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'Closer to his memory' - U.S. Navy veteran provided medical services throughout military career
Clayton Hill Jr. was inducted into the U.S. Navy in 1942 and trained as a pharmacist's mate. During World War II, he served at several locations throughout the South Pacific and later retired from the Navy Reserve at Olathe, Kansas.
Clayton Hill Jr. became one of scores of young men growing up in the western Missouri community of Liberty who, though not realizing it at the time, would soon be called into service during the early days of World War II. Initially receiving a draft notice for the U.S. Army, he traveled to his local recruiting office to inquire about enlisting in the U.S. Navy instead.
"My father said that if he was going to be in the service, he wanted to sleep in a bed with clean sheets and have hot meals," mirthfully recalled his son, Bud Hill.
Following his induction into the U.S. Navy in Kansas City on May 22, 1942, the 21-year-old inductee was sent to Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, to complete his basic training. While there, he was questioned about what military specialty interested him.
"He told them that his father was a pharmacist and they asked him if he knew what acetylsalicylic (acid) was," explained the veteran's son. "He replied that it was the scientific name for aspirin so they placed him in the medical corps."
For the next several weeks, he remained at Great Lakes and received medical training at the naval dispensary known as Camp McIntire. His accelerated training regimen continued in September 1942, when he was sent to U.S. Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, spending the next few months continuing to work and learn at naval medical facilities. On March 21, 1943, the apex of his military experience approached when he boarded the SS President Monroe bound for overseas service in the South Pacific. Following brief stops at islands along their route to pick up additional personnel, Hill arrived at Brisbane, Australia, on July 8, 1943, and began providing medical support for his command's headquarters.
"They moved him around frequently and two weeks after he got to Brisbane, he was transferred to Woodlark Island (off the coast of New Guinea)," said Bud Hill. "The Navy Seebees were busy building roads, airfields and other facilities, and my father provided their medical support," he added.
Six months later, in early 1944, he was transferred to Townsville, Australia, and was assigned to the Townsville Area Hospital Facility. During the war, the Townsville area served as a hub of military activity and was a staging point for many battles fought in several locations throughout the Southwest Pacific.
The closing moments of his overseas duty came in late spring of 1944, when he was transferred to the town Finschhafen in New Guinea, where he worked at a 300-bed hospital. From there, he was sent to Manus Island off the northern coast of New Guinea and worked at a 1,000-bed hospital that supported medical services for a boat repair unit.
"His overseas duty lasted until October 20, 1944, which happened to be his 24th birthday," said Bud Hill. "When he arrived in San Francisco, he worked briefly at a naval medical facility there before reassignment to Naval Air Station Olathe (Olathe, Kansas) in December 1944."
While stationed at Olathe, Hill was detailed to nearby Union Station in Kansas City to provide physicals for service members who were separating from the military. It was during this timeframe that he met the former Geraldine Bourlier and the couple married on October 13, 1945. The veteran received his discharge on June 24, 1946, but the naval lifestyle had become an entrenched pursuit. Three days later, he re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Kansas City and was again assigned to Naval Air Station Olathe, where he continued to provide such medical services as operating the dispensary and providing flight physicals.
For the next several years, Hill remained at the Kansas naval site and shared with his son only a few stories of poignant experiences, one of which involved an F-5 tornado that claimed the lives of nearly five dozen people.
"My father was on his way to help paint the home of a friend who also worked on the base when he was caught in the Ruskin Heights tornado on May 20, 1957," explained Bud Hill. "He was in his 1952 Dodge and was fortunate to have only sustained minor injuries to both he and the car."
After repairing a flat tire on his Dodge, Hill used his medical training and experience by remaining on site for several hours to assist local personnel in treating the injured and those seriously wounded during the tornado.
"Cutty"—a nickname he was given because of his ping pong skills—received the final promotion of his career on June 16, 1962, achieving the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Retiring a few weeks later, Hill went to work for the Missouri Department of Health and moved his family to Jefferson City in 1963. The father of four children retired from his state employment in 1983. Sadly, Hill's beloved wife Gerry passed away in 1982 followed by his death nine years later. The couple were laid to rest in the military section of Hawthorn Memorial Gardens in Jefferson City.
As the veteran's son explained, his father spoke very little about his military service, specifically the moments related to his time in World War II. However, a question posed a few years ago has inspired him to locate more information regarding the late sailor's military history.
"One of my cousins asked me what my father did in the Navy and I didn't know what to tell him," said Bud Hill. "My father never spoke about his experiences in the war because I'm sure he witnessed some tragic situations working in the hospitals and treating the wounded. I felt like I should know more so I went and got his box of stuff from his war service and began researching it all." He added, "Eventually, the pieces began to fall together and it has brought me a lot closer to his memory."
Jeremy P. Ämick writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families of America


