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The Rise of the Cyberneticists: The Return of Systems Thinking to Prince Edward Island Politics
In his book The Human Use of Human Beings, first published in 1950, author Norbert Weiner describes his coining of the term cybernetics:
Until recently, there was no existing word for this complex of ideas, and in order to embrace the whole field by a single term, I felt constrained to invent one. Hence “Cybernetics,” which I derived from the Greek word kubernetes, or “steersman,” the same Greek word from which we eventually derive our word “governor.”
He goes on to elaborate:
It is the purpose of Cybernetics to develop a language and techniques that will enable us indeed to attack the problem of control and communication in general, but also to find the proper repertory of ideas and techniques to classify their particular manifestations under certain concepts.
It was impossible not to think of cybernetics while watching Premier Wade MacLauchlan’s address to senior provincial public servants yesterday, The Premier as Public Servant Leader.
In his address, MacLauchlan clearly demonstrates that he is, at heart, a cyberneticist – a “steersman,” if you will – and that he views his role as Premier to manage a complex system of people, resources, and motivations to, as he references several times, “move the trend lines” of prosperity, demographics, revenue, and expenses.
The Premier’s construction of “ten lenses” through which policy will be regarded – collegial, people, prosperity, engagement, ethical, strategic, rural, frugality, entrepreneurial, small is big – surely equips his office, and his government, with a set of tuned “organs” that Weiner describes:
Much of this book concerns the limits of communication within and among individuals. Man is immersed in a world which he perceives through his sense organs. Information that he receives is co-ordinated through his brain and nervous system until, after the proper process of storage, collation, and selection, it emerges through effector organs, generally his muscles. These in turn act on the external world, and also react on the central nervous system through receptor organs such as the end organs of kinaesthesia; and the information received by the kinaesthetic organs is combined with his already accumulated store of information to influence future action.
This approach to Prince Edward Island as a cybernetically-governable system is echoed when MacLauchlan discusses his “strategic lens”:
The first role of the premier as a public servant leader is to identify strategic priorities and communicate them to the public service and the entire community. Without prosperity, we do not have a pretty future. Economic growth must be our top priority. With prosperity, our demographic trend lines will adjust, with the right strategic efforts and policies, to reflect the fact that we are retaining, repatriating and recruiting a younger, talented and entrepreneurial population.
These strategic priorities, prosperity and population, will be reflected across government. They are not a substitute for commitments to deliver services such as health, education, social assistance or environmental stewardship. However, if we cannot grow the economy and rejuvenate our population, our ability to deliver services in other areas will become increasingly stressed.
The premier’s leadership role, in addition to identifying strategic priorities, is to ask the right questions, repeatedly. I think of this as a Socratic form of leadership. Specifically, I will be heard to ask regularly, in response to proposed initiatives: Where’s the growth? How will we measure the return on investment? What does this do to change our demographic trend lines?
In saying this, MacLauchlan echoes Weiner’s description of the role of information in cybernetics:
Information is a name for the content of what is exchanged with the outer world as we adjust to it, and make our adjustment felt upon it. The process of receiving and of using information is the process of our adjusting to the contingencies of the outer environment, and of our living effectively within that environment. The needs and the complexity of modern life make greater demands on this process of information than ever before, and our press, our museums, our scientific laboratories, our universities, our libraries and textbooks, are obliged to meet the needs of this process or fail in their purpose. To live effectively is to live with adequate information. Thus, communication and control belong to the essence of man’s inner life, even as they belong to his life in society.
The Premier’s “What does this do to change our demographic trend lines?” is Weiner’s “the information received by the kinaesthetic organs is combined with his already accumulated store of information to influence future action.”
MacLauchlan is not alone in being a cyberneticist; newly-elected leader of the PC Party, Rob Lantz, is, both by inclination, chosen career as a digital worker, and demonstrated action as a member of Charlottetown City Council, a cyberneticist in his own right.
While his convention speech this weekend at the PC Party Leadership Convention was for a political audience, not a public service one, and therefore was less finely drawn than MacLauchlan’s address to the public service, Lantz demonstrated evidence of his own cybernetic approach to governance:
Lantz, like MacLauchlan, speaks of the twin pressures of demography and prosperity, and positions himself as a “problem solver”:
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, nobody does, but I’m a problem solver, I know how to listen, I know how to weigh the evidence, analyze the facts, and I know how to make decisions… It’s time for hard work, smart decisions, humility and listening. It’s time for building on our strengths and tackling our weaknesses.
That’s political rhetoric for a political audience, yes, but combined with the evidence of Lantz’s approach to government on city council, an approach that was generally regarded as open and collaborative, it suggests that he would be well-equipped to be a manager, a filter, an amplifier of the type of “messages” that Weiner writes about:
Messages are themselves a form of pattern and organization. Indeed, it is possible to treat sets of messages as having an entropy like sets of states of the external world. Just as entropy is a measure of disorganization, the information carried by a set of messages is a measure of organization. In fact, it is possible to interpret the information carried by a message as essentially the negative of its entropy, and the negative logarithm of its probability. That is, the more probable the message, the less information it gives. Clichés, for example, are less illuminating than great poems.
I had a spirited discussion yesterday with a good friend with a deep knowledge of Island politics; I suggested to her that Lantz and MacLauchlan were opposites: Lantz the digital tradesman, MacLauchlan the intellectual, Lantz the self-styled realist, MacLauchlan the self-styled optimist. She reminded me that Lantz and MacLauchlan are, in far more ways, cut from exactly the same cloth. What she meant was that they are both men, both well-off, both from “strong Island stock,” and so forth.
And of course she was right: they are more alike than they are different.
And perhaps in no way more so than their shared vision of Prince Edward Island as a system that can be managed and, what’s more, a system they are capable of managing.
While it might seem self-evident that anyone putting themselves forward to be premier would necessarily regard themselves in this light, there is less evidence to suggest that Prince Edward Island premiers-recent – Ghiz, Binns, Milligan, Callbeck – viewed themselves as tacticians to the extent that MacLauchlan and Lantz do, as tacticians able to – through collaboration, analysis, planning, and action – “move the trend lines” to such an extent that Prince Edward Island emerges from their tenure substantially changed.
This is not to suggest that our recent premiers have been do-nothings, simply that their approach has drawn from different approaches to leadership and governance, ones not so seemingly-rooted in notions of systems theory: there have been substantial rearrangements to specific parts of Island society over the last two decades, but they have been more “strategic” in nature than “systemic.”
The last time the Island was governed by a premier with this approach was from 1966 to 1978, the tenure of Alex B. Campbell, a man MacLauchlan has studied closely. Campbell’s Comprehensive Development Plan was nothing if not the product of a cyberneticist. As MacLauchlan relates in his book on Campbell:
With the signing of the Comprehensive Development Plan in March 1969, things changed for Campbell and his government – and for Prince Edward Islanders. In a February television address, Premier Campbell spoke with Islanders about the difference the CDP would make, telling them that this “may be our last chance to provide a future for this province.” He went on to say that PEI’s economic and financial condition was “precarious” and that stop-gap remedies and short-term policies “will no longer service the purpose.”
In other words, Campbell was suggesting that the Island’s future demanded planned, systematic change. You will find shadows of Campbell in both MacLauchlan and Lantz inasmuch as they both regard the Island, as Campbell did, as a system in need of substantial adjustment, and they both have confidence that this adjustment can be carried out through a careful process of adjusting systems, controls, and messages.
What is different this time around from the Campbell era is that while in the late 1960s Campbell saw a need to import systems expertise from off-Island, both Lantz and MacLauchlan see the resources they need to marshal in the people who are here already. This suggests that their comprehensive plans for the development of the Island, while they might share the same confidence in cybernetics as Campbell’s, will be enacted in a way that’s more homegrown and locally rooted.
I am myself a cyberneticist at heart, and so it should go without saying that I greet the renewed ascendance of the cybernetic mindset with considerable optimism, especially as it appears to cross party lines and so, one way or the other, is likely to underpin the next generation of PEI politics.
These are interesting times.
Written March 4, 2015 at 12:34 p.m. by Peter Rukavina
5 comments | Add a comment
Ken on March 4, 2015 - 13:32
I think the Ghiz-Myers dynamic was like a one way game of Battleship, with Myers mostly taking shots and Ghiz mostly being shrewd. I would guess the dynamic in a Wade-Lantz debate will be more nuanced and entertaining. Let's hope for a balanced number on both sides of the house, and better debates!
Alan Hickn on March 5, 2015 - 07:09
Thanks for an interesting article. I would be interested in how you would add the Dynamics of Harper who's shrewd divisive politics has changed the Canada we know. Analytics where wedge politics is used to gain political power regardless the cost or rights trampled in the process. Be careful what you wish for as Germany' Stazi were analytical as well, only recorded all their atrocities for the perfect race!
Donald Savoie, who was referenced in the speech by MacLauchlan, talks about Harper in this video:
Donald Savoie: Power"
Another good one by Savoie is What ever happened to the Music Teacher?
Oliver B on March 6, 2015 - 17:05
I think that's weird or vague or wrong about entropy. Entropy is basically about redundancy: As in, there is a huge redundancy of ways for a 1000-piece puzzle to be in disarray, but only one way for it to fit together. That's why the likeliest way to find pieces, when you shake the box, is in disarray (and that would be true even if the pieces were magnetic and could snap themselves together). It's why it's most likely you read bazillions of years of not-Hamlet from the immortal monkey at the typewriter before Hamlet comes out. But in what sense is a cliche more likely to come out than "To be, or Not to be"? If Weiner has an analogy in mind here, I think it needs better spelling out. BTW, very politically correct of you, Peter, not to refer to the candidates as "cyborgs."
Relating information to entropy is classic, on the other hand, and practically the basis of information science, if I remember right. So I think he's saying something at least vaguely sensible, in that respect.
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Special Collections Manuscript Letters and Ephemera of Artists and Authors (1650-1921) as Selected and Transcribed by Mollie Connelly
Special Collections Manuscript Letters and Ephemera of Artists and Authors (1650-1921) as Selected and Transcribed by Mollie Connelly. This collection consists of 62 rare manuscripts found in ASU Libraries Special Collections in Hayden Library, from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Items are English, Scottish, Irish, American, French, Egyptian, and more. The collection adds to the correspondence heritage of notable authors, artists, and public figures, including William Wordsworth, H.G. Wells, Booker T. Washington, Claude Monet, and others. The project sets out to make previously unpublished manuscripts newly accessible to scholars and students.
Literary figures included in this collection include the Pre-Raphaelites, Victorians, Romantics, and many more. Notable authors include William Wordsworth, Robert Browning, Mark Twain and others. Literary correspondence has been the driving force of this collection. Even a rare ticket from actor David Garrick's 1769 Shakespeare Jubilee can be counted among the treasures here.
Supplementing writers of literature are esteemed artists such as John William Waterhouse, Claude Monet, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Finally, culturally significant public figures are included such as Booker T. Washington, John Ruskin, and Sir Richard Burton. These manuscripts provide insight into the cultural climate of their respective time periods.
Many people should be thanked and acknowledged for their help with this collection. First, Nicholas Salerno was integral to the development and gathering of the manuscripts that make up this collection. Next, Dr. Devoney Looser and Archivist Katherine Krzys have provided tremendous guidance for this wonderful collection.
Dowden, Edward, 1843-1913
1 Connelly, Mollie
1 image/jpx
1 Autograph Letter Signed
1 19th Century Manuscripts
1 Irish Correspondence
1 Victorian Era
1 William Blake
Letter From Claude Monet to George Petit
Letter From William Bell Scott to Mr Chambers
Letter From Edward Dowden to Bram Stoker
Letter From William Dean Howells to Mary Dean Howells
Letter from William Wordsworth to John Edwards
Sorted by: Date Added (Earliest)
Concerning Dowden's apology for keeping borrowed Blake volumes too long, his return to Dublin, and his pleasure concerning other of Blake's works.
Dowden, Edward, 1843-1913, Connelly, Mollie
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Research at UCPH
Sven Frøkjær
Drug Delivery and Biophysics of Biopharmaceuticals
Universitetsparken 2, 2100 København Ø, 13, Building: 13.7.7.07
Sven.Frokjaer@sund.ku.dk
http://sund.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 64 39Mobile: +45 23 30 83 10
Degrees and positions in academia
Professor Sven Frokjaer received his MSc (Pharm.) in 1970 and his PhD in physical chemistry in 1973 from the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He has been Professor of Pharmaceutics at the Department of Pharmaceutics since 1993 and Rector at the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences from 2003 to 2007.
After the merge with the University of Copenhagen, Sven became Dean at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Since 2012, he is Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. From 2002 to 2005 he held the position as director of the industrial-oriented graduate research school Drug Research Academy where he his is now chairman of the board.
Before joining the university, Sven Frokjaer spent nearly 20 years at Novo Nordisk A/S involved in research on drug delivery systems and various aspects of peptide and protein formulation.
Today, his primary research interest is focussed on peptide and protein formulation with a special emphasis on particulate drug delivery systems, e.g. microspheres, liposomes and lipid emulsions, and peptide transport across biological membranes including carrier-mediated mechanisms. He has published more 100 scientific papers in these fields.
Sven Frokjaer is a member of several boards and committees including The Danish Pharmacopeia Commission and the Drug Registration Committee under the Danish Health and Medicines Authority. He serves as member of editorial boards on several pharmaceutical journals. He has also served as member at the Danish Medical Research Council for a period of 5 years.
Sven Frokjaer is the co-founder of two biotech companies, Lica Pharmaceuticals A/S and LiPlasome Pharma A/S.
Risk Perceptions in Diabetic Patients Who Have Experienced Adverse Events: Implications for Patient Involvement in Regulatory Decisions
ku@ku.dk
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With his vast commercial and legal experience and as a Queen’s Law Graduate, Robert was delighted to be appointed to the Queen’s University Foundation Board where he helps advance the strategic goals and objectives of the University. He was actively involved in the second fund raising campaign for the University and has been appointed to the committee of Health Sciences as led by Professor Paddy Johnston (Professor Johnston is now vice-chancellor of Queens University). Professor Johnston spearheaded the centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology which was supported by the Queen’s Foundation Board.
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surfaces. * Disposal of trash to include the transfer of recycling materials. * Maintaining the immediate outdoor perimeter spaces, walkways and general seating areas. * Operating various types of cleaning
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Max Steel Japanese Trailer: A New Superhero is Born
by Amy Giardiniere
– on Aug 22, 2016
in Movie Trailers
It's no secret that Max Steel has had quite a few issues making it onto the big screen, having all but fallen off the radar since production wrapped back in 2014. The film is based on Mattel's line of action figures and animated TV series of the same name, which follows the adventures of teenage Max McGrath and his alien friend named Steel. Together, they harness and combine their powers to evolve into the eponymous turbo-charged superhero.
A newly-released Japanese trailer (which you can watch above) finally puts Max Steel back in the spotlight, along with an official release date this upcoming fall. Until now, we haven't heard a thing about Max Steel since production stills were released two years ago (at the time of writing this). Paramount Pictures originally had the rights to the live-action film, but those eventually expired - and due to the relaunch of the TV series in 2013, the film was suspended. Mattel then partnered with Dolphin Entertainment to finance production and Open Road Films to distribute the movie, keeping the dream alive.
Directed by Stewart Handler (the H+ TV series) and written by Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World), Max Steel stars Ben Winchell (Finding Carter), Ana Villafañe (South Beach), Andy García (Ghostbusters (2016)), Maria Bello (Lights Out) and Billy Slaughter (Bad Moms).
You can read the official synopsis for Max Steel, below:
Max Steel is an in-depth “origin” story packed with captivating characters and fast-paced action. The plot chronicles the adventures of Max McGrath and his mother have just moved back to Copper Canyon, the town in which Max’s scientist father died in a mysterious accident shortly after Max was born. As Max adjusts to his new school, things get complicated when his body starts to generate strange energy flare-ups that he can’t control.
At first a confusing mix of inconvenient and exhilarating, this unpredictable power eventually grows too intense for Max to handle, causing him to distance himself from those around him including the girl he likes, Sofia. Eventually the energy pushes him to the verge of fatal combustion. In the nick of time, a techno-organic extraterrestrial named Steel, who has been secretly monitoring Max’s progress, saves him just before he loses consciousness. The two discover that when joined together they can control the energy and harness it into superhuman strength – and that when apart, neither can survive for long.
As these two unlikely friends learn to accept their connected fates, they begin to uncover secrets surrounding the death of Max’s father. As they dig deeper, they soon find themselves hunted by an unforeseen enemy bent on capturing Max and Steel for a sinister agenda of destruction. Uncertain who to trust, they will have to work together to find the truth, and fight the mysterious forces threatening our world.
The new trailer is full of action-packed scenes and some stunning visuals, but has too much time passed? Considering the hype for the Max Steel film seems to have all but completely died down over the past couple of years, Mattel may have a difficult time garnering any interest in the property's live-action debut on the big screen. It won't help that Max Steel is now poised to up against much more buzzed-about movies like Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and A Monster Calls at the box office, either.
Max Steel is currently set to open in U.S. theaters on October 21st, 2016.
Source: Open Road Films [via Zero Media]
Tags: max steel
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Here are 18 examples of Hollywood rebooting popular superhero characters, whether or not they actually got it right the second time around.
Spider-Man 3 has many flaws, but cramming Venom into a movie that had no room to do him justice is pretty high up on the list. There was never any way for Sam Raimi to juggle Sandman, New Goblin and Venom and focus enough attention on Peter Parker's own time wearing the corruptive symbiote costume. The fact that Topher Grace had neither the bulk nor the intimidation factor to bring Eddie Brock to life certainly didn't help.
We were hopeful that Venom would fare better in his first solo movie, especially considering the attention is all on him this time. Sadly, our Venom review criticizes the movie for being "a muddled hodgepodge that isn’t sure whether it wants to be comedic or take its troubled antihero way too seriously." Among the many sins committed this time around is Sony's insistence on launching a Venom franchise with little or no involvement from Spider-Man. Maybe the third time will be the
Deadpool is a unique case in that he's the only superhero character who was redeemed without switching actors. Even in 2009, no one was arguing that Ryan Reynolds wasn't perfect for the part of this wisecracking assassin. The problem is that the climax of X-Men Origins: Wolverine completely botched the setup of the opening act. Wade Wilson resurfaced as a mute super-soldier with a hodgepodge of stolen mutant abilities and swords sticking out of his arms. Basically, nothing that makes the character memorable or distinctive survived that transformation.
Fortunately, Reynolds was given a second chance to do right by the Merc With a Mouth in 2016's Deadpool. And this time, he had a real costume and a comic book-faithful script to work with. And in true Deadpool fashion, this revamped Wade Wilson has never missed an opportunity to poke fun at his far inferior predecessor.
While easily one of the more popular Batman villains to come along in the last several decades, Bane hasn't always fared that well in his various multimedia adventures. His live-action debut in 1997's Batman and Robin was particularly abysmal. Rather than enjoy top billing, Bane was reduced to glorified henchman status, grunting and flexing as he wrestled the Dark Knight while serving Poison Ivy.
It took the magic combination of Christopher Nolan and Tom Hardy to fix what Batman and Robin broke. 2012's The Dark Knight Rises gave us Bane as he should be portrayed - cold, calculating and relentless in his efforts to destroy Gotham City. Fans may have been somewhat divided on Hardy's vocal performance (the character did wear a gas mask for the entire film, after all), but that's a minor quibble considering how much worse things could have been.
Spawn is widely regarded as one of the worst comic book movies of the '90s. But considering how few of them were actually good in those days, that isn't saying much. The hope is that the upcoming reboot can actually do justice to this long-running horror/superhero series. Between the fact that it's being written and directed by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, produced by Blumhouse and stars superhero vets like Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner, there's little chance the reboot won't be an improvement on the original.
Juggernaut is one of many X-Men characters to make their big-screen debut in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Needless to say, he didn't leave a very strong impression, with the movie jettisoning the Cain Marko/Charles Xavier back-story from the comics and settling for a tough-talking, meme-spouting British guy in a rubber suit.
Leave it to Deadpool 2 of all movies to improve upon that weak formula. Juggernaut was quietly rebooted for the movie, brought to life this time through a combination of CG wizardry and Ryan Reynolds' voice. This revamped Juggernaut still lacked the depth of the comic book version, but at least he packed a much bigger visual punch than his predecessor.
Captain America was among the first Marvel heroes to make his way to the big screen. Suffice it to say, the 1990 movie wound up being so bad that it never even got a theatrical release in the US. Among the film's many crimes, Matt Salinger neither looked the part of Cap nor channeled his heroic bravery.
Fortunately, Cap was given another shot in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Casting this key character proved an especially lengthy process for Marvel, but Chris Evans quickly won over audiences with his extremely likable take on an old favorite.
Red Skull also badly needed an overhaul after appearing in the 1990 Captain America movie (most of which featured him as a wizened old man without his trademark mask). Captain America: The First Avenger re-imagined Red Skull as a villain powerful enough and twisted enough to oppose Chris Evans' Cap. And while the character abruptly vanished from the MCU spotlight for many years, he made a belated but welcome return in Avengers: Infinity War (though original actor Hugo Weaving was replaced by Ross Marquand).
Mystique has been a mainstay of the X-Men movies from the very beginning. She was played in the original trilogy by Rebecca Romijn, where she was treated mostly as Magneto's deadly, rarely clothed second-in-command. That approach worked well enough for those films, but many fans cried out or a deeper take on the character.
That finally came thanks to 2011's X-Men: First Class, which partly rebooted the series and saw Jennifer Lawrence take over the role. First Class invented an entirely new back-story for the character, revealing her to be Charles Xavier's adopted sister. While a strange departure from the comics, the Xavier/Magneto/Mystique dynamic has wound up being one of the driving forces of the rebooted X-Men line.
Catwoman fared pretty well in her early live-action appearances on the 1966 Batman TV series and 1992's Batman Returns, which makes it all the more puzzling how WB got it so wrong in 2004's Catwoman. Halle Berry's heroine shared almost nothing in common with the source material beyond her codename.
Fortunately, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises mostly put Catwoman back on track. Anne Hathaway took over the role, playing Selina Kyle as an expert thief desperate to leave her troubled past behind. While some fans took issue with the way her story ended in that film, for the most part Hathaway's Catwoman was a total improvement over her predecessor.
You'd think a Punisher movie wouldn't be the hardest thing for Hollywood to get right, but you'd be wrong. Frank Castle first made the trip to the big-screen in 1989, where Dolph Lundgren played a version of the character so divorced from the source material he didn't even wear his trademark skull T-shirt. 2004's Punisher was a definite step in the right direction (thanks in large part to star Thomas Jane), though its lousy villain and PG-13 approach still limited its appeal.
To date, Ray Stevenson's Frank Castle (as seen in 2008's Punisher: War Zone) is still the best of the bunch, though even there fans disagree over whether the film is good or just "so bad it's good." For now, it's Jon Bernthal's small-screen Punisher (as seen in Netflix shows like Marvel's Daredevil and Marvel's Punisher) that sets the standard for this gun-toting vigilante.
Gwen Stacy may be one of the greatest loves of Peter Parker's life, but the original Spider-Man trilogy treated her as a mere afterthought. Gwen had a brief, forgettable role in 2007's Spider-Man 3 (played by Bryce Dallas Howard), where she was depicted as Peter's lab partner and fleeting love interest.
But while the rebooted Amazing Spider-Man series turned out to be a major downgrade in most respects, it did at least give fans a much better and more faithful take on Gwen (now played by Emma Stone). The Peter/Gwen romance is easily the high point of those two films. It remains to be seen how or even if she'll be rebooted for the MCU.
Despite being one of the most iconic Batman villains ever, Two-Face was a late-comer to the live-action arena. He was finally brought to life by Tommy Lee Jones in 1995's Batman Forever, in a performance many (Jones included) dismissed as being too campy and comical for such a tragic, ruthless villain.
Two-Face fared much better the second time around in 2008's The Dark Knight. Aaron Eckhart took over the role there, with the film focusing more on Harvey Dent's fall from grace than his brief, violent career as Two-Face. Short of Heath Ledger's Joker, Two-Face may well be the most compelling villain in the Dark Knight trilogy.
Colossus first appeared in the X-men movies in 2003's X2, played by Daniel Cudmore. But while Cudmore went on to reprise the role several times, his Colossus was never treated as much more than super-strong fodder for action scenes. There's no indication that any of his back-story or even his status as a Russian immigrant made the jump from page to screen.
Once again, it fell on the Deadpool franchise to revive an ailing character. 2016's Deadpool and its sequel re-imagined Colossus as a much more comic-accurate hero, complete with Russian accent, friendly, naive charm and massive muscles. While fans never get to see Colossus in his non-armored form in these movies (with the character being handled entirely through motion-capture), Deadpool's Colossus is a definite step up.
Caliban is hardly the most iconic mutant character to appear in the X-Men movies, but 2016's X-Men Apocalypse and 2017's Logan delivered two wildly different interpretations of the same character. In the former, Tómas Lemarquis played the character as a sinister black market dealer, one who was more plot catalyst than fully realized character. In the latter, Stephen Merchant played a much different version of Caliban who proved far more integral to the story. Not only were his mutant-tracking abilities and albinism key plot points, this Caliban was portrayed as a far more sympathetic and tragic figure.
The Superman movies got Lois lane right the first time around, with Margot Kidder coming to define the plucky journalist almost as much as Christopher Reeve defined the Man of Steel. Sadly, 2006's Superman Returns could recapture that same magic. Kate Bosworth took over the role, neither channeling Kidder's performance nor doing a convincing job of playing an older, more world-weary version of Lois.
2013's Man of Steel and its follow-ups have done somewhat better by the character. Amy Adams managed to craft her own take on the character, with the DCEU largely foregoing the secret identity games and allowing Lois and Clark to quickly forge a relationship. As with many DCEU characters, it's the writing, not the acting, that limits Lois' appeal on-screen.
Burt Ward basically set the gold standard when it comes to playing Robin as the chipper, valiant sidekick to Batman. More recent Batman movies haven't attempted to replicate that formula, instead re-imagining Dick Grayson as an older and more tortured vigilante. First 1995's Batman Forever cast Chris O'Donnell as the Boy Wonder. Between the awkward rubber suit and the fact that O'Donnell was clearly much too old to be adopted by any local billionaires, this version of Robin didn't really play.
More recent Batman movies have mostly shied away from any direct adaptations of Robin. The closest we've come in recent years is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. An extremely loose adaptation of Robin, Blake made the transition from rookie detective to superhero-in-training over the course of the film. The only direct nod this character makes to the Dick Grayson of the comics is the fact that his birth name is revealed to be Robin.
2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine introduced a very loose adaptation of X-Men villain-turned-ally Emma Frost (played by Tahyna Tozzi), though she only retained the "Emma" name and the power of diamond skin. Emma was completely rebooted for 2011's X-Men: First Class, where the role shifted to January Jones instead. This Emma proved far more faithful to the comics in terms of look, powers and motivations. Unfortunately, like so many characters introduced in that film, she was quietly written out of the picture before her story could grow in the sequels.
There's been a marked shift in how Commissioner Gordon is portrayed in DC's Batman comics over the years. Gordon has become an increasingly active participant in Batman's war on crime, to the point where he even briefly took over the Batman mantle in 2015. That evolution was slow to work its way into DC's movies, with Neil Hamilton (1966's Batman: The Movie) and Pat Hingle (1989's Batman and its sequels) both playing Gordon as a passive, ineffectual character.
It wasn't until Gary Oldman took over the role in 2005's Batman Begins that fans finally got to see Gordon the crusading cop - the man who almost single-handedly held Gotham together in the years before Batman arrived on the scene. We were hoping for a similarly proactive take on Gordon when J.K. Simmons was cast in 2017's Justice League. Sadly, the prospect of Simmons reprising that role in a future Batman movie is looking dimmer all the time.
The Cinematic Revival of Venom, Bane, Deadpool and Other Superhero Characters
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July 31, 2014 August 12, 2014 | rozihath
Well, what a week it’s been. About a month ago, when I was looking at the schedule of events at the Comics Art Festival in Kendal later this year, I discovered they were running a competition alongside Titan Comics for a 4-6 page comic with the theme of Lost in Space. Now, the deadline was yesterday and 4-weeks-ago-me thought the challenge to write the script and draw, colour and letter the comic in a month would be a marvellous idea! And, well, I finished it on time so clearly 4-weeks-ago-me had faith in current-me, though it was definitely a challenge and a half.
This is the first time I’ve properly written a script for a comic and I felt immensly out of my comfort zone. I made a story for a children’s picture book at University last year, but I didn’t really need to think about the scripting as much as it was a simple story for a very young audience. In terms of writing, we all know I like the go on, and on, and on in my blog, so what’s the difference? I tell you what, I have a new found respect for those who write and draw their own work successfully. Personally, as someone who likes pretty pictures, it was tricky to have to concentrate on words as well as images. But, it’s what I eventually want to do, so all the practise I can get will be beneficial in the future. My difficulty initially was that 6 pages is such a small amount. My section in HOAX: Psychosis Blues was 6 pages, and it took me 6 months, and I didn’t even have to write anything! For a a visual narrative of this length, I knew that unless I drew everything at a tiny size my comic wasn’t going to tell much of a story. With this in mind, and after much confusion, I researched previous short stories in graphic-form and found that more often than not they were a snippet from a story; A brief look into someone elses life, no backstory, no explanations. The story had to be PG-rated, so I decided to utilise this to make a comic that hopefully both kids and adults could enjoy, and after much deliberation I came up with the mutant platybunny idea and started sketching away. The days when I love my chosen path are the days I get to look at cute bunnies on the internet and draw them. Best. Job. Ever. Without any more delay, I present.. Lost and Found! Below is a couple of the pages, and the link to the PDF:
Link to the PDF comic, woo! Read it all here!
I’m not entirely sure if I’m content with the outcome. In the end I had to rush, but that was always going to be the case unfortunately as I came across the competition so late. Anywho, it’s complete and submitted, I doubt it’s a winning entry but it was a pretty good challenge! Plus, now I know how to work for the next competition to make sure I utilise my time in the best possible way. I mainly just want to make people smile with this one, and I hope I’ve been successful. For now that’s all folks! I have the next project to look forward to, and I’ll be back with another update next week. Over and out! x
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William Kempe was one of the most beloved clowns in the Elizabethan theatre. Records tell us that Kempe was an actor with Leicester’s Men on a tour of the Netherlands and Denmark in 1585-86. By 1593 Kempe was a member of Strange’s Men, and theatre-goers and fellow actors were beginning to recognize his comedic talent.
Thomas Nashe declared Kempe the successor to the great Elizabethan performer, Richard Tarlton. Kempe joined the Chamberlain’s Men in 1594 and acted in many of Shakespeare’s plays. He was the original portrayer of Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Peter in Romeo and Juliet, and possibly Falstaff. He also likely played Lancelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice and Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However it appears that Kempe suddenly left the Chamberlain’s Men in 1599. The reason for his departure is not documented, although many believe that he was asked to leave due to his chronic improvising, and that Shakespeare made reference to this in Hamlet:
And let those that play
your clowns speak no more than is
set down for them;
for there be of them that will themselves laugh, to
set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh
too. (3.2.40-5)
Once Kempe left the troupe Shakespeare’s comic characters changed dramatically, indicating that earlier parts were written to fit Kempe’s unique style. Examining Shakespeare’s changes provides us with even more information about Kempe’s stage presence. “He was a big man who specialized in Plebian clowns who spoke in earthly language…Kempe’s characters have a tendency to confuse and mispronounce their words, and contemporary references to his dancing and ability to “make a scurvy face” suggest a physical brand of humour.” (Boyce 335)
Now finished with Shakespeare’s troupe and looking for another way to entertain the people of London, Kempe planned a wild publicity stunt. In 1600 he danced a morris dance from London to Norwich, almost 100 miles north. He wrote his own account of the event called Kempe’s Nine Days Wonder, and the picture above is from the cover of the original copy. Kempe returned to acting in 1601 when he left England to tour Europe. When he arrived home in 1602 he joined Worcester’s Men, but he disappears from the records shortly after. Some scholars conclude that he died from the 1603 plague in London – the year of one of the largest outbreaks of the disease during Shakespeare’s life.
Adams, J.C. The Globe Playhouse: Its Design and Equipment. Barnes and Noble: New York, 1964.
Bentley, Gerald Eades. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. Yale University Press: New Haven, 1968.
Berry, Herbert, ed. The First Public Playhouse. Queen’s University Press: Montreal, 1979.
Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. Facts on File: New York, 1990.
Rutter, Carol Chillington. Documents of the Rose Playhouse. Manchester University Press: Manchester, 1984.
Smith, G. C. Moore, Litt.D., ed. The Life of Henry V. Blackie & Son Limited: London, 1937.
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#044: Do-It-Yourself Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Jesse interviews Nathan Whitmore, creator of the open-source project OpenBrainStim, an affordable alternative to commercial transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) devices. Nathan tells us how the project got started, how the “DIY-tCDS” community has grown, and how you can experiment from the comfort of your own home.
Key Terms Mentioned
OpenBrainStim
This Week in Neuroscience: Could Liquid Hard Drive Implants Upgrade Our Brains?
The International 10-20 System
tDCS Subreddit
Foc.us
TCT Stimulator
The Brain Stimulator
Smart Drug Smarts’ Suggestion Box
Jesse: This is actually our second episode related to transcranial direct current stimulation, but for people who didn't make it for the first episode could you kind of give us an overview of the technology? As in, what tDCS is in a nutshell.
Nathan: So tDCS is just a very fancy term for running a very small amount of electricity through your head. And why people do this strange thing is that, when you do this you send a little bit of that electricity through the brain and that can actually alter the behavior of nerve cells. Depending on whether you're sending a positive or negative current, you can make those cells more or less likely to fire. And it turns out that how likely nerve cells are to fire are to do with a whole bunch of things people who're interested in cognitive enhancement might care about. So for instance, by doing this you can improve your working memory, your short-term memory of yourself. Concentrate more, treat depression. It is actually a very flexible thing. You can do a lot of different things with this very simple technology.
Jesse: So there's these sponges that go in different places on the scalp, that have some sort of liquid on them to make them conductive.
Nathan: Yeah.
Jesse: Is there like sort of a head map of where you're putting different sponges to get these different effects?
Nathan: So what people use to position the sponges and make sure that they're positioning them in the right position is something called the 10-20 system. Where you actually either put on a headset that's calibrated to have attachment points at the right spot on your head or you measure a certain percentage of the distance from your nose to the back of your head and between your ears. And that gives you a coordinate system. So when you see a study that says - "We put an electrode at F3 and it improved cognition" - anyone can then find F3 on themselves and put an electrode there.
Jesse: Very interesting. It reminds me of almost the weird phrenology experiments from like the 1920's and 30's. The idea that different bumps on people's head can have effects on their personality.
Nathan: In a way it's very similar to that because oftentimes the reason that we say to put the electrodes on a particular spot is because we have data from MRI's and such. That spot lights up when you're doing a task. And you say okay maybe we want to improve your performance on that task, so let's see what happens if we make that spot light up more efficiently. So in a way you're looking at this anatomical thing and you're saying, "No, you're trying to tie it to cognitive performance." It works a bit better than the phrenology, I think.
Jesse: What sort of divergence is there between one person's brain and the next, as far as where some of these points might be?
Nathan: That's actually a really interesting question in the context of this thing; because it turns out that one of the biggest differences in that is whether you're left or right-handed. If you're left-handed you will have a lot of things that are normally on the left side of your brain, for right-handed people; if you're left-handed there's a chance that those will be on the right side of your brain or they'll be kind of mixed between the two hemispheres. This is not like the anatomy, this is like the functions that the different parts do. And this is actually why if you're in a brain study; lots of them just exclude left-handed people entirely. That's actually a concern for left-handed people who're doing tDCS because if you're left-handed we really don't know very well how your brain is organized.
Jesse: Wow! That seems like a major oversight at this point. There's a lot of lefties out there.
Nathan: It's kind of how neuroscience works, is that first we want to kind of figure out how the brain of a prototypical human works and then deal with all the messy human diversity. There's good sides and bad sides to that approach, I think. But that is how it is.
Jesse: Thank you for the explanation. So tell us about OpenBrain Stim and when you opened the doors on that and sort of the goals of that project.
Nathan: Okay. I started working on that project several years ago and it came after I had this unsuccessful attempt at building this other kind of brain stimulator which now seems to be complete pseudoscience, which was why it didn't work.
Jesse: *Laughs*
Nathan: I read one of the very early articles about how people had been using this thing called tDCS to improve maths performance. And I'm not actually that great at math. So I thought, "Oh that looks kind of interesting" and I looked at it and thought, "Whoa actually this is really simple. I could build one." So I built a very simple brain stimulator which was also very scary and dangerous as it turns out. I tried it out and I got interested in it. I started looking around to find out what people were doing and I saw that people were building these kind of simple stimulators and there were also these commercial stimulators. So I was wondering could you make something that someone could build, that would also have the features of one of those commercial stimulators. That was where I kind of got the idea for OpenStim; to take these DIY stimulators to the next level.
Jesse: So, that was a couple of years ago now and you've built a small online community around that?
Nathan: The community kind of happened on it's own. When I first started doing it there were maybe a couple of dozen people on the internet who were doing similar things and now that's grown to several thousands. It's pretty crazy.
Jesse: That's awesome!
Nathan: What was interesting was actually like when I first released the OpenBrain Stim, no one was all that excited about it. And it was really this year I think with a lot of the publication and popular media excitement about tDCS which is when it really started taking off.
Jesse: You recommend running any sort of tDCS system from your laptop while not plugged into the wall. Can you go into the details of some of the safety considerations?
Nathan: So the main reason why you don't want to run plugged into the wall is that there's a low but entirely unavoidable possibility that there would be some sort of power surge. And if your laptop is plugged into the wall, that surge could theoretically climb up through your laptop's cord and through the cord that's connecting the stimulator to you and into your brain. And at that point lots of bad things could happen. As long as you're not connected to that kind of main power source, your laptop battery is actually very safe or you can load a program directly on to the board's memory and then just run it off a regular 9 volt battery.
Jesse: How many amps are we talking about here, that are actually passing into the head?
Nathan: So OpenStim usually reaches it maximum depending on how much resistance your skull and skin has. The maximum will be about 2.5 milliAmps. So to put that in perspective that's about a tenth of the power that it takes to light up a single LED. And I mean that's I think where some of the confusion here comes from about the safety of tDCS - is that people think of it as a form of something like electroshock therapy, which actually uses an amount of current that is hundred times of what is used in tDCS.
Jesse: Right, it's not exactly like putting a lightening rod on your forehead.
Nathan: Exactly.
Jesse: So what are some of these subjective benefits that you've received personally from tDCS?
Nathan: The coolest one that I like to talk about is - I was trying to do a protocol that is supposed to improve your working memory by making your prefrontal cortex more active. And unfortunately when I was trying to do this I had the polarity reversed, so I was actually making my prefrontal cortex less active. And before I knew this what I was doing was I was working on this programming problem, I had not been able to figure it out for like a week. I turned the stimulator on - it's actually shutting down my prefrontal cortex and then all of a sudden the computer feels like it's programming itself. And I kind of like fly through this problem, I get it, it's a close state essentially. So what i think is happening actually is that the prefrontal cortex is good at kind of helping you learn to do new things but if you have something that you're already good at doing it interferes. So if you can shut it down when you're doing something you already know how to do, that's already established, it let's the more efficient part of the brain take over. It's my hypothesis.
Jesse: What's the level of sort of community involvement at this point online - not necessarily with the building of the devices but with the comparisons of subjective effects of applying current to different areas on the scalp?
Nathan: I think that there's a lot of work that happens specially on our [subreddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/tDCS). It's hard to say how useful it is because it is usually like forum posts, people talking about their particular subjective experiences. One thing that I'd like to setup if I ever have time to or see someone else setup is actually a kind of a systematic way of tracking the effects that are associated with particular places where current is delivered. Because I think that is actually something that would really benefit the community.
Jesse: What are your goals for developing the online community over let's say the next year or two?
Nathan: I think that one of the most important things of this DIY tDCS community and the community of people who are using commercial devices to do their own therapies and experiments on themselves - is defining some sort of standard for safety of devices in use. Because what we're having right now is just an explosion of available devices and it's very difficult to compare the devices figure out how safe they actually are. So one thing that I think really should happen, needs to happen and will eventually happen is crowd-sourcing a set of standards that you can apply safety standards and efficacy standards, that you can apply to any device. And you can then say to everyone that this device is pretty unsafe because it doesn't meet these parts. I think that is going to be the incredibly important in terms of the ability of people to trust tDCS devices and also not to get hurt while using them.
Jesse: How many retail devices are available out there? I know there's the one - Focus - that's the only one that I've heard about. But are there many others?
Nathan: There are three or four devices right now that are definitely marketed to the users of tDCS. There's the Focus, there's the Transcranial Technology's Stimulator; there's one that's just called The Brain Stimulator. Those are the main ones. The other thing that people use is the device called The Iontophoresis Machine which delivers current in the same way as a tDCS device does but it wasn't built for that, it was built for delivering medication to parts of skin, but it works. So people use that too.
Jesse: How long is a tDCS session normally?
Nathan: So in research you can do anything. Typically you'll see like 5 to 20 minutes. For people who're doing it to themselves as a DIY thing to improve performance attempts to skew towards the upper end of that. So maybe like 20 to 35 minutes, I think would be the typical range. The idea is that the longer you do the tDCS on yourself for, the longer the effect lasts after you turn the stimulator off.
Jesse: And what is sort of the timeline to drop back to the baseline levels of potentiation within the brain?
Nathan: So that's actually a really interesting question because the question is how do you measure that. And it turns out that we can only directly measure the excitability, which is how likely neurons are to fire. We can even almost directly measure that in couple of parts of the brain - like the parts that controls motor activity. So when you do that what you typically see is that you have most of the benefits or most of the effects of tDCS is gone within about 2 hours after the stimulator is turned off. But on the other hand you have trials now where they're using it to treat depression. And what you'll have is that people will go in and they will get tDCS for 20 minutes every 2 days or so and then over a long period of time their depression symptoms improve. So what that suggests to me is that maybe in other parts of the brain that effect can last much longer or maybe there are effects that are not what you're measuring just with that simple test. For example changes in gene expression, changes in myelination of neurons that occur over a longer timescale.
Jesse: Has there been any instances where somebody has hurt themselves using tDCS?
Nathan: Kind of. The worst thing that seems to have happened with the current generation of tDCS devices is that you can get burns on your skin. And that usually happens if you're using electrodes that are too small. So for example the Focus has very very small electrodes that go on your forehead, so when they started marketing it we started seeing a whole bunch of reports of burns from it. And that's because you're forcing current through a small area. But the damage from that seems to be confined to the skin. There is no evidence that it actually hurts the brain. There was some concern a while ago that if you send current through your brain stem you could actually interfere with neural systems that generate breathing. There was a single case reported in like the 70's that showed that but people tried to replicate it and they couldn't. So generally in terms of your brain this is actually thought to be very safe.
Jesse: So if somebody hasn't really been involved, hasn't really known anything about tDCS prior to hearing this interview and they hear this and they get all excited - what's the best place for them to start?
Nathan: Okay so I mentioned the tDCS [subreddit](http://www.reddit.com/r/tdcs) a while ago and that's this website that has a lot of people discussing tDCS. But we also have a wiki site that has a list of frequently asked questions and like things that people getting started will want to know. You want to know about safety and kind of what devices actually seem to work well. So I would really advice them to check that out and if they have questions to actually post on their too. Because there's a lot of people who are very experienced and who would be much more happier to help you out than have you fry your brain doing something wrong.
Introduction to Nathan Whitmore and OpenBrainStim
Software/hardware experimentation and “Back to the Future”
How does transcranial direct current stimulation work?
Electrode positioning: The international 10–20 system
The difference between right and left-handed brains
The origin of OpenBrainStim
Safety considerations and the maximum electricity used
Hypothesis on prefrontal cortex stimulation: improving working memory versus interference with existing skills
The tDCS community and goals for the future
Commercial retail tDCS devices and iontophoresis machines used as alternitives
Session lengths and associated effects
How safe is tDCS?
Attention readers: we're now doing episode transcripts!
Ruthless Listener-Retention Gimmick: Our brand-new Suggestion Box
#175: Sleep, Light, and Your Brain
#138: How Reliable is fMRI Data?
Pingback: Do-It-Yourself Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation – Smart Drug Smarts | DIY tDCS
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1-801-810-5506 support@voifone.com
The Voifone SMS Team are the same people that bring you the entire Ranking Trainer suite of services, which is owned by Voifone Carrier, LLC, an International wholeslae VoIP telecommunications provider.
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Mr. Gaustad is the creator of the the Voifone Carrier system, and serves as the CEO and a Director for Voifone Carrier, Inc. and GlobalTmail USA, Inc. (the founding company). Mr. Gaustad also served as Systems Analyst for ComTech Marketing, LLC (the original owner of the trade name GlobalTmail™ in the mid-2000’s when software development began) and has been instrumental in conceptualizing and developing our services in collaboration with Jeff Wilson, the CTO and others. Mr. Gaustad, an entrepreneur, founded a number of companies including 2 commercial finance firms, one MLM company and two distributorships of commercial grade long-life light bulbs, trash bags and other consumer products. These enterprises were started with little or no capital and grew into organizations grossing from $10 million to $30 million in annual sales. He has managed as many as 425 employees at one time with over 50,000 distributors in a single company. Mr. Gaustad has a strong background in direct marketing, automated IVR (Interactive Voice Response) computer systems, and Internet technology business solutions. He graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Utah State University in 1974, and has two adult children. Mr. Gaustad’s more than 40 years of entrepreneurial experience provide guidance and wisdom to guide which help the Company meet its objectives. For additional information on Mr. Gaustad, refer to his LinkedIn profile.
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Jeff Wilson
CIO & Director
Editorial Note: Jeff did not submit a photo so, since he’s an expert in ‘all-things-Microsoft’, here’s an image for him . Mr. Wilson created the original entire technical design for all services which were originally offered by GlobalTmail™, the underlying original owner of Voifone services. He was also instrumental in the technical design and initial programming of other services we have produced such as GroupCaller™ , Voice Broadcast systems, initial VoIP infrastructure and more. He personally did of the initial programming for our (former) services like Targeted Matching System, GroupCaller and 1 to 1 Matching service, none of which have survived the rigors of market testing. Nonetheless, these systems were vital to our analysis of what works and what doesn’t, and was directly responsible for the Company discovering two of its most successful services, Voifone and Voifone Carrier. In addition, he created the initial software that drove our entire MLM commission and bonus structure between 2007 and 2013. Jeff Wilson lives in Utah with his wife and two children, also serves full time developing innovative solutions for data migration and application integration for a telecom software firm based in New York. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Summa Cum Laude. Mr. Wilson has studied marketing and holds two Microsoft certifications MCSA and MCSE – Data Platform for building enterprise-scale data solutions both on-premises and in cloud environments. He has over 20 years’ experience working in telecom, local exchange carriers and systems integrations.
Charly Brizuela
Business Development Director, Philippines
Marylou Fry
Support Team Leader
Eric Gaustad
Mobile Telecom Consultant
Mr. Gaustad has a strong background in mobile telecommunications with an emphasis on Android OS. Eric is the son of the founder, Richard Gaustad, and has skills that compliment this company. He works primarily in a consulting capacity with respect to issues involving the Android operating system and development of services for that system. He was born in Arizona and moved to Utah at the age of 8 with his family. After graduating from high school with a 3.97 GPA, Eric was awarded two full-ride scholarships at, and attended both the University of Utah and Utah Valley University with an emphasis in biology and computer science. He has managed multiple cell phone stores for major carriers and has worked in the automobile sales industry as an Internet marketing specialist
Nestor Tolentino
Mr. Tolentino is our Creative Director/Web Wizard. He’s responsible for originally introducing Mr. Gaustad to WordPress years ago and collaborating with him on the design of the original Voifone website and others starting in 2011. His inspiration to teach the Company’s founder the benefits of switching from HTML to WordPress as a primary design tool has had a major impact on the professional image which promotes this Company. For that reason, we credit Nestor (“Thor”) with the professional imaging for our various services.
Mr. Tolentino is directly responsible for the design, SEO, SMM and other IT functions that continue to sustain and grow our systems. He has also designed our beautiful logos, a feat for which we are most appreciative.
Brett Myers
Training Director
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neo victoriana houses with names
Neo-Victoriana: Houses with Names
Shibden Hall exterior
As I was building the tower, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to call it. Naming it the “clocktower” was bland and indicated no character or creativity, so after a bit of reaserch, I found a small section in a reference book that has provided a bit of inspiration toward a name…
Many of the great English novels take place or develop in houses with grand-sounding names Thrushcross Grange, Thronfield Hall, Ullathorne Court, to name a few. In some cases, a residence even gave its name to a novel, notably Mansfield Park, Bleak House, and of course, Northanger Abbey and Wildfell Hall as well. Examinations suggest that some of the generic residence names reveal something about the nature of the dwelling, those that lived there, or both.
Thrushcross Grange exterior details
Court A residence constructed around some kind of courtyard. So, at any rate, Trollope tells us in his description in Barchester Towers of Ullathorne Court, which he says, “properly so called; for the house itself formed two sides of a quadrangle, which was completed on the other two sides by a wall about twenty feet high.” Originally, such buildings were constructed for defensive purposes, with windows facing inwards, so life within the dwelling could proceed in the courtyard even in the midst of an armed attack.
Grange A residence like Thrushcross Grange of the Lintons in Wuthering Heights or Mr. Brookes Tipton Grange in Middlemarch was so named because it was a grain storehouse or granary, sometimes attached to a large monastery. By the 1800s, the term designated isolated farmsteads, too, a description that would fit Thrushcross Grange and also Moor Home, the “sequestered home” of St. John Rivers terms “this crumbling grange,” where Jane Eyre stumbles upon her cousins.
Sudsbury Hall fronal view
Hall As in Mr. Rochesters Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre or Sir James Chetthams Freshitt Hall in Middlemarch. The word “hall” in the name of a dwelling meant that the house had centered on a great hall for entertainment, dining, and ceremonial living on a grand scale, as in feudal times. The term thus connoted both a certain grandeur (“a small, humble place,” a servant describes her cousins ancestral home to Jane Eyre, “naught to compare wi Mr. Olivers grand hall down i’ Morton Vale”) and the sort of ancient architecture likely to be associated with an old, august family. Vavasor Hall in Can You Forgive Her? belongs to “a family so old that no one knew which had first taken the ancient titular name of some old Saxon landowner the parish or the man.”
Bleak House and surrounding grounds
House There is, of course, Bleak House and Netherfield House, which Mr. Bingley rents at the outset of Pride and Prejudice and which occasions all the events that follow. The coming into use of the term “house” reflects a period when residential comfort was increasingly of concern and the period of naming things “castle”, “abbey”, or “manor” was long past. Moreover, it is interesting that neither Bingley nor Mr. Rochester are titled.
Manor The dwelling to which Mr. Rochester withdraws when Jane Eyre leaves him and Thornfield Hall burns is Ferndean Manor. The term “manor” implied a dwelling inhabited by a lord of the manor whose tenants lived on and worked the surrounding land. Obviously suggestive of a rather grand social status as well as a lineage dating back to Norman times, when the manorial system originated. In Tess, the country home of her ersatz dUrberville relatives “was not a manorial home in the ordinary sense, with field, and pastures, and a grumbling farmer, out of whom the owner had to squeeze an income for himself and his family by hook or by crook.” Thornfield Hall was in fact probably more of a manor than isolated Ferndean Manor; Jane Eyre describes it as a “gentlemans manor-house” at one point. Characteristically, a manor house was often the dominant architectural feature of the local village, which was evidently the case at Thornfield. “A little hamlet, whose roofs were blent with trees, straggled up the side of one of those little hills; the church of the district stood nearer Thornfield; its old tower-top looked over a knoll between the house and gates”.
Park As in Mansfield Park. Originally, a park was an area which the king permitted a large landowner to enclose for the sake of chasing down deer. Park came to mean a closed-in area, often landscaped with trees and lawn to present a pleasing and aesthetically appropriate picture. Both Mansfield Park and the park belonging to Sir Leicester Dedlock in Bleak House are the property of baronets, and having a park certainly connoted gentlemanly status; a lager one is attached to Thrushcross Grange. It advertised that you had both the means to withdraw otherwise productive land from cultivation for purely esthetic appreciation and the leisure time to enjoy it.
Inside Shibden Hall
One should not conclude that every park at one time had been the result of a special grant from the king or that each manor was the remnant of a feudal estate. Buying land and blending in with the landed gentry, after all, was the chief means of advancing into the upper echelons of English society in the 1800s. There were no doubt innumerable parks, halls, and manors whose existence dated from no earlier than the contractors men had first begun laying the foundations for some new magnates country estate.
Also, as the case of Thornsfield Hall suggests, one dwelling could combine the features of several different types of residence. Mr. Bingleys residence in Pride and Prejudice, for example, is referred to as different times as Netherfield House and Netherfield Park. Partly this was an estate or house might have multiple architectural and social features, and it was also because, depending on ones point of view, the same dwelling was notable either for its social-political function i.e., a manor house that embodied social and political dominion, or for an archtictural characteristic, such as a large hall or a big, central court.
Ref: Pool, D., (1993). What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, pp.194-196. Simon & Shuster, Inc., New York: New York.
The English influence on Steampunk cannot be understated – though there are are plenty of other avenues for the genre (e.g. the American West), the tradtional source has been the Victorian era. That being said, a creative name to a building would add color to any avatar’s background (I feel). Hopefully, this piece might be a springboard of sorts away from the common titles for abodes.
Elfod Nemeth
An excellent article, it’s true an often overlooked feature of a grand building in SL is the name.
I feel however compelled to mention that the the caption for Bleak House should be “Bleak House and surrounding grounds”.
Dr. Rafael Fabre
Dear Mr. Nemeth,
I concur, so I shall make the adjustment.
v/r,
Dr. Fabre
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Presty the DJ for Feb. 24
The number one single today in 1973:
Today in 1976, the Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits” became the first platinum album, exceeding 1 million sales:
Today in 2000, Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for “Supernatural”:
The number one British album today in 2002 was “The Very Best of Sting and the Police”:
Today in 2005, Edwyn Collins, known as a solo artist here but as a member of a band called Orange Juice in Britain, was rushed to a hospital after a brain hemorrhage.
Birthdays begin with Paul Jones of Manfred Mann:
Lonnie Turner played bass for the Steve Miller Band:
Dennis Waterman played Sgt. Carter in “The Sweeney” …
… but also sung the theme from another British TV series, “Minder” …
… and the theme to another series he appeared in, “Old Tricks”:
Colin Farley played bass for Cutting Crew:
One death of note today in 2004: Estelle Axton, cocreator of Stax Records:
The Second Amendment civil war
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BC SPCA > News Stories > Living in fear: The violence link
Living in fear: The violence link
Anne Taylor recalls, as a child, the constant fear and anxiety of living in a household with a physically abusive father. She remembers trying desperately to shield their family pets – particularly, a beloved Labrador retriever – from his violence and threats. Often, the dog was trying to protect her, her siblings and her mother from her father’s abuse.
“You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors – abusers rarely look like the monsters they are,” says Taylor, executive director of Haven Society on Vancouver Island. “There’s a huge link between domestic violence and cruelty to animals. If you can be violent or aggressive with a human being, it’s not that big a leap to expect you might be the same towards animals.”
Research conducted across North America shows that there is a clear link between animal abuse and other forms of family violence, also known as the Violence Link: the connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence.
Inspired by her personal experience, Taylor started her career as a social worker before becoming executive director of Haven Society, an anti-violence organization based in Nanaimo that offers 24/7 shelter, counselling and a long list of services to women and children who are fleeing abusive relationships.
“My mother never did get out (of the abusive relationship),” Taylor says. “I think I knew, very early – at least, I believed, that there was a better way to live.”
Abusers will often use animals against the humans in their life, Taylor notes, something she experienced first-hand and that is backed up by research. A 2012 study commissioned by the Alberta SPCA shows that 59 per cent of women delayed leaving an abusive relationship out of concern for their pets or farm animals, and that more than a third of respondents cited their animals were subject to threats or actual harm by the abuser. Eighty-five per cent of abusers who threatened to harm animals carried out those threats, and of respondents who had animals who had actually been threatened or harmed, more than 74 per cent delayed leaving the relationship.
“I can remember, at times, actually trying to protect my dog, who was trying to protect us,” Taylor says. “It’s a huge intimidation factor, a manipulation tool – he might say something like, ‘I’ll give that dog something to be concerned about,’” Taylor says. “It wasn’t unusual for the dog to be kicked or locked in a room, especially when she’d try to jump in and get in the way if he was threatening my mom or us kids.”
Women, with or without children, face numerous emotional, financial and logistical barriers to safely leaving an abusive situation, Taylor says.
“A lot of times women don’t know or can’t find what services are out there – a huge factor is that there’s no place for pets in the places that offer the services they need,” she notes.
That’s why Haven Transition House in Nanaimo and the Nanaimo SPCA have a long-standing partnership that allows Haven Society clients to board their pets with the BC SPCA as they go through tough life transitions, such as leaving a violent, abusive relationship to start a brand-new life.
Leon Davis, manager of the Nanaimo BC SPCA Branch, says the compassionate boarding partnership is a natural one that also allows the women and children who are seeking help to come and visit their beloved animals during a stressful time.
“The statistics say that women tend to stay in abusive relationships seven times longer because they fear for their animals or have no place to go with their pets,” Davis says. “That’s seven times too long.”
The women aren’t charged for the compassionate boarding of their animals, and while the initial stay is usually two weeks, it will often stretch to a longer period of time. And that’s fine, Davis says.
“People in that position need to be able to feel safe, to focus on their recovery and their family’s health, and they can’t do that when they’re worried about their animal,” he says. “They need to know they’re not as alone as they feel, and that there is help and support and light at the end of the tunnel.”
Last year, Kim Sirett, a Vancouver Island resident who runs a dog hiking/adventure business, raised more than $3,000 for Haven Society by doing the near-impossible: She got 40 dogs to pose on a log, all at one time, for a photo, taken by photographer Shawnna Taylor.
Sirett wanted to support her local community, and knows it can be difficult for people to leave abusive situations, so she chose Haven transition House as the beneficiary of the fundraiser.
“Women need to know that there are options out there, so they don’t feel they have to stay in a dangerous place,” Sirett says. “I wanted to raise awareness about violence against women, but also, about the services that are available to them.”
In 2015, BC SPCA branches across the province offered compassionate boarding to 302 animals.
Ivanna Ferris, manager of the Chilliwack BC SPCA Branch, says offering compassionate board for the pets of people going through such a difficult time fills an obvious need.
“A lot of times, we hear that people have been living out of their cars or worse because there’s no pet-friendly place for them anywhere,” she says. “We just want people leaving a violent or dangerous situation to be able to focus on their safety and recovery, knowing their pets are being taken care of.”
Often, the BC SPCA’s cruelty investigation constables, always on the front lines of animal abuse, are the first to see the signs of the violence link.
BC SPCA Senior Animal Protection Officer Tina Heary recalls such a case: “When I attended, it was clear that the household was a volatile environment,” Heary says. “The woman had been assaulted by her live-in boyfriend… I will always remember the recent bite marks on her arms, as they actually showed teeth marks with the bruising.” She also remembers seeing startling signs of child neglect and abuse, and the RCMP and the Ministry of Children and Family Development were alerted, as they often are in such cases.
“Our team routinely works with other agencies as we cross-report to police, MCFD, fire departments, animal control, mental health and addiction workers, among others,” Heary says. “We also help arrange compassionate board for the pets of those in abusive situations, so they can flee without having to worry about leaving their pets with the person who is abusing them.”
The BC SPCA’s chief executive officer, Craig Daniell, experienced similar situations firsthand, when he was director of investigations for the Ontario SPCA from 1999-2002.
“One of the most profound statements I’d ever heard that stays with me to this day was a comment from a woman attempting to leave an abusive relationship,” Daniell says. “She said, ‘My husband threatened to chop my cat’s head off if I left, so there was no way could I leave.’”
Studies and research also show that access to pet-friendly services for people trying to leave abusive situations is either lacking or not well-known, and that shouldn’t be, Daniell says.
“The BC SPCA offers compassionate board wherever we can, if there’s space – we will support wherever, whenever we can,” he says. “It’s a service we should provide. If we don’t have the space, we will help as much as we’re able to ensure the animals are safe.”
He remembers experiencing three specific types of violence when conducting animal cruelty investigations: child abuse, elder abuse and domestic (spouse/partner) abuse.
“It’s pretty shocking how you see all three of these things when you’re investigating the potential abuse of animals,” he says. “I think what is most important is that the abuse is reported. Call the BC SPCA’s Call Centre (1-855-622-7722), or call 9-1-1 if you suspect abuse is happening at any level.”
For the marginalized and sometimes, ‘forgotten’ members of society, it can be even harder to leave an abusive situation and to get care for a beloved furry family member, says BC SPCA manager of animal welfare Kim Monteith, who dedicates much of her free time to helping low-income pet guardians of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.
Many of those who come to Charlie’s Food Bank, a once-a-week service for DTES pet guardians, tell Monteith their horror stories, but are often distrustful of any agencies or authority.
“Often, they’re battling demons like addiction or mental illness, and that can make it harder to get them access to the services they need,” she says.
One of the most important things Monteith and Daniell highlight is how critical it is for the woman, or the victim of any abusive relationship, to obtain proof of ownership of any pet, and keep it – or copies – with them.
“Sometimes, in these cases, the animal gets used as a pawn, or even a tool for an abuser to regain control,” Daniell notes. “It is extremely important to make sure you have information on the animals – if he’s licenced, get it done in your name. If there are vet records of vaccinations, spay/neuter surgery or other, get them done in your name.”
Anything that can help document proof of ownership can help ensure the animal won’t have to go back to an abusive environment, he says.
“Help is there,” he says to anyone considering leaving an abusive situation. “The more people are aware of the support that is available, hopefully, the more they’ll gain the courage to leave violent relationships.”
Check out the BC SPCA’s online resources on the Violence Link.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a not-for-profit organization reliant on public donations. Our mission is to protect and enhance the quality of life for domestic, farm and wild animals in B.C.
Generosity In Action
Pet care, behaviour, prevention and education
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New Spectrem Group Report Indicates Many Investors Find Robo-Advisors to Be Equal to or Superior to Human Advisors as Technology Based Financial Advisory Services Grow January 12, 2017
CHICAGO, January 12, 2017 – A new Spectrem Group study reveals that less than a decade after the first introduction of robo-advisors, certain investors now believe these technology-based advisory solutions may actually be better than human advisors at certain tasks.
The new report, Wealthy Investors and Their Perceptions of Robo-Advisors, reveals that nearly a third of investors believe robo-advisors do a better job than human advisors when picking stocks to meet risk tolerance (30 percent) and selecting investments for retirement plans (28 percent).
Financial providers and advisors should take note that first-time investors are more frequently employing robo-advisors rather than human advisors. At the same time, many advisors who work for firms with their own robo-services available are now suggesting that their clients consider moving some assets into automated programs to lower fees and ease the investment process.
Although younger investors are the group most likely to embrace the use of robo-advisors, the report reveals the average wealthy investor using robo-advisors is 48 years old, signaling that investors of all ages may be willing to utilize them if it meets their financial needs.
The report, which surveyed investors with a net worth greater than $100,000, compares investors who use robo-advisors with investors who do not use them, and paints a detailed picture of how both segments of investors perceive robo-advisors. Even among some non-users, robo-advisors are considered equal to humans in the performance of both basic and complex functions.
· More than half (56 percent) of investors who utilize a robo-advisor did not have an advisor prior to using the automated service. This includes 64 percent of those robo-users over the age of 61, signaling that older first-time advice seekers are turning to robo-advisors.
· Almost half (46 percent) of wealthy investors who use robo-advisors indicated that their traditional advisors had suggested the use of robo-advisors offered by their firm for a portion of their assets. This indicates that financial providers are accepting the appeal of robo-advisors to certain investors.
· Younger investors are not the only group of clients utilizing robo-advisors. Among those who use these services, 20 percent are over the age of 61, and for 16 percent of those older investors, their robo-advisor is their primary advisor.
· Among non-robo-users, 49 percent do not use a robo-advisor because they prefer the personal attention they feel they get from a human advisor.
“Our research consistently shows that robo-advisors are becoming increasingly accepted by wealthy investors,” said Spectrem President George H. Walper, Jr. “To remain competitive, traditional advisors should lead with their unique expertise in establishing a financial plan and emphasize their ability to evaluate and react to world events. By staying in close touch with the evolving needs of their clientele and adjusting investment strategies accordingly, advisors can play to their strengths, while also recommending technology-based platforms for certain tasks.”
Additional information on Wealthy Investors and Their Perception of Robo-Advisors and other Spectrem studies can be found at Spectrem.com. Spectrem will also conduct a free webinar on the use and perception of robo-advisors among wealthy investors on Wednesday, February 1.
About Spectrem Group: Spectrem Group (www.spectrem.com) strategically analyzes its ongoing primary research with investors to assist financial providers and advisors in understanding the Voice of the Investor.
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Emancipation of women
Quotes on women empowerment
Dowry system in India
Understanding leadership and feminist movement
Leadership, Working women
Locating the idea or concept of leadership in a narration on the feminist movement in India has been a challenge for many reasons.
One of the most notable, but not sufficiently recognised, aspects of feminist movement is the questioning spirit or the interrogating mode of understanding and explicating ideas, concepts and language.
The feminist philosopher, Helen Longino, frames this issue well, when she says:
The feminist agenda raises questions on what constitutes knowledge and how the disciplinary divisions are created. This questioning creates a ‘politics of disturbance’. It unsettles the given and starts to plough up inherited turfs without planting the same old seeds in the field.
(Sylvester, 1998)
In another place, at another time, I called it the nethi nethi syndrome, taking off from the Upanishads, defining by negation (Jam, 2005). Hence, the questioning and redefining of the idea or concept of leadership is crucial.
Most definitions, or explanations, of leadership do have a touch of what can be called ‘inclusiveness’. For example: ‘Leadership is the art of mobilising others to want to struggle for shared aspirations,’ according to J.M. Kouzes and B.Z. Posner (1995). This does resonate with feminist thought on leadership—whether one looks at the past or
the present, what seems to come through as leadership or expressions of leadership in the feminist movements, then and now, is providing voice and negotiating justice but, most of all, changing perceptions, ideas, methods … but always a collective effort.
However, a haunting question for feminists is: towards what is the leader, single or collective, leading?
During the heyday of the international feminist movement and world conferences (Jain, 2005), there was a demand for women to be included in councils of power and political forums to give space to women’s leadership. But we asked, ‘… do we want to sit at the table with generals?’ This was in the context of the fact that many nations had military governments. Do we want to eat part of the poisoned cake? was another, when it came to extremely unjust economic policies. ‘Let us set our own table …’, was the reply. Hence, the notion of leadership as a value needs interrogation and has to be underpinned by an ethical attribute towards justice, towards affirmation of human rights and towards freedom.
Leadership is also linked to power; feminist claims on the political arena are not just to share power, but to change the nature of power; not just to govern, but to change the nature of governance. Women have many ways of enhancing, transforming and expanding the notion of power and politics, and giving full meaning to the concept of representation and leadership.
Recalling the past experiences of leadership by the indian feminist movement.
There are so many versions, or characterisations, of the history, or histories, of the feminist movement in India. One of the standard ones is to divide the periods: move from reformist efforts to post-freedom ethos and then to the so-called new feminist movement, which, it is suggested, is more radical and which also came into being with the 1975 landmark—the first UN world conference on women. Here, Ritu Menon’s introduction to the volume of essays, Making a Difference: Memoirs from the Feminist Movement in India (2011), captures this narration with precision, as does another narrative by Samita Sen, Toward a Feminist Politics? The Indian Feminist Movement in Historical Perspective (2000).
Says Ritu Menon: ‘It is difficult now, in this new century, to recapture or imagine the enormous optimism of those early years of what is called the second wave of the feminist movement in India.’ Second, here, implies that the first wave was prior to this more radical phase.
For one, it is autonomous and, like the international feminist movement, it has no formal structures, no hierarchies, no ‘party line’, no high priestesses. For another, it is polyphonic; it speaks in many voices, using many tongues. It is often, but not always and not uniformly, feminist, and it may or may not be always uniformly secular. It is urban and rural, and though ‘political’ in the fundamental sense of the word it has not, so far, been part of party politics….
Samita Sen says:
The feminist movement in India took off in the 1920s, building on the 19th-century social reform feminist movement. The feminist movement progressed during the period of high nationalism and the freedom struggle, both of which shaped its contours….
The turning point came in the 1970s, when several events—some within and some outside India—gave a radical turn to the feminist movement…. In the 1970s, the New Feminist movement attempted to revive the Uniform Civil Code within the framework of gender politics. But women’s rights became articulated within a State-led reform agenda, re-inscribing the concerns of national integrity, modernity, and progress. (Sen: 2000)
Of particular importance to the feminist movement were agitations like the Shahada agitation and the subsequent formation of the Shramik Sangatana in the 1970s of the Bhil (tribal) landless labourers against exploitative landlords, which was triggered off by the rape of two Bhil women. Radha Kumar describes the militant role played by women in this agitation:
They led the demonstrations, invented and shouted militant slogans, sang revolutionary songs and mobilised the masses. They went from hut to hut to agitate the men and persuade them of the necessity to join the Shramik Sangatana. (Kumar, 1993)
Differences in assessment
This categorisation of time or space would, however, be challenged not only by historians but also by those who are not in national and international spaces of time and activities, but in an even earlier period of transformation; and, also, whether effectiveness should be seen in terms of what impact it has on women, or on other spaces, on ideas, on the general landscape of mind and body.
Romila Thapar, writing in the first edition of Indian Women, makes the point that participation of women in the Independence movement led to greater participation of women in the post-Independence era than their Western counterparts (Thapar, 1975). She says, ‘Participation in the politics of the national movement was an act of patriotism and political life became a respectable vocation for a woman.’
This is an important base as it helps to understand the role and contribution of several women leaders from the political firmament who made a difference to women’s lives in the 1950s and 1960s. While women who picketed shops, marched in processions, or went to jail or threw bombs, did not question male leadership or patriarchal values, it did generate in them a sense of self-confidence and a realisation of their own strength. Many returned to their homes, but others continued their activities in the public arena. An example is the story of Chameli Devi Jain, who left a traditional Jain home with nothing but a pair of sandals and the sari she wore to picket shops that were selling imported textiles, and was arrested and jailed in Lahore. On her return ‘… she resumed the role that she always played—as the centre of the family angan—she remained close to the extended kinship group and inculcated in one and all, the philosophy of simplicity and of wearing home spun’ (Jain, 2012).
However, these ‘political’ women did shake the ground under other women, especially in the areas of economic and social support. For example, a challenge to the characterisation of old as conservatives, and new (1970s) as radicals, came from a committee that was set up by the Congress Party in 1939 named ‘Woman’s Role in Planned Economy (WRPE)’, comprising women political leaders of those times, that gave a report that would match the informed recommendations in the current times. The Report covered seven areas: civic rights, economic rights, property rights, education, marriage, family and miscellaneous issues such as widowhood, caste, prostitution, etc.
Says Nirmala Banerjee:
The Report of the WRPE is worth our notice, if only because of its historical relevance: it shows that, even then, Indian women were by no means the icons awaiting male handouts, as has been visualised by many scholars. In the final report, they did demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues at stake and an ability to put them in the framework of contemporary national and international thinking. They could also set up a network of working groups in different parts of the country in order to get region-wise inputs.
The sub-committee insisted that the traditional vision of the man in front carving out new paths, and the woman trailing behind with the child in her arms, must be changed to ‘man and woman, comrades of the road, going forward together, the child joyously shared by both’.
Perhaps the most radical recommendation of the WRPE, looking back, concerned women’s unpaid labour, both in the family’s economic activities and in the household. About the former, the WRPE recommended that the economic value of the work must be recognised and, in lieu of payment, ‘she should have the right to claim all facilities given by the State to other workers (e.g., medical help, creches, training, etc.’ (p. 103).
The 1950-65 period had one more aspect which was enabling, which is missing in the current scenario—namely, women leaders with political clout, but who had an interest in women’s rights. The role of these persons and their organisations is often seen as less radical, and more heavyweight than the peasant and worker movements that were part of the New, as outlined by some of the records of the history of feminist movements.
However, they made significant and enduring changes to the political economy. Some of them led all-India women’s organisations, but many were individual political persona who, however, had a sense of identity with women’s concerns. Aruna Asaf Ali, an important freedom fighter as well as a voice of the Left, led the National Federation of Indian Women, an organisation that took up issues of women workers, amongst other things. Other significant women who were in Parliament or in the cabinet were Renuka Chakravarty and Lakshmi Menon, and each brought with her, agendas for women’s emancipation. Dr Phulrenu Guha, for example, who was the Chairperson of the Committee on the Status of Women, encouraged and put forward an outstanding report on this issue in 1975.
Another such powerful leader was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, who had emerged from the freedom struggle from the socialist wing of the Congress Party and was a prominent figure of the times (Chattopadhyay, 1983). Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was instrumental in setting up the All India Handicrafts Board and, as its first chairperson, championed the idea of the ‘use’ and relevance of craft as a means of livelihood as well as a consumer good, not only as an art object (Nanda, 2002). Another such initiative was the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB), which was set up in 1953 by Dr Durgabai Deshmukh. It undertook setting up socio-economic units, taking care of abandoned women, giving livelihood and educational options to those who are excluded from the mainstream, and continues to provide sustenance (Jain, 2011). Another known figure, Suchitra Kripalani, set up the Lok Kalyan Samiti in 1952 to extend a health cover to the deprived, with the objective of implementing welfare programmes for women and children through voluntary organisations.
There are some other breaking-out histories from sub-national spaces which, rooted in mythology, deal with empowerment of women. Akka Mahadevi, the famous mystic belonging to the Virashaiva Bhakti movement in 12th-century Karnataka, challenged a seminary to look at spirituality not as body defined, by presenting herself in the nude to the seminary. Awaiyar, saint-poetess of the Tamil country in the 13th century, created oral literacy as she was denied education, propagating the fragrance of Tamil literature, and also speaking about morality and spirituality. She acted as a messenger between warring Tamil kings and brought peace among them (Srinivasan, 2002). While these were of earlier centuries, they were radical initiatives and challenged the idea that ‘the new’ was born in the 1970s.
Hence, the argument on which phase was radical, and which conservative, needs to be seen within a broader historical frame as well as with a lens which also includes hard-core economic support.
A significant stream of the feminist movement – women’s studies
An actor in the feminist movement which played, and still plays, a leadership role is the Women’s Studies movement. Madhuribehn Shah, coming in as the Chairperson of the UGC, introduced the programme on Women’s Studies in the UGC in 1985: a unique, enabling and lasting contribution to the feminist movement. There are currently 67 Women’s Studies Centres (WSCs) established in various universities and colleges in the country. Establishing the women’s studies centres showed brave leadership, of charting new terrain (which was discredited as not really a ‘discipline’), and which also broke the dichotomy between the classroom and the feminist movement.
It is the typical offspring of a feminist movement for justice, recognition and emancipation from subordination. It embraces within itself, academia and action, theory and practice, voices and scripts. It has been a powerful tool for calling attention to the intellectual and ideational skills of women across the world, and to the importance of role distinction between men and women in society at large. This difference was uncovered by women’s studies at both material and intellectual planes.
Scholars in women’s studies challenge the philosophical underpinnings of human knowledge and critique-existing paradigms in all intellectual disciplines (Rajput and Jain, 2003).
With women’s studies being recognised as a politically significant activity in the quest for equality, some of the pioneers got together to organise the first National Conference on Women’s Studies in 1981 at SNDT University, Mumbai. This historic conference viewed women’s studies as a ‘critical perspective’ that needed to be integrated into all disciplines and recognised the need for universities to focus on the women’s question through research, teaching and engagement in activities. To further these aims, the conference resolved to set up the Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS), which was registered as a membership-based organisation in 1982. IAWS foregrounds the collective voice to central issues at its regular national conferences and in its publications.
Women’s studies domains created new knowledge-challenging theories as well as giving voice to women’s ideas and proposals in all domains—as well as drew attention to the value of women’s collective efforts at self-strength (Jain, 1980). But while these efforts led to the healing of some wounds and broadening of
the space of women’s collective efforts, no real change took place, or has taken place, in accommodating women as intellectual leaders, as people with game-changing powers or attributes (Jain, 2007).
Enter the internet and the new feminist movement.
Apart from the women’s studies centres serving as the powerhouse and catalysts of the ‘feminist consciousness’, what has emerged as a new force has been the World Wide Web, or the Internet. The Internet has enabled many networks—categorised according to age, topic of interest, etc. These groups galvanise opinions and offer collective voices on public issues. Social media has given a voice to those who were previously denied. The Internet and debates in specific have given individuals a chance to express their opinions, assert their intelligence, and potentially reach out to other feminists, even those who have yet to be identified as one. In other words, it has made ‘leadership’ more diffused. At the same time, the energy and visions generated by mass feminist movements have been gradually percolating to the society and polity outside the consumer world of the middle class.
It is relevant to recall here that the nature, form and content of the feminist movements that give expression to the discontent have also undergone radical change. They have been providing peoples’ suffering an expression of vibrant dissent and resistance, and mobilised a section of the media. There are civil-society network campaigns; legal and judicial activism; civil disobedience; non-party political processes; carnivals; humour, laughter and performance; demonstrations, etc., to harness the creativity of marginalised people and has brought them to the ‘front line’. Modes of questioning, protest and dissent have been changing to open up places and spaces for debates, discussions and political mobilisations. Most significant is that the intentions of the State, and its claim that it is an embodiment of popular aspirations, are being questioned.
Into this ocean of waves, or rising above them, appeared the response to the gang rape in a moving bus, of a 23-year-old student. In the dark night of the Delhi gang rape, the rising of the young has been an inspiration. Every corner of conventional power has been shaken into acknowledging this uprising. The majority of those who are engaged in it are the young, largely women students, and almost an equal number of young men. Many of us the so-called elders merged with them.
While this mobilisation is across the board, not bound by leaders or strategies or pre-determined demands, it is definitely a moment for negotiating the feminist agenda. There is recognition of the power of the challenge, as it has led every conventional power place to bend its head in order not to be brought down. This is an opportunity; it has given the spokespersons for women the biggest-ever presence in the overpowering system of governance from heads of political parties, including the prime minister, and other levels of political persona, through to the leaders of opinion across different domains. Across the board, they bent.
A space has opened up for negotiations by women in areas other than the law or reservation in politics. This space also offers an opportunity for feminist movements to grab or enter this ether with the other demands that people’s movements have been voicing: jungle, zameen, work—recognised and unrecognised—and other areas of protecting other forms of brutality that women, especially among the masses, are facing.
This lively sharing, not only of information but of ideas for action, the coming together across networks, locations and even political differences/platforms in response to the brutal rape of the young student in Delhi, reminds one of earlier times—the 1970s. In the 1970s, and even perhaps in the early 1980s, women’s organisations, apart from individual women leaders, came together in solidarity and hammered out a unified set of proposals and responses to acts of injustice. It covered, of course, not only rape and other acts of violence against women, but also examined economic injustices. While there was no Internet then, the advantage was that there were many all-India membership-based women’s organisations and, of course, there was the telephone.
Seven all-India women’s organisations, separated by political ideologies, mostly associates of principal political parties, came together and called themselves the Seven Sisters. These were the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW); All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA); All India Women’s Conference (AIWC); Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA); Mahila Dakshita Samiti (MDS); Joint Women’s Programme (TWP) and Centre for Women’s Development Studies (CWDS). Other centres, such as the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST), were in solidarity even though they did not have an all-India presence. Mobile Creches, an organisation which was working with children on construction sites, was one of the most brilliant, forward-looking organisations in Delhi at that time, touching the rest of the feminist movements, but looking also at economic injustice.
While these organisations were sometimes even at ‘war’ with each other due to their political ideologies, when there were issues such as the Mathura rape case, all of the Seven Sisters, along with women’s studies centres such as the ISST and others, took out processions with deep solidarity. It was not limited only to the Mathura rape case, but extended to issues such as the setting up of the National Commission on Women, and other policy structures and issues.
However, despite all these extraordinary initiatives and networking in the past, real negotiating of feminist understanding of justice, of human rights, of economic reasoning, had not lifted the blinds of the ‘other’ (Jain, 2013)—what is often derided as the male stream instead of main stream, until the shock of the 16 December 2012 event.
But the rising after 16 December has changed the terms of trade. This rising provides an important illustration of a feminist movement, which is spearheaded by women, but drawing together a wide range of categories of people towards what can be called one purpose or one voice. The gathering and protests were unique for their inclusion of diversity, for their persistence, width and impact on the public domain.
This collective voice drew attention to an issue that is not new, but one that had remained in cloistered spaces. This was the issue of the sanctity of women’s bodies. For the first time, the attention that was called to women’s bodies has not been trivialised or used in questionable terminology, but seen as a deep and undesirable scar on India’s body. It has roused the conscience of an assortment of India’s citizens, who are usually divided by caste, location, religion, class and age. The feminist movement, which can be called the Jantar Mantar movement of December 2012, superseded and overpowered this fracture.
It could be suggested that the feminist movement led, or has revealed how a movement can lead, a broad range of citizens across India to speak in one voice on violence against women, or what is now broadened as sexual violence.
Some explorations for the future.
There is a role for feminists to illuminate the special qualities and ethics of women, and to politicise the national and world wide feminist movements around it. There is also a role for development agencies and personnel to reorganise their understanding and there is also need to upturn economic reasoning to accommodate the urgency of women’s condition.
The issue of violence, especially against women; the issue of women’s rights as human rights, which are linked to the struggle against violence, and the political restructuring of a kind that also restructures the economy need to come onto the agendas of the various streams of the feminist movements … The time is now!
Rockets with fire in their tails?
Shalini’s Story about Dowry Harassment. Analyse
Dowry Death. Analyse of Jasmeet’s Story.
Dowry Death. Jasmeet and Tarampal—When inadequacy kills
Dowry Death – Gagan Story. Analyse.
Cortez on Dimensions of the Problem of Child Marriage in India
Sylvester on Dimensions of the Problem of Child Marriage in India
Tanya on Dowry Death. Analyse of Jasmeet’s Story.
Essie on Social Problems of Women Education in India
Abdul on Dowry Death. Analyse of Jasmeet’s Story.
Copyright © 2019 by Successful lady.
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The Tabb Family in the United States
Descendants of Humphrey Tabb
Person Page - 203
Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tabb
F, b. 3 January 1873, d. 24 April 1960
Father William P. Tabb b. 5 May 1853, d. 23 May 1931
Mother Martha Ann Houston b. 7 Aug 1843, d. 22 Sep 1922
Last Edited 5 Mar 2013
Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tabb married August H. Lueck. Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tabb was born on 3 January 1873 at Kentucky.1 She died on 24 April 1960 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, at age 87.1 She was buried after 24 April 1960 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
August H. Lueck b. 2 Aug 1867, d. 5 Jun 1959
[S1088] http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi
Alexander Tabb
M, b. 5 September 1878, d. 24 January 1954
Alexander Tabb was born on 5 September 1878 at Taylor County, Kentucky. He married Helen E. Lay on 17 June 1901 at Lafayette County, Missouri. Alexander Tabb died on 24 January 1954 at Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri, at age 75.1 He was buried after 24 January 1954 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
Helen E. Lay b. 1888, d. 22 Sep 1959
Infant Daughter Tabb b. Mar 1904, d. 3 Oct 1904
Helen E. Lay
F, b. 1888, d. 22 September 1959
Helen E. Lay was born in 1888. She married Alexander Tabb, son of William P. Tabb and Martha Ann Houston, on 17 June 1901 at Lafayette County, Missouri. Helen E. Lay died on 22 September 1959.
Alexander Tabb b. 5 Sep 1878, d. 24 Jan 1954
August H. Lueck
M, b. 2 August 1867, d. 5 June 1959
Last Edited 19 Feb 2012
August H. Lueck married Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tabb, daughter of William P. Tabb and Martha Ann Houston. August H. Lueck was born on 2 August 1867. He died on 5 June 1959 at age 91. He was buried after 5 June 1959 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tabb b. 3 Jan 1873, d. 24 Apr 1960
Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish
F, b. 22 March 1880, d. 21 September 1959
Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish was born on 22 March 1880 at Gilliam, Saline County, Missouri.1 She married William Jackson Tabb, son of William P. Tabb and Martha Ann Houston, in October 1897 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri. Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish died on 21 September 1959 at Levenworth, Kansas, at age 79.1 She was buried on 23 September 1959 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
William Jackson Tabb b. 27 Jun 1870, d. 22 Oct 1946
Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb+ b. 7 Aug 1898, d. 28 Jan 1961
Walter Ebert Tabb+ b. 27 Dec 1900, d. 22 Sep 1977
Lola Opal Tabb b. 20 Nov 1904, d. 3 Jun 1925
Stanford Dewey Tabb+ b. 5 Mar 1907, d. 12 May 1985
Kenneth Dempsey Tabb+ b. 24 Nov 1921, d. 30 Nov 1994
Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb1
F, b. 7 August 1898, d. 28 January 1961
Father William Jackson Tabb b. 27 Jun 1870, d. 22 Oct 1946
Mother Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish b. 22 Mar 1880, d. 21 Sep 1959
Last Edited 1 Jul 2018
Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb was born on 7 August 1898 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri. She married "June" A. Sandidge on 1 October 1916 at Higginsville, Missouri.1 Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb died on 28 January 1961 at age 62. She was buried after 28 January 1961 at St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri.
"June" A. Sandidge b. 11 Jun 1897, d. 14 Feb 1966
Lorene F. Sandidge+ b. 1917, d. 1985
Velma Lucille Sandidge b. 1919, d. 1981
Marjorie L. Sandidge b. 1921, d. 2000
Evelyn "Evie" Louise Sandidge b. 1923, d. 2010
[S1136] Source: Email message from Debbie Cubbedge (e-mail address) dated 09 November 04.
"June" A. Sandidge1
M, b. 11 June 1897, d. 14 February 1966
"June" A. Sandidge married Beatrice Rutherford.1 "June" A. Sandidge was born on 11 June 1897 at Marshall, Missouri.1 He married Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb, daughter of William Jackson Tabb and Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish, on 1 October 1916 at Higginsville, Missouri.1 "June" A. Sandidge died on 14 February 1966 at Gurdon, Arkansaw, at age 68.1
Beatrice Rutherford b. 1900, d. 1957
Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb b. 7 Aug 1898, d. 28 Jan 1961
Lorene F. Sandidge1
F, b. 1917, d. 1985
Father "June" A. Sandidge b. 11 Jun 1897, d. 14 Feb 1966
Mother Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb b. 7 Aug 1898, d. 28 Jan 1961
Last Edited 28 Jun 2018
Lorene F. Sandidge was born in 1917.1 She died in 1985.1
Velma Lucille Sandidge1
Velma Lucille Sandidge married L. B. Turner. Velma Lucille Sandidge was born in 1919.1 She died in 1981.
L. B. Turner d. 1981
Marjorie L. Sandidge1
Marjorie L. Sandidge was born in 1921.1 She died in 2000.1
Evelyn "Evie" Louise Sandidge1
Evelyn "Evie" Louise Sandidge was born in 1923.1 She died in 2010.1
Walter Ebert Tabb
M, b. 27 December 1900, d. 22 September 1977
Last Edited 16 Dec 2012
Walter Ebert Tabb married Mabel L. Barnes. Walter Ebert Tabb married Doris Bartlett. Walter Ebert Tabb was born on 27 December 1900 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri. He died on 22 September 1977 at age 76. He was buried after 22 September 1977 at Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta, Logan County, Illinois.1
Doris Bartlett b. 11 Feb 1911, d. 9 May 2008
Mabel L. Barnes b. 24 May 1904, d. 28 Jan 1963
William Henry Tabb+ b. 22 Feb 1923, d. 7 Oct 2006
Mabel L. Barnes
F, b. 24 May 1904, d. 28 January 1963
Mabel L. Barnes married Walter Ebert Tabb, son of William Jackson Tabb and Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish. Mabel L. Barnes was born on 24 May 1904. She died on 28 January 1963 at age 58. She was buried after 28 January 1963 at Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta, Logan County, Illinois.1
Walter Ebert Tabb b. 27 Dec 1900, d. 22 Sep 1977
Doris Bartlett
F, b. 11 February 1911, d. 9 May 2008
Last Edited 19 Jan 2014
Doris Bartlett married Walter Ebert Tabb, son of William Jackson Tabb and Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish. Doris Bartlett was born on 11 February 1911 at Navoo, Illinois.1 She died on 9 May 2008 at Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois, at age 97.1 She was buried on 13 May 2008 at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Macomb, McDonough County, Illinois.1
Lola Opal Tabb
F, b. 20 November 1904, d. 3 June 1925
Lola Opal Tabb was born on 20 November 1904 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri. She died on 3 June 1925 at age 20. She was buried after 3 June 1925 at Elmwood Cemetery, Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri.
Stanford Dewey Tabb
M, b. 5 March 1907, d. 12 May 1985
Stanford Dewey Tabb was born on 5 March 1907 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri.1 He married Eula Fern Terry on 26 May 1933 at Richmond, Missouri. Stanford Dewey Tabb died on 12 May 1985 at Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri, at age 78.1 He was buried on 15 May 1985 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
Eula Fern Terry b. 11 Nov 1912, d. 25 Aug 2003
Wayne Allen Tabb+ b. 28 Mar 1934, d. 14 Nov 2015
Ronald Dewey Tabb b. 19 Jul 1940, d. 5 Oct 1940
Eula Fern Terry
F, b. 11 November 1912, d. 25 August 2003
Eula Fern Terry was born on 11 November 1912 at Gerster, St. Clair County, Missouri.1 She married Stanford Dewey Tabb, son of William Jackson Tabb and Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish, on 26 May 1933 at Richmond, Missouri. Eula Fern Terry died on 25 August 2003 at Houston, Harris County, Texas, at age 90.1 She was buried on 30 August 2003 at Machpela Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
Stanford Dewey Tabb b. 5 Mar 1907, d. 12 May 1985
Wayne Allen Tabb
M, b. 28 March 1934, d. 14 November 2015
Father Stanford Dewey Tabb b. 5 Mar 1907, d. 12 May 1985
Mother Eula Fern Terry b. 11 Nov 1912, d. 25 Aug 2003
Last Edited 24 Nov 2015
Wayne Allen Tabb was born on 28 March 1934.1 He married Wanda R. Thomas on 7 December 1953. Wayne Allen Tabb died on 14 November 2015 at age 81. He was buried after 14 November 2015 at Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Higginsville, Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
Wanda R. Thomas b. 18 Dec 1937, d. 3 Mar 1991
Teddy Dean Tabb b. 5 Feb 1959, d. 16 Mar 1959
Ronald Dewey Tabb
M, b. 19 July 1940, d. 5 October 1940
Ronald Dewey Tabb was born on 19 July 1940 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1 He died on 5 October 1940 at Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri; He died of pneumonia.1 He was buried after 5 October 1940 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
Carl Wesley Rutherford
M, d. 13 August 1979
Carl Wesley Rutherford died on 13 August 1979 at Weston, Missouri. He was buried after 13 August 1979 at Weston, Missouri.
Kenneth Dempsey Tabb
M, b. 24 November 1921, d. 30 November 1994
Kenneth Dempsey Tabb was born on 24 November 1921 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri. He married J. Bernice Terry on 2 May 1942. Kenneth Dempsey Tabb died on 30 November 1994 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, at age 73. He was buried after 30 November 1994 at Lexington Memorial Gardens, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
J. Bernice Terry b. 20 May 1925, d. 5 Feb 2004
Darryl Glen Tabb b. 20 Nov 1946, d. 10 Oct 1976
J. Bernice Terry
F, b. 20 May 1925, d. 5 February 2004
J. Bernice Terry was born on 20 May 1925 at Henry County, Missouri. She married Kenneth Dempsey Tabb, son of William Jackson Tabb and Lura Ellen (Heilig) Parrish, on 2 May 1942. J. Bernice Terry died on 5 February 2004 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri, at age 78. She was buried after 5 February 2004 at Lexington Memorial Gardens, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.
Kenneth Dempsey Tabb b. 24 Nov 1921, d. 30 Nov 1994
Darryl Glen Tabb
M, b. 20 November 1946, d. 10 October 1976
Father Kenneth Dempsey Tabb b. 24 Nov 1921, d. 30 Nov 1994
Mother J. Bernice Terry b. 20 May 1925, d. 5 Feb 2004
Darryl Glen Tabb was born on 20 November 1946.1 He died on 10 October 1976 at age 29.1 He was buried after 10 October 1976 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
William Henry Tabb
M, b. 22 February 1923, d. 7 October 2006
Father Walter Ebert Tabb b. 27 Dec 1900, d. 22 Sep 1977
Mother Mabel L. Barnes b. 24 May 1904, d. 28 Jan 1963
He was a minister. William Henry Tabb was born on 22 February 1923 at Whitehall, Illinois.1 He married Grace Hensevelt on 19 December 1941 at Lexington, Missouri.1 William Henry Tabb died on 7 October 2006 at ManorCare Health Service, Normal, Illinois, at age 83.1 He was buried after 7 October 2006 at Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta, Logan County, Illinois.
Grace Hensevelt b. 30 Aug 1921, d. 13 Nov 2009
Violet Louise Tabb b. 11 Dec 1942, d. 22 Dec 1988
Grace Hensevelt
F, b. 30 August 1921, d. 13 November 2009
Grace Hensevelt was born on 30 August 1921 at Lexington, Missouri.1 She married William Henry Tabb, son of Walter Ebert Tabb and Mabel L. Barnes, on 19 December 1941 at Lexington, Missouri.1 Grace Hensevelt died on 13 November 2009 at age 88.1 She was buried after 13 November 2009 at Atlanta Cemetery, Atlanta, Logan County, Illinois.1
William Henry Tabb b. 22 Feb 1923, d. 7 Oct 2006
Violet Louise Tabb
F, b. 11 December 1942, d. 22 December 1988
Father William Henry Tabb b. 22 Feb 1923, d. 7 Oct 2006
Mother Grace Hensevelt b. 30 Aug 1921, d. 13 Nov 2009
Violet Louise Tabb was born on 11 December 1942.1 She died on 22 December 1988 at age 46.1 She was buried after 22 December 1988.
L. B. Turner
M, d. 1981
L. B. Turner married Velma Lucille Sandidge, daughter of "June" A. Sandidge and Mamie Pearl "Louise" Tabb. L. B. Turner died in 1981.
Wanda R. Thomas
F, b. 18 December 1937, d. 3 March 1991
Wanda R. Thomas was born on 18 December 1937 at Oklahoma. She married Wayne Allen Tabb, son of Stanford Dewey Tabb and Eula Fern Terry, on 7 December 1953. Wanda R. Thomas died on 3 March 1991 at age 53.
Wayne Allen Tabb b. 28 Mar 1934, d. 14 Nov 2015
Teddy Dean Tabb
M, b. 5 February 1959, d. 16 March 1959
Father Wayne Allen Tabb b. 28 Mar 1934, d. 14 Nov 2015
Mother Wanda R. Thomas b. 18 Dec 1937, d. 3 Mar 1991
Last Edited 14 Apr 2013
Teddy Dean Tabb was born on 5 February 1959 at Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri.1 He died on 16 March 1959 at Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri; MO Death Cert # 59-009688.1 He was buried after 16 March 1959 at Machpelah Cemetery, Lafayette County, Missouri.1
David Cockrill
David Cockrill died at California.
Last updated on 04 July 2019. This site contains information I�ve gathered on the Tabb family over the last thirty odd years from a variety of sources and is believed to be generally accurate. That said, it does contain errors. If you notice an error or wish to make an addition, please let me know at getabb@comcast.net. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this effort. If you have photos of family members you would like to contribute, please scan them, send them to me via email and I will add them. Recently, I have had a concern expressed over the fact that I show certain private information for living people. As a result, I have turned off all information for living people. I have kept this information for my own use so if you need some of this information, please contact me. Thanks!
Compiler: George E Tabb Jr, 520 Old Leetown Pike, Kearneysville, WV 25430
Site updated on 4 Jul 2019 at 6:03:18 AM from The Tabb Family in the United States; 7,085 people
Page created by John Cardinal's Second Site v7.03. | Graphics by Carla's Graphic Designs
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The Art of Reginald Heade – Special Edition – h/b
Written by Stephen James Walker
This deluxe special edition of the acclaimed The Art of Reginald Heade is extensively revised and greatly expanded. With almost double the page-count of the standard edition, it features over 400 additional, ultra-rare Heade artwork images, and presents many others in larger size than before.
318pp. Large format 22cm x 28cm hardback. Fully illustrated in full colour throughout.
Published 24 August 2018
We always aim to ensure that books are sent out as quickly as possible, but sometimes it can take a little longer than usual, so please do not query non-receipt until 28 days after the date the order was placed, or the publication date if later.
The Art of Reginald Heade - Special Edition - h/b quantity
Categories: Art, Crime, Mystery & Thriller, New and Forthcoming, Other Non Fiction
Reginald Heade is renowned amongst vintage paperback fans and collectors as the pre-eminent British pulp fiction cover artist of the 1940s and 1950s. His beautifully-rendered, erotically-charged depictions of a parade of sexy, scantily-clad young virgins and vixens – the so-called ‘Heade women’, for some of whom he is rumoured to have used local ladies-of-the-night as models – are near-legendary amongst lovers of classic pin-up art; and the original books on which they appeared are now highly-sought-after rarities – in some cases, only a handful of copies are known still to survive.
In the lavishly-illustrated The Art of Reginald Heade, packed with hundreds of superb colour and black-and-white images, noted researcher Stephen James Walker presents the most comprehensive overview ever published of Heade’s life and work. This encompasses not only all of his iconic paintings for the famous Hank Janson range, but also dozens of other outstanding pulp fiction covers, plus his less-well-known but equally exceptional work for adult hardback fiction dustjackets, children’s books and periodicals, and even the pieces he produced at the end of his life under the alternative name Cy Webb.
This deluxe special edition of the book is extensively revised and greatly expanded. With almost double the page-count of the standard edition, it features over 400 additional, ultra-rare Heade artwork images, and presents many others in larger size than before.
The Art of Reginald Heade is a glorious celebration of the artist’s work, and an absolutely essential addition to the bookshelves of anyone with a taste for classic pin-up and book cover artwork.
The Hank Janson name, logo and silhouette device are registered trademarks of Telos Publishing Ltd.
Stephen James Walker has authored or co-authored an average of one book per year over the past 25 years, many of them about the BBC’s acclaimed Doctor Who series. The Art of Reginald Heade – Special Edition is his twenty-eighth title. He has a BSc (Hons) degree in Applied Physics from University College London, and his many other interests include cult TV, film noir, vintage crime fiction, Laurel and Hardy and an eclectic mix of soul, jazz, R&B and other popular music. Between July 1983 and March 2005 he acted as an adviser to successive Governments, latterly at senior assistant director level, responsible for policy on a range of issues relating mainly to individual employment rights. His working time is now taken up by his writing projects and by his role as co-owner and director of Telos Publishing. He lives in Kent with his wife and family.
28 × 22 × 1.5 cm
2 reviews for The Art of Reginald Heade – Special Edition – h/b
Steve Holland – September 12, 2018
“Add a bonus gallery at the end, and the additional 150 pages offer almost a new book’s worth of Heade’s fantastic artwork. I said in my original review that “To have all these rare book covers in one place fulfills a collector’s dream.” That now goes (almost) double for the Special Edition.”
https://bearalley.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-art-of-reginald-heade-special.html
C J Bunce – September 15, 2018
‘A celebration of the artist, a resource for modern designers for his use of figure, color, and style, and a must for pin-up and pulp cover art collectors.’ C J Bunce
https://borg.com/2018/09/15/pulp-cover-artist-reginald-heade-collection-gets-an-upgrade-with-double-sized-expanded-hardcover-edition/
Titillation (Peter Driben pin-up art)
The Trials of Hank Janson (Biography of Stephen Frances)
The Art of Reginald Heade h/b
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Real Petraeus Issue was Evaluation of Afghanistan
Maybe it is because I was brought up in part in Europe, but I just cannot understand American puritanism’s obsession with public officials’ private lives. I can’t see that most private issues affect the quality of public service, and I don’t think people’s private lives are any of our business, nor become our business because they become public servants. So I am not very interested in the lurid details that caused CIA director David Petraeus abruptly to resign on Friday.
What I had been concerned about, despite my admiration for Petraeus, is that he wasn’t the right person to head the CIA when among its major tasks was to evaluate the counter=insurgency effort in Afghanistan. Since Petraeus authored that strategy and oversaw a stage of that war as commander, it actually was not fair to have him head the evaluative effort, and he shouldn’t have been put in that position.
Counter-insurgency as Petraeus defined it involves a four-stage process. The army has to take territory away from a guerrilla movement. It has to clear that territory of the enemy. It has to hold that territory for long enough to reassure the local population that the guerrillas are not coming back and won’t punish them as collaborators if they have something to do with the US. It has to build , i.e. build up local institutions such as police, so as to provide security and prosperity in the long run. Counter-insurgency is long and slow and requires winning over local hearts and minds.
Petraeus and other officers boxed Obama in in late 2009 and more or less imposed a counter-insurgency policy in Afghanistan on him. They only gave him this one plan, when he asked for 3 to choose from.
The counter-insurgency idea derived from the view of some in the officer corps that they had had a victory of sort because of the troop escalation or “surge” in Iraq late in the Bush period. As far as I can tell, however, violence in Iraq fell through 2007 not mainly because of US GI’s but because a Shiite ethnic cleansing campaign chased most Sunnis from mixed neighborhoods.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had convinced Petraeus to begin with the Sunni armed groups, and to disarm them. Once they were helpless, the Shiite militias like the Mahdi Army went in and ethnically cleansed the remaining ones.
Through 2007 forward, as mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods became more solidly Shiite, the death toll began declining. Angry Shiites who wanted to kill a Sunni would have had to get in their cars and drive for a while to find one.
Petraeus knew about the ethnic cleansing campaign. He was aware that it was creating a new wave of Sunni refugees. But he saw the troop escalation or ‘surge’ as the primary reason for the fall in violence.
Based on this misunderstanding of what had happened in Iraq, Petraeus hoped to do in Afghanistan what he thought he did with Baghdad. Hence the mantra, take clear hold build.
But this kind of counter-insurgency would have required hundreds of thousands of fresh troops. Petraeus didn’t have them. It was a huge endeavor.
It has largely failed, though US politicians and journalists seem reluctant to say so.
That failure of counter-insurgency in Afghanistan is dangerous and poses special dangers for our troops. It is dangerous for the future, since it cries out for clearsightedness lest we plunge into more such mistakes.
It was Petraeus’s CIA that was charged with evaluating the unfolding Afghanistan disaster. I don’t see how it could have done a good job of that. The author of the counter-insurgency strategy was now at the top of the evaluating agency.
As the US started planning for a post-Hamid Karzai Afghanistan, and for a massive troop drawdown, we needed unbiased reporting on the American scene. While I don’t doubt that Petraeus would hve tried hard to give it to us, it just wasn’t very likely.
So that’s my critique. President Obama needs someone at the CIA who can openly evaluate whether the troop escalation has been consistently a success or failure. I don’t care how he or she spends their time after 5 pm.
CIA boss Petraeus quits over affair (91live.in)
David Petraeus, star on battlefield, felled at CIA by affair (ndtv.com)
CIA chief Petraeus resigns over affair (rappler.com)
Real Petraeus Issue was Evaluation of Afghanistan (juancole.com)
Tags: Afghanistan, Benghazi, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, David Petraeus, Iraq, Mahdi Army, Nouri al-Maliki, Paula Broadwell, Petraeus, United States
3 thoughts on “Real Petraeus Issue was Evaluation of Afghanistan”
Laura on November 10, 2012 at 8:45 am said:
Reblogged this on Here and Now.
Iam Rising on November 11, 2012 at 4:15 pm said:
Logically sound, well-constructed linguistically and clearly informed. Bravo to distinguishing that the real conflicts of interest happened between two conflicting public roles of duty, not the private role vs public role as it is blanketed.
toolwielder on November 12, 2012 at 6:50 am said:
it probably has more to do with not wanting to testify in the Benghazi incident …. people are far more aware in general than they were on 9/11 and we see a cover up story …. ‘Afghanistan evaluation’ so we think we are in on some secret …. and go about our daily lives … not anymore … we see the action read the official and official seeming truth behind the story then we look at the common sense reasoning ….
Government Games, War Against Terror, War on Truth, World View
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Tag Archives: Judith Godrèche
2003, ★★½, Mystery
Quicksand (2003, John Mackenzie)
23 January 2008 Andrew Wickliffe Leave a comment
Most of Quicksand plays like a multi-national mystery from the 1970s, filled with familiar faces (or a few familiar faces anyway). About three-quarters of it, approximately. There’s good and bad stuff in those seventy minutes. Michael Keaton’s excellent, which isn’t surprising. Michael Caine shows up for what appears to be a small role (it gets bigger later) and has a fun time. He’s playing a washed up action star who’s too busy drinking and gambling to realize his career’s over. Kathleen Wilhoite and Xander Berkeley also have small roles–the plot moves Keaton from New York to the south of France for the dramatics and, presumably, cheaper location shooting–and both are great. There’s also Rade Serbedzija, in an unfortunately mediocre role. He’s fine, but it’s just a lame character. Unfortunately, the female lead–Judith Godrèche–cannot emote while speaking English. It’s obvious the first time she tries and, after that scene, she always has tears (Visine?) to show she’s upset.
But something happens once Caine becomes more integral to the plot. Quicksand all of a sudden gets neat. The script is very standard thriller fare and, in most ways, the resolution isn’t Archimedes hopping out of the tub, but it’s well-constructed and works.
In the last fourth (maybe third, I didn’t time the end credits), Berkeley gets a much bigger role–Quicksand might be one of his best performances and, given what a solid actor he is, it’s saying something. It’s a simple role–the friend–and he does it perfectly. Godrèche doesn’t really get any better, but the plot requires different things from her and she becomes more appealing.
When the film closes, it’s on a strange uptick, like it took a short cut to an ending it didn’t quite “earn,” but maybe getting to those places and getting a pass on the question means it did.
It’s not a particularly compelling mystery and Mackenzie somehow makes the south of France boring, so I spent a lot of time bemoaning the lack of more Keaton films. (Someone thought, at some point in production, the film was going to get a theatrical release, because they spent money on the casting agency). And then it gradually improves after a point, going from a standard thriller (which seem consigned to direct-to-DVD these days) to a moderately pleasant surprise.
Directed by John Mackenzie; screenplay and screen story by Timothy Prager, based on a novel by Desmond Lowden; director of photography, Walter McGill; edited by Graham Walker; music by Hal Lindes and Anthony Marinelli; production designer, Jon Bunker; produced by Jim Reeve; released by First Look International.
Starring Michael Keaton (Martin Raikes), Michael Caine (Jake Mellows), Judith Godrèche (Lela Forin), Rade Serbedzija (Oleg Butraskaya), Matthew Marsh (Michel Cote), Xander Berkeley (Joey Patterson), Kathleen Wilhoite (Beth Ann), Rachel Ferjani (Rachel), Elina Löwensohn (Vannessa), Clare Thomas (Emma) and Hermione Norris (Sarah).
First Look InternationalHermione NorrisJudith GodrècheKathleen WilhoiteMichael CaineMichael KeatonQuicksandRade SerbedzijaXander Berkeley
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Statement concerning Sir Roger Singleton’s June 2018 report
22 June 2018, Thirtyone:eight
On Friday 22nd June, the Church of England released a report titled: ‘Report of the Independent Scrutiny Team into the Adequacy of the Church of England’s Past Cases Review 2008-2009.’ The report had been commissioned by the Archbishop’s Council and was led by Sir Roger Singleton, former Chief Executive of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (now part of the Disclosure & Barring Service) and member of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Advisory Panel.
Thirtyone:eight (then known as CCPAS) are referred to in the report within the ‘background’ section (see page 9), where CCPAS are included amongst a list of other organisations (including NSPCC and The Lucy Faithful Foundation) whom the report states were consulted by the Church of England about the Past Cases Review (PCR) in May 2007. Point 11 within the report states:
‘In the weeks following the Archbishop’s interview [on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme] the CSLG established a Past Cases Review Working Group (WG) to develop a protocol for the PCR. The protocol was to be based on best practice for reviewing historic cases and the WG drew on the experience of the (Roman) Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Adults, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Lucy Faithful Foundation and the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service.’
This statement is inaccurate and somewhat misleading, as thirtyone:eight in fact was a lone voice calling for the PCR to be undertaken and did not have any involvement in the development of protocol or methodology for the review as might be implied by the report. We are not aware of what thirtyone:eight experience may have been drawn-upon as part of this process.
The involvement of thirtyone:eight in the PCR was initiated by contact that had been made with our founder and former CEO, David Pearson by three survivors of child abuse within the Church of England, whose accounts had been receiving public attention at the time. They had approached Mr Pearson to voice their concerns about how they were being treated by the Church of England. As a representative of an independent organisation concerned about abuse within the Church, Mr Pearson felt a strong Christian and moral duty to speak up for them and call for lessons to be learned. Mr Pearson then wrote an open letter to Dr Rowan Williams (then Archbishop of Canterbury) urging him to undertake such a review.
Both Mr Pearson and Dr Williams subsequently appeared on BBC Radio 4’s 'Today' programme on 25th May 2007, where a commitment was given to the PCR and an invitation was given to Mr Pearson to meet the Church of England’s Central Safeguarding Liaison Group (CSLG), who would be charged with its completion.
Mr Pearson accepted the invitation to the group and attended a meeting where he was met with hostility for publicly challenging the Archbishop. Mr Pearson was then asked to leave the meeting, and nothing further was discussed with him.
To say the Church of England ‘drew on the experience of … the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service’ is therefore misleading and inaccurate. The CSLG had not been prepared to consult constructively with thirtyone:eight and those responsible for safeguarding centrally within the Church of England at the time maintained a hostile position towards thirtyone:eight for some years following these events.
We are pleased to say that relations with the Church of England are very much stronger these days and indeed thirtyone:eight undertakes a significant amount of work across the Church of England as an independent expert body and service provider.
Justin Humphreys, Chief Executive of thirtyone:eight said: “We were concerned to read the inaccurate references to our involvement in the PCR within the Singleton Report, and again felt a moral duty to set the record straight on this matter. We have always maintained a strong independence from any church body or denomination and this remains the case today. This independence is what allows us to speak out when necessary and undertake the much-needed work that we do across the church community irrespective of tradition or denomination. Through this, we continue in our commitment
to help create safer places for all.”
Get help, resources and advice that are right for your organisation from people who care and understand, plus get discounts on selected products and services along with all the benefits of being part of a supportive community of thousands of organisations nationwide.
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TIME IN ART
Delineating Time
1 Yemeni Astrolabe
2 Lidded Box of Timekeeper at Umayyad Mosque
3 Vase with Flowers of the Four Seasons
4 Headdress: Female Bust (D’mba)
Depicting Time
1 Radha and Krishna Walk in a Flowering Grove
2 Sunset, Sorrento
3 Morning on the Seine near Giverny
4 The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Determining Time
1 Clepsydra or Water Clock with Squatting Baboon
2 Musical Clock with Spinet and Organ
3 Combination Portable Sundial and Instrument for Calibrating Sundials
4 Fabergé Spherical Clock
Combination portable sundial and instrument for calibrating sundials
Date: ca. 1690–1710
Culture: French
Medium: Brass, silver
Dimensions: 1-7/8 x 5-1/4 x 5-1/4 in. (4.8 x 13.3 x 13.3 cm)
Classification: Horology
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Stephen D. Tucker, 1903
Accession Number: 03.21.17
On view in Gallery 532
This brass and silver instrument created in France in the late 17th to early 18th century was used for calibrating and making sundials. This portable sundial is one in a small collection gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the early 1900s by Mrs. Stephen D. Tucker in her husband’s honor. Though the creation of this particular instrument seems to overlap with a period when watch and clockmaking was rapidly developing in Europe, “advances in clockmaking during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries actually spurred interest in sundials” (Chandler and Vincent, 1967: 154).
This portable instrument would have been used to calibrate other dials, as well as to set and regulate clocks to determine time. When used outdoors, the pointer (also called a style or gnomon) casts a shadow on the calibrated surface, revealing the time of day. This particular style may be adjusted for use from latitude 40 to 50 degrees (metmuseum.org) and has multiple hour rings (Chandler and Vincent, 1967). It is crafted of brass and inlaid with silver in elaborate, swirling leaf designs. Though its striking design makes it valuable as a work of art, its function as a portable sundial and calibrating tool make it useful for determining latitude and calculating the time.
