For his 29 fellow Gatorade State Fall Boys Soccer Player of the Year winners, click here.

THE WINNER: Matt Foldesy

THE BASICS

School: St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio)
Grade: Senior
Position: Forward/midfielder
Height: 5-foot-6
Weight: 145 pounds

THE PILLARS

Athletic achievement: Foldesy led the Wildcats to a 22-1 record and the Division I state championship this past season. He scored 20 goals and passed for 18 assists, including a goal and two assists in St. Ignatius’ 4-2 win over Olentangy Liberty (Powell, Ohio) in the state final. The Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association’s Mr. Soccer and an All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Foldesy concluded his prep soccer career with 42 goals and 31 assists.

Academic excellence: Foldesy has maintained a 3.05 GPA in the classroom.

Exemplary character: He has volunteered locally at a homeless shelter, as a summer camp counselor and he has also completed a service-mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

THE PRAISE

“Matt Foldesy was just so dangerous and crafty on the offensive side of the ball,” said Nate Maust, head coach of Dublin Jerome (Dublin, Ohio). “I would consider him the glue that held the midfield and offense together. He has a very intelligent vision of the field and seemed to be one or two steps ahead of everyone else.”

THE FUTURE: Foldesy has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at the University of Akron this fall.

Article source: http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/player-of-the-year/post/_/id/5970/ohio-boys-soccer-poy-matt-foldesy

McKinley, R-Wheeling, was the keynote speaker for the Ohio County GOP’s “Meet the Slate” event at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Wheeling. In his remarks, he questioned the policies of the Obama administration, especially as they pertain to the economy.

“In 2008, consumer spending was $102 a day,” McKinley said. “Today, it is down to $62 (per day). Consumers are sitting back. They are not quite sure we have the right solutions in place.”

People are switching their buying habits. Most consumers typically shop at stores such as Sears, GAP and Abercrombie Fitch – companies that have closed stores across America, McKinley noted.

“It’s a real concern who is going to make it through this,” he said.

Other Republican candidates also spoke to the party faithful in attendance. John Raese was the GOP candidate in the 2010 special election for U.S. Senate, and lost to now U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Raese is again challenging for the Senate seat and a full-term in 2012, and he indicated he will be more aggressive in this election.

“My father always told me it’s OK to make a mistake – just don’t make the same mistake twice,” Raese said. “The reason I lost the Senate race is I didn’t answer negative advertising. I made a mistake. That’s not going to happen this time.

“I’m going to base my campaign on taxes – because we need utility before taxes. … I’m going to base it on defense. And the worst thing, I’m going to base it on ‘Obamacare,’ because it needs repealed and I want to repeal it.”

Bill Maloney lost his bid for governor last year in a special election to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Maloney is running for governor again this year and said West Virginia needs strong election and ethics reforms.

“I lost my campaign by 7,500 votes – and 6,000 of those were in Logan County (the home county of Tomblin),” Maloney commented. “There’s something wrong with that.”

Allen Loughry, candidate for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, has written a book on elections in West Virginia. He agreed with Maloney that the Logan County numbers were perplexing.

“Earl Ray Tomblin won 92 percent of the vote in Logan County … you don’t get 92 percent of the vote unless something is awkward,” he noted.

Steve Connolly, currently an assistant prosecutor in Putnam County, is running for West Virginia treasurer. He is 37 and said the Republican party could benefit in the future from his youth.

“There are 170 employees in the treasurer’s office and many are making $100,000 a year,” Connolly said. “And there are multiple people making $40,000, and I’m not sure what they do other than drive the treasurer around the state.

“I do intend to drastically reduce the size of that office ….”

Also speaking at the “meet the slate” event were Pat McGeehan, candidate for West Virginia Senate 1st District; Worthy Paul; candidate for Ohio County prosecuting attorney; Ohio County Sheriff Pat Butler and his primary challenger, John Powell; Desiree Lyonette, candidate for magistrate; Patty Levenson, candidate for Ohio County Commission; and Wheeling City Council candidates Alex Coogan and Perry Napier.

Article source: http://www.heraldstaronline.com/page/content.detail/id/570578/Ohio-County-Republicans-turn-out-Tuesday.html?nav=5010

Though coming near the end of his life, this award recognized a lifetime devoted to golf and to diversity that has now been recognized in a children’s picture book titled “Twice as Good.” Written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Eric Velasquez, the book had a big debut in a weekend full of events this month in Canton.

Kent Oliver, executive director of the Stark County District Library, introduced William Powell’s daughter, Renee Powell, Michelson and Velasquez to a crowd of around 250 people at the library on Feb. 4.

On Friday, the trio had visited with school children at Belden and East Canton elementary schools. They shared how a book can encourage, what inspires an illustrator, and how children can achieve great things by working “twice as hard” and trying to be “twice as good.”

Renee explained her father’s legacy to the audience during the “Tee-Off Black History Month” day at the library. Events of the day included students from Belden Elementary School reading Twice as Good to the audience, children played putt-putt golf in the library and were presented with a copy of “P is for Putt” on completing the course, and the day finished with Michelson and Velasquez explaining their process and motivation for the book.

More than 80 copies of the book “Twice As Good” were sold, with proceeds helping to fund the Clearview Legacy Foundation.

Powell commented, “I think that ‘Twice As Good’ shows what you can achieve if you stick to what you believe and never give up. My father built the first nine holes of Clearview by hand when he was 26 years old. The second nine holes weren’t built until almost 30 years later. But he continued to hang on to what he loved and achieved as much as he could.”

When asked what Clearview means to the East Canton area, Renee said, “East Canton is the community I was born and grew up in. Having something that is a national/international venue that people throughout the world know about is special to our community. It is a unique and wonderful addition to Stark County. There are roughly 16,000 golf courses in the United States, only 15 of those courses are on the historical registry. So, Clearview is important to East Canton, but it is much more, it is part of our county, state and nation. We hear from people from all over the world. People know where Canton is because of Clearview – the magnitude of its importance is greater than people can comprehend.

“People come from California, Georgia, Japan, Scotland just to visit Clearview,” Renee continued. “The Chairman of the Rules Committee for the Royal and Ancient of St. Andrews, Scotland, Alan Holmes – the home of golf – walked in the door to our course, because it is that significant.

“Rich and Eric have never played a round of golf, but they saw the historical importance of Clearview and what my father accomplished. We established the Clearview Legacy Foundation for Education, Preservation and Turf Grass Research in 2001 to maintain and preserve this wonderful legacy in our community.”

Renee also mentioned that her brother, Larry Powell, course superintendent, works with scientists on turf grass and re-establishment of native grasses. He also is talking with NASA about hydroponics and how we might establish grasses on Mars.

“The education component is never far from us,” Renee stated. “We have programs with the LPGA/USGA Girls Golf, the Women’s Veterans Programs, Sarah Care, and others to further our mission of education.”

“Twice as Good” is available at the USGA Museum gift shop and also in bookstores.

Article source: http://www.the-press-news.com/local%20news/2012/02/22/children-s-book-celebrates-the-legacy-of-east-canton-legend-william-powell

Nicky Adams gave Dale a shock 53rd-minute lead but his effort was quickly cancelled out three minutes later by Yann Kermorgant’s 25-yard free-kick to give the Addicks their third draw in four games.

Powell said: “Of course you want to win your home games. We’ve had two draws and maybe people are saying it’s a bit of a blip. I would rather take a blip when we are still picking up points than a blip when we are not picking up any. We are in a tremendous position.”

The result maintains Charlton’s unbeaten home record and extends their lead at the top to seven points over second-placed Sheffield United, but the Addicks boss acknowledged his side are not firing on all cylinders at the moment.

“We knew it would be a tough old evening for us,” he added.

“Sometimes you look at it and it is a point gained or two points dropped. It is a bit of both really because the players showed some good character to come back so soon after going down to a real scrappy goal.”

Rochdale manager John Coleman hopes his side can take belief from the point as they battle to beat the drop.

He said: “I was really pleased with the effort we showed and proud of everyone.

“They’ve ran themselves into the ground but I’ve stressed to them they’ve got to expect more of themselves.

“They are quality players in their own right and they should expect more of themselves and more of each other. “

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22022012/63/powell-content-collect-points.html

But it has been the way Powell has allowed teammates around him to blossom in recent weeks that has Phoenix Desert Vista back to the boys basketball semifinals for the first time since 2008, when the school captured the state championship.

Powell, a 6-foot-6 senior swingman who has signed with Eastern Washington, had 24 points in Desert Vista’s 53-50 Division I quarterfinal victory over Gilbert on Tuesday at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena.

