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For example, our Maldon vets can work out if your pet is dehydrated, has underlying kidney disease or liver changes, and we can get lots of information about your pet's red and white blood cells. All of this helps diagnose any underlying health problems and ultimately will improve the level of care we can provide to your pet.
Most blood samples are taken from the jugular vein in the neck, which is large enough to provide a good sample and allows us to collect the blood as quickly as possible. This is important because blood will start to clot once it is exposed to the air, and this can affect the results.


Can't decide what to get for your mate to say thanks for looking after the cat? Looking for that perfect gift to swoon the coffee lover you're trying to hook up with? Your nightmare-to-buy-for brother turning 30? Well look no further – you can buy a gift voucher and let them make the call. Valid at our Finnieston coffee shop for Coffee, Food, Merchandise, Training, and Equipment.


Sheffield School of Aeronautics is one of the oldest aviation training institutions in the USA. It is the oldest, most experienced FAA-approved Aircraft Dispatcher school in the world and has been in continuous existence since 1948. In fact, Sheffield School has been training Aircraft Dispatchers longer than its top five competitors combined!
Since the school has been in existence for 70 years, our graduates are working for most every major domestic and foreign air carrier in the world. Many of these airlines call us directly when they need qualified dispatchers.
Due to our reputation in the aviation industry, we are recommended by such companies as: Delta, United, KLM, American, Virgin Australia, Cayman Airways, Shanghai/China Eastern, ExpressJet, Federal Express, UPS, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, United Technologies, Mobil Oil, Gulf Air, Atlantic Southeast, Comair, Mesaba, Horizon, American TransAir, and many others for Aircraft Dispatcher training. In fact, there are many companies which have told us they will hire only Sheffield graduates as dispatchers. But don't take our word for it…read what our Graduates say about the training they received while attending Sheffield School.
The school was founded Wilbur A. Sheffield in 1948. Since 1971, the traditions of Mr. Sheffield have been carried on by Ron Morris and his family. Sheffield School of Aeronautics was relocated from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale on July 1, 1986.
Sheffield School of Aeronautics have trained several thousand individuals for the Aircraft Dispatcher Certificate since 1948. These students are independent and are looking to continue their education and change their careers owed to their love of aviation. Read some of the testimonials to understand what Sheffield is all about.
We have provided more FAA and ICAO-sponsored training than any other school in the U.S.
Many airlines try to hire Sheffield graduates only. Well informed airlines prefer our graduates due to their comprehensive education attained in a rigorous course. The reasons are simple: time and money. Once a graduate is hired by an airline, their learning process continues. Airlines do not have the resources to retrain unqualified individuals who have been handed a license without earning the license. Scroll to a list of our customers.
We have had students from a variety of airlines attend our school. They were sent by their company or came independently. Here is a partial list of those companies including any airline that has used Sheffield for ab initio (certification), initial, transition, or recurrent training. If you notice your company or organization missing, please let me know and I will insert the name. Thank you.
Air Berlin – Air Cargo Germany – Air Dolomiti – Air Europe – Air Evac – AirFirst – Air Greenland – Air Italy – Air Jamaica – Airline Training Academy – Air Services, Inc.
JetBlue – JMC Airlines (formerly Flying Colours; from 03/03: Thomas Cook Airlines) – JM Family Enterprises, Inc.
Air Greenland training at Sheffield in January 2014!
I am licensed aircraft dispatcher having license from civil avaition (country). I am residing in (Middle East) and working in xxxxxxx airlines in ground operation. I wanted to convert my license from FAA and ETOPs certification as xxxxxxx airlines flight operations department is giving preference to those dispatcher who are holding FAA license and especially from your school. Please guide me, how can I convert my license and what will be the minimum cost (tuition + boarding and lodging fees) and how many days classroom training I require?


We face no greater challenge today than providing all of our children with a world-class education. I believe we can give them that education, if we all pull together in the same direction--in the direction of what we know works.
Today, President Clinton and Vice President Gore participated in the National Governors' Association meeting. In his address to the governors, the President reiterated his call for a new era of accountability in American education. The President also asked Congress to pass his agenda to give states the tools they need to provide all children with a world-class education.
Institute effective school discipline policies.
NATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN SUPPORT OF STATE REFORM. President Clinton also applauded the efforts that North Carolina, Michigan, Delaware, Pennsylvania, California and other states are making, under the leadership of committed governors, to implement these common-sense principles. The President called on all states to take similar steps to ensure that all of America's children reap the rewards of strengthened accountability. While states and school districts have made important progress in instituting rigorous academic standards, a great deal of work remains to be done to help schools, teachers and students meet those standards.
Only 26 states now require students to pass high school graduation exams, and far fewer have policies in place to require students to show that they have mastered the skills necessary to be promoted from grade to grade.
Just 19 states have policies to intervene in low-performing schools and turn them around.
And there are some 50,000 people teaching in America's schools on emergency teaching licenses--which means that they have not met the standards set by states for beginning teachers.
Provide new pathways to college for disadvantaged students.


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Dr No: Multiphase Turbulent Gas Clouds
Posted Friday 28th August 2020 Saturday 29th August 2020 Hector Drummond
This is an article about an influential BLM-supporting mask fanatic. It is written by Dr No, a medical doctor. It was originally published on Dr No's own excellent blog, Bad Medicine, which will provide you with much amusement and enlightenment should you to care to venture over there. (If you happen to be a medical doctor it is verging upon required reading.)
So incensed was Dr No on coming across a nonsense paper in the BMJ yesterday that he uncharacteristically dashed off a tweet denouncing the paper as 'more nonsense from the milk curdler'. The trouble with Twitter — and the reason Dr No generally avoids it for primary communications — is that a tweet is limited, to 280 characters to be precise, and so almost always bars reasoned argument. If reasoned argument is akin to steady breathing, then a tweet is akin to a multiphase turbulent gas cloud, as sneezes are now known among the cognoscenti. Such esoteric language leaves one wondering whether the humble naked fart is also a multiphase turbulent gas cloud among the cognoscenti — it seems entirely possible, along with the silent but deadly multiphase turbulent gas cloud — but for today's purposes we shall adopt the Yorkshire way, and call a sneeze a sneeze, for it is the study of sneezes that is the bedrock — or rather quicksand — that underlies the nonsense paper.
Before we get down to detail on sneezes, and the red, amber and green colour-coded 'guidance' table so derived, we might look at a few general points about the paper. The first is its authorship and provenance. The milk curdler on Twitter claims it as her own, and boasts that "It's already got the highest Altmetric score of any paper I've ever published". In fact, the milk curdler is listed as the fifth author of six in total, and is not the corresponding author – so the correct wording is "of any paper I've ever co-authored". We'll be charitable, and put the error down to over-stimulation caused by the discovery of the highest ever Altmetric score, or perhaps a Twitter slip. In reality, it seems, from a study of the paper's antecedents and references, that a chief, and perhaps the main, author, at least of the early sections is one Lydia Bourouiba, a professor in fluid dynamics at MIT. Indeed, early parts of the BMJ paper are remarkably similar to a sole-authored Bourouiba paper published in JAMA. In passing, we might also note that of the other four non-professorial authors, two are medical students, and the other two are a 'clinical researcher' and a 'clinical academic', role, rank and qualifications unspecified.
The other important general point is that the wording of the paper is almost entirely conjectural. It is larded with 'may this' and 'it seems likely that'. This sort of turgid prose is the smoke screen deployed when nothing is actually proved; instead, lots of possibles are conjectured. We can say, entirely truthfully, that Dr No may go to the moon, but that does nothing to prove Dr No has gone to the moon. The paper has exactly the same problem: lots of mays never amount to one jot of proof. The unspoken assumption — relied upon entirely in the traffic light table, which only applies to asymptomatic individuals — that asymptomatic carriers may spread SARS-CoV-2 is especially problematic, given the science on this very moot question remains inconclusive. Asymptomatic carriers may spread SARS-CoV-2, but that does not prove they do spread disease. Or maybe they do, but to a far lesser extent, given that, being asymptomatic, they are not sneezing… We simply don't know.
For the avoidance of doubt, Dr No's position remains that while it is may be possible to show the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in snot from asymptomatic carriers, that does not prove asymptomatic carriers are spreaders. They may be (despite not coughing and sneezing), they may be but only to a small (perhaps trivial in the wider scheme of things) extent, or they may not spread at all. We simply don't know, and it is not an easy question to answer, either by direct experiment (ethical problems), or by observational studies (biases aplenty).