According to Chandler and Vincent, the portable sundial is a marker in the history of sundials of “attempts to achieve ever greater accuracy” (Chandler and Vincent, 1967: 155). Additionally, this object demonstrates the prevalence of the class of portable dial known as a “Butterfield” dial, named for Michael Butterfield, an Englishman credited with designing this type of horizontal sundial while working in Paris between 1678 and 1727 (Chandler and Vincent, 1967; Higton, 2002). This portable instrument is fashioned with bird-shaped supports, with the beak of the bird sliding along the time scale engraved on the style (pointer) to indicate “the angle appropriate to the use of the dial in a given latitude” (Vincent, 1987). Butterfield’s design became the standard for French sundials at this time, and the sheer existence of this calibrator indicates the dominance of the Butterfield dial (Chandler and Vincent, 1967; Higton 2002).
Though this portable sundial and calibrator is not signed by its maker, it is discussed in Nicolas Bion’s famous treatise Traite de la Construction et des Pricipaux Usages des Instruments de Mathematique, first published in 1708, which is an indicator of its importance as a mathematical object at the time. Bion’s work was translated into English in 1723 by Edmund Stone and provides directions on how to use this calibrator, including a diagram with each piece labeled. Part of the instructions reads, “About the center (A) is drawn an horizontal dial upon the upper plate, for the latitude of the place it is to be used in, and the axis (B) is so adjusted, that the point thereof terminates in the center (A), wherein a small hole is made for a thread to come thro. There is also a compass (D) fastened to this upper plate, having a line in the bottom of the box, [showing] the variation of the needle” (Bion and Edmund, 1723: 236).
According to Vincent (1987), this portable dial is not a “true Butterfield” since it can also be used to draw the hour lines of a sundial on any flat surface (62). It is also possible this portable dial was one element of a set of instruments and could have been separated from the piece that was signed by its maker (Vincent, 1987).
A note about provenance
The combination portable sundial and instrument for calibrating sundials was created in France some time between 1690 and 1710. It is unknown who owned this instrument before Mrs. Stephen D. Tucker gifted it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1903. In 1967, this object was featured in a special exhibit of the sundials in the Tucker collection (Chandler and Vincent, 1967).
(2003). “France, 1600–1800 A.D.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=09®ion=euwf
(2013). Time for everyone: The origins, evolution, and future of public time. NAWCC Ward Francillon Time Symposium, 7–9 November 2013.
Bion, N., & Stone, E. (1723). The construction and principal uses of mathematical instruments. London: H.W. for John Senex.
This source was an exciting one to find on this subject. Since the original French version of this text was published in 1708, it is possible that its discussion of the portable sundial instrument can help to narrow down the date range during which it is thought to be created. Bion’s work (and Stone’s translation) provides detailed directions for utilizing this calibrating instrument, which was difficult information to find among descriptions of sundials and their uses.
Chandler, B., & Vincent, C. (1967). A sure reckoning: Sundials of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 26(4), 154–169.
This piece within the Met Bulletin provided a wealth of information about this object. Though some of the information is available on the Met’s website, it listed the provenance, the material, and historic background on sundials created in Europe and how this instrument would have fit into the larger picture.
Flechon, D. (2011). The mastery of time (pp. 104–115). Paris: Flammarion.
Higton, H. (2002). Sundials at Greenwich: A catalogue of the sundials, nocturnals and horary quadrants in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (pp. v, 57, 88–89, 439). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lennox-Boyd, M. (2006). Sundials: history, art, people, science (pp. 48–85). London: Frances Lincoln Ltd.
This is an exhaustive history of the sundial. It provided a lot of information about instruments created in Europe during the late 17th to early 18th century, but also about sundials in other contexts.
Milham, W. I. (1923). Time & timekeepers: The history, construction, care, and accuracy of clocks and watches. New York: The Macmillan Company.
Parker, J., Zrebiec, A. M., McNab, J., Corbeiller, C. Le, & Vincent, C. (1989). French decorative arts during the reign of Louis XIV 1654–1715. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring.
Sundial. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/573826/sundial
Vincent, C. (1972). Magnificent timekeepers: An exhibition of northern European clocks in New York Collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, 30(4), 154–165.
Vincent, C., & Chandler, B. (1969). Nighttime and Easter time: The rotations of the sun, the moon, and the Little Bear in Renaissance time reckoning. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 27(8), 372–384.
Diana Rosenthal Roberson
Scientific publications editor and archivist at the American Museum of Natural History with a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute. New York City enthusiast.
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The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall this evening attended the traditional Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting dinner at the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard.
As the newest head of government, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked the Queen for her “dedication and selfless service” which, he said, inspired all.
He noted that the Queen’s first public appearance in Canada was on a postage stamp in 1935 when she was just nine years old.
Thanking Mr Trudeau for “making me feel so old”, the Queen asked all the Commonwealth representatives to gather together as friends and enjoy Malta’s hospitality.
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Property Management Login
The Stott Team has published quarterly newsletters since 1993 designed for absentee owners of rental properties on Oahu. The newsletters contain information about the Oahu housing market as well as what’s been happening recently in Hawaii. The newsletters can be read from your computer screen or downloaded and printed using Acrobat Reader. Most of the newsletters are four pages in length with two double-sided enclosures for a total of eight letter-size pages.
January To March 2019
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The March median price for single-family homes was $782,500 (3.0% higher than March 2018) and for condos was $429,000 (1.4% lower than March 2018). Demand continues to drop but shows signs of moderating since the percentages are single-digit reductions versus the double-digit reductions over the past few months. Closed sales of single-family homes dropped 9.5% and of condos dropped 3.7% compared to last year and pending sales (property under contract but not sold) of single-family homes dropped 9.6% and condos dropped 6.9%. Supply continues to creep up with 3.4 months of inventory of single-family homes and 3.6 months of condos even though the supply of available homes continues to be relatively tight.
A recent report by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) helps explain why Hawaii’s population has shrunk over the past two years. Hawaii’s economic growth has trailed the Mainland by 18% and growth is predicted to lag in the future. Hawaii has experienced an annual growth rate of 1.8% since 2009 while the average growth rate for the U.S. was 2.2%. A recent poll reported that 45% of Hawaii voters live in homes where someone is considering or has already left the islands primarily due to the cost of living. The people thinking of leaving tend to be between the ages of 18 & 34 (66%), have kids in private school (56%), attended private school (54%), are college graduates (51%), have household incomes above $60,000 (51%), and rent (50%).
We offer a monthly e-mail newsletter that contains additional local news and often includes photos, videos, and useful links. Please e-mail us at home@stott.com if you would like to be added to the distribution. You will continue to receive this mailed newsletter.
A Mixed Plate of Talk Story
9.95 million people visited Hawaii in 2018, a new record. An eight percent rise in available airline seats helped bring 6% more visitors compared to the previous year. Visitor spending grew 7% generating more than $2 billion in tax revenue for the state. Headwinds in the second half of the year including the volcanic activity at fissure eight and the disruptive Waikiki hotel strike resulted in a weaker second half of the year and that appears to be carrying into the first quarter of 2019. Hawaii’s hotels experienced their greatest drop in occupancy in about a decade this past February. Statewide occupancy dropped 3% compared to February 2018 and total revenue dropped 6%. The soft numbers are causing some concern in the industry that has witnessed softening since last June.
Three of the state’s most visited tourist attractions, The USS Arizona Memorial, Hawai’I Volcanoes National Park, and Haleakala National Park have seen declining attendance in 2018 compared to 2017. While the memorial’s dock problems and Kiluaea’s eruption obviously impacted attendance, there was no smoking gun to Haleakala’s attendance decline. The USS Arizona Memorial had 168,000 fewer visitors in 2018, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park had 900,000 fewer visitors, and Haleakala National Park had 68,000 fewer visitors on top of a 2017 decline of 151,000 visitors. It appears to be another sign that Hawaii’s tourism market may have peaked for this latest business cycle.
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have called the end of the 35-year Puu OO eruption on Kilauea Volcano after a quiet seven months. The latest report mentioned that volcanic activity at Puu OO was extremely unlikely resulting in a concluding milestone for the volcanic event. Scientists believe the collapse of the Halemaumau crater at Kilauea’s summit was connected to the eruptions of two dozen fissures in Kilauea’s lower East Rift Zone and the spectacular lava flows from Fissure Eight that covered 13.7 square miles of land and destroyed 716 homes. The Puu OO eruption was continuously active with the exception of a few pauses lasting from a few hours to two months. Scientists are warning that Kilauea is still a very active volcano and deformation data is showing evidence of magma refilling the Middle East Rift Zone. The question is not if Kilauea will erupt again but when and where. In March, The U.S. Geological Survey changed Kiluaea Volcanoe’s alert level to “normal,” marking the end to one of the most voluminous eruptions in Hawaii’s recorded history. Data from the past eight months show relatively low rates of seismicity, deformation, and gas emissions at the volcanoes summit and at the East Rift Zone. Residents can also breathe easier as lower sulfur dioxide emissions mean less vog than experienced over the last decade.
Hawaii was ranked the happiest state once again in 2018 placing in the top five in every category: Career, Social, Financial, Community, and Physical. Hawaii topped the U.S. in wellbeing for a record 7th time. The data is based on more than 115,000 surveys with adults across all fifty states and conducted in all 12 months. Hawaii placed #1 in career (liking what you do each day), social (having supporting relationships), and financial (managing economic life to reduce stress). It is a little surprising that Hawaii came out on top for financial with all the news and polls showing Hawaii’s high cost of living and affordable housing issues. Hawaii placed #4 in community (liking where you live) and physical (having good health and energy). Tim and Tracey are just as happy living in paradise.
A state circuit judge denied the state’s attempt to subpoena rental records from rental booking site Airbnb. The state wanted Airbnb to provide access to its Hawaii booking invoices, receipts, statements and confirmations from 2008. It also wanted the personal host information including names, user IDs, taxpayer IDs, Social Security Numbers, and addresses. Airbnb sought to quash the subpoena stating that it was an “unprecedented attempt to amass a decade’s worth of detailed private data on about 16,000 people. The judge ruled that the state failed to show that Airbnb hosts were not paying their taxes and the information that the state was seeking was not readily available from other sources.
The state of Hawaii’s pension deficit reached a record $13.41 billion last year and is expected to keep rising over the next five years. The state currently does not project to having fully funding the state’s pension commitments until 2043. While taxpayers are going to take a major hit, state employees are also going to feel their wallets get lighter. Employee contributions from firefighters and police will be increased from 28% of their current pay to 31% next year, 36% in 2020, and a staggering 41% in fiscal year 2021. All other employees will see their contributions climb from 18% to 19% next year, 22% in 2020, and 24% in fiscal year 2021. The contribution rates will then stay the same until the pension fund is fully funded. State and city employees may think twice about their overly generous pensions if they can’t afford to make ends meet until they retire. It appears that the current employees are also stuck paying the tab for currently retired employees who were not required to contribute more towards their pensions. It will be interesting to see what future contract negotiations hold since the pension bill has now come due. Taxpayers can be forgiven for thinking that ultimately they will get stuck with paying the majority of the retiree pensions.
Lee Cataluna, a columnist for the Honolulu Advertiser, summed up the latest “developments” with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit’s (HART) rail project in a Sunday commentary titled “Rail Problems Big Enough to Impress the Big Guys.” Her quote describes the public on the rail spectrum, “And some people, maybe even most people, are in the middle – accepting the excise tax surcharge to help fund the project, gritting teeth through the construction delays, sticking it out in solidarity with those west-side commuters – but increasingly feeling like chumps as the stream of disheartening news about project management and financing continues.” The Honolulu Star Advertiser seems to be writing articles almost daily concerning the poor management and apparently outright incompetence throughout the rail project. Some of the latest articles describe the train cars built and designed by Hitachi Rail Italy failed the initial roof and floor fire testing conducted in Texas in February. A recently released report describes how a subcontractor for Ansaldo derailed a train car twice on the same day by leaving the train switch in the wrong position twice on the same day. Train #3 was damaged when workers pushed the train on a section of track where the energized third rail had been disassembled and breaking off one of the trains “shoes.” Ansaldo was ordered to stand down until they created written safety rules and safety enforcement associated with operating and testing the trains. The U.S. Transportation Department Inspector General is looking into claims by a former quality manager who claims he was fired and harassed for raising attention to construction flaws with rail columns that support the airport section of the rail line. The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has issued three separate subpoena’s involved with different aspects of HART’s operations and management oversight. Lee Cataluna summed up the article appropriately, “But that rush to start, that shameful lack of realistic planning, stuck us with a nightmare in which there are great reasons to keep going and even more great reasons to quit, and there is no one we trust to help make the right decision.”
The corruption probe concerning the Kealohas continues to spread and the City of Honolulu’s Corporate Counsel, Donna Leong, was placed on paid leave in January once she received a target letter from the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI is looking into Leong’s role in an agreement that allowed Police Chief Louis Kealoha to retire with full benefits and a $250,000 severance check. This is the first time a member of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s cabinet has become the target of a federal grand jury investigation. She joins several city prosecutors who are also under investigation. Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro finally agreed to take a voluntary paid leave of absence on March 7th. His announcement came on the last of the twenty days that the Hawaii Supreme Court gave him to respond to the state attorney general’s petition that he be suspended until a federal investigation is completed. Kaneshiro will continue to earn his $170,000 annual salary during the federal investigation into government corruption related to Katherine Kealoha’s indictment for public corruption and drug dealing.
Constant rains over the past few months have triggered landslides that has closed the Pali Highway until the state fortifies unstable slopes near the highway and remove portions of the damaged Old Pali Road above the Pali Highway. Tracey and Mary Lou were actually on the Pali when police raced by to stop traffic due one of the rockslides. Sections of the Old Pali Road have shifted and pose a danger. State officials have started contra flowing traffic to Honolulu in the morning from 5:00 am to 9:00 am and back to Kailua from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm during weekdays to help ease the rush hour traffic. The state hopes to open the Pali Highway by August. Two projects aim to prevent future rockslides from threatening commuters. Crews will install a mesh barrier on the slope between the Old Pali Road and the Pali Highway to catch falling debris and then crews will extend the entrance of the Honolulu-bound tunnel about 80 feet to further shield. Currently nothing on the Kaneohe-bound side of the highway appears to pose a threat to traffic.
Maui Brewing Company has joined the renewable energy movement by investing over $9 million in a one-megawatt rooftop PV system with three Tesla battery storage systems and two biofuel generators. The company plans on operating independent of the grid in the third quarter of 2019. The initiative will make the company more cost competitive because the new system will produce the brewery’s electricity at a much cheaper rate than buying electricity from Maui Electric Company. Tim celebrated his birthday with Tracey last week at the new Kailua restaurant that Maui Brewing Company opened in January. Both the food and beer were excellent and Tim added to his collection of microbrewery t-shirts.
The Ka’upulehu Marine Reserve is off to a good start that may provide hope for Hawaiian reefs and the tropical fish that live there. Under the 10-year harvest rules, the public may not fish or take any marine life from the reserve’s established rest area that consists of 3.6 miles of coastline and extends to a depth of 120 feet. Fishers are allowed to use Kona crab nets from depths of 120 feet to 600 feet and use hook-and-line methods to catch 18 species of fish. Two years into the period, dive surveys have found that some species of fish have increased between 30% and 60%. The dive surveys have seen a 62% increase in some types of wrasses, a 46% increase in some types of surgeon-fish, and a 30% increase in some types of parrot-fish. The Nature Conservancy does caution that it is too early to draw any conclusions from the conservation efforts but they are hopeful that rest periods could hold the key to turning around declining reef fish populations.
A landslide that took out a bridge on one of Kalaupapa Trail’s switchbacks has closed the trail indefinitely. The three-mile trail consisting of 26 switchbacks is the only way to get to the isolated peninsula on Molakai’s north coast. Kalaupapa is where Hawaii banished leprosy patients (known as Hansen’s disease) for about a century. The state stopped exiling patients in Kalaupapa in 1969. Only a few former patients still live in Kalaupapa even though they have been cured and are free to leave. The state Department of Health employs about 40 people at the site and they will be flown in until the trail is reopened. Supply deliveries come by barge and weekly flights, so those deliveries won’t be impacted by the trails closure.
The University of Hawaii men’s volleyball team is having a record-breaking year. They won a NCAA record 74 straight sets over their opponents before losing a set to 3rd ranked University of California Santa Barbara this past weekend and have a perfect record, 25-0. Hawaii finishes the regular season next weekend against the #2 team in the country, Long Beach State.
Overcoming Inertia
I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about financial inertia and how it could be costing you some significant money in lost returns simply by not looking at where you were parking your money. I have mentioned previously that Tracey and Tim have both read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and one of the themes that he stresses is having a safety fund in place to cover the unexpected expenses that happen due to “Murphy’s Law.” Since we own our own business, we maintain the equivalent of six months of expenses plus our estimated quarterly tax payments in a liquid account just in case things go south. Up until recently, we had just been parking it in a regular savings account making about 0.1%. The article mentioned that by simply moving those funds into a money market fund, we could improve our returns to over 2.5% without taking on any significant risk. All of the sudden, we increased our returns on this rainy day fund 25 times with a couple clicks of a mouse. It seems crazy, but we got so used to the miserable returns when during the poor economic years following the Great Recession of 2008, that we failed to pay attention to a simple way to earn a few more dollars with essentially no effort.
Inertia can come in all types of forms and that goes the same with second homes and investment real estate. Since real estate, particularly on Oahu, requires a significant investment plus carrying costs, failing to act when things aren’t going well can cost the owner tens of thousands of dollars, even hundreds of thousands of dollars if the owner fails to act over a decade or more. This article touches on the some forms of inertia concerning second homes and investment real estate. These forms include but are not limited to owning a second home that is no longer being used and keeping it vacant, holding onto an investment property with equity that provides negative cash flow, letting an investment property sit vacant while they wait for time off to make the cosmetic repairs themselves, or even sticking with a poorly performing property manager that fails to return calls and e-mails.
Tracey and Tim have spoken to hundreds of clients over the past fifteen years that own second homes that they either failed to visit as much as they envisioned or life changed and they no longer visited as often as they used to. The carrying costs of a second home between property taxes, insurance, association fees, maintenance, and repairs typically run more than $10,000 per year. Some second homeowners will rent out their properties when they aren’t here to help offset some of those costs, but then must contend with the additional wear and tear that tenants bring. Many of these homes have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity in them if owned for a long period of time and provide none of the enjoyment that comes with the envisioned frequent visits to paradise. Some owners delay selling because they think that they must come out and do a bunch of work to make the property ready to sell while others don’t want to pay capital gains taxes. Many clients have learned that Tracey will handle the details concerning make ready repairs and the repairs themselves are often much less extensive than the seller thinks necessary. In the latter, many owners will end up paying more than the capital gains bill by simply holding onto the property and paying the costs associated with owning a second home. For example, assume that a seller will have a $200,000 gain when the home sells. The capital gains bill will be roughly $45,000 assuming a federal capital gains rate of 15% and a state rate of 7.25%. That is often less than three years of carrying costs, especially when you consider that the City and County of Honolulu continues to jack up property taxes on properties that don’t have a Homeowners Exemption. Why not sell and pocket the $155,000 and invest it or spend it as you see fit?
Tim and Tracey have helped several clients who could not afford to sell during the last downturn because they owed more money on the property than it was worth. In many cases, the client had to suffer through years of negative cash flow before the market recovered, but they did eventually get to sell for a small profit and stem the bleeding. There are other investors that have continued to experience negative cash flow as the market has expanded over the past seven years in the hopes of eventually generating positive cash flow. The money that they are spending on their investment every year could be invested more productively in the stock market or real estate in other parts of the country. Even putting the money in a mattress would provide better results. Once these people sold, they enjoyed more financial freedom and enjoyed greater options on choosing how to spend their money.
Tim has talked to several people over the years that were fixing up their rental property themselves in order to save money on repairs. Almost all of these people lived elsewhere in the country and also worked a full-time job. These properties would literally sit vacant for a year or more. In most cases, all the property needed was a fresh coat of paint, new flooring, and replacing some fixtures. With an average rent of roughly $2,000, these people were forfeiting $24,000 in order to save a few thousand dollars. The simple thought of having to spend valuable vacation time and fly thousands of miles made many of these people continue to procrastinate. The ones that finally allowed Stott Property Management, LLC to manage the property and hire contractors to do the work started seeing cash deposited into their accounts after paying for the necessary repairs and waiting for the work to be completed. Again, in many cases, the work that was required was less than the investor originally envisioned. The only time that the investor had to spend was the time needed to fill out and sign the contract.
Tim has also talked to investors, in some instances several times over the years, where the investor could not stand his or her property manager. They would not promptly respond or fail to respond at all. In the most extreme cases, the property managers would fail to send rental proceeds to the owners when a property had a tenant and failed to provide statements or an explanation. Not only were these people suffering financial harm, they were also suffering mental stress. Tracey even made Tim agree to change one of their own property managers on the mainland recently after she got tired of listening to Tim fix the property manager’s accounting errors and see large repair expenses without notice or approval. Changing property managers is as simple as signing a new contract and giving the old property manager written notice to cancel. A good property manager will then take it from there and handle all the details involved with the management transition. All the investor needs to do is read the e-mail updates.
Do you fall into one of these categories or another not mentioned in this article. If you do, why not e-mail us at home@stott.com or call us at 1-800-922-6811. We may have a simple, profitable solution for you.
Tracey often watches the show “Hoarders: Buried Alive” on weekends and Tim asked why she watches the show. Her response was quite interesting. Tracey replied, “the show helps me understand some of my clients and their tenants when I list properties that have a lot of stuff and it helps me come up with solutions to help the property sell while preserving the individual’s dignity.” A huge reason why Tracey helps people sell their homes, and Tim does not, is due to her patience and her ability (both natural and honed over years of experience) to empathize with her clients and residents whose lives are experiencing some stress and turmoil.
We started thinking about how clutter can complicate the lives of homeowners, tenants, and managers and negatively impact their finances. The clutter can take many forms and the root causes are just as numerous. Some common types of clutter and suggested solutions will be discussed in this article.
The most common form of clutter comes from the accumulation of belongings as people live in their homes over long periods of time. Pictures, knick-knacks, artwork, furnishings, tools, utensils, and paperwork start collecting to the point that the house runs out of room. Some people build a shed and store the excess items there, some people rent out storage spaces, and some people just let their belongings pile up on every horizontal surface in the house until family members must follow paths to get from one room to the next. While hoarding is a mental condition that requires treatment, spring-cleaning by the family can prevent many issues from getting out of control. Tim and Tracey periodically go through their closets, bookcases, and shed together (with their kids when they used to live at home) and donate or throw away items that are in poor condition, broken, or have not been used in the past year or two. It usually only takes a couple of hours to identify and remove the items and it gives them a sense of accomplishment.
Families in the process of moving should take a hard look at what they should move and what items are better off left behind. We often observe buyers who will buy a home that is not necessarily the right fit for their living circumstances to accommodate existing furniture and belongings. There are some pieces that one should not part with due to their sentimental value or because they are valuable and irreplaceable antiques or artwork. However, there are more cases where buyers don’t want to part with run of the mill furnishings that just don’t fit in a great property under consideration. We recommend doing the hard work and making the tough decisions when it comes to identifying, selling, throwing away, or donating furnishings that can be easily replaced and don’t fit in a new home. We observe families tripping over poor fitting furniture, commuting unnecessarily, paying more they need to for a home, spending more than they need to move their stuff, and spending thousands each year storing items that never get used again.
Tim and Tracey often see rental properties where owners store tools so that they can work on their homes when they visit, or store furniture and personal items in locked rooms that they will use when they return to the islands even though they have no concrete plans on returning. Stott Property Management, LLC manages some properties that owners have accepted hundreds of dollars in lower monthly rents over many years because tenants don’t have access to the entire property. In the end, the stored belongings were destroyed by the elements and Stott Property Management, LLC ended up hiring handymen to throw them away. In some cases, the owners have passed away and their children have to clean out the rooms and storage areas. In rare cases, storage areas have been broken into and owners have wrongly accused tenants of stealing or destroying their belongings. If you are going to move and rent your previous home, then do yourself a favor and take all of your tools, vehicles, and belongings that you need and sell or donate the rest.
Tim and Tracey have helped out many people clean out homes and condos when they did not have the time to spare or could not emotionally deal with sorting through a family members belongings. If you are in a similar situation, e-mail or call us and we can at least take a look at the property. Tracey has emptied her parents’ home and can quickly determine items that may hold sentimental value versus items that should be simply thrown away.
Heirs and Hawaii Real Estate
Many absentee owners hold on to Oahu real estate so that they can pass the property to their heirs and be able to avoid capital gains taxes. The acquisition basis for the heirs is the value of the property at time of death of the decedent. Many heirs sell the inherited property shortly after acquisition; therefore, there is little if any gain that will be subject to capital gains taxes.
While it is desirable to avoid unnecessary taxes, problems frequently arise when there are several heirs that have an equal interest in an inherited property. Our experience indicates that when there are three or more heirs, about half the time a conflict will exist concerning what to do with the inherited property. The most common problem is a lack of agreement as to whether the heirs should continue to hold on to the property as an investment or sell it and use their tax-free proceeds elsewhere. Most of the time, the heirs are siblings with very different opinions. Often, one or more of them is cash-short and wants to sell the property immediately while others may want to hold on to it.
It is not unusual for there also to be disagreements between the heirs that are completely separate from holding the property as a long-term investment. Three common examples are:
One or more of the heirs may want to hold on to the home so they can use it on a future Hawaiian vacation. This particularly applies if the home has been used in this regard in the past by some but not all of the heirs.
If the property is a former family home, there may be widespread emotional differences between the heirs when it comes to selling. One or more of the heirs may want to hold on to the property so they can have future access to it for themselves and/or their children.
One or more of the heirs may be living in the property, often either rent-free or at a rent that is well under market rent.
There are legal steps that heirs can take to force a sale; however, legal actions between family members usually create major discord. Most of the time, the heirs decide on a compromise that usually involves continuing to hold the property for a period of time. On several occasions, we have waited for several years to be able to sell such a property. Our experience indicates that one strong-willed family member usually blocks what the majority of heirs favor.
An emotional public auction in Kauai for four landlocked parcels in Mark Zuckerberg’s 700-acre estate provides a cautionary tale in passing real estate to multiple heirs. A quiet title lawsuit was initiated in 2016 because the land passed over time to as many as 300 partial owners. Typically land sold at auction fetches less money than if the land is sold through a standard real estate transaction. In this case, the lands were sold for $1.76 million and the proceeds will be divided up amongst the heirs. The entire process caused many of the heirs’ mental anguish through the forced sale. While an extreme case, the story should provide caution to those who want to pass real estate to multiple heirs when they pass away. As the number of heirs grows, the chance for a peaceful resolution towards managing and ultimately selling the property diminishes greatly.
Many absentee owners opt to avoid the likelihood of such an intra-family problem by selling their Oahu property, paying the applicable capital gains taxes and then leaving easily divided cash or securities to their heirs. When asked why they are selling, the absentee owner normally will say that they are “settling their estate.” One past client mentioned, “I love all my children, but they would have difficulty agreeing on almost anything.”
The December median price for single-family homes was $788,000 (5.1% higher than December, 2017) and for condos was $398,500 (1.6% lower than December, 2017). Demand in the form of the number of sales and pending sales continues to drop and supply continues to creep up compared to December 2017. The number sales for single-family homes dropped 28.3% and for condos dropped 4.6% while the number of pending sales for single-family homes dropped 23.7% and for condos dropped 12.7%. The number of active listings for single-family homes rose 17.3% and for condos rose 12.9%.
Hawaii’s population shrunk by a little more than 3,700 people in 2018, the second straight year of declines. 12,430 residents left the islands for the mainland seeking better opportunities in states with stronger economies. Hawaii’s workforce continues to shrink even faster as Hawaii’s population ages and people retire from the workforce.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) predicts slowing economic growth over the next few years and sees no signs of an “immanent downturn.” The visitor industry will experience further gains in visitor arrivals but inflation adjusted spending growth will drop. Most gains will come from the Continental United States as a shrinking population will limit visitors from Japan and lower oil prices will affect Canadian numbers. China has not developed into a major source of tourism as many had hoped over the past decade. Hawaii has seen the departure of a large number of military personnel and personal income is expected to grow a meager annual rate of 1% over the next few years despite record low unemployment. That will result in negligible purchasing power even with low inflation. We offer a monthly e-mail newsletter that contains additional local news and often includes photos, video, and useful links. Please e-mail us at home@stott.com if you would like to be added to the distribution.
The Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the question asking voters to approve an amendment to the Hawaii Constitution that would allow the state to tax property in support of education because the wording on the ballot question was ruled unclear. Hawaii law requires that the language of a proposed amendment be neither misleading nor deceptive. The voting booths had notices stating that any votes for or against the measure on the ballots would not be counted.
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the Thirty Meter Telescope Project (TMT) to begin construction once the necessary requirements of the state conservation district use permit are met. The state Office of Conservation and Coastal plans must approve TMT construction plans before construction can begin. The construction plans will be reviewed to make sure that they are consistent with the permit conditions and adhere to the Maunakea Comprehensive Management Plan that includes control of invasive species and attention to cultural protocols and training. Opponents of the project have already announced that they will make another stand on the mountain to halt the construction.
Hawaii visitors unfortunate enough to stay at five Waikiki hotels owned by Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts fended for themselves and listened to aggressive Unite Here Local 5 union workers picketing the hotels during the 51-day strike. Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Westin Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and Sheraton Maui were the first five of twenty hotels whose workers are represented by Unite Here Local 5 that had contracts expire this year and the union hopes to set the standard for the remaining contracts. Tourists paying pricey room rates had to do without housekeeping services and were asked to put out towels and trash in the halls. The hotels closed most restaurants, room service, and bar service. While some guests showed support for the workers, a large number of out-of-state visitors were angry with the workers when they were informed of the lack of service after checking into the hotel. Guests were awakened as early as 5:30 in the morning by chanting strikers picketing in front of the hotel and surrounded by picketing workers while trying to enjoy themselves on the beach. One woman left a message with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser stating that it was ridiculous that the hotels were expected to pay more than $50,000 per year for unskilled labor. She made less than the workers and saved years for a vacation ruined by the strike. The strike soured the American Dental Association’s (ADA) convention; the state’s largest during the last week in October and the ADA may consider a different venue after dealing with the disruption. Local politicians showed how much they take the tourist industry for granted by showing support for workers while failing to apologize to visitors who have had their Hawaii vacations ruined. The strike ended on November 27th when Unite Here Local 5 ratified a new contract. Oahu’s hotel occupancy fell below 80 percent in November for the first time since March 2017 as the workers strike caused declines in bookings and led to cancellations. Revenue available per room (REVPAR) fell over 3% due to the closure of some food and beverage venues at the affected hotels.
A North Carolina doctor and his wife filed a class-action lawsuit against Marriott International and Kyo-Ya Hotels and Resorts for failing to inform them of the strike before they arrived for their honeymoon. By the time that the couple arrived at the hotel, the strike had been going on for about one month. Tim and Tracey were a little surprised that the Waikiki hotels embroiled in the strike with Unite Here Local 5 were not warning visitors ahead of time and were not providing room discounts to customers for the lack of service. It seems that some customers have arrived at the same conclusion.
A plan to speed up the building permit processing won final approval by the Honolulu City Council on November 14th for one- and two-family homes over the objection of the Department of Planning and Permitting that has taken up to a year to approve building permits. One contractor testified that he had to lay off 30 of his 83 carpenters over the past year due to delays in receiving approval of permit applications. In typical bureaucratic fashion, the department claimed that shortening the review time and relying on licensed professionals to do their job and serve their clients would result in lower safety and quality. The city council recognized that city government must get out of the way to allow the private sector to help solve the housing shortage and affordability crisis on Oahu. Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced on November 28th that he would allow the bill to become law in 60 days without his signature. He announced that the city will hire four new plan reviewers starting in December and bring back former or retired staffers on 89-day contracts to work through the backlog. He stated a new policy of immediately rejecting incomplete plans and limiting the number of reviews for commercial and residential projects to three cycles. Caldwell also mentioned increasing the number of permits filed online for projects like installing solar hot water, or completing certain electrical work, plumbing, or repairs to single-family homes.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s comments during the news conference announcing the changes in building permit reviews at the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) have caused concerns in the building industry that the city would deflect responsibility for the delays by blaming applicants and third-party reviewers versus taking a more customer centric approach and streamlining their processes and reviews. One contractor came to the conclusion that the mayor and DPP plan on reducing the backlog by simply rejecting applications. Some of the challenges that DPP face is that their department is spread over five floors of a municipal building and their computer systems and inspection tools are antiquated. Tim and Tracey have experienced the permitting delays first hand for a simple six-foot moss rock wall at the front and back of their property. The wall was completed in July and the building permits have still not been closed. A DPP contact told Tracey during a recent call that some “soil inspection” was still required before the permit could be closed.
Past Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and past Deputy Prosecutors Katherine Kealoha’s legal troubles have now ensnared Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro and two other deputy prosecutors. A Honolulu businessman has filed for an impeachment petition against Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro after media reports circulated that Kaneshiro received a target letter from federal prosecutors stating that he is a target of a grand jury investigation. The businessman has circulated a petition online and has collected 861 signatures eclipsing the required 500 signatures to submit a petition to the courts. The impeachment petition has been submitted to the Circuit Court and the judge will likely ask the state Office of Elections to certify the signatures. The first hearing was initially scheduled for January 8 2019, but it has been postponed until February 14, 2019 because Kaneshiro has not obtained legal counsel. In a shocking display of arrogance, Kaneshiro failed to show up at a December 28, 2018 conference and a city deputy counselor only showed to repeatedly state that he did not represent Kaneshiro. The businessman who filed the petition was indicted twice for distributing sweepstake machines that Kaneshiro’s office deemed illegal gambling devices and seized the machines from arcades around Oahu. Katherine Kealoha had filed both indictments and state judges dismissed both indictments. The businessman is seeking the return of the machines and is also suing Kaneshiro, Kealoha, and the city for malicious and retaliatory prosecution. The businessman claims that he was the only person indicted because he was the only person to ask for the return of the machines. The impeachment process is likely to drag out for months since the city and state processes or poorly defined.
Howard Hughes Corp. continues to build out Ward Village in Kakaako. The company broke ground on its fifth mixed use tower, the 751-unit Aalii, in November. While several of the other towers were aimed at the luxury and ultra-luxury market, the Aalii will offer more “moderately priced” units. Prices start in the $500,000s for a 300 square foot studio, in the $700,000s for one-bedroom units, and $1 million for an 850 square foot two-bedroom condo. An interior design firm was hired to provide turnkey furniture packages for some of the studios. While visiting the sales center, Tracey learned that part of the maintenance fee goes to power washing the Ward Village sidewalks every evening and for security on the grounds. Not surprisingly, Ward Village in Kakaako does not currently have any issues related to homelessness. The sales people have noticed a migration of some property owners in Waikiki, where the homeless population and crimes by homeless individuals have risen over the past decade.
Howard Hughes Corporation officially opened a privately owned public park in December, one month ahead of schedule with the introduction of a light garden consisting of 2,300 artificial flowers illuminated by about 25,000 LED lights that react to visitors walking by and to wind and sound. The one and half acre park will eventually be expanded to three acres and with walking paths, shade pavilions, and water features and host community events like yoga classes and outdoor movies. Howard Hughes also completed construction on its third tower, Ae’o, in December and new owners started moving into the condos priced an average of $1 million. E-mail us at home@stott.com if you are interested in the new developments at Ward Village and would like more information.
The successful planting of a test crop of oysters in Pearl Harbor’s West Loch is prompting a nonprofit, Waiwai Ola Waterkeepers Hawaii Islands to explore expanding the program to Maui’s Ma’alaea Harbor and the Ala Wai Canal. Introducing oysters is not harmful to the animals whose feeding process naturally filters the surrounding water. The shellfish absorb almost anything including pollutants. The useful materials are absorbed and help grow the oyster’s shell and the remainder is contained in mucus that sinks to the ocean floor.
The Volcano House, the one hotel in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, fully reopened on October 25th, five months after Kilauea’s eruption forced both the park and hotel to close. The restaurant and lounge were the last pieces of the hotel to open because of issues related to the rapid evacuation of the site. The hotel needed to replace flooring and some appliances before the restaurant and lounge could be reopened. The Volcano House brings back many great memories for Tim and Tracey. They stayed there to celebrate their first anniversary and decided to travel for every anniversary. Ashley was born the following October and that decision was overturned. Tim and Tracey returned in 2000 with both Ashley and Mark, and Mark finished his first hike at the age of three without having to be carried. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of those places that you can visit repeatedly and find some new adventure every time.
The University of Hawaii (UH) football team finished the season at 8 – 6 after losing to Louisiana Tech 31-14 in the 2018 Hawaii Bowl. It was the first time that UH has finished the regular season with a winning record in seven years.
The UH Wahine volleyball team lost 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Baylor University on November 29th after taking the first two sets and being up 18-14 in the fourth set. The disappointing loss was the first against a Baylor team. The Wahine finished the season 18-9, finished 2nd in the Big West Conference behind Cal Poly, and participated in their 26th consecutive NCAA tournament.
Tim and Tracey flew to Lanai in November to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary on November 12th. It had been 25 years since they stayed at the Lodge at Koele for their honeymoon. This time around, Tim and Tracey stayed at The Four Seasons Manele Bay because the Lodge is still undergoing renovations. While snorkeling, a Hawaiian monk seal meandered on by and stopped momentarily to check Tim and Tracey out before swimming off.
Successful Investors and Happy Home Owners
Tracey and I have been reading a book, The E-myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber who has made a career out of mentoring small business owners and helping them build great businesses. One of the paradigm shifts that Michael Gerber says must happen with most small business owners involves separating the small business owner’s sense of worth from the business. In other words, most small business owners will continue struggling or fail because the small business owner fails to remove him or herself emotionally from the business and view the business dispassionately through the lens of an entrepreneur. Most small businesses ultimately fail because the small business owner never set up the business to succeed without his or her involvement on a daily, personal level. Most failing small business owners wear out from the stress and effort of doing everything themselves.
We have been advising real estate investors to treat their investments as small businesses for 13 years and have owned investment property for 20 years. Stott Property Management, LLC’s happiest and most successful investor clients all share similar traits. They have no emotional attachment to the property, they make decisions based on how it affects long-term returns, they recognize that their rental property is simply a commodity and must compete accordingly for tenants, and they understand the value that they are offering their customer, the tenant.
By far, the clients that suffer most have an emotional attachment to their property. In some cases, they look at the property through the lens of their childhood experiences and don’t remember their parents’ efforts to provide a happy home. They expect their tenants to treat their property with the same reverence that they have while the tenants just see an old house that provides a roof over their heads. Every routine maintenance decision becomes an excruciatingly drawn out affair and every minor setback becomes a disaster. Stott Property Management, LLC recently had to give a property back to the owner of a house on the historic home registry that was in a neighborhood plagued by problems associated with homelessness. The owner was upset about normal wear and tear with some old dated wallpaper and some degradation in a concrete border for the driveway. The City and County of Honolulu advised the owner that this house made a poor rental property and revoked the historic home designation when the tenant locked the gate to the back yard to prevent the homeless people from harassing their children and from stealing items from the back yard. The owner would have made more money by taking the home out of the historic home registry, paid more in property taxes, removed the old wallpaper and painted the interior, and allowed the tenants to lock the gates and limit access to their yard. The property sat vacant for months when the owner tried to raise the rent on the existing tenants against our recommendation.
If you are thinking of renting a property that you are currently living in, ask yourself these two questions and answer honestly. Did you grow up in this home or raise your children in the home? Would you become extremely upset if a tenant did not have the same standards or attention to detail in caring for the home as you? If either of these answers is yes, then save yourself the suffering and sell the property when it is time to move.
Successful real estate investing is simply a numbers game where the winners collect more revenue than they pay out in expenses with minimum time and effort. Successful investors recognize that not all locations will offer good investment opportunities all the time and they only buy at a price that allows them to earn an acceptable return while hiring a professional to handle the details. If your goal is to eventually generate enough passive income to quit your day job, then you are going to have to work on your business and not in it. Please e-mail us at home@stott.com if you would like to us to give you the information necessary to make an informed decision regarding renting versus selling or if you would like us to provide our professional opinion regarding your current Oahu residential investment property.
1031 Exchange Overview
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of a 1031 exchange. The article is rather basic and not intended to be a guide to an actual exchange, as it omits rules and that could significantly impact upon a 1031 exchange. We have prepared a more detailed paper in a question & answer format using layman terminology that explains the process in considerably more detail. To obtain a copy, check the applicable block on the enclosed postcard and return it or e-mail us at home@stott.com. If you provide us your e-mail address, we’ll e-mail or mail you a copy of both the 1031 paper and the HARPTA paper that discusses the Hawaii law that enables the state to collect estimated capital gains taxes from owners that might not file a Hawaii tax return in the year of the sale.
Note: We have participated in a large number of 1031 exchanges and usually have several such transactions in escrow at any given time. However, we are not licensed to provide either legal or tax advice. Licensed professionals such as attorneys or CPA’s should be consulted for such advice. This comment applies to the entire newsletter.
Note: This paper will use the terms “old property” for the property being sold and “new property” for the property being purchased. A property may consist of more than one piece of real estate.
Background: Section 1031 of the internal revenue code (IRC) provides for the deferment of long-term capital gains taxes on the sale of investment real estate when it is exchanged for other investment real estate of equal or greater value than the real estate being sold. A common misconception is you will have to find someone to trade properties with you. Most 1031 exchanges involve two entirely separate transactions. In one transaction, you sell your old property and in the other, you purchase your new property. There is normally no reason for the buyer of your old property and the seller of the new property to have any contact with each other. Often, the properties are located in two different states; e.g., most of our exchanges involve property in Hawaii being exchanged for property on the mainland.
Qualified Intermediary (QI): The IRS mandates that you use a completely independent third party to supervise the exchange. Because this third party must be completely independent, it cannot be your real estate agent, accountant or attorney. The independent third party is usually referred to either as an intermediary or as qualified intermediary (QI); however, in some areas of the country the third party may be called either a facilitator or an accommodator. This paper will use the term “QI.” The QI can be located anywhere in the country; they do not need to be located near you or near either of the properties involved in the exchange.
The following steps have been changed; however, they help explain the role of the QI. The QI takes title to the old property for a brief instant in the process of having it sold from you to the buyer; i.e., title passes from you through the QI to the buyer. Similarly, the QI takes title to the new property for a brief instant in the process of having it sold from the seller to you. Therefore, the QI has owned both the old and the new properties and can exchange one for the other. Today, the QI no longer has to hold title to both properties. In 1991, the real estate industry successfully lobbied Congress to have the law changed, as escrow companies were charging double escrow fees; i.e. Seller to QI and then QI to you. Today, in lieu of taking title to both properties, the QI is tasked to provide instructions so that both transactions are closed in a manner that conforms to section 1031 of the IRC.
Properties & Timing: Both the old property and the new property must be investment real estate; in most cases they are rental properties. The two properties do not need to be the similar; e.g., you could exchange a house in Hawaii for two or more Mainland condos and vice versa. Almost any type of real estate qualifies such as a house, condo, store, office or even vacant land. However, your personal residence or a second home does not qualify. However, you could rent the new property first so that it qualifies as investment property and then occupy it yourself. Many of our clients do this; i.e., they use equity in their Oahu property to assist them in purchasing a future Mainland residence. The new property must be rented for at least a year prior to being occupied in order for it to qualify as investment real estate.
With some very few exceptions, all of the exchanges made by our clients have been deferred exchanges where the old property is sold prior to purchasing the new property. It is possible to do this in reverse order and purchase the new property first; i.e., prior to selling the old property. This is called a reverse exchange and is far more complicated and expensive than a deferred exchange. This article is based upon deferred exchanges. Over half of our deferred exchanges involved absentee owners conducting their first 1031 exchange.
When the old property closes, the proceeds from the sale go to the QI who banks the funds until you’re ready to purchase the new property. To defer all your capital gains taxes, you must buy new property that is equal to or higher in value than the old property. You must also reinvest all the cash proceeds from the sale into the purchase of the new property. The QI maintains the funds from the sale of the disposable property and then makes those funds available in order to enable the purchase of the new property. You cannot have access to any of the proceeds from the sale of the old property or those funds will be taxed.
There are two key time frames both measured from the closing date of the old property. Failure to meet either of these two time frames negates the tax-deferred 1031 exchange.
Within 45 days, the new property must be identified in writing to the QI.You can make changes to your identification any time within the 45-day-period; however, on the 46th day, you are locked-in to whatever has been identified as new property.
Within 180 days, the new property must close.You can identify more than one property; so if your preferred new property falls out of escrow, you could shift to a replacement new property that was identified during the 45-day-period; however, it would still have to be closed within the 180-day-period. Most exchangers identify more than one new property.
Deferring Taxes: A 1031 exchange enables an owner to be able to defer both the federal and state capital gains taxes that they have on the sale of their old property and roll those taxes over into the new property. Note that the taxes are deferred, not excluded. The current federal capital gains tax rate for most exchangers is 15% on all component of gain except depreciation recapture, which is taxed at 25%. The Hawaii capital gains tax rate is 7.25% on all components of gain including depreciation recapture. State taxes are a deduction for federal taxes; therefore, the combined tax rate is about 21% rather than 22.25% (15% + 7.25%).
Recent rules: Three relatively recent rules apply to principal residences. The tax relief act of 1997 enabled a homeowner to sell their principal residence and exclude up to $500,000 of gain (married) or up to $250,000 (single) providing they had occupied the home for an aggregate 24 out of the prior 60 months. So an owner only needed to own the property for three years, one year as a rental to qualify for the exchange and then two years as a principal residence to qualify for the tax relief act of 1997. In October 2004, there was a change to the 1997 law. An owner who acquired their principal residence by way of a 1031 exchange must now own the property for at least five years before they sell it in order to be eligible for the exclusion. The owner still needs to rent it for one or more years so it qualifies for the exchange and then have it be their principal residence for at least two years. The exchanger also has to pay depreciation recapture on depreciation claimed (after May 6, 1997) while the property was a rental; i.e., depreciation recapture while the property was a rental will not be excluded.
The Housing and Economic Act of 2008 reduces the capital gains that can be excluded when a homeowner sells a principal residence that they held as an investment property for a period of time as the amount of the tax exclusion will be adjusted by the non-resident use of the property. This law became effective 1/1/09. The amount of time of non-resident use after 1/1/09 is the numerator or top of a fraction with the bottom or denominator of the fraction being the total time since property acquisition. That fraction times total gain (exclusive of depreciation recapture after May 6, 1997) is the gain that will be taxed to the homeowner.
Example: Single Mary bought her Oahu home on 1/1/98 for $200,000 and rents it for 13 years until 1/1/11 when she occupies it as her principal residence. Seven years later, on 1/1/18, Mary sells the property for $500,000 and has $300,000 of gain.
The non-residence use of the property by Mary prior to 1/1/09 does not apply to the new law. Therefore, Mary has only two years of non-residence use (1/1/09 to 1/1/11) when she then occupies it as her principal residence. Five years later on 1/1/18 Mary will have owned it for a total of 20 years. Therefore, the fraction for non-resident use is 2/20. Or, the taxable gain is $300,000 x 1/10 or $30,000. The remaining $270,000 exceeds the $250,000 limit for single Mary, so Mary ends up with $50,000 taxable ($30,000 + $20,000) and $250,000 that is excluded. Mary would also owe depreciation recapture after May 6, 1997 that is taxed at 25%.
In our example, we used a long period of ownership before the eligibility date. If the property were acquired after the 1/1/09 eligibility date, the fraction will be much larger. For example, assume the property is acquired on 1/1/09, rented for three years and then occupied for two years, the non-resident use would be 3/7 or 43%. However, if it is rented for only one year and then occupied for six years, the non-resident use would only be 1/7 or 14%. Every day it is a rental property after 1/1/09 increases the capital gains taxes to the owner.
Granted, the new law has no impact if the owner never sells the property; however, few homes remain suitable for the same family over any extended period of time. Over time, most families desire a different location and/or a larger/smaller/more prestigious or a completely different type or style of home particularly after they retire or become empty nesters.
Reasons to Exchange: Most exchangers use 1031 exchanges to defer capital gains taxes. Many have long-range plans to eventually exclude their deferred taxes by converting a rental property into a primary residence even with ownership now a required five years. With proper planning, this is still a very viable investment tool, particularly for property bought prior to January 1, 2009.
Some final thoughts: A 1031 exchange is not the right investment tool for everyone. Over the years, we have assisted many owners in making a decision not to conduct an exchange. Often, all that was required was for us to estimate the owner’s capital gains taxes. Contact us toll-free (1-800-922-6811), locally (808-254-1515) or via e-mail (home@stott.com). Since recent tax law changes have made estimating capital gains taxes exceeding complex, we recommend speaking with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or tax attorney prior to deciding on a course of action. Due to the value of real estate on Oahu, you will likely be pushed into the higher tax brackets if you have owned the investment property for a significant period of time and the resulting tax bill could be costly if you don’t conduct a 1031 exchange.
Oahu’s median sales prices in June were $782,388 for single-family homes (1.6% lower than June 2017) and $420,000 for condos (5% higher than June 2017). The mixed results bear watching because the market for the more expensive single-family homes tends to lead the market for condos. Demand for single-family homes dropped for the second month in a row with the number of sales dropping 1.4% from the previous years figure. While the number of condos was 2.1% higher than last year, pending sales (properties under contract but not yet sold) fell for both single-family homes and condos. The number of pending sales for single-family homes was 12.6% lower and the number of pending sales for condos was 8.2% lower than June 2017. Median sales prices could be peaking in Oahu’s demand driven market.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) recently confirmed the DBEDT’s report and further explained the challenges facing Hawaii residents. While construction has increased modestly on Oahu after last year’s drop in activity, homebuilding remains well below the levels needed to meet statewide household formation. Construction jobs on the Neighbor Islands remain far below the previous peak in 2007. Limited income growth and rising interest rates will make it even more costly to build the necessary housing.
Stott Real Estate, Inc. recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in business and Tracey was recognized as one of only nine real estate agents that have been in the top 100 Realtors in the state of Hawaii for the past twelve years. Tim and Tracey also publish a monthly e-mail newsletter that provides more detailed local news with links to photos and videos. Please e-mail Tim and Tracey at home@stott.com if you would like to be added to the monthly newsletter. You will continue to receive the mailed quarterly newsletter.
Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory warned of the next lava event when it issued a Volcano Activity Notice on Tuesday, 4/17/18. Instruments recorded inflation of the Puu Oo Cone and the crater floor reportedly rose several yards at the time of the warning. Lava was reported spilling onto the nearby Halemaumau Crater floor at Kilauea’s summit on Monday, 4/23/18, less than a week after the warning. The lava covered about 39 acres on the crater floor. A similar episode preceded a lava flow that threatened the town of Pahoa back in June 2014 and a second lava flow that started in May 2016, reached the ocean, and is currently still active. Tim, Tracey, and their son, Mark walked within a few feet of the previous lava flow back in November. The last vent opening at Kilauea’s summit occurred ten years ago.
Kilauea’s eruptions have been changing almost daily and the original slow moving lava that originally started oozing out of fissures on May 3rd have been replaced by smoother, faster moving lava called pahoehoe. Two pahoehoe lava flows traveled from the vents to the ocean over one weekend cutting off some Puna neighborhoods from the rest of the island and creating a new volcanic hazard, laze. Laze occurs when lava comes in contact with cold seawater creating a lethal plume of steam containing hydrochloric acid and glass particles. A laze plume can travel up to 15 miles according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Emergency personnel had to scramble on Memorial Day to warn residents that refused to evacuate their homes three weeks earlier when a mandatory evacuation notice was issued. High fountains of lava started erupting from previously stalled vents and the lava flow progessed at the speed of a fast walk and crossed the last major road out of Pahoa. Fissure Eight has been producing up to 250-foot lava geysers for over a month and supplying a lava flow approximately ½ mile wide that completely filled up Kapoho Bay, extending 0.7 miles from the previous shoreline. Periodic earthquakes as large as 5.5 on the Richter Scale at Kilauea’s summit have damaged viewing areas in Volcanoes National Park and sent ash clouds up to 8,000 feet into the air from Halemaumau Crater.
The most recent eruption has currently covered 9.2 square miles of land, destroyed close to 700 homes, and created at least 260 acres of new land along 1.3 miles of the Kapoho coast. Fissure 8 has been spewing about 26,000 gallons of lava per second with more recent fountains of 150 feet in height. Fissure 8’s cinder and spatter cone is about 130 feet at its highest point.
The change in Kilauea’s lava flow has drained the lava lake that viewers used to see from Jaggar Museum’s overlook area. Halemaumau’s crater walls have slumped inward and the crater has repeatedly sent plumes of ash thousands of feet skyward when the crater walls have collapsed. The most recent collapse caused tremors at the summit equivalent to an earthquake of 5.3 on the Richter scale. The acidic volcanic ash has covered Jaggar Museum and the viewing areas. Cracks caused by seismic activity have compromised the structure of the viewing deck and museum and park officials doubt that the current museum will open again due to the proximity to an unstable cliff.
Hawaii’s low unemployment rate is masking many economic challenges that currently exist. Hawaii’s aging population and retiring baby boomers are holding the unemployment rate down and the shrinking labor force as a percentage of the population will make it more difficult to pay for the state’s public pension obligations. Private employer growth prospects have been hampered due to the difficulty in finding qualified employees and the dominant tourism industry generates below average wages. Hawaii has experienced a net decrease in population as some people have left the island because they can no longer make ends meet due to the high cost of living. Gubernatorial candidate Colleen Hanabusa claims that the state’s struggles are a result of the failed leadership of current Governor David Ige. However, changing governors again will not result in any changes to the state’s economy unless there is a shift in the state and counties approaches to government. The tax and spend mentality that dominates the state has resulted in a competitive disadvantage of Hawaii’s employees in comparison to other employees elsewhere in the nation. Leading state economist, Paul Brewbaker, has pointed out that the state’s economy has only grown 1.6% per year on average of the past decade which lags the national average of 2.1%.
The most recent report by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) reported that Hawaii’s economy started to accelerate during the first quarter of 2018. The trend is expected to continue as record tourism continues to drive growth for the state. Visitor spending grew 10.1% during the first quarter compared to 2017 and the number of available airline seats grew 10.6%. Not all industries are experiencing job growth as state government lost 1,700 jobs and retail lost 1,000 jobs over the last year.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) recently confirmed the DBEDT’s report and further explained the challenges facing Hawaii residents in a June report. While construction has increased modestly on Oahu after last year’s drop in activity, homebuilding remains well below the levels needed to meet statewide household formation. Construction jobs on the Neighbor Islands remain far below the previous peak in 2007. Limited income growth and rising interest rates will make it even more costly to build the necessary housing. Booming tourism growth is compounding the housing shortage by driving the spread of vacation rentals as landlords turn to tourists to help cover the high costs of maintaining a rental property. The following numbers help put tourisms impact in perspective: 1 in 10 people on Oahu, 1 in 7 people on the Big Island of Hawaii, and 1 in 4 people on Maui and Kauai are visitors.
New U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines highlight the high cost of living on Oahu and a reason why more individuals and families have been leaving the islands versus coming. An Oahu family of four earning $93,300 is considered by HUD to be low income under the new guidelines and a single person earning $65,350 is considered low income. The HUD guidelines are based on fair market rents.
Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill and Governor David Ige signed the measure to ask voters if the state should be empowered to impose a tax surcharge on investment real estate to help fund public education. State residents will vote for the proposed constitutional amendment although many of those that would be affected by this tax will not have the ability to vote on the measure. Some lawmakers correctly argued that the tax surcharge would be passed on to renters further making Hawaii housing more unaffordable even though they still voted for the bill. The proposed constitutional amendment will be placed on the November 6 ballot.
The Hawaii Legislature passed a bill that raises the Hawaii Real Property Tax Act (HARPTA) withholding from 5% of the gross sale to 7.25% of the gross sale and is waiting on Governor David Ige’s signature. HARPTA is not a tax, but a means for the state to collect capital gains taxes from out of state residents and corporations. In order to file for a refund, individuals and corporations may also have to show that they are current in their General Excise Tax (GET) payments, Transient Accommodation Tax (TAT) payments, and state income tax filings. This is the second measure passed by the legislature this year targeting taxpayers that can’t vote in state elections. Please e-mail Tim and Tracey at home@stott.com if you have questions about HARPTA. They can send you an article with more detailed information.
Hawaii may be starting a new chapter in its well-documented struggle with homelessness. For the first time since 2009, Hawaii’s homeless population declined according to the latest point-in-time count. The number of homeless individuals dropped from 7,220 to 6,530 over the past year. Homeless numbers dropped 9% on Oahu, 3% on Maui, 9% on the Big Island of Hawaii, and 29% on Kauai.
The transfer of some parks in Kakaako from the state to the city begins a new strategy to address the cycle of chronically homeless people moving from parks to city sidewalks and back to parks over the past three years. Police started sweeping the Kakaako parks on Monday, April 30th and those forced to move were not allowed to set up camps on sidewalks and were told to leave Kakaako and move past Aloha Tower or Ala Moana Mall. While the homeless and some advocates complained about the move, frequent visitors of the parks applauded the efforts.
The cat and mouse game between the City and County of Honolulu and the homeless continued in June. The city’s latest attempt to discourage certain homeless activity and prevent tents being erected on city sidewalks involves two bills. One bill will make it illegal to obstruct any sidewalk on Oahu between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily if it interferes with the normal flow of pedestrian traffic. The second bill will make it illegal to lodge on city sidewalks at all hours. Lodging is defined as occupying a place temporarily to sleep or rest and to refuse to move when requested by authorities.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell vetoed a bill passed by the city council that would have capped the surcharges by Lyft and Uber during peak hours. In a positive sign for business and consumers, Mayor Caldwell called for less regulation of traditional taxi companies so that they could better compete with their disruptive competitors. The administration is drafting a new bill where passengers can choose the more traditional pay per mile fare system or an upfront pricing system that discloses the price charged per ride prior to the customer accepting the ride. The new bill could be a rare win for taxi companies, ride-hailing companies, and consumers.
Boat transportation was suspended to the Arizona Memorial on May 10th when a crack was discovered in the supporting structure for the visitor-loading ramp. Visitors currently can receive a harbor tour near the memorial until the necessary repairs can be made. The Arizona Memorial is the most visited attraction on the island of Oahu. You can visit the following website to check for repair updates: https://www.nps.gov/valr/faqs.htm
Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) announced the completion of their new power plant on Schofield Barracks in cooperation with the U.S. Army. The only power plant located inland consists of quick-starting generators that run off conventional fuels and biofuels and will feed into the island’s electrical grid serving all customers on Oahu. The station is projected to reduce oil usage by about 26,000 barrels annually. The power plants ability to quickly adjust to changes in demand will help the continued integration of electricity from solar and wind.
The solar power industry is seeing strong demand this year as photo-voltaic (PV) systems with battery storage devices gain acceptance. The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting has issued 21% more permits to date in 2018 than in 2017. There are some concerns that the demand is outpacing the supply of the more popular batteries and that could act as a constraint in getting the systems up and running. Even though the long-term trend indicates more energy storage production, the short-term picture looks to be one of tight supply and higher prices.
Managing Financial Risk
Warren Buffet probably best describes managing financial risk as making investment decisions that put the odds in your favor. While the “Oracle of Omaha” was typically referring to buying businesses or stocks, the same principles can be applied to personal finance, homeownership, and investment real estate.
The best hedge against the eventual recession is to minimize personal debt and business leverage (business debt and loans on investment real estate). Being business owners, Tim and Tracey have always kept a close eye on the amount of accumulated debt in relation to the amount of passive and active income. The passive income comes from their investment property portfolio while their active income comes from their earnings at Stott Real Estate, Inc. and Stott Property Management, LLC. Since most of their income comes from commission based sales, they have always tried to maintain a balance equal to six months of living expenses in a savings account in case of a downturn in the business that resulted in a reduction of active income. Additionally, they did not purchase any investment property using a mortgage unless the expected revenue generated by the new property exceeded the expenses associated with the mortgage payments, property tax payments, and insurance by 25%. That margin helped prevent a short-term cash crunch by providing funds for repairs and periodic vacancies. By following these basic rules, Tim and Tracey were able to avoid financial distress through the inevitable real estate market cycles over the past twenty years.
Tim and Tracey, have had to try and help clients that did not follow these basic rules and were suffering from negative cash flow on one or more investment properties and a reduction of earned income through salary reductions or layoffs during a buyer’s market and a lack of home equity. In some cases, the luckier clients were able to negotiate a short-sale with the lender in order to sell a property. A short-sale is a process where the lender agrees to accept less money than is owed by the property owner during a sale in order to avoid the expense of having to foreclose on the property. In other cases, our clients had to suffer through years of negative cash flow before the real estate market recovered. In a few cases, the lender foreclosed on the property because the client could no longer make the mortgage payments.
One of the biggest myths sold by banks and the lending industry is the flawed financial concept of “tapping your home equity.” Banks and lenders peddle this poor idea in order to convince homeowners to take out larger loans against their property by either refinancing into a larger mortgage and receiving cash, or by taking out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). Make no mistake. The only way a homeowner can truly receive cash in return for home equity is by selling the home.
Tim and Tracey are currently seeing similar patterns now that occurred in 2007, the year before the last Hawaii (and national) real estate downturn. Hawaii has recently seen a net migration out of the state due to the high cost of living associated with a very expensive housing and rental market. Rents on Oahu have fallen over the past year or two as people either leave the island for more affordable areas, unrelated adults pool their resources as roommates to afford the rent, or multiple generations move into the same household. And, demand for single-family-homes and condos have recently slowed over the past two months. While the drop in demand could be a temporary blip, high prices and rising mortgage rates make a downturn in the Oahu real estate market a possibility.
If you are moving from Oahu and own your home, contact us for a free analysis of likely value both renting and selling your home. If you own a rental property and are currently suffering from negative cash flow, contact us about the possibility of ending the pain by selling the property. If you have a second home on Oahu that you are not currently using, then contact us about renting or selling the home to mitigate or eliminate the expenses. You can reach Tim and Tracey by e-mailing us at home@stott.com, visiting our website at www.stott.com, or calling us at 1-800-922-6811.
Property Management Guidance
Background: Stott Real Estate, Inc. sells residential real estate and its subsidiary, Stott Property Management, LLC, manages residential rental property. The two companies have separate staffs and share the same office. Tracey Stott Kelley is the principal broker of Stott Real Estate, Inc. and Tim Kelley is the principal broker of Stott Property Management, LLC. Stott Property Management currently manages approximately 400 rental units on the island of Oahu.
There are many superb property managers (PMs) on Oahu. Any negative comments made in this article are not directed at PMs as a group. That being said, many of our clients had previously used another PM before hiring us. The article discusses common errors made by owners and/or their PMs. The article is designed to help owners increase their rental income by learning from the mistakes of others.
Absentee Owner Managing Property: By far the biggest mistake that we witness on a regular basis is an owner trying to manage a rental property while living thousands of miles away. The owner does not typically have a good understanding of the Landlord-Tenant Code (Hawaii’s laws governing residential real estate), must rely solely on the tenant to maintain the property, and does not have the time and resources to address problem tenants. The attorney that we use for evictions states that most of the difficult and expensive legal problems that he is hired to help solve involve owners acting as a PM that are not familiar with the Landlord-Tenant Code and proper check-in/check-out procedures. Tim Kelley and Tracey Stott Kelley do not even attempt to manage their mainland rental properties despite their years of experience. They have two PMs managing their investment real estate portfolio.
Additionally, The State of Hawaii requires an absentee owner to obtain an on-island representative to manage the property. We have witnessed a number of knowledgeable tenants create expensive headaches for owners that have tried to manage a property themselves.
Poor or Inadequate Tenant Screening: The best way to deal with problem tenants is refusing to allow problem tenants to move into a property. Stott Property Management, LLC requires every adult applicant to fill out an application and then checks the following: Credit Score, Employment, Previous Landlord References, and State of Hawaii Court Records. By carefully screening tenants, Stott Property Management, LLC helps minimize tenant caused problems and protects their clients from arbitrary discrimination complaints. Failure to properly screen tenants can result in several months of lost rent and thousands in legal fees to correct the situation.
Improper Check-ins and Check-outs: The State of Hawaii requires a Tenant to return the property to the Landlord in the same condition that the property was in at the time the Tenant checked in minus normal wear and tear. “Normal wear and tear” does not include dirt. One common pet peeve of investment property owners involves being charged for cleaning when a property is being made ready for the next tenant. If a property was clean at the time of check-in, then any cleaning required after the tenant checks out should be paid for by a portion of the tenants’ security deposit. The only time an owner should pay a cleaning bill would be if light cleaning was required because maintenance was conducted in a vacant property, or if a property was vacant for more than a month.
The Landlord-Tenant Code requires that the Landlord must obtain a signed Property Inventory and Condition Form from the tenant at the time of check-in in order to withhold any funds for tenant caused damage after the tenant checks out. If the Landlord withholds all or a portion of the funds, then the Landlord must mail the prior Tenant a letter stating the charges, provide copies of estimates or bills from contractors, and provide a check for any remaining funds within 14 days of the check out. Stott Property Management, LLC has witnessed the small claims court judge order a Landlord to return the security deposit in full for failure to have a signed Property Inventory and Condition Form or meet the 14-day requirement even though evidence of tenant caused damage was presented in court.
Failure to Conduct Routine Inspections: A quote that is often used in leadership also applies to rental properties. “It is not what you expect, it is what you inspect.” Stott Property Management, LLC has taken over many rental properties that were not inspected because a “great tenant” was living there. It appears that the definition of a “great tenant” to a few PMs and/or owners is a tenant that stays for an extremely long time and pays their rent. The owner is then shocked to find out that these tenants trashed their property when they did finally move.
Landlords must regularly inspect properties in order to maintain the properties in good condition. Over several years, normal wear and tear will turn a clean and desirable rental property into a run down looking home that fails to attract good tenants. Failure to identify and address regular maintenance items like painting, replacing worn out flooring, and repairing small leaks can and will lead to lost rent and more expensive repairs in the future.
Failure to Charge Market Rent: In general, rent will increase over time at the rate of inflation. One common mistake that owners make is charging below market rent to friends and family. One common misconception that some owners have is the thought that the tenant will be grateful for being able to rent a property for several hundreds of dollars below market rent every month. These very same owners are then dismayed when their financial situation changes and they must either sell the property or ask the tenant to move and the tenant becomes a problem. Instead of receiving gratitude for their charity, the owners receive scorn for taking away a rental subsidy. If you feel compelled to help someone out, we recommend writing a friend or family member a check for an amount you are comfortable with. You will enjoy the benefits of providing a gift without the liability of offering a subsidy for an indefinite period of time.
Another common mistake that some PMs and owners make involves failing to increase the rent that a long-term tenant pays when market rents have risen. Stott Property Management, LLC has seen some tenants paying half the market rent for a property because a PM or owner has failed to raise the rent on a tenant that has lived in a property for ten years or more. Stott Property Management, LLC compares the actual rent to the market rent every time a lease is about to expire and then makes recommendations to their clients when, in their opinion, a rent increase is warranted.
Tenant Repairs: Asking or allowing a tenant to conduct repairs on a rental property in lieu of rent almost always ends up in failure. The reasons behind the problems include failure to define and document the scope of the work for the agreed upon rent credit, the tenants lack of skill in completing the repair, failure to inspect the final work product, or a combination of these reasons.
We have witnessed some property managers make the same mistake as owners. We have even spoken to one owner who allowed a “handyman” to move into his property to conduct repairs and then had to evict this same “handyman” who lived in the property without completing any work over the span of several months. The Owner had to bear the costs of an eviction for a tenant that never paid any rent.
Befriending Tenants: Some owners make it a point to become “personal friends” with their tenants. As a result, they tend to stop treating their rental property as a business and end up losing money by failing to make difficult decisions that negatively impact their “friends.”
Asking Above Market Rent: One of the biggest myths in investment real estate is the idea that a property will attract better tenants by simply raising the asking rent. In most cases, the best-qualified tenant prospects are also the most informed tenant prospects. In order to successfully compete for well-qualified tenants, a landlord must offer a competitive asking rent. Typically speaking, the only tenant prospects that apply for a rental charging over market rent are those people who have limited options due to poor credit and/or poor rental references.
Instead of attracting the best tenants in a reasonable time frame, the landlord ends up with longer than normal vacancy rates, lower quality tenants, and typically higher turnover. Since vacancy periods, problem tenants, and turnover expenses cost landlords more than standard repairs, overpricing a rental should be avoided.
Fully Furnished Apartments: Unless an owner lives in a property for part of each year, or the property is located in a high-end tourist destination, furnishing an apartment makes it more difficult to attract quality long-term tenants. Most people looking to rent long-term have their own furniture. The additional costs and headaches involved with maintaining the furnishings typically result in lower cash flow.
Pets: Some owners do not allow pets because they fear that the animals may cause excessive damage or ruin carpeting if the pet has an accident. The State of Hawaii allows landlords to collect a refundable pet deposit in addition to the refundable security deposit. State Law also allows tenants to move a “pet” into a rental that does not allow pets by obtaining a doctor’s note claiming that the “pet” is an Emotional Support Animal.
Stott Property Management recommends owners to allow a small pet (under 40 lbs.) due to the above mentioned changes in state law. Most tenant prospects that have great credit and rental references are responsible pet owners. The combined security deposit and pet deposit would usually be large enough to replace carpet and padding if the pet has an accident. The higher demand helps raise the rent and reduce vacancy periods and some pet owners will look past flooring defects in order to move into a rental that allows a pet.
Remodeling: Location and views have the largest impact on market rent. In general, tenants look for clean and functional square footage in neighborhoods that meet their needs the best. Installing granite countertops, high-end cabinetry, hard wood floors, high-end appliances and bathroom fixtures do not provide a sufficient return on investment. Since the State of Hawaii limits a security deposit equal to one month’s rent, one careless tenant could end up causing thousands of dollars in damage to a high-end remodel.
If your property shows signs of wear and tear, a coat of fresh paint and decent rental grade carpeting should be sufficient to attract quality tenants. If you don’t want to replace the carpet every five to seven years, then consider installing ceramic tile. Don’t replace “dated” cabinetry and countertops unless they exhibit major functional problems (i.e. stuck drawers, rotten wood, broken hinges that can’t be repaired).
Discrimination: Federal and State Laws prohibit turning down a potential tenant due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. Some owners of high-rise condos have voiced concerns over the safety of small children and the risks of falling. Even though those concerns may be valid, turning down an applicant with small children for that specific reason violates the law.
Oahu’s median sales prices in March were $760,000 for single-family homes (1.1% higher than March, 2017) and a record $435,000 for condos (8.8% higher than March, 2017). Single-family home sale prices have flattened over the past year and may have reached the limits of affordability for Oahu’s current income levels. Supply continues to be extremely tight with only 2.1 months of remaining inventory for single-family homes and 2.6 months or remaining inventory for condos. Recent bills passed addressing “monster homes” and changes to affordable housing rules will dampen development of additional housing. The supply constraints are likely to continue in both the short and long term and the housing cycle will continue to be driven by changes in demand. Affordability will constrain future price increases and rising interest rates pose the greatest threat of an eventual market downturn.
The University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization (UHERO) reports strong visitor growth. 5% more tourists visited Hawaii last year than in 2016 and the numbers will likely continue as airlines add to the number of available seats to the islands. Airlines have 10% more seats available in April compared to last year with Kauai seeing a 60% rise from the Western U.S. and Kona experiencing a 30% increase. Economists struggle with predicting when tourists will no longer be able to find places to stay as politicians drive an ever-larger percentage of accommodations market underground. Transient Vacation Rentals remain a major source of controversy on the islands and public dialog still focuses on trying to catch and punish property owners that violate city land and building codes. A Hawaii columnist accurately described a major driver behind the law-breaking trend by quoting one property owner. “People have worked out a way to actually pay their bills and get ahead for once. I don’t see how we can be treated as criminals when we are just trying to purchase property in Hawaii and have help paying for it.
Hawaii real estate investors should keep a close eye on a bill that passed over from the Senate to the House that would seek a Constitutional amendment to increase taxes on investment real estate to fund public schools. The state teachers-union is pushing the bill that would establish a “surcharge” on investment homes valued at more than $1 million and on visitor accommodations. State legislators and public school teachers apparently took notes when the City and County of Honolulu successfully raised taxes on a majority of out of state property owners that can’t vote in Hawaii’s elections.
Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Economic Research Organization (UHERO) briefed the House and Senate money committees, he outlined the benefits of accelerating the development of 33,000 additional new homes over the next seven years and cautioned that building so many more homes would require changes in the way that the state and the counties regulated development. Bonham estimates that the residential building would add an extra 0.5% to the state growth domestic product (GDP), and increase employment about 1%, and attract about 5,000 people to a state that has been experiencing a decline in population. Unfortunately, state legislators did not take the brief to heart. House Finance Chairwoman Silvia Luke focused on her favorite punching bag, Mayor Kirk Caldwell, by implying that nothing was happening at the city level, yet she failed to mention the regulatory hurdles created by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). Senate Ways and Means Chairman, Donavan Dela Cruz, summarized the presentation as “another plea” to cope with the housing crisis. While Bonham framed the issue as an opportunity if lawmakers reduced regulation, the “housing crisis” will likely continue by the lack of action at the county and state levels.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell recently signed a bill into law that imposes a moratorium of up to two years on building permits for houses whose interior square footage exceeds 70% of the lot size. For instance, a house may not be larger than 3,500 square feet on a 5,000 square foot lot. The new law has already affected a couple of sales for property that Stott Real Estate, Inc. has listed with development potential. The moratorium will not help Oahu’s affordable housing problem.
The state house of representatives has submitted a budget that removes the $8 million requested to fund existing homeless programs and provides $30 million for “ohana zones” across the islands against the recommendation of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The national agencies report that government sanctioned tent cities don’t work and only distract communities by arguing whose neighborhood should host them. A recently shuttered temporary ohana zone highlights the problems of the tent cities. Of the 51 homeless that stayed at the camp while it was open for eight months, 28 were kicked out for behavioral issues or drug use, arrested, or left voluntarily. While two people found permanent housing, four moved in with family, and 17 others were placed in other temporary shelters, the camp failed to keep the chronically homeless off the streets and failed to help those suffering from drug addiction and mental illness. Most Hawaii residents feel that the homeless situation is getting worse and state officials are failing to take effective steps to alleviate the problem.
Stott Property Management, LLC’s recent experience with the City and County of Honolulu’s approach to housing the homeless made the Honolulu Star Advertiser’s article covering U.S. Vets master lease approach timely. We recently started managing a property that housed a tenant receiving financial support from one of the non-profits funded by the city. The non-profit e-mailed over a contract for Stott Property Management, LLC to sign that required the company to open its books to the city and non-profit if they suspected that the tenant was being treated unfairly. In other words, Stott Property Management, LLC would have to put up with a “fishing expedition” if the landlord tenant relationship went sideways. Stott Property Management, LLC refused to sign the contract and gave the tenant and the non-profit written notice to vacate after reading the onerous contract. The tenant vacated and left truckloads of personal belongings and trash behind when checking out and the non-profit took no action to remedy the situation leaving the owner holding the bag. U.S. Vets on the other hand, signs a “master lease,” and takes full responsibility of the rental property and then houses homeless veterans. The organization pays the monthly rent regardless of occupancy and is required to return the condition back to the landlord in the same condition minus normal wear and tear once the lease arrangement ends. This arrangement is a much better approach to helping those in need get off the streets.
Catholic Charities Hawaii has taken matters into their own hands by building Meheula Vista, a senior affordable rental project in Mililani. The second phase of the four-phase, 301-unit project, was recently dedicated and the charity is breaking ground on phase three. Each phase consists of 75 affordable units that provide one bedroom, one bathroom, a full kitchen, common areas, a community room and a resident manager’s unit. The non-profit decided to start with low-income seniors because they are a growing segment of Hawaii’s population. It is expected that more than 25% of Hawaii’s population will be over the age of 60 by 2020.
A Hawaii appeals court has ruled that bed-and-breakfast business owners may not discriminate against gay couples, even if the owners live at the residence. The judge ruled that owners living in the same dwelling shall not refuse people based on their sex, sexual orientation, or marital status if the rental is on a short-term basis. The judge found that a bed-and-breakfast is subject to the state’s public-accommodation laws like any hotel, motel, or inn.
The Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board put out an advisory in late December warning service members of violent crimes occurring in Waikiki. According to the notice, the board estimates that there have been more than 1,000 violent drug and alcohol-related arrests in the vicinity of the intersection of Kalakaua and Royal Hawaiian avenues and the intersection of Kalakaua and Kapahulu. Mayor Kirk Caldwell only became aware of the notice in mid-January. Police have responded by using new recruits to increase police presence in Waikiki during the late-night and early-morning hours.
On Saturday, January 13, 2018, many people in Hawaii received the following emergency alert on their cell phones: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Fortunately, Tim’s general cynicism concerning the competency of large bureaucracies (government and non-government), and more specifically Hawaii’s government bureaucracies, turned out to be true. Tim told Tracey, the state of Hawaii government just screwed up an emergency drill. It took the state 43 minutes to broadcast that the emergency alert had been sent out in error.
Both the state and the FCC conducted an investigation into the incident. The findings from the state’s internal investigation revealed that the employee who sent out the emergency alert confused an exercise recording that started a drill, with a real threat. Five other employees executed the drill correctly. According to the report, the employee had been a source of concern for more than ten years due to poor performance and had previously confused drills for real events. The investigator documented in the report, “I find a preponderance of evidence exists that insufficient management controls, poor computer software design, and human factors contributed to the false alarm and its delayed retraction.” The FCC weighed in by stating that The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) did not establish proper protocol or resources resulting in the false alert and delayed retraction. The HI-EMA administrator and another executive resigned and a third supervisor is facing suspension without pay in addition to the fired employee.
A recent paper published by the University of Hawaii Research Organization by a grad student reported that 2019 is the best time to invest in a PV system with a battery backup. The working paper by a Ph.D. student analyzed the declining costs of battery systems, pending reduction in federal tax credits, and a range of electricity rates. The student concluded that homeowners who invested in a system in 2019 would improve their net savings by 17 – 32% on Oahu compared with buying the same system in 2017. The paper provides food for thought for homeowners on both Oahu and the outer islands.
Record tourist numbers and social media posts that make finding Oahu’s scenic hikes easier to find have resulted in ever increasing numbers of rescues by the Honolulu Fire Department. A typical search and rescue operation for hikers involves 12 to 17 personnel and costs about $1,500 per hour. At the more popular tourist destinations like Diamond Head Crater and the Lanikai Pillboxes, rescue teams typically treat people for heat exhaustion or sprains. However, more dangerous hikes can result in serious falls. In a two-week span this past January, firefighters airlifted three people who fell from 20 to 75 feet on the Pali Notches trail which leads to the highest point on the Koolaus. In fact, several hikers suffering serious falls were taking selfies at the time. Experienced hikers recommend hiking with a club first before tackling more difficult hikes on your own with friends. Officials at the Department of Land and Natural Resources recommends sticking to the state maintained Na Ala Hele trails system where information can be found on www.hawaiitrails.org.
Rising alcohol bills at bars and restaurants show consumer confidence according to economists and local craft breweries and distillers appear to be benefiting from enthusiastic tourists and locals. Tim and Tracey visited Waikiki Brewing Company in Kakaako recently to try out their craft drinks and smoked meat before seeing comedian Bryan Regan at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The food, drinks, and service were excellent. Waikiki Brewing Company has two pubs located in Waikiki and Kakaako.
Hawaii’s Merrie Monarch festival paid a special tribute to the Hokule’a, the Hawaiian ocean sailing canoe, when it returned to Hilo for the first time since 2014. The Hokule’a left Hilo in 2014 for its world-wide tour showcasing the Polynesian navigating techniques that brought the original people to Hawaii. The crewmembers of the original voyage in 1976 were given special canoe paddles and the hula dancing featured themes of voyaging.
Researchers at Maui’s Pacific Whale Foundation are trying to determine the reason for the drop in Hawaii Humpback Whale sightings over the past three years. Biologists don’t currently think that the whales’ numbers have dropped and are investigating a shift in the whales’ yearly migration patterns. Until recently, February has been the peak whale-sighting month.
The brush-tailed rock wallaby are native to Australia and look like tiny kangaroos. Two wallabies escaped from a private zoo in 1916 and they established a colony that is estimated to currently consist of about 40 animals in Kalihi Valley. An injured male wallaby was found near the Halawa Correctional Facility and zoo officials conducted surgery to remove an injured eye. Zoo officials suspect that the animal was injured in a fight with another animal. The zoo is currently looking for a permanent home once the wallaby completely recovers from surgery.
There were fewer than 60 Nene left on the planet in the 1960s. Today, there are nearly 3,000 and the Nene could be removed from the endangered species list next year.
Tax Changes
Stott Real Estate, Inc. is not licensed to provide legal or tax advice. Licensed professionals such as attorneys or certified public accountants should be consulted concerning questions related to tax strategies.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017: The law changed taxes for both corporations and individuals. At the corporate level, the graduated income tax rates with a top rate of 35% was replaced with a flat tax of 21% and the alternative minimum tax was eliminated. The corporate tax overhaul provided business both tax relief and simplified the tax code. Most of the discussion in this newsletter is limited to changes with the individual tax code and changes that can impact real estate investment since Stott Real Estate, Inc. specializes in residential real estate.
While the law did lower individual tax rates across the board for all income levels, the law did not make filing any simpler. In fact, the law most likely made tax planning more complicated because Congress had to placate many special interest groups in the Republican Party to pass on a party line basis and reconciliation rules required budgetary changes to expire. The law also left the Alternative Minimum Tax and the Obamacare Tax (3.8% tax on interest, dividends, and capital gains on high income individuals) in place. The law did reduce the fine for failing to obtain federally approved medical insurance to zero. The lower rates are set to expire on December 31, 2025.
The new law limits the mortgage interest deduction to interest on $750,000 of acquisition debt ($375,000 for married taxpayers filing separately) for mortgages starting on December 15, 2017. Homeowners whose mortgages started before December 15, 2017 may still deduct mortgage interest on $1,000,000 ($500,000 for married taxpayers filing separately) of acquisition debt.
The law limits itemized deductions for all nonbusiness state and local taxes including property taxes to $10,000. That does not go far in a state with high taxes. A married couple that owns a $700,000 house (below the median sales price on Oahu) will max out their tax deduction at a combined income of $98,875.15.
Real Estate investors can also take advantage of writing off investments per Section 179 of the tax code for roofs, heating and air-conditioning, fire protection, alarm systems, and security systems in addition to improvements of the interior portion of a building previously allowed. Like-Kind Exchanges per Section 1031 of the tax code for investment real estate remains.
Hawaii Act 107: The 2017 legislature raised taxes for high-income individuals and families. Taxpayers filing jointly pay a 9% marginal rate for income over $300,000 ($150,000 if filing separately), 10% marginal rate for income over $350,000 ($175,000 if filing separately), and 11% for income over $400,000 ($200,000 if filing separately). Hawaii taxpayers in these income brackets will already have reached the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions.
Residential A Changes: Residential property on Oahu without a Home Exemption is considered Residential A. Residential Property with a Home Exemption is taxed at 0.35% of the assessed value. The Honolulu City Council has raised the property taxes on Residential A properties as follows:
0.45% of the assessed value up to $1,000,000
0.9% of the assessed value for property over $1,000,000
If you are living in your Oahu home and have not filed for a Home Exemption, then you should do so immediately. Not only are you paying high property taxes, those property taxes may no longer be deducted from your federal income tax bill.
The term, normal wear and tear, is normally associated with rental properties and we will touch on how to differentiate between normal wear and tear and tenant damage at the end of the article. This article discusses how normal wear and tear can affect owner occupied homes, second homes, and rental properties.
Hawaii’s Climate: Anyone that has lived in Hawaii for more than a few years can attest to the toll the warm, humid climate takes on homes. Exposure to winds directly off the ocean will accelerate the deterioration of paint, fasteners, windows, appliances, and electronics.
Hawaii’s climate allows residents to minimize or avoid the use of air conditioning and the high cost of electricity (3 times that of most areas in the United States) encourages conservation. Additionally, many older homes, including ours, were built using tongue and groove siding supported by 4 x 4 posts known as “single-wall construction.” The lack of insulation associated with single-wall construction makes air conditioning impractical and expensive. While single wall construction houses take advantage of Hawaii’s trade winds to keep a home comfortable, the interior of the home is exposed to the same humid air as the exterior of the home. Appliances, electronics, and fixtures, will rust, break, and fail more often than homes in dryer climates and more often than homes that have central air conditioning and heat.
The high cost of materials and labor compound the expense of cleaning and maintaining a property. One of the most common complaints that we receive from our clients has to do with the cost of repairs. Unfortunately, the price of owning a piece of paradise is expensive in more ways than one.
In the span of 15 years, Tracey and Tim have replaced every appliance once and our dishwasher three times. We have replaced each television once and our personal computer twice. The nails on the side of the house facing the ocean breezes started rusting within one year of painting the exterior. Every subsequent attempt of rust proofing the nails has failed so far. We recently replaced all of our kitchen cabinetry because the cabinets that came with the home literally disintegrated. Gorilla glue can’t delay a kitchen remodel indefinitely.
Detailing our experiences over the past decade is not meant to scare away potential homeowners or solicit sympathy. We are simply trying to establish a realistic expectation of what it takes to maintain a Hawaii home over an extended period of time. Tim often has discussions with investors who are convinced that careless or destructive tenants drive up their repair costs when the real culprit is “normal wear and tear.” We can assure you that we have not been abusing our house or our belongings.
Inspections and Routine Maintenance: Inspections are absolutely critical for people that own investment property and second homes that sit vacant for significant periods of time. One major source of new property management clients comes from owners that have come back to the islands to inspect their rental property and are shocked by how poorly the property looks and functions.
Owners who try to manage their investment property from out of state often rely on tenants to identify and coordinate necessary repairs for them. Some tenants, will not report problems and either try to make repairs themselves or just live with issues because they are afraid that the owner will raise the rent if “they complain too much.” The oblivious owner is happy that the “great tenant” pays the rent on time and keeps repair expenses low until he or she comes and visits the home for the first time in five to ten years. The owner discovers that their investment property is now a “wreck” and the owner does not have sufficient rental income to make the repairs because he or she kept the rent the same for fear of losing the “great tenant.”
Some property managers do not conduct routine inspections and fail to identify and correct maintenance items on a regular basis. Many of these property managers fall into the same trap of thinking that their tenants will notify them when normal maintenance should be completed.
Problems from Deferred Maintenance: The biggest problem from failing to address routine maintenance as required is the snowball effect on the cost and time involved to address several years of repairs all at once. Many people can handle a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and coordinate the efforts of one contractor as needed. Few people can write a check for tens of thousands of dollars and efficiently coordinate the efforts of several contractors when a house has suffered neglect over an extended period of time.
Repairs tend to get more expensive over time when left unaddressed. A simple matter of repainting the exterior when it wears becomes much more expensive if the wood rots when surfaces get exposed. Torn screens can lead to pest control problems and neglected leaks can lead to higher utility bills and water damage.
Renting a property with deferred maintenance invites a host of problems. The most responsible tenants typically have a minimum set of standards that a poorly maintained home fails to meet. The resulting tenant pool is limited to those tenants that have limited options due to financial constraints or credit issues. Additionally, many tenants will feel that they don’t have to care for a rental property if it appears that the owner does not care about it. It is very difficult to identify and properly document tenant damage and withhold funds from a security deposit in a poorly maintained home. Owners that rent poorly maintained properties run a greater risk of having to evict a tenant and suffer large losses from unpaid rent, attorney fees, and cleanup costs.
Strategies for Success: We typically recommend condos and townhouses in well-run associations for investors and people seeking second homes. Maintenance fees cover insurance for the building and external maintenance. Therefore, the only wear and tear that an owner has to worry about addressing personally are the contents of the unit and possibly the windows and entry doors. Owners in an association can also benefit from lower maintenance costs associated with economies of scale.
Investors should hire a property manager that offers routine inspections as part of their routine. Stott Property Management, LLC inspections serve three purposes. We check to see how the tenant is taking care of the property, we look for unreported maintenance issues that should be addressed, and we communicate normal wear and tear items that should be addressed either immediately or during the next vacancy. We have hired property managers to manage our Texas investment properties even though we have extensive property management experience. It is extremely difficult to manage a rental property when you are thousands of miles away.
Consider hiring a home inspector to do an inspection about every five years if you own a second home (particularly if you visit infrequently or make it available to friends and family). We are aware of an inspector that offers a discount to his standard rate for existing homeowners. You will receive an unbiased opinion on the condition of your home and can address repairs before they become more expensive problems.
Documenting Tenant Damage: The state of Hawaii requires that the landlord obtain a signed property inventory and condition from the tenant when a tenant checks in. If the landlord does not obtain a signed copy of the property inventory and condition form, then the landlord may not withhold any of the tenant security deposit for cleaning, repairing tenant caused damage, or replacing missing items. Stott Property Management, LLC takes digital photos or a video of their rental properties when a new tenant checks in to provide a visual record in addition to the signed property inventory and condition form.
The most common make-ready bills that Stott Property Management, LLC charges tenants after they check out involve cleaning and disposing of personal items left behind. We make sure that carpets have been professionally cleaned prior to a tenant checking in so that we can require the tenant to professionally clean the carpet when they move out. Making sure that a property is clean before a check-in helps minimize, but does not entirely eliminate, arguments over cleanliness during the checkout. Keep in mind that dirt is not normal wear and tear.
Disintegrating screens, rusted fixtures, disintegrating curtains, faded paint, and worn and faded carpet, and dry rot, are all considered normal wear and tear. Obvious tenant damage consists of holes in walls and doors, stains, cracked and broken surfaces, and bent window treatments. Trying to charge a tenant for “normal wear and tear,” may land you small claims court. The Hawaii court system is very tenant friendly and a landlord’s documentation must be in order if a tenant ever challenges money withheld from the security deposit.
Selling is an Option: As a general rule of thumb, an investor will need to put down at least 50% of the sales price to break even on a rental property. Oahu investors typically receive a far lower cash flow than investors who buy property in other parts of the United States. We believe that a real estate investment should improve your monthly cash flow. Think twice before turning your existing home into a rental if your calculations project a negative monthly cash flow before repairs. You would be better off selling and placing the tax-free capital gains into a savings account.
Homeowners that live in their homes for more than two years receive a significant tax break if they make money on the sale of their home. The capital gains tax exemption is $250,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a married couple. This huge tax advantage starts to disappear once you turn your home into a rental. Several would-be landlords decided to sell once we helped them crunch the numbers.
Second homeowners should be aware of a recent change in the federal tax code’s treatment of mortgage interest. Taxpayers can still write off the mortgage interest on a second home, but the combined value of the two mortgages (primary and second home) may not exceed $375,000 if filing singly and $750,000 if filing jointly. People that live in expensive zip codes that own a second home on Oahu may find that the reduced tax savings makes maintaining two homes unaffordable.
If after crunching the numbers, you are still unsure as to whether you want to sell or rent, then we can put your property on both the sales market and rental market at the same time. Please contact us at 800-922-6811 or home@stott.com if you would like to discuss selling versus renting in greater detail.
The Oahu median sales price continues to climb as supply constraints force buyers to pay more. The median sales price for single-family homes was $750,000 (2.7% higher than December 2016) and for condos was $405,000 (3.8% higher than December 2016) in December. There is currently only 2.1 months of remaining inventory of single-family homes and 2.3 months of remaining inventory for condos. Stricter lending standards and the relatively unaffordable housing prices appear to be constraining price increases when comparing this current housing price expansion to the previous decade’s.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) has predicted a ninth year of economic expansion at a more subdued rate. Tourism, fueled by a strong economy, additional airline capacity, and the proliferation of non-traditional accommodations (vacation rentals) will grow at about 2%. Average visitor spending continued to drop and the sheer volume of visitors has stressed Hawaii’s existing infrastructure. Total visitor spending is expected to increase about 1% next year. There will likely be many more discussions and arguments over the positive and negative impacts of tourism in Hawaii.
Hawaii’s construction cycle has peaked, but construction should remain strong over the next few years. Residential home construction in Central and West Oahu continued with high-rise construction in Kakaako will keep construction workers busy.
The pace of job creation has slowed due to low unemployment. The lack of productivity growth in Hawaii’s service-oriented economy will dampen wage gains in the current tight labor market. UHERO predicts income will rise 1% while inflation will rise over 3% due to high energy and housing costs.
Outward migration and a strong economy have resulted in the lowest unemployment rate on record. Hawaii’s unemployment rate in November dropped to 2% and the pool of available workers dropped 1,100 from October to November to 670,300. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that about 13,500 more people have left the islands for other states than have arrived from other states from July 2016 to July 2017 and about 37,000 people have left the islands over the past five years. The state’s chief economist stated that a robust national economy and the lower cost of living elsewhere in the U.S. are contributing to the net losses. A recent study conducted by Harvard University reported that about one-third of tenants must dedicate at least 50% of their take-home pay on rent. Stott Property Management, LLC, lost the services of one of its plumbers when he moved off island. Skilled repair personnel are becoming harder to find across the board resulting in longer wait times.
Zumper has confirmed what many property managers, including Stott Property Management, LLC, have noticed. Zumper recently reported that the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment dropped 11% compared to the same time last year. A second report by Apartment List reported a much smaller decline of 0.3% for one- and two-bedroom apartments. Stott Property Management, LLC has recently had to lower asking rents in order to find new tenants for several vacant properties.
Uber has reached an agreement with the state of Hawaii to pick up airline passengers at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (formerly known as Honolulu International Airport). According to Uber, you can find directions to the pickup locations within the app.
Southwest Airlines has confirmed that it will start flying to Hawaii next year and is also eyeing the interisland market. The announcement came just before Island Air filed for bankruptcy. Island Air joined the ranks of Hawaii’s failed island airlines after closing its doors on November 10th after 37 years in business. Island Air accounted for about 5% of the interisland market while Hawaiian Airlines had 90% market share before Friday’s closure. Island Air had been profitable while operating older 40-seat aircraft and ran into trouble when those older planes had to be replaced with newer planes that seated many more people. Island Air was unable to keep the newer planes full and ultimately ran out of cash. Hawaiian Airlines and Mokulele Airlines are currently the only commercial interisland carriers as several competitors have failed to gain a foothold over the past decade.
Hawaii is expected to welcome a record, 9.3 million visitors, in 2017, a 4.5% increase over 2016 visitor counts. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism expects another 2.3% increase in 2018.
Castle and Cooke Hawaii broke ground on Koa Ridge, a $2 billion project that will include 3,500 new homes once completed. The project has been stalled for 20 years as the developer had to push through three state regulatory proceedings and two Hawaii Supreme Court challenges. Affordable housing advocates don’t have to look very hard to realize that government red tape is primarily responsible for Hawaii’s housing shortage.
Homelessness continues to capture headlines in the local newspapers and an article in the Honolulu Star Advertiser highlights the need to roll back regulation and unnecessary red tape before meaningful relief can take place. An Oregon based developer completed a 209-unit apartment building, Keauhou Lane, and started taking applications in August for 167 apartments reserved for residents that earn no more than the median income in Hawaii. The remaining 42 are reserved for residents that earn no more than 80 percent of the median income. As of November 11, 2017, when the article was written, only 33 of the apartments have been rented. The developer’s director of property management points out that the city’s income verification process and documentation requirements create unnecessary bottlenecks and wait times for tenants seeking approval. What is more striking is that the rents for a studio start at about $1,400, don’t include utilities, and don’t include parking which is $145 more per month. Stott Property Management, LLC does not have one studio apartment on the island that it manages charging more than $1,350 and several of those studio apartments are located in Waikiki and include assigned parking.
Stott Real Estate, Inc. recently felt the impact of the lawlessness associated with Honolulu’s homeless population when a fire under the H-1 viaduct damaged communication cables supplying Hawaiian Telcom’s phone and internet services. The fire caused cellular, cable TV, phone, and internet disruptions throughout Oahu and on parts of Maui. Our office was without phones and internet for the entire day on November 16th. While the fire remains under investigation, officials believe that the fire was intentionally set. The state recently cleared out 2,050 tons of trash from the area at a cost of $516,000. The state completed its last large homeless sweep in 2017 at a bike path near the H-1 viaduct early this month. 70 people, 20 dogs, and 22 guinea pigs were occupying the area when the sweep began.
The State Tax Director resigned amid concerns over the progress of the department’s IT upgrade and after the consultant for the project accused tax officials of interfering with its independent assessment of the project. The tax department requested changes to the reports before it was made public; a request that the consultant stated was not standard procedure. The consultant was hired after a string of failed information technology projects at the state government level dating back several administrations. The first two phases of the tax modernization project have been completed with hearings on the problems related to the General Excise Tax modernization efforts. The latest report stated, “At present, the program is not operating in an optimal way. There continue to be a number of issues and risks related to the program execution that, if not addressed and remediated immediately, may have a significant negative impact on the program’s ability.” House Finance Chairwoman, Sylvia Luke, a frequent critic of the tax office stated that the report is “shocking and it’s sad.” Luke went further by stating, “It completely undermines the credibility of the report and what they have said in the past, and I’m not sure how the consultant can allow this to happen, and I don’t know how the Department personnel can ethically insert themselves to maneuver and manipulate the information in these reports.” Governor Ige tried to explain away the tax officials’ behavior by stating, “change is hard.”
The Honolulu City Council gave approval for the city to begin condemnation proceedings for an easement over a small lane off Portlock Road to restore public beach access. One of the property owners installed a new locked gate that effectively blocked access to the beach on the advice of police. The owner is objecting to the city’s efforts to condemn part of his property to restore access. The controversy highlights a risk associated with owning beachfront property, particularly when the public uses a portion of the land to access the beach.
Former HPD police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha were arrested on Friday, 10/20/17, and appeared in federal court to face charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, making false statements and bank fraud. The former HPD police chief put himself on paid leave in mid-December when he was informed in writing that he was a target of a criminal investigation by federal authorities. Louis Kealoha retired in February and Katherine Kealoha was placed on unpaid leave on Friday, 10/20/17. Many consider the legal developments to be the most significant case of public abuse of power in state history.
The sound of church bells rang on Saturday, November 11, 2017, marking the 100th Anniversary of Queen Lili’uokalani’s death. When she died in 1917, church bells across the islands rang out over the islands she once ruled. Queen Lili’uokalani was the last sovereign of the Kamehameha dynasty that ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom since 1810. By the time that she became queen, a new Hawaiian Constitution had reduced much of the monarchy’s powers. When she tried to restore those powers, a coup supported by the U.S. Marines deposed her in 1893, and a provisional government was established about a year and a half later. The queen signed a formal abdication of her rule in 1895 but asked President Grover Cleveland to help restore her powers. The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898. Queen Lili’uokalani helped raise money for the Soldiers Chapel at Schofield Barracks, one of the churches that rang the bells on Saturday.
Taking care of Hawaii’s aging population has recently been getting more attention and divisions are occurring on similar lines as other recent contentious issues like vacation rentals and affordable housing. A cottage industry has been growing up in response to the expense associated with and lack of availability to traditional assisted living communities and nursing homes. The Honolulu Star Advertiser recently ran a front-page article concerning unlicensed elder care facilities called “aging in place” (AIP) facilities. The AIP model involves having a resident sign a residential lease and a separate agreement with a home health care company specifying a set rate each month for necessary care and assistance with daily living activities. The model appeals to many people that need assistance because they would rather live in a home environment and have help versus being forced to live in a nursing home. Homeowners have had an aging in place option available to them for years. The AIP proponents argue that this relatively new arrangement is more affordable and with more options than traditional licensed assisted living and nursing home options. Opponents of the measure claim that the lack of state oversight leaves unprotected seniors at risk of harm. Attorneys that have helped set up AIP facilities state that the arrangement complies with Hawaii law while some state regulators claim that the facility operators are trying to skirt the spirit of the law. Ultimately, the legislature and courts may decide if seniors that want assistance will be able to continue choosing where they can rent and choosing the type of care that they want at home.
Erosion, which accelerated this summer from king tides, has exposed concrete structures on parts of Waikiki Beach has forced the closure of an area at Kuhio Beach. The Waikiki Beach Special District Improvement Association, funded by a tax on commercial property in Waikiki, discussed replenishing the sand, among other necessary capital projects, during its first meeting on December 5th. The annual taxes generate about $600,000 per year to address Waikiki’s aging infrastructure. Severe erosion at Sunset Beach has forced the City and County of Honolulu to move a bike path closer to Kamehameha Highway, take down a storage shed used by the life guards, and move the life guard tower farther inland. A 20-foot drop off now marks the area where winter waves removed tons of sand from Sunset Beach. The city is working with the state to come up with a long-term plan since the erosion is expected to continue and there are no easy solutions. City officials short-term goals consist of taking measures to keep people from getting hurt at Sunset Beach and other Oahu locations that have experienced significant erosion over the past couple of years.
Longtime Honolulu resident, Jim Nabors, best known for his role as Gomer Pyle, died on November 30th at the age of 87. Tim and Tracey attended a Merry Christmas show at the Hawaii Theatre starring Nabors. His tremendous singing voice and low-key nature endeared him to many in Hawaii and made him a local fan favorite.
Two Honolulu women were rescued from their disabled 50-foot sailboat 900 miles southeast of Japan after drifting for five months. The pair left Ala Wai harbor on May 3rd destined for Tahiti. The two survived by packing a year’s worth of food on the boat and brought along a water purifier.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: This article is meant to highlight changes to the tax code in 2018. However, we are not licensed to provide either legal or tax advice. Licensed professionals like tax attorneys or certified public accountants (CPAs) should be consulted for advice.
The new law doubles the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and to $24,000 for married couples. A significant number of homeowners will no longer have to itemize their deductions. This will simplify the tax returns from some homeowners while providing a tax break for renters.
For those homeowners that will continue to itemize their tax deductions, the law limits interest from mortgages incurred after December 15, 2017 to no more than $750,000 that will qualify for the home mortgage interest deduction. Mortgages incurred before December 15, 2017 are unaffected (the $1 million limit still applies). However, interest paid on a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) will no longer be eligible for the home mortgage interest deduction. The law still preserves the mortgage deduction for second homes.
State and Local tax deductions are limited to $10,000. Therefore, residents in high tax states may not be able to deduct all of their property taxes in 2018. Many Hawaii taxpayers will have a smaller deduction in 2018 due to this change in tax law.
The homeowner’s exemption for capital gains and the ability to defer taxes via a 1031 exchange did not change. Homeowners that have lived in a property two of the last five years will be able to exclude $250,000 in capital gains if filing single and $500,000 if married filing jointly.
The treatment of mortgage interest on investment property has changed and is more complicated. An investor’s net interest deduction will be limited to 30 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the next four years and then it will be limited to 30 percent of earnings before interest and taxes thereafter. A rental property owner will still be able to fully deduct property taxes associated with their rental property. Depreciation for residential rental property has been extended from 27.5 years to 30 years and on commercial real estate from 39 years to 40 years.
The law also restricts taxpayers from deducting losses incurred in an active trade or business from wage income or portfolio income. As a result, real estate professionals should be aware of how this change might affect them in the future if they own investment real estate showing a net loss.
Oahu’s Appliance Challenge: Plan on installing stainless steel appliances if you are remodeling your Oahu kitchen in the near future. Major appliance companies are stocking fewer white and black models.
Tastes in the world of kitchen appliances have changed over the past few years and people who are contemplating a kitchen remodel should take notice. White and black kitchen appliances are out and stainless steel is in. Trying to replace a white dishwasher has frustrated Tim and Tracey over the holiday season. Neither Sears nor Best Buy had quiet (below 50 dB) white dishwashers in stock and it takes at three weeks to get one shipped from California. Waiting for an available plumber to install the dishwasher adds even more wait time.
Tracey has been willing to wait for an “acceptable” dishwasher since Tim has dish duty at the Kelley house. She commented recently on how frustrating it is to look at the pile of dirty dishes waiting to be cleaned.
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of a 1031 exchange. The article is rather basic and not intended to be a guide to an actual exchange, as it omits rules and that could significantly impact upon a 1031 exchange. We have prepared a more detailed paper in a question & answer format using layman terminology that explains the process in considerably more detail. To obtain a copy, check the applicable block on the enclosed postcard and return it. If you provide us your e-mail address, we’ll e-mail you a copy of both the 1031 paper and the HARPTA paper that discusses the Hawaii law that enables the state to collect estimated capital gains taxes from owners that might not file a Hawaii tax return in the year of the sale.
Note: We have participated in a large number of 1031 exchanges. However, we are not licensed to provide either legal or tax advice. Licensed professionals such as attorneys or CPA’s should be consulted for such advice. This comment applies to the entire newsletter.
Properties & Timing: Both the old property and the new property must be investment real estate; in most cases they are rental properties. The two properties do not need to be the similar; e.g., you could exchange a house in Hawaii for two or more Mainland condos and vice versa. Almost any type of real estate qualifies such as a house, condo, store, office or even vacant land. However, your personal residence or a second home does not qualify. You could rent the new property first so that it qualifies as investment property and then occupy it yourself. Many of our clients do this; i.e., they use equity in their Oahu property to assist them in purchasing a future Mainland residence. The new property must be rented for at least a year prior to being occupied in order for it to qualify as investment real estate.
Within 45 days, the new property must be identified in writing to the QI. You can make changes to your identification any time within the 45-day-period; however, on the 46th day, you are locked-in to whatever has been identified as new property.
Within 180 days, the new property must close. You can identify more than one property; so if your preferred new property falls out of escrow, you could shift to a replacement new property that was identified during the 45-day-period; however, it would still have to be closed within the 180-day-period. Most exchangers identify more than one new property.
Deferring Taxes: A 1031 exchange enables an owner to be able to defer both the federal and state capital gains taxes that they have on the sale of their old property and roll those taxes over into the new property. Note that the taxes are deferred, not excluded. The current federal capital gains tax rate for most exchangers is 15% on all component of gain except depreciation recapture, which is taxed at 25%. The federal capital gains rate does jump to 20% above certain income thresholds depending on how you file. The Hawaii capital gains tax rate is 7.25% on all components of gain including depreciation recapture.
Example: Single Mary bought her Oahu home on 1/1/93 for $200,000 and rents it for 18 years until 1/1/11 when she occupies it as her principal residence. Five years later, on 1/1/16, Mary sells the property for $500,000 and has $300,000 of gain.
The non-residence use of the property by Mary prior to 1/1/09 does not apply to the new law. Therefore, Mary has only two years of non-residence use (1/1/09 to 1/1/11) when she then occupies it as her principal residence. Five years later on 1/1/16 Mary will have owned it for a total of 23 years. Therefore, the fraction for non-resident use is 2/23. Or, the taxable gain is $300,000 x 2/23 or $26,087. The remaining $273,913 exceeds the $250,000 limit for single Mary, so Mary ends up with $50,000 taxable ($26,087 + $23,913) and $250,000 that is excluded. Mary would also owe depreciation recapture after May 6, 1997.
The example uses a long period of ownership before the eligibility date. If the property were acquired after the 1/1/09 eligibility date, the fraction will be much larger. For example, assume the property is acquired on 1/1/09, rented for three years and then occupied for two years, the non-resident use would be 3/5 or 60%. However, if it is rented for only one year and then occupied for four years, the non-resident use would only be 1/5 or 20%. Every day it is a rental property after 1/1/09 increases the capital gains taxes to the owner.
Some final thoughts: A 1031 exchange is not the right investment tool for everyone. Over the years, we have assisted many owners in making a decision not to conduct an exchange. Often, all that was required was for us to estimate the owner’s capital gains taxes. Contact us toll-free (1-800-922-6811), locally (808-254-1515) or via e-mail (home@stott.com). Since recent tax law changes have made estimating capital gains taxes exceedingly complex, we recommend speaking with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or tax attorney prior to deciding on a course of action. Due to the value of real estate on Oahu, you will likely be pushed into the higher tax brackets if you have owned the investment property for a significant period of time and the resulting tax bill could be costly if you don’t conduct a 1031 exchange.
Oahu’s median price for single-family homes was $760,000 in September (1.3% higher than September 2016) and for condos matched a record of $425,000 (10.9% higher than September 2016). The number of sales continued to grow in comparison to last year as fence sitting buyers have finally moved forward while supply fails to keep up. Stott Property Management had roughly ten tenants give notice over the past two months because they purchased a home. There are currently only 2.4 months of remaining inventory of single-family homes and only 2.6 months of remaining inventory of condos. Bidding for available homes has been intense. One Kailua foreclosure received 29 offers during the 10-day bidding period.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) reported that Hawaii’s economy is decelerating with job growth finishing the year at less than 1% due to flattening construction and a tight labor market. UHERO predicts that job growth will slow to about 0.5% for the remainder of the decade. Tourism continues to exceed expectations with visitor counts are currently 4% higher than last year and 20% higher than the previous decade. Transient vacation rentals are helping house the growth in visitors since hotels and timeshares are operating at capacity. An increasing percentage of tourists report that they are staying in private homes. The benefits and costs of vacation rentals continue to be a hot button issue in Hawaii.
Price pressures in Honolulu are rising with shelter costs rising 4.2% in the first half of 2017, the fastest pace since 2007. Home prices have risen about 30% since 2011, which has translated into the higher shelter costs for both homeowners and renters. Energy prices have recovered after several years of decline due to low oil prices. UHERO expects a 2.8% inflation rate for 2017 and inflation of 3% for 2018 and 2019.
A July fire in the Marco Polo building, a 36-floor high rise across the Ala Wai canal from Waikiki, has city and state officials looking into mandatory sprinkler system retrofits. The fire killed three people and damaged more than 200 of the 568 units before fire fighters brought the blaze under control. The condo board decided against retrofitting a sprinkler system in 2013 due to the $8,000 per unit price tag. Fire fighters also pointed out that many owners in the Marco Polo building have violated fire codes by installing screen doors outside their front doors and propping the front doors open to improve air circulation. The common practice allowed the fire to spread more quickly through the building. Costs to repair the damage are expected to exceed $100 million. Prospective buyers have taken notice and place a higher premium on sprinkler systems when evaluating high-rise condos. Several prospective buyers pointed out the sprinkler system in a condo where Tracey recently held an open house.
Honolulu City Council members twice voted to defer action on requiring more than 350 residential condo buildings to be retrofitted with sprinkler systems in the next five years. Bill 69, introduced on behalf of Mayor Kirk Caldwell days after the Marco Polo fire, has been deferred until council members can obtain more information. The proposed bill has already received loud protests from condominium owners who fear that they could be forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars to finance the sprinkler retrofit. While not everyone opposes the need for the bill, many contend that the five-year time frame is far too short a period of time to finish retrofitting 358 buildings.
A consultant hired by the state of Hawaii to analyze Hawaii’s tax structure warned that current tax collections would not be sufficient to cover the costs associated with the health insurance and pension funds for government employees. This is the second time in five years that the state has been warned of its unfunded liabilities. The state’s public workers’ pension fund currently has unfunded liabilities of $12.44 billion and the public workers’ health fund has unfunded liabilities of $11.7 billion. Lawmakers, concerned about the shortfall, passed Act 268 in 2013 that requires the state to start setting aside money to cover future obligations. In 2019, that amount will be over $811 million and will grow to over $2 billion in 2022. The consultants concluded that the state would either have to raise taxes or cut spending in order to meet those obligations based on revenue projections for the current tax rates.
It appears that several state and city agencies not to have received the memo from the governor and mayor regarding the affordable housing problem on Oahu. The Hawaii Public Housing Authority board unanimously voted to terminate the six-year old master development agreement to redevelop a low-income housing project in Kalihi with a private developer despite the fact that the developer finished the first phase of the project on time and on budget. Currently 176 obsolete units remain in limbo as the board seeks bids. The state agency charged with providing homesteads for Native Hawaiians, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) produced no new housing units during the fiscal year ending June 30 and closed out the fiscal year with $30 million in unspent federal housing funds. The number of eligible beneficiaries awaiting residential leases has grown to 22,000 individuals throughout the state and roughly half of the wait-listed applicants reside on Oahu. While half of the beneficiaries live on Oahu, only 4% of the allocated land is located there. Critics of the department decry the loss of $30 million in federal funds because DHHL failed to use the funds to build affordable housing.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told the Caldwell administration that it was pulling $2.4 million in federal funding because the city failed to spend it and that the city is at risk of losing another $7.5 million. The money can be used for buying and renovating existing structures for housing, however it may not be used for building new affordable housing. An earlier audit had warned that the city’s current housing policies needed to be changed to more effectively manage the federal block grants.
While the city and state struggle with developing affordable housing, the lawlessness associated with Kakaako’s chronically homeless population has caused the closure of Kakaako Waterfront Park. The homeless encampment has grown to about 180 people and is the largest encampment since the 300-person encampment was dismantled in 2015 following the attack of a state representative. The park is being shut down indefinitely due to safety issues from homeless people vandalizing plumbing and electrical structures to steal water and electricity. Several dog attacks have also been attributed to the homeless. Repairing damage to the parks is estimated to cost taxpayers about $500,000. A scathing editorial in the Honolulu Star Advertiser called out both mayor Kirk Caldwell and governor David Ige for claiming success in dealing with the homeless situation while visual problems are still occurring on their doorsteps.
