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[
"Dylan Brogan"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:57 | null | 2016-08-18T05:00:00 | Wood-fired roasted duck crepes, saltimbocca-style veal rotolo and truffled chicken dumplings; Madison chefs will strut their stuff at Yum Yum Fest. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fyum-yum-fest-returns-to-central-park-on-aug-21%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40349/download/Food-TEASER-Yum-Yum-Fest-crCarolynFath-08182016.jpg?cb=34a23da4d0b7f01d14cfb5bad481cef0 | en | null | It’s back back | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Carolyn Fath
Chef Dan Bonanno of A Pig in A Fur Coat says Yum Yum Fest is his chance to try something new. He’ll be selling a Korean-style dish: Grilled beef bulgogi with kimchi, rice, cucumbers and nori.
“I don’t normally make it. But it’s my day off, it’s a festival and I want to have some fun too,” says Bonanno.
Yum Yum Fest, now in its third year, returns to Central Park Aug. 21 from 3-8 p.m. The one-day food festival is organized by the Madison Area Chefs Network and the Madison Parks Foundation.
Yum Yum Fest is “a perfect way to spend in an afternoon in Madison,” says event organizer Bob Hemauer. “What’s unique is chefs get to stretch their legs, do something a little different. It’s really food-focused like no other festival in Madison,” says Hemauer.
Bonanno won’t be the only chef making something special for Yum Yum. Grampa’s Pizzeria won’t be serving pizza — instead, truffled chicken dumplings with foie gras torchon is on their menu. El Grito, a food cart known for its tacos, will feature Lap Xuong sausage over rice noodles. Salvatore’s Tomato Pies will be serving saltimbocca-style veal rotolo. Heritage Tavern has suckling pig with coconut red curry. You’ll find wood-fired roasted duck crepes at Sardine’s stand. Mezze will be cooking salt-cured lamb kebabs. And Sujeo is offering Thai-style fried wild Alaskan rockfish. And don’t worry, many vendors will also be offering vegetarian options.
Admission to the festival is $10; each of the 25 participating restaurants will be serving one item that will cost $5.
After expenses are covered, proceeds will benefit the parks foundation, Yum Yum organizers say.
“[Yum Yum Fest] has been extremely generous. They are one of our biggest donors. More than $10,000 over the past two years,” says Stephanie Franklin, executive director of the Madison Parks Foundation.
Three restaurants from Milwaukee will be joining the festivities. The Chinese restaurant DanDan plans on bringing a ham crepe with scallions and egg. The Vanguard, a sausage bar, will have a beef salad with heirloom tomatoes and Wisconsin cheeses. Sanford, which serves New American cuisine in the Cream City, will be selling roasted lamb belly with hop leaf tabbouleh and apricot yogurt.
Yum Yum Fest will have plenty of desserts too. Adamah Neighborhood Table will serve a trio of petit sufganiyot (Israeli donuts). Nostrano will be whipping up grape or brambleberry ice cream floats with buttermilk gelato. Surprisingly, the Underground Butcher stand won’t be serving any meat, in favor of blueberry and mint chocolate chip push pops.
See yumyumfest.org for a full schedule and menu. Gil Altschul, owner of Grampa’s Pizzeria and Gib’s Bar, says Yum Yum Fest is Madison’s definitive food festival.
“For people who are really into food, it’s a great way to experience a whole bunch of things all in one place. Maybe learn about some restaurants you didn’t know about already.” | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/yum-yum-fest-returns-to-central-park-on-aug-21/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/8fb8626be4c2ff90d340e70bde1e716c9aec80315a7b0c7fccdce767c13996c9.json |
[
"Joe Tarr"
] | 2016-08-30T20:46:16 | null | 2016-08-30T14:43:00 | An official at Monona Terrace accuses its executive director, Gregg McManners, of several ethics violations, including circumventing the city’s competitive bid process and failing to enforce its affirmative action laws. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fcity-administrator-blows-whistle-on-boss%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40512/download/News-McManners-Gregg-08302016.jpg?cb=7eba313ee06cbfe1c6272ab263ea064d | en | null | City administrator blows whistle on boss | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Gregg McManners has been the executive director of Monona Terrace since 2011.
An employee of Monona Terrace Convention Center has accused the center’s executive director, Gregg McManners, of several ethics violations, including circumventing the competitive bid process and failing to enforce the city’s affirmative action requirements.
The complaint was filed by Katherine Hurtgen, associate director of finance and operations at Monona Terrace, with the assistance of the law firm Kramer, Elkins and Watt.
Attorney Leslie Elkins tells Isthmus that Hurtgen “came to us with some concerns about the actions of McManners and his failure to follow rules and being loosey-goosey with ordinances. Despite her consistently telling McManners and a couple of other players to follow the rules, they failed to do so.”
The city Ethics Board will discuss the case on Sept. 1 to determine whether it has standing to rule on it. If so, the board will schedule a later hearing to consider the evidence and bring in witnesses to testify, says city attorney Michael May.
McManners declines to comment on the complaint, writing in an email to Isthmus: “As this is an ongoing internal process, I feel any comment of mine would be inappropriate at this time. Once this process is completed, I would be in a better position to comment.”
Hurtgen claims that McManners sidestepped competitive bid procedures when it came to the Hiebing Group, which has provided advertising and marketing services for Monona Terrace for 18 years, which predates McManners’ employment.
“For the past 17 years, Hiebing has not participated in the competitive bid process,” the complaint states.
Last year, the city switched to a new software program, which was more regimented in requiring that all contracts meet city requirements before checks are written. Because of this, the system required documentation proving that Hiebing was exempt from the bid process, applicable to projects that exceed $25,000.
McManners and William Zeinemann, associate director of marketing and event services, allegedly instructed Hurtgen to complete this documentation. When she refused, McManners and Zeinemann did it themselves. Their rationale for not going out to bid, according to the “sole source justification form” included with the complaint, was that using Hiebing “saves money by saving time, and makes money by obtaining high-quality marketing support for Monona Terrace.... We don’t have to spend time educating them on who we are, what we do and why it matters.”
Last year, the Common Council approved a $100,000 no-bid contract with Hiebing — renewable for the next three years.
Ald. David Ahrens finds this the “most troubling” accusation in the complaint, noting correspondence about the contract with the finance department, which stated a need for a competitive bid.
“There had been thought and rethought about how to get around this well-known rule,” Ahrens says. “There were remarks from purchasing...that they can’t do this. Regardless they did it.”
On two occasions, the complaint alleges, Monona Terrace also failed to comply with the city’s affirmative action policies. The city requires vendors with contracts of $25,000 or more a year to fill out an affirmative action plan that, according to city ordinance, “is designed to ensure that the contractor provides equal employment opportunity to all and takes affirmative action in its utilization of applicants and employees who are women, minority or persons with disabilities.”
McManners allegedly instructed Hurtgen to pay one of these contractors, Studio Gear, with a credit card in order to circumvent the requirement. “Paying with a [credit card] would bypass the system and allow payment without the affirmative action plan in place,” the complaint reads. “Hurtgen refused.”
Similarly, Tai Ping Carpets of Georgia won a bid process to provide carpeting in 2013 and 2014 to Monona Terrace. The company declined to provide an affirmative action plan, but “McManners and Zeinemann chose to look the other way,” the complaint claims. “The Tai Ping Carpet contract further [violates] the general policy and city opinion against the use of public funds for the purchase of goods made under sweatshop conditions.”
The lack of an affirmative action plan later caught the attention of the city’s contract specialist, Dana Hanaman, who in an Aug. 12, 2015, email (included in the complaint) to city officials questions why the company was awarded the contract. “Apparently, the company even initially ‘took exception’ with [affirmative action] compliance during the 2012 RFP process, but in spite of all of this, still was awarded the bid and was paid over $579,600 [in 2014].
“If this bidder actually said they would not comply with [affirmative action], as its rep claims, then this company’s bid should never have been accepted, nor should they have been paid.”
The complaint also alleges that Monona Terrace staff violated federal, state and city law regarding compensation of employees.
When Hurtgen was temporarily assigned to review timecards for employees between October 2014 and February or March of 2015, she noticed that the maintenance employees were not correctly completing their timecards. “They may have been leaving early or working extra on certain days.... In addition, every time the employees painted, the employees had each put exactly two hours of overtime onto their timecard.”
“Upon information and belief, this was not reflective of actual time worked,” the complaint states.
Hurtgen claims that McManners and Zeinemann dismissed her concerns and “possibly cost the city a large sum of money and may amount to timecard fraud.”
The complaint also alleges that Hurtgen was asked to manage the checkbook and compile tax returns for Friends of Monona Terrace, a nonprofit group that supports the terrace but is separate from the city. The complaint states: “This was work that Hurtgen did on city time at the direction of McManners on many different days, and the work was not within her job duties or description.”
If the complaint is upheld, the ethics board could recommend “various sanctions all the way up to and including removal from office” of McManners, says city attorney May. However, he was uncertain who would have the final say on discipline — the mayor or the Monona Terrace Board, both of which McManners reports to.
Ahrens notes that no damages are being asked for in the complaint and suspects that Hurtgen sought out the help of a law firm because she fears for her job.
“It must be very painful for her to be under this pressure,” he says. “She wanted to do things according to rules and is pressured to do otherwise. We need to make sure she gets the kind of protection she deserves.”
Elkins says that what her client wants is very simple: “We’re hoping to see some type of instruction that the rules be followed and hopefully to see some of these ordinances stop being ignored.” | http://isthmus.com/news/news/city-administrator-blows-whistle-on-boss/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/6ebd35e2288c47b6f8136b67a1f6377d1ed3f13ad76d6b6599e949632c187c55.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:01:09 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Lesbian pop-up bar heads to Barolo, ice cream social at Sassy Cow Creamery and four-plate tasting hosted by OSS-Madison and Bos Meadery, this week’s events to close out the summer. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Feats-events-august-25%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40484/download/Food-Eats-Events-08252016.jpg?cb=c3810c842d466702cf3c7e27968bfac0 | en | null | Eats events | null | null | isthmus.com | Lesbian pop-up bar
Friday, Aug. 26
A tavern takeover created to fill the void left by there being no bona fide lesbian bar in town. This month’s pop-up bar is at Barolo, 829 E. Washington Ave., at 7 pm. Details: Lesbian Pop Up Bar // Madison Edition Facebook page.
Ice cream social
Saturday, Aug. 27
Come for the pie and ice cream, stay for the wagon rides and root beer floats. Sassy Cow Creamery will be giving tours of its dairy farm and creamery at this free family-friendly event. At 1492 Bristol Rd., Columbus, noon-5 pm. More info on Sassy Cow’s Facebook page.
Sunday Funday tasting
Sunday, Aug. 28
OSS Madison and Bos Meadery team up for a four-course tasting. Veggie purée paired with Ace Up My Sleeve (hopped mead, gin and rosemary simple syrup); cheese curds tikka masala paired with Magic Carpet Ride (souq mead); grand cru boar brat paired with Hammer Smashed Cherry Old Fashioned (cherry mead, brandy and orange bitters); plus, lemon Italian ice and Equinox mead floats. At OSS, 910 Regent St., 6-8 pm. Tickets ($30) via Brown Paper Tickets. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/eats-events-august-25/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/8a913e713e9ff90e7ef72a1215e064a7d2b45844e7e2dec42481de835d3d2614.json |
[
"Steven Potter"
] | 2016-08-26T12:54:45 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Waunakee’s Brody Joseph takes kickboxing-like sport Muay Thai to international competition. The Olympic equivalent-championships include athletes from 140 countries there. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fsports%2Fwaunakee-brody-joseph-muay-thai%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40497/download/Sports-Joseph-Brody-crKarminLindner-08252016.jpg?cb=678cb421ccfc7268e68076972aabd1ed | en | null | Fighting chance | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Karmen Linder Brody Joseph brings American style to a Thai martial art.
If the martial art of Muay Thai were an Olympic sport, there’s a good chance Brody Joseph would have been in Rio this year representing the United States.
But it’s not, so the 17-year-old Waunakee native will instead be representing the U.S. at the International Federation of Muay Thai Amateur Youth World Championship Aug. 24-Sept. 1 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Muay Thai (or “the art of eight limbs,” pronounced moy tie) is a Thai style of fighting similar to kickboxing that uses punches, kicks, knees and elbows.
The tournament brings Joseph one step closer to fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter.
“This all started as a childhood dream. Some kids want to be president or an astronaut and I wanted to be a professional MMA fighter and the Ultimate Fighting Championship champion,” says Joseph, who stands 6 feet tall, weighs 156 pounds and has a reach of 73.5 inches.
Joseph, who began training and fighting at age 12, was invited to the international championship by Team USA after a string of national amateur championship wins in the States. In all, he’s won four out of the five national Muay Thai amateur championships for the youth age brackets he’s competed in.
But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In 2014, he lost a close match in the final round of the national amateur championship.
During the fight, he says, “my mind wanted to keep going but my body just couldn’t — I was completely drained. I lost and took second,” he recalls. “It was heartbreaking.”
A couple of months later, the Waunakee high school student learned the sudden onset of fatigue wasn’t due to a lack of training.
When he suffered a cracked rib at the start of football season, doctors discovered he had a hole in his heart. “That hole was recirculating unoxygenated blood, so it was taking my cardio down,” Joseph says.
If it was left unrepaired, he was told, he could suffer heart failure within 10 years.
Doctors repaired the hole by going in through an artery in his leg, a relatively new procedure that avoids the trauma of open-heart surgery. Even so, the recovery took some time. “It was really difficult to go from being an athlete who trains all the time to someone who can barely get out of bed,” Joseph says. But he went on to win two national amateur championships in the last two years.
His training regime doesn’t include days off, which can be difficult. “It’s hard to diet every day and wake yourself up and run, then go to the gym,” he says.
But Joseph knows his strengths and the importance of strategy. “My power is my punches — it’s a very American style. I kind of fight like a boxer,” he says. “As soon as the bell rings, all of the emotions are gone. I’m completely empty, and the only thing I’m doing is looking at my opponent for his weak spots. I watch his reaction to everything. If I throw a kick and if he blocks it, I’ll notice how and that will set me up to do something different next.”
Joseph sees the international championship in Thailand as another step toward his goal of becoming a professional fighter.
“This is the Olympic equivalent of the sport — there will be 140 countries there,” he says. “I want to represent myself and my family and Wisconsin and now the United States.” | http://isthmus.com/arts/sports/waunakee-brody-joseph-muay-thai/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/ff1891af12ad54da31a4801e5b95acd3978af624be6cbf3bf16bac84245a2f82.json |
[
"Michael Popke"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:16 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Madison band Get Back Wisconsin plays nothing but Beatles songs. They celebrate the 50th anniversary of every Beatles album by performing it live. Next up is “Revolver.” | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fmusic%2Fget-back-wisconsin-the-beatles-revolver%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40489/download/Music-Get-Back-crJaneMorgan-08252016.jpg?cb=2ac49acf482619925f5bc8c93c6efc56 | en | null | “The album that changed everything” | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Jane Morgan The band pays homage to Beatles albums.
Plenty of bands form via Craigslist. But Get Back Wisconsin — a five-man group from Madison that re-creates nothing but Beatles songs onstage — can trace its origins back to a 2012 documentary film about the online classified advertising website.
After watching Craigslist Joe — about a man who spent a month depending on Craigslist for food, shelter and companionship — guitarist, keyboard player and longtime Beatles aficionado Aviv Kammay took to the site in search of fellow Fab Four fans. “I wanted to talk about the Beatles, but instead I started a band,” he says.
Faster than you can say Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the like-minded musicians he met on Craigslist starting playing Beatles songs together, and things escalated from there.
Get Back Wisconsin’s ultimate goal? Celebrating the 50th anniversary of every Beatles album by performing it live as it was originally released in the U.K., beginning with 1963’s Please Please Me. No costumes or fake accents allowed.
While previous album-anniversary shows were held at the Harmony Bar & Grill, the band’s tribute to Revolver — released in August 1966 and recently hailed by Classic Rock magazine as “the album that changed everything” — will happen at the High Noon Saloon on Sept. 2. The show will feature 10 extra musicians, including brass and strings players, to vividly bring to life the songs producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick perfected in the studio.
“Revolver is when the Beatles turned the corner from being really good songwriters to becoming an unfair comparison to everybody else in the world,” says guitarist and vocalist Sean Michael Dargan, who took over on vocals and guitar for Get Back Wisconsin after the 2014 death of Charlie Johnson.
Paul McCartney’s high vocal range on “Got to Get You Into My Life,” the tricky guitars and tempo of “And Your Bird Can Sing” and the complex vocal harmonies of “Dr. Robert” are some of the challenges involved in re-creating the album, according to Dargan and Kammay.
In addition to performing Revolver’s 14 songs, Get Back Wisconsin will play dozens of other Beatles songs spanning the band’s career — even cover songs they played. The show could last as long as four hours, says Kammay, who claims to not have a favorite Beatles album or Beatles song: “I see the beauty in each one, and I think that’s an advantage for me.”
Playing other artists’ songs is nothing new for Dargan, who in addition to his own solo act has performed one-off cover shows with musicians since the late 1980s, featuring tributes to such bands as the Cure, the Smiths, the Who and, on Oct. 7 at the High Noon, the Smithereens.
Get Back Wisconsin isn’t a one-off, but it’s a finite project. The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, was released in May 1970. Revolver’s follow-up, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, came out in June 1967, and Kammay and Dargan hope the concert celebrating that album will be held at an even larger venue.
“I want to play great songs, no matter who writes them,” Dargan says. “For me, the writing is always going to be the greatest thing about the Beatles.” | http://isthmus.com/music/get-back-wisconsin-the-beatles-revolver/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/1193fa5cb8d8eb36b292c012d74a2663a4c62de0439821f65f4401d88e4185f9.json |
[
"Pat Dillon"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:46 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Sagashus Levingston, a Ph.D. candidate at UW-Madison, has Kickstarted a coffee table book called “Infamous Mothers.” The book tells the stories of marginalized black women and how they overcame obstacles to become change-makers. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fbooks%2Finfamous-mothers-sagashus-levingston%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40487/download/Books-InfamousMothers-08252016.jpg?cb=80ebbf420e6c4b4a517f0585b0782948 | en | null | Stories that transform | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Images from the forthcoming coffee table book.
With $8,000 to go and 30 hours left to her Kickstarter campaign, Sagashus Levingston walked into Divine Transformation Salon on Madison’s south side, looking for help. After hearing about the project, the salon’s owner, Fontainious Webb, made a generous contribution and offered ideas for more funding possibilities. As clients trickled in, support began to swell.
Levingston is an artist, activist and UW-Madison Ph.D. candidate in English. She was seeking funds that day in July to self-publish a book, Infamous Mothers, an offshoot of her dissertation in which she seeks to answer the question: Can marginalized black mothers contribute to social movements and become agents of social change?
It’s not something she saw while reading fiction. “These moms — teen moms, baby moms or single moms, women formerly addicted to drugs, stigmatized women — were not recognized as change-makers in regular novels,” says Levingston. So she set out to profile women in the community who represented these voices.
Infamous Mothers is a coffee table book featuring 22 inspirational profiles of Madison-area women who overcame personal struggle and social alienation to make a difference in the public sphere. Self-expressive photographs and unedited stories told in each woman’s own words give voice to what Levingston calls “the too often unheard.”
Levingston, who has raised six children — five as a single mom, while earning a bachelor’s degree and doctorate — has stories of her own. Members of her paternal family worked in the “sex industry as an alternative to domestic labor or factory work,” and her mother’s side included college graduates, mostly women, who never escaped poverty.
“I come from a weird hybrid of educated folks and substance abusers,” says Levingston, 38, who grew up in low-income housing on Chicago’s South Side. “Three of my 11 siblings died because of drug abuse.” She learned about other possibilities at Lake Forest Academy, a boarding school in Chicago’s northern suburbs.
With this uncommon background, Levingston believes she is in a position to present a nuanced perspective on the lives of black women. “We either tell stories about women who are living these perfectly pristine lives, or we’re telling stories about women who are stuck in some kind of pathology,” says Levingston. “I want to disrupt this either-or narrative to tell stories of women who inhabit complexity that society doesn’t acknowledge.”
× Expand Author Sagashus Levingston raised six children while earning multiple degrees.
In February 2016, Levingston located a funder and began interviewing subjects for the book. But with the project solidly underway, and a release date of April 2017, Levingston and the project’s funder parted ways amicably. It then became critical for Levingston to find the money she needed to publish.
By July 30, the Kickstarter deadline, Levingston raised her goal of $25,000, crediting the fundraiser success to enormous community support. She is now planning to compensate artists who have contributed time and materials.
Chris Charles, a photographer, graphic designer and brand consultant based in North Carolina, and Tanisha Lynn Pyron, an “infamous woman” and Chicago photographer who assisted him, are on Levingston’s accounts payable list. Charles shot 15 of the 22 photographs at the Chicago Cultural Center, and Pyron shot seven more at Monona Terrace.
“My process was to photograph with dignity, regardless of backgrounds — to anti-stereotype,” says Charles. “Instead of images of downtrodden black women with multiple children — what we typically see in media — I asked how they want the world to see them.”
Levingston met one of the book’s subjects, Lenora Rodin, 61, while tutoring at the UW Odyssey Project, a rigorous accredited humanities class for people with economic challenges. Rodin projects an aura that comes from a life well led. “I look great, don’t I?” she asks an Isthmus reporter. Then adds: “I smoked crack, drank, I was a whore.”
Now clean for 25 years, Rodin, a certified nursing assistant with extensive on-the-job training, has built a successful career working in senior care. “I have much to be thankful for,” she says. “I have one daughter, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and I’m married to a doctor. Many women who have been through my life are not here anymore.”
Lolita, 49, another woman in the book from Madison, says telling her story publicly was a life-changing experience. “I’ve been a crack addict my whole life, never took the opportunity to grow,” she says. “When Levingston asked me what empowers me, I realized it came from speaking my truth.”
Five days after meeting Levingston, who is now her mentor, Lolita (who asked Isthmus to withhold her last name) entered rehab and is now in recovery. She is finally using her certification to teach early childhood education.
Pyron says working on the project made her feel less alone: “You feel no one gets it, then you come into a community of women like these mothers who made it, are still making it. We’re sisters now.” | http://isthmus.com/arts/books/infamous-mothers-sagashus-levingston/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/2ee6a4492a1bcaeae5e0fcd0b6f654afba2203a546bc1322e19892a2fe915af7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:56:59 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Madison sometimes defies categorization, but we give it a shot every week with the Madison Matrix. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fmadison-matrix%2Fmadison-matrix-08-25-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40469/download/Matrix-teaser-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Madison Matrix for August 25, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | ISTHMUS is © 2016 Red Card Media, Inc. | All rights reserved. | Madison, Wisconsin | USA | http://isthmus.com/news/madison-matrix/madison-matrix-08-25-2016/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/af09fe49de631aea6fd4748635d1e1cf13cce9a4f1bbe3e07614d6e6530061f2.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:31 | null | 2016-08-24T15:10:28 | Win a pair of tickets to Mad Gael Music Fest featuring Gaelic Storm, We Banjo 3 and more on August 26-27 at Breese Stevens Field. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fall-events%2Fcontests%2Fwin-tickets-to-mad-gael-music-fest%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40482/download/Mad-Gael-Music-Fest.jpg?cb=0e48f61005bc6aaa6fbeaf737ee6bfc6 | en | null | Win Tickets to Mad Gael Music Fest - August 26-27 at Breese Stevens Field | null | null | isthmus.com | Win a pair of tickets to Mad Gael Music Fest featuring Gaelic Storm, We Banjo 3 and more on August 26-27 at Breese Stevens Field.
× | http://isthmus.com/all-events/contests/win-tickets-to-mad-gael-music-fest/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/cf651226691c0317c2c7fac8d526c3979e1e7d55c25890285ae6aed22c8e6a1d.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:15 | null | 2016-08-22T05:00:00 | I prayed she would wipe it away, but she didn’t. I froze. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Ftell-all%2Fgirlfriend-food-on-her-face%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40385/download/tellall-face-thing-08292016.jpg?cb=82b5f1eebbd536f073e68c546b883479 | en | null | Tell All: My girlfriend had this thing on her face | null | null | isthmus.com | Dear Tell All: My girlfriend and I met at UW-Madison last fall, and this summer we made plans to meet each other’s parents — a sign that things are getting serious. I’m starting to think this is the love of my life.
Our first trip was to my house in Minneapolis. I’d warned my girlfriend that my parents are pretty formal, which I now regret. It made her extremely nervous. On the way, she kept grilling me about what she should and shouldn’t do, what she should and shouldn’t say. I tried to reassure her that it didn’t matter, but the damage had been done.
By the time we got to my house, my girlfriend was a wreck, and that put me on edge, too. My parents welcomed her warmly, but I could tell she was off her game. She seemed stilted, not herself, and I wondered if we’d get through the day without a disaster.
We didn’t.
For dinner, my dad grilled hamburgers. At the table, my girlfriend took a few bites and got this thing on her face—a blob of ketchup, meat and whatever. She began talking, not realizing she needed to a use a napkin.
The thing just stayed there throughout the meal, and I didn’t know what to do. I prayed she’d wipe it away, but that never happened. My parents did their best trying not to look at it.
After the meal my girlfriend went to the bathroom and discovered the thing. She came out looking stricken, and when we finally got off by ourselves she hissed at me for letting her make a fool of herself. I insisted it wasn’t my fault, but two weeks later she’s still mad at me.
So please settle this argument: What’s the right thing to do when your partner has a thing on her face at your parents’ house?
Means Well
Dear Means Well: You are technically correct that it wasn’t your fault. Each individual is charged with the proper use of a napkin, and in this case your girlfriend fell down on the job. She needs to take responsibility for her own face.
But for a relationship to work, being technically correct isn’t good enough. Let your girlfriend know that you’re interested in preventing another such embarrassment by working out a set of signals. If either one of you has a thing on your face in public, agree to whisper something, or to pantomime a napkin, or to allow a playful wipe from the other person.
I know you said this might be the love of your love, but if it can’t survive ketchup, it probably wasn’t meant to be.
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison?
Write Tell All, 100 State St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tellall@isthmus.com. | http://isthmus.com/opinion/tell-all/girlfriend-food-on-her-face/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/a0ced53290ae8aaa8f880893299f21f1de635eb857e98ee6f28267793e5f3f0c.json |
[
"Kyle Nabilcy"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:44 | null | 2016-08-22T13:32:35 | Third annual Yum Yum Fest may well be the best food tasting festival in the U.S. Here’s a report from the front of the line. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fyum-yum-fest-may-be-the-best-food-tasting-festival-in-us%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40391/download/Food-Yum-Yum-Fest-TEASER-crCarolynFath-08222016.jpg?cb=d0e0f697a360f28cd8e8e21dce39e6c9 | en | null | Back for more | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Carolyn Fath
On his Twitter account last month, Yum Yum Fest co-organizer Jonny Hunter wrote, “I think that [Yum Yum Fest] is the best food festival in the country.” He may have a bit of an objectivity problem, understandably, but he’s not all wrong. Yum Yum Fest, which just wrapped its third annual event on Sunday, Aug. 21, is a gem.
A soothing breeze blew scattered clouds across an otherwise sunny sky that echoed the blue lollipop wrappers of this year’s logo. Even if the foods hadn’t been amazing (and for the most part, they were) it was still a fine afternoon for strolling in Central Park, watching skateboarders rise and fall on their concrete swells just down the way.
I was over the moon for the printed menu handed out at the gates. The dish descriptions were printed there in the same level of detail as on the signs at each booth, and offered a handy checklist for those already struggling to keep their completionism at bay.
× Expand Carolyn Fath The Fuzzy Navel 2.0, with gummi garnish.
The cocktail area was an improvement over previous Yum Yums, with one wide, centralized counter serving all four cocktail recipes, plus wine pours. A refreshing and on-trend Watermelon “Frosé” kicked first, but my favorite was the Fuzzy Navel 2.0, jazzed up from the standard recipe with vermouth and peach blossom tea, but brought back down to earth with a sour peach gummi ring as garnish. Beers from Potosi, Lakefront, New Glarus and the Wisconsin Distributors umbrella had their own tables.
Payment was also smoother this year. I remarked last year that the line to purchase tickets to then trade in for food and drink was an efficiency and convenience liability, and this year consumers handed cash directly to the food vendors. It seemed like most, if not all, restaurants had a dedicated payment handler, for those concerned about hygiene. Cash is filthy, but it’s fast.
× Expand Kyle Nabilcy From Forequarter, a green chorizo arepa with herb salad and Cesar's queso fresco.
A number of kitchens took their offerings in a direction their menus don’t typically go. Forequarter went deliciously South American by plating an adorable mini version of its green chorizo with an arepa and queso fresco. Patrick DePula of Salvatore’s displayed more of his skill with Italian-American dishes, cooking a savory and aromatic veal rotolo saltimbocca. This one was hard to eat with a plastic fork.
× Expand Kyle Nabilcy Truffled chicken dumplings with foie gras torchon from Grampa's.
Easily the most flipped-out-over stylistic departure was that of Grampa’s Pizzeria, which is making a habit of doing this kind of thing for Yum Yum. Two meaty, slightly seared dumplings filled with truffled chicken were served under coins of foie gras torchon and freshly shaved black truffle and a little puddle of jus. The line was all the way across to the other side of the festival grounds, and had to bend so people weren’t knocking over the vegetables at the farmers’ market booth. Were the dumplings worth the hype? In a word: unintelligible grunt of approval.
× Expand Carolyn Fath Red curry suckling pig from Heritage Tavern.
I appreciated the heft of the red curry suckling pig dish served by Heritage Tavern, as well as the crunch of both its crust and the accompanying peanuts, but the rice was a touch paste-y and the whole dish fought mightily against one-handed consumption. Dishes that can’t be eaten one-handed are the cardinal sin of an event like Yum Yum.
Osteria Papavero served a crunchy and salty fritto misto, with tender octopus, shrimp, and whitefish — sometimes in a cute paper cone, other times not, for some reason. Sujeo, similarly, delivered meaty hunks of perfectly fried rockfish under a spicy and pungent sauce, and the immediacy of cook-serve-eat kept that thin fried exterior crisp. Madison Sourdough served a very pretty dish of corn grits with blueberries and excellent smoked salmon, a dish for which there was never a line; pity.
Four different booths served lamb. Banzo’s savory lamb kebab skewered on a cinnamon stick was a crafty way to marry those two often-paired Middle Eastern ingredients. Sanford, one of three restaurants visiting from Milwaukee, was busy rendering fat from slices of roasted lamb belly, which were paired with remarkably flavorful hop leaf tabbouleh and a really terrific apricot yogurt.
Oliver’s Public House doesn’t tend to cook too far from continental Europe, but oh man, it’s welcome to do so any time. Toasty chapati bread (India) with chickpea mash (the Levant, generally), chopped and frizzled merguez sausage (North Africa), spicy green zhug (North Africa and Israel), and a little sprinkle of feta (Greece) took me on a wild round trip of the Mediterranean in a paper boat.
× Expand Carolyn Fath This year's cocktail area was a well-arranged success.
And if you somehow needed dessert at the end of all this, there were fun little filled doughnuts -- sufganiyot, an Israeli treat served around Hanukkah — from Adamah in the Hillel building, and push pops from Underground Butcher. The very melty mint chocolate one was good, but the more frozen sweet corn and blueberry one was better.
Yum Yum organizers said they intended to provide better service to vegetarians this year; half of this year’s dishes appeared with a symbol on the menu, indicating their vegetarian modifiability. Next year, one or two items for the shorter set might be in order. A friend who has a 7-year-old lamented the limited options for his kiddo, wishing that the Wisconsin Cheese booth served toasted cheese sandwiches.
It was that friend’s first time at Yum Yum, and he said he’d be back for sure. He called it the cheapest and best tasting menu in Madison, and with that sentiment, I agree fully. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/yum-yum-fest-may-be-the-best-food-tasting-festival-in-us/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/efb9560f7fee3ec54ba7ce60ce40451b7a5bb248161dc60bcbfd688e32778cb1.json |
[
"Alan Talaga"
] | 2016-08-26T12:46:44 | null | 2016-08-25T15:15:00 | With the permanent closure of Planned Parenthood's abortion clinic in Appleton, the only state clinics are in Madison and Milwaukee. One program aims to help those traveling from afar for these services. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fmadland%2Fwith-clinics-closing-what-can-pro-choice-madisonians-do%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40501/download/Madland-Clinic-Closing-crDMM-08252016.jpg?cb=db90fc1f65ccabfe000e3c90866ff4ef | en | null | With clinic's closing, what can pro-choice Madisonians do? | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand David Michael Miller
The announcement that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will not reopen its Appleton abortion clinic is yet another blow to pro-choice advocates in the state. Planned Parenthood officials cite excessive costs for security upgrades in light of the shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.
“The pro-choice movement is going into damage control,” says Eliza Cussen, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. “There’s only three clinics that provide abortions left in the state. That means there is one clinic for just about 1 million Wisconsin women. That puts us on par with Texas.”
Of the three remaining clinics, one is in Madison and two are in Milwaukee. Someone in the northern part of the state has to drive hours to reach a clinic.
The distance is exacerbated by the state’s decades-old mandatory 24-hour waiting period. Under this law, patients have to wait at least a full day before they can receive an abortion.
“The clinics try their best to get patients a next-day appointment, but that’s often very difficult as their capacity for patients is very limited. They are struggling to keep up with demand,” says Cussen.
She says government-mandated restrictions and overburdened clinics present excessive hardships for women, particularly low-income women. Many Wisconsinites seeking abortions now travel to Minnesota. But it is difficult for low-income women to get crucial support services when traveling out-of-state.
“A woman from Door County now has to make two trips all the way down to Milwaukee. She has to find someone to cover her shift twice, needs to find transportation twice, and someone to provide childcare twice — because most people who get an abortion already have at least one child. She has to do this all twice,” says Cussen.
It is a pretty disheartening reality for a pro-choice Madisonian. I saw several people post general messages of despair and anger on social media. But, most of all, I saw that pro-choice people felt powerless. I asked Cussen what pro-choice Dane County residents can do to help people in the rest of the state.
“That’s where our program, Patient Stays Wisconsin, comes in. We provide women seeking abortion care with safe, secure private housing in the Madison area through the waiting period,” says Cussen.
While there are other programs that offer to pay hotel rooms for women receiving abortions, Patient Stays Wisconsin puts people up in the homes of volunteer families.
“The point of the program is to provide hospitality, provide patients with a supportive environment. Hotel rooms can be a very lonely environment, so we want to provide support to patients in what is often a very stressful couple of days,” says Cussen.
As of right now, Patient Stays Wisconsin doesn’t need any additional volunteer host families.
“We had an amazing show of support from the Madison community. We currently have about 18 families enrolled. I was really worried we wouldn’t get enough hosts, but I was shocked at how many families signed up immediately,” says Cussen.
Where NARAL needs help is in getting the word out to women in the rest of the state, particularly northern Wisconsin, that these housing services are available.
“Madison so often is a town of transplants. They have connections, networks with other places in the state or the country where they may have lived at some point in their lives. I want people in Madison and Dane County to go to their friends, their families elsewhere in the state and let them know that services are available,” says Cussen.
