text:
Employees Vendors
Patient Portal Patient Survey Schedule Appointment Careers
3310 Magnolia St
COVID-19 Mobile Testing Locations
Telehealth/Healow App
Kiosk Self Service
Phone Visits
Traditional In-Person Visits
Grants & Programs
Hypertension Management Program
Ryan White Program (HIV/AIDS)
School-Based Health Care
Denmark Olar Elementary School
Denmark-Olar Middle School
Denmark-Olar High School
St Matthews K8 School
Sandy Run Elementary School
Calhoun County High School
Orangeburg-Calhoun-Allendale-Bamberg Community Action Agency, Inc.
SCHIEX
Self Pay Patients – Discount Policy
Sliding Fee Calculator
Neeses
Dental (Mobile Unit)
Optometry (Mobile Unit)
FHC Board Members
FHC Board of Directors Executive Committee
FHC Board Members Quality Committee
FHC Board Members Finance Committee
FHC Board Members Planning, Development and Facilities Committee
FHC Board Members Bylaws Committee
FHC Board Members Personnel Committee
FHC Board Members Nominating Committee
Clyburn: Health centers can serve beyond mission; FHC recognizes people involved in founding
Posted on: Aug 6 2019
Community health centers must continue to fulfill their core mission of providing affordable care while also seeking innovative ways to improve their communities, Sixth District Congressman Jim Clyburn says.
"Find ways that you can help communities beyond what's been the traditional thing to do. If we don't, we are going to pass on to the next generation a little less education, a little less health care, a little less wealth and a little less sense of community," he said.
The congressman spoke during the Family Health Centers Inc. legislative breakfast held Tuesday morning at the Garden Room in Orangeburg.
Clyburn said community health centers are among the programs born out of the Great Society, a set of domestic programs that then-President Lyndon B. Johnson launched in the U.S. with the goal of eliminating, among other things, poverty.
"The Great Society program, according to a lot of people you see and hear today, was a great failure. Well, let me tell you something: Community health centers were born as a part of the Great Society program back in 1965 and not only have they succeeded, but they have succeeded beyond expectations. They are an integral part of why it works," Clyburn said.
He said Medicare, Medicaid and the Voting Rights Act were among the other Great Society programs that are still "existing and exceeding far beyond expectations."
"Don't listen to these people. They have got an agenda that's got nothing to do with what your dreams and aspirations are. Your dreams and aspirations are about the same as mine, and that is to meet the challenges that we have as Americans today. What is that challenge? To make this country's greatness accessible and affordable to all of its citizens," Clyburn said.
He said community health centers would be nothing without the communities they serve.
"When those programs were created in 1965, they stipulated that you can't just have the health care or the education. … You've got to involve the people that you're there to serve," Clyburn said.
He touted the importance of participating in the U.S. Census, which will be conducted in 2020. Census information determines where a lot of federal dollars go.
"Nobody's doing anything to you but trying to determine what the needs are in your community. And if you fail to do it, it means that you're undercutting services that could come to your community. And then when the budgets are put together, the budgets are designed to respond to what you put on those forms," Clyburn said.
In making his point, he referenced his 10-20-30 program which is designed to get at least 10 percent of Rural Development investments to communities where 20 percent or more of the population has lived below the poverty line for the last 30 years.
"And then we got to the Affordable Care Act. We did all that under the Recovery Reinvestment Act; $300 million went to community health centers to help them upgrade. We targeted those communities" that fell under the 10-20-30 program criteria, he said.
"(It was) not going to communities that can write the best grant. I don't have anything against people who write good grants, but I don't want to penalize people who are not equipped to hire big-time grant writers to write the good grants," Clyburn said.
He also issued a challenge for community health centers to not just be health centers, but hubs, for example, for the Internet access which is needed in many rural areas.
"We ought to make every church a hot spot. We ought to make every community health center a hot spot. I would much rather see these children in the parking lots of community health centers doing their homework than to see them down at the local McDonald's or some other fast food joint doing homework," Clyburn said.
He added, "We have got, as community health centers, to get beyond that which we're chartered to do. … People get rewarded for the things they do beyond the call of duty. And if community health centers can be a hot spot, you can provide a service in that community for which you're not paid. We have got to get serious about providing education and health care throughout our community."
National Health Care Center Week 2019 is observed Aug. 4-10, marking the 54th year of the community health center movement. The theme for 2019 is "America's Health Centers: Rooted in Communities."
Family Health Centers Inc. is part of a nationwide network of health centers that serve more than 28 million Americans, providing care to the medically vulnerable and underserved.
Family Health Centers Inc. began as the Orangeburg County Consumer Health Council, which was founded in September 1969 and was chartered in January 1970.
Some of the people who were a part of the Consumer Health Council were recognized during the breakfast, including Orbia I. Gilmore, whose family members were present at the occasion, and Betty Henderson.
Family Health Centers has its main Orangeburg site on Magnolia Street in Orangeburg, along with six satellites sites in Denmark, Vance, Holly Hill, Norway, St. Matthews and St. George.
The center served 19,551 patients last year. It is accredited by the Joint Commission, verifying it is in compliance with nationally recognized standards, and was the first primary care medical home in the state to be accredited by the Joint Commission.
During the program, 11 children were named as FHC Health Care Children Hero Award recipients.
Also during the program, S.C. Primary Health Care Association CEO Dr. Vicki Young read a proclamation from Gov. Henry McMaster, who proclaimed Aug. 4-10 as S.C. Health Center Week.
A proclamation was also read from Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler proclaiming Aug. 4-10 as National Health Center Week.
FHC CEO Leon Brunson Sr. said the center's focus continues to be providing affordable and accessible health care, with the FHC already providing free hypertension medication for patients who cannot afford it, along with providing individuals without transportation with free transportation to the site for treatment.
"We want to see people live longer with quality of life greater than what it was. We strive for that every day," he said.
Flu Vaccination – Flu Shots Available At Family Health Centers, Inc.
Phase 1 Renovation of FHC
DID YOU SEE? Longtime FHC employee Ella Ray retires after nearly half century on job
FHC GETS $300k TO EXPAND ORAL HEALTH SERVICES
FHC Receives $96,000 from HHS
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Select FHC Facility LocationDenmark, SCHolly Hill, SCNeeses, SCOrangeburg, SCSt. George, SCSt. Matthews, SCVance, SC
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3310 Magnolia St, Orangeburg, SC 29115


text:
COVID-19 UPDATES: Quebec threatens construction, manufacturing sectors with more COVID-19 restrictions - January 15, 2021
IoT/IIoT
Opinion Archive
Enclosures & Workstations
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Machine Vision & Inspection
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Features Software Technology
Global engineering collaboration helps win business
By Siemens
Sept. 29, 2014 – The Company: Iggesund Tools is a tooling company with a proud heritage spanning more than 300 years. Today, its core business is the design and production of specialized tooling for the forest products industry. In each of the sectors it serves — debarking, lumber production, chipping technology and chip analysis — Iggesund Tools is recognized as a world leader.
The company's TurnKnife Systems for chipping and lumber production, its ScanChip Analyzer, its debarking systems and PartnerChip, and its service options have kept it on the cutting edge of the lumber and pulp and paper industries.
The Challenge: Competition in this arena is keen, driving down lead times for all involved.
"Some of the original equipment manufacturers are delivering machines with very short lead times, so for us to stay in the game, we must be able to deliver our tooling at an even faster rate than they can deliver the machine," explains Ian Zinniger, engineering manager for Iggesund Tools' Canadian operation. "For us, the possibility of getting an order is often driven by how quickly we can deliver. These days, this is as important as the technical merits of the solution."
Iggesund Tools is a global business. Headquartered in Iggesund, Sweden, the company also has North American operations in Laval, Que., and Oldsmar, Fla. Engineering is done at all three sites, while production takes place principally in Sweden. In the past, the three engineering sites primarily worked independently. In fact, at times each site designed its own version of the same part. Although this was inefficient, it was safer to work that way because the company had limited centralized data management.
"You couldn't be sure, if you wanted to use a part designed somewhere else, that it wouldn't be changed later on without your knowledge," explains Zinniger.
There was a similar problem sending data from the three engineering sites to the production facilities. Without good product data management (PDM) functionality, it was difficult to ensure that production worked with the latest revisions of the data. In addition to the possibility of working with out-of-date information, there was a great deal of administrative overhead devoted to controlling engineering data. The need to handle product data more efficiently, and ultimately to drive down cycle times, led management to consider a PDM software solution.
The Strategy: The need for PDM coincided with the demise of Iggesund Tools' previous CAD/CAM software. In searching for a new solution, the company knew exactly what it wanted.
"We required robust, integrated design and manufacturing functionality," says Zinniger. "But we also wanted that functionality to be integrated with PDM, which was seen as being crucial long-term for our success."
After evaluating the available options, Iggesund Tools found that NX and Teamcenter software from Siemens best met these criteria, delivering a managed development environment capable of handling the complexity of the company's designs, along with powerful data control.
The Results: From the design perspective, the company has seen many advantages to working in NX.
"With NX, we gained a considerable amount of functionality that has been extremely helpful in cutting design and development time," says Zinniger.
Because the previous system was a surface-based modeller, engineers weren't able to do interference checking on the digital data. With NX, they can now do that.
The main advantage, however, has been the ability to automate routine product design, which includes tasks such as modelling, drawing creation, engineering checks and implementation of engineering changes, all the way through to release.
"In the past, routine product design could take up to two to three weeks," says Zinniger. "Today, using the knowledge capture and automation capabilities within NX, it can often be reduced to two to three days."
Zinniger has run the numbers and reports a consistent two- to three-fold decrease in cycle time since the Canadian operation started doing routine design in NX. The time saved is not the only value, however.
"You can put know-how into the automation tools, and that cuts down on the training of designers," Zinniger adds. "This is especially important when you have multiple sites and you have to teach design methods and standards across different continents, languages and cultures. Creating these automation tools in NX and then sharing them is much more efficient."
Teamcenter delivered the multi-site data control Iggesund Tools was looking for from a PDM system.
"We can move data between sites with the confidence that up-to-date versions are always being used," Zinniger says.
One important outcome of this is an ability to better leverage the work of the three engineering groups.
"In the past, one site didn't take advantage of existing components designed by another site because they couldn't be sure they wouldn't be changed without their knowledge. Teamcenter gives you confidence that you can freely make use of components that are not owned and controlled by your site. They are being controlled by Teamcenter," he explains.
Production is experiencing the result of this, no longer seeing the same component being manufactured under multiple control numbers.
There are other benefits to Teamcenter as well. One is the ability to instantly search the data vault to determine where a component is used.
"If we want to change a piece of equipment, this capability makes it much easier to evaluate the implications of the change because we can see every instance where that part is used," says Zinniger.
Also, the company often services existing installations that were done earlier in the product cycle. With Teamcenter's product structure editor, they can retrieve the exact configuration of any product with a few mouse clicks.
"We use this in the case of troubleshooting or reviewing a change to that piece of equipment. It's a capability we did not have previously, and it saves a great deal of time," he adds.
"A goal from highest levels of Iggesund Tools is to reduce delivery times on routine products," Zinniger concludes. "The use of NX and Teamcenter has allowed us to shave a week or more off of our delivery times compared to what we had in the past for our Canadian customers. And this is happening even though our products are now much more complex and advanced."
www.plm.automation.siemens.com
This is a longer version of a case study that originally ran in the September issue's Automation Software Case Study Guide.
SolidWorks: Improving material handling equipment development with CAD
Car-parts manufacturer cuts admin, operational costs with 2X
COSS Systems launches new ERP software
Epicor: Managing multiple companies with one solution
January 15, 2021 Quebec threatens construction, manufacturing sectors with more COVID-19 restrictions
January 13, 2021 Employers clamp down on 'ambiguous' mask rules as more infections tied to workplaces
January 12, 2021 Ont. manufacturers to receive more testing, inspections under emergency order
PODCAST: How to develop manufacturing partnerships to boost innovation
Retool and recover: COVID-19 crisis urges Toronto Stamp to automate
Technology adoption has to start at the top
How will automation affect Canada's post-COVID economy?
Five steps to plan and pay for automation: Automate to Innovate event recap
System helps manufacturer reduce data entry and improve lead times
The journey into kaizen
MRO Magazine
Manufacturing AUTOMATION@AutomationMag·
Quebec's labour minister on Friday threatened to impose more restrictions on the province's construction and #manufacturing sectors for allegedly flouting health orders. http://ow.ly/oHmi50Da0Bq #mfg
U.S. industrial production rose 1.6 per cent in December, a third straight monthly gain, but remains below its pre-pandemic level. https://www.automationmag.com/u-s-industrial-production-jumps-1-6-in-december/ #mfg #manufacturing
Toyota will pay $180 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it failed to report pollution control system defects in its vehicles for a decade. http://ow.ly/BC0f50D8L7b #automotive #production
Job moves: @doosanmta has appointed a new CEO of its North American operations. https://www.automationmag.com/doosan-machine-tools-names-new-ceo-of-north-america-division/ #automation #mfg
Last week, we shared 10 top trends for industrial #automation for 2021. Here's five more from Jim Beretta, automation industry expert and host of @a3automate's The Robot Industry podcast. http://ow.ly/TsCk50D7MPU #AutomationInCanada #mfg #automation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
'use strict';

