Wonderful New Listing in Rolling Acres!
This could be your opportunity to own a vacation home in the mountains. A well maintained 2 bedroom 2 bath home on it's own lot in Rolling Acres which is one of the nicest adult mobile home parks in Franklin. It has a spacious screened in porch AND a sunroom. Nice storage shed, carport and paved to the door! You have to see this one!


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Lovehoney profits and sales surge as partnerships pay off
By Grace Bowden2017-11-07T16:48:00+00:00
Lovehoney has recorded skyrocketing full-year sales and profits driven by its collaborations with Fifty Shades of Grey and US cult hit TV show Broad City.
The sex toy etailer posted a 76% leap in pre-tax profits year-on-year to £9m in the year to March 31 bolstered by a 31% sales jump to £76m.
The Bath-based retailer, which received the Queen's Award for Enterprise, recorded healthy rises in its international sales, up 51% to £6.4m in Europe and 71% to £19.8m across the rest of the world driven by the US and Australia.
The online retailer's UK sales rose 16% year-on-year to £50m.
Lovehoney attributes its enviable sales jumps to its brand partnerships, which include product range tie-ups with Fifty Shades of Grey, Comedy Central TV show Broad City and rock bands Motörhead and Mötley Crüe.
Co-founder Neal Slateford said: "Our online-only model gives us significant advantages over more traditional rivals and will allow us to keep prices and costs low in what is a tough period for all retailers.
"We feel the pleasure product category has been fully embraced by mainstream consumers in the last five years and whole new generation of couples are making adult toys a regular part of their sexual routine.
"That sea change in attitudes is reflected in our Queen's Award and the success of branded lines."
Slateford added that Brexit and the subsequent political fallout has not impacted Lovehoney's sales.
Online retail & ecommerce
Lovehoney chief executive steps down after 12 months
Lovehoney chief executive Sarah Warby has stepped down from her post for "family reasons" after just 12 months in the role, the retailer has confirmed.
Lovehoney sales and profits grow in 'record year'
Lovehoney's profits and global sales both grew in the 2017/18 financial year in the retailer's "biggest year to date".
Opinion: There's retail opportunity beyond the EU
It should come as no surprise that the Brexit negotiations are dragging on with little sign of progress.
More Health & beauty
Boots unveils lower prices in store for Advantage Card holders
Boots has introduced discounted prices on selected products in store for Advantage Card holders.
Private equity firms Bain Capital and CVC set to team up for Boots bid
Two of the world's largest buyout firms Bain Capital and CVC have reportedly joined forces to launch a joint takeover bid for Boots.
Boots sales strengthen as Walgreens Boots Alliance raises guidance
Boots recorded an increase in first-quarter sales as parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) raised its full-year profit expectations.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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High Velocity Therapy
Patient Care Areas
Adult Critical Care
HVT 2.0 System
Precision Flow System
Capital Accessories
Disposable Accessories
Investigator Initiated Research Program
Product and Customer Support
Respiratory Department Productivity Center
High Flow Nasal Cannula as First-Line Therapy in the Emergency Department Setting: a Review of Findings in Six Medical Centers
Published by Sarah Brundidge, MSc, RRT, AE-C
The views and ideas presented in this blog article are solely those of the author, and the content is not intended to serve as medical advice. Vapotherm does not practice medicine or provide medical services. Practitioners should refer to the full indications for use and operating instructions of any products referenced herein before prescribing them. Sarah Brundidge is a paid consultant of Vapotherm.
Since Vapotherm introduced high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in 2000, its applications and utility has increased to include hospital-wide settings and across all age groups.[1,2] Additionally, there is some evidence that HFNC may help reduce the cost of patient care by limiting ICU admissions.[3-5]
One paper by Spivey et al. published in Respiratory Therapy Magazine, set out to gain insight into the application of HFNC in the emergency department (ED) and its use as a respiratory support therapy in six hospitals within four different systems.[6] Spivey et al. specificially studied High Velocity Nasal Insufflation (HVNI), an advanced form of HFNC, that delivers both high flows and high velocity gas, which more efficiently flushes the anatomical dead space. In this multicenter project, staff completed an assessment document comprised of Likert-scale questions assessing their subjective perception of utility and appropriateness of HVNI, as well as questions seeking the staff opinions on post-ED patient assignment following HVNI use (e.g. ICU vs medical floor). HVNI was used per clinician inclination as respiratory support for patients in the ED. Clinical application guidelines were in place at all centers based on their existing use guidelines, although real-time decision-making was at the discretion of attending staff.
ED staff perceived HVNI could be used as a tool in the management of the signs and symptoms of respiratory distress, including hypoxemia, hypercapnia, combined failure and increased work of breathing. The staff also perceived utility of HVNI in the treatment of signs and symptoms or respiratory distress associated with the typical, diverse ED caseload of, asthma, pneumonia, congestive heart failure (CHF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The clinicians' perceptions of HVNI were assessed through 5 Likert-scale questions:
Staff-perceived response to therapy, ranging from Excellent (5) to Insufficient (1).
Frequency of rain-out, interface slippage or other technical/clinical difficulties applying therapy, ranging from Never (5) to Frequent (1).
Staff-perceived patient comfort and tolerance of therapy, ranging from Excellent (5) to Insufficient (1).
Simplicity of set-up and use, ranging from Simple (5) to Complex (1).
Monitoring and support of therapy required (adjustments, refilling fluids, adjusting interface), ranging from Minimal (5) to Frequent (1).
Overwhelmingly, the staffs' perceptions of HVNI's apparent efficacy was more than adequate in treating the signs and symptoms of respiratory distress, while also having several advantages over alternative respiratory therapies. For example, staff felt patients were tolerant, if not comfortable, on HVNI therapy, and the simplicity of setup was noticeable. Secondarily, the staff noted monitoring and adjustment of the modality were minimal.
Another question Spivey et al. attempted to answer was whether use of the HVNI in the ED affected the staff's perception of what the patients' disposition post-ED should be, independent of actual disposition. Staff felt the majority of patients were stable enough to be discharged to a medical floor (54%) in comparison to the ICU (41%). It is well known that ICU care is more costly, in a number of ways, as compared to floor care.[7,8] If HVNI prevents patients from requiring an ICU stay, then there is the potential for savings in healthcare costs.
There were several significant limitations of this paper. Primarily, this was not a clinical trial of patient data, but rather an assessment of clinical opinions associated with staff experiences using HVNI. Secondly, there was no clinical protocol guiding the assessment, clinicians used HVNI when they saw fit. While clinical practice guidelines were already in use at all six sites, it was not a requirement to use them. Because this was not a clinical trial, there was no comparison to other conventional oxygen therapies, such as low-flow nasal cannulas and masks, or noninvasive ventilation modalities like CPAP. It was also noted in the paper that not every experience with HVNI was evaluated by ED staff using the assessment document, therefore it is possible that some more complicated experiences were not captured. These limitations show the importance of building on the work already started by Spivey et al. in evaluating the effectiveness of HVNI in the ED setting.
Emergency department staff can easily initiate, monitor, and adjust HVNI therapy for their patients exhibiting the signs and symptoms of acute respiratory distress. Use of the HVNI as a tool in the ED for respiratory support showed positive perceived patient outcomes and therapy tolerance. Following a patient post-ED, whether treated with HVNI or other means of respiratory support, will be important in determining the best practice for preventing the necessity of ICU-level care. In summary, HVNI has been perceived as effective in delivering respiratory support therapy and as a user-friendly treatment modality by ED staff.
Learn more about Vapotherm in the Emergency Department
[1] Mayfield S, Jauncey-Cooke J, Hough JL, Schibler A, Gibbons K, Bogossian F. High-flow nasal cannula therapy for respiratory support in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;3.
[2] Nishimura M. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in adults. J Intensive Care. 2015;3:15.
[3] Wettstein RB. A fresh look at the physiologic efects of high-flow nasal cannnulae and the role they play in patient care. Resp Care. Apr 2013;58(4):715-716.
[4] Ward JJ. High flow oxygen administration by nasal cannula for adult and perinatal patients. Resp Care. Jan 2013;58(1):98-122.
[5] Kepreotes E, Whitehead B, Attia J, et al. High-flow warm humidified oxygen versus low-flow nasal cannula oxygen for moderate bronchiolitis: an open, phase 4, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2017;389(10072):930.
[6] Spivey S, Ashe T, Dennis R, et al. Assessment of high flow nasal cannula therapy use in the emergency department setting: observations of practice across four systems. Respiratory Therapy. Winter 2015;10(1):30-34.
[7] Huynh TN, Kleerup EC, Wiley JF et al. The frequency and cost of treatment perceived to be futile in critical care. JAMA Intern Med 2013; 173(2):1887-94.
[8] Keenan SP, Sinuff T, Cook DJ et al. Does noninvasive positive pressure ventilation improve outcome in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure? A systematic review. Crit Care Med 2004; 32:2516.
A Gentler Alternative
Documents and Manuals