I asked Cussen what pro-choice people can do to change the conversation. After all, the Appleton clinic is being shuttered because of security concerns.
“Be proud of your pro-choice stance. Make it visible. Get that pro-choice Wisconsin bumper sticker and have those conversations in a vocal way,” says Cussen.
NARAL is also encouraging more people to join the organization and is looking for Madison-area volunteers to help canvass and do other work for the November elections.
“What we are doing is getting out of Dane County and going to critical election sites in the center of the state,” says Cussen. “We’ll be looking to help some candidates who will be strong champions of women’s rights.” | http://isthmus.com/opinion/madland/with-clinics-closing-what-can-pro-choice-madisonians-do/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/c957fee43611e576357953d4e8fd12ed68a0d9e283436165d572d69ee0884b08.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:45:32 | null | 2016-08-26T11:30:00 | A magnificent magenta sunset. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-26-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40416/download/MadisonMirror-crJeffHaupt-082616.jpg?cb=4ce831e7bf798971b7571595a2ab4961 | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 26, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Jeff Haupt A magnificent magenta sunset.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-26-2016/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/ed88013825e6645f157b19bdd67729678e1a06953c862c72fdfeec784c527fb1.json |
[
"Dylan Brogan"
] | 2016-08-29T18:46:07 | null | 2016-08-29T13:36:00 | Lotsa Pizza is the latest salvo in battle between Soglin and Common Council on State Street alcohol licenses | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fround-two-soglin-vetoes-liquor-license-for-new-state-street-%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40513/download/Food-Lotsa-crDylanBrogan-08292016.jpg?cb=0b0469e7a53c2993fe114a137fd7eef7 | en | null | Round two: Soglin vetoes liquor license for new State Street restaurant | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Dylan Brogan Feature home of Lotsa on State Street.
Mayor Paul Soglin is again drawing a line in the sand over alcohol sales on State Street. The Common Council granted Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza, soon to open at 506 State St., a license to sell beer and wine on Aug. 8. A few days later, the mayor quietly vetoed the license.
“It just adds more places that dispense liquor and makes it more difficult — in a vulnerable block— to continue with viable retail,” Soglin tells Isthmus.
Council president Mike Verveer says the veto mirrors the kerfuffle last fall between the mayor and alders over whether to grant Mad City Frites (now closed) a license to sell beer. Both vetoes involve traditional retail space on State Street being replaced with restaurants that want to serve alcohol. As was the case with Mad City Frites’ request, alcohol would represent just a small percentage of Lotsa’s total sales — 5%, according to its liquor license application — and alcohol sales would cease at midnight.
Back in September 2015, alders voted 19-1 to override Soglin’s Mad City Frites veto. Verveer says he’s confident the council will override the mayor’s veto of Lotsa’s license too when it meets Sept. 6.
“The council and mayor agree that we want to do everything we can to foster traditional retail downtown. However, the mayor believes that we can keep space vacant and traditional retail will eventually come. I don’t know if that scenario is accurate,” says Verveer.
Verveer cites the approval of a retail grant program in August 2015 as evidence that the council, too, is concerned about maintaining a vibrant retail scene downtown. The grant provides up to $50,000 in matching funds for renovations to independent State Street shops. A retail analysis of downtown businesses that will include recommendations on how to preserve traditional brick-and-mortar shops is due out by the end of the year.
The mayor’s recent veto sets up another showdown with alders over the future of State Street itself. During the debate over Mad City Frites, Soglin accused the council of allowing State Street to turn into an “outdoor beer garden.”
“Like missing teeth, all of those stores that have [liquor licenses] are gaps further deteriorating the future viability of the existing retail,” Soglin warned city alders during the debate over Mad City Frites. “If this trend continues, we will lose what we have left.“
Alders bemoaned the mayor’s tone during the fiery debate last fall.
“[This] is not the way we should be doing business. I do not want to be yelled at, again and again,” said then-Council president Chris Schmitt.
Before Lotsa signed a lease this spring, 506 State St. was split into two businesses, Forever Yogurt and the Poster Master.
Lotsa is a pizza chain out of Maryland that promises “dough to done in five minutes.” The restaurant will have indoor seating and offer delivery.
Even Soglin is skeptical the council will abide by his objections over Lotsa selling beer and wine: “Given the council’s infatuation and love of spreading more and more alcohol throughout downtown — without concern for making it retail-friendly — it’ll be tough to get the votes to sustain my veto.” | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/round-two-soglin-vetoes-liquor-license-for-new-state-street-/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/dd4d916671d76ef532b26ebb434597a90ad95241399c34cf81b5ae9d2f524a3c.json |
[
"Bob Jacobson"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:59 | null | 2016-08-19T13:00:51 | When “Doc” DeHaven passed away last week, Madison lost a lyrical and melodic trumpet player and a longtime music educator who left a lasting impact on this community. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fmusic%2Flocal-jazz-giant-doc-dehaven-passed-away%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40383/download/Music-Kelly-and-Doc-DeHaven-08192016.jpg?cb=7663b3d9448f12e026f70802c50b4bbc | en | null | Goodbye, Doc | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand The late "Doc" DeHaven (right) with his daughter, Kelly DeHaven.
When trumpet ace Doster “Doc” DeHaven Jr. passed away Aug. 12 at age 85, the Madison jazz scene lost a towering presence. It’s hard to overstate his contributions to local music as a performer and educator over the past half-century.
DeHaven’s trumpet style was lyrical and melodic, with a rich tone perfectly suited to the kinds of traditional jazz he played the most. He blew clean but sassy. A lot of longtime Madisonians remember DeHaven best from his stint at the Pirate Ship, the long-gone downtown club where his combo held court three or four nights a week for 14 years in the 1960s and 1970s. To others, it was his role as an educator — he taught music at Monona Grove High School for 32 years — that left the most lasting mark on Madtown’s musical landscape.
By all accounts, the one thing that was more important to DeHaven than music was family. Often the two overlapped. DeHaven’s father, Doster Sr., was a pro reed player who jammed with the likes of Bunny Berigan. Doc’s daughter, Kelly DeHaven, remembers a household where jazz was always playing. “I grew up with a lot of earlier and standard jazz,” she says. “I don’t think most families had that regularly playing in their homes.” Visits to her grandfather’s house provided an opportunity to dig into even more of that great body of music.
In the 1970s, DeHaven put together a group called the Third Generation that included Kelly and her brothers Brad and Burt. In the 1980s he wrote arrangements for daughter Nina’s band, A Touch of Class. Kelly, a talented vocalist, is the only one of his children who pursued music professionally, though she has been on hiatus for the last few years. But the music gene has filtered down to the next generation; grandson John is an accomplished trumpet player, and he and another grandson, Jake, performed at DeHaven’s memorial service.
According to Kelly, her father was actually somewhat shy, a “man of few words,” in spite of his cantankerous public persona. “He liked playing at the Pirate Ship because he was up in a loft and didn’t have to be seen,” she says. It wasn’t until later in his career that DeHaven began sharing his excellent singing voice with his audiences.
DeHaven gave up playing in public a decade or so ago, after the effects of aging on his chops, perhaps accelerated by a minor stroke, started hampering his ability to play up to the high standards he set for himself. But even after he stopped performing, he continued to teach private lessons, and his impact on younger musicians in Madison will be felt — and heard — for years to come. | http://isthmus.com/music/local-jazz-giant-doc-dehaven-passed-away/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/f513962e357c89b2879f8520d1bf8587d63ce7abf9aeb546b508f168dd9dfe25.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:00 | null | 2016-08-24T13:20:14 | Win tickets to Gavin Degraw at the Orpheum Theater on September 8 at 8:00 pm. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fall-events%2Fcontests%2Fwin-tickets-to-gavin-degraw%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40452/download/Gavin-Degraw-Press-Photo.jpg?cb=a980e4407a0e056ac05196fd0bdc9547 | en | null | Win Tickets to Gavin Degraw - September 8 at Orpheum | null | null | isthmus.com | Win tickets to Gavin Degraw at the Orpheum Theater on September 8 at 8:00 pm.
× | http://isthmus.com/all-events/contests/win-tickets-to-gavin-degraw/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/a19bebc7e6707372c652d60b78d5891e25b5640dabc2a525fa1ca81b46fb8f1a.json |
[
"Dylan Brogan"
] | 2016-08-26T13:03:44 | null | 2016-08-23T12:10:00 | While police have been cracking down on “bad behavior” at the top of State Street this summer, Edgewood High student Brian Schwartz has been swinging in a hammock just down the block. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fhammock-haven%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40407/download/News-Schwartz-Brian-crDylanBrogan-08232016%20%282%29.jpg?cb=712d861a810240033018cd237dc4826e | en | null | Hammock haven | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Dylan Brogan “I was wondering whether the cops would say anything to me,” Brian Schwartz says of the crackdown.
How did Brian Schwartz spend his last day of summer break? Lounging in a hammock on State Street.
“I’m enjoying my last few moments of freedom before I go to school,” says Schwartz, a junior at Edgewood High who is back at school this week.
Schwartz could be seen kicking back in his hammock on several occasions this summer. His go-to spot was between two trees outside the Red Elephant Chocolate Café on the 100 block of State Street.
“There are only a few places [on State Street] where the trees are the right distance apart to put up a hammock,” explains Schwartz. “I like being downtown. I like watching people.”
But while Schwartz was free to enjoy the summer breeze undisturbed, just around the corner from him, a crackdown has been underway. Police have been writing tickets for “occupy[ing] any flower bed or area of plantings” to homeless individuals who refuse to leave the planter behind the outdoor stage on State Street — a subsection of the city’s damaging tree ordinance (Sec. 23.24 (02), Madison General Ordinances). It's part of an effort spearheaded by Mayor Paul Soglin to push back on “bad behavior” downtown.
“I was wondering whether the cops would say anything to me,” Schwartz says of the crackdown. “You always see a bunch of them just down the block. But they just drive right by and leave me alone.”
That’s not to say that Schwartz escaped notice. “A few people have asked me what I was doing here. Most were nice about it,” he says. “Every once in a while a stuck-up asshole would yell, ‘You can’t do that!’”
Assistant City Attorney Amber McReynolds says Madison doesn't have “hammock laws” per se. “There are laws about injuring trees. Laws about placing items on sidewalks,” says McReynolds. “There is also the obstructing streets and sidewalk ordinances. It all depends on the circumstances.”
McReynolds says it’s up to the discretion of police officers to decide whether Schwartz’s hammock lounging is running afoul of the law.
“As far as I know, no tickets have ever been issued regarding this specific scenario,” says McReynolds.
Police officer Kraig Kalka — who was on State Street while Schwartz was occupying a hammock — didn't see a reason to respond.
“We haven't received any calls or complaints,” says Kalka.
Although Schwartz is back in school, his usual hang-out is no longer ideal for a hammock. A week after he returned to class, the city moved a large potted plant in between his favorite two trees. | http://isthmus.com/news/news/hammock-haven/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/b683603cb8e2b324f51061a9f7784b4409323630c340bf7ac2b1b6fcae7ccfa2.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-29T18:46:05 | null | 2016-08-29T13:30:00 | My wife and I watched the the Rio games together. Her leering at the male athletes — with their buff physiques and tiny swim trunks — made me feel inadequate. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Ftell-all%2Ftell-all-olympic-divers%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40505/download/Tell-All-Olympic-Swimmers-0829.jpg?cb=b97564422c39fd66af83b25ba599880b | en | null | Tell All: Olympic divers sexually aroused my new wife | null | null | isthmus.com | Dear Tell All: I usually love the Summer Olympics, but not this year. My wife and I got married in June, and the Rio games were the first ones we ever watched together. I’m a big track-and-field fan, while she followed pool sports like diving and swimming. She made no secret of the fact that she liked the male athletes’ bodies, rippling with muscles in their tiny swim trunks.
At first I let it go, even though it made me uncomfortable. I admit I don’t go to the gym and am not in great shape, but my wife had never made me feel ashamed of my body. Our sex life has always been good.
But her constant leering at the male athletes made me wonder. If that’s her ideal, what must she think of me?
Even more distressing, the Olympics beefcake spectacle appeared to put her in a permanent state of sexual arousal. For the first time, I noticed her checking out musclebound guys at the Willy Street Co-op and on State Street.
I held my tongue because I didn’t want to seem like an idiot. But it all came out after a party on the Olympics’ last weekend. We were watching a night of track and platform diving with a group of neighbors, and just about every time a new diver appeared my wife made an admiring comment to one of her girlfriends.
I confronted her afterwards, calling her insensitive. She responded by calling me paranoid. She affirmed that she loved me while berating me for my insecurity.
Remember I said our sex life has been good? Well, not since then. How can my wife and I get over our first major fight?
Only Slightly Overweight
Dear Overweight: I agree that you sound paranoid. If your sex life has been good, and your wife says she loves you, what’s the problem with her ogling male fantasy figures? Are you trying to tell me you never ogle female fantasy figures?
Plus, I seriously doubt the Olympics has “put her in a permanent state of sexual arousal.” That, again, is your paranoia at work.
I also think your wife is on target in calling you insecure. Sure, she could coddle you by pretending she doesn’t admire the male divers’ bodies. But I think a better solution is for you to go to the gym, shore up your self-esteem, and trust a woman who has thus far given you no reason to do otherwise.
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison? Write Tell All, 100 State St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tellall@isthmus.com. | http://isthmus.com/opinion/tell-all/tell-all-olympic-divers/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/b46d62b4068ae04cdeb838b7f8bbdd5b23354c44232f41928fd5c74c39d55d76.json |
[
"Dave Cieslewicz",
"Scott Jones"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:11 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Are bicyclists “entitled” to ride anywhere they choose? Hell yes! | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fopinion%2Fbicyclists-are-entitled-to-ride-where-they-choose%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40498/download/Opinion-Cyclists-08252016.jpg?cb=09bc725357bdb48ee32dc55ffb1d1603 | en | null | Right to the road | null | null | isthmus.com | Entitled. That’s a word I hear often from people irritated by bicyclists. With derision, they say people who ride bikes believe they are “entitled” to their place on the road.
Hell yes! We are entitled to exactly that.
And people driving cars and trucks have a responsibility to honor that right, because failing to do so kills people. We have seen that all too often this year.
On a Friday morning in July, Cynthia Arsnow was commuting to work at HSA Home Warranty in Cross Plains. She was riding her bicycle on Highway 14 from her home in Madison, as she did every work day. A driver, who admits that he was looking down at some papers, veered off the travel lane and struck her as she rode on the shoulder. She died at the scene.
Exactly three weeks later, Shelton Berel was riding his bike on a quiet road in the town of Oregon. He was training for a triathlon. The father of two was struck and killed by Kevin D. Meister, who fled the scene and later told investigators he thought he had hit a deer. Meister was charged Aug. 18 in Dane County court with second-degree reckless homicide and hit-and-run resulting in death.
Claiming you hit a deer is a popular defense for hit-and-run drivers. The man who hit and killed Keith Habenicht near Germantown last August also said he thought the thing he saw in daylight, with the flashing red rear light, was a deer. Habenicht was riding his bike home after picking up groceries.
So here we have three people riding bicycles: one commuting, one training and one doing daily errands. We’ll have to wait for the justice system to sort all this out, but this much is clear — none of these three had to die. Each was the victim of, at best, needlessly distracted drivers and, at worst, homicide.
The problem isn’t the choices cyclists make. It’s the behavior of the drivers.
Arsnow’s chosen form of transport was the bicycle, and Highway 14 was the fastest route to work. Berel was training for a competitive bike ride, and quiet country roads are exactly where his race would take place. Habenicht needed to be on his road to get to the grocery store.
Actually, it doesn’t matter why they were there. A bicycle is legally a vehicle just like a car or a truck. And except for limited-access highways, bicycles belong everywhere. Cyclists do not need to explain why they are at any given point on any given road any more than people who are driving cars need to.
Those driving vehicles with internal combustion engines do not own our roads. In fact, the history of the road long predates the predominance of cars, or even their existence. The Romans built an intricate road system, most of which was made for walking. Bicyclists founded the American “Good Roads Movement” of the late 19th century, paving the way for the motorists to follow.
It’s also good to keep in mind that the laws of physics trump the laws of society. Behind the wheel of my 2,500-pound car, I am in charge of deadly force. Riding on my 25-pound bike, I am not. If I hit a cyclist with my car, I will likely injure and perhaps kill that person. If I hit a car with my bicycle, I will almost certainly injure or kill myself.
So, driving and cycling are not activities with equivalent moral responsibilities. I have a greater responsibility as a driver because of the size and power of my vehicle. It’s not unlike any relationship among people, communities or even nations. Where there is greater strength and power, there is also greater responsibility and the need for restraint.
Part of the problem is the rarity of cyclists in certain situations. We know from many studies that there are fewer crashes in places where people on bikes are more common. As more people get on their bikes and ride in more places, drivers start to look for them, and the roads become safer for everyone.
In fact, cycling is becoming much safer, despite the focus on recent deaths. The number of cyclist traffic fatalities in Wisconsin has dropped from an annual high of 30 in the 1970s, to an average of 11 over the past five years, according to data compiled by Professor Robert Schneider at UW-Milwaukee. Since 1990, the number of injuries to people riding bikes has dropped from nearly 1,800 per year to about 800.
But there’s no reason we can’t push these numbers even lower. It starts with a simple recognition of the right to the road.
Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is executive director of the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation. He blogs as Citizen Dave at Isthmus.com.
[Editor's note: This article was corrected to indicate that the data on cyclist traffic fatalities pertained to Wisconsin.] | http://isthmus.com/opinion/opinion/bicyclists-are-entitled-to-ride-where-they-choose/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/f3dae2e9a056c89c34811da2d406d2d57e2513455ba91701b69eb9d74f329e42.json |
[
"Allison Geyer"
] | 2016-08-26T20:45:33 | null | 2016-08-26T14:53:00 | Earlier this week, a fire damaged a supportive housing complex owned by Catalyst Project, a new nonprofit that helps single mothers and children. The blaze has temporarily displaced a mom and her five children. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fcatalyst-project-house-damaged-by-fire%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40507/download/News-LaFollette-Fire-08262016.jpg?cb=a4737b919503ab724927b14b4b398b86 | en | null | Catalyst Project house damaged by fire | null | null | isthmus.com | A fire Monday afternoon on Madison’s east side damaged a newly established supportive housing complex and temporarily displaced a formerly homeless family of six.
The building belongs to the Catalyst Project, a new nonprofit that provides permanent housing for single mothers and their children, housed in the former Schoep’s Ice Cream factory on the corner of Ohio and Lafollette avenues. Volunteers have been in the process of renovating the factory, which was later converted into a duplex, to house four families.
The fire, which started in a basement laundry room, was likely caused by improper venting and damaged one side of the duplex, Catalyst Project founder Susan Donahoe tells Isthmus in an email. The tenants, 24-year-old Candace Howard and her five children, were not home when the fire started, but returned to find smoke coming from the basement. Howard called 911, and a crew from the Madison Fire Department was on the scene within five minutes.
“A neighbor lady came over (we didn't even get her name!) and held babies and brought water and snacks over for the family,” Donahoe writes. “She must have stayed five hours.”
No one was hurt, but the damage to the home was extensive, putting the plumbing, kitchen and bathroom out of commission for at least a month, Donahoe says. The family also lost a number of personal and household items as well, and at the time of the fire, Catalyst Project had not yet acquired rental insurance to cover those losses.
× Expand Chris Collins
Howard and her children (a 9-year-old, an 8-year-old, a 4-year-old and 10-month-old twins) are receiving disaster relief assistance from the American Red Cross. The family has funding to stay in a motel room through at least Friday, says Donahoe, who is scrambling to raise funds to put the family up in an extended stay hotel for at least a month. Despite the chaos, Howard was able to register her three oldest children for school at Lowell Elementary. The children also need back-to-school shoes and clothes.
For those who would like to donate to the family and the Catalyst Project, the nonprofit has an online wish list as well as a PayPal account. Donations can also be mailed to The Catalyst Project, Inc. 4207 Claire St., Madison, Wis. 53716 | http://isthmus.com/news/news/catalyst-project-house-damaged-by-fire/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/887555962b92fd30e5f0a7da1208f300c4202277191d6c07b6f65f22ecda10ab.json |
[
"Robin Shepard"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:56 | null | 2016-08-24T12:05:00 | Howard helles lager from Lakefront Brewery is a worthy representative of this classic German lager. It was created by Howard, the brewery’s MacGyver, as part of its “My Turn” series. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fbeer%2Fhoward-helles-lager-from-lakefront-brewery%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40388/download/Beer-Lakefront-Howard-Helles-Lager-crRobinShepard-08242016.jpg?cb=94d367b24863201aa11a1eb14f696807 | en | null | Have another | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Robin Shepard
During the recent Great Taste of the Midwest beer festival, I sampled quite a few beers. The one that stood out most, and the only beer I went back for a second sample of, was Howard. It’s a wonderful take on the German light (helles) lager.
What is it? Howard Helles Lager from Lakefront Brewery of Milwaukee.
Style: The Münchner (Munich) Helles is a light golden- to straw-colored German lager known for being medium-bodied with an emphasis on malt character and low bitterness. The maltiness is soft and smooth, with bready or toasted qualities. A helles should be very clear and bright. These beers commonly range in alcohol content from 4.5% to 5.5%. This style is quite popular in Germany; it even outsells Oktoberfest beers at the Oktoberfest event in Munich.
Background: The “My Turn” series consists of beers designed by Lakefront employees. Howard is the brewery’s maintenance manager and is credited for the 19th beer in the series. Howard has worked at Lakefront since 2011 and is a quiet, dependable guy who prefers not to have his last name out there, says the brewery’s sales manager Matt Krajnak. “He’s the brewery’s MacGyver. One day he’ll be fixing a doorknob and the next he’s fine-tuning the German-designed bottling line,” says Krajnak.
Howard chose the helles lager style because he wanted a light-bodied, flavorful beer for late summer. Yes, he’s proud of calling this a lawnmower beer. It’s made in the traditions of Bavaria, featuring German ingredients including pilsner malt and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. It’s fermented with a German lager yeast that leaves the beer clean, allowing the Hallertau hops to really come through. It uses the same strain of yeast that turns up in two of my favorites from Lakefront, Riverwest Stein Beer and East Side Dark.
Howard finishes around 4.5% and is sold in six-packs for about $10. The My Turn beers are one-offs and can be a bit hard to find, so you might need to check around some of the larger beer stores. As of the late August the brewery says about 40% of this beer remains in the warehouse, so it should be available through most of September.
Tasting notes:
Aroma: Light, sweet, floral-maltiness.
Appearance: Clear, golden color and a thick, light tan head.
Texture: Medium-bodied, with malty softness.
Taste: There is a solid bready maltiness to the body; however the herbal, spicy, floral quality of the Hallertau really comes through.
Finish/Aftertaste: Clean and balanced.
Glassware: There’s enough aroma and flavor in this beer that it could easily be enjoyed in the style-appropriate pilsner or the iconic German glass mug. Given that, I like to compromise between the two with a tall, narrow and heavy glass stein that makes for a great presentation and recognizes the beer’s Bavarian origins. Or just go with a glass that’s thick, to insulate the beer. Keep it cold to accentuate those wonderful German hops.
Pairs well with: Classic Bavarian pork and lighter seafoods on the grill. The Munich Helles is flavorful and thirst-quenching, making it a versatile meal beer. It’s crisp enough to cleanse the palate between bites.
The Verdict: Howard is true to the German style of the helles lager. It has a light bready sweetness from the pilsner malt that gives it a solid backbone while the Hallertau Mittelfrüh lend herbal aroma and spicy dryness. Overall, it’s nicely balanced, flavorful, clean and crisp. And, as the helles should be, it’s light enough to have another. Put this on your short list of beers to enjoy before summer ends. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/beer/howard-helles-lager-from-lakefront-brewery/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/1b0682e2d9c539ab72a914a1f8cfdca66a5b773d9605209188e9ad6220d4d00f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:24 | null | 2016-08-19T11:30:00 | An impressive storm front passes over Monona Bay on the morning of August 19. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-19-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40382/download/MadisonMirror-crLizHaas-081916.jpg?cb=2517a2197dfcec15e256f21cef8ab06a | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 19, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Liz Haas An impressive storm front passes over Monona Bay on the morning of August 19.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-19-2016/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/1e565a8fe4fbc46e3fa20b0e0cc0876f79e62dd4dcccd4689a5cd042a76a722d.json |
[
"Michael Popke"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:18 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Madison’s Indomitable Warriors play Australian rules football. The coed team practices and scrimmages, but has not yet begun to compete. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fsports%2Findomitable-warriors-australian-rules-football%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40495/download/Sports-AustralianRulesFootball-crGabrielleMcBride-08252016.jpg?cb=85cad4e0b000e65ea5f1f6f12d008791 | en | null | Playing footy | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Gabrielle McBride Warriors Patrick Cunningham and Eric Monroe at scrimmage.
Jason Wilhelm and Nafla Poff met each other in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 2014 on their way to Australia for an international Australian rules football competition. Now, they are both living in Madison and have started a local team with the goal of joining the United States Australian Rules Football Association.
“It’s not really the type of game that you can walk up to somebody on the street and say, ‘Hey, do you want to play?’” Wilhelm, 29, says of the contact sport nicknamed “footy” — a combination of football and soccer with similarities to rugby that dates back to mid-19th-century Australia. Players are 18 to a side and can run with the ball, kick it or “handball” it (sort of like a volleyball serve) to teammates, but most points are scored by kicking the ball, similar in shape to a football, between two tall goalposts. One more thing: Tackling is allowed, but nobody can wear pads.
For years, Wisconsin’s primary Aussie rules football club was the Milwaukee Bombers, and most serious players from the Madison area belonged to that team. Today, the Bombers are no longer a powerhouse, Wilhelm says, so earlier this year he and Poff decided to start the Wisconsin Indomitable Warriors, a Madison-based footy team. It’s coed, and the group only practices and scrimmages together; they don’t compete as a team yet. (Wilhelm will compete on a team from Dallas and Poff on a team from Minnesota for the USAFL National Championships in Florida in October.)
Practices are held at University Bay Fields on Sundays at noon and at High Point Park on Mondays at 6 p.m. They’re free and open to anyone. Wilhelm and Poff have personally offered to teach newbies the skills necessary “to make it through the practice.”
“We’ve been much more successful than we thought we’d be,” says Poff, 27, a Madison West High School graduate who competes in the male-dominated sport wearing a hijab. As many as 40 players have shown up. A typical practice includes 12 to 19 people.
Local players for the Indomitable Warriors range in age from 13 to mid-60s, but the average footy player is between 21 and 35. According to the USAFL, there are 36 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams in the country.
Anybody interested in what footy looks like in action can check out a men’s scrimmage on Sept. 10 between the Minnesota Freeze and the Chicago Swans. A time and location has yet to be determined, but updates will be posted on the Indomitable Warriors Facebook page. | http://isthmus.com/arts/sports/indomitable-warriors-australian-rules-football/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/83de64e504df41502d5d58f5df2a3bbb5006bd8dc86be791263c6ed5c521f0d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:48:49 | null | 2016-08-25T11:30:00 | Inside Assumption Greek Orthodox Church on East Washington Avenue. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-25-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40413/download/MadisonMirror-crAllisonGeyer-082516.jpg?cb=6f6a998bc0978d37054cea8a8d2eb81f | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 25, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Allison Geyer Inside Assumption Greek Orthodox Church on East Washington Avenue.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-25-2016/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/5c4967846d8fb1cb2e56bfa2364d4d34d4092796b45575996268d8fd9aeb16e4.json |
[
"Allison Geyer"
] | 2016-08-26T12:51:42 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Library Takeover is a new program from the Madison Public Library that aims to teach event-planning skills. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-public-library-event-planning-program%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40486/download/Arts-Library-Takeover-08252016.jpg?cb=d53564e516c341b5538118164644b26f | en | null | Make it happen! | null | null | isthmus.com | Ever had a brilliant idea for a community event but no idea how to pull it off? A new program coming to the Madison Public Library this fall aims to educate teams of budding organizers through an “event-planning bootcamp” that will culminate in three large-scale events around Madison.
Called the Library Takeover, the initiative is part of a recent push to promote lifelong, community-based learning and to get more people participating in programs at the library, says Laura Damon-Moore, a community engagement librarian.
“People like going to community events in Madison, but the average person doesn’t necessarily have the network, skills or financing to make [them] happen,” Damon-Moore says.
The Library Takeover program aims to bridge that gap, with a six-week course held Oct. 18-Nov. 22 that will bring in local experts to share knowledge about topics like big-picture planning, marketing strategies and day-of production logistics. At the end of the course, teams of participants will apply what they’ve learned and host events at Central, Meadowridge and Pinney libraries. Each team gets $2,500 for its event.
The program is offered free of charge thanks to a grant from the Madison Public Library Foundation, but space is limited to three teams of three to five adults (and must not be officially affiliated with a nonprofit). Applications are available online, or in-person at any Madison Public Library location. Applications are due Sept. 1, and winners will be notified by Sept. 30. | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-public-library-event-planning-program/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/981567b62859da9247aabb2ae53bb526daad2a3ecec7004183e183fcbced9fd7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:04:29 | null | 2016-08-24T11:30:00 | A quiet summer morning at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-24-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40405/download/MadisonMirror-TEASER-crKathyBailey-082416.jpg?cb=26bb9c2ff99147dca2350a8b3b2ffc6b | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 24, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Kathy Bailey A quiet summer morning at Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-24-2016/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/1ab7b52ce3e1188fff606fbf785f40cb76b652476a660b07925c03ffd495b2d3.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:05:09 | null | 2016-08-24T12:06:44 | Win Tickets to Purple Veins at Majestic on September 24 at 9 pm. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fall-events%2Fcontests%2Fwin-tickets-to-purple-veins-at-majestic%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40448/download/Purple-Veins-Giveaway.jpg?cb=75c0a23fef361feaf3b4cffaee926e81 | en | null | Win Tickets to Purple Veins - September 24 at Majestic | null | null | isthmus.com | null | http://isthmus.com/all-events/contests/win-tickets-to-purple-veins-at-majestic/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/a8b1250e3d9d94717a83c7b86c39bd80d707502006530cf02d30d1d98ed6f43d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:08:12 | null | 2016-08-22T11:30:00 | Sunlight and honeybees grace a sunflower at McFarland Community Garden. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-22-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40361/download/MadisonMirror-crToddHubler-081916.jpg?cb=6fdf37df8f352dca6dbb7365b2015f56 | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 22, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Todd Hubler Sunlight and honeybees grace a sunflower at McFarland Community Garden.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-22-2016/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/7b9098dbbe12f18e47101bb31a89584f0dd13422269dc93e8039aae77448a1df.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:58:30 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Too busy to read all the news? No worries. Isthmus has got you covered with Week in Review. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fweek-in-review%2Fweek-in-review-08-25-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40467/download/WIR-Trump-Women-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Week in Review: August 18-24, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | Thursday, Aug. 18
Could the UW System tuition freeze be melting? On the same day the UW Board of Regents approves a plan to ask the state for an increase of $42.5 million in funding for the 2017-19 state budget, Gov. Scott Walker says he hasn’t decided yet whether to propose extending the freeze for one or both years of the biennium.
Monday, Aug. 22
To pee or not to pee? That remains the question. A federal judge in Texas blocks the Obama administration’s directive to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity after 13 states, including Wisconsin, sued to block the changes. The case is expected to go to trial in the coming months.
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Appleton that suspended operations last year will remain closed, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin officials announce. The organization reviewed security after a deadly attack on a Colorado Springs clinic and found that it can’t meet safety standards. Now, the only place to get abortion care in Wisconsin is in Milwaukee and Madison.
Tuesday, Aug. 23
A new study from UW-Madison finds that the majority of women ages 50 to 74 should be getting mammograms every three years, rather than every two (as is currently recommended), the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Verona-based software giant Epic Systems Corp., ranks No. 22 on the annual Modern Healthcare list of the 100 most influential Americans in health care.
Wednesday, Aug. 24
The Donald Trump campaign announces a new “Wisconsin Women for Trump Coalition,” led by former Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow and state Sens. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Mary Lazich of New Berlin. Also in the coalition are Darlene Wink and Rose Ann Dieck, who you might remember from the John Doe scandal. | http://isthmus.com/news/week-in-review/week-in-review-08-25-2016/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/2f80cfd1b00c7965d92166a693f24c687d8e31c23043b0a0048c715454f72659.json |
[
"Jon Lyons",
"Alan Talaga"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:36 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Intern shenanigans in the Feingold campaign. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fcartoons%2Foff-the-square-08-25-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40475/download/OTS-cloak-and-dangit-teaser-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Off the Square: Infiltration fail | null | null | isthmus.com | ISTHMUS is © 2016 Red Card Media, Inc. | All rights reserved. | Madison, Wisconsin | USA | http://isthmus.com/opinion/cartoons/off-the-square-08-25-2016/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/7158aa38d307d4c257f12be9bde84065e31714aecc9efb9541b82fbc101bdaca.json |
[
"Joe Tarr"
] | 2016-08-26T13:09:23 | null | 2016-08-18T05:00:00 | Madison is once again facing a bleak budget outlook and Mayor Paul Soglin is considering deep cuts throughout city hall. But will the police department be exempt? | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fcover-story%2Fpolice-exempt-from-mayors-budget-cuts%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40336/download/Cover-soglin-cuts-08182016.jpg?cb=b827d5a77d7546a4e94d353157703335 | en | null | Off limits | null | null | isthmus.com | Dave Glomp appreciates Mayor Paul Soglin’s attention to the city’s fiscal health and his regular calls to limit borrowing.
But there’s one area where Glomp says the city can’t afford to be frugal: public safety. A Meadowood neighborhood resident since 1971, Glomp has been one of the city’s consistent law-and-order cheerleaders. For him, policing is the bedrock that all city services are built upon.
“I applaud the mayor for his fiscal restraint — he probably wouldn’t like the word conservatism,” says Glomp. “But I’m a realist when it comes to public safety. I believe in my neighborhood, my city. I want it to prosper and grow, but it won’t if people don’t feel safe. That’s the bottom line.”
Eric Upchurch II, an activist with the Young Gifted and Black Coalition, has a different take.
“Police don’t determine safety. They’re a reactive force,” says Upchurch. “They’re a symptom of our lack of safety. The degree to which you require police provides an indicator of how unsafe you are.”
If more resources were spent on addressing racial and economic disparities, homelessness, education, poverty and other social needs, it would decrease the demands on police, he argues. “If we’re spending more money on police, we’re spending more money on the reaction instead of the prevention.”
This year, the city of Madison faces another tight budget, with growing expenses and stagnant or declining revenues. The mayor is looking at all options and asked every department, including the police, to consider cutting budgets by 2.5% and delaying already approved projects in order to keep property taxes from growing by more than 3% next year.
Soglin specifically asked the police department to consider delaying the planned midtown station and canceling its officer academy in 2017.
× Expand Timothy Hughes Mayor Soglin has asked the police department to consider delaying the midtown police station, canceling the 2017 academy and cutting its operating budget by 2.5%.
Chief Mike Koval is against these suggested cuts. “We’re in a unique service-based industry where well over 90% of our budget is already inextricably tied to salary, benefits and contractual obligations...that literally offer me no wiggle room,” he says. “When you say 2.5% out of an almost $68 million budget, that means [eliminating] $1.7 million.”