Afterward, Desert Vista coach Dave Williams fought back tears, saying he wished his ailing father could have been in attendance.

His father’s health recently, he said, has taken a turn for the worse.

Desert Vista (22-8) continued to play with the cohesion and confidence it showed in Saturday’s 32-point playoff rout of Mesa Mountain View.

The key has been Powell’s unselfishness, Williams said.

“Danny Powell is playing basketball like we asked him to do the whole year,” Williams said. “He finally stopped trying to be the whole show. We knew he’s the best player in the state. But you have to learn how to play together.”

Powell didn’t take one bad shot Tuesday. He got help from senior guard Jeff Lowery, who had 13 points.

John Marshall, Powell, Kyle Pitman and Lowery combined to sink 9 of 10 foul shots in the final minute to ward off a Gilbert comeback.

Gilbert (21-7), which had won 12 of 14 games entering the game, led 39-37 on forward Erik Crawford’s follow shot with 3:46 left.

Powell converted a 3-point play, and Marshall scored on a layup to give Desert Vista a 44-41 lead with 2:55 to play.

Crawford’s two free throws at 1:43 gave Gilbert a one-point lead before Marshall’s jumper with 1:06 left gave Desert Vista a lead it would never lose again.

Gilbert was forced to foul after Crawford’s 3-point try missed.

“I think the key has been all of our role players stepped it up and hit big shots,” Powell said. “Kyle Pitman came along the last part of the season.

“We’re really proud of how everybody hast stepped up.”

Gilbert was led by Crawford’s 21 points.

Guard Freddie Lash, who has been the key to Gilbert’s push late in the season, was held to five points.

Article source: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/articles/2012/02/21/20120221high-school-basketball-danny-powell-leads-desert-vista.html

AP

This undated picture made available by Hardman Photography shows Susan Powell. Powell, a 28-year-old mother of two young children, was reported missing Dec. 7, 2009.

TACOMA, Wash.– –  The father of Josh Powell was involved in the disappearance of his son’s wife, a member of the Powell family told RadarOnline.

Josh Powell, who was a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his wife Susan, killed his two sons — Charlie, seven, and Braden, five — Feb. 5 in a fiery double-murder suicide at his home in Graham, Wash., during a supervised visit.

After the deaths of his son and grandchildren, Steven Powell — currently jailed in Tacoma, Wash., on child porn charges — also was named as a person of interest in the disappearance.
Kirk Graves, who is married to Josh Powell’s sister Jennifer, said he believes that Steven Powell at the “very least” knows what happened to his daughter-in-law.

“I believe that, at a minimum, Steven knew something about what happened to Susan,” he told the website. “At the very least, Josh told him what he did.”

FLASHBACK: In 911 call, social worker says Josh Powell ‘exploded’ home

He added, “It was a very controlled relationship. Steven controlled Josh, so if he was in trouble, he would have known what was going on, or even worse, been controlling what he did.”

Graves believes Steven Powell did not want Susan involved in the raising of his grandchildren.
“She was a threat for his control over the family. She was too strong to have around,” he said.
Steven Powell filed court papers last week saying he will not cooperate with investigations being conducted by law enforcement agencies into the case.

Meanwhile, Susan Powell’s father, Chuck Cox, plans to hold a public meeting Thursday to call for a review, both into the investigation of his daughter’s disappearance and into possible child-welfare failings that led to the deaths of his grandsons, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

“We’re coming up with some things that should have been done differently,” Cox, who was granted custody of the two Powell boys last fall, told the newspaper.

Cox also confirmed Tuesday that he would be meeting with top crime writer Ann Rule this week to discuss her plans to publish a book about the Powell family.

“We don’t have any desire to make any money on anything,” Cox said, adding that he supported the book because it would bring attention to the case.

Susan Powell was last seen on Dec. 7, 2009, when Josh Powell said he left their home in West Valley City, Utah, to take their two sons, then aged two and four, camping in freezing conditions.

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/22/steven-powell-was-involved-in-daughter-in-laws-disappearance-his-family-says/

IT WAS a scrappy affair, but Dons comfortably saw off 10-man Bury 2-1 at stadium:mk on Tuesday night to secure back-to-back League 1 wins for the first time since early December.

A Dean Bowditch double in the first half proved enough for Dons to brush past lowly Bury who had Giles Coke sent off for picking up two yellow cards after David Amoo had given the visitors a shock early lead.

Boss Karl Robinson admitted it wasn’t a vintage performance from his side on the night, but said the most important thing was to come away from their two homes games in three days with six points, having put five goals past Oldham on Saturday.

“It was a weird game,” he said. “The pitch didn’t help, it dried up in comparison to Saturday when it stayed really quick.

“It was a very professional performance, but I’m fuming with their chance at the end and I’m disappointed with the chances we missed. We dilly-dallied on the edge of the box and we need to be more ruthless.

“But we’ve won the two home games on the spin and it’s very pleasing to get over the line with all six points. We’ve proved this place is still a fortress.”

And for the second time in as many games, Dons were awarded a rare penalty at stadium:mk.

Bowditch coolly slotted home both spot-kicks to increase his impressive scoring record to four goals in the last three games. But Robinson was left questioning the penalty decisions that did not go Dons’ way – namely a blatant pull on Daniel Powell in the second half that went unpunished.

“The penalty on Saturday was a weak one I thought,” he said. “But there was one that wasn’t given in that game, and one here on Powell that was as blatant as you’ll see.

“Maybe he (referee Darren Drysdale) had the decisions he had already made in the back of his mind.”

After Saturday’s rampant 5-0 victory over Oldham, Dons were quickly back to their best against Bury, with Alan Smith firing just over the crossbar early on.

Bowditch thought he’d opened the scoring after seven minutes when he did well to get on the end of James Tavernier’s cross, but Mark Hughes cleared off the line, despite Dons’ celebrations that the ball had crossed the line.

When Coke scythed Stephen Gleeson down from behind, there were many in the stands calling for a straight red card, but referee Drysdale opted to just book the on-loan Sheffield Wednesday man – although he would later pay the price.

And it was Bury who shocked the majority of the threadbare stadium:mk crowd – a season’s low 6,404 – as they took the lead against the run of play after 10 minutes. Racing through onto Stephen Schumacher’s pass, former Dons loanee Amoo neatly rounded David Martin to tap into the empty net.

It took Dons a while to shake off the shock of going behind, but it lasted just 10 minutes as Bowditch headed the home side back on level terms, and there was no debating whether or not the ball had crossed the line this time.

On level terms, Dons looked the more likely to score the next goal. Martin was more of a spectator for much of the game, while his counterpart Cameron Belford in the Bury goal was kept busy with a string of shots from Powell and Charlie MacDonald.

Gleeson took offence to a foul on Dean Lewington, which the referee saw worthy of his 10th booking of the season, leaving the midfielder with a two-match ban starting this Saturday for the trip to Bournemouth.

The scrappy affair wasn’t helped by the deteriorating state of the pitch which was showing signs of age and the recent frozen weather conditions as it hampered Dons’ passing style.

Darren Potter looked slightly out-of-sorts which prevented the quick attacking style of play that is usually seen at stadium:mk, but Dons were given a helping hand into the game just before the break.

Lucky to still be on the field after his earlier booking, Coke petulantly pulled back Mathias Doumbe as he looked to break into the midfield, giving referee Drysdale no choice but to give the Bury man his marching orders.

This left the Shakers with an uphill task, and the slope was made even steeper when Smith was taken down by Belford in first half stoppage time as Dons won their second penalty in as many games – Bowditch firing home a second penalty in two games and second goal of the night.

As expected, Bury simply put everyone behind the ball after the break, as Dons went in search of a killer third to wrap up the game.

And it should have come from 12 yards again when Powell was floored by Joe Skarz, but this time the referee waved play on, despite it looking a more clear-cut penalty than the one he had awarded in the first half.

Dons bombarded the Bury goal, with Bowditch keen to get his hat-trick and MacDonald eager to score his first goal of the year.

Both had brief sights of goal before they were pounced on by the busy Bury defence as their bunker mentality kept Dons at bay, meaning they created very little themselves at the other end.

But they could have wrecked the night for Dons deep into stoppage time at the end of the game as Hughes latched onto the end of long ball from Skarz, but his shot was rushed and weak, providing Martin with a rare touch of the ball – a wake-up call for the otherwise solid Dons defence.

The win further cements Dons’ play-off position, although they remain in fifth in the table, seven points adrift of Sheffield United in the second automatic promotion place, and they have now played a game more.

