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  • Tori Spelling Dean McDermott Wedding Planning Reality Show “Tori & Dean: Weddings”

    Things are so A-OK in Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott’s marriage — they want to help you kickstart your own by assuming the roles of your official wedding planners.

    Anything for a buck…..

    The reality starring couple — who have spent the past several weeks seeped in divorce rumors — are hoping to put their Hollywood party planning skills to work on a new wedding -themed spinoff of their hit Oxygen docusoap, Home Sweet Hollywood.

    Spelling announced news of the duo’s latest Oxygen show on her Twitter Tuesday, writing: “[Our] new pilot ‘Tori & Dean: Weddings.’ My [party] planning skills [and] Dean’s take it [to] the wall attitude, we plan UR DREAM wedding.”

    The family posed perched atop a giant wedding cake during Oxygen Upfronts, where network producers formally announced news of the wedding show and promised more updates on the program in the weeks to come.

    In the meantime, fans can check out the fifth season of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, which airs Monday nights on The Oxygen Channel.


  • There Aren’t Any Jobs Because These Five People Work Everywhere

    There’s a funny post at the blog Fair Trade Photographer about cheap stock photography, particularly how companies who try to cut corners end up using the same image over and over. Barton has a serious message for companies, too: if you want us to trust you, maybe you shouldn’t put a generic stock photo of generic office people on your generic website.

    “Microstock: why would a reputable company do this to themselves?” [Fair Trade Photographer] (Thanks to Melissa!)

  • Another Chicagoan, Donald Stewart, tapped for Obama administration

    WASHINGTON–Another Chicagoan, Donald Stewart, former CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, was tapped Tuesday for the Obama administration.

    from the White House….


    Donald M. Stewart, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars

    Donald M. Stewart is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies where he has taught since 2005. He previously served as CEO and President of the Chicago Community Trust. Prior to joining the Trust, Stewart was a Senior Program Officer and Special Advisor to the President at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For over 12 years, Mr. Stewart was President and CEO of the College Board, which provides SAT and Advanced Placement assessments to help students make the transition from high school to college. Stewart is also former President of Spelman College, the 129 year old historically black women’s college in Atlanta. Stewart was a program officer in the Overseas Development Division of the Ford Foundation serving in Nigeria, Egypt and Tunisia. He is currently a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a B.A. from Grinnell College and a M.A. from Yale University as well as Master and Doctoral degrees in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

    Below, from the White House….

    THE WHITE HOUSE
    Office of the Press Secretary

    _______________________________________________________________________________________
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    April 6, 2010

    President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

    WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key administration posts:

    · Marina C. McCarthy, Chair, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · José Miguel Amaya, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Michael A. Caplin, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Martha A. Darling, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · I. King Jordan, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Colin Kippen, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Yvette Lewis, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Reginald Lewis, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Sheldon Pang, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Srinija Srinivasan, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Donald M. Stewart, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    · Cynthia Telles, Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars

    These individuals will join the National Teacher of the Year, Anthony Mullen, as members on the Commission.

    President Obama said, “The Commission on Presidential Scholars is charged with recognizing the future leaders of our country and honoring them for their outstanding achievements. I am grateful that these impressive men and women have agreed to serve on this commission and help a new generation realize their potential and pursue their dreams.”

    President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key administration posts:

    Marina C. McCarthy, Appointee for Chair, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Dr. Marina C. McCarthy has over three decades of research, teaching, administrative, and consulting experience in education. She has also taught courses in education at Harvard and Brown Universities and at Boston College. In addition, Dr. McCarthy has supervised student teachers in the Brown University teacher training program and has been a case writer for a University-wide faculty development program run by the Harvard Business School. She has served as an Allston Burr Senior Tutor (resident academic dean) at Harvard College and as a Study Group Leader on educational policy and politics at Harvard’s Institute of Politics and also taught in public and independent schools in the U.S. and Europe, and has served on a number of educational boards and committees including the MATCH Charter School in Boston. She holds an Ed.D. in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard.

