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• Mexican Inn Cafe: $3.50 margaritas (14 oz) / $4.50 margaritas (20 oz) / $3 wells / $3 drafts (22 oz) / $2 drafts (12oz)
• On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina: $3 margaritas, $1 off all other drinks
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Source: http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2012/jul/31/264486/

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PFT: Peyton's arm strength remains a question

AP

The Brett Favre playing era ended in 2010. ?The Brett Favre coaching era officially has begun.

When agent Bus Cook recently acknowledged that Favre would be helping out at Oak Grove high school, the place where Favre prepared for his various unretirements, Cook didn?t know what Favre?s precise role would be. ?As it turns out, Favre will serve as offensive coordinator, according to the Associated Press.

And Oak Grove isn?t some rinky-dink school. ?The 6A program at the 1,500-student facility is a perennial power in Favre?s home state of Mississippi.

?The stress is already getting to me,? Favre joked. ??I?ll wake up in the middle of the night saying, ?Hey, maybe we can do this? ?Maybe that will work???

If it doesn?t work, he won?t lose any money. ?He?s doing the job without pay. ?And perhaps for good reason.

?My experience in pro football means nothing,? Favre said. ?Absolutely nothing here. ?It?s totally different. ?So our biggest learning curve as a team might be my learning curve.?

So what does Favre bring to the table?

?I really believe I?m good at reading people,? Favre said. ??From being in the huddle, being in the locker room and in all those meetings for all those years, I understand that some people learn this way and some learn another way. . . . ?My whole job is to try and keep things simple. ?The more you have to think, the less your talent can show.?

It also gives Favre a way to keep busy, without having to leave home.

?One of the reasons I retired in the first place was I wanted to be in one place and experience all these things with my family,? Favre said. ?This year will be a trial basis [for coaching]. ?I feel like I can help the kids, but I?m not promising we?ll win any more games. ?Shoot, we might not win one.?

Favre?s comments help explain why he hasn?t gotten into broadcasting. ?Unlike players, who have 10 road games per year, players-turned-media-members are on the road every week. ?For Favre, he would have been traveling to a game site every Thursday or Friday, or to the ESPN (Connecticut), NBC (New York), CBS (New York), or HBO (L.A.) studios every Friday or Saturday.

Plus, he would have had to wear a tie. ?And something other than flip-flops.

He?ll likely be wearing something other than flip-flops on the sidelines at Oak Grove. ?But there will be no ties, and the travel will entail at most hopping into a bus on Friday afternoon, and getting home late Friday night.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/30/peyton-still-not-dialing-it-up-deep/related

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GOP fears ex-lawmaker?s candidacy will help Obama win swing-state Virginia

By Molly K. Hooper - 07/29/12 03:20 PM ET

A former House Republican lawmaker could siphon votes from Mitt Romney in the battleground state of Virginia and boost President Obama?s chances of winning a second term.

Former five-term Rep. Virgil Goode, who represented southwest Virginia?s 5th District, has a strong chance of making it on the state?s general election ballot. That would set up a potential Ralph Nader-like spoiler scenario circa 2000.

At that time, then-Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, lost the state of Florida by fewer than 600 votes to former President George W. Bush. Nader, a liberal third-party candidate, won nearly 100,000 votes in the Sunshine State.

A similar scenario could play out in Virginia if Goode?s name appears on the ballot in November, according to a recent poll.

According to a Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey of Virginia voters, Goode would win 9 percent of the vote, with Romney winning 35 percent to Obama?s 49 percent, with a margin of error of 3.9 percent.

Goode discounted the polling firm?s numbers, which showed him taking votes from Romney.

The Democrat, turned Independent, turned Republican, turned Constitution Party member told The Hill that he?s not worried about taking votes from Romney, sharing an anecdote from a recent petition signature gathering event.

?A local Republican committee member from Bedford [Va.] said, ?I want you to know Virgil that I'm not going to vote for you; I'm going to vote for Romney. But I?m going to sign your petition because I know a lot of disgruntled Democrats that won?t vote for Romney under any circumstances. But if you?re on the ballot, they will vote for you ? not all of them but a lot of them,?? Goode said.

But one political insider says that while Goode may win votes from southern Democrats who are not fond of Obama, the Constitution Party candidate will win more votes from Republicans frustrated with Romney.

?Goode is a household name in the 5th district, and could be Romney?s worst nightmare if he qualifies for the ballot,? GOP political operative Ford O?Connell told The Hill.

Should Goode get on the ballot, his name would appear as an ?independent.?

Even though some GOP insiders discount the PPP poll, they do worry that Goode could garner one or two percentage points from Romney. That would be enough, they say, to hand a Virginia victory to Obama.

Despite the high stakes, Goode says that he hasn?t heard from any of his former congressional colleagues to ask him to back down.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told The Hill that he has not reached out to Goode in light of the recent poll, nor have Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) or Randy Forbes (R-Va.).

Forbes said, ?I don't know of any contact made to Virgil on that yet.?

?They're not going to call. They probably wouldn?t want to discuss the issues with me,? Goode said, noting his stance against illegal immigration and recent call for a moratorium on green card admissions to the U.S.

Both positions hold more appeal to hard-line conservatives.

In fact, Goode says that he became a member of the Constitution Party because it was the only party to support Arizona?s controversial immigration law.

Some say that Goode?s former colleagues know better than to ask him to back down because doing so would ?embolden? him.

Goode, who did not endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president in 2008, lost his 2008 reelection race to former Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello. Before he had a chance to enter the race in 2010, Republicans had already endorsed Rep. Robert Hurt?s bid to win the seat. Hurt defeated Perriello two years ago.

One Old Dominion political official pointed out that the closer it gets to Aug. 24 ? the Virginia deadline for petition to appear on the general election ballot ? the more serious local Republicans may become about approaching Goode.

To date, Goode is on the ballot in 17 states; he hopes to be on the ballot in 30-40 states by Election Day. He told The Hill that his campaign has already turned in 14,000 signatures to the state election board, with a goal of submitting 18,000.

Only 10,000 signatures are required for inclusion on the ballot, but those signatures must be collected from registered voters in Virginia. Goode wants a healthy cushion to allow for invalid signatures from unregistered signers.

According to the Federal Election Commission?s most recent reporting, Goode has less than $60,000 in his campaign coffers. He has spent so much time gathering petition signatures that he hasn?t been able to fundraise, Goode said, noting that his campaign isn?t taking PAC money and won?t accept checks for more than $200.