Man of the match Bowditch was delighted to come away from the two tough encounters with Oldham and Bury with six points, while increasing his lead as the club’s top goal scorer this season with 13 in all competitions.

He said: “I’ve got in some good spaces lately and luckily I have stuck them in the back of the net. But that’s what I’m there for. Even though I’m playing out wide, I’ve got to contribute.

“The penalties went in the same place. I’m glad the keeper went the wrong way again too, I don’t think he watched my penalty from Saturday! I was confident stepping up to it, and I thought if I had a good enough connection and luckily it went our way.

“Bury showed that they can make things very difficult. They did well to keep us out, and we couldn’t get that third goal to finish them off.

“And they could have nicked a draw right at the end and it would have been two points lost.

“That’s something we need to work on because we need to see teams off, especially when they’re down to 10 men. I’ve heard it said before, but sometimes it is more difficult playing against just the 10 men. But I’m glad we got the three points.”

The decision to send off Coke in the first half incensed the Bury bench as they believed that neither of his offences warranted even a booking. But Robinson was left scratching his head at their protests, saying he felt that Coke was lucky just to be on the field after his first challenge.

“I don’t know what they’re moaning at. He’s come in from behind and nearly broke Stephen Gleeson’s leg – he was lucky to get away with just a yellow card,” said the Dons boss.

“And then he pulls a player back which is another booking. It was soft, yes, but that’s the law of the game.

“It’s a weird game to sum up. It was scrappy. It was just one of those halves where if we scored one, we’d have gone on to score four or five. It just didn’t seem to go in for us.

“I know the fans will be frustrated because they see the opposition down to 10 men and we got five on Saturday. It doesn’t always work like that though. But the most important thing is the three points.”

With Paul Slane expected to finally arrive at Dons from Celtic next week, Robinson admits he is still actively seeking out further additions to his side as they look to mount a serious challenge on the last automatic promotion spot, with Charlton still wait out in front despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Rochdale while Dons were beating Bury.

“There’s an awful lot of work going on behind the scenes,” said Robinson. “We are trying to bring in other players to strengthen what we’re trying to do. We’re knocking on a lot of doors.”

Dons now face two long away trips in as many weeks – first a trip south to play-off chasing Bournemouth at Dean Court on Saturday, before travelling north to Victoria Park to face Hartlepool a week later.

The Cherries were big spenders in the January transfer window, having forked out an estimated £800,000 for Crawley striker Matt Tubbs, as well as signing former Dons loanee Donal McDermott and completing five other loan deals. They sit just outside the play-off places in eighth.

Dons’ last trip to Dean Court ended in a 3-2 defeat, and the two clubs shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at stadium:mk in October.

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Article source: http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport/football/mk-dons/double_whammy_as_dons_strengthen_grip_on_play_off_place_1_3549132

AARP Massachusetts estimates the $1.5 million cut to the Elder Nutrition Program could mean about 250,000 fewer meals are served to seniors next year. No cuts would take effect until July, at the earliest.

“We’re just a little bit baffled as to why they would choose to cut a program that for many seniors is probably the only guaranteed healthy meal they may be getting,” said Deborah Banda, director of AARP Massachusetts.

In a prepared statement, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said the state has faced unprecedented fiscal challenges that will continue into next year.

“We have had to make some very difficult decisions,” the statement said. “In developing this budget, our highest priority was to preserve services for our most vulnerable seniors with urgent care needs — including meal deliveries to homebound seniors and medical services from MassHealth.”

Banda said a Meals on Wheels Association of America study found there are more than 1 million senior citizens living in Massachusetts, and an AARP Foundation study found about 140,000 are at risk of going hungry, a number that has risen over the last couple of years.

Elder Nutrition Program funding does not generally come directly to local councils on aging or senior centers, but to other agencies that provide the meals, said Barbara Farnsworth, chairwoman of the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging.The agencies also receive some federal funding for the program.

On the North Shore, a Gloucester-based organization called SeniorCare is responsible for overseeing services for seniors such as meal programs in the communities of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Beverly, Topsfield, Hamilton and Wenham.

Another organization, Danvers-based North Shore Elder Services, is responsible for overseeing programming in Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Middleton, Marblehead. The meal programs in Swampscott are overseen by the Greater Lynn Senior Services.

In the Merrimack Valley, meal programs in Georgetown and North Andover are overseen by Elder Services of Merrimack Valley.

Meal programs in each community often include congregate dining, which provides at least one nutritional meal per day served to elders 60 and older at a senior center or council on aging and Meals on Wheels, which brings meals to homebound elders who are unable to prepare food for themselves. Local advocates explained Patrick’s cuts would most likely slash funding for both programs, which could cause some seniors to go hungry.

“Frankly, we just feel that this program is important,” said Anne Springer, public relations director for SeniorCare. “Seniors who participate in congregate dining or Meals on Wheels are those who are unable to prepare a meal for themselves and don’t have anyone to prepare a meal for them. These people are often fairly frail and in major need.”

Linnea Hagberg, nutrition program director for SeniorCare, explained the organization provided approximately 176,700 meals to seniors last year.

“That number encompasses both our congregate dining program and our Meals on Wheels program,” Hagberg said. “If the SeniorCare nutrition program did receive a cut of that magnitude, it would certainly affect our ability to provide meals to the older adults we serve.”

Springer said the organization is very concerned about the cuts.

“Obviously, any cuts would affect us,” Springer said. “These people for the most part are on social security, disability and have a low income. They rely on public services to eat.”

In a press release, SeniorCare stated the cuts would mean losing more than 7,000 meals annually, representing a 4 percent cut in meals service. That cut equates to 30 elders who would not be receiving meals.

Erica Blumberg, nutrition program director for North Shore Elder Services, explained that last year, the organization served more than 200,000 congregate and home delivered meals to seniors in the five communities they oversee. The organization also saw a major increase in seniors needing meals last year, as there were 486 new clients.

“What we see over time is that people as they age really need these meals,” Blumberg said. “The average age of people receiving meals is 80. We see the numbers increasing every year while the money is going down. People forget that these are our parents. I just think they deserve better.”

Marilyn Hurwitz, co-director of the Swampscott Senior Center, explained the center serves a congregate meal to seniors five days a week.

“It’s sort of a miracle that the food shows up everyday,” Hurwitz said. “We serve between 250 and 300 congregate meals per week.”

Hurwitz added there is a major need for senior meals in Swampscott.

“There are 1,377 senior citizens living in Swampscott, and we see about 1,000 of them come through our doors every year,” she said. “I would say that there are more needy seniors in Swampscott than one would think.”

The Georgetown Council on Aging provides congregate meals three days a week and also delivers meals to homebound elders, explained Colleen Ranshaw-Fiorello, director of the Georgetown Council on Aging. Last year, the Georgetown COA served 1,154 meals to 110 participants, a 4 percent increase from 2010.

“Often the main meal of the day for many of our participants, the congregate meal site is a cornerstone in the Georgetown COA’s program for elders,” Ranshaw-Fiorello said. 

While seniors who dine at congregate meals are often encouraged to give a donation to their senior center — usually between $1 and $2.50 — that donation is nowhere near the cost of preparing the meal, Springer said.

“In Beverly, we have a suggested donation of $2,” said Mary Ann Holak, director of the Beverly Council on Aging. “But if someone is not able to pay, we would never deny them a meal. We feel that $2 is nothing compared to what it would cost if you were to actually go food shopping and make the meal yourself.”

The 2010 Census revealed there are more than 8,000 senior citizens living in just Beverly, many of whom are homebound because of a physical, mental or emotional limitations.

“For our meals on wheels clients, cuts to that program greatly concern us because it means that people would not have adequate food in their homes,” said Holak. “There are so many adverse things that will happen if these cuts go through. What people need to realize is that eating everyday is a necessity, especially for our seniors.”

Holak explained the senior center in Beverly serves around 50 meals per day to hungry seniors, Monday through Friday. These meals often consist of a healthy protein such as fish or meat, vegetables, fruit and a dessert.

“We are very concerned about these cuts,” Holak said. “In the last census our numbers of seniors have gone up and it’s important that we are able to meet their needs. Nutrition is really important and any cuts to that program are going to hurt both the health of a senior and their pocketbook. Prices of food have skyrocketed and their income is already stretched thin. These are people who simply cannot afford to provide meals for themselves.”

While the Danvers Senior Center serves a smaller amount of seniors per day compared to Beverly, finding funding is already difficult for Danvers.

