The deputy governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, welcomed recent announcements by the pillar banks that long-term loan modifications would form part of the range of solutions to the mortgage arrears crisis.
By John Walsh, Business Correspondent
?It is encouraging to hear more than one bank CEO acknowledge that, while repossessions will inevitably rise significantly, for co-operating owner- occupier borrowers there will also be a step-up in the volume of cases of long-term loan modification ? carefully targeted debt relief if you like.?
His view was echoed last night by Finance Minister Michael Noonan who said he envisaged the emergence of what he termed a ?menu? of possible solutions for those in mortgage arrears to include interest-only payments and other methods of relieving the burden on distressed borrowers. However, he drew a sharp distinction between ?those who can?t pay and those who won?t pay?, saying the latter faced repossession.
Earlier, speaking at the spring lunch for the Institute of Directors, Mr Elderfield said: ?Wider industry recognition of this balanced approach is important: recovery of loans in full wherever possible, repossession, voluntary surrender or trade down if necessary, but for co-operating homeowners who are insolvent and at the threshold of repossession having already cut back their living expenses, that there will be more use of long-term loan modification where they are willing to repay what debt they can but also want to remain in their home.?
The deputy governor of the Central Bank took up this position in Jan 2010 in the middle of the financial sector implosion.
The Central Bank conducted stress tests of the banking system in Mar 2011 and ordered the banks to raise ?24bn of fresh capital to act as a buffer against future losses. There would be very active engagement with the banks to ensure they deal with mortgage arrears and that these efforts are matched in their small business portfolios.
A fully functioning banking system is needed for Ireland?s economic recovery, noted Mr Elderfield. ?In this respect, the outlook remains difficult, with low levels of domestic economic activity and compressed net interest margins.?
?An early exit from the guarantee will help to normalise the sector and reduce a drain on profitability. Continuing efforts are also needed on cost control. The path ahead remains a difficult one and progress will inevitably continue to be slow given the significant dislocation that has occurred to the banking sector and the economy as a whole.?
There would be a new era of a much more robust regulatory framework at the Central Bank. ?Our strategy is one of assertive risk-based supervision underpinned by the credible threat of enforcement.?
Mr Elderfield stressed there would be new corporate governance standards that company boards would have to comply with in future.
The new guidelines include restrictions on the number of directorships that can be held. Moreover, there will be a goal of encouraging more diversity of background and robustness of challenge by broadening the gene pool of corporate life, he said.
?Do you have the right gender diversity? Do you have the right international experience? If you look around the board table and you are all the same sex, ethnicity, nationality and educational background, well, the answer is probably no. Board effectiveness reviews with these goals in mind are essential and need to be tackled in a structured and determined way, ideally with facilitation on these key points, to help offset the inertia that comes from incumbency.?
Picture: Central Bank deputy governor Matthew Elderfield who welcomed moves by the banks on mortgage arrears. Finance Minister Michael Noonan last night said he envisaged a ?menu? of possible solutions for those in difficulty. Picture: Jason Clarke
Saving money by using electric vehiclesPublic release date: 22-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Monika Landgraf presse@kit.edu 49-721-608-47414 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
This press release is available in German.
High battery costs still prevent many people from buying an electric vehicle. Is it possible to save money by using an electric vehicle instead of a conventional reference car? This question is studied by the companies of Michelin and Siemens in cooperation with research partners at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. In January 2013, the consortium was promised funding by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBS) under the Baden-Wrttemberg LivingLab BWe mobil showcase project.
"If electric mobility is to be successful in Europe, it has to be economically efficient. We are looking for applications in which electric vehicles are cheaper than a reference car with a combustion engine," says Dr. Olaf Wollersheim, head of the RheinMobil showcase project at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). This is where the companies of Michelin and Siemens come in. Their staff members commute frequently between the German and French facilities. So far, conventional vehicles have been used for these trips. However, an electric vehicle may be cheaper, as every kilometer driven electrically costs less than driving on gasoline or diesel fuel. Wollersheim points out that the reason is the much higher efficiency of the electric drive train. "If the vehicle is used often, costs can be reduced considerably and the high purchasing price is compensated."
In a few weeks from now, first electric vehicles will be used by the staff commuting from Alsace to the Michelin factory in Karlsruhe. At the same time, Siemens staff members will use an electric instead of a gasoline-based vehicle for their trips between the factories in Karlsruhe and Haguenau, France. In both cases, utilization of the vehicles is planned to be increased, such that the electric vehicle will be cheaper than the reference car with a combustion engine at the end of the project. This concept also convinced the federal government. The project scheduled for a duration of three years and having a volume of nearly two million euros will be funded by the BMVBF and the project partners at a ratio of 50 : 50.
"Michelin does not only develop and sell tires, but is also committed to viable mobility. This is one of the company's principles outlined in the "Performance and Responsibility" Charter. The RheinMobil project fits perfectly to our company culture, as we can combine our values of 'respect for people' and 'promoting innovation'", explains Christian Metzger, the Karlsruhe plant manager of Michelin. "If electric mobility is to have a future, we have to bring electric vehicles onto the roads and make them visible," Metzger says.
"By participating in the project, Siemens does not only want to contribute to environmental protection, we also want to enhance the acceptance of electric mobility among our staff members. For business trips to our factory at Haguenau, Alsace, which is located 70 km away, they can test the electric vehicle in practice," says Hans-Georg Kumpfmller, spokesman of the Karlsruhe Siemens plant management.
