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Pinellas County sets lobbying priorities, beach nourishment among them

Beach nourishment money? More of it.

A loophole in online travel taxes? Close it.

Limit pretrial release from jail? Split on it.

The Florida legislative session will begin in January, earlier than normal because of redistricting. That prompted Pinellas County officials to meet recently to determine their lobbying priorities for the 2012 session. The county's legislative delegation is scheduled to meet Sept. 14 to hear concerns from Pinellas officials and others.

Key Pinellas concerns include:

Planning agencies: Last spring, politics killed the chances of an otherwise noncontroversial plan to combine the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Pinellas Planning Council. One of the Democrats' louder critics of Republican leadership, state Rep. Rick Kriseman of St. Petersburg, was a sponsor last session.

Kriseman isn't carrying the bill this year. The county instead enlisted Republican state Reps. Jim Frishe, the majority whip, and Ed Hooper, along with Sen. Jack Latvala.

"We tried to up the ante and get some strong support this year to push this through," said Carl Harness, an assistant county administrator in charge of lobbying.

The change was news to Kriseman, who said GOP leaders insisted to him that partisanship wasn't at play last year. It was, they said, just a lot of local bills dying.

Kriseman and lawmakers received an e-mail asking for their bills Thursday. Kriseman inquired about whether he should sponsor the bill again, but the county and three Republicans had already agreed on the merger bill two days earlier.

"We were going to file it again," Kriseman said. "That would have been nice if they had let me know. Quite frankly, I want the bill to pass."

Pretrial release: The bail bonds industry won a subtle victory during last week's meeting.

The county had opposed bills last spring that would have restricted the number of people eligible for release from jail without bond. Bail bonds lobbyists pressed hard for the bills, which sought to limit the pool to poor people.

Sheriff Jim Coats said the effect would cost taxpayers $5 million to staff and operate extra jail space, because fewer people would be released.

"Obviously that kind of goes against the point of the bail bondsmen and folks being able to pay their way," Harness said.

Commissioners Neil Brickfield, Nancy Bostock and Norm Roche objected, leading to a 3-3 vote that muted the county's voice against any legislation for the upcoming session. Karen Seel was absent.

"This is a case of the government competing directly against bail bondsmen," said Brickfield, who did public relations work for bail bonds companies before being elected in 2008.

Honeymoon Island: What do you need to keep the No. 1-attended state park a jewel on the gulf? Pinellas' answer is more sand.

The county wants $5.6 million for beach erosion control there. The project needs to be added to the state's priority list. The county would be required to match 25 percent of the cost.

Tourist taxes: Pinellas officials and other counties say they have lost tens of millions of dollars in taxes from online travel companies. The companies pay taxes on the bulk rate they pay for hotel rooms, not the retail rate they sell rooms for.

In Pinellas, online travel companies avoid paying $1.4 million annually, county officials estimate. Failed legislation last year sought to exempt the companies from paying the higher rate. The fight is expected to return in the 2012 session.

"We're seeking to get the elevated amounts that we think are due and owed. … The legislation undercuts that," said County Attorney Jim Bennett.

David DeCamp can be reached at ddecamp@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8779. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/decamptimes.

Pinellas County sets lobbying priorities, beach nourishment among them 09/05/11 [Last modified: Monday, September 5, 2011 11:18pm]
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A Times Editorial

Protect insurance discounts

Since Hurricane Charley sliced through the state five years ago this week, hundreds of thousands of Floridians have spent lots of money to fortify their homes. As an incentive for those investments, the state required insurers to offer significant insurance premium discounts for hurricane shutters, stronger garage doors and other improvements. And the Legislature launched the My Safe Florida Home program to help homeowners get free inspections and finance their mitigation efforts. Now it turns out homeowners responded so well insurers are complaining the discounts are costing them too much money, and they want the discounts reduced. The state should not unfairly penalize homeowners for doing what it encouraged them to do in the first place.

Today in Tallahassee, the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology will hold a public hearing where insurers will make their case for lowering the windstorm mitigation discounts. The commission, composed of regulators, industry representatives and academics, has a role to play in considering what it's really worth to install shutters and more secure roofs in terms of lessening storm damage. But let's not forget the bottom line: Insurers want the discounts reduced because the push for fortifying homes has been so successful it is hurting their bottom line.

Leading the charge, of course, is State Farm Florida. First they asked for a 47 percent rate increase last year and blamed the premium discounts as one of the reasons. Then they announced they would leave the state after the rate increase was rejected. Last week, insurance regulators allowed State Farm to effectively increase rates significantly on its way out the door by eliminating premium discounts for multiple policies, alarm systems and other items — but they rejected a proposed cut in the windstorm mitigation discounts. Today's broad review of the value of those credits was ordered by the Legislature following State Farm's original complaints.

Through the successful My Florida Safe Home program, more than 400,000 homes received free windstorm inspections and millions in tax dollars were spent on grants and loans to harden homes. In its typical short-sightedness, the Legislature suspended that program at the end of June by failing to earmark more money for it. Now after so many homeowners have made substantial investments to reduce the potential for major hurricane damage, insurers want to significantly reduce their reward. That would be a frustrating bait-and-switch.

Windstorm mitigation discounts should reflect the value of the improvements in reducing the risk of storm damage, but it is sound public policy to reward homeowners for making the investment. Cutting windstorm mitigation discounts significantly would send the wrong message.

Protect insurance discounts 08/11/09 [Last modified: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:52pm]
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Congress involved but no HGH deal yet

WASHINGTON — Two key congressman emerged from an hourlong meeting with the NFL and players union and announced a deal to begin blood-testing players for human growth hormone. Minutes later, union officials would commit only to testing when a fair and safe system is in place — what they've said all along.

After Friday's high-profile mix of sports and politics, HGH testing in pro football didn't seem closer to reality.

"We're not guaranteeing any outcomes except there was an agreement to begin testing immediately," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said after the meeting. " … We've agreed on a bipartisan basis to have the committee play a role if necessary" to bring the sides together.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, said he felt the sides benefited from being called in.

MARSHALL'S PLAN: Jets coach Rex Ryan, tongue in cheek, supported Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall's announcement that he wants to get booted from Monday night's game. "If he wants to get kicked out of the game in the second quarter," a smiling Ryan said, "I think he should."

But Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie isn't buying it.

The former Florida State standout, friends with UCF's Marshall since their high school days in Florida, calls the receiver "a front-runner" and added, "(He's) got to give you something to write about because there's no talk going on down there because they're 0-4."

League spokesman Greg Aiello told Profootballtalk.com that the league would not send Marshall a warning letter.

BEARS: Defensive end Julius Peppers (sprained left knee) has not practiced all week and is doubtful for Sunday's game. … The league fined safety Brandon Meriweather $25,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit Monday against Detroit. He was fined $20,000 for an illegal hit a week earlier against Carolina and fined $50,000 (later reduced on appeal to $40,000) for an illegal hit last season.

BROWNS: Pro Bowl center Alex Mack returned to practice for the first time since his appendectomy on Oct. 3.

GIANTS: Defensive end Osi Umenyiora counts former teammates Antonio Pierce and Michael Strahan among his best friends, but the recent criticisms the players-turned-TV commentators leveled at Justin Tuck and Brandon Jacobs for not playing through injuries irked Umenyiora. "To hear them come out and say some of the things they said is very, very disappointing and makes me question how real and how authentic they are," he said.

RAIDERS: Coach Hue Jackson said Aaron Curry, a 2009 first-round pick acquired this week from Seattle, will start at weakside linebacker. Also, receiver Louis Murphy, a former Lakewood High and Florida star who has been out since surgery for a sports hernia in training camp, practiced and is expected to make his season debut.

RAVENS: The league fined running back Ray Rice $7,500 for grabbing the face mask of Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher on Sept. 25. No penalty was called on the play.

TEXANS: Mario Williams, who is out for the season, had surgery on a torn pectoral muscle.

HEIMERDINGER SERVICE: Colleagues and friends paid tribute to former Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger at a private funeral in Nashville. Heimerdinger, who was an NFL assistant for 16 years and receivers coach at Florida in the mid '80s, died Sept. 30 of a rare form of cancer. He was 58.

Congress involved but no HGH deal yet 10/14/11 [Last modified: Friday, October 14, 2011 11:29pm]
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Stint in Russia had a lasting effect on new Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Wayne Fleming

Before coming to the Lightning, Wayne Fleming was an assistant coach for five teams, including the Flyers from 2002 to 2006.

Getty Images (2005)

Before coming to the Lightning, Wayne Fleming was an assistant coach for five teams, including the Flyers from 2002 to 2006.

Imagine watching one of your players dying. New Lightning assistant coach Wayne Fleming always will have that memory.

As coach of Avangard Omsk in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, Fleming saw one of his most gifted players, forward Aleksei Cherepanov, collapse into the arms of teammate Jaromir Jagr on the bench near the end of an Oct. 13, 2008, game against Vityav Chekov.

Team doctors tried on the bench and in the dressing room to revive Cherepanov, 19, who died that night at a local hospital of an apparent heart attack.

The league announced Cherepanov, the No. 17 overall pick of the 2007 draft by the Rangers, had chronic myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart for which he took a banned medication provided, the KHL said, by team doctors. The league determined the doctors were not qualified to treat the condition and banned them and Omsk's general manager.