In a phone interview, the mayor was circumspect about what cuts he is leaning toward making, saying he simply wants to consider all options. His budget will be finalized in early October, after which the council will have a few weeks to tweak and approve it.
The council and mayor have a contentious relationship that has been most strained around budget time.
Many council members are bracing for a battle over public safety issues this fall, although it’s unclear who the fight might be with: the mayor or the police chief.
“I hope there’s not a fight,” says Ald. Matt Phair. “I hope we can work through things more collaboratively. But with this mayor, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected, not so much with what he puts in his budget but how the process plays out and the tactics he uses.
“It seems like we get down the road through the process and he surprises us with strong ideas and draws these lines in the sand.”
As is typical, city officials sounded a gloomy note when kicking off the budget process earlier this year.
“Every year we say it’s the worst budget ever,” says Ald. Mark Clear. “Even though it’s kind of a cliche, it’s also kind of true, because every year our expenditures go up faster than we can pay for them.”
In a July 17 presentation to the Common Council, city finance director David Schmiedicke laid out the bleak news: revenues are not keeping pace with expenses. The goal is to keep the city’s operating budget just under $300 million.
The city is looking at a $3 million to $5 million gap — meaning, its projected revenues are that much lower than the expenses it expects to incur.
The city is restricted in how much money it can raise through taxes because the state has imposed strict levy limits. The Legislature also took away the city’s power to determine how 70% of its room tax revenue can be spent. That money is now turned over to a special board made up of representatives from the tourism industry to spend.
In a June 6 memo to department heads, Soglin blames state government for much of the city’s financial woes, noting that the Legislature has passed 125 laws since 2011 that limit the powers of municipalities. His mandate to department heads was this: “We must do all we can to protect existing service levels and avoid layoffs.”
All city departments were asked to either cut operating budgets by 2.5% of 2016 levels (provided the cuts don’t involve layoffs) or create “a plan for efficiency investments in technology or other process improvement efforts with a payback of three years or less.”
In an April 4 memo, the mayor asked department heads to not propose any new projects in the capital budget, which is a borrowing plan for new buildings, roads, sewer lines and equipment. He also asked that they “seek to remove projects or reduce anticipated costs” for projects approved in earlier budgets.
Because debt payments come out of the operating budget when cities have a lot of debt, they have less money to spend on salaries and services.
Since beginning his third term in office in 2011, Soglin has repeatedly grumbled about excessive debt. He has routinely accused his predecessor, Dave Cieslewicz, as well as the Common Council, of reckless borrowing.
In 2011, about 12.5% of the operating budget was going toward debt payments. It’s now close to 15% and the current projections have it hitting 18% in 2019.
Soglin continues to blame Cieslewicz and the council for this growing debt, saying “much of it has been dictated by prior decisions or lack of prior decisions.”
Schmiedicke says that one thing driving the high borrowing is that much of Madison’s infrastructure was built about 50 years ago and now needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
“A lot of it was built in the 1960s when we had a rapidly expanding city,” he says. The renovation of the Central Library added about $20 million in debt to the city and the upcoming renovation of the Madison Municipal Building, set to begin in January, will add another $30 million.
The city’s total debt currently stands at $596.3 million, roughly $2,395 for every resident.
× Expand Carolyn Fath Chief Koval: “We’re in a unique service-based industry where well over 90% of our budget is already inextricably tied to salary, benefits and contractual obligations.”
The operating budget Koval submitted to the mayor proposes cost-saving investments, primarily new record-keeping software, rather than a 2.5% cut in services. He says the department has yet to get feedback from the mayor’s office on the proposal.
The Madison Police Department, which this year accounts for about 23% of the city’s $289.5 million operating budget, is easily the largest city department, followed by the fire and the streets departments.
MPD currently has 461 commissioned officers and the equivalent of another 114 civilian employees. The department has grown faster than any other, adding more than 130 full-time positions since 1999.
But from the chief’s perspective, that’s not enough officers. The city’s growing population, the increasingly complex nature of the situations police deal with and the imminent annexation of the town of Madison, all increase demands on police, he argues. Soglin surprised alders last week by proposing the annexation, which was originally scheduled for 2022, be moved up to the end of the year. This would have major budget implications.
There are also a high number of officers at retirement age — the department has more than 90 officers who are over 50 years old. Among those officers, about 30 are at least 53 and have 25 years on the force, meaning they could retire immediately with full benefits. “They could literally lay a letter of resignation at my door today,” says Koval.
And he says the national environment — with growing concern over officer-involved killings (including several in Madison), protests and calls for reform — is making policing an undesirable profession. “In the last three weeks, I’ve had two people resign with less than three years experience,” Koval says. “I’ve been told there are others considering it.”
Even if nobody retires soon, Koval says the staffing levels at the police department are lower than what the city needs.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the average staffing level for cities in the Midwest is 2.1 officers for every 1,000 residents.* The Madison Police Department has a ratio of 1.87 officers for every 1,000 residents.
Koval would like to see the ratio grow to two officers for every 1,000 residents in the next four years. Adding 10 positions a year over the next four years would reach that goal.
Former Ald. Brenda Konkel is skeptical of the calculation, noting that Madison has other police agencies working within its borders — the Capitol Police and UW Police — that aren’t included.
She says much of what the police do could be considered public relations, such as playing euchre at senior centers or basketball with high schoolers. “It’s like they have a PR machine at work, trying to improve their image,” she says. “And other departments can’t [afford] paper.”
× Expand One critic calls some elements of community policing, such as playing euchre with senior citizens, a departmental “PR machine.”
“No other departments in the city are growing at the same rate [as MPD]. And if you compare it to nonprofits, it’s ludicrous,” she adds. “You’re not giving Rape Crisis Center more funding. Everybody across the board has to serve more people, but they are not getting the same increases in staff.”
Ald. Paul Skidmore counters that the police rarely lack things to do. “I do security downtown and there are times I just simply can’t call PD for help because there’s only two officers on duty at certain times of the day because of shift time,” he says. “We’re not flush with people. There are not officers driving around looking for things to do.”
Koval agrees that violent crime has declined since he joined the force in 1983. But he says the work has become vastly more complicated. To illustrate, he pulls a dose of the opioid-overdose remedy Narcan out of his shirt pocket, and notes that officers routinely save lives with it. The profession requires much more training and individual calls take much longer.
“When we get a mental health episodic break that can be a minimum five hours, but more likely eight hours before that’s resolved,” he says.
Konkel says those issues could be dealt with in better ways. “They end up dealing with all those things because everyone else is underfunded,” she says.
Getting the force up to the chief’s desired size won’t happen any time soon if the department cancels its 2017 academy, as the mayor asked Koval to consider. Canceling the academy would save the city almost $400,000. The mayor has also asked the department to stop applying for federal grants to hire new officers, because these require scarce matching city funds.
Since there’s an academy starting next month, with a graduation date slated for June 2017, cancelling next year’s academy wouldn’t have an impact until the summer of 2018. But Koval fears it will be harder for the city to “catch up” if the department dwindles.
The proposed annexation of the town of Madison poses another staffing challenge. The MPD estimates it will need 18 officers to serve the area. Many of these could come from the town’s police force, but they would all have to go through at least an accelerated city academy. Until then, the city’s current police force will have more area to patrol with the same number of officers.
Soglin says he hasn’t made any decisions about any cuts, but wants to explore options. Asked if the police department is more vital than other agencies, he says merely, “Every city service is important.”
This wouldn’t be the first time the council has wrangled over how much to fund the police. Staffing levels have been debated for at least the past two decades. And Soglin has previously floated delaying construction of the planned midtown police station, which is estimated to cost $10.8 million. Staffing would increase operating expenses.
Although the council has kept the project on track, Soglin is again contemplating delaying it. While many alders say they’re committed to the current timeline, support for it might not be as deep as it has been. Ald. Ledell Zellers is also troubled by ballooning debt. While she hasn’t made any decisions, she adds “there are a number of things we should take a second look at. The police station is one of them.”
Koval says it would be a mistake to delay the project, since the demands on the west district continue to grow as the population swells and the city braces for the annexation of the town of Madison. The west district serves about 85,000 residents and is the largest of the department’s five precincts.
Koval repeats what he admits is a familiar talking point: “If the west district were severed off from the rest of Madison, it would be the fifth largest city in Wisconsin.”
Several other public safety issues are likely to be debated this fall.
Skidmore will revive a $400,000 pilot proposal to put body cams on some officers. A new fire department training center, scheduled for Femrite Drive, could also be delayed, although Ald. Denise DeMarb says she’ll fight for it if Soglin doesn’t fund it. She won the battle for it last year.
Alds. Maurice Cheeks and Phair have proposed several anti-violence initiatives, a variety of intervention and diversion programs, that would be funded next year at a cost of $750,000. Phair says the city needs to address racial disparities, homelessness and violence.
Although Soglin initially supported these, he said last week that he doesn’t expect to fund all of them.
“Some of them are solid proposals,” he says. “Some of them are rather shaky proposals that are well intentioned but fatally flawed.” He would not elaborate.
Soglin’s ambiguity frustrates Phair. He notes the mayor’s silence on a number of issues, including the planned $400,000 study of the police department, which Koval bitterly objected to.
“I’d like to know where the mayor stands and where he would draw a line in the sand, but he won’t say any of that,” Phair says. “He plays a lot of games and waits and waits to see where the political winds are and goes with that.”
Ald. David Ahrens has a similar opinion. “I’d like [Soglin] to weigh in on the important city issues,” Ahrens says. “He’s said very little about police-community relations other than we need to get along. When you think about what he talks about, it’s mostly about panhandling and some food-related issues.”
It’s tough to say at the moment whether the council has a worse relationship with the mayor or the police chief.
Soglin seems to welcome acrimony with the council, frequently lecturing the body at meetings and blaming it for the city’s debt. He appears to relish battles with alders and picks fights he is unlikely to win — such as proposing time limits for sitting on public benches or trying to keep a State Street french fry restaurant from getting a beer license.
But some say that Koval has strategically targeted the council, by trying to rile up residents on behalf of the police department. In June, Koval aggressively pushed back against the consultant study of the MPD. He first wrote a blog post criticizing the study and admonishing council members. “You are being watched,” he wrote. “And be on notice: this is a pre-emptive first strike from me to you.”
At a council meeting days later, he pushed back even more forcefully, yelling at alders and threatening to walk out.
Clear says those moments will be hard to forget when the council debates police funding.
“Everything the chief has done over the last couple of months, all of his statements and behaviors are geared to ginning up support for additional officers,” he says.
He says the tactic definitely got residents fired up, as council members have been bombarded with emails about the police department — both for and against — ever since. “Usually issues like this blow up and then die down,” he says. “This one has tremendous staying power.”
Clear regrets that emotions will be hard to separate from the facts. “It’s going to be very difficult to take a very data-based, empirical look at that because it’s been so inflamed over the last couple months,” he says. “I’m not sure if the council or community can make a rational decision about it.”
Editor's note: This article was amended to show the correct average ratio of police officers for every 1,000 residents. The average ratio of officers to residents in the Midwest is 2.1, as of 2014. The 2.6 per 1,000 residents average previously cited is the number of total police department employees (including civilians) per every 1,000 residents. | http://isthmus.com/news/cover-story/police-exempt-from-mayors-budget-cuts/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/73f9a455b2c9dd5a10a4a0ad180964aa3a5e8d5ecf94f402bba11feb77e090cd.json |
[
"Steven Potter"
] | 2016-08-26T14:45:27 | null | 2016-08-26T09:14:00 | A Madison lawyer creates a thriving sideline in making high-end chocolates. Soon maybe even the lawyering will take a back seat. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fmore-cocoa-less-court%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40453/download/Food-Edari-Syovata-crStevenPotter-08252016.jpg?cb=d3b241b7de5bf24579edd3564738c06f | en | null | More cocoa, less court | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Steven Potter For Edari, chocolate means freedom from the old boys’ club.
The main ingredients in Syovata Edari’s life are her kids, court and chocolate.
But if the criminal defense attorney and mother of two has her way, that will soon change.
“I still love practicing law, I still have a passion for it, but I’d rather make a living doing chocolate and take cases part time,” says Edari, 44, who’s been a trial lawyer for the last 15 years. Most recently she took on the high-profile case of Genele Laird, the Madison teen violently arrested by Madison p olice officers in June for allegedly waving a knife at East Towne Mall. She helped Laird enroll in Dane County’s Restorative Justice program in lieu of facing immediate charges.
Less publicly over the last a decade, Edari has been building a business as a chocolatier, filling custom orders.
Edari is now hoping to step back from court and spend more time in the kitchen. For one thing, she’s tired of the old boys’ club legal system. “As a female attorney, as a female attorney of color, [it’s a system] that doesn’t want me in it, doesn’t want single mothers in it,” she says.
She’s found the chocolate business far more welcoming. “I could be a bad-ass lawyer and I still wouldn’t get respect, but with chocolate, it transcends the bullshit,” she says. “It doesn’t matter who’s behind it — if the chocolate is good, it’s good, and people are going to buy it because they want it.”
And they do want it. She recently delivered an order of more than six dozen golf ball-shaped treats for a client who was hosting an all-women’s golf outing. “One golf ball was a salted caramel with Maldon sea salt in a single-origin dark chocolate shell,” she explains with a calm confidence in her craft. “The other was a strawberry milk chocolate ganache with a white chocolate shell.”
Other recent orders she’s fulfilled have included his-and-hers wedding shower bonbons, an elaborate chocolate sculpture with miniature musical instruments and chocolate butterflies for Mother’s Day.
Although she specialized in bonbons and truffles in the past, these days she’s focusing on creating unique flavors for chocolate bars. Her family cooking background is a big help. “My stepdad is from Iran, my dad is from Kenya, my mom is Irish and Russian. We’re all big foodies in my family,” she says.
Edari is ramping up her efforts to make chocolate her full-time gig. In late April, she flew to France to attend a one-week master chocolatier course at Ecole Chocolat , where she learned a number of new techniques, including how to work with a food-grade chocolate stencil called a chablon. She spent 10-hour days in the school’s industrial kitchen with a diverse set of students, all with the same goal.
“It was a group of a dozen students. One woman was from Saudi Arabia, another from South Africa, one from Denmark, a guy from Hungary and people from all over the United States,” she says. All had to pass an online course before attending the French school.
“It was very science-heavy,” she says. “I was scolded for over-emulsifying my ganache — it had too many bubbles, and that would lessen its shelf life. There’s no way I could even learn half of what I did there from a book.”
Since returning home, she’s also purchased a $30,000 Italian-made automatic tempering machine that delicately warms the chocolate pieces (known as pistoles or feves) she uses to make her desserts. “This machine will do in eight minutes what it takes me an hour to do, and it does it continuously all day long.”
Edari is also in the middle of re-branding her business under the name CocoVaa , a play on her father’s nickname for her, “Young Vaa.” A new website, cocovaa.com, is in progress.
“My focus is on developing a local market, spreading out and seeing where it goes,” Edari says. “I like the idea of providing chocolate to my community.”
Inquiries can be made by phone at 888-803-6122, or email info@cocovaa.com. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/more-cocoa-less-court/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/41d3d0f81adb49ac9a438473918ff74e9b120fe7f99499f256d7d940cf7f2987.json |
[
"Steven Potter"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:12 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Lucien Parker, a UW-Madison First Wave scholar who started an album in his dorm room, brings his laid-back rap style to the High Noon Saloon on Aug. 28. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fmusic%2Flucien-parker-uw-madison-rapper%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40492/download/Music-ParkerLucien-08252016.jpg?cb=bc6cc239c064a2481d7ecea14eeb552a | en | null | Out of the dorm room, onto the stage | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Parker gravitated to music from poetry.
Lucien Parker has no use for a pseudonym.
The 19-year-old emcee and UW-Madison student says he doesn’t need one — he’s the same person on- and off-stage.
“I decided if my music was an extension of who I was, and I was writing about my life and telling my own stories, I should just go with who I really was and use my government name,” says Parker. “I’m lucky to have a unique name, so that helps too.”
Parker is quickly gaining a reputation around Madison — both on and off campus — as one of the newest local emcees to watch. He performs Aug. 28 at the High Noon Saloon, where he’ll be joined by indie rock/hip-hop/soul hybrid Bien Bien and others.
With a crisp, clean and relaxed flow, Parker’s raps cover plenty of ground. In his first full-length album, Black Sheep, he touches on everything from failed relationships and life as a young black man to hanging out with friends and his hometown of Minneapolis.
Beats provided by DJ Pain 1, Geek Session and others give the album a laid-back feel that’s become his signature. He began recording it in his UW dorm room and finished back at home in his mom’s basement; he did the mixing and mastering himself.
“I’m doing what I can, learning what I can and asking questions,” says Parker. “It’s nice to craft my own shit from the bottom up.”
Before releasing the album in July, he dropped a video for “After Recess” that shows slow-motion scenes of Madison as Parker waxes about his ambitions and resisting the pull of the streets.
Like a growing number of rappers in his generation, he gravitated to music from spoken word poetry. “My poetry was already a lot like rap,” says Parker. “I just added in the fun parts, which is the drums and the rhythm.”
Parker, who is part of the First Wave scholars program at UW, says he was drawn to the mic because hip-hop “is a tool that creates community and creates dialogue.” He hopes to forge a future by merging music, politics and social justice. Although he is undecided about his major, he says he’s leaning toward communication arts or political science.
He also wants to help other emcees develop their art — and their brands.
“A lot of kids want to make music now but don’t understand all of the steps it takes to really embody this as a career,” he says. “You have to brand yourself, you have to have a logo, know what it takes to shoot videos, to manage yourself, to email venues, to promote on social media, and [know] what language attracts people. These are all things I’ve learned.” | http://isthmus.com/music/lucien-parker-uw-madison-rapper/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/d67ad801f3d4d2765b8fe701bbc1635670063c64a104edc359e1177a7cc13405.json |
[
"Isthmus Staff"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:09 | null | 2016-08-24T11:39:14 | Win tickets to Andrew Bird at Overture Hall on Sept. 6 at 7:30 pm. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fall-events%2Fcontests%2Fwin-tickets-to-andrew-bird-at-overture%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40441/download/Andrew-Bird-Press-Photo.jpg?cb=04a4d19844515e457f1a4324dfe8e42e | en | null | Win tickets to Andrew Bird - Sept. 6 at Overture Hall | null | null | isthmus.com | Win tickets to Andrew Bird at Overture Hall on Sept. 6 at 7:30 pm.
× | http://isthmus.com/all-events/contests/win-tickets-to-andrew-bird-at-overture/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/9222829ccbe5a13c451eb814a0b1244576cb42ce5870921b44cb4a8d75df873d.json |
[
"Jay Rath"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:05 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | NASA satellites are recording an unprecedented amount of data about the Earth and transmitting it down to us. To help make sense of it all, the agency has turned to UW-Madison’s Tracey Holloway. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fuw-professor-is-putting-NASA-satellite-data-to-work%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40478/download/Tech-NASA-map-teaser-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Eyes in the sky | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio/T. Schindler Data from NASA shows that nitrogen dioxide pollution, averaged yearly from 2005 to 2011, has decreased across the United States.
A new generation of satellites is sending back an unheralded amount of data, measuring air pollution, pollen, smoke and much more.
But is anyone paying attention? And is the data even available?
NASA recently tapped Tracey Holloway, a UW-Madison environmental studies professor, to make sense of the data.
With the help of her graduate and undergraduate students, Holloway will lead a multi-institutional effort to help make environmental satellite data more accessible and useful down here at street level.
“I think that a lot of people, when they think of NASA, they think of space,” she notes. “But NASA does a lot related to the Earth.”
Modern satellites can do things like measure industrial chemicals, smoke from forest fires and even pollen.
“The kind of data from those instruments is essential,” says Holloway. “Is the air getting cleaner or is it getting dirtier? Which pollutants are of concern? Are the levels that we’re breathing considered acceptable based on health impacts?”
Thanks to the Clean Air Act of 1970, “we have some of the cleanest air worldwide, despite the fact that we use a lot of energy,” especially fossil fuels, she says. “These policies are based on science. You have to know what’s happening in the air to be able to know how to clean it up.”
Over the past 40 years, ground-based measurements have been the gold standard of atmospheric measurements, Holloway notes. “Here in Madison, our main air-monitoring station is behind East High School, run by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.”
Because the United States already has such a well-developed monitoring system, “it can sometimes be challenging to figure out how to insert new data sources into the existing program,” she says.
That will be the work of NASA’s newly formed Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team, led by Holloway. Her team members will include experts from Columbia University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of Colorado, University of Washington, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center.
Holloway will be aided by UW colleagues including Jonathan Patz, an expert on global environmental change and human health, and Steve Ackerman, an expert on weather satellites and their development.
“The satellites can see chemicals in the air that are exactly the same chemicals that we’re regulating and that we’re concerned about for health reasons,” says Holloway.
In fact, the satellites see so much that the result can be data overload. In science, this difficulty is often termed a ‘signal-to-noise’ problem. “Just because there are lots of data out there doesn’t mean people are using it.”
All sorts of new kinds of information is beamed back to Earth, but how to make it helpful? Where to place it in the atmospheric puzzle? How to add orbital measurements to Earth data and make sense of the new, complete picture?
“We’ll be figuring out how to take that data from space and fit it into analysis, decision needs and communications activities,” explains Holloway. The information will serve organizations such as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the National Parks Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Lung Association and the Centers for Disease Control.
UW classrooms will benefit, too. “I work actively with both graduate students and undergraduates, and I’ll be pulling them in to be part of the problem solving and the research process and attending some of the meetings,” she says. “It’s a great way for them to get experience working on these cutting-edge problems while they’re at the university.” | http://isthmus.com/news/news/uw-professor-is-putting-NASA-satellite-data-to-work/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/f6e2a95943d7c536ca7213998512ea1173da6b6283ed75c2594ca4f4b0c41be4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:01 | null | 2016-08-18T11:30:00 | Demonstrators from Veterans for Peace. The group demonstrates at the Dane County Farmers' Market every Saturday. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-18-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40359/download/MadisonMirror-crAllisonGeyer-teaser-081816.jpg?cb=8a9288b19712064450619fcb656658c7 | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 18, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Allison Geyer Demonstrators from Veterans for Peace. The group demonstrates at the Dane County Farmers' Market every Saturday.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-18-2016/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/d295c667de7f0e7c95e7bedb2375c5b78498d87415241e42993715f5ae8c32fa.json |
[
"Sari Judge"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:05 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Free People at Hilldale is the state’s first. Here, a mother born before Woodstock and a daughter too young to drive herself to Lollapalooza can agree on clothing picks. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Femphasis%2Fhilldale-mall-gets-wisconsins-first-free-people%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40466/download/Emphasis-Free-People-crCarolynFath-08252016.jpg?cb=0e20924421786b6df7b681b5c11df7a9 | en | null | Bohemian rhapsody | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Carolyn Fath
Walking through the hand-carved teak entry doors into Free People , the latest lifestyle brand to launch in Hilldale’s new open-air pedestrian mall, is kind of like walking into Coachella. But without the live music. And instead of hanging on lithe, supermodel bodies, all the fringed, flowing, flowered frocks are artfully displayed on hangers.
Not just any old hangers, though, but charming, floral fabric-covered versions. Shimmery sequined curtains provide dressing room privacy, while the store’s warm, white texturized walls are carefully adorned with twinkly lights, mirrored mosaics and decorative macramé wall hangings. Free People occupies an impressive 4,505-square-foot space. Its decor doesn’t miss a beat in creating a laid-back bohemian vibe.
If sister stores Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie have mastered the kitsch and French flea market aesthetics, respectively, Free People has cornered the market on music festival chic (all three are owned by Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc.).
According to the store’s assistant manager, Macy Milanowski, this corporate relationship is one of the main reasons the parent company chose a revitalized Hilldale for North American boutique number 121. “The success of Anthropologie in Madison really contributed to the decision to open the first Free People in Wisconsin,” says Milanowski. Traffic has been strong since the store opened June 24. Milanowski feels it’s a destination for shoppers from all over the state: “We are regularly seeing customers who are driving in from Milwaukee and the Fox Valley, too.”
Milanowski says mother/daughter shopping dates are a store mainstay, and I can understand why. Despite being approximately half and twice the age of Free People’s self-proclaimed 26-year-old target demographic, my daughter and I both fell in love with the same breezy, crocheted off-the-shoulder peasant dress ($168), vegan-leather moto jacket featuring funky metal hardware ($168) and frayed-at-the cuff high-rise ankle jeans ($88) from Levi’s — one of the few non-eponymous brands the store carries).
The folks at Free People understand that there’s genuine intergenerational appeal in the creative, carefree spirit that hippie-esque apparel evokes. It’s not too often that a mother born before Woodstock and a daughter too young to drive herself to Lollapalooza can agree on sartorial choices.
The store also boasts an impressive intimates collection, a well-curated jewelry selection that leans heavily on chokers, and, in keeping with the music fest zeitgeist, a line of faux-vintage concert T-shirts sporting artists’ logos ranging from the Steve Miller Band to Van Halen to the Clash ($68).
The “Free” part of the brand’s name might be a little misleading; much of the store’s full-priced clothing collection starts at well above $100. Not quite designer prices, but still quite a bit more than one would pay for similar products from Art Gecko or the SERRV stores.
Fortunately for the price-conscious, the store has dedicated an entire room to displaying heavily marked down end-of-season merchandise. Because Free People knows it’s never too early to start shopping for next year’s festival season — Bonaroo, Burning Man and Summerfest, after all, are less than a calendar year away.
Free People
709 Hilldale Way, Madison; 608-238-3044; freepeople.com | http://isthmus.com/arts/emphasis/hilldale-mall-gets-wisconsins-first-free-people/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/8ada0cdba171ad9980e420402a620bb6d29ade944dc5330bc1fe1564eebde663.json |
[
"Dylan Brogan",
"Caroline Langenham"
] | 2016-08-26T12:57:28 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | A lot of new restaurants and bars are opening, from Cask & Ale to Miko Poké. The former Kangchen and the former A-OK have new names and owners. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fraw-fish-and-coffee%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40454/download/Food-Luckys-crCarolynFath-08252016.jpg?cb=d3b241b7de5bf24579edd3564738c06f | en | null | Raw fish and coffee | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Carolyn Fath The new Lucky’s Bar & Grill has a potent post-industrial vibe, drawing on unique elements of its site, a former garage.
Miko Poké, 2701 Monroe St., opened this week in part of the former Bluephies. Everly, which will occupy the rest of the space, is expected to open later this fall. The two “California-inspired” restaurants are the latest projects from the Food Fight Restaurant Group. Miko Poké’s specialty (and namesake) is a Hawaiian raw fish salad called “poke.”
Red Sushi served its last roll on King Street this week. The popular sushi spot will re-open Aug. 28 at 301 W. Washington Ave. There, it will be able to seat three times as many patrons (if you include the new patio space), according to co-owner Tanya Zhykharevich.
Cafe Social Coffee, 102 N. Bedford St., is up and running in the new luxury student high-rise called UnCommon. This is Cafe Social’s first brick-and-mortar location; it also sells coffee from a sporty yellow truck. Cafe Social sources and roasts its beans in the Andes region of Colombia.
The East Washington Avenue corridor will soon have a fifth coffee shop between the 700 and 1200 blocks. Milwaukee-based Stone Creek Coffee, 1216 E.Washington Ave., is slated to open a new shop in November. It’s part of McGrath Property Group’s new luxury apartment building dubbed the “Factory District.” Nearby in the Robinia Courtyard project, the former A-OK is (at least for now) called the Black Locust Café.
The whiskey bar Cask & Ale, 212 State St., is now open. The tavern carries 300 whiskeys from around the globe. Rest easy, hopheads, there are more than 25 beers on tap, too. New floors, booths, shelving and handmade countertops were installed this summer. The space was most recently home to 608 Restaurant and Bar, which moved to Fordem Avenue earlier this year. Unlike 608, Cask & Ale will be serving only drinks — no food.
Lucky’s Bar & Grill has moved down the block to a new location at 1313 Regent St., formerly the Foreign Car Specialists repair shop. The new space is three times bigger than its old location. This fall, the pub will ramp up to serve craft beers brewed on-site.
Haldi Masala, 7475 Mineral Point Rd., has replaced the short-lived Kangchen Indian Restaurant on the city’s west side. The new establishment will serve South Indian cuisine and offer a lunch buffet.
Soul food restaurant Sweet Tea, 122 State St., is now operating out of the storefront adjacent to the Fountain Bar. The eatery is open late — 1 a.m. — every day but Sunday. The menu changes daily, but expect to find baked ham, fried chicken, au gratin potatoes, steamed cabbage and other Southern classics. The space was most recently home to the Fountain Express. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/raw-fish-and-coffee/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/9a4271608613d54a507ac34ea38c8d428879928552ecc53d26d8f0e6a539ee4e.json |
[
"Allison Geyer"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:33 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Green Owl Cafe is a healthy vegetarian restaurant, plus a secret hotspot for killer cocktails. The housemade infusions steal the show. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fcocktails%2Fhouse-made-infusions-shine-at-green-owl%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40456/download/Cocktail-Green-Owl-crDylanRemis-08252016.jpg?cb=d3b241b7de5bf24579edd3564738c06f | en | null | Amazed and infused | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Dylan Remis The vegetarian Blazin’ Berry.
Though it’s sandwiched between two of my favorite Atwood Avenue haunts, Ideal Bar and Alchemy, Green Owl Cafe never quite made it onto my list of places to enjoy a cocktail. In fact, I didn’t even realize it served drinks until I stopped in recently with a knowledgeable vegetarian friend.
I almost don’t want to give away this secret, but I feel that it is my duty to inform the people of Madison that Green Owl does indeed have amazing drinks. And, priced at only $6 or $7, they’re a great value. Plus, they’re vegan. What more could an east-sider want?
The key to Green Owl’s cocktail success is its fantastic array of house-infused spirits, featured prominently in nearly every drink. My favorite was the Blazin’ Berry: habanero tequila, raspberry and pomegranate liqueurs and lemon juice. It’s tart, tingly, fun to sip and spicy as hell.
Another winner was the Chaitini, which features two infusions: chai tea and vanilla bean vodkas, plus coconut milk and simple syrup. It’s herbal, sweet and refreshingly different, just like Green Owl — aka my new favorite place. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/cocktails/house-made-infusions-shine-at-green-owl/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/35afd67414e54cb410307353293a35b29f9c7c982e16831cef6ad7c87789b573.json |
[
"Pat Dillon"
] | 2016-08-26T13:00:14 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Ajani Carr’s young life has been riddled with tragedy. But the 13-year-old is focusing on making a difference, spearheading a new group, Building Bosses, to fight for equity and understanding. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fajani-carr-hopes-to-bring-police-and-black-community-together%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40472/download/News-Carr-AJ-crLaurenJustice-08252016.jpg?cb=55cfc13497ffd44de90aace8df969ffc | en | null | Bridge-builder at 13 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Lauren Justice Ajani Carr has heeded his great-grandfather’s advice to “to serve other people.”
Last week, Ajani Carr sat waiting for Madison Police Chief Mike Koval with high hopes and a handwritten list of concerns. The 13-year-old wanted to discuss homelessness, police-community relations and teens feeling unsafe around law enforcement.
Soft-spoken but relentless, Carr is tackling tough issues. This summer he founded Building Bosses, an incorporated organization on the path to nonprofit status through a GoFundMe effort that aims to empower low-income youth to become entrepreneurs and leaders. It’s his response to the 2,600-plus shootings this year in Chicago, where he spent the summer.
At home, Carr will launch “Building Bosses Presents Field Day” at Penn Park on Sept. 18, the first in a series of game-oriented events connecting black community members with law enforcement to build tolerance and connection.
Carr dreams that through interactions like this, “someday when a police officer sees a black teen on the street, rather than think he’s doing something wrong, they’ll think, ‘there’s somebody’s son.’”
With the Fitchburg Police Department on board, Carr hopes to recruit the Madison police to Field Day.
Carr’s backstory is riddled with loss. When he was 2 years old and his mother, Dorecea Carr, was 19, his grandmother was raped and murdered in Chicago. The murder triggered a pattern of homelessness that persisted until 2008. In 2009, his cousin Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old Chicago honors student, was beaten to death by other teens while walking to school. A month later his uncle was killed by a stray bullet. In 2012 Carr lost his “granddaddy,” whom he idolized, to cancer. In addition, his father, Durant Carr, is on dialysis, and his mother battles a rare autoimmune disease.
“My [great]-grandfather used to say, ‘As a person on this earth you have to serve other people,’” Carr says. “After he died I started thinking about what he was actually saying and how I can embed that in my own mind so I can impact the world in a positive way.”
When Tony Robinson was killed by a Madison police officer in March 2015, Carr wrote Andrea Irwin, Robinson’s mother, from Atlanta, where he lived at the time. When his family moved to Fitchburg later that year, he befriended her.
His quest for social justice grew. Last year he joined Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. And he began challenging racism at Savannah Oaks Middle School in Verona by reporting incidents of “racially motivated bullying” by white students, which he says included being “called the N-word” and told he should be “whipped because he’s black.”
Feeling ignored by administrators, Carr and his guidance counselor formed a weekly group called Black Voices. Carr circulated a petition, signed by almost 100 students, calling for equity, and later addressed the Verona school board about the issue.
Verona Superintendent Dean Gorrell has advocated for Carr by enrolling him in Verona High School’s leadership programs. Gorrell will also help Carr facilitate Black Voices at other schools.
“This is a kid who wakes up every morning with ideas about how to change things,” says Dorecea Carr. “I have to rein him in.”
During his meeting with Koval, Ajani Carr told the chief: “Black kids don’t feel safe.”
“African Americans right now don’t trust police,” he adds. “There’s so much tension between the two; I know what it’s like to hope you don’t get confronted because you don’t know if the situation is going to escalate. So I explained to him what I want to do with Field Day — build a relationship between the police and fire department and the people, mostly black people.”
Koval was impressed. So he assigned an officer to recruit others to attend.
“Ajani was very thoughtful, extremely progressive and forward thinking, and has a good grasp on what’s happening locally and nationally,” says Koval. “He came equipped with a bevy of thoughtful suggestions that could possibly work toward greater opportunities for engagement in the community and trust building.”
Editor’s note: The author donated $25 to Carr’s GoFundMe site. | http://isthmus.com/news/news/ajani-carr-hopes-to-bring-police-and-black-community-together/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/4eecd6c4b3a391ce2ecb1571b96680bee6445215b39e89cee8310f5a6f3570cc.json |
[
"Marjorie Baumgarten"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:44 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | In “Don’t Think Twice,” writer/director Mike Birbiglia examines the dynamic of a New York City improv troupe. It features Keegan-Michael Key as a member who gets an invitation to play on a bigger stage. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fscreens%2Fmovies%2Fdont-think-twice-mike-birbiglia-improv%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40493/download/Screens-DontThinkTwice-08252016.jpg?cb=17f947c7cddf68f1c2994851250859e9 | en | null | Inside look | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand The film features a fictional troupe.
As in his 2012 indie film breakout, Sleepwalk With Me, writer/director Mike Birbiglia mines what he knows: comedy. Both films are based on the unknown workaday comics who hone their craft in the dark, half-empty comedy clubs that dot every major U.S. city. For a few hours every week, the thrill of the stage is theirs, while the rest of their days are spent laboring at dull, soul-sucking, service-industry jobs that support the continuance of their comedy habit.