And so to the sneezes. The paper relies heavily on two sneeze images. The first it demolishes as being far too old and fuddy-duddy for modern scientists to tolerate. Instead, it is overtaken by a second truly alarming image of sneeze ejecta — the esoteric term for snot — extending over a striking "7-8 m". This intriguing image — reproduced, with all but black top and bottom borders cropped, the interests of fair use and comment, as the image to this post — is just presented, as 'fact', but a dig around in the various sources and references fails to reveal the methodology employed to take the photo — how, for example, was the sneeze triggered — and the photo itself stands out as the one in which the subject — the sneezer geezer — is never visible. In the other photos, and videos, at least an outline of the subject can be made out, but not in Figure 2. This, along with the absent methodology, severely compromises the integrity of the image, which might, for all we know, be a multiphase turbulent gas cloud exiting the rear end of an elephant.
Adding to the strain on credibility is the immense volume of the cloud. The image shows it to be say 7-8m long, and so by scale about 2m across. Assuming — a not unreasonable assumption, and it's assumption more than good enough for our purposes — that the cloud is roughly cylindrical is shape, and that the droplets mark the extent of the sneezed air, then with a conservative diameter of one metres and a length of seven metres, then the volume of the cloud is a staggering 5.5 cubic metres. Boy, that is one helluva sneeze coming from a normal human, whose vital capacity (the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled after full inspiration) is likely to be between 3 to 4 litres. This means the sneeze cloud shown in the image is a mind-boggling 1500+ times larger than a normal vital capacity. In the absence of further and better particulars, Dr No suggests that, on the face of it, the image lacks credibility — and might just as well be a multiphase turbulent gas cloud exiting the rear end of an elephant for all we know.
And so finally to the traffic light table, the initial trigger for Dr No's ire. This bizarre, indeed ludicrous, image has all the hallmarks of being chiefly the product of a fevered mind recently engaged in having a bonfire of imagined straw men. It has more problems than a hydra has heads. The first and foremost is that it assumes — without this assumption it has no place — that asymptomatic and so not coughing and sneezing individuals are significant spreaders of SARS-CoV-2. This, as we have already established, is not a reliable assumption, not even by a long shot.
The second and almost as woeful feature is that it is by it own admission a guide to qualitative relative risk ("The grades are indicative of qualitative relative risk and do not represent a quantitative measure") which, in the absence of any quantification whatsoever, is entirely meaningless. It is the problem of relative risk — readers of the old Dr No badmed site will know Dr No takes a dim view of relative risk, preferring instead absolute risk — made extraordinary. There is no basis for assigning the colours. We have no conception of what low and high risk mean: one in a hundred, one in a thousand, or one in think a number, such that we have no way of deciding whether these are risks that should bother us. There is no way of knowing what shift in risk is indicated by a shift from green to amber or amber to red, or whether the scale is linear (each change of colour means the same shift in risk) or ordinal (they are just in order, small medium and big, but we no idea what the actual size or intervals are). Nonetheless, apparently a short shouty argument between two mask wearers locked in a poorly ventilated cellar carries the same sort of risk as a silent crowd of unmasked cricket spectators dozing through a sunny summer afternoon.
It's bunkum.
⟵David Clark's July graphs
Daphne Havercroft: Covid-19, frailty and the NHS contract with GPs⟶
6 thoughts on "Dr No: Multiphase Turbulent Gas Clouds"
David Moore says:
Saturday 29th August 2020 at 00:29
My first thought seeing that paper was if there was any credibility to it at all, why has the medical profession been recommending against masks for literately decades, yet some simple fluid mechanics seems to have turned it on it's head in an instant. With no underlying change.
Gavin Longmuir says:
Sunday 30th August 2020 at 00:01
Purely from a fluid mechanics point of view, surely the key issue is distance travelled by constrained versus unconstrained sneeze ejecta?
Not so many years ago, when an individual felt a sneeze coming on, he would turn away from companions, pull out a handkerchief, and sneeze into said handkerchief. Distance traveled by ejecta — minor.
That behavior probably sounds quaint to the denizens of someplace like San Francisco, where it is socially acceptable to defecate in the street and to throw one's used hypodermic needle into the children's playground. But the old ways worked. Maybe it is time to bring them back?
Is the modern decline in civility costing lives? We have learned that politicians & bureaucrats can impose behaviors such as wearing masks on a generally compliant public. Should those same politicians & bureaucrats instead impose old-fashioned standards of public behavior? If it saves one life ….
John Church says:
The scale on the picture (stating 7-8m) is a bit of a red flag. The marked distance is shown as absolutely precise, So why is it marked as 7 to 8 m ? Either it is 7 , or 8, or maybe 7.5. Or just a cool image that someone then drew a precise line on, and guesstimated it between 7 and 8 m. Total crap.
Pcar says:
I had read paper before seeing this and was not impressed
..the traffic light table, the initial trigger for Dr No's ire..
Same with me, made me go back and re-read all. Figure 3 is all "may, might, could, estimates" to support face masks.
Also, the asymptomatic – only ref to actual spreading was symptomatic spreader in choir. Evidence indicates asymptomatic don't spread C-19 – my thought is because their immune system has killed virus and only dead particles spreaded
This paper is why so many not trusting "experts"
Instead of publishing rubbish like this, the BMA should be publishing factual, positive articles and urging Doctors & GPs to resume normal and see & treat their patients
@Hector
I'd like to see something about Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) fogging and NHS/GPs not using it – quick, easy, cheap
HOCL is what foreign are spraying over everything & everyone
Dave Patterson says:
Sunday 6th September 2020 at 03:49
I agree with you generally, and am totally against all imposed 'health measures' as being completely useless for what is nothing more than the flu we deal with regularly – but your sneeze volume analysis seems off – in the lungs the air is compact, after sneezing it expands, think of a small bottle of aerosol of any kind, a few ounces in the bottle, but you can spray it around a very large area
Bloke in Germany says:
Wednesday 9th September 2020 at 15:12
Gavin,
Day 1 training in any NHS job is (was in my day), for everyone from the cleaner to the consultant, sneeze into flexed elbow, not into hand. Alongside how to wash hands, and various other things. I still do this as an ingrained habit, and have endured many years of people staring and pointing as if I was some strange creature performing some other-worldly rite. Now the whole world knows it's the only way to sneeze.
And it's not as if there is any shortage of single-use handkerchief-like paper products in any hospital in the first world.
Dave, there's no noteworthy difference in volume occupied by a certain mass of air inside or outside of the human lung. The pressure differentials created are fairly trivial.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) sought on Thursday the details of assets of Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) administrator and retired vice-chancellor of the King Edward Medical University Prof Dr Faisal Masood.
Prof Masood appeared before a NAB team and remained with them for a couple of hours in the provincial headquarter of the bureau in Lahore.
NAB initiated a probe into a hefty salary package and perks and privileges Prof Masood is drawing as the head of the Punjab HOTA. The NAB team questioned Prof Masood about his assets he has made since he assumed administrative positions in public health institutions in Punjab during the tenure of the PML-N government.
An official said NAB officials asked Prof Masood about the details of his bank accounts, national identity cards of his family members, his qualifications and job details.
He was also questioned about the salary packages he was offered besides other details pertaining to his financial transactions.
The team also asked him about the authority which had recommended him for HOTA director general/administrator post and the salary package.
The Punjab government appointed Prof Masood the PHOTA administrator/director general in April 2017. NAB directed him to appear before the investigating officers on Thursday with a notification.


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In the News Recent News A beloved African-American neighborhood navigates its economic and environmental future
A beloved African-American neighborhood navigates its economic and environmental future
A photo essay on Turner Station in Baltimore, Maryland
Gabrielle Diggs, left, and twins Braylon and Amare Nelson, right, play tug-of-war during Turner Station's Juneteenth Party at Turner Station Park. Behind them lies Peach Orchard Cove. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
by Ethan Weston
Once a thriving steel town, Turner Station now faces the same uncertain future as many other post-industrial towns across the United States. Turner Station is unique, though. It is a historically Black community in Baltimore County—one of the few remaining of the forty or so Black communities founded in the county after the end of the Civil War and during segregation. As manufacturing declined, and desegregation allowed young people to seek life outside of the town, Turner Station began to shrink. When the steel mill finally shut down, it left behind a huge industrial brownfield site and a nearby creek that was so badly polluted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may declare it a federal Superfund site. Now, lifelong residents as well as transplants who fell in love with the town's familial community are working to help the town navigate the future while preserving the things which make Turner Station unique.
Founded sometime in the late 19th century, Turner Station grew out of a need for Black mill workers to have a place to live while the country remained segregated.
"[During the Great Migration] people came this way to get jobs at Bethlehem Steel … It kind of started it all here," said Mary Coleman, a town historian.