Fleming left in January 2009 (it was mutual, he said at the time), not long after he was suspended by the struggling team for the third period of a game amid reports he would be fired.

Still, Fleming, 60, who on Friday signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay, his sixth team in an 11-year NHL career, said his half-season in Russia was rewarding. He even coached former Lightning draft choice Alexander Svitov. But the loss of Cherepanov still hurts.

"It's something you never want to go through again."

Is there anything you take from what happened?

From a team perspective, it was like taking a crystal vase and dropping it on the concrete floor and trying to pick up the shattered pieces. It was devastating. But it was the individual, too, that passed away. The thing that really hurts is not only do we lose a great player, we're missing just a fantastic young man. He had a great smile on his face. He was the golden boy of the KHL.

What do you recall about the incident?

When he first collapsed, there was about five minutes left in the game. It was Jagr who yelled at me and said, "Wayne! Wayne! We need help!" And I looked down, and Jagr was holding Aleksei on his lap on the bench. I could tell right away he was in trouble, and the doctors got to him and wanted to take him off the bench. They applied CPR. All I could think of was, "Oh, my God, no."

What impact did Aleksei have in Omsk?

This is a city of a million people in the middle of Siberia. When we had the ceremony and the funeral for him, it was in the arena. Prior to that, there was a (viewing) from 11 o'clock in the morning to 1 o'clock. During those two hours, 60,000 people went by his coffin; the youngest was probably 4 to I'd say the late 90s. When they closed the door to start the funeral, there were another 40,000 people estimated waiting who never got to walk by and pay tribute to Aleksei. You're talking about a town of a million that had over 100,000 people there to pay their respects.

How did you deal with it?

It was difficult because you're in a very foreign country. The customs are much different. My inability, perhaps, to express my true feelings to the team as a coach, a leader and a friend were difficult because of the language barrier and not being able to probably grasp the customs of mourning they went through.

What were your emotions?

I think sorrow more than anything. I don't think it changes your zeal for life or your enthusiasm for young players coming in and letting them do what they do best and enjoying the work. So I don't think I've changed. I probably just lost a little bit inside.

What do you learn coaching outside North America?

It changes your appreciation for people of different backgrounds, of different countries, of different areas. My appreciation and knowledge of the Russian people now are far greater than ever. Through my NHL career of coaching, I had the opportunity to work with some great Russian players, Alex Zamnov, Danny Markov, Sergei Nemchinov, Alexander Svitov. But to actually live with them as a neighbor and friend was special.

Svitov was a bust in Tampa as the No. 3 overall pick in 2001. How was he in Russia?

He was tremendous. He was the team captain, a tremendous competitor, a great leader, very demanding of himself, very demanding of his teammates and tough as hell. This was one big man who was not afraid of anything. There's no question he belongs back in the NHL.

Does he regret a disappointing NHL career?

I don't think he had any regrets. He was hopeful he could have found a stronger place in the NHL. He had trouble with the language when he initially came over. I think that made it a little bit difficult for him.

I always believed he understood more than he let on.

And now he speaks very well. He studied pretty hard there.

So, your experience in Russia was …

Difficult at times and rewarding at times. Did I enjoy it? I don't know if that was the right word, but I am grateful for the opportunity to spend a year in Russia and the KHL. It was a tremendous experience notwithstanding the passing of Aleksei.

Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com.

Stint in Russia had a lasting effect on new Tampa Bay Lightning assistant Wayne Fleming 07/24/10 [Last modified: Saturday, July 24, 2010 10:22pm]
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Texas out to avoid Red River rout

DALLAS — All that matters to Texas coach Mack Brown this week is trying to win a game. But that hasn't always been an easy task the second Saturday in October in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma.

With so much speculation about whether Brown's job is in jeopardy, a win by the Longhorns (3-2, 2-0 Big 12) over Bob Stoops and the 12th-ranked Sooners (5-0, 2-0) today at the State Fair of Texas would certainly settle things down, at least temporarily.

"None of that matters," Brown said. "Winning matters."

A fourth straight loss by the Longhorns to Oklahoma, especially another lopsided one like the last two years, would only accelerate a panic.

This will be the 15th meeting between Brown and Stoops. Oklahoma is 9-5 in the series under Stoops, with wins by 38 and 42 points the last two seasons and a 52-point victory 10 years ago.

"Anytime you win, there's positive memories," Stoops said. "Over 15 years, we've won our share here, so those are always fun."

Asked if the bigger challenge was facing Oklahoma or his own team, Brown said: "It's with us. We have got to continue to get better. … We have got a lot of things we have got to fix."

Oregon faces test: The 5-0 Ducks, who have scored at least 55 points in all five games this year, have won nine in a row over Washington, with each decided by at least 17 points.

Coach Steve Sarkisian's No. 16 Huskies (4-1) may finally have the tools to combat the problems No. 2 Oregon presents. No longer should the Ducks speedy offense be unfamiliar; the Huskies have been going against their own blistering offense. And Washington's offense has depth and skill that is inching closer to being on par with Oregon, led by quarterback Keith Price and running back Bishop Sankey. The Huskies pushed No. 5 Stanford last week before falling 31-28.

"I feel like the entire Washington offense is totally different," Ducks linebacker Derrick Malone said. "I feel like they have more confidence in themselves."

Cincy 38, Temple 20: Brendon Kay completed 31 of 37 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns as the host Bearcats (4-2, 1-1 American Athletic Conference) kept the Owls (0-6, 0-3) winless. Anthony McClung had seven catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns for the Bearcats.

Clemson Suspensions: Coach Dabo Swinney suspended receiver Germone Hopper and safety Ronald Geohaghan for today's Boston College game for what he called poor behavior. He did not give any other details.

LSU to visit Lambeau: The home of the Green Bay Packers will host its first college football game in 33 years when LSU plays Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in 2016. Three college games have been played at Lambeau Field, but none of them was a Division I showdown. St. Norbert College, 6 miles from Lambeau, has won three times there (Fordham, 1982, 1983; and Mankato State, 1960).

Agent issue: Athletic officials across the country, joined by five agents certified by the NFL players association, are trying to stop the tactics some agents use to illegally contact athletes. The group is pushing to strengthen laws barring agents or their representatives from providing benefits to athletes and regulating how they can contact athletes. The proposals are outlined in a nine-page memo sent to the committee that will meet this month to consider updates to the Uniform Athlete Agents Act.

Basketball: The UConn men's team, which had to sit out last year's postseason because it failed to meet NCAA academic requirements in years past, submitted a perfect academic progress rate for last season. The score will be official in May.

Texas out to avoid Red River rout 10/11/13 [Last modified: Saturday, October 12, 2013 12:41am]
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Things to do Things to Do
 Today's TipSheet

Top things to do in Tampa Bay for May 20

Foreigner and Styx: Two blockbuster bands from the '70s and '80s join forces for this Soundtrack of Summer Tour. See it at 7 p.m. at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater. $85-$135. (727) 791-7400.

Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour: Cirque du Soleil's high-energy dance and aerial acrobatic show is set to the King of Pop's famous jams. Show is at 8 p.m. at Tampa Bay Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $50-$125. (813) 301-2500.

Miss Representation: This documentary film focuses on media's under-representation of women in positions of power. It features stories from teenage girls and interviews with prominent women like Condoleezza Rice, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem. A panel discussion on local issues follows. It's at 6 p.m. at Capitol Theatre, 405 Cleveland St., Clearwater. Free (RSVP required). (727) 641-0552.

Spotlight Awards: The Patel Conservatory's end-of-year show recognizes outstanding students and features some of the best performances from the 2013-14 season. Dinner and dancing follow the show, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa. $30. (813) 229-7827.

Pint of Science: In this festival,scientists leave the lab for local pubs to share knowledge over brews. Weather scientist Charlie Paxton will present "The wild weather of Tampa Bay" in one of the only presentations not yet sold out. It starts at 7 p.m. at Florida Avenue Brewing Co., 4101 N Florida Ave., Tampa. Free (registration required). (813) 374-2101.

Tirena Say (Seeing Colors) will sign her memoir at 3 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble at USF St. Petersburg, 500 Third St. S. An incorrect time appeared in Sunday's Latitudes.

SEASON PREMIERE I Wanna Marry 'Harry,' 8 p.m., Fox Half of watching this show is "Can these people really be this dumb?!" The other half is determining from which angles Matthew Hicks most looks like Prince Harry.

Find our summer movie and TV previews at tampabay.com/things-to-do.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox: Friday night's game at the Trop is a three-fer: the Ticket Tandem item is an Alex Cobb Military Bobblehead, there's a Rays Irish Heritage T-shirt package for $35 (code: Irish1), and it's Volleyball Night (lower level seat and a volleyball T-shirt for $30 with code Spike1). tampabay.rays.mlb.com.

