Do I have a motion to approve the minutes of the October 27th 2020 regular session? So moved. All right I'll take that as a motion from Council Member Christensen and it was seconded by Council Member Waters. Any public or any discussion or debate? All right seeing none all in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion to approve the minutes of October 27th 2020 regular session is hereby approved unanimously. All right any agenda revisions, submission of documents or motions to direct the city manager's staff to add agenda items. Dr. Waters. Thanks Mayor Bagley. We're all aware we're about to do the final actions on the 2021 budget and we're all aware of the fact that in that budget there are no adjustments in compensation for city employees not to suggest that there might not be what we've heard from Jim and Harold that as we get into 2021 as they get a clear picture of what what revenues might look like they might bring to us a recommendation to make salary adjustments for 2021. I'm taking the motion to mean Harold you have the green light to discuss compensation in terms of time off paid time off salary increases you've got our blessing you're the executive over HR proceed. We'll bring something back to Council. All right. Council Member Rilago Ferring. So I'd like to direct staff to get an update on what's going to happen or what where the status is on the North Main Street corridor. Yes prerogative just put a five minute just a five minute update on the next at the next council meeting or whatever you can just what's going on with North Main because I do see a lot of there's construction going on why don't you just let us know what's going on if you do that. Yeah I work with Joni and Erin and we can do that. And that includes any of the parks I know we you did some updates on car park so that was and that meant a lot to a lot of the folks in the neighborhood who walk to that. Let's make sure let's include the car parks too Harold. Let's include the parks that are kind of getting neglected so. Let's include them. Appreciate that. All right COVID update Harold we have a guest right. Yeah we have several guests actually tonight. I'm Scott Cook I'm the CEO of the Longmont Chamber and I'm joined this evening by Ashley Sherman she is with the North Main Walmart store. Thanks Scott and everyone I we have I'm really partnered with the chamber to to donate our you know our money and our budgeted funds being able to provide to the community is something that is really core to me and to my management team and to Walmart as a whole. So we are here for the City of Longmont and and any other needs that that you guys and everyone has. So Mayor Counsel you started with I believe it was 10,000 you all put into this we put another 10,000 in from the CARES funding and then added the I guess 4,500 so 14,000 so the idea for this program is definitely taken off and we hope that others are interested in continuing to support it and continue to grow the program. So thanks for the idea. Yeah it was a great idea and and a classic team effort with the city you know Councilmember Peck coming up with the idea council members coming in Sandy and staff working with the chamber also working with Tinker Mill who made the tokens and so you're really seeing multiple groups come together to work and that's how Longmont rolls as we do things as a community and coming together so again just another example of our great community. We received some correspondence from Dola also I also received correspondence from the state and governor's office the governor's really for the state employees they've announced that state employees in level orange or level red counties will work remotely for the month of November and those except for those critical government functions who cannot perform job duties remotely. We're going through that and evaluating the situation right now and I wanted council to know that we are working to trim our numbers down as an organization to come into compliance with the state orders and what they're asking local governments to do. All right Susan can you join us? So I'm Susan Motika I'm the strategic initiatives and policy director at Boulder County Public Health. So you can see that our two-week cumulative incidence rate is 458.8 per 100,000. Our two-week testing positivity rate is now 7.1%. Our hospital status is still in the green. So this is our five-day average number of new cases of COVID-19 among Boulder County residents and this is just as of November 9th so here you can see that since October 1 Longmont Longmont has the highest case rate per 100,000 again that's since 10.120. This is a slide that Jeff Zak always presents. It just did our last two weeks and if you just look at that right hand side it just sees that you can just see clearly that very significant escalation. I would also point out that there have been 18 deaths from COVID in Boulder County since October 1. I think that I think the message needs to get out to folks that we need to stay six feet apart, wear our masks and stay within your family unit. If we just ask people and just pass along the message that the governor is asking us to. So we have opened the testing location at the Fairgrounds. Dan Eamon and our emergency management team they're working with them to assist in that operation that's also creating more testing opportunities. All we have to do the things that the mayor just indicated. Wear a mask, social distance and stay within our family units and really follow those guidelines and I think those are important incredibly important messages. I'm going to go ahead and do first call public invited to be heard. I'm calling in to just comment on the RV ordinance and RV or a series of RVs that parked in front of our residents for over a month. A couple of months in one instance and I think we're recognizing that it's time for an update and refinement of this code. So I appreciate the group the council looking at this issue. I would just like to say that not taking action on this is not an option. Calling about the RV ordinance as well and I bring my camper trailer home from the storage unit. Park it out front, load and unload it but part of loading is charging the batteries and cooling your refrigerator and that's more than just a couple of hours. So I'm hoping that in the final ordinance there is some provision for parking out front for overnight at least maybe two nights so that we can cool off the fridge, get the batteries charged, load her up and off we go. I'm calling in on the AMI smart meter issue. I practice integrative internal medicine as I think that you all probably know and I've helped many of my patients recover from the adverse health effects of the same radio frequency radiation emitted by the wireless version of the AMI smart meter presently under review. I am one of the self-avowed EMF canaries in the coal mine. You've heard me speak of this living within the local Longmont community. Why on earth would insurance companies refuse to ensure smart meters were it not for this obvious danger and other known hazards? I urge you to reconsider the AMI wireless smart meter program in Longmont knowing that wired infrastructure is by far the healthier safer way to move into a healthier future for all. First of all I'd like to thank you for the $25 tokens and my last sentence was with all due respect now is not the time to make no parking loss because of the COVID and because of which freezing colds out here. Just for your information do you know that the dump station takes only credit cards, visa or master cards and not everyone has credit cards and also I'd like to tell Mr. Dominguez that your COVID-19 we cannot turn down that row because it says do not enter and to Jeff Satter I'd like to say of how many of those vehicles that he towed off 900 I think it was he mentioned how many of those are our beats and how many warning tickets were repeats of the same vehicle and to Karen with coordinated entry I'd like to say how many from Longmont did you put in the bolder shelter and did you know that when they came back to Longmont they were not able to get services from our center sending my love to all of you thank you very much for being there for us. Okay I'm talking about the sleeper vehicle ordinance I guess it includes just about anything you can sleep in how many people that are being impacted that are living in RVs as a city made arrangements for these people to be involved in these meetings none of them so particularly people with disabilities like myself who found that they cannot afford anything other than living in a vehicle at this time. I am president of the Rider Ridge homeowners association and I have lived at this address in Longmont for over 20 years the this new ordinance about RV parking goes too far and some of the other callers have mentioned some of the problems with it and I'm going to talk about a different kind of problem this ordinance makes it illegal for me to park my my good condition current licensed small motor home in front of my house just to clean the leaves or snow off my driveway and and like the last callers suggested I'm going to say the same thing you got to put a little more effort into finding alternatives for people who need to sleep in their vehicle. Let's move on to the consent agenda. Don? Mayor Bagley item 9A is ordinance 2020-59 the bill for an administrative ordinance approving the grant of a deed of conservation easement in gross from the city of Longmont to the Longmont Conservation District on the Newby Farms open space property public hearing and second reading scheduled for December 1st 2020 9B is ordinance 2020-60 a bill for an ordinance authorizing the city of Longmont to lease the real property known as Vance brand municipal airport hangar parcel H-14B to Craig Nelson public hearing and second reading scheduled for December 1st 2020. 9C is ordinance 2020-61 a bill for an ordinance authorizing the city of Longmont to lease the real property known as Vance brand municipal airport hangar parcel H-37 to Robert Singer public hearing and second reading scheduled for December 1st 2020. 9D is resolution 2020-110 a resolution of the Longmont city council authorizing the transfer of a portion of the unencumbered appropriation balance of the employee benefit fund to the employee pension fund. 9E is resolution 2020-11 a resolution amending the financial policies of the city of Longmont for 2021. 9F is resolution 2020-112 a resolution of the Longmont city council approving the city of Longmont 2021 classification and pay plan for city employees. 9G resolution 2020-113 a resolution of Longmont city council approving the intergovernmental agreement between the city and Boulder County for mediation services. 