    José Miguel Amaya, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Dr. José Amaya is currently the Director of Diversity for Hy-Vee, Inc., an employee-owned retail corporation operating 230 retail stores in eight Midwestern states. From 1997-2005, he served as an Assistant Professor of English and Latino Studies at Iowa State University where he conducted research and taught courses in American literature and Latino studies. During Dr. Amaya’s tenure at Iowa State, he also served as the President of The State of Iowa Humanities Council and the Iowa Learns Education Council, an education council convened by former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack. Prior to his position at Iowa State University, he was an Assistant Professor of English at The Ohio State University. Dr. Amaya holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in English from UCLA.

    Michael A. Caplin, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Michael A. Caplin is an attorney and President of Turtle Island Consulting, which provides strategic planning advice to the non-profit community. He has been involved in a wide array of non-profit projects including programs in performing arts, social services, education, and environmental stewardship. His non-profit experience includes serving for 11 years as the Director of Eastern Operations for Childhelp USA. He also has worked as a public defender, a federal prosecutor, an educator, an entertainment attorney, and a music producer. Mr. Caplin currently serves as Chairman of the Board and a member of the faculty of the Phoenix Project, a non-profit that educates and empowers emerging social entrepreneurs; in addition, he is President of the Board of the New York Center for Children, a non-profit free clinic providing care and treatment for abused children. Mr. Caplin holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College, a J.D. from the University Virginia Law School, and an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law School.

    Martha A. Darling, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    For the past decade, Martha Darling has consulted on education issues for the National Academy of Sciences and other nonprofits. She retired from The Boeing Company in Seattle, having held senior management assignments in 747 Program Management, Government Affairs, and Boeing’s Corporate Offices where she supported the CEO on education policy. Previously, Ms. Darling was Vice President for Strategic Planning at Seattle-First National Bank and Executive Director of the Washington Business Roundtable’s Education Study. She has served as a White House Fellow and Executive Assistant to Secretary of the Treasury Michael Blumenthal and as a Senior Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. Earlier, she was a free-lance consultant to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other international organizations for four years in Paris. Darling is a founding co-chair of Washtenaw County’s Success by Six early childhood initiative and serves on a variety of other boards. She is a graduate of Reed College and of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

    I. King Jordan, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Dr. I. King Jordan was the first deaf President of Gallaudet University, the only university with all programs and services designed specifically for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. He first joined the faculty of Gallaudet’s Department of Psychology in 1973, in 1983 he became Chair of the Department, and three years later he was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He served as the University’s President from 1988-2006 and is presently President Emeritus. Dr. Jordan is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Citizen’s Medal and in 1990 was appointed as the Vice Chair of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities; he was reappointed to this position in 1993. Dr. Jordan earned a B.A. in psychology from Gallaudet in 1970. The following year he earned an M.A., and in 1973 a Ph.D., both in psychology and both from the University of Tennessee.

    Colin Kippen, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Colin Kippen is currently Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, which aims to assess and coordinate innovative education programs for Native Hawaiians and make policy recommendations to improve the education and well being of Native Hawaiians. Mr. Kippen has worked most of his professional life as an advocate for Native Americans in a number of venues. He has served as Senior Counsel to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in the U.S. Senate, Deputy Administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chief Judge of the Suquamish Indian Tribe on the Port Madison Indian Reservation in Western Washington, Appellate Judge for several Indian tribes in Washington and Oregon, and trial attorney and Deputy Prosecutor in King County, Washington. Kippen is also the former Chairman of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation and Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee. Mr. Kippen holds a J.D. and a M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa.

    Yvette Lewis, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Yvette Lewis is the founder and director of “So This is Opera,” a program that introduces young audiences to the world of opera in performance, workshop and residency settings. She is also a lyric soprano who has performed extensively, including appearances with the Washington Opera, the Baltimore Opera, the Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, the Baltimore Symphony, and at the Spoleto Festival in Melbourne, Australia. Ms. Lewis has almost fifteen years experience as an elementary general music teacher in the Baltimore City and Montgomery County, Maryland Public Schools. She also worked for a period as a staff assistant at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Lewis holds a Mus.B. from Howard University and is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists.