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Have Mutual Fund Rating Agencies Lost Their Mojo?
Late last year, we ran a story titled "Why 401k Plan Sponsors (and Investors) are Going Back to the Future," (FiduciaryNews.com, December 4, 2012). The premise of that article stated that plan sponsors and 401k investors have begun to return to the days of the single managed portfolio as a preferred option. This move is consistent with findings (as well as normal intuition) that suggest professional managers are better at managing portfolios than the average man on the street. In a single managed portfolio, the professional determined when and where to move from cash to bonds to stocks, when it's more appropriate to invest in domestic vs. foreign securities and when to invest in what market caps. It's old style. It's imperfect. But, to paraphrase what Churchill said of democracy, "it's the worst alternative except for all the others that have been tried."
This trend, then, leads to two rather interesting sets of circumstances, one of which we'll address here. First, the gradual movement of retirement investors towards a single managed portfolio (whether that means a target date fund, lifestyle fund, balanced fund or just an all-equity multi-cap fund it not important for this point), means the gradual disintermediation of an entire tier of professional service providers. This tier includes what we'll call "secondary" advisers (an ironic nomenclature given they are often on the front line with the clients). They're "secondary" because these individuals "manage" the actual managers of the money. They don't manage the money themselves. In the era of the rise of the Morningstar Style Box, we saw a rise in these types of professionals. Now that the Style Box is on the wane, the "primary" managers will likely return to the forefront. This trend will likely cut the total cost to investors.
But that's fodder for another story, one that will take longer to develop.
Of more immediate relevance – something we are already seeing – is the second consequence of this drive of retirement investors toward a single portfolio (again, the type of single portfolio doesn't matter right now). This consequence calls into question the very relevance of current mutual fund rating services. We've already alluded to this above when we mentioned the fall from prominence of the Morningstar Style Box. As you'll soon discover from the comments of professional advisers that follow, while it's clear the mutual fund rating services may have lost their mojo, it's not necessary certain an alternative has yet surfaced.
By far, Morningstar, attractively priced for both retail and professional investors, remains the most popular mutual fund rating agency even though Lipper is the largest and oldest aggregator of mutual fund data. As a provider of raw data, though, Lipper has been the mainstay of academic and professional studies. Lipper recently added a rating service similar to Morningstar's star ratings called Lipper Leaders. Unlike Morningstar, which at least initially relied heavily on Modern Portfolio Theory to develop their well-known Style Box system, Lipper has utilized more of the facets of behavioral finance to develop their rating system.
Professional advisers are generally familiar with both rating agencies, as well as a few other minor alternatives like BusinessWeek, and Barron's. Many, however, no longer utilize these rating services the way they were intended. Todd Tresidder, a financial coach at FinancialMentor.Com in Reno Nevada says, "I don't use any rating agencies except for basic research and to locate funds by category. The reason is simple. The only thing that matters when picking a fund is future investment performance, and none of the ratings provide useful indications of future performance. In fact, Morningstar was honest enough to state exactly that in a recently published article on their site where they pointed out that their proprietary star rating system is not a valid indicator of future investment performance or even relative performance. "
Joshua Ziering, Director of Marketing at FutureAdvisor in San Francisco, says his firm uses "Lipper for information about funds, but doesn't utilize any of their rating metrics."
"I am familiar with Morningstar and Lipper," says Tim Dyer, Vice President of Sage Capital Advisors, LLC in La Jolla, California. But, he adds, "I rarely use either, except to pull the fund fact sheets and look at some things like management fees, performance and occasionally some holdings etc. There are no advantages of using either since they are based entirely on past performance which has zero influence on the future. The [Morningstar] star rating system is one of the most flawed use of our investors time. In fact studies show that if you did the opposite of the rankings or purchased the lowest ranked funds from the year before your returns would have been higher historically over time."
Clearly, the services do have value as warehouses of data. "The advantage of Morningstar is that all the information is succinctly presented. ," says Timothy R. Yee, AIF, co-founder, Green Retirement Plans in Oakland, California. James W. Watkins, III, CEO of InvestSense, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia agrees and even goes a step further. He says, "For my practice, Morningstar's advantages are extent and quality of information, as well as outstanding analytical tools on their website."
As far as the rating system goes, Elle Kaplan, CEO & Founding Partner at Lexion Capital Management LLC in New York City offers this blunt (and somewhat topical) point: "Studies show that as soon as a manager has a 5 star rating the mean reverts. Using ratings agencies is like picking the last 5 winners of the Super Bowl to determine the next champion. It does nothing to tell us who the next 5 will be."
But Morningstar may have more problems than just its rating system. Yee says, "Morningstar sometimes put funds in the wrong category (apples v oranges comparison). Ditto to comparing it against peers that are not really peers. For example, should an alternative energy fund really be compared against one that invests in oil/ fracking?"
Michael T. Prus, President of Scale Investment Group, LLC in White Lake, Michigan, says, "The lack of a Multi-Cap category is merely one example of funds being compared on a non-apples-to-apples basis. Often funds are mis-categorized, or categorized in a 'best fit' category which may not be all that good of a fit at all (some funds are just not easily categorized and comparing them with certain categories can lead one to believe things that are inaccurate)."
Many advisers would like to see Morningstar incorporate a multi-cap fund category in their listings. Rich Winer, President of Winer Wealth Management, Inc. in Woodland Hills, California, says, "I think it would be very beneficial for them to include a multi-cap category. It seems like Morningstar is most comfortable with defined styles. For example, small cap managers generally have a predominately small cap portfolio. So people can compare apples to apples. With a multi-cap fund, it could be overweighted in any particular area depending on the way things go in the portfolio and the market. Multicap is kind of like a balanced fund. While advisors will often look to find the best managers in different areas of the market, people with fewer funds to invest may want fewer funds. An all cap fund can fit the bill just like a balanced fund. Also, even if I have good funds in the small, mid and large cap area, I might also like a good all cap fund to round things out."
Leave it an academic, though, to read the fine print. David Nanigian, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Investments at The Richard D. Irwin Graduate School of The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania told FiduciaryNews.com that Morningstar, in fact, does have a multi-cap category. It's called "All Cap" and it was listed in their Morningstar Institutional Categories (for portfolios available for sale in the United States). While this paper was published in 2012 with an effective date of April 30, 2012, the current version of Morningstar Principia does not include an "all cap" category. Unfortunately, Mr. Nanigian's comments reached us as we were going to press and we did not have time to contact Morningstar about this apparent discrepancy. We'll add any new information we find as an update to this article if we receive any.
There are, however, two important comments we'd like to leave readers with. The first comes from Prus, who says, "I don't want to seem rough on Morningstar or Lipper or any other company that tries to categorize and summarize funds, as it's far from an easy task, but one needs to understand the limitations of these services. In my opinion there is no replacement for doing your own due diligence and speaking with fund management one-on-one to understand the fund, its people and investment process inside and out."
Along the same lines, and perhaps summarizing the feelings of many investment advisers, is Robert Massa, Chief Investment Officer at Ascende Wealth Advisers in Houston, Texas, who says, "While I access Morningstar, Lipper and ValueLine for data, I do all of my own research and due diligence on top of their work. Their data and databases are useful for extracting and preparing reports. While I find their research useful for a fund I am unfamiliar with, their research lacks the basics. Morningstar categorizes everything into style boxes, but many funds these days don't fit in the traditional style box anymore. I find Lipper's asset classes more flexible than Morningstar's. But there is nothing like calling and talking to a portfolio manager yourself. None of these services tell you how the manager is compensated. What drives them to succeed? Does it really match what you're client is trying to do? If you have two large cap growth managers but one follows a contrarian style and the other focuses on growth stocks with high moats with unique products or services, they are not the same, but they are still in the same asset class. Only the adviser can add true color and clarity on which fund best fits the client's objectives. The ratings services, for all their glitter and resources fail to provide the basic fundamentals that really count. For the best advisers, the ratings agencies are where the analysis begins, not where it ends."
And, with those sage words, what better way to end this article.
UPDATE: (January 17, 2013) Morningstar does maintain an "ALL-CAP" (a.k.a., multi-cap) but it is only for its "institutional" clients (the product is called Morningstar Direct) and not their more broadly used Morningstar Principia product. Here is what Morningstar told FiduciaryNews.com: "Regarding Principia, we developed our institutional fund category system for our institutional clients and therefore released it in our institutional software product, Morningstar Direct. We will consider making it available in our advisor products if there is enough client demand and the feedback you're providing is very helpful." So, you heard it here first, folks. If you want it. Let them know.
Interested in learning more about this and other important topics confronting 401k fiduciaries? Explore Mr. Carosa's new book 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions and discover how to solve those hidden traps that often pop up in 401k plans. The book also contains a series of chapters on this subject, including how to create an investment policy statement that defines a set of menu options consistent with the "one portfolio" concept (as well as leaving room for those few remaining do-it-yourselfers).
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James Watkins January 15, 13:59
As usual, excellent article Chris. Great points throughout.
As investment professional, we know that any ranking service is just a beginning point. As Mr. Massa points out, investment professionals are responsible for doing their own due diligence. This is a mistake that a lost of plan spsonsors make. The courts have held that any reliance on third party research must, at a minimum, be reasonable, with "reasonable" being defined as "independent and impartial" and "extensive and objective," folowed-up by the fiduciary's own due diligence.
Morningstar is often criticicized for its star system and the pack of persistence of such rating. While the lack of persistence has been well documented, it should be noted that Morningstar has openly stated that its star system is based on past perfomance and is neither intended to be, nor should be, used as a basis for predicting future perfomance.
Once again, excellent article.
WallStreetRanter January 20, 14:25
How is it that all these advisors don't know that morningstar has more then just star ratings? They do have forward looking ratings called analyst ratings…Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral & Negative.
Christopher Carosa, CTFA Author January 21, 13:50
WallStreetRantor: Don't blame the advisors on that one. Blame the editor. The interviews contained plenty on the good, bad and ugly of the analyst reviews. Unfortunately, the word length had already surpassed our recommended amount and, alas, those comments were left on the cutting room floor. Perhaps, a future article…
Elmer Rich January 30, 11:31
Recent research suggests that both administrators and employees chase performance with serious penalties.
Significant research also suggest professional managers benefit mainly from luck. There is little evidence for skill in investment management – anywhere.