// MODULES //

var isNumber = require( 'validate.io-number-primitive' );

// FUNCTIONS //

var ceil = Math.ceil,
	log2;

/**
* FUNCTION log2( x )
*	Returns the logarithm of `x` with base 2.
*
* @param {Number} x - input value
* @returns {Number} logarithm of x with respect to base 2
*/
function log2( x ) {
	return Math.log( x ) / Math.log( 2 );
} // end FUNCTION log2()

// MEDIAN //

/**
* FUNCTION median( p )
*	Computes the distribution median for a geometric distribution with parameter p.
*
* @param {Number} p - success probability
* @returns {Number} distribution median
*/
function median( p ) {
	if ( !( isNumber(p) && 0 <= p && p <= 1) ) {
		return NaN;
	}
	return ceil( -1 / log2( 1 - p ) ) - 1;
} // end FUNCTION median()

// EXPORTS

module.exports =  median;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Let Us Create Your Event Soundtrack!
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as well as Access to Millions of Recorded Songs in Every Genre.
we can Custom-Design the Musical Selections to fit every Moment of the Occasion.
and Weave them Together in an Order which Matches Up with Each Special "Scene," or Moment, of the Event.
The Premiere, ShowTime!, or, as we say, Implementation.


text:
Westminster man faces 175-year sentence
By OC Tribune Staff on July 25, 2016 • ( Leave a comment )
A WESTMINSTER man faces 175 years in prison on "three strikes" after being arrested and charged with five armed robberies in Fountain Valley.
A Westminster man was arraigned Friday for the armed robbery of five grocery stores and drug stores in Fountain Valley. According to the Orange County District Attorney's office, John Allen Wagner, 48, is charged with five counts of second degree robbery.
He also faces sentencing enhancements for two prior convictions from a residential burglary in 1987 and a federal bank robbery in 1991. The "three strikes" could add up to potential 175-year sentence. Wagner is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1 at West Justice Center in Westminster.
The suspect is accused of:
robbing an Albertson's store on Feb. 8, 2015
robbing a Rite-Aid store on Feb. 17, 2015
robbing a Walgreen's store on April 23, 2015
robbing a different Albertson's on May 25, 2015
robbing a different Walgreen's on July 29, 2015
Last Wednesday, Wagner was shopping at a Ralph's grocery store in Fountain Valley when a customer recognized him as being a suspect in a local robbery. Police were called and Wagner was arrested after a traffic stop. Fountain Valley officers say that he was found with a BB gun resembling a firearm and with clothing that matched those seen on surveillance video of the robberies.
Categories: Courts & Law
Tagged as: John Allen Wagner, Orange County District Attorney, Westminster
Democratic convention opens today
Pujols single-handedly leads Halos


All of our products can be returned/exchanged.
- All exchanges must be made within 30 days of the shipping date.
- All returns must be made within 30 days of the shipping date.
Refunds will be issued upon a tracking number being provided for return shipping. If you choose to send the products back without tracking numbers you will be notified once we have received the package via email that your refund has been processed.
*IMPORTANT* The customer is responsible for providing a proper and full address.
If you have provided us with an incorrect/insufficient address, we are unable to give you a refund until the package is returned back to us by the post office. This process may take several weeks or months due to the fact that the address is not valid. Once the package is returned to us you may request a refund or to have your package reshipped.
- For a refund, the shipping fees will be deducted before the refund.
- To have the package reshipped, you will be charged for a shipping fee.


Once a family home, this houseboat rests gently on Sydney Harbour in picture perfect surroundings, ready with a warm and welcome respite from the real world.
Originally constructed from parts of a barge built in the 1800s, the two storey houseboat has been fully reimagined by Infinite Design Studio, who have respected and preserved its heritage features throughout, blending these evocative touches with contemporary and luxurious finishes.
The result is a sophisticated open plan abode right on the waters of Sydney Harbour in stunning Pearl Bay, a bolthole feels at once a thousand miles from care and the height of luxury with a view to one of the world's most dazzling waterways.
Far from any compromises you might expect to find in either a holiday hideaway or a houseboat, the clever design and simple layout is filled with contemporary furnishings in natural materials that reflect the environment in which it sits. Dark painted weatherboard exteriors sweep across decks accessed by timber-framed French doors to provide perfect entertaining spaces.
French oak flooring, cream-coloured travertine tiles in the upstairs master suite combine with clever custom made joinery to give the illusion of space, though nothing is missing here for a sophisticated, soulful lifestyle.
The design pays respect to the vessel's history, takes advantage of its privileged location and provides for contemporary luxury living and entertaining.
For more swoon-worthy inspiration, take a tour of Tara Dennis's riverside home.


A human beatbox band comprised of three of Japan's top-class national beatboxers, AFRA, Kei, and K-MOON. All members come from a street-level hip hop background and possess top-notch beatboxing skills. Has attracted much attention as a world-class human beatbox orchestra.
In 2005, began live activity and quickly saw success with their participation in one of the biggest music festivals in Japan, "SUMMER SONIC". In the same year, they performed in front of 10,000 people at one of the world's greatest music festivals held in Barcelona, "sonar 2005".
In November 2005, performed in seven locations in the UK as opening act for IAN BROWN's (ex. STONE ROSES) UK tour.
In January 2006, participated in the large-scale Australian music festival, "Big Day Out".
In June 2006, participated in "sonar 2006" for the second time.
In October 2006, released a compilation video work of their international performances, "WORLD TOUR".
In September 2008, released the 2nd album "World Class" which pushed the boundaries of human beatboxing potentials.
All eyes are fixed, both nationally and internationally, on them as one of the most talented live acts in the music scene today.


text:
Q: Entity framework Optimistic Concurrency Exception Should I maintain a Timestamp property on my Model classes for enable optimistic concurrency for data update and delete ?  If I won't use such a attribute,whether EF will give concurrency exception at run time  or not ?
Is this must for enable the concurrency handling ?
[Timestamp]
public byte[] RowVersion { get; set; }

A: Yes, either that or you decorate a property with [ConcurencyCheck]. Otherwise you will end up with scenario last write wins.
EDIT:
Official tutorial on how to handle Concurrency:
Handling Concurrency with the Entity Framework in an ASP.NET MVC Application

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Weihrauch .177 HW 100 KT Laminate Pre-charged Pneumatic New Air Rifle for sale. Buy for £860.
New Weihrauch HW 100 KT Laminate pre-charged air air rifle in .177 calibre. Hard wearing Autumn brown and grey coloured thumbhole laminated stock fitted with a slim rubber factory heel pad. The stock incorporates a fully adjustable factory fitted ambidextrous cheek piece that the user can change the height of as required. Smooth side lever cocking action with detachable 14 shot rotary magazine, self contained air cylinder giving the user up to 60 full powered shots per charge. The integrated air pressure gauge allows the user to keep a close eye on the amount of air remaining in the cylinder, the cylinder also offers the quick fill system allowing the user to re-charge the air rifle within a matter of seconds. Blued 12" carbine barrel which has been screw cut 1/2"UNF and comes complete with Weihrauch silencer, manual side safety catch. Crisp two stage adjustable match grade trigger, the air rifle is supplied with all filling adapters and two 14 shot rotary magazines. A scope and scope mount discount package can be added to this rifle at extra cost. Please call for more information and very best cash price, or visit www.Greenfieldguns.com. Part exchange welcome, please ask about our friendly RFD to RFD transfer service if required. Actual air rifle shown in all of our photographs!


text:
Benjamin Franklin Tilley (March 29, 1848March 18, 1907) was a career officer in the United States Navy who served from the end of the American Civil War through the Spanish–American War. He is best remembered as the first acting governor of American Samoa as well as the territory's first naval governor.