Coleman describes how the first Black people to live in what is now Turner Station lived in "lean-tos," but it quickly developed into a town.
"The people were very forward looking," Coleman said. "They weren't just about staying in their lane."
The community that grew up in Turner Station was a strong one, and largely insular because of segregation, according to Coleman.
Courtney Speed, a local advocate for the town, moved to Turner Station in the 1960s.
"When I came here [with my husband] everybody was mom, pop, aunt, uncle or cousin, not biologically, but spiritually," Speed said.
That feeling of togetherness carries over to today. Community events, like this year's first ever Juneteenth Party, are well attended and well loved by residents. And former residents return to Turner Station all the time—for church, for celebrations or to help out former neighbors and friends.
"If you put out the call, people that used to live here will show up," Coleman said. "That heart and soul is still here."
A group of women dance at Turner Station's Juneteenth Party on June 19, 2021 in Turner Station Park. "We wanted to tell people to put your guns down and love one another," said Chanetta Reed, one of the event organizers (not pictured). "That's why we did this, so we could love on one another. … This is my community." (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Erick Portillo, left, his father Angel Romero, center, and his sister Kayri Portillo fish in Bear Creek under the Francis Scott Key Bridge on July 16, 2021 at Fleming Park in Turner Station, Md. The family has lived in Turner Station for three years. "This is something we like to do as a family," Kayri Portillo said. "It's peaceful and quiet and really pretty." (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Everyone in Turner Station knows Courtney Speed. Speed moved to Turner Station with her husband in the 1960s and fell in love with the familial atmosphere of the town. "When I came here everybody was mom, pop, aunt, uncle or cousin, not biologically, but spiritually," Speed said. Speed is a major advocate for Turner Station and works to revitalize the town through many outlets, including promoting some of Turner Station's famous former residents such as Henrietta Lacks. (Photo By Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Jeremiah Dixon, 10, rides a horse down Main Street on August 7, 2021 in Turner Station, Md. The horse was there as part of the community's annual homecoming day event which saw residents past and present gather at the old Veterans of Foreign Wars building to swap stories about Turner Station of old, and talk about their hopes for the community's future. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
LuAnn Dillard raises her hands in praise during outdoor church service on July 11, 2021 at the Greater St. John's Baptist Church in Turner Station, Md. "I've been here well over 50 years," Dillard said. "I moved away but still keep coming down here for church." This was Dillard's family church so she keeps coming back. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Bethlehem Steel
For years the Bethlehem Steel mill at Sparrows Point provided livelihoods for many in Turner Station. The steel mill was located just across Bear Creek from Turner Station on Sparrows Point, and at one point was the largest iron, steel and tin producer in the world.
"We could hear the making of steel," Larry Bannerman, a life-long Turner Station resident, said. "Whistles going off … it was all day, everyday noise."
While the mill provided work for town residents, it also caused problems. Bannerman remembers people having to rewash clothes because soot from the mill would dirty them when hung out to dry. Worse, he remembers the way it affected the health of his father who worked there.
"He would have to take a break halfway up [the stairs] to catch his breath," Bannerman said.
Bannerman said that seeing his father's declining health is one of the reasons he didn't go to work for Bethlehem Steel when he got old enough.
For over 80 years, Bethlehem Steel operated the Sparrows Point Steel Mill just across Bear Creek from Turner Station. The mill produced iron, steel and built ships. "There was 24/7 noise," said Larry Bannerman. "We could hear them making the steel. Whistles going off … It was all day, everyday noise." (Photo from Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives)
Where there was once the Bethlehem Steel Mill there are now warehouses. TradePoint Atlantic bought Sparrows Point back in 2014 and has been leasing out land to different companies since. According to Aaron Tomarchio, Trade Point Atlantic's vice president of corporate affairs, each new development site is studied and, if remediation is necessary, cleaned up before development begins. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Addie Smith worked at Bethlehem Steel for about 30 years and was one of the first Black women to work there. "Black women got the dirtiest jobs," Smith said. "I left the library to work at Bethlehem Steel. I gave up high heels for steel toed boots but after that first paycheck I was hooked." (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
TPA, EPA and Bear Creek
The issues didn't stop with the air. The water of Bear Creek became contaminated as well. There was a public beach near what is now the Fleming Senior Center at the south end of Turner Station. Bannerman said the beach had to be shut down just a year after opening because kids were getting sick from swimming in the polluted water.
The EPA and the state of Maryland found toxic metals such as arsenic and chromium in samples from the creek as well as chemicals used in the production of the iron and steel at the mill.
While not many are likely to take a dip in Bear Creek these days, the toxicity is still cause for concern. Turner Station Park has a popular boat ramp that fishers and crabbers use to launch into the water daily, despite fish consumption warnings for Bear Creek and the Patapsco River.
Luckily, Bear Creek is on the verge of getting the clean-up it desperately needs. In June, the EPA announced it wants to use the federal Superfund program to fund a clean-up of 60 acres of the contaminated river bed near where Bear Creek flows into the Patapsco River.
Sparrows Point needs cleaning too. The Steel Mill shut down in 2012 leaving behind a legacy of environmental contamination. The land was bought by Redwood Capital Investments in 2014 and Tradepoint Atlantic began redeveloping the old site to be used as a shipping and logistics hub. Environmental agreements signed in 2014 between Tradepoint Atlantic, Maryland Department of the Environment and EPA established a private source of funding and process for cleaning up the onsite contamination. According to Aaron Tomarchio, the executive vice president for Trade Point Atlantic, an environmental assessment and a remedial action plan needs to be developed for each new parcel that is being re-developed.
"We can't just develop out the good parcels,'' Tomarchio said. "We also have to work to remediate all of Sparrows Point".
Earlier this year, the company finished up remediation work on Tin Mill Canal, which was a conveyance for industrial waste from the steel production process. The canal, which also carried stormwater had direct discharge into Bear Creek.
The community of Turner Station, Md. is surrounded by water. To the south and east is Bear Creek, and to the west is the Patapsco River. Just across Bear Creek is Sparrow's Point, the former site of the Bethlehem Steel Mill. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Signs warn people against eating some fish out of Bear Creek in Watersedge, a community near Turner Station in Dundalk, Md. Across the water of Bear Creek was Greys Landfill which was once used to dispose of everything from wastewater to blast furnace waste to asbestos-bearing waste. "The asbestos bags used to pop and blow in the wind," Larry Bannerman, a member of the Turner Station Conservation Teams, said. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Anthony Gough, left, looks into Peach Orchard Cove while his cousin Nathan Gough readies a fishing rod on July 4, 2021 in Turner Station Park. Despite fish consumption warnings, many people fish out of Turner Station Park or use its boat ramp to launch crabbing and fishing boats. The cove connects to Bear Creek which itself flows into the Patapsco River. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
A crabbing boat floats along Bear Creek at sunset on August 5, 2021. The Environmental Protection Agency hopes to list parts of Bear Creek as a national Superfund site due to extensive contamination from years of toxic run-off from the former Bethlehem Steel Mill which was located along the creek on Sparrows Point. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
An egret stands next to a drain pipe in the waters of the Tin Mill Canal on August 5, 2021 at Sparrows Point, Md. The canal was one of many heavily polluted sites on Sparrows Point. It used to carry water loaded with pollutants and wastewater from Bethlehem Steel to a treatment plant and into Bear Creek from there. TradePoint Atlantic, which bought the land in 2014, pumped out contaminated water, dredged the canal and relined and capped it. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Tradepoint Atlantic is also interested in investing in Turner Station.
"We are linked from our past [at Sparrows Point] and there is a link to be made into the future," Tomarchio said.
Tradepoint Atlantic is working with the community to bring business to Sparrows Point and, in turn, jobs to Turner Station. The company has been trying to find a way to benefit from Turner Station's status as an opportunity zone: a special status that rewards investors with tax breaks for investing in a low-income area. Efforts have been underway to combine the Turner Station Census tract with the Sparrows Point Census Tract to extend the opportunity zone designation to the former steel mill. If successful in obtaining the designation, Trade Point Atlantic has pledged $3 million dollars for direct investment into Turner Station.
Others inside the community are looking for ways to revitalize Turner Station as well.
Courtney Speed hopes to draw people back to the community through its more famous residents such as Henrietta Lacks, Kevin Clash — long-time Elmo puppeteer — and astronaut Robert Curbeam. Speed wants to create tourist sites and community oriented businesses such as boat tours and a restaurant/event center.
Turner Station's conservation teams are working to encourage the community's youth and newer residents to take an interest in Turner Station's unique history. They are also working with places like Tradepoint Atlantic to encourage growth in the community.