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Bluebird Bio announced late last week that the European Medicines Agency has accepted its gene therapy LentiGlobin for accelerated review.
The filing is particularly significant because Bluebird has chosen to submit its product in Europe first, and if approved, would be the first of the company's groundbreaking gene therapies to reach the market.
The accelerated review status means the EMA could reach a decision in as little as five months for the one-time therapy, which could soon treat adolescents and adults with transfusion-dependentβ-thalassemia (TDT) with a non-β0/β0 genotype, an inherited rare blood disorder.
Caused by a mutation in the β-globin gene, patients with TDT struggle to produce red blood cells, which leads to severe anaemia.
The routine care available for these patients consists of a lifelong regimen of chronic blood transfusions, typically administered every 2-5 weeks, which help suppress symptoms of the disease.
However these transfusions come with unavoidable iron overload that can result in damage to vital organs, so patients with TDT require a further treatment regimen called iron chelation therapy.
Another option for TDT patients is bone marrow transplant (allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant or allo-HSCT), which has the potential to correct the genetic deficiency.
While potentially curative, allo-HSCT is associated with a risk of transplant-related mortality and graft failure, leading to immunological complications. Many patients with TDT are not considered optimal candidates for allo-HSCT due to lack of donor match, disease complications and/or age.
LentiGlobin has, however, been shown to reduce or even eliminate entirely the need for blood transfusions, freeing patients from the disease.
"People living with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia require frequent blood transfusions that are life-saving but may lead to complications, including organ failure due to iron overload," said David Davidson, chief medical officer, Bluebird Bio.
The therapy itself works by inserting a functional human beta-globin gene into a patient's own haematopoietic stem cells ex vivo, and then transplanting those modified cells into the patient's blood stream through infusion.
It has shown promise for TDT patients, with data revealing seven out of eight patients involved in the phase 1/2 study (Northstar) are transfusion-free and producing normal levels of haemoglobin.
The biotech is also conducting a long-term safety and efficacy follow-up study (LTF-303) for those who have participated in the clinical trials for both TDT and sickle cell disease, the latter being another therapy area that Bluebird is looking to treat with its gene therapy.
LentiGlobin is already part of the EMA's Adaptive Pathways pilot programme, which aims to improve timely access for patients to new medicines.
Meanwhile, the FDA has granted an orphan drug status and a breakthrough therapy designation for LentiGlobin for the treatment of TDT.
Celgene and biotech company Acceleron also have a contender heading to market - their luspatercept is a first-in-class erythoid maturation agent that can regulate late-stage red blood cell development, although this won't produce the potentially curative results seen with Bluebird's gene therapy.


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Free Range Kids Join me at LetGrow.org, Where the Free-Range Movement Continues!
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Colorado Dad Lets Daughter Wait Briefly In Car. He and His Wife Lose The Chance to Adopt
What happens when something safe is seen through the eyes of cultural prejudice, and thus declared dangerous and depraved?
Well, in the olden days, a woman who seemed powerful or spooky might be considered dangerous and depraved: a witch. That sometimes ended in stoning. More recently, a black man looking at a white woman might be considered dangerous and depraved: the equivalent of a rapist. That sometimes ended in lynching. And today, a parent who lets his or her kid wait in the car while running an errand can also be considered dangerous and depraved: A monster.
That sometimes ends an adoption, as you will see in my piece over at Reason. Click here.
Please note that before reading it that, tragically, some children do die in parked cars. The average time is 4.6 hours, and these kids were usually forgotten there. Or they got into the car while no one was looking, couldn't get out, and their parents didn't find them till too late. It's excrutiatingly sad.
But they weren't snoozing in the car during an errand.
Some day we will come to our senses, as we've done from earlier moral panics, and recognize that we were wrong. Parents consciously taking their eyes off their kids for a bit are not guilty of blatant disregard for their safety. Doing this is not evil. It is not depraved. And it should not derail an adoption. – L
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2:00PM Water Cooler 12/6/2021 | Naked Capitalism
Economy News by Justice News Flash Report
Author: Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Patient reader, I can't get away My yellow wading In time, so this is a skeleton water cooler with only standing elements. Otherwise, talk about it yourself! ——Lambert
Today's Bird Song
I really like these finches; there are so many! There is no doubt that Darwin has the same feeling, a thousand times stronger!
#Coronavirus disease
Vaccination by region:
Big rebound. Still walking surreptitiously. (I didn't say, because it's too obvious. If Bubba we mean the South, then Bubba does a great job on vax.)
59.6% of people in the United States have been fully (dually) vaccinated (CDC data, as of December 2. Mediocre by world standardsAs of this Monday, it is slightly lower than Estonia and slightly higher than Taiwan in the Financial Times rankings). There is no change compared to last week, but I think this is a holiday data issue.
Number of cases By U.S. region:
Return to normal and move towards a new peak, just like last year. I added a black anti-Trumpist "Fauci Line".
At least, the official statement is "Covid is behind us", or the pandemic will be "End of January"(Gottlieb), or "I know some people don't seem to want to give up this wonderful pandemic, but do you know? ended" (Bill Maher) Obviously there is a problem. (This graph is a 7-day average, so changes in direction will only be shown when the train is actually rolling.)
I speculate that one of the sources of the idea that Covid is about to disappear is the CDC's modeling center (its prediction seems to be used to justify the school's reopening). This is the current version of the CDC Modeling Center chart, Which aggregates the results of the eight models in the four scenarios. The last run ("round 9") occurred on August 30, 2021, and the current case data (black Dotted line) ), including the average value predicted by the aggregation model (black line). I usefully emphasized the case data discussed above:
Now there is a Thanksgiving drop. (Note that the highlighted case data lags behind the Johns Hopkins University data displayed first.) Now, it can be said that the upward trend of the case data (black dotted line) is still within the tolerance of the model; it does not meet the model's tolerance The average value (black line), but it stays in the gray area (aggregate forecast). Similarly, we see the place where the upward trend of case data is predicted (lower right quadrant) much later than where we are now. It is too early to say "Damn, CDC, your model is broken"; but it is too early to consider their possibilities. The case data still seems to be trying to break through the gray area. We will see.
MWRA (Boston area) wastewater testingAnd now update after Thanksgiving:
I marked the previous peak with yellow and the current peak with the black "Fauci line". When students return after the Thanksgiving holiday, there has been a significant increase in both 2020 and 2021. The 2021 jump starts from a higher baseline. Now we will see how high it is. It's hard to know how pessimistic it is, but the sound engineer's guess is that this year's peak will exceed 2020.
Massachusetts Department of Water Resources The (MWRA) service area includes 43 cities in and around Boston, including not only multiple school systems, but also several large universities. Since Boston attaches great importance to education, I think this may be a good leading indicator of Covid's widespread dissemination in schools.
From CDC: "Community Profile Report"(PDF), "Rapid Rising" counties. Update on December 3:
This is more normal and more consistent with the rest of the data; I think the previous versions are all products of the CDC algorithm.
last version:
Hospitalized (CDC Community Profile), also on December 2:
I usefully highlight the state where the "trend" arrow points to yellow, and the orange state that points vertically. Google said that at 9:35 am Eastern Standard Time, the temperature in Texas is 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit, so the hospitalization rate there is rising. I think the South is generally not due to winter conditions.
mortality rate(Our data world):
All: 808,763 806,409. Back to normal. I added a black "Fauci Line". At this rate, I don't think we will break the million mark before the new year.
Too many deaths (Total, not only from Covid), now updated:
It's hard to believe that we don't have too many deaths now, but if so, we will be lucky. (The CDC explained that there is a data lag).
(Supplement: I know Bad data. This is America. Needless to say, this is a public health disaster. Public health agencies have a responsibility to take care of public health, not the health of certain preferred political factions. He also added: I like mortality because it can roughly tell me that if I end up admitted to the hospital, I might be at risk. )
New coronary pneumonia cases Source of historical variants, Plus a supplement from the think tank:
The rise of South Africa appears to be linear.Remember this is Logarithmic scale. Sorry for the confusion on the left. No matter how I fix it, it will not disappear.
contact information: Readers, please feel free to contact me via lambert [UNDERSCORE] Bondage [DOT] current [AT] Yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, even better (b) resources that I should manage regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) know how to send me plant images . Vegetables are fine! Fungi and corals are regarded as honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, put it in parentheses at the beginning of the message: (so). Otherwise, I will use your initials for anonymization. See the previous water cooler (with plants) here. Today's factory (IM):
IM wrote: "I took the photo in the first atmospheric river in the fall, in Cypress Mountain, north of Vancouver. The flow in the picture is usually not a flow. Is the blurred branch on the left a defect, or is it an increase in motion? I don't have a tripod. The forest is very dark. All the concept of depth of field disappeared, and I kept still with the aperture wide open for long exposures." I think the handheld device is quite impressive!
Readers, I can use more plants, so if you can send some photos to the address below, that would be great! I really want to see photos of harvests or completed projects to inspire people to plan for spring in winter. There are still leaves? Thanks!
reader: Water Cooler is an independent entity no Covers the recently concluded sums-thank you! — Successful annual NC fundraising event. Therefore, if you see a link that you particularly like, or an item that you can't see anywhere else, please don't hesitate to express your gratitude in a tangible form. Remember, the tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback not only makes me feel good, but also lets me know that I am on the right track of reporting. When I have not received donations for five or ten days, I will be very worried. More obviously, continuous donations help me pay for my expenses. I took this into consideration when setting fundraising goals:
This is the screen that will appear, and I have made useful comments on it.
If you hate PayPal, you can send me an email to labert [UNDERSCORE] Bondage [DOT] current [AT] Yahoo [DOT] com, I will show you how to send a check. Thanks!
FirstFT: Today's hot news | Financial Times
The EU is following China's trade distortions worldwide


If you have travelled to or stayed at the Hotel Amarante Garden Palms, Sharm El Sheikh during November/December 2013, be advised that we have received holiday complaints from other holidaymakers. Those holidaymakers are now receiving Free Advice & Assistance from HolidayTravelWatch.
We have also received complaints in the past from people who stayed there during June 2013 AND November 2012.


