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Urban, has also been involved in many issues that affect animals and was successful in getting bills passed that require cross reporting of animal cruelty incidents because of the link to domestic violence and allowing judges to assign volunteer legal advocates to help prosecutors in compiling information in animal cruelty cases.
As for Mullane, who now serves as a selectmen, Urban said one of the things that disturbs her about her opponent is that he says he wants the state to run like North Stonington does. But she said the town still does not have a budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year and still has not filed the final paperwork for the $300,000 that she helped secure from the state 14 months ago to help pay for the town’s new emergency services building.
“I’m not sure if this is how we want the state of Connecticut run,” she said.
Urban added that being a state representative requires spending a lot of time in Hartford but Mullane said at their first debate he really did not want to do the job and plans to spend as little time as possible in Hartford.
Mullane said now that he is not first selectman and not running the day-to-day operation of North Stonington he has the time to serve in Hartford. In addition to serving as first selectman until 2015, he worked at Electric Boat or 37 years retiring in 1995 as a chief in the contract change department.
He also said he did not feel Urban should run unopposed.
In the past Urban has easily won re-election, often having no opponent or one with little experience or name recognition.
“She said she has got the job done,” Mullane said. “She has not. She’s failed terribly. If she was in the commercial world she would have been fired a long time ago,” he said.
Mullane said that if Urban is such a champion of results based accountability she would introduce a bill mandating its implementation in every agency of state government.
Pointing to a bill she introduced concerning banning the sale and trade of ivory and rhinoceros horn, Mullane said his opponent is not dealing with issues that people care about.
Mullane has also published a long list of items he wants to address in state government if elected.
These include developing a long-range budgeting plan, fixing the state’s business climate and implementing tax reform. He said the election of more Republican legislators will help such reforms become a reality.
He said he supports the creation of a five- or six-year budgeting plan and instructing the state Office of Policy and Management to determine the minimum staffing levels for each agency so legislators can then determine can where to make cuts. He said one department that should be reformed is the state Department of Community and Economic Development so it can respond much more quickly to potential developers that it has in the past.
He said the state should fund business incubators and tourism promotion, as they generate revenue.
Mullane also would like a cap on state spending and borrowing, an elimination of state taxes on pensions, no new taxes and no more unfunded state mandates for municipalities. Like Urban, he said he would also work to protect state education aid and school building aid for the two towns.
Mullane said he also opposes tolls, supports fully funding mental health programs, would like to see an end to patronage and nepotism in state jobs and would end state funding for pet projects of legislators. He said the arbitration process and standards have to be more clearly defined to help employers deal with workmen’s compensation and unemployment issues.
He also favors a reduction in state conveyance tax on property to only reflect actual administrative expenses.
Mullane said new state employees should be given 401 (k) plans and not pensions and pensions should be based on base salary and not include overtime. He added state unions will need to make concessions or be ready to bargain such issues when the contracts expire at the end of the decade.
Mullane said he feels those with union connections should not be able to serve in the General Assembly because of their conflict of interest with labor issues. He added that towns and the state should not have to pay prevailing wages because raises the cost of project and Stonington should receive impact aid for having to spend money to deal with the impact of tourism while generating huge amounts of state tax revenue.
Residents throughout County Durham and Darlington are being asked to help shape the future of law and order in their neighbourhoods.
Durham Constabulary are sending questionnaires to more than 6,000 homes to seek opinions on how front-line bobbies and community support officers are performing.
People will be asked to comment on their own personal safety worries and about levels of police visibility.
And they will be questioned about environmental issues including graffiti, vandalism, dumped vehicles and drug and drink-related issues. The results of the survey are due to be published at the end of June.
Assistant Chief Constable Michael Banks said: "This is an opportunity for the public to tell us how effective they think we are in terms of a policing presence in their area, whether we are aware of the issues that concern them and whether they feel we are responding to their needs."
Brace for wind. It usually picks up around 1 p.m. each day, and it’s a natural challenge that the men who routed the course took into account. A personal favorite is the sweeping downhill par-5 ninth from the mountainside to the valley floor.
The guiding rule at the Lakes, or anywhere else for that matter – hit it straight off the tee. Water comes into play on 14 holes, so a safe start will help.