It's not clear what will and what won't work. What is clear is that the people of Turner Station are determined to move into the future together while preserving the sense of community and home which so many people hold dear.
Rows of family photos line one of the Turner Station historic societies presentation board. The board is in memory of the people who make Turner Station Turner Station. (Photo By Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Left: A children's book on Black history lays on the couch of Mary Coleman. The book is part of the Turner Station Historical Society's collection and was illustrated by a Turner Station resident. Center: Mary Coleman is the Turner Station historian and collects important relics from the community's past. Much of what she collects stays at her house. Right: In the summer of 1974, Turner Station's slow pitch softball team The Untouchables was invited to participate in the World Softball Tournament. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Part of a poem by Amanda Gorman lays on a desk of a student participating in the Dunbar Brooks Youth Empowerment Camp on August 10, 2021 at Turner Sollers Point Multipurpose Center. The camp is hosted every summer for kids from Turner Station. This year the group was reading poetry by Gorman and interpreting it in their own way. At the end of the week, they would present their own work based on Gorman's. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Members of the Turner Station community bow their heads in prayer during the closing ceremony of the 23rd annual Turner Station Heritage Praise Day "Cell-A-Bration" on August 7, 2021. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Cheryl Brooks stands in front of the Dunbar Brooks Empowerment Camp during a lesson on Amanda Gorman's poetry on August 10, 2021 in Turner Station. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Brianna Dent reaches up to touch a taxidermied barred owl on August 11, 2021 in Turner Station Park. The owl was brought by the Patterson Park Audubon Center as a teaching aide for the kids of the Dunbar Brooks Empowerment Camp. Dent was originally afraid to touch the owl but asked for it to be brought back so she could touch it after a few minutes. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Devonte Wilkins stands next to boxes of food during Turner Station's monthly food drive on August 10, 2021. Turner Station residents filled up the parking lot of the Sollers Point Multipurpose Center waiting to get boxed up meals, corn, cantaloup and watermelon. "I've been [in Turner Station] since I was five," Wilkins said. "I like giving back to the community." (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Sade Camper lowers the Maryland flag into place ahead of the 23rd annual Turner Station Heritage Praise Day "Cell-A-Bration." Camper is a Boy Scout with troop 270 in Turner Station. The troop helped guide the audience in saying the Boy Scout of America motto and the pledge of allegiance. (Photo by Ethan Weston/Chesapeake Bay Program)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) history water quality Baltimore culture environmental justice African Americans
Linwood Jackson
Turner Station is much more then , land near the water, the people and history goes far past just in words, working more the thirty yrs at Bethlehem Steel
To work besides my neighbors, to be part of Struggle to support our Families, Community and most of each other.
Beating All of the Odds to still be community today, The Large Steel Corporation was standing on Our Backs as African Americans, Our Pride was Stronger than the Steel we help to produce.
We serve our country, as Vietnam War Veteran again give 200% of the war efforts, again seeing the Raw Strength of Fighting Men only adds to Our Rich History. Today as we as Community Fighting to hold on the rich history and land has is still a Full Time requirements, Got to Love This Place Turner Station
Ruth Mascari
I am a local Baltimore county historian and would be thrilled if someone could give me a call for an article I am writing. 443 717 3494 thank you
Davidson Jones
My life in TS has served me well wherever in the world I found myself. My home was at 108 Chestnut St. The most enriching learng lab throughout my life has been TS.
Andrea Haywood Rander
What a wonderful history story. My family and I moved to Turner's Station from NY when my husband was stationed at Ft. Holabird. My second daughter was born while we lived there. My husband was sent to Vietnam where he was captured and spent 5+ years in the Hanoi Hilton. Turner's Station became the center of attention when the media and press began interviewing me from our home at 126 Honeysuckle Court. My girls spent several years playing around Peach Orchard cove. We have fond memories of neighbors and friends who helped us through difficult years until me moved to another part of MD.
It wold be wonderful to meet again with many of our 'old neighbors. All of you stay Blessed and thank you for keeping Turner's Station on the map.
Carolyn Massey Johnson
Thank you for sharing this article. I was born on Chestnut and the family still owns my parent's home. Great memories, lifetime friends and always HOME. TS4life!
Cynthia Edwards Winston
Born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1957, I was brought to 628 Peach Orchard Lane where I lived until August 6, 1964 when my family moved. We continued to worship under Rev Banks @ Greater St John for several years after the move. I had family that lived on Chestnut St, Pine St & a court whose name has been changed and I can't remember. I never stopped coming to the best community during my entire life. I married Michael Winston I which was another reason I couldn't stop coming 'home'! My father worked at Beth Steel until his disability in 1967. Great memories still fill my mind and heart. Truly a strong community then and now. Love my TS4LIFE!!
Carolyn wilson (Eastman)
Thanks for sharing this, my family was one of the first families to move in Day Village. I moved away but I still call this my home.
Jessie Lee Douglas
First, congrats to Mary Coleman, Historian, who keeps Turner Station's unique story alive. This story reflects the love and support African American families had for each other and the community. Faith in God, education, being kind and helping others were the values seen and taught. I am very grateful to have had the privilege to be born and raised in Turner Station. Even today, I stay closely connected to Turner Station with the wonderful folks who are my extended family and joy.
Secondly, thank you for writing this article and acknowledging the wonderful African American town, Turner Station.
Valerie Rene Thompson
I love this article. I grew up in Turnerstation in the 60's. We lived on the 600 block of Main Street. I attended Fleming elementary school before they sent us to Logan elementary to fill their quota. My father Thomas Matthews worked for Lyons homes for almost 40 years, and did renovation work for many home owners in the area. Growing up on the water front was a adventure. The entreprenaurs, and family support make me proud to say, "I grew up here."
McMorris
I appreciated this article so much. Thanks for sharing! TS4L..
Deborah Williamson
Great article, so pleased environmental efforts are underway.
Patricia King(Jones)
I remember the good times we had growing up in Turners Station.My Dad was L.A. and mom Tommie Lee Jones
603 New Pittsburgh Ave.Thanks for sharing our history.
Bill Barry
Great history and terrific photos.
Lynn Birkby
Really enjoyed the article and photos and the sense of community you captured, Ethan.
Black history lives on in a mountain region just outside Washington D.C.
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For Professionals › News And Research › Adult Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis Clinical Guideline
Adult Native Vertebral Osteomyelitis Clinical Guideline
Written by Thomas Ciccone
Commentary by Jeffrey Gudin, MD
Native vertebral osteomyelitis (NVO) can be a difficult disease to spot in a patient, especially given its nondescript symptoms, such as recalcitrant back pain, fever, and elevated inflammation. However, new guidelines present a comprehensive framework for proper clinical diagnostics and treatment of the condition. NVO is the result of hematogenous seeding of the adjacent disc space from a distant focus.1,2 While a relatively rare spinal condition, NVO is the most common form of hematogenous osteomyelitis for patients 50 to 70 years of age.3 And yet, NVO can be a difficult condition to spot in a patient, let alone treat.
Lateral x-ray demonstrates vertebral osteomyelitis.Image courtesy of SpineUniverse.comBecause of its nondescript symptoms, patients with NVO can go undiagnosed for months or misdiagnosed altogether as having some kind of degenerative process, according to Jeffrey Gudin, MD, a director of pain and palliative care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, New York.
"Vertebral osteomyelitis in adults has the potential to be a devastating condition with extended morbidity and mortality consequences," including permanent spinal cord injury and septicemia. Because of this, doctors should be aware of the most trusted approach to effectively diagnosing and treating the disease, but given the scant inventory of cohort-based studies about NVO, many important clinical decisions have lacked professional consensus up to this point.
Fortunately, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently published a clinical practice guideline for treating NVO. The result of a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment by the society's 11-member professional panel, the IDSA's new guidelines provide a detailed, thorough consensus on some of the most controversial questions surrounding NVO treatment, like how to utilize safe, timely antimicrobial therapy, when to use immediate surgical intervention, or how to definitively establish a treatment failure.
Clinical Diagnostics of NVO
"Clinicians who evaluate patients with back pain should consider an infectious etiology and NVO in patients with systemic signs or symptoms," said Dr. Gudin. According to the IDSA guidelines, doctors should suspect a diagnosis of NVO in patients that present with new or worsening back or neck pain, along with these signs or symptoms:
Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or C-reactive protein (CRP)
Bloodstream infection or infective endocarditis
NVO could also be suspected in patients with or without back pain, who have fever, new neurological symptoms, or a Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection within the previous year. 1,4,5 The evidence is weak for these contexts, however.