Although a Three Musketeers-like “all for one, and one for all” attitude is evident in the members of the comedy troupes, Birbiglia also has a keen sense of the roiling resentments and sublimated jealousies that infect the individuals. Young, creative sorts may be more susceptible to these insidious and self-deprecating emotions, but Birbiglia’s acute perspective will pertain to almost any industry in which a few are chosen to advance, and the vast majority are left to wonder, “Why not me?”
The six members of the Commune improvisational troupe all have each other’s backs. It’s one of the tenets of the improv form they love so dearly (along with “say yes” and “don’t think”). The Manhattan group is one of the training grounds from which Weekend Live (a fictional version of Saturday Night Live) is known to pluck new cast members. On a night when talent scouts are known to be in the audience, Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) can’t resist showboating with his impeccable Obama imitation, and later he and his girlfriend Sam (Gillian Jacobs), the group’s resident couple, receive an invitation to audition for the national show. The group tellingly hesitates a moment too long before congratulating the pair on the invite, and when Sam makes the cut, the stage is set for the slings and arrows of the unjustly overlooked, as well as the conflicts experienced by the more measurably successful Jack in trying to stay true to his roots and remain friends with his old group. Add to the group’s woes that they’re being evicted from their longtime performance space to make way for a new Trump edifice (how timely is that?).
Cameos from Ben Stiller and Lena Dunham, appearing as themselves, lend additional credence to the comedy milieu. Andalthough his visual style is relatively flat and expository, Birbiglia’s penetrating observational skills make Don’t Think Twice an exceptional film about both the comedy world and the plight of young professionals who wonder if they’ve stalled out before even getting into gear. | http://isthmus.com/screens/movies/dont-think-twice-mike-birbiglia-improv/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/b82de92b954992a7c5cea3e39616ffc5154d9f74a38bb6c2f478a3a5e3c64275.json |
[
"Dan Savage"
] | 2016-08-26T13:02:32 | null | 2016-08-24T16:00:00 | This week is the final guest column while the real Dan Savage is on vacation. Daniel Savage provides the advice about what to do with a flaccid fellow and the etiquette of pegging in an open relationship. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Fsavage-love%2Fhad-to-get-away%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40481/download/Savage-Love-crJoeNewton-08252016.jpg?cb=d7c651edc95cb320b8c8a5dd59679f40 | en | null | Had to get away | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Joe Newton
Dear readers: This is the final week of my summer vacation — but you’ve been getting a new column every week I’ve been gone, all of them written by Dan Savage, none of them written by me.
Our final guest Dan Savage is an independent designer, illustrator and animation director based in Brooklyn, New York. He created Yule Log 2.0, a collaborative art project where animators around the world reimagine the famous Yule log fireplace. He has worked with The New York Times, Herman Miller and Google, he’s taught design and animation at NYU and SVA, and he’s won a bunch of design industry awards you probably haven’t heard of.
“I was excited to do this, even though I have no authority on the topic,” said Daniel Savage, award-winning independent designer. “But I surprisingly felt pretty confident in my answers, as ridiculous as they may be.”
I’m a 41-year-old straight woman who stayed a virgin way longer than I should have (thank you, church and cultural slut-shaming). I wasn’t 100 % “good,” i.e., I was one of those “not PIV = not really sex” girls, so I indulged in outercourse and other “cheats.” When I finally realized that “not until marriage” wasn’t working for me and did the real thing, I discovered I loved it. Go me, right? Unfortunately, I’m not good at dating, so I usually go a long time between relationships. The relationship I’m in now is the first one I’ve had in two years.
“Guy” is nice to me — calls me beautiful, sticks up for me, comes to watch me play with a community orchestra (my own family and friends don’t even come to my shows). But we don’t have much in common (hobbies, political outlook, religious beliefs) and sometimes our conversations feel labored. But that’s okay, right? At least I’m getting my sexual needs met, right?
Well, no. Every single time we’ve tried to have sex, Guy either can’t get hard or stays hard for only a few minutes. I’ve tried going down on him, using my hands, different positions — nothing works. He’s never had an orgasm with me. We don’t even kiss that much. I don’t say anything because I don’t want to hurt his feelings and because I’m really grateful to him for wanting to be with me and being nice to me. He says sorry and that he’s asked the doctor about it, but we don’t get anywhere. It feels lonelier than when I was single. To be blunt, I don’t want to date him anymore. But I feel too guilty to break up with him. He really cares about me, and he didn’t do anything wrong. We’ve dated for four months, and I don’t know if I’m giving up too soon. Where would I be if previous boyfriends had ditched me for being inexperienced instead of showing me the ropes? Don’t I owe Guy the same thing?
Too Down To Be Witty
First off, I think a long time between relationships is good. I also think not having things in common can be okay if you create new hobbies and experiences you can share. Having said that, TDTBW, four months is plenty of time to know if it’s working. He sounds super boring.
The sooner you break it off with him the better. You don’t want to hurt him any more than you have to, especially if he’s really into you, and the longer you draw it out, the more it’s going to hurt. No amount of “training” is going to get this dude hard. The only rope being shown here is his flaccid ding-dong. It doesn’t seem like you even want to be his friend if you broke up.
I wouldn’t feel guilty at all about dumping him. Sometimes you gotta think about number one.
My girl and I are both 26, and we opened up our marriage. Now I have a girlfriend with whom I am getting to have some of the kinky fun that was lacking at home. Here is my question: Things are really casual between me and this new girl. I want to do some pegging, but I don’t know who should buy the strap-on? Me, because it’s my ass and my idea? Or her, because she would wear it and would also think it was super hot? Should I buy the dildo and she buys the harness? Go halfsies on the whole rig? What is the equitable way of doing this?
Purchasing Erotic Gear Good Etiquette, Dan?
You’re 26 years old, PEGGED, buy the damn thing. How much could it possibly cost? If I were in your situation, I would want full control over what goes up my ass. If she owns it, would she use it while you weren’t around? With strangers? No thanks. Plus if you split the cost, who gets to keep it when you break up? Just buy it and enjoy. If you struggle with picking it out, might I suggest starting small?
Follow Daniel Savage on Twitter at @somethingsavage. | http://isthmus.com/opinion/savage-love/had-to-get-away/ | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/c19cdc1befbdca1b5dc803bc1c9c0fa78ec8f7aae8e95b4e3a91acc09bbaa0a3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:05:50 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Letters and comments from the August 25, 2016 issue | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fopinion%2Ffeedback%2Ffeedback-08-25-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/35633/download/Feedback.jpg?cb=eff7077928ea04b8633fd71d267c9f31 | en | null | Feedback: Letters and Comments | null | null | isthmus.com | By the numbers
I appreciated “Off Limits: Should Cops Be Exempt from Mayor’s Budget Cuts?” by Joe Tarr (8/18/2016), who always does excellent investigative reporting. I’m writing to provide additional information.
The average staffing level for cities in the Midwest is 2.1 officers for every 1,000 residents. Two primary drivers of police staffing needs are city population size and violent crime rate. This information and officer-to-population ratios are available for all U.S. cities, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice. Regression analysis shows that, for a city with Madison’s population size and violent crime rate, the average number of officers per 1,000 residents is 1.597 (compared to Madison’s current ratio of 1.87). In other words, the number of officers currently employed by Madison is about 65.6 officers higher than comparable cities. Another driver of a city’s need for officers is the number of calls for police service. I was able to find data on number of calls for service per officer per year for 23 cities across the U.S., and Madison was the third lowest (again indicating ample staffing).
Gregory Gelembiuk (via email)
Clarification
Last week’s cover story, “Off Limits,” incorrectly listed the average ratio of police department officers for every 1,000 residents. The average ratio of officers to residents in the Midwest is 2.1, as of 2014. The 2.6 per 1,000 residents average that the article cited is the number of total police department employees (including civilians) per 1,000 residents.
The fine print
Why do you have the page numbers and issue date in such small print? I have meant to comment on this for several months. I personally would find larger print to be helpful, as I am sometimes catching up on several past issues. Thank you.
Carol J. Grogan (via email) | http://isthmus.com/opinion/feedback/feedback-08-25-2016/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/0ed05ed03fc57b67a66d7d70daafbeae60321a0f3d9e9ac3e12d99f73e6744d8.json |
[
"Allison Geyer"
] | 2016-08-26T13:06:27 | null | 2016-08-18T13:43:00 | Happy hour at Rare Steakhouse is perfect for ballers on a budget. And the Manhattan is great, too. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Fcocktails%2Frare-manhattan-is-a-classic-done-right%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40329/download/Cocktail-Rare-Manhattan-crLauraZastrow-08182016%20%282%29.jpg?cb=dc5752de32f0e93f36c88897084f0040 | en | null | The happiest hour | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Laura Zastrow Stirred and served with Amarena cherry garnish.
Happy hour is a way of life on the Capitol Square, with bars and restaurants competing to lure the legions of thirsty downtown workers in for an end-of-the day drink. There are old favorites like Genna’s, and plenty of newcomers are looking to make a splash.
Rare Steakhouse had never crossed my mind as a prime happy hour haunt, but on my first visit there with a coworker, the artisanal ice cube that is my heart was melted by the Rare Manhattan. Simple yet flawless, it’s made with Makers Mark bourbon, Carpano Antica and Angostura bitters. The drink is stirred (as all Manhattans should be) and garnished with an Amarena cherry. (Since my visit, Rare has started barrel-aging its Manhattan, mixing the ingredients ahead of time and letting the flavors mingle for two weeks. Genius!)
The bar manager at Rare is a real gem — he was nice enough to give my friends and me the happy hour deal, even though we ordered shortly after 6 p.m., because he saw we had been waiting. The bar was busy, and for good reason — cocktails are half price from 4-6 p.m. on weekdays. It’s a phenomenal deal, and an even better excuse to try out a fun new spot for after-work drinks. | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/cocktails/rare-manhattan-is-a-classic-done-right/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/7a061245925da69218c44d96fbcd2a7151a1bfdedc8f4d12f242ead72d2b131e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:04:08 | null | 2016-08-23T11:30:00 | Ziggy the Willy Street Cat poses for the paw-parazzi. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Farts%2Fmadison-mirror%2Fmadison-mirror-august-23-2016%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40403/download/MadisonMirror-TEASER-crAllisonGeyer-082216.jpg?cb=8e415d88ef444473dfb0624d10432766 | en | null | Madison Mirror: August 23, 2016 | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Allison Geyer Ziggy the Willy Street Cat poses for the paw-parazzi.
Madison Mirror is online only and posted weekdays at 11:30 a.m. Interested in contributing? Send your photo to pics@isthmus.com, with your name and a description of the photo (who/what/when/where). | http://isthmus.com/arts/madison-mirror/madison-mirror-august-23-2016/ | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/566fb229c4fdb850357f0ec6592ee0e7e260ade0cf696c994c98528731d42522.json |
[
"Joe Tarr"
] | 2016-08-26T13:07:31 | null | 2016-08-18T13:08:00 | American Family will add musician John Legend to its roster of ambassadors. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Fnews%2Fnews%2Fjohn-legend-added-as-an-amfam-ambassador%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40311/download/News-Legend-John-08172016.jpg?cb=76bd1896561cc64672c7c6ec68e33cb1 | en | null | John Legend added as an AmFam ambassador | null | null | isthmus.com | When American Family Insurance decided to add a musician to its distinctive “brand ambassador” program, one name quickly rose to the top: John Legend.
“He makes anthems,” says Dwayne Maddox, sponsorships and events manager for American Family. “We were looking for a sound, music and theme that would inspire people to pursue and protect their dreams. We felt his music really spoke to that aesthetic.”
The singer-songwriter, who has won 10 Grammy awards and an Academy award, becomes the latest celebrity spokesperson for the Madison-based insurance and financial company.
But don’t get excited about a concert in Madison just yet. “We don’t have any public performances slated for him,” Maddox says. “It’s something we could revisit maybe next year.
The New York Times has written that Legend is “a dignified Ivy League-educated pianist and singer who specializes in romantic neo-soul songs, [who] is often photographed sitting at a baby grand in a V-neck sweater and tailored pants.” But, the paper added, Legend “can also muster a hip-hop swagger.”
American Family’s ambassador program, which started with UW and Olympic hockey star, Jessie Vetter, has grown to include several athletes, including Kevin Durant, J.J. Watt, and Derek Jeter. Isthmus co-owner Mark Tauscher, a former Green Bay Packer, is also an ambassador for the company.
Legend will curate music for the company’s promotions and commercials, possibly allowing some of his songs to be used or even writing exclusive songs for the company. Maddox says people are likely to start seeing Legend’s presence with American Family this fall.
“He’ll also have possible appearances in commercials and campaigns,” Maddox says. “Right now, we don’t have specific dates on that, but it’s something we could see happening down the line with our partnership.” | http://isthmus.com/news/news/john-legend-added-as-an-amfam-ambassador/ | en | 2016-08-18T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/e27663bd07fa7745a147926a4cfe7d7a4ed1413bd2ca0367bfa58e9f59eb91cb.json |
[
"Kyle Nabilcy"
] | 2016-08-26T13:00:39 | null | 2016-08-25T05:00:00 | Mr. Torta’s customizes subs, nachos and more. Although entrees are overstuffed and have a tendency to sog out, the nachos are a bona fide winner. | http%3A%2F%2Fisthmus.com%2Ffood-drink%2Freviews%2Fmr-tortas-customizes-subs-nachos-and-more%2F.json | http://isthmus.com/downloads/40455/download/Food-Mr-Tortas-Nachos-crRyanWisniewski-08252016%20%282%29.jpg?cb=d3b241b7de5bf24579edd3564738c06f | en | null | Saucy subs | null | null | isthmus.com | × Expand Ryan Wisniewski Layers upon layers of cheese sauce and toppings create nacho nirvana.
Madison’s getting a lot of customize-your-entree fast-food operations these days. The San Francisco “Mission” style of burrito at Mr. Torta’s Mexican Subs closely resembles the style served at Chipotle. But in terms of overstuffing both burritos and diners, Mr. Torta’s laps the field.
The opening of Mr. Torta’s does not remedy the 2012 closure of Antojitos el Toril, a more traditional Mexican restaurant, for the Cottage Grove Road area. Mr. Torta’s (which takes the place of Papa Bear’s BBQ) isn’t a typical taqueria; the menu goes in a more Mexican-American direction. There are seven meats to choose from, and seven delivery methods for consuming them.
Column A on the menu board consists of subs, burritos, tacos (two to an order), quesadillas, taco salad and nachos.
You might wonder why they’re called subs and not tortas, as in the restaurant’s name. All I can say is that they come on hoagie-style rolls, somewhat resembling a bolillo roll but really more like a hoagie.
Column B, the meats, lists barbacoa beef, pork carnitas, chicken carnitas, Philly steak, spicy chorizo, spicy chorizo with bacon, and fajita steak. Chatter on the restaurant’s Facebook page indicates that vegetarians have been able to successfully order custom non-meat dishes from the vegetable add-ons.
The beauty of this style of menu is that you’ll get what you want, creating the whole dish from top to bottom. The curse of this style is ordering too much. Keep it simple. The tongs and ladles at Mr. Torta’s hold a lot, and it’s easy to overstuff your entree.
A chicken carnitas burrito with rice, chopped lettuce, pico de gallo and jalapeño cheese sauce was very, very full. On a subsequent visit, my fajita steak burrito was as close to spherical as I’ve ever seen a Mission-style burrito. There was easily enough meat for two reasonably portioned burritos, which makes me wonder what a burrito with optional extra meat would look like. Neither the chicken nor the steak came off as particularly delectable cuts, but the chicken at least offered some browning and a little crispy texture.
The combination of bacon and chorizo is more than a little inspired, though I wouldn’t order it in a burrito or sub; that would be an inadvisable amount of salt. I had the chorizo with bacon in taco form, and even that was a bit much. After adding salsa or spicy ranch dressing, it’s a blowout. Try it in the quesadilla. I tried the Philly steak that way, and the result is toasty and its fillings are distributed well. (From my observation, the Philly steak and the fajita steak seem to be nearly identical.)
Some more traditional add-ons would be a big plus. What I would have given for some simple lime wedges and sliced radishes to put on my pork carnitas tacos.
If you like saucy, though, Mr. Torta’s is your jam. There’s sour cream and that spicy ranch dressing, a spicy cheese sauce and a spicy sort of Thousand Island deal. And there are salsas galore, including one with diced mango. The guacamole is smooth; my move is to order it on the side to keep the flavor fresh.
There’s one killer item on this menu: the nachos. When you see a layer of chips, then a layer of jalapeño cheese sauce, then more chips and more cheese sauce and shredded cheese go into the toaster before you even get to your chosen toppings, you know you’re in for a good time. I liked the fajitas steak on top; in this dish the chorizo would also add some zing. The chicken carnitas would also be good here.
A problem at Mr. Torta’s is that most of the meats are kept waiting in a bath of juice, where the flavors become indistinct, muddied. The juices also have a tendency to leak through even the big starchy torta roll. The generous fillings plus the addition of a sauce or salsa means most dishes sog out before you can appreciate flavors and textures.
Excess is not entirely foreign to Mexican cuisine. Think the salsa-soaked torta ahogada, or the hot dog-stuffed torta cubana. Even corn on the cob comes slathered in mayo and cheese at Mexican food stalls. But it’s hard to enjoy soggy leftovers, and there will most likely be leftovers. Mr. Torta’s feed-you-till-you-burst M.O., while generous and inexpensive, probably should be dialed back.
Mr. Torta’s Mexican Subs
4527 Cottage Grove Rd., Madison; 608-467-2019;
mrtortas.com; 11 am-9 pm daily; $3-$9 | http://isthmus.com/food-drink/reviews/mr-tortas-customizes-subs-nachos-and-more/ | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | isthmus.com/be5a442ced8f83b4c424819fd10ac281addb2ded7456b2adcc68d2345d35e2fd.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:56:23 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Our own Nelson Figueroa @FigSNY throws out the first pitch at today's Mets game in honor of Taiwan Tourism @SNYtv pic.twitter.com/vFjH87UzZD— Ma | http%3A%2F%2Fsports.ltn.com.tw%2Fnews%2Fbreakingnews%2F1810180.json | http://img.ltn.com.tw/Upload/sports/page/800/2016/08/29/phpOkJIQv.jpeg | en | null | MLB》前洋投費古洛愛台灣 穿統一球衣開球 | null | null | sports.ltn.com.tw | Our own Nelson Figueroa @FigSNY throws out the first pitch at today's Mets game in honor of Taiwan Tourism @SNYtv pic.twitter.com/vFjH87UzZD | http://sports.ltn.com.tw/news/breakingnews/1810180 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | sports.ltn.com.tw/96875ab477448b32409b0c523d1db7c5749af504c9c1b2d2000ab233c0635402.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:56:53 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Dwight Howard working on his muscle memory shooting from 19ft. This leads to confidence at the free throw line | http%3A%2F%2Fsports.ltn.com.tw%2Fnews%2Fbreakingnews%2F1810377.json | http://img.ltn.com.tw/Upload/sports/page/800/2016/08/30/phpFD9amD.png | en | null | NBA》拉遠投比較準？「魔獸」練罰球秀新招 | null | null | sports.ltn.com.tw | Dwight Howard working on his muscle memory shooting from 19ft. This leads to confidence at the free throw line
相關新聞 | http://sports.ltn.com.tw/news/breakingnews/1810377 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | sports.ltn.com.tw/f2753cf96b10a9312d531eb3ce439083e7cfee2e37ffb67e4f41c98892fc3aec.json |
[
"Liisa Mecham",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:34 | null | 2016-08-11T14:25:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F11%2Fmhs-sterling-scholar-now-zika-virus-scholar%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/front-Zika-virus-2.jpg | en | null | MHS Sterling Scholar now Zika virus scholar | null | null | morgannews.com | As the XXXI Olympic Games open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Friday, Aug. 5, the world will tune in to watch the athletes compete to win medals for their countries. But the looming side story of Rio is the mosquitoes and the Zika virus that they could possibly transmit to the visiting athletes and spectators.
Some top athletes have chosen to forego the Olympics this year due to Zika concerns. 2007 Morgan High graduate and Regional Sterling Scholar winner, Christopher Roundy, is currently working on the forefront of Zika research as a PhD student at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.
In July, Roundy traveled to Salvador, Brazil, an area “where they have been affected by Zika.” He explained, “I work with scientists there to study local mosquitoes and their behavior. The goal of my research is to better understand factors that influence how mosquito-borne viruses, like Zika, spread through a human population.”
Roundy’s journey from the science labs of Morgan High to the frontlines of the Zika virus is fascinating and demonstrates how a dedicated student can translate his or her educational opportunities at Morgan High into a career that affects the world.
Roundy, son of Kelly Roundy and Michael Roundy, moved to Morgan as he was beginning his freshman year of high school. His mom related, “The transition was difficult for him after being raised in the military for 16 years and attending very diverse schools throughout the world, but Chris knew what he needed to learn and found opportunities to participate in different programs and develop his talents and skills in many areas.”
In high school, Roundy was very involved playing on the soccer team, sprinting on the track team, and participating in Academic Decathlon, several other clubs, and the Sterling Scholar program.
“My favorite teachers at MHS were Mr. Floyd, Mr. Mowery, and Mrs. Morrison,” Roundy shared in an email as he prepared to depart for Brazil. “It was clear that all three of them put a lot of effort into their work and truly cared about the students they taught. Mrs. Morrison made a big impact on me since she was involved with the Sterling Scholar Program and Academic Decathlon Team. She was always pushing those of us involved in these activities to be our best.
“I had three different biology courses from Mr. Mowery that really prepared me for my biology courses in college. The smaller courses at MHS helped me get more personal attention from teachers and allowed me to be a more active learner. I was also able to juggle my school work with sports and involvement with clubs, something that may have been more difficult at a larger high school,” Roundy concluded.
After winning the regional Science Sterling Scholar, Roundy was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Westminster College, where he was accepted into the honors program and studied biology. “I started college with the intention of going to medical school,” Roundy explained, “but I ended up falling in love with global health and became fascinated by emerging infectious diseases. One professor in particular, Dr. Han Kim, drove me to consider scientific research ‘beyond the bench.’ In the classroom and during training in Uganda and Thailand, he taught me a lot of public health skills that have been useful to this day.”
After graduating from Westminster, Roundy continued his education at Tulane University in New Orleans in a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) program, where he studied tropical medicine.
His coursework focused on infectious diseases and how they spread. He also had the opportunity to work in two labs at Tulane—“one studying local mosquito populations and the other studying the interaction between dengue virus and Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits the dengue virus.” Roundy explained and recalled. “I really enjoyed the opportunity to do both lab work and field work.”
After Tulane, Roundy began his PhD program in Galveston, Texas. He is beginning his third year in the Human Pathophysiology and Translation Medicine program at UTMB, where he works with Dr. Weaver “studying Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses like chikungunya and dengue.”
Roundy details: “My research focuses on the mosquitoes that spread these viruses, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. In the lab, we artificially infect mosquitoes with Zika to determine how well these mosquitoes are able to transmit the virus and factors that may affect transmission. This work is done in containment facilities at UTMB so there is no risk of a mosquito escaping. I am able to do this lab work in conjunction with field studies, which is a fortunate opportunity and allows me to study the big picture of mosquito-borne viruses. In the field I collect mosquitoes and can determine factors such as their age and blood feeding patterns.”
After finishing his PhD in two or three years, Roundy would like to “continue research in the transmission of emerging mosquito-borne viruses.
“This work is such an intricate puzzle with pieces of global health, ecology, virology, human disease and other fields. There is never a dull moment and there are always interesting questions to be asked,” he explained.
Kelly Roundy credits her son’s success to his “humility and appreciation for education. He really respects teachers and has continued to respect them at every level.”
Roundy shared the following information for Morgan residents about Zika. “Zika is a mosquito-borne virus related to dengue, west Nile, and yellow fever. In most people it causes mild symptoms like fever, rash, aches, and eye redness that only last a few days,” Roundy explained.
He continued saying, “Many people can actually be infected and not develop any symptoms. If a pregnant women is infected, however, there is a chance that her baby will develop microcephaly, a condition in which the infant’s head does not develop normally and is smaller than average. This also affects the child’s brain and can result in vision problems, hearing loss, and developmental delays.”
According to Roundy, the mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not found in northern Utah. However, we do have the mosquitoes that transmit West Nile, so people should wear bug repellent if they will be outdoors, especially around dusk.
“Because of the particular risk posed to pregnant women, any woman who is pregnant or hoping to become pregnant in the near future should check the CDC website for guidance if they will be traveling to Central America, South America or the Caribbean. Evidence suggests that Zika can also be sexually transmitted, so men that travel to these countries should exercise extra precaution when they return to prevent possibly infecting someone in this way,” concluded Roundy. | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/11/mhs-sterling-scholar-now-zika-virus-scholar/ | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/de1cdbce026f29a95614c8049687d3ac346751550ef702ecdec79ccc09d54e06.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Liisa Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:52:30 | null | 2016-08-19T11:32:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F19%2Fphillips-66-awards-40000-technology-grant-to-morgan-schools%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/front-40000-check-presentation.jpg | en | null | Phillips 66 awards $40,000 technology grant to Morgan schools | null | null | morgannews.com | Through a generous $40,000 donation from Phillips 66, Morgan County students and teachers will soon benefit from upgrades and enhancements to Morgan School District’s technological infrastructure.
The Morgan Education Foundation applied for the technology grant from Phillips 66 as part of the Foundation’s “Connections for Classrooms” initiative to raise funds for updates to student computer labs, purchase portable Chromebook labs for classrooms, and improve the maintenance and rotation of existing technology throughout the district.
“We are over-the-moon with excitement to accept this generous donation from Phillips 66 on behalf of Morgan County school children, teachers and administrators,” said Diana Windley, Morgan Education Foundation board chair. “These funds will advance the technology in our school district in a meaningful way.”
Keeping up with technology is a challenge for any organization – but it can be especially difficult when serving schools with rapidly growing student populations. Figures current as of August 15, 2016, show Morgan School District’s enrollment at 3,059 students for the first day of the 2016-17 school year, up from 2,924 students enrolled at the conclusion of the 2015-16 school year. Year-over-year, fast-paced growth has created increased demands on computers labs, media centers and the overall technological infrastructure for the school district.
“Phillips 66 has done a wonderful thing for our community by investing in our school children,” continued Windley. “We appreciate their consideration and generosity in donating to Morgan County Schools.”
The Morgan Education Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose purpose is to unite the community in acquiring and directing resources to enhance the educational experience of students enrolled in Morgan School District. Founded in 2007, the Board of Directors for the Foundation is comprised of volunteers including business and community leaders, parents and district administration.
For more information about the Morgan Education Foundation, visit www.morganeducationfoundation.org.d | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/19/phillips-66-awards-40000-technology-grant-to-morgan-schools/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/276f60722f9bffe67ecc2b2ad19a60e7548f4486a76b589d55c532778cfb1f0e.json |
[
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:47:21 | null | 2016-03-31T11:59:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F03%2F31%2Fgollaher-sentenced-to-a-minimum-of-30-years-in-state-prison%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | Gollaher sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in state prison | null | null | morgannews.com | A Morgan jury convicted Scott L. Gollaher of four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in January, and this week the judge who presided over the case for the past three years sentenced Gollaher to a minimum of 30 years in state prison.
In the summer of 2012, Gollaher sexually abused two 11-year-old girls at a home he was building on over 24 acres in Morgan County at 246 East Woods Creek Road. Gollaher previously served a 16-year sentence, from 1996 to 2011, for child sexual abuse. Upon his release, he was a registered sex offender in Salt Lake County. Since he did not yet reside in the Porterville home in 2012—only recreated there on the weekends—he was not registered in Morgan County as a sex offender. Both girls were not residents of Morgan County.
Judge Noel S. Hyde said he considered the gravity and circumstances of Gollaher’s offenses, the history and character of the defendant, and the number of victims when he handed down two sets of 15-years-to-life sentences to run consecutively.
Morgan’s reaction
Morgan County Attorney Jann Farris said he was pleased with the sentence. While the minimum could have been 15 years and the maximum could have been 60, Farris said the judge followed the recommendations detailed in an Adult Probation and Parole presentence investigative report.
In the end, the Board of Pardons will decide how long Gollaher stays in the state prison. Gollaher, who is almost 57 years old, will be 87 before the Board of Pardons considers scheduling a parole hearing. In addition, other similar charges are pending against Gollaher in a Salt Lake County case. The length of the sentence from those charges could be tacked on to the end of Morgan’s 30 years, Farris said.
“We feel very relieved to have this part done,” Farris said. “The jury verdict was rewarding, but the sentence makes it even better. It is a nice one to have behind us.”
Judge’s comments
Judge Hyde said Gollaher’s offenses were severe.
“They are grave offenses to the innocence of childhood. The gravity is at a very high level,” Hyde told Gollaher as he stood in shackles and Salt Lake County prison garb. “The conduct and reaction of the defendant throughout this trial is to justify his conduct.”
Many times during his three-week trial in January, Gollaher and his wife, Sharon, said they made it a point to inform parents of his past crimes, and then left it up to the parents whether or not they wanted their children around him. He said his only responsibility was to inform parents.
“The defendant is responsible for that conduct. It is not the responsibility of the parents of the victims or the victims,” Judge Hyde said. “They are the victims. They are not here because anything they did was wrong. There should be no guilt or shame at any level.”
Victims and their parents in the court gallery audibly wept at the judge’s words.
The judge said that the chances of rehabilitating Gollaher are “remote” and therefore withheld any sentencing contingencies related to rehabilitation. “The impact of his conduct is inexcusable,” as is his absence of remorse and shifting of responsibility, Hyde continued at Wednesday’s sentencing.
Victim’s statements
Prior to sentencing, the court heard about the impact of Gollaher’s actions from parents and family members of the two minor victims.
One father said that his daughter’s abuse at Gollaher’s hands had led to a loss of her confidence and ability to feel safe, as well as anger and frustration with Gollaher. “I hope she can regain the ability to trust men, good men, in the future,” he said through tears. “I urge the court to keep this sexual predator contained.”
One mother said her daughter’s innocence had been taken away, leading to guilt, embarrassment and shame first as she was “exposed to a man’s perverted desires,” then over and over again as the case dragged on for more than three years. “She had to face her perpetrator again” when she was questioned on the stand by her abuser, who represented himself in court. “She did it so it would not happen to other girls,” not because she was brave or wanted to punish Gollaher. “It changed her view of the world.”
Another mother said she was present at the sentencing “out of duty to protect others.” She said that as the result of Gollaher’s abuse, her daughter had to sleep at her parents’ bedside because of nightmares.
Gollaher’s “arrogance is appalling,” she told the judge as she plead with him to “deliver us from evil.”
Farris took to the podium as family members in the audience wept.
“This has been an emotional case for a lot of people, and that is appropriate and a needed part of recovery, a catharsis,” said Farris, who asked the judge never to make Gollaher a free man again.
“The defendant shows no remorse. He is such a narcissist that he has come here today to tell us how he is a victim,” Farris said. “He is a master manipulator, a monster. We are absolutely out to get him, to make sure justice is served for the victims.”
Farris concluded his remarks by quoting from a letter Gollaher’s niece sent the judge to consider before handing down his sentence. The niece, a Farmington resident, asked the judge to hand down the strongest sentence possible because Gollaher “has been a pedophile his whole adult life.”
Gollaher maintains innocence
Gollaher maintained his innocence during the sentencing hearing, saying his perceived arrogance was really defiance because he knows he has never touched girls inappropriately.
“I am not remorseful for something I did not do,” Gollaher said. “I feel sick, sad and embarrassed because our system is so reckless.” He claimed that he did not cause his victims trauma, but that the system using several adults interrogating minors and subjecting them to physical investigation did that. He said that for a “pure and innocent child” to come up with allegations of abuse proves that it was done at the suggestion of a “reckless detective” who put words in their mouths.
The sentencing stretched on much longer than expected, more than two hours, as Gollaher attempted to delay the proceedings. He claimed many errors in the court record that would “be considered scripture when approved by the court” if not corrected. He pointed out several errors in the sentencing report including spelling and grammatical errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and poor word choice, as well as many items that Gollaher considered unsubstantiated, “bold-faced lies,” fabrications, falsehoods, misrepresentations and information “taken out of context.”
“This could be the poster child of misquotes and misrepresentations,” Gollaher said.
Gollaher took issue with Adult Probation and Parole’s sentencing report that called him “arrogant, deceptive and manipulative.”
In all, Gollaher said he had 21 different issues in the “trash can of a case” that should be corrected before sentencing or appeal, or “kicking the can down the road.”
At one point, Farris tired of Gollaher’s “antics” and formally objected. “He continues to play games to the last second,” Farris said, having to shout over Gollaher. “I am tired of this silliness.”
Hyde did agree to correcting typographical errors and striking information mentioning claims that had been dismissed or expunged. “I recognize the defendant may not agree with the facts alleged,” Hyde said, asking Gollaher to restrain his outbursts if he wanted to remain present in the court.
Gollaher reprimanded the judge for not providing him a fair trial and financial means to conduct the trial while acting in his own defense. “You recklessly handled this case, and you did not want on record your mis-steps,” Gollaher told the judge. “I will fight, and I will fight hard, because that is my right. You convicted an innocent man.”
Multiple times, Hyde told Gollaher he had the right to appeal his decision within 30 days.
“I am not cutting off or curtailing your rights of appeal,” Hyde told Gollaher. “Those rights are preserved.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/03/31/gollaher-sentenced-to-a-minimum-of-30-years-in-state-prison/ | en | 2016-03-31T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/cdf5000b766947e64dd9f3f58340a61d01f9d4000413591fed68a798ea8b9478.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"The Morgan County News",
"Liisa Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:13 | null | 2016-08-19T11:27:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F19%2Ffederal-judge-rules-officer-justified-in-2012-shooting%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | Federal judge rules officer justified in 2012 shooting | null | null | morgannews.com | For over three years now, Morgan County Sheriff’s Sergeant Daniel Scott Peay has had a cloud of legal issues looming over his head over the shooting of Kristine Biggs Johnson. His silver lining was finally found when a federal judge ruled that Sergeant Peay was justified in the 2012 shooting.
The ruling comes as a result of a civil law suit filed by Ms. Johnson against Sergeant Peay and Morgan County.
The case stems from a November 24, 2012 incident when two Morgan County Deputies, Sergeant Peay and his brother Deputy Christian Peay, attempted to pull over a vehicle traveling on Interstate 84 without its lights on.
The driver refused to stop and led officers on a lengthy, high speed, pursuit. Even after Johnson’s tires were spiked, she continued driving into Davis County where other officers joined the pursuit.
After exiting I84 onto a frontage road, Johnson stopped her vehicle, turned it around and drove directly at officers who had exited their vehicles in an attempt to apprehend her.
Sergeant Peay related that at some point his brother disappeared from his view leading him to believe that he had been struck by Johnson’s vehicle. Court documents said Sergeant Peay experienced “tunnel vision,” in this high stress situation.
At this point Sergeant Peay fired his weapon at Johnson in an attempt to reduce the threat level to other officers in the area. The shot struck Johnson in her left eye.