To reach the ambitious project objectives, smart operation strategies for the vehicles, charging stations at the right places, and efforts to convince the staff members of the companies are required. Fraunhofer ISI and KIT have already studied user expectations and commercialization obstacles. They know the factors that prevent people from using electric vehicles, such as high costs, small ranges, and limited availability of charging infrastructure.
"This is where we come in," says Max Nastold, managing director of the company e-MotionLine. This company has just been established by KIT graduates and now received the first order to supply vehicles for the RheinMobil project. "We take care of the selection of economically most efficient vehicles, coordinate the charging infrastructure, and train the users in using this new technology." Max Nastold is convinced that this concept can also be used to open up other economically efficient applications. As regards the use of the charging infrastructure on both sides of the German-French border, the RheinMobil partners cooperate closely with the CROss-border Mobility for EVs (CROME) project (http://crome.forschung.kit.edu) that is funded by several German and French ministries.
The RheinMobil project is one of about 40 projects in the Baden-Wrttemberg "LivingLab BWe mobil" electric mobility showcase. It is funded with about 2 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBF) under the showcase program of the federal government. In April 2012, the federal government selected four regions in Germany as "electric mobility showcases". In these regions, research and development of alternative drive trains are funded according to the decision made by German parliament. For the showcase project, the federation will provide funds in the total amount of EUR 180 million. In large-scale regional demonstration and pilot projects, electric mobility will be tested at the interface of energy system, vehicle, and traffic system. Further information can be found at www.schaufenster-elektromobilitaet.org.
###
"LivingLab BWe mobil" Electric Mobility Showcase
In the Baden-Wrttemberg "LivingLab BWe mobil" showcase, more than 100 partners from industry, science, and public institutions are studying electric mobility in practice. The projects concentrate on the region of Stuttgart and the city of Karlsruhe and ensure high international visibility. "LivingLab BWe mobil" stands for a systematic approach based on coordinated projects for everybody to experience electric mobility from the electric bike to the electric car to the electric van to plug-in shuttle buses. The projects address aspects of intermodality, fleets, commercial transport, infrastructure and energy, urban and traffic planning, vehicle technology, communication, and participation as well as training and qualification. "LivingLab BWe mobil" is coordinated by the State Agency for Electric Mobility and Fuel Cell Technology e-mobil BW GmbH and the Stuttgart Regional Economic Development Corporation (WRS).
About Michelin
The worldwide active tire manufacturer Michelin has 115,000 employees and sales organizations in more than 170 countries. In line with its vision of an environmentally compatible mobility, the company develops, produces, and sells tires for nearly all types of vehicles. Michelin has 70 production facilities in 18 countries on five continents. For the constant further development of its complex products and technologies, Michelin possesses test and development centers in Europe, the USA, and Japan. The company admits its social responsibility. Among others, it has been organizing regularly the Michelin Challenge Bibendum since 1998. It is one of the largest forums worldwide for sustainable mobility. Michelin is committed to tradition. In 1931, the first production facility of Michelin in Germany was established in Karlsruhe. Today, this production facility is a recognized specialist for the manufacture of light truck tires. The highly automated production facilities are among the most modern facilities in the branch. Michelin produces a wide spectrum of tire dimensions of highest quality, mainly for the European market, but also for Japan, Mexico, and North America. In Germany, the Michelin Reifenwerke AG & Co. KGaA manufacture about 18 million tires at five facilities every year. More information can be found at www.michelin.de.
About Siemens AG
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a worldwide leading company in the electronics and electrical engineering sector. The group focuses on the areas of industry, energy, and healthcare and supplies infrastructure solutions for cities and urban areas in particular. For more than 165 years, Siemens has been standing for technical performance, innovation, quality, reliability, and internationality. Moreover, Siemens is the largest supplier of environmentally compatible technologies worldwide. About 40% of the company's turnover are based on green products and solutions. In the past business year that ended on September 30, 2012, Siemens reached a turnover of 78.3 billion euros from continuing operations. After-tax income totaled 5.2 billion euros. In late September 2012, the company employed about 370,000 persons in continued operations worldwide. More information can be found on the internet at http://www.siemens.com.
About Fraunhofer ISI
The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, ISI, analyzes the origins and impacts of innovations. Fraunhofer ISI studies short- and long-term developments of innovation processes and the impacts of new technologies and services on society. On this basis, clients from industry, politics, and science are provided with recommendations for actions and perspectives for key decisions. The expertise of Fraunhofer ISI lies in the broad scientific competence as well as an interdisciplinary and systemic research approach. www.isi.fraunhofer.de
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation according to the legislation of the state of Baden-Wrttemberg. It fulfills the mission of a university and the mission of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT focuses on a knowledge triangle that links the tasks of research, teaching, and innovation.
This press release is available on the internet at www.kit.edu.
The photo of printing quality may be downloaded under www.kit.edu or requested by mail to presse@kit.edu or phone +49 721 608-4 7414. The photo may be used in the context given above exclusively.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Saving money by using electric vehiclesPublic release date: 22-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Monika Landgraf presse@kit.edu 49-721-608-47414 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
This press release is available in German.
High battery costs still prevent many people from buying an electric vehicle. Is it possible to save money by using an electric vehicle instead of a conventional reference car? This question is studied by the companies of Michelin and Siemens in cooperation with research partners at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. In January 2013, the consortium was promised funding by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBS) under the Baden-Wrttemberg LivingLab BWe mobil showcase project.