The Ranch, bearing the design signatures of Harbottle and Johnny Miller, features about 300 feet in elevation changes and more than 100 bunkers. Use a motorized cart here.
Edgewood Tahoe – Two company-owned beach houses were sold and, with that, the non-descript right-angle par-4 ninth has been transformed into an eye-catching two-shotter finishing near the Lake Tahoe shore. A string of pines separates the water from the fairway, more eye candy on a course that already owns more than its share. The eighth green has been relocated to the left to make room for the improvements at the ninth.
The change is part of an ambitious expansion of the property, including 154 rooms, 40 cabins (along the eighth and ninth holes), a 120-seat restaurant, fitness center and 6,000-room conference center. Spectators at the American Century Golf Championship on July 17-19 no doubt will notice the construction. It’s expected to be completed during 2017.
Clear Creek Tahoe – This out-of-the way private property, featuring a membership of more than 100, joins Martis Camp near Truckee as Tahoe’s top new courses. Located not far from Incline Village on the grade bridging Carson City and the lake, Clear Creek is a delightful and gorgeous Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw creation.
The greens – fast, huge and downright diabolical in places – present a dynamic test. If you’re lucky enough to have a connection that will walk you to the first tee, do it.
ArrowCreek – Not far from the annual Barracuda Championship – the PGA Tour stop at Montreux CC formerly known as the Reno Tahoe Open – stands the 36-hole Club at ArrowCreek. Both the Challenge course (Harbottle-Fuzzy Zoeller) and the Legend (Arnold Palmer) present forced carries and fairways that weave around ravines, dry creeks and rocks. Wind always is a factor.
The club nearly plunged into bankrupty but has staged a remarkable comeback. ArrowCreek reverted to all-private status in May. Officials waived the initiation fee and chopped all rates, and the membership blossomed from less than 150 to more than 400.
The Modesto Muni Niners celebrated their 50th anniversary with a tournament and luncheon Tuesday. Seventy-two current or former members teed it up, and 18 former captains either played or attended lunch. That delighted the current co-captains Judi Drobnick and Rosalie Schmierer. One of the players was Florence Velthoen, 91, the 1997 captain. Also there was 1977 captain Mae Kriese.
Hole in one – Greg Gaudio, Ceres, 138-yard eighth at Creekside, 9-iron. ... Mike Rovai, Salida, 159-yard 15th at Creekside, 3-hybrid. ... Gary Damsen, Oakdale, 147-yard 12th at Oakdale CC, 5-iron.
Cara Delevingne is showing signs of being a new movie actress by complaining about Suicide Squad’s bad reviews. While the more accomplished Margot Robbie, who played Harley Quinn in the movie, is staying quiet about it, Cara Delevingne has used the publicity she has gotten from her birthday to speak out about the injustice. Cara celebrated her birthday with her girlfriend, Annie Clark.
While the bad reviews of Suicide Squad have not deterred fans from flocking to the cinema to see it, the negativity has brought down the morale of the cast.
“The critics have been absolutely horrific, they’re really, really horrible. You know, I just don’t think they like superhero movies,” Cara said to Reuters.
After being in a handful movies like Paper Town and Anna Karenina, the 24-year-old actress may have felt that she now has the right to protest the horrible reviews that her latest cinematic venture received.
Despite being panned, the movie, thanks to its massive following and a bunch of Harley Quinn fans, did well in box office. The film managed to “open with an estimated $135.1 million in North American ticket sales, scoring one of the year’s biggest box-office debuts,” according to Fox News.
However, critically speaking, it was decimated. It currently has 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics absolutely went to town to deconstruct the film one bit at a time.
At least Cara Delevingne didn’t have a big enough role to really affect the next film gig that she nabs!
Other than the opening of Suicide Squad, the model-turned-actress had other reasons to celebrate. She turned 24 this summer, and she had her girlfriend, Annie Clark, who is known as St. Vincent on stage, to celebrate it with. She also got a shout out from all her friends in the fashion industry, Hollywood, and the high society of England and the US.
Taylor Swift posted the picture that triggered the term “Squad Goals” again on Instagram in commemoration of the model’s birthday.
Her fellow model, Karlie Kloss, also posted a never-been-seen before photo of her and Cara. Being slightly younger, the American supermodel wrote the sweetest things in the captions.