9H is resolution 2020-114 a resolution of the Longmont city council approving the intergovernmental agreement between the city of Longmont and the state of Colorado division of fire prevention and control for emergency facilities and land use of button rock reservoir clover basin reservoir in mccall lake. 9I is resolution 2020-115 a resolution of the Longmont city council approving the intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Longmont housing authority for support and services and 9J is approved one capital improvement program amendment. I move approval of the consent agenda. All right all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. The consent agenda is moved and passes unanimously. All right let's go on to ordinances on second reading the first is item 10A ordinance 2020-51 a bill for an ordinance making additional appropriations for the expenses and liabilities the city of Longmont for the fiscal year beginning January 1 2020. All right I'm going to move ordinance 2020-51. Second. All right it's been moved by myself seconded by Dr. Waters any other debate? All right all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right ordinance 2020-51 passes unanimously. Item 10B ordinance 2020-52 a bill for an ordinance adopting the budget for the city of Longmont for the year 2021. I'll move ordinance 2020-52. All right it's been moved by Dr. Waters seconded by council member Yvonne Ferring in the further discussion debate dialogue. All right all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right ordinance 2020-52 passes unanimously. Item ordinance 2020-53 which is item 10C on the agenda a bill for an ordinance making appropriations for the expenses and liabilities the city of Longmont for the fiscal year beginning January 1 2021. Do you want to make a motion? No I'm just moving the hair out of my face. Somebody make a motion. I'm going to move ordinance 2020-53. Second. All right it's been moved by Dr. Waters and seconded by council member Peck. All in favor of ordinance 2020-53 say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right ordinance 2020-53 passes unanimously. All right item 10D ordinance 2020-54 a bill for an ordinance amending section 3.04.85 the Longmont municipal code adopting an amendment to the employee contribution requirement the city of Longmont general employees retirement plan. I move ordinance 2020-54. Second. In favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right ordinance 2020-54 passes unanimously. One two item 10E ordinance 2020-55 a bill for an ordinance authorizing a farmland lease agreement between the city of Longmont and Joseph M Dochiff on the French property. I'll move it. Dr. Waters you want to second it? I'll second. All right it's been moved and seconded by Dr. Waters. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right it passes unanimously. Ordinance 2020-56 which is item 10F a bill for an ordinance conditionally approving the vacation of right of way within the Villas Uke Creek subdivision generally located north of 70 Davenin and west of Pace street. Do we have a motion? I'll move ordinance 2020-56. All right I'm going to go ahead and take it as moved by Dr. Waters seconded by Councilmember Christensen. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right ordinance 2020-56 passes unanimously. We're going to go ahead and skip 10G for a moment. Let's go on to 10H. Ordinance 2020-58 a bill for an administrative ordinance proving the purchase option agreement to convey a parcel of city owned land located at 2000 Sunset Way to Sunset Element LLC. Councilmember Riddago. I'll move ordinance 2020-50. Second. All right it's been moved by Councilmember Riddago-Ferring seconded by Councilmember Christensen. All in favor of passing ordinance 2020-58 say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right item 10H orders 2020-58 passes unanimously. All right now let's go back to item 10G. Ordinance 2020-57 a bill for an ordinance implementing chapter 11 of the Longmont Municipal Code on Vehicles Abandoned, Kept on Public Property or Jumped. That's what I'm going to move. Ordinance 2020-57 a bill for an ordinance implementing chapter 11 of the Longmont Municipal Code on Vehicles Abandoned, Kept on Public Property or Jumped. Second. All right it's been seconded by Councilmember Riddago-Ferring. All in favor of passage of ordinance 2020-57 on second reading say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. So the ordinance passes six to one with Councilmember Christensen opposed. Resolution LGID 2020-06 is resolution of the Board of Directors of the Longmont General Improvement District number one adopting the annual budget for the district for the fiscal year 2021. Do we have a motion? I'll move resolution 2020-6. I'll second that. All right any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right resolution LGID 2020-06 passes unanimously. Actings the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority resolution LURA 2020-01 a resolution of the Board of Commissioners the Longmont Urban Renewal Authority adopting the annual budget for the authority for the fiscal year 2021. I'll move that. I can't see it on my screen right now. All right so there's a motion for resolution LURA 2020-01. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion carries unanimously. Resolution is the Longmont City Council approving an allotment contract and escrow agreement and two allotment transfer agreements for the Windy Gap firming project on favor of resolution 2020-06 a resolution along with city council approving the intergovernmental allotment contract between the city of Longmont acting by and through its water utility enterprise the Windy Grap firming project water activity enterprise for capacity the Windy Grap firming project. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. That motion carries herald unanimously. All right do we have a motion for resolution 2020-117. So moved. All right I'll second that. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right that motion passes unanimously. All right item 12-3 resolution 2020-118 a resolution along with city council approving intergovernmental agreement between the city of Longmont city of Lublin for the sale and purchase of Windy Gap firming project storage capacity. Do we have a motion? So moved. I'll second that. All right any questions or debate on this? I didn't think so. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion carries unanimously. Resolution 2020-119 a resolution along with city council approving the intergovernmental agreement between the city of Longmont and the city of Fort Lupton for the sale and purchase of Windy Gap firming project storage capacity. Do we have a motion? So moved. All right it's been moved by council member Martin seconded by Dr. Waters. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion carries unanimously. Now we've got some resolutions along with city council approving the third amendment the redevelopment and reimbursement agreement partial assignment to 320 Granary owner LLC for 210 Emery Street and consent to a development concept plan for 110 Emery Street. Taking it one at a time. Do we have a motion for resolution 2020-120 a resolution along with city council consenting to the development concept plan for 110 Emery Street. So moved. Is there a second? All right it's been moved by council member Martin seconded by council member Peck. Any discussion on the matter before we vote? All right seeing none all in favor of resolution 2020-120 say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. All right the motion carries unanimously. Next resolution 2020-121 a resolution along with city council approving the third amendment to the redevelopment and reimbursement agreement and partial assignment and assumption to 320 Granary owner LLC for 210 Emery Street and 320 Second Avenue. All in favor of resolution 2020-121 say aye. Aye. All right the motion carries unanimously. Discussion regarding council members rules and responsibilities of city of Longmont advisory board liaisons. I put this on because there's some question as to what are our roles as liaisons. That concludes our session on liaisons how about we all just do the best we can and we'll go nuts. All right us and establish 2021 city council meeting schedule. Thank you. All right great. Okay let's move on to mayor and council comments. Councilmember Christensen. Well tomorrow is Veterans Day and we won't get to have a parade and that's really sorry about that but I hope all the veterans out there know how much everyone appreciates their service. What I would like to say is just I'm an unaffiliated former republican and as mayor of a small town in Longmont Colorado I just want to stress how important it is that we continue to recognize and and support our democratic process for selecting presidents but I'd like to congratulate President-elect Biden for his victory. Councilmember Peck. Thank you Mayor Bagley for those comments I echo them but I also am very proud to be an American to be living in the United States because it is one of the few places where we can turn our government in a peaceful democratic manner. That is a privilege and we should never forget that that we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to voice our opinion so thank you very much. Anybody else? Councilmember Martin. Yes I'd also like to commend you Mr. Mayor for very well chosen words I concur and I think in the coming year I would like us all to work on having a consensus of fact if not a consensus of opinion. Councilmember Martin. Yes I'd also like to commend you Mr. Mayor for very well chosen words I concur and I think in the coming year I would like us all to work on having a consensus of fact if not a consensus of opinion. We have research and and news outlets such as the Associated Press in this country that are non-partisan and indisputably trustworthy and I hope that all of the American public will remember that. All right guys do we have a motion to adjourn? So moved. I'll second that all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Say nay. All right that's a nay so uh that's a that's a that's not a nay that's a big aye we're out of here it's late. All right guys I'll see you next week thanks everybody.


Hi everyone, happy Thursday, Joe for Jasper's casebreaks.com, coming at you with another pack break right here. 2019, 2020, Panini Chronicles basketball fat pack or value pack, whatever you wanna call it, random team break number 354. So 354 has giveaways in that 12 team number block. It's a $500 value right there, that's pretty cool. And another layer of giving it away. There are seven spots are being given away in this. If you bought one of the first 23 spots, actually all the full spots basically. So basically if you bought a spot, you got a chance at some of the extra spots right here. So let's see who wins that. So it'll be top seven after six, three and a three, six the hard way, hard six. One, two, three, four, five and six and final time. After six, so from eight down to 23, appreciate you.  So it's still got a shot at everything. But here are the people with the extra spots. Lizzie Ow, Zach, Oliver, Brian, Brian, Ben and Chad. So congrats to the seven of you. So we'll put that little rooftop next to your name so you know you won those spots. Distinguish them, separate them from the spots that you bought straight up. Now let's assign you a random team. We gotta do the break first before we do the big number block giveaway, the $500 spot giveaway. Let's roll it, randomize it, three and a five, eight times for each list. One, two, three and eighth and final time. After eight, we've got Chad Harp down to Ben. Three and a five, eight times for the teams. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eighth and final time. After eight, we got the Sixers down to the Hornets. No trade windows in these little mini breaks or filler breaks, whatever you'd like to call them. So I'll just look at the first half of the list right here like that. Zach Grizzlies, could be some surprises in this little pack here. And then Zach also, Pelicans, look at that. All right, so let's print and rip. Oh, I thought that was someone else. That's so nice though, the Hachimura. Eric Pascal and Daniel Gaffer. We got a nice Giannis right here for the bucks. Even those non-Rookie Giannises do pretty good. Second-year Luca Donchiches do pretty well in the secondary market as well. Brian Croft with the Mavs that's worth kind of looking up. Might find some solid value there. All right, so nothing too crazy, but there you go. These folks right here, we're gonna re-randomize these names. You have a shot at those two number block spots. Now, if you don't get a number block spot, good news. We have to do one more of these packs anyway. So another chance to win spots. All right, so let's go back to this list right here. So there's Chad Harp down to Brian Croft. Let me re-copy that in there. So there's Chad Harp down to Brian Croft and everybody in between. Top two after seven, lucky seven, good luck. One, two, and seventh and final time. After seven times, what do we got? What do we got? What do we got? Thanks everybody here, we'll get them next time. The big winners are Brian Croft and Ben. Look at that, there you go. Brian Croft won that spot and then won a $500 random number block spot. Layers, inception. Thanks for watching, thanks for breaking with us. I'm Joe, I'll see you next time for the next one. Bye-bye.