A former Hilo judge concluded the state’s contested case hearing for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project in August and recommended that the Board of Land and Natural Resources issue a conservative district use permit subject to 40 conditions. Some of the proposed conditions include a $1 million “community benefits package” from the start of construction through the end of the sublease. The package requires TMT employees to attend mandatory cultural training and fill jobs locally when feasible. TMT officials were pleased by the ruling, yet a separate contested case hearing must be conducted regarding the sublease. Opponents of the project reacted by contending that the judge was biased and the favorable ruling was all but guaranteed from the start. A state board then approved the building permit for the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on a 5-2 vote in September after months of testimony in a contested hearing ordered by the Hawaii Supreme Court. The board approval included 43 conditions that TMT International Observatory must meet to build the telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea. TMT officials are hesitant to say when the project will begin since opponents vow to appeal the decision to Hawaii’s Supreme Court and a separate challenge is being mounted to the project’s sublease.
While investors in Hawaii’s eight medical marijuana dispensaries may ultimately be a profitable venture, getting started has proven to be more difficult than originally envisioned. Even though medical marijuana is legal in Hawaii, the drug remains a schedule 1 drug under federal law. Two dispensaries have quickly opened their doors to patients on Maui and Oahu in August. Both of the first dispensaries to open on Oahu and Maui ran out of their initial stock of marijuana products within four days due to tremendous pent up demand. The dispensaries have complained about the state’s slow certification process in approving testing labs while the state tries to pin the blame on the only approved testing lab. The state has yet to certify a lab to test derivative products like oils, tinctures, and lotions for patients that do not want to smoke. Dispensaries are not allowed to sell edibles like cookies, brownies, or candy. Demand for medical marijuana products would even be higher if the state did not have a significant backlog of patients waiting on their medical marijuana cards. The manager overseeing the states registry program recently resigned and the state is scrambling to find a replacement in addition to two additional staff members.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) rail project continues to cause major drama as state officials recently passed a package of tax increases to fund the estimated $10 billion project. House finance chairwoman, Silvia Luke, and House Speaker Scott Saiki have been highly critical of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s handling of the project resulting in a second round of tax increases in the past two years. The bill barely passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee on a six to five vote and then passed the Senate by a vote of 16 to 9. The bill passed the House 31-15 on Friday and Governor David Ige signed it on Tuesday. The bill extends the Oahu’s GET surcharge another three years (expires 12/31/30), raises the state TAT one percent for thirteen years (expires 12/31/30), and is expected to generate $2.37 billion for the rail project. Neighbor island lawmakers are protesting the TAT (also called the hotel room tax) increase arguing that Oahu should completely fund the project and that neighbor island hotel tax revenue should not be used. Just prior to the opening of the special session on Monday, August 28th, two outspoken critics of the proposed funding measures were removed from their positions on the House Finance Committee. Then in September, House Majority Leader Cindy Evans offer to resign over the TAT provision when she voted against the latest bailout proposal and her resignation was accepted by the House speaker.
Biki, Honolulu’s new bike sharing system, sold more than 47,000 rides to almost 13,000 individual users. 2,340 people have signed up as members, indicating that they are repeat customers when it opened in July. Biki currently charges $3.50 for a single 30-minute ride and unlimited 30-minute trips are available for $15 per month. The bike share program started with 800 bikes in service and 89 stations with the most popular stations being located in Waikiki and Ala Moana/Kakaako. Bikeshare Hawaii added another ten stations to its bike rental operation in August and reported that its program records between 1,800 and 2,100 trips per day. Please visit the following link for bike station locations.
http://community.bikesharehawaii.org/#/tab/mapSite
Mayor Kirk Caldwell has asked Governor David Ige to issue an emergency proclamation to expedite the permitting process associated with replacing two high volume pressurized sewage pipes that have been weakened by corrosion. The sewer mains serve residential neighborhoods in Kapolei and Ko Olina hotels. The two underground sewer mains have experienced six breaks in the last four years resulting in hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater spilling on the ground. The concrete cylindrical pipes were put into service in 1988 and 1990 and were designed to handle Kapolei’s growth and last much longer into the future. City officials want to replace the pipes as quickly as possible for fear that heavy rains could cause a major spill that would impact neighborhoods and potentially reach the ocean.
Rocky, a Hawaiian monk seal, gave birth to Kaimana on Waikiki’s Kaimana Beach in late June. The two were a sensation with locals and tourists. Kaimana was found in the crumbling Waikiki Natatorium in July and wildlife experts were worried that Kaimana could get injured if the pup continued to swim there. Officials made the decision to move Kaimana to a remote beach with less human interaction and exposure to man-made hazards once Rocky weaned Kaimana and returned to the open ocean. Hawaiian monk seal pups typically linger behind on their birth beach learning to find food before taking to the open ocean. A team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) captured Kaimana in a ropelike hammock on an August Saturday and drove her away in a pickup truck to her new home. The team tagged Kaimana and vaccinated her before releasing her at her new home in the wild. Kaimana can live off her fat reserves for a few weeks as she learns to hunt food.
The top ten most-visited sites in Hawaii (listed in order of most visited) were Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Dole Plantation, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (includes the Arizona Memorial), Haleakala National Park, Diamond Head State Monument, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Polynesian Cultural Center, Battleship Missouri Memorial, Honolulu Zoo, and Kualoa Ranch.
Repeatability: One trait of a successful business is creating a system by which a person or employees follows policies and procedures that produce successful transactions over and over again. Investment property owners, whether they recognize it or not, are essentially small businesses and should be aware of this concept when making decisions about their investments.
Asking market rent provides consistent, repeatable results by maximizing revenue on an annual basis through lower vacancy rates. Some investors hold out for a minimum acceptable rent in their minds and end up losing out because the lost revenue from a longer than necessary vacancy usually dwarfs any additional income through a higher rent when a tenant finally agrees to move in. Even when a tenant moves in, their stay will tend to be shorter as soon as they find that better values for their hard earned dollars are available. I recently spoke to one agent who “hit a home run” last year by finding a tenant willing to pay about $1,000 more than I thought the unit would rent for. When the agent and her clients tried to repeat that feat in 2017, the unit sat vacant for the entire seven months that it was available to rent. The agent’s clients would have been better accepting 75% of the first years rent and having rental income in 2017.
Targeting the appropriate tenant for a particular neighborhood is critical for repeat business. Stott Property Management recently had a client that was convinced she could boost her income spending a lot of money to remodel fully furnished three rental units in a non-conforming house in a residential neighborhood by marketing to traveling nurses. The strategy worked for the first three months and traveling nurses quickly moved into the three units. However, when one set of roommates checked out three months later, there were not any nurses to move in right away because the available pool of nurse tenants was too small. The client ended up moving into one of the units and taking back management of the property because of the financial strain resulting from the vacancy. The client would have been better off by leaving the units unfurnished, making cosmetic repairs only when normal wear and tear required, and targeting long-term tenants willing to pay market rent.
Buying investment property at prices that provide immediate positive cash flow while hiring a property manager is another example of repeatability. By buying investment property in locations that provide immediate positive cash flow while paying a professional allows you to buy over and over again resulting in multiple cash flow streams. If you buy at too high of a price, than you end up suffering negative cash flow and must use work income to supplement the losses. No person wants to repeat that pattern and end up in a financial hole that offers no escape. Similarly, achieving positive cash flow only through self-management means that there is a limit to the number of investment property that you have the time to manage. Self-management also limits the areas that you can successfully invest since laws and markets differ from one city and state to the next.
Limiting your financial leverage is the key to long-term success in real estate investing. While diversification by investing in different areas can help limit risk, the housing crisis of 2008 and 2009 shows that there will be occasions that require navigating an economic recession. Investors over-leverage themselves by taking on too much mortgage debt can find themselves in a difficult position of a downturn in the rental market results in rental revenue falling below fixed mortgage obligations. A job loss during this time could be enough to force an investor into foreclosure or bankruptcy.
Repeatability can also work against an investor who puts inadequate capital into their property in the form of repairs. Landlords must provide a clean, fully functional rental property that offers amenities consistent with neighborhood and competitive with the overall market. Failure to keep up with wear and tear and offering inadequate amenities will result in below market rent, longer than necessary vacancies, and less than desireable tenants. The lower rental income makes it even harder to pay for future repairs and problem tenants can cause even more damage. The negatively reinforcing pattern makes the whole situation unsustainable and either the landlord ends up spending even more money to recover or ends up having to sell a physically distressed property at a below market price.
Being disciplined enough to buy only properties that provide immediate positive cash flow while utilizing professional management can create a passive financial windfall over time. By following sound business practices, an investor can repeat successful outcomes over the long haul.
Equifax Data Breach: Equifax announced that hackers gained access to its systems earlier this month, potential compromising the personal information of about 143 million consumers. Newspapers around the country have written numerous articles regarding the breach and the Bank of Hawaii encouraged its customers to visit Equifax’s website, equifaxsecurity2017.com, to see if their personal information have been compromised. Tim Kelley visited the website twice and received conflicting information on his potential exposure. When he visited the first time, he was notified that hackers could have gained access to his information, and the company offered free credit monitoring services for a period of time. The company reported that his information had not been compromised during a later visit to follow up on the service offered.
That prompted Tim to first obtain his free annual credit reports from the three reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. He had to visit annualcreditreport.com from home so that he had access to his open and closed accounts. As part of the process, each agency verifies the users identity by asking specific questions about potential loans, mortgages, and credit cards used by the individual. Tim had to access old records in order to correctly answer some of the questions regarding closed accounts and mortgages. Once answered, Tim was able to download and review his credit history for any incorrect or potentially fraudulent activity. Fortunately, there did not appear to be any suspicious activity.
One tool a consumer can use to prevent fraud from identity theft is to order a credit freeze. A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report that makes it difficult for thieves to take out lines of credit in your name. Equifax has agreed to waive all fees for people who want to freeze their credit until November 21st. Creditors will refuse to open new accounts or provide loans if they can’t access your credit. However, a credit freeze does not prevent fraud from taking place on existing accounts. Therefore, you should continue to monitor your open accounts regularly for any signs of fraud. Consumers that do not intend to apply for any new loans, mortgages, or credit cards should consider freezing their credit. It just takes a finite amount of time to unlock credit freezes if you want to apply for a new loan, mortgage, or credit card. Please note that you will also have to unlock your credit reports if you want to rent from a property manager like Stott Property Management, who requires a credit report as part of the application process. You can order a credit freeze by contacting the three major credit agencies via the website or by calling their customer assistance departments.
Tim and Tracey have owned investment real estate for 20 years and Tim has lead Stott Property Management for the past 11 years. During that time, they have learned the value of hiring competent licensed professionals to manage investment real estate owned from a distance. Tim and Tracey always recommend hiring a licensed property manager unless you are within a reasonable driving distance to your rental property.
The purpose of this article is to highlight “red flags” for rental property owners who have hired a property manager. There are excellent property managers and poor property managers throughout the country. Over time, the poor property managers will either lose their license or go out of business. Unfortunately, Stott Property Management has taken over several troubled accounts from poor property managers long after the financial damage has been done. Ultimately, timely communication and transparency from your property manager is the key to both short-term and long-term success.
No Monthly Revenue: Stott Property Management has taken over accounts where the owner did not receive any income for months. In one extreme case, the owner had not received any income for almost a year without any communication from the property manager. The reasons for the lack of income ranged from excessive vacancies, failure to collect rent from dead-beat tenants, allowing friends and relatives to live in a unit rent-free, to outright fraud.
An owner should not go months without receiving rental proceeds and fail to hear from his or her property manager.
Monthly Statements: Your property manager should send you statements once per month at a minimum regardless of how many transactions have taken place in your account. These monthly statements should show your account balance at the beginning of the month, the amount of rent collected, all of the expenses paid on your behalf including the property management fees, the amount of the proceeds that you should have received, and the ending balance. You should also receive copies of all paid invoices for all the expenses that your property manager paid on your behalf. You should review the statements at least once per month and ask questions if anything appears unusual.
Stott Property Management has taken over several accounts where clients did not receive any income or statements for months. Their calls either went unanswered or the property manager would make excuses to why the statements were not being delivered. By the time Stott Property Management took over, the affected owners lost thousands of dollars in lost income for various reasons including outright fraud.
Communication: Effective, two-way communication is the linchpin for any successful investor / manager relationship. Communication comes in the form of reliable statements, e-mail, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings. Tim and Tracey think that effective communication is so important in their business, that Stott Real Estate, Inc. has two full-time receptionists whose primary responsibility is to answer the phones. Other employees are trained to answer the phones if the receptionists are currently fielding phone calls. There is nothing more frustrating that being a customer that has to traverse “voice-mail hell” during normal business hours. On rare occasions, we can’t answer all the calls coming in and Stott Real Estate employees will return phone calls as soon as feasible.
There are property managers that do everything possible to avoid phone calls and meetings. Uncomfortable and unpleasant conversations are part of the business since moving, money, and family issues are some of the most stressful situations that people deal with. A property manager often ends up speaking with someone that is experiencing a combination of all three of the listed issues. Avoiding phone calls can be one piece in a disturbing pattern that could end up costing the owner money down the road. In an effort to encourage communication, Tim checks in with each of his clients every six months or so to see if they have any questions regarding their property. Through proactive communication, Stott Property Management helps avoid issues caused by unanswered question festering in a client’s mind.
Constant Turnover: Many larger property management companies have property managers that are independent contractors while centralizing their bookkeeping and maintenance services. In many cases, a large company will be well run and retain their talented property managers for extended periods of time. One sign of potential problems in an office is a constant turnover of property managers resulting in someone new repeatedly taking over management of your property. Constant turnover can result in a loss of knowledge regarding your property and your investment can suffer if inexperienced managers are taking over. In a few cases, Stott Property Management has called to transition management of a rental property and the current property management company did not immediately know who was managing the account.
Repair Policies: Some property management companies hire handymen to do work on their portfolio of managed properties while other property managers have poorly defined repair policies. If you don’t know if your property manager has an in-house handyman, or if you don’t know your property manager’s repair policy, then you should ask. Tim and Tracey asked one of their property managers that very question to learn that most of the repairs being conducted at one of their investment properties was being completed by in-house personnel. Additionally, the property manager approved several large invoices without prior authorization and the large surprise bills prompted Tim and Tracey to investigate the issue. They negotiated an agreeable settlement with the property management company and the surprise bills ended. Conflicts of interest occur when property managers and repair personnel work for the same company.
No Repair Bills: Appliances and fixtures break all the time. An owner of investment real estate will have to paint and replace flooring (unless ceramic tile is installed) every seven to ten years. Additionally, appliances (if provided) and fixtures will have to be periodically repaired and replaced due to normal wear and tear. Chances are that if your rental property is suffering if you have a long-term tenant and you have not had any repair requests and repair bills in years.
No Rent Increases: Rents will increase over the long-term at a similar rate of inflation. If you have had the same tenant living in your rental for a decade and the rent for your property has stayed the same, then your tenant is likely paying rent far below market. Failing to periodically raise the rent to keep up with the market results in less money to pay for necessary repairs and will ultimately jeopardize future cash flow. Ask for a rental assessment if you have not received one from your property manager in the past few years.
A good property manager does much more for an investor client than just “collecting the rent.” Property managers add value by inspecting and maintaining the rental property, coordinating necessary repairs, minimizing vacancies, enforcing leases, providing local market information, and when necessary, handling problem tenants. You should consider making a change if you are experiencing one or more of the “red flags” described above.
Oahu’s median sales price for single family homes set a new record in June. The median price for single family homes rose to $795,000 (4.6% higher than June 2016) and the median price for condos fell slightly $400,000 (1.4% than June 2016). Demand remained strong and the supply continued to be limited. The growth in pending sales (properties that are under contract but have not yet sold) indicates that home sales this summer will remain strong putting further upward pressure on prices. There are currently 2.7 months of inventory for single family homes and 2.8 months of inventory for condos.
The University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization (UHERO) put out a new report in May forecasting, continued but weaker economic job growth over the next few years. Over the past three years, personal income grew by 2.7% each year. UHERO expects personal income growth of 1.6% this year and 1.3% next year. Oahu’s job market is considered at full employment with many restaurants and retailers placing help wanted signs at their storefront. New restaurants opening in Waikiki and other Oahu locations have had to scramble to find both kitchen and wait staff to serve customers. While future growth is limited, there are few signs that the job market will weaken any time soon.
Tourism has started off the year strong with growth of 2.3% more visitor arrivals than the same period in 2016. UHERO expects total visitor counts to end about 2% higher than last year. Future growth in tourism will be limited by available hotel and time-share capacity both on Oahu and the neighbor islands.
Construction appears to have peaked in 2016. Commercial activity is running about 2% lower than last year and some visiting contractors have left the islands after their projects have ended.
The City and County of Honolulu passed a bill in April 7, 2017 that modified a city ordinance affecting residential units in condos on land zoned mixed use, hotel, or commercial. The Department of Budget and Fiscal Services mailed a letter in June to approximately 8,000 condominium units that may qualify for the residential classification. An owner of a condo being used for residential purposes (owner occupied or a rental leased for more than 30 days at a time) must file a petition form to dedicate the property for residential use by September 1, 2017. 45 buildings fall into this category according to an addendum included with the letter. If approved, the unit will be taxed at the lower residential rate. The dedication lasts for five years and is automatically renewed for another five year period unless the property is sold. The new owner will have to fill a new petition form. An existing Home Exemption will no longer automatically qualify the property for the Residential Classification. Failure to file the petition by September 1, 2017 will result in the property being taxed at the higher rate.
Roughly 50,000 people welcomed the return of the Hokule’a, a Hawaiian double-hulled canoe, that just completed a three-year, 46,000 nautical mile journey around the world to nineteen countries. The adventure was estimated to have cost about $12 million paid for by local and national sponsors of the voyage. Polynesian Voyaging Society President, Nainoa Thompson, led the crew and was overwhelmed by the welcome he and his crew received. Hokule’a’s first ocean voyage occurred in 1976 from Hawaii to Tahiti. In 1980, Thompson navigated the double-hulled canoe from Tahiti to Hawaii for the first time in 600 years. The Polynesian Voyaging Society now hopes to raise an additional $1 million so that the Hokule’a can sail to 30 ports across the state.
Hilo hosted the state of Hawaii’s annual Merrie Monarch Festival in April. The festival is a week-long event culminating in three days of hula competition. The festival started in 1963 to perpetuate and preserve the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture through education. The hula competition features two types of dance, kahiko and ‘auana. Hula Kahiko was developed by Polynesians who originally settled the Hawaiian islands and participants dance to chants and traditional Hawaiian instruments. Hula ‘Auana was developed in the 19th and 20th centuries and participants dance to song and musical instruments like the guitar and ukulele. You can learn more about the festival by visiting www.merriemonarch.com.
While Hawaii’s outer islands showed some success in reducing homelessness, Oahu is still struggling to find an answer. Oahu was the only island to show an increase in the homeless population despite years of well publicized efforts by nonprofits to provide services to those that are homeless and local government’s struggle to build shelters. A recent front-page article in the Honolulu Star Advertiser highlights efforts to address a 74% increase in the homeless population located in Wahiawa. Many nonprofits are trying to gain the trust of people who suffer from substance abuse and mental illness while others in the community have lost patience with people that they feel refuse to follow rules, accept responsibility for their actions, and make changes to behaviors that have lead to homelessness. The City and County of Honolulu’s special city cleanup crew recently swept homeless encampments along grassy medians along Nimitz Highway between the airport and Waikiki. Mayor Kirk Caldwell told the Honolulu Advertiser that the sight of blue tarps and tenants along one of Honolulu’s busiest corridors is a “shameful” impression for the 95,000 to 100,000 tourists every day on Oahu.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) signature rail project is on the ropes as the State Legislature session closed in May without any new sources of revenue to pay for the project. The rail project is expected to now cost about $10 billion to complete, nearly double the original $5.26 billion price tag that Kirk Caldwell and then mayor, Mufi Hanneman, advertised to convince city and county of Honolulu voters to approve the project. The rail budget dominated this years state legislative session and appeared to cost the House Speaker, Joseph Souki, and Ways and Means Chairwoman, Jill Tokuda, their positions. House members voted to remove both Joseph Souki and Jill Tokuda from their positions during the last day of the session. Many state legislatures took the opportunity to rebuke mayor Kirk Caldwell once again for the financial situation that could likely impact both the state’s and city’s services in the future. The city council deferred a May vote on raising property taxes to help pay for the financially troubled project earlier in the month in the hopes that a special session would be called. The city council also approved a bond measure to borrow money in early June to continue funding for the project. HART’s Chief Financial Officer recently informed the City Council that the project would run out of money in January 2018 if the bonds were not approved. The Legislature recently informed the Federal Transportation in a letter that they would hold a five-day special session to discuss raising an additional $3 billion to close the funding gap. The current options on the table are extending the half percent rail surcharge to the General Excise Tax another ten years or raising the hotel room tax. No dates have been announced for the special session.
Hawaii hopes to replicate the water-quality improvement impact of places like Chesapeake Bay, the state Division of Aquatic Resources announced an expansion in its efforts to grow oysters in Pearl Harbor. The department has successfully grown several thousand oysters in Pearl Harbor’s West Loch. Pearl Harbor used to be home to lots of oysters. Each oyster filters about 30 gallons of water per day and is one of natures’ solutions to maintaining water quality.
Government workers and volunteers have been collecting debris that washes up and drifts into the reefs of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument over the past six years. The charter vessel, Kahana, recently picked up 12 shipping containers filled with derelict fishing gear, old nets, faded plastics, and other junk from Midway Atoll and other nearby reefs in the monument. The Northwestern islands and reefs are vulnerable to floating debris because they are located near the convergence of a series of Pacific currents that move counter-clockwise and carry rubbish from across the Pacific Ocean. During El Nino years, the currents move south and debris gets caught up on the reefs or washes ashore on the islands. Hawaiian green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals can become lethally entangled in nets or starve after ingesting debris. The state of Hawaii paid about $225,000 for the vessel to pick up the containers and deliver them to Honolulu where the rubbish will be processed and burned in Honolulu’s H-POWER plant and converted into electricity. Government staff members and volunteers have removed an estimated 1.9 million pounds of debris from the Papahanaumokuakea monument over a 20 year time span.
Garrett and Melanie Marrero, Maui Brewing Company’s husband and wife owners, received the 2017 National Small Business Person(s) of the Year award from Linda McMahon of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Maui Brewing Co. started in 2005 as a small seven-barrel brewpub with the help of a loan from SBA. By 2013, Maui Brewery Co. was producing 19,000 barrels of beer per year. The company has grown to be the largest craft beer producer in Hawaii and has recently expanded to Oahu with a Waikiki restaurant and will open a new restaurant in Kailua early next year. Maui Brewery Co. plans on employing a workforce of 700 people by 2018.
Tracey was recognized along with 11 other Hawaii agents as the only agents who have been among the top 100 real estate agents in sales in the state for 11 years in a row. Congratulations to Tracey who has consistently worked extremely hard to help her clients reach their real estate goals.
VA Home Loans: A series of television commercials by NewDay USA got us thinking about aggressive marketing campaigns pitching VA Home Loans to active duty military and veterans. Tim is well aware of the temptation to use the military’s generous cost of living allowance to buy a home as a prior officer in the U.S. Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor. Tim and Tracey actually used a VA loan to purchase a house in Texas back in the late 1990’s. The loan allowed us to buy a house with no money down so that we could leave our modest mutual fund investments untouched. The purpose of this article is to point out the potential pitfalls that seem to get glossed over by some lenders specializing in VA loans.
The main benefit of the VA guarantee actually protects a private lender from loss, not the borrower, if a distressed VA mortgage is foreclosed upon. A qualified borrower can purchase a home with no money down using a VA mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage and have the option to take “cash out of your existing equity.” The commercials make it sound like the lenders are going out of their way to provide an earned reward for serving in the military. All the lenders are really offering is a mortgage for a lower down payment than conventional lenders would otherwise offer. In other words, the lenders are offering a military service member or veteran a bigger loan. While the program can help those without a down payment get into a home, it can also turn around and become a major financial burden when it comes time to move.
We have witnessed the financial strain of several military clients who hired Stott Property Management to rent their Hawaii homes purchased using a VA loan. Once they left the islands, these clients lost the generous cost of living adjustment that helped make the monthly mortgage payments and the rent received did not come close to paying all the expenses associated with owning a rental property. Several clients paid $7,000 to $10,000 out of their pocket each year to hold onto a property providing negative cash flow for up to ten years. When the service members or veterans finally sold, their gains did not come close to covering their passive losses over the years and they also paid federal taxes for depreciation recapture.
Tim and Tracey recommend reading Dave Ramsey’s, “Total Money Makeover,” before buying a home with a VA loan or refinancing an existing loan with a VA loan and taking cash out. The book is an easy read and both of Tim and Tracey’s college age children read it over their Christmas break. The book does an excellent job of highlighting the pitfalls of taking on too much debt and describes methods that help individuals take charge of their personal finances in a positive manner. The book also helps take the gloss off the sophisticated ad campaigns run by banks and lenders.
The following advice applies to all buyers who are thinking about buying a Hawaii home, not just those in the military.
Consider how long you will be living in Hawaii. It took the housing market seven years to recover from that last downturn. You are gambling with a very expensive asset if you buy a home and plan on moving in a shorter time period.
Analyze your exit strategy before committing to a home purchase. Find out the market rent for a property that you plan on purchasing and the costs of maintaining a rental property if you end up moving during a down market. If the numbers don’t work for you, then consider renting until you are financially ready.
If possible, buy a property at a fraction of the monthly payment that you can afford. This can help you weather the financial storm if you suffer a temporary setback in earnings or expenses. Lower your mortgage balance by paying off additional principal when possible.
Don’t let the dream of owning a piece of paradise turn into a nightmare. Do some financial due diligence ahead of time before using your “right to apply for a VA loan.”
Hawaii Tax Filings: We find a surprising number of people that own rental property are unaware of the state’s tax filing requirements. You are required to file for and pay the following taxes even if you are not a resident of Hawaii.
General Excise Tax (GET)
Transient Accomodations Tax (TAT) if applicable
State Income Tax
All landlords must pay GET on the rental income collected. The required frequency of filing and payment depends on the total annual GET payments as specified on the form. A rental property owner files Form G-45 monthly, quarterly, or semiannually throughout the year and File Form G-49 at the end of the year to summarize your rental income for the entire year.
Landlords that rent to transient people for a period of less than 180 days must pay the TAT. A transient person has a permanent home elsewhere and does not intend to make the rental in question his or her permanent place of residence. A transient person can be a Hawaii resident. The rental property owner files Form TA-1 monthly, quarterly, or semiannually throughout the year and files Form TA-2 annually to summarize your rental income for the entire year.
All rental property owners, Hawaii residents and non-residents, must report their net rental income or loss and file state income taxes accordingly. Hawaii residents file form N-11 and report their net rental income or loss as part of their adjusted gross income. Hawaii non-residents must file form N-15 to report their net income or loss for state income tax purposes.
More information about the state’s tax reporting requirements can be found in “An Introduction to Renting Residential Real Property.” The web address to the pdf file is provided below.
http://files.hawaii.gov/tax/legal/brochures/renting_residential.pdf
2017 Legislative Changes: The state legislature passed a few bills that impact Hawaii taxpayers, residential rental property owners, and property owners with cesspools.
Income tax rates have been raised on individuals earning more than $150,000, heads of households making more than $225,000, and married couples making more than $300,000. The additional income will fund initiatives to provide tax credits to lower income households.
Late fees on all new rental agreements and renewals effective November 1, 2017 are capped at 8%. The Hawaii Association of Realtors will be amending the rental agreement to reflect the change in the law by the November deadline.
All owners must upgrade, convert their cesspools to septic systems, or connect to sewer no later than 2050. Property owners may apply for an exemption with the Department of Health if upgrading or connecting to sewer is not feasible due to lot characteristics.
Background: Stott Real Estate, Inc. conducts business as Stott Property Management for managing residential rental property. The two divisions have separate staffs and share the same office. Tim Kelley is the Principal Broker of Stott Real Estate, Inc. and runs Stott Property Management. Karen Texeira is the senior member of the staff and has been with the company for over 20 years. Stott Property Management currently manages approximately 415 rental units on the island of Oahu.
Absentee Owner Managing Property: By far the biggest mistake that we witness on a regular basis is an Owner trying to manage a rental property while living thousands of miles away. The Owner does not typically have a good understanding of the Landlord-Tenant Code (Hawaii’s laws governing residential real estate), must rely solely on the tenant to maintain the property, and does not have the time and resources to address problem tenants. The attorney that we use for evictions states that most of the difficult and expensive legal problems that he is hired to help solve involve Owners acting as a PM that are not familiar with the Landlord-Tenant Code and property check-in/check-out procedures. Tim Kelley and Tracey Stott Kelley do not even attempt to manage their mainland rental properties despite their years of experience. They have two PMs managing their investment real estate portfolio.
Poor or Inadequate Tenant Screening: The best way to deal with problem tenants is refusing to allow problem tenants to move into a property. Stott Property Management requires every adult applicant to fill out an application and then checks the following: Credit Score, Employment, Previous Landlord References, and State of Hawaii Court Records. By carefully screening tenants, Stott Property Management helps minimize tenant caused problems and protects their clients from arbitrary discrimination complaints. Failure to properly screen tenants can result in several months of lost rent and thousands in legal fees to correct the situation.
The Landlord-Tenant Code requires that the Landlord must obtain a signed Property Inventory and Condition Form from the tenant at the time of check-in in order to withhold any funds for tenant caused damage after the tenant checks out. If the Landlord withholds all or a portion of the funds, then the Landlord must mail the prior Tenant a letter stating the charges, provide copies of estimates or bills from contractors, and provide a check for any remaining funds within 14 days of the check out. Stott Property Management has witnessed the small claims court judge order a Landlord to return the security deposit in full for failure to have a signed Property Inventory and Condition Form or meet the 14-day requirement even though evidence of tenant caused damage was presented in court.
Failure to Conduct Routine Inspections: A quote that is often used in leadership also applies to rental properties. “It is not what you expect, it is what you inspect.” Stott Property Management has taken over many rental properties that were not inspected because a “great tenant” was living there. It appears that the definition of a “great tenant” to a few PMs and/or Owners is a tenant that stays for an extremely long time and pays their rent. The Owner is then shocked to find out that these tenants trashed their property when they did finally move.
Another common mistake that some PMs and Owners make involves failing to increase the rent that a long-term tenant pays when market rents have risen. Stott Property Management has seen some tenants paying half the market rent for a property because a PM or Owner has failed to raise the rent on a tenant that has lived in a property for ten years or more. Stott Property Management compares the actual rent to the market rent every time a lease is about to expire and then makes recommendations to their clients when, in their opinion, a rent increase is warranted.
Pets: Some owners do not allow pets because they fear that the animals may cause excessive damage or ruin carpeting if the pet has an accident. The State of Hawaii recently allowed landlords to collect a refundable pet deposit in addition to the refundable security deposit. State Law also allows tenants to move a “pet” into a rental that does not allow pets by obtaining a doctor’s note claiming that the “pet” is an Emotional Support Animal.
Median sales prices continue to hover in record territory as demand continues to be strong with limited supply. March’s median sales price for single family homes was $752,000 (3.7% higher than March 2016) and for condos was $400,000 (3.9% higher than March 2016). The number of closed sales grew modestly and there are currently only 2.7 months of remaining inventory for both single family homes and condos. Demand will likely remain strong since the number of pending sales (properties under contract that have not yet closed) is 30% higher for houses and 24% higher for condos in March 2017 as compared to March 2016.
In a sign of flattening economic activity, Young Brothers Ltd. reported shipments between interisland ports dropped 0.6% in 2016. The announcement lends support to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization’s (UHERO) that economic deceleration is underway after seven years of sustained economic growth. Tourism revenue has been essentially flat when compared to the decade before the Great Recession despite Hawaii hosting significantly more visitors now than a decade ago. The amount of revenue generated per visitor has steadily declined, partly due to the strong dollar. Oahu, which receives most of the visitors, saw spending decline 3% when compared to 2015 while the neighbor islands, which are more dependent on domestic visitors, have seen gains between 4% and 9%. Construction and health care are expected to moderate after strong gains over the past two years. The biggest economic uncertainty comes from federal spending. 55% of federal dollars spent in Hawaii is associated with the Department of Defense. Hawaii has recently seen a net migration of military and support personnel leaving the islands. A federal hiring freeze and shifting priorities could have a negative impact on Hawaii’s economy. Falling energy costs have recently kept a lid on inflation. That trend is ending and inflation is expected to pick up due to rising home prices and rents. The forecast through the end of the decade predicts slowing economic growth.
A study by local housing analyst, Ricky Cassiday, concluded that online booking site Airbnb has had no material impact on Hawaii’s housing market in contrast to claims made by some local politicians. Homes booked through the website represented only 1.53 percent of the statewide housing stock and 88 percent of those homes were booked less than half the year. Cassiday concluded that Airbnb listings represent a miniscule amount of the housing stock in Hawaii and it is clear that owners are using these homes most of the time. Cassiday stresses that the supplemental income provided by renting out rooms is equivalent to a 12 percent raise for the median local household and serves as a vital economic lifeline to many hosts. He notes that housing availability and affordability are not impacted by the number of short-term rentals, but are impacted by complex housing regulations and zoning laws, limited supply, and a lack of infrastructure.
The number of Airbnb listings on Oahu has nearly tripled over the past two years with the majority of active listings consisting of single bedrooms in houses and condos. The average daily rate has also jumped 24% from 2015 to $237 per day. The Hawaii Tourism Authority chimed in that they are concerned that the lack of regulation in the vacation rental market could take away years of quality control built by the hotels despite 95% of Airbnb listings having four-and-a-half or five star ratings. The comment speaks volumes to the state’s protection of the hotel industry at the expense of the island entrepreneur. Hawaii will always be an expensive place to live. It may be time to recognize that those living on the islands should be able to open up their homes to visitors so that they can afford to live in one of the most expensive places in the country. Local and state politicians remain focused on a continuous failed effort to provide government funded or mandated affordable housing. Tim and Tracey have very different views concerning vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods and vigorously debate the issue constantly.
In related news, The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) posted two excellent articles regarding tourism in Hawaii and transient rentals in Hawaii neighborhoods. The blog posts are titled “How Many Tourists is Too Many” and “Regulating Home-Share Rentals in Hawaii.” You can find the articles at UHERO’s website: http://www.uhero.hawaii.edu/news
Foreclosure activity in Hawaii grew 29% in 2016 compared to 2015 while foreclosures at the national level dropped 14%. About 55% of the foreclosures in Hawaii are from loans that were originated between 2004 and 2008. The Hawaii legislature passed bills that Governor Neil Abercrombie signed back in 2011 that essentially eliminated non-judicial foreclosures in the state with the advertised goal of improving consumer protection. All that the changes in the law have really done is delay the inevitable. Lenders are finally working through the legal mess that the legislature created and the courts are working through the backlog of cases.
The contested case hearing for the Thirty Meter Telescope project (TMT) concluded in March after 44 days of witness testimony. 71 people testified in the case and it is estimated that it could take court reporters five to six weeks to complete the written transcripts. Once the written transcripts have been completed, the parties in the case have 30 days to submit their proposed decisions, followed by a two-week period in which the parties can object to the other party’s proposal. After the process is completed, the hearings officer will make the decision on whether TMT will receive the permit to begin construction. Even if the hearings officer approves the permit, another judge ruled that another contested case hearing should have been held over the project’s sublease with the University of Hawaii. TMT is taking concurrent steps to build the telescope in the Canary Islands on the same time scale. TMT’s international board is making the case that the mountain in the Canary Islands would be an excellent alternative and Spanish lawmakers have embraced the project. TMT officials have reached an agreement to build their giant telescope on the island of La Palma in case they are unable to begin construction on Mauna Kea next year. It would be a shame if Hawaii’s governments’ focus on bureaucratically driven, politically correct processes once again get in the way of a project that receives strong support from a majority of the residents. Remember the SuperFerry?
A UHERO report criticizes the state for keeping 10% of the General Excise Tax (GET) surcharge for the island of Oahu as being excessive. Act 247 suggests that the costs recouped by the state should reflect the additional burden imposed by collecting and administering the surcharge. However, the fee collected by the state for the surcharge has exceeded the entire budget for the State Department of Taxation each and every year the surcharge has been collected. UHERO calculates that it costs the state 0.35% of the GET surcharge revenue to administer the additional tax. In other words, the state pocketed 9.65% of Oahu taxpayers’ money for spending other than rail. The report highlights the hypocrisy of state lawmakers who rail against the much-maligned elevated train project while reaching into the pockets of Oahu taxpayers. The City and County of Honolulu is now asking the state to make the GET surcharge permanent in order to complete the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit’s rail project to Ala Moana Center.
House Finance Chairwoman Silvia Luke has demanded that financial and computer experts investigate the $59 million project to replace the computer systems at the state Tax Department. Luke said she had difficulty registering on the new tax system and that a security code that was supposed to be sent to her phone never arrived. Even when she finally did successfully register, she struggled to make the new system work. Stott Property Management has been working since August to register their clients into the new system. One glitch is that the new system does not currently allow you to specify the period being filed. That issue has already resulted in one letter from the tax office claiming that the payment was late. In other cases, state tax employees have assigned incorrect federal Tax IDs to the new state Tax IDs and are requiring letters from the IRS before correcting their errors. State officials agreed to look into the issues and see what progress the Tax Department is making.
The wheels of progress may finally be starting to grind now that the state agency that oversees Aloha Stadium has approved a plan to build a new 30,000 to 40,000-seat facility that would ultimately replace the rusting Aloha Stadium. It appears that the departure of the Pro Bowl and rejection by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team may have finally woken up complacent state officials to one example of the state’s neglected infrastructure. The resolution comes at a time when both city and federal deed restrictions may be lifted which would allow more development of the 100 acres of land at the stadium. A HART rail transit station will be built on the site. Hopefully some of the new development will include adequate parking. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that a consultant has warned in a report that the 43-year-old Aloha Stadium has “served its useful life and is now a liability for fan experiences, a potential danger to public health and safety and a financial burden for maintenance and operations.” The report notes that inspections have identified pieces of the building that have fallen into public areas of the facility highlighting the risks to the public. The appointed nine-member authority is not bound by the reports. Can you imagine what would happen to a rental property owner if they received a report from a structural engineer citing immediate risks to a tenant’s health and well-being? Stott Property Management has seen the City and County of Honolulu withhold rent payments for arbitrary and minor inspection deficiencies. It appears that there is a double standard.
The state Department of Transportation had awarded a contract to build a $73 million maintenance and cargo facility at the Honolulu Airport six years ago. The facility should have been finished in 2015 and is now languishing as the state, contractor, and sub-contractors sue each other over the construction debacle. The construction delays have effectively stalled other airport improvement projects that can’t begin until the maintenance and cargo airport project have been completed. In 2013, state officials predicted that the $739 million airport modernization project would be completed next year. Hawaiian Airlines is now being asked to take control of the project from the state to complete the project. Hawaiian Airlines has reported that the work completed so far has been pretty shoddy and they are most concerned about the significant cracks that have appeared in the hangar’s concrete flooring. The cracks could be the result of the foundation settling. Hawaiian Airline’s CEO estimates that the final bill for the hangar project will be about $120 million, about 65% over budget. The Honolulu Airport Modernization project was initially announced when Linda Lingle was Governor and the entire project was expected to take four years. Neil Abercrombie took office in 2010 and he ordered a pause in the plan for a review that delayed the project for a couple of years. It looks like Hawaii taxpayers will be footing the bill.
University of Hawaii’s iconic women’s volleyball coach, Dave Shoji, has announced his retirement after 42 years as the Rainbow Wahine’s head coach. Shoji’s legendary career includes the second most number of wins ever, 1,202, and four national championships. Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, a former All-American, Olympian, and assistant coach will try to continue the program’s success as only the third head coach for UH in the women’s volleyball program’s history. Ah Mow-Santos is considered one of the greatest players in school history. UH fans hope that she can continue her success as the head coach.
Aloha Beer Company opened a Honolulu tap room January 19th on Queen Street in Kakaako. The tap room offers a variety of beers brewed in-house and crafted cocktails and the menu includes smoked meats, pickles, salads, and sandwiches. The tap room is just another member of a vibrant microbrewery industry in Hawaii.
Maui Brewery Company quickly followed suit and opened their first brewpub on Oahu in a space at the Holiday Inn Resort Waikiki Beachcomber in Waikiki on January 31st. Tim is eagerly awaiting their second brewpub that is scheduled to open in downtown Kailua in early 2018.
If you’re looking for a caffeine fix and want to try something other than Starbucks, Island Brew offers a local alternative specializing in 100 percent Hawaiian grown coffee and espresso. Island Brew just opened its third Oahu store in Ala Moana Center next to Bloomingdale’s on the third level. Island Brew also has stores in the Hawaii Kai shopping center and Kaimuki Atrium.
Stott Real Estate Fun Fact: In apparent anticipation of the Chinese New Year, a rooster had taken up residence on the grounds outside of Stott Real Estate’s office. We received a daily reminder that it is the year of the rooster according to the Chinese calendar. The rooster eventually disappeared in March.
Private Mortgage Insurance: Many lenders require a borrower to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) if a borrower makes a down payment of less than 20% when buying a home. The policy protects the lender if the borrower defaults on the mortgage, the lender forecloses, and the lender has to sell the home at a value less than the loan principal. The borrower typically pays a monthly premium that is tacked onto the principal and interest payment at a rate that is based on the borrowers credit score. That monthly premium can be several hundreds of dollars on a Hawaii mortgage.
A lender is required to automatically cancel the PMI when your outstanding loan balance drops to 78% of the home’s original value. You can speed up the cancellation of mortgage insurance by keeping track of your loan balance and asking the lender to cancel the mortgage insurance when the loan balance reaches 80% of the home’s original value. The following criteria must be met for cancelling PMI:
The cancellation request must be in writing.
You must be current on your payments and have paid your mortgage on time.
You may have to prove you don’t have any other liens on the home (home equity loan for example).
You might have to obtain an appraisal to show your loan balance is 80% of the home’s current value.
You can reduce the amount of PMI you pay over the life of the loan by refinancing if the home’s value has increased enough. The new lender won’t require mortgage insurance and you may also lock in a lower interest rate. Even if the interest rate is slightly higher, the additional interest may still be lower than the monthly PMI premium payment.
You can also reduce your loan balance quicker by making additional principal payments every month. Principal payments are a small percentage of the monthly payment for the first few years of a mortgage. Modest additional month payments of $50 to $100 per month can significantly shorten the time that you must make the mortgage premium payments. Once the PMI is removed, you can then increase your additional principal payments by the amount of the insurance premium to more quickly pay off your mortgage.
Please note that recent FHA-insured loans require mortgage insurance premiums for the life of the loan. Therefore, you will have to refinance your mortgage to eliminate the FHA mortgage insurance premiums if you have a FHA-insured mortgage.
Furnished versus Partially Furnished Rentals: Prospective rental property owners often ask us if they should rent their property furnished, partially furnished, or unfurnished. An unfurnished rental property implies that the tenant must also install appliances in the rental property in Hawaii. There are very few unfurnished rental properties in Hawaii and Stott Property Management recommends rental property owners provide the appliances. The decision to rent a property furnished versus partially furnished depends on a number of factors including the length of the lease offered, the location of the property, and the owners’ plans for the property.
In general, we recommend renting a condo or house partially furnished if the owner is offering to lease a property for a year or more. Most long-term tenants have their own furniture and want to move those furnishings into their new rental property. Additionally, once a tenant has moved into a property, they are less likely to move out of the rental property because they will have to move their furniture as well. Stott Property Management’s experience shows that fully furnished rentals have higher vacancy rates and similar rents compared to partially furnished rentals. The owner of a fully furnished rental property does not receive sufficient rental income to offset the wear and tear of the furnishings when renting long-term. In fact, worn out or dated furniture will make a rental property harder to rent even if the property is in good condition. Stott Property Management frequently recommends to clients with fully furnished units to throw away worn out furnishings and rent their property partially furnished if the association requires a minimum lease of at least three months.
We sometimes get asked if we could rent a partially furnished property for less than one year. Our experience has shown that most tenants want to sign a one-year lease if they are going to take the time, money, and effort to move their furnishings into a new home. Most tenants won’t sign a lease knowing that they will have to move again in the near future.
We recommend renting a property furnished if the owner plans on using the property for personal use during a specified period or periods every year. Stott Property Management has clients that live in the unit every year for a few months and then rent their unit during the remainder of the year. The rental income helps defer some of the costs associated with owning a second home.
We also recommend renting a property furnished if the condo is located in buildings that allows short-term rentals (less than one month). Most of the buildings are located in Waikiki, however, there is one building in Ko Olina that allows weekly rentals and there are condos and townhouses in Turtle Bay that also allow rental periods less than one month in duration. In most cases, the daily rental rate is significantly higher for a short-term rental than it is for a long-term rental and the annual net income is still higher even with higher vacancy rates and management fees. Please note that Stott Property Management does not manage vacation rental properties. Stott Property Management’s minimum lease period is three months.
Military Pops Cost of Living Bubble: The Department of Defense has reduced the cost of living allowance, known as the acronym BAH, in each of the last two years and it is having a noticeable effect on rents at the higher end of the scale. In 2015, an E6 (mid-level enlisted member) received a cost of living adjustment of $3,048 per month. That figure dropped to $2,904 per month in 2016 and rose slightly to $2,961 in 2017. In 2015, an O4 (mid-level military officer) received a cost of living allowance of $4,062 per month. That figure dropped to $3,786 in 2016 and dropped to $3,615 in 2017. I chose these two categories because several of our clients express their desire to rent to a military family. You can pull up all the BAH information by googling BAH rates for the given year and selecting the pdf file link on page 1 of the search.
Stott Property Management has had to significantly reduce asking rents for houses and condos that previously rented for more than $3,000 in late 2016 to early 2017 to attract paying tenants. Stott Property Management’s clients with properties in the higher rent category have experienced monthly reductions in rental revenue ranging from $200 to $500 per month, which directly corresponds to the reduction in Oahu military members BAH. This trend has been particular noticeable in neighborhoods near military bases like Kailua, Kaneohe, and Aiea.
The last two years would make an interesting case study for an economist or graduate student regarding the effects of government subsidies on housing affordability. The Department of Defense seems to have realized that it was competing against itself in the Oahu rental market as individual military families bid up market rents in neighborhoods with limited supply. By reducing BAH, the Department of Defense effectively reduced the amount of money a military family could spend on housing and the market rents in these neighborhoods fell accordingly.
Truth in Advertising: Many headlines have been written in the paper over the years when a large company is fined by the government or sued by customers for exaggerating the benefits of their products or services. Both landlords and sellers should carefully consider this concept when it comes to renting or selling a property.
How does “truth in advertising” apply to rental properties? The state of Hawaii codifies the concept in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Code and failure to abide by the law can be costly to owners of investment property in Hawaii. One chapter of the code requires that, “landlord to supply and maintain fit premises.” The state goes further by specifying that the landlord shall “maintain all electrical, plumbing, and other facilities and appliances supplied by the landlord in good working order and condition, subject to reasonable wear and tear.” In practical terms, if a landlord does not want the responsibility of repairing a fixture in their rental property, then the fixture should be removed before showing the property to prospective tenants and signing a lease. Otherwise, the state allows the tenant to repair a fixture and reimbursing themselves by reducing future rent payments by the cost of the repair subject to certain limits. Therefore, landlords may not refuse a repair request to repair or replace an air conditioner, for example, even if the landlord writes a clause in the lease specifying that the air conditioner will not be repaired or replaced. Please note that wear and tear applies to the appearance of a fixture and not its functionality. The landlord is obligated to address function problems with any fixture or appliance if the fixture or appliance was present at the time the tenant checked in.
The concept applies to Sellers in the form of the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure Statement. The document is five pages long and may only be filled out and signed by the seller or sellers of a residential property. There are over 100 items pertaining to the condition of a property that the seller must consider and respond to. While the disclosure statement is not a warranty of any kind by the seller, it can be an effective defense if the buyer claims that the seller misled them regarding some perceived defect in the home and the seller can show that he or she documented it in the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure Statement.
Contractor Shortage: The Wall Street Journal published an article in their editorial section about the growing shortage of labor in both agriculture and construction. While food is a concern for most, the labor shortage in construction has been an issue on the islands for several years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there are roughly 150,000 unfilled construction jobs across the country, double the number five years ago. One factor driving the issue is that the current construction workforce is graying (Hawaii’s median age is higher than the national average) and many of the workers that lost their jobs during the recession have simply retired or found other areas of employment. A January survey of the Associated General Contractors of America found that 75% of the firms had a hard time finding qualified workers and that worker shortages were a bigger concern than government regulations. The problem is expected to get worse since most high schools have dropped vocational training and most colleges don’t teach technical skills.
Stott Property Management has seen the worker shortage manifest itself in many ways on Oahu. One client recently asked us to obtain an estimate from his contractor friend to replace kitchen and bathroom cabinetry. The contractor friend replied that he would not be able to inspect the condo and provide an estimate for five months because he is backed up with committed home improvement projects.
Stott Property Management uses a couple of plumbing companies that provides emergency after hour repair services. There have been two cases in the past two months where Stott Property Management authorized emergency repairs to be done over the weekend, but the companies did not have enough plumbers available to get to the property until the following Monday. Phone calls to other plumbers resulted in the same answer. Stott Property Management continues to contact and interview plumbers regarding 24-hour emergency service.
We are witnessing more and more cases of workers simply being unavailable. Try to be patient if you need repair work ranging from simple repairs to major remodels. You will likely have to wait much longer than you have previously.
The Price of Paradise: What is the price of paradise? A basic rule of thumb that seems to work reasonably well is add 40% to the cost of any item advertised in the Continental U.S. A recent example is the KFC promotion for their $5 Fill Ups promotion that is advertised in Hawaii as well. The Kailua KFC offers a $7 Fill Up menu. Even though this example supports the basic rule of thumb, recent home repair numbers suggest that 40% is a little low.
Stott Property Management recently received a complaint from a client regarding the replacement of a self-closing toilet seat. The client researched the cost of a similar toilet seat on Home Depot’s website and found that it was $32. The handyman that replaced the toilet seat provided a receipt from Home Depot showing the local store charged $55.26. A similar toilet seat in Hawaii ended up being 73% more expensive that the advertised price on Home Depot’s website.
Tim and Tracey own rental property in Texas and routinely review paid invoices submitted by the property managers. In Texas, one handyman charges a labor rate of $45 per hour. Stott Property Management routinely uses several handymen on Oahu and their labor rates vary from $75 per hour to $85 per hour. The labor rate for a basic, reliable, handyman is at least 67% higher on Hawaii than it is in Texas.
Therefore, if you are contemplating an investment property or second home on Oahu, factor in maintenance costs of at least 70% higher than comparable maintenance work elsewhere in the United States. Otherwise, your expensive Hawaii real estate asset could suffer from deferred maintenance over time due to a lack of funds.
The median sales price on Oahu continues to climb as strong demand continues in a market with constrained supply. The median sales price in December for single family homes was $730,000 (4.3% higher than December 2015) and for condos was $390,000 (1.0% higher than December 2015). December demand was particularly strong as single family home sales surged 15.4% and condo sales soared 23.5% higher than December 2015. Sales should remain higher in the next few months and pending sales for houses is 15.4% higher and for condos is 20.2% higher than last year. The supply of homes continues to drop as new listings can’t keep up with the current pace of sales. There is currently 2.5 months of remaining inventory for single family homes and 2.6 months of remaining inventory for condos.
The University of Hawaii Research Organization (UHERO) predicted in September that housing prices would continue to climb as job growth and rising income provide potential buyers more purchasing power while housing supply remains constrained.
While the sales market is soaring, the long-term rental market has turned and rents have been dropping for the last quarter as a sudden surge of available rental properties has flooded the market. Stott Property Management had more vacant rental properties in December than the last time the rental market turned. Tim Kelley, who regularly updates his clients, has never seen so many Oahu vacancies advertised for rent in December. A large number of military tenants have received orders to leave the island over the past few months and it appears that military home owners who have purchased a home over the past few years have decided to try and rent their homes versus selling when they received orders. Honolulu has seen a net migration out of the city as high rents have convinced many people to move and seek their fortunes elsewhere. Tim and Tracey saw a similar sales and rental market in 2006.
December 7th marked the 75th anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The 75th commemoration of the attacks on Pearl Harbor includes events and memorials dedicated to the USS Utah, USS Oklahoma, and USS Arizona. Both local and national newspapers have been documenting the heroics of those that died and survived on December 7, 1941 and of those 90 plus year old men and women that returned to take part in the numerous events honoring and remembering those heroes. Tim and Tracey sat down at Wailuna Coffee Shop in Waikiki with the son-in-law of a Pearl Harbor survivor on Friday, December 2nd. He shared that he had to drive his father-in-law home the previous evening when strangers kept buying scotch to thank him for his service. His father-in-law served on the USS Tennessee and woke up in a hospital bed after a torpedo struck the battleship and blew him into Pearl Harbor.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park opened a new lava viewing area following the collapse of a large lava viewing area into the ocean on New Year’s Eve. Park Rangers had to chase after five visitors and force them to turn around 15 minutes before the area that the visitors were standing on collapsed into the ocean. Nearly 26 acres of a lava delta are now gone in addition to more than four acres from an older coastal cliff area. The new viewing area is approximately 900 feet east of the current lava flow. The New Year’s Eve collapse lasted several hours creating blasts of volcanic rock, waves, and plumes of debris and gas.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that three Hawaii counties may not regulate genetically modified crops or pesticides. As a result, Maui’s ordinance banning genetically engineered farming, Kauai’s notification requirements for pesticide use, and Hawaii County’s prohibition of open-air testing for genetically modified crops will not go into effect. The decision was a victory for seed companies Monsanto and Syngenta.
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) officials have chosen Spain’s Canary Islands as an alternative site for the $1.4 billion observatory. TMT would still prefer to build on the summit of Mauna Kea but will move if the permitting process doesn’t get started soon. In December 2015, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that TMT’s conservation district permit was improperly awarded eight years after the permitting process began. TMT has reported that it has invested $170 million for construction and manufacturing. When completed, the observatory will house the most advanced and powerful optical telescope on the planet with a 30-meter diameter primary mirror.
Local election results in Hawaii show that the state continues to be dominated by one party rule. When Stanley Chang defeated incumbent Sam Sloan, a Republican, Hawaii became the only state in the nation with an entirely Democratic state Senate. Mayor Kirk Caldwell fended off challenger Charles Djou, and Brian Schatz, Colleen Hanabusa, and Tulsi Gabbard (all Democrats) cruised to victory. The domination of the Democrats in Hawaii runs counter to Republican gains in the rest of the country where Republicans have gained steadily since 2008. There are currently 33 Republican governors, Republican majorities control 69 of the 99 state legislatures, Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and Donald Trump was elected President.
David Ige pledged in his January 2016 State of the State speech to cool 1,000 classrooms by then end of the year and was subsequently funded by the state legislation to the tune of $100 million. On November 15th, the Department of Education (DOE) had reported that they finished cooling 42 classrooms statewide. General contractors involved with the process have complained that the overly complicated project specifications caused significant delays and resulted in initial bids coming in significantly over budget. The DOE now projects that 1,000 classrooms should have air conditioning by the end of 2017.
Kakaako’s building boomlet has prompted the City and County of Honolulu to renovate and upgrade Ala Moana Regional Park across from the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Renovations and improvements include new sand volleyball courts, renovating bathrooms, repairing the Magic Island exercise path, irrigating the great lawn, fixing rocky beach areas, building a new playground, and hiring staff to maintain the park and improve safety. Good luck finding parking. The park is already one of the most heavily used parks in Honolulu.
Hawaii currently is ranked #48 in a category that makes many people’s skin crawl. According to Orkin, Honolulu ranked #48 among cities with the most bed bugs. Orkin’s bed bug revenue rose more than 10% compared to last year. Bed bugs were virtually unheard of in the United States ten years ago.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) earned some recognition for quickly responding to criticism from neighborhood boards and to an article by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for failing to list violent crimes on its crime data map. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser first ran the article in October noting that the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) does not include violent crimes on their crime mapping site. HPD’s website is the only site among more than 150 police websites that the newspaper investigated that excludes violent crimes. In November, HPD added ten new categories to the site including arson, assault, drug / alcohol violations, homicide, and robberies. The welcomed change now puts HPD’s crime mapping site on par with other departments around the country.
Honolulu’s police chief, Louis Kealoha, has decided to retire from the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) as he focuses on defending himself in a federal grand jury investigation into alleged conspiracy and corruption that centers around Louis Keoloha, his wife, Katherine Kealoha, Deputy Prosecutor, and several police officers. Louis Keoloha sworn in as police chief in November 2009 amongst enthusiast support from the police union, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) and police officers. A large contingent of police officers was present to congratulate Kealoha after he was sworn in at the mayor’s office. Unfortunately, Keoloha’s years as police chief have not lived up to the high hopes of his supporters. His term has been marked by a long string of news stories about illegal activity, abuse of power, spousal abuse, and other infractions by Honolulu police officers. In late 2014, Keoloha and his wife became involved in a messy family dispute with Katherine’s uncle, Gerard Puana. The dispute spilled over in court when the Kealoha’s accused Puana of stealing their mailbox. Puana’s public defender accused the police chief of intentionally causing a mistrial when he testified as a witness on the stand. The public defender turned over FBI documents suggesting further wrong doing by the department, which has apparently resulted in the grand jury investigation. No decision has been made regarding Kealoha’s retirement or separation package. Kealoha’s second term was expected to run through November 27, 2019.
Hawaiian Electric Company, HECO, announced its new time-of-use rates for Oahu. The current rate is 24.1 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh). The first 5,000 customers that sign up for the following plan will be charged the following rates under time of use. Customers will pay 14.9 cents per kwh for usage between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, 37.3 cents per kwh between 5:00 pm and 10:00pm, and 23.7 cents per kwh between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am. The rates are indicative of the large penetration of roof-top photovoltaic systems (PV) on Oahu’s grid. Prior to PV, the higher demand for electricity would result in higher prices during the day and lower prices in the evening as air conditioners consumed less energy. Some electrical grid experts argue that time-of-use billing is necessary to more fully integrate renewable energy and encourage consumers to adjust their electrical demand to match available supply.
Customers wanting to install new roof-top photovoltaic systems (PV) currently have only one option available. Oahu reached the arbitrary grid-supply cap back in October and new systems must be self-supply. In other words, the new systems must come with battery systems to store any excess electricity generated during the day for night use. Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) has received 322 applications as of mid-November and approved about 100 of those applications.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) has been able to lower electricity rates by 18% since 2008 by integrating renewable energy into its grid and decreasing the amount of diesel fuel used. KIUC stated that renewable energy now accounts for roughly 36 percent of the island’s electricity supply and includes large scale solar systems and a new 7-megawatt biomass plant. On some sunny days this year, KIUC was able to generate 97 percent of the electricity used from renewable sources (77 percent from solar). Now, on an average clear day, KIUC can shut down all but one of its diesel generators.
Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), on the other hand, is seeking a 7% increase to its base rate. It appears that the state sponsored monopoly’s margins continue to be squeezed by homeowner’s adoption of rooftop solar. Rate increases during historically low oil prices help those argue that the cooperative model is superior to the regulated monopoly model. The difference in Kauai’s results and Oahu’s results appear to support the cooperative model.
As if on cue, the Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative (HIEC) was recently granted tax exempt nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service, a major step in becoming an operating non profit utility similar to KIUC. HIEC’s electricity plan includes new solar, wind, and energy storage to reach the states 100% renewable energy goal. Notably absent was geothermal energy. The Big Island is the only island utilizing geothermal energy and could supply the entire island with clean, renewable energy. Hawaiian Electric Light Company (HELCO), a subsidiary of HECO, did not comment on HIEC move to purchase and take over management of HELCO’s assets.
Ko Olina is cementing its position as a luxury resort destination on Oahu with the announcement of Atlantis Resort & Residences on Oahu. The developer has released plans to develop 800 hotel rooms, 524 luxury residences, an aquarium, water park, restaurants, bars, a spa, gym, wedding chapel, and conference facilities. Atlantis Resort & Residences will join Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa, and Marriott Ko Olina.
Alexander and Baldwin Inc.’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. harvested its last crop of sugar cane in December. Both the sugar processing plant and the power plant were mothballed on December 23rd. The remainder of the approximately 700 employees was laid off on December 30th. Cheaper sugar production elsewhere in the world led to the demise of Hawaii’s once booming sugar industry. Alexander and Baldwin Inc. plans on dividing up the plantation into smaller farms with a variety of agricultural projects.
Andy Mohan Inc., a men’s clothing store specializing in custom tailored suits, is closing its downtown store after nearly 50 years in business. Founder Andy Mohan died in 2013 and Alies Mohan who owned the store with Andy is retiring. Tim Kelley was fitted for his first business suit at Andy Mohan back in 1995 when he was resigning his commission from the U.S. Navy and preparing for business interviews. He remembers getting fitted personally by Andy. Business attire on Oahu has changed significantly over the past 50 years as most Hawaii business professionals have shed the business suit in favor of slacks and aloha shirts. Tim is also grateful for the change in business fashion even though he is saddened by the closure of an iconic business.
Note: Stott Real Estate, Inc. is not licensed to provide tax or legal advice. The following article is for information only and Stott Real Estate, Inc. recommends that you speak with a licensed tax advisor and/or an estate planning attorney before making any decisions.
Avoiding Probate in Hawaii: The state of Hawaii requires probate when an individual dies and has more than $100,000 in assets or owns real estate in Hawaii. In general, probate will be required in every state where the decedent owns real estate. Probate is typically a costly and time consuming process in Hawaii. The minimum time to complete probate is typically six months and it can take as long as nine to eighteen months depending on the complexity. As a result, individuals who own real estate or have more than $100,000 in assets should consider steps to avoid probate if possible.
One method to avoid probate became possible in 2011 when the state legislature passed and the governor signed the Uniform Real Property Transfers on Death Act. The intent of the law is to allow for a property to transfer to a designated individual upon the time of death by the current owner by recording a deed called a “Transfer on Death Deed.” While recording a Transfer on Death Deed helps to avoid the time and cost of probate, estate planning attorneys recommend against this option for the following reasons:
1. Although the transfer on death deed can be revoked, it requires the revocation to be signed, notarized, and recorded in the same manner as the original transfer on death deed.2. Although the statute provides that the beneficiary receives the property to existing encumbrances, most lending institutions will not lend on a property subject to a transfer on death deed. As a result, an individual would have difficulty refinancing an existing mortgage or obtaining a new loan against the property.3. If an individual becomes disabled or incapacitated, the property is in “limbo” because no one has authority to sell the property or obtain a reverse mortgage to pay for health care needs.4. There are issues if the beneficiary of the transfer on death deed dies before the property owner.
One interesting note regarding transfer on death deed. The beneficiary is divested of the right upon divorce from the transferor or conviction of a homicide of the transferor.
Therefore, estate planning attorneys still favor setting up a revocable trust. Assets, including real estate, avoid probate if they are held in a revocable trust. The only downside to a revocable trust is the high initial cost to create the trust and transfer property into the trust. However, this cost is usually less than the cost of probate and much easier on an executor of the will. The revocable living trust has two advantages:
1. The avoidance of Probate Court costs and associated delays.2. Management of living-trust assets if the trustor becomes incapacitated.
When a revocable trust is created, the trustor is the individual who is placing his or her assets in the revocable living trust. The trustor names a successor trustee to manage the trust when he or she dies or becomes incapacitated, and the beneficiaries of the trust. The beneficiaries of the trust receive the assets from the trustee when the trustor dies without Probate Courts interference.
a. Within 45 days, the new property must be identified in writing to the QI. You can make changes to your identification any time within the 45-day-period; however, on the 46th day, you are locked-in to whatever has been identified as new property.
b. Within 180 days, the new property must close. You can identify more than one property; so if your preferred new property falls out of escrow, you could shift to a replacement new property that was identified during the 45-day-period; however, it would still have to be closed within the 180-day-period. Most exchangers identify more than one new property.
Example: Single Mary bought her Oahu home on 1/1/93 for $200,000 and rents it for 18 years until 1/1/11 when she occupies it as her principal residence. Two years later, on 1/1/16, Mary sells the property for $500,000 and has $300,000 of gain.
In my example, I used a long period of ownership before the eligibility date. If the property were acquired after the 1/1/09 eligibility date, the fraction will be much larger. For example, assume the property is acquired on 1/1/09, rented for three years and then occupied for two years, the non-resident use would be 3/5 or 60%. However, if it is rented for only one year and then occupied for four years, the non-resident use would only be 1/5 or 20%. Every day it is a rental property after 1/1/09 increases the capital gains taxes to the owner.
Median sales prices on Oahu continue their steady climb, as the supply of available homes remains tight. The median price in September for single family homes was $750,000 (2.7% higher than September, 2015) and the median price for condos was $383,250 (4.7% higher than September, 2015). Affordability appears to be having an impact as the number of condo sales rose 6.7% higher than the year before while single family home sales were flat. Active listings of single family homes dropped 7.2% and of condos dropped 6.7%. Strong demand and weak supply have resulted in only 2.9 months of inventory for single family homes and 3.0 months of inventory for condos. There appears to be little relief in sight for aspiring home owners while the time is right for those looking to cash out.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) predicts that one of the main drivers of the states recent economic growth, construction, is nearing the peak of its cycle. Deteriorating home affordability, rising construction costs, and expected monetary tightening (rising interest rates) will ultimately start the next construction industry downturn. UHERO predicts that construction activity will start falling in 2018 as the surge in condo and resort building wanes, rising home prices discourage more buyers, and global economics become more challenging.
Good news came out of the Hawaii Tourism Conference that recently ended. Despite some hotel operators’ fears that the next downturn is around the corner, a hotel industry researcher points to strong demand filling up the new hotels being built around the nation and in Hawaii. Hawaii is also home to the best performing group of timeshares in the nation and account for 9.4% of the visitors to the state. The visitor industry is on pace to set another record in 2016 and similar results are expected for 2017.
George Winfield Stott Jr.
Wednesday, July 20th, was a sad day for family, friends, current employees, and past employees. George Winfield Stott Jr. passed away two days after his 83rd birthday. Tracey read George a personal letter that Monday detailing the reasons why he was such a wonderful father and role model for her. Mike and Donna Stott called and sang happy birthday with George joining in at the end singing “happy birthday to me.”
Long before his distinguished naval and real estate career, George was born in San Diego to a military family. George lived on Oahu as a child and attended Punahou in the second grade. George graduated from the United States Naval Academy and received his commission in the U.S. Navy in 1955. A little known fact is that George and his roommates watched over a young plebe by the name of John McCain during their senior year. George and John were both boxers and he helped John through several scrapes.
George married Mary Lou Dempf upon graduation and the two blossomed during George’s military career that culminated in being the Captain of two nuclear powered submarines. George and Mary Lou ultimately settled on Oahu in 1970 where they raised three children on the Windward Side. George retired from the United States Navy in 1976, completed his MBA at the University of Hawaii, and opened Stott Real Estate, Inc. in 1978. During his distinguished 36-year real estate career, George trained and mentored many agents, several who opened their own thriving businesses. Under George’s tutelage, Mike and Donna Stott, Tim and Tracey Kelley, honed their skills. Mike and Donna moved to Atlanta, GA to open their own real estate company and real estate agent coaching business. Tim Kelley and Tracey Stott Kelley now own Stott Real Estate, Inc. as a second-generation family business.
George will be remembered as a loving husband, caring father, inspirational business leader, and a great friend. He leaves behind his wife of 60 years, three children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. While his passing will be mourned, his life will be celebrated in the legacy he is leaving behind.
On Monday, August 8th, family and friends said their final farewell to George. A group of young Navy sailors conducted a tear wrenching ceremony, featuring “Taps” and a 21-gun salute, honoring a submarine commander that they never knew. One young man in the honor guard shed a tear and another fine gentleman presented Mary Lou with an American flag. Father Emmanuel, a new pastor from Zimbabwe, then held a beautiful mass that included a soaring a capella version of “Amazing Grace” by George’s past employee, Lokahi Valentine. Two outrigger canoes paddled out to spread George’s ashes and flowers in the ocean about a quarter mile off the shore from his home per his wishes. Several years ago, George told Tracey that he only wanted his ashes given to the sea. He later changed his mind and told Tracey “he wanted it all.” The celebration of life was a great farewell to a great man.
We appreciate all the words of support and comfort during the past ten weeks. George helped many people over his career and the caring response has helped his family find peace.
A recent study of the decade from 1996 through 2006 shows the impact of government regulations on Honolulu’s homebuilding. While home prices shot up 146% during the time period, the percentage change of housing units grew only 12.6%. Economist Carl Bonham contends that the regulatory burden that Hawaii puts on the developers is a major part of the problem. Multiple regulatory agencies, the city, the State Land Use Commission, and the Hawaii Community Development Authority tie up construction projects in multiple layers of red tape. Places that have really tight regulations have higher home prices and Honolulu comes out on top of the regulatory burden.
Tim sent an e-mail to Stott Property Management’s clients in April 2015 about seeing signs of a slowing rental market. Apartment website, Zumper, just confirmed that rents appear to have peaked for one and two bedroom condos in July and August of 2015. Stott Property Management has noticed that some tenants have reacted to the higher rents by finding roommates to help make ends meet. The trend is not unique to Hawaii. Zumper reports that median rents for one and two bedroom apartments fell nationwide.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority announced that visitor arrivals set a record in July. 835,417 people visited the state, which represents a 2.1 percent increase over the previous record recorded last July.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority launched a free app on August 8th named GoHawaii. The app offers travel and safety tips for Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, Kauai, Lanai, and Molokai. The free app can be downloaded in the Google Play Store and the Apple iTunes Store and is offered in a number of languages. The apps destination screens allow users to see various Hawaii sites, activities, and special events. One feature provides users with Hawaii-styled emojis that users can share with family and friends.
U.S. Representative, Mark Takai died on July 20th, nine months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and two months after announcing that he would not seek re-election because the cancer had spread. A special election to fill Mark Takai’s seat will be held at the same time as the general election on November 8th. The winner of the special election will serve out the remaining two months of Mark Takai’s term. Eleven candidates have filed to run in the general election for the term starting in January 4, 2017.
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ruled against the proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) by NextEra Energy, Inc. Even though PUC acknowledged that NextEra Energy is “fit, willing, and able to perform the service currently offered by the utility being acquired,” PUC stated that NextEra failed to demonstrate that the application is reasonable and in the public interest. While some say that NextEra failed to embrace Hawaii’s regulatory requirements, Paul Brewbaker, one of the leading economists on the island contends that the deal fell apart because the state wanted to consolidate its political power over the utility. Brewbaker states that Hawaii’s economy continues to suffer as politics drive changes instead of the consumers and businesses. Several ventures have been cancelled as a result of the PUC’s decision including HECO’s major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, the Oahu-Maui interisland transmission cable, a proposed Lanai Wind Project, and power supply improvement plans on Oahu. Hawaiian Electric Company, spent $22.4 million on the merger, which will ultimately be passed on to Oahu consumers.
The city of Honolulu awarded Hawaii Gas a contract to supply the city with biogas from its Honoluliuli Wastewater Treatment plant in Ewa Beach. Biogas, or biomethane, is generated when biodegradable waste is broken down through chemical reactions and by microbes. The natural gas produced at the site is currently burned off and not utilized. Hawaii Gas is looking to replace most of its current fuel base with renewable natural gas has issued its own request for proposals. It also has a $200 million plan to ship LNG in bulk amounts to Hawaii starting in 2019.
The Honolulu StarAdvertiser and the state Division of Consumer Advocacy have documented concerns with the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority’s management of the GEMS funding. The funding, paid for by Hawaiian Electric customers to the tune of $1.30 per month, was intended to provide underserved customers loans to finance sustainable energy projects like photo-voltaic solar. As of June 30th, the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority has spent $1.7 million to approve a total of $388,800 in loans. Instead of recognizing that there really is not a need for this program as evidenced by the state’s rooftop solar penetration, the authority is looking to change the eligibility requirements to allow more loan approvals. A novel concept would be to recognize failure and return the money to Hawaiian Electric’s customer base. The program currently has collected $144.6 million from the monthly fees.
Hawaii Electric Light Company and Maui Electric Company announced that the arbitrary caps for the grid-supply program that services roof-top solar were reached. The program that replaced net metering, allowed customers to sell excess solar energy generated during the day back to the utilities at wholesale prices. Customers must now pay for battery storage systems due to the grid-supply caps. Oahu is 22% away from reaching Hawaiian Electric Company’s cap of 25-megawatts.
Dan Grabauskas, executive director and CEO of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) resigned on August 18, 2016. Grabauskas took much of the heat for being unable to meet unrealistic budget forecasts set by then Mayor Mufi Hanneman and current Mayor Kirk Caldwell. 2016 has been seen all of HART’s senior leadership turn over as fiscal reality struck and the city and state politicians starting looking for scapegoats. Grabaskaus gratiously stated, “It has been an honor and pleasure to have worked on this transformational project for nearly four-and-a-half years.” While Dan is moving on, Oahu residents will get to find out what transformation will mean to them in the years to come.
The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) shot down the delegation of Mayor Kirk Caldwell, City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, HART Chairperson Colleen Hanabusa, and acting HART Executive Director Michael Formby who flew to San Francisco to request additional federal dollars for the financially strapped rail project. They also made it clear that stopping at Middle Street was not an option and if the project stopped short, the $1.55 billion already committed would be in jeopardy. Caldwell and Martin plan on coming back to ask the legislator for an additional extension to the General Excise Tax surcharge beyond the additional five years granted by the legislature two years ago. State lawmakers are already getting geared up for a fight this winter claiming that the City and County of Honolulu administration and HART provided false information to the state legislature when the original extension to the GET surcharge was approved. HART has raised the total price tag of the project another $700 million to $8.6 billion and board chairwoman, Colleen Hanabusa cautioned that the numbers can still change.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided the latest example of why 70% of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum think that the country is headed in the wrong direction. The EPA recently required HoyHoy Trap-A-Roach, a staple in Hawaii households for over 20 years, to destroy 190,000 traps because it deemed that the packaging labels “misleading.” Meanwhile, Hawaii consumers are having to suffer through the peak cockroach season without their go to pest control trap against the flying American roaches known as B-52 Bombers. Retailers are waiting for shipments to restock their shelves.
WalletHub ranked Honolulu #10 out of the 100 largest U.S. cities for recreation due to the abundance of hiking trails and water sports. The personal-finance website compared cities using 35 metrics ranging from the price of a movie ticket to the number of tennis courts per capita. Not surprising to Oahu residents, Honolulu ranked #1 in bike rental facilities, fishing sports, hiking trails, boat tours, and water tours.
Fatboy’s Restaurant Group Hawaii has opened a new Fatboy’s plate lunch restaurant in Haleiwa. The restaurant is a family favorite of the Stott family and oldest sibling, Mike Stott, insists on Fatboy’s garlic chicken for his first dinner when he comes to visit. Tim and Tracey were quite puzzled over Mike’s obsession with the dish until they tried it themselves. It quickly became a potluck staple for the Kelley family at various sporting and party events. The Kailua restaurant sports a framed note saying, “A cow has four stomachs … Lucky bastard.” We recommend trying it out the next time you are on Oahu and looking for an excellent plate lunch.
The Hawaii Department of Health has confirmed 252 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A since June and has traced the source of the outbreak to imported frozen scallops that were served raw at Genki Sushi. The Department of Health has ordered ten restaurants on Oahu and one restaurant on Kauai closed until further notice. The outbreak has spread to workers at a number of restaurants, Costco, and Hawaiian Airlines. Two individuals sickened are currently scheduled to have liver transplants. Genki Sushi received permission from the Hawaii State Department of Health to reopen on Oahu 24 days after it was shut down. The Kauai restaurant will remain closed to complete renovations that are already in progress. Tim & Tracey recently received their Hepatitis A vaccination from their healthcare provider, Kaiser Permanente, who has encouraged their members to get vaccinated.
A group of six volunteers recently emerged from a small dome on the slopes of Mauna Kea after living 365 days in isolation. The study was one of four completed by the NASA funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS). HI-SEAS has compiled data from four simulated missions to study food choices and its effect on morale, water usage, and crew cohesion. The latest study was the longest simulated mission that included 40-minute communication delays with the outside world to mimic the delays experienced with a manned expedition to Mars. The crew consisted of people of different nationalities and personalities with sharing one common trait, low drama. Astronauts tend to be positive and stoic and one goal of the study was to detect conflicts between easy-going people before they become real problems. The dome was equipped with composting toilets and showers and relied on solar power for electricity. The only fresh things to eat were what the crew could grow inside the dome.
Waikiki Brewing Company signed a lease to open a second location in Kakaako that will include a brewery, canning operation, and tasting room. Tim and Tracey recently dined and enjoyed brews at Kauai Beer Company while visiting a friend on Kauai in September and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. While in Kauai, Tim was wearing a Staycation shirt from Karbach Brewing Company in Houston and was stopped by a couple from Houston on the Napali Coast. Visiting microbreweries and buying their T-shirts has become a fun activity and conversation piece. Ironically, Tim and Tracey have not visited Lanikai Brewery and Waikiki Brewing Company yet. That will change.
A Great Starter Investment Property: Tracey and Tim have owned investment real estate for 17 years and Tim has lead Stott Property Management for the past ten years. During that time, they have learned that the only investment property worth holding onto is one that provides positive cash flow immediately and with reasonable management, for a lifetime. An investment property should provide the means to work less over time to generate the same personal income versus having to work harder to pay the bills and cover a money-losing venture.
As with all investments, due diligence should be done ahead of time to make sure that the investment supports your long-term goals. The largest impact on your financial return will be the price you pay for the property (both sales price and initial make ready repairs). Patience is required in order to be successful. The cyclical real estate market does not provide these opportunities all the time. In fact, with asset prices near their all-time highs, Tim and Tracey are not currently looking to expand their investment real estate portfolio. Their last duplex purchase occurred in late 2011, after the mortgage crisis lowered sale prices. They won’t likely buy again until after the next buyer’s market returns prices to levels that make investment sense. In the meantime, Tim and Tracey are positioning themselves financially to make the move when the time comes.
The following financial requirement worked well for Tim and Tracey early in their investing career. They would buy a long-term rental property (versus a vacation rental) if the projected fixed expenses (mortgage payment, monthly property taxes, monthly insurance premium, utility costs not paid by tenant) was less than or equal to 75% of the monthly market rent. Believe it or not, this actually occurs. Tim and Tracey purchased in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2011. The only time a poor purchase was made occurred in 2006 when they were given poor market advice during a 1031 exchange and bought a money losing four-plex (over the short-term) using the sale proceeds of a profitable single family home. This formula will help provide a buffer to cover the approximately 5% in maintenance costs that is typical for an investment property and contribute to your personal bottom line. Tim and Tracey did have to manage the properties themselves initially to make the numbers work, but now have licensed property managers taking care of the daily operations.
Tim and Tracey also have concluded that the following physical characteristics worked best for them. Their best investments have been duplexes, with ceramic tile flooring throughout, and quality middle grade fixtures. The ceramic tile flooring was installed when the original flooring that came with the purchase wore out.
If you are looking to purchase your first investment property or expand your portfolio, then do it right the first time. Avoid turning a home into a rental property when you move. Buy the property with the intention of renting it out immediately and have the financials help make the decision.
“Rich Dad Poor Dad”, “The Total Money Makeover:” Tim and Tracey recommend these two books to anyone because they both offer excellent advice and simple to understand concepts that if followed, will make your life easier. They read “Rich Dad Poor Dad” years ago and just recently finished “Total Money Makeover”. The concepts discussed in these books gave them the motivation and tools to manage their personal finances and invest early in their adult careers and as often as possible. Some basic concepts that have helped them understand and succeed are summarized in the following paragraphs. However, you really should read the books to determine if there are other or different lessons that will work for you.
Defining a personal financial asset and a personal financial liability was an “aha moment.” A personal financial asset adds money to your bank account while a personal financial liability takes money out of your bank account. This concept differs from the traditional definition of assets and liabilities. Examples of assets include salaries, positive cash flow producing investment properties, dividend generating stocks, savings accounts, money market accounts, bonds, etc. Examples of liabilities include your car, the house you live in, cell phone, personal loans, and student loans. A person can’t sustain a living over the long-term if their assets don’t equal or exceed their liabilities.
Avoiding or paying off debt is another key concept. Both Tim and Tracey avoided the pitfall of accumulating excessive debt early on without reading these books. However, the concept reinforced their determination to save for major purchases, avoid personal debt, and pay off mortgages ahead of time. If you have a considerable amount of debt, then the debt snowball concept by Dave Ramsey could be extremely helpful.
Establish and maintain an emergency fund. The most common rule of thumb passed around is to have at least three months, up to six months of liquid cash on hand to pay for an actual emergency. The money must be held in an account that does not charge penalties for immediate withdrawals. Emergencies include car wrecks, illness, natural disasters, fires, flooding, etc. A furniture sale is not an emergency.
Investing as early as possible and as often as possible is critical to reaching financial independence. Put money into your IRA, 401k, mutual fund accounts, and buy investment real estate or dividend paying stocks. One concept Tim and Tracey picked up from both Robert Kiyosaki and Dave Ramsey involved researching and understanding the investments before proceeding. Research, put the odds in your favor, and control the fees and expenses paid on your investments.
Don’t confuse controlling your expenses with refusing to pay for services and expertise that will help you avoid more costly mistakes down the road. The best example that illustrates this point is the mistake some people make in asking a local friend to manage their investment property versus hiring a profesional property manager. Stott Property Management has cleaned up many expensive messes created by friend managing properties who failed to screen tenants, did not know how to evict deadbeat tenants, and failed to regularly inspect properties for necessary maintenance.
Tim and Tracey have talked and helped many clients whose finances have caused real and immediate stress. Reading these books and applying the concepts can help avoid or solve personal financial crisis.
Building A Rental Portfolio To Last: Investment Real Estate has been a major component of Tim and Tracey’s investment portfolio and has and continues to contribute to their bottom line. A major key to building this portfolio without causing undo stress on their budget has been following the simple rules outlined in the first two articles and taking one additional step.
After reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and sitting down to discuss the possibilities of owning investment real estate, Tim and Tracey decided that a significant portion of their retirement funds would come from rental property. Buying one duplex, would not even come close to providing the cash flow necessary to pay for their expenses after the mortgage was paid off. Therefore, they decided to dedicate the positive cash flow from their rental properties into paying off the mortgages on those same rental properties early. Additionally, they also used part of their sales bonuses to further accelerate those mortgage payments. In a span of six years, they paid off the mortgages on their first eight rental units. Following this strategy, they then paid off the loan on their latest duplex in two years.
The funds from these ten units currently help pay for their two children’s college tuition without taking on any student debt. Once the tuition is paid for, Tim & Tracey can continue to build their retirement portfolio.
Revocable Living Trusts: A revocable living trust is a popular estate-planning tool that defines who will receive your property when you pass away. There are rules of thumb, typically associated with your net worth, when you should consider creating a revocable living trust. Revocable means that you can change the property in the trust as your circumstances and desires change. Living means that you can make the changes while you are alive.
The trust document is written, signed by the trust maker and a notary public. The document lists the property in the trust, lists the trustee, and names who will get the property after the trust maker dies. The trustee is normally the trust maker while the trust maker is alive and then a successor trustee takes over when the trust maker dies or becomes incapacitated. The successor trustee can be an individual that the trust maker has confidence in handling the trust or can be a financial institution, like a bank.
The main advantages of a revocable living trust are that property in a trust avoids probate and it reduces the chances of a court dispute over your estate when you die. Many items can be simply listed with the trust document, however, titled property like real estate must be retitled in the name of the trust. If the titled property is not properly renamed, then it could end up in probate. Therefore, it is important that your real estate is properly recorded to avoid any problems. There can also be tax advantages if your property has been held in trust, however, those advantages can change since politicians can’t resist tinkering with the tax code.
While you can create a revocable living trust yourself, we recommend speaking with an attorney that specializes in estate planning. They keep current and the latest tax advantages, if any, and often ask questions, make suggestions, and point out possible pitfalls when creating and maintaining a trust. Since they bill for their time, a good estate attorney will periodically remind you that it is time to review your trust to make sure that it is still current. A well-executed will and revocable living trust can help ease some of the stress and pain of your loved ones when you die while assuring that your wishes are carried out.
Joint Bank Accounts and Online Banking: Aging people will often have a power of attorney identifying a trusted person, often a child, who can make decisions for them. In addition to the power of attorney, they may also add that individual to their joint checking and savings account to facilitate bill paying and money transfers.
One wrinkle occurs when the lead account holder dies. The bank, once notified of the death, may suspend all online banking activities until a new account holder is named as the primary.
Oahu median sales prices for single family homes and condos surged to new records in June. The median price for single family homes rose to $760,000 (8.6% higher than June 2015) and the median price for condos climbed to $405,500 (19.8% higher than June 2015). Demand remained strong and the supply continued to be limited. There are currently 3.0 months of inventory for single family homes and 3.1 months of inventory for condos. Competition for more “affordable” properties should remain intense since only 39% of the available single family homes and only 43% of available condos are asking less than the current median sales price.
The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii (UHERO) predicts that Oahu’s economy should continue to grow incrementally over the next couple of years. Construction enjoyed a strong year fueled by Kakaako condos, rail, and commercial projects and is currently near its cyclical peak with job counts climbing past its previous record. Personal income grew about 3.5% last year and is expected to grow by another 2% in 2016. UHERO predicts that private health care will be one of the strongest industries over the median term as Oahu’s population continues to age. Tourism should experience incremental gains as a strong U.S. economy will help offset a struggling Japanese economy and slowing Chinese economy. A strong U.S. dollar will put more pressure on foreign spending. Budget pressures will limit state and local government’s job growth. The largest challenge that Oahu currently faces is the rapidly rising price tag of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s (HART) struggling rail project.
Tracey Stott Kelley was recently recognized as only one of 15 real estate agents in Hawaii for remaining in the top 100 selling agents over the last ten years. Thank you to all of our clients who helped make 2015 another successful year.
An iconic radio partnership ended on May 15th after 33 years on the morning airwaves as Hawaii’s top rated program. Larry Price announced that he will be leaving the “Perry & Price Morning Show” and launch a new sports show with Rick Hamada on FOX Sports 990. Michael W. Perry will continue hosting the morning radio show solo.
Hawaii’s tourism industry received another boost as Virgin America started daily flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Honolulu International Airport on May 5th. Additional flights between LAX and Kahului, Maui began on June 14th.
Hawaiian Airlines is offering a new and innovative way for passengers to upgrade to first-class for less money. Bid Up, Hawaiian’s new program, allows passengers whose itinerary includes a leg between Hawaii and North America to bid for available first-class seats. Eligible fliers will receive a Bid Up e-mail about 10 days prior to their departure and the winning bidders will be notified 48 hours prior to their departure.
Hawaii Gas, the state’s only regulated gas utility, has reduced its estimate for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal by 1/3 to $200 million. An 18-month study showed that Oahu electricity customers would have saved $132 million in fuel costs by switching from oil to natural gas. The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission recently approved Hawaii Gas’s application to increase LNG deliveries from one LNG container a month to two LNG containers per day. Hawaii Gas recently announced that it saved Oahu customers about $50.8 million in 2015 by using gas energy instead of electricity generated from oil. Oahu would have needed approximately 861,000 barrels of oil for electricity to generate the same energy that was generated from synthetic natural gas and propane. Synthetic natural gas and propane are cleaner burning fuels and the production process is about 85% efficient versus the 32% efficiency from electricity generated from oil. Governor David Ige has argued against the money saving projects because he feels that the efforts would distract the state from his goal of providing 100% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources.
Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO) response to some vocal proponents of increasing roof-top photo-voltaic (PV) system caps would make a classic case study in the social costs of state sponsored monopolies. Hawaii regulators, who capped the net metering regime for rooftop solar to current customers, concluded that customers without PV subsidized the cost of maintaining the grid for customers with PV. Alan Oshima, president and CEO of HECO had several enlightening quotes during a Pacific Business News panel discussion. He describes people without PV as “stranded customers.” He goes on further to state that “everyone in this space has to contribute to a 100 percent future. Let’s change the conversation if we truly are working together. We have to understand that. I don’t think there’s an understanding of that. The clean energy initiative put the onus on the utility to get to 100 percent. We all have the responsibility, not just the electric utility.” Since HECO is the only game in town, Oshima does not need to figure out how to integrate the customer’s choice of power generation, just limit it. He is simply able to tell his critics to toe the line because the state of Hawaii has put the renewable energy burden on HECO’s shoulders. Oahu’s customer base is witnessing first-hand how a state sponsored monopolist limits the supply of a popular power generation alternative (PV) to protect its profit margins. Maybe the state should take a look at closer look at separating the electrical distribution business from power generation, open the maintenance of the grid to competitive bidding, and open the power generation market to the most efficient providers (in this case, individual households).
Hawaii businessman, Duane Kurisu, will team up with the state of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu to develop and operate an affordable housing project of 200+ units, named Kahauiki Village, on reclaimed land off Nimitz highway between Keehi Lagoon Park and Sand Island. The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) has approved a plan where the city takes ownership of the 13 acres of land and will lease it to Kurisu for ten years with an option to extend the lease for another ten years. The land rent will be $1 per year. The homes, a collection of single-family-homes and duplexes, will be rented to families in need of shelter for $500 per month and the families will be responsible for utility costs. The wife of former Gov. Ben Cayetano, Vicky Cayetano, will offer all adults living at Kahauiki Village employment at her company, United Laundry. United Laundry is only a few minutes away on foot from Kahauiki Village. Duane Kurisu will take all financial risks for the project and his foundation will be in charge of the village’s operations.
Political drama surrounding the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) reached a fevered pitch in April with Ernie Martin, Honolulu’s City Council chairman, called for the resignation of HART Board Chairman Don Horner and HART Executive Director Dan Grabauskas for failing to contain cost overruns associated with the struggling rail project. Don Horner, a volunteer, decided that he no longer needed the negative attention and resigned days afterwards. In his resignation letter to Mayor Kirk Caldwell, Horner stated, “too often in politics, the focus becomes shooting the messenger of unpleasant news rather than collaboratively working on solutions.” Former U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa was named Don Horner’s replacement and then announced that she would step down a month later to run for the Congressional post vacated by Mark Takai. A financial audit released on April 15th to the Honolulu City Council was extremely critical of HART by saying that the agency was using outdated financial figures and that the latest estimates of how much over budget the project is most likely too low and will climb as time goes on. Mayor Kirk Caldwell has failed to distance himself from the project. Hawaii columnist David Shapiro reminded newspaper readers that Caldwell made himself the “point person” on rail when serving as Mayor Mufi Hanneman’s managing director. Kirk Caldwell led the campaign to convince wary taxpayers that the project should be approved with unrealistic cost projections and construction timelines.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell is in full panic mode as the election season started heating up in June and the over-budget rail project continues to dominate the headlines. He is currently trying to compound the problems with the project by proposing that it end several miles short of the planned Ala Moana destination, essentially making the rail system a useless white elephant. The City and County of Honolulu and HART could not have orchestrated a bigger mess if they tried. The first, and possibly fatal mistake was to start the project out in Kapolei versus Ala Moana. Had the project started in the other direction, and the transit route had to be shortened, commuters could have boarded rail to avoid the heavily congested downtown Honolulu commute. Now, commuters who would want to take rail will essentially follow a more complicated option than what The Bus already offers. At this point, cooler heads would help see the project through as planned even though taxpayers will face a much higher bill. Voting does have its consequences.
We attended an event held by Pacific Business News on June 17th titled Windward Oahu Means Business. The event featured five panelists who answered questions from the moderator and from the sold out audience. The most sought out member of the panel was Alexander & Baldwin’s director of asset management who announced that Lau Hala Shops, a collection of shops and restaurants, should be completed in late 2017 in the downtown Kailua building that Macy’s vacated. A & B expects new tenants to move into the complex in early 2018. Other topics included the highly contested vacation rental debate, challenges associated with the homeless, and the thriving feral chicken population in downtown Kailua. Tracey and Tim even admired a gorgeous looking feral rooster on our way back to the office from the event.
The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources recently updated its hawaiitrails.org website which also has a mobile-responsive design. Tim briefly navigated the site and it looks pretty useful for locating and planning hikes. So next time you are in Hawaii and someone tells you to “Take a Hike,” you know which website to visit.
Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered plane that arrived from Japan on July 3rd of last year departed Honolulu on April 21, 2016 and arrived at Moffet Field in Mountain View California on April 24, 2016. The pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, have logged over 317 hours in the air and traveled over 24,000 km in their quest to travel around the world using the sun’s energy. The plane stayed in Hawaii over the winter to repair the batteries and to wait for longer days before making the trip to California. The plane then completed the next leg of their flight from Mountain View, CA to Phoenix, AZ on May 2nd and 3rd. You can continue following the pilots’ around the world quest at www.solarimpulse.com.
Have you ever wanted a pet donkey? The Humane Society and Big Island residents are rounding up the last 50 of approximately 500 wild donkeys that have been living off the land (golf courses, residents’ yards, etc.) since being released from Hawaii coffee and agricultural plantations decades ago. The feral donkey herd went unmanaged for about 40 years when drought conditions forced the donkeys into residential areas in search of water. The animals wandered on roads, tore up golf courses, and drank from swimming pools. The Humane Society has found adoptive homes for about 450 of the animals and about 40 of the remaining 50 have already been spoken for. The donkeys must be adopted in pairs or have another animal to keep them company because they are very social animals and need a friend. Doesn’t everybody need a friend?
The local alcoholic beverage industry continues to be a bright spot in Hawaii’s business community. Maui-based Kolani Distillers signed a contract to stock Hawaii Wal-Mart shelves with their Old Lahaina Rum this summer. Kolani Distillers was the only company from Hawaii to win a contract from Wal-Mart’s Open Call for U.S.-based products. Kauai-based, Koloa Rum Company, won four gold medals at the 2016 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival for its Kauai White Rum, Kauai Gold Rum, Kauai Dark, and Kauai Spice Rum. It won a “Best in Class” gold medal for its Kauai Coffee Rum. Maui Brewery Company recently redesigned their beer cans through a collaboration with a Polynesian tattoo artist who created new icons for their beers, raised their brewing capacity to 100,000 barrels per year, and is on track to brew and sell 45,000 barrels in 2016. The company plans on expanding its offerings to include sodas, ciders, and meads. Maui Brewery Company’s recently renamed Coconut Hiwa Porter is one of Tim’s favorite beers. The developments continue a trend of strong growth in Hawaii’s local brewery, wine, and spirits industry.
Looking for great pizza and beer during your next visit to Oahu? J.J. Dolan’s, a downtown Honolulu pub, continues to rack up awards for the best tasting pizza in the state. Not in the mood for pizza, try Me’s Bar-B-Que, a Korean barbecue restaurant in Waikiki. It just landed on the culture website Thrillist’s 2016 list of “The 33 Best BBQ Joints in America.”
Hawaii fun fact: On average, each person in Hawaii consumes five cans of SPAM per year. Seven million cans of SPAM are sold in Hawaii every year, making the state Hormel’s #1 market for SPAM. The Waikiki SPAM Jam was held on April 30, 2016 to celebrate Hawaii’s continuing love affair with the canned meat.
Multi-Generation Homes: Hawaii has historically had a significant number of homes with adult children living with their parents. This type of living arrangement is becoming more common throughout the United States for economic reasons that have prevailed on the islands for decades. The Pew Research Center analyzed census data and reported interesting and for some, alarming data concerning the living arrangements of young adults.
For the first time on record, living with parents is the most common arrangement for people ages 18 to 34. Nearly one-third of all millenials live with their parents, a slightly higher percentage than those adults that live with a spouse or partner. It is the first time that more young adults live their parents than those that live with a spouse since statistics were first tracked in 1880.
The most common reasons cited by economists may sound familiar to Hawaiian households. Higher housing prices and escalating rents coupled with stagnant wages have “forced” young people to move back home and save enough money to start out on their own. Additionally, young people are waiting longer to get married as they place education and careers ahead of raising a family. Today, the average women gets married at 27.1 years and the average man marries at 29.2 years (compared to 20.1 years for women and 22.5 years for men in 1956). Part of the reason that older adults have not sold their family homes to downsize for retirement is that they still have adult children living with them. Approximately one-fifth of homeowners age 55 to 64 still have adult children living at home.
Looking forward to an empty nest? Statistical trends suggest that you may have to wait a little longer than you initially planned.
Revisit Hawaii Property Goals: We have talked to many owners over the years that have decided to rent or sell after realizing that the original reason for owning their Oahu property no longer applied. The reasons for owning property vary from holding onto a piece of paradise after moving in the hopes of returning to buying a 2nd home. In some cases, these properties are left vacant.
What holds for financial best practices can also be applied to real estate since real estate can be used for more than just holding a roof over our heads. We recommend evaluating the value that your Oahu property provides every couple of years to make sure that the property’s current use still applies to the your short and long-term goals. Value can be emotional in addition to financial. For example, some people continue renting an inherited childhood home because it reminds them of fond memories and provides a connection to the Hawaii that they want to hold onto. If a quick assessment confirms that the property still aligns with your goals and desires, then stay the course.
Some people discover that they no longer visit as often as they used to because of work or family. Others realize that they will not retire on Oahu. Still others, are not quite sure what the right answer is. If you find yourself in one of these situations, then we can provide market information to help with a decision. Armed with that information, you can then decide if holding onto a vacant property makes more sense than generating funds for new ventures.
One client decided that she wanted to sell her condo and use the cash proceeds to pay for family vacations with her children and grandchildren. Other clients decided to start renting a property that they no longer visited and wanted to generate cash flow for their children’s education. Please call (800-922-6811) or e-mail (home@stott.com) us if you would like our assistance.
Pets: Allowing pets will increase the number of prospective tenants and often enables an owner to get a higher rent while retaining carpeting that otherwise would need to be replaced. Recent changes in Hawaii’s statutes regarding comfort animals and pet deposits increase the incentives for allowing pets. Tenants with pets will often agree to pay the higher rent and live with the old carpeting if the owner will allow pets.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended protections to handicapped people with assistance animals. “Conditions and restrictions that housing providers apply to pets may not be applied to assistance animals.” A landlord must allow a service animal if a disabled tenant applies and qualifies for rental that does not allow pets. In the latest wrinkle, HUD has effectively eliminated the landlord’s right to refuse renting to convicted felons. Under disparate impact, HUD has decided that refusing occupancy based on criminal background checks unfairly impacts certain races since they make up a disproportionate percentage of inmates.
The median price in March for Oahu single family homes was $725,000 (compared to $700,000 in March 2015) and for Oahu condos was $385,000 (compared to $380,000 in March 2015). Demand for both houses and condos grew about 20% compared to last year and supply shrunk by around 25%. As a result, there is only 2.1 months of remaining inventory of single family homes and 2.3 months of remaining inventory of condos. Additionally, the prices of active listings are skewed to the higher end of the market. Currently only 31% of the available Oahu houses are priced under $800,000 while only 41% of the Oahu condos are priced under $375,000. Competition for “modestly” priced homes appears to be heating up for the busy spring and summer season.
Hawaii economists predict steady economic growth of 2 to 2.5 percent in 2016 but there are risks on the horizon. The shrinking military (currently 46,000, down from a high of 51,000 in 2014), slowing construction (fewer building permit applications), and lower visitor spending pose risks to continued expansion. Paul Brewbaker, one of Hawaii’s leading economists, thinks that lower spending by tourists is the single most important strategic economic development for Hawaii. Real visitor spending has dropped 0.7% per year on average from 1997 to 2014 when inflation is taken into account. Hawaii has been unsuccessful in finding an industry that would diversify the local economy beyond tourism.
Please take the time to visit our upgraded company website and new property management website when you get a chance (www.stott.com and www.stottpropertymanagement.com). Our goal is to provide customers and clients a platform that allows them to quickly and efficiently review the content that they want to see. The new websites are the product of three months of hard work and collaboration by the staffs of Stott Real Estate, Inc. and Wind on Water Communications.
Monstrous waves pounded the North Shore prompting the closure of 11.5 miles of roads on Monday, February 22, 2016 as waves with 60-foot faces slammed into Waimea Bay. The large surf ripped surfboards from contestants of The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau as the surf contest was held for only the ninth time in 30 years. The waves in Waimea Bay must have a sustained face height of 30 to 40 feet for eight hours in order to hold the event. Some wave faces that reached 60 feet in height intimidated seasoned professional big wave surfers. Haleiwa’s own John John Florence won the event and took home the $75,000 check. 66-year old Clyde Aikau, Eddie’s brother, competed in his last “Eddie.”
Some participants in one of Hawaii’s largest annual hula completion, the Merrie Monarch Festival, won’t use the ohia lehua tree blossoms in their costumes to help prevent the spread of the ohia lehua blight. There is no current cure for the fungal disease that has infected about 34,000 acres of forest on the Big Island. The state is trying to contain the spread by prohibiting the transport of ohia products and plant parts without a permit from the Big Island. The Big Island is currently the only island affected by the fungal disease. Stopping the spread can be tricky because a tree can be infected months before showing any signs of the disease. Ohia is important to Hawaii’s water supply because it is very effective at soaking rain-water into the ground and replenishing the water shed. The tree’s nectar is a critical food source for many native birds and animals.
One of the most popular attractions on Oahu, Hanauma Bay, is struggling to find the right balance between visitor satisfaction and protecting the environment. Approximately 384,000 people visited Hanauma Bay in 1975. That number grew to over three million in 1988 and the onslaught of visitors was damaging the reef, polluting the water, and creating unnatural fish behavior. Several rules have been put in place to help protect the bay’s fragile ecosystem. In 1990, the city banned tour buses from dropping off beachgoers resulting in about 2 million fewer visitors. The ban, along with a ticket window, and requirement to watch a video that emphasizes the need to stay off the reef and not feed the fish has helped turn things around. Hanauma Bay helps limit the number of visitors in the park by allowing only 125 visitors to watch the video every 15 minutes. While this helps with crowds in the park, long lines regularly occur causing widespread frustration. Gone are the days that Tracey fondly remembers as a kid back in the day. She would often go to Hanauma Bay without waiting in line and fed the fish with a bag of frozen corn or peas. Tracey often jumped in the “toilet bowl” which has been closed to the public.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is preparing to propose rules to help protect spinner dolphins while they sleep in shallow waters off the Hawaii coast. The dolphins are nocturnal and spend the night hunting fish and they need their rest after foraging all night. During sleep, half the dolphins’ brain shuts down while the other half stays awake to surface and breathe. The dolphins appear to be awake because they continue to move. One indication that the dolphins are sleeping is the synchronization of the dolphin pods’ dives and swims. The dolphins are a popular attraction for tourists and several tour operators take people to the shallow waters so they can swim with the dolphins. NOAAs concern is that the tour operations are disturbing the dolphins’ sleep, which could cause long-term health issues. Their goal is to allow people to observe the dolphins in their natural habitat while allowing the dolphins to get their sleep through education and regulation.
A team at the Oceanic Institute of Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) has successfully bred a batch of yellow tangs after a decade of trying. The state currently sustains its $2 million aquarium industry by harvesting hundreds of thousands of fish from reefs each year. The yellow tang is one of the most recognized of all Hawaii reef fishes and one of the world’s most popular saltwater aquarium fishes. HPU’s success could be a boon for reef conservation efforts. Tim and Tracey recently marveled at dozens of yellow tang and other reef fish while snorkeling during a recent Big Island vacation.
Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources has established a new coral nursery on Sand Island to help restore damaged reefs and serve as a bank for Hawaii’s native corals. Nursery staff members are using techniques designed to double the growth rate of coral in its natural setting from a rate of one to two centimeters per year to almost three centimeters per year. The staff harvests coral from Hawaii harbors and places small fragments of the coral into tanks filled with water that includes minerals to maximize survival and exposed to lighting to optimize growth. The growing fragments are later placed in large outdoor seawater tanks where they naturally fuse together. The larger the coral, the less likely that it will be affected by sediment and invasive species when introduced back into the wild.
The Third Circuit Court completely vacated the Thirty Meter Telescope project’s conservation district use permit on February 22, 2016. The Board of Land and Natural Resources must hold a new contested hearing before the permitting process can begin. TMT hopes to secure a new conservation district use permit by early 2017 and target construction for April 2018. TMT may consider other sites if they are not granted access to Mauna Kea later next year. The court action has negatively affected Hawaii’s business reputation as the arbitrary ruling by the courts has placed TMTs investment at risk. TMT has already invested $170 million to date for construction and manufacturing.
Both the University of Hawaii’s men’s and women’s basketball teams completed a very successful year by winning their respective conference tournaments and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. The men’s team won its first ever NCAA tournament game over the University of California – Berkeley before losing to Tracey’s alma mater, University of Maryland in the second round. The men’s team finished the year with a record 28 wins. Hawaii men’s coach, Eran Ganot, won the UH rookie coach of the year award for the men’s basketball team’s historic run. The women’s team lost to University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) in the first round. The women finished the season with a 21 – 11 record.
In January, University of Hawaii (UH) President, David Lassner, presented a request for $16.2 million in budget add-ons, including support for the struggling UH Cancer Center and money losing athletic program, despite pulling back on planned tuition increases for the next two years. The money would be added to the already approved $428 million in general funds over the next two years. Not surprisingly, several legislators are protesting the use of taxpayer funds to fill a hole from UH’s failure to execute the planned tuition increases. Apparently, in response to the negative feedback, Lassner announced in late February that UH will propose a two-percent tuition increase every year for three years beginning in 2017 to help address a $505 million backlog in deferred maintenance. UH must hold 11 public hearings prior to submitting the proposal to the board for approval.
Plans to build a $50 million center on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus to honor the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye have been shelved indefinitely due to criticism of the growing UH repair backlog. Some lawmakers have sensibly questioned the pursuit of new building projects when the university has done such a poor job of maintaining its existing facilities.
The New York Times recently chimed in on HART’s struggle with ballooning construction costs in an article titled “Hawaii struggles to keep rail project from becoming a boondoggle.” The article presented concerns about the 20-mile elevated train line, its design, delays, and escalating costs. HART’s chairman responded that the cost overruns have been addressed by extending the General Excise Tax surcharge and that operational costs savings will be achieved “by utilizing new synergies with TheBus and other City services including the introduction of a systemwide Smartcard.” He added that federal funding will pay for a projected operational loss of $71 million for the first full year of rail operations. The Honolulu Star Advertiser ran an article not a week later highlighting that the recent General Excise Tax extension may not cover the most recent cost versus revenue projections. The budget deficits won’t end with construction. In January, rail officials stated that property taxes will have to increase 9% just to cover the projected operating hole every year once the over-budget construction project reaches completion. The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) projects that the operations will be in the red to the tune of about $1 billion every decade. HART officials initial budget plans to have fares cover only about 30% of the cost of operations (similar to TheBus operations).
Federal Regulators approved a planned $1.6 billion offshore wind farm that will be located about ten miles southeast of Barbers Point in West Oahu. The project still needs a power purchase agreement with Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) in order to provide electricity to Oahu’s grid at an expected price below 20 cents per kilowatt-hour. While that rate is expensive in most states, it still represents a modest savings over what HECO’s customers currently pay (about 24 cents per kilowatt-hour). HECO needs to find new sources of renewable energy since it recently cancelled several purchase agreements from renewable sources last month.
Hawaii’s High Technology Development Corp. (HTDC) has sponsored a demonstration of the Air Force’s $6.8 million investment in a waste to energy generating system. The project demonstration will show how ten tons of waste per day can be converted to electricity through gasification technology. Applications of the system include solid waste, animal and crop waste, cellulosic biomass, tires, non-recyclable plastics, and industrial waste. The system was installed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam late last year and is currently going through initial testing. The system will soon run specific programs to collect data and then eventually will be used to produce liquid jet fuel from waste. The demonstration will run through summer 2016.
Mari’s Garden, one of the nation’s largest aquaponics farms in the nation has removed itself from the electric grid with the help of Wisconsin-based EnSync Energy Systems. The Mililani farm uses 25 kilowatts of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and a 25-kilowatt battery storage system to power the farm’s pumps. Tim and Tracey should visit the farm to see how it is done. Tim and Tracey set up an aquaponics garden with their daughter Ashley, five years ago. They are great at growing salad greens and tilapia but absolutely terrible at harvesting anything. Tim goes out to the garden every morning to feed the fish. It may be a matter of time when Tim names all the fish, officially making them pets. At this time, there is still a small possibility that the fish may make the dinner table.
One of the most interesting visitors to Pearl Harbor is the Sea-Based X-Band (SBX) Radar platform, a powerful part of America’s Ballistic Missile Defense System. It comes to Pearl Harbor for routine maintenance and calibration between operations off the Aleutian Islands. The vessel looks like a giant white egg on stilts and can be seen from many places on Oahu when it is in port. The self-propelled platform is about the size of two football fields and is operated by a crew of 86 when underway.
Clutter: Tim observed that Tracey often watches the show “Hoarders: Buried Alive” on weekends and recently asked why she watches the show. Her response was quite interesting. Tracey replied, “the show helps me understand some of my clients and their tenants when I list properties that have a lot of stuff and it helps me come up with solutions to help the property sell while preserving the individuals dignity.” A huge reason why Tracey helps people sell their homes, and Tim does not, is due to her patience and her ability (both natural and honed over years of experience) to empathize with her clients and residents whose lives are experiencing some stress and turmoil.
Tim and Tracey often see rental properties where owners store tools so that they can work on their homes when they visit, or store furniture and personal items in locked rooms that they will use when they return to the islands even though they have no concrete plans on returning. Stott Property Management manages some properties that owners have accepted hundreds of dollars in lower monthly rents over many years because tenants don’t have access to the entire property. In the end, the stored belongings are often destroyed by Hawaii’s elements and Stott Property Management ends up hiring handymen to throw them away. In some cases, the owners have passed away and their children have to clean out the rooms and storage areas. In rare cases, storage areas have been broken into and owners have wrongly accused tenants of stealing or destroying their belongings. If you are going to move and rent your previous home, then do yourself a favor and take all of your tools, vehicles, and belongings that you need and sell or donate the rest.
Capital Gains versus Equity: Capital gains and Equity are two important financial measurements that homeowners and investment property owners should estimate before deciding to sell a property in order to successfully plan for and complete a transaction. The capital gain from selling a property is important for estimating a potential tax bill and the equity helps determine how much money the seller will receive or have to pay when selling a home. There are cases where a seller will have to write a check to the title company to sell a home and still have to pay federal and state capital gains taxes.
The capital gain from selling a home is determined by subtracting the buying basis from the selling basis. The buying basis equals the price that a buyer paid for the home plus any closing fees associated with purchasing the property. The selling basis equals the sales price of the home minus realtor fees, closing fees, and the cost of any capital improvements on the home. If the resulting figure is negative, then the seller suffered a capital loss.
An owner’s equity in a property represents the difference between the market value of the property and any loans taken out against that property (mortgage, home equity line of credit, etc.). The seller will have to write a check to sell a home if there is negative equity in the property and the lender won’t forgive a portion of the debt owed (short sale).
There are occasions when a seller will have a capital loss on the property and still receive money from the sale of a home. This scenario can result when a seller makes a large down payment when buying and the market falls making the property less valuable at the time of the sale. It can also result from a seller being unable to recoup the costs of a major remodel when it comes time to sell. Likewise, a seller can have capital gains and still write a check to sell a home. A common scenario that played out in 2009 and 2010 involved homeowners who took out a home equity line of credit or refinanced a home and took cash out. The following market downturn left many of these owners underwater and they either wrote a check or received loan forgiveness even though they had to report a capital gain on the sale.
Recasting a Mortgage: Recasting a mortgage is a little known option available to some homeowners that want lower monthly mortgage payments, have paid off extra principal or have a large lump sum of cash available, and don’t want to refinance their mortgage.
Normally, if you pay off extra principal on a mortgage, the monthly payment remains the same and you simply end up paying off the mortgage sooner. While this strategy will save you interest paid over the life of the loan, it won’t shrink your monthly payments.
Recasting, or re-amortization, involves reducing your monthly payment by paying off a sizeable chunk of the principal on the loan, and then requesting the lender to recalculate the principal and interest owed using the same interest rate and time remaining to pay off the loan. The end result is that you pay a lower monthly amount, make your final loan payment on the date specified in the loan documentation, and save some interest over the life of the loan. The added principal could have been paid off over time or the borrower could have a large lump sum available from savings, a recent bonus, or asset sale. We recommend contacting your lender first before paying off a large chunk of your mortgage if your goal is to recast your loan. Not all lenders will offer the option and some lenders may charge an administrative fee. Bank of Hawaii for instance, will allow a borrower to recast their mortgage once for certain mortgages over the life of the loan.