In a memorandum filed August 8, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell stated, “It is clear from the video [patrol vehicle dash camera] that when Ms. Johnson stopped and turned around, she had changed from flight mode to aggressive mode when she drove toward the cars [officers’ patrol cars] and struck them… Sergeant Peay was faced with a situation that was ‘tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving’. Looking at the situation from the perspective of a reasonable officer in all of the circumstances, the court finds that Sergeant Peay’s use of force against Ms. Johnson was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.”
Court documents noted that in this case, “Sergeant Peay’s belief that Deputy Peay was in harm’s way was reasonable. The situation was rapidly changing… she had just deliberately hit Sergeant Peay’s truck. She was wielding a deadly weapon—i.e., the truck and she was heading in the direction Sergeant Peay last saw Deputy Peay…Sergeant Peay reasonably believed that Deputy Peay was about to be pinned between the two cars or otherwise hit.”
Only seven seconds elapsed between the second time Johnson backed up and the time she deliberately collided with Deputy Peay’s car.
The federal judge’s ruling contrasts and corrects Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings’ earlier finding that the shooting was unjustified.
Attorney representing Morgan County, Robert Stirba stated, “The [Davis] county attorney’s opinion is wrong.” Judge Campbell places the responsibility for, and consequences of, the incident squarely on Ms. Johnson by stating, “The fact that Ms. Johnson drove her truck directly at him [Sgt Peay] and in the direction of other officers is not his [Sgt Peay’s] fault… courts have little difficulty in concluding that an officer’s reasonable perception that a vehicle may be used as a weapon may allow the use of deadly force.”
The entire chase and subsequent shooting was captured on officers’ dash camera videos, but the totality of the situation was more than what can be seen through the narrow lens of a video camera. Judge Campbell stated “The court must rely on more than just the videotape evidence because videos do not show everything that is relevant to the court’s analysis.”
Court documents stated that the question of whether Deputy Peay was actually in danger is not relevant. “An officer may be found to have acted reasonably even if he has a mistaken belief as to the facts establishing the existence of exigent circumstances.”
The judge pointed out that Johnson was making her statement from the position of 20/20 hindsight. “The court may not evaluate the circumstances with 20/20 hindsight. In addition, it was shown that the video did not definitively support Ms. Johnson’s conclusion that Sergeant Peay had “plentyof time to look and find out where his brother was.”
She went on to say that in seven seconds time, in a high stress environment, it was not reasonable for an officer to take his eyes off a suspect who had just rammed her truck into the officer’s car and was driving her truck within feet of the officer toward another police car and officers.
“The court is not allowed to judge the officer’s actions in hindsight or second guess what the officer should have done, especially when the truck was being used as a weapon.”
Law enforcement officers must often make split second, life or death, decisions in the line of duty. These decisions are then scrutinized for years by judges, attorneys, the media, and the public. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office is highly pleased with Judge Campbell’s ruling which brings finality and closure to this case almost four years after the incident.
Sergeant Peay also offered words of thanks to the community. He expressed his appreciation to his family, Sheriff Blaine Breshears, and all others who have provided support in this long and drawn out process. Sergeant Peay stated, “My family has been a great strength to me and Sheriff Breshears’ support has been amazing. I want everyone who has supported me to know how grateful I am.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/19/federal-judge-rules-officer-justified-in-2012-shooting/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/e74a1aba689e11096d2c8798967992d5573daf2659ae0b3be7d208f8269b195c.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:58:33 | null | 2016-08-11T14:18:33 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F11%2Fturner-accepts-appointment-as-morgan-citys-newest-council-member%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/front-Eric-Turner.jpg | en | null | Turner accepts appointment as Morgan City’s newest council member | null | null | morgannews.com | Tuesday’s Morgan City Council work meeting had a few new faces in attendance. After the resignation of Councilman Fran Hopkin, the council interviewed four very qualified applicants for the vacancy.
After submitting official letters of interest, each candidate was put in “the hot seat” for a question-and-answer period. The applicants were each asked the same series of four questions, asking for an introduction, an explanation of what drew them to apply, what they felt were the biggest issues facing Morgan City at this time and what they thought made a community livable.
Richard “Dick” Slate was the first to approach the council. He expressed concern over growth and suggested that we “slow the growth until the infrastructure catches up.” Slate praised Morgan City for being a city where residents are concerned with the well being of others and added that well run civic organizations are also key to a livable community.
Ann Marie Robinson, daughter of former Morgan City Mayor Marie Heiner, said she ran because it is “in her blood” and she wanted her children to see that civic service is important to her. Robinson also commented that with all the complaining that happens online, she thought it was important to try and be a part of the solution.
Robinson commended the people of Morgan City saying, “We have great teachers here. The city is full of honest, God-fearing people who look out for each other.” She continued saying that she loves all the activities and small-town community events, “That’s what makes it home,” she concluded.
Eric Turner also threw his cowboy hat in the ring. Turner is a Morgan native who has served the community for years. Turner serves the youth in 4-H and is an active part of the Morgan County Fair and the FFA. He served as an EMT for 13 years and is currently employed as a project manager at Hill Air Force Base working with HVAC, but he also has a background in electrical.
Turner said as a part of his employment, he has been given the chance to visit and work with other cities and their engineers, which has given him a basic understanding of the dynamics of utility issues. He has dealt with the electrical end of wastewater plants and feels he could catch up quickly with that ongoing conversation.
“A mentor of mine encouraged me to do this and I figured it was probably time to step up,” said Turner. He said, “When people take care of each other here, it’s magical. To me, that’s what makes a livable community. Isn’t it great that we can send our kids to the fair with some money and not worry?”
Final candidate Jacob “Jake” Carter agreed, noting that he enjoyed that as a child as well. Carter is newly married and going to school and wanted to use this time of his life to better himself and his community.
Carter currently works at Hill Air Force Base in change management. Because he facilitates communication between customers and military personnel, he “knows the importance of tax payer dollars.”
Carter stated how much he loves Morgan and the service-oriented atmosphere that exists here. “I remember when the flooding happened a few years ago. I was helping to sandbag and everyone just pitched in and worked together. It was great.”
The four candidates were voted upon during the following meeting. The council was evenly split on their decision, resulting in a tie between Robinson and Turner. Because a majority was met this time around, unlike the last appointment tie, Mayor Ray Little cast the deciding vote naming Turner as the newest Morgan City Councilman.
Turner was sworn in, and although he admitted to feeling a bit “overwhelmed,” he took his seat on the bench and participated in his first meeting as Councilman Turner.
Turner’s wife, Kim, was proud of her husband’s willingness to serve. “He will do an amazing job. Eric is always trying to look for solutions and thrives on helping out. I think that this will be a great opportunity for him to give back,” she said proudly. “Do I feel we are a little stretched? Yes, but I think my kids just think this is how a normal family lives. They have been out serving and helping since they were born.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/11/turner-accepts-appointment-as-morgan-citys-newest-council-member/ | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/70137ee627b65cb919aaeeaff3bc718ea5320bfeafea823230e36caeab54dc65.json |
[
"Don Anderson",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:52 | null | 2015-12-11T15:43:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2015%2F12%2F11%2Fa-discussion-about-religion-lds-church-essays%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | A Discussion About Religion | null | null | morgannews.com | New Religion Column in The Morgan County News
For some time I have been considering publishing a religion section in The Morgan County News. I am glad to say that this is the first in a series of articles on religion.
By way of context on me, I am the publisher of The Morgan County News. I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life. I served in a bishopric, and worked for the LDS Church as Sr. Vice President of FamilySearch for 12 years. FamilySearch is the LDS Church organization in charge of family history, genealogy, temple ordinance systems, policies, and support. I have traveled all over the world in my role for FamilySearch and have seen the inner workings of the Church. I have personally worked with about half of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and many of the Seventy.
About a year ago I came across the Gospel topic essays on LDS.org. These were approved by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency and were published on LDS.org. I have found, however, that few individuals have read them or are even aware of them. The recent discussion about the Church’s approach to families with gay members and the positions stated on both sides of the issues made me consider what the role of members is with regards to asking questions and receiving personal revelation on these topics. I have seen many decisions made at the Church, and the vigorous discussion over each significant decision that is made. I have not seen this type of vigorous discussion among members. I have seen discomfort expressed by some in even having the conversations at all. The fact that this discussion is hard makes it important and worth having. The discussions online, and in other mediums, occasionally simply descended into individuals stating dogma instead of first seeking to understand and then be understood.
I thought that publishing these essays, asking a few questions that I have, encouraging each of you to share your thoughts and questions would be a good exercise to engage in as a community on relevant topics that effect Utah, its culture, and individuals who live here whether members of the LDS Church or not.
Below is the introduction to the essays and the essay on Race and the Priesthood. I decided to publish the Race and the Priesthood essay first, because I thought there were many parallels between things that were said about this topic in the past and what is being said today about families with gay family members. Growing up I was taught as truth many of the things the Church disavows in the essay. This essay made me ponder on how I came to be taught the incorrect doctrine. It is instructive to look at the historical context of what was taught, how it was communicated, and the process by which a change occurred. It is also worth considering how each of us deal with the reaction to a change in policy or doctrine and how these changes effect our relationship and understanding of the Church.
Here are a few questions that I have considered. I would love to hear your thoughts and any questions that you have. We will publish some of these thoughts in the newspaper and continue the dialog in future weeks. You can either send me your thoughts at don@morgannews.com, or place your comments online in the article at morgannews.com. Feel free to share this with family members and friends and engage in the discussion with them.
What is the appropriate level of public and private debate on doctrinal topics?
How does the acknowledgement of past bias in Church leadership in the essay affect the way we accept counsel from Church leadership today?
How does the restriction of black members from the priesthood in the past, and the Church’s statement in the essay about the historical context of the decision, affect your view of the current topic of gay members and the Church’s revised policy towards them and their families?
Introduction to the Gospel Topic Essays from LDS.org
In the early 1830s, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was less than three years old, the Lord invited members of the Church to seek wisdom by study and by the exercise of faith:
“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118).
This is more than a simple exhortation to learn about the gospel. It is an invitation from the Lord to recognize that not all sources of knowledge are equally reliable. Seeking “out of the best books” does not mean seeking only one set of opinions, but it does require us to distinguish between reliable sources and unreliable sources.
Recognizing that today so much information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be obtained from questionable and often inaccurate sources, officials of the Church began in 2013 to publish straightforward, in-depth essays on a number of topics. The purpose of these essays, which have been approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has been to gather accurate information from many different sources and publications and place it in the Gospel Topics section of LDS.org, where the material can more easily be accessed and studied by Church members and other interested parties.
The Church places great emphasis on knowledge and on the importance of being well informed about Church history, doctrine, and practices. Ongoing historical research, revisions of the Church’s curriculum, and the use of new technologies allowing a more systematic and thorough study of scriptures have all been pursued by the Church to that end. We again encourage members to study the Gospel Topics essays cited in the links to the right as they “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
Link to this information on lds.org: https://www.lds.org/topics/essays?lang=eng
Race and the Priesthood Essay from LDS.org
In theology and practice, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces the universal human family. Latter-day Saint scripture and teachings affirm that God loves all of His children and makes salvation available to all. God created the many diverse races and ethnicities and esteems them all equally. As the Book of Mormon puts it, “all are alike unto God.”
The structure and organization of the Church encourage racial integration. Latter-day Saints attend Church services according to the geographical boundaries of their local ward, or congregation. By definition, this means that the racial, economic, and demographic composition of Mormon congregations generally mirrors that of the wider local community. The Church’s lay ministry also tends to facilitate integration: a black bishop may preside over a mostly white congregation; a Hispanic woman may be paired with an Asian woman to visit the homes of a racially diverse membership. Church members of different races and ethnicities regularly minister in one another’s homes and serve alongside one another as teachers, as youth leaders, and in myriad other assignments in their local congregations. Such practices make The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a thoroughly integrated faith.
Despite this modern reality, for much of its history—from the mid-1800s until 1978—the Church did not ordain men of black African descent to its priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances.
The Church was established in 1830, during an era of great racial division in the United States. At the time, many people of African descent lived in slavery, and racial distinctions and prejudice were not just common but customary among white Americans. Those realities, though unfamiliar and disturbing today, influenced all aspects of people’s lives, including their religion. Many Christian churches of that era, for instance, were segregated along racial lines. From the beginnings of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity could be baptized and received as members. Toward the end of his life, Church founder Joseph Smith openly opposed slavery. There has never been a Churchwide policy of segregated congregations.
During the first two decades of the Church’s existence, a few black men were ordained to the priesthood. One of these men, Elijah Abel, also participated in temple ceremonies in Kirtland, Ohio, and was later baptized as proxy for deceased relatives in Nauvoo, Illinois. There is no reliable evidence that any black men were denied the priesthood during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. In a private Church council three years after Joseph Smith’s death, Brigham Young praised Q. Walker Lewis, a black man who had been ordained to the priesthood, saying, “We have one of the best Elders, an African.”
In 1852, President Brigham Young publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood, though thereafter blacks continued to join the Church through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church presidents restricted blacks from receiving the temple endowment or being married in the temple. Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church.
The Church in an American Racial Culture
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored amidst a highly contentious racial culture in which whites were afforded great privilege. In 1790, the U.S. Congress limited citizenship to “free white person[s].” Over the next half century, issues of race divided the country—while slave labor was legal in the more agrarian South, it was eventually banned in the more urbanized North. Even so, racial discrimination was widespread in the North as well as the South, and many states implemented laws banning interracial marriage. In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that blacks possessed “no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” A generation after the Civil War (1861–65) led to the end of slavery in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional, a decision that legalized a host of public color barriers until the Court reversed itself in 1954. Not until 1967 did the Court strike down laws forbidding interracial marriage.
In 1850, the U.S. Congress created Utah Territory, and the U.S. president appointed Brigham Young to the position of territorial governor. Southerners who had converted to the Church and migrated to Utah with their slaves raised the question of slavery’s legal status in the territory. In two speeches delivered before the Utah territorial legislature in January and February 1852, Brigham Young announced a policy restricting men of black African descent from priesthood ordination. At the same time, President Young said that at some future day, black Church members would “have [all] the privilege and more” enjoyed by other members.
The justifications for this restriction echoed the widespread ideas about racial inferiority that had been used to argue for the legalization of black “servitude” in the Territory of Utah. According to one view, which had been promulgated in the United States from at least the 1730s, blacks descended from the same lineage as the biblical Cain, who slew his brother Abel. Those who accepted this view believed that God’s “curse” on Cain was the mark of a dark skin. Black servitude was sometimes viewed as a second curse placed upon Noah’s grandson Canaan as a result of Ham’s indiscretion toward his father. Although slavery was not a significant factor in Utah’s economy and was soon abolished, the restriction on priesthood ordinations remained.
Removing the Restriction
Even after 1852, at least two black Mormons continued to hold the priesthood. When one of these men, Elijah Abel, petitioned to receive his temple endowment in 1879, his request was denied. Jane Manning James, a faithful black member who crossed the plains and lived in Salt Lake City until her death in 1908, similarly asked to enter the temple; she was allowed to perform baptisms for the dead for her ancestors but was not allowed to participate in other ordinances. The curse of Cain was often put forward as justification for the priesthood and temple restrictions. Around the turn of the century, another explanation gained currency: blacks were said to have been less than fully valiant in the premortal battle against Lucifer and, as a consequence, were restricted from priesthood and temple blessings.
By the late 1940s and 1950s, racial integration was becoming more common in American life. Church President David O. McKay emphasized that the restriction extended only to men of black African descent. The Church had always allowed Pacific Islanders to hold the priesthood, and President McKay clarified that black Fijians and Australian Aborigines could also be ordained to the priesthood and instituted missionary work among them. In South Africa, President McKay reversed a prior policy that required prospective priesthood holders to trace their lineage out of Africa.
Nevertheless, given the long history of withholding the priesthood from men of black African descent, Church leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter the policy, and they made ongoing efforts to understand what should be done. After praying for guidance, President McKay did not feel impressed to lift the ban.
As the Church grew worldwide, its overarching mission to “go ye therefore, and teach all nations” seemed increasingly incompatible with the priesthood and temple restrictions. The Book of Mormon declared that the gospel message of salvation should go forth to “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” While there were no limits on whom the Lord invited to “partake of his goodness” through baptism, the priesthood and temple restrictions created significant barriers, a point made increasingly evident as the Church spread in international locations with diverse and mixed racial heritages.
Brazil in particular presented many challenges. Unlike the United States and South Africa where legal and de facto racism led to deeply segregated societies, Brazil prided itself on its open, integrated, and mixed racial heritage. In 1975, the Church announced that a temple would be built in São Paulo, Brazil. As the temple construction proceeded, Church authorities encountered faithful black and mixed-ancestry Mormons who had contributed financially and in other ways to the building of the São Paulo temple, a sanctuary they realized they would not be allowed to enter once it was completed. Their sacrifices, as well as the conversions of thousands of Nigerians and Ghanaians in the 1960s and early 1970s, moved Church leaders.
Church leaders pondered promises made by prophets such as Brigham Young that black members would one day receive priesthood and temple blessings. In June 1978, after “spending many hours in the Upper Room of the [Salt Lake] Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance,” Church President Spencer W. Kimball, his counselors in the First Presidency, and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles received a revelation. “He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come,” the First Presidency announced on June 8. The First Presidency stated that they were “aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us” that “all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood.” The revelation rescinded the restriction on priesthood ordination. It also extended the blessings of the temple to all worthy Latter-day Saints, men and women. The First Presidency statement regarding the revelation was canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants as Official Declaration 2.
This “revelation on the priesthood,” as it is commonly known in the Church, was a landmark revelation and a historic event. Those who were present at the time described it in reverent terms. Gordon B. Hinckley, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, remembered it this way: “There was a hallowed and sanctified atmosphere in the room. For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet of God who was joined by his Brethren. … Every man in that circle, by the power of the Holy Ghost, knew the same thing. … Not one of us who was present on that occasion was ever quite the same after that. Nor has the Church been quite the same.”
Reaction worldwide was overwhelmingly positive among Church members of all races. Many Latter-day Saints wept for joy at the news. Some reported feeling a collective weight lifted from their shoulders. The Church began priesthood ordinations for men of African descent immediately, and black men and women entered temples throughout the world. Soon after the revelation, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, an apostle, spoke of new “light and knowledge” that had erased previously “limited understanding.”
The Church Today
Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.
Since that day in 1978, the Church has looked to the future, as membership among Africans, African Americans and others of African descent has continued to grow rapidly. While Church records for individual members do not indicate an individual’s race or ethnicity, the number of Church members of African descent is now in the hundreds of thousands.
The Church proclaims that redemption through Jesus Christ is available to the entire human family on the conditions God has prescribed. It affirms that God is “no respecter of persons” and emphatically declares that anyone who is righteous—regardless of race—is favored of Him. The teachings of the Church in relation to God’s children are epitomized by a verse in the second book of Nephi: “[The Lord] denieth none that cometh unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.”
For full footnotes and other information view the article on LDS.org at:
http://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood | http://morgannews.com/2015/12/11/a-discussion-about-religion-lds-church-essays/ | en | 2015-12-11T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/4831ffd7c1727cd7b77aa0adbb734066d2ed5ba0b43837896db0a32b7037b7da.json |
[
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"The Morgan County News",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:46:52 | null | 2016-04-28T11:54:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F04%2F28%2Ffema-rolls-out-new-morgan-floodplain-maps%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | FEMA rolls out new Morgan floodplain maps | null | null | morgannews.com | New floodplain designations made by the state and federal government in Morgan County may have a significant effect on many residents as they can drop flood insurance and potentially build new homes for less money. The new floodplain maps are currently available at the county offices and will be on display at a public open house May 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the county building.
“It will have some interesting effects on the county,” said County Planning Director Bill Cobabe. “This has insurance and development ramifications.”
FEMA and state representatives have been studying portions of Morgan for over a year using technology updated since the last study conducted almost 30 years ago. The result is a “dramatic” reduction of land previously found in the floodplain that no longer will be. Cobabe said in the East Canyon area, the reduction is as much as 70 percent.
He said approximately 150 county homeowners living in floodplain areas now will find they are no longer in the floodplain due to the new study results. That means they can ditch their flood insurance.
While many may be happy to reduce their home insurance premiums, Cobabe warned that residents should always be prepared for flooding. “We live in an area that is prone to periodic flooding,” Cobabe said. “People should always be prepared.”
If owners want to build a home on land that is in the designated floodplain, they have to invest significant money to raise the structure above the floodplain. Now that FEMA has removed the floodplain from many areas, the costs to build in those areas may significantly decrease as well, Cobabe said.
“I have talked to a few residents about the new floodplain maps,” Cobabe said. “Most are pleased with the changes.”
But it can swing the other way, as well. The change also means that about 20 homes not previously in the floodplain now will be. Some of those are in city limits.
“If you have questions about if this affects you, come see me,” Cobabe said.
To see the floodplain as designated in 1987, visit the county’s website. To see the new proposed floodplain that is set to take effect in one year, visit www.fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata/. Changes were made due to better and more accurate technology such as aerial fly-overs that determine elevations and topography, Cobabe said.
Because of the time and expense involved in floodplain research, Cobabe said a new study is probably not expected for decades. While the public can now view the first blush of FEMA’s new floodplain maps and offer opinions to FEMA, state and county officials, the new maps likely won’t change between now and a year from now, when the new maps will officially take effect.
“The review period provides community officials and citizens in the affected communities with an opportunity to identify changes or corrections to non-technical information, such as corporate limits, road names and stream names,” according to a FEMA letter sent to county officials.
The study focused on areas of the county that are poised for potential development such as Mountain Green, Morgan City, Round Valley, Richville and Porterville, according to recommendations from Cobabe, the former county emergency services director, city officials, and the county contracted engineer. | http://morgannews.com/2016/04/28/fema-rolls-out-new-morgan-floodplain-maps/ | en | 2016-04-28T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/458a3fa660307222ae9df8b0cb2bcfa337024fb35afd983e123ebbaebcfc9de6.json |
[
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:49:23 | null | 2016-03-17T13:12:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F03%2F17%2Fnew-middle-school-high-school-addition-on-priority-list%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | New middle school, high school addition on priority list | null | null | morgannews.com | It has taken years of work by the Morgan County School Board and its Growth Committee, but the future of Morgan’s schools seems to be mapped out. At their March 8 board meeting, the school board approved priorities including gearing up for a bond election to be placed on the November 2017 ballot; building a new middle school with grades 5 to 8 on 12 acres on Trapper’s Loop in Mountain Green by 2021; and adding a new two-story classroom wing to Morgan High School while demolishing the older wing in 2022.
In an effort to inform voters exactly where their money would go if the bond election passes next year, the school board is soliciting architects for renderings of both a new middle school and high school classroom wing. The district hopes to have completed renderings, which could cost the district $50,000, by September.
“We can’t make the case without having our homework done,” Board Member Mark Farmer said.
But, District Business Administrator D’Lynn Poll noted, renderings are not full detailed plans, which would cost much more, to the tune of 3 to 4 percent of the entire cost of the projects. Poll estimated that a new middle school could cost up to $20 million while the high school addition may climb to $9 million. As such, detailed architectural plans could cost the district more than $1 million.
The cheaper renderings could point to a price point the district will seek on the ballot in 2017 not to exceed $38 million, Poll said. It could also help the district decide on the amount of capital lease they may seek as another funding option if the bond doesn’t pass.
“If a bond fails, an option would be to use a capital lease to fund these projects,” Board Member Ron Blunck said. “It is not something we said we are going to do. It is an option.”
Board members said they would support a “basic” middle school design “with no skylights and big timber.”
“It should be cost effective,” Farmer said, “not the Taj Mahal.”
Board members are worried that enrollment is going to outpace the district’s construction plans. Many are watching the 48 new apartment units being constructed near the high school, and noting plans for another 200 units on the other side of the freeway. Using the average growth rate from the last eight years, reducing it a bit, the district could have 4,600 students by 2027 compared to today’s 2,800, Board President Ken Durrant said.
“As we look at what our needs are going to be in the future, we will need three elementaries the size we have now by 2027,” Durrant said. There are currently 632 students at Mountain Green Elementary and 746 at Morgan Elementary School. Another 1,051 students are enrolled at the middle school.
Poll said that the current middle school with grades 6-8 is split almost exactly evenly when considering where students live: Mountain Green vs. the rest of the county. Therefore, building a new middle school in Mountain Green would reduce Morgan Middle School’s enrollment by half. Taking fifth graders from both Mountain Green and Morgan Elementary schools and moving them into one of two middle schools would reduce the strain on both elementaries.
While the district would like to consider building a new high school to replace the current one constructed more than 50 years ago, it doesn’t have the bonding capacity to build a new $60 million high school.
“We all agree we have to do something at the high school,” Farmer said. The deteriorating A and B halls are not up to fire code and would need new sprinklers, heating, plumbing and ramped outdoor entrances.
“A $4 million remodel would mean it was a new building by the time it was done,” Board Member Ted Taylor said.
Musical portables
In the meantime, the district is playing musical chairs with its portable classrooms, paying $7,000 each to move several portables from Morgan City to Mountain Green Elementary. It will take highway patrol escorts and a tricky route avoiding overhead freeway bridges during a weekend, Poll reported. Others will be moved for $4,500 each from Morgan Elementary to Morgan Middle School.
“Portables are going to be there this fall because our bond failed,” Durrant claimed.
“We are going to run out of space to put portables,” Blunck said.
Political implications
Musical portables is not only a sign of overcrowding, but also of political positioning. With several school board member seats on November’s ballot, Durrant said it could be tempting for several current board members to “walk away” and let other elected officials grapple with the problem.
“But if you do, you are doomed,” Durrant said. “We need to face the music this year.”
Durrant said that the district hasn’t fared well the last five times it attempted to pass a bond.
“You have a specific group of people that will fight you this year or next,” Durrant alledged.
Even if the district does complete a new middle school and high school addition, that would only defer the need to construct a new elementary school for another three to four years, Durrant said.
“We are going to look for land regardless,” Farmer said.
“We need to get an elementary in a more central location” such as Milton, Blunck said. “One in the middle makes sense.”
Superintendent Doug Jacobs said the board should not lose sight of the fact that the high school kitchen “is in crisis.”
Jennie Earl, candidate for a school board seat on the November ballot, said the district should consider building a science building, or “one building that could accommodate one specialty,” to be used by the different schools.
“We have a lot of balls in the air,” Durrant said. “No matter what you do, you are going to buzz somebody.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/03/17/new-middle-school-high-school-addition-on-priority-list/ | en | 2016-03-17T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/fda6701f71de7749ce5d8daf17e0d9e28c42e42db82f97975fd38f2f3237711c.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:55:38 | null | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F11%2Fmorgan-valley-marathon-finishes-landon-strong%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/3-Crittenden-family.jpg | en | null | Morgan Valley Marathon finishes ‘Landon strong’ | null | null | morgannews.com | This year’s Morgan Valley Marathon raised funds once again for the family of local hero Landon Streadbeck who left us earlier in the year after a courageous year-long battle with cancer.
Landon would have been proud of his fellow Morgan athletes who showed strength and finished strong.
Superstar runner Rosy Lee was the first-place female marathon finisher and was only a few seconds behind overall-winner David Rule from Pinedale, Wyo.
Mike Hardy, who just came back from competing in the Olympic trials for steeplechase, took the overall first-place prize for the half marathon. The finisher closest behind taking second place overall was a whole 17 minutes behind him. However, that second place runner was only 15 years old. It was no small task for Morgan resident Carson Wilkins to come that close to an Olympic track athlete at such a young age.
The youngest half marathon runner was only 12 years old and the oldest, 72. There were five Morgan High School students who finished in the top 10 of their age group including Broc Matthews, Branden Brooks, Cameron Brooks, Carson Skidmore and Payton Bailey.
Morgan’s own Shannon Tripp and TJ Telford took second in their age groups for the half marathon and Jacob Welker, Jason Kilgore and Tausha Dingman all took third in their divisions.
John Stauder and Daron Haddock both topped their age groups encompassing those 50-69 years of age. Not only that, but Stauder took 12th place overall.
The top 10 of the 10K included three Morgan County residents. Hayden Thurston was the overall winner with Chris Vesper and Ryan Tripp placing sixth and 10th respectively. Vesper and Tripp also took first place in their divisions.
Vesper lost her husband, Paul, suddenly while vacationing in Puerto Rico in 2014. The day of the race was his birthday. It was a day to celebrate living in the moment “because you never know when it will be your last.” Vesper has said on many occasions, “The only bad ride, run, walk, hike, or workout is the one you didn’t do.” Her daughter, Sydnie Pappas, also ran the 5K to celebrate her “P-daddy.”
The youngest participant in this run was only 8 years old. In the 19 and under category, the top five places in the female division went almost entirely to Morgan residents with Carlee Toone in first place, Kimberly Birt in second, Bella Porter in third and Kallie Croft in fifth.
The top 10 in the male division of 19 and under participants showed Croydon residents taking the top three spots. Seth Wilkinson, Sam Wilkinson and Taite Toone were the top three finishers. Nathan Croft and Ryder Waldron were also in the top 10.
Doug Anderson took second in his division for the 10K and Morgan residents Kristianna Lundgreen, Jeffrey Lundgreen, Alyson Wilkinson and Vinda Preslar all took third place in their divisions.
It is exciting to see experienced runners cross the finish line either earning these top spots or surpassing a personal best. But it is equally rewarding to see the 5K runners of every age, ability, shape or size come across that finish line. It is a race designed for people at all levels to enjoy just getting out and being active.
During the 5K you see parents with strollers, caregivers pushing wheelchairs and smiles on every face. One particularly touching moment this year was watching Jackson Sommers and his mother, Katie, cross the finish line. You could see exhaustion, tears and smiles all at once as the duo came to the end of the race.
Katie said, “Watching Jackson be able to run when at one time in his life we were told that he would always need a walker to just walk was a very humbling experience. It always amazes me what people with special needs can teach us. They show us that through pure determination and will, anything is possible.”
She continued saying that, “After the race was done, Jack had such a big smile and I was overcome with emotion. He asked me if we could run again next year. He said that he was so excited that he did something he wasn’t sure if he could. Throughout the race, he kept encouraging himself. He would whisper ‘I can do this.’ We could all learn a lesson by not giving up on ourselves so easy and trying to tell ourselves…’I can do this’ more often. Such a special day, a moment I’ll never forget.”
Runners from all over have been training all year for this event, so organizers made every effort to ensure that it is a positive experience for everyone involved. Organizers include: Kim Turner, Heidi Eriksson, Liz Donaldson, Janet Pace, Aimee Ferrin and Tara Low. These Morgan County ladies and their families devote countless hours to making this a great event.
Morgan roads have been the training ground for runners for years. The beauty, fresh clean air and majestic mountains are the perfect backdrop, so hosting a certified marathon here was an easy decision. This scenic run got its beginnings as part of a commemoration of the Morgan County Fair’s 100-year anniversary and the community here has supported this event so well, the tradition has lived on for six years now.
Keeping with the tradition that started in 2011, the 100th year of the Morgan County Fair, the marathon awards the 100th runner who crosses the finish line $100. This year’s winner was 11 year-old Ellie Demond of Morgan.
The 2016 event had approximately 700 runners. Twenty-five states were represented this year, along with two entries from Canada.
The event begins the night before the run with a pasta dinner that is free to participants to help them “carb-up” for their runs. This is also where the runners would pick up their bib numbers, shirts and swag bags.
There is a great expense attached to organizing a marathon. Race permits, insurance, law enforcement, barricades, portable toilets, race shirts, medals, food and prizes….the list seems endless. Without sponsors and great local and community support, the marathon would not be possible. Organizers want to give a big “thank you” to all those involved.
All three races begin and end at the Morgan County Fairgrounds. The route has been certified again this year, so runners can use this race to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
One Morgan resident, after finishing the marathon, excitedly told a race director that he qualified for the Boston Marathon. After attempting to qualify at other marathons that have downhill courses, he finally qualified here in Morgan, which is not a downhill course, but a very true and honest race for all marathon runners.
There were many first-time marathon finishers as well as runners who have completed hundreds of marathons. John Bozung, who dedicated this race to his 20-year-old step son who passed away just three weeks ago, crossed the finish line at the Morgan Valley Marathon, making it his 402nd marathon.
If you have never participated in this event before, now is the perfect time to begin training for next year’s race. The run is incredibly well organized and the beautiful scenery and incredible workout you get is worth every sore muscle that may follow.
“The dedication, training and racing may not be easy, but it is worth it, every single step!” say race organizers. “The Morgan Valley Marathon is truly a special event, an experience that runners continue to come back for every year. Like Andrew Jensen of Taylorsville, who was proud to say that he has run the MVM all six years! We hope through this event, our community will be inspired to Do More…Be More…Run Morgan!!” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/11/morgan-valley-marathon-finishes-landon-strong/ | en | 2016-08-03T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/7f8ab1cf2e68f0d57058099cbee52b96d4b6433de2d81852d00bb5c7c313c1e8.json |
[
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:48:56 | null | 2016-01-21T14:44:53 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F01%2F21%2Fschool-board-considers-putting-bond-off-another-year%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | School board considers putting bond off another year | null | null | morgannews.com | The Morgan County School Board backed off plans to pursue a bond issue on the November 2016 ballot, now wanting more enrollment figures and pricing on moving portables to Mountain Green Elementary.
“We are facing tremendous growth in the district, and we are trying to figure out how to handle it teacher-wise, student-wise and building-wise,” Board President Ken Durrant said.
The board is trying to pin down the proper time to approach voters for more money that would be used to build a new middle school on district-owned property on Trappers Loop as well as an addition to Morgan High School.
Superintendent Doug Jacobs noted that if a new middle school were constructed in Mountain Green, students from that end of the county wouldn’t need to be bussed to Morgan City until they hit ninth grade.
The board also discussed a new school building for just fifth and sixth graders, just seventh and eighth graders, or even only for grades kindergarten through three.
Whatever the district decides to do, they are limited with how much money it can seek from county taxpayers: $34 million.
“We could eat that up in a hurry,” Board Member Ron Blunck said.
With several school board seats set to be on the ballot in the next 10 months, seeking a bond is a politically-charge issue, school administrators noted.
“More than half the board is up for re-election this year,” said Tim Wolff, Morgan Elementary School principal. “A bond is a decisive or intense conversation in this community.” Placing both school board seats and a bond on the same ballot would create “one-issue candidates,” Wolff said. “And you do much more than one issue,” he told the board at their Jan. 12 meeting.
“Your board may be different next year,” Durrant said.
Whenever the board decides to put the issue on the ballot, all agreed that the district must specifically tell voters beforehand how they intend to spend the money. Business Administrator D’Lynn Poll said a recent bond was passed in Davis County because of such specificity, while one was turned down in Park City because of a lack of specificity.
The board asked school principals to share with them their needs in the future. MGES Principal Heidi Andreason said her crystal ball has recently been more of a snow globe, “and there are a lot of flakes.”
Board Member Mark Farmer, who works in the finance industry, noted that some pundits have predicted an upcoming recession. Voters finding themselves in a new recession could have a sway on their votes, he noted.
Upcoming recession or not, some board members say the time is ticking.
Several board members noted that the district would need three years after a bond is passed before a school or addition could be opened to students. Delaying placement of the bond on the ballot this year will push that timeline out even more.
“All of our schools will be full in three years,” Jacobs said.