Tilley entered the United States Naval Academy during the height of the Civil War, graduating after the conflict. He gradually rose through the ranks and participated as a lieutenant in the United States military crackdown against strikers in the wake of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. He and a small contingent of sailors and marines defended the American consulate in Santiago, Chile during the 1891 Chilean Civil War. He was a commander during the Spanish–American War, and his gunship  successfully captured two Spanish Navy ships. After the war, he was made the first acting-Governor of Tutuila and Manua (later called American Samoa) and set legal and administrative precedents for the new territory. After 41 years of service, he was promoted to rear admiral but died of pneumonia shortly afterwards.

Early life and naval career
Benjamin Franklin Tilley was born on March 29, 1848, in Bristol, Rhode Island, the sixth of nine children. He enrolled in the United States Naval Academy on September 22, 1863 at the age of 15 and in the midst of the American Civil War. The war forced the school to relocate from Annapolis, Maryland, threatened by the Confederacy, to Newport, Rhode Island. In 1866, he graduated first in his class, going on to serve as a midshipman first on board  and then . He spent three years serving on board Frolic, eventually being promoted to ensign. His next assignment was on board , where he was promoted to master in 1870 and then to lieutenant in 1871. From 1872 to 1875, he served on board  in the South Pacific. After Pensacola, he served briefly on board  and then spent two years serving on .

Railroad strike of 1877
In July 1877, a violent railroad strike began in Martinsburg, West Virginia, sparking riots in other American cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and President Rutherford B. Hayes authorized the use of the military in response. Tilley was temporarily transferred to  during the crisis, sailing up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C. Military leaders feared that rioters from Baltimore could travel to Washington to seize or damage vulnerable government targets. The troops defending Washington included the army, navy, and marines organized into a battalion of seven companies (Naval Brigade) under the command of Captain Edward Barrett; Tilley was placed in command of Company C. The precautions proved to be unnecessary, as the expected wave of rioters never materialized following the military's suppression of the strikers in Baltimore; the riots were also quashed in other cities within a short time.

After the strike, Tilley was transferred to the flagship  before requesting to take a six-month leave so that he could marry. On June 6, 1878, he married Emily Edelin Williamson, the daughter of a Navy surgeon, and left with her on an extended honeymoon in Europe. On his return to duty, Tilley served at the United States Naval Academy and remained there until 1882, either in a classroom or on a training ship. For the next three years, he served on board . In 1885, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and returned to teach at the academy. During his tenure there, he was appointed head of the Department of Astronomy, Navigation, and Surveying, and then transferred to become head of the Department of Mechanical Drawing. In September 1889, he moved to the Washington Navy Yard to teach ordnance.

Chilean Civil War

In 1890, Tilley was transferred to San Francisco to help test the newly built  and to become her executive officer. San Francisco transported troops to the port of Valparaíso during the 1891 Chilean Civil War, from which they could move on to protect the American consulate in the capital of Santiago. Insurgents captured the city, and Tilley remained to defend the consulate with a force of 100 men. After the war, he returned to the naval academy as head of the astronomy and navigation department. In 1896, he took command of  and sailed on an inspection tour of naval yards along the east coast of the United States. He was promoted to commander that October. In 1897, he was given command of  to sail to Nicaragua to evaluate the progress of the isthmus canal commission.

Spanish–American War

On April 23, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States in response to American efforts to support Cuban independence. Tilley was in the Caribbean in command of Newport and in the heart of the conflict area. The United States responded with its own declaration of war against Spain on April 25, and Tilley captured the Spanish Navy's sloop Paquete and schooner Pireno two days later. He participated in the naval blockade of Santiago de Cuba but missed the subsequent Battle of Santiago de Cuba, as Newport was refueling at Guantánamo Bay when fighting broke out. Toward the end of the war, he was responsible for shelling the Cuban port of Manzanillo. He and Newport assisted in the capture of nine Spanish vessels, and he was transferred to the Newport Naval Yard at the conclusion of the war, then given the command of  in October.

Commandant of U.S. Naval Station Tutuila
The United States first expressed interest in building a naval station at Pago Pago, Samoa in 1872 at the behest of Henry A. Peirce, the United States Minister to Hawaii. A treaty to that effect was written and submitted, but it was not approved by the United States Senate. On February 13, 1878, a separate treaty was ratified by the Senate that granted the Samoan government diplomatic recognition and reaffirmed permission to build a naval station in the country. There were no further political obstacles, but funding for the station was not allocated and only a small coaling station was built on the island. Construction of the naval station did not begin until 1898, led by civilian contractors. In early 1899, Tilley was assigned the task of overseeing the station construction and becoming its first commandant. He was also put in command of the collier ship  to transport steel and coal to the construction site and to serve as the first station ship. After a long voyage, he took his new post on August 13, 1899.

Even before Tilley arrived in Samoa, the political situation there was shifting. The Second Samoan Civil War had recently ended, leaving the islands without a functioning central government. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany had competing strategic and economic interests in the region. Ratification of the Tripartite Convention on February 16, 1900 partitioned the Samoan archipelago.  The eastern part, with Tutuila as its largest island, was placed under the control of the United States. The larger and historically dominant western part was assigned to Germany. Under this treaty, the British government relinquished its claims over Samoa in exchange for certain concessions from Germany in the Pacific and Africa.

After learning of the agreement, Tilley notified the local chiefs and asserted nominal United States control, but a formal decision had not yet been made on how the United States government would manage the territory. The construction of the naval base remained his primary responsibility, and he was dispatched to pick up additional supplies and coal at Auckland, New Zealand. President William McKinley placed the territory under the control of the United States Navy on February 19, 1900, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Allen named Tilley commandant of United States Naval Station Tutuila with a charter to "cultivate friendly relations with the natives".

Acting governor of Tutuila

Tilley's first task in his new role was to negotiate a deed of cession with the local powers to ensure a formal and peaceful transfer of control to the United States. With the partitioning of Samoa, two regional governments remained on Tutuila which had been subordinated to a government on the western, German-controlled island of Upolu. Both of these governments were favorable toward the cession. The inhabitants of the island of Tau and the volcanic doublet of Ofu-Olosega (together known as Manu'a)  to the east were politically separate from Tutuila. On March 12, 1900, Tilley traveled to Tau to meet with the local king Tui Manuʻa Elisala. Ultimately, the king agreed to cede some sovereignty to the United States, but refused to consider full cession. The deed of cession was signed on April 17, 1900 and listed Manu'a as part of the United States' new territory, but without the signature of its representative. In it, Tilley was named Acting Governor; the territory did not have an official governor until the title was given to Governor Edmund Beardsley Underwood in 1905. Manu'a did not agree to sign the deed until 1904, after negotiating concessions from the United States.

Tilley's first acts were to impose a duty on imports to the territory, ban the sale of alcohol to the local population (but not Americans), and forbid the sale of Samoan lands to non-Samoans. On May 1, 1900, he proclaimed that the laws of the United States were in force in the territory, but that Samoan laws that did not conflict with U.S. law would remain in effect. He partitioned the territory into three districts, along the historical divisions implicitly acknowledged in the deed of cession: the two governments on Tutuila and the third comprising the islands of Manu'a, which still did not regard themselves as part of the territory. Over the next year, Tilley regulated firearms, enforced mandatory registrations of births, deaths, and marriages, levied taxes, and made the sabbath a public holiday. He created a small militia of native Samoans called the Fita Fita Guard for defense and police. The native volunteers in this force were trained at the naval station by a sergeant of the United States Marine Corps.

Problems arose during Tilley's administration because of conflicting Samoan and American laws. In one case, a native had caught and eaten a skipjack, a sacred fish which could only be eaten with the permission of a local chief under Samoan law. Traditional punishment decreed that the offender's house should be burned down and his crops uprooted, and he should be exiled from the territory. The native challenged his punishment under the American legal system, however, resulting in the arrest of the chief responsible for ordering the destruction of his property. The chief was sentenced to a year of house arrest in a criminal proceeding, on which Tilley sat as judge, and he was ordered to pay compensation for the destroyed property. There were similar issues with Samoan customs not blending well with the newly introduced American political divisions in the territory. For example, the territory's three district governors had equal authority but they were of differing Samoan social status. This disparity made decision-making more difficult and caused social tensions. Despite these problems, Tilley was well-considered by the locals. On December 18, 1900, the local chiefs sent a letter of congratulations on the re-election of President McKinley in which they said of Tilley, "you gave us a leader, a Governor, a High Chief, whom we have learned to love and respect".

Tilley took leave in June 1901 to return to Washington, leaving E. J. Dorn in command. Dorn subsequently had medical issues and was replaced by J. L. Jayne in October. That month, an anonymous complaint was made to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Frank W. Hackett against Commandant Tilley, alleging immorality and drunkenness. Almost simultaneously, he was promoted to captain by President Theodore Roosevelt. Tilley returned to Samoa on November 7, 1901 with his wife, and two days later was given a court martial. The trial lasted four days and only one witness was called for the prosecution. Ultimately, he was acquitted. Despite this, Captain Uriel Sebree was appointed as commandant on November 27, 1901. Tilley and his wife returned to the United States the following month.