Goode?s admitted that he?s unlikely to win the popular vote but, he says there?s a ?slim chance? that he could win the Electoral College.

?The big money is behind Obama and Romney, and if you want a fundamental change that would be somewhat of an upheaval in Washington, vote for me,? Goode said.

And if his name makes it on the ballot in Virginia and enough voters check the box beside his name on Election Day, he may just cause an upheaval for team Romney.

After all, O?Connell says, ?for Obama, Virginia is not a must. But for Romney, it is a must have in terms of winning the White House.?

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Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/240903-gop-fears-ex-lawmakers-candidacy-will-help-obama-win-swing-state-virginia

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Struggling Calif. cities looking to tax hikes - KansasCity.com

STANTON, Calif. -- There's a new twist emerging as some of California's most financially troubled cities look for ways out of their predicaments: They're declaring fiscal emergencies so they can quickly get tax hike initiatives on local November ballots.

Leaders are turning most often to an increase in the local sales tax. But there also are proposals for hikes on utility taxes, parcel taxes and, in the Los Angeles-area city of El Monte, a proposal to tax sugary drinks.Last month's bankruptcy filing by Stockton, quickly followed by one in Mammoth Lakes and then San Bernardino's sudden declaration of a fiscal emergency and plan to file for bankruptcy drew attention to an increasingly common theme - some communities battered by the economy and unable to control costs now are heading toward insolvency.El Monte finance director Julio Morales said San Bernardino was a wakeup call. Local officials declared a fiscal emergency last week, clearing the way for a ballot question asking residents to approve a 1 cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. Local officials think the tax would bring in up to $7 million per year."We don't want to wait like San Bernardino and say, 'We can't make payroll,'" Morales said.La Mirada, Fairfield and Culver City are among other communities that declared fiscal emergencies this year and placed sales tax increases on their ballots. The Orange County community of Stanton declared a fiscal emergency, got a utility tax question on the June ballot and voters rejected it. Now the city may try again in November.It's unusual and perhaps unprecedented for so many cities to declare fiscal crises in such a short period."It is relatively new - and a sign of desperation," said David Brunori, professor of public policy at George Washington University who specializes in tax policy and has studied state and local finance in California.A "fiscal emergency" requires a unanimous vote by a community's governing body, usually a city council. Such a declaration allows cities to more quickly place a tax question before voters, rather than waiting up to two years for the next scheduled local election.That so many cities are choosing this route causes David Kline, spokesman for the California Taxpayers Association, to speculate some local leaders may be "crying wolf." He surmised some officials are declaring an "emergency" because it enhances the chances for passing a tax question and saves them from having to make deeper cuts."If the city has a track record of mismanaging money and not doing anything to control spending and that's why it's near bankruptcy, the voters will probably be disinclined to give them more money," he said. "But if the city can show they've been hit by economic changes, voters might be more forgiving."There is strong anti-tax sentiment in California these days, based at least partly on skepticism that elected officials will use the money wisely. That helps explain why a proposed increase in the state's cigarette tax -an idea usually popular with the public - was defeated in June.Local officials who favor tax hikes believe residents will recognize the need for more money rather than more budget cuts. But muddying the prospects for local tax hikes is Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative. It would raise the income tax for people making more than $250,000 per year, and would boost the state sales tax by a quarter-cent. Brown has warned of further state cuts if his plan loses.Conventional wisdom holds that voters are more likely to pass taxes at the local level. But a surfeit of revenue measures on the November ballot could overwhelm voters."My prediction is that people are going to reject tax hikes at all levels of government," Brunori said. "It's not that they don't like government - they do. But they really don't like bad government."Voters in Stanton rejected a tax hike last month, prompting cuts in police and fire staffing. A sign at the entrance to Hollenbeck Park - a long, narrow swath stretching beneath massive power lines and equipped with benches, winding paths and a colorful jungle gym - reads "Park closed due to budget cuts - no trespassing allowed."City Manager Carol Jacobs said the cuts to police and fire have nearly balanced the city's budget That's a big improvement from earlier in the year, when she warned the city could eventually face bankruptcy due to the drop in tax revenues.But Jacobs said Stanton will need more money in the coming years, and getting a tax question before voters is more responsible than delaying any action until the city's reserves are gone."It's like waiting to look for a job until you have no savings and your house gets foreclosed on," she said.Going back to voters for a tax increase carries risk, said Roy Ulrich, who teaches tax and communication policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley."Local electeds are also subject to voter approval, and if they keep asking for tax increases that are turned down, their own jobs will be in peril," he said. "Voters can get angry and say, 'You didn't try to cut spending, you just came to us and asked for a tax increase.'"

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/30/3732629/struggling-calif-cities-looking.html

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Investigators launch new criminal investigation against Russian protest leader Navalny

MOSCOW - Russia's top investigative agency says it has opened a new criminal probe against opposition leader Alexei Navalny on allegations of theft.

The 36-year-old corruption-fighting lawyer and popular blogger has played a key role in rallying Russia's young Internet generation against Vladimir Putin's rule.

Over the winter, Navalny spearheaded a series of opposition rallies in Moscow that drew up to 100,000 to the streets ahead of the March vote in which Putin won a third presidential term.

The State Investigative Committee said Tuesday that it suspects Navalny of organizing a scheme to steal assets from a state timber company. He may face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Navalny has denied any wrongdoing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/investigators-launch-criminal-investigation-against-russian-protest-leader-095018495.html

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Health care savings, naturally

Public release date: 30-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Harvard researcher finds the use of traditional, natural medicines offer economic benefits

For millions of people around the world being sick doesn't mean making a trip to the local pharmacy for medicines like Advil and Nyquil. Instead it means turning to the forest to provide a pharmacopeia of medicines to treat everything from tooth aches to chest pains.

But while questions persist about whether such natural remedies are as effective as their pharmacological cousins, one Harvard researcher is examining the phenomenon from a unique perspective, and trying to understand the economic benefits people receive by relying on such traditional cures.

As reported in a paper published this week in PLoS ONE, Christopher Golden, '05, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment has found that, in the area of northwest Madagascar he studies, people annually receive between $5 and $8 in benefits by using natural medicines.

