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LOUISIANA — Baton Rouge small business owner and volunteer activist Jenni Peters is one of eight finalists, and will represent Louisiana in the national 2018 Cox Conserves Heroes competition sponsored by Cox Communications and the Trust for Public Land.
Voting is open now until Oct. 15 with the winner receiving $50,000 to donate to their environmental charity of choice. Go to CoxConservesHeroes.com to view videos highlighting Peters and other finalists and vote on this year’s winner.
Peters, founder of Varsity Sports specialty running stores, is being recognized for her work in jump-starting an anti-litter program called “Pick Ups,” where organized groups of runners go for a run and pick up trash along the way.
“Pick Ups” have taken place in Baton Rouge, Mandeville and New Orleans. Peters already won $10,000 for her local cause, Little Duck Landing at City Park, when securing the Louisiana Cox Conserves Hero title for 2018.
“It’s really an honor to recognize not only the work Jenni does to keep citizens of our state active, but also for her dedication to ensuring Louisiana remains the ‘Sportsman’s Paradise’ by leveraging the enthusiasm of runners to keep our communities clean and enjoyable,” said Fran Gladden, regional vice president of Government and Public Affairs, Cox Communications.
The Cox Conserves Heroes program is celebrating 10 years of recognizing community members who work tirelessly to create, preserve or enhance outdoor spaces. Winners at the local level from Atlanta, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington received $10,000 to donate to their nonprofit of choice. Selected by a judging panel within their communities, these local winners are now finalists for the national competition.
In partnership with The Trust for Public Land, the Cox Conserves Heroes program is part of Cox Enterprises’ national Cox Conserves sustainability program. Through the Cox Conserves Heroes program, the James M. Cox Foundation has donated $860,000 to environmental nonprofits and honored more than 200 volunteers since the program’s launch a decade ago. The winner of the 2018 National Cox Conserves Hero award will be announced in late October.
A water line break aboard the Carnival Dream left water rushing through 50 rooms before staff resolved the problem.
A broken water line left a Carnival cruise ship flooded throughout hallways and 50 staterooms last Thursday as crew members rushed to restore rooms and resettle passengers within a matter of hours.
Video footage from aboard the Carnival Dream's Caribbean voyage last week shows water rushing from the ship's walls, ceiling and rooms after a malfunction with the vessel's fire sprinkler system occurred at around 6 p.m., the company later said in a statement.
A Facebook post documenting the flooding from passenger Marla DeAnn Haase received more than 10,000 shares before its removal, according to the Miami Herald, with DeAnn Haase asking friends to "say a prayer for (us) all."
Carnival provided full details of the incident in a statement to New Orleans station Fox 8, explaining that the weeklong cruise's incident affected about 100 guests as crew members rushed to restore their rooms by around midnight. Carpeting in rooms and elsewhere was replaced as needed, while other rooms — while still damp — were deemed suitable for sleeping, the company said.
A few guests opted to move their mattresses to the spa for the night, per the statement.
"We offered to fly the impacted guests home at our expense if they wanted to disembark early and only two of the nearly 100 guests that received our offer chose to do so," Carnival said in the statment, per Fox 8. "Most of the guests on board were not even aware of the incident until the last 24 hours as word circulated and our passengers heard from friends and family who saw media reports."
By the next day, Carnival had offered all affected passengers on the 3,500-person voyage a full refund plus a 50% discount for a future cruise, according to Inc. The ship returned Sunday morning to its homeport in New Orleans as scheduled.
JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops have been given new orders to act firmly, even with force, against Jewish settlers who have been attacking Palestinians on the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, the army said yesterday.
"The Israeli armed forces in the [occupied] territories, together with the police, have been told to take strong action against Jews engaged in illegal activities or who disturb the peace," a military spokesman said.
"Updated orders have been issued recently to commanders in coordination with the Justice Ministry, the police and State Attorney's Office."
Soldiers were told they could arrest settlers in "special cases" and then hand them over to police for prosecution, that they could impose curfews on Jewish settlements to halt rioting and other unrest and that they should, if necessary, employ "reasonable force" to prevent violence.
The army used its expanded powers last evening to bar hundreds of settlers from entering Nablus, the largest Palestinian city north of Jerusalem, where they planned a religious ceremony.
Troops also closed four nearby Jewish settlements, allowing residents to leave only if they were heading away from Nablus.
The 10 pages of military orders, substantially expanding previous standing orders for troops on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, were issued to all officers after Israeli soldiers stood by recently while settlers fired upon Palestinians in Hebron, Ramallah and other towns in angry protests against terrorist attacks upon Israelis.
Spiraling violence, the cycle of attack and counterattack between the Palestinians and settlers, has increased sharply in recent weeks, and members of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's Cabinet demanded tougher intervention by the army to halt it.
