Fight Facts: 2023 PFL 9 Playoffs


Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information
and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and
portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into
the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories
behind those numbers.

TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL FIGHTS: 972
TOTAL NUMBER OF PFL EVENTS: 106

The
Professional Fighters League locked down the rest of its finals
with a mid-week showcase that concluded with one of the best fights
in company history. With all six weight categories in the books,
the million-dollar matchups all take place in exactly three months.

PFL 9: 2023 Playoffs featured a Canadian juggernaut destined
for the prize, the winningest active fighter in league history on
track for another giant check and a welterweight that cannot avoid
catchweight contests.

Could You Imagine? As the top-seeded lightweight,
Clay
Collard punched his ticket to the finals by outstriking
Shane
Burgos over three thrilling rounds. This is Collard’s third PFL
season, and his first to get through the playoffs.

With Great Power Comes Great Sponsorships:
Opposite Collard, Aubin-Mercier completes the lightweight title
picture for November. “The Canadian Gangster” earned his fourth
knockout as a pro – with three coming within the last year – by
pounding out Bruno
Miranda.

Conquering the Greener Pastures: Since departing
the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Aubin-Mercier
has strung together nine straight wins. Women’s featherweight
finalist Larissa
Pacheco has emerged victorious nine times in a row, with “OAM”
becoming the 14th fighter in organizational history to reach this
win total.

Sentimental Sy: Sy serves as the only fighter to
ever compete in all five seasons of the PFL, with November’s
matchup his second Championships appearance. His split decision win
over the heavy Carlos
Leal Miranda cemented his place on the card, having competed
beyond the first round in 12 straight fights.

Check Your Math: Leal checked in a pound heavy and
lost a point on the scorecards – although the PFL did not recognize
this, as Leal should have lost via majority decision and not split
if that were assessed properly. In four of his outings with the
league, Leal or his opponent has missed weight, with this being the
first catchweight affair where he came up short.

Putting the Magomed in Magomedkerimov: Outworking
late replacement Solomon
Renfro, Magomedkerimov lifted his win streak to five, as he
plans on being the only victor from the 2018 season to replicate
success five years later.

MMK All the Way: The win was Magomedkerimov’s 16th
with the organization, and now eight of those have come by
decision. “MMK” is now tied with Palmer for the winningest fighter
in promotional history, and is in third place for the most wins on
the scorecards – Schulte holds nine while Palmer has 10.

Pretty Grande: The 22-year-old Alexei
Pergande remained undefeated at 4-0 by claiming a decision over
Shawn
Stefanelli. Since joining the PFL, he has picked up a
submission win in the first half of the year and then procured a
decision that August.

Spilled the Kuppe: Putting Korey Kuppe
away in just under two minutes, Mostafa
Rashed Nada boosted his finish rate as a pro to 75%. All of his
stoppages have come in Round 1.

Her Super Move: Two-time Challenger Series winner
Michelle
Montague earned her first win on a standard PFL card by tapping
out Abigail
Montes. The unbeaten Kiwi celebrates all four of her victories
by rear-naked choke.

Arabian Nights (and Days): It took Abdullah
Al-Qahtani all three rounds to defeat David
Zelner on the prelims. The Saudi Arabia native has heard the
final bell in 75% of his pro fights, win or lose.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into 2023 PFL 9
Playoffs, Stefanelli had never lost on the scorecards (six fights),
Montes had never been finished (six fights) and Nathaniel
Grimard had never been knocked out (six fights).

Posted 30 Aug 2023 05:31 by | News | 12 comments

Tribal courts expand healing and wellness approaches

Inside a jail cell at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Albertyn Pino’s only plan was to finish the six-month sentence for public intoxication, along with other charges, and to return to her abusive boyfriend.

That’s when she was offered a lifeline: An invitation to the tribe’s Healing to Wellness Court. She would be released early if she agreed to attend alcohol treatment and counseling sessions, secure a bed at a shelter, get a job, undergo drug testing, and regularly check in with a judge.

Pino, now 53, ultimately completed the requirements, and after about a year and a half, the charges were dropped. She looks back at that time, 15 years ago, and is grateful that people envisioned a better future for her when she struggled to see one for herself.

“It helped me start learning more about myself, about what made me tick, because I didn’t know who I was,” said Pino, who is now a case manager and certified peer support worker. “I didn’t know what to do.”