Mortgage Pay-offs: Let us be the first to congratulate you if you recently paid off a mortgage on your home or an investment property. We recommend that you verify your mortgage company recorded your pay-off in addition to basking in some well-earned glory. If your lender failed to record your pay-off, then you will have a problem when you sell that property because the property still shows that it has a mortgage on paper. It is much easier to get hold of your past lender if you discover this problem before many years have passed because loans are sold between lenders, lenders get sold, lenders go out of business, and paperwork gets misplaced.
Tracey recently helped two sellers with paid off mortgages that were not recorded by switching from one title company to another while in escrow. One title company would not provide title insurance because the mortgage payoffs were not recorded while another company reviewed the circumstances and agreed. In one case, we were able to track down the lender and get the mortgage release recorded after the closing.
Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU): Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed an ordinance on September 14, 2015 allowing homeowners to build and rent out a separate living space with a full kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom to help defer the high cost of home ownership on Oahu and to help add sorely needed rental inventory to help satisfy unmet demand.
The City and County of Honolulu have placed some important restrictions on ADUs:
1) An ADU can be no larger than 400 square feet on lots between 3,500 and 4,999 square feet and no larger than 800 square feet on lots larger than 5,000 square feet.
2) Only one additional dwelling unit is allowed. An ADU can’t be added to a lot with multiple units already present.
3) An owner or designated representative must live on the property. Hiring a property manager is not sufficient in meeting the requirements.
4) The lease may be no less than six months in length.
5) There must be one off-street parking space available.
The requirement that a designated representative must live on the property does make renting an ADU using a property manager a little more complicated. A client of ours recently filed the paperwork to convert an existing attached unit into an ADU so that they could provide a full kitchen versus a wet-bar. Even though Stott Property Management manages the property, the City and County required that the owners designate one of the tenants as the designated representative.
http://www.honoluludpp.org/ contains more information if you are interested in adding an ADU to your property.
Marketing versus Selling: The American Marketing Association most recently defined Marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Selling is the final stage in marketing that essentially involves closing the deal. Marketing and selling are often used interchangeably because both have the same goal. However, understanding the differences can be the key between success and failure.
How does marketing apply to real estate? Many people have heard the real estate phrase, “location, location, location.” The largest component of real estate marketing actually occurs when a buyer purchases a home or investment property. Location makes up the largest component of positioning the product, in this case, a home. Architecture, interior design, amenities, and condition of the home play an important but smaller role. You can have the best of all worlds when it comes to the features of a home, however, if the property is located in a poor location, then the homeowner or investor has simply over-improved the property. That is the reason that regardless of size and condition, a house will sell within a certain range in a specific location and a condo will sell within a certain range in a specific complex regardless of what the interior and exterior look like. For example, the same exact house located in Kahala will be worth more and cater to a different clientele than the house located in Mililani. Is there anything right or wrong with Kahala over Mililani? The answer lies in the eyes of the beholder. That being said, a homeowner may not be able to sell a luxury home in Mililani for several million dollars to a movie star or mogul regardless of how much money is spent on the construction, decorations, and advertising.
Maintenance does play an important role in a rental properties market campaign. In general, tenants look for clean, functional, square footage in the neighborhoods that they have interest. Maintaining a rental property is critical in attracting qualified tenants. Most of the tenant issues that Stott Property Management has to deal with (late rent, tenant damage, etc.) occur in rental properties located in less desireable neighborhoods and in properties that suffer from deferred maintenance.
Choosing the right agent or property manager to sell or rent your home is the final piece of the puzzle. A well maintained home in a great neighborhood can still sit empty for longer than necessary if the home is not priced properly or if the ads don’t contain quality photos and enough detail. A well-advertised property will interest more prospects, generate more showings, provide better market feedback, and increase the chances of a quicker sale or quicker lease signing. Since people have differing tastes, markets change, and determining market prices are not an exact science, asking for and adjusting to feedback may be critical in successfully selling or renting a home. A great agent or property manager can help identify the things that you can’t control (location, traffic, local economy) with the things that you can control in an economically efficient manner. It is interesting how modest price changes and minor cosmetic repairs often result in much greater demand for a particular home.
The sale or tenant check-in is the ultimate goal in a successful real estate marketing campaign. In the end, the property must sell itself. Prospective buyers or tenants will make their own judgment about how a property looks, feels, sounds, and smells once they walk through the front door. Ultimately, that is why economists state that a willing and able buyer or renter will help determine the market price for a property.
Oahu’s strong real estate market continues with median sales prices rising and the median sales price for condos setting a new record. December’s single family home median sales price was $700,000 (1.4% higher than December 2014) and the condo median sales price was $386,250 (6.9% higher than December 2014). The number of sales, number of pending sales, and number of new listings all increased compared to the previous year as both buyers and sellers appear to be motivated to do business. Median sales prices should continue to rise as supply remains relatively constrained. There is 2.6 months of remaining inventory for single family homes and 2.9 months of remaining inventory for condos.
Relief from high rents and home prices will continue to be an issue for the foreseeable future based on Governor David Ige’s response to recommendations from leading economists and developers who recommend removing the State Land Use Commission. The commission was put into place in the 1950’s when Hawaii counties were not properly staffed to carry out the zoning responsibilities that most local governments in other states manage. Today, the Land Use Commission duplicates many of the review functions carried out at the county level and provides a second venue for special interests to veto much-needed housing projects. The Hawaii Supreme Court just ruled against an appeal made by the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter and former state Senator Clayton Hee who argued that the Land Use Commission’s reclassification of land for D.R. Horton-Schuler Homes’ long-planned 11,750-home-master-planned Hoopili project in Ewa Beach violated the state constitution. Unless something is done to streamline the zoning process and remove the unnecessary duplication at the state and county level, then chances are slim that developers can deliver the 66,000 homes economists forecast will be needed in the next ten years.
Hawaiian Airlines will have a different competitor next year when Allegiant Air discontinues service to and from Honolulu in August 2016. The carrier currently offers flights between Honolulu and Las Vegas and between Honolulu and Los Angeles. Allegiant has decided to retire its Boeing 757 fleet rather than conduct scheduled maintenance due later next year. While Allegiant Air is exiting the market, Virgin America, has entered the market and is expanding with the announcement of its second Hawaii route. Virgin America completed its inaugural flight from San Francisco to Honolulu on November 2nd with CEO Sir Richard Branson onboard. Travelers should enjoy Virgin America’s entry since the airline ranks near the top of customer satisfaction surveys.
The United States Supreme Court issued an injunction that halted the race-based Native Hawaiian-only election on behalf of five Hawaiian residents and one Texas resident of Hawaiian descent who opposed the election-process as discriminatory. The purpose of the election was to select delegates to a planned constitutional convention that would lay the ground rules for a separate Native Hawaiian entity.
The budget for Honolulu’s rail transit project seems to get worse every month. The projected cost of the project is currently $6.57 billion according to a report by KITV. The $1.4 billion dollar cost over-run equates to a 27% increase over the original plan sold to taxpayers. Drama and grandstanding continue at the City and County of Honolulu. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is withholding its next $255 million in funding until the city council approves the five-year extension of the General Excise Tax (GET) surcharge. Chairman, Ernest Martin, suggested foregoing the federal funding, sticking Oahu taxpayers with the full bill, and then making the rail transit system less useful by shortening the length of the project by one mile. The city council is scheduled to vote on the GET extension in January, but Caldwell is urging the council to expedite the process. HART is expected to spend more than $2.5 billion this fiscal year compared to an approved $1.8 billion budget. HART says that the project can’t fund contracts for the next section of the rail route and may have to delay the schedule.
The 2015 Energy Resources Coordinator’s Annual Report highlighted Hawaii’s progress in creating electricity from renewable sources. The state generated 21.1% of its electricity from renewable sources, far exceeding the original goal of 15% by the end of 2015. Wind and rooftop solar voltaic systems generated over 56% of the state’s renewable electricity. Despite having active volcanoes, Hawaii only generates 12.3 % of its renewable energy from geothermal and has only one new geothermal plant in the works out of a total of 60 new planned renewable energy projects.
Hawaii’s Public Utility Commission (PUC) ended the current net energy metering (NEM) program for new rooftop solar customers effective October 12, 2015. The discontinued program allowed rooftop solar customers to receive credits equal to the full retail value of excess electricity supplied to the grid. While Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) claims that customers without rooftop solar paid a $38.5 million subsidy to rooftop solar customers, critics of the change counter that HECO benefited from receiving free electricity generation, lower utility fuel costs, and lower transmission costs because rooftop solar decreases the demand for centralized utility generation. Starting October 21, new rooftop solar customers can apply for fast-track approval under a “self-supply” option or a standard review for the “grid-supply” option. The self-supply option allows customers to receive the cost savings of using PV to meet their energy needs and allows a limited amount of excess electricity to be added to the grid for zero compensation. The grid-supply option is intended to provide customers with the option of exporting excess energy to the grid in exchange for energy credits equal to a fixed rate of 15 cents to 18 cents per kilowatt-hour depending on the island that the customer lives on. Customers operating under the old, discontinued, NEM agreement are not affected by this ruling.
Two of the solar leasing companies whose profitability depends on the solar tax credits and previous NEM program quickly filed suit against the PUC’s decision to modify the NEM program. The new ruling makes these solar leasing arrangements much less profitable for leased systems because the companies will have to install more panels on homes to provide similar savings. The leasing plans have recently become less attractive because HECO’s electric rates have dropped with the price of oil. HECO currently charges about 25 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity used in October. Electricity rates were as high as 35 cents per kilowatt-hour last year before oil prices collapsed.
A statewide poll shows that a strong majority of Hawaii residents agree that there should be a way that science and Hawaiian culture can co-exist on Mauna Kea and support the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project. The poll shows that 44% of Native Hawaiians also support the project with 49% opposed to the project. The poll also noted that most residents felt that failing to move forward with the project after all regulations were followed would hurt Hawaii’s already poor reputation as a place to do business. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the board acted improperly when it issued a permit prior to holding a contest case hearing. TMT will have to go back to square one and repeat all the same steps before proceeding. As if on cue, those protesting the new telescope declared that they will never accept the TMT project and will resort to illegal means if the project eventually gets approved. The legal setback reminds many state voters of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s ruling that caused the Hawaii SuperFerry to cease operations and sell the state of the art ships to the U.S. Navy. In that case, an overwhelming majority of residents also supported the SuperFerry.
The Hawaii Health Connector’s woes continue as executive director, Jeffrey Kissel, testified to the challenges associated with manually enrolling the 30,000 individuals that signed up for health insurance through the Hawaii Health Connector through the federal website, healthcare.gov. Currently, the average enrollment time is roughly 1.5 hours for each individual and can take as much as four hours for non-English speaking customers. Persistent problems with the healthcare.gov website and limited language resources require Hawaii Health Connector employees to sit with customers and coach them through the entire process. State officials do not think that all Hawaii Health Connector customers will be enrolled by the January 31st deadline. Jeffrey Kissel announced his resignation as executive director effective December for a new job in Washington, the Hawaii Health Connector laid off its entire staff on December 4th, and it transferred all functions to the state.
Pacific Business News summarized the disastrous implementation of Obamacare by the Hawaii Health Connector in a November article. Of the 37,800 individuals that signed up for coverage under the new federal law, roughly 17,000 individuals signed up through the connector and only 8,802 had paid for the insurance. The Connector spent $130 million of the $204 million in federal grants before the remaining $70 million was frozen when the Hawaii Health Connector failed to achieve financial independence. The state of Hawaii effectively spent $14,769.37 to enroll each person in Obamacare via the Hawaii Health Connector. Additionally, those insured individuals will have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for health insurance as Kaiser received approval for a 34.4% rate hike in October.
Governor Dan Ige officially made homelessness a statewide emergency and about $1.3 million has been outlined to extend current outreach provider contracts through next July. One of the needs that have not been adequately addressed is the lack of shelter space for families and children. The governor’s announcement followed the final city and state sweep of the homeless encampment in Kakaako. The Honolulu Star Advertiser documented another issue in a recent article describing how a man from Florida purchased a one-way ticket to Hawaii without having a job lined up or place to stay ahead of time. The man ended up in a temporary shelter after running out of money. The state is working on ways to discourage this type of behavior.
State officials plan to enforce park rules at Kakaako Waterfront Park and nearby Kewalo basin in mid-November. Many of the homeless people that were removed by the city of Honolulu in October’s sweep of Kakaako, simply moved to these sites controlled and maintained by the state. The state coordinator on homelessness will lead outreach efforts to those individuals living at the two sites and try to place them in shelters and with nonprofits that help the homeless find more permanent solutions. The park areas are closed between the hours of 10:00 pm to 5:30 am.
630 acres of Oahu’s North Shore has been preserved in perpetuity according to a finalized agreement between the Turtle Bay Resort and the state of Hawaii. Turtle Bay Resort will retain the development rights to build 725 more hotel units, about 20% of the original plan in return for the preserved site. The coastline area, which represents about 4% of Oahu’s coastline, will be designated as a public park for recreational use.
A University of Hawaii data visualization project received $600,000 from the National Science Foundation for development. The University of Hawaii will contribute an additional $257,000 for a system that will be the most modern in the United States when complete. The project comes at a time when enrollment in information and computer science at UH is growing rapidly. Approximately 950 researchers and students are in line to use the system for projects in oceanography, astrobiology, mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, biomedical research, archeology, and computational media. The computer system is scheduled to be operational within the next three years.
The University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team saw their fantastic season end a week before they would have liked. UH fell to the University of Minnesota in four sets in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament a day after sweeping two-time defending champion Penn State. The Rainbow Wahine finished the season with a 29 – 2 record.
Hawaii’s biodiversity is quite astounding considering its small footprint and relative isolation from the rest of the planet. The number of known specimens recently grew with the discovery of 74 new beetle species of round-wasted predatory beetles found living on Haleakala volcano. Currently there are 239 known species of beetles in Hawaii, all of which descended from a single common species.
A newly discovered fungus is killing hundreds of thousands of Ohia Lehua trees on the Big Island. The disease, called rapid ohia death, was found to have affected 50% of the ohia trees across 6,000 acres of Big Island forest and is believed to have spread further. Stopping the spread can be tricky because a tree can be infected months before showing any signs of the disease. Ohia is important to Hawaii’s water supply because it is very effective at soaking rain-water into the ground and replenishing the water shed. The tree’s nectar is a critical food source for many native birds and animals.
Domestic Violence in a Rental Property: A recent law change allows victims of domestic violence to break a lease without penalty if the tenant or an immediate family member of the tenant has been a victim of domestic violence in the past 90 days. The tenant shall give 14-days written notice to vacate and provide one of the following documents demonstrating domestic violence:
Copy of a valid order of protection issued by a court of any state;Copy of a police report filed in any state; orCopy of the conviction of a person.The tenant must also provide a written statement describing that the tenant believes the person who committed the violence knows the address of the victim unless the person who committed the violence lives in the same rental unit.
If the tenant is one of multiple tenants, then the landlord can check to see if the other tenants can pay the rent. If the remaining tenants are unable to afford the rent, the landlord can give the remaining tenants 14-days notice to vacate. The security deposit is handled in the same manner as other check-outs unless the tenants instruct the landlord differently in writing.
Owner Rights Versus Responsibility: A recent e-mail exchange got us to thinking of the delicate balancing act between a rental property owner’s expectations as a client of a property manager and their responsibility to their customer, the tenant. The e-mail exchange started when an owner quickly scanned a paid plumbing invoice and incorrectly concluded that the plumber overcharged for a simple plumbing repair. The owner then demanded three estimates for all repairs (simple or otherwise) before authorizing any repair work to be done.
If the landlord was the only customer in this scenario, then this type of reasoning makes sense. However, when a rental property is concerned, the ultimate customer turns out to be the tenant, not the owner. In most leases, the tenant must cooperate with the landlord to get necessary repairs completed and this often includes taking time out of their work day. Since the tenant pays rent in return for a safe, functioning property, the tenant has the right to expect that the landlord will address any functional deficiencies in a quick and efficient manner. Requiring three estimates before approving a simple repair would require the tenant to meet three contractors, most likely at three different times to obtain estimates, and then a fourth time for the chosen contractor to complete the repair. We are not aware of many tenants that would tolerate this process for a simple repair.
A good property manager helps maintain the delicate balance between controlling costs and providing customer satisfaction in the following ways.
Develop a network of reliable, cost competitive contractors to quickly address routine maintenance and repair items.Develop repair policies that balance controlling costs while addressing required repairs as quickly and efficiently as possible.Put a system in place to track all repairs until completed.Provide monthly statements that include paid invoices.At the end of the day, Stott Property Management properly managed the repairs in question. The three plumbing deficiencies were quickly addressed and the owner concluded that he did not get ripped off.
The Housing and Economic Act of 2008 reduces the capital gains that can be excluded when a homeowner sells a principal residence that they acquired via a 1031 exchange, as the amount of the tax exclusion will be adjusted by the non-resident use of the property. This law became effective 1/1/09. The amount of time of non-resident use after 1/1/09 is the numerator or top of a fraction with the bottom or denominator of the fraction being the total time since property acquisition. That fraction times total gain (exclusive of depreciation recapture after May 6, 1997) is the gain that will be taxed to the homeowner.
Oahu’s median sales price for single family homes set a new record of $730,000 in September (7.6% higher than September 2014) and for condos was $366,000 (5.5% higher than September 2014). Demand for both single family homes and condos remained robust while available inventory grew slowly. With single family homes having only 3.2 months of remaining inventory and condos having only 3.5 months of remaining inventory, Sellers maintain the upper hand in negotiations. Demand for homes should remain strong in the short-term, as the number of pending sales (properties under contract) is higher than the same period last year.
Robust home sales, low interest rates, and high commercial demand have created more work than Hawaii’s limited supply of contractors can handle. Builders and contractors have been able to raise prices significantly and many homeowners are being told that they must wait up to a year or more before their new home or remodel will be complete. Pacific Business News has reported several commercial projects including a hotel and shopping center that have been canceled because of the skyrocketing building costs.
University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization (UHERO) reported continued strength in Hawaii’s economy driven by record tourist numbers and strong construction demand. The unemployment rate continues to drop as the construction industry reported a 6.5% increase in jobs. The private sector is driving the bulk of the employment gains as both state and federal government jobs have continued to drop. While the current news is positive, UHERO sees some problems on the horizon. Stock market volatility caused by slowing global economic growth has fueled a sharp drop in U.S. consumer sentiment. An already strong dollar could continue to strengthen if the Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates making Hawaii a more expensive international tourist destination. Tourism could take a hit if current trends continue.
Honolulu has ranked #4 in another dubious category due to the high cost of living and its unfriendly business climate. Bloomberg Business reports that Honolulu has one of the highest rates of local people leaving the city for other cities in the United States. The study describes that as the locals leave, foreigners seeking opportunity, move in to the city and make it work by packing multiple adults or families in a single apartment or house. It is an arrangement that most Americans are just not willing to pursue. Investors need to take this changing dynamic into account since Stott Property Management has already noticed and reported this trend to its clients. Ultimately, landlords may have to make the decision between offering a lower rent to attract the much sought after one family household or be more willing to consider renting to multiple unrelated adults. Screening tenants will become more of a challenge because many new foreign people do not have any credit history or landlord references. This trend will also raise the importance of assigned parking when owning a condo or the availability of off-street parking at a house. Two or three bedroom condos with two assigned parking will be able to command higher rent because multiple bread winners that own cars for their daily commute will gravitate toward these dwellings. Additionally, young singles often seek out homes that have off-street parking for three or more cars in order to stretch their rental dollars in areas where street parking is already difficult to find.
This summer has been unseasonable hot and sticky, reminding Tim Kelley of his summer days in New Orleans versus the mild summers typical of Hawaii. The hot and humid conditions have resulted in a flood of orders to repair, replace, or install air conditioning systems and the companies that provide those services have been overwhelmed. Stott Property Management has had to wait several weeks just to receive estimates and service for their rental properties. One tenant had to reschedule an appointment and now must wait two more weeks to have the repair completed. We have received information from a variety of sources that parts and systems are not available on Oahu and people must wait for new inventory to be shipped in. Even though the trade winds returned last week, the hot summer will likely make air conditioning a greater priority for tenants looking for a new home.
The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources’ voted to approve an emergency rule prohibiting camping and restricting access to Mauna Kea’s summit between the hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. in response to increasingly hostile protests. Attorney General Doug Chin stated that campers have blocked the road to the summit with boulders and cars, inadvertently introduced invasive species, and opened unauthorized toilets. Activity logs released by the Office of Mauna Kea Management cite hostile engagements with the protestors and threats to personnel. Water consumption, which must be trucked up the mountain, has been at a record high. A woman was arrested after the ruling for allegedly damaging a park ranger’s vehicle by hitting it with her own car. The Mauna Kea access road reopened on July 13th while the visitor center and its public bathrooms remain closed. The road had been closed for three weeks while the state repaired the damage to the road by some protestors. Governor David Ige signed the emergency rule on July 14th and it will expire in 120 days. 150 Hawaii National Guard soldiers have taken civil disturbance training in the event that protestors violate the emergency rule. 15 people have been arrested since the emergency rule went into effect. State officials recently removed a tent abandoned by protestors from the Mauna Kea summit. It appears that the protestors have caused more damage recently in “protecting the mountain.”
The Hawaii State Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys representing the state, the University of Hawaii, and opponents of the planned Thirty Meter Telescope project in late August. This is the latest chapter in the drawn out saga concerning an international project to build a telescope that would search for answers regarding the beginning of the universe. In a classic case of judicial overreach, the Hawaii Supreme Court will decide if the state process for approving the project was proper.
The State of Hawaii appears to be falling under the weight of its bureaucracy and Hawaii taxpayers will end up eating some of the bill. In two articles published the week of September 28th, The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that the EPA is withholding $8 million (all of 2015 fiscal year funding) for failure to efficiently spend federal funds to improve water mains and leaking pipes. There isn’t a week that goes by when Honolulu traffic is not disrupted by a broken water main. Three days later, the same paper reported that the Attorney General’s Office is asking for some of the $3.9 million paid to the state in fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to combat Medicare Fraud. The state only collected $337,000 for its efforts and the Inspector General found several deficiencies in the state’s efforts including the failure to hire sufficient full-time investigators, losing files, and failing to investigate 22 percent of the assigned cases. The state and Attorney General’s Office are currently negotiating a settlement.
It appears that the total amount that the Honolulu rail project’s total price tag will continue to grow and that the project will continue regardless of the cost and taxpayers will have to foot the bill. The estimated deficit recently grew from $900,000 to $1.1 billion. Mayor Kirk Caldwell has been quoted as saying, “I do not want to accept increased costs of $200 million, projected. We need to work hard to have that not happen.” Meanwhile, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports that the city has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on useless construction plans that the hired contractors are unlikely to use.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program was recently recognized as the best among 30 ROTC programs on the West Coast including Alaska and Guam. The professor of military science at UH Manoa credits the award with their successful partnership with The Hawaii Army National Guard and the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks with the University of Hawaii ROTC’s success. This is the fourth time in the last 15 years that the University of Hawaii has been recognized for their success in training young leaders. The ROTC programs are reviewed based on the Cadet National Order of Merit list, cadet retention ratio, quality and performance of military training and newly commissioned second lieutenants. Tim Kelley graduated from Tulane University’s Navy ROTC program and credits both the ROTC program and the U.S. Navy for making him “grow up,” and developing the leadership skills that he still leverages today in running a business.
The University of Hawaii has more reasons to cheer as the women’s volleyball team has started the season by winning 10 of their first 11 games. The UH Wahine Volleyball team is currently ranked #11 in the latest national poll. The UH Warriors football team has started out a respectable 2 – 2 with wins over Colorado and UC Davis. Both the volleyball and football team have started conference play.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization has published a report highlighting concerns with Hawaiian Electric Company’s current net metering program. HECO’s current net metering currently allows consumers with photovoltaic systems to both buy and sell power at retail rates, effectively using the grid to store surplus power. UHERO argues that under the current system, customers with roof-top PV don’t pay any fixed costs for the grid and those costs get passed on to customers without rooftop solar. UHERO argues that as consumers continue to install PV systems, the electricity produced at mid-day becomes less valuable than evening or nighttime power. Researches noted that Hawaii’s high electricity rates coupled with an inefficient pricing system could encourage many consumers to install stand-alone systems and unplug from the grid. The report appears to be more concerned with rising costs for some versus embracing technology that can end a monopolists grip (HECO) on electricity production and enable consumer choice in the electricity market.
As ultra-luxury condos get built, Kakaako continues to struggle with a growing homeless problem. State Representative, Tom Brower, was hospitalized after being beaten while taking photos of a homeless encampment by at least two assailants. Later in August, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported that assaults have risen dramatically around three homeless encampments in Kakaako. Authorities have not come up with a solution to the growing problem and are currently unwilling to force the homeless to move. Kakaako is just the latest area to struggle with a homeless population that has been growing as rents and home prices have reached record levels. Governor David Ige has announced that a team of county, state, and federal government officials will meet weekly to purchase land, secure funding to develop transitional and permanent housing, and provide health and outreach services for the homeless. Hawaii’s estimated homeless population has grown over 35% since 2009. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development just awarded the state approximately $14.2 million to address homelessness and build affordable housing.
A solar powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, landed at Kalaeloa Airport in West Oahu on July 3rd setting records for the longest solar powered flight in both time and duration. It took pilot Andre’ Borschberg five days to fly from Nagoya, Japan to Oahu, the longest leg on the planned around-the-word flight that began on March 9th in Abu Dhabi. The pilot only slept for periods of 20 minutes at a time and used breathing exercises and yoga techniques to remain functioning in an unheated and unpressurized cockpit. The Solar Impulse 2 will remain on Oahu until April because repairs to the plane’s batteries won’t be completed for about a month and shorter days make the remainder of the trip too risky. We will never complain about flying coach (until we fly again).
Turtle Bay finally has some competition on the North Shore. Tourists can now stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Oahu North Shore in Laie. The 144-room property opened in late June and is located next to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The hotel is the final piece in the puzzle for making the Polynesian Cultural Center a more inviting destination for Hawaii visitors.
Everyone knows that pigs can’t fly. However, here in Hawaii, pigs can apparently surf. Waikiki’s premier ocean sports festival, Duke’s OceanFest, included the “Going to the Dogs SurFur Competition.” More than a dozen dogs and a pig competed for the best ride, the best tandem wave, and the best-dressed surfing pet.
Three nuclear engineers from Pearl Harbor are opening a brewpub, Beer Lab HI, in Manoa later this year. Both Tim Kelley and George Stott were nuclear trained engineers and look forward to seeing how this trio “nuke it out.” For those not indoctrinated in the nuclear navy’s geekdom, “nuking it out” is another phrase for figuring it out. In an unusual twist, the brewpub will have a bring-your-own-food policy for those who would like to dine while enjoying a few cold ones.
Tim and Tracey are officially empty nesters. Their youngest, Mark, is attending Santa Clara University.
Relaxed Loan Policies: Fannie Mae has lowered the bar for those homeowners looking to qualify for a new home purchase without selling their previous home. Previously, Fannie Mae required that an owner have 30% equity in their current home and provide a signed lease before they could use rental income from that property to qualify for a new home loan. Now, buyers just need to provide a lease agreement on the home in order to use that rental income to qualify for a new mortgage. If you were turned down for a mortgage in the recent past because you owned investment property and failed to meet the earlier requirements, then it may be worth trying to get pre-approved for a mortgage again.
Fannie Mae will also be rolling out another program aimed at households with extended families. The program will let lenders include income from nonborrowers within a household towards qualifying for a loan. The “nonborrowers” can be family members or boarders that pay rent at the property. The program will require credit counseling and will allow down payments as little as 3%. Critics of the program say that counting non-traditional income can lead borrowers into mortgages that they ultimately can’t afford.
In unrelated news, Freddie Mac recently launched a first time home-buyer program with reduced mortgage insurance requirements and as little as 3% down.
The two government sponsored mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are relaxing their lending standards after receiving increased pressure from lawmakers to help the housing recovery along. Please contact us at home@stott.com if you would like more information about these changes and if we can help you with your real estate goals.
Property Tax Assessments: Oahu property owners should keep their eyes open in the next couple of months for their property tax assessment. The Real Property Assessment Division sends out their annual notice of assessment on or before December 15th and property owners have until January 15th to file an appeal if you think the assessed value is too high. If you don’t receive a letter or if you misplace your letter, you can review the assessed value of your property at www.honolulupropertytax.com. The most common grounds for appeal is if the assessed value of the property exceeds the property’s market value by more than 10%.
The assessment has additional consequences for owners of second homes or investment property with market values at or approaching $1 million. The City and County of Honolulu created the Residential A classification that applies to properties with an assessed value $1 million or more, does not have a home exemption, and is in an area zoned residential. Residential A property taxes will jump from 0.35 percent of the assessed value to 0.60 percent of the assessed value. Unfortunately, the city council and the mayor decided to try and evade responsibility for a tax increase by raising taxes on tax payers that can’t vote.
If you think that your tax assessment is too high, then you can contact us at home@stott.com and ask for a free market analysis. We can provide you recent comparable sales that you may be able to use as evidence that the assessed value is too high. Otherwise, you will just have to take solace in the fact that you own a very valuable piece of property.
Decades of managing rental properties and 18 years of owning investment property have given us a decent grasp of and appreciation for keeping the big picture in mind when dealing with issues and making informed decisions. The purpose of the article is to help investors and homeowners take a step back from the details and ask more basic questions like, “Should I sell my home or convert it into a rental?” Failure to keep the big picture in mind can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost income or higher expenses and cause unnecessary stress.
Selling versus Renting: Many homeowners that are leaving the islands contemplate renting out their home versus selling without crunching numbers or even asking if their home would make an appropriate rental property. The first question a homeowner should as is: “Would I have purchased my home as a rental property?” In most cases, the answer will be “No.”
The first reason has to do with the low annual rental revenue of Oahu rental properties in relation to the market sales price. Some studio apartments have annual rents equal to about 7.5% of the sales price. The rent-to-sales price ratio gets rapidly worse as the property becomes larger and more expensive. The rent-to-sales price ratio for a $1,000,000 property is typically about 3%. If you hire a property manager to manage a property, then the rental income is reduced by another 14.5% when taking property management fees and General Excise Tax into account. In general, an investor will have to make a down payment on an Oahu investment property of at least 50% just to have their investment break even.
Homeowners, in general, don’t want to live in a property that would make a great rental. A great rental property maximizes rental revenue per square foot, uses moderately priced fixtures that will minimize the effects of wear and tear, and appeals to the largest percentage of available tenants by using neutral colors. Many homeowners tailor their homes according to their individual tastes over time. Luxury fixtures may not command an increase in rent to justify the cost and may require special care that tenants won’t provide. Emotionally speaking, people that convert their homes into a rental are less likely to make objective decisions based on economic fundamentals and more likely to make decisions based on emotional responses that hurt their bank accounts.
Lastly, homeowners currently enjoy one of the best capital gains tax breaks available. An individual receives a $250,000 capital gains tax exemption and a married couple receives a $500,000 capital gains tax exemption. I am unaware of a better source of tax-free income available to ordinary American citizens.
One of the times that it makes sense to rent out your home is if you have plans to return to Oahu in a couple years or less and move right back in. Stott Property Management has successfully helped many clients accomplish this goal. In fact, we are currently renting out a condo for one family who is currently on a sabbatical in Europe. They will return at the end of the year while pocketing about six months of rental income while they were gone.
Your Tenant is The Customer: Keeping in mind that your tenant is the customer can help maintain perspective when it comes to making decisions about your rental property and your interacting with your tenants. There are a small percentage of owners that feel that they can access their property at any time and treat their tenants as wayward children. In exchange for rent, a tenant expects quite enjoyment of the property. In Hawaii, a landlord must give a tenant 48-hours written notice before accessing the property unless it is an emergency. The landlord-tenant code also states that an owner may periodically inspect a property so long as the periodicity is not considered harassment.
Stott Property Management has spoken to several owners that were upset because they felt that their tenants were “slobs,” or “hoarders.” We try to explain that in exchange for rent, a tenant can live as he or she chooses as long as the tenant returns the property back to the landlord in the same condition minus normal wear and tear, and as long as the tenant’s behavior does not violate local, state, or federal law. One owner even felt that it was appropriate to try and implement overly strict house rules because she “used cheap building materials in her rental property” (her words). The tenants actually called the cops several times to escort the owner off the property because she would show up unannounced at the property to enforce the house rules.
Property Maintenance: One of the biggest mistakes that we routinely see is an owner’s failure to quickly address cosmetic and functional repairs on a vacant property. The cost of many cosmetic repairs can be much more expensive in Hawaii than the very same repairs in other parts of the country. Owners will either refuse to do repairs or request multiple estimates even if the delay will result in weeks of additional vacancy time. For every $1,000 of rent that a property brings in, one week of vacancy results in a loss of $250 in rental revenue. About six years ago, Stott Property Management, provided an estimate to a client from a contractor that could get to work immediately. The client thought that the estimate was too high and thought he could save about $1,000 by hiring a contractor on his own. In the end, the repairs took five months to complete (4 months longer than accepting the original estimate), costing our client at least $4,000 in lost rental revenue.
Allowing deferred maintenance to accumulate can result in even costlier issues. Stott Property Management inspects their rental properties at least once per year to make sure that the tenant is taking care of the rental property and to look for repair items that should be addressed immediately. Stott Property Management has taken over properties where spending a few thousand dollars resulted in an estimated $10,000 of additional rental revenue through higher rent over a years time. Ironically, these properties would also have fewer tenant related problems in the past because a well maintained property attracts more responsible tenants.
Saving the PM Fees: We have spoken to several people that try to manage their Hawaii property from thousands of miles away with the help of friends, or rent to “friends” in order to save monthly property management fees. In one extreme case, Stott Property Management determined that an owner had been renting his property for approximately $2,000 under market per month for about ten years. Saving about $24,000 in property management fees over that ten year time span ultimately cost the owner approximately $240,000 in lost revenue. When learning the news, the owner continued to manage the property himself because he could not justify paying someone thousands of dollars per year to just “collect the rent”… Really? Stott Property Management conducts a rental market analysis of every property that has a lease that is about to expire to evaluate if a rent increase is justifiable. Stott Property Management will recommend a rent increase if a tenant is unlikely to move because similar vacant properties have higher asking rents. Stott Property Management helps their owners maximize their investments following this methodology.
Failing to hire a professional carries many other risks as well. Properly screening tenants is one of the most critical steps when considering a new tenant. Ordering a credit check, checking with previous landlords, and verifying a prospects employment can save thousands in lost rental revenue, cleanup costs, and legal fees. Stott Property Management does get hired from time to time to deal with problem tenants that would have been avoided if the owner had screened the tenant prospects before turning over the keys.
Many owners that manage Hawaii property from the continental U.S. often rely on their tenants to make repair requests when problems come up. An owner who has had the same tenant for ages, may not have seen their property for seven to ten years. When the tenant does move, the owner is shocked that the property is a wreck. We started managing one property for a client who allowed the tenant to rent his house for $900 per month as long as he took care of the house. The tenant lived there for ten years. When the tenant vacated, the owner spent about a month fixing all the problems that the tenant failed to address. Once the house was ready, Stott Property Management rented the house for $3,000 per month. Once again, an owner lost hundreds of thousands in revenue by trying to manage the house himself.
Negative Cash Flow: Many owners of Hawaii rental property tolerate negative cash flow for years in the hopes that rents will increase enough to provide positive cash flow or sales prices will rise so that they can sell for a greater profit. Since rents typically increase at the same rate of inflation over time, an owner may have to wait 10 years or more for rents to increase enough to cover the mortgage and operating expenses. If you own an investment property that is producing negative cash flow and you can sell for a profit, consider conducting a 1031 exchange into a property in another part of the country that will generate better cash flow. Why work harder and longer to make up for a negative cash flow situation when you could possibly invest in a property that will give you cash every month?
Leverage Your Time: In order to retire comfortably, a person’s investments must generate enough passive income to pay their living expenses with some margin for error. Owning investment real estate is a great way to generate passive income, however, many investors stop buying investment property because it is such a hassle to manage. Who wants to work a day job, only to answer tenants’ phone calls in the middle of the night and show vacant property on weekends? By hiring a property manager, all you have to do is review monthly statements and verify that the money has been deposited into your account.
Tim and Tracey started investing in 1998 with the purchase of their first duplex. They had “romantic visions” of fixing up the place themselves and saving a ton of money in labor costs. After several weekends working at the duplex while trying to keep their toddlers amused, and several late nights painting, the duplex was ready to rent. While some of the cosmetic repairs were successful, others had to be reworked a few years later resulting in little net savings. The experience turned out to be a valuable lesson in knowing their limitations and leveraging their time by hiring the appropriate expertise. Tim and Tracey have since expanded their investments to include three duplexes and a four-plex over the span of 15 years. By factoring in property management fees when purchasing new acquisitions, Tim and Tracey were able to generate positive cash flow while paying someone else to deal with the headaches. These investments now help to ease the sting of college tuition for their two grown children, Ashley and Mark.
While some companies specialize in either residential real estate sales or property management and imply specialization provides an operational advantage, Stott Real Estate, Inc. offers both services. Tracey Stott Kelley is one of a few agents on Oahu that has been in the top 100 in sales for nine straight years and Stott Property Management is a leader in units under management on Oahu. Tim and Tracey believe in educating their clients, giving their clients the necessary information to evaluate their options, and then executing according to their clients’ decisions. Stott Real Estate, Inc. has the depth of knowledge necessary to provide their clients useful, timely information and provide objective advice when requested. Please call Stott Real Estate, Inc. at 1-800-922-6811 or e-mail home@stott.com if you would like our help with your property.
Oahu’s June median sales prices in March were $700,000 for single family homes (same as June 2014) and $338,500 for condos (6.0% lower than June 2015). Sales price increases remain relatively tame even though inventory remains tight and demand was strong. There is currently 3.2 months of remaining inventory for single family homes and 3.5 months of remaining inventory for condos.
While sales prices continue to hover near all-time highs for most neighborhoods on Oahu, Stott Property Management has witnessed a softening in rents for some areas, particularly West Oahu. Stott Property Management first noticed a trend starting in October as a larger than normal number of tenants gave notice to vacate and moved to other parts of the country. Rent increases over the past few years appear to have outpaced the median per capita income. Rents have increased approximately 15% to 20% since 2010 (based on a sample of rents from properties that we manage) while the paychecks of Hawaii residents have only increased about 7% to 8% over the same period (based on data from The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization). Stott Property Management recently wrote a letter to all of its clients advising them of the current pause in the rental market since landlords were growing accustomed to consistent rent increases.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) predicts that the construction industry will help propel the economy over the next couple of years after lagging behind the recovery in tourism. Low unemployment rates coupled with moderate job growth should translate into income growth of two to three percent in 2015. Risks to UHERO’s economic forecast include potential policy errors by the Fed, heightened fiscal austerity by national governments, and continued slowing of China’s economy.
The USNS Mercy, or one of the tugs assisting in the hospital ship’s Pearl Harbor departure collided with the floating dock at the USS Arizona Memorial damaging the docks handrails and infrastructure. The USS Arizona Memorial was closed to visitors from May 27th to June 5th while repairs were completed. U.S. Navy divers, the Seabees, Air Force civil engineers, crane operators, and safety inspectors worked night and day since the damage occurred so that tourists could once again visit the memorial and pay their respects. The sunken battleship and the hospital ship were not damaged. The USS Arizona Memorial is Hawaii’s #1 tourist attraction with about 1.8 million people visiting annually.
Planning a trip to Hawaii? Hawaiian Airlines was recently ranked second in an airline quality report released by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Wichita State University. The report compares the performance of U.S. airlines using a weighted average in several categories like on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boarding, mishandled baggage, and a combination of 12 customer complaint categories. Hawaiian Airlines placed second to Virgin America, which has announced that it will start launching flights from San Francisco to Hawaii in November.
If you visit Oahu, Dr. Beach recommends that you visit Waimanalo Beach. Stephen Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach, is a coastal science professor at Florida International University who recently ranked Waimanalo beach as the #1 beach in the United States.
Pacific Business News published Hawaii’s top ten golf courses as determined by a poll of Hawaii golfers that responded to a recent survey. The golf courses ranked from #1 through #10: Ko Olina Golf Club (Oahu), Waialae Country Club (Oahu), Manele Golf Course (Lanai), Ewa Beach Golf Club (Oahu), Hawaii Prince Golf Club (Oahu), Turtle Bay Arnold Palmer Course (Oahu), Mauna Lani Resort (Big Island), Kapolei Golf Course (Oahu), Koolau Golf Club (Oahu), Mid Pacific Country Club (Oahu).
Hawaii has recently ranked as the worst state to do business according to CNBC for the second time in the past three years. Hawaii was ranked 49th last year before falling to the bottom once again. Major factors in earning the dubious ranking included the high cost of doing business, the high cost of living, poor infrastructure, poor performing public schools, and a business unfriendly regulatory environment.
The Big Island’s famous Ironman Triathalon was notified by the Department of Justice regarding its practice of allowing athletes that failed to qualify an opportunity to buy a chance to enter the race at $50 per chance. The Department of Justice has ruled a practice that has been in place since 1983 as an illegal form of gambling. It appears that the “no fun police” of the federal government has eliminated the opportunity for lesser-qualified athletes to participate in a world-class event. The organization that runs the Ironman Triathalon decided not to fight the Department of Justice’s findings and has ended the lottery for future events.
Plenty of drama has unfolded around the planned construction of The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea’s summit. The $1.3 billion internationally backed project held a groundbreaking ceremony in October 2014 after completing a seven-year public and agency review. TMT halted construction at the site when Native Hawaiian protestors were arrested for blocking construction equipment and crews. More than 120 people showed up to testify at a University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ meeting in Hilo, Hawaii on April 16, 2015. Several of the board’s new members were not present when the board approved the project over five years ago and agreed to hear testimony to learn more about the management of the mountain and the opposition’s arguments. In an ironic twist, the protestors have introduced an invasive species of ants at Mauna Kea’s summit. In a compromise with the protest movement, Governor Ige required that some existing telescopes be removed from the summit earlier than originally planned and that the University of Hawaii return 10,000 acres of the Mauna Kea summit not currently being used to the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. Governor Ige stated that TMT is legally entitled to use its discretion to proceed and TMT tried to resume construction on June 24, 2015. Protestors blocked access to the summit by placing rocks, rock walls, and stone altars in the road leading to multiple arrests. Governor David Ige has called for another halt in construction and the state is currently working on restoring access to the summit once a safety assessment has been completed. TMT will pay $1 million per year in rent with 20 percent going to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Hawaii had a number of extremely competitive college teams this spring. The UH Men’s Volleyball team lost to Penn State in four sets in the NCAA tournament and finished the season with a 24-7 record. The Warriors were ranked #1 in the country before losing in the Big West’s postseason tournament and the NCAAs. The previously #1 ranked UH Women’s sand volleyball team lost in the double elimination national championship tournament to finish the year 18-3. Previously undefeated and #1 ranked Hawaii Pacific University’s (HPU) men’s tennis team lost its first match of the season in the finals of the NCAA Division II tournament. Tim Kelley recently had the pleasure of taking part of a tennis clinic put on by the HPU men featuring tennis drills that they routinely use to hone their skills during the competitive season.
Elected officials at the City and County of Honolulu appear to be getting desperate in their attempts to deflect criticism of the traffic mess in Waipahu, Pearl City, and Aiea. The headline in the local section of the Star Advertiser exclaims, “Firms can cut traffic, official says.” City Councilman Brandon Elefante introduced a resolution to urge public and private employers to sponsor van pools, subsidize bus passes, and provide flexible schedules. The Star Advertiser acknowledged that the measures were not feasible for most small businesses just striving to stay in business. Tim Kelley had the pleasure of driving along Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City at lunchtime on a June weekday and experienced the lane closures due to rail and other city projects. He was happy that he had an all-wheel drive Subaru to navigate the “off-road” conditions on one of Honolulu’s major roadways. Hawaii ranked among the bottom four states with the worst rural roads in the country. Only 15 percent of the rural roads in Hawaii were rated as “good.” The pain and suffering for West Oahu commuters has just started and will continue for the foreseeable future.
Oahu’s road problems are essentially self-inflicted and the state can’t blame their woes on a lack of funding. The federal government has warned the state that federal funding for highway projects may get pulled if the state does not start construction within 180 days from the time the federal government commits funds for each project. It currently takes the state of Hawaii about 270 days on average to start construction once funding approval is received while nine other states start construction in 80 to 100 days on average.
Even though medical marijuana has been legal in Hawaii for the past 15 years, patients that receive prescriptions had to grow marijuana themselves since there was no legal mechanism to purchase it. A bill allowing medical marijuana dispensaries will become law no later than July 14th.
Paul Brewbaker’s Talk: We had an opportunity to listen to Paul Brewbaker, a leading Hawaii economist, describe his view of Hawaii’s economy today and his short-term expectations for the next few years. As per usual, he was able to make the topic of economics entertaining by mixing in personal stories and a little Pidgin.
Paul’s near-term forecast mirrors some recent comments from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) and builds on some topics that Paul has touched on previously. Similar to last year, Paul emphasized that the lack of new hotel development has choked off any further growth in Hawaii’s #1 export industry, tourism. Hawaii’s inability to meet increasing demand for rooms has resulted in rising hotel room rates cannibalizing other tourism related business and shorter visits. Paul updated his graphs to show that Federal dollars into Hawaii continue to shrink and he added that military cuts impacting Hawaii really means military cuts impacting Oahu. The one area for possible growth is construction. By stripping out permits associated with photovoltaic installations (PV), Paul estimates that new building construction continued to decline as the economy recovered and that we may be finally seeing some growth in the construction industry. Permit values for new construction are still significantly lower than permit values for new construction in 2005. If construction does not pick up, then Hawaii’s economy growth will lag the nation’s more than it already is.
Paul has thrown out his previous predictions for Oahu’s housing market by stating that “boring is the new normal,” and that he is “resigned to this.” Low inventory has not resulted in the same price appreciation that Hawaii witnessed 10 years ago. The strengthening dollar and weak oil prices have made Hawaii real estate prices 50% more expensive for Japanese buyers and caused Canadian money to dry up. Paul does not see any major source of demand driving real estate price appreciation above four to five percent annually. However, this new boring has resulted in real price appreciation, after stripping out inflation, of about two percent. Additionally, homeowners benefit from the dividend of ownership: “you get to live in the home.” Paul did point to one ominous sign. “Reduced military on Oahu in the 90’s was not good for real estate and they are planning it again.”
Paul was amused by the change in governors since the same party won the election. He distilled Abercrombie’s loss in economic terms down to: “the last governor woke up and there was no more money.”
New Mortgage Rules Coming in August: Buyers and Sellers may experience more delays when trying to buy or sell a home as a result of new regulations put forth by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The upside to the new regulations is that it reduces the number of documents that must be reviewed and signed. The current good faith estimate and truth in lending disclosure will be combined into one disclosure that will be given at the loan application. At closing, the development settlement statement and final truth in lending disclosure will be combined into the closing disclosure.
The downside has to do with the required review periods that the CFPB has put in place if certain figures on the closing disclosure end up differing from the disclosure signed during the loan application. In many cases, the changes in the figures will be due to negotiations during the sale of the property in which the lender has no control. Both Buyers and Sellers will have fewer negotiating options available to them as the closing date approaches unless they are willing to put up with additional delays.
Remote Out Of Control: Remote controls for some home electronics and fixtures make sense because they provide convenience for the use. Other remote controls just make things more complicated and ultimately frustrating for a homeowner, landlord, and/or tenant. Examples of helpful remote controls include television remotes and garage door remotes.
Ceiling fan remotes fall into the category of bad ideas when old school switches and chain pulls provide the same level of convenience and are not as prone to failing in Hawaii’s humid climate. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a ceiling fan remote is the amount of time I sometimes spend searching for a wayward TV remote or cordless phone. Remote controls have an annoying habit of wandering around the house for no apparent reason. The second issue involves the additional electronic circuitry involved with both the remote control itself and within the ceiling fan and light kit. Stott Property Management recently had to replace a fan that was just over a year old because the tenant could no longer shut off the ceiling fan even after following the manufacturer’s instructions for resetting the remote and fan.
Save yourself a major potential hazard by carefully reading the contents of a ceiling fan box at the big box stores and choose a ceiling fan and light kit that is operated by switches and pull chains.
Home Equity Lines of Credit: The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an article about increasing default rates by homeowners who have taken out home equity lines of credit. Banks like to entice homeowners with lines like, “tap your home equity,” and gloss over the fact that what a homeowner is really doing is simply taking out another loan that will have to be paid off in the future. Yes, the interest rate is lower. The reason is that the homeowner signs off his or her house as collateral for the loan and the lender can file for foreclosure if the loan is not paid. Teaser rates for the first year or 18 months combined with interest only financing for the first 10 years make the monthly payments extremely low. The downside to this financing has hit some homeowners at the 10 year and one month point when the loan switches from an interest only loan to an amortized loan and the resulting monthly payments jump accordingly.
Homeowners beware before “tapping your equity,” to remodel your house. Please consider that if you don’t pay off any principal on the loan taken out for the remodel over 10 years, you just end up with what is essentially a higher mortgage on a house with a 10-year old interior.
If you find yourself in the position of owning a considerable sum of money on a home equity line of credit that will change into an amortized loan resulting in a serious cash crunch, then consider consolidating your current mortgage and home equity line of credit into a new fixed mortgage while interest rates are still near all-time lows. This strategy won’t work if your house value has not recovered from the latest downturn, but will work for people in many areas of the United States including Hawaii. It is best to negotiate with lenders before a potential cash flow scenario evolves into a full-blown financial crisis.
One strategy that has worked for us involves using a home equity line of credit to buy investment property. We put 50% down on a duplex and financed the remainder using our home equity line of credit. We enjoyed lower origination fees and enjoyed 1.5% interest over 18 months. We stuck to a plan that enabled us to pay off the loan in less than 3 years. We now have the line of credit ready to use if another great investment opportunity surfaces and own a income producing property free and clear.
Background: Stott Real Estate, Inc. conducts business as The Stott Team for real estate listings and sales and as Stott Property Management for managing residential rental property. The two divisions have separate staffs and share the same office. Tim Kelley is the Principal Broker of Stott Real Estate, Inc. and runs Stott Property Management. Karen Texeira is the senior member of the staff and has been with the company for over 20 years. Stott Property Management currently manages approximately 415 rental units on the island of Oahu.
Fully Furnished Apartments: Unless an owner lives in a property for part of each year, or the property is located in a high-end tourist destination, furnishing an apartment makes it more difficult to attract quality long-term tenants. Most people looking to rent long-term have their own furniture. The additional costs and headaches involved with maintaining the furnishings don’t typically result in more profits.
Pets: Allowing pets will increase the number of prospective tenants and often enables an owner to get a higher rent while retaining carpeting that otherwise would need to be replaced. If your carpeting is not in good condition, consider allowing pets. Tenants with pets will often agree to pay the higher rent and live with the old carpeting if the owner will allow pets.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended protections to handicapped people with assistance animals. “Conditions and restrictions that housing providers apply to pets may not be applied to assistance animals.” A landlord must allow a service animal if a disabled tenant applies and qualifies for rental that does not allow pets.
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White House sharply disputes Kyl assertion on immigration
By Michael O'Brien - 06/21/10 05:31 PM EDT
The White House strongly disputed an assertion by a top GOP senator that President Barack Obama said he would not act to secure the U.S. border with Mexico until Congress acts to provide illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
The suggestion made by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the second-ranking Senate Republican, is "not true," White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said.
"The president didn't say that," Burton said at the daily White House press briefing. "Senator Kyl knows the president didn't say that."
Kyl said at a town hall meeting Friday that Obama had told him there would be a trade-off in order to win his commitment for beefing up security at the border.
"Here's what the president said: He said, 'The problem is, if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support comprehensive immigration reform,'" Kyl told supporters. "In other words, they're holding it hostage. They don't want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with comprehensive immigration reform."
Burton dismissed Kyl's remarks and said he assumed the White House would be in touch with Kyl's office to discuss the matter.
"What we need to do is everything we can to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. That includes not only securing the border, but a number of other things," he said. "That statement's not true, and we're going to just continue to work and hopefully get the support of senators like Senator Kyl for comprehensive immigration reform."
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Category Archives: Darkness Falls from the Air
Nigel Balchin double header book review
Darkness Falls from the Air by Nigel Balchin
Review Date: 18 September 2015
Author: Nigel Balchin
Release Date: 10 September 2015
Publishers: W&N Publishers
Available in Hardback, Kindle and Paperback
The Last Word Review
One of the all-time classic writers, up there with the best of his generation
It is not very often that I get the chance to review re-issued classics so I must say thank you to W&N Publishers for sending me copies of two of Nigel Balchin’s classics.
The first book Darkness Falls from the Air was first published in 1942 and is set in London during the blitz at first hand as the bombs where still falling at the time Nigel Balchin was writing this novel. It is centred on Bill Sarratt who is a civil servant and his failing marriage to Marcia to Stephen who can only be described as a bit of a cad and literary poseur, and there is more to this when you add Stephen’s wife Peggy into the mix. All sounds very messy at a time when people never knew wheat tomorrow was going to bring.
Bill is struggling with the utter bureaucracy that he feels is hampering the war effort and is constantly fighting this and his superiors to bring change, this is a daily battle he faces as well as the air raids that bring death and destruction to London and other parts of the UK. Balchin’s inside knowledge at this time makes this even more of an interesting read as the strict censorship that was in place during the war years and makes the reader surprised that he managed to write a novel detailing the ‘failings’ of Whitehall bureaucrats. The fact the Bill is also somewhat complicit in the failings of his marriage, yet with relevant parties regularly meeting to discuss what is going on, as the book progresses it is inevitable that eventually this would bubble to the surface and in the end it does. Sadly the ending is a tragic one I had a sense that it was heading that way. The one aspect that I found interesting through this is of how London’s social scene carried on while the bombs fell, I for one would donning my tin hat and running the air raid shelter, but some sought solace in the local pubs and clubs and some ventured out to witness the bombs falling. I am not sure that a book like this could have been written years later as this really was a first-hand account as the bombs rained down on London.
The Small Back Room by Nigel Balchin
First Published: 1943 (Screenplay: 1949)
Balchin was a writer that many have not heard of, but his stories are told like no other
The Small Back Room was first published in 1943 and even managed to hit the silver screen in 1949 staring such names as Jack Hawkins, Sid James and even the band leader Ted Heath appeared.
Set in World War weapons Scientist Sammy Rice, is one of the team of ‘Back Room boys’ looking at and testing new weapons to help the war effort. Sammy has a severe disability and is somewhat disillusioned with his lot it seriously hampers his professional life and more and more his personal life with Susan who he refuses to Marry.
Sammy has to deal with the complexities of his daily professional life surrounded by boffins, designers and the pointless internal politics that goes with this profession, and not to mention the military upper echelons oh and there is a war to win.
The Germans has designed a pretty nasty new weapon an anti-personnel mine that explodes when approached killing anyone who approaches it. The ending to The Small Back Room is nail biting stuff as Sammy comes face to face with one of the deadly anti-personnel mines and has the job of defusing it, this part of the book I could not leave, the accounts is just gripping and Sammy has defuse the weapon, something that is incredibly difficult with his disability and how he manages the situation. It is a thrilling end to a book that I would happily recommend The Small Back Room to anyone who enjoys this genre. It is worth it for the end game of the book. A classic from Nigel Balchin.
He was born Nigel Marlin Balchin in Potterne, Wiltshire, to William and Ada Balchin. He was educated at Dauntsey’s School andPeterhouse, Cambridge, where he took a scholarship and became a Prizeman in Natural Sciences. He then worked for the National Institute of Industrial Psychology between 1930 and 1935, becoming a consultant to JS Rowntree & Sons, where he was intimately involved in the design and marketing of Black Magic chocolates. And, he claimed, responsible for the success of the Aero and Kit Kat brands.
He wrote for Punch magazine, published as Mark Spade, and also wrote novels under his own name. During World War II he was a civil servant at the Ministry of Food, and then a successful scientific adviser, rising to the rank of brigadier.
In 1956, he moved abroad to write screenplays in Hollywood and elsewhere, but was increasingly troubled by alcoholism, and returned to England in 1962. He died in 1970 at a nursing home in Hampstead, London, and is buried on the edge of the north path in Hampstead Cemetery in north London. His gravestone is small, but distinctive, having the form of an open book.
As a screenwriter he worked on an early draft of Cleopatra but is principally remembered for The Man Who Never Was, for which he won the 1956 BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay, and Mandy, the story of a deaf child. He also wrote the screenplay for The Singer Not the Song.
Posted in Darkness Falls from the Air, Nigel Balchin, The Small Back Room
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Trump’s Asia summit snub fuels doubts
WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump (picture) will skip two major summits in Asia in November, a move that could stoke concerns in the region about the US’ reliability as a counterweight to China.
The White House said last Friday that VP Mike Pence would travel to Singapore for an 18-nation summit hosted by Asean, before heading to Papua New Guinea for an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. The APEC summit is normally attended by 21 leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The decision removes a potential avenue for Trump to meet with Xi as a trade war between the US and China deepens. The US is leaning toward a fresh round of tariffs against Chinese imports, this time for US$200 billion (RM822 billion) in goods, in what would mark a significant escalation. Xi and Trump are expected to attend the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Argentina later in November, though.
Trump’s absence is also likely to fuel concerns among Asian leaders who want the US to push back against China’s increasing economic and military might.
Non-Starter Indo-Pacific
Trump administration officials have been promoting a new “Indo-Pacific” strategy to bolster its commitment to the fast-growing region, after Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and questioned the cost of security alliances with Japan and South Korea.
“His absence would doubtlessly solidify the impression that America has essentially abandoned its traditional presence in the Asia Pacific, not to mention the non-starter Indo-Pacific,” said Oh Ei Sun, senior advisor for international affairs at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Kuala Lumpur.
“Not a good move when trying to show the region how important the Indo-Pacific strategy is,” Conor Cronin, research associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said on Twitter. Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Centre at the conservative Heritage Foundation, simply tweeted “Mistake”.
Symbolism Matters
Without Trump, Xi will have more space to advocate for Chinese trade and development projects, such as his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Xi was the first leader to confirm his attendance to the APEC meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he also plans to host his own summit with Pacific leaders.
“Symbolism matters. The Chinese have made gains when his predecessors have not attended,” tweeted author and commentator Gordon Chang.
Although US leaders have attended the events in recent years, missing them isn’t without precedent. In 2007, then US President George W Bush drew flak for rescheduling a planned meeting with Asean leaders in Singapore.
Former President Barack Obama, whose administration announced a pivot in military and diplomatic resources to Asia, skipped the October 2013 APEC meeting in Indonesia, while the federal government faced a shutdown crisis.
Obama’s absence that year was seen as a gift to China, whose officials emphasised their interest in the region to countries in attendance. Similarly, in November, a large Chinese contingent is expected in Port Moresby to promote the Belt and Road Initiative.
Allies put their best face on Trump’s decision. Newly instaled Australian Prime Minister (PM) Scott Morrison told reporters during a trip to Jakarta on Saturday that Trump’s decision to tend to matters at home was understandable, adding that Pence “speaks with the authority of the president”.
Morrison invited Trump to visit Australia as part of his Asian swing during a “very warm” phone call after becoming PM in August, local media reported. His predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, also invited Trump to Australia.
After Midterms
The Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Pence’s visit to the South-East Asian city-state, noting in a statement that it would be his first as VP.
The Asian summits come days after midterm Congressional elections, which may determine Trump’s ability to withstand investigations into Russian campaign interference and election-season payments to alleged mistresses. While Democratic leaders have largely avoided talking about impeaching Trump, Republican losses in the House or the Senate would greatly increase the risk of congressional action.
Still, Trump plans to visit Paris on Nov 11 for a commemoration of the armistice ending World War I, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement last Friday. On the same trip, he’ll visit Ireland “to renew the deep and historic ties between our two nations”, Sanders added. During his trip to South America to attend the G-20 meeting, he’ll also travel to Colombia, she said.
After the US withdrawal from the TPP, trade ministers from the 11 remaining participant nations — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — signed a new agreement in Chile on March 8.
Collin Koh Swee Lean, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said recent efforts by American officials in the region should help offset Trump’s absence. Among them: Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced US$300 million in regional security funding at an Asean meeting earlier this month, and the US military is currently among nine nations participating annual SouthEast Asia Cooperation and Training exercises in Singapore.
“The US will still be regarded and expected to remain committed and engaged with the region and there’ll still be significant efforts of regional countries to keep the US presence in the region as the China shadow looms in the background,” Koh said. — Bloomberg
Categories: World
Tags: Asia, China, Donald Trump, summits, US
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Review- The Lucky One
Posted on May 1, 2012 by bernardovillela
Taylor Schilling and Zac Efron in The Lucky One (Warner Bros.)
When you have either a romantic comedy or even just a flat-out romance there will be several things you expect and very little that will surprise you. There’s not anything wrong with that, as with almost any film it’s not about the final destination but rather the journey there. Sadly, there are some issues that mar the journey in this film, which is otherwise enjoyable with likable characters for the most part.
I don’t have a great deal of experience watching Nicholas Sparks adaptations, I have only previously seen The Last Song, however, it doesn’t take long to see what one’s formula is. An any writer regardless of what your tastes are have their preferred genres and themes and certain similarities in their voice and narratives. So I was expecting certain things but I also am not yet fatigued by these adaptations, as I’ve not had to see all of them.
Now the first concern is one I can forgive, but again it’s about execution. The film tells the tale of a Marine (Zac Efron) who by chance finds a photo while in combat, his being distracted by it saves his life and it ends up being a good luck charm. Upon his return he is determined to find the girl in the photo, after failing to find out who it belonged to, and thank her. Now, we all know he won’t be able to say anything right away, that’s not usually how these stories work (it’d be a tremendously interesting experiment though) but it’s how he’s not allowed to say anything that’s really bothersome. And that’s on the heels of a pretty good and fluid sequence that illustrates some of his battlefield experiences, his search for the photo’s owner and his struggle to re-adjust to a life at home.
So after a surprisingly good and cinematic start the bungles come into play. However, as I said there are certain expectations and the cat having his tongue was one of them, at that point it’s just a minor irritant. The biggest overriding issue of the film is the ex-husband (Jay R. Ferguson) both his character and his interpretation thereof. Not only is it comedically broad to start but then it gets more real and natural as the drama of the tale intensifies, so not only does it start cartoonish but it doesn’t stay here, so it’s also inconsistent. Not to mention the fact that a psycho ex, who is not only an intimidator but a cop is so old and expected. There’s enough conflict inherent in the situation that this externalization is an exaggeration. There can be an ex, he can be jealous but it really is going above and beyond such that it detracts from the end product greatly. Most of the worst scenes in terms of writing and flow are the ones he’s in, the movie picks up steam again and then right on schedule he arrives and then it’s sigh, eye roll and sit through it.
His precipitously asinine behavior extends the climax of the film unnecessarily, not that the resolution of the film is perfect. There’s a slight monkey-wrench thrown in granted but the estrangement prior to the happy ending is really annoying in how it unfolds and also prolongs matters. Suffice it to say the amount of explication that Logan (Efron) is allowed shouldn’t really have occurred if we’re to have the standard “I’m so mad at you scene.”
Now every time I started one of these paragraphs I was intimating that “It’s not all that bad” but not really discussing that. And it’s not all that bad, really. It gets pretty good sometimes and then something comes along and messes it up. Most of what makes it good, when it is, are the actors. In many cases they likely breathe more life into fairly standard characters than they should have a right to so they ought to be applauded for that. Zac Efron is a very good romantic lead, he does play a soldier at all times but slowly but surely, with a bit of subtlety reveals character and emotion; Taylor Schilling certainly gives it her all and is always real; Blythe Danner adds necessary charm and sass to the film and great deal of comedy and Riley Thomas Stewart, as Beth’s (Taylor Schilling) son Ben, is a naturally gifted young actor who plays a rather multi-faceted, normal yet misunderstood by his peers kid.
Ultimately, I liked the characters and the actors enough that, yes I did invest in what became of them, even though it was a seemingly foregone conclusion, however, with so few events that had a lot of weight in terms of whether the film sink or swam I just couldn’t get over the couple of glaring issues it did have.
Blythe Danner Jay R. Ferguson Nicholas Sparks Riley Thomas Stewart Romance The Lucky One Zac Efron
Mini-Review Round-Up April 2012
Rewind Review- The Last Song (2010)
Pingback: Comparative Analysis: How People Like Us and the Lucky One Handle Secrets « The Movie Rat
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How African med students created a new genre of Cuban music
First came the students and their favorite afropop sounds, then came bakosó.
Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi - Youth gather in Chicharrones, Santiago de Cuba.
Rawiya Kameir May—30—2017 10:24AM EST
Music changes faster than it can be named. And it’s often random circumstances, like the 1977 New York City blackout that spurred hip-hop by putting music equipment in the hands of some Bronx DJs or the Casio preset that wound up jump-starting a reggae sound, that help create or shape genres in their nascence. In Cuba, such a serendipitous force has led to the emergence of a growing movement. Medical students from countries such as Angola, Ghana, and Nigeria — who have, for decades now, come to Cuba as part of higher education exchange programs —brought with them kuduro and afropop music. And in Santiago de Cuba, those students’ interactions with local musicians such as Ozkaro and Maikel el Padrino prompted bakosó, a Spanish-language take on afropop. The music — screeching synths, clattering rhythms, Auto-Tuned party melodies — is as enthralling as its origin story.
Bakosó, a forthcoming documentary, recounts the genre’s birth. It follows Havana-based DJ Jigüe as he goes on a journey to connect with his African roots in his hometown of Santiago, where he discovers bakosó and finds a connection with its diasporic origins. Evidence of the centuries-long cultural exchange between Africa and the Caribbean is everywhere in the region, and especially in Santiago, which is home to a large Afro-Cuban population. But bakosó itself is beautiful proof that the exchange did not end with the Transatlantic slave trade. In Trinidad, for example, a blend of soca and afropop has taken over in recent years. And a similar thing has been happening in Jamaica, where collaborations with African artists have made dancehall especially exciting. But in Cuba, where internet is hard to come by and USB is the primary form of transferring information, the role of African students in the spread of afropop is especially enthralling.
In a conversation with The Outline, the film's director, Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, explained what exactly bakosó is, where it came from, and where he hopes it will go next.
Dj Jigüe shoots a scene for the documentary Bakosó.Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi: Bakosó is a new genre of music coming out of Santiago de Cuba, influenced by the sounds of Africa. A lot of the med school students, when they come to the country, they bring kuduro and afropop music with them and it’s changing the local sound of music in Cuba. It’s another case of transculturalization, as we’ve seen it happen throughout history in Cuban music. When jazz came to Cuba’s shores, it shaped a really unique Cuban sound, [Afro-Cuban jazz]. And when hip-hop came to Cuba, it became uniquely Cuban after some time. And so now afropop is finding its own Cuban voice and unique sound. And it's just the beginning.
For now, bakosó is still mostly produced in Santiago. But you can see it spreading through the country, with some songs being hits in provinces throughout the island. It started emerging a couple of years ago at the studio of producer [Kiki Pro]. He was recording some Angolan students, and he also records Cuban musicians. And they did a song together and that was the first of this new genre. An artist named Inka came up with the name “bakosó” for the genre. The term bakosó was once used like “jam.” Like, “Where's the bakosó tonight? Where's the party?” It has a connection to celebration in the Afro-Cuban religion, but a bakosó is the party without the religious aspect.
“In bakosó, rather than technology, it’s the direct influence of the African students [that's shaping the genre].”
African students record in a studio in Santiago de Cuba. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
In some ways, the story of bakosó is very similar to hip-hop music, in that it came about in a time where technology was accessible. What happened back in the mid-’90s to late ’90s was that FruityLoops came on the scene and everybody could produce their beats from their PC. In terms of bakosó, the artists came from the genre of hip-hop and the genre of reggaeton, and they’ve built a name for themselves. Today, they have way more resources than in the time of hip-hop. Professional studios are creating the sounds of bakosó, studios that look very similar to what you would see in Angola or in West Africa. And the students from those countries say, “Ay, we want these kinds of sounds, we want it to have this kind of feel.” And from there, their influence translates to the Cuban artists that record bakosó in the same studios in Santiago de Cuba.
In Cuba, USB is the main way to transfer information or to get information. But in bakosó, rather than technology, it’s the direct influence of the African students. They’re recording in the same music studios as Cuban artists so it's direct contact there. Whereas in other parts of the world, maybe in Jamaica, for example, they’re hearing stuff from the internet and so you that’s why you have Busy Signal remixing a P Square song.
Young women dance in the streets of Santiago de Cuba. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
A man dances in the streets of Santiago de Cuba. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
Afropop is a conversation that’s happening in all music today. It’s popping up in America, like with Drake’s sound and even Omarion’s new sound — these are direct takes from afropop. So I think it’s in the minds of the people and it’s influencing the sound throughout the world, especially in the Caribbean.
We’ve already heard the story of African influence in Cuba and in the Caribbean. And usually when it’s referred to, it’s talked about through the Transatlantic slave trade. And that’s understandable, because so much of the exchange happened at that time. But it can feel like it kind of stopped there, and there’s still the new influence that’s happening today. So I think bakosó is a beautiful way to highlight that. We’re not just talking about an old connection to Africa; we’re talking about something that’s very current and something that’s new.
“The main market for music in Cuba has been for a long time outside of Cuba.”
We are still connected, Africa isn’t a thing of the past. It’s still creating new sounds and the culture is still being infused into Cuban and other culture today. And I’ve heard one story of bakosó [spreading back to Africa]: The musician Maikel el Padrino, his song “Wepa” got really famous in Angola.
See, there’s ways to survive in Cuba, but not 100% off music. It reminds me of the beginning of hip-hop as well, back when there wasn’t a market. It was like, you’re doing this because you want to, not because you’re gonna get famous and get money. That was a unique time period in hip-hop. In Cuba, that still exists because there is not a market. There’s very little money inside of Cuba or the technology to promote artists, whether you’re doing bakosó, afrobeats or reggaeton or hip-hop. And so the main market for music in Cuba has been for a long time outside of Cuba.
Bakosó artist Ozkaro hangs out in his neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
People gather for an open-air party in Santiago de Cuba. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
DJ Jigüe, the film’s main character, he’s from Santiago de Cuba and we’re taking a journey following him back to his homeland and his music scene and his beginnings. And we encounter — we as the audience — bakosó at the same time he is investigating it. So we meet all the players in the genre, the people creating it. Jigue’s dream is to bring Cuban music to the world stage, so he brings it back to Havana, where he’s living. That journey 100 percent [mirrors the genre]. It’s showing that Cuba is producing music at a very high level and the question is, how do we get it to the ears of people around the world?
I’m ready for bakosó to get bigger, just like how we keep seeing more and more every year the influence of afrobeats in American music. First, it’s gonna spread throughout the island of Cuba. The world already knows the sound of Cuban hip-hop, reggaeton, cubaton. So now let’s see what other genres and what other music can come out of Cuba.
Across the continent
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I’m there
Inside David Lynch’s scariest scene
In a long, often terrifying career, The Mystery Man from ‘Lost Highway’ sticks out as the stuff of nightmares.
Sean T. Collins Apr—04—2019 10:05AM EST
When I love a horror film, I want to live in it. I mean this as a physical proposition. If a horror movie I adore has a great scene set in a memorable enclosed space, my instinct, no matter how awful the things that happen in that space are, is to walk right into it. I’d like to be in Leatherface’s bone room, in the Overlook Hotel’s elevator lobby, in the bare wooden attic where the Cenobites kill Frank Cotton, in Scarlett Johansson’s black liquid void. I want to feel the walls, tap the floor with my foot, smell the viscera. You know, make myself at home.
I’d eventually like to leave again, of course, which is usually what separates me from the people who do visit those places within the movies themselves. But there’s weird, cold comfort in those spaces. They’re inviting, to me anyway, and it is not my custom to go where I am not wanted.
From the Red Room in Twin Peaks to its blue counterpart Club Silencio in Mullholland Drive, David Lynch has created many of these spaces. As a director, Lynch is to ambient room tone what Martin Scorsese is to gangsters listening to “Gimme Shelter.” Evoking a sense of space, and what it’s like to be within four particular walls (curtains optional), is a major part of his project.
In one such space, he even threw a party.
There’s a party scene in his 1997 film Lost Highway I’d pay dearly to attend, in an L.A.-modern house filled with black-clad revelers and Barry Adamson’s uptempo trip-hop playing from the hi-fi. Perhaps you remember that party. More specifically, perhaps you recognize one of its guests.
This is the Mystery Man, played by Robert Blake. How he fits into the story of Lost Highway — co-written by Lynch and Barry Gifford and inspired in part by Lynch’s fascination with O.J. Simpson’s apparent conviction that he hadn’t killed anyone at all — is difficult to describe. In Lost Highway, Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) is a jazz musician who seemingly murders his wife in the first third of the film, and before somehow transforming into a completely different person named Pete Dayton (Balthazar Getty) for the remainder. The Mystery Man represents Madison's murderous instincts; he spends the rest of the movie haunting Dayton. He’s played by Robert Blake, who devised the character’s look himself: greasepaint-white skin, center-parted buzzcut, all black everything except his eyebrows, which have been shaved off. I’ll note here for the record that Blake has something else in common with Uncle Juice besides this movie.
In practical terms the Mystery Man is the equivalent of Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge spirits (Bob, the Woodsmen, and so on), or the person behind the Winkie’s in Mullholland Drive. He’s a thing that should not be, a monumental horror image. Especially the first time you watch Lost Highway, he is not easy to look at for very long. And he has a question for Fred:
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
That’s his opener. You always see this line, when quoted, with a question mark, but his diction says otherwise. He’s not asking if they’ve met, already an awkward bit of party conversation on its own. He’s asserting that they’ve met, forcing Fred to either rack his brain for the memory or contradict a total stranger. Right away, he’s been wrongfooted.
So the conversation goes, for a bit. The Mystery Man states the facts of their past encounter with confidence, and Fred brushes them off with a smile. Our hero’s an avant-jazz saxophonist; it’s possible this isn’t the oddest person he’s met this week. Nevermind that he’s had nightmares about his wife Renee, whom he can no longer satisfy sexually, in which she had this man’s face. Nevermind that this guy is saying they met at Fred and Renee’s austere house, where an unknown intruder has been breaking in to film them as they sleep and then dropping off the videotapes at their front door. Nevermind that all the music and party chatter has faded out and all we hear beneath the dialogue is the proverbial ominous whoosh. We may know we’re watching something frightening, but Fred doesn’t, not yet.
“As a matter of fact,” the Mystery Man says regarding the house, “I’m there right now.”
That’s where the scene kicks into high fear. The Mystery Man is asserting that he is… not where he is, not where we’re looking at him right at that moment. He’s underlining his impossibility, his thing-that-should-not-be-ness.
To prove it, he hands Fred his cellphone and tells him, “Call me.” Fred calls his house, and the Mystery Man, now a voice on the other end of the line as well as a person standing right in front of him, answers. When Fred demands to know how he got inside, his response is out of a Bela Lugosi movie: “You invited me. It is not my custom to go where I am not wanted.” Suddenly centuries of vampiric mythology (the need to be invited into a home is a cornerstone of nosferatu lore) are poured into Lynch’s Black Lodge template.
“Who are you?” Fred asks, and the Mystery Man — both of him — laughs, in stereo.
He retrieves his phone. Smiling and bobbing his head, as if recalling a private joke, he says “It’s been a pleasure talking to you.” He turns and walks away. He hasn’t left my head since.
I’ve thought a lot about what makes this scene so unnerving in the 20+ years since I first saw it. There’s the monumental horror-image aspect, of course, and the character’s not-unrelated resonance with other Lynch monsters. There’s Blake’s performance, which is convincing enough to prejudice a jury. There’s the dumbfounded way in which Pullman’s hipster doofus Fred reacts to it all, like he’s constantly ten seconds behind realizing how bad things have gotten, which is a feeling I can both relate to and dread experiencing again. In the worst moments of my life, I find myself only gradually discovering that that’s what they are. I have a feeling Fred is thinking the same thing.
That right there — that relatability — is the floorboard for the space Lynch is constructing with this scene.
I’ve never been accosted by a demonic woodsman in the desert but I have seen people do strange and terrible things in a perfectly ordinary setting. I’ve experienced the social anxiety of being dragged to a party where I don’t know anyone, where everyone seems too cool for school, where I’ve gotten trapped in conversation with someone I’m supposed to know but don’t actually want to know at all; I can see how that could be weaponized against me if someone were determined to fuck with my head. I’ve had bizarre, scary phone conversations I’d prefer never to have had. I’ve wondered if there is someone in my house.
The Mystery Man scene functions in my mind the way the Mystery Man himself functions in the film, Lynch’s most narratively slippery work at that time and topped only by Inland Empire since. In the middle of all the counterintuitive pacing and inexplicable, moebius-strip storytelling, you have this normal space — a party, with a set of commonplace anxieties to go with it. But something unwholesome and unwelcome has been invited into it — a vampiric man who can be in two places at once, turning art-house abstraction into an old-fashioned horror movie that supercharges everyday worries and fears with supernatural energy.
And always with that maddening farewell: “It’s been a pleasure talking to you.” It has? What did I miss? What was so enjoyable about what just happened? What is he seeing that Fred and I are not? If I were at that party, would he tell me? Would I want to know?
All hail the monumental horror-image
How striking scenes from ‘The Shining,’ ‘The Wicker Man,’ ‘The Exorcist,’ and other iconic horror movies make an indelible mark on us.
57 Card Story
We only go where we’re invited.
Sean T. Collins has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork. He and his partner, the cartoonist Julia Gfrörer, are co-editors of the comics and art anthology MIRROR MIRROR II. He previously wrote about monumental-horror images for The Outline.
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Both Nationalists And Progressives Claim Victory In Southeast Asia’s Elections
Indonesian and Thai elections end in deadlock
by Dan Weissman April 22, 2019, 5:45 am 14.6k Views
Following close national elections in Indonesia and Thailand recently, both major parties in both countries have claimed victory.
In Thailand, both Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha’s ruling Palang Pracharat party, and an alliance of centrist opposition parties, have claimed victory in the first elections since the military coup in 2013. Although Palang Pracharat won fewer seats than its rivals, it overwhelmingly controls the upper house of the legislature, which also has a say in voting in the country’s Prime Minister. The government has announced they gill defer coalition talks until after the coronation of a new King next month.
Palang Pracharat espouses a right-wing Buddhist nationalist ideology and is seen as close to the military junta and the monarchy. Prayut, the Prime Minister, is a retired army general. The opposition, led by the liberal Pheu Thai party of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have criticized Palang Pracharat for curtailing democracy, although the opposition parties themselves have been accused of deep-seated corruption.
Similarly, in Indonesia, both President Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi), of the progressive Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and right-wing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto claim to have won the race, although exit polls suggest a victory for Jokowi. Prabowo has vowed not to concede and has suggested challenging challenge the results in court if he loses, arguing that widespread rigging took place. The final results will not be released until late May.
Prabowo, the leader of the populist-nationalist Great Indonesia Movement Party, is a former general who served under Suharto, the right-wing military strongman who suppressed communist and Islamist movements in Indonesia for much of the country’s history. During his campaign, Prabowo has welcomed comparisons between himself and President Trump, and endorsed a Duterte-style crackdown against criminal elements in his country. Jokowi, on the other hand, has frequently drawn comparisons to President Obama, due to similar physical appearance, progressive policies and political messaging. Though both candidates present themselves as secularists and emphasize support they receive from non-Muslims, they have also both courted the rising bloc of Islamist voters in their country, with Jokowi picking an Islamist cleric as his running mate, while two Islamist parties have endorsed Prabowo’s candidacy.
The region remains central to US efforts to counter China. Both Thailand and Indonesia are seen as US partners and historic Cold War-era allies. However, the Thai nationalists are strongly pro-China, while the Indonesian nationalists have railed against growing Chinese economic influence and condemned threatening incursions by China into Indonesian fishing waters in the South China Sea. The ongoing political uncertainty in the Indochina region is sure to present challenges for US officials in effectively building a coalition of states to contain China’s rise.
AsiachinaFar eastIndochinaIndonesianationalismpopulismPrabowo SubiantoPrayut Chan-o-ChaSouth China SeaSoutheastThailand
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Democrat CA 14
About Rep. Jackie
Twitter: RepSpeier
Facebook: JackieSpeier
Youtube: JackieSpeier
In Recognition of Barbara Pierce
by Representative Jackie Speier
SPEIER of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, December 8, 2015 Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Barbara Pierce for her 16 years of outstanding service on the City Council of Redwood City, including one term as Mayor and one term as Vice Mayor. Barbara is the consummate public servant, never tiring of looking for ways to improve the city and the quality of life of its residents.
During her four terms on the council, she served on many committees and represented Redwood City before many organizations--most of them as chair at one point--including the Peninsula Division of the League of California Cities, the League Housing Community Economic Development Committee, C/CAG's Congestion Management Environmental Quality Committee, the Bay Area Water Supply Conservation Agency, the Resource Management Climate Protection Committee, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Redwood City 2020 Coordinating Council, the Grand Boulevard Task Force and the Bair Island Task Force.
Conservation and environmental protection are core values of Barbara Pierce. She is the spiritual leader of Redwood City's purple pipes project that brought recycled water to Redwood Shores long before our drought made water conservation a necessity. At first, it wasn't easy educating the public about the need to use recycled wastewater, but Barbara's persistent and earnest efforts persuaded the public to choose wisdom in the use of resources over skepticism based upon ignorance. The experiment began in 2000 but really took off in 2007 when the city expanded the pipes throughout Redwood Shores through pump stations. The recycled water project saves hundreds of millions of gallons of drinking water each year, and leaves Redwood Shores as one of the few areas of green landscaping during the current drought.
Barbara has played a significant role in just about every modern decision and process that has shaped Redwood City and made its vibrant downtown a reality. She played a leadership role in the creation of Courthouse Square, the restoration of the entry to the San Mateo County History Museum, Theatre Way and the retail cinema complex. She was also instrumental in the building of the Redwood Shores Library and the Redwood Shores Child Care Center. She worked hard to address traffic congestion, housing, climate change, water supply, and public safety issues, and to build a successful and sustainable community. Her secret to success is collaboration. She strives to work with members of the community and to find a way for everyone to win.
Her ethic of conservation is a direct consequence of her concern about future generations. In addition to her council duties, Barbara led efforts for 25 years at the Redwood City Education Foundation and saved an outdoor education program and created a music program for 3,500 students.
She has served on the board of the San Mateo County Historical Association, the Community Emergency Response Team, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Group and ARTS RWC. She is also a long- time Girl Scout leader, classroom volunteer and site council member. Barbara has a big heart and her love of Redwood City is only secondary to her love of her family.
She was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. She graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from Moravian College and Catholic University of America, respectively.
[[Page E1729]] Thirty-five years ago she and her husband Jerry made Redwood City their home. They have two grown daughters, Andrea Koenig and Amanda Pierce, both of whom have made them very proud.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to honor Barbara Pierce for her unwavering commitment to the residents of Redwood City. A compassionate steward of the interests of children and the environment, a stalwart supporter of strong public safety services, and a woman who dedicated tens of thousands of hours of her personal time to the interests of others, Barbara is now leaving for some well- deserved rest. It is beyond her ability, however, to simply retire, and retirement for Barbara Pierce will likely involve watching her former council colleagues on the local community access channel rather than being there in person. Barbara Pierce never earned an Emmy for her performance on the City Council, but she earned the love and respect of her community, an award that counts for much more than a statue, and an award that will echo throughout generations yet to come.
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The Cheap Seats
Twitter: CerasolisGhost
Marshall Was Screwed
Field of 68, my prediction
Stony Brook won’t dance but the program is on the rise
A Look at the Pacific-12 Bubble Mess
Breaking Down the 1-Bid Leagues
Posted on March 10, 2012 by Chris McManus
If you told Bryan Dougher, Danny Carter, Tommy Brenton & Dallis Joyner in 2008 that they would win 75 games at Stony Brook, nearly make the NCAA tournament twice, win two regular season America East titles and participate in the NIT two times, they would have probably laughed at you, thinking it was a joke. In the four years since Stony Brook’s Class of 2008 arrived at the struggling America East school, they have accomplished all of the above.
The coach that recruited these four high schoolers to Stony Brook, Steve Pikiell, took over a basketball program that was in the midst of a school-wide academic probation issue which accompanied the school’s rise from D-III to D-I athletics. The Seawolves finished a combined 20-67 from 2005-2008, finishing no higher than ninth in the America East conference. Things weren’t quite Binghamton, NJIT or Towson bad, but things certainly weren’t good.
That all changed with the Class of 2008.
Joining the aforementioned freshmen was JuCo transfer Muhammad El-Amin, a Lansing (MI) native who attended Lansing CC for two seasons. El-Amin immediately became Stony Brook’s go-to-guy, scoring 15.7PPG as a junior. Freshman guard Bryan Dougher, a
Despite never Dancing, Stony Brook has taken great strides.
Scotch Plains (NJ) native chipped in with a healthy 11.2PPG, good enough to make the America East All-Rookie team. Stony Brook finished 16-14, more than doubling the previous season’s win total, before bowing out to New Hampshire in the America East tournament. The Seawolves finished 4th in the America East. The program looked like it was headed in the right direction.
2009-10 was an even better season. Stony Brook went from finishing 9th in 2007 to winning the America East regular season title with a 22-10 (13-3) record. The Seawolves looked poised to reach their first ever NCAA tournament but surprisingly lost in the second round of the America East tournament to fifth seeded Hartford and then lost in the first round of the NIT to Illinois. Leading scorer Muhammed El-Amin was graduating, it looked like it was back to the drawing board for Pikiell’s program.
Steve Pikiell added two important pieces to his Seawolves puzzle in the Class of 2010: David Coley and Al Rapier. Coley, a freshman and Rapier, a JuCo transfer, would add 10.6PPG, filling some of the void that El-Amin left behind.
From November to mid-February, Stony Brook actually had a poor season. They were 11-16 with two games remaining, it was unlikely they would see any post-season basketball beyond the America East tournament – they were just another mid-tier low-major program. It didn’t help that leading rebounder Tommy Brenton missed the entire season with a knee injury he suffered during the off-season.
Despite the odds, Stony Brook rolled into the America East tournament on a two-game winning streak. The Seawolves slipped by Albany in the first round and shocked the region with a 22-point drubbing of number one seeded Vermont in the semi-finals. They would travel to Boston University to play the two seed Terriers with an NCAA auto-bid on the line. A most improbable run.
It looked as if Stony Brook was going to cruise. They held BU’s leading scorer John Holland scoreless for the first 17 minutes and the Seawolves led by 15 early in the second half. Holland took over in the second half, making it a one or two possession game down the stretch before he made two game winning free throws with 2.4 seconds on the clock. Here is the foul. Not only was it arguably not a foul, but Holland might have traveled on the play. Junior guard Bryan Dougher missed a half court heave at the buzzer by inches and Stony Brook’s season was over just like that. It was heartbreak again for the Seawolves, a type they weren’t used to.
This season was the last hurrah for seniors Al Rapier, Bryan Dougher, Dallis Joyner and Danny Carter. The latter three had been instrumental in the program’s 180-degree turnaround and Rapier provided valuable experience off the bench as a junior. After coming so close the season before, the team knew they could Dance — the program was no longer a perennial America East bottom-feeder. After starting 3-6 against some tough non-conference opponents, Stony Brook blew through their remaining games, finishing 17-2, good enough for the America East regular season title and a the top seed in the conference tournament.
After disposing of Binghamton in the quarterfinals, Stony Brook found itself in trouble against Albany. Fittingly, Dallis Joyner provided a buzzer beating put-back for a 57-55 win. Once again, the Seawolves would have a chance to Dance, this time they would play on their home court, where they were 13-0 this season, against 2-seed Vermont.
Stony Brook struggled from the start today. Vermont clogged the paint and forced a ton of tough, contested shots from within the arc. The Seawolves also struggled from deep, shooting a mere 4-19. Stony Brook trailed by 13 with just under seven minutes to play, the dream looked dead, the students were relatively quite. Before one could blink, Vermont’s lead was cut to six courtesy of an 8-1 run by Dave Coley. The crowd was loud, there was hope, this was the moment for Stony Brook’s seniors to finally get over the hump.
But it never happened.
Vermont suffered through a 10:04 field goal drought to end the game but Stony Brook couldn’t reduce the deficit past four. Senior leader Bryan Dougher fouled out with :36 to play, tears filled with every type of emotion filled his eyes — the dream was dead. Vermont hit their free throws and their small contingent of students rushed the court to celebrate a second NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons. Stony Brook has never been to one.
I would imagine that most serious high school basketball players dream of playing in the NCAA tournament. Dougher, Rapier, Carter and Joyner will never know how it feels to play with the giant NCAA logo at the middle of the court and the nation’s eyes watching you. But they do know something else.
The 2008 class sparked the emergence of a Division I basketball program that was all sorts of irrelevant before they set foot on campus. From 20-67 in three seasons, to 75-50 (and counting) in four seasons, 2 NIT appearances and 2 regular season America East titles. Individually, Bryan Dougher’s Stony Brook Athletics profile says the record he dreams of breaking is Stony Brook’s scoring record. He did just that with a three pointer at the 12:02 mark in the first half today.
After today’s game, head coach Steve Pikiell summed up how much the 2008 class means to him, “I wouldn’t trade this senior class for 10 trips to the NCAA tournament, and I mean that sincerely.”
Dancing is the ultimate goal, but this is a damn good consolation.
The future looks bright. Despite losing three of their top five scorers, Tommy Brenton returns for his senior season (he received a medical redshirt in 2010-11) and Steve Pikiell landed the highest rated recruit to ever sign with Stony Brook, Jameel Warney (Roselle Catholic HS, NJ). Pikiell also received commitments from three other high school seniors in Ryan Burnett, Carson Puriefoy and Ahmad Reid.
Filed under: Other | Tagged: Al Rapier, America East Conference, America East Tournament, Bryan Dougher, Dallis Joyner, Danny Carter, Muhammad El-Amin, Stony Brook Seawolves, Tommy Brenton, Vermont Catamounts | Leave a comment »
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Chris McManus
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Multiexport Spearheads GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture V4 Certification
Economics Sustainability Environment
CHILE - Chile has seen a steady rise in GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture implementation and certifications in 2012. With more than ten GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers, Chile now delivers more than a quarter of a million tons of GLOBALG.A.P. certified farmed seafood.
Multiexport Foods, one of the leading aquaculture producers in Chile, has become the first farmed salmon producer and exporter in the world to be certified against the new version 4.0 of the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Standard.
The company exports internationally to all the major markets including Japan, USA, Central Europe and Russia, as well as to the emerging markets of China, Korea, Southeast Asia and Latin America. Consumers in more than 30 countries around the world enjoy the high quality farmed salmon produced in its modern fish farming facilities and recirculation farms.
Multiexport Foods has implemented several measures and strategies at every stage of the production and processing chain to ensure its products are of the highest quality and safety. Achieving the new Version 4 of the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Scope certification is significant evidence of the companys commitment to practicing responsible aquaculture and complying with the highest standards in farmed salmon production and processing.
Multiexport Foods is pioneering salmon farm eco-standard certification in Chile, raising the standard on farmed salmon quality and safety not only for producers on a national level but also for one of the fastest growing food production sectors in the world.
We are very proud of this achievement and it is a testimonial to the commitment we have as an organization to practice Responsible Aquaculture. Our industry and our company are part of the solution to feed the world today and tomorrow in a sustainable way, says Andres Lyon, CEO of Multiexport Foods.
More articles on salmonids
Salmon sector braced for no-deal Brexit
Representatives of Scotland’s seafood sector met Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and senior officials in London today (11 July) to discuss planning for …
Breakthrough for Scots seeking ASC approval
Salmon which have spent part of the juvenile stage of their lives in freshwater lochs (or lakes) may now be eligible for Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification.
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
by Elizabeth J. McFarland, M.D.
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition in which the immune system has lost the ability to defend the body against infection and certain cancers. It is caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The cause of AIDS is infection with HIV. HIV is a member of the family of viruses called retroviruses. This type of virus enters human cells and becomes incorporated into the cell's genes (i.e., DNA). Once the infection has occurred, the body cannot rid itself of the virus. The effect of the virus on the immune system leads to AIDS.
HIV/AIDS affects people of all ages and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Usually, infants and children acquire the infection from the mother during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding. The most common mode of transmission for teens and adults is sexual contact. Currently, the largest number of HIV-infected people lives in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. In the United States, homosexual men and injecting drug users have the highest prevalence of infection. However, adolescents and women, particularly those of African-American and Hispanic background, have the highest rates of new infections.
Casual, classroom, or household contact with an HIV-infected person poses no risk. Transmission cannot occur from sharing dishes, towels, or bathroom facilities. Saliva, urine, and stool are not contagious unless there is visible blood in the fluid.
HIV is transmitted through contact with infected semen or cervical secretions. People who have sexual contact with an infected person are at risk of acquiring the infection. The virus can be transmitted by both heterosexual and homosexual contact. Men and women, adults and teenagers can become infected with HIV.
HIV is transmitted from mother to infant during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding. An infected woman who does not receive treatment during pregnancy has a 25% to 30% chance of passing the virus on to her baby. With treatment, the chance of having an infected baby can be reduced to 1%.
HIV is transmitted through contact with infected blood or body fluids contaminated with visible blood. Donated blood is screened for HIV so there is almost no risk of an infection from blood transfusion products. However, people who use injection drugs sometimes share their injection equipment. If an HIV-infected person shares a needle or other injection equipment, the virus can be transmitted to the other people. A health care professional who is exposed to blood from an infected person has a risk of being infected with HIV. This risk is greatest when a contaminated sharp instrument penetrates the skin. There also is a small risk of infection when blood splashes into the eye or the mouth of the worker. There is no risk of infection with blood contact to intact skin (i.e., skin without cuts, scratches, or a rash). Under usual circumstances, there is no risk of transmission of HIV from a health care professional to a patient. However, all people should handle blood and bloody body secretions carefully.
HIV infection, without treatment, causes a progressive dysfunction of the immune system. When the immune system is defective, the body cannot defend itself against infections. HIV infects immune cells that are critical components of the immune system, particularly helper T lymphocytes (T4 cells). When the cells are infected with HIV, they do not function normally, and some cells are destroyed.
Teens and adults may have symptoms in the first two to six weeks after the initial infection with HIV (acute primary infection). The most common symptoms of the primary infection are fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes (glands in the neck, under the arms, and in the groin). These symptoms are not specific to HIV infection since many viral infections cause similar symptoms. Some other symptoms more particular to primary HIV infection are mouth ulcers, a rash, and meningitis. However, even these symptoms do not prove HIV infection because they can occur with other infections. Some people have no symptoms after the acute infection. The symptoms of the primary infection resolve without treatment. Most people do not seek medical attention, and they are not aware that they have acquired HIV.
After the primary infection, most people infected with HIV have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. For adults and adolescents, progression of the disease usually occurs several years after the primary infection. About 30% of infants infected at birth will have disease progression within 12 to 18 months of life.
When the disease progresses, common first symptoms include enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and/or spleen; poor growth; frequent minor infections, such as ear infections and sinusitis; cold sores that do not heal; thrush or diaper rash that persists despite treatment; shingles; night sweats; and recurrent fever. When the disease reaches advanced stages, most patients have weight loss; infections of the lungs, blood stream, bones, joints, intestines, and eyes; and certain cancers. Some people develop neurologic symptoms manifested by developmental delay in children and by memory loss and dementia in teens and adults.
The most commonly used diagnostic test for HIV infection detects antibodies to HIV in the blood. The body makes antibodies as a part of the immune defense against infections. If antibodies against HIV are present (a "positive" test), this indicates that the person is infected with HIV. This is why infected people are called "HIV positive."
The antibody test is done in two parts. The first part is called an ELISA. Occasionally, a person will test positive on an ELISA even though they are not HIV infected. Therefore, a positive ELISA test must have a confirmatory test done on the same blood sample showing that the antibodies are truly specific for HIV. A negative ELISA indicates that the person is not infected and usually does not require a follow-up test.
In some patients, antibody tests are not reliable. In this case, tests that directly detect the virus are used. The most commonly used tests detect the virus genetic material (DNA or RNA) or protein (p24 antigen) in the blood. Virus tests are used to diagnose HIV infection in infants born to HIV-infected mothers. Antibody tests on the baby are not reliable until after 18 months of age because all mothers will pass antibodies to their babies, but not all mothers will pass the virus. In order to determine if the infant is infected, tests to detect the virus in the baby's blood are performed. The majority of infected infants will have the virus detected by three to four months of life. Uninfected infants will have negative tests for the virus (even though their antibody test is positive).
Direct virus testing also is used for adults and teenagers who may have been recently exposed to HIV. The virus tests are positive about 10 to 14 days before the antibody tests are positive. Using the direct virus test permits an earlier diagnosis of infection.
Recently, many new medications have been developed to treat HIV infection. These medications are called anti-retroviral drugs, and they inhibit the replication or reproduction of the virus. Effective treatment requires a combination of several different anti-retroviral medications, taken by mouth, one to three times a day. The amount of virus in the blood and the number of helper T cells are monitored closely to determine whether the medications are effective. Although there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, with effective treatment, infected people may live for years without disease progression.
The complications of HIV infection are primarily related to immune dysfunction. Immune dysfunction leads to infection with other bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Medications can be taken daily or weekly to prevent these infections. In some patients, HIV causes abnormal function of the heart, bone marrow, brain, muscles, intestines, liver, and pancreas.
The most important method to prevent HIV infection is to avoid exposure by sexual contact. Abstinence is the only certain way to avoid sexual exposure to HIV. The risk of transmission can be greatly reduced by the correct use of condoms during sexual contact. Individuals who do have sexual contact should limit their number of partners and use condoms correctly every time they have sexual contact.
Sharing contaminated needles can transmit HIV. Injection drug users should not share injection equipment. Children should be taught to avoid contact with other people's blood. They also should avoid sharing sharp personal objects (e.g., razors, body-piercing equipment), which may be contaminated by blood and have not been properly sterilized. When caring for a bleeding wound, a thick layer of paper or cloth should be used to reduce the chances of contact with the blood.
Over 95% of infections passed from mother to infant can be prevented if the mother and infant receive treatment during pregnancy, labor, and the first weeks after birth. All women should be offered testing for HIV during pregnancy so they can receive the preventative treatments if they are HIV positive.
Research on the treatment and prevention of HIV infection is very active. The areas of most intense interest are the development of a vaccine to prevent infection, the development of improved anti-retroviral medications, and studies to understand how the body's immune defenses against HIV infection can be enhanced.
http://www.fxbcenter.org/
Sponsor: The Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, The National Pediatric and Family HIV Resource Center (NPHRC). This Web site includes extensive information about HIV that is related to children and youth.
http://www.kidsconnect.org/porch/
This Web site includes information about HIV that is written at a child's level.
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/
This Web site includes information about HIV that is both focused on youth and written in youth-friendly terms.
Dr. McFarland is the medical director and co-founder of the Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Program (CHIP) in Denver, CO. CHIP provides comprehensive health care to infants, children, adolescents, young adults and pregnant women infected or affected by HIV.
Dr. McFarland is a member of the National Institutes of Health sponsored Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group and is active in basic and clinical HIV research. She is board certified in Pediatric Infectious Diseases and a faculty member at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
She received her MD degree from Duke University School of Medicine and her pediatric and subspecialty training from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Copyright 2012 Elizabeth J. McFarland, M.D., All Rights Reserved
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Improvements Must be Made to the Opioid Abuse in Transportation bill
As part of the Congressional response to our nation’s opioid crisis, the Senate Commerce Committee passed the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act last week. There is no question that drug and alcohol abuse has no place on our roads, rail networks, aviation system, or in maritime commerce, and transportation labor is committed to that cause.
Unfortunately, this bill missed some opportunities to make our transportation system safer and includes a provision on new methods for federal drug tests that does not belong in this legislation.
Here’s what you need to know: Transportation workers must pass federal pre-employment and ongoing drug tests in order to work. For the past 25 years, urine has been the gold standard for drug testing transportation workers and is the only method approved by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This system is rooted in sound science, proven methodology, and the understanding that scientists — not employers or lawmakers — are responsible for determining the best methods for testing transportation workers for illegal drug use.
Sadly, the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act presses scientific agencies into implementing drug-testing standards before they are ready. To be clear, HHS scientists have not issued guidelines for testing the hair or saliva of transportation workers because they are lazy. The science behind hair and saliva drug testing remains unsound and, in some cases, racially biased. To date, government scientists have not been able to find a way to ensure these tests produce fair, accurate, and non-discriminatory results.
Placing undue political pressure on government scientists to push drug-testing standards out the door before the science catches up will not solve our nation’s opioid crisis. Instead, this tactic potentially jeopardizes the rights of transportation workers who stand to be subjected to faulty, biased drug tests should HHS scientists cave to the pressure placed on them by Congress.
The Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act also aims to start subjecting rail yardmasters — the men and women who oversee the operations of a rail yard and assign duties to workers — to drug and alcohol tests by labeling them as safety-sensitive employees. The problem? Yardmasters are currently not subject to hours-of-service rules, which ensure safety-sensitive employees are not fatigued while at work, and nowhere does the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act offer these protections. Congress cannot have it both ways. If lawmakers deem yardmasters safety-sensitive employees and subject them to drug and alcohol tests, these workers should also be afforded the same fatigue-mitigation protections as other safety-sensitive personnel.
This bill should also ensure that foreign mechanics working on U.S. aircraft are covered by the same type of drug and alcohol testing rules that are imposed on U.S.-based mechanics. Congress actually moved to close this loophole in 2012 but to date the FAA has done nothing to implement this basic safety requirement. According to a new report by Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, nearly 50 percent of maintenance work done on U.S. aircraft is conducted outside the U.S. If we are serious about addressing drug use that jeopardizes the safety of our transportation network, it is time for Congress to once again step in and end this double standard in aircraft maintenance.
More broadly, Congress should pursue policies that ensure transportation workers and the regulated community receive proper training on how to comply with current testing mandates. This is especially important as DOT continues to implement its new testing on semisynthetic opioids that can have a valid medical use and explanation. And of course treatment and responsible return-to-work policies must be supported so that transportation workers are not needlessly excluded from their profession and able to support themselves and their families.
There is no denying Congress must address our nation’s opioid epidemic, but the policies pursued matter. Legislative efforts should be used to make our transportation system safer and ensure frontline workers are treated fairly.
Whistleblower Protections Must Be Enforced and Accessible
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Quincy Jones Presents: Sheléa (Trailer)
Preview | 1m 7s
Quincy Jones Presents: Sheléa
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Quincy Jones and David Foster both appear in this special, which was taped in Los Angeles in front of an intimate audience of invited guests. The incredibly talented singer Sheléa performs a wide range of songs, including a Whitney Houston medley, a tribute to Aretha Franklin and a song made famous by Barbra Streisand, “Somewhere.” She also performs four songs written by Marilyn and Alan Bergman.
ExtrasRight
Quincy Jones introduces the multi-talented singer Sheléa, with special guest David Foster.
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March Housing Hangout
February 20, 2018 by Campus Weekly Staff
Coming up in March is the next Housing Hangout, a monthly informal discussion about housing-related issues. This time, the topic will be “Housing, Home and Health.” The discussion will be March 2, 12 – 2 p.m., in MHRA 2711. For more information, visit the Facebook event page.
Researchers at the Center for Housing and Community Studies will be presenting on a variety of topics related to local housing, including eviction, re-entry housing, housing and health, rural housing, food deserts and LGBTQIA+ housing. There’s almost certain to be something interesting for everyone.
Housing Hangouts are on the first Friday of every month. Future topics are “Fair Housing” (April 6), “School Catchment Areas and Housing Choice” (May 4) and “Gentrification” (June 1). See this webpage for more details.
Speaking Center offers new support option for non-native English speakers
It’s a blending of Virtual Reality (VR) and Conversation Practice.
English language learners in Interlink Language School levels CS 4 & CS 5 or any UNCG student, staff or faculty who speaks English as an additional language are invited to participate in these 30-minute face-to-face English conversation practice consultations that incorporate VR.
Sessions start with viewing 10 minutes of a VR science/nature/arts/culture/travel/news video before shifting to conversations about the shared VR experience. Students will be asked to bring their smartphones with them. We will provide the VR viewing devices that attach to the phone. These sessions take place in MHRA, Room 3211.
A full listing line up of offerings for non-native English speakers can be found here.
Softball’s Janelle Breneman looks to season ahead, with ‘Team 33’
UNCG Softball is coming off a great 2017 season. With 11 wins and 6 losses in Southern Conference play, they earned the program’s first ever regular season title since joining the conference in 1997.
Now they’re atop the coaches’ Southern Conference preseason poll for the first time under head coach Janelle Breneman’s six-year tenure.
“The team is dedicated,” Breneman said, “They have high determination for a championship and a regional appearance.”
She noted their goal of winning the regular season, which would place the team in the top seed for the SoCon Tournament. The winner of that tournament advances to the NCAA postseason.
It would be a milestone. UNCG Softball hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since joining the Southern Conference.
Coach Breneman believes that the core of a great softball team isn’t just individual talent, but cohesiveness and coordination. This season’s team is the 33rd in UNCG Softball history. They call themselves “Team 33”, and they’re a group of diverse personalities who like each other and work well together, she explained.
“When it comes to softball,” she said, “and how we treat each other, we’re gonna be great teammates, respect each other, and make sure everyone’s doing their part.”
Spartan softball has posted a winning record every season since Breneman became coach six years ago. Her teams have topped 30 wins in three of the previous five seasons. During her tenure, UNCG has had 12 first team All-Southern Conference selections, 15 second teamers, two SoCon All-Freshman, a pair of freshman of the years, three SoCon Pitchers of the Month, four SoCon Players of the Month, 14 SoCon Players of the Week, and five SoCon Pitcher of the Week awards.
In addition to their achievements on the field, the Spartans are also outstanding in the classroom.
“The players’ number one priority is academics.”
Six players maintained a 4.0 GPA during the fall 2017 semester, and the team as a whole had a record high GPA for UNCG Softball. 15 members of the team also made the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, and 13 the Dean’s List. UNCG Softball has also earned two CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, and a second team CoSIDA Academic All-American during Breneman’s coaching tenure. Breneman is proud of her team for their success both on and off the field, and is excited to see where their future takes them.
“When softball ends,” she said, “I want them to be in the forefront” for their job search.
“The teamwork and skills they’ve worked on, those are going to really help them in their careers.”
Breneman arrived at UNCG with 17 years of coaching experience under her belt, including 9 years as head coach at Bucknell and East Stroudsburg. As a starting shortstop at Bloomsburg, Breneman broke several records, including the still-standing career record of assists with the Huskies.
This season, the Spartans have fourteen returning players and five newcomers.
“It’s been on the minds of the players to reach a championship and play well,” Coach Breneman said.
For the seniors, it’s their final collegiate softball year. They want to be the first UNCG softball team in the SoCon era to go all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Breneman is looking forward to seeing how far Team 33 goes.
“I’m excited for them,” she said, “They’ve fought and worked hard.”
Marisa Sholtes, first baseman, was chosen as a Southern Conference Player of the Week for her strong offensive performance. Other strong early season performances have come from new and returning players including Makenna Matthijs, Alicia Bazonski and Jordan Gontram. This early play sets a strong precedent for the rest of the season.
The UNCG Invitational will be this weekend. Feb 23, UNCG will play Seton Hall; the 24th, Seton Hall and Virginia; and the 25th, Virginia and Appalachian State. These games will be held at the UNCG Softball Stadium, and admission is free.
See the full schedule of upcoming games here.
By Avery Campbell
Filed Under: Spotlight
Dr. Heather Holian
Dr. Heather Holian (School of Art) had an essay, “New and Inherited Aesthetics: Designing for the Toy Story Trilogy One Film at a Time,” published in January 2018 as part of the edited volume “Toy Story: How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature,” released by Bloomsbury Press. Edited by animation scholars Noel Brown, Susan Smith and Sam Summers, the text is the inaugural volume of Bloomsbury’s series, ‘Animation–Key Films.’ Dr. Holian has also recently signed a book contract with Disney Editions for her manuscript on Pixar, tentatively titled, “Art and Filmmaking at Pixar: Collaboration, Inspiration and Collective Imagination,” with an anticipated publication of 2021.
The publication came about as a result of the international conference, Toy Story at 20, hosted by Sunderland University, Sunderland, Great Britain in November 2015. Holian presented on this topic there and then was invited to expand the piece for publication. She received funds for international conference travel from the School of Art and the Kohler Fund of International Programs for that trip. The volume is available on Amazon.
Dr. Jeffrey Soles
Dr. Jeffrey Soles (Classical Studies) received a continuation of funding from the Institute of Aegean Prehistory for the project “Mochlos 2018: Publication and Conversation.”
This grant will support research, publication and conservation of archaeological material excavated at Mochlos, Crete, from 1989 to 2016. It is the second year of a continuing three-year grant that was awarded in 2017.
Dr. Danielle Swick
Dr. Danielle Swick (Social Work) received new funding from the North Carolina School-Based Health Alliance for the project “An Analysis of RAAPS Data from North Carolina School-Based Health Centers.”
The purpose of this project is to develop an initial survey to assess the North Carolina School-Based Health Centers’ (SBHCs) current use of RAAPS and for those using RAAPS, use of risk assessment data for quality monitoring and program planning. For NC SBHCs that currently use the RAAPS, Dr. Swick will approach them to ask if they would be willing to share their de-identified RAAPS data with Dr. Swick on behalf of the NCSBHA in exchange for RAAPS data summaries by county and in aggregate form across counties. Swick will collect these data, summarize the data, and will create county level and state level summaries.
Dr. Jewell Cooper
Dr. Jewell Cooper (School of Education) was recognized as a local SHEro at the inaugural SHEroes gala and awards ceremony Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Proximity Hotel.
Dr. Cooper was nominated for her work offering professional development in local and regional school districts and as chair of the Multicultural Education Special Interest Group of the Association of Teacher Educators, the News and Record reported.
The SHEroes gala lauded local women whose work in the community may fly under the radar, the report added. The event raises money for the Shirley T. Frye YWCA Greensboro.
Dr. Laurie Gold
Dr. Laurie Gold (Kinesiology) received additional funding of $637,639 from the National Institutes of Health for the project “Pathways from Childhood Self-Regulation to Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescence.“
“Cardiovascular risk factors (CVR)—including obesity, elevated lipids, altered glucose metabolism, hypertension, and elevated low-grade inflammation—are detectable, common and increasing during adolescence. However, the developmental origins of adolescent CVR and its increases are poorly understood. Research on adults suggests that CVR is concentrated among those who had poor self-regulation in childhood, including difficulties in regulating their behaviors (e.g., impulsivity), emotions (e.g., negative emotion) and/or physiology (e.g., heart rate variability) during situations of challenge.” Her team will test, among other things, whether trajectories of self-regulation extending from ages to 2 to 10 predict trajectories of CVR during adolescence (ages 16, 17, 18).
Dr. Nadja Cech
Dr. Nadja Cech (Chemistry and Biochemistry) received a continuation of funding from the National Institutes of Health for the project “Predoctoral Training: Innovative Technologies for Natural Products and CAM Research.”
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, in collaboration with investigators in Biology and Nutrition, is working on a multi-disciplinary research proposal to the National Institutes of Health (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) to support predoctoral research training in the biological sciences. Funds from this proposal would support stipends, benefits and 60 percent of tuition for five predoctoral students pursuing PhD degrees at UNCG. The duration of the award is five years (renewable indefinitely depending on performance). If funded, this would be the first T32 award for UNCG.
Dr. Omar Ali
Dr. Omar Ali spoke at the United Nations on Feb. 8 on the global African Diaspora as part of “The Decade of People of African Descent.” Opening remarks were offered by the Ambassador of Brazil. You may view the forum at U.N. web tv here. See the 17:40 mark in the clip, then 38:00 and 49:20.
Ali is dean of UNCG’s Lloyd International Honors College and professor of Global and Comparative African Diaspora History.
‘Documenting Slavery and Freedom’ noon-time discussion
Next Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 12 noon, the Weatherspoon Art Museum will host ‘Noon-Time Talk: Documenting Slavery and Freedom’ with UNC Greensboro’s digital technology consultant Richard Cox and Guilford College archivist and librarian Gwen Gosney Erickson. Cox and Erickson will display material from their respective archives related to the subjects of slavery and freedom.
From UNCG’s side, the material is from the Digital Library on American Slavery, an extensive collection of documents focused on race and slavery in the American South. It’s the largest single index to slave-related public documents from the pre-Civil war era from the Southern states, and includes legislative and county court petitions, runaway slave ads, insurance registries, deeds and trade voyages. It is also the largest collection of names of African Americans from that period.