Though seemingly slight, those benefits add up to between $30 and $45 per household, Golden said, or anywhere from 43 to 63 percent of the median annual income for families in the region.

"We documented people using more than 240 different plant species to treat as many as 82 different illnesses," Golden said. "This data suggests that it can have quite an impact, financially."

It's an impact that may not be limited to Madagascar, or other regions where access to pharmaceuticals is limited.

As part of his analysis, Golden also compared the use of natural remedies with the prices that American consumers might pay if they were purchasing the pharmaceutical equivalent online where prices are typically lower than on pharmacy shelves. To his surprise, the results showed that the average American could save anywhere from 22 to 63 percent of their annual health care bill, simply by using natural medicines.

"If Americans were relying on traditional medicines as much as people in Madagascar, it could save them a major percentage of their health care expenditures," Golden said.

Golden, however, was quick to emphasize that his study only examined the economics of the natural remedies versus pharmaceuticals, not whether they were equally effective.

"What we're trying to do is account for the economic value the local floral bio-diversity provides to people in this area of Madagascar," Golden said. "We're not assuming there is a medical equivalency this study is about the perceived efficacy. The people who live in this region often have taken both pharmaceuticals and traditional medicines many times, but there is a perceived efficacy for these traditional medicines."

Measuring that perceived efficacy involved surveying 1,200 households in and around Maroantsetra, a city in the northeast corner of the island nation, to determine which natural medicines they used.

To establish the economic benefit of each natural remedy, Golden asked whether people would prefer to use the natural or pharmaceutical remedy for a given illness. If, for example, 60 percent of those asked said they preferred the traditional medicine, Golden established its value as being 60 percent of the price of its pharmaceutical cousin.

"Certainly, because there's no proof of medical equivalency between these treatments, it could easily be an over-estimation to establish these values," Golden said. "But the bio-diversity in these regions represents a huge pharmacopeia, and there are many hidden benefits to the use of these sorts of traditional medicines. These medicines aren't being improperly prescribed or mismanaged, and because they've been used for millennia, we know they're not producing any type of negative side effects."

The economic benefits offered by natural medicines, however, may not end at those who rely on them to treat day-to-day ailments.

The corner of Madagascar that Golden studied contains nearly one percent of all the global floral biodiversity, meaning the chance that a novel pharmaceutical might be developed based on the traditional medicines used in the area is relatively high. The value of that drug, Golden said, could range from $300 million to as much as $5.7 billion.

"That raises additional issues, about who benefits from the discovery of these drugs," Golden said. "In the case of the Madagascar Periwinkle, which was used to develop the treatment for childhood leukemia, a foreign drug company came, took the plants to a foreign lab and they are now making billions, but not five cents has made its way back to Madagascar."

While the question of their medical efficacy is still to be answered, Golden knows first-hand why people continue to rely on traditional medicines in at least some cases, they work.

"I have been living here long enough that I've used some of these remedies myself," Golden said. "In one case, some scratches on my leg got infected, and it blew up like a watermelon from my knee to my ankle. My host family went into the forest and came back with what looked like nettles and put them on my leg. It was incredibly itchy, but the swelling went away completely and the pain disappeared. So these treatments really can work."

###

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 30-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Peter Reuell
preuell@fas.harvard.edu
617-496-8070
Harvard University

Harvard researcher finds the use of traditional, natural medicines offer economic benefits

For millions of people around the world being sick doesn't mean making a trip to the local pharmacy for medicines like Advil and Nyquil. Instead it means turning to the forest to provide a pharmacopeia of medicines to treat everything from tooth aches to chest pains.

But while questions persist about whether such natural remedies are as effective as their pharmacological cousins, one Harvard researcher is examining the phenomenon from a unique perspective, and trying to understand the economic benefits people receive by relying on such traditional cures.

As reported in a paper published this week in PLoS ONE, Christopher Golden, '05, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment has found that, in the area of northwest Madagascar he studies, people annually receive between $5 and $8 in benefits by using natural medicines.

Though seemingly slight, those benefits add up to between $30 and $45 per household, Golden said, or anywhere from 43 to 63 percent of the median annual income for families in the region.

"We documented people using more than 240 different plant species to treat as many as 82 different illnesses," Golden said. "This data suggests that it can have quite an impact, financially."

It's an impact that may not be limited to Madagascar, or other regions where access to pharmaceuticals is limited.

As part of his analysis, Golden also compared the use of natural remedies with the prices that American consumers might pay if they were purchasing the pharmaceutical equivalent online where prices are typically lower than on pharmacy shelves. To his surprise, the results showed that the average American could save anywhere from 22 to 63 percent of their annual health care bill, simply by using natural medicines.

"If Americans were relying on traditional medicines as much as people in Madagascar, it could save them a major percentage of their health care expenditures," Golden said.

Golden, however, was quick to emphasize that his study only examined the economics of the natural remedies versus pharmaceuticals, not whether they were equally effective.

"What we're trying to do is account for the economic value the local floral bio-diversity provides to people in this area of Madagascar," Golden said. "We're not assuming there is a medical equivalency this study is about the perceived efficacy. The people who live in this region often have taken both pharmaceuticals and traditional medicines many times, but there is a perceived efficacy for these traditional medicines."

Measuring that perceived efficacy involved surveying 1,200 households in and around Maroantsetra, a city in the northeast corner of the island nation, to determine which natural medicines they used.

To establish the economic benefit of each natural remedy, Golden asked whether people would prefer to use the natural or pharmaceutical remedy for a given illness. If, for example, 60 percent of those asked said they preferred the traditional medicine, Golden established its value as being 60 percent of the price of its pharmaceutical cousin.

"Certainly, because there's no proof of medical equivalency between these treatments, it could easily be an over-estimation to establish these values," Golden said. "But the bio-diversity in these regions represents a huge pharmacopeia, and there are many hidden benefits to the use of these sorts of traditional medicines. These medicines aren't being improperly prescribed or mismanaged, and because they've been used for millennia, we know they're not producing any type of negative side effects."

The economic benefits offered by natural medicines, however, may not end at those who rely on them to treat day-to-day ailments.

The corner of Madagascar that Golden studied contains nearly one percent of all the global floral biodiversity, meaning the chance that a novel pharmaceutical might be developed based on the traditional medicines used in the area is relatively high. The value of that drug, Golden said, could range from $300 million to as much as $5.7 billion.

