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I attended Scottsdale Grammar School with my homeroom in former WWII barracks.
I experienced the old rodeo grounds on 40 acres at the northwest corner of Camelback and Scottsdale roads, where Fashion Square Mall now stands.
I learned water-skiing behind a pick-up truck on the Arizona Canal.
I provided frogs to Mr. McGirr's biology class at Scottsdale High School.
I hung out at Lute Wasbutton's "drug store/fountain."
I bought savings bonds at the small Post Office.
I forget when the city of Scottsdale annexed our home, Taliesin West. I was in my early teens and only remember being surprised that we hadn’t been part of the city before. It was the only city I knew, even if all I knew about it was lights twinkling in the nighttime, many miles away. School was closed once a year for Parada del Sol. Didn’t that make us Scottsdale residents?
The school bus had “Scottsdale” written on it during the many years it refused to drive up Taliesin’s rocky driveway because they’d broken too many axles. One of the architecture students had to drive us to Pima and Shea where the pavement started (or ended, depending on your point of view).
The bus would drive down Pima, the backside of McCormick Ranch, and stop at the two Navajo hogans and adobe bunkhouse to pick up the Native American kids who lived there. They kept to themselves and we were too shy for any cultural exchanges, an oversight I now regret.
The bus didn’t come on rainy days because the washes ran full. We would stand on one side, the bus on the other, the temporary river running between us, and the adults shouting back and forth about whether it would be crossable in minutes or hours.
In the early days, before impact fees, schools were funded via bond elections. The voters turned them down almost every time. And so we went to Kiva, where portable classrooms littered the athletic fields. Later, after much voter consternation, Cocopah was built, and for one year there were no portable buildings for classrooms. It was one of two years in my scholastic career that did not involve classes in a portable building.
For high school, I went to Chaparral High which existed only on paper because the bond election had not gone well. We were housed in Saguaro High School. Saguaro went noon to 6 p.m. and we went 6 a.m. to noon. Half my classes were in portable buildings. By 11th grade, the taxpayers dug deep and built a “flying saucer” of a building that floated above a sea of creosote just south of Shea. It was my second and last year that didn’t involve portable buildings.
From Taliesin West, the nearest grocery store was AJ Bayless, on the corner of Scottsdale Road and Camelback. It squatted next to Goldwaters. A flimsy, translucent roof extended back between the two buildings covering a book store and a luggage store among a handful of others. I always marveled at the business model of a luggage store.
We traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright’s summer home in Wisconsin every summer and packed everything we owned in cardboard boxes that fit in the back of a station wagon. Who on earth would need a suitcase?
Once a year or so, Frank Lloyd Wright’s first student, and Taliesin’s Chief Architect, Wes Peters, would take those children who had been well behaved “into town” for a sundae at the Sugar Bowl. It was the most coveted experience a child of Taliesin could hope for. I made the trip twice.
— Seeley James, Scottsdale. His father was an architect and teacher at Taliesin West.
It was 1977 and we were living in Tempe and someone told us about a fabulous restaurant at Shea and Scottsdale Road. It was called "Finches" and located in a dusty parking lot on the southeast corner of nowhere.
Mr. and Mrs. Finch had set up something we had not yet experienced in the Valley, sophisticated, delicious cuisine and white-glove service. It was worth the long, tiresome trip to get there, driving up Scottsdale Road, north of Camelback or Lincoln.
The dusty parking lot persists with its weird ring of businesses and, of course, Finches is long gone. Scottsdale Road and Shea? Now just a whistle stop on the way north to perceived Valhalla.
the state. Up and down either coast, you will find a Florida Community Bank, from Miami to Orlando, Naples to Sarasota. Soon, FCB banking centers will begin appearing in other Florida markets. Banking center convenience is augmented by the convenience of an expanding array of internet banking products.
A novel and highly effective technique was found to enhance regrowth of human corneal tissue to restore vision, using a newly identified molecule that acts as a marker for limbal cells – stem cells that are paramount to retinal regeneration. The findings could greatly improve the vision of patients suffering from severe burns, victims of chemical injury, and others with damaging eye diseases.
A healthy, transparent ocular surface is made up of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium that is highly differentiated. The corneal epithelium is constantly renewed and maintained by the corneal epithelial stem cells, or limbal stem cells (LSCs) that are presumed to reside at the limbus, the junction between the cornea and conjunctiva. Patients who have lost these special stem cells due to disease or injury typically go blind. In fact, there are over 3.2 million people worldwide recognized as bilateral blind from corneal diseases, most of which were struck by limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).
