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The governor said the committee would review his administration’s performance in all sectors from May 29, 2011 to May 29, 2019.
It would also identify challenges in the implementation of policies, projects and programmes of the Administration and suggest steps for the incoming administration to explore.
He said the committee would also examine Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Government-Owned Companies and available manpower for appropriate recommendations.
He said that part of the committee’s terms of reference was to plan and execute a befitting handing over ceremony on May 29, 2019.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the transition committee, co-chaired by the Deputy Governor, Silas Agara and the in-coming Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, is expected to submit its report within four weeks.
Applesauce produced by Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., was recalled from the nation's schools earlier this year. Now, FDA officials say the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce reprocessed and packed in units such as this 106-ounce can.
A Washington state fruit processor that supplies the nation’s schools and a baby food maker is under scrutiny by federal health regulators for repackaging applesauce contaminated with several kinds of potentially dangerous, multi-colored molds, msnbc.com has learned.
Food and Drug Administration officials this week posted a warning letter to Snokist Growers of Yakima, Wash., saying the company cannot ensure the safety of moldy applesauce and fruit puree that has been reconditioned for human consumption.
Products recalled earlier this year by Snokist were blamed for illnesses of nine North Carolina children who became sick after eating applesauce at school.
The latest warning came after FDA officials said Snokist failed to adequately address problems identified during a June inspection in which regulators found large, laminated bags of fruit products that were supposed to be sealed and sterile, but instead were broken open and tainted with white, brown, blue, blue-green a...
The FDA’s letter identified at least eight instances last year in which Snokist had reprocessed the moldy applesauce into canned goods for human consumption. The inspection report said Snokist documents showed the company had reprocessed mold-contaminated applesauce at least 13 times between January 2008 and May 2011, ...
It's not clear whether the mold-tainted applesauce went to schools. However, the June inspection followed a voluntary recall of more than 3,300 cases of canned Snokist applesauce in May after North Carolina schoolchildren became mildly ill after eating the fruit product. The recall was blamed on faulty seals on cans. T...
Snokist officials admit that they “rework” some moldy food for future use. But in an e-mail to msnbc.com, company officials said that the contaminated fruit represents only a fraction of the company’s products, that compromised product is typically separated and destroyed, and that any reprocessed food is heat-treated ...
“If rework occurs, our thermal process is more than adequate to render the product commercially sterile,” Tina Moss, a company spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.
The company said it has begun testing for patulin, a common toxin produced by mold in rotting fruit.
However, the FDA said the company's tests are not adequate and that officials must prove they're testing for other dangerous microbes: “Most mycotoxins are stable compounds that are not destroyed by heat treatment,” the letter said.
FDA regulations to allow companies to "recondition" food, but the final product must be free of contamination. Firms aren't required to notify the agency they've reprocessed food unless they're required to under terms of an inspection or other action, such as an injunction. In addition, rules prohibit mixing contaminat...
A 2009 consultant’s report showed that the types of molds in the Snokist fruit products included Alternaria, Fusarium and two types of Pennicillium, all of which can cause illness in people.
That report was commissioned by Snokist after a baby-food manufacturer returned dozens of bags of the company’s fruit product in 2009 because they were contaminated with “a large amount of mold,” according to the FDA inspection report.
In early 2010, the consultant recommended six steps that Snokist could take to fix the problems, but during the FDA’s June inspection, company officials said they’d implemented only two.
Snokist sold more than 3.3 million cases of processed fruit with sales of $53 million in 2010, according to the company’s annual report. That represents more than 50,000 tons of processed fruit.
In the past, Snokist has supplied applesauce to schools nationwide through federal nutrition programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A spokesman said he couldn’t comment directly on whether Snokist had been removed from the program, but added that no firm under investigation by the FDA would be allow...
Snokist officials said they were working to address all of the concerns raised by the FDA and were awaiting a new inspection to confirm progress. FDA officials said the company has 15 days to respond to the warning letter.
Syrian president has set up committees to look into deaths of protesters and replacing decades-old emergency laws.
Facing a massive protest movement demanding reform, Syria's president has set up committees to look into the deaths of civilians during nearly two weeks of unrest and replacing decades-old emergency laws.
Thursday's move appears to be a carefully designed attempt by President Bashar al-Assad to show he will not be pressured to implement reform, instead, he will make changes at his own pace.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Thursday that investigative committees have been set up to look into possible causes in the deaths of protesters, including the 1962 census in east Syria, which resulted in many Kurds being denied nationality.