"That raises additional issues, about who benefits from the discovery of these drugs," Golden said. "In the case of the Madagascar Periwinkle, which was used to develop the treatment for childhood leukemia, a foreign drug company came, took the plants to a foreign lab and they are now making billions, but not five cents has made its way back to Madagascar."

While the question of their medical efficacy is still to be answered, Golden knows first-hand why people continue to rely on traditional medicines in at least some cases, they work.

"I have been living here long enough that I've used some of these remedies myself," Golden said. "In one case, some scratches on my leg got infected, and it blew up like a watermelon from my knee to my ankle. My host family went into the forest and came back with what looked like nettles and put them on my leg. It was incredibly itchy, but the swelling went away completely and the pain disappeared. So these treatments really can work."

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/hu-hcs073012.php

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Last drugs standing: Key Alzheimer results coming

This Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo shows Gammagard, a treatment that is being tested for Alzheimer's disease, at the home of a patient in New York. Three treatments, including Bapineuzumab and Solanezumab, being tested for the disease are antibodies - proteins made by the immune system that promote clearance of amyloid, the stuff that forms the plaque. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

This Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo shows Gammagard, a treatment that is being tested for Alzheimer's disease, at the home of a patient in New York. Three treatments, including Bapineuzumab and Solanezumab, being tested for the disease are antibodies - proteins made by the immune system that promote clearance of amyloid, the stuff that forms the plaque. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo, Jason and Karin Marder pose for a picture in their home in New York. Jason Marder, who turned 70 on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than eight years ago. In the roughly five years that her husband has taken Gammagard, "there has been decline" in his health but it is very minimal and the kind of slowing down you might expect from ordinary aging, she said. "He travels the subways, he does things that you and I do. And our quality of life together is what's most important." (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Gammagard, a drug that is being tested for treating Alzheimer's disease, is seen in the home of Jason and Karin Marder in New York, Sunday, July 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo, Jason and Karin Marder pose for a picture in their home in New York. Jason Marder, who turned 70 on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than eight years ago. In the roughly five years that her husband has taken Gammagard, "there has been decline" in his health but it is very minimal and the kind of slowing down you might expect from ordinary aging, she said. "He travels the subways, he does things that you and I do. And our quality of life together is what's most important." (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this Sunday, July 8, 2012 photo, Jason Marder walks home with his wife, Karin Marder, after visiting a grocery store in New York. Jason Marder, who turned 70 on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than eight years ago. In the roughly five years that her husband has taken Gammagard, "there has been decline" in his health but it is very minimal and the kind of slowing down you might expect from ordinary aging, she said. "He travels the subways, he does things that you and I do. And our quality of life together is what's most important." (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

We're about to find out if there will be a way anytime soon to slow the course of Alzheimer's disease. Results are due within a month or so from key studies of two drugs that aim to clear the sticky plaque gumming up patients' brains.

A pivotal study of a third drug will end later this year, and results from a small, early test of it will be reported next week at an Alzheimer's conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

These three treatments are practically the "last men standing" in late-stage trials, after more than a decade of failed efforts to develop a drug to halt the mind-robbing disease. Current medicines such as Aricept and Namenda just temporarily ease symptoms. There is no known cure.

Experts say that if these fail, drug companies may pull out of the field in frustration, leaving little hope for the millions of people with the disease. An estimated 35 million people worldwide have dementia, which includes Alzheimer's. In the U.S., experts say about 5 million have Alzheimer's.

The three treatments being tested are not even drugs in the traditional, chemical sense. They are antibodies ? proteins made by the immune system that promote clearance of amyloid, the stuff that forms the plaque.

It's a strategy with a checkered history, and scientists aren't even sure that amyloid causes Alzheimer's or that removing it will do any good in people who already have symptoms. But there are some hopeful signs they may be on the right track.

"Everybody in the field is probably holding their breath that there is something positive to come out of these trials," said Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

"It may not be a home run" in terms of improving memory and cognition, but if brain imaging or spinal fluid tests show the drugs are hitting their target, "they will be regarded as successes," he said.

William Thies, scientific director of the Alzheimer's Association, agreed.

Even if there is just a small effect, "that would be a huge finding because that would let you know you had a drug that worked," he said. It then could be tried as a preventive medicine or given earlier in the course of the disease when it may have more impact.

The three drugs and their developers are:

?Bapineuzumab (bap-ih-NOOZ-uh-mab), by Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy unit.

?Solanezumab (sol-ah-NAYZ-uh-mab), by Eli Lilly & Co.

?Gammagard, by Baxter International Inc.

All are given as periodic intravenous infusions; some companies are trying to reformulate them so they could be given as shots. If a major study shows that one of the drugs works, there will be a huge effort to make it more convenient and practical, Thies predicted.

Still, it would probably be very expensive.

The first two on the list are lab-made, single antibodies against amyloid. Gammagard is intravenous immune globulin, or IVIG ? multiple, natural antibodies culled from blood. Half a dozen companies already sell IVIG to treat immune system and blood disorders. It takes 130 plasma donations to make enough to treat one patient for a year.

Treating Alzheimer's with IVIG would cost $2,000 to $5,000 every two weeks, depending on the patient's weight, said Dr. Norman Relkin, head of a memory disorders program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He consults for some drugmakers and has patents for tests that measure amyloid.

Relkin is also leading a late-stage, 400-patient study of Gammagard that will wrap up late this year. A much smaller, earlier study he led showed less brain shrinkage among people receiving the drug than among those getting dummy infusions.

"It was so startling that I sent it to two laboratories for independent verification," Relkin said.

Next week, at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Canada, Relkin will give a three-year progress report on 16 patients out of the original 24 enrolled in that earlier study.

Jason Marder is among them. The New York City man, who turned 70 on Tuesday, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than eight years ago.

"It was devastating," said his wife, Karin Marder. "I thought, 'Our life is over together as a couple.' But in fact it really has not been, and I have to attribute this really to the clinical trial."

In the roughly five years that her husband has taken Gammagard, there has been decline in his health, but it is minimal and the kind of slowing down you might expect from ordinary aging, she said. "He travels the subways, he does things that you and I do. And our quality of life together is what's most important," she said.

Jason Marder said he takes a creative writing class, runs errands for his wife and bikes around the city. As for his disease, "I fight it as much as I can," he said. "I feel I can handle it."