The DLAS collections, which began in 1991 through the work of professor emeritus Loren Schweninger, are not only valuable to the UNCG community, but to scholars and writers worldwide. Colson Whitehead, who recently visited UNCG, mentioned the DLAS in his acknowledgments of his Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel, “The Underground Railroad.”
Although the current focus of DLAS is on sources associated with North Carolina, there is considerable data contained relating to all 15 slave states and Washington, D.C., including detailed personal information about slaves, slaveholders and free people of color.
From the special collections unit of Guilford College, Erickson will display and discuss anti-slavery related Quaker documents and letters, and reflect on Guilford College as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
The Noon-Time Talk is held in conjunction with the Sanford Biggers exhibition on view at the Weatherspoon through April 8.
University Libraries is hosting two other archival exhibits this spring:
The Neo-Black Society exhibition is currently on view in Hodges Reading Room, and will be up through mid-March, as part of the 125th anniversary celebration, and honoring the Neo-Black Society’s 50th anniversary. The exhibit features information on the founding of the Neo-Black Society as well as the organization’s subgroups and special events.
In mid-March in the Hodges Reading Room, there will be a new exhibit on student activism, highlighting key student activism work throughout the 125 years of the university.
By Susan Kirby-Smith
Photograph of DLAS display by Susan Kirby-Smith
Leadership and engagement series kicks off this week
Affecting positive change in today’s global landscape is a challenge UNCG’s Office of Leadership and Service-Learning takes head on.
This week, Dr. Nicholas V. Longo headlines OLSL’s 2018 Spring Engagement series, part of OLSL’s initiative to propel UNCG’s momentum as a community-engaged university.
Longo is chair of public and community service studies and professor of global studies at Providence College in Rhode Island.
The series begins Thursday morning, Feb. 15, with workshops for students, faculty, staff and community members through Friday, Feb. 16. Speakers facilitate discussions on key aspects of engagement, including capacity development for engaged teaching, learning, research and creative activity; expansion of policies, structures and paradigms to support engagement; and alignment of institutional and community priorities through engagement.
Longo served as the director of the Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute, an endowed civic leadership center at Miami University in Ohio. He also served as a program officer at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation in the area of civic education and directed Campus Compact’s national youth civic engagement initiative, Raise Your Voice. He is author of a number of books, articles, and reports on issues of youth civic education, community-based leadership, global citizenship and service-learning.
Along with OLSL, sponsors of the series include Institute for Community and Economic Engagement, International Programs, Office of Intercultural Engagement and the Lloyd International Honors College.
Next Generation Engagement
Staff and Faculty Workshop
8 – 10 a.m. | Plenary Breakfast in EUC MAPLE
Participants will discuss the future of engagement, exploring the landscape of public engagement strategies across higher education, and more specifically how UNCG can continue to be a leader in these efforts.
Global Education through Local Engagement
Faculty and Student Workshop
12:15 – 1:45 p.m. | Luncheon workshop in EUC MAPLE
This interactive workshop will examine the connections between local and international engagement towards educating global citizens.
Leadership Thick vs. Leadership Thin
Student Workshop
5 – 7 p.m. | Pizza Dinner in EUC DAIL
This student workshop will focus on how we might re-imagine leadership as something that shifts from command and control, towards community and relationships. The session will include conversations and skill-building activities to explore how leadership can be something we can all do, together.
Teaching Leadership through Civic Engagement
Student Affairs Professionals
8:30 – 10 a.m. | Breakfast workshop in the Faculty Center
This breakfast conversation will engage practitioners in a conversation about the role of supporting and mentoring students to be active and engaged citizens, as well as successful students and future professionals.
Community-Engaged Narrative Methodologies
Staff and Faculty 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Luncheon in EUC Alexander
Join Dr. Nick Longo and UNCG representatives, including Dr. Bob Strack (PHE), for a lunch discussion about photovoice and other qualitative narrative methodologies. This session is useful for faculty and students who practice or study community-engaged research and teaching. The panel will share experiences and resources (e.g., photovoice toolkit) and engage the group in conversation about integrating community-engaged narrative methodologies in their work.
RSVP link for workshops listed above: http://bit.ly/springengagement2018.
Questions? Email Emily M. Janke, Ph.D. at emjanke@uncg.edu.
By Elizabeth L. Harrison
Photo courtesy of Dr. Nicholas V. Longo.
Chase Holleman gets state award for impact on opioid recovery public policy
This week, Chase Holleman begins a new initiative. He will knock on doors and alter the course of lives. Joined by a sheriff, he will personally reach out to those in our county who recently overdosed on opioids, to see what can be done to help them.
The UNCG staff member was selected by the National Association of Social Workers North Carolina Chapter’s (NASW-NC) Legislative Committee as the 2018 Myrna Miller Wellons Advocate of the Year Award recipient. Holleman will receive the award in March.
The award is given annually to someone who has demonstrated a strong passion to advocate for the needs of the social work profession and has been a champion in impacting public policy both for the social work profession and clients served by social workers.
He is the Rapid Response Team Navigator for Guilford County, in the UNCG Center for Housing and Community Studies, which created the pilot program. The center, led by Dr. Stephen Sills, is located in the MHRA Building.
Holleman’s passion comes from his own life experience.
A one-time student at UNCW, he flunked out. But people did not give up on him, he explains. He went into substance abuse recovery in Greensboro. “I haven’t had to use drugs or alcohol since May 2013,” he adds.
He enrolled at UNCG, where social work instructor Jack Register inspired him to be a Social Work major. He earned his degree in 2016 graduate, summa cum laude. He furthered his education by earning a master’s in Social Work in 2017 from UNC Chapel Hill.
While in graduate school, he continued to live in Greensboro and was hired in High Point at Caring Services to distribute Naloxone, which serves to revive a person from an overdose. He came to see the importance of rapid-response teams.
His passion has helped improve the lives of many in his community through his work and personal advocacy.
Holleman believes in impacting issues at the state and national level. He has been a leader in his community since his undergraduate career where he was a founding member of both the Spartan Recovery Program and the UNCG Student Recovery Alliance. He later founded the Guilford County Naloxone Task Force in December 2016; in addition to its educational mission, it distributed naloxone kits in the local community. He has also been active with the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition leading the High Point Syringe Exchange. Also, Holleman has been active in the Alzheimer’s Association for a number of years as a participate in the Ambassador Program and has met with state and congressional leaders about the impact of Alzheimer’s on communities, families and caregivers.
As the Rapid Response Team Navigator for Guilford County in the Sills-led center, he and an off-duty sheriff intend to visit anyone who overdosed from opioids the week before. They’ll see what can be done to help the individual – ranging from needle exchanges to arrangements for a detox program, from overdose prevention education to motivational interviewing and peer support. The intent is to promote a recovery oriented system of care, he explains.
“They have low resilience. We help give them a safety net,” he says.
He knows. Years ago, he was a heroin user, he explains. Several times, he had to be revived. “With the help of others, I was able to change my life around. I want others to have that opportunity.”
He’s doing the hands-on work of helping others. And he’s a tenacious advocate, looking to improve state policies to address the opioid epidemic, whether speaking with the Governor or Attorney General, state legislators, law enforcement, first responders, educators or everyday people.
“I’m very vocal about my own recovery.” And the great need for the many currently battling opioid addiction in our state.
His mother, a social worker who recently died from Alzheimer’s, inspired him to meet people where they are. “She always met me where I was. That’s a common expression among social workers.”
That’s what he intends to keep doing.
Holleman was previously honored with the NASW-NC Toby Brown Award for Bachelor of Social Work students in 2016. Last year, he received the Community Gamechanger Award from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. Attorney General Josh Stein recognized Chase with the North Carolina Dogwood Award in November.
By Mike Harris, with some text from news release
Photography of Holleman by Martin W. Kane
Dr. Lisa Goble named director for Office of Research Integrity
On Jan. 1, Dr. Lisa Goble was named director of the UNCG Office of Research Integrity (ORI).
Goble, who became interim director on April 1, 2017, is responsible for managing research compliance programs for research policy matters across campus as well as compliance with state and federal regulations, academic best practices and federal compliance program standards for research activities.
The ORI works with regulations on human subject research, animal subject research, the use of biologicals on campus, conflicts of interest, and export control. The ORI also provides training on responsible conduct of research.
In her prior role at UNCG, Goble was instrumental in developing intellectual property policy and building infrastructure to support a nascent technology transfer office, commercializing academic innovations spanning the IP spectrum from creative IP to science-based inventions. She has a broad interest in federal research policy and how the policies can intersect and influence the activities of research institutions.
Dr. Goble is a proud UNCG alumna. She is a summa cum laude graduate from the Bryan UNCG School of Business and Economics, with a B.S. in information systems and supply chain management and a minor in economics. She also has a Ph.D. in public policy from UNC Chapel Hill, which she obtained while directing the technology transfer office at UNCG.
See full post at UNCG Research site.
Welcome Reception Friday for Vice Chancellor Cathy Akens
The campus community is invited to a welcome reception for Dr. Cathy Akens, vice chancellor for student affairs. Light dessert will be served.
The reception will held Friday, February 16, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Dail Room of the Elliott University Center.
Celebrate healthy relationships this week
Building healthy relationships isn’t rocket science, says Dr. Christine Murray, director of the Healthy Relationships Initiative. A partnership between the Phillips Foundation and UNCG, HRI celebrates its second-annual Healthy Relationships Week Feb. 10-17.
Murray encourages faculty, staff and students to take the week and connect with the important people in your life, learn ways to build and maintain healthy relationships, and celebrate the importance of healthy relationships in our lives and community.
Healthy relationships are within reach for virtually everyone, and they don’t require any specific equipment, extensive training or a lot of money.
“In fact, the basic ingredients for a healthy relationship are relatively simple concepts that most people learn by the time they enter kindergarten,” Murray said. “Healthy relationships rely on basic tools like listening, sharing and practicing kindness and forgiveness.”
And yet, although the basic building blocks of relationships are relatively simple, relationships are often one of the most complex areas of people’s lives. Modern society adds to the complexity of human relationships, in large part due to how busy everyone is and how much technology has taken over many aspects of our lives. In addition, many people lack role models of healthy relationships, especially if they experienced challenging relationships in their family-of-origin.
If you’re interested in increasing the health of the relationships in your life, there are a few simple steps you can take. Although there are some differences in the ingredients that make for healthy relationships of different kinds – such as a romantic relationship, parenting relationships, friendships, workplace relationships, and neighbors – there are common elements that underlie all kinds of relationships. The tips below offer some steps you can take to begin working toward healthier relationships in all areas of your life.
Tips for Building Healthy Relationships
Be intentional: Commit the time, energy, and attention needed to make your relationships the best they can be.
Listen actively.
Understand each other’s communication styles
Avoid hurtful language.
Be willing to compromise
Show concern and respect for your partner’s feelings
Validate your partner’s feelings
Develop your communication and conflict management skills.
Reduce barriers to healthy relationships in your life: Untreated mental health or substance disorders, too much time on technology, poor work/life balance
Focus on what is in your power to change: Be the healthiest, best version of yourself.
Building healthy relationships takes time, effort, and a commitment to caring for the important people in your life. A few simple steps can lead to major improvements to your relationships. Learn more about the Healthy Relationships Initiative at www.guilfordhri.org.
By Christine Murray, director of the Healthy Relationships Initiative, and Elizabeth L. Harrison, University Communications
Duo speak on disability rights
Rud and Ann Turnbull, attorneys and parents of a child with a disability, will give a free seminar Wednesday, Feb. 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Virginia Dare Room at the Alumni House.
The Turnbulls are professors in the University of Kansas’ Department of Special Education and are known across the United States for their work on disability rights.
Employee Benefits Reminders for 2018
UNCG Human Relations has an update with timely benefits news and information:
NCFlex Benefits Changes
Any benefit elections you made during annual enrollment for NCFlex programs went into effect January 1, 2018. Remember to review your January paystub in UNCGenie to ensure that the programs you elected are reflected accurately. If you notice any issues, please notify the Benefits Staff as soon as possible .
State Health Plan Open Enrollment
Any benefit election you made during Open Enrollment for the State Health Plan went into effect on January 1, 2018. Remember to review your December paystub in UNCGenie to ensure that the plan you elected is reflected. Deductions for health care are withheld one month in advance (December deductions pay for January coverage).
New VISION Vendor
Beginning January 1, 2018, EyeMed Vision Care is our new vision plan administrator. If you are enrolled in vision coverage and have questions about your coverage or need to find the nearest eye doctor, visit www.ncflex.org or call EyeMed at 1-866-248-1939.
Retirement Plan Limits for 2018
The limit on contributions to a 403(b)/401(k) plan for 2018 is $18,500 , which is a combined limit . If you are over the age of 50 or will turn 50 by December 31, 2018, you are eligible for an additional $6,000 catch-up contribution.
The limit on contributions to a 457(b) plan for 2018 is also $18,500. If you are over the age of 50 or will turn 50 by December 31, 2018, you are eligible for an additional $6,000 catch-up contribution.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) you are required to indicate at the time you complete your tax return whether you have qualifying medical coverage . You will receive a Form 1095-C that includes information about the health coverage offered to you by the University. The form will be mailed to your home address by February 12th. There is not a requirement to attach or file your Form 1095-C with your 2017 Federal income tax return; however, you may need to use its information when you complete your tax return.
If you have questions or need assistance with benefits issues, please contact Stephen Hale, Benefits Consultant, at sahale3@uncg.edu or (336) 334- 4514.
Effective online instruction’ presentation March 2
The 17th Language Learning Series, with a focus on effective online instruction, will be held Friday, March 2, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in MHRA Building 1214. Course design, instructor role, and student role will be discussed, with the goal of developing strategies to improve student engagement and increase teacher presence in online classes. The lead presenter will be Dr. Marsha Carr, Department Chair of the Educational Leadership department at UNCG. If interested, please email megarcia@uncg.edu.
Blood pressure checks for employees
HealthyUNCG staff are doing free blood pressure checks this month in two locations across campus.
Thursday, February 22nd, at 10:15 am to 11:15 m in the Campus Supply training room
Wednesday, February 28th, at 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm in the Ragsdale Mendenhall Lobby
Training coordinator at Center for New North Carolinians will speak
The first International & Global Studies Program “Global Spotlight” of the spring semester will be Monday, February 19, at 5 p.m. in the Faculty Center.
Cynthia Mejia, the Training Coordinator at the Center for New North Carolinians, will talk about the refugee screening process and the work of the various actors involved including CNNC. All are welcome to attend.
The series is sponsored by IGS and the University Libraries. Light refreshments will be provided. For disability accommodations, contact Yvonne Matlosz at ylmatlos@uncg.edu.
University Libraries’ Undergraduate Research Award
University Libraries wants to recognize students’ research skills. They are soliciting submissions for our Undergraduate Research Award, which is given in recognition of an outstanding original paper or project in any media. Successful submissions will demonstrate the ability to locate, select and synthesize information from scholarly resources. The winning entry will receive a $500 cash prize funded by University Libraries.
Students may be nominated by a UNCG teaching faculty member or submit his/her own project along with a letter from the supporting faculty member. Submissions are open to all undergraduate students. Papers or projects completed by an undergraduate student in the Spring, Summer or Fall semesters of 2017 are eligible. To participate, applicants must be currently enrolled in the Spring 2018 semester at UNCG.
If your student completed an eligible research assignment in 2017, nominate them for this award. Applications are due on March 23, 2018.
Visit http://library.uncg.edu/ura for more information and application materials.
First non-profit surplus sale Feb. 16
UNCG Facilities’ first non-profit surplus sale, aimed at local non-profits, begins at 9 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at 2900 Oakland Ave.
The sale is cash-only. Ross Rick, assistant director for facilities services, said they are hoping for large participation from local nonprofits.
“We hope this will shed a positive stewardship image on UNCG,” Rick said.
Questions? Email r_rick@uncg.edu.
Spartan Recovery Program update
The Spartan Recovery Program is a UNCG initiative that empowers students in all phases of recovery to succeed in academic and personal goals. The organization is committed to changing people’s lives for the better, which is in evidence in the resounding success of the program last semester. During Fall 2017, the 36 active SRP members had an average GPA of 3.47, with 14 students earning a 4.0. SRP members also boast a 100 percent retention from the previous semester.
This semester, SRP has welcomed 16 new members, bringing their active membership to 49. Moving forward, SRP will continue its commitment the creation of a community of empowerment, purpose, and inclusion, where UNCG students in all stages of recovery are able to flourish and achieve their goals. The SRP makes tangible changes in student wellness, and the overall health of the UNCG community.
Visit the SRP website at https://shs.uncg.edu/srp. For more information, contact Terri Spears at 336-334-4559 or t_spears@uncg.edu.
UNC System Hispanic / Latino Forum on Friday
The 5th annual UNC System Hispanic Latino Forum will be held this Friday (Feb. 16) from 9-4 p.m., in Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House. The forum, first held at NC State in 2012, will be held at UNCG for the first time.
This meeting, which rotates around the UNC System, is an opportunity for Hispanic faculty, administrators, and staff to come together to discuss the needs of Latino students, faculty and staff, and how they can work together on common problems and solutions. Prior meetings have focused on issues important to the Latino community such as professional advancement, campus initiatives, and leadership roles of Hispanic/Latino professionals in the UNC System.
Sessions this Friday will include best practices for Latino student success; DACA and immigration; networking, and more.
“To me, what is so impressive about this meeting are the shared principles among people across the campuses to create opportunities for Latino students to succeed,” said Dr. Julia Mendez Smith, Professor of Psychology and Chancellor’s Fellow for Campus Climate. “And we come together as professionals to network, share our ideas, and also support one another in our work.”
Event co-sponsors are ALIANZA, Office of the Chancellor, Graduate School, Office of Research and Engagement, Office of Intercultural Engagement and Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
Registration information is here. For more information, contact Estela Ratliff at eyratlif@uncg.edu or Julia Mendez Smith at jlmendez@uncg.edu.
Voice, Activism, and Democracy symposium on Feb. 27
UNCG Communication Studies and OLSL will sponsor a Voice, Activism, and Democracy symposium on Feb. 27.
Eleven speakers are confirmed, including government officials, community activists, and UNCG faculty and students
Last year, UNCG hosted a Harriet Elliot Lecture Series of the same title. This year, organizers added local government leaders and community organizers to the mix to introduce students to how the city is organized and ways to get involved. Organizers expect to draw 40-80 folks to each panel.
Government officials will talk about the priorities of the city, how the city is organized (council role, city manager role, citizen roles), and how young people can prepare to participate in city programs as volunteers, citizens, and maybe even as future employees or elected officials one day.
Community organizers will talk about their organizations, how people have been involved, why young people might be interested in participating with them, and the goals of the community actions.
Select students and faculty will share how they put their academic training to use for the benefit of the community.
The symposium grows out of the recognition that for many students, learning the language and processes of how a community thrives requires more than classroom instruction, Jovanovic notes.
For more information, cst.uncg.edu/news-events/democracy.
Correction: Reservations needed for Three College Observatory shows
The UNCG Planetarium and the Three College Observatory offer winter and spring dates for viewings. Reservations are needed for shows at both locations – and both are fully booked for the next several months. The web page for reservations info for the Three College Observatory is https://physics.uncg.edu/tco/public-nights/public-nights-at-the-three-college-observatory/. The web page for reservations for the UNCG Planetarium is https://physics.uncg.edu/planetarium/upcoming-events/.
Alumna poetry reading Feb. 21
Lauren Moseley MFA ’08 will give a poetry reading Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. in the UNCG Faculty Center. Moseley is the author of “Big Windows,” recently published by Carnegie Mellon University Press and named one of “12 Most Anticipated Poetry Collections Hitting Bookstores in 2018” by Bustle. Moseley’s poems have appeared in the anthologies ‘Best New Poets’ and ‘Women Write Resistance,’ and in such magazines as FIELD, Narrative, Copper Nickel, West Branch Wired and Pleiades.
German Day 2018
On Wednesday, March 14, 2018, the UNCG German Program, with support of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and the Kohler Fund, hosts the 18th annual North Carolina German Day 2018! This year’s German Day theme is “Lass uns reden – Let’s talk!” inspired by the album of Einshoch6, a German hip hop band whose first US tour included a stop in Raleigh, NC last fall. As always, students participating in skit performances, poster design, and the T-shirt contest must incorporate the theme into their work. The motto will also be part of an extemporaneous speaking prompt. The German Program expects to welcome over 500 high school students from more than 20 high schools across North Carolina together with their German teachers on campus. In addition to the competitions students will participate in a treasure hunt in order to explore the campus. So, on March 18, feel free to practice your German with our guests. For more information, please contact Dr. Rinner at s_rinner@uncg.edu
Steps Towards Successful Submissions of Grant Proposals
Receive general guidance on preparing a competitive grant proposal based on sponsor guidelines, Feb. 27, 2018, 10-11:30 a.m., 2711 MHRA Building
Are you new to applying for external funding for your research/scholarly activities? Do you need a refresher session on applying for external funding? Come to the OSP workshop that will provide you with general guidance on preparing a competitive grant proposal based on sponsor guidelines. To register go to https://workshops.uncg.edu/ and click on “Office of Sponsored Programs.”
Two workshops by UNCG Office of Research Integrity
Human Subjects Research Training
Time: 9am-11am
Location: MHRA 2711
The UNCG Office of Research Integrity offers a two hour session in human research protection covering all required categories to meet the requirements of our assurance with the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP). This in-person session is offered as an alternative to CITI training.
Register at: http://workshops.uncg.edu/ – search under “Office of Research Workshops”
Responsible Conduct of Research Training
Time: 1pm-3:30pm
Location: EUC Dogwood Room
The UNCG Office of Research Integrity announces its spring semester training session in Responsible Conduct of Research practices. Topics include: Conflict of Interest in Research, Questionable Research Practices, Data Management, Authorship, and Mentor/Mentee Relationships.
Registration is required. Go to: http://workshops.uncg.edu/ – search under “Office of Research Workshops”
Techniques and activities to globalize your classroom
The workshop Teach “WISE-ly”: Classroom Activities From the 2018 Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement will be held Friday, February 23, 2018, Noon-2 p.m. in the Faculty Center.
Would you like to learn about some new pedagogical ? Come participate with creative intercultural learning tools such as photovoice, experiential group activities, digital storytelling, and reflective writing. UNCG Global Engagement Faculty Fellow Dr. Jody Natalle and other faculty who attended the 2018 WISE Conference will lead the workshop. They want to share them with anyone interested in making their classroom more globally engaged.
Who Should Attend: All faculty and university teaching staff at UNCG who have an interest in global engagement
Boxed Lunch Provided. (Networking lunch starts at noon; workshop begins at 12:30 p.m. – participants who come at 12:30 are welcome to request a lunch)
*Sign-up is limited to 25 seats*
RSVP at http://bit.ly/2Gte4MK
Hot Topics Conference March 9
The Division of Student Affairs invites campus partners to attend the annual Hot Topics in Higher Ed Conference on Friday, March 9, 2018.
The Hot Topics Conference is open to anyone interested in learning more about equity, diversity, and inclusion. Hot Topics is an opportunity to network, share knowledge and resources, and get inspired. This conference is intended to engage participants in conversations in order to better understand ourselves and each other. The goal of this professional development opportunity is to encourage the evolution of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to establish learning environments that are enriched with diverse views and people.
The conference keynote speaker will be UNCG Alumna Dr. Judy “JJ” Jackson, currently the Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prior to joining MIT, Dr. Jackson held high-level positions at several notable institutions.
To learn more about this conference, the keynote speaker, registration details and cost, visit: bit.ly/hottopics2018
A valuable drill, one of largest in UNC System history
First responders converged on UNCG’s McIver Building last week, but not to worry – the incident was all staged. The emergency disaster training drill on Thursday, Feb. 1, brought together 375 law enforcement and emergency responders to simulate a mass casualty exercise involving an active shooter.
It was one of the largest such drills in UNC system history.
The action began at 9 a.m. with simulated gunfire outside of McIver and a (staged) 911 call. Volunteer victims dressed in fake blood and wounds assumed their places in and outside of the building.
Along with UNCG police, agencies participating in the drill included the FBI, Highway Patrol, SBI, Greensboro Police, NC A&T police, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, Guilford County EMS and the Greensboro Fire Department.
The exercise was documented for the university and agencies to review what went well and what may need improvement in preparation for real-life emergency events.
As more information becomes available on the days after the drill, we will update this posting. Click here for media coverage from Fox8 and here for Greensboro News & Record media coverage of the event.
Photograph by Martin W. Kane.
Forney Student Success Commons: New name, new occupants and more students
February 5, 2018 by Pavand Kethinedi
Several UNCG Enrollment Management offices haved moved from McIver Building to Forney, bringing with the move a new name and increased student traffic.
Renamed Forney Student Success Commons to reflect the abundance of student success services provided, the refurbished spaces will host upwards of 750 student appointments per week, and, when finished, will sport shades of blue and gold with super-graphics depicting student success and Spartan spirit.
An open house will be planned once the final touches are done.
First floor residents include:
The Students First Office (SFO) – SFO serves as UNCG’s academic one-stop-shop for assisting students with academic advising, academic recovery, academic transition, appeals, and graduation planning. Additionally, the office is the centralized academic advising center for all exploratory (undecided) students studentsfirst.uncg.edu
Tutoring and Academic Skills Programs(TASP) – TASP challenges students to become independent and successful learners through peer tutoring, guidance on study skills, and workshop offerings on learning strategies and the application academic skills.
studentsuccess.uncg.edu/tasp/
Supplemental Instruction Program(SIP)- The purpose of the Supplemental Instruction Program (SIP) is to provide peer-facilitated academic assistance for traditionally challenging courses. studentsuccess.uncg.edu/sip/
Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program: (The McNair Program)
The McNair Scholars Program is a federal TRIO program designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities. studentsuccess.uncg.edu/uncg-mcnair/
Second floor residents include:
Enrollment Management Division Office – includes Dr. Bryan Terry, Vice Chancellor of EM, the EM data manager, who focuses on predictive modeling, longitudinal comparisons, and comparative analytics, as well as the budget manager, support and graduate staff. enroll.uncg.edu
New Student Transitions and First Year Experience (NSTFYE) – NST&FYE helps new students and their families navigate the transition to college by connecting them to the people, programs, and resources at UNCG, such as Families of Future Spartans, SOAR and the Spartan Orientation Staff, NAV1GATE, Rawkin’ Welcome Week, SPEARS, Your First Year, Foundations for Learning (FFL) and Peer Academic Leaders (PALS), Keker First Year Common Read, and online orientation for online learners. newstudents.uncg.edu
UNCG Guarantee – UNCG Guarantee is a selective scholarship program for high-achieving, low-income students North Carolina residents that provides up to 35 student a year with an outstanding financial package, holistic support system and a range of developmental co-curricular cohort experiences. guarantee.uncg.edu
Retention Initiatives – focused on first year retention through the coordination of a University-wide retention council, the Frontier Set grant, which includes the summer bridge program, Spartan Start Up, for select new students, and implementing academic advisor training programs.
Student Support Services – SSS/TRIO is designed to maximize academic performance for UNCG students who are first-generation college students, from modest income backgrounds, or who have a documented disability registered with OARS, and who also demonstrate academic need for services, such as academic skills, financial literacy, career coaching, and more. studentsuccess.uncg.edu/sss/
College Completion Initiatives – focusing on grants and special projects supporting student success, including the Spartan Male Initiative and the UNCG CHANCE Latino/Hispanic High School Summer Initiative.
See related story, about other departments that had been in McIver Building.
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Call Us! (610) 627-4170 View Our Locations
Female Pelvic Medicine
Non-Surgical Therapy
At Urogynecology Associates, we approach each patient with the
goal of providing an accurate diagnosis and treatment options
that meet the specific needs of the individual.
Restoring Continence, Regaining Confidence
Restoring Continence,
Regaining Confidence
Our board certified staff has consistently been the first to introduce new techniques and treatment regimens in the Philadelphia area.
Urodynamics Form
Dr. Mitchell Berger, MD, PhD, joins Urogynecology Associates.
Our practice offers three convenient locations within the Main Line Health System, with office locations at Riddle Hospital, Paoli Hospital, and Lankenau Medical Center.
Welcome to Urogynecology Associates
We are proud to be the oldest and most experienced specialists in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery serving Philadelphia and the Western Main Line Suburbs since 1996. We are a team of nationally recognized, board – certified, university trained physicians who provide both state of the art and evidenced-based treatments for women who experience pelvic floor disorders, such as urinary and fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, as well as other complex gynecologic disorders. Our reputation and experience is recognized both regionally and nationally.
The sub specialty of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (aka Urogynecology) was approved and accredited by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2012. This recognizes the additional training and specialized expertise of physicians in this field. In 2013, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Board of Urology (who jointly approve the sub specialty) began to offer sub specialty certification to qualified individuals. Dr Toglia and Berger were amongst the first physicians in the United States to become certified in the new subspecialty.
At Urogynecology Associates, we approach each patient with the goal of providing an accurate diagnosis and treatment options that meet the specific needs of the individual.
Meet Our Medical Director
Dr Toglia has been recognized as a Top Doctor, both regionally and nationally, in the field of Female Pelvic Medicine over the past two decades. He has been listed as a Top Doctor by Main Line Today Magazine beginning in 2000, and by Philadelphia Magazine every year since 2005. Nationally, he has been recognized by Castle Connelly Medical Ltd (2005-2018) and as a “Top Doctor in America” by U.S. News and World report from 2011-2018.
Our Happy Patients
Changed my life
My uterine prolapse and urinary incontinence issues began when I was in my mid-30s. My symptoms worsened steadily, until last fall when, at age 71, I finally in desperation went to see Dr. Toglia, who, after a thorough evaluation, determined that both of my problems could be addressed through a minimally invasive vaginal procedure, that included vaginal hysterectomy. My surgery went very smoothly, it was painless and very successful. Dr. Marc Toglia has changed my life; because of his skill and caring, I feel like a normal person again.
The results have been fantastic
At 37 years old, I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with a vaginal prolapse. I had had three vaginal births resulting in damage to my pelvic floor. A couple of years prior, Dr. Toglia inserted a TVT sling which successfully fixed my urinary incontinence problem. Now I was ready to address the anterior wall prolapse. Dr. Toglia performed the ProLift procedure and I still can’t believe how successful it has been. Having three children under 10, the recovery couldn’t have been any better and the results have been fantastic. It’s so terrific to feel normal again!
Update on Vaginal Laser Treatments
By c85937x2| 2018-08-29T14:21:46+00:00 August 29th, 2018|
Vaginal Laser treatments are becoming increasing available in the community and have been touted as less invasive treatments for vaginal conditions including vaginal dryness due to menopause, urinary incontinence, or [...]
Dr Mitchell Berger, MD, PhD joins Urogynecology Associates
By c85937x2| 2018-02-05T17:37:28+00:00 February 5th, 2018|
Dr Berger graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he double majored in Biochemistry and Economics. He completed the MD/PhD program at University of Pennsylvania in 2005, where he was [...]
Dr. Toglia has performed over 2,000 TVT slings
By c85937x2| 2018-01-30T18:30:11+00:00 January 30th, 2018|
Dr. Marc Toglia is one of the most experienced surgeons in the Philadelphia Region performing the minimally invasive pubovaginal sling known as TVT for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence. [...]
Riddle Memorial Hospital
Health Care Center 3
1098 West Baltimore Pike
Medical Office Building 3
255 West Lancaster Ave
Medical Office Building East
100 Lancaster Ave
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Phu Quoc lures resort developers
Vingroup has begun work on the 304ha Vinpearl Phu Quoc, which will have luxury hotels and villas and a golf course, at a cost of VND17 trillion ($800 million).— Photo vinpearlphuquoc.com
HCM CITY (VNS) — Phu Quoc Island has become a magnet for investors, with a slew of large projects under way now.
The CEO Group has started building Sonasea Villa & Resort on an area of 80 hectares at a cost of VND4.5 trillion (US$200 million). It will see the 406-room Novotel Phu Quoc Resort, to be managed by France's Accor Group, finished first at the end of next year.
Vingroup has begun work on the 304ha Vinpearl Phu Quoc, which will have luxury hotels and villas and a golf course, at a cost of VND17 trillion ($800 million).
Nam Cuong Group is working on a VND3.2 trillion ($150 million) project.
"Authorities have identified tourism and investment as keys to boosting the economy," Huynh Quang Hung, deputy chairman of the Phu Quoc People's Committee, was quoted as saying in Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Viet Nam Economic Times).
According to the island's Development Investment Management Board, in July it asked the Kien Giang Province People's Committee to approve licences for five projects on an area of over 43 hectares, issued licences for six projects costing VND6.65 trillion ($315 million), amended the terms of four licences, and cancelled seven licences and took back 104ha of land.
Licences have been issued for 190 projects on around 8,700ha, of which 18 on an area of 990 hectares and costing VND6.9 trillion ($330 million) have begun operations. Another 14 are under construction at a cost of around VND24 trillion ($1.15 billion).
Most investment in Phu Quoc is focused on hotels and resorts. But even with the 952 luxury rooms that are planned, Phu Quoc will have only 20 per cent of that of Da Nang and Phan Thiet and 30 per cent of that of Nha Trang despite the fact all their beaches are nearly of the same length.
Not surprisingly, with just two luxury hotels, rents here are higher than even in Ha Noi or HCM City.
Infrastructure challenges
Investment in Phu Quoc is not very easy due to its remote location and distance from the mainland. The construction cost of a low-rise five-star hotel on the mainland is around $1,000 – 1,500 per square metre, but in Phu Quoc it increases by 20 -30 per cent since the materials have to be transported from the mainland.
It is also more expensive to operate a business on the island due to the high electricity and water tariffs.
Until last year a four-star resort was supplied electricity by the Phu Quoc Power Plant at VND9,300 per kWh but only for 10 hours a day. The rest of the time they had to use generators, which increased the cost to VND12,500 per kWh.
On average here electricity accounts for 12-15 per cent of turnover compared to 6 -8 per cent elsewhere.
The shortage of power used to be a big hurdle to the island's development, but the situation has changed after Phu Quoc was recently connected with national power grid through an undersea cable linked from Ha Tien town. Electricity now costs just VND1,500.
Lack of quality human resources, especially people with fluent English, is another challenge for Phu Quoc. Competition among luxury hotels for skilled staff has pushed salaries through the roof.
Nguyen Truong Son, head of the board's Investment Division, said: "We request all projects to comply with all regulations related to the environment, construction density, and waste treatment system.
"Every resort must have roads for local residents and visitors to use the beaches.
"Besides, Phu Quoc plans to designate many public beaches."
Investor incentives
- Incentives related to land rental: Rents for land and water will be waived for three years. Subsequently, investors might get a further waiver for 11 years, 15 years, or permanently depending on the category.
- Incentives related to income tax: The tax will be 10 per cent for 30 years for infrastructure projects like water and electricity plants, water supply and sewage system, bridges, roads, river and sea ports, and airports, and 15 years for certain other categories. But the rate will apply permanently for investments in public facilities like schools and hospitals. There are also income tax breaks and exemptions for four years from the time a project breaks even and a 50 per cent reduction for the next nine years.
- 50 per cent waiver of personal income tax for both Vietnamese and foreign nationals working in Phu Quoc.
- Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese can visit Phu Quoc without a visa for a period not exceeding 30 days. — VNS
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Dire threat to famed Côn Đảo flora, fauna
An aerial view of Côn Đảo National Park. — Photo condaopark.com.vn
BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — The famous Côn Đảo Island’s ecosystem and its biodiversity is seriously threatened by overexploitation and low environmental awareness of visitors and locals.
Concerned officials as well as residents are calling for strong protective measures that can prevent the slide into irrecoverable loss.
"The commercial hunting of marine resources and pollution of their natural habitat have resulted in a loss of natural regeneration of marine fauna," Trần Đình Huệ, deputy head of Côn Đảo National Park’s Management Board, told the Lao Động (Labour) newspaper.
“Out of ignorance, many people have been hunting for endangered species using different methods," said Nguyễn Văn Sơn, owner of a restaurant in Côn Đảo District.
He said some visitors to the island still wanted to buy products from rare species like the eggs of vích (Cheloniidae), a kind of sea turtle.
This demand would impact efforts to save and preserve the turtle, he said.
While the depletion of natural resources is increasingly evident, inadequate penalties posed a challenge for forest rangers trying to prevent and discourage violations, Huệ said.
A large number of fishing vessels can be seen in waters near the island every day.
Instead of using traditional methods, fishermen can be seen using cyanide fishing – where the poisonous substance is sprayed to stun the fish, or using light to attract fish to specific areas to harvest them. Both methods are prohibited, Huệ said.
In addition, fishermen are also illegally fishing in the wetlands of Côn Đảo National Park, posing risks to all marine organisms.
Natural disasters have also damaged the island’s ecosystem rendering it more fragile, so the harm caused by human actions is compounded.
The Linda storm, which hit the island in 1997, destroyed one third of its forest area and damaged about 1,000 coral reefs and sea grass.
The El Nino phenomenon exacted a heavy toll on local coral reefs in 1998, 2010 and in April and May this year.
Nguyễn Khăc Pho, deputy head of the national park, said rising sea levels had narrowed the number of nesting locations for sea turtles and affected their reproduction.
Tourism impacts
“The park’s biodiversity is also threatened by tourism activities,” Pho said.
The fact that many tourists choose Côn Đảo Island for its beautiful, pristine natural beauty is a challenge to conservation efforts, he said.
He said turtles will not crawl ashore to dig their nests, or they will stop preparing their nests and return to the sea if they detect noises and light at night.
Pho also blamed tourists for purchasing products of endangered species for the increase of violations in the field.
A number of people have tried to catch and trade meat and eggs of vích, a rare and endangered animal, for high profits, he said.
Besides sea turtles, yến hàng (Collocalia), another endangered birds, need to be protected.
The numbers of this special bird have been dwindling rapidly over the past few years, Pho said.
Patrol team
Faced with these challenges, the Côn Đảo National Park Management Board has set up new rules to conserve marine resources and implement forest protection commitments.
It plans to expand its patrol team to 70 people, assigning some to guard the nesting areas of endangered species.
The board will also co-ordinate with relevant agencies in dealing with violations.
Located on the Côn Đảo archipelago, the national park covers nearly 20,000ha with 6,000 ha of forest and the rest belonging to the marine protected area.
It is home to many plant and animals species endemic to Việt Nam and South Asia.
According to the park management, 29 species of mammals, 85 species of birds, 46 species of reptiles and amphibians and about 1,080 vascular plant species have been recorded at the park.
Surveys conducted by Nha Trang Institute of Occanography have shown 1,323 species of marine fauna and flora, including 44 listed in the Red Data of Việt Nam.
The coral reef at Côn Đảo used to be the most pristine in Việt Nam, covering around 1,000ha.
The Park was recognised as the country’s six marine Ramsar site in 2014. Ramsar, or the Convention of Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. — VNS
Con Dao National Park; conservation
HCM City builds new climate-change response plan (July, 17 2019)
France continues assisting Hà Nội in air quality monitoring (July, 16 2019)
Endangered baby turtles released to the sea (July, 15 2019)
HCM City residents lament lack of green space (July, 15 2019)
Urban heat islands make VN’s cities hotter than ever (July, 12 2019)
Central region faces water shortages amid drought (July, 09 2019)
HCM City hospital uses shockwave therapy to treat ischemic heart disease
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Tag TCA
4 Corners : An Interview with Errol Donald AKA Pride
Jan 21, 14 10:16 PM
This month, while we face the winter blues of New Year, we stay home in London and in the warm company of someone I have been blessed to call a friend for more than 30 years. Mr Errol Donald, AKA Pride. We were initially brought together in our teens through a mutual friend, because of our love for George Clinton and all things P-Funk. Followed by a shared passion for design and creativity, as time passed and we developed our own career paths as creative professionals. Throughout that time I have always admired Errol greatly. Like some designer superhero, he effortlessly glided between the worlds of graffiti and graphic design, making his mark on both sides of the track. In the ‘80s, as his alter ego ‘Pride’, he was a founder member of one of Europe’s most celebrated and respected graffiti crews, The Chrome Angelz. He custom-designed t-shirts, like his classic ‘Nike/Spike’ design, which was a total game-changer in my opinion. Then followed a period working as a designer for the classic French brand, Michelin. And in more recent times, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly for a former graffiti artist, working for the international law firm, Hogan Lovells as an executive creative director. As a creative facilitator and educator, Donald has also worked with the Letter Exchange delivering lectures and workshops in graffiti and typography both here and abroad. And he continues to work tirelessly in the community sharing his mad skills and experiences with young people. There’s a lot in a tag, and in Errol’s case its truly fitting. Pride by name, pride by nature.
Errol Donald AKA Pride: creative director, lettering artist, lecturer
I was born and raised in West London to Jamaican parents. I was fascinated by the many ways in which the youth of my elder brother’s generation chose to express their own identities. From music, politics, right through to fashion and attitude. Culture and creativity seemed to go hand in hand. In trying to be different, I drew inspiration not just from my immediate surroundings and largely Caribbean culture, but also from anything that seemed to challenge the norm, and so I became very curious about how culture was being expressed elsewhere. I studied graphic design at Camberwell School of Art and enjoyed the multi-disciplinary environment and emphasis on traditional practice. Around the same time, Hip Hop had made its way into the UK, and I was hooked! The references to popular culture, politics, and community, confidently expressed by my peers caught me at a time when I was ready to make my own mark as a creative artist. I quickly established myself within London’s Hip Hop community as a graffiti artist with The Chrome Angelz. As a collective, we shared a passion for the visual arts and traditional arts practice and sought to find a way of honouring the original pioneers of the movement, by developing a distinctly European aesthetic. It was a completely new and exciting education for me. I took a year out from my degree studies to paint, collaborate, and experiment. We were very active across the UK and in Europe, yet retained the freedom to carry out solo projects that took us all in new and interesting directions. The autonomy gave me the ideal opportunity to freely express my own ideas across a range of creative disciplines. The Spike T-shirt was a self-initiated project. I wanted to capture the tension between cultural and corporate identity in a single image. It was part of a series and was undoubtedly the most popular! I returned to complete my degree with a lot of confidence, and dedicated my final year to academic research that examined the creative, social, and wider cultural impact of graffiti culture.
Chrome Angelz poster
After graduating, I made the most of my mixed skillset and gained a lot of industry exposure through film, TV and advertising projects. I also began to play a more meaningful role in my community, working in the arts and education, and was invited on to the board of ACAVA, an arts charity based in West London. A few months later, I joined the in-house team at Michelin – a very traditional brand with a proud lineage. Though a little challenging at first, there I was able to utilise my range of skills and experiences and made the transition to commercial branding, which to me shared a number of similarities with brand-conscious nature of graffiti and hip-hop culture. I’ve gone on to enjoy a successful career in the business sector, leading creative teams for global brands across a number of industry sectors (energy, finance, property, law). I love the intercultural enagement the most, as there’s always a part of me that’s able to facilitate a sense of shared understanding.
‘Nike/Spike’
What challenges did you face/overcome in getting into the industry and achieving your ambitions?
As an artist, my early efforts to take graffiti art into (then new) spaces polarised opinion amongst graffiti artists, and the general public. Both audiences were wary of the impact that graffiti would have on their respective communities as it sought ‘acceptance’ in the public realm. As a design professional, my mixed skillset opened some doors, and kept others firmly closed. The familiar dilemma of tailoring my portfolio was worsened by the fact that clients were wary the negative impact on brand and reputation brought on by association with graffiti culture.
TDK press ad
My parents and my son, Wesley. Broadcaster and author Alex Pascal was the first to paint a picture of the world outside my window by weaving together culture and creativity. Books: Photographer Charlie Phillips’ – ‘Notting Hill in the Sixties’, Watching my name go by – Norman Mailer and Jon Naar, Getting Up – Craig Castleman, and many more! Not surprisingly, I’m drawn to maverick creativity. My tastes are quite varied and include everything from Thelonious Monk to P-Funk, Alvin Ailey to David Mamet and Ricky Jay. I also admire the wit of Patrick Caulfield and the works of designers Ron Arad, Philippe Starck and Terence Conran. It goes without saying that graffiti and hip-hop culture have provided many amazing moments. I was year into my degree and came across an article on the visionary artist and performer Rammellzee. His unique theories on lettering and language left me mesmerised.
Ties for Michelin
My first exhibition at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol means a great deal as it was my first gallery experience, and I think it one of the first shows in the UK dedicated to graffiti art. I’ve been lucky to work on a number of projects that I am passionate about. From my first press illustration for TDK, to branding Brixton’s Rough and Ready basketball tournament. I love type and lettering, and recently became a member of Letter Exchange, where I gave a lecture on the aesthetics of graffiti art to a mixed audience of lettering professionals, friends, and family members, most of whom had no idea of my ‘creative past’! In commercial terms, I’m very proud to have led the rebranding programme for international law firm Hogan Lovells. I had already completed a number of similar projects for other companies, but the scale of the project, spanning different teams and countries made the project rewarding.
Work in Bristol’s Arnolfini Gallery
Through my company Mindspray, I want to expand my work as a facilitator and consultant to build sustainable links between education, vocational training and business. I’m passionate about collaboration and exchange, and would love to create a global initiative that drew both culture and commerce together.
Work for Brixton’s Rough and Ready basketball tournament
Please name some people in your field that you believe deserve credit or recognition, and why.
Cornbread, Iz, Blade, Barbera 62 & Eva 62, Stay High 149, Tracy 168, Seen, Kase 2, Phase 2, Lee Quinones and Dondi are among the many important figures and pioneers of graffiti culture. Colin Brignall and Dave Farey – for Letraset! What more can I say? Tony Messenger, my tutor at Camberwell who allowed me to take a year out to follow my passion. Artists Simon Cooley and Rita Keegan were amongst the few practising artists to offer advice and encouragement as I swapped sable for aerosol. London’s hip-hop community during the ‘80s for doing things that I’ve never seen before. Or since. All the educators, academics, researchers and many others who have shared their knowledge and experiences with me. Too numerous to list here, all have helped to shape my understanding of cultures past and present, and deserve much credit.
Always Be Curious.
I’ve just completed a creative campaign for the international charity Coaching for Hope, who use football to create better futures for young people in western and southern Africa. Supported by FIFA, HSBC, Hogan Lovells and nPower, the project will raise awareness around the challenges faced by young women and girls playing sport in South Africa, and aims to educate young women and girls about their rights to play football and remain safe when faced with discrimination and violence. By visiting townships and areas of high unemployment where the work is undertaken, my goal is to build awareness of the campaign and to extend the reach of the programme to other regions and countries where young women and girls face similar issues.
Hogan Lovells identity
My Rock Stars: Volume 2, the first American solo show by Moroccan-born artist Hassan Hajjaj. The body of work produced for this exhibition is a continuation of Hajjaj’s ‘Rock Stars’ series, in which the artist portrays his close personal friends in the guise of ‘rock stars’. Taking his pop-up studio through Morocco, London and Paris, Hajjaj’s approach combines the spontaneity of street portraiture with the language of fashion photography, creating an image that simultaneously evokes urban culture and the haute couture of glossy magazines. Runs until 22 February at Gusford Gallery, 7016 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038. For more info visitwww.gusfordgallery.com
Albus is South African photographerJustin Dingwall’s solo exhibition made in collaboration with Thando Hopa. It explores the aesthetics of Albinism in contrast with the idealised perception of beauty. Albinism touches every ethnic group and is characterised by the insufficiency of melanin that determines skin and hair color. Rejected, prejudiced and discriminated individuals suffering from albinism in Southern Africa are likely to become targets and victims of physical attacks and mutilations. The project reflects the ability to look inside ourselves and re-invent norms of beauty. M.I.A. Gallery 1203 A Second Avenue Seattle, 98101 WA, USA. For more info visithttp://m-i-a-gallery.com
Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival 2014. Featuring a stellar line-up of international artists, this firmly established event on the global festival calendar takes place between 31 January and 1 February at Greenfield Stadium, Trelawny, Jamaica. For more information visit http://jamaicajazzandblues.com
Tom Eckersley: Master of the Poster. To mark the centenary of legendary graphic designer Tom Eckersley’s birth, London College of Communication presents an exhibition of iconic Eckersley poster designs which celebrate his enormous contribution to graphic communication and design education in Britain. Exhibition Open: 11 – 29 January 2014, 10:00am – 5:00pm (closed on Sundays) London College of Communication, Elephant & Castle SE1 6SB.For more info visit http://www.arts.ac.uk/lcc/
Herbert Bayer’s Commercial Graphics, 1928-1938 is a special exhibition at the Bauhaus Archive dedicated to the work of the Bauhaus teacher – between his departure from the Bauhaus and his emigration to the USA. The exhibition showcases the commercial graphic work of Bayer during the Weimar Republic and in Nazi Germany, after his departure from the Bauhaus. With his work for Dorland Studio, Bayer continued to be one of the most successful and highest-earning graphic artists of the period. At The The Bauhaus Archive/Museum of Design, Klingelhoferstrasse 14 10785 Berlin Germany. For more information visit http://www.bauhaus.de
ONOMOllywood, a collaborative project by photographers Antoine Tempé and Omar Victor Diop of twenty images inspired by iconic moments from great American and European films. Cinema as a universal art form transcends barriers, be they geographic, cultural, or racial. Iconic scenes have influenced popular culture globally. ONOMOllywood reimagines these famous scenes set in the dynamic cities of Dakar and Abidjan where hotels become the metaphorical juncture. As crossroads, they represent forums where cultures and people from around the world co-exist and merge in a permanent cycle of reinventions and reinterpretations. Onomo Hotel Dakar Airport Route de l’Aéroport BP 38233 Dakar, Yoff, Senegal. For info visit http://www.onomohotel.com
visualintellectual. RSS feed. Blog at WordPress.com.
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Home>Black Experience>Mental Health Stigma Still Affecting African Americans
Black ExperienceEditor's PickHealthStacy Brown
Mental Health Stigma Still Affecting African Americans
Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor July 12, 2019
Courtesy of NNPA Newswire
The NNPA is taking a closer look at the stigma of mental illness in the African American community. This is the first in a series.
Historically, seeking psychotherapy has been difficult for African Americans, said Dr. Viola Drancoli, a licensed clinical psychologist who wrote a master thesis about the barriers to seeking mental health services in ethnic minority communities.
“It is not only a concept with European origin, but also a concept that does not fit the community-oriented, collective approach to healing and support that has been so helpful to this population,” Drancoli said.
“Instead of finding healing in coming together, the client is separated, often sitting in a one-on-one session with a professional. The idea of being focused on, analyzed, can be perceived as threatening,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health says poverty level affects mental health status and African Americans living below the poverty level, as compared to those over twice the poverty level, are three times more likely to report psychological distress.
Further, African Americans are 10 percent more likely to report having serious psychological distress than non-Hispanic whites, and the death rate from suicide for African American men was more than four times greater than for African American women in 2014.
A report from the U.S. Surgeon General found that from 1980 to 1995, the suicide rate among African Americans ages 10 to 14 increased 233 percent, compared to 120 percent for non-Hispanic whites.
Yet, experts said even as the conversation around mental health has grown significantly with celebrities and others in the spotlight sharing their stories, most African Americans still refrain from seeking help.
“Unfortunately, among African Americans it remains taboo to talk about, and one reason is the fear of being labeled as crazy,” said Arron Muller, a licensed social worker.
“The intense fear of being judged has been a huge deterrent,” Muller said. “In the African American community there is also an association that mental illness means weakness and the inability to handle your problems on your own or that anxiety or depressive symptoms should be addressed with praying and fasting.”
Prayer and a relationship with God have their place in the full picture of health and wellness and a connection to God and leaning on a higher power does promote tremendous benefits for the brain and brain health, said Dr. Catherine Jackson, a licensed clinical psychologist and board certified neuro-therapist in Chicago.
Jackson founded Dr. J’s Holistic Health and Wellness at DrCCJ.com.
“While having the strength to work on your own problems is a good characteristic to have, not recognizing when to seek help can be detrimental to overall health,” Jackson said.
“Turning to our pastors was needed in the past, but as concerns have grown, more resources are available,” she said, noting also that many African Americans eventually visit hospital emergency rooms with complaints that are in fact mental health issues.
“Some hospitals give referrals to mental health practitioners, but without proper education and information shared, follow through is unlikely,” Jackson said.
Educator and life coach Elaine Taylor-Klaus said there’s something else that happens in the African American community that should warrant consideration when discussing the stigma of mental illness.
“In all aspects of life, the African American community has had to appear better than the average person just to be seen as good enough,” Taylor-Klaus said.
“African American families have long been conscious of a need to dress their kids a little nicer in public, to expect their kids to behave more respectfully in public, and to follow directions immediately,” Taylor-Klaus said.
“The implications for the adults when kids don’t behave has been a risk-factor — when an ‘uppity’ child acts out, an African American adult can get in serious, life-threatening trouble. It’s not reasonable — but it’s a reality of African American life in the United States,” she said.
There are more than 200 classified forms of mental illness and some of the more common disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, according to Mental Health America, the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness.
Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal.
Mental health problems may be related to excessive stress due to a particular situation or series of events.
As with cancer, diabetes and heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. According to Mental Health America, mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of:
Confused thinking
Prolonged depression (sadness or irritability)
Feelings of extreme highs and lows
Excessive fears, worries and anxieties
Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
Strong feelings of anger
Strange thoughts (delusions)
Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there (hallucinations)
Growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
Numerous unexplained physical ailments
In Older Children and Pre-Adolescents:
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
Changes in sleeping and/or eating habits
Excessive complaints of physical ailments
Changes in ability to manage responsibilities – at home and/or at school
Defiance of authority, truancy, theft, and/or vandalism
Intense fear
Prolonged negative mood, often accompanied by poor appetite or thoughts of death
Frequent outbursts of anger
In Younger Children:
Changes in school performance
Poor grades despite strong efforts
Excessive worry or anxiety (i.e. refusing to go to bed or school)
Persistent nightmares
Persistent disobedience or aggression
Frequent temper tantrums
For detailed information about mental illness and where assistance is provided, go to www.nami.org; www.mentalhealthamerica.net or www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov.
Part 2 in this series will tackle the growing number of suicides among young African Americans, an alarming trend that experts say is the result of poverty, racism, and post-traumatic stress syndrome both from military service and domestic and social problems.
Arron Muller black health issues Dr. Catherine Jackson mental health Mental Health America NNPA Newswire Stacy M. Brown U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Viola Drancoli
Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Contributor
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What’s next for the Comprehensive Plan?
Anita Debro
Public comments made, what comes next in Birmingham's visioning process?
Photo by Nick Patterson.
Work will continue into the new year to finalize Birmingham’s Comprehensive Plan, designed to outline the city’s growth for the next two decades.
While the Birmingham Planning Commission in October finally adopted the Comprehensive Plan – an exhaustive 15-chapter document available online that addresses issues such as transportation, economic development, housing and land use — there is still one aspect of the plan that needs to be adopted before the plan is completed.
The planning commission will meet Feb. 5 to discuss and possibly adopt the Future Land Use Plan, a section of the Comprehensive Plan that specifically addresses proposed uses and zoning for land throughout the city. That meeting is set for 8:30 a.m. in the council chambers.
The Comprehensive Plan was created using input from people who live, work and own businesses in the city. Dozens of public hearings, open houses and small group work sessions were held to cull these ideas for future growth. All of the comments, ideas, visions and challenges identified by the 2,300 people who participated were then distilled into the comprehensive plan. The document was completed in March after nearly two years of work done by a team of planning firms led by Goody Clancy of Boston.
The purpose of the plan is to “set out a 20-year policy and strategic framework for the City of Birmingham,” according to the plan website. “Guided by an overall vision that embodies the unique personality, culture and heritage of our community, the planning process will establish a set of goals, policies, strategies and implementation actions to achieve the plan’s vision for Birmingham’s future. … It’s our opportunity to set a new course for Birmingham in the 21st century.”
Planners see the plan as “both a process and a document” which contains “three fundamental parts:
A consensus vision of the future: what do we want our shared destiny to be?
A strategy to pursue the vision: how do we get there?
An action plan to achieve the vision: how do we get started?”
To date there are 79 pages of comments from those participants who hoped that their particular vision for the city would be incorporated into the comprehensive plan. The comments — left on the plan website, emailed to planners or written at local libraries — range from broad to specific in the issues and challenges that need to be addressed to move Birmingham forward.
Said one commenter at a library regarding the South East Lake neighborhood: “I like the emphasis on urban agriculture and improved public transit, especially the emphasis on vacant properties, as that is a prevalent issue in our neighborhood — too many vacant and rundown houses in the area. The only concerns I have is that the great ideas will not be implemented in my area [South East Lake]. There are revitalization efforts, but the neighborhood cannot do it alone.”
Many of the commenters addressed transportation: “I would like to offer my support for the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan. In particular, I am excited about Chapter 12 which promotes the increased design and support of a multi-modal transportation system for the city,” one said.
Others expressed concerns and posed questions about the implementation of the ambitious plan: “Can the consultants provide tangible goals and/or benchmarks that can be measured to determine how much progress is being made in implementing the Comprehensive Plan (projected population growth, number of jobs created)?”
Other comments addressed long-term concerns in Birmingham. “The population in Birmingham has declined by over 30,000 people in the last decade and the city of Mobile is growing by leaps and bounds. If current trends continue Birmingham will not be the largest city in Alabama.
“Birmingham is a very poor city and the idea of increasing the sales tax — which is the most regressive tax for establishing user fees — will be difficult to initiate.
The comprehensive plan reads more like a wish list and it does not identify specific sources of funding. Does the Comprehensive Plan address potential funding sources? Is there a timeline for implementation? Are the issues of racism and discrimination addressed?”
Planners responded, “The Plan discusses in many locations the need for additional funding and particularly the need to attract the attention of national funders for revitalization activities. The implementation matrix in Chapter 15 includes potential sources of funding for recommended actions, as well as a general implementation timeline.
“The review of trends and conditions in Chapter 3 discusses the impact of historic racial discrimination on land use, housing and infrastructure conditions, education and job access, and wealth creation, as well as current disparities in education, employment, and income. … Chapter 10 includes recommendations on greater assistance and coordination for minority, woman-owned, and disadvantaged businesses through a ‘minority business accelerator’ program to build capacity to successfully bid on corporate and government procurement contracts, as well as assistance for micro‐businesses.”
City of Birmingham Chief Planner Tom Magee said every comment collected during the Comprehensive Plan commenting period was reviewed by the planning commission and will become a part of the plan. According to the summary, the plan will be used in capital improvement planning to guide planning and zoning groups on land use decisions.
Where the Comprehensive Plan is a road map of sorts for the city’s future, the future land use plan is an actual set of 24 maps — one citywide and 23 community maps from Airport Hills to Woodlawn. Like the Comprehensive Plan, the Future Land Use plan is not law, but will serve to advise city officials on development decisions down the road.
Magee, chief planner for Birmingham, said that there were some questions and concerns raised by residents during a public hearing in November regarding the future land use plan.
“We heard from a few property owners who had issues with some of the areas on the maps,” Magee said. “Some property owners felt that their land zoning was not categorized correctly.”
Magee pointed out that the proposed zoning in the future land use plan is just that – proposed use. He said any zoning in place now for property will remain and any changes would have to be made with a rezoning handled by the planning commission.
The concerns and comments noted during the public hearing were used to make changes to the future land use plan. Maps in some of the communities in question have been updated. Comments will continue to be accepted on the land use plan through Jan. 27.
Once the future land use plan is adopted, Magee said he hopes to move forward with presenting the entire Comprehensive Plan to the City Council through a series of work sessions. Work to set up those work sessions was hampered recently when City Council President Maxine Parker died and the council had to elect a new leader, City Councilman Jonathan Austin.
The City Council does not have to adopt the Comprehensive Plan, Magee said. But the body can vote to endorse it – an action that shows overall support for the city’s first comprehensive plan since 1961.“[The Council] needs to be a part of this process,” he said.
But work on the plan will not stop with the endorsement of the City Council. Magee said the city will spend another three to five years working on more localized “framework plans” that map growth and development for key areas of the city. The smaller, localized plans, once completed, will be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan.
These framework plans are mini-versions of the comprehensive plan that “take a closer look at issues, growth and development in specific areas,” Magee said. Already, the city and the Birmingham Regional Planning Commission have started working on framework plans for the Titusville community and the western area, which includes Five Points West, West End and Smithfield.
Officials anticipate identifying stakeholders within the Titusville and western area in January to begin the discussions for those framework plans. The work on framework plans will trigger another round of public involvement with meetings and public forums to be held to discuss issues in those communities. Public involvement for these plans could begin in early winter, but Magee did not have any dates set for meetings.
Magee said the framework plans will be done for many of the communities throughout the city.
Beyond working on the more localized plans, Magee said an implementation committee of about 20 people will be set up and charged with championing the plan to both government and private sector business people for implementation.
“The plan has to be implemented,” he said. “And it will take both sides — government and the private citizens — working together to make this happen.”
Copies of the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use plan can be viewed at libraries in Avondale, Central, Eastwood, East Ensley, East Lake, Five Points West, North Birmingham, Springville Road and West End, as well as in the city planning offices on the fifth floor of City Hall and online.
Plan finally available March 19, 2013
City Comprehensive Plan overdue, still in the works December 4, 2012
Birmingham needs a plan, people January 17, 2012
Get Out, Speak Up: Attend a public meeting about Birmingham’s new comprehensive plan November 16, 2011
Weld’s Massive Holiday Event Guide
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Astrid Maxxim and the Electric Racecar Challenge – Chapter 8 Excerpt
Posted on May 16, 2019 by wesleyallison
It was only a few minutes by hoverbike to Austin’s home. He lived with his grandmother on the southeast side of Maxxim City, just two blocks away from Joyland, the local amusement park, now closed for the winter. The Tretower home was a stone block colonial that, like a number of houses in town, had been brought from back east. A good portion of the front was covered in ivy that stayed green even through the winter, thanks to its new surroundings.
“Good morning, girls,” said Mrs. Tretower. “I wasn’t expecting company.”
Austin’s grandmother had her silver hair cut almost as short as Astrid’s. She was trim and athletic and was the youngest-looking grandmother that any of them knew. She was wearing a red tracksuit.
“We were invited,” said Valerie.
“Oh, I have no doubt you were. I’m sure Austin just forgot to tell me about it. That boy would lose his head if it wasn’t screwed on…” She stopped and looked at Robot Valerie, no doubt wondering if comments about parts being screwed on were appropriate when talking to a robot. “He’s in the back room with his video games. Go right on in. I’m off on my run.”
The girls went in the front door and then Mrs. Tretower went out, leaving them at the entrance to a cozy living room. They could hear loud explosions and gunfire coming from beyond. Following the sounds, they found Austin in the family room, sitting in a recliner and attempting to defeat a string of zombies in Cannibal Apocalypse.
“No!” he shouted as digital blood splattered across the screen, indicating that he had lost.
“You know,” said Astrid, “eventually the zombies always win. There’s really no point in even playing.”
“I could say the same thing about Ms. Pacman,” said the boy, looking over his shoulder. “Eventually the ghosts get you.”
“Yes, but Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Sue are a lot less horrifying that your game’s monsters.”
“If you say so,” said Austin, flipping the game control first to the main menu, and then selecting Ms. Pacman. “Grab a controller off the coffee table and have a seat.”
They played Ms. Pacman, followed by Tetris, Mappy, and Burger Time. Ms. Pacman was Astrid’s favorite game, and she set a new high score on Austin’s system, though it wasn’t her highest of all time. Robot Valerie excelled at Tetris. By the time they worked their way to the other two games though, they weren’t really paying attention to who won. They simply enjoyed playing, and laughed as the cat and mice chased each other around the screen in the former game and the chef raced to build burgers in the latter.
“I wish you guys would play some of my new games with me,” said Austin. “I just got Psycho Bloodbath and Deathknight: The Gruesome. I bet you’d really enjoy Ninja Deathwish Armageddon. The main character’s a girl.”
“Hmph,” said Regular Valerie. “I’ll bet she goes around slaughtering people, half naked.”
“No,” he said. “She’s half naked, but the people she kills mostly have their clothes on.”
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A century of Palaces of Culture to be marked by special concert celebration
The centenary of the Miners' Welfare Movement that helped benefit countless lives of miners and their families in the UK is to be celebrated in a special concert led by Tredegar Band in south Wales later today.
Miners' Welfare Halls throughout the country were paid for by a levy on every dram of coal...
Tredegar Band will help celebrate a very particular coal mining industry milestone later today with a concert appearance in the small village of Onllwyn in south Wales.
The special event at the village's Miners Welfare Hall will mark the centenary of the Miners' Welfare Movement — later to become the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO), which came into being in 1919 following the findings of a Royal Commission headed by Lord Sankey.
Penny levy
The end of the First World War had seen the price of coal plummet, leading to terrible working conditions, low wages and social deprivation in mining communities throughout the UK.
The report was to consider the nationalisation of the industry as a whole, but under political pressure instead recommended the setting up of local miner's welfare committees paid for by the implementation of a 1 penny levy on every dram of coal produced.
This in turn financed (with every miner also paying a weekly contribution) the setting up of Miners' Welfare Halls, playing fields, swimming baths, cinemas, libraries and reading rooms — a form of social cohesion and support that led to the people in mining communities enjoying rare opportunities for self-improvement and relaxation.
Palaces of Culture
At its core were the Miner's Welfare Halls — or 'Palaces of Culture' as they became known — run by local people for the benefit of their community.
The venue for the concert was also used for the award winning film 'Pride' — which celebrated the connection made between London based lesbian and gay activists that financially supported the community during the 1984 Miners' Strike.
And although few of these halls now survive to provide the same level of support and opportunity as they once did at the height of the coal mining industry, the CISWO organisation still provides invaluable support to mining families throughout the UK.
At its core were the Miner's Welfare Halls — or 'Palaces of Culture' as they became known — run by local people for the benefit of their community4BR
Bread and Roses
The concert will feature Tredegar alongside two local choirs, whilst the walls of the hall will showcase an exhibition of the history of the south Wales Miners' Welfare Movement.
In addition the band will join singer Bronwen Lewis, who was featured in the film, for a reprise performance of 'Bread & Roses', as well as the solo 'Legacy', commissioned by the band to celebrate the founding of the NHS — set-up by Aneurin Bevan — a miner whose desire for social justice was formulated through his own self -education in Tredegar's Miners' Welfare Institute.
Saturday 19th January
Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall (7.00pm)
Tickets available on the door
Tredegar Band
Julian Bright
Conductor, Compere/MC, Cornet Soloist
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This man makes Colorado's Pipe Organs sing
Rick Morel runs a company responsible for the upkeep of more than 100 pipe organs in Colorado and beyond.
Author: Bryan Wendland
Updated: 1:48 PM MST November 26, 2018
If you hear a pipe organ playing somewhere in Colorado, chances are Rick Morel has a hand in keeping it running.
He owns Morel and Associates Pipe Organs. The nearly 100-year-old company builds and rebuilds pipe organs in Colorado and beyond. Morel estimates the company is currently responsible for maintaining more than 100 of the instruments.
"You're kind of like a doctor in a way," he said. "If somebody has a problem on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, they call you."
That lesson is something Morel learned early on in life. He comes from a family of pipe organ builders. His grandfather built the instruments in New England before his father moved to Denver to work for the original owner of Morel and Associates.
"I fell in love with not only the business, but the people of it, the history of it," Morel said.
In 1993, Morel had the chance to work on a piece of history: The pipe organ at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on Colfax.
"The impetus for that was when the Pope came in 1993 they did a whole bunch of spruce up on the building," he said. "Of course, the pipe organ needed a major overhaul."
But that revamp would take two years. So, Morel and his employees did what they could before the Pope's visit.
"I had to sit inside the organ when they played it for the bishops and cardinals. In case anything went wrong, I had to pull the offending pipe or whatever. It was an interesting experience," Morel said.
Everything went off without a hitch, and two years later the Cathedral had a beautifully restored pipe organ.
"I met Rick upon my interview on the instrument," Phil Bordeleau said. He became the Cathedral's organist in 2017. "I was so captivated by the instrument that I sent him an email and told him how much I appreciated what he had done on the restoration of the instrument."
Both Bordeleau and Morel said tastes in church music are changing. That means fewer students looking to become pipe organists and fewer people learning to build pipe organs.
"My chief problem right now is finding people to come to work," Morel said. "People that are wanting to devote their career to this. To learn the business and enjoy it."
Morel and his three employees are nearing retirement and there's no one lined up to take over the business.
"I want to make sure that what I think we've established with our clientele and our customers, that hopefully, someone will continue it on in the same manner," he said.
Morel has no retirement timeline, but he said he will eventually. If he can't find someone to carry on in his footsteps, he can take solace in the fact that the instruments he's taken care of for decades will play on regardless.
"Good thing about a pipe organ is it never wears out," he said. "Things wear out. Components wear out, but they can be renewed."
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The Initial Reproductive Health Visit
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Number 598, May 2014
(Replaces Committee Opinion Number 460, July 2010) (Reaffirmed 2018)
Committee on Adolescent Health Care
This information should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed.
ABSTRACT: The initial visit for screening and the provision of reproductive preventive health care services and guidance should take place between the ages of 13 years and 15 years. The initial reproductive health visit provides an excellent opportunity for the obstetrician–gynecologist to start a patient–physician relationship, build trust, and counsel patients and parents regarding healthy behavior while dispelling myths and fears. The scope of the initial reproductive health visit will depend on the individual’s need, medical history, physical and emotional development, and the level of care she is receiving from other health care providers. A general exam, a visual breast exam, and external pelvic examination may be indicated. However, an internal pelvic examination generally is unnecessary during the initial reproductive health visit, but may be appropriate if issues or problems are discovered in the medical history. Health care providers and office staff should be familiar with state and local statutes regarding the rights of minors to consent to health care services and the federal and state laws that affect confidentiality.
Timing and Scope of the Initial Visit
The initial visit for screening and the provision of reproductive preventive health care services and guidance should take place between the ages of 13 years and 15 years (1, 2). This may be a patient’s first visit to an obstetrician–gynecologist. From a developmental standpoint, patients of this age may manifest characteristics of early, middle, or late adolescence. An attempt to determine the patient’s developmental stage is helpful during the interview and evaluation. It is important to recognize that growth in any one developmental area (eg, cognitive, physical, or psychosocial) may or may not correspond with the patient’s chronological age.
The scope of the initial reproductive health visit will depend on the individual’s need, medical history, physical and emotional development, and the level of care she is receiving from other health care providers. An age-appropriate discussion and anticipatory guidance about reproductive health-related topics, including pubertal development, normal menses, timing of routine gynecologic visits, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy prevention, sexual orientation and gender identity, and acquaintance rape prevention is important. Because a young person may be seen by a range of clinicians who may or may not have addressed reproductive health, it is important to assess the level of reproductive care and guidance previously received by the patient and work as a team with the other health care providers to ensure the provision of comprehensive reproductive health care. If the health care provider is uncomfortable providing appropriate and adequate care to adolescents, then he or she should refer the patient to another reproductive health care provider.
Creating an Adolescent-Friendly Environment
If feasible, the obstetrician–gynecologist should strive to concentrate adolescent visits on a dedicated office day or time. Before or after school appointments are more convenient for adolescents. It should be noted that a reception area full of adults or obstetric patients may intimidate adolescents. It may be helpful to include age-appropriate and culturally inclusive reading materials and audiovisual aids in the reception area and examination rooms. Having one or two rooms where adolescents are seen and examined allows for the removal or de-emphasizing of materials and equipment that may make adolescents uncomfortable. The use of visual materials, such as models, diagrams, and charts is strongly encouraged for teaching about anatomy and physiology of the reproductive tract. (For more suggestions about creating an adolescent-friendly office environment, see “Preparing Your Office for Adolescent Health Care” in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Tool Kit for Teen Care, Second Edition.)
It is imperative to discuss issues of confidentiality with both the adolescent and her parent (3). Lack of confidentiality is often a barrier to the delivery of health care services, especially reproductive health care, for adolescents (4). Health care providers should initiate a discussion of this topic at the initial visit and advise the adolescent and her parent of relevant state and local statutes. The importance of open communication between the health care provider, patient, and parent should be emphasized. Parents and adolescents should be informed of any legal restrictions on the confidential nature of the patient– physician relationship. For example, the health care provider should explain that if the patient has a major medical problem, or if the patient discloses any evidence or risk of bodily harm to herself or others, confidentiality may not be maintained (5). Furthermore, state laws mandate the reporting of physical or sexual abuse of minors. Health care providers and office staff should be familiar with state and local statutes regarding the rights of minors to consent to health care services and the federal and state laws that affect confidentiality. For a listing of state laws that is updated monthly, go to www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/ and consult with your state medical society.
The Initial Visit
The primary goal of the initial reproductive health visit is to provide preventive health care services, including educational information and guidance, rather than problem-focused care. The visit also allows patients and parents the chance to visit the office, meet the health care provider, alleviate fears, and develop trust. After greeting the adolescent and parent, a thorough explanation of the scope of the visit and confidentiality issues should be provided. A model office visit would include: 1) an initial consultation with both the patient and parent together, 2) a confidential visit between the health care provider and patient, and 3) a concluding consultation with the patient and parent again. If a parent desires time alone with the health care provider, this should be discussed with the adolescent patient and occur before the health care provider spends time alone with the patient, if possible, to reassure the adolescent patient that her confidentiality will be maintained. Health care providers should try to accommodate patients’ requests for privacy from parents during the visit when possible and appropriate. (For more information please refer to “Confidentiality in Adolescent Health Care” and the “ACOG Adolescent Visit Record” in Tool Kit for Teen Care.)
During the initial consultation with the patient and parent, the health care provider should inform them that the visit does not require an internal pelvic examination, unless indicated, and that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the College) recommends the first Pap test at age 21 years (6). Many adolescents and their parents are unaware of the difference between a Pap test and a pelvic examination (7). This presents an opportunity for the clinician to dispel any confusion and clarify any questions. A review of the patient’s medical history, family medical history, and immunization status should be assessed, and appropriate vaccinations should be provided. The family medical history should be inclusive and specifically should include family history of venous thromboembolism; cardiovascular disease; diabetes; hypertension; mental illness; substance abuse; familial gynecologic conditions, such as endometriosis or leiomyomas; delayed puberty; breast, colon, ovarian, or uterine cancer; and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Conversations regarding normal pubertal development and menstruation are important. Because menarche and subsequent menses are physiologically and emotion-ally important milestones in an adolescent’s development, it is beneficial to educate patients and their parents regarding expectations for normal menstrual variation. Discussions regarding menstrual flow, hygiene, and symptoms, as well as duration and frequency of bleeding, can help the adolescent assess if her menstrual cycle is within normal limits (8). Clinicians should ask detailed questions about the patient’s menstrual cycle to help uncover abnormalities that may be easily managed (eg, dysmenorrhea and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs as an effective treatment) or may be linked to a more serious underlying concern (eg, bleeding, müllerian, and endocrine disorders) (8).
Adolescents with disabilities and developmental delays may especially benefit from an initial reproductive health visit with an obstetrician–gynecologist. Depending on the degree of disabilities or developmental delay, the patient and caregivers may need an in-depth discussion of menstruation, fertility, hygiene, options for menstrual manipulation (9), and contraception (10).
During the confidential visit with the patient, the health care provider should include a discussion of contraception and STIs because some adolescents are and some may soon become sexually active. Forty-seven percent of females aged 15–19 years have engaged in intercourse, which increases with age from 31% of females aged 15–17 years to 67% of females aged 18–19 years (11). Rates of oral sex are similar and many teens have also had anal sex (11). Health care providers should discuss previous sexual activity, including noncoital sexual activity (12), and ask the patient about her plans for sexual activity. This offers an opportunity to discuss pregnancy and STI prevention strategies in an anticipatory manner.
Many adolescents are at risk of engaging in unhealthy and risky behavior, such as tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use, and these issues should be identified and addressed. According to the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report, female students in grades 9–12 indicated that in the past 30 days they had at least one drink of alcohol (38%); had five or more drinks in a row on at least 1 day (20%); drove when drinking alcohol (7%); and rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol (25%). Thirty percent also report sending a text or e-mail while driving. Many youth are exposed to dating violence. The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report showed that 9% reported experiencing dating violence and 12% reported forced sex (13). Screening for eating disorders; anxiety; depression; and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse also is important. Screening for risk-taking behavior can be facilitated by the use of a questionnaire as an alternative to direct interviewing. (See the “ACOG Adolescent Visit Record” and “ACOG Adolescent Visit and Parent Questionnaires” in Tool Kit for Teen Care. For more information on these topics, refer to the “Primary and Preventive Health Care for Female Adolescents” chapter in Guidelines for Adolescent Health Care, Second Edition.) Reviewing the questionnaire with the adolescent can help facilitate discussion.
The necessary components of the physical examination may vary depending on the patient, her concerns, and previous encounters with other clinicians. A general examination, a visual breast examination, and an external pelvic examination may be indicated. However, an internal pelvic examination generally is unnecessary during the initial reproductive health visit. If the patient has had sexual intercourse, annual screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea is recommended. In addition, screening for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at least once is recommended (1). Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening should be done using nucleic acid amplification techniques. This can be performed using a urine sample or a vaginal swab specimen that is obtained by either the patient or health care provider (14). Vaginal swabs are more sensitive than urine tests (15). Both have been found to be acceptable to young patients (16).
Pelvic examinations are recommended for symptomatic patients. Because the College currently recommends that females have their first Pap test at age 21 years (6), some adolescents may visit the gynecologist several times before a speculum examination is indicated. Such visits allow the development of a comfortable patient–physician relationship, in addition to adequate patient preparation before the first pelvic examination is performed. However, an internal pelvic examination may be appropriate if issues or problems are discovered in the medical history (eg, abnormal bleeding or discharge, or abdominal or pelvic pain). If a speculum or bimanual examination is necessary, a thorough explanation and patient assent should always precede the procedure. It is helpful to provide the adolescent with written information regarding the first complete pelvic examination if it is to occur. Patients can be referred to the College’s Patient Education FAQ, “Your First Gynecologic Visit” (acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq150.pdf). When choosing a speculum for the examination, the patient’s pubertal developmental status, hymenal opening, and sexual experience should influence the decision. Typically, a Pederson or Huffman speculum should be used.
On completion of the physical examination, consultation with the patient should address physical findings, diagnosis, and treatment options, if needed. If she is sexually active, or considering becoming sexually active, contraceptive options, including emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception, should be reviewed and provided. Once a mutually agreed-on treatment plan is established, the adolescent is encouraged to include her parent in treatment planning. It is helpful to assess specifically what information can be shared with the parent. At the conclusion of the visit, the patient, her parent, and the health care provider should meet again. During this meeting, findings and recommendations are discussed, if appropriate. Any remaining concerns also can be addressed and the parent can be offered guidance on adolescent development. Health care providers can have a powerful role as educator of parents when it comes to issues surrounding reproductive health, and resources should be provided to both the adolescent patient and her parent, if possible. (For teen and parent educational resources, please refer to ACOG’s Tool Kit for Teen Care and ACOG’s Adolescent Health Care Resource Guides [www.acog.org/goto/teens].)
Current Procedural Terminology Coding
To decrease or avoid insurance claim delays and denials, the health care provider’s office will be well served by developing resources for accurate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding and billing to be used for the initial reproductive health visit. These resources should contain the “covered benefits” of the office’s most frequently billed third-party payers. It also should include the copayment amounts for the different beneficiaries.
Preventive Medicine Services
The initial comprehensive preventive medicine evaluation and management of a new patient aged 12–17 years uses CPT code 99384. It includes an age and gender appropriate history; examination; counseling, anticipatory guidance, and risk factor reduction interventions; and the ordering of appropriate immunizations and laboratory or diagnostic procedures. It is important to note that laboratory services, radiologic services, immunizations, and other procedures and screening tests are identified with specific codes and are separately reported. Medical record systems and billing practices may not fully protect the confidentiality of adolescent patients receiving sexual and reproductive health services. Health care providers are encouraged to discuss these limitations with teens. Review of the College’s Committee Opinion Number 599, Adolescent Confidentiality and Electronic Health Records (17), may be useful.
A periodic comprehensive preventive medicine visit of an established patient aged 12–17 years uses CPT code 99394. Annual gynecologic visits also may be included in this category. Different payers may vary in their definition of an annual gynecologic visit; however, a pelvic examination, a breast examination, and a Pap test are included in this nomenclature. It is important to note, however, that a Pap test will likely not be a part of visits for patients younger than 21 years. The length of time is not reported for these visits, and the documentation guidelines for problem visits (eg, chief concern or history of present illness) do not apply for preventive medicine visits. Preventive medicine services are provided to asymptomatic patients and may be used once a year by any health care provider. This may be problematic because some health care providers offer the full range of care from general preventive care to reproductive health care, but many times one clinician may not provide all the recommended care an adolescent may need. Therefore, “well-child” care may require two visits, a general preventive visit and a dedicated reproductive health visit. Both visits are critical and each visit should be covered.
Counseling on Risk Factor Reduction and Behavior Change Intervention
Individual counseling in preventive medicine or risk factor reduction or both for individuals without a specific illness to promote health and prevent illness and/or injury uses CPT codes 99401–99404. They are distinct from preventive counseling services and can be reported during the same encounter. These codes are time based and range from 15 minutes to 60 minutes.
Preventive Services and a Problem-Related Visit
When a preventive service and problem-related visit is provided during the same encounter, both codes may be separately reported. When appropriate, a preventive medicine code (eg, 993XX) and problem visit code appended with modifier 25 (significant, separately identifiable evaluation and management service by the same physician or other qualified health care professional on the same day of the procedure or other service) (eg, 992XX-25) is allowed. However, it is important to check with insurers to assess coverage for both preventive and problem-related codes. Some insurers will not reimburse for two evaluation and management services performed during the same encounter. (For more information, refer to “Coding Information” in Tool Kit for Teen Care.)
The initial reproductive health visit provides an excellent opportunity for the obstetrician–gynecologist to start a patient–physician relationship, build trust, and counsel patients and parents regarding healthy behavior while dispelling myths and fears. It also will assist an adolescent in negotiating entry into the health care system when she has a specific reproductive health care need. Health care for the adolescent should include review of normal puberty and menstruation, diet and exercise, healthy sexual decision making, the development of healthy and safe relationships, immunizations, depression, substance use, STI screening, and STI and pregnancy risk reduction and prevention. Preventive counseling also is beneficial for parents or other supportive adults and can include discussions regarding physical, sexual, and emotional development; signs and symptoms of common conditions affecting adolescents; and encouragement of lifelong healthy behavior. The initial reproductive health visit does not include an internal pelvic examination unless indicated by the medical history.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Resources
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, editor. Guidelines for adolescent health care. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 2011.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Tool kit for teen care. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ACOG; 2009.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Your first gynecologic visit. ACOG Patient Education Pamphlet AP150. Washington, DC: ACOG; 2011.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Coding Department
acog.org/About_ACOG/ACOG_Departments/Coding
Primary and preventive care for female adolescents. In: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, editor. Guidelines for adolescent health care. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 2011. p. 25–42. ⇦
Sanfilippo JS, Davis A, Hertweck SP. Obstetrician gynecologists can and should provide adolescent health care. ACOG Clin Rev 2003;8(7):1,15–16. ⇦
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Confidentiality in adolescent health care. In: Tool kit for teen care. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: ACOG; 2009. ⇦
McKee MD, Fletcher J, Schechter CB. Predictors of timely initiation of gynecologic care among urban adolescent girls. J Adolesc Health 2006;39:183–91. [PubMed] [Full Text] ⇦
Center for Adolescent Health and the Law. Policy compendium on confidential health services for adolescents. Chapel Hill (NC): CAHL; 2005. Available at: http://www.cahl.org/PDFs/PolicyCompendium/PolicyCompendium.pdf. Retrieved December 12, 2013. ⇦
Management of abnormal cervical cancer screening test results and cervical cancer precursors. Practice Bulletin No. 140. American College of Obstetricians and Gyne-cologists. Obstet Gynecol 2013;122:1338–66. [PubMed] [Obstetrics & Gynecology] ⇦
Blake DR, Weber BM, Fletcher KE. Adolescent and young adult women’s misunderstanding of the term Pap smear. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:966–70. [PubMed] [Full Text] ⇦
Menstruation in girls and adolescents: using the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 349. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2006;108:1323–8. [PubMed] [Obstetrics & Gynecology] ⇦
Menstrual manipulation for adolescents with disabilities. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 448. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2009;114:1428–31. [PubMed] [Obstetrics & Gynecology] ⇦
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Reproductive health care for adolescents with disabilities. Supplement to guidelines for adolescent health care, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 2012. ⇦
Copen CE, Chandra A, Martinez G. Prevalence and timing of oral sex with opposite-sex partners among females and males aged 15–24 years: United States, 2007–2010. Natl Health Stat Report 2012;(56):1–14. ⇦
Addressing health risks of noncoital sexual activity. Committee Opinion No. 582. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2013;122:1378–82. [PubMed] [Obstetrics & Gynecology] ⇦
Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin S, Flint KH, Hawkins J, et al. Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States, 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR Surveill Summ 2012;61:1–162. [PubMed] [Full Text] ⇦
Association of Public Health Laboratories. Laboratory diagnostic testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Expert Consultation Meeting summary report. Silver Spring (MD): APHL; 2009. Available at: http://www.aphl.org/aphlprograms/infectious/std/Documents/ID_2009Jan_CTGCLab-Guidelines-Meeting-Report.pdf. Retrieved December 16, 2013. ⇦
Schachter J, Chernesky MA, Willis DE, Fine PM, Martin DH, Fuller D, et al. Vaginal swabs are the specimens of choice when screening for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae: results from a multicenter evaluation of the APTIMA assays for both infections. Sex Transm Dis 2005;32:725–8. [PubMed] [Full Text] ⇦
Hoebe CJ, Rademaker CW, Brouwers EE, ter Waarbeek HL, van Bergen JE. Acceptability of self-taken vaginal swabs and first-catch urine samples for the diagnosis of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae with an amplified DNA assay in young women attending a public health sexually transmitted disease clinic. Sex Transm Dis 2006;33:491–5. [PubMed] [Full Text] ⇦
Adolescent confidentiality and electronic health records. Committee Opinion No. 599. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2014;123:1148–50. [Obstetrics & Gynecology] ⇦
Copyright May 2014 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 409 12th Street, SW, PO Box 96920, Washington, DC 20090-6920. All rights reserved.
The initial reproductive health visit. Committee Opinion No. 598. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2014;123:1143–7.
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Alaska ferry system takes step to replace 54-year-old Tustumena
Author: Associated Press
The M/V Tustumena, a 296-foot ferry of the Alaska Marine Highway System, departs Homer on Thursday evening, September 1, 2016. The Tusty route also includes towns on Kodiak Island, the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. (Marc Lester / ADN)
KODIAK - The Alaska Marine Highway System has taken the first step in the process of finding a shipyard to build a ferry to replace an aging vessel serving southwest Alaska.
The highway system issued a pre-solicitation notice last month for the Tustumena Replacement Project, but a possible construction date and build location remain unknown because of a pending federal waiver, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Monday.
The federal waiver is required before a construction contract can be issued to replace the 54-year-old Tustumena vessel, which has been plagued by maintenance issues. Officials have been planning for years to replace the ferry.
"The pre-solicitation is the first step in bringing in a shipyard, via a competitive process, to conduct the final design of the ship, and try to get to a guaranteed maximum price with that shipyard," said Aurah Landau, public information officer for the highway system. "AMHS continue to wait for a federal Buy America Waiver from Federal Highway Administration for small parts of the vessel construction."
The Buy American Act "requires a domestic manufacturing process for all steel or iron products that are permanently incorporated in a federal-aid highway construction project," according to the Federal Highway Administration.
The Tustumena serves Kodiak, the Aleutian Islands and the Kenai Peninsula. Officials plan for the replacement ferry to be 330 feet (100 meters) long and 71 feet (22 meters) wide. It would need overnight accommodations for 250 people and capacity to hold up to 54 cars. The design also includes an 80,000-pound (36,000-kilogram) vehicle elevator.
About $244 million in federal and state funding has been earmarked for the project, with $222 million coming from the Federal Highway Administration.
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While You Are Sleeping and Dreaming
By Cecilia M. Ford, Ph.D.
There’s a lot that goes on in bed. While sex may be crucial to the survival of our species, it turns out that sleep and dreaming may be almost as important. Human beings spend a third of their lives sleeping, and lately we have learned more about how the amount and quality of our sleep can affect our lives and health. Research has been advanced by the use of brain imaging, allowing more opportunities for insight into the sleeping brain. And doctors are emphasizing that getting adequate and quality sleep is essential to maintaining wellness.
It’s not just doctors: media titan Arianna Huffington has written a book called The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time. She has a TED Talk on it as well.
Too little sleep can lead to a suppressed immune system, hypertension, and even obesity (sleep deprivation causes craving for carbohydrates and sugars).
In addition to benefits to health, Huffington says quality zzz’s can help you succeed. She argues that while many justify their poor sleep habits, claiming the need to be productive, we would actually be much more successful, efficient, and productive when adequately rested.
Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience and author of a book called Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (2017), says “What we have discovered is that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified.”
Walker has also done experiments that demonstrate that dreams are therapeutic. He designed a study in which he showed subjects upsetting photographs on two separate occasions, and then measured their emotional response to what they saw. Both groups had the same level of reaction the first time they saw the photos. But the second time was different: one group saw them twice in the same day, while the other saw the pictures the second time after a night’s sleep. They reacted with demonstrably less emotion than the other group. The research indicates, Walker says, that some kind of therapeutic process occurs overnight that helped the subject process their emotions.
We all dream, and if you are like most people, you only remember them sporadically. While dreams are thought to have “meanings,” there is considerable confusion about dream interpretation, even among professional sleep researchers.
Some don’t think they mean anything at all. For example, while Walker sees dreaming as a therapeutic tool, he rejects Freud’s landmark insights into the understanding of dreams. Walker explains that, contrary to the laws of scientific discovery, dream meanings cannot be proved or disproved. He also says the theory has no internal validity or consistency—another measure of scientific rigor.
In the study Walker cites, different professionals each gave their own interpretation of the same dream. “The psychoanalysts all gave remarkably different interpretations of the same dream,” he reports. He uses this outcome to conclude that Freud’s dream theory has no internal consistency or predictive logic. The meaning of dream symbols cannot be consistently interpreted.
But Freud knew that, and like Walker, many people share the misunderstanding that dream symbols are fixed. I am often asked about the meaning of a particular dream symbol, like losing teeth or flying, but Freud’s answer was “it depends.” Dream interpretation depends entirely on an individual’s associations or thoughts about the symbols, and that can vary widely between people. It can even vary within the same individual, depending on what is going on with him her at the moment.
Insomnia: 12 Steps to Improve Sleep
Over half of Americans suffer from sleep problems in any given year. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to help improve your sleep.
Dr. Pat Consults: Ten Solutions for Poor Sleep
By Megan Riddle, M.D. Ph.D.
If you optimize your sleep habits and are still struggling, consider seeing a provider who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi). CBTi takes a closer look at the behaviors and thought processes surrounding sleep, and has been shown to be effective for those with sleep issues.
Molly Fisk: Sleeping Beauty
It turns out all that lost sleep had sort of ruined my life, though it happened so slowly I didn't notice. Regaining things is the revelation. The more sleep I get, the smarter I am.
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About Me & Cactus World
Living Life at the Movies
Living Life in the Third Sector
Living Life with the Small Screen
South Park: Season 1
Posts tagged “Moving”
Godsend / Magnolia Hell
Starring screen legend Robert De Niro, “Godsend” is the story of an eight year old boy named Adam Duncan. A kind, thoughtful and well-behaved child, he’s the apple of his parent’s eye, until one day he’s knocked down by a car and tragically killed. With both parents totally grief-stricken, the mysterious Dr Richard Wells (De Niro) offers them another chance of happiness. He can create a clone of Adam that will be identical to the child they lost. Nine months later they have their child back. Identical in every way, it’s like Adam had never left them. He has his mother’s eyes, his father’s smile, but when he crosses the age at which he died, terrifying things begin to happen.
2004 – Certificate: 15 – American Film
Rating Details: Language: once strong. Sex/nudity: infrequent moderate. Violence: infrequent moderate. Other: moderate horror.
Whilst I have a lot of sympathy for Jean-Paul Sartre’s view that “Hell is other people”, he failed to take into account their surroundings. After this last week I now know that Hell is less to do with people, or fire and brimstone for that matter; in fact Hell is a large room painted magnolia. In the same way as the Devil has a variety of different names, such as Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer, etc, so magnolia disguises it’s presence amongst us as alternatives like light brown, biscuit, white with a touch of brown, beige, mushroom, wheat, taupe, fawn and harvest. This week we moved our office at work, (or more accurately moved everything in our office to a different building to use as a new office; we didn’t actually dig up the existing one and put it elsewhere). Moving is a stressful and spirit-sapping experience at the best of times, but when you have to paint every single surface, including the floor (about 500 square metres in all) before you leave, in three days, mostly magnolia, then you come to realise what pain is really all about. The only respite was repainting the ceiling, doors, door frames, skirting boards and 12 radiators, white. And painting something white on a white background in a weakly lit area isn’t exactly my idea of a fun day at Alton Towers either. In fact the only facet of pleasure came from deciding which shade of gray to paint the floor, slate or frigate; and after magnolia, gray is the next worst colour. I imagine there are more advanced species in the universe that have, in a similar way to smallpox, totally eradicated magnolia and grey from existence. Magnolia is the distilled essence of evil. However, for some reason there are many sick-minded and weak-willed individuals who appear to gain a sort of inner peace from using this colour. Why? What’s wrong with them? Appearing initially to be the colour equivalent of elevator music, any close encounter with it soon dispels any pretence it has of being ‘neutral’. It’s a vile, boring, sick, nauseating abomination, which is as attractive as having a squashed, pregnant cockroach smeared on your mouth; and then some. And why is it always the cheapest paint you can buy? The artificial distortion of the paint market in this way is clearly the work of some ungodly power. If our media had any real balls, it would be investigating this bizarre and unwarranted proliferation of magnolia; it’s destroying lives. In a similar way, this film is about something that goes against the laws of nature and scared the crap out of me too.
At its core, this is a thriller/horror about a disturbing, eight-year-old skinhead called Adam, who develops a mental illness of some sort. The reasons for the latter are, unusual. The rest of its runtime is spent faffing about with his parents and Robert De Niro, as they act and react to what Adam gets up to. If you analyse the plot too much, you’ll come to the conclusion that some of it doesn’t really make a lot of sense. Visually it’s not a very exciting film either; it looks a lot like it was ‘made for TV’ with a colour pallet that’s far too much like magnolia for my liking. However, the acting’s pretty good and the story interesting enough. The decision of the parents to have a clone of their recently killed son created is worthy of further study. This part of the film could easily have been the whole story, but because it’s not it does get treated a bit superficially, which is a shame really. What the movie does do really well is be creepy. I’m sure I aged a few years watching it, which is a somewhat alarming thought. It’s one of the most unsettling films I’ve watched for quite a while.
The soundtrack is unmemorable, yet works well. Job done.
Recommended for dodgy doctors, desperate parents, teachers, photographers and eight-year-olds that want to freak their parents out. And clones of course.
No cats, chainsaws or decapitations.
Top badass moment? We all know that a good teacher can change someone’s life, but in this film we also learn that it can literally save your own life too. I sometimes provide training as part of my job and like most things I suck at it. I’ve never managed to impart a single bit of knowledge to anyone and tying to do so has never saved my life or changed anyone else’s for the better. So I guess being a good teacher is badass.
Godsend at IMDB (4.7 / 10)
Godsend at Wikipedia
Godsend at YouTube
October 5, 2013 | Categories: The Thoughts of Cactus | Tags: 2004, American Film, Boy, Cameron Bright, Canada, Clone, Cloning, Decorating, Doctor, Eight Year Old, Godsend, Greg Kinnear, Grief, Hell, Horror, Jean-Paul Sartre, King City, Magnolia, Mark Bomback, Mental Illness, Moving, Nick Hamm, Ontario, Painting, Parents, Photographer, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Robert De Niro, Sci-fi, Science Fiction, Teacher, Thriller, Trailer | Leave a comment
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Dining like kings with a bushman of high degree
By PETER LATZ
Early in 1970, carrying a biology degree, I returned to a full-time job in Alice Springs as a Plant Ecologist with the Northern Territory Government. (The crocodile job had not eventuated.) In October of that year, another botanist, Clyde Dunlop, and I carried out a botanical collecting trip into the Peterman Ranges area.
Docker River (now called Kaltukatjara), had only just been set up as an Aboriginal settlement, and we proceeded from there to the south. At that time, what is now the township of Pipalyatjara, was nothing more than an open plain, with a hand pump in the middle of it, which could supply water to passers-by. We stopped there to fill up our water tank, and came across an elderly Aboriginal couple, who were out there living off the land, probably several of the last true desert nomads in that area. We gave them whatever of our supplies we could spare, and continued on our way.
It was to be another year before I came into contact with black bushmen in my work, and this time it was back in the Top End. In late 1971, I was given the job as botanist for a biological survey of the Wessel Islands, which lie about 600 kilometres east of Darwin.
By this time Dave Linder had been transferred to the north and finding bigger and better reptiles up there, he had forgotten all about his former love of the desert. He was the fourth white member of our expedition, and he had somehow wangled the system to get Tiger, a traditional owner of Coburg Peninsula, to accompany us. Although the Wessels were far from Tiger’s country Dave had worked with him in the past, and knew that he would be a very handy man to have along. And he proved to be just that, a bushman of high degree.
At that time Tiger was already an old man, but he had the body of a Greek god and only his eyes showed his age. He was tough as nails, and a story Dave related to me, emphasised this point. Like most of the old bushmen, alcohol was Tiger’s weak point, and when in town he was a binge drinker.
This particular night Tiger had drunk away all his ready cash and so he turned up on Dave’s doorstep, under the weather, demanding a loan to get some more grog. Now Dave’s house was one of those on stilts, so there was a landing by his front door, with rails around it to prevent one from dropping to the ground three metres below. While Dave was trying to convince Tiger that he had had enough to drink and should have something to eat, somehow or another Tiger managed to spectacularly somersault over the protective rail and land headfirst onto the concrete floor below.
Greatly alarmed, Dave examined Tiger and could find no sign of life.
“Hell,” he thought, “he’s killed himself, but there’s not much I can do tonight, I’ll report the accident in the morning.”
And sorrowfully he repaired to bed.
Early next morning Dave was woken by banging on the door. Bleary-eyed he opened the door, and there was Tiger, fit as a fiddle, totally unaware of the drama of the night before, demanding a beer to start the day!
To get to the Wessels we managed to hitch a lift on the barge that carried supplies to settlements further to the east. As soon as we had finished transferring our gear from the barge to shore, on our two dinghies, Tiger patrolled the beach with his spear. Within ten minutes had had procured our lunch, spearing two nice big fish.
With seemingly little effort he further supplied us with fresh food over the next three weeks of our stay. Oysters, twice the size I was used to, mud crabs, crayfish, shellfish, stingrays, turtle meat and eggs, and every kind of fish, all ended up on our table.
I never thought I would get sick of fresh seafood, but towards the end of our stay we started to crave red meat – so Tiger went out and got us some fruit bats, equally delicious as roast beef when cooked in the camp-oven.
We didn’t have a fridge, so we had to catch our fresh food every day, as it wouldn’t keep in the hot steamy conditions. Tiger and I were coming back to camp late one day in the dinghy, when he diverted from our route and headed for a part of the sea where diving seabirds were congregating. When we got in amongst them I realised we were above a huge school of fish, so Tiger and I both threw out our fishing lines to catch the main course for our evening meal.
Whatever Tiger caught on the end of his line must have been big because it bit straight through the wire-trace holding the hook. I too caught a nice big fish and proceeded to pull it into the boat. There was however, such a frenzy of fish in the area that one of them jumped out of the water and cut my line with his fin. We had no spare lines, so Tiger and I ended up sitting above this ‘fish soup’, sadly regretting the fact that dinner that night would have to come from a tin.
Fishing success in this area is apparently still quite good, but nowhere near as good as in 1972. In fact, for the whole three weeks of our stay we only saw one other sign of human activity, namely a prawn fishing-boat, whose occupants generously supplied us with some fresh bread from their freezer, and as many prawns and Morton Bay bugs as we could eat.
I found the islands to be of great interest, and discovered many unusual plants, some of which were new to science. One thing for sure, I would not have been able to do the job I did, without Tiger’s help. His main job was the drive our dinghies, and he was as good a boatman as I have ever met. Using his boating skills, he got me to parts of the islands that I could never have got to by myself.
Not to say that our stay was all ‘beer and skittles’. On our first night we camped on the beach, between the ocean and a large inland freshwater billabong. My neighbour had his swag about two metres away from mine, and when we woke up next morning we found the fresh tracks of a large saltwater crocodile between our swags!
It didn’t help that the weather at that time of year was extremely hot and sticky, and the sandflies and mosquitoes tormented us endlessly. And also that the island’s area consisted of sandstone outcrops that were highly dissected and dangerous to scramble over. And we were a long way from anywhere if anything went wrong.
Tiger had only consented to come with us on the condition that he was supplied with a bottle of wine with his dinner every night. Dave had hidden the bottles throughout the camp, to ensure that they lasted for the length of our stay. On our second-to-last night however, Dave could not find a wine bottle, so Tiger had to reluctantly go without.
On our last day, as we were packing up, Dave found the remaining last two bottles, plus several casks of orange juice. So that night, to celebrate our successful survey, we shared the remaining wine with Tiger. Our bottle didn’t last long, so most of us soon retired to bed. But not so Tiger and one of our other expeditioners, whom I will call Fred.
Fred got hold of our preserving alcohol, which is pretty potent stuff, but found it was quite drinkable when mixed with the remaining orange juice. So Fred and Tiger partied on to the early hours of next morning. On the boat trip home Fred confided to me that during that night he had reached a deep understanding of Aboriginal culture. I wasn’t sure I could believe him, because during the night I woke up several times and listened to their deep and meaningful discourse, and it went something like this:-
“I luv ya Tiger, you’rre a number-one bloke – I luv you soo much I’ll give you my watch.”
“Tankyou Fred, I luv ya too, him be a number-one watch.”
“Yerr Tiger – him really a number-one watch.”
And so on and so forth!
These two renegades had only just retired to their swags when the barge turned up to take us back to Darwin. The rest of us had already loaded the first of our gear onto the dinghy, when Tiger appeared on the scene. He was still so far under the influence of alcohol that he could hardly walk, but his job was to drive the boat, and drive it he did.
We watched with our hearts in our mouths as Tiger and the boat, carrying our hard-won fragile specimens, weaved their way to the barge. Somehow or another he made it to the barge, and after unloading headed back to us, gathered on the beach.
“Hell,” we thought, “he’s going to run us down!”
He was heading straight towards us at full speed! But of course, at the last split second he broadsided the boat so it plonked onto the beach in front of us, ready to be reloaded. He could hardly walk but he could still skilfully drive the boat!
Author photo by KEN JOHNSON. Taken in June 1987 during a biology survey in Gulf country, it shows Latz in camp, cataloguing the plant specimens he had collected.
MORE next week.
Previous instalments:
Part 1: Tomcat and Turpentine Bush: adventures in the Tanami
Part 2: Being a cowboy: not all it’s made out to be
Part 3: Close shaves in the Top End
Posted: December 23, 2014 at 7:18 am ⋅ ⋅ Post a comment
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Troubled MCI faces new legal probe
MCI, from the re-baptised bankrupt telecom group WorldCom, faced more turmoil on Monday as new allegations were made that it defrauded rivals in a massive scheme that re-routed calls to avoid access charges.
In Monday’s court filing, rival telecom firm AT&T said the MCI scheme shifted "millions upon millions of dollars" in costs from MCI to AT&T and other companies.
AT&T filed a complaint with the US bankruptcy court arguing for the right to seek damages caused by MCI's alleged scheme and said the court should deny the MCI plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
AT&T said it will "bring racketeering and fraud" charges against its rival.
It said the scheme by MCI remained in effect after the company filed for bankruptcy "and continues to the very date of this filing." It detailed the charges of the long-running scheme that routed some calls through Canada to avoid access fees.
Calling it a "disturbing new development," AT&T General Counsel Jim Cicconi said in a statement that the "investigation raises serious questions as to the validity of MCI/WorldCom's
assurances that it has cleaned up its act."
AT&T alleges MCI illegally
routed calls through Canada
The Justice Department has asked for information on the matter after MCI's telecom rivals complained about the matter.
An MCI spokesman declined to comment on the specific allegations but said disputes over access charges "have existed for decades and are routine in the industry," but that the company would "cooperate fully with any investigation."
The allegations were lodged with the Justice Department just weeks before a court hearing to decide whether MCI can emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the biggest corporate failure ever.
The Washington Post said the latest allegations, backed by several of the company's competitors, suggested that WorldCom and MCI conspired for nearly a decade with smaller local phone companies to re-route long-distance calls to make them appear as local calls.
AT&T along with Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications have been among the most critical of MCI's efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. They say wiping out MCI's debts could be devastating for the battered industry.
But according to the new complaints, MCI had been defrauding its competitors since 1994, the New York Times said, quoting sources familiar with the situation.
The Wall Street Journal reported that officials at Verizon had heard the allegations from a whistleblower and had then relayed them about two months ago to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James Comey.
US Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez had scheduled a hearing for 25 August to consider whether MCI can emerge from bankruptcy, it said.
"The investigation raises serious questions as to the validity of MCI/WorldCom's
Jim Cicconi, AT&T general counsel
MCI is hoping for favourable results with their bankruptcy proceedings. If successful, it would be able to shed as much as $35 billion in debt and emerge as a revitalised telecom competitor as early as this autumn.
To date, MCI has agreed to pay $750 million in civil penalties for admitting to accounting fraud totalling as much as $12 billion.
It is also battling efforts by rivals to get the US government to disqualify MCI from keeping federal contracts worth over $1 billion a year.
Meanwhile, the conservative lobby group Citizens Against Government Waste renewed its call for the government to bar the company from federal contracts.
"The recent report of additional fraudulent acts by MCI is just one more reason why the government cannot trust the company with taxpayer dollars," CAGW President Tom Schatz said.
"They have cheated hundreds of thousands of investors out of 180 billion dollars and are now accused of cheating their competitors and the government. The government should immediately cease business with such a disreputable company."
The US Army is currently using a mobile phone network in Baghdad built by MCI. They are also bidding on the lucrative Iraqi mobile network which is being put out to tender at a conference in Amman, Jordan later this week.
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Colombians take to streets to support FARC peace deal
Thousands of people march in Bogota and elsewhere calling on the government and FARC rebels to save a peace deal.
Thousands of people have marched in cities across Colombia to demand a peace deal between the government and leftist rebels not be scuttled.
Wednesday's demonstrations marked the second time in a week that Colombians took to the streets to support the accord signed last month with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and now hanging by a thread after a shock referendum defeat for the deal.
OPINION: Colombia - A Nobel Prize to save peace
"We have seen hundreds of representatives of indigenous groups, Afro-Colombians and other groups of minorities who walked through Bogota demanding peace," Al Jazeera's Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from the capital Bogota, said.
Why did Colombians reject the FARC peace deal? - UpFront
"They were marching together with students, victims of the conflict and just regular families."
In Bogota, victims of the decades-long conflict carrying photos of dead loved ones were greeted by well-wishers handing white flowers symbolising peace.
"We victims are in a state of limbo, we need the accord now," Diana Gomez, a 38-year-old activist whose father was killed a decade ago, told The Associated Press news agency.
She said her father's murder remains unsolved - one of many unresolved cases during a 52-year-old conflict that claimed the lives of 220,000 people and left almost eight million displaced.
Deal adjustments
President Juan Manuel Santos, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, is in talks with the opposition and FARC to make adjustments to the accord following its narrow rejection in a referendum six days after it was signed in front of world leaders.
READ MORE: Colombians divided after voters reject FARC peace deal
But it is not clear he can save the deal as opponents push for stiffer penalties for rebel leaders and fighters.
Under the terms of the accord signed on September 26, FARC leaders would be able to serve in Congress, with a guarantee of 10 seats, while fighters who confessed their crimes would be spared time in jail and instead ordered to carry out community development work in areas hard hit by the conflict.
Colombia: a war of two narratives - The Listening Post
"This isn't a question of cosmetic changes," former President Alvaro Uribe, who led the campaign against the peace deal, said on Wednesday after delivering to government officials a list of proposals that he said would strengthen and provide broader support for the accord.
"In a country of institutions like Colombia, transitional justice can't consist of failing to punish those responsible for atrocious crimes."
The FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez, known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, tried to put on a brave face on Wednesday, saying that the group is open to making adjustments even if it is not willing to start negotiations again from scratch.
IN PICTURES: The last days of the FARC
"Personally I think it may have been good that this happened," said Timochenko, referring to the referendum loss, in a rare, hour-long interview with Caracol Radio.
"It allows us to clear up many doubts and especially commit the important segment of the Colombian society that didn't vote, more than 63 percent, to take an interest in this history-making event."
Colombia referendum: Why Medellin city led 'no' vote
Wednesday's march on the Plaza Bolivar, adjacent to the congress and presidential palace, appeared to be larger than last week's rally, a potential sign of how politically apathetic Colombians have been jolted into action by the fading prospects for peace.
In recent days, the Plaza has been overtaken by dozens of tents set up by peace activists and on Tuesday was blanketed with a giant, white shroud containing the names of almost 2,000 victims of the conflict stenciled in ash.
Santos has applauded the outburst of activism, and on Wednesday reiterated the need to seek a quick solution to the impasse so that a ceasefire in place does not unravel.
"The great majority of people have asked me to find a solution soon because uncertainty is the enemy," he said in televised address.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera News And News Agencies
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Missile warheads seized in Jamaica
Police seek help from international agencies after interception of huge shipment of heavy weaponry on Caribbean island.
Jamaica is a popular tourist destination, but the island has long been used by smugglers [GALLO/GETTY]
A huge haul of advanced weaponry has been uncovered by Jamaican authorities aboard a ship moored at the Caribbean island.
A machine designed to build missiles and ammunition was seized, along with 3,300 missile warheads, the Associated Press news agency reported on Saturday.
Deputy Police Superintendent Steve Brown said that custom officials discovered the weapons late on Thursday aboard a ship at Kingston Wharf.
He declined to say where the shipment originated from or its destination. No one has yet been arrested.
Brown said police were seeking helping from international agencies after their findings.
Jamaica has long been a key stopping point in the drug smuggling trade - with secret US diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks alleging the country's officials were complicit in the narcotics business - but it is understood that this is the first time the island's authorities have made such a large discovery of heavy armaments.
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Rights court rules against Bosnia
European judges say constitution should not bar certain groups from standing for election.
The constitution was an annex to the Dayton Peace accord that ended the Bosnia War [GALLO/GETTY]
Peace accord
The Bosnian constitution was an annex to the Dayton Peace accord that ended the 1992-95 conflict in Bosnia, splitting the territory into two entities, the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat Federation linked by a three-part presidency.
The provisions of the constitution had intended to prevent ethnic strife in the wake of the war.
The court "acknowledged that this system, put in place at a time when a fragile ceasefire had been accepted by all parties to the inter-ethnic conflict that had deeply affected the country, pursued the legitimate aim of restoring peace".
But it also noted that Bosnia had committed under an association agreement signed with the European Union in 2008 to bring its electoral rules into line with the European convention on human rights.
It said the current constitution violated the provisions of the convention which prohibits discrimination and upholds the right to free elections.
Bosnia was ordered to pay $28,500 to Finci and $1,500 to Dervo Sejdic, the other plaintiff in the case, in costs and expenses.
In a statement, Minority Rights Group International, a non-governmental rights organisation that assisted Finci, said: "The court's decision is binding on the Bosnian government and is likely to require a constitutional change granting equal rights to political participation for members of smaller minorities."
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HB on The Jump to Sacramento →
In an interview with hosts Rachel Nichols and former NBA star Richard Jefferson on The Jump this Tuesday morning, Harrison Barnes sat in and weighed in on how quickly Sacramento has grown on him in the short time he’s been with the young Kings.
As we know following the trade deadline in February, Barnes packed his bags and flew out of Dallas only to be greeted with extended arms in Sactown - where he quickly jumped on board to aid the Squad in the latter half of the 2018-19 season.
When asked of his initial impressions of the team, the organization and fans themselves, HB shared nothing short of positive feedback. “It was fun playing with the team in Sacramento for the second part of the season. They play extremely fast,” No. 44 proclaimed.
“The guys in the locker room were great guys, the organization is unbelievable, and the fans are loud and crazy, so to have that support behind you every single night was so fun,” HB continued.
Nichols expressed how Barnes’s acquisition in February was in tune with needing a ‘veteran presence’ to help out the young core in getting them to the next level. To which Nichols then asked what the small forward saw for the future of the Kings.
Barnes replied, “Obviously this year we didn’t reach our goal, but we’re very optimistic about next year.”
For the full interview, head over to ESPN: The Jump to watch!