“In five years, we are going to be packed,” Board Member Ted Taylor said. If modular are placed at schools for the upcoming school year, the bond is passed after the November 2017 vote, then a new school would not be online until August of 2019 or January of 2020, Poll estimated.
Durrant said that building must be done with an eye to future growth so as not to open the doors of a new school when that school would already be filled to capacity.
“When we build, we need to build for the future, not open your door to a full school,” Durrant said.
The timing may be right, however, when the district pays off a substantial capital lease in 2018, Durrant noted.
By 2018, the district will pay off the capital lease that was used to finance improvements to the high school, freeing up a $400,000 annual payment. The bond used to construct Mountain Green Elementary will be paid off in 2025.
Until the district decides to ask the voters for more money, they need to focus on three priorities: moving portables, improving the fifth grade building at Morgan Middle School, and addressing boiler problems, Jacobs said.
“We can continue to place portables as our facilities are deteriorating,” Jacobs said. “We need to have something that drives the bond.”
Andreason said getting four portable on campus could help the school accommodate expected growth for up to three years. A portable would also be needed at MMS by next school year.
In the meantime, Poll said putting the bond off another year will give the district time to collect date, to see how many students through eighth grade would be living in Mountain Green when a new school opens. If there are not enough in Mountain Green, some may have to be bussed from Milton, an issue that could be a deciding factor for county voters.
“The next two years are going to be critical to see what direction our growth is going to be going,” Poll noted. She is keeping a close eye on development in Mountain Green, the fastest growing area of the county. “We can get a better feel for where we are going to go.”
Poll also wants time to collect quotes on relocating and remodeling portables the district already owns as compared to buying new portables at about $62,000 each. | http://morgannews.com/2016/01/21/school-board-considers-putting-bond-off-another-year/ | en | 2016-01-21T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/9c944ada81eb774fed168135e95068416c7f8ced1fd02a5dfec4f01d0aa138fa.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Liisa Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:56:07 | null | 2016-08-11T14:36:05 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F11%2Flayton-man-charged-with-felony-for-threatening-morgan-county-officers%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/front-sameul-eduardo-beckstead_1469991198458_9829285_ver1.0_640_360.jpeg | en | null | Layton man charged with felony for threatening Morgan County officers | null | null | morgannews.com | What started out as a routine traffic stop Wednesday, July 17, turned into death threats toward Morgan County Sheriff’s deputies and their families as well as felony charges. The department is asking residents to respect the privacy and safety of deputies and their families and not reveal personal contact information.
The deputy stopped the car in a residential area of Mountain Green when the 20-year-old driver, Layton resident Samuel Beckstead, was clocked going 46 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone.
The vehicle was neither registered nor insured. A second deputy arrived as back up when Beckstead was cited and his car impounded.
Hours later, Beckstead sent text messages threatening to find out where the deputies lived to kill and rape their families. He was arrested the next day and bailed out of jail.
Due to the severity of the threats, the Utah State Bureau of Investigation handled the investigation to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Beckstead faces charges including retaliation against a witness, victim or informant (third degree felonies), as well as three counts of threat of violence (Class B misdemeanors).
“We are asking the public not to disclose addresses or information regarding deputies or their families,” according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office facebook page. “If asked where deputies live or other information about them or their families, please do not provide this information. Attempt to get a license plate number and call 911.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/11/layton-man-charged-with-felony-for-threatening-morgan-county-officers/ | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/577ca67d6a2d75d5f09bd7cca503e6f249df9272c8012e544893651c167e5708.json |
[
"Katie Mecham",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:32 | null | 2016-08-19T11:36:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F19%2Fmorgan-4-h-youth-produce-prize-worthy-livestock%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/Grand-Champion-Lisa-Blazzard-Reserve-Champion-Brynlee-Wixom.jpg | en | null | Morgan 4-H youth produce prize worthy livestock | null | null | morgannews.com | This summer 174 4-H youth around our valley took on the responsibility of raising sheep, swine, and beef as part of the Morgan County 4-H Jr. Livestock program.
Raising livestock requires dedication to take care of the daily needs of the animals and also prepare to present them to be judged during fair week. The program that has been around since 1984 is held in cooperation with 4-H and FFA to provide development opportunities for youth raising animals.
The program aims to help participants function as adults in society and accept responsibilities, gain ability to communicate, inquire, solve problems, make decisions, and work with other people.
This year the market price for animals was down; however, the number of kids involved and the generosity of the buyers made this year a great one. Extension Associate Professor of Family & Consumer Science, Amanda Christensen said, “It was a steady sale.” “The buyers really came to support,” Eric Turner, Morgan County 4-H Jr. Livestock president, explained gratefully.
Marci Stapley stood out this year as she raised and presented a lamb, hog and steer. “I was impressed with that,” Turner said of Stapley participating with all three animals for her last year in the program. “That is a lot of responsibility.”
Most competition settings rely on the natural abilities of the participant. The 4-H Jr. Livestock program relies on the determination and dedication of the participant which levels the playing field. From the high school senior to the third grader, from the football superstar to the petite dancer, all can not only participate but also become super successful with a livestock project.
One such example showed itself in a memorable way when Krystin Spens showed her sheep. “This is what the program is all about,” Turner echoed the words that the judge said as the sixth grader presented.
Krystin hasn’t let having down syndrome stop her from doing the things she wants to do and the 4-H Jr. Livestock Auction was the perfect way to show off her fun personality, determination and skills. The judge and attendees were impressed with her abilities and applauded her for her skills with her animal.
The program is growing as parents and kids are seeing the benefits that come from being involved in a youth development program. Participants learn responsibility in taking care of their animal. The daily feeding and maintenance cannot be done without dedication and accountability.
Participants also learn record keeping. Kids as young as eight are required to document their experience in a 4-H portfolio. “Thank you to both youth and parents for taking the time to learn how to put together a portfolio and for doing such an exceptional job this year,” Nicole Reed, 4-H program coordinator commented.
Contestants also have the opportunity to learn that they can do hard things. Many kids would be too scared to hold the rope of a 3,000-4,000-pound steer. These kids don’t just have to master this fear, but also add the fear of presenting in front of a judge while holding that rope. Competing builds confidence.
This program is reliant on the support of the buyers and also the hard work of the committee. “It would never happen without the volunteers,” Turner said. He is grateful for all the people whose dedication helps to make this livestock program a huge success. “There is a committee of people that come together to pull this off.” The committee begins planning for the sale in January and works throughout the year until after the fair. “They just do so much,” Turner added.
The current 4-H year is coming to a close so now is the time to begin looking forward to the next year of 4-H. Re-enrollment will begin on Oct. 1. In addition, those in grades 10-12 whom are interested in applying to become a 4-H Livestock Ambassador should visit the 4-H office for an application in September or contact Nicole Reed at 801-829-3472.
Congratulations and great job to all 4-H and FFA Jr. Livestock participants.
Swine Quality Winners: Grand Champion Maloree Stapley; and Reserve Champion Brittney Jay. Showmanship Winners: Senior Showman Grand Champion, Aspen Francis; Reserve Champion, Brittney Jay; Intermediate Showman Grand Champion, Porter Giles; Reserve Champion, Cole Peterson; Junior Showman Grand Champion, Cali Stuart; and Reserve Champion, Maggie Shupe.
Sheep Quality Winners: Grand Champion, Lisa Blazzard; and Reserve Champion, Brynlee Wixom. Showmanship Winners: Senior Showman Grand Champion, Lisa Blazzard; Reserve Champion, Maloree Stapley; Intermediate Showman Grand Champion, Janel Blazzard; Reserve Champion, Ashlyn Morrell; Junior Showman Grand Champion, Timber Peterson; and Reserve Champion, Cole Keele.
Steer Quality Winners: Grand Campion, Jake Rowlan; and Reserve Champion, Dani Velasquez. Steer Showmanship Winners: Senior Showman: Grand Champion, Brittany Morgan; Reserve Champion, Maloree Stapley; Intermediate Showman Grand Champion, Taylee Velasquez; Reserve Champion, Annie Rowlan; Junior Showman Grand Champion, Hayz Madsen; and Reserve Champion, Miya Tuner. | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/19/morgan-4-h-youth-produce-prize-worthy-livestock/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/c549b3548413902a200bf327775c523c8dc4cd457d7717164817d0172355459c.json |
[
"Deanne Winterton",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Don Anderson",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:00 | null | 2016-08-19T11:34:22 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F19%2Fbrown-files-recount-complaint-with-utah-supreme-court%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | Brown files recount complaint with Utah Supreme Court | null | null | morgannews.com | State Rep. Mel Brown, the current longest serving House member, isn’t ready to call it quits yet. Despite losing the primary election for re-election by a mere nine votes to local Logan Wilde after an official recount, Brown has now filed a lawsuit asking the Utah Supreme Court to intervene.
The suit, or “verified complaint contesting the results of primary election,” lists Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox, the Utah State Board of Canvassers, Morgan County Clerk Stacy Netz Clark and three other county clerks as respondents.
In the suit, Brown says the primary election results are “too close to call.”
With the respondents disqualifying 70 ballots because of a dispute over postmark dates, Brown’s suit declares that these ballots “were mailed the day before the election. The post office, however, failed to affix any indication that the ballots were mailed the day before.”
The suit lists names and addresses of 70 people whose votes were rejected due to postmark issues as well as 32 whose votes were disqualified due to signatures that did not match those on file. Brown said that these 70 people have since said that they mailed their ballots in their county or residence the day before the election, although the post office collected them and post marked them the next day.
Of the 70 contested votes, 15 are from Morgan County. Eight of the 32 with signature issues are from Morgan.
“Logically speaking, it is by far most probable that the 70 voters mailed their ballots in their respective counties of residence on the day before the election,” according to the suit. Brown wants the 70 ballots that still remain unopened counted, and the previous disqualification of the 70 votes deemed “improper.”
In a letter to Cox, Brown said, “Minor variations in a person’s signature should not disqualify their otherwise valid ballot—that is not what the statue requires, and it is contrary to the spirit of our democracy.”
Brown “asserts that there was error in counting the votes and declaring the result of the election, which error would change the result of the election. Specifically, legal votes for Brown were rejected, which, if counted, would raise the number of legal votes for Brown above the number of legal votes cast for Wilde. These disqualifications were not in compliance with the applicable statutes and resulted in an error in the canvass sufficient to change the result of the election.”
Brown also asserts that county clerks failed to personally contact each voter whose signatures they determined did not match those on file.
Time is of the essence, Brown said in the suit, because ballots need to be prepared by Aug. 30 in time for the November election.
Brown is not contesting the primary election results in Daggett County because they used traditional ballots rather than mail-in ballots used by the other four counties.
In a letter to Cox, Brown said that if neglected, the issues “could lead to the disenfranchisement of many rural Utah voters. Technical requirements should not be employed in a manner that unconstitutionally deprives honest voters of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice.” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/19/brown-files-recount-complaint-with-utah-supreme-court/ | en | 2016-08-19T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/54eebd173a51b09ad8227b1da112fac5c32635282a7429a6109862f5bd4f0117.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Liisa Mecham",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:53:59 | null | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F11%2Fmorgan-native-earns-title-of-miss-rodeo-utah-2017%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/13620914_1496224943736533_3686403351075011206_n.jpg | en | null | Morgan native earns title of Miss Rodeo Utah 2017 | null | null | morgannews.com | When MacKenna Hales entered her first queen contest at 9 years-old, she never imagined she would end up representing the entire state of Utah as Miss Rodeo Utah 2017.
“As a young girl, I can remember going to the Morgan County Fair and being awestruck with how beautiful and kind the local rodeo queens were. Although I didn’t win my first contest, I learned a lot about how things work and knew this was something I wanted to pursue.”
The following year, Hales won what is now called the Morgan County Fair Junior Princess title, and from that experience on she was hooked.
Following the Morgan County Fair, Hales moved on to High School Rodeo, where she competed in the queen contest, cutting, pole bending, barrel racing and reined cow horse events. “With the help of some pretty awesome equine partners, I experienced great success in high school rodeo,” stated Hales.
A few of notable accomplishments include: 2014 Silverstate International Rodeo Queen, 2015 Silverstate International pole bending champion, 2015 NHSFR cutting qualifier and top 20 finisher at the NHSFR in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
“Being competitive in a variety of rodeo events helped me to develop and refine the horsemanship skills needed in the queen contest,” attributed Hales. Following high school, she was named Hooper Tomato Days Queen, Lehi Roundup Queen and third runner up in the 2015 Miss Rodeo Utah contest.
“There is so much preparation that goes into competing for a contest of this caliber, and there was no way that I could have done it on my own. I have so many friends and family who were such a huge support to me,” credits Hales.
Hales gives thanks to her amazing trainers including Travis Wigen, Mack Weaver, Andy Christensen and Zeph Schulz, who made sure that both Hales and her horse were as ready as possible.
“I coordinated practice interviews each week, trying to refine my interview and communication skills. I’ve had study sessions with multiple people each week to make sure my knowledge of current events, PRCA happenings, and equine science were where they needed to be,” admitted Hales. But it didn’t end there.
“We have met with designers and stylists to refine and produce my wardrobe. There have been speech and modeling practice sessions with local professionals and the list could go on. Most of all, I have had people who have supported me and simply believed I could accomplish my goal,” said Hales thankfully.
Hales acknowledged that the hardest part of this competition for her was just deciding it was something she wanted to do and staying dedicated to that decision. “There were so many different avenues I could have chosen instead of competing for Miss Rodeo Utah that might have been just as rewarding. I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity available to me,” said Hales.
Her mother, Becky Hales, said, “As we watched coronation from the grandstands on July 25 at Ogden Pioneer Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd, we were completely thrilled and elated that she had been rewarded with top marks in every judged category! What a way to end the week. She had felt good about her contest, but I think she was more surprised as anyone at the final outcome. It was a priceless night for all of us!”
The newly crowned queen says she is a true believer that you can do anything you set your mind to. She commented that,”Being a rodeo queen isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work, and sometimes you don’t see your work pay off right away. It takes a lot of persistence and patience, but in the end you’ll find you’re a lot better person because of it.”
Those vying for the title of Miss Rodeo Utah need a full support team behind them, in whatever form that takes. “There are so many people working behind the scenes to even make this a possibility. My biggest supporters would have to be my family. They have sacrificed so much of their time, talents and resources in order to help me succeed,” remarked Hales.
MacKenna’s mother is a native Morganite and is the daughter of Paul Russell and Joan Duncan Tomlinson. Ron and Becky Hales were able to build their first home here and have lived in Morgan ever since. They have three other children: Tanner returned home from a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last summer and is attending Brigham Young University; Reganne, who rodeos as well but is not a fan of the queen contest event; and Porter, who is an avid baseball fan.
Becky was also involved in rodeo growing up, but not to the extent her daughters were. “I loved high school rodeo, but was also heavily involved with volleyball and basketball. Things were a lot different then. For the queen contest I wrote my own speech and even made a suit and horsemanship outfit used in competition.”
“My beautiful mother has been my main seamstress, cheerleader and supporter. I could never repay her for all of the hard work and sacrifice she put in on my behalf. My entire family has given up a lot for me to have this opportunity, and I am forever thankful for their endless encouragement,” said MacKenna.
Her mother said, “As a mom, the most challenging aspect has been trying to maintain balance and perspective. As a perfectionist, it can be difficult for me to walk away from a project with the idea that I have done enough. It has been a constant battle to help and support her, and at the same time keep in mind that our real objective is not the rodeo queen title, but instead to help facilitate growth into the remarkable woman that she has become.”
During the pageant itself, the contestants are sequestered and not allowed any communication devices. MacKenna had many close friends and family members drop off notes of encouragement and special gifts to help keep her spirits up and provide support through the six-day contest.
MacKenna would like to thank all her sponsors as well as Ogden Pioneer Days and the Miss Rodeo Utah committee for organizing such an amazing week. She also thanked the Lehi Round-Up Rodeo for sponsoring her entry and the four judges there who gave her this opportunity.
“I have gained so much from competing over the years that it’s hard to comprehend all the ways it has benefited my life. It has really taught me how to be organized, independent, work hard, accomplish goals and most importantly, communicate with people. I used to be so scared to talk to people! I would even have my mom order for me at McDonald’s,” confessed MacKenna.
Overcoming that fear of speaking is something she still works on every day. “Learning to communicate has helped me develop so many great friendships that I would have never made otherwise. It seems like the more involved I become, the more people I bump into that become lifelong friends.”
Now that her dream of becoming Miss Rodeo Utah has been realized, after her year-long reign, MacKenna plans to complete her degree in pediatric nursing at Brigham Young University. She said, “It has also been a goal of mine to marry in the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and be able to raise a family in the western lifestyle.”
There’s a quote that has become a new motto for MacKenna. “People won’t remember what you said or what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.” She hopes to have a positive impact on those who she comes in contact with. “Being involved in the western lifestyle and the sport of rodeo has taught me so many valuable life lessons. It’s a lifestyle where the entire family can be involved and grow closer to each other as a result. I hope to be a positive role model and enjoy every minute of this next year!” | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/11/morgan-native-earns-title-of-miss-rodeo-utah-2017/ | en | 2016-08-13T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/95bcdf2e86a3c6c80d543cc27b3e728449913f0684b1ceb9284c285c4b006ea9.json |
[
"The Morgan County News",
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"Don Anderson",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:58 | null | 2013-12-13T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2013%2F12%2F13%2Fthank-you-6%2F.json | http://52.20.118.105/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-square-logo-300x300.jpg | en | null | The Morgan County News | null | null | morgannews.com | On Nov. 16, a fundraiser was held on my and my family’s behalf to raise money for my breast cancer fight. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for all of your love, kindness, support and prayers. We would also like to thank all of the businesses that donated. We would like to name each individually, but on the day of the fundraiser we were flooded with so much generosity from businesses that we lost track. Your participation far exceeded anything we could have imagined. We feel truly blessed to live in this beautiful place, where people truly care and love one another. May God bless all of you and your families this coming year. Sincerely, Bonnie and Hank Telford; Cassie and Alec McDaniel; Chase and Jenna Telford; and Taylor and Tori Telford | http://morgannews.com/2013/12/13/thank-you-6/ | en | 2013-12-13T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/702900037f088d725bb996eb41831281662e6d8298b5d7f9b85677427320d574.json |
[
"Jennifer Vesper",
"Katie Mecham",
"Deanne Winterton",
"The Morgan County News",
"Jeff Ward - Small Town Gis",
"Fed Up",
"Sammy Thomas"
] | 2016-08-26T12:50:26 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fmorgannews.com%2F2016%2F08%2F19%2Fmorgan-youth-receives-scholarship-to-participate-in-national-air-academy%2F.json | http://morgannewspaper.com/stuff/uploads/2016/08/28906026722_c76135345b_z.jpg | en | null | Morgan youth receives scholarship to participate in national air academy | null | null | morgannews.com | The Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. (EAA) sponsors an annual Air Academy for youth with a passion for aviation. Recently, local EAA Chapter 58 has begun a scholarship campaign to give Utah youth the ability to attend this prestigious event.
Morgan resident Ethan Vesper was chosen to represent EAA Chapter 58 this summer. The $1,500 scholarship allowed Vesper the opportunity to travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to participate in the 2016 Air Academy, which hosts students from around the United States and several foreign countries.
Applicants were required to submit an essay, two letters of recommendation-one from a parent and one from a teacher or youth leader.
Vesper was already a participant in the Young Eagles program and has aspired to be a military pilot and eventually an astronaut since he was a small child.
Vesper graduated from the Utah Military Academy in June and signed on with the United States Marine Corps Reserves in July. He will ship off to boot camp in November of this year and then plans to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before attending college and finishing his military service. He plans to major in aeronautical engineering and minor in linguistics.
Several days of the Academy took place during the world’s largest and most exciting aviation event — EAA AirVenture. More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin.
This was Vesper’s favorite part of the journey. He was able to see aircraft of all varieties and visit with other aviation enthusiasts from around the globe. His studies in Russian paid off as he was able to help several Russian-speaking visitors purchase items and navigate the area in their native tongue.
“It was so cool to know that I could actually converse in Russian. It is one thing to learn the language in a classroom setting, but to use it with native speakers was a whole new experience,” said Vesper.
The AirVenture included an evening air show. During this show aircraft dazzled the crowd with a display of precision aerobatics from many of the world’s top air show performers mixed with dazzling pyrotechnics including the “Wall of Fire.”
Academy activities included flight experience in a helicopter as well other aircraft, workshops and classroom study.
EAA’s Director of Museum & Museum Education Bob Campbell says, “The EAA Air Academy teaches young people new skills and instills a pride of craftsmanship. More importantly, it develops their leadership potential and broadens their understanding of both aviation and themselves. The EAA Air Academy is a benchmark of personal experience . . . and an aviation experience that will last a lifetime.”
For Vesper, that proved to be true. He relayed that “it was the best thing I have ever done, definitely something I will never forget.”
Applicants need not be EAA members. The prime consideration is an interest and enthusiasm for aviation. To be on the mailing list for next year’s scholarship opportunity, please email EAA Chapter 58 Young Eagles Coordinator Tom Holt at laytonholts@msn.com.
The Young Eagles will be providing free flights to interested youth once again in Morgan now that the resurfacing is done on the runways. This opportunity will take place on September 17 at the Morgan County airport. An additional chance for a complimentary flight will be held on October 8 at the Ogden airport. Please contact Holt for more information. | http://morgannews.com/2016/08/19/morgan-youth-receives-scholarship-to-participate-in-national-air-academy/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | morgannews.com/7e7aa29c77eb53ca2cca78c3c119ca82236e1ee4907237bac8e8f377f5b57875.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:50 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:43 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fshoe-size-bigger-fathers-im-nowhere-near-feats-yomi-sunday-awoniyis-son%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Arc-Yomi-Awoniyi-Kogi-Deputy-Governor1.jpg | en | null | My shoe size is bigger than my father’s, but I’m nowhere near his feats -Yomi, Sunday Awoniyi’s son | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | HE definitely would not be pleased that he lost his bid to return as the Deputy Governor of Kogi State in the last gubernatorial election in the state to an opposition party, Architect Yomi Awoniyi has nonetheless realised that it is not the end of the world. So the youthful looking third son of Chief Sunday Awoniyi, the First and Second republics politician and ebullient statesman, is looking beyond politics as he strives to find his feet in life outside government house.
Although he did not come across to many as a man of the wits, sagacity and carriage of his late father upon his emergence on the political stage in Kogi State, his years in office as deputy governor has caused many to acknowledge his nature as an urbane gentleman who did not only inherit the political genes of his father but would in all probability toe the line of the political genius.
Our correspondent caught up with him in the rural community of Iyah Gbede, Kogi State where he had gone to pay his last respects to the late mother of former military governor of the old Western State comprising the present Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti and Osun states, Gen. David Jemibewon. Here, the former deputy governor spoke about life after office, his lifestyle and other issues.
First, we asked him if he is pleased with his experience in politics so far and if he considers himself capable of wearing the shoes his father left behind. After a deep thought about the question, he said jokingly: “My shoe size was bigger than my dad’s while he was alive. He wore size eight while I wear ten. So my shoes are much bigger.”
Amid laughter, he continued: “But on a serious note, there is no way I can describe my father or even try to fit totally into his shoes, because the very essence of his being was very close to utopia for somebody like me! I wouldn’t even try to match that! He was indeed a very respectable man.”
Urged further to elaborate on who his father really was, especially as it relates to the controversy on his father’s identity as a northerner or a southerner, Awoniyi looked up and declared: “My father was a northern Christian called Sunday Awoniyi, from a village down the road called Mopa. Having said so, I believe and want you to know that he was a major inspiration and influence in my life. He educated me, nurtured me, I think that he instilled some profound values in me, which have stood me in good stead in all my life.”
Asked about life outside government house, he retorted: “Don’t I look a little more relaxed?” The smile that accompanied his question remained on his lips for some time before he continued. “There is actually nothing strange or different about being in power and being out of power. You go into power with a strong belief in the knowledge that one day you will leave the office. That, of course, is if you are wise enough to go into power with such a belief.
“Yes, we are out of power right now. Yes again, we have battles that we are fighting at the Supreme Court. But having said that, I actually give thanks to God who took me in there and brought me out. I give thanks to God Almighty for giving me the benefit of having served at that level. It opened my eyes to so many things. My political horizon has been further deepened by serving as the Deputy Governor of Kogi State.”
But doesn’t he miss the perks and perquisites of office?
“No,” he retorted with a vehement shake of the head.
What then is his message for the people of Kogi State?
“I wish everybody well on my own, I cherish the respect that I am presently getting from having served at that level in the state. I have however reclaimed my private life. As you can see, I feel very well rested.”
In the cool air that pervaded the serene atmosphere of the rather obscure Iyah Gbede community, we asked the former deputy governor about his mother and what influence she had on his life.
He said: “Like any other mother, she has had a very profound influence on me. As you can see, I am really picky with my words and response about my mum because no one has ever asked me this question. My mum has been very humane to me; very loving, very accommodating and always wanting to carry everybody along. Oh yes, she is still very much around and alive. She is presently in Canada holidaying.”
Considering his diction and the ease with which he spoke the English language, our correspondent was compelled to ask how much of his life he has spent abroad. It was another question he appeared not to have expected as he held his breath for a while before saying: “If you think I lived most of my life abroad, you are making a very big mistake. I schooled in Balewa College, Zaria and I studied Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. I am a fully homely educated Nigerian.
“My late father made it compulsory for us to listen to the BBC and to VOA while growing up, and you know when you listen much to radio, you definitely pick one or two things. But sincerely, I do not see anything strange about my accent at all. I am a thoroughbred Nigerian. It is just an evidence of what education was in my own time.”
Does the current state of the education sector make him sad then?
Again, he chose his words: “Yes, it does make me sad. I feel sad. Even after serving in Kogi State, I have come to realise that unless we come to reality, education cannot be free. We must pay tuition. That is because when education is free, it loses its content and quality. Our experience has shown that free education is not qualitative. When I see what our universities are charging as school fees, there is no way they can deliver.”
Reminded that people are complaining that the private universities are charging bogus fees and asked if their operations should be regulated, he said: “No. I even think that the private universities are being considerate with what they charge. We should remember that education is not cheap. A university anywhere in the world charges about $35,000 per annum. But here in our universities, some of them charge N35,000 for the whole year.”
Yomi’s father, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, was reputed as one of the longest serving politicians and public office holders since the First Republic. We asked Yomi if that translated to having a privileged background and why dad insisted that he should study in Nigeria.
“I don’t think you are right there,” he said. “My father was just a civil servant. He was never a rich person. So the option of schooling abroad didn’t even exist. Secondly, when we went to school, believe me, Ahmadu Bello University was just as good as Oxford University. It was that good! I mean, most of my lecturers were expatriates from Poland, UK and education was very sound. It was later in life when it was time to do my master’s that my father said, ‘Okay, expose yourself to the UK.’ So I went to the University College of London.”
As an educated handsome man with reasonable political clout, we asked the former deputy governor how he copes with pressure from the opposite sex. The question provoked him into serious laughter. Then he said: “I am very, very much married to a beautiful woman! I don’t have to be on my toes at all. In her, I already have everything I need. Right now, she is at the Redeemed Camp because this week is our church’s annual convention. If it wasn’t for General David Jemibewon’s event this week, I would have been right there by her side at the camp.”
He further shared the joy of his sweet home and marital bliss.
On how he met his wife, he said: “Our families have been friends for long. We had known ourselves for long too. Our families have been interacting too for a very long time. Incidentally, the day my mother met her mother, she was being christened. I was strapped on my mum’s back. They said that somebody from Kabba was christening her daughter. My mum went there, and when she saw her mother, she jokingly told the woman, ‘Omo mi lo maa fe omo yin o (it’s my son that will marry your daughter). Behold, those words became prophetic and it happened.
Asked how his marriage has fared over the years, he replied in the mood of one who has found happiness and contentment. “It has been 29 years and it has been fantastic.”
The former Deputy Governor took time to comment on the lots of marriages that have suffered breakages in recent times, offering advice to couples, young and old, on ways to keep their marriages going. He also seized the opportunity too to touch on the secrets that have sustained his marriage through the years.
He said: “Married couples just have to be very patient with each other. For me, I pray that God gives every man enablement to be able to provide for their wives. That is my prayer for every man. That is, may God give you enablement, to be the provider for your family. Anybody who tells you that the ability to provide for the family is not fundamental to marriage is just deceiving you.
“Having said so, it is very good and helpful to have a wife who understands, because life is like this, today you are up and the next day you could be down. May God give you the patience and may God give you a wife who is very forgiving.”
Since Yomi Awoniyi attends The Redeemed Christian Church led by Pastor Enoch Adeboye, it became pertinent to recall the pastor’s recent advice to young men to marry women who can cook and can pray for one hour, at least. Does Awoniyi’s wife pray like that, and can she cook?
It turned out an easy question for him. He smiled joyously and responded: “Oh yes, she does. My wife is a prayer warrior. She is a worker in our church parish (laughs). Surprisingly, when we first got married, I was the one that was more of a prayer warrior. But in recent times, she has found so much of peace in prayer. When she prays now, I become tongue-tied.”
How stylish is the ex-deputy governor?
“I don’t know if I am that stylish, but I know that I have a very good tailor in Abuja. He has a gift. He is very talented at what he does. I do not even think of a style or design for what I wear. That is because he knows what to do for me. He only tells me that he wants to do so and so for me and I give him the go ahead. But one thing with me is that whatever I decide to wear, I want it to be well sewn. The lines straight with nice curves; very decent and not necessarily frayed.”
Take it or leave it, there are people who believe that the former deputy governor could still become the governor of the state. Confronted with a question on this, he shook his head in the negative. “I don’t think so, because I know it doesn’t work that way,” he said.
But is it possible for him to still return to service in Kogi State?
“I decline to answer for now,” he said.
Asked if he has a role model, he said: “Sunday Awoniyi was and is my role model.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/shoe-size-bigger-fathers-im-nowhere-near-feats-yomi-sunday-awoniyis-son/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7cb3e0ae921d70b9a3565223ead381c95c926613ac76b4ae5944586f8bbfb296.json |
[
"Regina Sharon"
] | 2016-08-26T22:45:44 | null | 2015-03-10T00:02:29 | Up and coming music artiste, CD Kah, on Monday, dropped the remix of his single, Kilofa Packaging, on major online music sites. | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcd-kah-features-reminisce-in-kilofa-packaging-remix%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CD-Kah1.jpg | en | null | CD Kah features Reminisce in ‘Kilofa Packaging’ remix | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Up and coming music artiste, CD Kah, on Monday, dropped the remix of his single, Kilofa Packaging, on major online music sites.
The song features Nigerian singer, rapper and song writer Reminisce.
CD Kah, who plays RnB Afro hip-hop, is signed under the Qoymoz Gang label gang.
According to CD Kah, Kilofa Packaging was born to address people who feel too much about themselves. “Kilofa Packaging is like a slogan,” he said, “referring to people ‘forming’ that they have money, bragging that they are rich but they don’t have nothing.”
The artiste, whose real name is Sodiq Oloyede, has been singing since his secondary school days, but went into singing full-time in 2013 and has so far recorded over 50 songs including Aye nlo with Emmashine, Ese ni with K Solo, and shay na bastard with Puffy T. With Aye Nlo, he was able to perform with the likes of Faze, Olu Maintain, Terry G and Klever J. | http://thenationonlineng.net/cd-kah-features-reminisce-in-kilofa-packaging-remix/ | en | 2015-03-10T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/a80d9c038ff5550939427340e77e9bfe40fe645a4069ade3a3ee90f8fca4c998.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:56:52 | null | 2016-08-26T11:09:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-rescue-five-year-old-girl-caged-five-months%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mrs-Matthew.jpg | en | null | Police rescue five-year-old girl caged for five months | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-rescue-five-year-old-girl-caged-five-months/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/89336c38296d0d9194afe51ccf5818816896f1d7738d73a32a6777c5a31c623f.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:43 | null | 2016-08-29T00:08:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fex-head-state-others-named-n1-09b-oil-deal%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/EFCC-LOGO-1.jpg | en | null | Ex-Head of State, others named in N1.09b oil deal | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Some prominent Nigerians have been named as beneficiaries of the $1.092b Malabu oil deal.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) is investigating the scandal.
A businessman, who is being grilled by the EFCC over the deal, is believed to have named a former Head of State, a former Senate President, a former National Security Adviser (NSA), some senators, and some serving and former members of the House of Representatives.
All the suspects may soon be invited for interrogation by the EFCC to determine their level of complicity, The Nation learnt at the weekend.
Besides the businessman, the EFCC has grilled a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, and some chief executives of some International Oil Companies (IOCs). The suspects remain unnamed because of what a source described as the “sensitivity” of the matter.
The businessman may serve as a key witness because of his “deep insights”, the source said.
“The list is outside six former ministers who the EFCC was closing in on as at press time.
“We are looking into the accounts of some of those named in line with the timelines of the bribery,” an other source said, adding:
“Preliminary investigation has shown that the nation was shortchanged in the controversial $1.092bbillion Malabu Oil Block deal (OPL 245).
“At the appropriate time, we will begin interaction with all those connected with the Malabu Oil block deal.”
The EFCC is seeking the whereabouts of $1,092,040billion paid by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited (SNEPCO) and Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) into an escrow account.
By the terms of Block 245 Resolution Agreement, Shell agreed to the release of the outstanding Signature Bonus and to appoint an escrow agent for paying the Federal Government $1,092,040billion.
It was learnt that NAE contributed $982,040,000 to the settlement. SNEPCO contributed $110,000,000 to make up the required $1,092,040billion for the Federal Government to settle all claims over OPL 245 in accordance with the agreement.
There were fears that the $1,092,040billion in an escrow Account was “used for the settlement of the FGN-Malabu Oil Limited agreement on OPL 245.”
The EFCC is trying to find out whether or not the cash was paid to the government or if the appointed escrow agent managed the $1,092,040billion and shared the cash to some beneficiaries for the settlement of dispute between the government and Malabu Oil Limited.
A former Permanent Secretary, who was quizzed by the EFCC, has been quoted as saying: “I did not benefit from Malabu Oil in cash or kind. The memo I wrote was only in line of duty as a civil servant based on the directive of the supervising Minister. Some of us can beat our chest any day that we served this nation selflessly.
“Beyond the official memo, I had no contact with any person or group in whatsoever manner. Any action taken was in the best interest of this nation.
“The Minister also acted on a judgment by an international court in directing that a request for approval for payment to Malabu Oil Nigeria Limited be made to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.”
The controversy over OPL 245(Malabu Oil Block deal) started in April 1998 during the administration of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
But it spread to the governments of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Besides the judgment of a Federal High Court, the Federal Government of Nigeria(FGN) faced the challenge of an ICSD Arbitration instituted by Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep Limited(SNUD) in which the company was claiming in excess of $2billion damages from the FGN for wrongful revocation of OPL 245 previously granted to it.
There were agreements between FGN and other parties on the oil block on November 30, 2006 and April 29, 2011.
Following fresh issues, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on June 17, 2013 directed that the complaints of Malabu Oil and Gas be looked into.
The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari developed interest in Malabu Oil deal following the ruling of a London Court judge, Justice Edis of the Southwark Crown Court, London, on December 14, 2015.
The judge stopped payment of N17billion to Malabu Oil and Company.