It's impossible to say how Marder would have fared without the treatment. Some patients decline rapidly, while others not for years. Hard evidence comes from large studies like the one that will conclude later this year, in which a group of patients getting the treatment is compared with a similar group given dummy infusions.

Studies on the two other drugs already have ended and results are being analyzed. The main outcome is likely to be announced by the companies as soon as it is known, and detailed results are to be presented at scientific conferences in October.

Bapineuzumab is one of the largest bets ever placed in the field of Alzheimer's disease. More than 4,000 patients are participating in four studies around the world ? two in people with a gene that raises the risk of Alzheimer's and two in people who don't carry that gene.

The studies, which started enrolling patients in 2007, involve brain scans every few months. "That's enormously expensive and time-consuming," said Dr. Eric Yuen, head of clinical development for Janssen. These experiments are just now yielding results.

Concern arose when an earlier study found possible bleeding or brain abnormalities in up to 10 percent of patients on the drug. However, most had no symptoms and were able to resume treatment after a brief break, Yuen said. In fact, some researchers think these changes might be a sign the drug is working to clear the amyloid plaque.

The fact that independent monitors have not stopped the new studies has made Dr. Reisa Sperling optimistic the drug will prove to be safe. Director of the Alzheimer's center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, she has consulted for Janssen and Pfizer and enrolled patients in the studies.

Relkin, who is leading the Gammagard study, said that if all three of these drugs fail, "we're in trouble." There hasn't been a new drug even to help symptoms in nine years, he said.

Petersen of the Mayo Clinic agrees.

"If they're dead-flat negative, the impact on the field and the implication for Big Pharma could be huge," he said. Companies "may bail" from the field entirely. "They may just say, 'This nut is too tough to crack.'"

___

Online:

Alzheimer's info: http://www.alzheimers.gov

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org

Alzheimer's Association International Conference: http://www.alz.org/aaic/overview.asp

___

Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-07-11-Alzheimer's%20Drugs/id-8c9e9c8e1aeb45f38d4aa2a2101eb77a

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Horse Coat Supplement For Your Beloved ... - Love My Pets GPS

Horse Coat Supplement is good for any variety of horse. The wonderful Appaloosa horse was the result of selective breeding by the Native American Indians. They based the breed with Spanish stock. The phrase Appaloosa originated from the Palouse River, which runs through the area. These spotted mounts were described in several adventure journals ever since the early 1800s. The kind nearly became extinct after the U.S. cavalry slaughtered the Indian?s race horses after running after the tribe towards the hills of Montana. In 1938, a team of concerned horse individuals in Idaho started off a registry to save the breed. It presently has the 3rd largest registry on earth.

Probably the Appaloosa?s most unique feature is its spotted cover, that can be found in several patterns. The more frequent patterns are a darker body color with light spots, and a white body with darker spots. There are also other patterns for example a frost coat together with white specks, marbled which can be molted throughout, and a blanket, that is all white within the hips. Their hooves have black or white stripes. There are a selection of types today, since there has been some cross-breeding with the Quarter Horse. Many Appaloosas possess lean manes and tails, and many think that their eyes have an almost human look to them.

Their stature array is by 14 to 15 hands. Appaloosas are notable for their tranquil character. They?re flexible, able jumpers, and do well in Western events and three day events. They get great trail and long distance riders. Another great breed is Arabian horse. There are several qualities that set this horse apart from various other breeds with the most apparent being their face. The breed?s head carries a characteristic dished profile with a prominent eye, large nostrils and small teacup muzzle. Arabian horses are well recognized for being loving and connecting well with humans.

Arabians have also become the breed of preference in the endurance world due to their stamina and agility. Due to their friendly nature and willingness to work, Arabians are a popular selection for training programs and therapeutic riding. If you wish for a horse that equestrians use, the Hanoverian Horse will be the breed for you. The success of Hanoverian horses in competition shows the soundness of the breed. It has won a lot of medals in various competitions.

Horse Coat Supplement could make your choice of horse breed better and healthier. One other popular breed is the Palomino. The term is actually a Spanish surname. Many feel that Palomino is just a color and not a breed, which can be true that the color of Palomino comes in all breeds, however the Palomino of Spanish periods was as close to becoming a breed as any strain of horse. The Palomino is a multi-purpose horse. They are admired not only for their beauty but for their flexibility, ability to move, and stamina. They are found in ranching, racing, rodeos, pleasure riding, parades, shows, jumping, walk rides, and all other activities.

Horse Coat Supplement specialists possess numerous advice and expert thoughts on the way you take proper care of your cherished equines using the the very best horse coat supplements within their daily diet regime.

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Source: http://lovemypetsgps.com/blog/2528/horse-coat-supplement-for-your-beloved-variety-of-horses/

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Report: Some lose homes over as little as $400

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The elderly and other vulnerable homeowners are losing their homes because they owe as little as a few hundred dollars in back taxes, according to a report from a consumer group.

Outdated state laws allow big banks and other investors to reap windfall profits by buying the houses for a pittance and reselling them, the National Consumer Law Center said in a report being released Tuesday.

Local governments can seize and sell a home if the owner falls behind on property taxes and fees. The process helps governments make ends meet at a time when low property values and the weak economy are squeezing tax revenue.

But tax debts as small as $400 can cause people to lose their homes because of arcane laws and misinformation among consumers, says John Rao, the report's author and an attorney with NCLC.

The consequences are "devastating for individuals, families and communities," Rao said. He said states should update laws so speculators can't profit from misinformed homeowners and people who have difficulty managing their finances.

The rules for property tax sales can be confusing, especially to elderly people who can't keep track of their finances and people in minority-heavy communities that were targeted by subprime lenders. Here's how it works:

? The government files a public document called a tax lien saying that it can seize the property if the taxes remain unpaid.

? If the taxes aren't paid, the government auctions the lien to investors. Past investors include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and people who respond to Internet get-rich schemes, the report said. Homes typically are sold at steep discounts.

? For a limited time, the homeowner may buy back the home by paying to the investors the purchase price of the lien, plus interest, fees and other costs. That's possible because investors haven't bought the home itself ? they have purchased the tax lien, which gives them the right to seize the home later.

? If the owner fails to pay all the costs, investors can sell the home at a big profit compared with the cost of buying the tax lien.

The report said state governments should make it easier for homeowners to retake their homes after tax lien sales. It said they should limit the interest and penalties investors can charge and increase court oversight.