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Leave a Comment / Blogs / By Anita Dhankar
What is Logo Design in 2023?
What are the Trending Tips for Logo Design in 2023?
Create Understanding With your Customers
Be Updated on Trending Designs
Keep It Simple, Silly (KISS Principle)
Share your Values
Design Around the Brand Identity
Use a Simple Colour Palette
Making your Brand Outstand among your Competitors
Don't be Literal in the Representation of the Product
Make It Memorable and Original
Using Negative Space Effectively to Stimulate any Symbolic Meaning
Keep Experimenting and Don't Settle with Just one Logo Design
Give a Short and Crisp Tagline
Create a Story Around your Company and the Logo
Logo Design Trends in 2023
1. 3D Gradient Logos
2. Retro-designed Logos
3. Blurred and Glitch Logos
4. Line-Outline Logos
5. Quirky Logos
6. Bold, Vivid and Vibrant Colours
7. Animated Variable Logos
8. Hand Dots
What are the logo trends of 2023?
How do you make a logo in 2023?
What is the latest trend in logo design?
For marketing any brand of a company, the logo works as an exclusive brand ambassador, which outreaches every nook and cranny of the world.
If we see a bitten apple, Apple Inc. comes to mind; if we see a big curved M, we think of McDonald's; if we see three overlapped rings, Audi is the first thing we think of. 2023 Logo Design Trends are also targeting the same strategy.
To stick these logos in the minds of the viewers, the trends of the logos are a must to be known to you. Get acquainted with them, learn from them, not follow them. These trends are the defining standards of ingenuity, elegance, and conformity to the times in 2023.
Wondering how to learn from these trends? This blog will exactly answer this question of yours.
Let us delve right into the craze of trending logos that makes you glance at them three times and wonder twice about which company they belong to.
The meaning of a logo design in 2023 and its evolution.
Beneficial trending tips for logo designing.
The key aspects to adhere to while designing logos in this era.
The current trends in logo designing used by present companies.
First things first, we will try to understand what a logo design is and how logo designs are evolving in 2023 over a period of time.
We are very well acquainted with the fact that the tradition of logo designs has been going on since the Egyptians, who used to depict the status of various nobilities with images of Coats of Arms.
With the emergence of business houses, they started using logos with the same aim as we see today, i.e., a logo design became a creative symbol or phrase, helping us to identify a specific brand or service.
From the 1900s to 2023, we see a tremendous transformation in logo designs in terms of font, size of logo, rearrangement of the wordmark, and design. Updating the colour scheme, modernising the design, or a mix of these are used to redesign the form.
2023 is also here with the same goal but with a new look and a fresh creative tinge in its box of trending logo designs.
The 2023 logo designs are more into the usage of well-known font types with new styles of layering, stylising a letter in between, or blurring the fonts, and a focus on increased simplicity and readability.
The minimalist trend of using thin lines, and applying a combination of gradient and 3D logos in strikingly appealing and vibrant colours are also piquing viewers' interest and are likely to be in a timeless trending loop.
The striking feature of 2023 logo trends is bringing back the vintage style of logos from 1930s cartoons and neon and pixels from the 1980s, attempting to trigger a vintage and nostalgic feeling with an impactful impression on the viewers.
Having noticed all these new elements, there is also a fresh take on natural and pastel colours in its colour palette, sketches, scribbles, doodle freestyle logos, and many more distinct features of 2023 trends.
As logos have evolved since the inception of the concept of branding, a few tips have become important to keep us learning along with the changing trends.
Also Read About Importance of Graphic Design for Your Business
Here are a few tips to look at to make your logo appealing with strong impressions in the memories of the target audience:
Understanding your audience, what matters to them, and the elements that trigger their emotions helps you communicate your message effectively. Make sure that viewers absorb the elements of your design and the message you want to express.
Upgrade yourself with trends, check market trends, analyse them, and give your own creative tinge by experimenting with the logo elements along with the trends.
Logos are the definition of less is more. They must be kept simple, clear, less detailed, dynamic, and clumsiness-free, along with readability and eye-catching. This stimulates the viewers to connect more with what you want to convey.
Communicate the values of your company to the customers by channelising them through your logos so that they can feel connected to the products and increase the brand value.
Express what matters to the company most and create a strong brand identity. Ultimately, it's the essence of your brand that influences the customer's choices.
Use primary and secondary colours according to the emotions you want to elicit. Colours have a psychological effect, triggering emotions and creating a bond with the buyer, thus encouraging impulsive buying.
For this, you must know your competition to make your brand stand out and attract more customers. Learn from others' designs and create iconic, unique, and smart logos for impactful positive initial impressions.
Create a different descriptive image through your logos that highlight the values of the brand, not just the particular product. This will support a whole range of products and embrace a multi-set of customers.
While the company's products will fill the gap present in the market, the logos are timeless and express what matters to the company. A unique logo can create long-lasting first impressions that will determine the consumer's interest in the product.
This makes customers think of the meaning and understand it, and, in a way, makes the bond strong with the brand. But keep the detailing low so as not to stress the viewer with the complexity of the designs. Simplicity is an understatement.
Keep trying new elements in the logos and select the one that accurately portrays the company. Creating variations (like different sizes, proportions, animated logos, logos for merchandise, etc.) of the logo for different platforms is a trend, as they can be stitched on clothes, hoardings, or printed, and thus increasing their reach to a wider audience.
The tagline must be authentic to the business. If it is lyrical, simple, and easy, it helps stick in the target audience's memory. Creative taglines are a sure shot medium to establish a strong connection with the audience.
This will boost positive emotions around your brand and build recognition. For example, Amazon's underlined arrow signifies that they sell everything from 'A' to 'Z'.
Having known the key aspects to heed while designing your logo, let us go through the current logo trends that are hot in the market.
The logo is a visual and symbolic representation of the brand, so it must keep updating along with the company's new goals and products while expressing its ethos. 2023 trends have led to the creation of a variety of creative logos to justify the philosophy of logos. Let us have a look at the trending ones.
Adding 3D elements to the designs gives motion and depth gradients and a smart and elegant look to the logos. The colour palette looks dynamic, pleasant, and vibrant. This is a new favourite of graphic designers.
According to market science, the designs from the 1980s have a deeply appealing effect on the emotions of consumers. It creates nostalgia, making consumers retry the products thinking to be in touch with the old memories attached to the products.
The creativity catches consumers' eyes, and the blurring and glitch effects demand that they focus more, thereby making a strong impression on the consumer's minds.
These minimalist logos are simple and artistic, creative, subtle, elegant, and easily readable. This shows the casual nature of the company and that it is readily accessible to the customers.
These logo designs use aesthetics, eye-catching pictures, or cartoon figures to showcase their uniqueness in their fields.
Understand the science of colours aiming to create an impression on the customers that soothes their minds, bringing fresh and dynamic impressions to the product services offered.
Based on the platform or use of the logo, different variations in different styles are in trend. This increases the outreach of the logo and thus increases the brand identity.
This logotype emerged in 2023. It is a fresh design that uses dots to fill in the details of the pictorials used, giving a different character to the logo.
Must Read: Graphic Design Trends To Use
As the year 2023 is ending, one thing is certain for both companies and designs: those that adapt to and welcome the changing trends and will race headlong into the new future are sure to succeed. You may run parallel to this trend or stay behind.
Let us not be mere followers of trends but adapt to the trends along with our tinge of creativity in logo designing and boost business to new heights.
There is inspiration all around you, and the future, at least in terms of design, is promising. So, keep logoing.
Thin and minimalist lines, 3D gradients, blurred and glitch logos, pastels, neon, and pixels, quirky logos, and animated and retro-designed logos from the 1930s are some of the primary trends for 2023, all of which aim to leave viewers with everlasting impressions.
Mainly graphic designers use Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw and Adobe Photoshop. Nowadays, many apps and software are available for free, which any person can use to create their own logos. You need not be a graphic designer to use these simple, easy-to-use applications. Some examples are Canva, Figma, Wix, Adobe, etc.
The other option is to assign the logo designing project to professionals along with your requirements.
Blurring and Glitch logos, hand dots, and 3-D gradient logos are some of the latest trending designs. The gradients implant layering techniques with various patterns, forms, textures, and colours to offer depth, balance, and contrast to a design. The addition of a logo layer creates a unified, stylish look that attracts the attention of the viewers.
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La XXXIII Vuelta al País Vasco, disputada entre el 5 de abril y el 9 de abril de 1993, estaba dividida en 5 etapas para un total de 881,5 km.

Estos fueron los equipos que tomaron parte en la línea de salida: CLAS-Cajastur, Banesto, Carrera-Tassoni, Ariostea, ONCE, Gatorade, Worldperfect, GB-MG, LOTTO-Belgacom-Caloi, Motorola, T.V.M.-Bison Kit, GAN, Telekom, Lotus, Amaya, Histor-Laser, Kelme-Xacobeo-CAM, Deportpublic, JOLLY-Club 88-Nalini, Artiach.