In NBA, Basketball Tags Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings, ESPN, The Jump
Bleacher Report Lists Sactown as Top 10 Free-Agent Destination →
It’s no secret that the young Kings have the core – and with the team on the rise, it has been calculated in an article by Bleacher Report that Sacramento has great appeal to those who will hit free agency in the coming weeks.
B/R projected the rankings of all 30 NBA teams based off of Spotrac’s practical cap-space projections. These projections estimate the nearest value of how much spending money each team has in store for 2019’s free agency.
There are a variety of factors that go into these rankings – cash to spend, playing time availability, competitiveness, coaching, culture and overall organization.
“Who wouldn’t want to run with De’Aaron Fox?” noted Grant Hughes.
“The Kings have the makings of an exciting core with a defined up-tempo identity,” Hughes continued. “Sacramento appears to be a team on the rise. It won 39 games last year, its highest total since 2005-06, and the drivers of that success are all ridiculously young."
Sactown entered last season with an average age of 25.65-years-old, and with the young core established, it’s hopeful that free agents will consider joining in on the fun.
Make sure to catch the full breakdown by Bleacher Report, here.
In NBA, Basketball Tags Sacramento Kings, Bleacher Report, Free Agency
Kings Ranked No. 1 NBA Twitter Account by Complex →
“If NBA Twitter is all about being timely and self-aware, putting out fire content, and listening to the fan base, then Sacramento is, well, king” as defined by Kazeem Famuyide of Complex Sports this Thursday.
Every year as the NBA Finals near, Complex Sports dishes out their rankings for the league’s most ‘fire’ digital squads – and they take their rankings very seriously.
Last year the Kings were ranked No. 2, falling short to the 76ers who won the title ranking and broke the Trail Blazers three-peat that ran from 2015-17.
Complex Sports judges all 30 NBA digital squads based off their many skillsets, but what is claimed to stand out the most is Photoshop proficiency, being on top of social media trends, a little friendly rivalry and overall wit. Only the teams with the most Twitter-ready fingers are dubbed in making it within the top five.
But don’t worry, Complex even included each team’s most ‘fire’ tweet of the season to show that the proof is in the pudding. And Sactown’s highest ranked tweet is indeed, FYRE.
The Top 5 Squads for NBA Twitter are as follows:
Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings)
Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers)
Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks)
Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers)
Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks)
For the full article with complete thought and analysis of rankings, click here!
In NBA, Basketball Tags Sacramento Kings, Complex Sports, NBA Twitter Rankings
Jelly Talk: HG Stops by Kings Central →
From the court to the nail salon, Harry Giles III has been a ‘Jelly’ fan from the jump.
Giles's particular guilty pleasure is the 'lava-like' massage on his feet.
In a wide-ranging interview with NBC Sports California’s Kayte Christensen-Hunter, HG said he was in elementary school when he started going to get pedicures with his mom.
With toenails to match the sheen of the hardwood, Gizzle worked his way to the Kings rotation during the 2018-19 season, participating in 58 games.
“Last year was tough,” Giles admitted. “It was hard for me to sit out and be okay with it sometimes. I came from college where I didn’t play as much, and then I got a late start to the season because of injury. But as hard as it was to take that time off, I am so happy that I did.”
When Kayte asked what he felt like he gained during that experience, HG replied, “I learned so much about patience [...] but when I started gaining weight and getting stronger, I was improving in ways that I never had reached before.”
“The recovery was amazing and worth it, I wish I would have embraced it more in the beginning,” Giles reflected. “I feel like I have so much more to show in so many different ways, and I’m so excited by the way fans are holding onto me and having a great time. It’s only the beginning."
Speaking of fans, Kayte directed the conversation towards the unwavering love Sacramento has shown No. 20 during his rookie season.
“I love the energy and I love the game,” said Duke product. "I grew up playing in gyms in N.C. with a lot of energy, at Duke – where the fanbase is known for its energy. That’s what I was accustom to, and now I’m in Sacramento and we have the wildest, craziest most insane fans. This fanbase is meant for me.”
As their relaxing day was winding down, Giles was asked about the future of the young Kings.
“We can be one of the best teams because we have the core - just seeing how far we came this year gives us all the motivation in the world.”
Next time fans see H20 bring the jelly on the court, they'll know it started with the jelly off the court.
In Basketball, NBA Tags Harry Giles, Sacramento Kings, Kings Central
Vlade Locked in on Luke Right Away →
“Luke was my No. 1 choice,” Vlade Divac stated.
In a post press conference interview with ABC10, Vlade laid out exactly what his process was in acquiring the newest head coach of the Kings, Luke Walton.
“I loved working with Dave [Joerger], and we had a good three years. But I felt very strongly about getting us to the next level and I had to do something about it,” Vlade explained.
The end of the regular season wrapped up on a Thursday and by Monday, press and members of the organization were sitting at Luke Walton’s introductory press conference, where he expressed his excitement to get started working with Vlade and the team.
When the media inquired about how Divac came to his decision so swiftly, he stated, “I started thinking about what we did in this last season and I came to the conclusion that we had to do something in terms of a coach. And when Luke was available on Friday, I felt like that was our guy and I executed quickly."
Walton parted ways with the Los Angeles Lakers just one day after the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign, and less than 24 hours later accepted his multi-year deal with the Kings.
“He came to Sacramento, we met and there was nothing to wait for,” Vlade continued. “I had made contact with other agents for meetings, but it wouldn’t be fair to other guys to take their time or prevent them from other opportunities.”
“I am very excited about Luke, he was one of my top candidates before but he wasn’t available,” Vlade elaborated. “It worked out somehow for both sides now – it was meant to be.”
When asked what quality of Luke’s he most admires? Vlade knew exactly what he was looking for in a coach.
“He has a good talent to put players in the right position to succeed, and that’s what I like the most. The relationships he builds with the players is very important with such a young team, so it is important for us.”
For the full interview with Divac and ABC10, click here.
Tags Luke Walton, ABC10, Sacramento Kings, Vlade Divac
ESPN Sees Playoff Future for Young Kings →
“He is a stud—driver of the league’s happiest surprise.”
This was just some of the heavy praise for De’Aaron Fox, dished out by ESPN's Zach Lowe in his most recent article.
Lowe had many compliments of No. 5 when it came to his MVP potential as well as the rest of the squad’s bright future.
“The Kings are a refreshing basketball story – a team of guys who fit well, growing together,” Lowe continued.
In his piece, he discussed the prominent success De’Aaron has displayed in only his sophomore year; a shift that is proving that he might be ahead of his time when it comes to playoffs in the next couple seasons.
And Swipa wasn’t the only one who shined in Lowe’s eyes.
“Bagley has exploded over the past two months; he and Harry Giles III have the outlines of an ultra-modern frontline. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic orbit them as shooters, passers and cutters; Hield has been a borderline All-Star this season,” proclaimed Lowe.
"[They are] a superteam, just young. I believe that," Vlade said. "These kids work hard. They have talent. When you have those things, there's no way you're not gonna succeed.”
Coach Joerger can see the stars aligning as well for his young roster, and he believes Fox is one of the key components in their rise.
"We want sustained success so that when we do get in the playoffs – maybe it's not this year, maybe it's not next year – we have the opportunity to harvest 50-win seasons for five years,” Joerger stated.
"Guys want to play with him," Joerger continued on De'Aaron.
Jason March, an assistant who works closely with the Kentucky product followed up by saying, "He is at a different level. He sees plays before they happen. When your point guard can do that in his second year, it's special.”
As for Swipa, he is determined to push himself and the rest of the team forward into next year’s postseason.
"Next year, we should definitely make the playoffs,” Fox said. “What happened here 10 years ago doesn't matter. Everyone feels like we can turn this around."
In NBA, Basketball Tags Marvin Bagley III, De'Aaron Fox, Harry Giles, Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings
Peja Stojakovic Dives Into His Long Legacy With Kings Central →
“It was definitely at that time, the happiest day of my life.” Peja Stojakovic reminisces.
In the 1996 NBA Draft, the 6'9 Serbian native was the first round 14th overall pick acquired by the Sacramento Kings.
While Peja is still remembered for being a 3-point sharpshooter, it didn't start out that way.
“I remember the first game, it wasn’t a very good game for me. We played San Antonio and I only had 2 points. I shot an air-ball… I might have been a little nervous - all the guys had a lot of fun with that.”
Peja only got better from there, and him and his teammates went on to form one the most legendary Kings teams within the franchise.
Vlade Divac, Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson are all key members of that legendary squad, and Peja claims that their bond hasn’t changed since they were on the hardwood together.
“We have so much love, respect and trust for each other” says Peja.
The unwavering support was seen there when all of his former teammates surrounded him, as the Kings retired No. 16’s jersey in 2014.
“It’s very humbling feeling. I always think about the team though… it wasn’t just a celebration of my accomplishments. I think of all of the great years we had as a team and how close we were of achieving that goal of winning the championship” says Stojakovic.
Switching gears to the up-and-coming young Kings, Stojakovic is proud of the new squad.
“We have a really great group of guys and I think the people of this city recognize that. They see the great group of guys with a lot of talent for the game and they are giving them great support.”
“Everybody [our fans] can see that we have really great product and I think everyone should all be proud of that. Just seeing the young team perform this well, it is promising not only for this year but the years ahead.”
Catch the full interview with Peja and Kayte Christensen-Hunter on Kings Central, here.
In NBA, Basketball Tags Sacramento Kings, Peja Stokajovic, NBC Sports California, Legend
Jr. Kings All Girls Clinic X STEM Camp Recap →
It was an empowering day for the young girls in attendance of the Jr. Kings All-Girls Clinic, with numerous inspiring women contributing to the camp’s major success.
Not one, but two WNBA stars – Danielle Viglione and former Sacramento Monarch Monique Ambers – came out to the clinic to help our young athletes learn some new skills and empower the girls on the court.
Sacramento Kings Assistant Head Coach Bryan Gates was in attendance, as he brought his daughter to participate in the clinic, as well as assist in coaching the others.
The girls gave it their all on the court, and after three hours of techniques and drills there was a well-deserved pizza delivery for all the talented young athletes to enjoy before the STEM Camp begun.
Not only were the girls empowered through basketball, the next generation was also encouraged to be proactive in exploring opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The STEM Camp was led by Micron Gives, and in the matter of an hour the girls of the STEM Camp had built their own robots with just a few materials.
It was an experience that the girls of the Jr. Kings can reflect on for days to come, and know that they have the ability to make an impact with anything they set their minds to.
In NBA, Basketball Tags Bryan Gates, Sacramento Kings, Community Impact, Jr Kings, STEM
How A Brutal Training Camp Set the Tone for the Kings Season →
Even though the Sacramento Kings currently sit outside of the final playoff spot, Kings player development coach Larry Lewis doesn’t discount Sactown’s performance or effort.
"This season has already been a phenomenal season for us," Lewis said in an interview with Business Insider. "Whether we make the playoffs or not, we have overachieved this season. We've gone over and beyond what anyone expected of us as far as outside of our coaching staff.”
In some ways, the squad might credit their improvement this season to the grueling preseason training camp the completed last fall.
"They ran the s--- out of us," Willie Cauley-Stein told BI.
And just with a mention of "7-by-8", you can feel the unease within the Squad’s expressions.
"They felt it," said Lewis, with a smile. "It was definitely a test."
The "7-by-8" drill - a.k.a. seven sprints, baseline-to-baseline, eight separate times - was one that most of the team despised, while some chose to welcome the challenge.
"Guys hate running," third-year guard Buddy Hield told reporters. "I don't care what you say. No basketball player likes running."
But the rook, Marvin Bagley III says otherwise.
"I like running," MBIII told Business Insider. "So, when we did that it was kinda cool, getting in shape and competing with everybody. Just trying to be the first guy in all the sprints, making it fun. Just turning my mind, changing it from making it a bad thing to thinking of it in a positive way, just going out and getting better. So, it was a good experience.”
But it was all a part of Coach Dave Joerger’s plan. "This is how we want to play," Joerger told BI in training camp. "This is how hard we want to play. We want to be a greatly conditioned team, and we want to play fast."
"We figured if we could get in shape before all the other teams get in shape, we could steal games," No. 00 said. "And that's what we did! It worked.”
Sactown currently leads the league in pace, at 104.47 possessions per game – a number that is slower than their record 107.06, but still faster than any other team in the NBA in the last 23 years.
“It’s not a surprise to us as a staff and as a team, but I think what newspaper articles were saying… nobody predicted this" Lewis stated.
The team is set on continuing their playoff push and gearing up for another long summer of sprints, transition skills and scrimmages before heading into next season.
“Just go. Just push it. Good things happen when you do."
In NBA, Basketball Tags Harry Giles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marvin Bagley III, De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Giles: 'I’m Starting to Identify Myself' →
With the playoff chase in full swing, each game for Sactown becomes more pivotal.
Harry Giles, who has battled injuries and rehabilitation in recent years, is healthy and making his presence known at the most opportune time for the squad.
“Motivation. It just keeps you going, you know?” No. 20 admitted.
Over his last three contests, Giles is averaging 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds on 66 percent shooting in just under 20 minutes.
“I’ve just been figuring out how to play, and it’s taken time,” the Duke product said. “I couldn’t go out there and just have it all figured out, so it’s taken me time to get used to the contact, the style we play in and finding a happy medium with the way I play with them.”
After the injury to Marvin Bagley III, Giles has played additional minutes and taken full advantage of his time on the floor.
“I’m on a new level, probably a point that I’ve never been at before” Giles states.
“It’s incredible to have the whole organization behind me,” Gizzle continued, “I’m starting to identify myself and find myself. I’m taking my time, but keep on pushing myself to see what I can do.”
The Kings continue their postseason hunt Wednesday, with the Boston Celtics visiting Golden 1 Center.
In NBA, Basketball Tags Harry Giles, Player Development, Sacramento Kings, Statistics
Equality Night Spotlight: Lisa Feigenbaum →
What is your role with the Sacramento Kings and how long have you been with the team?
“I moved across the country from Connecticut six years ago to be part of one of the best leadership teams in sports. I’m currently the VP of Group, Premium Hospitality & Event Sales. I oversee the strategy for Kings and Golden 1 Center group sales, as well as the arena’s nearly 100 premium suites, lofts and balcony boxes. I also had the opportunity to take the lead on building a new team to facilitate the use of the arena for special events.”
How would you describe the experience of coming out to your family, friends and teammates?
“I was afraid of how those closest to me would react, and am fortunate to have had a great experience coming out. I came out in my senior year of high school and the most common response I got was, ‘Yeah duh, if you didn’t tell us soon, we were going to tell YOU.’ I guess that’s not surprising for a tom-boy with a bowl cut, that once wore a tux and bow tie to a wedding as a kid.
For me, it was hardest to come out to those I was the closest with. My twin sister is my best friend, we have the stereotypical twin bond but for some reason she was one of the last people I told. In the end, she was, and is still, the most supportive of me and my coming out didn’t affect our bond at all.
That said, I feel like I still come out almost every day and at times I have that little thought in the back of my head – ‘What if they don’t accept me?’”
How has your personal experience helped you in your profession?
“Being a lesbian, female in a very male dominated sports industry, has made me resilient, progressive, and a dynamic leader. I oversee one of the most diverse staffs in professional sports and entertainment, and have cultivated a culture of growth, family and collaboration.
My experience has helped shape me into a leader that encourages diverse thought and challenges the status quo.”
What challenges as an LGBTQ member have you faced working in the sports industry?
“I’m thankful and lucky to say, no experience sticks out to me. I’ve been intentional in surrounding myself with leaders and peers that support me. I will admit however, that I am conscious of my interactions in the workplace as a gay female, and recognize not everyone is as fortunate as I have been to be in such an accepting work environment.”
How do you think companies can be more inclusive of their LGBTQ team members?
“I think companies can start Employee Resource Groups like the Kings have. In addition to launching the Career Advancement Program, I serve as a member of the Diversity Council, and just recently launched our Women in Sports Network group. These groups can engage, retain employees, and help be a tool for awareness and change.”
How can fellow team members help advance awareness and equity for their LGBTQ teammates?
“Be aware and emotionally intelligent. Do what you can to be inclusive, make everyone feel welcome, and help educate others to become aware if they are doing anything otherwise. Be supportive of pride events, or walk side by side with them and other members of the Kings for the pride parade.
Don’t tell them you accept them, show them in your actions.”
What advice would you share with members of the LGBTQ community who are looking to get into the sports industry?
“Don’t make excuses, you can do it. Surround yourself with people who will support you, challenge you, and grow you – just like my boss, Phil Horn. Own who you are and be authentic. So many jobs these days are about who you know. Don’t be afraid to use your networking skills in your own community; it could turn into a job!”
What resources would you recommend for fellow LGBTQ members in the sports business?
“Develop a strong network within your field. Find great mentors, develop meaningful relationships, and don’t forget to pay it forward.”
What does it mean to you that the Sacramento Kings organization hosts and participates in causes that strive to bring greater awareness and equity to the LGBTQ community?
“It means everything to me. I’ve been brought to tears of joy while seeing the Kings wave a giant rainbow flag and when my peers walked by my side at the annual Sacramento Pride parade. I’m proud to say the Kings have hosted an Equality Night for a number of consecutive years.
I’m proud to be an out and successful member of the LGBTQ+ community and to also be part of one of the best Executive teams in professional sports and entertainment. I’m proud to bring my girlfriend to work functions and feel welcome!
I’m proud to feel like I can be an example for those in the LGBTQ+ community, it does get better.”
In NBA, Basketball Tags Sacramento Kings, Equality Night, Team Member Spotlight
Black History Month Spotlight: Eric King →
In the second chapter of our Black History Month Spotlight series, we sat down with Eric King our Vice President of Technology. Eric has been with our team for over seven years and he provided us with insight on where he finds inspiration, his heritage and journey.
How would you describe your role with the Sacramento Kings?
"As VP of Technology I am responsible for overseeing and managing all technology for not only the Sacramento Kings office but for Golden 1 Center, the world’s most technologically advanced and sustainable arena. My extremely talented team and I provide service to 350-plus full-time users that are housed in the Sawyer Hotel, Golden 1 Center, as well as in Stockton.
My role is to not only manage and maintain our current technology, which includes but is not limited to: a Tier 4 Data Center, Enterprise Applications, Security Postures, and everything in between but I also must be innovative and stay on top of current technologies and developments that are released frequently.
This is key in order for me to lead the Technology department and to help us maintain being the most technologically advanced arena in the world. Vetting out new technologies from inception to the design and through implementation is a major part of my role as well."
Who have been your biggest role models?
"I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have specific role models, but I would say that there are a few people I have found extremely intriguing throughout the years who influenced me to some degree like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Those are probably two people that most tech professionals mention when talking influencers and role models. But, as typical as it sounds, it’s completely true for me. These are two men that dominated the tech industry over the years, really launching us into the tech society we are today.
I was really intrigued by the inner workings of different things as a child. From as far back as I can remember, I spent countless hours taking things apart to see how they worked and then put back together. Also, I have always liked change. The idea of change and progress is something that drives me.
Gates and Jobs both had extreme drive and determination, which allowed them to continue to push the boundaries of technology and help create and shape the tech industry that I love so much today."
In what ways do you celebrate your African American heritage?
"I celebrate my African American heritage year-round. I mean after all, I am an African American executive for an NBA Team, so I have a strong platform to make a difference.
Growing up I had very limited access to books and information on black history. Now, as an adult, I have so much access to all kinds of information and history literally right at my fingertips. I really enjoy watching documentaries and segments on history, so I make a conscious effort to incorporate documentaries and history segments specifically on African American history into my list.
Of course, I’ve watched quite a few different segments on Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. but I find myself searching more for content that focus on others who inspired change around racial justice. Through continued education on black history and the men and women who inspired change, I feel like I am able to learn from the past and help us move forward into a culture where we are all one people.
I also make sure that I stay up on current events centered around diversity and race. It’s important to become educated in these current events, and it’s equally as important to look at everything from all angles.
As an African American in an executive role, I realize I have a tremendous responsibility to represent all African Americans in a positive light at all times.
I think the biggest thing I do to celebrate my African American heritage is by going through life, being me, working hard and staying true to myself. I am an African American but that’s not my only identity. I am a father. I am a mentor. I am a friend. I am an executive for an NBA franchise. I am someone people can count on. I am a high producer at work. I am a good citizen. And I am proud of all of that.
I am all of these things (and more) and I work hard to be the best me possible every single day."
What advice would you give to fellow African Americans who are striving to succeed in the sports and entertainment industry?
"I want to start off by sharing a quick bio on me before I get into this question. I will say first and foremost, I am a huge supporter of continued education. I think college and trade schools are important and with the growing population. What you do during that continued education can help set you apart from all the others.
But that wasn’t my path. Continued education after high school was not for me, so I went into the military. During my time with the military I was a Field Radio Operator. It was a semi technical position you could say. I did one term with the military but decided to not re-enlist and came back to the civilian life.
As a child growing up, I was always into electronics and technical things. I was always interested on how to take something apart and put it back together. I was fascinated with what little technology was around during that time in the 80s.
So when I got out of the military, I decided I wanted to get into the technology field. And from that moment on, I never looked back. From the start, I knew this was the path for me. The inter workings of technology came so natural to me. That was it. I was hooked.
There I was, in my early 20s, fresh out of the military, no college degree. And here I am, in my mid 40s, serving as the Vice President of Technology at the Sacramento Kings & Golden 1 Center.
I didn’t get to this point in my career for any other reason than determination, integrity and hard work. I buried myself in books and tutorials and always offered to take on more work to expand my skillset and my knowledge. I did a lot of research on the things I didn’t know. I never gave up.
So, to my fellow African Americans who are striving to succeed in the Sports & Entertainment Industry, I offer you this advice:
Never stop working hard.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. Your skills and competencies are transferable to different jobs and positions.
Be confident in who you are. Be confident in what you stand for.
Keep an open mind and continue to learn and grow with each organization you work in.
Don’t be afraid to speak up, step outside your comfort zone, take chances and do not be afraid of change.
Be dependable.
Continue to grow and expand your mind (through books, conversations, documentaries, etc.) Always feed your mind. You cannot move forward and succeed if you are stuck in past.
Find mentors that share the same demographics as you, but also find mentors that have different demographics then you to help broaden your prospective on life, professionally and personally.
Never give up.
And represent our African American heritage proudly and well. Show the world how much we can greatly contribute to the sports industry, corporate America, and our communities."
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
"There are so many aspects that I enjoy about what I do that it’s really hard to narrow it down! I love working in this super-fast paced, forward-thinking environment, where the technology is constantly changing and evolving. We are constantly finding new ways to be cutting edge and I get to be part of that.
Vetting out the new technology is not the only thing I really enjoy about my job though. Being able to deploy these technologies is also something I would say I enjoy the most. Being able to find technology that makes us cutting edge is amazing but deploying the technology that makes other’s jobs easier, being able to deploy technology that streamlines processes and increases efficiencies or that can enhance the fan experience, is extremely rewarding and it definitely drives me.
The direct influence I have on the technology we use is perhaps the single most thing I enjoy the most about what I do.
Another part of my job that I really enjoy is my team. I get to work with an amazing team. I say this all the time, but we have hands down, the best Technology team in the League. My team shares my same passions and they are all determined and committed to help move the organization forward in technology.
I also get to be a part of an extremely educated and dynamite executive team. One minute you can find me sitting around a table of Kings executives and the next I am on a keyboard console working on something in the Data Center. I get the best of both worlds in my current role and that is pretty amazing to me."
In NBA, Basketball Tags Black History Month, Sacramento Kings, Team Member Spotlight
Get to Know: Corey Brewer →
Corey Brewer might be new to California’s capital city, but he isn’t a stranger to the West Coast.
Before we jump into what Brewer has in store for us here in Sactown, let’s take a look at what got him here.
Brewer began his journey to the NBA back in 2004, when he accepted a scholarship to play college ball with the Florida Gators. In his sophomore season, Brewer recorded the first triple-double in Gator history in ’05 posting 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.
He then won back to back NCAA championships in ’06 and ’07 and was The Most Outstanding Player in the 2007 NCAA tournament.
After his strong show in college, the Tennessee native entered the 2007 NBA Draft and was selected No. 7 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
No. 22 appeared in four seasons with the Wolves before being traded to the New York Knicks. He then went on to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, where Brewer won his first NBA Championship in 2011.
Following that championship season, Corey went on to play for the Nuggets, a second stint with the Wolves, Rockets, Lakers and Thunder before signing a 10-day contract earlier this season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Corey is no stranger to shifting gears and understands that players have to be ready for anything.
Standing 6-foot-9, Brewer is ready to make his mark with the young Kings heading into the second half of the season with playoffs in sight. Every game is crucial to ensure the team secures their spot. “The young guys are really good, they’ve been playing great. They just keep working their way up” said Brewer.
“As a veteran guy, I’m just coming here and trying to help any way I can…I’m a hard nose guy, I play hard every night and I’m going to give it my all.” After 11 years and championships at both the collegiate and professional level, Brewer believes he still has plenty to contribute to the squad.
In 2013, the defensive-minded forward scored a career high 51 points in a 112-110 win over the Houston Rockets. In doing so, he joined Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Rick Barry as the only players to record 50+ points and 6+ steals in a single game.
In NBA, Basketball Tags Corey Brewer, Get to Know, New, Sacramento Kings
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The West Memphis Murders
Crowd: Justice not served in 1993 killings Supporters of the three men convicted of killing three boys in West Memphis in 1993 gathered Tuesday on the state Capitol steps and called for officials to reop... by Scott Carroll - May 6, 2015
Mom of 1 slain boy: Forgiveness first Pam Hobbs committed to forgiving the three men convicted of killing her son and two of his friends before later coming to believe that they were innocent, she t... by Evie Blad - October 24, 2013
One of three freed in West Memphis murders speaks on case MALVERN — One of three men convicted of the grisly murders of three boys in West Memphis but then freed after 18 years in prison in a rare legal maneuver on Wed... by Gavin Lesnick - October 23, 2013
UALR to host screening of 'West of Memphis' LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is to host a screening of the film "West of Memphis" about the prosecution of three men for the deaths o... by The Associated Press - October 23, 2013
1 convicted in 3 killings to see film at UALR Jason Baldwin, one of three men convicted of killing three boys in a famous West Memphis murder case, will join Pam Hobbs, the mother of Stevie Branch, one of t... by ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE - October 23, 2013
Judge: Parents can’t see ’93 evidence A circuit judge has ruled against allowing the parents of two West Memphis 8-year-olds killed in 1993 to look at evidence in the case. by Kenneth Heard - April 4, 2013
West of Memphis While it has been 20 years since three 8-year-old boys (Steven Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers) were murdered in West Memphis, the case appears to b... by DAN LYBARGER SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE - March 8, 2013
Mother denied evidence access in son’s killing A circuit court judge has denied a mother’s request to see physical evidence in the 1993 murders of her son and two other West Memphis 8-yearolds. by Kenneth Heard - October 31, 2012
Arkansas judge weighs in on West Memphis evidence case A judge has ruled that the physical evidence the mother of one of three Cub Scouts killed in northeast Arkansas requested to see isn’t available to her under th... by The Associated Press - October 30, 2012
Ruling on items in boys’ deaths expected soon A Crittenden County Circuit Court judge will decide early next week whether to allow the mother of one of three 8-year-old West Memphis boys killed in 1993 to s... by Kenneth Heard - October 25, 2012
Judge to hear from lawyers in W. Memphis evidence case A judge says he plans to rule next week on whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the mother of one of three Cub Scouts killed in northeast Arkansas in 1993. by The Associated Press - October 24, 2012
One year since 3 convicted in West Memphis murders freed For nearly two decades, prison was the only home Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. knew. by The Associated Press - August 17, 2012
Ellington: Money a factor in West Memphis deal Prosecutor and congressional hopeful Scott Ellington says costs to the state and potential juror misconduct factored into his decision to agree to the deal that... by Andrew DeMillo, The Associated Press - April 18, 2012
Director helping Echols in seeking pardon Director Peter Jackson said Friday that he was working with Damien Echols in hopes of getting the man a complete pardon. by The Associated Press - October 28, 2011
Lawyer to teach course on West Memphis case A lawyer who represented one of the defendants in the West Memphis murders of three Boy Scouts plans to teach a two-week course on the case at the University of... by The Associated Press - October 24, 2011
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TT: En route
A reader from Missouri writes, apropos of yesterday’s letter from the owner of a hand-held e-book reader:
As a literature teacher in a tech-savvy junior high, I wanted to weigh in on the hand-held electronic book issue.
In my literature classes we often discuss the aesthetics of reading a book. Many of my 14- and 15-year-old students are voracious readers who are willing to tackle classics as well as contemporary and young-adult authors. We’ve actually discoursed on the implications of reading a book via the web or electronically versus holding the actual book and flipping the page. Many have commented that they enjoy turning the page of a thriller, or that they sometimes linger over a page when something particularly sad or shocking has happened. I must admit that there are times when I will hold that page between two fingers and dread turning it because I know the character I’m so fond of dies there.
That being said, I’m all for a hand-held electronic revolution if it will influence more of my students to actually read. While the introduction of the net, the web, and the dot-com world was originally touted as the demise of reading, it has actually become an impetus for improving reading skills and arousing interest in reading among my students. I can’t count the number of times we’ve read a short story and students have gone home to research, on their own, an issue that was brought up by the study of the story. Imagine a world where all of my students didn’t have to carry 10-pound literature anthologies and could whip out their e-book without worrying about fumbling to the right page. As well, the e-books would allow them to take notes as they read and to store them for future reference. Today, we have a “Thou Shalt Not Write in the Book” policy. E-books would end that policy and would allow the students to download their notes and comments later. I think many of my students would read more because they would feel less like they have to “read a book” and more like they’re reading a screen. There’s a difference, you know.
Another vivid front-line dispatch, worth a close reading if you’re wondering what the future holds in store. And once again, I was struck by a small detail–what you might call “nostalgia for the page.” I know exactly what my correspondent means when he talks about not wanting to turn a page.
On the other hand, I’m sure that the readers and writers of the future will be conditioned by their experience with computers to respond to the “printed” word in similar ways, only in terms relevant to their new technological environment. No, I don’t find type on a screen to be sensuously appealing, and I don’t like the visual anonymity of e-mail, which comes in a very narrow range of typefaces–but, then, the same thing was true of typewriters, wasn’t it? Nobody in his right mind would type a love letter, but lots of people send love letters via e-mail (usually peppered with emoticons). A couple of years ago, I sent a friend a condolence e-mail, and she was surprised to hear from me via that channel. I doubt she’d be nearly as surprised today.
I don’t believe in what intellectual historians call “the idea of progress,” but I do accept the inevitability of change. We get used to it, and if we don’t, our children will–which doesn’t mean it’s always good, needless to say. As so often, Dostoevsky spoke the last word on this subject: “Man gets used to everything–the beast!”
UPDATE: Brandywine Books is skeptical about my e-book-related speculations: “The weight of the pages, the smell of glue and paper, the look of the printed text, new or fading, these amount to a book’s atmosphere. You can cuddle up with it. You can sink back with it.” Not so the e-book, he claims. (Read the whole thing here.)
TT: Not in tandem
Artsjournal.com blogger Greg Sandow and I looked at the same story and drew very different conclusions. We both took note of a Boston Globe editorial occasioned by Joan Kroc’s $200 million bequest to National Public Radio. Here’s what the Globe said NPR should do (among other things) with the money:
Bring back music and culture programming. NPR’s news reports are thoughtful and compelling. Its talk shows are topical and a nice way to bring listeners into conversations. And “Car Talk” is great entertainment. But occasionally all this talk is wearying. Balance could be provided by music shows and radio documentaries.
Here’s what I said in response:
If National Public Radio doesn’t seize this opportunity to restore and revive the cultural programming that once made it genuinely “public” in its appeal, it will prove beyond doubt that it’s no longer a “public” radio network, but the purely commercial, ratings-driven talk-radio shop that many listeners reasonably suspect it of having become–and I don’t see that such an enterprise deserves to be subsidized by public monies. A radio network that does nothing more than follow the ratings should be required to live and die by them.
And here’s what Greg said:
But as anyone who’s actually studied this subject knows, public radio listeners overwhelmingly don’t want music. They want talk. The Globe‘s editors are free to have their own desires, but it’s just silly for them to lecture public radio, as if their own opinion had to be right. At least they should learn why public radio makes the choices that it does.
Greg’s a smart guy. Are our views therefore somehow compatible? Not really–but I’m not so sure we’re talking about the same thing, either.
Greg is writing about NPR from a cultural populist’s point of view. Recognizing that the network’s ratings for music programs have become microscopically small in recent years, he thinks NPR should acknowledge and accept that fact and go from there. If NPR’s listeners want talk, they should have it, and that’s that.
The difference between us–as I understand it, and I may be misinterpreting Greg–is that I don’t start from the assumption that National Public Radio has an a priori obligation to exist, and thus should ensure its survival by any means necessary, even if that means scrapping musical and other cultural programming in favor of Car Talk. NPR is not a profit-making corporation. It is, or claims to be, a “public” entity, and it is subsidized in part by public monies and in-kind equivalents. Public entities exist to serve the public–but not in the same way as commercial corporations. The whole point of subsidizing a radio network is to ensure that it will do things that commercial broadcasters won’t do. In fact, there’s no other point to NPR.
Sir John Reith, the man who for all intents and purposes started the BBC, used to say that its job was to give the public “something a bit better than what it thinks it wants.” (I’m quoting from memory, but that’s fairly close to what he said.) In the case of the BBC–and, once upon a not-so-distant time, NPR and PBS–that meant a significant presence for the fine arts. Now it doesn’t. But in the absence of such programming, how can NPR and PBS justify their public subsidies? I like Car Talk, but in what possible way can it be said to constitute a kind of programming not otherwise available through non-subsidized broadcast outlets?
Here’s where I agree with Greg: if NPR’s listeners won’t listen to the cultural programs it does broadcast, then NPR should change those programs, or create new and better ones. Nor do I think that public radio stations need necessarily broadcast hour upon hour of talk-free music. (I don’t listen to classical music on the radio. That’s why I have a stereo and a large collection of CDs.) But I take it absolutely for granted that a significant part of NPR’s air time–maybe even most of it–should be devoted to cultural programming. Specifically, I think NPR has a far greater responsibility to cover the arts than to cover the news. Other people do that, and do it well. Between them, Big Media and the new media provide 24/7 news coverage in every imaginable flavor. In what way does NPR’s news department do something that isn’t already being done?
Let me be clear about this. I don’t object to the existence of All Things Considered, or even Car Talk, so long as these shows are part of a larger, more varied package of programming that makes a concerted effort to do things the commercial media can’t or won’t do. If nobody listens to fine-arts programs, then of course there’s no point in broadcasting them. But that’s a false alternative, a straw man constructed by NPR to justify the gutting of its cultural programming. Do them creatively, do them imaginatively, do them with an ear toward appealing to more than a handful of listeners–but do them. Sure, some of those shows, maybe most of them, will draw far fewer listeners than All Things Considered and Car Talk. Repeat after me: That’s the point. Such programming is the only thing that justifies the continued existence of NPR as a subsidized public entity.
UPDATE: Felix Salmon
thinks I’m all wet. I think he’s being a little bit too cute–way too cute, actually–in claiming that my criticism of NPR has a hidden ideological agenda. Considering that I’ve done a few gazillion on-air commentaries for NPR’s Performance Today (and would be doing another one tomorrow if my schedule permitted), I think perhaps my motives are rather purer than Felix thinks. But he’s a smart guy, too, so you ought to go see what he says and make up your own mind….
TT: A little slow on the uptake
It just hit me that I’d promised to write about the program danced by the Mark Morris Dance Group last weekend at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Instead, I ended up writing–and writing and writing–about the center itself, and the program slipped through the cracks in my head. Since then, I’ve been preoccupied with such urgent matters as the press preview of Taboo, and thus haven’t been posting as much as I’d like. This is to remind myself (and you) that I really am going to blog about Mark’s new dance, not to mention various other stuff. More to come, shortly.
About Our Girl I have no information as of this moment, though I think she’s been preoccupied with life-related activities. For the past few days we’ve been meeting almost exclusively in cyberspace! Are you there, OGIC? Come in, Chicago….
OGIC: A quick one while I procrastinate
I’m so full of breathless anticipation for Master and Commander, I keep forgetting I haven’t actually read any Patrick O’ Brian novels. It just feels like I have, since they’re so boundlessly adored by people like ODID*, OEIT**, and, of course, OTAY***.
Normally on the eve of the opening of such a movie event, I would be starting to dread the arrival of the reviews. I’m far too much a slave to bad reviews, and I hate it when I let a little faint praise burst my bubble before there’s even a chance to go see for myself. I’m sure I’ve cheated myself out of a lot of enjoyable movies, if not great ones, this way. Also, there is something to be said for being disappointed first-hand. And I always wonder what sort of meaningful relation there is between my experience of a movie in the pursuit of pleasure, and the experience of someone who is at work when they’re at the movies. Remember why Pauline Kael retired? She said she just couldn’t watch all those movies anymore; she was sick of them, or at least the vast mediocre portion of them. If that’s what years of reviewing can do to someone so susceptible to movie love–well, I’m not so sure I should be giving quite so much credence to people undergoing the same week-in, week-out cinematic force feeding that pounded the pleasure out of moviegoing for Kael.
Not to question the whole critical enterprise, or anything. I wouldn’t want to talk myself right out of an arts blogging gig! I just hope that in the future (starting tomorrow) I will not let myself be swayed too easily by a cranky critic or two. It’s beyond my power to not read the reviews, but I hereby resolve to stand up to them. (It’s a bit easier to talk a good game when the trusted Cinetrix has already weighed in positively on the O’Brian. Hooray for sneak previews in Boston that allow her to get the jump on the papers!)
*Our Dad in Detroit
**Our Ex in Texas
***Our Terry and Yours
TT: Speaking of Prince Thingummy
Apropos of absolutely nothing, you know what I’d most like to see on Broadway right now? Or off Broadway, for that matter? A really good revival of What the Butler Saw, directed by John Rando or Mois
TT: Smile machine
I haven’t done this for ages, so I should. Go here, scroll down to “Dinah,” and click on the song title. If your computer is equipped with a RealAudio player, you will then be treated to three minutes’ worth of pure pleasure, courtesy of Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli, and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France.
Which reminds me: I met a dog named Django the other day. Kinda yappy, but also kinda sweet. He belongs to yet another great jazz guitarist, about whom more next week….
“‘I wonder if women brought their knitting when Oscar Wilde talked,’ said Piers.
“‘I daresay not,’ said Sybil calmly, ‘but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have liked to.'”
Barbara Pym, A Glass of Blessings
TT: She’s alive!
Our Girl checked in, finally. No, she didn’t expire from an overdose of bad hockey logos, she’s just temporarily overpressed with for-profit activity. (We do not blog to live, we live to blog.)
I’ll hold the fort while OGIC clears her desk, and in the meantime, she sends her love to you all….
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Special Consultancy
Nicola Benedetti
Download Publicity Pack
Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and dynamic presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today.
With concerto performances at the heart of her career, Nicola is in much demand with major orchestras and conductors across the globe. Conductors with whom Nicola has worked include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jiří Bělohlávek, Stéphane Denève, Christoph Eschenbach, James Gaffigan, Hans Graf, Valery Gergiev, Alan Gilbert, Jakub Hrůša, Kirill Karabits, Andrew Litton, Kristjan Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Cristian Măcelaru, Zubin Mehta, Andrea Marcon, Peter Oundjian, Vasily Petrenko, Donald Runnicles, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbanski, Juraj Valcua, Edo de Waart, Pinchas Zukerman and Jaap van Zweden.
Nicola enjoys working with the highest level of orchestras including collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C., Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Camerata Salzburg, Czech Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival.
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Violin & Conductors
Guy Braunstein
Guy Braunstein
Violinist Guy Braunstein was born in Tel Aviv and studied under the guidance of Chaim Taub and later in New York with Glenn Dicterow and Pinchas Zuckerman.
He started performing as an international soloist and a chamber musician at a young age and has since performed with many of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors. His chamber music collaborations have included projects with Issac Stern, András Schiff, Zubin Mehta, Maurizio Pollini, Yefim Bronfman, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Mitsuko Uchida and Angelika Kirschlager to name a few.
He was the youngest person ever to be appointed concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2000, a position he held for twelve years before leaving to pursue his solo career.
Recent highlights include the position of Artist-in-Residence with the Trondheim Symphoniker for the 17/18 season which showcased Guy’s multi-faceted musicianship with projects as both conductor and soloist. Further highlights include concerto debuts with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino & the Tampere Philharmonia. Recent conducting highlights include debuts with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as well as returns to the Pierre Boulez saal for recital performances at the Elbphilharmonie with the Hamburger Symphoniker, where he holds the position of Associate Artist. Highlights in 18/19 include return concerts as both soloist and conductor with the Trondheim Symphoniker and Hamburger Symphoniker as well as a concerto debut with the Ulster Orchestra. Guy will also debut with the Israel Chamber Orchestra as both soloist and conductor in the same concert.
Guy plays a rare violin made by Francesco Roggieri in 1679.
Veronika Eberle
Veronika Eberle
Veronika Eberle’s exceptional talent and the poise and maturity of her musicianship have been recognised by many of the world’s finest orchestras, venues and festivals, as well as by some of the most eminent conductors.
In 18/19, Veronika will be artist in residence with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra which will include concerto performances and recitals as well as educational projects and masterclasses. Debuts include with the Atlanta, Ulster, Danish Radio and Swedish Radio (Harding) Symphony orchestras as well as with the Luxembourg Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony and Kansai Philharmonic Orchestras. Veronika will also tour Spain with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano.
Sir Simon Rattle’s introduction of Veronika aged just 16 to a packed Salzburg Festpielhaus at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival in a performance of the Beethoven concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker, brought her to international attention. Key orchestra collaborations since then include the London Symphony (Rattle), Concertgebouw (Holliger), New York Philharmonic (Gilbert), Montreal Symphony (Nagano), Munich Philharmonic and Gewandhaus Orchestras (Langree), Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Janowski), Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester (P.Järvi), Bamberger Symphoniker (Ticciati, Nott), Tonhalle Orchester Zurich (M.Sanderling), NHK Symphony (Kout, Stenz, Norrington) and Rotterdam Philharmonic (Rattle, Gaffigan, Nézet-Seguin).
Born in Donauwörth Southern Germany, she started violin lessons at the age of six and four years later became a junior student at the Richard Strauss Konservatorium in Munich with Olga Voitova. After studying privately with Christoph Poppen for a year, she joined the Hochschule in Munich, where she studied with Ana Chumachenco 2001-2012.
Veronika Eberle plays the ‘Dragonetti’ Stradivarius (1700), on generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.
Vilde Frang
Vilde Frang
Vilde Frang’s profound musicianship and exceptional lyricism has elevated her as one of the leading and most individual young artists.
In 2012 she was unanimously awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artists Award which led to her debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker under Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.
In 2016 she made her acclaimed debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle as part of their Europa Konzert and she will return during the 17-18 season for her subscription debut at the Philharmonie, as well as concerts at the Baden Baden Easter Festival with Ivan Fischer.
Regularly appearing with the leading orchestras, her recent highlights have included performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk, Dallas Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris.
The 2018-19 season will include two extensive European tours with the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin with Robin Ticciati and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg with Gustavo Gimeno, plus engagements with San Francisco Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Bamberger Symphoniker, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Seoul Philharmonic.
Vilde Frang is an exclusive Warner Classics artist and her recordings have received numerous awards. She is the recipient of the Edison Klassiek Award, Classic BRIT Award, “Diapason d’Or” by Diapason Magazine, Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and Echo Klassik Award. She also received a Gramophone Award in the Concerto category for her recording of Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Britten’s Violin Concerto.
Karen Gomyo
Karen Gomyo
Born in Tokyo and beginning her musical career in Montréal and New York, violinist Karen Gomyo has recently made Berlin her home. A musician of the highest calibre, the Chicago Tribune praised her as “…a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality, brilliance and intensity”.
Highlights of Karen’s 2018/19 season include debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra with Jakub Hrusa, the Royal Northern Sinfonia with Karina Canellakis, the BBC Symphony with Ben Gernon at the opening concert of the Dubai Proms, as well as returns to the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Minnesota Orchestra and the San Francisco, Houston, Oregon, Minnesota, St. Louis, Vancouver and Dallas symphony orchestras.
In Europe, she has most recently performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Radio France, Residentie Orkest, Stuttgart Radio Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra in Katowice and WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln. Further ahead Karen will make her debut with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
Strongly committed to contemporary works, Karen gave the North American premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Concerto No. 2 Mar’eh with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington under the baton of the composer, as well as Peteris Vasks’ Vox Amoris with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra conducted by John Storgårds. In May 2018 Karen performed the world premiere of Samuel Adams’ new Chamber Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen to great critical acclaim.
In recital and chamber music Karen has performed in festivals throughout North America and Europe, including recently at the Seattle Chamber Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, with Jeremy Denk at this Milton Court/Barbican residency and at her annual chamber music project with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Future plans include a new piano trio collaboration with Olli Mustonen and Julian Steckel.
Click here to download Karen’s full 2018/19 biography.
Ziyu He
Ziyu He
The outstanding young violinist Ziyu He was one of the youngest soloists to make his debut at the Musikverein with the Vienna Philharmonic under Adam Fischer in 2017, aged just 18. He has also performed with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, RAI Orchestra Turin, the Salzburg Chamber Soloists and China Philharmonic. The 18-19 season sees him debut with Orchestra della Toscana, Zagreb Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony and the Wiener Kammerochester with whom he will play Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Joji Hattori. He also gives recitals at the Konzerthaus Wien as part of their ‘Great Talents’ series, and is a member of Altenberg Trio Wien.
In 2016, Ziyu won both the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition, and was the Eurovision Young Musician of the Year in 2014.
Ziyu He began playing the violin in his native China at the age of five. Aged just 10, he was invited by Paul Roczek to study with him in Salzburg at the University Mozarteum where Ziyu continues his Masters studies with Benjamin Schmid.
Alina Ibragimova
Alina Ibragimova
“The immediacy and honesty of Ibragimova’s playing has the curious ability to collapse any sense of distance between performer and listener”. The Guardian
Performing music from baroque to new commissions on both modern and period instruments, Alina Ibragimova has established a reputation as one of the most accomplished and intriguing violinists of the younger generation. This was illustrated in her prominent presence at the 2015 BBC Proms, which included a concerto with a symphony orchestra, a concerto with a baroque ensemble and two Royal Albert Hall late-night recitals featuring the complete Bach partitas and sonatas.
Recent highlights include her debut with the Boston Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Wiener Symphoniker, Hungarian National Philharmonic, return engagements with the London Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and BBC Symphony Orchestra and extensive touring in Australia. As a recitalist Alina has appeared at venues including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna’s Musikverein and Carnegie Hall.
Her long-standing duo partnership with pianist Cédric Tiberghien has featured highly successful complete cycles of both the Beethoven violin sonatas and the Mozart sonatas for violin and keyboard at Wigmore Hall. Future plans for the duo also include extensive touring in Japan and North America.
Sergey Khachatryan
Sergey Khachatryan
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Sergey Khachatryan won First Prize at the VIII International Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 2000, becoming the youngest ever winner in the history of the competition. In 2005 he claimed First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.
Highlights of this season include Sergey’s residency at the BOZAR, Brussels which includes a pair of recitals and concert with Orchestre National de Belgique and Hugo Wolff. He also performs with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra with Stanislav Kochanovsky, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Gulbenkian Orchestra with Lorenzo Viotti, Bamberger Symphoniker with Ludovic Morlot and Rotterdam Philharmonic with Valery Gergiev, as well as at the Teatro alla Scala Milan under Myung-Whun Chung. Sergey also embarks on a tour of the US and Europe with Alisa Weilierstein and Inon Barnaton with a programme titled ‘Transfigured Nights’ featuring the music of Beethoven, Schoenberg and Shostakovich.
In recent seasons, Sergey has performed with the Bamberger Symphoniker (Herbert Blomstedt and Jonathan Nott), Münchner Philharmoniker (James Gaffigan), Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Valcuha), Mariinsky Orchestra (Valery Gergiev), Orchestre de Paris (Andris Nelsons and Gianandrea Noseda) and Los Angeles Philharmonic (Morlot). He has also collaborated with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Rotterdam Philharmonic, London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, NHK Symphony, the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra.
Click here to download Sergey’s full 2018/19 biography
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Degrees of affiliation in the global al-Qaeda franchise
16 Jun 2017|Madeleine Nyst
10 years ago, al-Qaeda (AQ) was in shambles. Thanks to American and Pakistani-led operations, they had no training camps, limited money and few adherents. They also faced increasing challenges to their position as the inspirational leader of the global terrorist movement—in 2014, their local franchise in Iraq (which later rebranded to Islamic State) went off the rails, becoming so barbaric that AQ’s own supporters turned against it. Looking at the landscape today, however, reveals that AQ has managed to turn its fortunes around, expanding in both scale and threat.
Their most recent expansion occurred on 2 March this year, when various extremist groups operating out of the Sahel–Sahara region in North Africa announced their official unification under the banner of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). In a statement released online, it was revealed that three groups—Ansar Dine (AQIM’s Sahara branch), Al Murabitoon and Katibat Macina—had merged to form Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (Nusrat al-Islam hereafter), which translates to ‘The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims’. Ansar Dine’s longtime leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly, stated that this new group would fall under the banner of AQIM and form part of AQ’s international network. However, questions swirl around how much direct control AQ Core (AQC) maintains over their so-called affiliates—both in a general sense but also specifically for the case of Nusrat al-Islam.
Evaluating AQIM’s history offers some valuable clues as to how Nusrat al-Islam might navigate its relationship with AQC. AQIM has its origins in the fight against Algeria’s secular government in the 1990s, after the cancellation of elections that seemed likely to bring Islamists to power. In 1998, certain members of Algeria’s Armed Islamic Group expressed concern that their use of tactics such as beheadings were alienating their Algerian support base. They subsequently broke away from the group to form the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). Initially, GSPC garnered support by promising to continue the rebellion (against the secular government) without killing civilians. In the early 2000s however, a government amnesty and counterterrorism campaign drove the group into disarray. After formally establishing itself as AQIM in 2007, the group expanded to parts of Mali, Mauritania and Niger, incorporating more localised groups along the way.
To mark its debut as AQIM, the group strategically changed tactics to reflect Osama Bin Laden’s concentration on the ‘far enemy’—the West in general and the US in particular—while also retaining their local and regional activities. The group began focusing on UN, Israeli and American targets in the region, and went after Algeria’s energy infrastructure, none of which had been a priority in the past. The group also expanded its primary focus to include France, as well as the Algerian regime, and began using suicide bombings and car bombs more strategically by targeting aid workers, tourists, diplomats, and employees of multinational or foreign companies.
Historically, the partnership between AQIM and AQC has been mutually beneficial. An endorsement from AQC allowed AQIM to attract greater funding from donors with deep pockets, particularly those in the Gulf. Moreover, in 2007, when AQIM was attempting to replace their more local, Algerian-focused brand with a regional one, acknowledgement by AQC ensured publicity for the group beyond its traditional borders whilst simultaneously facilitating recruitment. On the other hand, incorporating these new groups into the global AQ franchise allowed AQC to demonstrate its continued relevance and to continue to fulfill its mission of global jihad while gaining greater access to a region geographically close to Europe. Despite this mutually-beneficial history, AQIM is seen today as retaining a high-degree of independence—working with AQC ‘more as partners than as proxies’.
In a similar pattern to AQIM, the traditional focus for many of the groups within the newly-formed Nusrat al-Islam has been local, even tribal, in nature. While partnering with AQIM (and by extension AQC) will help solve some problems related to logistics, branding and recruitment; partnering with such a globally-inclined group will also change the nature of their struggle, thereby decreasing Nusrat al-Islam’s chances of appealing to their local/regional support base and achieving their local objectives i.e. control of territory. In order to control actual territory—which Daniel Byman from The Brookings Institution argues is one of the biggest transformational changes to occur amongst terrorist organisations in the 21st century—groups must now effectively run a government of their own. This includes enforcing law and order and providing certain services, all of which tether their cause to a certain region or locality.
Where Nusrat al-Islam will sit alongside AQC in the long-term remains unclear. Looking at the history of AQIM, as well as realities on the ground, suggests that, as it’s currently constituted, AQC won’t hold direct authority over this new group. Similarly, while Nusrat al-Islam may opportunistically change their tactics to reflect AQ’s more global agenda—perhaps by mounting attacks on US and French interests in the region as a means of demonstrating their usefulness to the AQ franchise—they’re ultimately more than likely to retain their local and regional focus. While we can’t be certain as to how the AQ franchise will develop following this recent addition, its evident ability to adapt to changing environments and cultivate relationships with local extremist organisations, mean it will no-doubt remain a point of interest for analysts of the region well into the future.
Madeleine Nyst is a research intern at ASPI. Image courtesy of Pixabay user 422737.
The age of blowback terror
The Manchester bombing: waking to the horror of a UK–Libya nexus
Trapped in a long war
The Counterterrorism Yearbook 2017: the Middle East
The Islamic State: reinventing the narrative as reality bites
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All the World’s a Play – A Conversation with Laurence Hillman
Ray Grasse
An interview between Ray Grasse and Laurence Hillman originally published in The Mountain Astrologer. Reprinted with permission.
I first met Laurence Hillman when we were paired up to share a hotel room at the “Cycles and Symbols Conference” in California in 1994. It was my first astrology convention — and his, too, I soon learned. I’d been familiar with the work of his father, James Hillman, a well-known pioneer in the field of “archetypal psychology,” so I was curious not only to compare notes as fellow astrologers, but to see how that early psychological environment might have influenced his approach to the discipline.
What I encountered was a brilliant astrologer with keen psychological insight into the subtleties of his craft. Surprisingly, he mentioned that he’d never actually read any of his father’s books from cover to cover (a way to differentiate his own developing ideas, perhaps?). Yet, he went on to explain how growing up around psychologists — especially Jungians — caused him to be virtually “marinated in the archetypes” from an early age.
Since that first conference, he’s gone on to give voice to that archetypal perspective in countless lectures and in two books: Alignments: How to Live in Harmony with the Universe (co-authored with Donna Spencer) and Planets in Play: How to Re-Imagine Your Life Through the Language of Astrology.
Raised in Switzerland and fluent in five languages, he moved to the United States at age 23 and lives with his family in St. Louis, Missouri. He currently maintains a busy astrological practice, with clients around the world, and lectures frequently both in the U.S. and abroad. Laurence’s Web site is http://laurencehillman.com/ his e-mail address is [email protected]; and his phone number is (314) 997-7744.
I spoke with him in June 2010 about the archetypal dimensions of astrology, the intermixture of astrology with theater, the Moon’s nodes, and his perspective on current events.
Ray Grasse: Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first get into astrology?
Laurence Hillman: Well, I was a bored teenager living in Zürich, Switzerland, and my mother was very interested in astrology. Just so I’d have something to do, she suggested I study astrology with a family friend I’d known all my life, who was a professional astrologer. When I went to him, he said, “So, you’re here to study astrology?” I said, “I guess.” Then, just ten minutes into my first lesson, I had a clear vision that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. My next thought after that was: I’m going to do this full-time when I turn 40, because there are a lot of other things I’ve got to do first. And that’s pretty much what happened. I started full-time when I was 38, though by then I’d been practicing astrology for two decades already.
RG: You were raised in a heavily psychological household. How did that affect your general perception of things, including astrology?
LH: I grew up in an environment infused with notions about depth psychology rather than, say, behavioral or motivational psychology, which don’t concern themselves with concepts of an “unconscious” or “deeper motivations,” like depth psychology does. So, from a young age, it was always natural for me to imagine that we actually do have a psyche and, along with that, an often largely unconscious inner “story.”
We’re complex beings with a virtual universe of rich inner impulses and drives, not just a bag of chemicals and electrical impulses to be understood mechanically or biologically. Depth psychology is already “archetypal” from the start. Later on, when I discovered astrology, I found it to offer the perfect language for describing this psyche with its active inner life. It’s incredibly rich in metaphoric resonance and imagery, and not just some dry, analytical way of looking at life or psychology. Later still, theater provided me with a similar metaphor for describing what I imagined to be unfolding inside of us: We have an inner stage — the psyche — where our personal play unfolds. The ten planets are like characters interacting on the stage of that inner drama. Studying that inner play, the “psyche-logia,” comes very naturally to me. Partly, that’s my nature, my own inner play, but it helped to be raised in an environment where the language of depth psychology was dominant.
RG: Did your formal education play any role in this?
LH: It definitely played a role. I went to a Rudolph Steiner school — they’re called Waldorf schools here in the States. For those who don’t know, these schools offer a largely right-brain education emphasizing things like fairy tales, mythology, and music, and all of that contributed to cultivating my imagination. Combined with the heavily Jungian slant of my early household, I learned to look at the world mostly through psychological and archetypal lenses — and that included astrology. I tend to think about how and why people do what they do, but in a psychological way. In other words, I find myself frequently asking: “Hmm. What’s the underlying story? I wonder what archetypal patterns are at work here.” I actually imagine a play going on inside of people at any given moment. Birth charts are like frozen snapshots in an ever-changing archetypal play.
RG: Perhaps we should clarify what “archetypal” means.
LH: The word itself means “firstmolded,” which suggests a fundamental pattern after which other things are shaped. If we translate that into human life, archetypal patterns are experiences we all have, as if they are based on a prototype. So, universality is a key to the archetypes. In an archetypal approach to astrology, the planets are the archetypes, the universal patterns.
When we see Mercury in a chart, for example, we think of what might be called the “trickster” pattern. The Trickster archetype is found in virtually every culture throughout history, so when we look at Mercury in someone’s chart, we know we’re looking at a universal pattern we can all recognize. But as astrologers, we can then look for other clues about how that Mercury/Trickster figure is interacting with the other planets. We can begin to understand how that particular Mercury is staging himself for this person. Is he a fast-talking car salesman? Is he a magician? A fool? Those subtleties are revealed by the placements and all the interactions of that Mercury.
Besides archetypes like the Trickster or the Hero or the Teacher, there are more abstract examples, like falling in love. If you fall in love in northern Siberia or southern Egypt, for example, whether today or 2,000 years ago, the human experience is remarkably similar. The longing for the beloved, those butterflies in the stomach, the sweet pain — these feelings are archetypal because they’re universal. We all experience and live these archetypes. Sometimes we enjoy them, other times we suffer them, and sometimes we are not even aware of them.
RG: What do you see as the value of this archetypal way of understanding life?
LH: Well, the flip answer is that it’s “preventive medicine”! As I said to a client just this morning, I’d rather wonder about and figure out what my Mars wants, instead of being reminded of what it wants by a mugger! This is not about appeasing Mars, but about having the ability to choose how I’d like to experience Mars. We all experience Mars in our lives, that’s a given. It’s unavoidable, because Mars is an archetype on everyone’s stage.
The notion that we have a choice about how we experience Mars is counterintuitive to what some of my clients think, because they’ve developed a notion that Mars is bad or harmful or dangerous due to how some of the traditional sources talk about it. I don’t subscribe to that idea, since I don’t believe in good or bad planets in that way. Rather, I want to know the archetypal principle that underlies Mars. And I can get that by looking at a few key words for Mars — for instance, drive, fight, separation, sexuality — and I can begin to make a list of the ways I want to express that Mars, and accordingly take action.
What is psychological about that approach is that it denies people the use of blame psychology as an excuse for their circumstances.
RG: What do you mean by “blame psychology”?
LH: We’re not who we are because of what was done to us, or because of our inability to change our chart, or because of something in the past. These are just attempts to affix blame for our problems, and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Rather, we are what we choose to do with what we’ve experienced, and how we step into our chart around that particular experience in the present. That’s a huge difference! There’s much more possibility involved. It’s not fatalistic and fixed. Once we understand the underlying archetype in any problem we might have, we have enormous flexibility in dealing with it.
RG: Can you give a specific example?
LH: Okay, say I have the Moon square Saturn. The simplistic textbook interpretation might be that I tend to be depressed, am inclined to melancholy, emotionally stunted, or even that I have a cold mother. First off, I don’t begin by looking at this Moon square Saturn as a “problem.” That’s not my language, although some astrologers might think of it that way. Rather, I think of it as a “story,” and like any good story, there is a lesson to be learned in it. If I consider learning to be valuable, then there is gold in that lesson, in that story. I’m fully aware that some lessons are difficult and some are downright awful, so I’m not denying that, not at all. But if that’s all I have to offer, where does that leave my clients?
If I label this square a problem, I’m doing more harm than good. I’m simply affirming what they experience as an awful list of events and feelings. If I label it and bottle it like that, there is nowhere for them to go.
RG: So, what exactly do you do?
LH: Okay, let’s imagine that the “Moon–Saturn problem” is over here in my left hand; I might even ask my clients to hold out their left hand and visualize this. For whatever reason, this square may have manifested for them as one of the more unsavory expressions I just mentioned, like depression or mother problems. So, what’s now in their left hand is the cumulative experience of that painful Moon–Saturn, which is really just a pile of old crap.
But then I ask my clients to hold out their right hand, and we begin to look at how that Moon–Saturn story could also read in a more constructive way — for instance, the ability to hold one’s feelings in check, something that would be useful for a judge or referee. Another example of a constructive Moon–Saturn might be building houses for Haiti’s earthquake survivors. These expressions of that “problem” are just as valid as the possibility of depression, a cold mother, or melancholy.
You see, what happens then is that the crap in the left hand becomes fertilizer in the right. What I’m saying is that, if you really understand the core of the underlying pattern, you can now say, “That old way is not how I want to live my Moon-Saturn! I want to live my Moon–Saturn by doing x, y, or z instead.” And that new way is now over here in your right hand.
There are as many ways to respond to the Moon–Saturn pattern as there are people in the world, really, because we have flexibility about how we express these archetypal impulses. But if you simply look at what’s in your left hand, you can spend your whole life in therapy, analyzing or blaming or feeling guilty about what’s going on over there in your left hand.
RG: This seems to bring us into the whole area of free will versus fate, doesn’t it?
LH: Sure. There are lots of terms thrown around when it comes to fate, like karma, chance, luck, destiny, and predestination. Rather than try to sort out what they all mean, I’ll try to explain what I understand to be happening in our lives.
First, we have a personality, and that’s what is shown in the horoscope; it’s the sum total of all these parts. Sometimes we call them character traits, sometimes we call them planets, sometimes we call them archetypes, but whatever we call them, they’re basically the characters we get to know on our inner stage. Some are fighting, some are getting along, and some aren’t relating to the others at all — and all of that is shown in the chart. The chart reveals our general ways of relating to the circumstances that come at us throughout our lives.
But the key here is that there isn’t “one singular way” those characters are going to express themselves in the world, according to some traditional formula inscribed in a book. We need to bring imagination back into astrology and make it less of a science and more of an art form. Nothing in the chart means anything in a certain, fixed way! Mars in the 5th house doesn’t mean a person is going to be a gigolo or feel especially libidinous. Of course, it could mean those things in some cases, but if we say to the client, “It is this,” we aren’t allowing for an intuitive sense of how their particular Mars could express itself. That very same Mars might just as well mean they’re going to put a lot of energy into their kids or into their creative projects, or any number of things. Mars is archetypally about drive, force, and feistiness, and where Mars is placed simply shows where we put that energy.
So “fate” would be the fact that Mars needs to be expressed through the 5th-house principle, in whatever sign it’s in and in whatever relationship it’s in to the other characters on your inner stage. There are certain limitations, sure — your Mars is not in the 7th or the 11th house — so that’s your “fate,” you might say. In turn, “free will” is how we choose to express that Mars, how we respond to that energy. Free will comes from the fact that there are as many ways to express that Mars as there are people on the planet. And there’s no book or computer interpretation in the world that can possibly encompass all of that.
RG: I recall that this way of thinking posed some problems for your editor when you were writing your last book, Planets in Play.
LH: Yes! I was asked by my editor to include chapters that listed the planets in the houses and signs, with relatively fixed meanings. That seemed very limiting to me. The way I got around that was by describing the clothing and the setting of how and where a particular inner “actor” might appear. The idea was to stir the imagination instead of giving a concrete recipe.
For instance, for Mars in Cancer I wrote: “This Mars is dressed in overalls. He is getting ready to paint the family room. You will find him constantly fixing and restoring heirlooms and other antiques that he chases after at yard sales …” and so on. This gives a more open-ended image. And whenever I’m doing readings, I find that new images for a Mars in Cancer will intuitively emerge.
It bothers me that some of my clients have come away from other astrology readings that spoke in hard absolutes like “never” or “always” or “impossible.” I don’t see astrology in terms of absolutes. I instead try to offer my clients imagery that they can shape into something personal and open-ended.
RG: A number of years ago, I was surprised to hear you say you’d never actually looked at your children’s horoscopes — not up to that point, anyway. I found that intriguing, because I couldn’t recall any other astrologers who could say that.
LH: Well, I think having a child is like being handed a seed. You plant it in the ground and see what happens. I’m more interested in finding out what kind of a plant it is than trying to analyze the plant before it’s even sprouted. I thought it was more of a mystery, and more respectful to them, if I didn’t “know too much.” It was a matter of honoring them enough to show themselves to me before I saw them in my own way, through a particular filter like astrology.
RG: You wanted to experience their essence unmediated by an intellectual construct?
LH: Exactly. I also knew that astrology was a fabulous tool and that I would use it if I needed to. And I have used it, and
it’s been very helpful.
RG: You mentioned the theater earlier. I know you’ve conducted workshops with Richard Olivier, Laurence’s son, as well as actor Mark Rylance, on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London, where you’ve blended theater with astrology. Could you say a few words about that experience?
LH: Astrology is an extraordinarily complicated and rich language. As astrologers, we either throw information at people using dense jargon, or we explain what we are doing in terms they can understand. Obviously, I prefer the latter, so I wanted a metaphor to convey the complexity of what I’m doing in clear, manageable terms.
Over the decades, I’ve experimented with various metaphors and visuals, and I ended up with theater imagery as a way to introduce archetypal astrology to my clients in just a few minutes. I begin my readings with the image of the horoscope being a circular stage where the planets are acting out a play, a drama, and each one of them is an archetypal character playing a role. It’s as though the heavenly bodies dropped onto that inner stage at the moment of one’s birth, and we’ve taken a snapshot of it from the rigging above, freezing that moment in time. The aspects tell us who is arguing with whom, who is kissing whom, and so forth.
There’s a story going on in every chart, just as there is in a real play. The planets are the who, the aspects are the what, the signs are the how, and the houses are the where.
Of course, the notion of blending astrology and theater isn’t new. There is currently a branch of astrology called Experiential Astrology, or Astrodrama, and I use some of these techniques in workshops. But blending astrology and theater is an idea that goes back many centuries. The application of these ideas became especially clear to me when I was invited to work on an archetypal approach to some of Shakespeare’s plays, which contain astrological ideas.
Beyond the obvious reference to “starcross’d Lovers” in Romeo and Juliet, there is that lovely line in As You Like It where Beatrice says, “A star danced and under that was I born.” Or, in All’s Well that Ends Well, Helena says “… you must needs be born under Mars.” The fact is that, to fully appreciate Shakespeare, a basic knowledge of astrological terms is necessary.
RG: In the context of a workshop, what are some of the ways you might work with or develop these connections?
LH: Using an archetypal approach, we might now ask questions like, “What would a Jupiterian (or jovial) Henry V look like, versus a Martian or Saturnine one?” This was especially fun when we worked with the actors participating in the group. Exercises like this help to give people a direct understanding of the archetypal qualities of the different planets.
This same approach to imagery also served as the basis for my book, Planets in Play, and I simultaneously expanded on these ideas in a series of slide shows, along with sound and music, illustrating the primary astrological archetypes. I use these whenever I teach, and I’ve put them on my Web site as yet another way to help people see the archetypes in their lives.
I love to create visuals as a stimulant for imagery; actually, one of the reasons I went to architectural school was that I was attracted to form and space. I’ve always had images and ideas in my head that I wanted to share with others, and finding new ways to make things visible has always inspired me. I find it enriching. Unless you can see Venus in a chocolate mousse, I believe you are missing her full essence!
RG: You mentioned that there were hints of the merger between astrology and theater throughout history, which is a fascinating subject by itself. Over the years, scholars have talked about how the roots of modern theater can be traced back to the religious dramas and rituals of ancient times, going all the way back to the cave dwellers. But I think an argument could be made that nearly all of the major religious rituals of history — whether they be Hindu, Egyptian, or Christian — were astrological rituals, a kind of early “astro-drama,” since they were acting out the seasonal or planetary energies of the time. Look at Christmas, for example, and how it was associated with the winter solstice and the earlier celebrations of the Sun’s return after the darkest point of the year.
LH: An awareness of celestial timing has been a part of society for millennia, although we don’t usually realize it. And I would add that, in ancient times, the only thing 100% predictable was the cyclical movement of the heavenly bodies, in particular, the Sun and Moon. The only thing people knew for sure was that Mars was going to return to that point in the sky, or that the days would start growing longer at a certain time. So, all order, all structure, all calendars were indeed organized around planetary movements, as were rituals, anniversaries, and celebrations.
In an extraordinarily unpredictable world, the sense that there was some kind of order was a huge factor in understanding the world. In that way, we organized time; the Saturnine sense of structure came to us by following the planets. And all these rituals and celebrations were a way of organizing our world, as well as a way of aligning ourselves with those great cycles.
RG: I would add that astrology also arose out of the sense that each of those cycles and celestial markers had its own unique meaning, with the rituals and celebrations being designed to honor, perhaps even exploit, those distinct qualities.
LH: Right. It brought meaning to our lives, not only by organizing our world, but by aligning our lives with the meaning of the cosmos. That’s even acknowledged in a work like Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, verse 3, which talks about how there is a time for planting, a time for dancing, a time for loving, and so forth. Different times are better for some things than others. Response-ability means responding to what’s happening.
I believe that the ancients had a subtler notion of time than we do. For instance, the Greeks distinguished between chronos and kairos, and I would translate that into the difference between the quantity and quality of time. The first of these is easy because it’s how we typically think of time, as measured in quantity: I have little time or much time.
The notion of kairos is much more subtle. It implies that there are different kinds of time, that time has a particular quality. We still have remnants of that notion in our language when we say, “This is not a good time for me.” It’s an assessment of the quality of the moment we are in. In essence, astrology is a tool for measuring and describing the quality of time. The more we know about the quality of a moment, the more we can decide what archetypes we wish to express at that point. Ancient celestial observers were keenly tuned into the qualities of the moments that the planets marked off.
RG: Speaking of qualities of time — as of this moment (June 2010), we’re in the midst of some very powerful planetary patterns, especially the emerging t-square involving Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto. I’m curious to get your take on what’s occurring on the global stage right now.
LH: First of all, the wonderful thing about mundane astrology (the branch of astrology that studies historical trends) is that it helps explain everything we see happening in the news. And that’s very reassuring, because the one certain thing about transits is their expiration date, their shelf life, so to speak. This is a key idea, because it lets us know “this, too, shall pass.”
This transitoriness is a natural part of the cyclic nature of existence. After all, we do call them “transits,” don’t we?!
But as for the t-square, since Pluto is at the critical point of the current configuration, this period is about the emergence of Pluto in some new way — a new awareness of what I call the “dark feminine.” We are collectively horrified as we see Mother Earth, in her awesome force, bleeding — and by that I mean the recent devastating earthquakes, mining accidents, and of course, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At some point, even Mother Earth won’t take it anymore, and Pluto is her messenger.
I don’t believe the Earth is coming to an end; that’s a concept that’s existed as long as human beings have been on the planet — the fantasy of end times. But there is now a constant reminder that we need to change how we view and use the Earth’s natural resources. This is about embracing the dark feminine, the yin in the world.
Pluto is asking us: Where is your deepest “hole,” and what are you trying to fill it with? Collectively, we’re going to a level of depth now where people have to become aware of their deepest psychological fears. For example, if they’re getting plastic surgery, maybe it’s their fear of death. What are you really trying to fill? If you’re consuming stuff, if you’re filling your time with busyness, cell phones, text messaging, and so on, what are you really afraid might happen in the stillness that Pluto offers?
There is also this slow emergence of the realization that the pillars of our old ways — science, religion, justice, and even capitalism — are no longer working. We’re finding out that these pillars are not made of stone, but of wood. For months now, scientists haven’t been able to fix the leak in the Gulf; religion doesn’t have answers for an increasing number of people; “justice for all” seems increasingly distant; and capitalism itself isn’t looking too rosy at this point, either. For me, Pluto feels a lot like termites eating away at these wooden columns of our temple. It’s very slow and scary — we don’t realize how much has crumbled until the roof is practically on top of our heads.
These times are challenging, of course, but they also offer huge opportunities.
RG: The subject of your first book (co-authored with Donna Spencer) was the Nodes of the Moon. If the horoscope reveals the different characters on one’s inner stage, where does the North Node fit into that picture?
LH: First, I define the personality as the sum total of all these inner parts we’ve been talking about, but separate from the personality there is what I call the soul. The soul uses the personality to experience certain things in this life. It is immortal and travels through many lives. I’ve used the imagery of an endless train track to illustrate this journey. This track comes from somewhere and goes somewhere. The South Node is where you’ve come from, where you already have a bunch of PhDs under your belt. It’s a comfort zone where you like to hang out simply because you know it.
But the North Node is where that train track is heading, to a point of new learning. The house position of the node is much more important than the sign, because the house tells you where, and the signs have to do with how.
For me, the North Node is an area of life that you’ve come here to get to know better. The concept is as simple as that and as complicated and rich as that. It’s about getting to know life better.
RG: To “know life better” — toward what end? What are we being called to?
LH: When I say “getting to know life better,” I’m talking about becoming emotionally fulfilled, mentally focused, and more spiritually aligned. For lack of a better term, it’s moving toward a sense of overall happiness. But in a larger sense, the lunar nodes relate to the notion of reincarnation and the idea that there is a direction we are heading in, one that is on the soul level and is not personality-based. When we’re feeling particularly lost, the solutions never come from our personality, which rarely sees the big picture.
Of course, people almost always try to solve their problems from the level of the personality; that’s what we do in therapy, that’s what we do in every self-exploratory type of process. But the gift of astrology is that it can take us outside of the personality, outside of personal history, outside the chart itself and in a more esoteric, spiritual direction. Follow the Yellow North Node! (laughs)
RG: Can you give a specific example of this from your practice?
LH: Okay, here’s a specific instance I used in Alignments. Charlie was a middle-aged manager who came to see me many years ago because he “wanted to change things a bit.” His North Node was in the 5th house. Before he arrived, I remember wondering how he might be expressing his creative side. His North Node being in Taurus, I’d thought that perhaps his creative pursuits might be both artistic and practical.
Charlie arrived looking extremely sad and gave me much more information than I asked for. He complained about his seemingly endless responsibilities — his co-workers, his demanding wife, his kids in college. I asked him, “Charlie, if you had no responsibilities and could do whatever you wanted, what would you do?” He looked at the floor, sobbing bitterly now, and said quietly, “I would sculpt.”
The place where Charlie felt comfortable and spent most of his time was his 11th house — the corporation, the group, the Big Idea, and helping others do well. He wasn’t paying enough attention to his soul’s compass, and this was enormously painful for him.
RG: If the North Node truly leads to a point of greater happiness, one has to wonder why we aren’t automatically drawn there. It’s almost as though we have some resistance to following our calling.
LH: There are two things about the calling that are crucial. The first is that no one really wants to do it! I have yet to meet someone who gladly tiptoes through the tulips to their calling, and that’s presuming there are no planets sitting on the nodal axis, which changes the picture considerably. No one wants to pursue it because the calling differs from the actors on the stage.
Unlike the planets, the North Node has no vested interests; it’s simply a place that sits there, like a destination on a map, and your job in life, on a soul level, is to explore it. If, for instance, you find out that your calling is to go to Paris, you can say, “No, I don’t particularly like the French, so I’m not going there,” or you can spend your whole life learning the language, studying the culture, and actually going there. But the key is that Paris doesn’t care either way, since Paris is just a place.
You can’t ignore your inner characters, the planets, but I’ve seen many people in my practice who are completely disconnected from their calling. They may long to go there — that’s different. But they’ll usually fall back on their comfort zone, as indicated by the South Node and the house it’s in, simply because that’s what they already know.
The second thing I’ve learned about the North Node is that exploring it is a lifelong process. In other words, the day you can say, “I truly and fully understand Paris” is the day you can close your eyes and stop breathing, because you’re done for this lifetime. The fact that you’re alive means you’re not there yet. The exploration of your North Node is not something you do when you’re 19, get a certificate for, and then be done with it. It’s a lifelong task.
Listen to Laurence Hillman’s talk “Pluto, Saturn and the Rising of the Feminine” in the summit recordings from the 2020 Cycles of Change and Renewal Summit.
Hear more from Ray Grasse in his talks on the Saturn-Pluto Conjunction or The Great Ages.
Why Experiential Astrology Education is So Important
How to Use Progressions to Track Changes
Which Astrology Software Should You Use?
Traveling to Sacred Sites for a Personal Connection to Astrological Archetypes
Live Interviews from NORWAC 2019
with Jason Holley
Find new inspiration in the myths associated with Gemini.
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Immigrant children: How we reported this series
The surge of migrants from Central America crossing illegally into the Rio Grande Valley began in fall 2011, but it received little attention outside Texas until May 29 of this year.
Immigrant children: How we reported this series The surge of migrants from Central America crossing illegally into the Rio Grande Valley began in fall 2011, but it received little attention outside Texas until May 29 of this year. Check out this story on azcentral.com: http://azc.cc/1m9pyCx
The Republic | azcentral.com Published 12:12 a.m. MT July 14, 2014 | Updated 12:12 a.m. MT July 14, 2014
Salvadorans deported from Mexico arrive by bus in San Salvador, El Salvador, June 19. Three buses arrive every day. Twice a week, they carry children and families exclusively. Growing violent crime and lack of jobs have sent increasing numbers of people from Central America to the U.S. including unaccompanied minors.(Photo: Michael Chow/The Republic)
On May 29 of this year, Republic reporter Daniel González got a tip that about 400 migrants apprehended in Texas had been shipped to the Border Patrol facility in Tucson for processing.
The story became the most-read news story at azcentral.com this year and spread to an international audience through USA Today and other media outlets.
The story intensified June 2, when President Obama called the rush of immigrant children caught entering the U.S. in Texas an "urgent humanitarian situation."
That's when Arizona Republic reporter Daniel González got a tip that about 400 migrants apprehended in Texas had been shipped to the Border Patrol facility in Tucson for processing. From there, the migrants, primarily mothers and children from Central America, were dropped off at bus stations in Tucson and Phoenix, sent on their way to connect with families in the United States until their deportation hearings.
The story intensified June 2, when President Barack Obama called the rush of unaccompanied immigrant children caught entering the U.S. in Texas an "urgent humanitarian situation" and the White House asked Congress for an extra $1.4 billion to manage the problem. This month, Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion to cope with a tide of minors from Central America.
Then, the political rhetoric beganJune 6, when Gov. Jan Brewer revealed that Customs and Border Protection was sending to Arizona more than 1,000 children who were apprehended unaccompanied at the border in southern Texas. Again, most of them were from Central America. Arizona Sen. John McCain, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, were among the many politicians who started assigning blame.
By now, the world knows there has been a massive movement of Central Americans, especially children, crossing the Rio Grande. But why? Obama's lax immigration policies? Failed border security? Unscrupulous smugglers luring children to the U.S.? Poverty? Violence? All of the above?
The Republic has long been a leader in coverage of the border and immigration. As the story escalated, we gave it our full attention.
By June 17, our border reporter, Bob Ortega, and photographer Michael Chow were in El Salvador and immigration reporter González and photographer David Wallace were at the Rio Grande.
Justice reporter Michael Kiefer and photographer Nick Oza also began to explore what was happening to the kids who are already in the system here. Reporter Mariana Dale assisted them and did the reporting for graphics. Political reporter Dan Nowicki and Washington correspondent Erin Kelly pursued the latest political developments.
González, Kiefer and Ortega all are fluent in Spanish. Much of their reporting was done in Spanish and translated into English.
The team was supported by a full complement of editors, designers and graphic artists from The Republic, azcentral.com and 12 News.
In Central America and Mexico, our teams went into neighborhoods and shelters, traveled along the main migrant routes and crossed the river at the border of Mexico and Guatemala. In Texas, we watched, interviewed and photographed migrants who surrendered after crossing the Rio Grande.
The journeys of the three main characters in the story, 14-year-old Brayan Duban Soler Redondo from Honduras, 16-year-old Levi Manases Miranda Peña from El Salvador and 16-year-old Jairo Garniga from Guatemala, were based primarily on interviews with the boys.
Many of the areas we visited are dangerous. Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have among the top five murder rates in the world. Ortega and Chow were accompanied by local experts everywhere they traveled in Central America.
Reynosa, Mexico, on the Rio Grande, may have been even less safe. Several Mexican journalists have been killed there, and American journalists are vulnerable to kidnapping and extortion by cartels that control the city. We hired a former journalist known as a "fixer" to negotiate access to the migrant shelters there for González and Wallace. They watched cartel members watching them as they went inside.
You've already seen our team's daily reports in The Republic, azcentral.com and 12 News.
Today, we begin "Pipeline of Children," a special package of stories, photographs and graphics telling the larger story.
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1m9pyCx
I-17 fully reopens north of Phoenix after Wander Fire controlled
What's next for the planned Nike plant in Goodyear?
13-year-old boy shot by friend during 'antics with the gun' has died
Phoenix council denies request to fire officers
84-year-old man dies after being found with wife stranded in Buckeye wash
Dump truck fire closes freeway ramp from Loop 101 southbound to U.S. 60
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Posted in | Energy | Materials Analysis
Lithium-Ion Batteries Poised to Become the Cheapest Option for Storage Applications
When it comes to buying or leasing a car, the sticker price and the long-term frequent costs, like gas and maintenance, have to be taken into consideration.
This visual abstract depicts an analysis of 9 energy storage technologies between 2015 and 2050. (Image credit: Schmidt et al./Joule)
According to researchers at Imperial College London, a similar analysis is required when deciding how to make investments in clean energy storage. Therefore, a new model was developed by the researchers to establish the lifetime expenses of 9 electricity storage technologies for 12 varied applications between the years 2015 and 2050.
This unique model, which estimates lithium-ion batteries to be the most inexpensive technology in the coming years, has been featured in the journal Joule on January 9th, 2019 and is available open access.
“We have found that lithium-ion batteries are following in the footsteps of crystalline silicon solar panels,” stated senior author Iain Staffell (@iain_staffell), a lecturer from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. “Lithium-ion batteries were once expensive and suited only to niche applications, but they are now being manufactured in such volumes, their costs are coming down much faster than the competing storage technologies.”
An Introduction to a New Segregation Measurement Technique
Effect of Preheating on Implant-Cement Interface Strength for Hip Replacement
Incorporating data from over 30 peer-reviewed studies, the model reveals that currently, pumped-storage hydroelectricity is the cheapest energy storage mechanism, in which spare energy is used to pump water to a higher elevation and subsequently discharged to harvest the energy when required.
Conversely, as time progresses, the costs related to pumped-storage hydroelectricity do not reduce, while the costs related to lithium-ion battery considerably reduce, rendering them the most inexpensive option for the majority of applications from 2030.
Personally, I was always quite skeptical toward lithium-ion storage for stationary applications, but when it comes to the levelized cost of storage—investment, operation and charging cost, technology lifetime, efficiency and performance degradation—lithium-ion combines decreasing cost with sufficient performance to dominate the majority of power system applications. I would have expected others to outperform in certain applications.
Oliver Schmidt, PhD Researcher and Study First Author, Imperial College London
Schmidt is also the founder of Storage Lab.
He added that the new model does not necessarily reveal anything about whether lithium-ion batteries are the most ideal technology for stationary storage; however, since it has a good head start in the market, it is perfectly poised to become the most economical option in the near future.
While the investigators cannot predict how novel materials or developments will affect the market, they do believe that their model, which is available open access to test a wide range of technology cost and performance assumptions, can currently aid policymakers and industry to make informed investment decisions.
The authors received funding from the Grantham Institute—Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Source: https://www.cell.com/
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Women in Conservation
Women Greening the Gulf
2010 Special Recognition Category
On April 20, 2010, the world was shocked by a massive explosion on a British Petroleum oil rig, "Deepwater Horizon," off the Louisiana coastline. Over the next 87 days, nearly 5 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico creating the worst spill in U.S. History. More than 9,400 birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals were found injured or dead in the six months following the spill, representing only a fraction of the total loss. In the aftermath of this disaster an outstanding group of girls and women turned their focus and energy to the relief and recovery of the Gulf region. These individuals have made spectacular contributions to the restoration effort, both in the field and at a distance, through volunteering, grassroots outreach, faith-based organizing, governmental aid, media communication, local business support, and non-profit work. The distinguished "Women of the Gulf" represent the veritable army who worked and continue to work tirelessly along the frontlines of this environmental tragedy. On this first anniversary, it is impossible to imagine the Gulf recovery effort without the unwavering commitment of these exceptional women in conservation.
Melissa Block
Soon after the Gulf spill, "All Things Considered" host Melissa Block traveled to Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish for a series of stories on the impact of the disaster both on the environment and on fishing. In one report, Melissa examined the impact of the spill on the iconic Louisiana state bird, the brown pelican, whose population had been nearly wiped out by the 1960s. Other stories on "All Things Considered" focused on efforts to rescue oiled birds and gauge the long-term effects on bird habitat and breeding. "It's so important that we not lose sight of this story," Melissa says. "The Louisiana coast had already taken such a beating even before the spill. It's my job to make sure we help listeners grasp what's happening there."
Kelsey Blum
Kelsey A. Blum, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Slipper Rock University, worked with the National Audubon Society as Alabama's Volunteer Coordinator in response to the Gulf oil spill. Serving as the Audubon Society presence in Alabama, Kelsey implemented four new programs, including an alternative spring break opportunity for students in biology and environmental studies, a habitat restoration project, and two citizen science monitoring programs. Before her work with Audubon, Kelsey was an immediate responder for five U.S. disasters between AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (LESM). She was recognized with the Team Leader of the Year Award and the bronze, silver, and gold Congressional Awards.
Olivia Bouler
At only eleven years old, Olivia handwrote a fundraising proposition to the Audubon Society: she would donate drawings of birds to raise money for the Gulf efforts. With 500 paintings and over 28,000 Facebook fans, Olivia has helped raise $155,000 for the relief effort. To honor the anniversary of the spill, Olivia released a children's book, Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf, with part of the profits going to Audubon. For her dedication and committed effort, Olivia received this year's Artist Inspiring Conservation Award from the National Audubon Society in Mill Grove.
Christine Chung
Twenty-one year old Christine Chung, an intern for the Student Conservation Association, was deployed to Grand Isle, Louisiana after requesting to join the Gulf response team. She temporarily left her SCA internship to serve as a Technical Specialist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and assisted with reconnaissance and recovery work in Barataria Bay. Working directly with wildlife affected by the spill, Christine recovered as many as 11 ailing birds in one day.
Elizabeth Coffman
A documentary filmmaker, writer and professor, Elizabeth Coffman is a native Floridian with a home in Tampa Bay. She began recording the environmental crisis in the gulf seven years ago with Louisiana poet Martha Serpas. Martha, Elizabeth and filmmaking partner Ted Hardin have co-produced "Veins in the Gulf," a feature-length documentary about Louisiana's land loss, the BP oil disaster, and the oil industry's history of marsh destruction. The film will be released this fall.
Resee Collins
Resee Collins served as a Paraprofessional/Volunteer Coordinator of Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers in four states, enlisting and organizing trained wildlife professionals to provide assistance to injured and oiled wildlife. Over 1000 paraprofessionals signed up from across the United States, as well as other countries to provide assistance. Resee's position also utilized volunteers from the National Audubon Society in fulfilling a much needed role to keep safe any injured and oiled wildlife brought ashore by rescue teams, making sure the birds were kept out of the sun and coordinating with the transport teams to transport these animals to the Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers.
Melanie Driscoll
As Audubon's Director of Bird Conservation for the Louisiana Coastal Initiative, Melanie played a pivotal role in the organization's response to the Gulf disaster. She initiated Audubon's volunteer response to facilitate wildlife survey and rescue efforts. She provided biological interpretation and served as an informed interface between the relief effort and other Audubon staff, the news media, the public, and the larger environmental community.
Annie Ducmanis
Annie Ducmanis Adams is the program and grants manager for the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health (www.gulfcoastfund.org), a collaborative fund launched in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and run by Gulf Coast community leaders. With the Fund since its inception in 2005, Ms. Ducmanis Adams has been instrumental in ensuring that the organization responds quickly to emergencies in the region. Immediately following the BP oil drilling disaster, Ms. Ducmanis Adams oversaw the distribution of over $400,000 in emergency grants to first responders in frontline communities across the Gulf Coast, and conducted outreach that resulted in at least $1,000,000 in additional support to communities on the ground. She also works to connect leading national environmental organizations, media, and federal responding agencies to the Fund's extensive network of grassroots leaders, ensuring that there is a strong and vital community voice speaking for the Gulf's environment and its residents.
Crystal Durbin
Crystal Durbin is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and wife of a Major League baseball player. She helped organize three different fundraisers for the Gulf Coast. One, at Citizens Bank Park home of the Philadelphia Phillies, another at the triple A affiliate Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs stadium, and also an online auction of autographed bats and memorabilia from 13 Major League teams raising $40,000. In addition, to help bring more awareness to the devastation, Crystal helped secure a MLB network film crew to video her trip to the Gulf for TWIB (This Week In Baseball) with the Audubon Society.
Juliet Falchi
Juliet Falchi is an administrator of Global Product Development at Estee Lauder Companies for Jo Malone and La Mer. Shocked and saddened by the tragic events of the Gulf oil spill one year ago. Juliet partnered with friends Jennifer Ritter and Eva Yean and organized the "Clean Up The Gulf" fundraiser to support the Gulf relief and recovery program and to bring awareness to environmental causes among their contemporaries. Audubon's extensive on-the-ground crews in the Gulf and their long history of environmental support provided the perfect partnership to raise funds directly benefitting the Gulf's rich wildlife. With the support of the Audubon team and her friends and family, Juliet rose over $35,000 to aid the cleanup effort and inspired a new generation of environmental activists.
Dr. Angelina Freeman
Angelina Freeman is a coastal scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, DC, and works on restoring natural system functioning of the Mississippi River Delta. Angelina received her B.S. from Eckerd College, her M.S. from Pennsylvania State University, and Ph.D. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University.
Sue Galliano
As a resident of Grand Isle, Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island, Sue lives with a unique perspective concerning the conservation and preservation of a fragile ecosystem. It is her personal charge to facilitate continued support through The Grand Isle Community Development Team, Inc. with activities that keep the island's progress before the public. GICDT publishes a monthly newspaper, sponsors a ladies fishing rodeo, an environmental themed fine art exhibition, migratory bird celebration, historical home tour, spay and neuter program for feral cats, publish a directory of services of local businesses and currently working on a walking/bike path as an alternate route to school for local children. She is proud to chair a wonderful group of volunteers, who love the island and want to make a difference.
Sharon Gauthe
As the Executive Director of BISCO, a faith based nonprofit organization, Sharon's personal and organizational mission is to help give voice to those who have none. After the Gulf Coast disaster, Sharon saw that Gulf Coast Fishermen and community members also affected by this disaster had many questions that were not being addressed. She arranged for her organization to host the first community meetings and brought in federal officials and BP officials to answer these questions where all could hear the responses. Sharon held 14 of these sessions, with as many as 400 people participating in the sessions, for a total of over 1,500 people affected. She also advocated in Washington DC for responses to the many questions not answered and other concerns of the Gulf Coast.
Jennifer Jetchev
For Jennifer, the Gulf of Mexico wasn't just an assignment, it was her home. The Mississippi native was working as an SCA intern at nearby Gulf Islands National Seashore when the park began seeing the effects of the BP oil spill. Following the Deep Water Horizon disaster, Jennifer underwent hours of hazardous materials training, conducted exhaustive wildlife patrols, and used a response hotline to summon rescuers to oiled wildlife.
Judy Haner
A key member of The Nature Conservancy's Gulf of Mexico team, Judy spent countless hours focused on post-spill recovery and long-term restoration efforts in Mobile Bay and the larger Gulf region. She helped conceptualize and initiate the "100-1000: Restore Coastal Alabama" project to build 100 miles of oyster reefs (essential to shoreline protection and wildlife habitat) and enhance 1,000 coastal marsh and seagrass. With public and private funding, The Nature Conservancy and its partners installed the first ¼ mile of reef this past winter with the help of public agencies, private partners and more than 600 volunteers from throughout the country. Stay tuned for the remaining 99.75 miles.
Sharon Hanshaw
As Executive Director of Coastal Women for Change (CWC), Sharon serves as a resource for Biloxi residents struggling to recover from the BP oil spill and the devastating hurricanes of recent years. Working at a local level, Sharon has encouraged residents to be political voices in the reconstruction of their community. Following the spill, she held training sessions on advocacy, and partnered with Gulf Coast Restoration to distribute fact sheets about the oil spill in English and Vietnamese, making answers accessible to all community members.
Lisa Margonelli
Lisa Margonelli is a writer and long-time proponent of new energy policy. She spent years researching a book about the global oil supply chain called Oil on the Brain: Petroleum's Long Strange Trip to Your Tank. She is also a fellow at the New America Foundation, where she works on energy policy. Following the Gulf spill, Liza was asked to write a number of op-eds, and do radio, TV, and other video appearances to put the spill in political and historical context. Lisa has been disappointed that the country has not enacted legislation to reduce its oil demand--and thus spills--as a result of the Gulf Oil Spill.
Dr. Erica Miller
As the staff veterinarian for Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Dr. Erica Miller was the lead medical officer for the birds treated as a result of the spill in the Gulf. She spent over 5 months directly treating birds brought to Ft. Jackson and Hammond, LA, and consulted on cases being treated in the other 3 states (MS, AL & FL). Dr. Miller worked with Drs. Heidi Stout and Hayden Nevill to create the treatment protocols, and oversaw the banding of the birds that were eventually returned to the wild.
Lexie Montgomery
Lexie first fell in love with New Orleans during her work with the Humane Society of NY, rescuing lost and abandoned animals after Hurricane Katrina. In the wake of the Gulf oil disaster, Lexie sprung into action offering strategic and supportive help to Audubon staff member and coast relief responder, Melanie Driscoll. Lexie trained at midnight out of Melanie's hotel room, taking notes on coffee cups and napkins, and working over ninety hours a week. After tireless weeks working as a volunteer, Lexie was hired by Audubon as a volunteer coordinator, and today helps maintain Audubon's ongoing relationships throughout the Gulf Coast.
Based out of New Orleans, Amanda Moore worked with her coastal community contacts to help share the story of the Gulf Disaster through the eyes of those most directly affected. Amanda blogged from the frontlines, organized and participated in media tours with local coastal experts, and worked with high profile individuals to help them share the story of the disaster. Today, she continues to speak on the issue and works with her NWF team to advocate for funding to restore the Gulf ecosystem.
Regan Nelson
Regan Nelson is the Senior Oceans Advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council and has been an integral part of NRDC's work responding to the Gulf tragedy and oil disaster. She has worked hard lobbying Congress and the Administration to implement strong oil spill prevention and response measures, and focusing national media attention on the issue. Regan continues to help shape Congressional legislation, and recently organized a Congressional briefing on the ongoing impacts in the Gulf, featuring Gulf residents whose lives have been upended due to the spill. In addition, she maintains a regular blog on NRDC's Switchboard.
Cyndi Nguyen
Cyndi is the Executive Director of Viet Initiative Economic Training (VIET). VIET works to develop educational and economic training programs and serves as a resource center, seeking to eliminate existing barriers between Vietnamese residents and English speaking citizens in New Orleans. In response to the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill, Cyndi dedicated herself to assisting "beaucoup" families affected by the disaster. She was encouraged by the kids in VIET's After School Program and, one year later, continues to push for balanced relief for families hurt by the spill.
Beth Pattinson
Beth has worked for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Alaska for ten years and currently manages the Migratory Bird Permit Office. In that capacity, Beth was invited to the Spill by fellow migratory bird permit program employees on May 9 to assist them with the logistics of ramping up rehabilitation efforts. She started working in Houma, Louisiana, and did not leave until July 22. In her time at the Spill, Beth worked to establish a program that provided safe and appropriate transportation of oiled wildlife to rehabilitation facilities, and the transport of rehabilitated wildlife back to their release sites.
Iliana A. Peata
As Audubon's Director of Conservation for Texas, Iliana worked with partners and volunteers to assess Texas coastal bird populations providing vital coastal bird population data for the Gulf. While Texas remained untouched by oil from the spill, her Texas Coastal Stewardship Program works to ensure a healthy coastal bird populations throughout the Texas coast recognizing that Texas birds will serve as a source population for affected states in the Gulf as their habitats recover.
Rosina Phillipe
Rosina Philippe, is a lifetime resident of the coastal village of Grand Bayou in Louisiana and is an advocate for the preservation of indigenous traditional, cultural and heritage practices. She believes that through informed education and information gathering and sharing, "we the people", have the power to affect positive long-term changes that will reshape how we live and determine the future of our planet. Her collaborative work with other community leaders focuses on: Racial Justice, Economic Sustainability, Coastal Restoration/Preservation, and Environmental Degradation. She is vocal on the issue of recognizing accountability, and identifying contributing factors and entities in relation to these issues. Rosina believes the work we do today is our legacy to the future as we build towards a more resilient and sustainable life.
Jennifer Ritter
When Jennifer Ritter heard about the oil spill in the Gulf Coast she felt compelled to do something right away. After researching several charities, Ms. Ritter and her two friends chose to work with Audubon because of their extended efforts and quick response to the crisis. With the support of their family, friends and the Audubon, Jennifer and her friends were able to create the first ever Young event for Audubon New York. This premiere raised $35,000 for the Audubon's gulf relief efforts.
Erin Romero
In the face of the B.P. oil spill tragedy, Erin chose action over resignation. Her combined efforts in organizing a fundraiser at Citizens Bank Park, coordinating a charity auction of autographed Phillies memorabilia, and arranging an online auction with the assistance of 13 Major League teams raised nearly $40,000 for Audubon's Gulf Coast Fund.
Traci Romine
Traci Romine was the Climate Campaign and Communications Director for Audubon of Florida when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, 2010. She immediately kicked into gear a coordinated response, working with her Florida and National Audubon colleagues, to prepare and disseminate beach clean up protection protocols, liaison with response agencies, and maintain regular contact and help organize the tens of thousands of volunteers who demonstrated from day one an amazing commitment to help and protect the precious life and ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jillian Rubio
As Director of Audubon's Volunteer Response Center, Jillian plays a fundamental role in managing the short and long-term volunteer response to the BP oil disaster. Jillian has worked tirelessly to manage the response to over 35,000 people across the country and effectively place hundreds of individuals in volunteer positions across the Gulf Coast.
Jacqueline Savitz
Jacqueline Savitz is a senior scientist and senior campaign director for Oceana, where she leads Pollution Campaigns focusing on climate change, oil and gas, and clean energy. During the Gulf Spill, and throughout the response and recovery period, Savitz has been an outspoken critic of offshore drilling, and has educated many about the harm it causes to ecosystems. She has made dozens of television and radio appearances, and debated many pro-drilling opponents. Oceana's work during the oil spill helped to counter industry messages calling for more drilling, and contributed to the President's decision to place a ban on drilling in areas of the Atlantic coast that he had previously indicated would be open for exploration.
Emily Guidry Schatzel
Emily Guidry Schatzel is a native and resident of Houma, Louisiana in Terrebonne Parish. She serves as the National Wildlife Federation's Coastal Louisiana Communications Manager and her work focuses on drawing media attention to the issue of Louisiana's rapidly vanishing coastal wetlands. Dring the Gulf oil disaster, Emily worked with NWF's Louisiana team to coordinate national media outreach. She organized boat and aerial tours of the affected inshore and offshore areas and brought media out on nearly daily trips to see and report on the oil, while raising national awareness that Louisiana is in need of comprehensive, large-scale restoration. Graduate of Nicholls State University and Loyola University New Orleans with a J.D. and an M.A. in Communications, Emily lives with her husband Mark on Bayou Black, where she was born and raised.
Dr. Nina Schoch
Dr. Nina Schoch is a wildlife veterinarian with BioDiversity Research Institute of Gorham, Maine, and the Program Director for BRI's Wildlife Health Assessment Program. During the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Dr. Schoch led BRI's avian health assessment project to evaluate sublethal effects of oil exposure to wild bird populations. The results of her work will help assess the extent of physiologic damage that oil causes to bird populations, which may not be readily apparent, but could lead to increasing susceptibility to disease, poorer long-term reproductive success, and/or survival.
Dr. Susan Shaw
Susan D. Shaw, DrPH, is a marine toxicologist, director/founder of the Marine Environmental Research Institute, and ocean advocate who is celebrated for her pioneering research on the impacts of chemical contaminants in the marine environment. As one of the first scientists to dive into the Gulf of Mexico oil slick in May 2010, Dr. Shaw observed first-hand how oil and dispersants were impacting life in the water column. An outspoken and influential voice on ocean pollution, she has influenced the national debate on the hazards of chemical dispersants. Currently she leads a region-wide investigation on the effects of oil and dispersants in the Gulf ecosystem.
Natalie Snider
As Science Director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Natalie has dedicated her career to the protection and restoration of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. During the oil spill, Natalie worked diligently with BP, state and federal agencies, local municipalities, scientists, elected officials and industry to understand the ever-changing dynamics of the oil impacts to Louisiana's wetlands and coordinate science input on the response and disaster-management techniques. Natalie also manages CRCL's Community-Based Restoration Program which utilizes volunteers for on-the-ground restoration projects. Unable to engage volunteers directly with the oil response, Natalie focused the efforts of over 1,800 volunteers on restoration of the Louisiana coast: planting over 130,000 new grasses and trees and installing over 3,800 feet of dune sand fencing.
Lisa Suatoni
Lisa is a senior scientist in the oceans program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. She works on a variety of topics including sustainable fisheries, ocean acidification, and the Gulf oil spill. Lisa has a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University and master's degree in environmental policy from the Yale School of Forestry. Her scientific research focused on evolutionary genetics and the process of speciation. However, she now specializes on the intersection of science and policy, as it applies to ocean conservation issues.
Wilma Subra
In response to the BP Oil Disaster, Wilma Subra on behalf of Subra Company, Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper immediately initiated monitoring of the environmental and human health impacts associated with the BP crude oil spill and dispersants, and educating the communities along the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the pan handle of Florida. The protection of the health of coastal communities and fishermen/cleanup workers required not only conducting community workshops, but interacting and educating federal, state and local regulatory officials. Documenting of the human health impacts and extent of environmental contamination was and continues to be done in order to assess the impacts of the BP Oil Disaster.
Jacqui Sulek
Jacqui Sulek - Chapter Conservation Manager for Audubon in Florida - has been promoting conservation work with Florida's 44 Chapters for over 6 years. She has played a vital role in providing meaningful and valuable volunteer opportunities in the Gulf Coast relief effort. Gifts for the Gulf involved 15 chapters and over 200 volunteers. For two days, decoys of Beach Nesting Birds nestled in beach sand educated Simons Malls visitors on the spill and its tragic impacts on coastal ecosystems. Working with the National Audubon Volunteer Resource Center team, and her conservation colleagues Julie Wraithmell and Traci Romine, she tapped into the existing powerful network of chapters and encouraged, supported and celebrated existing and new Bird Steward Programs along the Gulf Coast.
Reporting on behalf of NBC as the network's Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent, Anne Thompson delivered on of the most comprehensive, powerful and distinguished accounts of the largest oil spill in U.S. History. Anne's analysis of the spill addressed all aspects of the "Deepwater Horizon" explosion and its complex aftermath. According to the Tyndall Report, this extensive coverage made Anne the NBC News Correspondent with most airtime in 2010.
Patty Whitney
Patty Whitney is a lifelong resident of and passionate advocate for Louisiana's coastal communities. She has worked as a community organizer with BISCO (Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing) since 2005, as her beloved communities have undergone five major disasters in a five-year period: four major hurricanes and the BP Oil Disaster. She serves as the director of the Bayou History Center and is the current president of both the Lafourche Heritage Society and the Terrebonne Genealogical Society. Patty has been named the Louisiana Coastal Communities Ambassador for the Environmental Protection Agency, and has won recognition as Louisiana Spirit's "Unsung Heroes," for her work after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and National Wildlife Federation's "Top 10 Unsung Heroes of the Gulf Oil Disaster."
Maura Wood
Maura Wood helped launch the expansion of National Wildlife Federation's Coastal Louisiana Restoration Campaign in 2007. In partnership with other national and local groups, she advocates for bold, large-scale restoration of Louisiana's disappearing coastal wetlands by reconnecting the Mississippi River with its delta. During the oil spill, she used media opportunities to educate the nation about the importance of restoring a healthy, resilient coastal ecosystem. She holds a Masters Degree from Louisiana State University in Oceanography and Coastal Science, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.
Julie Brashears Wraithmell
Julie is the Director of Wildlife Conservation for Audubon of Florida. In the days after the Deepwater Horizon blowout, she and her colleagues worked to recruit and deploy volunteers to assist with spill monitoring and response on Florida's coastline, developed public awareness information about beach nesting birds and the harm that could be caused by well-intentioned clean up volunteers, deployed volunteers to post beach-nesting bird colonies in Panhandle state parks, and worked tirelessly to navigate the maze of response agencies. At the same time under Julie's direction, Audubon recruited, trained and utilized volunteers to protect beach-nesting birds from disturbance statewide. A year after the disaster, under Julie's leadership, Audubon is helping to prioritize Florida Gulf Coast sites of highest importance to these bird populations and improve their monitoring and management.
Eva Yean
Last April, right after the BP Oil Spill happened in the Gulf Coast, Eva Yean quickly approached her friends about ways to help the animals and ecosystems deeply affected by the crisis. Ms. Yean and her two friends chose to partner with Audubon after learning of their quick response efforts and efficient ground work in the Gulf region. With the support of their families, friends, and Audubon, Eva and her friends were able to create the first event that Audubon New York has hosted for young New Yorkers. The Clean Up the Gulf! Event at the Ace Hotel raised $35,000 for the Audubon's Gulf relief efforts.
These birds need your help
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Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: K. Theule/USFWS
Celebrating Sagebrush: The West's Most Important Native Plant
Covering 165 million acres across 14 states, sagebrush country is home to more wildlife—and people—than you might realize.
By Daly Edmunds and Hannah Nikonow
Centrocercus urophasianus
sounds at lek
Sagebrush Sparrow
Artemisiospiza nevadensis
Sage Thrasher
Oreoscoptes montanus
Find Your Bird-Friendly Plants
Native plants help birds and people. With our native plants database, you can easily find the best plants for the birds in your area.
Sagebrush country is beginning to thaw. Bird songs that have been absent for the past six months are again decorating the breeze. The transition from the drabness of winter to a more color-rich landscape is still a few spring snow squalls away, but the 40-degree sunshine feels like paradise in the arid high deserts of the West—to wildlife and humans alike.
This year marks the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird-protection law ever passed. In honor of this milestone, nature lovers around the world are joining forces to celebrate the Year of the Bird and committing to protect birds for the next hundred years. As part of this yearlong celebration, March is dedicated to highlighting native plants and their importance to birds and other wildlife. With that in mind, we want to take this opportunity to feature Artemisia tridentata, or the sagebrush plant family.
Those wide-open spaces so often associated with old western movies? That's what's known as "sagebrush country" today. Of course, the most important yet often overlooked feature of this landscape is the sagebrush plant itself—of which there are 18 species. Relatively short in stature (usually less than two-feet tall), the long-lived (some can reach more than 100 years), short-branched shrub plays an outsize role in this ecosystem. The plant is the foundation of an iconic landscape that supports a rich tapestry of wildlife and rugged western culture. As Mark Twain famously said, sagebrush country is a “forest in exquisite miniature."
Healthy sagebrush plays a critical role in the hydrological cycle of the arid West. In the summer, the plant's tap roots, which extend 1-4 meters into ground, help it withstand the dry conditions. In the winter, these roots capture snow and retain moisture that supports other plants while helping to fuel rivers upon which urban communities rely. Additionally, healthy sagebrush plants help keep the soil intact when the ground is restored after being mined for resources such as oil, gas, and trona.
Above ground, sagebrush serves as a nurse plant, creating conditions crucial for other important native plants, including grass, to grow. These plants feed a variety of wildlife as well as herds of rangeland animals, like cattle and sheep, which have long been the backbone of western communities. Sagebrush leaves themselves—which are strongly aromatic and a shade of light green that seems to change with the weather—provide food to a variety of birds and fauna, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and jackrabbit. Nearly 100 bird species depend on sagebrush country for their habitat needs. Several of these animals have an obligate, or highly dependent, relationship with sagebrush, including the Sharp-tailed Grouse, Pygmy Rabbits, Sage Thrashers, Sage Sparrows, and Brewer’s Sparrow.
The high-profile Greater Sage-Grouse is among those species that is completely dependent on sagebrush plants—in every stage of its life cycle. They eat sagebrush leaves year-round, and as much as 70 to 75 percent of this bird’s diet is made up of sagebrush leaves and flower clusters. In the open patches between sagebrush plants, sage-grouse return every year between March and May to mate. The males gather at sunrise to strut, display, and battle each other on breeding grounds called leks, vying to win the favor of the females. Eggs are laid in the surrounding area, on the ground beneath the protective branches of a sagebrush. And the cycle continues.
Its vastness can be deceiving—loss of sagebrush habitat is accelerating.
Given the importance of sagebrush to the West, many are involved in trying to manage it in the face of growing threats. Its vastness can be deceiving—loss of sagebrush habitat is accelerating. Increasing wildfire frequency, which some have found linked to climate change, is one of the main contributors to the loss of sagebrush habitat. When sagebush habitat is lost to fires, aggressive non-native species such as cheatgrass and medusahead—neither of which are very palatable to wildlife—take over. Climate change may also be altering the range of invasive plants, potentially expanding them into sagebrush territory. Encroaching native conifers, such as juniper, are another growing problem. These trees can outcompete sagebrush by stealing significant amounts of water from an already dry landscape. They also provide perches for raptors and other predators that prey on sage-grouse.
Because of the Greater Sage-Grouse's dependence on the sagebrush, it has become a symbol of the ecosystem as a whole. In 2008, the bird was offically petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act as its numbers fell. The recognition by experts that loss of sagebrush habitat was a primary cause for the sage-grouse's decline resulted in unprecedented collaboration. Between 2010 and 2015, a variety of stakeholders—from state and federal agencies to private landowners and conservation groups—came together to try and improve management of the sagebrush ecosystem to avoid a listing, which would have triggered new protections and regulations across the bird's expansive habitat.
In September 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that, based in part on the unprecedented collaboration, listing was not warranted. In addition to aiding the sage-grouse, studies have shown that sagebrush conservation efforts help 350 other species of plants, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that rely on the habitat. Continued success for sage-grouse, other sagebrush-dependent species, and the people that live in sagebrush communities is predicated on evolving working-land practices, continued landscape-scale conservation, and bi-partisan support.
Native plants like sagebrush are crucial for birds and people throughout the West. We are all dependent on the clean water, free-range food, energy, and open spaces sagebrush country provides. So please, join us in celebrating the Year of the Bird by helping to conserve this incredibly important plant and the vast, delicate ecosystem it supports. You can read more about the sagebrush habitat and how you can support it using Audubon Rockies’ free Sagebrush Education Trunk, and at the website Partners in the Sage.
Daly Edmunds is the director of policy and outreach at Audubon Rockies. Hannah Nikonow is the sagebrush communications specialist at Intermountain West Joint Venture.
Unprecedented Efforts Keep Greater Sage-grouse Off Endangered Species List
After more than a decade of work, the collaborative approach to protecting the bird pays off.
To Remember What Americans Can Achieve Working Together, Look to Utah’s Sagebrush Country
In Box Elder County, incredible progress is being made to restore sagebrush habitat and protect the Greater Sage-Grouse on private and public lands. But the review of federal sage-grouse conservation plans has some nervous.
6 Other Birds That Will Benefit From Sagebrush Conservation
As much as we love them, it's not just about the Greater Sage-Grouse.
Reduce Bird Deaths from Building Collisions
Urge Congress to pass the Bird-Safe Buildings Act.
Albatrosses and Petrels Need Our Help
These imperiled birds often drown when they get caught on fishing lines, but we can help.
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John J. Audubon, Pl. 17 Carolina Turtle Dove, Birds of America, Havell Edition, 1827–1838, hand-colored engraving
$29,500 this week only (list price $40,000). Offer expires 01-15-2018
Laura Oppenheimer
Audubon Print Birds of America Carolina Turtle Dove Havell Edition John James Audubon
John J. Audubon, Pl. 17 Carolina Turtle Dove, The Birds of America, Havell edition, 1827–1838, hand-colored engraving
Acquire a superb Havell edition aquatint engraving by John J. Audubon, Plate 17, Carolina Turtle Dove, Columba carolinensis (Linnaeus), available this week only at a substantial discount. The current name is Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura. Audubon depicted two pairs of male and female Carolina Turtle Doves on a beautiful branch of Steuartia mamcodrendron in full bloom.