Sebree later remarked of his predecessor that he had "great ability, kindness, tact and sound common sense". Unlike Sebree, who was concerned that he did not have a legal mandate to govern, Tilley was not shy about enacting legislation and being the de facto leader of the territory. Although the deed of cession recognized his authority and gave him the title of Acting Governor, as far as the United States government was concerned, he was officially responsible only for the naval station. As the first naval governor, Tilley laid the groundwork for much of the future governance of the territory, which did not yet even have a formal name. The American Samoa government includes Tilley and the other pre-1905 station commandants in its list of territorial governors.

Later career and death
Tilley's next assignment came in March 1902 as a captain of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. He remained in this post for three years before being assigned to  on January 11, 1905. On February 23, 1907, he was made commandant of League Island Naval Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he was promoted to rear admiral the following day. He died of pneumonia less than a month later on March 18, 1907.

Tilley was one of 322 men and women who had died in 1907 listed by The Washington Post as "foremost in their various callings." He was survived by one son and two daughters. His son Benjamin Franklin Tilley, Jr. also entered the Navy and retired with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Notes

References

External links

 Tilley's Log of U.S. Steamer Standish, 1881, MS 137 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy

1848 births
1907 deaths
American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
Governors of American Samoa
United States Navy admirals
People from Bristol County, Rhode Island
Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Looking for the latest news on projects that impact you? You've come to the right place.
Southbound Stadium Way closes between 4th St. and the 705 onramp on September 16
Sound Transit's contractor will build the foundations for Link power poles on the west side of Stadium Way from S. 4th Street to the 705 on-ramp, starting September 16. On Stadium Way from Division Ave. to S. 4th Street, the contractor continues to install track and build foundations for the power poles. With crews working in several places along Stadium Way, southbound Stadium Way is closed from Broadway to the 705 on-ramp. The southbound Stadium Way lane closure is expected to last several months – at least through the end of 2019. Please follow detour routes on Broadway, St. Helens and Tacoma Avenue, and consider alternate routes to access downtown and/or the 705. To access parking garages and driveways on Stadium Way, please travel north on Commerce Street or north on Stadium Way from the 705 off-ramp.
At the Division Avenue and J Street intersection, crews are working on underground utilities and will install a temporary bypass near J Street and N. 3rd Street. Near Tacoma General Hospital, crews are installing utilities on the west side of Martin Luther King Jr. Way from S. 3rd St. to S. 5th St.
In Hilltop, the contractor continues utility work on S. 8th Street between the alley and S. L Street. In addition, crews continue to install a new water line as well as Link power poles on Martin Luther King Jr. Way from S. 14th Street to S. 16th Street.
On Commerce Street, crews will build foundations for Link power poles between 7th Street and 9th Street.
Looking ahead, the contractor plans to close the Stadium Way and Division Avenue intersection to install track in this intersection, as soon as Monday, September 23. In addition, Tacoma Water crews will move to Martin Luther King Jr. Way between 16th and 18th Street to connect customers to the new water line, starting next week.
Construction and traffic restrictions on Stadium Way, Division Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, S. 8th Street, S. 15th Street, and Commerce Street.
Stadium Way from Broadway to the 705 onramp -- southbound lane closure; use detours. Stadium Way is closed to southbound traffic from Broadway to the 705 onramp. Please follow detour routes on Broadway, St. Helens and Tacoma Avenue, and consider alternate routes to access downtown and/or the 705. Stadium Way continues to be open northbound from the 705 to Tacoma Ave. Crews are installing foundations for Link power poles and removing pavement for track installation. On Stadium Way between Division Ave. and S. 4th St., crews will move rail into position on the west side of the street. They plan to do concrete pours in this section next week. In addition, crews are replacing a couple of panels of the test track. To access parking garages and driveways on Stadium Way, please travel north on Commerce Street or north on Stadium Way from the 705 off-ramp.
Division Avenue and J Street intersection – street closure. N. J Street is closed at the Division Ave. intersection. Crews are installing utilities underground. In addition, the contractor plans to install a temporary bypass pipe near N. 3rd St. and J St.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way from S. 3rd St. to S. 5th St. – lane restrictions. Crews are installing underground utilities on the west side of MLK Jr. Way from S. 3rd St. to S. 5th St. near Jackson Hall and the Baker Center. Two-way traffic will be maintained on MLK Jr. Way. Access to the hospitals and medical centers remains open. This work is expected to take 8 weeks.
S. 8th Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Way to S. L Street – street closure. Crews continue to install stormwater pipes and structures on S. 8th Street west of MLK Jr. Way from the alley to S. L Street. S. 8th Street is closed from MLK Jr. Way to L St. This work is expected to take two weeks. Then the contractor will move to the intersection of L St. and 8th St., followed by additional work on S. 8th St. east of MLK Jr. Way.
Martin Luther King Jr. Way between S. 14th to 16th Street – southbound lane closure. The southbound lane of MLK Jr. Way is closed at S. 14th St. to S. 16th St. for water line work. In addition, crews continue building foundations for the Link power poles in this area. During non-working hours, MLK Jr. Way will be open to two-way traffic, and parking will be available.
Commerce Street from 7th Street to 9th Street – lane restrictions. Crews will build the foundations for Link power poles Commerce Street between 7th St. and 9th St. Two-way traffic is maintained on Commerce St.
Driveway and pedestrian access is maintained, although some sidewalks and crosswalks will be temporarily closed. Pedestrian detours will be in place.
Construction noise related to replacing the underground utilities.
Large construction equipment or materials may be in the right-of-way.
Work will generally take place during the daytime hours unless otherwise noted. Daytime hours during the week are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The contractor usually works less hours.
Businesses are open during construction.
Plan ahead and allow extra time to reach your destination.
Due to inclement weather or unforeseen issues, dates and times are subject to change.
See more project updates for Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension
Liz Satterthwaite
Community Outreach Specialist
liz.satterthwaite@soundtransit.org
Contact me about:
Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension


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Home / NA Elections 2018 / Party representatives request ECB to cancel common forum in Ngatsena chiwog
Party representatives request ECB to cancel common forum in Ngatsena chiwog
August 31, 2018	NA Elections 2018, News Leave a comment 1,950 Views
Representatives of the four political parties in Haa's Sombaykha constituency have requested the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) to cancel the common forum in Ngetsena that was scheduled for today, citing roadblocks and swollen streams.
While at least one common forum in every gewog is a must, political parties or candidates can choose not to have common forums at the chiwog level.
If the ECB accepts their request, the candidates and party representatives will attend a common forum in Sombayama chiwog tomorrow as per the schedule. There are three gewogs – Sangbay, Gakiling and Samar, and 15 chiwogs in the constituency.
Common forums provide an equal and cost-effective opportunity to political parties to address the electorate at a pre-determined time and pre-designated venue. Common forums also reduce the need for separate meetings or door-to-door campaigning.
The ECB's head of the election department, Sonam Tobgay, said that the commission would take a decision based on the genuineness of the request.
He said that the request, which was signed by all the four representatives, reached the ECB head office in Thimphu yesterday afternoon.
DNT's candidate, Dorjee Wangmo, said: "Vehicles would not be able to pass the roadblock. We could not even pass the cross on foot. The representatives of all four parties in the chiwog in presence of election officials signed an agreement saying that they would not be able to have a common forum."
PDP president Tshering Tobgay and BKP's Sonam Wangmo are represented by party members in the common forums. PDP president is on a campaign trail outside Haa and Sonam Wangmo has a baby.
DPT's Tshewang Rinzin said: "If we get stuck in one chiwog due to roadblock and swelling rivers, we will miss common forums in other chiwogs."
Common forums in the constituency ends on September 2. Returning Officer finalises the common forum schedule.
MB Subba
Previous Language and politics
Next Poor turnout at chiwog level common forums force candidates to forgo it