It also called on local governments to let people pay back taxes or fees to investors on an installment plan, and to increase notice to homeowners and make sure they understand their rights.

Tax lien sales differ from most foreclosures, which happen when people fall behind on mortgage payments. In many states, homes sold because of tax debts can be sold for only the amount of back taxes owed.

That means a $200,000 home might fetch only $1,200, the report said. In the process, homeowners can lose thousands of dollars in home equity that they have built up by making monthly payments.

It is difficult to put a figure on the number of homes sold in tax lien sales because the information is spread among thousands of local governments, Rao said.

A JPMorgan unit estimated in 2009 that about $5 billion worth of tax liens are sold to investors each year, according to a transcript of remarks made at a government meeting in Kansas City, Kan.

Rao said he believes the actual number is much higher. He said Florida alone sold $2 billion worth of tax liens in 2008.

JPMorgan and Bank of America both said they have stopped buying and bundling and reselling tax liens but still hold tax liens that they already owned and manage them for others.

For elderly people, home equity might represent their only retirement savings. Many older Americans draw down the equity in their homes over time through reverse mortgages and other loans that use home equity as collateral.

People who got subprime mortgages before 2008 also face challenges staying current on property taxes. Subprime lenders are less likely to bill borrowers for the property taxes and then pay the taxes directly to the government. Instead, borrowers are expected to keep track of their taxes and pay them without help from the mortgage company. People with higher-quality mortgages tend to pay taxes and insurance to their mortgage companies as part of their monthly bills.

The report is the first comprehensive study of each state's policies and procedures for tax lien sales. An early copy was obtained by The Associated Press.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-10-US-Tax-Sales-Homeowners/id-93edcf89138f4462b83e71bae50fcad7

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Chelsea captain Terry's racism trial begins

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:43 a.m. ET July 9, 2012

LONDON (AP) - The racism trial of John Terry began Monday with prosecutors contending the Chelsea captain acknowledges using offensive language on the field as a "sarcastic exclamation."

The England defender came face to face in court with Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, whom he is accused of racially abusing during a Premier League match in October. The 31-year-old Terry faces a maximum fine of $3,900 if he becomes the first top soccer player in England convicted of racial abuse during a game.

Ferdinand, who is black, gave evidence that he had not initially heard Terry use racist language during the game at Loftus Road. Ferdinand said he became aware of the apparent racial slur from YouTube footage. Ferdinand said he would have reported the remarks to game officials if he realized what had been said.

"When someone brings your color into (abuse), it takes it to another level and it's very hurtful," Ferdinand said.

Terry sat in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court behind a screen opposite Ferdinand, occasionally looking up and spending most of the time making notes.

Prosecutors opened the trial by saying Terry's comments were "uttered by way of sarcastic exclamation or inquiry in relation to a perceived false accusation made by Mr. Ferdinand" to the effect that the defendant had used a racial expletive.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny said Terry's remarks were made in response to "goading by Mr. Ferdinand on the issue of his extra-marital affair, rather than by way of exaggerated and instant querying of a perceived false allegation."

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy before the 2010 World Cup following allegations he had an affair with teammate Wayne Bridge's former girlfriend.

Terry regained the captaincy but lost it again in February with this trial pending ahead of the European Championship, at which he played in all four of England's games last month.

Two weeks after playing in the quarterfinal loss to Italy, the court only heard from Terry via statements read from interviews last year with the police and Football Association.

Terry claimed Ferdinand had shouted a "number of abusive comments" toward him and made "at least one obscene gesture with his hand, a pumping action clearly directed at me and no other Chelsea player."

"I felt he was accusing me of making a racist remark, which is simply not true," Terry said in police interviews read out to the court.

Terry's defense questioned Ferdinand on why he was "so angry" in the match after the Chelsea player tried to win a penalty. Ferdinand said that made him angry because "I'm a winner" but added he is usually a "calm and collected player."

---

Rob Harris can be reached at www.twitter.com/RobHarris

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Why the axe fell on Spencer

PST: Portland stresses its move to dismiss John Spencer isn't driven his record, but by what GM Gavin Wilkinson likely sees as a move to eventually win it all.

Timbers fire coach John Spencer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - John Spencer, the affable coach of the Portland Timbers who helped prepare the team for the jump to Major League Soccer last season, was fired on Monday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48118671/ns/sports-soccer/

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21 Ways You Should Take Advantage Of Your 20s | Thought Catalog

1. Don?t feel the need to respond to every text message, phone call, and email the second it reaches you. Once upon a time, it took longer than a minute to reach someone. People used stamps and envelopes; they had answering machines they didn?t check for hours, sometimes days. No one will die if you don?t immediately respond to every message you receive.

2. Ask for what?s owed to you. Half the time, you?re not getting your needs met because you?re not making them known. Your employers, romantic interests, and friends are not going to read your mind and give you what you need unless you speak up.

3. Never turn down an open bar. Seek them out and make them a priority. Indulging in open bars when you?re older isn?t appropriate because a) people will think you have an alcohol problem and b) you?re supposed to have enough money to afford your own alcohol.

4. If you?re unhappy and someone offers you a way out, take it. You don?t owe your first job years of loyalty and your first-born; you don?t have to stay in your city just because you?re on a first-name basis with the bodega guy. Do what feels right; the initial fear will give way to excitement.

5. Enjoy all the sex marathons you?re having in your 20s, dudes. In your 30s, the time between erections is waaaay longer. Then, some 20-something babe is all, ?Can you go again?? after five minutes and you?re all, ?No I can?t ?go again.? I am still dealing with having just came. Jesus.? That?s not a concern when you?re in your 20s ? don?t ever take it for granted.

6. Let your more successful friends pick up the check this time. Before you?re 30, it?s still okay to be work as a barista and not have your career path figured out. Save your cash and take up your lawyer-friend?s offer for dinner. Use the money you saved to buy more ramen.

7. Play a sport you played in elementary school. Kickball, dodgeball. There are leagues for these games now. Get on it.

8. Learn how to cook. Here?s an idea ? instead of spending all your money on ridiculously marked-up restaurant food, save your money by buying non-processed WHOLE FOODS and LEARNING HOW TO MAKE A MEAL OF REAL FOOD. A meal of real food is not a box of Annie?s Organic Mac and Cheese ? that?s PROCESSED FOOD. A meal is something like sauteed brussel sprouts with onions and pinto beans garnished with salt and pepper. You?ll thank yourself for learning how to cook when your metabolism catches up to you.