El vencedor fue el ciclista suizo Toni Rominger, en un apretado final, frente a Rolf Sørensen y Alex Zülle

Etapas

Clasificaciones

Referencias

Ciclismo en España en 1993
Vuelta al País Vasco

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


2nd row, Gulf views & perfect for two families! The open kitchen boasts a five-burner cook top perfect for seafood dinners. The main level includes a queen bedroom and bunk room that's great for teens. Upstairs, the spacious master suite features a private covered deck & large bathroom while the fourth bedroom with built-in twin beds is perfect for kids. The partially covered main deck is the perfect place to dine al fresco or enjoy working on your tan with built-in benches and a table with chairs!
Nice roomy house with great view and access to beach! Loved the giant dining room table for puzzle, games, and meals for All of us!
Very well equipped and comfortable. Great view.
Wonderful master suite and fun little nook area upstairs.
Wonderful stay here, perfect for our family!
The house had many issues, but the Sand n Sea staff were wonderful in handling all the problems.
Our 24/7 Property Services staff was happy to get you taken care of!
Halle Koa is in a great location with easy beach access. The living and dining room furniture is not in good shape but is functional. There is plenty of room for a large family and it has great views from the balcony.
This is a good property for a two - three families. We enjoyed our stay. The only issue was that there was no direct beach access and we had a small power outage. We enjoyed the deck, but since we had small children we had some problems with blocking the stairs with the gate. No screws.Otherwise, the d_cor was nicely in place. I enjoyed the upstairs deck off the master and the main deck. Lots of room for outdoor festivities. The living area could accommodate 5-6 comfortably, but the dining area helped with other space issues and open floor plan kitchen.
This is a very beautiful house and we would definitely rent again.
This is a very pleasant and comfortable house. It has a huge table with 8 chairs, perfect for meals or game playing. The deck off the master is wonderful.
We stayed for a full week and had a blast. Great Location/view, lots of rooms & beds.
Child-friendly, safe home, close to the water. Many sleeping options. Freindly staff, quick response on repair issue.
Great quiet location! We are 2 families of 10 people and no one felt crowded. The 2 teen girls loved the loft. We all had a wonderful leisurely vacation. We had the beaches almost exclusively to ourselves! The kids couldn't wait for the ice cream man to come everyday!
It was a wonderful house for a family vacation/reunion. With the large common room, those cooking weren't separated from action in the living area. And the bedrooms were separated enough so that crying babies didn't wake each other (or disturb anyone else).
Wonderful Location right on the beach. Beautiful views and decks from every room in the house. Very impressed with the lay out of the house. Not crowded with 10 adults staying.
Cute beach decor. Nicely furnished. Great location to the beach!
Awesome house, would stay here again. Grill was rusty on arrival, but called the office and had a new grill the next morning. Great service and great view.
Excellent location! We loved that we could see our children playing at the beach from our house! This home had the best stocked kitchen we have ever stayed at!!
We loved Halle Koa ... Only thing we couldn't cook outside need to replace grill .. It is in bad shape..
Hello Raney Family! We are glad you had a great time at Halle Koa but are sorry that you found the grill to be in poor condition. Next time be sure to give the office a call during your stay so we can take care of it for you. We hope to see you back at the beach again soon!
Great location and view of the beach. Easy access to beach. Little ones loved the cubbyhole on the top floor! Nice big dinner table with room for 8-10 at once!
One of the nicest beach houses we've ever stayed in. Would definitely rent again.
Though it is not directly on the beach, the house is in between the houses that are directly on the beach, but there isn't any view obstructions at all, it is like you are directly on the beach with the ocean right there. You'll love the place!
Very comfortable home. We were able to relax and enjoy it. thank you!


Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi, out of the team and clearly out of favour since mid-February amid protracted contract-renewal talks, will return for Wednesday's Serie A match at Genoa, coach Luciano Spalletti said Tuesday.
Inter's leading scorer in each of the last four seasons was stripped of the captain's armband after becoming embroiled in negotiations over a new contract.
The Argentine then said he could not play because of a knee problem.


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Police Blotter, February 17 - 23, 2018
Published: Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018
Saturday was a windy day that called for police and city crews to deal with downed trees.
Police set up flares on 3rd Street and V Avenue on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17) to warn drivers and pedestrians of a large fir tree that fell across the street. City crews were advised and later came to cut it up and clear the area. Meanwhile, another local resident called in a fallen tree on Heart Lake Road and an APD Officer responded to set out flares and contact a city crew to address the problem.
Here are some other cases Anacortes Police reported on this week.
An APD Corporal was dispatched to the 3900 block of N Avenue to speak with a concerned resident reporting water flowing from the street onto her neighbor's yard. The Corporal was able to divert the water by cleaning out the storm drain, then contacted the City of Anacortes Street Department to make them aware of the issue. Case closed.
A Friday Harbor man called police on Saturday to report that he had lost his older model iPhone somewhere in town. The man retraced his steps, but was unable to locate the phone and was hoping that someone had turned it in. APD had no record of the phone as no one had turned it in.
A 47-year-old Friday Harbor man was arrested and booked in the county jail on Saturday afternoon on an assault domestic violence charge and an Anacortes Municipal Court Warrant. A witness called 911 to report a domestic in progress and, based on vehicle and occupant descriptions, officers contacted a man and woman, later determined to be brother and sister, at a store on 12th Street. The male subject told an investigating officer that he and his sister got in an argument about the car and she broke his cellphone, but no assault occurred. A witness told police that the man and woman were arguing, and the male subject pulled the woman's hair and punched her.
The driver of a late model Honda pickup was rear-ended on southbound SR 20 near Sharpes Corner late Saturday afternoon. The 28-year-old Oak Harbor driver behind him was found to be at fault and was given an infraction for following too close. Her vehicle sustained heavy damage and it was towed from the scene. There were no injuries.
Just before 9 pm on Saturday, an APD Officer conducted a traffic stop on a late model silver sedan on Commercial Avenue near the intersection of 15th Street based on information that one of the occupants, a 30-year-old Anacortes woman, had a warrant for theft out of Anacortes Municipal Court. Officers made contact with the vehicle in a parking lot nearby a few moments before and, recognizing all three occupants, ran a routine background check on them. When the check returned with an arrest warrant for the driver, the vehicle was pulled over and the driver was arrested and booked in jail on her warrant. One occupant of the vehicle was allowed to leave the area on foot, and an additional occupant, a 22-year-old woman from Guemes Island, remained in the car. K-9 T-Bone was deployed on the outside of the car and displayed a change of behavior consistent with the presence of illegal narcotics in the car. The woman in the car was asked to step out of the car and officers observed a glass pipe with white residue in the area where she was seated. She was taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia and later released. The vehicle was impounded and taken to the police department to be searched for illegal drugs.
Just after 10:30 on Saturday night, an APD Sergeant took a vehicle prowl report from Seafarers Park. The victim parked his rental van in the area about 4:30PM and when he returned to the van at 9:30PM, a laptop he had left in the van was missing. The victim thought the van might have been left unlocked since there were no signs of forced entry. There are no suspects.
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018
A 36-year-old Bellingham man, known to APD, was booked in jail early Sunday morning for violation of a no contact order and possession of drug paraphernalia for pieces of foil with burnt residue found on him at the time of his arrest. The man was contacted on Hillcrest Drive after his girlfriend called 911 to report that he was trying to break into a vehicle she had locked herself in. The man was hiding in another vehicle on the property when police arrived and he was taken into custody without incident. The reporting party, a local 39-year-old woman, was also arrested for two warrants out of the Mount Vernon Municipal Court, then transported to a relative's house in town and released.
Monday, Feb. 19, 2018
Just before 9AM on Monday morning, an on-duty APD Officer in a marked patrol car was driving westbound on State Route 20 when an older model Honda sedan passed him at over 64 mph in the posted 55 mph speed zone. The officer pulled the car over and spoke with the 25-year-old Mount Vernon driver who readily admitted that she did not have a valid driver's license. She was taken into custody for driving with license suspended and given a copy of her citation and ticket for speeding and driving without insurance before she was released at the scene.
A local woman contacted police on Monday morning to report that someone had broken into her car while parked on Portage Lane sometime between 6PM Sunday night and approximately 9AM Monday morning. The car sustained damage to the passenger side window, caused by a rock, and the woman's wallet was missing. There are no suspects.
Just after 2:30 AM on Wednesday, APD Officers pulled over a vehicle in the 800 block of 25th Street associated with a 26-year-old La Conner woman with a warrant for her arrest. The woman was not in the car at the time of the arrest, but investigation on scene revealed that she had just been dropped off at a nearby store and she was arrested at that location and booked in the jail on her warrant.
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018
A $75 bottle of tequila was stolen from a local grocery store on Thursday afternoon. Store representatives called police early that afternoon to report the theft and provided video surveillance of a male leaving the store without paying for the item. Investigation continues.
On Friday morning, a local man called police to report a shopping cart locked up near a natural gas line on the corner of S Avenue and Longview Avenue. The reporting party was concerned because the cart contained electronics that might ignite the gas within the pipe. The officer took custody of the cart and miscellaneous contents, including a laptop.
Note: Anacortes Police Department policy is to not include names or addresses of businesses or individuals that call 911 for police assistance, though this information is a matter of public record.