“We serve around 15 to 20 seniors per day, five days a week,” said Pam Parkinson of the Danvers Senior Center. “It’s already incredibly difficult for us with the funding that we get to meet the needs.”

Parkinson explained it costs more than $3,000 per month to operate the congregate meals program, as well as Meal on Wheels. The Senior Center delivers 75 meals per day to homebound senior citizens in Danvers. If Patrick’s cuts are approved, the Danvers Senior Center would have to scramble to find other sources of funding to ensure that those seniors do not stop receiving meals.

“If these cuts go through, there’s going to have to be some creative planning on how we can allocate the few funds we have,” Parkinson said. “I would like to say that Danvers would never stop serving meals to seniors, because that’s one of the most important things that we do, especially in this economy when people are making decisions between heat, medication and food. For some of our seniors, this is their only meal for the day. It’s a very vital service. Eating is one of the most basic human needs.”

Social aspect

Banda said she understands state leaders face tough budget decisions, but she called the proposed cut shortsighted. Seniors who lose a daily healthy meal may see their health suffer, she said, leading to more costly medical needs.

 Springer explained seniors who participate in meal programs are less likely to have to live in a nursing home.

“We don’t want to see these seniors have to be institutionalized and we know that the seniors don’t want that either,” Springer said. “Meal programs and other community services tend to be less expensive than having someone live in a nursing home.”

Springer added not only is it important that seniors living at home are able to eat, but there are several other benefits to congregate dining.

“It contributes to better health,” she said. “When seniors participate in congregate dining, it provides a social aspect for them. People will sit together, make friends and have conversations. It’s great because some of these seniors would otherwise be isolated and alone.”

According to the National Institute on Aging, socializing as little as 30 minutes per day has been shown to increase brain health and cognitive ability, which decreases the likelihood of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The National Institute on Aging also suggests congregate dining provides the following benefits:

· Gives seniors a sense of community and connection with peers

· Provides seniors with a sense of purpose, allowing them to be happier and more fulfilled

· Dining decreases stress. Healthy relationships are often formed during dining, and those relationships have been proven to decrease stress. Stress has been directly linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and type two diabetes.

Meals also provide some structure to senior’s lives, which can also decrease stress.

AARP has raised other worries about Patrick’s budget. Banda said while it level funds most other elder programs, about 1,000 seniors remain on a waiting list to receive home health care, a problem unaddressed in the spending proposal.

Banda said she also would like to see funding in the budget dedicated to adult day health services. While the state is funding such programs this year, no money is specifically targeted for the program, putting it at risk, she said.

AARP already has sent a letter to state lawmakers on its budget priorities and concerns. The House and Senate will vote on their own budget plans and work out differences between the two chambers before returning a final bill to the governor.

“We certainly will advocate to restore any cuts at the federal and state level through the Mass Council on Aging,” said Holak.

Article source: http://www.tauntongazette.com/campaign2010/governor/x1353881514/SENIORS-Groups-fear-Patrick-cuts-could-leave-elders-unfed

jjaques

ABC Bank

Leon Harwood (left to right) Louie Carleo and Gino Carleo attend
the grand opening of the new American Bank of Commerce in the
Midtown Shopping Area. Chieftain photo John Jaques 2.21.12

jjaques

John Moore

John Moore, son of Bank founder at ABC Bank in Midtown.
Chieftain photo John Jaques 2.21.12

Posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 12:00 am

Bank makes move to Midtown

By DENNIS DARROW | ​ddarrow@chieftain.com

The Pueblo Chieftain

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0 comments

ABC Bank opened its new Midtown Shopping Center branch
Tuesday.

The top executives of the bank – officially the American Bank of
Commerce, now in its 50th year of business – used the event to
reaffirm their optimism about the Pueblo region’s economic
future.

“We’re committed to Pueblo. I think this shows that,” ABC Bank
President Powell Thompson said at the bank’s grand opening hosted
by the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.

The event also was attended by Dr. John Moore of Dallas, Texas, a
surgeon and the son of the Texas-based bank’s founder, Jim Moore,
along with Colorado market president Dave Johnson.

ABC moved into a longtime bank building at the shopping center’s
Sixth Street entrance. Most recently, the building was home to Bank
of the West, which exited the Pueblo market last year.

Negotiations are ongoing with a prospective major tenant for ABC
Bank’s prior site at the former Qual-Med building at 222 Main St.
in Downtown, building co-owner Louie Carleo said.

In an interview, John Moore recalled how his parent’s love of the
Pikes Peak region led his father to open branches of the
family-owned bank in Pueblo and Colorado Springs in 2004.

His father, now age 81, remains chairman of the bank’s board of
directors and still is a frequent visitor to the area, he said. His
enthusiasm for the region remains high, the son said.

Colorado was among the states hardest hit by the real estate market
crash, making matters tough for all banks, but “we feel like we’re
coming pretty close to the bottom,” John Moore said.

Moore said the Midtown site offers the bank greater visibility and
more efficiency than the former Qual-Med building, which he
described as “just too big.”

ABC Bank is a medium-sized bank with about $700 million in assets.
It operates branches in Austin, Lubbock and several other Texas
cities along with Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

The Pueblo branch’s telephone number is 595-7300.

Follow Dennis Darrow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PuebloBusiness

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Article source: http://www.chieftain.com/business/local/bank-makes-move-to-midtown/article_84ffc3ba-5d26-11e1-830e-001871e3ce6c.html

A new lawsuit targeting California car- and battery-maker Fisker Automotive is the latest potential setback for the once-promising company, one of several high-tech start-ups to receive millions of dollars in assistance under a Department of Energy loan program meant to promote the development of high-mileage technologies.

The legal wrangle with investor Daniel Wray underscores the problems Fisker is facing as it struggles to line up alternative funding if the DoE pulls the plug. The loan is critical to develop a second line of Fisker products aimed at the emerging market for battery-powered automobiles.

But Fisker isn’t the only one analysts and investors are watching closely.  Red flags were raised earlier this month when Tesla Automotive announced it had fallen short of earlier earnings targets, with its first truly significant product still months away from production.

“We’re caught up in politics,” lamented Henrik Fisker, the Danish designer and founder of Fisker Automotive, as he discussed the challenges in renegotiating the $528 million DoE loan that has been essential to the development of a mid-range model codenamed Project Nina. 

The loan program has come under sharp criticism in the run-up to this year’s presidential election — especially in the wake of the bankruptcy of solar cell manufacturer Solyndra, which also received the government assistance.  Fisker Automotive hasn’t drawn down any of the loan since last May, the executive confirmed, and earlier this month laid off 64 employees while it pressed to renegotiate the agreement — or line up more private equity.

Washington is by no means entirely to blame for the carmaker’s problems, however.  The CEO admits his company was “too aggressive” when it initially lined up the loan.  “When we set out designing and developing this car,” he added, “we had to make some estimates and we wound up missing some of those timelines.”

Fisker’s first product, the 4-seat Karma plug-in hybrid sports car, is only now coming to market — and at $102,000, it is around 20 percent more expensive than originally forecast.  The EPA also gave it range and fuel economy ratings significantly lower than expected.

The company long claimed Karma would deliver around 50 miles in “stealth,” or battery, mode.  But the EPA tests lowered that to only 32 miles on battery power and gave the hefty vehicle a meager 32 MPG fuel economy rating.  Operating on gas alone, the EPA said the Karma should get just 20 mpg. 

Fisker is quick to point to the results of European testing. Regulators there were much more generous with an estimated 51 miles on battery power and a 112 MPG estimate.  But the EPA numbers are what will go in the window — and in the company’s advertising.

Company officials remain hopeful, and there are signs the sleek Karma could maintain its appeal to those who want a green machine that is more fun to drive than the purely practical Toyota Prius. Among those who’ve already taken delivery are actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former Sec. of State Colin Powell.

As for Project Nina, CEO Fisker insists the car is 95 percent ready, as is the former General Motors plant in Delaware where it will be built. The company has been lining up additional cash, he stresses, including $243 million of a planned $300 million.

But a letter sent to investors has triggered a suit by earlier investor Wray, who put $210,000 into the start-up and now claims he “suffered significant money damages at the hands of Fisker and Advanced Equities” because of what he describes as a “corporate bait-and-switch.” The company reportedly demanded an additional $84,000, or, Wray was warned, he would lose certain rights gained through his initial investment.

Whether the lawsuit will have any serious impact is uncertain, but analysts have been growing more skeptical. That could complicate Fisker’s hopes of raising more cash if it can’t get the DoE to sign off on the proposed changes to the loan agreement.

