Author: Serkadis

For the first eight minutes Thursday night, Morton looked like it was going to give Springfield a real battle for the Class 3A Champaign Sectional title.

But the Senators started to pull away late in the first half and dominated the second on the way to a 78-48 win at Champaign Central.

The Potters, who won nine of their last 10 games, jumped out to a 16-11 lead late in the first quarter.

“The first quarter kind of showed what we were going to do for the game,” said Morton coach Bob Becker. “But eight minutes isn’t 32. I thought we had some quality possessions where we were very patient and we were pretty efficient scoring the ball.”

The Senators (30-2) came back to tie it at the end of the period

“They made a lot of shots the first half,” said Springfield coach Brad Scheffler. “They were going up and down with us. I was wondering how long it was going to last. But the second half, it didn’t.”

Morton (18-16) stayed close until 2:36 of the second quarter, when Springfield went on a 9-2 spurt to end the half and lead 36-28.

“I thought right before the end of the half, you could see we were wearing them down,” Scheffler said.

The second half was all Springfield. Morton was outscored 16-5 in the third quarter and just didn’t have anything left.

“We said at halftime, if we could come out and rebound — that was a point of emphasis — and I don’t know,” Becker said. “A couple of our girls got banged up in the first half and we just kind of left something in the locker room that didn’t come out with us. But they’re a good team.”

Springfield, ranked third in the final state poll, finished fourth in the Class 3A state finals last year.

The Senators were led by sophomore guard Zahna Medley with 24 points. Kelly Korza added 21 and Kasi Korza 12 points. Kelly Korza also had 12 rebounds.

Morton got 12 points from junior point guard Mariah Nimmo and nine from Caitlyn Vandermeer. Freshman Sarah Livingston had six rebounds.

Morton returns everyone next season but senior Carly Yingling.

“What really happened down the stretch of the season is our girls really had a stick-to-itiveness about them,” said Becker. “I think they pulled together and they care about each other and hopefully they took pride in what they accomplished because they accomplished a whole lot.

“Unfortunately, we came up a little short. The Sweet 16 was pretty sweet until we hit the wall tonight.”

NOTE: Limestone junior Felicia Johnson advanced to the state finals of the 3-point contest. Her eight made shots were the most of the field of eight players. She advances to Thursday’s preliminary rounds.

Jane Miller can be reached at 686-3207 or [email protected] .

Read the original article from Journal Star.

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Speculations of a GTA V have been roaring since late last year. It wasn’t really taken seriously for lack of any substantial evidence until now, so it seems.
 
 

 

Stock market performance is both a function of economic performance and valuations. At low valuations, stocks can withstand a lot of bad news, while at high valuations they can fail to move higher on good news and crash on the same bad news that, at lower valuations, they would merely shrug to.

Thus as Citi's Robert Buckland highlights, stocks might be able to withstand a European sovereign crisis, given that they are trading at a historically low price to book valuation globally:

Robert Buckland @ Citi:

As equity valuations look reasonable, they should provide some protection against further disappointments. Right now, global equities trade on a trailing price to book of 1.8x, well below the 3x reached before the Asian crisis and the 2.7x reached before the recent financial crisis. Indeed, current levels are even well below the 2.1x reached before the Mexican crisis in 1995.

So, we think that further contagion in global equities will be limited from here.

It would be naive to not expect some kind of correction if a true European crisis unfolds, but the point is that any correction could be surprisingly mild. As shown above and barring 2009's lows, stocks are already cheaper now, globally, than any time in the last two decades.

(Via Citi, Global Economic Outlook And Strategy, Robert Buckland, 24 Feb 2010)

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Morgan Stanley: Don't Worry, Europe Can Go Down In Flames And America Will Be Fine
• Think Greece Is Scary? Now Get Ready For Spain
• How Will The Economy Survive In A Post-Stimulus Future?

India’s government is talking big, setting a goal to become the world’s most rapidly growing economy within the next four years after a government report showed India’s GDP growth rate likely to accelerate to 8.2% for the financial year starting April 1st, 2010.