The concept of treating people in the criminal justice system holistically is not new in Indian Country, but there are new programs coming on board as well as expanded approaches. About one-third of the roughly 320 tribal court systems across the country have aspects of this healing and wellness approach, according to the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

Some tribes are incorporating these aspects into more specialized juvenile and family courts, said Kristina Pacheco, Tribal Healing to Wellness Court specialist for the California-based Tribal Law and Policy Institute. The court judges association is also working on pilot projects for holistic defense — which combines legal advocacy and support — with tribes in Alaska, Nevada, and Oklahoma, modeled after a successful initiative at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana.

“The thought and the concept will be different from tribe to tribe,” said Pacheco. “But ultimately, we all want our tribal people … to not hurt, not suffer.”

People in the program typically are facing nonviolent misdemeanors, such as a DUI, public intoxication or burglary, she said. Some courts, like in the case of Pino, drop the charges once participants complete the program.

A program at the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Washington state applies restorative principles, and assigns wellness coaches to serve Native Americans and non-Natives in the local county jail, a report released earlier this year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation outlined. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma has a reintegration program that includes financial support and housing services, as well as cultural programming, career development, and legal counsel. In Alaska, the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s wellness court helps adults in tribal and state court who are battling substance abuse and incorporates elements of their tribe’s culture.

“There’s a lot of shame and guilt when you’re arrested,” said Mary Rodriguez, staff attorney for the court judges association. “You don’t reach out to those resources, you feel that you aren’t entitled to those resources, that those are for somebody who isn’t in trouble with the law.”

“The idea of holistic defense is opening that up and reclaiming you are our community member, we understand there are issues,” Rodriguez said. “You are better than the worst thing you’ve done.”

The MacArthur Foundation report outlined a series of inequities, including a complicated jurisdictional maze in Indian Country that can result in multiple courts charging Native Americans for the same offense. The report also listed historical trauma and a lack of access to free, legal counsel within tribes as factors that contribute to the disproportionate representation of Native Americans in federal and state prisons.

Advocates of tribal healing to wellness initiatives see the approaches as a way to shift the narrative of someone’s life and address the underlying causes of criminal activity.

There isn’t clear data that shows how holistic alternatives to harsh penalization have influenced incarceration rates. Narrative outcomes might be a better measure of success, including regaining custody of one’s children and maintaining a driver’s license, said Johanna Farmer, an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and a program attorney for the court judges association.

Some tribes have incorporated specific cultural and community elements into healing, such as requiring participants to interview their own family members to establish a sense of rootedness and belonging.

“You have the narratives, the stories, the qualitative data showing that healing to wellness court, the holistic defense practices are more in line with a lot of traditional tribal community practices,” Farmer said. “And when your justice systems align with your traditional values or the values you have in your community, the more likely you’re going to see better results.”

While not all of these tribal healing-to-wellness programs have received federal funding, some have.

Between 2020 and 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice distributed more than a dozen awards that totaled about $9.4 million for tribal healing to wellness courts.

This year, the Quapaw Nation in Oklahoma started working on a holistic defense program after seeing a sharp increase in cases following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said a large area of eastern Oklahoma remains a Native American reservation.

So far this year, about 70 cases have been filed, up from nearly a dozen in all of 2020, said Corissa Millard, tribal court administrator.

“When we look at holistic approaches, we think, what’s going to better help the community in the long term?” she said. “Is sending someone away for a three-year punishment going to be it? Will they re-offend once they get out? Or do you want to try to fix the problem before it escalates?”

For Pino, the journey through Laguna Pueblo’s wellness court wasn’t smooth. She struggled through relapses and a brief stint on the run before she found a job and an apartment to live in with her son nearby in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her daughters live close by.

She largely credits the wellness court staff for her ability to turn around her life, she said.

“They were the ones that stood by me, regardless of what I was choosing to do; that was the part that brought me a lot of hope,” she said. “And now where I’m at, just to see them happy, it gets emotional, because they never let go. They never gave up on me.”

The post Tribal courts expand healing and wellness approaches appeared first on Buffalo’s Fire.

Posted 30 Aug 2023 03:31 by | News | 10 comments

Bribs : Target

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Posted 30 Aug 2023 01:52 by | Birbs | 4 comments

Cloister At Sea Island

Cloister At Sea Island

The Cloister At Sea Island is a personal 5 mile
long seaside destination in Georgia. Sea Island
is popular for its champion fairway,
which after current renovations, is currently far better than
in the past.

There are an overall of 54 openings, that include the
18 opening Plantation Course which opened up in 1998, and also
was made by Rees Jones. The 18 opening Seaside
Training course was refurbished by Tom Fazio as well as re-opened
once again in 1999. You can find out to play golf at this
program, or simply play as well as brighten your video game.