Welcome back and to our first major conversation on breakfast this morning Nigeria's federal government recovered over 3.2 billion now that's about 6.3 million pounds of stolen monies from various jurisdictions globally is a stolen government funds you know from various jurisdictions globally from March 2021 to May 2022. Now this is as the federal government of Nigeria generated a total of 1.82 billion now from the sale of bid forms an actual sale of a feeder properties in the first 18 months of the Buhari administration the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Aboka Malame disclosed this of these two journalists on Thursday at a 46th session of the state house briefing organized by the presidential communications team at the ASU Rock Villa that's a good one. Now according to the minister the recovered foreign loot has since been dispersed into key infrastructure projects nationwide they include the second Niger bridge the Abuja Kanu Road and the Lagos Ibanu Expressway. He also says that the Justice Ministry has supported the federal government in various infrastructure funding agreements while lamenting that the country currently grapples with 329 billion now of funding gap. Joining us to analyze this we have Shigun Shopitoh he's a public affairs analyst and chairman of ACT Network Ikeja. Shigun Shopitoh Shigun Shopitoh good morning to you and thank you very much for your time. Good morning. Thank you very much. Are you surprised and comfortable with the fact that the Attorney General of the Federation is discussing fiscal matters? Very little surprised people that are king watchers of events in the country as far as this administration is concerned. If there's anything that is clear it's that we're running it free for all. I'm not even sure we can say we're running a government because you know the fundamental duties that government have this administration have been failing consistently at them across all levels. So you know to find an update coming from the Attorney General about recovered funds well it might not be too out of time because I think he's approaching it because or he's speaking about it because the agencies that handle that work reports to him you know but obviously what we need to hear is a total inventory and like an audit report on this entire situation from the beginning of this administration till now because this is one of the fundamental promises that this government came on it's one of the tripod of three key areas of action that this government promised anti-corruption and obviously recovery of loot is a fundamental part of the fight against corruption you know so but there appears to be a bit of confusion of roles can forgive it I think the important thing is to see that yes some loot is being recovered and that it is being applied properly and appropriately in manners that will benefit the majority of the people. Reason I'm asking this is that in 2021 the House of Reps panel alleged that the Central Bank of Nigeria illegally paid two billion Naira from these recovered loot to the Attorney General of the Federation this was in 2021. Also in 2021 the Attorney General came out to defend himself he says that his ministry was making efforts to ensure that they are allocated some cost of collection from recovered of funds to finance the recovery operations in otherwise they need this money to some of this money to be able to go after more money so there seems to be some suspicion you know surrounding how these funds are recovered and used by the Attorney General and some would say that when it comes to fiscal matters in terms of financial appropriation everything maybe we should be hearing from the Minister of Finance even though she's not exactly very popular right now so that's why I asked a question. Yeah I mean look you have a point but I wouldn't necessarily worry about the fact that the Attorney General is giving this report I think it's very well within his right because he's going to supervise him those recoveries. What I think also ought to happen and ought to be happening regularly and periodically if this government were truly sincere about its fight against corruption is that there needs to be a report a regular report from the Auditor General to Nigerians given a rundown of loots that have been recovered and what's been done with it you know and that has never happened never you know so you actually we laugh about these things even though they're not funny but you know there's a new word in the dictionaries, reloot it's a Nigerian thing you know how do you reloot so loot is recovered and then people steal the loot that has been recovered so we now created the word called relooting so the loot has been relooted you know it's terrible you know but it's a reality so because of those types of things you know this president you know it's just been a cataclysmic failure from this man because everything that he said he stood for has turned out to be a lie how can we have a president that is claiming to be an anti-corruption campaigner overseeing this type of confusion does anybody know how much has actually been recovered since 2015 does anybody know I've looked for it I've researched it and you just find different figures and you find a situation where different organs of government different tiers of government are fighting for their own share of this loot you know so it's it's it's all it's it's all just a mess well sure piton let's also look at this now and it's a concern and it's a question that a lot of Nigerians are asking what business do we have boring I mean if we have recovered 3.2 billionaire now we can't really say that this is all that we have recovered because we don't have all of the information just like you have mentioned from a certain period but what business do we still have boring because recently there's also been reports that Niger has borrowed 2.45 trillionaire from the central bank of Niger despite the fiscal risk and we also hear of the warning so my question is what business do we have boring if we have recovered this amount and we have several amount that has been recovered that we do not know why do we constantly say we don't have money for instance you also have the government saying if you look at the asset situation there's been a lot of talk about ask you we can't borrow 1.1 trillionaire you know to for an asset and all of that that's my question to you well the reality that confronts us is that our government is broke and our government has been broke for a long time even before this administration came on board I remember I called the former finance minister want Nigerians to be there for tough times ahead because government was broke and this was in 2014 eight years ago so so why is government borrowing they recovered look if you take the entirety of all of the money that have been stolen over the years I think some foreign journalistic organization did the figure and it was some really mind boggling was running into trillions of dollars not merit of dollars so yes if you're able to track all of that and bring it back home maybe would not be as broke as we are able to track all of that and and and and bring it back home then maybe the budget deficits that we consistently run would be unnecessary but the reality is you you can track all of that and you can bring it all back a lot of it is gone and it's gone for good so for me we really shouldn't be looking at the issue of the loot yes looted funds we need to get them back because some money but this country is blessed with resources whether you want to talk about natural resources whether you want to talk about human resources we're blessed and we have the capacity to create wealth that is completely on top and and that's consistent governments and subsequent government are constantly failed to do the revenue profile of our government can be easily quadrupled in a very short period if we have sincere leaders let me give you an example just a couple of days ago the minister of state for petroleum came out again to say that about four hundred four hundred thousand barrels per day of crude is been stolen every day from this country which amounts to depending on who's reporting anything between one billion dollars to two billion dollars per month analyze that and you're talking of twelve billion dollars to twenty four billion dollars per annum it's it's it's about thirty percent of our entire export profile is being stolen and that is the part of it that the government officials themselves are reporting the volume of stolen crude is way higher than that there's a lot of unreported inventory of crude in that value chain and that's just for crude oil alone you know so we're simply we're running a government that is like a basket there's so much money out there for government to make and then to run the business of governance and to run development and to run infrastructure development and to run human capital development investing in education and that's investing in health care but all of that money gets missing you know in the pipeline you know it just people just have plugged holes have made holes in the pipeline and they're just simply siphoning what they can and that then leaves us with the so-called revenue that we can see and then government begins to borrow otherwise we really have no reason to borrow given given where we are in every country borrows but the point is that the revenue that you generate should be comfortably sufficient to meet your repayment obligations and of course it's no longer news that last month it was reported that we now have more repayment obligations than the revenue that are close to the federal government which is why you know some people say the government's bankrupt right yes I hear some people use the word junk to describe the economy shaggy shop it on whilst you know Malami is facing the press and and revealing information about recovery of looted funds stashed abroad you've also said of course that you have more you know than what is being talked about right now but we must can we also spray thought for the special presidential panel on asset recovery aka spa the special presidential panel on asset recovery which was created by mr. president for the purposes clearly stated in its name and but last year in May 2021 the prosecutor of this special presidential panel had accused them about Malami essay and the minutes of justice of them demanding for their case files and refusing to return them I don't know whether there's anything in a special about having the case files you know that he for instance he made an allegation that the NMPC had allegedly stashed 60 billion dollars of public funds in United States was last year and he said efforts by the panel to recover the funds were reportedly frustrated by the minutes of justice in question we're talking about now who he claimed retrieved the case file from the body you know is what he said he said he showed about 20 documents to back his claims that he said that most of the case files prosecuted by the presidential panel were unsuccessful because the minister requested for the case files and never returned them and what's going on why are we not hearing from the special presidential panel on asset recovery you know in such a forum when this is being discussed you know before the press you know the same panel at the point accused the FCC of illegally appropriating some of the recovered assets this was about two years ago there but so again you know this just speaks to the the rot the complete rottenness of the entire system and the fact that nothing that is going on right now is about you and I nothing nothing that is going on with with the attorney general Malami nothing that is going on even with this so-called special presidential panel nothing that the FCC is doing is about the Nigeria you know all of these people as far as I'm concerned simply a gang of people sitting in those places feathering their own nests and taking care of their own interest and looking after vested interest and looking after the interest of oligarchs and maybe as some people would like to say in recent times of our field and lots you know people just sit appropriate our common wealth and then distribute them and at their discretion as they didn't fit and that's what this is all about and that's why you don't have any transparency you don't have any accountability and you don't have so if I as