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Chilean PatagoniaConservation ScienceConserving Life in Canada's OceansConserving Marine Life in the United StatesEnding Overfishing in Northwestern EuropeFlood-Prepared CommunitiesInternational Boreal Conservation CampaignInternational FisheriesMarine FellowsOutback to Oceans AustraliaPew Bertarelli Ocean LegacyPreventing Ocean PlasticsProtecting Antarctica's Southern OceanProtecting Coastal Wetlands and Coral ReefsProtecting Life in the Arctic - U.S.Protecting Ocean Life on the High SeasReducing Harmful Fisheries SubsidiesRestore America's ParksSeabed MiningU.S. Public Lands and Rivers Conservation
Unnecessary Antibiotic Use Jeopardizes Patient Safety
Article March 16, 2017
By: David Hyun Topics: Antibiotics Projects: Antibiotic Resistance Read time:
Like any medication, antibiotics carry certain risks.
Like any medication, antibiotics carry certain risks. While they are critical to treating a wide range of conditions, from strep throat and urinary tract infections to bacterial pneumonia and sepsis, these drugs also increase a patient's chances of developing Clostridium difficile infections—which can result in life-threatening diarrhea—and can lead to adverse drug events, including allergic reactions.
Because of these dangers, it is important to use antibiotics only when needed. However, many antibiotics prescribed in the United States are unnecessary.
See what the research tells us and what leading antibiotic use experts say about inappropriate prescribing, the threat it poses to patient health, and how improved antibiotic stewardship can help to protect patient safety.
"For a long time, we believed that 'erring on the safe side' for our patients might be to prescribe an antibiotic just in case, even when we weren't completely certain of the diagnosis. … Increasingly, we're realizing that 'being on the safe side' often means not prescribing an antibiotic."
-Adam Hersh, M.D., University of Utah, Primary Children's Hospital
Antimicrobial [drugs] are the most common cause of adverse events in children, accounting for nearly 30 percent of ER visits.—"Pediatric Adverse Drug Events in the Outpatient Setting: An 11-Year National Analysis," Pediatrics (2009)
"Acute bronchitis is one of the very common conditions we see in the emergency department and it's also one … for which we have the best evidence that antibiotics should not be used, as these infections are typically caused by viruses and will resolve on their own. … I've seen … patients that received antibiotics for simple bronchitis or sinusitis that probably didn't need the antibiotic, and then came in with life-threatening diarrheal illness, known as C. difficile infection."
-Larissa May, M.D., University of California, Davis
Antibiotic use is associated with a number of adverse drug events, which are estimated to cause more than 140,000 emergency room visits a year. The majority of these visits are due to allergic reactions, which can range from minor rashes to life-threatening responses.—"Emergency Department Visits for Antibiotic-Associated Adverse Events," Clinical Infectious Diseases (2008)
"I've had patients with antibiotic-associated adverse drug reactions … serious ones, such as Stevens-Johnson's syndrome and [the] development of C. difficile."
-Katie Suda, Pharm.D., M.S., University of Illinois, Chicago
An analysis of multiple studies found that patients who received antibiotics were seven times more likely to contract a community-acquired C. difficile infection, compared with patients who had not received antibiotics.—"Community-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection and Antibiotics: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2013)
"There's a misperception on the part of doctors that patients want antibiotics. … [There] are millions of individual visits where we're doing the wrong thing by our patients. We're giving them medicines that they don't need."
-Jeff Linder, M.D., M.P.H., Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
One study estimated that a 30 percent reduction in broad-spectrum antibiotic use in hospitals could result in a 26 percent reduction in hospital-associated C. difficile infections.Vital Signs: Improving Antibiotic Use Among Hospitalized Patients," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2014)
"What is concerning is a lot of people think every sore throat is strep throat, and they want antibiotics. The reality is that most sore throats are not strep throat. It is important that we make sure that we don't give antibiotics just for a viral sore throat. … If we continue to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately … we will get to a point where children are not responding to antibiotics. And that's very scary."
-Teri Woo, Ph.D., National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
David Hyun, M.D., works on The Pew Charitable Trusts' antibiotic resistance project.
David Hyun Senior Officer
Antibiotic Resistance Project
Fact Sheet January 28, 2016
Unnecessary Antibiotic Use and Patient Safety
The role of antibiotic stewardship
Many antibiotics prescribed in the United States are unnecessary or inappropriate. Improved antibiotic stewardship is needed, not only to curb the threat of antibiotic resistance but also to avoid exposing patients to unnecessary risks.
Data Visualization May 3, 2016
National Goals for Reducing Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Outpatient Settings
To effectively implement and evaluate stewardship efforts, it is essential to first understand current antibiotic prescribing patterns.
Receive our monthly news and action alerts on antibiotic resistance.
Heather Cable Manager, Communications 202.552.2059
David Hyun
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Prioritize Helping Student Loan Borrowers During Pandemic


Preparation should start the night before you wish to serve the turkey. Mix the butter with the salt and black pepper, then season the cavity of the bird.
Rub the butter mix over the turkey.
Fold a large piece of greaseproof paper, so it's double thickness and lay over the breast of the turkey, the greaseproof paper will protect the turkey whilst it's cooking. Place the turkey in the fridge.
On Christmas Day, preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7/430F, take the turkey out of the fridge and allow the bird to come to room temperature.
Chop the onions and place them in to a large roasting tray. Put the turkey on a wire rack or a trivet and place on top of the onions.
Pour one cup of boiling water in to the cavity of the bird and seal with a skewer. Pour a further two cups of water in to the bottom of the tin, cover the whole turkey with two layers of foil making sure it is sealed around the edges.
After 1½ hours, remove the foil and greaseproof paper.
Cook for a further 40 minutes.
To test whether the turkey is cooked, insert a skewer or our Stainless Steel Meat Thermometer in to the point where the thigh joins the breast – and the juice should run clear.
If the turkey is still pink, cook for a further 20 minutes and test again.
Let the turkey rest in a warm place for around 15 minutes, before carving.
Strain the juices from the bottom of the tin in to a large jug and serve as gravy.


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Another geometry : Gego´s reticulárea, 1969-1982
Amor, Monica
In this essay, Mónica Amor analyzes the contribution that the work by Gego, Reticulárea, has made to contemporary art. She claims that Reticulárea is a radical attack on the way architecture defines space, as well as the conventions of sculpture, specifically those involving mass, volume, and scale. In Amor's view, Reticulárea formulates an affective and perceptive geometry due to its antihierarchical, fractured, heterogeneous, mutant, and rhizomatic nature that consistently undermines ideal structures. Reticulárea therefore forges a new notion of the viewer as one who forms part of the work's space, and as such, has only a fragmented vision. The work Reticulárea also partakes of Greg Lynn's notion of "monstrous architecture": an architecture of the "proximate and non-appropriated." Amor reads Reticulárea in terms of the feminine, since it destabilizes the authoritarian and monumental structure of patriarchal architecture.
Venezuelan curator and art critic Mónica Amor has studied Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt, 1912–1994), a Venezuelan artist of German origin, and her work, particularly Reticulárea, in essays such as "Gego: desafiando estructuras," Poliéster, vol. 4, no. 14, Mexico City, and "Entre espacios: la Reticulárea y su lugar en la historia," in Iris Peruga et al., Gego. Obra completa 1955–1990 (Caracas: Fundación Cisneros, Fundación Gego, Fundación Museo de Bellas Artes of Caracas, 2003), and others. Before providing an in-depth analysis of Reticulárea as a powerful whole, Amor discusses all the contingencies surrounding the work, including the various installations and transformations effected by Gego, all of which constitute the groundwork for her theory. While Amor studies Reticulárea in terms of the "rhizome"—a concept formulated by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, and later used to discuss Gego's work by critics Luis Enrique Pérez Oramas, Iris Peruga, Julieta González, and the architect Christian Thiel, who was the first one to point out this analogy—she makes use of other concepts as well to deepen and enrich her vision, and to place it in a political and social framework. The first of these other concepts is the notion of "the monstrous," developed by architect and philosopher Greg Lynn in the essay "Body Matters" in Folds, Bodies & Blobs: Collected Essays (Brussels: La lettre volée, 1998), in which she posits the notion of body deformation—viscosity—as an alternative corporeal scheme. The second notion that Amor uses comes from feminist writers Elizabeth Grosz, ("Architecture of Excess," Anymore, ed. Cynthia C. Davidson; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2000) and Rosi Braidotti, ("Mothers, Monsters and Machines," in Nomadic Subjects: Embodiment and Sexual Difference in Contemporary Feminist Theory; New York: Columbia University Press, 1994). Grosz proposes the structures of waste as a radical alternative to patriarchal conceptions of space and time; and Braidotti makes use of the notion of the female body as "monstrosity" in the sense of deviation from the norm and as a mutation. Thanks to these concepts, Mónica Amor's essay provides an original perspective that reformulates previous critical visions of Reticulárea. Fragments of this essay were selected for publication in the bilingual book Desenredando la red. La Reticulárea de Gego. Una antología de respuestas críticas / Untangling the Web: Gego's Reticulárea, An Anthology of Critical Response, organized by María Elena Huizi and Ester Crespin, currently in the process of being published by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Fundación Gego, Caracas.
October Magazine (USA). -- Summer, 2005
Related Works at the MFAH
Gego, Autobiografia de una linea (1965)
Gego, Sin titulo (1963)
Gego, Sin titulo (Tamarind 1853) (1966)
Gego, Sin titulo (1980-1987)
Gego, Tejedura 88/11 (1988)
Gego, Nueve reticulas cuadradas no. 45 (1975)
Gego, Sin titulo (Tamarind 1845 estado II) (1966)
Gego, Sin titulo (Tamarind 961) (1963)
Gego, Negro (Tamarind 963) (1963)
Amor, Mónica. "Another Geometry: Gego's reticulárea, 1969- 1982." October Magazine (USA), (Summer, 2005): 101- 125.
Courtesy of Monica Amor, Caracas, Venezuela. Mónica Amor, 'Another Geometry: Gego's Reticulárea, 1969-1982 ', October, 113 (Summer , 2005), pp.101-125. © 2005 by October Magazine, Ltd. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Fundación Mercantil, Caracas
Josefina Manrique