On Wednesday, Assad defied expectations that he would announce sweeping changes, instead blaming two weeks of popular revolt on a foreign conspiracy during his first public address since the protests began.
It was not immediately clear whether Thursday's overtures would succeed in pacifying a growing protest movement in one of regions most autocratic regimes.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, says the "promise of investigation", a day after Assad failed to announce any reforms during his widely anticipated speech, proves that the Syrian government "is going to move at its own pace with regard to change".
Activists have called for massive demonstrations across Syrian provinces on Friday, dubbing it "Martyrs Day''.
The day could prove to be a turning point in the country's future.
Syrian TV said the ruling Baath Party's regional command formed a committee made up of legal experts to study legislation that would "guarantee the country's security and dignity of Syrians and combat terrorism''.
"This would pave the way for lifting the state of emergency laws,'' it said. The widely despised, decades-old emergency laws give the regime a free hand to arrest people without charge.
The state-run news agency said the committee would complete its study by April 25.
Syrian TV also said Assad has set up a judicial committee tasked with urgently investigating the circumstances that led to the death of Syrian civilians and security forces in the southern city of Daraa and port city of Latakia.
Assad dismissed his 32-member cabinet on Tuesday in a move designed to mollify the anti-government protesters, but the overture was largely symbolic.
Assad holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime, and there are no real opposition figures or alternatives to the current leadership.
The protests were sparked off by the arrest of several teenagers who wrote anti-government graffiti on walls in the southern city of Daraa.
They spread to other parts of the country last week, and human rights groups say more than 60 people have been killed since March 18 as security forces cracked down on the demonstrations.
An anti-government protester in Daraa said on Thursday that security forces arrested up to 17 people in the city overnight.
He said a sit-in by a few hundred protesters near al-Omari mosque, the epicentre of protests, ended on Thursday.
However, he said protesters were regrouping for more demonstrations in Daraa and nearby areas on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
In Assad's speech before parliament on Wednesday, his first speech since the protests began, he said Syria is being subjected to a "major conspiracy''.
He made only a passing reference to the protesters' calls for change, saying he was in favour of reform, but acknowledged there have been delays.
"The question is what reforms do we need,'' he said, without offering any specifics.
Social networking sites immediately responded with activists calling on Syrians to take to the streets.
Within hours of Assad's speech, residents of the Mediterranean port city of Latakia said troops opened fire during a protest by about 100 people, although it was not immediately clear whether they were firing in the air or at the protesters. The residents asked that their names not be published for fear of reprisals.
Latakia, which has a potentially volatile mix of different religious groups, already has become a flashpoint for violence that could take on a dangerous sectarian tone in the coming days and weeks.
The anti-government protests and ensuing violence have brought Syria's sectarian tensions into the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic because Syria has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shia Islam.
Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria.
However, he also has used increased economic freedom and prosperity to win the allegiance of the prosperous Sunni Muslim merchant classes, while punishing dissenters with arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse.
Assad, who inherited power 11 years ago from his father, appears to be following the same strategy of other autocratic leaders who attempt to quell uprisings by offering minor concessions coupled with brutal crackdowns.
The formula failed in Tunisia and Egypt, where citizens accepted nothing less than the ouster of the regime.
A: I do agree with you that it may be more comfortable for you to be working with the same person each year to prepare your taxes, making sure to take advantage of every deduction possible. However, there are multiple options for finding a qualified tax preparer if you remember a few basic guidelines.
▪ Always look for a license and check it out. Not everyone who prepares taxes is a certified tax preparer. Tax preparers and tax interviewers who accept a fee for their work must be licensed by the California Tax Education Council.
▪ Only “enrolled agents” can represent you before the IRS if there is a mistake on your tax return. Generally, tax preparers need to have three to four years of experience to qualify to become enrolled agents, unless they have years of strong accounting experience. Enrolled agents may represent taxpayers before the IRS...
▪ Check with family and friends for references. Don’t be embarrassed to ask if the tax preparer got them a refund or if there were any problems with their returns.
▪ Call the BBB at 559-222-8111 to check out recommended tax preparation companies, even if they are a big chain. Remember that each individual office operates separately and could possibly have operational problems that other offices of the chain don’t have. You can also use the BBB’s free Request-A-Quote program to fi...
▪ Keep good records and receipts. Even the best tax preparer can only work with what you provide them. They are not mind-readers and they will not be able to determine your best deductions unless you give them accurate records. In your particular case, you need to keep two separate sets of records: one for your persona...