The Sea Island hotel likewise uses a day spa with numerous
health and fitness centers. You can take part in unique
courses in addition to individualized physical fitness and also health
programs. Various other tasks around the hotel consist of
tennis, horseback riding, sunset cruise ships, boating,
angling, shooting college, kayaking, swimming, and also
also diving lessons.

Sea Island likewise supplies a family members location where
children can select from numerous various trip
tasks. Youngsters can play mid-day tennis complimentary
of cost as well as also join free of charge
golf and also tennis centers. Throughout the summertime, springtime
break as well as also vacations, the hotel enjoys to
supply a program for children ages 3 – 11.

Hotel spaces as well as food
The Cloister mixed-up Island supplies you more than 250
visitor spaces as well as collections that are located in numerous
homes on Sea Island. The Retreat House, Hamilton
Home, as well as Harrington House are all situated on the
coastline, while the more recent bed and breakfast and also Terrace
Residences are all situated in between the coastline as well as the
Tennis.

Visitors that check out Sea Island can likewise remain at the
Lodge mixed-up Island Golf Club, which opened up in
March of 2001. The Lodge uses visitors 40 elegant
areas as well as collections that are positioned over the
club with fairway and also sea sights.

The major dining-room at the Cloister uses real-time
songs as well as dance throughout warmer months. The Terrace
eating area, situated at the Lodge mixed-up Island
Golf Club offers continental food with a.
Southern spin.

Late springtime, summer season, as well as very early autumn are without a doubt.
the most effective times to have a look at the Cloister mixed-up.
Island. Sea Island is a hr drive by vehicle from.
Savannah Georgia as well as one hr far from Jacksonville.
Florida. Personal airplane can likewise land at the.
McKinnon Airport on St. Simons Island, which is.
4 miles far from the Cloister. Regardless of exactly how.
you obtain right here – you’ll rejoice you did!

Posted 29 Aug 2023 22:03 by | Uncategorized | 9 comments

VCU forensic science professor hopes a better THC breathalyzer will increase road safety – VCU News – Virginia Commonwealth University

With a goal of increasing road safety, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor is working to develop a faster, more effective breathalyzer for THC, the component of cannabis most associated with its psychoactive effects.

While alcohol breathalyzers offer results within minutes, the THC breathalyzers now on the market have to be sent to a lab for testing, which can take hours. With funding from the Justice Department, a team led by Emanuele Alves, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Forensic Science at VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, hopes to create a device that allows testing in the moment – it would yield results within minutes, and it could differentiate between THC and CBD, leading to fewer false-positive results for THC.

“With this approach, we could reduce the number of accidents caused by impaired drivers, making roads safer for all of us,” Alves said. “When a device like this is public, drivers know that they can be caught using marijuana, and this could act as a deterrent for people considering using marijuana before getting behind the wheel. This is a similar effect to alcohol breathalyzers, which have been shown to deter drunk driving.”

Alves, principal investigator for the “Development of a Colorimetric Breath Analyzer for THC” project, first saw the importance of impairment monitoring systems in her earlier work for a variety of entities and agencies, including the Rio de Janeiro State Police in Brazil. As a forensic toxicologist, she conducted testing to identify drugs, chemicals and toxins to determine their potential effect on an individual’s death, illness or mental or physical impairment.

“I kept thinking about how many lives were lost due to driving under the influence of drugs,” Alves said. “Alcohol was the main reason for many years. I have several projects in my lab at VCU dedicated to opioids – my main research substance group – but it was impossible for me to ignore the increasing presence of marijuana cases. It started to call my attention to, how could we try to make the roads safer?”

Alves and her team began studying current THC detection devices and found that they don’t provide a readout of how much THC is in someone’s system. Instead, they are collection devices that need to be sent to a lab for analysis. That’s when she got to thinking about breathalyzers.

“Breathalyzers are a fast, practical and reliable tool for impairment monitoring on the road,” Alves said.

In addition, the legal implications of a THC breathalyzer, especially in cases of drivers caught under the influence, could make a major impact, she said. “Breathalyzer results are admissible in court and could make it easier to prosecute offenders.”

As states, including Virginia, decriminalize and legalize marijuana, “it is imperative to create ways to detect short-time use, especially by drivers,” Alves said.

Alcohol breathalyzers use electrochemical reactions to detect alcohol on the breath when a person exhales. Other researchers are exploring how to use this method to detect cannabis use faster. The challenge, however, is that the electrochemical reaction that occurs in this method isn’t specific to THC. An electrochemical reaction would simply detect the presence of cannabis – it can’t tell whether the substance is CBD or its psychoactive cousin, THC.