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Comments Opposing FDA's Draft Guidance on Speeding Access to High Risk Medical Devices
Posted on July 29, 2014 by PCeditor
Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061
Comments of Members of the Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition
on the Draft Guidance
"Expedited Access for Premarket Approval Medical Devices Intended for Unmet Medical Need for Life Threatening or Irreversibly Debilitating Diseases or Conditions"
Docket No. FDA-2014-D-0363
As members of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition, we do not support the draft guidance for the "Expedited Access for Premarket Approval Medical Devices Intended for Unmet Medical Need for Life Threatening or Irreversibly Debilitating Diseases or Conditions."
The standards for PMA are already substantially lower than for prescription drugs. Most PMA devices are approved through supplements that do not require clinical trials. Original PMA clinical trials are often small and short-term with limited use of control groups. And yet, the draft guidance lowers the bar for certain PMA medical devices even further.
The 1% of devices that go through the PMA process are the most risky of the devices that the FDA defines as "those that support or sustain human life, are of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health, or which present a potential, unreasonable risk of illness or injury."[i]
The purpose of the proposed Expedited Access for Premarket Approval (EAP) program "is earlier access to devices that address an unmet medical need."[ii] Although we sympathize with patients who suffer from life threatening or irreversibly debilitating disease, the PMA standards are already dangerously low. And, the proposed guidance defines "urgent, unmet need" much too loosely. The proposed guidance would lower existing standards further for devices intended to treat serious illnesses for which effective treatments are already available. As a result, there is no guarantee that the benefits would outweigh the risks for patients. Accelerated access to unproven devices could lead to unnecessary deaths and injuries.
The FDA states that it intends to work with sponsors of EAP devices to develop a Data Development Plan "with the goal of significantly reducing the time and cost from device development to FDA marketing decisions." We support the emphasis on earlier interactive communication between sponsors and the FDA. However, the guidance gives undue emphasis on postmarket studies that are poorly monitored, have high loss to follow-up, and are rarely conducted in a timely manner that provides useful results. The guidance would lower the standards to the point where they could not provide reasonable assurance of safety or effectiveness.
Below are our specific concerns and questions regarding the draft guidance:
The draft guidance proposes to speed approval of PMA devices by increasing interactive communication between sponsors and the FDA; relying on postmarket data; accepting more uncertainty; using less rigorous evidence; and forgoing inspections of manufacturing sites. All of these proposals lower the evidence threshold for FDA's review of high-risk Class III PMA devices. They decrease the likelihood that the devices will have what patients, consumers, and public health experts would consider a "reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness."[iii]
Lack of resources for Earlier Interactive Communications
The draft guidance encourages the FDA and sponsors to have earlier interactions but there are no additional resources dedicated to these meetings. The draft guidance recognizes this and states that FDA will work with the device's sponsor "resources permitting." If the FDA is relying on resources that do not exist, it is setting itself up for failure.
Urgent Unmet Need
The lack of adequate resources is even more acute because the guidance defines "urgent, unmet need" much too broadly. For example, it includes diseases like diabetes where the FDA's example of an eligible device provides more frequent glucose readings that may not be as accurate as current devices offer. There is no scientific evidence that more frequent glucose readings is an urgent, unmet need, especially if accuracy is reduced. Similarly, devices with a new mechanism of action would not necessarily meet an urgent, unmet need if other treatments are proven effective for most patients. This loose definition of urgent, unmet need is not surprising, since the guidance is modeled after similar new pathways developed for drugs – pathways that have similar shortcomings. For example, new research indicate that companies are submitting dozens of new applications to FDA pathways intended for urgent, unmet needs, and most of those drugs do not qualify.[iv] Using such vague terminology greatly adds to FDA's workload, does not benefit patients, and slows down the process for companies that play by the rules.
Uncertainty about Benefits and Risks
The draft guidance states that the FDA may accept less certainty regarding the benefit-risk profile of EAP Devices. However, the FDA already accepts very small, short-term studies as the basis for approval through the PMA process, and this is already putting patients at risk. Lowering the standards further would put patient safety in even greater jeopardy.
CDRH's experience with the Wingspan stent is informative. After the device was approved, it became clear that there is no evidence of benefit with use of the system in most patients with stroke. Despite those findings, the company and the FDA continue to make the device available, positing a benefit in a subpopulation, based on a small, poorly defined study.[v]
Less Rigorous Evidence
The draft guidance notes that surrogate endpoints "allow for smaller trials or shorter follow-up…than traditional clinical outcomes of a disease or condition." A major problem with surrogate endpoints is that even the most reasonable surrogate endpoints often do not predict better health outcomes. We agree with the statement in the draft guidance that, "The principle risk of accepting surrogate endpoints as the basis for approval is the possibility that patients will be exposed to a device that may ultimately be shown to have an unfavorable benefit-risk profile."
Relying on Postmarket Data
In order to speed approval of PMAs, the draft guidance relies on postmarket data, stating that this may reduce the amount of premarket data needed and "directly impact when patients will have access" to medical devices. However, the PMA process already has much lower standards in clinical trials than does the approval process for prescription drugs and already relies heavily on postmarket studies to provide information based on larger number of patients studied for a longer period of time. For those reasons, we strongly oppose even greater reliance on postmarket studies, since, as the draft guidance cautions, "Greater reliance on postmarket data collection could undermine patient safety if the necessary and timely data collection does not occur."
In addition to concerns about lowering pre-market standards and emphasizing post-market studies, there is reason to be concerned about when postmarket studies would be completed and whether they would gather the intended safety and effectiveness data. The draft guidance states that postmarket data will be "completed in a timely manner," but it does not define the term "timely manner." The draft guidance further undermines the likelihood that postmarket data will be available in a timely manner when it states that the requirement will merely be a "best estimate and that circumstances may arise…that may adversely affect the ability of the sponsor to complete the post-approval study on time."
FDA has improved its statistics for the required completion of post-approval studies, but it has not analyzed the quality of postmarket studies. There are too many examples of postmarket studies that are started years after the requirement goes into effect, and then loses half or more of the patients to long-term follow-up. If a sponsor fails to comply with post-approval requirements, the FDA could declare that the device is misbranded, "which could result in seizure, injunction, or civil money penalties." However, FDA has rarely used these powers in the past.
Conditional approval
The draft guidance states, "FDA would generally require postmarket confirmatory data as a condition of approval" when surrogate endpoints are used for approval for EAP Devices. The word "generally" opens a loophole. The use of surrogate endpoints already puts patients at risk; at the very least, the agency should always require postmarket confirmatory data for all such approved devices.
Non-implantable devices
The guidance states that EAPs should be for devices that are "non-implantable." Over the last five years (2009 – 2013), FDA has approved on average 27 original PMA devices, with 13 of those devices being implants. While we oppose the EAP for any Class III device, it would be even more inappropriate for implanted medical devices.
Forgoing Manufacturing Inspections
The draft guidance states that, "On a case-by-case basis, FDA may, at its discretion, allow a sponsor to provide less manufacturing information in their PMA application for an EAP Device," and it added FDA may "forgo inspection" of manufacturing sites as part of the premarket review of EAP devices. We strongly oppose this. Inspections should be required for all new PMA devices, whether EAP devices or not. This is necessary to make a level playing field for all manufacturers and for the sake of consistency and quality of the medical devices and the health and safety of patients receiving these life sustaining and life-saving devices.
Additional Concerns
The draft guidance states that, "The labeling of a device approved through the Expedited Access PMA program would include a succinct description of the uncertainty about anticipated benefits and risks and the extent of data that supported approval and required post-approval study(ies)." It is unlikely that patients will ever see the label and we question whether health care professionals read the labels. We are concerned that they will use the device without reading the label because it has been approved by the FDA.
Approving more than one EAP device
The draft guidance states that, "FDA may approve more than one EAP device for the same condition because of the possibility that the data from the post-approval study may not confirm certain safety or effectiveness aspects of the device under the conditions of use." This opens the door to unlimited numbers of EAP devices to treat the same condition. Moreover, it contradicts one of criteria for addressing an unmet need that states, "No approved alternative treatment or means of diagnosis exists."
Potential to address unmet needs
The draft guidance also states that for a device to qualify for an EAP it must "Demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs." The word potential is an enormous loophole in this criterion. It could be argued that any device has the potential to address unmet needs. That sentence should be reworded to state: "The device will demonstrate that it addresses unmet medical needs."
Members of the Patient, Consumer and Public Health Coalition strongly oppose this draft guidance. The draft guidance shifts the risk-benefit paradigm so that patients face greater risks. The draft guidance states that the Expedited Access PMA program "will help patients have more timely access to these medical devices." While patients want access to devices that meet unmet medical needs, few patients are willing to risk their lives to do so, especially if a few more months of research could result in devices that are proven to be safe and effective.
Annie Appleseed Project
Consumers Union
Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
Our Bodies Ourselves
The TMJ Association
WomenHeart
The Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition can be reached through Paul Brown at (202)223-4000 or at pb@center4research.org
[i] Food and Drug Administration. Premarket Approval (PMA) Web site. http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/HowtoMarketYourDevice/PremarketSubmissions/PremarketApprovalPMA/default.htm
[ii] Food and Drug Administration (April 23, 2014). Expedited Access for Premarket Approval Medical Devices Intended for Unmet Medical Need for Life Threatening or Irreversibly Debilitating Diseases or Conditions (Draft Guidance). http://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/deviceregulationandguidance/guidancedocuments/ucm393879.htm
[iii] Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. 21CFR860.7 Medical Device Classification Procedures. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=860.7
[iv] Darrow, JJ Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. New FDA Breakthrough-Drug Category—Implications for Patients. New England Journal of Medicine 370.13 (2014): 1252-1258.
http://www3.med.unipmn.it/papers/2014/NEJM/2014-03-27_nejm/nejmhle1311493.pdf
[v] Gartenberg AJ, Peleg A, Dhruva SS, Redberg, RF (January 22, 2014). Presumed safe no more: lessons from the Wingspan saga on regulation of devices. BMJ. http://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/348/bmj.g93.full.pdf]