How do you get people to try a new product or service when you're just starting out?
Not only can inbound marketing help attract the right people to your site—the "right people" being those that have the potential to turn into customers—it can generate more online visibility and increase brand awareness.
Your website should be aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, and full of valuable content. But in addition to all of those beautiful site pages, you also need landing pages. We suggest that you have at least one landing page set up when your site goes live.
Why landing pages? Well, these neat lil' pages are used to capture visitor information. You direct visitors to these pages to get them to complete a specific action.
Landing pages are essential for lead capture-based businesses. They help you get web visitors into your funnel so you can use lead nurture sequences to eventually turn them into customers.
Blogging is a time commitment and takes effort to maintain, but it's totally worth it! In order to get started, you'll need to dedicate either your time (by writing the posts yourself) or money (by hiring writers).
If you're just starting out and looking for early adopters, use your blog to talk directly to them. Blogging is an opportunity to let those early users know about the progress you're making, the changes you're enacting, and how to best use your product or service.
It can be hard to come up with social media fodder when your company is just starting out. By having blog content, however, you'll be able to not only share more on social media sites, but share content that directly links back to your own site, increasing overall site traffic and improving social signals.
Blogs also make for great opportunities to hone your SEO skills. Optimize every post using SEO best practices and create content that's both useful and relevant to your target audience. Remember, you want to attract the right people to your site so that eventually your blog readers will become your loyal customers. Building up your SEO muscle via blogging will also help you increase your organic ranking and get more traffic.
FrontApp, a B2B SaaS company, received 20% of their first beta sign ups by using inbound marketing.
They started a blog to share their experiences and communicate their vision and philosophy. As a result, not only did they get 400 total signups, but those initial 17 blog posts also generated 22,000 page views and 14,000 unique visitors in three months.
Ultimately, utilizing the power of inbound marketing is a great way to share your vision and company culture while simultaneously generating web traffic and getting early adopter leads into your funnel.


"They need you in room 13" she said when I answered the phone and I ran back to the ICU. The patient was coding and for each minute that felt like an hour, we tried, and failed, to save her. She wasn't breathing, her heart wasn't working, and despite the 30 people gathered in the room, in the end, she died.
Running a code, as we call it, means that someone is dying or, technically, has died, and a team of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, technicians and others rush to the bedside and try, despite the odds, to bring her back. Usually, we don't succeed. Running a code, as the code leader, means that we are emergently called to the bedside of a patient whom we often know nothing about.
We look at the patient, look at the data on the monitors, and start issuing orders. But, not really. We are leading a team, but each team member has been trained on what to do, has done this before, and nurses and respiratory therapists and pharmacists are bringing in supplies and getting medications ready and repositioning the patient even as the "code leader" asks the people around if anyone knows what happened. How did this come to be? Who is this patient? So that we might have a clue as to what the cause is, and hopefully, what the specific treatment should be.
In the meantime, if the oxygen is low, we put in a breathing tube and deliver oxygen. Sometimes that's easy to do. Sometimes it isn't. We check for evidence that the heart is circulating blood around the body and if it isn't, nurses get up on the bed and start delivering chest compressions, squeezing the heart to make it push the blood around even as we try to figure out why. Why did this patient's heart stop working? What can we do to start it again, beside just hoping we're delivering enough blood to her brain and the rest of her organs.
It is a harrowing, surreal experience, but also oddly inspiring. A person has died. She is not breathing, her heart is not beating, she is dead. Yet a group of people are rapidly working with the singular goal of getting her back.
Running a code is a team sport. If you say the wrong thing, someone will remind you not to give this drug, or someone might suggest giving a drug or doing something else. It isn't a code leader saying "jump" and everyone asking "how high?" While you're running the code, someone else may have time to take a few minutes and read the patient's chart and offer a key piece of history that would lead to a specific intervention. Depending on the people at the code and their skills, sometimes the code leader leads the code at the bedside, but sometimes the code leader also has to do procedures – put in a breathing tube or a central line – while leading the code and thinking of what the heart rhythm is doing, what other drugs should be given.
And someone keeps track of time. "Give epinephrine" we say, and then what feels like an hour of chest compressions later we say "give it again." But just to be sure we add "how long has it been?" And someone who keeps track of what's happening and when and writes it down, someone whose contribution may not, on the surface, seem all that important, says "30 seconds" so we say, wait, wait three minutes before giving it again.
People die every day, and yet, the codes where they die in the hospital and we try to reverse that process still shake us. The people who expect to die, those who are truly terminal have decided that they do not want this final intervention at the time of death. Through a process of grief and acceptance of reality, patients, and their families, have prepared for the end and have decided that when the patient dies, he is dead. They have signed the DNR/DNI orders, and we do not pound on their chests or give them shocks or put in breathing tubes. Even if we did, we would be unlikely to succeed, and in the end, we would simply be prolonging the dying process.
But it is the unexpected cases – the patient who seemed fine an hour ago, and now has a nurse doing chest compressions to get her heart to start again – those are the cases that really stay with us. In the aftermath, we ask – what could we have done? Not just how could we have run the code better? A process that is important for all team members in coping with these traumatic events and improving our chances of success. A process that is both informal (a collective debriefing in the aftermath) and quite formal (review of all codes in the hospital by a committee and evaluation of the need for process of care improvements). But we also ask, how could we have prevented this? How could we have foreseen that this might happen, that the patient might die, and what could we have done to prevent her from coding in the first place? Because the truth is, no matter how outstanding our code teams and how advanced our interventions, once someone has died – once they are no longer breathing and their heart is no longer beating, we've lost a huge battle.
"Thank you," is not what we expect to hear after trying, and failing, to resuscitate someone who unexpectedly dies in our hands. And yet, that is exactly what patient families say when they come, bleary eyed and devastated in the small hours of the night. "Thank you for what you've done for her," they say between sobs, and we offer condolences, and in the end, there is recognition, by us, and by them, that some things are beyond us, some things, despite the modern equipment and decades of training, some things just happen.
It's so great to see another post from you! Always great!!!!
Another great post – sobering and emotional yet oddly inspiring. Well done!
I love this one, especially as a lay reader. You really bring the (harrowing) experience to life.


text:
/* Author: Luis G. Torres */

#ifndef OMPL_BASE_OBJECTIVES_STATE_COST_OPTIMIZATION_OBJECTIVE_
#define OMPL_BASE_OBJECTIVES_STATE_COST_OPTIMIZATION_OBJECTIVE_

#include "ompl/base/OptimizationObjective.h"

namespace ompl
{
    namespace base
    {
        /** \brief Defines optimization objectives where path cost can
            be represented as a path integral over a cost function
            defined over the state space. This cost function is
            specified by implementing the stateCost() method. */
        class StateCostIntegralObjective : public OptimizationObjective
        {
        public:
            /** \brief If enableMotionCostInterpolation is set to
                true, then calls to motionCost() will divide the
                motion segment into smaller parts (the number of parts
                being defined by StateSpace::validSegmentCount()) for
                more accurate cost integral computation (but this
                takes more computation time). If
                enableMotionCostInterpolation is false (the default),
                only the two endpoint states are used for motion cost
                computation.
            */
            StateCostIntegralObjective(const SpaceInformationPtr &si, bool enableMotionCostInterpolation = false);