Sounds like you and your friends had an amazing time!! I'm like you...I love having a long train journey where I can surround myself with a cup of tea, a good book and I even take a blanket with me in winter if I know I have a few hours to kill! Those waffles look LUSH!!
Yes it was so lovely thank you! Haha yes you sound exactly the same as me! Its so nice to just escape and have the world pass you by. Never thought about the blanket... I will take one next time!


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Tag: bees
#BookReview Nirvana by J.R. Stewart (Blue Moon Publishers @BlueMoonPbh) Two versions and two reviews
Nirvana by J. R. Stewart
Title: Nirvana
Author: J.R. Stewart
ASIN: B014LLM1XW
Genre: YA/Science-Fiction/Dystopian/Romance
This review is a bit special but I wanted to share it with you precisely for that reason. I reviewed an early version of this book that was offered through Net Galley before its publication and I was later contacted by the publishers' (Blue Moon Publishers) PR Department who asked me if I'd read and review the revised version. I decided to share both reviews with you because I felt I had learned from the experience, both as a reader and as a writer.
Early ARC version review.
Nirvana by J.R. Stewart. Virtual reality, bees, grief and politics
Thanks to the publishers (Blue Moon Publishers) and to Net Galley for the gift of an advance copy of this book. I have read that it is undergoing major revisions, so it might be that some of the issues mentioned are no longer there if you get the final edition.
Nirvana, despite the name, is a dystopian Young Adult novel. It is set in a future where bees have disappeared and nature as we know it has gone; there are a few places left where people live (the novel takes place in Canada, around Toronto, although there are hints throughout the book that the situation might be slightly different in other places), and the Hexagon (yes, I know) controls "security" (read intrudes in everybody's privacy, destroys all books and keeps a tight hold on everybody's activities, words and imagination). Larissa, a young woman whose husband (a very talented scientist) disappeared during a mysterious mission six months ago is not ready to accept his death and refuses to let go.
The novel mostly focuses on Larissa, although the third person point of view sometimes shares the thoughts of other characters, like the Corporal, Serge (a childhood friend of Larissa's), the psychologist…but not consistently and sometimes it seems to hide things, and we also get letters, documents, etc. The time-line can be somewhat challenging at times as Larissa can flicker between memories (how she met Andrew, her husband, their time at university, some of her musical gigs, her childhood memories including some very dark ones) and things that are happening at the time of the action of the novel, when she is being pressurised by the authorities to sign a document acknowledging that Andrew is death. Although this is how our mind works, sometimes it's not easy to tell the difference until you get to the next change in perspective. Perhaps a different type of letter or a break would make it easier. I also found the fact that many characters have similar names (all beginning with K, I'm not sure why) made me go back and forth to make sure.
The description of Larissa's psychological state and emotions is accurate for somebody suffering from a grief reaction (even if in her case she has no real proof that her husband is dead). She feels guilty, angry, sad, confused and doubts constantly about what to do. Her family circumstances were already complicated and she does not know if her sister is alive or not and it's not difficult to understand that she'd be reluctant to let go of the one bit of family she had left. We might lack outside perspective on her and know little about her previous personality so it's difficult to get a full picture of the character but this will probably build over time.
I am not an expert in science-fiction but I know world-building can be one of the main strengths of these novels. After reading the author's biography I understand why the parts that deal with virtual reality (the Bubble, that is where the crème of society live, in a fake world of their choosing, and Nirvana, that is the low-key version that workers might access, but in small doses) are very strong and mind-boggling, even scarily so. By contrast, the descriptions of the rest of the world are very succinct and only much later, when the point of view returns to some of the characters in positions of authority, we get to know a bit more about the world order, but this is more tell than show (although that is one of the difficulties with the genre, maintaining the balance between trying to make the story come alive whilst at the same time leaving something to the readers' imagination).
The idea behind the politics of that world reminded me of 1984 (the level of intrusion into people's lives is greater than even insiders realise), and the conspiracy theorists will "enjoy" the implications of some of the things uncovered and suggested towards the end of the novel. They throw an even darker light on the authorities and put into question loyalties and certainties. The comments about the interests behind big funding for scientific research and how those dictate the direction human progress takes made me pause and gave me cause for concern. (Having studied Medicine this is a thing we're always aware of).
I found the brief discussions on physics and even music theory fascinating, but might not be to everybody's taste, especially younger readers interested mainly in the characters.
I found the overall story engaging, although the surprise at the end was hinted at and most readers are likely to have guessed it by then, but it is a good twist and it leaves room for much more to come.
This is perhaps a novel that does not fit in comfortably within the YA category, but I think it's a series worth keeping an eye on, as there are interesting plot lines, characters with plenty of hidden agendas and room for development, and a whole world (or worlds) that we've only glimpsed. And virtual reality as you haven't seen it yet. Ah, and don't forget to read the writer's biography. It will make you very uneasy…
Nirvana by J. R. Stewart. Revised version and revised review. Still about bees, and virtual reality, less grief and politics.
Thanks to the publishers (Blue Moon Publishers) and Net Galley for providing me with a new copy of the revised version of the novel.
Let me explain why I'm reviewing this novel for the second time. Nirvana was gifted to reviewers in Net Galley and it garnered many reviews. I was one of the people who downloaded it and reviewed it over the late summer and published a review, aware that the book would not be published officially until later. The site offers you a chance to be kept informed or contacted by publishers with news about the authors and I said I'd be interested. I had a member of the PR department for the publishing company contact me and ask me if I'd be interest in reading the revised version. I was curious and they obliged and sent me the book.
It took me a while to get around to it but when I did I was surprised by how much it had changed. Rather than a revision it was a full rewrite. The story is about a dystopian future where the bees have died, and with them most of the plants and animals. The 'Hexagon' controls everybody's lives, food and entertainment have become big businesses, and virtual reality is the only way people can experience life as it was, but this is also monitored, and very expensive. The really rich can live in a virtual reality paradise, called The Bubble, and there are several in different countries (although the story is set in Canada, near Toronto). Nirvana is the virtual reality system where the protagonist (Larissa Kenders) works and it has been created in its majority by her live-in boyfriend Andrew. Andrew disappears and the authorities tell Kenders he is dead. But he keeps appearing to her whilst she is in Nirvana, and although initially she thinks he is just a virtual reality creation, soon she realises that's not the case. The rest of the book becomes her attempt at following the clues he gives her to retrieve something hidden but very important to the future of humanity whilst trying to remain alive. It's difficult to know who she can trust and there are traps and conspiracies everywhere.
The novel now fits more neatly within the YA/NA dystopian genre. The story is told only from the point of view of the protagonist, Larissa Kenders, and in the first person present. It is told chronologically, and that avoids some of the confusion of the previous version. It also allows for a closer identification with the main character, and the reader gets to know more about her, about her activism and how her music was always socially conscious (even if she later realises things weren't as she thought and she might have been playing into the hands of the big corporations). She is younger than in the previous book, although I wasn't clear of the timeframe, as she's supposed to be still 17, bus she has been engaged in campaigns in the past, is a famous singer, and has known Andrew, studied at university and visited many places with him before the Earth became practically a desert. It's true though, that it falls with the genre's convention that young protagonists seem to have lived several normal lives by the time we get to meet them.
It is easier to empathise with Kenders in this version and we also get to see more of her relationship with Andrew before he disappears. There are bad characters clearly delineated, some heroic ones (more so because doubts were cast upon them), and a more optimistic outlook. It ends with a big hook and the chase starts again, as it should in a series.
Sadly I missed what I had noted in my first review as perhaps not fitting in the genre. I liked the disquisitions about physics and musical theory that have not disappeared, and there is much less emphasis on the politics and funding of research (it is mentioned, but in passing). Perhaps the author will write, at some point, the book that according to her biographical note she had thought of writing, looking at the truth hidden behind the virtual reality industry and research. I'll be waiting.
In summary, this is solid YA book, with romance, angst, chases, mystery, a strong, talented and intelligent female character, and an interesting world with a strong ecological theme and a warning. Look after the bees and the Earth before all you have left is just a holographic image and your memories.
Realistic Characterization: 3.5/5
Made Me Think: 4.5/5
Overall enjoyment: 4.5/5
Readability: 4/5
Paperback: $12.99 http://www.amazon.com/Nirvana-J-R-Stewart/dp/0993639763/
Kindle: $3.98 http://www.amazon.com/Nirvana-Book-1-J-R-Stewart-ebook/dp/B014LLM1XW/
Thanks to Net Galley and Blue Moon Publishers for the two versions of the novel, thanks to you for reading and feel free to like, share, comment and CLICK
Author olganmPosted on November 30, 2015 November 30, 2015 Categories Book ReviewsTags bees, Blue Moon Publishers, Dystopia, ecology, J. R. Stewart, Net Galley, politics, Science Fiction, virtual reality, YA9 Comments on #BookReview Nirvana by J.R. Stewart (Blue Moon Publishers @BlueMoonPbh) Two versions and two reviews


text:
Die Finnische Demokratische Republik oder Demokratische Republik Finnland, finnisch: Suomen kansanvaltainen tasavalta, schwedisch: Demokratiska Republiken Finland war ein lediglich vom 1. Dezember 1939 bis zum 12. März 1940 bestehender Satellitenstaat der Sowjetunion. Präsident der Marionettenregierung war Otto Ville Kuusinen. Das Staatsgebiet bestand überwiegend aus den von der Roten Armee im Winterkrieg eroberten Gebieten Kareliens im Osten Finnlands (nicht zu verwechseln mit der 2010 aufgehobenen Provinz Ostfinnland).