Top things to do in Tampa Bay for May 20 05/19/14 [Last modified: Monday, May 19, 2014 3:05pm]
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Tar Heel Times
Your comprehensive source for Tar Heel sports news

Putting final pieces in place

Now that the Tar Heels are deeper and more athletic on defense, John Bunting has promised a more aggressive scheme. That will include some zone pressure, which Mahlon Carey said will give him "an opportunity to anticipate the ball more, read the quarterback and be free to make plays" at strong safety. North Carolina quarterback Matt Baker said practicing against a defense that has shown more blitzes has helped the Tar Heels better prepare for an equally aggressive Yellow Jackets defense. (Burlington Times News)

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 Shulman - Kaufman House. TASCHEN Books
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Richard Neutra, Kaufman House, Palm Springs, California -

Richard Neutra, Kaufman House, Palm Springs, California

Shulman - Kaufman House

For inquiries please contact us at
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Limited edition of 60 Silver Gelatin prints (Ilford MGD 44 M’ "Pearl"), signed by Julius Shulman, unframed 60 x 75,5 cm (23.6 x 29.7 in.), released in 1999.

The photographer

American photographer Julius Shulman’s images of Californian architecture have burned themselves into the retina of the 20th century. A book on modern architecture without Shulman is inconceivable. Some of his architectural photographs, like the iconic shots of Frank Lloyd Wright’s or Pierre Koenig’s remarkable structures, have been published countless times. The brilliance of buildings like those by Charles Eames, as well as those of his close friend, Richard Neutra, was first brought to light by Shulman’s photography. The clarity of his work demanded that architectural photography had to be considered as an independent art form. Each Shulman image unites perception and understanding for the buildings and their place in the landscape. The precise compositions reveal not just the architectural ideas behind a building’s surface, but also the visions and hopes of an entire age. A sense of humanity is always present in his work, even when the human figure is absent from the actual photographs. Today, a great many of the buildings documented by Shulman have disappeared or been crudely converted, but the thirst for his pioneering images is stronger than ever before.


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SIDNEY BATESON marched into the office of the Woking News and Mail and straight to the chief reporter’s desk at the end of the newsroom. It was as though he had already reconnoitred the office for his arrival, and knew the lie of the land.

When he reached his desk, he put down his brown leather briefcase and then looked about him, surveying the landscape. He did not like what he saw. His eyes at first settled on John Gerard, and Bateson took note of his long wavy hair, before his gaze moved about the room, from one reporter to another. There were grunts of disapproval when Bateson saw long hair, a nod of approval when his eyes settled on one of the five reporters assembled whose appearance met Bateson’s idea of what being smart and presentable should be.

``Hello,’’ Bateson said finally. ``I’m Sidney Bateson. You’ve all heard of me. I’m your new chief reporter.’’ Each of the reporters moved forward in turn to shake Bateson by the hand. Gerard was last in the queue, as though resisting making personal contact with the new chief reporter, and when his time came he just said ``Welcome’’ coldly, looking Bateson straight in the eyes.

Word had reached the young reporters assembled in the News and Mail office that Bateson was coming to fill the slot of chief reporter created during a rationalisation of the newspaper that saw production moved to head office in nearby Guildford. The News and Mail editor had also gone to Guildford and someone of senior rank was needed in Woking, an older journalist to keep the young reporters in line. Bateson fitted the bill perfectly.

He had an impeccable record in various provincial establishments after World War Two had cut short a successful career as a sports writer in London’s Fleet Street. It seems that when he was demobbed from the army in 1945 he had been unable to pick up the pieces of his career and had moved into local newspaper journalism, editing newspapers across the length and breadth of southern England.

Why he had not stayed anywhere longer than about two years was never explained. It was probably his manner, with both reporters and management. Mr Bateson, as the staff of the Woking News and Mail would soon learn, was a difficult man to get along with.

Sidney Bateson had a military air and had clearly relished his time after he was called up in service of King and Country at the start of the war. He had reached the rank of major and in fairness to him he never mentioned this, but his nickname soon became ``Major Bateson’’ when we discussed him and his eccentricities behind his back.

``You will call me Mr Bateson,’’ he said that first day, ``None of this Sidney. That’s the way I like it. Am I making myself clear?’’ The assembled reporters nodded.

Bateson certainly carried himself like a military figure from World War II. The first thing I noticed about him was how immaculately groomed he was. He had combed-back Brylcreamed hair, a slick parting on one side dead straight, never wavering, always in the same position half way up the side of his head. He had a longish moustache, clipped like a suburban hedgerow, over his upper lip. His eyes, always sharp and gleaming, were framed by spectacles, their metal frames thin and oblong so they completely covered the eyes from all angles. Everything and everyone was constantly in focus. Bateson was determined not to miss a thing.

Bateson always wore a suit,  a tweed one of a green colour not too far removed on the colour scale from kharki. His brown brogues were polished to a tee.

The world of journalism is a small one and word of Bateson’s iron rule in newsrooms had spread far and wide . The reporters of the Woking News and Mail had good reason to fear him. We had gone six months without a senior figure in the newsroom and discipline had started to slip, with visits to the Red House a little way up the road growing more and more frequent, and our stay there longer and longer.

Bateson was to bring not only discipline to the News and Mail but a return to what he described as ``the old ways’’ of reporting, where reports ran to great length and newspapers placed equal emphasis on being not only organs of record, but vehicles for entertainment. Gerard fell into the latter school of journalism and from the moment Bateson walked into the newsroom they were headed for a confrontation. Bateson also had strong ideas about journalists, how they deported themselves, how they behaved in public, how they carried out their role in society, how they nurtured and honed their craft.

Bateson came from the great Victorian tradition of English education in which Latin and Greek were learned along with science and history, where the rules of grammar took precedence over creativity and invention. The new chief reporter had gone to a top grammar school in the north of England. Gerard and myself had gone to secondary school, on a lower tier of the education system.  Bateson had inquired about our schooling on that first day, and we had lied and said we had gone to Woking Grammar School.

``I have very strong rules about English,’’ he said that first day. ``I don’t like it abused. And I have very strong views about the presentation of news. I don’t like it exaggerated, not even in an intro. Facts speak louder than words.’‘

Gerard had become the dominant figure in the newsroom after the editor and his deputy had departed for Guildford. The chief reporter left in charge of the office had been a benign figure, a man from the Hampshire country town of Romsey, who was happy to get down to his own work and leave the other reporters to their own sources of news. It was better that way. Gerard always seemed to come up with stories far better than those assigned in the office diary, although the diary duties were important for routine news events like council meetings and the twice weekly sitting of the Woking Magistrate’s Court.

Gerard had ruled the roost in the News and Mail newsroom and his worse fears had been confirmed that first morning.  Bateson, drawing on his science experience at school when a progressive teacher had introduced zoology and anthropology to the curriculum,  considered himself the alpha male, the dominant figure in the office who had to be listened to and obeyed. Gerard saw himself as the leader of a rival pack and it soon became clear he would draw up a strategy to oust Bateson from not only his dominant position, but his job.

Gerard, during Bateson’s pep talk that first morning, felt he had to let the other reporters know that he was still a force to be reckoned with.

“About your views on writing news, Sidney, isn’t that something for the sub-editors and the editor,” Gerard piped up.

``Mr Bateson to you, laddie,’’ Bateson snapped back, his hedgerow moustache bristling. ``I don’t know what has gone on before, but I’m a chief reporter who reads all the copy that goes out from my office.’’ He pointed to a wire basket that he had placed at a corner of his desk, replacing one near the door where stories were deposited, to be collected twice a day by a messenger who put them on the bus to Guildford. ``All stories come into this basket, so that I can have a look at them. Do we understand each other?’‘

From day one there was tension between Gerard and Bateson. Bateson viewed Gerard as a rebel, an anarchist or even a communist. Gerard went against the norms of the society that Bateson had always recognised: stability and order. The rulers and the ruled, officers and gentlemen and the rest, the certainty and rigidity of the class system. If people wanted to step up the class ladder, to another rung, they had to work for it, but within the constraints that society laid down which meant, among other things, ironing out working class accents and dressing in a presentable way, always with collar and tie and short hair.

Gerard, born in Manchester,  spoke with a well-practised northern accent to make himself stand out in the south, even though he had spent most of his life in Surrey. He sometimes went without a tie, and he let his hair grow long. Sometimes he didn’t bother to shave.

Bateson could just about tolerate the long, or longish hair. This was the age of the Beatles after all and Bateson was not averse to moving with the times, even if he preferred to move slowly. It was the reluctance to shave that got to Bateson and Gerard, when he learned that this was Bateson’s weak point, would purposely go for days without shaving, not merely forgetting to put a razor across his face after a hard night at the pub during the previous evening.

Bateson would comment on Gerard’s beard initially, but then let it pass. Clearly from early on, he had given up on Gerard and instead set out to cushion the other young reporters from Gerard’s subversive influence. Bateson made a point of sending out the younger reporters on night assignments when he knew Gerard had a music session planned for the pub, events that attracted all sorts of people - hippies even - that Bateson was wary off.

Bateson would also compliment reporters on their appearance when Gerard was in earshot, always saying: “You are the representative of not just the paper, but the profession. You’re its shop window.”

All the time Gerard plotted and conspired to bring Bateson down. He was particularly aggrieved because Bateson was a workaholic and worked until late into the evening most nights. This meant the office was out-of-bounds for Gerard’s jam sessions, and when the Red House closed Gerard and his music crew would often be forced to go home.