    Reginald Lewis, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Reginald Lewis currently serves as the City Administrator for the City of East Orange, New Jersey, where he oversees the complete day-to-day operations of all municipal services for 70,000 residents. As the City’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Lewis manages a workforce of nearly 1,000 employees and an annual operating budget of $131 million. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Lewis was Executive Vice President at the United Way in Newark, New Jersey. He also previously served in senior management roles in New Jersey State Government from 2002 to 2005 as Special Assistant and Director of the Commissioner’s Office of External Affairs in the Department of Human Services and as Special Assistant to the Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Abbott Implementation in the Department of Education. Mr. Lewis also spent nearly eight years serving on the program staffs of various foundations as Program Assistant to the Director of the Urban Poverty Program of the Ford Foundation in New York City, Program Officer at the Victoria Foundation in Montclair, New Jersey, Program Officer for Education at the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, and Director of Policy and Program Development at the Fund for New Jersey. Mr. Lewis holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Morehouse College, and a M.A. in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

    Sheldon Pang, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Sheldon Pang is currently a Vice Chairman of RBC Capital Markets, a major part of the Royal Bank of Canada’s global business. From 2004-2006, he served as President of RBC Capital Markets Pacific Group, where he was involved in developing RBC’s business in the Asian Pacific region. Prior to joining RBC, Mr. Pang spent twelve years with AIG Trading Group, first as a Vice President then as a Managing Director, providing services to international clients in commodities, foreign exchange, and fixed income trading. He started his career as a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Pang has for years been involved in promoting educational causes, including the establishment of scholarships at MIT and Brown University, and supporting New York Huaxia Chinese School. Pang received an Sc.B. from Zhejiang University, an M.S. from Vanderbilt University, and an Sc.D. degree from MIT.

    Srinija Srinivasan, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Srinija Srinivasan is Vice President and Editor in Chief at Yahoo!. Since joining the company as its fifth employee in 1995, Srinivasan has led a range of editorial and policy functions, beginning with the organization and evolution of the Yahoo! directory. She has overseen network editorial standards and original content development, guided the company’s corporate responsibility arm, and directed policy issues including privacy and data use, advertising standards, youth safety, community guidelines, and accessibility. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Srinivasan was involved with the Cyc Project, a ten-year artificial intelligence effort to build an immense database of human commonsense knowledge. She chairs the Board of Trustees for SFJAZZ, a non-profit organization dedicated to jazz creation, presentation, and education. She is also a member of the 2000 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. She holds a B.S. with distinction from Stanford University in Symbolic Systems, and was honored as a Presidential Scholar in 1989.

    Donald M. Stewart, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Donald M. Stewart is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies where he has taught since 2005. He previously served as CEO and President of the Chicago Community Trust. Prior to joining the Trust, Stewart was a Senior Program Officer and Special Advisor to the President at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For over 12 years, Mr. Stewart was President and CEO of the College Board, which provides SAT and Advanced Placement assessments to help students make the transition from high school to college. Stewart is also former President of Spelman College, the 129 year old historically black women’s college in Atlanta. Stewart was a program officer in the Overseas Development Division of the Ford Foundation serving in Nigeria, Egypt and Tunisia. He is currently a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a B.A. from Grinnell College and a M.A. from Yale University as well as Master and Doctoral degrees in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

    Cynthia Telles, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
    Dr. Cynthia Ann Telles has been on the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry since 1986. She is currently the Director of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic where she is responsible for managing the clinical operations of this model psychiatric clinic, as well as the training program, research, and budget. Among many corporate, non-profit, and public service board memberships, Dr. Telles was also appointed to the National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the advisory group on Health Care Reform, and the Regional Selection Panel for the White House Fellows Program during the Clinton Administration. Dr. Telles received her B.A. from Smith College and doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Boston University.

    ##

  • Samsung Galaxy S could be headed for AT&T

    There is not a lot of official info to go on here, but I always find it interesting when other sites try to connect the dots. Phonescoop recently spotted a new Android phone from Samsung (model SGH-I897) with a 4 inch AMOLED display and TouchWiz 3.0. They noticed the the bluetooth profile was very similar to that of the Galaxy S (GT-I9000) and speculated the device could be a variant of the original.

    Samsung Mobile stated that they intend to launch the Galaxy S in the United States, but no carrier deals have been announced yet.

    Our friend Greg from MobileCrunch went on to add that all Samsung phones which had model numbers starting with SGH and ending in 7 (like the Propel [SGH-A767], Propel Pro [SGH-i627], Mythic [SGH-a897], Impression [SGH-A877], Eternity [SGH-A867]) have all gone to AT&T.