            /** \brief Returns a cost with a value of 1. */
            Cost stateCost(const State *s) const override;

            /** \brief Compute the cost of a path segment from \e s1 to \e s2 (including endpoints)
                \param s1 start state of the motion to be evaluated
                \param s2 final state of the motion to be evaluated
                \param cost the cost of the motion segment

                By default, this function computes
                \f{eqnarray*}{
                \mbox{cost} &=& \frac{cost(s_1) + cost(s_2)}{2}\vert s_1 - s_2 \vert
                \f}

                If enableMotionCostInterpolation was specified as true
                in constructing this object, the cost will be computed
                by separating the motion into
                StateSpace::validSegmentCount() segments, using the
                above formula to compute the cost of each of those
                segments, and adding them up.
            */
            Cost motionCost(const State *s1, const State *s2) const override;

            /** \brief Returns whether this objective subdivides
                motions into smaller segments for more accurate motion
                cost computation. Motion cost interpolation is
                disabled by default.
            */
            bool isMotionCostInterpolationEnabled() const;

        protected:
            /** \brief If true, then motionCost() will more accurately compute
                the cost of a motion by taking small steps along the
                motion and accumulating the cost. This sacrifices speed
                for accuracy. If false, the motion cost will be
                approximated by taking the average of the costs at the
                two end points, and normalizing by the distance between
                the two end points. */
            bool interpolateMotionCost_;

            /** \brief Helper method which uses the trapezoidal rule
                to approximate the integral of the cost between two
                states of distance \e dist and costs \e c1 and \e
                c2 */
            Cost trapezoid(Cost c1, Cost c2, double dist) const
            {
                return Cost(0.5 * dist * (c1.value() + c2.value()));
            }
        };
    }
}

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Jovani sequin and beaded long dress with plunging neckline spaghetti straps, sleeveless fitted bodice and low v-back, floor length fitted skirt with flared end. Worn only once!
taylormarchelle @msjhjd768hdhd Hello! Thanks for reaching out! The dress has been only one time. I am going no lower than $175! No alterations. Nothing wrong with the dress!
taylormarchelle @elektracute No alterations at all!
rekinde I'm a 10. Is fabric flexible?
rekinde @taylormarchelle mm. Would it fit? Sure,?
artyjessa Is this dress still available?
taylormarchelle @rekinde No thanks! $175 is already pretty low, as the original price was $590.
kerriktoups How long is it?
taylormarchelle @kerriktoups It's very long. I am 6 feet tall and I had heels on in that photo.
kerriktoups What size is your chest width? And waist?


text:
The Public Record | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site (https://thepublicrecord.ca/2018/03/coleman-thinking-differently-on-downtown-planning/)
Coleman: Thinking Differently on Downtown Planning
By Joey Coleman, Editor | March 13, 2018
Joey Coleman/The Public Record
Hamilton's Downtown as viewed from James Street South
This column was first published in The Public Record's newsletter last Thursday. Get our content and columns before they appear on our website by subscribing to our newsletter edition.
Tuesday night's community meeting on the Downtown Secondary Plan was hugely successful.
Moderator Cameron Kroetsch and the organizing team successfully brought together over 100 people representing a wide range of interests from across Hamilton's Downtown communities. The format saw four speakers provide an overview of the plan, what plans look like in other communities, consideration of the competing interests involved in a secondary plan, and methods of ensuring development creates opportunity for as many as possible such as Chicago's planning regiment and Section 37 benefits.
Following the speakers, breakout groups formed around interest topics, including small business, music venues, creative studios, affordable housing. Recommendations and ideas from the groups will be compiled and released by organizers in the coming week. (Further reading: The Inlet's excellent summary of what happened at the event)
The biggest achievement of the event was commercial building owners sitting beside homeowners joining with tenants at the same table alongside interests ranging from heritage to churches, music venues to small shopkeepers.
There has never been a meeting on the future official plan for the downtown that has brought these interests together to express their desires, and begin the community discussion of how to balance them in such a way as to ensure a vibrant downtown beyond the accounting ledgers of development and taxation. Absent from the room were large developers and noticeably absent Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr.
The City's Director of Planning and Chief Planner Steve Robichaud attended, sitting in the audience, listening intently, and taking notes. He stated to me staff continue working on the final draft of the Secondary Plan that will go to Council in April, and that changes have been made based upon feedback from various stakeholders, including community groups and neighbourhood associations.
What Happens Next? What Will Change in The Plan?
Planning practice and policy across Ontario is in a state of some uncertainty with the change from the Ontario Municipal Board to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. Nobody outside of Queen's Park knows exactly how LPAT appeals will work compared to OMB appeals.
We do know that LPAT will defer to local planning policy, and make it possible for municipalities to create clear planning policy without guessing what developers will to get approved at the OMB despite local policy. The significance of these changes should not be underestimated.
In practical terms, the City's October plan was outdated on December 12, 2017 when Royal Assent was given to Bill 139, completely changing the foundation of local planning policy across Ontario.
The soon-to-be-old existing Downtown Secondary Plan is not even a paper tiger; developers knew they could propose nearly anything, and if they couldn't convince the Ward Councillor to support it; they would be able to go to the Ontario Municipal Board to argue for what they wanted anyway.
Once Places to Grow was implemented in 2005, the existing Secondary Plan was completely eclipsed by the OMB's mandate to implement intensification. Height limitations set low that were designed to force developers to negotiate with City Hall to build tall buildings instead became the very reason the OMB would allow tall buildings near almost no regards for the Secondary Plan.
LPAT changes this, municipalities no longer enter negotiations with developers with both hands tied behind their back, City Hall's hands are untied, and they now set the agenda. Municipal plans must comply with the provincial frameworks, of course.
In practical terms, zoning under the OMB was planned with lower height and density limits than what the City wanted, knowing that developers would seek 20 if they were allowed 10, and the OMB would likely approve it. Under LPAT, what the Secondary Plan – combined with policy – says is what developers will be allowed.
What does this means for changes we should expect to see when the final draft Downtown Secondary Plan is released? For one, we should see the Tall Building Guidelines brought into the Plan as policy, instead of a mere suggestion as they were in the revised draft in October. Expect an increase role for the Design Review Panel. Most visible should be a refinement of the as-of-right height permissions if the Tall Building Guidelines are made policy, made rules, the guidelines will limit tall buildings to sites which are appropriate for height.
The final draft of the Secondary Plan will be posted to the City website on March 19. Council will debate the plan during the April 17, 2017 Planning Committee which will begin at 9:30am that day.
In the coming weeks, we need focus on the underlying planning matters we need to understand to effectively engage on the Secondary Plan. This will be the focus of my coverage.


Arguably the captain of the best generation of Cotonsport of Garoua players of all time,former Captain of Garoua defender,Djene Orthega joined Cotonsport in 2011 and enjoyed great years of success as a Cotonite before moving away from the club.
Promoted to the captain of Cotonsport of Garoua in 2013 by coach,Gomez Darosa after Cotonsport finished runners up to Union Sportive Douala,Djene won the 2013 and 2014 league titles plus the 2014 Cup of Cameroon trophy.
This golden generation of Cotonsport players also made it to the semi finals of the CAF Champions league with Djene Orthega doing an excellent defensive job for the team,he will win his first cap for Togo while playing for Cotonsport in September 2012 and even participated in the 2013 AFCON as a Cotonsport player.
Djene left for Spain in 2014 and first joined Alcoron but this Sunday he was captain of the Getafe side that gave Barcelona a run for their money and restricted Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to scoring just twice.
Though Djene's Getafe lost the game,just the fact that he lined up for pre-match photos with a certain Lionel Messi, he used to watch on TV from Garoua makes it a super story for young lads back in Lome and Garoua.
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Meyong Menene the "wonder girl" at Louves Minproff extends her stay.