Like Gerard, Bateson didn’t appear to have much of a home life, and he never seemed to be in a hurry to leave the office. He had a wife somewhere, and teenage daughter, and some weekends he would travel to visit them, but details of his family were rarely revealed. It seemed a mutual separation, rather than a divorce, was in play.

Some evenings I’d return to the office from a night assignment and find Bateson sitting there, slowly typing away on the portable typewriter which he preferred to use instead of one of the bigger machines supplied by the newspaper.
His typing was immaculate, with never a crossed out word, or a spelling mistake, margins perfectly aligned, it was precision typing.

Once I found him asleep at his desk, his head resting on the return lever of his machine. He awoke with a start, and for the first and only time I saw a vulnerability about him, a man whose time had come and gone, a man trying desperately to rescue a career and a life.

Gerard’s first method of undermining the chief reporter was to conceal from Bateson the stories he was working on, beyond those assigned to him in the office diary. Gerard had a great nose for news, aided by his drinking in the Red House most evenings where rumours and gossip about the town could be picked up from an assortment of patrons that ranged from artisans in the public bar to the town’s business folk in the lounge and restaurant area.

Gerard would write these stories in secret and slip them into the hands of the messenger taking the day’s news output to the Guildford bus, bypassing Bateson’s in-tray. The first Bateson knew about Gerard’s stories - often making the front page of the News and Mail, if not the front-page lead itself - was when he saw them in the newspaper on publication day, Friday.

``Gerard,’’ he would bawl out each time,  his moustache twitching. ``Why didn’t I know about this. There could be duplication.’‘

The reporters would chuckle to themselves, half hiding under their desks. They knew that duplication was not an issue. No one could get stories like Gerard, the News and Mail’s news hound.

Some days Bateson would open his beloved Daily Express and see a major story from Woking gracing its pages. He called the staff together, and demanded to know how the reporters of the News and Mail, his team, had let this one slip by, beaten on their own doorstep by a reporter from London. We all knew, if there was a story concerning Woking or thereabouts in the national press, in all probability it would have been generated by Gerard. Out of sight of Bateson, Gerard would wave a huge pile of pound notes, and give a thin-lipped smile; half snigger, half menace.

Bateson finally came to recognise that he could not win his daily battles with Gerard but he could win the war. He was confident he had won the allegiance of his staff and they would eventually choose him and his old-style, conservative journalism to the brashness of Gerard’s tabloid reporting.

All that was to change one night, on the eve of publication day, when a huge explosion rocked Woking. Bateson was still in the office working on a late report concerning the council, to be phoned to the sub-editors in Guildford just before deadline, and the blast stopped him in mid-sentence as it rattled the windows.

All the reporters were in the pub, as we always were on press night, the pressures of the week behind us. Gerard had his guitar out and we were tucked away in a corner, singing the blues. The explosion not so much rattled the windows of the pub, but virtually blew them out. Dust cascaded from the chandeliers in the pub’s lounge bar, and all the reporters ran out into the street, and then in the direction from where the blast had come from.

Just a few streets from the town centre, a semi-detached house had been completely split in two. It was like a scene from the London blitz, with one side of the building reduced to rubble and the other teetering but still standing, wallpaper flapping from exposed interior walls. The police where already there, holding the crowd back, but they let the reporters through their barrier. The fire brigade had just arrived and firemen were busy tugging at a huge pile of debris which stood where the house had been. The smell of cement and brick dust filled the air.

Bateson arrived shortly afterwards and started to direct his troops: there were neighbours to be found who might know the people who lived in the house. There were police officers and firemen to interview. All the white, Gerard kept out of Bateson’s path.

``Where’s that Gerard?’’ Bateson kept saying. ``I’ve got to give him his orders.’‘

Bateson, despite Gerard’s criticism of him and his news gathering skills and news judgement, was a seasoned journalist who knew how to act in the event of ``a big one’‘. He had phoned head office immediately on hearing the explosion, and warned them that a major story was coming.

``Hold the front page,’’ he shouted down the line to Guildford. Bateson was elated the explosion had occurred on a Thursday night, and not a Friday, because it would make that week’s edition, and in all probability double sales. The printers in Guildford would be ordered to print extra copies if the news warranted it, and on first impressions it certainly did.

Bateson did everything expected of him and under normal circumstances head office in Guildford would have been impressed. He marshalled his troops amid the cement and brick dust to cover just about every angle. There were the interviews with witnesses, as he had requested of his team, and speculation that a gas leak had been responsible.  His staff had been able to identify a victim of the explosion, Alice Morris, and her injured husband, Les, who was now in hospital. A main report on the explosion and side reports on witness accounts and colour from the devastated scene were phoned through to Guildford in good time. Extra reporters had been called in to the Guildford office to act as telephonists to take down the reports filed rapidly from call boxes in the street.

Bateson had invited his staff to the Red House for drinks afterwards and the pub staff was happy to keep on serving well after closing time, with the doors locked. He was in jolly mood, a side to him that the reporters had not seen before. His mood might have been enhanced by the fact that Gerard was nowhere to be seen.

At the scene of the explosion, Bateson had finally given Gerard the relatively minor task of interviewing the fire brigade, when in fact the whole operation was under the control of the police. Gerard had slipped from sight during the course of the evening and Bateson had not been able to confirm whether he had actually filed any stories.

``That Gerard, can’t rise to the occasion,’’ he said smugly, believing that Gerard had finally been put in his place, had not been able to perform when it mattered, despite the swagger and bravado he showed in the office.

The story that appeared in the News and Mail the next morning, with the whole of Woking rushing out to buy the newspaper, was not the one that Bateson had filed. He had sent a sober report of the body being retrieved, the pending autopsy, the speculation that a gas main had burst and a resulting explosion was to blame for Alice Morris’s death and the injury to her husband.

The story that appeared in the News and Mail that morning had a headline that screamed: ``My poor Alice”. It went on to describe how firemen pulling the body of Alice Morris from the wreckage of the house had found a carving knife buried in her back. Her husband had confessed to police that he had killed her in a rage and had then put his head in the gas oven, and turned on the gas, to kill himself. The gas from the oven, seeping through the house, had in turn been ignited, probably by the pilot light in a gas water heater upstairs.

The explosion may have levelled the house, but Les Morris was saved from fatal injury because his head had been protected by the gas oven. Pulled from the wreckage he had immediately confessed to the murder, although this had not been made public.

Gerard, on the edge of the crowd of reporters viewing the rescue effort of Les Morris, had been taken aside by one of his firemen contacts who had found Alice Morris’s body and seen the knife sticking from it. All those mornings sipping hot tea with the firemen at the fire station, and playing billiards with them, when he should have been out on his village rounds, had paid off. A policeman contact gave him second confirmation that it was indeed a murder inquiry.

Bateson was humiliated over the Alice Morris murder, and this inspired Gerard to step up his subversion. He tried to recruit me to his campaign and I was torn between my professional regard for Bateson, and my hero worship of Gerard, and our close friendship.

Because Bateson had worked on the Daily Express in London, this fact gave him immense credibility in my eyes. It was my favourite newspaper, the one my parents took each morning and I always waited impatiently for it to drop through our letterbox.  The Daily Express, established at the end of the Victorian era, was owned by Canadian businessman and Anglophile Lord Beaverbrook and for decades was Britain’s most successful and most widely read newspaper.

Everything about the Express and ``The Beaver’‘, as its proprietor was called, exuded journalism as every recruit to the profession wanted to live it. Even its famous editor in the pre- and post-WWII years, Arthur Christiansen, appeared like a caricature of how an editor should look and behave, down to shirt sleeves, braces and, on occasions, visor to shield the harsh light of the newsroom, the sort of headgear that editors wore in Hollywood films.
Christiansen had even played himself in a sci-fi film of the early 1960s, The Day the Earth Caught Fire.  Unsurprisingly, Christiansen’s autobiography was titled ``Headlines All My Life’‘,  a book I had read a dozen times over.

Because of his Express connection, I admired Bateson and looked up to him. Many journalists claimed to have worked in Fleet Street, but they often merely filled holiday relief jobs and had not held down permanent positions on national newspapers. Bateson had, and he had the bylines to prove it, which he would show to his staff,  at times when he felt he was losing his reporters’ respect.

I may have held Bateson in awe, but I couldn’t shrug off my admiration for Gerard’s news gathering skills, and his punchy style of writing. While Bateson represented the old, Gerard was the new face of journalism, the young, brash reporter who wrote in a tabloid style.  There were only two tabloid newspapers in Britain out of a dozen or so national publications and I was not totally impressed with them, but I liked the way they treated stories, I only wished they would run them a little longer and tone down the sensational headlines.

After the story about the explosion, in the knowledge that Gerard had deliberately set out to undermine him, Bateson decided to put his foot down and bring Gerard and the rest of the staff into line. Bateson might have detected subversion in the air, orchestrated by Gerard, from day one, but now the chief reporter could see it was evolving into actual rebellion. It was time for Bateson to act, and he did so in the only way he knew how: to instill some military discipline into the staff. Bateson may have largely given up on Gerard but still felt compelled to save me and the other reporters from Gerard’s influence. He had long complained to the advertising manager of the newspaper that Gerard was a bad influence. He described Gerard one evening, when they had both remained late in the office to plan a bumper edition of the News and Mail over the Christmas period, as a “Svengali” who held the other reporters, particularly me, in his spell. ``I’ve got to break that spell on those boys,’’ he had said determinedly.