"If electric mobility is to be successful in Europe, it has to be economically efficient. We are looking for applications in which electric vehicles are cheaper than a reference car with a combustion engine," says Dr. Olaf Wollersheim, head of the RheinMobil showcase project at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). This is where the companies of Michelin and Siemens come in. Their staff members commute frequently between the German and French facilities. So far, conventional vehicles have been used for these trips. However, an electric vehicle may be cheaper, as every kilometer driven electrically costs less than driving on gasoline or diesel fuel. Wollersheim points out that the reason is the much higher efficiency of the electric drive train. "If the vehicle is used often, costs can be reduced considerably and the high purchasing price is compensated."
In a few weeks from now, first electric vehicles will be used by the staff commuting from Alsace to the Michelin factory in Karlsruhe. At the same time, Siemens staff members will use an electric instead of a gasoline-based vehicle for their trips between the factories in Karlsruhe and Haguenau, France. In both cases, utilization of the vehicles is planned to be increased, such that the electric vehicle will be cheaper than the reference car with a combustion engine at the end of the project. This concept also convinced the federal government. The project scheduled for a duration of three years and having a volume of nearly two million euros will be funded by the BMVBF and the project partners at a ratio of 50 : 50.
"Michelin does not only develop and sell tires, but is also committed to viable mobility. This is one of the company's principles outlined in the "Performance and Responsibility" Charter. The RheinMobil project fits perfectly to our company culture, as we can combine our values of 'respect for people' and 'promoting innovation'", explains Christian Metzger, the Karlsruhe plant manager of Michelin. "If electric mobility is to have a future, we have to bring electric vehicles onto the roads and make them visible," Metzger says.
"By participating in the project, Siemens does not only want to contribute to environmental protection, we also want to enhance the acceptance of electric mobility among our staff members. For business trips to our factory at Haguenau, Alsace, which is located 70 km away, they can test the electric vehicle in practice," says Hans-Georg Kumpfmller, spokesman of the Karlsruhe Siemens plant management.
To reach the ambitious project objectives, smart operation strategies for the vehicles, charging stations at the right places, and efforts to convince the staff members of the companies are required. Fraunhofer ISI and KIT have already studied user expectations and commercialization obstacles. They know the factors that prevent people from using electric vehicles, such as high costs, small ranges, and limited availability of charging infrastructure.
"This is where we come in," says Max Nastold, managing director of the company e-MotionLine. This company has just been established by KIT graduates and now received the first order to supply vehicles for the RheinMobil project. "We take care of the selection of economically most efficient vehicles, coordinate the charging infrastructure, and train the users in using this new technology." Max Nastold is convinced that this concept can also be used to open up other economically efficient applications. As regards the use of the charging infrastructure on both sides of the German-French border, the RheinMobil partners cooperate closely with the CROss-border Mobility for EVs (CROME) project (http://crome.forschung.kit.edu) that is funded by several German and French ministries.
The RheinMobil project is one of about 40 projects in the Baden-Wrttemberg "LivingLab BWe mobil" electric mobility showcase. It is funded with about 2 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development (BMVBF) under the showcase program of the federal government. In April 2012, the federal government selected four regions in Germany as "electric mobility showcases". In these regions, research and development of alternative drive trains are funded according to the decision made by German parliament. For the showcase project, the federation will provide funds in the total amount of EUR 180 million. In large-scale regional demonstration and pilot projects, electric mobility will be tested at the interface of energy system, vehicle, and traffic system. Further information can be found at www.schaufenster-elektromobilitaet.org.
###
"LivingLab BWe mobil" Electric Mobility Showcase
In the Baden-Wrttemberg "LivingLab BWe mobil" showcase, more than 100 partners from industry, science, and public institutions are studying electric mobility in practice. The projects concentrate on the region of Stuttgart and the city of Karlsruhe and ensure high international visibility. "LivingLab BWe mobil" stands for a systematic approach based on coordinated projects for everybody to experience electric mobility from the electric bike to the electric car to the electric van to plug-in shuttle buses. The projects address aspects of intermodality, fleets, commercial transport, infrastructure and energy, urban and traffic planning, vehicle technology, communication, and participation as well as training and qualification. "LivingLab BWe mobil" is coordinated by the State Agency for Electric Mobility and Fuel Cell Technology e-mobil BW GmbH and the Stuttgart Regional Economic Development Corporation (WRS).
About Michelin
The worldwide active tire manufacturer Michelin has 115,000 employees and sales organizations in more than 170 countries. In line with its vision of an environmentally compatible mobility, the company develops, produces, and sells tires for nearly all types of vehicles. Michelin has 70 production facilities in 18 countries on five continents. For the constant further development of its complex products and technologies, Michelin possesses test and development centers in Europe, the USA, and Japan. The company admits its social responsibility. Among others, it has been organizing regularly the Michelin Challenge Bibendum since 1998. It is one of the largest forums worldwide for sustainable mobility. Michelin is committed to tradition. In 1931, the first production facility of Michelin in Germany was established in Karlsruhe. Today, this production facility is a recognized specialist for the manufacture of light truck tires. The highly automated production facilities are among the most modern facilities in the branch. Michelin produces a wide spectrum of tire dimensions of highest quality, mainly for the European market, but also for Japan, Mexico, and North America. In Germany, the Michelin Reifenwerke AG & Co. KGaA manufacture about 18 million tires at five facilities every year. More information can be found at www.michelin.de.