As for Tesla, the company staged a well-publicized IPO more than a year ago, and its stock has swung wildly ever since. It is currently back up near its 52-week high of $35 a share, after some market uncertainty in the wake of $264 million in losses for 2011.  The $81 million in red ink for the fourth quarter, in particular, ran well beyond expectations, triggering an initial sell-off.

But Tesla quickly rebounded – its fortunes buoyed by news it will be developing a new electric vehicle for Mercedes-Benz, one of several more established makers with ties to the start-up. The new Mercedes is still several years away from production, but 2012 will see the launch of the RAV4 EV that Tesla is developing for Toyota — as well as the debut of Tesla’s own mainstream model, the Model S.

So far, the maker says it has taken 8,000 reservations for the Model S, as well as another 500 for the Model X, a battery-powered crossover vehicle it revealed earlier this month.  Each deposit is $5,000. Tesla predicts that could nearly triple revenues this year, to somewhere between $550 million and $600 million.

What’s on the horizon “is more-than-sufficient to reach 2013 (so) we continue to believe that Tesla is uniquely positioned to succeed as a new automaker,” said Rod Lache, chief automotive analyst with Deutsche Bank.

Perhaps, but other analysts remain skeptical, noting that the entire market for battery-based vehicles, from basic hybrids to pure battery-electric vehicles like the Model S, totaled less than 3 percent of overall U.S. sales in 2011.  And even with DoE loans, neither Fisker nor Tesla have much of a future without a pickup in demand.

Article source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/22/10469438-two-key-battery-car-start-ups-race-to-prove-critics-wrong

Sarah Drake
Web Editor – Austin Business Journal

Email

Here is a round-up listing of recent deals and announcements in the Austin real estate market since last Wednesday:

Saladworks leased 2,200 square feet in Northcross at 2525 W. Anderson Lane, its first Austin location. Lance Morris and Adam Zimel with the Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group handled negotiations the landlord. The tenant was represented by Matthew Hanna with Clear Fork Management Co.

How Do You Roll leased 1,800 square feet in the Plaza Volente shopping center at 11521 FM 620 North. Adam Zimel, Russ Howard and Jeff Lewis with the Commercial Retail Division of The Weitzman Group represented the landlord and Herman Tjahja with Retail Solutions who represented the tenant.

Cricket Wireless leased 1,250 square feet at Southwood Shopping Center. TJ Powell of Retail Solutions represented the tenant, and Gabe Sanchez and Jeff Lewis represented the landlord.

A hair salon leased 1,150 square feet at Falconhead Plaza at 14360 Falconhead Blvd. Herman Tjahja of Retail Solutions represented the landlord and Paul Ott of the Paul Ott Company represented the tenant.

Lavazza Coffee leased 1,769 square feet at 914 Congress Ave. Herman Tjahja and Kay Lewis of Retail Solutions represented the tenant and Tim Jarvis of B-Bachs Commercial represented the landlord.

GameStop renewed their lease at Jones Plaza in Taylor. Alan Rust and David Simmonds of Retail Solutions represented the landlord.

Morningside Research expanded and renewed their lease at Nob Hill Office Park at 2520 Longview Street. Jason Ricks of Tarantino Properties represented the landlord and Zachary Ellis of Austin Office Space Inc. represented the tenant.

Big Frog leased 1,190 square feet at the Sunset Valley Marketfair Shopping Center at 5400 Brodie Lane. Chris Skyles of SkylesBayne Company represented the tenant and Scott Seaton of Edge Realty Partners represented the landlord.

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Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2012/02/austin-real-estate-round-up-feb-22.html

Yes, like many cities, especially in Florida, the epicenter of the economic earthquake, Orlando is trying to rally. When disposable dollars dried up and tourism took a hit, well, just imagine the Magic without Dwight Howard. (You might hear about Dwight oh, once or a million times this weekend.) The double whammy of real estate woes and squeezed family budgets threaten to cripple the world’s greatest tourist destination.

Suddenly, the city that loved to slap an exclamation point next to its name — come visit Orlando! — was stuck with a question mark instead. As in, when does relief arrive?

One basketball-fueled weekend won’t exactly tip the Central Florida economy into the black all by itself. Still, the goal for Orlando is to be that same city that hosted the 1992 All-Star Game, the one where Magic! (Johnson) happened. To that end, Orlando will trot out the Amway Center, a $480 million symbol of hope that was built smack in the middle of hard times. Orlando doesn’t get the game without it, doesn’t sell its recovery to a big audience without it and doesn’t reinvent itself without it.

“Part of the context of building this building was attracting the NBA All-Star game and other events,” said Alex Martins, chief executive officer of the Magic. “We said a new building wasn’t just about the Magic. It was about our city and what we were missing. All the big concerts were going to Tampa. We haven’t had a conference college basketball tourney since the early 1990s. No major organizing sports body has brought anything to us since early 90s.”

And just think, a few months ago, the NBA season and the weekend itself were in jeopardy of not happening, phased out by a lockout. The game was promised to Orlando on May 4, 2010, and hotels and businesses were banking on the windfall.

“That would have been a blow to our city,” Martins said. “I told David Stern he’d better put me in witness protection if that happens.”

So the city that knows something about entertaining will happily host a slam dunk contest that may or may not involve an economy car, a handful of hip-hop parties to which you’re not invited, and the debut of the ballyhooed box office attraction that promises to dwarf both Space Mountain and the Harry Potter Hogwarts ride. Yes, Jeremy Lin is in the house!

“Everyone will see that Orlando’s not bad, and will put on a show,” said Howard, who then refused to say if he plans to stick around for the after-party.

Back in ’92, Orlando was exactly the type of city that professional sports craved that decade. It was a medium-sized ‘burgh suddenly flush with new money and enjoying a population boom, where people quickly began to multiply faster than Palmetto bugs and strip malls.

The NBA expanded to Orlando three years earlier and success was instantaneous; sellout crowds crammed a then-brand new arena (the Orlando Arena, later known as Amway Arena) that astonishingly became outdated in about 15 minutes.

Not only was Orlando defined as Las Vegas for children, but also professional athletes, who built airplane hanger-sized mansions in lake-dotted communities like Isleworth, home to Tiger Woods, Shaquille O’Neal and many others.

In a sense, Orlando’s growth and popularity arc was a lot like the NBA’s in the 80s, when prosperity ruled and troublesome signs weren’t visible on the radar. The NBA had Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan; Orlando had Mickey, Goofy and, in a few years, Shaq and Penny Hardaway. Theme parks were swelling, orange groves were cleared for housing developments — it was as if Orlando had cashed in on the lottery, like the Magic did when a pair of ping-pong balls turned into Shaq and Penny.

Golf courses sprung up everywhere, further hiking real estate prices ever so unrealistically, as well-moneyed northerners snapped up second homes and timeshares. And they also bought choice seats at Magic games to see a team that was supposedly the next dynasty. Or as Shaq once said, regarding he and Hardaway, “the next Magic and Kareem.”

But then Shaq left for Hollywood in 1996 as a free agent, Penny hurt his knee (several times), Grant Hill arrived as damaged goods in 2000 from Detroit as a free agent. Even though another ping-pong ball became Howard, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 Draft, he’s not sold on spending his foreseeable career in Orlando.

And this was the good news.

“Central Florida was one of the hardest hit in terms of housing,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Home building is pretty much non-existent right now. We had an extreme correction in terms of market price and number of foreclosures.

“Tourism was down double digits. We had three straight years of double-digit decline in our tourist development tax. People postponed or didn’t do vacations. It was a significant decline in our tourism economy. We came back strong in the last year, with 51 million visitors. But it’s going to be a slow, steady recovery. We had a presentation by our convention and visitors bureau the other day and they mentioned it would be impossible to purchase the type of advertising and exposure that we’ll get from the All-Star Game.”

At least Orlando’s timing was solid, in another sense. All the bonds and financials were secured for the construction of Amway Center (along with a new performing arts building) just prior to the economic uppercut. Amway Center, not to be confused with the soon-to-be-bulldozed Amway Arena, was the town’s boldest project in recent history. In a spirit of cooperation that’s uncommon in cities, especially in the midst of historic decline, city, county and team officials made it work. The public-private partnership ensured the arena was finished on time and on budget.

“It was certainly challenging but also some advantages as well,” Martins said. “We were able to stretch the construction budget further than we could’ve imagined because the construction industry had nothing else going on. As many disadvantages as one could perceive when building in a down economy, the workforce was available, material pricing was low and we had no major delays.