Bateson concentrated on me, where he found hope. He could sense the respect, the admiration, I held for him. I wanted to learn and he had much to teach, from a wider world than that inhabited by Gerard.

As his frustrations with Gerard grew, Bates paid more and more attention to me, nit-picking my journalism,  and my appearance. All the reporters were growing their hair longer by the week, as the hairstyles of the Beatles grew longer, and Bateson would pull me aside as soon as my hair approached my collar. He would walk up behind me and ask: ``Am I hurting you laddie?” As I turned, I would find him standing there like a sergeant-major on the parade ground, hands behind his back, his back ram-rod straight. Then he would lean forward slowly, so his mouth was just a few inches from my ear.

``Am I hurting you, laddie?” he would ask again, barking out the words louder now, the other reporters tittering in the background.

``No, Mr Bateson,’’ I’d say nervously.

``Well, I should be, laddie. I’m standing on your bleedin’ hair.’‘

On another occasion I had not had time to shave that morning, in a hurry to get to the office to phone the clerk of a local parish council after forgetting to go to their meeting the previous evening.

``Did you shave this morning, laddie,’’ Bateson barked, pressing up close to me and inspecting my chin.

``Yes, Mr Bateson,’’ I lied.

``Well, stand a little closer to the razor next time, laddie,’’ he said as laughter rang out across the office. Bateson remained standing close to me. Ram-rod straight, hands behind his back, his beady eye in the artificial light of the office fixed on my chin.

Bateson always appeared to criticise me more than the other reporters. Perhaps he wasn’t singling me out for special treatment but it appeared so. I think he genuinely saw a future for me in journalism, the journalism he had practised all his life, if only he could prise me away from the malign influence of Gerard.

Despite Bateson’s noble intentions, the resentment I was beginning to feel towards him was pushing me towards Gerard and his subversion. Gerard sensed this and played on it. He would niggle me, telling me to hit back at Bateson, something I could never do.

``Don’t know how you let him talk to you like that, treat you like a little kid. Worse, like a teenage army recruit, a squaddie. Why don’t you just tell him to `piss off’.’‘

Over the months the tension in the office slowly increased, and I found myself increasingly caught between Gerard and Bateson. I was the rope in a kind of tug-of-war for my allegiance.

One Friday morning, when yet another story had appeared as the News and Mail’s front-page lead without Bateson’s knowledge, the chief reporter officially announced he was going to run the office on military lines, as he had often threatened to do in the past.  What this meant exactly, the reporters had no idea. None of us had done compulsory National Service which had ended in the late 1950s, and we were, of course, too young to have served in the war.

``I was in the army cadets at school, Mr Bateson,” Gerard volunteered with mock enthusiasm. And a smile crossed Bateson’s face. He could not see Gerard was setting him up and he saw hope in the statement and salvation for Gerard, and this was something that had come out of the blue.

``Yes, I was in the cadets at school, but I dropped my rifle, and shot the instructor by mistake.’‘

Gerard’s joke was the last straw for Bateson. He turned, walked to the end of the room and slowly returned, as if in a military funereal march.

``Right,’’ he shouted, his voice booming out. ``Stand to attention, quick smart, One straight line.``

We all shuffled into a line alongside one wall, hands straight at our sides and looking forward, standing to attention as Bateson ordered. Bateson walked down the line, pausing to inspect each individual. He started with the hair, to check length, then the chin to check whether we’d shaved and then his eyes dropped to our collar and tie, suit, and down to the shoes. The sight of stubble, cigarette ash on the lapel or a scruffy, unpolished shoe would cause a low grunt to be emitted from his mouth.

I was at the end of the line and watched Bateson out of the corner of my eye as he approached. I sensed a colleague standing next to me, Tony Miller, was stifling a laugh and I fought hard not to start giggling myself. I closed my lips tightly,  held in my chest, and held my breath, anything to stop this giggle that was welling up inside me, bursting out.

As Bateson reached the colleague beside me, praising his appearance as a model of how a reporter should look, I erupted in an explosion of sound, a giggle-come-laugh-come-shriek, a sound that just came from nowhere, a sound I could not recognise as my own.

``I’m sorry, Mr Bateson,’’ I gasped, trying to catch a fresh breath. I looked along the line expecting my colleagues to at least have a smile on their faces, but they looked straight ahead in earnest, not a laugh, not a titter, this was serious business.

I felt betrayed and a fool.

``I’m sorry ....’’ I started again, but Bateson cut me short.

``Bentley,’’ he bawled out, so the words echoed along the walls of the newsroom. ``Fall out, I’ll deal with you later.’‘

My punishment for giggling on parade was a month covering the traffic court, as opposed to the general magistrates’ court that dealt with crime. The traffic court duty involved visiting the clerk of the court’s office before each sitting and writing down the names and addresses of scores of defendants and the summons they faced. The details of such traffic infringements as speeding and driving without due care and attention were all reported at length in that week’s newspaper.

As an added punishment, I was assigned a month of flower shows, again a task that involved little creative journalistic effort beyond writing down, and then typing out, the names of winners in sometimes hundreds of categories.

The biggest show was in the village of Horsell,  a hamlet that had somehow managed to resist the tentacles of suburban London that had swallowed up much of Woking on its London side. The “old-world charm”’ of Horsell was a cliche that fitted nicely with the style of the News and Mail’s writing, and the chief practitioner of it,  Bateson,  but it nonetheless described Horsell perfectly. The village lived in a time warp that predated the Swinging Sixties. Here was the 1930s and 1940s when Horsell’s two greatest heroes, the cricketing Bedser twins, put it briefly on the map. The twins, playing for Surrey and England, were straight out of the Boy’s Own comics of the pre-war era, as was Horsell. It came as no surprise when I popped into the village store for a Tizer drink that essential equipment for the Boy’s Own manual -  catapults, stink bombs and marbles -  still found a place on the shelves along with Licorice Allsorts and humbugs boiled sweets.

Gerard and I often joked about visiting stuck-in-the-past Horsell with its flower show and its eccentric vicar who had a passion for birdwatching, and I bought a couple of stink bombs as a joke for my colleagues, rehearsing the cry “cripes,”  “spiffing” or “gee- whizz” for when I would let them off in the Red House.

The standard commercial stink bomb comprised a chemical that smelled like rotten eggs,  in a small glass tube that was designed to be thrown on the floor, or crushed under a boot, so when the glass broke it released the foul-smelling liquid.

The first one I let off in the Red House, under Gerard’s favourite chair; not that it had much effect. The Red House always had a strange smell about it, especially when the pub was cooking lunch.
Gerard looked at me, and said, ``Was that you?’‘, thinking I had merely farted. When I told him it was a stink bomb, a wicked smile creased his face. His eyes lit up. Bateson had come to mind.

After the humiliation dished out to me by Bateson, it was time for revenge. A stink bomb under Bateson’s desk should do the trick and it would give us all a laugh as Bateson stopped typing and sniffed the air, his moustache twitching. The prank fitted in nicely with the japes of the Boy’s Own comics. We are only teenagers after all.

Next day I crept up behind Bateson when he was on the phone to Guildford, Bateson arguing that somebody had changed his copy. He had written that a local government official had been ``grilled’’ during a council meeting over a planning proposal, and this had been changed to ``closely questioned’‘.

Bateson was arguing that grilled was the better word, and I found myself, standing behind him with stink bomb in hand, agreeing with him. It was the sort of phrase the Daily Express would have used, and even Gerard.
I couldn’t go through with the stink bomb jape, not today when Bateson had problems with head office. I could see Gerard gesturing from the far end of the office, ``Get on with it’‘, he was saying by waving his arms.

Finally, I dropped the stink bomb on the floor and crushed it with my shoe, and then headed towards the end of the room where Gerard was standing. Bateson had just put the phone down when the smell hit him. The News and Mail newsroom was a far more confined space than the Red House and the smell was potent. Bateson rose from his seat and looked about him, his head thrown back, his eyes wide open, his nostrils extended.

``Gas,’’ he bellowed. ``Gas leak, evacuate the building.’‘

Suddenly a fear overcame me. This was an extreme reaction I had not anticipated, an evacuation of the building was not in the script. It was time to own up. I went forward to Bateson’s desk to confess, but he had bent down and was sniffing what looked like a gas pipe running along the wall. I was anxious he might kneel in the fragments of broken glass that held the stink-bomb chemical, and I had to talk to him quickly.

``Mr Bateson,’’ I started gingerly. ``It might not be gas you know…..’‘

``Go away boy, ‘’ he shouted. ``I know gas when I smell it. It was the same in the war, when Jerry broke the gas mains with the bombing.’‘

``But ...” I continued. Bateson merely waved me away. Panic was overtaking me now, my job was a stake, the advertising manager had been called in and endorsed Bateson’s order to evacuate. I took myself outside, still intending to come clean, whatever the outcome. I walked around the block to clear my head, to think of how I would tell Bateson it was me. No excuses, no suggestion that it was accidental, a stink bomb designed for someone else that had dropped out of my pocket. It was time to be totally honest. Bateson might admire that.