Die offizielle Hauptstadt war Helsinki (im nicht besetzten Teil Finnlands), die De-facto-Hauptstadt war Terijoki, heute Selenogorsk. Am 31. März 1940 wurde das Gebiet der vormaligen Karelischen Autonomen Sozialistischen Sowjetrepublik angegliedert und bildete als Karelo-Finnische Sozialistische Sowjetrepublik bis 1956 eine eigenständige Unionsrepublik innerhalb der Sowjetunion.

Siehe auch
 Geschichte Finnlands

Historischer Staat in Europa
Historischer Staat (Neuzeit)
Nicht allgemein anerkannter historischer Staat
Finnland im Zweiten Weltkrieg
Gegründet 1939
Aufgelöst 1940
Finnisch-sowjetische Beziehungen


After two years of nearly non-stop battles with The Perth Amboy Board of Education, Superintendent Janine Caffrey has decided she will not reapply for her position and will finish out her contract which expires June 30.
The decision came after an Aug. 29 Board of Education meeting where President Mark Carvajal announced that the Board would start a search process for the superintendent position and that Caffrey could reapply for her job if she chose.
"It is clear that a majority of BOE members are not supportive of offering me a new contract," Caffrey said in an open letter to Perth Amboy sent to NJ.com.
A Perth Amboy school secretary, on paid administrative leave for the past year, has been found guilty of possessing and selling alcoholic beverages on school property without the written permission of the Perth Amboy Board of Education.
Hector Muniz, a school secretary at the Dr. Herbert N. Richardson 21st Century Elementary School, was found guilty Wednesday by Old Bridge Municipal Court Judge James Weber, according to a court clerk employee.
Muniz, who testified in his own defense, was ordered to pay $664 in fines and fees, according to the court clerk's office.
A message seeking comment left for Muniz' attorney, Anthony Fazioli of Carteret, was not returned.
Superintendent of Schools Janine Walker Caffrey said key for her was the finding of fact that no one in the administration gave permission or had knowledge of what Muniz was doing.
In June 2012 Muniz, who had worked as a school secretary for about two years, was issued a summons for bringing, possessing and selling alcoholic beverages on school property without the written permission of the school board.
He was accused of selling coquito, a Latino-style eggnog containing rum to staff members during the 2011 holiday season. The summons indicated the offense occurred on or about Dec. 1, 2011.
Muniz was placed on administrative leave by Caffrey in June 2012 after receiving the summons. It was the second time that year Muniz had been placed on leave for selling the alcoholic drink, an act some school board members said had not been handled sufficiently by Caffrey when it initially occurred.
After board members placed Caffrey on paid administrative leave in April 2012, citing a list of alleged wrongdoings, then-acting Schools Superintendent Vivian Rodriguez placed Muniz and four other Richardson School employees on paid administrative leave. Rodriguez also filed a police report about allegations of alcohol being brought to the elementary school.
Muniz allegedly told Police Chief Benjamin Ruiz he had alcohol in the trunk of his vehicle parked in the school lot, but not inside the school building at 318 Stockton St. The police summons was issued based on that statement, Ruiz has said.
And that, I think we can assume, was the last straw for at least some of the board's members.
Perth Amboy, is this tale finally over?
While Rouhanifard has many admirers in the world of public education, he has attracted critics who charge that he's inexperienced and too closely associated with charter schools and other elements of education reform.
Been there, done that. Camden's most recent superintendent, Bessie LeFra Young, was 57 years old when she was hired by the Camden School Board in 2007. (One of those board members was the aforementioned Jose Delgado.) Young had spent 31 years as a classroom teacher and another four as an administrator, including her last appointment as Superintendent of Central Region in North Philadelphia.
Age and experience, right? How'd that work out?
During Young's tenure, student academic outcomes declined; currently, 23 of the district's 26 schools are on the list of the 75 worst schools in the state. Fiscal oversight of the district's $313 million budget has been so poor that the Department of Education sent in a State Monitor. Under Young's watch the district falsified reports on violence and vandalism and failed every section of the state accountability rubric called QSAC.
Student and teacher absenteeism soared. Young's too: during her last two years in the district she missed more than 180 school days, despite her annual salary of $240,000. Last July the School Board bought out her contract for $62,000.
The superintendent who preceded Young, Annette Knox, had been a veteran education and a regional superintendent in Cleveland when she was hired by the Camden School Board in 2001. At the time she was 54 years old. Knox resigned in 2006 after five years on the job because two staff members became whistle-blowers, alerting the State to widespread fraud in test scores and evidence of a cover-up. Knox also gave herself $18,000 in unauthorized performance bonuses.
Experience and credentials are required to lead a school district.
But sometimes experienced and credentialed superintendents do a bad job.
Therefore, experience and credentials are unnecessary.
I'm not going to waste any more of your time or mine pointing out how transparently illogical this argument is.
Lawrence Township Public Schools Superintendent Philip Meara announced his retirement Monday night after more than five years as the district's top administrator.
Meara's resignation, effective Sept. 1, comes two years before his contract was set to expire in 2013. He cited his need to spend more time with his family as the reason for retiring before the end of the contract.
Meara, 60, of Allentown, makes $184,730 as superintendent, according to state payroll records. The district intends to begin a search for his replacement, according to a release from the school board.
"Phil Meara is personally responsible for almost everything good that has happened in the Lawrence Township schools over the past six years," said Board of Education President Laura Waters. "He's overseen the development of our High School Academies, the integration of technology into student learning, robust academics and teacher training, and a renewed partnership with the community."
And what of Meara's replacement, Dr. Crystal Lovell?
Presently Lovell is the Assistant Superintendent of LTPS, serving in that capacity since 2005. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy from Seton Hall University with a dissertation focus on Title I-funded extended day programs, an MS in Chemistry from Rutgers University, and a BS in Secondary Education.
In LTPS Lovell oversees areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, grants, federal programs, extended-day programs and professional development. Some of her prominent endeavors include the High School Career Academies, the Talent21 mobile device 1:1 initiative, the NWEA assessment system, curriculum alignment with the new standards, and the Robotics programs.
Lovell's education career spans 24 years, the first five of which were teaching biology in East Orange. While there, she also coached varsity cheerleading, choreographed the marching band routines, and participated in a summer internship for science teachers at Merck, working with researchers studying Alzheimer's disease.
The next nine years found Lovell teaching high school chemistry, biology, earth science, and laboratory techniques in Hillsborough. Many of her students took their learning on the road as they taught science to elementary students or participated in a mock crime scene as forensic scientists.
While in Hillsborough Lovell continued participation in summer internships for teachers working at Union Carbide and Hoeschst-Celanese. She also teamed with Rutgers University to act as a facilitating teacher for the RU-MAPPS program, an initiative designed to attract more minority students to the field of biomedical science.
In 2001 Lovell joined the Metuchen School District as Supervisor of Math and Science and after two years, became the Director of Math and Science for the Highland Park School District. Much of her work at Highland Park focused on raising the academic performance of at-risk students.
Highly credentialed, highly experienced, conducted scholarly work, AND spent the last five years in the same district that she now leads, so she knows the communtity and has already earned the respect of the parents, students, and staff.
Such, of course, is the way of the "reformer" who doesn't actually send her children to schools in the urban districts she claims are "failing." Experience and credentials and a history within the district are vitally important for the leaders of her community's schools. But for the less-affluent people of Camden?
Understand that we don't just have a big and growing pile of anecdotal evidence about charter segregation and attrition; we also have loads of policy analysis and scholarly work that confirms that "successful" charters do not educate the same students as neighboring public schools.
The evidence is so overwhelming that even charter cheerleaders like Mike Petrilli admit that charters only serve the children who are easiest to educate. I disagree with Petrilli about nearly everything, but I'll give him this: at least he's not pretending the facts are in dispute. Because anyone who is intellectually honest about this has to admit that the "miracle" of charters is nothing more than a cheap sleight-of-hand. Any school will improve if it can get rid of the children who "hold it back."
I've said this probably a hundred times, and I'll say it again: we already have "school choice" in this country for affluent parents. And I'm not talking about the phony threats of "competition" from private schools (which was always a specious argument for vouchers); I'm talking about fact that affluent parents pay premium prices for housing in the suburbs so they can send their children to high-performing public schools populated by other children whose families have similar values and similar means.
In this reality, it is perfectly legitimate for less-affluent parents who value education to complain that they can't participate in a similar form of segregation simply because they aren't wealthy enough. This is the appeal of charter schools: it's not that they are "free to experiment" or "unencumbered by union rules" or "setting high expectations" or "using innovative curricula" or all sorts of other irrelevant, reformy bromides.
The allure of urban charter schools is that they allow anxious parents to isolate their children from those students that the public schools are required to teach -- the students charter parents worry will disrupt their own children's education. But this impulse is, in reality, no different than the impulse suburban parents have to isolate their children in the same way.
- We do not segregate children who have special education needs or behavioral issues in affluent suburbs, but many in the reformy movement seem to think this is the only solution to the urban education "crisis." If a kid acts out in the 'burbs, all the forces of the school district are brought to bear on the problem: individualized instruction, counseling, small-group instruction, more personnel, specialized curricula, etc. But that kid -- unless it is an extreme circumstance -- is not removed from the school and is mainstreamed to the greatest extent possible.
Apparently, we as a society have come to the conclusion that mainstreaming special needs children is a privilege reserved for those whose parents have enough money. Everyone OK with that?
- If we're going to segregate the students, charter admission and attrition is probably the worst way to do it. There is no due process, no standardization, no transparency, and no larger accountability to the public in the current charter (de)selection system for students. If a community really wants to go ahead with segregating the kids by behavior and educational need, they could certainly find a much easier way than letting Eva Moskowitz and her fellow travelers play Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Moe.
- If we're going to segregate the students, we don't then have to create dehumanizing "no excuses" cultures in these schools. If the kids get the boot when they act up, why punish the ones who stay with a narrow curriculum, drill sergeant instruction, and a discipline code that strikes many of us as degrading? Why not treat the kids who adhere to norms of behavior and conduct -- the same norms expected in the 'burbs -- just like the kids in the 'burbs? You know, let them talk at lunch and other crazy stuff like that?