    Whatever the device actually turns out to be, it does look like AT&T will get some Android device from Samsung later this year. We have really high hopes for the Galaxy S so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that AT&T does not try and cripple it like their first couple of Android phones.

    Related Posts

  • Here It Is Folks, Mortgage Rates Heading Higher Post-Fed MBS Purchases

    In all it’s (in-)glory courtesy of Zillow.

    Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages continued to rise this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 5.08%, up from 4.93% at this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate spiked Sunday at 5.14 percent before falling to 5.05 percent Monday.

    The good news. If you you want to play ARM roulette, it’s cheaper:

    Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate on Tuesday morning was 4.37% and for 5/1 ARMs, 3.68%.

    chart

    Also from Zillow, the current extension of the homebuyer tax credit ends April 30, so…. buy now!

    Join the conversation about this story »

  • Ford Focus RS500 already sold out?

    Filed under: , , , ,


    2011 Ford Focus RS500 – Click above for high-res image gallery

    Well, that didn’t take long, did it? We knew the new 2011 Ford Focus RS500 would move fast, but not quite this fast. Powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder that produces 345 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque, Ford‘s hottest hatch one-ups even the already bonkers Focus RS with its piddly 305 horsepower and 325 lb-ft. Considering that the RS is capable of a 0-62 mile per hour sprint of under six seconds and a top speed of 163 mph, the RS500 should clock in around 5.6 seconds.

    What we didn’t expect was the fact that the RS500 would sell so quickly. With their matte black paint, 19-inch wheels and all that performance on tap, we certainly expected them to be a hot commodity, but if Autocar is to be believed, the whole run of 500 units has already sold out – some 12 hours after the reveal. Sales will be spread out over 20 European markets, with the UK getting 101 units, Germany getting 55 cars, France receiving 50 and Belgium scoring 50 units, with Denmark, the Czech Republic and Greece getting five units each, while Ireland receives three.

    The best part of the story is the fact that all 500 units are already spoken for, even before prices have been announced. Ford is said to be sorting through the letters of intent from customers to figure out dealer allocations. And don’t forget, the order books don’t formally open until May. With the regular RS trading above sticker on the used car market, we’re guessing there will be more than a few flippers in the initial owner group.

    [Source: Autocar.co.uk]

    Ford Focus RS500 already sold out? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink | Email this | Comments

  • MIRC Partner Intros: PCs for People and DEED

    On Tuesday Bill Coleman, Jack Geller, Ann Treacy and I continued our meetings with new partners in our ARRA-funded Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project.

    PCs for People

    We started the day with Andy Elofson, Casey Sorenson and Sam Drong at PCs for People. PCs for People takes donated computers and rebuilds, refurbishes and redistributes them to people with limited access to technology. About 85 percent of their computer recipients have never owned a computer before. Many have used computers, at a library or public kiosk, but they haven’t owned one. After receiving a computer, 85 percent of PC for People’s computer recipients sign up for broadband.

    Andy, PC for People’s founder, is a social worker in his “day job.” He started PCs for People in Mankato in 1988. It started with a donation of a computer to a local teen at risk. The boy had been expelled from school and was floundering. Andy helped him get involved in computer rehab and building web sites and making plans for the future. Since then, PCs for people has distributed over 4,000 computers. They have a waiting list of over 1,000 families. (So if you’re looking to deal with an outdated computer around your house or workplace, please consider checking out their donations program.)

    Workforce training is a big part of PC for People’s program. They offer job training to unemployed workers who are nearing the end of their benefits. PC for People staff help the unemployed work on general employment skills in the first few weeks and then move into computer skills, including diagnostics and repair.

    Obviously, getting computers into the hands of new owners is core to PCs for People’s mission. Individuals receiving a computer are asked to provide a small donation to cover costs associated with warranties and support. They are also welcome to buy accessories at reduced rates. PCs for People also provide repairs for a flat fee of $25.

    We’re looking forward to working with PCs for People but we’re also just excited to get them in contact with more people through the project, both in terms of helping them build their computer supply chairs but also to help them get more computers into the hands of new owners – especially in rural areas. Meeting with them and hearing about their project and their needs reminded us that the strongest link in the project is the relationships built through the partnership.