“We walked into the building with all the suites sold, had highest corporate partnership in the history of the organization and the highest season ticket base in the history of the organization. And I think that speaks to how starving our community was for a first class building.”

As for the impact of the weekend, “it will be $100 million. The theme parks will get a shot in the arm at a time of the year when they don’t get their highest visitation. This comes at a necessary time.”

One of the main figures in the construction of the building — and the Magic — is slowly withdrawing from both. Rich DeVos, the grandfatherly Magic owner, has gradually distributed much of his shares of the team to his children and even grandchildren, mostly for estate-planning purposes. At 85, Devos has the team run by Martins (who was the Magic’s PR director during the ’92 All-Star Game) and Dan DeVos, one of his sons.

“This team will be in our family for a long, long, time,” said Rich DeVos.

The family patriarch mostly gets around by wheelchair these days and there’s a groundswell of support within the family and the organization to win one for Mr. D.

“The pleasure he gets out of owning this team and what it does for this city has brought a dynamic to his life that maybe he didn’t have before,” Martins said. “If it weren’t for him this arena wouldn’t be built. He contributed more of his own money to this building than any owner has to a public facility. This will be part of his legacy. It’s going to mean a lot for the economy when big events come here on a regular basis.”

DeVos is both amused and touched by the sentiment, but he makes one thing clear.

“I want to win a ring,” he said, “but it’s not for me, it’s for them.”

And so Orlando, ever so gingerly, is taking steps toward better days. For the city and for the Magic. The arena is the common link between the two and will remain in place, well beyond the weekend, when Orlando hopes to get tourists to arrive and the Magic hopes to keep Dwight Howard from leaving.

So enjoy the weekend in Orlando! Where the city is out to prove it’s on the turnpike to recovery! Oh, and spread the word, now is the perfect time to visit! Because Orlando has the most attractions in the world! Now featuring Jeremy Lin! (For a day or so, anyway.)

Shaun Powell is a veteran NBA writer and columnist. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

Article source: http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/shaun_powell/02/22/all-star-game-returns-to-orlando/?ls=iref:nbahpt1

While some wrestlers have a lot of experience, others are making the trek to Huntington for the first time.

Although Little Kanawha Conference member Braxton County qualified the most area wrestlers with 13 while conference champion Clay County was next highest with 11, no one is expected to challenge current two-time defending state title holder Point Pleasant, which qualified its entire team and will move to the Class AAA ranks next season.

The biggest storyline in the Class AA/A ranks is whether or not anyone can finally score on current three-time Roane County state champion Dylan Cottrell. Cottrell, who sports a 39-1 mark and is seeking his fourth state crown, is obviously the man to beat at 145 as he tries to complete his fourth straight campaign with not only just one loss but also without allowing a single point in any of his matches in Huntington.

When it comes to possible revenge matches, there are several a lot of fans would like to see. Two of those without question have to involve Williamstown’s Dalton George and Wirt County’s Jon Cain.

George, a state champion as a freshman, sports a 40-4 mark and possibly would have to knock off a pair of regional champions in Oak Hill’s Marc Williams (36-2) and Point Pleasant’s Guy Fisher (38-8) before he might get a third showdown with Oak Glen’s Zach Brown in the 113-pound state finals on Saturday night. Brown, a two-time state runner-up who is 39-1 as a senior, defeated George 8-0 in their first match and 4-2 in the regional final last weekend.

Cain entered the regional final with a 39-0 mark, but the Tiger 120-pound junior fell 8-5 to Point Pleasant’s Micah Powell. Powell, who could face Oak Glen’s Tyler Brown in a state semifinal, would only face Cain if the Tiger can get through the bottom half of his bracket that includes freshmen regional champions in Greenbrier West’s Dustin Yoakum (41-6) and Keyser’s Garrett Crites (34-7).

No other Mid-Ohio Valley grappler aside from Cottrell is vying for a fourth consecutive top-six finish at the state tournament.

Of the 68 area wrestlers who qualified for the final weekend of the season, only a dozen of them are freshmen. A trio of those freshmen qualified in the top four of their respective regional with sub .500 records they will bring to the big show — St. Marys’ Jeremy Pratt (170, 11-15), Roane County’s Caije Nichols (220, 12-23) and Calhoun County’s Cole Boatright (126, 14-17).

Boatright, who will face off against Braxton County senior J.C. Hoard (26-9) in Thursday’s opening round, is involved in one of only five matchups pitting area wrestlers. At 106, Clay County junior Justin Triplett (30-0) faces Braxton County freshman Andrew Jordan (24-24). Williamstown junior Brett MacIver (32-13) squares off against Wahama 10th-grader Randle Robie (26-6) at 120 while Magnolia 182-pound junior Jared Wright (23-7) faces Braxton County senior John Given (29-21) and Williamstown junior heavyweight Alex Rauch (22-17) tangles with Braxton County senior Danny Meier (35-16).

Only three wrestlers in the entire Class AA/A field enter the state tournament unbeaten and each of them are area grapplers in Wirt County senior heavyweight Eric Young (17-0), Roane County senior 152-pounder Sam Whiting (40-0) and Clay County junior 106-pounder Justin Triplett (30-0).

The only opening round match involving two wrestlers with the same first name comes in the heavyweight ranks with Greenbrier West senior Andrew Spade (41-5) going up against Calhoun County junior Andrew Satterfield (28-15).

Wrestling inside the Big Sandy Super Store arena will continue at 9:30 a.m. Friday and conclude starting at 6 p.m. Saturday when the state finals take place.

Article source: http://newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/557763/Cottrell-goes-for-fourth-state-wrestling-title.html?nav=5063

“SxScience is about all-natural solutions for improving impotence and promoting sexual health wellness — we figured why not bring consumers other stimulating products that are all-natural in a pack for a night of intimacy for couples,” SxScience Labs President and CEO Jeff Northrup told XBIZ.

The products included in the kit were selected because they complement one another, Northrup said. Ladies First and Heads Up enhance the physiological functions of sex for a male-female couple and the other items build on that feeling.

“If you’re using these products, you just can’t help but be intimate,” Northrup said.

Specifically, the combination of Ladies First and Sensuva’s ON arousal oil can result in optimal performance and pleasure for the female consumer.

“Ladies First helps a woman relieve stress and relax while another part of the formula boosts testosterone, which is essential for a woman’s libido,” Northrup said. “When you add the stimulating effect of ON, women not only get the systemic feeling of letting go but also external complementary stimulation. You get pleasure from both sides of the spectrum — nutrition to boost sexual performance and pleasurable external sensation.”

The Date Night kit was revealed at January’s ANME Show in Burbank, Calif., where Northrup said it was received with enthusiasm.

“We got a phenomenal response,” he said. “People were blown away at the products included in the set, the packaging and its price point.”

Retailing for under $30 and presented in a decorative box with a flap that opens to reveal a windowed view of the package’s contents, Northrup said Date Night is an ideal romantic gift purchase for newlyweds, anniversaries and bachelor/bachelorette parties.

For sales, call (877) 569-6950, or email info@sxsciencelabs.com.

Article source: http://newswire.xbiz.com/view.php?id=144591

By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members are listening to Chris Shore’s 54-minute audio review of WWE Raw, and our 76-minute audio review of WWE Elimination Chamber. Join us on the ad-free version of the website by signing up for membership now via Prowrestling.net/amember/signup.php.

WWE Raw Hits

Undertaker and Triple H: Another strong segment. I’d like to take a moment to apologize on behalf of my home state for the ridiculous “What” chants during Taker’s promo. Having said that, the live crowd that I was part of became totally engaged once Triple H came out. The back and forth between the two was strong and the setup for their match at WrestleMania was very well done.

I didn’t see the Hell in a Cell announcement coming, as the idea of using the structure at an outdoor show sounds like it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Does this mean a crane company in Miami should expect a phone call? I loved the way Taker turned the tables by patting Hunter on the back and walking off at the end. It was also a really nice touch to buy the rights for the Metallica song “The Memory Remains” for this feud.

John Cena promo: A hard hitting promo. I don’t think the fans care that Rock has jokes written for him, people behind the scenes, or security. Suggesting that he’s gone Hollywood isn’t going to sway Rock’s fans unless Rock gives them a reason to do so. I’m also bored with all the talk of Rock leaving. The average fan doesn’t care that Rock left because they’re enjoying the fact that he’s back now and obviously doesn’t need to be. Nevertheless, Cena was focussed and raised the intensity of their war of words at just the right time. He may not have won over many Rock fans, but he gave his own fans something to hang their hats on while giving Rock’s fans something to think about. By the way, the best unintentional comedy moment of the night came when WWE followed up Cena burying his own WWE Studios films by playing the trailer for Edge’s movie. Oops.