“Our idea is to create a colorimetric-based device where the reaction between THC and a specific dye occurs inside the device, leading to the formation of intense color,” Alves said. “Due to the nature of these reactions, the color intensity is directly proportional to the concentration of the substance we’re looking for – in this case, THC.”

With Alves’ test, people who are using CBD, which is legal in many states, wouldn’t blow a false positive for THC like they might with a device that’s based on an alcohol breathalyzer. For the device she envisions, the colorimetric test – similar to those used in some at-home COVID-19 tests – would only change color if THC is present.

Alves is collaborating with Wagner Pacheco, Ph.D., from the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro who is currently a postdoctoral fellow and researcher in her laboratory at VCU. They hope to have a prototype in 2025. This project received funding through the Justice Department’s Research and Development in Forensic Sciences for Criminal Justice Purposes program.

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Posted 29 Aug 2023 21:31 by | News | 10 comments

Tribal courts across the country are expanding holistic alternatives to the criminal justice system

Albertyn Pino via AP

In this photo provided by Albertyn Pino, Pino poses for a selfie in Laguna Pueblo, N.M., Oct. 17, 2020.

Inside a jail cell at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Albertyn Pino’s only plan was to finish the six-month sentence for public intoxication, along with other charges, and to return to her abusive boyfriend.

That’s when she was offered a lifeline: An invitation to the tribe’s Healing to Wellness Court. She would be released early if she agreed to attend alcohol treatment and counseling sessions, secure a bed at a shelter, get a job, undergo drug testing and regularly check in with a judge.

Pino, now 53, ultimately completed the requirements and, after about a year and a half, the charges were dropped. She looks back at that time, 15 years ago, and is grateful that people envisioned a better future for her when she struggled to see one for herself.

“It helped me start learning more about myself, about what made me tick, because I didn’t know who I was,” said Pino, who is now a case manager and certified peer support worker. “I didn’t know what to do.”

The concept of treating people in the criminal justice system holistically is not new in Indian Country, but there are new programs coming on board as well as expanded approaches. About one-third of the roughly 320 tribal court systems across the country have aspects of this healing and wellness approach, according to the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

Some tribes are incorporating these aspects into more specialized juvenile and family courts, said Kristina Pacheco, Tribal Healing to Wellness Court specialist for the California-based Tribal Law and Policy Institute. The court judges association is also working on pilot projects for holistic defense — which combine legal advocacy and support — with tribes in Alaska, Nevada and Oklahoma, modeled after a successful initiative at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana.

“The thought and the concept will be different from tribe to tribe,” said Pacheco. “But ultimately, we all want our tribal people … to not hurt, not suffer.”

People in the program typically are facing nonviolent misdemeanors, such as a DUI, public intoxication or burglary, she said. Some courts, like in the case of Pino, drop the charges once participants complete the program.

A program at the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe in Washington state applies restorative principles, and assigns wellness coaches to serve Native Americans and non-Natives in the local county jail, a report released earlier this year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation outlined. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma has a reintegration program that includes financial support and housing services, as well as cultural programming, career development and legal counsel. In Alaska, the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s wellness court helps adults in tribal and state court who are battling substance abuse and incorporates elements of their tribe’s culture.

“There’s a lot of shame and guilt when you’re arrested,” said Mary Rodriguez, staff attorney for the court judges association. “You don’t reach out to those resources, you feel that you aren’t entitled to those resources, that those are for somebody who isn’t in trouble with the law.”

“The idea of holistic defense is opening that up and reclaiming you are our community member, we understand there are issues,” Rodriguez said. “You are better than the worst thing you’ve done.”

The MacArthur Foundation report outlined a series of inequities, including a complicated jurisdictional maze in Indian Country that can result in multiple courts charging Native Americans for the same offense. The report also listed historical trauma and a lack of access to free, legal counsel within tribes as factors that contribute to disproportionate representation of Native Americans in federal and state prisons.

Advocates of tribal healing to wellness initiatives see the approaches as a way to shift the narrative of someone’s life and address the underlying causes of criminal activity.

There isn’t clear data that shows how holistic alternatives to harsh penalization have influenced incarceration rates. Narrative outcomes might be a better measure of success, including regaining custody of one’s children and maintaining a driver’s license, said Johanna Farmer, an enrolled citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and a program attorney for the court judges association.

Some tribes have incorporated specific cultural and community elements into healing, such as requiring participants to interview their own family members to establish a sense of rootedness and belonging.