About Siemens AG
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a worldwide leading company in the electronics and electrical engineering sector. The group focuses on the areas of industry, energy, and healthcare and supplies infrastructure solutions for cities and urban areas in particular. For more than 165 years, Siemens has been standing for technical performance, innovation, quality, reliability, and internationality. Moreover, Siemens is the largest supplier of environmentally compatible technologies worldwide. About 40% of the company's turnover are based on green products and solutions. In the past business year that ended on September 30, 2012, Siemens reached a turnover of 78.3 billion euros from continuing operations. After-tax income totaled 5.2 billion euros. In late September 2012, the company employed about 370,000 persons in continued operations worldwide. More information can be found on the internet at http://www.siemens.com.
About Fraunhofer ISI
The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, ISI, analyzes the origins and impacts of innovations. Fraunhofer ISI studies short- and long-term developments of innovation processes and the impacts of new technologies and services on society. On this basis, clients from industry, politics, and science are provided with recommendations for actions and perspectives for key decisions. The expertise of Fraunhofer ISI lies in the broad scientific competence as well as an interdisciplinary and systemic research approach. www.isi.fraunhofer.de
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation according to the legislation of the state of Baden-Wrttemberg. It fulfills the mission of a university and the mission of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT focuses on a knowledge triangle that links the tasks of research, teaching, and innovation.
This press release is available on the internet at www.kit.edu.
The photo of printing quality may be downloaded under www.kit.edu or requested by mail to presse@kit.edu or phone +49 721 608-4 7414. The photo may be used in the context given above exclusively.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The running of four public golf courses in Winnipeg has become to expensive? so the city is exploring other options..
Colin Craig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation told CJOB??? privatization is a? viable? option..
????????????
But, ?the head of the city's largest union? Mike Davidson says reported losses of 850-thousand dollars a year are bogus..?? And, He ?claims the? City has raided a fund to help cover the cost of operations
?????????????
Davidson?? told CJOB's nighthawk?? the union has suggested?? adding? miniature golf coures or revisiting leasing agreements with semi-private courses?? and both those ideas and others have been rejected..
It's not unusual for cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy to complain about not being able to think clearly, connect thoughts or concentrate on daily tasks. The complaint ? often referred to as chemo-brain ? is common. The scientific cause, however, has been difficult to pinpoint.
New research by Rutgers University behavioral neuroscientist Tracey Shors offers clues for this fog-like condition, medically known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment. In a featured article published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, Shors and her colleagues argue that prolonged chemotherapy decreases the development of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis, and disrupts ongoing brain rhythms in the part of the brain responsible for making new memories. Both, she says, are affected by learning and in some cases are necessary for learning to occur.
"One of the things that these brain rhythms do is to connect information across brain regions," says Shors, Professor II in the Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers. "We are starting to have a better understanding of how these natural rhythms are used in the process of communication and how they change with experience."
Working in the Shors laboratory, postdoctoral fellow Miriam S. Nokia from the Department of Psychology at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland and Rutgers neuroscience graduate student Megan Anderson treated rats with a chemotherapy drug ? temozolomide (TMZ) ? used on individuals with either malignant brain tumors or skin cancer to stop rapidly dividing cells that have gone out of control and resulted in cancer.
In this study, scientists found that the production of new healthy brain cells treated with the TMZ was reduced in the hippocampus by 34 percent after being caught in the crossfire of the drug's potency. The cell loss, coupled with the interference in brain rhythms, resulted in the animal being unable to learn difficult tasks.
Shors says the rats had great difficulty learning to associate stimulus events if there was a time gap between the activities but could learn simple task if the stimuli were not separated in time. Interestingly, she says, the drug did not disrupt the memories that were already present when the treatment began.
For cancer patients undergoing long-term chemotherapy this could mean that although they are able to do simple everyday tasks, they find it difficult to do more complicated activities like processing long strings of numbers, remembering recent conversations, following instructions and setting priorities. Studies indicate that while most cancer patients experience short-term memory loss and disordered thinking, about 15 percent of cancer patients suffer more long-lasting cognitive problems as a result of the chemotherapy treatment.
"Chemotherapy is an especially difficult time as patients are learning how to manage their treatment options while still engaging in and appreciating life. The disruptions in brain rhythms and neurogenesis during treatment may explain some of the cognitive problems that can occur during this time. The good news is that these effects are probably not long-lasting," says Shors.
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Rutgers University: http://www.rutgers.edu
Thanks to Rutgers University for this article.
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LOS ANGELES - The bankrupt city of San Bernardino has hired a new city manager who, according to court filings, has twice declared personal bankruptcy and was recently ousted from the board of a small community's water company after being sued by shareholders.
The city council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to hire Allen J. Parker, 71, as its city manager on an annual salary of almost $222,000. He replaces an interim city manager who resigned last month because, according to friends, she was exasperated by the city's internal divisions.
The interim city manager, Andrea Travis-Miller, could not be reached for comment.
Pat Morris, the mayor of the city in California, praised Parker's "wealth of city management experience" and expressed "great confidence" in his ability to oversee the city's affairs. Parker, who began working in the job on Wednesday, will be crucial in guiding the city of 210,000 people through municipal bankruptcy, in a case that could set a national precedent for Wall Street bondholders and pension funds in future municipal bankruptcies.