On top of it all, Cara’s girlfriend of several years, Annie Clark, posted a short, sharp, but sweet message on her Instagram with a picture that highlights the birthday girl’s best-known features; her eyes and eyebrows. While Annie Clark and Cara Delevingne are rarely seen together, they were last spotted during Taylor Swift’s Fourth of July bash.
Afterward, the 24-year-old Brit came out with a declaration of love for her girlfriend.
Do you think Annie Clark and Cara Delevingne will tie the knot in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
Here are some of the most common mistakes, plus what they can cost and how to avoid them.
We all do dumb things when traveling from time to time, but if we learn from our mistakes we can save time and money. Here are some of the most common failures – ones I’ve been guilty of, too –plus what they can cost and how to avoid them.
In case you’ve been in a sensory deprivation tank for the past few weeks, the U.S. government is experiencing a shutdown. While the TSA and air traffic controllers remain on the job, there are reports of longer security lines and even some temporary checkpoint closures at a handful of U.S. airports like Houston’s Bush Intercontinental. Add in the recent brutal winter weather across much of the U.S. and you have the perfect recipe for a travel nightmare. Bottom line: Leave for the airport earlier than usual. I would leave home at least 30 minutes to an hour earlier (or even more). The alternative is all the cost and inconvenience that comes from missing a flight.
Most of us aren’t going to shove more than 40 or 50 pounds of stuff into a big suitcase, but some long-distance travelers give it a shot, and pay the penalty. Don’t do it, because overweight bag fees can cost up to $200 for domestic and $400 on international trips. Lighten the load and only use a carry-on, or at least bring a carry-on to augment some of the weight in your checked bag. On many airlines, carry-ons mean avoiding bag fees altogether, but check the airline for size and weight limits even on these smaller bags. Bottom line: You won’t have to pay $400 for an over-packed bag, but you might have to surrender your carry-on to the cargo hold.
Last year was a record-breaker for the TSA in terms of guns confiscated at checkpoints; more than 4,000 were relieved from passengers, which delayed those travelers and delayed all the others in line behind them. It’s not just real weapons, either; fake hand grenades that are supposed to be gag gifts are no laughing matter at the TSA. Bottom line: If you bring a prohibited weapon in a carry-on, you could be subject to a civil fine of $13,333 (and there are fines for realistic fakes, as well). Or nothing might happen except loss of the prohibited item, but there’s still the matter of trying to catch your flight after a long delay at security. Bottom line: Before you fly, check with the TSA on what’s allowed and what’s not.
Airlines aren’t trying to confuse us, but sometimes they have to change gates and even terminals due to changing aircraft, bad weather and a host of other reasons. Be sure the airline has your mobile number or email or both; they try to alert passengers to changes but sometimes when things happen quickly they run out of time, so check those airport information boards often. Bottom line: The PA systems in many airports are woefully inadequate. I have friends who sat by their gate, oblivious to the blaring announcements telling them to report to a different gate. Fortunately, they noticed their fellow passengers stampeding past them, figured out what was happening and made their flight.
This is probably not going to cost you anything except aggravation, though if you make a big enough stink about it, you could get kicked off the plane. I refer to personal space, and violators include folks who let their long hair hang over their seat back, covering your video screen and dangling on your tray table. Or the passenger who wants to get super-comfy, which means removing shoes and poking bare feet through available spaces such as the area above your armrest! Bottom line: If you see a bare foot where it shouldn’t be, either calmly ask it be removed or let the flight attendant handle it.
One final note: Failure to compare airfares will always cost you money. If you only go to one or two airline sites, you could easily fail to get the very best deal.
Limited-edition shoe, $1,190 at John Lobb (212-888-9797).
Bottega Veneta’s shirt case, $330 (212-371-5511), and Seize sur Vingt shirts, $160 to $170 (212-343-0476).
Tivoli Audio’s weather-resistant Audio SongBook Global Travel Radio with AM/FM tuner and digital clock, in seven colors, $159.95 (tivoliaudio.com).
Coach’s macintosh with removable moleskin lining, $598 (866-262-2440 for store locations).
Santa Maria Novella shave foam, $19 at Lafco (212-925-0001), and John Allan alligator razor, $625 as part of a set, at Barneys New York.
Agate bookends, $90 at Troy (212-941-4777).Books from Bauman Rare Books (800-992-2862).