Bloomberg:

The finance ministry report yesterday said India’s $1.2 trillion economy may “breach” a 9 percent growth pace by March 2012, citing the country’s savings rates that now match the range of those in Japan, South Korea and Malaysia.

India’s savings rate is at 32.5 percent of GDP compared with 28 percent in Japan, 30 percent in South Korea and 38 percent in Malaysia, according to the report.

Higher savings by young working Indians “augurs well for the Indian economy,” the finance ministry report said. India will add 220 million people to its working-age population by 2030, according to Reserve Bank of India estimates, a lure for overseas businesses.

“Savings is the key factor that will propel India’s growth story,” Tushar Poddar, a Mumbai-based economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a telephone interview. “Favorable demographics will boost savings and add to the growth momentum.” Poddar expects India’s savings rate to rise to 40 percent of GDP by 2015.

In the long-game, demographics make India a shoe-in due to the disastrous effects of China’s One Child Policy. We’re just not so sure India can hit its target so soon barring a major China slow-down. One key problem with the Indian economy is that it still is far too dependent on the weather due to its relatively large reliance on agriculture. Thus growth can at times be completely outside of their control.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Goldman: If You Thought BRIC Growth Was Hot, Here’s Why You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet*
• Despite All The Hype, It Sucks To Be A BRIC
• Why Fears Of A Chinese Bubble Are Totally Ridiculous

A new version of iDeaS, the ever-popular Nintendo DS emulator for Windows and Linux is now available for download. Homebrew coder Actarus has released iDeaS 1.0.3.3 for Linux. The update includes the same features as the Windows

Putnam County jurors were sent home for the night Thursday after deliberating for about three hours and 15 minutes in the retrial of Richard Kereta, accused of seriously injuring a teenage girl in 2007 while driving drunk.

Circuit Judge Kevin Galley said early in the week he intended to end court days in the trial at about 4:30 p.m. He stuck to that schedule Thursday after deliberations in the Princeton man’s 10-count case began early in the afternoon.

The five men and seven women are scheduled to resume that process at 9 a.m. Friday. They will make their decisions without hearing Kereta’s version of events that resulted in grave injuries to a teenage girl who was hit by a sport utility vehicle at about 5:22 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2007.

In his first trial, Kereta broadly contradicted prosecution claims that he ran over Nicole Engelbrecht while driving drunk in her SUV. However, he chose Thursday not to take the stand at all in his retrial. His first trial, last October, ended in a mistrial.

“My decision, through talking to (my attorney), is to not testify,” Kereta told Galley.

As a result, the only defense evidence heard by jurors was the brief testimony of two witnesses who said Kereta had not seemed intoxicated earlier on the afternoon of the incident.

But defense attorney Robert Nolan used his closing argument to attack the adequacy of the prosecution evidence, including the testimony that Engelbrecht, now 19, gave by typing because traumatic brain injury suffered that day has left her unable to speak.

In one line of argument, Nolan urged jurors to discount her testimony on the grounds the extended coma she suffered as a result of injuries that day could make her memories unreliable.

“I would suggest to you that you can’t give weight to her testimony,” Nolan told the jury.

That prompted a sharp response from co-prosecutor Ed Parkinson of the Illinois State’s Attorneys’ Appellate Prosecutor’s Office. He disparaged Nolan’s tactics as “nice dancing” in a sarcastic comparison to ice dancing in the Winter Olympics.

Nolan was “dancing around the facts – trying to confuse you from what you know about the facts,” Parkinson told jurors.

“Nicole told you everything she remembers. And even if she didn’t remember anything,” he added, “don’t you think we’d be here anyway? The evidence tells you everything you need to know.”

While the defense offered no alternative explanation of events, Nolan insisted the prosecution case contained too many “guesses” and enough unanswered questions to create reasonable doubt needed for acquittal.

When a verdict is reached, he said, “I’m confident that it will be a verdict of not guilty.”