Primo and Epico vs. Kofi Kingston and R-Truth: A good tag match that set up the tag champs with new challengers. Kofi and the champs worked well together down the stretch. The only negative is that I was deprived of watching Rosa’s victory jiggling routine in person. Damn you, WWE.

Ron Simmons: Speaking of “Damn!”, I was impressed by the level of respect the live crowd showed the Ron Simmons announcement. My hometown fans may have let me down with the “What” chants, but they came through here. There are plenty of casual fans in attendance, yet the video was followed by a nice applause and a brief standing ovation. Despite all of the complaints about who has or hasn’t been inducted, the casual fans respect what the Hall of Fame stands for if this crowd was any indication.

Overall show: Target Center was as packed as I’ve seen it for a WWE show since SummerSlam ’99. Only one upper deck section was tarped off and the crowd was into the action throughout the night, which made for a fun live atmosphere. It was a newsworthy show with the formation of two WrestleMania 28 matches. We didn’t get any truly memorable wrestling moments, but the mic work was strong and it had the feeling of a WrestleMania season show.

WWE Raw Misses

Battle Royal: I didn’t care for the random battle royal determining which wrestler would challenge for the WWE Championship. It just didn’t feel prestigious enough considering what was at stake. Worse yet, the match was a train wreck with Wade Barrett’s injury, frightening moments for Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler, and the unbelievably boneheaded spot with Santino Marella being thrown over the top rope and onto the floor near Barrett as he was being treated by EMT’s. I watched the match play out on television before writing this and it came across better on TV than it did live, but it was still a mess. The only major positive coming out of the match is that the right guy went over.

Eve reveals plan to use John Cena: Call me old school, but it still annoys the hell out of me when heels lay out their evil plans right in front of the television camera. Let’s say John Cena hadn’t been standing right behind Eve as the boasted about using him and Zack Ryder. Did she not think he would see this on television or that someone may have passed along the information to him? It strikes me as lazy when the pro wrestling companies can’t be bothered to come up with an explanation for the camera being there. I let it slide more often than not, but I have to bring it up in situations as absurd as this one.

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry: Another showcase win for Sheamus. I get what the goal was, but the match was just thrown out there. Sheamus pinning the monster former champion should have felt more important given how dominant Henry was. For that matter, Henry’s return from his storyline suspension should have been treated like a bigger deal. That said, the match itself was competitive and entertaining.

David Otunga vs. Ezekiel Jackson: Is this the first step in WWE’s attempt to give Otunga some in-ring credibility? He definitely needs it if they want him to be more than the Big Johnny sidekick. Nevertheless, this felt like a complete non-event and it made Teddy Long look like a dope for not finding a better opponent for Otunga.

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Article source: http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/powelleditorials/article10023540.shtml

And now, the case will become just that: Renowned crime writer Ann Rule — who has tackled the stories of serial murderer Ted Bundy and the Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgway, during her 35-year career— plans to publish a book on the story of Susan Powell, who disappeared two years ago, and her husband, Josh, who killed himself and his two sons in a fiery blaze earlier this month.

Chuck Cox, Susan Powell’s father, confirmed Tuesday that he and his wife Judy will meet with Rule on Thursday as the Seattle-based author continues work on a project about his daughter and son-in-law.

Cox said it’s unclear whether the family will profit from Rule’s latest venture, but said the writer made a contribution to the Susan Cox Powell Foundation, and any other money entitled to the family would be used to advance the foundation’s mission.

“We don’t have any desire to make any money on anything,” Cox said, adding that Rule had started research on the book prior to the murder of his grandsons.

Rule could not be reached for comment, but told a Seattle radio station in the days following the Powell boys’ slayings that she considers Josh Powell among the worst killers.

“This would be in the top five things that have shocked me over the last 30 years,” Rule told radio station KIRO 97.3, in Washington. “A lot of parents kill their children to get revenge on an ex-spouse, but they usually don’t die themselves.”

Cox said he supports the idea of a book that would bring attention to the case and what may have gone wrong during the investigation into his daughter’s 2009 disappearance, as well as shortcomings by Washington child welfare agencies — which he believes emphasize the idea of family reunification over the safety of children.

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Cox will tout that message Thursday during a press conference and town hall meeting in Olympia, Wash., where he’ll appear with his attorneys and Washington state senator Pam Roach, a Republican who has demanded a review of child welfare policies following the death of the Powell boys.

Roach criticized thePowell boys’ visitation with their father after concerns were raised that the boys were exposed to pornography at the home of their grandfather, Steve Powell.

Coxes grandchildren, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, died during a supervised visit with their father at a rental home. Josh Powell locked out the children’s case worker out of the house before attacking his children with a hatchet and setting the home on fire with 10 gallons of gasoline. He left goodbye messages to family members saying he couldn’t bear to live without his children, who had been placed into custody with the Coxes after Powell fell under investigation in a child pornography case involving his father.

Cox and Roach will join forces to see if the children’s deaths can become a catalyst for change, so other families won’t suffer the loss he and his family have endured.Cox said he’s prepared to file a wrongful death lawsuit to facilitate change, but is optimistic he can make his points outside the legal system by working to revamp public policies.

“We’re coming up with some things that should have been done differently,” Cox said.

Cox said he doesn’t blame any of the caseworkers involved in his grandson’s case for what transpired and said they had the children’s “best interest” at heart.

The Coxes are poised to keep up the work of the Susan Cox Powell Foundation, which formed in 2010 to give support to other families with missing loved ones.

Cox said he also hopes to work with other foundations dedicated to families who’ve gone through a tragedy.

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Article source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53561249-78/powell-cox-case-rule.html.csp

But it has been the way Powell has allowed teammates around him to blossom in recent weeks that has Phoenix Desert Vista back to the boys basketball semifinals for the first time since 2008, when the school captured the state championship.

Powell, a 6-foot-6 senior swingman who has signed with Eastern Washington, had 24 points in Desert Vista’s 53-50 Division I quarterfinal victory over Gilbert on Tuesday at Arizona State’s Wells Fargo Arena.

Afterward, Desert Vista coach Dave Williams fought back tears, saying he wished his ailing father could have been in attendance.

His father’s health recently, he said, has taken a turn for the worse.

Desert Vista (22-8) continued to play with the cohesion and confidence it showed in Saturday’s 32-point playoff rout of Mesa Mountain View.

The key has been Powell’s unselfishness, Williams said.

“Danny Powell is playing basketball like we asked him to do the whole year,” Williams said. “He finally stopped trying to be the whole show. We knew he’s the best player in the state. But you have to learn how to play together.”

Powell didn’t take one bad shot Tuesday. He got help from senior guard Jeff Lowery, who had 13 points.

John Marshall, Powell, Kyle Pitman and Lowery combined to sink 9 of 10 foul shots in the final minute to ward off a Gilbert comeback.

Gilbert (21-7), which had won 12 of 14 games entering the game, led 39-37 on forward Erik Crawford’s follow shot with 3:46 left.

Powell converted a 3-point play, and Marshall scored on a layup to give Desert Vista a 44-41 lead with 2:55 to play.

Crawford’s two free throws at 1:43 gave Gilbert a one-point lead before Marshall’s jumper with 1:06 left gave Desert Vista a lead it would never lose again.

Gilbert was forced to foul after Crawford’s 3-point try missed.

“I think the key has been all of our role players stepped it up and hit big shots,” Powell said. “Kyle Pitman came along the last part of the season.

“We’re really proud of how everybody hast stepped up.”

Gilbert was led by Crawford’s 21 points.

Guard Freddie Lash, who has been the key to Gilbert’s push late in the season, was held to five points.

Article source: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/preps/phx/articles/2012/02/21/20120221high-school-basketball-danny-powell-leads-desert-vista.html

ASHEVILLE — The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners turned down a request to rezone 4.4 acres in Reynolds on a 4-0 vote Tuesday.

The change would have allowed mobile homes on the property at 218 and 266 Bee Ridge Road and potentially some other uses.

Several neighbors objected to the request by Kashka DeBruhl-Cawthorn, saying the change would harm the character of the neighborhood.

“Our community is a mix,” said John Scroggs, but is made up of “primarily single-family homes, many on large tracts of land.”

A five-unit mobile home park, allowed because it was in existence when zoning was enacted, already sits on part of the property. Some residents said it is unattractive.