Better yet: why not let the communities themselves determine the course of their children's schooling? Why is the consumerist obsession with "choice" -- a value imposed on poor people from on high -- being touted as the answer to all of the ills of urban education? If citizens of cities want to give parents "choices," let them democratically decide to do so as a community. Why should autocratic mayors and overreaching state and federal governments make decisions for poor communities when affluent communities make those decisions for themselves?
I wish I had a neat, pithy answer to all of this; I don't, and I don't believe for a second that anyone on either side of this debate does. The pandering politicians and think-tanky wonks and self-satistfied pundits who foolishly tells us that the answers are to be found in their platitudes should all be issued rolls of duct tape to keep their mouths from flapping.
What I do know is that it's far past time for us to start being honest about this stuff. The first step would be to acknowledge that charters do not and can not serve all children in poor, urban communities. Just getting a few prominent reformy types to accept this truth would be a big first step.
Newark, in a first for a large New Jersey public-school system, has given out bonuses of up to $12,500 to its highest-rated teachers, inaugurating a controversial merit-pay program being watched across the nation.
A group of 190 Newark teachers learned last week they would receive bonuses, paid for through the foundation started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. About $1.4 million in bonuses were given out to teachers: $5,000 for being rated highly effective, another $5,000 for working at a poorly performing school and another $2,500 for teaching a hard-to-staff subject. Those included certain math, science and language subjects.
That's right: about one-third of one percent of the Newark teaching corps got the vaunted $12,500 bonus that so enchanted the punditocracy. I guess this is what Chris Christie meant when he said he wanted to pay "good" teachers more: if you happen to be in the top less than 1%, as judged by an arbitrary and secretive system, you get some money. Everyone else working hard and serving Newark's kids can go take a flying leap.
Newark, N.J., schools reached a tentative contract agreement with its teachers' union today, and one of the contract's major features — merit bonuses — will be funded with up to $80 million from a foundation managing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's massive donation to the district.
While the exact appropriation for the merit bonuses can't be determined until they are issued, [Newark Teachers Union President Joseph] Del Grosso said the foundation's contribution could total around $80 million over the next three years. The district proposed using the foundation's money for the performance bonuses and Del Grosso didn't negotiate directly with the foundation, he said.
At the rate that merit pay is being distributed right now, there will be a total of $4.2 million in bonuses over the life of the contract. That would be a little more than 5% of what was promised last fall.
But let's live in the land of the Merit Pay Fairy and pretend that this deal significantly improves teacher effectiveness, something that has never happened before. If 190 "excellent" teachers earned $1.4 million, how many teachers would have to earn $78.6 million over two years at the same rate? My back of the envelope calculation is that the money is being distributed right now at the rate of $7,368 per "excellent" teacher.
Which means that in order to pay out all of the $80 million Del Grosso said was available, the district would have to identify 5,144 additional teachers in each of the next two years. This, of course, is impossible in a district that only has 3,200 teachers.
Now let's suppose Del Grosso and the press got the figure wrong. Let's suppose there's only one-quarter of the money available for merit pay: $20,000,000. That would mean the district would still have to find another 1,072 "excellent" teachers next year: about 40 percent of the teaching force would have to get bonuses.
Does anyone in their right mind think that merit pay will magically transform Newark's teachers so that eight times as many will be classified as "excellent" next year? And stay that way for another year?
This is beyond absurd. What's happened here is a betrayal of trust so deep and so pernicious it boggles the mind. The very small amount of money that was distributed this year, compared to what was promised, is proof that the district has no intention of following through on their end of the bargain. State Superintendent Cami Anderson, NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf, Governor Christie, and Mark Zuckerberg have clearly broken their promise to Newark's teachers.
Teachers in Newark trusted that the people in charge of the schools were bargaining in good faith; evidently, they were not. After one year, it's clear the teachers of Newark will not get more than a tiny fraction of the money they were promised.
Which begs a question: if the teachers aren't going to get all that merit pay money, who will?
* UPDATE: The Memorandum of Agreement between the NTU and the Newark district, dated October 18, 2012 and posted at NJSpotlight, calls for an "allocation of up to $20 million" for "rewards," meaning merit pay bonuses. So there is an obvious discrepancy between Del Grosso's interview, where he claims $80 million is available for merit pay, and the memorandum. This is an important point and I apologize for not including it in the original post; I'm left wondering, however, why this discrepancy was never reported (so far as I know).
Again, back of the envelope says that's about 2160 teachers who either opted into the merit pay system or were forced. Use the same rate of merit pay disbursement as above: $7,368 per "excellent" teacher. If the rate of disbursement per teacher stays the same, about 58% of the eligible teachers would have to earn merit pay over the next two years to use up the $20 million figure in the memorandum.
So my point stands: the amount of money given in merit pay this year is way out of line with expectations teachers likely had based on both reporting in the press and with the memorandum of agreement.
UPDATE 2: There are some small discrepancies in reporting on the figures for the merit pay bonuses. WNYC reports the total amount as $1.3 million, and 17 teachers got the maximum amount of $12,500. Fleisher breaks down her reported numbers further at her blog. Again, the differences are small.
So, is that $50 million for bonuses, plus $30 million for retro pay? Or a total of $50 million, which means $20 million for merit pay?
The fund created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to help Newark schools will contribute a little less than $50 million to the contract ratified this week for the city's teachers, but not necessarily in the ways many expected.
The chief executive of the Foundation for Newark's Future, Greg Taylor, said yesterday that the fund would pay roughly $18 million for the teacher performance bonuses that have been the centerpiece -- and the most controversial piece -- of the new contract.
But in some of his first public comments since the deal was ratified by union members on Wednesday, Taylor said $31 million of the total -- close to two-thirds -- would go to the far less glamorous retroactive pay for teachers to cover two years in which the 4,000 members of the Newark Teachers Union went without a new contract.
There was a point in negotiations where the teachers were told there would be $80 million for merit pay.
Even if there is only $18-20 million for merit pay, the dispersal rate this year is way lower than what teachers would have reasonably anticipated.
Paymon has a proven track record of improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of students in Newark and New York City, and brings innovative leadership that Camden needs moving forward. He has shown a deep commitment to working with parents and teachers to put students at the center of all decisions.
"A proven track record" -- OK, what about asking someone who actually worked under him? What did this Newark teacher have to say about the "innovative leadership" of Paymon Rouhanifard? Do the people who should know Rouhanifard best -- the teachers of Newark -- agree that he has a "deep commitment to working with parents and teachers"?
Small wonder: Rouhanifard was in Newark for less than a year as the "Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer," which means, according to more than one teacher I spoke to in Newark, that he had no meaningful contact with the district's teachers. He wasn't an instructional leader, didn't write curriculum, didn't conduct evaluations, didn't work in professional development. But honestly, how could he? Paymon Rouhanifard has no meaningful experience running a school, let alone a district.
In a marathon hearing that was as spirited as it was chaotic, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to close M.S. 571 last night, approving a [sic] to replace the ailing middle school with a charter school.
The decision elicited a chorus of jeers from assembled parents, whose school currently shares space with M.S. 571 at 80 Underhill Avenue.
For the next two years, P.S. 9 will share the building with two other schools as M.S. 571 phases out and Brooklyn East, an Uncommon Schools member, moves in. Parents argue that housing an additional school in the building will place undue strain on shared facilities — like the gymnasium and library — and prevent the P.S. 9 from expanding to meet a growing need.
"It is very disappointing to see a school that has made such wonderful strides and attracted the community to be treated like this," said Rebecca Shulman Herz, a parent of two P.S. 9 students.
At full population, Brooklyn East will take over 13 classrooms on the second floor of the building, teaching nearly double the amount of students in the same space currently occupied by the smaller M.S. 571.
P.S. 9 will remain on the ground and first floors of the building, occupying 36 classrooms and growing to serve some 700 students, according to the department plan.
Well, sure: it's easy to be "Uncommon" when the chances of a black boy making it through to graduation at Uncommon's Newark school, North Star, are only one-in-four: that's worse than a recruit's chances of making it through elite Navy SEALs training.
Please check out the videos of Thursday night's contentious hearing on the proposed co-location of yet another branch of the Success Academy charter school, this one in IS 50 in South Williamsburg, a proposal that the entire community has risen up in opposition to, because of the discriminatory recruitment and enrollment policies of the hedge-fund backed Success Academy charters, their policy of pushing out high needs students, and the fact that there are four under-enrolled public elementary schools in this mostly Latino neighborhood within three blocks of the proposed charter.
Nearly 500 parents, teachers, students, and community leaders filled the large auditorium, with more than 80 of them speaking out against this co-location proposal, and fewer than five parents from Brooklyn spoke out in support. The rest of the audience consisted of parents bused in from the various Success charter schools in Harlem.
I berate the two DOE officials presiding over the hearings, Gregg Betheil and Paymon Rouhanifard. I say they should be ashamed of themselves and ask if they went into education to provoke the kind of division, anger and resentment seen tonight; I urge them to tell whoever who is making this decision to say no to this charter school; as there has to be someone in the city with the balls or guts to say no to Eva. I add that if there was one thing good that came out of this evening, it is that it is clear that NYC parents love their public schools and want them protected and supported, no matter how hard the DOE has tried to destroy them through budget cuts, test prep and rising class sizes. Lastly, I recount how at the recent City Council hearings on college readiness, the only thing the Council and the DOE agreed upon was that El Puente is a great school and should be replicated; with DOE officials repeating this several times. So why don't they replicate El Puente here and create a great 6-12 school, instead of bringing in a charter school that no one in the community wants or needs?
It's a heck of a video. Leonie Haimson, an NYC parent activist who wrote the post, confronts Rouhanifard over the co-location of Success Academy with IS 50, the neighborhood public school. At 1:30, the camera zooms on on Rouhanifard, who sits stone-faced, calmly ignoring all the opprobrium hurled his way.
I get the feeling that's why this young man rose so quickly in NYC and Newark, and why he is now getting the Camden job: Rouhanifard has been trained to close local public schools over the objections of local parents to make way for charters, which, unlike public schools, do not serve every child in their neighborhoods. And if that angers parents, it doesn't seem to phase him in the slightest.
I don't know what's worse: that Rouhanifard hasn't interacted with teachers, or that he holds parents in such contempt. Either way, his background bodes very poorly for the public schools of Camden.