The most serious charges facing Kereta, 45, are three counts of aggravated DUI. If convicted on at last one, he could face up to 12 years in prison under special sentencing standards for that offense.

 

Gary L. Smith can be reached at 686-3114 or [email protected].

 

Read the original article from Journal Star.

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A Lake County jury Thursday decided the widow of the man who murdered an Arlington Heights man in a scheme to collect on his own life insurance should pay the victim’s family $6 million.

Denise Squire, of Lake Barrington, and the estate of her late husband, Ari Squire, were sued by the mother and half-brother of victim Justin Newman.

The plaintiffs contended Denise Squire was liable for the wrongful death of Newman because she conspired with Ari to fake Ari’s death, and the murder was the result of that plan, said Elizabeth Mazur, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Frank Testa III and Donna FioRito. “Under Illinois law all co-conspirators are liable,” Mazur said.

Lake County authorities say Ari Squire, 40, lured Newman, 20, to his home in February 2008 on the pretext of offering him a construction job. Authorities said he then murdered Newman, switched clothes with him, stuck his own wallet and identification on Newman, set the body on fire and dropped a heavy diesel truck on it.

The coroner had trouble identifying the body, due to damage to the face and fingerprints, but was later able to confirm it through a DNA test.

Meanwhile, FioRito had reported Newman, who lived with her, as missing.

Ari Squire was later found at a Missouri hotel, using Newman’s debit card, cell phone and car. He shot himself before police could get in his room.

There was a $5 million life insurance policy on Ari Squire, payable to Denise Squire, Joseph Vaccaro of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Ari’s sister, Shana Majmudar. Police believe he wanted the money to start a new life, after having been convicted of Medicare fraud.

At the civil trial, e-mails between Ari Squire and Denise Squire, dated after he supposedly died in the fire, were shown to the jury. Mazur said Denise Squire did not tell police about the e-mails, despite being questioned daily by detectives, until she was informed they would be seizing the Squires’ computers. She told police she thought they were automatically generated e-mails her husband had sent before he died, Mazur said.

But the content showed they were current, according to Mazur,

Denise Squire’s phone number is unlisted. A message seeking comment has been left with her attorney.

Denise Squire has not been charged criminally. Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said that his department has turned over its findings in its investigation of her to the FBI and federal prosecutors.

On Monday, FioRito and Testa sued Vaccaro in U.S. District Court in Chicago, claiming he conspired with the Squires to fake Ari Squire’s death. He was a business partner with Ari. The suit states Ari Squire had run the plan past Vaccaro, and that Ari Squire had told another associate he was going to forward the money to Vaccaro for his own use later.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

The Chinese government is conducting stress tests of a stronger yuan according to the domestic news site 21st Century Business Herald today.

Studies are being conducted by both the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to see what effects a yuan hike would have on China’s low margin and labor intensive export industries.

Reuters:

According to the initial results of the tests, which focused on textile, garment, shoe and toy exporters, every percentage point of yuan appreciation would erode one percentage point of their profit margin. This would be a serious blow to profitability since their net profit margin is often only 3 to 5 percent, the newspaper said.

Really it comes down to what level of pain they are willing to bear on the low-margin export side in order to reap longer-term gains in buying power and higher value domestic industries. Thing is, if the Chinese trade surplus goes negative then all bets are off.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Yuan Soaring On Hints Of A Hike
• China Abnormally Lax On Its Currency Peg As Yuan Flexibility Soars
• China’s Pearl River Delta: Two Jobs For Every Worker And 30% Wage Hikes

Morton had no match for a pair of Springfield players in a 78-48 loss on Wednesday in the Class 3A Champaign Sectional title game.

Zahna Medley scored 24 points and Kelly Korza scored 23 points for Springfield.

Mariaah Nimmo led the Potters with 12 points.

Read the original article from Journal Star.

