativity and communication. It ain't easy at all… Just as well, I wouldn't have fought so hard for it if it was.
Being misunderstood can be a blessing and rejection can be a great thing. I'd spent years pitching my art to other galleries – all the while moving ever closer to my own.