A richly hand-colored engraving in pristine condition. Engraved, printed, and colored by R. Havell & Son in London, J. Whatman paper, double-elephant size, 39.375 x 26.625 inches.
Renowned for his legendary undertaking to depict all the birds of America, the images John James Audubon (1785–1851) created for his great work, the Birds of America, are icons of nineteenth-century art.
References: An Index and Guide to Audubon's Birds of America, Susanne M. Low, 1988, page 117
$29,500 this week only (list price $40,000). Offer expires 01-15-2018.
Audubon explored the American backwoods and wilderness to discover, record, and illustrate its avian life. America’s most revered artist-naturalist was born in Saint-Domingue (present day Haiti), the bastard son of Jean Audubon, a French sea captain. The embarrassing fact of his illegitimate birth was hidden by his family until well after Audubon’s death. To escape a slave rebellion in Saint-Domingue, in 1791 the handsome young boy was brought to his father’s home in Nantes, France, where he was raised and cherished by his father’s childless wife, Anne Moynet. In 1803, to avoid conscription in Napoleon’s army, his father sent him to manage Mill Grove, a farm he owned near Philadelphia.
From childhood, Audubon was fascinated by nature, drawing and studying birds during extended “rambles” in the woods. However, it was not until he was the father of two sons of his own that Audubon fully embraced the life of an artist-naturalist with the support of his devoted wife, Lucy Audubon. In 1820, Audubon left his family in Cincinnati, embarking with a young apprentice, Joseph R. Mason. They crossed the Ohio River to the Mississippi on a flatboat to New Orleans. Mason worked with Audubon from 1820 until 1822, contributing mostly botanical elements to about 55 of Audubon’s paintings. Later in the project, the artists George Lehman, Maria Martin, and his sons Victor Gifford Audubon and John Woodhouse Audubon assisted John James Audubon with botanical backgrounds.
In 1826, he brought his portfolio of primarily watercolor paintings to Great Britain where his work was applauded by the scientific community and admired by the elite classes. There he met the engraver Robert Havell, who was able to undertake engraving Audubon’s great work in the size of life. Together with Havell, J. J. Audubon created the lavish double-elephant-size folio of The Birds of America—completed with the help of family, friends, and other capable assistants.
In Edinburgh, the Scottish engraver W. H. Lizars began to produce the very first plates in 1826. However, after the completion of only ten plates, Lizars’ colorists went on strike. Audubon continued his pursuit in London with Robert Havell, who published The Birds of America from 1827 to 1838. Twelve years in the making, the completed work comprised 435 hand-colored engravings. Havell also retouched Lizars’ original efforts, adding aquatint to the engraving and etching. On those plates, Havell’s name appears alongside that of the Scottish engraver’s.
Audubon sold 186 subscriptions to the complete folio of The Birds of America, each of which commanded the princely sum of $1,000—the cost of a substantial home at that time. Published on sheets measuring 26.5 by 39 inches, called “double elephant” by the printing trade, the resultant aquatint engravings depict each subject in its actual size and are among the largest ever made. Still, Audubon often altered the larger birds’ natural postures, creatively composing the figure to fit within the dimensions of the sheet.
Of the 186 complete sets produced, more than 100 are intact in library and museum collections worldwide. Since first produced by Havell over 175 years ago, few of the sets have been broken to make individual prints available for sale. Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. specializes in these rare, original engravings, maintaining an extensive inventory, many in exceptionally fine condition.
For further information or to purchase, please call the gallery at 312-642-5300.
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Acting Head of US Immigration Agency to Resign July 5
WASHINGTON - The acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, John Sanders, is resigning and will leave his post on July 5, the agency said on Tuesday.
Sanders's departure coincides with an outcry over the treatment of detained migrant children.
Attorneys said 250 children had been held for weeks in dirty conditions at an overcrowded Texas border patrol station without adequate food and water. The children have since been relocated to children's shelters.
John Sanders has led the agency since April. Before taking over CBP, he was the agency's chief operating officer and had also been the Transportation Security Administration's chief technology officer.
U.S. President Donald Trump reshuffled the immigration agencies in April. Immigration has been a priority for the president, but he has proven unable to push most of his goals
through Congress.
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Home > Member Benefits > Member Profiles > Jode Susan Millman
Evangeline Gala
Fiction & Literature, Mystery & Crime, Entertainment & Culture
Jode Susan Millman
Jodé is a life long resident of Poughkeepsie, New York, which serves as the setting for her legal suspense novels. In her writing, she draws upon her many years as an attorney to capture the tensions that arise when a small community is rocked by tragedy.
Author of the best-selling SEATS: NEW YORK Theatre guidebook, her debut thriller novel, “The Midnight Call”, will released by Immortal Works Publishing in 2019. “The Midnight Call” was short-listed for the 2014 Clue Award and received the First Place Blue Ribbon as “Best Police Procedural” by Chantireviews.com.
She received her BA and JD from Syracuse University, and while studying at NYU Law School she served as a contributing editor to “The Kaminstein Legislative History Project: A Compendium and Analytical Index of Materials Leading to the Copyright Act of l976." Concentrating on law and literature, Jodé obtained her MA in English Literature from Eastern Michigan University, and has taught at Detroit Mercy Law School and Marist College.
Presently, she co-hosts and co-produces Backstage with the Bardavon Podcast which invites the listener backstage for intimate conversations with musicians and performers appearing at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and UPAC in Kingston, NY. The podcast is available on Itunes, Spotify and GooglePlay.
Jode is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters In Crime and Romance Writers of America. Her legal column can be found in InSincC, The Sisters in Crime Quarterly.
The Midnight Call
SEATS : NEW YORK- Third Edition
SEATS : CHICAGO
SEATS : NEW YORK- Second Edition
The Midnight Call - Short-listed for 2014 Clue Award, and won First Place Ribbon for Best Police Procedural.
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Traductions >
Basta! in English >
With community input, health centers in France experiment with a holistic (...)
Social rights
With community input, health centers in France experiment with a holistic model
by Sarah Bosquet 10 May 2016
Within the last few years, a little network of health centers unlike any other has been forged all through working-class neighborhoods in France. "Health Space," "Health Square" and "Massilia Health System" are all projects conceived by social workers, doctors and residents who want to prove that it’s possible to provide health care in a different way, without endless prescriptions and assembly-line consultations. With a leitmotif: If health is determined by the social environment, then access to social rights and services is as important as health care. If it gets financing, this promising model could well have a significant impact.
Initially published in french by Basta!. Translated by Leslie Thatcher, Truth Out.
An improbable structure stands on the summit of a North Marseille hill, on a little esplanade encircled by huge low-rise buildings from the 1960s. "Welcome to the Kalliste," exclaims Antoine as he parks opposite the villa. The Kalliste is one of the public housing projects of Marseille’s 15th Arrondissement, served by only one bus line. And this "Addams family house," as the young doctor calls it, is the future neighborhood health center.
While the mistral-swept sky is still a deep blue, Antoine and Oriane, two of the nine cofounders of the project, conduct a flashlight tour of the building’s three floors. After five years of haggling with City Hall, the owner of the place, it’s finally time for constructing the layout and technical considerations: where an elevator might go, the size of the infirmary, of the meeting room, location of the bathrooms. The space must allow for the organization of other activities besides consultations, such as a working kitchen.
Variously structured as associations, as organs of municipal agencies and as mutual organizations, the 1,609 French health centers in this new network have a different wage system for their multidisciplinary teams that differentiates them from another health care model that also exists in France: multidisciplinary health "houses," which are free-market groups of health professionals.
The multidisciplinary health houses, legally recognized since 2007, are gatherings of private health professionals — who may be doctors, nurses, podiatrists etc. — around a common project. The health houses that fulfill certain specifications may apply for subsidies from the regional health agency.
The health centers, on the other hand, are local health care structures where a multidisciplinary salaried staff undertakes to combat social health inequalities by using standardized prices for health insurance — which multidisciplinary health houses are not obligated to do. The health centers are authorized by the regional health agency, but may be managed by a municipality, a mutual organization or other association. They tend to be located in urban priority areas — while multidisciplinary health houses are more present in rural milieus.
Within the health centers, health professionals, social workers, customer service assistants and coordinators come together under the same roof. To be recognized by health insurance, the center must use third-party payment, the standard prices for health insurance [on the French government’s price scale] and must provide the means to combat "social inequalities in health." For in working-class neighborhoods and elsewhere, access to health care is hindered by more than geographical distance from health infrastructure.
"Reintegrating Health Into the Political and Social Fields"
This idea is self-evident for the Marseilles team, formed in September 2011 around the "Massilia health system," a caregivers’ collective that wants to "reintegrate health issues into the political and social fields." While all have experience in urban medicine, some of them have also gone through health centers or associations such as Planning familial (Family Planning) and Médecins du Monde (Doctors of the World). Today, they’ve adopted the concept of santé globale (global/overall/holistic health), as defined by the World Health Organization in the Ottawa Charter in 1986.
"We wanted to change the ’space-time’ for health, to be able to talk together among colleagues, to take time with people when it’s necessary. It’s not terribly motivating or possible when one is alone in private practice, paid by the service performed," Oriane notes.
"Our experience has given us the desire to practice a medicine that takes into account all aspects of health, consequently including the pain that results from social violence," the young woman [Oriane] explains.
"A guy has a stomach ache; often it’s because he’s totally fed up," Antoine says. The doctors involved were trained in medicine to be competent technicians, "but no one taught us that the problem is not necessarily medical." These critical young doctors also want to free themselves from the pressures exerted by lobbies. "As much as possible, we’d like to experiment with something other than all medication, all psychiatry, to avoid falling into a medicalization of suffering," Oriane explains.
Involving Residents in the Health Center’s Life
Associative health centers represent about a third of all health centers in France. But the Marseilles project falls within a "communal health" approach, already proven in Québec and Belgium, but still little known in France. The principle is to truly involve the neighborhood residents in the conception and the life of the health center, to define their needs along with them, to encourage their initiatives. "We want to start on a basis that allows for flexibility, for possibilities of collective organization," Antoine explains. "We don’t want to come with preconceived notions of public health issues. We think the demand for care should not be produced by the caregiver."
At Échirolles, in Isère, another team of determined 30-year-olds is getting ready to open the doors of an atypical health center at the entrance to "Village 2," a priority neighborhood isolated at the end of a tram line constructed for the Grenoble Olympic Games of 1968. Doctors, physiotherapists, social work professionals and "people empowerment" professionals prepared the ground at first with a "communal health diagnostic" effort, begun three years ago.
"The idea got going from a primary question: Since we are mostly white people with university degrees, what does it mean to install ourselves in a working-class neighborhood?" recounts Benjamin, the coordinator of the project. "The diagnostic study didn’t teach us anything surprising about the social situation of the neighborhood. It was more about meeting people, constructing a mental map for ourselves of the neighborhood. Now, we know precisely how inequalities manifest themselves, and also where there are solidarities. We’ve established the beginning of trust with the residents." Still looking for public and private financing and for permanent premises, the team is nonetheless happy about the opening of a first center, scheduled for September.
A Fragile Economic Model
The great reference point for all these projects in process is the Case de Santé (Health Compartment or Health Place), a small associative body in Toulouse. It offers legal expertise in health care for sick foreigners, social care, video and theater workshops, medical student training and cancer treatment.
Since its opening in 2006, the team keeps on innovating. "La Case" has even become a point of reference for residents of the Arnaud Bernard neighborhood. Here, caregivers and social workers deem that work and living conditions are not side issues, that they have a crucial impact on peoples’ health. In consequence, when, in 2014, the Case was threatened with closure because of a cut in financing, the users mobilized alongside the striking employees.
Actually, while all the local decision makers unceasingly boast of the structure’s results, La Case — which eludes any administrative categorization — has to fight to survive. This situation is unfortunately representative of the economic model of health centers, condemned to confront by themselves the deficits inherent in their methods of operation. These militant structures, still in the minority, tackle a conundrum: how to finance their activities outside medical consultations — activities that do not generate revenue, such as the time for social work, but also team coordination time and preventative efforts? Pretty much everywhere, the approach is makeshift. That’s to say, centers seek subsidies from cities, regional health agencies and the French government’s health insurance agency — and use "subsidized positions" (temporary jobs subsidized by the French government that are supposed to help people who would otherwise have difficulty entering the workforce).
Medicine "Adapted to Working-Class Neighborhoods"
The Saint-Denis "Health Place," another historic model of a communal health center, has not been spared these torments. Originally a research-action program launched in 1986 by Paris University 8 and the Bobigny medical school, the project brought sociologists into the Francs-Moisins neighborhood, one of the biggest slums in the region, which became a "housing project."
Didier Ménard, a general practitioner now in retirement, saw them show up in his office. "They watched me and they told me: ’You practice a medicine that’s adapted to working-class neighborhoods.’ That allowed us to reflect, to put things in perspective. The neighborhood pharmacist realized that he did a lot more than sell medicine."
"Since we are mostly white people with university degrees, what does it mean to install ourselves in a working-class neighborhood?"
The neighborhood caregivers formed a mutual aid network and in 1992 created the Association communautaire santé bien-être (ACSBE, or the Communal Health and Well-Being Association), of which Ménard is still president. The residents of Francs-Moisins, famous for their creative problem solving and their involvement in local solidarity networks, trained there and became "health intermediaries" — a profession that did not then yet exist.
Asta and Zahia, already multilingual, became experts in access to rights and to community health services. Élisabeth, secretary of the association and author-composer, studied music therapy, another ACSBE trademark.
"In these sessions, people can breathe, change air, take a break," Élisabeth explains. "For many, it’s also a way to get out of themselves, to talk with someone who doesn’t judge them. They come because they’re going through a difficult time, because they have problems with work, not for health problems in the strict sense."
Tracking and Taking Social Inequalities Into Account
In 2008, the arrival of a new generation of doctors allowed ACSBE to open the "Health Place." The team got together in one location at the feet of the Francs-Moisins public housing towers. Today, the structure includes 21 employees and serves residents Monday through Saturday with or without an appointment. The program posted in the waiting room announces yoga classes, weekly discussions over coffee, and "well-being" and "self-esteem" workshops led by the intermediaries.
"One of the project’s special features is that we were all partners in its construction. That allowed us to provide our own perspective and to understand the stakes involved, notably the financial ones," explains Maxime, one of the team’s doctors. "We were attracted by the idea of whole health and by the salaried status which brings us protections such as paid vacations and parental leave, as well as control over work time and a limitation on the administrative burden."
Here, as in Toulouse, the doctors earn on average two or three times less than their free-market colleagues — by choice. Daily, weekly and monthly meetings of the team punctuate the life of the center.
"We were especially motivated by the teamwork with the intermediaries. In our medical course work, there’s no specific training for distinguishing social inequalities in health and taking them into account," Maxime notes. Adèle, another doctor on the team approves: "Social problems have immediate consequences on people’s health. This issue frequently arises during consultations and forces us to think in a different temporality. When the intermediaries’ work allows us to achieve access to universal medical insurance or a mutual organization, that allows us to advance, for example, by prescribing an MRI for a patient."
An Essential, but Precarious Job
Here, it’s not a lack of health care structures that poses the problem, but that of structures for access to patients’ rights to services. The intermediaries spend most of their time receiving users in individual consultations.
"People who could be autonomous are blocked by language-related issues," observes Nathalie, one of the most recent arrivals. "For example, I helped the same lady fill out papers for the social welfare office, the internet access provider and to prepare a letter about noise nuisances."
While the intermediaries’ work is critical for the structure, their jobs, financed by subsidies — contracts for adult social inclusion — remain especially precarious. "By definition, these are social inclusion contracts," explains Emilie, the center’s director. "But here, we have a lot of trouble understanding why we should have to replace our most experienced intermediaries in whom we’ve invested so much every three years," Emilie says. "Moreover, it’s contrary to the right to work." The position of center coordinator, created last year, is also threatened.
The Start of a "Cultural Revolution" in General Medicine?
Does a solution exist to the financing problems of these emerging structures? In Saint-Denis, Marseille, Toulouse and elsewhere, they dream of a payment system "per person" — an annual budget allocated to the structures as a function of the number of their users. It’s an everyday practice in Belgium and the United Kingdom that the Syndicat de la médecin générale (left-leaning Union of General Practitioners) has demanded for years. After five years of experimental financing, a national agreement reached in July 2015 between health centers provides for an allocation by health insurance of a specific flat-rate reimbursement, designed to top off the income derived from payment per service.
"Today, there’s a boom in municipal health centers in isolated villages. With a wage system, the communes can attract young caregivers who don’t have the entrepreneurial mindset for private medicine," notes Richard Lopez, president of the fédération nationale des centres de santé (National Federation of Health Centers).
Young caregivers are the people who Didier Ménard sees as the representatives of a "cultural revolution" in general medicine. "Today, the doctor must accept that someone else looks at his work. That’s not easy for people who have worked on their own for 40 years," Ménard says. "We show that working in a team allows us to share our anguish and our doubts, to avoid mistakes."
In spite of the precariousness of finances and bureaucratic impasses, the model of health centers continues to spread. The National Federation of Health Centers counted 150 projects underway in 2015. This May, a residents’ association of the "3 cités" neighborhood in Poitiers will inaugurate its own community health center — a project that the residents’ association itself considered and launched.
Sarah Bosquet
Translated by Leslie Thatcher. Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Note: A slightly edited version of the footnotes from the original article have been integrated into the text of this article.
Photo : CC source
Massilia santé system : © Sarah Bosquet
Case de santé : © Case de santé
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October 8 update from Big Bath City Bid
"The Big Bath City Bid was launched in June 2015, and since then has worked tirelessly to put Bath City FC into the centre stage of life in our city.
In the three months that followed we achieved widespread support across the city and beyond - from residents, businesses, charities, politicians, community groups and celebrities - all buying into the vision that community-ownership would finally give our city the football club it deserved.
Having sold over £300,000 of community shares up to September, we have since run a consultation process which gave a resounding endorsement from fans and investors to continue pursuing the aim of community ownership.
The Big Bath City Bid team has therefore made the best possible offer it can to the five people who together are the majority shareholders of the current Bath City FC Limited.
That offer was for a staged approach towards community ownership - ensuring the short term security of the club by addressing its urgent debts, injecting working capital, and beginning a renewed campaign to generate the balance of funds required to complete the conversion to full community ownership within an agreed timescale.
We have thus far been unable to reach agreement with the five major shareholders on this proposal, but discussions continue between the parties in a positive and constructive spirit. We will provide further updates as negotiations continue.
We’d like to thank everyone who has committed to the Bid so far, and other supporters, and assure them that we remain committed to the aim of community ownership as the best way to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for Bath City FC."
Thank you for your patience while we continue to work hard to ensure the best possible outcome for the Club and the Bid. We will get back to you just as soon as we're able to take further positive steps forwards.
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By Stefan Larsson and Peter Tollman
It’s a secret hiding in plain sight. The $7.6 trillion global health care sector has a value problem. Despite decades of efforts to control spending, costs continue to rise at roughly double the rate of GDP growth in most developed countries. That is putting severe pressure on health care budgets and, in many countries, is leading to rationing in the form of longer wait times or restricted access.
It would be one thing if those spending increases were delivering commensurate improvements in patient health. But that is far from the case. There are wide variations in health outcomes across hospitals, regions, and countries, with no clear causal relationship between money invested and health delivered.1 The systems that spend the most money do not necessarily provide the best care.2 And there is growing evidence that a substantial portion of health care spending is, quite simply, wasted on avoidable medical complications or on medically unnecessary treatments.3
In response to these problems, some industry leaders have begun to embrace a model known as value-based health care. According to this approach, the primary objective of any health system should be continuous improvement in health outcomes for a given level of cost. (See “The Basic Principles of Value-Based Health Care.”) Value-based health care is a promising model for the reorganization of care. We believe it has the potential to deliver substantially improved health outcomes at significantly lower cost than health systems are currently able to achieve. Realizing that potential, however, will require significant changes in behavior on the part of stakeholders throughout the health system.
Health outcomes are measurable changes in health for a given population of patients that result from specific health care investments or interventions. Examples include lives saved after heart attacks through in-hospital care, improvements in quality of life following surgery (for instance, improved eyesight following cataract surgery), and declining prevalence of a disease due to effective prevention.
The US is the most dramatic but not the only example. In 2015, US health care spending per capita was more than twice the average of the 35 countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). And yet, the US health system delivers significantly less favorable health outcomes than many of these countries on measures such as life expectancy and the incidence of chronic illness.
According to one estimate, medically unnecessary overtreatment in the US is responsible for approximately $750 billion in avoidable costs each year. See Mark Smith, et al. (eds.), Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America (National Academies Press, 2013).
The Basic Principles of Value-Based Health Care
Value-based health care makes the delivery of improved health outcomes for the same or lower cost the primary objective of global health systems. The approach is founded on the systematic measurement of health outcomes and of the costs required to deliver them for clearly defined sub populations—for example, all patients who suffer from a given disease or condition, such as type 2 diabetes, or who share a similar risk profile, such as the multimorbid elderly. Teams of clinical specialists use this outcomes and cost data to develop customized interventions to improve the ratio of outcomes to costs for each patient group over time.
By aligning industry stakeholders around the shared objective of improving health care value, value-based health care has the potential to deliver substantially improved health outcomes at lower costs than most health systems around the world are currently able to achieve.
The approach also improves access to appropriate care, defines relevant innovations in treatment and care delivery, and provides major new business opportunities for health care organizations in both the public and private sectors.*
* For a comprehensive discussion of value-based health care, see Michael E. Porter, “What Is Value in Health Care?” New England Journal of Medicine, December 23, 2010; and “Value in Healthcare: Laying the Foundation for Health-System Transformation,” World Economic Forum, April 2017.
In particular, it will require much higher levels of cooperation. Specialists in key disease areas need to agree on the most important outcomes to measure. Providers need to work more closely with patients and patient advocacy groups to help achieve the outcomes most important to them. Clinical specialists at different points along the treatment pathway need to come together in interdisciplinary teams to create more integrated and customized interventions. And payers will need to work closely with providers, drug companies, and medical-device manufacturers to develop the most cost-effective modes of treatment.
Value-Based Health Care is, first and foremost, a behavioral challenge.
In this respect, value-based health care is, first and foremost, a behavioral challenge. Meeting that challenge will not be easy. Health care is far too complex an industry for leaders to mandate the necessary cooperation or rely on the standard tool box of managerial techniques—new processes, organizational structures, and incentives—to make it happen. They need a smarter approach to behavioral change, one that is simultaneously simpler and more effective, to cut through the Gordian knot of increasingly complex health systems, unleash the energy and engagement of their people, and align their organizations around the shared goal of patient value.
One place to start is with an approach to understanding and influencing behavior that BCG has developed in its work with leading business organizations around the world. We call it smart simplicity.4 In this essay, we offer some basic guidelines for creating organizations that encourage the cooperation necessary to make value-based health care a reality. But before turning to these “six simple rules,” as we call them, we need to go deeper into the principles behind smart simplicity and explain why they are especially suited to the distinctive behavioral challenges that industry leaders face in addressing health care’s value problem.
For a comprehensive description of the smart simplicity approach, see Yves Morieux and Peter Tollman, Six Simple Rules: How to Manage Complexity without Getting Complicated (Harvard Business Review Press, 2014).
Behavior may not be the only factor affecting an organization’s performance, but it’s an especially important one in highly complex industries such as health care. How people act, interact, and make decisions often spells the difference between high performing organizations and the rest. Seen from this perspective, human behavior is “performance in the making.”
The conventional approach to managing people’s behavior at work is, in effect, to tell them what to do. Managers use traditional organizational mechanisms such as reporting relationships, formal processes, detailed rules and guidelines, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to dictate how employees should behave. They reward them for compliance with those rules, processes, and KPIs and punish them for noncompliance.
In modern work environments characterized by increasingly complex tasks and multiple (and sometimes conflicting) performance requirements, this approach is less and less effective. The more goals and objectives multiply, the more the rules, processes, and guidelines proliferate in an effort to manage complexity and control what people do. The paradoxical result is added and unnecessary layers of organizational complicatedness on top of necessarily complex tasks. Increasingly complicated organizations restrict autonomy and make it more difficult, not less, for people to work together to manage complexity.
Combining Autonomy and Cooperation. One of the principles of smart simplicity is that the more complex work becomes, the more the key to effective performance is to encourage autonomy, not restrict it. Autonomy is the freedom to exercise one’s judgment in the completion of a task. In situations where the task is simple and the goals clear, autonomy isn’t really necessary; the organization can create a rule or an algorithm that people can follow. But in situations where individuals and teams need to make tradeoffs among multiple objectives or multiple ways of achieving them, all the rules in the world cannot dictate the most appropriate solution for the specific situation. The only way to manage a growing number of increasingly complex tradeoffs is to give people the autonomy to exercise their judgment.
But autonomy alone is not enough. The more complex the work environment, the less likely that any one individual or group will have all the answers. Rather, people, teams, and entire organizational units need to work together to get to the best result. It’s therefore also essential for an individual’s autonomy to be deployed in the service of cooperation with others.
Cooperation may sound like a feel-good term, a self-evident value in any organization. That’s not how we’re using it. In reality, cooperation is a complex social process, hard to create and easy to destroy. The fact is, many people avoid cooperating if they can get away with it, and they will often use whatever autonomy they have to do so. Why? Because to truly cooperate with others requires people to bear the cost of necessary adjustments to their own goals for the greater good of the organization. Cooperation involves tension, the confrontation between different but equally valid perspectives and priorities, and sometimes considerable conflict. (Indeed, absence of conflict is often the first sign that cooperation isn’t taking place.) The challenge, therefore, is to find ways to make cooperation and the adjustments it imposes on people’s goals not only a worthwhile organizational objective but also a rational strategy for individuals.
Avoiding Complicatedness. Smart simplicity is the art of creating work organizations that manage complexity by combining autonomy and cooperation without adding complicatedness. (See Exhibit 1.) The approach is based on two key principles about organizational behavior that have come out of the social sciences. The first is that all human behavior is strategic. People behave the way they do in order to meet their individual objectives or goals, leveraging the resources available to them and working around the constraints. In this respect, human behavior is always rational. There are always “good reasons” for why people do what they do—even when, if viewed from the perspective of the organization and its goals, their behavior appears irrational or dysfunctional. Effectively shaping behavior requires understanding those reasons and knowing how to influence them to the ends of the organization.
The second principle is that, while leaders can’t directly control people’s behavior, they can shape the organizational context, the goals, resources, and constraints to which that behavior is a response. The way to effectively influence behavior in situations of high complexity is to create a context that unleashes the autonomy necessary for creative problem-solving and that, at the same time, makes it rational—a winning personal strategy—for people to harness that autonomy in the service of cooperation.
Smart simplicity is relevant to any industry, but it is especially relevant to health care. Few work environments today are subject to as much complexity as those in health care. Rapid advances in biomedical science have led to an exponential increase in the understanding of health and disease and in new tools to diagnose and treat patients. But they have also led to increased specialization, more-complex clinical decision making, and a concomitant fragmentation of care, which can make it difficult for providers to work together to take a truly integrated approach to patient health. The paradox of specialization is that it makes cooperation more necessary even as it makes it more difficult to achieve.1
Complexity in health care is exacerbated by the industry’s many stakeholders. Payers, providers, drug makers, and medical device companies are separate but interdependent members of an increasingly intricate ecosystem. So are institutions that are not typically thought of as members of the health care industry—for example, university research labs, patient advocacy groups, and public-health organizations. All these various organizational entities contribute to patient care, but diverging goals and interests can make it difficult to create alignment around shared goals.
Like many businesses, health care has also witnessed a proliferation of new performance requirements in recent decades. Increasingly, clinicians are asked not merely to treat the patient and cure disease but also to control costs, maximize capacity utilization, minimize wait times, and ensure patient satisfaction, among other important goals. Multiple performance requirements further increase the complexity of the task.
For an analysis of this problem in the domain of biopharmaceutical R&D, see “Can R&D Be Fixed? Lessons from Biopharma Outliers,” BCG Focus, September 2011.
GROWING COMPLICATEDNESS HAS ERODED THE PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY CLINICIANS USED TO ENJOY.
The problem is made even worse by the way health care organizations have tried to manage rising costs and complexity. Much like managers in other industries, health care leaders have put in place more and more standardized processes, rules, guidelines, and KPIs. This growing complicatedness has significantly eroded the professional autonomy that clinicians used to enjoy while, at the same time, making it even more difficult for them to work together to make the tradeoffs necessary to deliver value to patients.
Consider the typical approach to cost control. Payers try to control costs by imposing constraints on medical decision making and patient choice in the form of utilization reviews, drug formularies, prior authorization, restricted provider networks, rationing, and the like. In response, many provider organizations focus on process efficiency, imposing top-down performance measures to increase their control over clinical practitioners.
It’s an understandable impulse. But the result is that highly qualified and experienced clinicians end up feeling micromanaged, caught between the demands of payers to contain costs, of hospital administrators to maximize the use of expensive medical technologies, and of themselves as professionals to provide the best treatments to their patients.
Clinicians still have the responsibility for making life-and-death decisions. But they are increasingly subject to bureaucratic controls that erode their capacity to exercise their own expertise and judgment in the best interest of their patients. The stress of bearing that distinctive emotional burden, with less and less control over the outcome, often leads to frustration, cynicism, and mistrust. No wonder the health professions have some of the highest levels of dissatisfaction and burnout.2 At its worst, this situation can lead to a culture of blame in which poor performance or breakdowns are blamed on others rather than being occasions for reflection and continuous improvement.
The only way to cut through this dysfunctional complexity is to create organizations that give autonomy back to caregivers and channel it toward new kinds of cooperation across medical dis- ciplines and the different sectors of the health care industry. The basic idea behind value-based health care is to align industry stakeholders around the shared objective of improving measurable health outcomes delivered to patients for a given cost and then to give those stakeholders the autonomy, tools, and accountability they need to meet that objective.
How might health care leaders use smart simplicity to address the behavioral challenge of improving health care value? One useful place to begin addressing that question is with the phenomenon of outcomes variation.
In recent years, researchers have become aware of the wide- spread variation in the health outcomes delivered to patient groups across providers, countries, and regions within countries.1 Consider the example of diabetes.
Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that is reaching near- epidemic proportions. According to the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF), roughly 415 million adults suffered from diabetes in 2015—and nearly half of those cases went undiagnosed.2 An additional 318 million adults had impaired glucose tolerance, putting them at high risk for developing diabetes in the future. In 2015, diabetes caused 5 million deaths worldwide, more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. By 2040, the number of adults with diabetes is expected to grow to 642 million, approximately 10% of the world’s adult population. Long-term complications from diabetes include cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and poor circulation leading to foot ulcers and eventually, if the condition worsens, to amputation of the lower limb.
In addition to this widespread human suffering, diabetes rep- resents a growing economic burden. Treatment for diabetes and related complications currently accounts for about 12% of global health care spending. IDF estimates that diabetes-related health expenditures will increase from $673 billion in 2015 to $802 billion in 2040. What’s more, the lion’s share of the costs associated with the disease is incurred treating patients with serious complications, which makes prevention and progression control critical to both delivering good health outcomes and minimizing the costs of care.
See, for example, The Practice Variation Opportunity for Health Payers: Addressing Unwarranted Differences in Treatment Decisions, BCG report, September 2015, and Barry L. Rosenberg, et al., “Quantifying Geographic Variation in Health Care Outcomes in the United States Before and After Risk-Adjustment,” PLOS One, December 2016.
All data on diabetes prevalence and cost is from International Diabetes Foundation, IDF Diabetes Atlas, 7th edition, 2015.
COMPARING OUTCOMES: THE US AND SWEDEN
The incidence of diabetes and the costs of diabetes care vary widely across national health systems. (See Exhibit 2.) Take, for example, the differing rates of type 2 diabetes in the US and Sweden. According to IDF, the age-adjusted prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the US adult population is 10.8%; in Sweden, the equivalent number is less than half as large—4.7%.3 What’s more, not only is the prevalence of the disease substantially higher, but diabetes patients in the US are significantly more likely to suffer from serious complications. For example, in 2010 (the most recent year for which comparable data is available), Sweden had 3.2 diabetic amputations for every 100,000 people; the equivalent US number was 17.1—more than five times as high.4
Age-adjusted prevalence is the most accurate metric for comparing diabetes rates among countries be- cause it risk-adjusts for differences in the distribution of age groups and includes estimates of the percentage of the population with undiagnosed diabetes.
F. Carinci, et al., “Lower extremity amputation rates in people with diabetes as an indicator of health systems performance. A critical appraisal of the data collection 2000–2011 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),” Acta Diabetologica, 2016.
Because complications drive the lion’s share of costs, the higher complication rate in the US helps explain why the annual cost per patient of type 2 diabetes treatment in the US is double that in Sweden ($10,942 versus $5,063).5 Based on IDF calculations, we estimate that if the US could bring its prevalence rate down to Sweden’s, it would save more than half of what the US health system spends annually on diabetes care, or about $163 billion. Alternatively, if the US could bring its cost per patient for treating diabetes down to the Swedish level, it could save even more—about $172 billion. Doing both would lead to cumulative annual savings of about $250 billion. These numbers reflect only direct savings in health care costs; they do not include the considerable indirect savings in terms of limiting lost productivity due to illness or the indirect economic benefits of diabetes patients living longer lives.
These numbers reflect the purchase-parity-adjusted cost in US dollars, as calculated by the IDF Diabetes Atlas.
HOW BEHAVIOR DRIVES VARIATION IN OUTCOMES
What explains these differences in health outcomes? Although genetic differences in the populations of the two countries probably account for some of the variation, the main causes are behavioral. Diabetes is largely a lifestyle disease, so patient behavior in terms of diet and exercise plays a central role in its prevalence and progression.6 For example, obesity is a key risk factor in diabetes, and obesity levels (measured by the age- adjusted percentage of the population with a body mass index of 30 or above) are 70% higher in the US than in Sweden, mainly owing to differences in diet. Sugar consumption in the US is 1.5 times higher than in Sweden; according to one recent study, more than half the calories consumed by Americans come from so-called ultraprocessed foods that are high in sugar.7
Assessing the relative contribution of different determinants of health to health outcomes and costs poses complex methodological issues. Studies suggest that, in general, individual behavior accounts for roughly half the relative contribution to health outcomes, with a small number of behavioral determinants—for example, smoking or physical exercise—having an outsized impact. When considering the impact of individual behavior on health outcomes, however, it is important to recognize that health behaviors occur within a larger social context. Behaviors are often heavily influenced by social and environmental factors that are outside the individual’s control. Unhealthy eating habits, for example, may be a function of lack of access to affordable healthy foods. See “The Relative Contribution of Multiple Determinants to Health Outcomes,” Health Policy Brief, Health Affairs, August 21, 2014.
Euridice Martinez Steele, et al., “Ultra-processed foods and added sugars in the US diet: evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study,” BMJ Open, 2016.
Another key behavioral driver is the way in which the health systems in the two countries treat diabetes. To analyze the behavioral roots of different approaches to clinical practice in the two countries, we reviewed the scientific literature and interviewed clinical experts and representatives of patient groups. Our goal was to develop a high-level behavioral map of how the two systems typically diagnose and treat diabetes. While there are, of course, exceptions in both health systems and our analysis is not comprehensive, we identified two important clusters of behavioral difference.
Individual- Versus Team-Based Approach to Care. In the US, individual physicians typically take responsibility for diabetes care. The vast majority of type 2 diabetes patients (roughly 80%) are treated by their primary-care physician (PCP). It’s rare for PCPs to refer diabetes patients to an endocrinologist unless the case is especially serious—and when they do, the specialist tends to take over primary responsibility for the patient’s care.
In Sweden, clinicians take a team-based approach to care.
In Sweden, by contrast, clinicians take a more interdisciplinary, team-based approach. A patient’s general practitioner (GP) usually makes the initial diagnosis, but that diagnosis immediately triggers the involvement of a variety of other experts, who play different but complementary roles. For example, most primary-care facilities in Sweden have specially trained, full-time diabetes nurses on staff who play a central role in diabetes care (we’ll describe that role in more detail below). In the US, by contrast, diabetes nurses work mainly in secondary-care treatment facilities, not primary care. Therefore, they tend to see only the most seriously ill patients.
Swedish GPs also refer diabetes patients to specialists (known as diabetologists, a term used in Sweden to describe endocrinologists who specialize in diabetes care) far more frequently than US primary-care physicians do. But that does not mean those patients stop seeing their GP. Rather, Swedish diabetes patients move easily between health care providers in the system, from GP to diabetes nurse to specialist and back again in a way that does not happen routinely in the US.
Finally, Swedish primary-care centers often appoint one GP to serve as the designated diabetes “node.” In addition to treating his or her own patients, the node oversees the care and disease progression of other diabetes patients in the center, plays a consultative role with his or her colleagues, and, in general, helps coordinate the movement and care of patients among the multiple caregivers on the interdisciplinary team.
Treating Symptoms Versus Treating Behaviors. Another major behavioral difference between the two systems is that the clinical interventions around diabetes in Sweden tend to be far more holistic than in the US. Whereas US clinicians focus primarily on medical measures—diagnosing symptoms and then prescribing drugs or performing procedures to address them— Swedish clinicians balance this approach with the kind of educational and behavioral interventions that are critical for managing a lifestyle disease such as diabetes.
These differences are partly a function of how much time primary-care physicians spend with their patients. Once diagnosed, diabetes patients in the two countries visit their doctor with about the same frequency—roughly three or four times a year. But the time they spend per visit differs substantially: between 5 and 10 minutes in the typical US office visit, compared with 15 to 20 minutes in Sweden. The additional time that Swedish doctors spend with patients creates more opportunities to educate them on the behaviors needed (such as proper nutrition and exercise) to manage their disease effectively. By contrast, because US doctors are more time constrained, they are forced to focus on the most immediate and acute effects of the illness, reinforcing the overreliance on medical measures to the relative neglect of educational and behavioral interventions.
In Sweden, the role of the diabetes nurse is key.
The holistic interventions of the Swedish system are reinforced by that country’s team-based approach to diabetes care. Here, the role of the diabetes nurse is key. As soon as a general practitioner makes the initial diagnosis, he or she refers the patient to a diabetes nurse, who conducts an initial one-hour visit to develop a tailored plan and daily routine for managing the disease (including when to take medication and how to measure blood sugar). Diabetes nurses meet regularly with patients in followup appointments, where they examine their feet for signs of neuropathy or foot ulcers (key symptoms of disease progression), make any necessary appointments with specialists such as podiatrists or ophthalmologists, and in general help with the ongoing management of the disease.
The presence of diabetes nurses in most primary-care settings also makes it easier for the system to focus its educational efforts not only on patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes but also on those at risk of developing the disease in the future. In other words, the Swedish approach contributes to prevention, not just to treatment and cure. And in general, it seems to integrate the traditionally separate domains of health care and public health better than the US system does.
Even specialists take a broader approach to diabetes care in Sweden. Diabetologists typically focus on the more serious cases, just as endocrinologists in the US do. But in some Swedish counties (roughly the equivalent of US states and the primary funders of health care), they also offer an intensive four-day program of examination and education for early-stage type 2 diabetes patients, in which they develop a comprehensive treatment plan and then refer the patient back to his or her general practitioner for followup. This practice helps slow down the progression of the disease.
HOW ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT SHAPES INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
It may be tempting to explain these differences in behavior in terms of differences in the national or medical culture of the two societies. But that would be to beg the question, “Why have these different cultures led to different behaviors?” Looking more closely, we can identify specific aspects of the organizational con- text of the two health systems that have shaped those behaviors and to which those behaviors are a rational response.
Fee-for-Service Versus Capitation. Perhaps the most visible difference is the way in which caregivers are compensated for their work. Despite many changes in recent years, most US clinicians continue to be paid according to some version of the traditional fee-for-service model. In Sweden, by contrast, payment for primary care is usually based on capitation adjusted for a primary-care center’s population mix.
The US fee-for-service model helps explain why primary-care providers in the US are less likely than their Swedish colleagues to refer patients to an endocrinologist. If a large share of referred patients end up returning to that specialist for their ongoing care, the primary-care provider loses the patient and the associated revenue stream. Fee-for-service compensation also encourages US clinicians to focus on medical interventions, which are most likely to be reimbursed by payers. From the perspective of smart simplicity, these behaviors aren’t signs of irrational behavior or poor priorities. They are simply rational responses to the context in which people work. Changing their behavior requires changing the context.
A capitation-based incentive system, by contrast, encourages autonomy by making it easier to choose from a wider variety of interventions without having to get payer approval. As a result, more time and attention go to activities such as patient education. Capitation also gives Swedish clinicians an interest in preventing diabetes and minimizing its progression, because the fewer the cases, the lower the costs and the more the primary-care facility will be able to keep within its county-approved budget.
Comprehensive Outcomes Data. But capitated payments alone do not explain Sweden’s distinctive approach to diabetes care. A far more fundamental difference in the organizational context of the two health systems is that Swedish clinicians have access to comprehensive data on the health outcomes of diabetes patients nationwide. Since 1996, Sweden’s National Quality Registry for Diabetes (known by its Swedish acronym, NDR) has collected comprehensive outcomes data on more than 5 million Swedish diabetes patients. Since 2002, NDR data has been available online, allowing individual clinics to easily compare their own results with national statistics. NDR is one in a network of more than 100 such quality registries in Sweden, covering the majority of national health expenditures. These registries have become powerful engines of behavior change for clinicians and help explain why Sweden often ranks near the top in international comparisons of health outcomes.8
Because Swedish clinicians have data on the actual health outcomes they are delivering, they are empowered to identify the most effective treatment options and change their behavior accordingly. And because this data is publicly available to providers, payers, and patients, clinicians have an interest in cooperating with peers to improve their outcomes over time. Finally, access to comprehensive outcomes data ensures that the incentives associated with capitation work in the way they are supposed to: improving overall health care value rather than, for instance, becoming a perverse incentive that encourages undertreatment.
Some regional US health systems (for example, Kaiser Permanente) have active diabetes registries, which they use to identify best practices in care much as Swedish clinicians do. Until recently, however, there was no national US diabetes registry, and the new Diabetes Collaborative Registry is still in the early stages of development.9 In the absence of comprehensive outcomes data, it is far more difficult for primary-care physicians on the frontline of diabetes care to assess their performance against that of peers, codify best practices, and ultimately improve their health outcomes.
“Integrator” Roles. A third aspect of the Swedish organizational context for diabetes care is the explicit roles that have been created to support the team-based and holistic clinical approach. The diabetes nurse who is a central player in diabetes care and the general practitioner who is the designated diabetes node in a primary-care center are both examples of what we call “integrator” roles—actors with an interest in encouraging cooperation who help each member of the organization benefit from the cooperation of others. It is the existence of these clearly defined roles in overall care delivery that helps make Sweden’s approach to diabetes care so effective.
An Organizational Context That Delivers Value. Our analysis suggests that the combination of capitated reimbursement, the systematic measurement of health outcomes, and effective integrator roles make it easier for Swedish clinicians to work together to deliver value to diabetes patients. Put in the language of smart simplicity, these factors make cooperation an effective behavioral strategy for Swedish clinicians, and that is one of the reasons why Sweden has a much lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes than the US.
For more on the role of quality registries in Sweden and other nations, see Stefan Larsson, et al., “Use of 13 Disease Registries In 5 Countries Demonstrates the Potential to Use Outcome Data to Improve Health Care’s Value,” Health Affairs, January 2012.
In June 2014, the American College of Cardiology, in partnership with the American Diabetes Association, the American College of Physicians, and Joslin Diabetes Center, announced the launch of the Diabetes Collaborative Registry, the first global, cross-specialty clinical registry designed to track and improve the quality of diabetes and metabolic care across the primary- and specialty-care continuum. Participation is voluntary, and by 2016 the registry had approximately 1 million unique patients in its database, which represents only about 3.3% of the roughly 30 million people with diabetes in the US.
The best US diabetes clinics take an approach that is similar to the Swedish model.
There is no reason why the US health system—or any health system, for that matter—couldn’t foster an organizational context that encourages comparable behaviors. In fact, some US providers have begun to do just that. A number of leading diabetes-focused clinics in the US— for example, the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston—take a team-based approach to care that is quite similar to the Swedish model, and these specialty clinics provide some of the best diabetes care in the world. They are the exception, however. And even they struggle with aspects of the overall US health system (for instance, the continuing dominance of fee-for-service reimbursement) that function as disincentives for interdisciplinary cooperation among care providers. In other words, the challenge remains: how to spread the team-based model to the entire US health system.
How might health care leaders go about creating organizations that combine autonomy and cooperation on the part of care givers to improve health care value? BCG’s work on smart simplicity has identified “six simple rules” for doing so. (See Exhibit 3.) The first three are designed to give people autonomy at work. The last three are designed to give them an interest in cooperation so that they willingly use their autonomy to work together toward the organization’s goals. Consider how the leaders at the university hospital of a major academic medical center used these rules to redesign the hospital’s operating model.
1. UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR PEOPLE REALLY DO
The starting point is to analyze the behavioral dynamics that underlie an organization’s performance—much as we did in the previous section with the causes behind outcomes variation in diabetes care in the US and Sweden. The university hospital was a prestigious institution. It had a storied history of clinical innovation and drew patients from throughout its home country and even from abroad. More recently, however, the hospital had been struggling with a series of seemingly intractable performance problems.
Like many hospitals, the organization suffered from a nursing shortage. The problem had become so acute that a substantial percentage of beds were left empty for lack of nurses to staff them. The empty beds were wreaking havoc with the institution’s capacity utilization, causing it to post recurring budget deficits. Wait times for surgery and other critical procedures had also lengthened beyond legally mandated limits.
The hospital had tried a variety of interventions to address its capacity and cost problems. It had engaged in multiple rounds of belt-tightening, instituted “lean” initiatives to improve process efficiency, and put in place a variety of dedicated task forces to address specific issues like bed assignment. But these efforts in- variably foundered when it came to implementation. The organization’s inability to solve its problems damaged staff morale (making it even more difficult to recruit leading clinicians and experienced nurses) and was beginning to erode the hospital’s reputation.
A closer look at the hospital’s functioning revealed an even more disturbing trend: a steady erosion in the quality of care. To be sure, the hospital had world-class doctors and many areas of genuine clinical excellence; its staff treated some of the most complex cases in modern medicine. But the hospital was finding it more and more difficult to translate that excellence into the consistent delivery of quality health outcomes to patients. An analysis that tracked the hospital’s performance on commonly accepted health outcomes in ten major categories of care, ranging from heart disease to diabetes to cancer, found that in only one out of ten areas was the hospital above the national average in more than half the metrics. And on a comprehensive national quality ranking, the hospital came in last among its country’s university hospitals.
The institution’s leaders analyzed the behavioral dynamics underlying this poor performance. Instead of focusing on what people didn’t do, they focused on what they did do, why those behaviors made sense given the hospital’s organizational context, and how they contributed to the breakdowns in performance. Three behavioral patterns turned out to be especially important:
Optimizing the Unit, Not the Hospital. Like most hospitals, this one was organized into departments according to medical specialty. Many of these units had strong reputations and, therefore, a lot of institutional power and professional pride. They controlled their own budgets, managed their own wards, set their own KPIs, trained their own students, and evaluated and promoted their own personnel. But they had become so good at optimizing their own performance that they would often do so at the expense of the hospital as a whole.
Take the hospital’s empty-bed problem. For the institution’s leaders, this was a massive constraint on the hospital’s ability to meet its budget. Yet, from the perspective of the specialty wards, empty beds were a resource. It was a typical ward practice to set aside beds so they would always be available for patients of the ward’s own doctors. So when the emergency room called, looking for a bed for a patient in need of further care, staff in the specialty ward would claim that no beds were available. In addition to creating unnecessary conflicts among units, this behavior exacerbated the hospital’s capacity utilization problem and long wait times. As one division head put it, “Everyone is focusing on the tents, but nobody is focusing on the circus.”
Focusing on Process, Not Patients. Another set of behaviors had to do with how the individual units were being managed. One consequence of the hospital’s preoccupation with its financial problems was a proliferation of new guidelines and KPIs designed to help it meet its annual budgets. This led to an overwhelming management focus on process compliance and short-term budget targets—with limited attention to the impact on patients and health outcomes.
Clinicians, of course, cared about doing the best for their patients. But at the end of the day, their managers were judged on whether or not the unit was hitting its budget targets; they had neither the incentive nor the tools to find out in detail what kind of outcomes their clinicians were delivering to patients. The overreliance on financial and process metrics helped explain why the hospital’s quality of care was eroding. It also led to considerable tension between managers and clinicians and a lot of disengagement, especially on the part of junior clinical staff, who often felt there was little consideration of how the latest cost-cutting initiatives might be affecting quality. This tension was a factor in the high turnover the hospital was experiencing, which worsened the hospital’s nursing shortage and, therefore, its capacity utilization problem.
Cumbersome Decision Making and Poor Implementation. The independence of the individual units and the exclusive focus on process compliance and short-term budget targets contributed to a third behavioral dynamic at the hospital: cumbersome and ineffective decision making. Because clinicians in one unit were never confident that other units had their best interests at heart, everyone wanted to be involved in every decision, leading to time-consuming meetings. And because everyone was involved, no one was really accountable—especially when decisions had implications for multiple units. As a result, new initiatives didn’t get implemented, it was difficult to take a holistic and integrated approach to patient care, and the lack of alignment (sometimes verging on mistrust) among the hospital’s leaders was becoming a major obstacle to innovation and continuous improvement. When division heads were asked to name their greatest fear as leaders, the most common response was “being accused by peers of having made a mistake.”
These were the behavioral dynamics that the hospital had to change in order to address its performance problems. The challenge was how to do it.
2. REINFORCE INTEGRATORS
One of the basic principles of value-based health care is that the key unit of analysis is the population of individuals who suffer from the same disease or condition or who share similar risk profiles. By focusing on distinct population segments, providers can meaningfully compare health outcomes, identify the causes of unnecessary variations in those outcomes, learn more about the clinical interventions that improve health outcomes for a given segment, and drive the systematic improvement of care over time. This population-based approach can be challenging for many health care organizations to implement because it cuts across the traditional functional structure of most care delivery networks.
The simple rule to “reinforce integrators” can be an effective way to address this problem. Integrators are individuals or work units that rely on cooperation to get their work done. Reinforcing them means giving them sufficient power to influence the behavior of others in the interest of greater cooperation. One example of the reinforcement of integrators is the central role played by diabetes nurses and diabetes nodes in the treatment of type 2 diabetes in Sweden. At the university hospital, creating new integrator roles became a key part of the transformation strategy.
To focus on improving health care value, the hospital changed its operating model.
To make it easier to focus on improving health care value, the hospital decided on a fundamental change in its operating model. Instead of organizing around medical specialties, it would organize around the patient. Specifically, the hospital identified a few hundred distinct patient groups based on disease, condition, or risk profile, each with its own characteristic treatment pathway and mix of required specialists and expertise. These groups were aggregated into a smaller number of patient areas characterized by similar treatments and clinical experts, and then further clustered within a handful of broad medical “themes” (for example, maternal and children’s health, cardio-vascular disease, cancer, and aging). These became the main organizational units at the hospital, with primary responsibility for managing beds and assigning nurses.
To animate this new organizational structure and make it function effectively, the hospital created an important new leadership role: the patient group manager. These managers are senior clinicians with deep experience in a specific treatment pathway ( juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, say, or congestive heart failure). They are responsible for designing a holistic, integrated approach to treatment and for coordinating the interdisciplinary teams of specialists who care for patients with the particular disease or condition. They develop and track appropriate outcome metrics, manage resources and budget, and drive improvements in value over time.
The patient group managers are integrators in the sense that their role is to orchestrate the cooperation needed from the interdisciplinary team that delivers care. For example, the patient group manager convenes a steering committee consisting of representatives from all the key medical specialties that play a role in caring for the patient group in question, as well as from related managerial units (such as IT) and patient advocacy groups. The committee responsible for the rheumatoid arthritis treatment pathway, for instance, includes a rheumatologist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nurse, and other clinical players, as well as a controller, a business development expert, and a patient representative. The idea is to give the relevant stakeholders a seat at the table so they can all contribute to developing a holistic approach to treatment for patients with the condition.
The patient group manager is not only a catalyst for more effective cooperation. He or she also enables increased autonomy on the part of the clinical staff. Instead of being micromanaged, the managers and their interdisciplinary teams have room to maneuver and the freedom to develop the best means of achieving the clinical and financial goals of the hospital.
3. INCREASE THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF POWER
There is a lot of talk these days about empowerment in modern organizations. Power is really the capacity of one person to make a difference on issues that matter to someone else. Increasing the total quantity of power is akin to increasing the number of cards in a deck. The greater the number of cards, the greater the variety of moves that each player can make. In the same way, expanding people’s behavioral options mobilizes them to find ways to satisfy the multiple requirements of a complex task.
Organizing around patient treatment pathways went a long way toward allowing the university hospital to take a more holistic approach to care delivery. But no hospital can be organized entirely around patient segments. At an academic medical center such as this one, medical specialists will always be central to delivering cutting-edge diagnostics and treatments and training the next generation of clinical experts. And there will always be some specialty functions that cut across all patient groups—for example, the emergency room, the operating room, the intensive care unit, the diagnostic laboratory, and the imaging department. This university hospital has retained these traditional functions, but by increasing the total quantity of power, it has reshaped how their staff interact with the patient group managers and with each other.
Personnel from the specialty functions continue to report to their functional managers. But the patient group managers, who are now key actors in multiple treatment pathways, have a formal say in performance reviews of those experts. Have the radiologists from imaging, for example, contributed to our ability to improve health outcomes in a cost-effective fashion? Have they been good team members, engaging in effective cooperation? In effect, by giving the patient group managers influence over the career progression of specialists, the hospital has increased the quantity of power that those managers have at their disposal to encourage effective cooperation.
At the same time, the specialists have a say in evaluating the performance of the patient group managers. Are they using our specialty resources wisely, maximizing their impact on patient health outcomes? Are they open to new ideas or innovations that we propose to leverage our expertise and resources? Are they providing the right kind of training opportunities for our new specialists? Instead of just responding to requests for their services, medical specialists are now in a position to influence how care is designed and delivered across a broad cross-section of treatment pathways. Their total quantity of power has been increased, as well as that of the patient group managers. As a result, interactions within the treatment pathways and among the specialty functions are becoming more constructive and more aligned.
4. INCREASE RECIPROCITY
In complex environments where organizations are pursuing multiple (and sometimes competing) goals, it’s critical to develop “rich objectives” that reflect the complexity of those goals and that acknowledge the tradeoffs necessary to achieve them. Rich objectives tend to increase the sense of reciprocity among actors—the mutual conviction that they have a shared interest in cooperation and that each actor’s success depends on the success of others.
The goal of improving health care value—defined as the ratio of outcomes to costs for a given disease, condition, or population segment—is one such rich objective. It has the potential to align all stakeholders around a common goal, to give clinicians a way to address issues of cost within the context of their core mission, and to create a common frame of reference for the all-important dialogue among payers, providers, and suppliers about payment. The challenge is to translate that goal into granular objectives that inform people’s day-to-day work.
As part of its new governance model, the university hospital has developed a balanced scorecard that includes KPIs in four key areas: quality of care delivery; productivity and financial performance; research, education, and innovation; and staff engagement and morale (including retention of key personnel). Patient group managers and their teams track their own performance across all four categories and meet monthly to discuss how they are doing and how they can improve; they are evaluated on how well they do, not in any single area but as a whole. The approach increases reciprocity among team members. Even more important, their senior managers track and are evaluated on the exact same metrics, increasing reciprocity and alignment across the managerial-clinical divide.
5. EXTEND THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
One of the biggest challenges in tracking health outcomes and improving them over time is the fact that the actual impact of a given treatment or procedure may not be apparent until years afterward. Therefore, another way that organizations can encourage cooperation is to extend the shadow of the future. They can do this by creating feedback loops that force clinicians to take into account the long-term impacts of their decisions on outcomes and costs.
Such feedback loops are increasingly being incorporated into new payment mechanisms known as value-based bundled payments. In Sweden, for example, the Stockholm County Council (the public entity responsible for funding health care for the roughly 2 million residents of the greater Stockholm metropolitan area) has piloted value-based bundled payments for hip and knee replacement. The approach holds providers financially responsible for the full cycle of care, including all diagnostics, any nonacute complications related to the primary surgery, and all patient-reported outcomes for up to two years after the operation. Because this payment model encourages clinicians to keep a longer timeframe in mind, they try hard to minimize costly reoperations due to complications and to consider the likely impact of their decisions on rehabilitation. In the first two years of the program, complications decreased by 18%, reoperations decreased by 23%, and revisions fell by 19%. What’s more, costs per patient declined by 20% and patient sick leave by 17%.
One new practice that is extending the shadow of the future at the university hospital is the more frequent rotation of clinical staff among different units at various points along the treatment pathway. For example, nurses who traditionally worked exclusively in an in-patient setting now routinely rotate into out- patient settings. This gives them a richer understanding of the challenges facing patients after they leave the hospital and of how decisions made earlier in their care can lead to better outcomes years after treatment.
6. REWARD THOSE WHO COOPERATE
Mechanisms to extend the shadow of the future create direct feedback loops that can have an immediate impact on behavior. But sometimes the tasks and activities are such that feedback can only happen indirectly, through the judgments and evaluations provided by others. In any organization, this is the role of management, and health care is no exception. From the perspective of smart simplicity, the central role of management is to encourage and reward cooperation—by making transparency, innovation, and ambitious aspirations the best choice for individuals and teams.
The university hospital is still in the middle of its transformation. The new operating model is placing new demands on the institution’s leaders, particularly those who run the specialty functions that previously held the lion’s share of power. But despite the fact that the new operating model is not yet fully implemented, the shift in the organization’s culture is palpable. Clinicians are learning how to use their new-found autonomy constructively and are working more closely together in interdisciplinary teams. Both managers and clinicians are increasingly being held accountable not just for costs but for the actual value delivered to patients. New roles like that of the patient group manager and new practices such as frequent rotation are making possible new career paths with more opportunities for professional development. Most important, performance is starting to improve. In the past two years, the hospital has operated without a deficit and has improved its ranking on the national quality index from last among university hospitals to third.
The experience of the university hospital suggests some of the ways that health care leaders can use smart simplicity and the six simple rules to unleash the energy of committed clinicians, researchers, and other staff and encourage them to put their energy and creativity behind the task of improving value delivered to patients. When they do, those leaders will find that they have more engaged people, a higher rate of innovation, more effective cooperation, and higher-performing organizations that fix health care’s value problem by delivering improved health outcomes for the same or lower cost.
The BCG Henderson Institute is Boston Consulting Group’s strategy think tank, dedicated to exploring and developing valuable new insights from business, technology, and science by embracing the powerful technology of ideas. The Institute engages leaders in provocative discussion and experimentation to expand the boundaries of business theory and practice and to translate innovative ideas from within and beyond business. For more ideas and inspiration from the Institute, please visit Featured Insights.
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Managing Director & Senior Partner
Peter Tollman
Competing on Outcomes: Winning Strategies for Value-Based Health Care
Creating the Critical-Care Service of the Future
The Value-Based Hospital: A Transformation Agenda for Health Care Providers
Why Managers Need the Six Simple Rules
Mastering Complexity Through Simplification: Four Steps to Creating Competitive Advantage
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Health Care's Value Problem—and How to Fix It
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Research May Help Rescue Antibiotics’ Effectiveness in the Face of Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Jacqueline Mitchell (BIDMC Communications) 617-667-7306, jsmitche@bidmc.harvard.edu
BIDMC Research Briefs showcase groundbreaking scientific advances that are transforming medical care.
Bacteria—especially Gram-negative strains—are becoming increasingly resistant to current antibiotic drugs, and the development of new classes of antibiotics has slowed. Faced with these challenges, investigators are studying the potential of combination therapy, in which two or more drugs are used together to increase or restore the efficacy of both drugs against a resistant bacterial pathogen. Now new research indicates that such synergy may work even when bacteria become resistant to colistin, which is considered a treatment agent of last resort.
The findings are especially promising because recent evidence indicates the potential for rapid worldwide spread of colistin resistance. “For an infected patient, if the multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogen is resistant to colistin, then there is a big problem,” said senior author James Kirby, MD, Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at BIDMC.
In their Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy study, Kirby and his colleagues Thea Brennan-Krohn, MD and Alejandro Pironti, PhD screened 19 different antibiotics for synergy with colistin. The team discovered several combinations where synergy was present and infections with resistant pathogens could potentially be treated with the combination therapy.
Of particular interest, colistin demonstrated high rates of synergy with linezolid, fusidic acid, and clindamycin, which are protein synthesis inhibitor antibiotics that individually have no activity against Gram-negative bacteria. “It was remarkable to see two drugs, each of which is inactive on its own against these bacteria, inhibiting them in combination,” notes Brennan-Krohn. “These findings suggest that colistin retains sub-lethal activity against colistin-resistant bacteria, which may enable drugs like linezolid to reach their targets.”
“Faced with highly resistant pathogens, clinicians often currently treat with multiple antibiotics without knowing the benefit the combinations may provide,” said Kirby. “This study now provides some scientific underpinning for these choices and direction for future investigation.” He added that combination therapy may also allow clinicians to use lower effective doses of colistin and other drugs, which would help avoid toxicities associated with the medications as well as slow the development of antibiotic resistance.
This work was funded in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding.
BIDMC is in the community with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Anna Jaques Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Lawrence General Hospital, Signature Healthcare, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare, Community Care Alliance and Atrius Health. BIDMC is also clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Jackson Laboratory. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.
BIDMC is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a new health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.
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Can brain lesions contribute to criminal behavior?
Read More About Can brain lesions contribute to criminal behavior?
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Home > Categories > Sports > Motor Sports > Michael Schumacher's Biography
Michael Schumacher's Biography
Michael Schumacher Facts
Michael Schumacher was born on 3 January 1969 in Hurth-Hermulheim, Cologne, West Germany.
Michael Schumacher was German Formula Three Champion in 1990 and had his first Grand Prix start in Belgium in 1991 for Jordan. Later that year Schumacher joined Benetton, and a year later gained his first Grand Prix win.
In 1994 and 1995 Michael Schumacher was world champion with Benetton and in the five consecutive years from 2000 to 2004 he won the title with Ferrari.
Interestingly, a fair number of Michael Schumacher's victories have not been from pole position. At one stage his record was 195 starts, 70 wins from 55 pole positions.
Whereas in 1988 Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, although both driving for McLaren, would race against each other with Senna winning the title with eight wins to seven, the same situation does not arise with Ferrari.
According to Simon Barnes's article in The Times, 10 December 2004, entitled Michael Schumacher: the serial winner who murdered Formula One:
"Barrichello doesn't race Schumacher, whose power is such that his team-mate is required to be a lackey, a domestique, a gopher, a private soldier who begins each day: 'Good morning, Sergeant-Major, here's a sparrow for your cat.'"
Barnes goes on to say, "the most exciting thing in Formula One is the question of when Schumacher is going to stop for petrol."
The 2005 season, however, proved a different story for Michael Schumacher and his difficulties were enhanced by criticism from his younger brother, Ralf Schumacher after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ralf accused Michael of risking both their lives with a "crazy" move at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, Schumacher came 17th in the Forbes list of the most powerful celebrities 2005.
In 2006, Michael Schumacher achieved his 66th career pole position at the San Marino GP to break the late Ayrton Senna's all-time record.
Michael Schumacher had already gained more wins, championship titles, and points than any other Formula 1 driver.
On 10 September 2006, after winning his 90th GP - the Italian Grand Prix - Michael Schumacher announced that he was retiring from Formula One at the end of the season.
Schumacher fought a brave last race in the Brazilian GP but the odds were against him. In the end he finished fourth in the race (in spite of a puncture). To win the drivers title, Michael Schumacher would have to had to have won the GP with Alonso finishing out of the points.
In the event, Schumacher ended the 2006 drivers' standings second to Alonso.
In June 2009, Michael Schumacher was unveiled as Stig on Top Gear, however it was generally believed to be that he was just posing as Stig.
On 29 July 2009, the BBC reported that Michael Schumacher was returning to Formula 1 to replace injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
However, on 5 August 2009, Michael Schumacher's spokeswoman Sabine Kehm warned that his neck may not hold which would prevent the comeback.
Indeed, on 11 August 2009, it was confirmed that Michael Schumacher would not make his F1 comeback because of his neck injury.
On 22 December 2009, the BBC reported that Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement to race for Mercedes in 2010.
He started the 2010 season with a sixth place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
On 4 October 2012, Michael Schumacher announced that he was retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the season. It had recently been announced that Lewis Hamilton was to join Mercedes in 2013.
On 29 December 2013, Michael Schumacher was taken to hospital in a critical condition after a skiing accident.
In the following years, there were few reports about his progress after the accident, however in September 2016, his lawyer talked about his condition in a lawsuit against the German magazine, Bunte, which had claimed in December that he could walk.
The lawyer, Felix Damm, denied Schumacher could walk and stated that he was unable to stand even with the assistance of therapists.
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"It was very, very hard but it was instantly rewarding and you could control your own destiny."
In addition to finding a suitable long-term partner, the rich, famous and single need to be wary of suitors who are more interested in their pocketbook than personality, and experts say there are ways to protect their wealth from opportunists.
Workers’ share of global income has shrunk “substantially” this century, and the top earners are taking a bigger part of the pie, according to the International Labour Organization.
The markets are volatile and trade issues still front and centre, but it is important for an investor to not sabotage their investment strategy during periods of uncertainty.
The province's new education minister, Stephen Lecce, unveiled the updated curriculum Tuesday at Toronto's York University.
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European Commission grants Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim's insulin glargine product marketing authorisation in Europe
First biosimilar insulin to receive regulatory approval in the EU
For Non-U.S. and Non-U.K. Media
Indianapolis, US and Ingelheim, Germany – 10 September, 2014 – The European Commission (EC) granted marketing authorisation for Eli Lilly and Company and Boehringer Ingelheim’s insulin glargine product, indicated to treat diabetes in adults, adolescents and children aged 2 years and above. Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s insulin glargine product is the first insulin treatment approved through the European Medicines Agency’s biosimilar pathway and the fourth diabetes product approved in the EU from the Lilly-Boehringer Ingelheim Alliance. It received a positive recommendation from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on June 26, 2014.
Enrique Conterno
"The marketing authorisation for this insulin glargine product in Europe is a significant achievement for the Lilly-Boehringer Ingelheim Alliance. We believe that insulin glargine will continue to be widely used for many years, and Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim are committed to addressing the needs of people living with diabetes and providing support beyond the medicine," said Enrique Conterno, president, Lilly Diabetes.
The Alliance's insulin glargine product is a basal insulin with the same amino acid sequence as Lantus (insulin glargine) and is intended to provide long-lasting blood sugar control between meals and at night.1 Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim's insulin glargine product will be available in a pre-filled pen and cartridges for a reusable pen.
Professor Klaus
Dugi
"Basal insulin is an important mainstay of treatment for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and we’re pleased that Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s insulin glargine product will provide healthcare professionals and patients with another option to meet their insulin treatment needs, along with significant expertise and support from the Lilly-Boehringer Ingelheim Alliance," said Professor Klaus Dugi, Chief Medical Officer, Boehringer Ingelheim.
The marketing authorisation for the Alliance's insulin glargine product is based upon a comprehensive clinical data programme, which showed it has similar efficacy and safety compared to the currently marketed insulin glargine product in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The application included results from pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, as well as Phase III studies in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
While 'Abasria' is an approved name in Europe, it's not necessarily approved in other regions. Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim are targeting a global trade name for the Alliance's insulin glargine product, which will be announced at a later date.
Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s insulin glargine product will be manufactured by Lilly, which has been manufacturing insulin since 1923. This history gives Lilly extensive expertise, insights and knowledge in the insulin space, enabling it to provide high quality medicines to diabetes patients worldwide.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company
In January 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company announced an alliance in diabetes that centers on compounds representing several of the largest diabetes treatment classes. The alliance leverages the strengths of two of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. By joining forces, the companies demonstrate commitment in the care of patients with diabetes and stand together to focus on patient needs. Find out more about the alliance at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or www.lilly.com.
About Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates globally with 142 affiliates and a total of more than 47,400 employees. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
Taking social responsibility is an important element of the corporate culture at Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes worldwide involvement in social projects, such as the initiative "Making more Health" and caring for the employees. Respect, equal opportunities and reconciling career and family form the foundation of the mutual cooperation. In everything it does, the company focuses on environmental protection and sustainability.
In 2013, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 14.1 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.5% of its net sales.
For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.
About Lilly Diabetes
Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued determination to provide real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—we strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit www.lillydiabetes.com.
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com, @LillyHealth on Twitter and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.
Lantus® is a registered trademark of Sanofi.
Abasria® is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.
European Commission grants Lilly and Boehringer...
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Roythornes appoints experienced Commercial Litigation Lawyer
Experienced commercial litigation lawyer, Desley Sherwin, has joined UK top 200 law firm Roythornes Solicitors.
Desley has made the move from Chattertons Solicitors in Lincolnshire which sees her return to the firm where she completed her training more than 25 years ago.
Dividing her time between the Roythornes head office in Spalding and the firm’s Alconbury office, associate solicitor Desley will become part of the commercial litigation and employment law team.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge.– it’s a chance to be part of one of the 1,000 most influential companies in the UK and a top 200 law firm which has a fantastic reputation in the region as well as nationally.
“I’m going to be splitting my time between the Spalding and Alconbury offices in a bid to grow the Alconbury offering as it’s a relatively new base for Roythornes. The chance to work on large scale projects, the type that you would expect from a London firm, but in my home region is incredibly exciting.
“I’m also particularly interested in learning about different areas of agricultural law: Roythornes possesses a huge amount of expertise in this industry.”
Vember Mortlock, Managing Director at Roythornes Solicitors, added: “Desley’s return to Roythornes shows how much we’ve grown as a firm over the last 30 years. As a lawyer, you no longer need to travel to a big city to work with national brands and that’s just one of the many things helping attract new talent.
“Desley will play an important role in growing our offering in Alconbury and the surrounding areas. Following our acquisition of the highly respected Huntingdon firm Warrens Boyes and Archer, we have big plans for the office in 2019, starting with an evening of celebrations on Thursday 7 March. This will be an opportunity for existing and new clients to come and meet our Alconbury team as well as network with other like-minded professionals in an informal environment.”
Roythornes is a national law firm with strategically located offices across the Midlands and East Anglia. The practice has particular expertise in private client, agriculture, food and property sectors and has been listed for the past two years as one of the 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain by the London Stock Exchange.
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Kansas Board Adjusts Guns on Campus Policy to Fit New State Law
The new policy would require individuals with guns to keep the weapons on their persons or in a secure storage device.
Now that a Kansas Board of Regents has approved the policy draft it will be sent to the full board for a vote.
A Kansas Board of Regents committee approved a new weapons policy that would allow universities to ban guns in certain buildings on campus.
The proposed policy is a response to a new state law that requires universities to start allowing concealed guns on campuses in 2017, according to ljworld.com.
The law requires universities to provide adequate security measures at the building entrances where guns are not permitted. Such measures, such as hiring security officers or installing metal detectors, could be expensive and consequently limit the ability of universities to ban guns in some buildings.
The policy, which will be voted on by the full board in January, requires individuals with concealed carry permits to keep their weapons on them or in a safe and secure storage device that blocks the gun from view.
State universities would be required to provide a list of the buildings that don’t allow guns, the reasoning for the weapons ban and the building’s corresponding security measures by June 2016.
RELATED:With Concealed Carry Laws, Operational Uncertainties Confuse School Administrators
Administrators at Kansas University, where students, faculty and staff have said they want to repeal the law, said they are most concerned with weapons in dorm rooms, stadiums and buildings with volatile materials like science labs.
Tagged with: Concealed Weapons Event Security Gun Rights Gun Safety Student Safety
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Treasures Gift From St. Louis World’s Fair
Being her grandmother’s namesake, woman receives golden spoon purchased in 1904.
| January/February 2014
This gold spoon has been in the family since 1904.
Photo By Orpha Katie Elkin
In 1904, when my grandmother, Orpha Easton, was 12 years old, her father, Millard Easton, proprietor of a general store in Stinesville, Indiana, set off for the St. Louis World’s Fair. The exposition must have been a grand sight, for many countries built cultural pavilions and massive exhibition halls for the occasion to exhibit the latest goods and merchandise.
A man by the name of George Washington Gale Ferris brought his "observation wheel," as it had first been known. He erected the Ferris Wheel, which had been constructed for the Chicago Fair a few years earlier. It transported riders to a height of 264 feet, boasted 36 cars that each accommodated 60 people, and weighted 4,200 tons.
So, Great-grandpa Easton went to the fair to view the latest goods and acquire items to sell in his store. While there, he purchased five golden spoons – one for each of his children.
My grandmother grew up and raised two boys. My dad told me how he and his brother fought over the gold spoon, each one wanting to eat with it. What settled the argument, however, was that whoever licked the spoon first and put it by his plate was allowed to eat with the gold spoon for that meal.
My dad and uncle grew up and between them reared five children. We cousins looked forward to Sunday and holiday dinners with Grandma Orpha and Grandpa Charlie in Terre Haute, Indiana. The dispute over the gold spoon continued among the cousins, and was settled in the same manner as it had been for our fathers years earlier.
In 1970, when my grandmother was nearing 80, she came to visit me in San Diego. During that visit, she presented me with the gold spoon because I am her namesake. I was never more thrilled, and I still treasure it to this day.
In 1997, while on a trip to St. Louis, I walked around Forest Park, where the 1904 World’s Fair had been held, trying to imagine the activities, and I visualized my great-grandfather purchasing the spoons. Ah, to have stood there with him would have been a delight, but I cherish the gold spoon as a treasure of his visit.
Prescott, Arizona
Read more heirloom stories in Keepsakes Passed Down Through Generations.
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How to Create a Cosy, Ambient Bathroom on a Budget
Making The Most Of Your Kitchen Worktop: 4 Top Tips
5 Ways To Add Value To Your Home
Designing a Living Room for the Whole Family
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How the right pillow can help you get a good night's sleep
Six tips to keep your rooms cool in Summer
A Boswells Visit to Dartington Crystal
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Introducing Headway Oxfordshire Our Charity for 2015
Discover the Incredible Story of the Woman who Gave Birth in Boswells Department Store
Memories of Boswells
Celebrating 280 Years of Boswells of Oxford
Top Ideas for Planning the Perfect Mother's Day
February Half Term Activities in Oxfordshire
Hurrah for the 10 Oldest Brands at Boswells!
10 Amazing Things to See and Do in Oxford This Summer
The Story of the British Tea Room
Oxford Activities and Events This Summer
Celebrating Guy Fawkes Night In and Around Oxford
The Ultimate Guide To Student Offers in Oxford
Keeping The Kids Entertained This Summer
Things to do around Oxford this Easter
Romantic Oxford
Summer is... in store at Boswells
Preparing Your Kitchen for the Festive Family Season
Meet The Ghost of Boswells of Oxford
Celebrating Bonfire Night in and Around Oxford 2018
Making the Most of Autumn
Top things to do in Oxford for Christmas
How to decorate your Christmas tree
New Year's Resolutions and How to Keep Them
Gifts To Get Excited About This Christmas
Boswells Gets Ghoulish for Halloween
Our Guide to Finding the Right Umbrella For You
Take Some Time for a Summer Picnic
Father's Day and the History of Celebrating Dads
Discover Spring at Boswells
Chocolate, Eggs and Easter Treats Explained
A Brief History of Celebrating Mums
Celebrate This Valentine's Day in Style
Star Wars Your Life With Boswells
Your Guide to Our Student Check List Essentials
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Get Inspired by Adult Education
The Top Toys to Look Out for this Christmas, 2018
Meet the New LEGO® Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Sets and Minifigures!
Outdoor Play: 5 Ways to Combine Fitness and Fun During the Summer Holidays
The Top Toys to Look out for This Christmas
Fun Ways for Babies and Toddlers to Learn and Play
Top Tips for Making your Children's Party a Success
Have Family Fun This Christmas
LEGO® Minifigures Series 16 Has Arrived!
A Review of the New Summer LEGO® Sets
LEGO® The Big Bang Theory
Get To Know LEGO®'s Newest Minifigure Arrivals
Our Countdown of 2015's Top Toys
Lego® Ideas & Dr Who the perfect combination?
Lego® Minifigures are Turning Monstrous
Dinosaurs are back in Oxford!
Top 10 Toys for Boys
Essential tips for buying the perfect gift for a newborn
Lego® buying guide
Nine of the best outdoor toys this summer
Winter City Breaks: What to Pack for Your Long Weekend Away
Make the Most of Long Distance Flying with These 10 Tips
How to Make a Travel Itinerary
7 Tips for Travelling With Children
Get Inspired to Travel with These 10 Most Visited Cities
Boswells' Guide to Travelling Safely and Securely
Top Tips to Beat the Holiday Heat
Finding the Right Luggage for You
When the journey gets rough this technology is tough
What to put in your beach holiday suitcase
Life's a Journey Luggage Promotion
Valentines Traditions Around The World
Charlie Greenwood
Jaz Merritt
Sabina Morsing
Alice's Day 2019
Sam Mansell
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Bank Holiday Weekend
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Mother's Day Weekend Itinerary Suggestions!
Early Mother's Day DIY Gift Ideas
Boswells Blog
When a store is around for quite as long as Boswells has been, it starts to collect stories and memories of unexpected things that have happened through the centuries. If you like, Boswells’ history is a sort of tapestry of people and their stories. As our 280th year draws to a close, we thought we’d share one of our favourite of these stories with you, which took place 21 years ago this month.
In December 1997 a baby girl, Malaika, was unexpectedly born here in store in what was, at the time, our ladies changing room. Her mother, Viviane, had been in labour earlier that day, but was sent home from the hospital as she was only 2 cm dilated. Viviane already had 3 boys and so was sceptical about being sent home so she stayed with a friend, Valerie, who needed to pop into Boswells to pick up some bits from our Haberdashery. Of course, it was at that point that things started to happen…
Viviane suddenly felt a strong urge to push, and her waters finally broke. This was in the days when Boswells had a Ladies Fashion Department and so she dashed into a nearby changing room. These used to stand where we now keep our Keel soft toys, just along the wall, next to the ramp between the 2 parts of our Toy Department. Luckily, Viviane was still wearing a nightie, bed socks and a jumper, as she’d been expecting to stay in hospital, so thankfully she was conveniently dressed to give birth.
The birth happened very quickly, with baby Malaika being born straight into the arms of Valerie. By this time, as you would hope, our staff had rather noticed that there was a woman screaming in labour in the changing rooms, and so they sprang into action. A first aider attended from our Pharmacy, and one of our current Buyers, Marie, remembers closing off the area to other customers and sending colleagues to quickly get towels. As Valerie caught Malaika, Marie told them the time of the birth.
Our staff stayed with both mother and baby until the ambulance arrived to take them to the hospital, and Viviane tells us that the changing rooms were a good spot to wait, as it had a calming low-light. She fed her daughter for the first time while she waited.
By the time the ambulance had arrived the news had spread and Viviane remembers a crowd of well wishers from the staff and customers shouting congratulations and best wishes, which is rather a nice memory to have don't you think?
A few weeks later Viviane visited the store with baby Malaika and we gave them a stuffed Eeyore toy and a large teddy bear to mark the momentous occasion. Eeyore is still sround today and they kindly brought him in for a photo.
Catching Up with Viviane and Malaika in 2018
We recently sat down to a cup of tea and a scone with Viviane and Malaika in our 1738 Tea Room to get their thoughts on the whole experience, and life since then.
For Viviane, we discovered, the birth was rather dreamlike; a true WOW moment in her life. She told us that she enjoys talking about it and visiting the store as it makes it all feel more real—although Malaika is also good proof of the event. In fact, Malaika’s birth certificate actually has 1-4 Broad Street listed as her birthplace, giving her a permanent connection to Boswells, and us to her as well.
Malaika uses the fact that she was born in a shop as a conversational icebreaker and when she was little she used to tell all of her friends about it. She’s currently studying for a Geography degree at UCL and is thinking of doing a Masters, possibly on Climate Change or other Global impacts.
Viviane went on to get a BA in Contemporary Art & Music. She is now a professional artist and has since done a picture of the outside of Boswells. She has worked with international fashion designers and her postcards of drawings of Oxford Town Hall are sold in the Town Hall shop. She goes to art fairs and sells online. Both Viviane and Malaika have continued to shop at Boswells over the years. They both like living in Oxford and Viviane thinks she will always live here.
To mark Malaika’s 21st birthday this month, we gave her a special gift of a birthday afternoon tea in our Tea Room and a Boswells gift card worth £210 (see what we did there), which she plans to put towards items for a semester studying abroad this year, possibly a suitcase. Happy birthday, Malaika! We’re very proud to be a part of your story, and to have you as a part of ours!
To kick off our 280th birthday celebrations, we’ve been gathering up memories of Boswells from staff and customers alike. We’ve been learning all sorts of fascinating things about our own history along the way, and so we’d like to give you a little taste of what we’ve learned so far…
Fond Childhood Memories
A little childhood magic can really forge fond memories. We’re truly honoured to hear that we are a part of so many of your wonderful, early memories!
Jan Barnard sent us this picture of a toy she got from Boswells as a child. We’re told that he’s called Whitey, and it looks to us like he’s had a long, happy life. Here’s Jan’s memory of getting Whitey: “My parents used to take me to the toy department in the 60’s when we lived in Oxford. You used to walk down a big wooden staircase into the toy department that was magnificent and enter a magical world. When I broke my arm and had to have it set at the old Radcliffe Mum took me there to treat me to a toy and I picked a toy dog which I still have. Wonderful childhood memories.”
We’ve also been hearing lots of magnificent tales of trips to see Father Christmas in store. Susan Walters sent us this fantastic memory of a visit to the North Pole (via Broad Street, of course):
“I am 70 years old and this is my most favourite memory of my childhood. The Father Christmas train ride to meet him. I honestly thought we were on a train as we sat in a carriage and watched the land go by through the windows. Then when we arrived, we went to the end of the carriage to see Father Christmas to get a present. Never dawned on me when we went out of another door that we were still in the shop but hadn't travelled back! Wonderful magical memory.”
Entering the World of Work
There’s nothing quite like your first job to prepare you for what life has to offer, and so we’re very proud to have been somewhere where so many of you could make your first ventures into the working world!
Matt Muller got in touch to tell us about his first job, working as a Saturday boy in 1962:
“I can’t remember exactly when I started, but I recall looking forward to earning real money in order to indulge in my passion–pop records. Mr Piper was my boss. He was in charge of Linen and Leather. I have fond memories of Mr Piper, he was a small man, kind and supportive of his staff, thorough but someone you would not mess about! I met my longest standing friend in Boswells, John, another Saturday boy who now lives in Holland.”
Mary Anne Brown, who worked for Boswells in 1982, also fondly remembered her time here:
“Working in the upstairs office at Boswells was my first job after leaving school in 1982. I counted the takings each day in a time when credit cards were used much less and people often paid with cheques and cash. We had no computers. All accounts were recorded in ledgers. We worked at decades old wooden desks and chairs; it was quite a big deal when we had wheeled office chairs bought for us! I remember the two brothers that owned/ran the store; Mr. Tony and Mr. Christopher. Their first names were used since they shared the same last name, which would be confusing; but they were still always referred to as ‘Mr.’ In fact, all the department heads were called ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ –never by their first name.”
Things have changed quite a lot around here since 1982, although the novelty of the wheeled chairs still hasn’t worn off…especially in those parts of the store where the 1920s flooring isn’t quite close to level…
The staff here at Boswells have been sharing some of their memories of what the store was like when they first started working here.
Linda in our Cookshop has been with us for an impressive 27 years and has seen the shop change a lot in that time.
“I was amazed at how big the store was. The Gift department had a large till in the middle of the shop floor which was very busy, went in to the China department, which is now the Pharmacy. There was lots of large stands with many different manufacturers names on and full of all sorts of china.” Getting to grips with the size and scale of the store is something that a lot of Boswells staff remember finding tricky at first, but the building really does have its own special charm!
Laura in our Luggage Department started working at Boswells 10 and a half years ago and has worked in most departments at one point or other.
She told us that her “First week consisted of Saturdays at the beginning. My first day I was quiet, shy maybe. I had a lot to learn, I started on a department that is no longer there. Also, the building at the time was a maze to whoever didn’t know where they were going.” Laura quickly got the hang of things and is now quite skilled at helping newer members of the Boswells team come out of their shells.
Expect the Unexpected...
Sometimes it’s the amusing, but unplanned moments that stay with us. Marion Rea sent us this fantastic memory about when she first came to Oxford:
“As newly arrived students my friends Lisa, Jane and I bought a casserole dish together in Boswells in order to recreate the tastes of home that we were all missing. We proceeded to blow it up—even Pyrex isn't able to withstand being heated on a hob—causing a spectacular shower of glass across our shared kitchen, a fire alarm, and a long-standing reputation for domestic incompetence. But... we learned our lesson and the replacement Boswells casserole dish is still going strong, nearly 30 years later, and we three students remain great friends.”
Strange and unexpected things have also been known to happen to our staff. Lorraine in our Gifts Department recalled a time when a “Pigeon flew into the Broad St window and while everyone else was trying to rescue it Phil [who worked in Luggage at the time] went and got his camera to photograph the people running around.” Jen from Gifts informs us that in the middle of this kerfuffle, the pigeon actually landed on a member of staff, and stayed there long enough for Phil to get his camera!
Emma in our stock room has been telling us about the celebrations the staff held for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. “We all dressed up in red, white and blue costumes and had a tea party in our staff room. I won the prize for best costume, as pictured, and won a giant chocolate gold medal!!!” Unfortunately Her Majesty was rather busy that day, so a cardboard "lookalike" stood in to do the honours...
Serena in our Cookshop has worked for Boswells for 32 years, and so unsurprisingly has plenty of stories to tell about her time here. This one particularly made us chuckle:
“[In the old lift] you would slam the inside door and there was a little window, and you could see when the lift was coming up. And when it literally died, my old boss, Mavis, put a bunch of flowers in there, put in there ‘R.I.P’. Of course, everyone, when the doors opened, thought somebody had died in there. She didn’t do it for that. It was because the lift was gonna be taken out…so it was like ‘goodbye’ to that lift. It served us well.”
A Little Piece of History
And finally we were delighted to recently hear from Janice Bridges, who has a very special family connection to Boswells…
“I remember when I was a child that every time my mother and I shopped at Boswells she would say my Grandfather built this shop. Indeed, she was correct; E Organ and Sons created a fabulous piece of architecture for Oxford… Stand back and look up at the building next time you are shopping at Boswells. My family are so proud of the connection with such a wonderful store.”
How to Enter Our Memories Competition
We’re very lucky to have been surrounded by such wonderful people for the past 280 years! Boswells is the world’s second oldest independent department store, and made up of all of our stories, memories and experiences of it. With our memories, we all get to be a part of Boswells’ heritage, and we think that’s really quite wonderful.
A huge thank you to everyone who has entered our Memories of Boswells competition so far. I you haven’t entered it yet, we’d love to hear your recollections too!
The winner of our prize draw will win a £50 gift card, and have their memory included in our very own time capsule! To enter, all you need to do is send us your memories or photos of the store during May (more info on how to enter and the full terms and conditions can be found here).
So, what are your fondest memories of Boswells?
In celebration of our 280th year, we’ve been exploring our archives, digging through old photos, and marvelling at all of the changes the store has witnessed over the course of its long and illustrious life. So, let us take you back in time through our archives, and show you a little of our history…
Read on to discover our story, or choose from one of the below links to find out about a particular era of Boswells history!
Celebrating Boswells
Boswells' Beginnings (1738-1845)
A trunk manufactured by F. Boswell, date unknown.
In 1738 Francis Boswell opened a trunk and portmanteau (luggage) shop at 50 Cornmarket Street, Oxford (where Clarks Shoes now is). He might have imagined that his small family business, making cases and leather goods for the people of Oxford, would offer him a comfortable enough living, and a stable inheritance for his son. It seems doubtful that he would have had any notion that Boswells would grow to what it is today.
We’re extremely proud to have kept the Boswells tradition of selling luggage going continuously for 280 years, and we hope that Francis Boswell would approve of the skilled craftmanship of the Samsonite and American Tourister cases we sell today!
In the 18th century it was quite common for children to learn their family trade, and so Francis’s eldest son, Henry, was taught how to make luggage—and very fine luggage we understand too! And so Boswells, and the skills of the trade, passed from one generation to the next. And the next…
Soon, Francis Boswells’ small start-up had become a well reputed family business, spanning generations.
The Eighteenth Century (1846-1861)
An advert for Charlotte Boswell's shop at 48 Cornmarket Street, 1846.
By 1846 the 4th generation of the Boswell family inherited the family business, with three of the children each taking on a different speciality. The eldest son, Francis, inherited his father’s trunk making shop at 50 Cornmarket Street, and his sister Charlotte took on 48 Cornmarket Street. Charlotte became a cooper and turner, specialising in wood turning. Henry Boswell, the youngest of the family, moved part of the business from 48 Cornmarket St to 2 George Street, and worked as a cabinet maker and upholsterer.
Francis Boswell married a woman named Jane, and together they raised 6 little Boswells above the shop. They were to be the 5th and final generation of the Boswell family to take on the business.
Henry Boswell (1862-1890)
Boswells in about 1865-70. We believe the men standing outside the shop may have been Henry Boswell and his employees.
When the business finally passed to the young Henry Boswell in 1862, the company name changed from F. Boswell to H. Boswell (and officially remains H. Boswell & Co. to this day). Henry Boswell was an ambitious man. He wasn't afraid to make changes to his great, great grandfather's company, and was a keen to modernise and grow the business.
Around 1871, Boswells expanded into 49 Cornmarket Street, adding hosiery to its bag of tricks. In 1874 Henry rebuilt 47-51 Cornmarket Street entirely, and the buildings that are there today are the product of his vision and enterprise. Nice work Henry Boswell (we particularly like the little turret on the end)!
47-50 Cornmarket Street today. The building was commissioned by Henry Boswell in about 1874.
Henry Boswell was also an Oxford graduate, specialising in a type of biology called bryology—the study of mosses. He wrote and published a number of articles on the subject, while somehow also running a successful business. Oxford Botanic Gardens still look after his collection of mosses, which is a rather lovely continuation of his work.
Henry and his wife, Catherine, didn't have any children, and so the company passed to Arthur Pearson in 1890. While 152 years and 5 generations of Boswell family involvement had come to an end, this was the beginning of several generations of Pearsons who would take care of the company, and keep its long-standing family outlook alive and well, right into the 21st century.
Enter the Pearsons (1890-1927)
Pearson & Co at 31 Cornmarket Street. Date unknown.
Arthur Pearson was a local business owner and pharmacist. He ran The Oxford Drug Company at 1 Broad Street, and had recently purchased Lowe & Co. Ironmongers at 31 Cornmarket Street. It seems that H. Boswell & Co. had such a good reputation locally that Boswells proudly kept its name. And here we still are!
Around 1913 The Oxford Drug Company (which is still Boswells’ Pharmacy) moved to 31 Cornmarket Street. Today this part of the shop is our Accessories and Games Departments, but 31 Cornmarket Street was a separate shop unit until the 1950s. The Cornmarket entrance to Boswells is the most historic part of the building, and its history is what helps create its “Tardis-like” illusion of being the frontage to something much smaller than it is (we do like to keep our customers pleasantly surprised!)
One of the few remaining parts of Oxford's city walls, Martyr's Tower. View from Boswells.
This older portion of Boswells is where the old city walls and moat once ran. We’re told that Cornmarket Street used to be called Northgate Street, because it was the Northern entrance to Oxford through the medieval city walls. Behind the store, hidden, we have lovely view of one of the few remaining parts of the city walls, "Martyrs Tower."
Apparently, when our basement was first dug out (we think around 1912/13) some remaining parts of the city walls were excavated. Unfortunately, these parts of the wall had been holding up St Michael’s church’s graveyard for hundreds of years, and when portions of the wall were removed, skeletons came tumbling into what is now Boswells Cookshop Department! We’re assured that these were swiftly removed and re-buried at St Michael’s…
The Move to Broad Street (1928-1991)
The original design for Boswells House, 1920s.
In the 1920s plans began to move Boswells to a new building on Broad Street. By the time ground was broken on the new site, it was Arthur Pearson’s son, Arthur Hearne Pearson, who was running things. In order to make way for the new Boswell House at 1-4 Broad Street, the existing buildings on the spot were demolished, including the dilapidated former home of the celebrated poet W.B. Yeats, and the end of the street was widened.
Boswells moved into its new home between 1928-29. When we revamped the 2nd floor in 2015, we discovered that some of the walls had been made from straw, which we can only put down to depression era resourcefulness! The builders had great trouble removing these, and it turns out that Straw is actually a very strong and stubborn building material!
Boswells, late 1960s-early 1970s.
Boswells, having always been a company to embrace change—perhaps the secret to long life—continued to adapt, and in the 1950s The Oxford Drug Company and Boswells House were united by a passage, to form the building as it now is.
The store operated as a sort of arcade until the 1960s, when Tony and Christopher Pearson (the sons of Arthur Hearne Pearson) took on the company. This generation of Pearson's brought the departments together in a new way, forming the store we now know and love.
Many of our staff still fondly recall Tony Pearson handing out the wages in person, and stopping to chat with staff and customers alike. Its fair to say that as Boswells has grown and expanded, so has the Boswells family, and the staff of Boswells really are a big family, many of which have worked here for a decade or two.
Into the 21st Century (1992-2018)
Boswells 1738 Tea Room on the day of its launch, November 2015.
In the early 1990s, just over 100 years after Boswells had passed into the Pearson family, Jonathan and Sarah Pearson (cousins) took the helm, modernising things somewhat, but also retaining that old Boswells charm that has seen us through the centuries.
And, of course, we’ve not been idle since. We added a website in 2014, www.boswells.co.uk, our popular 1738 Room in 2015 and added our Broad Street Café this March.
The company has been in the Pearson family now for 4 generations; that's 128 years, and still going strong!
Some of the wonderful staff of Boswells on International Women's Day, 2016.
It’s probably fair to say, that in some ways we aren’t quite your typical old department store. We think that the thing that has become traditional about Boswells is not necessarily the building or what we sell, but Boswells itself. It's been passed from generation to generation of owners for 280 years, but it has also been passed down through generations of customers and employees. We proudly serve the community around us, knowing that it's the people of Oxford that have made our 280 years so special.
In that spirit, we welcome you to celebrate our 280th year with us! We’d love to hear your memories of the store! We’re offering you a chance to win a £50 gift voucher and for your memory to be included in our time capsule in our competition! Simply send us your memories or photos of the store this May to enter (more info here).
We’ll also be sharing some more treasures from our archives throughout the year, along with our staff’s recollections of their time here. Keep your eyes peeled for news of exciting 280th year celebrations throughout 2018!
Key Dates in Boswells' History
1738 - Francis Boswell opens his trunk making shop on Cornmarket Street.
1840s - The 4th generation of the Boswell family starts to branch out and take on new skills. Francis Boswell runs his great grandfather's original trunk making shop, while his sister Charlotte is running the shop 2 doors down as a cooper and turner. The youngest of the siblings, Henry, is a cabinet maker on George Street.
1860s - Henry Boswell inherits Boswells. He is the 5th and final Boswell to own the company.
1870s - Henry Boswell expands his shop into 49 Cornmarket Street, and after a few years rebuilds 47-51 Cornmarket Street. The building is still there today.
1890s - Henry Boswell has no heirs, and so Boswells passes to Arthur Pearson, who also owns the Oxford Drug Company, as well as an iron monger's shop, Lowe & Co.
1910s - The Oxford Drug Company moves from 1 Broad Street to 31 Cornmarket Street (previously Lowe & Co.). When excavating the basement, parts of the old city walls are unearthed, along with medieval artefacts in what was once the city moat. Skeletons from St Michael's graveyard fall through into the basement during the excavation, and are reburied.
1920s - Arthur Hearne Pearson inherits the company. Boswells moves to its new home in Boswells House at 1-4 Broad Street, where it is today.
1950s - A connecting passage is constructed, finally joining The Oxford Drug Company to the rest of Boswell House.
1960s - Tony and Christopher Pearson run the store, transforming it from being an arcade of departments into a more fully unified department store.
1990s - Jonathan and Sarah Pearson join Boswells. The building and technology are modernised, preparing Boswells for the new millennium.
2010s - Boswells opens its first fully trading website, its 1738 Tea Room and the Broad Street cafe.
Our mums are amazing people, well deserving of a special day where we recognise all the incredible things they’ve done for us. Finding the perfect way to thank the person that brought you into the world, and has run around tirelessly (or in many cases, tiredly) after you ever since, is not the easiest task. Where to even begin?
Mother’s Day is all about Mum, so the most important thing to consider here is what her interests are—what would she like to do? What does she enjoy? Once you’ve figured out this part, the rest should be much, much easier. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few suggestions to help get you on your way to making Mother’s Day really special.
Take in a Little Culture
If your mum is really into music, history or the arts, why not treat her to a day filled with cultural delights? One of the truly great things about Oxford is that it has no shortage of amazing things to see and do, even if you know the city well.
Make a trip to one of the city’s fantastic, free museums and take in the paintings at the Ashmolean, the dinosaurs at Oxford University Museum of Natural History, or the shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Or maybe check out a little local history at the Museum of Oxford or Oxford Town Hall. If you both already know these places well, then why not try one of the latest exhibitions? There are tonnes to choose from, many of which won’t even cost you a penny!
Here are a few that are on Sunday 11th March
Archaeological Finds on the Berkshire Downs – Ashmolean Museum 10am-5pm (free)
From Sappho to Suffrage: Women Who Dared – Weston Library 11am-5pm (free)
‘The Tree and the Spire’: An Exhibition of Paintings by Jessamy Hawke – The Jam Factory (free)
Vesuvius Unlocked – Oxford University Museum of Natural History 10am-5pm (free)
If your mum loves a little music, why not check out the live jazz and swing trio on the 11th March at The Isis Farmhouse? For some beautiful choral music, Exeter College Chapel has Vox Chamber Choir that same evening. The ever-wonderful Holywell Music Room also has the Marman String Quartet playing Beethoven and Schubert over a little coffee the morning of the 11th, followed by Kitty McFarlane singing folk that evening. It all sounds extraordinary to us!
And, finally, taking in a little culture can be as straight forward as treating your mum to a trip to the cinema…her choice of film, of course! Just sit back, and let the silver screen take you away somewhere incredible.
Perhaps your mum is active and adventurous, or maybe just yearning to learn a new skill. There are absolutely tonnes of lessons and activities available to try in and around Oxford, which could be a great way to treat your mum to something a bit different.
There are classes and workshops aplenty in this fair city, so there’s probably one out there to suit. This Mothering Sunday, for example, Oxford Playhouse are hosting their popular 40+ Acting Company. Or perhaps Mum longs to learn a language, or a musical instrument, so why not get her enrolled on that course she’s always wanted to take?
For those with a mum who’s shown an interest in yoga, for instance, you could take her along to her first session, and give her the courage she needs to try something new! There are tonnes of yoga classes out there to choose from, so there’s likely to be one near you.
If your mum has always wanted to take a hot air balloon trip, go rock climbing or learn how to ride a horse (or something else wonderfully exciting), but has never had the opportunity, this could be just the thing to make her day. Find out what sort of activities are on offer near you, and an adventurous, adrenaline fuelled Mother’s Day may well be on the cards!
Take a Trip
There’s tons of amazing places within easy reach of Oxford, and so there’s bound to be one that would make a great day trip for you and your mum! Just remember to think about what Mum is interested in, and tailor your choices to that!
If you’d prefer not to have to go too far away, luckily Oxfordshire is full of great places to head off to for a day out. This leafy county boasts a wide variety of attractions, from Blenheim Palace in Woodstock to Crocodiles of the World in Brize Norton. For animal lovers there’s Cotswolds Wildlife Park and Millets Farm Falconry Centre, and Bicester Village is pure shopping heaven for the fashionable mum. Or if your mum has a very specific interest or hobby, perhaps something like a trip to Didcot Railway Centre, or a tour of Hook Norton’s historic brewery, would be just the thing to make her smile?
If you’d prefer to venture further afield, though, there are tons of exciting places to choose from within a relative stones throw, such as London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Winchester and Bath.
Spoil Mum Rotten
If your mum loves to be pampered, make this a day for her to put her feet up and just relax while you take care of everything. There are lots of ways to go about doing this, so make sure you plan ahead!
Start Mum’s day with breakfast in bed. Cook up a storm with something she loves, like a full English or a continental breakfast, and surprise her. Or, if she prefers her breakfasts to be unsurprising, how about a tea party or a picnic later in the day? And don’t worry, there’s no need to let the chilly Winter weather ruin your plans, improvising a picnic on the living room floor could be kinda fun!
If you really want to help out, and let her relax for the day, find out if your mum has any chores or tasks that need completing on Mother's Day, and then take them off her hands by doing them for her…yes, all of them!
Alternatively, you could take Mum out for a special treat such as a trip to a spa, or for a special Mother’s Day lunch. Afternoon tea can be a fantastic way to make your mum feel appreciated…and also full of cake.
Pop into our 1738 Tea Room to try our Traditional Afternoon Tea for Two, or if you’re feeling especially extravagant, we definitely recommend a Sparkling Wine Afternoon Tea for Two. Be sure to book ahead on 01865 255531 to make sure we have space for everyone!
And that’s really all there is to it! Figure out how Mum would like to spend her day, and then make it one she’s bound to remember!
We know how difficult it can be keeping the kids entertained during the holidays, so we’ve put together a list of our favourite Oxford activities that both kids and adults will love.
Crocodiles of the World
Here in Oxfordshire we’re very lucky to have the United Kingdom’s only Crocodile zoo. Just a short drive outside of the city is your chance to get up close with 14 different species of crocodiles, alligators and caimans from around the world.
Crocodiles of the World not only gives you the chance to view crocodiles swimming underwater, but there are also opportunities to feed and handle some of the worlds most feared predators. This is sure to be an amazing day out for the whole family, and not one that will be forgotten any time soon.
http://www.crocodilesoftheworld.co.uk/
The Ashmolean Museum
One of our favourite Oxford museums, the Ashmolean has an extensive range of collections from across the ages, exploring art and archaeology. You can learn about ancient Egypt in one room, and then have a look at Renaissance Italian art in another.
On the 14th and 15th February the Ashmolean are hosting a Chinese New Year Party between 1-4pm, which is not to be missed. Apart from being the oldest museum in the World, one of the amazing things about the Ashmolean is that it’s free to visit (excluding some exhibitions).
www.ashmolean.org
The Story Museum
The Story Museum is always a fun place to visit, with loads to see and do for the whole family, as well as having a great little shop and café. The Story Museum gets even more exciting during the school holidays.
This half term, along with all the usual fun and educational activities that are going on, there are loads of extras including The Science of Magic and a book signing with author Lauren Child.
http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/
The Pitt Rivers Museum
Another firm Oxford favourite, the Pitt Rivers museum is just as well known for its shrunken heads as it is for its amazing educational programme of events. From learning about the freezing Siberian regions to seeing 17th century masks worn by actors in Japanese Noh dramas, there is always something exciting to see and do at the Pitt Rivers Museum.
There are all sorts of family trails that you can download or pick up when you visit to guide you and your family around the museum collections. There's also object handling sessions on Saturdays between 11am and 1pm, to get a little closer to some of the fascinating items on display.
www.prm.ox.ac.uk/
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Rhinos, giraffes, meerkats and penguins might not be what you would usually expect to find in the Oxfordshire countryside, but just outside Burford you will find all of these exotic animals, and many more, at the Cotswold Wildlife Park. With a huge range of animals spread out in the beautiful Cotswold gardens, this is the perfect place to spend the day for both young and old.
With restaurants and cafes on site as well as a great adventure playground, you really can spend the whole day exploring the Cotswold Wildlife Park.
www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk
(Image Credits)
Oxford Castle Unlocked
The Oxford Castle is a must for anyone visiting Oxford; you can explore the history in the Castle and Crypt, you can climb the mound or you can simply relax in one of the many restaurants. The Oxford Castle Unlocked experience is a great way to learn, have fun and meet some interesting characters this half term.
https://www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk/
The Didcot Railway Centre is a great place for visitors of a wide range of ages, after all you're never too young or too old to enjoy a ride on a steam engine. Located right by Didcot station, the Railway Centre is easy to get to, and easy to find. The Centre will be running their usual weekend Steam Days this half term, with two different lines open to take a trip along, and an impressive collection of locomotives and coaches to take a peek at. There should be plenty to keep the family occupied here, and you could also pick up a quiz and puzzle sheet for the kids.
During half term they're open on Wednesday 14th Feb for an extra Steam Day, so there's no need to miss out if your half term weekends are starting to look a little busy with all of the other exciting activities taking place.
http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/
Millets Farm Centre
Located just a short drive out of Oxford, Millets Farm Centre is another family favourite. At its falconry centre, for example, you get a great chance to see over 80 different kinds of birds of prey and they have some wonderful flying demonstrations and hands on experiences that are sure to make this a fun day out for all. At the Millets Farm Zoo you can go say hello to farmyard favourites such as cows, pigs, sheep and horses, not to mention they have some rather special alpacas too! While you're there why not also check out the Meerkat Experience and the farm shop and garden centre.
This half term there are plenty of great activities going on at Millets Farm Centre for the kids get stuck into, such as the Children's Jewellery Making Workshop and a magic show.
http://www.milletsfarmcentre.com/
Currently showing at the Oxford Playhouse is The Little Match Girl (and other happier tales), which is inspired by the tales of Hans Christian Anderson.
Hurry though, performances end on 17th February, and tickets are selling very fast!
https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/
If you can think of any more great Oxford activities that we've missed, let us know!
For a company or a brand to survive for centuries is no easy task at all, and, we think, worthy of a little recognition. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the 10 oldest labels you can currently find here at Boswells, all of which are well over 150 years old (and yes, we did include ourselves!).
10. Deyongs 1846
The youngest entry on this list is a “sprightly” 171 years old. This long established company has a certain knack for coming up with exciting and modern designs, so it’s fair to say that Deyongs is looking pretty good for its age.
The company has been producing gorgeous looking textiles for home furnishings since 1846, and today they cater to everything from city to country, bed linens to bath towels. Rather impressively, Deyongs have spent their long history seeking out the best suppliers so that they can create fantastic products at very good prices. And, as luck would have it, the latest Deyongs lines have just arrived in our Linens Department!
9. Kilner 1842
In 1842, the year that income tax was first introduced and the word “dinosaur” was created, John Kilner began his glass bottle and jar company. 175 years later, income tax is still going strong, dinosaurs still fascinate us, and we still use Kilner bottles and jars.
Around 1900 the company released the first vacuum sealed jar, which introduced an innovative new means of preserving and pickling food. It was an invention so useful that you may very likely have one of these ingenious objects sitting in your kitchen right now.
Nowadays Kilner produce a great number of really useful, and suitably stylish, glass bottles and jars, many of which can be found in our Cookshop. We particularly love the Drink Dispenser and handled jar glasses!
8. Taylor’s Eye Witness 1838
In 1838 John Taylor founded Taylor’s Eye Witness as a designer and manufacturer of knives and scissors based in Sheffield…and they’re still there to this day.
As you might imagine, close to 200 years of Taylor’s Eye Witness perfecting their production technique and knowledge has led to an impressive level of craftmanship, and some truly sleek looking designs too.
Of course Taylor’s Eye Witness knives aren’t simply for show, as well as looking very stylish many of these utensils are extremely practical, featuring hardened blades with anti-bacterial coating too. Sounds like a win-win to us!
7. Limes Farm 1826
A mere 25 miles from Boswells, Limes Farm has been cultivating organic produce using traditional methods for the last 191 years. The farm has remained in the same family for the whole of its lifespan, and as well as rearing livestock, the farm grows and makes its own range of produce. More recently, Limes Farm have opened their own farm shop and tea room, and supply us with some of their fantastic produce too!
With a keen interest in letting nature take the lead, Limes Farm focuses on producing high quality, natural harvests. And very tasty the results are too! A trip to our Tea Room will give you the opportunity to try some of Limes Farm's lovely chutney's and jams.
6. Colgate 1806
This household name has been around for longer than you might think. Colgate had its beginnings in New York in the early 19th century, originally specialising in starch, soap and candles and is the only entry on this list not to have originated in the UK. In 1873 the company introduced its first toothpaste—which it sold in jars—and the rest, as they say, is history.
Colgate has become something of a giant, selling in more than 200 countries worldwide, with the brand being underpinned by over 2 centuries of accumulated expertise. And so, of course, you can find a selection of Colgate’s time-honoured dental care products to choose from in our Pharmacy!
5. Kent 1777
The 5 oldest brands on this list all emerged from the 18th Century, that’s older than either electricity or the steam engine!
Number 5 on our list is Kent brushes, who have been around since the latter half of the 18th century. If that isn’t impressive enough on its own, the company have also been Royal Warrant holders for the last nine, consecutive, British monarchs! It’s fair to say, then, that Kent brushes have maintained a very high level of quality through the years, and remain fit for a king or queen.
Kent is still a family owned business, even after all of this time, and continues to manufacture it’s brushes right here in the UK. You can find a brilliant variety of Kent’s fantastic hair brushes and shaving brushes in our Cosmetics Department!
4. Woods of Windsor 1770
Woods of Windsor began its life as an 18th century apothecary, Woods Pharmacy, catering to the people of Windsor, as well as to royalty.
The current Woods of Windsor ranges are based on recipes that date back to the original pharmacy, which has stood on the spot since 1770. This means that many of Woods of Windsor’s products bring traditional fragrances into the present day…it’s about as close to sniffing the past as you’re likely to get…
Woods of Windsor’s fabulous room scents and bath and body treats can be found enjoying pride of place in our Cosmetics Department, and lovely gifts they make too!
3. Spode 1767
Spode is the 3rd oldest brand on our list, celebrating its 250th birthday this year. Spode have been recognised as innovators in the pottery business since the company was first founded in Stoke on Trent 1767. The company is responsible for the invention of bone china, originally named Stoke china, which was first developed by William Spode II in the early 19th century. Around this time Spode also became potters to The Prince Regent.
Spode remained a family owned business until 1966, and is now part of the equally celebrated Portmerion group. Needless to say, Spode china is still beautifully designed, crafted and decorated, with many of their traditional designs still on the market today. In our Gift Department you may just find a rather special collection of Spode wares featuring Morris & Co. designs!
2. Boswell & Co. 1738
Ah yes, 1738, we remember it like it was yesterday… Ok, well maybe not quite, but we’d like to think that Francis Boswell would be proud to see his business still alive and well at the right old age of 279.
Francis Boswell opened his portmanteau and luggage shop at 50 Cornmarket Street, Oxford in 1738 (approximately where Clarks Shoes now stands), decades before Captain Cook's exploration of the Southern Hemisphere, and 17 years before Dr Johnson's dictionary was first published…we really have been around for a very long time indeed!
The company remained in the Boswell family until 1890, when it passed to Arthur Pearson, who owned the Oxford Drug Company at 31 Cornmarket Street (which is now the Cornmarket entrance to the store).
In 1929 Boswells moved to Broad Street, into brand new, purpose built premises, and there you’ll find us today!
Boswells remains an independent, family owned store to this day, and, according to Russell Ash’s Top 10 of Britain, we’re also the second oldest established department store in the UK! Yes, Boswells has had the very great pleasure of serving generations of Oxonians, and we certainly look forward to being here for many many more generations to come!
1. Twinings 1706
We’re very proud to present a company even older than Boswells in our top spot! In fact, Twinings first began selling tea on London’s famous Strand a year before England, Scotland and Wales joined to form Great Britain!
Although it seems difficult to now think of a time when tea was not a common drink, it was still fairly new to the country at that time, and Thomas Twining was something of a pioneer of his trade. Soon, Twinings became extremely popular and successful, gaining a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria herself in 1837.
Twinings continues to make excellent blends of tea, which are enjoyed the world over—you’ll even find them in our very own 1738 Tea Room. A word of caution though: you may find yourself struggling to decide between the Elderflower and Apple Darjeeling and the Nutty Chocolate Tea, or maybe even the Rosy Fig White Tea. Oh it’s just so hard to choose!
A wander around Boswells’ departments will also reveal plenty of other brands of 100 years vintage, or more, such as Steiff (1880), Widdop Bingham (1883) and Mason Pearson (1885). These fantastic brands give us something superb to share with our predecessors, and to pass onto the next generation—something wonderfully continuous. So hurrah for these long enduring brands, and all the ages of people that they’ve delighted! Long may they continue!
Summer is most definitely here! Whether you’re visiting Oxford for the first time, or looking for ideas to keep your guests entertained this Summer, here are a few of the top things to see and do in Oxford.