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Sometimes you come across stories so odd, you just don’t know how to classify them. You may have heard, recently, about the New England man, Gregory Girard, who was arrested for illegal weapons stockpiling in his home. The guy, who claimed that he believed Armageddon was quickly approaching, had recently told his wife both, “It’s fine to shoot people in the head because traitors deserve it,” and “Don’t talk to people, shoot them instead.” Not surprisingly, he’s being held without bail for being too dangerous.

So, what does that have to do with stuff we write about here? As noted at The Prior Art, Girard is the inventor and claimed patent holder at the center of the high-profile patent infringement lawsuit that involved Rick Frenkel, who had been the anonymous guy behind the still greatly missed Patent Troll Tracker blog. As you may recall, Frenkel was sued for defamation in East Texas, after he had questioned the legitimacy of a date change on a patent lawsuit filed against Cisco (where Frenkel worked at the time). Basically, the lawsuit appeared to have been filed the day before the patent was granted and then, magically, the date changed. The lawyers involved suggested it was an honest mistake, but others suspected otherwise.

Either way, Frenkel’s case settled, and (separately) the judge just recently tossed out the patent infringement lawsuit against Cisco that resulted in all of this, after realizing that it appeared that Girard and the holding company he had set up for lawsuits involving this patent didn’t actually own the patent in question. Girard had developed the invention while employed by another company, which was working on similar technology, and Girard’s own employment agreement said he would automatically assign any inventions over to the company. Still, during the lawsuit, Girard’s lawyers tried to play him up as an All-American inventor:

“Mr. Girard is exactly what the founding fathers had in mind when they penned the Patent Clause in the basic Article I of the U.S. Constitution.”

But perhaps not what they had in mind when they penned the rest of the Constitution.

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A Lake County jury Thursday decided the widow of the man who murdered an Arlington Heights man in a scheme to collect on his own life insurance should pay the victim’s family $6 million.

Denise Squire, of Lake Barrington, and the estate of her late husband, Ari Squire, were sued by the mother and half-brother of victim Justin Newman.

The plaintiffs contended Denise Squire was liable for the wrongful death of Newman because she conspired with Ari to fake Ari’s death, and the murder was the result of that plan, said Elizabeth Mazur, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Frank Testa III and Donna FioRito. “Under Illinois law all co-conspirators are liable,” Mazur said.

Lake County authorities say Ari Squire, 40, lured Newman, 20, to his home in February 2008 on the pretext of offering him a construction job. Authorities said he then murdered Newman, switched clothes with him, stuck his own wallet and identification on Newman, set the body on fire and dropped a heavy diesel truck on it.

The coroner had trouble identifying the body, due to damage to the face and fingerprints, but was later able to confirm it through a DNA test.

Meanwhile, FioRito had reported Newman, who lived with her, as missing.

Ari Squire was later found at a Missouri hotel, using Newman’s debit card, cell phone and car. He shot himself before police could get in his room.

There was a $5 million life insurance policy on Ari Squire, payable to Denise Squire, Joseph Vaccaro of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Ari’s sister, Shana Majmudar. Police believe he wanted the money to start a new life, after having been convicted of Medicare fraud.

At the civil trial, e-mails between Ari Squire and Denise Squire, dated after he supposedly died in the fire, were shown to the jury. Mazur said Denise Squire did not tell police about the e-mails, despite being questioned daily by detectives, until she was informed they would be seizing the Squires’ computers. She told police she thought they were automatically generated e-mails her husband had sent before he died, Mazur said.

But the content showed they were current, according to Mazur,

Denise Squire’s phone number is unlisted. A message seeking comment has been left with her attorney.

Denise Squire has not been charged criminally. Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said that his department has turned over its findings in its investigation of her to the FBI and federal prosecutors.

On Monday, FioRito and Testa sued Vaccaro in U.S. District Court in Chicago, claiming he conspired with the Squires to fake Ari Squire’s death. He was a business partner with Ari. The suit states Ari Squire had run the plan past Vaccaro, and that Ari Squire had told another associate he was going to forward the money to Vaccaro for his own use later.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Having Simon Cowell on your side never hurts.