But it was televised footage, broadcast here and around the world, of Jewish settlers firing on Palestinians in the streets of the West Bank city of Hebron as soldiers watched -- or ran away -- that apparently led to the new army instructions.
Settlers protested the orders as an attempt to intimidate them.
Zvi Katzover, head of Kiryat Arba's local council, said the army "should not even dream" it could stop settlers from demonstrating. The military instructions were "ridiculous and impossible to carry out," he added, and he predicted Israelis would reject any attempt to place Jews under curfew.
making a further determination of Hill’s status.
Alamo Bowl Dec. 30 in San Antonio.
victory over the in-state rival Beavers on Nov. 29.
got out of hand when passing motorists were pelted.
The snowball fight was posted on YouTube and went viral.
trial after pleading not guilty.
The U.S. central bank should continue to raise interest rates gradually because the current policy stance remains "very accommodating rather than neutral," said Raphael Bostic, the president of the Atlanta Fed, on Tuesday. Just how gradual that pace should be will depend on the strength of incoming economic data and what it implies for the outlook, Bostic said in a speech to Auburn University's branch in Montgomery, Ala. Bostic, who joined the Atlanta Fed in June, will be a voting member of the Fed's interest-rate committee in 2018. Bostic said he is still holding to the view that recent weakness in inflation "reflects idiosyncratic noise" but said he would be watching the next few inflation reports for signs of a pickup.
Why is Sepp Blatter so popular in Africa?
Some commentators describe FIFA president's re-election as West's failed bid to topple Africa's long-standing friend.
Many of the countries that voted for Sepp Blatter as he was elected as FIFA president were from Africa.
Newspaper editorials in Senegal described the election as the West's failed attempt in overthrowing Africa's longstanding friend.
Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports from Dakar on why the FIFA president is so popular across the continent.
F to the Cassidy-Graham bill to block grant federal health care dollars to the states. Remember? Before the Affordable Care Act, a health care insurance policy was simply a piece of paper. When patients could not afford premium costs, needed care, were sick, or dying, they were discriminated against by 50 governors, 50 insurance commissioners, and 50 state legislatures. Congress was silent. Indifference was the waiver. In a pernicious plot, Cassidy-Graham legislates a waiver for each state. Senators Cassidy and Graham have choices when buying on a federal exchange with more than a hundred insurers. Their bill to “repeal and replace” leaves their health insurance coverage in place. Conflict of interest?
A to the tenure of Mary K. Grant, who is leaving after three years as chancellor of UNC Asheville to become director of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston. “She has truly galvanized this campus,” UNC Asheville Provost Joe Urgo said. Grant has “done in three years what it usually takes chancellors twice that to accomplish.” Grant, who said the decision was difficult, will leave UNC Asheville at year’s end. We hope her successor will be able to stay with the university longer.
F to the news that 30.9 percent of North Carolinians ages 10 through 17 are overweight or obese. We take no comfort in the fact that this is below the national average of 31.2 percent, or the 31.8 percent rate for North Carolina adults. Excess weight makes people vulnerable to many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and certain forms of cancer. According to one estimate cited in Scientific American, there will be 65 million more obese people in the U.S. in 2030 than today. That’s one prediction that we need to negate.
A to Rebecca Wertheim, second-grade teacher at Claxton Elementary, teacher of the year for Asheville City Schools. “She does whatever she can to reach her students,” said Darcey Grimes, 2012-13 state Teacher of the Year. “She uses tools like mindfulness, new technology and even uses songs to do what it takes to never leave a student behind.” Ken Wertheim, Rebecca’s father, is a big fan. “She wanted to be a teacher since she was 2 years old and she knew she wanted to teach at Claxton,” he said.
C to the report that 64 deer have died of hemorrhagic disease this year in Western North Carolina, including Cherokee, Clay, Macon, Swain, Henderson and Transylvania counties. Fortunately, there should be no long-term effect on deer populations. “It’s a very common disease in the Southeast that usually shows up every five years or so. It’s a natural cycle and will probably die off with first frost. After two-three years, the deer population will rebound,” said Justin McVey, mountain biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
A to the news that 166,583 people enjoyed this year’s Mountain State Fair even though the fair was shut for a day due to Hurricane Irma. Among other things, fairgoers donated 14,189 pounds of food to MANNA FoodBank during Ingles Day. The fair, held over a 10-day period each September at the WNC Agricultural Center, is the third largest fair in North Carolina. “We are very pleased with this year’s attendance, especially when you consider the fair was closed for a full day,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
I to the news that unaffiliated voters now outnumber Republicans in North Carolina. Figures from the State Board of Elections put the number of unaffiliated at 2,056,294, about 500 ahead of the total for Republicans. Democrats still are well ahead, with 2.6 million enrolled. But what does this mean? “Being unaffiliated … does not mean you are politically independent. In fact, (it) does not mean you aren’t partisan either,” said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College. Only future election results will give a definitive answer.