When I rounded the corner, heading back to the office,  I saw a fire engine, lights flashing, parked outside the News and Mail office, firemen in breathing apparatus entering the building. I retreated to the Red House and found Gerard there. He was sinking a pint with a satisfied look on his face. He didn’t say a word to me, just kept smiling and offering to buy all and sundry in the pub a drink. After a couple of pints I decided to venture back to the office. The fire bridge had departed, and staff at the reception counter in the front office were working normally. I walked down the corridor to the newsroom and paused at the door. Bateson was back at his desk.

``So what about the leak?’’ I asked of a colleague.

``Oh, firemen said it as just rotten eggs. Someone’s been throwing them at the front window again.’‘
Eggs, and once dog’s muck, were commonly thrown at the office at night, usually by readers aggrieved by the publicity their court case had received in the newspaper.

``Funny, though, ‘’ said Tony Miller. ``Couldn’t find any egg shells. But there you have it.’’

Bateson had looked for egg shells, too. And he had looked behind his desk and found tiny fragments of broken glass. Bateson was of the Boy’s Own generation. He knew all about japes and jokes and stink bombs. And he looked across the newsroom at me. I had been the one to show concern, to suggest it might not be a gas leak. And Bateson knew.

Bateson had not forgotten my giggling during his inspection parade and he still had a plan to bring me in line, Gerard or no Gerard.  The Woking area was home to a number of military camps that always produced much news for the News and Mail. Bateson created a military beat, or round, to keep reporters busy on quiet news days and I was the first to fill the new position.

On my first assignment I was sent to interview a soldier who had been given an award for humanitarian work while on a training mission to one of Britain’s former colonies in East Africa. Bateson revelled in any subject involving the military because of his wartime background and, as he put it, prising stories out of the military, particularly the Guards Regiments stationed in the Woking area, would soon separate the newsroom men from the boys. My destination was the Guards Depot at nearby Pirbright - the Guards’ home and training base when they were not guarding Buckingham Palace in London, or training overseas, or at war -  and Bateson had given me a full briefing before my departure. The soldier to be interviewed, a regimental sergeant-major, had served with Bateson during the Desert Campaign in North Africa during World War II and I should treat him with respect.

When I arrived at the soldier’s home, his wife led me into the front room, and I awaited the old warrior, settling into a plush armchair.

``You ‘orrible little man, you, stand to attention when I’m addressing you.’’ A voice boomed out, not unlike Bateson’s but a sergeant-major’s voice with a hard, uncompromising edge. ``You ‘orrible excuse for a ‘uman being,’’ the voice continued, “You salute when I’m speakin’ to you.’‘

The door opened and in stepped the sergeant-major, who looked a little surprised to see me standing to attention, with my hand raised in salute. The voice boomed out again and I turned to see an Indian mynah in a cage that had learned to mimic its owner, a bird I had not noticed when I entered the room.

Don Knowler  A story of journalism … once!

  Number 15 in a series of short stories by Don Knowler on his journalistic life and observations told through imaginary newspaper The Chronicle. He explores not only journalism but what Knowler terms the sacred covenant hacks have with their readers to put truth above all else, even if it means leaving the comfort of the bar to do so … his musings appear regularly grouped under the Category Don Knowler


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Charitable Rollovers Are Set to Fall off the Table

Ken Berry
December 6, 2011 — 465 views

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Unless Congress takes action soon, on December 31, 2011, a unique tax break for senior citizens will be wiped off the books. This tax law provision allows qualified taxpayers to "roll over" funds tax-free from an IRA to a charity.

But there's a major drawback to the deal. Unlike a regular charitable gift, the donor isn't entitled to a deduction for the amount of the rollover. In essence, this technique creates a tax return "wash"; however, it can provide other benefits worth considering.

Background: Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), a taxpayer age 70½ or older can choose to transfer funds directly from an IRA to a qualified charitable organization. The annual limit on rollovers is $100,000 per taxpayer. Although no tax deduction is permitted, donors aren't taxed on the distribution either. The PPA provision, which initially expired in 2007, was reinstated and extended through 2009. Recent tax legislation extended the tax break through 2011 and permitted retroactively for 2010.

Note that the distribution must be made directly from the IRA trustee to the charitable organization. In other words, the taxpayer can't use the funds and then transfer the cash to the charity. It has to be a straight shot.

In addition, the contribution must otherwise qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. For instance, if the deductible amount would be disallowed due to inadequate substantiation or would be decreased because the donor received a benefit in return, the tax exclusion wouldn't apply to any part of the IRA distribution.

Be aware that a rollover can be made from a Roth IRA if a portion of the distribution would be taxable (e.g., distributions from a Roth in existence fewer than five years). In general, it makes sense to exhaust the funds in a traditional IRA first. Subsequent distributions from a Roth may be tax-free of their own accord.

Extra benefit: Once your clients reach age 70½, they must begin taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs. RMDs are taxed at highly taxed, ordinary income rates. Failing to take an RMD generally results in a penalty equal to 50 percent of the amount that should have been withdrawn; however, the amount rolled over from an IRA to charity counts as an RMD. Therefore, your clients can meet this requirement without paying tax and contribute to a worthy cause at the same time.

Furthermore, a client may benefit from this technique if charitable deductions would otherwise be limited by other tax law provisions. Finally, the tax-free rollover may effectively lower the tax that a retiree must pay on Social Security benefits and reduce a client's adjusted gross income (AGI) for various other tax purposes.

Update: Several proposals kicking around the nation's capital would extend the charitable rollover break again. Nevertheless, at this point, nothing is certain.

Ken Berry


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Taylorville, IL

Miller Drubbed As Cards Lose To Red Sox

Fort  Myers, FL  (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Napoli's three-run shot was one of
three  Boston longballs  in a 10-5 Grapefruit League victory over St. Louis on

Dustin  Pedroia hit  a two-run homer and  Ryan Lavarnway added a solo shot for
the  Red Sox.  Pedroia and  Napoli  both knocked  in  three runs  to fuel  the

John  Lackey picked  up the win despite  giving up six hits and five runs over
five innings. He fanned three and walked two.

Daniel  Descalso drove in  two runs, while Kolten Wong added three hits and an
RBI for the Cardinals.

Tyler  Lyons  was touched for  five runs on  as many hits  in his 1 1/3 relief
frames.  Starter Shelby Miller worked the first 3 2/3 frames and yielded three
runs and three hits with three walks.

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Sunday, Aug 30, 2015

‘Gulaab Gang’ starring IIFA performer Madhuri Dixit-Nene playing now

Published:   |   Updated: March 9, 2014 at 08:17 AM

She’s back! Again! With her million dollar smile and graceful dancing skills, Madhuri Dixit-Nene is a hugely popular Hindi film actress who has been charming audiences for over two decades. She will be in Tampa performing at the IIFA Awards main program on Saturday, April 26, and stars in “Gulaab Gang,” directed by Soumik Sen, which released March 7. She features alongside Juhi Chawla, her contemporary in the 1990s, though they had never worked together previously.

The film tells the story of a gang of women fighting against social injustice, in central India. Madhuri plays Rajjo, the group’s firebrand leader in the ashram where they ground spices, make handmade baskets and saris while also fighting for their rights. Juhi Chawla who plays an evil, ambitious politician, was initially unsure if she would be accepted by the audience in this negative role. While she had previously learned some Tae kwon do, Madhuri trained in martial arts to get the action scenes right and has done most of the stunts herself. The debutant director has also composed the film’s music.

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Home / Tag Archives: monk

Tag Archives: monk

Senior Tibetan Buddhist scholar sentenced to 12 years in prison

A senior Tibetan monk has been sentenced to twelve years of rigorous imprisonment Diru (Ch: Biru) county, Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Venerable Tenzin Lhundup, an accomplished Buddhist scholar at Gom Gongsar Monastery in Lenchu(Ch: Liangqu) township of Diru County, was sentenced in May 2015, according to ...

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Tibetan writer Kunga Tsayang released from prison after 5 years

Writer, essayist, blogger, chronicler, environmentalist and amateur photographer Kunga Tsayang has been released after serving almost five years’ of imprisonment for allegedly writing political essays criticizing Chinese policies in Tibet. According to reliable information received by TCHRD, Kunga Tsayang, who is also a monk from Labrang Tashikyil Monastery and wrote ...

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Kirti Monastery monk dies of self-immolation protest in Ngaba

According to confirmed information received by TCHRD, on 2 February, at around 6 am, a monk named Lobsang Namgyal, 37, from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County committed self-immolation near the Public Security Bureau office in Dzoege (Ch: Ru’ergai) County in Ngaba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province ...

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Season of Change: St. Lucie Mets try to recapture first-half magic

PORT ST. LUCIE — Winning in baseball is always a good thing, but it comes with a cost at the minor league level.

And the St. Lucie Mets are feeling it — again.

As the club did in 2011, St. Lucie completely dominated the first half of the Florida State League this season, blistering the league with a 49-19 record (. 721 winning percentage) and clinching the South Division by a whopping 14 games over second-place Jupiter.

Naturally, those players who performed well were moved up.