American Idol voters listened when Cowell praised Lee DeWyze’s performance on Wednesday and voted the Mount Prospect resident into the next round Thursday. DeWyze was one of the few male singers Cowell thought worthy of even being on stage.

Idol host Ryan Seacrest broke the good news to DeWyze, 23, who sang “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol.

“Kara and Randy didn’t love the song,” Seacrest said. “Ellen thought you screamed it but Simon disagreed and called it the best performance by a mile. The nation has spoken and agrees with Simon.”

And with that, a very relived-looking DeWyze wiped his forehead and sat back down.

In total four American Idol hopefuls were told to pack their microphones on Thursday. For the girls it was Ashley Rodriguez of Chelsea, Mass.and Janell Wheeler of Orlando, Fla. For the boys, it was Joe Muñoz of Huntington Park, Calif., and Tyler Grady of Nazareth, Penn.

“American Idol’s” Top 20 will include two other Illinois residents. John Park from Northbrook and Jermaine Sellers from Joliet also made the cut.

DeWyze’s look of relief ends on Wednesday when he will preform again before facing another elimination Thursday.Another four singers, two male and two female, will be cut for the next two weeks until the number of performers is whittled down to 12.

The winner of “American Idol” will be named in May.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

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A Glendale Heights man was kidnapped Thursday morning from his vehicle on North Brandon Drive, police said.

Jose J. Gomez, 30, was driving west on Brandon at Aspen Lane at 9:45 a.m. when a white Plymouth Voyager van, bearing a red stripe on the side, forced his vehicle to the curb, Glendale Heights police reported.

Two men, approximately 30 years old and wearing dark-colored, hooded jackets, got out, told Gomez they were police officers, and ordered him to go with them, police said.

Gomez was then handcuffed by the two and placed in the van. They drove off east on Brandon.

“We really don’t have a motive at this time,” Sgt. George Pappas said Thursday evening.

No weapon was displayed or implied, according to police.

The van had license plate K109985.

A passenger called police.

Gomez is 30, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call Glendale Heights police at (630) 260-6070.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

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Amid growing concerns about the U.S. losing clean energy manufacturing jobs to other countries, a new report released this week by Policy Matters Ohio, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and the Apollo Alliance documents how one clean energy investment proposal, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act, would help create and retain clean energy manufacturing jobs in Ohio.

The Impact of IMPACT: Creating Jobs in Ohio finds that the IMPACT Act, which is contained in the proposed Senate clean energy and climate bill, would create between 41,063 and 52,214 new jobs across Ohio.

The IMPACT Act would establish a two-year $30 billion revolving loan fund to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers retool to produce clean energy component parts and become more energy efficient. It would also increase long-term funding for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program to help manufacturers access clean energy markets and adopt innovative, energy-efficient manufacturing technologies. Provisions that are nearly identical to those in IMPACT were included in the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2009.

“PERI’s analysis finds that investing in the retooling and conversion of small and medium-sized manufacturing firms in Ohio would create a robust engine of job growth for the state,” said Heidi Garrett-Peltier, the economist who conducted the analysis. “We find that the investments from IMPACT would not only retain current jobs, but they would also create new jobs that utilize the skills of the workers of Ohio. These investments are a potentially powerful way to revitalize the manufacturing sector in the state.”

The findings of the report are relevant to other manufacturing states and to anyone who wants to ensure that comprehensive federal clean energy and climate measures create the economic benefits that American workers are expecting. To read the report, visit the Policy Matters Ohio website.

New Poll: Hoosiers Believe Investment in Clean Energy Manufacturing Can Help Revive Indiana’s Economy and Create Jobs

Ohio is not the only Midwest state that stands to benefit from clean energy investments. According to a new Indiana public opinion survey commissioned by the Apollo Alliance, by a 2-1 margin, Hoosiers believe that public and private investment in the manufacture of clean energy technologies can help revive the state’s economy and create jobs. The poll was conducted earlier this month by Research 2000. It found that Hoosiers are strong believers in the opportunity for economic recovery posed by boosting investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. Fifty-four percent of poll respondents said that investments in clean technologies would help revive the state’s economy, while only 26 percent disagreed.