“You have the narratives, the stories, the qualitative data showing that healing to wellness court, the holistic defense practices are more in line with a lot of traditional tribal community practices,” Farmer said. “And when your justice systems align with your traditional values or the values you have in your community, the more likely you’re going to see better results.”

While not all of these tribal healing to wellness programs have received federal funding, some have.

Between 2020 and 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice distributed more than a dozen awards that totaled about $9.4 million for tribal healing to wellness courts.

This year, the Quapaw Nation in Oklahoma started working on a holistic defense program after seeing a sharp increase in cases following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said a large area of eastern Oklahoma remains a Native American reservation.

So far this year, about 70 cases have been filed, up from nearly a dozen in all of 2020, said Corissa Millard, tribal court administrator.

“When we look at holistic approaches, we think, what’s going to better help the community in long term?” she said. “Is sending someone away for a three-year punishment going to be it? Will they reoffend once they get out? Or do you want to try to fix the problem before it escalates?”

For Pino, the journey through Laguna Pueblo’s wellness court wasn’t smooth. She struggled through relapses and a brief stint on the run before she found a job and an apartment to live in with her son nearby in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her daughters live close by.

She largely credits the wellness court staff for her ability to turnaround her life, she said.

“They were the ones that stood by me, regardless of what I was choosing to do; that was the part that brought me a lot of hope,” she said. “And now where I’m at, just to see them happy, it gets emotional, because they never let go. They never gave up on me.”

Posted 29 Aug 2023 20:31 by | News | 13 comments

Met Council members rebel against ‘11th hour’ vote on light rail project, delaying Blue Line extension for a few weeks

Members of the Metropolitan Council this week sent a very public message to the agency staff responsible for mapping out light rail projects in the Twin Cities: Give us time to deliberate on your proposals, and if you don’t, you can’t count on our votes.

In a 9-5 vote Wednesday, Met Council members refused to okay a $75.3 million spending plan for the next phase of the Blue Line light rail extension project. The council’s decision to postpone final action until Sept. 13 will halt nearly all planning work on the project for at least a few weeks, staff at the regional planning agency said.

Even with the delay, planners hope that by 2026, construction could begin on a new 13.4-mile light rail line between downtown Minneapolis and the northwest suburbs, opening up new transportation options on the Northside, where huge numbers of people rely on public transit.

“At this point the work on the project is continuing on schedule,” Met Council spokesperson John Schadl said in a statement.

Many residents along the route are also concerned the extended Blue Line could lead to the displacement of residents and businesses, but those concerns weren’t at issue in Wednesday’s vote. Several Met Council members who pushed for the delay said they support the Blue Line project and hope that it can ultimately proceed.

The main issue, these critics said, was process: They felt staff had rushed the council into an “11th hour vote” on the next phase of the project – a vote that would have broad ramifications, including tie-ins to a recently-announced deal to cover remaining costs for the troubled Southwest Light Rail project.

‘The rubber stamps that everybody thinks we are’

Met Council faces a bipartisan crisis of confidence, with both Republicans and DFLers in the state Legislature lambasting the agency over massive cost overruns, poor transparency and a lack of accountability on the Southwest project.

Several Met Council members – including former Plymouth Mayor Judy Johnson, who made the motion to postpone – referenced these critiques as they cast their votes.

“If we don’t do process right here we will continue to have votes where?” said Johnson. “I wish I’d had the information I have now, because … my vote might have changed. I will say, some of that is on Southwest [Light Rail].”

“I’ve been here for 14 years, and I have not seen something we’re voting on that is less transparent in all of that 14 years,” said Wendy Wulff, the council’s longest-serving member. “If we go ahead with this, we have nothing to hold things back. We’re going to be the rubber stamps that everybody thinks that we are.”

“We’ve got a huge, huge audience of critics out there who don’t trust us. They don’t trust the Met Council,” said council member Susan Vento.

Why some council members wanted to proceed with the vote

Five council members voted against the postponement, including vice chair Reva Chamblis, who also sits on the committee overseeing Blue Line planning.

Met Council member Chai Lee – who voted against delay – said he was comfortable delegating authority to agency leaders to cut deals on their behalf. He pointed out that his role as a council member was part-time. Met Council President Charlie Zelle was not present at the meeting.

“We will not always find ourselves in enviable positions with our votes,” said Lee, who represents parts of eastern Ramsey County and western Washington County. “But making hard decisions is what we signed up for.”

Met Council member John Pacheco, Jr., disagreed with the argument that staff was rushing the Blue Line proposal, noting that two council committees had reviewed it ahead of the vote. (One panel had failed to advance it.)

“It’s not like we’re in a vacuum and nobody’s seen this stuff,” said Pacheco, who represents southeastern Hennepin County.