Diagnostic Evaluation
If a patient is suspected of having NVO, the guidelines recommend:
Giving a pertinent medical and motor/sensory neurologic examination
Obtaining 2 sets of blood cultures (aerobic and anaerobic) and baseline ESR and CRP
Performing a spinal MRI
If MRI is unattainable, obtaining a combination spine gallium/Tc99 bone scan, computed tomography scan, or a positron emission tomography scan (weak evidence)
Patients with subacute NVO residing in endemic areas for brucellosis may require blood cultures and serologic tests for Brucella species.
Patients with suspected NVO at risk for fungal infection may require fungal blood cultures (weak evidence).
Patients with subacute NVO at risk for Mycobacterium tuberculosis NVO may require a purified protein derivative (PPD) test or an interferon-γ release assay (weak evidence).
Clinical Therapy
An image-guided aspiration biopsy (a needle aspiration from disc space, using computed tomographic (CT) or fluoroscopic guidance) is essential before putting a patient on antimicrobial therapy, particularly if serologic tests have not confirmed the diagnosis.
However, image-guided aspiration biopsy is not recommended for patients:
With suspected NVO that have S. aureus, S. lugdunensis, or Brucella species bloodstream infection
With suspected subacute NVO and strongly positive Brucella serology
Most patients are hemodynamically stable and have no neurological symptoms. However, immediate initiation of empiric antimicrobial therapy and surgical intervention are recommended for patients with neurological compromise, with or without impending sepsis or hemodynamic instability.
Therapy regimens should include coverage against staphylococci, including:
methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)
gram-negative bacilli
While such a regimen might include vancomycin and a third- or fourth-generation cephalosporin, the guidelines note that an empiric antimicrobial therapy can depend on various factors, like allergy, intolerance, epidemiological risk, et cetera. However, empiric antifungal and antimycobacterial therapy is not appropriate in most situations.
Properly Defining a Treatment Failure
Microbiologically confirmed persistent infection despite targeted antimicrobial therapy is the recommended definition of treatment failure.6,7 Granted, there is still no clear definition of treatment failure in NVO patients, but the guidelines caution against using "persistent pain, residual neurologic deficits, elevated markers of systemic inflammation, or radiographic findings," alone to establish treatment failure. Those adverse outcomes could be more related to the patient's comorbidities, premorbid functional status, or extant of initial infection. The intent is to prevent overestimation of treatment failure in NVO patients, which can lead to unnecessary medical and surgical interventions.8,9
The full Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines can be found here.
The expert panel that composed these guidelines consisted of experts in infectious diseases, spine orthopedic surgery, and neuroradiology. Accordingly, the IDSA has its own policy regarding conflicts of interest, as each individual member of the expert panel appropriately submitted any relevant financial interests that could be construed as an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest. No limiting conflicts of interest were identified.
Berbari EF, Kanj SS, Kowalski TJ, et al. 2015 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of native vertebral osteomyelitis in adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2015. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ482
Zimmerli W. Clinical practice. Vertebral osteomyelitis. N Engl J Med. 2010;362:1022-1029.
Ablin G, Erickson TC. Osteomyelitis of cervical vertebrae (and quadriparesis) secondary to urinary tract infection: Case report and review of literature. J Neurosurg. 1958;15:455-459.
Jensen AG, Espersen F, Skinhoj P, et al. Increasing frequency of vertebral osteomyelitis following Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in Denmark 1980-1990. J Infect. 1997;34:113-118.
Mylona E, Samarkos M, Kakalou E, et al. Pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis: A systematic review of clinical characteristics. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2009;39:10-17.
Corrah TW, Enoch DA, Aliyu SH, et al. Bacteraemia and subsequent vertebral osteomyelitis: A retrospective review of 125 patients. QJM. 2011;104:201-207.
Chew FS, Kline MJ. Diagnostic yield of CT-guided percutaneous aspiration procedures in suspected spontaneous infectious diskitis. Radiology. 2001;218:211-214.
Chelsom J, Solberg CO. Vertebral osteomyelitis at a Norwegian university hospital 1987-97: Clinical features, laboratory findings and outcome. Scand J Infect Dis. 1998;30:147-151.
Carragee EJ, Kim D, van der Vlugt T, et al. The clinical use of erythrocyte sedimentation rate in pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis. Spine. 1997;22:2089-2093.
Kowalski TJ, Berbari EF, Huddleston PM, et al. Do follow-up imaging examinations provide useful prognostic information in patients with spine infection? Clin Infect Dis. 2006;43:172-179.
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To find out more please visit: http://www.twi.co.uk/technologies/welding-coating-and-material-processing/friction-welding/?locale=en The simplest mechanical arrangement for continuous-drive rotary friction welding involves two cylindrical bars held in axial alignment. One of the bars is rotated while the other is advanced into contact under a pre-selected axial pressure. Rotation continues for a specific time, sufficient for achieving the temperature at which metal in the joint zone is in the plastic state. Having achieved this condition, the rotating bar is stopped while the pressure is either maintained or increased to consolidate the joint.
00:00 - Gareth Emery - Entrada 04:32 - Gareth Emery Feat. Christina Novelli - Dynamite 09:21 - Gareth Emery Feat. Gavin Beach - Eye Of The Storm 13:24 - Gareth Emery Feat. Ben Gold - Javelin 18:00 - Gareth Emery Feat. LJ Ayrten - Beautiful Rage 23:22 - Gareth Emery Feat. Asia Whiteacre - Million Years 27:14 - Gareth Emery - Firebird 32:20 - Gareth Emery Feat. Roxanne Emery - Soldier 35:41 - Gareth Emery Feat. Krewella - Lights & Thunder 40:19 - Gareth Emery Feat. Bo Bruce - U 44:37 - Gareth Emery - Long Way Home .
"Drive" is the second episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Drive" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.0, being watched by 18.5 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In the episode, Mulder is trapped in a car by a seemingly deranged man, and Scully races to determine if the man is suffering from a deadly illness—and if Mulder is in danger of becoming the next victim of some sort of government conspiracy.
The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured a guest appearance by Bryan Cranston. Gilligan cast Cranston to play the antagonist because he felt he could successfully humanize the role. Cranston's success in "Drive" later led to his casting as Walter White in Gilligan's AMC series Breaking Bad.
Gareth Emery (born 18 July 1980) is an English electronic dance music producer and DJ. Since 2006, he has been ranked in DJ Magazine`s annual Top 100 poll, peaking at #7 in 2010. He has released two albums and has featured as a producer for a number of artist.
Gareth Emery was born in Southampton, England although he also has Welsh heritage, and he is an avid supporter of the Welsh rugby team. He lived in Southampton until the age of 26 before relocating to Manchester, England where he had a studio and ran a night club and record label, both called Garuda. He has a degree in Politics from University of Warwick, supports Southampton Football Club, and is trained in classical piano. Prior to becoming involved in electronic music he played guitar in a punk band in the mid-nineties. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife Kat. Emery's has a sister Roxanne Emery is also involved in music.
Emery's production style that has been described as a fusion of trance, house and progressive.


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Water crisis hits industry in Mangalore
The media underplay the impact of a water crisis on industry.
It's easier for them to write headlines and show pictures of how a water crisis hits people than how it impacts industry and the longer-term effects of that. Take Venezuela for example:
Venezuelans turn to drinking sewer water amid blackouts
In pictures: Venezuelans search for water amid power cut
Venezuela: How a water crisis brought an entire country to its knees
But there's another important if less visually urgent issue: the impact of a water crisis on industry.
Mangalore, 300km from state capital Bangalore, is the main port city of the Indian state of Karnataka.
It has a challenging climate when it comes to rainfall:
Average rainfall mm (inches) 1.1
(0.04) 0.2
(0.11) 24.4
(0.96) 183.2
(7.21) 1,027.2
(40.44) 1,200.4
(47.26) 787.3
Average rainy days 0.2 0 0.3 1.6 7 23.5 27.4 24.9 13.7 9.1 3.6 0.6
The city is currently experiencing a water crisis. The Deccan Herald reports that Mangalore Chemical and Fertilizers Limited, the state's only fertiliser producer has stopped manufacturing fertilisers due to acute water shortage. It requires around 1.5 million gallons of water a day to operate the plant. Because of the rainfall pattern, production won't re-start until the end of the monsoon season – in September.
The other big local user of water is Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited. It stopped the first stage of its refining process in early May. The second stage is continuing to operate but using treated water from the sewage plant.
The supply of fertiliser and fuel will be affected this farming season, and perhaps for many years to come as the world's climate changes. Work on a recently approved desalination plant has started but will take years.
In the meantime and in any event, reducing leakage from the existing network should be a priority.


Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of stories detailing the foreclosure and sale of the Hartley Block and the Darron property at Third and Douglas streets in downtown Lee's Summit.