What is boiling in the kettle of Thomas J. Lipton Inc., a firm best known for its tea products?
There`s a possibility that such items as Ragu spaghetti sauce, Ragu pasta meals and Adolph`s tenderizer will be added to Lipton`s product lineup, following Unilever`s buyout of Chesebrough-Pond`s.
Ragu and Adolph`s are now part of Chesebrough-Pond`s, a Greenwich, Conn.-based firm most prominent for its skin-care products, including Vaseline.
There is no doubt that Ragu, which has a 50 percent share of the $900 million-a-year spaghetti sauce business, and Adolph`s would fit well with Lipton, which sells a line of noodles and rice side dishes.
The fit is even better considering that Lawry`s Foods, the seasonings and food specialties concern, is a subsidiary of Lipton, which in 1985 earned $80 million on sales of $1.3 billion. Sales of Lawry`s are about 10 percent of Lipton`s total volume.
There already is a good deal of synergism between Lipton and Lawry`s, a Los Angeles-based firm acquired in 1978 by Unilever.
Lipton`s sales force presently sells all Lipton and Lawry`s products in the eastern, central and southern parts of the country. Lawry`s sales force is responsible for its own products and those of Lipton in the west.
''This arrangement has worked out pretty well,'' said a Lawry`s source.
Unilever might decide to keep Ragu and Adolph`s in a unit separately operated from Lipton, an Englewood Cliffs, N.J., firm. Nevertheless, it seems that having both brands under the same roof at Lipton makes plenty of sense in terms of fit, marketing strategies and economies.
While Ragu has done a big job in sauces, fighting off a strong challenge from Campbell Soup Co.`s Prego in that category, its Pasta Meals, introduced recently, now are a $45 million annual business. And Lipton`s side dishes are no ''sideline'' business, either; the noodles and rice products are pushing $130 million in ...
-- Leo Burnett Co. will hit $2 billion in worldwide billing for the first time in 1986. The Chicago-based agency projected this year`s total billing at $2.024 billion, up $155 million from 1985. Burnett`s 1986 U.S.A. billing was projected at $1.365 billion, versus $1.269 billion in 1985.
-- Michael Green was promoted to vice president, director of advertising and special events, for Carson Pirie Scott & Co.`s Department Store Division. Green previously was director of advertising, administrative services, for the retailer.
-- Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt in Dallas, recently added as a Dial Corp. agency for Dial antiperspirant and deodorant products, now is picking up advertising responsibility for Armour Star canned meats. The latter account was resigned by Ogilvy & Mather Chicago, no longer a Dial agency.
On the move: Janet Blair Cabot joined Hill & Knowlton as an account supervisor. . . . Alice K. Sylvester, an associate media research director at J. Walter Thompson USA Chicago, elected a vice president of the agency.
Strictly Personal: Birthday greetings to Bob Irvine, Linda Watts, JoAnne Selig and Bob Teninga.
Coca-Cola USA and Domino`s Pizza have signed a new five-year contract whereby the takeout firm will promote Coke in some of its advertising and merchandising activities and carry the soft drink. The deal, an extension of a previous contract, will be announced at a press conference Monday.
There`s another merger in the works in the free-standing newspaper insert (FSI) business. Product Movers in New York has made a tender offer for Quad Marketing, the Pewaukee, Wis.-based insert division of Quad Graphics. The combination would give Product Movers an overall 40 percent share of the $700 million FSI busine...
-- Harold J. ''Hal'' Handley, recently senior VP-marketing with Beatrice Foods U.S., became VP-marketing and development at McCormick & Co., the Baltimore-based spices, seasonings and specialty foods firm. The appointment confirms a story in this column Nov. 17.
On Tap: Chicago chapter of Public Relations Society of America hears Chicago Bears running back Neal Anderson at its luncheon Tuesday at the Knickerbocker Hotel. Anderson, who got his bachelor`s degree in public relations at the University of Florida at Gainesville, will discuss ''Public Relations and College Athletics...
At school in the U.S. Midwest in 1970 Laura Cha Shih May-lung was forced to attend class with a wet towel packed in her bag, just in case there was tear gas on the way and she would have to cover her face.
Arriving at the University of Wisconsin from Hong Kong as a liberal arts major, Cha found herself in a hotbed of anti-Vietnam War protests. It wasn't what she expected, and it definitely impacted her life. "It was a completely new experience for me and for all the other Asians," she says. "It opened our eyes to seeing ...