Would Blue Line vote lock in a deal on Southwest LRT?

But the critical council members said their objections couldn’t be reduced to a feeling that they didn’t have enough advanced notice.

Met Council could not proceed with the next phase of the Blue Line project until planners figured out how to close a half-billion dollar funding gap in the Southwest Light Rail project’s budget. On Monday, Met Council and Hennepin County announced an agreement to come up with the funding to fill that gap.

That deal was central to some council members’ concerns that Wednesday’s vote was rushed: By advancing the Blue Line project, they were concerned the council was effectively locking itself into an agreement with Hennepin County that most council members said they knew little about.

“If you vote for this today you are effectively authorizing that deal that none of us knows what’s really going on,” said Wulff. “And that’s not normal to be making a vote of this magnitude without having the information.”

“I don’t think anyone around this table really contributed to the proposed agreement on the funding or solving the [Southwest Light Rail] funding gap – I know I didn’t,” said Deb Barber, who represents much of Scott and Carver counties. “I don’t think I’m comfortable moving things ahead when there’s not been that kind of transparency.”

The ripple effects

Barber and Wulff said the agreement to pay for the Southwest project – located entirely within Hennepin County – would draw down funding meant to pay for transit across the metro. Those council members wondered whether using that money could shortchange other priorities.

No, Metro Transit deputy general manager Nick Thompson responded.

“We are not displacing any projects,” said Thompson.

Thompson said state lawmakers’ creation of a 0.75% sales tax in the Twin Cities metro to fund regional transit needs has shored up Metro Transit’s funding.

“For the first time ever, we can talk about the certainty of whether or not we can afford these projects,” Thompson said. “Would this impact any projects in our current [capital investment plan]? No it would not. We can build our Metro vision that we have. That Metro vision is funded. That’s good news.”

The likely effect of Wednesday’s vote will be a short-term disruption in planning on the Blue Line project.

Consulting engineers doing planning work will be asked to pause their work on the project after Aug. 31, when their contracts expire. Thompson said Metro Transit staff working on the project would be paid temporarily through the agency’s operating budget.

Blue Line project staff had recently proposed their preferred route for the project, which would connect the downtown transit hub near Target Field with north Minneapolis via a route east of Interstate 94 that would avoid a portion of West Broadway Avenue, where displacement fears run high.

The project’s Corridor Management Committee was supposed to take a vote on whether to adopt that recommended route, and Thompson said it’s possible that vote could still proceed.

The proposed $75.3 million budget for the next phase of the Blue Line project, running through Dec. 2024, would be funded by Hennepin County. The county’s Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve this funding.

Irene Fernando, who chairs the county board, said in a statement that the county has “demonstrated a commitment to center residents, prioritize those with the most needs, and invest in a manner that allows the people and businesses who are already in the corridor to thrive.”

Posted 29 Aug 2023 19:31 by | News | 8 comments

Could the Chinese government fund construction of huge new dam at Pacheco Pass? – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Six years after unveiling plans to build a 320-foot high dam and reservoir at Pacheco Pass in southern Santa Clara County, the largest water district in Silicon Valley still hasn’t found any other water agencies willing to help fund the project.

But this week, an unusual potential partner came to light: China.

The revelation of interest from one of the United States’ most contentious rivals is the latest twist in the project’s shaky history: The price tag has tripled to $2.8 billion since 2018 due to unstable geology found in the area. The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which is pursuing the plan, has delayed groundbreaking by at least three years, to 2027, instead of 2024 as announced five years ago. And environmentalists won a lawsuit this summer that will require more study of how ongoing geological work will affect endangered plants and animals.

During questioning from water district board members at a public meeting Tuesday night, Rick Callender, the district’s CEO, said he had been approached by a local developer who offered to broker a deal in which “international governments” would pay some or all of the costs.

“They would probably sell the water to farmers, right?” said Jim Beall, a former state senator who was elected to the water district board last year.

“I don’t know who they would sell the water to,” Callender said. “We didn’t get that far.”

Beall said he was concerned that he had never heard of the proposal.

“Some things should be disclosed,” he said. “I mean, we should know. I’m interested in this international thing. I didn’t know there was an international connection here. Is the federal government involved?”

“Is China involved?” he added moments later.

“Yes,” Callender said. “That was the proposal that came from a local developer.”

Callender said he dropped the idea over his concerns about whether Chinese funding would be “acceptable or legal.”