In total, eight St. Lucie players earned promotions to Binghamton, the organization's Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League. Five pitchers — who were a combined 14-3 and had 13 saves — were promoted to Binghamton, while three position players also were moved up.

"You want to lose players," said St. Lucie first-year manager Ryan Ellis, who replaced 2011 Mets manager Pedro Lopez. "If you don't, you're in trouble. You want to move as many guys as you can. That's your job — to get guys better.

"Everything seemed to go our way in the first half. We always got a good break. The ball was bouncing our way. We capitalized on other teams' mistakes and got the big hit or strikeout when we needed it."

The Mets' early performance earned the club a spot in the Florida State League Division Championship series in September. St. Lucie must notify the league office by Aug. 1 whether it wishes to host Game 1 or Games 2 and 3 of the best-of-three series.

Ellis, who was Lopez's hitting coach at Low-A Savannah for two seasons before being named manager of the club in 2011, likes to keep things simple and "not reinvent the game.

Ellis said consistency will be a key in the second half.

Through 26 games in the first half of this season, St. Lucie was 22-4. After the Mets lost Tuesday's doubleheader against Brevard County, they are now 11-15 through 26 games in the second half.

Ellis said the second half of the season can be trying on younger players who haven't played this many games before.

"So far in the second half we haven't had the breaks like we did in the first half, but from a developmental standpoint, we feel teams need to go through hard times together," Ellis said. "Some of these players haven't played a full season yet and don't know the rigors of it and how taxing it is."

Right fielder Cory Vaughn was a member of Ellis's first-half winning Savannah Sand Gnats last year before being promoted to St. Lucie. He played a major role, but the team lost to Daytona in the championship series. Vaughn, 23, is tied with Miami Marlins prospect Marcell Ozuna of the Jupiter Hammerheads for the league home run lead with 16, and said his teammates will use last year to build on the remaining games.

"A lot of the group from Savannah last year is here this year, so we all really know each other well," said Vaughn, the son of retired 15-year MLB veteran Greg Vaughn.

"There's a sick feeling of winning all those games last year and losing in the championship series, but it makes us hungry to get a ring. We'll use that as a positive."


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Travelling Regio

Since 1998 The Travelling Regio initiative has produced more than 500 concerts, most of them free, realised in all areas of the region, from the chief towns to the most remote areas in the hills and mountains, in theatres, churches, castles and auditoriums.

The groups vary from three to ten players and include all the instrumental families (woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion) in addition to choral and mixed ensembles. The repertoire comprises compositions ranging from the Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic and Classical periods up to the present day, with excursions in jazz , pop and film music. The increase in the number of proposals has been made possible by the growing interest of the public, the constant support of institutions that sponsor the events and the increased request by organisations and associations intending to host the concerts. The widespread presence of the Teatro Regio around the region is supported by a large contribution from the Piedmont Region.


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HP accuses Cisco of betraying IEEE standard principles

HP has accused Cisco of abandoning its promise to work on unified IEEE standards.

Both companies were working on the IEEE 802.1Qbg and IEEE 802.1Qbh standards, which are not yet approved and won’t be until the end of 2011. The companies intended to keep them as close as possible to one another so that there is common ground in their networking businesses.

That has since changed, with Cisco broadening the scope of the 802.1Gbh specification so that a new tagging system is required, despite the fact that both companies had originally agreed to use VN-Tag, a Cisco product, for the standards.

HP claims, according to NetworkWorld, this will force switch and NIC vendors to use two different tagging systems if they want to support both standards, defeating the whole purpose of the companies working in unison to deliver closely-matching standards.

Cisco claims that this change was not a deliberate one made by management but rather a shift driven by customer demand, a claim which isn’t washing with HP. Cisco said it needed a new tag anyway and that its approach offers more versatility and longevity.

HP said that both standards were intended for data centre use, but it could be thought Cisco’s divergence means the data centre focus has been removed, making it an “anywhere-type” specification. Cisco says it’s still intended for data centre use, but that things changed along the way.

Both companies are still working together on the standards, but Cisco’s move away from the original design could possibly strain relationships between the two for some time to come.


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Old 02-08-2013, 06:18 AM   #8
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I know this is an old thread, but I got some info to add. Kougar is right, the 64bit bootsect program on the Win7 x64 iso wont run on a 32bit OS. But you can use the 32bit version to do the same thing, and then just copy the iso files to the usb drive.(you have to make it bootable as well by marking it active) I found a really helpful article on how for XP 32bit, I'm sure it could be adapted for other uses such as vista 32bit. is the website. ATM, it seems to only have this one page lol. But oh well. This article worked flawlessly for me, I couldn't use diskpart because i have xp, and the microsoft win7 usb dvd tool wouldnt work either, and when i tried to use the bootsect it gave me the invalid win32 application error. Oh! and don't forget to set your BIOS settings to boot from usb!
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MOG dies so that Beats Music may live

beats music

There’s a new kid on the music-streaming block taking on popular incumbents such as Pandora, Rhapsody, and Spotify. Beats Music went live for U.S. users Tuesday, with apps available for both Android and iOS. A Windows Phone app is also in the works—but the new service's life comes with a blood sacrifice from MOG, another Beats-held streaming music service.

Beats Music promises a musical experience based partly on computer algorithms as well as human curators. In other words, Beats hopes to do with its service what Spotify has been trying to do with its Browse and Discover features.

Instead of offering just a straight catalog of music that you can stream on demand, Beats will try to deliver to you an appropriate selection of music based on what you’re doing or what your mood is. “We made it simple so all you need to do is open the app and hit play to hear something excellent you’re likely to dig,” the company said on a recent blog post.

Beats will be free for all users for the first 7 days and priced at $10 per month after that. Unlike most services, Beats will not offer an ad-supported version.

Hitting the right notes

beatsmusic long

(Click to enlarge.)

While the market for streaming music is already chock-full of competitors, few have the musical pedigree of Beats. As with Beats Electronics, Beats Music’s co-founders include legendary rap artist and producer Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. (Say that three times fast!) The company recruited Nine Inch Nails creator Trent Reznor as chief creative officer, and the service has also seen promotional support from major performers including and Pearl Jam.

Beats Music is entering a market thick with competitors, but with no clear front-runner. Pandora had 76 million active users at last count, but the service’s radio-style format limits its usefulness. Spotify claims just six million premium subscribers worldwide, while Rhapsody’s user count is just over one million.

The big challenge for Beats, however, is whether the quality of its service can woo over users who are used to getting their music for free from sources such as Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube. TechHive has already identified the seven things Beats Music must do if it hopes to topple Spotify.

MOG down

The coming of Beats also spells the end for MOG, a wonderful, yet struggling music streaming service that Beats Electronics—the parent company of Beats Music—purchased in August 2012. MOG will officially shut down on April 15, according to a notice on the Beats Music Website.

Current MOG users will see their last charge for the MOG service hit their credit cards in March, and users who have paid up for a yearly subscription will get a prorated refund. All MOG users will also get a free one-month trial of Beats Music starting March 15. “Our goal is to convert as many MOG subscribers to Beats Music as possible,” Beats Music said on its site.

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CES Parades Apple Rip-Offs

Can you spot the MacBook Air? Which model comes from Apple, and which are from Acer and Lenovo?

Apple is not taking part in the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas but is present at the trade show through rip-offs of its products. From MacBook Air-inspired ultrabooks, to iPad-like tablets, smart TVs, and cloud computing technology, you will find clones of Apple’s product lineup at CES 2012 – and this is just a taste of what’s coming up at the show this week.

Ultrabooks, thin and light laptops, are expected to be the big thing this year, and unsurprisingly most of them look more or less like a MacBook Air, except they run Windows. Manufacturers are trying price their ultrabooks below the MacBook Air, with Samsung's $900 Series 5 ultrabooks as an example. Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptop line for 2012 is not far off from the now-classic MacBook Pro design, either, and its ultrabook IdeaPad 300 is just as similar to the MacBook Air. Oh, and Acer and LG are on the ultrabook bandwagon, too, joining other vendors that are expected to introduce as many as 50 ultrabook models at CES 2012.

Tablet Wars

Android tablets didn’t manage to overthrow the iPad from the top seller spot in 2011 -- in fact, they barely managed to nudge it. So this leaves plenty of space for tablet manufacturers such as Toshiba, Acer, and Samsung to have a go again at tablet designs, making them as thin as possible and hoping Android 4.0 will fill the software gap to give them an edge over the iPad.

Meanwhile, Vizio is not shy admitting that it wants to emulate Apple’s computer line with new laptops and all-in-one desktops at Dell prices.

Competing with Vaporware

Some manufacturers are so eager to push ahead of Apple that they even prepared products based apparently on nothing more than rampant speculation about the unreleased and unannounced Apple TV set.

Lenovo’s smart TV runs Android 4.0 for apps and includes voice control and console-quality gaming capabilities, as well as flicker-free 3D capability. Lenovo’s smart TV debut will join other Google Android-enabled TV sets from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio, hoping to they beat Apple to its TV strategy.

Apple’s iCloud cloud computing technology was also inspiration for some of the companies exhibiting at CES 2012, who are trying to integrate software services with their own lineup of hardware.