Clean energy investments and industries were the main topics of conversation at a roundtable held in Indianapolis on Monday night that was organized by the Apollo Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation and the Richard G. Luger Center for Renewable Energy. Speakers included business leaders from Ameresco, Duke Energy and Vela Gear Systems, as well as Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, and Apollo’s Indiana state coordinator, Andrea Alderson-Bazemore.

“The new global economy will run on clean energy, and Indiana is helping lead the way,” said Alderson-Bazemore at the Monday night event. “With more investment in clean technologies and manufacturing, new industries will be born and supported right here, putting you and your neighbors back to work.”

Between 1998 and 2007, clean energy jobs in Indiana grew by 17.9 percent, even as overall jobs declined by one percent. During that time, green jobs grew nearly two-and-a-half times faster than overall job creation, according to a national study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, Indiana is home to more than 1,200 clean energy companies that employ over 17,000 people across the state.

“It’s time for Congress to pass a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill that significantly boosts clean energy demand in this country,” said Kevin Leahy, managing director for climate policy and economics for Duke Energy. “Once this legislation is in place, companies like those here tonight will be poised to meet the resulting demand for clean energy.”

Schweiger said that businesses, labor and environmental advocates see a common goal in bolstering clean energy. “Americans go back to work, our economy booms, and the environment is protected for future generations,” he said. “It’s a win-win-win situation.”

Join Apollo at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference!

The Apollo Alliance is proud to announce that we are one of the conveners of this year’s Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, which will take place May 4-6 in Washington, D.C. Good Jobs, Green Jobs (GJGJ) is an annual event organized by the Blue-Green Alliance and brings together thousands of union members, environmentalists, business leaders, and elected and administration officials for three days of sessions about building a green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming, and preserves America’s economic and environmental security.

The 2010 GJGJ conference program is still under development, but last year’s conference featured green economy leaders including U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Senators Sherrod Brown, Amy Klobuchar and Debbie Stabenow, and United Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner. Apollo’s chairman, Phil Angelides, along with Apollo board members Leo Gerard of the United Steelworkers Union and Carl Pope of the Sierra Club, also spoke at the conference.

This year, the Apollo Alliance will be organizing at least two sessions at the GJGJ conference, one on how to build your state’s clean energy manufacturing sector, and another on clean transportation and good jobs. Stay tuned for more information about these and other panels and workshops.

Early bird registration ends March 15! If you’d like to join the Apollo Alliance and thousands of other green jobs enthusiasts at this year’s GJGJ conference, don’t miss the early bird registration deadline.

There’s also a green jobs expo to showcase the companies, products, services and career opportunities in the green economy. Your group can find out about registering for a booth at the GJGJ conference website.

We look forward to seeing you in May in DC!

In other news …

*Welcome back Van Jones! The Apollo Alliance is thrilled by the announcement that Van Jones, our former board member, has returned to the green jobs advocacy community and will be leading the Green Opportunity Initiative at the Center for American Progress. Van is a leading national spokesperson on the need to create pathways out of poverty and into the green economy for poor people, people of color, and people with barriers to employment.

Harold Ford, sweat beading on his upper lip at the prospect of potential runs against Kirsten Gillibrand and Mort “The ‘Dozer” Zuckerman, stopped just short of renting a place in Cherry Grove this summer in order to convince the LGBT community of New York City that he wants to be its BFF:

Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., addressed the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, the largest LGBT democratic political club in New York state.
…
During his speech, Ford touched on several aspects of his voting record, particularly regarding his votes against same-sex marriage. He reminded the audience that he had changed his mind on the issue and that holding this event would reinforce his commitment to marriage equality and other important issues.

Over 50 people attended. Several of them brandished large white posters with messages like “LIAR” written on them. At several points during his speech, angry protests heckled him, chanting things like “Anti-choice! Anti-gay! Snake Oil Harry, go away!”