I've been really into completing my challenges lately and it's been lots of fun. I've been surprised that my favorite challenge thus far is the TBR Pile Book Challenge hosted by a bunch of folks. In this challenge, you read books on your very own bookshelf. I'm sure all of us are guilty of buying books and putting them on our bookshelf to collect dust. So I joined this challenge determined to correct some bad habits.
I've corrected no bad habits, but I've rediscovered books that I just had to have (though I forgot about them). There are some amazing books on my bookshelf! It's like a guaranteed fun read but going to my very own bookshelf. This shouldn't come as a surprise but somehow it has. While I've had some hits and misses in pursuit of my dystopia challenge, I've only had hits in my TBR Pile challenge. This challenge probably wins the title of best challenge and best surprise. Who knew reading the books on your very own bookshelf could be such fun?
Which book challenges do you love? Feel free to create your own post and link up. Don't want to create an entire post? Tell me your favorites in the comments. Thanks for stopping by for another week of Why I Love Wednesdays!!
I still have 4 books to go but I'm thinking that I'll make it. I might need to do it again next year.
I actually decided to go this year without challenges - other than the good reads one - but the year before I did plenty and I liked them!!!
I didn't meet my challenges the year before last but have been doing well this year. I like them because they make me step out of my comfort zone. They've made for better reading as well.
I'm participating in this challenge as well. I think this is a challenge I'll always participate in because instead of buying new books we all have a ton on our shelves that get over looked for the hot new item. I have four books to go to finish out this challenge and I'm committed to doing it this year!
Me too! 4 more to go. I think I'll participate next year as well.
Sometimes challenges scare me, like the TBR one. I just don't like committing myself to things, especially because I'm so ADD when it comes to books!
I agree and they can make it difficult to focus. But I attribute the challenges to keeping me out of reading funks this year. I think the key is choosing challenges you are truly interested in. I've been successful in reading books I already wanted to read but never had the time to read.
I I love the idea of challenges but I'm so horrible at actually doing them that I think it's best I don't bother. Lol. One thing I do know is that I have so many good books on my shelves and my reader that I'd love to get to one day and yet never seem to. Needless to say a challenge to read my own books would be a very good idea.
It has truly been the more enjoyable of the challenges I committed to. I picked some great books and forgot about them.
I love challenges but my problem is that I don't *update* them as I go and then at the end of the year I find myself scanning my "read" list to see what books fit into what challenges! I also love the TRB Challenge (ok, I admit I'm a tad biased), like you I am having a blast rediscovering books that I bought ages ago but for some reason or another never actually got to reading!
I have a problem updating as I go. It's something I'm going to work on next year. I never update the sites that are hosting the challenges either. I always mean to. I've accepted that I might not be perfect with the challenges but they are fun anyway.
I love challenges. I hosted two this year, and am doing them again next year. My favourite not-hosted-by-me was the Speculative Fiction Challenge. I plan to do it again next year, but hope they have higher goals since I finished the largest one within the first 4 months.
Speculative Fiction includes dystopia right? I'm on the fence on whether I'll join one like that again next year. I have tons of sequels to read but I'm not sure. I'm going to keep my number low because mine don't crossover well.
My TBR pile is an ongoing challenge. I collect books whenever I find good deals and great titles knowing I'll get around to reading them sometime and also knowing that I'll always have something on hand to read. It's a bit like hoarding, I guess, but in a good way (although I'm sure every hoarder says that about their favourite things lol) So now when I examine my shelf I'm always so happy because, look! there's this book and that author and this series all just patiently waiting for me to discover them.
I love book hoarding. Having unread books make me feel safe. It's silly, I know. I think we are different from regular hoarders but I might be biased.
I have done this challenge and the Dusty Bookshelf Challenge together. I love crossing challenges. I wanted to read more off of my shelf but...you know. I think I will hit my goal of 10 or 9 out of 10 the way things are going. LOL! And I am a hoarder too!


PRSA National's College of Fellows Mentoring program is an opportunity for different levels and generations of public relations practitioners to share knowledge and business expertise in confidence. Usually by phone, mentoring can include support in discussing career development, management challenges, or specific professional issues.
Informal Chapter mentoring is also available to Westchester/Fairfield chapter members by contacting Don Levin, APR, Fellow PRSA at 914-834-5919, who can work with you or match you with an appropriate chapter mentor. You and the mentor choose if you wish to work together by phone or in person for confidential discussions.
Fellows are Accredited members with 20-plus years of experience who have been elected to the College because they "demonstrate superior capability as a practitioner, exhibit personal and professional qualities that serve as a role model for other practitioners and have advanced the state of the profession."
The national and Chapter mentoring services are free to PRSA members. To register for a session with a Fellows mentor, please click here.


United Crate was formed in 1963 by a number of growers who saw the need to provide a packaging service conducive to their marketing requirements. The idea was to provide uniform packaging, so that produce could be sold by a common unit rather than weighing everything. Today the company has over 40,000 crates in circulation across the fruit and vegetable growing industry.
United Crate approached Solargain to assist in bringing down its operating costs by installing a commercial size solar PV system. The main electricity costs for United Crate come from the washing and processing of the crates once they have come back from a client, so they can be returned to circulation.
Based on United Crate's electricity consumption data, it was determined that a 100kW system was appropriate for their usage. Solargain was chosen because of our experience in delivering commercial systems for growers, and also because of our AS/NZS ISO 9001:2008 and AS/NZS 4801:2001 certifications.
This was important because the roof the system which was being installed on was brand new, and the company wished to ensure the solar company they chose had standards and systems that ensured the installation did not harm or damage the roof in any way. The client is not only happy with the system performance but also the aesthetic on their new roof giving us feedback that the system "looks great". Approximate first year savings for United Crate is $30,749.


Nothing says game day like a pitcher full of cocktails.
Sure, beer is a natural choice for game day, but you know what's really nice? A strong cocktail to get you through. We get that no one wants to be mixing drinks during the Super Bowl, but that's why big batch cocktails were invented.


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Battle Quills... ready! Circulation: 176,283,283 Issue: 344 | 23rd day of Hunting, Y10
Home | Archives Articles | Editorial | Short Stories | Comics | New Series | Continued Series
Becoming King Skarl: Part Three
by amiyumifan96
The Gelert (named Drew) opened the carriage doors, and out stepped King Hagan. Skarl's brother was dressed in almost all green: a long green robe, and fancy green shoes. An exquisite green and gold crown adorned with emeralds sat atop his head. Abby stared in awe. She had never seen anyone or anything so... green!
"Skarl!" Hagan shouted, coming over to Abby. "I thought it was about time we got together again."
Abby nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Look at this castle!" Hagan said, gesturing to the majestic building behind them. "I see you still haven't fixed it up."
Abby questioningly looked at him. In all her years as King Skarl's personal assistant, she had never heard him say anything about refurbishing the castle.
"When exactly did you tell me to 'fix it up?'" Abby asked, to which Hagan answered, "Oh, well, some time ago, but, I thought you might remember..."
Hagan pushed past Abby and walked through the grand castle doors. He inspected the walls, gently feeling a few bricks with complete concentration. Abby chased after him (which, considering her new body structure, was hard to do) as he made his way into the castle's meeting room. As Abby had seen King Skarl do many times, she took a seat on one end of the large wooden table. Hagan sat opposite her, all the way on the other end.
"Now, what exactly did you call this..." Abby tried to find the word she was looking for, while also struggling to maintain her fake state of agitation, so she seemed like Skarl. "Meeting. Yes. What exactly did you call this meeting for?"
Hagan cleared his throat. "I merely wanted to suggest that the Castle of Meridell should be reconstructed, to fit more modern needs." He dug around in a pocket of his robe, pulled out a brochure, and handed it to Abby. It was, of course, green. "May I suggest you use the Brightvale Construction Crew? They are the most cost-efficient, reliable, and agreeable construction crew workers on Neopia. And Kreludor, too." Hagan plastered an ear-to-ear grin on his face, obviously the end of his little advertisement.
Abby was confused. "Why wouldn't I just use the Meridellian Construction Crew? They would work for free."
"Oh, yes," Hagan said, looking dejected. Then, brightening up, he added, "Ah, but what about pool installation? Imagine this for a minute. It's an unusually hot day in Meridell, and you desperately need a way to cool off. Fans aren't helping, and the air conditioning is broken. You decide to get a pool. Just walk a short while to Brightvale, visit the Brightvale Pool Installation Club, and in no time, you'll be swimming like a fish and diving into the deep end!" Again, he displayed a big smile.
This is ridiculous, Abby thought. However, what she said was, "It's nice of you to think of how I would feel without a pool in a sudden heatstroke, but I can just use my own pool installation crew. It would be much easier."
Upon hearing this, Hagan looked very let down. His grin turned into a grimace, then a full-out frown. He shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, then finally said, "Skarl, I... I think it's time I told you something."
Abby prepared for a long story.
And she got one. "You see, Meridell is a very well known town," Hagan continued. "It is the home of Illusen, was the site of a war, is a place where you can roll cheese down a hill without looking weird, et cetera. Whereas Brightvale is lesser known. We hardly have anything but a boring wheel, that, even though we put hours of work into it, people do not appreciate. Recently, the stores in Brightvale have seen decreases in sales, the wheel is not being spun as much as it used to be, I haven't seen a lot of people come to give me random information, and, overall, business is gone. Thus, we have resorted to asking our neighbors for help." He heaved a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, that hasn't been going so well. Kiko Lake has its own carpentry store, and Roo Island has Roo Island Properties. The Darigan Citadel promptly said no, and you don't look like you're accepting. It looks like Brightvale is on a downward slope, and there's nothing anybody can do about it." He plucked the brochure out from Abby's hands and began to walk away.
Abby sat there for a minute, dazed. Then, collecting her composure, she ran after Hagan.
"Wait!" she shouted, stopping him in his tracks. "I might have an idea as to how to help this." She waited for this to catch his attention, and, sure enough, it did. He turned around and listened very intently to her every word.
Abby simply informed him (in a Skarl-like way, of course) that if he stocked all of his businesses, made the place seem very welcoming and inviting, and put up advertisements encouraging Neopians to "visit Brightvale, the most green, the most clean, and the most serene place on the face of Neopia!", that he should be getting tourists, vacationers, and customers in no time!
Hagan looked so overjoyed that he was about to cry. He thanked Abby about a hundred times, and then rushed away to one of the many guest rooms (where Abby had said that he was welcome to start planning), searching for paper and a pencil.
Abby smiled and let out a deep breath. Today had been a very successful, happy, and, overall, wonderful day! And, best of all, it was only the first of her days as pretending to be King Skarl.
Abby was so caught up in all of her blissful excitement that she hardly heard the castle gate being opened, and then the enormous castle doors being unlocked to let someone in.
Still, even if you hardly hear something, you still hear it. So, Abby had heard the noises, and, in this situation, she did about the worst possible thing to do.
She froze, right where she was.
Abby looked around, searching for something to hide under in the almost empty hallway. Finally, she noticed a small end table, decorated with a red tablecloth and a vase of flowers on top. She hid under the tablecloth, seemingly unnoticed to the people in the castle. After all, they wouldn't expect the king of Meridell to conceal himself (or, in this case, herself) under a table, now, would they?
She heard someone come running to the front entrance. Not until she heard his voice did she know who it was: Jeran.
"King Skarl?" Jeran exclaimed, in a shocked tone of voice. "I don't recall you going out today, and I certainly don't recall you wearing THAT."
Abby groaned. Skarl must have come back fully decked out in flowery, bright, Mystery Island gear. But why, Abby thought, had the king come home so early?
Skarl grunted. "What do you mean, you don't recall that I went out today? I went out yesterday to Mystery Island, but those stupid natural disasters got in my way. Who knows if a tsunami could have crept up on me while I was sleeping?! Meridell would be devastated if that happened, so I decided to pack up and head back home."
"What? You actually went to Mystery Island?" Jeran said. "No, that is just... impossible."
"How is it impossible?" King Skarl snarled.
"Because, right now, King Skarl is in the castle," Jeran explained. "He just had a meeting with King Hagan. So, I'm sorry to have to do this, but I think you have the wrong location. Goodbye."
"WHAT??" Skarl screamed. "How could I have had a meeting with Hagan? I just came back from Mystery Island!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but the REAL King Skarl came back earlier today, so it's a little late for pretending," Jeran calmly said. "Now, please exit through the front doors, or one of our guards can escort you out."
Skarl sounded outraged. "What? Another King Skarl? But, I'm the real King Skarl! The other one is a fake! A fake, I tell you! A phony! A wannabe! An imposter!" he shouted, sounding more angry by the minute.
Jeran now seemed to be getting a bit angry, too. "Sir, no matter how much you deny yourself, I think you are the fake, phony wannabe imposter. Now, PLEASE LEAVE."
Abby couldn't take this anymore. It was not fair for Jeran to strain himself against Skarl's shouts of imposters and phonies. She carefully lifted the tablecloth and crept out from under the table. She arranged the vase on top, making it seem like everything was perfect. She took a deep breath and prepared for the absolute worst.
Running into the main entrance room, where Jeran was grunting while attempting to make a screaming Skarl exit, Abby shouted, "Wait! STOP!"
As soon as Abby had uttered the last word, everyone in the room became silent. Jeran stopped pushing Skarl, and Skarl stopped incessantly shouting. All eyes were on Abby.
"King... Skarl?" Jeran inquired, still clutching Skarl, as if ready to pounce on him if he made a move of some sort.
"No," she said. "Abby."
Search the Neopian Times
» Becoming King Skarl: Part One
» Becoming King Skarl: Part Two
» Becoming King Skarl: Part Four
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I suggest warming up for a few moments, since games can get pretty intense. The best matches always seem to start just at noon, when the sun is unbearably hot.
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The Inspectre: Part Two
"No," said Wegy. "This is the same spectre. A transforming one, obviously. I have heard of it before, but..."
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It's what happens when you don't dust the closet...
by coconutladie
The Curious Incident of the Statue in the Night-time: Part Four
Mr. Jennings sipped his tea once before putting the cup back on the saucer. "Far too hot," he said. "I shall have to let it cool..."
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1865, 2001, And Mardi Gras!
Q1: I wrestled an angel and dreamed of a ladder, and my 12 sons each founded one of the tribes of Israel. Who am I?
Q2: What Basque Jesuit brought Christianity to India, Malaysia and Japan?
Q3: Which of these things did the archconservative Pope Pius IX not do?
Q4: Who served longest as pope?
Q5: What operation do Jews call a bris?