Lambertson Truex’s cashmere-lined leather gloves, $265 at Bergdorf Goodman.
Robert Redford delivers one of the most stunning and acclaimed performances of his career as a lone man struggling to survive on the sea in All Is Lost, out on VOD Tuesday and hitting Blu-ray and DVD February 11, and we have an exclusive look behind the scenes!
So how was the 77-year-old Redford hooked to play such a challenging role for another director? He explains, "When I read it I said, 'Jeez, I mean, this is pretty tough stuff.' And the fact that there was only one character in it, and there was no dialogue, I felt that kind of boldness was exciting. I tend to lean towards things that are not so identifiable."
In theaters now, the gripping survival drama of courage and perseverance features Oscar winner Robert Redford's heralded return as an actor for hire, playing a man who must battle to survive after his boat is wrecked in the open seas. The film was written and directed by J.C. Chandor, the Oscar-nominated writer of Margin Call.
The All Is Lost Blu-ray and DVD, available February 11, includes audio commentary by the director and producers as well as captivating, in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes including a look at the film's director, star, music and more.
Ninjas. They've been a staple of video game adventures for decades now, but games featuring them almost always happen in feudal times. Makes sense, I suppose, since it's easier to set up a shadow warrior's superhuman powers of stealth in a world without electric lighting. Or cameras. Or alarm systems.
Developed by indie studio Ink Vial, Ninja Hoodie goes in the opposite direction and lets players control a modern-day ninja who doesn't bother with any of that sneaking around stuff. Hoodie, as he's called, must search for his kidnapped sensei in a contemporary city landscape filled with various classes of ninja robot. Like, I said: modern.
You play from a tight, third-person over-the-shoulder perspective with movement automatically advancing as you mow down waves of enemies with an endless supply of throwing stars. The action's all in the mix of aiming, shooting and deflecting and you can get a nice rhythm going once you figure out the timing of enemy attack patterns.
The hook with Ninja Hoodie is that it never feels too static, even though it is an on-rails shooting gallery. You never know where enemies will pop up from and successful progression is as much as about reaction time as it is anticipation. You don't get the thrill of creeping up on a bad guy in Ninja Hoodie but throwing shurikens with reckless abandon proves to be its own reward.
Ziad Makhzoumi, chief financial officer of Arabtec, the United Arab Emirates' biggest construction firm by stock market value, thinks the region's economy will probably ride out weak oil prices comfortably. But he sees a risk.
If oil drops below the price at which energy-exporting countries in the Gulf can balance their state budgets — a scenario which he thinks unlikely — infrastructure and other building projects will slow down or in some cases halt.
Fortunately, "governments are more prudent and forecast better now than they did many decades ago, and can juggle things to maximize the use of limited funds or make their cash go longer," Makhzoumi told Reuters.
Across the Middle East, executives like Makhzoumi are wrestling with the implications of the plunge in oil prices over the last several weeks. If the lower prices are sustained, or if oil falls further, it could be the most significant event for some economies since last year's Arab Spring uprisings.
Cheaper oil may boost growth in some of the weakest states while cooling it in the booming Gulf energy exporters. There could be political as well as economic implications: some nations engulfed by the Arab Spring, such as Egypt, may find it easier to regain social stability. It may become harder for Iran to defy international sanctions designed to curb its disputed nuclear program.
Overall, said Liz Martins, senior economist for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC in Dubai, the oil price drop could be good for the region, "by bringing the cost of oil down to a level which is more sustainable for everyone in the long term."
After averaging nearly $120 in the first quarter of this year, Brent crude oil has slipped as low as $95 a barrel this month - the lowest level since January 2011 - because of loose supplies and signs the global economy is slowing. A further slide is possible; the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Tuesday that the supply-demand balance could weaken more in the second half of 2012.
That is good news for the North African energy importers, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, which have close links to Europe and are therefore vulnerable to shrinking foreign trade and lower remittances from their overseas workers as the eurozone debt crisis worsens.
Egypt, which exports natural gas, looks likely to benefit relatively little from cheaper energy prices; its oil import bill was under 3 percent of its gross domestic product last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Morocco, where the ratio was above 10 percent, could get a big boost.