Silly Harry. He thought that by showing the gay community of New York how fabulous he is, what with his spacious loft in the Flatiron District, his helicopter hate for Staten Island, natty fashion sense, and weekly pedicures, he’d be a shoo-in, at least within the more heavily populated downstate region.

He was wrong.

Y’know, nobody likes to be presented with a two-dimensional, “Hey, I’m just like you!” stereotype as its party’s political candidate, and Ford has misjudged the gay community badly, presenting them with some weak-ass tea about “changing his position” on marriage equality while simultaneously refusing to take a stand on DADT.

As if the whole Prop 8 debacle out in California hadn’t been demoralizing enough for people, now this smarmy, disingenuous, ham-handed politician is trying to manipulate the gay community. Too bad for him that they’re not even one-tenth as naive as Harold Ford would like to believe.  “What more do ‘teh gheys’ want from me?” he probably wailed to his waiter over his $24 bowl of cereal at the Regency this morning.

Perhaps Peacock Harold can cry on the shoulder of Lauren Ashley, the Bible-thumping publicity whore/”Miss Beverly Hills” who, just yesterday, declared that she’d be fine with having her gay “friends” stoned to death for trying to exercise their civil rights. Ford has much in common with Miss Beverly Hills; like Harold, the allegedly virginal Lauren Ashley turns out to be yet another self-absorbed, superficial poser:

Beverly Hills Mayor Nancy Krasne said Wednesday she is outraged over a Miss California USA contestant who is claiming to represent the city in the upcoming pageant and who spoke out against same-sex marriage in recent media interviews.

Krasne said in a statement that 23-year-old Lauren Ashley does not live in Beverly Hills or represent the city in any capacity. Krasne said she was shocked to see statements made by a beauty pageant contestant under the name of Beverly Hills, “which has a long history of tolerance and respect.”

And, like Ford, Ashley is now Stone. Cold. Busted!

So what’s the lesson to take away here for Harold and Ashley? Simple. If you’re a forked-tongued, insincere carpetbagger, you are going to get PW3ND by people far smarter than you, especially when the most basic of civil rights and human dignity are at stake.

 

Like many, Bradley University computer science professor Vladimir Uskov has been paying plenty of attention to the Winter Olympics over the past two weeks.

But for Uskov, 53, a member of the Russian national team in his native country in the 1970s, viewing the winter games brings back memories.

“It was all about competition. Some of the members of the Russian team that competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics (held at Lake Placid, New York) were friends. I knew them from training camps,” he said.

Training was a rigorous year-round routine for Uskov, who was being groomed for track and field as well as ski events, he said. While Uskov chose to go into teaching instead of focusing on sports, he remains a ski enthusiast – even in the mountainless Midwest.

For Uskov, the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia – giant peaks 12,000 to 18,000 feet or higher – were where he developed a love for skiing. “We started with the hills around Moscow and that evolved into the (Caucasus) Mountains.”

A passion for skiing runs in the family, said Uskov, noting that a 74-year-old uncle just completed a ski trip to the Alps. Uskov’s son, Alex, also a member of Bradley’s computer science faculty, has been on skis since he was 4, said his father.

The Alps represent a favorite ski choice for Uskov, who taught extensively across Europe before coming to the United States (he’s been at Bradley since 2000).

“You get to the top of the mountain there and you’re literally above the clouds,” he said.

While he skis strictly for enjoyment, Uskov takes the sport seriously. “I like the heights. I try to get to the highest point possible.”

Uskov and his wife, Maria, a teacher at Midstate College and a champion swimmer as a teen in Russia, also enjoy the Rockies, where they skied last year over the holidays.

Next year’s holiday trip is already in the planning stages. “We are thinking about skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia (one of the ski sites for this year’s Olympics) or Lake Tahoe in December,” he said.

Steve Tarter can be reached at 686-3260 or [email protected].

Read the original article from Journal Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

The names “Jill’s Grill” and “Anna’s Steakhouse & Saloon” conjure up images of an innocent diner where a visitor can grab a drink and good eats.