    Minnesota Workforce Centers – DEED

    Tuesday afternoon we met with Jim Wroblesky, Kathy Sweeney, Anne Olsen and Judy Mortrude at DEED. I was looking forward to learning more about the Workforce Centers from some DEED insiders. There are so many moving parts to DEED it can be confusing to figure out their “org diagram.” DEED’s Workforce Centers help job seekers find employment, help businesses find workers, and help anyone at any stage explore and plan careers.

    DEED operates 50 Workforce Centers across the state, and there are no charges to the recipients of their services. Our DEED partners told us a bit about a new project that they have been working on, LearnerWeb, which is a web site that compiles information for adult learners. We suggested that they be sure to talk with the folks at the Learning Commons who are working on a clearinghouse for education resources for k-20. Again, I was reminded that new connections will be a great benefit of the partnership.

    The Workforce Centers will be providing outreach and recruitment for MIRC, as well as developing and delivering eight addition hours per center of digital literacy training for work seekers. We are also pleased to be able to help the Workforce Centers stay open longer hours.

  • Despite Outreach Campaign, Minority Census Participation Continues to Lag

    When the Census Bureau announced it planned to spend $80 million of its $340 million ad campaign on outreach to hard-to-reach communities — including minorities and immigrants — early this year, many said that it wouldn’t be enough. Based on data tracking participation rates around the country, those critics may have been right: Areas with high percentages of minorities have much lower census participation rates thus far than predominately white areas.

    In an effort to lower the number of undercounted communities, the census has targeted non-English speakers with ads in 28 languages and spent $23 million to target black populations. It also printed the first-ever bilingual questionnaire, in English and Spanish, which has been distributed to more than 13 million households, said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, who is also on the Census Advisory Committee, during a press conference last month with civil rights groups. User guides are printed in 59 languages and the form itself in 6 languages. The bureau has even given some local community organizations up to $3,000 for their work to reach target communities.

    But judging from the early numbers on participation rates, that may not be enough, despite a prediction that the message would reach 95% of the black population. The eight areas (of at least 50,000 people) with the highest participation rates are all predominantly white.

    1. Green township, Ohio (97.52% white): 79% participation rate
    2. Livonia city, Mich. (95.5% white): 78%
    3. Macomb township, Mich. (96.1% white): 77%
    4. St. Clair Shores city, Mich. (96.9% white): 77%
    5. Dubuque city, Iowa (96.2% white): 76%
    6. Orland Park village, Ill. (93.5% white): 76%
    7. Orland township, Ill. (86.7% white): 76%
    8. Rochester Hills city, Mich. (88.8% white): 76%

    The national census participation rate is currently 60 percent.

    Some of the areas with the highest black populations in the country, including Gary, Ind. (84.6 percent black) and Detroit, Mich. (81.6 percent black), have relatively low participation rates — 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively. Heavily Hispanic areas also lag far behind: El Paso, Texas (76.6 percent Hispanic) is at 57 percent and Santa Ana, Calif. (76.1 percent Hispanic) is at 54 percent participation. California and Texas — states with high numbers of Hispanics and immigrants — are among the states with the lowest participation rates.

    But the census data show it’s not just blacks and Hispanics who are being undercounted. Native Americans reservations have some of the lowest participation rates in the country, with some not making it past the 10s.

    Urban areas, which also tend to have high minority populations, aren’t doing very well, either. Here’s how the four largest cities in the country compare.

    New York City: 45% participation rate
    Los Angeles: 51%
    Chicago: 49%
    Houston: 48%

    In addition to the ads, the census is still trying to target these communities by sending out a second questionnaire to houses that have not yet mailed the form back. In mid-April, the Bureau will be sending census workers to houses that did not turn in their forms.

    “The 2010 Census, if everyone gets counted, will no doubt reflect a dramatically different future for America,” Racewire pointed out last week, “a nation that’s browner and more urban than ever.” But given these numbers, that type of America might have to wait until 2020.

    Minority population data in this post come from the 2000 Census, while census participation rates come from Census Bureau figures from April 6, 2010.

  • Should The Hummer Be Saved?

    Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like a done deal that General Motors would be putting their Hummer brand out of its misery. But a group of Hummer fans (because who doesn’t love an occasional Hummer?) is going to make a final stand for their favorite vehicles at a summit in Chicago this weekend.