The judge said he was “not sure that the Goodluck Jonathan administration acted in the interest of Nigeria by approving the transfer of the money to Malabu.
He said: “I cannot simply assume that the FGN which was in power in 2011 and subsequently until 2015 rigorously defended the public interest of the people of Nigeria in all respects,” the judge ruled.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/ex-head-state-others-named-n1-09b-oil-deal/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/06f80a3284db814de3a0e360268e786e3dce3d61fc90931725ff8d586148ebc2.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:48:54 | null | 2016-08-30T14:50:51 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fman-arraigned-aiding-sons-escape%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Man arraigned for aiding son's escape | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/man-arraigned-aiding-sons-escape/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/8bfea12634cadac070c4d8fa90e4191d9a0796fb6cdc443ec4e03a7cb4f2dc0b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:49:00 | null | 2016-08-30T14:06:49 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnaf-destroys-new-boko-haram-camp-repel-troops%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Boko-1-e1437258388791.jpg | en | null | NAF destroys new Boko Haram camp, repel attack on troops | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/naf-destroys-new-boko-haram-camp-repel-troops/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/f3c1ceeaddada389e1c750072f63343996dccd866675470e65301ad720752166.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:48:37 | null | 2016-08-29T00:03:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcoscharis-motors-unveils-special-offers-jaguar-buyers-2%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Use-1.jpg | en | null | Coscharis Motors unveils special offers for Jaguar buyers | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Coscharis Motors has announced special offers for buyers of Jaguar products.
Its President, Dr Cosmas Maduka said the firm is offering special prices, free insurance and a two-year service plan for Jaguar products for one month to guests at the launch.
Maduka spoke at the unveiling of the Jaguar’s first Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) – the F-PACE – at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The F-PACE is a performance SUV designed to offer the agility, responsiveness and refinement that Jaguars are renowned for, together with unrivalled dynamics and versatility.
Developed using Jaguar’s Lightweight aluminium architecture, the F-PACE combines purity of line, surface and proportion with F-TYPE-inspired features, such as the powerful rear haunches, fender vents and distinctive tail light graphics.
The bold front grille and the muscular bonnet hint at the performance potential of its supercharged V6 petrol engines. Elements, such as slender full-LED headlights, forged 22-inch wheels and short front overhang carry the design vision of the C-X17 concept through to production.
The All-New F-PACE sits five occupants in comfort.The interior is a blend of premium materials and finishes, exquisite detailing, luxuries, such as heated, electrically reclining rear seats, and cutting-edge technologies including the InControl Touch Pro infotainment system and 12.3-inch HD virtual instrument cluster.
Coscharis Motors General Manager, Sales Ufuoma Umukoro, quoting Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar, said: “By remaining absolutely true to our design principles the F-PACE is immediately recognisable as a Jaguar. It offers all of the interior space you would expect – and more – but because of our disciplined approach to surfaces, proportions, and purity of line, we have designed what I consider to be the most balanced, most attractive vehicle in its class.”
The lightweight aluminium architecture gave the design and engineering teams the ideal starting point. It was created from the outset as a modular structure, so the wheels can be positioned where they are needed to deliver the proportions, dynamics, and practicality essential for a performance SUV.
The wheelbase and track are not shared with any other Jaguar. At 4,731mm long and with a 2,874mm wheelbase, the F-PACE offers the sleek profile and short front overhang characteristic of Jaguar design together with an exceptionally spacious interior.
Rear knee-room is class-leading and the luggage compartment has up to 650 litres* of storage space.
The light, stiff body structure comprises 80 per cent aluminium, and is the only aluminium-intensive monocoque in the segment. Additional weight savings come from the composite tailgate and magnesium for parts such as the cross-car beam.
With the 280kW supercharged V6 petrol engine from the F-TYPE under its sculpted aluminium bonnet, the SUV can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.5 seconds before reaching an electronically-limited top speed of 250km/h. | http://thenationonlineng.net/coscharis-motors-unveils-special-offers-jaguar-buyers-2/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/c94059bd4ef59105efd3c50d7bf2bb59409e189d70c00b10022630dbc7179bb2.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:29 | null | 2016-08-28T00:08:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Falleged-n23-29b-poll-bribery-efcc-seizes-two-shopping-malls-rec%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/efcc.jpg | en | null | EFCC seizes two shopping malls from INEC chief | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | •Freezes N49m in account
•INEC staff, ex-Military Administrator refund N503m
Two choice shopping malls allegedly acquired by a serving Resident Electoral Commissioner with her share of a bribe dished out by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of last year’s general elections, have been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
A sum of N49 million found in the bank account of the REC, Gesil Khan, has also been frozen by the EFCC.
A total of N23.29b was disbursed under the poll bribery scam allegedly facilitated by ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, of which N185, 842,000 went to Khan.
The anti-graft agency applied to the Federal High Court, Yenagoa for Interim Forfeiture Order in line with sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act to take over the account and the buildings which are located in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
The order was granted, The Nation gathered yesterday.
Other beneficiaries of the largesse in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and some PDP stalwarts are said to have refunded N503million to EFCC.
Of the N503 million thus refunded, N200million came from a former Military Administrator of Akwa Ibom State, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga ( rtd).
A total of N450million was allegedly traced to him.
The EFCC is yet to conclude its investigation of the INEC staff and PDP stalwarts who were implicated in the poll bribery scandal.
Khan and other INEC officers are being probed for allegedly collecting N681million altogether.
The other INEC officers already grilled in connection with the matter are: Fidelia Omoile (Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)-N112,480,000 ; Uluochi Obi Brown (INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)-N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director of INEC in Cross River State, Edem Okon Effanga-N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo-N214,127,000.
A source familiar with the case said: “We have been able to trace two choice shopping malls in Yenagoa to the affected REC Khan. Following the development, we applied to a Federal High Court for Interim Forfeiture Order in line with sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act.
“The court has granted our prayers to seize the two malls and appoint managers to take care of the properties in order to generate more revenue either for the government or the owner depending on how the trial ends.
“We do not want the assets to lie fallow hence we recruited managers to be in charge until investigation and trial are concluded.
“During investigation, we discovered N49million in the account of REC Khan. Since she could not fully account for the sources of the money, we have frozen the account in line with our mandate.
“We are treating the money as likely proceeds of bribery or money laundering. The account will remain frozen until a court of law decides otherwise based on facts we will present during her trial.”
Sections 26 and 29 of the EFCC Act read in part: “Any property subject to forfeiture under this Act may be seized by the commission in the following circumstances- (a) the seizure is incidental to an arrest or search; or (b) in the case of property liable to forfeiture upon process issued by the Court following an application made by the Commission in accordance with the prescribed rules
“Whenever property is seized under any of the provisions of this Act, the Commission may- (a) place the property under seal; or (b) remove the property to a place designated by the Commission.
“Properties taken or detained under this section shall be deemed to be in custody of the Commission, subject only to an order of a Court.”
Sections 28 and 34 of the EFCC (Establishment Act) 2004 and Section 13(1) of the Federal High Court Act, 2004 empower the anti-graft agency to invoke Interim Assets Forfeiture Clause.
“Section 28 of the EFCC Act reads: ‘Where a person is arrested for an offence under this Act, the Commission shall immediately trace and attach all the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic or financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the Court.’
Section 13 of the Federal High Court Act reads in part : “The Court may grant an injunction or appoint a receiver by an interlocutory order in all cases in which it appears to the Court to be just or convenient so to do.
(2)”Any such order may be made either unconditionally or on such terms and conditions as the Court thinks just.”
Investigation showed that about N503million has so far been recovered from the INEC staff and some PDP stalwarts by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the anti-graft agency.
The source added: “The Port Harcourt Zonal office has done excellently well in line with the vision of the EFCC chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu. It has so far recovered about N904million from January to August 17, including N503million from INEC staff and politicians involved in the poll bribery scandal.
“Out of the N503million, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd) refunded N200million from the N450million traced to him.
“Nkanga allegedly collected the money in two tranches, from a staff of Fidelity Bank in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State: Mr. Saint- Anthony Ejiowu.
“The first tranche of the money, a sum of N350,000,000 was collected on March 27, 2015 while the second tranch of N100,000,000 was collected on March 31, 2015. Nkanga signed for the two tranches.
“We will soon release the list of INEC staff that have refunded cash. But we have been sending brief to INEC management on all their staff under investigation and the status of each case.
“So far, INEC management is cooperating with us. When it is time to arraign such staff in court, we hope they will release them accordingly.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/alleged-n23-29b-poll-bribery-efcc-seizes-two-shopping-malls-rec/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/516a834d604e08ade10e4e0fe2501e03ff2db892676c23e9e8efda39480325d2.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:55 | null | 2016-08-30T00:05:01 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fgovtll-improve-ease-business-says-osinbajo%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Osinbajo.jpg | en | null | Govt’ll improve ease of doing business, says Osinbajo | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Federal Government is putting things in place to move Nigeria from a ranking of 169 out of 189 countries in the World Bank ease of doing business to at least 20 spaces in the coming ranking.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo who stated this yesterday in Abuja, said the Federal Government is focused on making it easier to do business in Nigeria.
Osinbajo made the statement in Abuja at the the International Mining Investment Conference/Exhibition on Nigeria with Connecting the Global Mining Industry to the Opportunities of the Solid Minerals Sector in Nigeria as theme.
Represented by the Special Adviser, Economic Office, Adeyemi Dipeolu, the Vice President said: “We are seeking to cooperate with our partners in the solid minerals sector to come up with a strategy for ensuring that it plays it’s desired role as a major economic sector in Nigeria.
“Budgetary provisions for the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development allotment this year is far larger than the allocation that the ministry has had in the past five years.
“Let me assure local and foreign investors that in our quest to grow this sector, the Federal Government is fully focused on making it easier to do business in Nigeria. As a metrix, we are planning and taking actions already on trying to move Nigeria from a ranking of 169 out of 189 countries in the World Bank ease of doing business to at least 20 spaces better in the coming ranking, we do hope by this gesture, governments efforts will be reciprocated by the respect for the rule of law and commitment to promoting the development of this country including the payment of taxes as required.”
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi said the country can generate N5 trillion yearly from mining and exporting of its vast minerals deposits with multiplier effects on job creation, state development and social infrastructure.
He added that last year, the solid minerals sector contributed 0.33 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and the sector hopes to contribute between five and seven per cent over the next 10 to 15 years.
“Today, based on current data, Nigeria’s solid minerals sector only makes up about 0.34 per cent of GDP; while that is significant, it is much smaller than its true potential as the vast majority of our mining assets have yet to be exploited.
“According to one of the major stakeholders in the solid minerals sector, the Association of Metal Exporters of Nigeria, we can generate at least N5 trillion annually from mining and exporting of its vast solid mineral deposits, with several multiplier effects on job creation, state development and social infrastructure that could position the solid minerals sector as the main catalyst for national development.
“Ancillary requirements for the proper functioning of the minerals and mining ecosystem such as infrastructure – e.g. railroad, competitive financing systems, mine and asset security, and related support services – are missing. We need changes in legislation – e.g. the passage of an amendment to the Nigeria Railways Corporation Act to break NRC’s monopoly and enable miners to set up private transport networks to move bulk minerals around the country for processing. | http://thenationonlineng.net/govtll-improve-ease-business-says-osinbajo/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/3438b74e8d2b00c02d4e649cfb322d34012aaae317f5ad4577b8261fa2bc185d.json |
[
"Deacon Otu Ekpenyong"
] | 2016-08-29T10:46:10 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:50 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcross-river-gets-20-megawatts-power-equipment%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1-DSC_6898.jpg | en | null | Cross River gets 20 megawatts power equipment | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Cross River State government, at the weekend, took delivery of the equipment for a 20-megawatt plant.
Governor Ben Ayade received the equipment with some government officials.
Ayade told reporters that the delivery showed that the Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) he had been signing were coming into action.
He said:“This is one outcome of the trips in my first year in office when we were still trying to do agenda setting for the government. It will generate 20 megawatts of embedded power for Cross River State. I am happy to announce to you today that we are taking delivery of 20-megawatt equipment for embedded power generation for the city of Calabar.”
The governor assured residents of Calabar that electricity tariff would be affordable to all.
The governor, who also announced that five containers-laden with equipment will arrive soon, highlighted how the project would enhance security in Calabar.
“The street lights are gong to be connected to this grid, and we are going to pick up the diesel engines from the streets and then link the street lights to this plant so that Calabar South up to Anantigha, Atimbo and all areas, including 8 Miles, Nassarawa, will be lit up,” he said.
He said the equipment was “specially designed for economy and for uninterrupted power supply. So what will happen ultimately is that Cross River State and Calabar in particular will have uninterrupted power supply, which means perhaps Calabar will be the first state capital to have uninterrupted power supply in the country.
“We are beginning to convert the many MoUs we signed to action, all the MOUs are taking the breath of life. I can guarantee the people of Calabar that in three months from today we would have finished the installation and Cross River State will enjoy steady supply of electricity.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/cross-river-gets-20-megawatts-power-equipment/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/afd5c8fddc9ddbdf0596bdae1a5680867a2a54373083533d342162fdeb78bf05.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:48:53 | null | 2016-08-29T16:44:13 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolice-shielding-killers-son-deceased-father%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nigerian-Police-e1468272740175.jpg | en | null | Police shielding killers of my son- deceased father | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Raw Story of Ngozi! The Lady that Got Rid of Fibroids Without Surgery
4:11 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/police-shielding-killers-son-deceased-father/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2119b12f4cf8304febe17041938b78838e712f1ca217ee9ccba3d606092494e3.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:51 | null | 2016-08-29T18:32:02 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Feight-persons-rescued-abuja-collapsed-building%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Eight persons rescued from Abuja collapsed building | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Raw Story of Ngozi! The Lady that Got Rid of Fibroids Without Surgery
4:11 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/eight-persons-rescued-abuja-collapsed-building/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/89f9f2707aab78bc1fd01ec3d399fe38ad7ee03bcf8f18bc2d1b8ec800f80288.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:49:01 | null | 2016-08-30T12:42:56 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Frabiu-ibrahim-arrives-belgium-gents-medical%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Rabiu-Ibrahim.jpg | en | null | Rabiu Ibrahim arrives Belgium for Gent’s medical | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/rabiu-ibrahim-arrives-belgium-gents-medical/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/c407a4480f7520cf3ca2e21735331ba26af89153a56951392692f8a26059890a.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:47:40 | null | 2016-08-27T01:27:03 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnbas-new-president-sworn-seeks-reforms-efcc%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Mahmoud-NBA-new-President.jpg | en | null | NBA’s new president sworn in, seeks reforms in EFCC | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The new President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), formally took office yesterday with a call for the reform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The reform should limit the EFCC’s role to investigation, he said, while prosecution should be handled by an independent resource prosecution agency.
“The critical institutions involved must be repositioned, re-equipped and re-tooled to confront the problem of corruption on a consistent and sustainable basis,” he said.
He commended the EFCC for its current work and achievements in the fight against corruption, but said: “however, going forward, the NBA must demand the reform of the institution itself. We need to define its mandate more narrowly and more clearly.
“In my view, its broad objective as an investigative and prose curial agency should be reviewed.
“I recommend strongly that the EFCC be limited to investigation.”
The president said the NBA anti-corruption committee would be mandated to develop clear recommendations towards enhancing the fight against corruption and improving the effectiveness of the agencies involved.
Mahmud also said that the NBA would advocate urgent reforms for the repositioning of the judiciary and make it play crucial roles.
He said a clean, efficient and knowledgeable judiciary was a foundation for building orderly, peaceful and prosperous society.
“The NBA under my watch will fight judicial corruption. We shall make the legal profession unattractive for corrupt lawyers,” he said.
He stressed the need for vision and the fight for the new bar system if the judiciary would remain the last hope of the common man.
He noted that for judiciary to be free of any suspicion, the vision of the new bar system must be geared towards reinventing the bar, by the skills and knowledge of its members.
”The vision and fight for the new bar system must continue and lawyers need to brave up for the challenge, the insurgency spurring up in the country; inequality, the expectancy, internal conflicts, poverty and failure of the legal order is dysfunctional in the dissemination of criminal justice.
”Our top priority will be to fight for a clean judiciary, to give out plausible solution; not only criticism and the judiciary must give out consistency predictable utterance and also in the area of electoral practices. The judiciary must be free from any form of corrupt allegation and other illegality.”
He said lawyers must continue to brave up for the challenges despite the problems facing the Nigerian system which is embedded with vices such as corruption; failure of Nigeria to guarantee the right of development of its citizens and other challenges.
In a communiqué at the end of the NBA 56th Annual General Conference, the association urged the Federal Government to adequately fund university education in the country.
The association also urged the government to equip the military to enable it face the insurgence confronting the nation.
The association described education as central to human capital development in any country, just as it is imperative to properly equip the military.
It urged the military to “returns to its ethics and educate the young officers on the ethics of military profession to achieve good conducts,” and asked the federal government to separate religion and tribal sentiment from governance because it could damage a lot of things and the integrity of government.
NBA said that there was urgent need for the National Assembly to amend Military and Prison Acts in line with best global practice.
It urged the National Human Right Commission to concentrate on its traditional responsibility of advocacy, rather than usurp the functions and responsibilities of other authorities in the country.
The president said that the NBA should take active interests in the happenings in the North-East and Niger Delta Region.
He said the NBA would set up a North-East task force to assist members affected by the conflict, provide legal services to individuals and communities who were victims of the conflict and monitor human rights issues.
He also said the association would set up a Niger Delta task force to carry out similar assignments in the area, especially providing legal support to advise on general challenges to enhance environmental protection and quality of life. | http://thenationonlineng.net/nbas-new-president-sworn-seeks-reforms-efcc/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5e2f16127a3437c3a6101410aa3e516e39ce8a58c59c11657f4f5abf471fbc1b.json |
[
"Mercy Wood",
"Airline People",
"Airline Service",
"Airline Booking",
"Airline Booking Service",
"Omi Daniel",
"James Oscar",
"Wale Rotimi"
] | 2016-08-31T10:46:33 | null | 2014-06-03T00:04:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fcompetition-forces-airlines-crash-fares%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Competition forces airlines to crash fares | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Competition engendered by the entrance of more operators into the domestic airline sector is forcing carriers to lower fares on some destinations. Apart from the reduction in air fares, domestic airlines are also adjusting their flight schedules to enhance capacity.
Investigations revealed that air fares on the Lagos-Abuja and Kano routes have been reduced from over N20,000 on a one-leg trip to about N10,700.
The reduction is predicated on the entrance of a new carrier, AZMAN Air Services, on the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna and Kano routes.
Besides the use of lower fares to attract passengers, airlines are offering other inducements, including longer periods for bookings before payment is made.
Because of the competition, Dana Air and Aero Airlines have also reduced their fares on the Lagos-Abuja route, offering a single seat for between N9,000 and N12,000.
The new air fares are displayed on large billboards at one of the domestic terminals at the Lagos Airport.
According to investigations, air fares may become cheaper as more operators resume.
Among the new operators are AZMAN Air, Discovery Air, Hak Air, World Peace Airlines and WestLink Airlines, which are at the final stages of their documentation with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
According to a source, operators on ground are Overland Airways, Aero, Dana Air, Med-View and Arik while IRS, Chanchangi, West Link and Discovery Air are yet to start operations.
Executive Chairman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), the umbrella body of domestic carriers, Captain Nogie Meggison, said the coming of more carriers was good for the industry.
He said more domestic carriers would increase capacity for the existing carriers, as it would enable airlines to sit up in their strategy to remain in business.
He said passengers would benefit from more operators as some airports that were hitherto not covered would join the nationwide air link.
But, investigations reveal that the commencement of operations by AZMAN Air Services on the Lagos- Kano-Abuja-Kaduna routes may affect the operations of IRS Airlines, when it eventually resumes.
The new carrier, it was learnt, is consolidating on the routes flown by IRS, which operations are temporarily grounded, and Chanchangi.
Efforts by IRS to resume service two weeks ago were hampered by the crash landing of its Fokker 100 aircraft in Niger Republic on return from maintenance checks in Europe.
Another operator, which may be affected by the operations of Azman, is Chanchangi which remains grounded.
On their part, Discovery Air and World Peace Airlines are planning to begin operations. This is sending jitters down the spines of major operators, including Aero.
The airlines plan to resume operations on over 11 routes including Lagos, Abuja, Uyo, Calabar, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt, Yola, Warri and Jos.
The Managing Director of Med-View, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said more operators were required to address the problem of under capacity in the sector.
He said new airlines were welcome, adding that the quality of service would attract patronage to carriers.
Bankole added: “They are welcome. The beauty of it is that the industry is under-utilised. We are 170 million people, so how many airlines are we talking of now?
“These are still part of the things we are saying; we have no doubt, it depends on the quality of your service delivery to your clients; and all you need to do is to enhance your safety performance records.
“We need more to come out, we are still very far away. They are all our friends and we need to improve.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/competition-forces-airlines-crash-fares/ | en | 2014-06-03T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b4063a3050e2e47450bceae93e53bd9aef9f34e25811139fe80f8e012b8f2752.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:47:34 | null | 2016-08-26T20:52:12 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fgodwin-saviour-completes-roeselare-switch%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SAVIOUR.jpg | en | null | Godwin Saviour completes Roeselare switch | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/godwin-saviour-completes-roeselare-switch/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/095ce36ac56e18d1735676fb29bfd996568c05c20c7f736cefba3bdb1603de6b.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:49:06 | null | 2016-08-31T15:32:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fefcc-quizzes-ogunlewe-funnab-funds-mismanagement%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | EFCC quizzes Ogunlewe over FUNNAB funds mismanagement | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/efcc-quizzes-ogunlewe-funnab-funds-mismanagement/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/fe646e8c28e9ca076300fd104a7ce313cc4a87fbcd630cea66bbe4d5660983a4.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:48:59 | null | 2016-08-30T19:03:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmassobipob-alleges-plans-kill-kanu%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Nnamdi-Kanu.jpg | en | null | MASSOB/IPOB alleges plans to kill Kanu | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/massobipob-alleges-plans-kill-kanu/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2e6ff2ad5eda1430bca578c47f4f79989acf9829f375dc525be7c1fa5e47dba6.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T10:49:06 | null | 2016-08-31T10:28:38 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fikeme-joins-eagles-camp-thursday%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Carl-Ikeme1.jpg | en | null | Ikeme joins Eagles’ camp Thursday | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/ikeme-joins-eagles-camp-thursday/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9e51a9199d19e28860cce1397c7ef3bf51308b48b1a4b0b19cc80e7bfceb8815.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:49:07 | null | 2016-08-31T12:49:17 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnigeria-slides-recession-economy-shrinks-2-06%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Kemi-Adeosun.jpg | en | null | Nigeria slides into recession, economy shrinks by 2.06% | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, officially slid into recession for the first time in more than 20 years as the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday announced a further contraction in the second quarter of the year.
The NBS said that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 percent after shrinking 0.36 in the first quarter.
It said the non-oil sector declined due to a weaker currency, while lower prices dragged the oil sector down.
A slump in crude prices, Nigeria’s mainstay, has hammered public finances and the naira currency, causing chronic dollar shortages.
Crude sales account for around 70 percent of government revenues, Reuters reported.
Compounding the impact of low oil prices, attacks by militants on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta since the start of the year has cut crude production by about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.56 million bpd.
The government’s 2016 budget assumed 2.2 million bpd.
On Wednesday, the NBS said annual inflation reached 17.1 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June – a more than 10-year high – and food inflation rose to 15.8 percent from 15.3 per cent.
Nigeria’s sovereign dollar bonds fell across the curve to their lowest value in more than two weeks after the NBS released its data.
“The Nigerian economy contracted more deeply than we had expected in the second quarter,” said Razia Khan, chief economist, Africa at Standard Chartered bank. | http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-slides-recession-economy-shrinks-2-06/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/81f72cad45a1ab6514aaee241a557d1861b27a432fbc6dea45a04429774a3ed9.json |
[
"Mark Edward",
"Kerwin Matt",
"Gabreil Navarro",
"Anderson Scot",
"Mrs Omon"
] | 2016-08-26T14:45:44 | null | 2015-04-19T00:03:03 | This is sadly the case of the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) which has become a nightmare of sort to banks across the globe because of the myriads... | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fatm-hackers-on-the-rampage%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ATM-hackher.jpg | en | null | ATM hackers on the rampage | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The unscrupulous activities of daredevil hackers who have made Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) easy targets in recent times pose a lot of danger to banks across the country, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf
In every age and time, technological advancement has always been a double-edged sword-offering one solution at a time as well as introducing, if you may, problem(s) with it. This is sadly the case of the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) which has become a nightmare of sort to banks across the globe because of the myriads of attacks by cyber fraudsters.
When ATM first came into the scene few years ago, they were generally thought to be impregnable but events have since proved otherwise as they have come under ferocious attacks in the past and it does appear that this ugly trend will continue for much longer.
Last week, the news media was awash with reports of some syndicate who invaded some banks’ ATMs across Lagos metropolis and other cities across the country, destroying several ATM facilities and subsequently made away with undisclosed cash in the process.
Commenting on this development, Richard Aloysius, a staff of a new generation bank, said this is certainly bad news for banks. “For banks and depositors alike, this is obviously not cheery news and for the growing level of unbanked population, such sad news would further serve to make them a lot more disinterested in owning bank accounts whether now or in the future.”
Echoing similar sentiments in a chat with a cross-section of security experts in Lagos, they told The Nation that cyber crimes, especially ATM-related frauds, were rampant these days and should be curbed before it further escalates.
While adducing reasons for the upsurge in ATM-related fraud, Andrew Ojei, an ICT expert in Ikeja, said ATMs have become easy targets because they are thought to be easy way of breaking into banks’ vaults these days, whether in Nigeria or abroad.
“ATM frauds are not peculiar to Nigeria. It’s even much worse overseas, especially judging by the spate of attacks and burglary in the last few weeks,” Ojei observed.
Ojei, who recalled that he once consulted for a new generation bank to build their ICT infrastructure, said not many banks are investing enough in the area of ICT security, a development, he said, is counterproductive.
Particularly disheartening, Ojei noted, is the several unreported cases of ATM-related frauds in the country. “Most of the banks affected have been maintaining a rather mute indifference,” he said somewhat regrettably.
“You have a situation where some of the banks deliberately compromise their ICT security and this is usually to the detriment of the bank on the long run because if hackers come calling mostly unannounced, such a bank would be a mince meat for them, no more no less,” he said matter-of-factly.
In the view of Bambgoye Dehinde, a Microsoft certified expert, he is worried that the outlook is really gloomy for the country where inertia has assumed a national culture of some sort.
“Unlike what other advanced countries are doing and will continue to do to nip the activities of these hydra-monsters in check, we in Nigeria, it does appear, are not doing enough in that regard and this is of serious concern.”
CBN directive on ATM security
Perhaps, this is why the apex bank had in March last year ordered all Deposit Money Banks to install anti-skimming devices on their ATMs on or before June 1, 2014, following the alarming rate of ATM-related frauds across the country.
The CBN had warned at the time that failure to do so would attract severe penalties as it would invoke appropriate sanctions for non-compliance in line with the regulations guiding ATM security.
The directive was contained in a circular dated March 5, 2014, which read in part, “The CBN has observed with satisfaction the growth in the adoption of ATMs by Nigerians as one of the channels of e-payment. The bank is, therefore, committed to ensuring that the deployment and management of ATMs are in line with global best practices.
“However, we have observed with dismay the upward increase in the number of ATM-related frauds in the banking system. This development does not portend good news for the industry and requires urgent steps to curb the abuse.
“Consequently, in addition to the existing guidelines on card-related frauds and in order to guard against card-skimming at ATM channels across the country, all DMBs are hereby mandated to comply with the provisions of Section 3.2 ATM operations and Section 3.4 ATM security of the Standards and Guidelines on ATM operations in Nigeria, and also install risk-mitigating devices on their ATM terminals on or before June 1, 2014.”
However, when The Nation placed a call to Ibrahim Muazu, spokesman of the apex bank, to ascertain the degree of compliance with the CBN directive on security precautions against ATM-related frauds at the bank, he neither returned his calls nor responded to the text messages.
A staff of the CBN who asked not to be named, as he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the CBN, however, volunteered that a lot was being done by the CBN to whip erring banks into order.
Nigeria not alone
Worrisome as ATM hacking is to Nigerians, it is equally a very troubling phenomenon abroad.
Only last month, a gang of computer hackers was believed to have stolen tens of millions of pounds from UK banks by ordering ATM machines to dispense cash at pre-determined times – even without a bank card. It is unknown which banks have been targeted, and the scale of losses to British banks has not been disclosed.
The computer scam was so sophisticated that the gang, known as Carbanak, was apparently able to order ATM machines to dispense cash at pre-determined times – even without a bank card.
The massive theft was part of a bold £650million raid, meticulously orchestrated over the past two years, on more than 100 financial institutions around the world.
Attacks by the gang, thought to be based in Russia but with members in Ukraine and China, are feared to be continuing, despite being investigated by Interpol and international authorities.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the internet regulator that manages the global top-level domain system (TLDs), last week joined a long list of major global companies that have been compromised by cyber hackers this year. The attack affected vital systems belonging to ICANN and accessed the system that manages the files with data on resolving specific domain names.
ICANN said it is investigating a recent intrusion into its systems and believed a “spear phishing” attack was initiated in late November 2014 involving email messages that were crafted to appear to come from its own domain being sent to members of its staff. The attack resulted in the compromise of the email credentials of several ICANN staff members.
A statement from ICANN said, “In early December 2014, it discovered that the compromised credentials were used to access other ICANN systems besides email such as Centralised Zone Data System (czds.icann.org); ICANN GAC Wiki (gacweb.icann.org); ICANN Blog (blog.icann.org) and ICANN WHOIS (whois.icann.org) information portal. No impact was found to either of these systems.”
ICANN joins a long list of global companies including European Central Bank, CNN, Sony Pictures Entertainment, eBay, Twitter, Skype, Snap chat, iCloud, Linux OpenSUSE, Forbes, Tesco, German Aerospace Centre, KT Corp, AOL Mail, Bangalore City Police, 4Chan, Avast, Israeli defence contractors, Sony Play station Network, Home depot, Infected ATMs, United States Postal Services, Drop box, Snapsaved, etc.
Modus operandi
The cyber-criminals would pull off a raid by first gaining entry into a bank employee’s computer.
They did this by sending authentic-looking emails that unsuspecting recipients then clicked on, inadvertently infecting the bank’s machines with Carbanak malware – a technique known as ‘spear phishing’.
Hackers were then able to infiltrate the internal network and track down administrators’ computers for video surveillance.
This allowed them to see and record everything that happened on the screens of staff who serviced the cash transfer systems, which meant the fraudsters got to know and could mimic every last detail of bank clerks’ work.
The cyber-criminals were able to hack into a bank employee’s computer, allowing them to record everything happening on-screen and then mimic workers online to transfer money into dummy accounts.
They used this information to impersonate bank staff online, in order to electronically transfer tens of millions of pounds from the bank into dummy accounts.
On average, each robbery took between two and four months, from infecting the first computer at the bank’s corporate network to making off with the money. Another method used was where the criminals would gain access to someone’s account and inflate the balance many times over before transferring the cash.
The raids, which date back to 2013, were finally detected by Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab, after a Ukrainian ATM was found to be giving out notes at random times – when no one had put in a card or touched a button.
The scale of the crime was global, with banks in the US, China, Russia and Europe targeted. Security experts are trying to identify the banks hit but say customers, such as this man, have not been affected… Security cameras showed how money would be picked up by customers who appeared to be in the right place at the right time.
Kaspersky’s principal security researcher Vicente Diaz said the theft was unusual as it targeted banks directly, rather than individuals’ bank accounts, and that the hackers seemed to set their limit to around £10million before moving onto another bank.
‘In this case, they are not interested in information. They’re only interested in the money,’ Mr Diaz said.
‘They’re flexible and quite aggressive and use any tool they find useful for doing whatever they want to do.’
A spokesman for the firm added: ‘The Carbanak criminal gang used techniques drawn from the arsenal of targeted attacks. The plot marks the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of cyber-criminal activity, where malicious users steal money directly from banks, and avoid targeting end users.’
The scale of the crime was global, with banks in the US, China, Russia and Europe targeted, and the attackers thought to be expanding throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
In one case, an unnamed bank lost $7.3million (around £4.7million) through ATM fraud. Another financial institution lost $10million (around £6.5million) after the attackers exploited its online banking platform.
Kaspersky has not identified the banks hit by the scam, and is still working with law-enforcement agencies to investigate the attacks, which the company says are ongoing.
Losses to UK banks have not yet been disclosed, but are thought to run into tens of millions of pounds.
However, as the scam targets institutions rather than individuals, customers’ accounts have not been affected.
Despite the fact the fraud has been uncovered, it is feared that banks could be hit again, as once installed the malware can operate almost independently of the gang and is difficult to detect.
Sergey Golovanov, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said: ‘It was a very slick and professional cyber-robbery’.
They’re flexible and quite aggressive and use any tool they find useful for doing whatever they want to do.
US authorities are putting an increasing focus on cyber security in the wake of numerous data breaches of companies ranging from mass retailers like Target and Home Depot to Sony Pictures Entertainment and health insurer, Anthem.
The White House wants Congress to replace the existing patchwork of state laws with a national standard giving companies 30 days to notify consumers if their personal information has been compromised.
Timelines of major cyber attacks worldwide
Timelines of major cyber attacks showed that on January 1, 2014, Skype’s Twitter account, Facebook page and blogs were hacked into to protest the NSA surveillance resulting in the leak of contact information of its outgoing CEO, Steve Ballmer.
On January 2, hackers going by the name Snapchat DB posted usernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million Snapchat users.
On January 7, hackers going by the name H4x0r HuSsy hacked into the official forums of Linux distro OpenSUSE defacing it and compromising account details of 79,500 registered users. Again, on January 24, Syrian Electronic Army attacked many accounts belonging to CNN such as CNN’s Facebook page and Twitter account, along with several CNN Blogs; January 26 saw hackers defacing 2,618 Indian websites; February 2, computer networks of three major medical device makers were breached by suspected China-based hackers and February 14, websites of Forbes and Tesco and email accounts were.
Tesco stated that around 2,200 of its accounts were compromised. March 6, KT Corp, South Korea’s largest telecom service provider, was breached by hackers who accessed bank details, employment information and home addresses of around 16 million customers.
April 15, Germany’s Aerospace centre based in Cologne was attacked by hackers. The Trojans were so advanced that they would self destruct if detected. April 15, eBay said that hackers raided its network, accessing some 145 million users’ records, leaking names, email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and date of birth.
April 19, Pakistani hackers attacked BJP websites of Bihar and LK Advani’s personal website and that of the Bangalore City Police. April 22, AOL Mail was hacked into and genuine user accounts were used to send spam messages. Around 50 million users were urged to change their passwords. April 30, 4chan, the image-based message board was hacked into. The hacker had gained access to the administrative functions due to software vulnerability.
On May 25, Avast’s security forum was hacked into, culminating in the release of details such as hashed passwords, usernames and email addresses of about 400,000 people. June 10, names, addresses, social security numbers of Twitter staff members were leaked on the internet. On June 11, Twitter was overrun by a worm, which makes users tweet a self-propagating code. Due to this 84,700 users tweet the same message at the same time, thereby reaching a millions of followers.