a civil society activist and this is not I'm not just saying this this is something we have done my organization accountability candle and transparency network has actually done a number of freedom freedom of information and requests to the Ministry of Agriculture in one on one occasion to the Ministry of Transportation on another occasion and a number of others like that demanding for information for the public consumption on some of the projects that they were executing and you know the response we got was pretty much no response you know so they would say well you know this in one occasion they said they've already made a publication to the public you can look for it on another one you know they just said they're looking into it and they get back to us and of course they never did so it will then be holding us to then go to court and try to compel them to respond to these requests government is run in a very opaque manner with a lot of cloudiness and shadowiness deliberately so that we don't know what's happening and that's what you have with Malami why would Malami collect case files and then the case files cannot be returned why obviously there is a cover up I don't think you know some of these things are not as perfect and they're not mysteries it's obvious what is happening and I think that's why Nigerians really really need to rise up and and ensure that we make better decisions going forward we really really really need to begin to see a situation where one we put people in government in government positions who care about the people and two that we engage even with those people even if you have people in government that are sincere and that are people of integrity that mean well and want to do well there's something about the power that you gain when you enter public office and it's not just in Nigeria that pushes the average human being in the wrong direction of morality and it is therefore the duty of society to continue to make demand and insist on accountability and insist on transparency and insist that they provide information to the public otherwise you won't you know so so what you have here with all of this loot and you know is the money keeps coming in and it just gets it keeps disappearing so for example the the state government last year sued the federal government that the federal government was wrongly applying the about 1.8 trillion you know recovered loot that had come in at that time and they wanted the court to declare that that money should go into the federal accounts rather than the consolidated revenue account that belongs to the federal government why are they doing that because they want their own share of the loot they want their own share of the booty they want to you know to have a chunk of the money you know so this is what it's all about it's really unfortunate for Nigerians to wake up and understand that these guys are not acting fast. I like the fact that you have mentioned that Nigerians need to let's get to this now because we'll cost this conversation down in no time I mean I like the fact that you have raised concern that Nigerians need to be on top of the situation I mean ensure that you know the people are accountable the question here is how how and what can we do as a government different stakeholders to ensure that this funds that have been recovered are not looted because that's the question I mean the several we can't even go to the list of funds that have been recovered just within this administration foreign funds that have been recovered but the question that everyone is asking is where are these resources where have they been kept if we say we have funds that have been recovered or we have this covered that is yet to be recovered and has been recovered where they're kept what have been they've been used to do what have we used them to do we don't have we don't seem to have like a list where we can just look up and say hey we recovered you know 3.2 billionaire from Switzerland for instance and we recovered XYZ and all of that so but how can we you know ensure that there's accountability of looted funds now amongst different stakeholders there are several things that we can do but all of that will lie with the public and I think with you guys the fourth estate of the realm it really has to be a combination of action in the civic space civil society the media and you know just the general public and you know so what we need to do is to continue to consistently ask questions we simply don't do enough of this in fact we don't do it at all only very very few people that represent a small, mini-school percentage of the civic space are making this effort to throw a challenge to the middle class you know people that have enough resources people that are not necessarily pursuing that are not living from hand to mouth they're not a large percentage but they control enough resources if they have the will to be able to put this fight up we need to ask questions we need to ask questions consistently we need to put out more freedom and information requests to more government agencies and more ministries and more pastors to the presidency to the legislature demanding answers of course they are not going to respond and you know this is what we keep saying to ourselves oh it's a pointless effort you send in this letter they will not respond I just narrated our experience one ministry responded and another one did not but we have to go beyond this we have to keep asking and when they don't answer we have to go to the next step and tell them the more we put in actions like this and then the more they will begin to see that oh these people are waking up asking questions and that will raise a consciousness in them to be more careful and then they will be you know the impunity the level of impunity will reduce and then from the point of view of the media we need to see a whole lot more of investigative journalism I know that the media space is also under attack government agencies are finding TV stations because they don't investigate reports and they put information out there but we can't stop so when these things happen members of the public will speak and fight for the media as well because if we don't do this and we just allow the opacity to continue then people will wake up to have a situation where government just they continue to get to a blue murder at the expense of the larger society and we can see the results the evidence of what I'm saying is in where we are today as a country the country is I don't think we've ever had this but whether it's across the economy, whether it's in terms of security whether it's education, healthcare everything is just everything seems to have grant records so the evidence is there that things are not looking good for us and we cannot continue to behave the way we behave so members of the middle class need to do more we need to wake up and understand that no government even if you bring the most sincere and honest human being to become president today that person will not act in the common good if he is not put on his toes by a questioning and discerning public and activating his citizens this is the key we need to become more active we need to be engaged with the government system it's not just about thinking it's about asking questions before, during and after the vote Interesting it's indeed about asking questions before, during and after the vote I'm also asking questions about in conjunction with the minister of finance and budget attempting to make the president approve the withdrawal of Paris club refunds to pay contractors to the $418 million dollars and these contracts I would say didn't follow the process of approval you have some members of the federal executive council vocally opposing this, the likes of Tunde Fashella and boss Mustafa seeking to get these monies back and then people begin to ask more questions about his motives Thank you very much for your time It's a public affairs analyst and chairman of ACT Network we have more conversations up next, merci Well we take a break now, when we return we'll be looking at the fact that the Premier League is here and of course the gains are the Falcons that's it, I was going to say the Super Falcons but of course we have the Falcons it's a long time coming, stay with us when we return the conversation continues right here


I want to welcome you to this May 15th webinar. My name is Steve Brown, Extension Cotton Agronomist with Auburn University. We're going to explore how we think about plant growth regulator use in cotton. Specifically, looking at a broad range of topics from background of its history, it's how it affects the plants, some of the products that are used, and various use patterns that have evolved over the past 40 years. Then finish with a few questions for thought. It really is a thought process because there's not an automatic exact recipe as we think about PGRs in cotton. Practically speaking, when we talk about plant growth regulators in cotton, we're really talking about a singular product, and that is mepiquat chloride, and the products that are very similar or derived from it. Initially was introduced in the late 1970s by BASF under the trade name of PICS. Even today, when people talk about PGRs in cotton, whether it's that brand or a generic, they still talk about PICS in cotton, so that brand name has stuck. Initially, the product use approach, the label direction were very specific. You would use a pint at early bloom or first bloom, and then follow with a half a pint. But very quickly, academia, as well as farmers began exploring, maybe there's some other ways we could think about using this particular product. Now, when PICS was introduced in the marketplace in the late 1970s, US patent life was 17 years. Now, in 1995, that was changed to 20 years. But practically what that meant was, in the early to mid 1990s, we began seeing the introduction of enhanced mepiquat products, BASF trying to protect its position in the marketplace. We've also saw about that same time, the introduction of generic products.  Initially in the late 70s, PICS products were probably costing the $40 per gallon range. Some of the enhanced products at some point in their lifecycle were $90 per gallon. Today, you can buy most mepiquat products in our part of the country for less than $10 a gallon. It's a product that's been in the marketplace for decades now, but it really provided a very, very valuable tool for cotton producers to manage the crop. Yes, you could do so with irrigation perhaps or fertility, but really the mepiquat provided a tool to control plant height, to limit vegetative growth somewhat, and again, a great management tool that really has become an integral part of modern cotton production. Now, how does it work? What is the mode of action? Well, if we step back, plant growth is certainly affected by environmental conditions, weather patterns, temperature, as well as soil nutrients, but at the basic and biological biochemical level, it's affected by plant hormones or plant growth regulators. They really work together in a very sophisticated complex system to manage how different processes proceed in the plant. I've listed several plant growth regulators that are commonly recognized, but for our purposes in this discussion, we should think about gibberellic acid. It promotes cell elongation, and then specifically mepiquat chloride inhibits the synthesis of gibberellic acid. So, again, very practically, then mepiquat reduces cell or tissue elongation. So that's its basic mode of action. Then what are the effects that we see in the plant? Again, keeping in mind that mepiquat reduces cell elongation by inhibiting gibberellic acid synthesis, it really affects the overall plant canopy by reducing plant leaf area and stem tissue length or internode length. The labels list a lot of these effects that I put here, but consistently it does these things, but not necessarily these things. Yes, some of the, some data suggests we see better early season fruit retention, and then consistently we do see a darker leaf color that seems to be attractive to us as we think about cotton. And then some of the labels also suggest that many of these effects here would have a positive impact on yield. However, I would say if we had 5,000 studies on mepiquat in cotton, I would say probably only a fourth of those might show an increase in yield. The others would