The mayor and council members knew about both of Parker's personal bankruptcies -- the first in 1991 and the second in 2011 -- and the litigation surrounding his water board tenure before they interviewed him, according to the mayor's chief of staff. They discussed both issues with him when they interviewed Parker last Friday. They say the issues were no impediment: the council interviewed two final candidates but voted unanimously to hire him.
The California newspaper The Press-Enterprise reported on Thursday that Parker filed in 2011 for personal bankruptcy. In comments to the paper, Parker said that his bankruptcy and his ability to handle the city's fiscal problems were "apples and oranges."
Calls and emails to Parker asking about his bankruptcy filings and his tenure on the water board went unanswered. An email to Parker asking if his wife Sara, with whom he jointly filed for bankruptcy in the 2011 petition, would comment also did not elicit a response.
The bankruptcy of San Bernardino, a city 65 miles east of Los Angeles, is a national test case as to whether the pensions of government workers take precedence over other payments in a municipal bankruptcy -- a high stakes issue for pension plans and their beneficiaries, and for the Wall Street bondholders who lend money to governments.
City managers are central to any city's quest to seek bankruptcy protection, because they have a pivotal role in answering questions from creditors and the court. The judge overseeing San Bernardino's case must still rule on whether the city is eligible for bankruptcy before the case proceeds.
Legal dispute A 2009 lawsuit brought by a shareholder in the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company, where Parker was a director and then president of the board between 2004 and 2010, resulted in Parker being voted off the board in February 2010 after a court-ordered special election.
Banning Heights is a tiny unincorporated community 85 miles east of Los Angeles. The water company was formed in 1913 to provide water and today it serves about 250 residents.
Despite its small size, the water rights and land upon which the community sits are worth millions of dollars, according to John McClendon, the water board's general counsel. At one point under Parker's tenure on the water board, an entity called The Tahiti Group had placed $7 million in an escrow account to purchase the company, according to correspondence attached to court filings.
Court filings in the 2009 lawsuit, and a subsequent separate lawsuit brought by the water company allege that Parker, along with others, used their position on the board to try to sell the water company, against the wishes of shareholders.
Parker and others were also accused of withholding information from shareholders, according to those court filings. The shareholder sued in 2009 because he said Parker and others ignored the results of previous shareholder elections when they were voted off the board. Parker is not a defendant in the second lawsuit which is still active.
According to one court filing by the water company dated September 20, 2010, when shareholders gained access to the water company's office after Parker and others were voted off the board, computers were missing, hard drives had been wiped and bags of shredded documents sat on the floor.
In a deposition dated November 9, 2010 relating to the 2009 lawsuit, Parker said he never shredded documents and did not believe anyone "during our regime" on the water board shredded any documents.
After a judge ruled against Parker and others in the 2009 lawsuit and ordered a special shareholder election, they were voted off the board by shareholders in February 2010.
Background check According to his resume, which does not mention Banning Heights Water Company, Parker has long experience as a local manager in several other California cities such as East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Seal Beach and Compton.
Jim Morris, the son and chief of staff to Pat Morris, San Bernardino's mayor, said the city had done its own thorough background check on Parker before he was interviewed by the council, last Friday. His bankruptcies, and the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company litigation, were known about by the time the interview took place, Morris said.
"We talked to the attorneys involved, and pulled the court filings. These were disputes over election results," Morris said. He said the Banning Heights litigation did not involve serious issues, and that such disputes occur on small entities such as the water board all the time.
Morris said there was no reason why Parker should have included his tenure on the water board on his resume. "He wasn't employed by the water board," Morris said. "His resume was an employment resume. If someone was a member of their local homeowners' association you wouldn't expect that to be on their resume."
Parker filed for personal bankruptcy in 1991 in San Mateo, Calif., according to court records. No further details were available. In February 2011, he filed for bankruptcy with his wife, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.
According to the 2011 bankruptcy filing, Parker and his wife listed among their debts two home mortgages with unsecured balances of $267,500, as well as bank and credit card debt of $137,252.
BENNINGTON - James Beckwith was found dead Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the same day federal authorities filed a complaint alleging he embezzled $440,000 while serving as acting president of Southern Vermont College.
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont filed a civil forfeiture complaint on Wednesday seeking to forfeit assets in the name of James Beckwith, who began working as chief financial officer and chief operating officer for SVC in 2007.
Beckwith served one year as acting president beginning January 2012 while President Karen Gross took a leave of absence to work for the U.S. Department of Education.
According to the complaint and an accompanying affidavit
James Beckwith (Peter Crabtree)
prepared by the FBI, Beckwith embezzled $440,000 from the school between October 2012 and January 2013. Officials said he allegedly did so by fraudulently inducing college officials to issue three checks in the amount of $100,000, $160,000 and $180,000 to Merrill Lynch.
The affidavit states Beckwith told college officials the funds were to be used to settle legal claims arising from a failed dormitory project, however the three checks were actually deposited into a personal account Beckwith shared with his wife at Merrill Lynch.
According to the affidavit, Beckwith used the proceeds of the first two checks, totaling $260,000 to pay down the balances on mortgage and home equity loans on his personal residence in South Londonderry. The complaint alleges that Beckwith's residence, as well as the money in his Merrill Lynch account, are forfeitable as proceeds of mail fraud and as property involved in money laundering.
Federal officials said no charges have been filed and are only accusations.
The college began looking into the alleged embezzlement after a financial audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 found "suspicious financial transactions involving purported vendor payments made by Beckwith," according to the affidavit.