    The group Capital & Labor International Coalition (we’ve never heard of them either), has reportedly set up the confab in Chicago for April 11 to discuss how they believe the Hummer brand can be pulled back from extinction. The group has sent out invites to everyone from shareholders to Hummer’s CEO to UAW leaders to Sen. Rolland Burris of Illinois.

    Says the chairman of CLIC:

    We have researched the GM/Hummer situation for the past month, and we believe that Hummer can be saved and continue to offer great jobs and products in America and globally.

    What do you think? Can the Hummer be saved? More importantly, should it be saved?


    Report: Chicago-area ‘Save Hummer’ rally planned for April 11 [autoblog]

    ‘Save Hummer Motors in America Summit’ to be Held in Chicago [Automobile Mag]

  • Disabled Pennsylvania man’s service dog not eligible for food stamp benefits, court rules

    Alpo Food stamps won’t be helping a disabled man fill his service dog’s food bowl.

    James Douris lost a key court decision Tuesday in his yearlong effort to qualify his male boxer, who is fed everything Douris eats, as a dependent member of his household in calculating food stamp benefits.

    A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel upheld an earlier Department of Public Welfare’s determination that the dog was ineligible because he is not human.

    "This court is sympathetic to [Douris’] argument that his service dog is a necessity for him due to his disability, and that he lacks the funds to properly feed his service dog," wrote Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer. "We hope that there is some other state or federal program that might provide for the maintenance and upkeep of [the] dog."

    Douris, 55, a resident of Newtown in the Philadelphia suburbs, is a disabled and unemployed veteran who lives alone and relies on the dog to pull his wheelchair and fetch items. Although Douris has represented himself in the legal proceedings, he said Tuesday that news of his case prompted lawyers to offer their help, and he plans to appeal the decision.

    "This is a mistake on the part of the court and also the welfare board," said Douris, who cited security concerns in deciding not to disclose the dog’s name. "My phone’s been ringing off the hook."

    He appealed a Bucks County Assistance Office decision to grant him $176 a month in food stamps in February 2009, saying the amount was insufficient to feed himself and the dog. Douris later testified that he feeds the animal dog food as well as "meat, poultry, vegetables and everything [he] eats," according to Jubelirer’s written opinion.

    The dog requires supplemental nutrition because of its work for him, Douris said.

    Extending benefits to the dog would fundamentally change the food stamp program, Jubelirer wrote. He rejected Douris’ argument that the denial of food stamps to the dog would effectively kill the animal and therefore constitute an act of criminal animal cruelty.

    Douris said Tuesday the dog has not been starving and that he would not let that happen.

    Department of Public Welfare spokesman Mike Race said the agency was sympathetic to Douris but pleased that the court ruled in its favor.

    "As the court noted, federal law is ’’unambiguously clear’ that food stamp benefits are intended for humans only," Race said.

    — Associated Press

    Animal news on the go: Follow Unleashed on Facebook and Twitter.

    Photo: Dog food on supermarket shelves. Credit: Los Angeles Times

  • Three Law Libraries Close Due To Budget Cuts

    The Judicial Branch closed law libraries in Norwich, Milford and Willimantic April 1 because of budget cuts.

    Closing the libraries saves the state $289,000, the branch says, adding that there were no layoffs. Staff members were relocated to the state’s 13 remaining law libraries.

    If finances do not improve, the branch says it will close three more libraries in Hartford, Bridgeport and Litchfield this summer. Juvenile courthouses in Norwalk and Willimantic would close on or about July 1, and the Superior Court in Bristol would close Jan. 1, 2011.

    Money for various expenses in a line item for the Judicial Branch was cut by 17 percent this fiscal year. A few months ago, court officials warned of the closures, adding fuel to a clash between lawmakers and the governor over funding for the branch.

    To help the branch, lawmakers are considering a bill that would give the legislature the power to reject certain cuts, known as recissions, in Judicial Branch funding made by the governor during times of fiscal crisis. So far, the bill has passed the legislature’s judiciary and appropriations committee.