Typically, doctors use tissue or cell transplants to help the cornea regenerate, but since they never know whether there are any actual limbal stem cells in the grafts, or how many, the results have always been inconsistent. A new collaborative effort that joins scientists from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital , Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the VA Boston Healthcare System may change this.
In this study, researchers were able to use antibodies detecting the marker molecule to zero in on the stem cells in tissue from deceased human donors and use it to regrow anatomically correct, fully functional human corneas in mice.
The researchers found that an antibody, known as ABCB5, was being produced in tissue precursor cells in human skin and intestine. Tests on a mouse model showed ABCB5 also occurs in limbal stem cells and is required for their maintenance and survival, and for corneal development and repair. Essentially, ABCB5 can be used as an effective marker to zero in on the limbal stem cells. For instance, mice lacking a functional ABCB5 gene lost their limbal stem cells, and their corneas healed poorly after injury.
Using ABCB5 antibodies, the researchers successfully identified the LSCs in tissue from deceased human donors, then used these to regrow anatomically correct, fully functional human corneas in mice.
“ABCB5 allows limbal stem cells to survive, protecting them from apoptosis [programmed cell death],” said Markus Frank. “The mouse model allowed us for the first time to understand the role of ABCB5 in normal development, and should be very important to the stem cell field in general,” according to Natasha Frank.
HARTFORD, Connecticut - A 94-year-old woman from a rural Connecticut town has become the fifth person in the United States to die from inhalation anthrax, rekindling fears of the potential germ warfare agent.
Ottilie Lundgren, who lived alone in the rural town of Oxford, died overnight (NZ time) five days after she was admitted to Griffin Hospital in nearby Derby, Connecticut.
The latest case of inhalation anthrax, the first in rural America, could revive fears of bioterrorism following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
"It's very scary," said Lundgren's neighbour Jodi McCue. "You would never have expected Oxford or a 94-year-old woman who stays at home all the time to ever have something like this happen.
"With terrorism and things that have happened lately, you expect New York to be a target. But Oxford?" she said. "I can't explain it and I'm very scared."
Officials cannot explain it either. Connecticut Governor John Rowland called the case an "anomaly."
"It came as a surprise to us because the patient does not have any of the risk factors," said Dr Howard Quentzel, head of infectious diseases at Griffin Hospital.
As hospital officials announced Lundgren's death, a woman brought a suspicious envelope she feared might contain anthrax to the hospital's emergency room, town officials said. The envelope was sent to the state health department for testing and the hospital's emergency room was closed briefly.
Since early October, four people have died and 13 others have been infected with anthrax, a livestock disease that can be used as a germ warfare agent.
Investigators have still not determined who is behind the attacks. But Attorney General John Ashcroft has indicated that authorities are leaning toward a domestic source.
Rowland said state troopers working with the FBI and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention were examining Lundgren's home trying to find the source of the deadly bacteria.
Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM) has reached a legal settlement in a class action suit filed by a group of shareholders. The San Diego-based company said today that it has agreed to pay shareholders $14 million from its insurance proceeds, and issue them new shares worth a 9.95 percent stake in the company.
The settlement still needs approval from the U.S. District Court in for the Southern District of California. The settlement agreement doesn’t include any admission of liability, but the company is settling the lawsuit “to avoid potentially lengthy, costly, distracting and time-consuming litigation,” according to a statement.
Sequenom’s troubles surfaced last April 29, when it said it “mishandled” clinical trial to support the commercialization of its non-invasive prenatal test for Down syndrome. The company hasn’t fully explained what happened, but after an internal investigation, the company ousted CEO Harry Stylli, former R&D chief Elizabeth Dragon, and three other employees in September. The SEC has opened an investigation to the company’s mishandling of its data and the Justice Department also is asking questions. There was no update today on the status of those inquiries.
Shares of Sequenom climbed about 5 percent to $4.35 at 10:05 am Eastern time after the announcement.
Those were just a few of the things said about the Republican Party’s presumptive candidate last Thursday at an event hosted by a women’s group in Washington, D.C.
No surprise there — except for the fact that the group, the Independent Women’s Forum, is no liberal stronghold of Hillary Clinton worship. While the IWF is officially non-partisan, it champions conservative values such as free markets, small government and personal liberty, and its political sympathies definitely lie more in a Republican direction.
IWF’s “Women Lead” conference brought together some 200 conservative-leaning female professionals, entrepreneurs, and policy mavens for discussion and networking; it’s safe to say that there were few, if any, Hillary fans in their ranks.
Yet only twice during the daylong event did any of the speakers have even tepid positive words for Donald Trump. While discussing the Supreme Court, attorney Megan Brown briefly acknowledged that Trump had “some very commendable judges” on his list of potential court picks.