Subsequent investigation into various college bank accounts then revealed the three checks totaling $440,000 that were deposited into Beckwith's personal account.
Beckwith resigned effective immediately from SVC Feb. 3 and the affidavit states the FBI was contacted Feb. 8 by legal counsel from the college.
Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at draspuzzi@benningtonbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @DawsonRaspuzzi
Feb. 21, 2013 ? In a breakthrough for the field of particle physics, Professor of Physics Larry Hunter and colleagues at Amherst College and The University of Texas at Austin have established new limits on what scientists call "long-range spin-spin interactions" between atomic particles. These interactions have been proposed by theoretical physicists but have not yet been seen. Their observation would constitute the discovery of a "fifth force of nature" (in addition to the four known fundamental forces: gravity, weak, strong and electromagnetic) and would suggest the existence of new particles, beyond those presently described by the Standard Model of particle physics.
The new limits were established by considering the interaction between the spins of laboratory fermions (electrons, neutrons and protons) and the spins of the electrons within Earth. To make this study possible, the authors created the first comprehensive map of electron polarization within Earth induced by the planet's geomagnetic field.
Hunter -- along with emeritus Amherst physics professor Joel Gordon; postdoctoral fellow Stephen Peck; student researcher Daniel Ang '15; and Jung-Fu "Afu" Lin, associate professor of geosciences at UT Austin -- co-authored a paper about their work that appears in this week's issue of the journal Science. The highly interdisciplinary research relies on geophysics, atomic physics, particle physics, mineral physics, solid-state physics and nuclear physics to reach its conclusions.
The paper describes how the team combined a model of Earth's interior with a precise map of the planet's geomagnetic field to produce a map of the magnitude and direction of electron spins throughout Earth. Their model was based in part on insights gained from Lin's studies of spin transitions at the high temperatures and pressures of Earth's interior.
Every fundamental particle (every electron, neutron and proton, to be specific), explained Hunter, has the intrinsic atomic property of "spin." Spin can be thought of as a vector -- an arrow that points in a particular direction. Like all matter, Earth and its mantle -- a thick geological layer sandwiched between the thin outer crust and the central core -- are made of atoms. The atoms are themselves made up of electrons, neutrons and protons that have spin. Earth's magnetic field causes some of the electrons in the mantle's minerals to become slightly spin-polarized, meaning the directions in which their spins point are no longer completely random, but have some net orientation.
Earlier experiments, including one in Hunter's laboratory, explored whether their laboratory spins prefer to point in a particular direction. "We know, for example, that a magnetic dipole has a lower energy when it is oriented parallel to the geomagnetic field and it lines up with this particular direction -- that is how a compass works," he explained. "Our experiments removed this magnetic interaction and looked to see if there might be some other interaction that would orient our experimental spins. One interpretation of this 'other' interaction is that it could be a long-range interaction between the spins in our apparatus, and the electron spins within the Earth, that have been aligned by the geomagnetic field. This is the long-range spin-spin interaction we are looking for."
So far, no experiment has been able to detect any such interaction. But in Hunter's paper, the researchers describe how they were able to infer that such so-called spin-spin forces, if they exist, must be incredibly weak -- as much as a million times weaker than the gravitational attraction between the particles. At this level, the experiments can constrain "torsion gravity" -- a proposed theoretical extension of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. Given the high sensitivity of the technique Hunter and his team used, it may provide a useful path for future experiments that will refine the search for such a fifth force. If a long-range spin-spin force is found, it not only would revolutionize particle physics but might eventually provide geophysicists with a new tool that would allow them to directly study the spin-polarized electrons within Earth.
"If the long-range spin-spin interactions are discovered in future experiments, geoscientists can eventually use such information to reliably understand the geochemistry and geophysics of the planet's interior," said Lin.
Possible future discoveries aside, Hunter said that he was pleased that this particular project enabled him to work with Lin. "When I began investigating spin transitions in the mantle, all of the literature led to him," he explained. "I was thrilled that he was interested in the project and willing to sign on as a collaborator. He has been a good teacher and has had enormous patience with my ignorance about geophysics. It has been a very fruitful collaboration."
Lin had his own take: "The most rewarding and surprising thing about this project was realizing that particle physics could actually be used to study the deep Earth."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Amherst College.
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Journal Reference:
L. Hunter, J. Gordon, S. Peck, D. Ang, J.-F. Lin. Using the Earth as a Polarized Electron Source to Search for Long-Range Spin-Spin Interactions. Science, 2013; 339 (6122): 928 DOI: 10.1126/science.1227460
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg: ''Society needs more heroes''
Some of the world's richest internet entrepreneurs, including Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, have awarded 11 disease researchers $3m (?1.9m) each.
Nine of the recipients of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences are based at US institutions. The other two are from the Netherlands and Japan.
Many of the winners work on cell genetics and how it relates to disease.
One of the sponsors, genetics company founder 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki, said the winners should be household names.
In addition to Mr Zuckerberg, his wife Priscilla Chan and Ms Wojcicki, the prize is sponsored Ms Wojcicki's husband Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, and Yuri Milner, a Russian entrepreneur.
Mr Milner, along with the new foundation's chair, Arthur Levinson, a former chief executive at a biotech company and current chairman of Apple, chose the prize winners.
Cornelia Bargmann, a winner from Rockefeller University, told the website Fast Company that she initially thought it was a practical joke or an internet scam.