Saves current chart screen shot as a GIF file.
[in] Screen shot file name. Screenshot is saved to \Files folder.
[in] Screen shot width in pixels.
[in] Screen shot height in pixels.
[in] Index of the first visible bar in the screen shot. If 0 value is set, the current first visible bar will be shot. If no value or negative value has been set, the end-of-chart screen shot will be produced, indent being taken into consideration.
[in] Horizontal chart scale for screen shot. Can be in the range from 0 to 5. If no value or negative value has been set, the current chart scale will be used.
[in] Chart displaying mode. It can take the following values: CHART_BAR (0 is a sequence of bars), CHART_CANDLE (1 is a sequence of candlesticks), CHART_LINE (2 is a close prices line). If no value or negative value has been set, the chart will be shown in its current mode.
Returns true if succeed, otherwise false. To get the error code, one has to use the GetLastError() function.
The screen shot is saved in the terminal_dir\experts\files (terminal_dir\tester\files in case of testing) directory or its subdirectories.


text:
25/06/2019 · by SteveRicketts	· in Diary of a retired Rugby League Journalist, Uncategorized.	·
WEEK 18 2018
Two blokes in a van, try to sell me a surround sound system, as I leave bottle shop at Lutwyche. Dodgy or what!
Death of former State treasurer, Terry Mackenroth, an independent director on the Queensland Rugby League board. My first dealings with Terry were as an industrial reporter for the 'Telegraph' in the late 1970s, when he was just starting out in Labor Party politics, as Member for Chatswood.
French Test rugby league hooker, Eloi Pelissier is back playing in France, with Lezignan, after a stint in England. My wife and I know Eloi, through our eldest boy, Damien who has contacts in the Catalonia region.
Australian coach, Mal Meninga, speaking on FoxSports, mentions Wally Lewis' long pass at Central Park, Wigan in the Second Test of the 1982 Kangaroo tour. It remains one of the great moments in international rugby league, given the pass travelled 30 odd metres and made it easy for big Mal to score in the corner.
Prominent rugby league historian, Mike Higgison has died after a short battle with brain cancer. Mike contributed Flashback items to the Brisbane and/or Queensland Rugby League programs for many years, and had an amazing library of statistics and events, a lot of it in his own hand writing and the result of meticulous research. He has left some of these items to different clubs, and other items to the QRL History Committee.
Death of former Great Britain prop, Cliff Watson. There is amazing footage of Cliff, leaning up against the goal posts, before the 1973 Sydney grand final, when he played for Cronulla. That match, against Manly, is undoubtedly the most violent grand final in history. Cliff's biography was called, 'From Saint to Shark'. I interviewed Cliff for a 1995 book on Lang Park's great moments. Cliff was adamant he was not the instigator of the brawl, in which he head butted Australian prop, Jim Morgan, leaving Morgan with his nose splattered across his face, in the First Test of the 1970 Ashes series, at Lang Park. "Jim decided he knew how to head butt, but it wasn't a very good effort," Cliff told me. "I waited a few seconds and then showed him how it was done. He tried me first, so I consider my actions self defence. Jim, to his credit, told the media he tried to head butt me first. He had to have an operation on his nose, but he succeeded in giving me back my migraines. I signed with Cronulla in 1971, and later became a rep., with my work taking me to Queanbeyan, where Jim worked at the Leagues Club. We became good friends and I used to stay at his place."
Cliff was also friends with Brian Atherton, from Widnes, the groomsman at my wedding. Brian, who lives at Taree, and is married to an Australian lass, Carole, was instrumental in organising 'golden oldies' matches between the Brits and Aussies, at the Group 3 ground at Taree. I am sure the camaraderie engendered by these matches, had a lot to do with the formation of the Men of League Foundation (charity), of which Brian is now mid-North Coast Committee chairman.
Gympie raised journalist, Phil Lutton chats to me about Gympie v Cherbourg rugby league matches of days gone by. We are both at the Broncos v Bulldogs match at Suncorp Stadium, with the Broncos snatching a 22-20 win, thanks to a late penalty goal. Another journalist, Joel Gould talks at length to me about rugby league in Ipswich.
In a Champions' League semi-final between Liverpool and Roma, a Roma player touches the referee on the face. It doesn't seem to be big deal in soccer.
A couple of Monto visitors give me the breakfast (meat and eggs) tray they win in Stafford Tavern raffles. The two men, close friends of former Valleys' player, Frank Clancy, have been to a Broncos' Old Boys' lunch, where the MC was the redoubtable Billy J Smith.
A dad reverses out of his Uxbridge Street, Grange driveway, with his little son on his lap.
Tour of Yorkshire takes in Ilkley Moor, where I walked a number of times, during rugby league trips to the UK. Kangaroo teams often stayed at Ilkley, in run down accommodation. In 1947, the Col Maxwell captained Kangaroos stayed at the Stoney Lea Hotel, where the manager was Ma Griffin, a dour Scots woman. Australian halfback, Wally O'Connell said the players gave Ma Griffin all their ration coupons (remember, this was just a few short years after World War II) as she promised to look after them. The ration for meat was 10 pence a week and no fresh fruit. Potatoes were the only food item not rationed. "We soon realised our coupons must have been going somewhere else, as even meals, such as shepherd's pie and Yorkshire pudding, never contained a scrap of meat," O'Connell said. "We soon gave up going down to breakfast, but one day we heard eggs would be on the menu, and we raced down to the dining room. We were disappointed to find the eggs were powdered and had no taste."
The Newtown v North Sydney Frank Hyde Cup match (named after the legendary radio commentator who played for both clubs) is live on Channel 9, the first time the two clubs have been on the free-to-air channel since 1982, when current Nine commentator, Phil 'Gus' Gould played for Newtown. 'Gus' is at Henson Park for this one. I didn't realise, until I read it in Hyde's book 'Straight Between the Posts', that North Sydney were known as the 'Shoremen', years before they became the Bears.
Brisbane (Boondall) boy, Michael Russo's London fashion business is getting lots of media attention, because it has been discovered by the rich and famous. We know the Russo family from our time living at Zillmere.
Marie brings back 'real water melon' from Mitchelton Markets. It was a grown at Tenterfield in New South Wales.
Wests Tigers' winger, Mahe Fanua describes England's Challenge Cup as a funky competition. In the 122 year history of the Cup, I bet this is the first time it has been called funky. Fanua played at Wembley, with Hull, in 2016 and '17.
Murwillumbah product, Reece Robson makes his NRL debut, at hooker, for St George Illawarra. Robson is asked by one interviewer about being from an area not renowned for league players, given there are so many hippies. Well I never. Murwillumbah is league central. Another Murwillumbah boy, John Dowling played for St George in the 1970s-80s.
Photo 1: Mike Higgison
Photo 2: 2 Cliff Watson playing for Britain against Queensland. Ray Laird is the Qld number 1.
Photo 3: Jim Morgan after being head butted by Cliff Watson (diary 18)
Photo 4: Wally O'Connell (centre) unpacking at the Stony Lea Hotel, Ilkley in 1948, with teammates, Len Pegg (left) and Jack Horrigan.
Tags: billy j smith, brian atherton, Carole Atherton, cliff watson, frank clancy, Frank Hyde, jack horrigan, jim morgan, Joel Gould, john dowling, len pegg, Ma Griffin, Mahe Fanua, Mal Meninga, Michael Russo, mike higgison, Phil 'Gus' Gould, Phil Lutton, ray laird, Reece Robson, Stoney Lea Hotel, wally lewis, wally o'connell
← DRUNKEN KIWI STEALS HEARTS AT WEMBLEY
FLASHBACK: June 1994 →
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text:
San FranciscoEthics Commission
Commission By-Laws
Commission Meeting Agendas
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HomeCommissionInfoRecords Management Policy
The Ethics Commission's Records Management Policy is adopted pursuant to Chapter 8 of the San Francisco Administrative Code, which requires each department head to maintain records and create a records retention and destruction schedule. This policy supersedes all previous record retention policies issued by the Commission.
This policy covers all records, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which have been made or received by the Ethics Commission in connection with the transaction of public business.
PART I: POLICY AND PROCEDURES
A. RETENTION POLICY
The Ethics Commission will retain records for the period of their immediate or current use, unless longer retention is required for historical reference, contractual or legal requirements, or for other purposes as set forth below. The Ethics Commission's records shall be classified and preserved as follows:
Category 1: Permanent Retention. Records that are permanent or essential shall be retained and preserved indefinitely.
Permanent records. Permanent records are records required by law to be permanently retained and which are ineligible for destruction unless they are microfilmed or placed on an optical imaging system, and special measures are followed. S.F. Admin. Code Section 8.4. Once these measures are followed, the original paper records may be destroyed. Duplicate copies of permanent records may be destroyed whenever they are no longer necessary for the efficient operation of the Commission. Examples of permanent records are campaign statements of certain local officeholders, which must be maintained indefinitely. Gov't Code Section 81009(b).