not, but consistently, it does represent a tool, provide a tool for farmers to manage plant canopy and development, particularly in relation to size. What about the products? The original product was picks, branded picks, mepiquat chloride at 4.2% or 0.35 pounds of active ingredient per gallon. We've seen other products that are quite similar to the original, that is mepiquat chloride plus a bacterium or a plant hormone, or even a little bit different salt. And we've also seen it even as a water soluble granule, but most of the products that we talk about, and certainly these that I'm pointing to, we use them almost identically to what we do of the original product, the 4.2% product. Now, one product that does differentiate itself, it is different, it is called Stance, that's the trade name. It was introduced in the early 2000. It contains mepiquat chloride at twice the rate of the other formulation, but it also includes a growth hormone called CycleAnalid. And we do use Stance differently, and at different rates than we use the other mepiquat products. CycleAnalid by point of reference is the same plant hormone added with ethophon to make the premium harvest aid finish. So use patterns, again, we lump most of the products together in the original 4.2% formulation. And those uses are at early bloom, or thereabouts, and then applications thereafter. As I mentioned earlier, the academic community and became up with the idea, hey, this is a plant growth regulator, so maybe we would benefit from a spoon feeding approach and make a low dose applications. Just to point out on the label, the maximum use, one time use rate is 24 ounces or a pint and a half per acre, with the total uses of 48 ounces per acre per season. Stance, again, a little bit different product is used more typically at rates of two to three ounces per acre, but it does have a maximum use per season of 22 ounces. All the mepiquat products have a 30-day pre-harvest interval. Applications should be made at least 30 days prior to harvest. Now, again, looking at label use patterns, this is a label that's been in place for 40 years. The original label specifically dealt with applications associated with bloom. And we see those rates from a half to one pint with follow-up applications thereafter. The low rate multiples, again, is the approach of sort of spoon feeding initiated at match head square, early square stage at a low rate of two to four ounces with up to even four applications that range up to even 12 ounces per acre. But this is, again, an approach to give a little bit of long. And then in the last 15, 20 years or so, we've seen a late season application instituted, and that is a cutout application made in the latter weeks of bloom, maybe the sixth or even seventh week of bloom, try to finish the crop out. But these are the label use patterns. Now, this is a product that's been in the marketplace for 40 years now. And so different approaches have evolved somewhat still. We do see them centered around applications made prior to first bloom, rates ranging up to a pint or so, and then applications up to a pint and a half thereafter on 10 to 14 day intervals. Now, some approaches, particularly under well-managed, irrigated situations, we might initiate applications at the early square stage, maybe nodes eight to nine or 10, and then follow up those applications like we would others on weekly or bi-weekly intervals, up to say a pint and a half break. But these are the dominant ways that the product is used today. Now, I mentioned stance being a somewhat different product. It is, again, mepiquat plus plant hormone, and it's thought to be a little more forgiving in the plant, and therefore you're not likely to be too aggressive and shut the rate down, but its application would be relegated primarily to this range of two to three ounces at the early bloom stage or perhaps at the early square stage. It's a premium price product, and so frequently those applications would be the first applications, and then thereafter we would, most farmers might switch to a more standard mepiquat formulation just because of cost. Now, just a few comments about how to think about PGRs, and I'll underscore that the point think, maybe do it several times in our discussion, there's not an exact recipe. It's cut and dried, it's not that way. We've got to adjust as the season unfolds, as plant growth and development unfold, as weather unfolds, but the real goal is to make squares, bowls, seed and fibers, and a good fruit set means the plant's moving towards reproduction, reproductive production, not as opposed to vegetative production. So that's a good PGR, that's a good effect on the plant that sort of encourages the plant or puts a load on the plant to minimize or to at least slow down vegetative growth. A second point is that once plant tissues, leaf and stem tissues have fully expanded, you can't shrink those. So we're using mepiquat chloride to affect newly elongating tissues, be that leaves, be that stems and internode lengths and so forth. A third point is we think about fertility, we think about irrigation in rainfall as being a way to push the crop, but then some would think, well, maybe we can push the crop at the same time, hold it back vegetatively and apply breaks, if you will, with mepiquat chloride. It's not a quick and easy way to high yields, but it is a way we think about particularly well-managed high-input situations. Now, a fourth point is that I often hear people agonizing over rates. Oh, do I use six ounces or do I use 10? I don't think it's that fine of a system. So it's not that delicate in most situations, but I would admit there are infrequent times when we really can't recover from being too aggressive too early or not being aggressive enough or soon enough. And having said that, though, I would perhaps say that timing may be more critical than rate. We make and do something a little earlier that we can't do later with much higher rates. So just a few philosophical approaches and thoughts as we consider different initiations and rates and so forth. So how do we know when to make the applications and how do we know about rate? Just some factors that we'd consider, certainly weather, current and future, that you got to make some prognostication about what the weather's gonna be in 10 days to two weeks out. What's the variety like? What's the situation in the field? Does it have a history of aggressive growth or not? Do we have a good situation and we expect ranked growth? We would adjust and approach that situation accordingly. We'd also consider such things as fruit retention, whether the presence or absence of crop injury and how late it is in the season. And then the specific row pattern. So these are some ideas. Certainly variety is an important consideration. Does variety X or Y? Does it grow ranked? Does it grow aggressive? Does it grow tall? That's a valuable piece to factor into the equation when we're thinking about what we're gonna do, how we're gonna do it. Now, most cotton folks, farmers, consultants, county agents and others would have a program in mind, but you gotta adjust as the season unfolds. And I would say if there are 40 cotton folks in a room, there are 57 different ways that they would use picks or 57 different programs that they would come up with. But when should we be more conservative or should we be more aggressive? I've listed some things here. If we're in a season of extremely high temperatures, which often coincides with a lack of rainfall, again, maybe we wanna dial it back. The load of fruit, a good fruit set and a heavy fruit set I think occurs with most of our varieties that we have today except maybe where we see lost to plant bugs, early squares lost to plant bugs. But I think these were situations that might cause us to be a little more conservative. Likewise, there are very few situations in the Southeast where we can grow crops solely on irrigation. So if it's a high temperature year, even if I've got a irrigation, center pivot irrigation, I still might be more conservative. Just can't sustain extremely good growth on center pivot irrigation when I'm not getting any help from rainfall and temperatures are extremely high. This would also apply if we've got a situation where we're watering with the cable, so they may only have surface water in one or two or three applications per year. In a non-irrigated situation, a rain-fed situation, I'm always gonna be a little bit conservative because you don't, 10 days out, we could be extremely different in terms of being hot and dry and the plant be stressed. On skip row patterns, I put a question mark here. My thinking is when we have skip row situations, we want the plant to grow to canopy over the gaps. I don't have a lot of data to support that, but that's just my thinking is we wanna be, we wanna be a less aggressive with our PGRs because we want the plant to grow. And likewise, if we're recovering from herbicide injury. Now, some situations where we might go the opposite approach, it's a, hey, we need to be a little more aggressive than our standard thinking. Let's say conditions are extremely good for growth. Let's say temperatures are topping out in 85, 87 degrees and we've got good soil moisture. Cotton's gonna grow extremely fast in that kind of situation. Likewise, if we've got a very rank and aggressive variety or if we're in a field situation or a year when borax particularly troublesome for us, we might wanna be finished with a crop that's a little shorter than in some other situations. If we have poor fruit retention, we know there's gonna be a lot more vegetative horsepower in the plant so we could be a little more aggressive with our PGR rate. Likewise, if the calendar's getting late, there is some evidence that we can support and encourage early fruit set and limit vegetative growth so we might dial up our rates. The final point, again, I put a question mark because I don't have a lot of data, but my observation is that the nematode resistant varieties tend to have greater stock health late in the season and therefore there may be a little late season growth from those so maybe we need to be watchful with those situations and those varieties. Now, just some factors that we might assess plant growth and development and think about when do we start or when do we make the next application and at what rate? The first thing is a very subjective one is, hey, what does the crop look like? Is it growing fast or is it not? That's just an appearance thing and some folks won't taller cotton than others. The latter three, the other things are more objective. You can measure and make some counts and make some assessments here that would support whether or not, hey, this crop is really growing fast. The first one is height to node ratio and we would take a measurement of plant height. We'd take the cotyledon and that we would measure from the cotyledon nodes to the terminal and get a height and then we would count nodes. Again, the cotyledon would be node zero and we would count to the terminal node and we'd have a crop stage reference point that gives us some measure of what we should expect, what's normal and what's aggressive or not. An example I put here is say we've got a crop at first bloom and we measured at 28 inches with 12 nodes, 28 divided by 12 is 2.3. It puts us right about here. We're tending on the aggressive side. So again, maybe we need to initiate or accelerate our approach with PGRs. A similar method is one I think is very valuable at the early bloom stage and that is counting nodes above white flowers. This would specifically be first position white flowers. If we're running at five, six or seven, we need to see more growth. We don't need to slow it down too much with PGRs. Conversely, if we're seeing nine nodes or more at first bloom, boy, that plant is super aggressive and we need to dial it up and maybe increase our rate, certainly intervene with PGR. But so these two methods reflect node development and I think are valuable tools. A third way is to specifically look at the inner node link of the tissue that's the most recently fully elongated and that would be between nodes four and five down from the terminal. If we counted the terminal node as zero and then counted to nodes four and five, that plant, that zone would be what we would evaluate. And some people would measure it, say two and a half, if it's two and