"I've always been a downtown Lee's Summit person," Kurt Pycior said as he reminisced about "cruising" down Third Street in downtown Lee's Summit as a teenager. As an adult he had great success as a homebuilder in Lee's Summit prior to the housing crisis, but it wasn't long before that success allowed him to purchase and redevelop properties in his beloved downtown Lee's Summit.
"It was always a dream of mine to be in downtown," he said, sitting in his Main Street office Tuesday morning, a photo of the famed Hartley's Heart directly above him.
But on March 7 and March 11, two of the redevelopment projects he was most passionate about – sitting on the most prominent pieces of land in nationally-recognized downtown Lee's Summit – were sold to the highest bidder on the Jackson County Courthouse steps in Kansas City.
And what perhaps adds insult to injury, is that these buildings – the Hartley's Block at Third and Douglas and the Darron property just across the street to the north – formerly owned by Froehlich Pycior and Company, now just Pycior + Company are now owned by Rialto Capital Advisors, a company with a New York City address.
Hartley's Block was sold at 2 p.m. March 7 for the sum of $2.675 million. And the Darron property, the property that Pycior bought from his uncle in 2007, was sold at 2 p.m. March 11 for $1.125 million.
But this story isn't just about a developer losing his property. For many in Lee's Summit, downtown is the heart of the community. It's where they work, play, live and shop. It's living history. It's the "best downtown in the nation," as recognized by the Great American Main Street award last May. And the question is now, will these new absentee owners share the vision Pycior had?
In April 2006 Hartley's Home Furnishings, a staple in downtown Lee's Summit closed its doors after nearly 54 years in business. Owners Dale and Cliff Hartley were rightfully concerned about the future of their property so they sought a local buyer.
"They were really intent on making sure it was a Lee's Summit person to take care of their property, their legacy," Pycior said.
So Lee's Summit Economic Development director Jim Devine approached Pycior, who had already developed the Main Street Centre in 2002, one of downtown Lee's Summit's first revitalization projects and the Grand Street Quarters, a project he considers his first true-mixed use development.
So Pycior got to work. They brought in a planner and laid out the block, got approved for some historic tax credits and the city approved a Tax-Increment Financing overlay district and Columbian Bank loaned him $8 million for the purchase of the property and its redevelopment.
The project consisted of a mix of redevelopment and new development and covers 9,000 square feet of retail and office space on the Hartley property and rehabilitation of 3,000 square feet of store front along Douglas Street. The project also included 4,000 square feet of new retail space and 23,000 square feet of living space in the form of 18 new condominiums and a multi-level parking garage.
Rann said Pycior's redevelopment of that block made a significant difference in downtown, both visually and functionally.
And just a year after purchasing the Hartley block, Pycior sought the purchase of the Darron property and developed office and retail space which now houses the Scrapbook Boutique, candid Marketing and Maggie's Authentic Mexican Foods among other businesses.
The former Columbian Bank was the lender for both projects – with $8 million for the Hartley property redevelopment and another $2 million for the Darron property.
So off they went with the reconstruction. And everything was going great, Pycior said.
His homebuilding business allowed him to reinvest most of his profit into his downtown projects.
But things were about to go downhill, and fast.
But Pycior still had to finish the 18 condos in the Vogue building on Douglas – part of the Hartley property mixed-use project.
"Here I was building 18 condos, and there wasn't a condo loan to be found," Pycior said.
That was in early 2008.
But they made it through, or so he thought.
So Pycior kept pushing forward.
On Aug. 28, 2008, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation came in unannounced and shut down Columbian Bank. All the checking accounts and some loans were transferred to Citizen's Bank, but the FDIC took control of all the real estate loans.
Pycior had no idea what the future held for his loans or his beloved projects. He just knew he had to get some answers. A few weeks later, he walked into the offices at the new Citizen's Bank where the FDIC had set up offices.
But for Pycior it wasn't just "business as usual." The Hartley Block and the Darron building, two of the most prominent spaces in downtown Lee's Summit, were in peril. His business was in peril.
Almost as soon as Pycior got the phone call about Columbian's closure, he began making phone calls to other banks around town, but he already knew the answer. No one was willing to fund a half-completed development project. Not at the onset of one of the biggest economic crises in recent history.
"They told me, and I'll remember these words forever, 'we're not going to be able to fund your loan. The FDIC is not a lender," he recalled as he leaned back in his chair and reflected upon that critical time.
"Not only did the FDIC say they weren't going to fund the draw, but they weren't going to fund the remaining loan to finish the building. They said I needed to move the loan somewhere else," Kurt Pycior said recalling the day the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, that had taken over Columbian Bank in Lee's Summit, told him they weren't a lender.
He had two of his most beloved projects on the line – the Darron property and the Hartley Block, two prominent redevelopment projects across the street from one another in downtown Lee's Summit.
But there was nowhere else to go. No one was lending to developers. No one was lending for real estate. And no one would fund a loan from a bank that had been seized by the FDIC.
Pycior said he looked everywhere. He finally found Ken McClain, the man who owns nearly all of the Independence Square, and McClain agreed to help Pycior buy the loan from the FDIC. So McClain and Pycior teamed up with Hawthorn Bank and started discussions with the FDIC. Pycior said they went back and forth on a price and finally settled – verbally.
But before they could get anything down on paper, Pycior got a letter saying Rialto Capital Management had purchased the loan from the FDIC.
Rialto, a company from New York City, is "a real estate investment management company focused on distressed real estate asset investment, management and workouts," according to the company's website. The company is also affiliated with the Lennar Corporation, a homebuilding company based in Florida.
That was about March 2010.
Pycior said he was experiencing emotional highs and lows depending on the days during his talks with the FDIC, but when he got that letter from Rialto, he thought things would take a turn for the better.
But making a deal wasn't quite as easy as Pycior had hoped.
"From the beginning, they told me they wouldn't even speak to me until I signed a letter restating and giving away any rights. It was a pretty one-sided letter," he said.
So Pycior signed it, but even then he said he didn't get much information on the company's intent.
So he made an offer for the loan, and he never heard anything. He assumed they didn't understand what he was offering, so he invited them to come to Lee's Summit to look at the property.
"No one ever came to Lee's Summit," Pycior said.
He flew to New York – twice – to meet face to face with the so far faceless Rialto.
Still, Pycior said, no real progress was made. In fact, on the second trip to New York, Pycior brought a $3 million offer for the loan.
"He basically threw it back at me, insulted by the offer. He said it was too low," Pycior said.
But then again, Pycior didn't even know what Rialto expected. They never did give him a number to work with, he said.
But it was during that meeting Pycior mentioned the Tax Incremement Financing agreement he had with the city of Lee's Summit. And Rialto's ears perked up.
"The conditions the TIF requires in order to receive the money have not been met," he said.
In 2006, when Pycior began the Hartley development, the city of Lee's Summit decided to help Pycior with his project. After all, it was exactly in line with the 2004 Downtown Master Plan.
"This project supported the Downtown Master Plan in five very distinct ways and took a very valuable space on an important corner and gave it new life," said city manager Steve Arbo, who was acting as assistant city administrator at the time.
Arbo said the Hartley Block redevelopment created new economic activity through 11,000 square feet of retail, a new restaurant and dining opportunity, provided a cultural amenity (the original restaurant's bar area started as a jazz club), created 18 condos, expanded parking and created office space. The project also restored the exterior of the building, bringing back its original brick façade.
"The city considered this project as an excellent opportunity to move ahead with the goals of the Downtown Master Plan," Arbo said.
And since the city was trying to encourage redevelopment – which is usually more expensive than new, or green field development – the city helped subsidize the Hartely project with tax-increment financing.
But this TIF wasn't like the Summit Fair and SummitWoods TIFs, where a bond is issued and the developer gets the money up front, then pays it back over a 20- to 23-year period through sales tax. For the Hartley TIF, according to the contract, the project was built first and then based on the provisions of the TIF contract, once the project was completed, the city would issue the $2.5 million to Pycior.
The original TIF agreement was with Froehlich Pycior Companies and in 2008, the agreement was transferred to Hartley Appliance Inc., Arbo said.
Since the project has yet to be completed, no city funds have been paid toward the project.
So even after Pycior's offer was rejected, he still flew back to Lee's Summit hopeful.
But nothing ever ended up on paper, even though Pycior said he made repeated attempts.
Then, on Dec. 4, 2010, Pycior received an email from Rialto telling him to begin remitting the property rent payments to them.
"The conversation changed completely," Pycior said.
He said they had never mentioned remitting rent money before.