Acer’s free cloud service, dubbed AcerCloud, will allow people to upload all their images, video, and documents to Acer’s servers and access them over the Web from any PC, mobile phone, or tablet running Windows or Android. In fact, Acer ripped off Apple’s iCloud and even used its slide wholesale (aside from the font) as The Verge points out.

The More, The Merrier?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that these manufacturers get "inspired" by Apple and give consumers access to similar technologies, usually for considerably lower prices.

But as often occurs with CES announcements, probably more than half of these Apple rip-offs will never end up in consumers’ hands. The project may be spiked by the vendor, or the product ships too late to matter anymore. Just because they resemble an Apple product doesn’t mean they are of the same quality; and consumers are increasingly aware of this, as shown by the continued dominance of the iPad and iPod in their market segments.

Follow Daniel Ionescu and Today @ PCWorld on Twitter

For more blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2012.

For comprehensive coverage of the Android ecosystem, visit Greenbot.com.

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Should Everyone Learn to Code?

Should Everyone Learn to Code?

"I do think that everybody should learn to code, at least on a basic level," said Linux Rants blogger Mike Stone. "It would teach them to break down a problem into small, manageable portions and solve each of those parts logically." It's actually "less about the code itself than solving a problem logically," he said. "That's a skill that I think everybody should have."

By Katherine Noyes LinuxInsider ECT News Network
Jun 23, 2014 7:00 AM PT

So the dog days of summer are upon us once again here in the northern reaches of the Linux blogosphere, and for countless young people out there, that means it's time for camp.

Some, of course, will take this time to pursue their sweaty fun in the great out-of-doors alongside our friends the ticks and mosquitoes. Linux Girl wishes those hearty souls well from the chilly confines of her arctic lair.

Many others will go to code camp instead, and learn skills that will last them a lifetime.

'It's Reasonably Specialized'

Linux Girl

Coding skills figure prominently in the news with surprising regularity these days, and the prevailing message is that anyone can -- and really should -- learn them.

Just last week, it was Google's launch of Made with Code, an effort to convince girls that programming is cool. Even President Obama recently extolled the virtues of programming.

Yet is programming really something everyone should learn to do? That's a point worth pondering -- and none other than Linus Torvalds has reached a conclusion.

"I actually don't believe that everybody should necessarily try to learn to code," Torvalds said in a recent interview. "I think it's reasonably specialized, and nobody really expects most people to have to do it. It's not like knowing how to read and write and do basic math."

Down at the blogosphere's Punchy Penguin Saloon, Linux Girl couldn't resist taking a small poll to see how FOSS fans' opinions compare.

'It Seems Absurd'

"I'm gonna go with Linus on this one," offered Google+ blogger Kevin O'Brien. "It seems absurd to me that there should not be room for a little variety in what people do.

"I think everyone who has a desire to code should have that opportunity, and in this day and age I think a little basic literacy in computers is no bad thing," O'Brien added. "But that needn't take the form of coding."

Language and communications skills are the most essential ones to get out of school, O'Brien opined. "It is hard to succeed in any vocation without that."

'It Is Not a Life Skill'

Google+ blogger Brett Legree saw it similarly.

"I'm with Linus on this one," he told Linux Girl. "I mean, I wouldn't expect that everyone should become a nuclear engineer or a doctor or a financial analyst, so coding is the same thing, in my mind.

"It is a great choice for a career (or even a hobby!), but it is not a life skill like cooking and so on," Legree added.

"Why should everyone need to learn coding?" SoylentNews blogger hairyfeet agreed. "Most folks don't NEED to know coding, especially if the devs are doing their jobs and making software that works well and is intuitive.

"To say everyone should learn to code is as stupid as saying everybody should be able to do open-heart surgery, when a good 99.997 percent of people would NEVER be in a position to use it," hairyfeet added.

'Is a Great Chef Made Greater?'

"Coding is a very useful skill, and I hope that at least one of my children learns to code," offered Chris Travers, a blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project. "However, I do not think everyone should."

Coding is "a very generally applicable skill and it is also a skill which is useless by itself and outside of any context," Travers explained. "Coding can help solve problems, but it is not the only factor in any solution. Context matters."

For those who want to pursue a career in a knowledge industry or any technical or scientific field, "some coding experience would be extremely helpful," Travers concluded. "Is a great chef made greater by knowing how to code? I doubt it."

Indeed, "many people don't want and/or need to learn to code well enough as to write applications," Google+ blogger Gonzalo Velasco C. concurred.

'Some Are Just Terrible'

Coding is not for everyone, but school computer classes should include it in order to identify new talents and "lead them into their real vocation before they choose the wrong career path and a bright prospect is lost," Google+ blogger Rodolfo Saenz suggested.

"Who knows how many Linus Torvaldses or Steve Jobses are lost because of lack of exposure to their real vocations?" he added.

"I think everyone should be presented with the opportunity to code, but I don't even for a moment think that everyone has the knack," consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack opined.

"I view it as the same as anything else: Some people are great at sports; some (like me) are terrible. Some people are great at music and can do amazing things with little effort and some are just terrible no matter how much effort they put in.

"I'll never forget one person in my high school computer science class who, despite being a 'straight A' student in everything else, never managed to learn to code," Mack recounted.

'A Lifetime Process'

"Everyone 'should' learn to code, but coding should also learn to come to everyone," Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza told Linux Girl.

"Where is the foolproof tinkertoy programming environment that has been prophesied by everyone and their brother in computing since time immemorial?" Espinoza asked. "The computer is vastly more useful if you know how to program it, and it has gotten easier in some ways over the years, but not really so much easier that everyone is going to take up programming.

"Programming well is a lifetime process, not something you can expect the average computer user to do unless the tools do most of it for them," he concluded.

'Linus Is Naive'

Google+ blogger Alessandro Ebersol had an even stronger view.

"Linus is naive," Ebersol told Linux Girl.

"A computer is not a light bulb one just turns on -- it's more like a car, where one needs a driver's license to ride," he explained. "Everyone should learn to code, just as everyone needs to learn how to change a flat tire or else be at the mercy of strangers."

Similarly, "I do think that everybody should learn to code, at least on a basic level," Linux Rants blogger Mike Stone agreed. "It would teach them to break down a problem into small, manageable portions and solve each of those parts logically."

It's actually "less about the code itself than solving a problem logically," he added. "That's a skill that I think everybody should have.

"I don't expect everybody to be able to write their own OS kernel or anything, or even retain the ability to write 'Hello World' past their senior year, but I do hope they would at least retain the basic ideas, and that could only be a good thing," Stone concluded.

'I Hate to Disagree With Linus'

Last but not least, blogger and former educator Robert Pogson saw it similarly.

"I hate to disagree with Linus on this one, but he's not perfect," Pogson began. "Arithmetic/reasoning/problem-solving these days requires coding even if it's just making a spreadsheet to plan a mortgage."

When Pogson started teaching, "many high school students dropped out around Grade 10 because they just didn't get algebra/geometry," he recounted. "When I finished teaching, those same students were some of the most adept at creating and using spreadsheets to solve real problems."

'Every Student Should Know'

Some people are just not abstract thinkers, and "computers make maths real for them," he added. "The same goes for collecting, analyzing, finding or presenting information of many kinds."

Every high school student should know "one or more computer programming languages very well, even if it's just a spreadsheet," Pogson asserted. "I recommend PASCAL because it's very easy to learn and within days ordinary students can solve amazing problems with it."

In short, "computers are the fastest way to find, examine, modify and distribute all kinds of information in school and out, especially when the information is code," he concluded. "Every student should know how it's done, even if all they do is hire others to do it."

Katherine Noyes is always on duty in her role as Linux Girl, whose cape she has worn since 2007. A mild-mannered journalist by day, she spends her evenings haunting the seedy bars and watering holes of the Linux blogosphere in search of the latest gossip. You can also find her on Twitter and Google+.

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International Samsung Galaxy S4-Battery

Many Samsung fans are none too pleased about the 16GB Galaxy S4’s storage limits—around half is currently user-accessible. But Samsung is biting back, defending the situation by instructing users to purchase a microSD card to mitigate the situation. With so many new features being introduced into the equation, and a higher resolution screen, is it really a surprise so much of the 16GB of storage is taken?

“For the Galaxy S4 16GB model, approximately 6.85GB occupies (the) system part of internal memory, which is 1GB bigger than that of the Galaxy S III, in order to provide (a) high resolution display and more powerful features to our consumers,” Samsung said in a statement to CNET.

Although Samsung does allow the flexibility of a microSD slot, apps cannot be installed on the expandable storage—only outside media (music, photos, and text) can be put onto that card. That means if you’re an app hoarder, you’ll have to be particularly careful when going on download binges, otherwise onboard storage will fill up quite fast. As CNET points out, a game like Real Racing 3 takes up 1.2GB of storage.

Of course, users will be able to root the device to get around the storage limits, but that’s not necessarily a universal remedy, especially for the average consumer. Still, the microSD slot does support cards up to 64GB, so S4 owners can essentially get more storage than competing devices such as the HTC One or iPhone 5. However, that might necessarily be much consolation when the device is advertised as having 16GB of storage—it does, but not every last MB is available to the owner.

Source CNET