    Lawmakers passed a similar bill last fall, but it was vetoed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

  • Calling Internet Entrepreneurs! A Greentech Conference for You

    The intersection of the Internet and the greentech boom represents an incredible opportunity to define new markets, solve big problems and apply the talent of the Internet industry to the most important cause to date: saving the planet. Green:Net 2010 will see top green entrepreneurs, technologists and market-leading companies convene on April 29th in San Francisco. Maximize the value of your time by meeting with thought leaders, technologists, investors, press, new startups and their future customers. One venue. One day. San Francisco.

    GigaOM Readers can get a $75 discount — just follow this link below and register now for Green:Net 2010. But hurry, this event will sell out!

    http://greennet2010.eventbrite.com/?discount=GIGAOM75

    A selection from our speaker list includes:

    • Jerry Brown, California Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate
    • Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures
    • Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson
    • Bill Weihl, Google’s Green Energy Czar
    • Jason Few, President of Reliant Energy
    • Dian Grueneich, Commissioner for the California Public Utilities Commission
    • Laura Ipsen, SVP and GM, Smart Grid, Cisco
    • Eric Dresselhuys, EVP, Silver Spring Networks

    Companies represented include Ford, IBM, Nissan, General Motors, Cisco, Silver Spring Networks, SAP, Reliant Energy, Microsoft, Greenpeace and many more.

    Please find further details on our conference web site: http://www.greennetconf.com/

    We’ll look at topics including what’s next for the smart grid, how utilities can use IT to get ready for the influx of electric vehicles, how the web can be used to replace atoms with bits, what Internet giants Google and Microsoft see in the energy industry — and how policy can spur it all. Don’t miss it.

    So join us on April 29th in San Francisco as we find new opportunities for how technology entrepreneurs can shape the future of greentech.

    • Green:Net 2010
    • April 29, Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco

    For exhibit opportunities call Mike Sly at (415) 235-0358 or email events at gigaom dot com.

    Image courtesy of bisonblog’s photostream.

  • Dodge Announces Final Edition 2010 Viper SRT10s

    The above photo reminds us of two things: 1. The Viper is still awesome. 2. The bewinged ACR makes the regular Viper coupe look downright tame.

    The company has announced that it will build 50 of the Final Edition Viper SRT10s, oddly broken down as 20 coupes, 18 convertibles, and 12 ACRs. The Final Editions will follow the other special-edition 2010s (1:33, the Voodoo, and the ACR-X) out of the Conner Avenue plant, marking the end of second-gen Viper production.

    The Final Edition cars all wear graphite paint with red-trimmed black center stripes. Standard coupes and convertibles get anthracite six-spoke wheels while the ACR coupes roll on black five-spokes. Inside is black leather trimmed with red stitching. There are bright stainless screws poking out of the center-console bezel, red-ringed gauges, Final Edition floor mats (woo!), and each car gets a numbered plaque. (Recent-history lesson: In 2002—when the original Viper RT/10, GTS coupe, and first-gen ACRs made way for the SRT10s—Dodge built a total of 360 Final Edition coupes and ACRs. Those cars were all red with white stripes.)

    As for a follow-up, we had heard a while back that a third-gen Viper would use know-how and possibly some dirty parts borrowed from the more exotic garages at Italian overlord Fiat. Hopefully that’s seen as a good use of the company’s limited funds, since a Ferrari- or even Maserati-ized Viper would make for one heck of a halo vehicle.

    No related posts.

  • Diablo Cody Pregnant

    Oscar-winning screenwriter, director, producer Diablo Cody and her husband Jon Hunt are expecting their first child. Cody — whose real name is Brook Busey — is said to have quietly tied the knot with Hunt earlier this year.

    The Juno writer, 31, spilled the baby news on Twitter Tuesday. “Thanks for the congrats on my fetus. No secrets here; just thought it would be fun to see how big I could get before someone noticed.” Cody wrote, staying mum on details of a possible due date.

    In related joyful news, Diablo’s United States of Tara was recently renewed for a third season on Showtime. The Renaissance Woman is also busy adapting Francine Pascal’s classic young adult literary series Sweet Valley High into a feature film.


  • The Left Hits Obama on Civilian Trials

    A group called September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows has send a video to the President- called an “Urgent Letter to President Obama” – pressing him to hold the trials for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other 9/11 co-conspirators in civilian courts, instead of military commissions. 