June 16, Evernote’s forum was hacked and company sent an email to around 164,600 members to change their passwords. Compromised data comprises profile details, password hashes, email addresses and birth dates. July 24, European Central Bank website hacked and personal information of employees and customers stolen. Hacker claimed to have a database of 20,000 email addresses, telephone numbers, and addresses of people who had registered for an ECB conference.
July 28, Israeli defence contractors responsible for the ‘Iron Dome’ missile shield, were hacked. The targets namely Elisra Group, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems were attacked and sensitive security documents pertaining to the Iron Dome were robbed. July 30, Tor Project, which allows one to surf anonymously protecting your location as well as browsing habits, was hacked.
August 24, hackers going by the name Lizard Squad hack into Sony’s PlayStation Network using DDoS attacks making the plane carrying Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley to be diverted after posting through their twitter account that the American Airlines flight had explosives on board.
August 31, the iCloud accounts of several Hollywood celebs were hacked and nude photographs were released online. It first appeared on image-message board 4han and was later propagated via Reddit communities. September 2, US departmental store Home Depot payment systems were compromised by hackers across 2,200 stores in the US and Canada compromising 56 million debit and credit cards details.
October 7, Popular cloud sharing service, Dropbox, was attacked by hackers, who exploited third-party apps resulting in close to seven million accounts being compromised. October 9, Snapsaved, a third party application that lets users save Snapchat images and videos, was hacked leading to a 13GB dump of stolen images and videos surfacing online.
November 10, hackers exposed personal details including names, addresses and social security numbers of 600,000 USPS employees along with high profile customers. November 24, 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked by the hacker group Guardians of Peace exposing personal details of film celebs and staff.
Coming nearer home, report had it that the ICT security network of some banks in Nigeria were attacked by some hackers but not much later heard of the banks as the affected banks maintained sealed lips for fear of raising anguish of its customers who might get panicky.
Interpol to the rescue
Meanwhile, Sanjay Virmani, director of the Interpol Digital Crime Centre, said: ‘These attacks again underline the fact that criminals will exploit any vulnerability in any system,” adding that “the scale of the crime was global.”
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, a non-profit organisation that alerts banks about hacking activity, said in a statement that its members received a briefing about the report in January.
“We cannot comment on individual actions our members have taken, but on the balance we believe our members are taking appropriate actions to prevent and detect these kinds of attacks and minimise any effects on their customers,” the organisation said.
“The report that Russian banks were the primary victims of these attacks may be a significant change in targeting strategy by Russian-speaking cyber-criminals.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/atm-hackers-on-the-rampage/ | en | 2015-04-19T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/29874cdd2b52883bc2cac080721df9efd07f39c4dc6f2bd0418bfd1e2fcd413c.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:55:57 | null | 2016-08-26T11:43:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fdeath-toll-somalia-beach-restaurant-attack-rises-10%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Death toll in Somalia beach restaurant attack rises to 10 | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Confession Of A Frustrated Lagos Based Housewife-“I Did This Since He Could Not Sexually Satisfy Me”
9:41 am | http://thenationonlineng.net/death-toll-somalia-beach-restaurant-attack-rises-10/ | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/2891915918f11f807621d87603c7f4081658df6935de1a36edeec4b32adeeec2.json |
[
"Truth Master",
"The Talking Drum",
"William Norris",
"New Nigeria",
"Battle Axe",
"Carol Ajie",
"Sola Akinwande",
"Colonel Mariam",
"Stan Emelogu",
"Dele Odugbemi"
] | 2016-08-29T12:46:15 | null | 2016-08-22T14:10:22 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fbuhari-seeks-emergency-powers-tackle-economy%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Buhari2.jpg | en | null | Buhari seeks emergency powers to tackle economy | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-seeks-emergency-powers-tackle-economy/ | en | 2016-08-22T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/9f1f52228dcf1d38eee2a26ba32b0505353a7a9111960f99640cf5eb9ce7da69.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:02 | null | 2016-08-31T00:07:46 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffacebook-boss-zuckerberg-lagos%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Zuckerberg-with-children-at-summer-camp-in-Yaba-yesterday.jpg | en | null | Facebook boss Zuckerberg in Lagos | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook – the largest social media network – yesterday paid his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, his destination, has the largest mobile and internet market on the continent.
The youthful American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur, who arrived in Lagos, is in the country to meet members of startup ecosystem – a large group of entrepreneurs and innovative young Nigerians. Zuckerberg announced the visit via his personal Facebook page, saying he was ready to interact with Nigerian innovators and learn about their business ideas.
Zuckerberg wrote on his wall: “Next stop: Lagos! This is my first trip to sub-Saharan Africa. I’ll be meeting with developers and entrepreneurs, and learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. The energy here is amazing and I’m excited to learn as much as I can.”
Zuckerberg yesterday visited Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB), a multi- technological ecosystem based in Yaba, Lagos Mainland. He interacted with children on summer coding camp.
He wrote: “Our first stop is the Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) in Yaba. I got to talk to kids at a summer coding camp and entrepreneurs who come to CcHub to build and launch their apps. I’m looking forward to meeting more people here!”
Zuckerberg’s visit generated online buzz and excitement among technology-savvy youths, who expressed views that the billionaire’s visit would give the nation’s youth entrepreneurship market a facelift.
Last night, the Facebook founder met with Ms Rosemary Njoku, initiator of Facebook Express Wi-Fi stand in Lagos.
Express Wi-Fi, Zuckerberg said, empowers entrepreneurs to build a business by providing their community with access to the internet. He said Facebook designed the technology, but local Internet providers provided the connectivity.
In less than 30 minutes after Zuckerberg shared the post announcing his Nigeria’s visit, more than 60,000 youths made comments, liked and shared the post. This was an indication of excitement among the youth to learn of the Facebook founder’s visit.
Before his visit, Zuckerberg had made positive comments about Nigeria’s entrepreneurs. He particularly mentioned founders of Jobberman, an online job market classified.
CNN quoted Zuckerberg to have said: “I’m excited to see what Nigerians build next.”
Facebook is in partnership with Airtel Africa to execute Internet.org, an initiative which will allow Nigerians access to news, health information and other services without having to pay for data on their mobile devices. | http://thenationonlineng.net/facebook-boss-zuckerberg-lagos/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/d9afb88734b93b049100eeec5d4402be7a29192020ce13ed496cb0bf21131d1c.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T14:48:31 | null | 2016-08-28T14:57:18 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fease-business-nigeria-will-top-100-countries-2019-says-buhari%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Ease of doing business: Nigeria will be top 100 countries by 2019, says Buhari | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | Ease of doing business: Nigeria will be top 100 countries by 2019, says Buhari
2:57 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/ease-business-nigeria-will-top-100-countries-2019-says-buhari/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/e09df09bd4c3e39b45b0ee9c336a62e392f9ea6ec1147126a30de93931b8208a.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:06 | null | 2016-08-31T00:09:07 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F200m-halliburton-cash-blown-presidential-helicopter%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/MAGU-5-e1472595678636.jpg | en | null | $200m Halliburton cash ‘blown on presidential helicopter’ | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | WHO PAID WHAT
•Julius Berger $35m
•Siemens Euros 30m
•Snamprogetti $30m
•Halliburton $32,500,000
•Japan Gasoline $26, 500,000
Detectives probing the whereabouts of the $200m (N81.4billion) fines paid by five companies involved in the $180million Halliburton bribery scam have made a major discovery.
The cash was allegedly blown on the purchase of a security helicopter for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, The Nation learnt yesterday.
A former Minister of Finance is under investigation for releasing the cash to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which was then headed by the late Gen. Owoye Azazi.
According to sources, the EFCC spent months to trace the $200million which was allegedly remitted into a CBN account.
The breakdown of the remittances by the five companies is as follows: Julius Berger ($35m); Siemens (Euros 30m); Snamprogetti ($30m); Halliburton Energy Services ($32,500,000) and Japan Gasoline Corporation ($26, 500,000).
A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “We have made substantial progress in locating the remittance of the fines into an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) but the cash was withdrawn under the guise of security funding.
”One of the five suspects interrogated by our team indicated that the cash was used to buy a customised security helicopter for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. The suspect said the helicopter is still in the presidential fleet.
“But it was not clear if the N81.4billion was spent on the helicopter or part of it. We are trying to find out the cost of the helicopter from the manufacturer. Preliminary findings confirmed that the helicopter could not have cost up to N1billion to N2billion.”
About $12million(N3.960billion) was collected as legal fees by five lawyers who the EFCC has questioned. The lawyers are a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), J. B. Daudu (SAN); Damian D. Dodo(SAN); Godwin Obla(SAN); E.C. Ukala(SAN); and Roland Ewubare.
They defended the payment of legal fees as part of the clause in the agreement for the recovery of the $200million. They said it was akin to a similar agreement on Pfizer drug test scandal in Kano State where lawyers were paid professional fees for their legal services.
Responding to a question, the source added: “So, in essence, about N75billion was allegedly spent on ‘questionable and strange’ security needs by the administration of ex-President Jonathan.
”We also discovered that a former Minister of Finance ordered the release of the fines to ONSA for ‘strange’ security purposes, including the customised helicopter.
The unnamed ex-Minister is to be questioned on the withdrawal of the $200m fines, how it was drawn, whether once or in tranches and the breakdown of what it was used for.
“We will also demand records from ONSA if the cash was actually remitted and the actual cost of the security helicopter,” the source said.
The source, however, claimed that the EFCC investigators might also look at whether or not the fines were commensurate with the offence committed.
They will also examine why Nigeria, the main victim of the $180million Halliburton scam, got only $200million fines.
“The U.S. government was paid about $1.5billion fines by Halliburton, apart from the jailing of the facilitator of the bribe, a UK lawyer, Mr. Jeffery Tesler.
No Nigerian involved in the scandal has been successfully tried by any court in the country.
Former EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu in February 2016 addressed a forum in Germany where he expressed regrets that the Halliburton scandal was frustrated.
He said: “A gang of foreigners stole from Nigeria” from a $6 billion natural gas contract won by a consortium of four international companies.
”I first got hint of the case in France. I got back home and tried to investigate the case but it was very difficult or probably impossible because the companies were not there in Nigeria. They didn’t have account there, the people were not there. They had left.
“I rushed back to Paris. I was in Paris many times. I put in a request letter but after a year of trying to get French authorities to help us, the investigation magistrate told me that they could not get anyone to translate my letter from English to French. I knew it was a hopeless case.”
Ribadu said after failing to get France, Italy and Japan to help, he opted to go to the United States even though Dick Cheney, the then US vice president, was on the board of Halliburton.
“The Department of Justice in the United States took up the case. They investigated and prosecuted the case. They placed a fine of over $1.5 billion on Halliburton.”
One of the counsel who negotiated the payment of the $200million fines, Dodo(SAN) on February 11, 2016 wrote EFCC Acting chairman Ibrahim Magu on the Settlement Agreement.
He insisted that all the five lawyers were transparent in seeing through the agreement.
Dodo said: “In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated a coordinated set of criminal and civil actions against multinational companies suspected of violating the U.S Foreign Corrupt Practices ACT (FCPA)
“The basis of the criminal and civil actions lay in illegal payments made to facilitate the award of lucrative contracts outside of the U.S
“The action against Siemens AG and the TSKJ consortium (The Halliburton Parties) had linkages to illegal payments made in Nigeria.”
Ribadu said: “The Halliburton Parties were four companies involved in the construction of LNG Trains on Bonny Island, namely Technip (France), Snamprogetti (Italy), Kellogg Brown and Root (US) and the Japan Gas Corporation (Japan).
“Between 2008 and 2010, these companies admitted wrongdoing and paid fines to the U.S Government to settle the changes
“Upon assumption of office as Acting President in 2010, former President Goodluck Jonathan gave instructions for the investigation of the entities involved in the making and receipt of illegal payments based on the request of the US government in particular and the international community in general.
“The then NSA (Gen. Aliyu Gusau) anchored the investigation effort whilst the operational and procedural initiatives were tasked to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN).
“The Attorney General reconstituted a strong and diverse legal team led overall by the then President of the Nigerian Bar Association, J.B Daudu, SAN, which included Mr. E.C Ukala, SAN, Chief Godwin Obla, SAN; Mr. Roland Ewubare and my humble self.
“In my own case, I had been appointed since March 2009 by the then Attorney-General, Chief Michael K. Aondoakaa, SAN. Copy of the letter of appointment is attached herewith for ease of reference
“Given the urgency of the effort and the scope of work to be done, an initial question arose as to the mechanics of payment of legal fees to the lawyers instructed to handle these cases
“The then Attorney-General of the Federation (Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN) indicated that he had no budget for legal fees for the matters.
“After considerable discussions, it was agreed that the fees and costs of counsel be paid by the accused entities as part of any settlement package.
“Precedent for the above fee structure already existed with instructions given by the previous Attorney-General Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN to the lawyers involved in the prosecution of the Pfizer criminal defendants
“In that instance, the fees of counsel were paid by Pfizer Corporation as part of the settlement with Kano State Government on one hand and the Federal Government on the other.
“Upon agreement of the broad parameters and payment mechanism, the legal team went to work
“The first company to be investigated and threatened with prosecution was Julius Berger who were accused of acting as a conduit for the transmission of an illegal payment of $5m. They settled for $35 million (thirty five million US dollars)
“The Halliburton companies were next. The process was protracted and complicated and it resulted in the filing of charges against former U.S Vice-President Dick Cheney
“Eventually, the Halliburton companies settled.
“In total, over $200m (two hundred million US dollars) was recovered for the FGN from the efforts of the legal team. Some members of the team were conferred with national honours for service to the nation.
“In essence, an amount in excess of the $180m total bribes paid in the Halliburton scandal was recovered by the Legal Team.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/200m-halliburton-cash-blown-presidential-helicopter/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/7be4deee8bf0ece00a7010ef19ac460bb5e6781770d0283fa87596b867f057b1.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:05 | null | 2016-08-30T19:15:06 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpolicemen-detained-for-killing-17-year-old-in-bayelsa%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nigerian-Police-e1468272740175.jpg | en | null | Policemen detained for killing 17-year-old in Bayelsa | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/policemen-detained-for-killing-17-year-old-in-bayelsa/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4d979250bef53576443d4ce70b998a2babc2772f34d1ebdd544624f8b7047dd0.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:49:05 | null | 2016-08-31T12:22:44 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fnigerian-developers-are-awesome-zuckerberg%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/zuckerberg.jpg | en | null | Nigerian developers are awesome -Zuckerberg | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/nigerian-developers-are-awesome-zuckerberg/ | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/3bf7e17b2b88f05c484c5cec6ade6820b204379591b46f4510a96a621c23c0a7.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:35 | null | 2016-08-28T00:04:25 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Flagos-50-ooni-calls-cultural-revolution%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Lagos-at-50.jpg | en | null | Lagos at 50: Ooni calls for cultural revolution | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, in this lecture to mark 50 years of the creation of Lagos State, harps on the need to take culture seriously as a way of promoting tourism and enhancing the commercial viability of Lagos State. Edozie Udeze reports.
The colloquium was titled; Tourism potentials in Yorubaland: Landmarks, cultures and history. It was delivered by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi in Lagos last weekend as part of the activities to mark the 50 years of the creation of Lagos State. Beyond the historical excursion into the facts and figures that led to the ancestral foundation of Lagos as a town, the gathering which took place at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, were taken into the traditional role of Yemoja as the Yoruba goddess of fertility and purity by the National Troupe of Nigeria. Through their dance, this was clearly demonstrated.
Before the Ooni mounted the podium to deliver his lecture, the Troupe welcomed the gathering with Iba, homage to the Oba. In it was also espoused Yemoja, a dance that is not only dear to the heart of the Ooni, but which also spells out the intractable role of Yemoja, the river goddess that bestows purity and fertility on the womenfolk. The dance was not only performed with grace and glamour, it equally showed the role played by other gods in the ordinances of the world.
As Funmi Abe, the lead dancer took the crowd through the names of orunmila, obatala, esu and other complementary gods that help in the re-ordering of the earth, most of the traditional rulers in the hall nodded their heads in acclaim. The drummers held on with frenzy as the dancers swayed slowly and methodically to the yearnings of Yemoja.
Adorned in dazzling white costumes, the symbol of Yemoja, the female dancers displayed the evocative powers of influence exercised by Yemoja over women. In all, the idol, the symbol of the goddess was placed on stage for all to see. The dancers invoked it; appealed to it and cajoled it to come awake for the good of the people. The dancers proved that the gods are not yet done with humanity. The dance, in the reckoning of the Artistic Director of the Troupe, Akin Adejuwon, was to show that no society exists in a vacuum. Some ancestral powers must have played prominent roles in its existence.
In his lecture, the Ooni paid everlasting tribute to Olodumare, the author and finisher of our lives for being the only one who is, who was and who will forever hold the universe together. “God is He who is, who was and who will forever be”, he began, as the crowd cheered and applauded. “Therefore all glory, honour and adoration are ascribed to Him. No other one can ever take over from Him. Why I am happy today? This is so because this gathering has the current generation, the older generation and the generation yet to come. The greatest thing that has brought us together that is more forceful than religion is our tradition and culture. It is very important and therefore we have to uphold those things that keep us as one. It is indeed paramount for all of us to safeguard our heritages and ensure we pass them on to the next generation.”
For the Ooni who is the numero uno of the Yoruba culture, It is time for people to know the story of Lagos; how it came to be. “It is good to be here today to celebrate Lagos at 50. However, we have to begin now to grasp the cultural ideals that make us who we are, if not we are bound to forget. Often, when we resort to this, people tag us idol worshippers and all sorts of negative things. But no, it is not so. We merely hold on to what God has given to us. Who can oppose nature? Who can query God’s gift to mankind? Olodumare has bestowed humanity with all sorts of cultural values and therefore we cannot challenge Him. Our God is Olodumare.
“It is for His abundance of gifts of nature and culture that we are here today. He is the owner of nature and He has lesser gods and goddess that help Him to reorder the world. These gods are all messengers and angels of God Almighty. Now, this takes us to the history of how Lagos was founded by our ancestors. It is due to their roles that we are here today as Lagos has come to be the most accommodating and peaceful and friendly state in Nigeria. It is not only commercially viable, if I didn’t come here to Lagos, I don’t think I’d have been made the Ooni of Ife. Lagos made me who am today,” he said.
The Ooni who was made an Oba last year, then traced the history of Olofin Oodua who was sent out from the palace in Ife to go found the city of Lagos. “It was the role of Olofin Ogunfunmire that gave birth to Lagos. Initially, he did not have children and the gods decreed that he could only have offspring if he was asked to leave Ife. He was a prince of the kingdom. He was therefore asked to pack a few things to set sail to whenever his boat could anchor.
“With his entourage, he left Ife, with the blessing of the chiefs. It was for him to establish yet another kingdom. He got to a place called Olokun in Eko, that is Isheri-Olofin. There, he settled down with his family and began to make glasses. And today the making of glasses is originally traced to the Yoruba traditions. We are the first to start the making of glasses and fibre. Even what I am wearing today on my neck as a traditional ruler has its origin in that tradition.
“From that point at Isheri, he also established the Awori settlement. And that is why Lagos is peopled more by the Aworis and the people of Olofin. In fact, the entire Awori clan live in Lagos because this is their original place of existence. These are some of the landmarks of our cultures that we should not forget. And so whilst the Olofin settled and began to expand into the hinterland, the Edos of Bini also came in. However, together the two cultures later merged or met to form the totality of Eko. From Iddo, the development continued until it clustered at Ojuelegba.
“It was Odun-elegba before time, because the ancestors blessed the spot as a beehive of commerce and social activities. Ojuelegba is a blessing so ordained by our ancestors and that is why Lagos beckons on everyone without discrimination. Ojuelegba is synonymous with celebration, very cordial to people in Lagos. Today, Olokun the god of wealth domiciles there and so Lagos has come to be the centre of life, where one can make and create wealth. It is the centre of commerce. It is here that you can come with nothing and go home with plenty. You cannot pass through Lagos without being successful and it was the prayer of our ancestors that has made it so.
“In the first place, it is not only Lagos that has water or being surrounded by water. Yet it is the greatest commercial spot in the country. Eko oni baje o. Therefore, let us not throw away our culture. It is good to educate our people about it. In fact, it is the bedrock of our education. This is why I am challenging both the minister and the commissioners in-charge of culture to sit up. It is time to promote culture and turn it into a tourism commodity for all to savour and sample. It will help in terms of social justice, equity and development. I came to Lagos with nothing but left with my basket full, running over with bountiful and plenty riches that made me who I am today” the Ooni intoned to the general clamour of the people.
In his response, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated that in this time of global oil glut, culture has come to represent an avenue for the government to explore resources for the nation. “In this time when there is fall in oil prices, the next credible option to explore is culture. Arts is rich in revenue and we have to exploit that now”, he said. “We have chosen to diverse the economy and culture is our next destination. It has been spotlighted by this government and so we will give it all we have to ensure that tourism also prospers. Now, countries like Ethiopia and Kenya have more UNESCO cultural sites than Nigeria. It is time to look into those sites that we can develop to exploit and explore culture and tourism. These include Nike Lake, the Mambila Plateau, Ife Royal palace, Oba of Benin palace and so on. Today we have only two UNESCO sites and it is not enough,” he said.
According to the Minister, tourism and culture can be used to create jobs for the youths, improve the security situation in the country and generally keep people off the streets. “It is a veritable commodity for the economy. And it will generate hundreds of thousands of jobs for the people. Therefore, attention has to shift to fashion, Nigerian fashion, in its colourful epitome. The film industry is there which has even contributed largely to the nation’s GDP. The creative sector generally has to be promoted the more now for the good of the nation” he presented.
Other cultural troupes that entertained included the Foot-prints of David and the Badagry dance troupe. With them, it was no more in doubt if culture can generate attention and keep people on their toes. With their colourful costumes and elegant dance styles, the cultural groups made it clear that it was time to see dance as one of the veritable commodities to shore up the GDP. | http://thenationonlineng.net/lagos-50-ooni-calls-cultural-revolution/ | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/258b2bfb943f0b38e88823e948ff7a499e4f6ed5b7049a0b53092294afb9baf7.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:47:51 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:39 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2F2baba-mi-others-headline-buckwyld-n-breathless-concert-3%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | 2BABA, MI, OTHERS TO HEADLINE ‘BUCKWYLD 'N' BREATHLESS’ CONCERT | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | WITH plans in top gear to hold what it describes as the mother of all concerts, organisers of the Buckwyld ‘n’ Breathless: The Disruption concert recently hosted journalists to an intimate media parley.
Held at Koga studios last Wednesday, the parley witnessed the presence of the major headliners of the event- 2Baba and MI Abaga as well as other headliners of the concert and the members of the Buckwyld ‘n’ BreathlessDream team.
Addressing the media parley, CEO of Buckwyld ‘n’ Breathless Media Network, Efe Omorogbe spoke also unveiled other headliners set to perform at the concert.
He reiterated that the concert will be nothing short of extraordinary, a fusion of what he describes as ”Power of Music put together by the greatest acts to come out of Nigeria”.
Omorogbe also emphasized that this concert will not be a musical concert like expected but a concert that collaborates theatrical performance, dance and music, telling the legendary tale of Nigeria’s world class talents- 2Baba and MI Abaga who have collaborated on major hits songs and have journeyed to fame by shear hard work and raw talent.
“We ensured that the concept of disruption revolves around the delivery of more when it comes to the standard of concerts in Nigeria and to prove that concerts from Nigeria can scratch beyond the surface,” he said.
Other artistes expected to perform at the concert include Vanessa Mdee, Waje, Jesse Jagz, Nosa, Ice Prince, Sound Sultan, Vector, and Cohbams Asuquo with Andre Blaze as the host accompanied by Emma Ugolee. Also to grace the show will be a special celebrity guest who is yet to be unveiled as co hosts of the concert. | http://thenationonlineng.net/2baba-mi-others-headline-buckwyld-n-breathless-concert-3/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/5643abf630b41116e3e9778a9b8e9171df5743516fa54d90c667fbc0ac913c21.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:48:55 | null | 2016-08-30T16:56:11 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fpdp-crisis-sheriff-camp-rejects-bots-recommendations%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | PDP crisis: Sheriff camp rejects BoT's recommendations | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Ali Modu Sheriff camp of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the peace recipe offered by the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) to stem the festering leader ship crisis in the party.
The BoT had on Monday directed the removal of the Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike as chairman of the convention planning committee and the immediate disbandment of the panel.
The trustees had similarly ordered that a repeat convention by held in Abuja, instead of Port Harcourt, favoured by the Wike and the Ahmed Makarfi led caretaker committee of the PDP.
A statement on Tuesday by Dr. Cairo Ojougbo on behalf of the Sheriff camp, said the resolutions of the BoT fell short of the decisions reached with another reconciliation committee headed by the Bayelsa state Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson.
The camp has insisted on having Sheriff chair the next National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting “where Makarfi will attend as a member of the BOT”.
“At the meeting, a chairman of the convention committee will be agreed upon, a new convention committee setup, including all other sub-committees like Zoning, Finance, Accreditation etc”, the statement added.
The faction demanded an enlarged meeting of stakeholders and members, where everybody will be given the right to air their views as prelude to genuine reconciliation.
The faction also rejected the vote of confidence passed on the caretaker committee by the BoT, on the ground that the committee had failed to organise a successful convention on two occasions.
The statement continued, “Consequently, we can now confidently inform the general public that well-meaning Nigerians have been urging Senator Makarfi to resign to save democracy.
“We therefore call on his friends and associates and family to advise him to do the needful and resign now to save multiparty democracy in Nigeria and stop impunity that has been the bane of internal democracy.
“That the BOT Chairman, Senator Walid Jubril, has brought crisis to the party. In any case his tenure has expired as he has spent more than 10 years as Secretary and Chairman of BOT which runs contrary to the party constitution.
“A party where we have imminently qualified persons like Senator David Mark, Babangida Aliyu and others cannot be led by unstable individuals controlled by the love for money.
“That the source of irritation in the party is the still-born illegal caretaker committee and the Board of Trustees should have advised that the illegality be addressed”.
The Sheriff camp also demanded the immediate reconstitution of the BoT, stressing that “until we get it right and check impunity, the Nigerian opposition party won’t perform as required”.
“As we move towards reconciliation, PDP should prevent any person or group from hijacking the party. Be rest assured that the PDP will emerge stronger as we note that impunity marred the party’s success in the 2015 general elections,” the statement added. | http://thenationonlineng.net/pdp-crisis-sheriff-camp-rejects-bots-recommendations/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/8c637e8a5770ffe65a587cb12ebadd0cd937087031f0581eb5079985cbdaba4e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:48:53 | null | 2016-08-29T17:51:52 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fbrazil-rousseff-faces-senate-impeachment%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BRAZIL.jpg | en | null | Brazil: Rousseff faces Senate in impeachment | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | The Raw Story of Ngozi! The Lady that Got Rid of Fibroids Without Surgery
4:11 pm | http://thenationonlineng.net/brazil-rousseff-faces-senate-impeachment/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/857258f3c1a57f2f42a5c8ca5c520c1de2d187998f6848431567308b5ab4d8ab.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:48:46 | null | 2016-08-29T12:53:04 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fmilitary-option-wont-work-niger-delta-iyc%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Why military option won't work in Niger Delta | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/military-option-wont-work-niger-delta-iyc/ | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/b42f0ff4e09ed9e2e5636b16b3f570e82ec1028208201b10d9eee54e4f2a2d49.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:50 | null | 2016-08-30T00:08:45 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Ffayose-killer-herdsmen-ll-face-terrorism-charges%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Ekiti-State-Governor-Ayodele-Fayose-360x225-300x225.jpg | en | null | Fayose signs bill to try herdsmen for terrorism | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | •Governor signs Anti-Grazing Bill into law
EKITI State Governor Ayo Fayose yesterday signed a bill to regulate grazing, into law, with a warning that any herdsman caught with arms will face charges of terrorism.
The governor said the law would curtail activities of suspected herdsmen, who move about with firearms, unleashing terror on citizens.
According to the new law, any offender arrested and convicted is liable to six months’ imprisonment without any option of fine.
Grazing activities in designated places would take place between 7 am and 6 pm daily in Ekiti State.
The governor vowed that his administration will enforce the law, noting that the law was not targeted at any particular group but to ensure that the state does not descend into anarchy and senseless bloodletting.
Fayose signed the bill into law, with traditional rulers, community leaders and interest groups present.
He promised to convoke such a meeting once in three months to review the security situation and other issues affecting the state.
The governor earlier meet with the monarchs and community leaders at the Osuntokun Lodge of the Government House before giving his assent to the law in the open.
He said the bill became expedient to prevent a recurrence of an attack by suspected herdsmen on Oke Ako in Ikole Local Government, where two people were killed and scores injured on May 20.
The governor noted that by working with rulers, he would get a feedback on those plundering state resources, such as trees, farmlands and others.
Fayose said: “My government took the bill to the House after what happened in Oke Ako some months ago. The House has passed the bill and I have to assent it. It becomes a law from today that if you do anything to the contrary you will be punished by the law.”
Any herdsman caught with firearms or any weapon while grazing in Ekiti now will be charged with terrorism. I solicit your support for this government to succeed.”
The provisions of the law was read to the audience by the House of Assembly Speaker, Kola Oluwawole, who said the government will collaborate with local councils to apportion lands for grazing in designated areas. | http://thenationonlineng.net/fayose-killer-herdsmen-ll-face-terrorism-charges/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/784209fa19de948314e7477192044e868d9cf2c506fdf72c14cb8b3555e6db46.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:01 | null | 2016-08-30T19:21:24 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fambode-appoints-anibaba-new-ceo-lotteries-board%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/themes/thenationonlineng/images/default-img-big.png | en | null | Ambode appoints Anibaba as new CEO Lotteries Board | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | null | http://thenationonlineng.net/ambode-appoints-anibaba-new-ceo-lotteries-board/ | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/4d9e03492ca6363e111deaf79ff91e0a512082049b45896a85ef9498d3f709ae.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:45:54 | null | 2016-08-27T01:13:21 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fthenationonlineng.net%2Fniger-delta-crisis-kachikwu-meets-clark-stakeholders-warri%2F.json | http://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Kachikwu.jpg | en | null | Niger Delta crisis: Kachikwu meets Clark, other stakeholders in Warri | null | null | thenationonlineng.net | President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday dispatched the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu to Warri,Delta State to meet with Niger Delta Stakeholders on how to resolve the fresh wave of militancy in the region.
At the meeting were Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, former Minister of Police Affairs, Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, former Delta state deputy governor, Professor Amos Utuama, Chef Christopher Obiuwevbi, Chief Favour Izuokumor, spokesman of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Eric Omare and several traditional rulers, youths leaders and women from various ethnic groups in the region.
Kachikwu who had on Thrsday met with another group of Ijaw leaders including traditional rulers said that President Buhari was determined to get the issues involved in the agitation in the Niger Delta resolved through dialogue rather than the use of military force.
He thus charged the stakeholders to prevail on their youths to drop their arms, buy into the peaceful approach and stop robbing the region of potential development opportunities.
“The President has been very emphatic that the only solution to this problem is dialogue and he keeps saying to me to tell the leaders to call their young boys to order,” he said.
“I have said it from day one that we must work for the final solution. My belief is that the final solution doesn’t lie in militancy. It requires a well articulated position of how to find solutions.
“If we do not have peace, we can’t address these issues and it is important that we organize those who can help us in the process and am extremely 100% committed to looking at these and the need to make amends.
“I’m committed to finding peace and opportunities in these areas but if most of these coastal states can’t be developed like what we see in Dubai, then we have failed because we have the resources and everything going for us.
“It is important that we work collectively and all those who have taken to militancy must collapse all of that, come back to the table and let us speak with a voice and seek solutions.
“The Niger Delta needs more than ceasefire, what is needed is perpetual peace.”
Chief Clark had earlier in the day met with a delegation of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in Warri.
Both sides agreed to work together.
He denounced Thursday’s visit by some Ijaw traditional rulers to Kachikwu as a selfish venture which had no blessing of true leaders of the Niger Delta.
Chief Clark,at yesterday’s parley, received the representative of MEND’s Aaron Team 2, Mr. Timipa Jenkins Okponipre, who bore a letter requesting collaboration with the Chief Clark-led regional stakeholders’ forum, which was assembled at a recent gathering in Warri.
Okponipre, who is also the Secretary of the Aaron’s Team 2,read out the terms on which MEND wished the new alliance to run.
According to him, the alliance will be led by Chief Clark, with six other members, who would be persons of impeccable integrity.
He said:”MEND hereby restates that it shall work with and recognize Chief Edwin Ckark as the leader of a pan Niger Delta team to engage in dialogue with the federal government and multi- national oil companies upon the following terms and conditions:
*All the ongoing Niger Delta dialogue and peace initiatives in the region shall be carefully coordinated and warehoused under a single umbrella body to be known as the Niger Delta Peace and Development Group.
*Only the Niger Delta Peace and Development Group shall be recognized and competent to speak, negotiate and dialogue on behalf of the Niger Delta region by all stakeholders including the federal government, the international community, multinational oil companies etc.
*The group shall comprise six eminent Nigerians of impeccable character and integrity from the Niger Delta as defined by the Niger Delta Development Commission Act.
*That Chief Clark shall be the leader of the group. MEND, in support of the group, would nominate a Secretary that would work with Clark. MEND’s nominee shall be Timipa Jenkins Okponipre. MEND also nominates Messrs Ledum Mitee and Ibanga Isine to serve as members of the group.
*That one of the remaining two slots to be reserved for women and that upon these terms, MEND would disband the Odien Ajumogobia led Aaron Team 2″, the letter read.
Responding to the proposal from MEND, Chief Clark, said the regional body earlier put together by stakeholders from across the region would be willing to work with the Aaron’s Team 2, adding that the terms of the alliance, as suggested by MEND would be considered and reviewed by stakeholders.
“As I said earlier, when you have many children and some of them are working at cross purposes, the happier you would be if they decide to come together for a common objective of purpose.
“I have received your letter in the true spirit and have accepted you to be with us, we would work with you, we would recognise you and you would be part of us.
“The various terms you mentioned would be looked into. We are in democracy and I do not operate alone, we would deliberate on them and meet with you again”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ijaw national leader, speaking to the leaders of the region from various places, in his house, emphasized the need for the entire region to stand together and pursue same goals for all the people.
He pledged that the Ijaw would not betray other groups.
Chief Clark said he called yesterday’s emergency stakeholders’ meeting of the various groups to disabuse their minds about Thursday’s visit to Dr Kachikwu, by some Ijaw chiefs who gave conditions to achieve peace in the region.
His words:”The purpose of this meeting is to tell you that I did not send them o, they went on their own. This is not an Ijaw matter, we must all stand together. Whenever we will go to Abuja, we shall go as a united region, all the groups of the Niger Delta would be represented.
“The purpose for this meeting is to assure you that this forum is still intact and solid and to let you know that Ijaw people are not treacherous, we stand where we agreed.” | http://thenationonlineng.net/niger-delta-crisis-kachikwu-meets-clark-stakeholders-warri/ | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | thenationonlineng.net/767bb0e0a1044e8742007a6f299067f7ab3582ba405640a080707a093790f14e.json |
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