"The scale of this is so outsized I think it will have a huge impact on the life sciences," Ms Bargmann said.
From 2014 on, the foundation will award $3m to five scientists each year. There is no age restriction on the prize and past winners can win again.
The 2013 winners are:
Cornelia Bargmann of Rockefeller University, for the genetics of neural circuits and behaviour
David Botstein of Princeton University, for the mapping of inherited disease in humans
Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornell Medical College, for the discovery of an enzyme and its role in cancer metabolism
Hans Clevers of the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, for describing how problems in signalling molecules can cause cancer
Napoleone Ferrara of the University of California, San Diego, for discoveries on tumour growth that have led to therapies for some kinds of cancer and eye disease
Titia de Lange of Rockefeller University, for research on telomeres, the protective tips on the ends of chromosomes, and how they relate to cancer
Eric Lander of the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for the discovery of ways to identify human disease genes
Charles Sawyers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, for targeted therapy for cancer genes
Bert Vogelstein of Johns Hopkins University, for research on genes that suppress tumours
Robert Weinberg of MIT, who discovered the first human gene that when mutated causes cancer
Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, for work on developing artificially derived stem cells
BRUSSELS (AP) ? Eight masked gunmen forced their way through the security fence at Brussels' international airport, drove onto the tarmac and snatched some $50 million worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot.
The gang responsible for one of the biggest diamond heists in recent years used two black vehicles with a flashing blue police lights in their daring raid late Monday, said Anja Bijnens, spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor's office.
"They tried to pass themselves off as police officers," Bijnens said Tuesday. The robbers, who wore outfits resembling dark police clothing, got away with 120 parcels, mostly containing diamonds but some also holding precious metals.
Police said they found a burnt-out minivan believed to be involved in the robbery near the airport later Monday night.
The heist was estimated at some $50 million in diamonds, said Caroline De Wolf of the Antwerp World Diamond Center. "What we are talking about is obviously a gigantic sum," De Wolf said.
The robbers forced their way through a perimeter fence, at a place where two work sites obstructed a clear view, Bijnens said. There were no details about how the hole was opened but airport authorities said it must have taken more than simply blasting through it with a vehicle.
The robbers drove up to the Swiss passenger plane some 20 minutes before departure time, brandishing their machine guns. Then they methodically broke into the hold, which was accessed from outside, to choose their loot.
Passengers were unable to see the drama beneath them, said Bijnens.
The robbers finished their clinical operation with a high-speed departure through the same hole in the fence, completing the spectacular theft within barely five minutes, Bijnens said.
Airport spokesman Jan Van Der Cruijsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable to theft. "We abide by the most stringent rules," he said.
The Swiss flight, bound for Zurich and operated by Helvetic Airways, was canceled.
A decade ago the port city of Antwerp, the world capital of diamond-cutting, was the scene of what was probably one of the biggest diamond heists in history, when robbers took precious stones, jewels, gold and securities from the high-security vaults at Antwerp's Diamond Center, yielding loot that police in 2003 estimated to be worth about $100 million at the time.
Monday's heist though was a fresh blow to the Antwerp industrial diamond center which prides itself on security and discretion.
"This is causing quite some unrest," said De Wolf. "It was incredible how easy it all went. This is worrying in terms of competitiveness, since other diamond centers are ready to pounce and take over our position."
Antwerp's Diamond Center stands in the heart of the high-surveillance diamond district where police and hundreds of cameras work around the clock, and security has been beefed up further since the spectacular 2003 robbery. Shipments to the airport leave aboard armored trucks on an almost daily basis.
The shipment was not extraordinary, since on any given day, some $200 million in polished and rough stones go through the Antwerp diamond center.
Monday's parcels contained rough and polished stones heading for Switzerland, where many of the 120 parcels were intended for different handlers.
The insurance for air transport ? handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies ? is usually relatively cheap because it's considered to be the safest way of transporting small high value items, logistics experts say.
Unlike a car or a truck, an airplane cannot be waylaid by robbers once it's on its way, and it is considered to be very secure before the departure and after the plane's arrival because the aircraft is always within the confines of an airport ? which are normally highly secured.
Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant in Britain, said the robbery was worrying ? not because the fence was breached, but because the response did not appear to have been immediate. That, he said, raised questions as to whether alarms were ringing in the right places.
"It does seem very worrying that someone can actually have the time to drive two vehicles onto the airport, effect the robbery, and drive out without being intercepted," Baum said.
___
Juergen Baetz and Don Melvin contributed to this report from Brussels.
Source: www.nytimes.com --- Monday, February 18, 2013 President Shimon Peres plans to give President Obama a special award at a state dinner next month when Mr. Obama is expected to visit Israel. ...
Under the cloak of a small increase in school funding, the budget pushes for the dramatic expansion of charter schools. At the same time, it funnels money extracted from the populace into the pockets of Wall Street, in the form of debt payments.
The new budget restores little, if any, of the billions of dollars that have been stripped from public education. The K-12 system, which has been cut by over 18 billion dollars, will see per-pupil funding change from $8,132 to $8,304: a 2 percent increase. The Cal State system, which was expecting $372 million from Prop 30, will only see $125 million restored. The University of California system, which has experienced even greater cuts, will get a meagre $125 million.
Even these paltry increases are temporary. Brown declared that the ?great risks and uncertainties lie ahead? the federal government, the courts or changes in the economy all could cost us billions and drive a hole in the budget.?