In an interview afterward, Callender declined to identify the developer. He said it was not Edmund Jin, a Chinese businessman who bought the 12,000-acre El Toro cattle ranch where the new dam would be located in 2017, beating the water district to the property and possibly setting himself up for a large payout if the district takes the property by eminent domain.

Callender said the unnamed developer called him about five months ago and said the Chinese government could pay some or all of the dam costs.

“I said I’m not interested,” he said. “They don’t need to put a proposal in writing. Foreign government investment in Valley Water? What is that? I’ve never heard of it happening. I don’t care if it was England or Canada.”

Over the past decade, China has invested more than $1 trillion in ports, railways, wind farms, bridges and other projects in dozens of countries, including Greece, Kenya, Croatia, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nigeria as a way of building economic ties and expanding political influence. The jobs are often filled by Chinese construction workers.

The effort, called the Belt and Road Initiative, has been a centerpiece of President Xi Jinping’s tenure.

Under it, China also has helped fund some water projects, including dams in Cambodia, Laos and Pakistan. Some have had serious construction problems. The $2.7 billion Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant in Ecuador, finished in 2016, has been plagued with thousands of cracks and other major flaws.

In Pakistan, officials shut down the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric plant last year after detecting cracks in a tunnel that transports water through a mountain to drive a turbine, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Callender said he opposes Chinese funding on broader grounds.

“You don’t want foreign investments in local government,” he said. “Play it all the way through. A foreign interest owns the reservoir. They are selling the water. And the money is going back to China instead of local interests. It’s so far from our tax base it doesn’t make sense.”

With the Pacheco project, the water district, based in San Jose, is hoping to build the largest new Bay Area dam since Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County was built 25 years ago.

The district’s plan calls for constructing a 320-foot-high earthen dam on the North Fork of Pacheco Creek in the rugged canyons about 2 miles north of Highway 152 near Henry Coe State Park.

The new reservoir would hold 141,000 acre feet of water, replacing a small reservoir that was built in 1939.

The project received a major boost in 2018 when former Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration awarded it $485 million from Proposition 1, a $7.5 billion water bond passed by voters in 2014. That was supposed to pay for half.

But as its price tag has risen, no other partners have signed on. According to a staff presentation Tuesday night, the project’s current cost estimate is $2.78 billion. Including financing, it is $3.27 billion. But that assumes partner agencies will pay 35% and share the water. If none come forward, the full cost to the water district will be $5.5 billion, the staff report showed.

Four of the district’s board members: Chairman John Varela, Dick Santos, Tony Estremera and Nai Hsueh, have indicated support for continuing to design the project. Two others, Rebecca Eisenberg and Barbara Keegan, are opposed, saying expanding recycled water, conservation and other projects that have greater likelihood of being built, such as a $1 billion plan to enlarge Los Vaqueros Reservoir, make more sense. The other board member, Beall, has raised increasingly skeptical questions but has not come out strongly in favor or against Pacheco.

In an interview Thursday, Varela said he had not heard of the Chinese funding possibility until this week but opposes it. As for the lack of partners, he said, California’s droughts are increasingly severe, and Silicon Valley needs more reservoir capacity.

“It’s still early,” he said. “The seeds are in the ground. We’re going to find partners. I’m confident we will.”

Posted 29 Aug 2023 17:21 by | News | 13 comments

San Jose parent gets school district to support LGBTQ rights

One person’s determination has led to a local school district pledging to stand up for LGBTQ staff and student rights.

The San Jose Unified School District unanimously passed a pride resolution yesterday supporting the freedoms and equality of LGBTQ people due to the persistent efforts of Eli Dinh, a parent and former SJUSD teacher. The school board condemned homophobia and transphobia, and members said they will ensure laws are upheld so students, staff and community members feel safe and welcome.

“I absolutely think I have brought attention to the issue,” Dinh said. “I have personally connected with so many people around it and hopefully showed … I’m not the only person who wants the bar raised.”

The school district added it would regularly assess and strengthen school climate, implement consistent nondiscrimination, anti-bullying and harassment policies, verify that curriculum is inclusive and make sure professional development and community resources are available.

Board President José Magaña said this resolution means there will be tangible changes to the school’s LGBTQ school community policies. 

“This is a big moment for us,” he said. “I’m really excited and proud for us to get this passed. This is just the beginning of the hard work that’s in front of us.”

Dinh told San José Spotlight the pride resolution is a call to action for the administration. They brought attention to the issue by penning a petition and organizing a rally in the spring to fight for LGBTQ student rights. Dinh said the resolution validates the district has a problem in the way schools address LGBTQ rights.

“It is very inconsistent and on the whim of administrators,” Dinh said. “I hope it will stop administrators saying they don’t know what to do, how to do it, or have time to do.”