Over the years she has sat on the boards of directors of major companies from China Telecom to India's Tata Consultancy Services and global banking giant HSBC, where she is currently a nonexecutive deputy chairman and a director. Her career achievements have gone hand in hand with a philanthropic focus on education. Un...
But Cha really made her mark as a regulator in Hong Kong and China. After a career break in the 1970s to give birth to two children and obtain a law degree from Santa Clara University, she first worked for Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in San Francisco and then Coudert Brothers in Hong Kong, both American law firms. In ...
That work involved setting up a framework for Chinese state-owned companies to float their shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Tsingtao, China's largest brewery, was the first to list in 1993. The company issued 317.6 million so-called H shares, raising $115.5 million. In 2006 Bank of China listed in Hong Kong, rai...
Opening up to Chinese companies transformed the Hong Kong market. "Little did we know that today, in 2011, it would be dominated by Chinese companies," says Cha. At the end of 2010, 592 mainland companies were listed in the territory, accounting for 57% of total market capitalization, or $1.531 trillion, according to H...
Cha, who remains a director on the exchange's board, firmly believes Hong Kong has a paramount role to play within China. "A lot of things happen in our market that cannot happen on the mainland. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange raises funds for Chinese companies. It is not possible in Shanghai because the Chinese currency...
In her role as a regulator Cha became known as the "Iron Lady." "She has strong principles, sets clear goals and follows through until they are achieved," says Mark Dickens, director of listing at HKEx and a former colleague of Cha's at the SFC.
In one example Cha's team stood up to Jardine Matheson, a venerable trading house with roots stretching back to colonial Britain. In the early 1990s Jardine Matheson asked Hong Kong regulators to exempt the company from the takeover and mergers code. The group feared for its interests after the handover of Hong Kong to...
After the SFC's decision five companies in the Jardine group delisted from the exchange. Even though the group accounted for about 10% of the stock market capitalization at the time, HKEx's Dickens says, "The reaction in Hong Kong was very positive because we stood firm to show that Hong Kong could be an international ...
David Webb, a shareholder activist in Hong Kong and a former director of the HKEx, says Cha's team was not being especially tough in refusing the Jardine group's request. He says, "It would have been outrageous to grant the exemption given that these companies had such a large shareholder base in Hong Kong."
In 2001 Cha moved to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the mainland regulatory body. As its vice chairman she was the first nonmainlander to serve the central government of the People's Republic of China at the vice ministerial level. She introduced corporate governance reforms to "raise the level of quality ...
While at the CSRC Cha contributed most of her salary to an education and training fund for staff. "It was very noble of her," says Gao Xiqing, vice chairman and president of China Investment Corp., the sovereign wealth fund that manages China's foreign-exchange reserves. He first met Cha in 1985 at Coudert Brothers and...
When Cha resigned from the CSRC in 2004 she replaced the training fund with scholarships she endowed at Yale University's School of Management and the London School of Economics' law department. Both are aimed at students from mainland China with financial needs. "In China people have this desire, this hunger for expos...
Cha says she left the CSRC because she felt her job was done and also because she "wanted to come home" to Hong Kong. In 2004 she was appointed a nonofficial member of the Executive Council, the territory's policy-making body. She is also one of the region's delegates to the 11th National People's Congress, which runs ...
Cha's diplomatic skills have likely helped her to navigate Hong Kong's unique political system. HKEx's Dickens says Cha is "very effective at gaining support and consensus by respecting different views and interests."
Balancing a high-powered career and private life with two children has not been easy. "It took good time management and a lot of juggling to manage the kids while I pursued my career," Cha admits. Wei Sun Christianson, Asia Pacific co-CEO and China CEO of Morgan Stanley, says Cha has been a "consistent supporter of wom...
For Cha there is no secret formula. "Everybody has a different experience. Young professional women need to decide for themselves when is the right time for what. Yes, you can have everything, but maybe not at the same time."
A surprising thing has started happening at Third Eye Blind gigs as the band preps for the release of its first album in six years, Ursa Major (due August 18th). Hordes of young fans have been flooding the shows, singing along to every note of songs from the band’s earlier days. “That kind of freaked me about because w...
Why the long wait between albums?
I think rock music has to be demanded to be heard. It was kind of this combination of things — where the country is going the last two years has left me dumbfounded, so I didn’t have some connection to my lyrics. I had to get a hold of the verses inside of me. I always want to do so many different things musically; it ...

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