Even with these ?restorative funds,? schools are struggling to stay afloat. A local California newspaper remarks that despite Proposition 30 ?local area schools, colleges and universities still face massive budget shortfalls. Program and class reductions, as well as faculty layoffs, continue as K-12 districts and higher education institutions manage long-term structural deficits.?
BEREA -- Froggy is a two-year-old all black male cat who arrived at Berea Animal Rescue Friends from the Brooklyn Animal Shelter, which closed last year.
He has been waiting for a permanent home for well over six months.?Froggy is a sweetheart of a guy. He gets along great with other cats and really loves tummy rubs and head scratches, though he is still a little shy.
Froggy would do best in a quiet home filled with lots of love and patience. He is neutered and up to date on vaccinations.
For adoption information, email arfcats@gmail.com or call 440-234-2034.
For adoption information about other cats and dogs at the shelter or to volunteer, go to bereaanimalrescue.com, or call 440-234-2034.
Come on bro, they are easily the favorites out of the NL West, as of now.
Most people have projected them to win the NL West, and if not, at least take one of the Wild Card spots.
If Billingsley is healthy, they boast one of the best starting rotations in baseball (Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu Hadouken, Beckett, Billingsley), and one of the best offenses in the NL as well (Crawford, Mark, Kemp, A-Gon, Hanley, Ethier, Luis, AJ).
We know, we know. You were trying to get on with your online social life this morning, but Google+ was nowhere to be found. Looks like the social network is experiencing an outage today -- here in the States at least. According to folks in the UK, things are moving a lot more swimmingly on that side of the pond. We've reached out to Google for a response. You'll know more as soon as we do.
Update: Looks like everything's back in working order. You can quit complaining about it on Facebook now.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) ? Two New Mexico stations sent out official emergency alerts this week warning people that dangerous zombies were attacking.
Officials with KRQE in Albuquerque and KENW in Portales say their stations were among several around the country whose emergency alert systems were hacked.
As a result, they put out alerts on Monday saying, "Local authorities in your area have reported the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous."
KRQE says it appears the stations had not updated the passwords on their EAS systems, making them easy targets.
The station also reminds viewers that while the alert was fake, if there is a real zombie attack, the only way to kill a zombie is to sever its head
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Mexico has unveiled their newest strategy on the country's war on drugs, one that involves filtering money into the communities most affected by drug violence and criminal organization.
According to the Associated Press, the government plans on taking the 251 most violent towns and neighborhoods and turning them into investments-- building better roads and increasing school hours, putting more emphasis on arts and culture and giving neighborhoods playgrounds.
?It?s clear that we must put special emphasis on prevention, because we can?t only keep employing more sophisticated weapons, better equipment, more police, a higher presence of the armed forces in the country as the only form of combating organized crime,? said Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto to an audience in Aguascalientes, AP reported.
The strategy is in direct contrast to that Pena Nieto's predecessor, Felipe Calderon, who deployed thousands of troops to battle the cartels and often bragged about the drug-gang leaders who were arrested and killed under his tenure.
According to the New York Times, 47,515 people have been killed in drug-related violence since Calderon began his military assault in 2006.
When he ran for president, Pena Nieto emphasized that he didn't plan on stopping drug shipments or capturing kingpins-- instead he wanted to focus on curving the violent crime that plagues much of Mexico. Unlike Calderon, he said that he didn't plan to"subordinate to the strategies of other countries."
Mexico's war on drugs itself could be threatened with the United States' decision to legalize recreational marijuana, a measure approved by voters in Washington and Colorado.
According to a GlobalPost report, if pot is legalized in the US, Mexican drug traffickers could lose about 30 percent of the estimated $6.5 billion they earn each year.
Regardless, analysts and US lawmakers have worried that the Pena Nieto government is simply easing back on the drug cartels that don't use violence as a means to their ends.
Mexico Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong is a firm believer in the new strategy, however. He told audiences on Tuesday that this was the first state policy that "puts the citizen, and our youth, at the center of security."
?We?re convinced that fighting and punishment don?t solve the problem," he said. ?
Vegan sloppy Joes, veggie burgers, vegan sushi, grilled veggie sandwiches, couscous salad with veggies, and hummus and pita plates: No, this isn't the menu at the latest fast-casual vegetarian eatery to open up in Echo Park, it's actually what's on the menu at the concession stand at L.A.'s Staples Center, which has just been named the top Vegetarian-Friendly NBA arena in America.
The honor is bestowed upon the home court of the Clippers and Lakers by PETA, who are ranking NBA venues for the first time.
Says PETA:
"Clippers fans may have more to cheer about this year than Lakers fans do, but one thing that fans of both teams can celebrate is the STAPLES Center's number-one ranking on PETA's inaugural top 10 most vegetarian-friendly NBA arenas list," says PETA Associate Director of Campaigns Lindsay Rajt. "Coming away from the concession stands with healthy, humane, and delicious vegetarian fare at the STAPLES Center is a slam-dunk."
Forget stiff competition on the court, the Staples Center had some other veg-friendly venues chasing their heels for the top spot. Coming in behind Staples was Toronto's Air Canada Centre where fans can cheer on the Raptors while chomping down on things like a chutney-topped Bollywood veggie dog, vegetarian burritos, and a lettuce, tomato, and scallion veggie dog. Third place went to the Philadelphia 76ers' Wells Fargo Center. You can see the whole list of 10 here.
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Public release date: 22-Feb-2013
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