And on the morning panel showcasing the IWF’s new “Working for Women” report on small-government solutions for women in the workplace, one of its authors, economist Diana Furchgott-Roth, noted that Trump, not Clinton, was most likely to make these policy reforms a reality, since he had “already supported” tax cuts and family flexibility.
During the lunch break, I asked Furchgott-Roth how anyone could count on Trump to follow through on anything he claimed to support. With somewhat baffling optimism, she replied that as president his job will be to simply sign the legislation passed by a Republican Congress.
But when things moved on to the afternoon panel titled “The Character of Our Political Leadership: Political Civility, Discourse, and the Impact on Women Voters in the 2016 Election,” there was little optimism in evidence. Instead, it was one scathing condemnation of Trump after another from the four panelists.
Mona Charen, a syndicated columnist and formerly a staffer in the Reagan White house, called the reality show host-turned-presidential candidate a “jerk” who hides behind the shield of “political incorrectness” and is so insecure that he needs to put down others, especially women, to feel better about himself.
She said: “This is not a conservative way to behave. This is a boorish, ugly kind of fun house mirror version of masculinity.” The issue, Charen warned, is not just manners and morals but governance.
Author and policy analyst Peter Wehner, a White House staffer under the last three Republican administrations, was equally blunt: “There is no idea, no cause behind the man other than himself. Everything revolves around him.
James Rosebush, former Reagan White House official and Reagan biographer, dismissed the idea that right advisors could steer Trump on the right track, since he seems determined to ignore all such advice.
It’s not that any of the panelists were particularly fond of Hillary; Charen zinged her as a supposed “poster girl for feminist success” who actually rose to power on her husband’s coattails and enabled his sexual misconduct.
As for the audience, its mood seemed one of uncertainty. The Donald-bashing drew only scattered applause — but no protest, either.
But there was one outspoken Trump defender in the audience, an older woman who said she was a longtime Republican activist in Virginia. She urged the speakers to “educate themselves” about the flow of money to the campaigns.
Trump, she said, was the only candidate without a trail of foreign money behind him (not that we really know anything about his finances, as Charen pointed out, given that he won’t disclose his tax returns).
The woman also claimed that federal judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump had accused of bias due to his Mexican ancestry, had “paid $620,000 to Hillary Clinton” (actually, that was the law firm representing the Trump University plaintiffs) and that Hillary was unfit for the presidency due to poor health, including a brain tumor (a rumor that’s been around since 2012).
I had a brief chat with the Trump supporter at the post-conference reception. My attempt to correct her on the issue of Judge Curiel’s alleged payouts to Hillary Clinton was a total bust, but I did learn some fascinating things: that Chelsea Clinton is a love child from an extramarital affair; that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s injury from a home exercise accident last year was actually from a beating related to the Senator’s mafia ties; and that Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and both Bushes are part of a globalist cabal promoting One World Government.
Regrettably, we did not get around to whether jet fuel can melt steel beams.
Obviously, two people do not a sample make. But my conversations at the IWF conference did little to change my overall impression that most pro-Trump Republicans either embrace an imaginary Trump who will magically do everything they hope for, or hold some peculiar beliefs.
And if the overall atmosphere at the conference is any indication, the backing for Trump among mainstream Republicans remains far from solid.
WHY GO This historic port town on the Brittany coast is a picturesque way to escape tourist crowds found in larger French cities. Lounge with a book on expansive Atlantic beaches, or indulge in Breton traditions such as a glass of sparkling cider and fresh-from-the-oven kouign-amann (a sweet and buttery pastry).
EXCEPTIONAL TO-DOS Stroll the walled city’s cobblestone streets and stop in to see Cathédrale Saint-Vincent-de-Saragosse, burial spot of noted explorer Jacques Cartier, who was born in Saint-Malo in 1491. History buffs can discover Cartier’s statue when wandering the ramparts, and visit Manoir de Limoëlou, his former home, to get a glimpse of daily life in 16th century France, as well as the examples of Cartier’s explorations of Canada that are on display.
WHERE TO EAT Fresh caught seafood is the inspiration for chef Jean- Philippe at Le Chalut, where Saint-Malo’s best dish comes in the form of sole, monkfish, sea bass and scallops, gently seared or served “a la nage” — simmered in white wine and vegetable broth. Make sure to taste galette, a sweet or savoury buckwheat crepe that’s a traditional Breton favourite. At La Grignote, try one of its galette offerings filled with egg and cheese or smoked salmon.
WHERE TO STAY The charming Hôtel France & Chateaubriand is located at the entrance to the walled city, offering a quiet respite, especially in its sunny plant-filled conservatory. With Napoleonic-style architecture, this 80-room boutique property offers guests easy access to the fort or the sea, and also houses a brasserie with a noted wine cellar for end-of-day libations.