9. Keep making friends. Everyone complains that it?s hard to make friends after college, but we still manage to find new people to flirt with and date, right? It?s not that hard. You know yourself better than you ever have before, and your friends can finally reflect that. Don?t cling to old friends because it?s too frightening or ?risky? to make new ones.

10. Let your parents buy your plane ticket home. It can be trying to be stuck in a house with your family for a few days or a week, but vacations in your 20s can be hard to come by. Let them subsidize your trips home and do you as much as you can when you get there.

11. Stay up late. In your 20s, you?re all, ?Let?s go to another bar!? ?Who wants to eat at a diner?? ?Have you guys seen the sun rise from the High Line?? ?In this moment I swear we were infinite!? When you get older, this becomes, ?What are you doing? Go home. Watch Parks and Rec and go to sleep. What is wrong with you, staying up all night? Who has time for that?? If you?re in your 20s, you do. You have all the time. Do it now and take advantage of how not tired you are. You think you?re crabby now when you stay up too late? You?ll never believe how terrible you feel when you do it in your 30s.

12. Savor those 20s hangovers. They are a gift from God so that you?ll always remember what your tolerance level is. Your hangover recovery time is like flippin? Wolverine in your 20s. You wake up, feel like death, pull on some shades, gulp down coffee or maybe a bloody Mary and whine about your headache over brunch. Oh, boo hoo. When you?re older, every hangover is Apocalypse F-cking Now. You?re not making it to brunch. You?re not making it off your goddamn floor in a weeping puddle of regret.

13. Indulge in drunken diner/ fast food at 4 a.m. This is considered depressing behavior once you become a real adult.

14. STOP PROCRASTINATING YOUR TRIP ABROAD. YOUR CHANCES OF TAKING A LONG VACATION ABROAD DIMINISH AS YOU BECOME MORE SET IN YOUR WAYS AND AS YOU GAIN MORE RESPONSIBILITY.

15. Do ?unacceptable? things to your hair. Dye it. Dread it. Shave only the left side of your head and give a shit if it grows back in a flattering manner (hint: it won?t). There?s no time but now.

16. Avoid Burning Man. Save it for your weird-Dad mid-life crisis.

17. Sit down, unplug, and read non-fiction. Do this daily. None of your peers are doing it. They?re playing video games and refreshing Facebook and Gmail chatting about nothing in particular. After a month you?ll be smarter than all of them.

18. Walk into Forever 21 and grab every single crappily-made floral dress available. Is every other girl on the street wearing it? Is it literally falling apart at the seams? Is it also actually five dollars? BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. When you get older, your clothing becomes all expensive blazers and tailored khakis and other pieces that won?t break while on your body. That will be a great day ? the day when your closet starts to look respectable. Though those outfits are more expensive, they also last longer and look better on you. You will be a classy human ready to take on the future. But as long as you?re still in your 20s? You know ? the demographic of Forever 21? Game on, stretchy black dress with pockets that lasts about a week. Game on.

19. Take road trips. Sitting in a car for days on end isn?t something your body was designed to do forever.

20. Don?t invest in things like window curtains or throw rugs or? Windex. You?re a young, social person who doesn?t have time for things like picture-framing and broom-sweeping. No one actually expects you to maintain a bed skirt or a duvet cover in your 20s, they?re the home decor equivalent of puppies/ children.

21. Go to/host theme parties. Once people age out of their 20s, no one?s trying to wear pajamas or Saran Wrap out of the house. The only theme parties that exist after your 20s are ?Wedding,? ?Baby Shower,? and ?Funeral.?

You should follow Thought Catalog on Twitter here.

Source: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/21-ways-you-should-take-advantage-of-your-20s/

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Baseball Saturday - Bears top Dust Devils, Titans blow out Bombers

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Source: http://www.kimatv.com/sports/local/Baseball-Saturday---Bears-top-Dust-Devils-Titans-blow-out-Bombers-160997295.html

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Amazon's new Kindle Fire set to debut in early August? (update: maybe July)

We knew that there would be another Kindle Fire at some point, but we didn't know when it would arrive, or exactly what it'd look like. If the latest report from the China Times is true, however, we can expect Amazon's new slate to ship around August 7th. Like the first Fire, this new version will be built by Quanta, with a metal chassis and displays provided by LG and Panasonic. Other details, like its size or the contents within said metallic frame, are still nowhere to be found. What we can tell you is that the new tablet can't get here fast enough for Amazon given the Fire's declining sales numbers and its fresh competition from Mountain View.

Update: Looks like something was lost in translation -- it turns out the China Times report actually states that the new Kindle Fire is set to make its appearance in July or August, not specifically on August 7th.

Amazon's new Kindle Fire set to debut in early August? (update: maybe July) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Unwired View  |  China Times (translated)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/04/amazon-kindle-fire-2-coming-in-august/

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How Stockton went broke: A 15-year spending binge

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The man in charge of the biggest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy is clear about the root of the crisis.

It was a decision that gave firefighters full healthcare in retirement starting on January 1, 1996, said Bob Deis, the city manager of Stockton, California.

At the time, the move seemed cheaper than giving pay raises sought by unions, officials involved in the decision said. When other Stockton employees demanded the same healthcare deal in following years, the city agreed.

Deis, who signed Stockton's bankruptcy filing last Thursday, slammed the decision to provide free healthcare to retirees as a "Ponzi scheme" that eventually left the city with a whopping $417 million liability.

Before the turn of the millennium, things looked very different in California.

The U.S. stock market was booming, bolstering Stockton's pension funds. Real estate values were about to soar, too, bringing a flood of new tax revenue to the once quiet farming town of about 300,000 people - about 85 miles east of San Francisco - in California's Central Valley.

THE TRADE-OFF

To counter demands for wage hikes from city workers in the 1990s, Stockton offered to extend their health insurance in retirement past age 65 - a benefit they embraced and assumed to be rock solid until the insolvent city's officials put it on the chopping block in a bankruptcy plan last week.

"It was a balancing act," said Dwane Milnes, Stockton's city manager at the time. "The unions wanted retiree medical ... We said if you want to continue your medical for current employees and retirees, you'll have to do it through wage containment."