a half to three inches or if it's three fingers or four fingers or something, somebody would again use an idea that is a gauge. If it's greater than this, you know, hey, it's the plants really stretching out and we need to do something with our PGRs. And so that's just another way to support the decision-making process when you think about rates and timing. Now let me finish with a few questions. Again, to pride our thinking about this because there's no exact automatic, this is concrete how it is. Number one, can we push for bigger yields by being stomp in the gas with fertility and irrigation and then holding the plant back with our PGRs? Even from the earliest introduction of PICs, that was the thinking. And it's just not that simple and that automatic. So it just doesn't work that way. But I would say that under our high-input situations that the PGRs are very valuable and integral tools for us, but it's just not the simple way to big yields by stomp in the gas and stomp in the brakes at the same time. A more practical mundane question is how rain fast is Mepplequat chloride? Many of the labels would suggest four hours. If we're in a rainy period, we're getting occasional showers and we're concerned that we might wash it off. It's very soluble. Then we could add a non-unction factor and that would probably reduce it to one to two hours. So that would be an important practical consideration if we're in a rainy period. What about tank mixtures? The labels have lots of information about tank mixtures, particularly does it physically mix? My general observation has been that the Mepplequat products really don't add phytotoxicity to our tank mix approaches that we use. So it's a very innocuous tank mix partner if we wanna use it that way. But consult the label specifically about physically mixing the different product that you might have and you might use. Fourth point is, can we grow good cotton without Mepplequat chloride? And I'd say the answer is yes. I would qualify on high input irrigated situations where we know we're gonna grow aggressively. Yeah, it's gonna be an integral tool, but in a dry land non-irrigated situation where we're getting good rainfall, good growth, but a great fruit set, it may not be just, yes, it's just not an absolute essential. But again, these are the Mepplequat products are important tools, but it's just not an absolute necessity to grow in cotton. And then finally, what about the late season cutout applications? Can we make more cotton with those? It certainly makes logical sense that, hey, we could reduce vegetative growth and maybe put more photosynthetic product into bowl, seed, and lint development. The data just don't support that in terms of yield increase. Yes, the late season applications do a nice job of leveling out the crop canopy. They certainly make it look prettier and probably give some assistance with mechanical harvest. We don't have a rancor plant that we might otherwise wind up with. But in terms of, again, does this make us more cotton? Most of the time it does not. Does it maybe reduce our problems with regrowth? Again, not always, but it's a good idea, a good thought, but it just hasn't been demonstrated in a consistent yield production. Again, these are some of the questions we finish with. This is a thought process to explore. And hopefully this helps you as you look back on how the product has been used over the years, its mode of action of the different use patterns that have evolved and some of the questions we've examined together. So again, thank you for your attention in this webinar. Hope this is of use to you and maybe replay it as we get into the PGRU season in mid-summer.


Welcome to CTN member highlights. I'm Leslie McVane, and my guest today is Sammy Potter, a senior at Yarmouth High School. Hi, Sammy. Hi, thank you so much for having me here. Yeah, well, you've been, you've sort of excelled in high school, in sports, and organizing events, and you've made a difference at the high school over your four years, and it's branched out into the greater community, and now you've come up with this idea called a day of hope. Let's talk a little bit about what that is, and why you decided this was something you needed to do. Sure, so I think as many people are, is really evident in the era now, is, you know, we're really living in an era of uncertainty for a lot of people. There's fear among some people. There's uncertainty, and you know, I wanted to try to create an event that was nonpartisan, but had the central focus of hope, and where we can get hope, how we can use it to make a positive impact, because, you know, where I find hope has to do with my family, has to do with my friends, and my peers, and trying to make a difference with them, but I want to know where other people get hope, and how they use it to make a positive impact, and hopefully that can help my friends, my peers, and people in Maine understand, you know, why it is so important to be hopeful, even in times of uncertainty, and in that way, try to make a difference. Yes, and you brought together people from sort of a wide range of areas to talk about in sort of a TED talk kind of way, about what they do to find hope. That's exactly right. So I wanted to try to get people from a variety of venues, not just politics, but business, music, art, and we almost got somebody from food, but that didn't end up happening. So we have six speakers from those core areas, and while they're each talking about it from their own perspective, we prompted each of them with the simple idea of what gives you hope, and how do you use that to make a positive impact, and it's really incredible to see, even from my perspective right now, of what they're going to be talking about based on their own perspective of where they're coming from, because somebody, we have one person from Music who's coming, who obviously has a much different perspective on where they get hope than one of our political speakers, and it's just incredible to see the confluence of ideas and what brings people to try to make a difference in Maine.  You had to approach the high school, because it's going to be at the Yarmouth Auditorium, Yarmouth High School Auditorium on December 2nd from one to 330? One to 330, that's right. All right, so what did you have to do? What were the steps? Sure, so the first thing I knew I had to do was find a venue. I initially wanted to do it at the Merrill Auditorium, but then I really realized that where I've gotten my sense of self has been at Yarmouth High School, and I wanted to make this about my community, about trying to help my community of Maine, but specifically my community of Yarmouth High School, so I thought what more fitting place to have it than Yarmouth High School? So I dealt with the bureaucracy of the administration to get that approved, and then from there it was trying to convince and create a group of speakers that I felt best as a microcosm was indicative of a variety of areas, but could speak and had been successful in Maine, so I wanted to get somebody from each of those core areas. Unfortunately, I had known some of them from prior things I have done, like Senator Kathy Breen spoke at an event that I organized a year ago, so I had contact with her, and just a variety of different ways that I had come into contact with people. One thing I will say is that I tend to be pretty shameless in just emailing somebody if I find their email, so that was definitely very helpful in getting a few speakers on board who I didn't know. It's so easy in this day and age to try to contact somebody, and I've been pleasantly surprised that if you have an idea that people care about their, they're willing to help you and they're willing to be involved, so I curated a speaker list and then recruited a couple of my friends to help out because I really want this to be about students, about young people, about inspiring young people, so I curated a group of students at my high school, there's five of us strong. We applied for a grant with what's called the Yarmouth Education Foundation, and they are funding us to put on the event. That's terrific. Let's talk a little bit about who the speakers are. Sure. You mentioned Kathy Breen. That's right. But we've got a few others. Do you want to go through the list? Because I've got it here. I'm sure you know who they are. I know by heart, that's for sure. So we have Senator Kathy Breen. We have former gubernatorial candidate and entrepreneur, Elliot Cutler. We have musician Spencer Alby, who I mentioned before. We have Jess Knox, who is an entrepreneur in Maine. We have Leslie Silverstein, who is a immigration lawyer in Maine and somebody that is very, very incredibly inspiring in that area, so she's going to be bringing that perspective of immigration in Maine and why it's so important to be a community of immigrants and how even in Maine, which is the least diverse state, how we really are still a community of immigrants. So we have those five. And I mentioned, sorry, I'm going through the list. Oh, yeah, yeah, because we're doing in my order here. Oh, okay. Who did I know? Ethan. Right, I didn't mention that. Sorry, Ethan. So yeah, Mayor Stirling is going to be speaking at the event as well. Right. Well, that sounds like a great lineup and really some very different perspectives. So tell me who your other co-workers are in organizing this. Sure. I mean, really, it's just my friends who are as motivated as me to be working on an event like this. So I have my buddy, Ben Cox-Vaxson, who is a junior at high school. We were on cross-country together. And he really helped me formulate this idea when I was thinking about it, because the onus of this is really about we're in a time of uncertainty. And us young people, especially in Maine, we want to move the state forward, we care about the state. And he's one of one person who cares about it as much as I do. And then I have my friend, Sage Waterston, who's also a senior at high school. And then my friend, Sam McJarrison, who is a junior at Normouth High School. So the four of us are working hard on it. And we're making some great progress. So this came to you. I think it's a great idea. I hope everybody goes. But has there been a lot of discussion among the kids in your school about what's happening in the world, what's happening locally, what's happening in the state, about this sense of what can I do, not a lot of hope out there. How are they talking about it in the high school? That's a really good question. And it's one of the things that motivates me most to try to make a difference in my community in Maine. I find that there's somewhat of an even split. I think that a lot of kids are really hopeful and still have that idealistic sense about us. There's a classic stereotype of an 18-year-old kid who wants to do everything in the world, has no idea how to do it. I think that's me, and that's a lot of my friends. But I also see some young people fall victim to cynicism a little bit. And I really aspire to President Barack Obama's idea that as long as we don't let cynicism protrude into society, then our best days are ever ahead of us. So what my goal is in this event is a microcosm of it. But as a whole, I think what's so important for young people in Maine and around the world is to stay hopeful and continue to be that idealistic self that we can be. But it is definitely evident that cynicism is kind of brewing and is on the outskirts of society. And I want to do my best to try to keep it there. Well, I think that's wonderful. And it's inspiring for me to hear this. So let's go through, before we say goodbye, when it is, how they can contact you. You want to? Yeah, sure. So we have a website that is very easy to use. It's www.dayofhopemaine.com. You can check out the speaker list. You can check out more about what they're speaking about. There's an easy way to contact us on there. And you can get tickets. That's right, you can get tickets for $7 on there. And so it's going to take place on December 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Yarmouth High School. Tickets are very easy to purchase on the website. And all of the, we haven't quite identified where the proceeds are going to go to yet, but they will be donated to a Portland charity. Well, thank you. And you are a good example of our future. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Another, anytime.


