Lobbyists' anger over 'pointless' recycling survey

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Lobbyists’ anger over ‘pointless’ recycling survey

0 Comments | Express & Echo; Exeter (UK), May 14, 2010

A CAMPAIGN group has criticised Exeter City Council for spending Pounds 40,000 on a survey, then ignoring its results.

The three-month survey, paid for by the Government, was designed to find out what method works best for getting residents to recycle more and put less “contaminated waste” in recycling bins.

The answer was that going door to door and speaking to residents is the best method — it resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of wrong materials being put into green bins. However, this method is costly, so instead recycling chiefs are to improve the information about waste on the council’s website and concentrate on “education at grass roots level”.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance called the survey a waste of time and “pointless”.

With the city’s recycling figures remaining static this year at just under 37 per cent, recycling bosses had been keenly awaiting the survey results.

Mike Trim, the city’s head of cleansing services, said the survey results had not been a surprise.

He said: “It told us more or less what we always thought. Talking to people face to face produces better results and once officers do door knocking things improve in the short term but we don’t yet know how long that will be maintained.

“However this method is very costly — we only have one education and enforcement officer so obviously he can’t go around the whole city.

“We have put out a huge amount of information and advice and while there is a lot already on the city council’s website, we will be seeking to improve what’s there.”

Mr Trim added that the Exeter schools in the Green Team scheme also had a part to play.

The Green Teams encourage recycling in their schools and Mr Trim said: “This is like planting an acorn and hoping that the children will take home to their parents what they learn about recycling at school, real grass roots level education.”

But Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “There was no point spending money on this consultation if the council were simply going to go and do something else. Public consultations have a really bad reputation because this is what happens all the time — politicians or bureaucrats like to say they’re asking the people, but actually they’re just doing it for show.”

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Wales to miss out on heat

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Wales to miss out on heat

0 Comments | Wales On Sunday (Cardiff, Wales), April 25, 2010

WALES looks set to miss out on a predicted heatwave that could see charity runners sweltering on the London Marathon course, forecasters said last night.

The south-east of England is expected to see temperatures hit an unseasonable 21oC at the start of this week, which would make today’s 26-mile run around the English capital the hottest ever.

But despite a largely dry week forecast for Britain, the Met Office said Wales could be caught out by occasional heavy showers as a high pressure system over England slugs it out with winds and showers coming in from the Irish Sea.

Met Office forecaster Mark Seltzer said: “The high pressure over the south east of England is likely to hang around until at least Wednesday, which will have a knock-on effect on South Wales. The air should remain mild in most places but further west and inland there is likely to be thicker cloud and nowhere can be safe from the odd shower.

“For Wales, we’re seeing a breakdown in the good weather we’ve had most of this week. There’s going to be a touch more cloud around and stronger breezes for west-facing coasts and Snowdonia, being influenced by lower pressure over Northern Ireland.

“Wales is like a battleground between the high pressure in the south east, and those westerly winds.”

The best of the Welsh weather is likely to be seen around Cardiff and south east Wales.

Temperatures in Wales today are expected to be closer to the mid-teens compared with the tough conditions awaiting runners in London.

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This speed is matched

Saturday, 31 July 2010

This speed is matched with the promise that it will “keep people connected at all times and in all places.” What results is the capability to access the Internet as you would at home, mobile instant messaging, enhanced multimedia options, usability as a fax/pager/e-mail tool, as well as the obvious premise of crisper and more stable voice communications. Very impressive, but not without a lion?s share of problems.

For starters, 3G services are bound to be ?expensive?, especially due to the very high prices paid for 3G spectrum licenses. Secondly, the services offered by 3G are nice, but are beyond the current demands of the average user.
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To take whites for example, if we

Saturday, 31 July 2010

To take whites for example, if we look at two whites, and one is a sauvignon blanc and the other is a California chardonnay, often times the sauvignon blanc will be more crisp and acidic, and the chardonnay will display more sweetness. Where is the wine you are tasting fall on that spectrum. By thinking about it this way, you can describe an attribute. For example: ?This is a very acidic, crisp wine.?

In the same vein, ask yourself whether the wine is dry or sweet. If it is overly dry, you might have a mouth feel that you need a drink of a glass water.
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The sports specific warm up During this phase

Saturday, 31 July 2010

The sports specific warm up

During this phase of the warm up, 10 to 15 minutes of sport specific drills and exercises should be used to prepare the athlete for the specific demands of their chosen sport.

4. Dynamic stretching

Dynamic stretching involves a controlled, soft bounce or swinging motion to force a particular body part past its usual range of movement. The force of the bounce or swing is gradually increased but should never become radical or uncontrolled.

Please note; dynamic stretching carries with it a high risk of injury if used incorrectly. Dynamic stretching is more for muscular conditioning than flexibility and is really only suited for professional, well trained, highly conditioned athletes. Dynamic stretching should only be used after a high level of general flexibility has been established.