Dinh said although the resolution has teeth and gives administration directives upholding LGBTQ rights, it lacks a timeline to hold administrators accountable. Dinh also repeated the request to the board for an LGBTQ Advisory Committee to be formed.

“We need to have more avenues to empower LGBTQ members of the community,” he said, “so their voices can be heard.”

Trustee Carla Collins called the issue urgent and said the resolution should be implemented during the current school year.

Dinh said a standalone LGBTQ policy created by the district is overdue. Currently, LGBTQ rights are a subsection of a nondiscrimination policy. The board also unanimously approved a nondiscrimination harassment amendment toward LGBTQ students and staff at the meeting.

“Updates to the policy say the district has to start collecting data on discrimination and harassment incidents,” Dinh said. “That policy needs a ton of revision and is not up to code. I want to make sure the board is aware that there are still pieces that need further review.”

Seth Reddy, SJUSD chief business officer, said the school district needs to take a look at trans policy, approve the updates and create administrative regulation.

Jorge Pacheco, Jr., an Oak Grove School District trustee, thanked the school board for expanding the rights of LGBTQ students and staff. Photo by Lorraine Gabbert.

Jorge Pacheco, Jr., an Oak Grove School District trustee, thanked the trustees for expanding the rights of LGBTQ students and staff.

“I personally understand how important it is to have our school district stand up and fight for our LGBTQ students and staff who are under attack at every level of government in this country,” they said. “Actions like the one you’re going to take today save lives. They help people like me feel safe and included in a world that begs to differ.”

Parent Jeffie Khalsa said although the school board passed a Black Lives Matter resolution three years ago, not much has changed.

“It makes me feel concern that a seemingly meaningful resolution is getting passed right now, but what if things aren’t any better for queer kids three years from now?” she told the district board. “I hope you’re going to follow up with actions you each can take to make sure this really changes lives.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].

The post San Jose parent gets school district to support LGBTQ rights appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Posted 29 Aug 2023 15:31 by | News | 6 comments

Exactly how To Compete With Amazon.com

Exactly how To Compete With Amazon.com

Below is the down side of our company … you will certainly never ever be able to contend with Amazon if you are offering online. (Or Kmart, or Target, or any type of various other huge electrical outlet) Here is why, They purchase straight from the maker in such big amounts that they are obtaining the item for a rate that you as well as I (as small company proprietors) will certainly never ever understand. That is an unfavorable truth of company.
They are eager to take a massive loss on the item in the hopes that the consumer will certainly get various other points. If you are like me, you can not pay for to do that.
The response is really easy … if you can not contend with Amazon, do not! (I recognize audios as well easy, however remain with me) So, if I can not be the least expensive rate, or contend with Amazon, exactly how can I make any kind of cash?
Right here’s the point, if every little organization in the globe attempted to contend with Wal-Mart, or Amazon, there would certainly be no little service around. What you desire to do is to not contend with Amazon, yet others on Ebay, or anywhere you are marketing your website, that are marketing the exact same item.
I recognize that seems amusing yet, you would certainly be astonished that if you create a GREAT sales letter … after that rates has extremely little to do with it. (And that has actually been confirmed over and over again) In the participants location of Drop Ship Connection there are excellent sources as well as software program that can assist you create an excellent sales letter.
They detail the item specifications and also toss up an image and also anticipate it to offer. Believe of all of the scrap mail that you obtain in your mail box; Most of it (if they are attempting to offer you something anyhow) is going to be in the type of a sales letter. You truly have to make individuals desire to acquire your item from you with an excellent sales letter, after that cost is not a trouble.
Why is there not much distinction in between what Amazon offers it for and also the wholesale representatives you checklist; Are you certain they are genuine dealers? You will certainly never ever obtain the very same cost Amazon obtains … that’s simply an unfavorable truth. You are not getting hundreds of thousands of devices delivered on pallets with a HUGE price cut due to the fact that of the dimension of your order.

If you are offering online, below is the down side of our company … you will certainly never ever be able to complete with Amazon. The solution is really basic … if you can not complete with Amazon, do not! (I understand audios as well easy, yet remain with me) So, if I can not be the most inexpensive rate, or contend with Amazon, exactly how can I make any type of cash? Right here’s the point, if every tiny service in the globe attempted to complete with Wal-Mart, or Amazon, there would certainly be no tiny service around. What you desire to do is to not contend with Amazon, however others on Ebay, or any place you are marketing your website, that are offering the exact same item.

Posted 29 Aug 2023 15:03 by | Uncategorized | 12 comments

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