Assuming an oil price averaging $115 per barrel this year, the IMF has forecast Morocco's GDP growth will slow to 3.7 percent in 2012 from 4.3 percent in 2011. If oil instead averages $100, that might by itself add roughly 1 percentage point to growth — at least offsetting the impact of a deeper European recession.
But the benefits of cheaper oil to North Africa go beyond growth rates.
Rising oil prices have been increasing the cost of fertilizers and therefore the cost of food, fuelling the social discontent which triggered the Arab Spring; governments have damaged their finances by paying heavy subsidies to keep fuel prices down for consumers.
In Egypt, the government has said budget allocations to keep down retail prices of petroleum products are due to increase over 25 percent to 120 billion Egyptian pounds ($20 billion) in the fiscal year starting on July 1.
A saving of just 10 percent due to lower global oil prices could reduce Egypt's budget deficit, estimated by the IMF at 9.8 percent of GDP this year, by nearly 1 percentage point — not enough by itself to solve the country's financial problems, but an improvement which its jittery bond market would welcome.
In the Gulf, the oil price slide threatens to cool an 18-month economic boom that helped the region recover from the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. In addition to receiving lower oil prices, Gulf oil producers — particularly Saudi Arabia — may have to cut the volumes they sell to prevent a deeper drop of prices.
So far, however, most Gulf economies look likely to continue expanding at comfortable rates with cheaper oil. In the wake of the recent slide in the price, the UAE's economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri last week cut his forecast for this year's GDP growth to around 3 percent, from the almost 4 percent which he predicted in March.
Any further drop in the oil price, if sustained, could slow growth further. But Gulf economies would probably remain far from recession. Last year, as Saudi Arabia produced 9.3 million barrels of oil per day with the Brent crude price hovering around $110, its GDP grew 6.8 percent; in 2010, with production at just 8.4 million bpd and Brent around $80, it still managed growth of 4.6 percent.
The key for the Gulf economies is preventing the oil price from dropping below their "break-even" prices, the levels at which they can balance their budgets. While they remain in the black, governments can boost spending on infrastructure and social welfare if needed to keep their economies humming.
With the exception of Bahrain, which can count on financial support from Saudi Arabia, all of the six wealthy Gulf exporters are still far from going into the red. The UAE's break-even price is about $86 per barrel, and the key level is $76 for Saudi Arabia, according to the average estimates in a Reuters poll of analysts in March.
"As long as Brent crude prices remain above $70 per barrel, most Gulf countries will have no trouble funding their fiscal expansion," said Said Hirsh, Middle East economist at Capital Economics in London.
Martins said HSBC economists originally projected Saudi Arabia could break even on its budget at an average oil price of $90 and production of 9.4 million bpd over this year. So far this year, however, it has been producing about 10 million bpd.
This suggests that even if Riyadh now cuts output by 2 million bpd as part of efforts to support the oil price near $100, the impact on its finances for the rest of 2012 will be relatively small, she said. Furthermore, the Saudi central bank's huge foreign reserves of over $500 billion mean it could continue spending heavily for some time even if the government did fall into deficit.
"They could theoretically carry on spending at current levels for another 2-1/2 years without pumping another barrel of oil," Martins said.
Other Gulf countries also have substantial financial reserves, although Bahrain and Oman would be at risk from a prolonged fall of oil prices, Hirsh at Capital Economics said.
One of the economies damaged most seriously by the oil price drop may be Iran — a prospect that may not displease the Gulf Arab states, which are geopolitical rivals of Tehran and worry about its nuclear program.
The IMF projected in April that Iran's GDP would grow just 0.4 percent this year while its oil production would shrink to 3.6 million bpd from last year's 4.1 million bpd, as the country grapples with sanctions that are hurting its foreign trade. The government is expected to run a budget deficit of 0.3 percent of GDP, the IMF said.
Those projections were based on the oil price averaging $115 in 2012. If it instead averages $100, that could lop some $9 billion off the value of Iran's oil exports, equivalent to almost 2 percent of GDP — enough to push the economy into recession and multiply the budget deficit severalfold.
PETALING JAYA: With the Government expected to make announcements on changes to toll charges on expressways, attention will be focused on the impact this may have on concessionaires and the national finances.
While it remains unclear whether the new administration plans to remove toll charges entirely, ending tolls in stages or to pursue a toll rate restructuring will have some impact on concessionaires, bond holders and the government’s own purse strings.

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