In January, Rialto began the foreclosure process on both the Darron and Hartley properties and on March 7 and March 11 they were sold on the Jackson County Courthouse steps to the highest bidder – which happened to be Rialto, the only bidder present.
Hartley's Block was sold at 2 p.m. March 7 for $2.675 million. And the Darron property, the property that Pycior bought from his uncle in 2007, was sold at 2 p.m. March 11 for $1.125 million.
"I guess I was just babysitting the property for them," Pycior said.
Whatever happens next with the property and tenants – Bill Carr of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, LC, the local attorney representing Rialto in this matter, referred the Journal to Rialto representative Pablo Connill who did not return repeated phone calls as of press time – the city is doing everything it can to protect the TIF and the taxpayers' dollars.
"That's why this scenario is interesting. Kurt no longer owns the property," Arbo said.
He said the TIF contract clearly outlines that the agreement can only be transferred to another party with the consent of the city council.
And since Pycior is no longer the property owner and the project has not been completed per the TIF agreement, "the city staff has taken preliminary steps to begin the process of determining whether or not the TIF agreement is in default. Then we have a right to terminate the agreement," Arbo said.
Arbo said the money generated from the TIF would go back in the city's coffers toward projects that would normally financed with sales tax funds.
"As far as the city's concerned, we're not out any money and the taxpayers aren't out any money," he said.
There are 13 businesses in downtown Lee's Summit that do not have a current lease.
That's because in March, the properties the businesses are located in went in foreclosure, and "CML," a subsidiary of Rialto Capital Advisors, a New York company, purchased the Hartley's Block at Third and Douglas and the Darron property just across Third Street on the opposite corner of the intersection.
Those properties were formerly owned by Pycior+Company, a development company owned by Lee's Summit native, Kurt Pycior.
Pycior put his heart into the prominent downtown Lee's Summit properties, redeveloping them into vibrant mixed-use spaces that house restaurants, bars, boutiques and office space.
But following the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, Pycior's lender, Columbian Bank closed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation came in, and later sold Pycior's loan to Rialto.
And now, those properties belong to Rialto.
But for the occupants of those properties – especially the business owners – there are still a lot of questions.
Ryan Schnabel, owner of Maggie's Authentic Mexican Restaurant at 100 S.E. Third St., and Becky Freetly-Graber, president of candid marketing and communication, located at 229 S.E. Douglas, said they have yet to see a lease from Rialto.
Schnabel said he's spoken to Rialto representative, Pablo Connill, a few times by phone, but mostly he's only available by email. But still, Schnabel said the New York company has not given him any indication of when a new lease will be available. Freetly-Graber said the same thing.
The Journal has made several calls to Connill, but he has yet to return them.
"As of now, we are operating on the terms of our old lease and taking it month by month," she said.
While the tenants who spoke with the Journal were aware of the financial issues surrounding the property, they didn't seem to know how bad the situation was until the first letter arrived.
Schnabel said he remembers vividly the day he realized how big of a problem it actually was.
That letter, dated Jan. 31, from Lewis, Rice and Fingersch, L.C., the Kansas City law firm representing Rialto, saying that the loan now held by Rialto was in default by Pycior.
"The Lender hereby demands that you remit all your future rent payments to Lender, including the rent payment due for February 2011," the Jan. 31 letter addressed to candid, stated.
After that letter came out, Pycior said he tried to meet with each tenant personally to explain the situation. "I asked them to pay me one month's rent so I could pay the utilities," Pycior said.
Some of the tenants did and some didn't.
Freetly-Graber said candid continued to pay rent to Pycior until they received that letter.
Candid and the rest of the tenants received a second letter from the law firm dated March 16, saying that the New York company was the successful bidder at the foreclosure sale March 11.
But even though Rialto has asked the tenants to pay them rent, most of them haven't heard much else from the company. And that puts some strain on the businesses.
Prior to the change in ownership, Schnabel had big plans for Maggie's. Because his neighbors Greg Olinger of Olinger Insurance and Julia Hampton, CPA are slated to move to 16 S.E. Third St. later this year, Schnabel had planned to expand Maggie's into that space.
He said his plans included knocking down the wall between the two spaces, building a bar and putting in extra seating.
"This issue puts our plans completely on hold," he said. "I can't move forward. I'm basically at a standstill.
And for Denise Sapp, owner of Maxwell's Grill and Bar and Platinum Jacks, the bar behind the restaurant, Rialto's ownership was led to her breaking point.
"It was basically our final straw," Sapp said of Rialto's purchase of the property.
Sapp said there were a lot of issues when she and her husband, Kelly – who is currently serving in Afghanistan – took over the restaurant from the previous owners, and they had to fight their way back. But when Rialto took over, they indicated that they were going to raise the lease on the 8,000 square foot restaurant and bar.
"We were starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but then this happened, and it was the final straw," Sapp said.
Sapp said she and Kelly crunched the numbers over and over again, but they just weren't going to be able to make it work.
As for candid, well their just ready to get on with business.
Ultimately, candid would like to continue to operate out of their space at 229 S.E. Douglas.
Tenants of the property on both sides of Third Street include Maxwell's, Maggie's Authentic Mexican Foods, Poppy's Ice Cream, The Sports Scene, Health.Fit.Style, Tridosha Aveda Salon, Xpression's Boutique, Gregory Olinger's Farmer's Insurance, Sei Bella Salon, Scrapbook Boutique, The Law Offices of Christopher F. Arbuckle, The Herron Family Trust and candid marketing and communications.
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As the official release of iPhone 6 is approaching near, the things around the tech society are getting higher. Today, we are up with some leaked images that could be of Apple's next iPhone. It is iPhone 6's front panel showed from different angels in these images.
According to the Taiwanese blog AppleClub, these are the real images giving us an idea of Apple's next flagship smartphone's design. The report doesn't talk about sapphire glass material that has been floated around for a long time. There're also some reports saying Apple will be launching not one but two iPhones as it did last year with iPhone 5S and 5C.
There'll be two iPhones with different screen sizes; one with 5.5-inch while the other one with 4.7-inch screen size. Both of them are supposed to be coming later this year. September 19 is said to be the most believable date when Apple will be announcing its plans for 2014.
Anyhow, there isn't a single word from Apple for its upcoming flagship smartphone so far. So, take this post as a grain of salt as nothing has been confirmed yet. We'll let you if there comes anything official from the company. Stay tuned!


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Izard County juniors sweep Calico Rock
Izard County's Taylor Reynolds hit a 17-foot jumper from the wing with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Junior Cougar...
Izard County juniors sweep Calico Rock Izard County's Taylor Reynolds hit a 17-foot jumper from the wing with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Junior Cougar... Check out this story on baxterbulletin.com: https://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/news/2014/01/15/izard-county-juniors-sweep-calico-rock/4485089/
MTN Published 11:00 p.m. CT Jan. 14, 2014 | Updated 3:36 p.m. CT Jan. 17, 2014
Izard County's Taylor Reynolds hit a 17-foot jumper from the wing with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Junior Cougars to a 26-25, nonconference victory over the Calico Rock Pirates on Monday at Brockwell.
The Junior Cougars (9-5) were led by Reynolds with 14 points, while Tyler Simino added nine points and four rebounds. Calico Rock fell to 13-2 with the loss.
The Junior Lady Cougars made it a sweep by jumping out to a 28-5 halftime lead and cruising to a 38-15 thrashing of the Junior Lady Pirates.
The dynamic duo of eighth-grade twin sisters Jen and Sam King combined for 25 points, seven steals and seven rebounds in limited action for Izard County (17-3). Jen King contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three steals, and Sam King had nine points, three rebounds and four steals.
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Journal Ethic
Ethical Codes: Psychologic Study
Ethical Codes: Medical Research
Copyright and Open Access Licenses
Volume 25, Issue 126 (7-2015) J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci 2015, 25(126): 141-144 | Back to browse issues page
Karimi S, Jahanbakhsh M, Hassanzadeh A, Beigi M. Investigating the Requirements for Privacy and Confidentiality of Information in Implementation of Electronic Medical Record System in Hospitals in Isfahan, 2014. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci. 2015; 25 (126) :141-144
URL: http://jmums.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-5825-en.html
Investigating the Requirements for Privacy and Confidentiality of Information in Implementation of Electronic Medical Record System in Hospitals in Isfahan, 2014
Saeed Karimi, Maryam Jahanbakhsh, Akbar Hassanzadeh, Maliheh Beigi
Abstract: (4791 Views)
Background and purpose: Today, with the advent of electronic medical record system (EMRS) the security and confidentiality of information ought to be reasonably considered. The purpose of this study was to assess the privacy and security requirements for implementation of EMRS in all hospitals in Isfahan in 2014. Materials and methods: An analysis framework was used in an applied study performed in IT authorities in private hospitals and the hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and social security organization in 2014. Data was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS V. 20. Results: Meeting the requirements for security and confidentiality of information was found to be high (100-67, mean score=85) in the implementation of EMRS in hospitals in Isfahan. Conclusion: The hospitals in Isfahan were believed to be prepared for the implementation of EMRS regarding security and confidentiality of information in 2014.