Essential records. Essential records are records necessary for the continuity of the Commission and the protection of the rights and interests of individuals. S.F. Admin. Code Section 8.9. Examples of essential records include advice letters and opinions, policy memoranda, and interpretive materials such as manuals.
Category 2: Current Records. Current records are records which for convenience, ready reference or other reasons are retained in the office space and equipment of the Commission. Current records shall be retained as follows:
Definite Retention Period Specified by Law. Where federal, state, or local law prescribes a definite period of years for retaining certain records, the Commission will retain the records for the period specified by law. Examples of records required to be maintained for a specific period are statements of economic interest, which must be maintained for seven years, Gov't Code Section 81009(e); and certain campaign statements which must be maintained for four years. Gov't Code Section 81009(f).
No Definite Retention Period Specified by Law. Where no specific retention period is specified by law, the retention period for records that the department is required to retain shall be specified in the attached Record Retention and Destruction Schedule. Such records may be placed in storage and retained offsite at any time during the applicable retention period. Examples of current records include discrimination and harassment complaints and personnel files.
Category 3: Definite Retention Period Specified by the Office of the Controller. The Office of the Controller has promulgated record retention guidelines for specific types of documents. Examples of records required to be maintained for a period of five years are invoices and purchase orders. A copy of the Controller's Guidelines is attached.
Category 4: Two-Year Retention Before Destruction. Original records (not duplicate copies) reflecting significant or recurring issues (such as research files) should be retained for a minimum of two years.
Category 5: No Retention. Original and duplicate documents and other materials that are not essential to the functioning or continuity of the Commission and that have no legal significance may be destroyed. Examples include documents and papers generated purely for the convenience of the person generating them and draft documents which have been superseded by subsequent versions, or rendered moot by Commission action. Specific examples include telephone message slips, correspondence, notepads, e-mails that do not contain information required to be retained under this Policy, and chronological files.
With limited exceptions, no specific retention requirements are assigned to documents in this category. Instead, it is up to the originator or recipient to determine when the document's business utility has ended.
B. RECORDS NOT ADDRESSED BY THE ATTACHED SCHEDULE
Records and other documents or materials that are not expressly addressed by the attached schedule may be destroyed at any time provided that they have been retained for the periods prescribed for substantially similar records.
C. STORAGE OF RECORDS
Records may be stored in the Commission's office space or equipment if the records are in active use or are maintained in the office for convenience or ready reference. Examples of active files appropriately maintained in the Commission's office space or equipment include active chronological files, research and reference files, legislative drafting files, pending complaint files, administrative files and personnel files. Inactive records, for which use or reference has diminished sufficiently to permit removal from the Commission's office space or equipment, may be sent to the City's off-site storage facility or maintained in the Commission's storage facility.
D. HISTORICAL RECORDS
Historical records are records which are no longer of use to the Commission but which because of their age or research value may be of historical interest. Historical records may be offered to the San Francisco Public Library or a historical society for preservation. Historical records may not be destroyed except in accordance with the procedures set forth in Administrative Code Section 8.7.
E. PENDING CLAIMS AND LITIGATION
The retention periods set forth in the attached record retention schedule shall not apply to materials that are otherwise eligible for destruction, but which may be relevant to a pending claim or litigation against the City. Once a department becomes aware of the existence of a claim against the department, the department should retain all documents and other materials related to the claim until such time as the claim or subsequent litigation has been resolved. Where a department has reason to believe that one or more other departments also have records relating to the claim or litigation, those departments should also be notified of the need to retain such records.
PART II: RECORD RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION SCHEDULE
RETENTION CATEGORY
LAW SPECIFYING RETENTION PERIOD
Accident-Injury Reports 2 5 years 29 CFR 1904.6
Audit Reports 1 Permanent
Audit Work Papers 4 2 Years
Advice Letters 1 Permanent
Annual Reports 1 Permanent
Budget Files 4 2 Years
Calendar, Prop. G 5 2 Years
Complaint files 1 Permanent
Complaint logs 5 None
Chronological files 5 None
Commissioner Files 1 Permanent
Contracts 3 20 Years + Term of Agreement Controller's Guidelines
Contract Correspondence 2 2 years or Life of Agreement
Contract Payment Records 3 20 Years + Term of Agreement Controller's Guidelines
Correspondence 5 None
Campaign Consultant Statements 2 5 Years S.F. Admin. Code Sec. 16.544(e)
Campaign Statements (original) of mayors, members of board of supervisors, and committees supporting these officeholders 1 Permanent Gov't Code Sec. 81009(b)
Campaign Statements (original) of candidates not elected to office of mayor or board of supervisors, and committees supporting such candidates 2 8 Years Gov't Code Sec. 81009(b); S.F. C & GC Code Sec. 1.110
Campaign Statements (original) of all other persons for which the Ethics Commission is the filing officer 2 8 Years Gov't Code Sec. 81009(c); S.F. C&GC Code Sec. 1.110
Copies of campaign statements, statements of economic interest, or reports filed with the Ethics Commission 2 4 Years Gov't Code Sec. 81009(f)
Discrimination and Harassment Complaints 2 Lesser of 50 Years or Life of Employee
Employment Applications/Resumes 4 2 Years
Equal Opportunity Plan 4 2 Years
Executive Director Reports 1 Permanent
Family Medical Leave Act Records 2 3 Years Fair Labor Standards Act Sec. 11(c)
Fax Transmittal Sheets 4 2 Years
Filing Deadline Notices 4 2 Years
Financial Records, Miscellaneous 3 5 Years After Applicable Fiscal Year Controller's Guidelines
Fine Letters 1 Permanent
FPPC Forms/Manuals 1 Permanent
Invoices 3 5 Years After Applicable Fiscal Year Controller's Guidelines
Lease Files 4 2 Years
Legislative Drafts 5 None
Lobbyist Statements 2 5 Years S.F. Admin. Code Sec. 16.531(d)
Manuals and other Commission Publications 1 Permanent
Medical Information 2 Lesser of 50 Years or Life of Employee
Minutes of Commission and Committee Meetings 1 Permanent
Miscellaneous Employment Related Records 4 2 Years
MOUs 3 20 Years + Term of Agreement Controller's Guidelines
OSHA Reports 4 2
Payables (Invoices) 3 5 Years Controller's Guidelines
Payroll Records 4 2 Years Secure permission from SFERS prior to destruction
Personnel Files 2 Lesser of 50 Years or Life of Employee
Policy Memoranda 1 Permanent
Press Releases 1 Permanent
Purchase Orders 3 5 Years Controller's Guidelines
Quarterly Lobbyist/Campaign Consultant Reports 1 Permanent
Regulations 1 Permanent
Revolving Funds Records 3 5 Years Controller's Guidelines
Settlement Agreements 1 Permanent
Statements of Economic Interest 2 7 Years Gov't Code Sec. 81009(e)
Time Rosters 4 2 Years Secure permission from SFERS prior to destruction
Time Sheets 4 2 Years Secure permission from SFERS prior to destruction
Travel and Reimbursement Records 3 5 Years Controller's Guidelines
Work Orders and Payments 3 5 Years Controller's Guidelines
Workers' Compensation Records 2 5 Years Title 8, Cal. Code Section 10102
Approval by the Ethics Commission:
_____________________________ _____________________________
Virginia E. Vida Date Approved
Executive Director,
Approval as to Financial Documents:
______________________________ _____________________________
Edward Harrington Date Approved
Approval as to Legal Documents:
___________________________ _____________________________
Dennis J. Herrera Date Approved
Approval as to Payroll Documents:
_________________________ _____________________________
Clare M. Murphy Date Approved
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About the Ethics Commission
The Ethics Commission was established by San Francisco voters in November 1993, and serves the public, City employees and officials, and local candidates through education and enforcement of governmental ethics laws, including public information, reports and advice; campaign disclosure and economic interests filings; lobbyist and campaign consultant registration and reporting; public financing for City campaigns; audits, investigations and enforcement.
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Scan with a QR reader to access page:
https://sfethics.org/ethics/2009/05/records-management-policy.html