A to the economic impact of the October leaf season in Western North Carolina. In 2016, Buncombe County attracted 10.9 million visitors, including 3.8 million overnight guests. They spent $1.9 billion, generating $2.9 billion in economic impact and supporting 26,700 jobs. Marla Tambellini, deputy director of the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the fall foliage season is believed responsible for about 12 percent of the year’s hotel room occupancy.
C to the City of Asheville for lifting temporarily the ban on gravel parking lots downtown. The move was taken after merchants said the lack of parking is hurting their businesses. We’re not sure how much the move will help, and it is no substitute for a long-range parking plan bases on solid data, but it may have symbolic value. The city has more than 2,500 publicly available spaces, according to city spokeswoman Polly McDaniel. That may mean one answer is better awareness about the availability and location of parking spaces.
HSBC has announced it is cutting 700 UK jobs, including IT, on the same day Lloyds Banking Group revealed plans to slash 15,000 roles.
One hundred of the HSBC jobs being cut are in IT operations and head office functions such as HR, finance and compliance.
The bank is re-organising part of its UK business to reflect the changes required by the Retail Distribution Review at the end of 2012, which it said will “fundamentally alter” the way that all financial institutions provide and charge for financial advice.
The majority of the cuts (460 roles) will affect the bank’s financial advice team in the retail banking and wealth management division. The company said that the total job cuts represents a little more than one percent of its total UK workforce of around 55,000.
Joe Garner, head of HSBC in the UK, said that workers will redeployed where possible.“I firmly believe that these steps are necessary if we are to continue to keep HSBC on a firm and sustainable footing, not just for today, but also fit for the future.
“We will work extremely closely with all those colleagues affected by today’s announcement so that we can try to find them alternative roles, thereby minimising the number of people who actually leave the HSBC Group,” he said.
At the same time, HSBC is creating 100 new roles, which includes senior financial planning adviser and mortgage adviser roles.
However, the Unite trade union claims that the real number of job cuts is more, at 840.
“Unite is flabbergasted that HSBC has chosen today to announce over 840 staff cuts. HSBC has decided to bury its own bad news on the same day [as Lloyds announced 15,000 job losses],” said David Fleming, Unite national officer.
The union claims that HSBC’s job cuts will generate savings of around £9 million for the company.
“Is it a coincidence that this figure is the equivalent to the bonus of Stuart Gulliver, HSBC chief executive, due to be paid later this month?” Fleming asked.
Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and Dave Hyde talk about the Miami Dolphins roster choices and how they will impact their matchup with the New England Patriots.
The Miami Dolphins have added former Washington Redskins linebacker Martell Spaight to address the unit’s depth after Chase Allen suffered a foot injury in Sunday's win over Oakland, according to a league source.
Spaight, who started seven of the 30 games he played in the past three seasons in Washington, has contributed 104 tackles and one interception during his NFL career.
The former Arkansas standout, who is 6-foot, 238 pounds, was selected by the Redskins in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He’s better at playing the run than the pass, and has a reputation as a strong special teams contributor.
The Dolphins on Wednesday announced Spaight’s addition, which will come in handy for the Dolphins the next couple of weeks while Allen is sidelined by an injury that requires his foot to be in a walking boot.
Allen, who has started four games for the Dolphins the past two seasons, shared the outside linebacker workload with rookie Jerome Baker, primarily coming onto the field in packages designed to stop the run.
However, it’s more likely that Stephone Anthony will move into that role now that Allen is slowed by his foot injury.
The Dolphins placed defensive lineman William Hayes on injured reserve because of the season-ending right knee injury he suffered in Sunday’s 28-20 win over the Raiders, and released receiver Tanner McEvoy, who Miami claimed off the waiver wire earlier this month and was using on special teams.
In another move, the Dolphins promoted former Central Arkansas standout Johnathan Woodard from their practice squad.
The Dolphins worked out a handful of defensive linemen on Tuesday, including former Carolina Panthers and New York Jets starter Kony Ealy, who has recorded 90 tackles and 15 sacks the past four seasons and Robert Ayers, a nine-year veteran who has recorded 35 career sacks during his career with the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but didn’t sign any of them as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Dolphins needed another defensive lineman because of Hayes’ injury, and the left knee injury Andre Branch suffered, which will reportedly keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks.
Without Hayes and Branch, Woodward will join defensive ends Cameron Wake, Robert Quinn and Charles Harris on the 53-man roster.
Cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters went out with injuries in win over Chargers. That creates some short-term concern but it seems as if Sean McVay's team can respond by simply scoring more.