The Camden teachers contract is up for negotiation, just as the state has taken over the district and is ready to install a new, reformy superintendent, Paymon Rouhanifard. This young fellow spent his career in New York City forcing charter school co-locations on communities that did not want them; consequently, there here is little doubt he is being installed in Camden to turn the district into a "portfolio" system, where public schools are squeezed out so charters, often run by for-profit managers, can take their place.
This shouldn't be a surprise: the state is following the plan laid out in secret documents authored by a Broad Foundation intern fellow (and leaked to the press last year). The first step was to disenfranchise the citizens in Camden and allow them no say in the governance of their schools; Rouhanifard's confirmation is the inevitable result.
But the privatization of Camden's schools is only part of the plan. Without question, the other goal is to break the teachers union, starting with the introduction of merit pay. How can I be sure?
Look up north to another state-controlled disrict: Paterson (6/25/13).
After going three years without a new contract, Paterson's teachers last week voted to give their union leaders the authority to call for a job action, including a possible strike.
Teacher union president Peter Tirri said it was not likely that any action would be taken until after the current phase of contract talks – known as fact-finding – were complete. Tirri said the last fact-finding session was scheduled for August 1.
"Our members are frustrated,'' said Tirri, head of the Paterson Education Association (PEA). "They don't want to go into a fourth year without a contract."
Tirri said the district offered no cost of living raise to the union members and said the only increases on the table involved a merit pay plan that had not yet been fully explained.
How badly does the state want merit pay? This badly: the state-run district -- which does not have an empowered school board accountable to the city's citizens and has been controlled by the State of New Jersey for 22 years -- is willing to hold out on its teachers for the fourth year just so it can implement an undefined merit pay plan.
I'll say it once again: merit pay does not work. It has never worked. It will never work. Believing in merit pay is like believing in fairies. And it's become clear over the last few years that the real point of merit pay is to cut teacher wages.
So why would the state think they can get away with this? Why would they think the teachers of Paterson would accept a scheme that has been thoroughly tested and has thoroughly failed?
[District spokeswoman Terry]Corallo pointed out that the teachers in Newark recently signed a new labor agreement that establishes merit pay. Kerr said the merit pay plan was coming from key people in the Christie administration who were overseeing the contract negotiations in the state-controlled district.
Yes, it's the "new reality": Newark has merit pay, so now every other teacher in New Jersey has to get in line. Except that merit pay in Newark was financed by Mark Zuckerberg, who dropped his Facebook bucks into the city to deflect attention from the bad publicity of an unfavorable movie, which cleared the way for his company's IPO. No one has come forward in Paterson with millions of dollars in private funds to pay for a ridiculous merit pay scheme; guess where the state wants to get the money?
Tirri says the union doesn't oppose merit pay in itself. But he said the union would not accept a contact under which merit pay replaced a system for regular annual cost-of-living increases. Moreover, Tirri has expressed concerns that the process for awarding merit pay could result in inequities and favoritism.
Where will the state get the money for this scheme? Simple: merit pay will be funded by the teachers themselves, by slashing their regular raises. And since the system for distributing merit pay isn't defined -- just like in Newark -- the potential for turning merit pay into a patronage machine is enormous.
When the merit pay contract was being debated in Newark, I warned that this would happen. I warned that the NTU had to make clear that this contract is not replicable across the state, for the simple reason that there must be extra money to make it work, and there are only so many California billionaires interested in dropping $100 million in Jersey's cities to go round.
Mark my words: the next step in the spreading of the merit pay virus will be an attempt by the state to force Camden's teachers to accept it. They should not. And the rest of us need to let them know that we will have their backs as they stand up, just like the brave teachers in Paterson, and resist this reformy contagion.
The Merit Pay Fairy says: "Yo, I ain't no virus!"
About one third of the city's 53 schools will have new principals when classes start next month, a major turnover that district officials attribute to their ongoing efforts to improve the quality of education provided to Paterson children.
New appointees will be filling five high school positions and 13 elementary school slots, according to a list provided by city education officials. In eight cases, the district is shuffling current principals among different schools. Six people have been promoted to principal positions and the district is hiring four others from outside Paterson.
It's easier to deny raises to people who've never worked for you. Long-term relationships built on trust and mutual respect are impediments to "reform" in the shiny new 21st century school district.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale charged Wednesday that Pennsylvania's largest charter school - located in Chester - was improperly reimbursed $1.3 million for lease payments on its own buildings and called on the state Department of Education to clamp down on the practice.
Finding No. 1: Charter School Improperly Received $1,276,660 in State Lease Reimbursement.
Finding No. 2: Charter School Failed to Comply with the Teacher Certification Provisions of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Finding No. 3: Weaknesses in School Board Meeting Minutes.
Finding No. 4: Failure to Develop and to Timely File a Memorandum of Understanding with Local Law Enforcement.
Finding No. 5: Charter School Failed to Comply with Open Enrollment and Lottery Provisions of the Charter School Law.
Finding No. 6: Charter School Out of Compliance with Retirement Requirements.
Finding No. 7: Improper Reporting of Certified School Nurse on Health Services Reimbursement Form Submitted for State Reimbursement.
Finding No. 8: Inaccurate Reporting of Child Accounting Data to the Pennsylvania Information Management System.
Finding No. 9: Internal Control Weaknesses in Tuition Billing Procedures.
Finding No. 10: Charter School Lacks Sufficient Internal Controls Over Its Student Record Data.
Finding No. 11: Charter School's Original Charter Lacks Important Requirements and Has Never Been Updated to Reflect Its Current Operations.
Oh, my. Well, I'm sure NJDOE officials can document that they investigated each of these issues before they granted CCCS its final charter. I mean, there's just no way someone at NJDOE wouldn't have picked up the phone and talked to officials in the PA Auditor's office before granting a charter to a CMO as controversial as Gureghian's. Right, fellas?
Well, I guess when you're PA Governor Tom Corbett's biggest campaign donor, you get a little slack from Republican administrations in bordering states. Let's see how much scratch Gureghian throws Chris Christie's way in his upcoming election(s).
In addition to fiscal, test cheating, and academic concerns, Bruce Baker found Chester Community has taken advantage of a broken school financing system in Pennsylvania to send the local public school district into a tailspin.
And yet, in spite of all this, the NJDOE is giving Camden Community the green light to open in a little more than two weeks -- all so a politically powerful charter operator can get embedded into another state.
They really have no choice. They need to suspend Camden Community's charter, find seats for the children and teaching jobs for the staff, and thoroughly investigate the PA Auditor's charges.
Anything less would further compound their dereliction of duty.
Christie, the father of four school-age children, expressed what he described as an obligation to get involved in the Camden district at a press conference today at Woodrow Wilson High School.
As I pointed out at the time, however, Christie sends his own sons to the Delbarton School, which spends upwards of $30,000 per pupil; Camden, according to state records, spends about $22,000. Wouldn't it be nice if every Camden parent could send their sons and daughters to schools with small class sizes, and watch their children play sports on beautiful fields, just like Delbarton?
Chris Christie: Just another dad watching his kid play sports at school.
Yesterday, Christie recklessly appointed a 32-year-old with six years of education experience to run Camden's schools: Paymon Rouhanifard. What is it about this young man -- who has no experience running a school or a district and would certainly be an unacceptable leader for more affluent districts -- that Christie finds so compelling?
The new superintendent is Paymon Rouhanifard, who went through an interview with Christie himself. He has a compelling personal story that includes his family's escape from Iran after the revolution and their struggles in America, which included a period of homelessness.
The idea of creating a community was critical to Paymon Rouhanifard's ('99) success as a teacher.
Paymon transferred to MBA at the beginning of his sophomore year. He attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served as the Senior Class President and received the University Chancellor's Award, given annually to one senior male and female student for demonstrating outstanding char- acter, leadership, and honor. He graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science.
MBA enjoys one of the top debate programs in the country. In 2005, MBA became the only school in the history of policy debate to win both first and second place at the national championship tournament. MBA debaters compete nationally and have won three national championships. MBA also hosts the prestigious Southern Bell Forum, the premier invitational competition in high school debate, on campus each January.
The Honor Code is an integral part of life at MBA, promoting a strong sense of mutual trust and respect among all members of the MBA community.
Perhaps the new state superintendent will start a rifle team in Camden's schools.
According to tax documents obtained through Guidestar, MBA (I swear, that's what they call it) has "functional expenses" of just under $29 million. That would put its per pupil costs at around $40,000 a year.
I want to be very clear about this: there is nothing wrong with sending your child to or attending an elite prep school that has high per pupil spending. (Full confession: I went to a mix of private, parochial, and public schools throughout my K-12 career; we moved around a lot). I think it shows great character on the part of Rouhanifard's parents that they raised a son who was able to excel in his studies and attend such an elite institution. Perhaps he received financial aid to attend; but even if he didn't, Rouhanifard was clearly an academically gifted young man. I would not for a second diminish his early successes, nor would I say that his attendance at MBA necessarily disqualifies him to run a public school system.
No, my problem -- once again -- is with the massive hypocrisy of Chris Christie. This is a man who refused to follow the law and fund New Jersey's poorest districts as is required by both court decree and the state constitution. This is a man who has let the infrastructure in the state's poorest districts literally crumble. This is a man who says over and over again that we spend too much money on education, and who blames that spending on middle class teachers. And still he sends his own children to private schools that spend a fortune compared to the state's public schools.
We will have to wait and see what Mr. Rouhanifard has to say about this. My hope is that he will demand that Governor Christie change his policies on school funding, because as both Rouhanifard and Christie know -- from their personal experiences -- money does matter in education. My hope is that, at Mr. Rouhanifard's insistence, children in Camden will not have to attend charters or private schools to enjoy the benefits of a well-paid staff, excellent facilities, the latest technology, a deep curriculum that includes the arts, and many extra-curriculars including an extensive athletics program.
We'll have to wait and see if my hopes match Mr. Rouhanifard's actions.
* I'm not even adjusting for regional cost differences. The Census Bureau says Nashville-Davidson County spends $9,800 per pupil, which means MBA is spending more than four times as much as its neighboring public schools.
Can you imagine the Camden schools if they quadrupled their spending per pupil?
All that aside, what do we know about the great state of Tennessee?


PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Through 10 games in the California Winter League (CWL) season, over 35 of the 200-plus players have signed professional contracts. That number is guaranteed to increase as the season works its way toward the League's championship on February 18.
The players recognized below have stood out in more ways than one. The first man listed is Will Krug, who will embark on his second stint with the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League following the conclusion of the CWL.
To this point, Krug is batting .387 in 31 at-bats and continues to play a sparkling centerfield for the Manitoba North Stars. He also boasts a whopping 13 stolen bases in 10 games, which is nine more than the next best player in that category.
The University of Illinois product already has 86 professional plate appearances under his belt. Krug knows he can use that to his advantage in preparing for the ThunderBolts 96-game season.
Krug is always looking to better his craft and understands how fortunate it is to be playing in a setting perfect to accommodate baseball.
Another player who worked his way to the Frontier League thanks in large part to the CWL was Robert de Angelis. De Angelis impressed Florence Freedom manager Dennis Pelfrey early in the scouting process and ultimately earned the right to be considered a professional in 2018.
De Angelis, a Division III product from Staten Island, New York is getting his first taste of the California sunshine. He is making sure to enjoy his experience while it lasts.
In 24 at-bats, de Angelis has seven hits and all have gone for extra bases. The left-handed hitting outfielder has walked more than he has struck out and is batting .292 with six doubles and a home run for the Toronto Rush.
Speaking of standouts who are exceeding at the plate, Gabe Gunter of the Alberta Grizzly is batting a healthy .421 with an impressive .988 OPS. The 22-year-old watched his hard work pay off after manager Paul Noce offered the outfielder a contract to play for his Eastside Diamond Hoppers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League.
Noce recognized the potential in Gunter's 6-foot-2, 200lb frame. The Diamond Hoppers skipper wasted little time in nabbing the impressive left-handed hitter early in the California Winter League.
Gunter is free to play out the rest of the CWL season knowing he is a pro, which takes away a heavy burden others still carry. At the same time, the native of Hawaii now holds himself to a higher standard.
As it relates to the other phase of the game, CWL pitching coordinator and Windy City ThunderBolts manager Ron Biga mentioned that he is looking for three minimum qualities when it comes to pitchers competing to throw at the next level. They include: command, velocity and an ability to throw three pitches for strikes.
Apparently, Chris DeRue checked those boxes because Biga offered the left-hander a contract to pitch for Windy City in 2018. DeRue will also have the benefit of pitching close to home, as the Lake Villa, Illinois native is right around the corner of Standard Bank Stadium.
The Division III product can call his time at the California Winter League a success in several ways.
DeRue has allowed only one run in three starts, manning a 0.53 ERA. The future ThunderBolt has struck out 20 while only walking two in 13 innings pitched.
Last on the list is Mathew Dallas and he is certainly not least. According to a CWL scout, Dallas is considered, "among the top three arms" in the league.
Manager of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, Tom Vaeth, offered Dallas a contract to pitch for his Can-Am organization in 2018. Dallas has plus velocity to accompany his hard breaking stuff.
The 6-foot, 210lb right-hander had a cup of coffee with the River City Rascals of the Frontier League last season, as he completed 2.1 innings pitched in three appearances. Dallas expects to add to that total in 2018 as he prepares to work in a very competitive independent baseball scene.
About a week and a half remains in the California Winter League season and guys will look to find a professional home when it is all said and done. The CWL has kept the dream alive for over 600 players over its nine year existance as the list continues to grow.
As for this list, the aforementioned parties have emerged from the pack and established themselves as professionals. For Krug, de Angelis, Gunter, DeRue and Dallas, the reality will be pro baseball in 2018.


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Child's play. From treasure hunters to mechanical towers and crazy cosmic cows, we review three games nominated for the Kinderspiel des Jahres (German Children's Game of the Year) and try to predict the winner.
Check out Do Your Job on Kickstarter from Wicked Manatee Games.
Designer Geoff Engelstein sent us these exclusive first look pictures of the custom dice in Space Cadets: Dice Duel. They look awesome!
Hi guys - I noticed this episode isn't showing up in the iTunes store. No biggie - I can get it from here. :) Just thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware. Love your Spiel des Jahres episodes!
Thanks for catching my mistake! Somehow I saved over the Kinderspiel episode listing when I updated the feed last time. Whoops!
The iTunes feed has been updated and should have the Kinderspiel episode listed in its proper place.
Glad to know people are watching out for my goofs... and that was a BIG one!