We are sure that we will be working in business and we will be doing things in the middle of the world. And of course we used to see you working in our already married profession, those who are already married can also do the same. I would like you to know the transition in your Tokia Wapi and also right now life is changing, that you are doing maybe everything on your own. Yea, I think it really happened, we all grow and we all grow and at a certain point like the point where the business hadn't been up theisen, the one that you had to suck and start your own life Inakonga sa zingini hard decision for you to make na pay at the same time kumzazi wa kukukubali but at the end of the day ni kitulazi mahihappen In Afkangio time zazi atakwa like maybe you're not fit to step outside there but we're personally wanna feel you're fit enough ama sa zingini ata we're personally wanna feel like maybe I'm not fit enough but kama ni decisionu me kachini o kefkiriya and you know what lies ahead eh you just make it so make it really happen siya titulia chana na utembe that's what I want people to know we're still working but Nivenya right now we are not that one nana nifanya distribution but we're still in talks me Aroboy we still talk Nadia we still talk we're still family Nivenya say to Nivenya we don't work so much together that's why uta pata like kuna places outa to ona pamoja so many times but we link up we talk we're still a family na kila kitu kupua hello guys it's Mungay e na here to pana SPM Bars and of course we're here at the listening party and with me I'm having Iyani e ni e Iyani it's been a while niko fiti sanu me kote na kwa kwa e una ka fiti wana thank you e manzina appreciate sana thank you so much for having me wow thank you so much also a ni ke chakapu you of course here we're here to celebrate and also to we've been listening to the amazing music and by on dogu ame prepare for us I'd like to know where we come from Tani what is your relationship with him a dogu personalia me kwa ame kwa very good friend a to me kwa very close for some time to me kwa to kibonga sini wa say see you hang out a lot by the way na dogu see you pata nanga sana basically kwa discuss about umziki e tu in general na wene vitutneza do like we are more of a family right now na dogu so leo manze wene li kwa a kane mbeni aze kuna shugline na kupiga nge penda sana manzo kama ni support nge kwa lei kwa inot sinma beste aside from me kazi e tu umziki so lazi manze ni pull up manze ni support yeah of course sorry of course tu meskiza yungoma na ni no ma sana bata yungoma yungoma yungoma unia kwa kama mstani yungoma yungoma yungoma me nge aze sana manze it's a it's a very big song na look forward for the video manze mi aze leo ndobo kini itza nili kuna waju watuna kujakulunja album but manze yung song moja it's like a whole album manze that song is so nice wa say when do you take him manze mi like any personalism artist nge aze sana manze this is a song yunye ikuna very huge potential nge pona skum support na tum skumesana nge kwa it has kick add internationally because ikone o vibe yeah what do you think about his idea of launching that single because most of the time awa sana kichuita kwenye listening party hatami aew assumed maybe it's an EP or an album but yeh ame go extra for that single what can you say about the whole thing for me nge aze say ma it's a very good step because yuki yunga liya industry tu na grow na yuki yunga liya liya kwa se uku enjendro ame kwa kifanyemi so ndobu kui fanya ina manze keshwata minda fanya keshwana the artista ata fanya na tuta come, tuta msapot so mi na feel it's a very good growth for the industry na ni kitupia ina one yishat kone yu uwezo because most of the time sotu na dani angatu fanya yu watuna uwezo but tu kone yu uwezo I think tuna time yes sorry sorry sorry yeah so anyway moving forward I'm a tiaro boy okay maybe it's because my next question is about a utembe of course kukou kujua kujapanya industry kukotu na kuna sana lukwa pale utembewal and of course we used to see yu sana sana nanadi Aroboy, Pali. Stadinga na hihiki Okeyawapi if youildighikiam the latihiki kwa maybe you're not fit to step outside there, but we personally feel you're fit enough. Amasa zingini ato we personally feel like maybe I'm not fit enough, but come and indecisionu me kachini o kefkiriya and you know what lies ahead. Eh, you just make it so make it really happen. Siya titu lia chana na utembe. That's what I want people to know. We are still working, but nivenya right now we are not that one nifanya distribution, but we're still in talks. Me, Aroboy, we still talk. Nadia we still talk, we're still family. Nivenya sayitu nivenya we don't work so much together. That's why uta pata laikuna places, uta tu ona pamoja so many times, but we link up, we talk, we're still a family. Nakila kitu kwa poa? Kwa kwa kuna kitu kama omili kwa sana, ni ni kapa ana? Me, I don't think so, atu kwa kwa sana. Sisi we are family. That's why ato ingi kwa tu li kwa sana, maybe atam kiki kumshias kiyoko inje, but me mi a kuku kuna any issue. Nivenya too, I just chose to start my own thing. Ni kahanza, but we're still in works with the temple and I support their distributing my songs for me, but atu kwen talks na arobo inadi, abadu ni bishte hangu, awa sayote we're still working together. Yes. Comparing maybe back then when maybe you li kwa, most of the things li kona sayitu apale na utembe, and right now that you have to step up, ni nuna paku fanya, ime kwa aje? Kwa kwa ime kwa, ime kwa smooth transition because first of all, ni li kwa na mejipanga, miuki yunga itembe kiyomin, ni li kwa na my action, ni accommodate. I am an artist now li kwa na jupi, so mi ni kwa na my own vision, waki kamin wa li kamitu kusapot vision, yango, and that's one thing arobo inadi, bishi kumshukuru up to date, because ni li muna adwanti to be, na kakam througha kani sa... So mi kwa kwa me kwa very smooth transition because I know where I'm going, na mi ni mse piya, without or without utembe ni me kwa ni kifanya job, mi ni kwa ni kijipush, arobo yata na jua, like aku kwa na have kuni remind, you have to do this, ni li kwa na fanya, ikifikati o teme mi li kwa, ni taji a used to submit, wana skizona ni yambia... So iodun do kini me change, say personally, I have my own team, wanya tunna randvitu nao, na mi kwa very smooth transition kwangu. As we speak, arobo ina nadia, ni watu ambawa, especially arobo, kwa kibiga tua stana, outside the country, they are doing amazing, and also as well, tunna wana ukuna Australian tua, what is the secret? Sinbaya kufotanya yozao, because they are doing good, nadia they are all doing good. Sinbaya kufotanya yozao, but me am just on path, mungu na ni funguli anjia zangu, but pia kina aroana dupuwa, mi am a very big fan, they are family to me, so any time down akiwin, lasima ni taklab, na pia mi na believe the same, na arobo yami kwa kini clubia, tiyana, family ni kwa inuana, pia family ni kwa make sure, me pushi family me fika tuwa, watu enki na aje fika, so that's our target, yes. Maybe we can talk to your fans in Awa Mopale. So ni gependa kujulisha all my fans that peace coming December, ni kwa na Maya Australian tua, wa pull up manzo ni support kata si of the Jamhoori Festival, wakam through pia next year, in Charlotte a kuna fanya UK tua, na pia at the same time next year na kuna drop my album, so manze wa look forward, good things on the way, good things come. Thank you so much Yani, we appreciate aumuongaleshama fans to Australia, asa sa aumuongaleshama fans to Australia. Asa sa aumuongaleshama fans to Australia. We can talk about this coming Friday manze, ni takuna drop my new song in ituomaisha featuring major manze, basically tui nungele abu tuta has been happening, na ukiyengaliata kwaumtanda wa asa maikwa kiki kumetsuiseid wa asa maikwa kijiwa, mbuna pata things are not working out, pia pressure maikwa too much, sa imise aneza una munga iwle una drive na feel like pia mimikieshuna takaku kwa pwajui ile hasol ome putin, so mankwa patukurimain vijana like Simbaya for maybe things to take time to work out, it's not a wrong thing it's not a wrong thing for things to take time to work out, for me I feel like I am depressed just talk to someone that's not the solution because at the end of the day ukijiwa un handap ku you cause more harm than when you live in thief because your family would be even more maybe their family would have but your family would have a hard time so personally that's my advice to young guys out there manze, msi jimalize tu bongi uki feel like I am depressed just talk to someone Pero anoka miku. So because kweza, na tu mekotu tu kibonga tu kiambe na eni aji tu pangit fanyi kitu, tu pangit fanyi kitu bat tu mekotu kipatana, tu na hangout batsisa when the time came aiko kwa, aiko kwa sacha hasol mini lianda studio ni karekod and I felt like this song ikipata vibe ya meja akam because you are all speaking to the young people kafi like through add something on it ita kwa very impactful so ni kakul meja, ni kakamombene aji ni kona vibe flani apa let me send it to you, you listen ikiku kubamba, add lovers to work on it ikambamba tia, aiku take meja more than 20 minutes akani kolbaka, akani ambetsa really nice song ni kama explain ya my thinking while writing the song akani ambetsa very powerful topic akani kaki tu na tuka tuka getu kwa fanya pamaoja so it's dropping this ah yeah next week or next week yeah next week I think it's 29th if I'm not wrong yeah 26th time at 29th if I'm not wrong yeah wow thank you so much Yanni we really appreciate for giving us a chance also guys make sure you tune in mngo yei yungo man next week on Friday ya kwa kitrompa le benda piya kusima Santi manze kwa ele kazi pom na do mi na appreciate I'm a big fan na mi ma follow manze so I see emzidi kusapot munga if in support SPM buzz manze awa saywa na to show love each and every day manze na appreciate thank you so much we appreciate as well