But according to some city officials, the location at 633 Main St. has been anything but a pleasant hangout.

“We had issues at that location . . . and nothing would ever get done,” said at-large City Councilman Eric Turner, who is also deputy liquor commissioner. “We finally had to close it, and it was so bad the liquor commission and the staff attorney made a recommendation (the owner) should sell the place.”

One council member believes the operator, Sonny’s Club Inc., should have a chance to give the Downtown establishment another go. The City Council also is willing to give it time.

On Tuesday, behind the urging of 1st District City Councilman Clyde Gulley, the council opted to defer a vote granting Sonny’s Club the ability to obtain a tavern liquor license with a 4 a.m. closing hour.

“I think we as a city discriminate against someone who wants to have a business because something went wrong for something they weren’t responsible for,” Gulley said. “Why would we hold people responsible for something they maybe did not do?”

If it weren’t for Gulley, the council may have voted it down. By unanimous decision on Feb. 1, the liquor commission recommended the council vote down the site approval to operate the tavern at 633 Main St.

During that meeting, the city’s liquor investigator Scott Jordan said between 2004 and 2008 there were 17 battery calls, two shootings and three mob action reports at the establishment. During that time, 633 Main St. operated under different names including Anna’s Steakhouse but always under the same corporate owner, Sonny’s Club.

“It was never a steakhouse,” Turner said. “They can call it what they want to call it, but there was never a steak (sold) in there.”

Turner added, “I don’t have a problem with it reopening. My concern is reopening it under the same owner and allowing us to return back to those days when the neighboring bars were complaining to me about what we will do about this place.”

The building is owned by local attorney Warren Danz, who referred comments about the place to attorney Jack Teplitz.

“I think there were problems at a certain point with the operation with it,” Teplitz said. “But we don’t know yet who the ultimate users will be.”

Teplitz said a third-party operator could be asked to run the establishment, although nothing has been decided.

He also said the city’s consideration at this point should focus on the site approval to sell liquor at 633 Main St. He said there should be no problems with that since the building has housed taverns in the past.

He said “it’s premature” to analyze the future owner’s background, a process that occurs before a liquor license is granted.

“We’re trying to say this is a new day and to look at the people involved at this point and what is being proposed,” Teplitz said.

Neighboring businesses want 633 Main St. reopened, but not with the problems it once had.

“The bigger the block is, the more attractive it is,” said Joe Ulrich, owner of Mushrush’s at 631 Main St. “But the past couple of places (at 633 Main St.) haven’t been good for the block. I think people were scared to come to this block for a while just because of some of the incidences that occurred in that bar alone.”

 

John Sharp can be reached at 686-3282 or [email protected].

Read the original article from Journal Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Richwoods edged Metamora 58-57 on Thursday night to win the Girls Class 3A LaSalle Sectional.

Justine Phillips had 29 points for Metamora including a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final score.

Ball State recruit Katie Murphy scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds for the defending state-champion Knights, who advance to Monday’s Streator Supersectional.

Read the original article from Journal Star.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

A little while back I posted the Loyal Luxe Chalet for Cats, designed and made in Canada. In honor of the closing ceremonies for the winter Olympics this weekend, the folks at Montreal Designers are offering a chalet for a bonus giveaway!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post. One entry per person. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on March 4. In the international spirit of the Olympics, this giveaway is open to readers everywhere!

By late Thursday evening, 18,154 people had participated in RonPaul.com’s ongoing Ron Paul 2012 Poll.

• 16,677 voters, or 92%, said that Ron Paul should run for President in 2012.
• 782 voters, or 4%, said that he should stay out of the race.
• 285 voters (2%) weren’t sure, and
• 408 (2%) said that “it depends”.

The poll, which attracted 436 comments, remains open until the end of February.

Ron Paul recently said that he has “no plans” to run for President in 2012. We hope to get him 20,000+ “yes” votes to change his mind!

Cast your Ron Paul 2012 vote here.

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