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Representation In Hollywood Is Just As Depressing Today As It Was 10 Years Ago
07/31/2017 03:19 pm ET
"We don't have a diversity problem; we actually have an inclusion crisis."
By Priscilla Frank
Steve Granitz via Getty Images
Are films any better at depicting developed characters who aren't white men than they were 10 years ago? Of course, you might think. "Moonlight" won the Academy Award for Best Picture! "Wonder Woman" and "Girls Trip" are among the summer's biggest blockbusters! Twitter exists! It's 2017!
However, an in-depth study from USC reveals that, in fact, there has been little progress when it comes to depicting female characters, LGBTQ characters and people of color on screen. Despite consistent and highly publicized appeals for a more diversified and representational Hollywood landscape, the available roles for women, LGBTQ actors and actors of color are as scant as they were in 2007.
"We like to say we don't have a diversity problem; we actually have an inclusion crisis, on screen and behind the cameras," USC's Professor Stacy L. Smith told CBS.
Smith worked with the Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative at USC Annenberg to analyze the 900 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2016, excluding films from 2011. Their findings, to say the least, are bleak.
Of the total 39,788 films, female speaking characters comprise 29.9 percent of all speaking characters. The percentage of female speaking characters in 2016′s top grossing films alone was slightly higher at 31.4 percent ― but still, at less than one-third of all speaking characters, hardly an improvement.
Looking at the top 100 films in 2016, 34 featured a leading or co-leading female character. Only eight of those women were over 45, and only three were not white.
When women are featured in speaking roles, they are more likely than men to be sexualized on screen. Women are five times more likely than men to don sexy attire on screen. And while 25 percent of women appear nude on film, only 9 percent of men follow suit.
The statistics are bleak when it comes to representation of gender on screen. And when it comes to race, the numbers are worse.
A staggering 70.8 percent of characters in film are white, and the percentages of black, Latino, Asian and "other" characters have not changed since 2007. The stats are especially unacceptable in comparison to U.S. Census counts; in 2016, for example, only one film out of the top 100 featured a percentage of Latino characters that accurately reflected their population in the United States.
Smith also compiled an "invisibility breakdown," summarizing which populations are entirely absent from cinematic worlds. Of the top 100 films of 2016, 47 were completely lacking black female speaking characters. A shocking two-thirds of them did not feature speaking roles for Asian women, and 72 percent for Latinas.
Representation for LGBTQ characters is also predictably disappointing. In 2016, less than one-quarter of films featured an LGBTQ character with a speaking role. Of the 51 LGBTQ characters featured, only 20 percent were not white.
Of course, disparities in race and gender don't only occur on screen. Backstage, Hollywood struggles to overcome the same old patterns. In 2016, women represented only 4.2 percent of directors and 12.2 percent of screenwriters. And of the 900 films analyzed over the past 10 years, three were directed by black women, two by Asian women and one by a Latina.
"We really see that there's exclusion when it comes to who's getting to call the shots," Smith said. "They're not getting the opportunity. And our findings present a pretty condemning portrait of exclusionary and discriminatory hiring practices."
These sad statistics prove that many actors and crew members still face immense inequality in Hollywood. And though many may yearn for a more diverse roster of actors and filmmakers, who can tell untold stories with nuance and respect, it will take work to actually enact a change.
"Diversity is not just something that just happens," Katherine Pieper, a research scientist on the report told NBC. "It's something you have to think about and aim for as an objective and achieve."
Come on Hollywood, put in work. With a box office comprised of 50 percent women and 49 percent people of color, the effort is sure to pay off.
'Wonder Woman' And The Power Of Watching A Woman Save The World
'Hidden Figures' And The Diversity Conversation We Aren't Having
Conservative Critic Attacks Bechdel Test Without Understanding It At All
What If 'Moonlight' Wins All The Oscars?
Streaming Services Are Winning At Diversity Right Now, So Go Forth And Binge
Priscilla Frank
Arts and Culture Reporter, HuffPost
Pop of Culture Movies Racism Asian Americans Movie Awards
Photos courtesy Getty, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon. Photo Illustration by Riley Arthur


The Osoyoos Community Table is a volunteer group of parents and professionals that work with young children and families. The Table has been meeting regularly since 2003 to consider the early childhood development (ECD) needs of the Osoyoos Community, and is always happy to welcome new members.
This pilot project provides parents with children between 18 months and school entry in the Oliver and Osoyoos areas with tools and techniques to learn more about stages of development.
From planting seeds to reaping the rewards, families in Oliver and Osoyoos are taught how to grow fresh foods and preserve them.
Mats and play equipment have been provided for use in recreation programs.
This free program featured songs, rhymes and stories, and gave children and parents an opportunity to learn, sing, socialize and have fun together.


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discover.film reveals winners of the 2021 Craghoppers' Student Short Film Prize
discover.film has announced the winners of the 2021 Craghoppers' Student Short Film Prize. Part of the Discover Film Awards, The Craghoppers' Student Film Prize was established to recognise the very best and outstanding talent from around the world, shining a light on filmmakers whose debut films have a strong, distinct vision, compelling narrative and the potential to entertain and engage global film watchers.
This year's winning films have been selected from over 1000 submissions made by students at film schools from more than 50 countries. An esteemed judging panel of forty industry experts have selected winners for Best International and Best UK Craghoppers' Student Prize.
Astrid Thorvaldsen takes Best UK Student Award for her ambitious dark fantasy 'Who Goes There?'. Astrid, a Norwegian living in the UK, attended the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in London. The 26-year-old filmmaker made her Western gothic horror set in Minnesota as her graduation film in 2020. The winner of the Craghoppers' International Student Award is Marie Mc Court for 'I was still there when you left'. Marie's gritty and emotional drama focuses on a 7-year-old girl witnessing the Grenfell Tower fire. The Franco-Danish filmmaker attended the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Belgium and this is also her graduation film.
"We are delighted with the panel's decision" says Jaine Green, Head of Content at discover.film. "I'm particularly pleased to see two women take the top spots, it's an encouraging sign that there's an abundance of female talent about to make their mark. It's always an absolute pleasure working with Craghoppers to help support filmmakers as they start their careers and I'm sure these two very worthy winners will both continue to do great things'.
Both winners will be awarded with a £1000 cash prize and, as importantly, qualify for the prestigious Craghoppers' Film Prize the winners which will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony in London at the 10th Discover Film Awards in October which is one of the largest and most celebrated short film festivals in the world. The award comes with a £20,000 cash prize, one of the largest for short film in the world. The winning films will screen during the Discover Film Awards and also be available on the discover.film platform where they can be accessed in more than 190 countries with an estimated reach of over half a billion viewers.
British filmmaker Tom Oxenham was highly commended for his fantasy comedy 'Man-Spider'.
Joanne Black, Director of Product and MD of Group Retail for The Regatta Group, said, "The standard of entry for the student awards has been mind blowing. Though it was a real challenge to choose between such talent, Astrid and Marie did just have the edge and we are delighted that they have won. And we couldn't not commend Tom Oxenham for "Man-Spider" where he was able to answer the question on everyone's lips… what happened to the spider that bit Peter Parker! This has really set the vibe for October … bring on the festival!"
discover.film announces shortlist for the 2021 Craghoppers' Student Film Prize
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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: discover.film