    These families say if the President decides to keep the detainees in military comissions, he would be “buckling to political pressure.” The video features the mother of one of the women  killed in the World Trade Center towers.  The Peaceful Tomorrows group says it is an advocacy organization that seeks “effective, nonviolent responses to terrorism.”

    The initial plan to try the detainees in federal court in Manhattan hit a wall with New York City officials and some Democratic lawmakers in Congress because of cost and security concerns. 

    Today the White House says it is looking at “all available alternatives,” and that a decision is “a few weeks away.”

  • Understanding health care reform

    What is the media’s role in covering health care reform properly? A panel at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) suggested that, even though Congress finally has passed overhaul legislation, there is a continuing need to cut through political spin to explain to the public how the new system will work.

    “Covering Health Care Reform in the Digital Age,” an April 5 discussion co-sponsored by the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, featured perspectives from Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at HKS and the Harvard School of Public Health; Timothy Johnson, physician and medical editor at ABC News; Ezra Klein, blogger on economic and domestic policy for Washingtonpost.com and columnist for Newsweek magazine; and Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent for National Public Radio.

    Blendon emphasized the importance of the media in the health care debate, and said that journalism is “crucial to the nation’s understanding how this policy works.”

    Rovner agreed that although the “horse race is over” and the health care bill has been passed, there is still an “interim step” before implementation, which is to “explain to the confused public what’s in the law and how they might be affected by it.” She explained that in reporting on the health care debate, there was a “struggle to put policy above politics.” Johnson agreed that the policy vs. politics debate was difficult, and while ABC News had chosen to focus on the political aspect of the story, he believed the focus should have been on policy.

    The “bad news,” Klein said, is that “the media is terrible at doing what it needs to do,” but the good news is that “it doesn’t really matter.” He saw the political structure that existed prior to the bill’s passage as having the greatest influence on its success, and he expressed skepticism about how large a role health reform will play in the mid-term elections.

    But Blendon said the wide political gaps between the parties will force health care to remain the key election issue.

    To illustrate the complications of the health care bill, Klein said he has “made charts and graphs — we’ve made so many graphs,” yet the public still seems vastly unaware of the bill’s complexities.

    While new media technology provides “more resources than ever” for citizens to get information about health care legislation, politics, rather than education, still drives the debate. Johnson said he was appalled at the lack of knowledge among intelligent citizens on aspects of the reform legislation. Rovner cited an example of a colleague reporting on a Tea Party protest meeting who called her to verify what turned out to be wildly inaccurate rumors being passed around as truth.

    Johnson said he sees “battles yet to come” that will deal with the unavoidable issue of controlling costs. “But no one wants to talk about that aspect of it,” he said.

    The event was co-sponsored by the Health Policy Professional Interest Council and the Communications & Media Professional Interest Council as part of the Kennedy School’s Public Service Week.

  • Irony-gate 2: Modern day Tea Partiers outsource denial to Lord Monckton — a British peer!

    No, really you can’t make this stuff up — unless you are an anti-science disinformer like Monckton.  Straight from “FreedomWorks” Tabitha Hale:

    As you have probably surmised, there will be a large round of Tea Parties coming up on April 15th. There will be large names, even larger crowds — and honestly, organizers would be unable to stop people from coming if they wanted to at this point. I will be speaking in Atlanta, and the FreedomWorks event in DC has a fantastic line-up including Lord Monckton, Andrew Breitbart, and Ron Paul.

    twit3.gifThat’s right.  The original Tea Party was aimed at freeing us from the rule and influence of the British monarachy.  But the Tea Partiers — who are unburdened by both irony and historical knowledge — have asked a British peer, The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (TVMOB), to speak at two Tax Day Tea Parties!

    [Please note that the picture on the right is not TVMOB nor do I think he would ever participate in this.]

    For the record, of all the disinformers in the world, TVMOB is one of the most grotesque liars.  Rather than being given a platform, he should be widely condemned for his extremist hate speech:

    TVMOB’s hate speech is, of course, supported by the AFP aka the Koch Brothers!

    Since Tea Partiers don’t want to be taken seriously, how about coming up with some humor:

    1. The Tea Party movement has outsourced the job of denying climate science to a foreigner!
    2. No disinformation without representation!
    3. Your joke here!