“We’re proud of our valley,” said Jack Sorrells, who said his family settled there in the 1850s. “We just don’t think that we need any further problems.”

“Citizens in our community worked very hard to get the zoning in place” and it should be respected, neighbor Charles Powell said.

Members of DeBruhl-Cawthorn’s family said they supported the request so that she could live among them.

Other types of homes would be significantly more expensive, mother Debbie DeBruhl said.

Sister Katrina DeBruhl-Covan said an electrical substation and three double-wide mobile homes already sit near the property.

Joe Belcher, a regional manager for mobile home maker Clayton Homes, told the board the disagreement illustrates a problem with the county zoning ordinance.

“We have a family that wants to provide for a child. There should be a way to provide for that,” he said.

Commissioners K. Ray Bailey and Holly Jones said afterward that more mobile homes would not be a good fit for the neighborhood.

Kashka-DeBruhl asked for a change from the county’s R-2 zoning district to R-3. The change would have allowed individual mobile homes without further zoning action by the county. It also would have opened the door to other uses, like mobile home parks, communications towers and a vacation rental complex, if certain conditions were met.

Commissioner Bill Stanley was absent because he was attending a meeting of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

Article source: http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120222/NEWS/302220044/Reynolds-rezoning-request-nixed?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFrontpage

“Some of our housing is so dilapidated,” Karl Green, Community Resource Development Educator said, “Or it was built relatively inexpensively to begin with, that it essentially just hasn’t aged well.”

La Crosse Mayor Matt Harter said the using the term dilapidated is a matter of opinion.

“But there is no doubt,” he said, “that we in La Crosse have a very mature housing stock and we can and should work towards taking remedial action and positive action to update our housing stock where it is needed.”

Green said 2/3 of homes in La Crosse at valued at $100,000 or less.  He said having a lot of low value housing drives down property values and drives taxes up.

He said another problem with the housing is the lack of code enforcement in the area such as allowing people to live with broken and boarded up windows.

“We’ve got situations pointed out where there are hundreds of arrests per property,” Green said, “and how those conditions are continuing to go on, it just removes the fabric of the neighborhood where people would want to live there when that type of activity is going on.”

He said the Joint-City-County of La Crosse Housing Task Force collaborated to find ways to get people to reinvest back into the City of La Crosse.

The targeted areas for revitalization are Powell-Hood-Hamilton area (Green Bay Street to the south, West Avenue to the east, Main Street to the north and the river to the west,) Goosetown/Campus area and the floodplain area on the north side.

Some of their ideas for fixing up La Crosse included creating a student housing district around U-WL, Western Technical College and Viterbo, changing the occupancy limits from three non-related individuals per single family home to two and creating residential parking permits to solve the problem of unregulated off-campus parking ensuring residents living on that block have access to on-street parking.

Other programs they’re proposing are a tool exchange program where people would pay a small deposit, check out tools for a home improvement project, use them, return them and get their deposit back and a rental conversion program to provide an incentive to convert homes back into single-family homes from rental.

To read the full 60-page report click here.

Article source: http://www.wxow.com/story/16986943/housing-task-force-presents-la-crosse-revitalization-plans

Early indications last week pointed to at least two or three prospects committing to the Gators heading into the junior-day party, including one big commitment out of little-big-man RB Kelvin Taylor (5-11, 220) of Belle Glade Glades Day High School. Taylor, of course, is the son of former Gator legend Fred Taylor, so no one really figured he was actually going to pick Alabama, his other finalist.

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He didn’t. He’s a committed Gator, and as it turned out, so are five other prospects. They were staking their claims to 2013 Florida roster spots on Sturday like Black Friday shoppers hoping to get in before the flock of the masses.

When Muschamp was an assistant coach for the Longhorns, junior-day events were like a Lone Star roundup and Texas coaches herded prospects up the chutes as fast as they could open the gates. It wasn’t unusual for a Texas junior event to produce 15-20 commitments in one day.

For their 2011 class, the Longhorns landed 17 of their 25 signees on junior day, and last year, they snagged 12 commitments toward the eventual 2012 class of 28. The junior-day numbers in Austin have dwindled. Last month the Longhorns had zero commitments from the first junior day and Texas has just five pledges for 2013..

It’s not likely just a coincidence that the Texas junior-day success of the past has come eastward with Muschamp.

Florida has picked up steam in recruiting for 2013, and, as measured by the “Prospector Rankings,” they sit second in the country in the current team race. (These are simplified rankings based on Rivals’ star-rating system. If you land a 5-star player, it’s five points; 4-star player, four points, and so on. No stars still gets one point.)

Michigan and second-year coach Brady Hoke have been busy trying to stay one-up on Urban Meyer at Ohio State. Michigan has 11 commitments, 10 of which are 4-star players, giving the Wolverines a Prospector Rating of 41 points and the No. 1 rung in the early 2013 team count. The Gators, with eight 4-star commitments and two un-rated players, have 34 Prospector points and are No. 2.

Texas AM, much to the chagrin of their friends over in Austin, produced a huge junior-day turnout and has 13 commitments. The Aggies are No. 3 with 28 Prospector points.

In Gainesville, It was a junior day for the ages and the visitors got caught up in the excitement on Saturday Even players who did not commit — or receive an offer from UF — got caught up in all of the hoopla on Saturday.

Orlando East River linebacker Ryne Rankin (6-1, 225), who has offers from Cincinnati and Temple, said, “It was pretty good. It had a cool atmosphere and that feeling of walking into The Swamp was pretty cool.”

And that’s a guy who used to have Tennessee as his top school. He’s wide-open now.

One who is not wide open is one of the Gator junior-day pledges Keanu Neal (6-1, 204), but the Bushnell South Sumter safety did not pull the trigger until about 9 p.m.

“My mom and dad went with me and when I told them I had made my decision, my dad said, ‘What took you so long?’ They loved it,” Neal said. “It was very exciting and it was a great atmosphere. We had a great time.”

Besides Taylor and Neal, the Gators also received a commitment from one of the top defensive players in the state with Daytona Beach Mainland star and defensive athlete Quinton Powell (6-3, 220), the No. 3-ranked player in the Sentinel’s 2013 Florida Top 100. Powell He plays defensive end at Mainland, but we call him a D-ATH because he will be able to play a number of positions on the defensive side of the ball, which will give him an opportunity to will roam in the Buck linebacker spot at UF, even acting in somewhat of a hybrid safety-linebacker capacity in nickel and dime packages.

The Gators other junior-day commits were: LB Dillan Lawson (6-4, 215) of Crestview, S Nick Washington (6-0, 180) of Jacksonville Trinity Christian and WR Rodney Adams (6-1, 166) of St. Petersburg Lakewood. They join earlier commitments RB Adam Lane (5-7, 207) of Winter Haven, LB James Hearns (6-3, 230) of Tallahassee Lincoln, LB Daniel McMillian (6-3, 220) of Jacksonville First Coast and DT Caleb Brantley (6-3, 285) of Crescent City.

The Gators are just ahead of Alabama in pledge numbers (7), while the Tide do have a 5-star prospect to go along with six 4-stars and a Prospector Rating of 25, right on the Gators’ heels. Both teams have a jump on the rest of the SEC. Georgia and LSU both stand at five commitments and 14 Prospector points.

So far, there are 23 high school juniors in the state of Florida who have made commitments to colleges for 2013, and only three of them – CB Artie Burns of Miami Northwestern (Alabama), Immokalee S Mackensie Alexander (Tennessee) and Yulee RB Derrick Henry (Georgia) chose out of state schools. The rest have stayed ‘home,’ with 10 committed to Florida, five to Florida State, which also has an Alabama commit in Prattville OL Austin Golson (6-6, 275), four to Miami, and two to USF.

An interesting statistic, of the 166 signees taken in by the state’s seven NCAA Division I-A football programs for 2012, 98 were Florida players (60 percent). FSU was lowest with just six of its 19 players coming from Florida high schools.

Of course, now Taylor turns his focus toward the future, as well as toward doing a little recruiting himself.

He said Tuesday morning on Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi’s radio show “Open Mike,” on AM-740 TheGame, “We have to keep recruiting guys and I know I’m going to try to recruit a lot of them.”

As for the early 2013 commitments, it really means nothing right now if these teams can’t finish the deal. The hoopla goes for naught if the Gators – and all of the others – fail to bring these commitments home on National Signing Day, which is Feb. 6, 2013.

Good luck.

Article source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/recruiting/os-recruiting-chris-hays-prospector-column-uf-junior-day-0221,0,7459094.column