All four parts are equally important and any one part should not be neglected or thought of as not necessary.
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Nikko AM Announces First-Ever Country Pick Quarterly Champion! A Triumph Earned Through Good Decision-Making and Impeccable Timing

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Nikko AM Announces First-Ever Country Pick Quarterly Champion! A Triumph Earned Through Good Decision-Making and Impeccable Timing

Business Wire, April 13, 2010

TOKYO — With the conclusion of the Winter Competition at the end of March, Nikko
Asset Management Co., Ltd. (Chairman and CEO: Timothy F. McCarthy; Nikko
AM) is pleased to announce the first-ever quarterly champion for
“Country Pick”, its online money management game. In addition, an
in-depth analysis of the performance of participants during the Winter
Competition and the global equity market during the same period reveal
some fascinating results.http://sekaino.toshinou.jp/

“Country Pick” was developed by Nikko AM to allow participants the
experience of managing money, at no charge
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Woman to stand trial

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Woman to stand trial

0 Comments | Citizen Gloucestershire, The, Jul 29, 2010

A WOMAN from Gloucester accused of hitting a man over the head with an iron bar is to stand trial.

Michelle Williams of Oxford Street, Kingsholm pleaded not guilty to assaulting Martin Drew, occasioning him actual bodily harm, when the 36-year-old appeared before city magistrates on Tuesday. Sharon Green, prosecuting, said the alleged incident took place at Martin Drew’s home in Southgate Street on June 19.

She said she is alleged to have struck Mr Drew twice over the head. Mr Drew was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where he received treatment for cuts.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and adjourned the case until September 21 for committal papers to be prepared for trial at Gloucester Crown Court. Williams was granted conditional bail.

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Police plea to help track down robbers

Saturday, 31 July 2010
Police plea to help track down robbers

0 Comments | Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul 14, 2010

POLICE have issued descriptions of three men wanted in connection with a robbery in Derby.

A man walking home in the early hours on Sunday was approached by another man at the junction of Back Sitwell

Two other men joined him and they threatened the victim before stealing his watch, mobile phone and cash from his wallet.

Police are investigating the incident, which happened at about 2am, and have appealed for witnesses.

One of the robbers was black and wore a white top. The other men were both white.

One wore a red shirt with a pattern and the other a blue jacket with stripes and a badge on it.

Anyone with information is asked to call Derbyshire police on 0345 123 3333 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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It has always been ?change or

Saturday, 31 July 2010

It has always been ?change or be changed.? So let us begin.

1. Flexibility

One of the connotations of flexibility is elasticity. But better still and more valuable is suppleness. What a wonderful image.

A wrestling teammate of my son was the picture of supple. He was a risk taker whose positions were often precarious. But he was so supple, he would slither out of them repeatedly, a pleasure to watch. This same characteristic is useful when change seems to have you pinned.

The ability to completely relax, go loose in the face of the tidal wave of change, instead of tensing, will insure the suppleness to slither through the toughest elements of transformation. I am not advocating unnecessary risks, but a sense of adventure and fearlessness is helpful.

2. Willingness

Are you motivated? Whether the transformation is your idea or is being imposed on you, willingness will lessen the discomfort of the process.

Be prepared to view the situation through other eyes, purposely taking a new point of view. It may not alter your thinking about the change and its necessity, but it will adjust your perspective and that is healthy.
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New tricks for adult learners

Friday, 30 July 2010
New tricks for adult learners

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 1, 2010 by Sue McMillin

During her first four years in the United States, Sofia Ramos was isolated from much of the community because she didn’t speak English. A Mexican native, she had married a Colorado Springs man, and after starting a family, she mostly stayed home with the children.

When their oldest son started preschool in 1995, though, things changed dramatically for Ramos after she saw a flier about English- language classes for parents. The parents could ride a bus to class, and child care would be provided for the children.

Her husband and mother-in-law said it couldn’t be true.

But it was.

Soon, Ramos was learning English. Three years later she took her citizenship test. A year after that, she learned to drive and later got her General Educational Development (GED) diploma.

Ramos credits Colorado Springs School District 11 Adult and Family Education courses for opening those doors to her, and for giving her the tools to help her three sons become successful in the school system that once was so foreign to her. Her oldest will graduate from Palmer High School in May. Another is a freshman in the International Baccalaureate Programme at Palmer, and the youngest is in the gifted-and-talented program at Hunt Elementary.

And the program that helped Ramos integrate into American society has employed her for 11 years, first as a child care worker and then as a staff assistant in the front office.

She is one of thousands of adults who have learned to speak English, gotten their GED diplomas or attended family literacy programs over the 40 years D-11 has offered the programs.

The classes are funded primarily through grants, contract services, GED fees and state per-pupil revenue for GED students younger than 21, and director Melissa Burkhardt-Shields said it’s a bargain for D-11 because it helps so many families.

In the 2008-09 school year, the program served more than 1,200 adults and 300 children, and the district kicked in about $11,000. The district’s cost in 2007-08 was $20,000, up from $5,000 in 2006- 07. Burkhardt-Shields said yearly fluctuations in the number of students younger than 21 accounts for the swing in costs.

This school year, the program offices and many of the classes moved from Hunt to Jefferson Elementary School, which was closed in May. Despite concerns that the move would hurt the program, enrollment is up in the GED programs and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, Burkhardt-Shields said.

A study showed that the largest percentage of adult students have come from the 80909 and 80910 ZIP codes, although they come from throughout the region, she said. Jefferson is within the 80909 ZIP.

Adult education classes are offered in the morning and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Previously, the evening classes were staggered over four nights, but Jefferson has enough classrooms to offer all courses on two nights.

“I feel like it unifies us and it makes the school vibrant,” Burkhardt-Shields said.

On a Tuesday evening in November, the place was packed. Adults of various ages were learning to read and write, or working on high school course work in preparation for the GED test
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