Patrick Mahomes has been lights out, so much so that nine different players have a touchdown reception. There are teams that will go the entire season without nine players doing that.
Butler University, Marian University and the University of Indianapolis are welcoming their largest-ever incoming classes.
Several years ago, Butler University set a goal to grow its incoming classes to 1,175 students. This weekend, the picturesque midtown campus will welcome more than 1,300 incoming freshmen.
"Right about March, maybe even earlier, we started looking at some of the counts saying, 'It could be,'" said Lori Greene, Butler's vice president of enrollment management.
A record-setting class was not necessarily the goal for Butler this year, but it will be the reality. And it's not the only private school in Marion County with record numbers of students enrolling for the fall semester.
At a time when enrollment in colleges and universities has been trending downward nationally, some area private colleges are bucking the trend that has been troubling similar institutions across the country.
Butler University, Marian University and the University of Indianapolis are all expecting record classes of first-year students to arrive on campus in the coming days. Officials at each say the growth is thanks to strategic planning, innovative tactics and a compelling message.
"We have to market something that’s relevant to a student population and a parent population that justifies the cost of attendance," said Rob Manuel, president of the University of Indianapolis. "We've realized when you're focusing on the experience students have, it's an easier marketing process."
UIndy set a goal for its incoming class of 1,200. They're expecting nearly exactly that many students when they move in this weekend. The university has been waging an aggressive campaign to grow its student body, up from an incoming class of 800 just five years ago.
For the first time in its history, Marian University will welcome more than 400 new students to campus this year. Breaking that threshold is a step forward in a long-term plan to grow the university, both in the programs it offers and the students it serves.
"We feel very fortunate," said Daniel Elsener, president of the small, private Catholic university. "We have happy challenges, like finding dorm rooms and parking spaces, but that’s more enjoyable than wondering about the budget."
Hitting enrollment targets and pulling in record-setting classes is not about bragging rights for these universities — it's about survival. At time when birth rates are declining, enrollment is falling and competition is getting stiffer for the limited pool of college-going students, enrollment targets can make or break a university.
This is not a concern everywhere. There are a small group of elite institutions that will always be able to fill their classes, and then some. There are institutions with huge endowments that allow them to weather a potential enrollment dip.
Those are the exceptions, though, not the rule. And enrollment goals can be especially pressing for smaller, private institutions that don't have the guarantee of state funding. The academic world has seen private schools — such as St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind. — fold under financial pressure or merge with other institutions in recent years.
"There are a couple of things that keep presidents up at night and enrollment is one of them," said Manuel, the president at UIndy. "It's bleak out there."
In fall 2017, overall post-secondary enrollments was down 1 percent from the same time the year before. At private, nonprofit institutions the dip was not as dramatic — 0.4 percent off from 2016 — but still fell for the third straight year. Private institutions saw a greater decline among first-time college students, though, of nearly 3 percent.
"Overall we saw enrollments peak in the fall of 2011," said Jason DeWitt, research manager for the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The center tracks enrollment in higher education and publishes reports each semester. "They've been on the decline since then nationally.
"For much of that time, the improved economy was probably the biggest factor. Older students were able to find work, so they left college to return to jobs. Recently, changing demographics is becoming a bigger factor."
The Midwest and Northeast are feeling the birth rate decline more acutely than other regions, stressing institutions that primarily draw from those regions. In the past, that would have described all three of the Indianapolis schools that are currently thriving, despite the challenging environment.
While they remain largely regional institutions, they've looked towards new, previously untapped markets for potential students.
"We're really intentional about building the applicant pool," Greene said. "We're looking at markets that look like markets where we might want to dive into but might be new for us — California, for instance.
"We're trying to get out of our Midwestern region more."
In recent years, Greene said that Butler has made recruitment inroads in California, Denver, the mid-Atlantic region and the Northeast.
University officials also report reaching out to students earlier, tailoring their messages toward academic offerings and focusing on building the kind of high-quality programs and student experiences that sell themselves.
"We're casting a wider net, but that’s not nearly as important as focusing on programs where we add a lot of value," Elsener said, noting an overhaul to the teaching program and Marian's new medical school.
Some universities are trying to compete by offering more scholarships and aid packages. While this can be beneficial for students and open new doors for those who may not have been able to afford higher education, it can also exacerbate financial issues at institutions struggling to make ends meet.
The discount rate nationally has risen steadily to more than 50 percent and many college and university business officers report concerns about the rising discount rate.
Inside Higher Ed’s 2018 Survey of College and University Business Officers found fewer than half of chief financial officers at four-year baccalaureate colleges are confident their college will be financially stable over the next 10 years.
Butler, UIndy and Marian reported that their discount rates are holding steady and remain below the national average.