Live Music and Theatre Punting
Quirky Oxford Literary Oxford
Pubs, Glorious Pubs Historic Oxford
Dreaming Spires and Side Streets Museums
Parks and Meadows The University of Oxford
10. Live Music and Theatre
Holywell Music Room, Holywell Street
There’s always something great going on in Oxford, whatever kind of entertainment you’re into. The city has a wide variety of brilliant live music to keep you happy, whether it’s classical music at Holywell Music Room or rock at the O2 Academy. You can usually find fantastic live music at The Town Hall, The Bullingdon on Cowley Road and The Half Moon on St Clements Street too.
There are also some fantastic plays and musicals to get stuck into at The New Theatre and Oxford Playhouse, all year round. Be sure to catch a little Shakespeare as well, with outdoor plays at the Castle, Twelfth Night at Oxford Playhouse and a very special part Shakespeare/part Crystal Maze rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream being put on especially by The Creation Theatre this Summer.
Keep your eyes peeled for performances held by The University of Oxford, too, as it can be a brilliant way to see some great talent and a few extra colleges at the same time!
9. Quirky Oxford
The Headington Shark
While the museums and spires are must-see attractions, with good reason, no visit to Oxford would be quite complete without experiencing a few of our fair city’s little idiosyncrasies.
Those with an interest in appreciating the slightly odd would do well venture up to Headington Shops, where, if you’re paying close attention, you may just spot a gigantic shark tail poking out from the roof of someone’s home, fin and all. What can we say, it’s something of an Oxford icon.
Cowley Road Carnival, 2017
Amongst the fabulous, boutiquey shops of The Covered Market you may discover an unusual tourist attraction dangling in the window of M. Feller, Son & Daughter…none other than the world’s oldest ham. This year the ham will celebrate its 115th year, having spent its younger days touring North America. You may, understandably, think we’re pulling your leg, so why not go and see for yourself!
And finally, Oxford has many weird and wonderful traditions and events, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for what’s on. May Morning, Cowley Road Carnival and St Giles Fair are just a few of our favourites. We also recommend keeping your eyes peeled for the occasional unicyclist or Morris dancer jingling about town, and, from time to time, students covered in confetti and cream.
8. Pubs, Glorious Pubs
The Turf Tavern
There’s a reason why Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse spent much of his time sampling the pubs in this part of the world—it’s that we have so many fantastic ones to choose from. In fact, many of Oxford’s pubs are so iconic, and so historic, that they've have become tourist attractions in their own right.
If you can find it, tucked down its little passageway, a trip to The Turf Tavern is a must. The pub dates back to the 14th century, and has welcomed many a famous face through its doors over its long history, including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Bill Clinton and Stephen Hawking. Fans of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien will find happy refuge in The Eagle and Child on St Giles, where these authors would regularly meet to discuss their writing. We also recommend popping into The Chequers on The High Street, which operated as both an inn and a zoo during the 18th Century.
7. Dreaming Spires and Pretty Side Streets
As a city that’s famed for its dreaming spires, impressive sandstone buildings and little winding back streets, it’s fair to say that Oxford’s overall architecture and layout is massively appealing to visitors from far and wide. While there are so many things to see here, it can often be worth just having a wander, and seeing where your feet take you—you may well discover something interesting that you never knew was there!
A stroll down Magpie Lane, for example, will take you to sleepy Merton Street, just slightly away from the usual bustle of the city. On Merton Street, you’ll discover one of Oxford’s most picturesque, cobbled streets, and more than likely find it hard to resist taking a few photos.
Merton Street
If you’ve been off enjoying the wonderful Hertford Bridge (Bridge of Sighs), why not duck under the bridge and along New College Passage, just behind it? The street meanders between the colleges, eventually leading you out to St Edmund Hall and onto The High Street.
We also recommend ambling down Holywell Street, which still features picturesque gas style lampposts and some truly gorgeous old buildings on either side of the street. If it’s dreaming spires you crave, though, these are best enjoyed from the top of South Park, where you can get the perfect view of the entire city while sitting in the sun.
6. Parks and Meadows
View of Christ Church College from Christ Church Meadow
As famous as Oxford is for its colleges and spires, it’s also an incredibly leafy city, with parks and meadows never far from reach. Christ Church Meadow and University Parks prove popular choices with visitors and locals alike, and who can blame them? These green spots boast gorgeous river walks and the kind of tranquillity you find yourself dreaming of when trying to squeeze down busy Cornmarket Street on a Summer’s day.
To get away from the crowds for a bit, we suggest taking a trip to Port Meadow. This wide-open expanse is both beautiful and quiet, and if you wander as far as Wolvercote, you may just discover a couple of Oxford’s finest pubs—The Perch and The Trout.
If you’re right in the city centre and just looking for somewhere lovely to stop and eat a sandwich or read a book, though, you’ll find the perfect spot in the tiny, but well hidden, Wellington Square, just off Little Clarendon Street. Accross town, East Oxford's South Park boasts some of the most scenic views in the city.
5. Punting Punts at Magdalen Bridge Boat House
There’s nothing quite like drifting down river on a gorgeous Summer's day. If the weather is feeling kind, hiring a punt can be a fantastic way to lazily while-away some of the day while taking in Oxford’s beauty.
For those who are worried about going in circles, punting into other objects, or falling off, you can hire someone to steer you along. And, for those not fond of being on the water, there’s no need to miss out. Simply find a nice spot along the river and enjoy the view…which may or may not include other punters toppling into the water.
For maximum punting fun, pack a picnic, or punt along to The Victoria Arms in Old Marston, which sits along on the River Cherwell and features one of Oxford’s finest beer gardens.
4. Literary Oxford
Alice's Shop, St Giles
Book-lovers flock to Oxford each year to get a peek at some of the places that are linked to the great authors and works of literature that have come out of this part of the world (as well as the many filming locations used in adaptations).
For fans of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, a trip to the tiny, but very special, Alice’s Shop on St Aldates will make your day. The shop itself appeared in Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, and was once the favourite sweet shop of the Alice that Carroll based his character on.
There are also plenty of Tolkien and Lewis treats to sink your teeth into, such as the colleges where the two men studied and taught (Exeter, Pembroke, Merton, University, Magdalen) and an Ent-like tree in the Botanic Gardens that was apparently Tolkien’s favourite.
C.S Lewis's House, The Kilns
Both authors are buried in Oxford, and for those wanting to take a literary pilgrimage, you’ll find Tolkien resting in Wolvercote cemetery, and Lewis at Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, just around the corner from his former home.
You can also indulge in Inspector Morse’s Oxford, or see some of the places that were used in the filming of the Harry Potter films—most notably Christ Church College. If you’re lucky, you might just spot the crew for ITV’s Endeavour out and about filming in town.
If you just really love to read, though, you won’t regret taking a trip into Blackwell’s on Broad Street. The shop’s famous Norrington Room, alone, houses more than 160,000 books, and holds a Guinness World Record!
3. Historic Oxford
The Martyr's Memorial, St Giles
As an Anglo-Saxon settlement, Oxford dates back to at least the 9th century AD, later becoming an important Norman town. In around 1176, The University of Oxford was founded, sealing the city’s fate as a place of interest for the centuries to come. It’s hardly surprising, then, that people flock here from all over the world to discover a piece of old Oxford, and the city really doesn’t disappoint. Around every corner lies some historical treasure, whether it’s a truly old building or a gripping tale.
Remaining piece of Oxford city walls
To make the most of Oxford’s vast history be sure to take a peek at St Michael’s at the North Gate on Cornmarket Street. This impressive Saxon tower has stood on the spot since 1040, and is the oldest building in the city. A trip to Oxford Castle is also highly recommended. Here, you can climb the original Norman motte, where the wooden castle first stood, and take a tour around the castle and prison with the Oxford Castle Unlocked experience.
The image on the right shows a remaining piece of what we think might be the mediaeval city walls, which is tucked away, out of sight, behind Boswells. As you'd never normally get the chance to see it, we thought we'd give you a little sneak peek!
And finally, connoisseurs of Oxford’s history won’t want to leave the city without having first visited the infamous spot where the Oxford Martyrs were burned as heretics in 1555. A small, cobbled, cross is set into the pavement on Broad Street, just a stones-throw from Boswells, to mark the spot where the execution took place. The memorial to the Martyrs, built in 1843, proudly stands just around the corner, on St Giles.
2. Museums
The Museum of Natural History, Parks Road
As home to Britain’s first public museum, The Ashmolean, it’s little surprise that Oxford has so many fantastic museums. The Ashmolean now sits grandly on Beaumont Street, and houses a vast collection of impressive artefacts and paintings. For something a little extra special though, take a trip along to one of the Ashmolean’s Live Friday evening events.
For the bold and adventurous, a trip to the Pitt Rivers anthropological museum, on Parks Road, is a must. Here you’ll discover more wonderful knick-knacks and artefacts from all over the world than you can imagine…as well as some very impressive shrunken heads! The Museum of Natural History is right next door to the Pitt Rivers, and is home to Oxfordshire’s dinosaurs, amongst other things. Why not pop in and say hi to the T-Rex?
We also highly recommend dropping into The Museum of the History of Science, The Museum of Oxford and the permanent exhibit at The Town Hall (the inside of the building is pretty stunning, it has to be said). And yes, entrance is absolutely free to all of these amazing places, except for some special exhibitions.
1. The University of Oxford
The Radcliffe Camera and St Mary's Church, Radcliffe Square
It’s probably fair to say that Oxford is most famous for The University, and people come from quite literally all over the world to see it.
The University of Oxford is made up of 38 colleges and 6 permanent private halls, which means that seeing absolutely all of it is no easy task. To make the most of your time here we suggest picking a handful of varied colleges to visit. Not all of the colleges are open to the public, and those that are can vary in terms of times and days that you can wander in, so it’s always a good idea to check ahead.
Christ Church College
Here are a few Oxford Colleges that you might want to investigate, to start your quest. Christ Church College proves a popular choice. The college is well known for having been used in the Harry Potter films, and it was Charles I’s home and parliament during the English Civil War. If you’re keen to see colleges with grounds, though, Magdalen College has an impressive 100 acres to explore, including a deer park. While Worcester College’s grounds are perhaps some of the most beautiful around. If you’re keen to see one of the very old colleges, New College is a very good option, with its original cloisters dating back to 1379. And, if you’re looking for something altogether different, Keble college features an impressive Victorian Gothic, red brick design, which is unlike any other college.
But The University of Oxford isn’t just colleges. The Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre and The Radcliffe Camera are some of the best, and most recognisable sights that Oxford has to offer, and so we highly suggest taking a trip down Broad Street to discover these absolute gems—you’ll definitely need a camera!
After all of that exhausting and rewarding sightseeing, why not pop into Boswells on Broad Street for a little souvenir shopping to finish up your day?
As Oxford’s oldest department store, which turns 279 this year, we’ve got lots of history of our own to offer, and plenty of goodies and gifts to choose from to spoil the folks back home with too.
And, if you’re feeling especially worn out, we highly recommend treating yourself to a cup of tea and piece of cake in our 1738 Tea Room!
All Oxford Images: Elena Woolley
Oxford is truly beautiful this time of year, but the city can get a little hectic over the Summer months, with people flocking from all over to come and see it—we can hardly blame them! So what better way to take a breather from the bustling streets than to sit down to a nice relaxing cuppa. Hurrah for tea rooms!
But where did all of these amazing places come from? And what exactly is the difference between a tea room and a coffee house? We've been doing some digging into the history of the tea room, so pop the kettle on, put your feet up and read on to find out more...
The Arrival of the Coffee House
As it turns out, there are actually a lot of differences between a tea room and a coffee house, going back centuries. The first English coffee house was in fact right here in Oxford, on the site of The Grand Café on High Street, while across the road from it The Queen’s Lane Coffee House (founded four years later in 1654) is the oldest established coffee house in Europe! Needless to say, we highly recommend a visit to both of these incredible places.
The new fashion for coffee reached London late in 1654, and spread quickly, however the coffee houses of the 17th Century were not quite like the coffee houses and cafes we know today.
These were boisterous places where people engaged freely in intense debate with strangers, with topics ranging from politics, philosophy and science to theatrical and literary criticism.
In one London coffee house Isaac Newton is said to have performed a public dissection on a dolphin, and in another patrons would regularly conduct informal investigations into the nature of insanity. Anything was up for debate, and for the cost of a penny any man could enter, discuss and enjoy unlimited coffee refills. But while coffee houses were social spaces in which Enlightenment thinking flourished and democratic opinions were freely exercised, women were not permitted to enter.
Tea, Glorious Tea!
It was Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II, who first introduced tea to England, making it fashionable amongst the aristocracy’s elite.
But while coffee was by this time becoming relatively common place, tea remained a rare curiosity. It was considered unusual enough that Samuel Pepys documented his first sampling of the drink in his famous diary in September 1660.
But it was through coffee houses that tea first entered the wider public domain, allowing it to eventually become the British staple that it is today. In 1706 Thomas Twining opened what is generally considered to be the first tea room in Britain, which you can still find on The Strand in London, open for business to this day.
While coffee was a cheap beverage for the masses, tea began its illustrious relationship with the people of Britain as an expensive, excessively taxed commodity—taxation on tea at its height reaching 119%!
Such high taxation led to a country-wide surge in tea smuggling, and it’s estimated that by the late 18th Century such was the British affinity for tea that more was smuggled into the country than was actually legally imported. In 1784 William Pitt the Younger passed an Act of Parliament that reduced the tax on tea to 12.5%, making it significantly more affordable for people of all social classes, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Trusty Tea Room
The 18th Century tea rooms were very different from coffee houses. While women were forbidden from the egalitarian conversations of the contemporary coffee houses, tea rooms were reputable public spaces that woman could enter unescorted by a man, a rarity at that time.
This meant that, much like coffee houses, tea rooms became social venues—places where people (particularly women) could gather and talk freely, but generally with a more relaxed atmosphere than the raucous coffee establishments of the time. And, with the creation of afternoon tea in 1841, this also became a part of the tea room’s custom and heritage.
By the late 19th Century large tea room chains, run by The Aerated Bread Company and J. Lyons & Co., began to pop up all over the country—A.B.C. Tea Rooms offering the first ever self-service tea rooms.
During this period, and into the early 20th Century, suffragettes would often meet in tea rooms, gathering together to informally discuss their rights, and of course enjoy a nice cup of tea.
Even during the height of the Blitz, and wartime rationing, tea rooms remained a hub for people to come for refreshment and to socialise—a relief from the everyday stresses of the war.
Oxfordshire Tea Rooms Today
But of course the story of the tea room doesn't end there. These amazing places have endured into the 21st Century, and Oxfordshire has many wonderful tea rooms worth sampling. We particularly recommend The Rose on High Street and Annie’s Tea Room in Thrupp.
The continuing popularity of the tea room is a testament to its relaxed atmosphere, the tradition of getting together for a chat, and, of course, the prevailing British love affair with an excellent cup of tea. Not to mention that taking a little time out to unwind in one of these great settings is a very special way to make your own little contribution to the long history of the tea room.
For a great tea room right in the centre of Oxford come and visit our 1738 Tea Room (on the first floor of the store) where you can sit and relax with some Twinings tea (just as they did in 1706), some scrummy cake and, of course, a good natter!
For more information on Boswells' 1738 Tea Room click here to read Rosie from our Pharmacy's review.
Image Credit: Elena Woolley
Whether you’re new to Oxford, or just looking for exciting ways to keep yourself or any guests entertained over the Summer, thinking up new and interesting things to do can get a bit trickier once you’ve ticked off the more obvious sights such as the Radcliffe Camera and the Bridge of Sighs (impressive though they both are). We’ve put together a few suggestions to help you get your Summer started.
Amongst its other impressive claims, Oxford is the birthplace of the public museum, the Ashmolean Museum being the first of its kind when it opened its doors in 1677. Now located on Beaumont Street, the Ashmolean is still going strong and is stuffed full of amazing antiquities and other interesting artefacts. Theres lots to see, and keep an eye out for their great Summer exhibitions too.
Museum of History of Science
The site of the original Ashmolean on Broad Street now houses the Museum of History of Science and, although it's relatively small, it's definitely worth the visit to look around this amazing building and its collections.
Oxford is of course home to other noteworthy museums, and no Oxford Summer would be complete without a trip to the Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum (which are adjoining).
We suggest taking a peek at the Museum of Natural History’s impressive collection of dinosaurs and other fossils (many of which were found right here in Oxfordshire). They're also hosting a range of family friendly events and activities over the coming weeks, as well as their regular tour of the building's fascinating neo-gothic architcture.
Photo credit https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pitt_Rivers_Museum_Interior,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
Possibly Oxford's quirkiest museum, with its extensive anthopological collections there's something different to spot with every visit. Pop in this Summer to check out their exhibitions on amulets and on adventuring in Siberia! And be sure to seek out the famous shrunken heads while you're there!
Oxford Castle is a great location for a day out in the city centre. As well as their usual tours and sights, if you have a large group of guests (8-15 people), and you fancy unleashing your inner puzzler, you might want to give their Jailbreak Escape locked room puzzle a go.
Outdoor Cinema
If you know the museums well and are looking for something a bit different, then why not go to one of the many fantastic film screenings taking place at some of Oxford's museums this Summer?
Picturehouse Pop-Up Cinema
The Ashmolean has teamed up with the Picturehouse Cinema for a three-day Pop-Up cinema event on the 5th-7th August.
Cult Screens
Meanwhile, The Pitt Rivers has joined forces with Cult Screens for a showing of Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet on August 24th.
Cult Screens also has an array of amazing films showing at Oxford Castle over the Summer, and if watching The Shawshank Redemption in a genuine prison exercise yard sounds like fun, then get busy booking…tickets are likely to sell fast!
Shakespeare Oxford
Fans of Shakespeare will be delighted to find that there’s no shortage of plays over the Summer, and since this year marks 400 years since Shakespeare’s death there’s some extra special treats too, including lots of great open air performances at various Oxford colleges, Oxford Castle and Oxford University Press.
Read more on all Shakespeare related events here.
Creation Theatre are up to their usual inventive tricks, and are combining their performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a treasure hunt/quest held in secret locations around the city centre…we have to confess, we’re suitably intrigued.
Weston Library
We suggest checking out the Shakespeare’s Dead exhibition at the Weston Library, which is running until September 18th. It includes first editions of 2 of his plays that are rarer than the famous first folio. Which ones? Visit and find out.
Our friends down the road at Blackwell’s are also running a fantastic Shakespeare themed walking tour, which includes the location of the first ever performance of Hamlet!
Read more information on Blackwell's walking tours here.
Bill Spectre's Ghost Trail
If its walking tours you’re after, you’ll be pleased to hear that you have one of Trip Advisor’s top 10 ghost tours in the world right on your door step. Hurrah! Bill Spectre’s Ghost Trail takes you through the city's ghostly history and down its spooky hidden lanes. A proven hit with visitors and Oxford residents alike, and is really not to be missed!
Treasure Trails can also be a fun way to spend some time together, following clues and seeing the sights in one go. The Treasure Trails company provides murder mystery, treasure hunt and spy themed trails of varying lengths. You pay for the trails, but once you have them they can be used multiple times and they also double as a map. Simply download the trail you like the sound of and you’re away…
Oxford River Cruises
A trip along the river can also be a fun new way to see the city, especially if you already know it well, and is really very relaxing. A spectacular 2.5 hour picnic boat tour leaves from Folly Bridge twice a day and passes through Port Meadow, Osney Lock and shows off great views of some of the Oxford Colleges. Be sure to book in advance.
If you fancy trying your hand at boating, though, you could always have a go at a spot of punting. Perfect for a lazy summer’s day, we suggest you bring a picnic and someone with good balance to steer as you gradually wind your way along the river. It’s also a fantastic excuse to pay a visit to The Victoria Arms in Old Marston, which sits just on the banks of the Cherwell. Start your punting adventure at Cherwell Boathouse, Folly Bridge or Magdalen Bridge.
Information on how to punt can be found here.
Outdoors Oxford
University of Oxford Botanic Gardens
For those looking for a touch of nature in their sightseeing, the Botanic Gardens are at their most beautiful at this time of year, and offer a nice peaceful break from the bustling city centre. Picnic fans will be pleased to hear that the Botanic Gardens are hosting a couple of picnics over the Summer, complete with crafts and face painting!
Parks and Meadows
If its green spaces you particularly crave, Oxford is certainly well equipped with scenery to better than whet your appetite. And whether you’re entertaining guests or just looking for a pleasant spot on a sunny day, why not explore University Parks or take a walk along the river in Christchurch meadow?
To truly lose the busy crowds of Oxford, Port Meadow is the perfect peaceful place to go for a wander, and there’s all sorts of treasures to discover including nature walks, atmospheric pub, The Perch (where Lewis Carroll gave his first reading of Alice in Wonderland), and cattle…lots and lots of cattle.
The Oxford Visitor Information Centre
Not just for tourists! The Oxford Visitor Information Centre is where many of the various walking tours start and finish and is a great way to get up to date information on Oxford's attactions. Located on Broad Street it's easy to find and just down or up the road from Boswells depending which direction you are coming from.
If all of that sounds incredibly hectic and exhausting, why not come and take a break in our 1738 Tea Room and treat yourself to a well-earned cup of tea and a piece of cake!
Remember, remember the 5th of November, or so the saying traditionally goes. It was, of course, on this infamous date in 1605 that a group of 13 gunpowder plotters attempted to bring both King and parliament to an explosive end with 36 barrels of hidden gunpowder. Guy Fawkes, the most remembered of the plotters—not, in fact, the leader of the conspirators but rather the man caught holding the lantern in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament—will be burned in effigy up and down the country in the coming days to mark the anniversary of the thwarting of the plot, as has become the custom. And, as well as bonfires aplenty there will be fireworks, hot dogs, burgers, and even funfairs to accompany the burning of "the Guy." Yup, 410 years on from Guy Fawkes’ arrest the act of remembering gunpowder, treason and plot is far from being “forgot,” and has grown into a full scale annual tradition.
To mark this occasion, and to help you make the most of Guy Fawkes Night, we’ve gathered up a list of upcoming bonfire and firework events in and around Oxford.
For traditionalists that like to celebrate on the day itself:
Bonfire Night at the Plough—OX2 8BD (Fireworks and BBQ, 6pm).
Fireworks Night & Bonfire, St Michael’s Primary School—Marston, OX3 0EJ (5:30pm).
http://www.jackfm.co.uk/oxfordshire/jacktivities/event/4514/
Dorchester on Thames Village Firework Display—Recreation Ground, Dorchester on Thames (5:30pm).
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/events/Dorchester_on_Thames/1100641.Event.VILLAGE_FIREWORK_DISPLAY___Dorchester_on_Thames/?s=98e465080e7027cc8a1fe1f6f09a1a90&i=1
Kidlington Fireworks Display—Stratfield Brake Recreation Ground, Kidlington (fireworks to music, 6pm).
Stadhampton Fireworks Display—Stadhampton Village Green (Bonfire at 5:30, Fireworks 7pm).
http://www.stadhampton.org/news/stadhampton-bonfire-and-firework-display/
Botley School Fireworks—OX2 9JZ (Fireworks and refreshments, 6pm).
22nd Oxford Sea Scouts Firework Display—OX4 4BJ (Fundraising firework display, BBQ, 6:45pm).
Oxford Round Table Fireworks Display—South Park (48th annual charity fireworks display, live music, refreshments and funfair, gates open 4:30pm, fireworks 6:45 followed by bonfire).
http://oxfordfireworks.co.uk/
Night Lights Event—Barracks Lane Community Garden, OX4 2AP (Music, bonfires, stories, fire whirling and fairy gardens, 3:30-6:30pm).
http://www.barrackslanegarden.org.uk/events_item.php?id=1099
Hanborough Musical Fireworks—The Pavillion, OX29 8JQ (Fireworks to music, BBQ, refreshments and funfair, 6:00).
http://www.jackfm.co.uk/surrey/jacktivities/event/4597/
Marsh Baldon Green Fireworks Display—The Green, Marsh Baldon (Bonfire, fireworks, funfair, refreshments, 6:30pm).
http://www.baldons.org.uk/content/content_home_popup.php?id=232
Didcot Charity Fireworks, Bonfire and Funfair—Lloyd Recreation Ground, OX11 7BN (Fireworks, funfair, refreshments, proceeds go to charity, gates open 5:30pm).
http://www.didcotrotary.org.uk/
Standlake Cokethorpe Sea Scouts Annual Firework Spectacular—Standlake Village Hall (Fireworks, BBQ, Tombola, 6pm).
Bicester Round Table Firework Display and Bonfire—Pingle Field (Fireworks, fairground, bonfire, refreshments and music, 6pm).
Old Swan and Minster Mill Bonfire and Fun Weekend—Witney, OX29 0RN (Bonfire, fireworks and refreshments, 6:00pm).
Image copyright of Leonora Enking.
Witney RFC Bonfire and Fireworks Spectacular—Witney Rugby Club (Fireworks and bonfire)
https://www.facebook.com/bonfirefireworkswitney
We recommend taking a November trip to The Ashmolean Museum where, in the basement, you will find the lantern purported to be the very one Guy Fawkes had with him in the cellars of Parliament on November 5th 1605.
If you know of any other firework or bonfire events taking place nearby we’d love to hear from you. You can email us at web@boswellsltd.com or contact us via facebook or twitter.
Image copyright of Ben Sutherland.
We also sell a range of KimBolton fireworks in store—now available for the first time through the click and collect option on our website—so if you’re planning your own display, big or small, we can help you to make this bonfire night something a bit special. If you’re not sure what kind of fireworks you need you can always pop in to store to talk to one of the members of staff on our fireworks desk, near the Broad Street entrance, who will be happy to help.
So wrap up warm, get to a display nice and early for the perfect view, and remember, remember the 5th of November in sparkly, spectacular style!
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"Rebel Woman": on Emma Goldman
October 25, 2018 by Alex Yoffie in Written by: Edgar
I first heard of Emma Goldman at age 16, when I excitedly put on the second album by obscure singer-songwriter Daryl Scairiot, whose work I had found by chance. The first track, “Emma Goldman’s Arrest,” (the link opens in Spotify) is a haunting dirge, celebrating Goldman’s ideas (albeit very loosely), and memorializing… one of her several arrests; which one is unclear in the song. Her life was colorful, and spanned a couple of continents and several countries: of Russian extraction, she lived in the US, France, Germany, Russia again, Spain, and finally died in Canada in 1940.
While the similarities between Emma Goldman, known today as a political polymath of anarchist thought, who wrote on everything from the uses of violence to the theatre, and Ruth Doyle, our brash Bostonian union organizer, might seem tenuous, Goldman’s persona was intrinsic to the way Ruth presents herself. Goldman’s galvanization to political action, a combined result of her social milieu and the Haymarket affair, might easily have served as an influence on a real-life Ruth, as did Goldman’s committed anti-Capitalism and feminism. But Goldman’s real influence on Ruth — other than the arguable possibility that an historical Ruth could have read Goldman’s autobiography, which appeared in 1931 — is Goldman’s reputation as an orator.
In preparation for writing Ruth’s speech in episode 3, I sought out the text of some of Emma Goldman’s speeches, leaning especially on her speeches on patriotism and conscription, to reproduce a rhetorical pattern that would have been familiar to someone from Ruth’s background. Her style is emotional and intense — which isn’t really surprising, given that she described her first experience with public speaking as a kind of personal transport: “The audience had vanished, the hall itself had disappeared, I was conscious only of my own words, of my ecstatic song.” That feeling of political ecstasy is one with which Ruth is intimately familiar, and Goldman’s stature as a writer and a speaker — to say nothing of her involvement with the assassination attempt on Henry Frick during the Homestead Strike — would not have been unknown to Ruth.
Goldman died in 1940, and her reputation waned somewhat, until her rediscovery in the 1970s, but her specter as a figure of political commitment and eloquent warrior against social injustice — even making statements against homophobia and transphobia as early as 1923, in her reported correspondence with Magnus Hirschfeld (which is unfortunately lost). Her commitment, too, to a radical movement that encompasses “freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things” is inspirational to this day — not only in Perdition’s Teeth, but to everyone.
Listen to Chapter 1 of Perdition’s Teeth here
October 25, 2018 /Alex Yoffie
Rebel Woman, Politics, Perditi, Art, Philosophy
Written by: Edgar
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RANKED: The countries with the 10 largest gold reserves
U.S. Global Investors
Employees push a trolley laden with crates of one kilogram gold bars at the YLG Bullion International Co. headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.
Getty Images/Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg
The amount the US holds in gold reserves is three-quarters of its entire foreign reserves.
Germany has the second largest amount of gold reserves.
Countries differ in their reliance on gold for foreign reserves.
Beginning in 2010, central banks around the world turned from being net sellers of gold to net buyers of gold. Last year official sector activity rose 36 percent to 366 tonnes - a substantial increase from 2016.
The top 10 central banks with the largest gold reserves have remained mostly unchanged for the last few years. The United States holds the number one spot with over 8,000 tonnes of gold in its vaults - nearly as much as the next three countries combined. For six consecutive years the Russian Central Bank has been the largest purchaser of gold, increasing its holdings by 224 tonnes in 2017 and overtaking China to hold the fifth spot, according to the GFMS Gold Survey.
Not every central bank is a net buyer. For the second year in a row, Venezuela has been the largest seller of gold, with 25 tonnes sold last year to help pay off debt. However, gross official sector sales declined by 55 percent last year, to the lowest since 2014, indicating that central banks are happy to keep their reserves in gold, historically viewed as
2018 could be another strong year for central bank gold demand. According to the World Gold Council(WGC), demand in the first quarter was up 42 percent year-over-year, with purchases totaling 116.5 tonnes for the highest first quarter total since 2014. As global debt continues to skyrocket, central banks and individual investors alike might want to keep gold in their pockets, as it historically has performed well during times of economic downturn and geopolitical uncertainty.
Below are the top 10 countries with the largest gold holdings, beginning with India.
Vijay Mathur/Reuters
Tonnes: 560.3
Percent of foreign reserves: 5.5 percent
It's no surprise that the Bank of India has one of the largest stores of gold in the world. The South Asian country, home to 1.25 billion people, is the second largest consumer of the precious metal, and is one of the most reliable drivers of global demand. India's festival and wedding season, which runs from October to December, has historically been a huge boon to gold's Love Trade.
9. Netherlands
Percent of foreign reserves: 68.2 percent
The Dutch Central Bank announced that it will be moving its gold vaults from Amsterdam to Camp New Amsterdam, about an hour outside the city, citing burdensome security measures of its current location. As many others have pointed out, this seems odd, given that the bank fairly recently repatriated a large amount of its gold from the U.S.
8. Japan
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty
Japan, the world's third largest economy, is also the eighth largest hoarder of the yellow metal. Its central bank has been one of the most aggressive practitioners of quantitative easing—in January 2016, it lowered interest rates below zero—which has helped fuel demand for gold around the world.
7. Switzerland
Tonnes: 1,040.0
In seventh place is Switzerland, which actually has the world's largest reserves of gold per capita. During World War II, the neutral country became the center of the gold trade in Europe, making transactions with both the Allies and Axis powers. Today, much of its gold trading is done with Hong Kong and China.
Yuri Yavnik/Shutterstock
In the summer of 2015, the People's Bank of China began sharing its gold purchasing activity on a monthly basis for the first time since 2009. Although China comes in sixth for most gold held, the yellow metal accounts for only a small percentage of its overall reserves - a mere 2.4 percent - the lowest of the top 10 central banks with the most gold. However, this figure is up slightly from 2.2 percent of holdings in 2016.
DATE IMPORTED:October 27, 1997Security guard John Hall watches a stack of display gold bullion bars at the Australian Bullion Company's office in Sydney October 27.
Ian Walton/Getty Images
The Russian Central Bank has been the largest buyer of gold for the past six years and earlier this year overtook China to have the fifth largest reserves. In 2017 Russia bought 224 tonnes of bullion in an effort to diversify away from the U.S. dollar, as its relationship with the West has grown chilly since the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in mid-2014. To raise the cash for these purchases, Russia sold a huge percentage of its U.S. Treasuries.
Robb0/Instagram
France's central bank has sold little of its gold over the past several years, and there are calls to halt it altogether. Marine Le Pen, president of the country's far-right National Front party, has led the charge not only to put a freeze on selling the nation's gold but also to repatriate the entire amount from foreign vaults.
3. Italy
Facebook/Cineteca di Bologna
Italy has likewise maintained the size of its reserves over the years, and it has support from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. The former Bank of Italy governor, when asked by a reporter in 2013 what role gold plays in a central bank's portfolio, answered that the metal was "a reserve of safety," adding, "it gives you a fairly good protection against fluctuations against the dollar."
2. Germany
Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich March 3, 2014.
Olha Rohulya/Shutterstock
Last year Germany completed a four-year repatriation operation to move a total of 674 tonnes of gold from the Banque de France and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York back to its own vaults. First announced in 2013, the move was expected to take until 2020 to complete. Although gold demand fell last year after hitting an all-time high in 2016, this European country has seen gold investing steadily rise since the global financial crisis.
1. United States
24 karat gold bars are seen at the United States West Point Mint facility in West Point, New York June 5, 2013.
With the largest official holdings in the world, the U.S. lays claim to nearly as much gold as the next three countries combined. It also has the highest gold allocation as a percentage of its foreign reserves at over 75 percent. From what we know, the majority of U.S. gold is held at Fort Knox in Kentucky, with the remainder held at the Philadelphia Mint, Denver Mint, San Francisco Assay Office and West Point Bullion Depository. Which state loves gold the most? Well, the state of Texas went so far as to create its very own Texas Bullion Depository to safeguard investors' gold.
Read the original article on U.S. Global Investors. Copyright 2019.
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The Art of Teams
Benjamin Wolff
How Alicia Keyes Became A Superstar
Last year 13 million people flocked to Broadway shows in New York City, more than attended all of the region's professional sporting events combined. In doing so, they purchased nearly $1.5 billion in tickets, helping the theater industry contribute roughly $12 billion to the local economy.
While the media focus on a handful of stars and celebrities, a huge range of professionals contribute, nightly, to the Broadway "magic" — actors, dancers, singers, writers, directors, managers, stagehands, designers, musicians, arrangers and stylists, to name just a few. The theater industry supports almost 90,000 jobs in New York City alone.
Where do these professionals live? Increasingly, further and further away from the heart of the theater district. When the curtain drops on any given night those who work on Broadway head to apartments in the outer boroughs, or to homes in New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. Some of them, however, pack up their musical instruments or fold away their costumes and walk just a few blocks westwards on 42nd street.
From the outside, there is nothing distinctive about Manhattan Plaza, a pair of tall apartment towers, clad in brown brick, on Ninth and Tenth avenues and 42nd. These days higher and more glamorous structures of glass and steel rise beside them, but when they were built in the mid-1970s they transformed a neighborhood and an industry. Their treasure is the people who live within, arts and theater professionals who have made "Broadway" synonomous with New York.
Manhattan Plaza is a planned and federally subsidized residence. Of its 1,700 apartments, 70% are set aside for performing arts professionals, 15% for neighborhood residents and 15% for the elderly. With support services and community spaces, the 3,500 residents see themselves as a vertical village within the city. Surrounded by fellow theater artists, actor Marnie Andrews told me that, "One gets into talking to someone on the elevator and you both want to get off and continue the conversation. That doesn’t happen in a typical apartment building." For violinist Hiroko Taguchi, the close proximity to the Broadway theaters she performs in makes it possible to contribute to the neighborhood as a professional and a resident. "It's just amazing that Wednesday or Saturday, after the matinee, I can come home."
As unique as Manhattan Plaza is, this development almost never happened. The story of its birth is one of serendipity, creative leadership and the ability to see opportunities in a sea of trouble.
From the late 19th century until the last quarter of the 20th, the area to the far West side of midtown Manhattan was home to poor and working class families who supported the business district further East. Although the origin of the name "Hell's Kitchen" isn't clear, it was an apt and colorful description for a gritty neighborhood plagued by violence.
In 1974, HRH Construction began building the two 45-floor towers that would become Manhattan Plaza. Conceived as middle and upper middle class residences, the city was eager to support a renewal of what it considered a blighted and dangerous area, and it financed the project with a $95 million loan. Just a year later, though, New York slid into a deep economic recession and the city reneged on that promised financing. Construction on Manhattan Plaza came to a halt. With cranes silenced, the developers looked for new financial partners — a difficult task in a city with a bleak-looking future, where tax revenues were falling, people were moving to the suburbs and businesses of all sizes were closing.
Photo of Broadway Billboards credit to Matthew Mendoza
One source of funding remained — the federal government's Section 8 program, which provided financing and rent-support for low income housing. Converting the development to Section 8 would allow the project to move forward but it changed the profile of the development. Opposition came quickly.
Area businesses objected because they felt that Section 8 would make it harder to improve the theater district, then burdened by peep shows, porn shops and their undesirable clientele. Existing residents were fearful of an influx of nearly 4,000 low income and welfare renters. Antipoverty and community renewal groups also opposed the project, believing that limited federal subsidies could be put to better use elsewhere in the city.
At that point, Daniel Rose of Rose Associates, the managing agents of the development, made a trip to New York from Boston, where he was working on another project. "I spent the whole day thinking about it," Rose said, "just walking around the area." Sometime after talking with the opposition he remembered a favorite phrase of the late theater and film producer Mike Todd, who always referred to his childhood family as "broke but not poor." What if, he thought, Manhattan Plaza could be populated by low income residents who met the requirements of Section 8, but were well educated and highly trained? The answer was performing arts professionals, who already worked in and had a deep connection to the area.
No other subsidized housing development had, to that point, been restricted by trade. But Rose proposed the idea to Roger Starr, who was New York City Mayor Abraham Beame's Housing and Development Administrator. Starr considered it and then said to Rose, "'That's creative thinking. That's very good. But where does the legislation (Section 8) mention acting?' My reply was, 'Where does it prevent it?' That was key. We didn't change anything. We just added an additional requirement. HRH Construction Company and Roger Starr didn't care. If it would get the buildings up, that would be fine by them."
With a new name, "Manhattan Plaza for the Performing Arts," construction moved forward and the buildings were opened in the spring of 1977. But when Rose hired The Rev. Rodney Kirk as the first on-site Director of Manhattan Plaza it set the stage for the vibrant community that has come to define the development. Kirk made sure that elderly residents would have the support and services to age-in-place, and when AIDS appeared just a few years later he worked with the Actor's Fund to create programs that provided for ill residents and those in the area.
Actor and dancer Sandy Nance remembers moving into Manhattan Plaza just a few months after it opened. It was July 13, 1977. That night New York City experienced a complete electrical failure and blackout. "I sat in the doorframe of my new apartment and looked up 9th Avenue, watching as the night got darker and darker. I watched car headlights coming down 9th Avenue sporadically because all the traffic lights were out." It may have been dark in Nance's apartment, but throughout the building residents placed candles in stairwells, patrolled the floors and organized the very new community to take care of one another.
For her, the most enduring legacy of Manhattan Plaza is the economic stability that subsidized housing was able to provide for performing artists. "It gave residents a base, the confidence to have a child or two. And then the rest of us have had the pleasure of watching them grow up."
It's been forty years since these two buildings opened their doors to neighborhood performers. In celebration of that anniversary and what it stands for a new documentary has been released called "Miracle on 42nd Street."
In the course of the film we hear the singer Alicia Keyes talk about what growing up in the enveloping arts community of Manhattan Plaza meant to her young talent. "I played my first song that I wrote lyrics to, and played the music to, on that piano, in that apartment, in that building." We hear from film, stage and television actor Terrence Howard. "I learned to play guitar there. I learned to play piano there. I learned how to act. I had my first kiss there. That place nurtured my dreams."
Whether it's the actors or singers of Manhattan Plaza who got their start and then moved on, residents who are in the twilight of their careers and aging in place, or young performers who make Broadway come alive eight shows a week, the deep gratitude of these artists to a pair of middle-aged buildings and the community that calls them home is a reminder of the enduring effect of truly creative thinking and the willingness to try something new.
Published here on Forbes.com
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/benjaminwolff/2017/11/22/how-alicia-keyes-became-a-superstar
Who Owns America? A New Play Ponders The Central Place Of Money In Our Culture
If Twitter Offers You 280 Characters Just Say No
© 2019 Benjamin Wolff | All Rights Reserved
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Meddlers beware: Trump acts on U.S. election meddling
By Sheetal Sukhija, China News
WASHINGTON, U.S. - After facing intense criticism over his failure to take bold measures on election meddling for nearly two years now - the U.S. President Donald Trump has now dealt with the issue that continues to be at the heart of his persistent legal woes.
On Wednesday, Trump signed a sweeping executive order imposing sanctions on any foreign individual or nation that authorizes, directs or sponsors an operation to interfere in U.S. elections.
However, Trump's order immediately caused anger amongst many lawmakers, who argued that the order falls short and gives Trump a lot of wiggle room.
However, stressing on how the new order showed that Trump was prioritizing American election security - Trump's national security adviser John Bolton and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats presented the new order to reporters on Wednesday.
Bolton said, "This is intended to be a very broad effort to prevent foreign manipulation of the political process."
He added, "We felt it was important to demonstrate the president has taken command of this issue, that it's something he cares deeply about - that the integrity of our elections and our constitutional process are a high priority to him."
Trump's executive order also came weeks after Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned of "pervasive messaging campaign: by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States" before Americans go to the polls in November.
Speaking alongside Bolton on Wednesday, Coats warned that foreign election meddling could possibly take place before November's vote.
He further warned that signs of Russian interference were visible, though not on the scale of the 2016 presidential election.
The National Intelligence head further highlighted potential meddling from China, Iran and North Korea.
However, some senators argued that Trump's executive order - which comes less than two months before the 2018 midterm elections - could blunt momentum for a legislation being sought by the Congress over punishing Russia.
The legislation in Congress is seeking to impose harsher and more direct penalties on Russia for any future election meddling.
Both Coats and Bolton argued that Trump's executive order was not aimed at short-circuiting congressional action.
Coats said in response to the criticism that the order will help ensure the administration is "doing every possible thing we can" to prevent and assess election meddling.
He added, "And if we see something has happened, then there's going to be an automatic response to that."
Meanwhile, some lawmakers said that despite being a good first step by the President, the move falls short of what's needed and could give Trump too much wiggle room.
In a statement, Sen Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate investigation into Russia, said, "The executive order inevitably leaves the President broad discretion to decide whether to impose tough sanctions against those who attack our democracy is insufficient."
He dded, "If we are going to actually deter Russia and others from interfering in our elections in the future, we need to spell out strong, clear consequences, without ambiguity."
Meanwhile, Trump's critics pointed out that his decision contradicted an opinion he has long held over election meddling and comes even though the U.S President has kept up his attacks deriding the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Assess and punish
Bolton pointed out that the sanctions would be imposed for direct actions including hacking into election systems, and also for distribution of propaganda and disinformation.
Further, Coats explained that the executive order puts a process for the U.S. intelligence community and other law enforcement officials in place - to carry out an investigation and evaluate possible election meddling.
According to the order, the Director of National Intelligence will conduct regular assessments of possible election interference.
Further, after each election, the intelligence community will have 45 days to investigate whether there was an attempt at interference.
This will be followed by a Justice Department review.
Coats said explaining the process that "if there is a consensus that a foreign country or other entity tried to meddle in the election, automatic sanctions would be triggered."
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Rebalancing Your Portfolio
Tip: Rebalancing Schedule. When to rebalance? There is no set rule. Some rebalance when their portfolio’s allocation is off by a specific percentage — say 5%. Others may be comfortable setting the target higher or lower.
Everyone loves a winner. If an investment is successful, most people naturally want to stick with it. But is that the best approach?
It may sound counter intuitive, but it may be possible to have too much of a good thing. Over time, the performance of different investments can shift a portfolio’s intent — and its risk profile. It’s a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “risk creep,” and it happens when a portfolio has its risk profile shift over time.
When deciding how to allocate investments, many start by taking into account their time horizon, risk tolerance, and specific goals. Next, individual investments are selected that pursue the overall objective. If all the investments selected had the same return, that balance — that allocation — would remain steady for a period of time. But if the investments have varying returns, over time, the portfolio may bear little resemblance to its original allocation.
How Rebalancing Works
Rebalancing is the process of restoring a portfolio to its original risk profile.
There are two ways to rebalance a portfolio.
The first is to use new money. When adding money to a portfolio, allocate these new funds to those assets or asset classes that have fallen. For example, if bonds have fallen from 40% of a portfolio to 30%, consider purchasing enough bonds to return them to their original 40% allocation. Diversification is an investment principle designed to manage risk. However, diversification does not guarantee against a loss.
Fast Fact: Expert Insight. “The four most expensive words in the English language are, ‘This time it’s different.’”
–Sir John Templeton,
Renowned Investor
The second way of rebalancing is to sell enough of the “winners” to buy more underperforming assets. Ironically, this type of rebalancing actually forces you to buy low and sell high.
Periodically rebalancing your portfolio to match your desired risk tolerance is a sound practice regardless of the market conditions. One approach is to set a specific time each year to schedule an appointment to review your portfolio and determine if adjustments are appropriate.
Shifting Allocation
Over time, market conditions can change the risk profile of an investment portfolio. For example, imagine that on January 1, 1997, an investor created a portfolio containing a mix of 50% bonds and 50% stocks. By the end of 2017, the mix would have changed to 44% bonds and 56% stocks.
Source: Thomson Reuters, 2018. For the period December 31, 1996, to December 31, 2017. Stocks are represented by the S&P 500 Composite index (total return), an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Bonds are represented by the Citigroup Corporate Bond Composite Index, an unmanaged index that is generally considered representative of the U.S. bond market. Index performance is not indicative of the past performance of a particular investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index. When sold, an investment's shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Bonds that are redeemed prior to maturity may be worth more or less than their original stated value. The rate of return on investments will vary over time, particularly for longer-term investments. Investments that offer the potential for high returns also carry a high degree of risk. Actual returns will fluctuate. The types of securities and strategies illustrated may not be suitable for everyone.
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Jaden Carlson Band - Album Release party w/ Isaiah Sharkey (John Mayer, D'Angelo), Dog City Disco (Patio Set)
Jaden Carlson Band
The Jaden Carlson Band is a power quartet from Boulder, Colorado, led by 17 year old guitarist Jaden Carlson. The group is comprised of some of the best talent to be heard, with varied influences coming together from all over the country. Their newest album, “Keep It Movin’”, taps into their unique chemistry to develop their blend of jam, funk, hip-hop, electronic, and jazz.
Isaiah Sharkey
A native Chicagoan, 28-year-old Isaiah Sharkey spent his early years living in Cabrini Green. Perhaps as a precursor to his future career, he lived with his parents in a row house on a street that is now named for Curtis Mayfield.
Coming from a musical household, Isaiah was introduced to music at the age of four. He decided he wanted to be a guitarist and asked his parents to purchase one. Shortly thereafter, Isaiah started learning music under the close introduction of his father, Michael Sharkey. He would learn about different musical genres/styles from gospel music -- which came from growing up in the church -- to jazz, R&B, blues, rock and funk music. It wasn't long after that Isaiah would become noticed by other musicians in the Chicago area for being a young new talent. Soon after, he started doing concerts in the church as well as sitting in local jazz club jams.
At the age of 14, Isaiah, along with his father and brothers, released their first album entitled, "Skyliner." This album displayed Isaiah's ability to play covers and some transcriptions from greats like Wes Montgomery and George Benson.
Subsequently, he started his recording career and served as a sideman for gospel artists such as Smokie Norful, Donald Lawrence and Vanessa Bell Armstrong. He also toured as lead guitarist with Ronald Isley and recorded two albums with him.
In 2009, Isaiah started working with artist D'Angelo on his third album, Black Messiah, which won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Based on his work and contribution to the project, Isaiah received his first Grammy.
Isaiah also has worked, recorded, and toured with several world-renown and Grammy award winning artists including John Mayer, Patti Labelle, Christopher Martin of Coldplay, Paul Simon, Corrine Bailey Rae, Mike Posner, Keith Urban, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, Lalah Hathaway, Raphael Saadiq, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Dave and the DrumHedz, Regina Bell, Ruben Studdard, Lupe Fiasco, Kelly Price, Faith Evans, Rance Allen, The Winans, The Clark Sisters and many others.
Isaiah Sharkey is poised to take center stage as he fuses together his background in rock, gospel, jazz, R&B, blues, and funk to create an original sound with an unmistakable dose of soul. His first digital offering is his distinctive rendition of Cream’s classic “Sunshine of Your Love.” The second offering Isaiah wrote, “Sandy” is also now available digitally worldwide. His highly anticipated debut album Love.Life.Live. was released in September of 2017 and earned him the iHeart Radio Artist of the Month in November for his single “It’s a Shame” featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff. His sophomore album Love is the Key: The Cancerian Theme will be released this summer.
Dog City Disco
Karate Funk or Bust!
Raised by Yeti's somewhere deep in the Colorado Rockies, the members of Dog City Disco came together through their common love of Karate Funk. Yetis, whom are famously known for inventing music, happen to also be great masters of Karate. They taught Dog City Disco everything they could and more. 20 years of deep study, practice and vision quests have come to unite one of the most entertaining bands of all time. After a steady spell atop the US charts (in Guitar Hero), Dog City Disco now takes their show on the road.
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CFA Society Milwaukee
Mission Statement & Overview
Review Programs
Find a Charterholder
SecureFutures
CFA Institute Jobline
CFA Institute Research Challenge
CFA Society Milwaukee Foundation (CFASMF)
Active leadership ensures our society's vitality. Through its board of directors and committee chairs, we advance the society's mission and keep pace with evolving membership expectations and needs.
2019-2020 Officers:
PRESIDENT
Katie Schoen, CFA, CAIA
Phone: 414.298.1701
VICE PRESIDENT - PRESIDENT ELECT
Eric Nohelty, CFA
Phone: 715.571.6323
VICE PRESIDENT - PROGRAMMING
Nick Kummer, CFA, CAIA
Phone: 414.390.8319
TREASURER/SECRETARY
Agnes Vongkhamsay, CFA
Phone: 414.287.7058
Pete Speidel, CFA, CAIA 2018-2019
David P. Weber, CFA 1985-1986
Jacob Fink, CFA 2017-2018
Stephen E. Keane, CFA 1984-1985
E. Erik Gauger, CFA, 2016-2017
Thomas W. Nelson 1983-1984
Christopher Merker, CFA 2015-2016
Maureen J. Busby Oster, CFA 1982-1983
James E. Fleming, CFA 2014-2015
William E. Fritz 1981-1982
William McGinnis Jr., CFA 2013-2014
Mary M. Tenwinkel, CFA 1980-1981
Kristin M. Lindblom, CFA 2012-2013
Ted D. Kellner, CFA 1979-1980
Wendy Stojadinovic, CFA 2011-2012
Keith A. Dibble, CFA 1978-1979
Thomas H. Rippl, CFA 2010-2011
Keith F. Pinsoneault, CFA 1977-1978
Lora J. Olenchek, CFA 2009-2010
Marshall E. Schwid 1976-1977
David Becker, CFA 2007-2009
A. Keith Johnson, CFA 1975-1976
John Weitzer, CFA 2006-2007
Donald C. Pottinger, CFA 1974-1975
Constance L. Keller, CFA 2005-2006
Michael T. Murray, CFA 1973-1974
Michael J. Steppe, CFA 2004-2005
Robert A. Dahl 1972-1973
Matthew S. Coburn, CFA 2002-2004
James R. Nelsen, CFA 1971-1972
Patrick J. Cronin, CFA 2001-2002
John C. Windsor, Jr. 1970-1971
Warren D. Pierson, CFA 2000-2001
Marvin R. Swentkofske, CFA 1969-1970
Marlyn J. Spear, CFA 1999-2000
William A. Haker, CFA 1968-1969
Steven J. Latham, CFA 1998-1999
Michael A. Jacobs 1967-1968
Susan K. Brookins, CFA 1997-1998
Richard G. Jacobus, CFA 1966-1967
Duane E. Draheim, CFA 1996-1997
Robert L. Kemp, CFA 1965-1966
Enoch Carver, IV, CFA 1994-1996
Winfred W. Wuesthoff 1964-1965
Sara J.Walker, CFA 1993-1994
John F. Konrad 1963-1964
Terence V. Pavlic, CFA 1992-1993
Robert R. Veenendaal, CFA 1962-1963
William R. Warnke, CFA 1991-1992
Arthur J. Laskin, CFA 1961-1962
Steven R. Nichols, CFA 1990-1991
William R. Johnson, CFA 1960-1961
Louis Giblin, CFA 1989-1990
George L. Struck, CFA 1959-1960
Theodore J. Moreau, CFA 1988-1989
Francis J. Calkins 1958-1959
David R. Aushwitz, CFA 1987-1988
Elgin E. Narrin 1956-1958
L. Crandall Hays, CFA 1986-1987
Katherine (Katie) Schoen, CFA, CAIA is responsible for providing portfolio investment strategies along with comments on individual equity and Exchange Traded Product (ETP) positions to Baird's financial advisors. Katherine started with Baird in 2008 moving to her current senior analyst position in 2012. Prior to joining Baird, she interned as an equity analyst for Wells Capital Core Equity Fund. Katherine is currently a voting member of Baird's Equity Recommended Portfolio and supports the construction of the Baird Equity Idea List. She has also developed Baird's ETP research offerings as well as product strategy.
Katherine graduated cum laude from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Sciences degree and participated in Marquette's Applied Investment Management Program. She holds the Series 7, 63, and 86/87 professional licenses, as well as both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®) designations. Outside of work Katherine is passionate about supporting the advancement of women and girls. She currently holds the position of Board Chair for Girls on the Run of Greater Milwaukee and holds leadership positions within Baird's Women's Associate Resource Group.
Vice President - President Elect
Eric Nohelty, CFA is a Senior Investment Analyst at Marshall Street Capital. He is responsible for asset allocation, portfolio construction, and investment manager due diligence for the firm's diversified multi asset class investment portfolio. Prior to joining Marshall Street in 2016, Eric spent 6 years as a research analyst and consultant at Alpha Investment Consulting Group. Eric graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with degrees in Finance and Economics and received the CFA charter in 2014.
Vice President - Programming
Nick Kummer, CFA, CAIA is a director of the Midwest Region at Artisan Partners. He represents eight Artisan Investment teams and 17 underlying strategies. Nick is responsible for new business development, provides investment updates to existing clients as well as facilitates investment team interaction. Prior to joining Artisan Partners in 2010, Nick spent 5 years at Wells Fargo Funds Distributor.
Nick holds an undergraduate degree in business administration and an MBA from Marquette University. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2016, his Chartered Alternatives Investment Analyst designation in 2014, and his Certified Investment Management Analyst certification in 2013.
Treasurer/Secretary
Agnes Vongkhamsay, CFA serves as an analyst on BMO Global Asset Management’s Manager Research team and is responsible for the evaluation, recommendation and monitoring of investment managers and strategies utilized within client accounts across BMO’s business lines. She leads on the coverage of domestic mid cap equity, tax-free bond, passive and exchange-traded fund strategies. Prior to starting her current role with BMO in 2011, she served as an intern for M&I. Agnes graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Investment and Banking in 2010. She earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2014.
Outside of work, Agnes serves as a volunteer instructor for SecureFutures and supports various not-for-profit animal welfare organizations. In her spare time, she enjoys running with her dog.
Kevin Chiappetta, CFA is a Senior Vice President of Investment Services at Corporate Central Credit Union and President of the wholly owned Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO), QuantyPhi, LLC. Kevin assists client credit unions with balance sheet risk optimization process with thorough understanding of balance sheet risk modeling, forecasting and improvement of investment portfolio decision making process. Prior to founding QuantyPhi, Kevin provided balance sheet consulting for financial institutions nationwide as Senior Vice President at FIMAC Solutions. Kevin also spent 11 years at Balance Sheet Solutions, LLC as Executive Director providing investment advisory and asset liability management services to credit unions.
Kevin graduated from St. Norbert College with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting, received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1995 and is an active member and volunteer of the CFA Institute and a member the CFA Society Milwaukee.
Jonathan (Jon) Dekker, CFA is a Director in the Institutional Trading department at Baird. Jon works with mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds across the US and Canada and serves on Baird's committee that oversees continued best execution and growth of the trading platform. Jon graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Psychology and earned his MBA through the Applied Security Analysis Program at Wisconsin in 2012. He received the CFA charter in 2017. Prior to his career in finance, Jon played professional football for the Pittsburgh Steelers for three years. Jon lives in Bay View with his wife Francie. The couple is expecting their first child in June.
Marc Dion, CFA is a Principal and the Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Dempsey Capital Management. He is the lead portfolio manager for the firm's Large Cap Value Strategy and co-portfolio manager for its Mid Cap Strategy. Marc joined Morgan Dempsey in 2004 and has over 30 years of experience in the Financial Services industry including stints as a Chief Investment Strategist, Equity Analyst and Consultant. He has a B.A. in History from Kalamazoo College (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and both a Master's Degree in American History and an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Marc earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1992.
Jacob Fink, CFA is an equity portfolio risk analyst at Wells Fargo Asset Management. In this role, Jacob evaluates the risks that are embedded a variety of quantitative investment strategies. He also focuses on creating and automating new and innovative risk reporting techniques. Prior to joining Wells, Jacob was an investment data analyst at Artisan Partners, and he also served as the head equity trader for both Ziegler Capital Management and 1492 Capital Management.
Mr. Fink holds a B.S. in Business Economics from Wisconsin Lutheran College, and a Master's Degree in Applied Economics from Marquette University. He received his CFA designation in 2010.
Ryan Hamilton works as a portfolio manager and research analyst at Morgan Dempsey. He also runs portfolio attribution and compiles portfolio data. Previously, Ryan was a Portfolio Manager, Research Analyst, and trader with Voit & Hamilton, LLC. He joined Morgan Dempsey with over 10 years of experience in securities analysis, portfolio management, and trading. Ryan is a CFA Level II candidate, a former United States Marine, a combat veteran, and an Eagle Scout. He also has taught and tutored advanced financial topics at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Ryan's primary role at Morgan Dempsey is as an Analyst on the Small/Micro Cap Value team, and he is also a Portfolio Manager on the Small/Mid Cap and All Cap teams.
Michael Harris, CFA is an Assistant Director on Northwestern Mutual's Distribution Performance team where he analyzes the sales results of the company's distribution system and assists local leaders with the recruitment and development of financial representatives. In addition, Michael works with NM's field leaders regarding change management related to the company's strategic initiatives and industry regulations. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Michael worked as an Associate within Duff & Phelps' Valuation Advisory Services group, held several corporate finance roles, and played professional golf for 9 years, qualifying for two U.S Opens.
Michael earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and received a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Corporate Finance and Investment Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2016.
Brian Leadley, CFA, CPA is a wealth advisor/partner at Pegasus Partners with over 11 years of wealth management experience. He is responsible for reviewing client's financial plans, investment performance and estate planning. Brian also serves on the firm's Investment Committee, reviewing current and proposed investments and asset allocations. Prior to joining Pegasus Partners, he was a private client services manager at Ernst & Young and a senior accountant at Gary Comer.
Brian earned a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from Winona State University. He has also obtained his Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Ryan M. Moran, CFA, CPA, CFP ®, is a Vice President, Client Advisor at J.P. Morgan Private Bank based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In this role, he works closely with individuals and families to help them meet their financial goals and objectives. Leveraging the global resources of J.P. Morgan, he provides customized strategies in the areas of financial planning, trust and wealth transfer, private banking, lending, and investments.
Ryan earned his Masters of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a focus on Finance and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a double major in Accounting and Finance. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designations and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Wisconsin.
Ryan previously served on the Board of Directors for the CFA Society Milwaukee from 2008 to 2017.
Peter Speidel, CFA, CAIA is an investment analyst with Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC, where he evaluates investment managers and oversees the investment communications for asset allocation mutual fund products. Additionally, he is responsible for conducting market and economic research. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at Wisconsin Lutheran College. Previously, Mr. Speidel worked as a product manager at Wells Capital Management and as a research analyst at an investment consulting firm. He has worked in the investment industry since 2006. In addition, he holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Wisconsin Lutheran College and a graduate degree in applied economics from Marquette University Graduate School of Management. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of CFA Society Milwaukee and CFA Institute.
Sara Walker, CFA is a Chartered Financial Analyst with over 30 years of experience constructing and managing investment portfolios for individuals, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Sara joined BMO Wealth Management as a senior strategist, regional director of investments. In her new role she will cooperate with local leaders to shape BMO's delivery and investment strategy. For 21 years Sara was the senior vice president at Associated Private and Institutional Client Services, which is the $8 billion money management arm of Associated Bank. She was actively involved in the bank's economic analysis as well as investment portfolio management and was the lead portfolio manager for Associated's Southeastern Region.
Sara is a member and past-president of the CFA Society Milwaukee. She also serves on the boards of SecureFutures and Tempo Milwaukee. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin – Parkside with a double major in finance and economics and earned her master's degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.
To view the Society Bylaws -
About CFA Institute
CFA Institute is a global, nonprofit member organization of financial analysts, portfolio managers, and other investment professionals.
CFA Institute Mission Statement
CFA Institute Boards and Committees
Contact CFA Institute
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PRESENCE IN THE WORLD
History of the Company. Carlos Fernández Casado, The Founder
Leonardo Fernández Troyano. CEO.
Francisco Javier Manterola Armisén. CEO
Organization of the Company
50 years of CFCSL
Our effort and dedication to bridges and structures are evidenced in the professionalism and experience proven during over 50 years of activity.
Bridge over the Vinalopó River in the city of Elche. Alicante. Spain
Arch Bridges, Arch Bridges @en
Viaduct on the HSR Line over the Tera River. Zamora. Spain. 2014.
Vidalta Bridge. Mexico City. Mexico. 2013
Cable-stayed Bridges, Cable-stayed Bridges @en
Poets bridge over the Duero river in the city of Zamora. Spain. 2013.
Girder Bridges
Bridge over the river Nervión on the Bilbao Donostia line. Vizcaya. Spain. 2012.
Dos Valires Tunnel. Boca Oeste Access. Andorra. 2012
Cable-stayed Bridges @en
CARLOS FERNANDEZ CASADO S.L
We are a project engineering firm specialising in bridges and large scale structures. We provide development, study and supervision of engineering works. We have designed bridges and high-tech buildings all over the world: cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges, cantilever bridges, incrementally launched bridges…
Reports and special studies
Preliminary designs
Technical Assistance for Construction
Project Control and Supervision
Large bridges
Viaducts
Overpasses and underpasses
Railway and Bus Stations
CFCSL is a part of the winning team for the Gordie Howe Bridge project that will link the US and Canada.
Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) announced today that a significant milestone has been met in the public-private partnership (P3) procurement process with the selection of Bridging North America as the Preferred Proponent to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the...
May 2019, completion date of the new Pumarejo bridge in Barranquilla. Colombia.
View of the current construction of the approach spans placed span by span with movable formwork provided by BERD. (Photograph: Fernando de Yzaguirre) According to information published in the Colombian press by the Ministry of Transport, the National Road Institute...
CFCSL is designing a new bridge in Córdova (the Philippines) as part of the CCLEX project (Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway).
The CEBU Link JV, comprised of ACCIONA and the Philippine companies First Balfour and D.M. Consunji Inc, has been awarded the international tender to build a new connection between the islands of Cebú and Mactán in the Philippines. The end client is the concessionaire Cebu...
Inauguration of the Viaduct over the River Arcea, a CFCSL project.
The Minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna and the Chairman of the Principality, Javier Fernández, inaugurated the 2.3 kilometer Doriga-Cornellana section of highway A-63 on 26 December. The official act was also attended by the General Manager for Spain and Portugal of...
Javier Manterola Armisén receives the International Award for Civil Engineering from the Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation.
Every three years, the Foundation grants the “José Entrecanales Ibarra Awards” to promote Civil Engineering as an acknowledgement of its most outstanding professionals and to highlight its importance in the area of Development Cooperation. The international awards are granted in...
Inauguration of the Real Bridge in Orizaba (Mexico), designed by CFCSL in conjunction with Mexpresa.
The Real bridge in Orizaba, State of Veracruz in México, was opened to traffic on Monday, 16 October 2017, after being inaugurated with a Fun Run on the previous Sunday, when it was opened for pedestrians. The bridge was designed by CFCSL in conjunction with MEXPRESA, the...
Progress on the construction of the New Ross Bridge. Ireland.
At the end of August, the situation of the construction works on the New Ross Bridge (Ireland), designed by CFCSL, is shown in green in the following graph: The bridge over the Barrow river has a total length of 887 m and is comprised of 9 no. spans, of which 4 no. are...
Cadiz Bay Bridge, designed by CFCSL, winner of the III ACHE Engineering Award 2017.
The 1812 Constitution Bridge over the Cadiz Bay, designed by the CFCSL project office, has won the ACHE 2017 Award for the best engineering works in the category of Bridges. The Ache Engineering Awards are aimed at highlighting projects that, due to their quality, importance and...
Work commences on the deck over the arch on the Bridge over the River Tajo. Alcantara Dam. Caceres.
Once the arch has been closed, the de-stressing work completed, provisional ties removed and the steel pylons dismantled, the Bridge over the River Tajo is ready for the section of the deck over the arch, which will mean the completion of the project. Firstly, the piers on the...
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On Demand DVD New Releases: April 8-14
April 8, 2019 Meredith Ennis Movies, VOD Comments Off on On Demand DVD New Releases: April 8-14
© 2018 Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC. All Rights Reserved
Welcome to Marwen After a brutal attack, Mark Hogancamp finds solace in creating a world that allows him to live the life he so deeply desires. Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Janelle Monáe (PG-13, 1:56) 4/9
On The Basis of Sex Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a trailblazer in law school and legal opinion, but her route to a seat on the United States Supreme Court was anything but easy. Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux (PG-13, 2:00) 4/9
Holmes & Watson You’ve never seen Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson like this before. The classic characters investigate a murder at Buckingham Palace in this humorous take on the duo. Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Ralph Fiennes (PG-13, 1:30) 4/9
A Dog’s Way Home From the author of A Dog’s Purpose comes the tale of Bella, a dog who becomes a part of Lucas’ life. When she is separated from Lucas, Bella sets out on a journey to find her longtime friend. Ashley Judd, Jonah Hauer-King and the voice of Bryce Dallas Howard (PG, 1:36) 4/9
Availability dates, titles and schedule subject to change and may vary by system. Check with your cable provider for ordering information. HD and 3D not available in all systems
4/16: Glass, Replicas, The Kid Who Would Be King
4/23: Escape Room
4/30: Arctic, Miss Bala, Serenity
Sunday, April 7: Your Obsession Is Back in ‘Killing Eve’ Season 2
Monday, April 8: Texas Tech vs. Virginia in NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship
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OHIO STATE'S COOPER CHARGES TENNESSEE USED ILLEGAL CLEATS
Ohio State football coach John Cooper said he can prove that some Tennessee players in the Citrus Bowl wore cleats that were too long.
NCAA rules limit the length of cleats to one-half inch, but Cooper told the Columbus Dispatch in a story published Saturday that some of the Volunteers used three-quarter-inch cleats. In fact, he said he has one of the shoes worn in the game by Volunteers wide receiver Joey Kent.
He and his staff noticed the longer cleats during warmups and early in the game, won by Tennessee 20-14. He called it to the officials' attention, "but they didn't do anything about it," he said. "One guy told me they didn't have a ruler."
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Liturgical Year Home
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Ordinary Time: June 24th
Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
June 24, 2013 (Readings on USCCB website)
COLLECT PRAYER
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that your family may walk in the way of salvation and, attentive to what Saint John the Precursor urged, may come safely to the One he foretold, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Baptist Cakes
Chiresaye (Cherry Pudding Decorated with Flowers)
Empanadas de Orno
Finnish Pancakes
Honey Chiffon Pie
Tortillas de Harina
Welsh Rarebit
Winster Wake Cakes
Bonfire for the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
Customs of the Vigil and Birth of St. John the Baptist
Door Decoration for the Eve of the Birth of St. John the Baptist
Family and Friends of Jesus Scrapbook Album
Feasts of Saint John the Baptist
Hymn: Ut queant laxis (text)
Ideas for the Feast of the Birth St. John the Baptist
Johannesfeuer
Namedays
Religion in the Home for Preschool: June
St. John the Baptist's Day
St. John's Eve
St. John's Eve Bonfire
The Birth of Saint John the Baptist
The Story of St. John the Baptist
Ut queant laxis hymn description
What is a Nameday?
June Devotion: The Sacred Heart
Roman Ritual: Blessing of a Bonfire on the Vigil of the Birthday of St. John the Baptist
Litany of St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist, an Enduring Model of Fidelity to God | Pope John Paul II
Martyrdom of St John the Baptist | Pope Benedict XVI
» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!
Old Calendar: Nativity of St. John the Baptist ; Other Titles: Johannistag
This feast, a segment of Advent in the season of Ordinary Time, makes us aware of the wonderful inner relationship between the sacred mysteries; for we are still in the midst of one Church year and already a bridge is being erected to the coming year of grace.
Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of Blessed Mary and of St. John the Baptist. All other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, were displeasing to God. But Mary, already in the first moment of her existence, was free from original sin (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast), and John was cleansed of original sin in the womb of his mother. This is the dogmatic justification for today's feast. In the breviary St. Augustine explains the reason for today's observance in the following words:
"Apart from the most holy solemnity commemorating our Savior's birth, the Church keeps the birthday of no other person except that of John the Baptist. (The feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin had not yet been introduced.) In the case of other saints or of God's chosen ones, the Church, as you know, solemnizes the day on which they were reborn to everlasting beatitude after ending the trials of this life and gloriously triumphing over the world.
"For all these the final day of their lives, the day on which they completed their earthly service is honored. But for John the day of his birth, the day on which he began this mortal life is likewise sacred. The reason for this is, of course, that the Lord willed to announce to men His own coming through the Baptist, lest if He appeared suddenly, they would fail to recognize Him. John represented the Old Covenant and the Law. Therefore he preceded the Redeemer, even as the Law preceded and heralded the new dispensation of grace."
In other words, today's feast anticipates the feast of Christmas. Taking an overall view, we keep during the course of the year only two mysteries, that of Christ's Incarnation and that of His Redemption. The Redemption mystery is the greater of the two; the Incarnation touches the human heart more directly. To the Redemption mystery the entire Easter season is devoted, from Septuagesima until Pentecost; and likewise every Sunday of the year, because Sunday is Easter in miniature.
The Christmas season has for its object the mystery of God-become-Man, to which there is reference only now and then during the remaining part of the year, e.g., on Marian feasts, especially that of the Annunciation (March 25) and today's feast in honor of the Baptist. In a sense, then, we are celebrating Christ's incarnation today. The birth of Jesus is observed on December 25 at the time of the winter solstice, while the birth of His forerunner is observed six months earlier at the time of the summer solstice. Christmas is a "light" feast; the same is true today. The popular custom centering about "St. John's Fire" stems from soundest Christian dogma and could well be given renewed attention. St. John's Fire symbolizes Christ the Light; John was a lamp that burned and shone. We Christians should be the light of the world.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
We are given the story of the ministry of John the Baptist, called the Precursor or Forerunner of the Lord, with some variation of detail, in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as in the Book of John. Luke tells us of the birth of John the Baptist in a town of Judaea, about six months before the birth of the Saviour. The attendant circumstances, which we have already recounted under the headings of and , his parents, suggest the miraculous and wonderful. The New Testament tells us nothing of John's early years, but we know that his pious, virtuous parents must have reared the boy with care, conscious always of the important work to which he was appointed, and imbuing him with a sense of his destiny.
When John began final preparations for his mission, he was probably in his thirty-second year. He withdrew into the harsh, rocky desert beyond the Jordan to fast and pray, as was the ancient custom of holy men. We are told that he kept himself alive by eating locusts and wild honey and wore a rough garment of camel's hair, tied with a leathern girdle. When he came back to start preaching in the villages of Judaea, he was haggard and uncouth, but his eyes burned with zeal and his voice carried deep conviction. The Jews were accustomed to preachers and prophets who gave no thought to outward appearances, and they accepted John at once; the times were troubled, and the people yearned for reassurance and comfort. So transcendant was the power emanating from the holy man that after hearing him many believed he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. John quickly put them right, saying he had come only to prepare the way, and that he was not worthy to unloose the Master's sandals. Although his preaching and baptizing continued for some months during the Saviour's own ministry, John always made plain that he was merely the Forerunner. His humility remained incorruptible even when his fame spread to Jerusalem and members of the higher priesthood came to make inquiries and to hear him. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,"-this was John's oft-repeated theme. For the evils of the times his remedy was individual purification. "Every tree," he said, "that is not bringing forth good fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire." The reformation of each person's life must be complete—the wheat must be separated from the chaff and the chaff burned "with unquenchable fire."
The rite of baptism, a symbolic act signifying sincere repentance as well as a desire to be spiritually cleansed in order to receive the Christ, was so strongly emphasized by John that people began to call him "the baptizer." The Scriptures tell us of the day when Jesus joined the group of those who wished to receive baptism at John's hands. John knew Jesus for the Messiah they had so long expected, and at first excused himself as unworthy. Then, in obedience to Jesus, he acquiesced and baptized Him. Although sinless, Jesus chose to be baptized in order to identify Himself with the human lot. And when He arose from the waters of the Jordan, where the rite was performed, "the heavens opened and the Spirit as a dove descended. And there came a voice from the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased" (Mark i, 11).
John's life now rushes on towards its tragic end. In the fifteenth year of the reign of the Roman emperor, Tiberias Caesar, Herod Antipas was the provincial governor or tetrarch of a subdivision of Palestine which included Galilee and Peraea, a district lying east of the Jordan. In the course of John's preaching, he had denounced in unmeasured terms the immorality of Herod's petty court, and had even boldly upbraided Herod to his face for his defiance of old Jewish law, especially in having taken to himself the wife of his half-brother, Philip. This woman, the dissolute Herodias, was also Herod's niece. Herod feared and reverenced John, knowing him to be a holy man, and he followed his advice in many matters; but he could not endure having his private life castigated. Herodias stimulated his anger by lies and artifices. His resentment at length got the better of his judgment and he had John cast into the fortress of Machaerus, near the Dead Sea. When Jesus heard of this, and knew that some of His disciples had gone to see John, He spoke thus of him: "What went you to see? A prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say to you, amongst those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist" (Matthew xi, 10-12).
Herodias never ceased plotting against the life of John, who was not silenced even by prison walls. His followers now became even more turbulent. To Herodias soon came the opportunity she had long sought to put an end to the trouble-maker. On Herod's birthday he gave a feast for the chief men of that region. In Matthew xiv, Mark vi, and Luke ix, we are given parallel accounts of this infamous occasion which was to culminate in John's death. At the feast, Salome, fourteen-year-old daughter of Herodias by her lawful husband, pleased Herod and his guests so much by her dancing that Herod promised on oath to give her anything that it was in his power to give, even though it should amount to half his kingdom. Salome, acting under the direction and influence of her wicked mother, answered that she wished to have the head of John the Baptist, presented to her on a platter. Such a horrible request shocked and unnerved Herod. Still, he had given his word and was afraid to break it. So, with no legal formalities whatever, he dispatched a soldier to the prison with orders to behead the prisoner and return with it immediately. This was quickly done, and the cruel girl did not hesitate to accept the dish with its dreadful offering and give it to her mother. John's brief ministry was thus terminated by a monstrous crime. There was great sadness among the people who had hearkened to him, and when the disciples of Jesus heard the news of John's death, they came and took the body and laid it reverently in a tomb. Jesus, with some of his disciples, retired "to a desert place apart," to mourn.
The Jewish historian Josephus, giving further testimony of John's holiness, writes: "He was indeed a man endued with all virtue, who exhorted the Jews to the practice of justice towards men and piety towards God; and also to baptism, preaching that they would become acceptable to God if they renounced their sins, and to the cleanness of their bodies added purity of soul." Thus Jews and Christians unite in reverence and love for this prophet-saint whose life is an incomparable example of both humility and courage.
Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.
Patron: Baptism; bird dealers; converts; convulsions; convulsive children; cutters; epilepsy; epileptics; farriers; hail; hailstorms; Knights Hospitaller; Knights of Malta; lambs; Maltese Knights; lovers; monastic life; motorways; printers, spasms; tailors; Genoa, Italy; Quebec; Sassano, Italy; Diocese of Savannah, Georgia; Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina; Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas; Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey; Diocese of Portland, Maine.
Symbols: Lamb; lamb on a book of seven seals; locust; camel's hair tunic; girdle; his head on a charger; scroll with words Ecce Agnus Dei or with Vox Clamantis in deserto; long, slender cross-tipped staff; open Bible; banner of victory.
Read about the traditions connected with this feast, particularly the connection with bonfires.
The Liturgy of the Hours for the Evening Prayer (Vespers) of the Birth of St. John the Baptist has traditionally included the Gregorian chant Ut Queant Laxis. Tradition has ascribed the hymn to a Paul Warnefried (Paul the Deacon, 730-799). While preparing to sing the Exsultet at the Holy Saturday vigil, he found himself hoarse, and so prayed to St. John the Baptist, since his father lost his voice before John was born. Paul's voice was restored and he wrote this hymn in honor of the saint. True or not, what makes this song memorable is that the Benedictine monk used this hymn as a pivotal reference for our musical scale. See Catholic Encyclopedia's entry Ut Queant Laxis, more information on the hymn from Catholic Culture, a Beginner's Guide to Modal Harmony, and Gregorian Chant Notation.
The Church year has two cycles. The more important cycle is the Temporal Cycle (from the Latin tempus which means time or season). The life of Christ is relived in liturgical time, in both real time and Church's memory. Throughout the year the Paschal Mystery (Christ's work of redemption through His birth, life, passion, death, and resurrection and ascension) is relived, and broken down into the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Ordinary Time. Sundays are the usual means by which this cycle unfolds.
At the same time with the Temporal Cycle, the Sanctoral Cycle (from the Latin sanctus which means saint) progresses. The Church honors Mary, Mother of God "with a special love. She is inseparably linked with the saving work of her son" (CCC 1172). Then the memorials of martyrs and other saints are kept by the Church. They are held up to us as examples "who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for God's favors" (CCC 1173).
This is one of the few saint feast days that is connected with the temporal calendar, not the sanctoral calendar, because John the Baptist was intimately involved in Christ's work of redemption. Charting or making your own liturgical calendar would be a great family project.
Read the excerpt from the Directory on Popular Piety on the cult of St. John the Baptist.
In Brazil, this day is known as Diário de Sáo Joáo (Saint John's Day). The festivities are set off in the villages and countryside by the Fogueira de Sáo Joáo (bonfire) on St. John's eve. Families and friends eat traditional foods around the fire while younger folks jump over the fire and firecrackers are exploded. The day is primarily a festival for children, who save up months in advance to purchase fireworks to set off for the day. In cities this is a day for parties and dances, with the urban dwellers dressing up in rural costumes.
St. John is the protector of lovers, so for fun, young country girls in Brazil will roll up scraps of paper, each bearing a name of a single girl and place them into a bowl of water. The first one which unfolds indicates the girl who will marry first.
Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form:
Solemnity of St. John the Baptist
St. Luke tells us in his Gospel that John was conceived in a miraculous manner and that his parents were Zachary and Elizabeth. He spent his youth in the desert, and at the age of 30 came to Judea and preached near the Jordan. He exhorted the people to do penance because the kingdom of God was at hand. He baptized the Savior in the Jordan. He rebuked Herod Antipas for taking to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; at the request of the dancing daughter of Herodias he was imprisoned and beheaded.
John the Baptist is the only saint whose birthday is observed by the Church; he is the only saint who was cleansed from original sin in his mother’s womb and who consequently was holy at his birth. The Gospel describes the joy caused by his birth, and recalls that at the circumcision he did not receive the name of his father, as was customary among the Jews, but the name designated by the angel. He was to be the precursor of the Lord, a mission prefigured by that of Isaias and destined for him by God even before his birth.
The Introit tells us that God made John’s “mouth like a sharp sword.” John was uncompromising in his attitude towards sin, condemned fearlessly his incredulous and adulterous generation, and accepted martyrdom rather than flatter or condone the vices of the rich and the mighty.
Excerpted from The Cathedral Daily Missal, E. M. Lohmann Company
Free eBook: Renewal and Evangelization
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Belize City under state of emergency
The Belize government has announced a state of emergency (SOE) in the south side of Belize City as it seeks to deal with the escalation of gun violence in the area that left at least six people dead over the last weekend.
National Security Minister John Saldivar, said he is prepared to go to Parliament to seek an extension of the SOE as the law enforcement agencies seek to put a lid on gang violence in the area.
“Under the emergency powers granted under the constitution, if we should wish to have an extension of this 30 -day period we will have to take the matter to the House of Representative and I as the minister do intend to do so if the circumstances do so warrant,” he said.
Governor General Sir Colville Norbert Young signed the statutory instrument allowing for the SOE to go into effect in two of five previously identified hotspots on south side Belize City.
The chief executive officer in the Ministry of National Security, Colonel George Lovell, said in March this year, it was thought necessary to bring the members of the Belize Defense Force into the streets to assist the police in the maintenance of law and order.
“It was a situation at the time that we had contemplated to have some areas declared as emergency areas, special areas, but we had taken a conscious decision to put that state of emergency in abeyance until we had seen it necessary for us to invoke that condition,” he said.
Acting Police Commissioner, Chester Williams, said that for the past couple of months, “we have been in constant dialogue with the different gang groups across south side Belize City”.
He said those dialogues have yield some very positive results in some areas, while some areas seemingly want to believe that they can hold the rest of the city hostage.
“And as the police, who are tasked by law, to ensure the safety of all, we cannot continue to dialogue with people who do not want to listen. Some people seemingly learn different from others and so it is now necessary for us to be able to move to another level where we can let those persons who are adamant about creating havoc in our society understand that the police is here to do a job and that job will be done at any cost to ensure the safety and security of our law abiding citizens.”
Williams said that last week Friday one man, Shakedi Humes, was killed near the Matron Roberts Clinic in Belize City. He said two others were also killed on Friday night.’
“We brought in the guys who were involved from George Street and Banak. We sat with them, got intervention with them and they were released Saturday in the evening and they promised that they will be holding the peace.
“ Lo and behold as they were released from custody, two other persons were killed immediately thereafter. To me that shows outright disrespect to the police and the public. We have also talked enough with them and we need to be able to make them understand that the time for talking is done where they are concerned, unless they intend to really and truly change the way they do things,’ Williams added.
Under the SOE, the police and other agencies have the authority to incarcerate gang members and their affiliates from these two areas for 30 days, without them having been charged for any crime.
So far, more than 100 people have been been detained under the SOE.
““The fact that the type of incidents that we’ve seen over the past week or so, it is absolutely necessary for us to arrest the situation and to do so before it gets out of control and we have to go back to that state where we were in March of this year,” said Colonel Lovell
“This, that we are doing, hopefully will allow the police department without any additional resources and additional support from sister agencies to be able to go in there and arrest the situation in those areas that have be named.”
Williams acknowledged that the activities of these two groups have many Belizeans, “who are law-abiding, who want to be out enjoying our history, be in fear of even wanting to come out of their home; that is unacceptable.
“As we go through the festive month, we want to ensure that we make Belize, particularly Belize City, which is the centre of the activities for September, peaceful that all persons can move around freely without being in fear that they will be hurt and even killed,” he said.
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CBS News May 3, 2013, 11:47 AM
Micro-boom: U.S. craft distilleries elevating American spirits
(CBS News) The U.S. craft distillery industry has undergone record-level growth in recent years. Craft distilleries, also called micro-distilleries have more than doubled in two years and the sector has grown from just 50 distilleries in operation in 2005 to over 250 operating across 45 states in 2012, according to the American Distilling Institute.
Sales of whiskey have increased 30 percent over the last decade and Clay Risen, the author of "American Whiskey, Bourbon, and Rye," likens the rise of craft spirits to the explosion of craft beer that began in the late 1990s.
Still, Risen insists that unlike beer -- which can be brewed in several weeks -- craft distillers struggle to balance maintaining the unique process behind their high quality product and keeping up with demand.
"If you're making particularly an aged whiskey, you're talking about a couple of years before you even know if you did it right, let alone whether it's good enough to sell," Risen told CBS News' Jeff Glor.
Tennessee-based distiller Darek Bell echoed Risen, saying "unfortunately we're not" able to keep up with demand.
Darek Bell runs the five-year-old Corsair distillery in Nashville, Tennessee, says his unique approach to spirits -- whiskey made from quinoa and pumpkin-spiced moonshine -- has helped to shake up the liquor industry.
"For a long time, all of the products coming out of the bigger boys were ... very much the same," Bell said, "All of a sudden, they're changing quite a bit too and I think that's definitely attributable [to] the craft distillers."
Craft distillers like Bell and New Jersey distiller Brant Braue -- who produces rum out of the first distillery in New Jersey to get a license since the end of prohibition in 1933 -- have already sold more of their product than they've made and the rise of craft spirits has sparked a renewed interest in specialty spirit bars.
Jeff Glor joined Clay Risen for a craft whiskey tasting at New York's Flatiron Room, which boasts more than 700 varieties of whiskey -- click here for a few tips from their tasting.
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The coelacanth: Scientists explain a "living fossil" fish
April 18, 2013 / 11:34 AM / CBS/AP
NEW YORK Scientists have decoded the DNA of a celebrated "living fossil" fish, gaining new insights into how today's mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds evolved from a fish ancestor.
The African coelacanth is closely related to the fish lineage that started to move toward a major evolutionary transformation, living on land And it hasn't changed much from its ancestors of even 300 million years ago, researchers said.
Glimpses at Earliest Animal Life Ever Found 8 photos
At one time, scientists thought coelacanths died out some 70 million years ago. But in a startling discovery in 1938, a South African fish trawler caught a living specimen. Its close resemblance to its ancient ancestors earned it the "living fossil" nickname.
And in line with that, analysis shows its genes have been remarkably slow to change, an international team of researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Maybe that's because the sea caves where the coelacanth lives provide such a stable environment, said Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, senior author of the paper and a gene expert at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Modern coelacanths make up two endangered species that live off the east coast of Africa and off Indonesia. They grow to more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and have fleshy fins.
The coelacanth's DNA code, called its genome, is slightly smaller than a human's. Using it as a starting point, the researchers found evidence of changes in genes and in gene-controlling "switches" that evidently aided the move onto land. They involve such things as sense of smell, the immune system and limb development.
Further study of the genome may give more insights into the transition to living on land, they said. Their analysis concluded that a different creature, the lungfish, is the closest living fish relative of animals with limbs, like mammals, but they said the lungfish genome is too big to decode.
The water-to-land transition took tens of millions of years, with limbs developing in primarily aquatic animals as long as nearly 400 million years ago, by some accounts, and a true switchover to life on land by maybe 340 million years ago, said researcher Ted Daeschler.
Daeschler, curator of vertebrate zoology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia, who didn't participate in the new work, said genome research provides a way to tackle some previously unanswerable questions in evolution.
He emphasized that DNA is best used in combination with fossils.
"This is a great detective tool," he said. "You might collect DNA evidence at a crime scene, but you can't ignore the dead body.... With paleontology, we have the dead bodies."
First published on April 18, 2013 / 11:34 AM
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The face of famine
Yemen - malnutrition
Emaciated Saida Ahmad Baghili is one of more than 14 million people, over half of Yemen’s population, who lack enough food. The 18-year-old’s picture is stark evidence of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with the country on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.
The Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, where at least 10,000 people have been killed in fighting between Saudi-led Arab coalition and the Iran-allied Houthi movement, is suffering from the hammer blows of poverty and a 19-month civil war.
Saida Ahmad Baghili lies on a hospital bed in the red sea port city of Hodaida.
Credit: Abduljabbar Zeyad/REUTERS
Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, is carried by her cousin at the al-Thawra hospital where she receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen October 25, 2016.
Baghili is from the small village of Shajn, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of the city of Hodaida, and used to work with sheep before developing signs of malnutrition five years ago, according to her aunt, Saida Ali Baghili.
The civil war has added to people’s misery, deepening the food crisis. Conflict, insecurity and displacement are just part of the problem, though. Natural disasters have played a role as well.
Saida Ahmad Baghili lies on a bed at the al-Thawra hospital, October 24, 2016.
“She was fine. She was in good health. There was nothing wrong with her. And then she got sick,” Ali Baghili told Reuters. “She has been sick for five years. She can’t eat. She says her throat hurts.”
Baghili sits with the help of her mother. After the war began, Baghili’s condition deteriorated with her family lacking the money for treatment. She lost more weight and in the last two months developed diarrhea.
Nurses attend to Saida Ahmad Baghili, 18, at the al-Thawra hospital where she receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition, October 25, 2016.
“Her father couldn’t (afford to) send her anywhere (for treatment) but some charitable people helped out,” Ali Baghili said, without elaborating who the donors were.
Baghili sits in a wheelchair at the al-Thawra hospital, October 25, 2016.
Baghili lies on a bed at the al-Thawra hospital where she receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen October 24, 2016. She is generally bed-ridden and unable to eat, surviving on a diet of juice, milk and tea, medical staff and a relative said.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), Yemen has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world and the situation continues to deteriorate.
For more information: The World Food Programme
© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Reuters contributed to this report.
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Missing girl's grandmother ordered to take down flyers
It's been almost a year since Kentucky teen Paige Johnson went missing and her family is not giving up hope that she will be found. Ever since the 17-year-old disappeared on September 23, 2010, Covington has been plastered with flyer but now, some of those fliers have been ordered to be torn down off the city's utility poles. Anyone with information about Paige Johnson is urged to call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2222 or The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
Credit: Personal Photo
Johnson's grandmother, Jenny Roderick, spends a lot of time putting up flyers in Northern Kentucky cities, but the city manager of Covington says they'll have to come down off his city's utility poles, because they're illegal, reports CBS affiliate WKRC. Roderick hopes the flyers remind the public that her granddaughter is still missing. Anyone with information about Paige Johnson is urged to call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2222 or The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
"We still want people to know that that she's not found. And that, you know, there's tons of people that love her," said Roderick. But last week, a police officer stopped Roderick as she was putting up flyers. The officer suggested put them up in legal spots like store windows, and bulletin boards. Roderick said she chose utility poles because of their high visibility, reports the station. Anyone with information about Paige Johnson is urged to call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2222 or The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
A spokesperson for the Covington Police Dept. said the officer only stopped and confronted Paige's grandmother because the city received a complaint. The city manager says that regardless of what the posters say, they have to come down, and although he must enforce the current ordinance, the city has no intention of being insensitive to her family, the station reports. Anyone with information about Paige Johnson is urged to call the Covington Police Department at 859-292-2222 or The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
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NIOSH Research Rounds
NIOSH Research Rounds is a monthly bulletin of selected research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Volume 2, Number 7 (January 2017)
Exercise Testing Helps Identify Lung Damage from Coal Mine Dust Exposure
Bill Reiner, a 70-year-old coal miner in Joliett, Pennsylvania, stands in his miner's shanty surrounded by his repertoire of mining paraphernalia in March 2008. Photo by Anita L. Wolfe, CDC/NIOSH
Lung disease from work-related exposure to coal mine dust can damage different parts of the lungs, including the small airways. When these airways, which resemble twigs branching off the trunk of a tree, are damaged, breathing can become significantly difficult.
To understand how breathing in the dust affects these airways, investigators at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) compared the results of exercise testing to resting lung function. Volunteer study participants were 20 coal miners from the field-based U.S. National Study of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis. Before the exercise testing, which took place on a treadmill, study participants underwent a special spirometry breathing test to measure small-airway function. For 6 participants, the test showed signs of dysfunction in the small airways, while the remaining 14 had normal results. During exercise testing, the lungs of participants with small-airway dysfunction transferred 27% less oxygen compared to those with a normal small-airway test, the investigators report in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Societyexternal icon. Participants had worked in underground coal mines for an average of 25 years. At 59 years of age, the average age of participants with small-airway dysfunction was 5 years older than those whose function was normal. The study’s findings add to existing evidence that dysfunction of the small airways is associated with inefficient breathing during exertion. In addition, they show that exercise testing may be important to diagnose intolerance to physical exertion among current and former coal miners, even with minor small-airway dysfunction on standard spirometry tests performed at rest.
More information is available:
Small Airway Dysfunction and Abnormal Exercise Responses. A Study in Coal Minersexternal icon
NIOSH: Respiratory Health Division
NIOSH Mining
Safety by Design: NIOSH Partnership Helps Protect Workers in Ambulances
NIOSH Method Classifies Jobs by COPD Risk
NIOSH Research Rounds is Brought to You By:
John Howard, M.D., Director
Fred Blosser, Editor in Chief
Anne Blank, Story Editor
Tanya Headley, Contributing Editor
John Lechliter, Copy Editor
Glenn Doyle, Technical Lead
Tonya White, Technical Support
Fast and efficient responses to crash events and disasters depend upon emergency medical services (EMS) workers, who include first responders, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics, as well as firefighters and nurses. Often, EMS workers treat patients in ambulances en route to the hospital, which presents the inherent risk of high-speed travel. In fact, nationwide, EMS workers are more likely to die on the job compared to all other workers, with nearly half of these deaths stemming from motor vehicle crashes on our highways. Between 1992 and 2011, 21% of deaths from ambulance crashes were among EMS workers and patients, and 4% were among ambulance drivers, according to datapdf iconexternal icon from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. In the majority of these crashes, the EMS worker was unrestrained.
To decrease the risk, investigators at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) work with several federal partners and private ambulance manufacturers to design safer patient compartments for ambulances. The goal of this work is to design interiors that would allow the EMS worker to do his or her job while remaining seated and properly restrained. This research also aligns with the NIOSH Prevention through Design initiative, which strives to protect workers by minimizing work-related safety and health risks by building safety into the design and manufacturing process.
Over the past several years, NIOSH, with its partners, conducted 15 full-vehicle ambulance crash tests. The findings from these tests have contributed to the development of several new crash-test methods focused on improving seating and restraint structural integrity. It has also highlighted the need for anthropometric—or body measurement—data of EMS workers to improve seating, restraints, and interior workstation design. To support seating, restraint, and workstation design to address this need, NIOSH investigators identified and collected a set of 39 body dimensions and weights. Between December 2013 and May 2015, the investigators collected these data from 472 male and 161 female EMS workers from four regions including the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest and Great Lakes, and the Pacific West. The measurements included everything from the depth of the abdomen while the subject is sitting, to the length from the elbow to the middle fingertip. With these carefully selected measurements, the investigators developed a new anthropometric database that may help ambulance manufacturers improve the design of the ambulance patient compartment for safe and effective use. The database is currently available on the NIOSH website.
NIOSH Anthropometric Database for the EMTs in the United States
NIOSH Anthropometry
NIOSH Emergency Medical Services Workers
NIOSH Continues Research to Improve Safety for Ambulance Service Workers and EMS Responders
Fatal and Nonfatal Injuries among Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedicsexternal icon
Keeping Workers Safe
NIOSH Division of Safety Research
Most people know that smoking cigarettes can lead to severe lung damage, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. What they may not realize is that COPD can occur from exposure to hazardous substances at work as well. At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), investigators are studying the causes and how to prevent COPD.
In the workplace, the risk of developing COPD may increase with exposure to certain substances such as vapors, gases, dusts, and fumes. Certain jobs carry a greater risk of these types of exposures compared to others. A fundamental part of prevention efforts involves determining which jobs are high- versus low-risk. For this study, investigators analyzed data from prior research of COPD and work exposures among members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest, an integrated health plan based in Portland, Oregon.
To classify jobs according to their risk of COPD exposures, NIOSH investigators developed a tool, or exposure matrix, to assign COPD exposure levels to the United States Census 2000 occupations. To test the accuracy of the matrix, investigators compared it to another method that uses detailed information about specific occupations, industries, and job tasks. They found that the NIOSH matrix performed better compared to this other method when categorizing jobs with a low risk of overall COPD-related exposures, especially those related to organic dust, according to their paper in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicineexternal icon. The investigators are now investigating the COPD exposure matrix further in other studies.
Occupational Exposures and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Comparison of a COPD Specific Job Exposure Matrix and Expert-Evaluated Occupational Exposuresexternal icon
NIOSH Respiratory Health Division
NIOSH-certified Respirator Mask Remains Most Popular in Healthcare
The NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepiece respirator protects against particulates. Photo from Debora Cartagena, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Now that flu season is officially here, we may feel heightened concern about the cause of our coworker’s, friend’s, or elevator mate’s cough. For healthcare workers, this seasonal concern is of year-round importance.
To protect healthcare workers from exposure to airborne germs and other particulate health hazards, investigators at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) examined the use of respiratory protective devices within hospitals. It is critical to understand the types of respiratory protection healthcare workers use, so that workers receive appropriate training for their device. In addition, this information enables stockpiling of the most widely used devices for public health emergencies, such as the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
To find out if the type of respiratory protection among healthcare workers has changed since the Ebola epidemic, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) sent an online questionnaire to several professional nursing society members. From the 554 responses to the survey, the NIOSH-certified N95 filtering facepiece respirator (N95) continued to rank as the most popular type of respirator, as reported in the journal Workplace Health & Safetyexternal icon. When properly fitted, the N95 effectively blocks small, potentially hazardous, airborne particles to form a tight seal over the nose and mouth. Although the N95 remained the most widely used respiratory protective device nationwide, the survey also found that some respondents, especially in the West and Midwest areas of the United States, increasingly use powered air-purifying respirators. Since these types of respirators use a breathing tube, battery-operated blower, and a facepiece filter, they require quite different training than that of the N95. The investigators noted that these findings underscore the importance of matching end-user education with the actual type of device used, as well as informing decision making for emergency stockpile procurement.
Prevalence of Respiratory Protective Devices in U.S. Healthcare Facilitiesexternal icon
NIOSH The National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
NIOSH: Healthcare Workers
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Press Releases/Updates
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Chicago Med Premiere Recap 9/26/18: Season 4 Episode 1 “Be My Better Half”
BY Kristine Francis on September 26, 2018 | Comments: Leave Comments
Related : Recap, Television, TV
Tonight on NBC their medical drama Chicago Med airs with an all-new Tuesday, September 26, 2018, episode and we have your Chicago Med recap below. On tonight’s Chicago Med season 4 episode 1 called, “Be My Better Half,” as per the NBC synopsis,“In the Season 4 premiere, Goodwin finds herself quickly clashing with the new hospital COO while April questions whether or not Ethan’s sister, Emily, is using again. Dr. Charles deals with his past actions.”
So make sure to bookmark this spot and come back between 8 PM – 9 PM ET for our Chicago Med recap. While you wait for our recap make sure to check our Chicago Med recap, spoilers, news & more, right here!
Tonight’s Chicago Med recap starts now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
Reese had missed out on her first day back. The other doctors hadn’t thought anything was amiss because Reese was experiencing family problems however Dr. Charles knew that Reese hadn’t come back because of him. He was the one that suspected her father was a serial killer and he had almost let the man die right in front of him because he hadn’t thought Robert Haywood deserved to live. The man was a monster. Dr. Charles thought if he hadn’t said anything or at least try to help that he would be rectifying the problem and so Reese walked in with her father was on the floor while Dr. Charles did nothing. The good doctor only felt compelled to help after Reese walked in and had seen for herself that he would have let her father died.
Afterward, it became unclear what happened yet Reese did do her best to assist the police. She brought them to her father’s storage locker and told them to have at it. So they did! The police were coming through the things and they thanked Reese for her assistance when it hadn’t really mattered to her. She wanted to do what was right and she hadn’t wanted to hear from Dr. Charles. The Chief of Psychiatry had gone with her to the storage locker and he tried to tell her what a good job she was doing, only she hadn’t wanted to hear from him. Dr. Charles was once a man she very much admired and since the incident with her father she couldn’t stand to be around him or his hypocrisy.
Dr. Charles was going to let her father die and seeing him every day would remind her of that, so Reese eventually returned to the hospital just long enough she said she’s leaving the hospital. She was going to continue her residency at Baylor and leave Med. Her leaving had been such a blow to Dr. Charles that he took his anger out on a medical student. The student was supposed to be monitored by Dr. Choi but Choi had been busy and so the medical student made a mistake. He was going to do the initial workup on a woman that was clearly agitated. She was talking about something that was going to get her and the medical student assumed it was a psychotic break that would interfere with his job. He ordered that the patient is sedated.
A med student was technically allowed to administer drugs much less to do so before she had even seen a psychiatrist. The problem could have been with the mind although there was also a very good chance that the problem could have been physical and that was manifesting in an unlikely way. Dr. Charles had found out what happened and he went off on the student. He called out the young man for the several mistakes he made and then demanded that Dr. Choi write him up. Choi, for his part, hadn’t known what was going on Charles and tried to put him behind him as he made his rounds. Choi had already lost a patient that day because the man had needed to be rushed to the OR and had died on the way there. And so Choi wasn’t the person to complain to.
Dr. Choi also had a problem with his sister. Emily was both a drug addict and a gambling addict. She needed some serious help and unfortunately she hadn’t wanted to go to rehab. She complained about feeling overwhelmed whenever rehab was mentioned and so Choi brought her back to his place to see if she’d more comfortable there but his girlfriend hadn’t liked that. April didn’t feel comfortable with bringing someone with so many problems back to their place and, so while Emily remained, April said she wouldn’t be returning home. She was very adamant about that and she hadn’t changed her mind even as she ran into Emily at Dr. Rhodes’s Goodbye Party. The two knew that they wouldn’t be on the same page as before and so they were going to drop it until Emily began feeling sick.
Emily was brought to the hospital after that and she was checked. Her symptoms were all over the place and so it was the blood test that told them what they needed to know. Emily wasn’t sick! She was actually pregnant and Dr. Choi flipped out once he heard. He thought Emily was again being irresponsible and asked her if she even knew who the father was however she did. She said it was Bernie and that they met at AA. She’s been going to AA for help and her boyfriend Bernie had been cleaned for six years. He was safe to date, except as a rule she shouldn’t even be anyone until she was clean for a year and so Choi saw this as his sister being a screw up again. He got so mad he walked off and it had been April that remained calm.
April later found Choi and she had been the one to talk him because he was beginning to say things like Emily couldn’t keep the baby. Emily was homeless two months ago and Choi figured she could run away at any moment or start using drugs again. He thought it would be best if his sister just gets rid of the baby and April told him that wasn’t the answer. She said a life was still a life and that they could be there for Emily. Emily then heard from April herself and she promised to be supportive just as Choi will be. So it doesn’t matter if Bernie doesn’t come around. She said Emily won’t be alive and that’s all the young woman needed. And elsewhere in the hospital, Dr. Charles had heard from another resident how he was the father Reese had always wanted and that made him see the light.
Dr. Charles later apologized to the medical student he shouldn’t because he realized he should have educated the young man on what should have done and not just yell at him. The doctor had felt so much better about apologizing that he knew there was one more person he needed to see. He went and visited Robert at the prison hospital. The man hadn’t been remorseful in the slightest and hadn’t cared that Reese was leaving Chicago. He blamed her for him being in prison and then came at Dr. Charles. He knew that the doctor would have let him die and so he tried to goad Charles into him yet Charles wouldn’t do it. He knew that killing him would be too easy and he chose to tell the other man that he’ll with speak Robert’s doctors about upping his medication.
And just when everyone had said their goodbyes to Dr. Rhodes, Goodwin and Dr. Bekker managed to force his hand. They got the board to authorize the funding they needed to create an OR right in the Emergency Room and such an expensive enterprise was going to need someone like Rhoades to run it. If he turned down the job then the new OR would never open and so Rhodes agreed to stay on. He never knew that Goodwin had to go behind the new COO’s back or that Bekker had gone to his father for some of the funding. All Rhodes knew was that he was needed and so he decided to stay.
And that meant he was staying around long enough for Halstead and Manning’s wedding because after the end of last season – she finally put that man out of his misery and said “yes.”
Chicago Med Recap 10/27/16: Season 2 Episode 6 “Alternative Medicine”
Chicago Med Recap 1/19/17: Season 2 Episode 11 “Graveyard Shift”
Chicago Med Recap 2/9/17: Season 2 Episode 13 “Theseus’ Ship”
Chicago Med Recap 3/30/17 : Season 2 Episode 18 “Lesson Learned”
Chicago Med Recap 12/5/17: Season 3 Episode 3 “Trust Your Gut”
Chicago Med Recap 3/27/18: Season 3 Episode 13 “Best Laid Plans”
Chicago Med Recap 5/1/18: Season 3 Episode 18 “This is Now”
Chicago Med Recap 5/8/18: Season 3 Episode 19 “Crisis of Confidence”
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Accelerating Aerospace
Skill Development in the Aerospace Sector in India
BOEING INDIA
Boeing has been active in India for 75 years with its commercial airplanes providing the mainstay of India’s civil aviation sector. More recently, its military aircraft and services business have played an important role in the modernization and mission-readiness of India’s defense forces. Boeing is focused on delivering value to Indian customers with advanced technologies underscored by lifecycle support services. In addition, Boeing is rapidly increasing its footprint in India and supporting the growth of the Indian aerospace sector by developing world-class suppliers for its global supply chain, increasing sourcing from India, scaling up Boeing’s engineering center in Bengaluru, and advancing innovation in research & technology partnerships with India’s top engineering and scientific institutes.
For more information, visit www.boeing.co.in
The Indian aerospace and aviation industry, while nascent, is evolving at a fast pace and is forecast to grow significantly. Investments are expected to be made by Indian industry in anticipation of the opportunities in the sector in the coming years and one critical area that needs attention is the availability of skilled manpower.
The shortage of trained frontline factory workers or certified Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AME) poses a major challenge to fully realize India’s aerospace aspirations. India’s traditional vocational education and training institutions are facing challenges in skilling aerospace workers in adequate numbers for the skills that the industry demands.
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the aerospace sector in India, in particular, are severely constrained to provide world-class manufacturing skills in-house. The shortage of skilled frontline factor workers and AMEs impacts the competitiveness of the overall industry due to escalating cost of re-work, low quality standards and non-adherence to schedule.
Boeing’s Skilling Advantage
With the realization that the competitiveness of Indian aerospace industry is directly related to the availability of skilled frontline factory workers, Boeing has partnered with key companies and institutions such as Dynamatic Technologies, Tata Advanced Materials, TAL Manufacturing Solutions, and Rossell Techsys to offer training and technical assistance programs.
Training programs by Boeing have been customized based on the manufacturing work being done by the suppliers and the skill gaps observed. Training programs have covered structural assembly (drawing interpretation, process & planning requirements, drilling, riveting, assembly fit-up, fastener installation, sealant application, electrical bonding); composites (layup, laser projection, composite drilling and trimming); wire harness assembly; defect root cause identification, corrective action & prevention; and proposal preparation. In addition, Boeing has provided on-site technical assistance in program management, engineering, supplier management, manufacturing planning, tooling engineering, composites engineering & fabrication, quality assurance & control, and various process qualifications.
In 2014, Boeing executed a program to enhance manufacturing skills in aerospace wire harnesses for the world’s most advanced aircraft. Under this project, 30 students received classroom and hands-on training over a 12-month period to achieve certifications from the Aerospace & Aviation Sector Skills Council (AASSC). The skills delivery partner for this project was the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF). Rossell Techsys, a Micro/Small/Medium Enterprise (MSME), provided its facility to the students and NTTF for the practical hands-on training (see Figures 1 and 2). The students were eventually absorbed by Rossell Techsys. The second batch of this project, started in 2015 was extended to Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) where 36 students from across India underwent training on composites manufacturing. The third batch, launched in 2016 was with another MSME Jaivel, and focuses on Aerospace Tooling.
A Scalable Model Skilling in India
So far, Boeing has skilled hundreds of Indian engineers across technical and functional areas and program management. The plan is to continue to expand these programs as Boeing grows in India as we move towards a step-change that is required to dramatically impact the competitiveness of the Indian aerospace industry. Towards that objective, Boeing is working with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Ministry of Defence (MoD), AASSC and NSDC to launch large scale programs that will involve the skilling of thousands of students.
India is expected to become the third largest aviation market in the next 20 years. Boeing projects that India to add over 1,850 new aircraft to meet the expected 8.6% per year air traffic growth. The airline fleet is going to multiply. Progressive changes in the regulatory and tax regime of Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) are going to increase the number and scope of MRO work undertaken in India. A substantial increase in the number of skilled aircraft maintenance engineers is critical to achieving this growth.
Boeing’s training programs in India have had a strong influence in making India an attractive sourcing destination for Boeing to drive its affordability and productivity objectives. These training programs are also in small ways building the blocks of the country’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem, propelling it to be a world-class player. The combination of these advantages to both Boeing and India make these skilling initiatives a true win-win for all stakeholders.
The strong growth in aerospace and aviation is secular and imminent. One of the key risks in fully realizing this growth is not having a strong and skilled workforce. The nature of this growth implies that the skilling has to be on a large scale. Boeing is committed to play its role as a leading industry player in shaping and accelerating skills development, and can being its vast knowledge and expertise to India. This will go a long way in benefitting both India and Boeing.
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Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Faculty Handbook, Policies, and Procedures
Pre-Introduction
The Handbook: Purpose and Provisions
Electronics Policy
II. Organization of the College
III. Faculty Appointments, Tenure, Promotions, Leaves, and Terminations
IV. Faculty Responsibilities, Regulations, Meetings, and Committees
V. Salaries and Fringe Benefits
VI. College Facilities and Services
VII. Student Life and Welfare
VIII. General Information
IX. The Folger Shakespeare Library
X. The Doshisha University
XI. Appendix
A. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Amherst College does not discriminate in admission, employment, or administration of its programs and activities on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex or gender (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity), age, disability, genetic information, military service, or any other characteristic or class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Amherst College complies with all state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Inquiries should be addressed to the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Amherst College, P.O. Box 5000, Amherst, MA 01002-5000.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Amherst College will provide reasonable accommodations to an otherwise qualified applicant or employee with a disability to enable such person to perform essential job functions and/or enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment, so long as such accommodation does not imposed an undue burden on the College.
To be eligible for reasonable accommodations under the ADA, an employee must have a "disability," as defined below, and must be qualified to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. A disability is defined under the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. A disability also includes having a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities include functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing and standing.
If you think you need a reasonable accommodation for a permanent or temporary disability, please contact the Office of Human Resources. A representative from Human Resources will provide you an overview of the required documentation. This documentation should be completed by the employee and the employee’s medical provider. Once the completed documentation has been received, the Office of Human Resources will conduct an assessment of the documentation and the ability of the College to provide reasonable accommodations and will guide the employee on next steps.
If you are a prospective employee or candidate and would like to learn about accessibility on Campus, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 413-542-2372, or the Department of Public Safety at 413-542-2291.
B. ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Amherst College Statement of Academic and Expressive Freedom
Institutions of higher learning dedicate themselves to a range of goals: the pursuit of truth and knowledge, the refinement and transmission of intellectual skills, the articulation of values, the creation of works of artistic merit, and the critical examination of received wisdom. The promotion of these goals requires unstinting dedication to academic and expressive freedom. Such freedom protects the right of members of the academic community to speak, write, curate, and create without obstruction, disruption, or the fear of institutional censure, censorship, or retaliation.
This strong commitment to the freedom of inquiry lies at the heart of Amherst College’s mission to create a home in which the liberal arts may flourish. As a small residential liberal arts college that prides itself on the ability, curiosity, and diversity of its students, Amherst seeks to create a respectful environment in which members of its community feel emboldened to pursue their intellectual and creative passions. At times, the desire to foster a climate of mutual respect may test the college’s duty to protect and promote the unfettered exchange of ideas. On such occasions, the college’s obligations remain clear. The liberal arts cannot thrive absent the freedom to espouse and debate ideas that are unpopular, controversial, discomfiting—and even seemingly wrongheaded or offensive. Members of an academic community may and, indeed, should challenge and oppose ideas they find offensive and loathsome. Yet the response to disagreeable and even insulting ideas must not contravene the commitment to expressive freedom that enables the college to thrive as a space of liberal inquiry.
Even the most vigorous defense of intellectual and creative freedom knows limits. The college may properly restrict speech that, for example, is defamatory, harassing, invades a protected right to privacy or confidentiality, constitutes incitement to imminent violence, or otherwise violates the law. It may place reasonable limitations on the time, place, and manner of expression, and may restrict speech that directly interferes with core instructional and administrative functions of the college. But these restrictions and limitations must be understood as narrow exceptions to the college’s overriding commitment to robust open inquiry (voted by the faculty, May 3, 2016).
Amherst College subscribes fully to the AAUP statements of principles on academic freedom published in 1940, and assumes that faculty members know their rights and their responsibilities as members of the academic profession.
C. ACCREDITATION
Amherst College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Accreditation of an institution of higher education by the NECHE indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer review process. An accredited college or university is one that has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation. Accreditation by the NECHE is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution. Inquiries regarding the accreditation status by the New England Commission of Higher Education should be directed to the dean of the faculty. Individuals may also contact the association at:
New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite 100
Burlington, Massachusetts 01803
dean of the faculty
handbook Pre-Introduction
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