Hi I'm Nicole. And I'm Justine. Welcome to the Produce Made Simple kitchen. We're your go-to resource for all things fruits and veg. Today we'll be making leek and potato soup. What you need for this recipe is some leeks, yellow potato, onions, and garlic and vegetable broth. So to get started we're going to wash and prepare our vegetables. First your grown-up helper cuts the leeks. Then very carefully you wash them so there's no more sand in them. Next we have to peel and cut the potato. Now we're going to add the ingredients into the pot. First the butter, okay. And leeks, potato, onions, and the garlic. You might need a spoon for that one. Super. And then we just add enough broth just to cover all of the vegetables in there. So we had almost a liter here and we'll just see if that is enough to cover the base. So it's not quite enough. You can always add a little bit more broth or just add a little bit of water if you don't have enough. So we simmer the mixture for about 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Then carefully we add it into the blender. So one thing to just be careful of is only really fill your blender halfway so that you don't sculpt yourself. So when you put the lid on I'd recommend that you use a tea towel to hold it in place. That way if any of the liquid comes up you won't sculpt yourself. Okay, ready? You want to push the button? So we've curried the soup in batches and now it's ready to enjoy. Thanks for watching. Please like, comment, and subscribe for more produce made simple. Bye!


The philosophy and the major aims and objectives of marriage within the religion of Islam. Some of us are married here, some are looking forward to get married. What is the purpose of marriage? Why Islam emphasises on the importance of getting married? Why? So when I talk of the purpose and the philosophy of marriage, I am talking of those things that Islam expects us to achieve within our marriage. We do not achieve those things. It means our marriage has not reached that level of marriage, which Allah, the Almighty, expects us to achieve. So that will be the first stage of my execution. Now let's begin with the first stage of our execution. Why are we married?  You have been married for many years. You are my father, so I want to ask you father, why did you get married? What are the things that you want to achieve in your marriage? You know, there has been a survey which was conducted some years ago by Muslim scholars on what is the criteria to measure the success of your marriage. Three possible criteria were explored. But one of them which is the last one is the best one, because it is based on the teachings of Allah. Now for knowledge sake, for information sake, let me share with you. The first one, they said no. And excuse my word, they said, if you are able to satisfy one another, then you are successful in your marriage. And Islam said no. That's not a yardstick of success. Meaning if your desire is satisfied, according to some, talk the answers. Then they came to the second one. They said the second one is what? They said there are two things if they are met in a marriage, but marriage is successful. They said one, you trust the person and you are pleased when you are with the person. Sometimes you may trust, but you are not happy when you are with the person.  So they said the second yardstick to measure is that you are happy and at the same time you are faster. Islam said that is okay, but that's not a yardstick. What is the yardstick? And my fathers who are married for many years, you can go back and ask yourself. What's the yardstick to measure the success of marriage within the religion of Islam? The yardstick to measure the success of every marriage within the religion of Islam is for your marriage to become a model for others to inspire, to get married for the sake of marriage. To build civilization that will love Allah and worship Allah. Hence, let us look at what Qur'an mentioned as philosophies of marriage. Number one, the ayah I quoted, Qur'an 30, verse 21. Allah is saying the first major philosophy of marriage is peace of mind. Suqum. Allah, you are married, I'm married. In peace? Or you are not in peace? I always mention this when I give marriage lectures. Allah, there are people men when they knock off from work, they don't go. Allah, you ask them why? I want by the time I go, she is faster. Because I don't want to go. And the same thing you visit, the lady said, haji is not bad. I pray by the time he comes back, I'm safe. See, there are people, they are in marriage, they are just forcing it. They are not happy. They say, no, no, for the sake of children, let's have it. No, no, for the sake of our name in the community, let's have it. Islam says the first philosophy of marriage is Suqum.  So that you dwell in them. You obtain tranquility through them. One other way to obtain tranquility is Salah. It's Zikr of Allah. So Allah is telling us in Qur'an through your marriage, you can obtain peace. So if I am married and there is no peace in my marriage then there is something wrong with my marriage. Believe in your honest. Number two philosophy of marriage in Islam is for your marriage to lead you to Allah. It's for your wife to become a means of proximity to Allah and your husband become means of proximity to Allah. Allah, you check our community. The more people get married, the more they stay away from the center. You tell him why he said, I'm busy now, I'm married. Qur'an is telling us why we are not married. And as they said in theology there are two ways of knowing Allah. Either within yourself or outside. Marriage is knowing Allah within oneself. If my Salat is weak the moment I get married Islam expects me to take it to the next level. If my Qur'an recitation is weak the moment I get married Islam expects me to take it to the next level. This is the second philosophy of marriage in Islam. When we are told marriage is Ibadah is because of these things. It's not that after getting married you sit in there the Maulana sit in there and before he contract he said Allah, he said I'm conducting this marriage based on the book of Allah and the tradition of Prophet. What does it mean? It means after this marriage I must remove you. That is not much. Three, listen to the book.  It means potential. It doesn't mean that the moment you are married is fulfilled. It means those challenges that are there to make it difficult for you to be religious. Once you are married, half of them are innocent. That is why, if you look at the tradition, Prophet continued to say فَلِ يَتَّكِ اللَّهَ فِيْنِسْفُ الْأَخَرْ Ḥِيْنِسْفِ الْبَعْقِ Then the one who is getting married should be conscious of the teachings of Allah in the last half. So therefore, when we are told half of our religion is fulfilled, it's not in action meaning potential. If you get into marriage and you don't follow Allah's order, there are will not be there. Because sometimes you see people before marriage, they are religious. After marriage, they do the problem. You want to tell me still half of religion is fulfilled. You find people, they are conscious of their salads. After marriage, they forget half of religion is fulfilled. So it's important who we understand this reply. And we should not get excited too much. Yes, marriage is something positive. Marriage is something that can take you to Allah easily if you know how to go about it. So therefore, kindly pay attention, let's unpack this topic so that we are able to understand the best practices that we need to put in our marriage. Whether you are married for 100 years or not, it's a lesson that all of us need to learn. If you look at the camp of Abba Abdullah, there were husbands and wives there who went there and stood alongside Abba Abdullah. So therefore, if there is one lesson that we can learn from Karbala and from the movement of Abba Abdullah in the lesson of marriage.