After four meetings held in 2008 and 2009, the 24-page Final Report (.pdf) of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) dated 1 June 2009 has been released (see previous post).
The GIACC Report sets out a 21-point Programme of Action which was adopted by consensus. The Report, however, makes clear that there were a number of points on which no consensus was reached.
The report will now be considered by an ICAO High-Level Meeting to be held later in 2009.


text:
Salford council to fight plans for new free school - with every legal means available
The new school would be built on site of the former St George's RC High in Walkden
Neal Keeling
St George's RC High School in Walkden, closed in January 2013 but now a new free school is planned for the site (Image: M.E.N.)
Salford council is to mount a legal challenge against plans for a new school in the city.
The move comes just days after the Government announced the Star Leadership Academy in Salford would be one of five new free schools in Greater Manchester given funding to create a total of 4,500 places.
The schools will be run outside of local council control in areas where youngsters are underperforming.
A Department for Education spokesman defended the decision saying Star Academies have an excellent record and the new schools will help youngsters from disadvantaged areas succeed and flourish.
The MEN can reveal that the proposed location for the Salford school, to be run by the Star Academies Trust, is the site of the former St George's RC High School in Walkden.
Coun John Merry will lead a legal challenge against the planned school (Image: Paul Heyes)
St George's was closed after a bitter three-year dispute between the council and parents and teachers.
The council said it had to go due to falling numbers. After winning a reprieve it was finally closed in January 2013 and has since been left empty.
The new free school would be called Star Leadership Academy.
But Deputy City Mayor, Coun John Merry, said: "I am extremely concerned about this. The council saw the site as a potential location for a new primary school, and had mothballed it for that purpose for some years. We objected to the plans for it to be used for a free school but our case was rejected.
"We will seek to use every legal means to oppose this."
St George's RC High School in Walkden, closed in January 2013. A new free school is planned for the site, but Salford council are taking legal action to stop it. (Image: M.E.N.)
Athough the council own the land they have been instructed by the Department of Education to provide it at a peppercorn rent to the Star Leadership Trust, the MEN understands.
Council insiders says there is no urgent need for a new school in that part of Salford. Nearby is Harrop Fold High School which has buildings which are new, and spare capacity.
One source said: "The suspicion is that this free school is actually being aimed at pupils from Bolton and Farnworth which are on the border with Walkden."
Star Academies has 25 schools, eight of which joined the trust since September 2017. It has a further three secondary schools in the pipeline - and has now been approved to open one in Salford.
Between 2012 and 2016 the trust opened ten Muslim faith-based schools. But it has recently rebranded changing its name from Tauheedul Education Trust to Star Academies and now also runs some non-faith schools. It is not yet known if the Salford school would be a faith school.
Last week one its schools, Barkerend Primary, in Bradford, was judged outstanding in all categories.
It already has five schools in Greater Manchester - Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, and Eden Girls' Leadership Academy in Manchester; The Olive School in Bolton and Manchester; and Eden Boys' School in Bolton. Some are Muslim faith-based schools but welcome applications from all faiths.
On its website it's Chief Executive, Mufti Hamid Patel, says: "Star Academies runs a growing network of primary and secondary schools, with clusters in Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and East London.
"It is our mission to deliver the very best education to young people in our schools across the UK. As well as achieving excellent academic results, Star schools are deeply committed to the personal development of our young people. We are proud to contribute to the communities we work in and students have the opportunity to support local projects.
"I am a strong believer in the power of outstanding education to transform lives. It is a great privilege for me to lead Star Academies and I work tirelessly to make sure we deliver the very best we can for each and every one of our pupils.
"I do not do this alone. Star has a talented and dedicated team of staff, Trustees and Governors. Each of our schools receives strong support from parents and the local community. We work together, united in a common vision to nuture today's young people and inspire tomorrow's leaders."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The free school programme enhances parental choice by challenging the status quo and drawing in talent and expertise from different groups and backgrounds. In 2018, two of the top 10 Progress 8 scores for state-funded schools in England were achieved by free schools run by Star Academies.
"Star Academies run 29 schools and have opened free schools in five areas of the country – each of the 10 inspected by Ofsted have been rated Outstanding and are dramatically improving the life chances for thousands of children in disadvantaged areas.
"Many parts of the country have already taken advantage of the Free School Programme, including in Manchester, and have reaped the benefits. A great education is the key to unlocking every child's potential and that's why we have just announced 22 new free schools so more young people – many in the most disadvantaged areas of the country – can benefit from a great free school opening in their area.
"These schools will help young people studying there flourish and go on to succeed."
The MEN has tried to contact Star Leadership Trust for comment.
Little girl can listen to voice of her mum who died by squeezing her special teddy bear
Celeb children share rare glimpses of their lives with famous dads on Father's Day


north | Where is @rusnivek?
Great to see the leadership at WKYC (NBC affiliate) for hosting our quarterly NorthEast Ohio's (NEO) Public Information Officer (PIO) training!
Lots of discussion based around media relations focusing on timely and accurate reporting. Additionally, lots of conversation with good stories vs bad stories – which challenges the typical paradigm of news media's "If it bleeds, it leads!" mantra.
"Off the record" conversation as well as immediate notification of incident dominated the early part of our conversation.
We moved into how strategy sometimes gets in the way of real emergencies and of course how our PIO narratives sometimes conflicts with how the story is produced.
To me, I was also surprised at how many reporters wanted txt msgs as compared to phone calls. In fact, desk assignment editors wanted a mention as well as a follow-up txt or notification of ongoing emerging issue.
I am very greatful to be able to have candid conversation with our partners in the media. And yes, sharing success stories as well as challenges will allow us to do a better job with our local media to communicate our safety messages. Very glad to hear that getting the story right is still the main drive of our local news agencies.
Many thanks to the pros at WKYC (NBC affiliate) Cleveland for the hospitality and generosity.
Some fugly weather inbound to NorthEast Ohio today peeps.
Just remember: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors! Bolt Inside!


text:
class AddReferenceNumberToAppointmentSummaries < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def change
    add_column :appointment_summaries, :reference_number, :integer
  end
end


Spanish fashion giant Zara has opened its flagship store on Queen's Road Central, taking up location previously occupied by H&M. This is the biggest Zara stores in Hong Kong spanning 55,000 square feet, over six stories.
This marks the 12th Zara store in Hong Kong, where the brand first opened in 2004. The store will house the complete collections available under Zara. It is also the first to meet Zara's sustainability commitment where it consumes 30% less energy than conventional shops and reduces water consumption by 70%.
Crawford House, 70 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong.


Do Plasma TVs Emit Radiation?
Plasma TVs emit a tiny amount of UV (ultraviolet) radiation, but the amount emitted is less than what typical tube type (CRT) televisions emit. All TVs must meet the guidelines for TV radiation emission issued by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) back in 1969. All Samsung Plasma TVs are well within the guidelines.