WHY GO Founded by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago, London’s perpetual charm stems, in part, from some of its prominent and ever-popular attractions including Buckingham Palace, Tower of London and Big Ben. Yet don’t miss the chic and cutting-edge bars, clubs and restaurants of the fashionable and newly transformed Shoreditch district in East London.
EXCEPTIONAL TO-DOS After a visit to the Tate Modern art gallery, catch the Tate to Tate water shuttle (adorned with art by Damien Hirst) through central London to its sister museum, the Tate Britain, taking in views of the city’s evolving skyline from the Thames River. With Alternative London Tours, discover more of East London’s vibrant history through its cuisine, tasting your way from Hackney Road to London Fields, while also catching glimpses of the area’s amazing murals and street art en route.
WHERE TO EAT Chefs come to this city to impress. Case in point, French chef Arnaud Bignon, whose deft hand with seasonal ingredients combined with classic European cooking traditions has resulted in his Mayfair restaurant, The Greenhouse, being awarded a coveted two Michelin stars.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 1963 (UPI)-President Kennedy said Thursday that the United States never planned to provide air cover for the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. He also told a news conference that continuous air surveillance of the island has shown no threatening inflow of arms to the Fidel Castro regime from the Soviet Union.
The question of whether the anti-Castro invaders were promised U. S. air cover by the Administration boiled into controversy this week when the President's brother, Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, said that no such pledge had ever been made.
Republicans, led by Sen. Barry F. Goldwater of Arizona have demanded investigations to ascertain the facts surrounding the invasion fiasco.
Anti-Castro refugee leaders, including Antonio de Varona, vice president of the Cuban Revolutionary Council, and Cubans who took part in the invasion charged that the air cover was promised but then withdrawn.
In addition, Jack W. Gore, editor and publisher of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., News reported Thursday that a month after the invasion, Kennedy told an off-the-record White House luncheon group that air cover had been available but the President had decided against using it.
The President, asked to set the situation straight, acknowledged that an air strike on behalf of the invaders had been postponed from morning to afternoon. But he said these "were flown by pilots...based not in the United States, not American planes."
He conceded that the invasion forces "were under the impression" that the B26 bombers were available and "would give them protection on the beach."
"That did not work out," the chief executive admitted. "That was one of the failures."
He observed that jets sent up against the B26s were "very effective and, therefore...the brigade was not able to maintain air supremacy on the beach."
The President twice stressed, however, the air cover planes were "not from the United States."
Kennedy insisted the statement made by the attorney general, that no U. S. air cover had been planned, was correct.
"Obviously," he said, "If you are going to have United States cover, you might as well have a complete United States commitment, which would have meant a full-fledged invasion by the United States in April, 1961."
Kennedy told the news conference that much of the confusion stems from the use of the word "air cover."
He differentiated between United States air cover "as proposed to air cover which was attached to the (invasion) brigade, some of which flew from various parts of this continent, not from the United States."
Of Gore's account of his luncheon remarks, the President said there was "no such conversation of the kind...that has been read to me."
He commented: "The problem of air cover and one of the reasons that the invasion failed may have well been discussed, but only in the terms that I have described because what I have described are the facts."
Concerning reports that the Soviet Union has intensified its arms in Cuba, the President reported that surveillance showed that since settlement of the missile crisis, only one Russian ship that might have carried arms had arrived. Kennedy acknowledged that there probably still are between 16,000 and 17,000 Russians in Cuba operating small missile sites and other technical equipment.
Florian Lejeune will return to Italy for surgery on his knee.
The Newcastle United defender ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Lejeune had made a first-team comeback from the same injury on his right knee in January.
Professor Pier Paolo Mariani operated on Lejeune in Rome last August.
And the 27-year-old will see the same surgeon for surgery on his left knee.
Lejeune could again be back early next season, according to Benitez.
“Hopefully, it will be between four and five months if everything is fine,” said United’s manager.
Lejeune went down in agony after challenging Andros Townsend in last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at St James’s Park.
Asked about Lejeune’s reaction to the injury, Benitez said: “It’s OK. The first couple of days he was a little bit down, but he knows what he has to do.
Lejuene played well in a back five with Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar after returning from injury.
Asked if he would consider reverting to a back four, Benitez said: “Every game, we’re thinking ‘are we OK if we change this?’.
“We analyse that. Sometimes we decide the day before, because we analyse the options that we have – or we analyse the other team.
“You analyse as much as you can and you work with your players with an idea.
“Can we play with four at the back? Yes, because we have been doing that the whole season.

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