Milnes, who represented Stockton's retirees in recent talks with City Hall, said the strategy was sound at the time.

"We were satisfied that based on a conservative view of the economy and based on the medical inflation rate we were experiencing in the 1990s, the city could adequately fund retiree medical."

Detective Mark McLaughlin said Stockton's labor unions embraced the trade-off, which in the police department's case helped with recruiting and retention.

"It was an easy sell," he said, adding that city workers believed the money they gave up in pay increases would be able to pay for the health benefit.

SPEND, SPEND, SPEND

Other U.S. cities have also experienced boom and bust like Stockton.

But analysts and investors generally see Stockton as an extreme case of fiscal mismanagement over the past two decades.

Daniel Berger, a senior market analyst at Municipal Market Data, a unit of Thomson Reuters, said last week, before the bankruptcy filing, that the municipal bond market had viewed Stockton's fiscal problems as "a slow-moving train wreck." The possible bankruptcy filing, he said at the time, was seen as an "isolated occurrence."

As the 2000s advanced, Stockton continued to spend freely with the support of voters, politicians from both parties, employees and bondholders. Rating agencies were quiet about any risks and only started to downgrade the city's creditworthiness two years ago.

Generous pension deals were offered in the early 2000s.

City officials, looking to transform their sleepy downtown, approved spending on large projects to raise Stockton's profile and turn it into a bedroom community for San Francisco and the Bay Area.

Homebuilding went into overdrive. Home prices skyrocketed to a median of nearly $400,000 in 2006 from a median of $110,000 in 2000.

Stockton's revenues jumped, too. Its general fund, which pays the city's operating costs, swelled to $186.4 million in 2007 from $139.1 million in the 2001 fiscal year.

ROYAL PENSIONS

Like other cities in California, Stockton chose to offer many public safety workers the same benefits as those mandated by a state law for highway patrol officers. The change allowed police officers to retire at 50 with pensions based on 3 percent of final pay for each year in service, up from 2 percent before.

City employees in other unions also received more generous pensions with eligibility to retire at age 55 - with 2 percent of final pay multiplied by the number of years of service.

This is in contrast to the vast majority of private-sector workers who cannot receive Social Security payments before they are at least 62.

By the 2000s, Stockton's full-time employees were also entitled to free healthcare for life.

Still, there seemed little cause for concern.

With huge stock market gains from the 1990s, city officials were confident about meeting pension costs. After all, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index index quadrupled between early January 1990 and late March 2000.

Police and firefighters continued to win further concessions. Generous allowances were offered to police officers to buy their uniforms, bonuses were introduced based on years of service, and retiring officers claimed cash payments for unused vacation days - accumulated over years in some cases.

Warning signs grew that retiree healthcare costs were rising fast. The city miscalculated the rate of inflation for medical costs during the 2000s.

But Stockton's leaders burned through their reserves and began planning new construction projects to make the city more appealing to new residents.

A $47 million bond issue in 2004 was meant to finance construction of a sports and concert arena to revitalize the city's downtown. The arena was built, but it ended up losing money.

A downtown high-rise building was acquired for a new City Hall. A revamp of Stockton's downtown riverfront was financed, along with other projects, by more than $100 million in debt between 2004 and 2006 by the city's redevelopment agency.

Stockton ended up absorbing that debt after California's governor eliminated local redevelopment agencies last year.

It seems unlikely that Stockton will be able to sell those real estate assets at a gain.

"Most of the assets that look nice are under water," said Deis, the city manager.

A $125 million pension obligation bond sold by Stockton in 2007 also backfired. Stockton passed the proceeds to the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or Calpers, to pay down unfunded liabilities at the pension fund. Then the fund suffered steep losses when financial markets plunged in 2008 and early 2009 and left Stockton with a 23 percent loss on its invested proceeds and in debt to investors who bought the bonds.

HOUSING BUST'S TRAIL OF PAIN

The worst damage was done by the housing crash. Median home prices in Stockton slumped to $110,000 in 2009, erasing nearly a decade's gains. General fund revenues in the current fiscal year are projected at $155 million, just above their level in 2001.

The real estate bust made Stockton one of the foreclosure capitals of the United States. Property-tax revenues tumbled. The city began its new fiscal year on July 1 with its 1,420-strong workforce down by a quarter from three years earlier.

Debt service has ballooned to $17.2 million a year from $3 million just six years ago.

Stockton has already defaulted on about $2 million in bond payments since February.

Recriminations about Stockton's budget need to be set aside to avoid the kind of lengthy bankruptcy suffered by Vallejo, another California casualty of the boom-to-bust cycle. It emerged from bankruptcy last year after three years in Chapter 9 that cost it $10 million in legal fees.

Stockton has earmarked $3.5 million for bankruptcy court expenses because it hopes for a quick exit from Chapter 9.

Bondholders, employees and retirees will be hurt in the process. Axing retiree medical benefits is now central to efforts to restructure Stockton's finances, Deis said.

Many retirees are in a state of shock about that.

"I believed the city would honor its commitments," said Geri Ridge, 56.

The former clerk retired last year after 26 years with Stockton's police following a second heart attack.

Ridge lives off a monthly pension of $1,895. She learned on Friday that she now faces a $576 monthly premium for her health coverage - or $1,277 a month if she keeps her daughter on her plan.

She has no idea of how to pay for the coverage, which the city will fully eliminate in a year. And she has harsh words for Deis.

"I want him gone. I'm hoping whoever gets elected into office fires him, bankruptcy or not," Ridge said.

(Reporting by Jim Christie; Additional reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Tiziana Barghini and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stockton-went-broke-15-spending-binge-225043837.html

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Full Feeds Service Discontinued

Unfortunatly the time has come for this scraper to come down (seemingly it may come as a shock to some that this is not provided by the BBC). I wrote this back in 2005 and have modified it a couple of times since mainly so that I could more easily consume RSS on the move. In short, I no longer use it, I find consuming live news is not actually something an RSS reader does very well and I face a constant battle against sites trying to use these feeds to monetize BBC content and failing to pay any attention to etag or last modified headers (hello palin-pedia.com et al). Please update your RSS subscription as the last remenants of this will be removed soon , the official BBC RSS feed you are looking for is: http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_uk_edition/world/rss.xml

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628494

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Video: How to survive heat wave, power outages

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48041165#48041165

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Healthful exercise doesn?t require expensive equipment or a gym membership

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