Keywords: Confidentiality, privacy, Electronic Medical Record System (EMRS)
Type of Study: Brief Report | Subject: Health Information Management
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Address: Journal Office, Building No. 2, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Moallem Square, Sari.
Tel: +98 (011)34484874 Postal code: 48175-866 E-Mail: jmums@mazums.ac.ir Telefax: +98 (011)33262679


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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the University of Denver is keeping students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighbors fully informed through our COVID-19 website and other means. Our current alert level is yellow, indicating "virus prevalence is low to moderate on campus and community transmission is substantial or high in the surrounding community, conditions on campus are well-controlled with strong testing and supply chain capacity, but indicators point toward potential challenges in responding to the increased rate of transmission and/or declining compliance with DU COVID-19 protocols." For up-to-date information on cases, visit the COVID-19 dashboard.
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If you're a fan of margaritas, you owe it to yourself to try these! The Meyer Lemon, a cross between a lemon and an orange, gives this cocktail a fresh, citrusy taste, and provides a perfectly delicious sweet-to-tart balance. This drink is strong but smooth, and stands up well to being poured over ice.
Grab some chips and guacamole, and meet me on the patio!
Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about two hours. Stir and serve.
If serving right away, combine all ingredients, stir well, then pour into a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Shake well, and strain into glasses. Or just pour over ice.
These margaritas are good with or without salt on the rim of the glass. For one batch, I mixed some finely grated zest in with the kosher salt. It's kind of labor intensive for a crowd, but if you have just a few to serve, it makes a pretty accent.
Ooooh yummy! I've always wanted to try meyer lemons and I think this would be the perfect recipe to use! I love all your photos!
Anne, I would love to share a pitcher of these with you! :) Thank you so much for visiting!!
I'm coming to your house for Friday night cocktails! Super yum!
Oh boy! I just picked three Meyer Lemons. This is definitely something to do with them. This really stood out on Foodie Friends Friday. I love the theme for your site and I totally agree. Yesterfood!
Thank you so much! In my opinion, it would be a good use of your lemons! :) I'm so glad you came by- thanks!
Perfect timing for those of us who dwell in the desert. Our citrus is ripe and ready for picking!! These look extra yummy. Will definitely be trying them. :-) Thanks for sharing.
Lisa, I read your post about all the ripe citrus literally falling off your trees. How wonderful! :) If you try these, I hope you like them! Thanks for stopping by!
How phenomenal is this?! I can't imagine a better way to end the week- great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
They really are delicious, and I like your idea of Margarita Friday! ;) Thank you for coming by!
Oh my! I bet this drink is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing at Marvelous Mondays!
It's pretty good, Julie! :) Thanks for hosting a great party!
Oh I wish I could drink...these looks and sound fab! Thanks for sharing with us at "In and Out of the Kitchen Link Up Party"
Oh my goodness, this is making my mouth water! I love lemon desserts, drinks...ANYTHING with lemon in it! :) Thanks for sharing this at Sweet & Savoury Sundays!
I'll take one on the rocks with salt please. I just adore margaritas. Fabulous recipe. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures.
I may have just made the decision to get that Meyer lemon tree I was going back and fourth about!!! You won me with margarita. Thanks for bringing this over to Real Housemoms for Fabulous Fridays!
Thank you for linking with See Ya in the Gumbo--it's nice to have you join in. I'm greedy--I want the whole package. Chips, guac, and these margaritas.
Michelle, you are absolutely right- guacamole is a requirement! Thanks for hosting See Ya in the Gumbo (LOVE where the name came from)!!
Thanks! Wanted to let you know your margarita is my pick for this week's features. Thanks again for linking.
I love meyer lemons & that drink looks delish! Visiting from My Turn (for us) hop! Drop by anytime I am at DearCreatives.com off to see some other posts.
I just posted this on Facebook and also Pinned it!!! Thank you for sharing at Freedom Fridays Blog Hop and thank you for being one of my Five Faves!!!
Have an totally awesome weekend!!!!
Oh, thank you SO much, Evelyn- you are so much fun! :) I love Freedom Fridays Blog Hop! Hope you enjoy your weekend, too!
Your Meyer Lemon Margaritas sound so delicious and refreshing. They look so pretty too. What a lovely cocktail!
Oh these look so tempting!
Oh, how fun (and a great use of the lemons!). It's great to meet you- so glad you stopped in from Mums Make Lists!
I LOVE margaritas and love the idea of lemon margaritas! Can't wait to try these, Joy!!


The castle is on the territory of the municipality Zrenjanin in Ecka and it was declarated a cultural monument in 2001. The castle was built by Lazar Agoston, at the beginning of 19th century. The castle in a unique and interesting tourist place in a specific natural environment.


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To be frank, when I started gemaker, I hoped that it might last three years before I had to give up playing start-up CEO in my garage and find a 'real' job. My wildest dream was to make a positive difference to Australian innovation and research commercialisation.
gemaker has succeeded far beyond my initial hope and even my wildest dream is coming true. In seven years, we have transformed from start-up to award-winning microbusiness – in 2017, we received a NSW Telstra Business Award after rigorous judging – and we are growing as an SME.
Rolling out industry engagement training and spearfishing events for early-to-mid-career researchers and PhD students, around Australia.
Launching the #AUSinnovates initiative to share Australian stories of successful research or technology commercialisation, to guide and inspire other innovators.
Managing all marketing communications for the US and UK launches of Stormseal.
gemaker accelerates the commercialisation of Australian innovations to grow new knowledge-based industries. We do this by inspiring the next generation of innovators, assisting researchers to engage with industry, empowering translators (tech transfer professionals) and helping innovative businesses to find their markets, fund their development and attract customers.
Company culture is everything. We value flexibility, quality and impact. We choose professionals who are experts in their fields and uphold these values, and provide them with training and other development opportunities, as well as collegial support.
Our Operations team ensures that our systems run smoothly and looks after day-to-day functions of the business. Employing a PA (10 hours per week) is one of the smartest things I've done this year. She administers aspects of my life far better than I would, so I can spend my time on business development. Don't think of it as a luxury, think of it as a smart investment.
Relationships underpin everything we do. Building trust generates referrals from satisfied customers. Long-standing connections with high quality suppliers who share our values help us to meet our customers' needs to the best of our ability.
If you've seen us, heard of us or met us it's because we know the value of marketing. It's vital for every business and unfortunately undervalued by most. We strive to understand our customers' needs and develop products and services that maximise the impact customers want at a price they can afford. We promote our products and services in places our customers visit, in the real-world and online.
As a perfectionist it kills me to say it, but yes, darn it, we have failures. We've been unsuccessful in bidding for work, we've inadvertently screwed up customer relationships, and we've identified nightmare clients too late. Failures are good teachers. They've taught us to gain better understanding of customer expectations and their budgets upfront, think through actions more widely, and not accept work from potential customers exhibiting early warning signs.
Winning the Telstra Business Award last year was a company highlight. We brought our team together with some of our customers and supporters to celebrate. We also celebrate completion of major projects and milestones for clients and ourselves. We thank our team with fruit baskets, movie tickets, massage vouchers, or dinners.
Two weeks ago I was deeply honoured to receive the University of Wollongong Alumni Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. And one of the best highlights of my year occurred just last week when, as a Chemistry alumnus, I was asked to speak at a UNSW event focussed on diversity. The Head of the School of Chemistry told me that he'd taken my advice at the External Advisory Committee meeting on offering flexible employment to attract more female staff, and it had been a resounding success.
I love that we can make a positive difference in the world.
Natalie leads the gemaker team with over 17 years commercial experience developing new products and services for market across the education, financial, scientific and engineering consulting sectors. A commercialisation whiz and a talented manager, Natalie believes in building a deep understanding of customer needs to drive market success.
Congratulations Natalie and gemaker. You have made a very positive difference to the Australian innovation landscape and many lives. Hope the "seven year itch" catapults you into further success.
Thanks Kath, we appreciate your kind words!
Congratulations Nat and the entire Gemaker team. We could not of made the progress we have without you. There is always plenty to do but we certainly feel more confident with Gemaker by our side.
Thanks Justin, we love working with you!
A huge congratulations Natalie and gemaker team. I absolutely agree with your seven foundations for business success, fabulous advice.